ã€ŠAbsolute Depravity: Reincarnated with a lustful Systemã€‹


 Chapter 1 1 - At The Heels Of A Demon

    ?Axed by the mighty executioner, his heady enshrined in eternal darkness. His body had long since eroded and what remained of his head continued to be consumed by the gluttonous pit of the abyss.

    ''How did I end up here? Where''s the rest of my body?'' His mind wanders, questioning the unnerving reality. ''Where''s my sword? Did I-''

    "Such an abhorrent look, suits you not even the slightest," A devious chuckle echoed around him. "Oh my woeful warrior, smile, for it''s finally time for you to grace the world with your presence once again."

    "Wh-Agh!" As his lips quivered to speak, blood pooled into his mouth, choking him off his words.

    The alluring voice shushed him with a hiss.

    "You don''t need to speak, you simply need to listen," Through what little he could make from his dulled vision, the warrior notices a pair of glistering violet heels approaching him from a distance

    "We made a promise, remember?"

    ''A promise? What promise? I don''t remember anything!'' Not only the promise but everything of his own had already slipped through his memory.

    His eyes wander into the dark, trying to spot anything to help him make sense of the situation. However, no matter where he peered, it held nothing but eternal darkness. As the taste of blood finally dissipated from his lips, the ominous figure in the heels stood right before his eyes. The glowing heels were tipped with small spectral skulls trying to nibble on his face like a pair of rabid dogs.

    "Who are you?" He asks, his eyes crawling up her slender frame.

    "Don''t you dare, not yet at least," As those words fell into the warrior''s ears, he felt an invisible force crushing his head against the floor.

    The pain seeping through his cranium dejected his eyes downwards in an instant. ''Where the hell am I?! Who the hell is thisdy?!''

    "Ohh, it seems like your slumber has dulled your memory, but no need to fret, I''m sure you''ll remember it all when it''s necessary," she said. The phantom force over him quickly disappeared.

    His cheeks still pushed against the ground and his eyes facing her legs, a yful tail between her thighs caught his attention. Protruding from her hips it appeared long and slender with a heart-shaped tip. Now, there was no doubt in his mind about what he was dealing with.

    "Wh-what do you want from me you devil?!" With a howling screech, he yelled trying to intimidate her.

    Leaning over she brings her lips closer to his ears "Save your breath, you''re going to need it, woeful warrior," she whispers, her bountiful breasts swaying before his eyes.

    Through the edge of his vision, he catches a glimpse of her glowing red eyes. ''What kind of demon is it?'' he wondered, his head pounding with the seeping realization. Up until this point, he felt numb to the pain of his deteriorating body, but that too began to creep up on him.

    "AGH!" He screamed, his strained eyes bloodshot from the pain.

    "It seems I can''t confine you here any longer, your mortal body won''t allow it," Taking a step back, a gleeful smile appeared on her shadowed face. "Thankfully, I''ve prepared a new body for you, one that canst forever!"

    She giggles in a maniacal frenzy while her feet hysterically stomp the ground. Her voice grew louder and louder by the second until herughter came to an abrupt halt. Her eyes red directly at the man grinding his teeth as he fought the agonizing pain of losing his body.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What do you want from me?!" He heckles, his eyes filled with rage.

    "Aghnn! Don''t give me that look," She moans, biting her lips.

    Her knees squeeze together from his gaze and her hands sink between her plump thighs.

    "Unfortunately, we don''t have time for this, your body and your vessel in the real world are waiting for you," She announces,posing herself as she walks closer to him yet again.

    "What body? What vessel?" He mumbles, perplexed by the whole thing.

    "That''s right, we made a contract," Squatting down in front of him, she continued with the exnation. "Although you don''t remember it, I have it written down on paper with your mark on it, so whether you want to or not, you are going back to the real world."

    Entranced by her scent and the clear view of herced underwear, the warrior felt dazed and his mind grew fuzzy. Even the pain that he felt moments before had started to flee away, but it wasn''t just the charm of a woman that had this effect on him, and he knew it more than well.

    "The demon lord of lust...Asmodia." His eyes grew in horror as he finally recognized his captor.

    Hearing him call her by her name a faint smile appeared on Asmodia''s face.

    "It''s been so long since I''ve heard anyone utter my name," mping her cheeks between her palms, she was brimming with childlike joy. "I knew I made the right choice when I chose you to be my subordinate."

    Grabbing the man''s head in her hands, she got up to her feet and held it right in front of her face. The man''s terror continued to grow as his eyes peered straight into hers.

    "Y-your subordinate? Ne-never!" He squealed as her hands began squeezing his face.

    "The contract is already signed, you no longer have any choice." Her nails sinking into his skin drew blood from both sides. "Besides, you chose this by yourself, I never forced you. You''ve simply forgotten your promise and that''s no ground to back off from now, is it?"

    Painting everything in a sinister glow, a beam of red light glimmered behind him. Despite no longer possessing a heart, the man could still feel his blood rushing through what remained of his body.

    "At least tell me why I did this! And why don''t I remember anything?!" With an unknown fate awaiting him, he had grown restless and frantic.

    "We had amon goal, that''s why," With a yful smirk stered across her face, she continued. "Now, take care of that body, and especially that vessel. I had to wait a long time to acquire it, so make good use of him, especially his name."

    As soon as those words escaped her lips, Asmodia, the demon lord of lust hurled the head towards the red portal. Right before passing through the portal, a glimpse of her face rejuvenated some of his memory. As innocent as a maiden she appeared, but that too was part of her trickery.

    ''I remember now, I was executed for a crime. But I can''t remember what it was.''

    "Go and conquer that sullied world for me, Haruki Shin." Those were thest words Haruki heard as he was sent back to the world that had him killed.

 Chapter 2 2 - The Body And The Vessel

    ?With gritted teeth, Haruki cursed his fate. He had never felt such contempt for the masses as they surrounded him, treating his execution as mere entertainment. The poor, the rich, and even those with reddened nails hade to pelt him with stones and heckle curses at him to their heart''s content.

    ''Why did I ever choose to serve these fools?''

    "Anyst words, traitorous scum?" His axe held high, the masked executioner asked mercifully.

    Heeding no attention to the man''s words, Haruki raised his head from the guillotine and peered through the pelters.

    ''Do they not smell the corruption reeking through these stone paths? Or have their minds been rusted to a mush by their bloody conscience?''

    As his eyes leered at the witnesses, a sharp stone poked him in the eye. Groaning in pain his eyes squinted shut. Trying to cover his face, his arms reached forward, but the unforgiving chains around his wrists held them in ce.

    "AHHHHHHHHHH!" He roared, bringing the cursing and chatter to a halt.

    Once again, with blood trailing down his cheeks he red back at the fools. His mind raced with anger, not at the bystanders, but at his own miserable self. How could he have been so blind? To think, he could shepherd those doomed by ignorance, how could he make such an obvious mistake?

    "YOU! YOU! YOU! YOU FOOLS!" Grunting out loud, he looked around with bloodshot eyes." HOW?! HOW?! HOW CAN YOU BE SO BLIND?! DO YOU NOT SEE WHAT THEY''VE DONE TO YOU?! HOW MUCH THEY HUNGER FOR POWER?! FOR RICHES?! AND LAND?!"

    All the anguish and hatred confined deep inside his soul had begun spewing through his words, and yet as he looked around all he saw were bemused faces. Are they really that blind? Having unleashed his rage, he felt heavy in the throat. With teary eyes, his gaze fell down defeated. What was I even fighting for at this point? He wonders as his mind grows weary.

    ''It''s not your fault my woeful warrior,'' Aforting voice gently trailed into his mind, ''Your only mistake was presuming that these lost souls ever wanted to be saved.''

    "What?" He whispered out loud, not realizing where the voice came from.

    "Is that all traitor?" The executioner asked, seemingly unimpressed.

    Filled with horror, Haruki quickly turned his head and finally recognized the executioner''s presence.

    "So be it." Staring Haruki dead in the eyes, he pulled the axe back over his shoulders.

    "What?! Wa-" This time, however, it was the executioner who paid Haruki''s words no attention.

    And with a single swing of the axe, Haruki''s name was forever left tainted.

    Waking up from that nightmare of a memory, Haruki''s eyes were dazzled by the piercing bright sunlight. The years-long confinement in the abyssal chambers had even left adverse effects on his new body. Fighting off the pain, he finally managed to keep his eyes open. With tear-strolled cheeks, he scanned the surrounding area. With his body shadowed under swaying branches, sunlight leaked onto his face from the small crevices amongst the leaves.

    "Where am I?" He whimpered, his eyes tearing up again from the strain.

    Laying motionless under the trees, he took in his surroundings. The gentle sounds of rustling leaves and the chirping of birds nesting right over him, it all made him wonder if everything before that moment has just been a nightmarish dream.

    "Wake up now," The illusion of peace was broken by the whispering Queen of lust.

    "What do you want?" He grumbled with a snarly frown.

    "A few meters to your south the vessel I''ve prepared for you is waiting," She whispered again, her voice just as swaying asst time. "It''s best we get moving beforeplications arise."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Her voice was the only proof of her presence, but that didn''t make herpany any less of a threat. Impervious to her physical absence, Haruki could still feel Asmodia''s grasp around his neck. However, at the moment her words were of little importance to him. Instead, his mind wandered off assessing whether to believe the events of his dream or if to take them as another part of her trickery.

    His memories were what defined who he was, and without them, he felt lost. A foreigner in his own body, or at least the body Asmodia had blessed him with. Holding his hands forward, he gave them a brief look. They seemed as frail as twigs and the rest of his body was no different.

    "What''s wrong with this body?" He questioned with a scowling expression.

    "It''s your true body, one that would never rot or age like the rest of the mortals," She proudly replied.

    "You''ve turned me into a monster," Unimpressed by the impish look, Haruki spared no breath to share his dissent.

    "Monster? Not exactly¡­it seems like the memory I forced back into you was not enough motivation," A hint of  annoyance reflected in her voice, "How about you do as I say, fulfil your part of the deal, and I give you the rest of your memories back as well?"

    ''As if I have a real choice against a demon lord.'' Haruki may have lost his memories, but he still knew better than to voice his boorish thoughts about her.

    Reluctant Haruki picks himself up and begins making his way south. Moving through the dense forest he once again notices something odd about his body. Protruding from his lower back a slender tail swayed about yfully with each step. And as if that wasn''t bizarre enough, looking down on himself he noticed the tattoo-like clothes that barely covered his privates appeared to be directly infused with his skin.

    "Am I even a guy or has that changed as well?" He grunted, annoyed by the unsightly changes.

    "You''re one of my children now, you can be whatever you want to be warrior. Although it might be a bit harder for you to do so than the others," The longer they talked, the more annoyed he got at her voice trailing directly into his ears. Every time she spoke he could feel a strange chill fluttering up and down his spine.

    "From that illusion of a dream, I remembered being a guy so I''ll stick to that," Since his faith in her was near to none, being cautious of her lies was the only option he had.

    Bending down to his knees by a puddle, he red at his own reflection hoping to make sense of the senseless ordeal.

    "It wasn''t an illusion, they were your memories, the true ones. I just had to force-feed them back to you like the helpless child you are," As her neutral tone began to vanish her sense of urgency became quite apparent. "You''re wasting your time, your memories have long since corrupted by darkness. The only way to get them back is if you follow my orders," Despite Asmodia''s promise, Haruki showed no signs of softening up to her.

    "Trust a demon lord? I''d rather bite my own tongue?" He mumbled.

    ''After all, what reason do I have to live a life of servitude when I have no reason of my own to keep living?'' He pondered, contemting taking the easy way out.

    As those thoughts crossed Haruki''s mind, the grasp around his neck began to tighten. Feeling crushed under the force of her fingers, he tried wing off the phantom hands, but as he had noticed before there was nothing to be wed. Forced down to the ground, Haruki was left squirming as he desperately gasped for breath.

    "Death¡­won''t be the only thing that follows you into the afterlife, I''ll rain down an eternity of suffering on your tainted soul," Asmodia growled before releasing her grasp.

    "C-coward¡­W-why don''t you show yourself?!" He spat out, struggling to get back on his feet.

    "I wish I could teach you a lesson in person, you have no idea how much you''ve disappointed me already,"  Haruki could feel the disgust in her voice. "Where''s the rage from being betrayed by your own people? I swear that re of yours had me flowing rivers." Before Haruki could retort or evenprehend what Asmodia insinuated by thest part, a rustle through the bushes caught his attention.

    "H-help¡­help me!" While Haruki''s eyes followed the source of the voice, he could hear Asmodia chuckling to herself.

    "Your vessel is here," She whispered.

 Chapter 3 3 - The Broken Vessel

    ?The dying plea from afar drew Haruki like a suicidal moth leaping into a me. With no regard for his own safety, he was charging straight in the direction of the voice. Uncertain himself as to why he felt such an urgency to get to this stranger calling for help. Was it the inherent human desire to help the needy, or something more than that? Unfortunately, much like the rest of his memories, Haruki couldn''t remember.

    ''If that dream has any semnce to the truth, then I might be repeating the same mistake.''

    The nightmare of a dream gave him a slim idea about what could''ve led to his execution. Despite that knowledge, he continued to blindly follow the path to the stranger''s voice.

    "Then why not stop?" Asmodia asked with a curious hum.

    "Get out of my head," He grunted, jerking his hand to the side as if to move her away.

    "Mhnmm¡­I wish I could feel that, but roaming around in As is not a luxury I can afford at the mo-" Abruptly breaking her own words, Asmodia let out a mischievous giggle, "We''re here, I can''t wait for you to take over him."

    Her choice of words piqued Haruki''s curiosity, but before pushing for an answer, he decided to help this person. After passing through thest pair of bushes, he came to an atypical opening in the forest. Haloed under the sunlight, a tall tree stood in the middle. Canopied under its shade was a wounded young boy, panting restlessly.

    "What happened to him?" Haruki charged in his direction.

    As he made his way over to him, the phantom grip tightened around his neck once again. That change in force let him know of Asmodia''s disapproval, and yet he kept moving. Kneeling down by his wounded body, Haruki held up the boy''s head to try and keep him awake.

    "Can you hear me?" Gently sliding his eyelids upwards, Haruki noticed slight moment in his bloodshot eyes. "He''s alive."

    A trail of blood seeping through his silver hair had dyed his clothes in a crimson mess. He may have been alive, but the open wounds gushing out blood weren''t far from changing that any moment.

    "Don''t worry yourself over a dead child, you must simply take over his body so we can use his influence," Ignoring Asmodia''s words, Haruki ruffled through his clothes trying to get a better look at the wounds. However, as he tried to take his shirt off, it got stuck on a broken piece of an arrow protruding from his stomach.

    "Agh! Stop!" The boy cried, grabbing Haruki''s hand, "Please, don''t kill me." His teary eyes looked straight into Haruki''s eyes.

    "I¡­I''m trying to help, don''t worry," Drawing his hand away from him, Haruki tried to let him know that he wasn''t a threat.

    And yet his demonic appearance only fueled the boy''s anxiety. Taking a terrified look at Haruki, the boy''s whole body jerked away. With his heart gripped with crippling fear, he powered through the pain and started crawling away from the demon in front of him.

    "G-go away! I-I need to get to¡­my fath-ahhh!" Flipping right over the wound, the boy screamed in agony.

    "Wait! T-this isn''t wh-"

    "Shut up!" Commanded Asmodia.

    Haruki''s lips shut themselves closed as he tried to voice his thoughts, but Asmodia''smand on his body was more absolute than his own. ncing back at the boy, Haruki noticed a crimson-glinted arrow tip protruding from his back.

    ''Curse you demon!''

    Rushing towards him, Haruki''s hands instinctively reached out to remove the bloody thing. But in the nick of time, he realized what a foolish mistake that would''ve been.

    ''He''ll bleed to death if I take out this damned arrow, who the hell did this to him anyway?!''

    Enraged by theck of options, Haruki''s teeth dug deep into his lips, and with his fists clenched up in frustration he cursed his own ipetence.

    ''What the hell should I do?''

    As the boy continued to draw his dying breaths, Haruki shut his eyes closed in hopes of finding an answer.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "He''s fated to die warrior, there''s nothing to be done about it," Asmodia''s whispers shattered his chain of thought, leaving behind a bitter frown over his forehead, "Possess him, and soon you''ll have everything that you''ve lost. Your memories, your revenge, and if you keep following mymand, then maybe one day this whole kingdom will be yours."

    "Unless you have a way to save him, you better keep your trap shut!" He growled.

    There was no way he would simply let the boy die. Even if he had lost all his memories, he still possessed a conscience branded with purity. Following his rebuttal, a dreadful silence took over his surroundings. Struck with deafening stillness the world itself seemed threatened. Horrified by the sudden change, Haruki''s eyes wandered restlessly for an answer, and that''s when his eyes locked onto a stagnant leaf floating in mid-air.

    ''Time maniption?! No way¡­is this an illusion as well?''

    While trying to reason with his current reality, a crimson portal sprang up beside him. Having passed through one such portal himself, he knew exactly what was happening. Breaking the stillness, a hand elegantly crawled out of it.

    "You''ve rebelled enough," Her voice echoed throughout the motionless forest. "And like any rebellious child, you must be punished."

    Finally walking out of the portalpletely, Asmodia revealed herself in front of Haruki. Unlike in her domain, she appeared as a mere blob of violet mist that barely resembled her real body.

    "I wanted to give you a bit more freedom, but since you desire to be restrained by those pesky morals, I''ll have to punish you for going against my orders," Moving right behind him, Asmodia grabs Haruki by the shoulders. "You''ve disappointed me enough, so prove your worth or be forever bound to his body."

    As those words trailed into Haruki''s ears, he felt as if he had been thrown into an inferno. His lips quivered to scream, but constrained by Asmodia''s presence the only thing he could move was his nervous and jittery eyes.

    "Wh-What AGH!" He finally uttered as the leaves began to fall again.

    In a matter of seconds, the forest chirped up with life and the colors of the world rejuvenated their beauty. However, for Haruki, the only thing the flow of time brought back was the immense pain of burning alive.

    "STOPP! AGHHH!" With the fiery pain seeping through his head, he clenched up his teeth to drown his own suffering. "I''LL KILL YOU,  YOU MONSTER!"

    Hurdled up on the ground, his whole body recoiled inwards. His skin felt charred with moltenva, and so did the rest of his body.

    "St-stay a-way¡­" The boy whimpered, still trying to crawl away from him.

    The insufferable pain made him forget all about the boy. So much so, that his eyes contorted in anger when he heard his voice again. ring at him, he remembered what he was trying to do before Asmodia had butted in.

    "N-NO! Wa-wait!" He requested, his hand reaching outwards.

    Grabbing onto the boy''s ankles he was freed from the fiery sensation of burning. As if hurled back into the abyss, his vision turned an unsettling dark.

    "There you go, was it so hard to possess him?  Now, go on and make good use of him," She tried holding it back, but a gleeful giggle slipped in regardless. "And remember, you must prove your worth to earn my favour from this point forward."

    Haruki felt a light tap on his forehead before his consciousness flew into yet another body. Like passing through a dark tunnel anding out to a bright scene, he felt blinded for a moment before realizing what great peril he''d be swept into.

    ''Another new body? I wonder what happened to the boy.''

    Taking a brief look around, Haruki found himself in the same ce as before. The only anomaly was that his demonic body was now fused with the wounded boy. Although the pain from the wounds was severe, it was nothingpared to what he had been through.

    "I need to find a way to patch myself up," Applying pressure to the wound, he started straggling in the direction the boy had tried crawling.

    ''I''m sorry for whatever happened to you, I''ll at least try to fix your body.''

 Chapter 4 4 - Where Everything Begins

    ?Unbeknownst to the events that followed his copse at the town''s gate, Haruki iled around on a king-size bed, sleeping soundly as he recovered from severe loss of blood. Watching over him was a demi-human maid seated on a stool at the edge of the bed. Alone with him in the moonlit room, she gets up from her seat to periodically check on his condition.

    "Lord As, please make him well again," With long fluffy fox earsying downcast, she gives out a prayer to hasten his recovery.

    Drawing theted curtains around the beds, she starts making her way out of the expansive bedroom. However, just as her fingers wrapped around the door''s handle, her heart fiddled in a mncholic rhythm. Gazing back at him, a hopeless longing lingers in her eyes. Clenching her hands over her heaving breasts, she makes her way back to him with hushed steps.

    "I''ll be back soon, Master Snow," She mumbles, leaning over and nting a gentle kiss on his forehead.

    Not long after as she left the room, a warm blush had taken over her lush cheeks. Soon after the exchange, Haruki woke up to find himself in an unfamiliar bed. Thest thing he saw before fainting was a beam of blinding light that dazzled his senses. Thus when he noticed the sudden change in scenery he felt more than a bit addled.  And yet, with little to no strength left in him, he simplyzed about in bed, wondering if he was still dreaming.

    ''Is this an illusion again?'' He pondered, curiously.

    After what he''s been through the line between reality and illusion felt near to non-existent. Trying not to strain his head, he decided to assess the situation with caution. Pulling himself up, he sat down looking at the open windows. Curtains of silk were bound together, revealing a clear view of a distant valley of mountains.

    "Where the hell is this ce?" Slipping out of bed, he took a quick look out the window.

    As far as the eyes could see, he was surrounded by a tundra of mountains. ncing under his nose, he realized how high up he was. The mere scale of the structure let him know that it was some sort of castle. Scanning a bit higher he also noticed flourishing viges brimming with greenery andmerce.

    ''What town is this? And why the hell am I in this ce?''

    Moving away from the windows, he paced about restlessly as his mind strained itself for an answer. While making his way through that arduous forest, he could feel mild pain seeping through him at first, but the more time went on the worse his condition had gotten. That is until he heard rampant chatter bustling in a certain direction. Feeling thrilled to finally meet someone who can help, he charged headfirst through the bushes in that direction. However,  as soon as he passed through thest bush in front, he fell victim to an untimely slumber. The exhaustion from losing considerable amounts of blood had finally taken a severe toll on his body.

    Holding his hand to his eyes, he took a brief look at his pale hands. Once again, he was reminded of what happened in the forest and how he was forced to possess the wounded boy. Standing in front of the dressing table he took a thoughtful look at his new body.

    ''I really took over him, didn''t I?''

    Pinching his cheeks, he hoped to wake up from the nightmare. Unsurprisingly, it didn''t work. Huffing out a tired sigh, he started unbuttoning the shirt to get a better look at the wound. To his surprise, the deep wound passing through his body was nowpletely gone. Not even a scar had been left behind, leaving him baffled as to what really happened while he was unconscious.

    "I''m not even going to question this stuff anymore," He mumbled before putting the shirt back on.

    ''I should probably look around to find out where I am.''

    Concluding that someone might have intentionally brought him into the castle, he decided to explore the ce and potentially find someone who can answer his questions. Looking back at it, from the way Asmodia spoke of the boy it was quite clear that he was someone important. The only thing left for Haruki to find out was what exactly was his role in whatever n Asmodia had for them.

    "Is anyone there?" Exiting into the deste passage, he called out to anyone present.

    But the only reply he got was his own voice echoing down the path. As soon as he stepped out of the door, he was awestruck by the adornment on the walls. Drawn towards the oil paintings, his heart ached for a touch. Even the pirs that seemed to be made from clear ice, had deep gold carvings crawling spiralling upwards. Despite the apparent cial theme of the whole ce, somehow Haruki had missed it entirely so far.

    ''It feels so cold out here, does a frost dragon live here? No wonder they gave me those thick nkets.''

    Moving along the path, he ran into a maid just exiting one of the rooms. He tried calling out to her, but as soon as their eyes met, her whole body shuddered in shock. Unsure what it meant, Haruki decided not to rush towards her like he had done while interacting with Snow.

    "I need to tell the others!" She announced before rushing off in the opposite direction.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What? Wait!" Even before those words left his mouth, it was already toote to stop her. "Did I scare her?"

    Making his way forward again, he came by a flight of stairs spiralling downwards. Descending down on them, he noticed many extravagant disy pieces showcased over the walls of each floor. One such piece especially caught his attention. It was a massive dragon-shaped crest looming over one of the many gigantic doors in the castle.

    ''I wonder what''s there.''

    Although curious, he decided to chase his curiosity some other time. Instead, as he reached the ground floor, he headed straight toward the main entrance. Even as he made his way there, he often found himself infatuated by the illustrious beauty of the mansion. The castle of ice held not only luster but was also adorned with the brief history of its generational owners.

    "Finally, some fresh air," Walking into the open garden, Haruki took a deep breath.

    The air, although chilly, felt rejuvenating. It made him forget the incidents that have led him to this ce. Strolling along the stone paths, he admired the lush green bushes. Taking a swift whiff of the tulips he tried to keep his mind off the tension building up inside his head.

    "Master Snow!" A worried voice as sweet as honey called out to him.

    ''It''s never so simple, is it?  As for the name ''Snow''? Is that the guy whose body I''m in?'' He gave it a quick thought before turning to address the person calling for Snow.

    Before he could even see who was calling for Snow, a demi-human girl wraps him up in a hug. Her hands squeezed him so tightly, that he could feel her heart pounding through her bosom. Beating right beside hers, Haruki could feel his own heart beginning to match her soothing rhythm. Somehow, even without seeing her face, he knew she was the one taking care of him while he slept.

    "I was so worried,'' She whimpered as her tears flowed down his shoulder.

    "I-I¡­" Having calmed down a little, his manly instincts began to kick in.

    With each huff of her breath, he could feel her breasts pressing against him. Not to mention, her fluffy tail flopping about happily made herced underwear quite clearly visible. The worst part of it all was Snow''s body seemed extremely entranced by it. Even though Haruki tried to push her off, he couldn''t lift a single finger.

    "We thought you died," Peering up at him with puppy eyes, Asuka got to her toes and kissed Haruki on the cheek. "I''m d you''re back master¡­wait no, I''m d you''re back, young duke of Laria."

    Like many times in the past few days, Haruki felt shocked, uncertain, and even somewhat afraid.

    ''Duke of Laria? This kid is a duke?!''

    Taking a step back, Asuka''s eyes shied away from Haruki. And taking a single look at her gave him some idea why. Dressed in the attire of a maid, if this kid was truly a duke then whoever this girl was had made a grave mistake kissing him in such an abrupt fashion.

    "I''m sorry, I¡­I just got excited seeing the young master after so long," With her hands folded over her skirt, her body nervously swayed side by side. "But, I hope you''d still allow me to work as your personal maid."

    Haruki tried not to be taken by her womanly features, but that attempt was doomed to fail. However, reminding himself that he wasn''t who she thought he was, he guilted himself into surrendering those perverse feelings.

    ''I hope it was him standing in front of you, but revealing the truth would only make me seem insane. For now, I just want to look for some answers.''

    "Sure, I''ll be in your care," With that reply, he knew there was no going back.

 Chapter 5 5 - Rose Ironfrost

    ?After about an hour of chatter, trying to squeeze out all the information he could, Haruki finally had some idea about the situation he was in.

    "We really thought those bandits killed you on your way home from the Royal Academy," Saying that Asuka''s eyes nervously squinted. She was obviously disturbed by the thought.

    Through their chatter, Haruki learned that the demi-human fox girl in front of him happened to be Snow''s personal maid since their childhoods. But somehow, a hint of strange chemistry resonated from the way she interacted with him, almost as if they had a deeper bond than that of a servant and master.

    "What am I saying?" Squeezing her own cheeks, she looks back at him with a cheery smile. "We''re just d you''re back, young master."

    Seated on a table inside the patio, they have both been served a steaming cup of tea. Reaching for the cup, Haruki brought it closer to his lips and took in its sweet fragrance. The odour alone soothed his mind, and a single sip of the delectable nectar left him defeated. For once in a long time, he found himself beaming a warm smile.

    "About the duke thin-"

    "I''m sorry," She interjected before he could finish the sentence. "Master Leonard¡­your father has already been rested in the royal cemetery."

    "I-I see," he replied, unsure what else to say.

    ''I remember Snow mentioning his father, but he never got to finish what he was trying to say. And now¡­he''s dead as well, I guess that''s the cruelty of life.''

    Looking back at Asuka, his eyes were distracted by her perky fox ears. Protruding from her dense blonde hair, it almost made them look cosmetic, and yet their lively movements along with the rest of her body cleared up that misconception. So far, Haruki had tried not to be too taken too much by her appearance, but ever so often he found himself staring at her with his eyes glistening in amazement.

    "Master?" She mumbled, shattering his train of thought.

    Leaning towards him over the table, she checked his temperature with the back of her hands. While doing so, the top of her bountiful bosomy nearly bare inches from his face. And as the alluring odour of her body trailed into his nostril he could feel his heart soaring like never before. His eyes moved in a jittering motion trying to shy away from her voluptuous assets, and yet his body refused to listen, almost as if someone else had taken a hold of his eyes.

    "You might still need some rest master," Leaning back into her chair, she held her index pointing towards Haruki. "I may have healed your wound with my ability, but you''re still going to need proper rest."

    ''Of course, a maid to a noble heir was bound to have some magical abilities.''

    With one less mystery left to solve, the only thing on Haruki''s mind was knowing how he got here. Still panting restlessly after witnessing the raunchy sight, Haruki tried to soothe his nerves by taking a few sips from the cup.

    "Asuka, how did I get back home?" Resting the cup on the table, Haruki squeezed a smile on his face. "Thest thing I remember is fainting on the outskirts."

    "The guards!" She eximed, overjoyed by the deration. "The town''s guards noticed you by the gates and brought you here, the whole town''s been singing their praises since!"

    "Is that s-ahh!" As if his heart''s been grappled by a demon, Snow''s body squeezed inwards in agony.

    "Master, are you okay?" Asuka questioned, slowly grazing his head with her fingers.

    "I-ugh¡­" Haruki''s mind drifted to the subconscious as his vision began turning grey.

    "Master?!" Asuka whimpered as she prevented him from falling from the chair. " re?! Marylyn?! Someone get here quickly! Master fainted!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Calling out to the gardeners, Asuka stayed with her master until they arrived to help.

    ***

    "What happened? I thought you''ve healed the young master sufficiently?" The head maid, Rose was fuming in anger. "Do you have any idea what would happen if his condition gets worse under our supervision?!"

    Pacing all over the kitchen floor, her heels let out a sharp nk, warning all the other maids to keep up with their assigned duties. Unlike the others, she wasn''t young, nor efficient in housework herself, instead, she possessed a skill the other maids could only dream of.

    "In my many years in the infantry, I''ve never let a single one of my men fall ill, much less faint, and yet here we are failing to keep the hope of this kingdom from falling from his chair!" She growled, looking down at Asuka.

    The height difference alone made her look like a giant, and having her tower over you as she lectures you over a mistake, was enough fuel for a lifetime of nightmares. Especially amongst the maid she was so fiercely feared, that it had deemed her the title of the ''hot-headed maiden''.

    "I¡­I don''t know what happened! I checked the tea too, it was fine!" Asuka pleaded, straining her neck to look up at her.

    Noticing the tear marks flowing down her cheeks, Rose closed her eyes to try and suppress her anger. When that failed to work she drew a deep breath, while the other maids looked at her in terror.

    "Do not, make excuses," Despite all that her tone remained unchanged. "I''ve taken care of a young master long before sir Leonard took you in, child. I know how hard it can be to keep him well, but that is, again, no excuse for negligence."

    Clenching her teeth, she kept looking down on Asuka with her dreadful silver eyes. To her, the young master was like a child of her own, and seeing him in pain made her heart bleed a bloody crimson.

    "I''ll¡­" Asuka hissed as tears began to flow down her cheeks. "I''ll do better."

    Seeing her cry, Rose knew she had gone a bit too far. Huffing at the sight, she gently ced her hand on Asuka and patted her head in a swiping motion. The feeling of her fluffy ears brushing against her palm, made Rose feel a bit calmer herself.

    "Your ability to heal is why sir Leonard made you young master''s caretaker, take good care of him."  Kneeling down, she smiled warmly looking at Asuka. "He already gets sick a lot, we don''t want him to suffer more than he already does."

    The gentle look in Rose''s eyes helped Asuka drive away the tears. Forcing a smile herself, her lips quivered to give Rose a reply.

    "O-Okay¡­I''ll try my best."

    For the rest of the day, Asuka kept watch over Snow as he slept. It wasn''t until the evening that she left to take a quick bath, but that separation didn''tst long either. Returning to him with dinner in hand, Asuka stayed seated on the bedside stool, waiting for the end of her master''s slumber. However, the night was unforgiving and so by the time Haruki finally woke up, Asuka had long been dozing off.

    "Back here, huh?" He mumbled, staring at the beauty at the edge of the bed.

    "Yeah, I guess so," An unfamiliar voice replied.

    ''Asmodia?'' He thought.

    "No," it replied.

 Chapter 6 6 - The Young Duke Of Laria

    ?Perplexed by the voice, Haruki picked himself up on the bed and sat upright. Looking around he tried to spot the source, not realizing that it came from his own head.

    "It''s me, Snow Frost," The voice revealed in a mellow tone.

    ''Am I talking to a ghost? I''m tired of illusions.''

    "Why should I believe you?" His caution wasn''t unfounded as the queen of illusions often whispered into his ears.

    A moment of silence filled the moonlit room. The dreamy state of Haruki''s mind made him wonder if he was stuck in some kind of nightmare or if it was yet another trick Asmodia was trying to y on him.

    "I doubt anything I say can convince you, but we share the same body at the moment¡­" If a part of Snow''s soul had been preserved, Haruki felt as if he had to do something to help him. "Unfortunately, I can''t control my body at all¡­well, except for a few rare asions."

    ''If I''m a monster then¡­''

    Shutting his eyes closed, he concentrated his mind to feel one with his demonic form. What followed in a moment, left the both of them baffled. An astral skull of violet mist floated in front of their eyes, under it was a golden frame containing a list of Haruki''s abilities and stats.

    "Fuck¡­she really turned me into a monster," His eyes ring straight at his levels, he could feel the rage boiling once again. "I have a level system like a monster instead of the ranks like humans."

    ''Wait¡­how do I remember this? Shouldn''t it be part of my memory?''

    Despite the strange urrence, Snow kept his mouth shut, that is until something noteworthy caught his attention.

    "Absolute corruption, locked. Carnal curse whatever that is, and demon servant count is zero. What does it all mean?" He mumbled, sounding unsure of what to make of these abilities.

    "You''re much calmer for someone who lost control of his body," Huffing a tired sigh, Haruki stood by the open window. "Does it not scare you that a demon is in charge of your fate?"

    "After you fainted at the town''s gate, I could see through your memories, at least the ones you still remember," It took him a minute to assess his answer, but when heard out loud his behaviour made a lot more sense than what Haruki had initially thought. "You''ve been fighting her every step of the way, and if you haven''t shown up, then perhaps I would''ve died in that forest, only to be left as a carcass for monsters to feed on."

    "What about your father? Your life? How can you think this is fair?" Haruki growled under his breath, making sure not to wake up Asuka.

    "Obviously, I want something in return as well," For the first time, Snow''s voice carried a hint of anger. "I want your help to figure out who sent those bandits. They knew our exact path so I doubt it was a random assault and I won''t let those people get away with it."

    "And if we find them, then what? Also, if I agree you''d be shaking hands with a demon who''s a puppet to a demon lord. Are you really okay with that?" Haruki questioned the boy''s intentions knowing full well that if he agrees to help him then both of them will end up being Asmodia''s puppets.

    "I¡­" The confidence in Snow''s voice quickly disappeared. " Just help me find them, consider it payment for using my body." Snow''s reply was neither convincing nor intimidating, clearly he knew that his options were limited.

    Taking a brief stroll around the room, Haruki began considering his options. Between taking revenge for Snow, recovering his memory, or following themands of a demon lord, he had only one real choice.

    "I''ll help you find those people, in return I want your help recovering my memories," From the brief conversation with Asuka, he remembered her mentioning Snow being a schr. "Since your job title is a schr you should be able to figure something out, right?"

    "I can''t promise it, but I''ll try," With those final words, Snow''s voice disappeared into the void.

    Haruki tried calling out to him again, but there was no reply. Assuming that talking to him drained his energy, Haruki went back to bed. With the night growing weary, it didn''t take long for him to drift into sleep. Pushing all of his troubles to another day was the only thing he could do at the moment. However, like always, fate had some other ns.

    In his sleep, he had a dream. A dream about caring for someone presumably sick. Every day he would wake up and gather herbs and work the field only to return home to a sickly womanying in bed. One day, however, that chain broke as the woman passed away. Whatever that dream hinted at, Haruki couldn''t pick up on it, and yet as he buried her body in that dream he could feel his heart bleeding.

    "Master, please wake up! Master, we need your help!" The sound of desperation in Asuka''s voice woke Haruki up.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Noticing the troubled expression on her face, he braced for whatever news she had brought him.

    "What happened?" He yawned, stretching his arms wide.

    "Sir Michael is supposed to be here for the coronation, but!" Intertwining her fingers, her eyes nervously nced sideways. "There''s a problem at the gates, and the guards need your help resolving it."

    Thest thing Haruki had any knowledge of was diplomacy, so it was no surprise that he didn''t feel too confident about resolving any issues the town might have.

    ''I''ll help.'' Snow''s weary voice mumbled in his head.

    ''Thanks.'' Haruki felt relieved that they could converse through their thoughts.

    "What''s the problem exactly?" He asked, trying to keep up his appearance.

    A light blush took over her cheeks, as she twirled her fingers on a strand of hair. Whatever, it was, had her feeling embarrassed. And so Haruki decided to go on and check things out himself. Putting his clothes on, he had Asuka apany him to the gates. She insisted that he had some breakfast first, but Haruki wanted to get rid of any trouble before indulging in whatever leisurely feast would''ve been provided to him in the castle.

    "So what is it?" While making their way out, Asuka still refused to answer.

    "I-it''s a ve trade woman¡­" She finally revealed, right as they mounted the redwood carriage.

    The glister from luxuries all around him had begun fading away. Even the extravagant carriage lined with golden carving as well as gemstones seemed entirely prodigal. What mattered to him more was the murky direction things were heading in.

    ''One problem after the other, almost as if¡­''

    "What''s so special about this woman?" Not realizing the sternness on his face, Haruki red at Asuka.

    "She''s a known ve peddler, and who-who-whor-" She kept stuttering on the word, quite obviously not wanting to utter it for some reason.

    "Whore?" Haruki finished her sentence, but she quickly shook her head in disapproval.

    What?! Don''t make me say that word! Snowined, but Haruki brushed it off.

    "NO! She''s not a wh-who-who-" Frustrated she pressed her lips shut for a second, "She provides people with sex ves! There, I said it!"

    It didn''t take a genius to understand that the arrival of a ve trader right before a diplomat would cause a massive uproar, especially since ve trade was a punishable offense in Laria.

    ''Michael, was it? The guy who''s going to coronate me? I hope his carriage breaks a wheel so we can deal with this problem first.''

    ''I doubt that would stop sir Michael,'' Snow added.

    Surprisingly, Snow hasn''t added much to the conversation and only provided Haruki with whatever information he might need to handle the situation. At first, Haruki found it odd that he showed no interest in talking to Asuka, but then he couldn''t help wondering if he was too shy to talk to her or if there was another reason for his silence.

    "Why is this ve peddler here if ve trade is banned in our dukedom?" The frown on Haruki''s forehead had turned to curiosity.

    "She says she wants to meet you, and that you''ll know why," Asuka''s reply brought more questions than answers.

 Chapter 7 7 - Hypocrite

    ?While riding through the town''s stone-paved paths, the carriage was surrounded byymen, merchants, and even children. They cheered in an uproar at the mere sight of Snow''s familiar face.

    ''This town is saved''  some hollered, ''Guide us young lord'' the others prayed.

    "They''re all so excited to see you well, master Snow," Asuka smiled looking back at Haruki.

    However, his attention was taken by something else entirely. Gazing through the carriage windows, he had picked up on something slightly dubious. From what he''s been told, ve trade was a punishable offense in the dukedom of Laria and yet amongst the bystanders, there were many people who held onto chains binding demi-human ves.

    "If ve trade is banned, then why do we have ve in this town?" Haruki mumbled to himself.

    "M-master?" Askua''s tone clearly reflected her confusion.

    ''ve trade being banned doesn''t mean people can''t bring in their ves from other towns.'' Snow''s answer left Haruki slightly annoyed.

    ''Then what''s the point of banning the trade?'' He questioned.

    ''An outright ban is harder to implement and the people who already own ves might end up revolting.'' While Snow''s logic was sound, and yet Haruki still wasn''t convinced.

    "Never mind, I remember now," He let Askua know so as to drive her confusion away.

    The very next instant, the carriage began to slow down before haltingpletely.

    "We''re by the gates, young master," announced the coachman.

    Haruki reached for the door handle to step outside, but Asuka instinctively grabbed it before he could open it.

    "Ekk! No! I-I mean, let the guards open the door." She seemed genuinely terrified by the fact that Haruki was about to get the door himself, but giving it a brief thought he understood why she would be worried.

    "Okay," he replied and a momentter a few of the guards escorted them out of the carriage.

    "Please follow us," One of them advised as they surrounded him from all sides.

    After a nearly sessful assassination attempt, the extensive security made perfect sense. In fact, both Haruki and Snow would''ve been extremely suspicious if the security level remained unchanged.

    "There''s no need to worry about your safety master Snow, each one of these men are rank B at the minimum," The guard who seemed to be in charge of the battalion dered proudly.

    "I wish I can increase my rank from D soon," Asuka bbered, not realizing that she was speaking out loud.

    Following the guards, they finally reached the town''s gate. The whole dukedom of Laria was encased inside a mountain tundra, and thus to protect the vigers from the spine-chilling cold, they had boxed the habitable ce inside gigantic stone walls. After passing through a small gate right beside the main one, Haruki was led outside.

    There he noticed a long line of carriages dragging behind them nketed cages. And at the very front of it, was yet another carriage even more extravagant than the one Haruki had travelled in. Holding her dress up with pinched fingers, a beauty of a woman dislodged the front carriage. Her long auburn hair bounced with each step she took towards them, and her ring red eyes resembled a ripened cherry.

    Untying ace over her bountiful breasts, she heaved a relieved sigh as their weight subsided. Handing thece over to a servant following her, she stood in front of Haruki and the guards.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Are you done unting your chest?" The leader of the guards growled at her.

    "Why don''t you try chastising your body with formal clothes and tell me if you can wear them all day?" Giving him a sharp look a devilish smirk appeared on her face. "Oh wait, you''re just a guard who can''t even afford a haircut without the kingdom''s subsidy."

    "That''s enough!" Haruki interjected, or so he thought at least. "Sir Michael is supposed to be here anytime soon, I don''t wish to waste more time than I have to."

    While the words came out of his own mouth, it seemed Snow was the one talking. Somehow, after that long-winded silence, he had managed to save up enough energy to take back some control of his body.

    "Very well, young duke," She bowed, lifting her dress a bit as formality. "I''m Moriyana Malice, a generational ve trader, and I feel gratefully humbled to meet you."

    ''With ast name like malice, how can anyone trust this woman?''

    "What''s your business here? ve trade is a punishable offense in Laria," Snow replied in amanding voice.

    The woman seemed unaffected and simply returned a smile directed at him. Turning around, she held her right arm directed towards the cages.

    "I know, young duke, however, my ves are tired from a long journey and they are in desperate need of respite," Turning to Snow once again, she kept up the facade of innocence. "You wouldn''t turn them away now, would you? Some of these ves are a lot younger than your own."

    Saying thatst part, her vision shifted toward Asuka. Just from those words, Haruki could feel Snow''s blood steaming from anger.

    "Move along," He replied with a deep frown on his face.

    "You''d be signing the death of at least a dozen of mymodities," The smile on her face faded in an instant. "Or is that something you can''t care less about? You know, just the way your father did."

    The guards drew their swords and held them to her neck. As if it was a regr urrence to her she rolled her eyes before brushing off the des with the back of her hand.

    "Your inaction is your biggest crime, banning ve trade in your territory while knowingly ignoring everywhere else doesn''t make you a moral person," Squinting her eyes, she red at Snow with her razor-sharp gaze.

    "I couldn''t care less for the words of a criminal," Snow shot back trying to shoo her away.

    ''Why not let them in? If they really will die, then what''s stopping you?'' Haruki''s question to Snow was left unanswered.

    "You really wanna know?" replied Moriyana, leaving both Haruki and Snow in a state of shock.

    Holding her hand in front of him, Moriyana offered Snow a handshake. The twist in the conversation confused the guards. And when Haruki tried to shake her hand, he realized that Snow''s influence over the body seemed to have taken over.

    ''What the hell are you doing?!'' Haruki''s consciousness began to float away.

    ''I''m not a hypocrite, I''m not, I''m not, I''m not, I''m not!'' Snow''s reply left Haruki dumbfounded.

    "Very well then," As soon as those words trailed out of her lips, Haruki''s mindpletely slipped away. The veryst thing he felt before disappearing was Moriyana'' s fingers wrapping around his fist. "Let me show you, your purpose, your memories, the reason for your hate, and the desire for revenge. Don''t you wanna know, oh woeful warrior?"

 Chapter 8 8 - A Garden Of Memories

    ?"It''s been a while since I''ve done this, let''s hope it works," The voice trailing into Haruki''s ears woke him up from a deep slumber.

    Through his muddled vision, he noticed a hand extending towards him. Reaching out to this stranger, he propped himself on his feet. As his vision began to clear up, he was met with the familiar face of Moriyana Malice.

    "What''s happening?" He asked, perplexed by his strange whereabouts.

    "In your memories," Grabbing his hand, she guided him further, "The contract disavows the mistress of lust to harm you in any way, be it physical or emotional."

    "Who are you really? And why are you telling me this?" At this point in time, Haruki''s patience has run dry. The constant plunging into the unknown only to be spat out without any answers, would''ve had that effect on anyone.

    "I''m one of your kind, your true kind, Haruki, and as for yourter question¡­" Passing through a meadow of tulips, Moriyana stopped in her tracks upon reaching a barren field. "I''m your guide through these memories since the mistress can''t go against the terms of the contract."

    "What does any of this even mean?!" He yelled, jerking his hand out of his grip. "The hell are you talking about?! Who the hel-"

    Haruki''s words strayed away as Moriyana directed him toward a grave. The head of the deceased slightly poking out, left Haruki in a horrid sense of despair.

    "Remember who that is?" Moriyana mumbled.

    "M-mother? No¡­no¡­nonono," The face of histe mother drove him to tears. Falling down to his knees his heartbeat began to soar. "No¡­she''s, how?"

    "The pain you feel at the moment is the reason the mistress couldn''t apany you here, but I suppose that''s irrelevant to you at the moment." Snapping her fingers, Moriyana changed the scenery around them in an instant.

    Realizing what had happened, Haruki looks around to find himself in a military base. The very first thing that caught his attention was a burly man with almond hair fencing with an armoured instructor.

    "Where are we now?" Getting back up, he turned to Moriyana.

    "Visiting the most influential memories of your life, don''t worry, even if you don''t want to look, I''ll force feed them back into you once we''re done with this hell," Somehow her reply made even less sense than he''d expected.

    "Then why are we even here? Why not just do it?!" Heined growling at her.

    "I can, but mistresses promised you a punishment, remember?" Her words were followed by a scream from one of the men fencing together.

    Haruki looked back at them wondering what had happened. Having defeated the man on the ground, the instructor was offering him a hand to get back up.

    "You''ve improved a lot sincest time Haruki," The instructormended.

    "I''m nowhere close to you Sir Michael," The man replied, taking his hand to get off of the dirt.

    Before Haruki even got a moment to process the information, Moriyana snapped her fingers to change the scenery once again. Still trying to piece together what he had heard, Haruki looked on in horror through thin air.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Was that me? Before all this?" Slowly turning to Moriyana, he was desperate for an answer.

    "It sure was, fencing with the biggest hurdle to our ns," cing her fingers by her lips, she gestured him to shut up. "Watch what happens next."

    Standingpletely still in a dark forest, something passed right over their head. Haruki scanned for whatever it may have been, but it was too swift to be caught by the naked eyes.

    Moriyana grabbed his hand again and started moving towards a clearing. There they ran into a rowdy bunch of bandits, drinking as they feasted their eyes on the spoils from their plunder.

    A bit further back was a lit-up carriage that highlighted the presence of two people inside it. One a man, the other an unfortunate woman desperately howling for help. The instinct rooted deep inside Haruki red up at the deplorable sight.

    "We need to help her," He said through muffled breaths.

    Her suffering pained his heart to the point of physical abhorrence towards the bandits.

    "You did help her, but yourpanions had some other ns," Saying that she blinked twice and time began to pass in a rush.

    As swiftly as the wind a group of imperial soldiers assassinated the drunken bandits. One of which happened to be Haruki himself. However, as the leader of the battalion went into the carriage to kill the man inside, something horrific unfolded before Haruki''s eyes.

    "He raped her too," Moriyana revealed as the light flickering inside the carriage painted a horrific picture.

    Even as Haruki''s past self tried to intervene, he was quickly shot down by the other two soldiers. When he kept trying to get them off of him to help the girl, the female mage of the battalion restrained him with vines of fire through her magic.

    "What the fuck are these monsters doing?!" He screamed right before the leader''s silhouette drove a sword through the unfortunate victim. "How can there be such monsters amongst the royal guards?!"

    "It''s quite simple really, the girl inside isn''t a human. She''s one of the shunned, that is to say, a demi-human girl," Moriyana'' s tone had grown a bit dreamy, almost as if she was tired from the whole thing. "Do you wish to keep going? Or is that enough punishment?"

    "What happens next?" Shattered by what he had witnessed, Haruki felt repulsed by whatever misery was waiting for him.

    "More deaths, more lies, more corruption, more wars, and eventually having it all med on you simply for the convenience of clearing a noble''s name," Looking down straight into Haruki''s eyes, Moriyana broke into a giggling smile. "Why don''t I show you something more interesting? Something that''ll refuel that burning rage you once had?"

    "What do you mean?" He couldn''t fathom what kind of torture this monster had in store for him.

    "That boy, Snow, was it? Do you know who he is? Who he really is?" Her gaze turned a grueling crimson while she stared right into Haruki''s soul. "Let me show you why you can never trust royalties."

    With a soul-gutting cackle, she snapped her fingers, changing the scene once again.

 Chapter 9 9 - On The Path To Be A Monster

    ?Right in front of his eyes, a revolting scene unfolded itself. Haruki couldn''t believe what he was witnessing and his heart began to bleed for the victim. Back in the castle bedroom, he was watching over Snow forcing himself on Asuka. Her lifeless body was a clear indication of some foul y by the young schr.

    "You''re ying a trick," Haruki revolted, grabbing Moriyana by the cor.

    "Hmm? You think so? Why don''t you ask him directly?" Raising her eyebrows, she nced over Haruki''s shoulder.

    Letting go of her, he turned around to follow her gaze. That''s when he saw Snow halting his assault as he pulled his hair in frustration.

    "I''m not a hypocrite, I''m not, I''m not, I love her! She''s not like other ves!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to justify the crime he had justmitted. "I don''t need any more of these ves, we don''t need any other ve in this kingdom...we don''t, no we don''t, I don''t want anyone to experience the same love I have for you!"

    "Snow Frost, the young duke of Laria, and a crazed romantic just like his father," Stepping forward, Moriyana made her way towards him. "Say Haruki, do you still wish to keep this monster alive? Tell me, would you have saved him if you knew about his crimes?"

    "Why would I trust you? I have just as few reasons to trust you as I have for him," Lies had made Haruki quite cautious, and that realization impressed Moriyana enough to smile.

    "I suppose that''s true," She snapped her fingers again, but nothing happened.

    Haruki felt dumbfounded by theck of change, however, that confusion didn''tst long. ncing over to Snow, he noticed him acting strange. He had flopped onto Asuka''s body before slowly rising up again.

    "What the hell?" He bbered, supporting his head with his hands. "Where am I-"

    His voice broke as soon as he noticed Moriyana and Haruki ring directly at him. Turning to Asuka''sying lifeless on the bed, his whole body jerked back in shock before ncing back at the bystanders present.

    "Ask him, nobody can lie in this alteration of reality, not me or even the mistress,"  Moving closer to Snow, Moriyana puffed her breasts out.

    For a brief moment, Snow''s eyes red directly at her chest before shied away just as quickly.

    "Did you look at my breasts just now?" Asking him that question, she turned his head towards her with her fingers. " Come on, answer me."

    "No, I  did-" His lie was cut short by a pair of phantom hands squeezing his throat. Struggling to breathe he tried to get them off himself, but when that failed to work his answer changed the very next instance. "Yes! I did! Stop!"

    The hands disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Haruki''s trust in Moriyana was dwindling, and yet the scene that had unfolded moments before made him much more suspicious of Snow.

    "I thought you two liked each other," Making his way closer to him, a deep frown appeared on Haruki''s face.

    "We do! I swear we do!" The hands appeared around his throat again, showcasing just how much of a liar he really was. "Wait! I''m not lying! Trust me Haruki! Are you really going to trust this monster over me?!"

    Flooding into Haruki''s mind were the countless instances of corruption by nobles in his life. Driven to wonder if Moriyana was behind the sudden retrieval of memories, he turned to her looking for answers.

    "Are you a human?" He asked, already knowing the answer.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    And to show that she wasn''t tricking him like Snow she purposefully gave him a false answer.

    "I am," The same pair of hands began to squeeze her throat. "Does that relieve your suspicion?"

    "These memories I have now, are they real?" With a piercing gaze, he red at her.

    "What the hell are you two talking about?!" Snow interjected only to be ignored by the two.

    "As real as the grave of your mother," With that reply, the hands around her neck disappeared into thin air.

    ''Why have I been fighting against this power? These memories...they''re all so abhorrent. All I ever wanted to do was help those in need. Then why? Why didn''t they listen to my pleas as I was executed in broad daylight? Why was I subjugated to the self-serving orders of the royals?''

    "Haruki, you have to trust me, you can''t let a demon tell you what to do!" The desperation in Snow''s voice only enraged Haruki more.

    "Seems like you''ve woken up, woeful warrior, ahaha!" Moriyana chuckled, followed soon by Haruki''s hystericalugh.

    "Ahaha! What fool have I been, trying to shepherd those doomed by their own ignorance," Pacing about biting his nails, a sinister smile beamed eye to eye over his face. "I should''ve just listened to her and let you die."

    "No...you can''t do this," Snow whimpered, taking a step back.

    Haruki''s gaze petrified Snow in his tracks. He could see a monster in his eyes, a monster who has been slumbering for a long time, but now, it was time for it to feast and he was the first meal offered to him. Trying to escape he leapt for the door, however as soon as he stepped outside, he found himself back in the room standing right beside the bed.

    "Haaa" Moriyana let out a sigh, both amused and disappointed by his attempt. "There''s no escaping this ce, not until we''re done with the tour at least."

    Shifting her attention to Haruki, she gave him an impish smile. The very next moment Haruki''s body transformed back into his demonic form. With a yful tail swaying about, he made his way closer to Snow shivering in terror. Somehow, Haruki knew what he needed to do.

    "It''s been a while since I used magic, it doesn''t seem like I can use fire magic like before, but..." Licking his own lips, he mped his hands around Snow''s face. "I think I prefer dark magic anyway."

    Pressing his thumbs against Snow''s eyes, he kept pushing them as further in as he could. While Snow howled in agony and his body writhed from the excruciating pain, Haruki''s lips began to quiver for augh. Torturing Snow excited him in so many ways that it couldn''t be described.

    "AGHHHH! STOP! LET ME GO! I-I-WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN! I''LL LISTEN TO EVER-THING YOU SAY!" The only reply Haruki had for Snow''s screams was an unhinged maniacalugh.

    ''Absolute depravity: unlocked'' In response to the torture, that announcement ran inside Haruki''s head.

    "Disappear you monster, ''Soul devour''," The first ever skill he used in his second chance at life, set him on the path to be the most heinous monster.

 Chapter 10 10 - Where Ruin Begins

    ?"Let her in," Announcing to the guards, Haruki allowed Moriyana''s stay.

    Gasping confusion soared all around him. Amongst the bystanders, the guards especially were the most perplexed. However, with their authority near to none in front of the young duke, they had no choice but to keep their lips shut. Asuka on the other hand reached for Haruki''s shoulder.

    "But master Snow¡­" She mumbled, but as soon as her eyes met with his, she couldn''t bring herself to finish the sentence.

    "Would any of you rather take the me if these ves die in those cages?" Dering that question, he threw his hands wide and looked around for any volunteers.

    Unsurprisingly, no one was ready to take on such a duty. Possessing the body of a young duke along with having all of his memories restored, he felt profusely confident.

    ''I spent my days fighting against the corruption in the empire, not knowing that there was nothing left to be salvaged. The only thing left is toce every path of As with lust, envy, and corruption myself!''

    Since he couldn''t save the damned and was only shunned by them for his effort, he felt from the crux of his soul an immense desire to burn these fools to the ground.

    "I''m grateful for your generosity young duke, and I''d be happy to return the favor any time you''d need anything from me," Bowing her head, Moriyana made her way back into the carriage.

    Concluding that her presence alone was greatly valuable, he decided to keep her close as long as nobody got too suspicious. An abrupt change in the dukedom''s policy, like the presence of a prominent ve trader, was surely going to draw people''s attention.

    ''Don''t stick your head where it doesn''t belong.'' He thought, ring at Moriyana as she waved to him through the carriage window. Despite her help so far, he was reluctant on relying too much on the generosity of a subus working directly under Asmodia.

    "Keep an eye on her," he whispered to the guard standing beside him. "If she moves even so much as a finger, you better let me know."

    A bit disoriented by the sudden order, the guard looked at him nkly, unsure about what Haruki just said to him.

    "Y-yes! Yes sir!" Composing his demeanor, he pressed his fist against his heart as a salute. "I''ll take a few of mypanions and keep you informed."

    Watching the guards as they followed Moriyana''s carriage, Haruki turned around ready to head back into the castle. The treacherous stroll down a lifetime of painful memories had given him more than enough to ponder over. Distracted by his own thoughts, he hadpletely forgotten about something far more important at the moment.

    "W-what''s that?" Asuka''s eyes widened as her mouth gaped open in surprise.

    Looking over his shoulder, Haruki heard a thunderous roar screeching through the skies. It jolted him into a state of shock and forced his eyes to be closed shut. As ear piercing sound rang squeamishly in everyone''s ears a bolting thunder struck the ground right in front of them. With the earth itself quaking from the impact, whatever it was had left everyone a bit jittery in their legs.

    "Apologies Young Frost, andpanions," What hadnded shooting from the sky was not any sort of celestial object, but a man adorned in a glinted silver armor. "The convoy''s carriages ran into some issues, so I had to use other means to make it here in time."

    Fanning the dust off of his face, Haruki turned around to get a better look at the man. Encased in a pdin''s armor, his eyes gazed down at Haruki. Brushing a pair of sapphire earrings to the back he swiftly tied his lush blonde hair. His peculiar way of travel had obviously fiddled with his formal appearance, that much was abundantly clear.

    "Michael Arc, it''s an honor young Frost," Throwing out his name, he walked closer to Haruki before extending his right hand towards him. "And again, apologies for the unconventional entrance."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''Michael? My instructor andter¡­a coward.'' Haruki''s eyes were ring in anger, but noticing a concerned twitch on Michael''s face, he immediately dropped that expression.

    Shaking his hand, he put on the facade of innocence on his face.

    "Very well, it''s an honor sir, I mean¡­" unsure how to address him, Haruki red at him in confusion.

    "Michael is fine, there''s no need for a future duke to address a soldier so formally," While ncing around, his eyes caught the long file of carriages strolling down the path that went right through the front gates. "Do you have any other guests at the moment?"

    "It''s a long story, perhaps we can discuss it on our way back to the mansion?" Haruki quickly replied before gesturing to the guards to ready the carriage.

    "Of course," Although still curious, Michael agreed.

    While making their way to the carriage, Haruki''s mind wandered in thought, trying to figure out just what kind of magic or skill Michael had used to travel such a far distance. No matter how much he mulled it over, hecked the knowledge to reach any usible conclusion. Settling down in the carriage with Michael, he noticed slight pain seeping through his heart. It appeared as though simply being close to him was inflicting damage on him over time.

    "You''re quite an intriguing character Michael," With a smirk on his face, Haruki decided to press Michael for some answers.

    "I suppose so, wouldn''t be the first time I''ve heard such a remark," Laughing it off, he gazed out the carriage window. "Anyway, the carriages, what''s the story behind them?"

    Coincidently, it seemed Michael had simr ns, to push the other party for answers. Although a bit frustrated after the events of the day, Haruki began to exin to him everything about the carriages and Moriyana. Of course, he made sure to exclude any parts of the story that might make him suspicious.

    "Compassion is a virtue heralded by those burdened with great responsibility," Resting his hand over Haruki''s shoulder, Michael smiled warmly. "You will be one fine ruler, Snow Frost."

    His words may have been sweet and encouraging, however, his touch sent a feverish cold down Haruki''s body. All of a sudden his heart began to soar and his breaths grew heavier by the second.

    "Snow? Hey, are you okay?" Noticing the change in Haruki''s demeanor, Michael grabbed him by the shoulders. "Stop the carriage, and bring me that girl with healing touch!"

    Unaware of the fact that his own abilities were causing Haruki distress, Michael called for the coachman to get Asuka.

    ''Carnal curse level one activated.'' With that announcement ringing inside Haruki''s head, his condition worsened in a matter of seconds. He knew what was happening to him, after all, Moriyana had taken her sweet time exining everything about his abilities.

    ''All demons of lust suffer from this curse, and the only way to keep it from consuming your soul is to extract the essence of a human'' . Reminding himself of her words, Haruki knew he had to make a demon servant of his own. Not only to satiate his carnal lust but also to serve Asmodia and fulfill his part of the contract. That is to say, popting the world with as many lust demons as possible.

    "A-Asuka¡­" He mumbled on the verge of fainting.

    "Yes, that girl, get that Asuka girl to me!" Michael shouted out to the guards.

 Chapter 11 11 - A Brief Squabble

    ?"May the lord''s blessing soothe your soul," Holding her over Haruki''s chest, Asuka closed her eyes to give out a prayer. "In the name of ournd and our lord, healing touch!"

    A gentle beam of light sprouted through her palms. Pressing it against Haruki''s heart, Asuka braced herself, trying toplete the spell. As the light seeped through his body, Haruki''s limbs rxed on their own, and yet for some reason, a hint of stabbing pain continued to linger. The nature of the spell was such that while it healed Haruki''s human body, it also attacked his demonic soul.

    ''At least the healing is more potent than the damage it inflicts.'' Still suffering from the pain, Haruki propped himself upright and sat down on his bed.

    "Master, you shouldn''t get up," Asuka advised as concern showered down her cheeks. "What if you faint again?"

    "I''m fine," Holding her hand, Haruki gave her a genuine smile.

    In his eyes, Asuka was the only innocent person around him, and although it pained him to pretend to be her master, he took sce in knowing that she would no longer be hurt by that monster.

    "Excuse me," A voice echoed outside the room.

    "Michael, I can''t allow you near your young master at the moment," A feminine voice followed.

    There seemed to be some kind of conflict taking ce right outside the bedroom. Looking for some sort of clue, Haruki turned to Asuka, but she shook her head in confusion as well.

    "Ro-Ahem¡­Miss Rose, as the emperor''s envoy, your nopliance with me is a direct insult to the emperor''s authority!" A loud thumping sound resonates throughout the ce, it wasn''t hard to judge that things were getting a little too heated.

    "Sir Michael, it seems you''ve failed to consider Master Snow''s condition, especially since he got sick in your proximity. Perhaps you managed to spread something foul to him?" Rose retorted, her tongue as sharp as a razor. "In any case, as the only remaining holder of the Frost name, it is my duty to protect him from all and every threat."

    "Master¡­" Asuka mumbled, looking at Haruki.

    The nervous look alone told him what she wanted to say, ''we should stop them'', is what he picked up.

    "Very well then, on the emperor''s authority, I Michael Arc shall be your ju-"

    "Wait¡­let him in," Haruki hollered to the maid standing guard outside.

    ''Besides, does a maid really think she can defeat a guy like him? He''s known to chew dragons for breakfast.''

    "But master Snow, what if he gives you some sort of disease?" She replied.

    "Asuka, please talk to this maid," Tired of the stupidity, Haruki rested his head over his hands. "Reason with her while I talk to Michael, alright?"

    Seemingly confused, Asuka gave Haruki a mystified re. It made him wonder if he had done something out of character. Having just recovered from the sharp pain, his mind still didn''t feel like it was in the right ce.

    ''Dammit, I need to keep the act up.''

    "Sure, Master Snow," She replied before heading towards the door.

    Her hesitant steps outside clearly indicated that something was off. But since there was no way for him to figure it out all by himself, he decided to worry about it at ater time. Seeing Michael walking inside, Snow got off the bed and stood up to greet him properly. Besides, being bedridden around him couldn''t have been a good idea.

    "I apologize for the ruckus outside young Frost, your maids are quite persistent," Bowing his head, he let out a chuckle.

    "She''s not wrong though, I did faint in your presence, Michael," Moving his hands back, Haruki moved away from him and stood by the window. "I do not wish to be rude, but it seems the bandit attack opened a pandora''s box of disease and difort for this ce."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    With a perplexed look on his face, Michael raised his head and nced at Haruki.

    "What are you insinuating, young Frost?" He questioned,posing himself straight.

    "Once the ceremony is over¡­" Turning around, Haruki moved closer to him. "I''d advise you to be gone."

    A visible frown appeared on Michael''s face. However, it was quickly washed off by a gentle smile. Knowing his standing in the matter, he couldn''t object to Frost''s request. After all, Michael was visiting Snow''s territory and he had every right to shoo him off once the ceremony was over.

    "Very well, once my duties here conclude, I''ll be on my back to the capital," Despite the cheery smile on his face, Haruki knew that he wasn''t too pleased by the order. "Oh and before that, I came here to check on something."

    "What is it?" Haruki replied.

    "Are you done, Sir Michael? I''d prefer to keep your time with the young master to a minimum," Rose''s voice from behind the door butted in.

    "Almost, Miss Rose," He replied, continuing to re at Haruki.

    A moment of silence lingered between the men. The tension in the air was bleeding mistrust and at this point, Haruki could feel Michael''s presence affecting his body once again. The sharp pain in his chest shot back up, and yet trying to keep up appearance he bit his cheeks to keep up a straight face.

    "I can smell a curse on you, perhaps that''s the cause of your distress," Squinting his eyes, Michael''s eyes began to glow a golden glow. "Whatever it is, I can''t say for sure. It''s best you consult an expert or perhaps that ve trader that you let in town."

    "We''ll see, you can leave now," Holding his hand in the direction of the door, Haruki gestured for Michael to leave him alone.

    Visibly annoyed, Michael made his way to the door only to be met with a furious Rose holding a massive cleaver with both of her hands. Fidgeting beside her was Asuka, clearly terrified of being stuck between the two.

    "Leave," Rosemanded, flipping the cleaver to rest over her shoulder.

    "Nice toy, Roselia Ironfrost," With that said in an indifferent tone, Michael passed by the two before heading down the passage.

    With him finally gone, Haruki drew in a tired sigh of relief. Throwing himself back on the bed, he wondered how things escted so easily so far.

    ''I assume he mistook the carnal curse for something else.  Either way, I need to find a mate before the curse hits level three by the end of the week. If that happens¡­''

    While Asmodia had blessed Haruki with many unique skills, one of which happened to be the Absolute corruption system, however, that also meant he had to carry the curse that affects all demons of lust.

    "If you don''t mate with someone before carnal curse reaches level three, your very soul will turn to dust," Ramming his mind with Moriyana''s warning, he buried his head into the pillow forfort.

    "Asuka, take care of the young master now," Announcing that Rose left the two alone in the bedroom.

    ''I suppose it''s time for me to show her the truth about her master.'' Although it pained his heart to corrupt someone as innocent as her, he couldn''t keep the memories of her suffering at the hands of her master to himself any longer.

    "Asuka, can you prepare a bath for us?" Haruki asked, flipping around in bed to face her.

    "Sure master! Wait¡­U-us?!" With her hand pressed against her cheeks, her face was flushed red like a cherry from shock.

 Chapter 12 12 - Free From Suffering And Into Pleasure

    ?The steam rising off of the water had muffled the whole room in a hazy mist. Twice the size of Snow''s bedroom, the bathhouse was just as extravagant as any hall in the castle. And with dragon head fountains spilling out water into the massive bath, it was the perfect ce to enjoy some free time in leisure. However, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, Haruki was anything butfortable sharing the bath with his personal maid.

    She too had her body wrapped in a towel, and yet in an attempt to be freed, the weight of her assets tightly fought against the fabric. ncing at Asuka''s breasts squeezing upwards as they tried to burst out of the towel turned Haruki''s whole body a deep shade of red.

    "M-master, can I sit next to you?" Asuka mumbled, her twitchy lips reflecting just how nervous she was.

    "Y-yeah¡­sit," His inexperience with women was quite apparent in the staggering tone.

    As Asuka moved beside him and settled down, he quickly looked away embarrassed, but not before catching a glimpse of her plum-thick thighs brushing together. Up to this point he had tried not to dwell on her beauty, however now it was getting harder and harder with each passing second.

    "Are you okay master?" Turning sideways, she looked at him with genuine concern in her eyes, "You know, since you''ve never asked to bathe together with me before."

    Flustered by her own words, a cherry-red blush took over her face. As their eyes met in this embarrassing moment, they could hear each other''s hearts pounding like pistons. A troubled breath escaped Asuka''s lips and brushed against Haruki''s face, its intoxicating odor left him even more bewitched by her beauty.

    "Master Snow? I''m leaving your clothes in a basket," A sudden call from a maid right outside the bathhouse astonished them both in a state of panic.

    Instinctively leaping into Haruki''s arms, Asuka closed her eyes shut as her hands wrapped around him. Locked in a tight embrace, her soft body squeezed against his chest. Disoriented from the sudden warmth around him, Haruki''s eyes revolved in circles.

    "A-A-Asuka¡­" Calming himself, he grabbed Asuka by the shoulders before gently moving her off of his chest. "It''s just a maid, she probably didn''t notice we are here together."

    "Oh¡­I''m sorry," ncing up at Haruki she realized just how close she was. "I-um¡­sorry!"

    As her face turnedpletely cherry, her fluffy tail fervently iled around. Whether it was from excitement or embarrassment from what she had done, Haruki couldn''t be any less certain. The rest of their time in the bathhouse was simply spent rxing in the hot water, at one point Asuka''s head flopped over Haruki''s shoulder, but instead of waking her up, he let her enjoy her brief nap.

    "Asuka, we should get back to my room now," After having spent an exorbitant amount of time in the bath, Haruki decided to head back to his bedroom with her.

    "Mhnmm, okay master¡­" She mumbled wobbling up from her nap.

    "Thanks for making sure I didn''t faint in the bath," Haruki trickled in his excuse so she wouldn''t get suspicious.

    In reality, however, the reason why he wanted her to apany him to the bath was simply that he had never been around a naked woman. Just the thought of jumping directly into a sexual encounter was making him extremely anxious. Even now, despite Asuka having a towel wrapped around her, it still made him terribly subconscious about the situation.

    ''How am I supposed to go all the way, when I can''t even look at her for more than a second?'' With those thoughts, the two of them left the bathhouse together.

    Right as they exited into the changing room another problem presented itself.

    "I''m sorry master, I couldn''t find Asu¡­ka?" The maid waiting outside for Snow caught them bothing out of the bathroom together. "I¡­I''ll be off to my other duties!"

    "Maya wait!" Asuka called out to her, but the maid with the appearance of a demi-human cat bolted out of the ce without wasting a single second. "S-she went off¡­"

    Visibly defeated, her head hung low, contemting the kind of embarrassing rumors that would soon be floating around the castle. Haruki wasn''t free from shame either. Caressing his forehead with his hand, he felt unsure about the kind of repercussion waiting for him on his path forward.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Let''s just get dressed and head back, I feel like I''m going to faint from a headache," Picking his clothes from the basket, he turned around to face away from Asuka.

    For a brief moment, Asuka''s eyes lingered over his open back. Staring at the frail yet defined frame of Snow''s body, she found herself drawn towards him. Her hands reached forwards, inches away from touch, but pping her own cheeks, she retreated away from her true feelings for him.

    ''I can''t, I''m just a lowly maid¡­'' Deterring her from chasing her love was her own self-perception. To her, Snow was her master, and she was his ve, and that''s all there was. Nothing beyond that point was ever going to be fruitful, and in her mind, she had convinced herself of that reality.

    While on their way to Snow''s room, they noticed a few of the maids peeking out at them from every corner of the castle. The news of them going to the bath together had spread faster than wildfire, and as they finally reached the room it became much more apparent. Acting guard outside the bedroom door was Roselia Ironsfrost, the head maid of the Frost mansion. Devoid of any emotion on her face, she red at Asuka to make her disappointment known.

    "Young master, I''ve¡­" Pressing her lips shut, Rose gulped down her words. "We''ve tidied up your bedroom, you can do as you please inside. As for you Asuka, care to exin the situation?"

    Fidgeting nervously, Asuka''s eyes remained downcast. No exnation would have sufficed to justify taking a bath with her master. That is unless¡­

    "I asked her to apany me in the bath in case I fainted again," Taking charge Haruki broke the tension in the air. "Is that a problem?"

    Forcing a smile on her face, Rose looked down on Haruki. Her expression seemed mild while her intimidating aura screamed murder.

    "Of course not, young master," Clenching her fist tight, she took a long deep breath. "Go on now, do whatever you please."

    Taking a hold of Asuka''s hand, Haruki tried to walk past Rose, but with her giant arm resting on Asuka''s head he couldn''t move her a single inch.

    "I''m no fool young master, if she has taken your fancy then I have no authority to hinder anything you two do together, however!" ncing sideways towards the peaking maids, she scared them off beforepleting the sentence, "At least allow us to make her presentable."

    "I told you they were in love!" A whisper from one of the maids echoed throughout the passage.

    "Get back to your stations you morons!" Yelling out loud Rose grabbed Asuka by her arm.

    "Master?!" Asuka squealed, unsure of what was about to happen.

    ncing back one more time before leaving, Rose couldn''t help but ask.

    "Do you love her young master?" She questioned her eyes as lifeless as ever.

    Haruki knew that there was only one real answer, one that would set Asuka''s as well as his feelings free.

    "I do," he replied.

    "Then it seems your father owes me a pot of gold," Mumbling to herself, she let out an uncharacteristic chuckle as she escorted Asuka away.

 Chapter 13 13 - Love And Lust [18+]

    ?While waiting for Asuka''s return, Haruki scanned through his stats and abilities. From what he could gather it was quite clear that he was weaker than literally anyone he''s encountered throughout the castle or the town for that matter.

    "Level one¡­" He mumbled to himself ring at the spectral skull holding the screen of stats in front of his eyes. "Soul devour, isn''t there anymore, was that a one-time thing from Asmodia?"

    Many questions rose up in his mind, but with no one to turn to, he decided to simply move on from his queries. ncing a bit further down he also noticed a special screen title as the ''Absolute corruption system''. Right under it a total of three abilities were listed, mental degradation, demon servant conversion, and incubus drain.

    As he concentrated on the ability a few announcements exining the skills rang inside his head.

    ''Mental degradation, a special ability that corrupts the mind of any species and starts them on the path to depravity.'' The first announcement exined.

    ''Demon ve conversion can be used to convert humans and other species into your lust demon ves, who in turn can acquire more ves for you.'' The second announcement followed.

    ''Incubus drain, as a lust demon the only way to level up is through sexual interactions and draining the victim''s level, in addition to level drain, incubus can also copy abilities from their victims.'' With the final announcement, Haruki had a better idea of his standing as an incubus.

    "So I can''t level up through regr means¡­" Pondering over how carnal curse forces him to have sex with someone every week, he figured incubus drain wasn''t all too bad of an ability to have. "But if I want to level up, I''m gonna need a lot of servants and sexual partners."

    Realizing the fact that having sex with someone will turn them into lust demons along with the fact that the effects of carnal curse forced him to do so at least once a week, he couldn''t help but smirk at how perfectly Asmodia had trapped him in a situation where he was forced to increase the number of puppets under her hands.

    ''She wants more children so she can recover her lost strength,''  Deep in thought Haruki''s mind drifted away. ''I guess as long as I can punish every one of these corrupt bastards who serve this empire, I don''t really care what she wants me to do¡­for now, at least.''

    "M-master?" The entrance door cackled open, breaking Haruki''s chain of thoughts.

    Turning to the noise, his eyes widened in a conflicted state of shock and awe. Dressed in a transparentced gown, Asuka stood by the door with her eyes lowered and a red blush painted across her face. Slowly walking towards Haruki, her bountiful breasts jumped with each step. The movement of her hips as she moved closer, filled Haruki''s mind with lecherous thoughts. Lowering his eyes, he noticed a pair of whiteted leggings running up her legs, and as she moved even closer the sweet scent of tulips pushed him to the limits.

    "Asuk-"

    "Master!" Throwing her arms around Haruki, Asuka wrapped him in a tight hug. "I''m ready."

    Coming to terms with her feelings Asuka finally wanted to pursue her desires. So what if she was a maid? Can''t she satiate her desire for her master''s touch? Can''t she express herself in ways that nobody but he would ever get to see? In that moment with the moonlight creeping through the windows in the dimly lit room, everything she''s ever feltid bare in front of Haruki.

    "Are you su-"

    Once again before Haruki could finish his sentence, Asuka sprang up on her toes and pressed her lips against his. Despite just being a gentle peck, it broke the dam of self-restraint between the two. With his hands trailing down Asuka''s spine, Haruki let their bodies fall back over the bed. Pushing for a passionate kiss with their tongues, the weight of Asuka''s heaving chesty heavy on him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I love you, master," Asuka whimpered with teary eyes.

    Staring straight into her eyes, it took Haruki a moment to weigh his answer.

    "I love you too, but¡­" He knew he couldn''t use her like this, after all, if he let his desire take over, he''d only be dragging her through the same suffering that he felt condemned to. "Unfortunately, I can''t be yours alone, I hate that, but I can''t escape that truth."

    "Even if you have the smallest ce for me in your heart, I''ll forever be grateful to you," Smiling as tears flow down her face, Asuka let out a chuckle. "I love you and I forever will, Master Shin."

    "What?" Thest word Asuka uttered left Haruki aghast. "How do you know?"

    "The ve trader, she showed me everything," As she continued to speak her smile turned a bit ominous. "While you were traveling with Sir Michael, she approached me and showed how hurt you were when master Snow forced himself on my body."

    Unsure how to react, Harukiy motionless under her as squatted over his stomach. Reaching back she began to undo under clothes.

    ''Moriyana¡­was she trying to make things easier for me or is this another ploy of her and Asmodia''s?''

    "After seeing you like that, know for certain that you love me more than that monster," With her clothes undone, her bra fell over Haruki''s head.

    The nectar-like smell of her body continued to drive him into a deep state of arousal. Whatever Moriyana''s intentions were, he pushed them off to dissect at ater time.

    "Say, Master¡­do you still love me?" Brushing the bra off his face, she began undoing Haruki''s shirt, "I''ll do anything and everything you want me to, just keep loving me."

    As he nced up at her massive breastsyingpletely bare, the way her nipples stood excited, let Haruki know how excited she was while teasing him. However, as his eyes moved a bit further up, he noticed something sinister.

    "The same expression¡­" He mumbled as a creepy smile crawled over his face.

    With eyes wide open, and a smile stretching from eye to eye, Asuka''s obsession with him reminded Haruki of the moment when he punctured Snow''s eyes with his thumbs. It thrilled him to know there was someone else just as crazed as him, who was ready and willing to do anything to reach their goal. For him, it was his revenge and for her it was him.

    "Help me conquer this world, and I''ll foster you in my heart forever," Grabbing her arms he pulled her closer.

    "Of course, my lord," Sticking her tongue out, she pushed their lips into a kiss.

 Chapter 14 14 - Spreading The Seeds Of Depravity [18+]

    ?Coiling their tongues around each other, Haruki and Asuka showered each other with their lust. As Haruki''s hand squeezed deep into Asuka''s fleshy ass, she let out a chuckle before biting him over the neck. With his fingers sinking into her flesh like fluffy clouds, he reached further down and undid her dresspletely.

    As Haruki threw her clothes to the side, Asuka reached down on him and started unbuckling his pants. Brushing her face against Haruki''s dick over his underwear, she teased him with a seductive upward gaze.

    "Am I doing well?" She asks, slowly sliding the underwear off of his body.

    "I think so," His inexperience deterred him from appearing confident.

    Unveiling Haruki''s rock-hard penis, Asuka''s eyes locked onto it as she red at it in awe. It was her first time looking at one so up close, and it made her whole-body twitch in excitement. Gulping down her angst, she wrapped her fingers around its girth. Flustered himself, Haruki looked at her expectantly. Just her touch alone sent chilling shivers down his spine. The mere thought of her moving her hands along its length left him panting for breath.

    Gathering her courage, Asuka began moving her hand up and down in a jerking motion. Shot with a sudden burst of knee-bending sensation, Haruki''s body tensed up in response to the movement of her hands.

    "Master, does this feel good?" Asuka asked before giving the tip of his penis a gentle kiss. "Do you want me to use my mouth instead?"

    "Y-yeah" He replied, panting for breath.

    With each passing second his mind grew hazier from the intense sensation, and at this point, he no longer cared what would happen. All he cared for was to explore the deepest desires of their bodies. Sticking her tongue out Asuka ran it along the length of Haruki''s shaft, covering it in a trail of her saliva from the very bottom to the entrance at his tip. Pouting her lips, she pressed them against the top before pushing his cock further deep into her mouth.

    As the wet warmth of her inside surrounded Haruki''s shaft, he grabbed onto her head and forced it down till the very end of his cock. Trapped deep inside her throat, he could feel himself pulsing ready to bust at any moment. Asuka moaned about ready to ept his seed, but at the veryst moment, his hands took a sudden retreat.

    "Wait!" Letting go of her head, Harukiy breathless on the bed.

    His heart pounding with excitement felt ready to explode. Asuka was much the same, but the taste of Haruki''s shaft down her throat urged her to push things further. Toiling her tongue around the slimy precum left in her mouth, she gulped it down before voicing herself.

    "Did I do something wrong, master?" With her tail nervously swaying side by side, she looked at him with innocent puppy eyes.

    "No, I just wanna finish properly inside you as our first time," Taking a hold of her arms, Haruki flipped her onto the bed.

    With a positioning heart, he leaned in closer and bit her on the neck. Moving down he bit her all over before finally reaching her plentiful breasts. Squeezing her nipples between his fingers, Haruki pressed his lips against them.

    "Mhnmm! AGH!" Asuka groaned, her hands trying to push Haruki away.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Her squeaking groans only fueled his lust. It made him wanna tease her more, and let their bodies meld together. While sucking on her breasts, he let his hands glide down her body. Reaching down her stomach, he began to spread with his fingers the folds of her entrance, all the while, his other hand over her ass. Squeezing her butt once again, he positioned himself to dig deep into her body and be one with each other.

    "Master, I love you," Asuka mumbled, hugging Haruki.

    "I''m putting it in," With an approving nod from Asuka, Haruki started pushing his manhood deep into her pussy.

    "Mhmm!" Asuka squealed, strengthening her grasp around Haruki''s shoulders.

    Parting her inside, Haruki''s rock-hard penis molded her entrance into its own shape. Encased by her warmth all around, he could feel himself melting. Taking a moment to get used to the heavenly sensation, he took a deep breath while gazing into Asuka''s eyes.

    "I love you too," Following the confession, he began moving his hips.

    With each thrust, his penis dug deep into Asuka. Her body iled around from the sensation and her loud moans echoed throughout the castle. As Haruki ravaged her insides, Asuka''s nails left marks of their lovemaking scraped onto his back. Despite the blood trailing down her fingers, it couldn''t overshadow Haruki''s desire to turn her inside into a sloppy mess.

    "Agh! Master! Master! I love you! I love you! I love your dick!" No longer caring for decency she let the mask of innocencepletely fall off her face.

    "Ha¡­haa¡­f-fuck, I''ve never felt anything like this! Mhnmm!" Pumping even faster, he could feel her wet folds squeezing around his dick.

    Every time he buried himself deep into her, the very edge of her womb teased him for his seeds. Despite it being his first time with a woman, he knew what had to be done for both of them to orgasm together. Not many had such a memorable first time, but thankfully for him, matching your partner''s pace happened to be a trait of being a lust demon.

    "Master, I-I¡­I''m-Mhnmm! Cumming!" Letting out a final groan, Asuka squeezed tightly around Haruki''s arms.

    Plunging in for onest thrust, Haruki buried his head into Asuka''s beasts. Joined together at the deepest part of Asuka''s body, they both let out showers of love juiced on each other. While unloading his seed directly into her womb, he could feel Asuka''s juices flowing down his shaft before making their way down his legs.

    Laying buried between Asuka''s heaving breasts, Haruki gloated in the afterglow of the orgasmic feeling. And having finally been true to her feelings, Asuka continued to smile as she drifted into a much-needed sleep.

    ''Demon servant count¡­.one'' And with that announcement trailing into his drowsy mind, Haruki too followed Asuka into slumber.

    Unaware of a sneaky spy resting by the window, the two of them slept soundly. Watching over the passionate duo, the spy bat''s head twitched side to side as it kept its ring watch fixed especially close on Asuka. Finally, as her hair turned a striking violet, it pped its wings and flew back to its master.

 Chapter 15 15 - A Big Step Forward

    ?"Hmm? Is that so?" The dusty inn room echoed with a chuckle.

    Having just shut the windows after her pet''s return, only a dimntern illuminated the dank room. Smiling to herself, she carefully listened to the winged spy recounting everything that it had seen in the castle.

    "So he did manage to turn his first ve, huh?" Pulling on the shoulder strap of herced nightgown, she let out a suspecting hum. "I could''ve waged he would chicken out of it. But¡­I suppose even I can be wrong sometimes, or perhaps he just had some expert support." She added before brushing the strap off her body topletely unburden her strapped breasts.

    Reaching into the fruit basket resting by the study, she took out a ripe berry and held it for the palm-sized spy to feed on. Nomming on the fruit, the bat seemed content with its reward, however, as if something had just popped into its mind, it stopped all movement and looked up at Moriyana.

    "What is it?" She asked, picking up a quill from her other hand. "I have work that needs to be done, so out with it already."

    "I¡­" The bat struggled to form words but kept going, "Do-does¡­t-misstres-s, k-k-know?"

    Turning up thentern''s me, she put the berry back into the basket. Being a ve peddler she had mountains of workloadying heavily over her shoulders. Documentations of sales,piling a long list of clients, and even maintaining the curses binding the ves to their master, and that wasn''t even the half of it.

    ''Thest thing I want is more headache.''

    "I do not have time to report everything to the mistress," Picking up a feathered pen, she dipped it into the quill. "Besides, she''s grown so weary that she wastes most of her time slumbering in the abyss."

    "B-bu-but¡­"

    "Parrot¡­Stick to your station and don''t meddle where you don''t need to," ring at the bat, she forced on a smile. "I''ll tell the mistress what I need to, you don''t have to remind me of my duties, I''m busy trying to attend to them all already."

    Lowering its head, the bat named Parrot flew away from the desk. It knew that if it had stayed any longer by her side, that smile on her face would''ve turned into something much more sinister.

    As if I can trust her, despite her efforts to restore her powers she had only grown weaker by each passing day. It''s probably best to look for another master or perhaps¡­ Burying herself into the paperwork, Moriyana''s mind wandered in thought. That boy¡­If nothing else, then maybe I can use him to surpass her. In the condition she''s in it shouldn''t be that hard.

    Watching her from the bed, Parrot red at Moriyana as she worked. Unbeknownst to her that little creature of the night had a better read on what went on in her mind than she could''ve ever realized.

    ***

    Waking up at the brink of dawn, Haruki found himself in his incubus form. Layingpletely naked on the bed, he looked to his side. The space beside him was empty with only a slight depression on the mattress hinting that someone had onceid there.

    "Master?" A voice called from under the nkets.

    Scanning down his chest, he noticed a huge bump between his thighs. Peeking her head out from between his legs, Asuka popped out with a cheeky smile.

    "What are you doin-" Perplexed by the change in her appearance, Haruki''s eyes locked onto her body.

    Long violet hair flowed down her waist, and her fluffy blonde fox ears had turned into a sharp shade of violet. ncing further down he noticed her erged breasts, and although he had only seen them bare once, he felt quite certain that they had substantially increased in size.

    "Asuka¡­you''ve-um¡­" Unsure what to say, Haruki staggered with his words.

    "Oh, this?" Realizing his worries, Asuka pinched her ears. "You don''t have to worry master, I knew what would happen, that ve trader had warned me already."

    "Do you not hate me for turning you into a monster?" Haruki remembered how he felt when Asmodia forced him into this demonic body, he expected her to foster the same rage against him as he had for Asmodia.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I told you, didn''t I? I would do anything to be with you" With a smile on her face, she squeezed her breasts with Haruki''s manhood nestled in between them, "Does this feel good master?"

    Trapped between her breasts, Haruki felt as if he was being squeezed between two fleshy clouds. Connected directly through the skin, the warmth from Asuka''s body traveled into him, making them both feel connected with each other once again.

    "Yea-yeah, it feels good," his whip-like tail moved about erratically, and as Asuka teased the tip of his penis with her tongue, his tail spanked her butt in a subconscious frenzy.

    "Agh!" Yelling out a moan Asuka flopped onto Haruki''s hips.

    A moment passed in silence as the two recovered from the sudden outburst of tangled emotions. With his heart beginning to calm down, Haruki sat upright on the bed and pulled Asuka closer to him.

    "Young master!" A sudden knock on the door petrified the duo. "The ceremony will begin soon, please don''t bete."

    It wasn''t hard to distinguish Rose''s voice from the other maid, all you had to look for was an overall sense of dread as she called out.

    "I should get ready, having Michael here is an absolute hazard" Saying that he slipped from Asuka''s grasp. "Mask presence!"

    Dering the spell, Haruki''s body turned back into Snow. Turning to look at Asuka, he urged her to do the same.

    "Mask presence!" With that, she turned back into the innocent maid with golden blonde hair.

    I have to check something. Concentrating on his demonic self, he brought forth the spectral screen of stats.

    "Absolute corruption, level¡­hp¡­def¡­agility¡­Healing touch, and mask presence" naming all the visible attributes, he turned to Asuka once again. "Asuka what was your rank?"

    Seemingly a bit confused she tilted her head sideways.

    "Rank D," She answered.

    "That would mean your level should be around one to twenty, can you check for me?" Nodding her head, she closed her eyes.

    "It''s¡­level 10 now," ncing back at Haruki, she seemed even more confused than before.

    ''I''m level five, but thest time I checked, I was level one. Not to mention, I''ve acquired her skill ''healing touch'' as well,'' ncing around the spectral screen, he noticed the ability Incubus drain under the absolute corruption system. ''So I did drain her levels and even copied her abilities. But why copy and not drain it as well?''

    From what he could remember about the ability from an announcement in his head, he was quite certain that the ability drains level through sexual interaction and copies the abilities from the victim.

    ''It doesn''t make sense, I''ll ask Moriyanater,'' Pushing his workload for another time, Haruki walked over to the closet to pick out his clothes.

    "Let go Asuka, I assume we''re going to be eyed a lot today," Despite the uncertainty over how and why his abilities worked the way they did, Haruki decided to push on and get the day over with.

    ''Even though things are heading in the right direction, why do I feel like something drastic is about to happen?'' Whether his angst was a product of caution or anxiety, he couldn''t be any less certain.

 Chapter 16 16 - The Incubus Duke

    ?Resting by Haruki''s neck was a sapphire blue brooch. It had been given to him by the head maid Roselia, and ording to her, it possessed the spirit of the first Frost deemed the title of a duke. While the brooch itself didn''t seem to hold an actual spirit, Haruki figured it was more figurative than a literal possessed object.

    "This suit¡­I''m not so sure," Haruki bbered while being escorted to the balcony where he was supposed to go through the ceremony.

    "Master Snow, that white suit is a staple for any ruler of the Frost family, so I''d advise you not to insult its splendor by saying such things." Much like always, Rose appeared to be in a bad mood, the only difference at the moment was that she was carrying a giant cleaver twice the size of Haruki.

    Giving her a sideways nce, he wondered how exactly someone could get so tall. Walking alongside her, he could barely reach her hips. ''Mixed blood, perhaps?'' Given her appearance, he wasn''t the first to entertain that possibility.

    "It looks good on you Master," Asuka cheered, bouncing cheerily as she followed him from the other side.

    "Thanks¡­I guess," Right as he said those words, he was blinded by a ray of light shining right over his eyes.

    "Apologies, I didn''t know my armor was so reflective," The sound of nking armor and footsteps drew closer. "Are you ready, young Frost?"

    Moving in front of Haruki, Rose shielded her master with her own body. Michael was obviously displeased by her hostility and it was clearly conveyed to everyone through the deep frown on his pretty face.

    "Sir Michael, please take your station, I''ll bring the young master to you," Feigning a smile, Rose handled the situation before it grew any bitter.

    A bit annoyed he jerked his hand in the air before turning around and walking further toward the ceremonial site.

    ''If only he wasn''t such a blind coward, I might''ve felt some sympathy for him.'' Unlike the others blinded by their ignorance, Michael had deep roots in the empire''s politics. ''Even though you knew about the corruption, you never helped me fight against it.''

    Despite being one of the good men, Michael never lifted even so much as his fingers against the crimesmitted by the empire.

    "Inaction is a crime," Toiling in resentment, Haruki didn''t even realize that he was speaking out loud.

    "What?" Rose uttered in confusion.

    "Master?" Asuka was no less perplexed either.

    Correcting his demeanor, Haruki puffed up his chest and started walking towards the site of the ceremony.

    "Nothing, I just want this to be over quickly," Parting from his two escorts, he walked over to the addressing balcony.

    As far as he could see, swarms of vigers had swarmed the streets around the castle. Raising his hand, he waved at them with a gentle smile. From this day forward he had to address the public through this very ce. Watching him waving at them, the vigers were riled up and began to scream his praises.

    ''What has this brat really done to deserve such an uproar?'' Haruki couldn''t help but wonder.

    "I love you, my lord!"

    "All hail the young duke!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Bless us with a better future!"

    Many requests and pleas continued to be hurled at him, but as those voices began to pierce his ears, a loud thumping sound silenced everyone present. Turning to his side, Haruki noticed Michael holding a goldennce with his fingers coiled around its length. Stomping thence against the ground once more, Michael closed his eyes.

    "May the lord bless thisnd with bounty and wisdom, and may it flourish under its new ruler," Extending his hand towards Haruki, Michael red at him until he moved closer. "On the Authority of the emperor, bless this soul to be a great ruler."

    Thomping thence once again, he grabbed Haruki by the arms. As his grip began to tighten against his arm, Haruki remembered the next part of the ceremony.

    "Bless¡­" A bit unnerved by the sudden pressure, he took a deep gulp and closed his eyes, "Bless my people, bless them with your spirit my lord, bless those living on thend graced by your name, bless us, lord As! Bless ournd of As!"

    A chilling breeze swept by him, making every strand of hair on his body stand up suddenly. As he opened his eyes, he noticed snow drifting through the sky. ncing around him, and at the people of the viges, he noticed smiles on everyone''s faces.

    "You''ve been blessed, young duke," Michael dered, smiling a warm smile.

    ''That''s the first time he called me young duke instead of young Frost,'' Raising Haruki''s hand upwards, Michael let out a roaring cheer for the masses to join in. Soon enough the whole town was cheering along. Some danced to the chants of Snow''s name, some yfully threw snowballs at each other, and some even began to pour out bottles of ale for their fellow townsmen.

    "Master, we''ve arranged a banquet for the attendees, however, given your condition, I can''t allow you to join them," Kneeling onto her knees, Rose held her hand forward. "Also, I''d like to remind you about the incident back in the carriage."

    ring at Michael, Rose kept her hand held towards Haruki. ncing back at the blonde pdin, Haruki shook his hand in a hurry. Contrary to what he had expected, Michael seemed more relieved than annoyed. Perhaps, he too was d that things were over and he had no reason tog behind any longer.

    "I mean well, Michael, but please be on your way," Saying that Haruki turned around and began to follow Rose back into the castle walls.

    "Be well, young duke, and may thisnd be blessed with bounty," The thunderous bolt that Haruki had heard on Michael''s arrival jolted once again, but this time as he turned around there was nothing left for him to witness.

    ''How does he do that?'' He pondered, but obviously, he had no way of knowing.

    Pushing Michael out of his head, he followed Rose through the passage back to his room. When the room finally came into view, he felt repulsed by it. Although it was filled with every luxury he could ever want, he knew that staying inside that ce had limited his actions. It almost made him feel a bit¡­

    ''Lazy¡­I need answers, but this body is too weak.''

    In the brink of a moment, as that thought crossed his mind, he noticed something shooting straight at him from the edge of his eyes.

    "Master! Get down!" Rose yelled drawing her cleaver, but unfortunately, it was toote.

    A razor-sharp arrow grazed right over Haruki''s eyes, leaving him blind for a matter of moments.

    "WHAT THE FUCK?!" He screamed, trying to cover his bloodied eyes.

 Chapter 17 17 - The Assassins

    ?Brought to his knees by the sharp graze, Haruki hurled up on the ground trying to stop the bleeding. As the pain seeped through his eye, he clenched his teeth attempting to power through the agony.

    "Stay down, I''ll handle this!" Rose dered, standing guard in front of him.

    Squeezing the cleaver''s handle, Rose swiftly nced in each direction as well as every corner of the passage. With nobody in sight, her shoulders dropped for a brief moment. However, as she was about to turn and help Haruki up, she picked up the voice of an arrow tearing through the air.

    "Deep breath," She whispered, before shing the arrow flying towards them from the front.

    Although she had neutralized the immediate danger, Rose seemed deeply disappointed by the dy in her reaction. Clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth, she let her frustration be known.

    ''I''ve grown sloppy,'' She thought, taking a deep breath.

    "What''s happening?!" Forcing his eye open, Haruki noticed the broken arrow that had fallen to the ground.

    ''Broken arrow¡­wait!'' The sight of the broken arrow protruding from Snow''s body shed before his eyes. ''Is it the same fucking bandit?!''

    "Stay down Master, these trespassers are hiding in the shadows, I wouldn''t want you to get any more hurt by them," Closing her eyes, Rose drew the cleaver back. "And I''m sorry for ruining this part of the castle."

    "What?" ring at her with a frown Haruki feltpletely lost by her strange statement. "What do y-"

    Dark miasma sprang up from Rose''s feet and began to crawl up on her body. Watching over her, his throat grew parched from the strange aura emanating through the miasma. Whatever it was, it had him chilled to the marrow. And the only thing he knew for certain was that he wouldn''t want to be on the other end of that cleaver.

    "Destroy¡­Dragon''s bane!" Swinging the cleaver, the miasma traveled to the de and shot forward like an arrow.

    The wide spectral attack shed right through the darkness and even went through the pirs supporting that whole portion of the castle. A cacophony of agonizing screams echoed throughout the passage. But it wasn''t until the spectral attack vanished from sight that the real tragedy began.

    "Let''s go, master," Picking Haruki up by her left arm and carrying him like luggage, Rose dashed in the opposite direction of the attack.

    "What are you doing?!" Right as he asked that question, that whole portion of the passage began crumbling down in the aftermath of the attack.

    "I''m sorry, but I couldn''t dy or risk your life with those assassins arou-" Coming to an abrupt halt, Rose red at something in the direction of her escape. "They put up a barrier."

    Although reluctantly she let Haruki down on his feet.  cing her hand on the translucent barrier, she drew her fist back before giving it a full-blown punch. Like ss, the structure shattered and fell to the ground. Having witnessed her strength first-hand, Haruki began to reevaluate his statement about her going up against Michael.

    ''I knew she was strong but¡­'' The noise from the crumbling debris brought Haruki back to his senses.

    "Master!" A familiar voice called.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Turning to the voice he found it to be none other than Asuka. Rushing towards them, she noticed the bleeding graze right above his eyes. With an ever-greater sense of urgency, she dashed towards him as fast as she could.

    "Take him to the barracks, I''ll deal with the rest of the intruders," Rose ordered, tightening her grip on the cleaver once again.

    "What intruders?!" Asuka growled, unaware of the full scope of the situation.

    "It''s the same people, who tried to kill me¡­I think at least," Mumbling that out, Haruki felt himself drifting from the severe loss of blood. "Can y-you heal me Asuka?"

    Well aware of the fact that using ''healing touch'' on his own might alert Rose, he had refrained from doing so despite the dire need. Grabbing Haruki''s hand, Asuka pressed her lips agonizing over having to watch her master in pain.

    "Toote!" Followed by the sudden voice, yet another arrow shot right through Haruki''s arms. "Don''t think you can escape that easily, duke ahaha!"

    "Master!" Asuka cried.

    "Get down!" Pushing the other two behind her, Rose stood guard against the phantom aggressor.

    Howling in hurt, Haruki clenched his teeth once again. Leaving no room for hesitance, he quickly pulled out the arrow. And while Rose kept guard looking around frantically, he took a closer look at the backend of the arrow. It had green-tinted feathers, much like the one he had seen back in the forest.

    "Healing touch," Throwing the arrow away, he healed himself up.

    Peeking from the edge, Rose''s eyes widened in surprise, but she kept her mouth shut for the time being. The sound of yet another swift arrow trailed into her ears. With a single swing from her cleaver, she shot it down, however, this time it didn''t stop there. All around her, she could hear showers of arrows approaching them with great velocity.

    "Frost dragon bite!" mming her de to the ground, she shattered the very floor they stood on, "Stay close!"

    Dropping her weapon she grabbed the other two as they fell through the ground to the floor beneath them. The pace at which everything was happening left near to no time for Asuka or Haruki to react, all the while Rose seemed to be handling it without so much as straining a muscle. Thanks to her holding the two like a pair of bags, theynded safely on the floor despite the concrete showering right above them.

    "I can''t fight in a closed space like this," Letting out a sigh, Rose took a deep breath. "Can I destroy the castle? It''ll be easier to bury them that way."

    "What?!" Taking a step away from her, Asuka red at her in surprise.

    "Deal with them, but I want at least one of those bastards alive," Lacking any better option, Haruki decided to let Rose handle the situation however she possibly could.

    "Language, young duke," Opening her eyes, she smiled at the two. "Get to the barracks, I''ll handle these fools."

    Her eyes glinting in a fiery glow she hungered for a massacre.

 Chapter 18 18 - Negotiating The Future

    ?Right after the constant barrage of cryptic sounds shing throughout the castle, Rose came out of the ce with blood charred all over her. To everyone''s horror, she smiled like an angel while carrying with her the half-skinned body of one of the assassins.

    "I''ll take this man to the dungeon for interrogation," With an empty look in her eyes, she stared at Haruki, "I''ll let you know once he confesses who sent them."

    Needless to say, her demeanor and even her personality had taken an abrupt change. From being the stern head maid scolding others over meager tasks to a blood-fed maiden whose eyes screamed murder. That change without a doubt was bound to leave people in dismay.

    "Master, we''ve prepared another room for you" Breaking the ring exchange between the two, Asuka butted in.

    "Y-yeah¡­" Looking away, he began to follow her out of the barracks.

    However, it didn''t stop him from taking onest look at the naked man skinned partially over the limbs. The only parts that stayed attached to his muscles were the skin surrounding his shoulder des as well as his spine.

    "I''ll feel like throwing up," Covering her mouth, Asuka kept leading Haruki away from the barracks.

    Being the housing site of the castle guards, the barracks itself weren''t that far from the castle. As they walked into the castle once again, it was quite clear that there had been an intense battle inside the ce. The walls were in shambles, the windows were shattered, and the exquisite decor that Haruki once admired was nowying all over the floor.

    "We can''t let her find out about my identity," Haruki mumbled, ring at Asuka''s back.

    "I know," She whispered back.

    One of the many things he had learned today, was the fact that he was weaker than a twig, especially whenpared to Rose or Michael. If they ever found out about his true identity he wouldn''tst a second.

    ''I need to get stronger, but the only way for me to gain level is through incubus drain and for that I need more ves and even more sexual partners.'' The sense of urgency was just now bursting inside him. So far he had spent his sweet time in leisure trying to figure out what to do next, but that was no longer a viable option.

    "My Lord!" A manly voice called from behind.

    Having just taken a few steps up the spiraling staircase, he looked at him from over his shoulder. Standing by the front door was a knight d in silver armor. Noticing the young duke''s gaze he gave him a salute by holding his fist over the heart.

    "What is it?" Haruki asked.

    "Lord Frost, the ve trader wishes to speak to you," Announcing that he took a knee looking back up at Haruki, "She''s apanied by a handful of demi-human ves, and wishes to offer them asbor to restore the castle."

    ''Did the news spread that fast?'' The very first thing that popped into his mind was to question her intention, and given his history with lust demons he wasn''t wrong in doing so.

    "Why?" Puffing his chest to appear moremanding, Haruki continued, "Why does she want to help?"

    Lifting his head, the knight propped himself back up.

    "I want to return the favor for not turning my ves away, those were her very words, my lord, " Although, the knight had a silver helmet covering his face, a hint of disapproval lingered in his tone, "If I am to be so bold to give my opinion, I doubt her intentions are pure."

    Reflecting back on the unsettling feeling right before the ceremony, Haruki wondered if Moriyana knew or if she herself had orchestrated the attempted assassination. Given her readiness to help as soon as those bandits were dealt with, made her a prime suspect in the matter.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''But what could she get out of killing me? If she works for Asmodia, then it wouldn''t make sense for her to try and kill me.'' noticing the w in his own logic, he decided to give her a chance.

    "I want to talk to her first, send her in." Giving the knight his orders, Haruki gestured Asuka to continue leading the way.

    "Very well," Politely bowing, the knight left to fetch Moriyana.

    On his way to the room, Haruki''s mind kept racing to try and find the best route forwards. However, utterly reliant on others for everything, he realized just how useless he was whenpared to the people around him.

    ''Theck of certainty at absolutely anything is suffocating!'' That realization, however, shed some light on his path forward. ''I have to find some way to get stronger, also I need more ves so I can gather whatever information I want.''

    "Master," reaching the prepped room, Asuka held its door open for him.

    Deep in thought, he followed Asuka into the room with his thumb resting under his chin. Closing the door behind them, Asuka swiftly moved in front of Haruki.

    "Master, we have to do something," Her eyes jittered nervously, and her body shivered from terror, "I don''t want anyone to find out about you and your identity!"

    Shaking his own angst off, he grabbed her by the shoulders. For a moment he simply peered into her eyes before wrapping his hands around her body. Staying wrapped in a hug, their hearts began to settle. Soon enough as she wrapped her hands around him as well, their bodies were rxedpletely.

    "I need her strength," nuzzling up to her ears, Haruki whispered.

    Asuka''s eyes widened in surprise, but that shock was quickly reced with a devilish smirk.

    "As you say master," nibbling on his ear lobes, her fingers crawled on his chest, "She''d definitely be a fine meal for you ahaha."

    "I''m not interrupting anything am I?" leaning against the door, Moriyana was ring at the two with a smirk on her face, "I didn''t mean to intrude, but the lock was broken."

    Releasing their grasp on each other''s bodies, both of them turned to Moriyana with bitter frowns over their heads.

    "Moriyana Malice¡­what do you want? And I mean what do you really want from me?" Taking a step forward, Haruki red at her intensely.

    Confidently moving closer to him, Moriyana puffed her chest out and licked her lips in a seductive manner.

    "I''m tired ofme games, I wanna see carnage, I desire wealth, riches, and fame, and in your eyes young duke, I see it all happening," Holding her hand toward him, she continued, "I may be a servant of the mistress, but just like you I have desires of my own, so lead me into a brighter future away from dusty cabins and inn, and I''ll guide you in whatever direction you want. "

    ncing at her hand, Haruki knew he had to make a choice. Declining her would leave him deserted in the same stagnant situation, but even if he were to shake her hand, her loyalty was fleeting and that might drop him into an even worse situation.

    "Be my servant, and I''ll take you up on that deal," He offered.

    "I was thinking about being more of a partner," Sticking her tongue out, she leaned closer to his face and licked it up and down, "but if that''s my route to prosperity then lead me¡­Master."

 Chapter 19 19 - One With The Succubus[18+]

    ?''Level up! Level up! Level up!'' Like an obnoxiously loud toy, the announcement kept ringing inside Haruki''s ears. In this instance, however, the toy was much bigger and fleshier than Haruki himself. Thrusting away at Moriyana, he could feel his mind straying away. Sinking into her gigantic breasts, his hands were coiled withforting warmth. Just a single nce at her curvy hips and thighs was more than enough to get the blood pumping through his heart.

    "Aghhh! Mhnmmm! It''s been so long since someone made me feel this wayyy. Aghh!" Moriyana''s nails dig deep into Haruki''s back, and with her legs wrapped around his hips, she urges him to keep thrusting away at her.

    "Master?" Her eyes filled with bitter-sweet longing, Asuka moved beside Haruki. "I can''t wait either!"

    Sticking her tongue out, she forced a kiss on him. While sliding her tongue in, her hand moved over Haruki''s chest. Trying to feel his soaring heart a me of jealousy ignited inside her.

    ''I can''t lose to this giant tits bimbo!'' Determined to be Master''s favorite toy, she moved her legs across Moriyana''s face so he could only see her while having sex.

    To her surprise, Moriyana slid down Asuka''s panties and began to tease her by running her fingers along the folds of Asuka''s wet entrance. As Haruki''s dick continued to piston inside Moriyana''s tight pussy, Asuka was forced to break the kiss to let out a sudden gasp.

    "Ahhhh!" She squealed.

    Stripped of energy from the sudden attack, her knees gave in and so did her hands. Leaning against Haruki''s chest, she hadn''t even realized how her folds were resting right above Moriyana''s lips.

    "Are you okay?" Haruki asked, taking a break from thrusting into Moriyana.

    "I-yeah I-Ekkk!" Domed under Asuka''s skirt, Moriyana pushed her tongue into Asuka''s folds and let it caress her inside. "Stop! Stop!"

    "Ahaha! Don''t challenge me again little fox, " Moriyana replied, chuckling all to herself.

    Moving off of her, Asuka stood beside the two covering her face in embarrassment. She felt humiliated not only by the fact that Moriyana was more experienced than her, but also that she managed to taste her entrance before her master.

    "I think that''s enough for now," Dering that, Haruki took a look at his screen of stats, "I''ve gained fifteen levels, and the demon servant count is now two, so that should be enough."

    Although Haruki hadn''t finished inside Moriyana yet, it appeared that her willingness to be his servant made her one the moment he slipped into her.

    "I was just beginning to have fun too," Moriyana''sint went mostly unheard by Haruki, but Asuka on the other hand seemed annoyed by the remark. "Anyways, should I let my ves in? The castle needs a lot of repairs."

    His eyes still locked onto the screen, Haruki kept scanning through the changes in his stats.

    "Moriyana, what''s your level exactly? And why didn''t I gain any of your abilities?" A bit perplexed by the absence of new abilities, he finally turned to look at her.

    Picking up her gown, she gave him a sideways nce.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "The disparity in our levels acts as a protective barrier against ability copying, the more level difference we have the harder it is for lust demons to corrupt or use our drain abilities on our victims," Dressing herself up, she beckoned Asuka toe closer with her finger. "Can you get the zipper please?"

    Visibly frowning at her request, Asuka grabbed the zipper and pushed it up in a jiffy. Moriyana''s breasts squeezed so tightly under her dress that it was practically a miracle that they stayed in at all.

    ''Why not just wear something morefortable?'' Haruki wondered, eyeing her assets.

    "Moriyana, I want to ask you something," With everything going south, Haruki didn''t want to be caught unprepared anymore, and so he had alreadye up with a n.

    "I may be your servant, but I don''t do charity," She replied. Haruki already knew what she meant by those words.

    "What do you want?" Haruki asked, grabbing his own clothes from the floor.

    "Exclusive authority as a ve trader in your territory," sping her hands, she gave him a formal businessmen smile, "In return, I''ll answer whatever questions you have, and I think I also have something else that you might be interested in."

    Intrigued by what she had to offer, Haruki feltpelled to know what she had in mind. And yet with time ticking with unnerving haste, he decided to push that topic to ater time. Right now, he had to get her out of the room before anyone got more suspicious than they already might''ve be.

    "Alright, now for my question," Pursing his nervous lips, Haruki let out a tired sigh, "What path should I take? I need more power, more resources, and most of all more servants."

    "Corrupt everyone," resting her head over the back of her hand, she gave Haruki a devilish smirk, "Start from the vige, turn them into degenerates who''ll do anything for you, in return for the most minimum of rewards."

    Perplexed by her answer, he wondered what kind of reward she was talking about. When the answer didn''t pop into his mind, he moved closer and demanded her to borate with his stern expression alone. Noticing the strained expression on his face, Moriyana bit down on her lips and leaned over to whisper into his ears.

    "Lust, sex, degeneracy, corruption, infidelity, hunger, these are all the tools for a lust demon, and being the first duke incubus, you should be able to turn this empire by the insatiable hunger of its people."

    The vision of his future she painted in his eyes, left both Haruki and Asuka panting for breath. It wasn''t the lust that made them restless but the inescapable fantasy of power. Taking a few steps back, Moriyana nced at the two and let out a chuckle.

    "I''ll be on my way," Turning around, she made her way to the door.

    On her way to the exit, the door abruptly opened from the other side. Standing in front of her was Roselia Ironfrost. Holding the door wide open with her arms, she was d in even more blood than theirst encounter with her.

    "The queen¡­our neighbor sent those assassins," That sudden deration left everyone but Moriyana surprised.

    "Dispute overnd, wasn''t that hard to figure out to be honest," Offering no further exnation, Moriyana left from under Roselia''s arms.

 Chapter 20 20 - To Venture Out In The World

    ?It had been a long tiring day for everyone, and by the time everything grew quiet it was already deep into the night. Venturing into the dungeons under the castle, Rose led Haruki to the assassin''s cell. Even after being warned to leave them alone by Rose, Asuka followed right behind them.

    Moss and dust had imed the dungeon, and the smell of blood reeked through the floor. With every other foot, snarling rats snooped around in a frenzy, judging for themselves the nature of three strange visitors. Stopping by an empty cell, Rose turned to face the young duke, and although her stern expression was now gone, she seemed no less terrifying than she did in the barracks.

    "What happened to the assassin?" Haruki asked, looking into the empty cell.

    "I cooked him alive," her voice devoid of emotions, made his skin crawl with difort, "Forgive me, but it was the only way to get him to speak."

    Laying his eyes at the pile of ash in the middle of the cell, Haruki could only imagine the hell that had transpired within these decrepit dungeon walls. Gulping his angst, he took a deep breath to stop his hands from shaking, fortunately, this time it seemed to have worked.

    "The queen, who is she?" The very moment he uttered those words, the grave realization of his own error hit him.

    "What do you mean?" Rose questioned with a ring frown, "Has the academy failed your memories, young duke?"

    "Miss Rose!" Asuka rebutted, scowling at Rose''s insulting remark, "Master had severe blood loss recently, I would''ve assumed that you of all people would know theplications with that."

    Clicking her tongue, she let out a grunt. The shift in her personality was not only terrifying but also deeply cumbersome. ''Perhaps the fight flipped some sort of switch inside her?'' Haruki''s guess wasn''t far from the mark, and yet he couldn''t be certain because of theck of information.

    "I know she''s our neighbor, but!" Shifting his shoulders back, he turned to look at Rose, "I want to know what kind of person she is and why she would hire a bunch of assassins to kill me."

    Folding her hands, Rose tried to recall the memories from her most recent encounter with the queen. It had been in a formal setting at a ball, where the only distinct characteristic about her was how much of an inconvenience she was to everyone else attending the event.

    "Queen Margaret¡­.She''s an absolute narcissist," Tapping her chin, she went deeper into thought, "She''s also rumored to sense the future, I have not the slightest clue whether those rumors are true, but if they were, you''d think she would''ve been able to prevent her husband''s untimely death."

    Realizing that she had spoken too frankly about her thoughts, she quickly covered her mouth with her hands. To her relief the only people present in the dungeon were Haruki and Asuka, or else that statement could''ve riled up some serious troubles.

    "Apologies," She mumbled, her eyes down cast in shame.

    ''Her demeanor changed again,'' Haruki thought, looking right at her.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Anyway, what can we do about this mess?" Haruki asked, contemting his next step forward.

    A moment of silence ensued in the dusty dungeon. Lacking education in political disputes, none of them had any idea about what they should do next. If anything, they were better off doing nothing at all. As the silence continued to linger between the three, Haruki finally decided to break the ice.

    "Maybe we should get some rest first, we''ve all had an eventful day after all," exchanging nces the other two nodded their heads in approval.

    On their way back to the upper castle, Haruki decided to take a bath before heading off to bed. Sending Rose off to her own chambers, he made his way to the bathhouse with Asuka. Quickly taking off their clothes, they finally rxed a little by dipping into the exquisite warm bath. Surprisingly, the bathhouse was the least affected by the fight, and the parts that had essentially turned into ruins were being repaired by Moriyana''s more athletic ves.

    "Have you yed chess Asuka?" Staring nking into the air, he remembered something from his past.

    "Chess? Unfortunately not, master, should I have?" Her sincere answer left Haruki a bit disappointed.

    "I had a chance to learn, but never took it," Confined to her bed, the image of his mother shed before his eyes. She would often spend her time alone ying against herself, and ever so often when Haruki couldn''t go out to tend to the field because of the weather and such, she would invite him for a game, only to be brushed off and being told to rest her head. "Maybe, it would''ve helped if I did."

    Reminiscing over his memories, his mind began to doze off. Resting his head against Asuka, he let himself be carried by a dream. Watching over him, a light blush took over Asuka''s cheeks. Brushing his hair away from his eyes, she nted a brief kiss on his forehead.

    "Rest well Master, I''ll take care of you," She whispered, nuzzled up by his neck.

    As Haruki''s consciousness drifted away, he found himself walking a dark path. The path itself seemed to lead nowhere and yet he feltpelled to indefinitely follow it. Soon enough, a figure emerged in the distance, and just from a single look, he knew who it was.

    "Asmodia," Tired of her games, he let out a sigh.

    "You''re too slow Haruki, at the pace you''re moving it would take centuries to resurrect me in the real world," Holding her finger directed at him, her silhouette turned into mist and flew directly into him, "Perhaps this will help speed things up a little."

    A piercing cold ran through his very soul, bringing him quivering to his knees. ring back in the direction she once stood, he found nothing but eternal dark. The very next moment a pair of lips breathed right into his ears.

    "Wake up!" they shouted.

 Chapter 21 21 - Economy Of Slaves

    ?It had been a week since the attack on the castle, and all this time, Haruki had his head buried in documents outlining the proper etiquette expected of a noble. Once done acquiring whatever knowledge he deemed worthy of notice, he quickly moved on to learn more about the nature of diplomacy around Laria. Through diligent research conducted over many sleepless nights, he finally began to understand the scope of his authority as the dukedom''s new ruler.

    "Young duke, I would advise you to reconsider your decision," Rose protested, looking down at Haruki from over the back of his shoulder.

    Sitting at the head of the desk, Haruki nced around at the diplomats that worked under his reign. Every one of the four men presents inside the hall brought something of great value to the dukedom of Laria.

    "How shameful..." Stroking his goatee, one of the men voiced his dissent. "Is this how you set an example as the head maid, by trying to rebel against your master''s policies?"

    Smirking to himself, the parrot-nosed man intertwined his fingers before resting his chin over them. A quick look at his tall yet bony frame painted him as an oddity of nature. Only further reinforced by his ghoulish eyes and the fact he had to bend over to get his head through a gigantic entrance.

    "Be a good servant and stay quiet," Scratching his chin with a jeweled staff, another one of the men joined the conversation. "Why don''t you go fetch us something to drink instead of yapping your mouth, you sphemous creature?"

    "Please...Sir Rom, bishop Clint, let me talk to her," Tired of staying passive as the two men grilled Rose, Haruki interjected. "Rose, how about you check on the banquet? I''d like our guests to enjoy someforting food once we''re done discussing politics."

    ring around at everyone, she bit the inside of her cheeks to settle her temper. Taking a deep breath, she turned to look back at Haruki and bowed.

    "Very well, but please consider my point, if ve trade is made legal agai-"

    "Asuka! Can you escort Rose out for me?" breaking her sentence, Haruki called out to Asuka waiting right outside the hall door.

    Without any dy, the door opened up. Asuka made her way right next to the bowing Rose. Locking their arms together, she quickly escorted Rose out without asking a single question.

    "Now that''s how a ve should be! Ahahaha!" mming his fist on the table, Rom the odd trade handler dered.

    "Can we return to the topic at hand?" Caressing his aching head, Arnold, the treasurer requested. "Since the castle''s renovation is draining the treasury, I have more than enough headaches waiting for me."

    Being the most normal looking of the bunch, Arnold eyed the others wondering how he ended up surrounded by such a circus. A strange trader who was tall as a giant and yet had the appearance of a withering tree. A bishop whose only job seemed to be holding his staff in front of the congregation, andstly the brute of a man responsible for their territory''s protection. With those being hispanions while working under Snow, him doubting his life choices was the least of his worries.

    "What are you staring at?" Gorgon, the brute growled at the daydreaming Arnold.

    Jolted awake by his voice, Arnold almost fell off of his seat. Pretending as if that never happened, he adjusted her suit''s tie, and simply nced back at the young duke.

    "Are we done?" Scanning through everyone''s faces Haruki let out a tired sigh, "As we all know, my father on my request made ve trade illegal in Laria, but now that the state of our economy is in absolute peril, I''d like to reverse that order and resume the trading of ves in our territory."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Eyeing the responses around the table, Haruki tried to spy any clue of disapproval from the board. However, with nodding heads all around, it didn''t seem like anyone was against the idea.

    "It''d be a boon for ournd, Lord Snow, we''re in desperate need ofbor after all," Being the treasurer, Arnold''s approval was something Haruki was looking forward to.

    "If..." Extending his extensive fingers toward the duke, Rom joined the conversation. "We could set up trading routes with those ves to other duchies and kingdoms, it''d be much cheaper and safer for us to transport goods in and out of the major city."

    Grunting under his breath, Gorgon had his hands folded. Noticing everyone''s gaze drawn towards him, he finally spoke up to express his opinion as well.

    "The number of criminals keeps climbing by the day, I think it''s best we turn those bastards into ves and sell them to that peddler currently living in the capital city." Gorgon''s input surprised Haruki the most, but it also helped hime up with an intriguing idea.

    ''Criminals, huh? I never thought about using them, perhaps it''s not toote to integrate them into my ns.'' Mulling over the thought for a moment, he raised his head to address the board again.

    "I''ve talked to Moriyana already, she demands exclusive rights for ve trading in my territory, in exchange, we can demand her ves forbor as well as a cut off of her profits generated from other cities."

    Gleaming slimes stered on their faces, the four men gasped in surprise, and as they looked around at each those smiles turned into joyousughs. At that very moment, however, a major question sprang into Haruki''s mind.

    "Bishop Clint, what would this reprise mean for the church of our lord As?" Just saying their god''s name sent a spine-chilling shiver down Haruki''s back, but powering through the pain he managed to keep up a straight face.

    "In our lord''s own words, Humanity is chosen, and the one to rule the world," His arms thrown wide open, the bishop spoke in the voice of a preacher. "Isn''t that why we''re all content under the emperor''s rule? The true savior who''ll conquer the Feralnds and the Scorchen Gaia under our lord''s banner!"

    "Amen!" The other three joined the sermon.

    "Amen," Haruki mumbled as thest.

    ''There''s no point trying to save anyone, you must simply move one piece at a time'' Having taken to chess in his free time Haruki had begun to think in the terms of the game. ''First, I need to walk through my people, and see what kicks off their hunger.''

    "Very well, let''s sign the deration then," Signing the parchment to reverse the ban, Haruki quickly circted it around the table.

    Once everything was said and done, everyone was escorted to a leisurely feast in the castle''s main hall. While the others enjoyed the food and shared ideas over drinks, Haruki could feel Roselia''s gaze over his back no matter where he moved.

 Chapter 22 22 - A Walk Through Dirt And Mud

    ?Cloaking himself in a rag, Haruki managed to sneak outside the castle. In his tow was Asuka masking herself the same way. Although he hadn''t nned to bring her along with him, Asuka''s insistence on tagging along left him little to no choice.

    "Mask presence!" Activating the spell, Haruki changed his appearance to that of a middle-aged man.

    Uncloaking himself, he revealed the full scope of his transformation. Short unkempt ginger hair pointed in all directions, and the ragged trimmed beard went perfectly with the leather armor of a mercenary. For a moment his mind wondered if he could''ve just shapeshifted into Snow instead of overtaking him, but then he remembered the words constantly uttered by Asmodia.

    ''Vessel, was it? Perhaps it''s a part of her revival ritual?'' Unlike Moriyana, and Asuka who were also lust demons, Haruki was artificially created by the demon lord of lust, and thus to give his very existence some semnce of bnce, he had to take over a physical vessel before being able to use any of his abilities or magic. ''What else is she hiding?''

    "You should change too," The deep voice that came out of his lips left Asuka a bit dazed.

    "O-okay¡­" Shutting her eyes closed, she went on to imagine a bodily disguise.

    Upon opening her eyes again, she had grown much taller and as her eyes trailed down the now gigantic breasts, she noticed her legs slipping out of the slits of the debaucherous mage''s outfit.

    "Let''s go before anyone sees us here," Grabbing Asuka''s hand, Haruki began walking down the path to the inner city.

    Unlike Haruki who seemed determined toplete his task, Asuka was distracted by the romanticized joys of strolling with her master under the twinkling night sky. Blushing all over her fair skin, she locked her arms with Haruki, and in doing so the warmth of his touch against her near-bare breasts, made her heart skip beat after beat.

    ''So what if we''re on a mission, I''m done suppressing my feelings towards master!'' Justifying her actions, she beamed a smile throughout the walk.

    Getting to the inner city, Haruki decided to take a lone stroll to see assess just what kind of ce he was supposed to govern. So far, to him, the city as well as its people seemed carefree and joyous, but adhering to his past memories, he knew better than to judge them on first impression.

    ''For all I know, they might be just as blind as the witnesses from my execution.'' Sighing at the reminder of the deranged memory, Haruki shifted his mind back to the mission.

    "You remember the n?" Brushing Asuka''s hair back, Haruki turned his head to her.

    Her head rested against his shoulder, she was lost in glee enjoying the leisurely moment. Seeing how lost she was, Haruki called out her name and brought her back to her senses.

    "Wh-what? S-sorry!" squinting her puppy eyes, Asuka pouted apologetically.

    "It''s okay, but I need you to focus now," Peering right back at her with aforting smile on his face, Haruki continued. "Head over to the adventurer''s guild and gather information about the mercenaries and adventurers there. Once I''m done with my part of the n, I''ll meet you there shortly."

    Uncoiling her arms around Haruki, Asuka took a step back and nodded. Having shapeshifted as a beautiful mage, her job was to gather information about prospecting mercenaries and adventurers. Being in such a dangerous profession they bound to be strong people who could easily be made use of. And if nothing else, simply draining their levels was always a viable option.

    "Um..." a bit fidgety, Asuka crossed her legs as she nced sideways at her master, "Master¡­you''re going to meet Moriyana, right?"

    Her bodynguage alone was enough to convey her doubts to Haruki. Huffing out a sigh, he moved closer. Resting his hand on her long silver hair, he gave her head a brush by moving his hand side to side.

    "Don''t worry, I''m not going to do anything with her this time," Being lovingly patted by Haruki, Asuka purred like a cat as her eyes gleamed a radiant glow. "I just need to talk to her about the queen, and figure out what we can do about her."

    Since turning Rose into a servant was off the table for now, Haruki had decided to get stronger while also trying to deal with the murderous queen looming over his shoulders. However, for any of that to be possible, he was in desperate need of servants as well as new skills and most importantly even more levels.

    "Mhmnmm," Nuzzling up to his hand, Asuka gives Haruki a nod.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Slipping away from her grasp, Haruki waves to her before heading into the opposite direction. Once her master had disappeared into the dark alleys, Asuka too made her towards the adventurer''s guild.

    Walking down the chilly paths around the city, Haruki''s eyes scanned for people. As the experience from his past life being a military spy came back to him in bits and pieces, nothing went unnoticed from his watchful eyes. Easily being able to assess the kind of ces he was looking for he began his search for criminal activity around the city.

    ''There¡­'' Even from afar he could sense something off about a secluded dark alley in the distance. Moving by the roadside shops and houses, he nced at their windows to make sure nobody was out at this hour of the night. Sneaking right at the edge of the alley, Haruki hid in the shows watching a pair of silhouetted figures conversing in the alley.

    Staying at a safe distance, he red at them trying make out their appearances more clearly. Kicking into action his demonic side, brightened his vision to look through the dark with ease. Of the two men, one was wearing arge hood that hid half of his upper face, and the other was masking himself with nothing but a simple scarf around his whole head.

    "Where''s the girl?" The hooded man asked.

    "With a customer, but she should be on her way back," the other guy replied while scratching his arm.

    Having a general idea of the situation, Haruki decided to move along and look for other suspicious activities. But as he was trying to get away he couldn''t help but question what was happening. ''Are they selling a girl''s body for gold? I expected nothing less from this ce.'' Trying not to draw too much attention to himself, he quickly distanced himself from the men before his curiosity got him into any trouble.

    ''Tyrant''s heart'' forcing Haruki''s mind into an indifferent emotional state, the curse activated itself.

    "Again with this thing?!" He growled out loud, tired of the constant activation of the same curse.

    Since the night of the nightmare with Asmodia, yet another curse had taken a hold of his body. However, unlike carnal curse that affected his body, tyrant''s heart affects his emotions more than anything. Every time Haruki began to feel any sort of empathy towards others or even when he regrets his questionable discissions, the curse activated and gave him a moment of emotionless rity.

    After giving it a bit of thought it wasn''t hard to guess why Asmodia put that curse on him, after all, the only thing making him question his every move was his own sympathy towards others.

    "Mister¡­mister¡­" Grabbing his shirt, a little girl tugged on him.

    Shaking his head, Haruki drove his thought away before looking down at the girl. Covered in mud and bruises a small child was nervously fidgeting while ring up at him. Dried tears marks ran all over her face, and from the contorted and snotty expression on her face, she seemed on the verge of breaking into tears once again.

    "Who are you?" Haruki asked.

    Holding her hands upwards, her eyes appeared begging to be picked up in his arms.

    ''Tyrant''s heart!'' The announcement rang again in his head. Sobbing to herself, she couldn''t utter a single word.

    "Where''s your guardian?" He asked, bracing for the worst.

    ''Tyrant''s heart! Tyrant''s heart!''  Completely ignoring the curse, his mind was on the verge of a frenzy.

    Holding her finger in the direction Haruki had juste from, the little girl turned his fears into a heart-wrenching reality.

    "Stay here," kneeling down to the kid, he forced a smile.

    ''I was hoping to take hold of these crimes for profit and to make the masses hunger for the immoral, however, now it seems that culling down a few of these atrocities wouldn''t be that bad of a prospect for the future.''  Offering himself that twisted justification, Haruki turned around and leaped back towards the dark alley.

 Chapter 23 23 - Friends, Deaths, And Reunions (Part 1)

    ?Packed full of people, the adventurer''s guild was a hub for the brave adventurers of the capital to gather. Inside the tavern-like environment with booze spilling all over, and the whiff of delectable cuisines twirling in the air, the adventurers passed random chatter, trying to gain each other''s trust so they could venture on profitable quests.

    The lively environment inside the guild hall left Asuka feeling a bit intimidated. Bracing her heart, she pushed the door open and stepped right in. Curious eyes quickly turned in her direction as she entered. Driving away her angst by taking a deep breath, she made her way to the drinks counter.

    ''I don''t like being red at...'' She thought to herself as she sat down on a stool.

    Taking a brief look at everyone, she noticed strange nces from many men from across the room. ncing down at her own body and the dress she was wearing, she was no longer surprised by the gazes but felt extremely embarrassed. Fidgeting in fear, her body squeezed together as if to shirk away from the eyes of these strangers.

    "Hey," Suddenly a cold finger tapped on her shoulder.

    "Ekkk! What?! Who?!" Jolting away from the cold touch, she quickly turned around to see who it was.

    "Oh sorry! I didn''t mean to scare you," Standing behind her with a nervous smile was a young girl with a quiver on her back.

    After nkly staring at her for a moment, Asuka brought herself back to her senses. Pretending as if nothing had happened she put on an awkward smile. However, by the way she had screamed, her smile was not all that convincing to anyone. Ignoring the eyes ring right at her, she brought her attention back to the quiver girl.

    "Do you need something from me?" Asuka asked, scanning her clothes.

    Dressed in an archer''s garb, she appeared to be a novice adventurer. As she stared at the girl, Asuka felt a bit embarrassed that she was the one who got approached even though she was there to gather intel from others.

    "Um...ugh," Scratching her chin, the girl looked over to another table, "I-No...I mean, we were wondering if you''d like to join our table?"

    Following her gaze, Asuka noticed two of herpanions quickly shying away from her gaze. Seemingly a bit shy, they pretended as if they weren''t looking at her at all. Around the same age as the girl, the boy had a sheathed sword and a shield tied to the back of his armor, and the girl across him on the table was wearing a green witch''s hat and even held a peculiar staff in her small jittery hands.

    "My friend on that table is actually a novice mage, she''d love to talk with you actually," As soon as the archer girl mentioned the mage, she quickly lowered her hat and hid her face under it.

    "Sorry, but I don''t t-" realizing that she could use this opportunity to gather the information she needed, Asuka swiftly changed her answer, "Sure, I''d love to."

    "Really?!" Hopping on her feet, the girl eximed ecstatically. "We''d buy you some ale and food as thanks, promise! Hehe!"

    ''Even though I said yes, I doubt I can teach the mage girl anything useful.'' Feeling somewhat guilty about being offered something in exchange, Asuka instantly began reconsidering her decision.

    "I''m Maggie, archer of unlucky clover," Extending her hand, the girl beamed a radiant smile.

    "Unlucky clover?" Asuka mumbled, shaking her hand.

    The vibrant glister in Maggie''s violet eyes made Asuka''s feet a lot morefortable.

    "It''s our party''s name, but anyway, let''s talk at the table!" Wrapping her fingers around Asuka''s wrist, Maggie pulled her towards the table with a spring in her feet.

    A bit baffled by Maggie''s impulsiveness, Asuka began to further question decision, but since she''d already said yes to the girl''s demand, she couldn''t back off from the situation. As they stood by the table, the guy cheerfully waved his hands to Asuka while the mage continued to hide behind her hat.

    "Mayaaaa, I brought her here, at least say hi!" Pulling up a seat, Maggie offered it to Asuka.

    Although, many of the patrons didn''t need a reason to be staring at the exotic beauty, but now with the ruckus around her, everyone began to re at the table with razor-sharp intensity.

    "H-hi! I''m Maya!" Adjusting the hat back onto her head, the scaredy mage introduced herself.

    "I''m Garth, the knight in our party," leaning over the table, the boy sprang terribly close to Asuka''s face. "Are you new here? I haven''t seen you around before."

    Bringing her fist down on Garth''s head, Maggie forced him back into the seat.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "That hurts!" Heined, caressing his head while pouting.

    "Pfft!" Witnessing the silly scene, Asuka instinctively let out augh.

    However, realizing her folly, she hastily covered her mouth. The other three looked at her delighted,pletely infatuated by her appearance and grace. Upon noticing their ring eyes, Asuka let out a muffled sigh before uncovering her face again.

    "Ahem! Um...you wanted to ask me something?" She asked, turning her head towards Maya. "What is it?"

    Even after getting properly introduced to each other, Maya''s nervous demeanor persisted. Her eyes kept wandering back and forth toward Asuka, and her lips quivered to speak but her anxiety wouldn''t allow any words toe out.

    "She wants to know about healing magic, right Maya?" Garth interjected.

    ''Healing magic? Great! I think I can manage that.'' Somewhat relieved, Asuka could feel somewhat rxed.

    "Do you wanna know any spells? Or just the general theory on how healing works?" Genuinely excited about the discussion, Asuka''s face was stered with a bright smile.

    "Ah...can you teach me how to perform healing?" Maya uttered, still seeming a bit nervous.

    "Sure, just concentrate your mana on your palms and repeat after me," With those instructions, Asuka began to teach Maya the basic principles of casting healing magic.

    Their practice went on for a while, and in between the spell casting and the chants, the waitress brought them food and ale. Steering clear of the alcohol, she barely even touched the food. Just one bite of the hardened bread was enough to make her despise the food outside the castle.

    ''I didn''t know people ate stuff like this, I''m d I get to live in the castle.'' Offering the food to Garth and Maggie, Asuka continued to teach the spell to Maya. Being quite young themselves, none of the two even touched one drop of the alcohol.

    "There..." Asuka whispered, watching Maya''s palms glowing a golden glow.

    "Is it working?" Asking herpanions that question, Maya''s concentration fell off, making the spell fail once again.

    "You had it!'' yelled Maggie, right into Garth''s ears.

    "Watch it!" He shrieked back. "I might need my ears healed if you shout that loud!"

    Watching the quarrelling duo, a strange sense offort washed over Asuka. The strange charm andfort emanating from the two made her yearn for a simr bond with another person.

    ''Master''s been really stern since the attack, and even before that I''ve never heard him genuinelyugh.'' With a blink of an eye, she turned her head to towards the clock. There still being some time before Haruki came to the guild, Asuka decided to push for some answers of her own.

    "Do you guy kn-"

    "What other magic can you use?!" Leaning over the table Garth cut her off.

    From the shock of him jumping at her face, Asuka''s body subconsciously jolted back. Sensing a threat up close, her slender fingers immediately turned into ws and pushed Garth back into his seat as reflex. This time, however, his body toppled back along with his seat.

    "Aghh!"

    "Woah!"

    "Your hand! How did you do that?!"

    Having made a grave mistake, Asuka couldn''t tell who said what or what exactly even happened.

 Chapter 24 24 - Friends, Deaths, And Reunions (Part 2)

    ?"Sorry I didn''t mean to do that!" Apologizing to Garth, Asuka drew her hand away from everyone''s sight.

    ''Shit! Shit! Shit! My hand transformed into a wolf w!'' Unaware of the fact that she could subconsciously trigger body transformation, Asuka nced in horror at the others.

    "Can you teach me?!" Maya eximed, ring at Asuka with glittering eyes.

    "I-no¡­sorry, it''s a secret!" Quickly transforming her hand back to that of a human, Asuka took a hasty look at the other tables. "Also, don''t tell anyone else, okay?"

    Thankfully, since the trio has been obnoxious and loud this whole time, everyone else has begun to ignore thempletely. Letting off a sigh of relief, Asuka turned back to the party. After being rejected by Asuka, Maya was curled up pouting in her chair, Maggie on the other hand seemed just as excited as ever, as for Garth, he had just picked himself up and was caressing his head to recover from the pain.

    "We''ll keep it a secret, don''t worry," Maggie assured, beaming a wide smile.

    ''I need to gather information, master must be on his way here anytime soon.'' Closing her eyes, she reminded herself of her duties.

    "Anyway, can I ask you guys a few questions? You know, since I''m new here, I don''t know that many people." stering a forced smile, she nced at each of them for an answer.

    "You barely touched any of the food, but still taught our mage how to use healing magic, so it''s the least we can do, right?" Maggie replied and the other two nodded.

    As soon as Asuka''s lips parted to ask a question, a drunken man abruptly mmed his mug onto their table. Shocked by the incident and the loud thump it produced, everyone instinctively jerked back into their chairs, except for Garth who leaned a bit too further and fell on his back again.

    "What the hell?!" Springing up on her feet, Maggieined.

    "Maggie!" Grabbing Maggie''s garb, Maya tried to pull her away from the man.

    Dressed in a leather tunic with chain mail armor, the drunken man leaned closer toward Asuka. With his amber eyes inches away from her face, she could smell the booze on the drunken ginger. The smile on Asuka''s face quickly disappeared, in its ce rested a deep frown on her forehead.

    "What do you want?" She mumbled.

    Annoyed by the sudden interruption, the light in her eye quickly dimmed out. Resonating with a sense of dread, her eyes grew void of any visible emotions.

    "I-I can show y-you around, I-I''ll answer your questions," Creepily smiling, the man leaned further for a kiss.

    pping his face, Asuka pushed him away from the table.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You want me to handle this?" Drawing his shield Garth offered to help.

    "I''ll be back¡­" Leaving everyone surprised, Asuka got up from the chair and held the drunken man''s hand. "Don''t worry, I can handle myself."

    ''How dare he try to kiss me?! I''ll tear him apart! I''ll kill him! Only master can do those things to me!''  Even though her blood was boiling in rage, she couldn''t let it be known to the trio since they could still be of great use to her master.

    "Charm" ring right into the drunken man''s eyes, Asuka used the special ability of a demi-human fox. Although she had vowed never to use the hypnotic ability again, she could no longer control her action.

    ''As long as he''s under my charm, it shouldn''t matter if he''s a higher level or not.'' In the Feralnds, demi-human foxes were notorious for using charm to turn any threat into mindless puppets infatuated by their beauty.

    "Oh! If you see another mercenary looking around for me, can you keep himpany until I return?" Nodding to Asuka''s request, the unlucky clover kept their mouths shut. Despite being new to the whole adventuring business, they knew better than to question someone with a soulless look in their eyes.

    "Ha! Ha! I-I knew you''d like me," The man uttered hupping as he spoke.

    Drowning her rage, Asuka kept on smiling. Guiding the man towards the guild''s entrance, she took him out of the building. Clinging to her body, the man was easily escorted by Asuka to a nearby dark alley away from all the ruckus.

    Upon setting foot into the shadows, Asuka quickly transformed into her demonic form and wrapped her tail around his neck. The man''s eyes widened in shock as her tail choked the air out of him. Watching him wheezing for air, Asuka''s heart raced in a thrilling rhythm. And soon enough as his face turned a gruesome blue her anger turned to glee, urging her to push the limits of his tolerance for pain further and further.

    "Unfortunately, I can only gain level through sexual contact, but I can''t even bear to look at your pathetic face much less do anything like that," Assessing a way to make use of the bastard, Asuka ran into a crazy yet depraved idea. "I know what to do with you. Since you were being so clingy to that fake body of mine, why don''t you let your desires out and jerk off until you die? It''s bad to keep your feelings suppressed, you know? Ahaha!"

    Her eyes glowed a striking violet as he gave the man his death sentence. Despite being chocked by her tail, his hand traveled into his tunic.

    ''I just need to touch him anywhere while he drains himself to death.'' From what she could gather, the main difference between a subus and an incubus was that an incubus needs to have sex for draining levels, but when it came to subuses all they had to do was to touch their victims while their minds were corrupted. However, unlike incubuses, subuses couldn''t copy abilities from their victims.

    ''That''s fine though, I doubt this fool has any useful abilities.''

    Squeezing his windpipe with her tail, she watched the man''s eyes pop right out of his skull. Had it been her former self, she would''ve been petrified by the sight, but having turned into a demonic being, she bore no sympathy for any disgusting depraved humans. If anything, it thrilled her to watch them suffer. And forcing them to march themselves to their death through bodily pleasure, only gave the torture that much more of an exciting climax.

    ''Level up!'' The announcement rang, as the drunken man''s eyes dangled and his hands continued to piston.

    ''I can''t wait to give master all the levels I gain from this!" Smiling to herself, Asuka couldn''t wait to be reunited with her master.

 Chapter 25 25 - Friends, Deaths, And Reunions (Part 3)

    ?Wandering alone in the ruined castle, Roselia marched through the halls holding a flickering candle. Illuminating her path, the candle drove away the shadows as she mulled over her thoughts. Concern resting heavily on her face, she tried not to let her mind race too much.

    ''Something feels off¡­'' She could sense it crawling up her skin, the uncertainty and doubt guing the walls of the decrepit castle. Taking a look through a broken window, she let her fingers glide across the ss shards barely held in by the frame. As blood began to trail down her arm, she clutched the ss harder until it shattered into her palm.

    "Burn," Shemanded, and the ss boiled until it was charred to ash.

    Letting the ashes slip through her fingers, she nced up at the full moon overseeing her misery.

    "Just a century more, and all of this will end," She mumbled as though speaking to the night itself.

    Turning around she resumed her walk. Getting to the spiraling stairs she climbed up them as the sound of her heels echoed throughout the castle. Having no intention to be seen she made sure no one saw her getting off on the floor with the dragon-crested door. It had been a while since she''dst gone in, and the very image of disappointment on her brother''s face put her in a despairing mood.

    "I''m sorry I couldn''t visit sooner," Mumbling to herself, she ced her hand on the dragon crest.

    Shutting her eyes, a stream of warmth traveled from her palm to the crest made of ice. In a spell of time, the whole crest turned into vapor.

    "Your big sister is here, and I''m sorry it''s been a while¡­little brother," wearing a weak yet loving smile, Roselia pushed forward.

    ***

    Covered in blood and guts, Haruki held the little girl''s hand while heading toward Moriyana''s temporary base. Following behind him were the same men he''d seen conversing in the alley. However, with their guts spilling out of their stomachs and their eyes punctured in, they staggered behind Haruki like mindless zombies. Every now and then, he had to force them to walk faster by pulling on their cor made from their own ragged clothes.

    ''I hope they don''t die before Moriyana can turn them into ves.'' He thought, looking back up on the stone-paved path.

    "Mister, where are we going?" The little girl asked, trying to lower the blindfold.

    Grabbing her arm, Haruki gently made her put it down again. After rushing back towards the alley, the curse of the tyrant''s heart purged any sympathy he could''ve had for these monstrous men selling off this youngdy, but that wasn''t the only thing that he had lost from that moment.

    ''I can''t remember what happened, but I need to get this girl somewhere safer.'' Marching forward a while longer, Moriyana''s hosting tent finally came into view. Haruki knew that taking the girl to Moriyana wasn''t the best choice, but since he wanted to put her in charge of all criminal activity in the duchy, she was the only one who could make sure no children were further involved in any criminal activity.

    "What''s your name?" He asked, his eyes vigntly spying for any pedestrians. Luckily, it was quitete for any regr person to be wandering around the streets.

    "R-Riana!" The little girl squealed, uncertain about her fate going forward.

    "I''m giving you a master Riana, one who''ll keep you safe, but¡­" As if a cold dead hand had taken a hold of his heart, Haruki couldn''t help but doubt the morality of his choice.

    ''I''ve just killed two men, and I''m about to offer a child to a ve trader. Should I really trust my judgment anymore?''  Atst, he came to realize the kind of path he had chosen. It was a path spilling with guts, screams, and corruption, something he could''ve never imagined himself doing in his past life.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''Tyrant''s heart!'' Washing the doubts out of his mind, the curse gave him some rity.

    "I''m giving you a master, Riana, and you have to be a tyrant, that''s the only way to avoid yours and the suffering of your loved ones." Unaware of what Haruki meant by those words, the girl innocently nodded.

    Standing by the curtained entrance to Moriyana''s office, Haruki breathed a curse before letting out a tired sigh. Moving the curtain to the side, he stepped right in. ncing around inside the tent, he was surprised by the dainty appearance of the ce. Thinking back on the extravagant carriage she had, he waspletely left baffled by theck of any luxury. As his wandering eyes nced over a study table, Haruki noticed a small batying atop a mountain of documents.

    ''Is that a pet?'' Despite knowing Moriyana for a while now, he couldn''t rule out that possibility.

    "Who''s there?" Moriyana''s familiar voice called from the conjoined room in the expansive tent.

    In the time she took to pass from the other room to her office, Haruki noticed a file of countless cages lined up behind her.

    "Did the inns kick you out?" Haruki asked, trying to lighten his own mood.

    "Oh¡­it''s you," tilting her head, she nced over Haruki''s shoulder at the near-dead men standing behind him. "And it seems you''ve brought some guests."

    "Gifts," He corrected, pulling hard on their leashes he forced them to move forward, "You can sell them as ves."

    mping her hands, her ears instantly perked up at the news. Having a bright smile stered all over her face, she happily grabbed onto their cors.

    "What about the girl?" Looking down at her she asked.

    Shifting his gaze to the other room, he motioned her to take the men away first. Without asking any questions, Moriyana shrugged it off and took the men into the backroom.

    "Here," Haruki mumbled, taking the blindfold off Riana.

    After being blindfolded for so long, it took her a moment to recover her vision. And once she could properly see again, she quickly nced up at Haruki. In front of the kid''s watchful eyes, he turned into Snow and then into his demonic form.

    "I''m sorry again, but you''re gonna be a ve peddler from this day forward," With an aching heart, Haruki yfully ruffled through her hair.

    Contrary to what he had expected, the girl wasn''t scared by his transformations, instead, she was greatly infatuated as if it was a cool trick by a magician.

    "T-Thank you, mister!" Hugging the devil who had saved her from a life of misery, tears of joy flowed down her cheeks. "I''ll do my best for you!"

    Before Haruki''s eyes could even form tears, Moriyana came back into the room, disrupting the bitter-sweet moment.

 Chapter 26 26 - A Letter To The Queen Of Daria

    ?"Send her a letter and ask for an invite to stay," Leaning against the table, Moriyana rested her head on the back of her palms. Squishing them between her arms, Moriyana intentionally tried to show off her breasts.

    "Why? It would be akin to signing my own death," Haruki rebutted,pletely ignoring her advances.

    "As if..." Letting out a breath on Haruki''s face, Moriyana seductively trailed her index down on his nose. "Being in her castle won''t only allow you to deal with her, but will also force her to stop trying to kill you."

    pping her hand off his face, Haruki nced at Riana sleeping on a cushioned chair in the corner. Shifting his attention back to Moriyana, he red at her in a disgruntled manner, letting her know to stop her failed attempts at seduction.

    "Aghhhh..." She grunted. Rolling her eyes she settled back into her chair across the table. "I just wanted to have some fun."

    "What do you mean she can''t kill me in her castle? And wouldn''t it make her suspicious that I want to stay with her a week after Rose killed all of her assassins?" Ignoring her words, Haruki pushed for an answer.

    To Moriyana, Haruki''s questions were a product of pure naivete. ring at him with her weary crimson eyes, Moriyana''s disappointment in Haruki reflected all over her face.

    "If she kills you while you''re there, at worst, she''d be the prime suspect for your murder and the emperor will sign her death without a question," Grabbing a quill pen resting in its stand, she pulled up some document from under her sleeping bat. "Parrot get off..."

    Uninterested in chatter, she began to draw something on the parchment. Herck of interest in the matter irked Haruki a lot, but even then he realized that expecting too much from the subus was his own fault.

    "And at best?" He asked, still following the symbol she was drawing.

    "Mhnmm? Oh! You''d end up spending an uneventful holiday in another dutchy," Connecting intricate pattern after pattern to each other, she put the pen back into its stand. "Trust me, master, ahaha...Ahem! Margarette isn''t foolish enough to try and kill you while you''re staying with her."

    Moriyana''s confidence in the n made him wonder if she was intentionally trying to put him into the dragon''s belly. However, as her points made more sense than his own, he decided to entertain the dubious n.

    "What of her suspicion? The moment I send her that letter, she''d known for sure that her ploy had been unveiled," Watching her get off the chair and reach for a cab behind her, Haruki felt even more insulted as he talked. "Whatever will I achieve by staying there anyway?!"

    "A new servant, wait, two new servants," taking out a vial filled with translucent liquid from the cab, she brought it back to the table. "As for an excuse to stay there, just tell her that you want to stay in her castle while restoration of your own is underway."

    Tired of her vague ns, Haruki mmed his fist on the table before jumping onto his feet. But as Riana began to mumble something from the noise in her sleep, his whole body quickly regressed his aggression.

    "Don''t wake the child, she had a lot to study tomorrow," Moriyana teased while cing the vial over the scribbled parchment.

    "She''d never be willing to turn into my servant, hell, there''s no way she''d let me bed her," Stacking his verbalints, Haruki watched as Moriyana twirled the vial on top of the parchment.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As she mumbled incoherently, a mystifying light began to seep from the ink. At first, it lit up in patches, more prominent in spaces with the most amount of ink. Eventually, however, the whole thing lit up in a blinding pink. Stretching upwards, the light conformed into a reaching hand and it coiled its fingers around the ss vial. Merging with the clear liquid, it left behind a luminous pink potion.

    "What the hell was that?" Haruki mumbled, still bewildered by the glistering sight.

    "Thest thing, I''m doing for free, that''s what this is," Holding the potion towards him, she let him try to grab it before pulling it away from his grasp. "Now, before I tell you what this is capable of, or what you need to do to make that bitch of a queen, your bitch, I want something more than just scowls and frowns."

    ''Like I expected any less.'' Washing off the aggression from his face, Haruki put on a neutral facade.

    "I''ve already given you the exclusive right to trade ves in my territory, what else do you want?" Clenching his teeth he suppressed his annoyance. "I was about to have you oversee and take hold of all the criminal activities as well, but now, it might depend on your answer."

    Hearing thest part, her eyes widened glimmering with joy. With a wide grin taking over her face, she let out a cackle and Handed the potion to Haruki. Taking a closer look at the luminous potion, he could hear a strange whispering off of it.

    "So what do you want?" He asked again.

    "A better ce, something more formal and tidier," Circling around with her hands wide open, her eyes wandered looking at the horrible state of the tent. "The innkeepers can''t house my ves for long, and just the expense of keeping them there is costing me a fortune."

    Her request was much more reasonable than Haruki had expected. But then he remembered all the other privileges she would soon be provided with. After taking hold of criminal business, she would rarely need to rely on his generosity.

    ''Perhaps, I should find a way to keep her reliant on me.''

    "I''ll provide you with something, but I''ll need your ves to construct a trade route in the meantime," Being on the topic of mutual exchange, Haruki decided to bring up what he had discussed with the council. "I''ve already talked to the councilmen, we''re gonna need a lot more of your ves, and a lot morebor."

    "Delightful!" Settling back into her chair, Moriyana flicked the snoring bat with her finger to wake him up. "Bring us some tea, my master and I might be having a long conversation."

    "An exchange of ns rather. you tell me how to take care of Margarette, and I''ll let you in on everything the councilmen and I discussed in our meeting"

    "Very well, I was excited for you to make Daria''s ruler your servant anyway," Moriyana replied, grinning ear to ear.

    ''I''ve never seen her smile like that, are all lust demons just as crazy?'' Looking back at his own evil deeds, Haruki wondered who the real monster was in this barter amongst devils.

 Chapter 27 27 - The False Maiden, Margarette Phoenix

    ?Silhouetted by the light peering through the stained ss, the used figure of the holistic rulerid legs crossed at the throne of Daria. Bewitched by her charm, even the hardened messenger couldn''t help but be dazzled by her blinding splendor.

    "What is it?" Shifting her legs to the other side, she merely nced at the bowing servant. "This better not be some trivial matter, cause if so, don''t expect a spec mercy for wasting my leisure time."

    "Out with it!" Fuming in raging for reasons unknown to her, her stepson Riley grunted at the man.

    "L-Lord Frost has sent a message, your highness," a trail of sweat trickled down the messenger''s cheeks.

    Even from afar Margarette felt enthralled by the look of fear in the young man''s eyes. Running her nails down between her perky breasts, she let herself bleed a little to drown out her urges. Scoffing at the sight, Riley looked away from his lecherous stepmother.

    "What are you waiting for? Just give her the letter!" Riley growled at the guards again, however, being as frail as he was, it had little to no effect on the messenger''s demeanor.

    Propping himself up, the guard climbed up the steps to the throne with the letter clutched in his hands. Kneeling in front of the dazzling duchess, he offered her the parchment by holding it over his head. Taking a brief nce at the brutish scars on the messenger''s face, Margarette ced her hand over his to steal the touch of a man even if itsted just a moment.

    "Margarette!" Stomping his feet to yell, Riley almost fell over under the weight of his own armor, however, taking up a fencing stance helped him correct his posture in an instant.

    "Quiet, aghh..." taking the letter from the messenger, Margarette shooed him off with a brush of the hand. "What is it now?"

    Undoing the royal seal with her nail, she quickly opened the letter and began to read through it. At first, she didn''t seem all that bothered by its content, however by the time she was done reading, an aggrieved scowl had contorted her face. Throwing the letting away from her, she caressed her temples to keep her temperament in control.

    "Leave," Riley ordered the guard, knowing something had definitely gone off the rails.

    "But, Master Riley, I need majesties'' response to convey it to the duke,'''' The messenger rebutted, seemingly uncertain whether to heed Riley''s order or not.

    "Tell the duke he''s allowed to stay, and leave us alone for a moment," Margarette interrupted their exchange before Riley got upset again.

    Uttering not a single more word, the messenger bowed to the duchess before making his way out. Once he was gone, and the only two present were the mother and son, it was time for an open heart to heart. Walking up the steps to the throne, Riley red up at Margarette with nothing but contempt in his eyes.

    ''I hate this, everything about this fucking body is a nightmare.'' Seeing her get up, the disparity in their height filled his mind withints.

    Despite being a man he severelycked any masculine features, one of which happened to be his dainty height which was shunted before he could even reach Margarette''s shoulders. To make things worse, his dollish round face as well as the frail yet masculine frame filled him with disgust every time he looked in the mirror.

    "Did he find out?" Riley asked, barely carrying himself under the weight of the heavy armor.

    "So it seems, but that''s not the issue here," Reaching toward Riley''s brownish short hair, Margarette tried to give it a yful ruffle.

    "Don''t-" pping her hands away from himself, he red at her with bloodshot eyes. "-You dare."

    Scoffing at his constant hostility, Margarette tried to drown her frustration. Settling back into the throne, she crossed her legs before beginning to exin the situation to her son. With her legs hanging from the slits of the dress, Riley felt distracted by her showy disy of skin. In contrast to the duchess''s deep neck gown giving a near full disy of her assets, Riley had dressed modestly in ck leather armor which was evidently too hefty for his body.

    "He''s asking to stay here and you told the guard to tell him he''s allowed?!" baffled by her stupidity, Riley couldn''t control his rage any longer. "Did your wit die with my father?!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Riley Phoenix! He was my husband too!" The sharp gaze from her widened silver eyes was enough to pierce the soul itself. "Besides I''m doing all this for you!"

    On the very mention of the topic, Riley''s whole body went limp in shock. His eyes stared at her nkly for a moment before a silent smile crawled on his face.

    "Is that why you took the throne? Even though it was rightfully mine, mother?" Margarette knew that when Riley called her mother, there was no sense in arguing with him. And so the only way for her to handle the situation was to deviate to something else.

    "We''ll kill him on his journey here," Tilting her head, she got off the throne again. "And since we''ve epted his request to stay over, the emperor won''t suspect a thing. After which, all we have to do is to convince the emperor to hand over Laria to you."

    Riley tried to take a step back but grabbing him by the arms, Margarette pulled him against her bosom. Her hands wrapped around his sore body soothed his mind in an instant.

    ''We need this, you need this. If only you were normal, nobody would''ve judged you so harshly, but that body of yours is a social curse, and to ovee it, you need to be an extraordinary ruler, but you''re not yet ready.''  Poisoned by her own thoughts, Margarette nted a kiss on Riley''s forehead before letting go of his body.

    "I still don''t understand why you won''t let me rule Daria, is it because you don''t trust that I can handle it?" His question left Margarette stuck in a dilemma.

    If she spoke the truth that she didn''t trust him, it was bound to destroy whatever bond they had left, on the other hand, however, saying she did trust Riley would be akin to promising him the title in the very near future. Assessing her option, she took a deep gulp before replying.

    "It was your father''sst wish, remember? He wanted you to be a greater ruler than him," Taking a hold of his hand, she gave him a caring smile. "And that starts with expanding your territory."

    Drawing his hand away from her grasp, Riley looked at her in disgust. He knew what she said was the truth, however, there was something else that she was hiding, something he knew very well.

    "You could''ve just lied, at least pretend to have some faith in me," stepping down the steps of the throne, he kept his eyes fixed on her. "Snow was given the throne even though he''s the same age, the only difference between us is that I look the way I look so nobody has any faith in me."

    "No, that''s not true, Riley!" Rushing towards him down the stairs, she tried to get a hold of him. However, the moment her hand stretched out to touch him, Riley activated one of his profusely used abilities.

    "Lonesome widow, take me away," Uttering those words, light passed right through him, turning him invisible. "Good luck with your murder n, hopefully, it goes better than thest."

    "It will! I promise you''ll be the emperor one day," She replied.

    Margarette''s eyes scanned for her son, but not even the shadow of his presence was left behind anymore. Wandering around she tried to run into him, only to be met with disappointments one after the other.

    "We both know that won''t happen, so stop lying," opening the door with his phantom hands, Riley left his stepmother in a state of uncertainty and panic.

    ''I will make ite true, but first...I have to deal with this annoying duke!'' Canvassing her thoughts, the duchess of Daria wondered just how much of her involvement in his attempted assassination was known to Snow. In the end, she could only conclude two possible reasons for his sudden interest in staying at Castle Phoenix.

    ''Either he wants to ckmail me with evidence, or he wants to bargain for an alternative that doesn''t involve us killing each other or getting the emperor involved.'' With a very real possibility of being executed for treason by the emperor, Margarette''s mind raced for a way to get rid of the duke on his journey to Daria.

    "Ahaha....Ahaha! I know! Yes! That''s it! Why didn''t I think of it before?! Ahahahahaha!" At the very edge of her sanity, the so-called holy maiden began to pull her long silver hair until it ripped through her scalp. "Rejuvenation!"

    Sealing the wounds, her abilities sprouted the torn hair anew.

 Chapter 28 28 â€“ Hasty Preparations

    ?"It''s an honor to meet you, my lord!" Bowing her head to Snow, Maggie and the other two showed their respect to him.

    Completely unaware of the fact that he had already met the trio back at the adventurer guild. However, since at that time he was masking himself as a mercenary they had no clue that it was the same person standing in front of them.

    "They''re the adventurer''s party unlucky clover, I''ve vetted them myself so you can rest assured about your safety in their presence," Masking herself as the mage again, Asuka introduced the trio to Haruki.

    "To think Miss Rise would be an acquaintance of our duke..." Maya mumbled, hiding her face behind the witch hat she shyly peeked at Snow.

    Thankfully, the lousy lie about Snow getting to know Rise through the royal academy was holding up better than they had expected. If that hadn''t worked then knowing Rose, she would''ve been keeping track of everything Snow did and everyone he ever met while being in the duchy.

    "I''m grateful for your help, and the help of all the other adventurers who''ve epted to be my escort to Daria," ncing at the party, Haruki knew they weren''t worth much nor did they have much experience. Bringing his attention back to Asuka, he questioned whether her assessment of the three was purely sentimental.

    "Um...Miss Rise, is your boyfriend not going to be one of the convoys?" Maggie asked,pletely zing over the formal setting.

    Just hearing the word boyfriend made Asuka''s whole body turn a cherry red. And as if fumes of embarrassment were shooting off of her head, her eyes twirled around in bafflement. Noticing how fazed she was, Garth beamed a smile and added.

    "Arnold, was his name, right?" with his arms folded and his chest puffed out, he seemed extremely proud of his cheekish behavior.

    "What?! No! I mean!" Like a child her arms mimed in circles as she stared at them.

    "Arnold, the mercenary, correct? I believe I have assigned him some other tasks in the duchy until my return to Laria," Saving face, Haruki quickly made up an excuse for the fazed Asuka. "To be honest, I''d like you to join him now, we''re about to depart for Daria soon so it''s best you be with him."

    Looking around, Haruki noticed a herd of adventurers scattered throughout the castle''s garden. Standing by the entrance stairs, he was trying to assess their strength beforeing up with a way to make use of them.

    "Y-yeah, I''ll be off then, take good care of mast-I mean, Lord Snow," Correcting herself at the right moment, Asuka took the trio to show them their convoy carriage. Once done, she was supposed to circle around the castle and meet up with Haruki as Asuka to apany him on the journey.

    In the meantime, all to himself, Haruki''s eyes kept a stern watch over everyone. From the adventurers who were supposed to safely get him to Daria to the numerous carriages lined inside the castle''s gates. But what he was spying on was none of those things, instead, he was looking for Roselia as well as the notorious ve trader Moriyana.

    ''Where the hell are these two? I haven''t seen Rose since this morning and she''s supposed to be in charge of the duchy''s safety while I''m gone. As for Moriyana, she still hasn''t provided me with those bottled potions!'' nervously tapping his feet, he let out a tired sigh.

    "I almost forgot," Seeing how Snow''s breath came out as bone-chilling as always, he was reminded of Snow''s affinity for ice magic. "Should I practice while waiting? I still haven''t taken those levels from Asuka but...it can''t be worse than my dark magic abilities. Not to mention. I can''t be seen using dark magic in public spaces"

    Holding his hand forward, Haruki took a deep breath and channeled his mana to his arm. As the image of an icicle came up in his mind, he began to condense his mana into a sharp shard of ice that could be shot across long distances.

    "What''s that?!"

    "Holy shit! Are those real?!"

    "No way! It''s a burning w tiger!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Distracted by themotion, Haruki''s spell shattered into small pieces of ice. Bringing his attention to the front, he noticed that all the adventures had subsided to the sides creating a straight path leading from the main gates to the castle.

    "This bitch..." Haruki cursed as he saw Rose riding on top of a giant ming tiger. It roared with each step, and every time its ws hit the ground the very earth shook from the impacts.

    "You''d need one of these master, in case you get lost in the tundra," Getting off the tiger, she caressed it over its back. The giant feline purred innocently as if it was a domesticated house cat. "She hadn''t left herir in the mountains for a while, so I thought she might be of good use to you, especially since you wouldn''t allow me to apany you myself."

    Rose had never failed to surprise Haruki, and yettely her surprises as helpful as they were felt a bit more menacing. He knew that to some extent, Rose was aware of the changes in Snow, and yet the only thing Haruki could do about it was to continue to pretend.

    ''We might need to take care of her sooner than I thought,'' Breaking his thoughts was a light tap on the back of his shoulder. As he turned around, he saw Asuka standing right behind her.

    "Is there something wrong, master?" She asked, having noticed the concern in Haruki''s eyes.

    "No, the-'''' Noticing a saggy pouch by Asuka''s hips, Haruki realized something important. "Nevermind, we should get going before the sun settles."

    As he looked into her eyes for confirmation of his thoughts, Asuka gently nodded making sure Rose wouldn''t pick up on the hints. The pouch resting by her hip had a doodle of a cherry in the same luminous ink as Moriyana had used.

    ''It''s better she didn''t directlye to me with the potions, seeing a ve peddler with a duke was bound to raise suspicion.''

    "Get the adventurers ready!" Turning around, Haruki shouted out to one of the guards.

    Giving Haruki a quick salute he went on his way to stuff the adventurers into the convoy carriages. ncing back at Rose, Haruki couldn''t help, but question her intention with the giant ming tiger. A single look at its macr limbs with crimson mes ring out of its stripes, made him wonder if it was supposed to keep him safe or to cook him alive.

    "I''m not taking that hazard with me, if she goes feral, who knows how many people will die," Offering his rebuttal, he tried to walk past her. But grabbing him by his shoulder, Rose stopped him in his tracks.

    "It''s me or her, master, if you die, then there''s no point to this expedition," Letting go of him, she continued to add. "Besides, I have zero trust in this suicidal n of yours, what are you dreaming to achieve through this anyway?"

    Telling her the truth wasn''t an option, but lying to her face when she was as perceptive as a seer, would only make matters worse and elevate her suspicion.

    "I''m going to strike a deal with her," He replied, not letting a shred of doubt reflect on his face.

    "What kind of deal do you wish to strike with a traitor? It''s suicide master, and I know you know it!" Laced with concern, her voice grew weary. Turning around to Haruki, she gently wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I''ve lost plenty, so please... just a century more...that''s all I ask, please don''t die."

    Those words struck a strange chord in Haruki''s heart. The lingering dread and the pain in her voice felt familiar to him. Almost reminiscent of him being shown his dead mother''s grave by Moriyana.

    "Asuka, we''re taking the tiger. Bind her to my carriage, she can draw it, I''m sure," gently unwrapping Rose''s arms around him, Haruki made his way forward.

    "Thank you, young duke," Bowing her head, Rose prayed for his safety as well as the quick return of her master. "I''ll keep Daria safe in your absence, I promise."

 Chapter 29 29 - Shadow Blade Sisters

    ?Boxed in from all sides by convoy carriages filled with adventurers, Haruki was finally on his path to Daria. To further strengthen his security two female members of the shadow des were traveling with him inside his oakwood carriage. Thest one of these identical triplets, Ka, was out on foot making good use of her ninja abilities to spy out any possible danger.

    "I''ll soon switch with big sis for surveince duty," Sitting across from Haruki and Asuka, Jenna finally uttered something after an hour of silence. "Fina, Keep Lord Frost safe while we switch."

    "Of course, you don''t need to tell me," Cleaning her kunai, Fina replied without even looking at her sister. "And, don''t forget that I am older than Ka."

    "Keep fooling yourself, she''s a minute older than us both," The quarrel amongst sisters was getting surprisingly deeper. "Just keep our Lord safe, alright?"

    Offering no response to Jenna, Fina began to stack her kunai by her waist belt. Scoffing at her condescending act, Jenna reached for her long dark hair and quickly tied them into a bob. Dressed in an all-ck suit, the girls were as elusive as a shadow. Pulling up her dark mask, Jenna got off her seat and held the door of the racing carriage open.

    "Dammit!" Being sted with scorching steam, she instinctively let out a curse. "The damned tiger is turning the snow into vapor, no wonder it''s scorching hot inside the carriage!"

    The burning w tiger was an indigenous beast of the tundra, however, since food was scarce in thesends, they often passed their lives hibernating in their dens and rarely ventured out into the territories of humans. Thus, it was no surprise that such folly in making it draw a carriage wentpletely unnoticed by everyone.

    "Go switch already, the beast is only helping us by masking us in mist," As if personally offended by her harsh words against the beast, Fina protested against her sister.

    "Aghhhh!" Jenna cried before jumping out of the carriage.

    Having witnessed the sisters'' interaction with each other, Haruki could only imagine how much of a headache it must''ve been for their parents to handle them. However, at the moment he didn''t have the luxury to worry about something so meager. Before getting into the carriage, he had nned to spend his leisure time with Asuka going over his ns as they both took care of their carnal curses. But now with the sister apanying them, draining those levels that Asuka had acquired from someone else had to wait a while longer.

    "Fina! I told you not to fight with Jenna again!" Jumping into the carriage and instantlyining was thest of the triplets, ka.

    "Mhnmm," Fina continued to ignore the presence of her sisters.

    As her eyes met Haruki''s, she felt extremely embarrassed by her unprofessional behavior. Getting to her knees, she held her arm over her heart before looking up at him.

    "Apologies my lord, I shouldn''t be shouting in your presence," Taking a closer look at her tanned face, Haruki noticed a pair of light wounds around her neck.

    "It''s okay, but how did you get hurt?" He asked before gesturing Asuka to address to her wounds.

    While getting healed by Asuka, Ka exined how there were monsters roaming around the tundra and while fighting one such creature she was slightly injured around the neck by a projectile.

    ''It''s been so long since I''ve been out in the open that Ipletely forgot about monsters and such.'' Remembering a time when he used to defend his field from kobolds and goblins, a genuine smile crept onto his face. ''I wouldn''t mind fighting a few myself.''

    "Lord Frost, if you do not mind, can I ask you something?" Ka''s sudden interruption broke Haruki''s chain of thoughts.

    Looking at her, he noticed a childlike glimmer in her dark eyes.

    "Sure, go ahead," he answered, a bit curious as to what she wanted to ask.

    Enthusiastically mping her hands, she leaned forward. Seeing her getting close to Haruki, Asuka quickly yet gently pushed her back into the seat.

    "Ah-Ahem! Sorry, ehehe," Her response only made him wonder if she was really the oldest one of the bunch. "Have you met the emperor? Or maybe gone to Feralnd? Maybe even to Scorchen Gaia?"

    Her peculiar line of questions drew everyone''s eyes directly to her. It wasn''t that she had said something odd, or even slightly strange, but the implication those questions carried made everyone visibly ufortable.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Sis, miss Asuka is a demi-fox, I don''t think you should be asking such questions in front of her," Giving her sister a stern look, Fina tightly clutched Ka''s arm.

    Turning her attention to Asuka, Ka sped her hands apologetically.

    "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to!" Smiling at Ka, Asuka looked away to the other side.

    "It''s okay, only feral demi-humans live there," The hushed tone of her voice bled hurt, but hiding it behind a smile she kept going. "Besides, the emperor will soon take over that ce so it''d be one with the empire anyways."

    Despite the Feralnds being the homnd of demi-humans, Asuka herself had never lived there. With the generosity she''d been given in As, she had little connection to the ce, and yet for some obscure reason, the thought of those demi-human children being torn to shreds in the war with the empire, bleed her heart to no end.

    "As for the emperor, no, I haven''t seen him, and thest news about Scorchen Gaia I received was about the esction of our war with the demons," saying that Haruki was reminded of Asmodia and how little she''d been interfering with him in recent days. "However, since we''re nowhere near their of the demon lords, it''s bound to go on for a lot longer."

    ''Why the hell does she wanna know all this anyways?''

    "Really?!" Ka enthusiastically yelled out.

    "Settle down, you politics nerd!" tearing up a piece of cloth Fina stuffed into her gaping mouth.

    "Pfft!" watching the interaction from the edge of her eyes, Asuka let out a chuckle.

    Shattering their sense of security, an abrupt decline in the carriages'' speed, raised suspicion in everyone''s eyes. To everyone''s knowledge, the carriages weren''t supposed to stop until they''d passed the tundra, thus the sudden change of ns heightened their sense of caution.

    "Stay behind us," Moving in front of Haruki, the two sisters clutched the door to prevent it from being opened.

    Getting off the seat, Asuka opened the coachman''s window at the front. To her terror, she only saw the tiger with no sight of the coachman. Turning around, her eyes nervously jittered as her mind searched for any answers.

    "Asuka, what''s happening?" Noticing the fazed look on her, Haruki shook her by the arms.

    "The coachman...he''s not there, and I don''t see the other carriages either!" Snapping out of her trance of terror, she began to calm down a little.

    "What do you mean? We are in the middle carriage, they can''t be far f-"

    Interrupting him was a rhythmic knock on the carriage door. ncing back at Haruki, Ka motioned him to stay at the very back.

    "Fina, use it," She whispered to her sister.

    "I know, detect presence!" Upon the activation of her ability, a dome of green light sprouted from her body and epassed everything in her close proximity. "No...No way..."

    Frozen solid as if she had seen a ghost, Fina red at thin air with her eyes wide open.

    "It''s thenterned reaper!" Springing up onto her feet, she drew deep shallow breaths and began to hyperventte. "We''re stranded in an illusion all on our own!"

 Chapter 30 30 - Escaping Illusions

    ?"We must offer something live to the damned reaper or else he''ll never let us out of this illusion," Unlike her sister, Ka was calmly assessing the situation. The terror in her eyes, however, was just as dire as Fina''s.

    With each passing breath, Fina''s gasps were getting louder and louder. Fidgeting on the spot, her whole body was shaken from the shock of sensing the monster on the other side of the door.

    "Fina! Cut it!" Ka yelled out loud, visibly disgruntled. "We''re not kids anymore, pull your weight!"

    "B-but!" The fear in Fina''s eyes continued to grow.

    ''What the hell are they doing? Aren''t they supposed to protect me?'' Haruki couldn''t figure out why such a seasoned adventurer was terrified of the monster. ''I can sense it though, the fear in her heart, it''s not just an impulsive response, but something rooted much deeper.''

    Frustrated from the stalemate, Asuka took a deep breath and moved in front of the scared spy. mping her head between her hands, she brought her head close to her and looked directly into her eyes.

    "Charm!"

    Like a doll of rag and cotton, Fina''s body flopped on the floor in the very next instance. Witnessing the scene, Ka let go of the door and leaped towards her sister, unsure as to what had just happened to her.

    "What did you do?!" Holding Fina in her arms, Ka nced up at Asuka demanding an answer.

    "Charm!" To her misfortune, she fell victim to the same ability as her sister. "Thank lord, I thought it wouldn''t work on women."

    Lifelessly flopping down on the floor, Kaid right over her sister. Shifting her attention to Haruki, Asuka took yet another breath before transforming into her demon form.

    "Do you have a n?" Haruki asked, only to be met with a gaze screaming the obvious.

    Looking down on the girls, he knew what had to be done. However, leaving one alive after what happened was a terribly scary preposition. Clutching his heart, he got down to his knees to assess the girls. Acting as a reminder of the monstrous fate he was about to doom the girls to, a rhythmic knock on the door rang once again.

    "What about the tiger? Can we not offer her?" Having been in the empire''s military, Haruki knew more than well that offering the beasts wasn''t the answer.

    "I doubt the tigress can even sense astral monsters or else she would''ve been attacking it already," Asuka''s reply realized his doubts. "And even if she could, she would''ve just torn the reaper apart before it breaks the illusion."

    ''And that''ll trap us in this thing forever,'' turning to the coachman''s window, he could see a blizzard brewing up ahead. ''It doesn''t seem like we have much time either.''

    After taking the Kunais off of Fina, Haruki propped himself up and turned to Asuka. He couldn''t let their experience go to waste, especially when he was easily overpowered by most of the adversaries he had run into so far. Until now, he hadn''tid a finger on innocent life, but that too was about to change the very next instance.

    ''Tyrant''s heart!'' The curse pushed him further into rity.

    "Drain their level, and throw them out," For the faintest moment, Haruki noticed a hint of reluctance in her eyes, but itsted no more than a second.

    "Familiar summon!" As she spoke those words, a small tentacle-like creature began to crawl out of her palm. "Lulu, take care of those girls for me."

    He could still see it in her eyes, the apprehension to give her familiar thatmand. Turning his back to the creature, he felt no different than Asuka in that regard. Slowly crawling across the floor, the sound of the slimy creature''s writhing about drew both of them to silent tears.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I didn''t think I''d have to use my new ability for something like this," Asuka mumbled, facing away from the creature as it continued to grow out of her arms.

    Although they''ve both been turned into demons, within their heart resides deep empathy for the innocent. Had it been a monster like the criminals on the streets of Laria, neither of them would''ve shed even a single tear before offering them to the reaper.

    ''Tyrant''s heart''

    ''Level up!''

    Like a deafening bell, the curse and the announcement kept on ringing in that silent cabin. Staring at the other side, neither of them dared look back at the debaucherous acts beingmitted by the creature behind them. Motionless they stood listening to its movements and the sound of their iling bodies. The weight of their choiceid heavy on their shoulders, and the distant sounds of the approaching blizzard deterred them from breaking their stillness.

    "Do not be swayed by their suffering," Trailing into their ears, Asmodia''s voice broke the silence.

    "W-was that...." Asuka whimpered, doubting the voice she had just heard.

    "Yes, it was," Turning around to their motionless bodies, Haruki gave her an answer. "Open the door, I''ll move them out."

    "Lulu,e back," drawing the creature back into her arms, Asuka quickly got to the door.

    As Haruki grabbed the girls andid them right by the door, Asuka opened the door to the Lanterned Reaper. Cloaked in a torn-up hood, the reaper held antern with souls burning inside in a deep blue me.

    "M-myntern it keeps me warm," It uttered through its skeletal mouth. Pointing its finger towards Haruki, it urged him toe closer. "Offer me a soul or suffer the blizzard just as I once had."

    Listening to his demand, they both nced at each other to be affirmed of the horrendous act in the eyes of each other. However, failing to find refuge in each other''s gaze they shied away from each other just as quickly as their gazes had met.

    "Here," Haruki, uttered, throwing out the motionless bodies of the unconscious girls. "Take them and leave."

    The reaper''s head hung low as he stared at the girls thrown to his feet. Looking back up, it let out a cackle with its bony teeth and jaw. It almost felt as if he was mocking them for offering the girls to him with such ease.

    "Bless thee, traveller, bless thee, muahahaha!" Holding thentern over the body of the girls, the reaper began to draw their souls right out of their bodies. "I''ll save you a seat beside me in hell ahaha! Ahaha!"

    While the glimmering light of their souls travelled to hisntern, thenterned reaper kept on cackling.

    "Like parents like daughters, into myntern, they go," The reaper mumbled before dragging himself away in the snow.

    ''Tyrant''s heart!''

    "Get into the carriage, the blizzard is passing," Resting his hand over Asuka''s shoulder, he pulled her away from the carriage door.

 Chapter 31 31 - Joy At The End Of Tears

    ?Moment''s past after the reaper''s retreat, the approaching blizzard subsided into a hazy mist. Not long after that, Haruki and Asuka heard the sound of someone''s steps struggling through the knee-deep snow.

    "Who''s there?" Haruki called, standing by the burning w tiger.

    "Lord Snow!" The voice called from the woods running alongside their path forward. "He''s here! Lord Snow is here!"

    "That sounds like the coachman," Springing up to her feet, Asuka smiled brightly. "We''re here!"

    Heeding her call, the coachman and a pack of adventurers came running out of the woods. Reunited with the duke, they rushed right over to him. Promptly circling the carriage, the members of the silver storm drew their weapons to protect him from any monsters and other potential adversaries.

    "Are you hurt my lord?" Holding a giant sword in his hands, Kane the leader of the party asked. "The coachman said he was put under some spell, were you attacked by a magic user or was it just a monster?"

    Trying to get as much information to n ahead, he nced back at Haruki from the edge of his eye. However, still haunted by his heinous act from before, Haruki couldn''t utter a single word of answer.

    "We can talkter, we should first meet up with the other," Raising her staff, Diana the white-robed mage began to cast a spell. "Lucy, Arthur keep us safe while I cast the spell."

    Dressed in all ck with deep green hair, Arthur the spy, reminded Haruki of the sister. The emotional strain only got worse as he drew out a pair of kunai and held it firmly in his hands.

    "Stay close lord," Lucy added, warmly smiling at the duke.

    Unlike the rest who appeared more brutish, she wore wooly clothes adorned with gems and had a genuine smile even amidst chaos.

    "Protection!" As Lucy cast a defensive spell on Haruki, his whole body was enshrouded in a mystic green aura. "Go ahead, Diana, the duke is secured."

    "Carry us to safety," Blinding light began to sprang out of her staff, and mming it down on the earth she finished casting the spell. "Spiritual guide!"

    An explosion of light consumed everyone around the carriage, even by the time the light retreated it took a while for their visions to recover. Squinting at his surroundings, Haruki opened his eyes to get a better understanding of what had transpired.

    "They''re back!" Growled an ogrish adventurer.

    Looking at the Nue''s eye member, Haruki noticed the rest of the convoy sitting with him in a circle around a cackling warm fire.

    "How did we get here?" Looking around Haruki found himself in a cave with a lone entrance behind him.

    "Look down duke," Diana replied.

    Right under his feet was a magic circle carved into the floor. And although Haruki wasn''t an expert in magic, he knew it was some sort of sigil for transportation magic.

    ''At least someone ispetent enough to keep us safe,'' Feeling reassured in the presence of the silver storm, Haruki let out a sigh and his shoulders rxed carefreely.

    "I need to rest," He mumbled, making his way to the fire.

    Taking a quick look around, he noticed the unlucky clovers, Nue''s eyes, as well as thest one of the shadow des sitting around at the rejuvenating me. The very moment his eyes met with Jenna, she got off the log she was sitting on and quickly walked over to him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Where ar-" shaking her head, she changed her worried tone into a much more professional one. "I''m happy to see you''re well duke, but..."

    Rushing by Haruki, Asuka grabbed him by the arms and uttered.

    "Jenna, I''m sorry," Asuka''s interruption left everyone a bit baffled. "We were attacked by a monster, and your sisters..."

    Reminded of what they had to do, Asuka couldn''t bear to speak a single more word. As tears began to form in her eyes, Jenna grabbed Asuka by the shoulders and shook her while scowling at her face.

    "Shut up!" Jenna yelled out loud, her voice resonating throughout the dark cave. "There''s no way they would l-"

    "It was thenterned reaper, they tried to engage him, but...they didn''tst. He mentioned something about your parents and the fight just ended there," As soon as she heard Haruki mention the reaper, just like Fina her whole body went lifelessly limp. "We only managed to escape because he took their souls and left."

    ''Sadism acquired,'' the sudden announcement inside their heads was ignored by both Asuka and Haruki. With the situation they were in, they couldn''t afford a distraction of any kind.

    "My lord, I think it''s best we leave her alone for a while," Stepping up Diana, the mage advised. "In the meantime, you should rest in the tent we''ve set up while we gather and ready the carriages to depart from this ce."

    His head hanging low, Haruki nodded. After handing him over to the unlucky clover, Diana told them to show Haruki the tent, and guard him while they ventured out to get the tigress back along with the rest of the carriages.

    "Lord, you''re not hurt right?" Maya asked, looking back at the broken duke as they escorted him deeper into the cave. "I-I can heal you if needed!"

    "No, I''m fine," Mindlessly staring at the ground, he seemed visibly bothered by the whole ordeal.

    Taking note of the gloom over the duke''s face, the clovers kept their lips shut to not scrape the wounds that were obviously too fresh. Upon leading him a lot further into the cave, the trio got ready to leave Haruki in Asuka''s lone care.

    "We will move a bit ahead to give you some space, just yell out to us if you need anything," Saying that Maggie took the other two and distanced themselves from thevish tent.

    Even as Haruki entered the warmth of theforting bedded tent, he couldn''t shake off the guilt of throwing the sisters out of the carriage to save his own life. Wrapping her hands around Haruki, Asuka buried her face against his back.

    "What is it?" he asked.

    "Nothing," She replied with tears scrolling down her cheeks.

    Little to their knowledge, those feelings of despair would be thest of their empathy. For the passive skill of sadism was slowly rooting itself in their conscience. Rarely had anyone acquired a skill without hard work, but after showing their generosity to the reaper by offering him not one but two souls, he too had given them something in return.

    "Ahaha, did you see the look in her eyes when I used charm on her sister?" With a wide grin resting on her lips, Asuka giggled out loud.

    Joining her in herughs, Haruki''s mind was also pushed to the edge.

    "Ahhhh...I should''ve just taken a taste of them myself instead of making you use that creature of yours," Running his hand through his hair, he turned around and groped Asuka''s ass. "At least we got their levels, right?"

    "We sure did," getting up on her toes, Asuka pushed their lips into a kiss.

 Chapter 32 32 - Sneaky Perverts[18+]

    ?"Aghnnn!" Bouncing on top of Haruki''s rock-hard penis, Asuka''s body arched backward from the heavenly pleasure shooting through her body. "I''ve been craving this dick for so long, mhmmm!"

    Every time Asuka pulled away from his cock, Haruki''s fingers sunken deep into her fleshy ass he pulled her body down on him with violent force. Lubed with his semen and the orgasmic juices of Asuka''s wet pussy, their bodies melded together with each individual thrust.

    "I''ve been waiting to fill up your inside too," Flipping her under his body, Haruki grabbed onto her boobs and began to circle his tongue around her nipples. "But I kinda have a different n this time."

    Unsure what Haruki meant, Asuka squinted her eyes in confusion. Leaning back, he moved his hand in front while his demonic tail curled up around her legs.

    "Familiar summon!" Activating the ability he had just copied from her, Haruki gave Asuka a devious nce.

    "M-master, what are you nning?" Attempting to get up, she was quickly pushed back down by Haruki''s other arm. "Wait, what are you doing with your tail...Ahhhh!''

    Slipping the heart-shaped tip of his tail into her ass, Haruki twirled it around to make room for the creature. Moving her hand under her, he flipped her on her stomach before grabbing onto her fluffy tail.

    "Wa-wai-wait master!" She cried, panting from the newfound sensation of her insides being twirled.

    Ignoring her plea, Haruki first plugged her pussy with his dick again and then let the tentacles crawl up her fleshy round ass. With each movement it made on her body Asuka twitched about expecting her inside to get even tighter once the creature slipped in.

    "Here it goes," announcing cheerfully, Haruki made the creature push deep into her ass.

    The inside of her body grew even tighter and hotter, and with her pussy already filled with semen and now even with the slimy secretion from the creature, her body had turned into the perfect tool to milk Haruki''s cock.

    "Ekkk!" She groaned, biting her lips. "M-my inside, they feel so-so hot!"

    Grabbing her hips from one hand, he pulls her tail back with the other. Yet another loud groan escapes her lip, but that only urged Haruki to tease her even more. Thrusting against her ass, the sound of their flesh pping against each other was resonating a long way through the cave. Giving it no heed, Haruki kept on filling the inside with his thick seeds.

    "You can feel them listening, can''t you?" Leaning closer to her, Haruki whispered into Asuka''s ears. "The clovers, they would make some fine servants too."

    "Agh! Ha!" Having her inside being rearranged by Haruki and the tentacles, Asuka''s mind had long since surrendered to the pleasure. "Yes! Yes! I''m cumming again! Master, I''ming!"

    Spraying his manhood with her juices, Asuka''s body went limp. In the afterglow of the countless orgasms, she was left panting breathlessly. Her whole body still twitching from the mind-numbing sensations sheid on the futon drooling as she smiled.

    "Disappear,"manding the creature to disappear back into the void, Haruki turned around to the tent''s entrance.

    Being the only one in his demonic body, he switched back into Snow before calling out to the audience outside listening to them so closely.

    "I know you guys have been there, you cane in if you want," the moment he called them out, chaoticmotion and shrieks ensued between the three young perverts. Stacked over one another with their ears right next to the tent, Haruki''s sudden call to them made them fall in through the tent''s cloth entrance.

    Laying naked in front of them Haruki couldn''t care less for their gazes, however, as Asuka noticed that they''d fallen in she grabbed her clothes lying around on the floor and quickly covered her body.

    "Get off me!'' Being crushed under Maggie and Maya, Garth yelled outining.

    "Sorry! Ahhhh!" Getting pushed off to the side by Garth, Maggie let out a cry.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "W-we th-thought you were hurt!" Maya added shielding her eyes with her hat.

    ''Even if I made them my servant, it''d be more trouble than it''s worth.'' Picking up his clothes, Haruki got up to dress himself.

    For a moment the trio''s gaze followed Snow''s body down to his manhood, but as Asuka moved in front of Haruki to save his integrity, they quickly shied away and pretended as if they weren''t ever looking at him at all.

    "Keep this a secret, or I''ll execute you all," Haruki''s joke went flying over the three.

    To them, it felt more like a threat than a humorous warning.

    "We will!"

    "Of course!"

    "S-sorry again!"

    One after the other, they charged away from the tent. Watching them run off like children, made Haruki wonder how fortunate they were to have kept their innocence even in adulthood.

    "Asuka, why did you choose the unlucky clover to be part of the convoy?" Looking right at her, he asked with genuine curiosity.

    "Hmm?" Still gazing outside, following the path the trio had taken, Asuka''s eyes still seemed a bit dreamy. "I guess...they remind me of a childhood I never had."

    Her answer wasyered with aplex turmoil of emotions, and even if asked to borate, she couldn''t put her feelings into clearer words. Haruki, himself felt conflicted over the trio, they were neither useful to him nor any hindrance to his ns.

    ''They did see us having sex not long after what happened with the sisters,'' Mulling over the only real issue, he simply hoped that they would keep their promise of secrecy.

    "Master," Resting her head over Haruki''s shoulder, Asuka closed her eyes, visibly tired from the events of the day. "You should sleep."

    "I wanna kill them," He mumbled.

    "I know, I can feel it too," In front of her closed eyes was the floating screen of her stats. "That reaper, do you think he cursed us?"

    Bringing his own stats screen in front of him, Haruki scanned through his abilities. That''s when he noticed the passive skill sadism affecting his conscience, which ultimately made him a lot more susceptible to taking harsh and downright cruel actions. ncing further down, he once again saw the curse of the tyrant''s heart.

    ''How are the skill sadism and the curse of tyrant''s heart any different? If anything sadism feels crueler while tyrant''s heart just numbs my empathy.'' Although his assessment was on the mark, even now hecked the knowledge about the full potential of the curse. Thus, making him nce right over the true nature of tyrant''s heart.

    "Depending on the situation, it can be both a curse or even a blessing," Haruki''s experience with curses, allowed him to notice the boon in the worst. "But yeah, we should sleep."

    Turning around to look at the futon, an imprint of Asuka''s body was painted on it with her sweat.

    "Maybe, we should ask for another futon?" Noticing it herself, she gave an awkward smile.

 Chapter 33 33 - Shadow Assassins And The Spring

    ?"Whose n was it to send the reaper?!" congregating deep into the forest in a hollow opening, a group of hooded men frowned, growled, and screamed at each other.

    "Shut up! I didn''t know there were other people in that carriage!" With their head coveredpletely, only the gathered men could know who was speaking from their voices.

    "Now that damned duke is alerted, what if Madam Margarette''s n fails?" Panting with angst gripped heart, one of them was on the very edge of having a panic attack. "She''ll kill us all!"

    To thest of the man''s words, none had any rebuttal, for they all knew, failing to realize the duchess''s request was bound to get them under an executioner''s axe. Exchanging nervous nces at each other, they knew their fate and what needs to be done to avoid it.

    "We just need a monster to kill him, right? That''ll keep her free of all suspicion, right?" Still visibly shaking, the same angst-ridden man asked the others.

    "Easier said than done, he has silver storm, and Nue''s eye protecting him, and the reaper, our trump card refuses to assault him again, " To the man''sment, shrieks of horror resonated from each of their lips.

    For these four necromancers, monsters were their preferred tools for offense, and in their long life as shadow assassins never had a summoned monster refuse to do their bidding. Thus their shock was not only reasonable but warranted.

    "The hell do you mean he refused?!"

    "Are you out of your mind?!"

    "Do not crack jokes, I''ll die!"

    "The duke is a man of greater value than you summoner," Looking into the eyes of the three men, heavy annoyance rested on the necromancer''s face. "That''s what he said, those exact fucking words!"

    Silent took over as the men couldn''tprehend the twisted reality. For a summoned monster to refuse an order from a summoner was against the very nature of the world, and yet as they stood around a massive summoning circle, they turned witness to the butchery of their creed''sw.

    "What of the offering? A monster can''t just take an offering and do nothing in return," beginning to ept the preposterous ims, the men began to cast their magic on the summoning circle.

    "He..." The man with the contract to the reaper began to sweat so profusely to the question, that the others watching him braced in horror for what he was about to reveal.

    "What did he do you moron!" growled their leader, not fazed by the unusual sight.

    "I gave a favor to the duke, so that he may burn the earth and free me of this endless journey in the tundra." Once again, as the man repeated the words of the reaper, the other men were chilled to their cores.

    Trying toprehend the reaper''s words a lone thought ran through their heads.

    ''What kind of monster is the duke of Laria?'' The rest of the summoning ritual was canceled until they could all get their heads cleared.

    ***

    After a whole day of restless travelling, the convoy had safely managed to get Haruki out of the tundra. Out in the open spring with forever stretching ins and meadows of flowers, the carriages finally came to a restful halt.

    "Duke, keeping Jenna around is a hazard," Kane whispered in the ears as Haruki took his hand to get off the carriage. "She''s an excellent spy, and if she tries an assault on you or anyone else, we might not have a chance to save that person''s life."

    Getting his feet on some solid ground, Haruki let out a heavy sigh. However, as his mind processed what Kane had mentioned, his eyes instantly spied for Jenna. Seeing her standing lonesomely at the side trying to start a fire before dark, Haruki wondered if he should heed Kane''s advice or let Jenna still apany them to Daria.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You saw what happened back in the tundra, it won''t be safe to send her back alone," even if his empathy was only fleeing because of sadism, he hadn''t gone so far as to simply push someone to their death for no reason.

    "Duke, I understand that but-"

    "Keep her busy, I''ll talk to Nue''s eyes to watch over her at all times," Interrupting him with a somewhat decent n, Kane seemed a bit more willing to set his worries aside.

    "As you say, Lord," Bowing his head, he made his way toward Jenna.

    Turning back to the carriage, Haruki offered his hand to Asuka. Given her keen senses as a demi-fox, it was clear in her eyes that she had heard everything the two men had just discussed.

    "Are you sure about this master?" Taking his hand, Asuka asked while getting down.

    "I would''ve preferred to turn her into a servant, but I doubt she''d be inclined to that," As Asuka got down from the carriage, Haruki noticed the convoy carriage of Nue''s eyes finally pulling up to them from behind.

    ''Right one cue, but where are the clovers?'' He wondered, scanning the surroundings for any of the three members.

    "Setting up camp, are we?" Setting his foot off the carriage, Mortar the ogre-like adventurer grumbled.

    "Wa-wait, Mortar!" Right behind him was the dainty healer of Nue''s eye, Pon.

    The contrast between the two men was appalling to everyone. While one stood like a giant with his scared muscr body and rustic leather tunic, the other was as thin as a twig and wore button-up shirts and shorts that made him look even less fierce.

    "Move aside, you idiots!" Sending the two flying off with a kick, thest of the Nue''s eye party exited the carriage. "So annoying all the time."

    ''I never thought I would see someone as tall as Rose, but here we are...''

    Watching over as Helma the brutishdy began to walk closer to him, Haruki felt a sense of dread crawling up his skin. Ruffling her unkempt ginger hair, and grinding her razor-sharp teeth, she stood towering over the young duke.

    "Ahh...Lord, do you mind staying safe while we hunt for something to eat?" Lacking any sense of formality, Helma asked while scratching the back of her head.

    Gulping the uncertain feeling in his body, Haruki puffed up his chest and acted as a proper ruler.

    "Go ahead, but I need one of you to look over Jenna," Upon hearing his reply, Helma nced over to Jenna being ordered around by Kane. Quickly turning her attention back to Haruki, she nodded in agreement.

    "Yeah, that girl could be trouble," She answered, turning around to the men picking themselves up after falling victim to Helma''s kick.

    "She''s scary," Asuka whispered.

    Catching her voice, Helma quickly turned her head and gave Asuka a menacing re.

    "Sorry!" Instilled with fear, Asuka squealed out loud.

 Chapter 34 34 â€“ Quarrelling Skies

    ?Fleeing from the sky, the sun heralded the night. However, instead of it being a time of rest and reconciliation, Haruki and the convoy were busy trying to find the unlucky clovers. Their carriage was supposed to ride beside Haruki''s, and yet for whatever obscure reason nobody had seen them since they''d escaped from the tundra.

    "Where the hell are they?" Illuminating the dark forest with her holy staff, Diana was leading the charge for the search.

    "Why even bring novice adventurers to such a dangerous mission?" Kateined, grunting from frustration.

    "I''m sorry," Asuka mumbled.

    "Uh? Why are you apologizing to Miss Asuka? Wasn''t that mage Rise responsible for the recruitment?" Mortar asked, looking down at Asuka from behind her.

    "Can you all stay quiet? And why did you have to drag the duke here? It''s dangerous," Jenna added to theint while jumping from one tree branch to the other.

    ''This is too much, I''ll die from their bickering alone.'' Fuming in rage, Haruki tried to keep his anger in control.

    The further they dwelled from the camps, the less certain of the clover''s safety they were. Despite that, they kept pushing until it led it back to a snowy path leading back into the tundra. Tired of moving around all day, they gave each other nces that screamed for someone to call off the search.

    "Circle back, we''ll try to find them tomorrow," having the most authority in the matter, Haruki ordered everyone to retreat back to the camp.

    Hearing that everyone instantly rxed their shoulders and turned around to make their way back. Stuck between the Nue''s eyes, and the silver storm Haruki envied the privacy and freedom that he had back at the castle. Sure, they were only trying to protect him, but having someone always looming over his shoulders was a lot more annoying than he had initially thought.

    "Wait!" Jenna warned, moving in front of everyone to hold them back. "I hear something."

    "What is it?" Fidgeting under Helma''s shadow, Pon spoke for the first time in hours.

    "Shush!" Shushing him, Jenna jumped back onto the tree and kept climbing until she reached the very top.

    Taking out a single-scope binocr, she looked through it in the direction of the camp. Whatever she saw at the end of the scope, made her hiss in surprise, but before she could make it down the tree to tell the others, a ming ball of fire flew right at her.

    "Aghh!" The moment the projectile struck her, her whole body burst into mes.

    "Shit! Arthur, keep the duke safe!" Ordering the others, Kane rushed under the tree trying to judge where Jenna''s ming body was about to fall. "Lucy! Get the healing magic ready!"

    But before Jenna could hit the ground, something swifter than the wind snatched her through mid-air. Left baffled by theck of any signs of Jenna ever being up there, Kane looked in horror at the dark sky. Taking a swift defensive stance around the duke, the others were no different in that regard. Even the seemingly cold-hearted Helma was sweating from the unknown threat.

    "Stop it!" Right over their heads, a feminine cry shrieked through the skies.

    "Ohe on, I''m just having some fun," Yet another voice joined the exchange, however this time, it was followed by a boyish chuckle. "The Duhan was no fun, so let me y a prank at least."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''A prank? What the hell are these voices? Is Jenna even alive?'' Looking around the others, all Haruki saw was the same uncertainty in their eyes and the nervous grips around their weapons. ''Are they Margarette''s new assassins? I told Moriyana this won''t work!''

    Freaking out of his mind, Haruki couldn''t spare a moment to think straight. Instead, his mind was shooting through worthless possibilities that didn''t make much sense.

    "Who are you?!" Holding her iron club to the sky, Helma growled.

    Tired of waiting for someone to take action, she decided it was best for her to be a distraction for the duke''s escape. ncing at Kane, she gave her an affirming nod, and that was more than enough to let him know what she had in mind. Rushing back to his party, Kane quickly took a defensive stance with his heavy sword.

    "Diana, we didn''t break the transportation seal back at the cave, did we?" Whispering as low as he could, he closed his eyes to focus on her answer.

    "A seal?" Asked the boyish voice roaming in the sky. "Ahh, see? They wanna y too!"

    "What?!" His eyes wide open, Kane peered up in terror.

    "Mother will be angry if he gets hurt!" The feminine voice scolded the other. "Just let me heal the girl, at least!"

    "Why don''t you let me y a little first? Ahaha," The carefreeugh from the boy''s voice felt mocking to everyone on the ground.

    ''Dammit! How many times do I have to rely on others for my safety?!'' Haruki''s nails curling into his skin began to draw blood from his frustration alone. ''Even though I''m level forty now, it feels like I''m no stronger than I felt at level one!''

    Sniffing up the smell of blood, Asuka turned to Haruki. Her eyes widened in shock as she noticed his lips conjuring up a spell. What surprised her the most wasn''t the incantation, but the nature of the mana twirling up in the air.

    "Take a deep breath," All eyes turned to Haruki as he mumbled that out loud.

    mping the sapphire brooch hanging by his neck, he thought back to what Rose had said while giving it to him. ''The soul of the first duke of Laria, the frost dragon ver, if those records in the library are correct then...''

    Channelling his mana through the sapphire stone in the brooch, Haruki could feel his body freezing down to the very soul. That sensation wasn''t confined to him either, as a cold storm of ice began circling around the party.

    "Damn you, Snow Frost, be useful!" Howling a scream, the ground under him dug into a crater. Feeding the stone more and more mana, it sprang into existence a whirlwind of ice reaching into the skies.

    Safeguarded under the typhoon swarming with razor-sharp icicles, Haruki turned to the other with blood-red eyes.

    "Move! I can''t hold this thing much longer!" He yelled, ordering the retreat.

 Chapter 35 35 - Dragonkin Guards

    ?After the incident in the cave, Maggie, Garth, and even Maya couldn''t shake off the fear from the duke''s warning. Not to mention the image of the naked duke as well as his maid was imprinted deep into their minds.

    "Wait, where are we?" Garth asked, looking at Maggie through the coachman''s window.

    With the reins of the horses in her hands, Maggie was daydreaming about the noises she had heard inside the duke''s tent.

    "Maggie! Stop the carriage!" Punching the side of the window to get her attention, Garth yelled out right next to her ears.

    "Ahhh!" Jolted shocked, her hands reeled the reins inward. "By As! Stop!"

    Steered sideways from the path, the horses almost ran into a ditch, but at the veryst moment, as they shifted trajectory, the carriage toppled in the opposite direction. Freed from the reins, the horses ran off into the distance, leaving the three behind in a mud-filled pit.

    "What the hell?!" Woken from her sleep, Mayained covered in mud and filth. "What happened?!"

    With her clothes dirtied and the horses running off in the distance, her eyes were numb with tears. Annoyed by Maggie''s carelessness, Garth pulled himself up grunting in frustration.

    "Where the hell even are we?!" He asked, ring at the culprit for the disaster.

    The most disoriented of all, Maggie propped herself up while caressing the back of her head. Covering in filth, her clothes as well as her striking green hair were far from recognition.

    "Stop screaming!" Bubbling in rage, she grabbed Garth by the cor and violently shook him. "You idiot! Why were you screaming in my ears?!"

    Adding to themotion, Maya began to cry out wailing. Hearing her cry, the two turned to Maya and realized their own ws in the matter. With a single nce at each other, and letting off a tiring sigh, Maggie and Garth tried to calm down Maya.

    "I''m sorry, Maya, we won''t fight anymore," Maggie said, resting her hand on Maya''s shoulder.

    "Yeah, we should look for the horses and catch up with everyone else," Garth added, ncing up at the setting sun.

    Wiping her tears, Maya began to finally calm down a little. But with the carriage now stuck in a ditch and one of its wheels broken off, the trio had no choice but to try and find the horses on foot. Making sure to get some of the dirt off of them with Maggie''s wind magic, they began to make their way in the direction of the horses.

    However, while on their way to catch up with the others, they ran into something, or rather someone who would prove far more helpful to them in their journey forward.

    "Oi! Lost your horses, did ya? Ahaha!"

    "Shut up brother!"

    The voice from the skies had the trio perplexed for a moment.

    ***

    "Move! I can''t hold this thing much longer!" Haruki yelled, ordering the retreat.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The typhoon of icicles circling them, kept them insted from the threats from the outside world. Seeing how nobody was moving a muscle, and the strain the spell was having on Haruki, Kane quickly decided to take charge of the battalion.

    "Lucy, keep healing Lord Frost!" Taking a swift nce at everyone, he gestured them to follow him right behind him. "Helma, Mortar secure the duke from the back, I''ll handle the front!"

    With everyone in position, Kane was just about to move forward, but that''s when the illusion of safety inside the storm shatteredpletely.

    "Hellme!" The boy yelled, and the storm turned into a ming inferno.

    To everyone''s surprise, the me quickly died down before burning so much as a single strand of hair. Perplexed by what had happened, Haruki looked up at the sky, trying to spy the source of the counterattack. This time, however, he saw two childlike figures with scaled wings flying up above them.

    ''They look human, but those wings...'' Running low on mana, as well as having expended his health trying to keep the typhoon up, Haruki was on the verge of copse.

    "Lord Frost!" Called a familiar voice, rushing towards them from the direction of the camp.

    Turning towards it with thest of his strength, he saw Maggie, Garth, and Maya running over to them as they shouted something while looking into the sky.

    "Aghh! Fun''s over, I''ll get the Frost guy," Annoyance obviously hinting in his tone, the winged boy descended down to the earth. "Sis will heal, the girl, but don''t act smart now."

    Thest of what Haruki heard him say, was directed not at him, but at the adventurers holding up their weapons. Blinded by exhaustion in the very next instance, Haruki''s body flopped to the ground.

    "Lucy..." Kane mumbled, hinting Lucy to use healing on the duke.

    "I am trying to heal him, but it''s not working!" Profusely sweating from the excess use of magic, Lucy was biting her nails unsure why her magic wasn''t working.

    Descending beside the winged boy, was a girl slightly shorter than him. In her hands, she held Jenna seemingly free from all injuries. Stroking his crimson red hair the boy grinned at the adventurers standing in front of him. Taking a step closer, he held his arms open as if inviting them into a fight.

    "Enough!" Smacking her fist down on the boy''s head, the little girl screamed directly into his ears.

    "Ekkk! What the hell are you doing that hurts!" Stuffing some kind of fruit into his gaping mouth, she shut him up for good.

    Bowing her head, she formally lifted the hem of her clear blue dress. It let out a wind so chilling, it failed the cold the adventurers had faced in the tundra.

    "I apologize for my brother''s boldness, he''s a dunce," Letting go of the hem, she beamed a smile that could heal any wounds. "Please, don''tin about him to mother though, she would probably kill him."

    "Finally!" Maggie cried as she stood behind the winged kids. "I told you not to leave us behind, that Duhan was scary!"

    Witnessing the whole thing ying out so unexpectedly, Kane and the others counted their blessings.

 Chapter 36 36 - Doroke And Tiara Ironfrost

    ?"You''re Roselia''s son and daughter?" Still recovering from the mana drain, Haruki propped himself up in the camp bed to get a better look at the dragonkins.

    "How many times do I have to repeat it?" Annoyed, Doroke the dark-winged boy, breathed fire out of his mouth. "We even killed the Duhan trying to attack your camp, and you''re still doubting us?"

    Rounded up around a campfire, everyone''s eyes turned to the rotting body of the undead warrior Duhan. Laying to the side, its body was charred like coal. Knowing how much of a threat the monster could''ve been, the adventurers gave out a prayer to As for sending them the dragonkin siblings.

    "Enough about monsters and such!" Comining to her brother, the white-winged dragonkin called Tiara crawled onto the duke''s legs. "Tell me about Mama, how is she?"

    Resting on Haruki''s knees, she gleamed a smile brimming with innocence. For a moment as he peered back into her eyes, he could''ve sworn he had seen an icy storm reflected in her bright sapphire eyes.

    "Me too, I wanna know too!" Beating his bare chest, Doroke growled like an ape.

    ''A dragon? Really?'' Clutching the brooch hanging by his neck, Haruki couldn''tprehend how he missed such an obvious hint. ''In retrospect, given her violent tendency and appalling strength, it makes a lot more sense than I thought.''

    From what he''d been told so far by the unlucky clovers, the dragonkin helped them get to the camp after losing their carriage in a ditch. Not only that, while Haruki was out searching for them with the adventurers, the siblings even took care of the Duhan trying to assault them on their return. Despite their now obvious signs of benevolence, he still couldn''t let go of his suspicion about them.

    "I''ll tell you how she is, but I have some questions for you before that," Keeping his hands on the brooch, he was ready to use its power at a moment''s notice.

    Upon hearing Haruki''s inclination to tell them about their mother, the siblings grinned eye to eye like any innocent child.

    "Sure!" Doroke announced.

    "I healed the girl so I want to know more than Doroke!" Her sister followed.

    "What?! No!"

    "You were the one who attacked the girl!"

    Having overseen such quarrels a hundred times amongst the clovers, Haruki knew better than to let it go on any longer.

    "Why did you attack Jenna? You might''ve healed her, but she''s still unconscious," Interjecting between the two, Haruki brushed them off his legs.

    Taking a quick nce at the others ring right at him as they listened what he had to ask the siblings, he felt a lot more pressure on him than he otherwise would have. Brushing the hesitance off of his mind, he looked over to Jenna right beside the fire being tended to by Lucy and Asuka.

    "It was just a prank! I didn''t think she''d be hurt so bad," Doroke'' s answer annoyed the hell out of everyone listening, and yet nobody had the galls to go up against him.

    "Why were you trying to find me? Did your mother told you to do it?" Knowing there was no value in arguing about Jenna''s safety with him, Haruki decided to keep the questions going.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Mama told us to keep you safe till you reached Daria, but..." ncing sideways at his sister, Doroke attempted to whistle but no sound woulde out of his lips.

    "We can''t cross the tundra you know..." Her eyes hung low, Tiara puffed up a pout. "So we had to wait for you to get out of there."

    ''Can''t cross the tundra, why?'' Right as Haruki was about to ask that question, Asuka walked right up beside him with a tray of steaming food in her hands.

    stered with a smile on her face, she gestured the siblings to make room for the food tray. Once they were at a slight distance away from Haruki she ced it onto hisp before setting a pillow to support his back while eating. Leaning against the zipped cloth of the tent, Haruki could finally feel his body on its way to aplete recovery.

    "To think Miss Roselia was a dragon, right?" Asuka mumbled, forcing a contorted smile. The strain on her face, portrayed just how tired she was of the whole thing. And even if she had suggested them to retire back before getting to Daria nobody would''ve been surprised.

    "I''m fine Asuka," She didn''t need to tell him, the worries guing her mind were obvious in her demenor "I didn''t fall ill this time, it was my own negligence, I shouldn''t have used my mana so recklessly."

    Letting out a false chuckle, Asuka lowered her head to the stew and picked up the spoon inside the bowl. Holding it under her lips, she gave it a few blows then moved it by Haruki''s mouth.

    "Please, don''t do that again," tears strolling down her puffed cheeks, and her hands grew jittery just from the thought of potentially losing her master.

    "She was crying while you were passed out," Tiara jumped in and supported Asuka''s arm by holding it steady with her little fingers. "You should apologize to her, you know!"

    "I think she''s right, asking questions shouldn''t be the first thing you do after regaining consciousness," Helma added, sitting all the way at the end of the campfire.

    Moving Asuka''s hand away from his mouth, Harukiid the tray to the side. Getting the spoon off of her hands, he set it aside as well.

    "I''m sorry, I thought we had a real threat on our hands, and if I didn''t do anything..." Despite the many nces directed right at him, he decided to apologize with more than just words.

    Gently grabbing her by the arms, he pulled her into a much-needed embrace. The very moment his hands wrapped around her shoulders, she broke into tears for her master once again.

    ''By now, I''ve been a monster for so long, it''s easy to forget that there''s someone who still cares for me.''

    "A!" Like a pure-hearted angel, Tiara puffed up with a smile.

    "E!" Doroke on the other hand wasn''t too pleased by the sight.

    Away from the scene that had taken a hold of everyone''s attention, Jenna was staring out into the heavens with tear-filled eyes. Watching the stars right over her, she wished to have never awoken from slumber, so she could''ve joined her sisters as a gleaming night star.

 Chapter 37 37 - Daria, The City Of Commerce

    ?The remaining journey to Daria was as uneventful as it could''ve been. Apart from a few kobolds and goblins, rarely any real threat tried to assault the Duke''s convoy. Was it the effect of being escorted by the dragonkin, or mere coincidence Haruki couldn''t know, and neither did he cared to find out at this point.

    "You mentioned something about not being able to cross the tundra, why is that?" ncing at Tiara through the open carriage window, Haruki decided to clear his doubt before they reached Daria.

    "Hmm?" Resting her index on her lips, she peered upwards as if thinking about something. "I''m not sure if I''m allowed to tell you, only the first duke was supposed to know all the details."

    Doing a yful flip in the air as she followed the carriage, Tiara gave Haruki an innocent wide grin. From the look on her face, it was clear that she was more aware of the situation than she was letting on, nut making her spill out any secret won''t be easy task.

    "Can you hear that?" Still traveling in the Duke''s carriage, Jenna''s ears perked up upon hearing something unusual. "Are those...drums?"

    "You can hear them too?" Doroke added while flying on the other side of the carriage. "Seems like they have made quite the preparations for your arrival, Duke!"

    Unsure as to what he meant, Haruki got off of his seat and leaned into the coachman''s window. There as he looked into the distance, he saw hordes of men with drums standing by the city gates, and right behind them were countless attractive women swaying their hips in wait for his arrival.

    "Stop! Everyone stop!" sping her hands, Tiara ordered the carriages to halt.

    However, with the final authorityying with Haruki, they didn''t slow down until he gave his approval to Jenna so she could pass it down further. Once the convoy carriages came to a halt, the adventurers were left a bit baffled about why they had to stop so close to the city gates.

    "Lord Frost, why have we stopped?" Kane asked as soon as Haruki got off the carriage.

    "Ask the dragonkin," referring him to Tiara, he moved forward to get a better look at the vibrant duchy lush with greenery.

    Unlike Laria, the city ofmerce was brimming with wildlife and vitality of nature. Rabbits hopped in its forever spring forest, and the bird chirped about happily while gliding through the skies. The warm rays of the sun falling on Haruki''s skin reminded him of the time he had first woken up in the forest with his new demonic body.

    ''So much has happened,''  opening his eyes, he nced over to the infamous Phoenix castle. ''But this is just the start of my revenge, the life in thesends will be mine to crumble and corrupt.''

    Amplified by the effect of sadism, Haruki''s desire for revenge was ever-growing.

    "We can''t go further from here, mama will get angry if she learns we invaded a city," Tiara''s voice from the background, brought Haruki back to the present.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Yeahhh...after uncle killed a bunch of humansst time, sh-Agh!" digging her nails into her brother''s arms, she stopped him mid-sentence.

    ''Again with the secrecy?'' As curious as he was, Haruki had other much more important matters to attend to. Turning back to the adventurers, he walked back over to his carriage.

    "We shouldn''t waste any more of our time sitting here then, if they wanna leave let them leave," ordering the others, Haruki climbed back into the carriage.

    A bit dubious about the whole thing, the adventurers exchange unsure nces at each other. What irked them wasn''t the straightforward behavior of the duke, but how ungrateful he sounded towards the two dragonkins. After all, they had helped severely in escorting Snow safely so they at least deserved more than a casual brush-off.

    "Your mother, Rose..." Noticing the concern in everyone''s eyes, Haruki decided to at least pretend to be somewhat grateful to the siblings. "She''s well, I''ll let her know you two are doing good on your own too."

    "Really?!" Flying straight into the carriage, Tiara wrapped her arms around Haruki, shortly followed by Doroke wrapping Haruki in a hug. "Tell mama, we miss her!"

    Sniffling under their breaths, their grasp on Haruki tightened. It was clear that they missed her a lot, and if possible Haruki wouldn''t have minded two new dragon guards defending the castle, but judging from how they kept dodging the question as to why they can''t cross the tundra, he had little hope in them ever epting that offer.

    "We should go now, Tiara, Doroke, please get off of Master," Asuka ordered the siblings from outside the carriage. The contorted look on her face made her jealousy apparent to everyone.

    Watching her cheeks puff up like a child, the adventures around her, couldn''t help from bursting into giggles andughter. Realizing their gazes on her, Asuka eyes widened in shame before covering her face in embarrassment.

    "Don''tugh!" Sheined, and yet it took a while forughs to die down.

    As the silly moment passed, it was time for Haruki and the others to part with the siblings. Spreading their wings wide open, they waved their hand at everyone before leaping high up in the sky away from the sight of any onlookers.

    ''Now, what am I supposed to do with this thing?'' Before taking their leave, Tiara had infused the brooch with some stabilizing magic. ording to her, the reason Haruki fainted so easily after using its power was simply that it was draining too much mana cause of its instability from being used after so long. ''It seems like, that girl knows more about the Frost family than me.''

    Tucking the brooch back into his clothes, Haruki and the adventurers finally made their way to the castle gates. Unbeknownst to them, the false fanfare and celebrations were merely a facade being put up by the duchess, who expected nothing but rotting corpses inside the convoy carriages.

    To her surprise, however, as she stood by the gates with wide open arms, Margarette Phoenix was in for a surprise.

 Chapter 38 38 â€“ Reflection And Failure

    ?"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!" Fuming in rage, Margarette stomped her dark emerald heels on the castle hall tiles. "WHERE ARE THOSE BLOODY NECROMANCERS?! WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?!"

    To the extent of her knowledge, those necromancers were the best-known assassins in all of Daria, and yet for some obscure reason, Snow had safely made it to her duchy without so much as a scratch.

    ''How did he escape the grasp of those monsters, they promised me?'' The aggressive grinding of her teeth echoed like pieces of ss being scratched against each other. ''I never thought he''d make it to the castle!''

    The moment Snow and his convoy had climbed out of their wagons, Margarette''s whole n had turned into shambles. With a gasping mouth, she had red at him, wondering if her eyes were mistaken and were conjuring up ghosts. But with the duke now resting in a room of his own, her fear had turned into an absolute nightmare.

    "DAMN YOU, ATLAS!" To her, with every step Snow took in the castle, it felt as though he was trampling on her dreams.

    Trying to get the rage out of her heart, she stomped her feet against the stairs to the throne, however, as her feet hit the ground, the dark emerald heels crumbled under the pressure. Crashing head first against the stairs, Margarette could feel herself bleeding from the temples.

    "Rejuvenation!" Healing the wound, she still couldn''t quench the anger seeping through her heart. "Where the hell, ARE THOSE IDIO-"

    "Margarette! Shut up!" Seemingly out of thin air, a voice yelled out to her. "They ran off after someone in his party defeated their Duhan."

    Springing into existence, Riley undid his invisibility to show himself to his crazed mother. Much like Margarette, he too was fuming in rage, but keeping it internal with the help of his experience handling frustrating situations, he was able to remain much calmer.

    "I had a couple of mercenaries spying on them," Moving closer, he offered her an opened envelope with a message from his spies. "Best in Daria my ass, they couldn''t even sense the spies riding on their tails!"

    Standing motionless as her son bberedints, she stared at him with a heavy heart. Thest she saw of him was on the day of their argument about Snow''s stay at the castle, and thus her heart was overflowing with her motherly instinct and love.

    "Where have you been?!" Ignoring the letter, she held him like a treasure. "I''ve been...so worried."

    Ovee with emotions, her tears showered down Riley''s armored shoulder des. Despite her attempts to feel but an inch of his body, Margarette couldn''t find a way into his armor.

    "Get off, I wasn''t gonna die just because you lost sight of me for a week!" Forcefully pulling himself off, Riley, held the letter right next to her face.

    Hunched over with her hands still in ce where his shoulders had been, Margarette peered up at him with tears strolling down her fair skin. Reaching with her nervous jittery fingers, she took the envelope off of his hands.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What is this?" She asked, trying to correct her posture, but the broken heel almost made her fall once again. Steadying herself by grabbing onto Riley''s arm, she quickly took the heels off of her legs.

    "It''s the report, I got from those mercenaries," stepping back, Riley''s face was strained with frustration. "Those bastards you hired, they sent a total of two monsters after the duke before running off like cowards."

    Taking a moment to read through exactly what had happened, Margarette crumpled the paper and then threw it off to the side.

    "Do you know where they are?" Running his fingers along his neck like a knife, Riley gave Margarette the only answer she needed. "What about the mercenaries?"

    His answer to thetter question remained the same as the one before it. Moving his hand over his fencing sword, he drew it out to show dried blood having seeped along its length. Blessed with the abilities of a spy as well as the skill to turn invisible, Riley may not have been the most physically apt, but when it came to swift and silent assassinations nobody came close to matching his level.

    "I would''ve finished the job myself, but since I didn''t know who killed that Duhan, risking it would''ve been a death sentence," Saying that, Riley hid the proof of murder back into the green cloak around his armor. "What now? The duke is here, along with his convoy of adventurers, if we so much as touch them, the emperor will off it with our heads."

    "That damned emperor, the day I meet him, I''ll make sure to give him a piece of my mind," having her ns failing one after the other had left Margarette with nothing butints against the emperor.

    If only he wasn''t so perceptive, if only he wasn''t such a coward, if only he could see the value in handing Laria to her, if only he could do that, then only would he have been apetent leader in her eyes. And yet knowing full well that that day would nevere, she still held in her heart a deep-rooted resentment against the ruler of all As.

    "What about your farsightedness? Have you not seen or sensed something from the future that we can use?" Throwing out that idea, Riley didn''t seem that confident in the idea himself.

    "It happened so impulsively that I don''t know what triggers those visions," casted in shadows from the light through the window fleeing with the sun, Margarette huffed out a tired sigh before beginning to walk towards the corridor.

    "We''ll figure something out, in the meantime..." standing right by the hall''s door, she turned around to get a final look at her stepson. "I''ve heard he''s quite fond of that maid of his, so why don''t you try and break that bond?"

    Riley knew what his mother meant, and yet he couldn''t bring himself to be as sexually emboldened as her.

    "What about you? What are you gonna do?" He asked, unsure whether she even had a n in mind.

    "I''ll handle the duke, so keep that maid off of him, won''t you?" There it was in her eyes, the same lecherous look of a slut who once seduced Riley''s father.

 Chapter 39 39 - The Castle And The City

    ?On his way to being escorted to the Phoenix castle, Haruki had to part ways with his convoy of adventurers. However, instead of beingid free from their duties, they were offered a fully paid stay at the finest inn in the capital city. All they had to do in return was apany Snow as his convoy again when it was time for him to return his own duchy.

    "Mother''s been quite fond of you, Duke Laria," ncing at Haruki from the edge of his eyes, Riley whipped the horses to carry the carriages a bit faster. "And being in your presence, I can certainly feel why that is."

    Exchanging a quick nce with Riley, Haruki wasn''t quite sure whom he was referring to. The moment they had gotten off their carriages by the gates, the duchess had fallen ill to some unknown ailment, and thus with no formal introductions given to him about anyone, he left entirely at the mercy of his own guesswork.

    "What do you mean...Riley, was it?" Hearing the uncertainty in the duke''s voice, Riley clutched his teeth in rage. But hiding it behind a facade of indifference he nced back into the carriage with a warm smile on his face.

    "The very same, Riley Phoenix, the stepson to the current duchess of Daria," Turning back around, he whipped the horses to let out some of his anger. "About your journey, I heard you ran into some trouble on your way here, is that true Lord Frost?"

    Moving his hand over the hips of his armor, Riley''s fingers caressed the unopened letter of the report from the mercenary he''d murdered not too long ago.

    ''I wouldn''t mind knowing what happened first hand, rather than reading a dead man''s tale,'' To his knowledge so far, the necromancers his mother had hired were supposed to get rid of the duke before he made it to the gates, but now, with him riding behind him in the carriage, his mind was itching with curiosity.

    "Excuse me, if I may be so bold as to intrude on the conversation," Letting out a hum, Asuka chimed into the matter. "Sir Riley, Master is quite tired from the journey so can we discuss such matters at ater time? I''m sure you want to return the duchess, your mother, and check on her health back at the castle as well?"

    ''Demi-human scum, why does he even allow such a mutt to sit across him? The emperor should just burn off the Feralnds so we won''t have to deal with such arrogance from these inferior creatures.'' Forcing a smile again, Riley whipped the horses one more time.

    "Certainly, I have a lot of preparations to be made as well," although Haruki and Asuka didn''t catch up with his dishonest reply, they could around him an eerie aura of some kind.

    His words,ced with lies and deception, aided him to conceal his true intentions, and while it would''ve worked a charm on a normal person, the two demons peering at his back were anything but normal.

    ''When I heard about Margarette''s son, I never would''ve thought that his feminine appearance would be so prevalent.'' ring at Riley, Haruki debated whether he was lied to about his gender. In fact, the only manly thing about him was his choice of armor and other clothing. ''Why would you wear a full te of armor to receive another diplomat? Is it an intimidation tactic?''

    Storming over all kinds of unusual thoughts about the duchy, the duchess and her son, Haruki paraded around the vibrant city. Filled with merchants, traders, and numerous artifacts, the streets of Daria were shimmering with gold moving from one hand to another.

    ''You can smell the gold in the streets,'' being a hub of all trades in the empire, so long as you can reach a road it''d eventually lead you to the duchy of Daria. ''If we can have half of thismerce in our cities, we might be able to build roads in and out of other ces without going through the tundra.''<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Making a mental note to discuss the matter with the councilmen, Haruki noticed the path to the pce finallying into view. Beaconed with an ember spire, the castle stood witness to the many abundances in thend. From the culture to the trade, from the greenery to the wildlife, it all restedfortably under the spirit of the Phoenix and the watchful eyes of its ordained ruler.

    Upon reaching the main gates to the castle, Haruki''s eyes wandered about looking at the ves with tightly squeezed cors around their necks. Asuka was just as aware of how different they were treated than back in their home city.

    ''Stay with me,'' just from looking into Asuka''s eyes, Haruki managed to get that message across.

    "Well, unfortunately, I must take my leave and visit my mother, but..." As the carriage came to halt, Riley jumped right off. "I''ll have our butler show you your rooms."

    Getting to the carriage door, Riley opened it up for the two to climb out. As soon as they were outside, however, he left them in the hands of an elderly man, who for a change didn''t have a ve cor around his neck.

    "You''re a human, right?" Haruki asked the butler while watching Riley make his way to the castle door.

    "Yes, Lord Laria, we shame you by leaving you in the hands of a demi-human ve," his answer irked Haruki''s nerves, but assuming that the butler was told to say something like that, he kept his anger confined to himself.

    "Now if you would follow me, I''ll help you getfortable in your room," said the butler, holding his arms directed towards the main door.

    Following his lead, Haruki and Asuka were led into the main hall of the Phoenix castle. Unlike his own, Haruki was quite encharmed by decorative sigils and insignias carved and nailed all around the reflective tiles and walls.

    "Do you mind giving me a tour of the castle mister..." still taking in the beauty, Haruki waited for the butler to reply.

    "Morris, my lord, and certainly I can show you if that''s what you want," sping his hands, Morris the butler began to move again.

    Haruki''s fascination with the decor wasn''t the only reason he wanted the tour, instead whatpelled him more to survey theyout of the ce, was simply so he could use that information forter ns if needed.

 Chapter 40 40 - An Unexpected Visitor

    ?"Mid-tier familiar summon, demonic spy!" Upon using the skill, Haruki conjured up a swarm of eyeball creatures with bat-like wings. "Keep an eye on Margarette and her son Riley."

    Adhering to the order, they popped like balloons and turned into mist. The trail of dust left behind in their ce, flew right out the window to travel along the castle''s exterior. Peering in through the windows, while remaining unnoticed their job was to keep their master informed in case the duchess was plotting something against him.

    "Your turn," taking a seat on the guestroom bed, Haruki''s body was yearning for rest.

    Puffing up her chest, Asuka huffed a sigh. The trauma from summoning Lulust time had left a deep wound in her conscience.

    "Mid-tier familiar summon, Miasmic flytrap!" Following her words, obscure miasma burst into the room. Slowly subsiding, it left behind sickly conjoined veins crawling up and down all corners of the room. "Make sure nobody can spy on us or get into the room."

    Hearing her order, the veins slithered up to the door and held it shut by the hinges. After securing the entrance, the same miasmic fumes from before began to spray out of them. Weaved with presence cloaking mana, the fumes were a great deterrent to prevent any sounds from making it in or out of the room.

    "The potions?" Haruki mumbled, ncing up at Asuka. "They didn''t get mixed up through the journey, did they?"

    "No, I kept them bound differently," Reaching into the pouch Moriyana had given her, Asuka took out a handful of the luminous pink potion. "The bottles kept whispering so it was hard to keep them a secret."

    Handing the batch to Haruki, she reached into the pouch once again. This time as she took out another batch it glowed a striking red instead of luminous pink.

    "Pink for women, red for men," remembering the instructions given to them by Moriyana, Haruki quickly hid the bottles in his clothes. "A few of these would be enough to corrupt their minds with lust and degeneracy."

    Although the potions would help with corruption, to turn the victims into his servants Haruki had to finally make use of the ability moral corruption under the absolute corruption system.

    ''If I pair moral corruption with my new skill, then I might be able to turn Margarette into a servant sooner than expected.'' Scanning through the screen of stats, his eyes stared at the alluring new ability tantalizing him for a use. Much like the potions, he could hear it calling.

    "Master..." breaking the allure, Asuka called out to Haruki.

    Turning to look at her, he noticed visible concern resting on her face. Her hands clutching the red potion nervously caressed them up and down.

    "I''m not sure if I can turn my first servant," the fidgeting of her body reflected the angst she held over the topic. "I know that unlike you, being a subus I don''t have to have sex with him to turn him into a servant but still it''s..."

    ''Tyrant''s heart!''

    "Do not disappoint me..." His eyes glowing a violet, Haruki red at Asukacking all emotions.

    "Master?" Noticing the glowing eyes, Asuka was utterly bemused. "Are you okay?"

    Haruki moved his head in a twirling circle as if something had overtaken his body. At the end of the weird ritual, he turned to look back at Asuka before huffing out a drawn-out sigh.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Mortal..." Crossing his legs, he began to admire his nails. "Do not impede the n more than it already had, by the way things are moving it''d take centuries for this fool to have so much as a fourth of my former army!"

    Shifting into the demonic body, Haruki''s body began to lift up into the air. Taking a moment from admiring his nails, he briefly gave Asuka a piercing nce.

    "What''s happening, master? Is that you?!" In a moment of realization, Asuka gasped in horror. "Asmodia?"

    "Certainly darling, ehehe," biting his lips, she made Haruki''s body float closer to her. "It is me, the mother of all lust demons, Asmodia. Since your ipetence has failed me numerous times, I figured it''d be best to take matters into my own hands from time to time."

    Her heart racing from the absurdity of the events unfolding before her eyes, Asuka leaped a few steps away from Asmodia.

    "What did you do to master?" Asuka asked, still trying to piece together some sense in this bizarre situation.

    Resting his finger on his lips, Asmodia let out a yful hum.

    "What did you do to him? I''m simply iming the body I gave him..." flying up closer once again, she pressed Haruki''s nails against Asuka''s unsure lips. "Temporarily that is, but don''t worry my child, I won''t do any harm to him. After all, I need him more than any of you, our contract won''t let mey a direct finger on him anyway."

    Still shaken by the sudden audience with the mother of all lust demons, Asuka couldn''t ept her words at face value alone.

    "What do you want?" She asked, her eyes widening as Asmodia moved Haruki''s face closer.

    "For now? Just a taste," pressing Haruki''s lips against Asuka, Asmodia forced his tongue in.

    Twisting and coiling around Asuka, Asmodia could taste her sweet scent trailing down her nose. As her hands moved over to her breasts, however, Asuka gathered the courage to push her off.

    "Get off!" She yelled before covering her mouth in disgust.

    Brushing Haruki''s hair off to the side, she gave Asuka an unmoving stare. She didn''t need to voice her anger, nor did she need to voice any threat, her empty gaze drained sanity like the spiral stairs to the abyss.

    "Keep this a secret, or the contract I have with your master won''t be enough to keep him safe," a radiant smile stered across Haruki''s face, Asmodia moved himself back to the bed.

    "But you said that the contract won''t let you hurt him?" smirking even wider at Asuka''s question, Asmodia rested Haruki''s back on the bed.

    "I''m the mother of lust, corruption, and more, did you really think I would keep my word?" With those words, the violet glow in Haruki''s eyespletely disappeared.

    [Check Haruki + Asuka''s stats in Author''s thoughts]

 Chapter 41 41 - Leisure And Fencing

    ?Waking up with a headache, Haruki nced out the castle window. To his surprise, the sun was already high up in the sky, and yet he couldn''t remember ever falling asleep.

    "Did I sleep through the night?" Gathering up his strength, he got off of the bed.

    Taking a quick look around the room, he realized that although the miasmic flytrap was protecting the door, Asuka, its master, was nowhere to be found.

    ''She was assigned a different room so maybe she''s there?'' Feeling a bit lost, he decided to go out and look for her. ''Staying in this room is suffocating anyway.''

    The fumes from the veins were still spraying out, making the whole room feel like a strangebination of a swamp and a desert.

    "Hide," Ordering the creature, Haruki made his way out.

    As soon as he stepped out into the corridor, his eyes were once again fascinated by the amount of amber decorating the interior. From the flowing patterns on the tiles to the snail-like coil around the supporting pirs, it all reflected the fiery essence of the mythical Phoenix.

    Walking further down the hallway, the sound of striking swords echoed into the empty hall by the staircase. Climbing down the stairs, Haruki began to follow the voice. Leading him into the open garden, he noticed Riley holding up his sword against another armored man.

    "Oh, seems like we havepany, "catching a glimpse of the duke, Riley withdrew his sword back into the cape.

    Dismissing the guard, he walked up closer to Haruki. The weak smile on his face as he stood inches from the duke was conflicting enough to confuse the duke.

    "Well rested, are we?" Taking off his leather gloves, Riley extended his hand toward Haruki. "If there''s anything you need, please let me know."

    ncing him up and down, Haruki tried to judge Riley''s intention, and yet not having a clue about the extent of his involvement in the attempted assassination, he couldn''t be so sure if he was plotting something against him as well.

    "Have you seen Asuka?" Haruki asked, shaking his hand.

    "You maid? Well..." Pulling his hand back, Riley put his glove back on. "I heard she went to the kitchen to help with breakfast."

    Knowing that Asuka was traumatized by the food outside of the Frost castle, Haruki had no reason to doubt Riley''s answer. Besides, Haruki himself didn''t wanna leave the food preparations to the workers in the Phoenix castle especially when their master was out to get him.

    ''I should probably have the demonic spies keep an eye on the kitchen, it was one of the only few ces I couldn''t see.''  Back in his assigned room, Haruki tried to search for Asuka by closing his eyes and looking through the vision of his spies, but all he saw were empty bedrooms, deste halls, and either busy or deserted corridors scattered throughout the ce.

    "I''ll be off then, there''s something I need to discuss with her," holding his hand up to wave, Haruki was stopped by Riley''s arm reaching in his direction.

    "Wait, there''s something I wanted to ask you," the emboldened charisma in his eyes was reced with a hint of reluctance. "I''ve heard, miss Asuka...your maid, she can use healing magic, is that true"

    Unsure as to where Riley was going with the matter, Haruki''s eyes squinted with suspicion. For all he knew, Riley might just be plotting something, and giving him this information would only make matters worse.

    "Um...why do you ask?" Haruki mumbled, folding his arms.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "It''s...a bit private actually," shyly looking down at the ground, Riley''s right foot moved nervously in a circle. "Haaa...I think I''m cursed, I just need someone with holy magic to look at it."

    "What do you mean curse? There doesn''t seem to be any visible impairment in your body," the moment Haruki said those words, Riley gave him a cold sharp gaze.

    ''Is he talking about his appearance?'' Taking a closer look at him, Haruki began picking out Riley''s defined facial features. ''Long thick eyshes, an oval face, and puffy red cheeks...yeah, maybe he''s not that far off the mark about a curse, especially as the potential ruler of thisnd in the near future.''

    Androgyny, while adorned by many and beholden as a craft by Lord As himself, was bound to create controversy in Riley''s case.

    "Forget it, I''ll send her to take a look at you," offering to help, Haruki went off his way to look for Asuka again.

    While Haruki made his way to the kitchen, Riley was relieved by the thought that given Asuka''s help, he might have a chance to escape the curse from his birth mother.

    "Again!" He yelled out to the guard to pick up his weapon. "Duel me!"

    Expressing his rage through reckless fencing, he was trying to get rid of his anger. And despite being distracted by the thoughts of histe mother, he strung an attack right through the gap in the guard''s armor.

    "Ughhh!" Holding his hand over the pricked wound, the armored man twice the side of Riley flopped to the ground.

    ''If you wanted a daughter, you should''ve just asked for one.'' Expecting a daughter, Riley''s mother had picked out a girly name, and even though her wishes didn''te true, she had given him the name right before her death. ''It''s all your fault.''

    "Get up, before I take your other hand," drawing the sword again, he held it directed firmly towards the man.

    "But sir!" Jumping into the exchange another guard spoke. "That was his dominant hand."

    "Allure..." knowing the guards wouldn''t adhere to his orders blindly, he charmed them by using an ability. "Are you afraid of me now, lieutenant? Come on, fight me ahaha."

    Biting his own lips, his whole demeanor changed that of a girl. Even his straight posture hunched forward a little, almost as if he was trying to strike a better pose for the men''s eyes.

    ''I hate this ability, why don''t we have any women guards?'' Remembering how masculine he felt using the skill on women, he could feel the excitement raging in through his lower body.

    "Come, get me," he mumbled with his eyes seeming dreamy.

    "Yes!" Huffing like a dog, the guard quickly sprang up to his feet.

    ''At least, I can charm these idiots with my looks.'' Not too happy with the predicament, Riley leaped forward with his sword.

 Chapter 42 42 - Poisoning The Neighbors

    ?The kitchen area was bustling with servants as well as the tter of silver. Cramped into the ce were countless human servants, and trying to search for Asuka in that clutter should''ve taken hours. However, being ostracized by the others, Asuka was left on her own with everyone staying as far away from her as possible.

    ''This again?'' Haruki wasn''t a fan of the way she was being treated.

    Attempting to move through the crowd, the servants made a clear path for him to get wherever he wanted. Surprisingly, none of them tried to get him outside, if anything their eyes eagerly followed him as he made his way to Asuka. In their head, all they cared about at the moment was to stay away from the ostracized creature.

    "Asuka, I need to talk to you," busy simmering some liquid in a pot, Asuka was quite focused on the food.

    "What is it, master?" She asked, keeping her gaze fixed on the pot.

    A nervous jitter in her fingers caught Haruki''s attention for a moment, but attributing it to the angst from being in such a hostile environment he quickly brushed it off his mind.

    "I need to talk to you alone," grabbing her arm, he began to lead her away from the kitchen.

    "But m-master, the food!" She cried, genuinely concerned.

    "There are enough people here to handle it," ncing sideways at one of the human servants, Haruki urged her to take over.

    Escaping the ring sights of the human servants, Haruki was once again reminded of the injustice roaming the streets of As. ves, especially demi-human ves were treated merely as livestock to be used, abused, and discarded at the end of it all.

    ''I wonder what those bastards from my battalion are up to these days?'' Just the thought of the atrocities he had to witness under the battalion leader made him wanna throw up.

    "Nobody should be able to disturb us here,'''' Having already taken a tour around the castle, Haruki was able to make it to the bathhouse without any guidance. "Now tell me, what were you trying to do in the kitchen?"

    With Haruki''s grasp around her arm loosened up, Asuka drew her hand back and held it clutched over her bosom. Pressed shut, her lips quivered to speak and yet no words came out of her mouth.

    "What is it? You don''t seem..." cing his hand over her head, he gently brushed through them, but instead of smiling like always, Asuka squinted her eyes in terror. "Hey? What happened?"

    Shaking her head, she finally beamed a joyful smile. Looking back up at Haruki, she threw her arms around him and took him into an embrace.

    "Nothing...I just-" burying her head against his chest, Asuka took a whiff of his scene to make sure it really was him. "Nevermind, it''s nothing."

    "Are you sure?" Unconvinced by her answer, he asked.

    She simply nodded before legging go of his body. Stepping back, she gave Haruki a thoughtful stare. It only made him wonder what was going on in her head and what exactly she was hiding.

    "About the kitchen thing," taking hold of the conversation before Haruki could ask any more questions, Asuka reached into her apron and took out two empty potion vials. "Since you were sleeping, I thought I might go ahead with the n."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Seeing the vials emptied, it made a lot more sense as to why she would be there. Somehow, in all the madness from thest few days, he couldn''te up with such a simple yet effective n.

    "You put them in the food?" Haruki asked just to confirm his suspicion.

    "Mhmm," Asuka nodded before putting the vials back into the apron. "I made sure to learn the food preferences of the two and added the pink potion in the wine, and the red in the cream stew."

    Since the potions had no effects on lust demons, even if Haruki consumed the stew of wine, he had no chance of being affected by them.

    "The others didn''t notice?" Grinning at the swift progress she had made, Haruki enthusiastically grabbed her by the arm.

    "I used charm on the ones that did," her reply was chef''s kiss.

    "Dammit, that''s too perfect," huffing out a sigh of relief, Haruki pulled Asuka into a hug again. "You''re smarter than me, who would''ve thought? Ahaha."

    "What does that mean?" Puffing up her cheeks, she nced up at Haruki with a hint of anger. "Not smarter than master though."

    Washing the anger off her face, she got up on her heels and nted a brief kiss on her master''s cheeks.

    "What now, master? If I remember correctly, once the potion is in their bodies it should be easier to corrupt them, but how would we take it from there?" To her question, Haruki had alreadye up with an borate n.

    On his way from the garden after meeting up with Riley, he had enough time to mull over his thoughts and figure out how to truly corrupt and take turn the ruler of Daria into his lustful servant.

    "Let''s wait for the night, I''ll tell you everything you need to know then," leaning into her ears, he whispered.

    Trailing his hand down her spine, he reached for her butt. Lifting her up by her ass, he pressed their foreheads together.

    "For now, I just wanna spend some time with my personal hardworking, beautiful, and sexy maid," rubbing their noses together, they shared a hearty chuckle.

    "It''s been a while hasn''t it? Since we''ve been alone like this," smiling as she peered into Haruki''s eyes, Asuka wrapped her arms across his neck.

    Feeling their breaths grazing against each other''s skin, they gently brushed their lips together. Melting right under his lips, Haruki could taste the sweet nectar from her cherry lips. Squeezing her flesh down there, he could feel Asuka''s hands desperately crawling all over his back.

    "Wanna take a bath together?" Pulling away from her warmth, he asked while undoing the apron wrapped around her body.

    "Yes..." she replied blushing all over.

 Chapter 43 43 - Dining With The Corrupted

    ?Right after spending time in their long and sweaty bath, Haruki and Asuka parted from each other. Being royalty, Haruki was taken to the dining hall, while Asuka, like the rest of the ves, was taken somewhere else to have some breakfast. However, just to keep an eye on her safety, Haruki made sure to put a demonic spy on her tail.

    Led into the dining hall, he was greeted with the glister of their fine silver as well as the sharp gaze by the duchess and her son. Making sure to adhere to proper etiquette he gave them a nod of acknowledgment.

    "Here, if you will, Lord," pulling up a chair for Haruki, the butler offered him a seat.

    With Margarette and Riley sitting on the opposing ends of the table, he felt a bit intimidated to be seated in between them.

    "Thank you," saying to the butler, he took the seat regardless.

    ncing across the table, the three took brief notice of each other''s presence. The tension between them was clear, but the reasons for the troubles were far from the same.

    ''I haven''t had a proper talk with Margarette yet, but she doesn''t seem to be in a chatty mood at the moment.'' Springing forth a pair of demonic spies from his palm hiding under the table, he had them attach themselves to them both. With that done now he could not only spy on them directly but also keep an eye on everything transpiring in any room of the castle.

    "So..." Breaking the awkward silence, Riley rested his hand on the table. "Lord Laria, were you able to find your maid?"

    "Yes, she was helping with the food preparations," ncing back and forth between the two, Haruki added further. "And about your request to have her ch-"

    "Stop! No! I mean, ahem..." faking a cough, Riley gawked at Margarette before turning back to Haruki. "We can discuss thatter."

    "What request are we talking about here?" stering and unassuming smile, Margarette rested her chin on the back of her hand.

    As Haruki turned to look at her, the first thing he noticed was her plentiful breasts obscenely gushing out of her open-cut blouse. Gandering up her barely covered breasts, Haruki then noticed something much more noticeable. Adorned with an ember stone ne looming over her chest as well as diamond earrings hanging down to her chin, Margaret was clearly trying to show off her beauty.

    ''And that pale snow-white skin, it either feels eerie as a ghost or extremely mystifying,'' With no in-between to her charm, Haruki wasn''t sure if he was enthralled by her beauty or disturbed by it.

    "It''s nothing to do with you...mother," forcing a smile on his face, Riley red at Margarette with great intensity.

    Seeing her son giving her that re, her lips contorted into a grimace. Turning her attention back to the duke, she decided to give him a proper introduction.

    "I humbly apologize for leaving in such haste yesterday, young duke," stering a warm smile, she continued. "But you have my word that we''ll make up for such a shameful wee with our matchless hospitality."

    "So I''ve seen," replied Haruki, trying to keep from seeming spiteful. "And you don''t have to worry about the wee, it wasn''t your fault that you got sick."

    Leaning her head over her right hand, Margarette''s eyes gleamed up at Haruki''s reply.

    "Well aren''t you such an understanding kid, I never would''ve guessed that after meeting your father," bursting into augh, Margarette washed her tears off with her fingers.

    Her remark was very much meant to provoke Snow, but with Haruki holding no emotional bond to thete duke, he had no reason to show his dissent. As Margarette''sugh died down, the food was finally brought in by the servants. ting up numerous exquisite cuisines, the three royalties were quickly served their breakfast.

    A whiff of the whirling odors from the dishes was enough to water Haruki''s mouth. But taking caution he picked up the utensils and waited for the other to take on the first bite.

    "Would you like a bit of wine, duke?" Being poured herself by a servant, Margarette offered Haruki the same.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "It''s a tempting offer but I''d have to decline," hearing Haruki''s response, Margarette twirled the ss under her nose before taking a light sip.

    ''It''s done,'' thought Haruki, still making sure to not let his emotions show on his face.

    "You never offered me," Riley budged in with a deep frown on his face.

    "Come on Riley, not in front of the guest," Margarette shot back.

    Whatever the situation between the two was, it only seemed to get worse with each passing second. Haruki himself had noticed it by now, still, he was trying not to stick his leg where it didn''t belong.

    "Not in front of the guest what?" ncing up and down her dress, Riley''s face contorted deeper in anger. "Just look at yourself, pretending as if drinking is the problem, not those whorish clothes off yours."

    Riley''s words didn''t only shock Margarette, but Haruki too was left baffled byments towards his own mother.

    "Riley!" mming her palms on the table, Margarette sprang up on her feet. "Is that any way to talk about your mother?!"

    "Step-mother," he mumbled, holding a fork directed toward her. "Remember that distinction, you''ve been forgetting that too much recently."

    The violent nature of the quarrel made Haruki feel like he had to intervene before things got a bit too out of hand.

    "How about you both calm d-"

    "Stay out of this duke!" Cutting him, Margarette yelled before he could finish.

    Exchanging a quick nce with Haruki after that his mother yelled out at him, Riley huffed a sigh before turning back to look at her.

    "And you call me rude," moving out of the chair, he let go of the fork. "I''ll eat some other time, have fun."

    Forcing a sarcastic smile on his face, he began walking towards the exit. With all this going on Haruki noticed how Riley hadn''t even touched the creme stew, which Asuka had poisoned with the potion.

    ''Dammit, we might have to get him another way,'' given Riley''s as well as Margarette''s hostility towards Haruki and Asuka, trying to corrupt them without the potions was a near-impossible task.

    "Riley, stop right there!" The grinding of Margarette''s teeth screeched so loud, Haruki could feel difort in his own mouth. "You''re not gonna leave when we have a guest with us, so get back into that chair and eat."

    "Oh don''t worry mother," standing right by the door, he gave her a devious smirk. "I''m sure duke Laria doesn''t mind sharing more time with you than me, after all, I wasn''t the one to leave him at the city gates."

    With that said, he walked right out of the dining hall.

    ''The hell is wrong with these two? Even the clovers didn''t fight this immaturely.'' His knowledge of the two limited to second rumors, Haruki had no idea what was really going on between the two. ''I''ve attached those spies to them so hopefully, I''ll get to know them better soon.''

 Chapter 44 44 - Path To Impurity

    ?After that disaster of a breakfast concluded, Haruki decided to keep spying on Margarette and Riley through his spies. Holing up inside the guest room, and asionally taking strolls around the garden he kept himself free from any suspecting eye. All the while, in his head he could see follow without fail whatever the two were up to.

    To his surprise, Margarette was too busy dealing with all the work the numerous visiting diplomats were piling on top of her. As for Riley, his day was a little more adventurous. Riding around town with a battalion of guards following him, he made asional stops at venture shops, pubs, and even the farms. There he would with the help of the guards collect taxes be it through obedience or violent force.

    Later, for a moment as he was out in the garden, he saw Margarette standing at the guest room door. It seemed as though she was trying to get in but since the door was held shut by the miasmic flytrap she couldn''t get inside. Thankfully, she had falsely assumed that Haruki was taking a nap in the room with the door locked from the inside.

    Busying herself with work under the effect of the potion, her body began to heat up from the inside. At one point, she was left panting for breath, but with the mountain of documentsying in front of her, she kept pushing herself until it was time for her sleep.

    ''They''ve both skipped lunch as well as dinner, thankfully Asuka brought the food to my room or I might''ve had to go without eating as well.'' Watching Margarette sleeping soundly in her bed, he almost felt pit for the burdened duchess. After the tiresome day with no food, no bath, or even a single trip to the bathroom, Haruki couldn''t help but wonder how her body was even functioning at this point. ''She slept in those same heavy clothes as well.''

    Shattering his chain of thoughts, a sudden knock on his door broke heightened his senses. For a moment he wondered if there was any threat at the other side of the door, however, closing his eyes he saw Riley standing outside his door with the help of the demonic spy.

    "These guys are a lifesaver, I can''t wait to be able to summon more monsters," getting off the bed, he quickly checked himself in the mirror.

    Havingid in bed all day his hair was all ruffled up, but correcting it with mask presence, he made his way to the door. As opened it up, Riley''s eyes quickly met Haruki and despite being the one to knock, he seemed a bit shocked that he actually opened the door.

    "Lord...Uh, ahem," faking a cough, he hastily corrected his demeanor. "About the thing we discussed, about the curse."

    "Oh, I...I almost forgot, sorry about that," Haruki''s nonchnt answer left a scornful expression on Riley''s face. He seemed obviously offended by Haruki''sck of adherence to his request.

    "But can you ask her now?" He asked, masking his frustration under a smile.

    Although Haruki was pretending to have forgotten, he was not at all negligent about the matter. In fact, he had alreadye up with a n and reyed it to Asuka.

    "Sure, I''ll send her to your room to check up on the curse," as soon Riley heard those words, a sigh of relief left his mouth.

    "Thank you!" He screamed, wrapping his arms around Haruki''s shoulders. "I''ll do anything in return, just let me know!"

    Unwrapping his arms, Haruki took a step away from Riley. Even after that, his eyes were gleaming with joy.

    "You should get back to your room, I''ll send her in a bit," with the night escaping, Haruki had a lot that he needed to do as well. Sending Riley off, he quickly exined to Asuka everything about the visit and that her part of the n was finally about to begin.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Getting back to the bed, he once again began to spy on Margarette. Flopping around the bed, she seemed to be having a nightmare of some kind.

    ''A bit longer and it all begins.'' So far, he had tried not to be infatuated by her womanly features, but with her plentiful breasts even bigger than Moriyana he couldn''t help but feel her allure working a charm on his body.

    Expecting Asuka to be on her way to Riley''s room, Haruki turned into his incubus form. Moving by the window he held it wide open and took a look at thentern-lit city. The sight while lustrous and rich, Haruki couldn''t be distracted by what he was about to try.

    "If I''m not wrong, I should be able to fly," concentrating on the soles of his feet, he could feel himself lifting up in the air. "Ha! By A-agh!"

    The force of habit to utter As''s name on impulse left him with a striking pain in the head. Struggling through the hurt, he flew by the window, trying to make his way to Margarette''s room without being seen by anyone in the castle.

    Upon reaching there, he made sure to gently open up the windows and get back onto his feet without making any sound. Walking up to the bed where Margarette was struggling through a nightmare, Haruki loomed over her with his shadow cast on her body by the moonlight creeping through the open window. Taking a brief look at her pale skin, he could''ve sworn a ghost wasying in front of him.

    "Alluring nightmare..." holding his hand over her, he activated the skill for the very first time.

    The next thing he knew, his whole existence was turned into a mist before being sucked into Margarette''s dream. Left shocked and baffled by the skill, he found himself standing on deep pink clouds. Taking a moment to just look around the ce, the astral space appeared never-ending.

    The only thing striking him as strange was a lone door with muffled voicesing from the other side. Walking around the door there was nothing on the other end, just the vast emptiness of space with the same clouds lining the path.

    "Alright then," trying to remember the next part of the ability, Haruki pushed the door open.

    Looking inside he found Margaretteying on a bed with her eyes blindfolded and her hands tied to her back.

    ''Alluring nightmare, a skill that allows the user to visit the victims'' dreams, and turn them into their wildest fantasies that can corrupt them even in the real world.''  Watching Margarette iling around with her hands tied, Haruki was forced to wonder if she fantasized about being tied up like this. ''No point waiting, the night won''t stay young forever.''

    With that thought, he flew right over to the bed and took off her blindfold. Squinting her eyes, she saw Haruki as a demon for the first time.

    "Who are you?" She mumbled, unsure whether it was still a dream.

    "Don''t worry about that," he answered, hushing her by cing his index on her lips.

 Chapter 45 45 - To Purge A Curse [18+ Warning: Forced Orgasms]

    ?

    "Sir Riley?" Asuka called, knocking on the door to Riley''s room.

    ncing down to her hips, she moved her hand over the pouch holding the potions. Her fingers mped onto it as she waited for the hurrying steps from inside to open the door for her. Pulling the door open, Riley''s face lit up at the very sight of Asuka.

    "You''re here!" His hand squeezed together, he seemed ready to bounce with joy. "Come in!"

    Grabbing Asuka by the arms, he pulled her right into the room. Astonished by his reckless enthusiasm, Asuka''s heart raced about wildly. Her angst was further worsened the moment he shut the door behind them.

    ''Will I be able to defeat him if ites to fighting?'' The answer to that was an obvious no, and yet Asuka felt like the situation might head in that direction at a moment''s notice.

    "So," hopping in front of her, Riley stood there moving up and down on his toes. "How do we start?"

    Given a moment to think things through, the first thing Asuka noticed was the casual tone of his clothes. Unlike the rest of the day, he was wearing a light blue men''s shirt along with the same color pajamas. However, what shook her more was the semi-transparent nature of his clothes.

    ''He''s¡­so small,'' without the hefty armor, Asuka could see his frail arms and slender waist outlined in the shadow through his transparent clothes. ''There''s a hint of muscles on his body, but it''s very bleak.''

    "Miss Asuka?" Waving his hand in front of her eyes, Riley brought her back to the ne of living. "Is there something wrong?"

    Before getting into the room, Asuka had a very different image of Riley in her head. From the little bit of fencing she had glimpsed him doing as well as the bashful tone of his voice, she expected him to be an assertive little brat. Instead, after talking to him in privacy she was almost reminded of the clover by the way he carried himself.

    "We can start, but before then I need you toy down," hearing hermand, Riley nodded his head like an innocent child.

    Showing no hint of reluctance he held her hand and guided her to the bed. Once Asuka sat down beside him on a stool, heid down on the bed facing upwards.

    "Master has told me everything, so let me see," holding her hand over his belly, Asuka made her hands glow in a golden light.

    While the skill Asuka was using was supposed to be pure healing, adding an excess of mana in the spell she managed to make it seem much brighter than it usually is. Withdrawing her mana at the height of the lighting out of her palms, she began to slowly kill the spell.

    "You were right, there is a curse on you," lying wasn''t her strongest suit and yet she was trying to be as convincing as possible.

    "I knew it," unamused by the revtion, Riley pulled himself up.

    Turning to Asuka with his legs dangling from the bed, he grabbed her hand close to him once again. After seeing his true self, Asuka didn''t feel even the slightest difort by having him hold her hands.

    "Is there something you can do?" His hold on her getting tighter, he held his breath for an answer.

    "There is but, I''m not sure if you''d like it," reaching into the pouch, Asuka took out a bottle of the red potion. "And it might take longer than a few nights to purge the curse out of your body."

    Staring at the whispering red potion, a cold chill ran down his spine. He knew something was off about the situation, but with a sight of the cure in front of his eyes, his rational side was struggling to keep up.

    "I can be free from this stupid body? Can it really happen?" Salivating at the idea, he took the potion in his own hand.

    "Yes, of course," Asuka promised.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Then let''s do it," turning to Asuka with crazed eyes, he uncorked the potion himself.

    ''I was gonna use charm if he denied the offer, but this makes things easier for me.'' ted from her worries, Asuka held off from her letting her emotions show on her face.

    "Go on, drink it, we have another ritual that needs to be done before the purging starts," urging him to drink the potion, she kept her eyes locked onto his lips.

    Gulping down thest of his worries, Riley down the potion in one swift gulp.

    "Now, what?" Riley asked, handing Asuka the empty sk back.

    "Take off your shirt andy down," she replied.

    A bit red over the cheeks, he seemed reluctant but quickly took off his shirt. Laying down on his belly, he watched Asuka move right beside him. For a moment she stood there motionless, mumbling some sort of spell to herself. But then as she moved her hand over his back, Riley could feel burning heat all over his skin.

    "Body disfigurement," Asuka whispered, making sure Riley couldn''t pick up on what she said.

    Using the ability body disfigurement for the first time, she took her time to experiment with a few things. Moving her hand right by his hips, she poured great mana into the skill''s ability.

    "Ahh! Wh-what are y-you doing?" A shot of orgasmic sensation shot through his spine, while Riley''s breath grew deep and heavy.

    "I''m making sure the potion takes proper effect, it''s gonna take a while for me toplete this so I hope you can keep up," saying that, she poured yet another stream of mana into his lower body.

    "Aghhh! Mhnmm! Haa¡­haa¡­" with Asuka''s skill transforming his body into being more feminine, screams of torturous pleasure escaped his lips.

    ''This is kinda fun, ehehe¡­'' Taking pleasure in the sensual torture, Asuka poured even more of her magic into her spine and directed it into his manly jewels.

    ''The path to corruption goes directly through what one desires to escape, but inevitably fails to.'' At the time Moriyana had said those words to Asuka, she wasn''t sure why she had said that to her, but now she knew exactly why Moriyana thought that was important.

    By forcing Riley into being more feminine she was bound to break his sanity, making it much easier to convince him to be self-destructive and give in to the corruption she was offering.

    ''Level up!'' If nothing else, she could always drain his level to make him weaker than Haruki.

    ''I think I''d like a pretty servant,'' her actions amplified by the effect of sadism, made her pour into Riley until he burst into his first squealing orgasm.

    "Mhnmmm!" Burying his face in his pillow, he had wet himself with his juices. "Wh-what was that?"

    ''''Aghhh! That innocent, cute look, I wanna break him into a doll!'' To his question, Asuka gave him a devious smile.

    "We''re not done, yet¡­" Her reply left him horrified by the thought of what was toe.

 Chapter 46 46 - The Unrelenting Maiden[18+]

    ?

    It had been a long while since Haruki began to work his magic on the duchess. However, unlike Riley, he made sure to pull her back every time she was on the edge of orgasm. To some, his strategy might''ve seemed peculiar, and even made them question exactly what he was trying to achieve. But the answer to those questions was extremely simple. To bring different people down on their knees, to get them to indulge in their worldly desires, and to make them beg for conversion into a demon being, they all had to be tempted with different apples of Eden.

    ''The night is veining, I wonder how much progress Asuka has made so far.'' Watching Margarette held in the air and being teased by the countless tentacles of his own familiar, Haruki could feel himself tempted to get a direct taste of her body. ''I need to keep my head clear, for all I know pushing my luck might wake her up.''

    Being in a dream there were numerous limitations to what he could do, one of the most prevalent of such was that he couldn''t drain her levels. Then there was the fact that he was limited by the eleration of time in the real world while being in someone''s dream.

    ''At least I''m making progress corrupting her with lust.'' Creeping and crawling around inside her clothes, the tentacles teased Margarette in all the right spots. Held in the air by the very same tentacle her face was red as a beet and her lips heaved hefty breaths from being toyed around for hours.

    ''Moral corruption!'' Activating the ability through his mind, Haruki leaned into her ears.

    "You know¡­I bet all those diplomats spend their night thinking about how much they wanna fuck you," trailing out of his lips were maged words, the more he whispered the more her mind waspelled to mull about it. "Don''t you wanna have some fun with them too? I bet it''d help them work even harder."

    As those wordsnded in her ears, the image of her being surrounded by those men took over her mind. She could see herselfying bare on her knees being eyed by those crude men giving her all kinds of lecherous res.

    "Shut up!" Trying to free herself from the grasp of the tentacles, she yelled out loud.

    mping his hands around her face, Haruki coiled his tail around her wide hips. Drawing it like a whip, he hit her Butt for the hundredth time. Groaning in pain, Margarette began to pant restlessly.

    "Unfortunately, the day is almost here so we might have to stop this here for tonight," Withdrawing himself away from her, he took a hearty look at the sorry state of the so-called holy maiden of Daria.

    Sweating profusely from the torture, her heavy dress had turned near transparent. Coiled around her massive breasts, the tentacle familiar continued to squeeze them tightly and circle around her nipples. Having spared no part of her skin, it even crawled up her skirt and teased her entrance from over the panties.

    Despite it being a dream, being teased for the whole night the sweet scent of her mature woman had filled the whole room.

    "W-wh-who¡­Ha! Agh!" Dreamily panting between words, Margarette stared at Haruki. "Who are y-you? And why is this happen-Mhmm! Stop!"

    Suddenly squirming about violently teasing her with its arms, the creature made her almost burst into an untimely orgasm. With the prospect of her climaxing from further stimtion, Haruki undid the summoned creature.

    "What? Ugh!" Margarette cried, falling down on the bed under her.

    "Who am I?" Grabbing her face, Haruki turned it to look up at him. "I am your master, and you''ll submit to me soon."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Reminded of the countless times he was abused as a soldier by royalties and nobles, Haruki felt no pity towards a corrupt politician such as her. ring right into her eyes with a thirst for her blood, he felt drawn to sever her consciousness from her real body.

    ''She''s too useful, I shouldn''t waste my rage. Besides, there''s someone else I wanna take vengeance on.'' Marquis Gorgan, the man who inevitably caused his execution, was more worthy of his rage. ''Soon, I''ll axe your head in front of the very crowd that witnessed my execution!''

    Making a mental promise, he let go of Margarette before undoing alluring nightmare. As soon as he did so, he was forced right out of her consciousness by the force of her soul. Back into his corporeal body, his eyes were tightly shut as the sun crept its light through the window behind him.

    ''Tyrant''s heart!'' Giving him a moment of rity, the curse helped him suppress a foolish thought.

    "I can''t kill you, not yet at least," he mumbled to himself, watching her sleep.

    At that moment as she slept it wouldn''t have been hard to attempt an assassination, but even if he did she wasn''t gonna die because of a few mortal wounds, although Haruki didn''t know that. Even if her hands were chopped off, or her eye pecked out, in the face of her rejuvenation no wound could truly kill her, unless she wasn''t given enough time to activate the spell.

    "I''ll see you soon," with that said, Haruki flew out the window and made it back into his room.

    There heid on the bed deep in thought ring up at the ceiling. The change in his morality was irking him deeply, and yet as it was leading him closer to his goal he wasn''t sure if it was truly a bad thing.

    ''I wanna burn this ce, the people in the streets, I wanna feed on their flesh while listening to their screams¡­'' Clenching his heart, he felt himself being swayed by his demonic side. ''No, that''s not how this goes, killing them would be too lenient, I can''t let them escape my grasp so easily.''

    "Master?" A knock on the door followed by Asuka''s voice strayed Haruki from his thoughts. "Master, are you awake?"

    "Yes,e in," given his permission the mystic flytrap opened the door for Asuka.

    Hurriedly getting inside the room, a worried expression rested on her face. From the looks alone, Haruki knew something had gone wrong, and he wasn''t looking forward to finding out what it was exactly.

    "What is it? Did something happen with Riley?" Getting off the bed, he moved closer to her.

    Shaking her head side to side, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves before speaking.

    "It''s Jenna, we need to go to the town," her reply left Haruki with more questions than answers.

 Chapter 47 47 - Delayed Effect Of Actions

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    Leaving the castle in a rush, Haruki and Asuka rode a carriage into the inner city. The daunting news had pulled him out of his murderous temptations and left him in a state of shock. On his way to the inn where his convoys were housed, his mind feverishly raced while questioning the legitimacy of the news.

    "Why now?" Mumbled Haruki, grinding his teeth in a fit of frustration.

    "Who knows? We''ll figure it out when we get there," stealing a nce at his troubled face, Asuka knew it was best to leave him be for a moment.

    Being it so early, the streets of the city ofmerce were as empty as they could be. The glister, the chatter, and the countless peddlers were nowhere near in sight. A bit thankful for theck of traffic, Haruki settled down in his seat waiting for the short journey''s end.

    By the time they reached the ce, the streets had turned into a cluttered mess. In front of their carriage were countless people trying to get a peek into the inn building. Whatever had transpired in there has garnered quick recognition.

    "Duke, it''s me, Kane," knocking on the door, Kane called out to the duke.

    "Go ahead, open it," having learned from his mistake, Haruki allowed Kane to open the door for him.

    Opening the door for Haruki, he stepped to the side to let him get off. Once down on his foot, Haruki turned to Kane for some answers. His great sword resting over his shoulders, he seemed tense enough to start fighting monsters at a moment''s notice.

    "Is it true?" Wearing a deep frown, Haruki was in no better mood either.

    Kane in response gulped heavily before nodding. His horrors realized, Haruki began to make his way forward. Upon noticing Snow, the crowd quickly subsided making way for him to pass through. Once he got to the inn''s door, Haruki looked at the entrance hall ceiling and saw a pair of dangling legs.

    ''Fuck, I didn''t think she''d do this.'' walking into the hall, Jenna''s whole body hanging by a rope came into his view. Tied to the chandelier she had hung herself with the help of a rope digging into her neck.

    "Bring her down," not sure if anyone was even listening, Haruki threw that order into the air.

    Bringing himself forward, Arthur the spy of the silver storm jumped onto the massive chandelier. Carefully undoing the knot on it, he slowly brought Jenna''s body down. When it was finally within reach, Kane took her in his arms beforeying him down on the inn''s reception table.

    "Should I take the cloth off of her face? We had covered it up since¡­" Kane''s words trailed into silence as Haruki reached forward to undo the bag himself.

    Holding her head in his hands, he could hear his heart racing faster. With air pushed out of his shrinking lungs, he braced himself for the grim sight. However, betrayed by his expectation, the moment Haruki took off the cloth, the expression on Jenna''s face was anything but grim.

    "She''s¡­smiling?" his hands jittered nervously as he stared nkly at the serene glow on her face.

    "She was probably happy to be one with her sister again," resting his hand on Haruki''s shoulder, Kaneforted him. "We should pray for her safe journey."

    "We should," Arthur affirmed the prospect.

    Laying her head down on the table once again, Haruki was anything but content with the way things ended with Jenna.

    ''Another innocent life gone, perhaps, there was something I could''ve done to keep her alive.'' ming himself for not turning her into a demon, Haruki had a great deal of resentment towards himself. ''I''m not gonna let this happen again. She would''ve been better off as a demon than a lifeless body resting in an endless abyss.''<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    To him, the afterlife wasn''t as rosy as the others, and thus he wasn''t expecting her to join her sisters as a star.

    "We''ll give her a proper burial," taking the brooch out of his shirt, he clutched it in his palm and ced his other hand on Jenna''s body. "Back at home, that is, her home."

    Traversing mana through the sapphire stone, he gradually began to move his hand down from Jenna''s head to her toes. As he moved along her body, ayer of solid ice covered her from all sides.

    "Duke¡­" Kane''s arm reached for the duke but stopped mid-air.

    He too knew that something more was going on inside Snow''s mind, something that he couldn''t figure out by simply looking. Thus he decided not to disturb him, and let him finish freezing Jenna all over.

    "That ice shouldn''t melt so long as it''s not countered with fire magic," turning his head to Kane, Haruki gave him an emotionless stare. "Keep her safe until I''m done in this ce."

    "Wait, why? Can''t we juste back?" interjecting into the conversation, Arthur brought the attention to himself.

    "Arthur, don''t argue," being the perceptive one, Kane advised him.

    "Do as you wish, I do not care," looking around for the others, Haruki hade up with a proper n. "Or the silver storm can leave, I''ll reward you with the same amount of gold as the rest, so you don''t have to stay behind."

    Giving each other a quick nce, Kane and Arthur felt a bit uncertain about the duke''s offer. After all, if the duke did not make it back to the duchy, they''d be the first to be executed for leaving him behind.

    "Where are the others anyway?" Not being able to find the other, Haruki couldn''t help asking.

    "We had them moved to another inn, the girls were a bit too affected by the incident so only we two stayed behind," Kane''s answer, worried Haruki about the others, especially the clovers.

    ''Asuka is attached to those three, I''m not sure how it would affect her if something happened to them.'' wondering about her feelings, Haruki realized that through all this Asuka had stayed behind at the carriage.

    "I should get going," announcing abruptly, he began to rush back to the carriage.

    ''She''s a demi-human ve, what the hell am I doing leaving her alone in this stupid ce?!'' Once again being betrayed by his expectation, as Haruki made his way back to Asuka, instead of her being in any danger she was healing a man who had fallen to the ground.

    "What happened?" He asked, walking up to her.

    "He tried to grab thedy''s tail!" one of the bystanders replied.

    "Leave him be!" Grabbing Asuka''s hand, he took her back into the carriage.

 Chapter 48 48 - Left To Contemplate

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    The journey back to the Phoenix castle was filled with silence and awkward gazes. Unsure what to make of the situation now, Haruki as well as Asuka were deep in thought pondering just how such a tragedy could''ve been avoided. However, what''s done was done, and without the help of a godly user of time magic, none of it could ever be changed.

    ''I need to finish things here quickly, there''s lots to do back at Laria too.'' Having left his territory under Rose''s watchful eyes, Haruki wasn''t too concerned for its safety, but with Moriyana taking over the illegal businesses he could only imagine the kind of troubles he''d be returning to. ''I just hope she keeps her promise of keeping children out of it.''

    Strolling in through the castle gates, the carriage stopped by the garden. While attempting to get out Haruki noticed Riley fencing with the guards again. The moment their eyes met, he drew his sword back into the cape before making his way toward the carriage.

    "Is it true what I''ve heard?" He asked nonchntly.

    But as Asuka stepped out of the carriage, his confident demeanor changedpletely. Blushing a bright red, he crossed his legs before shying away from her gaze. Just the sight of her reminded him of the night and the countless hours of being milked through her alleged curse-purging magic.

    "Jenna''s dead, yes," ignoring the change in his bodynguage, Haruki gave him a straight answer.

    "Are you okay, sir Riley?" No longer in theplete effect of sadism, Asuka actually felt a bit bad for draining him until nothing was left. "You should take a day off from fencing if you feel too tired."

    Squinting his eyes shut, Riley violently shook his head to show that he was fine. His obvious lie, however, was fooling no one, it even made Haruki feel a bit odd the way Riley was acting.

    "Ahem!" Bringing his fist under his mouth he let off a cough before correcting his demeanor. "I''m sorry to hear that, do you know why she did such a thing?"

    The sudden question struck them where it hurt. From offering her sister to the reaper to failing to do anything so she wouldn''t kill herself, it all painted a sinister picture. And if they were to continue to struggle down the same path, there were bound to be many more like her.

    "It''s a bit much for a morning talk, maybe we can talk about itter?" Brushing off his question, Haruki was about to make his way back into the castle, however, grabbing him by the arm Riley held him in ce.

    "How about a bit of fencing to keep things off of your mind?" Riley offered with a genuinely warm smile.

    ''I can''t get a proper read on this guy.'' The uncertainty about Riley''s intentions had started to bug him. At times, he seemed extremely hostile, at the other he wasn''t so abhorrent.

    "I''m a schr, but I doubt I know a single thing about fencing," trying to get out of the situation, Haruki made up an excuse.

    "Isn''t that more reason to start learning?" Reaching into his cape, he drew out yet another fencing sword. "Here, take it."

    Offering the sword to Haruki by holding it in front of him, Riley smirked cheekily.

    "How much stuff do you carry in that cape?" Taking the offered sword, Haruki couldn''t help asking that question. He had seen Riley constantly taking stuff out of it as if there was no end to its capacity to hold.

    "Everything, but swords and dead bodies mostly," backstepping towards the fencing ground by the garden area, he let out a chuckle.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You''re kidding, right?" Baffled by his answer, Haruki wasn''t sure whether to take him seriously or not.

    "Unfortunately not, I''m a spy after all, bodies are to me the same way books are to a schr," taking up a striking stance, he held the sword pointed towards Haruki.

    ''I guess I can use a bit of brushing up on my skills on a sword, I haven''t picked a de since being revived after all.'' Walking up closer Haruki moved the tip of Riley''s sword.

    "You seem to know the etiquette at least," Rileymended.

    "I''m a glutton for knowledge," Haruki replied, swinging the sword against him to start their fight.

    Although seeming well matched at first,cking the muscles from his previous life most of Haruki''s energy was spent trying to move the darned sword. With a sparring partner like Riley, that handicap was bound to be fatal, and that''s exactly what happened. Distracted by a sprain in his arm, Haruki ran right into the edge of Riley''s de.

    "Ughh!" He grunted as the de grazed his shoulder.

    "Master?!" Asuka yelped in horror as she saw the blood draining from his arm.

    "Shit! I didn''t mean to do that," getting down to his knees, Riley put the des away to get a look at the sharp wound. "It''s not too deep, thankfully."

    Rushing to her master, Asuka quickly started to cast her healing magic. The moment Riley saw her hands glow, he instinctively jumped back from the trauma ofst night.

    "I''ll put these des away!" Drained of all blood from his face, he grabbed the des and kept his distance.

    Healing the wound, Asuka red up at Riley with a raging look. It made him flinch further, but gulping down his angst he didn''t let it show in front of the guards. All the while, as Haruki was being healed, he felt not anger towards Riley but felt conflicted about his initial perception of what Riley was like.

    ''I should''ve tried to make Margarette spill some secrets while I was in her dream.'' Thinking back to Margarette he got up from the ground, wondering how she was doing now that she was probably fully awake.

    "I''m sorry, I didn''t really mean to hurt you," still maintaining his distance, Riley seemed genuinely concerned about Haruki.

    ''I don''t know if this guy is great at acting or if he has nothing to do with the assassination.'' Riley''s empathy towards him made Haruki question the extent of Riley''s involvement in the assassination attempts on him.

    "Forget it!" Yelling out loud, Asuka grabbed Haruki''s hand and started to lead him away from the garden. "Master, you should just rest, I''ll heal you once we''re back in your room."

    Giving Riley a mean stare, Asuka kept guiding Haruki away from him.

 Chapter 49 49 - A Game Of Morality And Questions

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    Right before nightfall, Margarette was standing in front of the guest room door. She had promised Riley to take care of the duke, but with her sudden spike in libido being around any man was too much for her to handle. Even now as she stood there contemting whether to knock, the folds of her slits were itching to be touched.

    ''What the hell has been happening to me?!'' drawing her hand back from the door, she bit her lips to drown her lust. ''I''lle backter.''

    Watching her go back to her room with the help of his demonic spy, Haruki wasying down on the bed with Asuka sitting right beside him.

    "Another potion downed, I doubt she can resist the conversion after the third," mumbling to himself, he began to n his next move.

    "Master, it''s your turn," moving a piece on the chessboard, Asuka seemed content with her move.

    Bringing his attention back to the game, Haruki''s mind wandered off again before making his move. Noticing the pondering stance with a thumb under his chin, Asuka knew something was brewing inside his mind.

    "Master, can I tell you something?" She whispered hoping he wouldn''t hear her.

    "What is it?" He answered regardless.

    "What do you n to do once you''ve gathered that army of lust demons that Asmodia wants?"  Her eyes uncertain braced for his answer.

    Haruki had no idea why she would ask such a question out of the blue, but that was only because he himself was unaware of a part of the demon lord he was carrying inside him. Trying to think through the question, he huffed out an exasperated sigh.

    "I might just be Laria''s permanent ruler," part of him wanted tomit atrocities, kill thousands, plunder the weak, and even drain thend of all of its bounty, and yet the sane part of him kept those urges in check, for now.

    "Will she allow it?" Without even taking her name, Haruki knew who Asuka was talking about.

    "I doubt it, but that''s why I have to get stronger," feeding himself those lies, even he knew the n had little hope of being effective.

    Finally making a move on the board, he wore a smile while looking at her. In response, she smiled warmly before looking down at the board again. Having just recently started learning the game neither of them was proficient in chess, however, it often gave them some leisure time to just talk to each other.

    "Back at the castle, I heard Snow''s father took you in, was that true?" scraping at the delicate matter, Haruki knew the question would re up some emotions.

    Stopping herself from picking up a piece to move, Asuka drew her hand back from the board.

    "Yes, he did, master Snow asked him to," Her eyes moving nervously told a bitter-sweet story. "Although now, I''m not sure if that was a good thing or not."

    "We met because of that unfortunate event, so what do you make of it?" Picking up the teacup, Haruki kept his smile up.

    "When you put it like that, then I''d count it as a blessing," letting out a chuckle she finally made another move

    ''I wish that was my blood.'' She thought, ring at the cup in Haruki''s hands.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Do you ever feel weird, master? Like your demonic side trying to make you do or think weird stuff?" She asked, tilting her head.

    Taking a quick sip, he ced the cup back into the coaster. Leaning forward, he began to move his hand around the board as he contemted his next move.

    "Yes, it does, just don''t listen to it," Haruki answered while making his next move.

    "Why?" She asked her tone devoid of any emotions.

    "You know why, our morality is already slipping, and the moment we let those thoughts win, we might just lose everything that makes us who we are," this wasn''t the first time she had brought up the conversation, and every time Haruki''s answer remained unchanged. "Also, your king is in check."

    Looking down, she found her king cornered by a queen and a rook. The game after that point went on for a while with Asuka trying to protect her king from the two pieces. Locked into a corner, however, the game ended up in her checkmate.

    "I lost again," she huffed out a giggle. "Two against one, perhaps we can corner her just like these two pieces cornered my king?"

    As those words fell on Haruki''s ears, his eyes turned violet for a brief second. It served Asuka as a reminder to not try and feed Haruki with such ideas.

    "Nevermind¡­" she mumbled her eyes down casted in fear.

    "There might be a way to stop this," hearing those words, Asuka''s eyes widened in shock. "I remember Snow mentioning something about finding a new body for himself, perhaps, when it''s all said and done and I''ve had my revenge, we can turn back into humans, or in your case into a demi-human fox."

    "That sounds too good to be true," she whispered back.

    "It is," pping his hand on his thigh, Haruki propped himself up on his feet. "Anyway, I think we both should get to work, Margarette and Riley both are in their rooms now."

    She opened her mouth to inquire further, but then stopped. Right now was not the time, especially when they were nowhere near their end goal. To get there, they had to acquire the demon army that Asmodia so desperately wants.

    "Okay¡­" getting off the stool, she got up and looked up at Haruki.

    Wrapping her hands around him, she snuggled into his neck.

    "What is it?" He asked.

    "Nothing," she lied. With the thought of Asmodia being so much closer to him, she felt a zealous rage with no outline in sight.

    ''She''s been acting quite strange recently, I wonder what''s going on in her head.'' Giving her a head pat, heforted whatever worries she had.

    Soon after, Asuka left the room and was off on her way to purge Riley''s curse. Left behind with nopany, Haruki too got ready to invade Margarette''s dream, but this time with a lot more things to do in mind.

 Chapter 50 50 â€“ NeverEnding Feast [Gore Warning]

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    Following the same routine as yesterday, Haruki flew into Margarette''s room while she slept soundly on her bed. Standing right over her, he went through the questions he had nned to have her answer in the dream. Once done, he moved his hand over her to activate the ability.

    "I knew something was off," hearing Margarette say those words, Haruki was left astonished.

    With widened eyes, he leaped backward, but before he could get far Margarette turned around and threw her w right at him. shing his face with her nails, she stood firmly on her feet.

    "To think a demon woulde so far from Scorchen Gaia to attack me," thankfully, although he was caught, she doesn''t seem to have realized that it was him. "Too bad for you my farsightedness warned me that you''lle back."

    Staring each other down, they both kept a safe distance away from each other.

    ''What the hell she was just pretending to be asleep then?!'' Noticing her directing mana into her hands, Haruki instinctively leaped forward before she could unleash her attack.

    "Binding light!" but to his misfortune, Margarette was faster.

    Binding his wrists and ankles, chains of bright light held him in ce. Looking at them horrified, he noticed that the chains were attached to nothing and simply held him in ce by hovering in mid-air.

    "Dammit!" He screeched in a demonically deafening tone.

    Wearing a deep scorn, Margarette moved closer to the demon in front of her. Laying her finger on its head, she took out a sheathed knife from between her breasts.

    "Now answer me, why the hell were you targeting me specifically when there are a hundred easier targets in this pce?" Unsheathing the de, she ran it down Haruki''s chest. "Who sent you after me? Or are you just a stray demon who stumbled into my bedroom?"

    Like a piece of smoldering iron, it burned his skin as Margarette kept moving it down on him. For the first time sinceing to Daria, Haruki realized why Margarette was called the holy maiden. The golden chains binding his limbs were proof of her proficiency in holy magic. To pile up on his worries, the enchanted knife trailing with an exorbitant amount of her mana reflected the difference troubling difference in their ability.

    "Get off!" Growling at her, he tried to bite her nose off her face, but moving back in time Margarette managed to escape unscratched.

    ''The hell should I do?!'' Relying too much on his mediocre skills had blown up right back onto his face.

    "Come on, don''t test my patience," sinking the knife deeper into Haruki''s skin, Margarette gave off a sinister smile.

    The delight on her face showcased just how much she enjoyed the torturous teasing. Although urging him to give her a quick answer, deep down she wanted him to fight back a bit more so she could enjoy the moment a while longer.

    "Like hell, I''ll tell you!" Shooting back that answer, Haruki tried to channel his mana into his hands to somehow free himself from the binds, however, deterring him from using magic the chains absorbed all mana he put out to strengthen themselves instead.

    "Oh you''ll tell me alright," pushing the de further in Margarette chuckled out loud as Haruki''s flesh began to sizzle.

    ''Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!'' Left with no other option, he red at her with bubbling rage in his eyes. Responding in kind, Margarette gazed back with a maniacal look. To some degree, she reminded him of Asmodia, which only served to fan the me of his hatred toward her.

    "Demonic spies, gather!" Heeding his call, the entire hoard of bat-winged eyes began to puff up into the room with a steam of mist floating around them. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What the?!" Overwhelmed by the number of creatures, Margarette nced around the room trying to figure out what was happening.

    Filling the whole room, hundreds upon hundreds of eyes were ring right at the duchess. Their eyes painted a bloody red convey a message stronger than words.

    "What the hell are these?!" She asked, turning back to Haruki.

    "My servants¡­" slowly raising his head to look at her, he grinned eye to eye. "You''ll be joining them soon."

    Petrified by his eerie smile, Margarette took a few steps away from him. She wanted to head straight for the door but no matter where she looked the entire room was flocking with Haruki''s servants.

    "Eat her, but don''t let her die," with thatmand, the eyes opened up from the middle revealing a wide mouth with slithering tongues and razor-sharp teeth.

    "What?! No! You can''t do this!" Stumbling back she fell down to her knees.

    Drooling all over the ground, they slowly began floating toward Margarette. Watching them draw closer, she shot charged light magic spears into the oing hoard, however, it only managed to get rid of a few and riled the others to storm her body faster.

    "Get off! Get off! Aghh!" Surrounded by their eyes, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

    Tearing into her flesh, the creatures feasted on blood for the very first time. The more they ate the more they hungered for.

    "Rejuvenation!" activating the spell, Margarette was only giving the eyes exactly what they wanted. "Stop! Stop them please!"

    With her flopping around in agony, the chains around Haruki came undone. The way she screamed had satiated the lust for carnage Haruki''s demonic side harbored, however, regardless of how he felt he didn''t want to let her go just yet. Moving onto the bed, he sat there watching her bleed and squirm under the hungry spies.

    ''Level up!'' The announcement ringing in his head left him a bit shocked.

    ''I thought I can''t level up through other means¡­'' Looking back at Margarette and the spies, something quickly clicked into his head. ''It is because my familiars are eating her? How does that count as sexual means though?''

    A bit ignorant about lust, Haruki failed to realize just how depraved human desires can be. Sexual arousal wasn''t just derived from bodily pleasure, it came through many means, one of which happened to be cannibalizing the flesh of a lush maiden. Irrespective of the cause, Haruki decided to keep things going as long as he can drain her of her levels.

    "Keep going until I tell you to stop," hemanded, and the spies continued to do as they were told.

    Margarette on the other hand bled from all pores. Tearing into her breasts they kept trying to feast on her heart but healing it just in time she kept herself locked into that agonizing cycle. Noticing the pattern, the eyes tried to peck out her eyes before moving onto her tongue.

    "Re-rejuvenation! Mhnmm!" Keeping her teeth clenched shut, she managed to keep her tongue safe every time they tried the same thing. "I''m sorry! I''m sorry! Let me go!"

    Turning into Snow, Haruki watched over Margarette''s torture for the rest of the long night.

 Chapter 51 51 - Emasculation And Subjugation

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    While Haruki was off to handle Margarette, Asuka too was standing in front of Riley ready to purge the non-existent curse. In the distance, however, she could through her sharpened senses hear voices muttering and howling from Margarette''s room. Taken by rage, she couldn''t be too bothered by what methods Haruki was using to bring Margarette down to her knees.

    ''I wanna tear this idiot open for hurting master.'' Clenching her teeth she gulped down her rage. Even though Riley had apologized numerous times it wasn''t enough in Asuka''s eyes, and thus she had a devious n for revenge.

    Moving closer to Rileyying down on his stomach with his head buried in the pillows, Asuka activated body disfiguration and held her hand over his spine. Stripped to his shorts, Riley was forced down to his underwear with a promise for the swifter exile of the curse from his body.

    "Body disfiguration," Asuka whispered under her breath, making sure Riley wouldn''t pick up what she was saying.

    Looking over at his head and ears buried in shame, she felt certain that he hadn''t heard a thing.

    ''This will do for now.''  As began to pour mana into him, Riley jumped from shock. Once again shot with sudden arousal his body writhed from the sensation, and his gaping mouth groaned against the pillow.

    That shot of euphoric pleasure didn''tst long, however, as it was quickly reced by an overflow of mana directly into his groin. Squeezed inward, Riley''s guts felt as though they were being gutted open like a fish''s stomach. Attempting to power through the pain, he bit down on the pillow to keep himself from fainting.

    Moments passed as he struggled through the unbearable torture. Toiling around his body grew tired and his muscles turned sore. By the time the pain fled away, he was left panting on the bed with his mind broken in shambles.

    "That should be enough for the night, we still have one more day to go," saying that Asuka watched Riley lose consciousness before making her way out through the door.

    It was just the pain she had left him with, the pain was simply a by-product of emascting Riley of his strength, namely his manhood as well as his twig-like muscles. She knew her actions were bound to cause an uproar, but the mental image of her master''s arm bleeding left her with little sympathy toward Riley.

    ''Dolls are mostly girls anyways.''  With no intention of reversing the damage, Asuka made her way back to her assigned bedroom.

    ***

    At the crack of dawn, the demonic spies were ordered to lick Margarette''s blood and guts off the floor. Watching herying naked with her clothes torn up, Haruki kept ring at her while being in Snow''s form. Her hands thrown to the side, Margaretteid there looking up lifelessly with her eyes unblinking. The horror of the night had broken her mindpletely and turned her into a motionless puppet.

    "How long are you gonna stay like that?" Getting off the bed, his voice brought her back to thend of the living.

    As she squinted her eyes, tears began to flow down her face like a broken dam. Walking up closer to her, he grabbed her arm and violently pulled her up. Shocked further, she began to hiss while trying to control her tears.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Next time you send any of your assassins after me, I''ll be sending a dragon to incinerate your kingdom," Leaning into her ear, he warned.

    With no intention to oppose him any longer, she simply nodded her head. Taking a step away from her, he gave her body a quick look. Naked to the skin, she appeared like a goddess of fertility. Wide hips, plentiful breasts, and an alluring curve to her overall body, it all came together to be the woman of every man''s dreams.

    "Clone: Target, Snow Frost," activating yet another newly acquired ability, Haruki made a perfect clone of Snow''s body.

    Staring in shock, Margarette''s mouth gaped open at the sight. The clone was so identical to the real thing that she couldn''t tell who was the real one.

    "I''m not in the mood for sexual conduct, go ahead and use him," pointing to the clone, he ordered Margarette to have it spread its seed inside of her. "I still need you to be my servant and for that this step is important so don''t mess it up."

    Assuming how he gained the level from Margarette through the demonic spies, Haruki was expecting his clone to be able to turn her into a servant in his stead.

    ''I need to experiment a lot more with my abilities anyways, so this might be a good start.'' Thinking about checking on Asuka, Haruki made his way to the door but was stopped by Margarette calling him from behind.

    "Wait! At least tell me who you are! You can''t be that sickly boy I thought you were," her hands drawn over her chest, she was still trying to protect her heart in case Haruki assaulted her with the spies again. "And¡­can I just do it with my mouth? I don''t think I can handle sex after¡­"

    Reminded of the bloody horrors that were sure to haunt her for the rest of her life, Margarette flinched at the thought of living it even through memories.

    "Haruki Shin, that''s my name, I doubt you''ve heard it. I used to live far off to the edge of As," taking a moment to reminisce about his vige, a warm smile crept over his face. "As for the rest, the clone will feed all my memories into you the moment you be my servant."

    Leaving it at that, he left the two in the room to carry out the conversion ritual in whatever way they deemed fit.

    ''The carnage¡­It was a feast to the eyes, no wonder the demons crave the misery of others.'' Being swayed by his thoughts, he began toe up with other means to torture his victims. ''With Margarette''s rejuvenation skill soon to be mine, there would be no end to torturous  possibilities.''

    ted by the idea of a dungeon filled with blood, screams, and agony, Haruki was off on his way to check up on Asuka.

 Chapter 52 52 - Stabbed Heart [Gender Dysphoria Warning]

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    Woken up by the warm beams of sunlight shining through the open window, Riley flopped aroundzily in his bed. Trying to contain the strain in his body fromst night, he could feel the soreness seeping through every fiber of his muscles. After about an hour of struggling to get up, he was finally off on his way to get a shower.

    ''What the hell happenedst night?'' He couldn''t remember much of what transpired with Asuka, but the excruciating sensation of his burning organs was still fresh in his memories. ''My head feels weird¡­''

    On his way to the bathhouse, a strange tightnessid heavy over his chest, almost as if the tissues in his ribcage were trying to bend inwards. But with a mind as foggy as a winter morning in the ins, all he could gather was the path to his daily routine that he had grown so ustomed to.

    Waddling down the corridors, he ran into numerous servants bowing their heads to him. However, what he failed to realize were their troubled gazes over his back as he went right past them. Pouring out of a long tear down his shorts, the newfound curves of his body caught the attention of many.

    "Why do I feel like shit today?" Panting heavily as he walked, the tension over his chest kept pushing the air out of his lungs.

    Being a chirpy person of the morning, the sluggish feeling in him was way out of the ordinary. Usually, by this hour of the day, he would often be off to the fencing ground striking down the inexperienced guards and training them to be better spies to work under him.

    Upon reaching the bath-house, he began brushing his teeth in front of a wide mirror, and yet somehow in his dreamy state, he didn''t catch onto the weird anomalies in his body. After washing off his face, he began to take off his clothes before heading into the bath, and that''s when he noticed the most critical change of all.

    "What?!" Having undone his shorts, theck of his manhood sent deathly chills down his spine. Furthermore, as he bent forward to get a closer look, what he noticed made his heart almost bounce out of his mouth. "I''m dreaming, right?"

    Turning into a vagina, the only conclusive proof of his manhood was nowpletely gone. Petrified by the realization, he hoped to wake up from the bizarre nightmare knowing full well that he wasn''t trapped in a dream. Frenzied by the change, he began patting himself all over to judge out any other adverse changes, and to his horror, it wasn''t just his genitals but his whole body had changed into that of a woman.

    "NO! NOOOO! This isn''t my body, this is a back fucking dream!" He screamed out loud stripping himself to get a better look at the rest of his body.

    Unsurprisingly as he stood there looking into the mirrors, the feeling of his chest bending inward finally began to make sense. Lumped with a pair of heaping breasts, a state of utter shock took over him. Lost in contemtion, he kept on staring until his mind made the connection as to why his body had undergone such a bizarre change.

    At first, he felt ovee with anger, but then as his eyes nced over to his frail yet fitting hands, a sense offort took over him for a moment. Like thest piece of a missing puzzle being pushed into its ce, he couldn''t help but feel a strange allure andfort in his new body of his.

    "No¡­I didn''t train every single day of my life to end up like this," straying from the tranquil feeling, he just couldn''t bring himself to ept it. "I didn''t kill those countless men, women, and even¡­not for this, it can''t be."

    Curling up in anger, his fingers formed a tight fist. Directing that rage to the only person he knew was responsible, he quickly activated his ability to turn invisible and went on to grab his cape before going out to hunt them.

    "I never wanted that fucking Laria or whatever, that stupid Margarette is just a greedy whore trying to justify her hunger by pushing her dreams onto me," swearing to take her out after Asuka, Riley made his way back to collect his cape and weapons.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    On his way back to his room, despite being invisible a sense of shame took over him. Strolling around naked in broad daylight wasn''t the best of ideas, but he was too enraged to be bothered much by it.

    ***

    After many tries of servant conversion by using a clone failed, Margarette was off on her way to attend to her royal duties. Having already discussed the matter with Haruki, she was given permission to carry on as regr until he had some good use of her, or wanted to convert her into a lust demon himself.

    Walking into the castle hall, Margarette''s sightid on the beckoning throne. Shimmering like a phoenix with sunlight shining from behind, Haruki was seated atop the throne with Asuka standing by his side.

    ''I know, you don''t need to rub it in.'' Margarette scorned the sight of him pretending to be superior.

    ring down at her, Haruki had given up on the side of mercy. The agony he witnessed had left him with a savory aftertaste that he couldn''t forget, and thus, prolonging the suffering of others was moved a lot higher on his list of priorities.

    "Clone: target, Margarette Phoenix" uttering those words, he created a perfect replica of the duchess. "This right here will be the new ruler of Daria, it''s a perfect version of you fed with every secret you harbor, including your desire to kill me this instance."

    Watching her own clone, Margarette clenched her teeth in the horror of what was toe once Haruki takes over. However, those worries were not directed toward her people, but a concern for her own safety and hers alone.

    "I-I¡­" Noticing Snow''s sapphire eyes glowing under the shade of the throne, she was once again reminded of how he watched her squirming through agony and pain. "I-I understand¡­"

    Bowing to her new master, the duchess of Daria had handed over her authority.

    "What the hell is happening here?" Coming from the shadows, a voice trailed into their ears.

    Following it with their eyes, they saw Riley suddenly appear right behind Asuka, and before she had the chance to even react, he drove his fencer right through her heart.

    "Like hell I care anymore!" He roared, kicking her down the steps of the throne.

 Chapter 53 53 - To Betray, To Lie, To Confess

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    Crying out in agony, Asuka fell headlong against the ground. Cutting open a side of her skull, she bled not only from the pierced heart but also from her head as well.

    "Asuka!" Yelling her name, Haruki turned to Riley with his eyes filled with rage. Having called off all his spies to unleash on Margarette he never saw Riley sneaking up behind them.

    "Demonic spies get him!" Ordering the eyes to appear and attack Riley, Haruki rushed over to Asuka''s bleeding body.

    Pooling under her, the floor was soaked in her crimson-red blood. Ignoring the threat right behind him, Haruki began to cast healing touch on her, and while it did slow down the bleeding, Asuka''s condition didn''t seem to be getting better at all.

    "M-master?" She mumbled, squinting her eyes and looking up at Haruki''s face.

    "Margarette, heal her!" Taking her hand in his own, he red at Margarette and gave her the order.

    Shell-shocked by the attackmitted by her own stepson, Margarete was frozen in ce, uncertain whether to heed Haruki''s order or help Riley as an act of defiance. ncing up at the throne, however, she couldn''t find where Riley had gone.

    "I''m not letting you off either," whispering that into Margarette''s ears, Riley sprang up behind her before kicking her towards Asuka and Haruki.

    "I''ve had enough!" He growled with hate-fueled scorn riding on his face. "I don''t need Laria, I don''t need you, and especially I don''t need those two there either!"

    Having fallen right by Asuka, as Margarette tried to get up her eye met with Haruki''s. With a raging expression on his face, he too didn''t seem too fond of keeping her alive either.

    "Rejuvenation!" Scared for her life, she did as Haruki hadmanded.

    The very next instant, the bleeding stoppedpletely, and even the wound to her heart closed up as if nothing had pierced through it.

    "Ughhh, why do you always have to do some dumb shi-" before Riley could finish his sentence, a protruding piece of vineing out of Asuka''s hands tied his hands together. "What the fuck?! First those eyeball monsters and now this?!"

    "I should''ve just killed you!" Attempting to get up, Asuka growled at Riley.

    Having never seen them in their demonic form, Riley''s confusion about their abilities continued to pile up. Keeping his head straight, however, he quickly came up with a n to escape the binds.

    "Blinding light!" Using one of the very few magic spells he knew, Riley sprang forth a dazzling light bright enough for Asuka to draw the creature back and cover her eyes.

    Not wasting a second, Riley charged forward with his de aiming straight for Haruki and the other.

    "Stop!" Putting up a mana barrier, Margarette locked his sword with binding chains. "Don''t do this, Riley, you don''t want this¡­I know."

    "You don''t know shit!" Letting go of the sword he shot back. "This whole fucking mess is your doing, anyway, I never wanted that stupid duchy, or to kill this bastard, but!"

    Forever in her mind, Margarette tried to convince herself that she was doing everything for the sake of her stepson, but now as he screamed to her face, it made her realize something that had somehowpletely slipped through her mind.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What do you mean?! I never did anything for me, it was all for you!" While Margarette yelled back at him, Riley took yet another sword out of his cape to defend himself from an icicle Haruki had just shot at him.

    "You''d have to do bett-" his attempt at mocking Haruki was cut short as the de fell right out of his hands. Still managing to dodge it with a swift movement, he stood his ground. But that didn''tst long either.

    Being turned into a woman, his sexual organs weren''t the things that had changed, along with them he had lost his muscles as well as the strength to carry the sword for long periods of time.

    "Aghh! Why did you do this to me?" Fallen to the ground from exhaustion, he sat there on the floor grinding his teeth and ring at the three.

    "Riley, please you need to understand why I did all this for you!" Margarette murmured slowly walking towards him.

    "Did he ever say he wanted those things?" Coming from behind her, Haruki''s question gave her a halt.

    Moments before, she realized that Riley never asked for thend of Laria nor did he want toy a finger on Haruki, but forcing him towards a future he never wanted was none other than his own stepmother.

    ''It can''t be¡­I thought he would be happy to do it, that he''d want morend to rule to show off hispetence.'' Mentally broken and exhausted to the bone, Margarette too fell down to her knees.

    "Even he gets it, I don''t know how you didn''t realize that you were just using me as an excuse to achieve your selfish desires," letting off a sarcastic chuckle, Riley breathed heavily while looking at his broken stepmother. "If it was truly the right thing for me then you''d guided me instead of pointing my de in whatever direction you deemed fit."

    "Is it the throne?! Do you want it?! I''ll hand it over to you!" In a desperate attempt to save their rtionship, Margarette offered him everything.

    "That is no longer yours to pass on," butting into the conversation, Haruki cut the deal short before Riley could even answer.

    ncing up, Riley looked at Haruki before turning to Asuka. The weird dynamic that was going on inside the room had left him confused beforeprehension. Why were they asking so high and mighty? What was happening here before he arrived? And why was his stepmother acting subservient to the young duke? Those questions and many more like them popped into Riley''s head.

    "I don''t care about being a ruler, I just wanna find who I am, and perhaps ept this decrepit body," looking down at himself, he once again realized that he had turned into a woman. Turning to look at Asuka, the alleged culprit for his strange condition, he asked for her help. "Can you reverse this? I never realized how hard it is to wear breasttes as a woman."

    Her answer, wasn''t an outright yes, after all being stabbed through the heart with a fencer wasn''t something easy to forget, instead, she hummed a nod hoping to torture him some more before reversing his sex.

    "To think I was fooling myself for so long¡­" Her hand rested on the floor, Margarette''s eyes teared up.

    "Don''t repeat it, that''s all I ask," having spent all his energy fighting the three, Riley was much more willing to ept a peaceful resolution.

    "You still have to pay the price for almost killing Asuka," Haruki on the other hand had some other ideas. "So choose wisely, should I cut your head off right now since you can''t move an inch or would you rather be my servant just like your stepmother?"

    The question realistically had only one answer.

 Chapter 54 54 - Lies And Misunderstandings

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    Down on her knees, Margarette was sitting between Haruki''s open legs. The shadow of his expansive manhood towered over her eyes as if to signify her inferiority to her soon-to-be master. Gripped with angst, Margarette gulped down before slowly reaching for his rock-hard member.

    "Be quick, I have to deal with Riley after this," pushing Margarette''s lips against the tip of Haruki''s penis, Asuka urged her to hasten her pace.

    Although as a subus Asuka didn''t have to go all the way with Riley to convert him into a servant, she still wasn''t too thrilled about having him experience an ounce of pleasure. Irking her further was the fact that she couldn''t copy his fantastical abilities. After all for that to happen Haruki himself had to turn Riley into his servant, but that meant¡­

    ''Unlike subus''s, master has to go all the way, and¡­ekkk! No way I''m letting that happen!'' Just the thought of Haruki being with the dollish Riley, made Asuka''s body shiver with a creepy feeling.

    "Master!" Trying to wash off that image, she let go of Margarette and went straight over to kiss Haruki.

    Although her sudden change in tone and demeanor confused him, Haruki couldn''t reject the kiss from his lovely servant. As their tongues mingled with each other, he could feel himself throbbing right against Margarette''s lips. Grabbing her head, he forced his cock right into her mouth, and to keep Asuka from getting jealous, he also moved his other hand down her skirt before slipping it into her panties.

    "Mhmm!" Mumbled Margarette in a muffled voice as the taste of Haruki''s cock spread through her mouth.

    "Ahh! Ma-master!" Feeling his fingers toiling inside her, Asuka pulled back from the kiss to gather her breath. "Aghh! Haa¡­Haa¡­"

    Panting for breath, she nced back up at him with a devious smile on her face. Pushing her lips against him once more, she took hold of Margarette''s head and began to force it back and forth over the length of Haruki''s penis.

    Left in Asuka''s care, Haruki simply enjoyed the moment while she orchestrated the direction of his pleasure. Being served by two such beauties was the dream of many, and yet the only reason for his indulgence was to shower his love for the sake of his revenge.

    ''There''s one exception¡­'' He thought, caressing Asuka''s cheeks with a warm touch. Soft like cotton and as red as cherry from the kisses, Asuka had begun taking a deeper hold on Haruki''s affection. ''And yet, the demon in me wants to ravage other women.''

    The time for questions was long gone, Haruki knew if he kept true to his feelings then neither his revenge nor the army he promised Asmodia would evere to fruition. Closing his eyes, he could feel himself being drained from the groin. Squeezed between Margarette''s lips, the feeling of orgasmic pleasure was slowly creeping in.

    "Master¡­" As if she had read Haruki''s mind, Asuka pushed Margarette further down until her lips could give a warm kiss to Haruki''s balls. "Give her your seeds so she can serve you properly."

    The trailing warmth in her words was carried by an unmatched allure, and thus before even a moment could pass Haruki squeezed her butt as his seeds unloaded directly down to the duchess''s stomach. For a while, he panted with Margarette''s lips still squeezing against him, but then as Asuka let go of her, Haruki turned his attention to see if the conversion had seeded.

    With her breasts heaving heavily, Margarette gasped for breath. Fallen down to the ground from the forceful blowjob she gulped down the slimy mess in her mouth. Watching over her, Haruki as well as Asuka noticed a pair of dark horns coiling red stripes slowly growing out of her hair.

    "It seeded¡­" Haruki mumbled watching as Margarette drifted off from the stress of the conversion.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "One more ve, but one more left to deal with," now that they were done with the duchess, Asuka felt conflicted about having to deal with Riley.

    Giving her a light pat to soothe her nerves, Haruki began to get dressed so he could test out his other abilities while Asuka was gone.

    ''I can''t remember who told me I can only convert through prative sex, but that''s obviously a lie. I should try things out myself before taking their word for it.'' Unsure whether it was Asmodia, Moriyana, or even just a misunderstanding on his part, Haruki decided to be more dubious of any information he got from them.

    Off on her way after a cheering pat from Haruki, Asuka was strolling down the hall to get to Riley''s bedroom. It felt weird for her to be heading there so early in the morning, especially when the only other time she went there before was way past midnight.

    "I''m not letting him off the hook so easily," curling her fingers into a fist, Asuka couldn''t suppress her rage against him.

    Being stabbed with the saber had left a thorough wound in her conscience. No different than how watching Margarette being tortured by the spies had affected Haruki''s mind, Asuka too didn''t feel any empathy for her now soon-to-be servant.

    "I''ming in," out of habit, she announced her arrival before pushing Riley''s bedroom door open. "I hope you''re re-"

    As soon as she entered through the door, the sight in front of her left her baffled. Riley, who had been so opposed to the idea of being a woman, was now wearing a red sundress with white patches all over it. Looking into the mirror with a warm smile, he spun around joyfully. However, the moment his eyesy on Asuka standing by the door, the smile on his face vanished in an instant.

    "I-I¡­I was just!" staggering through words, he covered his face in shame.

    ''Somehow¡­it''s hard to stay mad at him.'' Reminded of the times she had to keep her emotions towards her master in check, Asuka felt some solidarity toward Riley. ''''Maybe he''s not so different either, I know how suffocating it can be to have your emotions chained up.''

    "Have you changed your mind?" She asked slowly, walking up to him.

    Moving the hands slightly off his face, Riley stole a nce at the approaching maid.

    "I think so, yes, this feels¡­moreforting. I don''t have to pretend to be manlier either," Riley answered, finally being true to her feelings.

    Stopping right in front of Riley, Asuka had just the right thing nned for her.

 Chapter 55 55 - A Succubus Or Incubus?[Genderbend MTF Warning]

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    Held in mid-air by the vines of mystic flytrap, Riley was left huffing for breath as Asuka continued the sensual torture. Stripping her to the skin, Asuka had decided to use the slithery vines to guide Riley to depravity.

    "Once you''ve turned into a subus, you can switch between a man or a woman in the blink of an eye," resting her hand on Riley''s budding breasts, Asuka sprang out a tentacle from her palm and made it climb down Riley''s stomach.

    Forcing Riley to spread her legs in a squatting manner, the vines held them apart inviting in the tentacles. At first, the slimy creature simply ran along the slit of Riley''s entrance, making her whole body writhe and groan in pleasure.

    "Ahhhh! St-Stop!" She moaned, feeling the tentacles sliding into her.

    Tearing through her folds, the creature drew blood as it took the virginity of the newly turned maiden. Clenching her teeth, Riley struggled through the pain, however, being teased for so long her mind was filled with fog and great indifference to the hurt.

    "Okay now, how many orgasms should I torture you with?" Humming to herself, Asuka nced up in wonderment. "After all, unlike master who just needs to feed his seeds to turn people, I have to squeeze them dry until they give in to bing my servant."

    Raising his head with the creature still slithering into her folds, Riley stared at Asuka with an apologetic look on her face.

    "B-but I''m already re-ready to be a servant," she mumbled.

    cing her finger on Riley''s lips, Asuka hushed her shut. With her other hand, she stuck out her fingers and began to move them up and down. Following her rhythm, the creature inside moved at the same pace as Asuka''s fingers.

    "Oh Fuck! F-Aghhh! No! Stop! Please!" Assaulted with the sweet sensation of being torn into, Riley could no longer think straight at all.

    "If I turn you so easily then where''s the fun in teasing you?" Coiling her tail around Riley''s leg she gave her ass a spank. "Besides, I need to get back on you for stabbing me through the heart."

    Riley''s eyes widened at Asuka''s words, she already knew what kind of torture Asuka was capable of, and now that she didn''t have to pretend to be helping him it could only get worse.

    Trying to open her mouth to rebut, another limb of the tentacled coiled around Riley''s neck. Choked with fear, her eyes followed its pointy tip as it slowly made its way closer to her mouth.

    "Wa-wait¡­No!" The moment her lips parted, the creature slid in through her lips.

    The taste of its sweet secretion quickly spread through his mouth, leaving Riley with little to no control over his body. Clutching her face with her hands, Asuka watched as the terrified look in Riley''s eyes turned into hysterical glee.

    ''The secretion seems to be working, he''s numb and ready to be toyed with, perhaps I should be using it more often.'' Asuka being rtively new at summoning, the extent of her knowledge about the creatures was far from adequate. And thus, even now there was plenty she didn''t know about her own summoned creatures.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Anyway, where were we?" She mumbled right before plugging thest of Riley''s holes with the use of the tentacles.

    ***

    While Asuka was out to handle the situation with Riley, Haruki was back in his room trying to figure out just how much potential was hidden inside his abilities. The first thing he decided to try was to check the number of clones he could conjure.

    "Clone: Target, Asuka," holding his hand extending outwards, an exact clone of Asuka shot out of his palm. "Clone: Roselia Ironfrost!"

    Unfortunately this time, no clone came out. Drawing his hand back, he held it in front of his eyes, unsure whether he hadn''t used the skill properly. Taking a deep breath he held his hand outstretched once again.

    "Clone: Snow Frost!" Following his words, another clone shot out of his palms.

    Walking up closer to the two clones standing in front of him, he circled around them trying to find any features that would distinguish them from the original. However, no matter how long he searched or where he looked, there was no sight of the smallest disparity in their bodies from the original.

    ''Why can''t I create a clone of Rose then?'' Pondering over the thought, he drew the clones back into him. Although he wanted to know how long the clones can sustain themselves, and the limits to their functionalities, finding that out would''ve for another time.

    Turning to look at Margarette passed out on his bed, he began recounting the orders he had given to her clone. By now, it was meant to already be sitting on the throne, acting no different than the original with Margarette''s snarky tone and demeanor. The chance of its real identity being revealed was near to none so long as Margarette didn''t appear with the clone in front of other people.

    "So far, there doesn''t seem to be any limit," concluding that the clones were a product of pure magic, Haruki assumed that he was only limited by his mana.

    The few other things that Haruki wanted to figure out about the clones, were whether they can be destroyed without being recalled, then there was the possibility that he could gain levels through them just like with the demonic spies, but most important of all, he needed to find out if the clone would burn out and vanish after a specific amount of time.

    "The only other active skill I gained is hypnosis, but I doubt I can test it right now," wondering whether he should go around the castle and try it on someone, Haruki walked up to the window to spy out a victim.

    Scattered throughout the garden, many ves with tight cors were tending to the decorated shrubs and bushes. Focusing on the chains dangling from their necks made him question if he really should be trying such a skill on them.

    "Their bodies are already shackled by those chains, I can''t take their minds away from them as well." Deciding against his n, he drew the blinds shut.

 Chapter 56 56 - Preparing For Departure

    ?

    It was the third day after gaining two new servants under hismands, and the preparations for Haruki''s departure to Laria were off on full stream. Throughout the rest of his stay at the Phoenix castle, he made sure to test out the clone even further, and what he found was reassuring while also leaving some cause for concern.

    The only way the clones disappear without being recalled was if they were attacked by someone, and their fighting abilities aren''t even a third of the original. Not only that, but despite being fabricated with magic the clone had no affinity for it, and although they could use some amount of the original''s skill, the effectiveness of those abilities was greatly diminished.

    "Put her in, she''ll travel in our carriage," out in the castle''s garden, Haruki and the adventurers were cing Jenna''s frozen body in a wooden cascade that was to be carried back to the homnd.

    Lifting the hefty block of ice Jenna was kept inside, Mortar and Helma slowly lowered her into the cascade. Soon after they began hammering it shut so it won''t cause any problems while traversing uneven terrains.

    "This is¡­" her hand clenched over her bosom, Diana the holy mage of the silver storm seemed a bit troubled by the matter. "The bishop won''t be happy that we''re still holding onto her body even though she died days ago."

    "Well the bishop didn''t know her, did he?" Shooting down her concern, Kane walked up beside her and ced his hand over her shoulder.

    "But¡­Lord As, won''t be pleased either," sping her hands, she began to mumble prayers of apology to As. "Forgive us, Lord!"

    Turning their attention away from her, Haruki and Kane looked right at each other. The strain in Kane''s eyes let Haruki know that he had something important to discuss with him, and so he gestured Kane to follow behind as he led them away from all themotion. On his way to a gazebo in the garden, Haruki took onest nce at the lined-up carriages before sitting down with Kane.

    In the distance, at the very end, he noticed the clovers loading cartons of essentials into the carriages. However, what caught his attention more was the dreadful gloom all over their faces. Being new to the profession Jenna''s death seemed to have affected them the worst.

    ''Asuka won''t be too happy if they keep that dreary expression on their faces.'' Brushing the matter off his mind for a moment, Haruki sat down at the coffee table in the middle of the gazebo.

    "What is it?" Haruki asked, resting his chin over his thumb.

    Letting the sword and other hefty equipment off his body Kane ced them on the ground. Huffing out a sigh he leaned forward to rest his arms on the table.

    "This¡­ the whole thing has been a mess," his eyes wandered all over as he spoke in uncertain terms. "The silver storms, and quite honestly every other party here deserves morepensation than what was offered."

    Having not expected Kane to bring up such a tame issue, Haruki felt quite disappointed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Is that all? I was expecting something more prevalent by how tense you looked," leaning back into the chair, Haruki nced over Kane''s shoulders.

    Nervously tapping his fingers over the table, Kane''s mouth was left open, as if he was uncertain whether to present another problem to Snow or not.

    "There is another problem¡­" once again ring up at Haruki, Kane''s lips let out a sigh to relieve his angst. "We can''t take you through the tundra alone, you already know what happened to shadow des, and to go through the tundra with even fewer people than we came here with, would be nothing short of suicide."

    "If that''s your worry then¡­" noticing Asuka getting out of the gates followed by two others, Haruki got off the chair and stood up. "Don''t worry, I have two new recruits to the convoy."

    Following Haruki''s gaze, Kane turned around to look over his shoulder. Walking out of the castle gates was Asuka dressed in her usual maid outfit, however, right behind her were other two strikingdies. One d in brown leather armor with green patches in her clothes and the other dressed in a shimmering white dress with ember stonesid in a kaleidoscope pattern.

    "Who are they?" Kane enquired, his eyes refusing to look away from their charm.

    "A gifted pair by the duchess. With all the assassination attempts on me, she had lent them to me as personal guards," Haruki replied with a convincing lie he had already picked out.

    "These are guards, you say?!" Turning around in a jolt, Kane''s brows frowned in confusion.

    "The very best in the duchy, much like the rest of you¡­well, maybe except the clovers," with that said, Haruki made his way to the other adventurers so he could properly introduce them to their newpanions.

    Hiding behind a veil of pretense, the twodies were none other than the only royalty in Daria. While the duchess had maintained her dignified look with the amberid dress, she had to make significant changes to her appearance. Having shifted into a smaller frame, her light amber hair flowed down to her waist, going along with the theme her eyes too were now a fiery yet lighter shade of the same.

    In contrast to the duchess, Riley only had to adorn herself in a fitting dress to escape the resemnce of her somewhat manly self. But to top it off so she could be more convincing, she wore light amount of makeup to pass as someone else entirely.

    ''I still think it would''ve been better to just use mask presence, but Riley was so persistent about staying in that body not even an order from Asuka, her master could make her change her mind.'' At first, he was baffled that a servant could deny themand of their master, but then finding out about the kind of demons Riley was fighting inside her mind, it all began to make sense.

    "Everyone, I''d like you to meet our newpanions on this journey," bringing everyone''s attention to himself, Haruki held his hand pointed towards the twodies. "The best in the city ofmerce, Bedona the fire mage and Ray the swift wind spy."

 Chapter 57 57 - Chatter And Tea

    ?

    Being sent off by Margarette and Riley''s clone, along with the rest of the congregants, Snow''s convoy back to Laria was finally on its way. However, while leaving the city behind in the hands of the clones, everyone who knew about the situation was more than just a bit tense.

    "I can always talk to them no matter the distance so don''t worry about it," assuring Margarette posing as bedonna, Haruki closed his eyes to see through the eyes of the clones.

    On their way back to their castle, the clones were making small talk with each other as well as discussing policies soon to be implemented in the duchy. Thankfully, in the few days Margarette and Riley had spent exining their roles and responsibility to the them, the clones have gotten much more proficient in pretending to be humans.

    "If you say so¡­" Sitting across Haruki in the moving carriage, Margarette didn''t seem too confident in the clone''s ability to handle her territory.

    "We don''t have any major policy changes anywhere in the near future, so they should be fine," nketing herself in her cape Riley was snuggled up beside Margarette with a pair of sharp knives dangling by her hips.

    The loss of her muscles had forced Riley to resort to lighter des, but in the face of being true to her feelings, it was a small price to be paid. Looking around the carriage, Haruki was reminded of the shadow des riding alongside him, however with only one of their members riding in the trunk of the carriage he quickly washed those memories from his head.

    "I''m gonna talk to Rom and see if we can build a bypass around the tundra," offering his idea to get to Daria quicker in the face of emergencies, Haruki turned to look back at the worried Margarette. "Your clone will sign off a sanction to help build that path since Laria can''t really afford it on its own right now."

    "So long as the duchy stands prospering, I do not care what you do with it anymore," after realizing how much she was hurting her rtionship with Riley because of her greed fornd, Margarette''s attitude towards her territory had radically changed.

    Leaning her head onto Riley''s shoulders, she closed her eyes to get some rest while they were still in a safer region outside of Daria. Cracking one of her eyes open, Riley gave Margarette a sideways nce, but without saving so much as a word she simply closed her eyes to nap as well.

    ''One was broken by fear, and the other followed by choice.'' Although Margarette was morepelled to follow and fonder over Haruki now that she was his servant, the emotional scars from the bats hadn''t recovered just yet. ''It''s a strangebination, the two.''

    Talking about a duo, Haruki brought his attention to the already dozing Asuka. She, like the other two, was busy all night with the preparations for the trip. Not wanting to disturb them while they slept, Haruki closed his eyes and eventually drifted off as well.

    "You did well this time," mumbled a familiar voice in his dream. "Seems like you''re back on the path to vengeance, the same unquenching thirst for revenge and torture, I can once again feel it at the very core of your soul."

    Peering down into the abyss with no real sense of direction, he found back in the ever-stretching darkness. And yet, the voice was too familiar not to know what was happening.

    "What do you want now?" Despite not having a body, those words still trailed off of him. "I''m already working towards building your army."

    "Ohhh, is that so? I must be blind not to notice," following it up with a sarcastic chuckle, Asmodia''s voice echoed endlessly through the darkness.

    "Clone: target Haruki shin lust demon form," making up a clone of his demonic form, he forced his consciousness into the body of the clone. "This feels better."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Feeling the cold path underneath his feet, and the freedom to move around in the abyss for the very first time, Haruki really felt as though he had a chance of going against Asmodia.

    "Have your wit died off warrior? I can still hear those treacherous thoughts of yours, you know?" she replied, knowing full well that he had no intention of being bound by their contract forever. "Though I must admit, I''m fascinated by the changes in you, especially your growth and how easily you subdued that narcissistic woman."

    "You calling Margarette a narcissist must be a joke," shooting back at her, Haruki held his hand forward to activate another one of his skills. "Alluring nightm-"

    "Leaving already?" She mumbled, peaking at him from within the darkness. "Fancy a drink before you leave?"

    With a snap of her fingers, a white coffee table and a pair of chairs fell down from the sky and prospered themselves upright. Still ring at him from a distance, the sounds of Asmodia''s approaching heels heightened Haruki''s senses. Activating a basic dark magic shield over his hand, he was ready to fight her if it really dide down to it.

    "Don''t overestimate yourself, my woeful warrior," as those words trailed out of her lips, Haruki violently flew forward and was forced into one of the chairs. "Just sit down for a minute."

    His hands now constrained over the table, he was forced to adhere to whatever Asmodia had nned for him. Creeping out of the distance, she appeared in the form of a translucent mist.

    ''I already saw her real body when she threw my head through that portal, so why does she keep using this mirage?'' Wondering whether her strength had depleted further after forcing him into the new body, Haruki brushed that question off his mind as Asmodia could still read his mind like an open book.

    "What do you want now?" he asked and a pair of tea cups and a pot fell down on the table. For a second they whirled over their rims before setting up straight and ready to be poured from and into.

    Taking a seat right across from him, she grabbed the pot to pour each of them a cup.

    "Nothing, I just wanted to remind you who you belong to," beaming a smile, she quickly filled the cup in front of him. "Getting stronger can often make you forget that kinda thing, take Moriyana, my trusted servant, for example, her little pet is a rather loud-mouthed tattletale."

    "Is that all? You just wanted to intimidate me?" ring at her with scorn on his face, Haruki''s heart was filled with contempt.

    Resting the pot to the side, Asmodia looked at Haruki with a stare devoid of all emotions.

    "Sitting across one of the seven rulers of the Scorchen Gaia, you should be grateful that this is all I''m doing," picking up her own cup, she took a quick sip out of it. "The other demon lords aren''t as forgiving, so before I change my mind pick up that cup."

    The sinister glow in her eyes was enough to make Haruki back down for the moment. And so, picking up the cup, he shared a short yet chilling moment with the mistress sipping on some tasteless tea.

 Chapter 58 58 - A Stump In The Road

    ?

    Illuminating their path, the moon hung high shimmering in the night sky. Wide awake after sleeping for most of the journey so far, Haruki and hispanions were passing time with random chatter. That''s when all of a sudden the carriage at the very front began to slow down before stopping altogether, forcing the others to take a halt as well.

    "Are we setting up camp, already?" Haruki mumbled, ncing around at the other.

    "I''ll check," replied Riley.

    Letting down her cape, she opened the door and began making her way toward the front. Surveying her surroundings it seemed that they were yet toe out of the safer region, but from her own experience that didn''t mean they were in no chance of trouble. Traveling along both sides of the path, the tall dark trees were perfect camouge for bandits and other criminals to hide.

    ''Doesn''t seem like there are any bandits though.'' Walking up to the leading carriage of the silver storm, Riley surveyed the situation to figure out just exactly what had happened.

    "Why have we stopped?" She asked, making her way to Kane who was kneeling and yet towered over whatever it was on the ground. Resting her hand over his shoulder, she noticed that there a person wasying on the ground, huffing and panting for breath in their sleep.

    "What the hell?!" Kane yelled out astounded.

    Taken by surprise by Riley''s expert spy skills, the entirety of their party jolted back in shock.

    "Don''t sneak up like that!" Lucy Squealed, hugging Diana scared by Riley''s sudden appearance.

    Ignoring them, she got down to her knees beside Kane to get a proper look at the womanying on the path. Taking the gloves off, Riley pressed her hand against the woman''s forehead, and sure enough, her suspicion was correct.

    "She''s burning, possibly because ofck of sustenance, was she alwaysying here or did she pass out in front of you guys?" Turning to Kane, Riley was showering him with questions. "Depending on what happened, she might not have too much time."

    "No, she was like this when I first saw her," Arthur chimed in. "We weren''t sure if it was a trap by bandits so we didn''t want to consult the duke until we knew it was safe."

    ncing back at the woman, Riley flipped her over to go through her things. She wanted to see if the woman had anything that could be used as a weapon or even a poison of any kind, but despite searching for a while all she found was a stringed bag with nothing inside of it.

    "The scarf is something else too," running her hands through the fluffy scarf with two wolf heads attached to it, Riley felt greatly envious of thedy. "We need to set up camp anyway, what do you say we help her get back on her feet?"

    Shifting her attention to Kane, the leader of the silver storm, Riley hoped he would agree with her n. Stealing nces between the feverishdy and Riley, Kane turned to the other members to get their input on the situation.

    "Should we not consult the duke about this first?" Arthur''s concern was valid, but Haruki was already watching what was happening with the help of the demonic spy attached to Riley''s body.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I''ll go ask him then," as swift as the wind, Riley trailed off with her feet gliding through the air with her wind magic. She often used the ability to travel without making any sound but it also helped to hasten her running speed.

    After quickly pretending to exin everything to Haruki, Riley was told to ry his approval to help the girl. Once again, getting back to the party leading the convoy, she let them know about Snow''s orders. While all of this went on even the Nue''s eye caught up with Haruki''s carriage from behind, and the clovers were no exception as they made their way to the front on foot.

    "To the right of here there are some ins with a river, we can set up our camp there," Maggie offered after getting to know the whole situation.

    "We''d have a high vantage point in case monsters try to attack too," Garth added, his eyes struggling to stay open from all the drowsiness.

    "Alright then, Hilma, Mortar you guys gather some food while we set up a camp there," looking around, Kane began to distribute the tasks. "Pon youe with us, in the meantime, you and Lucy should try to improve her condition as much as you can."

    Lastly, after Kane asked the clovers to keep a close watch over the duke''s surroundings, the carriages departed once more. The ins Maggie was talking about weren''t far off and the convoy was able to reach there without much trouble. However, while trying to set up camp, a pack of wolves kept growling at them through the bushes.

    "Should we move?" Asked Maggie unsure if the ins were safe.

    "Step off," moving forward, Haruki clutched the brooch.

    With the help of his demonic vision, he was perfectly able to spy out all the wolves hiding between the dark crevices of the forest. Holding his hand forward, a spiraling seal of ice magic hovered at the edge of his palm.

    "Eighteen, neen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two¡­" the more wolves he noticed the more spears of ice started circling the magic seal. "Kill them all."

    As he mumbled thosest words, the spears shot like arrows and pierced right through the wolves'' flesh. Being drawn to their deaths by their own stupidity to challenge the duke, their squeamish wails echoed through the darkness. One after the other, the cries died down, leaving behind a forest deserted of all noise.

    "Is it fine now?" ncing at Maggie, he asked with a deep frown. The incident with Asmodia in his dream had put him in a deplorable mood.

    "Y-yeah¡­" dumbfounded by the extraordinary feat, not only Maggie but the other adventurers as well stared at him with gaping jaws.

    And although they were supposed to be the ones providing him with security, what they had just witnessed assured them of their safety in his presence.

    ''Something has changed about him, I can feel it from a mile.'' Kane wasn''t the only one with such theories, the rest of the convoy was just as aware of the changes in him.

 Chapter 59 59 - The Merchant Of Oddities

    ?

    A few hours after Haruki had killed the wolves, the meat brought back by Helma and Mortar was being cooked into a stew. Gathered around in a circle the entire group sat in silence gazing either into the me or at nothing through mid-air. For the first time throughout the journey, Haruki''s mind was free of all worries.

    "About thepensation¡­" Bringing his attention to Kane, Haruki gave a weak smile. "You''ll be properlypensated, every one of you so don''t worry about it."

    Upon hearing the news pleased gasps left everyone''s lips. The journey so far had been a hundredfold more chaotic than they''d expected so knowing that they''d be appropriatelypensated for it was a delight to hear.

    "Mhmm.." The sounds of ruffling clothes broke the joyous moment.

    Following the sound by instinct, everyone''s eyes turned to thedy with the wolf head scarf. Laying on top of a nket farther away from the me, she flipped around to feel the warmth over her face.

    "Wh-where am I?" She mumbled. Squinting her eyes she tried to make out the unfamiliar faces.

    Realizing that she was surrounded by an assembly of strange-looking characters, her eyes widened up in astoundment. Shaking her head, she tried to prop herself up quickly, however, with little to nothing in her stomach, she fell right back onto the nket.

    "Ouch!" she squealed out in hurt.

    "Heal!" moving closer to her, Pon began healing the spot she just hit on the ground. "Don''t move too much, the food is almost done."

    Cluelessly staring at Pon for a while, she nodded her head in agreement. Perhaps seeing how he was trying to heal her let her know that they were trying to help. After a while, as the food was done, Haruki had to convince Asuka that the woman needed to be served before him given her condition.

    "So, who are you exactly?" Asked Haruki, unsure what to make of her.

    The wolf scarf, the red striped clothes with dark brown leather as well as the pointed end to her shoulder gave thedy an unforgettable distinct look. Tied in a ponytail, her brown hair bounced as she greedily devoured the stew before replying to Haruki''s question.

    "Sorry¡­ahaha," scratching the back of her head, she beamed the smile of a dunce. "I''m Fey Rue, I''m a traveling merchant, but¡­"

    Nervously brushing her cheek with her index, her eyes dejected down with a hint of embarrassment.

    "But what?" Asuka asked.

    "I got lost¡­" she whispered so quietly that it escaped even Asuka''s keen senses.

    "What was that? I didn''t hear it," added Riley.

    "I got lost okay! Laugh if you want!" Looking away in shame, she turned her back towards the crowd.

    The adventurers took a nce at each other before actually bursting into hysteria. To them, the very idea of a wandering trader being lost was so hysterical that they just couldn''t control it even if they wanted to. Pon being closest to Fay, however, tried his best, but ultimately failed and began apologizing for joining the others.

    "Ughh! Stoppp!" As her anger began to grow, the eyes of her wolf scar began to glow. Shocking everyone further, the wolf heads raised themselves over Fay''s shoulder and growled.

    ''Are those spirits?'' Haruki wondered, ring right into those glowing eyes. ''Glowing eyes are too much of a tell.''

    "Calm down, where were you headed?" Haruki asked, trying to divert the flow of conversation. "Maybe we can help you get there."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Hearing his offer to help, Fay quickly flipped around with a shocked expression. She couldn''t believe that a stranger wanted to help her so much.

    "Really?!" She asked, her eyes glowing with innocence.

    Being handed another bowl of stew by Asuka, Haruki took it in his hand before turning to look at Fay again. In his mind, he knew that befriending someone who could fiddle with souls was bound to be helpful in the long run, and thus he was more than willing to offer her some help.

    "If it''s in our path, then sure, we can take you there," he answered, making sure he sounded genuine.

    "Thank the LORD!" Springing up to her feet, Fay jumped around in circles. "I knew As won''t abandon me!"

    Celebrating all by herself, she reached into the stringed pouch resting by her hips. Although it had been empty when Riley had taken a look inside, Fay took out a handful of confetti to spread around as sheughed.

    ''This girl is absolutely mental, should I really take this risk? I already have clovers acting childish around me anyway.'' Severely doubting his judgment a hefty sigh left Haruki''s mouth. But the very next moment as the wolf head squealed about happily and licked Fay''s face, his mind quickly changed once again. ''That rug-like scarf must be possessed by the spirits of wolves, if I can learn that ability then if one of us dies, I can transfer their soul into one of my clones.''

    "If you''re done celebrating and giggling, care to tell us your destination?" Upon hearing Haruki''s call, Fay stopped her childish dance.

    "Ahaha, sorry, it''s just a habit¡­Ahem!" As she corrected her posture, the wolf heads fell back down like rags. "I''m trying to find someone called¡­um, what was the name again?"

    Tapping her fingers on her chin, she managed to annoy everyone without realizing it. However, as the name finally came back to her head, she jumped happily on the spot and shouted.

    "Moriyana Malice! Yes, that''s the name, I heard she''s taken permanent residence in Laria, even though she''s a peddler like me," her answer shocked both Haruki and Asuka.

    It made them wonder just why someone like her was looking for Moriyana. From her appearance as well as her childish acts it didn''t seem like she was a subus or any other kind of demon.

    "We''re headed there, but why are you looking for her?" cing the stew bowl on a stump, Haruki focused only on Fray''s answer.

    "She has something I want, I can''t tell you what it is though sorry ehehe!" Thest of her words confirmed Haruki''s suspicion that the journey further was going to be worse than torture.

    ''Even if I had no other choice, there''s no way in hell I am turning her into a servant.'' Unlike the clovers who carried a hint of charm, Fay''s obnoxious behavior had no redeeming quality.

    "You can travel with the unlucky clovers," pushing her responsibility to the novice adventurers Haruki picked the bowl back up.

    "Ehhhh?"

    "What?!"

    "Um¡­"

    The clovers obviously, weren''t too happy with the decision.

 Chapter 60 60 - Ambushed By The Dragons

    ?

    The urge to strip away Fay''s spirit ventriloquist ability was storming Haruki''s mind with a barrage of strange ideas. From forcing himself onto her, to shing her throat altogether. His thirst for blood was ever advancing forward. Making matters worse by amplifying his demonic inclinations, the passive ability of sadism was urging him for a bloodbath.

    "Fuck¡­" Haruki mumbled his eyes rolling about hallucinating from the thoughts. Sharing the carriage with only his servants helped him let off a bit of steam byining, but at the very end, his thirst for carnage kept being pushed forward. "Asuka, do you not feel it too?"

    Trapped in a looping cycle of unease, his feet kept on tapping against the wooden floor. His racing thought, however, didn''t stop there and made him sweat so profusely he could''ve easily fainted had he not been a demon.

    "Master, you should rest," Asuka replied, ignoring the question to hide her own angst.

    None of the four passengers were in any better condition either. The reason for their unrest wasn''t really an enigma, as one look alone at their stats screen would''ve made things a lot clearer.

    "What the hell is going on?" Whispered Margarette huffing deep sighs.

    "Y-yeah¡­" Her eyes glowing a violet urged Riley to give into her subus form. "It feels so hot, my body is burning up."

    Picking up on the hints, Haruki called forward his screen of stats. Scanning down to the curses what he saw made him feel like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.

    "We haven''t actually gone all the way, so carnal curse has dropped down to level two," being it his first-time hitting level two on the curse, Haruki had never felt such an intense burn inside his heart. "All of you should check yours too."

    While Asuka managed to navigate through her stats easily, Margarette and Riley both struggled to understand the level system as they''d been too used to their ranks as humans. What baffled them the most was the decrease in their overall strength after Asuka and Haruki had drained their strength.

    "It''s two for me too," Margarette revealed.

    "Same for me," Riley shortly followed.

    "We''ll need to take care of that somehow before it starts affecting our souls," from what he could remember from Moriyana''s exnation about the curse, once the curse hits level three it starts to gradually corrupt the soul until it turns to ash.

    Upon looking back at his skills to figure out what to do, Haruki''s eyes fell on the higher-tier familiar summon called the tomentous dungeon, and although he hadn''t tested it out yet, right now felt like the perfect time to do so.

    "I have an idea," clutching his heart, he took deep breaths to calm himself down. "I''ll fill the carriage with our clones and then we can take care of the curse in the dungeon."

    Not knowing what Haruki was talking about, the three nced at each other with confusion resting heavily on their faces. Holding his hand forward, Haruki began pouring mana into his palm to summon the creature.

    ''It should open an entrance to a living dungeon, but how big will it be? And what exactly can I even do with that ce? Will it stay alive forever unless recalled or destroyed just like the clones?''  Questions about his new familiar kept piling up inside his head, however, without testing it first-hand none of them could''ve been answered.

    "Familiar summon: Tormentous dun-" before the summoning could finish, the whole carriage reverberated with the shock of being hit by something from above. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What the hell is that?!" Yelled Margarette, ring up at the roof.

    "S-should I check?" Riley nervously asked, looking right at Haruki.

    Grabbing her by the arms, Margarette locked Riley in her clutches. The very idea of sending her out to check on the danger was so frightening to her that Margarette was trying to keep Riley from leaving the carriage at all costs.

    "I''m not letting you go!" She yelled, her eyes closed shut in terror.

    Unlike the rest of the passengers, Margarette had never been so close to mortal danger. The most fear she had ever experienced was just recently with the bats, and thus her reluctance to Riley plunge herself in harm''s way was more than justifiable.

    "Oi! Open up!" A knock on the door shrieked the two shocked.

    Asuka and Haruki on the other hand let out relieved sighs. Noticing the disparity in their reactions, Riley and Margarette turned to them looking heavily confused by the whole situation. Having pushed off feeding them his memories, Haruki wasn''t all that surprised by them not recognizing the familiar voice.

    ''I have to take them to Moriyana so she can show them my memories, I don''t really wanna have to force feed it to both of them, especially Riley.''  The only way for him to pass on his memories was through connecting with the two at the deepest ends, however, while he wasn''t too opposed to doing it with Margarette, Riley on the other hand was something else entirely.

    "It''s Doroke, that idiot¡­" reaching out to the door, Haruki quickly flung it open. "What the hell are you doing up there?"

    Holding onto the interior, Haruki leaned outward to get a better look at the dragonkin. His hair ring in mes, Doroke had his hands folded in a heroic pose as he looked down at the duke.

    "Stopin'' ya, ahaha!" Laughing with his mouth wide open, he quickly jumped off of the carriage.

    "Lord Frost, are you okay?" Kane''s voice called up to Haruki from the carriage at the front. Waving his hand, he was approaching the duke''s wagon with his entire party in tow.

    "What a mess¡­" getting down to the ground, Haruki turned to Doroke to ask him about his sister.

    But before he could utter a single word, a beam of blue light struck right down on Doroke'' s head. After blinding everyone for a moment the light slowly began to dissipate, leaving behind the sight of Tiara standing on top of her wailing brother''s body.

    "Idiot!" Sheined.

    "I know," Haruki agreed.

 Chapter 61 61 - The Third Dragonkin Brother

    ?

    "Don''t ambush us like that again," Haruki warned, his fingers held sternly towards Doroke.

    Sitting on Margarette''sp in the moving carriage, Doroke simply scoffed at Haruki''s words. However, as he noticed Tiara''s eyes ring up in rage, his demeanor changed the very next instant.

    "Okay! Okay! I''m sorry," sping his hands apologetically, he replied.

    Stressed by the effect of carnal curse as well as the chaos Doroke had just rained down on them, Haruki began caressing his temples in an attempt to calm his nerves.

    "So cuteeee¡­" Mumbled Riley, pulling on the soft cheeks of the frost dragonkin resting over herp.

    "Ehehe," gloating in her praises, Tiara wore a sluggish smile. "You''re cute too!"

    Upon hearing those words, Riley''s face turned into a cherry, and as if fumes of embarrassment were shooting out of her ears, she covered her face to shy away from thepliment.

    "You too little one, you too¡­" Patting Tiara''s head, Margarette warmly smiled at her for praising Riley.

    ''Am I in a nursery?'' Somewhat irked by what was happening, Haruki closed his eyes shut to control his racing mind. Messing or even hinting his real identity in front of the dragonkins would''ve been detrimental to his safety, and thus keeping that in mind, he took a few deep breaths before speaking once again.

    "So you two are here to keep us safe until we reach the tundra?" Haruki''s guess was on point, and with a gentle nod from the two it was made official.

    "Why only till the tundra? Can''t they apany us back to the castle?" Hearing Riley''s question, Tiara turned her head towards Riley to reply.

    "We can''t cross it, mother will be angry!" She offered the same answer she had given to Haruki.

    And yet, Haruki couldn''t help but feel that there was something more to the story than just the fear of Rose getting mad at them. After all, the duo seemed desperate to meet their mother, and if they really wanted to they would have broken the rule at least once or twice.

    "Who are these two by the way? They weren''t with you when you went to Daria," pointing to the new faces holding them in their arms, Doroke turned to Haruki for an answer.

    For a moment, Haruki wondered whether he should brush off the exnation since he had a lot more questions for them, but then realizing that he was bound to share the journey with them a lot further, he decided to just get it over with. Taking a moment to give them the same convincing lie that he fed the others, Haruki brought the siblings up to speed on the matter.

    "Ray and Bedona, your names are so nice," as innocent as always, Tiaraplimented the two.

    "Is it nice?" Staying true to his mischievous character, Doroke tried to provoke the two but simply got ignored.

    "I like her better," said Margarette, stroking Tiara''s fluffy white hair.

    "Me too," Riley added.

    Puffing up his face, Doroke seemed extremely annoyed, Tiara on the other hand was happily beaming a smile. Through the conversation, Haruki wasn''t sure if he should be annoyed orugh at the silliness of not only the siblings but the other two holding them.

    "Oh!" Jerking forward, Tiara squealed out loud. "I almost forgot!"

    "Forgot what?'' Doroke asked.

    "You too?!" Sheined before sighing at her brother''s carelessness. "Mother sent another message with another tiger like the one pulling the carriage! She wants you to get home quickly so big brother is gonna help!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Big brother? How many siblings do you have?" Haruki asked out of genuine curiosity.

    "Seventeen!" She answered, shocking everyone around her.

    Giving each other awkward nces, the adult in the carriage decided to just let the matter die down, and instead, focus on what Tiara was originally talking about.

    "Ummm, ah¡­so your brother, how is he gonna help?" Asked Margarette, nervously scratching her chin.

    Following her question, the carriage began to shake once again. Unlikest time, however, the passengers weren''t all too bothered by it for the moment. Suddenly as a beam of blinding light prated in through the opaque exterior of the wagon, the dragonkins jumped off theps and opened the carriage door. Almost blinded by the light further creeping in through the door, everyone turned to the sibling to figure out exactly what they were up to.

    ''What the hell is that light? It''s bright enough to burn your eyes out!'' Struggling to focus on the siblings, Haruki cursed the light internally.

    "That''s our brother, we should go now, tell mom I wanna meet her soon!" Said Tiara before shooting off like an arrow.

    "Tell her we love her!" Following right behind her, Doroke flew off as well.

    "Wait! At least tell us what''s happening!" Haruki''s cries were left unheard by the duo as they had already flown far away.

    Damaging their elevated senses as demons, the light drifted all of them away from their conscious selves. As it slowly began to dim down, the carriages slowed down on their own as well.

    Further ahead, taking some time to recover their sights, the adventurers made haste to check up the middle carriage to ensure the duke''s safety. While on their way there, however, realizing the sudden change in the scenery after the light had died down left them all baffled.

    "I''m not dreaming, am I?" Standing at the edge of a mountain path, Kane was looking down at the duchy of Laria.

    Right behind him, the silver storm stood gazing at the city in amazement. Getting off their carriages as well, the members of Nue''s eye, and the clovers rush towards the scene as well.

    "We were teleported, but how?" Wondered Diana, the most proficient mage in the group. "There are no magic circles and it teleported the carriages too!"

    "Is the duke okay?" Bringing everyone back to reality, Maggie reminded everyone of their duties.

    "Shit!" Noticing how nobody had left the duke''s carriage, Kane stormed right over to it.

    Upon getting there and looking in through the already-opened door, he braced in horror at the sigh of everyone being passed out as if they were dead.

    "Lucy! Pon! Come here!" He ordered at the top of his lungs.

    "Calm down, they''re alive, I can feel their souls," sneaking right behind Kane, Fay assured him of their safety.

    And yet being the responsible leader that he was, Kane was not at all willing to take any chances.

    "Keep the carriages moving, I''ll go on ahead to get help from the guards," leaving Haruki and the others in the hands of the rest, Kane took Arthur and rushed towards the city on the horses that were just pulling the carriages.

 Chapter 62 62 - Poking The Dragoness

    ?

    For the third time in his new life, Haruki woke up to the familiarfort of his bed. Much like the other sharing the same carriage as him he''d suddenly lost consciousness to some strange phenomena. Cracking his eyes open, the dazzling effect of the eye-scorching light was still prevalent in his blurred vision.

    "W-what the hell happened?" He mumbled before pulling himself up to sit down.

    Looking around the room, he felt a strange sense of nostalgia for the ce. Having traveled so excessively in recent days, thefort of his home was truly a relishing feeling. The same translucent blue pirs holding up the clear ice walls instilled a newfound appreciation in Haruki towards the courtship of the Frost name with their inherited affinity for magic.

    One of the very fundamental elements in the magic affinity circle, ice, or as it is otherwise called frost magic, was the only element that cannot be learned and only be inherited from one generation to the next. Then there were in obscurity some gifted individuals who inherit at birth the affinity for light or time magic, with time magic being so sought after that a child born with such an affinity would inevitably be the cause for endless war and carnage.

    ''I''m just d I have a rare affinity because of Snow''s body.'' Brushing off those random thoughts, he turned his head to look at the window. Outlining the dust floating around in the room, the light shining in through the window indicative of morning. ''Doesn''t seem like I was out for too long, but how did we travel here so fast?''

    Remusing over his memories, he stressed his aching head to bring back whatever it could garner. Going through thest of his faint memories he remembered seeing the dragonkins flying out of the carriage before a sudden expanse of light consumed them all. The only other experience he could rte it to was when Diana used the magic circle to teleport him into the cave.

    "So did their big brother teleport us? We never even saw him¡­" covering his face with his hands, he huffed a tired sigh. "Rose has a lot to answer."

    Slipping out of the bed, Haruki began to dress himself lightly so he could go ahead and take a rxing bath in the bathhouse, and while he was worried about the others, assuming they too were inside the castle walls he decided to spare a moment to just unwind from the stress.

    "Young Master?" Hearing Rose''s voice after so long, Haruki''s ears perked up in an instant. "Are you awake? Can Ie in?"

    Knocking on the door a few times, she stood there in silence but refused to go away. Realizing that she already knew he was off of the bed, Haruki dressed himself properly before opening the door for her toe in. The moment the door opened up, however, Rose breezed into the room passing right by Haruki.

    "Close the door," she ordered, her eyes as stern as always.

    Adhering to the urgency in her words, Haruki closed the door behind him. Turning around, he took a quick nce at her demeanor. Slowly moving closer while his eyes scanned her head to toe, he was once again reminded of the extraordinary difference in their heights. Clutched into a bob, her long crimson hair gave her a distinct look of elegance, all the while her piercing gaze maintained her title as the hot-headed maiden.

    "Is there a problem?" Haruki asked, standing right by her.

    Widening in shock, her eyes red at him as if hemitted a mortal offense.

    "A problem, you say? It''s a fucking disaster!" Gritting her teeth to suppress her rage, she stomped on the ground making the whole floor tremble.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Thrown at the edge of his caution, Haruki braced his heart with his hands clutching the brooch hanging by the neck. Upon realizing the fears in Haruki''s eyes, Rose distanced herself by taking a few steps back before taking long deep breaths to calm herself.

    "The councilmen are here, I think it''s best you ask them what the problem is," even though she managed to soothe her nerves, the drooling rage dripping from her mouth told an entirely different story. "I doubt I can stay sane, after what you''ve done."

    With no clue about what she was referring to, Haruki decided it was best for him to simply follow her instruction. After all, Rose didn''t seem to be in the mood for reason, and poking her would only enrage her further.

    "Where are the others? I''d like to see if they''re safe bef-" A flicker of me in her eye made Haruki reconsider asking that question, and thus shaking his head, he simply turned to the exit to his room.

    "They''re all safe, even the guests you brought with you¡­" Huffing out a me, Rose slowly corrected her demeanor to normal. "I apologize for my crude behavior, allow me to apany you to the meeting hall."

    Although her mind was still up in mes, she couldn''t let decades of servitude to the Frosts go to absolute waste.

    ''Just a century more¡­'' Consoling herself with those words, she followed Haruki out into the corridor.

    "Care to tell me what the problem is now?" Still struggling to figure out whether his act as Snow slipped off somewhere, Haruki couldn''t help pushing her for an answer.

    "You man," cing her hand on her forehead, she brushed off her frustration. "Young duke, do not test my patience, I''ve been here since the primordial Frost, so I don''t have much of it left."

    ''Goddammit, what the hell is happening? All I wanted was a single day of peace and quiet, is it really that much to ask?'' Scoffing at the thought, his mind kept wondering about the others and what they were up to or if they had even woken up from their slumber.

    "Here, I hope you''re ready to answer some questions," reaching the meeting hall, Rose pulled its door open for Haruki to enter.

    Before stepping even a foot into the ce, ominous gazes from councilmen with the exception of Rom paralyzed him for a moment. However, steeling his heart, he bravely pushed forward.

    ''I guess it''s time for me to take my role as the duke seriously.''  Puffing up his chest in confidence, he swore to bepetent andmanding.

 Chapter 63 63 - Ironfist Dissent

    ?

    "How could you give governing power to that wrenched woman?" Smashing his fist on the table, Gorgon growled like a beast. "She''s been taking over those soulless criminals and turning them into her ghouls tomand!"

    As the diplomat responsible for controlling crime in the city, Gorgon was furious about his status being threatened.

    "As if that wasn''t enough you even brought a dead body back into the duchy," Clint the bishop chimed into the conversation. "Keeping that poor soul trapped in snow¡­You''ve certainly made us fall off of Lord As''s favor!"

    Raising his hand toin further, Arnold nervously nced around the table before presenting his own worries.

    "I hate to be so stingy my lord, but¡­" Talking about the topic alone was giving him yet another migraine. "The treasury has been squeezed dried after the renovations, and I doubt we can survive more than a few months without raising taxes."

    After hearing everyone''sints against him, Haruki shut his eyes closed to think clearly without any distractions. He knew that if he offered a short-term solution, they''d be back again to bark at him, and thus to solidify his superiority of position he knew exactly what had to be done.

    ''I need to get rid of them and gain monopoly over the duchy, but I can''t do it just yet.'' Opening his eyes, he nced around the roundtable. His apathic gaze confused the men, but what it did better was make them uncertain.

    Exchanging nces they wondered if they''d pushed the duke too far and garnered his rage, but the answer to that question was staring them right in their faces.

    "Gorgon, in ourst meeting you wereining about rising crime, were you not?" Haruki asked, his face devoid of all emotion.

    Gulping down his angst, he ran his hand over the scar on his chest as it had begun to bleed hurt from the stressed heart.

    "Yes, it was on the rise, but now I''m not sure," He answered.

    Figuring out a stream of ns, Haruki turned to Rose looming right by his shoulders. To discuss things further, he needed her to leave the hall. And so guiding her with his eyes, he asked her to leave him alone with the councilmen. Although a hint of reluctance was showering on her face, she curled up her fist and left the men alone inside the meeting hall.

    "And Arnold, the treasury is struggling because we don''t have proper routes for trading, am I correct?" As Haruki asked that question, a wide grin climbed up Rom''s creepy face. Perhaps realizing beforehand where Haruki was going with his line of questioning.

    "Y-yeah, I mean, yes my lord," picking his head off the table, Arnold staggered through the words.

    "What does all this have to do with anything? Do you think repeating the question will make them disappear?"

    "Bishop Clint, will you shut up for a moment?" Sitting leisurely with his legs crossed, Rom casually mocked the head of the church. "Have some faith in the young lord, is that not one of themandments of Lord As? To entrust thend in the hands of the chosen?"

    Embarrassing the bishop by quoting their religious text, Rom leaned back into the chair and ced his legs crossed over the table. Ignoring the intense re from the bishop, he turned to the duke to confirm his suspicions.

    "Did you n all this, my lord? To have Moriyana Malice, the ve peddler take hold of the crimes, so we can use her to stabilize both of these situations?" Rom''s intuition was absolutely on the mark.

    "Seems like you''re the only perceptive one of the councilmen," replying with that, Haruki looked at the others deeply disappointed.

    "Ahaha! No need for such ttery my lord," taking his legs off the table, he leaned forward with the same creepy smile on his face. "I do have to say, that I''m surprised by such a bold move from you at such a young age."

    "This is debaucherous!" Screamed the bishop, jumping out of his chair. "You want to stabilize the economy through blood money?! How could you even suggest something so preposterous!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I agree with the bishop, we can''t ourselves be criminals to solve the issues of the duchy," added Gorgon.

    Expecting Arnold to say something as well, everyone''s eyes turned towards him, however, to their surprise he didn''t seem to share the same burning dissent as the other two.

    "So long the treasury holds bread, the kingdom shall prosper," prosing his words poetically, he looked around before presenting his stance on the matter. "We''ve already legalized ve trade, and in all honesty, the money we''ve generated from it has been of great help."

    "What are you insinuating?" Asked Clint, unsure whether Arnold was agreeing with the duke.

    "I-I think the duke''s n to use crime to stabilize the economy is the only option we have, especially when things are as dire as they are," Noticing the fuming rage bubbling in the bishop as well as Gorgon''s eyes, Arnold added further. "So unless you have another n, I suggest we stick to it for the moment."

    "You can''t be seriou-"

    "Bishop Clint!" Interrupting Clint, Haruki yelled out to him.

    With everyone''s attention on him, Haruki knew that he needs to fortify his position as the ruler of Laria.

    "Since my stay at Daria, I''ve learned just how lenient we''ve been," pushing the chair back, Haruki moved out of it. "Gold flows like water in that duchy and yet it''s as corrupt as a viper''s tongue."

    Remembering back to the abhorrent treatment of ves, and the citizens being terrorized by Riley''s brigade collecting taxes throughpliance or force, Haruki knew he wasn''t even close to being a tyrant. Especially when he considered Margarette''s heinous plot to assassinate him and take over Laria.

    "That doesn''t mean we should sink to their level, young duke!" Clint yelled back.

    "Oh really?" Making his way to the bishop''s chair, Haruki stood right before him. "Do you know they are sanctioning a bypass through the tundra so we can trade easily with other nations?"

    "What?" Gasped Gorgon.

    "Wait wait wait¡­" His hand slipping off, Arnold almost hit his head on the table.

    "Ah! Remarkable!" Rommended with a joyous grin.

    Baffled by the announcement, the bishop was left with no words. Looking down at Haruki with his eyes wide open, his brows frowned in distrust.

    "So the next time I hear you badmouthing our generous neighbor, you may no longer have the privilege to sit amongst the councilmen," wearing a weak yet menacing smile, Haruki slowly backed away from the bishop.

    "As you wish, young duke," reluctantly bowing his head, he replied.

    "Gorgon, you''ll oversee that Moriyana doesn''t double-cross us. Arnold, keep a proper record of every piece of gold she earns so we know our proper cut, and Rom, you should start nning the best route for the bypass and make necessary arrangements." Adequately establishing his position as the decision maker, Haruki was off on his way to check up on Asuka and the others.

 Chapter 64 64 - A Hearty Toast [Step-Relations Warning]

    ?

    "Ahhhh¡­I can''t believe he really was duke Laria," her face buried against the table, the sound of Fay''s cries resounding throughout the crowded inn.

    Surrounded by the convoy of adventurers, she couldn''t believe the extent of her stupidity. Even though she''d constantly been told who Snow was, she had taken it as a joke andughed right at their faces. And now while she regretted presenting herself so immaturely in front of the duke, the rest of the convoy smiled hysterically.

    "Now be a good sport and make good on the lost bet," pushing a table together with the silver storm, Mortar mmed a ss of ale in front of Fay. " Don''t forget you''re paying, ahaha!"

    Having cheekily mocked them against their ims, she had made a bet to pay for their return party if Snow really turned out to be the duke of Laria.

    "We''ll pay our own, don''t worry," Maggie assured while pushing another table together with help from Garth and Maya.

    "I don''t think we should go too hard at this, to be honest, the duke hasn''t paid any of us yet,'''' Still a bit concerned about Snow''s safety, Diana jumped into the conversation.

    Throwing his hand over her neck, Kane squeezed her shoulder to ease her unrest. Turning to look at him, Diana faked a weak smile to not ruin anyone else''s mood. It had been a long time since any of them had the luxury to unwind without worrying about bandits or monsters, even in the city ofmerce the incident with Jenna had kept them all on edge. So finally being back in their homnd helped them all rx without worries.

    "Look, I know you''re worried, but Miss Roselia can take better care of the duke than we can, so we should all just try to unwind a little," picking up a wine ss, he offered it to Diana.

    "Come on, Diana, I think we''ve done enough," joining the conversation, Lucy held her ss forward.  "The duke was practically a ma for trouble!"

    "That, is an understatement," Arthur mumbled, sipping on the ale.

    "If you all say so," grabbing the ss from Kane''s hand, Diana decided to unwind as well. "But if anything happens, I''m gonna teleport away and leave you all to the guillotine."

    Holding her ss up high, she offered a toast, and with warm smiles, on their faces, the silver storms clinked their sses together.

    "Ahhhhhh¡­I wanna die," cried Fay, her face still pushed against the table.

    "Don''t cry," patting Fay''s head, Maya tried to console the poor soul.

    "Yeah, you don''t have anything to worry about, the duke is quite forgiving," as those words left Garth''s mouth, the entirety of the clovers were reminded of what happened in the cave.

    While the fact that Snow didn''t mention it again after that wasforting, they were quickly enshrouded in shame for listening to Haruki and Asuka getting off in the tent. Bright blushes taking over their faces, they shared awkward nces at each other before deciding never to hint at the awkward memory ever again.

    "L-let''s eat, okay?" Maggie said, trying to divert from the topic.

    "Y-yeah, I''m re-really hungry anyway," Garth replied, fumbling through words.

    "Me too.." Lastly, Maya added.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Washing off their worries, the adventurers ordered the food, and as it began to arrive they dug right in.

    ***

    Back in the castle, Haruki was storming off the corridor with Rose following him. After being told where the others were, he was off on his way to check up on them. However, with Rose right behind him, he wasn''t sure if he could be as open with his servants as he wanted to be.

    "Rose, you don''t have to follow me," he said in amanding voice to shoo her off.

    "I''m not letting you out of my sight after what you just pulled with the councilmen!" She shot back.

    Grunting in annoyance, Haruki held the brooch and constructed giant walls behind him as he kept moving. Barely hindered by those tall blocks of ice, Rose breezed through the walls by melting them with an infernal aura emanating from her body.

    "What the-" Struck with confusion, she reached the end of the walls and yet there was no sight of the duke in front of her.

    ''Where did he go?'' She wondered, looking around trying to find any traces of him ever being there, but with not even a hint of him lingering in the air, she clenched her teeth and grinded them in annoyance. ''Where the hell is he?!''''

    Far away from her reach, Haruki had escaped her clutches with the help of his new familiar. As Rose was trying to melt through the ice, Haruki swiftly managed to summon the entrance to the high-tier familiar called the tormentuos dungeon. Once he passed through it, the entrance disappeared and dumped him into a fleshy cavern providing him with safety.

    "Goddammit¡­" He mumbled as he tried to clean up the slime falling on him from the ceiling. "I did not expect this to be so filthy."

    Scanning his surroundings he noticed vast cavernous paths leading in all directions. Unsure where they led to, he decided to make his own path forward. Closing his eyes, he recalled the servant''s quarters in the Frost castle. In doing so the dungeon contorted and throbbed like a living creature.

    "Drop me into that room!" Yelling out those words, the floor beneath Haruki swallowed him whole before spitting him out right by the servant quarters. Being a bit more cautious this time, he made his body float so he wouldn''t fall head-first against the floor.

    ''Short-distance teleportation, huh? Might be usefulter on.'' Gently descending on his feet, he made his way to Asuka''s chamber. Standing right outside, he could already hear chattering from inside the ce. Making use of his heightened senses, he began assessing the voicesing from inside.

    ''Margarette, Asuka, and Riley¡­All of them in there, but what are they doing exactly?'' Despite his keen senses, his hearing was nowhere near as good as Asuka''s or even Riley for that matter. ''I know Rose said they were all in the servant''s quarters, but I didn''t think they''d be in the same room, or did they gather while I was dealing with the councilmen?''

    Tired of waiting, Haruki pushed the door open before anyone could see him standing openly in the hallway. Getting into the room, he quickly nced over at the three, however, as he noticed the sight in front of him, his whole body began burning up from the inside. Laying in bed surrounded by the tentacle monster, Asuka and the other two were squirming around the bed with the monster toiling with the most sensitive parts of their bodies.

    ''Carnal lust, I almost forgot¡­'' Being reminded of the curse, he could feel his libido shoot up high. ''Still¡­how can they both be okay doing this kind of stuff together?''

    Staring at Margarette and Riley flopping around groaning euphorically, Haruki couldn''t help but question the nature of their rtionship after being turned into lust demons.

 Chapter 65 65 - When Lust Breaks All Bounds [Step-Relations + Yuri Warning]

    ?

    Drifting away from sanity, Haruki''s three servants had fallen into indulgence. Showing no shame or any regard for their master''s judgment, they let their body be assaulted by the many slimy hands of the tentacled familiar. Even disregarding their bond as stepmother and stepdaughter, Margarette and Riley pressed their lips together in the deepest show of affection.

    ''She''s been a slut from the very day I got to know her, so why does it matter if we share some kind of shallow bond together?'' Trying to justify her action, Riley told herself the only defense she had.

    ''I can''t believe I''m doing this! But I can''t resist these urges anymore!'' Her mind filled with a blinding haze, Margarette coiled her tongue around Riley to take a thorough taste of her body.

    Struggling to keep her thoughts straight, Asuka turned towards the two. Seeing their holes being plugged by the tentacles and their tongues pushed into each other, her heart ached for the same affection. However, in a brief moment of rity, she saw Haruki standing by the room''s entrance.

    "Ekk! M-M-Master!" Squealed Asuka jolting upright on the bed.

    Upon hearing her call to Haruki, the eyes of the other two widened in horror. As if just realizing what they were doing. they pushed each other off and began wiping their lips of each other''s saliva.

    "By A-ughhh! What?!" Margarette yelped, baffled by being smitten for the first time.

    "What was I thinking?!" Still ring at Margarette''s naked body, Riley''s face was red like a beet. For a moment as her eyes strolled up and down Margarette, she quickly covered her face and shied away from her stepmother.

    Watching the events unfold, Haruki moved closer to the sorry excuse for the bed. Meant to be used by the servants as well as ves, the interior of the room was far more decrepit than any other structure in the castle. Theck of decor reflected the social status of the inhabitant, even the crumbled bed sheet under the naked servants were so utterly nd it pained Haruki to even look at them.

    "While I know we''re all suffering from the curse, doing it in a rundown ce like this is not at all eptable¡­" Stretching his hand forward, he readied himself to unleash a spell.

    Expecting it to be some sort of punishment, the three on the bed closed their eyes, frightened by what was toe. Betraying their expectation, however, what came next out of Haruki''s lips were crude words or even an offensive spell.

    "Familiar summon: Tormentous dungeon," as mana trailed off his tongue, pools of abyss started opening under the three. "Prepare us a fitting room to make love."

    The very next moment the abyss swallowed the three whole. Following right behind them, Haruki made an entrance right under his feet.

    ''It''s best we leave this room before Rosees here looking for me.'' Plunging right into the entrance, Haruki went down the hole. Expecting a grand fall he quickly turned into his demonic form and began flying as soon as he entered the dungeon. ''What the hell?''

    ncing around the room, he was shocked by the romantic theme following endlessly in all directions. Cushioned with a giant woolly mattress, the whole floor was riddled with fluffy cushions of different shapes and colors.

    ''I didn''t expect it to be so concise and possess such scale.'' Severely underestimating his own abilities, Haruki had yet toe even close to pushing his powers to the limits.

    His libido being further affected by his surroundings, he instantly thundered down near his servants. Lost by the sudden change in their scenery the three slowly picked themselves up before turning to look at Haruki.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Asuka, I''m sorry, but I need to copy Margarette''s abilities, so¡­" Shooting off a clone of himself, he moved closer to Margarette. "You''ll have to make do with my clone today."

    Although it wouldn''t be a real person, as long as the clone could ept or feed his seed to someone else, the requirements to level down carnal curse would still be met.

    "Um¡­what about me?" Sitting beside Asuka, Riley asked, pointing at herself. "I need to take levels off too."

    Creating yet another clone of Snow, he cast it towards her. If possible he would have preferred not to use any of his own appearance on Riley, however, since he still couldn''t clone any other men than himself, he had to use Snow''s clone instead.

    "Fuck them all you want, fill them up to the brim and then some," giving them that order, he leaped straight into Margarette''s arms.

    "And you¡­" Throwing his hands over the neck, he drew one back and gently ran his finger down Margarette''s face. "You''ll be my prey."

    Feeling him so up close and pressing against her giant breasts, Margarette''s eyes nervously jittered as she gazed right at him.

    "Aghhh!"

    "Wa-wait, don''t lick there!"

    Turning to the loud moans, she noticed that the clones had already begun feasting on the body of herpanions. Panting at the sight of them being eaten out by their shape-shifting viper-like tongues, she could feel her heart racing faster and faster by the second.

    "Shall we begin then?" Haruki mumbled, slipping his fingers down to her bosom.

    "Mhmm!" Feeling Haruki''s teeth biting on her nipples, she muffled out a moan.

    Squeezing her breasts and biting her nips, Haruki could feel himself lusting for more. Sinking his hands further into her flesh until his fingers nearly disappeared, he pushed her down and climbed on top of her.

    "I''ve wanted to try this with these lewd breasts of yours for so long," snapping his fingers, he made his tattoo-like clothespletely disappear. Revealing under them, his rock-hard penis towered over Margarette''s breasts. "I do have to punish you for trying to kill me."

    Once again snapping his fingers, he made his dick grow twice the original size. Gazing at it in awe, Margarette ran her hand down her stomach wondering if even half of it would fit inside. Aggressively pinching her breasts, Haruki forced his cock right between them.

    "Please your master or I''ll keep it grown until it tears through your body," looming over the fear gripped Margarette, Haruki''s mind hadpletely submitted to his desires.

 Chapter 66 66 - Indulgence[18+]

    ?

    Pressed between Margarette''s massive breasts, Haruki''s dick was being squeezed from each side. Pushing them together with her hands, Margarette pistoned her breasts up and down to caress her master''s penis.

    "Use your mouth too," Haruki ordered.

    Coiling his tail around her neck, he pushed his dick down her mouth to feel every bit of her cored throat. Ignoring her squeamish cries, he kept pushing it down and down further until he could feel her lips kissing him in his jewels.

    "Perfect match, don''t you think?" He uttered, looking down his chest at Margarette. Pulling himself up, he sat up straight. "Or do you want it to be bigger?"

    Suddenly increasing the girth of his penis, he made Margarette spit it out in force. Crawling away backward, she began to violently cough out all the juices that built up in her mouth so far.

    "Aghh! Don''t stop!" Screamed Margarette''s daughter, holding Haruki''s clone tight in her arms.

    Turning to look at her, what Margarette saw made her bite her lips in anticipation. Despite already having filled her up with its love juices, the clone was still pumping its hips against Riley''s dollish body. Continuing to stare at her, the euphoric look in her eyes, teased Margarette reaching down her stomach.

    "I love you master! I love you! Mhmmm!" On the other side of her Asuka too was screaming from pleasure.

    ncing at her, Margarette found her throwing her ass back against the clone''s dick as it tugged on her fluffy tail. Having never willingly turned into her demonic form, she felt quite jealous that she didn''t have anything to pull back on.

    "Are you done admiring the view?" Saying that Haruki sprang up tentacles under Margarette and had them hold her up in the air.

    "Wait Ha-I mean Master! I''m not ready yet!" She pleaded, but with her legs being spread apart by the tentacle all Haruki could hear were his own depraved thoughts. "At least let me down-AHHH!"

    Before she could finish her sentence, Haruki buried his dick into her pussy in one swift thrust. The very moment his tip brushed against her womb, Margarette sprayed orgasmic juices all over Haruki''s dick. Laying limp at the mercy of her master''s cock, Margarette''s body and mind hadpletely submitted themselves to him.

    ''H-how could something feel so good?'' Still trying to fight the bubbling sensations bursting in her head, she clutched her teeth to keep herself from drifting away. And as Haruki began thrusting into her once more, the insides of her body began conforming to his massive dick. ''To think I''ve been living with this dick! Without this man!''

    With every outward pull her tight gripping pussy clenched onto his penis not wanting to let go, but as it plunged into her again the folds in her body trembled from being ravaged. Never before had she felt a man reaching so deep into her, and so every time Haruki vited the entrance to her womb, she craved for his seeds to fill her uppletely.

    Leaning onto her body being held in the air by the tentacles, Haruki got on top of her and began squeezing her massive tits. Pinching her nipples, he kept hastening his pace to the rhythm of Margarette''s loud and rampant moans.

    "Oh my god! FUuuucCk!" Panting restlessly, Margarette hid her flustered face with her arms. "Fuck me! Fuck me master! Give it to me alreadyyyy!"

    Biting her lips to drown her moans, she arched her back upward in an attempt to contain the pleasure. Sticking out her tongue, she huffed like a dog trying to catch her breath. However, as all her attempts failed her eyes rolled up into her skull as yet another wave of orgasm gushed into her body.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I''m not done yet!" Breathe Haruki, struggling to keep his mind straight while fucking the duchess''s brain to a mush. "Here, this should help keep your mouth shut."

    Shooting another clone out of his arms, he ordered it to plug Margarette''s throat. As it moved in front of her mouth, Haruki transferred part of his consciousness into him to control the clone and feel both her pussy and mouth at the same time.

    "L-let me b-reath..e," ignoring her plea again, Haruki forced his cock deep into her mouth. "MHmnnn!"

    Having his cock buried inside both of her holes, Haruki''s mind drifted into a dreamy state. Ovee with desire, all he could think about was to flood her inside with his thick slimy juices. Making the clone float with his dick still inside Margarette''s mouth, Haruki began pistoning its dick at the same pace as he was fucking her pussy.

    To even further heightened his pleasure, he made two more of Margarette and had one sucking on his balls, while the other shared a deep passionate kiss with him. Making his clone lean onto her, he began sucking on her tits as well. Simultaneously, indulging in all kinds of pleasure many could only hope for, Haruki could finally feel himself about to shoot a big load inside her from both ends.

    "Here you go, remember this taste forever!" Uttering those words, his thick hot semen began filling up not only her aching womb but also her warm wet mouth.

    "Mhnmmm! Ahhh! Fu-fuck it''s so much!" Moaned Margarette as yet another orgasm washed over her senses.

    Still kissing Margarette''s clone and having his jewels gently licked, Haruki kept unloading his semen until it began flowing out of the real Margarette. Still rock hard inside her, he began thrusting into her pussy perfectly lubed by his own semen.

    "A-again already?!" Margarette squealed, still being flooded with the tingling sensation of climax.

    ''I can''t control it, I want more¡­'' Surrendering to the heavenly feeling, Haruki ignored her cries.

    "Master¡­" Pushing Margarette''s clone away, Asuka took its ce in kissing Haruki.

    Spying from the edge of his eyes, he noticed that Asuka''s clone had already disappeared, even though Riley was still being hopelessly assaulted by its cock.

    "Did you kill the clone?" Pulling away from the kiss, he ended up making a bridge of saliva between their lips.

    "Yes, I wanted to taste the real thing again,'' Whispering those words, she ran her fingers down his face. Although he seemed a bit androgynous in his demonic form, for some reason Asuka was deeply in love with it.

    "It''s your turn then, I need to drain those levels you gain from Riley anyway," Haruki replied before pressing his lips against hers.

    For the rest of their stay inside the dungeon, the loud moans echoing through the ce were apanied by the thick odor of their love juices trailing heavily in the air.

 Chapter 67 67 - The Making Of An Enemy

    ?

    "Duchess Margarette wasn''t the one sending the assassins?" ring at Snow with wide-open eyes, Rose couldn''t believe what she was hearing.

    "I''ve had my talk with her, she even sent two of her best guards in the duchy as personal bodyguards for me," sitting at the edge of the bed, Haruki finished tying his shoes before looking up to meet her eyes. "So now you don''t have to follow me around everywhere, just manage the maids like you used to, okay?"

    Patting her on the side of her arms, he moved right past her and headed straight for the door. However, with countless doubts still storming through her head, Rose wasn''t about to let him off the hook so easily.

    "So you talked to her and she said no, and you''re just going to believe her?" Grabbing Haruki by the arm, she deterred him from going out of his room. "Not only that, you brought some random strangers she allotted you back into the castle?"

    Giving him an intense re dripping with suspicion, Rose leaned over to have him look right at her face. With their noses almost brushing against each other, Haruki felt extremely tense and ufortable. Shying his eyes away, he tried to move away from her, but being held by her hand, he had no way of escaping.

    "What about the assassin that confessed to being her minion?!" Grabbing him by both shoulders she violently shook him. "Did you really think that she''ll tell you the truth just because you asked in person?!"

    Noticing the stern look on her face, Haruki was both threatened and annoyed by her meddling. For him, the matter was already resolved, and having toe up with further excuses to convince her frustrated him as it was only pushing off the real issues that he was worried about at the moment.

    "Do you take me for an idiot, Rose?" Shrugging her hands off of him, Haruki took a step back. "Obviously I didn''t just take her word for it, or else why would''ve I wasted so many days staying there? Wouldn''t it be a short task, just to agree with whatever she spouted?"

    Mocking her in a sarcastic tone, a tensioned re shot off his eyes. Noticing the glinting rage in his iris, Rose knew that she crossed a definite line. Drawing her hands back toward her body, she huffed out a sigh in an attempt to gather her thoughts.

    "I¡­I apologize, young duke," she whimpered, her eyes dejected down in shame of her conduct.

    Scoffing at her lousy apology, Haruki rolled his eyes in annoyance. The further he drifted from his humanity, the lousier his attitude had gotten, and now it was so far loose that he didn''t care for any pretense of dignity as a royal.

    "Just stick to your station, you were never meant to be a guard or my adviser, the only reason you''re even allowed so casually into my room is because some crooked degenerate decided to send some assassins in my direction," walking past her, he kept onining. "If you''re so desperate to protect someone, why don''t you go visit your kids? Or do you not care about them to even allow them near you?"

    Petrified at the mention of her kids, Rose couldn''t believe that the usual well-behaved Snow was saying all that stuff. Raising her head again, she looked back at him with jittery eyes.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "How¡­can you say that?" She mumbled right as Haruki opened the room door.

    Turning just his head, he red at her with half-open eyes. However, what he didn''t realize was the violet glow in Snow''s dead-silver eyes. Being more perceptive of the two, Rose quickly caught onto it, but when she blinked her eyes to make sure of it the Snow''s eyes turned back to the usual shade of gray.

    "How, you ask?" Turning over, he moved closer to her. Pushing himself up on his toes, he got as close to her face as he could. "Cause they asked me to, they told me how horrible of a mother you are. Even a monster doesn''t abandon its cub as you have, and sure, they might have sent jolly words back with that messenger tiger, but do you really think they love a mother they can''t even get to meet every once in a while?"

    Putting himself down, he quickly flipped over and marched over to the door. Left behind as Haruki stormed off into the corridor, Rose''s mind was anywhere but the right ce. Raging with doubts her heart ached forfort, but since she couldn''t fly out to confront her children about the matter there was no sce to be found anywhere.

    ''No¡­don''t, there''s no way they think of me that way, right?'' Looking down at her hands, a sorrowful tear fell onto them. ''The duke is lying¡­I know he is. He''s just mad that I was being so pesky.''

    Trying to justify his words, she ced the me all on herself, and yet, even then as she kept staring at her hands being flooded with her tears, the memories of her past turned the tears into blood. The room itself turned into an inferno, and as she raised her head to look around all she saw was carnage and blood.

    ''A century more Roselia, you can''t make the same mistake again¡­'' Shutting her eyes, she took long deep breaths to soothe her own soul. The cries of those howling nights kept her own edge as she tried to wipe those memories off of her mind. ''I was young¡­shut up! Don''t think about it! I don''t want to lose control again!''

    Her thirst for revenge against the duke for saying such things red up her lung with burning rage and fumes. Attempting to fight her rage, her eyes were forced. But unlike their usual red glow, her eyes were charred ck with a dark crimson iris.

    "BURN THIS CITY TO THE GROUND!" She growled in a raspy voice trying to fight her own thoughts.

    "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Taking her own hand to choke herself, she knew what had to be done to deter those words from being realized. "Dragon''s bane!"

    Activating the ability a phantom bone-crushing force flung her body into the wall right behind her. Had it been any other time, she would''ve escaped the skill with a minor bruise but the mental stress straining her body paired with the impact on her head as she hit the wall forced her unconscious in an instant.

 Chapter 68 68 - The Mansion Of The Red Mistress

    ?

    Brushing off the memories of his fight with Rose, Haruki was off on his way to Moriyana''s new base of operation. Following behind him were his three servants, all masked in their disguises while walking beside Fay. After having made it out of the castle, Haruki met up with the convoy adventurers to pay them off personally. There once he was done, Fay asked to apany him to Moriyana''s ce since had to collect the mystery item she''d been talking about so far.

    "I''m sorry¡­" She murmured, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. "I didn''t realize you''re  actually duke Laria, even though everyone kept telling me."

    cing a single step on the carriage, Haruki looked at her with his eyes squinted with frustration. The verbal battle with Rose had left him drained of any patience, and the longer it took him to get to Moriyana the worse his mood was getting.

    "Now you know, don''t you? Let''s just put it behind us and move towards improving our professional rtions," grunting at the end, he pulled himself up into the carriage.

    One after the other his servants got inside, leaving Fay with more than plenty to still worry about.

    ''He''s mad¡­but I guess what''s the worst that can happen, right?'' She thought before heaving out a sigh and getting into the carriage.

    With everyone loaded up in the carriage, they began moving towards this new establishment Moriyana had allegedly constructed for herself. From what Haruki remembered he had promised her better amodation but since he was immediately gone to Daria after that, he never had the chance to fulfill it.

    ''The only way she could''ve afforded such a task is if she''s using the money from the crimes to feed her own ambitions.'' Although the carriage was filled with absolute silence, Haruki''s thoughts kept on racing. ''As for Fay, I still want her ability to control souls.''

    While ring at Fay''s wolf scarf he didn''t realize the gaze she gave back. Petrified that the duke was nning some sort of punishment, Fay shied away from his gaze and kept her mouth shut.

    ''Why is he looking at me like that?! Why is he looking at me like that?!'' Just like Haruki, Fay''s mind was also racing with questions, although the reasons for her worries were much more trivial.

    After a while, as they slowly reached Moriyana''s new base, Haruki looked through the window at a rather baffling sight. Erected like a tower, an inn-like structure with a red and dark theme was confidently standing at the very center of the main city.

    ''If this keeps going then my n to keep her reliant on me is doomed to fail.'' As the carriage finally came to a stop, Haruki jumped right off of it with everyone else following right behind. Having judged Haruki''s tense mood none of them wanted to poke at him as it was bound to make things worse.

    "What happened to him?" Margarette whispered to Asuka as they followed Haruki to the entrance.

    "How would I know? I was in the servant''s quarters getting ready just as you," she replied, her eyes fixed on Haruki''s back.

    ring up at the tacky sign with Moriyana''s name written on it, Haruki winced at how out of ce the whole building was. Surrounded by local home shops along with an array of housing, her base of operation was right in the middle of the residential region.

    "You want me to go in first?" Stepping forward with her knives in her hands, Riley asked while posing as Ray. "From the looks of it, the ce doesn''t feel the safest."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Go ahead, but I doubt you can escape her eyes," to his reply, Riley frowned her eyebrows wondering if Haruki was doubting her skills.

    "As if she''ll see meing," clutching her scarf she cast the ability lonesome widow and disappeared from everyone''s sight. "I''ll keep you safe in case she tries something."

    "What the hell?!" Squealed Fay, rubbing her eyes to make sure they didn''t fail her. "Where did she do?!"

    "Shut up for a moment¡­" huffed out Haruki seemingly too tired to deal with her. "Let''s go in, I don''t wanna wait for her to fail."

    Pushing the door open, a heavy gust filled with dust blinded them all for a moment. Shielding their eyes, they quickly moved in.

    "Goddammit, wasn''t this ce just recently built?!" Bedona yelled, brushing off the dust from her beautiful white dress. "It''s so filthy in here, I might need to visit a cleric healer after this."

    "A priest might be better," in between her fit of cough, Fay added as well.

    Stepping in further, they all flinched at the daintynterns hanging on the walls lighting up in unison. Painting the path in a sinister red glow, thentern mes flickered about making the shadows dance ominously as the crew moved further. Right at the end of the reception hall was a small corridor leading into a study with documents scattered all over the floor.

    "There''s a woman behind the desk, is this Moriyana?" Coming back into existence, Riley knelt near the passed-out woman.

    Although Riley became one with Haruki''s clone, since only Margarette connected with the real deal, Riley was now the only servant of his that didn''t share his memories. Moving around the desk, Haruki knelt down right next to Moriyana as well. Grabbing her by the shoulder, he gestured Riley to do the same. Lifting her up, they put her on the chair right next to the study desk.

    "What the hell happened to her?" Asuka asked.

    "Can you try to heal her and see if that wakes her up?" Requesting Asuka to heal her, Haruki quickly checked her nerves for a pulse. "Her pulse is fine, goddammit this woman, what happened?"

    Stepping forward, Fay too began making her own assessment. cing her hand on Moriyana''s head, she began mumbling some sort of spell. Soon enough her palm as well as her eyes began glowing in a blinding silver glow, and as it slowly dimmed down to normal, a muffled whimper left Moriyana''s mouth.

    "I hate to say this but¡­" drawing her hand back, she gave Haruki an awkward nce. "She had passed out from exhaustion."

    ''This should help me grow on him, right? I helped¡­well, I think I did, didn''t I?'' Hoping she was correct, Fay put up a smile.

 Chapter 69 69 - Overworked And Bickering

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    "Mister!" Called Riana, the girl Haruki had left in Moriyana''s care.

    Rushing towards him from another entrance to the office, she wrapped her hands around the young duke. On one end Haruki was delighted to see her, but on the other, he detested the red and ckbination of clothes Moriyana had provided her to wear.

    ''She looks like a miniature version of her.'' Giving her a gentle pat on the head, he turned his attention back to the main topic.

    "What happened to your master?" Haruki asked, looking down at the little girl.

    ring up with puffed-up cheeks, she almost seemed a bit annoyed herself.

    "She''s been drinking a lot while working, so this is normal," letting go of him, she looked around at all the documentsying on the floor. "And I have to clean up after her too."

    As if she was an overworked adult, she huffed out a sigh and began picking things up.

    "Do you want me to wake her uppletely? I know water magic too you know," further wanting to make him like her, Fay wanted to do yet another favor.

    "Go ahead, wake her up," without wasting an ounce of time, Fay sprayed a violent beam of water right out of her hands.

    Hitting Moriyana right on the face, it made her il around frantically as if she was drowning in the deep sea. Finally, when the steam of water stopped, she mmed her hands on the desk and looked down at her wet clothes first.

    "I have to clean this up too!" Whimpered Riana.

    "What the fuck?! Are you trying to kill me?! And my clothes! GHHHHHRRR" Grinding her teeth in anger, she looked around at the visitors in front. "Wait¡­this bitch!"

    Saying that she climbed over the desk and threw herself onto Fay. Dropping to the ground both of them hit their heads together before squealing out in pain.

    "I never thought the ve peddler I''ve heard so much about would be so immature," insulting Moriyana, Margarette brushed her temples to soothe her nerves.

    "Oh, you shut up, you royal slut!" Despite having her head bashed in, Moriyana wasn''t willing to back down an inch. "You''re thest person I''m gonna take an insult from!"

    Thankfully, still trying to recover from the head injury, Fay didn''t catch the royal part of Moriyana''s insult. Struggling to get up, she grabbed onto Haruki''s arms and pulled herself up. Once back on her feet, she red down at Fay with rage still bubbling in her eyes.

    "Next time you do that I''m gonna trap you in a jar," she warned. Unsurprisingly, sharing some history with Fay only the two of them were able to truly understand what Moriyana meant by those words.

    "Sorry! Sorry!" Dusting off her clothes, she made sure to get some distance between them. "I won''t do it again!"

    "Enough¡­" Irked to the point of anger, Haruki broke the bickering between the two. Moving closer to Moriyana, he grabbed her by the cor of her dress. "And you, answer me, how the hell did you build this ce when you didn''t have a dime to amodate a stay in an inn? And why the hell is this ce so filthy if it''s a recent build?"

    "She says she doesn''t need more workers to maintain the building," chiming in with her innocent tone, Riana ced her hand on her hips and red at Moriyana. "And every time I clean something, some other ce starts falling apart."

    Wanting to save money to the extreme, Moriyana was holding onto gold that could easily afford to use on more help, but the biggest hurdle to that n was her own stubbornness about not wanting to hire anyone.

    "Why don''t you use your ves?" Asked Riley, genuinely confused by the whole thing.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I''ve sold them all off," Moriyana replied, making her way back around the desk. "Every one of them, the moment ve trade was legalized everyone in Laria wanted one."

    Leaving everyone surprised, Moriyana nced at them with an uninterested gaze. And although she creepily smiled at Margarette at the fact that Haruki managed to enve her, she didn''t say anything out loud in Fay''s presence.

    "If you''ve sold every one, then where the hell is all the gold?" Demanding an answer, Haruki leaned onto the desk. "You need to pay the duchy part of your earnings, and in return, we''ll grant you monopoly on the ve trade in my territory, that was the deal, so where the hell is the gold?"

    Making sure not to mention the part about her taking over all the crime, Haruki pushed her further.

    ''Dammit! If she doesn''t have any ves left then how is she controlling the criminal? Is it magic? Like those potions of hers?'' Again being flooded with questions, Haruki tried to intimidate her with a re.

    "You promised me amodation in exchange for the favor, remember?" Smirking devilishly, she sat back down in the wet chair but then grunted from making that mistake. "Anyway¡­Since you didn''t actually make good on it yet, and I needed a ce to stay, I decided to use the city''s portion of the gold to build my office."

    "An office? This ce is like a maze with hundreds of rooms!" Riley protested. Right after entering, she had tried to survey the rooms, but with the number of hallways and locked doors, she simply got back with the group.

    "So what? I n to spread my legs a little, you know? Expand into different businesses, isn''t that what you want, duke?" Ignoring her innuendo, Haruki knew what Moriyana was hinting at.

    "Fay, can you leave us alone for a moment?" He requested.

    Being addressed so abruptly, she looked around confused. Fearing she might end up offending the duke, she decided to wait outside until she was allowed back in. Closing the door to the office as Fay went away, Haruki smiled at Riana and told her to give them some privacy for a moment as well.

    "The hell are you gonna do with no gold or ves?" Watching Riana go into the other room, Haruki grunted at Moriyana.

    Tilting her head, she once again nced at his servants before returning back to him. In her mind, all this ruckus was tiresome, especially the way Haruki was trying to intimidate her as he did to the others.

    "I told you I wanna branch out, as for your question itself¡­" opening up a drawer, she pulled out a folder filled with all sizes of paper documents. "Maybe you''re forgetting that I''m a lust demon too with my own servants. I don''t need ves when the whole of the criminal brigade in Laria is working under my charm."

    Opening up the file, she pushed it forward on the desk for Haruki to have a look through. Taking it in his hands, he began skimming through them to understand what she was talking about exactly.

    "Fine, these are records of your exploits and what criminal businesses you''re controlling, but I don''t see a cent of profit left for the dukedom''s treasury," Handing the folder to Margarette so she could have a thorough look, Haruki turned his attention back to Moriyana.

    "Well, I told you, didn''t I? I''ve spent it all on this ce, but trust me it''d all be worth it," reaching between her breasts, she took out a small note and passed it to him.

    "What''s this?" He mumbled as his eyes scanned through the note.

    ''Lie to the public, I have your gold, but keep your mouth shut about it. Make them desperate, fearful, and willing to submit, that''s how you''ll get your army of servants.'' At the end of the note, signed in blood-red ink were a few scribbled-up words. ''The bad is dead, she can hear but can''t read. Nowugh so your mind doesn''t give it away.''

    "By the way, remember that something special I was talking about? Something that you''ll be interested in?" Smiling at him, Moriyana distracted him from thinking about the note too much. "Do me a favor, and I might have two very special gifts ready for you."

    Despite not knowing that part of Asmodia was housed inside him, Haruki began to chuckle and Moriyana joined soon after.

    "What is it then? This favor of yours?" He asked,ughing maniacally.

 Chapter 70 70 â€“ Chattering Friends

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    Hours after hours passed the discussion between Haruki and Moriyana kept on going. Their exchange of ns went on for so long that Fay started looking around Moriyana''s mansion-like base, and even after she was done, the door to her office was still tightly shut. Growing tired of waiting, she sat down on a waiting chair and decided to take a nap.

    Not long after Fay fell asleep, Haruki and the others stormed out of the office and were off on their way away to wherever they were going.

    "Oi¡­wake up," hitting Fay''s legs with her sandals, Moriyana red at her annoyed. "This isn''t a free lounging inn, you scoundrel."

    Getting hit in her achilles, Fay''s body was shocked awake from the pain bolting to her head.

    "AGHHH!" Drawing her legs onto the chair, she got them away from Moriyana. " What the hell?! That hurts!"

    "I know, nowe in," ignoring her cries, she beckoned Fay with her waving index.

    Caressing her legs for a moment, she red at Moriyana''s back contemting taking some sort of revenge, but getting onto her feet she brushed those ideas off of her mind. Not nning to stick around once she got what she wasted, there was no benefit in making things harder for herself by trying to take revenge on Moriyana.

    "Do you have it?" Fay asked as soon as she walked into the office.

    Moving to the other side of the table, Moriyana sat down gently caressing her head. Slowly looking back up at Fay, she let out a tired grunt before leaning back into the chair to stretch her back a little.

    ''unting her breasts again? Ughh!'' Watching the ties on Moriyana''s blouse loosen from the stretch, Fay felt somewhat embarrassed and even a little jealous. When she leaned forward once again, the strings on her blouse were so barely hanging that Fay couldn''t help but stare at her heavy breasts nearly pouring out of her clothes.

    "Riana! Bring me a drink!" She grunted before bringing her attention back to Fay again. "And no I don''t have it."

    "What¡­" Dumbfounded by her answer, Fay leaned forward onto the table to confront her closely. "Tell me that''s a lie because I didn''te all the way here for such a lousy excuse."

    "I need some time okay? The duke has promised to gather the ingredients for that potion," still rubbing her forehead to drive away the hangover, Moriyana stared at the entrance to the other room. Coming out through it with a bottle of wine and a ss, Riana quickly set them on the table in front of her. "Thank you¡­no wait, next time don''t bad mouth me in front of the duke!"

    Puffing up her cheeks, Riana turned around and went on her way to clean the rest of the mansion. ncing over the small exchange, Fay pulled up a chair in front of Moriyana to further confront her about the matter.

    "You told me it''d be ready now, don''t back off!" She yelled, ring at the drunken mistress.

    "Oh shut up you chatan! Let me drink!" Pouring into the ss, she offered it to Fay. "Here, drink some so you can digest that stick up your arse."

    "Will you stop insulting me at least?" Knowing there was no stopping her when she was drunk, Fay simply took the ss from her hands. "And what''s with all the favors the duke is doing for you? What''s that about?"

    Taking a hit directly from the bottle, Margarette set it aside before picking up a quill. Fixing her eyes on Fay, she reached into the drawer and picked out a bunch of undone documents. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Don''t poke your nose Fay, just wait until the duke gets the ingredient for your love potion, you''ll be done in a jiffy once it''s all in my hands," as a master of potions, Fay had to take Moriyana''s word for it. "I need those ingredients myself, controlling people¡­Nah, I mean controlling ves requires all kinds of charming potions."

    Intentionally disregarding the controlling human part, Fay sipped onto the wine to discuss furtherpensations.

    "I''m never giving you free ware ever again," she murmured.

    "Yeahhh, you shouldn''t," Moriyanaughed it off.

    ***

    While riding the carriage back to the castle, Haruki was still trying to work through everything that Moriyana had told him. Going back to her for advice every time, made him wonder if she should be deemed the honorary title of a councilmen.

    ''Relying on her is going to backfire sooner orter,'' Even though she was his servant, the way she interacted with him was vastly different from the others.

    "Master, have you decided what we should work on first?" Holding Haruki''s hand, Asuka looked right into his eyes. A hint of concern trailed off her gaze, letting Haruki know that his sore mood was affecting everyone around him. "Or should we take a rest for the day and decided on itter?"

    "Capturing Minotaurs won''t be easy regardless, so I''d advise we take our time to think about it," added Riley.

    "What about the girl? You need her skills but-"

    "For that, we need to capture some Minotaurs first¡­" cutting off Margarette he was left in deep thought. "Then there''s that surprise of hers that we know nothing about."

    ''Why the hell does she need minotaurs to create the potions anyway?'' Although he had left Moriyana''s ce with most of his questions answered, a barrage of new questions assaulted him right after. At least we''ll have the gold to construct the bypass, and the illegal businesses should start earning us some good amount soon too.''

    Handing the corruption of hisnd into the hands of a subus was perhaps the best way to reach his ultimate goal of taking his revenge by corrupting all of As.

    "Some of the adventurers we''ve worked with might have some idea on how to capture minotaurs," although he doubted the possibility that anyone would take on a request to capture such raging beasts, he was still willing to give it a try. "If nothing else, we might have to do some adventuring ourselves."

    ncing around the three, he put up a cherry facade to not further discourage them with his dull mood. After exchanging quick nces at each other only Riley seemed a bit enthusiastic about heading into a dungeon filled with monsters.

    "We are the demons, there''s nothing in those caves we need to be worried about," right as Haruki spoke those words, the ride came to a stop at their destination.

    ''Not like we have much of a choice.'' He thought, but it to himself.

 Chapter 71 71 - The Emperor

    ?

    Laying in a dark alley between two buildings, a young boy in ragged clothes shot his gaze up toward the sky. Dribbling onto him, a drop of rain grazed against his parched lips before strolling down his unkempt chin. Covered in mud and filth, the rain showered his body and even quenched his dire thirst.

    "You wanted to see me?" Appearing out of a sparkling blue portal, a man stood towering beside the boy. "What is it? A kingdom in Feralnd? Or did they find air of one of the demon lords in the Scorchen Gaia?"

    Moving his fingers over the lips, the boy shushed the suited man. Stretching his hand outward, he delighted in the sight of water pooling into his palm. Irked by his behavior the man scowled and rolled his eyes in frustration.

    "Micheal coronated a new duke, he''s rather young don''t you think?" the boy mumbled.

    Bringing his palm closer to his lips, he drank the water in one swift gulp. As the water trailed down his throat he felt his body being rejuvenated with life.

    "He might be, but why does that matter?" Speaking in retaliation, the man forced the boy to finally look him in the eye.

    "Perhaps it''s just my imagination, but in case it isn''t, would you like to keep an eye on that boy?" ring at the man with his dead silver eyes, the boy kept staring until the man''s indifferent demeanor was broken by an eerie feeling.

    "Why? What''s so special about this boy?" He asked, nervously adjusting his tie.

    Offering no answer to that question, the boy simply turned back to his palms to gather more of the rumbling rain. Enshwored himself in an aura of protection, not an ounce of water had dropped on the man''s suit, and to further the conversation without having the boy be distracted, he cast an aura of protection around him as well.

    "Razor¡­" Wearing a frown, the boy turned to look at him again. "The next time you cast a spell on me, I''ll have you die a thousand deaths."

    Menacingly smiling at the young man named Razor, the boy waited for him to undo the protection spell. Regardless of the cold, a trail of sweat strolled down Razor''s head from the warning. Quickly undoing the spell, he let the boy be.

    "I''ll¡­be off then," he mumbled, staring at the boy ying with the rain again. "But I can''t promise much, especially the duke''s life if he''s as arrogant as Micheal told us about."

    Watching the boy nodding his head, Razor conjured a lightning portal and disappeared right through it.

    "I wonder if they''ll ever understand what it means to wield true power," whispering to himself, the boy curled into his raggy clothes and closed his eyes to fall asleep. "Haruki Shin¡­I wonder where I''ve heard that name?"

    ***

    "Check," Asmodia chuckled, having pushed Haruki into a corner.

    "Again¡­goddammit," Frustrated for losing to her again, Haruki resigned without pushing the game further. "I have better things to be doing right now."

    "Don''t lie, sweetheart, you were done for the day. I would be too if I had to deal with that bbermouth drunkard," throughout the game, and even now, she was trying to poke at Moriyana to perhaps dig up something of interest.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You''re just mad that she killed that bat spy of yours," Haruki replied, trying his best to keep his mind distracted from thinking back to the note. "Why did you bring me here again, anyway? Another tea party or something simr?"

    After the busy day with Moriyana, he was swept into a dream the moment his head hit the hay. And despite harboring deep contempt towards the witch, he had little choice in the matter but to keep her entertained through a perpetual game of chess.

    "Ughh¡­you know, sometimes you remind me of a snarky little boy with a tongue just as rancid," rolling her eyes, she looked away from Haruki''s face and gazed into the abyss.

    "Yeah, I doubt anyone would want to put up with you like I do," enraging her further, Haruki kept stabbing her with insults. "The only difference is that I don''t have a choice."

    "Watch it, warrior¡­" turning to look at him again, she stared at him intently. "I might not be able to hurt you because of the contract but that doesn''t mean I can make you regret every word you speak against me."

    Knowing better than to push her further, Haruki let go of the topic and began rearranging the pieces on the board.

    "So what do you really want?" he asked, unsure why she was meeting with him so often.

    "I don''t want anything from you, not this time, instead I have something to offer," her reply left Haruki puzzled.

    Raising his head to look right at her, he leaned back into the chair. Wondering if she was plotting yet another trap, he couldn''t help but question her intentions.

    "Stop doubting me, I''m not plotting anything this time," returning Haruki''s gaze, she snapped her fingers and turned the chessboard into a tea set. "I just wanna offer you something, something that might be useful to us both."

    Still a bit reluctant about trusting her, he decided to listen to what she had to say first.

    "What are you offering exactly?" he asked, picking up the cup before she forced him to.

    "As you might already know, I''m of the few remaining demon lords of this world," smiling as she watched Haruki take a sip, she picked up her cup as well. "And even if we''re but monsters in the eyes of others, we still needpanions and to some degree each other."

    "What the hell are you getting at exactly?" Running out of patience, Haruki just wanted to hear the main point.

    Closing her eyes she pressed her lips shut to regain herposure. Slowly opening them back up she huffed out a sigh and red back at Haruki.

    "Once it''s all over, and I have my army and you have had your revenge," squinting her eyes, she peered right into his soul for a true unfiltered answer. "Would you consider being one of the demon lords?"

 Chapter 72 72 - Corruption Bleeds Gold (Part 1)

    ?

    [Sensitive content warning]

    "By Asmodia''s order, consume my enemies!" Trying to cast a dark magic spell for the hundredth time, Haruki could no longer bear to keep repeating those incantations.

    "Consume!" When Haruki''s spell failed, Margarette used her own magic to drain all the energy from an enemy slime. After just a few seconds the slime was stripped of all power and got turned into ash.

    "Why does yours work but mine doesn''t?" He grunted, frustrated out of his mind.

    "Unlike you, I''ve been a mage my whole life," pointing to the sapphire brooch hanging by Haruki''s neck Margarette exined further. "Besides you''ve been too heavily reliant on that thing so obviously trying to cast spells by yourself will give you some trouble."

    "You didn''t have to do the incantations," Haruki mumbled in response.

    "That''s because she used to be a holy mage, but you were a swordsman in your previous life, the contrast in those two sses must be hard for your soul to work around," Finally been shown Haruki''s memories on their visit to Moriyana, Riley was already adding valuable input wherever needed.

    "Ekkk! Riley help me!" Asuka cried running away from a slithery slime following her through the grassy open ins.

    "Ughhh¡­" Shrugging her shoulders, Riley reached into her cape and took out a throwing knife.

    Swiftly throwing it in the direction of the slime, she pierced through it in a single shot. Squealing out a cry the slime lowered into a puddle before turning into ash.

    ''If this is our situation in an open grass field, then I don''t have high hopes for us if we have to fight monsters in a dank decrepit dungeon.'' Failing to recruit any adventurers after sending out anonymous flyers in the adventurer''s guild, Haruki knew he had no other choice but to capture the minotaurs himself. ''No wonder nobody wants to go after minotaurs if defeating slimes is already this hard.''

    "Didn''t you kill a person before? Why does slime bother you so much?" Walking closer to her, Riley asked Asuka.

    "It''s different! And don''tin to me I''m your master!" She growled.

    "Alright, alright," Riley''s casual response only enraged her further.

    "Forget it, for now, we''re going back to the city," standing shaded under a tree, Haruki yelled out to the two. "I need to check some stuff in the city."

    Turning to look back at Haruki, both of them seemed a bit delighted that the practice monster hunt was over. Margarette felt the same, although in her case she was enjoying her alone time with Haruki by teaching him about magic skills.

    "Mask presence: Arnold," turning into his mercenary form, Haruki eyed the others to do the same.

    Once they had all turned back into their disguises, they were off on their way back to the city. Having escaped the castle by using their clones, walking on foot was the only unfortunate option they had.

    "Bedona, Ray, go meet up with Moriyana, she''ll give you our cut of the gold, you have to drop it off with Arnold the treasurer," sending the two off on their own mission, Haruki decided to check up on the crime and see what kind of state the duchy really was in.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Sweeping by the streets in broad daylight, Haruki wasn''t expecting to see much, however, that all changed when he saw the two men who he''d saved Riana from. Hanging around in the same alley, they both instantly noticed Haruki approaching them from a distance. Shaken by his sudden appearance, their body jolted back in terror from the memories of that unfortunate night.

    "Moriyana put you two to good use I''m assuming?" Standing in front of them, he red them down with tightly squinted eyes. "What are you gents up to? Tell me."

    With only the slightest idea of Haruki''s rtionship with their master, both of them knew better than to oppose him in any way. Steeling their heart, they reached for the cors hidden inside their hoods. It served as a reminder of what Haruki had done to them and how he''d trapped them through the city tugging on the same piece of cloth.

    "W-we were just asked to rm others in case we see any guards," muttered one of them.

    ''Looking for guards? Gorgon already knows we''re earning blood money, so why would Moriyana have them stationed here?'' Wanting to know more, Haruki moved even closer to the two. Grabbing the guy who''d just spoken by the shoulders, he red down at him as intimidation.

    "Show me everything you know about your master''s operations," urging Asuka to use charm on them from the back, Haruki managed to get them under his spell. "Lead the way."

    Following the two for a while, he was led into an inn at the very corner of the business district. There after being introduced as an aplice of Moriyana he was led further down into the basement where a file of masked men were shedding sweat working on some sort of hallucinogenic herb.

    "This smells horrible¡­" Scowling at the putrid smell, Asuka covered her nose. Even though she was posing at the busty mage Rise, her senses were keen as her demi-form form.

    "What kind of drug is it?" Haruki asked one of the workers.

    At first, he gave Haruki a nasty look wondering why he was being bossed by a stranger, but noticing the familiar faces of his guides, he quickly gave him an answer.

    "It''s Mesha, gets you higher than a cloud," picking up a sealed bag he handed it to Haruki. "Used to be a fertility drug, but when the empire found out about its aphrodisiac effects they banned it from every kingdom and duchy."

    ''She''s trying to get the people hooked with drugs that affect libido, I doubt it''d be long before she tries to introduce prostitution too.'' Scanning the ce, he noticed boxes upon boxes of the drug being carried out of the back entrance.

    "How much are we selling each day?" he asked, still following the boxes with his gaze.

    "Almost all of it, but once we get that bypass done then we might have to increase production to smuggle into other duchies," shooting a sharp gaze, the worker got back to his station.

    From there the two guides took him to the other hubs of crimes. Most of them were under Haruki''s expected profession, but then there were some that shocked even his demonic instincts.

    ''I knew these royalties were never up to any good,'' standing in a ughterhouse of people, Haruki was ring at the shocking sight of the corpses hung up by hook.

    "Do people really eat other people?" Still possessing a bit of innocence Asuka couldn''t believe the truth.

    "They do but don''t feel bad, everyone we kill was neck deep in debt," answered the first pale vampire they both had ever seen.

 Chapter 73 73 - Corruption Bleeds Gold (Part 2)

    ?

    [Sensitive content warning]

    Walking through the human ughterhouse, the vampire called Mormen was lecturing on and on about how all the meat was processed before being shipped to royalty and nobles who were willing to pay to fulfill their twisted desires.

    "Not all of them are eaten though, some are kept alive for¡­"ing out of the ughterhouse, Mormen turned around to address the two mercenaries directly. "Tormentation, maybe even masochistic ys, or well, you might already know where I''m going with this."

    "Necrophilia?" Haruki added.

    "What? No! Why would they want them alive then?" Wearing a contorted frown he almost seemed offended by what Haruki said.

    "I''ll just close my ears," covering her ear with her hand, Asuka started walking further ahead.

    "So who are you buying? Someone alive or someone dead?" sping his pale hands he began rubbing them together like a sleazy salesman.

    "None," Haruki replied before joining Asuka up ahead.

    Baffled by the reply, Mormen kept on ring at Haruki until he disappeared from his sight. ck-jawed he turned to the buffoons who had brought him here and wasted so much of his time.

    "He just wanted to have a look,"

    "The mistress has some kind of rtionship with him, we couldn''t say no,"

    Hearing the words of the men acting as Haruki''s guide, Mormen clenched his teeth and threw his hat on the ground.

    "Get the fuck away from here!" He roared with bleeding eyes. "The next time I see you I''ll hang you lots on the meat racks!"

    Terrified of the vampire, the men began dashing away in the direction they hade from. Stumbling here and there, they stole a few horrified nces at the bloodthirsty vampire itching to rip their heads. While the men stormed off back to where they were at the start of the day, Haruki and Asuka were headed off to the adventurer''s guild as theirst stop for the day.

    ''I didn''t think she''d be able to take over all of this in the time it took me to return from Daria, it''s frightening to think what she can do if left unsupervised.''  Thinking about cing a demonic spy on Moriyana, Haruki kept walking through the street with his mind upied with thoughts.

    Asuka too was no different, seeing all the bleeding corruption and carnage she wondered who the real demons were. Her and her master or the countless humans willingly working under puppets being controlled by Moriyana? Whatever the answer was, she didn''t really want an answer.

    "Miss Rise!" Called a familiar voice as they approached the guild.

    Turning to the voice Maggie''s voice, the two noticed the clovers rushing over to them. Wearing cheery smiles, they stopped in front of Rise. It was their first time meeting up with her aftering back from Daria, and thus excited to tell her about everything about the journey, they couldn''t contain their joy.

    Delighted to see them again, Asuka instinctively beamed a smile.

    "Your boyfriend is here too, huh?" Garth said, trying to tease Rise.

    Lacking the energy for any serious response, Asuka nervously let out a chuckle. A bit disappointed by ack of reaction, Garth perceptively noticed the downed tone in their bodies, but knowing better than to poke at other people''s matters he let it quickly slip off his mind.

    "Let''s head in, we have lots to tell you!" Jumping up and down, Maggie urged the group to move forward.

    Their destination being the same, they decided to go along with the clovers.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''We needed info on monster hunting, but I doubt the clovers would be any help.'' Deciding against including them, Haruki headed into the guild with the rest of the group. However, as soon as they entered, a loud thumping sound perked up their senses.

    "You call this an adventurer? Don''t make meugh," dressed formally in a blue suit, a strange man mocked an adventurer he''d just thrown over the bar counter. "It''s a pit really, what passes as an adventurer these days."

    Staggering on his feet, the fallen adventurer gradually pulled himself up the counter. As soon as Haruki and the others saw his face, they all felt an urgency to rush over to him for help.

    "It''s Kane!" Cried Maggie rushing towards him with no regard for her own safety.

    "Get away from him, mister!" Garth yelled following right behind her.

    Terrified of the man, Maya clenched tightly on her staff and slowly made her way towards Kane.

    "What''s happening?" Asked Haruki, scanning the ce for other members of Kane''s party.

    Unfortunately, apart from him, there didn''t seem to be any other member of the silver storm in the guild. And even the people present were simply acting as bystanders not wanting to stick their legs in some stranger''s quarrel.

    "You bastard, you take that back or I''m gonna break every bone in your body!" Before anyone could get to him, Kane growled at the man.

    Climbing out of the counter, he grabbed onto his greatsword and flung it at the man from its blunt end. However, before it reached the man, he took out his fencer and redirected the greatsword''s trajectory away from him and onto the ground.

    "Weak," he whispered as Kane''s sword stabbed through the wooden floor.

    "By As, if you don''t shut up I''ll fu-"

    "Shut up," stabbing him on the head with the fencer''s hilt, the man made Kane fall unconscious. "Subpar at best, and I was told he was one of the best in town."

    Struggling toprehend how easily Kane was defeated, all the others simply stood there petrified by the disy of strength by the stranger. Brushing off his short blonde hair, he drew the fencer back and turned around to the onlookers.

    "Anyone else want a try?" He said, lightly bowing in a ceremonious manner.

    ''Fuck it.'' Annoyed by his cheeky attitude as well as the fact that he''d hurt someone who''d been of great help to him, Haruki could no longer control his urge to battle. Taking a step forward as Asuka, clover and even the other adventurers watched, he drew out a sword and held it directed towards the man.

    "I don''t usually like to fight, but you''re not gonna hurt one of my friends and just walk off without a scratch," the difference in their skills was monumental, and yet for the first time Haruki had no real n but he wasn''t gonna back off from the fight.

    "A friend, huh?" Drawing his fencer out, he directed it toward Haruki as well. "Don''t disappoint me then, go ahead, avenge your friend."

    "I will," closing his eyes, Haruki thought back to the time he was being trained by Michael.

    ''Surprise your foe beforending the first strike, that''s the only way to throw off a stronger enemy.'' Although he hated the man''s guts, he couldn''t deny his proficiency in dueling, and thus taking a swift dash toward the stranger, he let out a discharge of mana from every pore of his body.

    "Clone!!!!!" He roared, swarming his foe with his lookalikes.

 Chapter 74 74 - The Strongest In The Duchy

    ?

    Following Haruki''s war cry a flood of his clones swarmed the stranger from every direction. With des stabbing in his direction, the man stomped his feet on the ground and disappeared with a thunderous roar. Stumped by the sight, Haruki scanned the guild hall with his clones, but one after the other as they began disappearing from phantom attacks, he knew he wasn''t gonnast long in this fight.

    ''Where the hell is this guy?'' Despite his eyes feverishly surveying the ce, he couldn''t even catch a single glimpse of the man. The only proof of his presence was the sound of thunder going off every time a clone was being taken down.

    "Illumination!" Discarding his n to attack, Haruki tried to blind his opponent so he could Kane out and escape with the others, however, as soon as the spell began burning brightly none of his clones were left and thus, he was the only target left.

    "Cheap tricks won''t work on me," the man whispered right into his ears before bringing the hilt down on Haruki''s head.

    Seeping into his cranium, the pain from the focused strike assaulted his brain like a jolt of lighting and forced him to his knees before falling face-first onto the dusty floor.

    ''W-who did he¡­figure out all the clones and leave me forst?'' With his eyes barely staying open and his mind drifting off, he heard Asuka''s concerned cry as she dashed over to him in a rush.

    "Get away!" She told the man standing beside Haruki.

    Rolling his eyes, he drew in his saber before getting down on his knees to take a look at the injured mercenary. Watching as Asuka healed Haruki with healing touch, he let off a chuckle to mock the fallen warrior.

    "Pathe-" Before another insult escaped his lips, he felt a heavy weight descending down onto his shoulder. "Aghh!"

    Grunting to the pain shooting through his shoulder des, the stranger was forced to the ground with his teeth gritted together. Wasting not even a second, he turned around to confront the assant.

    "What?! I thought¡­" Surprised to see Kane back on his feet carrying the great sword, no further words came out of his mouth.

    "Surprised, are we?" Kane mocked, swinging the sword onto him once again.

    This time not being distracted, however, the man on the ground disappeared with a rumble of thunder and even managed to shock Kane before escaping his de. Feeling the electrocution down to his gums, Kane drew the sword back onto the shoulder.

    "I''ll heal you again!" Maya offered, rushing close to Kane.

    "Is he still here?" Garth asked, holding his shield up in case Kane was attacked while Maya was healing him.

    "Yes, I can smell him," not realizing she was in a human form, Asuka informed the group.

    "He won''t be here for long, rejuvenation!" Having recovered enough mana to use the skill, Haruki slowly made it back onto his feet. "Where the hell are the guards anyway?"

    "As if they''ll help, looking the other way is what they''re being paid for these days," Kane''sment was a bit concerning but Haruki decided to ignore it for now.

    "Where is he?" Picking up his sword, Haruki asked Rise.

    "Turn around birdie," However instead of Asuka, the answer came from the man himself.

    Whispering into his ears again, he appeared right behind Haruki and drew his sword back to stab him right through. In a moment of panic, Haruki''s mind froze up and the sword in his hand slipped through his fingers.

    "Fuck off!" Cursed Kane, trying to bash the man away.

    But once again before his shoulders could pin him to the wall, the man disappeared and reappeared behind Kane.

    "This mouse chase is tiring," he mumbled before piercing through Kane''s armor with his saber.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Shaking from the stabbing pain, Kane''s sword slipped through his hands as well, but unlike Haruki who had little experience fighting in this life, Kane powered through the hurt and clutched the saber''s de going through his body.

    "Fortress!" Growling out the skill name, a sharp carved rock appeared out of his back and nearly punctured the man''s body like a porcupine.

    Leaving his saber in his belly, the stranger managed to get away in time. However, as he stood there looking at Kane''s body covered in sharp de-like rocks an amused smile crept up on him.

    "I may have been wrong about you adventurer," chuckling to himself, he made the saber disappear from Kane''s body and get back to the clutches of his fingers. "I''ll leave you for now, but don''t try to tell me what I can say and what I can''t next time."

    Disappearing again, the stranger''s presence was now finally gone. Turning to Asuka to make sure of his time, Haruki received an immediate nod.

    "Are you okay?" Maggie asked the two men who''d been fighting.

    "Rejuvenation!" Not waiting for any answer, Haruki made sure the stab wound on Kane was sealed offpletely.

    The very moment Kane''s body reconstructed the flesh, he huffed out a sigh and turned towards this stranger helping him.

    "Thank a lot, that hurt like a¡­" noticing Rise standing beside Haruki, Kane refrained frompleting that sentence. "Anyway, thanks a lot, you were a fine fighter."

    Hispliment, while genuine, made Haruki feel weaker inparison. Despite leveling up so much, he had a long way to go until he was even close to the level of the best adventurer in town.

    "How the hell did you even survive so many blows? And forcing that guy to retreat with a saber through your stomach¡­" Lacking appropriate words tomend Kane, Haruki left wondering what to say.

    "Ehhh¡­wouldn''t be the first time I nearly died, right Maggie?" Turning to Maggie, Kane put on a smirk.

    "Yup!" Maggie eximed, jumping happily on her feet.

    "We were just about to tell miss Rise''s boyfriend about our journey to Daria, but¡­" Looking around the ce Garth pointed out the broken state of the ce.

    "Wait? Miss Rise has a boyfriend?!" Having met Rise while being recruited for the Daria journey, Kane pretended to be surprised to tease her a bit. "Well, who''s surprised really, her man seems like a charmer ahaha."

    Bumping his shoulder against Haruki heughed out loud. Blushing at thement Asuka covered her blushing face before punching Kane over the shoulders.

    "Who the hell was that by the way?" Asked Haruki, trying to understand the situation a bit better. "And why was he attacking you?"

    Slowly killing off his ownugh, Kane was just about to answer, but then from the room behind the counter screamed a loud voice.

    "AHHHH! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO THE PLACE?!" ring at Kane, the female receptionist was burning up in anger. "YOU BETTER PAY FOR THE REPAIRS!"

    ''Shouldn''t the duchy pay for repairs?'' Haruki couldn''t help but wonder whether the adventurer''s guild was a private business or belonged to the kingdom.

    "There goes another paycheck," Kane let out with a tired huff.

    "I''ll pay," Haruki offered.

 Chapter 75 75 â€“ The Blue Suited Stalker

    ?

    "So, he insulted adventurers, and that escted to a fight?" Given the scale of the conflict, Haruki had expected more of a dire reason to stab someone through their body.

    "Pretty much yeah, but I''ve heard he does that everywhere," Kane replied.

    "You''ve heard of him?" Haruki asked, intrigued by Kane''s reply.

    "What you haven''t?" Baffled that Haruki didn''t know about the man, Kane''s brows furrowed in confusion. "He''s a military general for the emperor, you''ve really not heard of him?"

    ''Military general? The only one I know about is Michael since I had to work under him.'' Being passed a drink by one of the waitresses in the adventurer''s guild, Haruki''s chain of thought was broken abruptly.

    "I thought the emperor liked secrecy, so why would his military generals cause so much ruckus?" Being under the impression that most of the emperor''s closest aides were masked in mysteria, Haruki couldn''t understand why this person would bring so much attention to themselves.

    "Not everyone is like that, I mean, this Razor guy he''s just a narcissistic jerk who likes to beat up inexperienced adventurers," picking up his own mug, he took a heavy sip and let out an exalted gasp. "God knows what his problem is, but I had to give him a taste of my de."

    From the edge of his eye on the same table, Haruki noticed Asuka stopping the waitress to order some food, even though she hated the food outside the castle.

    ''She must be tired, we really should head back, Margarette and Riley must be done with the treasurer too.'' Taking a moment to fill up their bellies and rx, Haruki and Asuka spend their time with Kane until the rest of his party joined him for dinner at the guild.

    "You can''t be serious¡­" Muttered Lucy, casting a healing spell on Kane even though he didn''t need it. "Fighting a military general, what were you thinking?"

    "Don''t worry about it, not like I would''ve died," Kane replied,ughing to himself.

    "Yeah, because Razor really cares about adventurers, right?" Growling at him, Diana red at him down with burning rage in her eyes. "He''s rumored to have killed adventurers before, just be thankful we''re treating you and not going to the duke to report a murder by one of the emperor''s finest."

    "Well seems like Laria''s finest chased away emperor''s finest-" mming her staff on Kane''s head, Diana stopped him frompleting his sentence.

    "Anyways, thanks for the help mister¡­" Extending his hand towards Haruki, Arthur was waiting for him to tell him his name.

    "Arnold, I''m Rise''s boyfriend I think you''ve met her before," pointing to Asuka, Haruki made her blush with thement again.

    Looking back and forth between the two, Arthur let out augh before shaking Haruki''s hand.

    "I didn''t know Miss Rise had such a ragged taste in men," although he meant to give apliment, what left his mouth managed exactly the opposite. "Don''t get me wrong, but you''re one rough-looking man Arnold, have you worked as a soldier before? That look in your eyes is too much of a tell."

    Reading right through Haruki, Arthur wasn''t far away from the truth. But shrugging his shoulders, Haruki left Arnold''s past open to interpretation.

    "Anyways, we should get going, it''s been a long day for both of us," receiving heartfelt thanks from the silver storm and waving bye to the clovers, Haruki and Asuka were both on their way back to the castle.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Tired from the events of the day, they kept on walking with no sense of precaution. Even Asuka''s senses were at an all-time low.

    ''Who the hell is this guy?'' Following them through torn spaces, Razor Alumnibolt was quite intrigued by the duo. ''Those abilities he used were frompletely different magic affinities, how did he manage that?''

    While engaging Razor, Haruki used not only the dark magic ability to clone but also the illuminating power of light magic. Had it been any otherbination, Razor would''ve just taken him as a gifted person, but being able to use those attributes of magic was impossible for humans.

    "Unless¡­" Mulling over a sinister thought, Razor kept following them back to the castle.

    After meeting up with Margarette and Riley by the gates, Haruki changed back into Snow and Asuka transformed back into her wolf form as well. Watching from afar, Razor''s interest in the matter escted further. He knew something was off about the two, but he''d never expected them to be the duke and his infamous maid.

    ''Is it really him or is this clone as well?'' Now the only question in his mind was whether someone else was pretending to be the duke or if the duke himself was some shapeshifting demon. ''I need to f-''

    All of a sudden sensing a direct gaze on him, Razor noticed Riley looking right in his direction.  The very next moment, as Riley disappeared from his sight, Razor quickly teleported away to avoid anyplications.

    "What?" Riley whispered, appearing back up in the ce Razor had been hiding. "I thought I sensed someone here."

    Looking around the ce, however, he wasn''t able to find any trace of someone being there recently. Coming rushing to Riley, the three others gave him confused stares. Not knowing what had happened all of them were a bit lost and that even included Riley herself.

    "What are you doing here?" Asked Margarette, grabbing Riley by the arm in her worries.

    "We have to get back into the castle, don''t wander off like that!" Comined Asuka.

    "Sorry, I just thought I sensed someone from here," Still looking around, Riley''s answer made all of them a bit concerned.

    "Are you sure?" Realizing his w in changing appearance without any caution, Haruki cursed himself internally.

    "I''m not sure, there''s no trace of a person being here so¡­" Shaking her Riley pushed the confusion out of her head. "It could''ve been a mistake."

    Left without any certainty, Haruki wasn''t sure whether to keep looking for this unknown stalker or take it that Riley made a mistake and head back into the castle.

    "We should use the dungeon to change appearance from now, doing it haphazardly is eventually bound to cause trouble," offering the advice, Haruki closed his eyes to have them all be consumed by the dungeon. "Send us all to our rooms."

    With that said, four individual holes opened under them and consumed them whole. After going through a small tear in reality they were spat out away from each other and into their assigned rooms.

 Chapter 76 76 - Experimentations[Incoming Badass Warning]

    ?

    After contemting whether to hire adventurers or fight them himself, Haruki hade up with an excellent alternative. Every time he saw a monster, he would open up a portal into the dungeon and have them all cramped into an extremely small room. After a while, only the strongest of the bunch survived, unfortunately, however, as he kept descending down the cavernous dungeon all he saw were goblins and slimes.

    "Dark ice spear," trying to conjoin his magic affinities, Haruki kept experimenting on the weaker monster. "Dammit, it didn''t work."

    It rarely worked, but when it did the mana consumed to output ratio was marginally lower than the normal spells.

    "Dark light, consume them all!" Crawling out of his skin, a miasma of dark consumed every living thing in its wake. Like a parasite feasting on a dead body, the miasma ate the victims alive as they screamed. "At least something is working."

    Watching the slimes being disintegrated by the miasma Haruki made his way further into the dank ce. A bit overconfident in his n, he had arrived all by himself in the duchy''s closest dungeon. From what he''d heard, only experienced adventurers ever ventured into the dungeon as it was a great way for them to continue their growth after hitting a stunting growth wall.

    ''I''ve been stuck at level eighty for a while, and draining levels isn''t working either.'' Having hit his own growth wall, Haruki was deeply curious as to how he was supposed to ovee it.

    Spawning a bunch of demonic spies, he tried to kill some monster with them and see if that would allow him to gain level. Swarming a bunch of slimes with them, he had them eat away at their core, but with the meager experience, slimes gave off he wasn''t sure if he hadn''t reached the level cap yet or if the experiment wasn''t working at all.

    "Go and find some stronger monsters for me, especially minotaurs," sending them off, Haruki began looking around the ce again.

    After a while of searching, he ran into some kobolds which he decided to check his fencing on. One after the other they fell victim to the saber that Haruki had been storing in one of the dungeon portals. Much like Riley''s cape, he was now able to store as much stuff as he wanted with the help of his familiar tormentous dungeon.

    "Last one¡­" He muttered. Appearing out of the monster''s shadow, Haruki managed to kill thest one of the kobolds.

    ''I feel like I''ve beencking experience with my skills or else these abilities are surprisingly good.'' Opening up his screen of stats, he thought of checking in case, by some miracle he''d level up, but the numbers on the spectral screen were still the same. ''If only it showed a list of spells I can cast.''

    Not knowing much about magic, whatever he tried seemed to mostly fail. The only other thing he noticed this time were near transparent bony fingers right at the end of the area where it disyed his levels. ''Did I miss that before?''

    "What is it?" He mumbled all to himself.

    ''Announcement: Once a monster has hit a level cap, it must pray on something stronger for a ss upgrade!'' Muttering that announcement, the skull under the stat screen cackled.

    "I didn''t know you could speak?" Haruki said, but it didn''t reply. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Even at the very beginning when he''d tried to make the announcement voice in his head to exin the abilities more than once, it had always failed to repeat the exnation. The voice itself sounded so simr to that of Asmodia''s, it made Haruki wonder if it was just another way for her to remind us who''s the real master.

    ''She did say people get cocky when they get stronger, and listening to her voice every time we level up must be a reminder.'' Sensing that one of the demonic spies had spotted a horde of minotaurs, Haruki opened up a portal underneath him before appearing right next to the demonic spy.

    Hidden behind a wall of stgmites, the spies were stalking a hoard of minotaurs pacing around the entrance of a cave. Just one look at her gargantuan body was enough to make Haruki reconsider his decision toe here alone.

    ''I''m done being dependent on people.'' With each step of their feet, the ground shook about violently, and every grunting exhale from their noses steamed the ce with a putrid smell. Drenched in sweat, a total of six minotaurs were continuously pacing around making the whole room heat up from their body temperature alone. ''Fucking hell it''s hard to breathe.''

    Bracing himself, he decided to push forward before his mind changed.

    "Shadow sneak!" Activating the spell, he crept on closer to them through the dark spaces by the walls.

    Getting close to them, he attached himself to one of their shadows. Now all he had to do was open up a portal underneath to send them all off into his own dungeon and there with the help of the tentacles he could capture them easily without having to fight them head-on.

    "Take them aw-" However, it was never going to be that simple.

    The moment Haruki tried to call the familiar a bright green ne around their necks warned them of danger by emanating strong light.

    Frantically looking around, they began thrashing about in the air, perhaps expecting the enemy to be invisible. Realizing he didn''t have much time, Haruki tried to call onto the dungeon once more, but every time he tried that the ne would start glowing brighter and brighter.

    ''Why isn''t the dungeon entrance consuming them?!'' ring at the ne, he knew it was the cause of all the ruckus. ''That fucking thing must be protecting them¡­if that''s the case then I might have to get those things off of these bastards!''

    Coming out of the shadows, Haruki shapeshifted into a minotaur as well. Being right behind one as he escaped through the shadow, Haruki held his hand over the back of its head, and conjuring a giant icicle he shot it right through his cranium.

    "Aghhhhh! Fuck this shit!!! Ahaha," raging with the hormones of a minotaur in its breeding season, Haruki was itching for a fight. "I''ll tear those fucking skulls off of you bastards!!!"

    Stomping at the fallen Minotaur, Haruki mocked the others with a grin.

 Chapter 77 77 - The Love For Carnage[Violence And Extreme Gore]

    ?

    Conjuring up two des of ice protruding from his hands, Haruki leapt towards his first confused victim. Shaken and confused as to what was happening, and why one of their own was attacking them, the minotaurs stood there shocked for a moment before getting back to their senses.

    Right as the ice de was about to pierce through the throat of another Minotaur, the monster pulled up his axe and deflected the hit by using its t side as a shield. However, that wasn''t the end of Haruki''s attack. With one of the des deflected, Haruki was left hunched over and so drawing his other hand back he flung his fist upward and pierced through the monster''s belly.

    Holding its body up high with a single fist, Haruki nced around at the other four watching him in fright. Showered with blood and guts from the monster, he could still hear the scream from the struggling beast.

    "Who''s next? I only need one or two of you alive," he muttered, ring at them with bloodlust in his eyes.

    Pushing the body off of him, he used the spell ''dark light'' to consume the monster''s body while he was still alive. As the cacophony of his screams and the rampant iling of his body shook the whole ce, Haruki began moving towards the rest.

    "Clone: Minotaurs," springing out two clones of himself as Minotaurs, he decided to split up some of the work. "Capture the two on the back, I''ll handle the rest."

    With that said, he leaped forward once again, however, this time instead of using his de he had another experiment to try. Right as the terrified monster clutched its hand around the axe and swung it over its enemy''s head, Haruki turned into his shadow before appearing right behind him.

    "Let''s see if this works," petrifying the monster with those words, Haruki stabbed him with the des but stopped before his hand went right through. "Eat him from the inside, demonic spies!"

    "AGTHHHHTHH!" Cried the beasts as hundreds of spies began tearing him from the inside. Crawling into his organs, they kept eating them away one after the other.

    "HAAA!" Trying to take advantage of the situation, thest of the two tried tond a hit on Haruki while he was distracted.

    "Lulu," summoning the tentacle monster with the nickname Lulu, Haruki had it grab one of the beast''s legs to make it fall face-first onto the ground.

    The moment thest one in his portion fell down, Haruki left the other with the bats and walked up closer to him.

    "You know there''s one thing I haven''t tried yet," shapeshifting again, he turned into a busty subus. "I hate to do this, but apparently I can only hypnotize while I''m posing as the opposite sex."

    Stepping on the monster''s head with his heels, Haruki looked down at it almost tempted to scar him further. Although horrified by the sight it had just witnessed, it slowly nced up over the godly figure. Much like his incubus form, Haruki was d in tattoo-like clothes barely covering his privates. The breasts especially were pouring out like an overflowing mug.

    "Hypnosis: Tear off your heart and give it to me," giving it thatmand, Haruki turned back into an incubus.

    ''Hopefully, that''s all it needs to work.'' Its eyes devoid of emotions, the beast propped itself up and held its axe up high before his chest. Visibly gulping, it brought it down on itself tearing its own chest. ''Not yet done.''

    As the blood began pooling under him, the monster was brought to its knees when he took out the axe. Grunting in pain its whole body was shaking from blood loss, however, even then the monster reached into his own torn chest and began pulling on its own beating heart.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "AGTHHHTHHH!!!" It roared as it finally pulled the axe out of its body. But the moment he tried to pass it to Haruki, the monster fell down face first once again.

    Slowly approaching the beast with its heart still beating in its hand, Haruki whistled to the spies to feast on the heart before it stopped the palpation.

    "Go on enjoy, I know how much you love a live heart," snuggled up to Haruki in joy, one of the spies brushed lovingly against his cheeks "Ahaha, okay okay go on, I need to check on the others."

    Sending the spy off, Haruki turned his clones who had somehow managed to subjugate the two remaining beasts. The fear he''d instilled in them made them submit much faster, had it been entirely up to the clones then there was no way that they could''ve done it so easily.

    "Take them off, you stupid dungeon," taking off their nes, Haruki opened the portal underneath them and sent them off to his dungeon.

    Covered in blood and gore, Haruki wasn''t particrly happy with the familiar failing him because of the nes. In fact, now that the minotaur hormones weren''t affecting him, the putrid smell around him was about to make him vomit.

    "Grab the nes from the bodies," hoping the nes could be of use to him, he didn''t want to leave even a single one of them behind.

    ''Maybe Moriyana can look at the-no, wait¡­I''m half schr because of Snow''s body, I should try and learn how to figure these things out myself.'' Finally understanding the scope of his own abilities, Haruki didn''t wanna depend on her more than what was absolutely necessary.

    "Now to see what they were guarding exactly," turning around to the small cave, the beasts had been guarding, Haruki made his way inside.

    Making sure not to trigger any potential trap, he had himself floating in mid-air while moving further in. At the very end of the narrow cave, there were cryptic paints as well as stone cut sigil decorating the walls, and in the middle of it, all was an elevated tform with a small chest resting on top of it.

    "What''s this?" He whispered, taking the chest in his hands.

    Opening it up with caution, he revealed a ring of gold with a giant red gemstone. Painted on top of it was an ominous eye that growled brightly as Haruki set it into one of his fingers.

    ''Bloodthirst acquired!'' That announcement made Haruki scowl.

    "Great¡­" He sighed.

    As if tyrant''s heart, sadism, gluten of cruelty, and even his demonic instinct for corruption weren''t enough, Haruki managed to gain another passive ability that only made things worse.

    ''I guess as long as it gives me stats bonuses while fighting like the gluten ability, I shouldn''t beining.'' Remembering how much the gluten helped him while fighting the minotaurs, Haruki felt just a little better.

 Chapter 78 78 - On The Prowl For Prey

    ?

    Although he was supposed to meet up with the duke as soon as he reached the duchy after what he''s been through that was no longer an option. The news of his retreat during his fight with Kane had already circted Laria''s major cities, and although it didn''t affect his n, his priorities had certainly changed. Prowling the street looking for exactly what had interested the emperor about this tiny ce, Razor ran into a bunch of men passing around small parcels of drugs.

    "Really? They are producing Misha, here?" A bit disappointed by his find, he kept watching from afar as two guards approached the men carrying boxes.

    However, as the guards simply evaded the men walking out the front door of the rundown inn, Razor knew that something was wrong. Even though the packages were tightly shut, there was no way a guard wouldn''t smell the pundit smell the drug let off, and even if they did miss it by chance, watching two men taking out loaded boxes upon boxes from the empty inn was already suspicious enough on its own.

    "Do I now have to do their jobs as well? I was supposed to be fighting a demon nest in Gaia," disgruntled by the guards, Razor climbed out of the tear in space and appeared in front of the men loading up the carriage. "Alright gents, who first?"

    Taking out his fencer he flipped it like a knife before holding it level with their eyes. Shocked by his sudden appearance the men stood there petrified for a moment until one of them dropped the box in his hands and began running back into the empty inn. Following his lead, the other tried to turn around as well, but unfortunately for him, Razor only needed one of them to show him the base of operation.

    "Toote, too slow, too moronic," he whispered as a bolt of thunder sted the man into shreds.

    ''Ughh! My suit¡­'' The stter of blood sshing onto his clothes made him even more disgruntled than before.

    "Reality alter: get the blood off of my clothes," scanning his body like an x-ray, the ability reconstructed his clothes without any blood. "Now let''s see¡­"

    Walking into the inn, he took his time to look around the decrepit ce. The air heavy with dust irritated his throat, and the little light themps were giving was near to non-existent. Turning to the reception, he saw a beautiful brte working the counter. Her hair tied into a tail, she wore a warm smile on her red-painted lips.

    "How can I help you?" She asked, pretending to correct her work apron. "Oh! Sorry¡­"

    Intentionally making it fall off of her body, she revealed under it her lusty top showing off more than half of her breasts.

    "Where is the production line?" Razor asked, uninterested in the women''s attempts at seduction. "And don''t lie to me, I''ve just roasted one of you alive on the road outside."

    Upon hearing what he''d done, her whole demeanor changed. Widening her eyes in shock, she tried to look out of the front door, however, as the door blocked the view, she turned back to the man with a fear gripped heart.

    "I-I don¡­" staggering through her words, she began sweating from anxiety.

    Realizing that she wasn''t about to give out information without some help from his fencer, Razor slowly made his way toward the counter.

    "Lookdy, I don''t wanna hurt you, but I can burn this ce down with you in it if ites down to it," shooting her a menacing smirk, he stabbed his fencer on top of the wood counter.

    Unsure what to do, thedy fidgeted in ce staring at Razor''s dead serious expression.

    "So where''s the entrance to this drug den?" He asked, leaning against the counter.

    ncing sideways, she hesitated for a moment, but then fearing for her life, she stepped slightly off from where she was standing. Quickly getting down to her knees she reached to open thetch leading into the basement.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I-I can leave, r-right?" She asked, nervously cackling.

    "Go," he replied.

    The moment she heard that word, a relieved smile crept up on her face. Following his instruction, she started walking towards the exit, but before she could get out, Razor whistled out loud to get her attention back on him.

    "Reality Alter: Wither," he mumbled, cursing her beauty.

    Looking at him in confusion she didn''t realize what he''d just done, but as her body slowly began to ache, she brought her hand in front of her eyes to investigate what was happening. Like a dried bark her flesh was losing luster, and by the time she looked back up at Razor, her muscles shrank so much that her clothes all fell off of her body.

    "You shouldn''t try to seduce the reaper," he said, leaving her behind to age up until she died of elerated aging.

    "N-Noooo! St-sto-" trying to make him stop her gums gave in, making her teeth all off and stab her into the mouth.

    By the time Razor was getting down thest few steps into the drug den, the once beautifuldy was nothing but a lifeless wither. Waiting for him in the basement were about a hundred men armed with anything and everything they could find inside the cramped ce. Seeing them gathered up by the stairs, Razor simply gave them an unamused look before deciding to cull down on the herd.

    "I only need one of you alive," trying to spy out the leader of the operation, Razor spotted a single man with marginally better clothes cowering at the very back.

    Hiding behind a work counter, he peaked out at Razor but as their eyes quickly met he hid instantly behind it again.

    "Thunderbird¡­" a few seconds after he used the ability, his body was flung forward with a thunderous aura incinerating all the men standing in his path.

    The embers from their burned bodies spread out to the Misha. As the fumes from the hallucinogenic drug began to fill up the basement even Razor knew it wasn''t safe to stay there much longer.

    "You''reing with me," he said, grabbing the leader cowering on the ground.

    "Wait! Let me go, I''ll do anything! I''ll even give you money!" the coward tried to barter, but Razor was not at all interested.

    "I''ll let you go, but first show me what else this duchy is hiding," ring down at the leader with his cold blue eyes, Razor smiled at him like the menace he was. "You''d do that, won''t you?"

    The crazy in his eyes gave the leader no other option but to agree to his demands. Gulping down to calm down, he violently shook his head in agreement.

    "Alright then," pulling the leader further up by his shirt, Razor didn''t even wait for him to stand. "Realm tear: Take us out of this inferno."

    Opening a brightpis tear in space, Razor walked right in with his guide in hand.

 Chapter 79 79 - Shake Of Hands And Missing Fingers

    ?

    Returning from minotaur hunting, Haruki had just arrived at Moriyana''s base while masking himself as the mercenary Arnold. The moment he stepped in through the door, a wave of dust particles assaulted him in the face.

    "Goddammit, the least she can do is keep this ce tidy," fanning off the dust, he quickly made his way to her office.

    There behind the half-shut door, Moriyana was dozing off with one of her hands supporting her head and the other holding a quill pen. Pushing the door open, Haruki carefully pulled out the chair across without making any noise. Just taking a moment to rx, he stared at the conniving but otherwise enchanting beauty.

    "Seeing her like this it''s impossible to know what kind of horrors she''s capable of," reaching out to her bubbly cheeks, he ran his hand down to her lips. There as a strand of her long curly hair caught his attention, he took it between his fingers and gently ran along its length. "Appearance can be deceiving I guess¡­"

    As he mumbled thosest words, she frowned in her sleep and a few incoherent mumbles escaped those cherry lips. Drawing his hand away from her, he watched her eyes slowly open up. Blinking a few times, she squinted at him to make sure she wasn''t dreaming and that Haruki was actually sitting across her in his mercenary form.

    "Wha-wha? I-'''' Still a bit drowsy, her hand under her chin slipped, sending her face crashing down against the desk. "Ouch!"

    "Should Iugh or not?" Haruki mocked with a smirk.

    "Should I tear your balls off or not?!" She shot back, ring up at him in rage.

    Beaming a light smile, Haruki let the matter go. Washing her anger off her face, Moriyana picked herself up and set the quill back into its holder. Stacking the documents she''d been working on, she jammed them into a drawer.

    "So why are you here?" Intertwining her fingers, she leaned onto the table. "I''ve already sent off the duchy''s share of the gold so it better not be about that."

    "No, I don''t really care about the gold," said Haruki and tried to add further before Moriyana interjected.

    "Then what? You need my advice on something? I''ve already told you to get me some minotaurs, and I''ll help you take Fay''s abilities plus there''s the surprise too," still a bit cranky from being woken up so abruptly, Moriyana wasn''t really in the mood for chatter.

    "Speaking of Fay, where is she now? I haven''t seen her since ourst meeting," Haruki asked, not sure if she was even in the duchy anymore.

    "I took some stuff from her as advance payment so until you capture those minotaurs, I can''t really make her what she needs," reaching down her desk again, she pulled out a half-filled bottle of wine. "So¡­she''s staying in Laria,ing here every day asking whether her potion is ready."

    Bringing the neck of the bottle near her lips, she began drowning herself in alcohol.

    "Potion? What potion?" Realizing her mishap, Moriyana sprayed out the content in her mouth.

    Barely missing him, all the wine was sttered beside him on the desk.

    "Keep your mouth shut about the potion for now!" sping her hands together, she made a genuine request. "You were gonna know about it sooner orter, but don''t mention anything about it to Fay for now."

    Puzzled as to why she was so bothered by the mention of a potion, Haruki decided to just do as he was told for the moment.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Anyway, I have captured two minotaurs. I hope that''d be enough for you," opening up a small portal into the minotaur prison, Haruki showed the two tentacle-chained prisoners.

    Dumbfounded by the sight, Moriyana kept ring at the beasts squirming around inside the fleshy prison. Shaking her head, she squinted her eyes a few times just to be sure she wasn''t dreaming with open eyes. However, no matter how long she peered into the portal, the beasts were still present and struggling inside the dungeon.

    "How did you?" Still ring at him, she asked with a gaping jaw.

    "I don''t wanna get into it right now, also can you help me with this thing?" stretching his hand forward, he presented her with the red jeweled ring tightly fitted into his finger. "I can''t get it off and shapeshifting doesn''t hide it either."

    Although he didn''t want to integrate her help, running around with that ring was a ring hazard for ease of recognition. Taking his hand in hers she snapped her fingers to conjure up an examining ss. Looking through it at the ring from all directions, she read out loud a small engraving on the underside of the ring.

    "Minotaur king''s ring..." she mumbled.

    Pulling her head away, she looked at him in awe.

    "You know that''s a treasure, right? No minotaur can ignore yourmand if you''re wearing it," upon hearing her exnation, Haruki felt a bit moronic for not sneaking inside the cave to get the ring first.

    "I don''t care what it does right now, I just want it off of my finger," saying that, he huffed a tired sigh.

    "Why don''t you sell it to me then? I can use it, I don''t have to mask my presence so it''d be quite inconspicuous," a bit reluctant to hand her the ring, Haruki wondered if there was another way to get rid of the strange equipment.

    "Ahhh, sure, go ahead. Take it off of my finger," deciding that it wasn''t worth the trouble of risking his true identity being found, Haruki gave in to her demand.

    "Alright then!" Snapping her fingers once more, she conjured up a butcher knife. "Here I go!"

    Perplexed as to what she was trying to do, Haruki tried to grab her hand, but she managed to bring the knife down before he could even move a finger.

    "What the fuck?!" He growled as she cleaved his fingers from his hands. "I thought you had a real n, you bitch!"

    "Just heal it," shrugging off Haruki''sint, she kept chopping up the finger until the ring slid right off.

    "What''s happening here? I was trying to take a nap," rubbing her eyes and yawning, Riana came out of the other room.

    But as she opened them up to the sight of blood and gore, it froze her heart. Chilled to the bone, she instantly lost consciousness from the sudden state of shock.

    ''I should''ve just stuck with my n to research this stuff on my own.'' Vowing never to trust Moriyana with his hands, he used rejuvenation on Riana before healing himself.

 Chapter 80 80 - An Unexpected Threat

    Putting Riana to bed in her assigned room, Haruki walked back into Moriyana''s office with yet another important question to ask.

    "About the surprise, what is it?" Standing in front of the desk, he red at her while she admired the minotaur ring perfectly fitted into her ring finger.

    "I should definitely buy matching jewelry," she muttered, too distracted by the treasure.

    "Moriyana¡­don''t waste my time," settling back down into the chair, Haruki slid his hands onto the table.

    Despite being cleared of all stains and liquid, the faint hint of his blood was still lingering around in the air. Repulsed by the smell, Haruki scowled at the odor, but unable to read his thoughts outside of her illusions, Moriyana took it more as anger directed towards her.

    "Sorry, I got a bit distracted," clearing up her throat with a couch, she reached forward and grabbed Harukis hands resting on the table. "You must be aching to take the first step toward your revenge, right?"

    It took him a moment of just staring her dead into her eyes to judge exactly where she was going with the conversation, however, sensing no hostility from the subus, he finally shared his thoughts with her.

    "I do feel the ache, but I''ve been too bound by all the responsibilities thate with being a duke," remembering back to how much he had struggled to understand all the politics, Haruki huffed up a sigh and continued. "I still have a lot to do before I can go down that path of vengeance."

    Turning his hands to make his palms face upwards, Moriyana slowly began brushing them with her thumbs to bring him somefort.

    "How about I help you take the first step then?" drawing her hands back, she drummed the desk a few times before pulling herself out of her chair. "I have something special for you, or wait¡­someone special for you."

    Flipping around she reached into the upper section of the cab behind her desk. There, taking out a folder she blew on it to dust off all the settled particles.

    "Here!" Turning around again, she mmed the folder on the table. "Again, correction, not just someone, some people!"

    Untying the files, she quickly began scanning right through, that is until she read one marked with a dark red tick over its top-left corner. Taking the documents in her hand, she passed them onto Haruki.

    "What is it?" He asked, not sure where all of this was going.

    "A list of all the ves I''ve purchased from other kingdoms, they''re supposed to be here in about a week or so, but it could take longer in case there''s a blizzard in the tundra," hearing her exnation, Haruki can''t help but wonder why she was showing him the list.

    However, scanning through the name, he ran into something familiar. Noted down on the list with the other ves were the names of two other members of his bandit control battalion from his previous life.

    "Are they¡­" unable to wrap his head around how they''d end up bing ves, Haruki didn''t even know where to start asking questions.

    "Yes, it''s them, and no they''re not people with the same name," Moriyana cleared his doubts, and yet it didn''t feel real to him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "But how did the-" A loud thrashing sound from the entrance astonished them both.

    Perked up on their demonic senses, they could feel in their hearts a binding terror pushing them to keep at the height of caution.

    "Expecting guests?" Haruki asked, ncing at Moriyana from the edge of his eyes.

    "Not that I know of," She replied

    "What? Nevermind," making sure he was in his mercenary form as Arnold, Haruki drew out his fencer in case he had to fight.

    Echoing through the halls, the sound of casual footsteps was slowly approaching the corridor to Moriyana''s office. Peeking out through the open door at the other end of the ce, both Moriyana and Haruki saw the crawling corpse of a burning man holding his hands up in their direction as if asking for their help.

    "I''m done with you," said another voice.

    Walking into their view was Razor Alumnibolt, one of the few military generals working right under the emperor. Picking his feet up, he stomped on the head of the crawling corpse. As the blood gushing out of his crushed head flowed down towards them into the office, both of them knew that they were under great threat.

    "Moriyana Malice, who would''ve thought the ve trader was behind all the ruckus in the streets," flipping his fencer around in his hands, Razor slowly began moving closer. "Well, anyone withmon sense would''ve, but I guess they don''t sell that here in this duchy."

    Catching his sword mid-air, Razor quickly sheathed it by his hips. Standing in the middle of the corridor with the blood soiling his white leather boots, he simply red at the two with a smile.

    "Wh-Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Pretending not to know who he is, Moriyana was trying to buy them some time.

    Inconspicuously pressing her hand against Haruki, she urged him to get them out of there. Knowing what she had in mind, Haruki tried to use his familiar to consume the two and teleport them far away, but to his horror, he couldn''t call on any of his familiars.

    ''Shit, is he blocking my summoning skills somehow?'' Getting a firm grip on his saber, Haruki had no other option but to face him head-on if things came to it.

    "I was on a tour actually," walking even closer, he stood face-to-face with Haruki. "Didn''t expect the duke to be here though."

    ''What the hell? How does he-'' Remembering back to when Riley mentioned someone watching them afar, Haruki got the answer without even asking. ''Dammit, of all the people who could''ve found out about my identity, he''s probably the worst one.''

    Pulling up a chair in front of them, he ced it facing away from them and settled right in. Gently rocking the chair with his hands crossed over the back support, he beamed them both with a genuine seeming smile.

    "Sit down you two, I''ve had a long day killing all those filthy blood-sucking parasites, I''m not gonna do anything," reaching down to his hip, he set his fencer onto the desk. "Not yet at least."

 Chapter 81 81 - Prayers To Summon A Demon

    ?

    Taking a seat in front of the military general, Haruki, as well as Moriyana, were tensed up to the bone. Not being able tomunicate openly, Moriyana didn''t know why Haruki hadn''t teleported them away through a portal simr to the one he''d shown her the minotaurs with. And yet with no other real option, sheplied with whatever Razor had to say.

    "So, what do you want?" Asked Haruki.

    "Ideally," wearing a smile, he nced back and forth between the two. "To kill you, and all these heretical bastards living in this city for going against our lord."

    Although he still wore a smile, the tone of his voice was anything but pleasant. Propping his back upright, he picked up his fencer and between his thighs. Its tip pointing directly between the two sent a menacing message.

    "Now, before I start shing your throats, why don''t you tell me what else you''re hiding?" Flickering his sword between the two, Razor offered. "Or are you gonna ignore my mercy of giving you some extra seconds to live?"

    "Why would we tell you anything if you''re just going to kill us anyway?" Moriyana rebutted.

    "I guess you''ve made your choice then," without even entertaining her question, Razor got off the chair.

    Turning around he took a few steps away from the duo, but that was enough time for them to ready themselves for whatever wasing. By the time he turned to look back at them, Moriyana was back on her feet with protective magic circles shielding them from any impact, as for Haruki he''d given up on pretending to be Arnold and changed into his demonic form.

    "Clone!" Creating a few mocks of them both, Haruki had them stand in Razor''s way so he couldn''t directly get at them.

    "Are you done preparing? I want a fair duel after all thatckluster performance from the day," saying that Razor firmly wrapped his fingers around the fencer.

    "Shut up¡­" Growling at him, Moriyana too changed into her demonic form.

    Although it was Haruki''s first time seeing her in the body of a subus, he couldn''t spare even a moment to look at her for more than a second. And his caution proved fruitful when Razor left forward toward them with his fencer. Expecting him to tear through the clones and hit the magic shields, both of them nned on offense the moment his actions were deterred from the impact.

    "Realm tear," mumbling under his breath, he betrayed their expectation and appeared right behind them.

    "Check!" He mocked before stabbing Haruki in the back.

    "UGHH!" Haruki let out before flying straight ahead to get his distance.

    "Reality alter: wither!" Razor used the ability on Moriyana but it didn''t affect her in the slightest.

    ''Immortal bodies that doesn''t age¡­lust demons,'' Despite the lightning pace at which he was moving, he was swiftly able to deduce just what kind of enemy he was fighting.

    "Holy chain binds!" Holding his hand forward, Haruki managed to bind Razor''s limbs with chains of holistic light.

    "What?!" Surprised by a demon using light magic, Razor was dumbfounded by the binds. Thinking back on the time Haruki had used illumination yet another light magic spell against him, Razor let out a chuckle at his own forgetfulness. "Seems like the emperor''s habit has begun brushing up on me ahaha!"

    Having no clue as to what Razor was talking about, the two demons continued with their assault.

    "Garden of illusion!" Flying back closer to Haruki, Moriyana tried to trap Razor in her ability.

    However, unsurprisingly as her mana began to dome him into the illusion, he broke right out of that barrier with ease.

    "Rejuvenation!" Healing the wound on his body, Haruki watched as Razor simply pulled onto the chains and shattered them to dust.

    ''I''m already tired from fighting those minotaurs, and Moriyana is probably half drunk too. Our chances of winning this fight are absolutely abysmal¡­'' Realizing that the only way for them to survive was to somehow escape the ce, Haruki''s mind raced for any possible solution.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Are we done with cheap tricks?" Swinging his de, Razor took care of all the clones in one swift swing. "You''re both too slow, too reliant on each other, and even too moronic for thinking you can defeat me."

    Getting their attention on him by hurling insults at them, Razor managed to create a window where their guards were downpletely.

    "Reality alter: Shrine to As!" Upon just hearing the god''s name both of them suffered deep hurt inside their heads. But what was about to follow was going to be a hundred times worse.

    As they braced for the effects of the skill to set in, their vision slowly began failing them. Turned into a blurry mess, all they could see was a muffled image of everything around them. Finally, unable to keep their stressed eyes from blinking, their eyes shut closed before opening up to an unfamiliar view.

    Suspended in a space devoid of all objects, they found themselves trapped inside a dark blue confinement. Was it a prison? Some strange part of the abyss? Or perhaps even an illusion? They had no idea. That is until they began hearing loud bells ringing all around them, and a chant of prayers to As echoing throughout the ce.

    "Aghhh!" Grunted Moriyana as the mention of his name inflicted pain directly on their souls.

    "W-What d-do we-ughh¡­do?!" Gritting his teeth, Haruki tried to power through the pain.

    "I don''t know! I''ve never fought someone like him!" Curling up inward from the pain, even Moriyana wasn''t sure if they were trapped in an illusion or if this was part of some obscure skill to use against demons. "I-I can''t¡­use my powers!"

    Trapped in a prison specifically designed to torture demons, both of them had no choice but to keep on struggling. The continuous chants not only attacked their souls, but the deafening sounds made their whole bodies bend inward and draw blood from their ears and gums.

    "Are we done?" Pulling the two out of the prison, Razor had them fall headfirst down from the ceiling of Moriyana''s office.

    Hitting their head on the floor, they were in no shape to move even a muscle. Thusying lifeless on the ground both of them red at Razor while grinding their teeth in rage.

    "Now to finish things off," drawing his fencer out, he ced it right over Haruki''s throat. "I doubt you can heal yourself in this situation now."

    ''I''m not dying like this, am I?'' Just moments before Razor''s arrival, the two of them were discussing taking the first step towards his revenge, but now with a de to his neck, Haruki knew it was no longer possible.

    ''Tyrant''s heart has been changed to Mistress of Darkness.'' The sudden announcement in his head turned his rage into confusion.

    "Long time no see, Razor Alumnibolt," muttered Haruki.

    ''What?'' Despite having said those words, he knew it wasn''t him speaking.

    ''You don''t need that ability anymore, your heart has been corrupted enough already.'' Speaking through his thoughts, the feminine voice was no stranger to him. ''Besides, it''s best we work together to keep you alive at the very least.''

    "What''s happening?" sensing the sudden change of presence inside Haruki, Moriyana red at his back in shock.

    "Hmm? I doubt our guild meeting was that long ago," not realizing what was happening, Razor tilted his head in confusion. However as Haruki''s eyes began glowing in a violet glow Razor knew exactly who was speaking. "No¡­no way."

    With a racing heart, his breaths grew heavy. Leaping back to get some distance, he stared at Haruki''s lifeless body in shock.

    "It can''t be you," he whispered, hoping he was wrong in his assessment.

    "Too bad, it is ahaha," retaining full consciousness for the first time as she spoke through him, Haruki knew there was now a chance of turning the tides. "And I''m sorry to say, but your insults were just as mild as ever."

 Chapter 82 82 - To Not Die A Thousand Deaths

    ?

    In spite of having no clue how Asmodia had takenmand of his body, Haruki was, for the first time, willing to let her take charge to somehow get them out of a dire situation. Crossing her legs, she sat on an invisible throne of air, all the while a devilish smile rested on her face.

    "You''re too slow, too reliant on that ability to alter, and too moronic for attacking my children," knowing exactly what she was doing, the smile on Haruki''s face kept getting bigger.

    "That''s really you, Mother?" Asked Moriyana, but turning her head Asmodia gave her a revolting gaze.

    "Don''t even¡­" directing her finger to Moriyana, Asmodia flew her body against the wall right beside her.

    Hitting her head in her weakened state, Moriyana instantly lost consciousness even before her body could hit the ground.

    ''What the hell are you doing?!'' Unable to speak, Haruki could only share with her his thoughts.

    "Shushhh, I do not need a bunch of children lecturing me," watching all of this unfold, Razor wasn''t sure what move he should make.

    Should he escape through a realm tear, or engage in a fight to try and subdue the allegedly weakened Asmodia?

    "Now, where were we?" Finally bringing her gaze back to Razor, she scanned his body up and down. "Ughh¡­the rear-guard general, I thought they''d send someone stronger."

    Both insulted and a bit threatened by her words, Razor gritted his teeth and growled back.

    "I''m not here for you!" Gulping down, he reeled in his tone. "The emperor never told me you''d be here, I doubt he even knows or cares."

    "What did you just say?" Her eyes glowing like the morning star, emanated a crushing aura. Lingering heavy in the air, her anger over Razor''sment had taken the form of toxic miasma. "I''ve heard you''re weak to toxins, is that right, Razor?"

    Masking his face with his hands, Razor tried to conjure up a realm tear, but the ability got blocked by Asmodia who didn''t even have to move a single finger.

    "Going somewhere?" She muttered, looking at him from the front.

    "Shut up! Thunderbird!" Trying to incinerate Haruki''s body, Razor leaped forward with the aura of immense lightning, and although it managed to tear the office to shreds, not even a single scratch was had on either Haruki''s or even Moriyana''s body.

    Disappearing into thin air, they had left Razor haphazardly looking around the ce trying to figure out exactly what was happening. However, when he couldn''t see or sense them inside the office he once again tried to escape the ce with realm tear.

    "I wonder what As even saw in you to grant you those abilities." Teleporting behind him, she whispered into his ears.

    "Shut up you whiny bitch!" Swinging his fencer behind him, he tried to hit her, but Asmodia once again teleported behind him.

    "Did I strike a nerve?" She chuckled. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Just because he didn''t want you that doe-" As he was flinging his sword at her again, a phantom hand took hold of his neck. Crushing him under its non-existent fingers, it gradually drained his lungs. "H-how do you keep blocking my abilities?!"

    His eyes bloodshot, Razor glowered at her with gritted teeth.

    "How? Don''t make meugh, you''re but an imitation of what it means to harbor the essence of space magic," leaning closer to his face as his legs flopped around in struggle, Asmodia had but a smile to offer him. "But I? I am its father, and mother, and it all stems from me!"

    Stripped of his only two god-like abilities, and thunderbird one of his most powerful magic skills not working against her, Razor had no choice but to resort to desperation.

    "That guy, whoever the hell that is, you know I can be better," still holding onto his pride, he didn''t sound the least bit convincing.

    "You and I both know how this ends, don''t we? So spare the niceties," reaching onto him, she wed his face with Haruki''s fingers. "There, may you never die a thousand deaths."

    As those words trailed off of her tongue, a hazy mist of pure malice filled up the room entirely. After the haze twirled into the air and conformed into a unifying being a creature of dark reached out through it. Upon seeing the burly monster with gargantuan ws, Razor''s fears were turning into reality.

    "You know you can''t kill me, the emperor won''t allow it!" He roared with thest of the breath still left inside his lungs.

    "I know, and that''s why your torture would be never-ending," taking Razor in its cold dead grasp, the creature drew him into its ghastly jaws. Pushing him deeper into the clouds of deadly toxins simmering inside its mouth, the monster had him trapped in an endless slumber.

    ''What the hell happened? And why did he give in so easily at the end?'' Witnessing all that had happened, Haruki was as lost as one could be. But with her energy fleeing, Asmodia didn''t have time to offer an exnation.

    "He''s alive, but won''t bother you for a while, that''s all you need to know warrior," feeling heavy in the eyes, the strain from pushing herself despite being in a vulnerable state, was finally catching up to her. "I-I think I need some rest."

    Putting Haruki''s body back on his feet, she sat down on a chair with her hand holding Haruki''s head straight.

    "Do not be weak, warrior¡­I doubt the emperor will let this incident go so easily, be stronger because I won''t be there to help you for long now," knowing exactly what was happening to her, Asmodia didn''t wanted to waste even a single breath before she was forced back into slumber.

    "Why? Why can''t you just help me?" With Asmodia''s grasp on him loosening up Haruki was once again able to speak through his own lips. "And where the hell is Moriyana?"

    Deliberately repressing Haruki''s memory on how she teleported around and where they were while traversing through space, Asmodia wanted to keep the knowledge confined to an arcane few.

    "She''ll be back, I''m sure," she mumbled, resting her head on the desk.

    Sensing her presence retreating into him, Haruki internally screamed for answers. But no matter how much he pleaded, there was no there to give him some rity.

 Chapter 83 83 - Clarity [18+]

    ?

    The day had been cruel, and after exining everything that he''d been through to his servants, Haruki was too tired to lift a finger. Surrounded by the three beauties, he was taking a leisurely bath with towels wrapped around their bodies.

    "So you knew she could control me?" Haruki asked Asuka after she''d just mentioned the time Asmodia had threatened her to keep her mouth shut.

    Nodding her head, her tail weakly wagged about in shame. However, pulling her closer to himself, Haruki began patting her head to provide somefort.

    "It''s okay, not like knowing would''ve changed anything," greedily looking in his direction, the other two seemed starved of attention. "For now, I''m just worried about Moriyana. I don''t know where she took us while teleporting between spaces, but Moriyana was left behind somewhere in there."

    Moving in closer, Margarette snuggled into Haruki''s neck. On the other side, Riley too wrapped her hands around Asuka''s waist and pushed her head against her back.

    "Ekkk!" Surprised by the sudden assault, Asuka let out a terrified yelp. "What the hell are you doing?!"

    "What? Isn''t it normal for a servant to want some kinship with her master?" Riley''s reply made Asuka think about the way she felt towards her master, and thus depriving Riley of her attention felt much crueler in her mind.

    "Umm¡­okay, just warn me before doing something like that," as soon as Asuka gave her permission, Riley jumped forward and wrapped her hands around her master. "Wh-what are you doing now?!"

    "You''re so warm!" Hugging Asuka like a warm pillow, a cheerful purr left Riley''s lips.

    Watching the whole thing unfold, Haruki felt somewhat jollier, and yet the worries from before refused to escape his mind. Despite having tried all kinds of distractions, his mind inevitably came back to the same topic.

    ''What am I supposed to do? I don''t know where Moriyana is, and Asmodia¡­hell I don''t even know if she''ll wake up again.'' Drawing in his worries, he was fished out by a peckish kiss on the cheeks by Margarette.

    "You still seemed worried," turning to look at her, Haruki couldn''t help but notice the drastic change in her demeanor.

    Once she wanted to kill him, and now she was servicing him with her lips.

    "Anyone would be, I doubt things will be the same for any of us after this, even for the duchy," resting her head on his shoulder, she ran her hands down to his stomach.

    "If it''s about policies and such, then you can leave it up to me," she offered, peering up at him with a warm smile.

    "Hey, stop hoarding master!" Pulling Haruki in her direction, Asuka moved to his front. Sitting down on hisp, she ced her arms around his neck before pushing her lips against his.

    Her lips as soft as rose petals melted all his worries. The once rampant thoughts in his mind were reced by something else entirely. cing his hand over her ass, he squeezed onto it tightly. As her towel fell off her body, Asuka pulled away for a moment to shake her breasts to tease him a little.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You love them, don''t you, master? Hehe" Chuckling to herself, she was trying to distract Haruki from having tensing thoughts.

    "If ites to breasts then I think I have you beat Asuka," taking off her towel, Margarette showed off her bountiful bosom.

    Trying to distract Haruki as well, she pushed her pink-nipped pair right against his chest. Pressed onto him, her massive breasts not only covered his chest but also nketed his whole upper body.

    "Ahh¡­um," left to the side, Riley nced down embarrassed at her budding breasts with little volume. "Wait!"

    Changing her appearance into that of Haruki, she grabbed onto Asuka to try and keep her to herself.

    ''Riley''s really attached to her, is it because she''s her master?'' Popping up in his head was the vivid image of Asuka promising herself to Haruki on their first night in bed. ''Her love is obviously different.'' In Riley''s eyes, Asuka was her savior from a curse she''d tried to escape her whole life, so there was bound to be some innocent affection.

    "Riley I can tell you apart from the smell, I love master''s odor much better," not letting go of Haruki so easily, Asuka pushed Margarette away. "It''s my turn now!"

    "Wait¡­" Halting Asuka by grabbing her by the shoulder, Haruki nced around at the three and gave them all a smile. "I know what you''re all trying to do, but I''m okay. Besides, I''m sure that everything I''ve told you must be disturbing you as well."

    In an attempt to please their master, they were in fact sacrificing their own sanity. Having picked up on the clues, however, Haruki was quickly able to figure out exactly what they were trying to do.

    "I know you''re all terrified, so let''s just call it a day and try to get some sleep," although it took them a while to consider the option, they all ended up nodding in agreement.

    Once the bath was over, they all went on their separate ways to rest in their rooms. However, as the night grew dreamier, and yet their hearts refused to calm, they all made their way to Haruki''s room to potentially get some sleep together. There,ying down in bed in each other''s arms, a wave offort washed over their hearts that soothed them all right over to sleep.

    While they enjoyed their strolls through pleasant dreams, a pair of watchful eyes red at them from the edge of the bed. Standing towering over the groups, Roselia tried to remember back to the time she had cuddled along with the young duke. A joyous smile, and plentiful giggles were all she saw in her memories, and yet as she watched over him now it all felt false and an alteration of reality.

    "What kind of bodyguards sleep in the same bed as their master?" She mumbled, unsure as to what exactly was happening. "I might just burn¡­"

    Feeling her hands reaching towards the duke, the sweet memories from his childhood as she coddled him in her arms stopped her from going any further.

    ''I can''t or all these years away from my children would all have been for nothing,'' reconsidering her ns, she turned around and left the group alone.

 Chapter 84 84 - Someone To Return To

    ?

    Locked away in a phantom cage with no apparent binds, Moriyana was onlooking the creature of dark mist tearing apart Razor''s body with its razor-sharp hands. Tearing his flesh, the monster threw his limbs, his eyes, and even his torn skin to float about in mid-air. His mind broken by the toxic fumes and the butchery of his body, Razor''s bloodshot eyes looked about rampantly for the most minute hint of escape.

    Lined with poison ivy reaching high in the sky, they were both trapped inside the fuming ce with the monster tearing Razor''s body every time it put itself back together. And although he didn''t possess any skill to heal himself, his body being put back together was just one part of his eternal torture.

    At the mercy of his captor, he let the torture continue unhindered, for he knew better than to assume this to be his end. Moriyana on the other hand was more adamant about escaping the prison of pinkish dark clouds.

    "She must be really angry with me to trap me in one of her illusions," Moriyana whispered to herself.

    Watching Razor''s body being torn apart, Moriyana knew what kind of message Asmodia was trying to ry to her. Thankfully, however, Razor, unlike most people, was tolerant of pain and the only thing that left his lips were grunts and growls that barely diforted her in the slightest.

    ''Last time I was here, she used many different ways to torture me¡­'' Still ring at Razor''s body, she felt enraged by the fact that he only had to experience only one kind of punishment by the monster, while she on the other hand was torn apart, burned to ashes, had her lungs were filled with toxins, and her body was fused with critters for them to eat out her organs until they crawled out of her eyes and ears. ''I''m definitely not her favorite child.''

    "Garden of illusion," letting go of the invisible bars around her prison cage onlooking at Razor''s torture, Moriyana used her ability on herself to escape into a dream. "Have fun, hopefully, you''re trapped here forever."

    Spitting him with those words, Moriyana slowly lost consciousness as she drifted off to sleep. Being one of the very few who''d managed to escape Asmodia''s grasp before, she knew exactly what had to be done to escape the ursed ce.

    Drifting into a dream, she woke up to the sight of a lone path lit up with white light shining through an open door in the distance. Making her way towards the door, she nced about the depths of the dark abyss, reminiscing about the past and her dreadful childhood.

    ''Perhaps if I wasn''t born a subus, things would''ve been different.'' Being one of the very few created by Asmodia herself, Moriyana often daydreamed about a life away from all the corruption and greed. ''Who am I kidding? I love the taste of poison.''

    Unable to keep the farce she knew herself to be fortunate as she was on the side of the tyrant and not the ones suffering. And if that reasoning wasn''t enough, thinking back on her heinous crimes put up an ecstatic smile on her face.

    "It''s been a while since I''ve toyed with someone," mumbling to herself, she passed right through the blinding door.

    ***

    Making her way into Moriyana''s mansion, Fay Rue stood inside the shambled hall. Under her feet and scattered all around the ce were pieces of timber broken off of the wall as well as the furniture. Even the paintings and the decor was no exception to the ruined state, and as she kept walking forward the floor creaked about loudly threatening to give under her feather-light weight.

    "What the hell happened here?" She mumbled slowly moving towards the office.

    Stepping onto a piece of ss, her foot was stabbed right into the sole. Groaning out in pain, she leaned over to take off the ss piece. As she did so, a loud thrashing sound, followed by Moriyana''s grunting was heard inside the office. Instantly ncing up, she got back up and slowly made her way toward the corridor.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Is that?" Noticing a burned body with dried-up blood painted down the corridor floor, Fay covered her mouth gasping in disbelief. "Mo-Moriyana? Are you okay?!"

    She rushed forward fearful for her friend''s life. Upon reaching her office desk, she found Moriyanaying down on the floor with blood seeping out of her head.

    ''Did she fall over?!'' She wondered, getting down to her knees to check up on her.

    With the blood flowing fresh, she knew that the wound was fresh.

    "Heal!" Using the most healing abilities, she was able to slow down the blood flow temporarily, however without any real medical help, she couldn''t do anything else for Moriyana at the moment.

    "Cerebus, chimera, go find any medical supply you can in this damn ce!" Their eyes glowing a light blue silver, the two wolves from her scarf jumped off her shoulders and took two individual forms. "Go now, I''ll try and wake her up!"

    Rushing off in different directions, the wolves began searching for anything Fay could use to path up Moriyana''s wound. In the meantime, finally woken up from the ruckus, Riana crawled out of her bed and sneakily stared at Fay from the edge of the next room''s door. Still terrified by the blood she''d witnessed, her whole body was shaking from anxiety. The dried-up blood and the dead ashed body made things even worse for her innocent heart.

    "Wh-what are you doing?" She uttered with tear-filled eyes. Having grabbed a piece of ss, she charged over to Fay in an attempt to save her master. "Get off!"

    "Wait! I''m her friend! I came here before, remember?!" Fay managed to exin the situation before the ss shard in her hand crashed against her shoulder.

    "Oh¡­" Remembering back to her visit, Riana''s head hung low in shame. "I''m sorry¡­it-it''s j-just."

    Unable to keep her tears in, she began crying out loud. Her voice echoing throughout the ce was enough to pain a cold dead heart.

    "It''s okay, I know you''re afraid, but can you help me so we can help her?" Wrapping her hands around Moriyana''s unconscious body, Fay pulled her up so she could move her to a bed. "Where''s her room?"

    Letting go of the bloodied shard, Riana guided Fay deeper into the mansion. Watching as her hand kept bleeding, Fay felt even worse for scaring the little girl.

    ''She was going to attack a stranger to protect her master, I doubt she thought she could win, but still¡­'' Wondering exactly what made her so loyal to Moriyana at such a young age, Fay kept following the girl hoping to find out more about the strange situation.

 Chapter 85 85 - Confrontations

    ?

    Knocking on the castle came the holy highness of the capital city. Serena, the all-seeing priestess stood by the gates waiting patiently as a long file of her acolytes stood right behind her. Holding in their hands white gs with golden stripes running down from both sides, they all signified the brilliance of the priestess in service to their loving god.

    Opening the castle gate from the inside, a guard stood in front blocking the way forward. However as he realized who he was standing against, his head bowed in shame before setting away from the priestess''s path.

    "Forgive me, high priestess," he muttered.

    While the priestess d in a heavy white gown said not a word, her follower showered the guard with gazes sharper than daggers. Adjusting her crown resembling the rising sun, she kept walking forward with a pair of servants carrying the tail of her long dress.

    "May I have a parley with the duke?" She asked in the sweetest tone. "There are some matters that I''d like to educate him on."

    Beaming but a warm smile, she looked down at the shamed guard.

    "With all due respect¡­" Coming from atop the spiraling stairs, Rose''s voice interrupted the exchange. "I think we both know the duke doesn''t need education from a religious zealot."

    Turning to the sound of nking heelsing down the stairs, Serena saw Rose staking her with frowned eyes.

    "Ohhh, if it isn''t the maddened dragon''s sister," recing her smile with a smirk, she let out a chuckle. "How is he settling in with confinement? Not well I''d assume."

    The irksomement had Rose fuming in rage internally, however, keeping those feelings suppressed she made it down to the main hall. Standing at a distance from the priestess, the two exchanged piercing sharp nces, but as her acolytes stomped their gnces against the ground, Rose''s anger shifted towards them.

    "Are you throwing a coup with a handful of mortals?" Rose questioned, growling at her followers ring at her.

    "A coup? By the lord, how could you suggest such sphemy!" Following the chosen leader as their master being one of themandments, even the mention of treason was considered heresy.

    "Your harsh words from before gave me that idea," replied Rose, trying to deflect from the topic. "So, what do we owe the pleasure to?"

    The animosity between the two was no secret to the other, and thus upon hearing the priestess was here and she''d ran into Roselia, the entirety of the castle guards came rushing into the hall from each and every direction.

    "Is everything okay?" Asked the leader, screaming out to Roselia. "Leave the high priestess to us!"

    Holding her hand up, Serena hushed the guard without speaking a single word. Drawing it back down, she walked closer to Roselia.

    "Stay back," she ordered her followers.

    Heeding her order, they all stood tall in ce, holding the gs further up in the sky. As all of this unfolded even the guards one by one began kneeling to the priestess, for in their eyes despite being under the bishop inmand there was not a single person holier than the priestess herself.

    "I wish to speak to the duke, that is why I''m here. Now would you lead me to him, or not?" Washing all emotions off of her face, the priestess nced slightly upwards to meet Roselia''s eyes. Despite having a towering frame herself, in face of the dragon, she was nothing but a dwarf. "What would it be then?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Gaaah," Rose grunted, barely holding onto her senses. "Wait¡­I''ll the duke he''s sleeping, so just wait a while."

    Flipping around, she didn''t wanna stay there for a second more in case her conscience failed her. Marching up the stairs, she could feel herself breathing inside her throat.

    ''I can''t stand this, not for long, I can''t,'' On the verge of falling apart, she knew it was time to go meet her brother once more.

    Rushing towards Haruki''s room, her mind subconsciously started wondering how to bring the ce crashing down on everyone. The ice pirs and walls of the upper corridors especially caught her attention, all she''d have to do to dismantle them was breathe some me or use higher-tier fire magic. However even if she wanted to, there was still a problem with her n.

    ''Thest time I used fire was to cook up the assassin, and that too was after a long few centuries.'' Shaking her head, she tried to drive the destructive thoughts away. ''What the hell am I thinking? I raised the duke from a child, I can''t do this.''

    Conflicted by her nature to destroy, and the instinct of a mother, she had no clue how to navigate through the emotional turmoil.

    "Young du-" stopping herself from knocking on the door, she felt the need to correct herself. "Young master, are you awake?"

    Although she knew there were others inside the room, she no longer cared who the duke slept with so long as he wasn''t being exploited by them in any way.

    ''He was just angry when he said all of that stuff, there''s no way my sweet Tiara would say something so foul.'' Thinking of her children, she knew for certain that if not the others, then at least Tiara couldn''t hate her. ''I wish I could allow them to meet me here, but¡­''

    "Young master, are you still sleeping? High priestess Serena is here to meet you," she said, knocking on the doors a few more times.

    "Y-yeah, I''ming out!" Yelled out Haruki from the other side of the door.

    Hearing his voice again, however, she was reminded of the day he''d said all those horrible things to her, causing her to wonder if he was suffering internally for saying all that or if her affection towards him had no effect on him at all.

    ''I know I must wait a bit longer, but does he not need to repent for his actions?'' Feeling as though an apology was in order, Roselia stood by the door waiting for him toe out.

    Taking some time to dress himself, Haruki sneaked out of the door by opening it slightly. However, as soon as he stepped out of the door he noticed Roselia angrily looking down at him. Wondering why she appeared so tensed up, he hoped that she hadn''t seen his servants still sleeping inside the room.

    "Is something wrong?" he asked, visibly confounded.

    "Take back what you said about my kids the other day," She demanded with crossed arms.

    ''We''re really doing this?'' He thought, huffing out a sigh.

 Chapter 86 86 - Donâ€™t Poke The Dragon Twice

    ?

    Unaware of the duality of her thoughts, Haruki wasn''t too pleased about being confronted so early in the morning. A bit gnarly, he red up at her with a hint of frustration in his eyes. Rose herself wasn''t too adamant on backing off either, so returning the young master''s gaze, she stood unmoving in front of his path forward.

    "You lied to me, didn''t you?" She asked,mandingly.

    "About what?" He shot back despite knowing what she was trying to get to.

    For now, all he wanted was to get her as far away from his room as possible, and then get his servants out of the room before anyone caught them in there. Maintaining herposure despite his snarky tone, Rose didn''t let his tone affect her in the slightest.

    "About what you said to me about my kids, and how they hate me," said Rose, pushing further for him to retract his statement.

    "I thought you said someone''s here to meet me, do we really have the time for this?" Still irked by the events of yesterday, he had little patience to spare.

    Losing patience herself, a light frown appeared on Rose''s head.

    "Just tell me the truth and I''ll lead you to the guest," Although she wasn''t in the most stable mood, she''d still barely managed to somehow keep her head straight against the rebelling duke.

    "I do not need a guide, Roselia," calling her by her full name, Haruki''s teeth gritted shut. "Who''s visiting so early in the morning anyway?"

    Grunting at her, he tried to slip by Roselia, however, holding her hands as barriers in his path, she deterred him from taking more than a step forward.

    "It''s the high priestess as I''ve said, but I''m not letting you-"

    "Get off Roselia! I don''t care what you want me to do," trying to push her away with his fimble hands, Haruki managed only to make her take a single step back. "You want me to say your kids love you? If I say it will that really change anything? Especially when you have to ask me to do it? Maybe instead of doing that you should go visit them or at least allow them to meet you!"

    Left huffing at the end of that tirade, Haruki could feel his emptied lungs hunger for air. As he stood there trying to calm his raging heart, Rose red down at him in disgust. Not only had he hurt her with his words, but he''d also shattered the bridge of bond that once stringed their hearts together.

    It wasn''t only her who''d realized the folly in Haruki''s act, but he himself was beginning to regret what he had just uttered out of his mouth. Looking back at her face, he sensed no hint of emotion, not even anger, and yet being familiar with the state of unnerving look he knew exactly what was going on inside her mind.

    ''I crossed the line, I should just¡­'' As he tried to voice an apology, Roselia held her hand in front of him to stop speaking anymore.

    "The guards probably took the priestess to the meeting hall, you should make your way there, I''ll be¡­" pulling her hand back, she pressed a finger against her chin. "You don''t need to know."

    With those words, Rose rushed off in the opposite direction of the stairs leading downwards. Watching her back as she walked away, Haruki knew that he''d made a grave mistake, but with the reprehensive mood that she was in there was no way for him to calm her down.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Deciding that giving her time was the best option he had at the moment, Haruki peaked inside his room to send his servants back into their rooms. Opening up a dungeon portal, he used its small distance teleportation ability to transfer them all into their own assigned rooms. Once he was done, he took a quick look at his silver-white suit before making his way down to the meeting hall to greet the priestess.

    While descending down the stairs, he caught the many gazes from the long file of priestess''s acolytes. Unbeknownst to the events that had unfolded inside the hall, Haruki took their sharp looks as a means of intimidation.

    "My lord!" ncing up at Haruki, the leader of the guards called on him. "The priestess has been waiting for you."

    ''What''s with the tone?'' Feeling as though everyone was trying to test his patience, Haruki couldn''t wash off the scowl stered onto his face. ''Ughhh, never mind, I''ll just get this stupid meeting done.''

    Ignoring all the mean looks, and the worried faces of the guards, Haruki rushed off toward the meeting hall. There as he reached, the first thing that caught his attention was the figure of a wax doll sitting at the very edge of the table. In its hands, it held an oakwood staff with a circle of gold with bells riding on top.

    "You''re finally here duke," the alleged doll mumbled.

    Although he was sincerely frightened by the wordsing out of its dead pale lips, Haruki kept hisposure and stood by his ground.

    ''That''s the priestess? She looks like a fucking ghost!'' With her hair silk silver, and her eyes a hollow dark, Haruki couldn''t tell if he was talking to a real person or some monster posing to be human. ''Even her skin, it''s so¡­wax-like.''

    "I-I apologize for keeping you waiting, priestess," not knowing what to call her, he simply decided to go with her title.

    Pulling up a chair on the opposing side of the table, Haruki pulled himself in and looked right at the priestess''s face. Musing over her ghostly features, he found himself staring at her for a while without speaking so much as a word.

    "Amused by my appearance, I take it?" She asked.

    Letting go of her staff, she ces her hand folded onto the table. Standing upright, the staff rotated on its own axis, creating a pleasant chime that could soothe even the coldest heart.

    "No, it''s¡­"

    The moment he uttered the lie, the staff made a strikingly unpleasant sound.

    "Do not lie, duke," She said with a smile.

 Chapter 87 87 - A Colossal Mess [Part 1]

    ?

    Threatened by the lie-catching staff, Haruki wanted to keep the meeting as brief as possible. However, the priestess on the other hand had some different ns entirely. Crawling out from beside her white gown, were two dollish servants who usually carried the excess of her dress. Puffed up with excessive powder, they appeared in the same images as that of their master.

    "There''s no need to fret duke, my skin, my eyes, and even my hair they''re all but the fruit of a rare condition," resting her chin atop the back of her hand, she beamed an eerie smile. "It''s not infectious so you have no reason to worry."

    "I''m not worried," the staff screeched like ss shards brushing against each other.

    The sound was so loud that Haruki could feel it grinding against his teeth and even Serena''s servants had to cover their ears to escape the awful screeching.

    "Can you stop that?" Haruki requested, ring right at her.

    "Sure," she replied before tapping on the staff to make it stop the screeching. "May, June, can you step outside for a moment please?"

    Referring to her servants, she turned around to beam yet another smile at them. Their faces devoid of emotion simply red at her with their giant dollish eyes.

    "But your holy highness, who''ll carry your dress then?" Asked May, the one with dusk violet eyes.

    "We cannot leave you alone with a man alone your highness," squinting her golden dawn eyes, June red at Haruki.

    Saying not a word, Serena gracefully moved her arm over the two. As her transparent sleeves passed over their heads, they both disappeared one after the other. With just as much grace, she turned to face the duke. Her eyes twinkling with the hollow gaze of the night sky, she kept on smiling while peering at Haruki.

    "Now, where should we start?" Tapping her nails against the desk, her eyes widened further while ring at him.

    "What is this, priestesses? Has the bishop sent you to question me about the change in policies?" Presuming that bishop Clint had sent her, Haruki wondered if he was trying to rebel against him.

    "The bishop? I''m afraid not, on the contrary, he advised me not to meddle with you," grabbing the staff in her hands, she picked herself off of the chair. "But! How can I ignore the crimes, the bloodshed, and the indulgence in the street even if the bishop won''t condemn it?"

    ''She knows too much, the whole thing with Razor must''ve blown up like wildfire through the cities.'' Having ughtered all the criminals working under Moriyana, Razor had left the streets reeking of blood and filth which attracted the attention of the otherwise blind guards. ''Fuck¡­what am I supposed to do? Lie to her?''

    Activating moral corruption, Haruki decided to try and woo the women of the cloth. However, just a single look into her hollow eyes, stripped his tongue of mana making the abilitypletely useless.

    "What was that, Duke? I can taste something funny in my mouth," she mocked, gradually making her way toward Haruki. "Do you happen to garner a hint of dark magic? I swear I can taste it spreading through my mouth."

    ''I can''t answer or that damned staff¡­'' ring at her staff, he strained his mind trying toe up with a solution.

    "Answer me!" She screamed, stopping her staff in anger.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Being pushed to answer while he was already pressed for time, Haruki was ready to abandon all facades and try to subdue the priestess. However, as he got off his chair ready to use hypnosis, a sudden announcement rang inside his head.

    ''Temporary status Mistress of darkness status granted!'' befuddled as to what exactly was happening, Haruki quickly closed his eyes to check the status change. ''What¡­the fuck?''

    Listed under his names were pages upon pages of abilities, spells, and curses, and the section which once held his level as well as overall status was emptied leaving but a nk.

    "Is something wrong?" Asked Serena standing right in front of Haruki. "Did something get in your eyes?"

    She chuckled assuming the young man was intimidated by the disy of her abilities. Running her hand down over Snow''s white hair, she turned his face upward so she could get a better look at him.

    "Ebwim maose gabre," as soon as her eyes met hers, a jumble of rambling incantation left his lips. He had no clue what it all meant, but his mouth kept on rambling.

    ''I don''t feel her, but this must be her power.'' Although the mistress had pushed herself into a deep slumber, still hoping to aid Haruki to stay alive, she''d temporarily entrusted him with her powers.

    "Wha-what? A-are¡­youuuu¡­?" Entrapped by Haruki''s defense mechanism set up by Asmodia, Serena found herself slowly drifting off until her mind was but a mush.

    Falling into Haruki''s arms, she began lightly snoring. Swiftly catching the falling staff after it''s been unclutched by her hand, a phantom hand caught it before it could hit the ground. After bringing the staff to Haruki, another pair of invisible arms took Serena from his light embrace.

    "Where is he?!" Before he even had the time to wrap his head around everything, a loud voice from outside the hall flung the door right open.

    The moment the door opened up, the hands let go of both Serena and her noisy golden staff. Standing in front of him was sweat-ridden Moriyana. Following soon after, Fay came rushing in and crashed against Moriyana''s back.

    "Ouch!" Yelped Fay, brushing her forehead.

    "Mister! Help me!" Although he could hear Riana asking for help, he didn''t see her anywhere at all.

    That is until she came rushing in from the door, and wrapped her hands around Snow''s body. Having seen all of his disguises, she was well aware of who she was going up to for safety. Not even a secondter, the wolves from Fay''s scarf came running in followed by a hefty line of guards.

    "You didn''t talk to her, did you?" Ignoring everyone and everything, Moriyana came rushing to Haruki with crazy in her eyes. "Tell me you didn''t talk to her, please!"

    ''Why did I even get up today?'' Having not a clue about anything throughout the chaos, Haruki cursed the morning itself.

 Chapter 88 88 - A Colossal Mess [Part 2]

    ?

    After the guards came rushing in, Serena''s acolytes weren''t too far behind either. Concerned for their priestess''s safety they marched in through the meeting hall, and the moment their eyes saw Serenaying asleep on the ground, the gasping shock on their faces was viscerally unsettling.

    "What have you done?!" Screamed a male blonde follower while the others rushed to pick her up.

    "Oh shut up! She''s just sleeping!" Moriyana replied, still holding Haruki by the arms.

    ncing over her shoulder, Haruki noticed the scarf wolves growling at the guards trying to protect their master Fay. In the meantime, as he was being tugged on by Moriyana and as well as Riana, his mind just couldn''t figure out what to deal with first.

    "Halt!" Holding his hand up, he gestured the guards to let the intruders be. "I''m fine, leave these three in here, and take Serena''s followers back with you."

    Trying to defuse the situation, he wanted to reduce the number of people he had to deal with first. However, upon hearing his order towards the guards, the acolytes didn''t appear too happy orcent.

    "Like hell, we''re taking a step out of the castle!" The same blonde follower handed his g to the person behind him, but as he tried to move toward Haruki, the leader of the guards halted him with a de to the neck. "You think I''m afraid? We''re not leaving until your master exins exactly what happened here!"

    "Watch your tongue, he''s your master to you heretic," purposefully calling him a heretic, the guard''s leader reminded the man of theirmandment to follow the ruler. "Now, step off before I take your head."

    Watching it all unfold, the followers helping Serena back onto her feet began carrying her towards the exit. Holding her in their arms, they all had their eyes closed with a deep blush running over their faces. Directing them towards the exit were the two servant dolls who seemed to have popped out of nowhere again.

    "What did you do?" Asked the one with dusky eyes.

    Relieved that they didn''t see what happened, Haruki wondered where exactly the dolls disappeared into and then popped out of.

    "Keep moving you creepy thing," insulting Serena''s servant, Moriyana finally took a step away from Haruki.

    "You loud-mouthed bit-" Once again the blonde, who could''ve been their leader tried to say something but got interrupted when someone from behind ced their hand on his shoulder.

    Moving forward, a girl with long dark hair beamed a smile at the ve peddler. ncing around at everyone she kept the smile up before returning to look at Moriyana.

    "I''d advise you not to insult the priestess''s familiars please, they might not look like it but you wouldn''t want to deal with them when the priestess is in real danger," nodding her head, she moved back into the rest of the crowd.

    Ushered off the room, the acolytes quickly disappeared from the hall. Left with the rest of the crew, Haruki pulled up a chair to collect his thoughts a little.

    "So? What did she ask you? Did you say anything? Why was she unconscious when we came in?" Showering him with questions, Moriyana wasn''t making things any easier for him.

    ''Why''s Fay here? I can''t ask her anything I wanna know with her around.'' ring into her eyes for a moment, he had her follow his gaze behind her shoulders. ''Do you really want me to tell you everything with her around?''<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Unfortunately, he couldn''t speak that out loud either. Looking over to Fay, Moriyana realized what Haruki was hinting at, but turning back around she ignored his gesturepletely.

    "I''ll exinter, just know there was a burr at my ce, and I made a huge mess taking care of him," briefly whispering the same excuse she''d made to Fay, Moriyana continued on with the interrogation. "Now tell me, you didn-"

    "Can you give me a second to think at least?" Although the guards were somewhat aware of the partnership between the state and Moriyana''s ve trade, Haruki was struggling over how he would exin her barging in like that. "And don''t burst in like this ever again."

    Scowling at the remark, she crossed her arms before pulling herself further.

    "After learning that the priestess wasing here, I thought you''d need help, but I guess I was wrong," a bit snarky she kept ring at Haruki.

    "Sure, sure," fanning his hands to brush off the topic, she had Fay and Riana wait for them outside while he exined everything that''s happened to her.

    By the end of the exnation, Moriyana was just as confused and troubled as Haruki. Having pulled out a chair for herself, she sat there with fingers caressing her temples to drive off the migraine.

    "You''ve had an eventful morning," she shot at him.

    "Not as eventful as your night," Haruki shot back, referring to the events she has described to him about her escape from the torturous prison.

    A moment of silence lingered between the two. Feeling lost and left without clear directions, the way forward was murky at best. Moriyana had no ves to sell, and all her servants were left crippled or dead. As for Haruki, so much was racing through his mind that couldn''t really pick and choose which direction he should go.

    ''I need Fay''s ability in case I do die, which is highly usible now. I need to clean up on the mess that Razor must''ve created throughout the duchy, then there''s Serena who''s really close to  figuring me out¡­.and the emperor, he won''t stay blind to my ns for long either.'' With his close advisor and servant Moriyana lost for a word, the only other person he could turn to was possibly also his worst enemy. ''No matter how much I try I can''t get a response from Asmodia, she might''ve been  able to help.''

    "What should we do?" asked Haruki.

    "I''ll try to hasten the arrival of my next batch of ves, and maybe hunt for some servants too," Replied Moriyana, getting off the chair. "What about you? Can you still use the mistress''s abilities? Cause that''ll help us out a lot."

    "Mistress of darkness must''ve triggered in some way, I can''t manually activate it," Checking his status, he shook his head in disapproval. The long list of Asmodia''s skills was now gonepletely.

    As his gaze matched hers again, a loud crashing sound from the upper floor shook the whole castle from its very core. Hastily getting off the desk, Haruki red up at the ceiling wondering exactly what had caused the loud reverberations.

    "What the fuck was that?" Moriyana whispered under her breath.

    ''I think I know¡­'' Having heard a simr crashing sound before, Haruki had a pretty good idea as to what was happening. ''The day can''t get any fucking worse, can it?''

 Chapter 89 89 - A Colossal Mess [Part 3]

    "You can''t be serious about the dragon thing, right?" While rushing up the stairs behind Haruki, Moriyana was having a hard time digesting what he''d said.

    "It''s either that dragon seal or Roselia, I had a fight with her today so I''m not sure which!" Guarding his front were countless guards making their way up in an orderly fashion.

    Stuck behind them all, he was frustrated to no end, and yet every time he tried to pass through them, he was confronted with guards disallowing him to move forward.

    "I apologize, my lord, but it''s for your own safety," after refusing the guard''s requests to get out of the castle, they weren''t letting him take any more chances. "I''d still advise you to escape from her just like your friend Fay, and that girl-"

    Mid-way through his sentence a wave of incinerating mes took over the pathway right up ahead. Screaming in agony from being boiled alive under their hefty steel armor countless guards flopped onto the ground the moment the mes retreated. Feeling the burn over their backs, the guards facing Haruki slowly turned to the devastating sight.

    The very moment their eyesid on theirpanion''s bodies being melted under the bubbling steel, they had all but lost their willingness to continue marching forward.

    "Y-you weren''t lying¡­" Clutching her fist over her anxious heart, Moriyana drew deep breaths trying to calm her body.

    "WE! I MEAN I-" Turning towards the duke, one of the guards got down to his knees. "I CAN''T GO OUT THERE!"

    Right after him, the others came groveling over Haruki''s feet begging him not to make them face the enraged dragon. Having no intention to force them to face Roselia, he pulled his legs out of their grips and moved around them.

    ''They all know it''s Rose, I wouldn''t wanna face her too if I had a real choice.'' Just from their exposure to Rose torturing the assassin, none of the guards had the galls to go against her.

    "Moriyana, are youing with me? I don''t know if you can fight but it might be necessary since I don''t wanna lose the castle again," outlining the more obvious excuse he nced at her from over his shoulders.

    ''She''s probably mad at me, and if I just run away she''s bound to cause more chaos and destruction.'' After getting a nod from Moriyana, they both continued forward, leaving behind the guards too scared to move a muscle.

    "I''ve heard she ate dragons in her prime, maybe you should try and activate that skill," although her suggestion was sound, Haruki had already tried and failed the activation numerous times.

    "I still can''t do it, and I don''t wanna eat this dragon," despite everything he''d said to her, he still harbored deep in his heart some appreciation for all that she''s done for him so far. "I may not like her anymore, but I don''t hate her either."

    Conflicted as to what Haruki even meant by those words, Moriyana kept following through the burning ice floor. ncing around the ce, they noticed the ice pirs trimming up from the heat, and the water dripping out of them was cutting their time shorter. Thankfully, however, with most of the castle''s structure made with ice, the fire had little chance of burning up the whole thing.

    Making haste they reached the hallway leading up to the dragon seal door. From a distance alone, they noticed not only that the seal was broken and fallen over with the frozen door, but the rest of Haruki''s servants standing right by it peeking into the dark room.

    "Asuka, what''s happening?" Rushing up to them from behind, Haruki asked with them still looking right in.

    "Master?" Turning around, Asuka''s eyes widened up. "What are you doing here?! It''s not safe!"

    "I can ask you the same thing," Haruki''s response left her speechless for a moment.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "It''s Rose, we heard a loud noise and then saw her breaking the seal and getting inside," keeping things brief Riley let Haruki in on the situation report. "Why did she snap like that though?

    "I can smell burning flesh from here, did she burn someone?" Dreadfully looking into the direction Haruki hade from, she felt as though she would vomit from the stench. "The smell is too strong."

    Pinching her nose shut, she gulped down whatever angst had built up in her throat.

    "She killed a fleet of guards, and the rest probably ran off after seeing what she did," turning to Margarette who simply kept ring inside the door, an ominous feeling crept over Haruki.

    "I¡­I can see, my foresight it''s trying to show me something," taking hold of her mind, something sinister was crawling inside her head. Clutching her head from a sudden migraine, she hunched over forward struggling through the hurt. "Aghhhh!"

    Groaning in pain, she was instantly brought to her knees. Quickly getting to her, Riley supported her with her arms and suggested breathing slowly. As if all this was a regr urrence between the two, they kept their calm until Riley managed to get Margarette back onto her feet.

    Terrified by her pained groans each one of them was just ring at the two in shock. However, as the bone-rattling screech of a dragon came from inside the once-sealed door, they knew they didn''t have much time to figure everything out.

    "Th-there''s a dragon in there¡­" Mumbled Margarette still panting from the effects of her foresight.

    "It''s Rose, we already knew that," replied Haruki.

    "No¡­" freeing herself from Riley''s support, Margarette held her hand toward the door and obscured it with countless holychain binds. "She''s in there, but I''m not talking about Rose."

    "Then who?" Haruki asked, moving closer to her. "Who the hell is in there?"

    Grabbing her by the shoulder, he had her look straight into his eyes. Tightly gripped under his fingers, he could feel her body shaking from fear of whatever was on the other side of that door. For a moment, her eyes jittered about nervously, and her lips quivered to speak but no words came out of them, but as tightened his grip further she was reminded of the torture from the demonic spies and what he was capable of when angered.

    "It''s the maddened dragon!" Instinctively jerking him away, she panted restlessly from distress.

    "No¡­" Moriyana let out in a hushed whisper.

    "Goddammit, who the hell is-"

    Breaking through the holychain binds, a ball of intense fire sent Haruki flying across the corridor.

    ''Temporary status Mistress of Darkness granted!'' Rang the announcement as he hit his head against an ice wall.

 Chapter 90 90 - Last Wish, Will You Really Strip Me Of This Choice?

    ?

    Quarelling with the young master had put Roselia in an extremely foul mood, and thus to soothe her heart, she was making her way to meet her brother. All the way to the ice-sealed door, the only thought in her mind was why she was even there, trying to adhere to a bind that could easily end with her.

    ''Thest Frost, if he dies the bind ends, but then¡­'' Biting her lips in frustration, she looked forward at the dragon seal that was the cause of all her problems. ''Stupid in, I don''t know if I can hold onto my rage for much longer.''

    The moment she approached the seal, she wasted not a single second before defrosting the ice that kept it shut. Although the seal was fickle and was broken easily by the hands of a fire dragon, its real effects only kicked in against enemies having the same nature as the seal of ice.

    "Klianstein? Are you awake?" Pushing the door open, she stepped right in.

    Her voice echoing through the dark room earned sharp screeches from the bats living by the dark ceiling. Slowly, as she moved further inside, the sound of her heels resounded with a bang.

    "It''s me¡­" she called, letting her brother know that there was no reason to be rmed.

    ''As if it''s ever anyone else.'' She thought.

    Holding open her palm, she created a fireball in her hand to navigate through the dank ce. However, the light illuminated her path, she no longer had any real need to move further into the frost dragon prison. Laying grumbling in front of her eyes was the giant head of the dragon she was looking for.

    "Jeez, you scared me," she grunted before a crescent smile took over her lips.

    "GHhhh," Growled Klian, the frost dragon.

    Pulling his head up, he stretched his body making a few of his ice-like scales fall off on the ground. Peering up, he tilted his long neck left and right before letting out a deafening roar to clear the frozen air in his throat.

    "Haaaaa," letting out a sigh, he nced down at his smiling big sister. "It''s been a while has it not?"

    "It sure has," Moving closer to his cold body, Roselia pressed her head against his creaking heart. "As cold as always, aren''t you?"

    "I wouldn''t be so certain," settling down once again, he gently pushed her away with his dark horns. "These chains¡­they''ve grown heavier, I feel."

    "Shut up¡­" Knowing exactly what he was trying to say, Roselia tried to hush him from speaking out the truth. "It''s just a matter of a century and you''ll be free to go, and so will I!"

    Trying to escape reality, she kept her eyes closed and tried to wonder exactly what being free again would look like. However, as Klian''s tail moved around nking the ursed chains binding him into the room, she was once again reminded of the bitter truth.

    "That''s a century too long for me, Roselia," huffing out a blizzardic gust through his nostrils, in crossed his arms on the ground and nuzzled in between them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You don''t know that¡­" Her eyes still closed shut, she wrapped her hands around his sharp scaly arm. "Don''t say that you idiot, it''s not going to happen, we''re gonna fly out of this damned ce together when the curse binding us to the Frosts finally weakens enough for us to break."

    Uttering not a word more, in simply kept his head low and grumbled. Roselia, although a bit reluctant knew what was going on, but clinging on to the possibility of escape she begged her brother to continue on struggling.

    "Please, just a while longer!" Tightening her grip around him, she could feel his scales digging into her human form. "I don''t wanna lose you, not now, not ever¡­"

    Swept with tears strolling down her face, she could feel under him, the short breaths by her brother getting even shorter. And although his scales were drawing blood from her body, physical pain was not even the least of her concern.

    "How''s¡­your favorite child Tiara? Ahaha," his eyes still closed, Klian tried to soothe her sister''s heart. "You should go meet them once I''m no longer a prisoner to this body."

    "Hold on! Please!" Hupping and she wept from the very thought of losing her brother, she strengthened her grasp further. "For me! For your nieces and nephews! They''ve always wanted to see you-"

    "Roselia¡­" gently brushing her off of his hand, he first prevented her from hurting herself further. Peering at her with a frail smile, he wiped her blood with one of his fingers. However, the moment he touched her, all the blood froze up before falling to the ground and shattering entirely. "As a dragon of frost, you are bound to lose me before I would ever lose you."

    "I know but!" Despite knowing full well that the lifespan of a fire dragon exceeded the lifespan of frost dragons by centuries, Roselia wasn''t willing to let go of her brother.

    "Will you really strip me of myst choice, Roselia?" Uttering those words, in took Roselia by shock. "It''s nothing but a stroke of luck that you arrived here today, and even if you convince me to hold on, I can''t promise to be here when youe back to meet me again."

    Stumped, and left speechless, Rose''s mind was rushing with revtion. So far with every visit she''d convinced herself that she and her brother will be fine so long as she abided by the terms put forth by the primordial Frost. But now, with a real sense of losing her brother, she''d finallye to realize the true nature of the situation.

    ''He can''t die, I won''t let him. There must be some way¡­'' Her eyes jittering, and her body shaking from the ominous thoughts, she searched for any answer that would let her brother escape death even momentarily.

    "I don''t care¡­I''ll break the bond, I don''t care!" Chatting the same thing again and again, she nced back into her brother''s eyes. "I''ll kill him! I''ll kill him, thest Frost child, if he''s dead then there''s no master to the cursed bond!"

    ring back at his sister with frowned eyes, Klian knew his words were about to fall on deaf ears.

    "If he dies-"

    "I know what killing him entails, but you''ll be free and that''s all I care about right now!" Watching as the once-lost me in Roselia''s eyes returned, Klian knew he had no choice but to witness the fruitless massacre.

 Chapter 91 91 - The Maddened Dragonâ€™s Sister

    ?

    ''Temporary status Mistress of Darkness granted!'' Hitting his head against the ice wall, a skull-shattering pain jolted across Haruki''s body.

    "Master!" Cried Asuka as she dashed towards him.

    "Crap! We''ve gotpany," turning towards the open door, Riley noticed a pair of ring eyes peering from inside the dark. "Anyone else has any fighting experience?"

    ncing between Margarette and Moriyana, she was worried about her stepmother''s unstable state and unsure as to just how much help Moriyana could actually be.

    "Don''t joke around now," Moriyana replied, putting up a pair of magic shields over her hands. "What about her though? We''re gonna need her help if we''re fighting a dragon."

    Pointing at Margarette, she brought Riley''s attention right back to her. However, with little time to spare, she decided to take swift action instead spending any time replying back to Moriyana.

    "I''ll take her away, I doubt she can fight right now," activating her invisibility, Riley used wind magic to fly right over to Margarette. "Come with me."

    Grabbing her by the arms, she tried to pick Margarette up, however, shaking Riley''s hands off of her body, Margarette got back onto her feet herself.

    "You don''t understand, escaping will only make things worse!" Having witnessed a hint of the future, Margarette wasn''t too keen on simply escaping the immediate clutches of the dragon.

    Coming out of invisibility, Riley violently grabbed Margarette again and turned her to look right into her terrified eyes.

    "What the hell are you talking about?! We can''t win against a dragon!" Riley screamed right into her stepmother''s face.

    Her eyes still jittering nervously, Margarette was left panting while ring at Riley. Trying to calm her nerves, she quickly wrapped her hands around Riley.

    "You just have to trust me, I saw destruction, we''d all be dead if we leave right now!" As Margarette''s nails dug into her daughter''s back, Riley noticed a scorching ball of me approaching them at iprehensible speed.

    "Sorry Margarette, you staying here is suicidal!" Ignoring her mother''s plea, Riley tightened her grasp around Margarette to help her escape the scene. "Lonesome widow: Take us away!"

    As her invisibility vanished the two in thin air, the ball of fire crashed onto the wall behind where they once stood.

    "Fuck," cursed Moriyana unable to tell whether the two escaped on their own. "I guess it''s time to figure out whether illusions affect dragons."

    Watching the ming body of Roselia Ironfrost walking out the door, Moriyana prepared herself for whatever the dragoness had to offer. Still, in a sub-human form with her clothes reced with burning scales resemblingva, Roselia stood silent looking around for a moment before her eyes caught Haruki being treated by Asuka at the very back of the hall.

    "High-tier magic: God-killing inferno," holding her finger pointed in Haruki''s direction, a plethora of magic circles intertwined with each other appeared at the tip of her finger.

    ''Goddammit, why do I have to be the one to fight her?'' Cursing her fate, Moriyana abandoned all pretense and flung herself in Roselia''s direction. Turning into her subus form to use the full extent of her powers, she casted a counterspell of her own before Roselia''s spell manifested itself.

    "Devour Mana!" Sucking out the mana from Roselia''s spell, Moriyana had locked her into a cycle where she was repurposing Roselia''s mana to devour her spell.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    After a few seconds when Rose realized what Moriyana was doing, she let go of the spell and turned to gaze at the subus flying in front of her.

    "No wonder, young frost was corrupted, you must be the reason," still unaware of Haruki''s real identity, she''d mistaken Moriyana as the mastermind behind the sudden changes in the duke.

    ''Asuka, heal him quickly, I don''t have any other gimmick spells to cancel her spells!'' Already feeling drained by the burst of mana in her body, Moriyana was feeling dizzyingly light-headed.

    "It hardly matters now, you''re gonna die soon anyway," in the blink of an eye, Roselia appeared right inches close to Moriyana.

    Although she noticed her in time, neither her mind nor her body could match the speed of an enraged dragoness. With a punch in the guts, her bodybusted into mes and tore through an ice pir behind her.

    "Aghhhh! Ah! Ah!!!" Her blood bubbling inside her skin, Moriyana''s squirmed and thrashed about on the floor as she suffered through a living hell. "Garden of illusion!"

    Activating her ability just in time, she managed to escape from reality and take refuge in her dreams. Expecting her to be dealt with, Roselia began moving down the hall toward the barely conscious Haruki.

    "Asuka, move aside, I only have business with the duke," knowing Asuka to only be Snow''s servant, Rose didn''t want toy a finger on her skin.

    "Don''t think I''m done yet!" Appearing behind Rose, Moriyana''s face as well as her body was crinkled up from the burns, and yet it wasn''t gonna make her back off just yet. "Here''s what you get for burning my beautiful body!"

    Conjuring a whip of Rose-flower vines, she wrapped it around Roselia''s and flew as high up as she could. Trapped inside her human form, Roselia tried to defend herself by flying as well but failed miserably as she reliedpletely on her wings to fly.

    ''Damn you first duke for trapping me as a human!''  Cursed Roselia, vowing to crush the trapped soul of the primordial Frost inside Snow''s brooch.

    "You bitch! I''ll kill you first!" Grabbing the whip, Roselia incinerated it to dust. However, as she fell back down on the floor, herposure was loose enough for Asuka to jump in as well.

    "Familiar summon: Miasmic flytrap! Lulu!" Summoning her familiars, she had Roselia bound through their tentacles and paralyzing thorn vines.

    "Wh-what?!" Noticing Asuka in her demonic form for the first time, Roselia was caught off-guard once again.

    Growing stabbing thorns in its body, the miasmic flytrap stabbed them into Rose''s arms. Not giving her a moment to retaliate, it began pumping her body full of poison. For a moment, both Asuka and Moriyana thought that they''d sessfully managed to subdue the dragoness, however, crushing those hopes, a st of heating out of Rose exploded the familiars and sent their body parts flying.

    ''What the hell are we supposed to do?'' Backing away from Rose, Asuka stumbled against something on her back. ''What?''

    As she turned around to look, it was Haruki stumbling on his feet, standing behind her in his demonic form.

    "I should''ve known the moment you used that healing spell," mumbled Rose, ring at Haruki.

 Chapter 92 92 - A Clash Of Titans

    ?

    His mind consumed by pain, Haruki struggled to stand tall in front of the raging dragoness. Her body ring like magma had the ice pirs and wall turning into hazy white mist, obscuring Haruki''s vision.

    ''I feel weird¡­'' Although great pain coursed through his body, the hurt itself was healing him internally. Unbeknownst to him, countless passive abilities of Asmodia were already draining him of mana, but the pain kept healing that damage as well.

    "Why the hell are you doing this Rose?" Haruki asked, ring right into her eyes.

    Clutching his fist, he took deep breaths to try and calm his body from the fear of facing a potentially mortal enemy. Within her ming eyes, he could see the reaper ready to scythe his head. However, with much left to do in his second chance at life, he wasn''t going to let her trample on his ns.

    Returning Haruki''s gaze with not a glint of emotion, Rose refused to answer the young duke''s question.

    "Is this about what I said to you about your kids?" On the very mention of her kids, she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

    "Don''t you dare speak a word about them!" With lightning speed, she dashed forward. "I just don''t care what you have to say, we can be together again once I kill you anyway!"

    Grabbing him by the cor, she flung him towards the already shattered wall. Tearing through the ice, Haruki''s body broke through and fell inside the room behind it. While the ice wall was still crumbling and the effect of her touch filled the whole ce with mist, Roselia passed by Haruki''s two servants to make her way closer to his body.

    Astonished by the sight, Asuka tried to rush forward, but appearing out of thin air, a collection of magic circles boxed her inside the magic prison. Upon noticing the anomaly, Moriyana was just about to use Garden of Illusion to escape before Rose trapped her as well.

    "Where the hell do you think you''re going?" Rose mumbled as she continued to walk forward.

    Holding her hand sideways, Rose opened a crimson-red portal right beside Moriyana.

    "What?!" Moriyana screamed as the head of a giant ming falcon attacked her through the portal.

    Biting her by the arm, the head iled her around before throwing her far away from Roselia. As sheid with her body crumbling under the hurt, the falcon climbedpletely out of the portal.

    ''That should keep her busy.'' Halting at the sight of something moving inside the mist, Roselia squinted her eyes to get a better look at Haruki''s shambled body. ''What¡­how?''

    Keeping herposure as she noticed Haruki standing tall with not even a hint of blood or bruise, Roselia knew that killing him was going to be a lot harder than she''d imagined. Unaware that her own attacks were healing him, she prepared to unleash yet another spell.

    "Omni-" However, this time before she could cast the spell, a strange presence stabbed her from behind.

    "Darn, my fencer!" Getting her fencer melted by Roselia''s body, Riley used swift-wind magic to get far away from the dragoness.

    "You idiot!" Growled Roselia, trying to spy out the invisible spy.

    "I''m still here¡­" Appearing behind her, Haruki whispered into her ears. "Dragon''s bane!"

    Punching Rose in the spine with one of her own abilities, Haruki sent her flying face toward and crashed onto the ground. ''Might as well make use of her abilities, right?''

    ''New clone and body form acquired: Roselia Ironfrost!'' As the announcement rang inside his head, a maniacal thrill took over Haruki''s heart.

    "Wha-what the hell?" Pulling herself off the ground, Roselia red back scowling at the duke. "How the hell did you use that ability?!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Flinging her towards him again, she was left aghast when a sea of her own clones appeared all around her. Reconsidering her attack, she stopped in ce before leaping away from the clones protecting their master.

    "It seems like there''s more stuff I can use with the leftover mana," holding his hand forward, Haruki began casting an offensive spell that consumed all light around the ce. Left in the pitch dark, the only thing visible were Roselia, her clones, and the Falcon Moriyana was fighting.

    Ordering the clones to attack Rose, Haruki shot a mana-consuming spell toward the Falcon. The moment the sphere hit the ming bird, it consumed it in an instant and transferred the mana directly into Haruki''s body.

    "Aghhhh!" Roaring out loud, a wave of lighting out of Rose destroyed all the clones and consumed the dark.

    As the light returned to the world, she was fuming with rage. Turning to look at Haruki, she noticed all three of Haruki''s servants standing right behind him.

    "Thanks for freeing Asuka," Haruki whispered, ncing at Riley from the edge of his eyes.

    "You won''t be thanking me when I tell you what Mother said about the situation," a bit ominous Riley''s reply left a lot to the imagination.

    "What do you mean?" Haruki asked, reading up yet another spell.

    "Are you done chattering up there?!" Once again dashing towards the group, Rose was ready to attack. However this time, she was much better prepared on how to outwit them.

    Posing as the distraction, she clenched her fist to fake an attack. Noticing her moving towards them, they all scattered away from each other.

    "Got you!" She smiled, chuckling to herself.

    Although Haruki and the rest had escaped Rose''s punches, in their attempt to move out of her path they failed to keep their caution up from other threats.

    ''Fuck...'' Standing right by a bomb-like sphere fissioning out heat, they all shared the same thought. ''Dark magic shield!''

    Despite being able to pull their shields up in time, they all took great damage as the magic bomb sted in their faces.

    ''Shit!'' Cursed Rose, taking a portion of Snow''s damage onto her because of the cursed bond. ''It hurts every time I hit him, but I don''t care, I shouldn''t care! I just wanna see my brother free even if that means I''d die alongside the damned duke!''

    Recovering from the st, Haruki didn''t have enough mana to use Asmodia''s healing ability. As for the rest of the crew, they were all lying between the shrapnels breathing and panting slowly as they edged towards death.

    ''Dammit! Even though I have countless skills of hers, I''m still limited by the mana at my level!'' Looking back at the smirking dragoness, Haruki could only think of one n.

    "I''ll teleport us all away, we can think how to deal with herter," whispering to his servants, he began opening a small portal under their bodies.

    "We''ll die if you do that¡­" speaking between her muffled breaths, Riley grabbed onto Haruki''s legs. "Mother told me how to defuse the situation, but if we escape now, we''re all bound to die."

    Hearing her words, Haruki instinctively stopped the portals from expanding anymore.

    "Tell me," he requested, ring down at her.

 Chapter 93 93 - The Past That Reunites The Present

    ?

    "You wanna kill me, right?" Throwing his arms wide open, Haruki''s lips crescented into a mocking smirk. "Go ahead and try!"

    Irking Rose further, he was prepared to take on even the most lethal attacks. Enraged by his mocking tone, Rose pushed further and punched him right through the guts. Tearing through his body, her hand came out bloodied on the other end.

    "If you say so," she mumbled before turning his body into a ming inferno.

    "Ahaha!" The sound ofughter left Rose aghast.

    ''Let''s see how urate your foresight is, Margarette.'' Held up in her hands, Haruki nced down at Roselia with blood dripping out of his mouth. The sight, for the very first time, triggered her instincts to get as far away from him as possible.

    "Why¡­." She asked, trying to draw her hand out of his burning body.

    However, grabbing her arm to keep it in ce, Haruki let out yet anotherugh in his maniacal frenzy.

    "Why? You''ll know soon," Having drawn enough mana out of her attack, he red into her soul right through her eyes. "In through the looking ss!"

    Following the activation of the skill, they were both stripped of all mana in their bodies and their eyes lost their light. Falling onto each other the mes on their bodies died down in an instant. Onlooking the whole thing, Riley crawled her way to check up on the two.

    "I hope you can survive that hell," taking a hold of Haruki''s hand, she began to check for a pulse. To her surprise, there was nothing to be felt. "What the hell did you do?"

    Even though Haruki was following her instruction,cking knowledge about Asmodia''s abilities, Riley couldn''t help worrying about what exactly was happening.

    ''Just don''t mess up now!'' With a groaning from Asuka, she turned around to help the other two.

    ***

    Falling through dark ash heavy clouds, Harukinded face-first onto Roselia''s back. The fall had felt like an eternity, the both of them were too light-headed to quarrel over anything at the moment. Being pushed away from her butt, Haruki felt deep warmth crawling from the earth and traveling throughout his body.

    "Where are we?" Asked Roselia, already back on her feet and looking around. "Wait¡­this can''t be!"

    Recognizing the burning earth under her feet as well as the numerous volcanoes around the terrain seeping out magma, Rose knew exactly where she was.

    "It''s your memories¡­" Replied Haruki, getting up on his feet as well. "Apparently seeing each other''s past will end this quarrel."

    ''ording to Margarette at least.'' Watching Rose''s hair fuming up once more, a sense of caution took over Haruki''s body.

    "Why the hell would you bring me here?!" Turning around, Rose tried to leap at him, however, held back by countless invisible arms she couldn''ty so much a finger on his skin.

    "It would be a short trip if you could just kill me here, wouldn''t it?" letting out a nervous chuckle, Haruki nced around to ce himself. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Surrounded by volcanoes upon volcanoes, they were both boxed into a forever-stretching stream of moltenva. Although, he knew he''d never been to this ce, and yet for some obscure reason it felt strangely familiar.

    "What is this ce?" Haruki asked the growling dragoness.

    "The verynd you rule, you used Frost!" She answered as her futile grunting slowly died down. "It''s my home, and thend your ancestor took away from us."

    Haruki couldn''t believe his ears, to think that the tundra surrounding Laria was once a scorchingnd of fire? It hardly felt usible, and yet as he took flight to get a better look at the terrain, the image of the current-day Laria fitted right in. Getting back down to the earth-bound Rose, he turned to her to make one correction in her presumption however.

    "I''m no Frost, Rose," assuming she thought that Snow had been forcefully turned into an incubus, instead of being reced altogether, Haruki decided to clear the air between them.

    "Your excuses won''t work on me, I''m gonna kill you and this stupid curse!" Once again being held back in ce, she tried to bite off Haruki''s nose but missed by a few inches. "Let go of me you coward! Fight me! I''ll burn you alive!"

    Even if he wanted to let her off, the effect of the spell disallowed either of them to assault each other. And the only way to escape this prison of memories was to stroll down each other''s path and learn more about the other person.

    "I consumed Snow''s soul a long time ago, there might be some part of him still left inside me that''s keeping your curse held together,"cking any real way to prove his theory he could only expect her to trust him for the moment.

    "You''re lying! I do not bel-" Snapping his fingers like Moriyana, Haruki changed the scenery to when he visited Snow''s real self forcing himself on Asuka.

    Her eyes widened in shock, red at the ghastly sight of Snow forcing himself on Asuka''s unconscious body. Bit by bit everything that followed the event kept unfolding, making Rose question everything about what she thought of Snow.

    "This is a trick! There''s no way young master would do such a thing!" Once again growling at Haruki, she stomped her feet in an attempt to shatter the floor beneath them but being in an illusion nothing really happened.

    "If I am Snow, and I''m keeping you hostage with whatever curse you speak of¡­" Taking hold of her face between his palms, Haruki took deep breaths reminding her to calm down as well. "Then why would I show you that I, Snow Frost assaulted his own maid?"

    Stumbled by the question, Rose was left without words. Her mind raced to find why Snow would purposefully portray himself as a ghastly pervert, but no matter how far and wide she searched there was truly no answer.

    "What are you then?" She asked, loosening her body.

    Letting go of her body, the invisible arms no longer tried to restrain her in any way.

    "I''ll show you, but I need to know who you are too," stretching his hand towards her, Haruki offered her a handshake. "And if I''m right then maybe I can help you get rid of the curse without killing me or any of my servants."

    Staring at his hands, Rose knew she''d be entering another covenant if she shakes her hand with a demon, but the prospect of freedom and potentially saving her brother was not something she could refuse.

    "I''ll eat you alive if you try to trick me," shaking his hand, she agreed to the deal.

 Chapter 94 94 - Exchange Of Bleeding Hearts

    ?

    "And here we are, back in the moment our fight began," after seeing all of Haruki''s core memories y out one after the other, Rose stood unmoving with her nails digging into her sides. "You may not like what I''ve done, but I have no ns on stopping until I avenge my past."

    To her, he was no tyrant, neither was he the saint she''d taken Snow to have been. Instead, watching him be executed for crimes he''d nevermitted squeezed her heart of all the malice she harbored towards him.

    "How do I know you''re telling the truth?" Biting down on her lips, she was in the same dubious situation as Haruki once was. "Why would I trust a demon who has done nothing but lie to me so far?"

    Knowing full well that convincing her would be no easy task, Haruki snapped his fingers and put them into the seats of a dining table in the abyss. Laid in front of them on a white cloth were two steaming cups of tea and a te of jellied biscuits.

    "You''re gonna trust me because I''m asking nothing from you," sliding the cup in front of her, Haruki picked up his own and began sipping on the bitter tea.

    ''As tasteless as always.'' He thought, cing the cup down.

    "I''ll help you get rid of the curse, and in return, you''ll leave me alone," his promise, although inviting, stormed a turmoil of emotions inside her heart.

    ''He reminds me of the emperor.'' Peering at him unblinking, Rose was truly caught with an impossible choice. ''But, if what he''s shown me is true, then he''s just as tortured by As as me and my brother.''

    Thend had never been too weing of her kind, and the moment a dragon was spotted they were greeted with the killernce of Michael Arc. Although Haruki wasn''t the kindest or the most just, so long as his tyranny was restricted to humans, then why should she really care? After all, they''d taken her freedom, her wings, her body, and soon enough even her brother, then what fidelity did they deserve from her?

    "My brother¡­" Gulping her sorrow, she clutched her heart. "He''s dying."

    The numbness in her eyes conveyed what she wanted to speak better than her words. ncing down at the steaming cups, she wrapped her hands around it to warm herself in the freezing cold of the dark abyss.

    "I can save him," affected by one of Asmodia''s passive abilities, Haruki offered an irrefusable bargain. "But in return, I expect the willing aid of the dragons."

    At first, Rose couldn''t believe what she''d heard, but as she thought things through, one hitch in the offer pervaded all her thoughts.

    "My brother he says he''d rather die than live shackled under a master, be it the Frosts or you, Haruki shin," expecting that response, Haruki already knew what he had to say.

    "I said willing aid, didn''t I? You won''t be bound by a curse or a contract, so long as you don''t go against me you''d have absolute say in whether you want to do any tasks I assign you or the rest of your family."

    "How would you even save him?" She asked, wasting not a single breath to answer. "He''s grown too weak to even breathe properly, it breaks my heart but I see the reaper lying in wait around him."

    Looking into her troubled eyes, Haruki could see her imploring her brother to hold onto life. The longer he watched the more of her memories unfolded before his eyes, in the interest of saving time, he offered his hand forward for Roselia to hasten the exchange of memories.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What?" She uttered, reluctantly offering him her hand.

    The moment her skin touched his, a burst of lighting ran through them both. Sharing instantly in a second they knew everything to know about each other. Feeling heavy in the throat from witnessing her disastrous past, Haruki''s cheeks were drenched in tears.

    "They kill everyone? Eve-"

    "Even the children¡­the emperor''s army has relentlessly expanded As''s domain, we just so happened to be nesting in their path," drawing her hand away, Rose wrapped them back around the cup forfort.

    "You''re not so different Roselia, they used you for war, and kept your brother as a hostage," feeling kinship towards the dragoness, Haruki feltpelled to help her. "Who knows what they would''ve made you do if you didn''t defect on the emperor temporarily."

    "Don''t scrape the past, I don''t wanna remember it," reminded of her crimes, she could once again see blood trailing through her arms.

    Having defected against the emperor''s army she''d burned them all alive before being forced to stay locked inside the Frost castle. There, being so close to her brother, she was more epting of the binds holding them in ce, but even then if it weren''t for the fact that her life was tangled up with the Frost bloodline, she would''ve killed the dukes and escaped the ursed ce.

    "How do I know you''ll keep your word?" Roselia asked, her mind still scanning through hers and Haruki''s memories. "I do not care what you do to the humans, but I do not like defectors despite what my past may entail."

    "As I said, I wouldn''t make you sign a covenant, a promise is all I can offer," holding his hand forward, Haruki waited for her response.

    Although still a bit reluctant, left with no other possible choice to save her brother, she shook his hand as a sign of the promise.

    "Don''t make me regret this," she mumbled.

    "You have my word," Haruki replied.

    Consumed by a wave of light emitting from their joined hands, both of them were blinded for a second before their vision wentpletely dark. Mumbling incoherently to themselves, they both slowly opened their eyes to the light of the sun creaking on them through the window. Laying in two parallel single beds, they turned their head toward each other and found themselves covered in bandages and tucked under warm nkets.

    "Are we back?" Asked Rose.

    "Depends on what you mean by back, I guess," replied Riley, standing at the edge of their beds. "So, did it work?"

    "I think so," Haruki replied, closing his eyes to rest a little.

 Chapter 95 95 â€“ Returning To Youth

    ?

    Standing by the dragon seal door, Haruki had Rose apany him inside. Still possessing the powers of the demon lord, Asmodia, he didn''t want to waste a second of time in case the ability retreated its effects.

    "About the guards, I''ve removed them from the memories of the masses, but it''s probably best we never talk about them," hardly caring for human suffering anymore, Rose simply nodded her head in agreement.

    Lighting the path forward with a me burning over her hand, Rose led Haruki right over to her dying brother. There as Haruki''s eyesid on a dragon for the first time, he felt struck with awe and a sense of insignificance before such an elegant being.

    "Klian, are you there?" Getting down on her knees, Rose brushed her hands down her brother''s nose.

    Thoroughly looking over his body, she noticed that all his icy scales were slowly melting away leaving behind a water glint that was akin to a fish out of water.

    "I never thought I''d see him like this," pressing her head against his, she tried her best to hold back her tears. "He used to be so full of life and energy, he even breathed out the tundra that surrounds this duchy."

    ''I only saw it through her memories, but even in them he was always causing chaos and destruction to a scale that''s staggeringly unimaginable.'' Being the one who turned the volcanic field of Laria into a tundra, there was no one more fitting to be titled the maddened dragon.

    "Let me have a look," upon hearing his request, Rose stepped aside, giving Haruki space to do whatever he''d nned.

    cing his hand on Klian''s head, Haruki closed his eyes searching for the best way to rejuvenate the dragon''s life. The first answer that appeared in his head was to turn him into an incubus so he could be immortal so long as carnal curse didn''t reach level three. However, assuming that wasn''t an option Rose would be willing to ept, Haruki scanned through the abilities.

    Feeling Klian''s head slowly rising and falling with each dying breath, it was no surprise to Haruki that he didn''t have much time to spare. And despite stumbling upon abilities upon abilities that could potentially save his life there was always sometent effect that could ruin the whole deal between him and Roselia. That is until he saw something far more potent than anything else so far.

    "How old is your brother?" Haruki asked, turning his head towards Rose.

    A bit perplexed as to what his age had to do with anything, Rose gave off a frown but decided to tell Haruki in''s age regardless.

    "I''m not really certain, but it''s around fifteen hundred and some years," her unsure answer was quite startling on its own.

    ''I couldn''t have guessed they were so old from thatpressed shot of her memories.'' Having only exchanged core memories that stayed fresh in their minds, Haruki couldn''t help but feel as though he had much to learn about the sibling dragons.

    "Age regression: five hundred years!" As mana began pouring out of his body and force itself into Klian, Haruki urged Rose toe closer and hold his hand. "Burn my hand, I need to drain your mana so I canplete the spell."

    Taking a hold of Haruki''s hand, she made her hands re up into a raging fire. Burning under her palm, Haruki could feel his skin being charred up and his flesh cooking alive but powering through the pain, he kept pouring his mana into the struggling Klian.

    "Is it working?" Asked Rose, but answering her question wasn''t words, but the slow yet steady loss of mass in her brother''s body.

    Shrinking in size, Klian''s body began growing back the icy scales. Then, as his mass reduced even more, his muscles became more solid and defined.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "A bit more!" Haruki yelled asking her to pour even more strength into the me.

    "O-okay!" Like a forge meant to melt iron, the me under her hands tore right through Haruki''s bones, but absorbing energy from the pain, Haruki had gotten all the strength that he needed.

    Overcharged with mana, the two were thrown back by a small explosion charging from Haruki''s hands. Somehow managing to break their fall, they were both brought to their knees as they looked back up at the maddened dragon.

    "It worked, right? He seems more youthful!" Bracing her heart as a grumble left Klian''s lips, Rose watched as her brother slowly opened his eyes and propped himself tall on his feet.

    Stretching his limbs a little, his eyes widened in shock as the chain on his limbs nked about rampantly. His arms felt alive, and his heart breezed a storm inside his chest. He could feel it in himself the once dying breaths could now breathe a new tundra.

    "Who is this imp?" Asked Klian looking down at Haruki''s demon form. "And what has he done to me?"

    "Are you feeling okay?" Ignoring his questions, Rose rushed over to her brother and hugged him by his wide chest. "It doesn''t hurt now, does it?"

    Peering up at him like a child, she had her cheeks trailing with tears.

    "I feel¡­" Taking a deep breath, he could feel his lungs filling up with cold air, reminding him of the time he still had some control over his body. "I feel young again."

    "I''m d!" Hugging him even tighter, she buried her face onto his body.

    Noticing Klian''s gaze on him, Haruki knew it was best for him to give the two some lone time, thus, turning around he started making his way toward the only door in the room.

    "I''ll leave you two alone, but make sure to exin everything to Klian I''ll work to figure out how to get rid of the curse in the meantime," waving his hand to the dragons, Haruki left the two alone.

    Although he''d garnered at least some amount of Rose''s trust, to further her loyalty he still had much to do.

    ''I need Fay''s ability to take out what little part of Snow''s soul is left inside of me, but how do I do it exactly?'' Coming out to the sight of his servants waiting for him, Haruki was met with curious stares dying to know some answers.

    "The duchy is falling, the castle is in shambles, and all of Moriyana''s servants are either dead or cripples," looking around the four, Haruki huffed out a sigh, expecting a heap load of work waiting for him. "I think we can all use some time to stretch our bodies."

    Having essentially been offered a holiday, all four of them rxed their shoulders and beamed out a smile.

 Chapter 96 96 - Control, Love, And Freedom [Part 1]

    ?

    A strange calm had taken over thend of Laria. The streets were void of human calls, the forestcked its lively nature, and yet with the thwarting of tundra around thend, every creature confined within the mountains relished in the warmth of the strong summer breeze. Having returned to his youth, the maddened dragon Klianstien Ironfrost conveyed his appreciation by inviting warmth back into his homnd.

    "How''s Klian doing?" Haruki asked, waking up to the sight of Rose bringing him breakfast.

    "He''s well, although a bit too energetic to be in those chain binds," hinting at his promise, She reminded Haruki of his end of the deal. "I hope you can break the curse soon, it would be a shame if I had to kill you to free him despite you doing so much for my brother."

    Her appreciation for what Haruki had done was immense, but much like human suffering, she cared not the least if she had to kill Haruki in order to earn her brother''s freedom.

    "You don''t have to remind me, Fay is going to visit Moriyana today so if everything goes well, you''d be free of the curse before nightfall hits," sliding his legs off the bed, Haruki picked himself up and began dressing in his regr clothes.

    ''That reminds me¡­'' Walking up to the dressing table, he reached into the top drawer to take out the sapphire brooch. Taking it in his hands, he turned to face Rose.

    "When you gave me this brooch you said the first duke''s soul resides in this," walking closer to her, he ced the jewel into her palm. "I most likely won''t be able to use it once Snow''s soul is destroyedpletely, so do what you must with it."

    Recalling what he saw in her memories, the first duke was the cause of all her trouble. He was the one who subjugated her brother and even trapped Rose into being a bodyguard to the Frost name itself.

    "Keep it," to his surprise, she held the brooch back towards him. "People like Michael and the emperor might be able to figure things out if you''re not wearing it."

    "I can always create a fake copy," Haruki replied.

    "Remember the snowstorm that happened when Michael pronounced you as the duke?" Her question being a bit out of ce, perplexed Haruki a little.

    "Yeah, I remember, why?" Although he took the brooch off of her hands, he still wanted a clear answer.

    "The storm was Michael''s doing, he does snow for Laria, a fire Phoenix for Daria, and many more fake recognitions of god to convince the public that you''re their ordained master and the new ruler of thend. But when he''s not around the only way for you to use ice magic is with the help of that brooch even if you''re not a true Frost,"  done with the exnation, Roselia began setting the bed before Haruki.

    "I guess that''s why the storm still happened even though I''m not a Frost," wearing the brooch around his neck, Haruki still had one question left inside his mind. "But what about the soul part, is there really one inside?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As she heard that question her hands stopped moving. Hunched over at the bed, she stayed stagnant for a moment with her eyes staring at the crumbled sheets.

    "There''s no soul inside it, much like everything else about this duchy, it''s just another thing that''s been stolen from us," although she''d left the answer ambiguous, somehow Haruki knew it was a topic best left untouched.

    ''She seems upset that I even asked that question.'' Averting his gaze, Haruki kept getting ready with Roselia working right behind his back.

    Once she was done setting the bed, Rose left Haruki alone in the room with his breakfast on the bedside table. Being an incubus, he didn''t require sustenance in the form of food, however, the trailing odor of actually good tea sided with a puffy cream pastry was too much not to gobble it up regardless.

    ''The ves Moriyana ordered must be arriving soon too, I should finish up on the curse and acquire Fay''s ability before that happens.'' Quickly collecting his thoughts, Haruki was off on his way to get a carriage for Moriyana''s tattered mansion.

    After the attack from Razor, her chain ofmand was left in shambles, but as a few days passed it was gradually on its way to recovery. Recruiting the citizens spreading rumors about the deaths around the cities, Moriyana had turned them all into her servants, making the sources of those rumors into nothing more than dubious chatter.

    ''I would''ve preferred if I could just alter everyone''s memories with Asmodia''s power, but I doubt I''d be able to do it with my limited mana output.'' Strolling down the street in his carriage, many citizens waved at him with joyous smiles, reminding him of the first time he''d taken a carriage around Laria to meet Moriyana waiting by the gates.

    Although now it felt different, as in the voices of the citizens he sensed a hint of fear. His policies and leniency on crime had people cursing him under their breaths whilst still chanting his praises out loud.

    "I don''t have much time, if we don''t corrupt the streets faster, then at least one of them will spread the news that could make its way to the emperor," Haruki muttered with a worried frown resting on his face.

    "About that¡­" Grabbing his attention, Asuka chimed in. "Last time Moriyana was at the castle, she said she had a n to elerate the moral degeneration of the people."

    "What? Why wasn''t I told about this?" Haruki asked, totally forgetting that he''d handed diplomacy over to Margarette and that she was working out each document for him at the castle.

    Upon realizing, however, he simply let out a sigh and wondered how far Riley had gotten in her assigned work by now.

    ''I can''t imagine just how many loud-mouthed traitors she has killed so far.'' Entrusted with the responsibility to kill any and all who tried to spread the truth about what was happening inside Laria to the outside world, Riley was having a great time swinging her knives around countless throats.

 Chapter 97 97 - Control, Love, And Freedom [Part 2]

    ?

    "There he is," Moriyana said, pointing towards Haruki walking into her office.

    Seated opposing her, Fay turned around to address the duke. Getting out of her chair, she moved to the side and bowed to show respect towards thend''s ruler. A bit thrown off by her sudden formal behavior, Haruki stopped in front of the desk and red at her bowing her head.

    "I think we''re both past the point of formalities, so it''s best we treated each other the same way we treated the same way as on our journey back home," pulling up a chair for himself, Haruki sat down before holding his hand towards the chair beside him. "Rx a bit, I''m not here for any diplomatic reason, you don''t need to be so tense."

    Still a bit reluctant to let off the mask of courtesy, Fay teetered over to the offered seat. As Fay settled down on it, knowing what to do, Asuka moved around the desk and ced her hands on Fay''s shoulders.

    "Charm!" Activating the spell, Asuka had managed to weaken Fay''s mental fortitude.

    "Wha¡­what are you doing?" Fay asked, turning to look at Asuka.

    Having expected the skill to be not as effective on her, Asuka mped her head between her hands and turned her face around to face Haruki.

    "Hypnosis!" Attacking her psyche further, Haruki managed to break through the mental barrier protecting her from being controlled by someone else.

    "Here," cing the love potion Fay had been waiting for on the table, Moriyana exined the rest of the n. "Have her drink it from your hands, and she will be madly in love with you."

    "You sure this won''t be as extreme as the priestess?" Remembering back to yesterday night, the face of Serena watching him from the window was still haunting him today. "She won''t copse either, right? I need her awake, the priestess was knocked out after I instinctively used that love spell on her."

    "She won''t trust me, the mistress''s spells are extreme and my potions are bnced," although he was still worried that Fay might turn into a stalker like Serena, he decided to go along with the n.

    Uncorking the bottle, he held its neck by her lips. Slowly as the potion trailed into her mouth, a deep red glow could be seening from her beating heart.

    "Why the hell did she need this anyway? And how did the minotaurse into y to make it?" Haruki asked, purely out of curiosity.

    "She likes to collect rare items, as for theter question¡­" Pressing her lips together, she shied away from looking at Haruki. "I had to milk-ahem! Get their essence for the potion!"

    "Great¡­" Knowing exactly what she meant when she mentioned milking the male minotaurs, Haruki quickly put aside the emptied bottle. "Did it work?"

    "Let it digest you idiot," letting out a chuckle, Moriyana leaned onto the table unting her chest. "If you were expecting some action so soon, why don''t you try it on me?"

    Pulling the frontce of her blouse open, she had her breasts almost powering out of the dress. Squeezing them together with her arms, she bit her lips trying to seduce Haruki.

    "I''ve gained plenty of levels turning those chattery citizens into servants, you can drain those levels out of me if you want," as she drew herself closer to Haruki, Asuka ced her hand on Moriyana''s face and forced her back into her seat.

    "Master is nning a small vacation once we''re done dealing with Rose, so until then keep your lips tight shut, and I''m talking about your upper and lower lips both," ring at her with a frown, Asuka wasn''t holding back on showing their rivalry.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Ughh, whatever," shrugging her shoulders, Moriyana pulled herself out of the desk. "Just make her crush the rest of Snow''s soul while she''s hypnotized, the love potion effect is gradual so don''t expect it to kick in just yet."

    Making her way into the back room, Moriyana left the two to handle the situation. Hearing her exnation, Haruki hoped he could still use Asmodia''s abilities so he wouldn''t have to rely on the potion and could simply copy Fay''s ability with just a touch.

    ''I guess there''s no point in thinking about that.'' Opening up a dungeon portal, Haruki took out a small jar. Turning back to gaze into Fay''s now empty eyes, he took a deep breath before giving her themand.

    "Take out whatever part of Snow''s soul is left inside me and put it in this," as hemanded, Fay''s hands began moving on their own.

    Reaching for Haruki''s cor she began unbuttoning his top until his naked chest waspletely visible.

    "What is she doing?" Asuka asked, feeling a bit threatened by her action.

    "We''ll have to see," following his words, Fay began chanting a spell that conformed two pale astral hands hovering over Haruki''s chest.

    Pushing in against his skin, they plunged deep into his body, and as their fingers disappeared inside him a pained groan left Haruki''s lips.

    "Master?!" Asuka yelped in horror, but before she could reach forward, Haruki held his hand towards her to stop her from interrupting.

    "I-it''s okay¡­this is nothingpared to Rose''s mes," he tried to chuckle to make her feel moreforted, but it only ended up with him wheezing out in pain.

    "Don''t speak," Asuka advised, her worries apparent on her face.

    Keeping his mouth shut, Haruki''s fingers clutched tighter on the ss jar. As Fay''s chants continued, a purifying beam of light emanated throughout Haruki''s body, making his flesh, his nerves, and even his skin glow up from the inside and strike out shadows of his bones and organs around the walls around him.

    "Healing touch!" Unable to keep watching, Asuka grabbed onto her screaming master. "Healing touch! Healing touch!"

    With his very soul deeplybined with Snow, Haruki was feeling his existence being torn into as Fay kept trying to untangle Snow from Haruki.

    "Amarylissia Freya," uttering those words, Fay snatched the untangled soul of the real duke by drawing the astral hands out of Haruki''s body. "In the jar."

    Heeding hermand, the hands confined the blinding spear of light inside the mason jar. However, the very moment she was done with Haruki, her eyes stopped beaming a silver glow and her body flopped sideways onto the table.

    ''I don''t think I can¡­'' His vision growing blurry, Haruki too fell victim to exhaustion.

 Chapter 98 98 - Control, Love, And Freedom [Part 3]

    Waking up in one of the many rooms in Moriyana''s mansion, Haruki''s mind was assaulted with countless questions popping up in his own head. Pushing those questions off, however, he quickly got off the bed and headed down through the maze of a building. At times he found himself wandering back into the same room, but then using one of his spies he managed to locate the stairs leading downstairs.

    "Why the hell did she build this ce like this?" Haruki couldn''t help but question the sanity of the workers who must''ve worked on the ce.

    ''Although I doubt she made this thing a maze without any real purpose.'' Knowing Moriyana full well, Haruki knew that there must be a reason why she made the building so confusing to traverse through.

    "Asuka?" Feeling lightheaded, Haruki called out to Asuka as he reached the corridor leading to Moriyana''s office.

    "Master?" Replied the worried demi-fox.

    Peeking out the office door, Asuka''s eyes widened as she noticed Haruki stumbling his way toward her. Leaving whatever she was doing, she rushed over to him and helped him walk through the corridor and take a seat on one of the chairs.

    "I''m going, I promised Rose that she''ll be free from the curse before nightfall," lightly panting while ring at Moriyana seated on the other end of the table, Haruki felt viscerally impatient. "I heard you had a n about hastening the corruption of the Larian people, tell me quickly so I can head on back."

    Tired herself after working through countless documents for the day, Moriyana''s continence had all but fallen as well. Quickly tearing a page from her clipboard, she began writing down everything so didn''t have too much time verbally exining.

    "I need your written permission to start a brothel here with the iing ves," finishing writing on the page, she handed it over to him. "They''re mostly women or feminine men for the more adventurous entrics, just sign this paper and I will file it to the councilmen myself."

    Despite being an incubus himself, Haruki wasn''t too keen on sexual activity, and thus trying to judge just how a simple brothel would help their ns was quite an enigma to him.

    "How will this help exactly? I get that you want perversion but¡­" Staring at her waiting for an answer, Haruki was met with an exalted look.

    "I thought you didn''t have time? And If you''re so worried, I''ll send a copy exining my nter," pushing the parchment towards him with the quill resting on top, Moriyana tapped her finger at the empty spot he had to sign.

    Taking the document in his hands, he tried to read it, but with his tired brain he could only read the words, but their meaningpletely escaped his mind. Grunting in frustration, he picked up the quill and signed onto it as Snow even though no part of Snow was left in him anymore.

    After signing up the document, Haruki didn''t waste a second and was off on his way back to the castle. As Asuka and he rode through the twilight sky, he felt an urgency to get back to Rose before she assumed that Haruki was trying to back on his words by stalling for time.

    "She''s not gonna like the fact that I just signed for prostitution to be legal in the duchy," mentioning it to Asuka with a somewhat weak smile, Haruki let his shoulders drop.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I thought she wasn''t concerned with human suffering?" Asuka asked.

    "That''s true but ves remind her of her brother and her situation, so it''s probably best we keep these things secret," nodding at Asuka, Haruki urged her to nod back.

    "Sure, I''ll tell the others not to mention it around her either," nodding back, Asuka agreed.

    Reaching the castle, the sun was barely visible over the horizon. While being a littlete wouldn''t have affected anything at all, Haruki wasn''t nning on backing up his words, especially when it came to a promise he made to Rose.

    ''She''ll actually eat me alive if I''mte.'' He thought before getting off the carriage.

    Rushing into the castle, he used a dungeon portal to use its small distance teleportation and travel exactly where he expected Rose to be. Standing in dark with the only lighting out of Rose''s burning hair, he bore witness to a peculiar yet adorable sight.

    "Remember when you fell in one of the volcanoes?" Snuggled up with Klian''s tail wrapped around her, Rose had her head rested against his belly. "I had to jump in and save you."

    "That was the first volcano I covered up in snow too, ahaha," their eyes closed shut, both of them were relishing in their shared memories.

    Watching over them as he stood in a dark corner, Haruki couldn''t bring himself to break the bonding moment between the two. Reaching into the dungeon portal Haruki grabbed the jar with Snow''s soul and then teleported it near Roselia''s feet.

    "Thank you¡­" To his surprise, however, Rose gently opened her eyes and looked right at him standing in the distance. "For keeping your end of the deal, we promise to do the same so long as we deem the task fit."

    Saying those words, Rose closed her eyes again. Flipping over to the side, she threw her arms over her brother and let her mind drift off to take a rest. Wrapping her tighter with his tail, Klian opened his eyes too and took a quick nce at the incubus duke.

    Unlike his big sister, however, he simply nodded at Haruki as a sign of respect before resting his neck on the ground and coiling it inward towards Rose.

    ''I should go, they can do what they must with the soul.'' Leaving the dragons with the soul of the descendant of their captor, Haruki teleported away to rest inside his room.

    However, deep into the night as he slept, he felt part of him dying far away from his body. But what was just momentary pain for him, was the end of centuries-long torture of the dragons and thest step to achieving their freedom.

 Chapter 99 99 - A Monster Of An Acquaintance

    ?

    Following Klian''s release from his bind and the curse of the dragons lifted offpletely, the tundra surrounding Laria turned into a lush patch ofnd with countless springs of hot water sprouting out from the ground.

    "Harukiiii¡­" Pulling on Haruki''s hands, Moriyana was begging him to make the carriage stop. "Can we really not take a dip yet? Pleaseeee?"

    "Let go of master, you witch!" Pushing Moriyana back into the seat, Asuka red her down intently.

    Hiding her head on the carriage interior, Moriyana''s body puffed forward from the pain, making the buttons on her casual sundress pop off and hit Riley right in the eye.

    "Ouch!" Squealed Riley.

    "I''m not a witch, I''m a subus, you dimwit!" Moriyanained,

    "You stupid morons shut up," binding Asuka as well as Moriyana to their seats, Moriyana Pulled Riley closer to her bosom so she couldfort her hurt baby. "Next time you hurt her, I''m gonna burn you two!"

    Gently stroking Riley''s head, Margarette gave them both a petrifying stare. Even Haruki was a bit threatened looking at her, the way she got defensive when Riley''s safety was involved was as maniacal as his own unhinged demonic self.

    "And if you all don''t quit down in there, I''ll burn you all myself!" Yelled the couch woman, Roselia. "You''re stressing the tigress and if she runs off, I''ll fly off and leave you all on your own."

    The noisy environment around him reminded Haruki of his journey to Daira. Having to deal with all the quarreling amongst the adventurers, and the countless fights between the clovers made him feel nostalgic, especially after all the hell he''s been through recently.

    ''Who could''ve thought a stroll through the once cruel tundra could be so refreshing?'' Even though he was relishing in his bitter-sweet memories, the reason for this sudden adventure wasn''t entirely for the sake of rxing a little. ''The new path Rom has finallypleted¡­I can only think of one monster that could be blocking the road and demanding to see me.''

    At the crack of dawn when the bypass joining Laria to numerous other duchies was finallypleted, the sudden appearance of a monster blocking the road had caused massive uproar throughout the duchy. What was supposed to be a momentous day had be the topic of chatter amongst the already chatty citizens.

    "Master, are we going to visit Daria after we''ve dealt with this monster?" Asked Margarette, still stroking Riley''s head even though she was blushing like a cherry. "From what I could gather from his letter, this monster only wants to meet you and then would let anyone pass so we don''t exactly need to report it back to him explicitly, he''s bound to find out that the monster is gone."

    Blinded by her desire to head home to check up on things, Margarette was trying to push a long journey that was absolutely unnecessary for the moment.

    "Nah, I''d rather we do what Moriyana wants and take a dip inside these hot springs, maybe we can even find a way to mize them while we''re at it," if it weren''t for the holy binds, Moriyana was ready to jump up from excitement upon hearing Haruki''s suggestion.

    The rest of the journey was spent in silence with each passenger consumed by their own thoughts. Feeling attacked by others trying to make advances on her master, Asuka was plotting to get some alone time with her master like she used to. As for Moriyana, despite having turned numerous people into her servant she still hadn''t done the deed in a while, and rxing in the hot spring with her legs spread open for a Haruki was all she could think of.

    ''Mother''s been too coddling to me recently.'' Thought Riley, her face buried into Margarette''s thick thighs. Conflicted between loving attraction and longing to soothe her carnal urges with her, Riley couldn''t help but think about the time she''d kissed her own stepmother. ''I shouldn''t think like this, but her lips, her tongue it was so¡­No! Don''t think about it!''

    Margarette herself was no stranger to those taboo longing, and her feelings towards not only Riley but Haruki as well were making her stomach flutter up a strange warmth.

    "R-Riley? Can you not breathe on my thigh?" Flustered herself, Margarette bit her lips to drown her heavy breaths.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What?!" Embarrassed in front of everyone, Riley picked her head up and looked in the other direction as Margarette. "Sorry¡­"

    "Shin, I see the monster," breaking the awkward exchange Roselia called out to Haruki. "It''s a damned reaper, why does he want to meet you anyway?"

    "We''ll find out soon enough," as soon as Rose stopped the carriage, Haruki got off of it and made his way towards thenterned reaper with the rest of his crew in tow.

    ''I do not have the time nor the patience to deal with this bastard.'' Expecting a fight, Haruki conjured a magic circle over his palm and moved it in the direction of the reaper.

    "You fucking bastard, I''m gonna kill you for what you didst time," pissed about Jenna and her sister, Haruki shot shards of ice towards him.

    Totally expecting him to dodge the ice, Haruki conjured up multiple magic circles all around thenterned reaper.

    "Thank you, Duke," said the monster as the ice pierced through him. "For freeing me from thisnd of cold."

    Hearing his genuine words, Haruki was thrown off guard and let go of all the magic circles.

    "What?" He muttered, confused and yet enraged towards the monster''s apology.

    Ignoring Haruki''s confusion, the monster reached for hisntern hanging by a stick. Undoing the knot binding it to the wooden rod, the reaper let thentern fall onto the ground and shatter into pieces. Screeching like ghouls, the spirits trapped inside thentern''s blue me rose up, escaping from their burning prison.

    "This path you''ve built, and the melting snow has finally set me free of my worldly binds," letting his walking stick fall off his hands, the image of the reaper slowly began disappearing in front of their eyes. "The only thing I had left in this world was to thank my savior, and now that''s it done I''ll meet you in hell."

    Of the group, only two of them truly understood what the reaper meant when he promised to meet Haruki in hell. And despite having seen Haruki''s core memories Riley as well as Margarette decided not to dig into the matter, while Rose didn''t care enough to indulge in her curiosity.

    "Before you move on," despite watching the creature disappear from existence, Haruki just couldn''t forgive him for what he had done to the sisters and their parents. "Did you consume Jenna''s parents as well?"

    With not much time left in this world, the reaper simply nodded in agreement. Enraged by his answer, Haruki clenched his teeth and red at the reaper to curse him once more.

    "Burn in hell, until I get there and make you wish you never escaped this damned ce!" His fists curled up tight, Haruki couldn''t do much but simply watch the monster disappear through thin air.

    For a while, he simply stood there with his blood boiling in rage but left with no choice but to head back, he finally turned around to the group and uttered a few simple words.

    "The hot springs¡­we''re going there," putting up a fake smile that fooled nobody, Haruki marched back to the carriage.

 Chapter 100 100 - Hot Spring Camping: Dressing Up Sexy [18+]

    ?

    Spanning out a pair of dark-red wings withva visibly seeping through their veins, Rose spread them wide open with a joyous smile on her face. Being able to use her wings again, she felt like a child who''d just learned something new.

    "I''ll be off then," looking at Haruki with a warm smile, Rose pped her wings a few times as practice.

    "Say hi to Tiara and Doroke for me," waving his hands to her, he made sure to get some distance between them before she took off.

    Nodding her head at him, Rose nced high up in the sky. pping her wings a few more times, scorching res flew out of her wingspan. As she finally took off bolting into the sky, a giant impact crater was left where she stood. Trying to spy her in the sky, Haruki scanned about to spot her, but the dragoness was already far gone.

    "That was loud,"ined Asuka, walking up to Haruki from behind.

    "She''s just excited to see her kids," turning around, Haruki wore a smile once more, instead of the scorn he had after meeting up with the reaper. "Too bad Klian hasn''t recovered all his strength yet or he could''ve visited them as well."

    Beaming a smile back at him, Asuka led him away from the crater site. Having set their camp in a green opening, Haruki and his crew had decided to spend a few days away from all the hustle and bustle of the duchy.

    ''I do need a break from Serena''s stalking.'' Tired and somewhat terrified by Serena following him from afar, Haruki had set up his clones inside the castle so the priestess wouldn''t be suspicious and try to find the real person.

    Taking a seat by one of the tents, Haruki looked on over to the sight of a clear flowing river with a stream of hot water showering onto it from atop one of the mountains. ncing up toward the mountain peak he still couldn''t believe that what was a snow-capped mountain right now was once a raging volcano.

    "Haruki, what are you doing sitting here?" Pulling him out of the moment of peace, Moriyana had Haruki turn his attention toward her.

    Dressed in a skimpy bikini, Moriyana''s breasts were pressed tightly under the ck swimwear. Tie around her pelvis theces of her underwear dug deep into her flesh, giving out a clear view of just how thick her bottom was.

    Noticing Haruki''s gaze, she ced her hand on her hips and posed sideways by pushing her hips against his face.

    "Like what you see?" chuckling out loud, she let go of the pose and pulled him up on his feet. "I brought loads more stuff for everyone to wear, here let me help you dress up too!"

    "There''s no need, besides Asuka will freak out if you try and dress me," Haruki replied before looking around trying to find where Asuka was. "Where is he?"

    Looking back at Moriyana when he couldn''t find her, he was met with a smirk that spelled absolute trouble.

    "They''re all getting dressed too, so this is my chance," grabbing Haruki by the arms, Moriyana pulled him into the tent and shut the entrance behind them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Cornering Haruki by the tent wall, Moriyana ced her hand on both sides of his head to prevent him from escaping her clutches. Bringing her face close to Haruki until their noses touched, she slowly began undressing his top. Moving one of her onto his naked chest, she let it crawl all over him while her other hand kept undressing him.

    "Come on Haruki, I know you want to do this," biting her lips, she took off his shirt and threw it to the side. Standing in front of his eyes, she grabbed onto her boobs and pushed them together. "Come get me, it''s been a while you know?"

    With his body bothered by her touch, Haruki was no longer thinking with reason, so pulled Moriyana closer he let his hands slide down to her plump ass. The moment his fingers touched her flesh, they sunk right into her flesh.

    "Ughh, fuck it," he grunted before pushing his lips against hers.

    Coiling their tongues around each other, they could taste each other''s taste passing down their throats. Reaching down his belly, Moriyana slipped her hands into his pants. There, feeling the tip of his cock, she caressed it gently until a gasp left Haruki''s lips.

    "Ahaha," she chuckled, teasing his tip even more. "So are you gonna let me dress you now or let the other wait a bit longer until I convince you?"

    "I thought we were doing something else?" Turning into his demonic form, Haruki wrapped his tail around Moriyana''s waist. "Besides, they''re getting ready right?"

    Pulling her closer once more, he moved his hands over her breasts. Quickly sliding off the tight bikini, he pushed out his tongue and began sucking on her hardened pink nips. Turning into her demonic body herself, Moriyana shocked Haruki a little. Backing away for a second, he decided to finally take a better look at her demonic form.

    Swaying yfully around her hips was a heart-tipped tail much like his own. Her curves as well as her fluffy hair were pretty much the same with the only difference being the striking violet color in her hair and eyes instead of the crimson-red from her human form. And at the very top adorned with two big horns pointing towards the sky served as a crown befitting of a subus.

    ''I still haven''t seen Riley or Margarette''s demon form¡­'' Shaking his head, he brushed those thoughts out of his mind.

    "Even though you can be really annoying sometimes, you''re still one of the most beautiful women I''ve everid eyes on," hearing thatpliment from Haruki, Moriyana''s eyes widened in shock.

    He was thest person she''d expected topliment her, but hearing it from him also made her heart flutter like never before.

    "Uhmm¡­I think we should join the others," blushing like a beet, for the first time she had to deject her eyes away in embarrassment. "I''ve put your clothes in that bag in the corner!"

    Pointing to a bagying on the ground, Moriyana quickly turned back into her human form and rushed away from the enclosed space. By the time Haruki nced back at her, the only thing in front of him was the fluttering cloth entrance of the tent.

    "What happened?" He wondered, not realizing it was the effect of his own charm.

 Chapter 101 101 - Hot Spring Camping: Tongue Play [18+]

    ?

    Dipping into the warm stream of the river, all the built-up tension in Haruki''s body was instantly washed away. And although being surrounded by four beauties rxing alongside him in skimpy bikinis, his body was urging him to taste them on his lips, the warm spring water around him helped wash off those impure thoughts.

    However, that didn''t mean the rest of them felt the same. Clinging onto his hand on both sides were Moriyana and Asuka, trying to show off their rivalry to be Haruki''s favorite. ring at each other with bright blushes on their cheeks, they both felt a bit embarrassed acting like children but that didn''t stop them frompeting for their master.

    "I thought foxes didn''t like water," shot Moriyana, smirking at Asuka.

    "Hey!" Asuka growled back.

    Seated across Haruki in the water, Moriyana and Riley were dozing off with their heads on each other''s shoulders.

    "Forget her," sping her hand around Haruki''s face, Moriyana turned his focus towards him. "Did you like these clothes I picked for you?"

    Wearing white shorts that went nearly transparent in the water, Haruki didn''t know how to answer her question. Looking to Asuka to divert his mind, he noticed her looking down at his semi-hard penis under the translucent white cloth.

    "It''s nice¡­" She mumbled, still ring at Haruki''s underwear.

    "I know, right? Ahaha," throwing her hand across Haruki''s shoulder, Moriyana moved in front of him and sat on hisp. "Sorry for running off before."

    "Running off, what do you mean?" Oblivious to the events in the tent, Asuka tried to push Moriyana off of her master.

    However, all of a sudden as a pair of vines grabbed Asuka''s hands, she was left struggling to free her binds instead of pushing Moriyana off of Haruki.

    "Let me make up for it," reaching on her back, she undid her bra and let it flow down with the stream. "As much as I love these clothes, they can never match beingpletely naked."

    Trying to hasten the undressing, she used another one of her abilities and snapped her fingers. Disappearing everyone''s clothes in thin air, she bit her lips and pushed to nt a kiss on Haruki''s lips. Laying naked with his dick, pressed tightly between his and her warm belly, Haruki''s mind was drifting into depravity.

    "Asuka¡­" he called, conjuring a spy to eat up all the vines. "Come here, I wanna taste you both together."

    As soon as the spy freed her, she moved closer to Haruki and leaned in for a kiss. Sticking his tongue out, he pulled both of them towards him. First, he pressed his lips against Asuka and toiled with her wet tongue until he could feel her lungs aching for breaths, then as pulling away from her, he kissed Moriyana and had a long sloppy kiss with the juices of all three meddling up inside them.

    When he finally pulled back, a bridge of drool connected their lips for a moment before breaking off mid-air.

    "That was¡­" Having experienced such passion for the first time, even Moriyana was flustered by the act.

    "Master! Master! Master!" Desperately rubbing her head on Haruki''s face, Asuka grabbed his hand and led it down to her sticky entrance.

    With dreamy eyes, she puckered her lips. Just a small brush from Haruki''s finger was enough to make her body tense up from sensual pleasure.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I think we''re gonna need more than just kisses to calm us down," slipping his fingers inside her, he made Asuka jump.

    Feeling Haruki''s fingers inside her pussy, Asuka''s body flopped on his chest as she let out a groan. Using tentacles, Haruki lifted Asuka up until she was floating right over his lips. With another pair of tentacles, she wrapped them around Moriyana''s neck and pulled her face into the water and as close to his dick as he could.

    "Wha-Aghhh!" Letting out a moan as Haruki''s tongue slipped into her pussy, Asuka had woken up the sleeping duo as well.

    Moriyana on the other hand, knowing full well what Haruki desired, pressed her lips against his penis before inviting it into her mouth. Feeling himself plunging deep down Moriyana''s throat while eating out Asuka, Haruki''s mind was already on cloud nine. However, pushing it further, Margarette and Riley decided to join in the fun.

    Moving behind the floating Asuka, Riley buried her head into her ass and licked her all over. Margarette too moved closer to Moriyana''s back and stuck out her tongue to get a taste of her pussy. The moment they all came together a wave of moans left the lips of two bound by the tentacles.

    "Master! Master! Master!" Asuka chanted with her mind taken over by pleasure. Showering Haruki with her love juices, she was left panting in the air with his lips licking off all the excess juices.

    "Moriyana, I''m gonna cum too¡­" Haruki said while pushing his dick down Moriyana''s throat until she was kissing his balls with her lips.

    With Haruki''s seeds being unloaded directly into her stomach, Moriyana felt herself orgasming over Margarette''s lips as well. Being the only ones left without orgasming, Riley''s and Moriyana''s eyes met each other''s, without saying so much as a word, they pulled themselves together and began kissing each other''s lips.

    "Can we go in our tent master? I''d like to spend some time with Riley alone," turning to Haruki who was being coddled by the other two, Margarette had something devious nned inside her head.

    "Sure, we''re here to rx, you can do whatever you want," getting permission from Haruki, both of them made their way to their tent.

    "I''m sorry, but I can''t hold back anymore," said Margarette, grabbing Riley''s hand as she walked.

    Her head hung low, Riley simply gave her a nod. Once they were both inside the bedded floor of the tent, Margarette pulled Riley closer and leaned onto her for yet another kiss. Reaching down to her belly, she caressed Riley''s womb before slowly moving further down ahead.

    "I wanna try something with the master, but before that can you help me?" Margarette asked, turning into her demonic form.

    "O-okay¡­" Although a bit scared Riley agreed to her demand.

    Taking a quick step back, Margarette lifted her tail to show a circr mouth-like opening at its very tip. Seeing it open up into a fleshy inside with sticky liquid pouring out of it, Riley bit her lips wondering exactly what Margarette was nning.

    "I wanna suck you dry¡­" Margarette said, a hint of crazy apparent in her eyes. "Can you please grow a dick so I can try?"

    Gulping down as she looked into her mother''s eyes, Riley knew there was no escaping, and honestly she wasn''t sure if she wanted to escape either.

 Chapter 102 102 - Hot Spring Camping: To Be A Demon Lord

    ?

    Deep into the night after having indulged in all their desires, Haruki as well as Margarette and Riley, were taking a small stroll through the forest trying to hunt down something to eat. Ever so often a frost deer with a chilling gaze would catch their eyes, but as fickle as the wind it swept away every time Haruki tried to shoot an icicle toward it.

    "Shit!" Despite finally hitting the damned thing, Haruki''s shot was deflected by the coating of thick ice protecting the creature. "Riley, can you not get it with your knives?"

    Turning to the only person capable of closebat, Haruki expected a quick response, but shying away with her hands escaping between her thighs, Riley appeared quite a bit disoriented.

    "I-I''m sorry, I can''t!" Clinging onto Margarette, she nced up at Haruki from behind her. "My legs¡­they''re a bit numb."

    Coughing out loud to divert everyone''s attention, Margarette scratched the back of her head with a somewhat worried look on her face.

    "I can get it, I mean I can use a fire spell to soften up the ice and then maybe you can use a dark magic-infused icicle to bring that frost deer down?" Offered a sound n, Haruki didn''t question what was happening with Riley and just moved on.

    "Alright, just let me know when you''re shooting the spell so I can bring it down before it runs off," deciding on their new strategy they continued their hunt.

    Upon following the deer further, they came up to a hill looking down onto a river stream. Standing with their herd, numerous red-eyed frost deers were drinking from the icy waters. At first, Haruki thought about simply striking one of them down with a shower of fire and ice, however, following the gaze of one such creature, he noticed a strange longing lingering in their eyes.

    ''They''ve lost their habitat, I doubt they can survive here much longer.'' Watching the full moon reflected in their blood-red eyes, Haruki was willing to draw back from the hunt.

    "Fire arrow!" Shooting from a quiver of me, Margarette hit one of the deers, making it stumble for a moment. "Master, shoot it!"

    Realizing the threat the others left it behind and ran back into the safety of the dense forest. With the deer already shot, Haruki brushed off his doubts and quickly readied a magic circle. Embedding ice spears with dark magic, he gave them immense speed as well as energy-draining power.

    "There!" He uttered, shooting the deer down right as it was about to run off to join the others.

    Cracking through the glinting ice armor, the spears stabbed the creature deep into its flesh and quickly drained it of all life. Watching the thing whimper and die, Haruki just stood where he was for a moment while the other two made their way to their prize from the hunt.

    ''Does it matter? I can''t even count how many humans have died because of me or by my own hands.'' His emotions dumbed down by the effect of sadism only reminded him of the reaper as well as the now-gone passive ability of tyrant''s heart. ''If I keep going like this then I might just end up epting her offer to be a demon lord.''

    While sharing the abyss with the mistress of darkness, Haruki never would''ve thought that there woulde a time when he has to question his refusal to be a demon lord. And yet with how things were going, the possibility of him epting that offer from sheer cruelty and greed wasn''t too far off from the realm of possibility.

    "We should take it back quick, Asuka and Moriyana must be tired of waiting already," flying down the cliff, Haruki transferred the deer into his dungeon portal.

    Wasting not a minute, the three of them quickly took flight in their demon forms to avoid going through the forest. Then as Haruki flew behind them on purpose, he finally had a chance to get a good look at their demonic bodies. Adorning her head with red upwards pointing horns, Margarette''s body was a pure marvel of lust, and a look alone even through her tattoo-like clothes was enough to woo a man and turn him into her servant.

    Riley, being as frail as always, appeared more like Haruki''s own demonic form. Her face having an androgynous look and her body carved with light striking muscle, made her easy target for underestimation, despite her murderous inclinations.

    "Master?" Noticing Haruki''s gaze, Riley flipped around to talk to him. "Is something wrong?"

    Her keen intuition, which served Haruki well in numerous cases was also at times a bit of a problem.

    "I..." Although he wanted to brush things off, he decided not to in the end. "I have something to discuss when we get back to camp."

    On their way back to the camp, Haruki couldn''t get Asmodia''s offer out of his head, and even though he knew he wouldn''t take it, the very fact that Asmodia was presenting that choice to him raised numerous concerns in his mind.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''So far she''s treated me like her puppet, then why would she give me the option to choose when she can easily force me to do what she wants?'' Wondering whether she was conniving, Harukinded back on his feet right by the campsite.

    Dropping off the deer carcass from the portal, he made his way to the campsite before sitting down on a log facing the fire. Sensing something was wrong Asuka, and Moriyana dropped their preparation for the meal and slowly made their way toward him.

    "Haruki, what''s going on?" Moriyana asked, concern resting heavily on her face.

    "Yeah master, you seem a bit¡­stressed?" Unsure what to make of his stern expression, Asuka stared at him with her hand clutched by her chest.

    "He wants to talk about something apparently," Margarette added, walking up to him with Riley following right behind.

    Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he huffed out a sigh before briefly ncing at each one of them.

    "I''ve had enough of waiting, I want my revenge, I wanna see the cities burn, and if that leads me to be demon lord one day, then I ask you all, will you still be standing by my side?" Creating a clone of himself in front of everyone around him, he held their hands stretched towards them as an offer. "Be done with mercy, and let me invite carnage and indulgence to the masses."

    Surprised by the sudden offer, they all had their doubts about what was going on inside Haruki''s head. However, as Moriyana hardly cared anything but herself, she offered her hand to the clone with a demand of her own.

    "As long as you bring me riches and influence I do not care where this path leads us," letting out a giggle she turned her gaze to Asuka.

    Feeling pressured by Moriyana''s gaze, she shook the clone''s hand but had something to say as well.

    "I already promised Master that I''ll be with you forever, so please don''t make me choose again, just ask me to follow and I will!" Her answer urged the other two to shake their hands with the clones as well, however, like the others they had nuances of their own.

    "As long as you keep Riley safe, and eventually grant her an appropriate title, I''ll forever be indebted to you," bowing her head, Margarette, nced sideways at Riley to do the same.

    Following her mother''s example, Riley too bowed her head before offering her own demands.

    "You''ve helped me fight the demons inside my head, the least I can do is repay in blood," although she knew Margarette wouldn''t be too pleased by the ways she phrased her words, Riley wanted to convey what she truly felt in her heart.

    "It''s decided then¡­" smacking his knees, Haruki got off the log. "In one month''s time, I want to be done with Laria and move on to corrupting other duchies, other kingdoms, until eventually, I can have my revenge at the very root of the problem, the emperor."

    "Where do we start this conquest master?" Raising her head, Riley waited for her orders.

    Hearing that question, a huge smile crept up on Haruki''s face.

    "We start with Marquis Gorgan, the ruler of our kingdom¡­" Walking up closer to Riley, Haruki whispered. "And the man who signed off my death."

    When he''d first learned that the man who signed off his death had be the ruler of a kingdom that epassed even the duchy he ruled, he had been fuming in rage, but with no real way of getting to the king, the only thing he was able to do was stall for time as he tried to get stronger. And now with nothing in his way to stop him, he hoped to rain hell upon that monster of a human.

    "As you say master," watching Riley kneel down to Haruki''smand, the rest of his servants followed.

    ''This¡­can surely be addictive.'' He thought, finding great joy in the authoritative power.

 Chapter 103 103 - Family Reunion[Cuteness Overload Warning]

    ?

    Flying up high with her wings spread wide open, Rose couldn''t believe that she was once again feeling the relinquishing breeze of the upper skies. Spiraling in the air, doing loops and dives, she was giggling out loud as she enjoyed the joyous moment.

    "Fire dragon Insignia!" Like a beacon her body lit up in me, creating a dragon-faced crest for her children to witness.

    As she kept on soaring through the open ins right outside the thawed tundra, a spark of me as well as a cool glint of ice caught her eyes from a very long distance. Approaching her at unrivaled speed were her youngest pair of children.

    "Tiara! Doroke!" Flying at them with open arms, she caught as they flew at her like a bullet. "I''m so d to see you!"

    Held in an embrace that didn''t ever wanna let them go, the two dragonkin red up at Roselia with their big teary eyes. Crying out like the children they were, both of them began beating their arms against their mother''s belly.

    "Why didn''t you visit soon?!" Tiara cried, pressing her lips together tightly.

    "Y-yeah! We''ve been waiting for so long to meet you!" Burying his head into his mother''s belly, Doroke''s tears turned Rose''s dress into a wet and snotty mess.

    Holding them even tighter, Rose felt delighted and relieved to finally meet them after so long.

    "I missed you, I missed you so much!" Raising them in her hands, she yfully snuggled her nose onto their bellies. "I''m d you missed me too, but you don''t have to anymore, I''m not leaving!"

    Showering them with kisses, hugs, and brushing her face against their cheeks, Rose managed to turn their cries and snorts into innocent little giggles. Laughing alongside her kids, Rose pulled back for a moment to take a look at their cute faces.

    "Oh by the dragon-lords, how did I stay away from such innocent faces for so long?" Smiling to herself, she pulled them into a hug once again.

    Closing her eyes as she held them, all those days in captivity somehow felt extremely tame. Staying bound by her arms, the three stayed floating in the air for a while until finally for the sake of being conspicuous they finally decided toe down.

    Back on their feet, Rose turned to the two to ask an extremely important question.

    "Where are your other brothers and sisters?" She asked, a bit worried for their safety.

    Still clinging onto her, the two weren''t letting go of her dress. ring up at her wanting to be picked up, they didn''t speak a word until Rose held them both in each of her hands.

    "Soooo? Where are they?" Resting their heads on her shoulders, the two gave wide grins to each other.

    "Big brother is hiding them for now," Tiara replied, snuggling onto her mother''s neck.

    "Yeah, he says it''s not safe to stay out in the open so we''re the only ones who coulde out," Doroke added, and following Tiara''s lead, he nuzzled up to Rose as well.

    "Mama, how did you escape? I thought you couldn''te without that Snow boy," like any curious child they had many questions of their own and they weren''t afraid to ask.

    "OH!" Raising his head up, Doroke looked Roselia right in the eye. "Where''s Uncle Klian?! Has he been freed too?!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Upon hearing him call out Klian''s name so excitedly, Rose''s heart contorted inward. She knew trying to exin everything to her kids was not a viable option, and thus making sure to keep their knowledge about everything that had happened in the Frost castle to a minimum, she told them only what they needed to know for the moment.

    "Your uncle, he''s been freed, yes, but it''s gonna take a while until he can travel again, you know?" Wearing a weak smile, she couldn''t bear looking into their bright innocent eyes. "Uhm¡­I''ll make sure to bring him here next time, that is if he starts feeling better."

    "Is he sick?" Asked Tiara.

    "Can we not just visit him?" Doroke suggested.

    Barraged with questions once again, she decided to think things through before answering any more of their questions.

    "Why don''t we visit ake or something first? It''s been a while since I''ve bathed with you two," yfully throwing them high, she shocked them both before grabbing them mid-air. "I know a spot nearby."

    Carrying them both in each hand, she flew them at a speed that they couldn''t dream of matching at such a young age. Distracted by the amusing flight, Tiara, as well as Doroke, enjoyed their time giggling andughing as their mother flew them far off towards a massive waterfall visible from a distance.

    ''Sooner orter Haruki will probably ask for their involvement in his ns, until then I want to protect their innocence even if it was for a fleeting moment.'' Although it pained her heart knowing that she''d offered her family for willing servitude to the incubus duke, there was not much to be done now, especially since not epting that offer would''ve resulted in her brother''s death. ''I don''t n on involving any of my other children in this though, they can stay safe as long as their older brother keeps them safe in a space tear.''

    Looking down at the two with a weak smile, she felt heartbroken for her youngest to be the ones being pulled into this mess.

    "Mama, are you sad?" Noticing the gloom on Rose''s face, Tiara quickly pointed it out.

    "No sweetie, I was just thinking about how much I missed you two," almost reaching the waterfall, Rose forced on a wide grin.

    ncing at the pooled-up water under the waterfall, she flung them out of her hands and dived headlong into it as well. Startled by the sudden throw, the two had little to no time to spread out their wings, and thus as they fell into the water they red at Rose with two big huge frowns.

    Realizing the mistake she''d made in her excitement, Rose tugged on her ears as an apology, however, letting out a fit of giggle the siblings had herpletely fooled.

    "Throw me again!"

    "Me too! Me too!"

    Hugging their mother by the waist, the two demanded so cheerfully that Rose couldn''t possibly deny the angels.

    "Alright then! Let''s see who can dive from the greatest height!" Pulling them both close to her again, she couldn''t help smiling. "Just don''t freeze the ice or evaporate it all, or I''ll be really mad okay?"

    Nodding at her instructions, they both agreed to not do such life-threatening stunts. Not as though, diving in a pond of water wasn''t threatening enough as it is.

    ''I missed this, I love being a mother.''

 Chapter 104 104 - Time Is The Ruin Of Cities

    ?

    A month had passed since the binds on the maddened dragon were let loose, marking a day in history that would soon be looked back with scorn and fright. The Duchy of Laria, drenched in lust for the flesh, and hungry for gold like goblins, was far from recognition from what it once used to be.

    Corrupting the streets with envy towards their neighbors, Haruki with the help of his servants had offered despairing prices for the same goods and services to create hate amongst the merchants and shopkeepers. Now, when it came to lust, no one was better suited to spread that disease like poison than Moriyana.

    Making use of her ves, she turned the very streets of the duchy into a brothel with her mansion at its very center serving as a hub for all kinds of debauchery. Sitting in her office with her legs crossed, she would count the hefty pots of gold being delivered to her study. And today it was no different.

    "Ahhh, Lord Frost is here girls!" As soon as Haruki entered her mansion, all the stunning female ves began following him around. Their arms locked with him, and their lips leaving their marks all over had Haruki a little worried even though he was the one to deflower all the virgin ves when they''d first reached Moriyana''s possession.

    "I''m not here for you¡­not today," he said, brushing them off his arms.

    "As cold as always," said a demi-human cat girl.

    "Maybe we can warm you up?" Followed, a blonde human ve.

    Simply ignoring the group of subus he''d turned into demons himself, Haruki kept marching forward until he reached the brothel mistress. There, watching her counting pots upon pots of gold, he pulled up a chair and made himself a bit morefortable.

    "Where the hell are those two?" He asked, mming his fist on the desk.

    Startled by the noise, Moriyana jumped in her seat and a few gold coins scattered onto the wooden floor. Bringing her attention to Haruki, she rolled her eyes a bit before quickly clearing the desk so they could converse without distraction.

    "I already told you, those battalion members from your past life escaped somewhere," as she gave him the same news, she''d been repeating for a month, Haruki''s expression contorted deeper in anger. "Look, they''re trying to find them by the dungeons near Laria''s outskirts, apparently they ran off while the carriages with these ves were on rest. But¡­don''t worry I-"

    "Okay no, fuck this!" getting off the chair, he just decided to leave the ce. "At this rate, I''ll just find them myself when I''m done dealing with Laria''s mess!"

    As soon as he opened the office door, his head bumped into Fay''s as she''s been spying on him from outside the room.

    ''This again? She might not be as extreme as Serena but the effects of that love potion are far more troubling than it''s worth.'' Watching her eyes stare at him longingly, Haruki couldn''t help but greet her the way she preferred.

    cing one of his hands on her ass, he pulled her closer and forced a kiss onto her lips. Like always Fay returned the favor with passion as she pushed her tongue into Haruki''s mouth and let them toil around with each other. The momentsted no more than a few seconds, but with how frequent the urrence had be, Duke Frost was now often mistaken to be her lover.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''I have to go meet Serena at the church too¡­'' Just imagining what she would do if he waste was enough to give Haruki nightmares of a lifetime. ''Thankfully, she promised not to stalk me anymore but I better keep my end of the promise and visit her soon.''

    "Fay, my love¡­" Just saying those words made him wanna vomit. "Forgive me but I have some other tasks to attend to, I''ll meet you in your chambers in the castle, okay?"

    Holding her hand up to reach Haruki''s face, she tried to stop him, but like a swift summer breeze, he passed her right by. The female ves tried to stop Haruki once again, but as they noticed the anger riding on his face, they knew better than to approach the duke.

    "Should I just send my clone to her?" Getting out of the mansion, he mulled over the thought for a while, but then remembering her power to spy out the truth it no longer seemed like a good idea.

    Getting back into the carriage he''d arrived in, Haruki changed his appearance into his mercenary form before teleporting himself out to a nearby alley. Thankfully as the coachman was a clone as well there was no need for him to worry about the news of his temporary disappearance spreading.

    ''Not like it would matter¡­'' He thought. With everyone important already knowing about his identity including Fay and Serena there wasn''t much to hide.

    Making his way through the city, Haruki kept on witnessing one crime after the other. From the spread of corruption in the guards to the youngest indulging in debauchery, it was all happening out in the open under the influence of the hallucinogen misha.

    Had it been him from the past, the disturbing scene would''ve left him distraught, but with him as an incubus, he couldn''t imagine anything that would bring him greater joy. The people whom he once fought for were down on their knees, they''d sumbed to the very corruption they''d ignored for long before using him of falsely.

    ''If only I could puncture their eyes out, ahaha!'' Reaching the church of As, his joy knew no bounds.

    Standing in front of the colossal structure, he waited for someone to be his ticket to get inside. Being a demon he was bound to take some damage inside the church of As, however, that wouldn''t suffice for a reason enough to ignore Serena for the day.

    "Finally," noticing a middle-aged woman walking in the direction of the church, Haruki quickly used shadow sneak and followed her as part of her shadow.

    Having repeated this routine numerous times, he had pretty good ideas as to what people confessed about in the lust-ridden city.

    ''I wonder what she has to confess to Serena.'' He wondered, getting ready to sneak into the confessor''s camber to meet Serena in the confessional.

 Chapter 105 105 - The City Of Lust Offersâ€¦More Lust?[18+]

    Upon getting inside the confessional with thedy, Haruki slipped through the crack separating the confessional''spartments and got into Serena''s side. There looming in her shadow, he nced up at her massive ass seated on a chair just inches away from his face.

    ''Might as well get it done.'' Slowly crawling out from the ground, he surprised her a little, but since this wasn''t the first time he''d done it, the surprise on Serena''s face was quickly reced by a smile.

    Dressed in her usual translucent gown, she appeared like a pale ghost sitting in the dark space of the confessional. Barely standing up, she wrapped her hands around Haruki''s shoulders and bit her lower lips as the longing inside her sparked once again.

    "Priestess¡­" Called the women on the other side. "Forgive me, I have disappointed lord As once again."

    "Confess my child," Serena replied, leaning over to get a taste of Haruki''s lips.

    The moment she pushed her gray lips onto his, her eyes widened in surprise for she could taste another woman on Haruki. Leaning back, she stared at him with a shocked expression. For her, he was the only thing she wanted in life anymore, but having to share him with other women pained her heart to an unimaginable degree.

    "Who?" She whispered, making sure thedy won''t hear her.

    Not wanting to risk Fay''s life, Haruki grabbed Serena by the arms and pushed her against the closed window between the twopartments. Pushing against the hardwood, she let out a groan, but as Haruki moved onto her back she felt an adventurous thrill that wiped everything else off of her mind.

    "Priestess? What was that noise?" Asked the woman, sounding genuinely concerned for Serena.

    "It''s nothing, I just slipped a little," feeling Haruki''s slimy tentacle monster crawling up her skin from under her skirt, Serena bit her lips shut but a moan escaped regardless. "Confess my child¡­Aghhh!"

    "O-okay¡­" Sounding unsure, thedy continued.

    Having the tentacle coil around her huge boobs, and lube up her ass and pussy, Haruki lifted Serena''s dress before releasing his hardened manhood to sit between her butt.

    "I''ve been having weird thoughts about Ray again¡­" Thedy on the other side began her confession. "I know I''m his guardian after his father passed and he''s so young too, but sometimes, I can''t help those thoughts."

    Caressing his dick in between the folds of Serena''s pussy, Haruki teased her until her mind was a hazy mush. Rolled into her skull her dark hollow eyes were reced with white, as she struggled to anger thedy.

    "Wha-what thought are you having about him?" She asked.

    Pushing her ass back on Haruki''s cock, she slowly invited his dick into her tight pussy. Spreading open her inside, a wave of pleasure shot down off of Haruki''s dick and made its way around his whole body.

    ''Fuck, she''s tighter than usual¡­'' Instinctively Haruki pushed her skirt to the side and spanked her massive ass.

    "Aghhh! Mhnmm!" Moaning out loud, Serena had thedy squeal in terror on the other side. "S-sorry there was a nail sticking out of the wood, go on, tell me what you think about!"

    Having already lubed up her ass, Haruki had the tentacle force itself inside her to make her inside even hotter. Blinded by the pleasure, Serena''s nails dug into the hardwood as she tried her best to keep her voice inside. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I¡­I can''t stop thinking about him at night, I even wanna touch his naked skin when we take baths together, but I know it''s wrong!" Upon hearing thedy''sint Haruki decided to help a little to make a decision.

    ''Absolute depravity: Moral corruption!'' Activating the ability, he changed his upper body into that of Serena all the while the thrusting from his hips kept on shaking the entire confessional.

    "You''re his guardian, am I wrong?" He asked in Serena''s voice.

    Noticing what Haruki had done behind her, Serena''s pussy mped on tighter and sucked him in like a vacuum.

    "Y-yes, I''m his aunt, we''re not blood-rted so these thoughts keep running wild in my head," hearing her answer, Haruki made use of moral corruption.

    "What if he wants you to touch him as well? He''s quite young you said? Well, young men often need a physical outlet to express their feelings," saying that Haruki fastened his pace and plunged his dick into Serena''s pussy like a piston.

    "But priestess! The Lord will be angry if I do that!" thedy replied.

    "The Lord will be more angry if you didn''t properly do your duty as a female guardian, you need to prepare him for the world, you need to make sure he''s ready not just in mind but in body as well," listening to Serena''s muffled moans, Haruki felt himself edging closer to orgasming inside her. However, before it could happen, he makes the tentacle retreat from her ass and forced himself in instead.

    Once again, Serena'' yelped out in shock, but this time huffing from the thought of doing dirty deeds with her nephew thedy on the other end ignored the moanspletely.

    "Wh-what should I do then priestess?" She asked, her voice weighing heavy from deep breaths.

    "Offer yourself to him, show him what it means to own a woman, to feel her body against your skin, let him dig deep into you, let your desires be sated while he swings those hips against your sacred ce," trailing with mana his words were pushing the woman further and further into depravity. "You wanna do it too, don''t you? Feel him fill up your inside and make you his woman? That''s why you''re here right? Don''t drown your own desire, nothing could be more treasonous to the lord than drowning your own emotions."

    Sinking his fingers onto her deep ass, Haruki thrusted against Serena''s fat ass until his balls pped against her dripping pussy.

    "Make him a man, your man," barely uttering those words coherently, Haruki felt Serena''s insides pulsing all around his cock.

    On the verge of an orgasm, he leaned onto her back and took hold of her massive breasts. There, as thedy on the other end panted from the lewd sounds, Haruki and Serena showered the confessional floor with their juices spraying out of their bodies.

    "G-go n-ow¡­." Serena staggered before her legs gave in and brought her down to her knees.

    Hearing the woman get out of the confessional, Serena turned around and licked Haruki clean before cleaning up the ground with her tongue as well. ring up at Haruki with a smile, the look in her hollow eyes was as terrifying as usual.

    "Keep working for me to misguide anyone whoes here, and I''ll shower you with my love whenever I deem fit," with those words, Haruki decided to leave his crazed lover alone.

    "I''ll do my best master shin!" Bowing her head over his feet, she pledged her allegiance once more.

 Chapter 106 106 - Abolishing The Councilmen

    ?

    The very same day after meeting up with Moriyana and Serena, Haruki had arranged a meeting with the councilmen to finish tying up some loose ends. Sitting across them on the round table, he nced around and noticed the concern conveyed through their strained expressions. The current state of the duchy was no secret, and thus their worried looks weren''t that hard for him to decipher.

    "I can''t believe what you''ve done to this ce," Keeping his voice low, Clint the bishop let his anger be known. "When I heard Serena was visiting you, I thought you''d finally listen to her and do something about the crime but¡­"

    With gritted teeth, he red at Haruki. And despite his apparent rage, it didn''t falter Haruki''s cold demeanor. Keeping his eyes half closed, Haruki leaned onto the table and returned the bishop''s re.

    "Anyone else have anyints?" Fanning his hands to the others, he kept staring at Clint until the bishop turned to the rest to see if anyone shared the same rage against the duke as him.

    Raising his hand to join the bishop was Gorgon alone and nobody else. The rest of the two had their own reasons for theirck of interest in going against the duke. Arnold, seemingly afraid to speak out, didn''t want to risk offending the ruler of thend, as for Rom, he was the only one fully on board with whatever Snow was doing.

    "I don''t know how you can call yourself a ruler when you''re the one allowing the streets to be poisoned and the lord''s name to be sullied by your citizens," despite his formal tone, the frown between his eyes was proof enough of his rebellion.

    "Nobody else?" Unfazed by Gorgon''s usations, Haruki turned to Arnold and Rom, but when they showed no sign of rebutting, he leaned back into the chair to rx. "Ray, take care of the bishop and Gorgon."

    As soon as he uttered themand, Riley posing as Ray the bodyguard, appeared behind the bishop and sliced his throat with a knife. Taken by surprise the bishop clutched onto his bloody throat, and tried to heal the wounds to the best of his ability, but having nned forward for that possibility, the des were infused with anti-healing magic. Watching the bishop struggle to breathe before falling down his chair, the rest of the councilmen had no clue what was happening.

    "What the hell?! What are you doing, you traitor!" Growling at the top of his lungs, Gorgon stared at the bishop not realizing that Riley was right behind him.

    Right as he was about to stomp out of his chair, Riley jumped over his head and plunged her knives deep into his skull from above. Killing him in an instant Riley disappeared once again even before his body had the time to flop on the table.

    "Again, anyone else?" Looking at the remaining two, Haruki noticed Arnold taking long deep breaths trying to calm himself after witnessing the whole scene. Rom on the other hand, returned the duke''s gaze without a hint of emotions apparent on his face.

    "How can we object master? You''re the ruler of thisnd, and thus we follow your lead wherever it may take us," reaching into his breast pocket, Rom took out some sort of pills. "Arthur, take this, it''ll help you think and breathe clearly."

    His violently shaking from terror, Arthur reached for the pill and gulped it down swiftly. Then as he looked at Haruki a nervous smile appeared on his handsome face.

    "T-the t-reasury is-is fuller than ever¡­" Taking a few deep breaths he continued. "How can Iin? The bypass, the trading to other cities, the ve trade, and the misha sales, it-it''s all been so profitable for us, how can Iin Duke? Ahahahaha!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Forcing an awkwardugh at the very end, Arnold clutched onto his heart with his eyes tightly shut. Hoping to be spared, he kept praying under his breath.

    "Very well then," snapping his fingers, Haruki clued Asuka toe in with the clones of the bishop and Gorgon. "I expected you two to agree with me, but don''t disappoint me now."

    As the door opened up and Asuka walked in with the clones, both Arnold and Rom were surprised by what they were seeing. Making their way to the seats where their originals once sat, the clones quickly made themselvesfortable and began posing as the real deal.

    "I agree with everything you say my lord," said the bishop''s clone.

    "I agree too, my lord," Gogon''s clone added.

    Turning back to Arnold and Rom, Haruki red at them for a while, just hinting to keep everything a secret. Gulping his angst down, Arnold nodded back, and Rom did the same.

    "Work well for Laria, or there''s plenty to rece you," saying those words, Haruki got out of his seat and began making his way out of the hall.

    Walking alongside Asuka, he nced back at the body in a way to signal Riley to take care of them. Being as perceptive as she was, Riley quickly hid their bodies inside the unending storage of her cape.

    "Asuka, is Margarette in her office? I need her to figure out what kind of crime those two from my battalion did to be turned into ves," after the meeting with Moriyana figuring out that they''d both escaped the ve carrier carriages, Haruki didn''t want to spare a moment them down and figure out what happened to them after his death.

    cing her index under her chin, Asuka let out an innocent chuckle before replying.

    "From what I know she''s already on it," her reply assured Haruki that everyone was effectively pulling their weight since they made those vows towards him.

    ''Now if only I could hear back from Asmodia that would''ve helped me a lot.'' Despite having turned a whole pack of ves into Subus as well as incubuses with the help of his female servants, he was nowhere near restoring enough of Asmodia''s power to have her regain consciousness. ''I''ll have to see what I do about it another time.''

    Following Asuka to Margarette''s work office, Haruki still had a lot nned for the day ahead.

 Chapter 107 107 - A Strange Curse

    ?

    "Fortress!" Sprouting rocky spikes from his hands, Kane punched a hole through thest kobold''s body.

    Drawing his fist back, he let the monster slide off his fist before undoing the earthly porcupine-like spikes sprouting out of his body.

    "Kane, you''re too reckless!" Rushing over to him, Diana punched him hard at the back of his skull. However, thick as a rock, he felt nothing from the blow, and the only one hurt from the blow was Diana herself. "You''re such a dunce¡­"

    Caressing her fist for a moment, she watched as Lucy the healer of the group began healing the bruises on Kane''s body. Shooting her a sharp gaze, Lucy let out a tired sigh, tired of dealing with the two quarreling all the time.

    "Thanks, Lucy," Kane''s appreciation was met with scorn from the healer.

    "We all know you can''t die easily, but that doesn''t mean you get to be reckless!" Shouting theint, Lucy turned around to join Arthur surveying their path forward into the dungeon.

    Picking himself up, Kane felt scrutinized even though he was just trying toplete the quest as soon as possible. Turning to Diana, there too he was met with an annoyed look, making him wonder what the cause of such unrest in the group was.

    "Look, I just wanna find those missing ves and report back to the duke soon," on the mere mention of the Larian Duke, each one of them clicked their tongues in frustration.

    Being their leader, he had a good grasp on why they all rebutted at the mention of the duke, and yet with the quest offered to them directly by the ruler of theirnd, there was no other choice for them, but to gracefully ept it.

    "We shouldn''t linger in the open for long," pulling his mask down to escape the heat, Arthur looked at Kane to order their march forward. "The monsters in this ce have gotten a lot stronger since someone allegedly culled the minotaur horde, and if we stand here like chicks, we''re bound to run into danger."

    ''He''s right, but going forward with such low morale can end in disaster as well.'' Being the only one who has given his all in the quest so far, he could easily feel the rest of the party being dragged down by their thoughts about the state of their beloved duchy.

    "Listen up!" Putting up a stern mask, Kane slowly moved forward to lead the charge. "I know you''re all worried about the decrepit state of our homnd, but that doesn''t mean you can let your mind wander off while we''re fighting. Will you take responsibility if any of us die because you couldn''t pay attention to the enemy?"

    To Kane''s question, nobody had an answer. Even though they were all worried about the direction their homnd was heading into, their job as its citizens was to ept the duke as their master and help him reach whatever goal he wishes to reach. And that''s exactly why they felt reluctant to becent in leading their homnd on the path of doom.

    When no answers were voiced, Kane marched forward urging the rest to follow him deeper into the dungeon. Waves of monsters kept throwing themselves at Kane''s de, and with help from Arthur and Diana, he sent them all off to the reaper. Once done with a section of the dungeon, they moved further and further in, clearing out all the hoards and making sure to get enough rest before plunging themselves into battle again.

    "I''m getting tired, did we bring any potions?" Feeling exhausted from healing the group all the time, Lucy could feel her eyes growing heavy and her mind slipping toward slumber.

    "Dammit I forgot to restock on potions," standing guard by the branching paths, Arthur checked his pockets in case he had any left. "And there''s none in my pocket either, sorry."

    Being the ninja spy in the group, he was supposed to be the guide as well as the items handler, and since he had forgotten about the potions none of the rest had any on them either.

    "Should we turn back ande back-" A loud shrieking from the passages forward, deterred Kane from finishing up his sentence.

    Guarding the branching paths forward, Arthur tried to figure out exactly where the noise came from, but the echoes through the cave-like passages made it impossible to discern where the noise came from.

    "What the hell was that?" Her hands crossed over her racing heart, Lucy stared in horror at the passages.

    "It sounded like a minotaur, but¡­"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Fiercer," finishing Diana''s sentence, Kane tried to quickly figure out a n.

    Reverberating through the ground they stood on, each step of the monster instilled a deeper sense of fear in their hearts. Afraid of whatever was approaching them, they all turned to Kane for hismand.

    "Kane?" Watching him contemting his thoughts, Diana called out to him.

    However, still lost trying to figure out a n of escape he didn''t notice that everyone was counting on him to get them all out safely.

    "Diana set up a magic circle to teleport us out to the sigil we made outside the dungeon. Lucy, and Arthur, you both help me slow down this thing before it can get here," drawing his great sword, he moved in front with Lucy and Arthur standing behind him.

    There as the sounds of the footsteps kept approaching, the thumping of his heart kept on increasing. Despite the front of bravery, he was just as scared as the rest of the party, but being their leader he couldn''t afford to lower their morale further by showing his true emotions reflected on his face.

    "Diana, judging from those steps, it''s probably a big monster, we need you to be quick, okay?" Turning to look at her, he saw her already trying to conjure the magic circle for teleportation. "Lucy, I know you''re tired but can you buff me and Arthur with defensive magic?"

    At first, Lucy''s eyes kept gazing in the direction of the steps, but gulping down her angst, she nodded her head and began casting some basic defensive buffs on the only two physical fighters they had.

    Once again, steeling his heart, Kane activated fortress to cover his body in sharp outward pointed rocks. With his body strengthened by the buff andyered with a coat of hard rocks, he felt a bit more confident in facing the approaching monster. However, as the shadow of the colossal beast with its giant horns tearing through the ceiling came into view, he knew that trying to stand their ground had been a stupid move.

    Hearing the hurried breaths of anxiety from hispanions on witnessing the giant, Kane gave them a brief smile before turning back to the monster.

    "Stand back, I''ll handle this guy," he said, letting out a nervous chuckle.

    "Kane, that''d be fucking suicide, we just need to buy enough time!" Grabbing Kane''s prickly arm, Arthur grunted.

    "Don''t be stupid again!" Lucyined as well.

    Too busy with the incantation, Diana couldn''t spare a breath to yell out how much of an idiotic move Kane was thinking about making, and yet giving him a stern gaze she still tried to convey it to him.

    "We all know what that is¡­" Pointing his de at the giant red-skin minotaur finallying into clear view, he tried to exin his reasoning. "There''s no way we''re gonna defeat a minotaur king when we''re all so tired, and the only one who can take him on without dying is¡­well unfortunately me."

    Smiling at the crew from over his shoulder, he had them too stumped to respond. They all knew his words to be true, and with the teleportation magic nowhere near done, risking their lives against the Minotaur king was an extremely stupid move.

    "You bastard," frustrated, Arthur took a step away from the oing battle.

    "I''ll still heal you!" Moving to the back as well, Lucy kept her eyes fixed on Kane.

    Ready to face the kind, Kane took a deep breath to strengthen his resolve, and with a wide grin on his face like always he began to charge the monster before it got too close to Diana.

    ''Immortality is a strange curse, ahaha¡­'' He thought, swinging his de at the minotaur king.

 Chapter 108 108 - Bowing Heads

    ?

    The battle with the beasts, was, to say the least, dire and eventful. By the time Diana finished casting the incantation, Kane''s body was torn up limb by limb, and yet as they barely managed to escape the dungeon, he sent them off with a smile.

    "Duke! I beg you," Bowing her head along with the other members of her party, Diana was down on her knees peering up at Haruki. "Please, send Madam Rose to the dungeon. Kane must still be alive, but if he runs out of mana¡­"

    Unable to keep going, she braced her heart in terror from the mere thought of Kane''s death. Looking down on her from his throne, Haruki posing to be Snow was still working through everything she''d told him about the changes inside the minotaur dungeon.

    ''The monsters getting stronger in the dungeons can put the safety of the duchy in jeopardy, not only that the appearance of that minotaur king tells me that the monsters inside are evolving just like I did.'' Having experienced the same changes as those monsters after his killing spree at the minotaur dungeon, Haruki was able to drain levels again, which eventually led him to turn from a simple lust demon to a lust demon emperor. ''Perhaps one of the remaining minotaurs inside the dungeon went through a race advancement as well.''

    "I''ll send her there, but before that," curious to know whether they saw the ves, Haruki leaned onto the back of his palm and continued. "Did you really not see anything suggesting someone was hiding there?"

    The three took a moment to nce at each other to see if anyone one of them had noticed anything peculiar inside the dungeons. However, to Haruki''s disappointment, they all turned back to him and gave disapproving nods.

    "No, we didn''t see anything that would suggest that," said Arthur.

    Being the ninja spy of the group, if anyone was to notice something it would''ve been him, recognizing this, Haruki let the matter go for the moment.

    "You can all leave now, I have other matters to attend to as well," brushing them off, he turns to Asuka standing beside him. "Ask Rose to take a handful of guards and rescue Kane."

    Hearing that, a relieved smile crept up on the faces of Silver Storms. Gasping out loud as if a heavy burden had been taken off their shoulders, they all picked themselves up and offered their thanks to the duke.

    "Let us know if we can help in any way lord!" Offered Diana, however, devoid of emotion, Haruki didn''t seem too keen on the idea.

    "You can certainly try, but in case you get in the way of her mes I can hardly guarantee your life, much less Kane''s," although Haruki''s words were meant to be a warning, somehow the sinister tone of his voice made it seem more like a threat.

    "What do y-" Picking up on Haruki''s tone, Arthur ced his hand on Diana''s shoulder to stop her from rebutting the duke.

    Although she didn''t exactly know why Arthur was stopping her from pursuing the matter, a look alone at his stern eyes let her know better than to push the matter anymore. Bowing their heads to the duke once again, they all turned around and walked out of the grand hall of the castle.

    Watching them leave, Haruki nced sideways at Asuka before giving her contradicting instructions.

    "Don''t say anything to Rose, I wanna visit the dungeon myself," at first he''d resisted the urge to find his old battalion members himself, but now that Kane was amongst those who were lost inside, he wanted to take things in his own hands.

    ''He may not be essential to my ns, but having him around is extremely useful. And if I were to send Rose in there, who knows what kind of cmity might follow?'' With Klian still recovering in the dragon seal room, Haruki couldn''t risk asking Rose''s help in case her brother decided to revolt while she was gone.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Getting off the throne, Haruki made his way to the fencing grounds around the castle. It had been a while since he''d had to fight against a real threat, and now that he was at a much higher-level crossing, he felt eager to learn the full potential of his powers.

    ''But to think Kane was defeated, I wonder what kind of beast the minotaur king really is?'' Witnessing Kane hold his own against Razor, Haruki was still having a hard time digesting that he was so easily defeated by a wild monster.

    With his experience inbat, limited to low-level beasts in bandits from his past life, he had no real clue as to what kind of creatures the high-tier adventurers fought.

    "Fancy a duel?" Noticing Riley getting ready to practice against a guard, Haruki offered her a more amusing fight. "It''d be good practice for what I need you to doter."

    Intrigued by thest part, Riley reached into her cape and threw out a fencer for Haruki to catch. Catching the sword mid-air, Haruki fanned his hands to gesture to the guards to leave them alone. Without question, the fencing ground was deserted with only the two pointing their fencer at each other.

    "Did something go wrong with the dungeon expedition?" Her spot-on guess surprised Haruki a little, but realizing the silver storms must''ve caught Riley''s eyes while leaving through the garden, his curiosity was sated.

    "Yeah, apparently Kane was left behind by the party, and we have to get him out as well," nking their sword together, theymence the duel.

    "Left behind¡­was he injured?" Riley asked, spotting an opening in Haruki''s stance.

    Trying to stab her master''s master she dove forward aiming for his torso. Figuring out the trajectory of her hand, Haruki sidestepped his way out of the attack.

    "From what the storms told me, he has some kind of curse that elongates his death so long as he has mana," perplexed by the revtion, a confused frown took over Riley''s brows.

    Taking advantage of the brief moment of carelessness, Haruki drove his fencer towards the side of her arm, but noticing it in the nick of time, Riley used wind magic to propel herself away from the blow.

    "Dammit, almost had you," smirking at her Haruki stood upright looking right at her.

    "Not quite, but you were close," concealing her fencer back in the cape, she walked closer to him again. "About Kane, is this ability the same as Mother''s rejuvenation?"

    "Honestly, I don''t know, but forget that for now," handing Riley the sword back, he continued. "They found a minotaur king inside the dungeon, and I think it''s the best opportunity for you three to get over your level caps."

    In the past month, Haruki wasn''t the only one who''d grown stronger, and so they''d all been waiting for them to test out their new abilities and shatter the level cap deterring them from getting stronger.

    "Wonderful," Riley said, smirking to herself just thinking about the carnage.

 Chapter 109 109 - The Three Monster Queens

    ?

    Wandering back into the dungeon after so long felt a bit underwhelming to the incubus emperor. Deceived by his own memories, he remembered the ce to be much more threatening with a looming sense of someone or something watching his every step.

    "Absolute Corruption: Emperor of void!" Activating his newly acquired ability under his system, Haruki conjured up a throwing spear made from darkness itself. "Get down here you nasty bug!"

    Throwing the spear at a poisonous spider the same size as him, he pierced through its body and made it shriek out as it died. Once the monster''s soul had left the vessel, the weapon created from darkness absorbed the flesh into the void, leaving behind not a single clue of the spider ever existing.

    "The skill seems simr to your dark light spell," after assessing the ability, Margarette stepped up beside Haruki to give him her input. "If that''s all it can do then, it''s a bit useless don''t you think?"

    "Thankfully that doesn''t seem to be the case," using the ability again, Haruki d himself in a set of armor made from the very same skill. "Riley and I tested this a bit before, try firing an arrow at me."

    Carelessly ignoring the outer threats of the dungeon, Margarette took a few steps away from her master to fire a ming arrow at him. Watching this whole thing unfold, Asuka as well as Riley wished to test out their new skills soon as well.

    "Is this far enough?" Nodding to Margarette, Haruki gave her permission to shoot at him. "Alright then, fire arrow!"

    Being an expert mage she didn''t need to call out the spell, but not wanting him to be caught off guard by the release time from her ming bow, she announced the spell regardless. As the arrow left her fingers and tore through the air, Haruki simply stood his guard without flinching even a little.

    "See?" He muttered, as the arrow hit him in the chest but got consumed by the armor made from darkness. "And I can do a lot more than just armor.''

    So long as his imagination could conjure the thing he wanted to create, he could make it with ease be it armor, vehicle, or weapons.

    "Maybe you can try to infuse a soul from one of the monsters next time?" Riley''s suggestion instantly got everyone''s attention to her. "Make use of Fay''s abilities you copied, you know?"

    After hearing Riley''s idea, Haruki regretted letting the spider''s soul escape from his grasp. If he could trap it in an object of darkness then perhaps, he could''ve animated life inside an inanimate object.

    "That almost feels like ying god¡­" Unsure whether he should push that boundary, he decided to move forward with the group.

    Even though the monsters so far felt stronger thanst time, there was still ack of monsters that could match up to Haruki''s skills. At first upon entering the now infamous minotaur dungeon, all they''d run into were a flock of slimes, a small goblin tribe, and a bundle of poison spiders, but now as they ventured deeper without encountering anything worth fighting, Haruki''s whole party had loosened up a little.

    ***

    Watching the four human-like creatures making their way easily through hordes of her children, the queen of Arachne red at them through her crystal ball. Her vile mouth split in fours hissed at the terrible monsters culling down her hatchlings.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What are you hissing at now?" Calling from under her, the queen of goblin hoards red up at the Arcane queen huddled up in her web.

    "These monsters! These humans! They keep killing them! They keep killing my children!" Screeching at her, the queen of spiders squinted all eight of her human eyes at the goblin under her.

    "Stop screeching!" The goblin queen rebutted before caressing her forehead to ease the migraines she''d suffered because of the Arachne. "That slime girl is keeping that damned minotaurpany, if you keep screeching like that he might just kill us all instead of protecting us and our children as he promised!"

    "Why isn''t he going to kill them then?!" Still, in a horrid state, the half-human spider jumped down from the ceiling. "If he can''t protect us and our children, then why are we even serving him?!"

    So far the arcane queen had only witnessed the three queen''s children trying to defend their territory while indulging in the warm flesh of a woman, the king of minotaur was only working his penis.

    Giving the spider queen a sideways nce, the queen of goblins shuddered at the thought of herints making it to the king. Squeezing her arms tightly, she quickly adjusted her boar skin clothes that covered the minimum skin that was required of her to cover.

    ''This impulsive fool will get us all killed.'' Eyeing the Arachne''s scaly yet busty upper body, the goblin queen scowled before grimacing at the site of her bloated ugly back. ''How did she even manage to take the minotaur''s fancy when her backside is that of an abhorrent bug?''

    Hiding her disgust like always, she red back into the spider queen''s eyes.

    "I''ll ask him, but I don''t think I''ll be the oneing here to check on you next time," the goblin queen continued, holding her finger stern by the Arachne queen''s many eyes. "And if he gets angry, I won''t stop him from stomping on all your eggs."

    Turning around with a growling sound resonating from under her gritted teeth, the goblin queen made her way back to the frenzied minotaur king.

    ''Damned if you do, damned if you don''t¡­'' Knowing full well that betraying the minotaur king was bound to get her killed, she was trapped in a prison she''d walked into herself. ''If I knew he''d be this useless, I would''ve mated with a goblin or a slime instead.''

    Watching the goblin queen walking away, a tribal blue mark over her green skin caught the Arachne''s attention. She kept ring at the thing until the queen had walked too far off for her to see the mark properly.

    "Betraying her dead husband so quickly? How shameful can she be?" Despite resorting to the same means for survival, seeing the symbol of her marriage with the goblin king on her back, the queen of spiders was gravely disappointed.

    ''And that slutty slime¡­she''s the worst of us all.'' The very thought of the queen of slimes made her want to vomit her organs.

 Chapter 110 110 â€“ Unlikely Alliance

    ?

    Walking along the dark paths of the dungeon, the goblin queen''s eyes glowed a bloody crimson. Making her way back to the minotaur king''s room, her mind was filled with worries, but more than that she felt frustrated by being surrounded by idiots.

    ''One''s a slut the other an abomination to all monsters.'' Despite being a monster herself, her sense of superiority towards her race was second to none. ''If only the king didn''t appear out of nowhere, we would''ve taken over this ce by now!''

    Curling her fingers into her palms, she could feel her sharp nails digging into her flesh, yet the frustration of it all had her care not the least for any momentary pain. Passing by a small field of stctites over a dark corner, she heard a pair of footsteps followed by the long echoes of water dripping down from the ceiling.

    "Who''s there?" She yelled in amanding voice.

    Taking out a sabertooth knife, she held it gripped tightly in her hands. Being the queen of goblins, if faced with adversity, she was more than willing as well as capable of defending herself.

    "Ghhaaaa¡­" Walking around the speleothem field, a small goblin d in ck wolf hide presented itself to its queen.

    Realizing it was just one of her spies, the queen quickly put the knife back by her hips.

    "Don''t sneak up on me again you idiot," Turning to look at the snarly goblin, she gave him a slightly annoyed look. "Now say¡­What is it?"

    Its head vigorously shaking about, the ghoulish goblin growled an answer as a stream of its drool trailed down its belly.

    "You heard those humans talking about the prisoner?" The little information she got from the spy was enough for her to deduce exactly why the party of humans was murdering their children left and right. "Keep an eye on them."

    Saying that she kept walking forward with her mindpletely taken by what they should be doing next.

    ''Kane, was it? If he''s all they want perhaps, we can offer him up so they''ll leave us alone?'' Her wishful thinking didn''tst long as the thought of humans and monsters negotiating over something felt bizarre even to her. ''That only leaves us with the king dealing with them somehow.''

    Finally, as she reached the haphazardly put-together room for the minotaur king, the sound of the slime girl fell into her ears. Even from behind the door, her loud moans could easily be heard, which only pissed off the goblin queen some more.

    ''This bitch¡­'' Knocking on the door, she had no intention of walking on the two getting each other''s rocks off.

    After standing outside without getting an answer, she knocked a few more times before the minotaur king growled from inside.

    "What is it?! I told you not to disturb me when I''m fucking!" His voice shuddered the queen''s heart with terror.

    "I''m so s-sorry!" She yelped as the strength in her knees began escaping her. "I just wanted to tell you that those humans are still killing everyone and it won''t be long until they get here!"

    A moment of silence followed her report, but then the moansing from inside continued once again. Shocked by what she was hearing, the goblin queen gritted her teeth, frustrated out of her mind.

    "King, you need to do something!" She demanded, still trying to keep her tone mellow to avoid offending the beastly king.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I''ll handle them when I wish to, now buzz off until I want to fuck you!" Growling back at her, the king went silent once again.

    However, the sounds of his flesh smacking against the slime was enough to let the goblin queen know exactly what was happening behind the massive door to his room.

    ''This fucker!'' Although she wanted to tear through the door and burst right in, she managed to keep her emotions in check. Standing back, she red at the door, mocking her for her separation from her tribe. ''I haven''t been around them since they built this damned room for the minotaur king.''

    Fighting to defend this ce in the deepest part of the dungeon, the path leading up to this ce was being painted in young goblin blood. Shaking her head, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

    Not far from where the king''s room was a makeshift prison barred with broken pieces of stgmites. Quickly marching her way there, she stormed through her mind trying to figure out what she could do to minimize the loss of life of her children.

    "Oi, wake up!" Smacking her bone sabertooth knife on the bars of the only cell, she red down at the man resting inside the small space.

    In absolute tatters, Kane''s body was twisted and torn in all sorts of ways, and his headpletely detached from his bodyid snoring over his ownp.

    "Wh-what? Is it time for breakfast?" he mumbled, opening up his eyes.

    However, as he saw a humanoid woman almost as tall as him, he was once again reminded of exactly where he was. Despite the grimness of the situation, he simply let out a yawn and stretched his hands a little.

    "You can''t be serious," Enraged by his carefree act, she red him down while growling. "You humans are the fucking worst, and how the hell are you still alive?"

    "My mother¡­" Looking up at her with a smile, he chuckled. "She was really stubborn with life, I''ve heard I take after her¡­"

    Despite being on the verge of death, Kane''s soul was still trapped inside his body with the mana still left inside him, but even he knew that wasn''t going tost for long. And yet despite all the pain, all the struggle, he couldn''t let a monster perceive the strongest man in the duchy as weak or pathetic, for it could have disastrous effects upon his death.

    Looking down at him powering through the pain, angered the queen, but also inspired her not to give up on her children yet.

    ''Perhaps I can use this man to get rid of the king, after all?'' In return, she wanted nothing more than to be left alone inside the dungeons.

    "Don''t take me for a fool and answer me," taking the lock to the cell inside her hands, she looked right into Kane''s eyes. "If you were well rested and fed, could you kill the minotaur king?"

    The question put an impish smirk across Kane''s face.

    "Feed me mana and I''ll eat every monster in this dungeon alive," he uttered, cackling to himself.

    Watching the manughing so carefreely despite being on death''s door, the goblin queen couldn''t ascertain if her n to incorporate Kane''s help would make things any better or just worsen everything even more.

 Chapter 111 111 - A Fair Warm-Up

    Arriving at the deeper, more sinister levels of the dungeon, Haruki and his crew were getting a bit tired from the experimentation on their skills. And so as they moved further in, Haruki kept using the dark light spell to eat up the monster alive with a flesh-devouring miasma.

    "How much further do we have to go? We''ve not seen Kane or the escapee ves," growing a bit impatient, Riley beganining.

    "Yeah, I''m tired of wandering too," opening up a summoning portal, Haruki decided to make use of his familiars to map out the dungeon instead. "Greater demonic spies!"

    Springing out of the portal were countless bat-winged eyes with gouging red eyes. Sticking their slithery tongue out, they began happily revolving around Haruki. Brushing up their heads as pats, he ordered the greater demonic spies to search for Kane as well as the ves.

    "T-they seem much bigger," muttered Margarette, still haunted by the torture she''d been subjected to under those creatures.

    "Some of my skills went through an upgrade too it seems, so yeah¡­they''re much bigger, just have to see if they''re more useful this way or not," turning around to set up a camp in the open area they were in, a sudden abnormality took Haruki by surprise.

    ''What¡­?'' Looking over his shoulder, he peered into the darkness that the spies had headed into. Coming from that very direction were deafening screeches sting off everyone''s ears. Thus forced to cover up their ears, all of them quickly went into a defensive stance.

    "Someone killed the spies, I can''t see through them!" Warning the others, he switched to his demonic form to use his powers more efficiently. "Lose the mask!"

    Ordering them to do the same, he clutched onto the sapphire brooch and created a giant wall of ice blocking the monster''s path. Whatever the screeching creature was had them on their toes, even if they hadn''t caught a single glimpse of it yet.

    "Could it be the minotaur?!" Asuka asked, shuddering in her demonic body.

    Looking around at the other two he noticed that they''d changed into demons too. Distracted by his ownpanions, Haruki didn''t notice the Arachne crawling out from the slightly open top of the ice wall. However, as the other three noticed the queen of spiders and their eyes widened in shock, Haruki turned around to get a look at the creature.

    "You!" The queen screeched at Haruki''s party, but as she noticed the collection of lust demons instead of the humans that were killing all her children, she felt a bit perplexed.

    ''It can speak?'' Meeting another monster that could speak after a long time, he felt a strange thrill burst up inside him. ''That damned reaper¡­''

    Reminded of that monster, Haruki let go of the magic shield and created a full suit of armor with the ability Emperor of void.

    "Who are you?! And where are those pesky humans?!" Screeching yet again, the queen red down at Haruki as he conjured up the armor.

    "Doesn''t matter," gesturing the others to stand back, Haruki leaped upward and sprouted ice des from his knuckles. "You''d be dead soon anyway!"

    Flinging his fist at the queen, he tried to get her right in the face, however, being an Arachne with eight legs, she moved out of the way with incredible haste. The de stuck into the part of the ceiling the queen had been, Haruki released it off the tip of his knuckles and sprouted up another pair.

    "Holy chain binds!" Using the skill, he binded all of her limbs in ce, and yet with just a tug on them the queen managed to break free of those luminous chains.

    "Who the hell are you?!" Her mouth parting in four, revealed countless sharp teeth sticking out of the inside of her mouth. "I''ll feed you to my babies if you don''t answer me now!"

    The sight of her open mouth almost made Haruki gag, however, as a ming arrow to her head forced the queen to shut her mouth, he already felt a lot better.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "And keep that vile thing shut!" Margarette warned as she pulled on yet another arrow.

    Squeamish from the me burning her humanoid face, the spider queen violently shook her and flung herself down towards Margarette as the me whittled away.

    "Familiar summon: Lulu!" bringing forth the tentacle monster, Asuka bound the queen once again by the many arms of the slithery creature.

    Taking this opportunity to rush the queen, Riley took out her des and jumped high to give her des some moment as they thrust into her skin.

    "Swiftwind Viper: Poison!" tearing into the queen, Riley made her screech out loud in agony. "We''re not done yet!"

    Clutching the des tightly, Riley kicked the queen''s back to get some distance from her. And as she forced herself back, she turned to look at the spider queen''s face. Noticing a frown paired with the twitching of her eye, Riley knew that the poison had been at least somewhat effective.

    "Leave some fun for me," diving down at the queen, Haruki pierced right through her critter-like back. "Body disfiguration!"

    Pouring his mana into her, he broke all of the joints in her legs, making her fall helplessly to the ground. And yet despite the continuous assault on her body, the queen, foaming at her mouth in rage, kept ring at the ones attacking her so far.

    "Don''t mock me imps!" Screeching yet again, she forced everyone to get away from her. The ear-piercing sounds from her mouth were too much for demons with enhanced senses, and knowing that full well, the queen kept screeching until she could recover her body with the natural affinity of her body to heal itself. "I''m gonna kill you all and then those humans!"

    Charging at Haruki, the queen threw her forelegs wing over him. Unmatched in speed, she managed to slice into Haruki''s face, leaving behind a scar that ran across his whole face.

    "Tsk!" Jerking himself back, he covered the wound with his hands before healing it with rejuvenation.

    ring up at her, he hadn''t expected her to free herself from the tentacles as well as recover from her wounds so easily.

    "How dare you?!" Fuming with rage, Asuka leaped forward and sprang forth countless thorny vines from the miasmic flytrap. "Poison her till her body burns from the inside out!"

    Digging into the queen''s skin, the vines started pumping her full of acidic poison, and yet despite being gushed in with the toxin, the queen stood tall and simply tore off the vines one after the other.

    Watching it all from a small distance, a smile crept up on Haruki''s face. So far the monsters they''d fought were weak enough to die from a single spell, but now, as they faced a real threat, he couldn''t help but be thrilled about the fight.

    "Asuka, Riley, Margarette¡­" Slowly walking towards the queen, he drew her attention to him and him alone. "Let''s warm up our bodies before the real deal."

    Creating a pair of gloves with spiked knuckles, Haruki smacked them together. Looking over his shoulder at the rest of his crew, he gave them a smile.

    "We''re gonna need it before we can face the minotaur king, after all," he said, not realizing that the queen had her ws raised over his body.

 Chapter 112 112 - To Crush A Bug

    ?

    "Not so fast!" Using her wind magic, Riley flung herself forward to deflect the Arachne queen''s ws about to be brought down on Haruki.

    However, before she could reach her, the queen shed through Haruki''s neck and it tumbled off of his body. Watching in horror, Riley stopped in her tracks, and the others raised concerned eyes. None of them could believe what had happened, and their minds were only slowly catching up to the reality.

    "There''s no way¡­" Mumble Margarette, as Asuka breezed past her.

    Upon noticing Asuka trying to approach Haruki, Riley flew over to her and held her in ce by her arms.

    "What are you doing, let me go?!" Cried Asuka, trying to free herself from Riley''s grasp.

    "Trust him," Riley whispered, knowing full well that the queen couldn''t have defeated their master so easily.

    "Wha-" Before she could finish the sentence, a strong beam of light sprouted out from under the queen''s body.

    Soon as the queen looked down at herself, she was once again bound by holy chains while a magic circle spun under her feet. Screeching yet again, she tried to deafen the invisible attacker, however, hidden inside her shadow Haruki couldn''t be hurt by sound.

    "Who the hell are you people?!" In her rage, she turned to the visible enemies. "And what are you doing here?!"

    "If you think we''re gonna tell you, then you''ve grown far too cocky after defeating a single clone" Speaking to her from the shadows Haruki was ready to unleash a spellbo he''d desperately wanted to try. "Not like it''ll matter, Devouring Demon!"

    Unleashing the built-up magic from the magic circle, the queen was surrounded by misty clouds that burned her skin like acid, and to worsen her suffering the ground under her began devouring her whole body like a swamp.

    "Let go of me! Let go!" thrashing her legs she managed to free herself from the holy chains, however, the marshy ground under her feet kept pulling her in the more she struggled. "I''m gonna kill you all imp! Let me go!"

    Once again she tried to screech the demons off of her, but bound to the earth she couldn''t force them with her voice alone anymore. Covering their ears was enough protection for Asuka and the rest.

    "Actually¡­" Sweeping forward with her dagger, Riley stuck a knife through the queen''s parted mouth. "I like you better when you don''t talk at all."

    "Me too," Asuka added.

    With time the queen''s skin was scraped off by the misty clouds before being torn and shredded into by the rest of Haruki''s party. By the time only her head remained poking out of the ground, Haruki jumped out of the shadow and picked up her humanoid head.

    "Still alive with just a head, quite a stubborn bug aren''t you?" Looking her straight in the eyes, Haruki held her up by her hair. "Rejuvenation!"

    Healing her loud mouth, he quickly choked her mouth with the tentacle familiar forcing itself down her throat.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "We''re looking for a Minotaur king, if you know where he is, it might just save your life and the life of those precious spiders we''ve been killing¡­" Tilting his head, he gave her a dastardly smirk. "But of course, if you don''t ept it, I''ll have to kill those bugs you''ve been calling your babies."

    Digging down on the tentacle, she returned Haruki''s gaze with great contempt, and yet left with no choice but to do as she was told, she blinked her eyes a few times, letting him know that she was willing to help so long as he kept his promise.

    Creating a third phantom hand with emperor of void, Haruki held the head facing forward. Turning around to his party, he quickly switched back to his mercenary form. A bit shocked to find out that the demons she was fighting were the same humans she was hunting, the Arachne iled her head around to free herself, but unfortunately, there was no way of escaping anymore.

    "Let''s keep moving then," nodding his head to the others, he began leading the way once again, only this time whenever they came to a crossroad, the head of the queen of spiders was there to help them navigate their way to the minotaur king''sir.

    The further they moved in the more monsters they started to encounter, but with the head of the queen held up high in Haruki''s phantom hand, none of them dared toy a finger on him or hispany. Instead, they simply crawled away into the dark crevices and hid while watching them pass through the numerous passages.

    "How long until we get there?" Having the tentacle crawl out of her mouth, Haruki brought her face in front of him while continuing to walk forward.

    Letting out a gasp, the queen drew deep breaths on instinct despite having no organs to suck the breath into. Gradually getting calmer and calmer, she red at him with the same rage as before, yet the only thing she could do now was answer his question.

    "He''s not far, but he''s not alone and he won''t lose to you¡­" Smiling to herself, she seemed confident that the king would easily defeat Haruki and hispanions.

    Unfazed by her threat, Haruki carried her like antern as they kept pushing forward. After walking a bit further, a distant groan from deep into the dungeon sent everyone on their deepest guard.

    "What was that?" Haruki asked the queen.

    Her eyes ring in the direction of the noise seemed horrified by what she''d heard. It had surprised her so much that her lips quivered for words, but no sounds came out of them.

    "Is she plotting something?" Asked Riley, taking the head in her own hands.

    "This could be a trap, I mean, she came looking for us so¡­" Shuddering on the spot, Margarette stared aimlessly in the dark.

    "I-it''s¡­" Finally being able to gather the courage, the queen spoke once again. "It''s the king, it''s his screams¡­"

    Turning his attention away from the queen''s head and towards the source of the noise, yet another smile crept up on Haruki''s face.

    "That bastard really is immortal," he whispered outughing.

    [Haruki''s stats + New skills+ spells + curses in Author''s thoughts]

 Chapter 113 113 - Plotting To Kill The King

    ?

    "Nature''s boon!" Upon the use of the skill, Kane''s body was cocooned inside a pod of vines. "You''ll recover sooner if you stay in for a while."

    Provided with mana from the goblin queen, Kane''s body was already on its path to full recovery. Hastened further by the effect of nature''s boon inside the cocoon-like vessel, Kane''s limbs stitched themselves together and even reattached his head back onto his body.

    ''Fucking hell¡­I never thought I''d have to resort to a goblin for help.'' After staying inside the cocoon for a while, he felt the strain in his body being washed awaypletely, and when it was all finally gone, he tore out through the healing vessel.

    "I smell like grass," he mumbled, feeling somewhat sick from the strong stench.

    Looking down at the queen who was marginally shorter than him, he noticed the unamused expression on her face and realized she wasn''t really in the mood for small talk.

    "You have a n?" He asked, subconsciously reaching to his back for his absent sword.

    ''Dammit, I don''t know where my sword is.'' Keeping his frustration to himself, he wore a weak smile.

    "You''re the monster hunter, aren''t you?" Getting up on her toes, the queen mped Kane''s face between her fingers. "Shouldn''t you be the one to figure that out?"

    ring at him with her eyes flowing with a shade of red and green hue like aurora, flowing green and red, she tried to charm him to be her servant, but the spell failed before it could even bepleted. Realizing what she''d just tried on him, Kane wanted to tear through her body with fortress, yet having no clue how to escape the dungeon, he decided not to ruin his chances.

    "Are you done?" His eyes furrowed in a raging scorn, he red her down with great contempt. "Show me where the king is and maybe I''ll forgive you for what you''ve just tried."

    ''She''s a monster too, so it''s my own fault for trusting her that much.'' Curling up his fist, he kept his rage confined within him.

    ''Humans, they''re all so¡­annoying, and worst of all unpredictable.'' Keeping her teeth gritted in rage, she turned around to lead the way to the king''sir. Stepping out of the barred prison cell, however, she locked it behind her before Kane could take a single step out of it.

    "I know exactly what you''re thinking," her eyes back into their crimson hue were sternly fixed on the prisoner inside. "How do I know I trust you? That you won''t kill me right after the king?"

    Drawing his right hand back, Kane activated Fortress to cover his arm in sharp rocks. Gaining enough momentum with his swing he tore right through the cell bars keeping the door intact. Having expected him to try something simr, the queen simply took a few steps back while keeping her eyes fixed on him.

    "Help me kill that guy, and find a pair of runoff ves and I''ll let you off the hook," Jerking his hand to brush off all the rock from his fist, Kane extended his hand to her as a sign of truce.

    Eyeing his hand, she took a moment to think things through before arriving at her end of the deal.

    "How about we use a curse to bind each other to uphold that promise?" Circling a finger in the air, she conjured up a magic circle. Parting in two it floated right over both of their hearts. "Promise me, you''ll leave me and my tribe alone once all this is taken care of and I''ll help you kill the king and find those ves of yours."

    Letting out a chuckle, Kane took her hand in her and sealed the curse with a shake of hands. The moment their hands touched, the magic circles traveled inside their bodies and bound themselves to their hearts. Marked with the curse of the bound, neither of them could break the promise, and if they even so much as tried to, the curse would cut through their hearts like butter.

    Once everything was said and done, the queen led the way to a nearby cave where part of her tribe was guarding the treasure the king had stripped from all the other species inside the dungeon. However, none of the glimmers caught Kane''s fancy, since the only thing he was interested in was finding his sword that was supposed thrown somewhere inside the rubble.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Scanning through and rummaging through the pieces, he kept searching for his de amongst a pile of gems and other ore, all the while the young goblin guards kept shuddering at the corner from the sight of a human warrior.

    "Where the hell is it?!" Turning to the goblins he let out a growl, however, as the queen moved in between them, Kane was reminded of his promise. "Aren''t they supposed to be warriors? If they are so easily afraid then I doubt they can survive a single hit from the king."

    His n to use their strength no longer seemed viable, especially since they were afraid of him even though the minotaur king looked much more vicious.

    "They used to be warriors, but no longer¡­" Holding her breath, the queen''s eyes squinted in pain. "We tried to fight the king, but he killed everyone else but them and a handful of others who''re no longer here."

    "What happened to the others?" Getting up on his feet, Kane noticed a small cave leading further into the ce.

    "They were killed by a party of humans currently wandering around in the dungeon," while her reply piqued his curiosity, he was a lot more curious about the foul stenching from the dark cave.

    The moment he took a step towards it, all the goblins around him threw themselves at his feet to try and deter him from going in.

    "What the hell is in there?" he asked, ring sideways at the queen.

    The queen''s lips parted to answer, but pressing them shut, she drew a deep breath, knowing that Kane wouldn''t appreciate what was inside.

    "I was going to tell you once we were done with the king, but I guess I have no choice but to show you now," walking past him, she gestured for him to follow behind.

    Although a bit dubious about her intentions, Kane followed her deeper into the cave. The stench kept growing stronger with each step, and the buzzing of flies was almost deafening to the ears at this point. At the end of their walk, they came up to an opening with numerous deteriorating human carcasses hanging up with chains.

    "Grimm Daumas, the runaway ve¡­" Kane mumbled looking at the rotting carcass of one of the ves he was meant to retrieve from the dungeons. "Where''s the girl?"

    Frantically looking around, he tried to find a female corpse, but no matter where he looked there was no woman inside the damned ce.

    "Where is she?" He asked, grabbing the queen.

    His fingers digging into her skin was enough indication for her to spit out all her secrets.

    "The king, he likes to toy with women, be it humans, demi-humans, or monsters," just those words were enough for him to know exactly what she meant.

    ''I''m gonna fucking kill this monster before he ims another victim!'' His heart of gold bleeding a crimson, pained from the thought of countless women being tortured by this monster.

    "Take me to him this instant," even though he had no de nor anypanions, he was willing to risk it all again for the sake of what''s righteous.

 Chapter 114 114 - A Strange Sight

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    Gathering up her troops, the queen followed Kane''s lead as he stood by the minotaur king''s room. The groaning as well as the monas had died down from the inside, letting them all know that the king was either resting or engaged in some other activity.

    "You''re not just gonna charge in there, are you?" The goblin queen asked, concerned for the safety of her troops.

    "No¡­" turning back to her, he held his hand extended towards the massive door. "I want you to go in and distract him so we can get a few hits in before he realizes what''s happening."

    "And that''s your n?" Perplexed as to how Kane was thinking something so simple would work against the king, the queen couldn''t help but question his judgment.

    "It''s the best option we have without my team," aided usually by his party, Kane was the primary attacker as well as the coordinator for their strategies, but those strategies only worked because he knew the extent of their abilities as well as how to utilize them effectively.

    Grunting at his lousy excuse, the queen walked up beside him and gave him an aggravated sideways nce. Closing her eyes shut to calm her mind, she turned around to look over towards her troops.

    "Do as he says," with that said, she flipped back around and made her way in through the massive gate.

    Upon getting in, the first thing the queen noticed was the slime girl sleeping on top of the minotaur king''s belly. Laying on the ground, the king himself was fast asleep, making this a prime opportunity for them to n their attack and strike.

    ''The only problem now would be those adventurers heading in here. Even if we manage to kill him, they might just start attacking me and my tribe.'' Circling the sleeping king, her eyes kept ring at the snoring minotaur. His very existence made her feel repulsed by him, and the fact that she had toy by his side not long after the goblin king was killed, made her sorrow far more vehement.

    Taking her knife in her hands, she was subconsciously drawn closer to his throat. With each step forward she could almost hear the cries that he would soon make.

    "H-he-help me¡­" Breaking her murderous trance, a faint voice from her back made her jump onto her feet and tumble back onto the side of the King''s face.

    Falling to the ground, she caressed her hurt hips before looking in the direction of the plea. That''s when she noticed the girl Kane had mentioned. It wasn''t her first time seeing her shambled body with bones sticking out of her skin, but now that she knew who she was, she felt some amount of pity towards her even if she was a human.

    "I told you not to disturb me," the king''s voice trailing in through the back of her ears, made her body jump in astonishment.

    Feeling him get up from behind her, she nced back over her shoulder to meet his reddened eyes. Back on his feet, the blood-skin minotaur huffed out like a bull while staring down at the petrified goblin queen.

    "Fuck," that''s all she could muster out, and the king was visibly not pleased.

    ***

    Having Margarette turn into Rose, as well as having the others turn into guards, Haruki was rushing in the direction of the scream in his mercenary form. Storing the queen''s head inside one of his dungeon pockets, he wanted to make sure that in case it was really Kane who was causing this ruckus, then his and the real identity of his servants remain hidden from him.

    "Riley stay hidden with your invisibility, and Asuka stay behind me and assist me and Margarette as necessary," giving everyone their orders Haruki noticed in the distance, a massive door flung wide open.

    Not wanting to waste any more time, Haruki opened up a dungeon portal in their path to teleport them right by the gate, and as they passed through it the sight in front of them was astounding to all. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "The hell is happening here?" Swarming the minotaur king was a hoard of dainty goblins with a Gollum-like creature riding between the king''s horns.

    Its hand firmly grasping the horns, the earthy Gollum pulled and tugged the king in all directions, making him run into walls while the tribe of goblins assaulted him with their flimsy weapons. The once-decorated room supported with numerous stone pirs and an elevated tform serving as the king''s seat and bed, was now left in shambles as the humorous scene unfolded before Haruki and the rest.

    "Should we help?" Whispered Asuka, unsure whether they should interject or not.

    "I''m not sure," Haruki replied as his eyesid on the goblin queen directing all her troops.

    Following her around was a sentient pod made of wood that walked with the help of its roots. The absurdity of the creature only made the situation even more confusing.

    "Arnold?" Called Kane''s voice from the front, at first Haruki couldn''t figure out where the voice came from, however as he noticed the golem waving its hand at him, he was dumbfounded to realize that it was none other than the man they''de to rescue.

    "Oh fuck, it''s him, yeah we''re helping then," Even as he charged forward with his party in tow, Haruki still couldn''t figure out exactly why the goblins were helping him. "What the hell is this guy really?"

    Still punching away at the king''s bleeding skull, Kane was tearing through his cranium while making sure to spike his hands in case the king tried to grab him.

    ''I can''t let him be on the sidelines any longer, if he rebels against the duchy it will end in disaster.'' Deciding to finally take control of Kane somehow, Haruki created numerous clones of himself to keep the minotaur''s attention away from Kane.

    "Volley of Arrow!" Pulling back on the ming string of her bow, Margarette posing as Rose unleashed a swarm of fire arrows onto the king''s back.

    "Swiftwind viper: burn!" Coming out of invisibility, Riley climbed over the king''s back before flipping over his head to ride over his giant nose. "Take this, you smelly bastard."

    Drawing the ming daggers back, she plunged them into his eyes. Instantly as the daggers dug in and burned his retinas the king began swatting his hands around as if he was trying to kill a fly, however, flinging herself away with her wind magic, Riley managed to get away in time.

    ''This seems too easy, howe Kane lost to this bastard before?'' The moment Haruki''s mind questioned that possibility, Kane jumped off the king''s back and got some distance between him and the agonizing beast.

    "Why did you jump off?" Haruki asked as he quickly made his way toward Kane.

    But giving no reply, Kane''s eyes stayed focused on the beast.

    Following Kane''s eyes, Haruki saw the minotaur take out the daggers from his eyes and let out a deafening howl. As the blood trailing down from all over its body burned up over his skin, the beast kept on howling until his skin itself burst into a ball of me.

    "That''s why¡­" Kane mumbled as the king turned to them with a wide menacing grin.

 Chapter 115 115 - Void Eater

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    With a single swing of his fist, the king sent Haruki as well as Kane crashing against the dungeon walls. Their bodies burning from the ming fist, had them both groan out loud in agony, but healing them from a safe distance with a spell, the queen of goblins helped them get back onto their feet.

    Still baffled as to why a monster was aiding humans, Haruki gave her a questioning gaze, however as he saw the king about to swing his fiery fist at her, he jumped over to her through a portal to get her out of the way instead. His hands clenched tightly around her body, made him feel a bit strange.

    Having expected her to be firmer as a monster, he was quite surprised by her fluffy skin.

    "What happened?" She asked as soon as Haruki let go of her. "How did you-"

    "I teleported us, now shut up and fight if you''re helping us," feeling a burning sensation behind him, Haruki was once again ready to teleport away, but before he could do so, Kane threw his Gollum-like body against the king''s swinging fist to redirecting the attack from the two.

    From behind, Haruki heard a loud crashing sound as the king almost fell down. Turning to Kane, he was given a smile by him.

    "You''re teaching me that teleportation skill after this," he said, his fist still pointed in the direction of the kneeling king.

    "Yeah, as long as we make it out of here alive," already having some ns for Kane, Haruki had decided to give up on holding back against the king. "Emperor of void: de of Darkness!"

    For a moment Kane eyed Arnold for the use of the peculiar skill, yet with a ring threat to their lives getting back on its feet, he didn''t waste too much time trying to decipher what the skill entailed.

    "Earthly warrior!" Using his own skill, Kane sprang forth a giant de from the rocks that covered his body.

    "You bastards¡­" ring down at the two, the king ignored the projectile attacks from fake Rose and the guards. "How dare you disturb my sleep, how dare you go against me? Can''t you see that I am stronger than you all? JUST SUBMIT, YOU FOOLS!"

    Standing unfazed under the burning giant, Haruki nced at Kane to signal their attack. Nodding their heads at each other, both of them charged recklessly toward the king from opposing directions.

    "YOU''RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Stomping his feet recklessly, the king sent waves of mes spreading outward.

    The tremors alone were enough to make the two tumble, but just in time before the mes could reach their bodies, both of them took a leap toward the walls to get away from the fire. For the brief moment their bodies were stuck to the walls, they shared yet another nce before jumping towards the king''s body.

    ''All I have to do is stab him with this de and it''ll suck up all the energy from his body.'' Drawing his hands over his head, Haruki had his eyes locked right over the king''s shoulders. Right as he was about to stab the king with the de, his eyes met the king''s, and in his eyes was a cheekish emotion. ''Fuck!''

    Since the king couldn''t possibly stop them both, he flung his fist at Haruki and swatted him like a fly. Crashing onto the wall, his body crumbled up from the impact. Slowly as he swept down the walls, he noticed Kane still fighting the king, and Asuka and the rest making their way over to him.

    "Assist him! I can take care of myself!" A bit annoyed, he didn''t hold back while showing his frustration. "Rejuvenation!"

    Stopping in their tracks, all three of his servants were a bit shocked by his tone, however, they couldn''t let themselves be too distracted by it at the moment. Turning their attention to Kane they began showering the king with attacks of their own. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    It didn''t take long for Kane to be shot off either, the king, although much slower than them to respond, had a vitality that was matched by none around him at the moment.

    "This will take too long like this," clutching the de once again, Haruki teleported right over the king''s head.

    Landing on his head, he held his hand down on his skull before inflicting curses on him.

    "gue demon!" Shooting from his hand, a magic circle of curses, surrounded the minotaur king''s body. "Body disfiguration!"

    Forcing the king down on his knees by breaking his legs joints, Haruki red at everyone as a warning before activating thest skill.

    ''Just a bit more time!'' The mes on the king were burning Haruki alive, and thus fearing the action of his escapist skill, he wanted it to be done before it teleported him away from danger. ''You better work!''

    Closing his eyes, he defended himself against the king''s blows with a magic shield bubbled around him. Concentrating solely on the summoning, he surged all of his mana into the summoning circle right under his palm.

    "God tier familiar: Void Eater!" As a mist of dark clouds emerging from Haruki''s hands epassed the magic circle, a burst of energying from his hand jerked away from the king.

    ''Did it work?!'' Stopping himself in mid-air, he looked back over to the king''s head. Emerging from a mist of clouds, were a pair of giant ws along with wide razor teeth with blood dripping down from them.

    "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!" Screeched the king right as the ws grabbed onto his horns and tore them off of his head by pulling them in opposing directions. "AGHHH! WHA-WHAT IS THIS THING?!"

    His eyes shot with blood, the king red at Haruki before rushing in his direction, however, in his path as he moved, the dark cloud followed right over him. Drawing its ws far apart, the creature of darkness dug into the king''s skull and tore it off as well.

    "Fucking hell¡­" Haruki heard someone mumbling as the king''s headless body walked a few steps closer and thrashed lifelessly on the ground.

    "KAKAKAKAKA!" Cackling like a maniac, a pair of dangling eyes popped out of the creature''s cloud. "Who next?"

    Those words reminded Haruki exactly why he didn''t want to resort to using that familiar of his.

    "We need to get out of this dungeon¡­" Turning around to the rest of the group, he took a deep breath and yelled. "We need to get out now!"

    Watching him being hysterical, everyone just stared at him for a moment, that is, until, the creature of dark picked up the king''s body and made a bloody mess chomping down on his carcass.

 Chapter 116 116 â€“ Unveiled Mask

    ?

    When you unleash a creature of darkness onto the world, the world itself bes its feed. Eating away at everything and all who came in its view, the eater of void kept on devouring until the entirety of the monster''s nest had crumbled into dust. With each goblin, each slime, and each spider it grew in size, and eventually when nothing was left it turned back to devour its own master.

    "COME HEREEEEE!" Crawling out of the dark clouds, it dug its ws into the ground and began pulling itself towards Haruki.

    "Master!" Asuka squealed at the terrifying sight of the blood-thirsty monster.

    ncing back as they were all trying to get out of the dungeon, Haruki saw the creature onest time before teleporting them all out through the nearby entrance. Sucked into its skull his elusive dark eyes were surrounded by a throbbing sea of nerves. Its ws wet with blood of all the creatures he''d carnaged still had their flesh stuck between his sharp nails. And worst of all, his mouth,den with countless slender yet sharp teeth, was fuel enough for a lifetime of nightmares.

    "Tormentous dungeon: Out of this dungeon!" Right on their tails as the creature had them shadowed under its open mouth, Haruki managed to teleport them all away.

    Finally, out in the open, everyone took deep breaths trying to calm their hearts and minds. After a while as his mind felt a bit clearer and the creature of dark refused to step out under the light of the sun, Haruki felt a surge of mana returning to him. All the power the void eater had gained after eating up everything inside the dungeon was now used up for revitalizing Haruki''s body.

    ''If only it didn''t try and eat me as well, it could''ve been a great familiar.'' Turning around to look at the others, he made sure everyone important had managed to escape the creature''s grasp.

    First, as he noticed Asuka and Riley as guards as well as Margarette posing as Rose, he didn''t feel too rmed, but then as his eyes shifted to Kane and the goblin queen he was left a bit perplexed by what he was seeing. The nt-like pod standing behind the queen had opened up and peeking out of it was a slime girl, and as if that wasn''t enough to fuel his confusion Kane too was carrying someone, although it wasn''t a monster, but a naked human girl.

    "Who is that?" Asked Haruki, walking up to Kane.

    Seeing the person''s face as he walked around Kane, however, Haruki''s eyes widened. Jerked back instinctively, he kept staring at the unconscious girl. Noticing the girl''s amber hair, and the mole right under her lips, his heart pounding faster and faster by the second.

    "Mariya¡­Mariya Raymond?" As though an emotional dam had flooded open, Haruki felt his heart burning as the memories of his past haunted him once again.

    His eyes still fixed on the girl, he clenched his fist as deep troubled breaths left his mouth. It was her, the girl from the past, the mage of his battalion, the one who''d bound him by a fiery spell as the leader of their battalion raped a demi-human girl.

    "Arnold? Hey man, are you okay?" Gently resting the girl on the ground, Kane nced up at the obviously troubled mercenary in front of him.

    "No¡­" Haruki replied without even looking at him.

    "Master?" Slowly moving towards him, Asuka mumbled.

    Unaware of everyone''s concerned look, Haruki gave up and turned into his demonic form right in front of them all. Taken over by a look of confoundment, Kane furrowed his eyes and red at him in disbelief.

    "Who the hell are you?" Grabbing the girl, Kane took a giant leap back to distance himself from the demon. "Where is Arnold?"

    Looking over to Rose, Kane expected her to help instead as she noticed his gaze on her, she closed her eyes and turned back into Margarette. With their master having already given up his identity, the rest of the group followed soon after. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Now, as he stood there cornered by a pack of lust demons, he turned to the only one he could still trust a little, however, following Kane''s gaze, Haruki bound the goblin queen as well as the slime queen with holy chain binds.

    "What?! Let me go!" Growled the goblin queen as she struggled to free herself from the chains.

    Losing the entirety of her pack to the void eater, she too only had Kane to ask for help, but he didn''t seem in any better condition either. As for the queen of slimes, she was still passed out from being caged inside the walking flower nt.

    "Give her to me, and maybe I''ll spare you," his eyes glinting a violet glow, Haruki took a few steps closer to the girl.

    Tightening his grasp on the unconscious human girl, Kane sprouted out a de of rock to protect them both from whatever the demons were about to try.

    "Tell me, are you an impersonating demon or-"

    "Your doubts are right," holding his hand towards Kane, Haruki bound him too with the holy chains. "I''m Arnold, I''m Snow Frost, but most importantly I am Haruki Shin, the soon-to-be new lord of this world."

    Binding him further with ropes made out of darkness, Haruki forced Kane to let go of the girl before hanging him up high.

    ''How''s this even happening?'' Thought Kane as he struggled to get out of the constraints.

    "Where did you find her?" Haruki asked, getting to his knees to get a look at Mariya. "And where''s Grimm? That stupid boyfriend of hers?"

    "Why the fuck will I tell you anything?!" Kane retorted, grunting.

    "Oh, you will, you most definitely will," shapeshifting into a feminine subus, Haruki peered up at him. "Hypnotic gaze!"

    Although the ability managed to weaken Kane''s mental barrier, it still didn''t make him fallpletely into Haruki''smand.

    "Herald of truth: Come to me¡­" Using Serena''s ability, Haruki conjured up her lie-catching staff.

    Knowing full well what it was, Kane, once again couldn''t believe his eyes.

    "You will tell me everything you know, or I''ll rip this girl to shreds," raising the girl from the ground with Lulu''s help, Haruki had given in to his thirst for vengeance.

 Chapter 117 117 - Looking Back On The Past - [Part 1] [18+]

    ?

    "You did well Shin," stretching his hand down towards Haruki, Michael offered his help in getting up.

    "Not as good as you, sir!" Taking a firm grip on Michael''s hand, Haruki pulled himself back on his feet.

    Despite having just been struck down by him, the thrill of the battle had him smiling. Michael too returned a generous smile before sheathing the de he''d used for the battle. The motion served as a reminder that ance of gold was his true weapon of choice, and so being defeated with a sword by him felt slightly more humiliating.

    "Is something the matter?" cing a hand on Haruki''s shoulder, Michael brought him back to his senses. "You''re getting better, soldier, so if that''s your query, you have nothing to worry about."

    Beingforted by the greatest warrior in all of As, a warm smile crept up on Haruki''s face. Taking a moment to just calm his heart, he huffed out a sigh and nodded at the general.

    "Oi!" A voice called from behind.

    Turning around, Haruki nced up over at the bridge joining different parts of the chivalry training ground together. Leaning on the side of a wall a man of tall stature looking down at the two.

    "We have a new assignment so get ready for dispatch!" Standing up straight, he brushed his silver hair to the side before squinting at Haruki. "I don''t understand why you waste so much of your time on thismoner, sir Michael."

    Flipping around with his green cape fluttering through the wind, the battalion leader left without sparing a second of his time to hear the response. However, to Haruki, that small exchange left a huge impact. Always beingbeled as amoner by his peers was finally starting to get on his nerves and yet even though he could easily outrank them in skills, that very status as amoner was holding him back from any kind of promotion.

    "Don''t let it get to you, Shin," Michael mumbled, bumping his shoulder against Haruki''s.

    "I usually don''t but¡­" The image of their battalion leader, Quint raping that demi-human girl popped up in his mind. "Nevermind, I should begin with the preparations."

    Even though his heart wanted him to scream out all the crimes he''d witnessed the silver hair bastard as well as his otherpanionsmit, he knew, deep in his heart, that despite the front of ignorance, Sir Michael at least had some idea of what was truly happening in the kingdom.

    "Be well, as I''m looking forward to your growth," upon hearing those words, Haruki parted ways with Michael with a brief yet firm handshake.

    Off on his way to the barracks, a sea of thoughts were already guing Haruki''s mind, and now with the new assignment, he felt his lungs being squeezed dry. Panting lightly under his breath, he couldn''t shake off the memories of the crimes he''d becent in so far. From looting the dead civilians to raping and murdering them, he''d seen it all happening right in front of his eyes, and yet hisints to the higher-ups were falling on deaf ears.

    "If they try something this time, I''ll have to take matters into my own hands," his fist curled up tight, jittered about from the force of his frustration.

    Reaching their assigned room, the first thing Haruki saw was the mage and the fencer of the battalionying together in their bunk bed bare naked to the skin. Averting his eyes, he grunted a little to let them know about his arrival.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What the fuck?" Grimm mumbled, looking towards Haruki while stillying down.

    "Wha-Oh fuck!" Noticing Haruki standing by the door, Mariya grabbed a pillow and threw it onto his face. "Why the fuck are you here, youmoner?! Didn''t we tell you to sleep in a shed or something?!"

    Having caught the pillow, Haruki let out a growl before making his way toward his bed.

    "Didn''t you hear me?! Get out!" Wrapping herself in a nket, Mariya kicked him on the back as he was leaning over to get his stuff.

    Bubbling in rage from the inside, Haruki kept it all confined, knowing full well that even a single rebuttal against the third daughter of a nobleman wouldnd right in prison.

    "Yeah, we''re not done you bastard," spanking Mariya''s ass as she was sitting on his belly, Grimm tried to agitate Haruki further.

    "Mhnmm!" She purposefully moaned out loud in a lousy attempt to make themoner jealous.

    "Quint said we''re dispatching for a new mission, so I''m just gonna prepare the essentials before we have to leave," taking out a leather bag from under his bed, Haruki began filling it up with the contents inside his bedside drawer.

    "Oh fuck him, that bastard," urging Mariya to get off him, Grimm knew better than to waste more time and piss off Quint.

    "And I thought we were finally getting a break," squinting her amber eyes, Mariya began preparing for the mission as well.

    After being done collecting his own stuff, the two pushed off their work on Haruki like always, and being the one with the lowest status, he couldn''t go against theirmands since both of them had royal blood in them. Once done with it all they began marching towards the main entrance of the military hall.

    "Where the hell are we going this time anyways?" Asked Grimm, his hand leisurely crossed behind his head.

    "Who knows?" Replied Haruki while carrying everyone''s bag all by himself.

    ''Mother used to be proud of my lush brown hair, but if I have to keep dealing with these idiots that might change quicker than she could''ve imagined.'' Getting to the main entrance, they were greeted by their disgruntled leader. His teeth clenched up tight were enough indication of trouble, and the fact that they were being dispatched the same day as they''d returned from a mission, didn''t help to soothe his mood at all.

    "The hell took so long?! Your mother''s funeral?!" He grunted, and although he was mad at all three of them, the look in his eyes especially seemed to despise Haruki.

 Chapter 118 118 - Looking Back On The Past - [Part 2]

    ?

    After hours of vitriol, Quint, the battalion leader finally put a stop to his abuse, but that too came with a visceral reluctance from his inherent nature. Stepping off as the coachman, Haruki nced around to find no visible reason for them to make a stop at an open bank of a river.

    "Why did you make me stop here?" He asked, only to be met with raging res from the rest.

    "Shut your mouth, you idiot," saying that Quint walked further away from the carriage before stopping at the open space surrounded by foliage. "We''re camping here, I don''t care what the hire-ups say, we''re not going to intercept that vige right after we came back from another mission."

    ''What vige? And intercepting, why?'' Knowing he''d be reprimanded for asking those questions, he kept them all confined to himself.

    "Thank god, I needed a rest anyway," stretching his arms, Grimm walked forward as well.

    "Yeah, those vigers can wait," chuckling to herself, Mariya followed suit. "Get the tents out of the carriagemoner."

    ''Damn it, seems like they all already know where we''re going and what the n is.'' Wondering if they purposefully made him direct the carriage so he wouldn''t know what was happening, Haruki stepped into the carriage to take out all the setup for the camp. ''They must know about theints I''ve filed against them to the hire ups. That just makes things worse for me now.''

    Cursing his luck, he began taking out all the camp setup before assembling it into two separate tents. Coincidentally, it seemed whoever loaded the tents purposefully only put two tents inside instead of one for each of them.

    "Can I at least know what kind of mission we''re on? Is it bandit control or rescue?" Being done with all the physicalbor, Haruki turned to Quint for some answers.

    Making himselffortable inside the bedded tent, Quint nced Haruki up and down before grunting in annoyance.

    "You''re such an uptight moron, why not just rest when you have the chance?" Ignoring his insults, Haruki stood tall before him, waiting for an answer. "Fucking fine, I''ll tell you."

    Finally being offered an exnation, Haruki found out that some vige nearby was apparently housing bandits, and their party was dispatched to interrogate and apprehend anyoneplicit in housing those criminals.

    ''I guess if they''re housing them, either most other civilians don''t know or they''re in on it as well. Whatever the case may be, things should be fine even if we''re a bitter in getting there.'' Being kicked out of Quint''s tents, Haruki''s mind was filled with all kinds of possible oues that they may have to face upon reaching the vige Quint had told him about. ''If only he would just tell me which vige it is exactly, I might be able to incorporate help from my hometown nearby.''

    Even though he had a well-thought-out n, he didn''t want to risk irking the winging royals he had forpanions. Given their status being under the inheritor of the family, they were all forced into military service to boost up their family names, and thus the temperament of such individuals was often whipped out onto themoners and guards in the army.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Stepping into the carriage, Haruki dimmed out thenterns inside. Upon settling into thefy seats, his eyes peered out to the couple''s tent with the shadows of their bodies, painting ascivious picture. Bouncing over Grimm''s stomach, the shadow of Mariya''s breasts jumped up and down with every motion.

    "Is that all they think about all the time?" At the beginning of theirpanionship, Haruki was often left blushing and embarrassed when he caught them having sex, however, at this point, he''d begun to despise them along with the act of sex itself.

    Right as he was about to shut the windows, he noticed Quint walking out of his tent and heading toward the couple.

    ''Again?'' He thought watching Quint getting inside their tent. ''I know they''re just using each other, but¡­''

    Shutting off the windows, he tried to get the incident off his mind, and yet the silhouette of their leader raping multiple demi-humans on numerous missions kept guing his mind like cancer. He tried to close his eyes and calm down, but when it didn''t work, he decided to take a walk away from the camp instead.

    Walking through the forest, he could hear the sounds of the night beasts and feel the gazes of the same. However, his hand clutched onto the hilt of his sword was enough of a warning for them to keep their distance.

    ''It''s darker than I thought it''d be.'' As though rebelling against his thoughts itself, a beacon of strong mes burst up into the distance. It burned so bright he could clearly see it despite being miles away from the ce. ''A forest fire? No, it spread too quickly.''

    Rushing in the direction of the mes, he heard loud rustlinging from the bushes. Unlike the creatures of darkness, the sounds weren''t trying to hide, instead, they seemed indifferent to his existence. Turning to the side his eyes were instantly locked with a pair of human eyes looking right back at him.

    "Who are you?" He asked, but the eyes closed shut and disappeared into the night again. "What the fuck?"

    Presented with a dilemma to either head back and warn his party or try to figure out what was happening himself, Haruki couldn''t make a sound decision. Standing frozen in ce, he felt like the rustling sound of the foliage was surrounding him from all directions.

    ''No I shouldn''t wait, I need to warn them and head towards that me.'' ncing up high at the inferno burning like a bright torch, he realized something that hadpletely slipped his mind. ''My vige, it''s in that very direction¡­''

    Watching in horror with the mes reflected in his eyes, he was trying to escape reality but it didn''t work one bit.

 Chapter 119 119 - Looking Back On The Past - [Part 3]

    ?

    Haruki''s relentless attempts to convince the others to check out the reason for the ming inferno were met with a beating from his superior and a mocking chuckle from hispanions. Even then, as he kept trying to warn hispany about the lurking figure in the dark, they were all unfazed, almost as if they knew they had no reason to fear them.

    "Mariya, let me go!" Bound to a tree with binds of me, he kept fidgeting around trying to free himself. "You''re a fire mage, right? I''m a me swordsman too, so I think we both know those mes are unnatural."

    "I know," stretching backward, she cracked her spine before looking back down at Haruki. "But honestly, I do not care."

    "Why do I expect any better?" Haruki whispered, yet Mariya heard exactly what he''d said.

    Getting down to her knees, she made the binds on Haruki''s arms tighten up further and then pulled back so he''d suffer even more throughout the night.

    "Next time you say something like that I''m gonna cut your tongue out like that demi-human boy you tried to savest week," cing her fingers under his chin, she dug her nails over his throat. "Remember him? Or have you been trying to repress it since I didn''t see a new report about it on the brass''s desk?"

    Jerking his head to the side, Haruki freed himself from her grasp. Turning to look back at her, he wanted to kick her right in her pretty face, but bound on all limbs, he couldn''t do it.

    "Just go," looking away from her, he didn''t give her any attention so she''d leave him all alone.

    ''We''re heading in that direction in the morning anyway, so there''s no point pushing the matter now unless I have a death wish.'' Being surrounded by second or third offspring of nobles, he had no doubt in his mind that if he was killed by the three, the matter would be swiftly swept under the rug by their parents. And so the best option, as well as the only option he had was toy quietly by the tree and wait for the three bastards to start the journey again. ''I''ll just pray that nobody gets hurt.''

    Closing his eyes, he kept on chanting prayers for the safety of anyone who might be caught in the inferno. After not too long, however, his eyes grew heavy and his mind drifted off to slumber. The burning ties around his hand kept him in an ufortable position, and yet somehow managing to get some sleep in, he only woke up when the binds were taken off by the very mage who''d conjured them up.

    "Wake up, idiot," pping Haruki awake, Mariya stood in front of him in a shambled state.

    Her white mage robe with amber stripes on the edges was dirtied all over, and the look on her face was that of pure exhaustion. Sitting by the tree, Haruki noticed a fiddle in her bare legs, slipping out of the robe. Having a general idea as to what may be the cause of her disheveled look, Haruki got to his feet and began looking for Quint.

    Instead, he saw Grimm wearing an eye patch over his left eye, and much like Mariya his green camouging clothes were in absolute tatters with dirt all over them.

    "OI, don''t waste my time, and get in," stepping out of the carriage, Quint had the anger of a demon riding on his face. "And you,moner, don''t make me break your legs, just get here!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Unlike the other two, Quint was in impable form. His snow-white clothes still seemed ironed and the stolen badges of valor were pinned in the same order as yesterday. Whatever kind of altercation had happened after he''d fallen asleep had caught Haruki''s attention, but trying to figure it all out wasn''t on top of all agendas.

    "Y-yeah, I''ll get the horses ready," following themand of the battalion leader, Haruki began the preparations for their departure, all the while in his mind, he can''t help but think about how easily he could knock some sense into all three of the privileged idiots.

    Being raised in a town where monsters often tried to ruin their crops, Haruki had the most experience in real-life battles where one''s life is always on the line. So if it ever came down to it, he''d be more than ready to defend himself from the other members of the battalions. The only reason he hadn''t rebelled against them yet was due to his drive to do what''s right and serve hismunity just like he''d served his vige up until the death of his mother.

    ''I¡­I''ve been trying to do everything the right way, but the corruption makes all my efforts useless.'' Wondering if he should try another strategy to bring attention to the crimes guing the kingdom, Haruki pulled in the reins and had the carriage move forward.

    With everyone sitting inside, the only thing keeping himpany was his own thoughts, and with each passing second they became more and more radical. The smell of the ashes in the air as they came closer to the site of the fire was corrupting his judgment and the gentle cackling of the leftover me made his heart soar up the closer he got to the ce.

    "No¡­" He whispered, turning at a fork in the road, leading up to his town.

    Passing by the burned crops, as well as his own abandoned fields, his heart kept racing and his lungs were squeezed tight with anxiety. Wishing it to be a dream he moved the carriage forward. Bringing the carriage to a halt at the entrance of the vige, his eyes nced about trying at the carnages while his mind kept trying to escape this reality.

    Getting down on his foot, he noticed countless bodies still burning with the mes. The houses far from recognition were but a pile of ash resting over the once bustling vige where Haruki himself lived.

    "What happened?" Falling down on his knees, Haruki''s mind was pushed into a state of denial.

    "What needed to happen," hearing those words from behind him, Haruki turned around to look at Quint stepping out of the carriage. "Now go and gather up the valuables, the king needs thisnd and all of its riches."

    ''What?'' Lost as to what he meant by his words, Haruki stood back up and turned to face him.

    "The fuck did you say?" He uttered, reaching for his sword.

 Chapter 120 120 - Looking Back On The Past - [Part 4] [Gore Warning]

    ?

    "The hell do you think you''re doing?" Grinding his teeth in rage, Quint pulled out a pair of kunai from his waist belt.

    "You knew this was gonna happen, didn''t you?" Holding the sword pointed towards Quint, Haruki restlessly panted for having finally rebelled against his corrupt group. "This was my fucking vige you asshole!"

    mping his palms tightly around his sword handle, Haruki used his affinity to fire magic to get the me ming.

    "I''m gonna give you a chance, Haruki," taking a few casual steps, Quint got closer to the rebelling member. "The king needed thisnd, but the people¡­they were a bit too stubborn to hand it over. Now, I believe you''re not enough of an idiot to go against the king, are you?"

    Throwing caution to the wind, Haruki raised his sword and flung it across Quint''s shoulder. Frozen in shock that his underling actually tried to hurt him, Quint didn''t have the chance to process what had just happened.

    "The fuck?!" Screamed Mariya, witnessing the horrid sight.

    "His hand¡­" Watching in horror as Quint''s left arm fell to the ground, Grimm''s whole body jerked back in shock.

    "That''s what you deserve, you bastard," still drawing deep breaths, Haruki couldn''t himself believe what he''d just done. Gulping down his angst, he began backstepping away from Quint.

    Terrified to confront reality, Quint slowly turners his head to look at his severed arm. Uponying his eyes on the handying on the ground, he tried to move its fingers and somehow despite being cut off the hand did what hemanded.

    "No, you fuckingmoner," his mind still unable toprehend what''d happened, Quint turned his head to look back at Haruki. "HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!!!"

    Finally, as the pain from his arm shot into his head, he could no longer escape the truth about the situation. Covering the bleeding nerves, he found himself gritting through the in before being brought down to his knees.

    "Tell me¡­" Although visibly shaken by the whole thing, Haruki still wanted to get to the bottom of the situation. "Why the fuck would the king need this vige?! There was nothing here but farms, you monsters!"

    Tearing up as he spoke, he took a nce around the once-flourishing vige. Even now, despite being away for so long, he could remember the streets bustling withnterns and the chatter of his neighbors and street vendors.

    ''Those burning bodies, I still recognize them. Why''d they have to burn everyone?! Even the children?!'' His anger reignited by the sight, he turned to the other two to threaten them for more answers.

    "Did you know about this?!" He yelled, his sword held firmly in their direction.

    "me whip!" Using her skill, Mariya bound Haruki''s hands with the swords till clenched tightly between them. "So what if we knew?! Grimm, kill this fucker!"

    With Quint still struggling through the pain, Haruki had substantial faith in himself that he could take on the two without much problems.

    "As if I''ll let you!" Stomping his feet, he used yet another ability to make his whole body burst into mes. Shunted under the superior fire, the binds on Haruki''s hand dissolved as quickly as they''d appeared. "I''M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU ALL IF YOU DON''T ANSWER ME!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Dashing toward the duo, Haruki raised his ming sword over their head. Raising their hands in the trajectory of the de, they both squint their eyes shut.

    "WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!"

    "THE KING WANTED THEM DEAD NOT US!"

    In his anger, he couldn''t tell who was speaking, but thest of their sentences had managed to get his attention.

    "WHY?!" He growled like a beast as his body red further like a phoenix.

    "The war! The vigers were against funding the war on Scorchen Gaia and Feralnds so they refused to pay the increased taxes!" Speeding through the words, Mariya bit her own tongue, but Grimm took over right after.

    "He wanted to make an example out of them so nobody else tries to go against him again," grabbing Mariya''s hand, Grimm began distancing them from Haruki.

    "The fucking war? The war that has been going on for who knows how long? That was the reason he had them killed?" Feeling defeated by the lousy logic, the sword in Haruki''s hands slipped through his fingers.

    The mes, the rage, it all settled down as a sense of woe washed over him. The defeated feeling of losing everything he cherished at the hands of a man who was too cowardly to do it himself, felt¡­crushing, not only to his mind, but to his soul as well.

    ''Why the fuck did I pick up this sword for the emperor? For As?'' He thought as a pair of kunai stabbed him in the legs. Unfazed by the pain, he fell to the ground.

    "YOU! YOU! YOU FUCKING COMMONER!" Stumbling his way to Haruki while covering his mortal wound, Quint red him down with scorn. "Kill me? Kill us? Like fuck you will."

    Stomping on Haruki''s face, Quint was enraged further when not even a hint of struggle appeared in Haruki''s eyes.

    "You''re a dead man, I''ll make sure of it, I''ll ask Marquis¡­the king, sign your death warrant in my presence," once again stopping on Haruki, he made his head bleed, and yet no sign of emotion appeared on his face. "Your very name will be an insult, and the very people you''ve been so desperately trying to help will stone you till your death!"

    Laying down under Quint''s boot, Haruki''s mind was brokenpletely. He couldn''t feel the hurt, the physical hurt that is. Through his eyes, he saw the very street he wasying on swarming with the yfulughter of children.

    ''Why is this happening? Even though I did everything right.'' Following that though, another stomp from Quint''s boot left Haruki unconscious.

    The next he''d wake up, the world around him would''ve already shifted. His service was smeared with false crimes as well as the crimes he''d witnessed othersmit in front of him. And the worst part of it all? Quint did watch over the king''s shoulder as he was condemned to death in the court of Marquis Gorgan, the king, the tyrant, and the man who''d stripped everything from Haruki.

 Chapter 121 121 - Cleaning Up On The Mess

    ?

    "And then you barged into the minotaur king''s room, that''s all I know," exining everything to Haruki, Kane turned his gaze to the girlying down on the ground. "Now just let her go, I''ve told you everything."

    His mind, scanning through everything he''d been through because of Mariya, wouldn''t allow him to just offer her freedom. Directing his hand toward the unconscious girl, Haruki dropped her into a portal filled with tentacles as well as a massive hoard of greater demonic spies.

    "Hey!" Trying to break free of the chains, Kane pulled onto the chains. "Where the hell did you send her?!"

    "Do not¡­" Turning to Kane, Haruki''s eyes were bleeding out blood. "Yell out to me again. If you do, she''d be dead before you can blink your eyes"

    Confining his rage through Kane''s exnation of the situation has had a visceral effect on Haruki''s body. And it wasn''t just his eyes that were affected, his mind, his body, and his very soul had conformed into a dismal ce.

    ''I need to take off some steam before I end up killing someone recklessly.'' At first, he nced up at Kane, however, judging from hispliance so far, he was too good of an asset to kill off without a good reason. ''The monsters¡­''

    Looking at the goblin queen bound in chains, he wanted to kill her for sport, but then the queen of slime started muttering something and woke up from her slumber. Rubbing her eyes like a drowsy kid, she blinked her eyes a few times before looking around to figure out what was happening.

    "Shit, this bitch!" Cursing out loud, the goblin queen nced sideways at the slime crawling out of the giant flower pod trap.

    "Do you not like her? She''s a monster too," Haruki asked, looking right at the goblin queen.

    "What?" The casual tone in his voice left the queen perplexed.

    "Then you don''t have to deal with her anymore," holding his hand stretched towards the drowsy queen of slime, he sprang forth a magic circle. "Dark ice spear, emperor of void, dark light!"

    Combining his system skill with magic spells, a spear of dark ice loaded with void essence as well as the energy-drawing effect of dark light, shot through Haruki''s hand and stabbed the slime queen all over her body.

    "Where am I-" Before she could mumble out her question properly, the spear of pure darkness consumed her soul and stored it inside.

    Shuddering at the terrifying yet effective use of mortal abilities, everyone except his servants were no longer as inclined to set even a foot in his direction.

    "Riley, take the spear, we can experiment with the soul insideter," after a brief gaze at Riley, Haruki shifted his attention back to the goblin queen. "As for you."

    Walking up closer to her, he reached into a portal and took out the green nes he''d taken from the minotaurs a while back. Presenting it to her, he let her body off the chains so she could take it into her own hands.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Do you know what this is?" Wanting to know if she could be of any use to him, he urged her to take a good look at it.

    A bit fidgety from him killing another monster right beside her, she gulped the heavy feeling in her throat and began examining the ne.

    "Y-yeah, I know¡­" ncing up at him, she nodded fervently. "It''s an anti-teleportation ne, plenty of high-ranking monster guards wear these so they don''t get teleported away from their station."

    ''She could be useful in dealing with other intelligent monsters.'' Concluding that she was worth the trouble, Haruki opened up a portal under her feet that led to a room filled with tentacles. ''I will still need to break her mind as I did with Margarette, but until then those tentacles must be fine.''

    With Mariya out of his sight, Haruki could think clearer, but his thirst for revenge had yet to be quenched. In his mind, he could imagine a thousand ways to toy with her, however, before he could indulge in such joy there was something yet to be done.

    So long having silently witnessed the demon kill the slime queen and send the other into a pocket dimension, Kane kept on struggling through the chain, but the effect of hypnosis was still dampening his vigor.

    "I''m done with this form for now," undoing the female subus form, Haruki turned back into Arnold.

    Snapping his fingers, he undid Kane''s bind. Falling on his feet, Kane pulled himself up from the ground. His eyes fixed on Haruki''s back, were shot with blood as his mind kept urging him to rush him. Betraying his instincts he knew better than to act on it and get himself killed without achieving anything.

    ''Besides, he has those other demons with him too.'' Grazing over Asuka and the rest, Kane quickly brought his attention back to Haruki.

    "And what the fuck are you gonna do with me?" Already expecting the same treatment as the other two, Kane braced himself for whatever came his way.

    "You can go," Haruki''s reply surprised him beyond reason.

    Summoning a single demonic spy, Haruki used Emperor of void to trap it inside a ne. Throwing the winged ne towards Kane, it flew towards him by pping its wings. Shocking him even more, the ne put itself around him before settling down as if lifeless.

    "Wear that every second of the day, if you take it off I''ll butcher that girl," walking towards his servants, Haruki held up his hand and waved. "I''ll contact you when I need you for something, until then, I''m watching your every step."

    Still, shell-shocked by the events of the day, Kane kept a stern watch over Haruki''s back. Regardless of his promises, he couldn''t believe that a demon would let him walk off alive without even attempting to kill him.

    ''Contact me? What is he plotting and howe a demon can be so methodical?'' He wondered, watching Haruki and the rest disappear through yet another portal.

 Chapter 122 122 - Corrupting Them All Once And For All[BDSM And Sensitive Content Warning]

    ?

    Miraged under a spell by the greatest illusionist in town, the once glistering Frost castle had turned into a den to countless demons. The spell, ever-stretching from its core, was meant to slowly spread out and epass the entire duchy so no spies or visitors would ever be able to look past its jolly farce. For in their eyes, the demons in the streets were the same innocent citizens as always.

    "If everything goes well, all visitors, be they merchants, spies, or envoys, would be turned into demons by your citizens as well," standing at the edge of his bed, Moriyana kept her gaze on the women swaying their hips over Haruki''s body.

    Ignoring Moriyana''s rambling, he flipped over the two girls. Then transferring half of his consciousness into a clone, he began thrusting into them both at the same time.

    "Aghhhh! I-It''s too big!" Cried the daughter with her dainty breasts flopped around with each thrust.

    "Oh my god! I''m gonna cum already! Mhnmm!" Wrapping her legs around Haruki''s real body, the girl''s mother spasmed with an arching back and showered his dick with her mature juices. "Fuck! I''ve never felt so-"

    Before she could finish, Haruki leaned onto her and pushed his lips against hers. Coiling their tongues inside her mouth, he could feel himself finally reaching close to orgasm after hours of fucking them both relentlessly.

    "To think these two used to be devout followers of the alleged god of thisnd, but now look at them craving your dick," watching the whole thing unfold, Moriyana chuckled to herself. "Aghhhh, I feel a little jealous though, save some of your love for me sweetheart."

    Reaching down her stomach, she slipped her fingers under her dress to take off her panties. Once taken off, she threw them to the side and climbed up on the bed as well. Cocooned inside the castle with its walls reinforced with darkness, and the lingering hint of aphrodisiac fumes from miasmic flytrap, no one could resist the urge to off their clothes and indulge in absolutely depraved activities.

    "About Mariya, did you-"

    "I did, she''s being used like a fleshlight by the minotaurs so I can get more of their seeds for potion-making and other experiments," getting behind Haruki as he pistoned the widow''s pussy, Moriyana stuck out her tongue and began licking them both at the point of their junction. "If you keep expanding your reins at this rate, you''d soon be the father of every child in the empire ahaha."

    Bracing tight as he felt himself on the verge of cumming, Haruki squeezed the women''s breasts tight and plunged his pulsing dick until it kissed her womb with its tip.

    "Fuck¡­" Being washed with the addictive sensation of heavenly pleasure, he could feel himself filling her inside until it began overflowing out of her cunt. "Lust demons can''t father give birth, you moron."

    Reminding Moriyana of that reality, he pulled out his duck from the now unconsciousdy. Turning his gaze toward the clone, had it disappear and moved over to where it was instead.

    "C-can I rest please, master Sh-in?" Hearing those pleading wordsing out of her mouth, something strange flipped up inside him.

    Injecting his cock in her regardless, he slowly reached to touch her face. Nervous for the touch, the girl''s eyes turned to her mother, but seeing her passed out with a blissful smile, she knew she had no choice but to listen.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "How dare you?" As those words came out of Haruki''s mouth, the girls noticed his eyes lose their light. "How dare you order me what to?"

    With his hands, instead of reaching for her face, trailed over to her neck. Squeezing his fingers tightly around her throat, he red her down with a menacing smile. Far from the righteous man he used to be, he cared not for the lives of mere humans.

    "So-sorry-sorry¡­" As the girl struggled to breathe, Haruki began thrusting away into her pussy.

    Taking a curious note of the change in her master, Moriyana wore a smile that conveyed her delight clearly on her face. Moving closer, she conjured her rose whip and handed it over to Haruki.

    "The mistress of darkness would be proud, very proud," she mumbled, taking great joy in the torture of the girl.

    Having her flip over, Haruki moved behind the girl''s ass. Knowing full well the purpose of the whip, the girl willingly obliged all the orders she was given. And though it appeared Haruki was torturing the poor soul, her sour pretense of innocence was merely a facade.

    "Whip me! Whip me, master! I''ll be your dog! I''ll lick your feet clean every morning! I''ll do anything you want! Just please keep whipping me! Keep hurting! Fuck! Kill me! Master, kill me!" Breaking out of that innocent shell just like her mother, the slut of a daughter was finally being true to her feelings.

    ''Moral corruption has gotten stronger, I wonder if it''ll even work on Rose now?'' Although the thought was tempting and he now bore enough strength to go toe to toe with her, the rest of her family was sure to cause troubleter.

    Brushing off that thought, Haruki continued to take out all his bottled-up rage on the girl''s bubbly ass. Each thrust from his massive penis kissed the entrance of her womb, all the while the whipping made her insides clench onto him.

    "Phantom orgasm: Continued activation," pushing the girl further, Haruki used another one of his newly acquired abilities to trap her in an endless loop of orgasms.

    "Wha-Mhnmm!" Before she could realize what was happening, the first wave of the gleeful sensation assaulted her brain, making her fall t on her tummy.

    "You wanted me to kill you, right?" Leaning near her ears, Haruki bit her on the ears and continued. "So be ready to die from these orgasms that will turn your brain into a mush."

    ''A bit harsh, but I''ve heard him tell that lie to every girl this past month.'' Having spent the entirety of early spring turning human and demi-human females into subi, Haruki had grown into a beast of a man who loves to toy and torture his woman. ''Except a few that is¡­''

    Thinking about his closest aides, Asuka, Riley, and Margarette, Moriyana felt a hint of pride in being one of his original servants.

 Chapter 123 123 - Judgement Reins Over The Weak[Gore+Body Dysmorphism]

    ?

    Strolling down the paths of the major city of Laria, Asuka, apanied by Riley as her guard, had herself surrounded by the curious eyes of bystanding demons. Adorned in a furry white coat, she appeared no different than a fairy, but aware of her true nature none of the citizens were fooled.

    "They seem to like you a lot, master," Riley whispered, tightening her grip on her des.

    "As they should," running her hand over her pearl ne, she returned a gaze to the admirers of hers. "It was Master Haruki''s n to show off wealth and beauty to gather support from these fools after all."

    Stepping up on a stage prepped in the very middle of the city, Asuka tore off the ne and threw it out to the crowd. Like a hoard of hungry bats, theytched onto the item and began fighting over the scattered pearls.

    "Bring any traitors forward and you can let loose of your desires, be it wealth, gluttony, or your lust for human flesh," the very mention of humans from Asuka''s lips perked up their ears.

    ncing back at her, the lust demons light up with a smile. Under the spell of their masters, the woman Haruki had converted himself, they were not ever allowed to act upon their instincts or their very soul would be stripped from their bodies.

    "Here! Her!"

    "This guy! He''s a traitor!"

    "What?! NO! I''m loyal, I swear!"

    Many such usations began floating about the town square, but the screeching sound of the truth-seeking staff passing through the gathered congregants defused the situation at once. Deafened by the noise, the demons turn to the woman wandering amongst them with a swarm of followers riding right behind her.

    "Liars will be purged as well, so be truthful children of our great lord," marching her pupil towards the stage, Serena, dressed up in a dark transparent robe, bowed her head to her Master''s closes aid.

    "You''rete priestess," looking down at her, Asuka mumbled.

    "I apologize your unholy Highness, some of my pupils were misbehaving so I had to punish them," raising her head, Serena slowly began making her way up the stage while her pupil surrounded the tform to act as her guard.

    Lifting their gs up high, they showed everyone the new sigil of Larian chapel. Printed over a dark violet cloth, was the same mark of the lust demons as they all had over their crotch. Lifting their tattoo-like clothes a little, they noticed the sigil to be abination of both subus and incubus marks.

    "Now, let the culling of traitors begin," stomping her staff, Serena had her pupil take the used out of the crowd and present them to the front.

    ''I wonder how many demons I''ll get to kill today, ahaha.'' The thrill of the carnage was already making Riley wet, and thus, sping the des, she was ready to murder her own kind.

    "So you wanna defy our lord?" Her head held high, Serena red down at the first person to be brought forth.

    "NO! I would never!" Before the man could finish speaking, the staff rang so loud everyone in the audience had to cover up their ears.

    "Despicable liar!" Growling at him, Serena turned to Asuka for the verdict.

    Her eyes fuming in anger wished to rain all agony on the lying demon, but keeping her anger in control, she decided to go a little easy on the very first person.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Riley¡­" looking at Riley from the edge of her eyes, she ordered. "Skin him alive, and burn his flesh until he dies in the most agonizing agony."

    "Very well, your unholy Highness," wearing a wide grin, Riley jumped down the stage. The blood lust in her eyes brought the used down to his knees before begging for mercy down on all four. "Save me a seat in hell."

    Ignoring the man''s cries, Riley drew back his des and plunged into him.

    ***

    "Get the girl off the minotaur''s body!" Screaming out to the goblins, the queen checked her notes to tally up the quantity that had been milked out today from the minotaurs.

    Her head buried in her notes, she made her way to the exit to file a report that was to be handed over to Moriyana. On her way to the door, however, she heard Mariya''s cries and turned to take a brief look at her.

    Her whole body turned into a toy by the increasing number of minotaurs was as horrid as one could imagine. Loosened up on all ends, she wished for death, but knowing Haruki could simply extract any soul inside the tormentous dungeon.

    "How many times do I have to tell you to put her in her cell when the minotaurs are done?!" Instead of pity, however, all she got was a scornful look.

    "I-I''m sorry! Tell Haruki I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry! Please!" Her cries fell on deaf ears, as she was the only one around who would''ve cared for a human.

    Turning back around the goblin queen was again on her way toward the exit, all the while Mariya was dragged away by the queen''s goblin new tribe.

    ''I need his seeds, not the artificial serums that had been getting me pregnant. If only he would use my body, I could birth an heir fitting to be his servant.'' Having witnessed Haruki''s influence and greatness, even the monster queens werepelled to submitpletely to their new master. Unlike the minotaur king, he was just to his pupil so long as they heeded all his demands.

    "Did you get the semen?" As soon as the queen stepped out of the exit and entered the castle again, the queen of spiders assaulted her from the front.

    "What?!" astonished by her sudden appearance the notepad the goblin queen was carrying fell out of her hands.

    "Come on, I need more children, take it to Miss Moriyana so she can use it to make those pregnancy serums!" Having grown ustomed to the potions that initiated pregnancy, the queen of spiders, with her countless children. was now in charge of security all over the castle.

    "Don''t you scare me like that!" Pushing the spider away, the goblin queen had the Arachne stumble on her eight feet before falling on her bum. "Besides, why are you so eager to spring out mediocre monsters, when if we try to seduce our lord we can pump out the potential demon lord of the future?"

    "As if that''ll happen, he''s not interested in used good, especially someone used by a monster," picking up the notepad, the Arachne got up and handed it back to the goblin queen. "But that too is a sign of a strong man, notpromising on his woman that is."

    ''Yeah¡­but I''m not giving up, if not me then one of my children would surely bore his heir!'' Oblivious to the fact that incubus can''t father children, the queen of goblins was determined to get knocked up by Haruki.

    ''She''s thinking about fucking him, isn''t she?'' Thought the Arachne queen, not realizing how on-point her assessment was.

 Chapter 124 124 - A Soulful Smile

    ?

    Hidden under Moriyana''s mansion was the newly builtboratory for all ilk''s of experimentation. In vials of giant ss, was a row of clones floating in luminous blue liquid. Lifeless, they seemed, but fed deep inside them was the fragmented soul of the slime queen.

    "So?" Standing in front of one such vial, Haruki stared at the otherworldly beauty stranded inside the ss. "Do you think we''re ready to finally give her soul a body?"

    "I don''t know, but¡­" Stepping forward, Fay looked up at the clone trapped inside the vessel. "We don''t have much choice but to try, the fragmentation has made her soul much weaker and her memories that she used to mumble out have been wiped uppletely."

    Leaning her head against Haruki''s shoulder, she too stood there admiring the innocent-looking girl. Her hair burning a luminous rainbow glow made her seem dazzling inside the ss, and her slender limbs and t tummy trigged the motherly instinct inside Fay.

    ''I wonder if we can call it our child?'' Turning her head to Haruki, she nted a gentle kiss on his cheeks.

    "How did youe up with such an innocent vessel?" Running her hands down Haruki''s arm, she took a step back.

    "It reminded me of the first time I saw Asmodia," huffing out a sigh, he finally looked away from the girl. "She appeared as innocent as a maiden and as dazzling as an angel. A mirage I''m sure, but I wanted to capture that essence when I created her."

    Amused by his reasoning, Fay had her eyes fixed on him while she explored what exactly he meant by those words. However, breaking the peace was the sound of nking hells,ing down the stairs into the basementboratory. The rustic pipes recircting the mana-fused liquid inside the ss vials, creaked out loud every time a step was taken on those rusty stairs.

    Almost blinded by fumes leaking out of the very pipes running all over the walls, Moriyana jerked back and was almost about to fall.

    "Shadow hand¡­" Haruki whispered and a pair of giant arms caught Moriyana from behind.

    "Don''t wear high heels in such a damp environment if you don''t wanna fall," tired of giving her the same warning, Haruki couldn''t bring himself to yell at her.

    As the hands around her disappeared, Moriyana made her way further down into theb. Wearing a sparkling red dress with a deep v-cut that reached, she was obviously trying to show off her body. A bit irked by his remark, she began stomping her way toward Haruki. Bouncing out of her short dress, the flesh on her ass moved like jelly as she finally stood before him.

    "I''m running a business above this ce, so don''t expect me not to unt in every conceivable way possible!" The makeup, the lipstick, while it made her look stunning was still a bit distracting to her master.

    "Whatever," although he was disappointed in her act, to some degree Haruki was d that unlike him Moriyana hadn''t changed one bit. "What do you want?"

    Bemused by his question, Moriyana frowned her eyes and just red at him for a moment.

    "What do you mean what do I want? I''m part of this whole operation, I don''t wanna miss the final steps," sweeping past him, she walked straight over to the chosen vessel. "After all, I wanna know how it must''ve felt when Mother made me."

    "What?" Fay blurted out, surprised by Moriyana''s words. "The mistress made you?!"

    Provoked by her voice, the vessels holding the fragmented soul of the slime queen began shaking in ce. Slowly raising their heads to the noise, they all, in unison, screamed at Fay for disturbing their slumber.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Deafened by the screeches, the women in the room quickly covered their ears, while Haruki on the other hand conjured a pair of earplugs plugged into his ears. Turning to the vessels, he held his hand directed towards them and did what had to be done.

    "Soul maniption!" Sucking the pieces of the queen''s souls out of the clones, he had them all flop lifeless inside their liquid prison.

    Quickly conjuring a decorated ring with a stone of concentrated darkness as its jewel, he forced the soul inside. Enclosing the ring under his finger, he turned to check on thedies around him.

    "If you''re both done, we should start," ignoring the two for a moment, he moved up closer to the clone he''d picked to be the soul''s vessel.

    "Y-yeah, sorry," Fay mumbled from the back, but Haruki''s mind was too taken by the final step to register her void.

    All he could see was the final step in the puzzle, a puzzle that would allow him to take over his enemies by recreating them from their ashes as his soldier. But more than that, he felt a rush that ted his senses and made his mind race through the sea of possibilities he was about to venture on. And yet, even now something more urged him to put that ring on the clone''s fingers. Which was¡­

    ''I feel like a god.'' he thought. Teleporting the ring inside the ss, a pair of shadow hands gently pushed the ring onto her finger.

    "Everything¡­seems fine," moving closer alongside Moriyana, Fay''s eyes stayed focused on the girl. "Maybe using a catalyst to transfer the soul to a child-like body was the move to go make, after all."[1]

    "We should wait for some movement bef-" Looking up at the girl''s eyes Haruki just realized what the others were already seeing from afar. Her blue eyes wide open, she gently pressed the other hand onto the ss. "It worked."

    In a moment of absolute awe, the three couldn''t bring themselves to avert their eyes from the luminescent beauty. However, as a hint of fear emanated through her eyes, the admiring view turned into a horrifying sight.

    "Fuck, she''s drowning!" Upon hearing Moriyana''s words, Haruki shook his head to bring himself back to his senses.

    In a moment of haste, he conjured a hammer to break the ss, instead of using teleport on the infant''s body. But all of it mattered not even the slightest when a beam of bright light shooting out of the girl''s hair consumed everything and all present inside the basement. Blinded by the light refracting into all shades of colors, it took a while for everyone to recover even after the light retreated towards the girl.

    "Did we fail?" Haruki yelled, but as his eyesid on the little girlying out of the shattered ss vessel, he knew that couldn''t have been the case.

    ''The ring it still hasn''t broken so the soul should be intact!'' Checking the girl''s pulse, a sense of relief washed over him.

    "She''s alive," he muttered, turning to the other two with a wide smile.

    [1] Note: She isn''t going to be a Lolita character, and her role in the story will not hold any sexual connotations. If anything, she''s there to be cutesy and charming, much like Tiara and Doroke.

 Chapter 125 125 - Celebration And New Beginnings

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    Gathered around the little girl, the entire castle staff had their eyes fixed on admiring the cutesy girl, rumored to be their master''s kid with a wandering merchant named Fay Rue. And while the rumor brought many problems with it, it was still better to keep the fact that Haruki could reincarnate people a secret.

    "A, look at her cheeks so fluffy!" Said the demi-human cat maid, Sam.

    Even though he had known her since moving into the caste, for some reason having the girl surrounded by people had his heart racing an uncertain rhythm.

    ''They''ve just been ying with her for an hour now.'' Standing by the door, Haruki had watched them all enter one after the other to get a look at their master''s child, and then with great contentment yed with the sleeping beauty for about an hour.

    "Look! Look! Her hair is glowing again!" Added a demi-dog girl with her tail happily wagging side by side.

    "Owhhhhh!" Like a pair of curious children, a group of twenty maids had surrounded the little girl, and whenever a few left her side, they were quickly reced by a new pair of maids who had been waiting for their turn.

    ''Hah¡­I''m done.'' Deciding to get them all out, Haruki nced up at the ceiling to check for Arachne guards. There as he noticed a pair of giant spiders, he blew out a whistle to get their attention.

    "Empty the room," he ordered, and the spider queen''s children jumped down onto the unsuspecting maids.

    "Ekkk!" The moment they noticed the spiders over them, each one of the maids began squealing at the top of their lungs.

    Terrified of the critters, they brushed them off of their head and headed straight for the exit door. Once the spiders chased the girls out, Haruki closed the door so nobody would disturb the little girl anymore.

    "Dark dome shield," by the use of mana he encased the angelic girl inside a shield bubble. "Greater demonic spies, Lulu, tormentuous dungeon, stay in hiding and protect her from anything that could cause her harm."

    Standing over her by the bed, Haruki used his shadow hands to tuck her into a nket. Retreating away, he watched as the girl breathed through her tiny mouth and the nket rose and fell with each breath.

    ''A daughter, huh?'' Even though his appearance was that of a young man, Haruki had lived long enough to want at least some children of his own, and smothered by that very feeling, he was more than ready to ept her as such. ''I still haven''t given her a name, it''s a father''s job to give their child a name, right?''

    Trying toe up with a suitable name, he spent a few minutes standing by the bed just ring at thin air, but when nothing fitting came to mind, Haruki decided to consult the girls about it instead. Making his way towards the exit, he couldn''t help but spy onest nce at the innocent sleeping beauty.

    ''I can''t biologically father children being an incubus, so this might be the only way for me to experience parenthood.'' With his eyes locked onto his adoptive daughter, a warm smile crept up over Haruki''s face. ''I should go now.''

    Reluctantly, he headed out of the room. Making sure to nt a few clones to guard the room, he headed in the direction of the crown room. Waiting for him were the most stunning women from around the duchy stripped naked to the butt. Biting their lips from the sidelines upon seeing Haruki they tried to get his attention. However, looking up straight ahead at the throne, Haruki was focused not on the demonic citizens but the group of his aides who''d just recently reced the councilmen. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "How did everything go at the town square?" Haruki asked, walking up the stairs to take a seat on the throne.

    Seated on the left armrest, Asuka was apanied by Riley standing behind her, and on the other side of the seat was Margarette dressed in a slitted dark dress that showed off her long and slender legs. Taking a seat between the girls, Haruki was handed a bunch of documents by Margarette before she got off the armrest, and turned to face Haruki.

    "We killed about a dozen demons conspiring to rebel against you, master," grabbing Haruki''s hand, Asuka slipped it under her dress. "I got so wet watching them scream ahhhh."

    Delighted by Haruki''s touch on her wet pussy, she too bit her lips down as her master plugged his fingers deeper in. Having gotten down on her knees, Margarette on the other hand, began kissing Haruki up and down his neck before nibbling on his right ear.

    "So the councilmen escaped, after all," reading through the report, Haruki wasn''t all that surprised by the course of events that had taken ce.

    Being thest few of the humans, both Rom and Arnold had fled the duchy with the help of the silver storm and the rest of the adventurer''s parties Haruki was familiar with.

    "It was bound to happen, but now you don''t have to consult anyone about your decision before implementing them," Margarette pointed out, ncing over an obvious fault.

    "That''s why I assigned you all as my new council, but the fact that just three adventurers'' parties were enough to help those two escape can be a massive problemter on," setting the reports aside, Haruki pulled back his hand from the girls and began wondering how to deal with the situation. "Kane broke the ne and led the charge for the escape is what''s bothering me. He obviously no longer cares for Mariya, and since the whole of Laria has turned into a demon''s den, he or the parties he''s leading are bound to spread the news about the true nature of the duchy."

    Although he knew the news wouldn''t make it to the emperor since his whereabouts were an enigma, even if they told the king, Marquis Gorgan, the first target of Haruki''s revenge, then every n of his would have to be fast-forwarded into action.

    "Perhaps, we should finally go on the offensive, starting with the dissolution of Daria into your duchy?" Riley suggested.

    "And how will that benefit us?" Haruki questioned, not entirely sure about Riley''s n.

    "The Marquis kingdom only consists of three duchies, one of which being Laria, the once frozen tundra, Daria thend ofmerce, and Aria, thend of warriors, " taking a step forward, Riley moved in front of Haruki.

    "I know all that, I used to live in a vige in Aria," Haruki replied, still not sure where Riley was heading with her exnation.

    "Even if Aria''s army is bigger than the other two duchies, if webine our forces we can easily take over all three pascals ofnds constituting this kingdom." As soon as Riley finished speaking, Margarette chimed in as well.

    "Not to mention, the king''s castleys in Aria so it''d be wise tobine forces of both of thesends," With Margarette''s input, Haruki felt somewhat more confident in the idea, and yet having something grander in his own mind, he decided to improve on their ns.

 Chapter 126 126 - Vampireâ€™s Warning And The Kingâ€™s Arrogance

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    Marquis Gorgan wasn''t a man known for his patience, neither was he known for his mismatched sense of clothing. Instead, he was known for his golden hands that sowed profit, but to some, that too was a peculiar w, especially since for the sake of gold, he would sell his very soul without a second thought.

    "You expect me to believe an imp posing to be Leonard''s son has taken over a duchy?" Crossing his brown leather boots, he struck the back of his cigar to dust off the ashes. "What are you gonna say next, monkeys have learned to fly in Laria too?"

    Seated in a cushioned chair decorated with shimmering jewels, Marquis rested his head over his left hand and red at the two former councilmen bowing their heads in front of him. ncing past them, he tilted his head a little to take a look at the door to hisvish office. Standing guard outside were the three adventurers'' group, Silver Storm, Nue''s eye, and Unlucky clover. Thus with the support of two of the best parties in Laria, Marquis felt conflicted about dismissing the absurd im.

    "Look¡­" Turning back to the councilmen, the king tried to address them, but their names had escaped his mind again.

    "Rom Marquis, and Arnold Pix, sire," having noticed the king''s confusion Rom introduced him and hispanies for the second time through the meeting.

    "Another Marquis, eh?" Letting out augh the king expected them to do the same, but when neither of them joined him, a scornful look took over his face. "Forget it, my spy merchants haven''t noticed anything out of the ordinary there, so it''s better if you drop this act because I''m not going to fall into whatever trap you''re trying toy."

    "Trap?" Slowly looking up at the king, Arnold couldn''t believe that he was being used of treason against the crown. "No sire, we''re not trying toy a trap, believe me, a demon is ruling that duchy, and no wonder he''s doing a damn good job hiding it!"

    "Enough!" The king yelled, smacking his fist on the side rest. "Arnold Pix, and Rom Marquis, if I hear one more lie spewing out of your mouths I''ll trim your tongues with a scissor."

    cing his bony fingers on top of Arnold''s head, Rom forcefully made him bow to the king again.

    "Very well, sire, however," ncing upward at the king, Rom continued. "The emperor sent sir Razor a while back for some investigation, and he''s been missing since, and if a man of such talents can vanish on Larian soil, which is to say your territory, then how much trust can the emperor truly put into you?"

    It took the king a moment to even register what Rom had just said to him, and what exactly his words insinuated. But finally, when he realized that he was subtly calling him ipetent, the king flipped over the side table and even threw the burning cigar onto Rom''s face.

    "How fucking dare you! You scum!" Getting out of his chair, he grabbed Rom by his cor.

    However, as Rom stood up straight and towered over the king like a giant, the vigor with which he''d grabbed him disappeared in an instant. Still grunting in frustration, he took a step away from the odd figure.

    "I cannot lie, and I do not lie sire," resting his hand over his stagnant heart, Rom breathed out a cold breath and broke the king''s illusion offort. "And that is the very reason I can''t stand a man like you."

    His eyes glowing a crimson glow were ready for a hunter, that is until he noticed the look of realization brighten up the king''s deep brown eyes. Shaking his head, he settled back in the chair. Brushing off his blonde hair that had been ruined by the sudden outburst of rage, he raised his head to face the two again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Fidgeting while still bowing to the king, Arnold was visibly diforted by the whole incident. Rom on the other hand still had the stern look of disappointment that he had no qualms voicing.

    "I''ve heard about the vampiric hunter, never thought you were living up so close," shifting his eyes between the two, he picked up a servant''s bell from the ground and rang it quickly.

    "Vampire¡­" Confused by the king''s words, Arnold raised his head once more and turned to Rom for answers.

    Though before he could say anything, the door behind them was opened by the king''s butler who''d walked in in response to the bell. Holding in his hands, a pack of well-bound cigars, he plucked one out and began preparing it for a light. By the time he had cut off the lighting end and lit it up, the environment around the room had softened up a little.

    "Now leave," the king ordered, taking the cigar from the butler''s hand, and he followed without question.

    Once the butler was gone, the king crossed his legs with his eyes fixed on Rom.

    "Just because thete Duke Laria trusted you, doesn''t mean I have to," saying those words, the king blew out a ring of smoke at him. "After all, you''re a blood-sucking monst-"

    "The maddened dragon has been set free by that very imp you''re refusing to acknowledge," at first, the king was shocked frozen in his seat, but then loosening up a little he leaned forward with a mocking smile.

    "You expect me to believe that? If that were the case he and his sister would''ve burned up this kingdom by now," with a wide grin, he thought he''d outsmarted Rom''s n.

    "The tundra¡­" The very mention of the ce shed the storming blizzard inside everyone''s mind. "It''s gone, why do you think that is? Change of season perhaps? And if not then, why hasn''t the maddened dragon attacked this ce?"

    The answer was simple, however, instead of acknowledging such a preposterous proposition, the king gritted his teeth in annoyance.

    "Thisnd will have a new king soon if you sit here doing nothing, and with the dragonsying low, possibly on hismand, I don''t imagine there''s anything you could offer your soldier that he can''t outmatch to gain their favor," Rom''s warning felt more like a threat to the king, and yet given all the verbal evidence, he knew better than to risk his throne because of his ego.

    "Ughhh! Who the hell is this demon anyways?" As soon as the king presented that question, the door to the room flung open, and on the other side was the greatest adventurer around these parts, Kane, the undying adventurer.

 Chapter 127 127 - A Visit To The Springs

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    Flying through the clouds of the now thawed tundra, a hint of gentle calm carried through the wind washed over Haruki''s face. Closing his eyes shut, he submitted himself to the gust and let himself be carried by the winds wherever it deemed fit. Hispanions, on the other hand, were looking on with worried expressions at the innocent smiling child being carried in Haruki''s arms.

    Frolicking around happily, the girl was moments away from disaster, but reluctant on breaking their master''s peace, none of them dared voice their opinions.

    "Ahaha! Fu! Fu! Ahaha!" Incapable of words, the little girl epted by everyone as Haruki''s daughter, kept giggling as the winds passed by and even tried to make the same noise as the wind as they flew through the skies.

    "Uhmm¡­Master?" Noticing his fingers on the girl uncoiling, Asuka finally broke the peace. However, taken out of the trance so suddenly, his grapes around the girl were instinctively uncoiled. "Ekkk!"

    "Shit!" Being the most timid flier of all, Margarette''s body stiffened up from the sight.

    "I''ll get her!" Riley on the other hand, wasted not even a second before propelling herself towards the falling child with the use of wind magic.

    Low on sleep because of the girl''s crying all night, Haruki was oblivious as to what they were all so concerned about. Following Asuka''s concerned gaze, however, he finally noticed the cause of their worries.

    "Fuck!" He uttered, shooting himself down right behind Riley.

    Falling through the sky, the little girl had little awareness of what was happening, and since she''d flown with Haruki without knowing the threat of height, herugh and giggles continued to resonate through the skies. Even with Haruki''s teleportation and Riley''s enhanced speed, getting hold of the girl was astonishingly hard.

    "Come here!" Riley screamed, trying to clutch onto her clear sundress.

    Bouncing off the girl''s luminous silver hair, a beam of sunlight blinded Riley with the refracted colors of the rainbow. Forced to retreat her hands to cover her eyes, Riley couldn''t chase the girl further for the moment. Still right behind her, Haruki tried to use shadow hands to grab the girl, but it only ended with the shadows being incinerated under the sun.

    "What the hell are you doing?!" Shooting up from the ground, a thunderous voice shouted out to the devils maneuvering through the sky.

    The very next moment, a huge ball of me flew up toward the girl. It made Haruki fear that it was some sort of attack by a creature hiding in the spring forest. But as the familiarity of the voice clicked into his mind, he knew exactly who it was.

    "Why would you fly with a wingless child?!" Catching the kid in her arms, Roselia Ironfrost shook her head with a look of disappointment. "And whose child is this? You''re not kidnapping kids now, are you, demon?"

    His heart still pumping from the horrifying situation, Haruki tried to get closer to Rose and the girl out of her hands. Hiding the child by wrapping her wings around her, Rose made sure Haruki couldn''t touch her without giving her an answer.

    "Okay, okay, I get it, and no I''m not kidnapping kids, even back in the duchy they''re living happily through illusions," watching the little angel crawl up Rose''s chest, and touch her on the chin, Haruki knew she was safer in Rose''s hands at the moment.

    Beaming up a smile from the toddler''s touch, Rose turned her head to look at her. Not knowing that her hair was as reflective as a mirror she too was blinded for a moment but shadowing the kid under her left wing, she rubbed her nose against her. Hearing her giggling innocently at the act, Rose turned to Haruki once again.

    "Keeping children trapped in illusion, is that supposed to make me feel better about you kidnapping a child?" She muttered.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Catching up with Haruki and Rose, the rest of Haruki''s crew followed the dragoness''s lead as she began slowly descending down towards a riverbank.

    "She''s Fay''s child, and I''m not kidnapping her," Haruki retorted a bit frustrated by now.

    "And master''s too," Riley''s contribution to the conversation only infuriated the other servants and left Haruki a bit embarrassed.

    "Your child?" Getting her feet back on the ground, Rose was extremely confused by the statement. "I thought demons can''t reproduce like other species."

    Picking the child high up in her arms, she began inspecting a pair of wings and the heart-tipped tail of a lust demon. When she didn''t see anything of the sort, she held the girlsfortably in her arms and turned to question Haruki further.

    "She''s not a demon, what the hell are you talking about?" Upon hearing that question, Haruki knew a lot of exnation was in order.

    "A lot has happened since you''ve been living out here with your brother and children," once again moving forward, he held his hands towards the child. Being familiar with Haruki''s demonic face, the cute little angel stretched her arms towards him, and even Rose who knew better couldn''t hold the girl from getting back into Haruki''s arms.

    "As I''ve said before, I don''t care what you do with your duchy, just leave the spring to us and we''ll do as we''re told," handing the kid back to Haruki, the image of her own children popped up in her mind. "And can you please not use that appearance of yours, I do not want any of my children to see you like this."

    Changing his appearance, Haruki nced down at the girl in her arms, expecting her to be shocked by the maneuver, instead, amused by the change, her eyes widened up and she began chuckling out cute giggles.

    "Before I tell you why I''m here, do you know of any names that would suit her?" He asked, turning his gaze back to Rose.

    "Why would you ask me? Are you trying to get me to be her godmother or something?" Although she wasn''t opposed to the ideas, she didn''t wanna seem too excited about it either. "Sure, sure I''ll do it. Now just tell me why you''re here?"

    Not even waiting to formally be offered that position, Rose wanted to move on from the subject since in her mind the deal was already signed.

    ''She''s too easy to read sometimes.'' Knowing full well what she was trying to do, Haruki couldn''t help but smile.

    "The truth about Laria is probably on its way to the king at this point, and I have a n to deal with it," taking a deep breath, he pressed his lips together. "But in case it fails I''ll be requiring your help."

    "And what exactly is it that you want our help with?" Crossing her arms, she returned a sharp gaze to Haruki.

    "That is¡­I want you to kill a kingdom," with those words, Haruki began exining everything including the story behind the child to one of the strongest beings in As''s history.

 Chapter 128 128 - Final Preparations And The Kings Messenger

    ?

    It had been a few days after Haruki visited Rose in the thawed spring, and wherever he turned, only grim news awaited him. At first, it had been the riots in Daria that followed its merger with Lariannd, and now the news of a messenger making his way to the Frost castle.

    ''I need more time to convert Darian''s into demons or else my ns will need a major overhaul.'' Depending heavily on the Darian alliance, Haruki was stuck dealing with a dilemma. ''Those bastards never bat an eye when the corrupt royals took theirnds or exploited them with taxes, but now all of a sudden they wanna revolt against the phoenix?''

    With Margarette left to deal with the situation in Daria, no one around Haruki was qualified to help him make major political decisions.

    "The army isn''t too happy with the merger either, and if they revolt too, we might lose a lot more than just Daria," rubbing insult to injury, Riley kept reminding Haruki that everything that could''ve gone wrong had already gone wrong at this point.

    Seated on his throne, he red up at her with a bitter look in his eyes. And although his anger wasn''t directed at her, she felt threatened by the look and put an abrupt stop to her pronouncement of the reports.

    "If only I could use Asmodia''s powers again, all of this would''ve been over in a second," cursing his own glitched abilities, Haruki brought forth his screen of stats and scanned through it until he got to the root of the problem.

    ''''Escapism¡­Teleporting me away while I''m in mortal danger is helpful, but that directly prevents the requirement for mistress of darkness to activate, and that''s just so frustrating.'' Brushing the stat screen away, Haruki heaved out a tired sigh.

    ncing down at his waist, he took notice of the pair of stunningdies servicing him with their lips. While one coiled her tongue around his girthy shaft, the other invited him deep into her sloppy wet mouth. Despite the heavenly service he was getting, the stress of it all had stripped him from experiencing any sort of pleasure at the moment.

    "Master Shin," walking into the hall was the eight-legged spider queen that Haruki had yet to name, much like the goblin.

    "What is it?" Plugging the two holes of the girls servicing him with phantom hand''s fingers, Haruki had them float away with their entire weight being lifted by the fingers.

    Watching the orgasmic faces of the two, Riley and the queen felt a bit jealous, however keeping it to themselves they kept the wetness of their lower lips a secret.

    "A man was confronted by the guard at the castle gates, I believe it''s the messenger of the kings, should we send him in or are you perhaps busy with something else at the moment?" Even through her scaly blue skin, Haruki could smell the lust oozing out of her, but given the intensity of the situation he didn''t pay it much attention.

    "Sure, send him in. He shouldn''t be able to tell anything out of the ordinary because of the illusion, but make sure to have your soldiers gathered up and camouged by this room''s ceiling," heeding Haruki''s orders, the queen of spider bowed to him and quickly left the hall.

    Not long after, a swarm of her crittering spider children took over the ceiling and hid in in sight with their camouge hide. Knowing he couldn''t use any of his demonic abilities, Haruki waspletely reliant on them as well as Riley who would be posing as Ray, the female bodyguard gifted to him on his first visit to Daria.

    "He''s here, my lord," walking in long before the messenger, the Arachne queen turned invisible so she could defend Haruki herself as well if required.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    A few minutes passed, and the man in question finally arrived in the throne room. Dressed in a blue cloakish garb, the man was dripped with gold ornaments decorating his whole body. What particrly stuck out to Haruki, however, wasn''t the luster of the jewelry, but a striking symbol carved in each piece of the jewelry.

    ''Do they really think I won''t notice every letter of As''s name stacked over each other? It''s like they want to announce that they know about my secret.'' Utterly convinced that the king already knew about his identity by now, Haruki knew that a lot of chaos was in order.

    "Oh great lord of the Larian people, I''m greatly humble to finally meet you," kneeling down, the messenger kept his head bowed as he spoke. "Although I wish, the circumstances of our meeting were different."

    "And why is that messenger? Is the news that grim or you''re just being dramatic?" Caring not the least for his act, Haruki wanted to get him out of the castle as soon as possible.

    Raising his wrinkled head, he pressed his lips together before speaking in a hushed manner.

    "King Marquis had ordered me to bring you this news, and so that is what I must do, even if it cost me my head," pulling himself back up, the messenger reached into a leather bag hanging by his waist. Taking out a parchment scroll from inside, he unrolled it in front of his eyes and began reading the contents of the letter. "It is by the order of the crown, that the righteous king of the Marquis kingdom, king Marquis, orders ye to assemble in his court, where ye must be judged by the hammer of the lord. Ye are to abolish all yer sovereign rights of the Lariannd, as well as the defected duchy you''ve coerced into joining your perverse n to rebel against his majesty, the king! "

    The letter kept going on and on talking about how until Haruki was absolved of all allegations against him, he would have no sovereign right of his ownnd. And if found guilty, the executioner''s axes would be brought down hard against his neck.

    ''As if that stopped me before¡­'' Even though things were getting much more dire than expected, Haruki had somehow managed to keep his calm, all thanks to the sudden news he''d received through a faraway demonic spy.

    "Master, Moriyana''s potion worked on the army, we can start hypnotizing the popce now," Margarette''s report brought him deepfort, and with it, a smile crawled up Haruki''s lips.

    Done with the reading of the letter, the messenger was bemused as to what part of the message had the duke smiling. Knowing better than to question an alleged demon, he decided to take a hasty retreat.

    "Tell the king, I''ming, and I expect a banquet when he absolves me of the allegations," hearing Haruki''s message for the king, the messenger turned around and nodded before just as quickly flipping over and leaving the scene.

    ''While I would still prefer to avoid killing every soul in Aria, I sure wouldn''t mind some blood on my fingers.'' Thinking about the corrupt king Marquis who killed him in his past life, Haruki was itching for a carnage. ''I''ve heard he has a wife and daughter, perhaps it''d be a shame if I kill him too prematurely then.''

    With those sinister thoughts, he brought today''s assembly to an end.

 Chapter 129 129 - A Familiar Convoy

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    Stripped of his rights as a sovereign, and forced to let himself be escorted by a convoy sent by the corrupted king made Haruki feel like amoner once again. But what bothered him more, wasn''t the forceful escort, instead, it was the nature of the convoy that had arrived to take him there.

    Stopping the carriages in the fencing garden, Kane, along with the rest of the silver storm stepped out in the open. Not long after, another set of carriages arrived, with one filled with the members of Nue''s eyes, and the other with Unlucky clovers.

    "We meet again, huh?" Walking towards Kane, Haruki has his eyes locked on him.

    "Hopefully it''s thest," Keeping his left hand on the sword hilt, Kane was ready to unleash an attack to directly sh Haruki''s neck.

    More than aware of his intention, Haruki had Ray and Bedona apany him to protect him in his human form. ncing over at the rest of the convoy standing behind Kane, the moment his eyes met anyone else''s they quickly shied away from his gaze. Conflicted by their past rtionship with the Duke, none of them had any clue what to believe.

    ''Kane won''t lie to us about something like this, but¡­'' Strengthening her grasp on her staff, Diana was visibly upset by the situation.

    As for the rest of the silver storm, their minds were filled with simr thoughts. The trio from the Nue''s eyes although didn''t seem all that bothered, the silence from their direction was more than enough indication of how they felt about the duke.

    "It''s been a while Maggie, Maya, and you too Garth, how have you three been?" Gracefully extending his right hand towards them, Haruki wore a smile after asking that question.

    Upon hearing the question, none of them could bear to look Haruki straight in the eyes. Maya, being the timid one in the group, hid behind Maggie, and Garth was forced to move in front of the two with his iron shield held firmly in his hands.

    ''Seems like Kane has taught them to be wary of me, not like it matters anymore.'' Retreating his hand back towards himself, Haruki huffed out a sigh and turned his gaze back to Kane.

    "The king''s waiting, is he not?" Haruki mumbled, urging him tomence the journey.

    Although reluctant to let go of his de, Kane uncoiled his fingers on the hilt and nodded. Taking him to a special carriage with barred windows and mounted locks hanging outside the door, Kane loaded Haruki and his two bodyguards in.

    "Is the maid noting?" Asked Kane, suspicious as to why Asuka was nowhere to be seen.

    "Rose is out visiting her rtives so Asuka is staying back at the castle as the head maid," leaving out the part where Asuka was going to take care of the newly named child, Ste, Haruki dropped the matter right there before Kane could ask any more questions.

    ''Keep her out of your mess.'' Remembering Rose''s warning after she''s named the child, Haruki knew that much like the star she was named after, it was best for her to stay away from the crowd, especially one that was so hostile. ''Hopefully Asuka and Fay will take care of her properly. I would''ve preferred for Rose to be with them, but I can''t have her sit back in the castle when a potential war could break at any moment.''<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    While things seemed dire, the fact that the emperor had not been reached with the news yet was the saving grace of the situation. Even the esction of war at Scorchen Gaia and Feralnds, almost felt like a godsent since none of the emperor''s generals could be reached for consultation either. However, as fortunate as the situation was, if Haruki could not manage to take over Aria quickly then the cat would certainly be out of the bag.

    "I''ll unlock your carriage when we take any stops but don''t even dream about escaping," peering in through the barred window on the door, Kane reached under his armor and presented an anti-teleportation ne. "I hope you remember what this is because theyer under the wooden part of this carriage is made entirely from the same thing."

    After seeing the ne, Haruki regretted showing the goblin queen the same item in front of Kane back when they were together outside the minotaur dungeon. A few minutes after that exchange, the carriages were off on their way toward the duchy of Aria. In their path, as they passed through the Larian cities, however, the people swarmed the carriages and tried to set their master free.

    "Get off," those two words paired with Haruki''s ring sight were enough to scare those demons away.

    Even though the city was infested with swarms of demons, in the eyes of the adventurers everything was the same as they''d remembered. To them, there was no sign of Misha addiction in the streets, or lust roaming through the cities, and the brothel paired with other perverse establishments appeared to be humble shops selling goods of regr needs.

    "Master, about the n," whispering lightly, Margarette, posing as bedona broke Haruki''s trance of mind. "Moriyana said, she can''t leave the duchy since the illusion will break if she''s away for too long."

    "Oh, that reminds me," chiming into the conversation, Riley added further. "On my inspection of the army and Darian civilians, I found out that while the army can help us fight, the civilians are mostly merchants and don''t have an ounce of iron to their muscles."

    "That''s not surprising considering we haven''t converted them into demons yet," resting his thumb under his chin, Haruki began mulling over his strategy. "If ites to it, we can use them as hostages since they''re all still humans."

    "Given his disregard formoners, I doubt that would be much leverage over King Marquis," Riley pointed out.

    "That''s the problem, isn''t it?" Intertwining his fingers, Haruki leaned forward. "And that''s exactly why we''re gonna make him and the warriors of Aria submit without a fight."

    With a dead serious look and a menacing smile, Haruki stared into the abyss unfolding in front of him. Even though he seemed a bit lost, Margarette and Riley were more than confident in their master''s words. Thus without a shred of doubt, they nodded before asking him a final yet important question.

    "How will we celebrate the crowning of the new king, Master?" They asked, their voices singing in unison.

    "With a toast of human blood, lust, and carnage," his answer did not disappoint the two.

 Chapter 130 130 - Bickering Spouses And Prying Child

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    "You''ve always been like this since taking over your father''s throne!" Escaping from her husband''s clutches, Athena, the queen of the Marquis kingdom, yelled out in retaliation.

    "Why the hell are you doing this Athena?!" Fuming from rage, Marquis got out of their bed and tried to approach her.

    Trying to reach onto her perky cat ears, he stretched his arm forward but was instantly shot away with a p on his wrist. Her teeth shut tight, and she grunted under her breath as her eyes kept ring at her human partner.

    "You know exactly why I''m doing this Marquis," being directly addressed by his name, the king''s displeasure was apparent even to the blind.

    "How dare you?!" He yelled.

    Grabbing the queen''s vibrant brown bob, he pulled her by the hair in his direction. Yet refused to yield, not even a single painful groan left the lips of the demi-human cat. Still grunting under her breath, her deep green eyes red at him with a look of disgust.

    "What the hell happened to you? Have you forgotten the promise you made me when we got married?!" Pushing him onto the bed, she towered him with her toned body. "You said you''d free my people, and you''ll abandon trading ves and make it illegal all over the empire!"

    A bit threatened by her sharp gaze, Marquis pulled himself up with much anxiety riding over him. Once back on his feet, he faked a warm smile, but as Athena furrowed her brows in response, he knew that there was no fooling her.

    "Look, Athena, I''m trying my best, but I can''t make things illegal overnight, the royalties and nobles keeping the economy afloat will revolt against me," he tried to reach for her chocte skin, but met with yet another growl, he knew better than to feed his hand to her razor-sharp teeth.

    "Excuses¡­that''s all you''ve ever given me," her voice breaking from sorrow, was ridden with hurt she''d confined for so long. "I used to love you, Marquis, I thought you''d be the one to bring peace and harmony to thisnd, not corruption and greed."

    "Athena, you know that''s a lie-" Shushing Maquis by cing a finger on his lips, Athena shook her head from side to side to stop him from talking.

    Bubbling up with emotions, she shut her lips tight as well. With her head hung low, she lifted her baggy nightdress to formally bow before the king.

    "Forgive me, but I cannot share the room with you anymore," turning around she tried to leave him behind, however, grabbing her hand tightly, he managed to hold her in ce. "Maquis let me go."

    "It''s not my fault!" Instead of an apology, he was once again spouting excuses. "Everyone needs money in this kingdom, Athena, that includes you, me, and the people who make sure everything works as intended."

    "Marquis stop!" Shutting her eyes closed, Athena tried to pull her hand away from his grasp.

    "You don''t realize the bush of thorns I wear for a crownes with a thousand responsibilities to my people, and if thates at the cost of selling inferior creatures then so be it!" In his rage, he uttered everything he truly felt inside his heart.

    "Inferior creatures? I guess that''s all I am to you too," realizing his mistake, Marquis finally let go of Athena''s hand.

    Grabbing her by the shoulder, he shook her whole body trying to knock some sense into her, or at least that''s what he thought he was doing.

    "You know what I mean, don''t twist my words," he said, his fingers digging further into her shoulders.

    "I think I do know what you mean," brushing his hands off of her shoulders, she turned around to face him once again. "And that''s probably why you only seek me when it''s time for us toy down together."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As her words trailed into his ears, Marquis was stunned in disbelief, but when he finally broke out of that state of mind, a scornful furrow took over his eyes. Hearing his heart pumping from outside his body, Athena knew that she''d struck a nerve, but that didn''t deter her from standing her ground.

    Heaving deep breaths with his eyes locked with his wife, Maquis clenched his teeth shut beforetching onto her throat with a crushing grip.

    "Wha-St-Stop!" Struggling to get him off, Athena could barely breathe a word. "L-let go!"

    "You just don''t get it!" Marquis chanted again and again as he slowly edged away from consciousness.

    Keeping her reddened eyes fixed on her husband, Maquis knew she could easily get him off if she retaliated violently against him, however, blinded by her love, she couldn''t bring herself to leave so much as a scratch on his body.

    "Mom?" A chilling horror took over the two as they heard their daughter calling for her mother.

    Before Marquis could even get his hand off of the queen, their daughter Alice, pushed the room''s door open.

    "Mom, what was that scream?" Slipping her head from the side of the door, she saw before her an unfathomable sight. "Mom?!"

    Flinging the door wide open, she dashed to her mother''s rescue. Noticing her rushing towards him, Marquis''s hand came undone from Athena''s throat. Taking a few steps back, Athena drew deep breaths, trying to calm herself from having escaped the deadly situation.

    "What the hell were you doing to mom?!" Moving between the two, Alice threw her hands wide open to protect her mother. "Why were you hurting her?!"

    Grunting like a feral cat, her ears and tails were perked up from sensing the danger. Seeing his daughter protecting his wife from him, Marquis finally realized what he was doing. Drawing his hands over his eyes, he stared at them with jittery eyes.

    "I-I¡­" He had no words to defend himself, after all, he''d just tried and nearly seeded in murdering his own wife.

    "Alice, don''t talk to your father like that," to his surprise and her own, Athena brushed her hand on Alice''s light blonde hair to make her loosen up her fighting stance.

    "But mom-"

    "Alice, don''t¡­" Kneeling down to match her much smaller stature, Athena nted a loving kiss on Alice''s forehead. "What do you say, we sleep together, like we used to when you were a kid?"

    ''I don''t want her to hate her father, even if he''s a monster.'' Keeping her emotions bottled up inside, Athena wore a smile as if nothing had happened.

    "O-okay, if you say so¡­" Peering up at her mother with her soulful silver eyes, Alice seemed clueless as to what had happened inside the room before her arrival.

    "Well then, let''s go," nting yet another kiss on her young demi-human daughter, Athena got back to her feet.

    Giving Marquis onest look of disappointment, she faked a smile and quickly turned around and left with Alice.

 Chapter 131 131 - A Brief Stop

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    Back in the castle away from anyone''s sight, Asuka and the rest of the maids were restlessly watching over Ste as she slowly fell asleep. Having had their master taken away for treason to the crown, their heart pumped filled with angst showed no sign of calm. Cradling the child in her arms, Asuka kept a stern watch over her to not disappoint her master.

    ''Fay and Master''s child¡­I wonder if I can have one someday?'' Despite knowing the true story behind Ste''s birth, Asuka couldn''t help feeling jealous whenever someone called the child Fay and Haruki''s daughter. ''Even though everyone knows, he adores me the most, the thought of bearing his offspring feels like a much different kind of bond.''

    "Miss Rose?!" Squealed out one of the many maids surrounding the bed Asuka wasying on with the child.

    Lost in her thoughts, the voice didn''t register in her mind. Thus, ring at the little angel in her arms, her eyes numbed up a little as she felt a strange motherly bond. The maids, however, scattered to the sides to make way for the dragoness.

    Since her truth was out of the bag, she made no effort to hide her true nature. Peeking out of her head were a pair of smoldering dark horns. Retreating her expansive wings flowing with veins ofva, she quickly made her way toward the bed. Latched onto her shoulder like bats, were the youngest of her two, keeping herpany.

    "Ohhhh! Is that the baby?" Tiara eximed, jumping off of her mother''s shoulder.

    "Wait! I wanna see her too!" Doroke followed soon after.

    Finally brought back to her senses by the loud voices of the two, Asuka shook her head and turned towards the noise. Upon noticing Rose walking towards her in a battle-ready dress made of igneous rocks, Asuka almost jumped off her feet, but then realizing she was holding Ste, she made sure not to move too haphazardly.

    ''What is that dress?'' Laying Ste on the bed, Asuka stood beside the bed with her eyes locked with Rose.

    She wasn''t the only one confused by Rose''s attire, in fact having never seen the dragoness in her humanoid battle dress, each one of the maids was just as confused as her.

    "Is there something wrong?" Stopping right in front of Asuka, Rose tilted her head and asked.

    From the edge of her eyes, she noticed her two devils jumping on the bed to y with the sleeping angel, but using a whip of mes she caught them mid-air and pulled them away from the girl.

    "She''s sleeping, don''t disturb her you two," pulling them closer, Rose gently flicked their forehead with her fingers as punishment for their harsh behavior. "So? What''s wrong?"

    Once again turning to Asuka, she asked the same question. Unsure how to answer exactly, Asuka took a brief moment to look Rose up and down. The first thing she noticed was the scrappy armor-like breastte covering her chest from all angles, then connected with the top armor, were a pair of shoulder guards with spikes on both ends to protect her further.

    "Is that armor enough for protection?" Pointing to Rose''s exposed belly and then to her lower thighs sticking under her shorts, Asuka didn''t seem too confident in the armor''s safeguarding ability.

    "Oh, this?" Gazing down at herself, Rose let out a chuckle. "You have nothing to worry about, I''ve used this armor enough in my youth to know that it works well against human foes."

    "But didn''t you lose in the end?" The moment Asuka mentioned her loss, the smile on Rose''s face was reced with an awkward expression.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Scratching the side of her chin, she still let out a few nervous chuckles before turning her attention to Ste instead.

    "How is she?" Letting her own two devils back on the ground, Rose moved right by the bed to get a look at Ste''s sleeping face.

    "I do not to bepletely honest, we''ve not been able to determine her race, so none of us can tell if she''s well or not," upon hearing Asuka''s concern, Rose reached out to Ste''s bubbly cheeks and gave them a gentle poke.

    "She seems fine to me," this being her only time to spend with Ste before heading off towards Aria, Rose wanted to relish a little in the moment. Running her hand onto her forehead, Rose closed her eyes to bless her. "May you never fall in battle, may your strengthe not through your flesh but from your heart, may you never have to pick up a sword or a spear, and may you be even wiser than your father."

    Slowly opening her eyes, Rose wore a gentle smile and stood back upright.

    "What was that?" Asked Asuka.

    "Just wishful thinking, perhaps, and I wish it won''t be one day," turning around, Rose huffed out a heavy sigh. "I''ll be going now, my eldest is in charge of teleporting the Darian army to Aria if needed, and since none of you will, I have to make sure the army is ready for the war."

    Although Asuka wanted to apany her master, and now Rose so she could be there when everything unfolds, she curled up her fingers and decided to continue the task she''d been assigned by her master.

    "Can we y with her now?" Wrapping her hands around Rose''s legs, Tiara peered up at her mother with the most innocent-looking eyes.

    "Not now, but I''m sure since you two are gonna stay here until I get back, there will be plenty of time for you two to y with the baby, okay?" yfully ruffling her hair, Rose nced sideways at Asuka to hint that she would be in charge of the two as well while she was gone.

    ''They''re both quite strong so I will have to make sure they''re careful around her, but then again they can be useful if someone tries to attack the castle while everyone else is away.'' Rationalizing everything, Asuka nodded back at Rose.

    "Alright, I''ll be off then, make sure to feed Ste well," walking past Asuka, Rose gently nudged her by the shoulders. "You seem plentiful enough to feed a dozen more babies."

    The sarcastic joke about Asuka''s breasts left her blushing, while the onlooking maids chuckled out a fewughs. As for the two kids present in the room, they were far too young to understand what was so funny about the statement.

    "Yeah, of course, you would know!" Turning around furiously, Asuka stiffened up her arms and yelled. "You have seventeen children after all!"

    "Proudly," What was meant as an insult was taken as apliment by Rose. Still walking away with her back turned to Asuka, she waved her hand before being teleported away with a bright white light.

    ''Ugh¡­ I''ll get her next time.'' Asuka thought as the retreating light left no sight of Roselia.

 Chapter 132 132 - An Unceremonious Welcome

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    Haruki and hispanions knew that their journey to Aria would be anything but pleasant, but what they''d not expected was to be ambushed by a group of strongmen mercenaries. Barred inside the carriage, all Haruki could see through the windows was Kane bickering with the hooligans trying to take Snow''s head before he was even presented in the king''s court.

    "This is my final warning, we''re not doing this," reaching for his de, Kane let the obstructive group know that he wasn''t in the mood for chatter.

    "And we''re not letting that demon set a single foot in ournd," brushing his lush giver beard, the dwarfish man refused to move aside.

    ''How long will this go on?'' Tired of the exchange, Haruki sneaked a demonic spy through the window grills to check up on the Arian gates in the distance.

    Flying high up, the small creature saw that the walls epassing the Ariannd were not far away from where they were standing stagnant. Upon seeing through the creature''s eye, Haruki turned to Riley and gestured for her to break free through the door and handle the situation.

    Nodding back, she stood up by the door and kicked it right off its hinges. As the door went flying through the forested path, the mercenaries as well as Kane turned around to the thrashing sound. Walking out of the carriage while flipping her des in her hands, Riley turned her head sideways to get a proper look at the mercenaries.

    "Get in," Kane mumbled, quickly taking out his sword and turning.

    The mercenaries, shocked by the disy of strength by the frail-lookingdy, were all frozen in ce as their minds couldn''t reason the events that were happening.

    "I''m still the Duke''s guard, Mister Kane, and if these idiots continue to threaten the Duke or don''t move out of the way, I would very much be in the right to gouge their eyes out so they couldn''t try something like this again," Riley''s threat was met with concern from Kane, but the mercenaries on the other hand, having broken from their astonished state, beganughing at the absurd proposition by the girl.

    Without a second''s dy, Riley used her swiftwind ability to move behind the group. And the only reason anyone realized that she''d moved at all was because of the aggressive gust of wind that followed her movement.

    "Still gonnaugh?" She asked, taking their leader hostage with a knife to his throat.

    Noticing the girl behind him, the ginger beard guy tried to reach around and grab her, but as the knife dug deeper he was forced to cease all movement. The other two from his group, sidestepped away when they realized exactly what was happening.

    "Ray, let go of those men!" Using fortress, Kane sprouted a collection of spikes on his body. "None of them are going to hurt you or your master, I''ll make sure of it, but if you don''t let go then it won''t take long for the Arian forces to chase you down and punish your master without even a hearing!"

    Walking out of the carriage himself, Haruki gestured to Riley with his fingers to stand down. And so putting the knife away, she let go of the man and slowly made her way back towards her master.

    "I hope you''ve realized how stupid your idea of ambushing us was, and you won''t make the same mistake again," saying those words, Haruki climbed back into the carriage.

    "That''s the duke for you morons, if it was so easy, I would''ve killed him myself," turning his back to the mercenaries Kane headed back into his carriage to lead the charge once more.

    Despite being threatened beyond reason the group of mercenaries were still pissed off by the whole thing. Yet given the massive gap in their skills they couldn''t risk attacking the duke while his guards were still around him. By the time the carriages passed them by, all of them were fuming in rage.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Not too long after the altercation, the carriages arrived at Aria''s city gates. There after being apprehended in cuffs made from the same jade as the anti-teleportation ne, Haruki and his guards were taken to a temporary housing facility. Given his social status, there was no way the guards could simply throw him off into the dungeons like the other criminal. Leaving him off in a room filled with all the same luxuries as his room back in the castle, the guards left the three alone until it was time for the court hearings.

    "Clone: Snow Frost," creating a clone of himself, Haruki turned to the other two but then remembered something. "I can''t create a clone of anyone who''ve not drained levels from, so Riley, you''re gonna have to stay behind, and Margarette, I can''t create a clone of Bedona either since it''s not a real person and just a mask for hiding your true identity."

    Having expected such hups the two didn''t seem all that bothered, and that relieved Haruki a little.

    "I''ll sneak out and see what I can find to use for our n, meanwhile, you two stay here and make sure the guards don''t get all too suspicious about the clones and such," keeping in mind that Kane knew about Haruki''s clone ability, it wasn''t too farfetched to think that the guards were prepared to spot any clones he created.

    ''Hopefully, the guard or at least themon popce doesn''t know about my skills,'' Shaking his head, he quickly drove away all distracting thoughts.

    "It''s gonna work though, right?" Now that they were finally in Aria, Margarette had gotten a bit more nervous than before. "Those skills I mean."

    "We''ll have to see, won''t we?" popping out his screen of stats, he began scrolling down on it until he reached the skills in question.

    ''gue demon, and crimson tongue curse, if I can sessfully manipte the poption with these skills then¡­'' Trying not to get too ahead of himself, Haruki turned his attention back to his servants.

    "I''ll sneak out now, but make sure if anyone figures out that the clone isn''t the real me then-"

    "I''ll use my charm," said Margarette.

    "And I''ll use my de," Riley added.

    Confident in them both, Haruki walked over to the tightly shut door and peeked out from the gap underneath it. Noticing a guard stationed outside, he knew exactly what he had to do to escape the cuff as well as the room.

    "Shadow sneak," melting into a shadow, he attached himself to the guard''s feet.

    Meanwhile, as the cuff fell to the ground, Margarette picked them back up and put them on the clone.

    ''Hopefully, he finds a way to execute the n before it''s too long.'' Still a bit worried about her master, a random thought appeared in her mind. ''I still haven''t used my tail to suck on him either¡­dammit, maybe after this is all over.''

    While her stepmom was busy pondering about sucking Haruki dry, Riley was itching to see the carnage that would soon ensue through the duchy.

 Chapter 133 133 - The Emperorâ€™s Indifference

    ?

    Escaping the watchful eyes of the guards was much easier than Haruki imagined, and now that he was out of the guest quarters where hispanions were still trapped in, this was his chance to sneak around and begin piecing his ns together.

    The very first matter he wanted to attend to was to visit the merchants selling fruits and regr necessities for the people in the city. After which he''d spend the night back in the guestroom, waiting for the night to grow deeper before into the castle as well.

    ''Hopefully, Rose brings the army here in time if my ns don''t work out as intended.'' Stepping out of the massive gates of the archaic castle, Haruki quickly shifted into a vagabond with an unkempt beard and a ragged cloak covering his entire body.

    Making his way onto the main path leading towards the inner city, he already began noticing all the changes the city has gone through since hisst visit. Being the site of his execution, Haruki wasn''t too thrilled about exploring the ce, but given his circumstance, he had no choice but to.

    ''Don''t look there, don''t look there, don''t look there,'' he kept mumbling, passing through the town square where his head was chopped off on a stage in front of a massive hoard of people. ''Don''t look at anyone, just get to the merchant''s street!''

    Passing through a busy collection of houses running shops in front of their doors, ever so often, he noticed a familiar face and the scornful look he''d been given by that person at his execution. Shot with a fit of rage, his heart was pumped like a piston, and his ling drew long deep breaths trying to somehow soothe his nerves. But no matter where he looked, he was mocked by the familiar faces of the attendees of his execution.

    ''Not here, not now!'' The feeling of cold dead fingers coiling around his heart, tempted him to tear into his chest and pull out his own heart. Digging in with his fingers, his nails were painted crimson from his foolish attempt to tear himself apart. However, not realizing where he was going, he bumped into a beggar and the impact forcefully pulled him back from insanity.

    "Ouch¡­" The young beggar cried in a t voice.

    "I''m sorry, I wasn''t paying attention to where I was going," leaning forward, Haruki offered the boy a hand.

    "That''s fine, most people don''t notice me," ring up at Haruki, the young boy took a moment to just soak in what he saw. "I''d prefer to keep it that way to be fair."

    Finally taking Haruki''s hand, the boy got back on his feet. Both of them dressed in overhead cloaks could barely make out any of each other''s features, despite that the boy kept staring at Haruki''s face with a strange fluid movement in his hollow eyes.

    "If you don''t mind, I have to go," his thought once again catching up to him, Haruki didn''t want to stick around the streets for long.

    "Certainly, I don''t mind you visiting at all," not taking even a moment to let the boy''s words register in his mind, Haruki tried walking past him.

    Grabbing him by his arms, however, the young beggar stopped Haruki in his tracks. A bit annoyed, Haruki jerked his hand off of his grip and turned around with a furious look in his eyes.

    "I said I''m sorry and hate to say, but I don''t have anything to give you," once again he turned around to leave, but what the boy said next made him turn around in an instant.

    "How''s the Mistress?" Upon looking back, Haruki was baffled to find nobody there.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    For a brief second, he wondered if he was hallucinating from the difort in his body, but the lingering feeling of the body''s fingers wrapped around his arms proved him wrong.

    ''Who was that? And Mistress?'' Knowing only one person who could be called the mistress, the whole incident turned into an enigma. ''Shit, I don''t have time for this!''

    With the sunying low in the sky, Haruki made haste towards the merchant''s street. Getting there before everyone got off of their duties and stormed the ce for produce and necessities was the most essential part of his ce, hence even a moment''s dy was bound to prove detrimental.

    Hidden inside an alley and away from all the ruckus, a pair of watchful eyes were peering right at Haruki as he made haste toward the merchants. The young beggar, holding a ball of crystal in his hand, showed great interest in what exactly Haruki was trying to do in the duchy.

    "Here you are¡­" walking into the alley from the opposing narrow end, the one who walked in was no stranger to the young man. "I''ve been searching the entirety of As to find you, and you''re here, in Aria of all ces."

    "Rezaarrr," purposefully stretching his name, the young beggar squeezed the crystal ball in his hand and made it disappear. "How many times do I have to tell you not to follow me around like a dog?"

    Clicking his tongue, the man in the blue suit didn''t seem particrly fond of beingpared to a dog. Shrugging it off, however, he slowly made his way closer to the boy, with a single intention in his mind.

    "I''m grateful that you helped me escaped that witch''s prison, but-"

    "Witch?" The word repeated by the young boy was enough to strike mortal fear in the man''s heart.

    Realizing his mistake, the man tried to divert from the topic instead.

    "Why are you here anyways?" He asked, getting ready to teleport them both away through a tear.

    "I was told a demon was trying to take over the kingdom of Marquis," the boy muttered, his tone could not have conveyed any less interest in the topic. "I just wanted to see who this demon was for myself."

    "And, who is it? Also, do you want me to take care of him?" Moving his head in denial, the boy let him know not to take any action. "But why? If we lose a kingdom to a demon, then what''s the point of our fight with the demon hoards at Scorchen Gaia?"

    "We''re fighting for a cause, not for thend," his answer, while it made sense, still wasn''t satisfactory for the man. "Besides, if a king can''t hold his crown, then that demon more than deserves to take over."

    ''He''s either gone insane, or that witch''s lumber has made him desperate to wake her up early.'' Opening a realm tear, the two men passed right through and left the duchy behind.

 Chapter 134 134 - Plaguing The City

    ?

    "gue demon: Mark of the lust demon¡­" Putting the curse on the fruits, Haruki swiftly moved on to other stores and stalls.

    Once he was done with yet another stall, he made sure to change his appearance in an alley before moving on to the next. By the time he was done cursing every store with the mark of the lust demon, the streets were bustling with chatter and the hollering merchants trying to attract customers.

    ''I should head back before it''s toote.'' Passing from one shadow to the other, Haruki managed to avoid wasting time by ignoring the crowd altogether. On his way back through the streets, his mind once again toiled from the sight of familiar faces roaming around in the town square. ''Wait¡­I have an idea.''

    Unlikest time when the turmoil of emotion caused immense stress to his body, the sight of their faces helped hime up with a n. Zooming through the shadows under the hangingnterns, he made his way toward the numerous wells scattered throughout the town.

    "Even if someone doesn''t eat or touch anything from the bazaar, they''re bound to drink water at least," making sure nobody was watching, Haruki crawled out of the shadows and began cursing the wells one by one as well.

    "Crimson tongue curse: death by insufferable pain," using a different curse for the well around the town square, Haruki headed back towards the castle.

    It didn''t take him long to sneak around the streets and breeze past from under the noses of the stationed guards. After making it back to the guest house right by the main castle, Haruki teleported back into the room where hispanions were still being held.

    "Master!" Margarette yelped in excitement before quickly covering her mouth.

    Looking back at the door, all of them waited for the guard''s response. Thankfully, however, her voice didn''t make it out of the sealed room. Huffing out a sigh of relief, Haruki vanished the clone and took its cuff to bind himself again.

    "So, how''d it go?" Riley asked the moment Haruki sat on the only bed present inside the room.

    Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, Haruki flushed out all the bad memories about the town square. Opening his eyes again, he was reminded of the beggar, but since he could no longer tell if it was his mind ying tricks or a real incident, he flushed it off along with the rest.

    "Ye-yeah¡­I think so, everything went as nned, I even managed to curse the water source," a bit parched from the rush, he looked around to find something to drink. "Fuck, we might have to go without water too then."

    Realizing that they were potentially being offered water from the same well, Haruki caught that loophole in his n before it caused any trouble.

    "Master, are you, okay? Your face is all red?" Leaning closer, Margarette got a better look at Haruki''s face.

    "Yea-yeah, I''m fine," he replied, despite feeling extremely feverish.

    Pressing the back of her hand against his forehead, Margarette was shocked by the burning temperature of his body.

    "No, you''re not fine, you''re burning!" Using rejuvenation, she eased some of Haruki''s pain, but that relief quickly turned back into hurt once again.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Let it be, I need to curse or at least hypnotize the king tonight. I can''t afford to be sick," baffled himself as to how an immortal demon that didn''t require sustenance could get sick, Haruki threw himself back on the bed to get a bit of rest before heading out again.

    Moving in front of him, Riley gestured to Margarette to move aside so she could check on something. Taking hold of Haruki''s hand while he was stillying down, Riley checked for his pulse as well as the strain on his body from excessive mana consumption.

    "Master, can you use dark light? If you attack me with it, then the mana it''ll draw out of me will help you heal up," getting to the root of the problem, Riley''s idea was the best option they had.

    "It''ll hurt you tremendously, Riley," huffing out troubled deep breaths, Haruki looked at her with squinted eyes. "And as much as it might not seem like it, Asuka will be quite upset if you get hurt, especially by one of us."

    To his words, her fingers let go of him. The effect of his words was subtle yet they made her happy. Taking hold of his hand again, she wore a smile, urging him to keep going.

    "Do it master, we''re going to be confined here while you''re gone anyways, so it''s better I''m the one who''s suffering," with a tight grip on his hands, she shut her eyes tight.

    Watching her with an unsteady look, Haruki braced himself and unleashed dark light to consume Riley''s hand. At first, it simply enveloped her palm and tickled a little, but then as the dark mist climbed up Riley''s arm in a spiral, a painful grunt left her clenched teeth. The longer it went on the more of her flesh it consumed, however, eventually as Haruki ran out of mana, the spell ended abruptly.

    "Rejuvenation, rejuvenation," making continuous use of her skill on Riley, Margarette made sure her daughter won''t suffer for too long.

    "H-how''s ma-ster?" Still struggling through the pain, Riley forced her eyes open to look for herself.

    "He''s unconscious, but I think it worked, his face isn''t so red anymore," Margarette replied, her eyes moving back and forth between the two.

    After healing Rileypletely, both of themid down on the bed beside Haruki to get some rest themselves.

    ''The mother and daughter, I''ve yet to see them.'' Mumbling half asleep, he rolled around towards the two.

    Feeling Haruki''s arms over them, Margarette pulled him closer with Riley stuck between the two.

    "Thank you¡­" He mumbled, referring to the duo.

    ncing at each other with a smile, both of them let out a chuckle. Not long after that hearty exchange, they all tired to sleep. The next time they were to woke up, Haruki would already be out prowling through the castle to nt his seeds of revenge.

 Chapter 135 135 - First Meeting With The Queen[18+]

    ?

    Unlike the Frost Castle or even Phoenix Castle for that matter, the castle of Aria was built with a ringck of theme. No pirs of ice or no amber stone adorned the ce, and the only striking feature it had was the asional etching of past warriors on the walls, but that too was spread out and not many.

    Passing through one such hall with all kinds of imagery portrayed over the walls, Haruki was led into the corridor that he''d wanted to get to so far. Still hidden in shadow, he moved from one puddle of dark to the other, until finally, he found a room that seemed to be upied by someone.

    ''This has to be it.'' He thought, passing in from under the door. Upon getting inside he noticed that much like his own room, there was a massive king''s bed in the middle surrounded by a bunch of other luxuries. Quickly crawling out of the shadow, Haruki stood right by the king''s bed.

    "I''m finally here," he whispered, watching the king soundly sleeping on the bed.

    Tucked under the nket in front of him was the first true mark of his revenge, and now, before long he was about to end it all with him.

    "Crimson tongue curse: Begging for death," keeping his hand over the king''s body, Haruki closed his eyes and began casting the curse. Pouring all the malice in his heart out into the curse, he made sure to embed the curse deep into the king''s soul.

    "Marquis, are you still awake?" Right as he was done with the caste, a feminine voice called out from the other side of the room''s door.

    ''Shit! I need to hide.'' Hiding in the shadows just seconds before the door was flung open, Haruki watched as Athena walked into the room. ''Is that the queen? I mean who else would visit the king sote in the night?''

    Dressed in a baggy white nightgown, the queen walked up to the king''s bed and stood there silently for a moment. After a moment of watching over the king, however, she leaned over to her sleeping husband and whispered.

    "I hope you die¡­" Her words shocked Haruki but what followed next helped clear things up a little. "So I or my daughter can take over and fulfill that promise you made but never even tried to fulfill."

    ''A promise, huh? I guess I can use that to make the king suffer some more before his death.'' Sneaking under the queen''s dress, Haruki coiled up on her legs as the dress''s shadow until he reached the ck thong she was wearing underneath. ''I was gonna take over the queen and daughter anyways so this aligns perfectly well with my ns.''

    With the court hearing scheduled for tomorrow, Haruki only had one night to set everything in ce, and the queen''s arrival in the room was a definite chance that he couldn''t afford to miss. Attaching himself to the queen''s fleshy ass, Haruki took the form of the thong''s shadow so he wouldn''t have to sneak around her anymore.

    ''Still, I never thought a king could have a demi-cat as a queen.'' feeling her long tail teasingly brush him under the dress, Haruki couldn''t help but feel a strange thrill taking over him. Sticking so close to her skin, he could almost taste the folds of her pussy hidden behind the thin fabric of her underwear. Even the smell of her sweat was so intoxicating, he wanted to turn back into his demonic form and lick her skin all over, despite the disastrous consequences that may follow.

    "I can''t kill you myself, but you deserve every agony under the skies," standing back up straight, the queen winced at the sight of the dozing king. "I''ve kept my lips shut despite witnessing every crime you''ve done under the pretense of good, but I hope that will end in a few nights'' time."

    Baffled by the queen''s words, Haruki wanted to know exactly what she meant. However, to do so, he would require her to be under his charm, but taking that risk in the king''s room wasn''t really an option. So as the queen turned around and made her way towards her daughter''s room, Haruki being crushed under her bouncing ass, decided to uncover that mystery while also turning the queen into his servant.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''Our ns don''t seem all that different, perhaps us helping each other was bound to happen.'' Since the queen also wanted to kill the king, working towards that end together was an extremely valid option.

    Exiting the king''s room after that small monologue, the queen made her way through the corridors to get back to her daughter. Upon getting there, she noticed Alice sitting on the bed ring right in her direction with a deep scowling frown.

    "Where were you?" She asked.

    "I wanted to talk to your father," moving further into the room, the queen replied. "But he was sleeping, so I couldn''t."

    Moving to the side of her daughter''s bed, Athena tried to climb onto the bed. Grabbing her arm, Alice stopped her mother from trying to ignore the topic.

    "You went to him in the night? After what he did to you just a few nights before?" Shaking her hand off of Alice''s grasp, the queenid down on the bed.

    "Alice, you''re too young, maybe you''ll understand one day when you have kids of your own," resting her head on the pillow, the queen closed her eyes to fall asleep.

    Laying down beside her mother, Alice stuck out her tongue and began licking Athena''s face. Much like a cat, they were both intrinsically nocturnal and spent most of their time napping and cleaning themselves off by licking their bodies. Despite that, Athena grabbed Alice by her shoulder and pulled her into an embrace instead.

    "Let''s just sleep for now," deeply guilted by her thoughts about the king, Athena didn''t want to discuss the matter in case she began sobbing.

    ''I''m sorry¡­I''m sorry, that you''ll lose your father soon.'' Her hands gripped tightly around her daughter''s nightdress, Athena kept her eyes shut tight as she pushed Alice deep into her bosom.

    Comforted by her mother''s warmth, a wave of calm took over the young demi-girl, and before she could realize her eyes grew heavy and she fell into slumber. Following her right after, Athena submitted herself to sleep.

    ''Now''s my chance.'' Having heard everything so far, Haruki pulled himself out of the shadows and stood tall beside the bed. ''It''s been a while since I''ve used this ability. Let''s see if it''s still useful.''

    Holding his hand over the queen, Haruki gathered up the required mana.

    "Alluring nightmare," using the same abilities as he''d once used on Margarette, he forced himself inside Athena''s dreams. However, this time instead of just pure sexual torture, he wanted to unfold the mystery behind the queen''s words while also making her bounce on his rock-hard penis.

 Chapter 136 136 - The Queenâ€™s Desires[18+ MC Stealing Woman]

    ?

    Walking into the queen''s dream, the very first thing Haruki noticed was the ever-stretching dark epassing a pair of lone chairs. Almost reminiscent of the abyss, the surroundings were deathly cold with a lingering sense of difort that squeezed the air out of one''s lungs.

    ''This is the queen''s subconsciousness?'' Puzzled as to why her mind was so devoid of light or any warmth, Haruki walked up to the chairs across which the queen was seated down on.

    "Oh, do I know you?" She asked, watching Haruki sit down in front of her.

    "You soon will," using hypnosis, he swiftly pulled her into hismand.

    ''I''ve been meaning to try what would happen if I charm the very consciousness of a person in their dreams, this might just be the best test of it.'' Unlike in reality where the physical barriers of the body are applied, using hypnosis in a dream the very core of the victim''s psyche was directly attacked, leaving behind a shell that submittedpletely to the attacker.

    "Lift up your gown," trying to test his theory, Haruki intentionally gave her orders that would make her feel ufortable.

    Without any retort, Athena got off of the chair and clutched her nightgown. Gradually lifting it up, she revealed her chocte-smooth legs before pulling it over the ck thong she was wearing. Admiring the lushness of her thick things and plentiful hips, Haruki decided to push things further before asking any questions.

    "Turn around, ande closer," heeding his orders without a word, Athena walked closer to him and presented her ass to him.

    cing his hand on her fleshy bottom, Haruki drew his hand back and gave it a spank. Groaning out a little, Athena finally showed some retention of her consciousness.

    ''I''ll have to make her my ve with hypnosis to keep the effects of hypnosis ingrained in her consciousness even when she wakes up.'' Deciding on the n, Haruki leaned forward and nted his teeth in Athena''s fleshy ass. Once again, she let out a stretched-out moan and peered up at her troubled face, Haruki wanted to tease her even more.

    "Kneel down between my legs," saying that, he leaned back into the chair, and undid the tattoo-like clothes on his skin with a simple snap of his fingers.

    Despite being under the effect of hypnosis, Athena''s eyes widened at the sight of Haruki''s towering penis. It even made her visibly reluctant to kneel in front of him, but given the intensity of Haruki''smand on her, she couldn''t resist it in the end and kneeled down regardless. Watching a mature demi-human woman with kids of her own kneeling between his legs, the thrill in Haruki''s heart kept soaring through the roof.

    "Open your mouth and shove me deeper than anyone has reached before," gulping down at his words, Athena huffed a breath against Haruki''s penis before finally opening her dripping mouth.

    Pressing her lips against Haruki''s penis, she slowly pushed it into her mouth. Intoxicated by his smell, she peered up at him while pushing his cock deeper in. Feeling himself stretching up her wet throat, Haruki grabbed onto her head and pushed his dick in further.

    With his dick stuck deep down her throat, Haruki let go of her head and peered down at her teary eyes. Registering her reflexes to gag, Athena kept her lips pressed against Haruki''s ball even if that had her tear up from both eyes.

    "Get up," feeling as though he''d established himself as her master in the dream, Haruki had a pair of tentacles forcefully pick her back onto her feet.

    Pulling her closer, he had her sit backward in hisp with the sight of her majestic ass on full disy in front of his eyes. Spanking her once more, he had the tentacles coil up over her thighs and put her right above his erect cock wet from all the juices from Athena''s mouth.

    "I''m gonna ask you something, and for every right answer, I''ll lower you to feel my cock deeper and deeper inside your pussy," grabbing her waist, he used moral corruption to make her hornier than she''s ever been. "You wanna feel a better cock than that pathetic husband of yours, don''t you?"

    Following his few dirty words, the folds of her pussy began dripping over his dick like a fountain. Reaching for her thong to pull her to the side, Haruki made her moan out at the top of her lungs just from a simple touch alone. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I-I¡­what do you wanna know?" Charmed under the effect of multiple abilities, the queen couldn''t resist the urge to feel Haruki''s cock deep inside her pussy.

    "You were at the king''s room a while ago talking about how he''d be dead soon, what did you mean by that?" purposefully teasing her by rubbing the tip of his cock between the folds of her pussy, Haruki made it even harder for her to resist the lecherous desires.

    Her back arched back towards him from the feeling of his cock, Haruki used the tentacles to pull her gown offpletely so he could feel her naked breasts against his fingers. Digging into her breasts, he had her nipples pinched between her thumb and index. At the same time, swinging her over his cock with the tentacles, she was on the verge of her sanity.

    "I was gonna hire some of my old friends to kill him!" Unable to hold back the queen began spewing out the truth. "My people¡­Aghhh! Mhnmm! Wait!"

    Slowly lowering her onto his cock, he forced just the tip of his cock inside her lower lips. Biting down on her lips to drown out the moan the queen continued, hoping to get Haruki''s cock deeper inside her with each answer.

    "He promised to abolish ve trade when we got married, but since it''s been years since that promise, I decided to take matters into my own hands and be the ruler of the Marquis kingdom!"

    Lowering her further, he had a quarter of his cock inside of her pussy. Peering up at her ted expression, Haruki knew he was on the right track toward making the queen his bitch.

    "It seems like our ns for the future aren''t all that different," cing his hand on her hips, Haruki made the tentacles vanish altogether. With the only thing holding her afloat all gone, the queen came crashing down on Haruki''s thigh and had her pussy pierced until her womb by Haruki''s massive hard cock.

    "Ahhhhhhhh!" Flopping back on Haruki''s chest from the newfound sensation, both the queen''s mind and body hadpletely given in to her new master.

    "Since we''re on the same path, why don''t you help me, and I''ll help you and your people,"cing his words with some truth as well as lies, Haruki ran his index along her lips before forcing it into her mouth.

    It took a while for the queen to recover from the fall, but when she did, her tongue began coiling around Haruki''s fingers as though agreeing to his words.

    "Very well then," he said, getting ready to fill her up with his juices.

    ''I''ll have fun torturing the king with her before he dies.'' Although his thoughts towards the king were sinister, knowing that the queen was bound to betray him, helped Haruki not feel so guilty after all.

    "You''ll free my people?" Athena asked, still panting from Haruki''s cock buried deep inside her.

    "As long as they be my servant just as you, they''ll know more freedom than this duchy has ever offered," nning to turn them all into his servants, Haruki was looking forward to tasting their flesh as well. "That''s all I can offer."

    His promise being more than anything the king did, Athena nodded her head at him before going back to sucking on his index.

    "Now, bounce on my dick for the fate of your people depends on it," spanking her ass once again, a devious smile crept up on Haruki''s face.

 Chapter 137 137 - A Jump In Order[18+ Suggestive Content]

    ?

    The morning drew the king, the court, and even the citizens out into the Arian coliseum to bear witness to the demon''s trail. What had been a ce to admire the shes between the greatest warriors, was now but a foreground for a trial with nomendable evidence or witnesses.[1]

    Bound in chains, Haruki stood in front of the jury with the king sitting at the head. Elevated over the others, the king cast his gaze down on the used with not a spec of mercy hinted in his eyes. Given the threat to his throne presented to him by a vampire, he seemed ready to pass judgment on whether the used was guilty of the crimes he''d been convicted of. However, taking a look around at the coliseum under the watchful eyes of the ring public, he decided to put up his front for a little while longer.

    "Snow Frost, the former duke of the Laria, and the overseer to the seal of the maddened dragon, how do you plead?" Voicing the formality, Marquis fixed his gaze on Haruki''s downcast eyes.

    Gradually raising his head to face the king, Haruki peered right at the Marquis before replying.

    "Not guilty," he uttered with a small hitch in his usual tone.

    Although the king noticed the irregr inclination of his voice, he was not at all rmed since this was the very first time he''d heard Snow talk at all.

    "Very well then," bringing the hammer crashing down on the desk, the kingmenced the trial.

    Courted in an arch of ceruminous desksced with decorative signs of glorified idols and a sword of light piercing through the dark, Haruki was bombarded with loud cries, calling for his direct execution, And yet he stood before the jury without so much as a light twitch in his eyes.

    "Since you''ve left us no choice," before even being given the chance to defend himself, the queen picked up a quill and brought it down to soak over a parchment. "Yours lies about who you im to be, will be the veryst thing that leaves your silverced tongue."

    Surprising not just the audience, but the jury as well, the king for the first time in Marquian history signed off on an execution without at least going through a pretense of a proper trial. As the ink marked his sign on the parchment, he reached for the royal stamp resting right by his hands, but before he could sp onto it a sharp pain shooting through his head, paralyzed his body in an instant.

    ''B-by As, wha-what the hell?!'' Juggling through his fumbling thoughts he red at his frozen arm as he still tried to get the stamp. Deterring him further, yet another sharp pain rode along his cranium before seeping down toward his heart.

    "There''s something wrong¡­" Getting off the stand of witness against the used, Kane red at the king for a moment before turning his gaze to the demonic duke. "IT''S YOU AGAIN?!"

    Being on the witness stand, he had been forced to leave his de behind, however, that didn''t stop him from conjuring a de made of sharp rocks to unleash his attack on Haruki. Climbing over the stand, he leaped up high with the de drawn all the way to the back for the most amount of impact. Watching him unleash his fury with such aggression, the rest of the parties along with his own, couldn''t stop him before it was already far out of their reach.

    "gue demon: Mark of the lust demon, activate," activating the second curse as well, Haruki peered up at Kane with a wide grin stered across his lips. "May lust and carnage roam free."

    A few milliseconds passed with Kane still in the air, the curse of the gue demon ability took a grip around his pumping heart. Falling to the ground as the mark of a lust demon was itched straight over his heart, Kane wasn''t the only one groaning out in agony with his hands hurled over his chest.

    Like a chaotic cacophony, the whole coliseum cheered up with the indiscriminate scream of the young, the women, and even the elderly. Turning his attention back to the king, Haruki let out a series of breathy chuckles indicating hisck of empathy for the men and women slowly being turned into his servants.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What ha-have you done?!" Squeezing his arms inwards, the king''s jittery eyes were dripping with blood and horror.

    "You throne, your people are mine¡­" The eerie yet silent tone of Haruki''s voice had the king''s spine chill trail of cold. "Oh, did I forget? Your queen, and your daughter, they''re waiting for you in your throne room, why don''t you check up on them-"

    Right as Haruki finished those words, a shape-piercing feeling ran across his chest from his right. Upon turning his head to figure out the cause, he noticed Kane, although visibly struggling through the excruciating morphism into an incubus, had managed to tear Haruki''s body nearly in two.

    "That''s what you get you b-bastard!" Barely standing straight on his feet, he pushed the de deeper until it cut right through Haruki''s body.

    However, what followed the execution wasn''t a relieved sigh from the lips of everyone around him, but yet another agonizing pain.

    "What?!" His eyes wide open, he quickly tried to figure out what was happening.

    "You can''t kill me, Kane," those words uttered by Haruki''s served bodyying lifeless on the ground, felt to Kane like the words of the demon lords themselves. And even though every fiber in his being screamed at him not to, he turned around to face the demon. "There was a time when I would''ve been afraid of you, but that time has long passed. Now, you''re just another bug that needs to be reminded of his ce."

    Trembling from the sheer absurdity of the moment, the once stronger warrior was brought trembling down to his knee. All the while the rest of his party, infamous for simply keeping him alive in battle, slowly perished to the curse that he himself had subconsciously submitted to.

    "H-h¡­How?" He muttered, falling head-first onto the dirt.

    "Because I was never here," dissolving his clone from inside the castle, Haruki tipped him over the edge.

    ''You''d be sorely missed, but then again you''d be licking my boots in a matter of minutes.'' Witnessing all the chaos he''s sessfully caused in the Colosseum, Haruki sat away on the castle room throne that was soon to be his.

    Opening his eyes to the sight of two women craving over his naked frame, heid patiently in wait for the king toe running to check on the queen and his daughter just like he''d advised.

    ''Take your time, I have enough stuff to do to keep myself busy.'' Pulling Athena''s face closer to him, he stole a quick kiss before swiftly moving on to her daughter.

    [1] There''s a jump in scenes in this chapter, and whatever happened in between is exinedter in this or uing chapters. Can''t specify to keep things exciting.

 Chapter 138 138 - Losing The Throne And More [18+ MC Stealing Woman]

    ?

    Hearing the cries of his congregation as their bodies boiled up from the insides and morphed into demons, the king spared of the same fate, rushed through the secret tunnels under the colosseum connected directly to a random room inside his castle. But even as he passed in the safety of the guards, he could hear them groaning out in agony.

    "UGHHHH!" One of the guards grunted out loud, and jumped hispanions, trying to lead the king to safety.

    With the element of surprise in his hands, he tore off through the helmet with ease and began bashing his head into the other guard until it was grounded to minced meat. The king, having witnessed all of it, wanted nothing more than to get away from any and all affected by the aggravating effects of the curse.

    Even though his exposure to it had been limited to the early stages of conversion, he was smart enough to realize that their violet as well as other devious tendencies were being brought out to the max.

    "Stay in!" Right as he exited into the castle room, Marquis blocked the guards behind him by toppling over a wardrobe right by the secret door. "First thosemoners stripping naked, and now this?!"

    Panting from the effect of his own unique curse, he clutched his heart tight as the pain inside his chest rejuvenated once again. Ignoring the violent knocks on the door, he decided to just power through the hurt and check up on his wife and daughter just as the clone had warned.

    ''Why the fuck do I have to deal with all of this?! I knew this was a trap by that bloody vampire, he must be conspiring with that demon!'' Even now as he made haste to the throne room, his mind was filled with theories instead of genuine concern for his family. ''Wait a second¡­What if?!''

    Coming to a false sense of realization, he stumbled upon the memory of his fight with Athena. The timing for everything that had yed so perfectly well in the demon''s hand felt a bit odd to him, almost as if he had some help from someone who could''ve helped him get out of the guestroom cell to set it all up.

    "I did choke her, that too in front of Alice¡­" Mislead by his racing thoughts he stood motionless in a corridor, utterly devoid of any sight of life.

    Breaking the ice, however, were the faint moans of a womaning from behind the massive door up ahead. The voice, while familiar, felt foreign to him. They drew him in closer to hear in clearer and clearer, and by the time he was right by the door, the familiarity of the voice helped him click who it was in his mind.

    ''Athena? And¡­Alice?'' The constant sounds of their moans were drowning him in a turmoil of emotions. He felt betrayed even though he''d betrayed her first, he felt cheated, even though he''d cheated her with kind words, and most importantly of all, he felt rage. Rage from the assumption that the two were already in arms with the demons before the night he fought with his wife.

    Deluded by his own imagination, Marquis burst into the room without thinking another thought. Taken by scorn, heid his eyes over to the woman he''d once considered his wife, giving the demons a deep-tongued kiss. Right by her, was his half-bred mutant daughter, riding on the throbbing dick of the demon.

    In high rage, he had thrown all caution to the wind while marching towards the demon sitting on his throne. Peeking from the edge of his eyes, Haruki noticed the king walking closer, and to tease him further, he pped his daughter''s ass to make her give out a loud moan. Thereafter, the king stopped in his tracks hearing the groan, Haruki lifted her up to uncork her pussy and let his seeds pumped full inside of her drip down on her body.

    "You''re a monster, what have you done to them?!" Marquis eximed, his fists gripped tight.

    Knowing full well that he wasn''t a warrior, he somehow held back from attacking Haruki, as that would without a shred of doubt, ascertain his death. Ignoring the king''s words a while longer, Haruki snapped his finger and moved Alice aside. Heeding his gesture, Athena said not a word, but simply got down between his legs and began cleaning his dick with her mouth.

    "What have I done?" ring at Marquis while fucking his lost woman''s mouth, Haruki let out a hearty chuckle. "I did hypnotize your wife in her dream, but it seems like you were already enough of a bastard to have them betray you."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You''re lying! They must be under a charm, otherwise, they would never betray me!" Marquis screamed as he lied to his own conscience.

    Once again, justughing in his face, Haruki was gloating joyously in torturing the corrupt scum. After all the time he''d wanted to kill Marquis, he just couldn''t spare an ounce of sympathy for him, especially after he tried to sign off on his death a second time just a while ago.

    ''That reminds me, didn''t he also add charges of me kidnapping demi-human girls to sell as sex ves from a merchant?'' Even back in his previous life, it was ringly obvious that it was the king trying to write up one of his own blunders in Haruki''s name. The unfortunate reminder at the moment was just about to make his suffering even worse by the second.

    "He''s not lying, father," leaving him baffled, Alice chimed into the conversation.

    "Tell him, Alice, tell him what happened," urging her to go forward, Haruki strengthened his curse on Marquis so he couldn''t try to do anything against her.

    "This man here, he talked with Mother, and she trusts him more than she trusts you," walking closer and closer to the king, Alice had her razor-sharp ws hidden behind her back.

    "This can''t be happening, this must be a nightmare!" Incapable ofprehending the situation, Marquis grabbed onto his hair and started pulling on them in frustration. "He said he hypnotized you! Yes! THAT MUST BE IT! HE''S TRICKING YOU ALICE! DON''T TRUST HIM!"

    "He said he only hypnotized Mother, didn''t he?" Stopping right before her father, Alice red up at him wishing to do what she should''ve done the night she saw him choking her mother. "I know what he did, and I''m d he did it because even though she should''ve, she never could do anything to hurt you!"

    The moment those words left Alice''s mouth, Maquis was shell-shocked by the realization that she knew her mother was being manipted. He tried to once again utter an excuse, but in the eyes of the silver-eyed demi-cat, the verdict had already been made.

    "I hereby dere your death," hearing those words from Haruki, Alice drew her hand back and tore her father''s heart right through his body.

    "By the way," with Alice''s hand still going through the hole in the king''s chest, Haruki decided to rub in onest insult. " I ran out of mana when I came back to the real world from her dream, which in turn undid the hypnosis I had cast on her, but guess what? Your wife and daughter still agreed to do this."

    ''As long as I keep my promise to free her people from very, that is.'' Purposefully taking out that part, Haruki made it sound even harsher.

    "K-kill¡­me," broken to the very core, the king finally begged for his death. "KILL ME YOU FUCKING DAUGHTER OF A WHOR-"

    Not letting him finish hisst words, Haruki crushed his skull with a pair of shadow hands.

 Chapter 139 139 - King Of The Plagued

    ?

    From the streets of Aria to the furthest piece ofnd edging the neighboring kingdoms, every human in sight had turned into a lust demon servant. Except for the few humans living around the town square, their lives have been spared, and they were now gathered into an assembly to bow their heads to their master in the biggest assembly of demons in the world.

    Looking into the distance from the Arian castle''s balcony, there was no end to the demonsying prostrate before Haruki''s eyes.

    ''You''ve done well.'' Interrupting his thoughts, Asmodia''s voice trickled into his head.

    "You''re finally awake," he mumbled. The rest of his servants standing behind, turned their gazes to him with a confounded look.

    "Did you say something?" Asked Athena, one of the very few who''d still not been turned into a demon.

    "Shushh¡­" Grabbing her arm, Margarette urged her not to disturb Haruki for a moment.

    Ignoring the chatter behind him, Haruki gazed over his army before talking to Asmodia again.

    "Is this army big enough for you?" He asked, his hand stretched wide to the congregation that exceeded tens of thousands. Even parts of the army from all three duchies and the citizens had gathered up to honor his crowning.

    "For now, they''ll do," taking a brief pause, she let out a grumpy hum but then continued. "You might have turned them into demons, but they''re all still who they used to be. Weak, pathetic, and useless, a single general from the emperor''s army could easily cull them to a handful."

    "I''m not delusional, Asmodia, I''ve been to battle many times, often against bands of bandits," thinking back to the times his party used to kill hordes of bandits in their sleep despite being a handful of soldiers, Haruki knew exactly what she was trying to say. "Even if we have greater numbers, it won''t matter against an enemy with more battle experience."

    "Wait¡­Did he say Asmodia?" Recognizing the name from her studies, Alice turned to Margarette for answers.

    "Master has a contract with the demon lord of lust, now, settle down, I''ll exin everythingter," holding her back just like Athena, Margarette made sure Haruki wasn''t interrupted further.

    ''I suppose you''re quite busy at the moment, perhaps we can talk over tea in the abyss like we used to,'' Rolling his eyes to the suggestion, an exalted sigh left Haruki''s lips.

    "We''ll see," saying those words, Haruki brought his attention back to his army.

    With a coldmanding gaze, he peered down at them. Making sure to bind any raised heads to the ground with Lulu or holy chain binds, he wore a menacing smile to intimidate them further.

    ''Did we mess up by joining forces with him?'' Thought Athena, shooting a gaze at her daughter standing beside her. Returning her mother''s gaze Alice too seemed just as concerned, but given that their people weren''t turned into demons and freed of their chains, both of them had to keep their mouths shut and adhere to their part of the deal. Which was to say, be his loyal servant, forever.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Margarette, Riley," calling out the two standing behind him, Haruki stretched his arms wide under the clear blue sky.

    Taking a step forward, both of them ced their hands on Haruki''s back and began pouring their mana into his body. As the surge of power brimmed up a smile on his face, Haruki closed his eyes to see through the eyes of a greater demonic spy.

    "Rose, you get ready too," giving that order to Rose floating high up above them, he raised his arms upwards and began casting yet another spell to discourage any rogue demon to try and rebel against his reign. "Dark light!"

    Pouring out mana into the spell with great intensity, he sprang a clutter of miasmic clouds floating above the city. Cutting off the sun, the clouds devoured all light and made the city appear like the inside of a dark cave, especially with the glowing eyes of all demons present.

    "Shadow form body: sping Hands!" Following his words, Haruki''s hands slowly turned into a pair of glistering lights before shattering and disappearing altogether.

    With his hands gone, the demons were allowed to peer up at the show of dominance he was just about to disy. Tearing through the dark clouds came a pair of giant hands, the size to that of that of the city. As sharp as razors, they roamed over the head of the demons as if simply trying to toy with their lives.

    Every wave from the giant''s hands blew away a few demons from the winds it produced alone, they could only imagine what would''ve happened if any one of them got hit by them. And as if things weren''t dire enough, a meteorite-like ball of fire, pierced through the cloud and crashed into a few hundred demons. Crushed under its weight, they all let out groans of agony while their blood boiled from the insides.

    "HMMMMM!" The sky grumbled as the colossal face of a fire dragon peeked in through the skies.

    Her eyes burning like the very sun were enough to turn countless demons to ash with a single look into them. Rainingva from her burning horns, Rose took more victims with her mes, but what terrified the demons the most were her clutched teeth, since if she decided to open them up they''d all be turned into ashes.

    "Is-Is that a real dragon?!" Despite being in no real danger herself, Alice fell to her knees from fear.

    Gulping down on her anxiety Athena was no different. The burning horns, the fuming nose, and the scales of igneous rocks cackling with magma simmering underneath her skin were all too much for both of them and even made them question if it was all just a dream.

    "Wh-what are you?" Athena asked, panting heavier by the second.

    Turning his head to the side, Haruki looked at her from the very edge of his eyes.

    "A betrayed soul, and the greatest monster you''ll ever meet," his words severed from all emotions, were not just directed at the mother and daughter, but to the very world which had sullied his name with atrocities.

 Chapter 140 140 â€“ What It Means To Be A Demon Lord

    ?

    After showing the demons their ce, it was time for Haruki to hide every clue of his presence from the rest of the world again. The first step to achieve that goal was to have the demons return and act out their regr lives in their human form, but then came the harder part, masking thend in an illusion so that no travelers noticed the corruption around the streets that happens because of demonic presence.

    "Where is she? Why isn''t she here yet?" Back in the Arian throne room, Haruki looked around at his servants sitting in opposing rows of chairs on both sides of the room.

    ''If she doesn''te before the merchants start arriving, then there''s bound to be trouble, and even if it''s easily manageable I just don''t want to deal with more than what I already have stacked up.'' The roads to Aria were blocked off throughout the recent days because of the trials of the demonic duke. But now that everything had begun to settle, Haruki wanted trade to continue so they could gather enough funds to supply his army with weapons as well as training.

    "My son will teleport her right here anytime, we just need to wait a bit longer," seated along with the rest of Haruki''s servants, Rose answered his worry.

    Deciding to shift to other things in the meantime, Haruki turned his attention to Riley so he could clear up something else.

    "The silver storm and the other two parties, have you assigned them their duties yet?" Nodding her head, Riley positively responded.

    ''Great, now we can use some of the best adventurers we know to train the demonic army.'' Given that adventurers were the primary hunters for demons and other monsters, it made sense to Haruki to have the demons train againstpetent adventurers and learn how to counter them.

    "M-Master?" Athena stuttered, still not used to calling Haruki her master.

    "What is it, Athena?" Shooting his gaze down at her, he waited for her to respond.

    Giving Alice who was sitting beside her a brief gaze, she closed her eyes beforeing out and saying what she wanted.

    "This Moriyana woman, you said she can put the whole kingdom in an illusion, but how do you n to rece Marquis? If anyone from the emperor''s personnel came to Aria they''d instantly know something was off since the king''s seat is empty!" Although her concerns were valid, Haruki had already devised a n for such scenarios.

    Turning his head to the side, Haruki opened up a dungeon portal. A secondter, the frame of Marquis, the king walked out of it as if nothing had happened to him at all. Shocked by the sight, Athena, as well as her daughter, jumped off of their seats.

    "How¡­" Athena mumbled, wondering if she should even believe her own eyes.

    "Is that really him?!" Unlike her mother, Alice was more furious than confused by the sight.

    Waving his hand towards the side, Haruki gestured the king to stand behind him so he wouldn''t have to look at his face. Even a single nce at the man was enough to infuriate him from the bottom of his heart, and so once he was away from his sight, Haruki turned to exin the situation to the two.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "One of my servants is a master of soul maniption, she helped me wipe out the king''s abhorrent personality and turn him into an undead puppet," snapping his fingers he made the puppet of Marquis bow forward.

    Much like every other thing they''d witnessed in the short time they''d spent around Haruki, both of them were baffled out of their minds trying to figure out what exactly was happening. To make matters worse, all of a sudden a blinding sh of light sprang up in the middle of the throne room. The intensity of the light made everyone shut their eyes until it slowly disappeared.

    Finally, when they opened their eyes back up, they saw Moriyana standing in the middle of the room with her hands pressed against her forehead.

    "Fuck! You call that teleportation? That was a fucking trip to the sun!" Growling on the spot, she nced around before fixing her gaze on Roselia.

    "Don''t start anything, you know you''ll lose," knowing full well where Moriyana was trying to take the conversation, Rose shut her down in an instant.

    "Whatever!" Shaking her head, she turned to look at Haruki in the front.

    Getting out of the throne, Haruki walked down the steps to get closer to her. Once right before her, he gave the only order he had to give her at the moment.

    "Turn this kingdom as it was, and I''ll keep showering you with gold just like I''d promised," saying those words, he reminded her of the original demand she''d made to him right before being turned into his servant.

    ''So he remembered, huh?'' stering a smile on her face, she sped her fingers around his face. Leaning closer she pinched his lower lip under her teeth and pulled it back a little.

    "I love being your servant, Master," letting go of him, she let out a chuckle.

    Not as involved in her teasing, Haruki gave her a nod and walked past her to attend to other matters. In the meantime, far away from Aria, or even the rest of the kingdom in As, a horned devil was sitting in a dark room with his ring eyes watching every move Haruki made.

    "A man possibly bing a demon lord of lust? What a joke!" Shutting his ming eyes for a second, he stopped spying on him for the moment.

    Sitting there in absolute silence in the dark, the man scratched his ragged beard. His mind still upied by the feats performed by Haruki in thest few days, he almost felt a bit jealous since he hadn''t left hisir for the longest time in history.

    ''Perhaps paying this bastard a visit isn''t such a bad idea, after all.'' Wearing a smirk on his face, he felt ready to stretch a few muscles or even destroy a few countries. ''Stay alive until I get to you so I can show you what it means to be a real demon lord!''

 Chapter 141 141 â€“ Rogue Demons And A Bit Of Fun

    ?

    Many days had passed since the overtaking of the Marquis kingdom by Haruki, and already the streets of the entirend reeked of blood, lust, and a lingering thirst for carnage. The once humble stores had turned into brothels, and the poignant merchants were peddling drugs as well as human ves captured on their visit to their kingdom.

    Yet these were the ring corruption over the surface, what ran underneath thend in the shadows was a hundred folds more sinister. Walking through one such underground path, Haruki cloaked in a rag, came up to a brightly lit opening with a horde of demons cheering out loud. The dens these creatures had built underground were no different from a human city, with the only exception being the constant bloodshot and perversion at every corner.

    However, as Haruki passed through the crowd to see what they were cheering, he was met with carnage instead of the perversion he''d witnessed so far.

    ''They found another adventurer''s party in the forest?'' Staring at the human bodies crushed to a pulp under the fist of a humongous demon, Haruki decided to slip away from the site before someone recognized who he was. ''I don''t care what they do with humans, but if they keep hunting them down, then someone is bound to notice a pattern.''

    Despite the ungodly feats of intimidation, he''d subjected them all to, it didn''t seem to be enough to control an entire nation filled with impulsive demons. Not to mention, a lot of them were turning servants of their own, and these new servants had no idea what Haruki, their ultimate leader was capable of, and that made them arrogant.

    ''The servants in Laria are a lot more cooperative. It''s just the Darians and Arians who are causing all the trouble.'' Storming through the streets enshroud in absolute darkness, Haruki decided to teleport back to the Larian castle.

    "Rose, I need-"

    "I get it, he''ll teleport you back to Laria now," speaking to each other through the demonic spies, Rose already knew what Haruki was trying to get at.

    "Great, in the meantime, can you tell the others to get ready to depart from the castle?" To his request, Rose gave a curious hum, but then simply agreed.

    Getting to a dark crevice in the underground town, it didn''t take long before Haruki was teleported back to the Frost castle by Roselia''s son. He''s often wondered if he could simply take that ability as well, but given his promise to Rose, he knew better than to try anything harsh. Once the teleportation light around him disappeared, he was back in the Frost castle''s throne room with a light migraine in his head.

    ''Ughhh, maybe a different teleportation ability will be better.'' Caressing his head, he huffed out a tired sigh.

    With his usual rounds around the duchies concluded, Haruki was off on his way to the servant''s quarters. There, meeting up with Asuka and the rest, he wanted to take them off to a fuzzy ce so they could all stretch their limbs and rx after the tiring events from recent days.

    Making small jumps through his own teleportation ability, Haruki kept making the walk shorter and shorter, until eventually when Asuka''s room came into sight, and he teleported himself in without any reservation.

    Springing out into the room, the very first thing he saw was the group of his servants standing around naked with different outfits in their hands. All of a sudden as they noticed someone standing at the corner of the room watching them, they all jumped from shock screaming.

    "What!?" Most shocked of all, Athena yelled.

    Jumping in front of her mother, Alice''s tail stood up from the shock.

    Even Asuka, Margarette, and Riley were somewhat terrified, but upon realizing who it was, the tenseness in their shoulders dropped instantly.

    "Geez master!" Picking up a pillow from the bed, Asuka threw it over at her master''s face. "At least knock on the door, instead of dropping right in."

    "Ahaha, Sorry, I forgot I had Rose tell you guys to get ready to leave," catching the pillow in his hands, he threw it back onto the bed.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Hearing Haruki''s casual tone, Athena pulled the bedsheets off of the bed and covered up not only hers but Alice''s body as well. Being the only two still not turned into demons, they felt embarrassed to be seen by Haruki naked.

    "Where are we going anyway? And when can we get back to Aria?" Athena asked, flushed red over her cheeks.

    Turning his attention to her, Haruki took a quick nce over the mother and daughter hiding themselves behind the bedsheets.

    ''Hiding your bodies now, after everything we''d done together?'' Although their act struck him as odd, Haruki nced right over it and answered.

    "We''re not going to Aria, instead, we''re going to the neighboring kingdom," conjuring up a pair of shadow hands, Haruki picked up a dress with aced shoulder that was obviously too short to cover anyone''s bottom. "I want to infiltrate everyone around us, but I don''t really trust the demons in my army to do anything half decent without months or even years of training."

    Making the short blue dress float in front of Athena, Haruki urged her to dress herself in it.

    "It''s too short," she retorted.

    "That''s the point," he replied with a smirk. "I''m gonna need a load of attractivedies around me if we''re trying to get any information in another kingdom."

    Letting out an annoyed grunt, Athena took the dress and began dressing herself with it. In the meantime, Haruki picked out more showy clothes for everyone else as well. For Asuka, he had picked out a short yellow skirt with just a top that showed off her cleavage as well as the underside of her breasts.

    Thereafter, moving to Margarette, he made her wear a sparkling dark dress with a v-shape cut running down from her cor to her belly. Moving further down on the dress, it even had a slit on both sides for her thighs to stick right out of it.

    As for Athena and Riley, given that they were both the same height, he made them wear matching pairs of skin-tight leather jeans with a brown leather top that showed off their chests and belly.

    Once the preparations were all done, he decided to have a little fun and let them choose his clothes as well. However, that turned out to be his gravest mistake. One after the other, they kept cycling different clothes on him as if he was going to a fashion show, and by their giggling faces and smiles, Haruki knew they were all doing it on purpose.

    "I never thought you guys wanted to mess with me so much," standing in front of the mirror in his androgynous demonic form, he watched himself being dressed like the female version of robin hood with his servants being his merry women.

    ''Now that I think about it, this isn''t that bad of a disguise.'' Realizing he could use the appearance to act as a lesbian royalty from Marquis kingdom, he felt thrilled by the idea of messing around with the people of the neighboring kingdom. ''This white shirt with the golden striped jacket, as well as the formal skinny light golden pants¡­Oh, yeah these brown leather boots too, they all fit so perfectly together.''[1]

    Admiring the outfit, Haruki spread his hands wide open and beckoned the girls toe into his arms. Dressed likevish royalty themselves, every one of them looked stunning and were sure to steal nces from even the most virtuous of men.

    "You''re all gonna be my pretend wives, that is until we can figure out how demons get married," his words, although said partly in jest, made them blush a cherry red.

    [1] Just to be clear, Haruki is not changing bodies here, so he still has a d#ck down there, and even when he''s using this disguise he''s still in his demonic incubus form, minus the horns and tail(hidden with Mask presence).

 Chapter 142 142 â€“ A Blissful Bond

    ?

    It had barely been weeks since Haruki had left Ste in Asuka''s care, and she had already grown twice in size from how big she initially was. Her growth wasn''t only limited to physical changes either, surprisingly she''d already started repeating broken words that''d been uttered around her.

    "Ha-ruki!" Jumping on the bed like a toddler, she kept repeating Haruki''s name.

    "Aww! She said master''s name!" The maids standing at the corner of the room appeared more excited than Haruki himself.

    "This can be a problem," still dressed in the clothes his servants have picked out for him, Haruki picked Ste up in his arms before turning to the group of Ste''s personal maids. "If she uses my real name in front of everyone, it can cause us a lot of problems, please don''t teach her stuff that might bring trouble."

    Given their pure intentions, Haruki didn''t want to reprimand them too harshly. But even those few words stung them like a saber. Having expected their master to be delighted by their n, they''d never expected to be scolded for it instead.

    "We''re sorry," sulking at their mistake, all three of them hung their heads low in shame.

    "So-sowry!" Picking up on the new word, Ste eximed right after the maids.

    Her voice pulled them out of the gloom and even made Haruki smile.

    "I guess that makes up for your mistake, If she''s saying sorry, how can I punish any of you?" Haruki said, trying to make them all feel better.

    Cheered up by the remark, all of them wore a warm smile. Lifting their long skirts a little, they gently bowed their heads and took their leave. Left alone with Ste, Haruki wanted to spend some time with her before heading off to the neighboring nation. Holding her in his arms, he walked out of the room and began making his way toward the open gardens.

    On his way there, he sent a guard to get Fay away from her research and spend some time with her adoptive daughter.

    ''I hope she was at least visiting her while I was gone.'' Almost feeling like a father and mother figure, Haruki began pondering the possibility of actually courting his servants. It made him wonder how it would feel to be married, and the kind of chaos that would ensue if he decided only to marry one. ''They''d eat each other alive if I only have one wife, ahaha.''

    Bringing him out of his thoughts, Ste suddenly wrapped her hands around his head. Giggling out loud she kept repeating random words she''d heard from others.

    "You''re really active today," Haruki said, looking her in the eyes.

    Taking a look at her luminous hair and fair features, he was once again forced to question the race of his adoptive daughter. Even though he''d created a human clone to put the soul into, there was no doubt in his mind that the soul of a monster was affecting her viscerally.

    ''Maybe a slime girl like the slime queen, but then again, wasn''t the soulpletely flushed of its attributes and memories?'' Walking into the open garden, his mind kept racing for an answer, however since there was no way for him to know for sure, he settled on waiting a bit longer for Ste to manifest her true nature.

    As if destined by his thoughts, Ste''s eyes widened as one of her hands passed through Haruki''s body. Trapped in her arm with glue-like texture, Haruki couldn''t believe the timing and just burst into a fit ofughter. Triggered by her guardian''sughs, Ste began mimicking him and cackled just like him.

    "A slime girl, eh? Ahaha," taking her slimy hand out of his neck, Haruki yfully rubbed their noses together. "I guess, the easiest exnation is often the right one after all?"

    Throwing her up high in the sky, he sprouted out his wings and flew up to catch her. Since loved flying so much, he wanted to y with her while flying around before having to leave for another long mission.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''If Rose was here, she''d be mad.'' Despite knowing he was ying with fire, he couldn''t bring himself to not let his daughter fly around, especially because it made her seem the happiest when doing so.

    "Hehehe!" Hearing herugh, he finally felt at peace for once.

    ''If only this world wasn''t so cruel, I could''ve just spent the rest of my days like this.'' Not long after he started ying with Ste, the guard arrived back with Fay, and she joined the two in the sky with a pair of her own two wings.

    "You''re lying!" She yelled, not believing Haruki''s story that Ste was a slime girl. "The soul had none of its properties left so it should''ve just acted as a catalyst to hold the conci-"

    Betraying her theory, Ste turned her body into clear slime on Haruki''s demand. ck Jawed by the sight, Fay''s shoulders fell in defeat. Unable to ept that her theories had been proved wrong, she puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. Taking great joy in watching her like this, the sudden change in Ste''s bodily consistencypletely slipped his mind.

    However, as Fay noticed her daughter slipping down through Haruki''s arms, she flew towards her in a rush and used one of her abilities to eliminate the threat of her falling.

    "Soul-wings!" The moment her mana surged through Ste''s clear skin, a pair of translucent white wings appeared on her back.

    "What?" Just realizing what had happened, Haruki squeezed Ste tight so she couldn''t slip down further. "Oh god¡­Rose definitely would''ve killed me."

    "NO, I WILL!" With her daughter secured by the wings that made her float, Fay flew even closer to Haruki to hit him in the head.

    Catching her hand, however, he made a pair of shadow hands sp together to apologize.

    "Sorry, it won''t happen again, Fay, " he nervously muttered.

    "Ag-again!" Hearing her talk, Fay''sints were washed out of her mind. "Ha-ppne! Fa-Fay!"

    "She¡­said my NAME!" Hopping in the air with excitement, Fay stole Ste off of Haruki''s hands. "Say it again! Again!"

    "Ag-again!" Ste''s response made Haruki instinctively chuckle.

    ''I need to tell the maids that they should''ve just taught her about Fay instead of me since Fay''s taking this with a lot more enthusiasm than me.''

    "By the way, she said my name first, you were second in line," Haruki said, trying to tease Fay further.

    "Oh, shut up! And why the hell are you wearing those feminine clothes, Ste will get confused about who''s her mother! " Fay retorted, ring up and down Haruki''s clothes which were picked out by his female servants.

    "Oh, yeah, I''m going to be a lesbian royalty for a while. Take care of Ste while I''m gone from the kingdom," after a few seconds of awkward silence between the two, they couldn''t contain theirughter, and it didn''t take long for Ste to join her guardians as well.

 Chapter 143 143 - A Royal Procession[18+ Genderbend Warning]

    ?

    unting their wealth and fame was how the royalties set themselves higher than the realms of themon man. Very much aware of such facts, Haruki too had decided to enter the kingdom of Lamenia with gold showering over his path to mark his name, or rather, for now, her name memorable in history.

    Sitting atop a golden pnquin with engravings of two-faced dragons, as well as assailing lions and even a Phoenix with its wings spread wide in the front, Haruki along with his servants, was being carried on the strong arms of the rogue demons who''d been a little too cocky about their strength.

    And as if that wasn''t enough of a show, his path was being petalled with roses by a long file attractive woman. All masked under a transparent face garb, along with a bright red gbia as they moved ahead and danced.

    Disguised as humans, they were all, especially the drummers and pipers, presenting such an extravagant show, that even the guards on Lamenian gates didn''t wait for confirmation before inviting in the alleged royalty.

    As the wide gates to the kingdom opened up, the eyes of all demons perked up from the sight of fresh humans wandering in front of their eyes. Having heard the band, and the chanting praises of Mistress Freya, the streets right by the gates were crowded with hordes and hordes of people.

    ''Been a while since I''ve seen live humans.'' Haruki thought, salivating at his own mouth. Dressed as the false royalty going by the name Freya, he leaned back into Margarette''s plentiful bosom. Taking his arms and thighs in their hands, the rest of his crew began caressing his body in an obviously lecherous manner.

    "Come here," he said, looking up at Margarette whileying on her thighs.

    By bringing her face closer, she had her breasts fold over his eyes, but that didn''t matter since all Haruki wanted at the moment was to taste those glossy lips of hers. The moment their lips touched, the demons began their march inward. Watching the perverse scene unfold between two women, the mothers shut the eyes of their kids, and the wives shut the eyes of their husbands.

    Pulling away from the kiss, a bride of their saliva was on full disy to the public. However, being royalty nobody dared to voice anyint against the indecency. Raising his head, Haruki nced around to find a mixture of sharp and charmed looks directed right at him. Although, he wasn''t too thrilled by the smirking faces of some of the men.

    ''I guess they can''t tell that I''m not a woman.'' Thankful for his androgynous looks, he put up a smile and waved at the bystanders. Taken by shock from his actions, none of them had the decency to wave back at him. Feeling somewhat annoyed by theck of wee, Haruki reached into his pocket, and through the use of his portal ability, reached into an item pocket to take out a handful of gold. ''Let''s have some fun, after all, what''s the point of wealth if you scarcely spend it?''

    Throwing his arm wide, he had the coins scatter up through the streets. At first, the citizens had no idea what the mistress had thrown, but as one of them reached down and yelled out gold, everyone got to their knees to pick them all up.

    "Oh if you won''t remember the day Madam Freya came into your city!" Laughing hysterically, Haruki took out more and more gold from his pocket and urged his servants to indulge in pride a little.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "We''re all demons after all," he whispered, nting a kiss on Asuka''s cheeks.

    Blinded by the sight of wealth Haruki was simply throwing off, Athena and Alice were the only ones who felt reserved enough to not indulge in their vices. However, having watched him giving affection to the others, neither of them could deny their urge to kiss their master as well. So while Asuka Margarette and Riley made wealth rain through the skies, the duo of mother and daughter, pushed themselves on Haruki''s thighs and began licking him all over like the cats they were.

    Under the watchful eyes of the citizens, the procession marched around the city, all the while the seductive disy was carried out unhindered. After a while as Freya got tired of being showered with praise for her generosity, she spied out a tavern and decided to head there. Once outside the rustic ce, a cluster of people came out of the ce to check out the cause of all themotion outside.

    "What the¡­" Noticing the whole town lingering behind the elevated royalty, the old man who seemed to be the owner shot up a confused gaze at Haruki. "I-Is there something I can do for you?"

    Reaching over his back, Haruki took out a whip and hit the rogue demons on their back. Taking the pain as a hint that he wanted to get down, the two in front slowly lowered the pnquin for their master and his close aides to get off.

    Sliding off of the thing, Freya and her wives gracefully got off the carriage. Behind them the gold still on the tform they wereying on clustered up on the ground. Just one glister from the gold was enough to make the tavern owner''s eyes shine.

    "We need a room, is there any avable?" Standing in the middle of all his wives, Haruki threw his hands around their exposed bellies and pulled them up closer. "One where nobody would disturb us?"

    Gulping down at the mere sight of a wagon load of gold, the owner put up a hasty smile and began aggressively nodding.

    "Yes! We-we will arrange something for you, pleasee in, ma''am!" Moving to the side, he gave way for Haruki and his party to head inside the tavern.

    Without dy, Haruki headed into the ce with his hands resting on his women''s hips. However, as he stood around the reception, something licked inside his mind that made him let go and turn around to address the owner.

    "By the way, how much booze do you have?" Treating this as vacation, Haruki wanted topletely unwind along with his servants. "Also, how big is thergest bath in this city?"

 Chapter 144 144 - Settling In

    ?

    "You''re finally here, I was waiting for so long," walking down the stairs of the tavern, Moriyana dressed in a casual nightgown, called out to Haruki and his harem.

    Rubbing her eyes from drowsiness, she hadn''t noticed what was happening and had no clue about the wasteful disy of wealth from her master. Finally, as her eyes adjusted to the light again, she squinted at her master with a childish pout.

    ''I almost forgot that I sent her to vet this ce first.'' With the responsibility of holding the illusion pushed onto puppets created by Fay''s experiments, Moriyana was once again free to roam about and so Haruki wanted to include her in the vacation as well.

    Walking towards Haruki with his eyes fixed on Moriyana, the short-bearded owner of the establishment broke the awkward silence.

    "Oh, miss Moriyana, you should''ve mentioned that your friend who was arriving is royalty! We could''ve made some special preparations!" Not shy to hide his excitement, the owner seemed more than willing to put some extra effort to secure Freya as a patron.

    "We''re not just friends," Haruki mumbled.

    The owner nced up at his frame and was seemingly confused by his words.

    "Anyways, where is my booze, mister?" Turning her gaze to the owner, Moriyana reminded him of a request she''d made before taking a nap. "I said I wanted it as soon as my friend was here."

    Having been asked for booze by two guests, both of whom were at least acquaintances, the owner decided to quickly go out and bring it out of them.

    "Madam¡­" Although he wanted to ask Haruki about the quantity he needed, not knowing his name made his mind freeze mid-sentence.

    "Freya, Freya thunderbird," Haruki let him know.

    "Okay Miss Freya, how much booze do you need?" Watching him smile at his question, the owner didn''t know what to expect.

    "Enough to fill thergest bath in this city," at first he couldn''t believe his ear, but turning his head to see the kind of procession she''d just had, the owner simply nodded and rushed off to the brewer.

    In the meantime, a pair of workers had Haruki wait at the reception while they made special preparations for him and his servants. Trying to pass the time, Moriyana began everything he''d pulled after entering the city so far. And even though it made her a bit rageful that he was wasting so much gold, she couldn''t really get mad since he was still technically here to work.

    "I wish Fay and Rose would''ve joined us too, but both of them are busy taking care of their children," with that final exchange between Moriyana and him, the workers came downstairs to take Haruki to his special room.

    Brought to a somewhat dainty yet decently sized room, he was shown the hastily installed luxuries, From a massive queen bed to the dressing table with loads of cosmetics which were definitely left behind by other patrons, there was more than enough for everyone to squeeze around each other and get somefortable shut-eye.

    Impressed by the ce, Freya handed the two workers each a pouch filled with gold so they would quickly leave them alone. A brief moment after they were gone, Asuka shut the door closed on Haruki''s demand while the others threw themselves on the bed.

    Haruki himself on the other hand, went straight to the dressing table and began undoing the tight feminine clothes. Drenched in sweat from theyers of cloth, leather, and ornaments, he undid them one by one before throwing them into a portal pocket.

    "Who''s idea was to make me wear these earrings?" Taking the earnings off, he was reminded of Michael for a moment. "Is it a status symbol or something? I saw Michael wearing them too."

    Putting the earring away, Haruki stripped off all his clothes to feel less warm. Hearing a knock on the door by one of the demon servants who''d carried the carriage, Asuka opened up the room and took their luggage out of his hands.

    "You''re all free to head back into master''snd, don''t cause any trouble!" Shutting the door in his face, she turned around to see Harukiying on the bed with the other women surrounding him from all sides. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Although a bit jealous, Asuka took out a nightgown for them all so they could head to the bath without driving any suspicion toward Freya''s true identity.

    "Master, wear this," holding a long nightgown with intricate floral patterns, Asuka urged Haruki to put it on.

    "Really?" He mumbled, his eyes shut tight from drowsiness.

    "Yeah, we can''t let anyone know about your identity, especially when we''re out of the demon kingdom," not listening to any excuse, Asuka snapped her fingers and made Lulu spring out from the bedsheets and slide all the women out of the bed.

    "Ouch!"

    "What was that for?"

    "I wasn''t flirting with him, I''m just waiting for my booze dammit!"

    Ignoring their cries, Asuka had Lulu pull her master up on his feet so she could dress him herself.

    "Just so you know," opening his tired eyes, Haruki mumbled. "If it wasn''t so fucking funny to fool these idiots about who I am, I wouldn''t never in a thousand years wear these clothes."

    Even saying that statement made him chuckle. Asuka on the other hand was stern fully determined to get him dressed quickly. From her uptight attitude, it was no surprise that she was somewhat frustrated by having to share her master with other women. And yet given her strong affection for her master, she couldn''t burden him with her emotional insecurities.

    "Asuka¡­" Finally picking up on her tense bodynguage, Haruki grabbed her by the arms and pulled her up. "Rx a little, we won''t have many chances like this in the future I''m sure."

    Tired of the constant chaos that had gued her master''s life, she pressed her head against Haruki. With her face buried in his chest, she wrapped her hands around his body to just let off all the steam straining her mind. Watching it all unfold, Athena and Alice for once felt some amount of truepassion reflecting out of their new master. It made them feel hopeful for their people''s treatment under his reign even if he was a disguised demon under that human mask.

    "I love you master," and those words spoken by Asuka, a demi-human just like them, assured them of that future.

    "I love you all, but maybe I do have a favorite," He replied with a warm smile.

    "That''s not fair," said Margarette from the back.

    "Yeahhh¡­You''re stealing my master from me," added Riley.

    Moriyana simply jumped the two as a rebuttal, making them fall over Asuka''s back.

    "You always forget about me!" Comining while sitting on top of the two, Moriyanained.

    ''I''ve¡­made a mistake.'' Thought Haruki, and he was right.

 Chapter 145 145 - Different Perspectives[Other Characters POV From Ch143+144]

    ?

    The moment they entered the city gates on the pnquin, Margarette''s heart was seeping with mncholy. On one hand, she was happy to be with her master on a vacation on the other, she felt stripped of any exclusivity with the man she loved most. Looking at his back as he sat in front of her eyes, she felt left out in a lot of ways and wanted to snatch him away from the rest of his servants.

    ''As if I can do that.'' She thought as the drummer and pipers brought her back to her senses.

    Drowning her emotions, she gulped them down her throat. Forced to focus on the procession, she put up a fake smile and nced about the curious gazes of the citizens. But right as she was about to give up on her gloom, Haruki leaned back onto her body. Feeling the warmth of his skin brushing against her body, the angst in her heart was reced with amused bafflement.

    ''What is he doing?'' Right as that thought crossed her mind, Haruki shot his gaze up at her with his disguised painted lips puckered lightly for a kiss. ''Me? Really?''

    With a quick nce at the other women, she felt exalted for having been chosen from all the others. It served as a sign that her master''s love for her was just as strong as for anyone else in their group.

    ''You''re stupid Margarette, you know he loves you too, maybe not as much as his first crush, Asuka, but you''re not that far behind either!'' Feeling soulfully rejuvenated by that realization, Margarette leaned over Haruki''s face and pressed her lips together with his.

    ***

    Bearing witness to the gold showering down the city streets, Athena, as well as Alice, felt extremely ticked off by their master''s wastefulness. Being around a greedy winger for most of their lives, neither of them had managed to prevent his kinks and irking from rubbing off on them. But the annoyance from wastefulness had turned into something much different when they saw him pamper Margarette with kisses.

    Their bond, not yet spiritual in nature, waspletely held together by the sexual interactions they''d had so far, as well as the promise of safety towards the rest of their people. So chucking their grievances aside, both of them flung themselves over to him and began licking him over the cheeks.

    For a moment Haruki was in a bit of shock, but upon realizing what they were doing, he turned to their faces and had fun giving them kisses one after the other. Feeling the taste of their bodies melting into his mouth, he almost felt delirious, but couldn''t stop coiling his tongue around them.

    After taking turns kissing them both, Haruki slipped his hand down their spine until it reached the fleshy bottom of them both. While shecked in the upper section, just like her mom, she had a light chocte ass that could sink Haruki''s whole five fingers into their flesh.

    Gloating in the moment, the duo continued the shameless disy of licking Freya''s body over the clothes until Haruki decided to stop by a tavern.

    ***

    Walking into the Tavern, Riley was already feeling a bit left out. And although she didn''t want to directly indulge in sexual activities with Haruki, she too felt a need to hopelessly cling to someone for a brief moment of reprieve.

    And so when Moriyana came down the stairs and Haruki and her got into some sort of conversation. Riley mbered onto Margarette and hugged her from the side. Huffing out from the tiring routine of the day, she closed her eyes to rest a little. Noticing the drowsiness in her eyes, Margarette made her way to the stool with Riley clinging onto her tightly.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Once she sat down on it, Riley settled down on Margarette''sp and leaned back on her body. Wrapping her hands around her daughter Margarette began gently brushing her hair so she could be soothed into slumber.

    Not too long after the owner went out to arrange the booze, Riley was sleeping about soundly. Comforted by the embrace of her stepmother, the feeling of loneliness escaped her mind, and the only thing she wanted at the moment was to stay like this forever.

    ***

    Neglect had be a theme, it was crushing the souls of everyone in Haruki''s party. The overtaking of the kingdom, the aftermath of its processions, and everything that had transpired before left the master of the group with little to no time to spend with his servants. Busy in their own right, even the servants of Haruki were to me for their own repressed feelings. Despite being demons, they were trying to repress their desires while prioritizing work.

    Asuka was no stranger when it came to repressing her emotions, and now that she''d fallen back into that trap, a strange curse seemed to be eating her up from the inside. Standing by the door, her eyes fixed on her master taking off his dress, she felt deserted despite being surrounded by people.

    Her mind racing with such lonesome thoughts register a knock at the door right beside her. Opening it up she took the baggage out of the hands of the disguised demon who''d brought it upstairs for them. By the time she turned around, Haruki was alreadyying down on the bed surrounded by all the other servants.

    Breezing through her thoughts, she got the girls away from him with Lulu and even got Haruki up on his feet. But failing to control her expression, her eyes strained with difort. Being as loving as he was towards her, Haruki coddled her up and soothed her nerves with the assurance of his love for her.

    But feeling jealous by those ims, both her master and her were assaulted by everyone around them. Especially Moriyana who jumped onto Haruki from the back, Making him fall on top of her. However, given that she could feel his body squeezing up against her chest, she had nothing toin about.

    Coiling her arms around Haruki''s naked body, she pressed her panting lips against his still-painted lips. The cold touch of their tongue sent a chill down her spine, and the brush of his skin against hers, simply iron out all the doubts from her very soul.

    "I love you more than you love me," she whispered, gazing into her lover''s eyes.

    "I-"

    "Oh shut up, you two!" Interrupting the blissful moment once again, Moriyana butted into the conversation.

    "Miss Freya, the booze is ready," And from the owner''s voiceing from the other side of the door, it didn''t seem like Moriyana was the only one interested in interpreting the two. "Do you want me to send it to the bath so you can enjoy it in the warm waters?"

    ''That sounds good.'' Asuka and Haruki thought the same thing.

 Chapter 146 146 - The Womanâ€™s Bathhouse: Meeting The Elf

    ?

    Sending their convoy back to the demonic kingdom, Freya and her wives were forced to make their way to the bathhouse on foot. But even so, nobody dared toy a finger on them, despite the provocative nature of their clothing. Dressed casually in light gowns, they were strolling down the paths. The gazes of many men were brought and fixed on them, but one sharp look from Freya was enough to make them wince.

    ''If it weren''t to find that used library of heroes hidden somewhere in this kingdom, then I would''ve never agreed to wearing a women''s gown.'' Toote to change his decision, Haruki kept his woman wrapped around his arms to let the citizens know that they belonged exclusively to him.

    Coming to a stop by the town square, their brief stroll ended right in front of a massive bathhouse. Much like the rest of the streets, the building was decorated with an inscription of a giant with protruding horns holding a ball of jade, and on the other side of the inscription was the image of a humanoid figure holding its bow in the giant''s direction.

    ''Again, more stuff I don''t know about. I need to find that goddamn library soon, so I can learn more about As''s history, even including stuff about Asmofia and the emperor.'' Having only read brief mentions of the mythical library, Haruki was desperate to get his hands on all the knowledge it beheld.

    Moving their eyes a bit lower on the board the establishment''s name was written right under it, however, since it was in some foreignnguage, Haruki couldn''t make out exactly what it said.

    "I''ve heard Lamenia was founded on a giant''s carcass, but what is all this?" Even though he''d spent countless hours in the royal libraries learning each and every mention of Lamenia, he could not recall the mention of a man with a bow ying such a grand beast.

    "Hmm, what are you looking at?" A voice trailed into Haruki''s ears, making him jerk to the side and bump into Margarette''s breasts. "Oh, I''m sorry I didn''t mean to scare you."

    "Get away¡­" Taking out the des strapped to her thighs, Riley instantly moved between Haruki and the woman who''d just walked up to them. "Or I''ll slit your throat until your tongue falls off."

    The sudden threat took a moment to register for the silver head beauty. But as she realized that she''d walked into someone important, she took a step back and tipped her massive witch''s hat.

    "Are you guys going in?" She asked, looking at the whole group up and down. "Seems like you are."

    Turning to the girl, Haruki decided to give her the same treatment. Wearing a green mage''s outfit with the giant green hat, she appeared like a nymph who could''ve easily been mistaken for a subjugation monster.

    "Come on, I said sorry," carelessly throwing her hand in the air, she urged Riley to put down her weapons.

    "Riley, put down your weapon," not wanting to seem hostile, Haruki had Riley put the weapons down.

    Although it made him feel ufortable, Haruki didn''t want to attract any attention from the adventurer''s parties around the kingdom. Finally, as Riley''s weapons were put down, the strangedy grabbed Riley''s arms and gave off a smile.

    "What are you doing?!" Riley asked.

    "Come on, I can see you guys are new, let me take you in!" Without another word, the woman began dragging Riley into the establishment.

    A bit amused by the sight, Athena and Alice chuckled while the other two were slightly more concerned. Deciding to follow the girl in, Haruki marched inward and made his way to the women''s section of the bathhouse. There, before taking off his clothes in front of the witch, he made sure to mask his genitals to be the same as women''s.

    Once inside the bathhouse, he was greeted with the sight of numerous women, both young and old soaking themselves in a massive spring of steaming water with a clear view of the night sky. The sight of the stars alone was enough to make him forget about any threats that the strange woman might pose. Instead, wanting to dip his toe in the water and rx, he was reminded of the booze the owner promised him.

    "Alice, go tell the reception that they can bring in the booze now," being told that the reception had it all ready, Haruki sent off Alice to get it delivered right to the bath.

    "OI! OI!" Breaking his chain of thoughts, the silver-haired witch was waving her hand at him from the pool of water. Squeezed tight against her pink-nipped breasts was Riley struggling to get out of her hold.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Fuck it, everyone jump in!" Throwing all caution to the wind, Haruki ran forward and jumped right into the water.

    The ssh that followed annoyed the other guests a little, but paying them no heed Haruki swam up to the silver-haired stranger.

    "That was aggressive," said the woman.

    "What''s aggressive is this!" Biting her tit, Riley made the woman finally let go of her.

    "Aghhhh!!! That hurts!" She cried

    "Lonesome widow!" Disappearing from everyone''s vision, she escaped back toward Margarette and Asuka who were slowly making their way into the bath.

    Watching the whole thing unfold, Freya couldn''t help butugh. As for the bystanders, having witnessed someone disappear in front of their eyes, drew them in for gossip. Even the young woman couldn''t help but want to know more about who these neers were in their city.

    "I''m Freya Thunderbird, councilmember to the Larian Duke Snow frost," introducing himself with a proper title, Haruki began introducing hispanions under false names, that is except Moriyana and the Demi-cats in his party "And all six of them are my wives."

    Stumped by thest line, a surprised uproar echoed throughout the bathhouse. The cause for the reaction wasn''t who Freya was iming to be, but the fact that she had multiple wives instead of a husband, which was, to them, a foreign concept.

    ''This is too good, ahaha.'' Looking at their surprised faces, Haruki couldn''t hold back hisughter.

    "How is that possible?" Blushing bright red, one of the younger girls asked.

    "And how did she disappear?" Asked another.

    The questions kept piling up, and Haruki intentionally made things even more confusing for them to grasp just to mess with them further.

    "Because I wanted wives that''s why it''s possible," wearing a cheeky smile, he continued. "And Ray is a demi-human half-ghost half-human so she can disappear."

    Even his servants couldn''t help themselves fromughing, but that finally blew off the lies. After a while as the questions died down and thedies began leaving, Haruki was surrounded by his wives doting on him. Being called his wives had made them wanna pamper him with love, but given that the silver-haireddy was still watching they had to settle for kisses and hugs only.

    "My name''s Laura, by the way," finally introducing herself, she extended her hand toward him. "I''m an adventurer, my party''s mostly women but since they''re kinda beating up at the moment I clung onto you guys aspany, sorry about that."

    "You didn''t have to be that honest, you know?" Nuzzled up onto Haruki''s neck, Asuka said to Laura with a side nce.

    "Elves, don''t lie silly," those few words grabbed everyone''s attention. "Anyways, as I said, my party is beaten up, and I kinda need some help."

 Chapter 147 147 - The Womanâ€™s Bathhouse: A Promise For Adventure

    ?

    "We were told a group of demons were causing quite a bit of ruckus at the outskirts of our cities, so we went there to check it out," Laura''s retelling of the events that''d happened to her party was already deeply concerning to Haruki. "But when we got there, it wasn''t just a horde of demons that we encountered."

    "What?" Thrown off the assumption that his servants were causing trouble, he was thrown off by thest part of her statement. "Then what else did you run into?"

    Settling down into the warm water, Laura put up a weak smile and continued. Although being around naked women in the bath had been distracting for Haruki, his limits for arousal had been raised to an extraordinary limit at this point.

    "A band of monsters¡­" Laura mumbled, her eyes firmly fixed on Haruki. "A Duhan leading the charge with golems, skeletons, and all forms of undead creatures marching through the dense forest. I do not know who sits at their head, but whoever it is, must be a monster amongst monsters."

    "And how did yourpanions get hurt?" Fueled with curiosity, Haruki wanted to know more about the incident.

    To his question, she took a deep breath before replying. Visibly upset by what she''d seen, retelling the incident was having a visceral effect on her mental state.

    "We were going to intercept those demons, but right as we tried to, the procession of monsters appeared out of nowhere," with those words, her lips were shut tight into a lock.

    It didn''t take a genius to figure out what happened after, and from the impression she''d been giving so far, it didn''t seem like her friends were in any mortal danger. This only left one question in Haruki''s mind, one that bothered him more than the strange procession of monsters threading through the border between hisnd and the Lamenian kingdom.

    "Why do you think I can help?" His question made her raise her head to look at him once more. Purposefully ignoring the talk, his wives kept brushing their bodies against him to seem disinterested in such matters. "Were you expecting an army or just the finances to fight the monsters?"

    Noticing a pair of hands from one of Freya''s wives caressing her thighs, Laura looked away expecting something lecherous. High on the effect of the booze, it wasn''t just Freya and the wives, but Laura too had begun feeling a bit of arousal stemming from between her legs.

    "I-I have ability¡­It-um," slowly looking back at the hand from the edge of her eyes, she noticed it digging into Freya''s thighs while it caressed it up and down. "It can determine people''s strength with just a look!"

    Had he not been under the charm of the wine, learning the existence of such an ability would''ve driven him mad with worry. After all, it would''ve taken one look at him for anyone to deduce that he wasn''t who he imed to be.

    "I didn''t wanna let those monsters get away with what they did to mypanions so I was searching for strong enough adventurers to help me take them down, but then I saw you and your wives instead!" Her eyes closed shut from embarrassment, she sped through her exnation.

    Having the girls get off of him, Haruki picked himself up. Although still unsure whether she was telling everything the truth, he extended her hand along with an offer.

    "Keep my strength a secret, and I''ll help you," his words voiced out in amanding female voice, resounded with the authority of a war general. "You might not know this since you probably haven''t met much royalty, but get on my wrong side and I''ll throw you and your family to the dogs."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The sudden threat made a jumble of her emotion curdle up at the back of her throat. And despite knowing better, she reached out to the demon and shook hands. A jolt of shock went through her skin, but she was too naive to realize what Freya had just done.

    "I''ll keep your strength a secret, but can I ask you something?" Feeling her fingers jittering nervously around his fingers, Haruki didn''t want to push her mental psyche further. So with a simple nod, he let her voice her question. "How¡­Did you get so strong? I''ve never seen such an aura of strength emanating from a single person."

    Pulling Laura up, he moved his face right next to her ears.

    "You don''t wanna find out, young elf," retreating his head, he gave her a smile. "You cane meet us at the tavern the next street over tomorrow morning, I''ll be more than happy to help."

    Not sure whether to be happy that Freya was willing to help, or to be concerned by the threats, Laura stood there in silence watching Haruki as he headed out of the bathhouse with the rest of his crew.

    ''Who is that woman? A royalty, but could she be the alleged vampire from the council of the tundra?'' Knowledgeable in her own right, Laura''s spection hadnded her in the right duchy, but the person she was thinking about was far away from them both.

    The man she thought about was instead wandering through the forests and ins, trying to somehow reach the emperor. In his tow was Arnold, barely keeping up with the undead creature. In desperate hope for redemption, both of them wanted to get the news about the Marquis kingdom to their lord, but needless to say, their attempts were futile and they were bound to be doomed on their path.

    Straggling over the borders, they had barely managed to escape the demons trying to hunt them in the demonic kingdom. However, their journey was far from over, and the path ahead looked even more grim.

    In front of their eyes was a towering Duhan. A secondter, numerous golems with spectral skulls and skeletons riding on their backs came forward into their sights.

    "It''s been a while, has it not, Rom?" Muttered the unholy lord of wraths, riding out from the back of the procession. But to them at this moment, he was nobody else but their reaper. "Now before I cut that head clean off, how about you tell me more about this new lord of the lust demons?"

    Riding high on an undead horse, he smiled at the quivering two. Not even a hint of mercy reflected in his eyes, he was looking forward to their execution.

    "Nonononono!" Having gone insane, Arnold began pulling his own hair until the skin scrapped right off of his head.

    ''As¡­No, emperor, save us!'' Holding onto his religious self, Rom shut his eyes closed and prayed.

    "Wahaha! Such an amusing sight, this man Haruki, must truly be a monster!" raising his axes, the lord of wrath ended the life of the longest-living vampire, along with hispanion.

 Chapter 148 148 - Tying Loose Ends

    ?

    Too tired to even move a muscle, it didn''t take long for Haruki and his wives to slip into a deep night''s slumber. Surrounded by the beauties, he felt drawing inwards as if his body was about to implode. Before that could happen, however, a pair of violet arms reached for him through a dark portal. Looming right over his face, they ran their fingers down his charming face. Resting the right index over his lips, the left one''s nail left a light scratch running down his neck.

    "You''ve grown," a familiar voice whispered through the portal.

    The next moment hands withdrew into the dark and a pair of lips came out through it. Moving closer to Haruki''s face, they left but a brief peck on his lips.

    "If only you could take this ursed title off of my name," whispering those words, the lips retreated, leaving behind nothing but the looming silence as everyone soundly slept without a worry.

    When Haruki finally woke up at the crack of dawn, a knock on their door was the first thing that greeted them. Having forgotten about his changed appearance and the deceiving female body parts, Haruki, thinking that he was back at the castle, headed over to open the door. Standing naked before the entrance, he pulled the door open to find the owner standing at the other end.

    "Miss Freya, I-" Noticing that Freya wasn''t wearing any clothes, the owner couldn''t finish the sentence.

    No longer rubbing his eyes, Haruki felt a bit confused as he squinted at the owner. Having averted his gaze from Freya''s body, the old man was blushing like an apple.

    "What is it?" Haruki asked, but when Freya''s feminine voice came out, he finally realized what the problem was. A quick gaze down at his body made him feel terribly embarrassed.

    ''Shit!'' he thought before mming the door shut.

    "I just came to let you know that breakfast is ready!" The owner yelled from the other side before rushing down the staircase.

    ''Goddammit, ughh!'' Frustrated by the event, Haruki turned away from the door and took a look at the women still sleeping on the bed. Thankfully, none of them had seen what had happened or else he could''ve felt even more ridiculed than he already did at the moment.

    A grumble from his stomach made him stop worrying about the incident. Feeling a bit hungry, even though he didn''t need to eat being a demon, he swiftly woke everyone up and had them get ready so they could enjoy their breakfast together.

    On their way down the stairs after getting dressed, Haruki decided to bring up the Library of Heroes to the rest of the group. Once the food was brought to a table over which they all had to squeeze in with their chairs, he finally began spilling the beans about the true intentions of their visit to this kingdom.

    "Let me know if you need anything, Miss Freya," with that said, the owner left them alone.

    Already not looking at him, Haruki simply spoke to his group.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I know that I said I just wanted to scope out other kingdoms around us, but," producing a piece of parchment from his pocket, heid it on an empty spot over the table. "That wasn''t the whole truth."

    Leaning in, everyone''s gazes were fixed on the torn piece of paper. Picking it up from the middle, Margarette decided to read it for the demi-humans since they were usually mentallycking in academic capabilities.

    "In the heart of and so far yet familiar, rests the eyes of the seer who''d witness it all, be it past or the future," puzzled by the verse, Margarette briefly nced at Haruki before continuing to read. "To the north is scorching sun, to the east, is the drowning river, trail the path that runs between the two, and you''ll bore witness to the history of the world."

    Flipping the page over, she noticed another piece of paper taped tightly onto it. Scanning through the words for herself first, she once again gave Haruki a confused look and then voiced out what she''d learned for the rest of herpanions.

    "The tundra used to be a range of volcanoes, and to the east of Lamenia is the ocean, so that means¡­"

    "There''s supposed to be a way to find out the world''s history here," cunning as always, Moriyana was the first to put everything together. Raising her tired eyes from the tea cup in front, she turned her attention to Haruki. "And I''m guessing you want to find out everything there is to know about the mistress, maybe even some other folks like the emperor?"

    Keeping things brief, Haruki nodded in response.

    "What are we trying to find again? I''m sorry I don''t understand what we''re talking about exactly," not being able to follow the rest Asuka voiced her concern, Athena and Alice also seemed relieved that she asked the same thing that they wanted to ask.

    "It''s a library with everything that has records of everything that has already happened or will ever happen," his eyes hanging low, Haruki pulled a te of puffy pastry towards him. "While studying in the royal archives, I found many mentions of this ce, and coincidentally since we''re sitting neighbors to where it''s meant to be."

    Taking a bite from the buttery bread filled with vani cream, a soothing calm washed over Haruki''s body. With dropped shoulders, he picked up the coffee cup and brought it over to his lips. One sip alone was enough to melt the vor in his mouth and make the pastry gracefully glide down into his tummy.

    "This is actually good for once," surprised that he liked something from outside the castles, he moved the pastry around for everyone to give it a try. Once they all had taken a bite and were delighted by the vor, Haruki continued to exin his ns further.

    "While I do not know how to find this ce, I think that girl from the bath might be able to give us some clues about the myths," taking another sip from the coffee, he set the cup back on the table. "Some of us will apany her to the forest, some will go looking around the cities for clues, and then some will keep a close watch on the girl''s injured friends in case we can use them to threaten her in some way."

    ''Having arge group is perfect for this mission.'' And as if to ring the bell of initiation for their ns, a pair of steps came approaching their table. Turning around to look, it was the same silver-haired elf, Laura. ''Perfect.''

 Chapter 149 149 - An Adventure After Long

    ?

    Walking behind Laura as they headed into the forest, something peculiar caught Haruki''s eyes. Right above Laura''s ears, there was a curved scar, almost as if part of her ears had intentionally been scraped off.

    ''Even if elves are free to roam in human cities, I guess there are still people who don''t ept them and consider them no different than us monsters.'' Feeling some pity towards the girl, Haruki decided to walk alongside her.

    Being the only two on the expedition to find the procession of monsters, Haruki sneaked a few greater spy demons out of his palm to hasten up the search. Scattered throughout the dense forest, their eyes let Haruki see if any kind of monster was approaching or stalking them from a distance.

    ''Nothing yet¡­Wandering around might be a waste of time, hopefully, the others have some luck finding any clues about the library.'' A sudden rustle from the leaves made Laura stop in her tracks and grab Freya''s wrist in fear.

    "What''s that?" hunched over, she whispered looking around.

    "It''s a squirrel Laura, and please don''t grab my arm like that," fearing that she might get affected by his aura, he wanted her to keep her hands to herself.

    Running through the women of the three duchies, he''d garnered countless abilities, both active and passive, a few of whichbined with the others and caused all kinds of uncontroble effects. The worst of them all was an ability called ''Aura of the corrupted'' which caused mental degradation, and in some cases, even insanity.

    "Ah¡­Sorry, I think I''m a little too on edge," putting up an awkward smile, Laura pulled her hand away.

    "It''s fine just don''t touch me, okay?" Haruki replied.

    Assuming that Freya, being royalty, didn''t want to be touched bymoners, Laura simply epted her order. For a while as they edged the borders setting Haruki''s kingdom and Lamenia apart, they saw nothing of interest at all, but then while walking along the side of a river, both of them noticed in the distance a demon getting out of the stream and heading into the forest.

    ''These idiots, what the fuck do I have to do to keep them inside those walls?!'' Infuriated by the sight, Haruki wanted to tear that demon apart, but with Laura already rushing off behind the demon, he had to feign ignorance and follow her.

    Getting close to the demon, Laura hid behind a collection of trees to keep a watch on a group of demons the soaked demon was regrouping with. Fearing that he couldn''t use his dark magic abilities, Haruki wanted to keep things brief without showing too much of her power to an adventurer.

    "This is the group we encountered when the procession came out of nowhere," whispering to Haruki, Laura kept her watch sternly fixed on the gathering of demons hurdled around something gruesome and bloody. "Are they eating something or¡­someone?"

    Bearing witness to the same sight, Haruki recognized the clothes of the deceasedying down by the dirt. And although he knew who it belonged to, he refrained from drawing any conclusions just yet.

    "We should keep a watch on them, who knows how many more of-" By the time she turned her head to look at Freya, she was already gone from her sight.

    ''What?! Where did she go?!'' Panicking, feared that one of the demons snatched her away. ''''She''s royalty dammit, I''ll lose my head if she dies!''

    And the moment she turned her head back to the demon group, her fears were further intensified. Rushing towards the group of five demons, Freya held a sword made from sharp shards of ice. The demons, upon hearing the sounds of her footsteps, jumped up to their feet and stood facing the direction of the noise.

    However, jumping through a portal, Freya appeared behind them all. It happened so quickly that even Laura who was following her with her eyes lost track of what was happening.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Shit, where did she go again?!" In the brief moment when Laura still hadn''t realized that Freya was standing behind the demons, Haruki flung the sword sideways and cut right through all five demon''s chests.

    "Holy chain binds!" catching their limbs with the chains, Haruki deterred any of them from falling.

    Lifting the binds up high in the sky, Haruki moved a few steps forward to take a look at the bloodied clothes he''d seen from afar.

    "Who the hell are you?!" Screeched one of the demons from above.

    Knowing well enough that cutting their bodies won''t be enough to kill them, he held his palm over his shoulder and shot a hoard of ice shards right at the demon''s face.

    One after the other as the ice tore smashed into his eyes and jaws. Fearing the same fate, the others squealed like terrified puppies and shut their mouths before they met the same fate. They weren''t the only ones who were shocked by the effective disy of strength, even Laura who was slowly approaching Freya, couldn''t bring herself to believe what''d happened.

    Being the only one focused on a task, Haruki got to his knees by the blood-fed clothes. The tattered purple suit, and a golden silk woven attire, reminded Haruki of the only two men who were bold enough to wear such clothes.

    ''Rom and Arnold¡­Come to think of it, I never saw them after taking over the king''s throne.'' ncing up at the demons still left alive, he wanted to know everything they knew about the mushed corpses.

    "Did you kill these men?" He asked.

    Fearful of their lives, the demons shook their severed heads in denial.

    "Then who did?" Getting back on his feet, a look of unfiltered annoyance took over his face.

    "W-we don''t know! The body was there when we came here!" Eximed one of them.

    "Ye-yeah! We didn''t kill those humans!" Added another.

    Further infuriated by their words, Haruki raised his hands in their direction and sprang forth a circle of ice magic. With the sapphire brooch tucked under his clothes, the essence of deathly cold mana traveled from his chest up over to his palms.

    "Wai-no! We''re telling the trut-" Before they uttered another word, Haruki rained them each with a hundred finger-thin ice shards.

    Turning their bodies into minced meat, he had bodies hung until even the holy chain binds couldn''t hold them up any longer. After thest ball of meat from their bodies fell to the ground, Haruki lowered his head and turned to look at the terrified Laura.

    "Remember you promise¡­" cing his finger over the lips, he reminded her of the deal they''d made back at the bath.

 Chapter 150 150 - Myths And Questions

    ?

    His eyes ring at the bloodied robes of Rom and Arnold, countless questions arise in Haruki''s mind. What were they doing so far out in the forest? Where were they hiding for so long? But most important of all, if not the demons, then who exactly killed them both in such a gruesome fashion? Even though some demons under him delighted in the consumption of human flesh, he felt quite assured that the fearful eyes of his now-dead subjects weren''t lying about not killing them.

    "You knew them?" Noticing Freya''s concern, Laura timidly took a few steps toward her.

    However, the moment Haruki''s eyes turned to her, Laura shrieked in terror and went back on the same steps she''d just taken forward.

    "Both of them were councilmen from Laria, they ran off somewhere when the news about Duke Frost being persecuted came forward," turning his head back to the bodies, he produced a thin stick from ice to poke around and see what they had on their person. "Buttt¡­Even though the king acquitted the duke of all the false charges, I don''t imagine they had the guts toe back and apologize for their betrayal towards their Master."

    When nothing interesting came out of inspecting their bodies, Haruki let the stick go and got back on his feet.

    "Thankfully, the duke hired me and some of his close constituents as the new council," wearing a smile, Freya nced at Laura for a moment.

    "Oh¡­" Not sure how to respond, Laura shied away from Freya''s gaze. "Uhm, I don''t know if these were the same demons since they all look the same, but, we should probably head back to the city for now."

    Having already scanned the rest of the forest with the demonic spies, Haruki also wanted to leave the damned ce. With no procession in sight, he felt it was better to go back to the city and look for clues to find the Library of Heroes.

    "Sure, let''s burn the bodies first so they don''t spread any disease," ready to set the bodies aze, Freya snapped her fingers to produce a dark clear white me with the soul magic ability.

    "Wait! Let me collect the demon horns first!" Urging Freya to stop, Laura rushed to the bodies.

    Getting down on her knees, she took a pair of gloves out of her hip bag and started picking up all the torn-up pieces of horns.

    "I''ll need to show these to the guild receptionist to get our reward," exining her reasoning, she quickly bagged all the horn pieces and got away from the bloody mess.

    Snapping his fingers again, Haruki unleashed the mes on the bodiesying in front. Once the fire spread out, he made sure to confine it inside ice walls so that the fire wouldn''t spread to the rest of the forest. After spending some time watching the fire crackle, they both turned around and started heading back to the city.

    On their way back, however, Haruki decided to try something to perhaps get a clue about the library from the silver-haired elf.

    "In the heart of and so far yet familiar, rests the eyes of the seer who''d witness it all, be it past or the future," recounting the verses from before, he wanted to note her reaction. The first verse alone was enough to make her eyes shift towards him, and the confoundment in her eyes was a sure tell of her shock at the verses. "To the north is scorching sun, to the east, is the drowning river, trail the path that runs between the two, and you''ll bore witness to the history of the world."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "The Library of Heroes, it''s here in Lamenia, but why are you reciting that riddle?" Stopping in her tracks, she turned to face Haruki. "Is that why you''re here? To find it?"

    Her perception and swift conclusion to the verse were enough proof that she knew at least something about the Library.

    "Would that be a problem if I was trying to find it?" He questioned, turning to her as well.

    Looking up at Haruki, Laura opened her lips to speak, but then simply shut them back with a sigh. Her eyes closed shut, she took a brief moment to assess the situation before giving Freya a conclusive answer.

    "First of all, it''s just a local myth. Second, even if you do find this ce, the curator would be ready to protect the records of the world with its life," shaking her head, Laura grunted. "You may be strong, Miss Freya, but nobody could be stronger than a creature who controls time."

    ''So there''s a guardian with time magic protecting this ce?'' Remembering how he''d only ever seen Asmodia use time magic, his confidence in finding the ce whittled down a little. ''There must be a way to deal with this creature.''

    Shaking his head, he brought himself back to reality. Looking right at Laura shooting him yet another confused look, he asked onest question before continuing their walk.

    "Do you know where this ce is?" He asked.

    "Everywhere, but its entrance lies in Lamenia, the heart of this world," her answer failed to clear things up. "As to where this entrance is, who knows really?"

    The little information he got from her was obviously not enough. Still since looking around by himself wasn''t as efficient, he decided to stick around with the elf so she could act as his guide for the search. Not long after their talk, they arrived back at the kingdom''s entrance. There, once the guards let them both in, they made their way to the Guild of Adventurers.

    ''I should look for people with unique abilities to steal while I''m here.'' While Laura bickered with the receptionist over her payment, Haruki kept a watchful eye over the different adventurer''s parties sitting around at different tables. It reminded him of the silver storm, Nue''s eyes, and even unlucky clovers, and how they''d been turned into sparring instructors for all the untrained demons in his kingdom.

    "This isn''t fair!" Laura''s scream from the reception area turned everyone''s attention towards her.

    "Look I don''t make the rules, but I just work here," the female receptionist, dressed in a dainty brown dress, seemed flustered by the scene Laura was making. "Can you please calm down?"

    Noticing tears strolling down Laura''s face, Haruki decided to inject himself into the situation and figure out what the problem was.

 Chapter 151 151 - The Cost Of Medicine

    ?

    "What''s the problem?" Walking up to Laura''s side, Haruki asked the receptionist.

    Shifting her hazel eyes to Freya, the woman looked her up and down trying to judge what kind of person she was. Having never seen her around before, the receptionist was dubious about the woman standing in front of her in muddied clothes and torn-up sleeves. Not realizing the state of his attire from the trip to the forest, Haruki mmed his fist on the desk before asking the same question.

    "What''s the problem here?" He demanded, shocking her with the noise.

    Astonished, the receptionist jumped up on her feet. Laura, on the other hand, clutched onto Freya''s sleeve to get the attention back on her.

    "She''s not taking the demon horns as proof of the job!" cing the pouch of horns on the desk, she spread them all out for everyone to see. "I need the subjugation money for mypanion''s medicine!"

    ''That''s it? It''s about money?'' The receptionist shook her head, annoyed. Tired of Laura''sint, she ced her hand over her hips and began shouting just like she was being shouted at.

    "I can''t take it because it''s in a hundred pieces! For all I know you cut the horns of a single demon so you could im that you killed a horde!" mming her fist on the desk, she gave Freya an angry side-eye before shifting her attention back to Laura.

    "Stop lying! It''s because I''m an elf, isn''t it?!" That singleint from her made loud gasps shoot up from the adventurers around her. "You always give me less gold than the rest of the adventurers and now y-"

    Realizing that the situation was escting a little too much, Haruki grabbed Laura by the shoulders to stop her from speaking anymore. As she turned around to look at Haruki, he directed her gaze with his eyes to the numerous parties looking right at them.

    ''Don''t start this thing, you''re outnumbered.'' Rying those words through his eyes alone, Haruki warned her not to make it a matter of race. ''If things escte further, none of the humans around would side with her, and the guards won''t listen to any of her cries even if they knew her to be the victim and not the perpetrator.''

    Recognizing the threat, Laura gulped down her emotions and decided to let the matter go. Leaving the demon horn pouch on the desk, she didn''t wait for Freya and headed straight for the exit. Swaying in the air, her tears glistered like the stars, and although she tried to drown the cries, a few pained hups managed to slip out regardless.

    "Keep the horns," telling that to the receptionist, Haruki rushed right after Laura.

    ''Who was that anyway?'' Thought the receptionist watching Haruki following Laura out of the front door.

    Outside the building, Haruki quickly caught up to Laura who was just storming down the street. Her eyes still a bit numb, she gave Freya a weakened smile and tried to leave her behind once again. However, given the disparity in their abilities, Haruki was easily able to keep up with her. And after finally being chased around the streets for a while, Laura stopped to tell Freya off.

    "Can you please leave me alone now? I know I need to keep my promise and not tell anyone about your strength, and I will, so please?" Standing at the edge of a dark alley, Laura gave Haruki a troubled gaze.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Shut up," Surprising her with his words, Haruki reached into his pocket and took out a handful of gold through the dungeon portal. "Here take this."

    With no clue as to what he was holding in his hand, Laura looked at him confused. Shaking her head from side to side, she tried to refuse whatever he was trying to give her. But having expected the response, Haruki knew what had to be done.

    "I''m not giving you charity," opening his hand to reveal the glistering gold, Haruki made her an offer. "I need your help to find the Library of Heroes, consider this payment to that end."

    Dazzled by the sight of gold coins, Laura didn''t want to look away from Haruki''s hands. It was much more than what she needed for the medicine, in fact with the amount Freya was offering she could''ve easily upgraded her party''s equipment.

    "Wait¡­" Recalling a rumor about a royalty showering gold over the citizens, she shot Haruki a sharp gaze, feeling utterly dumbfounded. "Did you really shower gold coins in the city yesterday? I was too busy taking care of mypanions, and by the time I tried to check every coin had been swept off the ground."

    "No surprise there, I doubt anyone will admit they picked up the gold either since it''d make them an easy victim to theft," with that said, Haruki grabbed Laura''s hand and ced the coins on her palm. "Anyway, if you agree to help, I can provide you with more gold than you can spend in your lifetime."

    Even though she had never chased wealth in her life, the offer felt too tempting, especially since her friends were in dire need of that money. Biting down on her lip, she huffed out a sigh and nodded.

    "Okay, I can''t promise that we can find it since it''s supposed to be a myth," circling up her fingers over the gold coins, she ced them into her pocket. "But if you think it''s real and want to find it, then I''ll do my best to find you any hints to get to it."

    "That''s fine by me," offering his hand forward, he had Laura seal the deal with a handshake.

    Assured of riches and any other kind of help, Laura led Haruki through the markets for the medicine, and then to the church of As. Standing outside, Haruki waited until Laura came out with a vial of holy water clutched tight in her arms.

    ''I should keep my hands off those things.'' Although he wanted to help her carry it, doing so was bound to bring more trouble. ''Even Serena had to get rid of all the holy water while she was still hiding her identity at the church.''

    A mere drop was enough to burn through a demon''s flesh, but given the scarcity and high cost, it was far from being considered an effective weapon against demons.

    "They''re at a nursery, we should get there quick," leading the charge once more, Laura led Haruki away.

 Chapter 152 152 - Where The Hell Is Moriyana?

    ?

    While Haruki was busy wandering the forest with Laura, Riley and her stepmother were roaming around the cities under the protection of their elusive familiars. Marching behind the swiftwind spy, a tall, invisible figure cloaked under a rag had a giant scythe over its shoulder, ready to be brought down on anyone foolish enough to assault its master. As tall and as sickly as a dying tree, it had its bony fingers wrapped around the handle, and just its master, it was ever-ready for carnage.

    None except Riley could see the lonesome widow following him around, that is unless she decided to use her invisibility ability while holding that person''s hand.

    ''She''s terrifying as always¡­'' Thought Margarette, being the only one Riley had allowed to witness the widow so far at the moment. ring up at the haloed undead, Margarette could no longer refuse that Riley was, at one point, affected by some devious curse. ''Why did I ever request to see her?''

    Caressing the amber ring on her finger, she tried to find somefort by keeping her hand fixed on its vessel. The ring, unlike the rest on her hands, was a vessel for a fire spirit corrupted by pure darkness. Upon sensing any danger to its master, the spirit would pop right out and defend her with its life. However, since, unlike the lonesome widow, the spirit had no real form, thus it made it harder for the creature to stay out of the vessel for longer than a few minutes.

    "Mom, what are you thinking about?" Noticing the forgetfulness in Margarette''s eyes, Riley brought her back to reality. "We''re here to find clues, not for daydreaming!"

    Grabbing Margarette''s hand, Riley pulled her forward.

    "Sorry, ahaha," nervously scratching the back of her head, Margarette tried to y it off.

    Back on track with their mission, they headed over to the city''s libraries. There, spending hours of their time scanning through books on Lamenian history, the only relevant thing they could find was the story about the giant''s insignia carved all over the cities. Under the shadow of the giant creature was a brave warrior stringing up an arrow in the direction of the giant.

    "That day, thest of the battalion from the emperor had sent to thesends, the sharp-eared human brought down the giants carrying the aura of malice," while reading through the passage, what struck Margarette as odd was that the word ''human'' was printed bolder than the rest of the sentence. It felt almost as if¡­"Whoever wrote the book wanted the people to credit humans for the killing."

    "That sharp-eared remark, it sounds misleading too," Riley added, pointing at the very word. "That''s definitely an elf."

    With one simple look at each other, they both knew the history was being tampered with. And no matter how many books they read inside the library it was always bound to favor humans while downying the role of elves and demi-humans.

    "We should leave, there''s no point in staying here," following Margarette''s suggestion, both of them left the library and headed back to meet with the rest.

    ***

    Bound to the bed at the nursery, the rest of Laura''spanions were screaming out cries of agony. Overwhelmed by the pain from their tattered flesh, all three of them iled around in bed fighting through the chilling curse. Not even the chains could keep them stable, ever so often they all had to be changed which only made matters worse for the caregivers.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    However, since this morning, the caregivers knew some respite after the arrival of three demi-humans. Keeping watch over the three elves, Asuka, Athena, and Alice took turns healing the trio whenever the pain got worse.

    "We''re gonna need new chains again," Asuka told one of the caregivers.

    The man nodded and left them alone in the isted room in the nursery. Running a bit low on mana, Asuka moved to the side and sat down leaning on the wall. Her thoughts, drowned by the screams of the two female elves and the only male elf, made her wanna bang her head against the deste walls of the nursery. But then again, given its ruined state of the ce with broken windows, cracked walls, and only a few doorways having any doors at all, she felt like the whole thing would fall apart if she pushed it with her finger.

    ''At least this wall can let me lean back on it¡­'' She thought, watching Athena and Alice jumbling between healing the three. ''These guys are dead, we shouldn''t rely on them as any sort of bargaining chip.''

    "Healing Prayer!" Athena eximed.

    "Heal!" Alice followed with the most basic of healing skills.

    ''Both of them are weak inparison to us, demons. Master should really consider turning them too,'' ring at their back, Asuka wondered how long they could continue treating the pain instead of the root cause of the problem. No matter how long they keep healing the trio, the pain wasn''t going to stop until the curse was lifted off of their bodies.

    "Athena, Alice," Asuka called out to the two. As soon as they turned around to look at her, she voiced what they''d all been thinking so far. "They need medicine for the disease, not a temporary cure from the hurt it''s causing."

    Although it pained the two, both of them joined Asuka to get some rest as well, all the while, the trio struggled through immense pain. After waiting for a while, the caregiver came back with the chains. Asking him to leave, Asuka used her familiar to rece the broken chains.

    "They won''t remember seeing those tentacles, right?" A bit distraught by the creature herself, Athena asked Asuka.

    "We''ve tortured people with worse, it''s just that we never needed to undo the curses master inflicted," shooting Athena a nce while binding the male elf with chains, Asuka told her what she thought. "I have no clue if they will remember anything, but that''s probably for the best."

    Not too long after all three of them were bound again, Riley and Margarette arrived at the nursery. Soon after, even Haruki showed up along with Laura holding all the medicine. And while she was happy to be reunited with her master, Asuka couldn''t help but wonder¡­

    ''Where the hell is Moriyana?''

 Chapter 153 153 - Bloodied Heels[Gore+Cannibalism Warning]

    ?

    Sneaking past the rest of her group, Moriyana was off on her way to see to her own ns. The cities of Lamenia, while not as exciting as back in Laria, were still curious enough for her to wanna explore them and find more sources to gain power.

    ''He''s on his path to surpass the mistress¡­'' Walking down from one dark crevice in the city to another, her mind was consumed with conniving thoughts. Being bound to her master by the soul was one thing, but to abandon her own ambition because of it wasn''t even an option. ''But with the increasing amount of lust demons recently, she must very well be on her way to a full recovery.''

    The very thought gave her chills.

    "Oi oi oi, missy," breaking her chain of thoughts, a brutish young man followed by his two underlings walked up before Moriyana. "What the hell are you doing here? Did the boss send you as the prize for thest job?"

    Hunched over with his hand deep into his pockets, the leader of the group snickered like a horse. Following him even there, the fat and tall brute was the first to join, and then seeing how both of them wereughing, the man as short as a dwarf joined the snickering as well.

    Scanning the three with her eyes, Moriyana quickly began assessing their attributes. The leader who was tall yet slim was obviously not fit to fight, and given the state of the dwarf he was one kick away from turning into a ball. Which only left the fat guy with the long white mustache, but for Moriyana he wasn''t much to fear either.

    "Say, why don''t you and I shoot up some really nice stuff and have some fun together?" His tongue sticking out just like his pouring lust, the leader slowly extended his hand towards Moriyana to get a quick touch of her soft skin.

    "Your boss¡­" Shooting his hand down with a p, she made him wince in pain. "Well he''s not quite happy with you three cking off, so he''s recing you all."

    "What?!" Caressing his hurt hand, the leader stared at her in shock.

    "No way!" Yelped the fat brute.

    "She''s lying, right?" Thest one asked, tugging on the leader''s dirty white suit for an answer.

    "Of course, she''s lying you idiot!" Although he appeared dim-witted, the leader quickly caught onto Moriyana''s lie.

    ''Not like it matters.'' Raising her finger over the confused man, Moriyana tapped the tip of his pointy nose to initiate her usual hallucinative charm.

    "Parasitic charm," She mumbled as the mana from her fingers shot right onto the group leader''s brain. While the others watched the interaction in confusion, their leader''s mind was being encased in Moriyana''s mana.

    A few seconds passed and the leader of their group stuck out his tongue and began huffing like a dog in front of the strange woman. Puzzled by what was happening, the two terrified brutes took a few steps back before turning around to run away.

    "Rose whip vines!" However, before they could get far, a pair of thorny rose vines sprang out from the ground and grabbed them by their ankles.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Falling face first, the mustache guy''s face was painted as red as his shirt from the broken nose. As for the dwarf, he was desperately trying to crawl away.

    "Bring them here," calling out to the vines, Moriyana had them drag the two goons over to her heels.

    Standing over them, her eyes shot their upward gazes down with disgust. Humans were scum in her eyes, their only use was to serve the immortal demons and be discarded away when they were no longer of use.

    "I do have some use for you now, so y well or I have qualms squashing you two like a bug," with their leader already under hermand, she wanted the two of them to keep their mouths shut so she could be given a proper tour of all the crimes taking ce around the cities.

    "No way! Leave us-" Raising her heel, Moriyana stomped it through the fat man''s skull before he could utter another sentence.

    Drenching in his blood, she pulled her leg back out while her eyes red at the dwarf as a warning.

    "I''ll do anything! Anything! Don''t kill me!" Recognizing his mistake to underestimate Moriyana, he could see his life shing before his eyes.

    "Very well then," however, instead of death, he was offered something more gruesome. Moving the bloodstained heel over to his face, Moriyana dug down on her lips, titited by the chance of torture. "Lick it clean, and I won''t kill you."

    With jittery eyes, the man looked up at the devil in horror. He couldn''t bring himself to open up his lips, but going against the monster towering over him would surely lead to his death. Gulping down the fear, he shifted his gaze down at the blood-soaked heels. Even now, a few drops of his friend''s blood was strolling down its length before sshing over the ground. Although he''d managed to steel his heart, he turned to take onest nce at the leader, in a desperate hope for help. But watching him on all fours, huffing and puffing like a dog in front of the monstrousdy, any hope he had was utterly shattered.

    With no way to get out of the mess, he turned around with his eyes closed. Not giving himself a moment to think about it, he stuck out his tongue and moved his face closer to where the heels had been. He had hoped that not being able to see what he was doing would make the act much less gruesome and humiliating, but in reality, it made him feel even more disgusted.

    "Stop!" Right as the man was about to lick her heels, Moriyana pulled away from his tongue.

    Relieved like never before, the brute''s body flopped from the emotional strain that he''d just been through.

    "Th-thanks¡­" He muttered, not realizing a more grueling fate was waiting for him.

    "I changed my mind, I only need a single tour guide for the trip," upon hearing those words, the man quickly looked up at the woman. Looking down at him with a wide smile, Moriyana seemed delighted by the false hope she''d given him.

    "Goodnight." She said, kicking the heel in through his eye.

 Chapter 154 154 - Good News Bad News

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    Chapter 154 - Good News Bad News

    "Moriyana? I don''t know where she is. I thought she woulde here with Bedona and Ray," using false names, Haruki answered Asuka''s query.

    "Then where is she?" She asked while the rest of the group tended to the sick elves.

    Watching over Asuka''s shoulder, Haruki watched as Laura poured small amounts of holy water into the mouths of herpanions. And the very next moment, a shroud of dark mist lifted from their bodies and left the elves limp and seemingly lifeless.

    "It worked, the curse has subsided!" Turning to face Freya, Laura eximed all excited.

    Nodding back at her, Haruki brought his attention back to Asuka.

    "Give me a second, I''ll contact her with a demon spy, she had one nted on her just you guys," agreeing to his suggestion, Asuka turned around to help the others tend to the elves.

    After watching her join the others in healing what injuries were left after the purging of the curse, Haruki walked out of the room and headed toward the tattered balcony. There standing lonesome, he closed his eyes shut and began seeing through the eyes of the demonic spy attached to Moriyana.

    "What is she doing?" Attached to her legs, the spy showed him a pool of blood under Moriyana''s feet.

    "Haruki?" Bemused by the voice, Moriyana replied even though she couldn''t see him. "Oh fuck, it''s the spy, right?"

    Lifting her leg a little to the side, she clutched onto the spy and brought it closer to her face. Struggling to free itself from Moriyana''s grasp the creature tried to fly away by pping its wings but after receiving a brief kiss, its intentions melted like butter in her palms.

    "Where the hell are you? And whose blood is on the ground?" Haruki asked, sounding somewhat impatient.

    "I''m working, okay? Just in a different manner than the rest," her ambiguous reply didn''t clear much.

    "Tell me then, what the hell are you up to?" With that said, Moriyana began exining everything that she''d done so far, and how she was trying to track down all the crime so they could easily take over the cities when that timees.

    "Come back when you''re done, and don''t take too long," Haruki advised, once the exnation was all done.

    "Worried about me, huh? Ahaha, that''s cute," hearing herugh, Haruki opened his eyes back up.

    Returning to the room, he quickly walked up to the injured elves and scanned their bodies with his eyes to notice all the impairments. Both of the women were injured by the arms and their hands were covered in a cast to help them recover. The male elf on the other hand had cast all over him, clearly a sign that he was the vanguard of the party.

    "Their ears," noticing the same scar over their ears, Haruki ran his hand gently over one of the females.

    "We cut them off when we were young," walking up to him, Laura began exining the situation. "You already saw how we get treated by other humans, so I doubt I need to borate on why we did it."

    Listening from the back, Margarette and Riley came forward on the mention of the topic as well. As for the healers, they were all too tired to even move a single foot.

    "We read a story about a giant and a hero fighting over this kingdom''snd, do you know anything about it, Miss?" Asking her that question, Riley wanted to first hear her part before telling her what they''d found at the library.

    Visibly surprised that they didn''t already know about the tale, Laura squinted her eyes at the duo. However, washing the frown off of her face, she decided to give them a brief rundown of what she knew.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "It''s another legend, like the Library of Heroes, and from what I''ve read, while the emperor was still fighting over most of As, his army to Lamenia was whittled down by a colony of giants, but thest survivor, an elf, managed to kill thest standing giant," her version of the tale slightly differed from what they''d read back at the local libraries.

    "Are you sure it was an elf?" Over Margarette''s question, Laura instantly seemed offended by it.

    Her brows pushed together, she red up at Freya''s wife in anger. However, as Freya moved between them Laura quickly realized what she was doing and stopped.

    "Sorry, I-I''m just tired of people correcting that story all the time," her words confirmed Margarette''s and Riley''s suspicion.

    Moving into Laura''s view, Margarette offered her a warm smile.

    "We know there was something wrong with the story, thanks for confirming we were right to suspect the hero to be an elf," upon hearing that from Margarette, Laura''s eyes brightened up and she looked back at her with gleaming eyes.

    "Really, you believe me?" She asked.

    "We do," taking a brief pause, Margarette added. "And after that visit to the library, we can''t trust anyone but the elves to help us."

    ''If the records are all faulty and contain human supremacy propaganda, we have no choice but to rely on the elves to help us.'' Thankful that he''d already convinced Laura, Haruki felt somewhat more confident about finding the ce than before.

    Letting out a nervousugh from the praise, Laura scratched the back of her witch''s hat and said.

    "I''ve heard only elves can find the ce, so I guess you''re all lucky, ahaha," although still hoping to get more gold to treat her friends and get them better armor, Laura decided not to bring that up to not ruin the genuine moment.

    Now that everyone was caught up with everything, they all decided to leave Laura''spanions to rest while they got something to eat for themselves. While making his way out of the nursery, Haruki tried putting up all the clues they''d found so far, but even then one thing was clear.

    ''There''s no way we can figure this out just yet.'' Grounding himself in reality, he decided to let Laura work on finding the clues, and in the meantime, he and his servants will try and get in touch with the local royalty in hopes of gaining ess to their archives.

    "Shin, can you hear me?" Stopping him in his tracks to a hired carriage, Haruki heard Roselia''s voice ringing up in his ears. "We have a problem, a really bad problem."

    ''What kind of problem would Rose contact me for?'' The very fact she had to approach him through a demon spy instead of dealing with the problem herself, was enough of a reason to make him rush right back to the castle.

    Having already boarded the carriage, his servants as well as Laura looked at him bewildered. His hand rested over his temple, let the servants know that he was hearing something or someone in his head again.

    "Miss Freya, are you okay?" Asked Laura, not knowing what was happening.

    "What''s the problem, Rose?" Haruki whispered, his head hung low.

    A moment of silence followed Haruki''s question, but soon after as an explosion was heard, Rose finally replies in a rushed tone.

    "It''s the demon fucking lord of wra-" The abrupt disconnect from her voice, had Haruki''s skin crawling with fear and worry.

 Chapter 155 155 - Calm Before The Chaos

    ?

    "How long do you think it''ll take for Haruki to get back home?" Watching Rose y with Ste in her hands, Fay couldn''t help bringing up the topic.

    Seated leisurely under the castle garden''s gazebo, Roselia had been lecturing Fay about parenting for hours. And at this point, both of her ears were ringing with theints she''d been subjected to by her dragon-mompanion.

    "Who knows? Lamenia is a big kingdom, maybe it''ll take him a month to scout it, maybe even a year," Rose replied, cradling the little girl over the warm surface of her wings.

    Watching it all transpire, an old saying popped up in Fay''s mind. A dragoness lovingly ying her daughter''s godmother, she felt both humbled and a slight bit concerned.

    "Say, is it true that if you''ve been cradled in a fire dragon''s arms, then no cold can chill your skin?" Letting out a hum to Fay''s question, Rose lifted her gaze from the snoring child and turned to her mother with a gentle smile.

    "A cradle to a dragon is the same as a sword to a giant," her initial words confused Fay more than anything, but what Rose added next made things clear. "We hope it''s true because we want it to, but you tell me, if it was all real, then why would dragons be hunted down so aggressively?"

    Shooting a sharp gaze at Fay, Rose let her heavy heart bleed over in her eyes. In them, Fay noticed a me, a me not granting warmth, but a me crimsoned with blood. Pulling them out of the stare-down, a cheerful mor from Doroke and Tiara had them both awkwardly smiling at each other.

    ''What was that? In her eyes¡­It looked like a battlefield filled with bodies and mes.'' Keeping her curiosity caged, Fay didn''t pursue an answer. After all, she could simply ask Haruki about Rose''s past whenever he decides to return.

    Rose too, not wanting to indulge in the matter further, turned to her kids ying about in the garden. Thanks to their powers, and the reckless game of catch, the entire thing was either up in mes or frozen under blocks of ice.

    "You two better clean up the mess when you''re done!" Roseined.

    Like most other kids, her kids ignored herpletely since ying took precedence. And while Fay''s curiosity, for one thing, had subsided, she still couldn''t figure out what Rose meant by the thing about giant and sword.

    "I get that you want to bless your children with the cradle thing, but what''s the deal about a giant picking up a sword?" Fay couldn''t help asking.

    "Because they were all doomed to die, and they did," those few words spoken by the dragoness opened yet another path of mystery. "Like the dragons, they were just as much of a threat to As, the god I mean, not the continent."

    "So they were cursed?" Fay''s curiosity was digging deeper and deeper, but Rose''s patience was also running out.

    "I don''t feel like talking about it, not even your master knows about that side of my memories," having only shared core memories with each other, Rose''s past and her knowledge about the world was still enshroud in a thick masking mist, and she hoped to keep it that way. "The less you know the better, the hunger for knowledge is never-ending, and if you keep chasing that path, you''d lose sight of what''s actually important."

    Looking down at the cute angel resting over her warm wings, Rose tried to show Fay the problem with her pursuit of knowledge. Taking hold of the girl, she offered her back to the mother. Upon taking Ste back in her arms, and watching her snore as she snuggled onto her bosom, all of Fay''s worries melted away just like her heart.

    "I think, I get what you mean," looking back up at Rose, Fay had decided to spend more time with her daughter rather than the undead marites and clones in herb.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Well," pping her hands on her thighs, Rose propped herself up on her feet. "In that case, I should get going too. I have a lot more kids to deal with, you know?"

    ncing sideways at Fay, both of them shared a heartyugh. Not in a million years had Rose, a dragoness, or even the once traveling merchant, Fay, would''ve thought they''d be friends with each other, but now that it was happening, it warmed both of their hearts.

    "That reminds me," getting up as well, Fay decided to see Rose off. "We still haven''t met the rest of your family, and what''s Klian up to these days?"

    Her smile contorting into a slight grimace, Rose huffed out a sigh before replying.

    "About Klian, we thought he''d recoveredpletely but seems like there''s still a long way to go," giving her chapped lips a nervous bit, Rose hissed in a breath and continued. "As for my rest of the fifteen kids, some of them are rogue so I have no clue where they are at the moment, all I know is that they''re still alive and send messages to the tundra in whatever way they can."

    "What about the rest?" Fay asked, not being able to control her curiosity once again. However, one disappointed nce from Rose reminded her of the promise she''d just made. "Ah, yeah, sorry, I''ll try to keep my hunger for knowledge in check."

    "Good, and I''m sorry to say, but none of you are gonna meet any of the rest of my family, it''s not safe for them or even you or Haru-"

    "General! Bad news!" Shouting in her ears, the demon spy nted on Rose made her squinch down with a growl.

    "What the fuck happened?!" Yelling back into the familiar, she scared not just Fay, or the demon talking on the other end, but even her two children ying about in the garden.

    However, the moment she realized that she swore in front of her kids. Her head quickly turned to them with an awkward smile on her face. Seeing their worried expression and broken smiles, she shot her gaze to Fay and gestured to her to keep thempany while she talked.

    "Sure," she nodded before going to y around with the dragonkins.

    Once her kids were distracted, Rose headed over to the edge of the garden to talk to the demon screeching through the demonic spy.

    "What happened?" She asked.

    But by that time, there was no reply.

    ''Shit, he called me general so it has to be one of the duchy''s armies. But what could''ve gone so wrong, that they had to resort to me?'' The terrifying thought made her anxious, and with Haruki far away from the kingdom she had to face the problem whether she liked it or not. Turning back to look at her children ying with Ste sleeping in Fay''s arms, Rose just took a moment to adore the scene before having her eldest teleport her around to different duchies of their kingdom.

    ''Where is she going?'' Fay thought as the blinding light of teleportation disappeared just as quickly as it had sprung up.

 Chapter 156 156 - The King Of Wraths

    ?

    His breaths breathed gues, and his steps withered life. His gaze sets aze, and his touch ashes it to dust. He was known by many names, a wither, a warlock, a demon lord, and even as the king of wraths and undead. Proudly seated at the head of the demonic procession, consisting of countless skeletons, spirit golems, and a single ceremonious Duhan at the charge, his empty gaze fell over to the expansive walls of Ariaing into his view.

    ''Let''s see what thend of warriors has to offer¡­'' Raising his armored hand, he stopped the procession from moving an inch further.

    "It''s been a while since I''ve moved my muscles," hearing him say that his skeleton army as well as the golem cackled hysterically. And it didn''t take long for him to join theirughs either.

    Crossing his legs over the undead horse, the king of wrath slipped down to his feet. The moment his armor felt the earth, it subsided the dirt underneath.

    "These humans¡­No, I guess even demons these days depend too much on their walls," nting his axe in the ground, he reached for the gauntlet on his right hand and slowly took it off. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I have no muscles at all, ahaha!"

    Revealing his skeletal body under the armor, the demon lord of wrathughed once more, and keeping himpany, his servantsughed again as well. However, as the cherryugh died in a few seconds, the king of wrath conjured a small magic circle with a light blue me in his palm.

    "Summon undead: Level massacre army!" Crushing the me under his fist, a stream of his corrupted mana ripped through the forest.

    A momentter, the ground trembled with the curse of the undead. Sprouting out like a shoot, limbs of dead creatures began crawling out from the dirt. Even the wandering spirits attached themselves to the trees and crawled out as treants with their roots acting as their feet. One after the other as the whole forest turned into the undead king''s army, the king raised his axe once more.

    Clutching his axe handle, he drew it over the shoulder. Enshrouding it in a smidgen of his mana, he swung the axes diagonally over the city wall''s direction. Charged with the force of a demon lord, a spectral attack rifled out from the edge of the axe de and pierced through everything that came in its path. First, it was the tree, the grass, and then finally the wall which it passed right through. However, despite the attack clearly going through, the walls stood tall, but that onlysted a few seconds.

    With an ear-piercing sound, the wall began toppling over in the direction of the forest. And as it finally fell and made dust run through the undead army, the sight of the city cut in half was revealed to the king''s army.

    Witnessing the site with a gleaming smile, he burst into a loud menacingugh, and just like before his servants joined in. However this time, with an entire army of undead creatures lined up behind him, their voices were chilling enough to instill fear in the hearts of the demons living within the city walls.

    "Kill everyone, for from the ash of living will my army grow stronger!" Taking off his horned helmet, the king revealed his ming skull. Burning an auroric blue, his face was akin to peering at death itself. "I, demon lord of wrath, Almuld Warlock, dere war on this nation for the foolish actions of its arrogant ruler!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Charging forward to his warcry, the creatures of the night began climbing through the giant hole in the wall. On the other end of it, Almuld could already see waves of demons swarming the skies for surveince as they tried to figure out what was happening.

    ''Not so easy, imps.'' Still standing by his horse, Almuld uncurled bony fingers and conjured a silver-bluence of mana. ''Take this.''

    Drawing it back, he gave great momentum to thence and threw it into the sky above the city. There, as thence pierced the cloud, thence shattered into countless pieces and rained down from the heavens. Each drop, as sharp as a de, cut right through any demons they fell on.

    "Now rise," having killed the demons flying through the sky, Almuld''s attack infused their bodies with his mana, and stood back up as undead soldiers for his army.

    Having set the assault in motion, Almuld got back on his horse and moved further toward the city. All the while his servants massacred the shocked demonic masses, who were far from ready for any sort of battle. Even when someone managed to bring down a few undead from his army, the creatures stood right up and started fighting once more.

    Making matters worse for the squeamish demons, every one of their deaths only fueled the demon lord''s army further and further into their domain.

    ''Shit, what do we do?'' Watching from afar, the guard at the top of the collesuem tower wanted to flee away, but given the intensity at which the undead was infesting the city, he knew that before long, he would just be shot down like the rest of hispanions. ''Wait, those demons that train us, they used to be adventurers! They should be able to do something!''

    Usually, it was only at the times of training that they were freed from the confinement, but right now there was an emergency where they were desperately needed. Turning around towards the spiraling staircase going down the tower, the demon wanted to free them all from their cells so they could fight the undead army, however, to his misfortune, what greeted him on the stairs was a skeletal bear charging up at him.

    "Fuc-" Before he could even finish the bore tore his body with its ws.

    An undead army with no hunger for flesh or any desires to chase after was the worst of nightmares for any misfortunate lust demon. And perhaps, that was the reason why the king of wraths felt so confident in attacking an entire nation with a handful of initial soldiers.

 Chapter 157 157 - An Early Return

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    Leaving for the Arian border at the brink of dawn, Haruki left the task of finding clues about the library over to Laura and herpanions. He even went so far as to provide her with an excess of gold in case she needed it to find out where the library was or if she simply wanted to spend it on medicine and equipment for herpanions.

    But gold wasn''t the only thing he''d left behind. Boarding the carriage with him were only Asuka, and Riley. As for the rest, they were staying back in Lamenia to attend to their assigned tasks. For Margarette and Moriyana it was to control the crime ring in the city and somehow find a way to connect with the royals so they could get ess to the royal archives of the duchies.

    ''I don''t doubt Moriyana and Margarette''s ability to handle any situation, it''s the demi-cats that are bothering me.'' Still doubting whether he made the right choice by leaving Athena and Alice to assist the elves, Haruki felt extremely anxious, especially given the recent contact disconnect with Rose.

    "Master, have you tried contacting her again?" Sitting at the other side of the carriage, Asuka asked with a worried expression.

    "I did, but it seems like the demonic spies we left behind, have all been killed," listening keenly to Haruki, Riley added to Asuka''s question further.

    "Do you think it''s a coup?" While Haruki had considered the possibility, it didn''t feel likely that his demonic popce would revolt when a dragon was breathing over their necks.

    "We can''t chalk it off, but if there''s a coup, then we need to make sure this never happens again," with that said, silence took over the carriage once more.

    A brief journey of a few hours led them to the once-lush forest outside of the Arian gates. Uprooted and cratered, it was barren of all life, and even the trees had all disappeared. What puzzled Haruki and hispanions the most were the countless holes in the ground, making it impossible for the carriage to take them any further.

    "What happened here?" Mumbled Haruki after sending the coachman back with the carriage.

    Casting his gaze at the fallen wall further into the distance. Haruki began questioning his very eyes. Was the city truly up in mes and tatters? Or has his mind finally gone insane?

    "Whatever it was, I don''t think it left many survivors," Riley said, her heart thumping from fear of her words potentially being true.

    With the coachman gone, Haruki sprouted out his wings and flew up high in the sky. Getting a proper look at the border city in Aria, all he saw was a pile of rubble left behind with blood stter and mes, and yet no bodies in sight.

    "Demonic spies: Look for any survivors!" Emerging out of his skin, the spies flew out in hordes of hundreds upon hundreds.

    Joining Haruki in the air, his two servants followed right behind as he made his way to the ruined city as well. There, upon getting closer, however, one of the demonic spies tried to show Haruki something, but before he had the time to close his eyes and see what it was, a ball of giant me came flying toward the three at an impressive speed.

    "Rose, it''s me, Haruki!" Teleporting the ball of me behind him, Haruki knew only Rose could fire such a giant ball of me and yet be inconspicuous around him.

    "What?" Coming from a pile of rubble, Rose''s voice was easily recognizable. "Goddamit, why the hell are you wearing that costume?"

    Walking out from the shambled watchtower, Rose nced up at the flying demons and shot herself into the sky as well. Coming to a pause before them, she herself didn''t seem to be in that good a shape.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''I''ve never seen her bleed like this before.'' Haruki thought as his eyes scanned all the injuries on her body. Like the red of her hair, her face was painted the same, and the torn-up maid outfit revealed cuts and bruises all over her skin. Moving his eyes a bit to the side, he noticed her right hand bandaged up under her own torn clothes.

    "What happened to your hand?" Asuka managed to ask before Haruki could. "Do you need me to heal it?"

    Her lips parted to speak, but closing them again, she pressed them shut tight. Following her downcast gaze, the three demons watched as Rose reached for her hand and began undoing the cloth bandage.

    "I tried to get it healed, but¡­" Throwing the dirty cloth away, she revealed under it a forearm with no fingers or even a hand. Everything above her wrist was torn to shreds as if another dragon had taken a bite off of it.

    "No way," covering her mouth, fear gripped its ws around Asuka''s heart.

    Despite being used to gore, even Riley had to look away from the gruesome sight. Not because it was too grotesque, but because she couldn''t bear to look at a hurt friend.

    "Who did this?" His eyes locked onto the wound, Haruki asked panting.

    Although his mind hadn''t submitted to insanity, he wished that it had. Witnessing her torn-off arm, his lungs were filled with fumes of hatred while his body burned with fury. And even though he knew better than to rush into any conflict without proper knowledge about the situation, he wanted nothing more than to kill the person who''d hurt his underling.

    "An attack on you is an attack on me, and even an attack on your children," looking up into her pained gaze, Haruki let it all bare. "Tell me who it was Rose, because I''m not letting someone hurt my daughter''s godmother and get away with it."

    Closing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath and replied.

    "It was a demon lord, I do not know which sin he represents, but he was more vengeful than anyone I''ve ever seen," opening her eyes back up, she moved her injured hand forward. "I don''t think you should fight him."

    "Why? And vengeful for what? And how the hell did he do all this?!" Spreading his hand wide open, he demanded an answer.

    "Try healing my hand first, and then I''ll tell you," keeping her torn hand extended toward him, she urged him to try.

    Grunting out loud, Haruki grabbed the bloodied arm and tried casting rejuvenation on the wound. However, no matter how many times he tried, the ability failed to heal even a single fiber of her muscles.

    ''What the fuck is happening?!'' He thought, frustrated out of his mind.

    "If he hurts you, there is no recovering from it," her exnation had them all look at her in shock with their eyes wide open. "And he has an army of undead, currently tearing through other cities in your kingdom."

 Chapter 158 158 - A Hasty Plan

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    Leading them into the underground city, Rose brought Haruki and hispanions to the only citizens left alive in the city. Walking through the dusty path, they reached a row of cells holding the Silver Storms and the other adventurer''s party inside them.

    "Nobody else survived, I was lucky my son teleported me away before the warlock could get me too," Rose''s eyes fixed on the prisoner were devoid of all emotions. Consumed by the memory of their battle, she couldn''t help feeling a bit distracted.

    "So thend of warrior title really was just a title and nothing else," feeling insulted that he once lived on Ariannd, Haruki reached for all three gates with phantom hands and crushed their locks to free the adventurers.

    ''There''s three more cities in Aria, we stop him between these ces. If he leaves Aria, then knowing where he went Laria or Daria would be an absolute nightmare.'' Given how the demon lord was able to sneak his army through the forests, assuming he had some sort of obscuring ability was the first thing Haruki had done.

    "Come out!" Throwing the locks away, he ordered them to get out from the moldy walls of the prison cell.

    Their minds were under severe hypnosis and Misha, they straggled like zombies as they came out one after the other. With a single snap of his fingers, Haruki undid the hypnosis and brought them somewhat back to their senses.

    "Wh-what?"

    "Where the fuck?"

    Many such questions echoed out of their lips, but having turned into demonic servants they still couldn''t go against Haruki''s will. Without a second thought, Haruki opened up dungeon pockets under them so he could bring them out whenever he needed to.

    "What about the rest of the prisoners?" Asked Rose, expecting Haruki to put them into a portal as well.

    "Burn them. They''re useless, just like the city guards were," betraying expectations, he turned around to head back over to the surface.

    While making his way up the ruined stairs, a cacophony of screams echoes behind him. But paying the burning prisoners no heed, he simply walked out of the underground dungeon. Once back over at the surface, he gazed about at the state of the crumbling city, still up in mes and rattling with the falling debris from all the buildings. Even the air smelled of ash, and the wind filling up his lungs was burning him from the inside.

    "We need a n," he mumbled, slowly moving over to the city''s main path. "What could defeat a demon lord who''s already dead, and has an army that rises every time it falls."

    From everything he''d learned from Rose about Almuld, he felt certain that facing him head-on would be akin to suicide. And so, racking his mind for a n, he kept walking down the burning path.

    ''I need to warn everyone back at Lamenia about this too.'' Making a mental note about it, he continued his search for an answer. ''If only I had those records from the Library of Heroes, everything would''ve been far easier.''

    However, running low on time, he didn''t have the luxury to go back into Lamenia and try to search for the library. As he continued to walk, Rose came out of the basement and watched Riley and Asuka following behind Haruki from a slight distance.

    "What is he doing?" She thought before swiftly flying right beside him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Setting her feet back on thend, she turned to Haruki as he''d stopped to face her as well.

    "What''s your n?" She asked, not wasting a single second.

    "I have one idea," he muttered, sounding a bit dreamy. "But I doubt you''d like the n."

    Looking at her with half-closed eyes, he returned her a sharp gaze, The confidence in his eyes was apparent, and it was the only reason Rose even felt inclined to agree to whatever he had nned for this war they were facing.

    "Tell me, and we''ll see if I like it or not," with those words from her, Haruki began exining the hasty n he''de up with on the spot, and even though it had many problems, everyone around him was forced to agree because of ack of a better alternative.

    ''This is insane.'' Thought Rose.

    ''I don''t want to doubt master, but will this work?'' Even Asuka was brought to question her master''s n.

    "This might just be crazy enough to work," the only one somewhat confident was Riley, and given her recently murderous drills, Haruki felt assured in his n by her approval.

    sping his hands with a loud p, Haruki took a deep breath and looked around at all three of them.

    "It''s time to bring the spear down on the king of wraths or whoever that fucker is," not knowing why his kingdom was being attacked was infuriating beyond belief. It not only made him angry but incurred a visceral reaction that made him wanna tear that bastard apart.

    "I''ll teleport to the next city before he gets there then," spreading her wings wide open, Rose closed her eyes and a ripple of mes burned her clothes and turned them into her armor instead. "But if I die because of your stupid n, make sure to revive me back with my memories, I don''t want to lose my children again."

    Gently nodding at her demands, Haruki attached a demonic spy to her body before the pir of light teleported her away. With the dragoness now gone, he turned to the other two to carry out the rest of their insane n.

    "Master¡­Are you sure destroying Aria, even though we worked so hard to capture it, is the right thing to do?" Still a bit skeptical of his n, Asuka couldn''t help but question it.

    "It''s a gamble, but if the price of not taking it is losing the rest of the kingdom as well, then I''d rather take the chance than sit around doing nothing," saying that he quickly shifted his attention to Riley. "Rose will be teleporting you back to Daria soon, go and gather my monster army and make sure Fay and the children are safe."

    ''We''re cing a lot on the line, and even if this n works our identity as a demonic kingdom won''t be a secret to the world anymore.'' Gulping the angst from the thought, Haruki reminded himself why he was even doing all this. His revenge was far from over, and Marquis was a single pebble on his path. ''Before the emperor, the royals, and even the army, I guess I have to deal with this demon who has taken this mysterious grudge against my kingdom.''

    Not long after that interaction, Riley was teleported away to gather the goblins, the spider, and even the minotaur soldier that the goblin queen had subdued under her heels. As for Haruki and Asuka, they had something else to do before meeting back up with the rest.

 Chapter 159 159 â€“ No Longer Indifferent

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    The news about a dragon burning down a city in thend of warriors didn''t take even a single day to reach the ears of the mightiest dragon yer. Kneeling in front of the emperor''s throne, he cast his gaze up high at the glistening splendor of his master.

    "How in the world did the lord of wraths sneak past the border of Scorchen Gaia?" His head rested over the back of his hand, the emperor looked down at Michael kneeling in front of him.

    "There''s been a breach in the ranks," gulping in fear, Michael could no longer look into the emperor''s eyes. Lowering his head, he continued. "The demon lord tore through border control himself, and then marched inward until we lost sight of him."

    Raising his head from his hand, the emperor stood up from the enlightened throne, and once again asked Michael a question.

    "Lost sight of him? One of the most vicious monsters in the world and you lost sight of him?" Deeply disappointed in him, the emperor began slowly stepping down from the throne steps.

    d in a white robe, he appeared like an angel. His body, as frail as ever, made him seem even more innocent. But behind that veil was a manpetent enough to rule the world, and cruel enough to use any means necessary.

    "I told you that you shouldn''t have made him a general," bringing everyone''s attention to him with that insult was Razor, standing at the entrance to the hall.

    Wearing his usual attire of a blue suit with goldences, he marched forward and stood beside the kneeling general. And although the emperor wasn''t too fond of being interrupted, he let the naive man bber to find out what he truly thought of Michael.

    "And why do you think that, Razor?" The emperor asked in a monotone voice.

    Scoffing off, Razor let out augh as he circled Michael. Tired of his antics, Michael got up on his feet and shot a piercing gaze at the mocking general.

    "Do not take my silence for cowardice child," he uttered, trying his hardest to keep his rage in check.

    Returning his gaze with a smirk, Razor turned to the emperor to finally reply to his question.

    "You ask me why I think you shouldn''t have made him a general. How about this for starters?" Swiftly reaching into a realm tear, Razor made his handse out from behind Michaels''s ears. There, reaching for Michael''s earrings he tried to pull them off.

    However, realizing what he was trying to do just in time, Michael zapped away like thunder and appeared behind Razor''s body. Quickly taking hold of both of his arms, Michael folded the general''s arms over his back and then pushed him down onto the floor.

    "Ughhh!" Looking at him from the edge of his eyes, Razor growled at Michael.

    "Still think I''m ipetent?" Michael whispered into Razor''s ears before letting him gopletely.

    All the while, Razor groaned about as he struggled to get back onto his feet, Michael shifting his attention back to the emperor, and he lowered his head in shame. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I apologize my lo-"

    "Don''t apologize, go clean the mess you''ve caused, and take care of that damned dragon wreaking havoc first!" For once, the emperor''s tone was no longer indifferent. He seemed visibly angry, which shocked Michael and Razor both to the core.

    ''There''s something more going on, he''s never so¡­distraught.'' Thought Razor, squinting at him with suspicion drooling down his eyes.

    Unlike his fellow general, Michael did not have the luxury to question the emperor''s action, and so he simply raised his head and replied.

    "As you say, my lord," turning around, Michael marched straight out of the throne room door.

    Left behind with the emperor, Razor turned to him to ask a question that had been haunting him for a while. But the moment his gaze met the emperor''s eyes, he knew better than to stay in his proximity any longer. Squinting the emperor was ring at the foolish general, and the usual dead silver eyes were reced with a spiraling constetion of the stars.

    "Don''t test my patience, Razor Alumnibolt¡­" With a single blink of his eyes, the emperor teleported him out of the throne room.

    Isted inside the dark hall, the emperor made his way back to the spotlighted throne. After settling back into his seat, his eyes changed back to the normal silver, and even his demeanor changedpletely.

    ''My memory is rotting, and this world won''tg too long behind.'' Resting his head on the back of his hand, he closed his eyes shut to contemte over his thoughts. ''I need to save this ursed ce before it all withers and dies away.''

    With the burden of the empire resting over his shoulders, he found himself losing sight of his original goal, but the visions of the haunting past wouldn''t let him escape.

    "Almuld, that war-hungry bastard. If only you weren''t so easily threatened by other demons," having some clue as to why the king of wraths broke into the human domain, the emperor figured out where he was possibly headed, and for exactly what reason. "This Shin guy¡­Choosing a human to rece you, what are you plotting, Asmodia?"

    Struggling to understand what kind of game she was ying, the emperor kept his eyes closed and let himself slowly drift into the dark. While the alleged ruler of allnds took rest, Michael had made his way out into the open. Standing outside the rundown castle, he braced his heart and nced high up in the skies.

    "Better do this quick," he mumbled.

    The very next moment, his whole body sparked up with burning thunder, and with a single leap into the air, he was halfway across the emperor''s personal domain. Within a matter of minutes, he would be far away from the border, and on his way to the warrior cities of Aria.

    ''A fire dragon, huh? I wonder who it is.'' Even though he could see Roselia''s image popping up in his mind, he decided not to jump to any conclusions. Being the only one unaware of the overtaking of Aria, he was still under the impression that Rose was under Duke Frost''smand.

 Chapter 160 160 - Haunted By The Ashes

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    By the time Rose made it to thest city in Aria, every other parcel ofnd had already sumbed to the undead warlock''s fury. Flying lonesome at the top of the town, she''d set the ns for evacuation in motion for the demons still living in the city.

    ''This reminds me¡­'' Watching the carriages fleeing away through the city gates, she took a moment to reflect on a simr past memory. In her desperate attempt to get the dragon yer''s attention, she would consume the city with her mes. Which reminded her of yet another man infamous for killing dragons. ''Curse you, Frost.''

    Remembering her unfortunate sh with the primordial Frost, she breathed out a curse and even felt thankful that his bloodline had ended with Haruki''s taking over Snow''s body. But then, as the image of a fiery inferno shed in front of her eyes, she felt her hands stained with the blood of the battlefield''s victims.

    Shutting her eyes tight, she tried to ride away from her memories, however, instead, it only made things worse. Like an arm pulling her in, she was snatched into a dream-like state projecting a collection of her memories.

    "Fuck off, will you?" She mumbled.

    "Still running away?" A raspy voice replied in her head.

    Looking in through the dark with her eyes closed, she saw the pair of pale arms that''d pulled her into this state. Ignoring the sight, Rose shifted her gaze away. But no matter where she looked, the arms stretching from the darkness were already waiting for her there.

    "I told you to fuck off!" She grunted and burst into a ball of fire.

    Casting away the dark, her eyes opened up to the sight of a crimson sky. Fuming in rage, she nced down at the ming battlefront. The screeches, the screams, and the bodies of men young and old running about with their bodies aze served as a grave reminder of having once submitted to her rage.

    "They had families too, but you killed them all," the voice whispered into her ears again. "I wonder how you''d feel once your children be orphans too?"

    Swinging her fist to the side, she caused a ripple of force faster than sound as she tried to hit the phantom enemy. Realizing that no one was behind her, Rose once again closed her eyes shut and tried to get out of this nightmare. But when she opened her eyes again, she found herselfying on top of a bed, with an Azure-eyed manying on top of her chest naked.

    "No¡­Get off!" She screamed, and the scene changed to the same darkness as before.

    "You''re a monster, and look where you are? Back destroying cities, exactly as your nature entails," covering her ear to the voice, Rose tried to drown out the voice. However, when the voice spoke again, she knew all her attempts to escape it were useless, for she was not fighting an external enemy, but was being haunted by her own past. "I feel sorry for the children, the children that died because you lost control and set the cities aze."

    "I¡­" She muttered, having no excuse to retort with at all.

    Reaching behind her from the shadows, the fingers of the phantom hand slowly tightened up around her neck. Tired from fighting it so far, she let herself be choked of all air while ghosts of her past haunted her further.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "This isn''t how it''s supposed to be," it uttered, sounding surprised by how easily she''d given up. "You are meant to struggle, you are meant to fail, and then only are you meant to die."

    As the hand retreated away, Rose''s mind was filled with the sight of the viges she''d burned after her fury had consumed her at the battlefield she was forced to be on. The sight of crying children soaked in the blood of their parents, and the disgusted look from the parents who''d just lost their young, all had her heart tattered, but she knew this wasn''t the time to mourn their deaths or try to repent.

    "I do not care," getting back on her feet, she made her body burn an inferno once again. "I do not care because I have something to live for myself now, my children, and that''s the reason why I can''t let my past haunt me forever."

    Turning her gaze to the hands again, she could finally see the face of the man she''d been talking to so far. Still somewhat enshrouded in dark, the azure hair and eyes struck out like an unhammered nail, and the long scar running down the man''s naked chest confirmed Rose''s suspicion about his identity.

    "You''re dead, howe you-"

    Walking out through the darkness, the warrior of a man stood in front of her. His eyes shooting upward, he stered a giant smirk.

    "I am dead, but I still live in your memories. And that''s possibly the worst ce to idolize someone that you want to forget," with those words, he backed away into the darkness once more.

    "Frost, if you were alive I''d kill you once more!" She eximed at the very man who''d fathered her children.

    The next time she blinked her eyes, she''d escaped from the trap of memories. And even though she was left to wonder how it all happened, she was forced to push figuring it out upon looking down at the city.

    ''This shouldn''t be hard now.'' Fueled by the rage from the incident, she burst her body into mes and began breathing fire down at the building. After a while, however, she let her body swell up and her muscles erged into that of a true dragon. Once the transformation was done, she sat on top of the highest watchtower and let out a howl that could be heard a continent over.

    ''If that doesn''t get Michael''s attention nothing will.'' With that, she began pping her giant scaly wings to take up a flight. Opening up her jaws to reveal the countless razor-sharp teeth, she breathed down mes on each and every corner of the city.

    Busy with her assigned task for the mission, an elusive figure escaped Roselia''s eyes. Standing under the roof of the same watchtower Rose let out a howl at, was the mistress of dark onlooking the destruction of the city.

    ''I guess it''s time to meet with Almuld again.'' Having witnessed Rose''s fight with her own thoughts, the translucent figure of the mistress was ready to face some ghosts of her own past. ''I can''t let Haruki kill him, and I can''t let Almuld die by Haruki''s hands either.''

    Stuck with the dilemma, the queen of lust decided to take matters into her own hands.

 Chapter 161 161 - Last Minute Preparations

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    Thest city had been destroyed, and the army of demons, and monsters was stationed at the nearest border to Aria. Joining Rose, and Riley by teleporting to them, Haruki and Asuka came up with an army of soul marites created by Fay. Consisting of shards of broken souls, the artificial monsters were the perfect soldier who followed orders even if it meant certain death for them all.

    "Are you sure these, uh¡­" Standing at the very edge of the city walls, Rose looked over Haruki''s shoulders to try and figure out just exactly what those creatures were. "Why is there a kobold head on that centaur? And what are these things?"

    Noticing the confusion in her eyes, Haruki turned around to the marites and decided to give Rose a brief exnation.

    "Fay and Ibined different parts of monsters to make them more vicious," Haruki said, pointing at a collection of goblins with wings and glowing eyes.

    "Where did you find their body parts so quickly?" Riley asked her thumb curiously resting under the chin.

    "You''ll probably know soon enough, for now, let''s just focus on getting ready for the warlock. I can already see his army heading here," watching the undead king from afar with demonic spies, Haruki urged the rest to get back to the preparations.

    Once the army was lined up into a row of tens of hundred, they all locked their arms with each other with Riley being at the very head. Closing her eyes, she channeled her mana through the army to connect them all, and when she was just about to run out, Haruki and Rose who were right by her side, shot her body with as much as she needed.

    "God tier summon: Lonesome Widow!" Consuming all her strength came out the haloed giant. Looming over the entire army, she nced down at her panting master.

    "What do you want now?" Her words reverberating through the air pierced the ears of all monsters present.

    "Ta-take us all!" Held up by Haruki and Rose, Riley could barely look up to order her own familiar.

    "All of you?" As expected the scythed devil wasn''t too inclined to follow her weakened master.

    Seeing how Riley''s body had begun to fever up, and she struggled to even stand, Haruki red up at the devil to take matters into his own hands.

    "Let the souls lost in this battle be your offering," upon hearing that, the haloed reaped, straightened her back, and looked forward.

    Even from that distance, she could see the approaching army of undead and the sight of a man thundering over to where she stood. Invisible to them, she felt no threat or any desire to fight, but the offer of souls was too good for her to let go.

    "Very well, but I have one more demand," ncing down, she peered right at Haruki. "I want to taste the soul of a demon lord, be it that undead or the one hiding amongst your army of monsters."

    ''What?'' Baffled by her words, Haruki turned his head to try and spot who the other demon lord was. But given the severity of the situation, and the rumbling sound of the approaching undead army, he was forced to abandon his search and just agree with the haloed familiar.

    "Fuck¡­Go ahead, if we manage to bring him down, you''re free to consume his soul!" From the edge of his eyes, he could still see Rose, as well as Asuka, trying to find the demon lord masking in the army.

    ''It has to be Asmodia, but why is she hiding from me?'' Familiar with her approach of bursting through reality, Haruki just couldn''t figure out what exactly she was trying to achieve by hiding.

    The creak from the familiar taking hold of her scythe broke everyone''s chain of thought. Bringing their attention back to the widow, they watched as she struck the hilt of the weapon on the ground and a wave of green mes passed through the entire army. Enshroud with a mystical aura every single one of them turned invisible even to each other.

    "Hide, and prey on the enemy!" Haruki howled the order to scatter the army all around the forest right outside the city gate.

    He himself, however, first teleported Riley into a dungeon room designed for resting. And then calling on Rose, he flew up high in the sky with her. Having kept most of the n a secret, Haruki hadn''t told her about using Riley''s familiar to turn his army invisible or even what he wanted to do next.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Low tier summon: Demonic spy," summoning a single demonic spy, he kept Rose''s hand clutched in his. "I need this little guy to eat part of your flesh."

    Although a bit shocked by the request, Rose couldn''t reflect her emotions through her expressions at the moment.

    "Why?" She asked with a raised invisible eyebrow.

    "It''s the only way for me to create a clone of you without turning you into a demon," recalling the time when he''d first tried to clone Rose and failed, Haruki wanted to amend the mistake he''d made for the cloning process. "Also, just in case I end up dying, I don''t want you to face Michael or that crazy warlock."

    "Is this a trick?" To her, his intentions seemed too pure to be that of a demon.

    Gripping her hand tighter, he let out a sigh followed by a chuckle.

    "Remember how I asked you to teleport me to Laria after I was done with the precautionary measures?" His tone sounding a bit tired, made Rose wonder if something had happened to him.

    "Yeah, but that was to prepare the marites, right?" Beyond curiosity, she asked.

    "Well, back when I was there, Fay made me promise that at least Ste''s godmother will return home safely to take care of the kids," giving her no time to think the matter through, Haruki made the demon spy bite into her skin.

    Nibbling out just a small portion of her body, the spy made it possible to make a clone of Rose as well.

    "I know you mean well, but I can''t just leave you here!" Ignoring the bite, Rose tried to fight back against the idea.

    However, with her hand clutched tight in his, he already had a n ready for this exact situation.

    "Tormentous dungeon¡­" Letting go of her hand, Haruki opened up a dungeon portal underneath her feet. But since she could fly on her own, her body didn''t fall through it.

    "What the hell are you doing-"

    Before long, reaching from under her the tentacle monster called Lulu pulled her into the same dungeon room as Riley was taken into.

    ''Now let''s just hope Moriyana can pull them out through the dungeon in case I die.'' Leaving the escape in the hand of the subus who''d escaped the Asmodia''s mist prison, he felt confident that even if he was killed, Rose as well as Riley would definitely make it back to Laria. ''The fewer people involved in this the better.''

    Peering down where Asuka was supposed to be, he felt his heart aching for dragging her into this mess. Yet, with every one of his servants gone, he at least wanted her to remain by his side in case of an unfortunate event.

    ''And what the hell is Asmodia doing blending with the rest of the army anyways?'' He thought but with the sight of the demon yering into view, along with the undead army, he had to push those questions to the side.

    "Clone: Roselia Ironfrost, dragon form!" As the dragoness came into being, an earth-shattering roar from her gaping jaws heralded the start of the battle.

 Chapter 162 162 - Gungnir: The Herald Of War

    ?

    Breaking the barrier of sound, Michael flew towards the rampaging dragon with his goldennce clutched tight. His eyes, brewing with rage from the incident back in the emperor''s domain, were ready to see the dragon''s head served on a tter. But as he flew even closer, he noticed the scorched scales and theva seeping out from the dragon''s skin, and that was when he realized that the dragon was exactly whom he''d feared it to be.

    "Roselia?" He muttered, his eyes wide open in shock.

    The sudden revtion made him break the spell that allowed him to travel through the air. So despite falling down to the earth, his eyes were fixed on the dragoness wreaking havoc all over the already ruined city.

    The moment he hit the ground, Michael shook his head to think more clearly about the situation. However, throwing him off further, a sh of monster screeches began echoing behind him in the forest.

    "What''s happe-" As he turned to look, even though he couldn''t see the battle, he finally felt the presence of the warlock now that his rage had subsided.

    ''Shit, what the hell did I run into?'' Gripping hisnce tighter, he tried to piece everything together, but given theck of information, his mind only ran in circles. ''If the warlock is approaching then I can''t waste my time like this.''

    Shifting his attention back to the dragoness, he decided to take the monsters amongst monsters one after the other. Drawing hisnce back, he fixed his eyes on Roselia''s heart, and although he felt hesitant to kill the head maid of the Frosts, he had no choice but to go through with it.

    ''Where''s the kingdom''s army? Or the dukes and nobles from the duchies?'' His questions kept piling up, but the screeching from the approaching army snapped him out of the state of doubt.

    "There''s no time," he muttered, and a rainbow glow emanated began emanating from hisnce.

    Keeping his eyes closed shut, Michael chanted an incantation, and with each prayer done, a magic circle of pure gold surrounded the length of his weapons. Finally, as the earth under him shattered into a small crater from the force of his magic, the clone of the dragoness noticed the war general.

    Flying towards Michael who was still busy with the attack preparation, the dragoness opened her jaws and readied a ball of me to be unleashed from her mouth. That turned out to be thest mistake that the clone would ever make.

    "May this battle end in light''s favor, GUNGNIR!" With hisnce thundering in his hands, he threw it in an arch toward the dragon''s belly. Creating a stream of water in its path, thence cackled like lightning and went straight through the clone''s heart.

    But the goldennce carrying thunder and water didn''t stop there, and so after making the clone disappear into a puffy mist, it soared through the sky and cut through reality itself. Creating a tear between realms, the morning sky was torn in two, and through the gap, the glister of the night sky was presented to everyone around the ce.

    "Where did she go?" Ignoring his own spell, Michael was dearly confused by how the dragoness turned to mist.

    ''A clone?'' Finally figuring it out, Michael began to wonder why someone would make a clone of a dragon, but then it hit him. ''Did they want to draw me here?''

    Turning to the screams from battle happening behind him, Michael was driven to suspect the only person present who could be responsible for the matter.

    "The warlock¡­It has to be him!" Having not given an ounce of information about Snow''s real identity, he jumped to the wrong conclusion.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ***

    Watching everything unfold from afar, Haruki, as well as Asuka, were both baffled by Michael''s Gungnir attack. The tear through the realms had turned part of the sky into the night, and peeking out of that space was a giant singr eye. With a shimmering golden iris, it peered down at its master Michael, seemingly ready to unleash all hell upon anyone who dared to oppose him.

    "Master, w-what is that?" Asuka asked, stuttering.

    "An angel, an archangel to be exact," having read ounts of Michael''s battles dating back to times when he wasn''t even born, Haruki had some understanding of his powers. "It can st everything to dust, and our invisibility is useless now, that thing gives so many buffs it''s inhumane¡­"

    Thest word of his own sentence clicked something in his head, but brushing it off for the moment, Haruki decided to carry out the rest of his n.

    "Anyway, let''s mask ourselves and go help him," opening a dungeon portal in mid-air, he brought out the Silver storms, and Nue''s eye falling to the ground.

    "Mask presence: Arnold," being under the impression that his identity was still hidden from everyone outside the demonic kingdom, Haruki transformed into his mercenary form. Thankfully, however, Michael was the only one whom he could potentially slip past pretending to be Arnold.

    After everyone was done masking their demonic features, and Asuka turned to Rise the Adventurer, Haruki created a hoard of soldiers that would pretend to be reinforcement sent by the Larian duke. ncing over the handful of battalions, he knew that it wouldn''t be convincing enough, and so to make it more believable he added fake injuries on the clones and their bodies to pretend that the rest of the reinforcement had perished in battle.

    "Stay close, and if ites between you and me or Asuka, then I hope you know whose life is more important," ruling with an iron fist had turned him into a cruel ruler, but under the charm of his servitude, none of the demons could bring themselves to disagree with him.

    Giving everyone their orders, Haruki climbed down the hill they were on and headed straight for the battlefield. The effect of invisibility being useless on him, he along with Asuka put it off since Michael was bound to find it suspicious. And by the time they got to the battlefield, Michael was standing before the warlock with an invisible barrier protecting him from attacks from the invisible monsters.

    While most of Haruki''s army was capable of adhering to orders, some were too dumb to focus on Almuld and not touch the man trying to help them get rid of the demon lord.

    "Sir Michael!" Called Kane from behind him. "We''re here to help!"

    Pretending to be the same leader figure as before, Kane led the charge so everyone could stand beside the general.

    "Stay back," Michael, however, seemed to have different ns. "I do not need help from monsters."

    Slowly turning his head to the side, his eyes glowing golden had seen right through the demonic mask.

 Chapter 163 163 - A Battle Between Legends

    ?

    The tear in the sky from Michael''s attack put a smile on the warlock''s face. Being a grand enthusiast of a fair fight, he felt thrilled to witness the archangel''s golden eyes peering out through the realm of forever night. Its goldenshes, and the light emanating from the iris, made him want to fight the familiar right this instance.

    "So these creatures are your doing, Michael?" However, running into the summoner himself, Almuld had no choice, but to face Michael instead.

    "Why did you draw me out here?" Opening his fist, Michael called back hisnce. And in a few seconds, it materialized between his fingers.

    "Draw you out here? What on earth are you on about, dragon yer?" Standing by his horse Almuld put up a burning shield of blue mes around him to burn all the invisible monsters dumb enough to attack him directly.

    Putting up a barrier around himself, Michael did the very same. Seeing how they were both using magic, their fingers tightened around their weapons in case someone tried to attack the other without any visible warning.

    "Don''t try to fool me! What are you trying to achieve by destroying human cities so far out of Scorchen Gaia?" Although Michael could hear steps approaching from the back, he continued to speak to the warlock. "Being out of your domain, you''re nothing but a giant target, especially since a demon lord''s powers are weakened away from their army."

    To Michael''s assessment, the armored warlock simply began to chuckle. He even went so far as to nt his axe in the ground, and move his hand over his chest whileughing, just to illustrate how hrious Michael''s statements were to him.

    "Ahaha! You really think I need to be at full strength to crush a bug like you?" All of a sudden, he stoppedughing and shot Michael a gaze colder than a frost dragon''s tears.

    "You-" Right as Michael was about to retort, he felt a fleet of demonic presences heading right over to him from behind.

    ''What now?'' He wondered as the Archangel''s buffs allowed him to sense and see through every illusion or spell.

    "Sir Michael!" Hearing the voice of a familiar adventurer, Michael was even more shocked than before. "We''re here to help!"

    Slowly shifting his gaze to the side, he nced at the approaching demons.

    "Stay back," Michael warned, not wanting to deal with them at the moment. "I do not need help from monsters."

    Watching it all unfold, the king of wrath felt insulted for being ignored by the dragon yer. Taking hold of his giant silver axe with a reddened de, he held it directed firmly towards his enemy.

    "Die, you imposters¡­" As Michael said those words, the angel''s eyes began cackling with mes. In the very next second, the sound of a chargingser rippled through the air. Right after which, a beam of concentrated light shot out of the angel''s eyes.

    While the beam ran in a straight line toward the enemy, it burned everything and turned into a scorching desert. Even from a distance, the heat was so intense, that Haruki had to abandon the whole n and escape with Asuka through a dungeon portal. The others, however, were not so fortunate. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Don''t ignore me, you weakling!" Unfazed by the dignified disy of strength, the king of wraths leaped towards Michael with his axe held high.

    Sensing the warlock''s attack, Michael swiftly turned around and blocked the trajectory of his axe with hisnce handle. The impact from their weapons caused such a powerful gust of wind that everything behind Michael was flung away toward the ruined city. Even the burning mes were extinguished in an instant, and the ground under their feet had turned into giant craters.

    "Never look away from death!" Announced the warlock, cackling.

    So close to his face, Michael saw countless souls burning in his eyes, and even the screams of his past victims echoed in his ears. Finally, as the force of the blow subsided, they both leaped away from each other.

    "Your illusions won''t work on me, Almuld!" Referring to the demons, Michael was convinced that the warlock was trying to distract with familiar posing as reinforcement.

    "Ahaha, how ignorant can you be? Or perhaps¡­" Extending his hand forward, Almuld sprouted skeletal hands from the ground to grab onto Michael''s feet. "You''re just a tool who knows nothing about what''s really happening."

    Not far from the mark, the warlock knowing Haruki''s true identity was much closer to the truth, than the dragon yer who was barely aware of what was happening inside the empire.

    "Keep trying to delude me, but I don''t care for the words of a monster," mming thence''s handle against the ground, Michael shattered the skeletal hands into pieces.

    ''He''s¡­ not wrong, but admitting that right now wouldn''t be the wisest choice.'' Recognizing his ownck of knowledge, Michael swore to find out the truth about the situation once he managed to get out of this mess.

    "How foolish," saying that in a monotone voice, the warlock simply smiled at Michael.

    The very next moment, however, they both disappeared in thin air before appearing back with their weapons shing against each other. Once again, the ripples from the impact tore through the trees in a circr pattern, and all the monsters and undead left around them were crushed to dust without direct impact.

    Left alone on the battlefield they could both fight each other without any hindrance.

    ''Keep fighting.'' Or that''s what they thought at least.

    Watching the fight in an astral projection of her body. The mistress of darkness had her eyes fixed on the two, all the while, her clones went around the forest itching magic circles on the ground. Restricted to a hazy projection of her true self, she couldn''t cast a spell or use her abilities without the use of magic circles, and so to take hold of this golden opportunity she had to resort to using archaic magic to get rid of the two once they were too tired to fight back.

    ''I''m sorry, As, but I can''t take this anymore. Your curse needs to end, for the good of this world and the good of all kinds.'' Calling out to god, she wished he was watching.

 Chapter 164 164 - A Wounded Beast Strikes Harder

    ?

    "Shin! What happened?! Are you okay?!" After being dropped into the dungeon portal, Rose was the very first to notice the sizzling wounds on Haruki''s body.

    Barely escaping the attack from Michael and even protecting Asuka, half of Haruki''s body was burning like a furnace. Noticing the burns on her master, Asuka who''d been pushed away from the attack rushed right over to him and sped onto his burning hand.

    "Heal-Ahh!" The mes on his body forced her to retreat before she could finish using the ability.

    "Ughhhh!" His teeth clenched tight, Haruki was trying to power through the pain. However, theser beam from the archangel was perhaps the worst attack for a demon like him to be hit with. It not only hurt his body, but also stripped him of all mana, and even incinerated part of his soul. Which left him nothing but the tyranny of sheer will to survive the aftermath of the attack.

    ''Shit! Shit! Shit! I underestimated that fucking bastard!'' Keeping his thoughts confined to himself, he was brought tumbling down to his knees. ''Fuck, we lost silver storm, and Nue''s eye too!''

    "Let me take care of the mes," moving Asuka to the side, Rose grabbed Haruki''s burning hand.

    Taking a few seconds to feel the mes around her palm, Rose tried to assess exactly what kind of magic was behind the continuous burning of the me. When she was finally able to figure out the magic affinity of the attack, she closed her eyes and began draining the mana out of the magic mes.

    "It''s working!" As soon as the mes began to die down, Asuka too grabbed Haruki''s arm and began healing him while Rose continued to diminish the mes.

    "Dammit, it''s true holy magic, only angels and gods can use it," gulping her worries, she shot Haruki a troubled nce. "Only a demon lord or someone with As''s blessing could''ve survived a hit from such attacks. Consider yourself lucky that you''re not a bundle of ash by now."

    "What about you? Will you have survived?" Still groaning in pain, Haruki couldn''t help but ask.

    Consuming thest of the true holy mes, Rose gulped down the mana and just took a moment to let it dissolve through her system.

    "No me can hurt a fire dragon," she muttered, looking right into his eyes.

    Scoffing at her boast, Haruki used rejuvenation on himself to hasten the healing process. In the meantime, as he was being healed, he looked over Rose''s shoulders and saw Riley lying unconscious with her back leaning against the dungeon walls.

    ''She hasn''t recovered?'' He thought, wondering if she would even wake up before the battle ended.

    Once his body had fully recovered thanks to the rejuvenation ability, Haruki propped himself up and racked his brain to figure out his next move. Having left the battlefield in such a rush, he had no clue what had happened so far, and even when he tried to see through the eyes of a demonic spy he saw nothing at all since they''d all been destroyed by the shes between two legends.

    "Rose, boost me up with your mana," he demanded, extending his hand toward her.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Wait¡­" Knowing exactly what was going on in his mind, Rose decided to question him first before doing anything he said. "You''re not nning to go back, are you?"

    Shocked by her words, Asuka rushed beside her master and grabbed him by the arms.

    "Master, we can just go back to Laria, Michael will take care of the demon lord!" Even though Asuka''s suggestion was possibly the safer option, Haruki had already made up his mind to head back over to the battlefield.

    "She''s right, with Michael out there fighting the warlock and Arian duchy destroyed, there''s no reason for you to go back!" Moving right in front of him, Rose tried to convince him some more. "You have Margarette who can keep pretending to be the Darian ruler, and you, well you''re Duke Frost in everyone''s eyes."

    With every Arian city destroyed, the king was bound to be presumed dead, and nobody from the other duchies would snitch on Haruki''s identity; he had little reason to risk his life by heading back into battle. However, for him, that little reason was more than enough.

    "Ahaha¡­" His head hung low, a light chuckle left Haruki''s lips.

    Surprised, the other two nced at each other, hoping to find some exnation for Haruki''s behavior from the other person. Noticing more confusion on their faces, however, they once again turned back to their master.

    "Ahaha¡­Ahaha¡­You two," grabbing Rose''s arm by the side, Haruki continued to chuckle some more. "Forgot about Mistress of Darkness, didn''t you?"

    The very name of the ability gave them both shbacks to the time when Rose was trying to kill Snow by the dragon seal door. At that time, at the brink of death, the ability Mistress of Darkness gave Haruki not only Asmodia''s skills but also a substantial amount of her stats.

    "But master, didn''t the skill escapist keep teleporting you away before Mistress of Darkness activated?!" Suspecting that Haruki was lying about the skill''s activation, Asuka kept her hands clutched tight over his shoulder.

    "Michael''s attack was too fast for escapist to trigger, and the moment my body registered the pain, Mistress of Darkness finally activated," bringing out his screen of stats, he scanned through the curses to figure out one abnormality after the activation. "And it seems like since I had no mana the healing abilities didn''t take effect on their own."

    "Even so!" Grabbing him by both arms, Rose yelled right into his face. "You think you can defeat two of the most powerful creatures in this world, just because you have some borrowed abilities?!"

    Putting up a smile, Haruki nced up at Rose. With his mana slowly recovering, his mind was already beginning to use Asmodia''s passive ability to elerate thoughts, and with it, he''de up with the perfect n to steal the abilities of the alleged strongest creatures in the world.

    ''Do you really need me to tell you everything?'' His gaze paired with a devious smile, ryed that message over to Rose.

    "You''re insane¡­" She muttered, she was right.

 Chapter 165 165 - A Dance Between Angels And Demons

    ?

    The relentless shes from their weapons had ttened the forest into a destend devoid of life and nature. And ever so often, the beam of concentrated light shooting out through the archangel''s eye turned the very ground into a coarse desert. However, even then, despite taking countless hits from his hierarchical predator, the king of wrath simplyughed it all off.

    "Is this the best you can do, dragon yer?" His hands spread carelessly wide open, mocked Michael in an indirect manner.

    Resting hisnce over the shoulder, Michael shot a scornful gaze at the undead lord. His armor, although dented, was still protecting him from the true holy magic cast by the angel, and no matter how many physical attacks hended on it, not a single dent had appeared because of them.

    "Angel''s might!" In his rage, Michael stomped his feet on the ground, and as it passed through a small realm tear portal, a giant leg of an armored angel came crushing over the warlock. "Take this and die!"

    While bringing the gilded boot down on Almuld, Michael had expected him to be crushed right under, but to his surprise and the surprise of an onlooker, the warlock held the boot over his head with the strength of his body alone.

    "Don''t make meugh!" Emanating an oozing aura of death from his body, Almuld pushed the leg back into the portal. In doing so, he made Michael stumble back as his own leg was pushed out of the portal as well.

    And in that small frame of distraction, Almuld leaped forward with his axe burning with dark mes of certain death. One hit alone would''ve been enough to kill any human, no matter how strong, however, right as it made contact with Michael''s chestte, an explosion of light pushed both of them back.

    "What?" For the first time through the battle, Almuld felt a sense of shock. "What is that armor?! How did it deflect my axe?!"

    Still a bit thrown off, Michael was panting for breath. Yet as soon as he felt slightly better, a hysterical smile crept over his face.

    "You said I didn''t know anything, but it seems like you''re the naive one here," gripping hisnce tight, he directed it right at Almuld''s chestte. "Also, you''re not the only one with enchanted armor and weapons!"

    With that distractive show, Michael fired a beam of holy light right through Almuld''s armor, and this time, it pierced through the warlock''s body. Grunting in pain, he clenched his fist over the now shattered chestte.

    "You sneaky rat!" Shooting a sharp gaze back at Michael, Almuld stood back tall. "AAGHHHHH!!!"

    Screeching out the souls of countless undead from his mouth, he sprang forth an army of warriors much familiar with Michael. Taking physical form through the sand, they all stood tall before him with their des directed right at Michael.

    "REMEMBER THEM YOU RAT?!" Almuld eximed before cackling like the devil he was.

    "Of course¡­" Seeing the spirits of his own dead soldiers directing their swords toward him, Michael felt his chest tighten from difort. "They''re my loyal men, who''d gratefully die again rather than be your servants!"

    Rushing forward Micheal swung hisnce sideways to get the entirety of his men. However, even though he managed to crumble them to dust with a single physical blow, it was toote for him to realize the kind of grave mistake he''d just made. Traveling through his fuming dark shadow, the king of wrath emerged behind Micheal''s body.

    "Thanks for the meal, yer," he muttered.

    Realizing in time, Michael was about to turn around and spear the undead in his eye, however, limited by his mortal body, Almuld managed to get him first.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Curse: Memento Mori!" Casting the curse on Michael, the king of wraths escaped the shadow before his spear could reach his eyes.

    "GHHH!" As the miasma of death began crawling all over him, Michael''s body contorted inward. "D-amn you, y-you monster!"

    Despite the pain, and the shriveling of his youthful skin, he red at Almuld with the greatest of contempt. Slowly, as the curse continued to eat away Michael''s youth, his muscles withered away just like his skin and bones.

    "How many times do I need to teach you this lesson?" Walking closer to the rapidly aging general, Almuld looked down at him as he curled up on the ground. "I am death, and sooner orter I get you."

    His head pressed against the ground, Michael could feel his soul draining out of his body. Reminded of his mortality, he could see his memories shing before his eyes, but as the words of the emperor''s promise resounded in his ears, his hands squeezing the sand under him finally let go of it all.

    Flipping Michael''s corpse with his legs, the king of wrath tried to inhale the essence of the warrior''s spirit, but as strong as his body, his soul wouldn''t allow itself to be consumed by any.

    "What a waste, and I thought you could ever work for me," turning around, Almuld shifted his gaze to the angel still peering right at him through the realm tear in the sky. "Piss off, your master is dead, you mutt."

    And as if adhering to his demand, the angel shied away and the tear closed a momentter. Done dealing with the dragon yer, Almuld shifted his gaze to the city he hade to conquer. Seeing it tattered and resting in a pile of rubble, he no longer felt the thrill to continue onward with his assault on the new emperor of the Marquis kingdom.

    "Time to slumber¡­" he muttered, walking back in the direction he''de from.

    "Not before you pay for destroying my cities," echoing through the skies, came the voice of the demon Almuld hade so far for.

    Peering up, he saw Haruki in his demon form looking down at him like an insect. Shadowed under his own shade, his eyes glowed a sinister violet, the sign of a true candidate for the next demon lord of lust.

    "You¡­So it was you all this time," walking closer under his shade, Almuld kept his eyes fixed on Haruki. "Those invisible abominations, that false dragon burning the city, and the reason the dragon yer had to die by my hands, it wAS ALL YOU?!"

    Instead of just a reply, the king of wraths got something moresting.

    "I am death, warlock." Holding his hand towards the demon lord, Haruki unleashed a single spell on the undead. "Godsmite!"

    ''What?!'' Hearing the name of the true holy spell, the undead could only watch in horror as it was being cast on him by a demon.

    "HOW IN THE HEL-" However,ing to his aid before the spell could hit his body, was not another undead, but the mistress who was the real owner of the spell.

 Chapter 166 166 - A Baffling End

    ?

    Time was but a small hurdle for the mistress of lust to leap over, and with the engraved magic circles buried under the sand and rubble, nobody even noticed how easily she''d stopped the flow of time.

    "Time to clean up this mess," still in an elusive form made of mist, she flew over between Almuld and Haruki.

    Standing between the two, she peered up at her contracted servant and just red at his glowing hand for a moment. The spell Godsmite brought her both good and haunting memories. And so pulling Haruki down to earth with her countless phantom hands, she tangled her fingers with his and drew out all the mana from his body so that the spell was bound to fail.

    ''That should allow me to finish up here.'' Rejuvenated with a small amount of mana, Asmodia turned to the demon lord frozen in time.

    Just looking at his face made her want to crush him under her heels, but given her weakened state, she would only end up angering the undead warlock with a shallow scar on his body. Brushing her thoughts away her scorn, she nted her finger against his armor. Running it in a circle, she drew a magic circle to teleport the warlock back to his domain.

    "The title of wrath wouldn''t suit my puppet at all," saying those words, she pressed her finger in the middle of the circle and channeled it with enough mana to activate the teleportation. "Your death would only be a hurdle, for when the timees, I want him to take my head instead."

    As a dark miasma crawled out of the magic circle and began consuming the warlock''s body, Asmodia took a step back and watched as he was shrunk to dust under theyer of darkness. Once she was certain that the warlock had been teleported away, she turned to Haruki to send him away from the battle as well. However, the very first step she took towards him, a grunt from the back caught her attention.

    "Who goes there?" She muttered, flipping around to look.

    "Y-you¡­" The person she saw crawling towards her surprised even a demon lord like her.

    Despite the pause in time, Michael was crawling over to the mistress. His eyes shot with blood, and his skin on its path to recovering his youth, was enough of a reason to make anyone''s skin crawl with difort. But to the mistress who knew Michael''s master, the sigh in front of her was only slightly amusing.

    "I almost forgot¡­" Slowly moving in his direction, the mistress of dark squatted down in front of him. "That you are one of the few who can use time magic."

    "Wha-what are you doing here? WHAT IS THIS MESS?!" wing at her body with his recovered strength, he passed right through the illusion of her real body.

    "I pity you," said Asmodia, her eyes squinted in hurt. "The emperor cursed you too, didn''t he?"

    Reaching for his skin, she finally let him feel her touch. Trailing her finger up his chin, she rested it right by the temple.

    "Take your hands off of me, you monster!" Trying to p her hand away, he felt himself passing through her body once again. "I don''t need your help!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Immortality is a grave poison warrior, you deserve better than what you''ve offered," taking advantage of his weakened state, Asmodia forced her mana in through his temples to make him forget everything about what he''d seen. "But don''t worry, it''ll all end once the emperor''s rein ends, be it through my hands or the next lord of depraved demons."

    As a wave of her magic scurried through his brain, all of his memories about the battle were slowly stripped away. Clenching his teeth from the mental assault, Michael felt himself drifting, and by the time Asmodia was done, he''d slipped into a deep slumber.

    "I wish I could heal you, but¡­" creating a magic circle over his head, Asmodia tapped her index on it to activate the teleportation. "The curse should keep you alive since I can''t at the moment."

    Restricted only to archaic magic with the use of magic circles, she couldn''t help hasten the rejuvenation of Michael''s body at all. Instead, sending him away into the emperor''s sp was the only real option she had to help him.

    "Don''te in my way again, and I won''t have to keep killing you," with those parting words, she saw his body shrink to dust under the cloak of the mist.

    ''Now for thest part.'' Turning her attention to her puppet, she quickly walked up closer to him. Once standing right in front of his eyes, she created yet another magic circle on his forehead, however, this time the inscriptions were a little different.

    "Plunder," with that word alone, she stripped Haruki of the skill that allowed him to borrow Asmodia''s powers.

    Letting out a tired sigh, she simply took a moment to gaze into Haruki''s crazed eyes. In them, she saw no reason, no control, just an impulsive drive to trample any and all who got in his way. And although she preferred his immorality, theck of any moralpass was sure to drive him away from the path of vengeance and into something much more sinister.

    "You''re not ready to be a demon lord, not yet," having fulfilled multiple requirements to be a demon lord, Haruki was one step away from turning into the lord of wrath, but interjecting in the fight, she''d deter that from happening.

    ''You''vee too far to ruin my ns.'' Hoping to one day make Haruki fulfill thest requirement with her, she wanted him to over her title as the demon lord of lust. ''Sleep for a while and recover your sanity.''

    Pressing her finger against his forehead, she imnted a small seed of mana to keep him from waking up until it eventually runs out of power. Right as she did so, a crack in the greyed world appeared overhead. Almost as if to signal to her that the effect of the magic circles controlling the flow of time, had finally begun to crumble.

    "I''ll see you soon, perhaps in a dream, or a nightmare," stepping away from Haruki''s still body, she parted ways with a warning. "Be ready, for time is running out for the both of us, and the emperor won''t be as forgiving as he''s been so far."

    Her body swept away by the wind, made her disappear from the battlefield.

 Chapter 167 167 - Befuddling Aftermath

    ?

    After being teleported back into his domain, the demon lord of wrath had no clue as to how he was back in Scorchen Gaia. And while he struggled to grasp what had happened, a whiff of Asmodia''s presence trickled into his nose.

    Michael on the other hand, having lost all memories about the incidentid in a militaristic facility with countless healers cycling through continuous shifts to make sure their general was in good health while recovering his youth.

    As for the man cursed with slumber by the mistress of darkness, hey on his bed inside the Frost castle. Surrounding him from all angles around the bed, not only the ones present at the battlefield, but even Moriyana, and Margarette were worried sick because of his strange condition.

    "It''s mother''s doing, I can smell her presence all over him," running her hand over Haruki''s body, Moriyana created a glistering block of light right above him. "See? Some of her mana is slowly escaping whatever curse she puts on him!"

    Witnessing a fluid-like motion in the glistering block, they were easily convinced by Moriyana''s assessment.

    "The widow said a demon lord was hiding in the army, but what exactly did Asmodia do to him?" Worried sick, Rose bit down on her nail.

    "We didn''t find anyone on the battlefield either, just him," Her eyes sunken with deep dark circles, Asuka could barely keep herself from exploding in tears again.

    Being the only one who was unconscious throughout the ordeal, Riley only looked on in horror, hoping that Haruki would wake up as soon as possible. The room echoing with worries had been a hub for all the inhabitants of Frost castle toe out and check up on their master, that is except Athena and her daughter who were left behind at Lamenia to continue helping the elves to find the library of heroes.

    "Ughhhh!" Frustrated out of her mind, Moriyana grabbed her hair and pulled tightly on them in a moment of insanity. "What the fuck?!"

    Stepping away from her, everyone who''d been surrounding the bed watched her fail yet another attempt to pull Haruki out of the illusion.

    "By Melicia! I wanna kill Mother!" Cursing out Asmodia had be a sport for her while trying to dispel her curse on Haruki''s body. Instead of doing any harm to the mistress, however, her fury only made shattered fragments of her illusions overwhelm the bedroom with their countless eyes crawling on everyone''s skin.

    Noticing the eyes appearing all over their bodies like pimples, the entire room filled with women burst into screams and cries, calling for someone to help them. And as if that wasn''t enough, their insanity fed more power to their fears, and soon enough bursting out of those eyes came limbs of hairy men and monsters.

    "Moriyana!" Raising her voice against the crazed illusionist, Rose grabbed her by the arms and shook her violently to pull her out of the maniacal frenzy. "Stop this!"

    Despite her own skin riddled with deformities, Rose pushed through the difort and brought Moriyana back to her senses.

    "What?" Looking around, she witnessed the grotesque sight that she''d brought forward. "Fuck¡­I used Melicia''s name, didn''t I?"

    "Yes, you used that witch''s name to curse Asmodia, now end it!" Rose eximed, urging her to end the suffering of everyone around them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Shutting her eyes tight, she forcefully expelled all her mana out of her body to no longer be able to fuel the curse. Finally, as the illusions of madness subsided, the maids and Haruki''s servants exchanged nervous nces while questioning reality.

    A moment of silence followed the whole incident. It served as a reminder of just how dearly they were in dire need of a leader. Shooting scornful looks at Moriyana, everyone wanted her to leave the room before she caused any more chaos. Taking responsibility for her mistake she offered no rebuttal and simply left the room without another word.

    "Nobody does anything now, just go back to your station and work!" After that chaotic experience, Rose was back to her authoritative demeanor as the headmaid of the castle.

    Even Asuka and Riley were made to leave Haruki''s side so he could rest inside his room in lonesome. However, who stuck around till the veryst, didn''t want to leave him alone. In her mind, the manying on the bed was no longer just a mere demon, but a father to a child, and the man who''d saved her brother from certain death.

    "You better wake up soon, I don''t want you to abandon your daughter like this," leaning over to his forehead, she nted a brief kiss before finally leaving.

    Left alone inside the room, Haruki was stuck in a state of limbo with no sense of self or even the slightest hint of his existence. He had no dreams, no nightmares, no meets with the devil, or the usual tea parties, instead what he was experiencing in his slumber was a state of soulful respite.

    Being the mistress of illusion and a practitioner of time magic, Asmodia had made sure he wouldn''t wake up until his mind was finally back over his shoulders and his actions reflected some semnce of sanity.

    "I''m done with this stupid ce¡­" Breaking the peaceful moment Fay walked in through the bedroom door and gazed over at Harukiying on the bed.

    Her eyes bawling out tears were darkened by clots of blood. Walking over to the bed, she towered over Haruki and just stared at him for a moment. Right behind her came Rose, the only one who''d noticed her storming into the room.

    "Fay, what are you doing?" Standing by the door, Rose asked in a mellow tone. "Can you get away from him please?"

    "No¡­" She replied, and the wolves from her scarf let out a growl.

    Gradually turning to face the headmaid, Fay had her wolves baring their fangs as a threat in case she tried toe closer.

    "We''re sitting ducks waiting to be ughtered here," with a heavy heart, she voiced her concerns about staying in the castle any longer than they needed to. "I don''t care what happened back at Aria, but if Michael showed up there, then surely the emperor will figure out what''s been happening in this kingdom! And despite that, you guys still want to live here?! It''s suicide! I don''t care if it''s his kingdom or whatever, we need to leave, all of us!"

    Although she was acting hysterical, her words of concern were enough to make Rose reconsider their n toy low in Laria. After all, Michael only moved on the emperor''smand, and since she''d not seen him die at the hands of the king of wraths, she was led to believe that he''d returned to the emperor with every ounce of information about Haruki''s kingdom.

    "You''re right, we need to abandon this ce," hearing that from Rose, Fay finally let down her guard.

 Chapter 168 168 - The True Face Of A Monster

    ?

    After Michael''s abrupt return inside the emperor''s domain, the emperor himself was left baffled by the whole ordeal. Time was one of the few aspects of life that he had littlemand over, and the man he''d depended on for some control over it, was now ridden to the bed in a sickly old body.

    "He hasn''t spoken a word since waking up," Razor exined, leading the way through the camps.

    Cloaked in an old dark rag, the emperor followed him through a horde of soldiers looking at him in utter shock. And even though his body waspletely covered by the cloth, there was no doubt in their minds about who he was.

    "Why is thend all muddy?" Getting his foot stuck in a swampy puddle, the emperor turned to the sound of a cannon shell being fired by the border.

    Edging over thend between As, and Scorchen Gaia, they were in a neutral swamp that divided the lush humannd and the malice-ridden territory of the demon lords with ashes raining down the heavens.

    "From what I''ve heard from my predecessor, the battle has been going on for so long that the sweat of the warriors had turned this ce into a murky swamp," with that exnation, Razor grabbed the emperor''s arm and pulled him out of the puddle.

    "I remember now¡­" Looking back at the imprint of his bare feet in the puddle, the emperor lied to hide his degrading memory.

    However, from the dubious look in Razor''s eyes, it was clear that he wasn''t all that convinced by the lie. Yet, shifting his attention back to the camps, he led the charge until they reached the medical facilities of the war camps. Surrounded by a herd of medics, rushing in and out from all directions, the presence of the emperor was easily forgotten by everyone present.

    And so without being assaulted with watchful gazes, the emperor finally headed into the tent in which Michael was being treated. The very moment he got in, his eyes met with Michael''s golden eyes, but unlike the regr youthful gaze, the look in them was withering and frail.

    "Did you get killed by Almuld?" With real concern for his well-being, the emperor got right to the point of his interests.

    To the emperor''s question, however, Michael gave no answer. The sole healer present inside the room was baffled by the stranger''s interrogative interaction with his patient.

    "He''s in no state to talk, you should-"

    Before the man cloaked in white finished his sentence, Razor took out his fencer and rested its tip right under his chin. His hands thrown back in shock, the healer nced down at the fencer with a look of genuine terror reflected in his eyes.

    "Leave¡­" That single word was enough to make the man rush out of the tent without any question.

    Once they were all left alone inside the tent, the emperor moved closer to Michael from one side of the bed, and Razor moved to the other. ncing at them both, Michael wore a scornful look on his face, almost as if he had been wronged by the two.

    "You''re here to ask me the same question, aren''t you my lord?" Finally speaking through his dried lips, he stared at the emperor with a frown.

    "What happened?" Stuck on the same line, the emperor had no patience left in him.

    "I don''t remember¡­" His answer was not at all convincing.

    Scowling at the general, the emperor''s eyes glittered up with the spiraling night sky. In the meantime, Razor, who was convinced that Michael was finally betraying the emperor, let out a loudugh.

    "Tell me the truth, Michael!" Peering into his eyes, the emperor had bound Michael in the charm of his true eyes. "I will not ept any more lies."

    His eyes fixed on the emperor, Michael''s lips parted on their own, and muttered but a few words of truth.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I do not remember," his answer was not what the emperor had expected.

    Closing his eyes shut momentarily, the emperor washed away his cosmic gaze and reced it with his dead silver eyes. Opening them up again, he looked at Michael with the most profound confusion.

    "What the hell happened to him?" He mumbled, turning his gaze to Razor.

    Shrugging his shoulders with a mocking smile, Razor turned his gaze back to Michael. As he saw the sapphire earring still on his body, he reached over to his ear to take them off just like he''d always wanted.

    "Maybe this will answer your question!" Grabbing the earlobes of the weakened Michael, Razor tore off the earrings with great force.

    "Ughhh! What in-Aghhh!" Clenching his teeth shut, Michael tried not to say anything rash in front of the emperor.

    Indifferent from both of their actions, the emperor kept a stern watch on Michael as the effect of those earrings slowly started to disappear. With a faint lister of light, his bleeding ears grew in size, and with a pointy top end to them, his real identity was once again exposed in front of the emperor.

    "I never understood why you keep this useless elf around you, he may be strong, but he is a monster!" Letting out all the bottled-up rage from his heart, Razor threw the earrings on the ground and shattered them by stomping on them.

    "Razor, keep your mouth shut¡­" Raising his finger at Razor, the emperor shut his eyes close to keep himself fromshing out at the childish behavior.

    "Really? You want me to shut up when this monster is lying to you?" Not realizing that the emperor had already tested Michael''s words, Razor continued to showcase his impulsive side.

    "I said shut up," once again, the emperor tried to warn him, but Razor wasn''t simply going to let this matter go.

    "As if, I''ve dedicated my life to your cause, and now you expect me to ept a monster as an aide?" Pointing out the hypocrisy in the emperor''s action, Razor reached for his saber and nted it over Michael''s neck. "The world belongs to us humans, and we are the masters of all the creations it fosters. Does that sound familiar? That was your promise to us in exchange for our loyalty andpliance!"

    "That''s enough, Razor!" Michael rebutted despite being at the end of Razor''s de.

    Turning his attention back to the general, Razor with rage-fueled eyes stabbed the tip of his saber into the side of Michael''s muscles.

    "If anyone, it should be you who should shut up!" And with those final words, the emperor has had enough.

    "Kill yourself¡­" The words spoken by the cloaked emperor hung in the air silently for a moment, but the second Razor turned to him with a baffled expression, his hand twisted the sword over his stomach and stabbed right through his own body.

    As the blood began to gush out of the wound, Razor was brought down to his knees with eyes still fixed on the emperor.

    "Once he dies, andes back, tell the healers to take off all his weapons," giving that order to Michael, the emperor turned around and left the two maimed invalids.

    On his way out, however, one question kept guing his mind.

    ''I need to find out what happened, and that starts with getting to that kid that''s under Asmodia''smand.'' Needless to say, he was done being lenient.

 Chapter 169 169 - Departing From The Homeland

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    A week had passed since the battle of Aria, and the news about the demonic kingdom''s true nature had begun circting around the empire from the emperor''s lips itself. After the announcement he made, revealing the truth, all of Haruki''s servants, especially his closest aides began rushing to carry out their n to hide away in human society.

    The citizens were pronounced free to do as they will, however, bound to their master they could still easily be called whenever Haruki deemed fit. In the meantime, all of them were advised to spread out and stay hidden in human societies and convert anyone to demons that they could without drawing any suspicion.

    "How are the maids taking the news?" Fay asked, walking up to Rose by the garden as she was readying the carriages for everyone''s departure.

    Done with loading thest box into a special wagon made to resemble a traveling trader''s vehicle, Rose dusted her hand and turned around to face Fay.

    "Not well, but what do you expect, they''re all mostly demi-humans, life without a master can be a living hell for them," being the only one with some authority, Rose had been busy with worry throughout the whole week, and the stench of sweating from her body was enough to attest to it.

    Letting out a sigh, she faked a smile and shifted her attention to Ste being held up in Fay''s hands. At first, she tried to reach for her, but then as Ste winced and buried her face over her mother''s neck, Rose decided not to take the young girl in her arms before taking a proper bath.

    "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that the others are ready to leave, so¡­" Opening one of her arms, Fay invested Rose into a hug.

    "I''m not sure if I should-"

    Despite the excuse, Fay wrapped her hand around Rose''s waist and pulled her body into a hug.

    "We''ll miss you, are you sure you can''te with us?" A bit teary, Fay urged her to apany them in their pretense of being traveling merchants.

    However, given her responsibility to her family, she couldn''t apany them wherever Haruki and hispanions went. Instead, she had decided to flee away from the duchy and find a quiet ce to live with her children for a while.

    "You know I can''t, don''t worry though," wrapped her hands around her as well, Rose continued with a heavy heart. "Remember that brooch Shin wears? Just hold onto it and call for me, and I''lle to your side whenever."

    "How?" A bit baffled, Fay asked peering up at Rose.

    "It-It''s a long story, perhaps I''ll see you some other time," brushing off the matter, Rose let go of Fay and took a step backward. "Anyways, I''ll be going now, my kids are probably waiting by the spring already. You guys should get out of here soon too."

    Spreading her wings wide, Rose gleamed at Ste timidly eyeing her. Blowing a kiss in her direction Rose made her let out a giggle.

    "Take care, you two," saying that she shot up high and quickly flew off into the distance.

    ***

    Back on the bedside stool like the first day they''d met him, Asuka watched over Haruki as he went through an enigmatic slumber. Ever so often, she would get off and try to heal him with her touch, but no matter how many times she tried he wasn''t showing any signs of waking up.

    "Asuka?" Breaking Asuka''s gaze away from her master, Moriyana knocked on the opened door to get her attention.

    Turning to the voice, Asuka gave Moriyana a lifeless stare with her sunken eyes. And it wasn''t just her eyes that had grown weary, but even her skin had lost its glow after the tragedy that hit her master.

    ''It''s heartbreaking to see her like this.'' Even Moriyana couldn''t help but feel bad for the blonde demi-fox.

    "Do you need help changing Haruki''s clothes?" Walking into the room, Moriyana used her mana to try and assess just how much of Asmodia''s mana was still remaining on Haruki''s body. "Margarette and I are going undercover to Lamenia, but if you need any help before that let me know, okay?"

    ''A few days, maybe? He should be waking up soon.'' Although the news was cherry, she didn''t want to give any false hope to anyone in case her assessment was wrong.

    "No, I''m fine, I can change master''s clothes by myself." getting off the stool, Asuka walked closer to the bed. "Wait, can you hide his horns and tail? Fay wants to leave soon, so can you hide Master''s horns and tail so it''s not so obvious that he''s a demon?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Sure," holding her hand over Haruki, Moriyana made a sprinkling motion over his body. A glittering stream of dust washed over from her fingers, and soon enough Haruki''s horn and tail were hidden awaypletely.

    "There," drawing her hands away, Moriyana turned to Asuka. "Also, good luck taking care of him, we''ll join you guys soon once we''ve created connections with the royals in Lamenia."

    Giving Asuka a quick hug, Moriyana headed out the door. Left alone with Haruki, Asuka began changing his clothes to suit the attire of amoner so he could blend in when they began pretending to be traveling merchants with Fay acting as their guide.

    "Master, I sent the goblin queen and Arachne back to the minotaur dungeon. I''m sorry for not asking for your permission and hope you''d forgive me for it," talking to him as he slept had turned into her usual routine.

    By the time she was done changing Haruki''s clothes, Fay walked into the room after having sent off Rose. Standing by Asuka''s side, she handed Ste to the wolf spirits to coddle, while the both of them got Haruki up on his feet.

    "Are you sure this n is going to work?" Asked Asuka, still dubious about their n to turn into traveling merchants.

    "Don''t worry, neither I nor Moriyana have been dered to be demons, and given our reputation, if they suspected us to be one, they would''ve already spread that information," Fay exined as they carried Haruki out of the room.

    While taking him down the hallways, and descending down the stairs, Asuka looked around at the castle walls to take it all in since she wasn''t sure if this was going to be thest time she would ever get to be here.

    "I''ve spent most of my life within these walls, I don''t know if I can even survive the outside world without help," feeling her heart squeezing inward, Asuka wanted to cry her eyes out.

    "That''s why you have me, I''ve spent my life on the road¡­" Taking a brief pause, Fay turned to look at Ste yfully riding the wolves on their back. "Ever since my parents sold me to a traveler that is."

    Vowing never to let any abandon her child as her parents did to her, Fay kept on walking towards the exit with no intention of getting caught by the emperor''s minions.

    ''Soon enough, we''ll have countless people hunting demons all over the empire.'' Although she feared the possibility, she''d already taken measures to decrease the chances of them ever getting caught.

    "Asuka, do you know why we set the demonic citizens free?" Fay asked right as the two got to the open castle gates.

    Shifting her gaze to Fay with Haruki sagging under her arms, Asuka was caught off guard by the sudden question.

    "Hmm? Why? I don''t know," She replied, curious about the answer.

    With a wide smile on her face, Fay let out a chuckle and took a step out through the castle door.

    "To infest this world with demons, because if there are shape-shifting demons everywhere in this world, then how the hell would they find the true leader?" As the realization from her words hit Asuka, she finally understood just how brilliant the n was.

    "Nobody really knows what master looks like, and even if they did they can never be sure," finally after a week of scowling, a gentle smile crept up Asuka''s face.

    "That''s right, as long as we don''t stick our heads out, they can''t hammer us down even in their wildest dreams," saying that Fay grabbed Haruki from both sides and urged Asuka to get into the wagon.

    Once she stepped on board the wooden nks, Riley walked up beside her from the back of the carriage.

    "Let me help," With Riley''s help, the two got Haruki on board.

    Laying him down on a hay bed, they were all finally ready for departure. Giving the Frost castle a final nce from inside the wagon, Asuka let her emotions wash off before asking Riley to take them away.

 Chapter 170 170 - A Hitch In The Road

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    It had only been a day since their departure from the homnd, and they''d already run into some major trouble. The wood wagon with cloth overhead and curtains on both ends of the seating tform had seemed exceptionally sturdy at first, but while running through a rough road, one of its wheels had toppled over and sent everyone tumbling over each other on their left.

    "Shit!" Cried Riley, pulling herself out of the mud puddle by the edge of the road.

    However, upon realizing the toppled wagon behind her, she forgot her worries and jumped in to check on everyone else.

    "Everyone okay?!" Grabbing the cloth overhead, she held herself straight while trying to make sure that nobody was injured.

    "Like hell anything is okay!" Squeezing Ste in her arms for her safety, Fay shot an angry re at Riley.

    "This is the second time we''ve had a carriage topple over on a journey¡­" Asuka mumbled, her hands clutched tight on Haruki''s body.

    Even though everyone was dirtied by the mud, they didn''tin about it much and simply crawled out of the toppled wagon. And despite Haruki''s body being heavier than expected, Asuka managed to get him out of the wagon with Lulu''s help. Once they were all out, however, only Ste seemed amused by the mud sticking to her clothes.

    "Ste, you''re spreading the dirt on my clothes stop-" Before Fay could finish, a beaming smile from Ste made her stop. "Okay, okay, how can I say no if you look at me with those big guys, ahaha."

    The small interaction between the two, lightened everyone''s mood a little. Yet with their clothes, all dirtied and one of the wagon''s wheels all crumbled up, they needed a way to refresh themselves before continuing on their journey.

    "Riley, where are we?" Walking up beside Riley, Asuka asked.

    Taking a nce around the path lined with tall grass on both sides, it was hard for them to tell if they were even on the right path.

    "Should I fly and take a look?" Feeling a bit ashamed for being lost, Riley nervously scratched the back of her head.

    "NO!" Fay eximed, making everyone jump in surprise even little Ste. "We''re trying toy low, remember? What if someone sees you flying? We''re in an open grass with a straight path, anyone can follow us from a distance if they want."

    With the news of their presence already announced by the emperor, it would be anything but wise to reveal yourself to be a demon. Heaving a sigh, Riley and Asuka both knew that Fay was right, and given her experience as a traveler it was best to trust her instincts instead of doing whatever they wanted.

    "Fine, but we need to at least take a bath, we''ve been traveling without rest," Nodding to Asuka''s suggestion even Fay agreed that they needed to get rid of the stench of sweat from their bodies.

    "I can use water magic if that works-"

    A rustle from the tall grass heightened their senses in an instant. Reaching to her hips, Riley took out a pair of sabers, ready to face whoever was spying on them three. Fay wasn''t that far behind with a soul shield to protect everyone from a surprise attack from the grass.

    "Who is it? Come out now!" Being the only one with only dark offensive skills, Asuka could only offer a warning without revealing her demonic nature.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "What?" A raspy baffled voice from within the grass.

    ''Wait¡­'' As if the voice had clicked something inside her head, Fay moved her right hand in front of the other two. And slowly, as the rustling sound came closer she connected all the dots in her mind and realized why the voice sounded so familiar.

    "Darwin, is that you?" She asked, still a bit cautious with her shield protecting them all.

    Finally jumping out from the tuft of grass, came a shanty man half the size of Fay''s body. Dressed in a leather jacket and boots, he peered up at Fay with a giant smile on his ginger bearded face.

    "Haha! Who could''ve thought I''d run into you again?" He said in a voice that rumbled the ground itself.

    "You scared us, you half-witted dwarf! What the hell are you doing in here anyways?" Dropping the shield, Fay squeezed both of her arms around Ste again.

    Pridefully curling his mustache, he nced around at Fay''spanions before shooting her back a confused gaze.

    "You became a tour guide or something?" He asked, moving further out toward the mud path. "And what happened to yer wagon? Did a blind bat draw it like an idiot?"

    Although his insult made little sense, it still made Riley puff her cheeks up in annoyance and look away from the shanty dwarf.

    "Fay, who is this man?" Done with trying to figure it out herself, Asuka finally asked Fay to clear it all up.

    Shifting her attention to Asuka, Fay huffed up a defeated sight and made a soul chair under her to get a seat before exining. Upon taking a seat, she noticed how Haruki''s body wasid down on a pile of bedding on the side of the road.

    "Darwin, is there any ce nearby where we can get some rest?" Wanting toy Haruki on a proper bed, Fay decided to get somewhere safer first.

    Resting his finger under the chin, Darwin was just as confused as Fay''spanion, however, given their favorable history together, he was inclined to help her first before dumping her with any more questions.

    "Sure, there''s a witch who runs an inn a bit further ahead, you guys can rest there if you want," the witch part of his statement raised many eyebrows, but as Fay got off the chair seeming ready to take the offer, neither Asuka nor Riley questioned her judgment.

    ''I''ve never explored much of our world, so what else can I do but trust her?'' Despite her reluctance, Asuka ced her trust in Fay.

    ''A witch, huh? I wonder what they''re like?'' Having only ever read about witches, Riley unlike Asuka was looking a bit forward to meeting her.

    "Leave your wagon here, I''ll fix themter and bring it to the inn," taking Darwin''s suggestion, the group rode the horses drew the wagon, and went off on their way to get to the witch''s inn.

 Chapter 171 171 - The All-Seeing Witch

    ?

    On their arrival at a log hut alleged to be the witch''s inn, neither Fay nor herpanions could digest the fact that it was supposed to be an inn. Made of log walls, and a roof of hay, it almost appeared like a poor man''s house that lived on day to day''s pay. However, being as desperate for rest as they were, the three unmounted the horse before, straddling in with Haruki''s body held up by them all.

    "Are you sure this is the ce?" Fay asked Darwin as they stood right by the entrance.

    "It is, trust me will ya?" His answer although unconvincing was all they had.

    Onlooking a dark corridor leading deeper into the dainty hut, they stood with their mouths covered to protect themselves from the dustying resting heavily in the air. After just a second of them revaluating their decision toe here, the sound of wood squeaking under hushed footsteps came from deeper within the ce.

    "Ophilia! Come out quick, I''ve got guests for you!" Screaming at the top of his lungs, Darwin called for the witch living in the dainty hut of an inn.

    "Oh, shut up, you prude¡­" As the dried voice of an old woman replied, they all saw a staff with antern came into view from around the corner.

    Eventually, a wrinkled woman with a hunched back walked over to the front. Her hand clutched tight on the staff, and the wrinkled skin was enough to let them all know that she was far from a threat to them. If anything, her living here all on her own and surviving at all was a miracle on its own.

    Standing before them all, she stared at everyone''s face for an ufortably long time, and it wasn''t until Darwin grunted that she was broken from that staring contest.

    "You brought me a pile of demons, and you think that''s something you can shout at me for?" Her words instantly put everyone on edge.

    "Yeah, yeah, everyone''s a demon to you, you nagging witch!" Moving forward, Darwin turned to Fay and the others. "I''ll show you in, if we keep waiting for her, it won''t be until next year that you''d be able to get out of here on your wagon."

    To their relief, the strained rtionship between Darwin and Ophilia seemed to have saved them all. Shooting each other with a worried gaze, they simply decided to push on forward while keeping up the human act.

    "Oh, how moronic your kind is¡­" Tired of the talk already, Ophilia turned around and headed deeper back into the hut.

    Once she was gone from their sight, Darwin led them to an empty room with a tatami mat floor and sliding paper door. To Asuka, and Riley who''d been conditioned to luxury, it felt a bit odd to walk into such a minimalistic room.

    "There''s another girl staying here at the moment, try not to disturb her. I''ll be off to the grasnd looking for poison todes if you need me," shutting the door closed with that message, Darwin had them all even more confused than before.

    "Anyways, I think we should first clean off, and then maybe get some rest until he brings the wagon back here," agreeing with Fay''s suggestion, the three, headed straight to the river by the hut to clean up the mud.

    Being at the edge of a small forest, the inn was surrounded by serine sights of nature, and so despite being in full view all three of them got naked themselves and Haruki naked and dipped into the water.

    "This feels weird," Asuka mumbled.

    "What do you mean?" Asked Riley.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I don''t know, it feels normal, I guess? After all the chaos that happened, just taking a dip in a river feels weird, as if I don''t deserve it for some reason?" Huffing out the emotional turmoil Asuka, forced a smile and looked at her own image in the clear water.

    "I get what you mean, but try not to let those thoughts ruin your peace of mind," sitting down beside Asuka, Fay yfully bumped her shoulder onto her.

    Beaming a warm smile, Asuka turned to her other side to start cleaning up Haruki''s body. All the while, Fay and Riley kept on ying with Ste as she sshed around in the clear waters. For the first time, in a very long time, they were enjoying the moment even if it simply met taking a bath together for some.

    ''Master, please wake up soon.'' Thankfully so far, nobody had questioned them about Haruki''s condition, but that too made Asuka feel a bit anxious. Back in the castle, everyone was always ready to offer up everything for their master, but now out in the real world, that concern for him was only confined to their small group. ''Till the end of time, remember? I''m not leaving your side even if it takes forever.''

    Deep in thought, Asuka didn''t notice another girl with a towel wrapped around her body joining them into the river. But, finally as Fay and Riley stopped ying around and their noises died down, she looked around to find exactly what had happened.

    "What-" At first she turned to herpanions, but then following their gazes, she was left shell-shocked by the sight in front of her.

    "Is something wrong?" Asked the girl as she sat down beside Haruki''s body.

    Her charcoal skin threw them all off, and the blood-red horns reaching backward only baffled them all the more. Frozen in shock, only one thought went through the mind of all three of them.

    ''Is she a threat?''

    Tilting her head to the side, the girl ced her index on her lips with a puzzled look on her face.

    "Never seen a devil before?" And with that statement, they all leaped away and turned into their demonic forms.

    Ready for a fight, their eyes were fixed on the devil.

    "What do you want?" Making sure to hide Haruki behind her, Asuka was ready to defend her master.

    However, unfazed by the whole thing, the girl closed her dark eyes and simply took a brief dip into the water. Their eyes still fixed on her, Asuka and the rest were ready to unleash countless attacks on her body if she dared to make a move against them.

    "Sit down¡­" Peaking her head out, the devil made them all forcefully take a seat with her words alone. "I''m a citizen of Dtia, don''t make me ruin my reputation by punishing you three presumptuous idiots."

    Away from theirfort zone, this encounter with a devil opened them to how little they knew about the kingdom they were headed into.

    ''I knew Dtia had a multi-racial poption, but devils too?!'' Fay though, utterly baffled by the revtion.

 Chapter 172 172 - Death Embraces All

    ?

    The search for demons was in full swing now that the emperor had dered handsome prizes for any who could bring him the head of demons residing within the Marquis kingdom. And even then, the head of demons living in Laria was said to be most desired as the former duke''s identity was now confirmed to be the root of all problems.

    Yet as an army of prospecting adventurers came storming into the duchy, they saw nothing but abandoned buildings and rotting goodsid out in front of roadside shops. The parties of adventurers kept wandering around the cities trying to find anyone who could be taken for a demon, but no matter where they looked, only disappointment found them on every end.

    "Let''s head to the castle, what do you say?" Followed by a pair of female archers and a mage, the only male swordsman of the group decided to take his group to the castle.

    They weren''t just looking for demons, but anything they could plunder, be it gold or anything else that had any luster. On their way to the castle, they''d hoped to see riches beyond measure in the treasury. Driven by their greed they quickly began scanning every room, every floor, and upturned all paintings and sculptures that''d been up for centuries without ever being touched.

    Not recognizing the worth of art, their eyes simply scavenged for wealth, and that is when they ran into the giant door of the sealed ice dragon. Gathering all hispanions, the leader had hoped to finally find something of great value inside. But little did they know, their doom was waiting within those sealed walls.

    The moment they stepped into the dark, a breath of cold chilled their bodies. While shuddering in ce, they caught the sight of a blizzard, reflected into the eyes of a monster peering at them through the dark.

    "I was told that many brave warriors woulde to this ce," slowly walking out into the light, Klian revealed his dragon form to the squeamish adventurers. "But it seems like I''d have to make do with you people to test my recovered strength."

    What followed next caused thend of Laria to turn into a tundra once more.

    ***

    The meeting with a devil casually residing in the same inn as them, made Haruki''s servants feel quite conflicted. On one hand, they couldn''t condemn the devil girl for simply sharing the ce, on the other they felt an intrinsic repulsion towards her kind.

    Contrary to the belief of many, devils and demons were not at all simr. While demons were the offsprings of demon lords, devils were monsters much akin to the likeness of vampires.

    "Are you sure this ce is safe?" Tucked in her futon beside Haruki, Asuka asked Fayying on the side of her master.

    "Who knows at this point?" Her reply was, to say the least, concerning.

    "I mean, we can''t trust her just as much as she can''t trust us, right?" Said Riley from her futon on Asuka''s right.

    "I''m just worried how she made us sit by just ordering us to," although it felt like she was the one worried about it, Fay and Riley were just as much concerned because of that ability.

    "Just get some rest you two¡­" Wrapping her hand around Ste, Fay went to sleep just like her daughter.

    Making use of miasmic flytrap to keep the door shut, Asuka snuggled up to Haruki''s body and slipped into slumber as well. Still a bit anxious about the whole thing, Riley tried to fall asleep, but just couldn''t.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''Maybe I should take a stroll?'' Despite knowing that it wasn''t the best idea, she left the room and headed to where the devil girl was supposed to be sleeping. Even though the sliding paper door, she could easily see the silhouette of the girl sleeping inside one of the rooms. ''What the hell am I doing?''

    Driven solely by her instinct for carnage, she wanted to walk in and drive her saber through the devil''s throat. However, since she wasn''t portraying any real signs of danger, Riley couldn''t bring herself to take that risk.

    "What are you doing?" Calling from behind her, Ophilia scared Riley straight.

    "Eekkk!" Quickly turning around, she noticed the witch standing behind her. "Oh lord, I thought it was a ghost or something!"

    "A demon scared of a ghost, what a joke," turning her gaze away, Ophilia began walking away from Riley, and down toward the inn''s entrance.

    A bit curious about the old woman, Riley decided to ask her a few questions.

    "Where are you going sote at night?" Her question, however, was simply ignored. "Fine, fine, I''ll leave you alone."

    Despite that promise, Riley faked going back to her room and instead turned invisible to follow the olddy. Going out the main entrance behind the witch, Riley watched as she made her way toward the river. There, as she got to the waters, she peered at her own reflection for an ungodly amount of time.

    "You''ll die you know¡­All of you," she mumbled before slowly turning to look right at where Riley stood. "If you keep going down this path, that''s the only thing waiting for you."

    "Everyone dies, we all know that," realizing that the woman can still see her, Riley undid her invisibility. "But what path are you talking about?"

    "Oh, you''ll know¡­You''ll know," moving closer to Riley, the old witch simply ced her withered fingers on her arms before passing her by.

    But in the brief moment that she did, the image of her own dagger stabbed into her throat shed before her eyes. Astounded by the image, she couldn''t figure out what she''d just seen. Was it a vision or another illusion by a damned witch?

    "Wait!" She demanded.

    "Nothing does, why should I?" But the witch didn''t stop.

    Standing alone under the night sky, Riley watched as the witch headed back into the hut. All the while in her mind, ran the image of her own dead selfying lifeless before the devil girl''s eyes.

    ''Was that a warning? A warning of what could''ve happened if I tried to kill that girl?'' Brushing it off of her mind, Riley headed back into the inn andid beside herpanions to get some rest.

 Chapter 173 173 - The Emperor Of Void Awoken

    ?

    As the sun rose through the horizon, Haruki''s eyes finally opened up. Having slept through the past weeks, he had no clue where he was or what hispanions were doing all this time without him. Looking around with his tired eyes he noticed Asuka sleeping beside him with her handying on top of his chest. On the other side of his body was Fay sleeping soundly with Ste clenched tightly onto her bosom.

    Pulling himself up, he felt lost. The only other familiar face he saw was Riley, but she too was sleeping inside a futon. The sliding door, the dusty room, and the dirty unkempt windows made him wonder if he was dreaming or if the castle was under some strange illusion.

    "Truth seeker..." Channeling mana through his vision, he looked around in hopes of seeing through the illusion.

    ''This is¡­all real?'' Baffled by the realization, he picked himself up on his feet and decided to find out where he was exactly.

    And although waking up the others would''ve been a faster way of doing so, he didn''t want to ruin their sleep, especially since they all seemed a bit withered since thest time he''d seen them.

    "Pass through¡­" Using yet another acquired ability, Haruki walked over to the doors and walked right through them.

    To his surprise, however, an old hunched-overdy was standing in front of the door peering up at him. At first, he thought of hypnotizing her to make her forget what she saw, but as she began simply walking away without a word, he had no clue what he should do.

    "Follow me," looking back at him with her cloudy silver gaze, she beckoned Haruki to follow her. "I have something to show you."

    Still a bit lost, he decided to follow the witch. Taking Haruki out through the entrance, she began wandering towards the mud path. After walking for a while, they reached a point of elevation with a short cliff overlooking the vast expanse of tall grass that''s been cut in half by the mud road.

    "Here, sit," at the edge of that small cliff, the witch sat down looking at the rising sun.

    "Who are you?" He asked, approaching her slowly.

    Once he was standing by her side, she looked up at him with a gentle smile. Cackling a bit in a clownish manner, she patted her hand on the grass for him to sit down on. Desperate for answers, Haruki did as he was told, and sat beside the olddy.

    "You know¡­" Turning her gaze back to the son, the witch finally revealed. "Your master, Asmodia, you''re not her only child, and neither is that arrogant child Moriyana."

    "How do you know abou-"

    "There are no coincidences in this world, child. You didn''t end up here because of a broken wheel on your wagon," raising a single finger, thedy gently touched Haruki''s temples. "Here, see for yourself."

    Her touch pushed Haruki into a hallucinating state. His mind began wandering through memories of hispanions and everything they''d done after he lost consciousness during the battle with Almuld. Everything from being trapped in time, and what Asmodia said to him about not having much time, to the witch''s encounter with Rileyst night, it all came to him in a matter of seconds.

    "Who are you?" Still stuck scanning through memories, his eyes were upturned and blinded as the witch replied.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Your master''s conscience, Oph, the witch of bleeding hearts," with that, Haruki felt something pull him out of his memories.

    As he looked around the ce, he found no sight of the witch, and it was only basking under the rising sun''s presence.

    ''Another illusion or¡­Dammit, why doesn''t she just show herself like she used to?'' Wondering why Asmodia had to send a messenger instead of simply meeting up with him in a dream, Haruki pulled himself back up and headed back toward the inn.

    However, this time as he got there, instead of a hut, he only saw hispanions sleeping out in the open yet in the same ce where the inn used to be.

    ''What the hell even is real anymore?'' Being fooled despite using his truth seeker ability, Haruki had no clue what to believe.

    Hearing a groaning from his group of servants, he noticed Asuka slowly opening up her eyes. And as if sensing the disturbance around them the other two stretched their arms and woke up as well. Moving closer, Haruki wanted to help them up their feet, but the moment their eyesid on him, they all propped themselves up in a frenzy.

    "Master!" Rushing right over to him, Asuka wrapped her hands around Haruki''s body.

    Fay wasn''t far behind with Ste in hugging him, even Riley couldn''t help but join in. Surrounded by them all, he felt slightly better about the situation. Wrapping his hands around them, he let his heart soothe up from everything he''d just been shown through memories.

    "Wait¡­" Finally realizing that the inn was gone, Riley was the first to pull away from the hug. "Where''s the hut?"

    The revtion pinned the other two and forced them to turn around to look where they were sleeping. It was all gone, reced by an imprint of their bodies in the dirt, and even the devil girl was nowhere to be seen.

    "Where''s the witch?! And that devil too?!" Freaking out of her mind, Riley paced around looking at any sight of them being around.

    "They weren''t real, and that memory she showed you, was a warning to stay away from that girl in case we run into her," having seen everything they''d been through, it was a lot easier for Haruki to dissect the meaning behind most of the witch''s actions.

    "No wait," pulling away from the hug as well, Fay voiced another concern. "Darwin¡­I don''t remember ever meeting him before¡­"

    That was all she needed to say to know the culprit behind the entire thing.

    "Asmodia!" All three of his servants called out her name in unison.

    "Exactly," and Haruki confirmed their suspicion.

 Chapter 174 174 - Shredding Clothes And Frustration [18+]

    ?

    After heading back to retrieve the broken wagon, Haruki dropped it into a dungeon portal and decided to unjumble everything before making their way toward the Dtian kingdom again. After all, the devil girl they knew not even the name of, was supposed to be a resident there, and given the vision Riley had been shown, she was bound to cause trouble.

    "Tortemtous dungeon: Create a beach for us with a safehouse for an infant," ordering his familiar, Haruki opened a portal under their feet to transfer everyone to this ce.

    Falling in, they allnded her on coarse sand with an ever-stretching ocean washing their feet with its cold waves.

    "Water again?" Seeing water in the augmented space, Fay almost seemed a bit disappointed.

    "I wanted to feel the sun," stretching his arm forward, Haruki masked his clothes into just a pair of boxers. "My body''s been really cold since I woke up from that darned weeklong sleep."

    Looking through his fingers he peered at the bright sun as his body felt rejuvenated from its warmth. Those days sleeping in his bed motionless had weakened his body, but now standing on his own two feet, he could feel himself recovering all his strength.

    "Ha-Haruki¡­" Hearing Ste mumble out his name, Haruki turned to look at her coddled up in Fay''s arms.

    Staring at him with her bubbly eyes, she had her hands extended towards him. Taking her from Fay, he held her up high and took a gentle flight slightly above the ground. However, still far from being at full strength his wings gave under his weight, and he was forced to confine himself to the earth alone.

    "Maybeter¡­" Saying that he pressed his forehead against Ste. While doing so, she grabbed Haruki''s face and even yfully bit him on the nose. "I can bite too, you know?"

    Lightly sinking his teeth over her cheeks, he made her chuckle. ying with her for a while longer, he went a bit into the waters so they could y in the ocean as a substitute for the sky. While the two shed water and dove in together, Fay and the rest headed towards the log cabin safehouse to prepare everything that was needed.

    "Here!" Once again as Haruki sshed water on Ste, she turned into a fluid slime and swiftly traveled along his arm before sitting down on his head.

    Right as she performed the incredible feat, her eyes grew weary from using too much of her powers, and before long she fell headlong into Haruki''s arms. Tired from the y, she slipped back into slumber once more.

    "We still don''t know her limits, maybe we shouldn''t let her expend too much energy like this?" Calling from behind Haruki, Fay got his attention. "This isn''t the first time she''d fainted you know?"

    "She''s a kid, they are supposed to tire themselves to sleep," turning around, Haruki hands her over to Fay.

    Following behind her as Fay took Ste to the safehouse, Haruki had his eyes fixed on Fay''s changed attire. Dressed in a multi-coloredced bikini, it almost felt like her clothes were picked by Moriyana. And to further his surprise as he stepped into the safehouse behind her, he noticed Asuka dressed in a pair of underwear made of skin-tight jaguar patterned underwear that sun deep into her skin.

    ''What''s happening?'' While wondering if he was seeing things correctly, he noticed Riley standing in a corner with a dark-tied top and a near-transparent dangling over her ck panties. ''Wait¡­''<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Bringing out his stat screen while Fay put Ste into a cradle, Haruki scrolled down until he noticed the level of carnal curse that he was on.

    ''Level two, and since I had passed out for almost a week that means everyone but maybe except Riley should be on that level as well.'' Since only Riley could control her carnal curse with carnage, the others were definitely on the same level as Haruki.

    "I''ll put her to sleep, and maybe we guys can go out and y on the beach?" Looking back at Haruki with her body bent towards the cradle, Fay intentionally shot him a seductive look.

    "Um¡­I think we should do it, right master?" Asuka added, her face as red as a beat because of the oundish bikini.

    Feeling tempted by the offer, Haruki gave a brief nod. It has been a while since he''s felt a woman''s touch, and it was definitely taking a strain on his psyche. Besides, even if it weren''t for lowering their curse level, they would''ve still engaged in depraved activities just to blow off some frustration from the past days.

    Watching Riley fidgeting in the corner, Haruki summoned a clone of Margarette so she could enjoy being filled up with her conscious tail as well. After a brief while of making sure Ste was fast asleep in the cradle, the adults in the group all slipped out to the beach with the view of the setting sun.

    "This is strange, isn''t it?" Haruki said, feeling somewhat conflicted.

    "The change in pace you mean, master?" Knowing exactly what he meant, Asuka moved up beside him. "I said the same thing when you were asleep, but now everything feels better already."

    Nuzzling up to his arms, Asuka closed her eyes shut. Moving to the other side, Fay did the very same. Feeling freed from anxiety with two beauties by his arms, Haruki first turned to Asuka and raised her face with his finger to look up at him.

    "I suppose you''re right," with that said, he pressed his lips against her, and all the worries in his mind quickly washed away.

    Watching the two kissing, Fay turned to look at Riley in the back. Already under Margarette''s body, she was being licked all over as the clone slipped its hand into her panties.

    "Seems like I''m the only one left behind," turning back to Haruki, she conjured an astral hand made of soul, and broke the kiss between the two. "Give me some love too daddy, ahaha!"

    Getting on her toes, she stole a kiss from his lips. The stolen kiss, however, wasn''t something Asuka was simply willing to forgive.

    ''Lulu, attack her!'' She ordered her familiar, and it sprouted under the soul maniptor''s feet.

 Chapter 175 175 - Digging Deep Into Their Bodies[18+]

    ?

    The moment Fay felt a pair of tentacles climbing up her legs, her whole body squeezed inward from shock. Breaking the kiss from Haruki, she moved her hand between her legs and shot an angry gaze at Asuka. Wearing a mocking smile, Asuka pulled Haruki''s face back towards herself and pushed her tongue deeper into his mouth.

    While coiling his tongue with Asuka, Haruki didn''t notice the tentacles moving Fay''s hands off of herced panties. Pushing forward, he slipped her underwear to the side and began caressing her folds like a wet slimy tongue. All the while, Asuka reached down on Haruki''s stomach while also keeping him bound with a kiss.

    "Ugghhh!" Grunting out loud with her legs shaking from the sensation, Fay conjured an exact replica of Haruki''s cock and forced it between Asuka''s legs.

    Finally, noticing the ordeal as Asuka yelped in shock, Haruki decided to make matters more equal.

    "Asuka, get down on your knees," he ordered while grabbing Fay''s face and bringing her lips closer. "I want you to suck me off until you''ve filled up your stomach with my seed."

    "What about me?" Asked Fay.

    "You can join her soon, but bring your lips to me first," pulling her even closer, he pressed her lips against hers and without a second''s dy forced his tongue into her mouth.

    Desperate for any kind of touch from him, Asuka did as she was told and got to her knees. Kneeling between Haruki''s legs, she pulled down his shorts while another woman kept him busy in the upwards department. The moment his hard cock came into her view, it pped her in the face as if to show who she belonged to.

    Feeling drunk on the smell of his cock, she parted her wet lips, and slowly pushed his dick deeper into her mouth. The warmth of her bodybined with the sloppy wetness, shot Haruki''s mind with all kinds of sensations. As if that wasn''t enough, he used a pair of phantom hands to raise Fay over his body.

    Having her groin ced right before Haruki''s face, she bit down on her lips, expecting him to eat her up with his tongue. Grabbing theces of her panties, Haruki undid them both and threw them off to the side, then as her drooling folds were revealed in front, he stuck his tongue out and dug into his meal.

    Watching from the back as Asuka was sucking Haruki off from between his legs, and Fay made orgasmic faces and moaned while getting herself eaten, Riley felt even more horny and decided to have the clone do the same to her body.

    "Eat me!" She demanded, and Margarette''s clonepiled by moving further down her naked body.

    The moment her tongue hit her wet folds, she felt her insides flutter with orgasmic pleasure. Soon, the clone extended her tongue to travel until her very womb. Feeling herself being toyed with from so deep, Riley was on a constant hit of orgasm, and the sand under her body was being puddled with her juices.

    ''I-I''ll turn stupid if this keeps going! But I don''t want to stop!'' Being a creature of lust, she couldn''t control her desires.

    Meanwhile, feeling his mind bursting with pleasure, Haruki could feel his cock throbbing down Asuka''s throat. All the while, his tongue was exploring Fay''s pussy just like the clone. Gobbling up her juices, his excitement kept growing harder and harder inside Asuka''s mouth pussy.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Fuck! I feel like your juices are having a strange effect on me!" Clenching his teeth, he felt himself bursting with climax. "I''m cumming! Fuck!"

    Grabbing Asuka''s hair, Haruki pushed her lips until she was left kissing his two jewels. Feeling himself unloading his seeds down her throat, he brought down Fay, so he could give her a taste of herself while filling Asuka''s belly.

    "It''s your turn next, but I wanna fuck that pussy not your mouth," pulling her into a kiss, he sent her off into an even hazier state than before.

    Having her inside licked clean, she had already climaxed countless times, and now with a promise of getting her pussy fucked until broken, she could not contain herself mentally. Feeling Asuka finally pull herself off of his cock, Haruki had her stand back up as he took them both into shallow water.

    Upon getting deep enough until he could feel slightly submerged, he pushed Fay back, and quickly moved on top of her body. With the water only getting up to her hair, Haruki spread her legs wide and had Asuka hold them up forward while he pushed his dick into Fay''s pussy.

    "I''m next, right?" Asuka asked, her pussy already drooling over Fay''s forehead.

    "Yes, you are. We''re going to take out all of our frustration today, so everyone''s getting a turn," saying that he swiftly ced his cock between Fay''s lower lips, and plunged his dick in one deep stroke.

    "Ahhhh!" She groaned in pain and pleasure. Feeling her master pushing deep into her so suddenly, she grabbed strands of hair and pulled on them. "Mhnmmm! Agh!"

    Already having submitted her body to him, she knew there was no escaping and she was nothing more than a hole to fuck at the moment. Coincidentally, that''s all she wanted to feel like right now.

    "Don''t stop¡­Fuck me like you always do," throwing her hands around Haruki''s shoulders, she pulled him into a kiss once more.

    As Haruki tasted Fay''s juices on her own lips, Haruki began moving his hips again, until the sounds of their shing flesh resounded through the ocean. With each stroke, he spread her flesh wide and had the tip of his cock ramming against the entrance to her womb.

    "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" She screamed, her nails digging into Haruki''s back.

    Unable to control herself either, Asuka let go of Fay''s legs and began touching herself right in front of their breeding bodies. As time went on, Haruki kept thrusting faster and faster, to the point where Fay fell conscious from one orgasm after the other. Yet, whenever she came to, Haruki was still filling her womb with his juices.

    "We''re not done," He whispered into her ears before flipping her around to fuck her ass until it was stuffed full of his juices as well.

 Chapter 176 176 - Peddling Royalty-Part 1[18+Adult Themes]

    ?

    "I feel like someone''s getting a pounding of a lifetime, while we''re here working our asses off," Moriyanained, sulking at the thought of more work.

    While she wasn''t too far off the mark, there were many more in their group much more justified toin about the work they were being forced to put up with.

    "At least you don''t have to pretend to be a v-Aghhh!" Athena cried before she could finish up her sentence.

    "Sorry¡­" Putting piercing through Athena''s dark nipples, Margarette could feel the pain she was going through. "It''ll be fine, I can heal the piercing once we''re done with this deal."

    "Grrrr¡­" Growling at Margarette, Athena did her best to keep her rage in control.

    Wanting to have Athena and Alice infiltrate a royalty''s home, they were being decorated as ves that this certain royal was sure to love.

    "Are you guys sure this is a good idea?" Standing in the same inn room, Laura had her face turned away in shame. Yet ever so often, her gaze would turn to look at the perky breasts of the demi-human cat. "Can''t we use real ves instead?"

    Although Moriyana had hoped to go that route, ever since the news about the demonic duke made it out to the public, she was trying not to poke her head out until everyone forgot about her connection to the duke.

    "If you have a problem, you can always switch ces with her," smirking to herself, Moriyana got off the bed, and moved behind the timid elf. "After all, I''ve heard elves make excellent sex ves, especially with how light their flesh looks inside their folds."

    Throwing her hands around the elf, Moriyana began gently ramming her hips against Laura''s ass.

    "M-Me-Me?! No! No way!" Trying to run away, Laura moved forward, but being pulled back into her arms by Moriyana, she shuddered at the thought of being presented as a ve.

    "Come on now," biting her earlobes, Moriyana whispered in her ear. "It''s true right? That elves used to just fuck and fuck for decades."

    "Moriyana, let her go," ring at her, Margarette warned her with a stern gaze. "If you''re so free, why don''t you do the piercings on Alice instead of ying with Laura?"

    Hearing her name being mentioned, Laura winced at the thought of getting pierced like her mother. Especially, since doing it to the clit made Athena squirt like a shower in front of everyone.

    "Fine, I was just having a little fun teasing the virgin girl," scoffing at Margarete''sint, Moriyana picked up a clipper and walked up to Alice seated by the dressing table.

    "H-How do you know that I''m a virgin?" A bit insulted by thement, Laura demanded an answer.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "The guy in your party is a fucking saint hanging out with three girls, it''s no surprise that none of you knew about sex before meeting any of us," hitting the mark with the answer, Moriyana busied herself readying Alice.

    Although feeling a bit demeaned, Laura kept her mouth shut and walked out of the room to check up on herpanions downstairs. Holding up in a rundown inn at the edge of town, they were paying extra to the owner to keep everything that was happening a secret. Not realizing that he was already under the charm of Moriyana''s potions, she kept making rounds to make sure he wasn''t epting any new guests.

    Meeting up with the rest of her party, Alicia and Elina, the duo of archers, and Damien the knight, she sat down at a table with them to keep an eye on anyoneing in. For a while, they sat together in silence while keeping watch, but finally, when he couldn''t keep it in anymore, Damien decided to ask Laura some questions.

    "Did something happen upstairs? Your face is all red," his sudden question, only made her blush a brighter shade.

    "N-n-nothing!" She replied, burying her head down on the table.

    "Come on Laura, we''re not blind. Who are these people? And why do you keep making us help them?" With a promise to Freya to keep the identity of her wives a secret, there was no way in hell that she could answer him sincerely.

    "Just trust me, if we help these people, we can have enough gold to feed our vige for a hundred years," her words of promise had begun to lose meaning, but their faith in Laura was too strong to give up just yet.

    "If you say so¡­" The archer twins said together while nodding their heads.

    "Yeah, we just need to help the-"

    The sound of creaking stairs turned everyone''s gaze toward the noise, and what they saw on those steps was nothing like any of them had expected. With the leashes of their cors in the hands of Moriyana and Margarette, Alice and Athena were being brought down the straight wearing a near-transparent hanging by their chest and groin. The masking of the cloth was so faint that the newly ced piercings were apparent and on full disy.

    "Aghhhhhhh!" Realizing that her whole party was seeing them like this, Laura moved in front of their faces and desperately iled her limbs to obstruct the sight. "Don''t look!"

    Flustered red, the twins looked at each other with their eyes swirling around. As for Damien who''d never seen a woman in such a state, he was left bbergasted with his jaws wide open.

    "Oi, Damien guy, get us a carriage will you?" Moriyana ordered, trying to tease him further.

    Already heating up from the sight of the demi-cats, for some reason being ordered by Moriyana made his body excite even further. Never having experienced such a rush of blood, the elf jumped off the table and began rushing out to get a carriage.

    ''What''s happening to me?'' He thought for the very first time in his life, he was experiencing a raging boner. Unfortunately for him, however, while Moriyana had many ns to torture the guy, she had no intention of ever letting himy so much as a finger on any of Haruki''s wives, which ultimately included even her, and perhaps even the elves sooner orter.

 Chapter 177 177 - Peddling Royalty-Part 2[18+Adult Themes]

    ?

    Travelling in the carriage under the elf party''s protection, Moriyana and her group were on their way to meet one of the royalty who was a member of the duchy''s council. But to Moriyana, her interest at the momentid not in what was to follow, but in the nervous and jittering gazes of the four elves seated across her.

    ''Virgin number one, virgin number two, virgin number three, and then there''s virgin number four¡­'' With a wide smirk, she felt titited to tease the party, yet with Margarette present in the carriage she had to be real discreet, or else her actions would certainly be shot down.

    "Bedona, can you go through the requirements the nobleman gave us for the ves? I can always use magic to fake more ornaments if we really need them," Moriyana suggested.

    Hearing her talk about faking the ornaments, Athena as well as Alice gave her a frowning nce.

    "You could''ve just faked these piercings?" In pure disbelief, Athena bared her fang seemingly ready to tear into Moriyana.

    Grunting out loud, Moriyana let her frustration be known to everyone.

    "I said fake ornaments, the moment someone touches them their fingers will pass right through!" Rolling her eyes, Moriyana faked being in a serious mood.

    "Okay, quiet down you two. I''ll check the list," not realizing that she was ying right into Moriyana''s hands, Margarette reached into her purse and took the list of requirements given by the royalty.

    Unfolding the document, she scanned through it with her eyes first before reciting what was written on it. And as she did, Moriyana had all the ns to keep teasing the virgin elves more and more.

    "Older demi-human woman, dark-skinned and big breasts¡­" Feeling a bit awkward about reading the rest of it in front of the elves, Margaret paused for a moment, but then just decided to power through it. "Big breasts that one can bury their dick inside."

    "Hmm¡­" Moving her hands on Athena''s body, Moriyana trailed her nails down to her busty breasts. "I bet even a twenty inches can fit in her tits."

    Although a bit bothered by Moriyana casually touching her, thepliment made her wonder if Haruki liked her boobs for that reason as well. Letting the praise get to her Athena, didn''t revolt against Moriyana''s touch at all.

    "Then there''s pierced nipples, and clit," despite the elves getting redder and redder Margarette continued to read down the list. "Finally, thick thighs and an ass that can crush the skulls of men."

    "What?!" Perplexed by thest requirement, Damien turned around and instinctively looked at Athena.

    The others weren''t far behind either, and before long they found themselves just staring at her body. Watching them all breathe heavily from their mouths, Moriyana bit down on her lips and hoped her master would one day turn them all into his servants.

    ''I wanna crush their throats so badly!'' Feeling excited in her own way, she kept on watching their gazes lusting for Athena''s body.

    "Can you guys settle down again?" Realizing how Athena had seriously started to feel ufortable, Margarette had to step in and force them back into their seats. "And Moriyana, next time you try making me do this kind of stuff for perverted reasons, I''m gonna chain you up and put an iron rod through your body."

    With the talk of torture getting out of hand, the elves scared for their lives, shrunk back into their seats.

    "Please don''t read the requirements for me¡­" Added Alice, afraid that she was going to be Moriyana''s next victim.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Don''t worry, we''re not-" As something crashed into her side of the carriage, Margarette felt a sharp pain running through her back. "Aghhhh! Ughh!"

    Not as used to pain as the rest of her party, she let out loud cries as the carriage almost toppled over to the other side.

    "Fuck, someone''s attacking us!" Picking up what kind of situation they were in, Moriyana quickly put up a magic shield on both of the carriage doors.

    Brushing off their embarrassment from earlier, the elven twins drew their bows and tried to stake out the enemy from the coachman''s window. Upon looking through it, the very first thing they saw was the headless body of the coachman. Before their mind could register what they''d just seen, the bleeding body flopped sideways and was crushed under the carriage wheels.

    Shaken to the core, the twins stepped away from the window. Their eyes bleeding with horror and the carriageing to a stop was the information needed for Moriyana to figure out what was happening.

    "There''s an axe stabbed into her back!" Alice informed, still looking at the deep wound on Margarette''s body.

    "Take it out!" Demand Margarette.

    "Wait! You''ll bleed out!"

    "Just do it!" Ignoring Damien''s advice, she freaked Alice enough to force her into taking action.

    Watching it all unfold, Moriyana knew that the traumatized elves weren''t going to be much help, and even the rest of their party was simply mediocre. So it was down to her to figure out how to get out of there safely.

    "Rejuvenation!" As Margarette screamed the name of her ability, Moriyana was pulled out of her thoughts, ready to take action.

    "Don''t ask a damned question, and close your fucking eyes!" Hearing her scream thatmanded everyone was baffled and confused even more than they already were.

    "What?" Mumbled Laura with a look of absolute astoundment.

    "Oh my fucking lord! Do you people really don''t get what''s happening?! We got fucking set up by the royalty, now just close your eyes!" With that, everyone just did as she asked despite fearing that the assants would kill them while their eyes were closed.

    ''I can''t tell that it''s probably the emperor''s goon who located me and Margarette, fuck!'' Finally, as everyone had their eyes shut, Moriyana closed her own with the magic shield still up on both doors.

    Creating a channel of mana between everyone inside while the demon-hunting mercenaries kept striking at the wooden door, Moriyana connected them all to her and created the same mental tunnel to escape the carriage as she''d used to escape Asmodia''s prison.

    "Trust me I''ve done it a million times¡­" Right as the door was broken from her side, Moriyana snapped her fingers and forced their bodies through a tiny portal to the otherworld.

    "What the fuck?" Seeing them all fuse into a tiny speck of light and disappear, the mercenaries were more than just a bit confused.

 Chapter 178 178 - The OtherWorld

    ?

    It was the very first time that Moriyana had forced her way into Asmodia''s prison instead of forcing her way out of it. Which had consequences, some more severe than the others, but, for the elves and the demi-cat it was even worse than what she had to go through.

    "Dear lord¡­of Darkness," Knowing her mother was always listening, Moriyana corrected her tone as she leaned over to the shallow liquid to pick up a ball of flesh. "Shit, I forgot that only demons cane and go so easily."

    Moving the ball in front of her eyes, she saw a muddled mess of the elves and demi-cats squeezed into a small pile of flesh. The portal to their way here had shrunk them down, but unlike demons who could easily change their forms, they were left stuck as a marble until they exited the otherworld.

    "What is this ce?" Looking around in the ever-stretching darkness, the only thing Margarette could feel was the cold blood underneath her feet. "There''s no light, I can barely see even with my demonic instincts."

    "Yeahhh¡­Try not to think too much, this ce loves to torture you with your fears," although Margarette barely had any clue what Moriyana meant by that, she decided to listen to her advice for once. "Let''s move, we need to find an exit door, it shouldn''t be far."

    Pushing the marble between her breasts, she pursed the rest of the groups between her breasts. Walking through the darkness in a straight unaltered line, it felt as though despite the numerous steps they were standing exactly where they started. The only thing giving them some confirmation of their progress was the riddles in the blood left behind with each of their steps.

    "You''ve been here before?" Curious about Moriyana''s knowledge about the ce, Margarette couldn''t help asking that question.

    "I have, I was¡­" Heaving a heavy sigh, Moriyana kept moving forward. "In a sense, I was born here, in between reality and illusion, but then mother turned into a prison for me, and I did everything to escape it."

    Listening to her exnation, Margarette for the first time felt empathy towards the illusionist. Being a mother, although not biologically, she couldn''t fathom the thought of raising a child in such a deste ce.

    "Margarette, don''t think¡­" As if Moriyana had read her thoughts, she warned Margarette not to pursue her thoughts any further.

    "Okay, sorry," taking no chances, she washed her concerns for when they were both out of this hellhole.

    For a while longer they traveled in silence with only the sound of their feet hitting the blood resonating through the dark. However, on a keener look at the front, a flickering shadow of light could barely be discerned.

    "It''s here," Moriyana whispered before slowing down as she took her next steps forward.

    A bit puzzled, Margarette looked on, wondering why she''d suddenly taken a change in pace, but then as she realized the distance between the two, she instinctively started rushing over to catch up. Catching the dashing steps, Moriyana''s eyes widened in horror. Slowly turning around, she tried to hush Margarette with a finger over her lips.

    "What?" Stopping altogether, Margarette''s mind was teeming with questions.

    But then, she saw it. Following Moriyana''s gaze down into the blood floor, a creature of darkness was lurking right under her. As big as a giant, its mouth opened by her feet, appeared like an evesting pit of darkness. Looking around a bit more with her fear gripped heart, she noticed the countless teeth circling eternity in a circr pattern. To further the stroke of insanity, it pushed out one of its countless spiked tentacles and held it over Margarette''s face.

    ''Wh-what the hell is this thing?!'' She wondered as the creature feasted on her fear. ''Go away!''

    If only she''d been quiet, it would''ve simply gone away. Instead, coiling its arm around her neck, it squeezed it tight. With each gasp for breath, it squeezed even harder and harder, until the very moment Margarette felt her eyes about to pop out of their sockets.

    "Enough¡­" A voice ordered making the creature let go before promptly returning into the depths of darkness. "Do note back, or just don''t bring your friends here ever again."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Left gasping for breath, Margarette''s burst into a fit of coughs. Rushing over to her, Moriyana picked her back on her feet before slowly straddling with her to the light door.

    "Who was that?" Asked Margarette, hearing that voice for the very first time.

    "Mother," Moriyana replied.

    "Well fuck her¡­" Knowing full well who she was talking about, Margarette wanted her mother to know what she thought of her.

    "Yeah, let''s just go before she sends the real nightmarish creatures," hastening up, Moriyana pulled Margarete through the light door.

    On the other end of the outerworld, they were both spat out into the dense forest right out of the city they were attacked in. Falling straight to the ground, both of them hit their head against each other, and to make matters worse, the ball of flesh between Margarette''s breasts tore through her blouse and pushed both of them away from the force of its uncoiling between the two. Laying on top of her everyone was crushing Margarette under their weight. As for Moriyana who was at the top of the pile, she felt no pressure except for the head trying to move between her giant breasts.

    Letting out a loud gasp, Damien peeked out of her boobs and looked right into her eyes. The very face of the flustered elf made her forget everything and just chuckle out loud.

    "Mister, unless my master allows it, no touching, ahaha," poking him on the nose, she made his eyes roll up into his skull before he fainted from the ordeal.

    "Get off!" Tired of being used as bedding, Margarette used holy chain magic to drag everyone off of her body.

    Finally being able to breathe properly, Margarette took deep breaths before letting everyone off of the chains. Stumbling up on their feet the elf twins tried to help each other but ended up throwing up from the trip to the otherworld. Athena and Alice weren''t in all that different of a condition either, but barely keeping it in, they just let themselvesy on the ground a bit longer.

    "What the hell happened?" Asked Laura, struggling to stand up.

    "Oi, help your boyfriend here, and everyone get up, we''re not out of danger yet," getting up herself, Moriyana was already trying to reassemble the group so they could get as far away from the city as possible.

    "B-boy-boyfriend?!" Stuck on the word, Laura jumped around to look at Moriyana with a jumble of expressions reflected on her face.

    "Yeah, but after tonight, you''d probably wanna give him some privacy from time to time though," still not being able to help herself, Moriyana sneaked in a dirty joke. "And make sure there''s a pair of tissue around, that is unless you guys want to donate some of your panti-"

    "Moriyana!" Cutting her off, Margarette red at her in anger. "Thanks for helping me back there, but we don''t have time for your antics. Let''s get away from here before you continue your perverted jokes."

    Shrugging her shoulders, Moriyana decided to go along with what Margarette had to say.

    "Where are we going to hide though? We can''t head back since it''s not yet time to rendezvous with the others, " Moriyana asked, referring to Haruki and the rest of her group.

    "I know, our vige isn''t far from here, we can stay the night there," Laura suggested, and her vige being as good as any other ce, they decided to head over and spend their night there in hiding.

 Chapter 179 179 - An Excess Of Lust And Angst[18+]

    On the same night the mercenaries were chasing Haruki''spanions in Lamenia, he was indulging himself in all kinds of perverted activities. Balls deep into Fay''s ass, all he could think about was the warmth of her inside coiling up around his dick. Every time he pulled himself back, the entrance connecting the two mped onto his penis as if it didn''t want to let go of him.

    "You''re tighter in this hole," he said just to tease her a little.

    Her head barely held up above the ocean floor, she turned her gaze sideways to shoot him with an answer.

    "That''s because you''ve been fucking the other one too hard!" Biting her lips, she pulled herself up and began throwing her cock against Haruki''s cock. "Agh¡­Fuck! If this doesn''t feel good though...Mhnmm!"

    Grabbing her arms, Haruki pulled her lower body into the air, all the while plunging his dick as deep as it could get.

    "Wanna feel even better?" He asked with a smirk.

    "What?" She mumbled, but instead of a verbal answer, she felt exactly meant by those words.

    Deep into her ass, Haruki made his cock even bigger than it already was. It made Fay''s eyes roll all the way up and her body began shaking from being torn into so deep. Despite all that, Haruki kept making it grow until a bulge on the other side of her belly emerged with each thrust of his massive dick.

    Once again as Haruki kept pistoning his cock deep inside Fay''s body, she climaxed so hard that it made her faint. This time, however, Asuka wasn''t willing to let her master be taken again by the other woman. Grabbing Haruki forcefully by the arms, she turns him too into her puppy eyes begging for her to be fucked as well.

    Drowning in lust, Haruki turned her around and grabbed her by the hips. Then rubbing his cock between her plump ass cheeks, he slowly moved its tip onto its entrance and rammed it in just like he''d done to Fay.

    "Mhnmmm! S-So deeppp!" Asuka moaned out loud.

    Having not expected Haruki''s dick to reach so deep into her, she could feel her whole body shaking from being held by his dick alone. Being lust demons, their bodies were extremelypatible and no matter how deep Haruki''s dick went it couldn''t cause any harm, but an even more intense feeling of orgasm.

    As the session continued, Asuka found herself brushing against the sand while Haruki''s lust knew no bond and he kept on lusting for his body. Ever so often, just like Fay she even lost consciousness, but upon waking up, her master was taking out his hunger for flesh by fucking her in all possible positions.

    To her, it almost felt as if the week he''d spent sleeping had elevated his lust, but in reality, it wasn''t just his hunger for women, but also because of his troubled thoughts as he scanned through his memories about Asmodia''s advice to him.

    "I''m gonnay back a little¡­" He said beforeying butt naked on the sand.

    Moving closer to him, Fay and Asuka coiled their tongues around his cock while his mind still wandered through anxiety. Turning to anyone else for an answer was not at all an option, especially when it meant making them feel just as troubled as he did in the moment.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Riley''s already sleeping, but the clone hasn''t stopped!" Watching Margarette''s clone still toying with Riley''s body, Asuka let out a chuckle before sharing a strain of Haruki''s semen with Fay directly from her tongue.

    Watching them y with his cock as well as his juices, he felt a sense of pride for having such closepanions. And even though they were often bound by lust, in moments of need their hearts were with each other.

    "I love you all," Haruki mumbled, closing his eyes shut while thedies continued to suck him dry.

    "Goodnight master," Asuka said right before licking the juices draining down his rock-hard shaft.

    "Thanks for the meal," added Fay with a light chuckle.

    As the night settled in, Haruki was taken into the safehouse so they could all rest without any worries. By the time it was morning, Haruki was once again the first to wake up. Walking out from the safehouse, he watched as the fake sun mimicked the one in the real world.

    ''We don''t have time, but do I really want to keep doing this? A perpetual cycle of vengeance?'' Doubting his own intentions, he could not be certain if moving further with his ns was the right thing for him and hispanions. ''We can definitely settle in one of these ces inside this dungeon and-''

    "Stop lying to yourself¡­" Shaking his head, he spoke out loud. "You''re gonna live here in peace while those monsters hunt and rape the weak on every corner?!"

    ''But how am I any different?'' He thought, fighting with his own conscience. ''I did the same to everyone in the kingdom, didn''t I?''

    "Did you? Or did you simply show them what they truly desired? Did those women not crawl up on your bed by themselves? And did those men not leave their families to hunt other human prey to carnage and rape?" Going more and more extreme, he felt as if he was fighting a battle with himself.

    ''Don''t show mercy, Haruki shin. Remember, you''ve tried to lead the blind once, and it ended with your head rolling under the de of an axe. The people will eat you alive, and they do so every breathing moment.'' Despite the conclusive realization, he didn''t feel content for some reason.

    After all, how could he be? He was just as much of a monster praying on the weak as the men who''d corrupted the empire with tyranny and fear. They bleed themon man of wealth in the name of war, a war that was never-ending. And if any dared opposed these tyrants, they were hunted down and butchered like a pig.

    "How am I wrong?" He mumbled, looking at his own hands. "How am I wrong if to take down a tyrant I have to be one myself?"

    And so he told himself that same lie every other tyrant tells himself. Which is to say, if he was in charge nobody would have to suffer ever again, but of course, it was just a soothing lie.

 Chapter 180 180 - The Village Of Elves

    ?

    Deep into the forest, there was a lone cave, too shallow to lead anywhere and too dark for anyone to have lived there. Leading everyone in, Laura kept walking until they reached the very shallow ends of the cave. Obstructing their path was a rock and mud wall with roots from the trees overhead, sticking out from all gaps.

    "Where now?" Asked Margarette.

    With no path forward, she wondered if Laura had given up on taking them to her vige and wanted them to spend the night in the cave instead.

    "Watch," moving closer to the wall, Laura tried to put her palm against it, but it passed right through.

    Amused by the sight Margarette as well as Moriyana followed the elves as they went through the rock and mud wall. On the other end, a wall of light consumed them for a moment before slowly dispersing and giving them all a clear view of the vige to admire.

    Filled with clusters of tall trees with thick trunks and lust leaves, the colony of elves had countless tree houses resting high above the ground. Decorated with vines and flowers, their walls appeared just as vivid as the greenery around the meadows the trees were surrounded with.

    "Well, this is an elf settlement alright¡­" The ce being just as she''d expected, Moriyana rxed her shoulder now that they were finally here.

    "Try not to make any noise and way up anyone, not everyone is as epting of humans here," looking right at Margarete and Moriyana, Laura beckoned them to follow behind her. "I''ll take you guys to my house. We can rest there for now."

    "I can''t wait to get out of these¡­things," looking down at herself Athena, still in the ve attire, just wanted to get this whole thing over with so she could dress modestly again.

    "Me too¡­" Alice Added, still feeling a bit timid because of the state that she was in.

    Given everyone''s desperation for rest, Laura took them under one of the trees and started climbing up with thedder nailed into the stump of it. While following her, Moriyana once again couldn''t hold off from teasing, and so cing her hand around Damien, she had him wait until Athena was heading up so he''d have a fine view up if he decided to take a look.

    Obviously, however, Damien feeling his heart pumping like pistons didn''t dare look up at Athena''s ass of which he''d been given an in-depth description.

    Once they were all up and standing on perhaps one of the thickest branches most of them had ever seen, Laura made her way further down the branch towards a dusty-looking cabin that vaguely resembled a mushroom.

    "Come in, but again, stay quiet," opening the door, she invited everyone inside.

    And although from the outside the ce seemed dainty, inside, it was spacious enough to house them all easily. Seeing the curtains on the windows, Athena pulled them off and quickly wrapped them around her body, Alice wasn''t far behind in covering up with a nketying around on the lone sofa.

    "Sorry, I don''t have clothes in your sizes so please make do with them for now," instead of getting mad at them, Laura was a lot more epting of their actions.

    "Do you have a sewing set? My blouse is barely held together with this hair clip," pointing to the clip holding her blouse, Moriyana wore an awkward smile at Laura.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Sure," huffing a tired sigh, Laura took a quick nce at everyone. "Just make yourselffortable now okay? We''ll talk to the elders in the morning so that nobody freaks out that you guys are here."

    As the night grew deeper and everyone started settling in, it didn''t take long before the few rooms in Laura''s home were packed full of snores. However, while most of them required sleep, Moriyana and Margarette being demons were feeling quite restless. Slipping out from under the nket she was sharing with Margarette, Moriyana decided to take a look at the sleeping elves or even turn them into her servants.

    After all, they''d a great deal of their army in the war with Almuld, and the ones left behind were now scattered around the empire. So, trying to strengthen her master''s might, she wanted to take hold of the elven vige and make them her puppets.

    "Moriyana, what are you doing?" Margarette called, watching Moriyana standing above the elven twins. "Get away from them."

    "You know we need more power," her eyes still fixed on the elves, Moriyana let out a trail of her mana to travel toward the twin''s heads. "The emperor is looking for us now, and after we barely escaped his goon, I doubt we should be worried about others."

    "Stop," conjuring a singr holy chain, Margarette pulled Moriyana''s hand away from the elves. "We''re demons, not monsters. Master won''t approve of this, especially not twins or triplets."

    Having seen Haruki''s memories about the duo from the triplets he had to offer to the reaper, Margarette knew that this wouldn''t sit right with their master.

    "Nevermind, these guys are weak anyways," Moriyana whimpered and jerked her hand off of the holy chain.

    "How can you say that when they''ve been so helpful?" Margarette asked, scowling at her remark.

    Moving closer to Margarette, Moriyana gave her a reply before passing right by.

    "Because unlike you, and even mother for that matter, I''ve always been a demon and nothing else before that," with that said, she got back into the makeshift bed of futon and surrendered herself to sleep.

    While Margarette still felt a bit bothered by her action, she pushed it off her mind and simply went to bed as well. Upon waking up the next morning they were greeted with violent knocks on the door. At first, they thought it was an enemy, but when Laura opened the door from the other side with a horde of elves behind her, things became a lot more clear.

    "The elders weren''t that excited, but the youth wanted to meet you," looking right at Moriyana and her group, she gave off a nervous smile.

    ''So many cute faces¡­'' Instead of worry or any doubts, Moriyana felt excited to find new victims for her torture.

    ''We need to contact Master and get out of here quickly.'' Margarette on the other hand, had entirely different ns.

 Chapter 181 181 - A New Kingdom A New House?!

    ?

    Fixing up the carriage wasn''t too hard with Haruki''s emperor of void ability, and so once he created a new wheel from darkness and masked it with Fay''s help under an illusion, everything seemed normal about the wagon and it worked just fine as well.

    "We''re close," while maneuvering the horses, Riley noticed a giant wall of logs lining the Dtian territory.

    Thankfully, even as the Dtian farmer working outside noticed their carriage, none of them seemed suspicious about the wagon or even the passengers riding on it.

    ''The illusion works.'' Since Illusion was Moriyana''s domain, Haruki had been concerned if Fay''s illusion was enough to fool anyone or not. Reaching the gates with the demi-human dogs and being allowed in as traveling merchants, Haruki''s trust in Faty''s ability was strengthened even further.

    "Demi-human, as guards?" Still a bit baffled by the sight, Asuka''s eyes red through thin air, all the while her mind was struggling to ept reality.

    "Don''t get too excited though, they have demi-human ves here too. Only people who are deemed useful to the emperor are given special privileges," Fay pointed out as they got into the second chamber of the gates. "Besides, it''s a great dump for the emperor to keep people from other races since humans don''t want them infecting their cities."

    "Yeah, I don''t imagine it''d end well for demi-humans to live in a ce where they''re constantly being hunted," Haruki added.

    Reminded of how elves were treated back in Lamenia, Haruki wondered if any other races which were considered monsters would be in the cities as well.

    Breaking his chain of thought, however, a pair of lion-headed guards suddenly walked up towards the wagon. Circling it around once both of them stood at its back to check on the ware being taken into the city. However, since nothing was inside, they grew quite a bit suspicious.

    "A traveling merchant group with no goods, what is this?" Smacking his hand on the back of the wagon, the lion guard didn''t seem too pleased.

    "We''re stocking up, now get your dirty hands off my wagon," shooting right back without showing any signs of weakness, Fay red down the lion guard.

    He kept ring back at her for a moment, but throwing his hand to the side, he moved away from the wagon with his partner and helped him get the gate open. Finally being allowed in, a stream of light invaded the dark space between the two gates. It blinded the passengers at first, but slowly as their vision turned to normal, the sigh in front of them was, to say the least, baffling.

    The crowded streets teeming with life were filled with all kinds of dem-humans and even some monsters wandering around carelessly. Their bodies decorated with fluffy jackets and jewels, and even leather boots and all forms of luxuries let Haruki and his party know that their pockets were full just as much as their bellies.

    "I''ll try to find an inn¡­" overwhelmed by the crowd, Riley could barely manage to get the horse to pass through the people.

    And while searching for an inn, Haruki noticed a pair of cored wolves being dragged behind by a pair of demi-wolfdies. Dressed in light dresses of pink and purple themselves, they had the two young boys following them around while naked to their skin.

    "This feels worse¡­" Whispered Asuka, watching the same sight as Haruki.

    "It is what it is, the wealthy enves the poor, nothing new," Haruki replied before drawing the curtains shut.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    After wandering through the city of pretentious demi-humans and monsters, Haruki and his party couldn''t find a single inn to spend the night. Instead, they were mocked for even asking for directions, and when they did find a building that appeared like an inn, they were greeted by a salesman instead of a bookkeeper.

    "Sodies and gents, what are we looking for?" No bigger than Riley''s boot, a dwarf in striking purple clothes greeted them at the store''s entrance.

    Extending his hands inwards, he waddled sideways with his clownish shoes tip-tapping to get away from the guest''s path.

    "We have mansions, luxury cabins, haunted non-haunted houses along the southern district," as Haruki walked in with hispanions, the dwarf moved before them with his hands rubbing against each other. "Of course with a ten percent discount for every ghost presence in the building, so! What are you looking for, Sirs and Madams!"

    The over-the-top wee into the shop waspletely overshadowed by the beauty of the shop''s inside. Looking down at the dark oakwood floor, Haruki could see his own image being reflected through the floor polish. Letting his gaze wander some more, he moved closer to the oakwood desk with a wine bottle shelf all stocked up behind it.

    "What about this ce?" he asked, leaning against the counter.

    Instinctively drawn to the light, his gaze shot up to the warmly light chandelier giving an even more premium shine to the entire ce.

    "This ce?" Confused by Haruki''s question, the dwarf tiptoed his way closer. "You wanna buy this ce, sir?"

    "Is that a problem?" Haruki asked, looking down at the dwarf.

    "No! Of course not! We''re using this ce as a temporary shot anyways!" Excited for a sale, the dwarf didn''t seem to mind at all.

    ncing at hispanions, Haruki decided to take their opinion about the ce as well.

    "We might be staying here for a while, so, what do you guys think?" None of them seemed all that opposed to the idea, instead, Riley and Fay seemed just as amused by the decor. As for Asuka, just one trip up and down the dark spiraling staircase reminded her of the castle, which instantly sealed the deal for her.

    "Leave the wine, and you have yourself a deal dwarf," speaking for the group, Fay decided to finalize everything while the rest of them went to check the upstairs rooms.

    With their housing situation settled, it was time for them toy low for a while until the heat from the demon hunt dies down a little. In the meantime, however, Haruki had plenty of ideas on how to spend his time.

    ''Challenging dungeons and monsters as an adventurer doesn''t sound like the worst pass time.'' Thus, hiding himself in in sight amongst the kingdom of creatures, Haruki decided to do some adventuring until they got some conclusive news about the library from Moriyana.

 Chapter 182 182 - New Identities

    ?

    "We need your help," after having just woken up in their new home, Fay was trying to call out to Rose by borrowing the sapphire brooch from Haruki. "If you''re listening through this in any way, can you please contact Moriyana? She and her group were already supposed to be here, but there''s not so, can you please check on them for us?"

    Letting a rxed sigh escape her lips, she closed her eyes for a moment with her fingers brushing along the brooch''s smooth surface. Through it, she could feel the cold of a dragon''s breath, which in turn made her wonder exactly what kind of material the sapphire stone was made of.

    "Are youing? You can rest here if you want," hearing Haruki''s voice calling out to her, she opened her eyes back up.

    Seeing Haruki standing in front of her with his hand extended, she beamed him a smile before finally getting off the edge of the bed.

    "I think I''ll stay and finish up the paperwork," cing the brooch on Haruki''s extended hand, she nted a brief kiss on his cheeks before walking towards the bedroom exit. "Besides¡­Someone has to stay back and take care of Ste, right?"

    Quickly storing the brooch in the dungeon pocket, Haruki followed Fay with his eyes as she smiled at him standing by the door. And although it pained his heart to admit it, he knew she was burdened with Ste''s responsibility and his reckless actions were little to no help.

    "I''m sorry, I-"

    "It''s okay, we all have our ce in this world. Yours just happens to be a lot more chaotic than mine," giving him a reassuring nod, she walked right out through the door.

    With her now gone, Haruki reluctantly turned back to the dressing mirror and began shifting into different clothes that would make him appear like a true adventurer. At first, he wanted to go with being a swordsman like before, but that his cover as Arnold the mercenary was now blown, he decided against it.

    "They always have a tall hat for some reason," shifting into a violet robe with golden stripes and a tall witch''s hat, Haruki appraised the attire with watchful eyes. "Not too shabby."

    Leaning back, he made a constetion of branching designs run through the violet fabric. Like a pulse, they lit up from time to time as if breathing like a living being.

    "You forgot a staff," all of a sudden, Haruki heard Riley point that out.

    Turning to the open room door, he noticed Riley leaning against the doorframe in an attire of green in different shades of it. Scanning over her body, the first thing that stuck out to him was how much skin the clothes showed off. The shorts with leather straps to hold the knives were barely enough to cover her butt, and the top vest she''d worn showed a bit of her underboob and everything until right under her navel.

    "You love green, don''t you?" With a quick overview, Haruki noticed something else as well. "And that brown leather that matches your hair too."

    "You think so? Ahaha," turning invisible, she moved behind Haruki and ced a knife right over his throat. "Well, I don''t really need to change much of our clothes since none of our enemies have been able to figure out my true identity¡­Unlike a certain somebody that is."

    Not at all threatened by Riley''s usual y, Haruki wasn''t gonna let her mocking words affect how he would handle this duel. And so, simply passing through Riley''s body, as he''d done to the paper doors, he moved behind her and conjured a staff made of pure darkness.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Here''s the staff," bonking the back of the spy''s head, Haruki made her drop the knife on the ground.

    "Eeep!" Her lips arched upwards, Riley turned around with a single tear in her eye. "I''ll get you one day, hmph!"

    ''When she acts like this, you almost forget that killing people gets her off.'' Brushing his hand on her hair, Haruki beamed her a smile to cheer her up a little. In an instant, her face blushed up, however, given Haruki was her master''s lover, she took a step away and turned around to leave.

    "W-we should go, Asuka is waiting for us downstairs!" With that, she rushed out through the door.

    After Riley was gone, Haruki quickly decorated the staff with concentrated jewels of darkness before infusing them with his mana to glow from time to time. On top of it, confining a demonic spy in a darkness ball, he attached it to the staff''s top to make it appear like it was a true essory of a mage.

    ''I hope making it shine is enough camouge to hide its true nature.'' Although a bit skeptical, he decided to head out with it regardless.

    Descending down the spiraling staircase, he noticed Asuka and Riley waiting for him at the bottom. But what caught his attention this time was the holistic look Asuka had gone with. Dressed in a slightly lighter blonde than her own hair, she had adorned herself in a light robe that resembled the priestesses of the holy order of As. Frilled up at the hem with golden cloth, andtings, she seemed indistinguishable from what she originally looked like.

    Peering up to the sound of Haruki''s steps, she reflected a smile at the very sight of her master. Even when he was standing before her, she couldn''t get her eyes off of him, not simply because of how much she adored him, but because of how ridiculously pretentious his outfit looked.

    ''Don''tugh!'' She thought, trying her best to drown the hysteria with a wholesome expression.

    "Anyway, let me know when you''re done emptying the basement, I need the crap in there gone!" Breaking the awkward interaction, Fay came in through the front door in the clownish dwarf''spany.

    "Yes! Yes, Miss! Don''t sweat for a second, I''ll have it all go-" While making his way in with Fay, the Dwarf salesman stopped in his tracks the moment he saw Haruki and the rest of his group standing in the main hall. "Wait¡­What''s happening here, who are you, people?"

    Realizing that the dwarf couldn''t see the resemnce despite only having changed attires, Haruki''s confidence about the mask grew ever so slightly.

    "Ughhh¡­They''re the same people I came here with, you idiot!" Screaming at him again, Fay quickly took hold of the situation. "Not every one of us is a merchant, these guys are mypanions plus they''re adventurers."

    "O-oh¡­" The dwarf uttered, seemingly not that convinced by the exnation.

    ''Forget it, I just need to sell this ce. Why do I care if they''re a bunch of weirdos?'' Thankfully, for his own good, the dwarf knew better than to question a bunch of demons who could easily take control of his mind.

 Chapter 183 183 - Hunting For Adventureâ€¦And Adventurers

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    Decorating themselves under new false names, Haruki and his party pushed in through the adventure guild''s door. With only a single foot in, they all noticed a lingering sense of threat darting right into their direction. Unlike the rest of the kingdoms they''d been to, the people here didn''t like change, much less new people. To them, it simply meant more crowds in their already densely popted cities.

    ''Werewolves, demi-wolves, lizardmen, and even orcs?'' Surveying through the people ring at his party, Haruki was much baffled to find just how diverse the races inside the establishments were. ''No humans though, well, not like they''d be left alive if the majority are monsters.''

    Shifting his attention to the reception in the rustic guild, Haruki moved deeper into the squeamish frame of the building. With each step, the floor cackled as though ready to devour some unfortunate soul. Surprisingly, despite the ce being packed with people, somehow the dust in the air was much more prominent than he''d expected, or perhaps, it was just the musk from the booze-guzzling monsters of men anddies.

    "Soooo¡­." Seemingly uninterested, the fox-nosed receptionist ran her gaze through Haruki''spany. "What do you want?"

    "We are looking for some adventuring jobs, can we have a look at any requests by patrons of the guild?" Having only ever been a rogue mercenary, Haruki had very little understanding of exactly how adventuring worked.

    "Hmmmm¡­" Once again after scanning through everyone, she reached under the counter and took out a piece of parchment. "Fill in your information, and don''t lie on the form because if you''re caught lying on the document you''d be fined heavily."

    "My one weakness, huh, document," taking the paper and a pen from the desk, Haruki spotted an empty table and quickly settled into it.

    Busying himself as he filled up all made-up information, Haruki used a demonic spy on his staff to keep an eye out and assess the other adventurers. After filling up the information, he headed back to the receptionist to hand her the document. In return, she passed him a bronze pin that signified his party''s starting level as per the guild''s assessment.

    "Can we choose a job now?" Haruki asked, and this time, the foxdy presented him with a stack of paper with about a dozen job listings by the patrons.

    While scanning through the documents, Haruki created clones of his shadow and discreetly began attaching them to the adventures present inside the guild. Even though his clones could only use the spells he had in a very limited fashion, as long as they could spy on the adventurers using the magic spell shadow sneak, that''s all he needed them to do.

    Picking out a monster subjugation job, Haruki pocketed it quickly. Turning to hispanions who were much aware of what he''d just done, he had them following him out the exit with the many eyes of the adventurers still sternly fixed on them.

    On his walk through the dense crowd on the streets, Haruki, at first, couldn''t find a ce to consult hispanions. Stuck amidst the chattery crowd and merchants hollering out to grab customers, he was forced to find a deste street a mile away from the guild before finally getting to clear things with his party.

    "This city¡­" Letting out a sight, Haruki looked over Asuka''s shoulder at the bustling streets with hung papernterns, and smoke from food vendor shops rising up high. "It''s a disaster."

    "I guess, this is what happens when you dump people in a single ce because you don''t want them invading your cities," Riley added, looking back at the ruckus.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Standing between two tall buildings, the air between them was finally clear, and since nobody was around them, Haruki began exining what he wanted to do moving forward.

    "We''re going to follow those adventurers, and maybe if we have time left we can do this stupid quest I picked up," He said, patting the pocket in which the parchment with the quest was. "Anyway, I want to turn them into our spies with hypnosis, since we can''t risk turning people into demons anymore."

    With the news of demonic presence in the empire now widespread, he didn''t want to raise an rm in the city in case the newly turned demons made a mistake and revealed their true nature by ident.

    ''After the kind of rogue behavior we saw in Aria when I first turned those people into demons, I can''t risk having any new converts yet.'' Lost in thought, Haruki began to wonder how he could effectively make use of the adventurers to his advantage.

    "And what are we going to do with them?" Asked Riley.

    "Well, there are two things," shifting his attention back to his party, Haruki decided to exin why he wanted to turn the adventurers into spies in the first ce. "Asmodia still needs a bigger army and so do I, and if I don''t keep working towards that goal I doubt she''d show us any mercy."

    "Y-yeah¡­I never thought about that," biting down on her nail, Asuka wore a look of deep concern.

    Having been threatened by the mistress of darkness herself once, she knew what kind of monster they were dealing with.

    "As for the second point, I need to know everything about how things work in this kingdom, especially about the royals and nobles." Fully determined to take down the corrupted oligarchy, Haruki wanted to figure out what kind of monsters he was dealing with in this kingdom.

    ''And then there''s the fact that I need control over the people in charge to keep my identity hidden while making sure that the kingdom is freed by giving into their deepest desires.'' Being the tyrant of desire, he felt an intrinsic need to free the people from the royals before he pushed them into pursuing their depraved desires.

    "Someone''s moving, we should go," feeling his clone getting out of the guild, Haruki closed his eyes to the sight of a demi-human adventurer heading off with his party.

    Having found their first victim, Haruki, and his party were off to follow them from a distance. However, ever sinceing here, something quite pressing hadpletely slipped their mind. And that certain something, or rather someone, spotted them in an instant as they rushed through the city crowd.

    ''Demons, here? Interesting¡­'' She thought, watching them from a golden carriage.

 Chapter 184 184 - Fascination Of Elves

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    Surrounded by about a dozen of elven women, Moriyana and the rest of her party were for once, tired of beingplimented while being forcefully dolled up in all kinds of elven attires and jewelry. Had it not been to gain their trust in them, Moriyana would''ve simply taken off the lustrous earring and clothes before throwing it all out the treehouse window.

    ''What the hell is happening? I didn''t expect them to be clingy!'' Getting dressed by the elves in a white dress with artist''s floral patterns of green, Margarette felt crushed under the weight of the fifth heavy dress she was being forced to wear.

    "Ahhh¡­You look so pretty!"

    "I didn''t know human women were so beautiful!"

    "Now I wanna go out into human cities!"

    Showering her withpliments once more, they kept staring at Margarette with their gleaming like excited children. Not being able to help themselves they even picked up makeup and began puffing up the alleged humans of the group.

    "For once I''m d, we''re not human," watching it all unfold from the couch, Athena felt grateful that she didn''t have to deal with all this.

    "Y-yeah¡­Honestly, I just wanna go back to Master now," Alice added, feeling extremely homesick already.

    Storming in through the front door, Laura came pping her hands loudly to get everyone''s attention. Once all eyes turned to her, she stood in front of the door with a sour expression and her hands resting on her hips.

    "Everyone out, I need to talk to my friends alone," she ordered the elves to leave, however, none of them seemed willing to just walk out because she said so.

    Pitching in to break the stalemate, Margarette hinted to Laura with her eyes to get away from the door. The moment, she took a step to the side, Margarette held her hand forward and caught all the elves with holy chain binds.

    "Goodbye, talk to you guyster," with that said, she had the chains drag them all out before Laura shut the door once they were gone.

    Letting out an exhausted sigh, Laura moved closer to the group while Margarette and Moriyana tried to take off all the heavy clothes they were being weighed by. Turning to the demi-cats who were only given a pair of gowns to hide their bodies, Laura felt as though even her vige elves had some discriminatory values against the demi-humans.

    ''Nevermind.'' Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts away.

    "We looked around in the forest and it doesn''t seem like the mercenaries know we''re here. Still, just as a precaution, the rest of my party are hiding around the cave''s entrance in case anyone tries toe in," with that exnation, she rxes her shoulders and moves beside the demi-cats to sit down as well. "You still haven''t told me why those guys were attacking us though."

    "We were trying to scam that nobleman for ess to the library, that''s why. Why else would they attack us?" Moriyana replied without a second''s dy.

    None of Haruki''s servants wanted to give anyone an ounce more information than what was necessary, especially since turning people into demons to take control over them was not a real option anymore, at least not for a while.

    Shooting a suspicious gaze at Moriyana, Laura didn''t seem convinced at all. In her mind, she knew that getting the gold needed to be her priority rather than question this person who has taken them on a trip through another world of which she barely remembered anything.

    "Sure, if you say so¡­" Laura let the matter go.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''Our vige is gonna need more funds for repairs soon, maybe I should ask for some funds already?'' contemting the thought while the two changed clothes, Laura didn''t feel as though she deserved to ask for more gold yet since they hadn''t found anything. ''Maybe I ought to wait a bit more before ask-''

    Interrupting her chain of thought, the sounds of screams from outside made her jump high up from the sofa. In an instant, everyone was on guard as the sound of screaming elves trailed into their ears.

    "What the?" Getting off the sofa, Laura was the first to head for the door.

    But the moment she opened it up and peered out, her steps quickly retreated inward as though scared for her life. Moving past the scared elf, Margarette and Moriyana stuck their heads out through the doorway to get a look at what kind of horror Laura had witnessed.

    "Oh lord, it''s just her¡­" Unimpressed by the sight of a fire dragon sitting atop the tallest tree in the vige, Margarette knew exactly who it was.

    "What the hell is she doing up there?" Walking out the door, Moriyana whispered to herself.

    Baffled by the casual tone in their voice, Laura carefully followed them out the doorway with Alice and Athena in tow. Peering up again, she saw the dragoness in her entirety with her wings spread wide as if to intimate the inhabitants of the vige.

    "Laura, can you ask you folks to stop freaking out?" Asked Moriyana, watching as a few elven guards readied their bows to attack the dragoness.

    "Y-you guys know who that is?!" Freaking out of her mind, Laura couldn''t believe her ears.

    "She''s a friend," Alice answered, reassuring Laura by cing a hand on her shoulder.

    Before Laura could ask them to put their weapons down, however, the guards shot their first volley of arrows at the single-handed dragoness. Thankfully, before the arrow even made it to her scales, they burned down by the heat of her body alone.

    "Do not¡­" Huffing out a scoff, Rose drew her limbs inwards and had her body slowly turned into that of a human. After shrinking her flesh for a while, the scales were gone from her body and only her dragonic armor was left behind on her human body.

    The elven guards, although shivering and astonished by the feat, drew their arrows back on themander''s demands.

    "Stop!"

    "Rose whip!"

    "Holy chain binds!"

    In the end, they had to be forcefully apprehended by the two demons so that they don''t end up getting burned alive by an angry dragoness.

 Chapter 185 185 - A Aide And A Threat

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    Exining to the citizens of the vige that the dragoness was not a threat was a much harder ordeal than Margarette had imagined, but after extensive talk and signs of benevolence from Rose the tension had finally begun to settle.

    "Your hand is still like that?" Asked Moriyana, still bothered by Rose''s bandaged arm.

    "We can talk about thatter," ignoring her question, Rose kept following Laura as she walked them away from themittee of elders.

    Having just finished discussing everything with them, Rose was allowed to stay for now, but then she''d have to leave the vige along with her friends. Content with the ruling, nobody opposed the offer.

    "So why are you here? I thought you were going to spend some time with your family," Margarette asked as they reached the stump of the tree with Laura''s house.

    "I am spending time with them, but Fay contacted me so I asked my son to teleport me to you guys and then I ended up here," Rose replied, watching them all taking the stairs one after the other.

    At first, she was confused as to why they didn''t just use their wings as demons, but then remembering that they were trying to keep their identity a secret, she waited at the bottom until they all got to the branch with the house. Then, flying up, shended on the same branch.

    "You entering my house won''t burn it down, right?" Worried that Rose''s presence would burn her furniture like the arrows that were shot at her, Laura stopped by the door just to make sure.

    "Not unless I want it to," Rose gave a troubling response, unaware of what she''d done.

    Regardless, Laura just pushed the door open before inviting everyone in again. Getting in one after the other, the group dispersed inside to have enough space for everyone. Given the small scale of the interior, it was easily cramped despite only a small crowd gathering inside. Once settled on chairs and the couch, Rose stood in the middle and began exining why she had taken the trip here.

    "Apparently Shin-" Taking a pause to look at Laura, Rose faked a cough before correcting herself. "Freya couldn''t get in touch with you guys. So, I was contacted to see if you''re all doing okay."

    Looking around at everyone, she tried to spot hints of any battle that might''ve forced them to take refuge inside the elven vige. However, noticing not even a scratch, she couldn''t be certain if their wounds were healed already or if they came here for some other reason.

    "My son teleported me as close to you as he could, but I have no clue what you all are doing here. Weren''t you supposed to be meeting her somewhere by now?" With that said, Rose was met with tired nces as if she''d reminded them of something they didn''t want to remember.

    Taking charge, Margarette got off her chair and began exining everything that had happened to them so far. But while she exined to her the reason for them being here, something much more sinister was transpiring in the forest outside the vige.

    "What are they doing?" Damien whispered, hiding in a pair of bushes looking right in the direction of the cave.

    "How do we know?" Said the twins together.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Watching a holy priest leading a multitude of mercenaries'' parties toward the cave, none of them had any clues about how they were found despite being in such a discreet location in the forest. And to make matters worse for the elves keeping watch on the mercenaries, the only entrance to the vige was now being swarmed with mercenaries, which deterred them from warning the unsuspecting elves inside.

    "What do we do?" Sweating profusely, Damien tried to gulp down his fear, but with the numerous burly men before him carrying giant axes, long swords, and even elusive knives on their belts, he didn''t have the heart to plunge himself to his own death.

    "We should distract them, r-right?" Even stuttering at the same words, the twins reached for the quivers with their hands shaking like a withered twig against the wind.

    "Here, inside, I can feel the presence of demons being here!" Pointing directly at the cave, the holy priest brought huge smiles to the men''s faces.

    "I thought we were wasting gold on a holy priest, but I guess it paid off!" Announcing to the others, one of the mercenaries began cackling out loud. The other followed suit and beganughing out loud, dreaming of riches they''d receive once they captured the demons be they dead or alive.

    ''What to do?! What to do?!'' Racing his mind, Damien was trying toe up with a way to get in and warn the others. ''None of the vigers can fight, except for maybe the elder, but they''re too old to defend us all!''

    Freaking out of his mind, Damien noticed the mercenaries sending off a small group back toward the city. Now, whether that was for reinforcement or to alert the guard, he had no idea, but what he did know was that this was hisst opportunity to grab everyone''s attention so the twins could sneak past them and warn the vigers.

    "I''m gonna grab one of those messengers, you two sneak in while I distract them all!" Before the twins could evenprehend what he''d just said, Damien used wind magic to propel himself towards the tiny group heading towards the city.

    "Nature''s might!" Using his ability, he managed to constrict one of the men from the group of three. "Stop there!"

    Drawing his sword, and shield from his hips, he used wind magic again to shoot above the man so nobody could see him rushing towards them directly. In this short frame of time, everyone was alerted about a threat, but only seeing a single of their men constricted with veins without a clear enemy, nobody had a clue about what was happening.

    "Hyaaahhhh!" Jumping right on top of the messenger, Damien hit him in the head with the lower edge of his shield.

    That single hit from such a great height was enough to make the man fall unconscious from the pain. As the man fell to the ground, Damien ced the de of his sword right over his chin. Looking up and around, he noticed every single one of the mercenaries looking right at him. And that very exact moment, with their backs, turned to the cave, he saw the twins sneaking storming into the cave behind everyone''s back.

    "Come closer or step a foot in the cave and I''ll kill this man!" He yelled out in a threatening voice.

    A moment of silence followed his threat, but then the mercenaries burst outughing. Even the group of messengers that was heading to the city with the man, kept moving forward with their hands around their bellies. That was when Damien realized that when it came to human greed, especially that of human mercenaries, even the life of theirpanions was treated as nothing.

    ''Shit!'' He thought, and that was to be thest of him.

 Chapter 186 186 - The Slaughter Of Elves

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    Upon getting in, the twins rushed through the streets while yelling out at the top of their lungs about the mercenariesing to attack their vige. And even though they were precise in their words, confusion lingered in the air still lingered for a while since nobody knew whether to believe them simply by their words.

    "Human mercenaries areing!" Storming into Laura''s house the twins yelled out hysterically.

    "What?!" Laura yelped, startled by their sudden appearance.

    "The mercenary groups that attacked us found our vige!" Moving closer to their party leader, the twins pulled her out of her seat on the sofa. "Damien distracted them so we could get in to warn everyone else! We need to go help him!"

    With their voices in perfect sync, they grabbed Laura''s body and shook her violently by the shoulders. Watching all of this unfold, Rose and the rest were confused beyond all reason. And while it was clear that something had gone wrong, the added hysteria and hastened tone in the twin''s voice, made it a lot harder to dissect things properly.

    "We''ve warned the elders and the guards, but we need to help get Damien out our-"

    "Garden of illusion: Pheromones of sanguinity," moving closer to the twins, Moriyana put them under a spell to soothe their minds and nerves.

    Like marites with cut-off strings, their shoulders fell to the sides, and the tenseness on their faces quickly subsided as well. Surprising Laura, Moriyana held her by the arms before pulling her away from the twins.

    "What did you do?" Looking in shock at the twins with their mouths drooling like mindless zombies, Laura had no clue what Moriyana had just done to them.

    "Give me a second," cing her fingers on Alicia''s head, Moriyana quickly scanned through her recent memories and saw exactly why they were freaking out so much.

    ''She hasn''t told anyone that the priest was talking about finding demons, that''s good.'' Retreating her hand away from the twins, Moriyana snapped her fingers to snap them out of her spell.

    "Wha-" Unfortunately, given the disparity in her level and theirs'', the twin fell unconscious to the ground the moment they got back to their senses.

    ''Shit¡­'' Thought Moriyana.

    "What happened?!" Getting to her knees, Laura quickly began checking the twin''s vitals to make sure they were okay.

    In the meantime, Moriyana moved her hand behind her back to ry what she''d seen to herpanions. Using a bubble of text made of illusionary mist, she ryed what she''d seen in the twin''s memories, however, only Rose and Margarette were able to pick up what the words meant, and the demi-cat duo was left wondering what was happening.

    ''I really need to learn how to read human text.'' Thought Athena, a bit bothered by her insufficiency at this point.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Elevating the situation further, the sounds of screams came gushing in through the open door. With no doubts in their minds, everyone knew that the attack from the mercenaries had already begun.

    "Well¡­" Taking a deep breath Rose made her way towards the front door. "I guess I should make up for scaring your vige friends."

    Sprouting her wings back up by the door, she nced back at the others with a weak smile. Moriyana took a step forward to follow her as well, and seeing them both trying to head out to take care of the mercenaries, Margarette walked past Laura and headed to the exit as well.

    "Make sure they remember this Laura," being a lifelong diplomat, Margarette couldn''t let this opportunity go to waste. "Also you should take Athena and Alice with you and lead injured people away so they can heal them."

    With how casually their group was treating this attack, Laura stared at them in both awe and absolute astoundment. After all, how could three beautiful women, of which only one appeared to have any experience in battle, were supposed to fight an army of bloodthirsty mercenaries.

    ''Why the hell is this even happening?'' She thought, still having no clue that the people she was idolizing were the very reason the mercenaries had decided to attack.

    Flying out Rose with her wings spread wide open, Rose led the charge for their counterattack. Margarette and Moriyana on the other hand, had to jump off the tree branch since they couldn''t out themselves as demons. Once down on the ground, they looked around to find a scatter of mercenaries chasing the elves with all kinds of sharp and blunt weapons.

    Assuming that the elves werecent with the demons, they showed none of them any mercy and brought weapons down on the fleeing elves'' bodies. All of a sudden, however, while following one such mercenary with their gaze, they saw a volley of arrows rain down upon the mercenaries.

    "The guards," Moriyana mumbled, watching the guards marching forward to engage with the enemy.

    "The mercenaries¡­they''re everywhere. We should help the guards!" Margarette eximed and then followed by her words, both of them flung themselves toward the enemies.

    While the two went to help the guards deal with one horde of brutes, Rose floated above the vige scanning through the numbers. Quickly figuring out the approximate number of enemies, she drew a deep breath and blew small ambers before infusing them with her magic. Being in an open space, she couldn''t risk using her mes and burning down the vige. And so she had decided to create ming dragon hatchling familiars that would attach themselves to the mercenaries and then burst their bodies into mes.

    ''This is tiresome¡­'' Restricting herself because of her strength, she was forced to watch the ughter of elves. Depending on the element of surprise, she had no choice but to burn them all in one go or else they''d be more cautious about the hatchlings.

    "Wait¡­Who is that?" Catching her attention from the edge of her eyes, Rose saw a bloodied elf covered in mud crawling through the vige''s entrance.

    ''Is that guy the twins were talking about? Damien?'' She thought, but reality was a lot more sinister.

 Chapter 187 187 - What Diesâ€¦Rises Again[Gore+Suggestive Sexual Abuse]

    ?

    "This sorry fuck!" Crushing the throat of the young elf underneath his booth, the mercenary pulled his axe out from his bloodied back.

    Having massacred the want-to-be hero of the elves, the young knight wasying on the ground in a pool of his blood. The mercenaries, ready to storm the elven vige turned away from the elf''s corpse and decided to finally head into the cave the holy priest had directed them to.

    Marching forward, they headed into the cave one after the other. Leaving behind the elf, they all expected this to be thest time the elven knight was going to deter their hunt for the demons, however, as a sneaky rat from the group slipped behind, they were all doomed to hell.

    Being the only one in a cloak, the man had sessfully hidden his face so far from the other, and they were gone from his sight, he was already nning to betray them.

    "Idiots really think there would be anything left but pocket change after they distribute the reward amongst all of them," linger in the back, the man turns around to steal a look at the dead corpse of the young elf.

    ''Not like I''d let that happen.'' Moving closer to the body, got down to his knees and ran his cloudy eyes through the elf''s body. Running his fingers up and down, he felt his heart race upon getting a closer look at the fair elf. ''So¡­Beautiful.''

    With a crooked smile crawling up his lips, he flipped over the body to get an even better look at the poor dead thing. His vest soaked in blood was still steaming with warmth, and his once cherry lips were only now beginning to lose their color.

    "You''re mine now¡­" he said.

    Reaching into his pocket, he took out a small saber and stabbed it into the elf''s chest. Running the de to his belly, the man revealed all his organs, but most importantly the heart of the young elf. Slowly reaching into the warmth of his body, he curled his fingers around the dead heart.

    "Lower undead creation: Zombie!" Those words trailing with mana traveled down his arms and infused themselves into the heart through his fingers.

    Drawing his hand back, the man watched as the elf''s body began thrashing about violently before going limp once again. However, that state of limbo didn''tst long. Slowly reaching for his sword with his cold dead hands, the zombie elf used it to prop himself back up on his feet.

    "Get down!" The man yelled, kicking the elf back down. "Not yet, let those morons have some fun in there for a while."

    Reaching for his buckle, the man had perhaps the worst of intentions possible for mankind.

    "In the meantime, let us have some fun too," he said with yet another creepy smile.

    ***

    Looking down at the zombie crawling into the vige, Rose thought of it to be the live member of Laura''s party. Yet, since she had no healing abilities that could help anyone other than dragons, she decided to continue breathing out dragon hatchling familiar in hopes that someone else would see the zombie elf and help him.

    Back on the ground, Margarette had joined the guards in shooting fire arrows and taking out the mercenaries as well as healing people in case they were injured. And although just like Margarette, Moriyana was intentionally holding back on her strength, she was still being far more efficient in apprehending the mercenaries than anyone else by making good use of her rose whip vines.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You want me to just tie them up or¡­?" Standing beside the general of the elf guards, Moriyana wanted to know if they were going to take prisoners.

    "No¡­They''ve killed far too many of our people before we got here," her teeth clenched shut, the general seemed far from willing to show these intruders any mercy. "Besides they''re humans so who-"

    Right before finishing thatst sentence, the general was reminded that Moriyana was also an alleged human. So faking a pretentious cough, she raised her saber up high to signal her soldier to push further.

    ''She''d be a fine addition to Master''s close Harem.'' Checking out the slender frame of the elven general, Moriyana''s mind was lost in admiring her beauty. Her ruby red eyes paired with ginger hair as well as skin as plump as peach and as fair as snow, made Moriyana wonder if she was looking at a close sibling. ''On second thought, her resemnce to me is kind of uncanny.''

    Brushing off those thoughts, she shifted her attention back to helping the guards charging against the enemy. To their surprise, however, right as the elven vanguards were about to bring their swords down the mercenaries, a burst of me consumed their enemy.

    "Well done, young hatchling¡­" Looming over the men burning alive while screaming in agony, Rose had a gentle smile on her face as it reminded her of the time she''d burned the assassin who''d invaded the Frost castle to kill Haruki.

    As the cacophony of screams continued, Rose''spanions and the elves watched the men burn with the bright mes on their bodies reflected in their eyes. For Margarette and Moriyana this wasn''t all that traumatic of a scene, but the demi-cat Athena, who''d been a ve before bing a queen, had Alice wrapped tight in her arms in fear of losing her like she''d lost the rest of her demi-human family.

    ''I hate fire.'' She thought, ring straight as Rose flew back down to the ground. "I like her daughter more."

    Impulsively scared of fire as a cat, she didn''t want to take a single step toward Rose. However, as the screams began to die down, and the mercenaries were defeated, she was forced to gather with the rest of her group.

    Assuming the threat was gone, everyone put their guards down and began checking up on their dead friends and families. And while reaching out for one such corpse, a female elf tried to flip her sister''s body to get a better look at her face.

    "A-a-ata-ck!" A crude voice uttered.

    Turning to the sound, the girl saw the corpse of Damien the elf crawling towards her with a sword. But before her mind could even register what was happening, yet another gnarly sound assaulted her ears.

    "A-agnnn!" Unfortunately, as she shifted her attention back to her sister, her dead cold bodytched onto her throat like a monster.

    "Ahhhhh!" She cried before getting her nose bitten off by her own zombie sister.

    It wasn''t just the sister who had risen from death, but every corpse around a zombie was alsoing back to life. And with a battle having just ended in the vige, there were plenty of zombies to go around.

    "What was that scream?" Far away from the incident, Moriyana''s group and the elves were alerted of yet another threat.

 Chapter 188 188 - Crushed Lies

    As the dead rose to their feet, the elves shrieked in horror all around Moriyana and her group. Instantly, they knew something was wrong, but it wasn''t until they saw one of the corpses rise in front of them that they began toprehend what was happening.

    "Zombies!" Moriyana and Rose both eximed at the time.

    Being the only ones familiar with the creatures, they were the first ones to react. Spanning her wings Rose flew towards the rising zombie andnded a kick right onto its face. Hitting the elf zombie down, she stood over him, watching as it iled around before trying to get back on its feet.

    "Leave it to me," using her vines, Moriyana bound the zombie to the earth with a noose around its neck tightening downwards.

    ''Is this really happening?'' Watching it all unfold, the female general was having a hard time believing the sight in front of her.

    The dead elves that she was supposed to protect were rising from the dead, and attacking their friends and family. How could she have let this happen? How could she fail the ones who''d ced their trust in her hands? Nothing from this whole incident made the slightest sense in her eyes.

    "We need to help them," hearing Margarette call onto her, she was snapped out of hermentation.

    Quickly trying to drive those parasitic thoughts away, she violently shook her head before raising her sword once again.

    "Forward!" She yelled, despite feeling her heart bleed for making her fellow elves attack their families and friends. "They''re dead, don''t let your eyes fool you."

    Although she tried to convince the rest with her words, she herself wasn''t convinced at all. Still, she marched ahead of everyone wondering just what kind of god they had upset to be rained down with such tragedy one after the other.

    ''Or maybe it''s just like always, it''s these humans that are the cause of our problems.'' Her eyes fixed on Margarette''s back, Amara, the ginger-headed elven general, was highly suspicious of her and her group. ''The elders should never have epted you people in.''

    "Engage the enemy!" Giving out that order, she clutched onto her sword''s handle and zapped toward an elven zombie.

    shing through its head, she left a trail of blood showering behind her. Determined not to let any more of her people die, she steeled her heart and kept moving like a strong gust of wind toward each and every enemy.

    For a while as the zombies were whittled down in numbers everything was on its track to be normal once more, but as someone had designed their vige for doom, a war horn could be heard blowing from right outside the entrance to the vige.

    "What in tarnation?" Amara mumbled, drawing her de out from thest zombie she could find.

    Done with apprehending the zombies so the elves can take them out, Moriyana and the rest turned to the sound while covered in blood and guts. In their minds, each member of their group knew that the vige was far from saving, and the fact that their presence in the ce caused all this made them wanna leave this ce as soon as possible.

    "Rose, can you teleport us away? We can''t keep acting as the vige guards, none of this is worth it even if that elf is helping us find that library¡­" Standing by Rose, Moriyana urged her to take them far away from this ce.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Wait¡­" Moving her hand in front of the two, Margarette pointed towards a guard approaching the general from the cave entrance. "Let''s see what''s happening first."

    Standing at a distance, their eyes were fixed on Amara as the guard hastily brought her some urgent news. By the end of it all, the guard as well as the general turned directly to look at Moriyana and the others with a look of pure rage.

    "She knows¡­" Margarette whispered, knowing exactly why Amara was looking at them. "The twins said that Damien was holding one of the messengers to the city hostage remember?"

    And that''s when it hit for all of them. The war horn that was blown just now was often used by the empire''s military for negotiation with monsters or demi-humans in case there was some mutual benefit to be had, and given that the only reason the mercenaries were attacking the vige was them, it wasn''t had to figure out what kind of demands that hasty hard had been asked of.

    "Still think not hypnotizing them was a good idea?" Moriyanained as they all saw Amara approaching them with her blood-stained saber.

    "M-maybe, I was wrong¡­" Margarette reluctantly admitted.

    "Can you not do it now?" Hiding her anxiety with a smile, Athena jumped into the conversation. "Or would you rather wait until she uses that de on one of us?"

    As if Athena''s words were prophesies, the elven general picked up her sword and began charging toward the group. Yelling at the top of her lungs, she managed to throw off Athena, Alice, and Margarete while Rose and Moriyana were still high on their senses.

    "What the hell fuck it!" Having her wings tear out from the back of her dress, Moriyana shifted into her demonic form. "You want a fight, well guess what? I''m an illusionist, not a barbarian!"

    Flying up high, she managed to get Amara''s as well as everyone else''s attention on her. Giving up on hiding her identity, Margarette shifted into her demonic form as well and using holy chain bind pulled the flightless demi-cats high up in the sky beside Moriyana.

    "You fucking bastards! Come down here!" Visibly fuming with her face reddened in anger, Amara raised her hand to get the arches to shoot them out of the sky. "Bring those demons down!"

    While the battle inside the vige intensified, the Lamenian army outside was preparing to storm the city since the elves had not surrendered the demons to them. Much like the mercenaries, the army was under the delusion that the elves were housing demons in their vige just to spite the human popce of their cities.

    "Where are the others?" Asked one of the messenger mercenaries who''d been sent back to the city.

    "They''re all dead, the demons¡­They''re really strong," the necromancer replied.

    "I guess that means more reward for us, ahaha!" The only other two from the original group burst out intoughter,pletely unaware of the fact that the necromancer had ns to take care of them as well while the army marches in.

 Chapter 189 189 - Entrapping The Army[Sensitive Topic Warning]

    ?

    The arrows from the archers were burned to dust before they ever made it to Rose or herpanions as they floated in the sky. And the many spells from their mages were consumed by Moriyana''s illusion field that only got stronger after consuming more and more mana. Peering down at the flightless elves, Athena''s eyes met with Laura looking at all of them in shock.

    ''We really used her, didn''t we?'' She thought, feeling slightly guilty about the situation.

    "Get down now you cowards!" Amara screamed at the top of her lungs.

    "Ma''am, if we don''t hand those demons to the army-"

    "I know!" Yelling at the elf messenger, Amara gritted her teeth shut.

    Being in charge of the only unit capable of fighting, she felt frustrated by her inability in bringing down a small pair of troublemaking intruders. She''d tried everything she could and yet nothing was working and no matter what kind of crazy ideas she tried to implement it all ended in failure.

    "Are you done with the spell? I''m tired of hanging by these chains!" Feeling her sides beginning to hurt, Alice peered up at Moriyana.

    Drawing the excess mana out from the illusion shield, she was casting an extensive hypnosis skill that would not only help them get out of the vige easily but also make it so that they had something in their hand when returning back to their master.

    "Shut up or I''ll leave you here," with those words, Moriyana made Alice''s skin crawl.

    Stuck in a stalemate, the elves and the group kept watch on each other, while at the other end of the cave''s entrance, the army was ready to march in. Lined up in a frontline position, about a thousand soldiers were fully d in steel armor.

    "That is enough time¡­" As giant as an orc, the hammer-wielding general at the very front turned towards his army. "Moriyana Malice, and Margarette Phoenix those two are the demons were looking for, you''re free to kill, torture, or rape anyone else."

    Thest part especially stuck out to the army. Although they felt repulsed by the idea of sharing their cities with elves whom they considered monsters, none of them would decline a chance to meld together with the entrancing charm of an elven woman.

    "Now charge!" Giving his men the order, the general led them into battle.

    Full of vigor at the thought of the naked bodies of elven women, the men stomped through the cave and went right past the illusionary mud wall. However, to their surprise, as they came to the other side there was not a single soul left inside the elven vige.

    "Where are they?!" The general yelled, feeling his blood boiling. "Search for them at every corner!"

    Blinded by lust, the men upturned the whole vige looking under every crevice and corner, yet at the end of it all not even a single elf was found. By the time the general finally epted that only the dead elves were left behind and the rest had escaped, he marched out the cave''s entrance with his eyes bloodshot in rage.

    "Did you find the demons?!" As soon as he got out, the lone necromancer was standing in front of him.

    Towering over his body, the general shot an empty gaze at the cloaked young man. zing about, he couldn''t find the other three, but as he turned to look back at the necromancer, he no longer cared for any of it at all.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You¡­You liar!" Having convinced himself that the elves were all killed by the mercenaries and that there were no demons inside the vige, the general assumed the lone survivor of the whole incident was the rumor-spreading brat.

    "Wh-What?" He asked as a trail of sweat trickled down his cheeks.

    Slowly moving away from the general, he kept his eyes locked with him in case he tried anything, but even as he did, the greedy young man wasn''t fast enough to evade a swing from the general''s giant hammer.

    "Waste of time¡­" Chalking it all to be a rumor to either spite the elves or falsify evidence to im the price on Moriyana''s and Margarette''s heads, the general led his army back into his homnd.

    ***

    "That was close¡­" Moriyana whispered.

    Almost fainting from using too much mana to hypnotize all the elves at once, Moriyana was standing in the minotaur dungeon along with her group and the surviving elves.

    "I''m never using that spell again," slowly sumbing to exhaustion, she got down to her knees before sitting on the ground.

    "What are we going to do with the elves though?" Athena questioned, her eyes gazing at the hundreds of elves lined up inside the natural dungeon structure.

    "For starters¡­We don''t have to worry about them turning on us anymore," Margarette replied, not happy with the oue herself.

    "If you people are done, can I return to my family now?" Tired of the chaos, Rose wanted to flee back to her children.

    "Not yet, we should exin the situation to the goblin and Arachne queen living in this dungeon first or they might end up attacking the elves," pointing that out, Margarette turned towards the direction leading deeper into the dungeon. "Also, they can probably use the help of elves to make this ce more habitable."

    After discussing the n for a while longer, they decided to hand the elves over to the queens, and only take a few back with them as Rose teleports them to their master. However, as they were reunited with the queen, what they saw left them baffled. Not only were their offsprings stronger, but some of them have even evolved to look like humans just like their mothers.

    "Can you please take them with you? Please? I want them to receive master''s seed and get pregnant so that we can expand our tribe with strong offspring from our master!" Grabbing Moriyana''s arms and knees, the goblin queen was quite literally begging her to take her daughters to be a ything for her master.

    "I¡­Uh," feeling awkward, Moriyana scratched the side of her chin beforeing out with the truth. "I don''t think you know this, but Master can''t make women pregnant since he''s an incubus."

    Finally being told the truth, the news hit the queen like a ton of bricks. But even then, her eyes shimmering with determination wanted her daughters to serve the man who she felt would soon be a demon lord. Unfortunately, however, Moriyana could only promise to ask Haruki about the proposition since goblins couldn''t really blend in human cities like subi.

 Chapter 190 190 - Drunken Stalker

    ?

    Unaware of a sneaky stalker following them around everywhere, Haruki and his had spent the entire day spying on different adventurers. From their brief analysis of the situation, it was clear that they could make good use of at least some of them. Now the only question was whether he should do it or not since trying to spread his influence in the city was bound to garner attention.

    ''I need to be careful about who to choose, or it might end the same way when I tried to spread my influence through the Marquis kingdom.'' Back in his purchased home, Haruki walked over to the counter bar. There, as he sat down on one of the stools, Riley and Asuka also settled down beside him.

    Still oblivious to the phantom admirer watching them from over their shoulders, their eyes wandered about trying to spy for Fay and the clownish dwarf. However, with no sight of them anywhere, Haruki reached through to her with the demonic spy nted on her body.

    "Fay, are you home?" he asked.

    "Oh!" Thankfully, she gave a swift response. "That scared me!"

    "Sorry, I¡­" While Haruki talked with Fay, the devil girl moved closer to the trio and phased through the bar counter.

    Enshroud in an illusionary mist, her body reflected the world around her. With the front of her body reflecting the image on her back, and her back reflecting the front, she was as illusive, if not more, as Riley''s ability to turn invisible.

    ''A fine collection¡­'' Her eyes scanned through the items on the shelves, and she let her fingers trail along the corks of the bottles. ''Maybe I should steal one or two before leaving, the emperor hasn''t been too generous these past few weeks after all.''

    Turning around, the devil Nabe ced her hand on the counter. For a moment, there was a hint of confusion in the eyes of the trio as if they''d felt a subtle change in their environment. Yet with nobody else than them on the counter, they subconsciously chalked the movement to someone else sharing the space.

    "We''re heading to do the quest tomorrow, so¡­" getting out of the stool, Haruki turned his head to look up the stairs. "We should all get some rest."

    Moving out from their stools as well, Asuka and Riley were just as much inclined to sleep after having chased countless adventures through forests and caves. Watching them all heading upstairs, Nabe decided to follow Haruki after getting a few drinks first.

    In the meantime, upstairs while passing through Fay''s room, Haruki heard a sweet huming from inside her room.

    ''Oh yeah, she said she was taking a bath, didn''t she?'' Standing by her room''s door, he feltpelled to go inside. However, with Asuka and Riley standing by his shoulder he didn''t want them to feel as though he was giving her special treatment. ''Fuck it, we can sleep together.''

    "Come with me, you two," grabbing them both by the arms, Haruki moved right into Fay''s room.

    The very first thing he noticed was the cradle in which Ste was sleeping. Moving further in, he saw her deformed into a puddle of slime with a vibrant smile going across her face. To any other parent, the sight would''ve been horrifying, but given the nature of race, Haruki was not at all bothered.

    "Master?" Whispering in Haruki''s ears while he watched Ste sleep, Asuka managed to get his attention back on her.

    Shifting his attention back to the two, Haruki shook his head before turning to look at the attached bathroom installed in the room. From inside the same humming from Fay could clearly be heard.

    "I want us all to sleep together tonight," he said before slowly making his way toward the shower. "Why don''t you guys warm up the bed for me while I take a shower with Fay?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "No way!" Completely disregarding the sleeping child, Asuka yelped out loud in protest.

    "What?! Who?!" Spooked by the scream, Fay yelled from inside the bathroom.

    And as if things weren''t off rails enough, Ste woke up and began to cry. Surrounded by chaos, they all felt defeated. For a while, the chaos continued with the sound of a baby crying in the background. Taking Ste up in his arms, Haruki tried to calm her down, but it wasn''t until Fay arrived that the cute little angel finally calmed down.

    Watching it all unfold, the devil girl Nabe red at the little baby. Being a devil, her instincts wanted to w her to shreds, but the title bestowed on her by the emperor disallowed her from acting on such instincts.

    ''I need a new master, or better yet, a pawn who believes he''s a king.'' Her ruby-red eyes fixed on Haruki, she wished for nothing more than to use him to escape the emperor''s curse. ''What''s that? A teleportation spell?''

    Feeling a disturbance of mana in the air, Nabe''s intuition foretold her the future. Moving away from the doorway to Fay''s room, she headed downstairs feeling the slightest bit drunk. Upon getting to the bottom, she noticed a varying variety of people standing in the middle of the entrance floor.

    ''Now now¡­How many demons am I going to meet today?'' Walking past the group of girls, Nabe made her way toward the front door. Standing right by it, she let her eyes wander over Margarette, Moriyana, and the two demi-cats in theirpany.

    "Where is this ce?" Frantically looking around, Moriyana was confused why they''dnded inside what seemed to be a hotel or an inn.

    "How would I know?" Margarette shot back, seeming just as confused.

    The demi-cats however, being able to sniff Haruki''s nearby, were much calmer than the other two. Slowly making their way to the spiraling stairs, they peered up together before turning to their demonicpanions.

    "I can smell Haruki upstairs," Athena informed.

    "And the others too," Alice added.

    Watching someone go up the stairs for the second time, Nabe moved closer to the wine shelves and began downing more wine before going to confront the demon emperor. To her surprise, however, while she was keeping watch on Haruki and hispanions, someone else was keeping a watch on her as well.

    "Keep your hands off of my puppet, you devil," trailing into Nabe''s ears, the mistress''s voice warned.

    Instead of deterring her from doing anything, it only egged her on further. Thus, wearing a faint smile, the devil had only but one word to say to her.

    "No," she said, and she meant it.

 Chapter 191 191 - A Long Night

    ?

    As soon as Fay had cradled Ste to sleep again, a march of approaching footsteps could be heard from the corridors. Presuming it as a threat, the demons heightened up their senses and all turned to face the room''s open door.

    "Who is it!" Fay demanded in a threatening voice.

    But the moment they saw Margarette and the rest of their grouping out from the corner, all of them quickly rxed their guards. Huffing out sighs of relief, a light chuckle resonated throughout the room.

    "What happened?" Athena asked, slowly moving inside the bedroom.

    Following behind her, the rest of them got inside as well. Just as confused as the arriving group, Haruki and the rest had no idea how they got here, and what led them to abandon their position in Lamenia and travel here.

    "I guess we all have a lot of questions for each other," ncing at both groups, Haruki decided to mediate the conversation so everyone was on the same page of understanding the situation. "You guys should settle down, so I can exin our side, and then you can do the same for yours."

    Nodding to the suggestion, the arriving group crammed up the small bed after sitting down on it. As the night went on, both sides exchanged their stories about what had happened to them so far. It left them all baffled, and quite honestly, never wanting to split up like this ever again.

    By the time the exnations were done, they all found themselves dozing off on each other''s shoulders. And before long, their bodies piled up on each other as they flopped onto the mattress.

    "I¡­should sleep too¡­" Tired to the bone and burdened with the bodies of numerous beautiesying on top of his, Haruki slipped into slumber, unaware of the horrors that were waiting for him.

    Pulled into the darkness, he found himself stranded on an ind of dark. All around him, only the ever-stretching abyss was present with nothing else in sight. This wasn''t his first time being her, despite that something still felt off. As if the crushing presence of someone monstrous was lingering over his head.

    Peering up to confirm his suspicion, he saw a violet eye looking down on him from the stretch of darkness in the sky. Like a river under the moonlight, its eyes shimmered as the stars reflected on the surface of the water.

    "Does this creature remind you of something?" A pair of bright pink lips appearing by Haruki''s ears whispered right into them. "Does it?"

    No stranger to the voice, Haruki knew exactly who it was.

    "Michael''s angel, that''s what it reminds me of, except the iris of that creature was golden, not violet," satisfied with his anger, Asmodia appeared beside him with a bright smile.

    However, as Haruki tried to turn and get a look at her physical form, he felt a pair of invisible hands forcefully turning his head back towards the eye.

    "What the hell are you doing?" He asked, gritting his teeth in anger.

    "Saving you¡­" Resting her hand over his chest, she let it wander over his body. "You''ve grown strong, but you''re still so naive, did you really think they''d leave you alone just because you can hide from them for a while?"

    Feeling her hand slipping down his stomach, Haruki''s heart began to pump blood like a piston. Trying to get her off of him, he tried to move her by his hands, but getting bound together by some invisible force, they raised up high as if held by a pair of chains.

    "Save no mercy, I think you''vee to that conclusion yourself by now, but why then would you not act on it?" Sinking her nails right above his groin, she drew out blood that eventually trailed down his genitals.

    "What the fuck do you want Asmodia?!" Tired of her crap, Haruki couldn''t keep his rage confined anymore.

    "I wanna see you be a monster!" She replied screaming right into his ears. "Because he already is one! So you must be! For my sake! For the sake of this crumbling world! For the sake of¡­the death of many who are left begging for it."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Hearing her voice go from being hysteric to empathic, Haruki was greatly confused as to what exactly she wanted from him.

    "I''m trying, okay?! I can''t just go around killing people or else, I''d find myself back under the de of an axe!" Expunging mana out from his body, Haruki forced Asmodia to stumble back and even take back hermand on his body through the invisible force.

    Astounded by the ordeal, her eyes were fixed on her servant as he slowly turned to finally get a look at her. As beautiful as she was cunning, her skin was as fair petals of roses, and her eyes as entrapping as the shimmering night sky. Crowned by a pair of horns protruding out of her long dark hair, her small and slender frame appeared to be that of an angel.

    "Is this an illusion again or is this your real body?" Moving closer, Haruki couldn''t help but ask.

    "Shut up!" She cried, her fists clenched tight in anger.

    Unfazed, he stood towering over her frame slightly smaller than his own. Peering at each other, they both felt drawn to bind themselves into an evesting kiss. But even when Haruki tried to touch her, a zap of lightning made him jerk back.

    "Don''t you dare¡­" She growled.

    "What''s your problem?" Completely lost as to what she wanted from this interaction, Haruki just wanted toin his heart out. "I''m doing your bindings by gathering that army already, what else do you want?"

    "For you to stay alive!" Raising his hand towards him, she sprang forth a ball of concentrated darkness ready to be shot at his body. "Aris Magna!"

    Fearing for his life, Haruki squinted his eyes shut and braced for whatever the attack was that she''d unleashed onto him. However, when nothing hit him at all even after a second, he opened his eyes back up and followed Asmodia''s gaze.

    Standing behind him was the tall frame of a devil girl whose face had melted into the shape of an eclipsed moon. Staring at the gruesome sight, Haruki noticed the deformed girl putting up a smile on her face before promptly falling down to the ground.

    "That won''t kill the girl in real life, but she won''t be able to follow you for a while," hearing Asmodia''s warning, Haruki quickly turned his attention back to her. "You''ve been careless, if it weren''t for me that girl would''ve killed you and your small group ofpanions while you were all sleeping."

    "That girl¡­" Remembering the devil girl who was sharing the hut inn with hispanions, Haruki felt moronic for having forgotten about her.

    "I gave you a warning with Ophilia, but even then, you failed to listen. That is exactly why I''ve pulled you into this dream warrior!" Moving closer to the confused demon, Asmodia kept a stern look appeared on her face. "You have a month until she rises back up, before then I want you to wise up and find a way to kill her, because if you can''t do it, then I''ll find a way to kill you myself even if our contract doesn''t allow me to."

    With those words, the giant eyes in the dark sky turned to look right at Haruki. It was a clear threat from Asmodia, and he had no choice but to abide by her demands.

    "I''m done looking out for you every time you''re in mortal danger," her crazed eyes were enough proof of the sincerity of her threat.

    All of a sudden, Haruki felt her push out of the dream, and he woke up in his bed with the rest of hispanions stillying on top of him. But hispanions weren''t the only thingying on top, along with them was a bound book, with a title directly engraved into the leather. It read¡­

    "Records of the worlds?" It was the very book he''d been looking to find in the Library of Heroes. And as fate would have it, he found a copy with a small note from Asmodia. "Stop chasing ghosts, and be the savior you were meant to be."

    That brief note from her was perhaps even more confusing than anything that had happenedst night.

 Chapter 192 192 - The Date Between Past Lovers

    ?

    "She''s what?" Perplexed as to what he''d just been told, the emperor cast a gaze of astoundment down on one of his messengers.

    His eyes downcast, the armored messenger kept his head hung low as the very sight of the emperor was enough to chill him to the bone. Trying to retreat his worries, he gulped down before slowly lifting his gaze back up to his master.

    "M-My lord¡­Miss Nabe Bloodfiend has fallen ill in her bed this morning. The weirdest part of the incident was that nobody saw hering back to her domicile that night." The messenger''s words made the emperor doubt his own ears for once in his life.

    Putting up a deep frown, he shot pure scorn at the shaky messenger. Never in his life had he heard about a devil turning ill, much less being bedridden because of it. He wasn''t the only one sharing that sentiment, however, even the messenger seemed bothered by the news he was delivering.

    "Get out of my sight," Bottling up his emotions, the emperor let the man go.

    The days have been kind to the ruler, and it has begun to reflect in his body and demeanor. Even as he watched the messenger leave the throne room, his mind was clouded with meek thoughts with no answers to his questions in sight. And as if that wasn''t enough, his memory had also begun to fail him.

    "First Michael, now Nabe, how many generals am I going to lose to whoever''s doing this?" Confident that it couldn''t be Haruki, the emperor only had one other suspect in mind.

    ''Why would you do all this? Just let me shower this world with eternal life, and-''

    "You know why I did what I did¡­As," the sweet voice of a lover fell onto the emperor''s ears.

    The echo of her voice alone turned his scorn into a smile. He knew she''d been listening, like she always did, yet having not heard from her for so long it was just one of those things that had escaped his degrading memory.

    "Omnipresent as always," he said, letting out a chuckle.

    On the other end, however, there was no response, which in turn made the emperor wash off the smile from his face.

    "What did you do to Nabe?" He threw the question in the air, and if one were to peek into the throne room they''d be inclined to believe that the emperor had gone mad.

    "I put her to sleep so that she could not steal my puppet," for a moment, the emperor was perplexed as to why Asmodia would give him that answer since it also provided him with Haruki''s location, but then she added. "I''ll do the same to anyone else who tries to bare a single fang against him, so save your soldier, at least until a month''s time."

    "And what then? You already know I''ll chase him down once the month''s over so why give me a deadline?" Understandably, the emperor was suspicious of her demands, but there was also something more that he was more curious about.

    ''Did Nabe really try to stealmand of Haruki from her? That stupid devil.'' The very thought seemed moronic to him, especially when one considered how the true master of the subject was perhaps the strongest of all demon lords.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "After that," breaking his chain of thoughts Asmodia spoke again. "You''re free to kill him, I only needed my children to spread throughout the masses, and as you already know he''s already done that."

    ''Still, why would you want him dead if he''s so useful to you? What about recovering the army that you lost in our battle in Scorchen Gaia?'' Too many questions were floating inside the emperor''s head, and knowing he would once again be denied an asked if he decided to voice them, he tried to change the topic into something else entirely.

    "Why help me?" he asked, his voice bleeding hurt.

    For a spell of time, he got not a single word of reply, however, right as he was about to give up, Asmodia finally told him exactly what he''d wanted to hear.

    "I loved you, and seeing you suffer by his action despite knowing that he can''t evolve into the monster he was meant to be without breaking out of the shell offort¡­Is all just so terribly horrific," waning away at those few words, the emperor felt Asmodia''s presence leave his throne room.

    Laying in silence on top of his throne, he felt himself drifting to the memories of the past that he''d desperately held onto. For they were the reason for his conquest, for his desire to unite the world under one g, and if he were to lose sight of them altogether, then nothing will matter no matter how noble the sacrifices that were made to achieve the end result.

    ''I can''t let you take over this world, it wasn''t your calling and will never be.'' Getting off the chair, he walked down the steps to the throne and made his way toward the exit. ''The world must unite under me, and then only will it know eternal life and peace.''

    The path of the tyrant had gued even the otherwise wise emperor. To him, much like Haruki''s vision for the future, so long as he could be the one sitting atop the world as its ruler, the world itself will conform to his beliefs. But at least the emperor had a much more noble cause than the self-obsessed demon.

    ''I can''t lose you again, nor do I want anyone else to lose their beloved!'' Determined to make his dream of a world filled with eternal life a reality, the emperor marched forward to intensify his assault at the Scorchen Gia and Feralnds.

    "Ready a carriage to the southern borders," upon noticing the very first pair of guards waiting outside his throne room, he quickly gave them the first order towards the eleration of his conquest.

    The guards were understandably shocked by the sudden request, but they didn''t have any authority to question the emperor and thus simply decided toply with whatever he had to say.

    "Get Michael off the western front too, and tell Razor that I want his army ready to overthrow the undead warlock in under a month!" The emperor eximed in a deathly serious tone.

    "In a month?!" Instinctively the guards were both shocked, but upon noticing the scornful look on the emperor''s face, they bowed in apology before rushing off to get everything ready.

    Standing alone in the corridor, the emperor wanted nothing more than to advance further with his n before a month''s time passed. While not at all intimidated by Haruki, he didn''t want him to underestimate him either especially when he''d caused so much trouble for him.

    ''First I''ll take care of Almuld, and then that sneaky rat of a demon so Asmodia would finally give up trying to oppose me and join me in my conquest!'' Hoping for a time when he could finally reunite with her, the emperor couldn''t wait for the month to be over so he could sever the strings to which Asmodia had Haruki attached.

 Chapter 193 193 - A Much-Needed Intervention

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    "And then he would perish at the hand of the devil with a cryptic silver smile¡­" Scanning through the pages of the record of the world, Haruki only a single page was inked with words, and too had only one passage not scratched with a quill pen.

    ''This can''t be the original copy of the book, or else why would it only prophesize my death and nothing else?'' mming the book on the bar counter, Haruki ran his fingers through his hair, feeling a bit frustrated.

    Swiftly snatching the book off the table, Margarette and the others began snooping through it, trying to find any other passage that could help them. So far, it had only told them about the consecutive deaths of their group members until eventually, even Haruki suffered at the hands of this devil.

    "It has to be the same girl we saw at the inn," nervously biting her nails, Riley kept going back to the image Ophilia had shown her in her vision. "Is she really gonna kill us all? That easily?!"

    Feeling as though his lips were sealed after the nightmarest night, Haruki gestured to Moriyana to pass him the gin bottle she was sipping on. As drunk as a sail, her eyes couldn''t focus on her master, much less pass the bottle safely onto his hands.

    "Shadow hands," snatching the bottle off of her hand with the ability, he took it for himself and began drowning himself in alcohol.

    ''What the fuck am I supposed to do?!'' Tired of trying to figure out what Asmodia wanted from him now, he had his hand clutch tighter and tighter around the bottle until it shattered between his fingers. ''First, the army that I already got her, then the offer to be a demon lord, and now this?! What in the world does this woman want?!''

    "Rejuvenation," healing Haruki''s hand, Margarette used her fire spirit familiar to reach out from her ring and eat up all the shards scattered throughout the table. Once it was all gone and consumed by it, Margarette shifted her gaze to Asuka in an attempt to have her try and cheer up Haruki.

    Slowly approaching him, she rested her hand on his shoulder. Feeling the familiar warmth from Asuka''s body, Haruki felt his heart wash with some amount offort.

    "Master, don''t¡­" stopping herself to think her words through, Asuka took a deep breath before just letting her thoughts flow. "No, this isn''t right."

    To everyone''s surprise, what came out of her mouth were far from words offort.

    "Master, please get up," wearing a bit of a frown with puffed cheeks, she stood before Haruki with her hands ced on her hips in amanding manner. For once, she didn''t want to be a simple means of emotional support.

    A bit baffled himself, Haruki turned his gaze to the yellow-tailed fox. Wearing a puffy annoyed expression, she appeared like an angry child, yet for whatever reason Haruki couldn''t brush off hermand.

    "What is it?" He asked, getting off the chair.

    cing her hands on both sides of his cheeks, she brought his face closer and stared directly into his eyes for a brief while. After about a minute of the strange activity, she pulled back slightly before speaking up once more.

    "You''re my master and the master of a race that had almost died outpletely. The very demon lord of lust had to demand yourpliance in death, and you even vowed to do whatever it takes to exact your revenge," with each word she spoke, her breath grew shallow and her smile grewrger. "How can you be so defeated despite all you''ve done? You''ve always figured something out and I''m sure you''ll figure out how to kill this girl and help us escape our deaths without so much as a scratch!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "S-she''s right!" Despite how drunk she was Moriyana didn''t let that deter her from chiming into the conversation.

    "You tamed Rose and the maddened dragon Klianstein too, which to be honest I doubt even the emperor would''ve been capable of doing," Margarette wasn''t far behind with her input.

    Although he couldn''t deny his past achievements, they felt tame inparison to what he had to do moving forward. To create a world united under one leader, a leader whose nature went against that of every other creature living under him. But even before that, he had to kill the devil Nabe and conquer the throne of the emperor.

    "I know you''re all trying to cheer me up, but-" hit with a sudden wave of realization, Haruki couldn''t finish what he was just about to speak. "Margarette, what did you say again?"

    Turning to her, Haruki wanted to confirm what he''d just heard from her lips. A bit taken aback, Margarette put up an awkward smile before responding.

    "Uhm¡­You''ve tamed Rose and the maddened dragon, something that the emperor couldn''t do?" Hearing her say the word ''tamed'' stuck out to him like nothing else.

    "What the hell have we been doing?" He muttered, looking down at his own hands. "We''re fighting against the emperor, right? As demons? Demons who can tame other species?"

    Following his logic, everyone around him looked at him keenly, waiting for him to drop what he was getting at. And when a smile cracked up on his face, their faces lit up as well, for they had realized that their master had yet another genius n.

    "We don''t have to turn people into demons, we just have to turn them against amon enemy," looking around with a stered smile, Haruki let out a hearty chuckle. "That is the emperor, we have to turn him into the enemy of all the people he rules over and the chaos will eventually lead to his fall."

    Finally realizing what Asmodia meant but hurrying up, he had a n to attack the emperor directly without actually having toy a direct finger against the man. A king''s rulests so long the people had the slightest hint of faith in his judgment, but the moment it was cut off they would all pick up their pitchforks and revolt against that tyrant.

    ''And that''s when we make use of them all, after all as demons our job is to lead people down the wrong path, a path where they''d intentionally hack their own foot without realizing what they''re up to themselves.''

    "What about leveling up?" Thest of the bunch present in the hallway, Riley finally spoke up to ask that question. "And that devil girl, what are we going to do about her?"

    Looking up at Riley, Haruki knew exactly what wanted to do about leveling.

    "The strong will be our feed, and the weak will be our fodder," his eyes glowing a violet tint, Haruki hadpletely given in to his deranged ideas. "As for the girl, we''re gonna find where she''s recovering and make her a puppet with no true memory of her own."

    Shifting his gaze to the illusionist of the group, he conveyed through his eyes what he wanted Moriyana to do. Although she was drunk, when it came to mischief and ruining the life of someone she despised, all her senses were more heightened than ever.

 Chapter 194 194 - The Start Of A Great Collapse

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    Winter was never pleasant in Dtia. The crowded streets never gave way, and the mud dragged everywhere even through the city centers. Yet, topped withrge hats that drained the waters away from their bodies, the elites dragged their ves through the mud while their own bodies never knew a drop of wetness.

    ''Hive mind!'' Dashing between the cramped spaces between the tall building, Haruki, cloaked in a clock of dark to repel the heavy downpour, was making his way nting the seeds of the chaos soon about to ensue.

    ''Asuka, Athena, and Alice, are you guys ready yet?'' Connected telepathically through the hive mind ability, Haruki was trying to converse with hispanions despite being far away from them.

    ''We''re here, Moriyana''s ready too.'' Hearing the reply from Asuka, Haruki created multiple clones of himself and turned them into different demi-humans that he''d slept with while first turning the Marquis kingdom into his territory.

    ''Tell her not to be too pretentious, also make sure you''ve all changed your appearance too.'' With that said, Haruki was heading right over to address another state of affairs. It hadn''t taken too long for Riley to figure out where the devil girl resided in the city, and with her soundly sleeping at the moment there was never a better time than right now to make use of her.

    Dashing from street to street and even taking flight while posing as a demi-human harpy, he eventually reached the very edge of town at a mansion so high the Frost castle failed topare. And for the worse or the better, he noticed a pair of guards instantly spot him in the sky. However, that distraction too was part of his n.

    While posing an aerial threat, he floated right above the gates, giving Riley just enough time to sneak out from her invisibility and stab the two with a pair of daggers that injected hypnosis potions right into their bodies. One after the other as they flopped onto the ground, Riley swiftly changed the small vial of potion inside the half-basket hilt of her daggers.

    "How many others?" Landing beside her in the appearance of a random harpy, Haruki changed his appearance back to his original body.

    "A few more inside, but I doubt they can handle these potions from Moriyana," lifting the daggers, Riley showed off the glistering potion vial embedded inside the handles. "These things, I wish I could make love to these babies."

    Infatuated by the des, a sharp red blush was brushed over her button nose. However, recognizing Haruki''s presence once more, she shook her head and tried to hide the embarrassment behind a straight face.

    "Let''s go in then, we have to regroup with Razor and the elite servants," not wanting to miss the chaos at the castle gates, Haruki didn''t pay any mind to what she''d just said.

    "Y-yeah¡­" Timidly, Riley followed.

    Moving past the front gates, they were met with royal guards in gilded armor, but even the diamond-edged des of Riley easily managed to cut right into their flesh. By the time they were inside the mansion, the guards on its premises were staggering up on their feet and roaming around like zombies.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''Hopefully, nobody noticed those guards acting strange.'' Pinning everything on that hope, Haruki along with Riley kept pushing in.

    Now that they were inside, Riley took charge as she''d already been here before and surveyed the surroundings. At the very first nce, it was clear that the guards around the ce were no pushover, but with a well-ced hit through their armor that injected their bodies full of potent toxins, they were left as nothing but a roaming pile of zombies.

    After passing through the corridors and knocking down all the guards, Riley loaded one final potion into her dagger, but this time it seemed to glow a crimson dark instead of the purple glow. Specially made with the blood extracted from an incubus emperor, it could turn even the most seasoned warrior into a grovel coward.

    "She''s inside," standing by the sole door locked with a miasmic aura, Riley tried to hack away at it but it only jerked her back along with her des. "Shit! It was open when one of the butlers came in, I didn''t see this aura back then."

    "Then it must be put in ce after the door was locked," holding his hand towards the door, Haruki opened up a dungeon portal to teleport them to the other end of the door. "Also, we don''t need to be everything just because you love the new weapons so much."

    Yet again embarrassed, Riley gave off a nervous smile while scratching the back of her head. And once like before, wanting to join Asuka and the rest as quickly as possible, Haruki pushed forward, and just like before Riley followed right behind. Upon getting inside, the very first thing they noticed was the enormous amount of miasma leaking out of the body of the devilying on top of a massive bed.

    Taking a deep breath at her very sight, Haruki could feel his lungs getting heavy with each step he took forward. It was the girl who''d been prophesied to be the doom of his entire party, then, how could everything be going so smoothly? It almost felt like a trap, and despite his better instinct he kept moving closer and closer.

    Standing right by her head, he recognized that deformed face he''d seen after Asmodia sted her with a spell of hers. Her muscles slowly withering and iling like slime were desperately trying to reconnect and form her head back, however, for whatever reason every time a bond was made it was instantly shattered by an invisible force.

    ''Has to be Asmodia''s spell.'' Brushing those thoughts out of his mind, Haruki turned to Riley as she held the blood potion dagger clutched tight in her hands.

    "Do it," he said, and she raised the daggers high.

    The moment they were brought down onto her, the diamond des were deflected away by the same miasma that''d been oozing out of her night-dark skin. And that''s when the both of them realized that getting into the devil Nabe who they now knew was one of the emperor''s war generals wasn''t going to be as easy as they''d first thought.

 Chapter 195 195 - Paradigm Shift Hysteria

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    Arriving in a silver gilded carriage at the kingdom''s gate, Razor Alumnibolt struck fear into the heart of the lion guards. To them, he was a snarking brute who steadfastly believed that humans were superior to any other species on As.

    "What''s the matter? Open the fucking gates!" Holding onto the open carriage door, he yelled at the two.

    Terrified, the guards felt their throats dry up instantly, making them want to end this interaction as soon as possible. Chewing down on their gums, they both quickly left the carriage alone before holding the gate open for Razor to pass through.

    "Take me in ve," ordering the demi-cat coachman, Razor settled back down into his seat.

    As the carriage began to move once more, he reached for his temples to contact the others, and despite the show of confidence, the quake in his fingers was making him jittery.

    "You guys ready?" He asked.

    "Yeah, minotaur nes, remember that, okay?" The voice on the other end replied.

    "Alright," letting his hand down, he closed his eyes shut and drew long deep breaths to calm his heart.

    Arriving into the city with hefty rain singing drumming the top of the carriage, that brief moment of calm broke down quickly. However, with the n already set in motion, he couldn''t afford to waste a single more minute.

    "Are you ready?" Opening the coachman''s window, the demi-ve asked.

    "Yeah, stop the carriage," he replied, huffing out a final sigh.

    Bringing the carriage to a halt in the middle of the street, the coachman intentionally cut off the passage to get the attention of everyone around them. Once the people beganining and hurling insults at him, Razor kicked the door open and peeked out through the edge of the door. Wearing a creepy smile, he nced around at the demi-humans and monsters all looking directly at him.

    Horrified gasps could be heard all around the passage despite the heavy downpour. Standing before them was a man known to be a murdering scum let loose by the emperor to do as he pleased.

    "I bring great news to you high society demi-human scum!" Snapping his fingers, he disappeared from the doorway and reappeared at the top of the carriage.

    The pouring drops of rain evaded his body like a coat of wax, which only further instilled fear of the man in the hearts of the people.

    "What is he doing?!"

    "Isn''t he banned from the city?! Didn''t the emperor promise us that?!"

    "What does he even want?!"

    As countless questions began circting around the crowd, Razor curled up his fingers in front of his mouth to amplify what he had to say to the citizens of Dtia.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I''ve brought great news to you from the emperor!" Moving his hand away for a bit he bit down on his lips, visibly excited by what was to follow. "You''re all going to be ves again! Every single one of you fucking scum! It doesn''t matter if you''re an elite or a diplomat for the emperor anymore, all non-humans can either choose to be eradicated or turn to their rightful ce as ves to us superior humans!"

    His words lingered in the ether for a while, since the masses couldn''tprehend the preposterous thing he''d just spouted out of his mouth. Some wondered if they were dreaming, and dreaded if this was a nightmare turned reality. But what none dared to do was to break the silence as they all knew what would follow if they did so.

    "Don''t bullshit us!" However, silence is always bound to break.

    Walking up to the front was one of the elite demi-fox dressed in a gown of ck with jaded violet rocks. Pulling along with her, she''d brought forth two other fox ves of her own to the very front of the crowd. Following the woman''s lead, yet another elite demi-human cat walked up to the front with two of her own ves and stood beside the demi-fox elite.

    "We''ve been working for the emperor every day, and you expect us to return to being ves and servants? Never!" Comined, the dark-skinned demi-cat.

    His eyes half closed, Riley seemed utterly unimpressed. However, recognizing the minotaur nes hanging by their necks, he knew what he had to do.

    "Eradication it is then¡­" Hearing those words, the crowd began freaking out into a cacophony of screams.

    Raising his hands up high, Razor used his mana to strike down the two elites who''d stepped up to the front. Directing his fingers towards them, he shot them both with a bolt of lightning. The moment the attack made contact with them, their bodies wrinkled up and their skin slowly began to smell of burned blood. Wallowing up in screams, the elite demi-humans were brought to their knees as their bodies continued to burn from the electricity zapping in and out through their skin.

    "Anyone else?" While the two squirmed in pain, Razor nced at the others watching it all unfold. "Make up your mind in under a month''s time or you can expect the same treatment."

    ''That should be good, but where''s master?'' Trying to spy for Haruki, he couldn''t find him anywhere in the terrified crowd. ''Did something happen at the mansion where that devil girl is?''

    Although worried about her master, the illusionist Moriyana decided to finish up her role before trying to figure out what was happening.

    "Oi, scum, go collect their bodies," ordering Alice who was posing as the coachman, Moriyana got back into the carriage and finally dropped the act.

    Her shoulders dropped down, she wondered how effective the act had been, and from the petrified look on the popce, it was quite clear that they''d been sessful in instilling fear in the heart of the people.

    ''Now we just wait for them to start revolting¡­'' Hoping that everything will go as nned, Moriyana and the elite demi-humans as well as their servants were all inhumanely loaded up in the cramped trunk of the carriage.

    After the carriage was taken back out through the front gates with a promise to return soon, the streets of Dtia were in absolute chaotic disarray. Screams were the least of their worries now as they all began preparing to desert the city before the return of Razor. However, when the very first elite tried to escape, another war general dropped right in front of them.

    "Go back, you''re gonna leave the city until the month is over," said Haruki, posing as the dragon yer, Michael Arc.

    Standing by the gates, he was d in illusion magic that gave the illusion that he could use bright lighting to travel just like Moriyana had done to give the illusion of using Razor''s power.

    "It''s the emperor''s orders, and you''ll follow them or you''ll die," noticing the fear in the eyes of the people, Haruki couldn''t help but smile that his ns were working.

 Chapter 196 196 - Failed Execution And A Familiar Guest

    ?

    "I''ve stationed a clone of Michael at the gates, that should keep them from trying to escape the city," Haruki exined to his group right as he arrived back at their house.

    After having switched with a clone, he now stood before hispanions. Still, in the appearance of their mask, all six of them seemed drained by the act they had to put up not too long ago.

    "What happened at the mansion, did you get that potion into the devil girl''s body?" Shifting into herself from the appearance of Razor, Moriyana made her way around the bar counter to get some drinks ready for herself.

    Changing into their real bodies as well, the rest of Haruki''spanions settled down around the bar counter. Moving closer, he took a seat in the very middle.

    "We couldn''t get to her, there''s some sort of miasma protecting her, probably a spell or an ability," unsure how to deal with it, Haruki rested his thumb under the chin and began to wonder exactly how to tear through that barrier. "We can keep trying until the month is over though, Riley will be making sure nobody leaves the city and all the guards are under our control as well."

    While ncing at hispanions to see if they had any idea on how to deal with her, Haruki noticed something odd about Athena''s body. Unlike the regr dark tone of her skin, she seemed slightly lighter than usual.

    "Athena, are you having trouble controlling the masking ability?" Haruki asked, wondering if the newly turned demon was too subconscious to ask for help herself.

    A bit embarrassed, Athena closed her eyes and tried topletely undo the mask. It took her a moment and a few tries to get the tone right, but eventually, she managed to pull it off.

    "Sorry, I still don''t understand how this all works¡­" With a light blush on her face, she turned her gaze away from her master.

    Turning to Alice, Haruki tried to spot if she was having any trouble as well, but thankfully there didn''t seem to be any issues with Athena''s daughter. However, that did end up reminding him of his daughter who was now being cradled in Fay''s arms sitting along with the rest of his party.

    ''She had grown again.'' Staring at his daughter who''d grown twice in size yet again, Haruki felt his heart implode by forcing her to live in the kind of environment that they were in. ''The faster I get this done the better it will be for her safety.''

    "Forget everything!" mming two bottles of wine on the counter, Moriyana popped them open for everyone to enjoy.

    "You guys have fun, I have a meeting with someone," surprising everyone, Haruki got off the stool to head upstairs.

    "A meeting with whom?" Asked Margarette, getting off her chair as well.

    Asuka wasn''t too far behind and grabbed Haruki''s hand before he could take a step further toward the stairs.

    "Are you talking about the mistress?" She asked, her worry apparent in her eyes.

    Turning to them once again, he shifted his gaze between the two for a while before gently getting Asuka''s hand off of his arm. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I have a lot to discuss with her, especially when ites to what she wants from me, and why she only gave us a single page of the prophecy when knowing it all will help us a lot more?"

    Upon hearing his sound reasoning, they all squinched backward, knowing they had no real way to refute his reasons. Knowing how they all felt just from their expression, Haruki let out a sigh before beaming a smile right at them.

    "You guys said it yourself, I''ll find a way to take care of everything, remember?" Extending his hand forward, he made shadow hands appear over their head to pat them lightly. "So now I can''t have those words be lies, can I?"

    With warm smiles painted across the room, Haruki took a few steps back before heading toward his room. Seemingly content with his idea to visit Asmodia again, the others simply watched him climb up the stairs before he disappeared out of their sight.

    Heading towards his room, the questions he wanted to ask Asmodia kept circting in his mind, but the moment he pushed the room to his door open, he was baffled to see a familiar face already waiting for him.

    "Mind if we join the others for a ss of wine?" Sitting by the dressing table, the queen of darkness stared at Haruki with her glowing violet eyes.

    Puzzled as to what to say, Haruki stood by the door unsure whether to up his guard or simply let things y out to not make her act out violently. This being the very first that he was seeing the mistress in the flesh, he had no clue how to react.

    "I-I guess so?" He muttered.

    "Lead the way," she replied with a smirk.

    Although suspicious of her intentions, Haruki had no other option than to lead her downstairs. With every step she took behind him, he felt a trail of cold sweat running down his spine. And by the time they were descending the stairs, he could feel his throat drying up to the extreme.

    The very first few steps turned everyone''s attention to their master. Seeing how he wasing down to join them, they all had wide grins stered on their faces, however, the moment the light violet feet of the mistress behind him came into view, their eyes went wider and their hearts felt like imploding.

    ''No way¡­'' Was the general thought of everyone seated at the drinks counter.

    With each step down the stairs, Asmodia''s came clearer and clearer. Her violet skin felt akin to twilight, and her defined dark horns were a pure testament to her true nature. Scanning over her body, the demons also noticed her one-piece tatooish clothes barely covering her privates.

    "Children¡­" Turning her sharp gaze to them at the end of the stairs, Asmodia gave them all a warm wide smile. "You''re finally using your heads, oh am I so proud as your mother."

    Despite her warm greeting, the room was filled with silence for an ufortably long amount of time.

 Chapter 197 197 - A Toast With A Demon Lord[Part 1]

    ?

    Taking a seat right between them all, Asmodia, the mistress of darkness, outstretched her hand to the wine bottles and made one of them float directly into her hand. Bringing the cork to her lips, she bit down on it before spitting it off the bottle.

    "Hmm?" ncing at the others staring at her like hawks, she rolled her eyes, visibly a bit annoyed. "I may be one of the most enchanting things in our world, but that doesn''t mean you have to stare at me so hard."

    Conjuring a wine ss into existence, she held it between two fingers and began to pour herself some wine out of the bottle. Watching it all unfold, Haruki as well as hispanions were on the highest guard they''d ever been.

    "So¡­" Trying to mask his angst, Haruki ushered Asuka to empty the seat beside Asmodia so he could be right next to her as they talked. "What do you want now?"

    Even as he got seated right beside her, she paid him no heed for a while. Twirling her ss, she watched the golden liquid bubbling up inside it. Bringing it closer to her lips, she took a light sip out of it before cing the ss down on the counter.

    "I''vee to check on my children, is it really that peculiar of a concept to grasp?" As she turned her gaze to Haruki, hinted in her eyes was the bewildering allure of a woman.

    For a moment, feeling lost in her gaze, he was drawn closer and closer to her face, however, noticing the abnormality in his behavior, Asuka quickly pulled her master back.

    "Why are you here?" As soon as Haruki was back to his senses, Asuka questioned the mistress in an uncharacteristically stern voice.

    However, unfazed by hermand, Asmodia simply picked the wine ss back up and took yet another sip from the aged wine. Tasting true indulgence in the mortal realm, that too in the flesh after so long, she couldn''t help beaming a wide smile.

    "I have to say¡­" Resting the same ss on the counter, she slid it to Haruki. "It''s all thanks to you and your servants that I can take mortal form once more."

    Bringing his attention to the ss she was offering, he saw her tap the rim of it a few times as if urging him to take a sip as well. And although he tried to reach for the ss, Asuka got to it before him. Sneaking it past her master, she held it in her hands, visibly determined not to let anyone else take a single sip.

    ring at Asmodia, she wasn''t willing to let her do whatever she wanted to her master anymore, and the rest of their group was no different in that aspect. Standing up, they all gathered up behind Asmodia with the exception of Moriyana who was at the other end of the bar counter.

    "Mother, why are you here?" Swiping the wine bottle off the counter, Moriyana mmed her hands on it to get Asmodia''s attention.

    "At least someone still sees themselves as my child," her eyes half closed, Asmodia shifted her gaze to Moriyana with an unamused expression stered over her face. "Too bad it''s you Moriyana."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Although she was used to insult, hearing those words in front of everyone made her feel as if she was stabbed by a saber. Her face contorting into a frown, she was once again reminded of all the horror she''d been through because of the woman sitting right in front of her. Countless days of confinement in absolute dark, torture of the soul, mind, and body, and as if that wasn''t enough to break a young child, Asmodia had thrown in the terror from all the creatures of the dark that terrified Moriyana every time she got the slightest bit of shut-eye.

    "I was trying to prepare you for the future," reading exactly what was going on in her thoughts, Asmodia offered her lousy exnation.

    "I-I¡­" Curling up her fingers into fists, Moriyana shut her eyes tight as she tried to soothe her nerves. "I-I''m gonna go, you guys can talk to her about whatever you want!"

    Getting her hands off the desk, she snapped her fingers and burst into a sparkling cloud that quickly dissipated in the air. With her gone, Asmodia turned to look at the rest of Haruki''spanions to see if they had something to say to her as well. But since Margarette was smarter than to try anything against her, and Alice and Athena were too ignorant to understand what was happening, only Fay returned Asmodia''s gaze with a deep frown running over her eyebrows.

    "Oh yeah, I almost forgot," noticing Ste hurdled up in Fay''s arms, Asmodia beamed the sleeping angel a smile. "You''ve adopted a girl¡­Well, if you can call repurposing a soul adoption that is."

    Noticing her reach for Ste, Haruki ced his hand on Asmodia''s shoulder to stop her from doing so. Much like the wind, however, she wasn''t going to bend to anyone''smand, and so, with a single snap of her fingers, she changed position with Fay and even got Ste hurdled up in her arms.

    "Agh, such radiance," looking down at the baby in her arms, she pressed her fingers against the cherry lips of the slime girl, Ste.

    On doing so, the moment her fingers touched the lips, Ste clutched onto Asmodia''s hand and began suckling on her finger. Terribly still, everyone watched the incident unfold, and for the first time in centuries, they bore witness to a hearty chuckle from Asmodia''s lips.

    "Perhaps, I judged her too early," still staring at Ste as she slept, Asmodia''s eyes began to glow. Scanning the baby''s body all over, her eyes were brought to her belly, and upon focusing on the region a beam of light began flickering inside her tummy.

    "What are you doing?!" While trying to leap towards her and grab her daughter, Fay was instantly stopped by Haruki before she could do anything rash.

    "What am I doing?" Closing her eyes shut, Asmodia turned her gaze towards Fay before opening them back up. "Just checking the blessing that dragoness bestowed on your daughter."

    ''A blessing? Ugh, fuck this! I can''t let this drag on.'' Moving Fay to the side, Haruki stepped forward and quickly took Ste off of Asmodia''s arms with the help of his dungeon portals. Once the little girl was in his hands, he gently passed her over to Fay while Asmodia simply watched with an eerie smile.

    "Why are you here? I don''t need no bullshit just tell me what you need and I''ll do it, but after that, you have to go!" Asmanding as he could be, Haruki stood up for his daughter despite being faced with the greatest demon lord of allnds.

 Chapter 198 198 - A Toast With A Demon Lord[Part 2]

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    Sending Fay off upstairs with Ste in her arms, Haruki sat back down beside Asmodia with only four of his servants. Asuka who seemed too concerned to leave him alone was paired with Margarette seemingly ready to use her chain to try and bind the mistress in case she tries to harm anyone. Athena and Alice on the other hand were there to sniff out the presence of any invisible familiar that Asmodia might try to use against them.

    ''Riley''s already out to keep guard of the city gates or else we wouldn''t need to risk so many people around her.'' With their best spy not avable, Haruki could feel himself getting a bit tense. Yet, taking a deep breath he just pushed through and began asking her questions.

    "Why are you here?" Although she''d clearly heard the question, Asmodia remained unmoving with her hands clenching the wine ss.

    "Asmodia-"

    "They used to call me ''The omnipresent curator'', do you wanna know why?" Finally turning her gaze back to him, she took yet another sip of wine.

    Looking right into her violet gaze, Haruki gulped down his angst before replying.

    "Why?"

    "Because I can see everything Because I used to record history, the present, and even¡­" Shutting her lips mid-sentence, she quickly shied away and took another hit of the wine. "Forget it, just know that the more strength I recover, the more I can see, record, and influence."

    The knowledge of her power only made her more terrifying to everyone around the bar counter. It was no surprise that she was stronger than allbined already, and yet to realize that her strength was only just recovering? That they hope to defeat her by a lot.

    "Asmodia, again, why are you here?" Haruki asked yet again, his feet tapping on the floor with anxiety.

    "To answer those questions you wanted me to ask," finally as she replied, the whole world around Haruki crumbled like ss.

    For a spell of time, he didn''t know what had happened, and as he looked around at the others still seated at the stools, he noticed them all frozen in time. Surrounded by the heavy resting dark he felt his lungs gasp for breath, and his heart trying to pump blood as if he was running dry. Peering back at the mistress, he noticed but a faint smile.

    "What''s happening?" Haruki asked, baffled by the whole thing.

    "I''ll give you three questions to ask," holding three fingers towards Haruki, she let out a sinisterugh. "Now do you wanna reconsider what you just asked? Or do you want to waste it on such a useless query?"

    ''Again with this stuff? Had she just gone insane after recovering some of her strength?'' Washing the look of scorn off of his face, Haruki pushed everything off his mind except the few things that he wanted to ask.

    "Omnipresent, right? Is that why you have that book? The record of the world?" Looking right at her, he patiently waited for her to answer.

    Crossing her legs, she put down the smile before replying.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "That''s right, I used to be the guardian, but then I got reced by that mangled monster with who knows how many limbs," her teeth gritted shut, she appeared resentful towards the guardian of the library.

    ''That only brings more questions¡­'' Her answer left him even more confused about her nature than he already was, but given that he only had two questions left, he decided to not waste any and simply moved on to the next.

    "What is your n for all this? What do you wanna achieve through this struggle I''m going through? What battle will you be fighting with the army that I''m gathering for you?" The moment he finished asking the question, the same sinister smile from before climbed back up on Asmodia''s face.

    "Every world has a god, I need ours to be far gone," and that was the end of her answer. Even after waiting for a while for her to borate on that, Haruki got nothing more than that cryptic response.

    Thus, he turned to ask the final question.

    "Godsmite¡­" Taking a pause at the hint of a slight backward jerk in Asmodia''s body, Haruki stared at her for the sudden change in demeanor. "Why do you have a true holy spell in your list of magic skills?"

    ''Did I hit the mark with that skill''s ability.'' Seeing her flinch for the first time, he knew there was something more to it than what meets the eye.

    Mulling over her thoughts, it took Asmodia a while she responded to Haruki once again. However, this time the world around the slowly began to repair itself and hispanions showed slight movement in their bodies as well.

    "You were a human before bing a demon," from the edge of her eyes she nced at Margarette and Asuka. "Just like these two, I used to be someone else, someone withmand over every element except dark, but that soon changed when¡­"

    Turning her eyes back to Haruki, Asmodia got off the stool and stretched their arms wide as if trying to show something.

    "I died and someone brought me back up, but unlike me, he wasn''t so kind to let me choose my own path toward my life," tilting her head, she pulled Haruki up with a pair of phantom hands. "Say, warrior, do you ever wish toe back to life if you die again in this world?"

    Taken by surprise, Haruki had an idea about how to answer that question. After all, he''s spent so much of his time trying to perfect soul maniption to prevent that from happening, but what if he didn''t want toe back when the time of his death really came to be? Will he ept eternal sleep in the cold abyss or will he rise again and again until his conquest was finished?

    "I probably will," he answered, yet that lie couldn''t slip past the mistress.

    Squinting her eyes in disappointment, she looked at him in utter disgust.

    "A demon who can''t stay true to his true nature, how, vexing?" saying that she took a few steps back and disappeared, leaving only a half-full ss of wine resting on the counter.

 Chapter 199 199 - Ruckus In The Streets

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    The tension amongst the masses of Dtia had reached new heights. Never before had the elite living in the cities felt so threatened under the emperor''s presence, but now that they were under the impression that he wanted them either as ves or dead, none felt the slightest hint offort or safety under his g.

    Gathered under their own banner, the frustrated mob was off on their way to try and negotiate with the dragon yer. However, upon getting there, Michael picked up hisnce without hearing a single word from the angry mob. And although they were all terrified, not having seen his strength first hand they thought they could overpower him with sheer numbers.

    And that''s exactly what happened. Being a cloneyered with illusion to appear like Michael, the creature didn''tst long and was brought to his knees. Watching the elites rejoice as their ves murdered the clone, Haruki covered his face with a mask before simply walking away.

    ''They''re gaining confidence, and even if it''s a farce as long as they create chaos for the emperor, that''s all we need.'' Letting the others know about the situation through the telepathic ability, Haruki was off on his routine check to Nabe''s mansion.

    The days of the month were fleeting yet nothing he and hispanions had tried on worked on Nabe the slightest. Deflecting all weapons and absorbing the mana out of spells, the miasma around the devil girl was too good of a deterrent for the attacks.

    In Spite of that Haruki went to her mansion every day trying everything he could to break through the miasma, however, today was a bit different. Since he knew that one way or the other Nabe would soon wake up if he stayed up close to her.

    Walking into the mansion, Haruki wasted not a single second before making his way to Nabe''s room. There as he stood by the door, he held his hand forward and teleported him inside to check on the sleeping devil.

    ''Her face has almost recoveredpletely.'' Walking up closer, he tried to run his hand down her dark skin, but the miasma jerked him away. ''I wonder if¡­''

    A peculiar theory had gued Haruki''s mind ever since he started visiting Nabe, and now that she was soon going to wake up, there was never a better time to try it than now. cing his hand above her body, he closed his eyes and began using rejuvenation. At first, the miasma gathered up under his palm trying to repel the golden glowing out from it, however, the moment it senses that Haruki was trying to heal her, it quickly disappeared which allowed Haruki to touch Nabe directly.

    ''The miasma isn''t a spell or skill, it''s either part of her body or a living familiar, either way, as long as I can appear benevolent it shouldn''t get in my way all that much.'' With his theory proven correct, Haruki undid the ability before it could heal her body. The miasma, feeling no threat from him, stayed hidden even when he ran his fingers down her torn cheeks.

    Pressing his finger against her cheeks, he watched as she gently breathed through her lips and her chest rose up before falling down. Entranced by her bloodhorns, he scraped his nails against them, and to his surprise, unlike his own, they sounded like metal that could easily tear through steel.

    "Greater demon spy¡­" Summoning a spy he ordered it to take a bite out of the sleeping devil. However, the moment it tried to nibble on it, the miasma consumed the spy inside a cloud of dark mist.

    Retreating away, the miasma left Haruki untouched once again.

    "Seems like there''s only one way then," drawing a circle on her exposed chest, Haruki began infusing it with his mana. "Mark of the lust demon."

    Surprisingly, the more mana he poured in the more her body absorbed, but having foreseen such a hurdle, he came prepared with purified bottles of mana potions to fuel him until Nabe''s body submitted. Eventually, after he kept downing potions upon potion, the mark waspletely engraved in her skin, and her eyelids began to flicker.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Not yet¡­" Closing his eyes shut, he uncorked thest potion and downed it as well. "Alluring nightmare."

    With the miasma unable to detect what he''d done, Haruki forced himself into the war general''s memories. Like powder, his body scattered and was swiftly pulled inside the devil''s head. Upon conforming into a body once more, he noticed himself standing before an altar of some kind with a lone figure seat at the top.

    ''What is she doing?'' Moving closer to the Nabe who was bowing to this figure, Haruki tried to figure out exactly what was happening.

    "As, forgive me," she muttered before slowly peeking up at the shadowed figure. "I''ll do as you say, but in return, I beg you to not curse me!"

    ''As?!'' The thought alone gave him a headache. Turning his head toward the figure, Haruki felt his whole body stiffen up from angst. ''A god, in the mortal realm? H-how?''

    Although he''d heard about As all the time, seeing him so up close, shook him from the very core. Haruki tried to move closer and see his face, but the shadows in Nabe''s memories wouldn''t let him see clearly. The only thing clear to him was the look of the glistering cosmos trapped inside his eyes.

    "Are we done?" Asked Nabe from Haruki''s back.

    Shifting his attention back to her, he noticed her looking right at him. Without a doubt, she''d awakened in her dreams and was inplete control of her body.

    "Not yet¡­" Gulping down with angst, Haruki saw her feet about to dash towards him, but before she could, he snapped his fingers and changed the scenerypletely.

    Jumping from one memory to another both of themnded up in a dark cave with the hint of coal lingering in the air. Even turning to look at each other, the only thing they could see was the pair of glowing eyes from one another.

    "What is this ce?" Haruki asked, totally expecting to be ignored and assaulted again.

    To his surprise, however, the devil stayed silent but made no attempts to hurt him just yet.

    "My birthce¡­" Her answer, was, to say the least, intriguing.

 Chapter 200 200 - A Day Of Grief And Gratitude[Bonus ]

    ?

    "Mom, you shouldn''t stress your body, go to bed," Haruki murmured, standing by his mother as she admired the rain by their porch.

    Yet, her gaze remained unmoved, but her hand reached for the small table right beside her wooden chair. Finally turning her eyes to her son, the withered woman gave him the faintest of smiles. However, seeing the sunken eyes of her mother, and the light fleeing from her eyes, Haruki couldn''t bring himself to return her with the same.

    "Here, sit down and y with me," grabbing a pawn from the chess board on the table, his mother urged him to y, but despite the rain, he had to go and tend to the fields.

    "I can''t, the monsterse out in rain to ruin crops since nobody''s out there when it''s pouring so heavily," saying that he tried to move past his mother, but grabbing him by her sickly arms, she stopped him from taking a single foot further.

    As he pulled away, however, she couldn''t keep holding home with her weakened fingers. And so, instead of trying to convince him to stay, she decided to make him y a game with her in another way.

    "I want to tell you about your father¡­" Those words froze Haruki in ce. "About how he died when you were little."

    "Now? Of all the times, now you want to tell me?" Turning around to look at her, Haruki had a disgruntled look on his face.

    Nodding at his question, his mother motioned him toe closer and take the seat across the desk. Following her request, he let out a sigh and settled down into the chair. There as he waited for her to borate, she moved a pawn further onto the board.

    "Let''s y a little first," she said with a smile.

    Despite her jolly farce, Haruki knew how much she must''ve been hurting because of the diseases eating her up from the inside. Thus, even though she was smiling, he knew that was just her way to hide her own tears. If only she could be truthful about her hurt, Haruki would with full heart y with her as much as she wanted, but seeing her hair turn silver while she pretended everything was fine, he felt like vomiting from the emotional strain alone.

    "Why do you always make me y this stupid game?" Replying with those words, he looked down at the chessboard.

    Being a burly man who defended the fields, he had no clue how to y the game. To help him understand a little, his mother made the first move with his pawn to show him the way they could be moved on the board.

    "Why, you ask?" drawing her hand away, her smile broke into a slight grimace. "Because you''re growing too fast, and I want you to hold onto at least a semnce of innocence."

    "I''m not a child anymore," looking away from her, Haruki gazed at the downpour muddling up the path running through their vige. "Besides, we all need to do our part, and since father isn''t here it falls on me to carry out his duties."

    Following her son''s eyes, she too began to look at the mud paths connecting the streets of their small vige.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Your father was out in the rain trying to protect our farm," upon hearing her speak again, Haruki shifted his attention back onto his mother. "At that time the emperor had raided our toll because of the war and we had to do everything to protect our crops from the monsters."

    "So that''s how he died? Protecting our fields?" Haruki asked.

    His mother nodded before continuing her story.

    "Since the emperor''s army was clearing up so many forests from monsters, a pack of them ended up migrating towards our vige to hide," Closing her for a second, she was reminded of that very night when the grim news came knocking on her doorsteps. "The men repelled the monsters, but your father and a few others died while protecting our vige."

    Being finally told about how his father died, Haruki didn''t know what to think. Was he supposed to be proud that he died in battle? Or should be saddened that he lost his life for at most a few months'' feed?

    "Fine, ''ll stay," looking down at the board, he decided to keep his motherpany instead of heading out in the rain.

    "I love you," wearing a weak smile once more, she picked up the knight and moved it to defend her pawn. "Now let''s y."

    With the rain singing in the background, Haruki''s mother tried teaching him how to y chess, but given his short attention span, every time he learned something, something else had already left his mind. Regardless, after blundering countless times and losing to her, Haruki noticed her eyes shutting on their own as her body began to tire away.

    "You can sleep, I''m not leaving, don''t worry," Haruki assured, finally realizing that she was afraid to lose him the same way she''d lost his father.

    Leaning back into the chair, it didn''t take her long to drift into slumber. Once she was sound asleep, Haruki picked her up in his arms and brought her to her futon. Tucking her in, he sat right beside her.

    "I''m not going anywhere, so don''t leave me either," staring at her wrinkled face, he could see the reaper''s scythe lingering over her head. "You''re all I have."

    Whispering those final words, he got up to prepare some food for when she woke up, unbeknownst to the fact that this would be the veryst interaction they''d ever have. While busy in the small kitchen just beside the hall where his mother slept, he didn''t realize but she woke up once more and watched as he prepared her dinner.

    ''I love you, son. Live long, unlike me or your father.'' Feeling more tired than ever, she closed her eyes onest time and never woken ever since.

 Chapter 201 201 - The Devil Of Dark Corners

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    Walking alongside the demon who''d been trying to kill him so far, Haruki kept venturing deeper into the mines in an attempt to get closer to the echoing voice of a crying demon. Despite the stranger truce between the two, he kept one of his eyes fixed on her from the corner.

    ''She hasn''tined or even tried to hurt me since we came here, what''s going on?'' Her silence was suffocating, which was only further intensified by the dust of coal floating around in the mines.

    "I can see you staring at me, you know?" shooting Haruki a sharp gaze, Nabe stopped in her tracks and just stared at him.

    Her arms crossed together, she seemed more bothered by him staring at her than the whole invading her memory part.

    "I''m just making sure you''re not plotting anything behind my back," giving her that reply, Haruki kept walking towards the sound of the baby''s cries deeper into the cave.

    "Like what exactly?" Following Haruki once again, Nabe continued. "I can''t do anything to you in this ce, did you not even know that an incubus''s greatest strength is controlling the dreams of others?"

    ''I can''t admit that, can I?'' Keeping his mouth shut, Haruki kept moving forward.

    Finally, after walking for what felt like an hour, they both arrived at cradles of devils being nurtured in a dark corner. Surrounded by walls of coals, countless devil children were scattered around the floor with only one female guardian''s body crushed under a giant rock. The children were no more fortunate either as only one of them could still draw any breath to cry. As for the rest? Their bodies were buried under rubble which in turn painted the whole floor in a crimson red.

    "What happened here?" Haruki asked, slowly floating towards the only living child.

    "You''ll see," stepping off the entrance to the section of the cave, Nabe nced back at the sight of inquisitors marching right in.

    Perplexed by the whole thing, Haruki watched as the men scanned the room with their swords drawn and their torches held high. Their shadows scattered and danced around the coal as if teasing an idental ignition to happen from the mes in their torches. Thankfully, however, as a man cloaked from head to toe came into the ce, he ordered them to extinguish all the torches to bring him the crying devil child.

    "Is this not enough?" Her eyes downcast, Nabe pulled Haruki''s attention towards her again. "I know what you''ve done to my body in the real world, I can already feel itsposition turning. So please, can we just leave this ce?"

    Hearing her plea was not something Haruki had ever expected toe out of this interaction. However, since he''d already ced the mark of the lust demon on her body, he had little reason to fear her in the mortal world.

    "I have a few questions that I need some answers to, if you can do that we can leave this ce right now and get back to the real world," keeping his fingers ready to snap them out of the nightmare, Haruki kept his eyes locked with Nabe''s.

    "Fine!" She replied, her teeth gritted shut.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''To think I wanted to control this imp, but got put into a controlling spell instead!'' Grinding her teeth like sand, Nabe red at Haruki in rage until he finally snapped them out of the ''This is all that bitch Asmodia''s fault!''

    Consumed by the light that awakened them both, Nabe woke up to her stillying in bed with Haruki''s demonic body towering over her. Still having the injury on her face, she squinted her eyes in pain and a frustrated groan left her mouth. To top it all off, she could feel the curse taking hold of her heart as it slowly turned her into a half-demon half-devil hybrid.

    "Once we''re done with my questions, I''ll heal you so you can move again," holding his hand towards her, Haruki bound her with holy chains and a pair of slithery tentacles as a precaution in case she tries to rebel.

    "Fuck you!" She yelled, her eyes bleeding and bloodshot.

    ''One more thing just in case¡­'' Digging his nail into her chest, he infused her with a yet controlling ability called the crimson-tongued demon. ''Now if she tries to kill me, I can make her organs burst out of her body.''

    No stranger to what he was doing, Nabe now knew better than to go against her captor.

    "What do you want?!" She growled, her fangsid ready to tear Haruki''s skull.

    "First, I want to know who you are, and why you''re trying to kill me?" To his question, she tried to resist by looking to the other side, but as her organs began squeezing in on her, she was forced to cough out all the answers.

    "Stop! I''m telling you! Just stop!" Groaning in pain, she drew deep breaths as Haruki let her organs rx once more. "I-I¡­Uhm, I''m Nabe Bloodhorn, a devil adopted by the emperor, and now one of his war generals to the western fronts."

    Her loaded answer took Haruki a moment to process, but at the end of his assessment, a wide grin took over his face. If Nabe was anywhere near the level of Michael, then draining her levels and skill was sure to make Haruki and his party have a much better chance at striking down the rest of the war generals.

    "And why were you trying to kill me?" He asked, his breaths growing heavy at the thought of soon melding with her body.

    Turning her gaze back onto him, her resentful look broke into a saddened grimace. Her mind was finally being broken by the curses, and her body was soon to follow suit. Even the torture made her skin crawl with a chilling sensation that was more orgasmic than anything she''s felt before.

    Although reluctant, she raised her hands to draw Haruki in. Seeing how much the curse had taken hold of her, Haruki quickly used rejuvenation on her body before climbing into bed with the devil.

 Chapter 202 202 - A Lustful Dance With The Devil[18+]

    ?

    Confined in the golden gated room, Haruki and Nabe coiled their tongues around each other, trying to get a desperate taste of the other person. With their skin rubbing against one another, they let their hands roam all over each''s naked bodies. As dark as coal from the outside but deep red in her mouth and other holes, Nabe''s exotic body was presented for Haruki to devour how he pleased.

    "Fuck these curses!" Still trying to resist, Nabe was the first to pull away from the kiss. "And fuck you too!"

    Just staring into Haruki''s eyes, she felt her chest burn up from the curse once more. Urged further by the mark, she wrapped her hands around his body and pulled him closer into a hug.

    "Fuck me, you bastard!" She yelled while rubbing her belly against his hard-on.

    "As you say, you bitch," getting a hold of both of her legs, Haruki split them apart to finally get inside her pussy.

    Positioning his dick right by her cherry-red entrance, Haruki plunged it in as deep as he could. Letting out a loud scream of pleasure, Nabe clenched her teeth shut while bleeding over Haruki''s cock. Feeling her tight fold along with noticing the blood, Haruki was almost a bit baffled that the devil under him was an innocent maiden in at least some aspects.

    "Tell me now, why were you trying to kill me?" Looking down at her with one of his hands caressing her cheeks, Haruki now knew that he had power over her.

    "I-I wasn''t! I wasn''t trying to kill you¡­" Shying away from his gaze, Nabe turned her head to the side.

    Firmly grabbing her face, Haruki turned it back towards him before slowly beginning to pump his cock in and out of her wet folds.

    "Ahhh!" Biting down on her lips, she gave Haruki a maddened frown. "You fuck-Aghhhh!"

    Realizing that she wasn''t yet going to give up, Haruki mmed his dick into her until he hit the entrance of her womb. Trying to show her that he wasn''t going to settle for excuses, he drew his hips back once more and looked at her as if to warn her about yet another deep thrust if she continues to lie.

    "No! Wait!" Ignoring her cries, Haruki pinched her pink nips before thrusting against her womb once again. "Mhnmmm! Fuck! Stop!"

    For a while, he kept railing her inside with his rock-hard boner, but as Nabe''s eyes rolled up from the ungodly sensations, he brought a stop to his movement just to make her body desire him even more.

    "Why-uhm," Blushing a silver glow, Nabe looked at Haruki in a look of pure puzzlement. "T-The curse is done, right? You can get off of me, I can''t hurt you anymore¡­"

    "You have to first answer me, why did you decide to attack me?" He asked again, but this time, he had something else nned as well.

    Opening a dungeon portal right under her ass, Haruki sprouted out of it a pair of tentacles, ready to assault her insides from the backend. As she felt them crawling between her buttcheeks, her eyes widened in shock and she clutched onto Haruki''s body as an instinctive reaction to the unknown.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Okay! Okay! I did it because I wanted to use you against the emperor!" Scared out of her mind, Nabe let out the truth to protect her butt from the oing assault. "He spared me after adopting me, but most of hispanions are inflicted with a curse that-"

    What she said at the end of the sentence was muffled out as if something was deterring her to talk about it. And when she tried to open her mouth to speak of it again, the same things happened and her words converted to incoherent mumbles.

    "Ah, shit, he''s gonna know I broke a rule¡­" Nabe whispered, a deep sense of worry reflected all over her face.

    "Who''s gonna know? The emperor?" Once again as Nabe opened her mouth to answer, her words were muffled up and Haruki couldn''t understand a single word.

    "I-I don''t think I can tell you, only a few people can talk about the curse of At-" Yet again, her sentence was cut short.

    ''There''s no point in any of this.'' Haruki thought as Nabe couldn''t ry an ounce of information about the emperor to him. Pulling himself off of Nabe, Haruki conjured a single demonic spy and had it bite the side of her arm. At first, the miasma came back to protect her, but since it was going against Haruki, who was Nabe''s new master, it was forced back into hiding as the mark of lust demon began to hurt the devil girl.

    "We''ll talkter, you''re gonna keep pretending to be the war general for now," as the spy took a nibble out of Nabe''s skin, Haruki quickly conjured a clone of her beside him. "Also, I want you to prepare a report to the emperor detailing how the people of Dtia are rebelling and have even killed all the guards."

    Intending to kill all hypnotized guards and push the me onto the masses, Haruki wanted to create more chaos for the emperor as well as the Dtians to deal with.

    "The guards are dead?" Nabe asked, covering her body with a nket.

    "Not yet, but don''t worry about it, just do as I say, and maybe I''ll have us both finish properly next time I''m screwing up your insides," Haruki''s reply sparked up a strange tantalizing sensation between Nabe''s legs.

    Still being able to feel Haruki inside of her, she wanted him to put his dick right back in. However, now that she was a servant of his, she knew that he could simply snap his fingers and have her body explode from the inside, thus she had no real choice in the matter at all.

    "O-okay¡­I''ll do it," Staring at him as he shifted to have a dark cloak covering his face, Nabe knew that she''d messed up with the wrong person, thinking that he was naive.

    "By the way," turning towards the door, Haruki held his hand forward to pass through it with a portal. "Next time, I wanna take all your skills and levels, so be ready for a long night of your body being torn into."

    Upon hearing him say that, Nabe''s eyes widened in shock, but instead of fear, she felt excited by the thought.

    "I will!" She replied, nodding her head.

 Chapter 203 203 - A Ghostly Debacle [Part 1]

    ?

    It had been a month since Asuka and her friends started living in their new house, and already the ce was turning from a house of demons into that of spiders and cobwebs. The worst affected in the group were the demi-humans with their heightened senses, and even more, disturbed by it was Asuka who''d been a royal maid in a castle that stayed spic and span through all the seasons.

    "Haaa¡­This house is a mess!" Done with dusting the room''s corners, Asuka stepped off the stool and let out an exalted sigh. "At least we won''t have to worry about it for a while now."

    Looking around her room, she checked for any spots left just like she''d done for every other room in the oakwood-floored house. When she couldn''t find a speck of dust anywhere in the room, she dusted off her maid outfit before making her way out to the basement to store the mop and duster.

    Humming happily, she walked past everyone''s empty room while just peering in to check if they were back home yet. However, as everyone was off to their scheduled duty to keep the elites trapped inside the city walls, none of them had been back, or at the very least they weren''t back into their rooms yet.

    ''I wonder if Master can finally control that devil girl today.'' Feeling her heart burning with jealousy, she clutched the mop''s handle tightly and kept squeezing it until she heard a sudden crack.

    "Eeekkk!" Right by the stairs as she realized what she''d done, her head hung low and her smile turned into a grimace. "I have to buy a new one now."

    Dreading venturing through the streets filled with elite demi-human elites and monsters, Asuka felt a cold chill run up and down her spine. To her, the elites seemed worse than human scum. And why would she see them any other way? After all, humans didn''t enve their own kind and even when they did, those ves were at least treated with some dignity. The elites, however, were as feral as thend they''de from.

    ''They should all be thrown back into the feralnds, then when they''re treated the same way they treat those ves, they''d finally understand why your servants deserve at least some dignity and respect.'' Deep in her thoughts, she had reached the basement without realizing it, but as she tried to put the mop and duster away into a cupboard, she noticed something peculiar peeking out from behind the cupboard. ''What?!''

    The half-face of a translucent young boy was looking right at Asuka with its eyes wider than they should''ve been. Petrified by the figure, Asuka''s body went into shock. Frozen in ce all she could do was just keep looking into his eyes. Like maggots the strings in his iris were moving around violently, making the scene all the more grueling.

    "Wh-who?" The moment Asuka whispered those words, the boy fled into the back of the cupboard before disappearingpletely from sight.

    ''Was that a ghost?!'' Forgetting that she herself was a demon living with all kinds of oddities, Asuka was freaking out of her mind trying to make sense of the situation. ''Ughhh! I must be dreaming.''

    Trying to convince herself that what she''d just seen was a lie, she stocked the cupboard with the cleaning tool before heading back, seemingly unbothered. What she failed to realize, however, was the translucent figure following her from corner to corner. Getting to the stairs, the figure left Asuka behind to clean the bar counter and headed upstairs.

    Distracted with work, Asuka didn''t realize as the ghost made his way to Fay''s room and then lingered right of Ste as she slept soundly. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Leaning over the child, the ghost tried to touch her skin but his fingers passed right through her body. Still not used to being a ghost that can pass through objects, the nameless ghost frowned in disappointment as he wanted to y with Ste like he so often did when no one else was looking.

    About to give up for today, the boy turned around defeated, but as a light chuckle left Ste''s lips, a huge smile took over his face. Turning to face her once more, he saw her already struggling up on her feet and looking right at him.

    "Ma-Max!" Ste muttered, giggling out loud.

    "Let''s y again!" Without a shred of restraint, the boy jumped up and down for having found a friend who was nearly the same age as him.

    Hearing the rustle and tussle upstairs, Asuka''s beards perked up in response to the sound. For a moment, she couldn''t figure out what was going on, but just now remembering that Ste was still in Fay''s room and that nobody else should''ve been up there except her. Going into panic she quickly made her way to the upper floor.

    Once getting there, however, she found no trace of the ghost boy or even Ste anywhere inside the room. Terrified, she went over to check the cradle and sure enough it was empty.

    ''What the hell?!'' Chilled to the core, Asuka began searching the whole house trying to find where exactly Ste was hiding.

    Even after upturning the whole building, trying to find Ste, Asuka could not find her anywhere. What made finding her even harder was the fact that slime gave off no odor until they wanted their presence to be known. But now, without a hint of Ste''s body anywhere in the building, Asuka felt lost as to what exactly she was meant to do.

    As time passed and her worries continued to be mped upon one another, Asuka waited with an anxious heart until someone from her group arrived home. The very first person to arrive by twilight was none other than the mother of the lost child, which only served to feed Asuka''s anxiety more and more.

    ''What do I do?! What do I do?! Should I really tell her?!'' Shaking her head violently from side to side, she brushed away all her doubts and grabbed onto Fay, right as she walked over to the front door of their house.

    "Ste''s missing!" Asuka exined, her eyes closed in fear of reprimanding.

    "What?" Fay asked, her eyes contorted into a worried frown.

 Chapter 204 204 - A Ghostly Debacle [Part 2]

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    By the time everyone from Haruki''s group was back home, it was reallyte into the night, but Ste still hadn''t been found yet. Tired of searching all over, Fa was scowling by the gates of the new house they''d just recently started living in. All hurled up, she could feel her body shaking with fear while streams of tears flowed silently down her cheeks.

    "She can''t be far, we''ll find her Fay," walking up beside her while the others continued to look, Riley tried to reassure Fay, but it didn''t seem to have any effect on her.

    "Where''s Haruki? Is he still not done with that Nabe girl?" Wiping her tears, Fay asked while looking up at Riley.

    Not sure how to answer her when Riley herself didn''t know the answer, she simply stered up a smile and tried tofort her further.

    "He''ll be here, don''t worry," again, words weren''t enough tofort the soul merchant.

    Slowly looking back down, Fay covered up her mouth as tears began riding down her cheeks once more. For a while, as she was stuck in that state of emotional agony, her wolves searched for Ste while she tried to calm herself so as to notsh out at Asuka. However, just like the demi-humans, her wolves weren''t able to pick up Ste''s smell either.

    Wallowed up in fear of losing her daughter, an idea clicked inside Fay''s head. Heading straight for Haruki''s room, she began to search all over for the sapphire brooch that Rose had given him. Unfortunately, no matter how hard or where she looked, she couldn''t find it at all as Haruki had taken the brooch out with him.

    "Fuck! Where the hell is it?!" At the edge of her sanity, she could feel her demonic nature taking hold of her with her rage.

    Recognizing that quickly, she tried to calm down by drawing deep breaths since it was bound to only hurt her in the long run, especially since subi weren''t supposed to nurture and raise children and if she gave into those twisted instincts, it''ll only end up horribly for her as a mother figure to Ste.

    "Ughhh! I need to go get Haruki!" Tired of waiting around, Fay decided to go get Haruki herself instead of waiting for him.

    ***

    On his way home, cloaked under a rag, Haruki made sure to kill the guards before recing them all with a clone of their bodies. The whole ordeal took him much longer than expected and the night had slipped so deep that the usually crowded streets of Dtia were as vacant as a ghost city. On his way back through the silent streets, a pair of child-likeughter threw him off guard. For some reason, he felt like he''d heard at least one of those voices, and it obviously drew him in like a moth to fire.

    Upon getting to a secluded corner in an alley near his new home, he found Ste ying in a puddle of mud with a strange translucent child. The moment he tried to approach them, the boy looked right at him and quickly disappeared. Left puzzled by the sight, Haruki didn''t realize as Ste turned her gaze to him and beamed up a giant smile.

    "H-Haruki!" She cried, her arms outstretched as if asking him to pick her up.

    "What are you doing here?" He asked, walking up closer to her.

    Quickly picking him up in his arms, he just looked at her, confused.

    "Ma-Max!" Ste answered, her hands thrown excitedly into the sky.

    "Max?" Haruki mumbled, still just as confused as before.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Nodding at her adoptive father, Ste reaffirmed the name. Having seen the translucent boy Haruki began to wonder if that spirit or that ghost was the one called Max. However, with the night waning away, he pushed everything off of his mind and began making his way back to the house.

    On his way, rushing through the streets right outside his house, he noticed Fay trying to free herself from the hands of Riley and the demi-cats. For whatever reason, they were trying to keep her from taking even a step forward, and it wasn''t until Haruki got really close that he figured out that they were all probably looking for Ste.

    "Haruki! Ste!" Seeing her little girl in Haruki''s arms, Fay broke into tears once again.

    "M-Mommy!" Eximed Ste, her hand stretched towards Fay.

    Taking her daughter in her arms, she began kissing her all over despite her muddied skin and clothes. In the meantime, looking around at the worried faces of hispanions, Haruki figured out just how long they must''ve been searching for Ste.

    "We should go in, there''s a lot of stuff we need to discuss," rubbing Fay''s arm tofort her, Haruki nted a brief kiss on her cheeks before making his way toward the house.

    One after the other as everyone walked in, Haruki sat down at the bar and motioned for the others to sit around him as well. For a while, they all allowed each other to calm down in silence before eventually, Haruki broke the silence in the room.

    "Fay, I saw a ghostly figure of a boy ying with Ste in an alley," from the edge of his eye, Haruki noticed Asuka''s ears perked up at the news. "I think his name is Max, and he and Ste seemed friendly with each other, but we should still take precautions to not allow this to happen again."

    Baffled by the revtion, everyone gave each other confounding nces, except for Asuka who''d already seen the ghost kid once.

    "What about the devil girl, Nabe, did you finally get her?" Riley asked, breaking the flow of conversation around the bar counter.

    "I did, but we can talk about itter, for now-"

    "I¡­" Jumping in on the conversation, Asuka timidly voiced her concern. "I saw that boy hiding down in the basement, but I didn''t know that it was a real ghost!"

    Following her words, a moment of silence lingered in the room. Only broken once again by Haruki after he let out a heavy sigh.

    "We should all just rest our heads for now, and worry about all this stuffter tomorrow, okay?" Looking around at hispanions, he nodded his head at them, and then all eventually nodded back in agreement. "I''ve taken care of the devil girl, and Ste is safe, that''s all that matters at the moment, so let''s just sleep."

    Getting off the stool, Haruki gestured to Fay to follow her upstairs so they could both watch Ste through the night in case the boy appeared once again. Seeing them climb up, Asuka couldn''t help but feel drowned by guilt. Even though she''d seen the boy, she did nothing and caused everyone hours of distress.

    ''I need to do something to make up for it.'' She thought and began racking her mind toe up with an appropriate apology.

 Chapter 205 205 - Aftermath Of A Miserable Night

    ?

    On the very same day as she''d seen the ghost child, Asuka confined herself to the kitchen to prepare a grand feast as an apology. The guilt from losing sight of Ste, and making everyone worry so much made her heart feel heavy as her conscience bled hurt.

    ''Why are you doing this?'' She thought, trying to fight the selfish instincts of a demon. ''She''s not your kid, is she? Why do you care so much if she-''

    "Shut up!" Letting go of the knife she''d been using to cut all the vegetables, Asuka eximed out loud as she fought the voice in her head.

    Much like the others, her demonic side was getting more and more prevalent. Which in turn, urged them all to give in to their instinct of self-satisfying hedonism. Even her loyalty to her master was brought into question, after all, he was sharing his bed with Fay while she was worried sick about what she''d done.

    "Are you okay?" From right outside the kitchen door, Riley''s voice startled the guilt-ridden Fox.

    Jumping up in surprise, Asuka hit her head on an open cab door right above where she''d taken the knife out of. Squeaking in pain, she mped onto the wound. Rubbing it furiously she tried to make the hurt go away quickly.

    "I''m sorry! I didn''t mean to!" Quickly approaching her master, Riley tried to check on Asuka but got stopped by her hand held up between them.

    "Wait¡­" Using her healing touch, Asuka soothed the wound in an instant before finally turning to look at Riley.

    "Don''t surprise me like that again, especially not after we found a ghost in this ce," still rubbing the wound, Asuka scowled at her in rage.

    "I¡­Won''t," putting up an awkward smile, Riley nodded.

    Letting her hand off of her head, Asuka stared at her for a while, but then huffing a sigh she turned around to cut the vegetables again. Riley, however, didn''t seem to be able to take a hint and moved beside Asuka to check up on her further.

    "Is something wrong? What are you even preparing sote at night?" Riley asked, ncing at the messy state of the kitchen.

    The flour on the counter paired with the multiple containers filled with vegetables and meat had taken hold of her curiosity and she even wanted to help Asuka prepare whatever she was trying to make.

    "Riley please don''t disturb me, I haven''t been feeling too forgiving as of thest few days¡­" Closing her eyes, Asuka shut her lips before continuing further. "I-I''m sorry, I don''t know what''s happening, but feel like I''m being forced to change by something."

    "You too?" Riley''s response surprised Asuka.

    Shifting her gaze to her, she had no clue what Riley meant by it and yet it terrified her deeply.

    "What do you mean?" She asked, her eyes gawking at Riley like a Hawk.

    Turning her head towards the cutting board, Riley slid it towards herself and started chopping up the rest of the vegetables before replying.

    "Everyone''s feeling more and more tensetely, and I personally believe that it''s because of our transformation into demons," raising the knife, she yfully iled it around in the air. "After all, we''re supposed to be more vicious, more self-serving, and most of all, indulgent for every whim and desire."

    Taking a moment to process everything Riley had just said, Asuka couldn''t agree more with her ims. As a subus, wasn''t it her nature to be self-serving? And when she thought of it that way, she instantly figured out what was wrong with her head.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''Is this slow transcendence into hedonism how you end up like Moriyana or even Asmodia?'' Given that the mistress was considered the mother of all lust demons, that assessment made a lot of sense to her.

    "We need to be careful," She told Riley.

    "Yeah¡­" Riley nodded in response. "But for now, let me help you prepare whatever you''re preparing."

    With a smile on her face, Riley seemed ready to do whatever was asked of her. Having just been helped to untangle her feelings, Asuka couldn''t deny her request to help her prepare the feast. Thus, as the night phased into morning, the two busied themselves in the kitchen, preparing all kinds of dishes to have Fay forgive Asuka.

    Being demons, they were easily able to ovee their need to sleep and set up the dishes at the dinner table before anyone had even woken up. But by the time they finally got to sit down and take some rest, their eyes grew weary and both of them fell asleep on each other''s shoulders.

    One after the other as everyone came down the stairs after waking up to the hint of fresh foodid on the table. They noticed the two hurdled up on a couch with their clothes covered with all kinds of stains from sauces, gravies, as well as crumbled pieces of bread.

    "I suppose, she was really bothered by what happenedst night," standing before the two, Haruki kept looking at their dozing heads.

    "I¡­I know it wasn''t her fault, but," walking up beside him with Ste still sleeping in her arms, Fay huffed up an exalted sigh. "I just got a little too worried."

    "It''s okay," Haruki assured, resting his hand on her shoulder.

    "Do you guys wanna get started? I''m feeling really hungry just from the smell of all the meat," asking from the other end of the dinner table, Athena asked, drooling from her mouth to taste the delicious-looking meat.

    Alice, Margarette, and Moriyana were no different, the whiff of toasted bread, butter, soups, and stewedmb as well as skewered meat was inducing a hunger they never knew their stomach was capable of.

    "Should I wake them up?" Fay asked, looking at the two sleeping soundly.

    "How about you leave Ste with them while we eat instead? I think she''d appreciate that more," nodding at Haruki''s suggestion, Fay leaned forward and booped Asuka on the nose.

    Feeling a tickle on her skin, Asuka opened her eyes and saw Fay standing really close to her face. Flustered, she looked away, but as she noticed her holding Ste towards her, she turned back to Fay and took the sleeping slime girl from her hands.

    "Take care of her, okay? We''re gonna go and find something toin about in the food that you made now," with a sarcastic smile, Fay propped herself back up.

    Shifting her gaze between Ste and Fay, Asuka felt her heart warm up from the inside and a silent smile crept up on her face.

    "Thank you¡­" She whispered, her eyes tearing up lightly.

    Nodding at Asuka, Fay left her daughter in her arms and went straight for the dinner table. Being trusted with the angel, Asuka knew she''d been forgiven for her mishap, and now that her guilt was gone, she felt even more attached to Fay and her daughter.

    ''I love you.'' She thought, watching the little girl in her arms.

 Chapter 206 206 - Almuldâ€™s Demise

    ?

    Holding in his hands a lone sword of pure light, the emperor stood in front of the rotting carcass of Almuld, the renowned warlock. Surrounded by only a few of his remaining men, the emperor had been standing in front of the undead''s body for more than a full day at this point. His men, one of which happened to be the southern war general Razor, were perplexed by his limbo, and yet no matter what they tried the emperor wouldn''t respond or even hum out an answer to anything.

    "My lord, we must get back to your domain, the army has already ceased this territory, and rumors about a rebellion amongst Dtians needs to be addressed as well," Riley informed, but the emperor kept staring at Almuld''s body as it continued to rust away into dust before being dissipated into the air.

    "I killed him, didn''t I?" Finally, as the body of Almuld disappearedpletely, the emperor turned to his men with his eyes tearing up with blood.

    Taken aback by the sight, the soldier flinched a step backward. Never in their wildest dream had they expected the emperor to be crying in front of his pupil, that too right after killing the unkible immortal by use of a single saber.

    Most bothered by the sight, Razor moved his hand in front of the line of remaining soldiers and gestured to them to retreat at once. For a spell, they could notprehend what was happening and didn''t have a clue what Razor was trying to ry to them. They were all too caught up by the sight of blood tears staining the fair skin of their young emperor.

    "Retreat I said!" Yelling at his men, Razor pulled them back to reality.

    Terrified by the scream, the leaders of all battalions quickly marched their troops back to camp without a single word ofint. Once they were all far gone, Razor shot the emperor a sharp gaze as if he was utterly disappointed in his master for some reason.

    "Have you gone mad?" He grunted through his teeth. "You promised to kill that monster and you did it sooner than anyone expected, so why instead of celebrating it, you''rementing his death?!"

    Carelessly staring at Razor for a while, the emperor blinked his eyes a few times. Then after wiping off the blood tears and cleaning it up in his ragged cloak, he gave him a response.

    "All life deserves eternal love and a lover," making the saber of light disappear, the emperor clenched his fist tight and started making his way in the direction of the camp. "Only a heartless person can fail to see that."

    ''What?'' Unsure if the emperor just insulted him, Razor turned around and watched as he kept walking away from the final site of battle.

    "What the hell do you mean At-"

    "Don''t you dare use that name!" Thunder crashed right beside Razor as the emperor warned him not to push his luck. "No mortal, especially one as narcissistic as you would ever understand theplexities thate with being a god."

    ''You are only to ept my mercy, and flourish under a benevolent revolt against the order of the cosmos.'' Keeping thest part to himself, the emperor shifted his gaze back in the direction of the camp and kept walking.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Left gasping for breath, and a heart filled with terror, Razor turned to the spot where lightning had just struck beside him. Peering at a small crater left on his right, he could only imagine the kind of hurt it could''ve inflicted had he been the subject of the lightning''s assault.

    ''He''s gone insane!'' He thought,pletely blind to his own provocative actions.

    Getting back into the nearest war camp, the emperor headed right into his tent. There, however, instead of a moment of quiet, he found a group of soldiers and a messenger waiting for him inside. At the very sight of him, they dropped to their knees and bowed in respect.

    "Rise," uttering that word, he moved deeper into the tent and settled down into a cushioned seat specially made for hisfort.

    Getting back on their feet, the men turned to the emperor and presented the messenger. Understandably shaken after the battle with Almuld''s army, the messenger stuttered for a moment as he opened his mouth to speak, but then taking just a moment to calm down, he began to exin what kind of news he''d brought the emperor.

    "My lord, the people-" Taking a pause he corrected himself. "The demi-humans from Dtia have rebelled, the whole kingdom is ughtering guards left and right, and even the devil of dark corner had to retreat from the capital city!"

    "Nabe, had to retreat?" A bit puzzled over the news, the emperor was having a hard time believing the ims. "You mean to say, that one of my war generals retreated from an army of demi-humans who''ve not picked up a single sword in their life''s time?"

    "Y-yes, my lord¡­" Fearing for his life, the messenger''s breath grew heavy.

    "Lord, the devil is waiting for you back in your domain. We all believe that it''s best that you return to safety while we hunt down any rogue undead left behind by thete warlock," chiming into the conversation, one of the soldiers suggested to the emperor.

    With Almuld dealt with, he had little reason to stay behind, and so with a simple nod, he had them prepare for his return. Dismissing the rest of the group, he had them empty the tent so he could spend some time contemting over something important. Finally, after they were all gone, he mulled over thest words of the undead warlock.

    ''You''re a monster, no amount of conquest will allow you to ruin the natural order!'' Resounding in his mind, those words by Almuld kept ringing in his ears.

    "I hope you''re wrong, old friend¡­" Leaning back into the chair, he closed his eyes shut and drifted into a well-deserved rest.

    By the time he would wake up once again, the preparation for his departure would be done, and Razor would already be on his way to im even more territory in Scorchen Gaia from the remaining demon lord.

 Chapter 207 207 - A Untimely Confrontation

    ?

    With the month now gone and Asmodia''s wishes fulfilled, Haruki and hispanions were preparing for their departure from the Dtian kingdom. However, putting up a hurdle in their path were the elitist demi-humansying gathered up outside their house.

    "What are they doing?" Peeking through a window on the upper floor, Haruki asked Riley through his telepathic ability.

    Meddling amongst the demi-humans outside, Riley posing as an elite herself, scanned for an exit through the crowd before finally giving Haruki an answer.

    "They think we''re humans, so they want to use us as a bargaining chip against the emperor," Riley''s revtion further confused Haruki.

    "Do these idiots really think that the emperor would give up his throne just because they took a few humans hostage?" Haruki asked, baffled by their stupidity.

    "Most of them are second-generation nobles who''ve never met the emperor so the naivete is kind of expected," being somewhat of a royalty herself, Riley knew exactly what the issue was with these entitled demi-humans.

    They''d never seen a day of hard work or even understood the cost their ancestors had to pay to be freed from the chains of very. To some degree, even Haruki knew that they were too self-obsessed to realize just how easily they were being manipted.

    "Try and arrange a carriage for us outside the city, we''ll meet you there in a bit," giving Riley her orders, Haruki stepped away from the window and turned to the others either sitting on the bed or standing in vacant spots inside his room.

    Dressed up in loose sundresses fit for traveling, they all appeared like angels with just a slight difference between them all. Athena and Alice were adorned in pure white with a pair of ivory earrings carelessly dangling by their ears. Moriyana on the other hand, as obnoxiously sexual as always wore a dress more akin to a nightdress with a heavy v-neck that exposed a huge portion of her assets, yet for some reason it suited her just perfectly.

    "What are we going to do?" Asuka asked with Ste tugging on her tulip gown.

    "Well, we can''t just disappear from here since that makes them suspicious," taking a moment toe up with a n, Haruki decided to go with the most obvious option. "I''m going to create clones of us all so those idiots can kill them just like they did with Michael''s clone."

    "And where are we headed now exactly?" Getting off the bed, Margarette folded her arms under her plentiful chest almost as if purposefully trying to unt them to the others. "We only have two kingdoms left in the empire that we haven''t visited, and going back to Lamenia isn''t really an option anymore."

    With each step forward, her thin-strapped sundress seemed as if it''ll slip right off of her body. Yet somehow holding on, the translucent red hint of the attire reflected the phoenix inside of her perfectly.

    "We''re gonna hit the other two kingdoms and try to pit the people against the emperor as well, for now, that''s the best course of action," since the people of Dtia had already revolted, the emperor was sure to suspect Haruki''s presence in the kingdom, and thus to keep hiding in the shadow until he got stronger, Haruki wanted to hide amongst non-demon who were unknowingly working in his favor. "Anyways, I''m also going to curse our clones so whoever kills them gets cursed with the mark of the lust demon."

    So far everyone was told not to turn people into demons, so when Haruki told them that he was going to curse people to be demons, they were all left a bit baffled. Most baffled of all was Fay since she hadn''t ever been too informed about maniptive strategies.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "But why? Wouldn''t that expose that we were here?" She asked, genuinely curious.

    Shifting his gaze towards her, he began walking closer. Then as he stood right beside her as she was sitting on the bed, he gave a brief yet effective exnation.

    "If we leave without a single demon left before, they''ll definitely think it''s us, but if they find a demon amongst the revolting public then they''re bound to take those demons as the culprits behind the rebuttals," reminded of the demons that had been unleashed upon the world after Laria was dissolved from Haruki''s rule, Fay quickly understood what he had stewing up in his mind. "And even if that doesn''t work, we''ll at least have some of our spies amongst the people of Dtia who can keep us informed about everything that happens in this kingdom."

    With everyone now up to speed, Haruki ordered hispanions to finish up whatever there was that needed to be done before leaving. Amongst those things, one of them happened to be bidding farewell to the ghost boy, since Ste seemed upset that she had to leave her friend behind. However, after calling upon him multiple times, Fay decided to do a little change of ns for the sake of her daughter''s joy.

    "Max?" Using a spirit-detecting spell, Fay walked down into the basement where she could feel the lingering spirit of the young boy. Following behind her was a floating demon spy that she''d brought for a special reason.

    For a while, she kept wandering around the dank ce, trying to figure out where the boy was hiding. The sounds of movement echoed all around her, which to some degree terrified her deeply.

    "Max, we''re leaving if you want to join us, I can help you get a new body," hoping to revive the boy with the help of a simr facility as she had in Laria, Fay wanted to take the boy with her party. "You can stay here if you want, but do you really want to? In this ce, all alone? I can''t imagine how it must feel to be here with nobody to y with."

    As she moved past the cupboard with the cleaning tools, Fay heard yet another sound of crashing metaling from right behind it.

    "Ahhhhhh!" Barely visible behind the cupboard, the boy yelled out in agony.

    ''He must be hurting.'' Motioning the demon spy to get closer to the boy, Fay held her hand forward and began casting a special iteration of soul magic. ''For now, take this demon spy as your vessel, and I promise to give you a new body soon enough!''

    Acting as a catalyst, Fay began absorbing parts of the boy''s soul and then transferring it to the demon spy. While doing so, however, she saw a sight that would''ve terrified even the most seasoned of torturers. Strapped to a chair, the boy was being fed worms that would eventually eat out his organs from the inside out, all the while, a hurdle of men made bids on the time it would take for the worms to consume the boy alive.

    Petrified, Fay could feel herself suffering through the same hurt as that boy once had. The only difference in her experience was that she knew she wasn''t going to die, while the boy in those memories was begging to be freed from the burden of life.

    ''I¡­I'' As the transfer was finallyplete, and the boy''s soul was resting inside the demonic spy, Fay could still feel her heart racing as her eyes teared up for the young boy. ''I''ll never let them hurt you again.''

    Vowing to keep him sheltered from all humans, Fay finally made her way out of the basement and joined the rest of her group ready to leave the ce behind.

 Chapter 208 208 - On The Path To Visit Old Friends

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    Leaving behind fake doubles of themselves, Haruki teleported his party at a slight distance away from all the ruckus being created by the demi-human elites. Making haste to get out of the city, they met up with Riley at the gates. Having hijacked a carriage from around the town, she quickly got everyone on before rushing right out through the city gate.

    Thankfully, since all the guards were killed off or had given up their posts to join the rebellion, there was nobody to stop them as they made their way toward yet another kingdom.

    "This is¡­" Crammed into the carriage, Alice, like the others, was crushed between the others. "A bit too crowded, don''t you think?"

    Peering at Haruki, who himself was tightly pressed between Margarette and Asuka, Alice wanted him to do something about the situation. However, since they weren''t yet far enough from Dtia he didn''t wanna expand the carriage with his emperor of dark ability since that''d definitely give away their identities to anyone they met on their path.

    "In a bit, I''ll make a bigger carriage and Moriyana can mask it with illusion," although being crushed under the breasts of two beauties wasn''t all that bad, Haruki felt as though he needed to spread out his party more so they wouldn''t be as cluttered so often.

    After traveling far enough away, they all abandoned the small carriage and mounted one made of pure darkness by Haruki. Masking it as a traveling merchant''s wagon, Moriyana added bright red curtains on it along with a distinct carved look on all sides. Using the same horses from the other carriage, the wagon got them back on the road, but this time with a lot more room for them to stretch their bodies.

    "Back on the road, huh?" Margarette muttered, a gentle smile resting over her lips.

    "Yeah, but to be honest, I feel better on the road than being surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the cities," Fay added as she gently rested her head against Haruki.

    Seeing her doing so, Asuka leaned onto his shoulder from the other side as well. In the meantime, ying with her newfound pet demonic spy, Ste was stumbling up and down trying to catch the eyeball creature. Ever so often, it would stop to look back at her and let her almost reach its body but fly away in an instant.

    Watching it all unfold with the inside of the wagon being heated under the sun, it washed everyone''s heart with a strange sense of mncholy. Basking in the warmth of heart and body, they all felt their eyes shutting on their own as the built-up stress from a month of acting guard finally began to catch up to them all.

    One after the other as they drifted into sleep, their journey went on, but not to the next kingdom as they''d expected, but instead to a ce that they''d once fondly called home. Seeing how everyone was tired and sleeping, Riley brought the wagon to a halt at a riverside corner. There, while preparing camp, she couldn''t help reflecting on the journey they''d gone on so far. From the castle in Daria to taking over and destroying kingdoms, it all felt daunting and yet not so farfetched now at all.

    ''Maybe¡­We should head home first? Trace our steps to reconnect with everything.'' Worried about being taken over by their instinctive demonic side, she felt like going back to their roots would help them get a better hold on their subconscious once again. ''I should ask Haruki about this when he wakes up. Besides, we do have to go and check up on everyone in the minotaur dungeon at some point.''

    Setting up the camp with a burning me, Riley summoned the lonesome widow to keep watch at the wagon while she ventured into the wild looking for something to cook up for the others. Having taken up a likeness to cooking after preparing that grand meal with Asuka, she wanted to surprise them all again with something nice and savory.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Being a lifelong hunter it didn''t take her that long to spot a deer and take it down with a swift throw of the knife. After taking it back to the camp, she prepared it into a stew with a bunch of herbs and wild vegetables she''d found amongst the trees. By the time it was all done, the sun had begun to set on the horizon. Watching it drown away, Riley felt apulsive need to pick up her de once more and hunt something else once again.

    ''Stop¡­'' Trying to fight those instincts, she carved her skin up with the tip of her de. However, when the painful distraction didn''t work, she violently shook her head and decided to take a stroll through the woods again.

    Not realizing that Haruki had just woken up inside the wagon and would soon start looking for her, Riley ventured deep into the forest trying to find yet another creature to take out her bloodlust on. Down on the path, a hint of blood caught her attention, but for some reason, the smell felt a bit off to Riley.

    ''I''ve never smelled blood with such a faint hint, it''s almost as if it''s freezing despite actively coursing through a creature''s body.'' Wondering if it was a reptilian, she drew out her des to keep on guard. ''If it really is a reptilian monster, then this could definitely be some fun.''

    Turning invisible, she kept following the hint of blood. Reaching a slight opening amongst the trees, she was eventually brought to the sight of a femalemia with a long red tail bleeding out of her guts whileying lifeless in the very middle of the opening.

    ''Is this a trap?'' Riley wondered. Confident in her invisibility, she approached themia women with great caution. Getting down to her knees, she ced her hand on her light green hair and slowly turned her face towards herself. ''She''s¡­Beautiful.''

    Charmed by the Lamia, Riley wiped off the blue blood from her cold wet lips.

    "H-Help m-me," her eyes still closed, themia barely managed to whisper.

    For a moment, Riley didn''t know if she should help her given that she knew nothing about this woman, but as her instinct for carnage kicked back in, she was reminded of the self-serving evil slowly trying to take hold of her.

    ''I need to help her, if not for her sake then at least to prove that I''m my own person separated from the monstrous thoughts running rampant in my mind.'' Determined to help themia, Riley pulled her body up on her shoulder and began dragging her towards their camp.

    After a certain point as the weight of the woman was getting too much for her, she heard Haruki calling out to her as he tried to figure out where she was. Hollering back at him, she got him to help her get the Lamia back to their camp before even exining anything that had happened so far.

 Chapter 209 209 - The Lost And Battered Queen

    ?

    Carrying themia to their camp with her long tail dragging along was a lot harder than Riley had expected, but with help from Haruki as well as the others, she was able to bring themia out of the forest and rest her beside the campfire. With everyone gathered around to look at the scaly beauty, they all wanted answers as to why Riley decided to bring her to their camp.

    "Why are we even doing this?" The first to speak up was Fay, and she didn''t seem particrly fond of Haruki helping Riley to bring the Lamia to their camp either. "We''re supposed to beying low, and bringing a giant Lamia to us isn''t going to help!"

    Although he''d taken part in bringing her here, Haruki was inplete agreement with Fay. So stepping away from the Lamia, he urged everyone to take a seat around chairs made from darkness around the fire.

    "Sit down everyone, and Riley, I only helped you because I trust your instincts so you better have a good reason for doing this," getting everyone gathered around the me with the Lamiaying beside them on a piece of nket, Haruki bound the Lamia in holy chains while also healing her wounds with rejuvenation.

    "I think this is stupid, we already have too many people to worry about," holding Ste tight in her arms, Fay kept her eyes fixed on the unconsciousmia.

    Athena and Alice nodded furiously to her statement as being demi-cats they felt an intrinsic need to get rid of the snake-likemia.

    "I can use a potion to control her if you want," stretching her arms while yawning, Moriyana settled down beside Haruki. "I might need a fresh pump of seed to prepare the potion though."

    Smiling deviously, she peered up at Haruki''s face with her head resting over his shoulder. Ignoring herment, he shifted his attention back to Riley who was still standing right where the Lamia was resting.

    "I-I¡­" Noticing the gazes, Riley took a deep breath before replying. "I wanted to help her just because of that damned voice in my head! It keeps telling me to kill stuff and taste the blood off of my des!"

    Her fists squeezed tight, she hung her head low in frustration, all the while the voice in her head continued to whisper murder into her ears. Even now, despite having brought the Lamia here, the devil in her head wanted her to skin the scaly bitch alive. Barely holding back, she tried to focus on the carved wound on her hand to distract herself from it.

    "This again?" Still drowsy, Moriyana lifted her head up from Haruki''s shoulder and looked right at Riley. "Just give in, why don''t you? I did back when I was first created."

    Being a true subus from birth, the concept of mental corruption was absolutely foreign to Moriyana. Instead, whenever the topic was brought on, she felt perplexed as to what was so wrong about giving into their instincts and living their lives in whatever ways they wanted.

    "Moriyana, I think it''s best you don''tpare yourself to normal people," Riley shot back, visibly bothered by thement.

    "Whatever, just don''t me me when that bitch bites your throat off," closing her eyes again, Moriyana rested her head back on Haruki''s shoulder.

    As it all happened, the Lamia , now feeling better after recovering from the wounds, slowly opened her eyes to the side of a river in front of her. Behind her, she could hear the group quarreling, but having no clue who they were, she kept pretending to be unconscious until she found a window of time to escape away from them.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I just want to do something good for once, okay? It can''t hurt to be nice ever so often can it?" Really fighting her instincts, Riley herself couldn''t believe what wasing out of her mouth.

    "Riley, you already know what happens every time we show someone mercy," bringing her attention to him, Haruki tried to remind her of their failings from the past. "They''ll exploit you until you''re sucked dry of empathy and then they cut off your head with a heavy axe."

    Listening to their conversation, the Lamia quickly figured out that they were talking about what to do with her. Feeling threatened, she stiffened up her muscles and pushed her tongue out through her lips. Trying to detect how many people were behind her, she began tasting them through their hints in the air.

    ''I can taste them, but who are they? They don''t taste like humans!'' Her eyes widened in shock, she began to wonder whether to attack them and continue on with her n to buy time.

    "Okay, I know it hasn''t worked yet, but didn''t you help me too? At the very beginning? It worked didn''t it?" Desperate to do something contrary to what the voice in her head wanted, Riley kept pushing the matter hoping that Haruki would agree with her.

    "I think she''s right," sympathizing with her, Asuka backed Riley as well. "The voice has been getting more and more intrusive for me too, and to be honest, I feel like if we give inpletely then what is left of us wouldn''t be who we are."

    "What voice are you guys even talking about?" New to being a demon, Athena hadn''t experienced the same mental corruption, and thus she had no clue as to why this matter was even being discussed for so long. "Do we really have to help every random stranger? And she''s a Lamia for devil''s sake."

    Confused further by the interaction, the Lamia was struck with a strange dilemma. If she were to continue pretending to be unconscious, she might escapeter on, but with the heated conversation going on behind her was that even possible, and was waiting really the best option she had? As those questions gued her mind, she finally decided to take action instead ofying at the mercy of these strangers.

    However, the moment she tried to move, the chain around her body tightened up and the sound made from them alerted everyone around her.

    ''Shit! What was that?!'' Being amia, she had no sight for magic and thus not realizing that she was bound by holy chains, she kept on struggling which in turn made even more noise.

    "Let me go!" She yelled, her eyes growing bloody.

    Watching her iling around, everyone except Haruki had gotten off their chairs with a troubled look on their faces. They knew themia was going to be trouble, but none of them had expected her to wake up so soon.

    "It''s decided then, we''re killing her," no longer ying around, Haruki dered the final verdict.

 Chapter 210 210 - Trading For Oneâ€™s Life

    ?

    "Wait! Don''t kill me!" Frothing at the mouth in rage, the Lamia kept iling around trying to free herself from the holy chains.

    "Shut up," Creating a sharpnce from darkness, Haruki pressed it against themia''s neck with a pair of two shadow hands. "Say another word, and you''d be our dinner for the night."

    Grimacing at thest part, everyone from his party wished that it wouldn''te down to it. Sitting in silence around the me for a while, they all collected their thoughts while themia finally calmed down because of the threat to her life.

    "Master¡­How about we just let her go?" Now that things have escted too much, Riley tried just somehow to send off themia to safety.

    "Did you forget that she was injured? Someone''s trying to hunt her, and we''ve already crossed the line by bringing her here," reminding her of the injuries, Haruki red deep into Riley''s eyes. "And if that person takes us for herpanion won''tst for a second more."

    ''I would''ve never helped her, but seeing thatmia like that triggered my instinct to help others.'' Cursed by his past personality that stood up for justice and the weak, Haruki himself felt drawn to give in to the voice in his head and turn into the monster that he was meant to be.

    "But master, we can just have Moriyana erase her memories and-"

    "Memory-altering magic among other simr ilks of the same does not work onmias," Moriyana interjected before Riley could finish her statement.

    "It''s settled then," getting up on his feet, Haruki got ready to get rid of the boundmia.

    "Wait! I can offer you something! Just spare me!" Still squirming on the ground, themia begged to be let go.

    The desperation in her voice continued to grow, and while Haruki spent a few seconds contemting whether to indulge her offer which could very much be a lie, a bundle of spying eyes peered right at them through the woods right next to them.

    At the nick of time right as Haruki was about to bring the sword down at themia''s throat, a spear came flying towards him, but before it could hit him at all, Riley swept it off the air. Despite themotion around her, her instincts were still up high, and so looking into the direction the spear hade from, she noticed numerous red glowing eyes peering right at them.

    "We havepany," she muttered, and the others turned to follow her gaze.

    "Ughh¡­" Letting out an exalted sigh, Haruki cracked his head left and right. "Stretch your limbs people, go ahead and massacre these idiots."

    The casual tone of his voice was somewhat rming to the others, but since they were now allowed to let out a week''s worth of frustration they all pushed it to the side and turned into their demonic selves. With wings sprouted wide, everyone except Fay propelled themselves towards the ring red eyes.

    Like bats, they descended down on their prey with their ws ready to tear off the heads of the monsters lurking around them. The very first thing they all noticed upon making contact with the enemy was their ratty faces with a pointy noses that stretched outward. Without a word shared between them, they all knew exactly what they were dealing with.

    ''Mongoose men!'' The sworn enemies ofmias, and the most probable reason for the wounds on the woman''s body.

    Given the surprised change in their appearance as well as the use of wings, the monsters were astounded by the sudden assault. Before they could retaliate, Haruki and his party were tearing through their skins with their razor-sharp ws alone. One after the other their heads fell to the ground, and the entire area was pooled with warm blood and steam rising up from the ground. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Auhhssss!" They hissed and groaned as the demons tore into them like paper.

    Unleashing the built-up fury and lust for torture, they let some of them crawl away to a small distance with their limbs torn off, but as they got slightly further, that''s when the demons crushed their hopes of escaping alive from the torture.

    Bathed in blood and guts, they''d all surrendered to their instinct, and for once it felt great since killing the mongoose men didn''t make them suffer any guilt.

    ''I can get used to this.'' Thought Haruki, drenched in blood from head to toe.

    "Are you guys done?" Breaking the moment, Fay''s voice came calling for them all.

    "I hate these guys!" Still wing away at the corpses, Alice seemed more excited than anyone else to be hunting down the mongoose men.

    ''Sometimes, I forget she''s even there. Always hiding behind her mother, yet when shees out it''s either to fight for her mother or to protect the rest of the group when most needed.'' With hopes of not neglecting any of them in the future, Haruki returned to camp with blood dribbling down his body.

    The very sight of them all covered in guts made Fay''s eyes widen in shock. Instantly pointing towards the river, she urged them all to wash it all off. Even more disturbed by the sight was themiaying on the ground. Expecting them to kill her as well, she began to race her mind to try and figure out how to get out of this situation.

    "Hey¡­" Called Fay, lingering right over the Lamia.

    "W-What?" Shaken by the whole thing, she peered up at the woman holding a little girl in her arms.

    "What were you going to offer?" As a connoisseur of antics, Fay wanted to know exactly what kind of rare item she could potentially get for her collection by helping the boundmia.

    "It-It''s a poison vial! I have it back in our vige!" She told Fay, but seeing her face contort into disappointment, themia decided to borate on the item''s abilities. "Just listen to me, okay? It can kill anyone no matter who they are, even that dragon yer can''t go unscratched!"

    The very mention of the dragon yer got Fay''s attention.

    "So it can kill him?" She asked.

    "Uh¡­Okay maybe not, but it can definitely cripple him for the rest of his life!" Intrigued by this vial of poison, Fay smiled at themia.

    "If there''s nothing there, then you''d meet a fate worse than those monsters that they just killed," with that warning, she walked away and sat back into the chair, waiting for the others to return from the bath.

 Chapter 211 211 - Death And Guilt

    ?

    "Why are we doing this?" In utter disbelief that he was coerced into taking the Lamia''s deal, Haruki sat in the wagon with the Lamia''s tail crushing them all against the wooden walls.

    "Because we want that poison vial," Fay responded.

    Squeezing in with themia queen, Medusa, they were traveling to the hidden vige deeper into the forest. Upon following the riverbed along the woods, they reached an elevated hill with water fervently gushing down. Getting everyone out of the wagon, Medusa dipped her tail in the water and began moving towards the waterfall.

    "Follow me," she urged, ncing around at the demons apanying her.

    Although reluctant about the whole thing still, Haruki took charge and led his group behind themia. However, just in case she decided to pull something sneaky, he created a handful of spears that marched around him with the help of shadow hands.

    "Remember if you''re lying and this is an ambush, then I''m gonna kill you," giving her onest warning, Haruki saw her nervously looking at him from the very edge of her eye.

    "I know," she said, her throat patched from angst.

    Continuing down the path, they reached right under the waterfall, but even then as Medusa didn''t stop everyone kept following her into the downpouring water. Passing through it, they reached an empty expanse of darkness. However, while walking even deeper, they noticed red eyes blinking all around them, and the sounds of slithery hisses shing against the walls.

    "Snakes?" Asuka muttered, her eyes scanning through their surroundings.

    "They''re the guardians of our vige, but¡­" Looking at the countless carcasses of beheaded snakesying around all over, Medusa couldn''t bring herself to finish that sentence.

    ''The mongoose men got them.'' Despite that, it wasn''t hard for Haruki and the rest to figure out exactly what had happened.

    After following Medusa for a while longer, they all came to an expansive opening with shards of crystals glistening all over the walls. Shooting his gaze forward, Haruki noticed a cluster of y houses at a distance with one particrly tall building standing in its middle. Getting even closer, Medusa was shaken by the bloodied sight of numerousmiasying dead all around their vige. Yet, steeling her heart, she pushed forward and led Haruki and hispanions directly into the queen''s decorated abode.

    ''I''ll have to ask what happened here in case she does end up joining us or before letting her go.'' Walking into the tall building, Haruki notices a maze of passages burrowing into the ground. Taking them through one of them, Medusa brought them to an elevated tform with a council of stairs forming a pyramid. At the very top of the structure was a toppled gold chalice with blood-red liquid dripping down one drop after the other.

    "No!" Screamed Medusa at the sight of the drained poison.

    Climbing up the steps, she grabbed onto the chalice and peered into it as if hunting for a drop. To her misfortune, however, they had already witnessed thest drop from it dripping onto the ground.

    "They didn''t¡­" Her eyes wide open, she kept ring at the vial as if that would change something. "Those bastards, they ruined our heritage! How am I going to face my people in death now?!"

    Having no clue what was going on with themia, Haruki had had enough of her screaming. Directing his finger towards her, he made one of the shadow hands hurl one of the spears right by her tail to get her attention. Flinching at the spear smashing into the stairs, Medusa slipped to the other side of the pyramid by the instinct of preservation.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "This is a waste of time, Riley," Haruki said, readying the rest of the spears to be unleashed as well.

    "Please wait, I wasn''t lying! They must''ve plundered all the other artifacts as well!" Desperately trying to save her life, Medusa begged with hands joined together. "I''ll do anything please!"

    Having lost her people, she had no worth left in her life, however, being a coward who ran away during the attack, she didn''t want to submit herself to the same fate as her people just yet.

    "I have enough trouble haunting me everywhere, so letting you go would be too much of a risk," backed into a corner by his own choices, Haruki had to decide between killing her off or adding her to the collection of monsters back in the minotaur dungeon.

    "Master, we can use her, right? There must be some way," stepping in front of the spiraling spears, Riley still tried to defend themia queen.

    Given the state of her vige, Haruki had already deduced how trustable she could be, so adding her to his list ofpanions was a gamble he wasn''t too sure to take on.

    Noticing the unfazed look in Haruki''s eyes, Asuka moved beside him and took hold of his arm before hugging it tightly.

    "Master, please? I don''t want anyone if we don''t really need to," conflicted between his demonic side and his twopanions requesting him to stop, he lowered the spears just to think about the matter.

    ''I know I said we can''t do mindless killing, but¡­'' Wondering if the softness budding in their hearts was his fault, Haruki huffed out a sight and gave in.

    "Bring her to the camp. I''ll convert her into a demon so she can''t cross us even if she tried," turning around, he nced between Margarette, Moriyana, and the demi-cats to have them follow him out of the building. "Asuka, Riley, you two have her confess what happened here beforeing out, and if she appears to be lying, I want you to kill her yourself."

    Knowing full well about Haruki''s lie-detecting ability he''d gotten from Serena, both of them knew better than to try and cover for the Lamia if she attempted to tell them a lie.

    "Of course," Riley muttered while watching the rest of their group heading out from the chamber.

    ''This became a bigger mess than I wanted.'' At first, she only helped themia to escape from the voice yelling murder down the nape of her neck, but now as everything stood, she had to take total responsibility for themia in case she tried even to lift a finger against Haruki and herpanions.

    "Alright, then," reaching for her de, she turned to Medusa. "Master can always heal you, so you better tell me the truth or I have no qualms skinning that tanned red scales of yours."

    Staring at Riley from behind the pyramid, Medusa could see it in her eyes, a cold dead look, unlike anything Riley had shown so far.

    ''She''s not bluffing?'' And thankfully, Medusa realized that sooner thanter.

 Chapter 212 212 - First Time With A Monster[18+]

    ?

    After finding out about a vendetta between the Lamias and Mongoose men tribe which ended with but one survivor, Asuka, and Riley brought Medusa back to their riverside camp. Unaware of what converting meant, she was iling and flinching at every motion from Haruki and his party.

    "Tormentous dungeon!" Summoning a portal in front of Medusa, Haruki had her shocked beyond belief.

    "Wh-what are you going to do to me?! And what the hell is this?!" Terrified to step into the portal right in front of her, Medusa wondered if she''d already messed something up. "I told them everything I swear! Those leeches wanted our artifacts and my people died defending them. That''s all there is to it! I swear! I swear! I swear!"

    ''She''s a coward.'' Thought Haruki, but he wasn''t the only one who''d drawn that conclusion. Athena especially seemed repulsed by her behavior since she''d sacrificed a lot for the safety of her people.

    "You should be ashamed of yourself," stepping forward, Athena couldn''t keep her rage bottled up anymore. "I once gave up my freedom, my family, and everything I had for the sake of my people, and even now while serving my master, I try and make sure my kind are the most privileged amongst the demi-humans!"

    Her fangsid bare, she growled at themia with her teeth tight shut. Moving beside her mother, Alice red at themia with the same contempt as Athena. However, grabbing her hand, she pulled her mother away from the coward queen.

    ''What are these people?! What the hell did I run into?!'' Hoping she''d never met the group, she wanted this all to just be a bad dream.

    "Enough," his voice asmanding as ever, Haruki quickly shifted his nce from Medusa to Riley. "Take her in, I wanna convert her as soon as possible, or else we can go with the original n."

    Conjuring a dark spear in his hand, he reminded Riley of the terms of this agreement. Seeing the spear again, Medusa was instantly petrified, but not paying any heed to her state of mind, Riley pushed her into the dungeon portal.

    "I''ll have her warm the bed for you master," bowing to Haruki, Riley phased into the portal as well.

    Without saying a single word, Athena too began moving towards the portal. Despite noticing her doing so, Haruki didn''t stop her or her daughter who was trailing right behind her. Once they all went through, Haruki shut the portal closed and turned to thepanions still standing behind him.

    "I''ll be back as soon as possible," noticing their disappointed faces, Haruki knew they wanted to join in on the action as well. "Sorry about this, but I wanna keep this short for the night. And in all honesty, no monster can ever match the warmth of your bodies."

    Making a symbol of the vagina with his fingers, he smiled at them. Realizing what he meant by warmth, Asuka and Margarette blushed brightly while Moriyana seductively bit down on her lower lip.

    "Okay," leaning closer to Haruki, Asuka nted a brief kiss right on his cheeks. "Have fun."

    Following in her steps, the other two moved closer and decided to bid him off with a kiss as well.

    "Fuck her slithery pussy really good, alright?" nting her kiss, Moriyana let out a chuckle.

    "We have those elves waiting for you in the dungeon so save some of your love juices for them too!" Margarette added right after gently biting Haruki''s cheeks.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Delighted that none of them were taking the matter too harshly, Haruki beamed up a smile and nodded. Then opening up a dungeon portal to where he''d sent Riley and the others, he waved the trio bye before jumping right in.

    On the other end of the portal, he came out to the sight of a heart-shaped bed with the Lamia tied up and blindfolded. Right by her stood Riley holding a heart pillow in her hands. Moving closer, Haruki''s eyes were drawn to the demi-cats who were torturing Medusa by scratching her scaly skin with their nails. But instead of groans of pain, an array of muffled breaths left the Lamia''s mouth, almost as if she was enjoying being scratched by the two.

    "Master¡­" Calling out to Haruki, Athena reached for the tunic hiding most of Medusa''s body. Tearing it off of her, she made her squirm around in horror of not knowing exactly what was happening.

    Seeing the budding breasts of the queen, Haruki felt drawn to put his hand on them, but before he could, he noticed Alice reaching down the Lamia''s stomach before stopping at the slightly caved entrance right above where her tale started. With her fingers, Alice spread the petals-like folds of Medusa''s pussy.

    "Fuck her, fuck this bitch snake," feeling an intrinsic hate for Lamias, Alice wanted Haruki to ruin Medusa''s inside as soon as he could.

    "She''s wasted a lot of her time, so make sure to punish her properly master," smirking at the other end, Athena loved every second of themia''s suffering.

    Hearing what was about to happen to her, Medusa began thrashing even more. Quickly binding her tail with holy chains, however, Haruki deterred all movement from her entirely.

    "Wait! Wait! Wait! I didn''t know you meant this when you talked about joining your group!" Once again begging, Medusa tried to get out of the situation.

    Shifting into being naked, Haruki knew that it was already toote to let her go now. Climbing up the bed, he stood with his legs spread across Medusa''s tale. Still holding the petal-like entrance open, Alice urged Haruki to break into the tight pussy of amia. All the while her mother on the other end, kept biting and pinching Medusa''s breasts to torture her further.

    "M-Master, can I watch?" Asked Riley, her hand already teasing her entrance over her leather shorts.

    "Go ahead," giving her permission, Haruki finally brought his body down on Medusa.

    "No¡­" Medusa whispered, feeling Haruki''s weight on her body.

    "Shut up," he replied.

    Taking hold of his manhood, he quickly directed it over her pussy. Feeling his tip rubbing against her folds, Haruki began to wonder if she could even take the tip of his cock with such a small entrance to her pussy. Even then, that didn''t stop him from trying.

    "You''re mine now," he said before parting her entrance in two.

 Chapter 213 213 - The Lamia Queenâ€™s Body[18+]

    ?

    "Aghhhh!" Her insides parted in two for the very first time, Medusa couldn''t help but groan out loud.

    Already deep inside her flesh, Haruki''s manhood was enveloped in aforting cold. Unlike any woman he''d been with, Medusa''s body was gushing with cold blood, and yet her slimy insides gave off a brain-melting sensation unlike any other.

    "Mhmm! Stop!" Panting restlessly, Medusa began to try and il around her tail, but being bound by holy chains she couldn''t move all that much.

    "Shut up," cing a finger on Medusa''s lips, Athena decided to use one of her abilities to shut her entirely. "Queen''s lock."

    Tapping themia''s lips, she forced them shut with a magic golden magic circle binding her lips shut. Even then as her muffled moans continued, she kept trying to free herself by attempting to move around. However, as time went on and Haruki kept using her body like a toy, her heart began to race for an entirely different reason. Feeling the excitement in her body, her body went limp as it finally submitted to Haruki''smand.

    "We''ll keep this short, so don''t worry," leaning onto her, Haruki pushed into her lips with his tongue.

    As their tongues toiled around inside Medusa''s mouth, the others watching began feeling heated up as well. Reaching down their stomach to the wetness of their folds, they began caressing their entrances to the rhythm of Haruki''s thrusts.

    ''Even watching it feels so good, mhnmm!'' Standing by the bed with her hand in her shorts, Riley''s eyes were sternly fixed on the action on the bed.

    "Come here," just as horny as they rest, Athena grabbed Riley and pulled her onto the bed.

    Moving closer to her mom and the swiftwind spy, Alice reached for the shorts and took them right off of Riley''s legs. One after the other, the demi-cats stripped herpletely naked, all the while the sound of Haruki''s dick pumping into themia echoed throughout the room. Laying by his side, they began ying with each other''s bodies while continuing to watch Haruki''s body shing against the Lamia''s pussy.

    Intoxicated by the extraordinary wetness of inside her body, Haruki''s mind had begun to drift away from the orgasmic sensation around his penis. Feeling much the same, Medusa felt herself inching towards her first orgasm, and before long she was forced to submit to it. Stiffening up from the inside with Haruki''s tongue still coiled around hers, she mped tight on the length of his rod before showering his shaft with the love juice that had built up inside her body.

    Not holding back any longer, Haruki ced his fingers around her neck and started pumping into her even faster. With each thrust, he felt her insides being mangled, and the sound of her muffled moans only urged him to go even harder.

    ''I''m losing my mind with this¡­'' The voices in the head were not confined to just Riley and the others, Haruki could feel it too, trying to make him torture themia more as he drilled his dick against her insides.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Your body feels like wet slime," saying that to Medusa, Haruki pressed his lips against her once more.

    Tangling up his tongue with hers, he let loose of all restraints and pumped her inside full of his juices. With each throb of his cock, Medusa felt her womb gushing with the seeds of the first man who''d bedded her. And despite the hasty nature of their interaction, a strange warmth began seeping through her heart.

    ''Do I really want to have this man''s children?'' Wondering if her instincts as a woman were kicking in, she can''t help but imagine building a new tribe with Haruki''s help. After all, having lost all her friends and family she had nobody to turn to but the man who''d so carelessly pumped her full of his cum. ''I don''t know about thi-''

    All of a sudden as Haruki''s juices began turning Medusa into a demon, she felt more and morepelled to submit herself to him. Afterying on top of her for a while, Haruki got off while the others continued to edge themselves right near orgasm. Seeing the desperation in their eyes, Haruki wanted to give them a taste of him as well, but remembering what he''d told Asuka and the others he decided to return to their camp with everyone except Medusa for the moment.

    "Leave her tied to the bed until the conversion ispleted, I can''t trust someone who ran away from his own people," still not entirely on board with adding her to the team, Haruki wanted her to prove herself before pulling the slightest bit of trust in her.

    Having the others shift back into their clothes, he opened up a portal to return back to the camp. And while staying in the dungeon was probably safer than being out in the real world, he didn''t want to feel suffocated inside the altered ne that makes up the dungeons. Staying in it once or twice had already given him a heavy headache, and thus he had no ns of repeating that mistake intentionally.

    Getting back into the open world, the night breeze washed away every worry Haruki had for the moment. Then as he saw the smiling faces of Asuka and the others gathered around the fire, the maniacal voice in his headpletely disappeared.

    "How''d it go?" Asked Moriyana, taking a light sip from the stew Riley had prepared before the whole debacle.

    "It went great," Riley replied before Haruki could say anything.

    Rushing towards the fire with the demi-cats, she settled down with the others still visibly flustered by not being able to climax in dungeon. Tired from the events of the night, Haruki brushed it off and joined the rest of his party as they feasted on the light and savory meat stew.

    ''This feels¡­'' Looking around his crew as they chattered up the camp, a gentle smile crept up on Haruki''s face. ''Much better than sex.''

    Still unwinding from the hectic month, Haruki wanted a sense of calm more than the fulfillment of any kind of desire. But then again, waiting for him back in the minotaur dungeon was a whole new bunch of monster girls desperate to be ravaged by him.

 Chapter 214 214 - The Council With The Emperor

    ?

    "You lost control of Dtia?" ring down at Nabe from his dignified throne, the emperor wore a deep scorn.

    Her head bowed in shame, Nabe feltpelled to lie to get out of the strenuous situation. However, knowing better than anyone that her lies won''tst long in front of the emperor, she looked him in the eye and spit the truth right out.

    "Yes, my lord. The people have rebelled and they seem to be allying with any group that wants to threaten your throne," gulping down, she waited, panting for the emperor''s next move toward her.

    Being a devil, she was a master of deception, but trying to keep her demonic presence a secret from the emperor her body was being stripped of mana quickly. With every second that passed in silence between the two, she could hear her heart beating faster and faster.

    ''Thankfully, Michael isn''t here.'' Finding a silver lining to the situation, she tried tofort her heart.

    "Do you know why I sent you to that kingdom, Nabe?" The emperor asked, resting his chin over his palm.

    Knowing the answer full well, she took a deep breath before saying what the emperor wanted to hear.

    "If the people of Dtia could trust me, a demon, then they could easily be manipted to serve under a human master," her head downcast, she tried not to look him in the eye.

    Had it not been so soon after he killed Almuld, the emperor wouldn''t have tolerated such failure. Not in touch with his reasoning or emotions, the emperor decided to push the matter to another time. Taking any action when he wasn''tpletely aware of his surroundings, wasn''t something that was too inclined to do.

    "Get out of my sight for now, we''ll discuss this matterter," fanning his hand at Nabe, he shooed her off like a dog.

    For him the gesture was a simplezy expression to get her out of the throne room, to Nabe, however, it seemed like an insult. Keeping those feelings confined within her heart, she got up on her knees and bowed her head to the emperor onest time.

    "Very well, my lord-"

    "Don''t¡­" The emperor interjected.

    Raising her head, Nabe noticed the emperor''s finger directed right at her. It was a clear sign of his discontent, but for what reason, she wasn''t sure.

    "I didn''t raise you to be a pawn, bloodfiend," his eyes reflecting the cosmos, gave off a disappointed look. "Do not ever call me lord again."

    "I-I''m sorry, Father¡­" Wasting not a single more minute, Nabe turned around and began walking towards the little light that peek into the throne room from between the giants entrance doors.

    Right as she got to the doors, the door opened inward. Slightly startled by the urrence, her horror only grew when she saw Michael walking in through the entrance. Enshrouded in a golden glow, he seemed vibrant and full of life, which only irked Nabe since her nature was the exact opposite of his.

    "Didn''t know you were here," he said, standing right in front of her.

    Frozen in ce, Nabe had no idea what to say or if she should talk to him at all. Thus, shaking her head lightly, she moved past him with just a few words.

    "I like that you dropped the earrings, your elven ears suit you better anyway," intentionally picking a sensitive, she managed to distract him long enough to escape the ce without being detected as a demon.

    Piecing everything together only after she was out of his sight, Michael let out a muffled grunt before turning to the emperor''s throne once again. Walking closer to the emperor, he noticed difort still riding on his face. Wondering whether Nabe was responsible for it or not, he decided to ask what exactly had happened.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Is something wrong, my lord? Did the Bloodfiend mess something up again?" Already used to the devil''s shenanigans, he expected something simr to have urred.

    Bringing his gaze on Michael, the emperor shifted his head to rest on the other palm.

    "You seem well," the emperor asked, ignoring Michael''s questionspletely.

    Not being told about the emperor''s ns wasn''t something new for Michael, and so breezing past his own questions, he gave his master a polite bow before replying.

    "Thank you, my lord," he uttered.

    As he looked back up at the emperor after the bow, he noticed him putting up a contorted grimace. Now, whether it was because of him or just the general mood the emperor was in, Michael couldn''t be any less sure.

    "It''s good to know that you''ve recovered from dying, but why are you here?" His eyes growing weary, the emperor felt his conscience waning away. "If it''s about Almuld, then I''ve already killed him."

    Growing drowsy, the emperor shut his eyes closed despite Michael still being right in front of him. Although the dragon yer noticed the abnormal hints of strains in the emperor, he didn''t question them for the moment.

    "I''m aware, my lord, but¡­" Drawing his spear from his side, Michael held it firmly in his hands. "I''ve also been told that the demon Haruki is still terrorizing the empire, so if you deem it fit then I can-"

    "You''ll die," opening his eyes slightly, the emperor looked down on Michael. "Asmodia is helping him, and even if she''s not as strong as thest time you faced her in her domain, she can easily swat you like a fly in a pincer."

    Holding his finger up, the emperor swayed it in the air as if dancing.

    "She''s omnipresent, remember?" Pointing that out, the emperor let Michael know not to speak out his thoughts anymore. "And the only reason we could get herst time was because she-"

    Breaking his own sentence, the emperor shut his eyes closed and reflected back on his memory.

    "Just go now," he ordered, trying not to show his true emotions in front of Michael.

    Confused by the strange behavior, Michael took a step forward to check up on the emperor. But before he could get too close, the emperor gave him a bloodied gaze.

    "I said go, now!" He ordered him once more.

    Knowing better than to push him right now, Michael stepped back and headed out of the throne room. After being left alone for a while, the emperor leaned back into his throne with a somewhat more rxed posture.

    ''You used my love against me in that battle.'' Hearing that familiar feminine voice in his head, he could only bleed from his heart in silence.

    ''I know, but I have to do it again if needed.'' He thought, however yet again, the voice went silent.

 Chapter 215 215 - Return To The Land Of Ice

    The tundra had returned and even consumed the once prosperousnd of Laria. Stoned into ice, the forest, the cities, and even the mercenaries who''de in search of plunder were all frozen solid by the breath of the maddened dragon.

    Even from afar as their wagon struggled through the raging blizzard, the silhouette frame of Klianstien Ironfrost could clearly be seen resting on top of the Frost castle. Moving closer and closer to the outskirts of the duchy, the very liquid in their bloodstreams was slowly freezing into shards.

    Bleeding from every pore in their bodies, Haruki and hispanions kept healing each other to keep each other far away from death''s door. The one exception to the effects of cold was the shrunken Lamia who''d been forced to shift into a simr human form to that of her snake-like body.

    "Is it really that cold?" She asked, feeling no difort at all.

    "It is¡­" Bleeding through her gums, Riley shot her a contempt-filled gaze.

    ''Don''t talk and test everyone''s patience.'' Medusa quickly realized exactly what that look in Riley''s eyes meant. Heeding that warning from her new overseer, she decided to keep her mouth shut until they reach their destination.

    After traveling a bit further, the horses submitted to the cold and perished. However, making use of their souls, Fay turned them into a pair of undead beasts that could draw the wagon without their mortal vessels. Drawn by their translucent figures, Haruki and hispanions were finally brought over to the minotaur dungeon.

    Taking the wagon right in through the cave-like entrance, they were allforted by the warmth breezing inside the dungeon walls. Finally feeling somewhat better, everyone settled down into the wagon without having to worry about healing the wounds from their blood freezing inside their blood vessels.

    The deeper they ventured the warmer the weather got, and after a certain point into the dungeon they even noticed patches of grassyering the floor along withntern-lit farms with mushrooms shooting through the ground.

    "The goblin queen must''ve worked everyone to the bones to finish all this so quickly," Margarette said, her eyes scanning through even more mushroom farms up ahead.

    "Yeah, and thank lord for the roads or else we would''ve had to walk all the way to the settlements inside," Moriyana added.

    Peeking out himself, Haruki noticed the paved road they were traveling on running in between the farms on both sides of it. Shooting his gaze forward, he could spy out some faunas yfully skipping about with a small herd. And as if that wasn''t impressive enough, getting even deeper they stumbled upon animal pens with sheep, cows, and even some horses.

    ''She really did build her tribe back.'' Seeing numerous goblins, Arachne as well as some elves working together to take care of the animals, Haruki was in utter awe of what the goblin queen had managed to achieve inside the dungeon. ''I still haven''t named either one of the queens.''

    Reminded of how they weren''t too keen on the idea of getting names, Haruki turned to Medusa wondering why she had a name as a monster while the rest of the monsters preferred not to have one.

    "I still have a lot of questions for you, but first, why do you have a name? Most monsters I''vee across only go by their title," Haruki asked, his eyebrows frowning with curiosity.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Suddenly being addressed by him, it took a while of just staring at Haruki before the question even registered in Medusa''s mind.

    "Oh!" As if pushed out of some limbo, she finally spoke with a hint of shock. "I-It''s a custom, only queens get names as amia, and we all carry the same name as our primordial progenitor, Medusa."

    ''Primordial progenitor ofmias? Hmm, I wonder if I can find any kind of information about her in the records of the world.'' Still hoping to get his hand on the book with records from the past, present, and future of the world, Haruki made a mental note to check about primordial Medusa if he someday got his hand on the book.

    All of a sudden as the wagon came to a stop, Haruki turned to the drawn curtains. Looking onward, he noticed the goblin queen along with Arachne queen and a ginger elf bowing in front of the wagon with an army of monsters doing the same behind them.

    "Wee back to the dungeon, oh great lord!" Looking up at Haruki, the queen of goblins greeted him with a crazed smile. Her eyes wide open, gleamed like a rainbow as she raised to her feet. "I cannot emphasize enough how much your presence here means to your servants!"

    Growing more and more hysterical with each word, the goblin queen appeared like a zealot. In fervent hopes of serving a master that could one day lead the world, she seemed to have grown obsessed with the idea of serving under Haruki.

    "We''re all tired, take us somewhere morefortable so we can rest," unsure whether to consider the changes in the queen positive or not, Haruki decided to worry about it when it was actually needed.

    "Very well!" With the same crazed look, she turned around and began leading the charge to venture even deeper into the dungeon.

    While following right behind her, Moriyana told Haruki all about the ginger-headed elf general. At first, he wanted her to join his group as well, but then looking around at how cramped things were getting everywhere he went, he decided against it.

    ''We can have her train the monsters to get stronger, so we can farm drain level out from an entire army whenever we want.'' Trying toe up with a n to finally make use of the monsters, Haruki decided to make them level themselves up so their level can definitely be drained by him and hispanions.

    Looking around at the monsters leading them deeper, something striking caught Haruki''s attention. At first, he''d failed to notice it since he was so used to living around women, but upon closer inspection of the female monster and elves, he realized that they were all wearing clothes that revealed a lot of their assets.

    "Moriyana¡­" Turning to the illusionist, Haruki wore a puzzled expression. "Did you not tell them that I can''t make anyone naturally pregnant as an incubus?"

    "I did," letting out a tired sigh, Moriyana seemed defeated. "But I don''t think they''re taking my word for it."

    "Judging from the goblin queen''s demeanor, I doubt they''ll stop spreading their legs for you even if they find out the truth," Margarette added with a light chuckle at the end.

 Chapter 216 216 - A Moment Of Calm...Broken?

    ?

    Settling into a log cabin-esk shelter, Haruki took to the bed andid down beside Ste''s tiny frame. Barely affected by the cold, she was sleeping about soundly as if nothing else mattered. And at this point, her constant naps have begun to make Haruki a bit worried about her growth as a slime girl.

    ''I knew that slimes mostly like to rest in cold spaces, but still¡­'' Running his hand through her glistering hair, he tried to wash away his worries with a warm smile.

    "Master?" Peeking in from the door, Asuka called out to him.

    Turning to her he noticed a wooden tray in her hands with a warm bowl of something steaming. Getting closer, Asuka ced the tray by the bedside table. Then as she straightened her back and looked at Haruki, it reminded them both of their time in the Frost castle.

    ''Feels like forever ago when I first woke up with her by my side.'' Thought Haruki.

    ''So much has happened, but I''m d I can still keep my promise of being with him.'' Asuka reminisced about the past.

    Propping himself up, Haruki picked up the bowl ofmb soup with all kinds of mushrooms. Having seen the ingredients being locally grown in the dungeon, the potential of using dungeons for farming both crops and levels revealed itself to Haruki.

    "By the way, master, the goblin queen has invited you to visit a special chamber with the other monster girls tonight," puffing her cheeks up she seemed jealous of the monster girls. "You know what that means, right?"

    "Yeah, she''s essentially making an offering of virgins girls," hearing Haruki say that, Asuka''s cheeks blushed up red in an instant. "Well, maybe not since I did see some of them carrying their newborns in their arms."

    "Bu-bu-but! There are hundreds of them!" Leaning closer to his face, Asuka put up a child-like expression of annoyance. "That''s too much!"

    "I can create clones for everyone, and with just a pinch of my consciousness in each one, I''d be able to feel them all at the same time," not sure himself about whether he could handle so many clones, Haruki was just trying to tease Asuka a little.

    Puffed up in frustration or anger, Asuka turned her face away with a sharp hum. However, unable to keep the pretense of annoyance for long, she turned back to Haruki with tears in her eyes.

    "Can I join in, master?" She asked, but instead of a reply, Haruki pulled her closer by the arm and gave her a kiss.

    "I hope that answers your question," pulling away from her lips, she picked up the bowl of soup once more.

    Flustered red, Asuka lowered her head in embarrassment, but the gentle smile on her face gave away her true emotions.

    ***

    Atop a throne of gutted bodies of men, and women of all ages, Asmodia sat with a silver cup filled with the poison that the mongoose men had allegedly tarnished. Swirling around the blood-red liquid, she brought it right under her nose and took a deep whiff.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Haaa¡­" Intoxicated by the poison blood of Medusa, she couldn''t bring herself to taste it just yet. "This won''t kill a fly, but¡­"

    Suddenly as the effect of the poison started taking over, her eyes shed tears of blood, and her throat was patched despite being pooled with her own blood.

    "Aghhhh!" Tired of the weakened state, she almost threw the poison to the ground. "I wanna taste it, but it''ll weaken me further unless I''m back in my physical domain."

    Lowering the cup, she brought it near one of the hands of the corpses. Raising its bloodied arm, the corpse of a young child took it from Asmodia''s hand. Slipping into the pile of dead bodies, the vial of poison was stored away forter.

    "Damn you As¡­" Reminded of the man responsible for her current state, Asmodia let her tears flow as she settled back into her throne of corpses.

    ''What are you up to right now?'' She thought, and let her mind wander off to the memories that she once held dear. As radiant as an angel, she remembered the wings that turned one day just turned dark. Wandering deeper into her own memories, she saw herself idolized by many and worshiped like a god. ''No¡­I was never a god, I don''t to be, I just-''

    "You what?" Breaking the evesting silence in the abyss, came the altered voice of Asmodia herself.

    Opening her eyes, she saw the radiant angel from her memories, slowly walking toward her through the dark. She knew who it was, yet she couldn''t bear to keep on looking. Shying away from her own image, Asmodia closed her eyes shut once again.

    "Doppelganger, I swear on my name to eradicate every trace of your existence if you keep this up!" She eximed in a warning to her pet.

    Unlike the other creations of hers that followed everymand, Doppelganger was quite rebelling by nature. And so to tease its master further, it took a few steps closer to reveal the rest of Asmodia''s past right in front of her eyes.

    "Many blessings upon you, children of As-"

    "Lurker in the dark eat her!" Following Asmodia''smand, the skinned face of a monster peered up at Doppelganger from under the floor. Every one of his thousand eyes from each socket focused right on her, the lurker in the dark opened its mouth to reveal an endless pit of spiked teeth sticking out from its insides.

    "I warned you," said Asmodia right as the lurker bit Doppelganger''s in half.

    Turning to the gruesome sight, she caught but a glimpse of her past body before the lurkerpletely consumed Doppelganger. Yet that brief look alone managed to ruin her entire mood. Having lost her radiance, and the word of the lord, she felt wallowed up by self-pity.

    ''Something, I wish I had killed you when I had the chance As!'' Even though she wanted to witness his demise, her heart still bled for having once loved that man with all her heart.

 Chapter 217 217 - Monster Girl Orgy[Part 1] [18+]

    ?

    "Where the hell are you taking me?" Following the goblin queen with her body wrapped in only a naked apron, Haruki had grown a bit impatient with her naked ass gyrating in front of his eyes.

    Had it not been for his party apanying him on both sides, his body would''ve definitely given in to the desires of his lower half. With each step she took forward, the jade bells on her golden waist belt sang about as if apanying the rhythmic bouncing of her fleshy ass.

    ''At least Fay and Riley are taking care of Ste in the cabin or else, I don''t know how a child would react to such an attire.'' His eyes still fixed on the queen''s deep green ass, Haruki''s mind had drifted deep into thought.

    "Master!" Clutching tight on Haruki''s arms, Asuka red at him with puffed-up cheeks. "You''ve been staring at her ass this whole time!"

    Hearing that, a deep blush ran over the goblin queen''s face, and since nobody could see her expression at the front she bit down on her lower lip to drown out her desire to be Haruki''s woman. As for Haruki who''d also just realized that he''d been staring at it for so long, he quickly shied away from the heavenly sight and simply gave off an awkwardugh.

    "Can you me him though?" Grabbing him from the other arm, Moriyana began brushing her breasts against Haruki. "I wouldn''t mind a taste of goblin pussy myself, especially one that looks so plum, ahaha!"

    Stretching one of her hands towards the goblin queen, Moriyana spanked it yfully. Shocked by the sudden assault, the queen jumped to her feet, giving Moriyana and the rest a good view of her bouncing flesh.

    "Ugh! Don''t do that again!" Turning around, the queen grunted at Moriyana.

    "Ohe on, how could I not when-"

    Noticing the change of color in the queen''s eyes going from green to red, Moriyana knew that she wasn''t just giving the warning as a bluff.

    "Settle down, both of you," interjecting himself into the matter, Haruki walked in between the two. "Moriyana you''re not gonna do stuff to her that she doesn''t want, and goblin queen, I''m sorry about what she did but you''re not going to threaten any of my close aides."

    Rolling her eyes, Moriyana walked over to the back of the group with Margarette and the demi-cats. The queen on the other hand, gently bowed to Haruki and gave a brisk apology before continuing to guide them forward. Walking down one street after the other, the queen showed them all the kinds of civil structures made into the walls of the dungeons.

    ''These houses made of rocks with decorated windows and doors are all so fascinating. Not to mention the fields of crops and domesticated animals, I never expected something like this from a species of monster.'' Turning his gaze back to the goblin queen''s bare back, Haruki swore not to underestimate the potential of monsters.

    "I used to protect my family''s farm from goblins in my past life, but if you folks can grow stuff on your own, then why does your species risk their lives trying to plunder human crops?" A bit disdainful about the matter, Haruki red at her as if trying to dig a hole in her with his gaze.

    "Mhmm?" Unaware of Haruki''s state of mind, the queen let out a curious hum before replying. "It''s in our nature to go against humans, just as it must be in your nature as a demon tomit atrocities."

    Coming to a stop at the room that once used to be the minotaur king''s chamber, the queen turned around while the elven guards opened the giant doors.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You must be fighting demons of your own, right? It''s the same for every monster, master," saying that with a smile, the queen held her arm directed to the room''s interior. "But forget it all for now, and have as much fun as you like, master, I''ll be off giving the final touches to a gift I''ve prepared for you."

    ''Gift?'' All of a sudden having his hands grabbed on by a pair of naked goblin girls, Haruki didn''t have enough time to ask the queen what she meant by the gift. Dragged into the room, he finally turned to look at the army of monster womenying all naked on a well-bedded floor. Wearing but light essories likes and jewelry, they all fit perfectly into the image of a monster harem.

    "Should we go in?" Seeing how crowded the room was with a mix of goblins, Arachnes, and elven women, Asuka felt too overwhelmed to step into the ce.

    Margarette, as well as Athena and Alice, were feeling much the same, it was only Moriyana who seemed excited to join in the fun that was soon to be unleashed.

    "Agnnnn, I''m gonna get myself some tender breasts, you guys can stick around back if you like it here so much!" sprouting her wings, and shifting naked, Moriyana leaped right into the room and began searching for the new monster mommies.

    "Master did say we could join, and he''ll be creating clones of himself so¡­" Feeling the excitement making her tingle between the legs, Asuka panted thinking about how it would feel to be fucked by Haruki while a thousand more of his clones made the others his bitch as well.

    Gulping down her hesitance, Margarette walked past Asuka and the demi-cats followed suit. Brushing off her embarrassment Asuka didn''tg behind for long either. Once everyone was inside, the eleven guards shut the doors for everyone to enjoy the monster orgy without any sort of disturbance.

    Inside the massive room, Haruki was already surrounded by young monster girls tearing off what little clothes he had on his body. Once he was naked to the butt, their hands danced all over his skin, touching and caressing each and every crevice of his body.

    Submitting himself to the heavenly feeling, he nced around at the other monster girlsying on the ground in all kinds ofscivious poses. Some were striking their ass in his direction as an offering, and some spread their pussy lips wide to invite him in already. As his eyes kept wandering, he even noticed some jerking each other off as they watched the small group that managed to get their hands on him first.

    "Do you want a dance master?" Peering up at him with her face pressed against Haruki''s cock, one of the goblin girls asked him that question. "The elves taught us their mating dance to induce more manly milk from the captured minotaurs."

    "I told you to keep it a secret¡­" Right beside her with her face buried under Haruki''s balls, the ginger-headed elf general shot a sharp nce at the goblin woman. "But I wouldn''t mind if it''s master."

    ncing up at Haruki, the shape of a heart could be seen in her ruby-red eyes.

    ''Effect of the hypnosis spell?'' Haruki wondered, but concluding since right now wasn''t really the time to be thinking, he brushed the thought off.

    "I''d love a dance," he whispered, delighted in the lust reflected in their eyes.

 Chapter 218 218 - Monster Girl Orgy[Part 2] [18+]

    ?

    Surrounding Haruki from all sides, a mix of monster girls circled him in with their asses facing right at him. Wearing golden waist belts adorned with silver bells, they folded their arms over their head and began rhythmically swaying their hips from side to side. Eventually, as the bells grew in sync, they woulde closer and closer to Haruki and begin brushing their bodies up and down on his naked frame.

    Watching it all from a distance, Asuka and the others were already fervent in their attempts to please their bodies. Drooling from between their legs, they all had their fingers reaching into their pussy while hoping it was Haruki''s dick instead.

    As for Haruki himself, the aroma of women surrounding him was pushing him further and further into a primal state. And as he''s finally had enough of it, he grabbed onto a goblin girl''s ass closest to him.

    "Thanks for choosing me mast-Aghhhh!"

    Before she could even finish the sentence, Haruki tore through her virgin pussy and thrusted his hips like a monster in heat. Taking hold of her waist, he lifted her small frame off of her feet and began using her like a toy made only to please her master''s cock. Watching it all the other girls turned to face their new master.

    Getting down on their knees, they stuck out their tongue and licked Haruki all over. Feeling their wetness on every crevice of his body, Haruki decided it was time to finally break into them all. Creating clones of himself behind the girls pleasing him with their tongues, he transferred part of his consciousness into the clones before grabbing onto their hips all at once.

    "Oh fuck!"

    "Ahhh!"

    "Mhnmm!"

    The sound of moans resounded all around him as his clones once after the other tore into the virgin pussies. Feeling every inch of their insides that had never been explored by any man, Haruki''s mind was on cloud nine as he continued to fuck all those monster girls simultaneously. In the brief moment of rity he got while pumping like pistons he kept on creating more and more clones to fuck all the other monster girls waiting for their turn.

    Grabbing hold of their own clones, Asuka and the others coiled their tongues around Haruki all the while feeling his cock brushing against their hands. Throwing themselves on the bedded floor, they spread their legs wide and invited their master to fuck their brains out like always.

    Feeling every single one of their folds on his cocks, Haruki had his clones fuck not only the pussies of the girls but every hole that they had in their bodies.

    "Fuck! I feel like a god!" He muttered through the lips of each clone.

    Deep inside the mouth, pussy, and ass of every goblin, Arachne, and elves, the sounds of the moans only urged him to fuck them harder and faster. Hastening his pace as he fucked all their holes, Haruki kept cloning himself to conquer every female hole in the room for himself. As he went on to more and more girls, he found something new to enjoy every so often.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    The first thing he ran into was the swollen belly of an expecting goblin, but even then tearing into her tight inside, he felt a kind of thrill that he''d never experienced before. Having turned pregnant with a potion like the rest of the mothers, she hasn''t felt a real man''s cock ever, which only served to make the experience even more tight and pleasurable.

    As he kept on multiplying, he ran into a pair of identical twins, and so without a second of a doubt, he fucked them both right by each other. Feeling the cock of the same man ramming against their wombs, the twins held onto each other''s hand while showering Haruki''s dick with one climax after the other.

    The Arachnes with their spider-like back were especially exciting as their pussy consisted of tight folds with a grip that squeezed dicks dry.

    "Mommy! Mommy!"

    "It''s okay-Mhmm!"

    Then there were mothers and daughters being fucked beside one another. The taboo of it all made everything especially exciting, and as luck would have it, there were plenty of taboos to go around in that room.

    "Your daughter feels great!" Haruki said to the mother, all the while his cock ravaged them both.

    "Your mom feels great as well!" Said the other clone fucking the daughter.

    Kissing them both, he could feel their tongues coiling around him along with the rest of the monster girls kissing him as well. Entranced by the sounds of moans and shing flesh, Haruki let himself be washed off by the tion of orgasmic joy. Filling up one womb after the other, he kept on going again and again until every single one of the virgins was imed by his juices.

    Even when it was all done, he showed no signs of stopping as his hips kept pistoning into the overflowing pussies, mouths, and asses. Making use of his clones, he kept gangbanging every female the mixed tribe of monsters had to offer. From their daughter to mothers, from sisters to twins every single one of them belonged to him, and as he marked their womb with his semen it was finally made official.

    "You''re all mine, so don''t even think about touching another man," going around and turning every monster girl into a demon with his real body, he instilled thatmand into that very soul. "And not only you, but every single woman youe across is also going to be mine. I do not care if your son and brother have to forever stay as virgin ves, but every woman in this world would soon belong to me."

    Having submitted to his carnal demonic side, he had lost all control over what he said. And thus, cursing the men of the monster tribe to be virgins forever, he kept going around fucking their women and turning them into lust demons.

    Even as night passed and the next day came, Haruki wasn''t done with them all and so the orgy continued for a few more days. That too not because he couldn''t convert them all in one night, but for the simple reason for wanting to fuck them all over and over again.

 Chapter 219 219 - The Coward Of A Queen

    ?

    "Oi, don''t just stand there get off!" lost in her thoughts, the goblin queen''s voice didn''t register in Medusa''s head.

    Too lost in admiration of what the goblin queen had been able to build, she felt a strange crushing being ced over her shoulder. The once decrepit ce that was the interior of the dungeon was now turned into a band of small colonies connected through tunnels. Not only that but the crops, the structures, and even the rearing of animals, were all set up so perfectly that it was hard to imagine how it could be done inside a dungeon.

    "Hey! I said don''t stand there!" Rushing up close to themia blocking the road with her long tale, the goblin queen pulled Medusa''s hand with a jerk.

    Astonished by the sudden pull, Medusa turned to the goblin queen with deep frowned eyes. However, the moment her gaze met hers, she could no longer keep herposure. After all, unlike the queen of goblins, she had failed as a ruler, which in turn made her feel inferior to her inparison.

    "You''re blocking the path," her grip on Medusa''s arm getting tighter, the goblin queen began pulling her off the path of a carriage filled with construction supplies.

    Noticing her fault, Medusa quickly got herself off the path. As the elf directing the carriage passed her, however, she saw a glimpse of the same disappointment in his eyes as she''d once seen in her own people.

    ''What was I even supposed to do? Fight? I don''t even know how to hold a sword!'' Fighting her conscience, she was once again lost in her thoughts.

    "Ey? Are you high on something,mia queen?" Snapping her fingers before Medusa''s eyes, the goblin queen broke her chain of thoughts once more. "Are allmia''s like this? Because then I don''t know if we''d like this ce to be filled by them."

    "Wha-what?" Blinking her eyes in a daze, Medusa stared at the queen in front of her.

    "You''re gonna be pumping out other monsters soon, right? Why else would Master bring you here?" Taking hold of Medusa''s arm, the queen of goblins began dragging her away toward a tunnel-like part of the dungeon. "I''d also lost my tribe when I first started serving under master, so I can guide you if you want if that''s what''s bothering you."

    "But I didn''t even say anything about rebuilding a tribe!" Afraid of making the same mistakes as before, Medusa didn''t want to go down the same path of cowardice.

    "Shushhh, everyone who eats has to contribute and that''s going to include you soon," unrelenting, the goblin queen wasn''t going to take no for an answer.

    Even as they went through the tunnel and Medusa tried to talk her way out of it, the queen of goblins wasn''t having any of it at all. For her, the only thing that mattered was to make the ce run efficiently and built prosperous colonies for every tribe.

    "Even that dim-witted Arachne queen pulls her weight by providing security with her resilient children,"ing out to a clutteredb with vials of potions and oddities, the queen of goblins finally let go of Medusa. "The ever-enthusiastic elven folks have been a great helping hand, so you better figure out what you wanna help with quick!"

    Being so forcefully pulled into a task, Medusa had no clue how to respond. And yet the goblin queen''s infectious enthusiasm was getting through her after all. Letting out a deep sigh of relief, Medusa followed the queen inward, determined to at least give whatever she wanted a try.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Great, now help me concoct potions to induce pregnancy with our master''s freshly extracted semen," unsure if she''d heard the queen right, Medusa red at her with a perplexed look.

    "What did you say?" She asked, tilting her head.

    Turning to the granite workstation, the queen of goblins directed her arm toward the bubbling potion vials. Slowly walking towards one, she took it in her hand and tapped it gently with her nails.

    "I extracted master''s seeds from some of the girls who were too tired to keep fucking after the first night," biting her lips, she licked the rim of the bubbling vial. "We''ve been able to make potions with minotaur seeds so far, but if we can use the seeds from master clones to potentially get our girls pregnant, then I can''t imagine the kind of warriors they''d give birth to!"

    ''What the fuck?'' As the queen''s hysteric side began to resurface, Medusa seriously started worrying about the goblin queen''s mental state.

    "But I was told that incubus can''t make anyone pregnant, and why are we doing this experiment here? Are you trying to keep this thing a secret?!" Medusa squealed,ing at that realization mid-sentence herself.

    With her eyes widened up, the queen of goblins tried to shush Medusa by the gesturing of resting her index on her lips. However, as the troubled expression on her face didn''t fade at all, the queen ced the vial back down and quickly moved much closer to themia queen.

    "Of course not! I''m gonna tell him¡­Eventually," saying thest past in a hushed tone, she covered Medusa''s mouth with her hand. "Just trust me, okay? I need someone who won''t gossip about this to others to help me."

    "And why do I have to be the one? You barely even know me," Medusa asked, slithering away from the queen''s hand.

    "Exactly! Nobody knows you yet so there''s no chance they''d be any gossip about our experiment," grabbing hold of Medusa''s arm, the queen of goblin red right into her eyes. "If we can get people pregnant with his sperm with this method then it''ll all be worth it!"

    Changing shades from blood-red to leaf-green, the crazed look from her jittery gaze was terrifying Medusa beyond reason.

    ''Fuck, what did I get myself into?.'' Coerced into helping the queen, Medusa couldn''t believe that she was already doing stuff behind her new master''s back. "And to think I believed that she just wanted to help me build my tribe again."

    "Ughh, if this goes wrong, I''m not taking any responsibility," with Haruki still busy with the monster girl orgy, Medusa decided to help the queen until she saw any sight of trouble.

 Chapter 220 220 - An Old Acquaintance

    ?

    At the end of his long stay in the minotaur king''s chamber, Haruki came out through the massive gates with a fully content heart. Having unleashed his pent-up desires as a demon, he felt unburdened by the elusive voice that often whispered down his neck. Hispanions, feeling much the same, stumbled out behind him with their bodies aching at every inch.

    "That was¡­Impressive," standing before him as a personal guard, the Arachne queen couldn''t get her eyes off the woman panting heavily behind his shoulders.

    Following her gaze, Haruki took a brief nce behind him. Witnessing the steaming mess he''d left behind after days of breeding countless pussies, he felt both pride and a deep sense of aplishment.

    ''It''s fine to let some stuff get to my head, right?'' Although he wasn''t opposed to relishing the moment, his mind kept reasoning him not topletely give in to those feelings.

    "Anyways, follow me, that crazy goblin queen wants to show you the gifts she was talking about," turning her back towards him, she started walking even deeper into the dungeon.

    Letting hispanions go back to the cabin and rest, Haruki shifted his demonic tattoo clothes and followed right behind the Arachne queen. Led through a seemingly endless array of special construction, the queen of spiders brought Haruki to a newly built shrine. As he walked through its ceremonious gates, he noticed something upsettingly peculiar.

    "The goblin queen has gone mad¡­" Scanning through sculptures of himself scattered throughout the path leading into the shrine building, Haruki felt deeply disturbed by the whole thing.

    "Not just the queen, actually," the Arachne''s reply confounded him more.

    "What do you mean?" He asked, ring at her with frowned brows.

    ncing back at him from the edge of her eyes, she gave off a light smirk before replying.

    "A woman named Serena showed up one day at the dungeon, and since she appeared to be a demon and an acquaintance of yours we were kind of forced to take her in," her reply only brought even more questions than before.

    ''What the hell is she doing here? Didn''t I tell her to hide amongst humans just like the rest of the demon army?'' He wondered, however, the more he thought, the more something struck him as an oddity. After all, if she was here, then why didn''t she demand to be a part of the monster orgy? Knowing her stalker past and extremely sexual behavior, it was more than just a little bit strange.

    "Where is she now?" Getting to the shrine door, he didn''t want to step in before knowing more about the situation.

    "Dead, I think, but we''re not sure yet," as if it was the obvious conclusion, the queen of spiders offered no further exnation.

    However, even as she tried to push open the door, he quickly held it shut with shadow hands and demanded an answer right then and there.

    "What the hell do you mean she''s dead?" No longer ying around, his eyes dted to an extreme while focused eerily still on the queen. "You mean to tell me she died in your care? The person responsible for the security of this ce?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Although the queen could sense a direct threat from him, having expected the response, she was more than equipped to handle the question. Still, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she turned to Haruki and answered his question.

    "Yes, she may¡­or may not have died under my protection, but!" Pressing the back of her hand against the door, she slowly began pushing it in again. "She had been put under a curse before she got here so it''s not entirely my fault."

    "What curse?" Blinking his eyes, Haruki shut them closed to drown out his emotional instability for the moment. "I thought she used to be priestess, there shouldn''t be a curse she can''t break!"

    "Evidently not," with Haruki distracted with his eyes closed, the Arachne queen opened up the shrine door to reveal the interior.

    As he opened his eyes back up, Haruki noticed an elevated tform with Serena''s ghostly pale bodyying on top of it. Surrounding her in dark cloaks were her acolytes from the time she still used to be a holy priestess. Noticing Haruki, they all turned towards him with hands clutched tight on lit wax candles.

    "I thought you were bringing me to the goblin queen, what''s this?" Unsure how to react, Haruki turned his attention back to the Arachne.

    "She''ll join us here, apparently she and that new girl you brought are busy setting something up while you were busy pounding my girls," walking up ahead, the queen stood beside the slumbering priestess.

    Following soon after, Haruki moved closer to Serena and checked if he could figure out any physical anomalies created by the curse. When he couldn''t find any he reached to check her nerves, but even then he felt nothing from her, yet since her body has not degraded one bit it was hard to tell if the curse was somehow preserving her or if it hadn''t taken her life just yet.

    "What kind of curse is it? And did she get affected by it?" Turning to her acolytes, Haruki scanned through them for an answer.

    At first, they all stayed silent, but thening forward from within the crowd, the dark-haired girl he''d seen before finally gave him a reply.

    "It was a man in a silver attire. He was looking for you, but Her Highness refused to give any information he wanted about you," she exined, however, much like most stuff today, it only brought Haruki more questions.

    "And you guys don''t know who he was?" Despite knowing the answer, he still tried his luck.

    But with a disapproving nod from the girl, his suspicion was realized.

    ''Another threat? As if the emperor wasn''t enough of a problem already.'' Although still dubious about whether the emperor was involved in this development, Haruki felt that this wouldn''t be the only time he had to worry about this silver-clothed man.

    "I''ll have Moriyana check the curse on her, in the meantime, take down those stupid sculptures you have lined up outside," with no intention of bing an idol, Haruki ordered them all to strike down the sculpture. However, stuck between following Serena''sst orders to build a shrine to honor her master, and following the master himself, they all refused to move until their priestess was either back up on her feet or finally confirmed to be dead.

 Chapter 221 221 - The Gifts And Brainstorming

    ?

    Not long after arriving at the shrine decorated with his own idols, the goblin queen finally came over and met with him. Not too far behind were Moriyana and Fay who he''d especially called out here so they could figure out what was happening with the priestess.

    And they checked on Serena''s body as shey on the elevation, Haruki confronted the goblin queen about the gifts he''d been hearing so much about. Getting seated at a desk justid out for them by the acolytes, he had her quickly get right to the topic.

    "You''re gonna love this," taking the leather pouch off of her hips, sheid it on the desk. "Remember that minotaur ring that your servant Moriyana gave me to control the captured breeders?"

    "Yeah, what about it?" He asked, utterly lost as to where she was getting.

    "Wel¡­" Reaching for the string binding the pouch''s mouth, the queen of goblins swiftly undid the knot. "I have something really nice ready for you then."

    Taking hold of the opened pouch again, she toppled it over and emptied all its contents. Crashing onto the desk were countless golden rings with varied colored jeweled providing them with great luster. Picking up one such ring with a dark jewel, the goblin queen put it into her ring finger and then nudged her head to have Haruki follow her gaze.

    "After studying the minotaur king''s ring that can be used to control minotaurs, I figured there must be a way to make simr items to control other species," stretching her arm towards the acolytes gathered around Serena as Moriyana and Fay check on her, the goblin queen directed her finger towards them before ordering. "Get away from those two!"

    All of a sudden, the eyes of the acolytes glowed up the same glow as the dark jewel. Then looking right at the goblin queen they nodded and began gathering at the furthest corner from the two checking on Serena.

    "Mind control?" Haruki asked, shifting his gaze back to the queen.

    "No, species control," the queen corrected with a smile. "Although currently, these rings can only control low-level species of a handful of creatures, including demons, humans, and every other monster you can find living in this dungeon."

    "How the-" Both impressed and somewhat terrified by her efficiency at building things, Haruki felt as if he needed to survey her a lot more. "Forget it, just tell me how these things work for now."

    ''These rings can be terrifying if she can keep upgrading their grade to control higher and higher levels of creatures.'' Although wondering if he should put a stop to her experiment as a precaution, his curiosity about how far these items can be pushed got the better of him.

    "Sure, why not? But before that, do you have any other items that I can research? It can help your army of demons and monsters get stronger!" Seeing the crazy in her eyes return, Haruki finally realized what the goblin queen''s demons were.

    ''Greed¡­She''s hungry for people, power, and items that glister. Fitting for a queen of goblins to be honest.'' Taking note of her greed, Haruki decided to make sure to keep her in check so she wouldn''t defect because of a better deal offered by an enemy, after all, unlike the rest of the monster girls, she and the Arachne were the only ones who hadn''t been converted into demons. ''Turning her now would be a good idea, but I''m not sure how drastically it''ll affect her already crazed behavior.''

    "I don''t have anything-'''' Right as he was about to dismiss her, he remembered that one item that he''d been carrying around since almost the beginning of his new life. "Wait¡­"

    Opening a dungeon pocket, he reached inside and took out the sapphire brooch he''d been given by Rose. And while cing it on the desk, his eyes met with Moriyana and Fay over the queen''s shoulder who seemed to be done with their inspection of the priestess''s body.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Can you check this item? It helps me use ice magic and we can contact Rose with it whenever we want," handing the brooch to her, Haruki got off the chair, and began striding towards hispanions. "I can''t leave it with you so check what you want with it right now."

    Giving the queen her orders, Haruki gestured to Moriyana and Fay to follow him out of the Shrine. However, right at the other end of the entrance, the queen of Arachne was there to disturb their need for secrecy.

    "Leave us alone for now," Haruki ordered, the queen, although reluctant, gave him a bow and moved down the steep climb of the stairs.

    Finally left alone, he brought his attention to the two to try and figure out exactly what was happening with Serena''s body.

    "Whatever you found, you''re not supposed to tell anyone else but me," not knowing how the acolytes managed to escape the silver-clothed man while Serena was cursed by him, he wasn''t too keen on trusting them at the moment. "So what did you find?"

    ncing at each other, Fay let Moriyana tell her part of the analysis first. Taking a step forward, she let out a sigh and dropped her shoulders before finally speaking up.

    "She''s cursed, but I can''t undo it," looking at her with confoundment, Haruki was shocked that the person he knew to be the best in dark magic arts wasn''t able to get rid of a curse.

    "Why? Wait, howe you can''t undo a curse? I thought someone who''d escaped the clutches of the mistress would easily be able to get rid of curses from a mortal," to his query, Fay grabbed onto Moriyana''s shoulder and pulled her back before taking a step forward herself.

    "The curse isn''t on her exactly, it''s on her soul," taking a gulp at the thought of what she''d discovered, Fay reluctantly continued. "But the part of her soul affected by the curse is no longer attached to her body, only a trace of the curse remains on her living-dead body."

    Overwhelmed by the findings, Haruki could feel his head begin to ache. Shaking shock off, he pressed his fingers against his temples before asking yet another question.

    "So she''s dead or not?"

    "No, but the part of her soul holding her memories and consciousness has been taken away by that silver man," as if expecting the question, Fay quickly gave him the answer.

    ''Fuck, who the hell is this guy? And what the hell does he want from us exactly?'' Feeling crushed under the newfound source of stress, Haruki pulled his hands off his temples and simply decided to take a bit more time to gather his thoughts. ''I need to figure out what''s happening before that guy digs too deep into Serena''s mind.''

    Even though Serena didn''t exactly know about the colony of monsters before being cursed, Haruki feared that the silver-clothed man might show up here if he can manage to scan through her memories like a demon.

    "Ask the acolytes to keep an eye on Serena, I''ll be heading back to the cabin to figure out ns moving forward," saying that Haruki left the shrine in a much worse mood than he''d been whileing here.

 Chapter 222 222 - The Undying Enigma And An Anomaly

    ?

    Wandering under the rain once more, the emperor, cloaked in a rag, wandered through the lone streets of a ruined city. Scrambling through his own thoughts, he had begun to feel himself waning as time went on. Weakened only in memory but in the flesh as well, his lungs for the very first time ached as he drew each breath.

    ''I don''t have much time¡­'' He thought peering up at the sky. Washed by the heavy rain, he wished things had never gotten to where they were, but it was already too long to deter it all from happening. That is unless¡­ ''Asmodia, if only she would turn the clock of this world back, then we can live eternal lives with the children of this world flourishing forever.''

    "So you''re here, I was looking everywhere for you," breaking the emperor''s chain of thoughts, a man called out to him from behind.

    Turning to the man, the emperor was somewhat amused by his sudden appearance. And not only because he''d gonepletely unnoticed by him as he approached, but also because he wasn''t someone he''d expected to see in his domain for at least a good while.

    "Dominion, what are you doing here?" Asked the emperor.

    As he moved closer to the emperor, his silver-colored attire reflected the rain that had soaked thempletely. With his hem-like scarfs on both shoulders being dragged through the mud, he seemed utterly unbothered by the dire condition of his formal suit.

    "I heard you killed Almuld so I had toe and see if the rumors were true," taking a stop right in front of the emperor, Dominion gave him a crescent smile.

    "He was messing around with Asmodia''s toy, someone would''ve killed him sooner orter," although he said it himself, the emperor wasn''t too convinced by his own lie. The reason Almuld had to be downed wasn''t simply because of his altercation with another demon lord''s ns, but because he was one of the many hurdles the emperor had been avoiding getting rid of so he could achieve his ultimate goal.

    No stranger to his true intentions, Dominion put the matter aside for the moment and instead decided to focus on what he came here to talk about.

    "I have to admit, I never expected you to raise your sword against family/ But anyway, reaching into his pocket, Dominion took out a cloudy marble and threw it in the emperor''s direction. "I''ve brought a present for you."

    Taking one look at the marble, the emperor already knew what it was.

    "A soul?" He asked, looking back at Dominion.

    "Not just any soul," moving even closer, he peered directly into the emperor''s eyes. "A soul from one of thepanions of the very toys of Asmodia had led you to kill Almuld, the king of wraths."

    With that knowledge, the emperor knew exactly why Dominion had brought him the torn soul. And despite the pain from his body degrading from the inside, the emperor after a very long time finally gave off a smile.

    "I need him, alive, Dominion. You know what that means, right?" Throwing the marble back at him, the emperor let him know everything he had to with just those few words. "Whatever it takes, just bring him to me."

    Although he couldn''t feel Asmodia''s presence around him at the moment, he didn''t want to give her any more information than what he''d just said in case she was somehow still listening. On the same in of understanding, Dominion too simply nodded and returned a devious smile at the emperor.

    ***<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    After Haruki''s return to the cabin, he''d for a while forgotten about having left the sapphire brooch with the goblin queen. However, right as he was about to hit the bed, the queen came knocking on the door with Moriyana and Fay both in her tow.

    "Master!" By the time Haruki turned to the door, the goblin queen had already stormed in through the entrance. Just as crazed as before, if not more, her eyes were changing colors as if they were decorative lights of festivities.

    "What?" A bit tired of her over-the-top personality, Haruki wasn''t in the best of moods.

    ncing at the two behind her, he received just as tired gazes, almost as if they had been tortured throughout their trip back to the log cabin.

    "This isn''t just a brooch it''s a-"

    "Frost dragon scale," interjecting in the queen''s enthusiasm, Moriyana finished her sentence instead.

    Turning around, the queen of goblins red at her as if she was deeply offended to not be the one delivering the news. Ignoring their squabble, Haruki focused on what he''d just been told instead.

    ''A frost dragon scale could be Klian''s. We might have to meet up with him about it then.'' Chalking up the matter forter, he took the brooch out of the queen''s hand.

    "Wait! Give it to me!" She tried to grab the brooch out of Haruki\s hands, but he quickly put it away inside a dungeon portal. "I can use it to figure out how to use magic from elements you don''t have an affinity to!"

    Still begging to be given the brooch, the queen intertwined her fingers and looked at Haruki with big puppy eyes. However, having already decided to keep her ambitions and greed in check he wasn''t willing to hand it over to her just yet.

    "Focus on improving the quality of the rings, and I''ll let you have the broochter," lying to her with no intentions to give her the brooch anytime soon, Haruki wanted to first meet up with Klian before taking any decision about experimenting on such a useful item.

    Gesturing to Moriyana to take the queen out of the cabin, Haruki quickly shifted his gaze to Fay to let her know about his new ns. Once, the illusionist had taken the goblin queen out of the cabin with help from her rose whips, Haruki sat down on the bed.

    "The others are out preparing for our next move, but I think checking up with Klian about the dragon scale might be helpful before we visit the other kingdoms or even try to figure out who this silver-clothed guy is," tired beyond reason, Haruki could barely keep his eyes open as he spoke to Fay.

    "Sure, I''ll let the others know," noticing his exhaustion, Fay didn''t talk much and just went to inform the others about their n.

    All alone in the bed, Haruki threw his back onto the mattress. But all of a sudden as he was pulled into the abyss, he knew that the night wasn''t over and fate had some other ns for him.

 Chapter 223 223 - Doubts To Be Cleared

    ?

    Having failed to contact Rose through the dragon scale brooch, Haruki had taken it upon himself to struggle up to the maddened dragon and ask him about the item himself. And although he feared the silver-clothed man woulde looking for him at the dungeons, he was convinced by the queen that if the man knew about the ce, he''d already would''ve been there.

    ''I know I won''t be out for long, but I hope they''re right about this guy not showing up.'' Right at the entrance to the dungeon, he d himself in an armor of dark to prevent the cold from affecting him as much. Even then as he ventured through the storming blizzard, the cold in the air grabbed his lungs like the hands of the devil. ''Fuck¡­It''s still better than when we came in but¡­''

    Wheezing through his gritted teeth, he marched through knee-deep snow as trying to fly in the storm would''ve been an idiotic choice. Once in a while, he even tried to teleport a bit further but with the blizzard blurring his sight, he had no clue as to where tond. Even trying to move as a shadow failed as the sun in the sky was masked by the dark clouds.

    Peering high up at the frost dragon Klianstien slumbering over the castle, Haruki reached into his pocket and took out the dragon scale. Hoping to be able to contact Rose or Klian with it, he kept calling out to them, but it seemed to have no effect. By the time he ced the scale back into his pocket, the blood tears from his eyes had frozen over and he could even feel his eyeballs freezing from the cold blizzard.

    Eventually blinded by the sudden shattering of his frozen pupils, he fell to the ground groaning.

    "Re-Rejuvenation," barely saving himself, he got back up and produced a pair of goggles of darkness to protect his healed eyeballs. "Devouring light!"

    Trimming his mana further, he used yet another ability to consume all the snow around him with an aura of gluttonous dark mist. Braving the rest of the blizzard until he was finally standing at the gates of the castle, Haruki called out to Klian, but his voice gotpletely drowned in the blizzard.

    "I hope I can still walk back to the dungeon after this," closing his eyes, Haruki decided to make use of a spell he hadn''t tried yet but could be useful in this situation. "Shadow form body!"

    Enshrouded in a fiery aura, Haruki''s body began to grow in the shape of a faceless shadow. It made him as tall as the dragon, and just as fierce as him. His face had a pair of glowing eyes and countless sharp teeth eerie enough on their own, but the ming aura of the shadow made him look even more nightmarish.

    Finally, feeling the presence of a being close to him, the maddened dragon rose from his slumber and looked right at the giant monster made of screeching lost shadows. Had it been any other in ce of the dragon, even another member of the same species, they would''ve at least got on guard, but Klian seemed utterly unbothered.

    "What brings you here, Duke?" He asked, his voice rumbling through the skies.

    Hearing the word duke, made Haruki let out a cacklingugh. It had been so long since he''d been called a duke, the very memories of such times felt like a distant dream. However, brushing off that careless smirk of the monstrous frame, he uttered the dragon an answer.

    "Here," dangling the brooch from the end of his giant nails, he presented it to him. "A dragon scale, is it yours? And why did Rose lie to me about its origin?"

    The dragon took a long nce at the brooch without saying even a word. Giving not a hint of emotion, he kept his thoughts enshrouded in a mystery.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "It''s not mine, but," letting out a grumble, he shifted his gaze to look into Haruki''s empty white eyes. "It used to belong to someone I know, that is until he got killed in the battle against the emperor''s army."

    "Who-"

    "Don''t push your luck, Duke. My sister may have offered you our loyalty, but it''s nothing but a verbal promise to me," ring right into his eyes, Klian didn''t seem too fond of Haruki poking around about the matter. "Use it if you must, but ask me about it ever again."

    ''I have to ask Rose then I guess.'' Feeling the effects of the blizzard getting stronger, Haruki knew that he''d managed to enrage the maddened dragon.

    "Forget it then, but can you contact Rose for me somehow? The brooch used to help us get in touch but it hasn''t worked since we got back to Laria," Haruki said and began to undo the shadow form body as it was draining too much mana and would otherwise impair his abilities due tock of mana.

    Seeing him return to his original body, Klian red down at Haruki with a grumbling reverberating through his long neck.

    "Her arm, it began hurting once more, and so she''s resting until it recoverspletely," resting his head back on the castle dome, Klian kept his eyes fixed on the demon in front of him.

    ''Her arm is recovering? But that would mean!''

    "Someone must''ve killed the warlock," as if reading Haruki''s mind, Klian finished his thoughts. "Now be on your way, I''ve not recovered all of my strength yet either."

    Shutting his eyes closed, the maddened dragon returned to slumber. Although not entirely satisfied with the conclusion of his meeting with Klian, Haruki was forced to go back to the dungeon with not that much new information.

    ''I guess knowing Almuld is dead is something, but who could''ve killed that maniac?'' Unsure what to make of the situation, Haruki decided to brave the blizzard first before thinking it over. However, even in all this, one thing had been made crystal clear to him.

    "We can''t stay here for long doing nothing," he said to himself, walking back to the minotaur dungeon.

 Chapter 224 224 â€“ Desperate Measures

    ?

    Back on his throne, the emperor along with Dominion was watching the spiritual incarnation of Serena manifest itself out of the soul marble. Standing in front of them in her bare skin, she, despite just being a soul, was trying her hardest to cover the sensitive parts of her body.

    "Tell me where your master is right now," the emperor asked, a taste of metal lingering inside his mouth.

    Nervously fidgeting around, Serena tried to keep her mouth shut. However, as Dominion pointed a finger in her direction, a visceral pain began coursing through her astral body. Brought down to her knees, she nced up between the two-feeling ashamed of showing her skin to someone who wasn''t her master.

    "Priestess, I can make you talk one way or the other, but I''d prefer if I don''t have to destroy someone who used to be such a firm believer," getting off the throne, the emperor cast his cosmic gaze down at Serena. "Or do you need me to show you the true radiance that you had submitted your life for?"

    The very next moment as he said those words, a blinding light burst from behind his body. Shielding her gaze, Serena looked away for a while, but then drawn like a moth she nced back at the emperor''s radiant frame.

    "What? No-No¡­There''s no way," despite her body being leagues away, she could feel her heart pumping from the fear of the almighty.

    As if staring right into the burning stars, an eye of pure light was peering right at her from behind the emperor. Its cold blue mes burned her deeply, she desperately wanted to escape, but couldn''t move an inch away from the marble thrown at her feet.

    "That''s right, it is I, the ruler of thisnd, the lord you call onto, and the being whose name would soon be itched into this very in you stand onto," with each word he came closer and closer to Serena.

    "As?" Shocked beyond belief, Serena''s mind was broken in two. On one hand, she was to remain loyal to Haruki; on the other, the very lord she''d served her entire life was standing right before her.

    Throwing his hands wide, As stood right in front of her with his radiance shining bright. The light behind him affected Serena''s ability to reason, and she feltpelled to give in to his demands. But then a moment of realization hit her like a truck.

    "Wait, how do I even know you''re telling me the truth, and even if I tell you everything I''m still of the demon race that you so desperately want to eradicate!" Bringing herself to reason, she propped herself up with newfound confidence.

    Seeing her rebel again, the smile on As''s face quickly disappeared.

    "Have it your way then," shooting her a look of disappointment, he stood before her unmoving for a moment.

    The sudden change in his tone threw Serena off her guard, and that''s when the emperor grabbed her astral body by the neck and squeezed it as tight as his withering body would allow. Coursing his mana through her body, he had her squirming and groaning, all the while he scanned through all her memories.

    Consumed by his strength, every pore in her soul began leaking out the same radiance as his light. Watching it all unfold, Dominion couldn''t help but wonder exactly how this was affecting her body which he left behind.

    ''He''s grown desperate.'' Even in all that, like many others, Dominion managed to see through the farce of resilience the emperor was forced to mask himself up with. Wearing a smirk, he kept on watching until the soul of Serena, the high priestess, was utterly weakened and consumed back into the marble.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Well done, now she''s not gonna be able toe out at all," Dominion pped for the emperor in a mocking tone.

    "We don''t need her for her testimony anymore, just keep her soul as a bargaining chip," his mind still scanning through Serena''s memories, the emperor made his way back to this throne.

    "So, what are you waiting for, just tell me where this nuisance is and I''ll get rid of him," hysterical to finally reach Haruki, Dominion stared at the emperor with crazy widened eyes.

    Settling down on the throne, the emperor shot him a tired gaze.

    "Alive, I need him alive, Dominion," crossing his legs, he peered up at the stained-ss window right above his throne. "And don''t lift a finger until I figure out what we must do."

    Taking a moment to just relish under the light showering down on him through the window, the emperor shut his eyes closed to recover from the loss of mana. Although disappointed by the order he was given, Dominion simply nodded at the lord of this world.

    "You''ve grown¡­into a coward," he mumbled, knowing full well that the emperor would pick up on his words.

    Letting out a deep sigh, As nced down at him again before giving him a reply.

    "If you''re so keen on incurring the demon lord''s wrath then go ahead, I won''t stop you," the unexpected answer from the emperor shocked Dominion to the core. Raising his head to look at him, he felt utterly puzzled as to what changed in those brief few seconds.

    "Ahaha¡­" Chuckling to himself, Dominion wasn''t going to let the chance slide. "Very well then, I''ll bring that demon to you in less than a week''s time!"

    With no doubt in his mind that he would keep his word, the emperor gave Dominion a nod of agreement. Scanning through the memories of Serena, the emperor provided him with all the possible locations Haruki could be hiding. Once done with the briefing, Dominion took the marble with Serena''s soul and was just about to go off looking for Haruki. However, right as he got to the door, the emperor spoke to him onest time before he left.

    "While you''re out there, destroy the kingdom of Dtia and its moronic rebels," no longer having the luxury to wait around, the emperor was clearly acting up in desperation.

    Yet none of it mattered to Dominion for as long as he could get some kicks out of the action, he was willing to destroy anything that the emperor wanted.

    "As you say, brother," with a cheeky smile, he walked out of the room.

 Chapter 225 225 - The Past Of A Demon Lord

    ?

    "Aren''t you a mage? Then fight like one and not like a barbarian!" Ordering Haruki around was the mistress of darkness, standing tall in front of his fallen frame.

    Struck down for the third time tonight, he already felt like giving up since the disparity in their powers was too much to ovee in one night.

    "This is the second time you pulled me into the abyss to spar¡­" nting the tip of his saber on the ground, Haruki struggled back onto his feet and looked right at Asmodia. "What''s with the sudden urgency to train me? Is there something that I need to know?"

    Fanning the golden mes off of her hands, Asmodia gave Haruki an uninterested look. She knew he would eventually catch up with her desperation for growth, but this was much sooner than expected.

    "I haven''t checked on the emperor for a while, but I doubt he''s sitting around counting ducks," shifting her gaze to look over Haruki''s shoulder, she nodded at something that he couldn''t see through the darkness. "And with how horribly your battle with Michael wentst time, and the fact that you still haven''t been able to drain levels and ability from that devil girl, I teach you a little about how to counter true holy magic."

    Following her gaze, Haruki nced at his back from the very edge of his eyes. At first, he didn''t see anything, but then all of a sudden a giant worm-like creature with furry skin and bleeding gums and teeth jumped at him from under the earth.

    "Tormentous dungeon!" Teleporting behind the worm as it tried to devour him, Haruki clutched onto his saber and stabbed it deep into its skin.

    Squealing out loud from the deep wound, the worm tried to burrow its back into the ground. However, with the spear made of darkness sticking into him, Haruki made the saber grow into the creature like a flesh-eating parasite.

    "That''s enough," snapping her fingers, Asmodia broke Haruki''s spell and the saber inside the worm quickly disappeared. "Try and hold back on my pets as I''m holding back on you."

    Not too pleased by his direct attempt to kill the worm, Asmodia walked up close to the creature and gently caressed its wound to heal itpletely. Once it started feeling better, she had it once again buried itself into the depth of the abyss.

    "You say you want to teach me how to counter holy magic, but so far you''ve only used holy mes to incapacitate me. How''s that going to help?" Haruki asked as he created yet another saber of dark.

    "If you''re so eager to die then have at it," holding her hand towards him, she produced a giant magic circle behind her with multiple smaller circles revolving around its circumference.

    "Let''s see how strong holy magic really is," creating a dark magic shield Haruki braced for impact.

    While the spell charged on Asmodia''s end, the magic circles began giving off strong light that almost blinded Haruki''s heightened vision. Having learned from his mistakes, however, he created dark goggles with a light tint ss to be able to keep watch at the magic circled about to unleash their assault.

    "Benevolence¡­" To Haruki''s surprise, the spell didn''t release any assault, instead, it drew out all the mana from the magic shield and even turned the goggle into a glistering dust.

    As the light from the spell touched his skin, he could feel himself burning and being drawn into the magic circles. Just like the goggles, his skin began turning to dust and eventually, his arms fell off and shattered like sand.

    "Is this enough for you?" Asmodia asked, closing her eyes to break the spell.

    "How?" It was all Haruki could say. After all, even if he wanted his dark magic was no match for holy spells. "How am I supposed to counter this stuff? And why do you know true holy magic spells?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Getting back up with his arms being restored by Asmodia''s gaze, Haruki remembered trying to use the true holy magic Godsmite on Almuld. At that time, having borrowed Asmodia''s abilities it made little sense to him as to why she had it, and now he couldn''t go without getting an answer from her.

    Wearing a scornful look on her face, Asmodia seemed reluctant to discuss the matter. Yet even she knew that the longer she pushed the matter, the less trust would remain between Haruki and her.

    "Sit down," snapping her fingers, she contorted reality and made them both settle down on a table in an instant.

    A bit thrown off by the sudden change, Haruki could feel his mind-melting because of a sudden headache. Brushing it off with sheer will, he leaned onto the table to interrogate Asmodia more about the matter.

    "I''m done wasting time trying to figure out more about you and your intention, so just tell me," said Haruki, ring right into her glowing violet eyes.

    Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Asmodia let out a sigh before replying.

    "I used to be an angel, much like the rest of the demon lords," the very first revtion left Haruki stunned. "But then much like you, we were betrayed by the people we served our entire lives. We were painted as demons by As, so the people will align under his banner and shun us without question."

    Hearing her talk about her past, a sense of deja vu hit Haruki. It almost felt to him as if he was looking into a mirror of his own past. Betrayed by the people he worked for and shunned for crimes he''d nevermitted.

    "Wh-Why did he do that?" She asked, still stunned by the whole thing.

    "Like all living creatures warrior, a new arc in his life began when he witnessed the death of his father," speaking with a hint of mncholy in her tone, Asmodia seemed distressed just talking about the matter. "He wants to make the world immortal and ruin the natural order of things so nobody has to lose a loved one as he did, but we as the children of god couldn''t simply stand by the new orders."

    "Then what? How did things get to where they are? How did everything get so messed up?!" Growing hysterical himself, Haruki wanted to know everything there was to know about the history of the world.

    Resting her arms on the desk. Asmodia tapped her nail against it and made two steaming cups of tea present themselves in front of them both.

    "The people love gods, warrior, and when a god doesn''t like his angels, he casts them as demons. And so corrupted by the malice we received from the world, all of us eventually submitted to darkness¡­Much like you did," thest of her words, tied everything together for Haruki.

    As if a recollection of his own memories, the past of the demon lords wasn''t all that different than his. Frozen in ce by the realization, he didn''t know what to think or say. However, as Asmodia pushed the cup of tea against his hand, he was brought back to reality by the burning on his skin.

    "Take your time to digest it all," picking up her own cup, she enjoyed it with great leisure. "It took us centuries to ept being demons, and as a potential candidate to be the next demon lord of lust, I want you to be well prepared to take over."

    ''A demon lord, huh?'' Haruki wondered, looking up at Asmodia''s face. ''Feels like fate has worked to get me to this point ever since I died.''

    With how perfectly everything was fitting in, Haruki couldn''t help but wonder if it was all also part of Asmodia''s n.

 Chapter 226 226 - Stringed Puppet

    ?

    Coming back to reality, Haruki had decided to keep everything Asmodia had told him a secret for a while. For now, focusing on getting to the silver-clothed man and retrieving Serena''s lost soul took precedence over everything else.

    Storming out of the log cabin, he made his way to the goblin queen''sb at the end of a long tunnel. There he wanted to talk about the looming threat of getting attacked any instant. However, as he came out into the fumingb with bubbling vials and the hint of magic lingering in the air, he was met with a look of shock from the goblin queen as well as Medusa who was also there for some reason.

    "We need to take everyone out, this ce isn''t safe," ignoring their surprise, Haruki directly got to the point.

    "Wh-what?" Still in a daze from Haruki''s sudden appearance, the goblin queen couldn''t grasp what he was getting at.

    "I¡­I should clean up what we were doing," slipping behind the queen, Medusa pulled herself out of the conversation and started cleaning up the apparatus on the workstation.

    "Just do as I say, I''ll set up an exact replica of this entire dungeon with my ability so you don''t have to worry about rebuilding anything," holding his palm forward, he summoned a plethora of demonic spies to scan every corner of the dungeon. "The only difference you''ll notice in that ce would be theck of monster to gain levels, but that''s a price I''m temporarily willing to pay."

    Laying out his entire n, he''d left the two utterly confused. However, recalling the threat they were under, and given that Haruki''s n seemed quite reasonable, none of them had anything to refute him with.

    "Is this all because of that man who cursed the priestess?" Taking a step forward, the queen of goblins with a deep frown.

    "I know you''ve worked hard for this ce, but, it''s better for you to be cautious instead of losing your whole tribe a second time," with no time to spare any patience, Haruki warned.

    A bit taken back by those words, the memories of her past were rejuvenated anew. Lowering her head, she felt her heart squeezing tight at the thought of losing her children once more.

    "Fine," she mumbled, her head sombrely downcast.

    Although Haruki noticed the change in her demeanor, he didn''t say anything tofort her. Instead, he nced over to Medusa and hinted at her to take care of the queen while he was gone attending to other tasks.

    "Get the people ready to leave soon, I don''t want to wait around for that guy to raid and whittle down the poption before we can escape," giving them thatst order, he turned around and left the tunneledb.

    Heading straight to catch up with hispanions who were already making preparations for their departure to the next kingdom sincest night, Haruki gathered them all up with his hive mind ability. Once they were gathered at the makeshift central hall of the dungeon, he started giving them their orders about what he nned to do before and after leaving.

    The very first task was toce the dungeon with traps and aggressive familiars in case the man really did show up to assault the dungeon''s inhabitants.

    "Riley, we''re gonna leave tonight so make sure the entrance to the dungeon is secured," after Riley, he turned to Asuka and the demi-cats. "Help the monsters into the dungeon portals, and make sure nobody gets injured in the crowd."<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Leaving Moriyana, Margarette, and Fay forst, he had them gathered up around a desk with a parchmentid on top. Taking a quill pen from a helper goblin, he began mapping out the dungeon map that the demon spies were showing him.

    "Moriyana," marking multiple points of interest on the man, he nced up at her to draw her attention. "I want you to use your illusions toy traps that can help us capture this guy even if we''re far away from here."

    "I can try, but if he''s strong enough to tear a soul, I doubt he''ll be trapped for long," she replied with a hint of worry.

    "What about us?" Fay interjected.

    Shifting his attention to her, the very first thing that caught his eyes was Ste wrapped up in her arm ying with a ne hanging by Fay''s neck.

    "You should take care of Ste while Margarette and I check up on anyst-minute preparations," the very moment he said those words, Fay''s expression confounded in doubt.

    She felt as though Haruki was undermining her capabilities. But even then, she kept those doubts to herself as she didn''t want to ruin the flow of the serious moment. With everyone off to do their jobs, Haruki took just a moment to collect his thoughts.

    Still at the central hall, he was apanied by Margarette and Fay as they were the only ones left behind. Resting his head on the desk, he began to wonder how everything got so messy in a matter of days. From feeling heavenly after turning all the monster girls into demons to feeling so burdened with responsibility in just a few days'' time.

    "Asmodia, the mistress told me that we don''t have much time," raising his head, Haruki nced at the two standing in front of him. "To protect the natural order of things she said, I never knew I was signing up for something like this when I signed that contract with her."

    Having no clue as to what Haruki was talking about, the two exchanged confused nces at each other before turning back to Haruki.

    "Haruki, you seem tired, are you okay?" Asked Fay.

    Pressing her hand against his forehead, Margarette tried to check for a fever before remembering that demons don''t get illnesses the same way as humans did.

    "I''m fine, just a bit lost¡­" Taking a deep breath, he finally pulled himself out of the desk. "And to think I wanted revenge on the people who''d wronged me, but now I don''t even know what I''m trying to achieve or who I''m fighting for."

    Moving past the two, Haruki couldn''t be certain if he even wanted to continue fighting against the emperor.

    ''I''ve been dragged into a battle that started way before I was even born, that too by a being who has all the knowledge of past and future. Do I even have free will or has she been ying with the strings of my life all this time?'' Deep in thought, he kept on wandering until eventually it was time for more work.

 Chapter 227 227 - A Slaughter Of Dogs

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    Adorned in his silver garb, Dominion rode his way to the gates of the Dtian kingdom. Met with crossed spears and drawn bows over the watchtowers, he was forced to get off the horse andy his sword off onto the ground.

    Scanning about the faces of the soldiers he noticed the presence of only demi-humans and monsters with no humans in his sight. Delighted that he wouldn''t have to hold back, he gave off a bright smirk while the guards led him in through the gates as a potential prisoner.

    "How many people live here?" He asked the demi-lion dragging him along with the rope tying his hands.

    Peering back with a disgruntled look, he simply grunted at Dominion before shifting his gaze back to the front. After being taken through the two doors blocking the entrance to the city, he was brought out to a mob of elites wearingvish armor.

    ''Golden helmet, silver armor, jeweled shield, and even artistic bows¡­'' Looking through the crowd it didn''t take him long to assess how little they knew about a true battle. ''All this showy, impractical stuff, did these idiots really used to work for the emperor?''

    Pushed forward by the lion guard behind him, Dominion was pulled out of his thoughts. The crowd in front of him subsided at the same time, and an elderly demi-owl began making his way toward him. Dressed in a sagacious attire with decorative inscriptions, moved along with the help of a stick that seemed too fickle to carry his weight for long.

    "If it isn''t another war general of the emperor?" Stopping right in front of Dominion, the owl spoke in a mellow tone.

    ''Another? Is he talking about Nabe?'' Having no clue about what Haruki had pulled with the clone of Michael, Dominion couldn''t be certain. ''As if it matters right now.''

    Brushing the thought off of his mind, he beamed a smile once more and broke through the rope by pulling his hands in opposing directions. Terrified by the sudden progression, the owls and the armored elites flinched back and even pushed their cored ves forward to defend them if needed.

    "G-guard!" Called the owl, his casual tone turning to worry.

    With haste, the guards circled around Dominion and directed their spears right against his neck. Peering up at the towers, he even noticed the archers on the verge of letting go of a volley of arrows.

    "Owl, can you tell me how many people live here?" Even in the face of adversity, he cared only to find the answer to that question. "Or do I need to keep a count as I kill you all?"

    Thest word had tipped everyone over, and the owl quickly turned to the archers and gged his hand down to have them rain Dominion''s body with countless arrows. The spear guards were no longer holding back either. Drawing their spears back slightly, they all plunged them forward to sever Dominion''s neck from his body.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Until the veryst moment, the smile on his face had everyone on the edge, it wasn''t until the spears and arrows stabbed through his body did the masses finally rxed their shoulders. With his flesh pierced from every corner, Dominion''s body bled like a fountain, however, that was far from the end of him and the elites were just about to find out.

    "I suppose none of you have heard of the emperor''s curse," taking out the arrows and pulling off the spears one after the other, Dominion had everyone stunned. "Not like it will matter in a few minutes."

    Once again wearing an ear-to-ear grin, he nced around the masses and began counting their heads. Although terrified, the guards pulled their spear back and tried to sting him again, but this time, instead of stabbing through his flesh, the spear tips went in through a small portal and stabbed them in the chest. Watching theirpanions falling like dominoes, the archers readied their arrows, but none of them dared to let go of them first.

    Eventually, as Dominion looked at them expecting a flying present, the arrows slipped from the hands of a few. Much like the spears, the arrows went through a portal and came out through the portal opened up right behind those archers'' heads.

    "Twenty-five," seeing the archers flop onto the ground, Dominion turned back to the owl.

    "Wh-what?" Petrified by the ughter, the elder muttered in a rush.

    "That''s the number of people who''ve died so far, but that''s far too few for my liking," opening a liquid silver portal near his arm, Dominion reached inside and took out a bright red saber. "Let me change that."

    ''Melicia, care to string a tune, my dear?'' As he called out to the witch, the owl and the rest of the elites tried to run away as quickly as possible. Leaving behind their unwell ves, they expected Dominion to go after them first, but needless to say, he took great joy in shattering their expectations.

    The moment he leaped over the ves, a heavenly choir sang from the very skies. As ifmenting the death of a world, the voices sang in a cacophony of cries. Hearing the sound of violins and harps paired with the wallowing songs by the tortured witch, Dominion shed the blood-hungry saber right through the body of the owl.

    The masses screeching and crying as they ran only fueled him more to hunt them like the animals he thought they were. Leaping towards them, he made no use of magic and simply stabbed through their organs and left them bleeding so they would suffer before they died.

    "A hundred¡­" Standing atop a demi-human child with his saber going through its skull, Dominion looked around at the escaping masses and felt unaplished for ack of any real challenge. "You won''t even protect your children? No wonder you''ve been treated as ves for so long."

    With a feeling of utter disgust towards them all, he carnaged them as brutally as possible. From taking out their guts, and serving all limbs for a prolonged death, he kept on trimming their numbers in the most fiendish ways possible. And by the time he was to be done with them all, the streets of Dtia would turn into a river of blood.

 Chapter 228 228 - The Bloodred Hunter

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    His de still bloodred from the ughter of Dtians, the silver-robed man braved through the blizzard of Lariannd. Standing before the minotaur dungeon, he found himself straggling for the very blood in his body was piercing his flesh from the inside. Despite it all, the smile on his face was far from fading.

    "Cold, after so long¡­I''d forgotten what it felt like," although he''dnded in Laria with thundering magic, he made his way all the way here on foot to feel the tundra''s winds brushing up against his skin.

    Turning his gaze to the slumbering dragon atop the Frost castle, he was reminded of the time when he stood beside the emperor and lord Frost to take down the reign of those very creatures. Yet as he stood in the cold winds, he almost felt thankful to the maddened dragon for making him feel something after so long.

    "I''ll spare you for now, consider it an honor," picking those words from far away, the dragon''s eyes lit up a menacing red.

    Klian looked right towards Dominion, but even he knew it was better for them not to stick his leg where it wasn''t needed. Caring not the least for the inhabitants of the dungeon, he lowered his neck once more and returned to his long soothing sleep.

    "Good choice," said Dominion before heading straight into the minotaur dungeon.

    With only a few steps, he noticed marks of carriage wheels lining the ground and an array of countless footprints marching back and forth on the path forwards. At first, he wasn''t sure if the inhabitants had already left from the fear of him getting to him, but then as he ventured deeper with ripened crops and litnterns still hanging by the dungeon walls, he began to feel otherwise.

    "It smells like goblins and other monsters in here," fanning his nose, he scanned the branching paths through his sharp silver eyes. "Which way to go now?"

    Twirling the sword in his hand, he cloned his body into two other replicas of himself. Directing them to go into the opposing paths, he ventured into the path straight up ahead. It wasn''t long until he encountered a faint smell of toxins showering him through the tunneled path, however, having expected such traps, he simply thundered far away from the fumes before they could have the slightest effect on his body.

    But even after escaping that trap, there was no shortage of others like it. Even illusions tried to take hold of Dominion''s mind by whispering into his ears to guide him right into the mouth of a deadly trap. None of it even managed to leave a scratch on him, however, for he was far more experienced in trickery than whoever had set up all the traps.

    "Nothing¡­" Coming up to a shrine of a demon, Dominion was utterly disappointed for having not found a single living soul. "Serena, Serena, you must''ve been here, right?"

    Having searched all other ces where Serena could''ve gone to before killing the Dtian, Dominion knew that she had been here recently, or at least her unconscious body had been held in this ce. But to his disappointment, the inside of the shrine was just as empty as the rest of the dungeon.

    Standing before the bedded tform where Serena hadid unconscious for days, he knew that he had just recently been abandoned.

    "If you wish to y like this, then have at it," as those words trailed off his tongue, a magic circle resembling a ticking clock appeared in his eyes.

    Taking a step away from the tform, he reversed the flow of time in the shrine to see exactly what had happened inside the ce. As the needle of the magic clock began moving backward, the faint outlines of the acolytes came into his view.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ''I''ll find you one way or the other Haruki.'' With a wide crescent smile, he watched the past unfold.

    ***

    "The traps have triggered, but I don''t think he fell for any of them," already far away from the dungeon, Moriyana turned to Haruki as they traveled in arge wagon.

    His eyes shut closed, Haruki was trying to see through the demonic eyes, but as if some passive barrier from Dominion was affecting them, they''d all fallen to the ground as lifeless as starving bats.

    "I can''t see anything either," opening his eyes, he shifted his gaze to Riley who was directing the horses. "Keep the wagon moving, we can go after this guy once we''re at a safer distance."

    ncing back with the edge of her eyes, Riley jerked the reins tight to hasten up their pace. As they continued moving forward, Haruki and hispanions were all desperately trying to devise ways to get the silver-clothed man off their tail.

    "You won''t escape him," the voice of Asmodia whispered in Haruki''s ears.

    He tried to ignore her, but she kept talking to him.

    "The emperor knows all about you now, and he''s sent Dominion, his war general, to get you to him," despite her constant whispers, Haruki kept on ignoring her.

    After all, for all he knew she might once again be trying to manipte him, just like she''d done for the rest of his life. Wanting to do nothing with her without breaking the bonds of the contract, he kept to himself and didn''t say anything in return.

    ''I''m gonna figure out how to deal with this myself.'' He thought before busying himself by trying toe up with yet another stream of ns.

    Spiraling deeper and deeper into a conflict that started way before he ever came to exist, he wanted nothing more than to just get away from it and get the people he was responsible for somewhere safe where they would be able to live their lives without any worries.

    ''If I have to kill Dominion or the emperor to get there I will, but I can''t keep risking the lives of the people close to me on the simple whims of a demon queen.'' Having already provided Asmodia with an army of demons, he wanted nothing more to do with her. Yet, even he knew that the mistress wouldn''t like that idea all that much.

 Chapter 229 229 - Prolongation Of Battle

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    On their journey towards the next kingdom, Haruki had everyone rest inside the minotaur dungeon replica to safeguard themselves from any unsuspecting nightly attacks.

    "How''s everything going here? Everyone settled yet?" Running into the goblin queen while on his way to the log cabin, Haruki decided to check on the state of things.

    Turning to her side, she looked over to the mix of monsters putting in the final touches to some of the buildings.

    "It''s better than we expected, that''s for sure, but¡­" Looking at Haruki from the edge of her eye, she continued. "With no monsters spawning in this ce, we''re going to be able to farm levels for you to drain out."

    Having alreadye up with a n for her worries, Haruki ced his hand over his shoulder as assurance.

    "I''ll create some chambers where you can breed feral monsters and farm them for levels," with that said, he moved past her to join the others who''d already headed to the log cabin.

    ''I hope you know what you''re doing.'' Although confident in Haruki''s ability to master, the queen of goblins felt an instinctual threat lingering over them. Despite that, cing her trust in her master, she began making her way back to theb to join Medusa who was already supposed to be there.

    On his way to the cabin. Haruki checked up on all the final touches being given to the replicated building and the fields that would soon be sowed with a new line of crops. While doing so, he also managed toe up with a sound n to get at least some information about Dominion and what he was capable of.

    "Nabe, has he been there in the past few days?" Haruki asked, talking to Nabe through a demonic spy.

    "Dominion¡­Well, he''s been here, but I have no clue what he and the emperor talked about," she replied in a curious tone.

    "If you see him at the emperor''s domain, I want you to report every step he takes to me," finally getting to the cabin, he severed his mental connection with the demonic spy in Nabe''s possession.

    Getting inside the ce, his closest aide turned to look at him directly. Moving closer to the bed, he settled down before taking a deep breath and then letting out a sigh. Looking around them all once more, he beganying out his n for their future.

    "Lamenia, we''re going to war against them," as those words left his mouth, everyone''s eyes frowned with confusion. "We have an army that has been sitting around for too long, and we need to make use of it by taking away the emperor\s support while also expanding our own numbers."

    ''I might be ying into Asmodia''s hand by expanding the army even more, but for now, we need a base of operation that has some sovereign power to halt the emperor''s assault.'' nning to establish an outed kingdom of demons and monsters, Haruki wanted to gain the support of more demons and even the demi-humans living inside feralnds.

    "But why Lamenia, isn''t it on high alert for demon hunts?" Moving forward, Margarette voiced her concern. <novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Peering up at her, dressed in nothing but a transparent nightgown, Haruki pulled her into hisp before continuing his exnation.

    "Lamenia has the sea connected on its eastern border which will also connect us with feralnds," wrapping his hands around her body, he feltforted by her warmth. "If we can offer the Feralnds an alliance from inside the empire-"

    "They would never deny something like it," jumping into the conversation, Athena finished Haruki''s thoughts.

    "It also apparently has more hidden monster viges like the elves and not to mention, the library of heroes is still supposed to be there," chiming in Riley brought yet another great point.

    "But what if the monsters don''t want to form an alliance with us?" Asked Fay, standing beside Asuka as she was entertaining Ste and her pet demonic spy.

    Having considered all kinds of possibilities, Haruki put up a warm smile before replying to her.

    "Those who agree to form an alliance will keep their individuality, and those who don''t will be turned into lust demons to forcepliance," even as he said that, Fay was just about to voice another concern, but knowing what it would be Haruki simply answered that as well. "We''ll turn them into demons in secrecy and then have them change appearance so the people who''ve willingly joined the alliance won''t get suspicious."

    Listening to how he''d nned everything in such a brief period of time, everyone was quite surprised by his meticulousness.

    "When are we going to do it though?" Alice asked.

    "As soon as our army gets here, I''ve called onto them, but how long it will take for them to be is something that we just have to wait and find out," with that, Haruki threw himself back on the bed with Margarette held tight in his arms. "For now, let''s recover our strength and try to find a way to stay steps ahead of the emperor."

    Since everyone was in agreement and there was ack of a better less convoluted n, none of them voiced any more concerns and simply epted Haruki''s n on how they''ll move forward.

    ''Multi-thought procession!'' Whileying on the bed with Margarette on top of him, Haruki used a newfound ability of his that allowed him to think twice as efficiently. Even as he pulled her face closer to his for a kiss, his mind was still thinking about ways to outsmart both Dominion and the emperor. ''Everyone''s trying to n the desperate game, but I can just get everything lined up properly for a prolonged battle then all of them will surely run out of resources, or else why would they be so hasteful in trying to put an end to everything?''

    Coiling his tongue around with hers, he could feel the gazes of many, and to soothe their hearts with a moment offort he pulled them towards him as well. That is except Asuka, who had to put Ste to sleep before joining in on the fun.

 Chapter 230 230 - A Final Deal[18+]

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    Lining up his servants on the bed, Haruki tried to forget about his worries for a while by making love to their bodies, Yet with a Multi-thought procession going on in his head, the barrage of counter-ns against the emperor kept popping up in his mind.

    "M-master?" Asuka called, peering back at her seemingly dazed master.

    Pulled out of the trance, Haruki nced over to her face before grabbing her by the ass. Putting up a fake smile, he gave her a spank and then just squeezed tight against her fleshy butt. Sliding into her folds, he felt her body tighten up around his cock.

    Grabbing Athena by the arm, he brought her closer to his face to busy his lips into a kiss while his hips kept thrusting into Asuka''s tight pussy. Feeling hungry for a taste as well, Alice moved to the other side of Haruki''s face and pulled him off of her mother''s lips to kiss him herself.

    With their lust roaming free with kisses, and the sound of Asuka''s moans, Haruki was finally able to not worry about the problems as he let the ability do its work without being affected by what thoughts were being collected in his head.

    "You keep forgetting me," said Moriyana, before sliding in between Haruki''s legs.

    Raising her head closer to Haruki''s balls, she gave them a kiss before yfully teasing them with her lips. Watching it all unfold with no way of them joining the crowd yet, Margarette and Riley wereying on top of each other with their tongues deep inside each other''s pussies.

    Left by herself, Fay moved in front of Asuka''s body and pushed her face in between her legs. Entranced by the sweet juicesing out of her folds, Asuka''s lips parted on their own and pressed against Fay''s body. Groaning out loud to her pussy being eaten, Fay pushed Asuka''s face against her even more so she could feel her tongue deeper inside her wet folds.

    "Are you all done fucking each other?" Breaking the lively moment, a feminine voice from the door startled them all.

    Turning around to look at who it was, they were even more rmed and forced up on their feet in an instant. Quickly creating a de of dark, Haruki held it towards Asmodia as she stood leaning against the front room''s door.

    "What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, his teeth gritted shut in annoyance.

    Shooting back a sharp gaze, Asmodia didn''t seem too pleased by being ignored by Haruki all day. On their guard as well, the others ced magic shields between them in case Asmodia tried to hurt them in any way.

    "Put the weapon down Shin," shemanded, but Haruki wasn''t in the mood to follow orders.

    "Like hell-" Thrown into the back walls with an invisible force, the sword in Haruki''s hand slipped out on its own.

    Astonished by the assault, all of Haruki''spanions were just about to unleash their magic against Asmodia in a fit of rage. However, getting up on his feet himself, he knew what he''d done wrong in that situation.

    "Don''t!" He ordered.

    "What?!"

    Confused as to why he''s stopped them, they all turned their head towards him for an answer.

    "The contract clearly states that we can''t attack each other, and he was about to break that condition so the covenant punished him for it," offering the exnation, Asmodia had them all turned to her once more.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Moving into the cabin, she swayed her hand in the air to make all the furniture disappear. Once it was gone, she snapped her fingers to present an expansive dining table with lit candles and a massive feast prepared on it.

    "Sit down you rebellious children," as she pulled out the head chair for herself, all the other chairs were pulled out for the others. "This might very well be thest time I ever talk to you so don''t keep me waiting."

    In spite of their reluctance, everyone followed Haruki''s lead and settled down after he sat on the chair opposing Asmodia. To him, whatever she had to say didn''t matter anymore, for he was done living as a puppet to a maniptive demon lord.

    "I can read your mind, you know," Asmodia said, peering right at Haruki.

    "I know that''s why I''m not trying to hide anything about what I''m trying to do," he answered.

    Resting her hand over the back of her hand, Asmodia shot a sharp re at Haruki. Smiling slightly, she felt both proud and a bit betrayed by her puppet.

    "Just like Almuld, I''m destined to die," catching everyone off guard, she took the conversation in an unexpected direction. "And if I die then there''s no one to prevent the emperor from doing whatever he wants...I don''t expect you to be a savior Shin, and so I have an offer to make that would help you live however you''d like, but in turn, you''d have to keep doing what I''ve already asked of you."

    The very moment Asmodia said those words, Asuka and Moriyana, both of whom were sitting closest to Haruki, ced their hands on top of his before turning to look at him. Moving her head in denial, Asuka urged Haruki to refuse whatever she had to offer. While on the other hand, Moriyana seemed eager for Haruki to take the opportunity to get the upper hand.

    "Let me hear what she has to say," saying those words to Asuka, he shifted his attention back to Asmodia.

    "Good choice," with a cunning gaze and a smile, the mistress of darkness voiced her offer. "My real body lies in Scorchen Gaia, if you can get to it, it''ll give you all my powers and the title of a demon lord."

    Opening a blood red seeing portal over her head, she showed Haruki the image of a decorated casket with engravings of gold and embedded jewels of purple.

    "Since I''d no longer be a demon lord, I''d lose the strength that I derive from being my children, and instead you''d be the one to possess it," holding his hand forward, Haruki abruptly made her stop her exnation.

    "And what do you get out of it exactly? I''ll get your powers and the title of a demon lord, but that would also mean that the emperor would start targeting me more vehemently while you''d be off the hookpletely," not wanting to be a puppet anymore, he felt keen to ept the deal but only if it wasn''t yet another trap by the mistress of darkness.

    Her gaze downcast on the table, Asmodia let out a light chuckle that echoed throughout the cabin. Instilling fear in the hearts of everyone, she nced back with her eyes glowing a sinister violet.

    "Did I forget to tell you how a demon lord loses their title?" Having no clue about what she was getting at, Haruki kept his eyes peeled for any sight of a threat. "You''d have to rape me for my powers and then kill me for the title."

    Her words took a moment for them to register, but when they did none of them knew what would be Haruki''s answer. Turning toward him, everyone''s gazes were fixed sternly on his lips, waiting for him to utter his thoughts.

    "Your powers¡­Will they include the control of time?" Haruki asked, his expression contorted with a serious frown.

    Saying not a word, Asmodia simply nodded with a crescent smile.

 Chapter 231 231 - An Abrupt War

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    It hadn''t even been a week since Dominion raided the minotaur dungeon, and the armies of demons were already causing chaos all over the kingdom of Marquis, Lamenia, and Dtia. Being the only man on foot prepared to oppose the threat, Dominion was forced to abandon his search for Haruki and take care of the demons wreaking havoc through more than half of the emperor''s territory.

    To rub it in further, a vast majority of the army had taken Haruki''s demon form to confuse any who might be hunting for their master.

    "You sure he''s not going to hunt us here first?" Standing by the gates of Lamenia, Rose nced down at the army of demons ready to tear down the kingdom''s walls.

    "We started destroying Dtia and Marquis first, so if anywhere Dominion should be there and given our expanding forces, I doubt he''d be able to get rid of them anytime soon," the most informed in ways of war, Margarette exined before turning to a young man Roselia had brought along with him.

    Noticing the sideways nce from Margarette, Rose let out a fake cough and shot her a stern gaze.

    "He''s my eldest son, none of you better darey a finger on him," clutching her fist in front of her chest, Rose made it burn with a passionate me as a warning.

    Still scanning the young man''s demeanor, Margarette felt impressed by his formal suit of cloudy white and the gentlemanly look from his snow eyshes. Even his hairs were so albino, she could''ve sworn they were giving off light like a lonely moon in the night sky.

    "Hmm, oh?" Noticing her gaze, he turned to Margarette with a warm smile. "I''m sorry I didn''t notice you, I''m not used to being in a corporeal form, that too much less as a human."

    Leaning towards her with a polite bow, he grabbed Margarette''s hand and gave it a light kiss. Rose, however, after ncing between the two, broke them off and quickly ced herself in between.

    "Ughhh, don''t worry I''m not gonna eat him, I already have a master," knowing well what was going on in Rose''s mind, Margarette assured that she had no intention of stealing a momma''s boy. "Anyways, is he the one who''s been teleporting us everywhere?"

    Puffing her chest up proudly, Rose banged her fist against her heart in a show of just how proud she was of her young boy.

    "Obviously!" Rose eximed, her healed-up hand still pressed against her body.

    "I almost forgot to introduce myself," flying slightly to the side of his mother, the young dragon extended his hand toward Margarette. "I''m Hawthorn Frost, son of Roselia Ironfrost and-"

    "Stop!" Before he could finish, Rose covered his mouth with her hands.

    "Frost? Not Ironfrost?" Confused by thest name, Margarette instinctively asked.

    "He''s an idiot, okay? He can''t remember hisst name properly!" Rose retorted.

    Hearing her call Hawthorn an idiot right after she seemed so proud of him struck Margarette as odd, but given the situation they were in, she quickly pushed it off of her mind and decided to return to strategize their n of attack.

    "Sure," from the very back of the gathered demon army on the ground, Margarette nced over to the distance where an array of human soldiers were stationed outside the kingdom''s walls.

    "Should I start then?" Asking herself, Margarette produced a bow of mes and strung tight a fire arrow. Raising her mark up high in the sky, she took a deep breath before heralding the start of a war. "Charge! Kill them all!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    As the arrow arched in the sky, the demons went feral and dashed toward the human soldiers. Taking to the air, some fell victim to the watchtowers, but the sheer number of demons was so overwhelming the human archers couldn''t keep to their posts for longer than a few seconds. Even the vanguards on foot, exchanged fearful nces at each other, wondering if they should all just let the kingdom fall.

    "I-I can''t!" Dropping his shield and spear, the very first vanguard tried to escape death from the hoard of oing demons.

    Tipped by his cowardice, countless others followed suit, and the ones left behind were shaking in their boots. Too scared to move and too uncertain to desert their standing brothers, they stood in the face of the approaching demon army until they were struck down by the sharp teeth and ws as the demons feasted on their bodies.

    As for the deserters, Hawthorn had their fate settled despite not moving an inch from his ce.

    "Alter space," with only a few words trailing with space magic, he snapped the bodies of the deserting soldiers by teleporting their upper and lower halves to two different ces.

    By the time that realization hit the minds of the deserters, they were staring at their legs taking a few steps forward before falling limp just like their heads that were already left behind on the ground.

    Witnessing it all from above the battlefield, Margarette felt extremely ufortable for having teleported around using Hawthorn''s ability.

    "It shouldn''t take more than half a day to take over the kingdom, what do you say Miss Margarette?" Turning to look at the current war general, Hawthorn asked for her input on his assessment.

    "Well¡­" Taking a deep gulp to drive off her fears, Margarette turned to him to answer. "You might be right, but since we can''t kill everyone things might turn a bit trickyter on."

    Following Haruki''s orders, she was supposed to at least have one-third of the Lamenian poption turn into demons. But from the looks of how viciously the demons were massacring and feasting on dead bodies, she knew they had to reel their expectations to a minimum.

    "If master was here, we could''ve controlled these idiots more efficiently but¡­" Letting out a sigh, Margarette sprang forth her ming bow and began aiming for some of the remaining watchtower enemies.

    "Where is he then?" Having only been called to help with the war, Rose had no clue where the rest of Haruki''spanions were.

    "We didn''t tell you, did we? Well, the less people know the better," keeping it a secret just as she''s been instructed, Margarette rained down a volley of fire arrows onto the watchtowers.

    "And you were telling me not to use fire," watching the arrows hit some human archers, but mostly their own soldiers, Rose couldn''t help butugh.

    Feeling embarrassed by her carelessness, Margarette red at the Rose in anger. While looking at her, she noticed even Hawthorn chuckling to himself, but barely keeping his voice in.

    "Ohe on, we have lots more to do!" Turning her head away, she began flying forward, and before long, the two followed right behind.

    Soon enough, thend of Lamenia was to be dered to be and ruled by demons, but even if that end was reached, would the emperor simply ept something so egregious taking ce in his own territory? To that end, Haruki had yet another thing nned.

    ''I just hope Asmodia does her part of the n and doesn''t fuck us over this time!'' Clinging on to hope, Margarette kept pushing forward to try andplete her role in the n.

 Chapter 232 232 - Poisoned Lips

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    The very night before the attack on Lamenia, the emperor was pulled out of his deep slumber by a dagger-like pain seeping through his heart. Alone in his dark room, he dared not call for help for that would squander what the farce of strength he''d kept up in the eyes of his congregants.

    Struggling up his bed with his hand clutched against his aching heart, he struggled his way to the windows to catch up on his panting breaths. In his haste, he quickly opened up his windows without caution and drew long deep breaths to soothe his aching heart.

    Overtaken by the sudden hurt, the presence of someone sinister behind himpletely escaped his mind and instincts. It wasn''t until he calmed down did his ears pick up on someone trying to slowly get closer to him.

    "Stop," he ordered, and the person got frozen in ce.

    Turning around with his back leaning against the window, the emperorid his eyes on the woman who''d once been closer to him than anyone else. But now, distanced by his own past actions, he couldn''t bring himself to im her once more.

    "Asmodia¡­What are you doing here?" He asked, a bit surprised to see her in an astral form instead of just the regr whispers and the voices in the head.

    "You haven''t told anyone that you''re dying, have you?" Taking a few steps closer, her eyes frowned in worry. "Do you truly intend to die with nobody to mourn you?"

    "As if you''re the one to talk,st I remember you were the one to put the curse of mortality on me," he retorted, fanning his hand towards her to portray his annoyance.

    "Your father never intended for anyone to live forever, that included him and you''d be no exception," getting as close to him as she could, Asmodia grabbed his face from both sides and turned his head to look at her. "The curse of immortality will doom us all, you need to learn how to let people go, and that includes me As."

    Looking into his tired gray eyes, she senses a faint moment of hope, but the very next moment as he grabbed her by the shoulders, she knew that he wasn''t giving up just yet.

    "I won''t, I don''t want to lose you, I didn''t want to Almuld either, but!"

    "But you killed him, the only one of the true archangels who could''ve lived forever," reminding him of the true nature of the demon lords, she let her body shift into the form of an angel that she once used to possess. "Just because you can make the world live on forever, doesn''t mean you have you."

    Slightly tilting her head, she brought her face closer to him. Blinded by the haloed light shining through her very existence, the emperor shut his eyes closed. As her lips finally touched his, he felt his body being unburdened by something that he never knew existed.

    "Let me die, I''ve served this world long enough, I cannot keep living without growing bitter to its existence," drawing her face away, Asmodia genuinely pleaded. And the tears in her eyes were enough proof of her honesty. "The curse of the emperor, that''s keeping us alive, would force us to keep on living even after you perish from this curse I''ve put on you. So I plead again, let me die¡­"

    At a loss for words, the emperor gently grabbed her arms and moved her off of him. Moving away from the window, he stood by his bed with his back facing toward Asmodia.

    "I''m not gonna die, Asmodia, I''ll find a way to live, I''m god after all," he said.

    "If you could then why haven''t you?" Getting closer to him, the sounds of her heels resounded in the decorated room. "Your father took measures to not let that happen, didn''t he? Because if you could use the curse on yourself, then you would''ve already!"

    Hitting the mark with her assessment, Asmodia could see through his lies.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Admit it As, you''re not doing all this to be the savior of an undying world, but because of your fear of losing another loved one and it''s your fear of death that''s driving you!" Tearing up herself, she red intently at his turned back.

    For a while, the emperor said not a single more word, and the silence that loomed gave him a bit of time to think about what Asmodia said clearly.

    "So what?" he asked, slowly turning to face her once more. "So what if I don''t want you or anyone else from my family to die?"

    Knowing well enough who he meant by family, Asmodia couldn''t grasp how going up against those very people could help him achieve his goals.

    "You intent to keep all the other demon lords trapped in an undying cycle like me?" Reminded of the casket her body had been kept trapped inside all this time, she knew exactly what he was nning to do with the others.

    "You should be thankful you''re alive with just a soul," his answer engaged Asmodia and finally tipped her off of the bridge of patience.

    "Keeping me from returning to my body with my soul, having me trapped in this limbo of death with no way of escaping it myself¡­How can you call this mercy? How can you expect me to be thankful?!" Breaking out of her angelic form, her body turned back into the corrupted vessel.

    Stretching her arm towards him, she curled her fingers shut tight. Feeling her hands crushing his neck, the emperor wheezed for breath, but showing no signs of fear in his eyes, he let Asmodia know that he was prepared to die if she could bring herself to kill him.

    "Fuck!" Realizing what she''d done, she let go of his neck.

    Heavily jittering over her arm, she stared at it for a moment just trying to figure out if she really just tried to kill him.

    "You''re a bastard¡­" ring back at him, she felt painfully conflicted in her heart. "I can''t bring myself to kill you, and you won''t let me die, what kind of-ughhh!"

    Gritting her teeth shut, she let her astral body slowly turn into a cloud of glistering mist. However, before disappearingpletely into the ether, she gave him a warning, something she''d nned to do from the very start of their night together.

    "I hope your week-long sleep makes you see reason once again," licking her lips, her body trailed off into the air.

    Intrigued by herst words, the emperor ran his finger across his lips. As he brought his finger in front of his eyes, he noticed a deep stain of violet mixed with a tint of blood.

    ''Medusa''s poison blood?'' He figured, but before he could call for anyone, his body helplessly copsed onto the ground. ''I should''ve known it was a trap, ahaha.''

    Although heughed it away, the emperor knew that he''d yed right into her hands.

 Chapter 233 233 - The Desperation Of A Council

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    Gathered across the roundtable of Lamenia, the nobles, and royals were growing increasingly desperate by the minute. Closing in on them was an army of demons, devouring their people and turning their cities into shambles. Confided within the tall walls of Curatos castle, they racked their minds and voiced all kinds of ideas to somehow deal with the situation.

    "This is bleak¡­" Said King Curatos the Third.

    The men and women of the council mirrored his pessimism with deep scorn. None of them had ever wanted to serve a coward who breaks down in the face of adversity, but with their deaths marching towards them, they had no choice but to listen to the moronic king.

    "Sire, should we retreat? The emperor would surely help us take thend back once the news makes it to his ears!" Jumping off her seat, a woman with a red veil over her face addressed the king directly.

    "We''ve sent multiple messengers already, I doubt it''ll take much longer for the emperor''s army to be here!" Assured the exquisitely adorned treasurer. Despite the dire situation, he''d spared no time to dress up in his silver suit with diamond embedding, which in turn only made him all the less likable by the other members.

    "How egregious! Do you two have no honor?! Why should we give up our lord''snd, even if temporarily to the demons?!" mming his fist on the table, the cloaked bishop growled his dissent.

    Having heard from them all, the king turned to thestdy of the council seated across him with not a hint of worry reflected on her face. Her leather boots resting on the desk, she was rocking her chair back and forth while dining on a sweet candy at the end of a short stick.

    "What do you think we should do, Maria?" The king asked in a defeated voice.

    Gleaming a smile, she took her legs off the desk and leaned her head forward. Surveying the terrified look on everyone''s faces, she took out the candy from her lips and directed it right in the king''s direction.

    "From the intel we have, there are three demons flying above the army orchestrating," reaching into the breast pocket of her full leather attire, she took out a small vanity box. "We need to strike them down or¡­"

    Opening the box, she looked through its small rounded mirror at the image of Margarette, Rose, and Hawthorn flying right above the demon army. Turning the box around, she showed it to the other before finally finishing her statement.

    "We can give up the kingdom, the king, the bishop, the treasurer, and the security," her words, cutting them like a shard of ss. "After all, who wants to die for a piece ofnd, remember that from somewhere?"

    The moment she finished the sentence, however, everyone knew exactly what she meant by those words of betrayal against her fellow council members.

    ''The emperor doesn''t fight fornd, he fights for a cause.'' Reminded of the emperor''s dogma, each one of them hung their head low in shame. But the fear of losing his kingdom was too much of a sacrifice for the king.

    "I can''t just hand over thend to those demons," the kingined.

    "Then I guess we have to find a new king when the emperor retakes Lamenia," once again, cutting like shards, Maria had no intention of whitewashing her intentions. "Do any of you agree with me or do you wanna die with this heretic who wants to go against the emperor''s words?"

    "What?!" Pushed into the corner, King Curatos jumped to his feet.

    Scanning the faces of the councilmen, he didn''t see one person trying to defend him on the matter. Feeling his blood run cold, he began to gasp in fear as his legs tried to retreat from the back.

    "We''re giving thend to the demons in exchange for the lives of our people," Maria, the council''s overseer, abolished the council with thatst order.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    ***

    Just hours after the carnage had started, the king of Lamenia was brought to Margarette like a chained rabid dog. His arms tied behind his back and his half-bald head vacant of his crown, the king tried to beg for mercy as he was left kneeling before the demonic queen.

    "You can have the king, and the kingdom, but you''ll the people of Lamenia alone," standing pridefully tall before Margarette, Maria presented her the offer.

    Meeting atop the city gates, the whole of the demon army was ring up at her like hungry vultures, ready to tear her apart the moment Margarette ordered them to. However, to follow Haruki''s ns of conforming rule with diplomacy, she couldn''t allow herself to be driven by murderous instinct against humans.

    "You''ll leave a third of your young men to join my army," even then, Margarette wasn''t willing to let the chance of expanding their army escape.

    ring right into Margarette''s eyes, Maria, clicked her tongue in annoyance before looking over her shoulder at the two dragons stationed right behind her. Feeling great regret ining to negotiate alone, she reluctantly extended her hand and also released the chain bound to the king.

    "Their families will never agree if you turn them into demons or just kill them outright, I need assurance that you''d only make use of them asbor or as military personal and won''t feed them to those drooling demons underneath," almost deafened by the sound of screaming demons, Maria didn''t want her offered people to turn into those screeching monsters as well.

    Taking a moment to assess the offer, Margarette held her palm in front of her face. Manifesting through glistering dust, a demonic spy appeared over her hand.

    "Master?" She called while Maria watched astounded.

    Exining the situation to Haruki who was off to a distantnd already, she was given but a few words of orders.

    "Do what you think is right, I trust you," and with that, her master''s voice trailed off.

    ''That must''ve been the demon every single one of these idiots are masking as.'' Although her assessment was correct that it was Haruki, she couldn''t do much with that information since almost every single demon in the empire has taken up his appearance.

    "Maria, I think you''re a smart woman, but¡­" Holding her hand forward, Margarette conjured a de of fire. "Before I can trust you, you have to prove yourself by killing your master."

    Handing her the burning sword, Margarette took a few steps back and watched as the king squirmed around as he faced a real threat to his life. As the sword burned her hands, Maria raised it up high and let out a hefty sigh.

    "Fuck," was all that left her mouth before the sword of mes put an end to the king''s life.

    With a smile, Margarette apuded Maria, and soon enough the congregation of demons started doing the same. Annoyed by the praise, she red at Margarette with contempt, yet knowing better than to ruin everything now, she kept her action well in check.

    "Very well, I ept your offer, now empty your cities before you men grow hungry again," mocking her even more, Margarette knew she was ying with fire, but the instinct to torment couldn''t be helped.

    ''I''ll kill you with my own hands one day.'' Maria thought as she backed away.

 Chapter 234 234 - Recalling The Generals

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    "These damned demons, they''re like fucking rats!" Tearing off the head of thest demon he''d found hiding in the Marquis kingdom''s forest, Dominion was already tired of dealing with them all. "Where did these feckerse from all of a sudden anyways?"

    Despite being a man of war, even he''d grown tired after days of demonic pest control. However, instead of rest, he was about to receive something much more dire. Right as he was about to head out of the forest, a sharp scraping sound echoed right into his ears.

    "What the-"

    "Dominion it''s Nabe, where the hell are you?!" Hearing the devil''s voice, he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

    "Did you burn another town that I need to clean up after again?" In no mood for chatter, he wanted to make her stop screaming into his head.

    "Shut up and listen! At-" Before she could finish her words were reced with dead silence. "Shit, I forgot I can''t say his name."

    Growing more and more impatient, Dominion grunted at her. Treating this as yet another one of her shenanigans, he started walking out of the forest having decided not to pay heed to what she had to say.

    "Forget it, I need you here. Father has fallen ill!" The moment he heard those words, Dominion''s whole concept of reality shattered in front of him.

    Standing still with his body still soaked in blood, he brought his finger next to his temple and pondered if he''d heard her right.

    "As, is ill?" The very concept of a god falling ill was so foreign to him that his mind failed to grasp the possibility of it ever happening. "Nabe, if this is a joke, I''ll-"

    "It''s not a fucking joke, you idiot! Everyone''s here, except you and that other idiot general!" Screaming at the top of her lungs, she made it clear that this wasn''t anything like her usual pranks.

    ''Dammit, and I was just getting done with these copies of Haruki too.'' Letting out a sigh, he slightly lowered himself by the thighs.

    "I''ll be there, and you better keep him in pristine shape until I arrive!" Dominion said before jolting into the sky like thunder.

    While making his way back to the emperor''s domain through the sky, Dominion caught a glimpse of the demon army wreaking havoc all over the empire. Too concerned about the emperor''s well-being, he made no attempts to stop and even suppressed his instincts for hunting.

    ''This is too perfectly timed, there''s no way this coordinated attack and the emperor falling sick is just a coincidence.'' The worry in Nabe''s voice he''d heard was although genuine, the invention behind her mental call to Dominion was anything but.

    Following Haruki''smand, she was drawing Dominion back to the emperor''s domain so he would not be able to stop the march of the demon armies.

    "This Haruki guy¡­I might have underestimated his mental forte," annoyed by his ownck of caution, Dominion med himself for not taking Haruki''s head before any of this happened.

    ***<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Out through the borders edging Daria, Haruki finally took his first step into the burningnd of Scorchen Gaia. As dark as coal, and as hot as melted iron, he felt his booth burn right off of his feet. Turning to Asuka and Riley, he had her turn everyone invisible so they could fly through the skies without being seen.

    "Fumes,va, and volcanoes everywhere¡­No wonder, it''s taking the emperor so long to im thisnd," Haruki mumbled, flying forward through the fuming skies.

    "I''m already feeling lightheaded, I can''t imagine what kind of effect this ce must have on humans," covering her mouth, Asuka could barely keep her eyes open.

    Realizing the problem, Riley quickly used a wind magic spell to drive away all the fumes and only allow purified air in their vicinity. Finally, as they could all breathe properly, Haruki heard Margarette''s voice calling out to him.

    "What is it, Margarette? Did something go wrong?" Intentionally calling out her name, he let the others know whom he was talking to.

    After a while of back and forth between him, he briefly exined to the two about the deal that Maria had presented in front of Margarette.

    "I didn''t expect the human leaders to give up thend," his experience with royalty having been much bitter, Haruki was genuinely surprised that the king was offered up by the councilmen because of his greed.

    "I hope she takes the offer, to be honest, it sounds-" In the shortest instant of a second, Riley noticed a disturbance in her barrier of wind. "Scatter!"

    Triggered by her warning, Haruki and Asuka scattered away from each other as far as possible. Unfortunately, Riley being the one to propel them further with her wind wasn''t able to escape an invisible st of mana.

    "Ahhhh!" The moment the attack hit her, a wave of strong lightning paralyzed her body.

    Like a swatted fly, her body began to fall from a great height.

    "Lulu!" Before she hit the ground, however, Asuka caught Riley with her familiar. "What the hell was that?!"

    "I guess we''re not the only invisible forces here," scanning his surroundings, Haruki couldn''t find anyone or anything that could have triggered that attack. "Get down, we shouldn''t fly anymore."

    Even though it should''ve been clear from the start, Haruki realized that flying around the skies of Scorchen Gaia, even if invisible, wasn''t the brightest idea he''d had in a while. Getting back down, he teleported everyone into the dungeon so they could figure out a way to traverse these ins without getting attacked by invisible forces again.

    Landing into the log cabin, he helped Asuka put Riley on the bed before trying to heal her. When that failed to work, and the branching pattern on her skin from the lightning didn''t disappear, Haruki decided to go get the goblin queen instead.

    "If anyone she would be the one to know about monsters," Saying that, he stormed right out the door.

    ''Goddamit, I would''ve preferred if Moriyana was here, but someone needed to coordinate the attacks on kingdoms other than Lamenia.'' Leaving behind Moriyana and the demi-cats to assist her, he envied having the crowd that he had while traveling everywhere in the wagon.

 Chapter 235 235 - A Bewildering Miracle

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    "A wisp?" Back in the cabin with the goblin queen, Haruki was perplexed by her assessment of what might''ve attacked Riley.

    "Scorchen Gaia is supposed to be filled with those invisible floaters, and to be honest, nobody knows why," marking Riley''s chest with a blood sigil, the goblin queen tapped it lightly to alleviate some of the pain she was suffering through. "Magic doesn''t work on them, so you have to rely on sigils and Arcane magic to take them out."

    Standing at the edge of the bed, Haruki''s mind ventured into thought. From a far distant memory, he remembered Asmodia mentioning something about Arcane magic, but exactly what it was had escaped his mind.

    "Not even my healing worked, so I''m guessing other abilities like rejuvenation won''t work either?" Bringing up a salient point, Asuka moved out of the chair and walked closer to Riley. Running her hand over the discolored patterns on her skin, she tried to revert her skin''sposition back to its original state with body disfiguration.

    However, to no surprise of her own or the other two, the ability failed to change anything. Taking hold of Asuka''s hand, the queen of goblins drew it away from Riley.

    "She might be unconscious right now, but I''m quite certain she can still feel pain when touched on those marks," giving her the polite exnation, she turned back to address Haruki who was deep in thought trying to figure out a way to deal with the wisps. "I''d suggest taking an illusionist with you."

    Peering up at her, Haruki wondered if she was intentionally mocking him with the suggestion.

    "The Lamenians gave up theirnd pretty easily, but Moriyana will still need to keep the distractions going in other kingdoms so the others can settle into the kingd-'''' Hearing the front door creak open, Haruki cut his sentence short.

    Peeking in through the half-open door was the slime girl with lustrous rainbow hair. Scanning the room with her diamond eyes, she let out a gasp upon noticing Haruki.

    "You''re here!" Rushing towards Haruki with her arms wide open, she pulled him into a tight hug. "Mommy told me you''d be away for much longer!"

    Puffing up her cheeks, Ste nced up at Haruki, verifiably a bit annoyed. Bamboozled by all of this, Haruki couldn''t believe how much she''d grown once again in such a short span of time. From a baby to an infant that could walk around and mumble, and then now even a young teen with a much morepetent vocabry.

    "Hmm?" While Haruki worked out how he felt in his mind, Ste nced sideways at the unconscious Rileyying on the bed with her body discolored in a pattern of patches. "Oh no! What happened to Aunt?!"

    Letting go of her adoptive father, she threw her arms over Riley''s belly. Worried for her aunt, she was tearing up in her eye despite not having a clue as to what had happened.

    "Ste!" Once again a voice from the front door made everyone turn to look who it was. "I told you not to run away from me like that again¡­"

    Noticing the crowd inside the cabin, Fay''s words trailed off and were reced by a moment of silence.

    "When did youe back? And why didn''t any of you tell me?" Looking around at everyone, her eyes first stopped at Asuka. "Asuka, at least you could have informed me mast-I mean my¡­uhm, husband was back."

    Right in the nick of time, she saved herself from a long list of questions that would''vee out of Ste''s mouth had she referred to Haruki as master.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "We had an emergency,e to think of it, maybe you can help," stepping away from the bed, Haruki invited Fay to take a look at Riley''s body.

    As was just making her way over, a radiant beam of light emerged from Ste''s direction. Blinded by the light, they all shielded their eyes with their hands until it eventually retreated back into Ste''s body.

    "What happened?" Asked Ste, picking herself off of Riley''s belly.

    Not sure herself, she nced down at her aunt. To her surprise and that of the others, the marks on Riley''s body were suddenly all gone. Wincing about, an incoherent mumble left her lips before she finally opened up her eyes.

    "Ughhhh¡­" her hand pressed against her aching head, Riley pulled herself up and looked around at the people gathering around. "Wh-Why are we here?"

    Recognizing the space inside the cabin, she was utterly confused as to why they weren''t back on Scorchen Gaia. Still perplexed by what had just happened, none of them had any clue how to respond to Riley and exin the situation to her.

    "Fay¡­Did we check what affinity Ste has yet?" Unsure what to expect, Haruki asked to somehow make sense of the situation.

    "I-I didn''t check yet," her reply opened all kinds of spections.

    "It''s due time then," the goblin queen butted in.

    Standing in between the middle of it all, Ste looked around confused with her index curiously pressed against her chin. With no clue what they were talking about, she tilted her head while looking at her adoptive mother.

    "I''ll exin it to youter," Fay told her.

    Brushing the matter off for the moment, Haruki decided to check up on Riley''s physical condition. And when everything seemed fine, he pulled her off of the bed to see if she could move around without any hindrance.

    "I''m fine, but¡­" Shutting her eyes tight, she looked through her screen of stats at a new passive ability she''d just acquired. "I got a new section in my stats called, blessings? And there''s a blessing in it already, benevolent actor''s blessing."

    ''Benevolent actor?'' Turning to Ste, Haruki couldn''t tell how she could''ve imprinted Riley with a blessing. Shifting his gaze between the goblin queen and Fay, Haruki nodded to have them try to figure out more about what was happening.

    ''This could be useful to us, but I don''t want Ste to be put in harm''s way so keep it a secret.'' Talking to everyone through their minds, Haruki warned everyone against spreading the knowledge about her ability. ''Also, don''t forget to find out about her affinity while I venture back out into Scorchen Gaia.''

    Nodding back at him, Fay and the goblin queen took Ste out of the room and left the three on their own.

 Chapter 236 236 - Creating Chaos With Smiles

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    Stationed inside a camp edging both Dtia and the cities of Marquis that''d been reimed by the emperor''s army, Moriyana stood at the head of chaos, orchestrating everything through a parchment map. Every tap of her finger on the page would create a direct portal that connected the otherworld and reality and once one passed through they would be spitted right out whenever she wanted them to be.

    "Most of the emperor''s stationed guards have retreated, and thankfully, Dominion was seen flying over your base towards the emperor''s immediate domain," hearing the news from a female demon general, Moriyana raised her head with a bright grin.

    "Great," although she''d been disappointed to learn that the poption of Dtia had been exterminated, now knowing that she was free to turn anyone she wanted into demons with her assigned army, Moriyana couldn''t wait to wreak even more havoc. "We''re free to do whatever we want now, Greta. Now show me a sea of blood and y a symphony of screams for me."

    Feeling a chill down her spine by Moriyana''s words, Great, the war general was left blushing like a lovestruck teen. Failing to imagine how it would feel to turn the words of her master into reality, her breaths grew heavier by the second.

    "As-As you say, mistress!" She said with a devilish smile.

    Turning around, she quickly got out of the tent with her tail swaying about yfully. Growing her wings back, she flew away to carry out Moriyana''s orders. Once she was gone, Moriyana shifted her attention to Athena who''d been ring at her all this time.

    "We''re supposed to turn humans, not kill them," Athenained.

    "And I''m tired of healing every injured demon, it''s like they want to die or something!" Sitting in a corner with an ice bag over her head, Alice wasn''t far behind with her rebuttal.

    "Well, let them die then, who cares about these idiots?" Even though the demi-cats didn''t expect much camaraderie from Moriyana, they didn''t expect her to outright voice her indifference to their lives. "About the killing part, we can''t control the army we have already, so I think it''s best we only turn a select few whilst whittling down the number of enemies."

    "Fine," shutting her eyes closed, Athena once again used her ability to see through the eyes of all non-human creatures crittering or flying through the forests. "Another group escaping towards Lamenia to the southernmost river."

    Seeing the group of humans through a squirrel''s eyes, she kept following them by changing her vision to whichever creature was closest to the escapees.

    "Alright," creating an otherworld portal, Moriyana dumped a handful of demons right into their path. "That much should be enough."

    ''I expect this job to be more hands-on, but I guess this is the safest way of doing this without putting us in harm''s way.'' Not entirely satisfied by the means, Moriyana wanted to be part of the carnage even though Haruki asked them to only direct the armies.

    "Next time, I might borrow some of Mother''s pets and release them against these pesky humans," just the thought of the creatures of the dark springing out into the real world was enough to make her beat out in excitement.

    "She''s talking to herself again?" Athena mumbled, seriously concerned about Moriyana''s state of mind.

    ***

    Surrounded by four of his five war generals, the emperor of As,id resting on a bed of great exquizette. Having arrived just now, Dominion was the most fuming of all, after all, how could the othergging behind in the castle let the emperor be poisoned by some stupendously potent toxins?

    "What the fuck were you all doing?!" He growled, not only to show his rage but also in hopes that the emperor would be woken up by his screams.

    While Michael and Nabe had nothing to say, Razor wasn''t too fond of Dominion''s tone. Opening a realm tear near his mouth, he transferred everything Dominion tried toin about into another ne of existence. Upon realizing that his voice was gone, Dominion grabbed Razor by the cor, but a single blink of Nabe''s eyes enshrouded their vision in darkness.

    "Both of you shut up and help us figure out how to wake him!" Yelling out to them, she turned to Michael who''d been standing beside the bed without uttering a single word. "Found anything yet?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Just the poison, I can''t feel anything else from him," his eyes glowing a golden, Michael was scanning the emperor''s body for any trace of elusive magic that could''ve bound the emperor in a curse.

    Grunting in the background, Dominion and Razor both broke Nabe''s blinding spell before moving closer to the emperor''s bed once more. Being the only ones allowed into the room, finding out how to raise him from slumber fell entirely on the shoulders of the four generals. Entrusting that in the hands of someone else while the emperor was in a vulnerable state wasn''t something any of them were willing to do.

    "Wait-" Sensing a faint curse binding itself deep in the emperor''s heart, Michael brushed his hand over his chest to reveal the sight inside of the emperor''s body. "What in the?"

    The cosmic sight of the outer skies was peeking right at them, and the lustrous clouds surrounding their world were beating as the emperor''s heart. Chained by a translucent dark aura, the sounds of his heart were growing meeker and meeker.

    "A curse?" Mumbled Michael, and the others hurriedly peered in.

    "This smell¡­" As Dominion''s nose caught a familiar hint, he already knew who was behind this mess. "That bitch, Asmodia."

    Feeling an inherent rage bubbling up inside his heart, Dominion, gripped his teeth shut. Turning around without speaking a word more, he headed right towards the exit to deal with the situation in his own way.

    "Where are you going?" Traveling before him in the form of dark mist, Nabe held her arms stretched wide to prevent him from leaving before exining himself. "Don''t do anything stupid now."

    "I''m going to kill that bitch once and for all," grunting at Nabe, he pushed her to the side.

    Right as he was about to open the door, however, he was interrupted once again by another war general.

    "If you''re going to her casket, then I''m gonna assume you''re ready to face him," referring to thest war general under the emperor, Michael waited for Dominion''s reply.

    But saying not a word, he simply walked out of the room, leaving the others to ponder whether they should attempt to stop him at all.

    ''The emperor will kill him if he kills her.'' Thought Nabe.

    ''About time, someone does the right thing.'' Razor like always, was much keener about the path of righteousness than the others.

    Michael on the other hand, had something else entirely to worry about.

    ''I can feel it, the emperor is dying, and he won''t be the only one to fall.'' Worried about his own people, he contemted leaving the emperor''s side so he could be with his eleven brethren once more.

    And although their minds were wandering in different directions, linked together by the emperor''s curse, none of them could truly escape his grasp. That is unless they were never cursed at all.

    ''Ahaha¡­'' Being the only one free from the curse, Nabe barely managed to hide her smile.

 Chapter 237 237 - Marching Through Ash

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    Covering themselves in a bubble of dark magic shield, Haruki and hispanions traversed through the Scorchennd, and finally arrived at what appeared to be a settlement. Scattered throughout the area were huts of cackling red rocks with hunched-over gremlins going in and out.

    Thankfully, not having encountered any more wisps, their mask of invisibility was keeping them hidden. And even as they walked through the giant me passionately burning in the very middle of the hamlet, none of the ratty ghouls noticed their presence.

    ''These guys seem strong enough for the monsters back in the dungeon to farm levels.'' Talking to hispanions, Haruki wanted their opinion on the matter.

    Scanning around the town, they saw the monsters divided into groups of two. One went out hunting and brought disfigured animals for the town while I othersgged behind and took care of the children and worked on equipment and attires.

    Although much smaller, just like a human town, the lone street was filled with the sight of razor-toothed cksmiths, leather workers, and even mud ground for children to learn to y around and hunt.

    ''On second thought, maybe forming an alliance with these people would be a better way to do this.'' Seeing in them the same hint of constructive passion as the goblin queen, Haruki knew he couldn''t let that go to waste especially since he''s once again going to be in charge of a kingdom after such a long time.

    ''I think so too, but we should keep moving for now. The distraction back home won''tst forever after all.'' Marking the location on a charted map, Riley convinced the other two toe backter since they only had a limited time to reach Asmodia''s body.

    ''Alright, let''s keep moving then.'' Haruki replied before they made their way further. Upon passing the town, however, they noticed some of the gremlins washing themselves up in a river of moltenva. Like water, they filled up stone buckets after a while and even started carrying them back toward the town. ''I guess we''re gonna needva to quench their thirst if we intend to have them join us.''

    Turning his back to the two, Haruki then ventured through a forest of barren trees with sickly branches and no sight of any leaves. Ever so often his party would hear the creaking sounds of branches, and they could''ve all sworn to have seen the trees slightly shifting in position.

    "This ce is creeper than I thought it would be¡­" With the sounds of grunting beasts surrounding them everywhere they went, Asuka had started to grow a little anxious.

    "Yeah, as if that''s not enough, I feel like something''s been whispering into my ears too," Riley added, her skin crawling from a lingering presence around her.

    "We still have a lot of ground to cover, let''s just keep movi-" Noticing a sudden sounding from within the dense forest, Haruki moved his hand before the others to stop them in their tracks.

    ''Something''s there,'' he told the two. Not so confident in their invisibility, he put up yet anotheryer of magic shield bubbles around them before slowly making his way forward. That''s when he felt it, the same attack that had left Riley unconscious. Despite not being able to see, he knew how to counter it this time.

    "Devouring demon!" Shooting out of his hands was a razor-toothed shadow that could sniff out any threat be they visible or not.

    Leaping forward, it opened its mouth wide and chomped down on the invisible attack. Crushed under the force of its bite, the spell gave off lightning before being devoured by the wolfish creature. Raising its head again, the devouring demons sniffed around and rushed towards the other end of a thorn bush.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Let''s see how tough these things really are," flying forward behind the demon, Haruki saw a cliff hidden behind the bushes. Peering down from above he noticed the devouring demons wrestling with a ball of light crushed between its teeth. "Tormentous dungeon!"

    Before the demon could kill it, however, Haruki forced it into a dungeon pocket so that the goblin queen could make a species control ring to control the invisible wisps.

    ''Perhaps, catching one of the Gremlins and making a species control ring out of them would be a good idea as well in case they don''t agree to the alliance.'' Creating those mental notes to bring up with the goblin queen, Haruki gets down to the ground with Asuka and Riley following him right behind.

    Looking on forward, they noticed a sea of writhing vinesden with a stretch of flowers blocking their path forward. While they would''ve appeared alluring to any human, but to demons with a better sense of threat, they saw right through that illusion.

    "None of us know fire magic, right?" Turning to hispanions, Haruki asked with a bright smile.

    Without another word, the two knew exactly where he was getting at.

    "Clone: Roselia Ironfrost, dragon form!" Creating multiple of the dragoness''s clones, he was ready to burn it all down to reach his eventual goal.

    As the clones of the dragoness burned the vines and flowers, those pesky creatures began scurrying away and some of them even buried themselves under the burning ground. Taking to the air once more, Haruki flew up high to find the beacon of Asmodia''s tomb barely visible after he''d crossed the charred vines.

    "There it is," he mumbled, pointing at a structure akin to a clock tower.

    Light up with a single light at the very top, the structure almost served as a lighthouse for anyone looking to find Asmodia''s tomb.

    "Asmodia told me that there are plenty of guards by the tomb," turning to hispanions once more, he looked them in the eye. "We should try and gather intel before going in, and getting some rest in the dungeon would be ideal as well."

    With an outlook for absolute pragmatism, Haruki was trying to make sure that this time nothing unexpected would mess up his ns.

    ''I haven''t seen any demons other than us or that many monsters either.'' Wondering if the guards were constantly surveying the surrounding and whittling down the number of monsters, Haruki made the dragons disappear but not before starting a fire through the withered forest to elude the guards to suspect a forest fire to be the cause.

    "Back to the dungeon then, this would probably be thest time of this back and forth so let''s make sure we''re ready to face whateveres our way before heading into that tower," with a stern look on his face, Haruki was determined to take on anything if it meant being from the strings that had controlled him his entire life.

 Chapter 238 238 - Binding Things Together[Everyoneâ€™s Status Before Tower Infiltration]

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    Sitting atop the throne on which the king of Lamenia once sat, Margarette was still filled with doubt about the deal she''d made with the overseer Maria. Traveling off towards the emperor''s domain, she was already on her way to inform the others about the situation in Lamenia, and that thought concerned Margarette a lot.

    "Rose¡­" Getting off the bejeweled throne of ivory, she turned her attention to Rose who was standing by her at her moment. "Keep a watch on things for me please, I''ll go and start scanning the library for any information about the records of the world."

    With the demons still rampaging about, she didn''t want them to break the terms of the deal that they''d just recently signed. If even a single of those demons were to kill the humans left behind by Maria before her departure with the popce, an even greater war would surely be on their hands.

    "I''ll try, but there''s no guarantee with these stupid imps," Rose responded, visibly not invested in this whole takeover ordeal at all.

    ''Thankfully, I sent Hawthorn back, because, from the looks of it, I doubt those humans in the dungeon would simply give into serving a demonic master.'' Having served under a tyrannical leader, nobody knew better about the spirit of rebelling more than Rose.

    Watching over Margarette as she made her way through the passage, the tinted light of the stained ss painted her in a gruesomely poetic way. Bloodred on the face and body, she reflected the countless sacrifices made for her to be here.

    ''Master will take the throne soon, I do not want to be burdened withnd once again.'' Recalling her greed fornd that she''d held once, she no longer wanted to be responsible for something that''s made her child suffer dearly in silence.

    ***

    "How''s everything going?" Coming out of her tent for the first time in days, Moriyana stretched her limbs while asking that question to her general Greta.

    Doing a gentle bow before her master, she slowly raised her head to reply.

    "Dtia is in ruins, the guards in Marquis are either dead or turned into demons. Although some of the Marquis territory has been taken by the Maddened dragon so we couldn''t encroach itpletely," hearing her report, a warm smile took over Moriyana''s lips.

    With everything going swimmingly, all she now had to do was to hold those positions until her masteres back from Scorchen Gaia to take over. Her shoulders finally lightened from the burden, Moriyana let out a content sight and turned to look at Greta once more.

    "What about the women? I''m sure master would love a feast upon his return," licking her lips, she felt more excited to devour them alongside Haruki, but knew better than to try anything without his permission.

    Her request being under Greta''s realm of expectations, she turned to her side with her arm outstretched towards the dense forest. Following Greta''s gaze, Moriyana used her demonic sight to scan through whatever she was pointing towards.

    "Ohhh myyy¡­" Seeing a fancy horde of armored demons bringing a collection of human beauties right in their direction, Moriyana was quite impressed by Greta''s performance in the whole saga of war.

    "I hope these would be adequate for our supreme master," bowing even lower, Greta made sure to reflect her fidelity to Haruki in action more than words.

    Being one of the unfortunate few who''d bear witness to the discipline cycle when he''d taken over Marquis, she wanted nothing more than to never experience the horror of trying to escape a dragon''s breath along with the ws of a giant shadow demon.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "That''s more than enough sweetheart," moving closer to Greta, Moriyana took hold of her face and raised it to look right into her eyes. "Keep working like this and who knows maybe you''ll be his next wife."

    Met with the prospect of getting closer to their master once more, her eyes gleamed up with joy and a bright blush ran across her face. Gulping down as her heart beat out loud, Greta nodded her head before taking a step away from Moriyana and heading off to busy herself with even more work.

    ''Hmm¡­I wonder if anyone else mind if I kill her in case she really tries to get close to Haruki.'' The fiendish of the bunch, Moriyana drew an array of mental boundaries which if crossed would lead to her subordinate''s death.

    ***

    Back inside the dungeon with the queen of goblins and Medusa, Haruki was apanying them through thest stages of the experiment on both a wisp and theva-guzzling gremlins. Trapped in a giant tube of ss filled with mist, the shape of the whisp''s body gaze off all the movement itmitted to. As for the gremlin, he or she, whichever it might''ve been, was chained to a vertical wooden board with make-shift steel rods connected to its head.

    "Just one more thing," saying those words, the queen of goblins moved closer to the gremlin and drew a sigil of deep red on its rock-hard chest. "Amora El''Nis, Amaralysia!"

    In a tongue understood only to her kind, she cast a spell that broke off a soul fragment from the gremlin and attached itself to the sigil''s ink. Reaching into her pouch, she took out a gold ring with a cloudy jewel and pressed it against the gremlin''s chest.

    As the soul fragment slowly began to drain into the jewel its color changed to resemble burning amber. Thrashing about in all of this, the monster screamed out in pain as the rods on his temples began slowly crushing his skull inward.

    "This one won''t survive, hide yoursel-'''' Although the queen turned around to warn the others, the gremlin''s body imploded on itself.

    Thankfully, having already put up a magic shield, Haruki was able to protect himself from the fleshy innards of the gremlin that came flying toward him. Medusa, however, wasn''t so fortunate. Dripping in guts and blood just like the goblin queen, she let out a feral growl to ry her annoyance.

    "Do the wisp too, I need them both. And if we find any other monsters, we''re bringing them to you as well," although he already had species control rings for humans, demons, and all kinds of monsters he''d encountered so far, Haruki was getting greedy for control and power.

    "As you say," sharing his ambition, the goblin queen threw him the ring she''d just made. "I''d love to have more monsters to toy with anyways."

    "Whatever you say, but, remember, you''re not going to experiment on anything without my permission," still not willing to trust her entirely, Haruki warned before leaving.

    To the knowledge of neither the goblin queen nor Medusa, he''d nted a demonic spy that could keep the two in check. And soon enough when Haruki would be gone for Asmodia''s tomb, their secret experiment about using his seed for pregnancy potions was sure to be revealed.

    ''Tomorrow morning, before the sun rises, we''re gonna sneak into that tower. Let''s just hope things don''t get too bloody because I don''t intend to hold back.'' Unaware of the experiment yet, he marched back to meet up with the others.

 Chapter 239 239 - Protherious Thousandeye - The Last War General

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    In thend of toxic fumes and enigmatic monsters, the morning brought not the sun but a deep hue of deep red dark. The clouds, the shadows, and even the air itself were oozing with the blood of a hunt far from the sight of the observer.

    Scanning the surroundings with shadow clones, and scattering demonic spies all over, Haruki had sessfully surrounded the watchtower that had Asmodia''s body tomb underneath. Making use of her new ability, even Riley had sent some of her invisible clones inside to scan the tower and figure out the position of the guards.

    Once the ce was all but mapped up, the clones and the demonic spies were led up to a door sealed with strong arcane magic, and vast arrays of true holy magic circles.

    "That must be the room," Haruki mumbled, opening his eyes after seeing the door.

    Turning to the twopanions he''s brought with him, he knew they could easily handle the number of guards stationed inside. Yet for some obscure reason, an unsettling feeling was trying to take hold of his heart.

    "We''re gonna go in, kill the guards, and then see if we can open the door. If not, then we might have to bring some backup," giving those orders, he was ready to depart.

    Right as he turned to fly towards the tower, however, a jolt of lightning passed them all by grazing their faces with a deep, sharp mark. Stunned in ce, Haruki''s eyes fell onto the silver-clothed man he''d been so desperately trying to find.

    In his fit of rage, Dominion didn''t notice the presence of the trio andnded right atop thentern-lit tower. Frothing from the mouth, an aura of carnage emitted from the war general''s very presence. Taking it as a hint to stay away for a while longer, Haruki flew slightly backward so Dominion couldn''t sense them at all.

    "Protherious! Open that damned door!" Raising his blood-sword high, Dominion yelled out to god knows who.

    A few seconds passed his demand, an earth-shattering grumble resonated through the entirety of Scorchen Gaia.

    "What?!" Having no clue about what was happening, Haruki contemted abandoning the mission altogether, but as a familiar voice trailed into his ears, he couldn''t do so even if he wanted.

    "You can''t escape mymand if you leave now," said Asmodia, her words feeling no short of a warning.

    Forced to keep going, he watched as the tower began rising to the skies, and revealed underneath a pair of deformed arms and legs, attached to a stone creature at least ten times the size of the maddened dragon.

    As the creature kept rising from the ground, it felt as though a castle had grown limbs and was trying to make the earth copse on itself. With no face but a pair of bloody lips and snarly teeth in the thousands, the creature uttered some gibberish while debris kept falling from his stone body.

    "I''m here to end that bitch''s reign once and for all, open that damned door, you monstrous angel!" Dominion howled out loud once more, but this time it wasn''t just a warning.

    Still bncing himself on the tower, while the guards inside fell screaming into the crater left by the creature''s feet, Dominion clutched his sword with both hands and brought it crashing against the tower''s floor.

    "GRHHHH!" The creature cried, his voice enough to blow back Haruki and the other two.

    Reaching up with his arms adorned with a pair of jewels, the creature knocked the tower off the back but missed Dominion as he jumped off onto its back.

    ''Fuck¡­How the hell are we supposed to take this down and get to Asmodia''s body?'' Surveying the creature''s body for weak points, the first thing Haruki noticed was that his arms, which were thinner near the join but grew girthier as they went on. Upon getting a closer look while it kept trying to swat out Dominion, he realized that his arms only floated around his shoulders and weren''t exactly attached to the body at all. As if that wasn''t enough to confuse him, countless worm-like flesh lumps were crawling out of its skin to attack Dominion and eat him alive.

    ''Then there''s those jewels.'' The jewels of red, blue, and white on both fists, added to the confusion even more.

    "Master, what do we do?!" Asuka asked, her whole body shaking in fear.

    "I don''t think we can escape this fight since even that Dominion guy has to take this thing down to open the door to Asmodia''s body¡­" Still unsure why Dominion was fighting an alleged ally, Haruki decided to aid him just this once. "How many mana potions do we have?"

    "About twenty," Riley replied with a second to waste.

    "Well, we''re gonna need them," turning back to the scene of battle, Haruki stretched his limbs for a few seconds before finally making his attempt to join the fight. "Shadow form body: Wolf form!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Announcing his presence out loud, Haruki broke the fight between Protherious and Dominion for a moment. Enshrouded in dark, Haruki''s body continued to grow until it was at least half of the angel''s size. Then ring up at the two, he did something that left them both baffled.

    "Multi-thought procession! Clone: Haruki shin, shadow form body: Wolf," creating a replica of himself and using part of his consciousness to make use of that body as well, he hit the final nail in the coffin with the next few words. "Pass through! Clone: Everyone!"

    Using pass-through with the clone, he made it so each and every attack would go right through its body, all the while the clone kept creating clones of people, Haruki had ever turned into a demon or consumed the flesh of through demonic spies.

    With a burst of mana expulsion, countless replicas of demons, elves, goblins, demi-humans, and even the dragoness sprang out of the clone.

    "Dominion, if you can''t help, then don''t get in my way, we can settle things between uster!" Leaping onto the angel''s arm, Haruki charged all the clones on him.

    The impact of them crashing against him was enough to topple him over, and as the series of brute attacks and that of magic began unleashing themselves on it, Protherious squeaked out in long drawn groans of pain.

    ''Riley, potio-'' Before Haruki could finish asking for a potion, the red jewel from the giant''s arm shot a beam of light that incinerated a great collection of the clones. ''Shit! We need to destroy those jewels first, I don''t think he can use magic without them!''

    While giving off that order, he felt a strong gust of winding right at him from his right. Upon turning to look in that direction, he noticed the giant''s arm, inches away from his face. With no time to escape, Haruki braced for impact with his eyes shut tight.

    "Ughhh, the next demon lord, as if," opening his eyes to those words, however, he noticed Dominion standing in between him and the giant''s arm.

    His sword held horizontally against its palm, Dominion was holding off the attack so it wouldn''t reach the demon.

    "Don''t just stand there, do something, you idiot!" Screaming out loud, Dominion drew his sword back and all of a sudden it felt as though time itself had slowed down around him. In the small-time frame it should''ve taken the angel to crush them both, Dominion managed tond a kick against its palm to send its arm flying back to the ground.

    "Master!" As time resumed like usual, Riley called out to Haruki from behind.

    Quickly turning towards her, Haruki noticed her throwing a total of two mana potions right at him. Holding his hand towards them, Haruki had them pass through a dungeon portal andnd right into his wolf form''s mouth.

    "Here, you take one too," while the giant was still recovering, Haruki decided to offer one to Dominion as well.

    "I don''t need mana for magic, you moron," saying that he dashed toward the angel''s grizzly mouth.

    ''Clones follow him!'' Sending off the remaining clones behind him, Haruki downed the potion and went to get rid of the elemental jewels instead.

    While making his way there, he felt Riley''s presence right beside him. Still invisible, she was on the giant''s body trying to help Haruki get rid of the jewels. Asuka on the other hand, being a healer, decided to help in her own way.

    "Lulu! Miasmic flytrap!" Calling upon her familiars, she had them bind the angel''s arms so it couldn''t hurt herpanions. And even though it easily tore off Lulu''s tentacles, Asuka kept healing the familiar to deter all movement from Protherious''s hands.

    "I would''ve loved to use this thing to create an angel control apparatus," Standing by the jewels on its right hand, Haruki turned back into a human and held his arms outstretched toward the elemental jewels. "But I guess these jewels have to do instead. Dark light!"

    Sending off an aura that consumed any and all, he attacked the stone-like skin that held the jewels attached to the angels'' knuckles. One after the other as the skin deteriorated under the aura, Haruki made use of Lulu to throw them into a dungeon pocket he''d opened near the arm.

    "That''s enough, let''s finish this fight quickly now," peering up at Dominion keeping the skin worms busy as he tried to get to Protherious'' s mouth, he came up with a n that would either ruin everything or get rid of this damned monster.

    ''It''s been a while since you''ve been out, don''t make me regret it.'' Grabbing his right hand''s wrist, Haruki held it high up toward the sky. "God tier summon: Void Eater!"

    And with that, it was time for the bullied skies to get even bloodier.

 Chapter 240 240 - Merged Souls

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    Tearing through the dark clouds, the screeching of one of Asmodia''s dear pets shattered any sense of security in the mind of those present. Even the summoner himself felt a child so cold, he could''ve sworn he was back in the cold blizzards of Lariannd.

    Crawling out of the otherworld, its razor ws clutched against the fabric of space as his head finally peaked out of the realm of tears. Gazing down at everyone, its colossal red eyes broke into countless pieces and were scattered throughout its head made of screeching shadows to follow everyone with each and every fragment.

    Opening its mouth, it deafened everyone while revealing its needle-like teeth.

    "Goddammit," being the first to break the silence, Dominion became its first target.

    Climbing out of the tear further, its neck grew like a dragon and so did its arms. Growing closer to Protherious mouth where Dominion was, it not only threatened the war general but the angel wasn''t going to let itself be pushed around either.

    Swinging its free arm onto the void eater''s face, the giant angel smashed out a portion of its skull. However, teeming inside were small ghastly spiders that quickly climbed onto Protherious''s fist and began running all over its body. Screeching out loud once again, the shattered piece of void eater''s head quickly recovered itself as if nothing had happened.

    Instead, the spiders now roaming over Protherious thrashed about its body and destroyed any piece of stone that made up its frame.

    "You''re an idiot," said Dominion, standing beside Haruki.

    Right by the angel''s mouth, he was holding it wide open so they could get inside the rest of the structure, and eventually to the ce where Asmodia''s body rested.

    "This idiot eats us and who knows where we''ll end up!" Although he knew that pursuing Asmodia''s body wasn''t the best idea at the moment, losing it forever after void eater devours Protherious wasn''t something he was willing to let happen either.

    After all, once void eater devours Protherious, Asmodia''s body would forever be lost and the emperor might never wake up from his slumber.

    "As if you had a better n," having seen how little Dominion''s attacks were affecting the giant, Haruki didn''t have much faith in him to defeat it. "Just get in now!"

    Seeing how the toothy lips of the angel were closing in on him, Haruki teleported them both in along with his other twopanions. Even as they got inside, the rumbling from the fight between the two giants was rattling them to the bones.

    "Don''t use magic on me again¡­" Giving off that warning, Dominion castle-like interior of Protherious''s body.

    Much like its outer appearance, the inside of the angel was made of the same pirs of stones and decorative tiles. While moving into where they''d seen the locked door, they even saw countless tainted windows amongst other depictions of deities and devils portrayed in paintings and engravings.

    "Wait-" Reaching an open hall that led much deeper in, Haruki stopped in his tracks as he noticed a circr pattern on the tiles with a bunch of painted figures marked onto them. "It''s us¡­"

    Bemused by the portrayal of a trio of demons following a silver-clothed man, he knew it to be them, but how could that have been?

    "Master, we don''t have much time!" Feeling the ceiling above them copsing, Asuka urged Haruki to keep moving from the other end of the corridor.

    Reluctantly, he moved forward, but being reminded of his ce as a puppet, he was fuming in rage once more. Knowing only one who knew the future before it happened, he knew exactly who could''ve painted it on the ground.

    "I''m just guiding you on your path," she whispered in his ears, but he was far from wanting to listen.

    ''Shut up, I''m already dealing with one headache, don''t make it worse.'' Looking over at Dominion''s back, Haruki tried to figure out a way to deal with him before they got to the casket. ''Why the hell is he even looking for your body now?''

    "He thinks killing me would wake up the emperor from his sleep," while Asmodia''s reply cleared things up, it didn''t do much in actually helping him get rid of him.

    After a few minutes, as they finally reached the sealed door, the ground shook once more before all movement in Protherious''s body ceased altogether. Whatever had happened to him, none of them knew, but time was running out for them as well and there was not a single one who doubted it.

    "The seal''s broken, that means," Dominion mumbled to himself.

    The broken seal on the door confirmed his suspicion about the angel''s fate. Pushing the golden doors open, he revealed a towering room with a lone casket in its center and the idol of an angel looming on its other end.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    Its arms outstretched and pressed together, the statue held a glowing light in its palm right under which Asmodia''s body wasid to rest. Moving closer and closer, Haruki kept his eyes fixed on Dominion as he followed right behind.

    Right as they reached the casket, Dominion stopped and shifted his gaze to look right at Haruki. Without a word said between the two, they knew exactly what was about to happen. Conjuring a de of dark in his hand, Haruki held it directed in Dominion''s direction.

    "That monster of yours is probably eating us alive, how about we make this quick so the winner can at least try to escape?" Hurling his blood sword over the shoulder, Dominion turned to Haruki with a big smile. "What do you say?"

    "Fine by me, but just so you know, I have no ns of dying a second time," with that said, the two circled around each other with their hands firmly fixed on their swords.

    Bearing witness to the battle, Riley and Asuka were forced into the back. Only if needed would they jump in to save their master, but since Haruki obviously wanted to deal with Dominion himself neither of them wanted to go against his orders.

    ''I hope this ends quickly.'' Hoping that they wouldn''t even need to heal Haruki, Asuka shut her eyes and instinctively prayed to a deity that had no interest in fulfilling the wish of a demon

    Riley on the other hand was nning out traps or sneaky ways to help her master, however, since Dominion wasn''t someone who could easily be fooled, she wasn''t too sure if it''ll all fail just like it did back in the dungeon.

    "Bring it!" Commencing the start of the battle, Dominion leaped towards Haruki at the speed of sound.

    ''Pass through!'' Holding his ground without moving, Haruki didn''t even flinch as Dominion''s sword and body went right through him. Hearing his moment ceasing up behind him, Haruki turned to face him again, which in turn undid the effect of pass-through.

    "Sneaky little trick, huh," resting his sword on his shoulder once more, Dominion let out a dryugh and turned around as well. "I''m guessing, that little voice in your head already told you about my weakness, didn''t it?"

    "When you said you didn''t need mana, I had to ask her, can you me me really?" Having realized that Dominion wasn''t using any magic but only special ability, Haruki had confirmed with Asmodia that he couldn''t make use of mana.

    "An ability that doesn''t let you be struck except with magic ability, well¡­" Letting go of his grip on the de, Dominion put it back into a liquid ripple portal. "You''re perceptive, but too naive to think I wouldn''t be able to counter it at all!"

    Like the wind, he vanished from Haruki''s sight. However, heightening his senses, he felt him standing right behind him.

    "Teleportation-Agh!" Hit with a raw punch right on his spine, the air in Haruki''s lungs was forced right out. Downed onto his knees, he felt himself losing a hold of his senses but upon quickly regaining them he heard the worried cries of hispanions warning him about something.

    "Get up, I''m not done yet!" Kicked right into the belly by Dominion, he was sent flying against the angelic statue.

    Copsing over him, the statue buried Haruki along with the casket underneath. As if on cue, the parts of the ceiling started crumbling down as well, which only reaffirmed the urgency that everyone had in their hearts.

    "That stupid monster, it''s not gonna be long before you and are burning up in his belly," moving closer to the rubble gathered up over the demon leader, Dominion brought back his sword and tried to declutter the mess with its tip.

    "Void eater¡­" From under the rubble, a mix of male and female voices spoke the same words over each other.

    "What?" Confused by the strange phenomena, Dominion took a few steps away from the casket.

    "That''s his name," replied the same pair of voices as the rubble began subsiding.

    "Shit, did the casket break?!" Fearing the worst, Dominion clutched his sword tight and was shed right against the rising figure.

    To his surprise, however, his sword was stopped not by painted nails Haruki or Asmodia, but by a strange mix of two with deep red skin.

    "What the fuck¡­" Having not a clue as to what he was looking at, Dominion was more shocked than he''d ever been. The other two at the back of the room were feeling no different.

 Chapter 241 241 - One Who Should Not Exist

    ?

    "Shall we dance together, great godfiend?" The conjoined existence of Haruki and Asmodia wore an ear-to-ear smile with its arm held toward Dominion. Attempting to agitate the half-god, it egged him on by gesturing him toe closer with its deep red fingers.

    In the form of neither man nor a woman, the enigmatic existence was a quintessential example of androgyny. Curling its fingers shut, the muscles on its arm pulsed out veins with a burning me coursing inside.

    ''What the hell is that thing?'' Dominion was at a loss for words, and even more perplexed about whether he should attempt to face that monster.

    "Asmodia¡­What have you done?" He asked, his sword finally raised towards the enemy.

    "Asmodia?" The enigma titled its head feigning to be bemused. "Who is that I wonder?"

    Fuming at the reply from the dual voices, Dominion scanned through the enigma''s body, trying to figure out any weak points that it may have. In a transformation that was so hasty, it shouldn''t have been too hard to spy for weakness, but to Dominion''s surprise, there seemed not a single ce on its body that would hint a sign of weakness.

    The dark horn, the fangs, the muscles, and even the slimy tattoo-like clothes moving around as if sentient, were immacte for a warrior.

    "Are we done staring at each other?" Asked the enigma, gawking at Dominion.

    Returning the gaze, Dominion finally noticed a clue that could potentially lead him to figure out the creature''s race. But that hope too was quickly shattered as the eyes of the angelic-demons were neither golden nor violet, but a gradient of both and appeared like twilight.

    "What the-"

    Tired of waiting around, the enigma shifted into the same form as Dominion while leaping towards him with a replica blood sword. Mocking him further, it made use of Asmodia''s time magic to slow things down for everyone but itself.

    "Say goodbye to your lower half!" Right about to sh through Dominion''s body, the enigmatic presence chuckled out loud.

    "Don''t get so cocky!" Looking down at the monster, Dominion made use of his own time-slowing ability and parried the replica sword with the real bloodsword.

    Although a bit thrown off, the enigma simply leaped back after the strike while keeping the flow of time half of what it was supposed to be.

    "Seems like we''ve underestimated you," the enigma said, smiling.

    Letting go of the de, it shed its fists against each other, and all of a sudden a pair of floating, giant hands appeared around its body. Following the moment of the enigma, the giant hands cracked their knuckles before forming back into fists.

    "Body eleration, reality alter, fire spirit''s blessings, water spirit''s blessings," getting into a fighting stance with its body lowered, the enigma kept using one ability after the other to buff up before the next attack. "Here, Ie!"

    Abruptly leaping forward, it managed to make Dominion back a few steps. Quickly regainingposure, however, Dominion kept a firm hold of his weapon and activated another one of his abilities to counter the attack.

    "Reality alter: Body fragmentation!" Creating multiple instances of his body, he surrounded the oing attacker with live clones of himself.

    "You really think that was going to work?" Hearing a voice behind his real body, he noticed the monster disappeared from his sight in front. Hastefully turning around, Dominion saw the enigma standing behind him with the giant fist inches from his face.

    ''Fuc-'' Not even able to finish the thought, he was crushed under the fist as his body cratered the ground he stood on.

    Exhaling with a cacklingugh, the enigma undid its hold on magic so it could relish the look of hurt on Dominion''s face in the natural order of time. In doing so, to Riley and Asuka, things moved so fast that all they could gather was that something or someone had risen from the rubble on the casket and now the same monster was standing above Dominion with a pair of giant fists crushing him against the floor.

    "Where''s master?!" Asuka yelped, her eyes scanning for Haruki all over.

    A bit more perceptive due to her job as a spy, Riley quickly noticed Haruki''s resemnce to the enigma along with a hint of Asmodia''s body curves. Following herpanion''s gaze, Asuka also felt the same presence of two souls inside the creature.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Is that?" She mumbled.

    "I think so," Riley replied with a nod.

    Raising the fist off of Dominion, the enigma revealed under it a bloody pulp of his face barely attached to the rest of the deformed body. Despite it all, Dominion''s body stumbled up on its feet and his head healed itself to normality. Shaking his head, he opened his eyes back up to look at the monster who''d squished him like a bug.

    "Immortality is a strange curse, isn''t it?" Said the enigma as if it had expected this oue.

    In no mood to y any longer, Dominion jolted closer to its body and raised it up high by its neck. To the surprise of the bystanders, neither of them seemed shocked, instead, they both had the same expression as a few seconds ago. The conjoined monster made of Asmodia and Haruki''s soul was mocking Dominion with a smile, while the half-god immortal showered it with a gaze of scorn.

    "Another word from your mouth and I''ll show you what a god is capable of!" Squeezing the creature''s throat, Dominion crushed it under the grip of his hand.

    Going limp for a second, the enigma raised its head back andughed out loud to irk the general further.

    "Did you forget Dominion?" Grabbing his arm, the creature twisted Dominion''s hand until it was torn off his shoulder. Wincing lightly from the hurt, he leaped back, but the wound didn''tst much longer as his body grew another hand in just a few seconds. "The emperor''s curse only works if your body and soul are torn apart, or if the one inflicted with the curse is an inhabitant of the mortal world."

    Spelling out the way the curse worked, the enigma hinted at the fact that Haruki being a mortal of this world was able to use the curse''s effect to keep both Asmodia and him alive. Just like Dominion who was only half a god and half human, the enigma was partly an angel, a demon, and to some degree a human from Haruki''s soul.

    "We''re at a stalemate then," washing the rage off of his face, Dominion put up a smile and red at the creature. "None of us can die until the emperor wakes up and undoes the curse¡­That is if he even knows how to."

    Looking up at the now destroyed ceiling with the face of void eater in full disy, the half-god deity wasn''t so sure about elongating the battle.

    ''If that thing eats me, I''ll be in Asmodia''s domain and then¡­'' Recognizing that he''d be turned into the same kind of marble he''d turned Serena''s soul into, Dominion knew better than to continue fighting.

    "I can hear your thoughts," the enigma pointed out, peering right at him with its twilight gaze.

    "You''re a handful, angel of omnipresence," looking back down, Dominion started making his way toward the exit with his eyes still fixed on the creature in front. "I doubt you can keep that form for long, but since I can''t wait around that long for now, I''ll wait until you''re back in your body Asmodia, and then you''ll meet the same fate as Almuld!"

    Opening a portal that appeared like a mirror of mercury, Dominion stepped right into it and teleported slightly away from the sight of those present in the hall. Left with the enigmatic creature, Asuka and Riley turned back to look at it. Slowly making its way toward them, it split back into two bodies. One of which was Haruki in his demonic form, and the other Asmodia''s half-angelic and half-demonic form.

    "Master, are you okay?!" Rushing to Haruki''s unconscious body, Asuka pulled him up in her arms.

    Making her way closer as well, Riley first checked Haruki''s nerves and then after making sure he was fine, she quickly moved to take a look at Asmodia.

    "Shit!" Getting her hand burnt by Asmodia''s steaming body, Riley yelped in pain.

    "We should take them somewhere safe!" Asuka suggested while picking Haruki up with her hands around his body.

    With the sky ceiling crumbling above them, Riley nodded and helped Asuka carry Haruki to safety. All the while, Asmodia was left in the care of Lulu''s arms who carried her burning body right behind Asuka and Riley. Barely making their way out of Protherius''s colossal frame while it copsed, both of them took to their wings and carried the unconscious two far away from the sight of the ever-hungry void eater.

    "There is no direct sunlight in Scorchen Gaia, how long do you think he''ll be there?" Looking back at the monster devouring Protherius''s body, Asuka wondered if it would forever gue thend.

    "Who knows? Maybe, we can ask its owner when she wakes up?" Riley replied, staring at the mistress of darkness.

    "Yeah, but first let''s just get out of here," nodding at Asuka''s suggestion, the two demons made their way out of the Scorchen Lands.

 Chapter 242 242 - A Reign Of Trust Is A Reign Too Fickle

    ?

    "Let me just¡­" Having a hard time making sense of everything she''d heard, Margarette had her fingers pressed against her temples trying to work out a way to ask the question. "So you brought the demon lord of lust, all the way here to Lamenia on your shoulders?"

    Gathered at the hall of the Curatos castle, Asuka, and Riley were surrounded by not only their closestpanions but even some human diplomats that had to be put on council to keep up with the integrity of Margarette''s deal with Maria.

    "M-my queen, did you just say that the demon lord of lust is here?" Terrified by the prospect, one such council member voiced his concern.

    Shot with a sharp sideways nce, Margarette scared him into keeping his mouth shut. Turning back to the two, she shifted her gaze to Moriyana and the demi-cats standing behind them.

    ''This is probably not the best ce to talk about this.'' Huffing out a sigh, she gestured them to follow her around and led them out of the throne room. Walking through the windows corridor, Margarette wished to break the tainted ss that gued the entire structure, however, doing so before Haruki takes over didn''t feel appropriate.

    "What the hell happened back there? I thought you guys just had to get master to drain her abilities and then kill her, then why is she here?!" Margarette asked, fuming as she made her way toward where Haruki and Asmodia were resting.

    "It''s a long story, maybe Moriyana can have you guys see through our memories and be done with itter?" Asuka suggested.

    "That has to wait for a while then, I wanna first make sure Haruki is okay," Moriyana replied.

    Storming through one long hallway after the other, the group finally reached the room at the very top, and at the very end of the castle''s structure. Far away from any other ce upied by the other inhabitants of the castle, the two were put to bed inside with the door locked with an array of magic shields.

    Undoing it quickly, Asuka led everyone in. Stepping inside, the very first thing they noticed was Haruki and Asmodiaying side to side on the bed. For some reason, the mere sight of it felt wrong to them all. Moving closer Moriyana ces a magic barrier separating the two with an illusionary curtain wall between them.

    "Last time, he was unconscious¡­" Turning her head to look at Asuka, Moriyana reminded her of the time she''d identally used a witch''s name, which in turn haunted all the maids present around her. "Yeah, we should just wait for them to wake up, I don''t trust myself to not get frustrated if my magic fails right now."

    "Why not try at least?" Riley asked, taking a step forward.

    Shifting her gaze from Asuka to her, Moriyana rolled her eyes before replying.

    "My magic doesn''t work very well around Mother, that''s how she kept me in control in the otherworld," reminded of her past, Moriyana stepped away from the bed and sat down on a chair by the window. "If I try anything to wake him up, it might instead make his sleep a lot longer. Oh, and don''t poke your nose around them either, you guys are even less experienced at this than me."

    A bit terrified by the warning, none of them dared to try their hands to pull Haruki out of his sleep. Having Asmodia wake up on the other hand wasn''t something any of them wanted to happen, if anything, the ideal situation would be Haruki waking up on his own and deciding what to do with the mistress.

    "So, what do we do until Master wakes up? We can''t go to the dungeon without him opening the portal, we can''t leave this ce without his input, and we can''t just abandon our stations like this forever either," pointing it all out, Athena chimed in.

    ring especially sternly at Moriyana, she wanted her to head back to the Dtian border so that even that kingdom could be taken under their control. Especially since unlike in Lamenia, the kingdom of Dtia had already fallen before they destroyed everything that was left behind, but since nobody was left to rule, the ce had to be set up with a governing system from the ground up.

    "Go back then?" Moriyana said in a mocking tone.

    Frustrated already from all the work, and the current situation, she wanted nothing more than some sweet time with Haruki as soon as he had woken up.

    "UGhhh¡­" Just as frustrated, Athena was ready to bear her fangs against the illusionist.

    "Mom, stop!" Pulling her back, Alice stopped the fight before it escted further.

    "We can''t just sit here either," Margarette uttered followed by a heavy sigh.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Hmm?" Looking out through the open window, Moriyana didn''t seem interested in even trying to help. "Sometimes darling, that''s all you can do, and I''d appreciate it if this can be one of those times."

    Saying that in a condescending tone, Moriyana looked at Margarette and lightly nodded a few times. Noticing theck of urgency that she had before walking into the room, Margarette couldn''t figure out why Moriyana was suddenly acting so cold toward everyone.

    "Moriyana, what''s your problem?" Margarette asked, not paying any mind to how it would be taken by her.

    "What''s wrong with me?" Pausing for a moment, Moriyana was about to utter something but then stopped herself as a deep frown took over her eyes. "You guys are the ones who brought a monster to this ce, and you dare to ask what''s wrong with me? What a joke."

    Her tone now mellowed made her sound all defeated. Was it because of the torture she''d been through as a child under Asmodia''s control? Or was it something even deeper that none of them could even begin to grasp? Whichever it might''ve been was enough of a reason for the chattiest of them all to turn back to the window and watch birds flying by.

    ''Dammit, what''s her deal really? What did Asmodia do to her before any of this started?'' Although her curiosity was growing, Margarette kept those questions to herself and turned to the two who''d brought the monster here.

    "That long story, I doubt she''s gonna help us right now, so do you mind telling it now?" She asked, her gaze shifting between Riley and Asuka.

    Agreeing to tell everything that''s happened to them, the two were once again surrounded by the others as they told the entire story. Seated in different corners of the room, they all listened quietly, all the while Haruki and Asmodia slept like logs without moving a single inch.

    "We wanted to go back to the dungeon, but¡­" Finishing the story at that, Asuka nced back at Haruki sleeping on the bed. "Well, you already know we couldn''t since Master hasn''t woken up."

    Caught up with it all, countless questions were jumping around in everyone''s mind, but for now, having no way to figure them out, they decided to wait around until Haruki as well as Asmodia were eventually back up.

    ***

    Waking up to the sigh of a chess board in front of his eyes, Haruki saw on the other end of the table, Asmodia beaming at him with a smile as she moved the knight as the first move. A bit bemused, he blinked his eyes a few times before he noticed her appearance change altogether.

    "Mom?" He muttered, not at all shocked by the revtion at this point. "You took control of my life from that far back?"

    Once again as he blinked, the person in front of him turned back into Asmodia. Gesturing him to make a move, she seemed determined to not reply until he''d done as she wanted. And although Haruki wanted nothing more than to free himself from her binds, he knew that one way or the other she was bound to have her way.

    "That story about father, those memories Moriyana showed me when we first met at the Larian gates, you nned it all, didn''t you?" He asked, moving a pawn intentionally on a spot where the knight could easily get him.

    To his surprise, she didn''t take the piece, instead letting it linger around the board as she kept building up her strategy.

    "I had to, but, you did have a mother," Gawking at the board, Asmodia finally uttered a few words. "A pair of bandits were chasing her through the forest, she managed to escape, but¡­You killed her duringbor before she could make it to her vige."

    Looking back up at Haruki, Asmodia was surprised by theck of shock on his face. She even wondered if he didn''t believe her or if it was all just too much information for him to process this instant.

    "You know what, Asmodia?" Picking up the pawn he''d set up as a sacrifice, Haruki began resetting the board for an entirely new game. "To hell with this world, I''m going to kill you and then destroy it."

    Peering back up at her, the smile on her face mocked him utterly. He knew he couldn''t outwit her just yet, but he''d be damned if he didn''t try after what he''d just witnessed.

    "The natural order of the world you said, to hell with it too," staying as calm as he could be, Haruki promised the keeper of time, the very end of the mortal world.

 Chapter 243 243 - Steeling Oneâ€™s Heart For What Must Be Done

    ?

    A week past the poisoning, the emperor rose from his bed with a light headache as proof of what he''d been through. Looking around with his droopy eyes, he found himself all alone with only the warm light from the window aspany.

    "Recover¡­" He mumbled, and a gust of mana-charged wind pulled him off the bed beforending him on his feet. Healing his aching body as well, the wind finally trailed back off into the environment.

    ''How long has it been?'' He wondered, making his way to the wardrobe to pick out his clothes. Scanning through a collection of robes as well as the emperor suits and ceremonious attire, he grabbed a hold of a red robe that had a light cape with spotted fur around its ends. ''I don''t suppose nothing had changed in the time I was gone, Asmodia must''ve had a n if she risked so much by attacking me directly.''

    Getting into the robe, the emperor quickly made his way out toward the throne room. The guards stationed right outside were the first ones who noticed him back on his feet, and the look of surprise on their faces let the emperor know exactly how confident they were about him ever waking up again.

    "Bring me the war general, I need a briefing on what happened while I was unconscious," the emperor ordered the guards, intending to get on top of things as soon as possible.

    Washing off their shocked expressions, the guards gave off a salute and gently bowed before rushing off forward. After watching them disappear from his sight, the emperor continued on his way to the throne room. Every step of the way he was showered with curious gazes and confusion reflected in the eyes of the guards and other inhabitants of his domain.

    Only upon getting to his empty throne did he find some semnce of peace in the lonepany of his own. Settling under the light beaming down at his throne, the emperor peered up through the familiar warmth that he''d felt often while upying the throne.

    "Are you there, Asmodia?" He asked, his eyes shut lightly.

    Getting no response from the other end, he had no clue what to make of the situation. So waiting for his generals to gather up in the room, he leaned back into the throne and let his mind be cleansed of all thought for the faint moment of peace.

    However, the moment the news of the emperor''s awakening made it to the generals, it didn''t take them long to gather up inside the throne room. Kneeling before him with the exception of Dominion, all the generals showed great respect towards the emperor.

    "Mighty long sleep it was, don''t you think? I wonder how that poison made it to your lips even though there was no cup or vial for you to drink anything in that room of yours," attacking him instantly with his question, Dominion showered his brother with scorn.

    "Oi, idiot, whom do you think you''re talking to?" Nabe warned, ring up at Dominion.

    The other two weren''t far behind in their contempt for Dominion and stared at him with the same look of rage.

    "While I would appreciate your brutal honesty and drive to sever the emperor," rising to his feet, Razor took his saver out of his belt and held it towards Dominion''s body. "I don''t exactly remember making you the spokesperson for the rest of us."

    "Settle down you two," getting up, Michael quickly lowered Razor''s de to de-escte the situation. However, being an elf he only ended up gathering aggression on himself.

    "Get your hands off my de!" Intentionally drawing it back sharply, Razor cut Michael''s palm with his razor-sharp fencer.

    "I don''t need a monster telling me what I can and can''t do so keep your distance," a bit less aggressive than Razor, Dominion red at the emperor instead.

    Left bleeding from his hand all the while having insults hurled at him, Michael took a deep breath before making use of true holy magic to heal the wound shut. Backing away from the two, he decided to fall back into line by standing next to Nabe who seemed utterly indifferent to the conflict between the two.

    "Do you have an answer to my question? Or do you n to keep it all a mystery just like the rest of your ns which have been failing so miserablytely?" Showing no signs of backing off, Dominion kept pushing the emperor''s patience.

    "You already know the answer don''t you Dominion? Then why do you keep wasting everyone''s time by asking the same thing over and over again?" Crossing his legs in a nonchnt manner, the emperor returned a sharp re at his brother.

    Curling up his fists, Dominion kept looking at the emperor with his eyes bleeding with rage. Shocking the others, he conjured up his bloodsword and sped it onto its handle as if ready to fight against their supreme lord. Although, of course, the other generals wouldn''t just let it simply happen. Jolting in front of him with their weapons drawn, Michael, Nabe, and Razor were all ready to take on the demi-god in case he tried to lift even a finger against As.

    With Michael on his left with his holynce, Razor on the right with his fencer and reality alter portals, andstly Nabe in the middle with her body burning with dark miasma, Dominion knew that although he could take them on to some extent, the moment he was caught off guard even his time control abilities won''t save him.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "You''re all blind sheep who''d simply follow this moron down a cliff," he muttered before putting his sword back into the mercury portal.

    Giving onest look to the emperor, Dominion turned around and began marching towards the exit. Watching him march off, the other general kept on guard until he was finally gone out of the throne room and was far from likely to cause any trouble.

    "I have to say, he''s not wrong about what he said," ying devil''s advocate, Razor turned around to face the emperor. "You''ve kept too many secrets from us, and with each day it''s getting harder to trust you as a savior to our kind."

    Talking specifically about humanity, he''d already irked the other non-humans that were considered monsters. Keeping their frustration to themselves, however, the two also wanted to hear the emperor''s response.

    "I am no savior," said the emperor, showing no signs of any emotion on his face. "I am your lord, the one entrusted with the fate of this world, and if any of you wishes to deny that, then there''s more than enough traitors that you can serve."

    Surprising everyone with his answer, the emperor remained unbothered. Almost as if he''d given up hope in his people or perhaps lost faith in his own map toward an undying future.

    "That said, I never wanted to be on this throne, so if any of you intend to take over then be my guest and do so," getting out of the throne, As began descending down the steps and once his feet hit the floor, he moved right past his generals. "Go ahead, carry the weight of the world, and then let me know if you''d share every secret with your brethren."

    Leaving the throne vacant once more, the emperor left the room, and soon enough he''d be back onnd wandering through the cities posing as the robed beggar.

    "What the hell happened to him?" Still unsure what to make of the whole ordeal, Razor was more confused about the emperor''s demeanor than ever before.

    "He seems broken," replied Michael.

    Having seen a hint of his past self in the emperor, Michael knew better than to chase after the man, but then again, leaving the emperor in such a vulnerable state would end up causing even more chaos in the empire than what had already happened.

    ''Three kingdoms have fallen under demon rule, only two fronts remain in our hands. There couldn''t have been a worse time for him to leave us stranded like this.'' Contemting defecting to Feralnds to his people, Michael was really close to betraying the emperor.

    "So who''s going after him?" Nabe asked, hoping to get the chance of following the emperor so she could keep Haruki up to speed about his moment at all times.

    Putting a hurdle in her n, however, Razor stepped up to follow the emperor just like did in the past.

    "As much as I''d love to leave the task to you people, the emperor and I have already done this dance," opening up a realm tear, Razor stepped right in and disappeared.

    "I''m sure he''ll be fine, this won''t be the first time he''d lost his will to fight," mumbling to himself, Michael began making his way out as well.

    ''If something happens to the emperor and he dies or even gets mortally hurt, I can''t imagine Dominion or Razor allowing my people to live peacefully in Feralnd.'' Reminded of his promise to the emperor to treat his people with dignity and let them stay alive, Michael backed off on his ns of defecting.

    "You''re all idiots," left alone in the throne room, Nabe was the only one closest to figuring out the source of the emperor''s trouble. "Sometimes, being the only female war general, I forget the others are blind to the power of true love."

    Being closest to the answer, she felt her heart squeeze in hurt at the very thought of her adoptive father losing the one he truly loved.

    ''He needs time to himself before he kills the one he loves with his own hands.'' Knowing he''d be back on the throne, she decided to contact Haruki, but much to her surprise, there was no answer on the other end.

 Chapter 244 244 - A Visit From The Family That Once Was

    ?

    More than a week past in the castle of Lamenia, the assault from the emperor''s troops on all other fronts had already started to take effect. Holding immunity to war because of the deal by Margarette, only the Lamenian borders hadn''t tasted demon blood for a while. Trapping themselves in the most secluded room in the Curatos castle, Haruki''spanions were growing desperate to see him finally wake up.

    "Moriyana, Greta''s beenining to me about the tension at Dtia, why can''t you just talk to her with the demon spy you have?!" Her feet tapping against the ground anxiously, Athena has had enough of the wallowing red-headed beauty.

    Like an idol of stone, Moriyana ignored Athena once again and continued on painting her nails by the dressing table. Too tired to even argue, Athena just let out a disgruntled grunt and looked away from her in disgust.

    "You two fight like a couple," her hand pressed against her temples, Margarette muttered out loud.

    And although the two heard it clearly, neither of them had the energy to retort. Turning to Asuka who''d just fallen asleep after taking care of Haruki all night, Margarette shook her head defeated and noticed her eyes opening up to themission between quarreling two.

    "Wh-what? Did I fall asleep?" Covering her mouth in shock, she pulled herself off of the stool.

    "Asuka sit down¡­No, you know what, you shouldy down and get some sleep, we''re gonna keep watch over Master for the day," Margarette offered.

    "Was someone fighting? I heard someone yelling, I think?" Looking at everyone, Asuka got no reply, instead, she noticed something else entirely. "Is Riley still not back yet?"

    Shifting her attention back to Margarette, the one keeping things moving outside the single room, Asuka earnestly waited for an answer.

    "Not yet, she''spensating for Moriyana''s job, and to some degree mine even so it''s really a surprise to be hones-" Hearing a light groaning from Haruki''s end of the bed, Margarette got off of the edge of the bed and quickly turned around.

    The others jumped to their feet as well and quickly gathered around their master. Upon looking closer, they noticed movement in not only Haruki''s body but Asmodia''s as well. Slowly stretching their limbs about, their eyes cracked open to the sight of a group of demons staring them down with big glowing violet eyes.

    "I thought angels don''t end up in hell when they die," joking around, Asmodia flipped to the other side of the bed and shut her eyes once more. "Wake me upter, I''m not ready for an earful yet."

    Her demand fueled their hatred toward her, but ignoring her for the moment, they focused on Haruki instead. His eyes wide open, Haruki held his hand up to be helped up and sit down. Taking hold of his arm, Asuka quickly did as he gestured. Sitting in silence for a moment, he turned to Asmodia still sleeping right next to him, and although he wanted to kill her that instant, he held himself back since there was a lot more than needed to be done at the moment.

    "How did everything go? Did we take over Lamenia?" He asked, looking right at Margarette.

    Ovee with emotions, her eyes had teared up just like the rest of Haruki''s crew, but wiping them off quickly, she enthusiastically nodded.

    "Yes! We have! In fact, we have Marquis and Dtia in control as well! The emperor''s armies are trying to push us away, but nothing drastic has happened to that end," bombarding him with information, Margarette clutched onto his hands to feel the warmth of his body while he was still awake.

    After briefly looking down at his hand, Haruki turned to Moriyana who still seemed to be in a bitter mood. At first, he thought of asking her outright as to what she was upset about but then deciding against it, he used his ability hive mind instead.

    ''Is something wrong?'' He asked telepathically.

    ''Your maid and spy brought a demon lord in Atl-As, and you still need to ask?'' Even though saying As''s name hurt her in the head, she powered through and finished what she had to say.

    ''We can talk about thatter.'' He replied before letting out a tired sigh.

    Drawing his hand away from Margarette, Haruki moved to the side and got up on his feet. Feeling a bit wobbly after standing up after so long, he almost fell down but managed to keep himself up by holding onto Asuka''s body.

    "Fuck, my body, it''s-"

    "Weaker? I know," Asmodia mumbled from the other end of the bed. "We had our souls merged together until they were driven to exhaustion, remember? It''s still making my body ache all over since I took most of the toll for the merger."

    "Oh shut up you bitch," Haruki replied, not giving a damn about what she thought of him anymore.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    A bit annoyed, Asmodia flipped over to the other side of the bed and red right at Haruki''s back.

    "I could''ve taken care of him myself, but you would''ve been dead, so be thankful!" She grunted, a deep frown emerging on her eyebrows.

    "And he could''ve killed you had you not been merged to a human soul, so shut up!" Gripping tight on Asuka''s shoulders, Haruki turned around to face her head on.

    "As if a demi-god could-" Stopping herself, Asmodia realized that Haruki wasn''t wrong. "You''re gonna kill me soon anyways so who cares? Why would I listen to you if you''re not going to keep your promise to maintain the natural order?!"

    Watching it all unfold while having little clue about what the two were talking about, everyone was shocked not simply because of the topic of conversation, but by seeing a demon lord acting like a child.

    "Majesty?" A voice calling for Margarette from the other end of the door broke the tense moment. "Some demons, NO! I''m sorry! Some nobilities who''re iming to be demon lords want to meet up with you!"

    The news brought by the stuttering voice of the female servant baffled everyone. In utter disbelief, at first, they thought of it to be a joke, but then as Asmodia suddenly disappeared from the bed and reappeared by the door, they all began to wonder if this too was one of her tricks. Opening the door, she peeked out at the maid standing outside with a stamped letter.

    "Wh-who are you?!" She asked, terrified by the unfamiliar face. "Where''s her majesty?!"

    Pressing her finger against the maid''s lips, Asmodia quickly shut her up. Taking the letter from her other hand, she beamed a gentle smile at the human servant.

    "Your queen is fine, as for your first question, you''re better off not knowing," holding the letter pitched between her fingers, she got the girl''s attention so she could flick her in the forehead with the other hand. "Keep them waiting for a while, I''ll be there in a minute I''m sure."

    The small touch from her nail infused the maid''s mind with arcane magic and took hold of her entire consciousness. With her eyes now glowing a violet tint, she would easily be recognized as a messenger of Asmodia so that the Demon lord would wait a bit longer instead of causing any trouble.

    "Now go," shutting the door with those words, Asmodia turned around to the sight of every demon in the room looking right at her.

    "As if you being here wasn''t bad enough, now you have the other demon lords here too?!" The most furious of all, Moriyana stepped up to her mother. Grabbing her by the arm, she let her freshly painted nail dig as deep into her as they could. "I hope that bastard demi-god had killed you!"

    Astounded by thest few words, Asmodia''s eyes widened in rage. Pointing a single finger at her daughter, she gently bopped her on the nose, but that seemingly innocent act sent Moriyana flying onto the bed.

    "Next time you talk to me like that, I won''t let you off so lightly," her eyes twitching in either hurt from being yelled at by her daughter, or just pure rage towards being disrespected, Asmodia red right into Moriyana''s eyes.

    "You know what? I''m d they brought you here because now I can watch when Haruki finally kills you!" Not backing down an inch, Moriyana hurled another insult.

    "Enough! I''m not in the most forgiving mood so both of you just shut up!" Butting into the quarrel, Haruki straggled in between the two. Standing before the mistress, Haruki snatched the letter off of her hands.

    "Hey! That''s for me!" Sheined.

    "I thought you could see the future, then why not see what''s written inside this?" He retorted while breaking the seal off and opening it.

    "If only it worked like that," Asmodia whispered, but with their keen senses, everyone managed to listen.

    "What the hell do you mean?" Haruki asked, looking right back up at her.

    "As a spirit detached from my body I could travel into the library of heroes and look up anything I wanted in those records there, but now, that I''m a mortal, I can no longer do the same," Asmodia''s exnation of the situation flooded Haruki''s mind with question, but with the letter still in his hands, he decided to deal with problems one at a time.

 Chapter 245 245 - A Council Of Demons

    ?

    The letter was a simple greeting signed by the remaining five demon lords. Stamped with their title, it read a single word of ''hello'' and that was all. Although a bit reluctant, Haruki decided to meet them alongside Asmodia so he''d know precisely why they were here.

    Walking down the stairs, the mistress must''ve warned Haruki as well as hispanions behind him, at least a hundred times. Urging them to let her handle the situation, she wanted them not to speak to the other demon lords at all.

    "I''ll try, but no promises," Haruki said right as they stood by the meeting hall''s door.

    With the demon lords waiting on the other end of that wall, Asmodia gave up on trying to convince him any further.

    "Don''t me meter if things go wrong," pushing the giant doors open with a pair of invisible hands, Asmodia stepped into the meeting hall that once belonged to King Curatos the Third.

    Turning to hispanions, Haruki gave them an affirming nod and followed right behind Asmodia. Closing the door behind him, he was first met with numerous glowing eyes of all colors peering at him from around the roundtable.

    "You brought your puppet with you?" Breaking the ice in the hall was a red-headed demon with red and dark horns sticking out of his wolfish hair.

    Dressed in a traditional robe with deep cuffs andces binding the attire together, he had a wide grin on his face that showed off his razor teeth. Moving closer to the table, Asmodia pulled out two chairs with the same invisible hands and settled down into one. Looking back at Haruki, she gestured him to take a seat as well.

    "I''m fine standing, and I''m nobody puppet anymore," gawking right at the red-headed demon, Haruki put up a face of deep scorn.

    "How so?" Asked a distorted feminine voice from the opposing ends of the red-head.

    Shifting his attention to her, all Haruki saw was a dark lump of mist in the form of a realm tear and a pair of glowing white eyes peeking out through them.

    "How about we stop teasing a potential candidate for Asmodia''s position?" Before Haruki could say anything to the girl, yet another demon lord with gentle green eyes.

    A pair of bark growing out of his head were akin to horns. ncing him up and down, Haruki began to wonder if he was looking at a druid with those bark-like hands and the light green patterns of leaves on the lower sides of his cheeks. Adjusting his round sses a little, the demon lord turned his head from the girl to Haruki.

    "Why the hell are you people here?" Not being able to hold back any longer, Haruki asked him outright.

    "Hmm?" Humming out loud, the only remaining female demon lord chimed in. "There''s been a rumor about you two floating around."

    Putting her dark heels on the table, the white-haired beauty gazed into his eyes. Her one eye was a sunny golden and the other a lighting blue, she appeared like an angel, but that facade wasn''t fooling anyone, especially in this room.

    "Haruki, can you please just sit down for now?" Pointing back at him, Asmodia made him vanish in thin air before reappearing in the chair beside her.

    Baffled by the sudden change in ce, he red angrily at the lust demon before turning back to the white-headed angel. Much like him, however, she was gone from her seat, and instead, she was standing behind him. Leaning onto Haruki''s body from the back, she let her hands hang from his shoulder as she moved her lips by his ears.

    "You''re gonna kill her right? Of course, we had to get here to bear witness!" She whispered into his ears.

    By the time Haruki turned around to get her off, she''d already warped into a fabric form and gotten back into her chair. Seeing her body reforming as if being unpeeled, he had no idea what to think or even what to make of her abilities.

    "Are we done teasing the guy?" Thest of the five muttered, his head buried into an open, seemingly mechanical apparatus with light beaming against his face. Still, continue to look at whatever was inside that box-like tool. "I''m kind of getting tired of ying so let''s get this done quick, alright?"

    Bewildered by his strange neon clothes and a metal muffin covering his ears, Haruki squinted as he tried to figure out what kind of race or creature he could''ve been.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "I agree with Dues," mming his fist on the table, the red-headed demon got everyone''s attention once more. "Let''s just kill the guy and be done with it!"

    "Inferno, Haruki, and I are still bonded by our contract. He can''t kill me yet, at least not without getting himself killed by the covenant right after," speaking the most sincere tone Haruki had ever heard her speak, Asmodia shut down the demon lord called Inferno.

    "You recognize that he can be dangerous, then why not kill him if he''s getting harder to control?" Speaking through the dark portal, the demon lord with glowing eyes conveyed her thoughts in the purest form.

    "Does it have something to do with those stupid records of the world?" Finally mming the apparatus shut, Deus nced at Asmodia. "That thing is as urate as Mercie''s ability to count."

    "Wait, what?!" Being suddenly insulted in the middle of the conversation, the white-headed demon dropped her feet down the table and frowned while looking at Deus. "You don''t have to insult me every time you get a chance, you weirdo!"

    Sensing an argument between the two, all the other demon lords let out a tired sigh. Raising his finger, us, the druid shut the mouth of them both by mming their lips shut with magic vines.

    "Anyways, where were we?" Even though the two quickly broke the vines off, us stuffed an apple in their mouth that appeared out of thin air. "Ignore those two for now, your life hangs in bnce so just answer our few questions."

    Shooting Haruki a gaze devoid of all emotion, us extended his hand toward him. Not sure whether he wanted him toe closer, Haruki turned to Asmodia to see if her expression gave anything away.

    "You''re not killing him," she said looking at us with her eyes open wide. "I need him, we need him to take the emperor''s ce because none of us can!"

    Those few words cleared yet another frame of nsid out by Asmodia a long time ago. Using Snow as his vessel was but just another path he had to take in order to learn the rulers of governing a nation. And now with three kingdoms under hismand, he was surely going to be able to control thend of As, but only if given enough time to prepare.

    "I''m handing you the world so long as you keep the natural order intact," peering at him from the edge of her eyes, Asmodia decided to remind him that she could hear his thoughts. "Don''t go ruining it because of some emotional outburst of being controlled or whatever, you''d soon enough be as free as a bird."

    "Oh, what the fuck are you guys yapping about?!" Tired of the whole back and forth, Inferno put his hands under the table and flipped it across the entire room. While its trashed remains were still falling, he appeared in front of Haruki and grabbed him right by the neck. "I''m tired of this brat, what the hell is so special about him any-"

    "G-god-tier summon: Blood Chalice!" Without a moment''s hesitation, Haruki used the one thing that could get him out of the situation.

    Looking up with his fingers still wrapped around Haruki''s neck, Inferno noticed an abyssal portal right above him. Slowly as his fingers loosened their grip on Haruki, a decorated golden chalice began emerging through the massive hole.

    "Inferno," calling out to the demon lord of envy, Asmodia shook her head as if tired of his stupidity. "Did you really think I''d choose a weakling who couldn''t call upon the god-killing tools that I''ve created?"

    Although shocked by the events that had taken ce, Inferno kept on smiling as he threw Haruki away. To his misfortune, getting up after being thrown around had turned into Haruki''s specialty.

    "Portal!" Creating a portal behind him before hitting the wall, Haruki appeared behind every demon lord with the help of his clones. "I''ll kill you all right here and now if you''re going to try andy a single finger on me or mypanions!"

    cing a sword of darkness to their throats, and a spear of pure dark to strike down the demon lord in the portal, Haruki was ready to die alongside them if it meant this perpetual cycle of controlling torture finally end. Not moving an inch away from him, the demon lords were more concerned by the chalice as it waspletely out of the portal.

    "Is that?" Asked Inferno, his smile finally breaking.

    "The creator''s blood? Yes, I turned it into poison," the moment those words escaped Asmodia''s lips, the fear of death finally settled in the hearts of all demon lords.

 Chapter 246 246 - A Chatty Hall And Deals Of Deaths

    ?

    "You can''t be seri-" Merci tried trying to get out of her chair and grab Asmodia, but was instantly pulled back into it by Haruki.

    Holding the knife to her throat he pressed it right against her neck, despite knowing full well that it wouldn''t leave a scratch on a demon lord''s body. Holding back the other demon lords the same way, he looked over at Asmodia ready to make the blood chalice overflow onmand.

    "If you had the creator''s blood then why didn''t you use it on As?" Staying calm through the chaos, us couldn''t help but ask even if it turned out to be thest thing he did.

    "us," breaking her eye contact with Haruki, she quickly turned to answer us. "He''s not an idiot like you guys to just allow me to do this, however, I wanted to poison him. I did what I could without raising suspicion."

    "I''m on Asmodia''s side on this one. If As had died before we found his recement; having been his angels once, our souls would''ve perished alongside our master which would''ve left the world to rot," Muttered Reya, still peeking with her hollow eyes from the portal.

    Being the safest of all, she wanted to only learn more about Asmodia''s recement, but now that things have escted so much she couldn''t stay neutral and not take someone''s side.

    "Fuck!" getting rid of the apple in his mouth, Dues jumped into the conversation. " Look, Haruki was it? If any of us dies here, the emperor will be sessful in creating an endless cycle of perpetual death and suffering for everyone, just like Asmodia has done to you."

    "What?!" Being painted as the viin along with the emperor, Asmodia shot Deus with a Razor-sharp gaze.

    "Now you know what it feels like?" Merci mocked her with a smirk.

    ncing at her for a brief moment, Asmodia shut her mouth with her invisible hands. Leaving her muffling out words of rage, she turned back to Deus.

    "You¡­I doubt I''ll ever miss you if you somehow end up dying before me!" Her finger held sternly in his direction, Asmodia let out an aggressive grunt.

    "Enough!" Yelling out loud, Haruki finally got everyone''s attention back on his real body standing behind Inferno with the knife. "I''m not gonna listen to another fucking word any of you have to say!"

    "We''re not in an altered ne or a realm tear," hitting Haruki''s side with his elbow, Inferno forced him to step away from him. "Reya can just teleport us all away if needed, you have no real hostage so quit acting like you''re in charge of the situation."

    ''He''s right, don''t push your luck by actually overflowing the chalice. You''d only end up killing yourself and poisoning the rest of As.'' Talking to him telepathically, Asmodia exined to Haruki while he breathed heavily from the elbow strike. ''Their shock about the creator''s blood is our only weapon, but if you keep threatening them you''d blow it all up in your face.''

    Shooting Asmodia a quick nce, Haruki looked around the room, at the room full of demon lords before turning his gaze back to Inferno. A deep frown and the mes burning over the me design on his yukata told Haruki everything Haruki needed to know about his current mood. A hunger for fight was what he was craving, and from the talk around the table from before, it seemed only he was steadfast in his desire to kill him while the rest were either somewhat indifferent.

    "You just want to fight, don''t you?" Haruki asked in a casual manner.

    "Geez, what gave it away?" Holding his arms wide open, Inferno tried to agitate Haruki with an even brighter smirk.

    Having figured out the kind of personality he was, Haruki knew better than to y into his teasing.

    "Then why don''t we battle it out? See if I''m worth exchanging direct blows, fists to fists, de to de, but no magic involved?" Surprising everyone with the prospect, Haruki stood tall as he tried to get the demon lords to leave the castle for the time being.

    "A fight?" A bit taken aback by the sudden offer, Inferno wasn''t sure whether to feel insulted or be on board with the n.

    However, being an enthusiastic fighter, it didn''t take long for him to throw all caution to the wind and put up a smile before agreeing to the battle.

    "Sure, bring it then, but aren''t you a mage? How do you n on fighting without magic?" He asked, genuinely curious.

    "I''ll be fine using just my abilities, magic hasn''t been my best forte anyways," answering him, Haruki snapped his fingers to make the chalice rise back into the abyssal portal. "As for the fight itself, we''re not fighting right now. Let me make some preparations first so that my army of demons can watch their master in action. You can take them if I lose, they''d prefer to serve the winner anyways."

    Standing before him in silence, Inferno took a moment to think everything over, but then simply extended his hand with a much more serious expression than before. Being offered an honest duel, Inferno''s first impression of Haruki had already been lifted. Had he tried to unleash the chalice''s poison, he would''ve taken him as a coward who had to depend on Asmodia''s strength to handle any situation, but now, offering up his army as upon his loss like any honorable king, Inferno had found something to rte with the incubus emperor.

    "Asmodia, if I die, ahaha,"ughing before he could finish the sentence, he covered up his eyes with the other hand and let it all out. Filling the room with a thundering cackle, he slowly looked back down at Haruki. "If I die before he kills you, would that not make him a demon lord of envy as well as lust when you''re gone?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "No, he can only have one title, and if you die he''ll possess the title of envy and lust will cease to exist," although she wasn''t sure where he was going with the question, Asmodia answered him regardless.

    "Very well then," reaching for Haruki''s hand himself, Inferno gripped it tightly between his fingers. "For the sake of your ns, I''d kill myself instead if I''m defeated by him!"

    Being the second most prideful among the demon lords, Inferno has no qualms about dying if he was defeated. The passion oozing from him was so palpable, Haruki could feel it burning his hands while they shared the handshake. Drawing his hand away after a while, he watched as Inferno began walking to where his chair used to be.

    Looking around at the other demon lords still sitting in their chairs, Haruki was reminded that there used to be a table in front of them, and even though he was threatening them all, none made any serious attempts to even vacate their seats for good.

    "This is a stupid idea," Asmodia said out loud, not at all happy with how things turned out.

    "It''s the best he had, sister," muttered Reya before her portal caved in and she disappeared along with it.

    "He has the galls I''ll give him that, but I doubt he''ll win against Inferno," Merci said as a simr portal to Reya''s opened behind her. Sucked right in with the chair, she disappeared as if vacuumed in.

    "I hope you were right to choose him, even though he doesn''t seem the brightest," devoured by a simr portal us was the next one to vanish.

    Sensing a portal about to open behind him as well, Deus held its finger directed at Haruki to say something before he disappeared.

    "Call me if you need help designing the fighting venue, I have some pretty good ideas," turning to Asmodia, he blew her a kiss to intentionally make things awkward. "And take care of sis, I''m not really against you, but I don''t want her to die eitherrrr-"

    Sucked right into the dark portal, his words echoed for a while. Left forst, Inferno stood in his ce with his arms crossed and a wide grin painted on his face.

    "While I couldn''t care less about what happens after my death, in case you manage to break the covenant between you and her, make sure to not let her die a virgin," taking Deus''s approach, Inferno ruffled things further before he was sucked into the portal.

    Blushing red on the face, Asmodia ground her teeth in rage. Had he not left just now from the portal, she might''ve just fought Inferno this instant by herself.

    "A virgin?" Haruki scowled, confounded.

    "I was an angel who loved As, remember?!" Grunting from between her shut teeth, she turned to the doors and began walking. "Of course, I''m not going to sleep around with just anyone!"

    "So you''ve held back all these years just because you didn''t find someone who''s worthy? And how the hell were the titles decided then? How can you be lust?!" Yelling out the questions, Haruki was more angry than surprised.

    "I was an angel of modesty before my fall from grace," turning around with the door handle clutched in her hand, Asmodia gave Haruki a sharp look. "Everyone got the inverse of their title, for me it was lust from modesty. Now, you keep that to yourself and help me figure out a way for you to beat my dumb brother!"

    ''She called him brother, Deus called her sister, and so did Reya, does that mean this whole mess is a family''s vendetta against each other?'' Haruki wondered. Thankfully, his mind was in desperate need of more rest so he didn''t have to spend much time thinking about it while conscious.

    "As isn''t your brother, right? I heard you call him family once," Haruki asked as he stood beside her while she opened the doors.

    "Fuck you, he''s the son of the heavenly creator and we were just pawns," Asmodia replied in the most condescending of tones.

    "What''s the difference?" Haruki asked.

    "The same difference that makes it okay for Margarette and Riley to kiss each other," left stumped behind, Haruki watched Asmodia storm through the group of hispanions waiting for them outside.

    ''It was a mistake to fucking ask.'' He thought and he was right.

 Chapter 247 247 - Doubts And Preparations

    ?

    A day had passed since the demon lords left Curatos castle to let Haruki have the time he needed to prepare for the oing battle with the most aggressive of them all. None of hispanions were on board with the idea, but since the promise was already made they had no choice but to help him set up everything and even figure out a n to help him win.

    "I seriously can''t believe you''ve done this," walking out the front of the gates into the castle''s garden, Moriyana was finally back to talk with Haruki after a whole day of seclusion.

    Turning around to look at her, Haruki made the dark sword in his hand vanish. Following Moriyana''s words, Riley who''d been fencing with him also shifted her attention toward the grumbling demon.

    "You''re finally out of your room?" Haruki muttered, delighted to see her again.

    "Yeah, but don''t deflect now!" Surprising the duo in front, Moriyana marched forward with her body all tensed up. "Have you forgotten what I said when I joined your party?!"

    The look of joy on Haruki''s face quickly died down as she began to nag. Already on his wit''s end, he''d been trying not tosh out after everything he''d learned about his fabricated life in the recent days, but tethering on the edge, he was just seconds away from letting his destructive impulses take over.

    "Moriyana¡­" With a look of pure disdain, he scowled at her. "I don''t care why you''ve been acting like this, if it''s because of your past with Asmodia, then you just have to deal with it yourself. You''re the first one to be a victim of hers, but you sure as hell won''t make us all miserable just because you can''t get over your past with your so-called mother."

    Looking back at his past, through which he''d been puppeteered, Haruki felt no sympathy for Moriyana, since despite being a victim as well, he wasn''t letting it affect the people around him. Moriyana on the other hand was causing trouble all over and had even abandoned her post and the responsibilities she was supposed to carry.

    "Wh-what?" Shocked by Haruki''sck of empathy, she stared at him in utter disbelief. "You can''t be serious, right? You can''t be fucking serious, right?!"

    "Moriyana, calm down," moving past Haruki, trying to de-escte the situation. "Master''s tense too, he probably didn''t mean that."

    Standing right before Moriyana, Riley turned around and looked at Haruki as if begging him to just agree with her statement. Feeling a bit of guilt crawl into his heart, Haruki took a deep breath and exhaled out all the corrosive jumble of emotions he was feeling inside.

    "I''m sorry, I-" Shutting his eyes for a moment, he let out yet another deep sight. "I didn''t mean it, I was just¡­Okay, yeah, I was too caught up in my emotions and just became an asshole while saying all that."

    Opening his eyes, he looked at her with his lips contorted into a weak smile. Washing off the frown on her face, Moriyana kept staring at Haruki for a while with her eyes filled with tears.

    "Come here," being closer to her, Riley wrapped her hand around Moriyana to give her aforting hug.

    Quickly burying her face on Riley''s shoulder, it didn''t take long for Moriyana to burst into tears. Wailing out loud, a wave of her hups were muffled over Riley''s shoulders. Shooting a sideways nce at Haruki, Riley urged Haruki toe and take over with a single exchange of her gaze going from him to Moriyana. Patting the illusionist back, she keptforting Moriyana until Haruki was right up beside her.

    "A bad parent can mess up a child in more ways than you can imagine," before handing Moriyana to him, Riley let him know something from her own experience. "I know what that feels like to some degree, but no way in hell does itpare to what she must''ve been through while being raised by that demon."

    For the first time, Riley had corrected Haruki in his behavior, and he knew it waspletely justifiable. Nodding at her, Haruki grabbed hold of Moriyana''s arms and gently pulled her over his own body. Without a second''s dy, she pressed her face against his chest and her arms wrapped around his shoulders as well.

    "Moriyana, I''m sorry," he mumbled, his heart bleeding hurt for having made one of his closestpanions cry. "And I do remember what you wanted in return for joining my party. It was-"

    "Shut up.." She whispered, pulling her head away slightly to look up at him. "I don''t need those riches, that wealth you''d promised or anything! I just want the certainty that you won''t be taken away from me."

    "If not dying anytime soon, so don''t worry," gently caressing her cheeks, he leaned lower and gave her lips a brief kiss. "I didn''t take the fight without a n, trust me."

    Although, reluctant still, she nodded and pressed her lips against his once again. Witnessing the two begin to make out, Riley shied away from the sight and put her arms leisurely behind her head.

    "I''ll go take a walk and maybe check on the others as well," with that said she left the two alone.

    ***

    "A coliseum? You''re serious? He wants to fight in a coliseum?" Talking to her brother Deus over a cup of poison, Asmodia shook her head defeated.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "That''s what Inferno told me," Deus replied, the sound of music releasing out of his metal muffins.

    Seated in the dining of the castle Curatos, Asmodia was d that she wouldn''t have to deal with the preparation and Deus was willing to help, but the very fact that this whole idiotic n was being pushed through so heavily was what bothered her most.

    "Look," cing his box apparatus on the desk, Deus turned it around to show her the digital screen. "I already have the ns ready, just give me a ce to build it and my robots as well as my gluttonous army will build it in a day''s time."

    Lowering her head against the desk, Asmodia stretched an invisible hand towards the apparatus and turned it away from her sight.

    "Don''t make me look at that thing it hurts my eyes and head," picking herself back up, she washed her hands down her face and peeked at her brother from just above her fingers.

    "Look sis," closing the apparatus box, Deus put up a smug expression on his face. "That Dominion guy, he''s freaking out in my territory so consider this a privilege that I''m willing to help."

    Fanning her hand frustrated, Asmodia rolled her eyes before letting out a grunt.

    "Fine, just don''t put any of those, what do you call it nuon? Naon light? They hurt my head when I look at them," giving in to his demands, she caved in.

    "You mean neon, right? I''ll try, but no promises," pointing finger guns at his sister, he gave off a big grin. "Anyways, I''ll be off to make the preparation."

    Sucked into a portal from behind, Deus once again disappeared, but this time with the whole tea set.

    "He''s going to break those cups¡­" Mumbling to herself, she remembered a time in the past when they often yed around and he broke whatever toys they were offered by the creator.

    ''Things really got derailed, didn''t they?'' Shaking her head lightly, she pulled herself out of those memories.

    Walking out through the dining hall, Asmodia reminded herself of yet another task that needed her attention. In the form of a pure spirit she was easily able to teleport around without the restriction of a mortal shell, but now being a heavenly body with a corporeal form, she was just as susceptible to death as the god of this world.

    ''Thank the creator he didn''t make any of us immortal, perhaps he knew that one day we''d end up in this fight and the one with the most power would turn the most corrupt.'' Offering up a prayer to her true master, Asmodia kept marching out of the castle before disappearing into the otherworld to cut the distance to her destination a bit short. ''Regardless, I need to get to that library and find out what the future holds.''

    Her inability to travel freely had forced her to make her journey on foot. And while she could easily teleport over ces she''d been before, the library of heroes deterred such spells for anyone with a mortal shell.

    Marching through the otherworld in her physical body after a long time, all her pets came around to greet her, and they even brought with them gifts she didn''t particrly like. From giants with a burning eye where souls of the damned were trying to w their way out through the eyelids to the abyssal enigmas with forms that defied all realities, and as if that wasn''t enough, the eater of void brought her debris left behind after it had eaten Protherious along with the thousand other carcasses that it had devoured over the years.

    "Rest for now, your time hasn''te yet," parting with the countless eyes peering right at her, she passed through the light door to appear right inside the library of heroes.

    ''Thank the creator, this worked.'' Since traveling through the otherworld only shortened the distance between the physical ne,ing into the library through it wasn''t really considered a teleportation spell. "Now to find the book with the current timeline''s future."

    Looking in front, she saw an infinite number of shelves docked with versions of the same book that she''d once authored. And although she should''ve been able to recall it all, the creator himself had stripped her of the memories once she was done recording it all so she couldn''t forcefully alter the grim future.

    ''The natural order of things, maybe I''m messing with that order too every time I try to alter the events of the future?'' Guilty of the same crime as the emperor, there was no doubt in her mind that she deserved to die so she couldn''t repeat the cycle once the emperor was gone.

    Scanning the infinite shelves as well as the random stairs scattered through a sky of countless stars, she wondered if to begin by checking the upper shelves or simply wander through the golden hall trying to find where the book was.

    ''At least that bitch who took my ce as guardian hasn''t seen me yet-'' As if on cue, a giant shadow of a monster appeared right over her. ''Well fuck¡­''

 Chapter 248 248 - To Burn And To Freeze Over

    ?

    Vanishing like the mist, Asmodia swept through the air before reforming her body far away from the new guardian. Looking right at it, her face contorted into a look of disgust. With countless muddy tentacles and bright red eyes scattered throughout its slimy body, Asmodia felt like throwing up.

    "As really needs some lessons on creation if this is what he came up with trying to replicate Lulu," she muttered to herself.

    "As-Asmodia!" Screamed the keeper of time.

    Slithering towards her polished tiles underneath into a mess of slimy slob. Disgusted once again, Asmodia pinched her nose shut and turned her head away from the monster.

    "Goliathan!" Holding her hand towards the oing monster, she opened up a portal to the otherworld under its feet. "Get this monstrosity out of my sight!"

    Before the monster could even fall into the ground, a burning hand of a giant grabbed the slug from within. Squeezing it tight, Goliathan, the tormentor, made the guardian squeal like a defeated dog. After its body went limp from being squeezed so tight, the keeper of time was pulled into the otherworld.

    "Let the others have a limb or two as well!" Hollering at Goliathan to share the food, Asmodia closed the portal with a snap of her fingers.

    Turning around, she scanned her surroundings once again to figure out where to start. However, as time went on and she couldn''t be sure where the book with the future of the current timeline was, she scattered herself into enough clones to check every single book in her sight in that infinite hallway.

    "B-seven shelve cleared nothing," looking down at the original from above the stairs, a clone of her informed Asmodia.

    "F-two fifty shelve cleared, nothing," informed another from the far end of the library.

    One after the others the clones scanned each and everybody while Asmodia kept walking deeper into the hallways and expanding the area that needed to be researched. With no end in sight, her patience was running out. On a usual day, she would''ve found the book by now, but for whatever reason, the book with the current timeline was nowhere to be found.

    "Where the hell is it?!" She grumbled.

    Looking back from over her shoulders, she couldn''t see the entrance she''de from anymore as both ends of the infinite hallway were now covered with deep fog.

    "Looking for something?" A familiar voice called from behind.

    Turning to the voice she saw a glimpse of a yukata fluttering through the air.

    "Peeking into the future, wouldn''t that be cheating? Not to mention sphemy to the creator," the crude manly voice was one that she could easily figure out whom it belonged to.

    "Inferno, how the hell did you get here?" She asked, looking all around her to spy him out. "You being here is no short of sphemy either!"

    Comining to her brother, she finally noticed him sitting at a desk between two shelves on her right. Holding the book she was looking for in his hands, he lit it up in mes without saying a single more word.

    "Don''t!" Trying to take the book, she attempted to grab it with her invisible hands, but Inferno put up a burning aura around him that either burned everything or pushed them back from the pressure.

    "I don''t like cheaters, I thought you''d know it," he muttered, the shelves and books around him all burning to charr.

    "You idiot, we need that to get rid of As!" Asmodiained, but Inferno was not at all bothered.

    "Is that why the creator wiped your memories so you could just walk in here and read all possible pasts and futures?" Getting out of the chair, he began walking towards her. "You may be family, but the creator is our god, just like As is to the people of this world. And to defy hismand and snoop through, that''s just an insult."

    Making the burning aura disappear, he stood beside her and ced his hand on her shoulder. ncing sideways at her brother, Asmodia had her teeth clenched tight as the only source of her supreme knowledge had now been turned to dust.

    "Now back home, and help that puppet of yours to at leastst a few minutes before he dies," with a smirk, he stared down at Asmodia for a while before walking through a dark portal that was obviously opened by Reya.

    ''Idiots¡­'' Closing her eyes shut, Asmodia tried to collect her thoughts before heading back to the Curatos castle.

    "I guess, it all relies on whatever n Haruki has now," he muttered before jumping into an otherworld portal.

    ***

    "Are you sure this will work?" A bit skeptical of Haruki''s n, Margarette couldn''t help but ask.

    "We''ll have to see, won''t we?" His hands clutched tight on the sapphire brooch, Haruki finally decided to use it for an ability he''d been holding back on. "If this really belongs to a dragon then it should be enough to put me physically on toe to toe with Inferno."

    Out in the open garden, Haruki looked around at hispanions anxiously waiting for him to go through with what he had in mind. Taking a deep breath, he rxed his shoulder before finally channeling mana into his palm.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "Mimic Species: Frost Dragon!" A bright light of deep blue began beaming out through his fingers. "Aghhh!"

    Having every fiber in his body being transformed, he could feel bones cracking as he was chilled to the very bones. Forced to step back from the sharp auraing out of his body, each one of hispanions were dragged further back away from him.

    "Reju-Ah!" Before she could even attempt to heal him, Margarette was shot with a piece of ice flying towards her from Haruki''s body.

    "I-Is daddy okay?!" Asked Ste, clutching onto Fay''s skirt.

    "Wouldn''t be the first time he''s done something reckless¡­Don''t worry," with that, she kept on watching the transformation until the blinding blue light finally died downpletely.

    Left behind with ayer of ice all over him, Haruki panted for a while before brushing it all off to reveal the dragon scales underneath. His incubus abilities had consumed the brooch to turn him into a dragonkin for as long as his body could handle.

    "It worked," Haruki said, looking at Margarette with a smile.

    Still panting from the first time changes that''d taken ce in his physical form, Haruki stumbled over as he took just one step forward. Rushing closer to him, Asuka pulled back up on his feet.

    "Master, if you''re not feeling too good then please just undo the transformation," Asuka suggested, however, Haruki still had some stuff to try before turning back into an incubus.

    "I can''t, not before I test out the difference in shifting into a dragonkin and actually forcing my body to be one," slipping out of Asuka''s grip, Haruki turned to Riley as well as Moriyana. "Help me test everything out."

    Nodding back at him, the two agreed without question. With every step he took to simply get from the empty space to the training ground, Haruki could feel his body growing colder and colder. Despite that, instead of feeling frozen from the inside, he felt a jarring calm slowly taking over him.

    "Alright," getting to the ground, Haruki stood before the two, ready to take on both Moriyana''s magic and Riley''s fencing abilities.

    "Is Daddy going to be okay?" Ste asked once more as she saw him getting ready for the battle.

    This time, however, before Fay could say much, Athena jumped intofort the growing teen.

    "We taught you healing magic recently, right? If Daddy gets hurt, he''s relying on you, so be ready to cast the spell," saying that, she yfully ruffled Ste''s hair.

    Beaming bright at the thought of helping her adoptive father, Ste excitedly jumped up on her feet and nodded at Athena. Witnessing the brief exchange, Haruki turned back to look at the two standing before him. Ready with magic circles, thorny vines, and even an amalgam of illusion spells, Moriyana was more than ready. On the other hand, Riley had her body glowing a dark green glow from the effect of all the buffs she''d used on herself.

    "Bring it," Haruki said, starting the fight.

    Like a gust of stormy winds, Riley disappeared from the front in an instant, but the flow of leaves behind her let Haruki know where she was going. Feeling her presence right by him, he was just about to turn over to parry her attack, but Moriyana''s thorny vines grabbed his legs from underneath him.

    "Ha!" In a stabbing motion, Riley tried to hit Haruki with her saber, but the icy scales on his skin broke the tip of his de. "What?!"

    Taking advantage of her shock, Haruki swung his left hand to the side to smack her away, however, making use of wind magic she forced herself out of the trajectory of the attack.

    "Fuc-" Stopping herself from swearing, Riley quickly nced at Ste and shook her head. "I''m gonna use the potion de sabers!"

    Drawing the potion sabers from her hips, Riley quickly loaded them with weak poison to paralyze Haruki if possible.

    "Freeze," freezing the vines on the ground, Haruki stomped his feet to make them all shatter like ss.

    "Marite Ballerina!" Not giving him any time to rest, Moriyana for the very first time in her life decided to make use of her mother''s pets.

    A bit surprised as he felt the presence of an otherworld creature, Haruki turned to look at Moriyana. Flying slightly above the ground, her fingers had a luminous pink stringing out of them. Attached to them on the other end was a humanoid doll with defined features and makeup. Lifting her long dark dress as courtesy, it bowed before Haruki as a colony of bats flew out of her dress.

    "Distracted?" Haruki heard Riley whisper from behind.

    His eyes widened in shock, as he noticed her about to stab him in the back of his neck with her sabers. In his desperation, Haruki instinctively squeezed his body inward and identally created a de of iceing off his spine that stabbed Riley through the chest.

    "Riley! No!" Screamed Margarette and a wave of gasps escaped everyone''s lips.

 Chapter 249 249 - Steering Clear Of Trouble

    ?

    While Margarette was still rushing towards her daughter''s injured body, Riley turned into a cloud of mist and was swept into the wind. To her surprise and that of the rest of the bystanders, the person Haruki had stabbed identally happened to be a swiftwind spy clone.

    "Distracted again?" Riley mumbled as she appeared behind Haruki through a shadow.

    "Wha-" Before Haruki could turn around, Riley shed his shoulder with her poisoned sabers. "Ughh!"

    Wincing at the blunt strike to the ice scales, Haruki teleported away from Riley, but Moriyana had some other ns than to let him escape.

    "Ballerina, leap through!" Leaping forward to hermand, the marite leaped through a bright pink portal and disappeared from sight.

    Confused by the disappearance, Haruki put up magic shields around him as caution, however as the same pink portal appeared all around him, he knew his preparations were about to fall short. Jumping out from each portal the marite surrounded Haruki as smaller versions of itself, and their strings still attached to Moriyana''s fingers was the most confusing aspect of it all.

    ''Pass through!'' Dashing out of the encirclement, Haruki took to the sky and jumped right at Moriyana''s body. Yet again, catching him off guard was thence from one of the small marites that had someone attached itself to him before he had activated the ability to pass through objects.

    "Down!" It cried in a mechanical voice as the other marites turned into light and fused into it. In the smallest fraction of a second, the ballerina turned back into its original form and swung around in the air to give itself enough momentum to throw Haruki to the ground.

    Redirected by the marite, Haruki felt himself about to hit the concrete. Making use of multi-thought procession he tried to somehow quickly get on his feet. When he opened his eyes back, he found himself inches from the ground, but that didn''t matter as a gust of colding from his mouth, pillowed the fall with aerated ice.

    "Goddamit," picking himself up after being thrown around for a while, Haruki peered up into the sky and roared out loud like a dragon. His grumble alone turned the clouds gray and the once gentle wind turned to a storm of ice.

    Sensing Riley''s presence over his shoulder all of a sudden, he shot her with an icicle floating around in the blizzardic storm around him. Hitting her dead, it threw it to the side of the training ground where the rest of the bystanders were watching it all unfold.

    "Ahhh! That actually hurt!" Comined Riley, clutching her sides tight. Although the ice hadn''t torn into her flesh, it had definitely left a bruise that would be darkened by the end of the day.

    "Aunt Riley, are you okay?!" Escaping from Fay''s grasp Ste jumped for her aunt''s rescue with Margarette on her side.

    Getting to her feet with a deep look of concern, Margarette began to heal her daughter''s wounds while Ste had no clue what to do. Turning her attention back to the storm confining Moriyana and her father in a small space, she kept ring at the two as they fought inside the blizzard.

    "Stop!" Her eyes glowing a rainbow, she yelled out loud, and all of a sudden their powers were all but stripped away.

    The storm settledpletely, and the gray clouds quickly retreated. Even the strength of Moriyana''s wings and Haruki''s transformation into a frost dragon were both stripped to a null, and the sparring duo were brought crashing down to their feet.

    "Ekk!" Although caught by the ballerina''s painted thin arms, Moriyana felt threatened by the sudden loss of strength. "Oh¡­Thank you!"

    Thanking the ballerina, she quickly got on her feet and watched as the marite disappeared after giving her a gentle bow. Drained out of his strength as well, Haruki peered up at Moriyana as the marite disappeared before shifting his attention to the source of the scream.

    "Did she¡­Do that?" Looking right at Ste''s angry expression, Haruki wasn''t sure what to make of the situation.

    ''That blessing Rose gave her, how could it be so powerful?'' He wondered before picking himself back up on his feet. Slowly making his way towards Ste, he noticed her face tense up as if she was afraid of having messed up the battle.

    "Da-Daddy, I''m so-"

    "No need, we were going a little overboard, I don''t know what overtook me," patting her head, he gave her aforting smile.

    Her head still hung low, Ste was visibly drowning in guilt even though she was just trying to end the conflict. However, the moment she felt Riley''s arm on her shoulder, her eyes lit up again, and she turned around to face her aunt.

    "Are you okay?!" She asked, her little hands pressed together in worry.

    Nodding at her, Riley lifted a bit of her jacket, just enough to show that the wound had been healed by Margarette''s magic. Squatting down to the teen, the spy pinched her cheeks lightly and yfully moved her head around.<novelsnext></novelsnext>

    "We were just testing our skills, no need to worry yourself like that little girl," ruffling her hand through Ste''s hair, she pulled herself back up. "Getting hurt is part of getting stronger, remember that, okay?"

    This time it was Ste who nodded back as a beaming smile took over her face. With the little girl''s worries all but washed away, Haruki turned to look at Fay who was supposedly trying to figure out Ste''s affinity as well as the abilities that she had.

    ''Keep this a secret from everyone.'' Although he was looking right at Fay, he warned everyone not to speak about Ste''s abilities. ''As for the benevolent actor title, Rose must know something about it. Next time she''s in the castle, let me know without fail.''

    The moment he was done giving out orders, a deep red portal opened in front of them all and painted their face in a deep crimson glow. Stepping out from it was Asmodia who didn''t seem to be in a particrly gentle mood.

    "Now, what are you all doing gathered here?" Although she spoke in a mean tone so far, the moment her eyesid on Ste, a weirdly gentle smile crept up her lips. "Did the little one do something naughty?"

    Without saying a word, Fay grabbed Ste by the hand and nced over at Haruki. Knowing exactly what she had in mind, he opened up a dungeon portal beneath them and sent the two to the replica dungeon.

    "What the hell was that?!" Insulted by the act, Asmodia turned to Haruki with a pure look of rage. "I''m not going to eat your adoptive child you bastar-"

    Before she could finish, Moriyana stepped forward as if to make a statement or even remind her of the past she''d tormented the illusionist with. Clutching her teeth shut, she growled out in anger before shifting her gaze to Haruki once more.

    "You better be ready for that fight because I have nothing to fucking help you with anymore!" Yelling out loud, she stepped back into the gilded frame of a mirror that had appeared out of nowhere. Walking back until only her head was visible, she kept staring at Haruki as if he''d wronged her in some way. "You''re just as much a monster as me, why do you think you deserve to be her father when you''ve turned countless children into orphans."

    Stepping further back, Asmodia disappeared into the darkness inside the ss, and soon enough the mirror sunk into the ground to vanish as well.

    "Haruki don''t take her seriously," turning to her master, Moriyana tried to assure him of his worth.

    "I''ve worked through my doubts already, her words don''t affect me anymore," speaking out truthfully, he put up a gentle smile. "Anyways, let''s end today''s training here, for now, we can continue with thister."

    pping his hands against each other, Haruki decided to attend to his duties beyond the mortal ne. Sending everyone back to their posts in the war against the emperor''s army, Haruki opened up a dungeon portal to talk to the goblin queen about something he''d found out about in recent times.

    ''Thankfully, the emperor hasn''t been pushing his armies too much on our borders, but even then, why do I have to deal with something so stupid right now?'' Dropping right into the log cabin, Haruki looked around to see if Fay and Ste were still in the house. Not being able to find them in there, he assumed the two went out to test out Ste''s powers like always.

    Storming out of the cabin himself, he marched towards the goblin queen''sb hoping to catch her in action there with Medusa. Getting there didn''t take all that much time, and sneaking in as a shadow, he noticed both queens working on ss tubes filled with a cloudy solidified liquid.

    "These are thest samples from the stock we had, right?" The goblin queen asked as she ced the tube on a holding rack above a magic circle.

    "Yeah, I might have to offer my daughters to gather more samples from master," Medusa replied.

    "Samples of what?" Making them jump, Haruki climbed out from the shadows and stood right before the frozen queens. "I told you no experiments without my permission, didn''t I? Maybe I need to punish you both to drill it in those thick monster skulls."

    With a devious n already on his mind, Haruki put cors made from darkness on their necks with a leash sped between his hands.

    "What punishment?!" Yelped Medusa.

    Pulled out of her initial shock, the queen of goblins tried to hide the vials with her body.

    "W-we were just testing the apparatus, that''s all!" She eximed, obviously lying.

    Knowing full well what was happening, Haruki held his hand before him to have the demonic spy he''d left behinde and sit down on it. Flying out from the corner, the little eyeball creature broke the two queen''s hope for getting out of the situation by lying.

    "Punishment it is," Haruki informed despite the look of fear on the two.

 Chapter 250 250 - The Creation Of A God[18+]

    250 Chapter 250 - The Creation Of A God[18+]

    Destinesia, thend of fairies was a ne much like the otherworld, but the vibrant light and lush greenery set it apart from any other. Walking through the meadows of white winter lilies, As had his face shadowed under a dark brownish hood. Staring into the distance at an expanse of orchids, his eyes wandered branch to branch spying out the ripe golden apples.

    "Tehehe!" Flying out from the bush of lilies afoot, a yful pack of translucent fairies flew up the emperor''s sleeves and scattered through his unkempt silver hair. "Ey! Ey! What do you want mister?"

    Being newborns of thend, they had little clue about the emperor''s title. Yet curious by nature, they threw caution to the wind and even treated the god of their world as a yground for their deviancy.

    "I''m trying to find your godmother, can you take me to her?" The emperor mumbled as he continued on wandering.

    His memories had failed him once more, and the familiarity of thend where all spirits were once birthed had nowpletely escaped his mind. Scattering through his hair their wings light up in tint and shade as they fly around in there. Giggling to themselves and each other, the trio of elemental fairies finally answered the emperor''s question.

    "She''s probably in the orchid''s shade," said the green-eyed forest fairy.

    "She''s sooo oldddd, she would probably burn up looking at your lightplexion, kekeke!" Chuckling about, the red-eyed fairy of me cracked a joke that giggled out for a long while.

    "Why are you looking for her anyways?" Asked the water fairy once she was doneughing at theirckluster sense of humor.

    "I¡­" Taking a deep breath, the emperor shut his eyes as he continued to walk toward the orchids. For a while, he let his mind wander, but then having worked through his emotions, he opened them back up and replied. "My father and hers used to bepanions, in what way that was? I have no clue, but before he died he told me to look for her when I needed help the most."

    "Help? What do you need help with?" Laying belly down on As''s head, the fairies got reallyfortable as they listened to the emperor''s story.

    "That, I cannot tell you," the emperor replied, a light chuckle escaping his lips.

    "Hmm? You''re no fun then," said one of the fairies, the emperor couldn''t ascertain which one.

    When he finally arrived at the golden orchids, a sea of translucent spirits emerged through the trunk of every tree. Standing on both sides of the path, they showed him where he wanted to be as if they had read his mind.

    ''I wonder how much these guys know about what''s happening in As?'' Unsure whether the true spirits knew about the events outside their ne, the emperor kept moving with the fairies now gazing with awe at the peculiar sight in front.

    "Mister! Mister! Are you someone important?!" Visibly surprised, the water fairy couldn''t help but ask.

    "I wouldn''t say important, burdened perhaps suits me better?" Not wanting to ruin the yful tone of the fairies, the emperor kept his identity hidden as it would only make things awkward at this point.

    "You''re lying!" Her head burning a slight me, the fire fairy looked around all the high spirits bowing at the emperor as he passed them by. To her, the very fact that her primordial ancestors were lowering their heads to a simple man was an insult she wasn''t willing to take.

    "I am, but it''s for your own good," moving his hand in front of them, the emperor teleported them off his shoulders and put them on a nearby branch of the orchard trees. "Nothing goodes out of staying with me so stay there now."

    Whispering thest part to himself, As kept walking forward until he reached a shrine of mossy stonesden with flowers. Like outreaching fingers an array of elevated stone pirs made up the semnce of a throne. Walking along the stone-paved path, the emperorid his eyes on the queen of all spirits and the one he called the godmother of all fairies. Sleeping with her arms stretched to the side and her face pressed against the stone, she was lost in a deep state of slumber.

    ''The bubbly tangerine hair¡­She never changed, did she?'' Getting down on his knees, he brushed off a strand of hair resting over her eyelids. Then as he noticed the spirits behind him all slowly disappear to give him some privacy, he ran his fingers down her fair skin to feel the touch of a woman once again. ''I can hear us twoughing as we yed in the cradle of the cosmos.''

    Reminded of a much more innocent time, his eyes were numbed with tears but he barely managed to keep them from flowing. Breaking the moment, he noticed her eyes prying open and slowly turned to look right at him. For a spell, the queen of spirits kept staring at the man in front, trying to figure out who it was. However, the moment she realized it was As, a warm smile came over her face.

    "Is it time? Your father told me you''d be here," she mumbled, stretching her limbs.

    "What else did he say?" As asked, getting up on his feet and offering her a hand.

    "Everything, he told me everything that would lead you to be here," taking his hand, she got up on her feet with her translucent attire wet from morning dew.

    ncing her over, As could''ve sworn she used to be more mindful and modest, but with only a strip of white cloth covering her breasts and privates, he felt as though he was standing in front of a goddess of bounty.

    "Then you probably know what I want?" He asked, looking back into her eyes.

    Peering at him with her sharp silver gaze, she moved closer to his body until her breasts were pressed against his chest.

    "If your soul dies your body will revive it, if your body dies your soul will do the same, but as god in a world, so you must leave behind an heir despite not possessing your father''s talent for creation."

    14:33

    Running her hand over the fabric of cloth covering her body, she turned it into water and revealed mortal shell that he cannot leave, you and I are both doomed with a mortal fate," getting up on her toes, she grabbed the side of As''s face, then peering into his pearly silver eyes, she let her lips and pressed them against his lips. Feeling her tongue crawl into his mouth, As felt poisoned by the womanly charm of a goddess, yet reminded of how Asmodia had poisoned him, he gently pushed her away.

    "Destinia, I didn''te here for this," Asined, although there was not a hint of rage reflected in his eyes.

    "I know, but as the goddess of souls, this is the only way for me to help you," taking a step back, she sat on her mossy throne decorated with flowers. "You and I both know that you''re not long for this world, so you must leave behind an heir despite not possessing your father''s talent for creation."

    Running her hand over the fabric of cloth covering her body, she turned it into water and revealed underneath it a sight that would poison the minds of even the greats of sages.

    "I''m no stranger to my mortality, as a god, I can''t part with my mortal shell and so I''m forced to pass on much like a king, but you and my angels¡­" Looking right into her eyes, he showed not a speck of lust on him. "You''re all going to live forever so long as they turn themselves into pure souls as well, which is what I need your help with."

    Looking right at him, Destinia said not a word but her smile portrayed the answer she was trying to give. Grabbing her thighs, she spread them wide open and kept peering at As before striking up a deal.

    "If you want me to use my powers to keep them alive after your death, then you must offer me something to remember your presence," knowing full well that As''s angel would perish the moment he dies and leave the world in chaos, Destinia didn''t want to be burdened with the world as she would much rather spend her eternal life in thend of spirits. "Besides, the world will need a god, and I do not want that to be me."

    In silence, the emperor kept his gaze fixed on Destinia. He knew her deal was the only way to keep the world from descending into chaos, but the thought of killing Asmodia and then having the remaining angel''s server under his heir after he was gone, he wasn''t too sure if it would ever work since the demon lords were bound to keep on rebelling.

    "Promise me¡­" Clutching his fist tight, As began to move closer to the queen of spirits. "My child will live forever, and so will the family of angels that have served me so diligently."

    With a smirk, Destinia replied.

    "I''ll scrub their memories clean, and everyone, no, the angels that remain after you''re done with your crusade will serve under an eternal god who will be both pure spirit and pure body and can be anywhere and everywhere all at the same time, while also being nowhere at all."

    "Very well then," content with the terms, As grabbed onto Destinia''s arms and leaned in closer to begin the creation of a god. A god that could potentially ovee the shorings As has, and perhaps even surpass As''s father, the creator of all that is and all that ever will be.

 Chapter 251 - A Humiliating Punishment[18+ BDSM]

    Chapter 251 - A Humiliating Punishment[18+ BDSM]

    "Hmm?" Noticing Harukiing out of the goblin queen''sb all by himself, Fay turned to question what he''d been up to and everything went in the mortal ne after Haruki stowed them away after Asmodia''s arrival.

    Dragging along in her tow, Ste wanted to rush over to Haruki, however, her hand clutched tight by Fay, she couldn''t move a single inch without permission. Noticing the two walking closer to him, Haruki turned to them with a smile before huffing out a contented sight.

    "What happened?" Fay asked, eyes ncing over his shoulder towards the entrance of the queen''sb.

    Before he could answer, Ste turned her hand to escape Fay''s sp on her fingers. Moving closer to her other parent, she swirled around his body in her slime form until she reached his head and sat down on his shoulders with her legsing down each side.

    "Can we y, Daddy?" She asked, her fingersbing through Haruki''s hair.

    "Ste! Your daddy had loads of work to do, don''t disturb him!" Fayined, but Haruki didn''t mind her being on his shoulders.

    "It''s okay, I think I can spare some time for her, but can you check on something for me?" Looking at her with a smile, Haruki began to telepathically tell Fay everything about what had happened inside the goblin queen''sb.

    Feeling shocked by the news Fay stood in front of him frozen, not sure what to make of the situation.

    ''I have a punishment nned for them, but do you mind carrying it out while I take Ste around where I need to be and also y her a bit?'' Pulled out of trance by Haruki''s question, Fay massaged her aching temples before nodding in agreement.

    ''Sure, make sure she doesn''t see violence or anything perverted though.'' Giving him that warning, she was ready to be sent off to the same ce the queen and Medusa had been sent to for their punishment.

    Quickly teleporting her away with a portal, Haruki began making his way toward the shrine to check up on Serena, all the while Ste kept treating him like a horse as she sat over his head. With ns to make sure Serena''s body was still okay, he walked up the stairs to the sight of the apostles greeting him with a gentle bow.

    "Hmm?" A bit surprised by their lowered head, Ste tilted her head as they headed in through the entrance. "Daddy, why does everyone bow down to you?"

    Being suddenly asked such a question, it took Haruki a moment to figure out an answer that wouldn''t be too heavy for a kid her age.

    "I''m their leader, and they show their love to me in many different ways, one of which 11:16

    is to bow in respect," getting closer to Serena''s body, Haruki reached out to Ste and quickly got her back on her feet. "Not to mention, they want me to wake up Aunt Serena as she''s the one they care about the most."

    Getting up on her toes, Ste peeked over at Serena''s body encased in ayer of ice over whichid a ss frame that deterred anyone from touching her directly. Seeing Serena for the very first time, Ste peered in through the ss as the wax-like priestess.

    "Why is she so pale?" Shooting Haruki a sideways nce, Ste reyed her curiosity.

    Pressing his lips together, Haruki let out yet another sight before looking down at his daughter.

    "She has a disease, as far as I know at least," shifting his gaze to the albino priestess, he carefully chose his words to not scare his daughter. "It turns her skin as white snow, and her body can''t absorb much sunlight despite being a master of light magic."

    Reminded of her sun-crested crown, Haruki wondered where it had been put now that she had been sleeping for so long. However, noticing Ste trying to climb up the ss to get a better look, his chain of thought was abruptly broken.

    "Ste, don''t do that," pulling her back with shadow hands, he got down to his knees to lightly smack her in the head. "I know everyone lets you do whatever you want, but even amongst the people I lead, there are plenty who you need to be wary of."

    Looking back at Serena, Haruki ced his hands on the ss case before continuing on speaking.

    "Serena didn''t like to be disrespected, and there would''ve been repercussions if you approached someone like her without caution," although, he trusted Serena more than to presume she would hurt Ste, instilling the fear of strangers in her heart right now was of utmost importance.

    Still clutching the ce on her head Haruki had smacked, Ste put up a pout as tears filled up in her eyes. It had been the very first time she''d been hit by anyone, and even though the attack was lighter than a feather, she had been wallowed up with emotions. Turning around to his daughter once more, Haruki quickly noticed that she hadn''t taken the strike very well. To soothe her heart, he reached into a dungeon pocket and took out a candy that was apparently a widespread delight in the kingdoms he''d taken over.

    "Here, promise me you''ll be careful and I''ll give it to you," holding the spherical candy by the stick, Haruki held it right by Ste''s nose.

    The moment the hint of sugar struck her nose, her eyes lit up the same pink color as the candy and theirs dissolved into her body as slime. Ecstatic, she took the candy off of Haruki''s hands and put it into her mouth. As soon it began to dissolve on her tongue, her hair beamed up a bright pink and so did the rest of her body.

    ''Sugar, might not be the best for her.'' Haruki thought, looking at her with a warm smile.

    ***

    Dropping into a bedded room that smelled of sweat and lust, Fay quickly spotted the two culprits Haruki had sent her here to keep an eye on. Strapped to a wall of metal, the goblin queen and Medusa had their eyes blindfolded while a plug of tentacles moved in and out of their throats. Leaving a big bulge in their pipes, it stole their breath away while itspanions were assaulting them in any hole that had remained.

    Moving closer with bated breaths, Fay noticed a table beside the two with tools of pure tortureying on top of them. While scanning it all with her eyes, she noticed a small tentacle emerging from a portal with a small note with a message from Haruki inside.

    Taking it off of the creature''s grip, she opened it up quickly.

    ''Make them regret trying to run experiments without my knowledge.'' After reading the message, she nced over at all the tools of tortureid down on top of the table.

    With des of all shapes and kinds, and toys of torturous pleasure scattered all over it, Fay knew which one she would be going for. Picking up a ribbed rod in the shape of a minotaur''s dick, she ran her hand down on the cold iron that could easily crush the inside of both of the queens.

    "Medusa can take this without losing organ function," being a subus, Fay knew that while themia queen could take it and survive, the queen of goblins would definitely need something a bit different. "How about this then?"

    Picking up a fan made of feathers, she began making her way toward the two while the tentacles continued tormenting them. Getting closer, she noticed them trying to speak out loud, but the tentacles down their throat wouldn''t allow more than a muffled moan toe out.

    "The note says you''re gonna be here for a month, constantly being tortured," teasing the goblin queen''s nipples with the feathered fan, she made her jump, but the binds held her to the walls. "I suppose Moriyana would be a better fit for the knives and de, maybe even Riley, so why not enjoy while you have me as your tormentor?"

    Being true to her demonic nature after having to nurture a child with love, Fay couldn''t wait to make the two scream, and cry and then cry some more while trying to moan at the same time. Making use of her soul magic, she created a strap around the metal minotaur dick and wore it over her clothes like a waist belt.

    Creating a soul wolf as well, she handed it the feathered fan so it could keep on rubbing it against the goblin queen''s pussy. Moving to Medusa herself, pulled the tentacle out of her entrance before slowly pressing the metal cock against her slit.

    "You are tighter than a human I''ll give you that," seeing how her slit was much different than her own, Fay pressed the giant cock against her which covered her entire entrance with just a tip without getting in even. "But I think that would hurt you more in this case."

    Without another thought, she kept on pushing against Medusa until the tip of the metal cock finally tore into her body. iling around, Medusa tried to escape the torture, but much like the goblin queen groaning out loud because of the feather, she had no other choice but to be toyed with for a whole month.

 Chapter 252 - The Outcast Amongst Angels

    Chapter 252 - The Outcast Amongst Angels

    Being finally assigned a spot to build the coliseum, Deus was hard at work trying to get the structurepleted as soon as possible. Even thinning out his army over his territory, he was ying a risky game by letting Dominion have his way for the time being.

    "Master, are you sure you want more cyborgs working here?" Standing by him in the very middle of the construction, his demonic aide questioned his decisions. "We''re barely hanging in on the theaters and those cyborgs are the only leverage we have against magic and the barbaric equipment of the general''s army."

    "Well, I''m not Asmodia, and not immortal either¡­" Thinking back to her sister''s current state he rolled his eyes before correcting himself. "I guess she''s not immortal either anymore. Anyways, fighting for thatnd that''s flowing with rivers ofva, yeah, I have no interest in dying for it."

    Dismissing his aide''s concern, he scanned around the base structure that his servants had managed to put up. While taking it all in a holographic visor emerged in front of his left eye. Seeing through it, he could easily measure the progress of the construction as well as keep a count of everyone working on the project. And as if that wasn''t enough, his visor listed everything in a list that contained all the information about the subject as well.

    "Two hundred seventy-two?" Turning to his aide, he ced his hand on the hips and red at him sternly. "We only have this many people working and you''re already having problems at the border? Go and do something instead of embarrassing yourself in front of me with those useless reports!"

    Holding two of his fingers towards the hunched-over demon, rotated his hands a little and instantly encased the demon into an eclectic cage. As the realization of what was happening set in, the man tried to scream for another chance but pressed his two fingers onto his thumb, Deus turned the aide into a tiny ball. Making it float over to his hands, he could feel the charge build up inside the small marble.

    "Your stats may have been useless, but I guess it won''t hurt to use your soul to power some of my cyborgs," whistling to get everyone''s attention, Deus threw the marble in the middle of the ground and watched as the demon that had been turned to cyborgs with enhanced metal limbs and minds fight over it like rabid dogs.

    ''I should go back and y some games on myptop.'' Grabbing his headphone that had been hanging by his neck, he put them on like mufflers. Turning towards one of the many gates that were still being constructed, he passed right through and made his way to the temporary lodging that he''d been assigned in the kingdom of Dtia. ''I''m tired of ying the same games though¡­Maybe I should''ve asked the creator to give me more digital items from my world.''

    While walking towards the residence where a family of humans was still forced to live as part of the treaty, Deus felt a familiar presence lingering right over him. Swatting his hands as if he was swatting flies, he tries to get Reya off his tail so he could rx and y some games again.

    "I''m working, okay? I still need rest though," making excuses to her, he managed to get her off her seer and not spy on him from afar.

    Getting to his lodging, he was greeted by the family of four that was still living in the house. Ignoring thempletely, he let his eyes wander over the structure of the dainty yet cozy-looking building. Noticing a chimney on top, he felt slightly excited to see if they even had a firece inside.

    "Alright then," sping his hands, he ordered. "Let''s head in."

    Anxiously smiling back at the demon lord, the two parents were somewhat frozen in ce, their kids on the other hand, not knowing any better, were a lot more excited to wee the weird-looking stranger.

    "Come in!" Said the ginger daughter, jumping enthusiastically.

    Moving closer to Deus with her red-headed brother, the both of them grabbed onto his gloves before dragging him into the house. Their parents., terrified by their children''s rash action, tried to make them stop, but with only a gaze back at them, Deus let them know that he didn''t mind. Although terrified and reluctant to let their kids y with a demon of the highest order, they had no choice but to listen and adhere to his every order.

    "I-I''ll bring you something to eat!" The mother dressed in an apron headed in before Deus could be taken inside.

    "I''ll fix up a fire," following behind her, the father left as well.

    Still being dragged in, Deus wasn''t too sure if the two were nning something, however, given that they were both only humans, he didn''t feel any need to stay on guard around them.

    ''Anyways,'' looking back at the kids trying to drag him in, he saw a flicker of his past life from way before the creator snatched his passing soul from the sea of cosmic consciousness. ''Why does this feel, familiar?''

    Seeing the yful two, he began to wonder, exactly who he was and if he had siblings or kids that these two reminded him of. Yet with the creator now gone, none could retell his story, not even his soul as it had been wiped clean just like Asmodia''s memories of writing the records of the world.

    ''Fuck it, who cares?'' He thought and followed the two deeper into the house.

    "You two wanna y a game?" With a gentle smile, he kicked back into a chair and made hisptop emerge through thin air. "I have a lot of cool games that I''m sure you two would love."

    Even though his heart was frozen with apathy, staying in that house and ying with the kids, his heart melted from the warmth of the firece and the hearty stew made by the loving mother. With his belly now full, and his mind relieved of all stress, Deusid down on the lone sofa they had in the living room. Despite the desperate attempt of the parents to have himy down on the bed instead, he was far too sleepy to move an inch from the ce.

    Lodging on top of him, the duo of human devils were also deep in slumber, making the parents worry even more. However, since there wasn''t much they could do, doing anything at all to prevent him from being upset was the best and only option they had.

    "That''s a demon lord?" Watching him sleep on the couch like a drunken teen, the mother couldn''t reason how such a child can turn into a demon lord.

    "Yeah¡­I''m shocked too," looking at him drooling as he slept, the father was reminded of the time when Haruki''s demon took over. "To think a lust demon would be more troublesome than a demon lord, what strange times we live in?"

    Huffing out a tired sight, the father decided to keep watch on the demon while the mother got some rest. After a while, they would shift ces to make sure neither of their children act out in sleep or that the demon lord starts freaking out through the night. Defying their expectations, the night went on without any trouble, and by the time the two woke up they noticed that Deus was gone, but he''d left behind a pair of matching apparatus.

    Picking up the handheld item with a luminous screen, they noticed a small note right under which read but a few words.

    "Give these to your kids, I''ve taught them through my magic how to use them since I needed more people to y with me, or maybe against me?" Reading it all, the father had no clue what any of it meant, but he dared not to test his luck by defying one of the strongest entities in this world.

    Back in the Colosseum, Deus entered the site while stretching his arms and yawning out loud. Using his visor, he scanned to see if the number of workers had increased, and sure enough it seemed like whoever ate thest aide had taken charge of the situation and ordered more demons as well as cyborgs to work on the colosseum.

    Taking a moment to just admire the work that had been put in, Deus knew that something was missing from the charm of the ce.

    "Neon," he mumbled, smirking to himself.

    That single word was enough of an order to whoever the new aide was, and after what happened to thest guy nobody dared to question him even though Asmodia had provided them thend only after Deus promised not to use neon.

    "Deus lo vult people, Deus lo vult," reminding his servants that all will be as he wills, he started to work on the new ns that had to be put through.

 Chapter 253 - Unfortunate News At Unfortunate Times[18+Extreme Gore And Torture]

    Chapter 253 - Unfortunate News At Unfortunate Times[18+Extreme Gore And Torture]

    Picking up a scalpel from the torture table, Riley moved in front of the goblin queen who''d been strapped to the torture board for about a week now. Scanning her up and down, she noticed multiple bruises and marks left behind by Fay and Moriyana''s illusionary torture before her.

    "While I do feel bad for you two, you were both ying with fire knowing you could get hurt," closing her eyes, Riley grabbed the potion saber from her waist and stabbed the goblin queen right over her hips. "Hopefully this will keep you alive."

    Ignoring the muffled screams of the goblin, Riley opened her eyes and looked down at the saber slowly injecting high potion into the queen''s body. Spreading quickly through her bloodstream, the high motion healed all her injuries and even made her feel fine for once in a long time. As her arms lost their tension and rxed, however, Riley held up her hand with the incision knife mped between her fingers.

    "Moriyana told me the potion will keep healing you for a while," pressing the knife against her chest, Riley excitedly bit down on her lower lip. "Don''t get too rxed though because you''re still going to feel all the pain as I tear into you."

    Hearing it all from the other board, Medusa was thankful that it wasn''t her being tortured, whilst also being afraid since she was the next person in line once Riley was done with the goblin queen.

    "Here I go," saying that Riley pressed the knife against the queen''s chest and ran it down her entire sternum. Cutting her chest open in half, a wide grin took over Riley''s face. However, with the potion trying to seal the wound shut, she didn''t have much time to waste. "Mhmmnn, if only I could eat your heart, but Master wouldn''t be too happy if I acquire a taste for goblins."

    Licking the blood off of the knife, she dug deeper into the chest of the screaming queen of goblins. Running the knife down her stomach, she spilled up all the bile and stepped back for a moment to watch the bile spill out of her body.

    ''Riley?'' For a moment, Riley didn''t even notice Haruki''s voice ringing inside her head. ''Riley? What the hell are you doing standing there?''

    Shaken from behind, Riley''s eyes flickered open and shut before she turned around to face who it was. The moment her eyes met Haruki''s she felt drawn out of her murderous trance and fell back into reason.

    "What happened to you? I''ve been calling your name for a while and you were just standing there looking at the goblin queen," Haruki asked, ncing towards the torture boards.

    Following his gaze, Riley turned around to find the queen free of all wounds that she had allegedly put on her. Squinting her eyes in shock, Riley moved closer to find any hint of the torture that she''d put the queen through. The only proof of her actions was the potion saber still stuck in her hips, but with not a single drop of blood on the ground or even on the scalpel she was holding, she didn''t know when she''d started dreaming with her eyes open.

    "How?" She mumbled, toiling her tongue to taste the blood from before.

    However, no matter how much she tried there was nothing left in her mouth to be tasted.

    "Is something wrong?" Haruki asked, cing his hand on Riley''s shoulder.

    "I-uh¡­" Letting go of the scalpel, Riley grabbed her head and just tried to clear her head for a moment. "That blessing has been messing up with my murderous instincts."

    As she spoke, Haruki was reminded of the blessing Riley had acquired after Ste identally healed her somehow.

    "Illusions?" Haruki asked.

    "Daydreaming more like," throwing her hands down, Riley replied.

    "That could be a problem," moving towards the torture subjects, Haruki began undoing their binds even though their punishment was far from being over. "A spy who''s daydreaming? Maybe, you shouldn''t go out on missions anymore until we figure out how to deal with or make use of that blessing."

    "What?!" The thought alone of not being able to do what she did best, stiffened up her body with angst. "No way! What else would I do then?!"

    Undoing the final binds on Medusa, Haruki left the queens to catch up their breaths and stretch their tormented bodies a little. Turning back to Riley, he opened up two mirror-like portals over his shoulders that showed Moriyana and Margarette directing other demons in each.

    "Everyone''s back to their posts so there''s no need to work yourself too much," moving closer to her once again, he ced his hand over her shoulder to say something before pushing her out of the dungeon. "Asuka and the demi-cat duo are aiding those two as healers, and since Fay is busy taking care of Ste, I want you to go work with the cksmith from the gremlin colony we brought here to make the most vicious weapons possible."

    Snapping his fingers, Haruki took the potion saber out of the goblin queen''s hips with shadow hands and brought it in front after healing her with rejuvenation.

    "Take the queen and Medusa with you. You can be the weapon''s expert and they can deal with the magic part of it," snapping his fingers once more, he dropped them where they needed to be.

    ''Now to go and meet Asmodia at that colosseum.'' Holding his hand in front, Haruki opened up a mirror portal; simr to the one Asmodia had used to escape into the abyss. Emerging from the ground, it reflected the inner streets of Dtia with countless demons and cyborgs carrying around hunks of metal and logs about to be used for the construction.

    "You better be there like you told me you would," stepping into the mirror, Haruki hoped Asmodia wasn''t simply messing around with him since he pissed her off so much when didn''t let her get close to Ste.

    The moment he came out the other end, all the other demons in the surrounding area stopped in their tracks and turned to look right at him. Mixed in a jumble of Haruki''s servants and that of Deus, none of them knew how they were supposed to react to his arrival and simply froze in fear of offending their masters in case they made the wrong move.

    "Keep moving," realizing their dilemma, Haruki fanned his hands to keep them moving. "I''m not a demon lord yet, and I''m not gonna kill you if you make a mistake."

    Despite his assurance, the demons who''d once seen the giant demon ws swinging at them from the sky were much more reluctant to move than Deus''s servants and cyborgs. Shaking his head, Haruki ignored them all and simply grew his wings out and flew towards the interior of the Colosseum.

    From the sky alone, Haruki was baffled by the peculiarity of the structure. Not only was it made from tons and tons of metal, but it also had beams of light emitting from long strings of tubes that he''d never seen before. And even though it was still bright in the morning, he couldn''t see all that much because the metal floor reflected the sun in his eyes.

    Shutting his eyes for a moment, he was hit by a beam of iron being carried inward by a giant apparatus with a w. Upon inspecting it closer he noticed a cyborg sitting in a box attached to the w and perhaps somehow controlling the machine with levers and dials in front of him. Having hit Haruki, he had his head lowered to the metal floor to convey his apology.

    "You''re lucky, I don''t have mypanions with me, they would''ve eaten you alive," giving him a warning, Haruki quickly descended inside the colosseum right where Deus and Asmodia appeared to be fighting.

    "I told you no nuon!" Asmodiained her teeth gritted in rage.

    "First of all it''s neon, second¡­" Noticing Haruki from above Asmodia''s shoulder, Deus put up a smile so he could use him to get out of the situation. "The champion is here!"

    His faked enthusiasm was a dead tell of his bad acting skills. However, feeling yet another presence behind him, Haruki didn''t have time to call him out on his false act.

    "Mellicia has been grumbling for a while," muttering behind Haruki, Mercie appeared from a dark portal.

    "What?!" Asmodia yelped, sounding genuinely shocked by her words.

    "She''s trying to terrify you, don''t just believe everything she says," Deus tried to calm her a bit.

    "And Deus, your machinas are all dead and that stupid war general is securing your territory as his!" Yelling at her brother, Mercie looked at him with pure disgust.

    "Wait¡­" Confused in their back and forth, Haruki had no clue what the hell they were all on about. "What the fuck are you guys even talking about?"

    "If Mellicia''s active by herself, you''ll know soon enough," Asmodia replied, her eyes seeming droopy and drained.

    "Shut up, okay? The fight is happening tonight so I can handle Dominion after we''re done here. As for Mellicia, we can''t do much about her anyways, can we? Not unless she decided to descend down from the heavens, right?" Unsure himself, Deus tried to put up a facade of courage that none of them bought.

    "This was a stupid idea from the start, but with the emperor apparently missing, and Mellicia waking up, this is nothing more than an utter waste of time," growling at everyone around her Asmodia evidently not too pleased with the situation.

    "Can someone just tell me what the hell is happening?" Haruki asked once again, and this time Deus turned to tell him everything about what all of it entailed.

 Chapter 254 - A Jump To The Fight

    Chapter 254 - A Jump To The Fight

    Not long after receiving the news about Melicia, the remaining preparations for the Colosseum were expedited thanks to Asmodia''s time magic. Now that it was time for the battle to begin, Haruki was all the way in a prep room with some of hispanions circling around him. Having sensed the dissolution of the dragon scale, Klein had sent Rose to check on Haruki, which she would''ve done regardless since the news of the battle was being pipered far and wide.

    "So the day really came huh?" Rose muttered, looking down at Haruki sitting in a chair.

    "What day?" He asked.

    "The day you''d do something dumb enough to die," she replied truthfully despite Tiara and Doroke riding on her shoulders.

    "Mother," shooting a sharp sideways nce, Hawthorn didn''t seem too fond of his mother''s tone. "Maybe we shouldn''t be talking like this in front of his daughter don''t you think?"

    Shifting his attention to Ste standing beside Haruki, he looked her in the eyes. His eyes glowing a bright light charmed her for a moment as her mind slowly tired into a deep sleep. Although concerned about what he was doing, Haruki didn''t feel any malice from the man so he decided to put his trust in the man, even if a little.

    "Thanks," grabbing Ste before she could fall, Haruki gratefully nodded at Hawthorn. Quickly slipping his daughter inside the dungeon, he made sure she gracefullynded on the bed and that the demonic spy possessed by Max would take care of her until the battle was done. "It''s better that she stays away from violence or who knows what would happen."

    A bit fearful about the possibility of Ste stripping away his powers during the fight, while not being able to do the same for Inferno made him more than a bit anxious.

    "Regardless¡­" Bringing everyone''s attention to herself once more, Rose continued speaking. "Seems like you did consume the dragon scale, no wonder Klein was mad."

    "Why does he care? So far as I remember he was the one who didn''t want it back and left it in my care," Haruki retorted.

    "He didn''t tell you who belonged to, did he? Or else you wouldn''t speak in that tone," Rose shot back with her eyes squinting in slight annoyance.

    Taken aback, Haruki leaned back into the chair and was just about to interrogate more about the origins of the brooch, however, before he could, Asuka jumped in between the confrontation.

    "Can we talk about this stuffter? The battle is about to begin and we can''t waste so much of our remaining time here quarreling amongst each other!" Her hand spread wide to deter any contact between the two parties, she was evidently more concerned about what was about to happen than what already had with the dragon scale. "Also, master has questions for you too, Rose, questions about that blessing on Ste, but he''s not pushing you for it right now, is he?"

    "She''s right, we can have our little chit-chatster," jumping in, Moriyana moved closer to her master. "We should be nning out a strategy instead of tearing into each other."

    Extending her hand towards Haruki, Moriyana pulled him out of the stool once he offered up his hand.

    "Mother wanted to visit, but I decided to ry her message instead," leaning forward, she ced her hands on his shoulders and pressed her into a kiss.

    Surprised by the sudden show of affection, Haruki''s eyes widened in shock, however, as a strange aura traveled from her body to his, he knew that this wasn''t merely what he thought. Like a wave of electricity washing over his body, he felt strange tingling all over before an announcement rang into his head.

    ''Curse of time: Unblocked!'' Hearing the announcement, he was reminded of the curse that had gued him for a while. So far it had a blocked message written next to it, but now it seemed to be unlocked.

    "At least warn us before you do something like that," covering the eyes of the two kids riding on her shoulder, Rose wasn''t too pleased by the sight.

    "Moriyana!" Pulling Moriyana off Haruki, Asuka stood beside her with a raging look on her face. "This isn''t time for stuff like this!"

    "Asuka''s right, but what the hell are we supposed to do?" Breaking her silence, Margarette got off the chair in the corner and moved towards the group to clutter the ce further. "Riley''s being haunted by daydreaming nightmares so we can''t spy on Inferno, Athena, Alice and I are basically useless in a battle, so''s you Asuka, and Rose and her kids can''t join the fight either. Fighting him head-on seems to be the only choice!"

    The moment she was finished speaking, a roar of demons echoed from right above them. Following the waves of cheer, a sharp sound screeched out before Deus''s voice took over for the screeching.

    "Demons and Demoness-Pfff! Goddammit, this is too fucking funny!" His voice said from above the group.

    "Seems like he''s riling up the colosseum," Haruki muttered.

    Moving towards the exit, he stretched his arm around as he got ready to face the hardest enemy in his life head-on. Terrified of what''s toe, the others watch him walking off, knowing full well that this might just be the end of their master.

    "Fay, if I die," pausing by the door, Haruki turned to look at Fay. "Then I''m sure you''ll know what to do."

    Speaking not a word, Fay nodded back without a hint of emotions reflected onto her face. With his gaze alone, Haruki conveyed exactly what she needed to do in the unfortunate case of him losing against Inferno.

    "As for all of you," faking a smile, he looked around at everyone present in the room. "If I die, you''re free to live, however, you want."

    Having been a puppet under the hands of a demon lord, thest thing Haruki wanted was to force his servants to waste their lives trying to serve a ghost.

    ''The angels turned to demon lords, and battle against their god. If I ask you to avenge me, then I''d be no different than that so-called creator of this world.'' Smiling away at the teary eyes of hispanions, Haruki opened up a portal and stepped inside.

    Vanishing from their sight, he reappeared overhead at one of the empty entrances to the colosseum ground. The lights called neon were already blinding, and the cheering and roars from all kinds of different demons were enough to deafen up any human. Fortunately for him, he was human only in spirit and not in body.

    "Alright, alright, for real this time," hearing Deus''s voice echoing through the colosseum, Haruki shut his eyes closed to prepare for the fight.

    Taking long deep breaths, he slowly opened them back up and noticed a pair of glowing eyes from the other entrance right across where he stood. Standing in the dark, it was none other than the red-headed beast of fire, Inferno. And even from afar, he had a bright smirk on his face as he walked out into the open with a katana riding over his shoulder.

    "Oi! Moron! I didn''t announce your entrance yet!" Sounding genuinely upset that he walked into the arena without being given the chance to announce it dramatically, Deus yelled out through the speakers.

    "Like hell, I care idiot!" Inferno growled back, a smirk still painted across his face.

    While the two fought verbally, Haruki walked out into the arena as well. Once again, Deus sounded pissed as he gave off a grunt, but didn''t bother correcting Haruki since time was already running short for them.

    ''If only the world wasn''t ending, I would be down there fighting these two idiots myself!'' Deus thought, reminding himself of the prophecy of the world''s end when a witch of cmities wakes away from her slumber. At times, Melicia had grumbled and sang for many, on days of bloodbath and massacre, but the grumble through the clouds as she came to was enough to strike fear in the hearts of the angels. ''Fuck it, we''ll deal with her when we have to.''

    "Get ready to witness a battle of a lifetime, you monster!" Looming right above the middle of the arena on a hoverboard, Deus yelled into the mic to rile up all the demons. "And you better put up a good fight Asmodia''s puppet! I lost my territory just so I could enjoy this fight!"

    ''I thought he was a likable guy, but¡­'' ncing up at Deus, Haruki wasn''t sure what to make of him anymore. ''Where the hell are the others?''

    Looking through the crowd, he noticed a special section of the colosseum elevated above all where the rest of the demon lords sat together. Spying out Asmodia from the bunch, he was somewhat puzzled by herck of interest and the way she casually sat with her legs crossed and her head pressed against her hand.

    "Eyes here, puppet," Inferno muttered.

    Shifting his attention to his opponent, Haruki noticed Inferno''s hand stretched towards him and his fingers gesturing him toe closer.

    "Buckle up!" Announced Deus from up above. "The fight begins¡­"

    Right between the pause, Haruki lowered his body slightly to get into a fighting stance.

    "I''m not losing," he said.

    "Neither am I," Inferno replied.

    "Now!" And with Deus''s announcement both of them jumped towards each other.

 Chapter 255 - Clash of Ice and Fire

    Chapter 255 - sh of Ice and Fire

    Drawing out his ming katana, Inferno raised it high as he was closing in on the enemy. Barely capturing the movements of his body, Haruki molded a de of ice reinforced with hardened darkness.

    "Swift, but-"plimenting Haruki, Inferno hastened his pace and circled behind his opponent in the smallest frame of a second. "Not fast enough!"

    Hitting Haruki from the hilt of the sword, Inferno sent him flying. However, before the pain could register in Haruki''s head, Inferno circled back once more and appeared in front of him on the other side.

    "Ughhh!" Coughing up blood, Haruki''s eyes widened upon seeing Inferno ready to kick him again the moment he got closer to him. "Dark ice-"

    Even though he managed toe up with a spell to deter it from happening, the reminder of his promise to not use magic, made him stop before he ended up breaking it.

    ''Fuck!'' He thought, seeing Inferno lifting up his knees to hit Haruki again. The moment he was close enough, Inferno spun around in the air and hit Haruki in the belly with a ming kick that was faster than a blink.

    This time as the pain registered in Haruki''s head, his mind shut downpletely and his eyes went nk. Crashing into the coliseum''s walls, he hit his head against it and woke back with a ''Curse of time: Activated!'' Finally, as the announcement rang in his head, he felt the pain soothing up, and his eyes and ears recovered blinding pain seeping through the skull. For a moment, the pain was so severe, all he could see was white and his ears couldn''t pick up a single sound.

    ''Curse of time: Activated!'' Finally, as the announcement rang in his head, he felt the pain soothing up, and his eyes and ears recovered briefly. Looking around, he noticed Inferno in the distance smiling by himself and with his ming katana riding by his shoulders. However, that wasn''t the most concerning part of the current situation as when he looked around, time seemed to slow down to a quarter of its original flow and the audience filling up the colosseum were all cheering in drawn-out voices.

    ''Asmodia?'' He thought, and although he was right, the seed to control time in times of dire need had been nted into him long ago, after all fusing in body and soul with the mistress was bound to havesting effects of boon and doom.

    ''You''re running out of time, be quick,'' hearing Asmodia''s voice in his head, he looked into the section where all the demon lords had been seated.

    Noticing her looking at him with her legs still crossed, he knew exactly what the gift Moriyana had passed onto him had been.

    ''A temporary affinity for time magic¡­'' As the realization set in, and he noticed Inferno rushing towards him at a much slower pace than before, Haruki turned back to him with a smile.

    "Mimic¡­" As his lips quivered while speaking, Inferno''s eyes widened in shock as he noticed the smile riding on his opponent''s face. "Species: Frost dragon!"

    Unsure about what was happening, Inferno tried to just cut through Haruki''s body and turn him into ash, but as his body burst out a storm of ice, the mes on his were easily deflected by a sh through Haruki''s frozen ws. For a spell, the two looked at each other, and the flow time began to return to normal for Haruki.

    By the time everything had transpired, the audience was barely able to catch anything and even Haruki''s closestpanions watched in shock as he stood with a bloodied head and his dragonic transformation already in effect.

    "This¡­" Breaking the silence, Inferno put the sword back into its sheath. "Got a lot more interesting."

    Taking a few steps back, he couldn''t help but smile at Haruki''s transformation. The scales of frost dragons coating his limbs, and the aura of cold surrounding his existence, he could even hear the cracking on the frozen heart of the incubus who''d turned into a dragon.

    "I once had a chameleon, he used to turn his skin in all shades of the rainbow," lowering himself into a fighting stance, Inferno swept the sleeves of his yukata back and made his fists burn with a deep crimson me. "You''re not all that different from that lizard, but you better have more tricks than a lizard."

    "You''d be surprised," Haruki replied, curling up his w into fists.

    Without another word spoken between the two, they both leaped forward faster than the speed of sound. Even Deus who wanted tomentate the fight couldn''t even keep up with what was happening right underneath him to announce quirkymentary to the audience. Haruki was in no better situation as being a frost dragon might''ve hastened his speed, but the slow depreciation of the curse of time was making it much harder for him to keep up with Inferno.

    "What''s theg?" Inferno muttered as he managed to evade Haruki''s ws as he tried to club him with fists covered with ice.

    Not wasting any chance, Inferno struck Haruki in the belly and sent him flying again. However, being turned into a dragon, Haruki recovered in an instant, and this time, he had something to counter with.

    ''Curse of time: Activated!'' As the announcement rang once again, Haruki was delighted to be right about the requirement for the curse''s activation. Just likest time as he was hurt, the skill activated again, giving him a brief edge in time to counter Inferno with.

    ''If only Asmodia wasn''t the one who I got this skill from.'' Although pissed that Asmodia was still able to control his actions to a certain degree, Haruki pushed those thoughts to the side and rushed towards Inferno with floating ws of ice. Reinforced by darkness, a single strike from them was enough to tear down a wall of diamonds.

    "Fuc-" Perhaps realizing what was happening, Inferno tried to curse right before he was smacked back with a strike to the head.

    Watching a demon lord crash against the ground from his attack, Haruki felt his blood pumping faster as his frozen heart began to revolt by shooting an extreme shot of adrenaline course through his body.

    "What''s theg?" Looking at his bloodied fist, he began to cackle up a little.

    Noticing Inferno getting up on his feet, Haruki held his hand forward and shot him with elerated spears of ice. Getting drilled in by the spears, Inferno let out a slight grunt before he liquified them all with a me burning up his entire body.

    "Clone!" Pushing further, Haruki leaped towards him once again with an army of identical clones ready to attack the demon lord.

    "Cluster bomb!" In retaliation, Inferno used his own skill to rain down balls of fire on Haruki''s clones.

    The fire burned up all the clones and was extinguished without a trace of it ever being there because of the aura of ice around the clones. Having neutralized each other''s attacks, Inferno blocked his opponent''s ws with his katana, and Haruki kept trying to smash him with the floating ice ws. Yet the mes around him burned have our quirks, she has time and magic, I have¡­"

    As his eyes opened back up, Haruki saw his body growing in size them both, and even his ws started to burn up from the fiery katana.

    Unlike before, neither of them backed off and kept finding openings to draw their weapons back and try to sh at their opponent, but their attacks were deflected by the other. Barely catching onto what was happening, the audience felt as though they were watching a dance of ice and fire. Each strike turned part of Haruki''s ws into steam, while the mes on Inferno had begun to die off as well.

    As the arena was filled with mist from the evaporated ice, the two stood amidst the haze ring at each other from a distance. His eyes burning a mix of blue and violet, Haruki followed Inferno''s ming gaze as they circled around each other through the mist.

    "You''re better than I thought," muttered Inferno, holding his sword in Haruki''s direction.

    "It''s hard to believe you''re Asmodia''s brother," Haruki replied, speaking his mind.

    "I suppose, she''s the strongest of us all, but-" Closing his eyes, and quickly sheathing his sword again, Inferno disappeared through the mist as the me of his body hadpletely died down. "We all have our quirks, she has time and magic, I have¡­"

    As his eyes opened back up, Haruki saw his body growing in size and the frame of him alone shadowed him under a ming giant. Burning up all the fog with his burning body, Inferno presented himself in the form of a massive shogun with a red mask painted with open jaws, and numerous swords and bows hanging at the back of his ted red armor. ncing even further up, Haruki noticed a horn-like crown riding on top of his head.

    Abruptly pulled out of his shock, he felt a scorching meing out of the de the demon was just drawing from his back. The more he pulled out the giant sword from behind, the more his surroundings were painted in a crimson glow.

    "To the death, emperor of lust," the raspy voiceing from behind the mask, made the very foundation of the Colosseum grumble.

    Arching the sword forward from behind him, he held its massive de inches from Haruki''s face. The mes seeping out from the sword, melted off the neon as well as the stone walls separating the arena from the rest of the Colosseum. With the de inches away from him, Haruki felt his transformation into a frost dragon melting away and on its path to be undone.

    ''My skin¡­'' Everywhere the scales were burned off of him, he felt his very skin beginning to melt instead of burning.

    "Y-you''re one resilient bastard, you know that?" Although he could feel his throat all dried up, Haruki couldn''t help but hurl out that insult even if it forced him to speak through a bloodied mouth.

    "That, I sure am!" Drawing his sword back to strike, Inferno let out a series of grumbling cackles.

    Too tired to move, and too weakened to strike back, Haruki simply turned to look at hispanions while the demon lord of envy got ready to end his life.

 Chapter 256 - The God Of This World For A Reason

    Chapter 256 - The God Of This World For A Reason

    "Master look ou-" Before Asuka''s cries could reach Haruki''s ears, a storm of clouds began thundering over the Colosseum''s arena.

    Distracted by the sudden change, Inferno stopped the trajectory of his de to nce up into the skies. The rest of the demon lords, the audience, and even Haruki were curious much the same as they raised their heads to the spiraling storm clouds.

    "What the hell?" Peering up with a sense of dread, Asmodia felt a familiar presence.

    "It''s him, isn''t it?" Drawing deep breaths, us got off his seat and turned to look at the other demon lords around him. "Don''t just sit there, get ready!"

    The sight of the clouds tearing apart, and a giant bloodied eye jittering about while looking down, terrified Reya, the most as her portal of sight turned a ghostly pale. Breathing heavenly, she felt her heart seizing up from the fear upon catching sight of thest true angel.

    "M-Melicia, what is she doing here?!" She screamed, getting ready to teleport away from the threat.

    "How t-the fuck would we know?" Mercie replied, trying her hardest not to stutter.

    Watching the eye move away from the tear in the clouds, they witnessed it bring its skinned hand down toward the ground. Riding on the palms of the angel who was once a witch, As was brought right into the arena not too far away from Inferno and Haruki. Extending his hands outward, As closed his eyes for a moment and all of a sudden the surprised gasps from the demon all died down.

    "Been a while since we met, has it not?" Opening his eyes back up, he looked right at Haruki.

    ''''What? Who is this guy even?'' Seeing As for the very first time, that too in the beggar''s cloak, it took a moment for him to remember bumping into him once in the streets of the Marquis kingdom. ''No way¡­''

    "I suppose so," Inferno replied, thinking he was the one being referred to. "But I suppose we can''t keep running away from each other forever."

    Directing his ming sword toward As, Inferno lowered himself on his left knee and slid the right leg back to stay ready to deflect any attacks. Despite his preparations, As casually walked off the bloody palm and fanned his hands to Melicia so she could retreat back into the clouds.

    In the meantime, the other demon lords, except Reya, jumped into the arena. Although lost without any directmands, Haruki''spanions rushed to his side by their intrinsic desire to protect their master. Now that everyone important had gathered up, As raised his left hand and snapped his finger to get rid of the rest.

    "Gospel: Die," following thosemands, the demonic audience began to cry out in screams of agony, as their very body went against their wills and tried to kill themselves in all kinds of ways.

    Some shed their own throats to bleed to death, some ripped out their heart and ate away at them with thest few breaths they had left. The more extreme of the bunch, the ones who enjoyed to torture started to skin their bodies with their ws and even tore off their limbs and organs one after the other.

    Witnessing the power of a god''s words, the angels weren''t the least bothered, but the rest of the group felt heavily unnerved. Having never seen such hysteria, they couldn''t figure out if they were standing in front of a god or a demon disguised as one. Even more concerning was the fact that he stood before them all without a hint of fear or doubt, which in turn terrified them even more.

    "I''m only here for lust and her puppet," speaking once again, As began moving right toward Inferno''s de. "The rest of you might still pose useful after all."

    Stopping in front of the ming sword, he pinched its de with his fingers, and the mes were drawn into As''s body as if he was simply inhaling it all in. Once the fire had died down, the de crumbled to dust, and Inferno''s transformation into the giant shogun was swiftly undone by a sudden glow in As''s gaze.

    "Gospel: Move aside," Asmanded, scanning through Haruki''spanions.

    As the power of his words tried to make them step away and leave Haruki''s side, they all tried their best to stand their ground, but were then flung far away by an invisible force. Hitting the walls like a zooming arrow, not even one of them could keep themselves from falling unconscious.

    "As¡­" Looking back at hispanions falling down on the ground, Haruki gradually turned his head to look back at As. "How fucking dare you hurt them!"

    Blinded by the sight, he shifted into the dragon form and flew at him at the speed of sound. Ready to unleash his fury, he created countless clones in the fleeting moment. Equipping himself and the clones with Shadow ice ws he was inches away from swinging at As, but that''s when the flow of time stopped altogether.

    "Don''t be an idiot," after hearing those words, Haruki blinked his eyes as he tried to look at Asmodia, but the moment they opened back up, he was back in time and standing in the same ce where he stood a few seconds ago.

    His transformation undone as well, he felt slightly drained as if he was stripped of a huge chunk of his mana. Turning to Asmodia who was standing before him, he wondered exactly what she''d done to him.

    "You should thank your master, she saved your life just now," As muttered, looking at Haruki.

    Confused by his words, the other demon lords looked at Asmodia from the edge of their eyes. Unlike As or even Haruki, they had no affinity for time; thus, everything that had transpired within those few seconds hadpletely slipped their minds.

    "Fuck this," reaching for his katana, Inferno was once again ready to intercept As.

    Following his lead, the others lined up before him as well. Growing out a staff made of slithering vines and a lotus on top, us held it towards As with a beam of light charging up on the flower''s open mouth. Stomping her left foot forward, Mercie moved her fists into a fighting stance. Appearing out of her sleeves, an inscribed roll of paper flew out of her sleeves and turned her fists into giant origami gloves.

    "I thought we had time, but¡­" Reaching into a glowing storage portal, Deus took out a pair of holographic guns infused with every basic elemental affinity. "I guess it''s gonna be game over for at least some of us today."

    In all this, as Asmodia stood silent without saying a word or preparing for the fight that was toe, the other demon lords as well as Haruki turned to look at her with a bit of a puzzled look. As too kept his eyes fixed on the mistress of lust, as he knew better than any exactly what must''ve been going on in her head.

    "You seem youthful," Asmodia finally broke her silence. "The curse of mortality, it was supposed to hasten up your death, but you seem youthful, almost as if-"

    "As if its effects have been undone?" Looking at Asmodia with a grim look, As confirmed her suspicion. "I got some help from another god, she burned off the curse. Do not worry though, you can still try to kill me since I''m still a mortal, bound in soul and body by the creator himself. The only thing that has changed is that your curse isn''t keeping me on death''s door."

    "And is that all that she did? Purge the curse I put on you?" Furrowing her eyes with contempt, she could almost smell the hint of the so-called goddess on As''s body. Taking a step forward, she unleashed her ws like a feline before rushing towards him with time slowed down to the smallest possible frame of a second.

    "For the sake of the world, I did what I had to," As replied as Asmodia was inches from taking out his eye. Moving his head away with great fluidity, he wrapped his hands around her and moved his lips by her ears to whisper. "Now''s your turn to do the same."

    Feeling a punch in her stomach, Asmodia''s eyes widened as pain took over her body for the first time since the partition of her body and soul. Her grip on time loosened up as she was forced down to her knees trying to recover from the hurt. And even though her abilities used pain to recover from injuries, the attack infused with true holy magic deterred that from happening.

    "What the fuck happened?!" Mad at As for hurting his sister, while also furious toward Asmodia for slowing down time so frequently, Inferno couldn''t control his rage any longer and just jumped forward tond an attack from his ming katana.

    "Inferno stop!" Stretching his hands forward, us tried to stop him.

    Ignoring his brother, Inferno kept bloating forward and turned into a ming dragon about to consume As whole. Sighing at the oing attack, As fanned his hand towards Inferno and the ming dragon around him turned into a solid statue of ice. However, breaking through the ice tomb, Inferno jumped up high and produced a quiver of fire. Drawing an arrow he quickly unleashed it as a giant phoenix with mes that couldn''t be extinguished.

    Before the phoenix could even make contact with As, the others decided to join the fight even though rushing without thinking was a moronic idea.

    ''Not like we have a choice!'' Following the lead of the demon lords, Haruki got ready to unleash Asmodia''s pets which were specially designed to kill gods.

 Chapter 257 257 - A Deal For A Deal A Life For A Life

    ?

    "Holy summon: Choir of angels!" Standing still with his eyes closed, As raised his hands to the sky as the demon lords were inches from hitting him, and Haruki was almost done summoning void eater as well. Opening his eyes back up, a gentle smile crept over his face. "Don''t kill them."

    Following hismand, the sky opened into countless slits of realm tears. Opening up like eyes, those very slits turned into the golden gaze of countless angels peering down at everyone trying to attack As. In a fraction of a second, their eyes turned bloodshot and beams of bright lighting from their irises turned the night sky into a bright summer day.

    "Fuck!" With time slowed by As, Inferno felt as though he was stuck in the sky with his sword never to reach the enemy.

    "Reya! Get us out!" Right on time as those lower angels shot a scorching beam of holy magic, us yelled out loud to the only person capable of getting them out of the range of attacks.

    Stillgging behind in the special section of the colosseum seats, Reya was as pale as a ghost and the portal she was peeking through had taken the same hint of her skin. Yet, drawing a deep breath, she opened up portals behind the demon lords and managed to quickly suck them in before the beams could hit them.

    "Dungeon portal!" Not in Reya''s list of generosity, Haruki abandoned his n to summon void eater and jumped into a dungeon portal, and even dropped the rest of hispanions in with him.

    ''Goblin queen, I need you here!'' Dropping right into the log cabin, he called out to the goblin queen even before the portal to the ce was shut.

    "Gospel: Come back here!" Right after the beams of holy magic burned up all the metal tiles of the arena, As used the power of the word to pull Haruki back into the colosseum through the closing portal.

    ''What?!'' Unable to control his body, Haruki reached into the arena and started pulling himself back up into the death trap that it had turned to. His attempts to fight As''smand were overshadowed by the sheer tyranny of a god''s will. In the end, as he stepped foot into the arena with metal bubbling up all around him, he closed the portal back up in the short time that he did get back control of his body. ''Dammit¡­I guess, at least they''ll be safe.''

    With Moriyana amongst the crew now trapped in the dungeon, Haruki was somewhat relieved that he wouldn''t have to worry about hispanion''s safety at the moment. Quickly ncing around, he couldn''t find the demon lords. Only Asmodia was left behind as she was too close to As for scaredy Reya to grab in through a portal.

    Shifting his gaze to As, Haruki noticed his eyes wandering through the cluster of angelic eyes covering the whole night sky. Beaming a bright golden, their gazes were split between looking at him and Asmodia and appeared more than ready to unleash yet attack.

    "You¡­" Hearing the mistress wallow out in sorrow, Haruki turned to look at her as she began propping herself back on her feet. "You made a pact with Destinia, didn''t you? A pact bound with the sacrifice of the flesh, your morals, and you-no, our love!"

    Screaming right at As''s face, she couldn''t help the tears from trailing down her cheeks. For once, the angle of modesty was more visible in her than the false title of the demon lord of lust and depravity.

    "I did what I had to," As replied, his gaze dejected and his fists curled tight.

    Taken aback, Asmodia stepped away from the man whom she once called her lover. Smiling nervously, her hands began to p on their own at the emperor''s ridiculous proposition. Not in a million years the god would have convinced her that he''d done what he''d done for anyone, but himself.

    "Of course, because you always know what''s best for the mess your father left behind!" Insulting even her own creator, she stared at him with deep contempt.

    ''God-tier summon: Blood chalice!'' Taking advantage of them quarreling amongst each other, Haruki decided to bring down the creator''s poisoned blood to end it all at once. And although the two felt and even noticed the otherworld portal opening right above them, neither the mistress nor her lover acknowledged it with a direct gaze.

    "Don''t kill him," giving themand to the angels, As turned to Asmodia to bring an end to their romance. "I''m sorry, but you have to die."

    While As continued to talk with the mistress, Haruki was surrounded by oing beams of pure holy magic, moments away from incinerating him.

    "Shadow form body!" Activating the transformation, Haruki leaped away from the first attack, and while still in the air he turned into a giant beast of shadow. The sound of the screaming lost shadows that constituted his body drowned each word of the conversation that As and Asmodia were having. "Emperor of dark: Giant fucking sword!"

    Creating a sword that could easily reach the eyes with his tall frame, Haruki reinforced his body with dark armor and braved the burning beams of pure holy magic. Tearing through the armor, the light forced him to keep wasting more mana by repairing it before the attack made contact with his skin. However, not nning to stick around for much longer, Haruki swung the sword at one of the angel''s eyes and cut it in two.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Finally!" Hearing the angel''s cry as its eye was parted in a bloody partition of two, Haruki felt somewhat relieved. ncing around at the other eyes, however, he wasn''t too thrilled about taking them all down. "Clones: Shadow form body!"

    Cloning himself in the current form along with the sword, he felt his head getting lighter and his mind about to drift away. Yet, steeling himself, he drew deep breaths and tried to stay conscious until the blood chalice waspletely out in the real world and ready to tip over.

    ''I-I¡­I can''t.'' Stripped of all mana, Haruki''s own transformation waspletely undone. And once the shadow form body was gone, he found himselfying against the melting floor while the rest of his clones kept ying the angel eyes.

    "You wanna kill me?" Holding her hands wide open, Asmodia stoodpletely defenseless before As. "Then go ahead, I''ve been aching to die! The only thing stopping me was so that I could stop you from destroying your father''s legacy but it seems like you''ve aplished that already!"

    Hearing bits of the conversation while his mind turned to mush, Haruki raised his head to look at the two. His vision all blurry, the only thing he could make out was As standing in front of Asmodia with a sword of light in his hands.

    "R-Rose¡­" Haruki tried to call the only one he thought could help the situation, however, there was no response from the other end.

    ''What the hell are you doing?'' Noticing As holding the sword by Asmodia''s neck, he couldn''t help but crawl toward him. ''She''s been controlling you all your life. Why do you even want to help here?!''

    Being a master of countless demons, he couldn''t understand why his body was ready to sacrifice itself in an attempt to save Asmodia who was his master.

    "I-I¡­" Hearing As wheezing out loud as he tried to push the de against Asmodia''s throat, Haruki raised his hand towards him, but couldn''t grab him from such a far distance. "I don''t-"

    "You don''t want to kill me, is that it?" wing As''s face in anger, Asmodia no longer had any care for what was to happen to her or the natural order of the world once she was gone. "Do it you fucking coward!"

    wing his chest just enough to draw blood, she screamed out in agony for the heartbreak that she''d just gone through. Reacting not in the least, As let her tear his body as much as she could, but after a quick hundred sh or so, she couldn''t hurt him anymore either. Walking into his arms, she wailed like a child.

    "W-why?" Smacking her chest with her fists, she looked right into his eyes for an answer. "I t-thought you¡­"

    "I do," getting his leg grabbed by Haruki all of a sudden, As nced down at him while the chalice still lingered over their heads. "I do love you Asmodia, but I''ve already made a pact."

    "B-blood chalice: Overflo-" All of a sudden as Haruki was trying to make the chalice overflow with the little mana he had just recovered, the sword of light fell beside him from As''s hand.

    "Emperor''s curse," As mumbled, his hand looming right above Haruki''s head.

    Feeling a strange aura surrounding him, Haruki was revitalized with some amount of strength. Taking hold of him further, the curse coiled up around his heart like a hand and squeezed it tight as if to show who was his new master.

    "Aghhhh!" His screams terrified Asmodia, and she quickly stepped away from As to check up on Haruki.

    "What the hell are you doing to him?!" She screamed, her eyes widened in shock.

    "If I can''t kill you someone else has to, but since you have a pact with him that would kill him as well, I needed him to be an ever-living immortal," the simple exnation left Asmodia without words, for now, she knew, that the threat to her life was more real than ever.

 Chapter 258 258 - What Happens With Those Who Stand By The Sidelines

    ?

    "Sir Dominion!" Rushing inside the general''s tent, a sweat-drenched messenger called out to him. "Sir Razor has ryed the emperor''s current position!"

    Having heard the news about Razor losing sight of the emperor as he ventured into the realm of souls, Dominion was more than interested to know where his brother had gone too after vanishing for so long. Raising his head from the strategic map on the table, he nced at the messenger with sharp squinted eyes.

    "Where?" Was all he said, yet a spark of terror washed over the young man.

    Anxious, he corrected his posture and stood tall with his right hand pressed against his steel armor.

    "I don''t know sir, I was just told to inform you so you could join the other general back in the emperor''s castle! " Being but a messenger, the soldier wasn''t let on in the slightest hint about the emperor''s whereabouts, however, the sounds of desperation in Razor''s voice when he''d been given that message, ryed to him a dire threat. "He seemed upset, a-and threatened to kill me when I tried to ask about the emperor''s location myself!"

    "Well¡­" Moving around the table in front, Dominion walked up closer to the messenger and even rested his left hand on his shoulder. "He did the right thing. Know your ce, you moron."

    Patting his shoulder a few times, Dominion started walking towards the door, but the other soldiers whom he''d been nning the overtaking of Deus''s territory with, couldn''t simply let him go just all of a sudden.

    "Sir Dominion, about the remaining demons? We still haven''t encountered the demon lord of this territory if you leave rig-"

    "We fight, not fornd, remember?" Titling his head back, Dominion looked right into the soldier''s eyes. His own eyes glowing a silver glow were enough indication for them all to back off and let him go without any other questions.

    "Y-yes, sir!" Saluting him along with hispanions, the soldier lowered his head in shame.

    Scoffing at his useless men, Dominion turned his head back to the front and walked out through the tent''s curtains.

    ***

    "Where the fuck is he?!" Gathered up with an army of royal guards, Razor was far from being in a good mood. "Fucking piece of shit first disregarded my region of influence, and now he''s taking jack load of time getting here?!"

    Grinding his teeth in rage, he kept stomping his feet while waiting for the other generals to gather. Especially angry at Dominion for trying to storm his men to y demons in his territory, Razor was beyond pissed at the demi-god general.

    "Is everything ready?" Enshrouded in miasmic clouds, Nabe asked Razor as she descended down from the skies. "I can''t get my men off the border so I''m really depending on you, Razor."

    Being the only general whose''s territory was free of a demon lord, and only had stray demons, Razor had gathered up all the royal guards in his army, so they could rush the demon lords allegedly gathered up at the newly constructed arena.

    "I have enough," he replied, despite it not being true.

    "Who are we fighting anyway?" Gracefullynding on the ground, Nabe turned to Razor to clear out her doubts.

    ''A devil, an elf, a demi-god who hates his brother, if I tell them the truth about what we''re facing, at least one of them is bound to betray us and leave.'' Holding the truth to himself, Razor uttered not a word in response.

    "The usual, demons, what else?" Throwing out yet another lie, he''d hoped Nabe would stop asking him further questions, but the devil in her eyes was more perceptive than he thought.

    "You can just say you don''t want to answer you idiot," although she mumbled to herself, standing right beside him, Nabe made sure Razor could hear her.

    "Fuck off," he replied, his head rising back up to the sounds of thunder rumbling through the skies. "Even Michael''s here, what the fuck is taking that bastard so long?!"

    Thundering down beside the army, Michael quickly moved closer to the two to figure out what was happening. However, before he uttered a word, a mercury portal opened between him and the other two. Walking out from the inside, Dominion had his blood sword riding on his shoulder and the entirety of his body drenched in demon blood.

    "Where the hell have you been?!" Razor growled,pletely disregarding the state he''d arrived in.

    "What the fuck is that demon blood?" Nabe asked, pinching her nose closed.

    Letting go of his sword, Dominion let it fall into a silver portal before pushing back his blood-wet hair. Slowly bringing his hands down, he washed off all the blood off of his face before peeking out from the edge of his palms at the trio of generals staring right at him.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I doubt I could''ve kept my cool with the emperor after what happenedst time," exhaling a deep sigh, he moved past them all and stood atop the small battalion of royal guards. "But now that I''ve taken out my anger on those demons, I think I''ll be fine."

    Snapping his fingers, he produced a droplet of mercury right above his hand. Pushing the floating bubble a bit further back, he stretched his finger slightly and the mercury stretched along with it. Spiraling into a mirror-like surface, it soon became a giant portal that could lead them wherever they wanted so far as Dominion had visited there before.

    "Where to?" He asked, looking at Razor from the very edge of his eyes.

    Right as he was about to reply, Michael ced his hand on Razor''s chest to stop him from replying to the blood-bathed maniac.

    "Now what''s your problem? We have to-"

    "You really believe that he''s going to help the emperor in the state that he''s in?" Looking down at Razor, Michael frowned deeply. "Don''t be delusional."

    ncing over at Nabe, Michael gestured for her toe closer. Reluctant and confused, she moved towards him. Witnessing the strange interaction while his portal was ready to take the army to where it needed to be, Dominion felt more enraged at Michael than ever before. Moving towards him in rage, he turned the mercury in the portal into a sword and traveled it right into his palm.

    "You fucking elf! How fuck-"

    "True holy magic: Lightspeed!" Right as Dominion was about to swing it onto the elf, Michael activated a spell to teleport them all away.

    Like thunder, they jolted up in the sky and traveled in the direction of the inner empire. With the army left behind, all they had was themselves, but even amongst them three, one was a sneaky imposter working for the enemy.

    "I hate to admit it, but you were right about Dominion," Razor admitted before deciding to let the others in on the real situation with the emperor at the arena.

    ***

    Waking up on a soft bed inside the dungeon, Moriyana looked around the room to find herself in the same shrine as Serena. Cluttered all around on makeshift beds were her closepanions who''d been transferred into the dungeon at thest minute by Haruki.

    "What in the world happened?" Closing her eyes shut, she tried to recover her repressed memories through her magic. Failing to recover anything of value, she opened them back up and pulled herself out of bed.

    Moving inside the shrine, she quickly checked up on everyone''s pulse and tried to heal their injuries to what little amount she could as an illusionist. Down on her knees while healing Asuka, she heard the door to the shrine open.

    "Ballerina marite," whispering to herself, she tried to summon the familiar from the otherworld, however, nothing manifested, not even the portal to ce.

    A bit rmed she only rxed her shoulder upon seeing Serena''s followers marching in through the opened doors. For the brief moment, her eyes met one of them, she was given an assuring nod before they began to help her recover from all that had happened.

    "Can you at least tell me what happened?" Moriyana asked the acolyte trying to help her back into the cushioned bed.

    "I¡­We can''t ma''am, please just rest," the reply she got was obviously unsatisfactory, but the strain on her aching body didn''t allow her to push herself much further.

    ''Where the hell is he?'' While her mind kept wondering what happened to Haruki and why he wasn''t in the shrine, Moriyana felt herself drifting. Soon enough as her mind was consumed by slumber, she was instantly woken by the loud cry of her mother almost as if she was calling out to her.

    "NO!" Yelling out loud, she propped herself straight from the dream. "I can''t stay here! I need to go!"

    Even though the acolytes tried to get her back to bed, Moriyana pushed them into a dream-like illusion where they could still see herying on the bed. Getting around to everyone, she started waking them up and recing them with illusions as well.

    "What''s happening?" Seeing how the acolytes were tending to empty beds, Asuka was shocked as well a slight bit creeped out by it.

    "I''ll tell youter, we need to get back to Haruki now!" Waking everyone up, Moriyana gathered them in a circle so she could attempt to pull them out of the dungeon. "I have only tried it against Mother''s magic, if any of you lose a leg or arm, don''t me me."

    Looking around at the determined faces, she went ahead andmenced their escape.

 Chapter 259 259 - Juliet By Proxy

    ?

    By the time the war generals flew into the Colosseum''s arena, Haruki was holding a sword of light dripping with blood. Right under his gazeid the ashes of his master slowly being swept away by the air. As her ashes were swept away, he raised his dejected head to look at As standing beside him, however, having broken the covenant between him and Asmodia, his heart ceased up in the cold sp of a creature unknown even to the gods.

    "Ughh!" With gritted teeth, he was brought down to his knees, and before long the ws around his heart began tearing into him.

    iling around on the ground, Haruki was being internally drowned in his own blood and no matter how much he tried, he couldn''t stop the hurt or use any of his ability to heal his body. Slowly as his heart gave in, heid almost lifeless against the ground with blood dripping out through his lips.

    In his suffering, he''d failed to recognize the presence of hispanions who''d arrived right after the generals. Held in ce by As''s words, the group led by Moriyana stood quietly at the very end of the arena. Their eyes tearing up, they were wallowing up in sorrow and rage, yet with the emperor''s words kept them stuck in ce.

    "Let go of him! You fucking freak!" Asuka yelled out loud, her eyes bloodshot.

    "Shut up," her curses forced the emperor to get them all to cover up their mouths.

    Forced to watch without a peep, Moriyana nced through the handful of people gathered around. And although her heart was crushed by grief, she knew better than to stick around only for them to be As''s next target.

    ''I''m sorry!'' Shutting her eyes closed, she let her tears flow down her cheeks. ''We need to go¡­''

    Summoning a pair of vines under everyone''s feet, she managed to create a flow of mana from her to the others. Opening her eyes back, she was met with surprised gazes from herpanions looking right at her. The shock in their eyes was a clear sign of their disapproval, and yet the illusionist stowed them to safety. With a beam of light emitting from her body, Moriyana epassed them all and disappeared back into the dungeon while the emperor and his generals were too busy looking at Haruki.

    "They left," Razor mumbled, his eyes frowning in frustration.

    "So?" Turning his head towards Razor, he further added to his question. "Those who needed to die today have died. If we kill everyone we deem a threat, I''d be ruling over a pile of ashes¡­Even then, if you wish to hunt down some strays who have no master anymore, you''re free to go and swat some flies."

    Turning his attention back to Haruki lying lifeless on the ground, As kicked him lightly on his legs to check for any signs of life. Getting no response whatsoever, he knew it would take Haruki longer than Michael to recover since this was his first time being revived by the emperor''s curse.

    "Bring him to the castle," Asmanded before peering up into the sky.

    Tearing through the clouds once more, the bloody hand of Melicia descended down to the ground beside him. Walking up to her palm, As nced through his generals. Noticing only three of them present and the nervous jitter in Nabe''s body, he became suspicious of both Dominion and her.

    "Gospel: Nabe, is something wrong?" Asked As, standing on top of the blood pool in Melicia''s hand.

    "Y-yes!" Compelled by the gospel word, Nabe couldn''t lie her way out of the situation.

    Realizing what she''d just done, she covered up her mouth, driving even more suspicion in her direction. The other two generals turned to look at her as well. Confused as to what she was referring to, the men had their eyebrows frowned.

    "We''ll talk about this in the castle, and bring Dominion with you when we meet next time," still not up to speed with what happened with Dominion and his other general, As wanted to talk to them at the same time as he discussed his future ns.

    Pushing matters off forter, he rode off Melicia''s hand and disappeared into the sky. Left behind by their master, Razor as well as the others walked over to Haruki''s body. With Asmodia''s ashes now all gone, they only had Haruki to take care of.

    "Did he curse him too?" Razor asked, unsure why the emperor would do something like that.

    "He said he wanted him alive before, remember?" Clearing out the doubts, Michael knelt down and picked Haruki''s lifeless body on his shoulders. "Besides, he''s not too fond of death is he?"

    "What about Asmodia then?" Razor shot back.

    For a moment, Michael simply stood there in silence looking at Razor as if he was shocked that he even asked such a question. Pulling himself off of the daze, however, he began walking towards Nabe.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "He killed her for the same reason you''d kill me if the emperor allowed it," cing his hand on Nabe''s jittery shoulders, Michael gestured Razor toe closer so he took them all back. "She was different from what he wanted her to be, and a hurdle towards achieving his goals."

    Shrugging off the subtle insults, Razor rolled his eyes before moving closer to the two.

    "Just be grateful you people are still alive," hurling out that insult, he grabbed Nabe''s shoulder even though he was repulsed by her too.

    Being the mature kind, Michael took them flying back through the skies without further escting the matter.

    ***

    Back inside the dungeon, Moriyana knew she would be assaulted with angry howls andints, and so the moment they dropped back into the shrine, she began marching towards the door and headed right out.

    ''Servant Title: Removed!'' All of a sudden, the announcement rang in everyone''s heads. The inclinations of thoughts after the announcement were dire, and none of them knew how to process it.

    "There''s no way," Mumbled Asuka, still looking in the direction Moriyana had stormed off to.

    "Moriyana would''ve seen it if it was an illusion," although reluctant to ept reality herself, Riley pointed out.

    Margarette, Fay, and even Athena and Alice turned to her with a scornful gaze. None of them wanted to ept what they''d seen and were in a deep state of denial as their minds had yet to process everything that''s happened.

    "I''ll believe it when Haruki himself tells me he''s dead!" Pissed out of her mind, Fay had no control over what she was saying. "I''ll find a way to contact his spirit if I have to, if he''s dead then there must be a way to contact his spirit, right?!"

    "If he got killed by the emperor, do you really think he won''t make sure that nobody can revive him?" Athena asked, just as frustrated as the others.

    "Unless you have a better n, shut the fuck up!" Flipping around, Fay moved as close to Athena as she could and pressed her index right onto her chest. "And don''t you dare praise that monster in front of me!"

    Pushing Fay off, Athena growled at her. Standing beside her, Alice joined in as well. For whatever reason, the bond they all felt towards each other for being Haruki''s servants had now been broken, and with it, their feeling had gotten impulsively aggressive.

    "Both of you shut up," trying to de-escte the situation, Margarette moved in between the two. "If we start fighting now and divide ourselves so easily, they''ll hunt us down before any of us has a chance to retaliate."

    Having lost plenty of her own family in the past, along with the Duke of Daira, Riley''s father, Margarette had a better grip on her emotions than the rest of the group. ring at the two until both of them stepped off, Margarette reminded them of something that they definitely needed to hear.

    "You''re free to live your life however you want, Haruki''sst orders," drawing a deep breath, she looked over at Asuka who was still frozen in shock. "If you want to leave the group, you can, but we''re not going to fight each other."

    ''Asuka, she was an orphan wasn''t she?'' Moving away from the two, Margarette made her way to the fox-tailed maid. ''The only people she knew to be family were Snow Frost and Haruki, but I don''t think she''ll be as okay with Haruki''s death as she was for Snow''s.''

    "Asuka?" Wrapping her in a hug from behind, Margarette tried tofort her a little. "We''re gonna find a way to get him back, this isn''t the first time he has betrayed his mortality, remember?"

    "O-okay¡­" Burying her head onto Margarette''s arms, Asuka began to sniffle as tears began strolling down her cheeks.

    "I''ll go inform the others, and see if the monsters want to help us anymore or not," drowning her own emotional outburst, Riley swept out of the shrine so nobody could see her cry.

    As their emotions continued to bloom, their determination to bring Haruki back got stronger and stronger. And as if that wasn''t already an impossible prospect, they were all ready to march against the emperor as soon as Haruki was back.

 Chapter 260 260 - Death Wonâ€™t Take Me[18+]

    ?

    ''Title acquired: Ouroboros! Status readjusted: Dead! Current spiritual trail: Unknown!'' Waking up to a flood of announcements in his head, Haruki couldn''t make out anything through his blurred vision.

    "You woke up?" The gentle voice of an angel called out to him. Feeling a hand running down his face, he tried to focus his eyes on the radiant being. "Are you okay?"

    As his vision cleared up, the sight in front of him was shocking, to say the least. Sitting across him on a table, was the angel form of Asmodia seeming genuinely concerned by Haruki''s dazed condition.

    "Who are you?" He asked before looking around the dark room.

    "The same person you just killed," she replied.

    Akin to the abyssal chamber, the ce Haruki was wasn''t all that different. The only visible difference he could find were the bright edges in the room that shined in the colors of the rainbow. Swiftly looking back at Asmodia, he wondered if this was all a dream.

    "Where are we? Is this another illusion?" He asked, getting out of the white chair.

    "We''re in purgatory, your body needs time before your soul can return to it," getting out of her own chair, she turned around and started moving away from the table. "As for me, I''ll soon be consumed by the collective consciousness of the cosmos."

    Holding her hand forward, she revealed a dark frame of a door. Staring into it, Haruki saw a translucent white path looming atop a sea of stars and leading over to a bright source of blue light. Like a star at the end of the bridge, the collective consciousnessid at the extreme center of the cosmos. Moving closer to get a better look, Haruki noticed countless souls flying right into its me, while numerous others tore from it like dandelion seeds and ventured down through an ever-stretching river of souls.

    "Then what?" Haruki asked, turning back to Asmodia.

    "Haven''t I told you?" Moving away from the doorframe, Asmodia ran her hand over Haruki''s arm as she passed him by in the opposite direction. "I''ve been longing for death, that''s part of why I allowed a measly de to kill me."

    Following behind her, he grabbed her by the arm. That''s when he noticed something striking about himself. His hands seemed unfamiliar for a moment, but then he realized that he was back in the same body as when he was a human.

    "What the¡­" Muttering to himself, his hands let go of Asmodia.

    "Your soul remained human, so here you are in purgatory as your true self," offering him a brief exnation, she moved back over to the table.

    Peering back at her, he felt bemused when applying the same logic to her current appearance. Moving closer before voicing his doubts, he sat back down across her.

    "So I''m supposed to believe you''re an angel by heart?" Haruki asked, not at all convinced.

    "As my brother says often, it must be a glitch," blinking her eyes, she forced Haruki''s screen of stats open in front of them both. Scanning through his abilities, skills, and strength, shended down at the very bottom. "He helped me build this stupid system for you, absolute depravity he called it, I never liked that name, but apparently it sounded cool."

    "You really think this is the time to be reminiscing about this?" mming his fist on the table, he managed to lower back onto him. "If you''re gonna die, and I end up as the emperor''s puppet, then what the fuck was the point of everything we''d sacrificed and achieved so far?!"

    Leaning back into her chair, Asmodia simply red at Haruki with not a hint of emotion in her eyes. The silence between them loomed in the air for a while, but then finally she spoke out once again.

    "You think I''m done?" As she tilted her head to the side, the halo above her head burned off with a violet glow. In its ce came a pair of sprouting horns, and the rest of her body soon turned into that of a demon lord again. "I crave death, but not before I get rid of that fucking idiot!"

    cing her hand underneath the table, she flipped it towards the door frame leading the cosmic consciousness. Trashing into it, the table destroyed Asmodia''s only path toward evesting slumber. The sudden change in demeanor threw Haruki off, and while his head was still turned towards where the table hadnded, he felt Asmodia''s hands grabbing him by the cor.

    "Ughhh, look at me!" To his surprise, instead of the regr violet glow in her eyes, she had waves of tears streaming down like a river. "That fucker, I-I waited for him¡­I gave him my everything, I even went so far as to be a demon to correct him on his path, and what do I get out of it?!"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Knowing less than half of what she was talking about, Haruki moved her hand from his cor and moved away from the screaming banshee. At a slight distance, he looked her up and down before giving her the question that she was waiting for.

    "Surey it on me, what did you get out of it?" The moment he spoke her crazy eyes widened further. Moving closer to him again, she grabbed his hands and held them tightly in between them both.

    "Nothing, he went ahead and fucked a goddess that wouldn''t care in the least if our world crumbles and dies!" Her hands squeezing him tightly, she stared into Haruki''s eyes. "I can''t pass on from purgatory just yet, I need to see that bitch dead, and the bastard who betrayed me too!"

    "You feel cheated and that''s why you want to kill not one but two gods?" Shrugging off augh, Haruki pulled his hands away from her. "As if you haven''t done enough damage already, why would I even help you anymore? I''m no longer bound to you through that covenant."

    Following Haruki as he tried to step away, she stood inches from his face with her eyes still staring into his. Getting at the top of her toes, she crept up a smile as she continued on peeking like a crazed stalker.

    "You''ll help me because otherwise, those demons you''ve left behind, and even thosepanions of yours, they''ll all be hunted and ughtered like animals," grabbing his face between her palms, she leaned herself even closer. "They can''t survive too long without us, they need your guidance, and you need my strength."

    Hearing her reasoning, the image of hispanions being killed shed before his eyes. The very thought of it made him flinch and turned back to the demon in his sight.

    "As if I''ll let that happen, the moment my body recovers enough, I''ll give my best efforts to keep them safe," even though he knew full well that it wouldn''t be as easy as he made it sound, Haruki wanted her but mostly him to believe it.

    "Come on," biting her nail, she gave him a yful smile. "Do you really think he''ll let you do whatever you want once you''ve recovered? If anything, he would keep you on a tighter leash than all the other dogs that hang around him."

    Once again, he wanted to push her off, but the truth in her words didn''t let him do it anymore. Frowning his eyes, he returned her re, however, as his mind gave up on trying toe up with an alternative, he was forced to agree with what she''d just said.

    "What do you want?" His eyes shut closed in frustration, he added. "And I don''t want any half-measures likest time, if this covenant binds me into bing a puppet once again, then I''d rather die right here than ever wake up."

    Feeling a gentle poke on his nose, Haruki opened his eyes. In only a few seconds of him looking at Asmodia smiling in front of him, she pushed her face closer and locked bright violet lips with his. Surprised beyond reason, Haruki had no idea what to do. Should he pull away or let her beforted from the heartbreak she''d been through moments before? How could he tell? Especially when he knew that it was the first kiss of her life and perhaps even thest she could ever feel.

    Breaking off the kiss after a while, she ced her arms around him. Pushing her head against his chest like she''d done with As before, Asmodia let her mind be calmed by the flesh of a man against her own.

    "I can''te back to the real world without a body, a new body that is, like your daughter," peering up, she seemed slightly troubled by her thoughts. "You may not have recognized it yet, but she had the potential to be a god. And I need a simr vessel to aid you, and to make sure that she gets to live a long fulfilling life instead of being ughtered by the emperor''s generals even before she can differentiate between left and right."

    "If you''re asking to use her body then forget it," without a second thought, Haruki made that clear.

    "No, not hers," getting up on her toes once more, she caressed Haruki''s face with one of her hands. "There''s an arrogant goddess with a god brewing up inside her, if you get me that child''s or that goddess''s body¡­"

    Reaching down Haruki''s belly, Asmodia wrapped her fingers around his two jewels between the legs.

    "I''ll be the only god of this world, whom you can easily kill if we add it to the covenant," offered with quite a solid n where he would be the only one in the position of power, and all of the gods, including Asmodia will be gone, Haruki was tempted to ept the bond, but not before he read through the fine prints.

    "How long do I have before my body pulls me out of purgatory?" Haruki asked.

    "Long enough for us to figure out everything about this contract," Asmodia replied before pushing their lips into a kiss. "And perhaps we really hurry, you can show me what a man''s body feels like as well."

    Teeming with bottled-up lust, she pushed him back and started crawling up on Haruki''s body.

 Chapter 261 261 - Merged Souls - Part 2 [18+ Smut Overload]

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    Climbing on top of Haruki''s chest, Asmodia wed off his buttons before gently lowering herself onto his body. Leaning forward, she brought her face closer to him once again and went straight in for a kiss. This time, however, instead of brushing up on the surface for a while, she ventured straight in with her tongue.

    Like venom, Haruki''s mind was drifting from the sweet sensation of her lips that didn''t allow him to push her away as he''d done before. Right as he felt he was getting used to it, Asmodia chuckled about light and with a snap of her fingers made both of their clothespletely disappear.

    Although not as voluptuous as the other women he''s been with, seeing Asmodia naked, Haruki was charmed by the heavenly beauty. Swaying gently above him, the nips of her supple breasts brushed against his skin, and the weight of her belly pressing against his groin excited him more than he should have otherwise been.

    "You seem tense," gently nibbling on his ears, she caressed his face with her left hand. "Still think I''m nning something? Is that what''s bothering you?"

    Bringing her face back to the front, she took hold of his face with both of her hands. Smiling to herself, she lowered herself back on him with her legs yfully flipping about.

    "We have yet to make the covenant, and if you''re so paranoid we can always add a term that I can''t trick you in any way," upon hearing her suggestion, Haruki felt slightly more inclined to believe her.

    Letting out a sigh, he couldn''t believe he was soon about to sign yet another contract with Asmodia, however, determined to take charge this time, Haruki was ready to topple everything in his favor since it was Asmodia who would be relying on him instead of the other way around.

    "You can''t do anything in the real world anymore right?" He asked, just to clear out the remaining doubts.

    "Hmm?" Running her finger down his nose, Asmodia nodded. "I can''t do anything, not even talk to you through our minds. So make your decision quick or else your body will strip you away at any moment and I''ll be forced to walk towards the cosmic consciousness."

    Still hesitant, Haruki ced his hand around her neck and pulled her closer with a threatening jerk. Her lips inches from his face, Haruki could smell the sweetness of her juices still toiling around his tongue from the kiss.

    "Term number one, you can''t trick me or take advantage of me or anyone else close to me," Haruki offered, his eyes looking into her starry violet gaze.

    "Term number two, you''d be my lover since some idiot decided to cheat with a goddess," offering up her own term, Asmodia pressed her lips onto Haruki again.

    Feeling her toiling in his mouth, Haruki took hold of her perky breasts and pinched them so hard it made the mistress of lust flinch. Choked out of breath by the sudden aggression, Asmodia pulled away from the kiss. Looking down at Haruki for a moment, she gave him a crescent smile, almost as if she''d been craving a man''s touch, and was relieved to finally experience it.

    Sticking her tongue out, she lowered her face against his chest and began biting and licking him all over. As the taste of a man''s body intruded her taste buds and nostrils, she could no longer control her urge to be fucked. Reaching further down, she grabbed Haruki''s cock in her hands and pressed it against her cheeks.

    "I always thought those girls were overacting when they had sex with you, but I might''ve been wrong," while saying that, her body parted in a total of three identical clones and they swiftly mped onto Haruki''s dick in their own ways.

    The one in the middle held the shaft by slowly moving her hand up and down its length while the other two either licked it top to bottom or took care of the lonely ball dangling right beneath his dick. Savoring the taste, they gave Haruki a show by passing the vor to each other through their tongues.

    Witnessing it all, Haruki felt himself edging inches from climax, and the urge to paint their faces with his love juices was getting stronger and stronger. Leaning close once again, the trio of clones began licking the very top of Haruki''s dick. From coiling their tongues around the head to teasing the urethra by licking it lightly, nothing was out of bound, and at a certain point their tongues grew in size like amia and coiled and slithered around the entirety of Haruki''s cock.

    No longer in an incubus body, Haruki felt himself unloading into an orgasm while their tongues were covering him all around. Lacing their mouths and faces with his juices, heid their panting for a moment. Asmodia on the other hand, not wasting a single second climbed on top of him and began adjusting his cock right under her tight virgin pussy.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I imagine this to be a lot different but, at least you''ve been loyal to me inmand more than that bastard," hurling insults towards As, she gently lowered her body.

    As the folds of her pussy parted and her flesh began to tear from Haruki''s cock, she nted her nails into his chest so she could force herself to keep going. Powering through the pain, she kept inviting Haruki deeper and deeper into her folds until it was all the way in and she''d painted his shaft in a virgin''s blood.

    "Ha!" Breathing heavily, she could no longer keep herself straight and fell face-first onto Haruki''s chest. On the other hand, the clones cleaned up all the mess that had just been created before disappearing back into Asmodia''s demonic form. "T-this is supposed to feel good, right?"

    Peering up at Haruki, she stared at him while her breasts kept pushing against him with each heaving breath. Gliding his hand down her light violet frame, Haruki reached for her ass before replying.

    "It is, you just need to get used to it," squeezing onto her ass, he forcefully moved her hips up and down to make them both feel a lot better. The moment the first thrust went inside Asmodia, she let out a squeal and buried her head in shame.

    ''Title revoked: Angel of modesty!'' With everything that was happening, Asmodia had not only lost her virginity but her title as an angel as well. Thankfully, however, it was nothing more than decoration at this point and wouldn''t affect her abilities in the least. What she was more worried about right now, were the violent thrusts of Haruki''s hips that were drilling her insides and giving them a new form.

    "Fuck! Mhnmm-Aghhh!" The inside of her body being assaulted by the tool of a man, and she could no longer keep her dignified demeanor. In fact, her eyes were barely holding back tears through the barrage of strange orgasmic sensations assaulting her mind all at once.

    Her tight folds wrapping Haruki from all directions sent him into a frenzy of lust. The title of mistress of dark came with a body so tempting that it could squeeze a thousand men dry with just a touch. However, with his experience with women, Haruki was able to hold on and keep tearing in and out of her wet bumpy folds that mped on him with every thrust.

    It didn''t take long for Asmodia''s inexperienced body to shower Haruki''s groin with the juices of her love, however, continuing on even after, Haruki flipped her onto the ground and kept on assaulting her body. Leaning onto her he toyed with her perky nips by biting, squeezing, and even sucking on them. Thrashing under him, Asmodia''s wheezing moans kept growing louder and louder. She tried to push Haruki off, but with the dose of unparalleled lust driving him, he couldn''t be moved an inch until satisfied.

    Right at the edge of it all, he flipped her around on the ground and pushed himself in from the back. Grabbing hold of her hands, Haruki pulled her all the way back so he could reach as deep into her as possible. Hitting her against the womb, he made her body jolt with shock with each consecutive thrust, and to elevate the climax further, Haruki pulled her above the ground and used her body like a light toy.

    Being only slightly shorter than him, Asmodia''s legs couldn''t reach the ground, which in turn only heightened the pressure of Haruki''s cock ramming against the entrance of her womb.

    "Aghhh! Fu-Fuck you!" She screamed out loud as her body edged on another orgasm. "Ughhh! Fuck that bastard! This feels too good! Ahhh!"

    Throwing out curses directed at As, Asmodia was too taken by the blinding sensation to even care about her past lover. His betrayal towards her only fueled her longing for Haruki''s body and the kind of unmatched pleasure he could provide.

    "Dammit, I''m gonna¡­" Feeling himself about to fill up Asmodia''s inside, Haruki hugged her tight from behind and forced himself right against her deepest entrance.

    Making her squirm thest thrust tipped her off as well, and the two of them orgasmed at the very same moment. Filling her up to the brim, Harukiid down on his back while Asmodia on the other end wasying face-first on the ground with her butt sticking out in the air. Dripping with Haruki''s juices, she couldn''t think straight after the long assault from the mind-numbing sensations that she''d experienced for the first time.

    "W¡­We should," turning his head toward Asmodia, Haruki took a few deep breaths before voicing his thoughts. "Get working on the contract before I disappear."

    "O-okay," Asmodia replied, both slightly embarrassed, and teeming with newfound joy.

 Chapter 262 262 - Conflict Between Brothers

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    A while after the generals set Haruki''s body in a room of its own, they were swiftly called into an assembly with As. On their way there by the meeting hall, the trio of them saw Dominion heading in through the gates before them. And although it worried them all slightly, having seen the emperor''s disy of strength at the arena, they knew that he was capable of defending himself if needed.

    ''This just keeps getting worse!'' Despite having lost the status of Haruki''s ve, Nabe was extremely anxious about her interrogation. ''Should I make a run for it?''

    Scanning between Razor, and Michael, she felt confident in her ability to escape Razor, however, escaping Michael on the other hand was not at all usible. Scrapping the idea, she wondered if she should try and fight her way out of the ce, but it didn''t take long for her to realize the absurdity of that idea.

    ''Goddammit! I hate this!'' Shaking her head, she decided to go through with the process and see where it takes her. ''Hopefully, he''ll take mercy on me just like he did with Haruki.''

    Standing behind the two men, she took a moment to calm her heart but then followed them inside. Making sure not to stick out, she made sure to stick between the two and be dwarfed by their frames and heights.

    "Dominion, I''ve heard you''ve been invading Razor''s territory with your army to joy-kill stray demons, is that correct?" As asked, bringing Nabe''s attention to his illuminated throne.

    Seated atop the throne of ivory and metal, his youthful frame was haloed by the beam of light shining from the stained-ss ceiling. Unlike the rest of the days, for some reason, he appeared more dignified and youthful, and evidently in a more fitting demeanor for a god. Kneeling before his grace, Dominion didn''t seem too pleased by how everything was going. ncing up at his brother, he stared at him with a look of deep scorn.

    "What if I am? With you running away like an imbecile how was I supposed to act?" Rising to his feet, Dominion let his hands glide down over to the sword dangling by his side. "Are the actions of your subordinates not your responsibility as well?"

    "Show you became an example of the deviant to spite me?" As questioned, resting his head over his hand.

    Letting out a light chuckle, a cryptic smile crept up on Dominion''s face. Slowly wrapping his fingers around the sword''s handle, he sent the general in a heightened sense of caution, the emperor on the other hand was not at all bothered.

    "A deviant, me?" Taking a step to the side whileughing out loud, he began pacing in circles with his eyes fixed on his brother. "If there''s a deviant here it''s you! For a god who was supposed to unite the world under one banner, you can''t even condemn monsters for what they are, evil! And¡­You expect me to fall in line when you''ve failed to deliver on that false promise of yours?!"

    Following his threats the room went silent, only the sounds of his steps echoed through the ce. Still unbothered by it all, As kept his calm without offering any excuse or even hurling any insults toward his half-brother.

    "Condemn them, and fulfill that promise, and I''m not only talking about your promise but the promise your father made to me as well!" Tearing up all of a sudden, Dominion''s grip on his sword loosened up. Surprised by the sight, the generals were left aghast. "These fucking monsters, they don''t deserve to live, not after they killed my mother¡­"

    Overflowing with emotions, Dominion stood on the spot panting heavily. His eyes still fixed on As looked for answers, but in his heart, he knew he wasn''t going to change the emperor''s heart with words.

    "Dominion," speaking out again, As straightened himself on his throne. "What you want is mindless violence that would end up eradicating more than half of all As. That''s not something I can stand by, since I don''t want my heir to inherit a world scarred with marks of genocide."

    "An heir?" Picking up on the words, Nabe muttered out loud.

    As she mentioned the word isted from the rest of As''s rebuttal, the other general picked up on it as well and turned to her at once.

    "What the hell? Do you know something about this?" Asked Razor.

    "Don''t tell me it''s you who-"

    "Oh fuck no! Why would you say that?!" Interrupting Michael before he could finish his thoughts, Nabe yelled out to him. However, the very next moment as her eyes caught As looking right at her, she covered up her mouth for having sworn in front of him. "Sorry, I didn''t mean to¡­"

    "Michael, I adopted Nabe, and to even suggest such a thing," with frowned brows, As''s lips contorted into a disgusted grimace.

    "I-I apologize, my lord," bowing his head, Michael knelt down in shame.

    Shifting his attention away from Michael, As turned back to Dominion. He, of course, wasn''t too happy with the sudden news, especially when he had not a clue as to who the bearer of this new god was.

    "A kid? Why?" He asked, feeling a bit suspicious.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Do you really need me to remind you of our mortality?" Being half god while also being affected by the emperor''s curse, death was just as real of a threat to Dominion as it was for As. "Half-human half-god, you might be even more of an enigma than me. If anything, you should be worried about leaving a legacy of your own via an offspring with a woman you can spend your life with."

    Tired of the moronic talk, Dominion jerked his hands down and turned to the gates with a rageful grumble.

    "A woman? Like Asmodia, your lover?" Mocking his brother, he marched towards the exit. "I thought love had made you blind, but it seems killing her had turned you insane!"

    With Dominion gone, the silence in the throne room lingered for a long time. The other generals wanted to voice their doubts and even question the emperor, however, after the confrontation they''d witnessed none of them wanted to be the first to break the ice.

    "We''ll talkter, you three should rest and maybe keep an eye on that demon until he wakes up," no longer in the mood to talk, the emperor brushed his remaining generals off of the room.

    ''Thank god, Dominion took all the heat or else they would have murdered me with questions.'' Nabe thought while making her way out of the throne room.

    ***

    Resolving their differences, Haruki and Asmodia stood beside each other as they set the terms of their new covenant. After hours of debate and rebuttals, they''d finally reached a point where both of them were satisfied by what they hadying in front of them. Picking up the parchment in his hands, Haruki scanned through it onest time before it was time for them to sign it.

    "No control over my action, my body, in return no harm done to each other in any form," skimming through he briefed the terms just so both of them were on the same page. "The natural order of the world must remain, and only then will Asmodia Archangelieus Remure ept purgatory in case of her death¡­"

    Looking off the document, Haruki nced over Asmodia''s naked frame wondering who gave her that extensivest name.

    "What?" She asked, frowning in confusion.

    "Your name it''s¡­"

    "Oh, that¡­" Huffing out a sigh, she pressed her lips shut before opening them back again to speak. "I inherited the name from a past life I don''t remember, or at least that''s what theic creator told me."

    Shrugging his shoulders, Haruki turned back to the parchment and began reading through it once more.

    "Until the emperor''s death, and the death of all who oppose Haruki Shin''s rule, both of the parties will have their souls intertwined and the death of one through another''s hand would mean the death of the other," continuing on reading, he voiced the terms that in case someone other than them tried to kill one of them, the other person, so long as they are alive in the mortal world would host the other person''s body until a new vessel is found.

    Once done reading through it, Haruki could feel the force of something trying to pull him out of purgatory. With the time they''d spent together in this ne, his body had recovered enough to snatch him back into his mortal frame.

    "Time to sign, I don''t think I''ll be here for long," biting on his thumb, he wasted no time and inked the covenant with his blood.

    Following suit, Asmodia did the same and imprinted her thumb right beside Haruki''s. As the signatures were done, a portal of dark magic opened underneath, and through the cryptic sigil rotating under the parchment, a dark w-like hand snatched it in.

    "What was that?" Asked Haruki, unsure what kind of creature it was.

    Turning to him, Asmodia ced both of her hands on his face. Then as she pulled him closer once more, her lips pressed against his for a brief moment.

    "There are some things in this world that even I don''t know," pulling away from the kiss for a second, she looked Haruki deep in the eyes before taking a step away. "Seems like it''s time for you to go."

    Feeling himself fading away, Haruki''s eyes grew weary, and the veryst thing he saw before his vision wentpletely dark was the face of the same demon he''d seen when waking up after dying the first time. However, unlike the creepy smile from before, she seemed genuinely concerned, something that Haruki had never seen reflected in her eyes.

    ''Moriyana, I hope you can see her like this soon enough.'' With that thought his mind shut downpletely.

 Chapter 263 263 - Rising From The Deadâ€¦Again

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    Waking up in a dark room, the first thing Haruki noticed through his darkened vision was a ss chandelier gently osciting above him on the bed.

    ''What kind of idiot puts a loose chandelier above the bed?'' Pulling himself up, he looked around trying to find the guards that he was sure would be present. To his surprise, the room was empty, and the only jumbled chatter he could hear wasing from the other end of the door where guards had been stationed.

    ''Status!'' With nobody in sight, he decided to quickly survey the changes in his stats. ''Race: Incubus, ouroboros, status readjusted: alive, current spiritual trail: Stable¡­What the hell is this new section? And why do I have two different races listed in race?''

    Puzzled by not only that, but a lot of other changes such as the demon servant count being reset to zero as well as possessing the emperor''s curse in the curse section. Most startling of all, however, were his newly acquired titles.

    "Ouroboros, is that a title too?" Unsure as to how it affected his abilities and powers, Haruki jumped to the next title listed at the very top. "The demon lord of lust¡­Did I acquire it after killing Asmodia?"

    Put in a dilemmic situation, Haruki had no clue whether to feel assured by the title or not. After all, unlike many others, it allowed him to borrow strength from lust demons under hismand, but with his servant count turned zero the effectiveness of the title was just as much of a mystery as ouroboros.

    Getting off the bed, he walked up to a vanity desk to check up on his abilities. Once standing in front of the mirror, Haruki shifted from his demonic form to Snow and then to Rose to further push the limits; he even managed to transform his hand into that of a frost dragon hybrid.

    "What else should I check no-" While scanning through the skills, his eyesnded on the magic affinity chart. "No fucking way."

    Looking through it, he noticed that he now had an affinity towards all kinds of elemental magic including true holy and true dark. What threw him off further were countless other affinities that had been listed in runguage and at the end of it all was onest intelligible affinity for magic.

    "Ouroboros again?" Like a nesting of bugs, the word ouroboros was guing everything on Haruki''s screen of stats.

    ''She said Deus helped her build this system, maybe asking him about this stuff would help?'' Chalking it up forter, he turned towards the doors ready to head out and face whatever was about to happen. For now, all he was supposed to do was keep up a low profile and figure out a way to invade thend of fairies and souls. To reach that end, he had no other choice but to adhere to themands of the emperor.

    Moving towards the doors, he heard a slightmotion on the other end, and before long came storming through, the general of south Razor Alumnibolt. As soon as he entered, his eyes turned to Haruki. Right behind him, Nabe stormed inside the room with a look of pure dread reflected onto her face.

    "I knew I felt a demonic presence, he''s alive again!" Reaching for his saber, he drew it out as a precaution against Haruki.

    "Razor! Don''t agitate him! He might still be hostile from being revived!" Nabe eximed, holding the tip of Razor''s saber by a leash made of dark miasma.

    Irked by Nabe''s attempt at restricting him, Razor nced at her with a frowned gaze. However, since Haruki was no longer to be treated as a threat, he was forced to simply let out a sigh and put the saber back into its ce.

    "Be thankful, the emperor''s gone insane or both of you would be minced meat by now," Razor said, turning his head towards Haruki.

    "What do you want?" Tired of the snarky rascal, Haruki retorted with a frown as well.

    And although he felt like reaching for his sword again, Razor kept his calm and simply decided to leave the room with Haruki on Nabe''s watch. Left behind in the room, Nabe wasn''t too keen on approaching Haruki or even mentioning theirpanion-hood from before. Their interactions together had been few, and so she didn''t feelpelled to help him, while at the same time, she had no reason to condemn him either.

    "Let''s just pretend nothing happened," keeping things vague in case someone overheard them, Nabe moved her fingers to the lips to warn Haruki against spilling the beans about their rtionship. "Now if you don''t want to get in any trouble, keep shush¡­"

    Taking note of her warning, Haruki decided to keep their past interactions a secret and act as though it was the very first time they were meeting face to face.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Why did you bring me here? Where are my servants? Mypanions?" Kicking up his acting, Haruki began to y out the part of a dazed frantic who''d just woken up from aa.

    Doing her part in the y, Nabe yed along. Giving him a light briefing, she told him that the emperor would meet with him in a day or two since he was too fazed after dealing with his aggressively impulsive brother.

    ''It feels weird to be a servant, but not bepelled to do whatever they want.'' Even though he''d turned into a servant of As, unlike the covenant with Asmodia from before, he was the master of his will and nothing was imposed on him until he somehow managed to really piss off his new master. ''Let''s hope I can gain his trust and figure out more about thisnd of fairies.''

    With that thought, he was taken out of the room by Nabe for a quick trip around the castle of a god. Carved from a single ore of obsidian mined by the extinct giants, the entirety of the emperor''s castle was as dark as a bat''s cave. Had it not been for the natural flow of lights through the open rooms and windows, the majority of humans acting as guards wouldn''t be able to navigate through the ce.

    "Stained ss everywhere, what''s this obsession of royalties with stained ss?" Following Nabe, Haruki asked her out of curiosity.

    "They all have their meaning apparently," stopping by one such window, Nabe turned to look at it for a moment. "Just like this one."

    Looking at it himself, Haruki noticed a domeish stained-ss window, embedded with sapphire pieces so dark it almost appeared the same as the obsidian from the castle walls. In it, however, he spotted squished bodies of dark-skinned children with only one of them crying out its heart.

    "It''s the same image from your memory," having already seen her memories, Haruki identally ended up mentioning it out loud. Thankfully, there was nobody around them to hear what had just slipped his mouth.

    "Yeah¡­Apparently, these windows show the past of those who are bound to walk within these walls, however, they change their designs to show those memories only after those events have already transpired," finishing her exnation, she began leading him towards the outward garden.

    Upon getting there, Haruki was greeted by the raging eyes of numerous royal guards looking right at him from their barracks by the training grounds. d in armor of gold, and exquisite weapons of all kinds, they seemed more than ready to assault their master''s new toy.

    "First, an elf, then a devil, and a demon¡­" Grunting in frustration, one such soldier couldn''t keep his thoughts to himself. "As if we have to just ept it!"

    Raising his jeweled sword, he held it firmly and directed it towards Haruki. Unfaltering Haruki and Nabe simply stood in front of the group of soldiers slowly gathering behind the man. Knowing well enough that none of them stood a chance against Haruki, they had nothing to fear. Instead, being out in the open, Haruki was left contemting whether he should try to escape by flying and meet up with the rest of his group or stay here for a while longer until things became a lot clearer.

    ''From what Nabe has told me so far, it doesn''t seem like Asuka or the others have been captured or hurt, but if I try to escape the emperor''s general and soldiers are bound to hunt them down in hopes of finding me.'' Deciding against escaping, Haruki looked back down to the soldier.

    As his eyes met with the one leading the charge, Haruki stretched his soldier a little before taking up their offer for a fight.

    "Take your time you bastard, we''re not letting you back into the castle," following the leader''s words, the other soldier began to surround Haruki from all directions.

    Cracking his neck, Haruki moved towards the apparent leader. Standing inches from the grip of his de, he looked right into his eyes before speaking.

    "I needed to check my skills anyways, to see just how much death has affected my reflexes," feeling confident, Haruki gave him a smile.

    Clenching his teeth, the leader of the rebels was obviously not too pleased by the mocking demeanor.

 Chapter 264 264 - Preparing For A War

    ?

    Following Haruki''s death at the hands of the broken covenant, plenty of demons from his army were already led astray. Some rose to power with the help of their friends to control small sections of the three kingdoms still under Margarette''s supervision.

    "These idiots¡­" Feeling light-headed after watching numerous ces being overtaken by rogue demons, Margarette turned her head away from the crystal globe. "How did Haruki even keep these idiots in line?"

    Pressing her hand against her head, the only thing that came to mind was instilling a fear of their mortality, something Margarette wouldn''t be able to achieve by herself. Turning her head to the side, she nced up at the goblin queen still maneuvering the sights being shown inside the crystal globe.

    "Looks like monsters are more loyal than demons, not like I had any doubt," drawing her hands away, she stopped projecting the images inside the globe. "Regardless, what''s the n now?"

    Huffing out a sigh, Margarette got off the chair and started walking towards the exit to the dark room. Quickly grabbing the door handle, she turned around to the queen and gestured to follow her around. Nodding back at her, the queen followed Margarette as they went out of the vacant house and sneaked around through the streets of Marquis.

    "We should clean up the streets a little before rendezvousing with the others," shifting into a stray demon with tattooed-on clothes, and ascivious look, Margarette nced back at the queen to remind her to change her appearance.

    Noticing her gaze, the goblin queen reached for the golden ne swaying over her supple green breasts. sping it between her fingers, she closed her eyes for a moment to imagine a convincing form that could be taken for a demon. Taking a spell to concentrate on it, the jeweled ne enshrouded her in a dark red aura before shifting her body into a red-headed demon.

    "This should be goo-" Opening her eyes all of a sudden, her newly grown horn bumped into a rope line hanging between houses to dry out clothes in the sun.

    "Shsshh!" Covering the queen''s mouth, Margarette stopped in her tracks and looked around the corner at a group of rogues she''d just seen in the crystal globe. "Familiar summon: Phoenix!"

    Summoning the fire spirit out from her ring, she sent it right to the group to be incinerated in an instant. By the time they noticed the ming beast of unquenching mes, their eyes had already begun to melt, and their bodies didn''tst all that much longer either. Screaming in agony, they burned not even knowing what had happened or who''d assaulted them.

    As the two kept sweeping the streets, the day began to take a turn for the night, and before long the screams of countless demons were heard in the kingdom Marquis for thest time.

    "Hopefully the others got the rest," on her way to the inner parts of the castle, Margarette undid her mask and so did the goblin queen.

    Greeted by the terrified human servants standing by the doorway, the two simply moved past them showing no worry or care for their safety. With the emperor''s assault on Haruki, the terms of the treaty were no longer being upheld, and thus the only reason they were still alive was simply because nobody bothered to get rid of them just yet.

    ''We might have to start turning them soon, our numbers have willed a lot after Haruki''s death anyways.'' While contemting their fate, Margarette finally noticed Asuka as well as Riley standing out the meeting room gates in the distance. Rushing to them through the corridor, she got to them as quickly as possible.

    "How did it go?" Margarette asked, standing before them.

    Her arms crossed, Riley leaned against the door before replying.

    "The others seem to have returned to their territory, but we managed to convince Deus to help us since he no longer has control over anynd in Scorchen Gaia," striking the door behind her with her elbow, Riley struck the entrance to the meeting hall open. "And he''s promised to get the others to help as well since they can''t just let the emperor get away with Asmodia''s death."

    Flipping around, she led them into the room and settled down in one of the seats in the massive

    round table. Following suit, the others did the same and settled down facing each other.

    "The streets of Marquis should be fine for the moment, but we still need to clear out Dtia and Lamenia," mapping out a n in her mind, Margarette began to unravel in front of everyone. "Once we''re done gathering our support we can start leading an all-out war against the direct domain of the emperor."

    "What about master? If we start a war while he''s in the emperor''s custody, I can''t imagine things to be pretty then," Asuka asked, concerned for Haruki''s safety.

    "As didn''t kill him right?" The queen of goblins jumped into the conversation. "If he wanted to kill him then wouldn''t he have done it already? And from what intel we''ve gathered so far, he should''ve been revived by now, so if As really needed him dead, why would he revive him at all?"<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Missing certainponents of the emperor''s plot, they were all wondering pretty much the same thing. Why would the emperor need their master, especially when he was a demon? What good coulde out of this ordeal, and whether the risk of betrayal was worth taking remains to be seen by him.

    "Probably to control demons instead of having to kill them all the time," standing by the gates of the meeting hall, Moriyana spoke her opinion with a smile. As everyone''s eyes turned to her, she began making her way towards the roundtable, and in her tow, Athena and Alice came forward as well. Taking seats around each other, Moriyana borated on her theory further. "Demon can only be controlled by a demon lord with the same affinity as them, and now that master has killed Asmodia that title should be his once he wakes up from his cold slumber."

    Her exnation being the most sound, everyone decided to ept it until some other clues for the same came forward.

    "So we''re just going to march in on the emperor''s domain?" Asuka asked, still not too keen on the proposal.

    "We can always create a distraction to get master out of there," holding her hand towards the goblin queen, Margarette pointed at the gold ne. "Michael can potentially sense demonic presence, but if we send one of our monster spies disguised as the royal guards we might be able to slip under his radar."

    "Or¡­" Propping herself up on her feet, Riley shot a keen gaze at her mother. Holding her hands spread wide, she almost seemed offended not being given the job of spy. "Or I, the best spy in all five kingdoms, can go there, right?"

    With only crooked smiles and contorted eyebrows looking in her direction, Riley knew she still had no chance of going back to doing spy work just yet again. The blessing of the benevolent actor was still making her fight her carnal instinct which in turn made it a lot harder to keep her hands free of blood and guts.

    "Riley, until Fay figures out how Ste''s abilities are affecting you, we can''t send you on any missions," Margarette replied visibly stern.

    "Y-yeah¡­" Remembering the kind of stuff that Riley had told them, the queen of goblins felt a strange chill run up and down her back.

    "Moving past all the spying stuff," mming her hand on the table, Moriyana got everyone''s attention back on her. "When are we pushing back against the emperor? Tomorrow, next week, next month? Sitting here thinking about it won''t do anything so get the deadline set and shoot for it."

    Taking a moment to assess everything, Margarette shut her eyes and began running all possible scenarios in her head. From being struck down before the attackmences to failing the offense against the emperor''s army, and even running into countless problems while trying to get Haruki off the emperor''s sp, as it all yed on in her head Moriyana spoke up once again to give the temporary leader some rity.

    "How about you guys worry about getting Haruki out, and in the meantime, I''ll find a way to break the emperor''s curse that''d been allegedly hit by?" Hearing Moriyana''s proposal, Margarette opened her eyes and looked right at her.

    "If you can still summon that marite that multiplies indefinitely then perhaps we can finish up on our preparation in a week or so," Margarette replied, resting her head over her palms.

    "Last I checked the portals to the otherworld were sealed off, but¡­" Having failed to summon the marite before, Moriyana wasn''t too sure whether this would work or not. "Let me try again."

    Getting out of her chair, she moved away from the table and held her hand stretched right ahead. Concentrating her mana in her hands, she took a deep breath before summoning the creature.

    "Marite ballerina!" Thankfully, the portal to the otherworld opened up ahead, and the creature of dark dropped in like a rip from a tree branch. ted, Moriyana began to smile before turning to the others. "Seems like Mother didn''t close off the pathways properly."

    "Or she opened it back up," Athena muttered without too much thought. However, as those words fell into the ears of all present, their mouths gaped open and their widened nervous eyes looked around at each other.

    "She couldn''t still be?!" Margarette eximed, mming both of her hands on the table.

    "I¡­Don''t know," with little to no knowledge about the covenant signed by Haruki and Asmodia, Moriyana had no way of knowing whether her mother was somehow still alive or not. "Let''s just focus on the job, the beast is here, so I want you all to work your ass off while I try to figure out a way to get the emperor''s curse off of Master."

    Not keen on indulging the matter any longer, Moriyana left the marite in Margarette''s care and ventured into the otherworld portal to find a way to get rid of the curse.

 Chapter 265 265 - Deus - The Most Normal Of All

    ?

    "So I take it you''ll be there?" Deus asked, looking right at Mercie.

    Her hand pressed against her head, she moved the pile of documents in front of her to the side with the other hand. Peering while letting out a tired sigh, she nodded at Deus in agreement.

    "I can''t let As get away with what he did, but I can''t leave my domain to aid you either," resting her hand on the pile of documents, she infused them with her mana and soon they turned into origami cranes, and began to fly around in the room. "However, if you need a distraction, I can start pressing the emperor''s army from my territory so that his army is stretched out to the limits."

    Watching the cranes fluttering around, the creased stress on Mercie''s face quickly melted into an expression of calm. Smiling lightly at her brother, she was reminded of the way Deus and Asmodia often fought over the most minute problems.

    "That sounds great, I''ll get Inferno to join the main army instead," although he''d already made the promise, Deus knew that convincing Inferno to join Haruki''s army would be much harder than convincing anyone else.

    Still looking at him with a gentle expression, Mercie grabbed her brother''s army before pulling him closer to her face. Pulling forward from the desk, Deus was bent over forward with his eyes wide open in shock.

    "After Asmodia," moving her head by his ears, Mercie began to whisper into the ears of her blushing brother. "You''re my second favorite sibling, don''t you dare die before¡­You know what I mean."

    Even though they fought just as often as Asmodia and him, Mercie was a lot closer to Deus than any of the other demon lords realized. Pulling himself back, Deus looked away to the side and made Reya open up a portal behind him so he could go ahead and meet thest person he needed to convince.

    "You''re creepier than big sis when she''s angry," although feeling a bit disgusted by Mercie''s insinuation, Deus looked at her onest time before disappearing into the dark portal. "And you''re not touching me again, even if that means losing your support for this war."

    cing both of her hands on the desk, Mercie rested her face on top as she continued on smiling at Deus. mping her cheeks with her hands on both sides, she spoke to him again.

    "Whether you like it or not, I''d take my reward once this war is over," licking her lips, Mercie watched over Deus as he walked into the portal with a diforted look.

    ''I''m d it''s over.'' Deus thought while traveling through the dark portal and about to be spitted out to wherever Inferno was.

    "You never told me what she did to you," Reya asked, her voice echoing through the dark even though she wasn''t really there.

    "You''re not even gonna help in the war, why would I tell you?" A bit disgruntled, Deus didn''t want to talk to the scaredy demon lord of sloth.

    With nothing to retort with and having no intention to carry on with a quarrel, Reya kept silent and simply spit Deus out where he needed to be. Coming out into an enclosed hall filled with burning mes and smog, Deus looked around the ce trying to find Inferno. At first, he couldn''t see anything through the burning frame of the building, but then standing at the far end of the hall he noticed Inferno standing in his shogun form with his back turned towards him.

    "Inferno!" He called, taking his first step forward.

    As a sudden cracking sound came from under his feet, Deus stopped in his tracks and looked down to see what he''d stepped on. Squinting his eyes, he noticed a charred bone that could easily be mistaken for coal. Confounded by what he''d seen, he surveyed the floor with his eyes to find a sea of burned bones fueling the mes burning all around him.

    "What the hell have you been doing?" ncing back at his brother, Deus noticed him looking right at him now. In his frenzy to shell out his anger from Asmodia''s death, he seemed to have lost his ability to discern friends from foes.

    "Just one? Bring me more royal guard!" Thinking he was still talking to his servants whom he''d killed in his frenzy, Inferno mistook Deus for a royal guard of the emperor.

    The mention of the guards made Deus look around the ground once more, and scattered through them he found the equipment of the emperor''s guardsyered under a coating of ash.

    "Have you been kidnapping these idiots?" This time as Deus looked back up, Inferno was inches from his face with his giant fiery de drawn.

    "Shit!" He cursed, wondering how his brother even managed to shorten the distance without making any discernible sound.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    His reflexes slowed down by his thoughts, Deus couldn''t move away in time and took a direct hit of the burning sword. Flying through the burning hall, he hit his head against a few fallen wood columns before his body finally fell down to the floor.

    "Ahhh!" Grunting through the hurt, he picked himself up and decided to subdue his brother before trying to talk some sense back into him. "Data scan! Astromech model: Impacticore!"

    Activating his abilities, a transparent visor appeared in front of his left eye, and began scanning all the quantifiable stats from the enemy. Jerking his hands, Deus created a pair of translucent guns in his hand all the while a bulky cyborg made of pure mana stood before him as an impact shield. Through the transparent blue body of the cyborg, Deus watched as Inferno rushed towards him with his de once again drawn, however, this time, he was more than ready to intercept it.

    "Impacticore get ready!" As Inferno swung his sword, the cyborg took it directly on its body, but instead of cutting through, the de bounced out of Inferno''s hand.

    Jumping above the cyborg, Deus held his guns pointed at Inferno''s head and shot them both beforending behind him. The astral bullets that struck his brother didn''t do much damage but they managed to daze him from the sudden burst of light they gave off. Using that small frame of time, Deus made the impacticore mimic his moment and struck Inferno down with a synchronized keep to his legs.

    "Are you done yet?" Moving closer Deus held his gun right above Inferno''s shogun helmet. "Or do you want me to cluster bomb this ce like we did when taking over Gaia?"

    "Gruhhh¡­" Grumbling still, it didn''t seem like Inferno had recovered just yet.

    "Very well then," shooting the helmet without pause, Deus kept on going until it began to crumble.

    "Stop!" Screaming out in annoyance as his head was finally set straight, Inferno pped the guns out of Deus''s hands.

    Taking a step back, Deus watched as Inferno got back onto his feet and his transformation into the armored shogun came slowly undone. Making his guns and the cyborg disappear, Deus reached into a deep blue portal and took out a bottle filled with cold water. Trying to hand it over to Inferno he held it towards him, but instead of taking it from his hands, his brother pped it out of his sight.

    "That crinkly bottle makes stuff taste awful don''t ever offer it to me again," huffing out a grunt, he drew deep breaths and consumed the mes burning all around them.

    Left with but charred coal under their feet, Inferno opened his eyes and looked down at Deus wondering why he was there.

    "If this is about anything other than killing that bastard, you can go away now before I take my anger out on you for real this time," Inferno warned, his eyes burning with deep red mes.

    "First off, you''re probably the only demon lord who''s less of a problem when you go berserk so I wouldn''t consider that a threat, secondly, I''m here exactly for the reason you''d want," Deus replied with a smirk.

    "Good, then let''s talk outside," turning towards the exit, Inferno began walking away without a word more.

    Following him out, Deus was led up a pair of stairs and when he came to the sight of a battlefield underneath the cliff they were on, he was left more than just a bit baffled. Standing on Inferno''s territory in Scorchen Gaia, he began to sweat profusely from the heat of thend as well as the army of infernal demons fighting against the emperor''s expansive army.

    "Wanna bet on who takes down the most humans?" Looking at Deus from the edge of his eyes, Inferno had a giant smirk riding on his lips. "If you take down more than me, I''ll help you regain your territory, but if you lose you''ll give the most bewitching ofdies from your army of servants."

    Turning to Inferno with a sigh, shrugged his shoulders as if to agree.

    "I assume you only want tough women who can handle themselves in battle?" Knowing his brother''s taste well enough, Deus made the offer himself.

    "Ahaha! Most certainly!" And with that inferno jumped down the cliff to y human soldiers.

    ''Why is everyone obsessed with the other sex?'' Shaking his head, Deus jumped in as well.

 Chapter 266 266 - A Tribute To The Mistress Of Dark

    ?

    Blood¡­It flows in times of desperation, and for better or for worse, it''s soon washed with mournful tears. Carried by the howl of deep sorrow, the souls of such warriors lost in battle ascend to martyr-hood and shine upon those left behind as blinding beacons of unrelenting struggle. At times, however, the one who''s lost is no meager foot soldier, but an angel amongst angels, that need more than a deeplymented funeral.

    "Amedstia Asmodia Archangelieus, I bring you¡­" Floating above an army in which her brother contested for the most bodies, Reya looked down with contempt as her eyes bleed inment for her sister. "A sacrifice."

    Trailing out with her words, a dark magic circle as big as the battlefield emerged above the dying soldiers. Infused with arcane magic, something her sister had been a fond maestro of, Reya summoned through it an army of otherworldly creatures to descend down and tear apart the royal armies.

    The very first to peek out was the infamous eater of voice, and along with her came her hatchlings, eager for a taste of flesh in the real world. Following the lead of the god-killer, the arms of Goliathan crawled out from the portal, and the one-eyed creature with screaming souls trapped inside red down at the terrified soldier.

    Struck with shock as the Marite ballerinas, the lurker in dark, and countless others began crawling out, the soldiers stood frozen in ce questioning reality. Noticing the change in their surroundings, Deus and Inferno peered up to admire the craft of a great summoner.

    "And I thought she would keep hiding," looking right at his sister Reya, floating in the air in her true physical form, a warm smile crept up on Deus''s face.

    Taking the form of a little girl with a dark frilly dress and a teddypanion with patched button eyes, Reya kept on casting more magic while her Sunday hat fluttered with the wind.

    "Seems like she''ll get the most bodies," Inferno mumbled, moving beside Deus.

    "I suppose those beauties will be happier taking care of Reya instead of you anyways," retorting with that, Deus turned back to the field of battle, and dashed towards the terrified soldiers.

    Storming right behind Inferno pushed his infernal demons out of the way, and decided to turn thend into a crater ofva with his burning fists. With every strike from his hands, the bodies of the human soldier melted in an instant, and with every step forward his feet turned the ground into igneous hot rocks.

    In contrast, instead of brute force, Deus made use of his swiftness as well as astral gadgets to take out the soldiers one after the other. A single bullet tore through the skulls of his victims, and the summoned cyborgs yed and crushed the royal guards like toys.

    Hitting the ground finally, the creatures from the otherworld crushed the men under their feet, and the moment their mouths gaped open, even the soldiers knew that there was no escaping. Despairing at their eventual fate, the soldier began abandoning their posts and tried to storm out through the back, but with the lurker in dark burying itself in the ground, they were all devoured into the earth by a pair of giant tentacles.

    "May the creator''s wrath spare no mercy on your souls," watching the carnage as the very earth began to bleed from her magic, Reya cursed them all to an afterlife filled with unparalleled torture.

    The carnage continued and the sea of blood kept flowing more and more fruitfully. By the time the earth was coated with the blood of those who believed in As''s vision for the future, the three demon lords present as well as the otherworlders felt exhrated for having let out their anger.

    "What the?" Dropping out of the magic portal in the sky, Moriyana was baffled at the sight in front of her. As her eyes caught the attention of the little girl dressed in dark, she knew exactly what she was dealing with. "Reya? Is that you miss sloth? Did you summon these guys here?"

    Referring to the pets of Asmodia, Moriyana wanted to know why they''d all left so suddenly while she was trying to figure out a way to deal with the emperor''s curse. Not saying a word, however, Reya gave Moriyana a way before slipping into a portal of hers.

    "Wait!" Flying forward, she tried to stop the demon lord to perhaps get some answers about dealing with the curse, but with the portal sucking her in, there was no way for Moriyana to catch up with her.

    "Oi!" While she did miss Reya, Deus on the other hand was calling out to her himself. "Come down here!"

    Waving his guns around, he tried to get her down whilepletely soaked in blood and guts. Wincing at the sight, Moriyana reluctantly decided to approach the jolly lord of gluttony. Getting her feet back on the ground, she felt slightly threatened by the amount of gore all around her along with the fact that she was standing in the presence of not one but two of the most dangerous beings in this world.

    "Whose army was it?" She asked, still looking around the ce.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "That cocky bastard Dominion," at the very mention of the general Dominion''s fist burst back into mes. "He shouldn''t be able to mess with us for a while now at least."

    "Oh forget him," shaking his head, Deus washed off all the guts and blood by incinerating it with a holographic circle encasing his body for a few seconds. "How''s the preparations going back at the Marquis kingdom?"

    "It¡­" Ignoring Inferno, Moriyana turned to look back at Deus. "I don''t know actually, I''ve been busy trying to find a pet from my mother''s collection who can help me get rid of the emperor''s curse from Master."

    "Well he can die and use another body, can''t he?" Deus responded as soon as he heard her query. "You just have to trap his soul and put it in another body so that the other one can''t pull his soul back into it once it recovers."

    Squinting her eyes, Moriyana looked at him as if he was speaking a foreign tongue.

    "How would that work?" She asked, confused by his suggestion.

    "Why do you think my sister never created a new body for herself while her soul was still detached?" Taking hold of her hand, Deus pulled her into a sapphire portal that appeared behind him. Coming out into a room illuminated with blue light and all kinds of mechanical testing apparatus, Moriyana had no clue as to what she''d been pulled into. "If she did put herself in a new body, she would''ve lost her status as being of the angel race, and along with it, she would''ve lost her affinity for plenty of her skills. The new bodies aren''t alwayspatible with the soul so the possibility of a mishap was always there."

    Continuing on with his exnation, he led her up a spiral of stairs before bringing her to a wall filled with ss panels with translucent images floating all over.

    "I''m getting sick just looking at this, what is it?" She asked, more lost than ever before.

    "That kid, Ste''s her name right? I''ve been watching her, and from the looks of it," turned to Moriyana, Deus sped his hands together. "It''s worth taking a deep dive into making more bodies as capable or perhaps even more capable than her."

    "But how does that help master right now?" Brushing off the part about him watching her, Moriyana simply wanted some answers.

    "It''s simple, the curse only works if Haruki is attached to that body, but if he let goes and takes another vessel, then the soul will be stable in the new body, while the original body perishes and deteriorates with time," his exnation of the whole ordeal still had Moriyana confused, but with no n of her own, she decided to y along and see how exactly Deus nned to get rid of the curse from her master.

    "I have no clue what the hell you''re rambling about, but if this works, you''d instantly be my favorite uncle," shaking her head, Moriyana was ready to aid him in any way he wanted.

    Far away in the domain of the emperor, while all of the chaos transpired everywhere, Haruki was skillfully taking out the royal guards with more ease than stealing candy from a toddler. Watching it all unfold from above a balcony, the emperor felt confident that he could make use of him to fight against the demon lords or perhaps even subjugate them intoing back to his side.

    ''There''s still a problem¡­'' Knowing full well that Haruki would definitely betray him if given the chance, the emperor needed some leverage to keep him in line. ''Perhaps using that priestess''s soul marble would be helpful enough.''

    Thinking back to Serena''s soul brought to him by Dominion, the emperor was ready to break up the fight between Haruki and the guards so that he could keep him from getting too cocky about being one of the strongest in the castle.

    "Gospel: Halt!" He said, and all the guards followed.

    Surprised by their bodies suddenly freezing in ce, Haruki turned to the voice to find the emperor looking down at him through a balcony.

    ''I forgot the gospel doesn''t work on demon lords, this could be a problem.'' As thought as it seemed that his n to make Haruki the new demon lord of lust to control lust demons had turned out to be a double-edged sword.

 Chapter 267 267 - The Calm That Precedes The Storm

    ?

    Standing a few inches away from the emperor, Haruki kept up his guard while pretending not to be as conscious of threats as he was while fighting the royal guards. Moving closer to Haruki with his ragged browned robe fluttering to the side, As shooed off the royal guards with a fanning gesture from his hands.

    "Bring a woman condemned to death from the dungeon," He ordered, looking at the beat-up leaderying blood-ridden on the ground. "And once you''re done, hand over your garbs for none of you are fit to serve under our great lord."

    Hearing As pretend as though he wasn''t the god that he posed to serve, Haruki was a bit thrown off but refrained from questioning him about anything just yet. Once the soldier struggled up his feet and began walking away with his head lowered in shame, As stomped his feet forward as he walked to get Haruki''s attention.

    "It''s almost been three weeks, your carnal curse would need some mending," alluding to the woman he''d ordered the guards to bring, As spoke in a soft yet firm voice.

    Striking his hand forward expecting a handshake, As locked eyes with Haruki and was ready to keep stern until he got what he wanted. Although reluctant, with no real reason to poke him just yet, Haruki shook the emperor''s hand.

    "I have great ns for you, Shin," his hand gripping Haruki tight, As gave him a gentle smile. "Just stay in line and prove your worth to me, and perhaps I''ll halt the advances of my men at those kingdoms still held by your moronic army."

    Letting go of him, As curled his fingers into a fist before opening them back up and revealing a cloudy ball of crystal resting over his palm. A single sight of the marble was enough for Haruki to know exactly what the emperor was holding.

    "Why don''t you give that back to me?" Haruki asked, slowly reaching for Serena''s soul.

    Forming a fist again the emperor made the marble disappear once more.

    "Not yet, I need you to prove yourself to be useful, and most importantly," getting even closer, As leaned onto Haruki''s ears and whispered. "Be loyal till the bitter end."

    The way As phrased his words, Haruki was reminded of Asuka''s promise to him on their first night together. It made him wonder exactly how much of his past the emperor had a hold of, was it limited to his past memories from before his death, or had he seen everything that he knew this instant?

    ''If he knew about my interaction with Asmodia in purgatory, then I doubt he''d be this passive with me.'' Chalking it to be the former, Haruki didn''t pay the emperor''s phrasing much mind.

    "Now go on and rest," turning around, the emperor started walking away from Haruki and Nabe. "For now your orders are just to use that prisoner''s body for the night and try not to die since another revival will be a huge waste of time."

    His words lingering in the air, the emperor left the two baffled. Neither Haruki nor Nabe had expected him to act the way he did, especially Haruki who''d expected the first meeting with As to be a lot more heated than the way it just happened.

    "He''s tired, I''m sure," mumbled Nabe to herself.

    ncing at her from the edge of his eyes, everything began to make more sense to Haruki. Having already been told about As''s fight with Dominion this very day, he was more and more inclined to believe Nabe''s exnation.

    "What now?" Haruki asked, unsure where to head off next.

    "Your room I guess," Nabe replied, still looking in the direction her adoptive father had gone in.

    ''Why do I feel like something is wrong with him?'' She thought, her mind racing through all kinds of negative thoughts.

    The emperor himself wasn''t feeling too well either. Walking through the passages he kept fiddling around with Serena''s soul between his fingers, all the while his heart was crushing in remembrance of Asmodia.

    "I''ll soon have an heir, I shouldn''t be thinking about her anymore," shaking the image of his dead lover out of his mind, he made his way to the room he''d once been poisoned by the very same person.

    ''The ghosts of your past don''t die easy I suppose?'' epting yet another night of unrest, he kept his emotions bottled up as he made it into his room. However, the moment he stepped in, he could''ve sworn he saw a faint afterimage of a woman akin to Asmodia moving around the room before hiding through thin air. <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Gospel: Show yourself," As uttered, calmly, but then he cursed himself for having forgotten once again that the gospel of god doesn''t work on demon lords.

    Checking the ce for himself, he scanned through every corner, every crevice of his room, only to be blown in the face by mustered-up dust.

    "Have I gone insane?" He wondered before letting himself fall onto his bed.

    ***

    Back in the minotaur dungeon, the whole army of monsters and remaining demons were temporarily put under the charge of Fay, the queen of Arachne and even to some degree Medusa, however, aiding them further to prepare for the oing war, Rose hadgged behind more for as long as she could now.

    "I need to go check on Klian, Tiara said he has recoveredpletely now so maybe we can use his strength in battle as well?" Standing in the middle of the training ground where Ste was being secretly trained at the moment, Rose turned to Fay for her permission. "I can''t stay here much longer, especially since this ce is getting more and more chilly and I need to scold that idiot of a brother for making this ce so ufortable to live in."

    "Sure, but don''t be long, from what I''ve heard from Moriyana, the war isn''t all that far," focusing on Ste trying to cast a spell, Fay let Rose off the hook. Too consumed by Ste''s inability to cast offensive magic or even support magic on will, she couldn''t afford to be distracted.

    "Alright, Doroke and Hawthorn are still here so take care of them for me and make them work if needed," with that Rose turned her body from that of a maid into a humanoid dragonkin with burning scales all over her body for warmth.

    For a moment, Ste looked at her with awe and even gasped out loud at her godmother''s transformation. Winking back at her little angel, Rose sprouted out her wings to entertain her further before flying out through the dungeon tunnels.

    Coming out of the dungeon, Rose was assaulted by the bone-chilling winds of the blizzard. Turning to look at her brother stillying on top of the Frost castle, she took to the skies and jolted towards him while the countless embers from her wings fell down to the ground and began thawing thend a little.

    Landing right beside the tower on which Klian was sleeping, Rose noticed a much smaller Frost dragon slumbering on top of his nose. Resting her hands by her hips she made her way to Tiara''s dainty frame and poked her nose with a ming index.

    "Aghhh!" She cried, waking up in an instant.

    Covering her nose, she looked right at her mom standing in front of her in her human form.

    "I told you not to turn into your dragon form, if someone sees you like this," pinching her cheeks, Rose pulled Tiara off of Klian''s body. "Then you''ll be in a boatload of trouble, you know?"

    "Rose¡­" Waking up from his niece''s cries, Klian looked at Rose with his snowy silver eyes. "Why are you here? I thought you didn''t like the cold?"

    His voice alone made the very ground under them tremble, but even if it were to fall, thankfully they all knew how to fly. Letting go of Tiara, Rose turned to her brother to exin to him everything that had happened so far. It took a while for her to get things through to him with Tiara''s presence since she had to water down some grueling parts which were quite unfitting for the ears of a child.

    "I did see that bastard generaling out of that dungeon a while ago," raising his head, Klian looked right at the entrance to the minotaur dungeon. "Seems like you''ve all moved back in though."

    "We can talk about thatter, for now, just tell me you can fight again," hearing his sister''s plea, Klian looked down at her before replying.

    "A battle to overthrow the god who''s killed our family and my only son?" Lowering his head to get as close to Rose as he could get, Klian peered into her eyes as he finished rying his answer. "Don''t make meugh by asking, you already know that I want to munch on the bones of that bastard!"

    With a smile on her face, Rose clutched his face between her hands.

    "I''m sorry I asked," she replied with a chuckle, and soon enough, even though she barely understood what was happening, Tiara joined in on the hug shared by the two dragons.

 Chapter 268 268 - A Deceptive Night [18+]

    ?

    In the dead of night, while Haruki was gazing out the window of his newly assigned room, a sudden knock on the door broke his moment of peace. Turning to the noise, he noticed a chained woman peeking through the door before slowly making her way inside. Bowing lightly to him, she kept her head down until the guards outside the room shut the door close.

    Looking back at Haruki, she dragged her raggy clothes along as she moved closer and closer to him. Theck of fear or doubt in her eyes left Haruki a bit suspicious, and so to clear out his doubts, he decided to use an ability that he''d gained after being revived.

    "Space contortion: Undo transformation¡­" Stretching his hand towards the girl, an inscribed magic circle of luminous white was shot by him towards the girl. Flying above her head, it ran down her frame until her feet and unraveled the true appearance of the prisoned woman. "Nabe? What are you trying to pull?"

    Moving her finger over the lip, Nabe kept moving closer until she was inches from Haruki''s face.

    "I wanna know what''s exactly been happening since the emperor has kept his lips shut for a while now," getting on the tip of her toes, she moved her face right next to his ears. "Also how the hell are you nning to get out of this mess, that too I wanna know."

    Taking a brief pause, she ced her hand on Haruki''s chest before moving her face in front of him. Gazing up into his eyes, she caressed the side of his face before continuing on speaking.

    "I told you I wanna escape the emperor''s grasp, and now that everyone''s suspicious of me, it has be more important to me than ever," hinting at the demise of her own adoptive father, Nabe threw her hands around Haruki''s shoulders and gently pressed her lips against his.

    Pushing her off, he didn''t want to take any chances in case she hade to him as a spy for the emperor. Having nomand over Nabe anymore, the only thing Haruki could rely on to protect himself from her tricks was his own intuition.

    "What about the prisoner they were sending to my room? Did you do something to her? What if she spits out that she never visited me?" Trying to find holes in her excuse, Haruki began to question her fervently.

    "She''s fine, the guards don''t know that she''s still back in her cell, and before the night''s over I''ll make sure to fiddle with her memories a little bit so she can attest to visiting your room," answering Haruki''s question, she tried to glue herself onto him once more.

    Holding her in ce with shadow hands, however, Haruki made sure that she couldn''t move an inch further toward him. Getting a bit tired of the chase, Nabe''s cheery face dropped into that of frustration.

    "False hands, really?" Giving her arms a sudden jolt, she thrashed the shadow hands into dust. Turning her gaze back to Haruki, she stared at him for a while before sighing. "I''m a war general, at least don''t insult me with stuff like this."

    Out of the grips of shadow hands, she moved past Haruki and sat down on his bed. Looking around the room, she ruffled through the curtains around his bed while her eyes took in the charm of all the luxuries present.

    "Red carpeted floor, a candled chandelier, and even¡­" Slowly shifting her gaze between the vanity table and the open window, Nabe continued pointing things out. "A dressing table, and an open window? I guess the emperor doesn''t think you''ll escape."

    Turning her head back to Haruki, she wanted him to voice out his thoughts. Walking closer himself this time, Haruki got as close to Nabe as possible and looked down at her with a hint of suspicion apparent in his gaze.

    "He may be right or maybe not?" He replied, keeping things vague on purpose.

    "Hmm?" Throwing her body back onto the bed, she gave him a seductive gaze. "And you think you can do either of those things if you''re dead from the carnal curse?"

    <novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    Making her dark armor and ck leather clothes disappear with magic, Nabeid naked in front of Haruki with her body seemingly ready to be devoured. Running her left hand over to her breasts she let her fingers sink in while the other arm traveled down her belly to spread out the fleshy folds of her pussy.

    "Even though you can be revived by the curse, exining your death wouldn''t be an easy task," revealing the red fleshy bumps inside her body, she gently ran her fingers in and out a few times before bringing them to her lips to lick the juices off her hands. "Besides, I''ve been craving the same kind of euphoria from the night you made me yours first."

    Pushing her breasts closer to her lips, she bit down on her own nipples in an attempt to excite Haruki into action. Barely holding on to his sanity from the effects of the carnal curse, Haruki wanted to jump right on top of her body and make love until he couldn''t tell each other''s bodies apart.

    "Just make sure not to cum inside, alright? That would cause us both a lot of trouble in the scenario we''re in," with that warning, Nabe began toying with her nips with her tongue all the while her other hand kept her folds spread apart in wait for Haruki''s manhood.

    Suddenly as his eyes started glowing a violet glow, Haruki''s mind and reasoningpletely shut down. In its ce was the lust he''d been feeling bottled up, and although he tried to fight it before he could realize he was alreadyying on top of Nabe''s charcoal body with his cock raging hard against her entrance.

    Grabbing hold of her breasts, he reced her tongue with his own and suckled on them like a starving baby. Pinching the tip of her other peak, she teased her for a while longer until he couldn''t help wanting to tear into her body. Positioning himself right against the entrance, he began to push inside her fold. With each inch deeper, Nabe''s body arched towards Haruki as her groans grew louder by the second.

    Feeling himself all inside her, Harukiid on top of her body motionless for a few seconds. The feeling of flesh in reality had taken hold of his mind, and the moment he tried to move he felt like never letting the pleasure stop.

    "Mhnmm!" Keeping her lips pushed together tight, Nabe made sure not to let her voicee out, but as Haruki''s thrusts gained momentum, she couldn''t keep them in anymore. "Aghh! Fuck!"

    Hearing the moans from inside the room, even the pair of male and female guards were feeling bothered up. Through their iron helmets, they turned to look at each other but stayed silent while their bodies grew tenser from the moans escaping through the doors. The men felt jealous of the new recruit getting to sleep with a woman who was more than desirable, while the women couldn''t help but imagine what kind of beast could make a girl moan like an animal.

    "A demon¡­" Mumbled a female guard as she clutched her rosary to remind herself of her oaths. The others watching her felt ashamed and tried to keep their minds clear as well.

    "Ahhhh! Fuck me! Oh god!" All of a sudden as yet another loud moan invaded their mind, the girl with the Rosary decided to make a trip to the restroom and deal with the fountain opened up inside her armored pants.

    Back in the room, Haruki''s lips were now pressed against Nabe''s, and the flesh of her body was being drilled into by his raging manhood. While toiling around with her tongue, Haruki''s fingers squeezed tight on her breasts making it much harder for her to breathe. And so as he pulled away from her lips, she took deep breaths which made her chest rise up high from the expanse of air in her lungs.

    "I-I think I came already," Nabe muttered, panting heavily.

    Like a beast in heat, Haruki ignored herpletely and kept thrusting away at her body. It wasn''t until Nabe teleported as dark mist a few inches back did he stop. But then again, as he noticed Nabe on her belly with her tongue sticking out; he knew exactly what she wanted him to do and so he climbed up the bed to do it.

    Grabbing hold of his manhood, Nabe coiled her tongue around its shaft and began lubing it up so she could lower it into her throat a lot easier. Once done with it all, she nted a gentle kiss on his cock before inviting it into her wet steamy mouth. Slowly pushing it deeper and deeper, she began moving her head back and forth to make Haruki unload his seed right down her throat. Peering up at his violet eyes, however, she got apletely different impression than what she was expecting.

    ''It doesn''t seem like he''s going to be done anytime soon¡­'' Continuing on sucking on his dick, she looked in the direction of the gate and a devious n came into her devilish mind. ''I guess being a bit naughty with the guards wouldn''t hurt, besides, as a devil it''s kind of my job to mess around with humans.''

    Chuckling to herself, she pulled her lips off of Haruki ready for something unforgivable if caught.

 Chapter 269 269 - The Queen Of Valkyries

    ?

    "So¡­" Picking up the steaming cup of teaid before her on the table, Helga looked at Asmodia through her iron visor. "When are you nning to take the walk?"

    Her eyes covered under the iron visor of her feathered helmet, she gave her a cold stare while bringing the tea cup closer. Pressing her cherry lips against it, Helga took a light sip of the dark liquid before lightly wincing at the horrid taste.

    "Don''t make that face," Asmodia retorted, sipping on her own cup with her legs leisurely crossed over each other. "As for when I''m joining the flow of cosmic consciousness? As someone in evesting purgatory is it not up to me to decide when I want it to end?"

    Setting the cup back on the table, Helga turned her gaze to the far corner of the room. Piled up inside the space was a bloodied edge with bodies of her own soldier stacked like trophies. Turning her head back to the inquisitee, she washed the angry frown off of her face. Hidden inside the adamantine helmet, even Asmodia couldn''t read the mood of the queen of Valkyries.

    "You have the right, but," moving her armored arm on top of the chair''s recline, Helga gazed away toward a wall to not be swayed by the tricks of a demon lord. "The creator wouldn''t allow such an abomination that you''ve be to exist longer than it should."

    "And you know how?" Not wasting a second''s time, Asmodia shot back. "Besides, if so, wouldn''t his own son be subject to his first smite with all the sphemy he''smitting?"

    Her sound rebuttal shut Helga''s mouth in an instant, and although she wanted to reach for the sword swaying by her hips; she refrained from drawing it out as enough Valkyrie blood had been shed for one day.

    "I don''t speak for ourte creator," Helga replied, not wanting to engage the topic further.

    Swinging her body forward, sheid her heavily ringed fingers on the table and peered right into Asmodia''s gaze.

    "As for As, the boy''s this world''s new god and he has the right to direct it as he pleases," leaning back into the chair, the queen kept her eyes sternly fixed on the demon lord in front. "But you on the other hand are no more than a pest, a pest that needs to be purged before it rots the world more than it should''ve ever been allowed to."

    Setting her cup down as well, Asmodia smiled cheekily at Helga. She knew the queen of Valkyrie was strong, but judging the limits of her strength herself would''ve been any passionate warrior''s dream.

    "Inferno would''ve loved you, and even though I would love to take you on myself," leaning on the desk, Asmodia kept on smiling to irk the queen further. "What can you really do to me?"

    Contorting into a look of frustration, Helga seemed visibly offended by the demon''s agitation. Thus, reaching for her scabbard she drew out a de of ming white light and gently set it on the table.

    "Perhaps, you remember what this is," eyeing the de, Asmodia felt an eerily familiar presenceing out from theden sword. It sent her back to a time when the great creator was alive, but the presence inside anthesis to her master. "Destinia''s father, the traitor who killed our lord¡­I made this de from his body, and the mes burning over it from his soul."

    Baffled by the exnation, Asmodia slowly turned her gaze back to Helga. Her lips pressed together tight, she leaned back into the chair before asking her a question.

    "How did you get your hands on this?" She mumbled.

    Saying nothing at all, Helga kept staring into Asmodia''s eyes as she put the sword back into its sheath.

    "How else?" She finally replied in the form of a question, and the demoness in front of her knew it was rhetorical.

    ''She killed a god¡­'' Having underestimated the Valkyrie, Asmodia took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

    "The answer''s still no, I''m not taking the walk to the collective consciousness, and if you try and force me, there will be a lot more blood and bodies," standing her ground, Asmodia didn''t show her emotional turmoil to Helga.

    Upon hearing her response, Helga shut her eyes close and got out of the chair. Standing before Asmodia, her hands slowly reached back to the de, however, stopping herself mid-air she opened her eyes again.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "If you weren''t dead already, I would''ve killed you for massacring the souls of those Valkyries," looking to the side, her iris began glowing a golden glow and a portal of gold mes opened next to her. "I''ll give you a while but when that time is over, you better be gone or I''ll turn your soul into fuel for another sword."

    From the edge of her eyes, Helga red at Asmodia. Returning a stern gaze, the demoness continued to stand her ground.

    "Farewell," Helga uttered before disappearing into the portal.

    With the Valkyries gone, Asmodia sat there in the looming silence wondering how long it would take for Haruki to get her a new body. While those thoughts roamed inside her mind she tried to pick the tea cup back in her hand, but the moment she reached forward the nervous jittering of her fingers hit her with the realization of her fear.

    ''There are beings in this world you have clue about, Asmodia, don''t y with them or you''re bound to be burned.'' Warning herself about the dangers of other cosmic as well as angelic beings, she swore not to test Helga''s patience next time.

    "One of the strongest, my ass! Some of this is just not fair," after just a few days of her staying in a realm beyond the mortal ne, Asmodia had begun to wonder just what kind of monstersy in wait in the overstretching stream of the cosmos. Most of all, however, she had learned that despite being one of the strongest in As, her strength was fickle whenpared to these creatures.

    "Dammit¡­" mming her fist on the table, she decided to rest and regain the strength she''d lost after fighting off hordes of Valkyries.

    ***

    Although she''d managed to uphold her vows as a knightess, the female guard stationed outside Haruki''s room was still flustered even after washing off her body with a stream of cold water. Returning to her station, she noticed that all the other guards were gone and for some reason, the number of moansing out from inside the room at once had increased two-fold.

    Most suspicious of all, the other two female guard''s armor wasying around outside. Gulping in fear and anticipation, she moved closer to the walls to check on things more clearly. The moment she pressed her ears against the doors, she heard the voices of her two femalepanions while the men were nowhere to be heard or seen.

    ''Did they sumb to an incubus?! No way!'' She thought gently creaking the door open to peek inside.

    What unfolded in front of her in the room left her aghast and questioning whether she was dreaming. The two female guards who''d taken the oath alongside her were riding on top of two versions of Haruki, all the while the male guards were knocked out cold at the other corner of the room.

    What threw her off further was the frame of Nabe coiling her tongue with Haruki. The moment he saw her doing so, a loud gasp left her mouth, and before she knew her vision went dark and her body was left limp. By the time she wakes up next her memories of the night would''ve been reced by an eventless night by Nabe, while in reality, she''d spend the time joining herpanions in pleasing Haruki''s body.

    Waking up, Haruki wasn''t too crystal withst night''s memories either, in fact, the only thing he could remember was him and Nabe getting intimate and throwing out the information exchange partpletely out the window.

    "What the-" Sitting upright on the bed, he looked around at the empty room with nobody but him present. For a moment he wondered if he''d dreamed it all up, but upon checking the status of the carnal curse which had been lowered back to level one those doubts were quickly washed off.

    ''Hopefully, I didn''t mouth off about my contract with Asmodia or anything.'' With his mind now cleared, he swore not to let Nabe manipte him into action on impulse.

    Before he could gather his thoughts, a sudden knock on the door jolted him up to his feet. Instinctively assuming it to be a threat, he got ready with a pair of magic shields hovering from both of his hands.

    "Who is it?" He asked in amanding voice.

    "I''m royal guard Selena! The emperor has ordered me to get you!" Stripped off of her memories fromst night, the peeping knightess was about to act as Haruki''s guard.

 Chapter 270 270 - Reality Bleeds And So Does Hard Choices

    ?

    A few days past the massacre of a royal soldier in Inferno''s territory, Moriyana was busy with Deus as well as Fay trying to recreate a vessel fitting for Haruki''s soul. Watching the trio with her head tilted to the side, Ste munched on a crispy snack offered to her by the lord of gluttony. At first, she felt confused by the thinyer of crispy potatoes, but the more she munched on, the further her hunger grew for the same.

    Having not a clue as to what her mother was aiding the other two with, her eyes wandered all over before returning to Fay''s back. She''d often even tried to get Fay to answer her queries, but she was simply dragged back into the cushioned chair by her ghostly friend Max. However, sometimes when the possessed demon eye couldn''t take her back, the wolf pair that made up Fay''s scarf forced her back into the chair.

    "How the hell did you people pull it off?" Letting out a tired sigh, Deus moved away from the ss containers with the automaton bodies floating inside. Hidden under a veil of magic from Ste, she was still just as confused as to why the trio had been staring into the empty ss.

    Taking a seat by another chairying by a dust table, Deus ran his hands through his sweaty hair. Being confident in a dark ce for the experiment right under the ming territory of the demon lord of envy, he wasn''t the only one feeling winded and frustrated.

    "It shouldn''t be this hard to make a soul possess an inanimate object," Fayined

    Moving away from the luminous ss vessel, Fay took a seat at another desk facing Deus. From ack of any more chairs, Moriyana on the other hand created a stool from her mana and sat down right beside the immobile vessel.

    "I''ve been, wondering something," crossing her legs, she ced her thumb under her chin as she gazed through thin air. "Mother is known for her creations, maybe being directly under hermand, Haruki possessed a simr affinity towards it."

    Raising her head, she looked at Deus and Fay before shifting her gaze to the bored Ste who seemed to be nodding off to sleep.

    "I mean, he was able to summon almost all of her creations; the only thing limiting him was his own physical capabilities and the cap on his levels," although Moriyana tried to spy the reason for their failure, Fay wasn''t yet convinced by it.

    "The same can be said for you, can''t it? You can summon some of her pets as well, and if anyone''s attached to her the most it''d be you being her daughter," Refuting Moriyana, Fay began massaging her temples to get rid of a persistent migraine.

    "Wait," Deus muttered, picking up something from their conversation.

    ncing between the two looking at him now, Deus felt a bit shy about voicing what he had just realized. Blushing red, he shook his head violently so he could forget about the embarrassment and just out with his point already.

    "Big sis was a¡­" Shying his gaze away from the two, he finally voiced it out. "She''s a virgin, then wouldn''t it mean Moriyana is simr to her pets, and they are her siblings?"

    It took a minute for the other two to register what Deus''s revtion entailed, and the moment they both figured it out their eyes widened in shock.

    "There''s no way," not willing to ept that she was just another monster of Asmodia, Moriyana got up on her feet to test it out. "I always use mana when summoning them, there''s no way Marite ballerinas woulde out just because they think we''re rted in some way!"

    "Keekeeek!" All of a sudden while Moriyanaid out her dissent, the sharp sound of a marite''s beak nked beside her neck. Shocked by the sudden noise, she leaped towards Fay before quickly turning around to the sight of the Ballerina peeking out from an otherworld portal.

    ''No¡­'' As the truth of her existence unfolded before her, Moriyana''s mind was drifting into a dark ce.

    "What about Reya? Did she not summon these creatures as well?" Trying not to poke at Moriyana when she was in such a vulnerable state, Fay turned to Deus with the question.

    Looking towards her, Deus knew exactly what she was trying to do, and thus he gave her an answer to quickly shut down the topic.

    "Yes, but her powers are unstable that''s why she doesn''t fight, and it''s probably also the reason why instead of just one or two, she ended up with an army of otherworld creatures on the battlefield," done with his exnation, he added few words more before breaking Moriyana''s silent re at the ballerina. "We can''t rely on her to fight, she''s often just ast resort, and that too doesn''t work all the time."

    Pulling Moriyana towards him, Deus conjured up his gun as a warning and the ballerina quickly disappeared into the portal.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Look at me," grabbing hold of her face, Deus forced her to look into his eyes. "Ameya andresa akui!"

    Making use of one of the very few arcane spells he knew, Deus stripped Moriyana''s memories of thest few minutes through his eyes alone. Hypnotized by his gaze, she fell unconscious quite easily and was set into the chair Deus had been sitting in.

    "What did you do?" Asked Fay despite knowing Deus wouldn''t hurt Moriyana, at least not for the moment.

    "Ignorance is bliss sometimes, and I made sure she can bask in it until she''s ready to ept her true nature," looking up at Fay, he made sure Moriyana''s body wouldn''t fall off the chair. "Regardless, I believe we''re going to need someone with an affinity for creation to make those hospitable vessels."

    Still a bit unsure how to feel about the whole ordeal, Fay nodded back feeling a bit suspicious.

    "Deus!" The sudden call from Inferno, however, broke the awkward moment.

    Turning to the voice, Deus and Fay noticed Inferno standing atop the staircase with his body bent forward. Looking at them from under the wall covering the left side of the stair, he opened his mouth again to add something more.

    "A guest has arrived at the battlefield, ahaha," chuckling to himself, he caressed his chin with his left hand. "I know you''ll love this, that''s why I came to get you before meeting him."

    "What are you talking about?" Deus asked, watching Inferno about to turn around to leave.

    "Haruki," before leaving the ce, Inferno stood by the door at the top of the stairs. "He''s here, so''s Michael!"

    And with that announcement, he rushed off to meet the two he''d just named. Baffled by the news, Fay looked at Deus with utter shock. Although she wanted to go and meet up with Haruki herself, with Ste snoring about and Moriyana unconscious, she knew it wasn''t the greatest n especially when Michael would also be present.

    Recognizing the source of her worries, Deus clenched his fist tight before opening it back up to reveal a reflective deviceying on his hand. Grabbing hold of Fay''s hand, he put it on it and gave her shoulder a reassuring pat.

    "These two need you here, but don''t worry, you''ll be able to see and hear everything I see if you keep looking into that piece of ss," Without much else, Deus began walking away and disappeared above the stairs of the experiment facility.

    "Dammit Moriyana, I can''t leave for the dungeon until you open up the portal to take us there," left at the mercy of time, Fay settled down into a chair with an uneasy heart waiting for Moriyana to wake up as soon as possible.

    In the meantime, she saw through the ss Deus making his way through the scorching ground of the battlefield tarred with the blood of the soldiers. At a distance from him, she noticed Haruki standing beside Michael in a gasp unfitting for a demon. Akin to a holy mage he''d worn a cloak of white with goldences and the seal of the emperor inscribed over the chest. In his hand as well as Michael''s was the g of the empire. Frowning while looking in the front, Haruki nor Michael seemed too fond of being so close to each other as allies.

    ''Did theye to surrender on this front?'' From the looks of it, Fay was inclined to believe that after the massacre ofte, the emperor was halting Inferno''s borders for the moment. ''But why is Haruki being sopliant?''

    Having no clue about his deal with Asmodia, she found Haruki''spliance to be a tad bit concerning. Had the curse of the emperor taken over his mind? Or was he offered something that turned him to the emperor''s side? Whichever it was, Fay knew she couldn''t let him be in that state for long, and thus to get rid of his curse, she had to find someone with an affinity to creation as quickly as she could.

    Raising her head off the ss device, she turned her head towards her daughter wondering if it was time for her to run tests on her body to hasten the vessel''s progress.

    ''Haruki will kill me if he finds out that I hurt her in any way, but maybe just a little bit of prying on her can give us an alternative method than relying on someone with a creation affinity? Either way, her body can give us the head start we need to progress further.'' Despite feeling her heart beginning to bleed, Fay gulped down her angst and lowered her head back to the device. In her mind, however, even though reluctant still, she was willing to force herself to test on her own daughter, but only after watching how the interaction unfolds on the battlefield.

 Chapter 271 271 â€“ A Dispute Over Land

    ?

    Following a brief meeting with the emperor, Haruki was sent off to Dominion''s territory to retain thend after it had been abandoned by the war general. Standing in front of Deus and Inferno, his eyes turned to Michael as he would be the one to ry the message.

    "You''ve shed plenty of blood on thisnd it seems," not too happy about the bloodied scene, Michael wore a deep frown as he talked to the two. "Taking advantage of the general''s absence I assume?"

    "So what?" Inferno questioned with a mocking smile.

    Shifting a nce between the two, he nted the empire''s g into the ground before continuing on with the message.

    "Well¡­On the emperor''smand, I have a new general to offer so you best take your bloodied tracks back to where you came from," looking over his shoulder, Michael jerked his head forward to make Haruki step in front. "A demon lord to fight other demon lords, fitting isn''t it?"

    Walking up forward, Haruki looked at the two with an unsure expression. He wasn''t sure whether to treat them as allies or enemies, especially since they had no clue about his deal with Asmodia and thus were bound to mistake Haruki''spliance for a sort of betrayal towards demon kind.

    "Just take your armies back, I don''t want there to be more blood flowing through thesends," Haruki warned the two.

    In his mind, he wanted to go against the emperor that very moment but with Michael standing behind him, and hismunication abilities, as well as tormentous dungeon blocked by the emperor, he had no choice but to keep pretending to bepliant.

    "What if I don''t back away?" Enraged by Haruki''s behavior, Inferno grabbed him by the cor of his cloak.

    "Inferno stop!" Grabbing Inferno by the arm, Deus tried to pull him off of Haruki.

    A bit more understanding of the situation, he knew that Haruki was being obviously manipted, thus by escting the matter things were bound to take a turn for the worse.

    "Get off me!" Jerking Deus''s hand off of himself, Inferno red Haruki down seemingly ready to tear him this instant.

    Michael, however, couldn''t let it happen, and thus raising his hand to the sky, he summoned the angelic eye in the skies. Tearing through the cloud, the eye of the angel slowly opened up and illuminated thend with beaming golden light.

    "I suppose you forgot I''m here as well," Warning the demon lord, Michael crossed his arms in wait for Inferno to let go of Haruki.

    Although reluctant, Inferno pushed Haruki back and turned to look at Michael with deep scorn. Even though he would''ve loved to take him on all by himself, right now so soon after Asmodia''s death, he didn''t want to push the emperor''s nerves too far. After all, even if Michael was defeated, if the emperor decided to take Inferno out, there would be even fewer people left to fight against As once he was gone.

    "You''re not the only one with heavenly guides," Inferno muttered, stomping his feet on the ground.

    Crawling away to the side of his feet, a crack in the ground ventured far from the group before it began to copse on itself. Crumbling inward, a crater withva jumping out from the falling debris appeared before them. In through the very space, a giant burning hand wed itself into the side of the crater.

    "GAAAHHHH!" A sudden screech from the creature still hiding in the ground shook the ground as if it was about to implode on itself.

    "Trying to scare me with an infernal mutt?" Despite the threatening presence of the infernal hound, the dragonyer was not in the least intimidated. Instead, he was looking forward to the warm-up the creature could provide before having to sh with a demon lord d in mes.

    "Inferno," trying to de-escte the situation, Haruki jumped into the confrontation. "Just take your army back, and surrender thisnd back to the emperor, a piece ofnd is not worth risking your life over!"

    "Oh fuck off, you bastard," Inferno replied before turning away from the messengers of the emperor. "I''ll be here until you can reim thisnd by your strength, but until then I''m its lord, and I suggest you fuck right out of here!"

    Walking back towards the underground facility, Inferno left the ce before he couldn''t control his anger anymore. Once he was gone, Deus too began making his way back, but not before sharing an affirming nod with Haruki after having given him a dubious re.

    ''There must be a reason he''s acting the way he is, no way sis choose a guy who would give up so easily to someone''smands.'' Disappearing into the facility as well, Deus was on his way to meet up with Fay again.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    In the meantime, Haruki and Michael had to back away from the ground since staying there without an army when the enemy did have one, could turn potentially lethal at any moment. Jolting in through the sky, Michael flew away with Haruki following him soon after with his wings and a hint of time magic to keep up with the dragon''s bane.

    Possessing an affinity for time, Michael was still baffled by Haruki''s masterful use of time magic. Inparison, he feltcking but didn''t let it get to his head.

    ''He''s a demon, possibly thest person you shouldpare yourself to.'' Reasoning through his envy, he jolted even faster through the sky to report back to the emperor. His worries, not just limited to Haruki, Michael had a lot going on in his mind, especially how Dominion had abandoned his post and was nowhere to be found. ''I thought Razor was trouble, but ever since the emperor showed signs of weakness, Dominion had gotten progressively worse, and now¡­''

    Looking down at the blood-paintednd, Michael felt deep sorrow for the soldier who''d been abandoned and left without orders by their general. The army which once conquered manynds which had turned into the empire as it stands now had been smashed under the feet of ghastly monsters.

    "Michael," all of a sudden as Haruki called out to him, Michael''s eyes blinked in surprise before he could gather his thoughts and turn to look at him.

    Stopped in mid-air with his arm in Haruki''s clutches, he had no clue what was happening. Jerking his hand off of his grip, Michael jolted slightly backward while floating through the use of wind magic.

    "Don''t you dare touch me," he muttered.

    Haruki simply pressed his lips shut and looked down so Michael would follow his gaze. And as he did, Michael noticed that they were both floating right above the obsidian castle of the emperor. In his train of thought, Michael never realized just how much time had actually passed. A bit troubled by his carelessness, he shook his head left to right before descending down to get back on his feet.

    "I''ll report to the emperor," not wasting any time, Michael made his way to the emperor''s throne room.

    Confounded by Michael''s urgency, Haruki watched him from the back until he disappeared into the castle. Left behind in the training grounds, he could feel plenty of eyes drilling holes into his back, but after he turned around to face the soldiers he''d beaten up before, their attention quickly turned back to their training.

    ''What to do now?'' With little to no clue about how to advance his ns, Haruki started walking into the castle as well. Right as he entered he noticed Selena the royal guard standing beside the open gates, staring at him from the shadows. As he turned around to confront her, she started walking closer to him and only stopped when he was only a sword''s length away.

    "If you''re gonna follow me, you need to do better," Haruki said, utterly unimpressed by her attempt.

    "I''m learning, there''s going to be plenty of time for me to figure out how to spy on a demon lord," visibly determined, Selena didn''t seem like one to easily give up.

    "Fine," fanning his hand at her, Haruki turned around to make his way up the stairs. "If you''re gonna follow me, then at least help me pass some time."

    After moving to the staircase, he stopped once again to look at her for a moment.

    "Help with what?" She asked, her hand elusively roaming around her hips by the sword handle.

    "With the book, I wanna pass some time by reading," Haruki replied, although with false reasoning.

    ''There''s bound to be something in the library here that can help me find a path to thend of fairies.'' From his experience at countless libraries in the three kingdoms he once ruled, Haruki knew well enough that they all contained the historical literature about thend, the city, and the duchies. And if the emperor''s domain was where the emperor''s conquest began, then deep within that library Haruki was sure he could find texts of deep interest.

    "So? Are you going to help me or not?" Haruki asked, still looking at Selena.

    "Uhm¡­" Baffled by a demon''s interest in academics, it took a moment for Selena to reply coherently. "Sure, I-I guess?"

    The moment she agreed, Haruki grabbed her hand and started leading her to the library, the path to which Nabe had already shown him.

    ''What the?'' Even more confused by Haruki''s enthusiasm for books, Selena had no clue what was happening.

 Chapter 272 272 â€“ Waking And Waning

    ?

    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.

 Chapter 273 273 - Family And Monsters[Mention Of Abuse]

    ?

    "Moriyana, you seem¡­" Entering the tent, Margarette''s first impulse was to greet Moriyana joyfully, but upon noticing the sickly look on her face, she stopped herself from finishing her greeting.

    Quickly shifting her gaze to Fay standing beside Moriyana''s bed, Margarette squinted her eyes at her as if asking what had happened. Picking up on Margarette''s gesture, Fay huffed out a tired sigh and stepped slightly forward.

    "Seems like Deus might''ve overdone things, and her mind is still a bit fuzzy," Fay exined.

    Lightly tapping the back of Moriyana''s head, Fay tilted her head sideways to have Margarette follow her eyes. Then as she looked at Moriyana sitting upright on the bed, both of them noticed her looking through the air in a state of deep daze.

    "What the hell did you do?" Shifting her gaze to Deus seated on a stool at the tent''s corner, Margarette wanted answers that she''d been denied so far. "And don''t tell me that I don''t need to know again, I''m tired of-"

    "Margarette, stop," interjecting in between Margarette''s tirade, Fay moved even closer to her and ced her hand on top of her shoulder. Then, once she had Margarette''s attention, Fay had her follow her gaze to Ste as well as Greta who was present in the room. "We can talk about thister, but in all honesty, the fewer people that know what happened the better, and that includes you too."

    Even though she wasn''t convincedpletely, Margarette decided to push the matter off for the moment and try to figure out a way to get Moriyana''s mind back on track. After all, there were plenty of ces where her presence was needed immediately, one of which happened to be the middle of the battlefield where only Asuka and the two demi-cats were responsible for healing the injured masses.

    Walking up to Moriyana, Margarette ced her hand on top of her bushy red hair. Pouring mana in through her skull, shemenced a spell that could heal her disarrayed state of mind in a matter of instant.

    "Fortitude!" The moment she unleashed the spell her eyes glowed in a deep violet, and so did Moriyana''s. Like a brightmp, their eyes alone lit up the whole tent. For a brief few seconds, the casting continued, a smog of pure dark crawled out of Moriyana''s mouth, ears, and nostrils until her mind was utterly stripped of the mind fog.

    With a jolt, Margarette pulled her burning hand away from Moriyana and closed her eyes to strip the light away from their eyes. When she opened them again, a trail of blood streamed down from her blood-red eyes. Being on the receiving end, Moriyana was no different, however, having just regained her consciousness, she was assaulted with fear and angst.

    "What?! Where am I?!" Her vision all bloodied, she could barely make out the features of the familiar faces around her. "Margarette? What the hell is-Ughh!"

    Assaulted with a sudden headache, Moriyana''s hand mped on her forehead in pain. Witnessing it all, Ste was shaking from fear at the far corner. Tofort her little angel, Fay moved over to her before quickly marching towards the exit.

    "I knew you overdid it!" Comining to Deus, Fay red at him with gritted teeth.

    Turning to Greta for a brief moment, she pinched her ears and dragged her out along with her daughter. Inside everyone could still hear Greta groaning outside the tent in pain, but they were all far too absorbed in the absurdity of their situation to care.

    "Next time," looking at the demon lord of gluttony, Margarette pointed a stern finger at him. "You better not use any weird spells on my family."

    "What spell?" Moriyana asked, turning her head towards Deus as well.

    "Nothing," Deus replied, not wanting to escte the matter any longer.

    Following his voice, a tense silence lingered in the air. The room, still smelling of tar and burned hair, was left in a state of uncertainty as none of them how the other felt about the matter. Margarette wasn''t sure how far should she push Deus for answers since Fay seemed to agree with his decision of stripping part of Moriyana''s memory. Then there was Moriyana who had no clue about the events that had led to this point, but the tension around her was palpable enough to turn her cautious.

    "Are we done here? I can heal the rest of your wound if you want," knowing himself to be in the wrong, Deus was trying to make up to the two, but Margarrete was not at all inclined to integrate his help at the moment.

    "Rejuvenation," using her healing ability, Margarette first healed Moriyana''s eyes and the tenseness in her body and then did the same to herself.

    After she was done healing them both, Margarette helped Moriyana to get up on her feet before turning to address Deus once more.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Stay here until it''s your turn to switch with the other demon lords, I don''t want you causing any more trouble than you already have," with that warning, Margarette took Moriyana and left for the battlefield to rece Asuka and the demi-cat so they could rest for a moment or two.

    Left lonesome in the tent, Deus didn''t want to even risk being seen by Mercie who was supposed to be helping Margarette at the moment, and thus, he confined himself in thepany of his electronic gadgets to waste away time until either the clone research continued or his help was required in any way.

    ''I wish¡­It was her who died and not Asmodia.'' Even though his eyes were ring at the transparent screen of a luminous gadget, Deus couldn''t push Mercie out of his mind. ''Dammit, why did I have to be here wasting time when a war is about to start at Inferno''s territory?''

    Cursing his luck his fingers gripped tight onto the ss screen until it shattered and sparks of electricity began flying out through the machine.

    "Reya, can you send me back to my domain?" Closing his eyes, Deus requested his little sister.

    "Hmm? Deus, I know Dominion''s army has perished, but returning to that ce when only a fraction of it has been reimed by your servants is practically suicidal, Reya retorted.

    With Dominion''s army gone, Razor had been forced to thin his soldiers in Dominion''s territory, however, even with the trimmed number of soldiers, returning to his castle could prove to be dangerous.

    "My soldiers are there, and I¡­" Thinking back to Asmodia, as well as Inferno, there was one thing that popped up in his mind. "I need to face a fear of mine, but I need a¡­Woman for it, one of my soldiers that is."

    "You mean to say, you want to relieve your stress sexually? Where did thate from?!" Baffled by the sudden confession, Reya didn''t know what to make of it. "You''re gluttony, not lust, if you wanna unwind why not feed on something?"

    Getting out of his chair, Deus began to make his way toward the tent''s exit.

    "Because I''ve lost my appetite since long ago," stopping in front of the tent''s cover, Deus''s hand reached forward, but then on instinct, his other hand sped onto it and drew it back. "All this chaos has resurfaced a few scars that I wanna bury deep down, and if you won''t help me return then I have other means to get rid of these thoughts."

    Trying to understand what was happening, Reya took a moment to think about the situation before calmly asking him a few more questions.

    "Tell me why you wanna do this, and if you''re honest I''ll help you get back," she asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

    Deus too took a moment with his eyes closed, however, as he opened them back up, he was ready to spill the beans on a long-kept secret.

    "When things first began to spiral downhill, and our instincts for destruction were still fresh in our hearts," cing his hand over his chest, Deus took a deep breath and continued. "At that time, Mercie, she¡­U-used me, and if you''re not gonna help me, then I''m gonna help myself by tearing the source of my misery apart!"

    "By used, do you mean¡­" Simply nodding to Reya''s question, Deus confirmed her suspicion.

    At the height of his innocence, of which he still possessed some, he''d been assaulted by Mercie for nothing more than greed to have any and all men sheid eyes on. Being perceived as the weakest of the demon lords, she''d forced herself on Deus andmitted all atrocities that would turn anyone''s stomach.

    "I-I''m sorry¡­" Astonished by the news, Reya had no clue what she was supposed to feel. Her heart although bled for her brother, her mind wasgging behind with the emotional output. "I''ll send you to your castle, just be careful."

    "Thanks," even though he was the victim of the crime, having told someone else, Deus felt tainted with some ethereal guilt and the look of disgust was visible in his eyes. "Reya, keep this a secret, okay?"

    Humming in agreement, Reya opened up a portal for her brother and cut her connection off him for the moment so she wouldn''t be able to witness what was about to happen.

 Chapter 274 274 - A Innocent Love Taken By Greed - Part 1[18+ Bonus Story ]

    ?

    Landing in the entrance hall to his full metal castle, Deus looked around to take in the ruined state in which Dominion''s army had left the ce. Struck down, the columns galvanized with a tint of deep blue barely held up the leaking ceiling. The walls supporting the rest of the structure weren''t too pristine either as sticking out from them were sparking wires that once automated the intricate structure. Taking a step towards a crater in the floor, Deus gazed down at the thrashed undergroundb he used to spend time experimenting in.

    Surprisingly, so far he didn''t feel the presence of the soldiers he''d sent back to reim parts of his territory. Theck of personale around him loosened him up a little, but the moment he tried to make his way up the staircase, the sound of synched steps caught him off guard.

    "Aaaaa, aaaaahhheee," even more surprising, whoever it was, appeared to be trying to sing a symphony. Peering up the stairs, Deus noticed an armored blonde making her way to the other end of the corridor thatid at the stair''s end. Her arm outstretched, she had the other hand ced over her breastte, and with a deep breath, she continued on singing as she walked.

    ''Who is it?'' Her face covered by her lush bushy hair, Deus couldn''t exactly point out who she was even though the frame of her seemed familiar. upied by his thoughts, Deus took a step forward, but not realizing he was stepping on a stepyered with shattered ss, he was shocked by the cracking sound bustling under his boots. ''What?''

    "Who''s there?!" In the brief moment it took for Deus to realize what had happened, the blonde girl marching by drew her sword out and jumped from the corridor towards the stairs and in the direction of the noise.

    Upon getting closer, however, her eyes widened realizing it was no one else than her master. Sharing a nce at each other, the two stood in utter shock from the realization. For the girl, it was her insolence towards her master, and so she quickly withdrew her sword and bowed in shame as repentance. Deus on the other hand was more struck with a stream of memories he''d spent countless days trying to suppress from himself.

    "I apologize, my lord!" Kneeling in front of him, the girl kept her head lowered in shame. "I-I couldn''t sense your presence and took you for the emperor''s spy!"

    "Azalea?" He muttered, finally having broken the spell on his shackled memory.

    "Yes, my lord?" Looking up, Azalea propped herself back onto her feet.

    ''Something''s off¡­'' Looking into her eyes, Deus decided to use the same spell he''d used on Moriyana, however, this time instead of stripping her memories away, he wanted to waddle in through and find out why she seemed eerily familiar.

    Taking her into the spell of his eyes, he noticed a glimmer of his lost past reflected deep in them. The longer he looked the closer he grew to the suppressed truth, and all of a sudden feeling a sudden pull, Deus let himself be carried in the consciousness of the blonde.

    Blinking his eyes after a film of darkness blinded him for a moment, Deus was assaulted with a daze of light through which the angelic face of his sister Mercie peeked right out. The very next second as she grew closer and closer to him, the gentle smile on her lips was reced with a creepy smirk that stretched ear to ear.

    "Forget her, and let me show you what a woman feels like," leaning into his ears, Mercie''s mirage whispered.

    Then, as he pushed down and his eyes blinked once more, Deus found himselfying on a soft cushioned bed with Mercie sitting on top of his belly. Leering down at him with her golden and blue eyes, she was sitting on top of him utterly naked.

    "Get off!" Triggered by his past trauma, Deus tried to push her off, but before his hands could her body Mercie mped her ws into Deus'' throat and pushed him further down into the muffled bed.

    Choked out of breath, Deus had no clue as to what he''d gotten himself into. Was it a dream? An illusion? Or just his past trying to haunt him? He had no clue, and thus he had no choice but to futilely resist just as he''d done long before.

    "You''re a monster¡­" epting his fate, Deus red at Mercie with tears flowing down his eyes.

    Tilting her head as if confused by his words, Mercie put a smile on her face andid down on his body. Licking the side of his face, she slowly let her tongue crawl up towards his ears, and that''s when she spoke something that pulled Deus off of the defeated state of mind.

    "Azalea, was it? The girl you''ve been meeting up with in secret?" Letting out a cackle, Mercie lightly bit down on his earlobe. "What do you two even do together anyways? Isn''t she oathbound to stay a virgin forever? Or has that changed since you''ve turned into a demon lord?"

    Tearing Deus''s top, Mercie ced her hands on his slender frame. The touch alone made her roll her eyes upward as she was greedy to be the first to taste the young boy.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Forget her, Deus," she muttered, followed soon after yet another chuckle. "You belong to me now, for now, and fore-"

    "Deus?" The gentle voice of a girl cut off Mercie.

    Turning to look at her, Dues noticed it to be none other than the girl his sister was talking about. Flooded with memories of his encounter with Mercie and how it all went further on, he faintly remembered being cast on with a spell simr to the one he''d used on Moriyana. Trying to escape his thoughts he was once again blinded by a strong beam of light shining right over his face, and when he opened them back up, he found himselfying on Azalea''sp as she gently ran her fingers through his hair.

    "Where am I?" He asked, shifting his gaze to the side.

    On looking at an expansive meadow of numerous flowers, the two were sitting at the ruins of a temple for the creator that had long-degraded with time.

    "Deus, I-I¡­" Drawing her hand away from him, Azalea pressed it against her maroon sundress. "I''m thinking of dissolving my oaths."

    "What? Why would you do that?" Shocked by her words, Deus slipped out of thefort of herp and stood before her with a visible look of confusion.

    With her head dejected down, Azalea let out a sigh to gather her courage before getting off the ruined wall as well. Standing eye to eye before her master, she felt her heart race and her chest heaved from the mental stress that was brought along with the situation. Stealing her heart, she took onest breath beforeing out with the truth that had eaten away at her for a while.

    "I wanna be with you! I don''t wanna be a knight anymore! I''m not even an angel anymore so why does it matter?" Taking a step towards Deus while tears filled her eyes, Azalea gulped thest of her restraints and sped her hands on both sides of her lover''s face. "I love you, Deus, and I want to love you without any restraints."

    Bringing her face closer, Azalea was about to break her oaths with a kiss, but appearing out of nowhere, Mercie forced a paper fan between the two and prevented her prey from escaping into the hands of another woman.

    "I told you to forget about her," those words spoken by his spiteful sister were all Deus could remember before being forced out of those suppressed memories.

    Opening his eyes while his head suffered from a migraine, Deus saw Azaleaying almost lifeless on the ground with her armor dented on the side where she fell. Although still missing chunks of his memories, Deus instinctively reached for Azalea and quickly took her into his arms.

    "Azalea, are you okay?" Checking her nerves, Deus was somewhat revealed to find out that she had simply lost consciousness and nothing too bad appeared to have happened to her. The only thing that concerned him, however, was how smoothly everything had lined up for him to recover those past memories with her lover.

    ''Fuck it, as if it''s the time to worry about it!'' Picking up Azalea, Deus carried her frame in his flimsy-looking arms. ''I need to get her better first.''

    Too concerned about her safety, Deus failed to notice a pair of spying eyes onlooking him venturing down the hall with Azalea in his hands. Smiling at the sight of her brother, carrying away the innocent knightess, a smile crept up on Mercie''s face as she watched it all hiding from a corner.

    ''Maybe now you''ll stop bitching about what happened, besides, I''ve tasted you already so there''s no need for me to hog you all to myself.'' She thought, biting her nails. Mercie cared only for her greed, and since she was running out of ways to make Deus do as she says, she was trying to fish for other ways to manipte him further. ''Keep her alive Deus, keep her alive so I can use her against you as a chip to bargain, ahaha!''

    Her eyes fixed on the fickle frame of her brother, she bit down on her lips as Deus got inside a bedroom with Azalea.

    "Good good, now make sure to love her, I wanna taste your heartbreak when I take her away from you just likest time," brushing her thumb on a ring made with the scales of a white dragon, Mercie used its power to teleport back to the tent where she''d overheard Deus and Reya''s conversation.

    Oblivious of his sister''s ns, Deus set Azalea down on the bed, all the while his mind was being flooded with sweet memories of his time together with his lover.

 Chapter 275 275 - A Innocent Love Taken By Greed - Part 2[18+ Bonus Story ]

    ?

    Ignoring the constant reminders from Reya about returning to his research, or to at least help the others on the Hestemian front, Deus anxiously strolled inside the dusty bedroom where he''d taken Azalea so she could recover. d in her armor her body sweated profusely, and strains of her blonde hair stuck to her face. Heaving out loud gasping for breath, she was in a state delicate enough to warrant caution, thus making sure that wouldn''t happen, Deus hung about in the room, waiting for her to either wake up or leave him spiraling into emotional disarray.

    "Wake up already¡­" Biting down on his nails, Deus kept pacing through the room with an uneasy feeling riding over his heart.

    Everything so far had been too perfect, especially the retrieval of his memories since Azalea wasn''t supposed to be a castle guard. In fact, he couldn''t remember ever seeing her in the castle after Mercie severed parts of their memories.

    "Mhnmm¡­" Groaning in her sleep, Azalea''s eyes flickered open.

    Seeing her finally waking up, a relieved sigh left Deus''s lips. Moving closer, he watched as she rubbed her eyes to filter her blurred vision, and once done, Azalea looked at Deus and blinked a few times. Slowly as her mind caught onto who she was looking at, her eyes widened up and she tried to get off the bed.

    "I''m sorry I-" Her attempt to stand, however, failed as her body refused to move a muscle under the weight of the armor she''d been wearing through her sleep. "What happened to me?!"

    Fearing her limbs had been maimed permanently, Azalea''s heart began to soar up high. Trying to fight her fears and calm down, she drew hasteful deep breaths in an attempt to calm her heart.

    "Azalea, you''re okay," Deus assured, grabbing her by her shoulders.

    The moment he did, Azalea felt a strange calm wash over her body. Looking at Deus so up close, the fog on her memories cleared right up and revealed underneath the cherished movement they shared.

    "No way¡­" She muttered, feeling conflicted.

    Returning her gaze, Deus stared into her eyes feeling encharmed by their luster. As if peeking into the past, aforting warmth bloomed in their heart while being so close to each other. And before they knew it, their noses rubbed against each other and their lips grew closer on their own.

    "Deus, the oath¡­" Azalea muttered, her eyes jittering side to side.

    "We''re no longer angels Azalea, and our god is dead," although his words carried a hint of grimness, they didn''t dissuade Azalea from epting the kiss as Deus finally pressed their lips together.

    Having breathed so heavily, the iron on Azalea''s cotton lips was washed up against Deus''s. Yet tasting her blood on his tongue, Deus let it glide down all the way to his belly. Pulling away for a moment, he was left huffing for breath from the sweet taste of her body.

    ''Lord of gluttony¡­I forgot how it affects my appetite.'' Gulping down, he steeled his heart to not let himself be swayed by his carnal desires.

    "The oath, it''s broken," her eyes dejected, Azalea seemed lost trying to juggle through a storm of unwieldy emotions. So far as she could remember she''d been a knightess who''d taken an oath to remain faithful to the Creator''s order, but with the brief kiss shared between the two, the oath had been broken and so was her connection to the long-lost Creator.

    Peering back up at Deus, those worries were quickly washed off. Being around him made her heart spring with joy, and no matter the adversary she felt ready to face it alongside her lover.

    "F-Fuck it!" Cursing out for the very first time, she threw herself upwards and wrapped her arms around Deus''s body. As they fell on the bed from her weight on him, Deus was shocked by her forward action, however, that didn''t stop him from letting himselfy on top offorting warmth.

    For a spell, the twoid in the arms of each other, but as time went on, their desire for the other grew. Inexperience as they both were, Deus and Azalea toiled their tongue together while their hands undid the clothes and armor covering their skin.

    "Azalea, I¡­" Feeling no dread upon touching her naked skin unlike with Mercie, Deus was overjoyed by the loving pleasure of being with someone he loves. "I¡­I love you Azalea, I should''ve said it all much soon but-"

    Pressing a finger onto his lips, the knightess brought Deus''s words to a pause. Smiling at him from under his body, she innocently covered up her breasts with one hand before pulling Deus onto her with the other.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I don''t care, we''ll deal with those thoughts and that woman who did this to uster," slowly unveiling her ghostly pink nips, Azalea moved her hand down Deus''s back, and in doing so her heart began to soar once again. "For now, let''s ju-uhm¡­I don''t know how to¡­"

    With a nervous grip, she caressed her lover''s back all the while her head was pressed against his chest to escape the shame.

    "Just love me," she muttered, her voice distorted from speaking into Deus''s chest.

    Her words trailing with a sense of urgency shattered all restraints Deus had kept up so far. All alone with his past lover, he wrapped his hands around her and positioned himself to tear into her deepest crevice. Sinking his fingers into her breasts, he squeezed her flesh tight whilst his cock parted her entrance and slowly crept up inside.

    "Ahhhh¡­" Panting from the sensation of being filled up to the brim, Azalea let out hushed moans right into Deus''s ears.

    Taking a moment to collect his mind, Deus kisses Azalea while pausing all hip moments. Being the demon of gluttony, he wanted to taste her body as much as could, but with his body not used to it all was dragging him behind him.

    "I thought girlsctate from their breasts?" Pulling away from the kiss for a moment, he looked at her breasts, both of which he was squeezing as hard as he could.

    "Ahaha!" Letting out a chuckle, Azalea turned Deus''s face back to her. "Only mothers do, and I''m not yet a mom."

    "Hmmm?" Ruminating over something, Deus stared into Azalea''s eyes for a while.

    "Wait, Deus, you''re not thinking about making me one right?" A bit spooked by the possibility, the knightess didn''t know if she was prepared yet.

    "Not yet, but I was just thinKING!" Thrusting his hips again as he spoke, Deus made his lover jump in shock.

    cing his hand under her spine, he pulled her body up from the belly so the rest of her top would be in the shape of an arch.

    "Fuck! Ahhh!" Azalea moaned, biting her lips to keep her voice in.

    As the night approached and their mingling continued, a familiar pair of eyes peeked at them with great interest. Thrashing about on the sweat-ridden bed, their bodies twisted and turned with each lick, each thrust, and every shift of their fingers and lips. Witnessing it all by ident while trying to check up on her brother, Reya was blushing like a rose with her hands deep down in her panties.

    Not alone in doing the same either, Mercie had just finished with all her work and returned to the castle. Standing out the door with loud moans escaping from the lips of the two, she too couldn''t help but rub her clit fervently. Stuffing her mouth with her own worn panties and keeping invisible with the white scale ring, she showed no restraints in attempting to achieve some twisted form of pleasure.

    She was the demon lord of greed for a reason, and thus even though her brother in spirit was screwing the brains out of his lover, all she could do was imagine herself in the situation instead. Pr opposite to Mercie, Reya was spellbound by the shing of flesh, and seeing it all for the first time she couldn''t look away as if it was a sight of an amusing ident.

    Regardless of their intentions, however, as it happened, Deus and Azalea weren''t the only ones enjoying this encounter to their heart''s content. Assuming themselves to be safe from the eyes of others, the two-spirit sisters kept toiling with her own bodies while watching how Deus unloaded one load after the other deep inside the knightess.

    Unaware of his surrounding at this point, Deus showed no amount of control and kept risking the possibility of a baby by devouring Azalea''s body like a true glutton. The more the night waned, the closer he got to his demonic instinct, and thus his hunger got more and more aggressive to the point where Azalea lost consciousness from the sensations before waking up and losing consciousness again and again.

    At the end of the night, the two loversid on the bed in each other''s arms determined more than ever to not let go of their other half.

 Chapter 276 276 - A Mess Of A War

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    Venturing out of the preparation tent, Haruki was once again met with the handful of human guards provided to him to sway the tides on this war. To him, treating war as a test seemed a little extreme, but the emperor was apparently rumored to have tested the other generals the same way.

    Peering up high, Haruki saw Michael still using his magic to witness his every action from the sky. As for the front and down the hills, the army of demons was prepared to tear his men apart.

    "What''s your magic affinity?" Haruki asked, slowly walking towards the edge to get a closer look at the infernal demons.

    One after the other the men told him their affinity, but it wasn''t until one said water that Haruki''s ears perked up with interest.

    ''Water huh? Maybe using that can help us weaken these idiots.'' His eyes still fixed at the army storming towards him, Haruki stretched his hand forward readying himself for the use of water, the affinity of which he''d just gained after bing a demon lord.

    "Get ready, and follow my instructions," pouring mana into a giant magic circle, Haruki turned to look at the handful of soldiers standing behind him. "I''ve only been asked to neutralize this army, keeping you alive isn''t exactly part of that deal."

    Hearing his disregard for their lives, the battalion members drew their weapons out and got ready to intercept whatever came their way. Haruki on the other end, turned back to the magic circle and finally topples it off with the remaining mana. Stepping away from the circle, Haruki watched a violent stream of water rushing out through it. Flooding down the hills, the water marched towards the infernal demon, and in fear of their bodies being stripped of their me, they all began retreating as far away from the flood as possible.

    "Archers, mages fire!" Haruki ordered, gesturing the rest to follow him.

    Jumping down the hill, he was followed by other brave swordsmen,nders, and fencers who, to some degree, weren''t too sure about going against the army on their own. Yet as the arrows began to rain down on the retreating demons a flicker of hope burst inside their hearts.

    "Where is the demon lord of envy? Shouldn''t he be directing his soldiers?" Asked one of the soldiers to another while they followed behind Haruki.

    Unbeknownst to them, Inferno was off to Hestemia after Deus, and Mercie had disappeared and hadn''t returned to the battlefield after a whole day. And since us had been the only one helping Margarette for a while, Inferno was forced to leave his territory to switch with us so he could return back to his own territory.

    "Stay behind me and only attack when your strike is sure to kill an enemy!" Creating an army of clones while also providing them with enough mana to cast magic of all affinities, Haruki led the charge against the retreating infernal and tore through them with des and magic.

    With the ground flooded to the hips and the stream of water quenching the Scorchen earth''s thirst, countless infernal demons fell to their knees and drowned by the extinguished mes on their bodies alone. The remaining weren''t in much better condition, however, their sheer numbers were bound to take a day or two to get rid of them all.

    The clones helped by shooting magic spells against the enemies and even the soldiers were trying their best to get as many bodies as they could, but even then the number of demons still didn''t seem to be reducing even in the slightest. After a while of retreating and getting to the cliff where Inferno''s tent was, the once aggressive demons looked down at the small battalion as if they were the grimm reaper.

    "They''re no different from the army I had, impulsive and their only strength is their numbers," Haruki muttered, looking at the cliff on which plenty of demons were still trying to climb up on.

    ''As long as Inferno isn''t here, his army of demonsck direction and are working through impulse. It shouldn''t be hard to deal with the remaining infernals then.'' Getting ready to summon otherworldly creatures, Haruki gestured his soldiers to back away.

    "Marite ballerina!" Summoning the multiplying marite, he''d nned to trim the numbers until near to no enemies were left behind.

    To make things even harsher, Haruki also created a pair of giant shadow hands protruding from the skies to w away at the weakened demons.

    "Let''s just get this over with," hastening things further, Haruki used shadow-form body to turn into a giant monster made of lost shadows of tormented humans.

    Grumbling out loud, he gave his battalion a quick frowning look as if to warn them against getting in his path. Shaking from the sight before them, the men felt thankful that Haruki was on their side and not against them at the moment.

    ***

    "How long until you find Mercie?" Growing impatient by the second, Inferno growled at Reya.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "I don''t know where she is," Far away in her territory, Reya talked to him through her mind. "Nobody has seen her since she switched ces with us."

    With the war nearly ended, Inferno was seated inside a tent waiting for Deus or Mercie to switch ces with him. But with both of them gone and nobody having any clue where they were, he had no choice but tog behind until someone else was ready to take his spot.

    "Where the fuck is Deus? I thought his research wasn''t going anywhere so they figured out something before continuing," Infernoined, sipping on a ss of sage.

    Crossing his legs, he leaned back into the chair to rx his mind for the moment. Having worked for the entirety of the day to help Margarette direct her army, he was in no mood of moving a single muscle.

    "I think he''s waiting for Fay to cut off a sample of her daughter''s flesh," despite knowing where Deus was, Reya deflected from the topic to save herself an embarrassing exnation.

    "Cutting off a part of her flesh? Sounds like something a real demon would do," cackling out loud, Inferno reached onto the table next to him and grabbed a lit cigar that he''d rested there a few moments ago. "Regardless, wake me up when you find either of those two idiots."

    Taking a strong hit of tobo, Inferno set the cigar back on the table and even put the sage aside to consume itter. Closing his eyes shut, he let himself wander to sleep all the while in his territory his army was being trimmed by Haruki and his battalion.

    While her brother drifted to sleep, Reya decided to inform Deus about the situation in Hestemia once he leaves Azalea alone inside their love room. What bothered her more was the fact that nobody, not even her, was able to figure out where Mercie was even though she was supposed to have switched with Inferno hours before the current time.

    ''That bitch, did she die because of her stupidity somewhere?'' Knowing how she had tortured Deus, Reya wasn''t too happy with Mercie, and if given the chance she would howl her frustration on her face. ''Where the fuck is that bitch anyways?''

    All of a sudden as Asuka and Athena came inside Inferno''s tent, Reya noticed them rolling their eyes, seemingly frustrated by theck of effort on Inferno''s part. The other demon lords had made some strides to help with the war, it was only Inferno who seemed too self-absorbed in his ownfort to fight a war that he wasn''t interested in.

    "When are we getting his recement?" Asuka muttered with a tired sigh.

    "At least us and Mercie were helpful," shaking her head, Athena turned around to leave the tent.

    Even though they were sent to get Inferno, neither had the energy left to wake him up and convince him to follow them to the battlefield. Thus following Athena''s lead, Asuka didn''t wait long before leaving the ce as well.

    ''I feel bad for these kids, who knows how long they''ve been at work?'' Feeling concerned about the healers, Reya once again cursed her selfish sister.

    Still Hidden outside the room where Deus and Azalea were, however, Mercie made sure to stay invisible as she pushed the door open. Sleeping inside, the lovers had each other wrapped in their arms. Although she knew it was all her doing, a hint of jealousy took over Mercie''s mind. Right that very instant, she wanted to push Azalea away and take her ce, but doing so would spoil the pleasure of ruining their rtionshipter on.

    "Let me have a taste," the risk of ruining it all, however, didn''t stop her from stripping naked in front of the two to enjoy herself in the moment as well.

    Staying invisible, she made use of her dark magic to keep the two trapped in a cloud of dark that kept them both confined to their sleep. Then as the effects of the spell began to take ce, she moved behind Deus to taste his skin from the back.

    "You''re going to be mine, so is every other cutie," she whispered right into Deus''s ears.

    Following the rest of the night, her actions grew more and morescivious. Going so far as to lick him in ces she shouldn''t and even riding on top of his body until she was filled with her unconscious spirit brother''s cum. By the time Deus would wake up, Mercie would already be gone, but the feeling of something heavy would still linger over his chest.

    ''I¡­I should return to the experiment.'' Having someone to be with when the chaos dies, Deus wanted to be done with all the trouble as soon as he could.

 Chapter 277 277 - Growing Desperate

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    The pressure on all fronts had turned the emperor desperate. Every kingdom, every duchy, and every city was slowly being taken away from him, and despite Haruki''s alleged progress on Inferno''s territory, they were losing too much for that pascal ofnd to amount to much at all. In fact, at the rate at which the demon lords were creeping in on his territory under Margarette''s watch, he felt a burning jealousy for thepetence of Haruki''s war general.

    "So, Selena, what have you learned from being around the demon lord of lust?" Taking a stroll through the Halfeti garden, the emperor apanied by Haruki''s personal guards wanted to squeeze out as much information about him as possible.

    A bit fidgety from the presence of the emperor beside her, Selena''s body was all tensed up and even her steps felt stiffly puppeteered.

    "M-My Lo-Lord!" Covering her mouth Selena took a deep gulp to calm her staggering tongue. Then as she finally began to feel slightly better, she opened her mouth again to answer the emperor''s question. "The lord of lust, he¡­was very secretive and only talked when he needed something."

    "Needed what exactly?" Venturing into a maze of tall bushes, As looked at Selena from the edge of his eyes waiting for an answer. "He might be working under me now, but he''s still a demon so I''m going to assume you didn''t open your mouth too much around him, did you?"

    "Of course not! I would never!" Selena replied without a moment''s dy.

    "Then what did you learn from him exactly?" As asked again as they moved deeper through the maze.

    Taking yet another moment to calm her heart, Selena steeled herself before replying.

    "He spends most of his time reading books in the library, and to be honest, I didn''t expect him to be studious but he seemed knowledgeable in almost all aspects of history and the ult,"ying it all out, Selena felt the burden on her lessen ever so slightly.

    "Hmmm¡­" Humming to himself, the emperor was lost in deep thought until the two of them reached the other end of the maze.

    With a gazebo under the shades of lush trees, a painted white table with chairs wasid out in front of them. Walking over to it, As settled down in one of the seats and motioned Selena to sit down across him.

    To show her fidelity, however, Selena refused to take a seat and simply stood by the emperor waiting for an order or any more questions that he could''ve had.

    "Oh¡­" Remembering something important about her encounter with Haruki, Selena quickly blurted it out. "There was one thing particrly odd about his reading habit, he was looking through the arcane books even though I''m quite certain he couldn''t understand a word written in them."

    ''Arcane books? Nothing goodes from the arcane.'' Given an obvious hint about a potential betrayal, As wondered if he should shut the libraries at once or keep them open just to see where things go and perhaps figure out Haruki''s ns before he gets to execute them. ''Either way, his performance at the war has been excellent, discarding him would be a fool''s y especially since I have him under my grasp.''

    As if the stars had willed it, a guard came rushing from the garden bushes with urgent news from the battlefield. With obvious hints of urgency on his face, the armored soldier made his way toward his lord and knelt down before speaking to him.

    "My L-lord!" Panting as he spoke, the messenger''s words were far from coherent.

    "Calm down and breathe" As ordered.

    Following his lord''smand, the messenger took a moment to catch his breath before looking back up at As. Gulping down in angst, he finally spoke clearly.

    "Sir¡­Sir Haruki has taken back Sir Dominion''snd! We need to send more Royal guards to secure the region before the demon lord''s return!" Although the messenger had summed up everything pretty clearly, there were still points of confusion that needed some clearing.

    "In a day''s time, the demon has taken the territory back, that too with but a handful of soldiers?" As asked, a bit skeptical of the situation.

    Recognizing the doubt in the emperor''s eyes, the soldier felt an eerie chill run down his spine. Yet as he spoke nothing but the truth, his answer remained the same as before.

    "Yes my lord, sir Michael was the one who sent that message so there''s no doubt about it!" Taking yet another nervous gulp, the messenger decided to clear something else about the situation as well. "It seems the demon lord of envy isn''t present in his territory and so his demons perished without his guidance the same way Sir Dominion''s army fell without him."<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "Where is he then?" As asked, having no clue about Inferno''s whereabouts.

    "I¡­I do not know, my lord," the messenger answered, lowering his head in shame.

    "Fine, send the reserved royal guards for Haruki''s aid," too concerned with the demon lords all pushing in on his territory, the emperor knew he couldn''t waste too much time over decisions like this. "And ry this order to Haruki, I do not want a single more of my men to die in Inferno''s mes and if it happens he can forget about Serena''s soul."

    Keeping Serena''s soul hostage was currently the only leverage he had against Haruki, especially since the armies from Haruki''s formerpanions were closing in on him at a rapid speed. Receiving his orders, the messenger dismissed himself with a bow to the emperor. Left alone with Selena once more, As turned to her for onest question.

    "I have to ask," ring at her with a sharp gaze, the emperor seemed slightly irked by something. "Your oath, what made you break it so easily?"

    Smelling the musk of a demon on her, her infidelity to her oath was more apparent to As than to Selena herself. Thus shocked by his words, her eyes widened up and she even stepped away in horror wondering what she''d done wrong to anger her master.

    "My lord, I would never do anything to-"

    "Demons are elusive in more than a handful of ways, and you''ve been tainted already," directing his fingers towards her, As created a small circr window peeking into the past. "And it seems Nabe is much the same."

    Peering into the window of memories, the night where Selena had slept with Haruki unfolded before the eyes of two. Already suspected Nabe of betrayal. As wasn''t too surprised by seeing her present inside the room, in fact, the only thing that bothered him was having taken care of a viper since her birth only to be bitten by it in its adult years.

    Fortunately for Haruki, throughout the night he''d not spoiled a single step of his n or even the contract he made with Asmodia. But for Selena who thought herself to be the lord''s servant, bouncing on top of Haruki''s dick like a whore was devastating enough to bring her to her knees.

    "You''re no royal guard anymore," curling his fingers into a fist, As shut the window closed and looked right into Selena''s eyes. "Submit your armor until you can prove your worth to be a royal guard again."

    Too ashamed to speak a word, Selena stayed on her knees bowing to the emperor. Not in a million years could she have seen herself begging for a mistake like this, yet now that she was down on all fours she wanted nothing more than to be forgiven by her master no matter the price for it might be.

    "My lord, please, I didn''t know!" She begged, her breaths growing unsteady.

    "I know you didn''t know, that''s why I can''t have you around him anymore," even though he appeared cruel in his judgment, deep within, As was still thinking of his subject''s wellbeing. "Abstain in the dungeons, and when you''re done, I want you to face the same demon who took your honor from you."

    Getting out of the chair, As ced his hand on Selena''s shoulder for a moment before passing her by. Making his way back into the castle, he''d left her despairing in her shoring and yet determined to be a better servant to her loving master.

    ''By the order of the oaths, I should''ve been killed for breaking them, but¡­'' Looking back at As walking away, Selena felt thankful to him for giving her a second chance.

    In reality, however, As himself has broken plenty of naturalws that he was supposed to uphold, and the weight of those rebellions against the creator made him feel ineligible to punish anyone else who dares to do the same.

    ''I feel horrible¡­'' While rushing towards the castle, the emperor''s body was drenched with a sudden burst of cold sweat, almost as if his cosmic heart was about to implode from the feeble use of his magic to show Selena the memories from that night.

    "Call the generals, I need them all here! Send all royal guards out in their ces but I need them here!" Giving out orders to the guards stationed by the castle doors, As rushed past them before they could notice his skin turning a ghostly pale.

    ''Dammit¡­I thought I had more time!'' His teeth clenched tight, he could taste the iron flooding out through his gums. His vision was no better as it got blurrier by the second, even his body was waning in strength with each step, and worst of all his head was throbbing with a skull-shattering migraine.

    Bleeding through his eyes, and nails, the emperor took brisk steps in an attempt to somehow make it to his room, but before he could climb even half the steps that led to the upper floors, his legs gave in and he stumbled right down the steps. Hearing their lord''s body thrashing down the stairs, the guards rushed right over to him and helped him get to a safer ce on the lower floor itself.

 Chapter 278 - Melicia, The Angel, The Witch, The Betrayer Of All

    Chapter 278 - Melicia, The Angel, The Witch, The

    Betrayer Of All

    Trapped in his underground training facility right by the territory Haruki had

    reimed, Inferno was fuming in rage yet his soul siblings deterred him from taking a

    step outside. Bound to a chair by a lever mechanism pulling him down on it with

    chains, Inferno could easily tear it apart, yet the only reason he didn''t do so was

    because deep within he knew his rage was a product of rampant emotions.

    "Fuck you all!" But that didn''t mean he wouldn''t let his frustration be known,

    especially when he''d lost his army trying to cover for the two who''d been missing for

    more than two days at this point. "Mercie, Deus, and Reya, you too! You''re all a

    bunch of morons who can''t do a single thing right! Do you know how much it taints

    my name to lose a territory that I''d upied not even a month ago?!"

    "Inferno, calm down!" Mercie yelled back crossing her arms.

    Between the two, Deus knew who was at fault, however, opening his mouth or even

    letting Inferno loose would''ve been the biggest mistake he could ever make. Only if

    Michael wasn''t apanying Haruki or if they had Asmodia, the three of them

    might''ve stood a chance against the demon lord of lust as well as the dragon yer,

    but with the strongest of all demon lords dead, there was no way they could defeat

    them on their own.

    "Aghhhhhh!" Further enraged by Mercie''s confrontational attitude, Inferno finally

    decided to break through the chains. Once unshackled, he stood tall and started

    walking towards his soul sister. And although Deus was witnessing it all, he had no

    ns to protect that monster. "Reya, I can understand she''s never been the one to

    fight on the frontlines, but you, Mercie! What the fuck were you doing?!"

    Walking backward as Inferno kept stepping closer and closer to her, Mercie tried to

    keep up some distance between her and Inferno. But tripping onto the rotting body of

    one of the royal guards Inferno had killed a while back, she fell down onto her butt

    and couldn''t do anything more than hopelessly look up at her older brother.

    "Inferno stop, please!" Mercie pleaded, covering her face from the mes that were

    soon toe.

    Grunting out loud with mes pressured out through the gaps in his teeth, Inferno

    drew his hand back to teach Mercie a lesson. As his fist began to burn, however, the

    sudden opening of the underground hall''s door stole Inferno''s attention.

    Leaping back, he readied himself to face whatever or whoever was on the end side.

    Expecting an enemy as well, Deus conjured up his guns and even summoned an

    Astromech model that appeared like a fusion of a kangaroo and a bunny. As for

    Mercie who was still down on the bloody ground, she only had enough time to turn

    towards the door to see who they were about to be facing.

    While three kept a stern watch on the door, it flung right open with nobody standing

    on the other side. At first, they wondered if it was the wind that pushed the door

    open, but as the trio noticed a shadow eerily move towards them from under the door

    frame, they all went back into their defensive state.

    Stomping the ground, Inferno set me to the dried bloodyered across the floor.

    With everything instantly catching fire, the room for shadows was near to none,

    forcing Haruki to crawl out of the ground before he was stuck into the ground.

    "Haruki?!" Deus eximed, his eyes wide open.

    "What the fuck?!" Mercie yelped, getting back on her feet.

    Like always, Inferno had another means to ry his shock, which happened to be in

    the form of anger. The fist he''d clenched shut for Mercie, he decided to rush over to

    Haruki with it. Storming through the mes, he marched like a Pegasus with loops of

    mes left behind his every step.

    Inches away from Haruki, Inferno swung his fist towards his face, but before it could

    make contact, he noticed in his eyes a different kind of glow that he hadn''t seen while

    fighting him in the arena.

    "What did you do?!" Breaking his strike by jumping back, Inferno knew that standing

    before him wasn''t the same Haruki he''d met in the Colosseum.

    "I don''t have much time for exnation," saying those words, Haruki used mana to

    create a steam of vapor to put out the mes around the room. "Michael has gone

    back to the castle for some reason, and while I''ve tricked my battalion with a clone I

    doubt it''ll be long before they figure out that that''s not me."

    Taking a few steps forward, Haruki got closer to Inferno and peered right into his

    eyes with a determined gaze. Knowing well enough that backing down or appearing

    reserved would only make things harder in front of someone like Inferno, he wanted

    to set the tone of their conversation beforehand.

    "Asmodia isn''t dead yet, we met in purgatory while I was looming between life and

    death," the moment Haruki revealed the news, Deus and Mercie let out an audible

    gasp as for Inferno his eyes widened eye further as he stumbled a few steps back.

    "There''s a way to bring her back and that''s why I had to pretend to be the emperor''s

    servant."

    "What about my army then?!" Inferno growled, still pissed off about his lost soldiers.

    "Unlike lust, my men are born from me and can''t be made overnight!"

    cing his hand on the side of Inferno''s arm, Deus pulled him back before his temper

    worsened the situation. Being possibly the only one capable of sound negotiation,

    Deus wanted to know more about this contract before making any decisions toward

    helping Haruki.

    "Even if you revive her, how would you escape the emperor''s curse? What does doing

    this for her, have for you?" Deus asked, a subtle frown riding across his forehead.

    Taking a moment in silence to collect an answer, Haruki drew a deep breath before

    replying.

    "She''ll die eventually, but ording to our contract I can only kill her when I''ve

    reced As as this world''s god," starting with the heavier part, Haruki knew he

    would raise plenty of eyebrows, and that is exactly what happened. "That said, we

    can''t kill each other until then, and I have to help her be revived in exchange for a life

    without the meddling of gods and demons alike."

    Thest part of the exnation loosened up the tension in the room a little, but even

    now there were plenty of questions that needed to be answered. One of which Deus

    was just about to ask.

    "And how do you n on doing it?" He muttered.

    "I need a total of three people to revive her," holding his hand forward he tried to open

    a dungeon portal window to show something, but it failed as the emperor had

    restricted his use of the ability. Clicking his tongue, he washed his frustration off with

    a shake of the head.

    "What the fuck do you need, apuse or something? Just tell us what you need!"

    Stilling raging, Inferno howled at Haruki.

    Ignoring him, Haruki scoffed before speaking out the names of the three people

    instead of showing them through the portal.

    "First I need Moriyana Malice, she''s¡­Never mind, the other person is Reya, the demon

    lord of sloth. As for thest, I need Reya to summon her so we can visit thend of

    fairies, and open the path to purgatory to get Asmodia''s soul,"ying out his ns,

    Haruki tried to remember everything he could that he''d learned through the books of

    arcane in the emperor''s library. Even though it had been a pain trying to decipher

    them to an intelligible degree, doing so with his affinity for lost tongue helped him a

    long way.

    "None of this makes sense," Mercie retorted, and to some degree, the other two

    were in agreement.

    After all, why would Haruki need to visit thend of fairies? Disregarding even that,

    there was no way Reya would''ve been able to open a portal to purgatory since if it

    was so simple why wouldn''t they have done it already? However, that is when the

    massacre of Infernal demons came into y.

    Reaching into his cloak, Haruki took out a luminous ss jar shimmering with a

    rampant soul ready to burst out of their clear prison. Enveloping it in a mask of

    darkness, Haruki hid its light again before putting it back inside his white cloak.

    "Mellicia the witch, an angel of pathways, and melody, that''s whom I need Reya to

    summon, and once we offer her these souls in exchange for Asmodia, we can revive

    her with some extra effort," still keeping parts of his ns a secret, Haruki let them on

    all everything they needed to know.

    For a moment, the trio seemed dumbfounded and not that convinced by the whole

    n, but since the clock was ticking and they had little time they ultimately had no

    choice but to agree to Haruki''s n.

    "Sure enough Mellicia is a witch that can open a portal to heaven, hell, earth, and even

    purgatory, but even then convincing her to help a demon would not be an easy task,"

    Dues pointed out, worried about the possibility of failure.

    "These souls aren''t the only ones I''m going to offer her," with an expecting god

    waiting for Haruki on the other side of that portal, he had not one but two excellent

    bargaining chips to use. "So, have you heard of Destinia and her kingdom of fairies?"

    With a maniacal smile, Haruki went on to discuss a massacre that would leave the

    land of fairies barren like a dessert.

 Chapter 279 - The Angel Of Pathways And Mournful Melodies[Bonus Story]

    Chapter 279 - The Angel Of Pathways And Mournful Melodies[Bonus Story]

    The love of a mother knows no bounds, even so, willing to cradle another life at the expense of her or any other. To nurture, to care, and to offer all that she has, is but scratching the surface of what it means to a life''s bearer. A mother in spirit Melicia was much the same from the day she picked up her first straw doll.

    Eldest of three, she took the role of their mother the very day her father left his girls by a brothel. Huddled up in heavy rain, she sheltered her children under a wood carton. For days she kept her arms upheld to prevent her daughters from getting wet. The skies, however, cared not for the child''s sorrow, as nature wasn''t cruel but indifferent to their suffering.

    "What''s there?" At the height of the flood, a man stood blocking the lighting illuminating the gap between the brothel and another building.

    Like a feral cat, Melicia moved before her daughter and growled like a feline. Taken aback, the man stepped back but didn''t leave just yet. The haunting state of the girls was too horrid for him to ignore. The water merged with scum, dead carcasses, and bugs had rotten the skins off of Melicia''s arms, while the girls in the back seemed perfectly okay.

    Drawn by the scent of blood critters, rodents, and even small fishes tore away at Melicia, and in turn, Melicia tore them away before feeding them to her daughters. At this point in time, her memories of what it meant to be human hadpletely faded away, but to her fortune, the man onlooking her was familiar with such despair.

    "Come with me," he offered, holding in his hand a kind of fruit Melicia had never seen.

    But that bribe wasn''t enough to draw her out of the cramped space. In an attempt to gain her favor, the man offered her food every day for the rest of the season. And thus on a night ever so fateful, Melicia crept out of the gap with her twin baby daughters in her arms. Sneaking a peek at the stone path right before the ce she''d been living in, she made sure nobody was around as she made her way into the brothel where the strange man lived.

    Even through the night, the ce was lit withnterns but for reasons peculiar to her the hall was empty, yet the rooms sounded lively and rowdy. Far too innocent to make sense of the strange sounds, Melicia jackaled around the ce trying to find the man. Cuffing around like a cat she peeked into the room to find the strange man, but the only thing she saw was far too strange for her to make sense of.

    After checking in from room to room, she was caught by a surprised few as she peeked inside. However, her skinned arms and legs had her mistaken for a sickly ghost. Howling in fear, the men and women rushed out of their room, and before long the oblivious Melicia was caught by one brave adventurer who was lodging in for the night.

    "Who are you?" He asked calmly, unsure what to make of Melicia and her daughters.

    His grumbling voice woke the twins, something Malicia couldn''t forgive. shing the man''s face, she left deep grooves from her ws on his pretty face. Letting go of her as his skin began to burn from the poison in Melicia''s nails, the adventurer fell to the ground foaming out from the mouth.

    Horrified, the onlookers were about to flee away, but as the strange man appeared out of nowhere, Melicia hid behind him and began to appear much more humane. Casting a spell, and making use of plenty of potions at his own expense, the stranger man who happened to be the owner took responsibility for her action and assured the guests that nothing of the kind would ever happen again.

    At first as the news about the incident made it around the city, none dared go to the brothel, but s the desires of man needs to be sated. The next time the adventurers arrived, Melicia had learned to greet them by the door while the two of her daughters were being gently cradled by the owner''s wife. In return for the damage and to earn some gold herself, she helped around the ce in all ces a kid can without getting too close to the adults.

    Even the man she''d shed unconscious soon came to forgive her, but these days of good weren''t going tost forever. The poison in her arms continued to grow, and by the time she was an adult each never in her body was pulsing with dark blood. Even her eyes darkened to the core appeared like the devil, and the red in her iris terrified the new customers.

    Bandaged away her arms were still hidden, but its poison had stretched so far that it even began to ooze from her sweat. To which one day, the owner perished, and so did his wife and so did plenty others who ate the stew brewed by the witch. And as if that wasn''t enough means for sorrow, her sister distanced themselves from their cursed mother.

    Left behind in a building that once brimmed with more life than any other ce in the city, Melicia stayed confined in its basement trying toe up with ways to get rid of her poison. Through arcane she tried to condemn it, but it had no effect, through her holy magic she tried to heal it off, but it only weakened her from within. As time went on, even the brothel ''s walls crumbled over her from the creeping poison. Soon enough even the streets were no safer, and as time kept passing, the very kingdom had to step in toy rest to the corruptive witch.

    But by some misguided effort to lure the witch out from her hole, they did something that would bring down the whole kingdom. The twins, the moment theyid their hands on them, the moment they captured the two as means of bargain, became thest mistake they were allowed to make.

    In her struggle to free the two, Melicia let her malice take form and poisoned the very air, which with time merged with the rivers, and even the skies rained blood from the effect of her bleeding heart. To put an end to it all, the king of thend brought her daughters to light and cut off one''s head, and kept the other alive as a warning. But instead of a retrieval, this only fueled the witch''s rage, and thus she condemned the king with knowledge of the arcane. He bled for a thousand days from every orifice of his body, his sons suffered the same and so did his daughters and wives.

    At the end of it all, the poison in her heart grew so potent, that even herst daughter sumbed to it the moment she was about to be rescued. Inches away from her, the witch watched as her sister begged her to go away, but her instincts as a mother wouldn''t let her abandon her in the cold decrepit walls of the dungeon.

    In mourning for her family, Melicia cried for a thousand years, and so did the angels, the devils, the human, and any who wished to live. For to not mourn along with the witch meant a flood of blood that would rot your kingdom''s cities and valleys. Even the heavens bled from her poison and to appease the grieving witch, the creator halted any and all ns of progress.

    By the time the witch rose from her knees, the world around her was drenched in blood tears. And the closer to the witch the ce was, the more of thend would soon turn into thend of Scorchen Gaia. With her tears covering every inch ofnd, the witch of poison came to be the witch of pathways and soon enough she became the witch of mournful melody.

    From a spirit of a mother to a monster that even the gods feared, all because of her love for the two who could never love her back as much as she did. Thus fearing another heartbreak in her future, the lord of the world outstretched his arms to wee her into heaven so she could no longer hold the world hostage.

    "I''ll end up poisoning the heavens, creator, why would you need me there?" She asked, referring to the creator of all.

    The lord sighed with a hint of exhaustion.

    "I have no answer, but ones that you would not like," with a grumble in the skies, the lord continued. "However, you staying here would only strip countless other children of their mothers."

    Unaware of her own strength, Malicia was hit with the realization of her own atrocities that have beenmitted against countless others. And even though she cared not for any adults, but the children suffering because of her, she decided to agree to the creator''s offer and slumber in the heavens to keep the effects of the poison to a minimum.

    When Melicia finally agreed, the lord let out yet another sign for he knew more than any other, just how terrifying the expanse of her strength was. As for Malicia herself, the next she would wake up, the lord would have perished long before, and yet for some obscure reason, her demise was yet toe.

    "I wonder¡­If my father knew and that''s the reason he left me to die?" Returning to sleep with that thought, Meliciay in wait for death to creep over her.

    However, as if fate had some other ns, she heard the voice of a demon calling out to her. Peering down from the heavens, she saw through her bloody eyes a field of war with a handful of demons trying to gain her favor.

 Chapter 280 280 - Leading Up To The Summoning[Catching Up With Everyone]

    ?

    Hestemia had fallen and been overrun with demons. The territories once held by the emperor had all submitted to the forces of the marching armies from all directions. At the heart of it all, the emperor''s domain was soon to be marched on, but before making such a bold move, collecting everyone''s thoughts was of paramount importance.

    Gathering at the Hestemian castle, Margarette briefed everyone on the progress off the wall, all the while the others ryed their thoughts about what needs to be done moving forward. Some chattered more than the others, but each of them had something of great value to add to the conversation.

    "Sir us," called Riley, her feet tapping nervously under the ss roundtable. "Where are the other demon lords? We need help from their armies."

    Unaware of the situation with Haruki and the demon lords, us was the only one representing the demon lord who was present in this whole thing. That too, he had felt reluctant to join since his own army back in Gaia was struggling against Nabe''s creeping attempt to delude his soldiers into bing utterly useless vegetables.

    "Riley Phoenix, right?" Leaning onto the desk, he red at Riley with an absoluteck of emotions reflected on his face. "I''ve answered that question so many times already, hence, if you dare bring that up again I''ll make your teeth sprout like saplings."

    Despite his calm demeanor, his threat wasn''t to be taken lightly. Recognizing that Riley hid her teeth behind a smile and turned to the queen of goblins instead. Stripped off all work, the spy had been forced to resort to helping through paperwork. Thus in the short time she''d worked as her mother''s secretary, she''d learned well enough to keep track of all that could be enumerated.

    "Queen, how many soldiers do you have left, and how''s the Gremlin mines doing?" Riley asked, picking up the quill and paper resting right before her on the table.

    Interested in the numbers, everyone including demi-humans with a fickle understanding of arithmetics paid close heed to what the queen would unveil. To their horror, the first thing that left her lips was a deeply defeated sigh.

    "Maybe a hundred goblins, a fewmias, about two hundred Arachne, in total we have less than five hundred soldiers left and we started with about ten times that number," taking a deep filling breath, the goblin queen opened her eyes and looked around the roundtable before sighing once again. "The Gremlins are hard to keep alive since they are used to the heat of Scorchen Gaia, but even the ones that are doing okay can''t work for long or they quite literally freeze to death."

    Moving Slightly forward in her irond armor, the queen of Arachneid her staff on the ground before adding more to the report.

    "The equipment the Gremlin makes is of excellent quality, but¡­" Holding her many arms wide open, the Arachne queen showed off her blue glinted armor. "Making them inrge batches is not feasible, especially since the Lamias and Gremlins don''t seem to be getting along."

    "What?" Surprised by the report, Margarette was a bit confused. "Why wasn''t I told this? And what the hell is Medusa doing if not making sure her children stay in line!"

    Resting his dragon w on the table, Klian decided to be the one to answer.

    "Lamia emit poison, and Gremlins work with fire and metal, what do you think happens when poison meets the fumes of the forge they smelt their ingots in?" Seemingly bored, Klian scratched his ragged beard while looking right at Margarette. "They die that''s what, and how they must be dying too because you idiots are keeping those two species together."

    "Klian!" Rose growled, her eyes frowning in rage looking at her brother.

    Leaning back into the chair, he threw his boots onto the table. Ignoring his sister''sint, he put on a mask of pure ice over his eyes and simply went on to continue his slumber.

    "Wake me up when you find something challenging," he muttered and swiftly drifted off.

    Knowing her brother well, Rose was worried about him going on yet another rampage akin to the one he''d gone on in the times of the ancestral Frost, thus to keep him in check, she was keeping him by her side so the effects of their presence were neutralized by the other.

    "Anyways," turning to the meeting, Rose had something to ask as well. "Asuka, how many healers do we have left, and the number of injured soldiers?"

    A bit shocked by the sudden address, Asuka clumsily reached into her breast pocket and took out a piece of paper with all the information written inside. Scanning through it for a moment, she was having a hard time understanding it all being a demi-human, but as she finally crunched down the numbers, she didn''t wait to answer.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "We have less than a hundred healers, and more than a thousand soldiers are incapable of battle, including those who''ve been hit with true holy magic and we can''t really heal them," putting the paper away, she returned a gaze to Rose.

    "So our chances of winning are null," Athena muttered, her eyes gazing through thin air.

    "We have human prisoners though, maybe we can turn them into demons and-"

    "Turn them into demons and risk having undisciplined rogues in our ranks?" Before Alice could even finish, Margarette shot down her proposal. "They''ll fly away at the first sight of danger, leaving the other men and women to die."

    Taken aback, Alice clenched her teeth embarrassed, and sank into her chair. Noticing her dissolvent, Athena gave her a weak smile and patted her gently over her lush hair. Feeling assured by her mother, a smile took over Alice''s lips as well.

    "Wait¡­" Remembering something far more important, Asuka nced around the table trying to find someone. "Where Fay? Weren''t she, Moriyana, and Deus supposed to create a body for master? Shouldn''t at least one of them be reporting here too?"

    "Fay''s with Ste, and Moriyana did say she''ll be in the otherworld trying to figure out a way to create a new body, didn''t she?" Having already wondered the same, Margarette gave Asuka the same conclusion she herself hadnded on. "We need to let them work on the body for now, bringing them here wouldn''t solve much since none of them have been directly involved in the war themselves."

    For once, Margarette''s imagination was filling more gaps than it should, but that too only because she''d been asked by Fay not to disturb her until the new vessel for Haruki was prepared. And while the rest of the meeting continued over how long they should wait before assaulting the emperor''s domain, Fay did what she''d sworn to with Ste, all alone in the ce it all began.

    Deep in the duchy of Laria, Fay stood before the broken vessel of ss in which Ste''s bodyid afloat. Looking at the other failed vessels still sealed tight in their chambers around the room, she began to recall the memories of the time when Ste was born through the tube. A clone made from Haruki''s ability as well as some maniption of soul and matter, it all came to be the daughter they so loved and cherished.

    "Mommy¡­T-this ce is scary!" Burying her head onto Fay''s shoulders, Ste shielded her eyes from the sight of the floating body.

    ''She grew into a young adult in the time it took us to travel here¡­'' A bit terrified by her rate of growth, Fay braced for when she turns into an immortal. ''Being a demon slime would definitely help here to understand why we did what we did to stay alive and conquernds.''

    Pushing those thoughts away for the moment, Fay caressed the side of Ste''s face before moving her away from her shoulder. mping her face between her hands, she looked right into her eyes and let her mana slowly seep into her.

    "This is where you were born, and I¡­I thought it''ll help deter me from doing what I''m about to do right now," the more of her mana poured into Ste, the more her body began to bubble with a strange form of excitement she''d never felt before. "But I can''t not do it, it''s for your father, and since you''re a clone of him in more sense than one, you must possess his affinity for creation, but you need this to see it!"

    Her eyes glowing a violet, Fay kept on pouring dark magic into her daughter to excite her body until she submitted to her mother as her new master. The only way for a subus to turn another creation being it to excite them to climax with their bodies touching in any way, Fay was trying to turn her daughter so she too can create clones through dark magic much like her father.

    "M-mommy?" To her surprise, however, even as her mana was drained to null, Ste was far from the path of being converted into a demon.

    ''Benevolent actor''s blessing acquired!'' Hit with the announcement in her head, Fay let go of Ste and backed away in horror. ''What the fuck?!''

    Peering up at Ste, she seemedpletely unfazed apart from a light blush on her clear cheeks. Almost as if something was protecting her from any and all evil.

    "Rose¡­" Once again reminded of the blessing, Fay cursed herself for even trying something so horrendous.

    ''That bitch; She probably knew this day woulde.'' Right on the mark, Fay had guessed exactly what was happening.

 Chapter 281 281 - A Mother And A Child

    ?

    "What the-?" Pulled right out of a portal by Reya, Moriyana had no clue where she was or how she even got there. But at the very sight of Haruki standing in front, her mind shoved the worries away as she rushed over to hug him.

    Wrapping him with her arms around him, she squeezed him as tight as she could as if to check if he was the real deal. Used all the curses and illusions, she had reason for her doubt but the moment his warmth moved through his chest to hers, all those doubts were quickly washed away.

    "How did you get here?" Pulling her head back, she sped his head between her palms. "Oh fuck, I don''t care!"

    Ignoring even the other demon lords standing right behind Haruki, Moriyana pushed her lips against his and smooched them until her lungs forced her to breathe. Despite the warm hug and the kiss, however, as Moriyana looked onto Haruki''s face a strange sadness lingered over him, almost as if he was forced to break a grim news to an expecting family.

    "Moriyana, I need your help reviving Asmodia," the moment she heard those wordse out of Haruki''s mouth, her joyous expression contorted into a mix of confusion and surprise.

    "W-What do you mean?" She asked, her hands gripping tight into Haruki''s arms.

    Before Haruki could answer, Inferno jerked him away from Moriyana by pulling him by the shoulder. Taken by surprise, Haruki and Moriyana both turned to look at Inferno, but the look of utter dissent on his face made things think twice beforeshing out.

    "What?" Asked Haruki.

    "We don''t have time," looking down the hill at the battalion Haruki had brought, Inferno shifted his attention to the handful of Deus''s soldiers struggling to keep those men tied up with chains. "And you Moriyana Malice, tell me do you wish to help your master or waste enough time for Michael toe rushing back?"

    Unaware of the whole picture, Moriyana had near to no reference to make her decision off of. Yet from how Inferno framed the question, she knew they didn''t have much time, and her decision needed to be snappy.

    "If we''re only trying to revive Mother? Then no, but if it helps Haruki in any way, and he thinks it''s the right decision, then sure, I''ll do whatever it takes to help!" Determined to help, Moriyana straightened her back and stood firm.

    "I guess that''s my cue then unless you want me to grab someone else as well," peeking out from her dark portal, Reya addressed Haruki before trying to summon the witch of mournful melodies.

    Gripping his fists tight, Haruki took a moment to calm his mind to think everything through. Drawing a deep breath, he shut his eyes closed and went through all the scenarios that could possibly y out past the summoning. In none of those mental images did he find any reason to add more people to the current group.

    "None, we''re practically going on a suicide mission anyways, and if people are going to die then I''d rather keep the casualties to a minimum," having gauged the risks of summoning Melicia, Haruki wanted to keep the number of participants to an absolute minimum.

    In fact, had it not been for hisck of care for the other demon lords, he would''ve only asked Reya toe along.

    "Very well then, let''s hope she''s not grumbly," crawling out of her portal, Reya appeared in the form of a little girl with her button-eyed teddy and a small violet umbre to protect herself from the flying embers.

    Not paying mind to anyone, but the expansive sky, she raised an arm upward. Shooting out of her frilly sleeves in a spiral around her arms, a strain of her mana sparkled like the night stars. Conforming into a collection of magic circles, they kept on expanding in size the more Reya fed her magic into them.

    "Be ready with those souls," she warned, peeking at Haruki from the edge of her eyes.

    Returning her gaze to the sky with that short exchange, she began to mumble in arcane. From the tales she''d heard, even before the creator plucked their souls from the cosmic river of souls, Melicia had already been in her slumber for more than a thousand years. Thus, to call on the witch she had to converse in thenguage presumely only a primordial ancestor would understand.

    ''Arcane, nothing goodes out of it.'' Thought Reya as she desperately attempted to string about a summoning spell in anguage she herself could only partiallyprehend.

    Heeding the call of the girl, the sky began to part as a pair of bloody nails slit the real apart. Like ss the sky crackled, terrifying all who bore witness to the great summon. Tearing through further, giant bony fingers stretched the slits further apart from each other until an eye of pure dark peered right onto Reya.

    "Ahue hena klia?" The angel grumbled, and the very air grumbled with her.

    Witnessing the sudden summon, Moriyana hid behind Haruki as if she was a small child. Being the least prepared of all, her mind was already being corrupted by the poison wreaking out through Melicia''s eyes.

    "Reya, be quick," a bit shaken himself, Inferno too wanted the witch to be gone as soon as possible.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "What is she saying?" Deus asked.

    Instead of words, Reya decided to respond with action. Reaching towards Haruki with a single hand, she motioned him to hand her the jar of souls. Handing it right over, Haruki stayed back until Reya was done striking the deal with the witch.

    "Melicia¡­" Holding the jar held up high, Reya began to voice the offer. "Ei Dastu Ou Soal Choir, Enki¡­"

    Making sure she was hitting all the correct notes, Reya paused for a moment before continuing on with her offer.

    "Asmodia Archangelieus Remure''s soal lu pergatia!" Finished up, shey in wait for the witch to reach for the jar and take the souls away for her choir, and in return she would offer nothing but a single soul that Melica would snatch out of the purgatory and offer it to them.

    However, much like they''d expected, the witch was unimpressed for she could''ve had far more souls for her choir if she simply scraped through her past victims. What she seemed interested in more, became much more apparent as her eyes turned to Moriyana hiding behind Haruki''s incubus frame.

    Reaching down with her bloodfed hand, she baffled them all by reaching not for the jar, but the only subus. Bringing the tip of her nail right by Haruki''s shoulders, she touched with it end Moriyana''s forehead.

    "Asmodia''s daughter¡­" The witch surprised them all by the use of current-daynguage. Even in Melicia''s time, the arcane had been preceded as the tongue for a century, and thus, while she was professed in arcane from her studies of the banned texts, her knowledge in theyman''s tongue wasn''tcking either.

    "I pity you, child, not all mothers deserve children, most of all, not someone like me or that monster of a timeshifter," She added, her words growing softer as she spoke.

    "T-timeshifter?" The word stuck out to Moriyana.

    "The ''Remure'' in her name belonged to a breed of warriors that used time as their weapon, and perhaps she belonged to the same, but only the creator would know," Melicia exined, her nail brushing against Moriyana''s face as if feeling the bounce on a newborn''s cheeks. "Regardless, I better be off before my poison bleeds over into this world again."

    Drawing her hand back, Melicia seemed ready to leave without evermenting on the offer made by Reya. But right in time, realizing that it needed to be done, Moriyana stretched her arm towards the retreating nail and clutched it into her hands.

    "No!" Melicia spouted in a hushed, baffled tone.

    "We need your help," scanning through the memories of the witch from the touch alone, Moriyana tried to find a way to make her agree to bring Asmodia back.

    Seeing Melicia''s past with her sister whom she considered her daughter, a crushing n popped inside Moriyana''s head.

    "I need my mother! I need her!" Despite the poison from the nail bleeding into her body, Moriyana didn''t want to let go as it served to distract Melicia from what she was doing. "Please, you wouldn''t let another kid be parted from her mother, would you?"

    Thosest few words pulled Melicia out of the horrid memories of her cries drowning in blood families a millennium over. The thought of leaving a pleading child to suffer even though she could easily reach beyond realms and bring back the devilish soul of her mother.

    "Why would you weep for a demon, child?" Melicia asked, unable to grasp just how someone could love Asmodia.

    "Would you not have preferred for your daughters to weep you, had you died before them?" Making further use of her maniption, Moriyana tipped Melicia off the bridge of emotions.

    Falling for the thought of her daughters weeping for her, instead of shooing her away in terror in theirst moments, Melicia''s eyes numbed up with a drop of blood tear. Before it could fall, however, she pulled her hand away from Moriyana and quickly wiped it away.

    "So be it then, Asmodia Archangelieus Remure, will be revived, but as her body has deteriorated, we''ll need a vessel potent enough for her," Melicia exined, her voice suddenly growing the slightest hint jolly.

    "Leave that to me," having already known that she would need a vessel, Haruki knew what had to be done. "Just bring us the soul, and once again, in exchange for these souls, bring us to thend of fairies."

    Although she squinted at Haruki''s request as if questioning his intention, Melicia had no intentions of backing down.

 Chapter 282 282 - Snatching A Soul

    ?

    "So you haven''t left yet?" Walking out of a holistic portal with feathers of pure white falling down the trail, Helga stood tall before Asmodia.

    Looking over the former demon lord''s shoulder, she noticed an even bigger pile of valkyrie bodies than the one she''d seen on her previous visit. Reaching for the light de on her hips, Helga started walking closer to Asmodia seated on the same table as before. Shifting her eyes back onto the demon, her teeth gritted shut in rage and a deep burrowing frown appeared on her forehead.

    "You''ve gathered more valkyries I see," taking the de made from the remains of a god, Helga was no longer willing to waste a speck of time. "I thought you could redeem yourself by walking the walk to the consciousness, but I suppose a demon like yourself has no remorse and thus no potential of the kind!"

    Blinking her eye, Asmodia covered her pupils in a light film of a gooey dark membrane that protected her from the ring light emitting out of the god-de.

    "They''ll return to the realm of valkyries so why do you care if they die once or twice?" Masking her fear, Asmodia tried to buy some time with chatter.

    "You think I was born yesterday?" Seeing right through her tricks, however, Helga clutched the de tight and let her feathered helmet flutter as she flung herself toward Asmodia. "Die!"

    In a sh, she swung her de across the desk and cut through Asmodia''s arm before her mind could evenprehend Helga''s actions. Like aser shot from an angel''s eyes, the desk, the room, and her flesh were all burning restlessly at the area of the strike. Only when her arm fell to the ground did Amsodia finally notice what had happened.

    "Fuck¡­" She muttered, blocking out the pain with her ability to turn hurt into strength.

    Leaping away from the valkyrie queen, she heard the sound of the table copsing, but with her eyes fixed on Helga she didn''t pay it any mind. Instead, healing her arm from the mana she''d gathered from the de, Asmodia made sure to stay prepared for whatever the queen was about to throw at her again.

    "Time de-eleration!" With a blink, the time within the confined space warped like a crushed carton.

    Slowing everything down in a space looming between the physical and the metaphysical, she was striking a risky bargain. For if she lost control for a moment, they both would be forever stuck in a slower than average suspension of time.

    "Etherios could slow down time as well, but that didn''t stop him from falling," unfazed by the maniption of time, Helga moved in a spiraling circle slowly inching closer to Asmodia.

    "Etherios was moronic enough to betray the creator, what else can you expect from someone like him?" Asmodia added, still trying to bind the queen into a loop of dialogue.

    "Again¡­" Moving the sword in front, Helga refused to engage in a conversion. "I don''t care about what you think!"

    Racing towards Asmodia, she swung her de once more, but this time with the slowed time, and having expected the attack, Asmodia dodged by dissipating into a cloud of mist and appearing behind Helga''s body. Kicking her armored waist, Asmodia thrust Helga forward while also getting enough momentum to push herself back at a safer distance.

    For the brief moment she had while Helga recovered from the strike, the mistress of dark noticed the burning grooves on the walls left behind after each strike of the god-de. It was almost as if the trajectory of the de kept carrying the strike further no matter how many objects came in its path.

    "You insolent rat!" Getting up from her knees, Helga red at Asmodia from over her shoulder.

    "I don''t have time for this," not letting the queen recover any further, Asmodia pushed her hands further out before shutting her eyes for the briefest of moments. "Perfect clones: Helga, the queen of valkyries!"

    Opening her eyes once more, she had turned into a perfect copy of her opponent with the same abilities and magic, but it came at the cost of losing her affinities for a short while. Reaching to her waist she drew out the clone of the god-de and held it sternly directed at Helga.

    "What do they say in thend of warriors again?" With a cheeky smile, Asmodia tried to drown her emotions by being her smug self for a moment. "Oh yeah, I remember¡­Come, and let''s battle till the realms fall!"

    "Youuu fooll!" Enraged by the mockery, Helga once again leaped forward, but this time despite the retardation of time, she vanished from before Asmodia, and let loose on a kick on her now armored back.

    "Wh-Aghh?!" Sent flying forward, the mistress of darkness had no clue what had happened, and her confusion only grew when Helga appeared in front of her before her body stopped from the initial strike.

    "Body eleration! Lion''s mane! Fortress strike!" Unleashing ability after ability in the smallest fraction of a second, the valkyrie unleashed yet another attack from the left hand which had suddenly turned into a giant fist of stone.

    Hit right in the chest, Asmodia''s armor was punctured inward and pieces of the iron cut deep into her skin. Finally thrashing at the back wall, she had a moment to breathe, but the moment she did so the shattered pieces of iron stabbed into her breasts.<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>

    "D-dammit!" She yelped, panting as low as she could to lessen the hurt.

    "Now," moving closer to the mistress, Helga sheathed her sword. "Would you take the walk or do I-" Cutting herself off, Helga blinked in horror as the whole confinement room of purgatory began to shake. "What in the name of the lord is this?"

    With utter shock, she looked around at the ce trying to find some sort of reasoning to exin the phenomenon. Before long the ceiling began to crumble and copse on the ground in bits and pieces.

    "Move aside¡­" Warned a harrowing voice.

    "Melicia?!" The both of them muttered in shock.

    Tearing through the realm, the witch''s nails slit reality in two. Peering down from the gap that she kept stretching, Melicia''s blood eye squinted at the sight inside the trashed room. Met with two Helga''s and no Asmodia, she was confounded a bit at first. Reaching down the gap, sheid a finger against the floor and began to flood the ce with a pool of poison straining down the length of her hand.

    "Give me Asmodia and the others may live," Melicia demanded.

    "What in tarnation are you trying to pull?" Helga asked, her hand slipping back to her de.

    "Then you must be the valkyrie, and that," the moment Melicia''s eye met with Asmodia, she undid the mask to show her true self. "Well then, let me reunite you with your child."

    Although unaware of what exactly was transpiring in As, Asmodia felt as though it was better to go along with Melicia for now, than tog behind and be forced into the collective consciousness by the valkyrie.

    "Whatever gets me out of here, I''m tired of this ce anyways," Asmodia replied.

    As she sprouted out her wings to avoid the blood poison, Helga turned to her ready to strike her off once again. But managing just in time to phase through her de as a cloud of mist, Asmodia flew right over Melicia and loomed over her hand. Drawing her finger back, the witch brought her palm under the mistress''s feet and started pulling her into the realm tear.

    "Melicia! Don''t you dare!" Helga warned, her eyes shot with rage.

    Bearing her sword against the witch, she stomped her right foot forward and got ready to strike Asmodia off of her hand. To her shock, instead of pulling Asmodia away as quickly as possible, Melicia stopped altogether and posed her a question.

    "Should I flood Valha with my blood, oh great valkyrie?" Peering at Helga with her singr dark eye oozing with blood, Melicia was not joking around. "If so, then go ahead and snatch her off her palm, I dare you."

    Taken aback by the warning, Helga took a moment to weigh her options. Letting Melicia get away with Asmodia''s soul would be a betrayal of her duty, but if she were to defy the witch and thend of valkyries was flooded, then wherever a valkyrie was reborn in the spring of life they''d be doomed for the same eventual fate.

    Grunting at the witch, Helga knew that she truly only had one choice. One which she couldn''t forgive herself for choosing.

    "Go on then!" She yelled, sheathing her de once more. "But remember, I''lle for you both sooner orter!"

    "Until we meet again then, valkyrie," Melicia muttered with a gentle chuckle.

    Drawing her hand in through the realm tear, she snatched Asmodia''s soul from the cosmos'' most deadly reaper. Left alone in purgatory, Helga swore to bring Asmodia back into this shambled ce and force her into the furnace of cosmic consciousness.

    ''Until we meet again, huh? That snarky human!'' More than anything the fact that a human witch snatched a soul from her clutches, utterly humiliated her. ''How long until you die, you monster?''

    Having witnessed the whole saga of Melicia''s life, even she couldn''t fathom what was keeping her alive for eons. However, with nobody to answer her question, not even the creator, she opened up a holistic portal and got out of the ce to ready her soldiers to hunt down Asmodia as soon as possible.

 Chapter 283 283 - A Sacrifice In Her Eyes

    Chapter283 283 - A Sacrifice In Her Eyes

    "Finally, we''re here," dropped into thend of fairies by Melicia''s palm, Haruki took a somewhatforted sigh.

    Getting off her hand along with the others, he stepped onto the lush grass now corrupted by the blood draining down the witch''s hand. Turning his gaze upward, he looked right into Melicia''s eye before speaking to her.

    "We can handle it from here, enjoy those souls now," although he tried to rush her off, Melicia ignored himpletely as her eyes were utterly fixated on Moriyana.

    "Sharing a vessel with your mother''s soul, what a loving child," having witnessed Asmodia''s soul being pushed onto Moriyana, Melicia was amused by her while at the same time, she was also disgusted at her mother. "s, not all mothers deserve children after all."

    With those words, Melicia drew her hand back into the skies and closed the realm tear to disappear from their sight. And even though Moriyana had only known the witch for a while she ached for her presence to forever loom over her.

    ''Instead, I have you.'' She thought to herself, but sharing the same body Asmodia could clearly listen to her thoughts.

    "Moriyana?" Haruki called out seeing how she appeared a little dreamy.

    "Uhmm¡­We should keep moving, right?" Moriyana replied, keeping herints to herself.

    Despite her attempt to hide her difort, the contorted look on her face gave away her true emotions. Haruki, having to some degree forced her into agreeing to it, decided to talk things through a little before continuing on their journey.

    "Moriyana, I know it''s hard to ept that she made you as a vessel in case she dies, and all those horrible nights in the otherworlds, well¡­They were there to prepare your body to ept her soul without being turned to ash," spilling the beans about what he''d learned through the study of the arcane, and scanning the stained windows in the castle, Haruki tried to bring Moriyana to ept things for what they were. "But I promise you, once we find her this new body, I''d never let her touch you."

    Reassured by her master, Moriyana felt slightly better. Washing off her downed expression, she reced it with a gentle smile.

    "Alright then, I trust you," saying that she internally called for the ballerinas to stay ready to jump out of the otherworld.

    "If you two are done talking," moving to the front, Inferno tried getting everyone''s attention. "We have a god to kill, and her child as well."

    "Ughh, don''t say it like that," Reyained, peeking out through her darkness portal.

    "Either way, I doubt us staying here is gonna help," Deus added while looking to a distant forest through an astral telescope.

    Taking hold of Moriyana''s hand, Haruki sprouted out his wings and quickly took to the skies with her flying along in tow. The other demon lords followed the lead with their own variation of wings, some made of mes, some from astral tech, and some simply followed behind in their floating portals.

    Jolting through the sky with the lush grass fluttering under the pressure of their flight, the party of demon lords reached the forest in the blink of an eye. The trees that once rustled with lively spirits and fairies were more hushed than ever from the fear of being perceived as a threat. Before long with none to stand in their way, the party of demons reached a throne made of glistering stone.

    By its steps, they saw the queen of fairiesying down with her eyes shut. Washed by a stream of clear water running down the tip of the stone fingers making up the steps, her angelic white garb was turned nearly transparent. Laying so carelessly under a fountained throne, Destinia was unaware of the threats present in front, for not in her wildest dreams did she expect anyone to make it to this ce.

    Too coddled by safety, she''d thrown all caution to the wind, and if the demon lords truly wanted to they could''ve easily in her right then and there, but striking an unconscious enemy was not something any of them took pride in.

    "Who''s going to do it?" Moriyana asked, feeling a creeping presence of spirits gathering around them throughout the forest.

    Comforted by serenity much the same as their queen, the spirits wouldn''t dare try to oppose the demon lords. Yet with their eyes shining a raging bright, the very essence of fear was slowly taking over all those who were present.

    "It''d be a shame to kill her like this, wake her up," Inferno ordered, too prideful to kill a defenseless victim.

    "Don''t even ask me, I''m not good at killing things," relying exclusively on her summons for fighting, Reya didn''t want any part in the assault.

    "Fuck it then, I''ll do it," relying on no one, Moriyana stretched her arm forward and summoned a handful of stringed marite ballerinas to cut off all emotions from Destinia''s execution. "Kill her!"

    Shocking even herpanions, Moriyana pulled the strings up high to raise the razor arms of the marites. But the moment she was about to bring it down, something came flying from the sides and stabbed into the creatures. Flung toward an array of trees by the sides, the ballerinas were stamped into their trunks along with des of light sticking out from their stomachs.

    Like bugs, the marites crittered before the light of the de burned them into dust. Awoken by themotion, Destinia peered up to the sight of the demons standing right before her. In utter shock, she gasped and quickly fled upstream by turning into water. Once reaching her throne, she conformed back into her real self and looked around to figure out exactly what was happening.

    "Who the hell was that?" Looking into the direction the des came from, Moriyana was astounded by what she saw.

    Haruki and the other demon lords were no different as the frame of blood-drooling As came into view. Walking towards them from the shade of the trees, he stopped in front of them all with a trio of elemental fairies riding over his shoulders. Just in time, the girls had managed to warn As about the intruder using a spell he''d instilled in their minds.

    "Now I''m d, I appointed you fairies as my messengers," brushing the head of the trio one after the other, As quickly sent them off his shoulders. "As for you people."

    Turning to the demon lords in the tattered condition he was in, As let out a painful wheeze as if his insides were about to implode inward. Leaving in a rush after the fairies warned him, he''d wasted no time to get here. Even the war generals were unaware of his hasty departure since they couldn''t make it to him in time because of trouble caused by Dominion.

    ''Dammit¡­I could''ve brought backup had it not been for my brother betraying me!'' As thought, enraged by the fact that Dominion was intentionally stopping the generals from getting to him.

    "Anyways¡­" Speaking to himself, he nced around at everyone before fixing his gaze on the one he could easily get to betray hispanions. "Haruki, help me kill these fuckers!"

    Bound by the emperor''s curse, Haruki''s body instinctively flew away from his group. Baring his fangs and ws, he was ready to unleash fury on the demon lords even though he didn''t want to.

    "Inferno!" Calling out to his match, Haruki tried to get Inferno to subdue him so the others could somehow deal with the situation. "Moriyana, let Asmodia take over, for now, Deus and Reya capture Destinia!"

    Before the emperor could force him to shut his mouth, Haruki made sure to give out all the orders that had to be ryed to the others.

    "Shut up and fight!" As ordered, just as Haruki had expected.

    Storming towards the group, his ws were reinforced with dark and ready to sh at anyone who stood in front. Parrying his outstretched ws, however, Inferno deflected the strike with his ming de.

    "Shogun!" Stomping his feet on the ground, his body grew twice in size and the deep red armor of the shogun mbered over him in just a few seconds. Recing the ming sword with a giant cackling cleaver, Inferno stood before Haruki and the others like an imprable wall. "Come! Come! Come! Ahahah!"

    Despite the deviation in their ns, Inferno was enjoying every second so long as he got to fight. The other two demon lords on the other hand were too careful about any moment before Moriyana engaged As so they wouldn''t have to worry about him while chasing the queen of fairies.

    "Moriyana quick!" Deus urged, getting in position to storm closer to Destinia.

    "Y-yeah¡­Fuck! Take over then you bitch!" Calling out to her mother, Moriyana let down all internal guards to allow Asmodia topletely take over. The very next moment, her eyes burned with a passionate violet, and a cryptic smile appeared on her face. "As you say, darling hehehe."

    Noticing the change in her tone, both Deus began dashing towards the queen while Reya simply appeared behind her and held her still.

    "What?!" Rustic inbat after relishing in tranquillity, Destinia was at aplete loss as to what she was supposed to do. "Get away!"

    Even then, as her screams resounded in the soul forest, a parley of whisps, fairies, and desperate souls rushed over to help their queen. Engaged in their own battles, the initial group of demons was now divided into three.

    "Try not to get killed!" Haruki warned Inferno, as his body readied itself to unleash all kinds of abilities.

    "That''s my fucking line!" Inferno replied, swinging at him with the blunt end of the cleaver.

    "Leave her!"

    "Leave our queen!"

    "You bullies!" One after the other the spirits and fairiesined while shooting elemental spells at Deus and Reya from each and every direction.

    Lastly, face to face with her past lover and hunting the one he cheated on her with, Asmodia wore a crescent smile at the thought of it all crumbling right before him.

    "What the hell are you nning, Asmodia?!" As growled.

    "That child, it doesn''t deserve to live," she replied, and she truly meant it.

 Chapter 284 284 - For My Tears May Shed For The Worthy

    Chapter284 284 - For My Tears May Shed For The Worthy

    "We meet again," snapping her wings, Asmodia took no chances and ceased the flow of time altogether. With a grin as wide as Moriyana''s face could stretch, she took yful steps towards the bleeding god who''d easily ovee the restraints of her magic. "You thought you''d never see me again, didn''t you?"

    Wiping off the blood dripping down the side of his lips, As prepped himself tall. ring at his past lover, he looked at her with deep scorn. Not all that clueless as to what she might''vee here for, As felt nothing but utter disgust for the demon in front of him.

    "You hate me so much you''re willing to kill a child along with its mother?" He asked.

    Depending on her answer, his next action would vary, but it would only go from trying to kill her in an instant to letting her speak before that happens. No stronger to his temper either, Asmodia let out a chuckle to tease the dying god further.

    "You''re dying, aren''t you? Did killing me affect you that much? Was that one day at that arena enough to dry your newfound strength?" Following her questions with a cacklingugh, she tried to irk him some more.

    Silent, the emperor stood, not a peep left his lips for his mind ran through a feverish number of thoughts. In thepromised state he was in, taking down Asmodia would be a challenge, especially if he were to give into her emotional tactics of maniption. Despite that, he still couldn''t shake his mind from the haunting feeling of a shadow of the demon in front lingering over his shoulder.

    ''Are you really going to kill me again, As?'' The shadow whispered into his mind, trying to dissuade him from taking on the oing battle.

    "Shut up!" As growled and his eyes turned into the spiraling image of the cosmos.

    "Sure enough, darling," Asmodia replied, presuming he was speaking to her and not a shadow in his mind. "Let''s fight instead then!"

    "Aris Magna¡­" Not wasting a speck of time, although suspended in it like a frozen pendulum, As summoned his astral actor in the shape of a glistering eye behind him. Shimmering with light so bright it could blind any angel, the familiar of god attacked directly with its sight.

    However, stuck between the present and the future, the rays from the familiar took just enough time for Asmodia to summon her own familiar.

    "Aris Magna¡­" She called, and a shimmering eye of bright violet burst open behind her.

    Shooting glistering rays of darkness at the light from As''s actor, Asmodia neutralized the attack without much effort. Once the strikes from the familiars were shot away, the two facing each other knew exactly what the other had in mind. With a sh, the both of them disappeared and reappeared inches from each other. As had a sword of light drawn ready to strike Asmodia, while the queen of darkness had something far more deceptive.

    The moment As noticed what it was, his eyes widened and it forced him to cover his mouth in disgust.

    "That''s what I''ll do to him, ahaha!" Asmodia told him, her hand holding the illusionary corpse of a child. Streaming with blood it had flooded the entirety of her arm, and to make things even more revolting its inwards were scraped out along with its ssy eyes.

    "H-how could y-" Before As could finish his words, Asmodia undid the illusion and stabbed As with a de of darkness that had been hidden beneath the bloody child. "Ugh! Get off!"

    Although stabbed right through his belly, he managed to kick Asmodia back a few steps. However, as the de of dark stuck inside him disappeared, he was forced onto his knees until his body could heal itself.

    "I''m not done yet," saying that the mistress snapped her fingers and domed them both under a mist of illusions. "You thought I''d only kill the kid right? Well, you couldn''t be further from the truth."

    "Aghhhh!" mming his fist on the ground, As pulled himself back to his feet.

    Looking around through the mist oozing with a hint of blood, he decided to fire blindly into all ces with his godly familiar. Directing a spell of holy magic by pointing with his finger, he tried to make the actor shot a st of magic to clear up the air, however, after a few seconds passed and nothing happened, he looked behind to find that the familiar had already disappeared.

    "How?" Having never felt so helpless, As was at a loss for words.

    "How? Because you''re dying you moron!" Cackling through the mist, Asmodia let her voice be resounded all over to confuse As even further.

    "Do not¡­" Turning around to face the voice, As gritted his teeth in rage and growled. "Don''t you dare mock me!"

    Through his dying breath, he reached for the de once more. Lowering himself, he got in form to strike out his enemies, but all of a sudden a sudden scream caught him off guard. From the sound of it, he was certain it was Destinia. In utter desperation and rage, he struck through the mist and cut it right in half. The gust from his strike washed away the bloody mask, and what was revealed before him was yet another striking sight.

    No longer in thend of fairies, he was surrounded by eternal darkness, and the only thing thaty in front of him was the gutted corpses of Destinia piled up over each other into a giant mountain. Mixed with the bodies were numerous infants of both genders, and unfortunately it seemed they weren''t any better off than their mother.

    "This is your child''s mother, is it not?" Still holding a moving body of Destinia at the top of the pile, Asmodia red down at As with her eyes glowing a mix of violet and red. Her grin as wide as a joyous reaper, she was taking obvious joy in torturing her lover. "Well too bad, you''re dying and there would be no one to protect her!"

    As she drew the de of darkness back, As looked away before she stabbed through the belly of the pregnant mother. A scream echoed in the dark as the de tore through the illusionary body, but then loomed silence. That too didn''tst long as it was broken with the sound of a falling body.

    "Now that I''m a bit more satisfied with what you did to me, why don''t you just go ahead and die?" Asmodia said, undoing the illusion and bringing the two back to thend of fairies.

    Suspending in time still, As turned to look at Asmodia with both his body and mind failing to keep up. The wound from the de had barely recovered, and the mental exhaustion at this point was getting far more unbearable. Even then, the lord of this world wasn''t simply going to give up, not when he had something far more potent as hisst resort.

    "My father, he¡­" The sudden mention of the creator left Asmodia puzzled. "He told me I''d find betrayal sooner orter on my path, and that I must ovee it all to bring peace to a shambled world."

    "What the hell are you getting at now?" Asmodia asked with an agitated frown.

    "What I''m getting at is," rxing his shoulders, he stood without any strain visible on his body. "He should''ve killed Etherios before she killed him, just like I should''ve killed you before it ever came to this."

    "She?" Hearing As refer to the god of destruction as she, Asmodia was utterly baffled. "The god of destruction, Etherios, he was a man, why would you-"

    "And you wrote the book of heroes, but don''t remember anything, do you?" As replied before closing his eyes shut. "My father lied plenty to hide his own mistakes, your false memories along with everyone else''s, is but the product of the same, but¡­s, none of it matters anymore."

    With a deep breath, he pressed his hand together and uttered but a title to Haruki. On her own, her knees gave in to hismand, and her arms reluctantly reached for the knife.

    few words.

    "Gospel:" Throwing his de of light towards Asmodia, As continued on. "Die and never recover."

    For a moment, Asmodia had no clue why he would use an ability that didn''t work on demon lords, but then it hit her, the loss of her title to Haruki. On her own, her knees gave in to hismand, and her arms reluctantly reached for the knife.

    "You can''t kill me, I have made sure I can''t die this time!" Fuming in rage, she looked up at As with blood shooting out of her gums. "I won''t die so easily you! Not this time!"

    Shattering her grasp on time, Asmodia let time flow once again while Moriyana''s body clutched the de of light in its hand. By the time she drew it closer, Haruki and the rest noticed countless changes in their surroundings as if a battle had already transpired.

    "Moriyana?" Getting control of his body back, Haruki''s eyes were instantly drawn towards Moriyana who had a sword of light raised over her kneeling body. "Fuck! Tomentous dun-"

    With a re alone from As, his attempts to stop her were shattered. The other demon lords tried to get closer as well, but then all of a sudden a spear of gold shed right through their bodies.

    "First you rowdy siblings and now it''s your turn, Asmodia!" High above in the sky, the spears that struck down the demon lords temporarily were cast by none other than the Valkyrie queen''s army. "Wait, seems like I missed one."

    Expecting himself to be struck as well by this unfamiliar army of foes, Haruki braced against the strike from Helga. However, instead of stabbing him like the other demon lords, all he felt was a gust of wind passing over his shoulder.

    Lost as to what had happened, Haruki opened his eyes to look around, and to his horror, not only had Moriyana stabbed herself with the sword of light, but behind him, Destinia had been stabbed right through her stomach by a glowing word simr to As''s.

    "Helga!" As eximed, looking up high at the queen of Valkyries.

    "I only sent her to her father, you child, don''t you dare raise your voice at me!" Shemanded the god as if he were a servant.

    While the two fought each other, Haruki noticed Moriyana''s body twitching slightly from the edge of his eye. Scramming towards her while keeping his head low, he got to her as fast as possible. Flipping her on her back, he instantly tried to heal her wound, but the light in her eyes was already fleeting.

    "No! No! No! Not again!" Reminded of his false mother''s grave, he didn''t want to let go of another person he loved dearly.

 Chapter 285 285 - Losing A Soul

    ?

    "Rejuvenation! Rejuve-" Breaking Haruki''s spell, Moriyana grabbed his hand.

    Filled with sorrow, her somber eyes peered at him with a gentle smile. Caressing his face lightly, she chuckled to herself as though her mind was already slipping away.

    "Hmm? So you used her daughter''s body to revive her, demon?" Descending to the ground along with her army of hundred, Helga the queen of Valkyrie stood right before Haruki''s eyes.

    Shadowing them under her body, she blocked As behind her, and from the bare minimum, Haruki could still see, it seemed the other Valkyries were holding back As for some reason. Meeting her gaze, Haruki had no clue who she was, but with little to no choice, he decided to ask for her mercy.

    "Can you heal her?" He asked, begging for the first time since the chaos began.

    "Not when her soul is attached to that wicked demon," nting ance onto the ground, Helga turned her gaze way past Haruki and Moriyana.

    Looking behind him she saw Destinia still writhing in ce as she struggled to get thence out of her unborn child. Kneeling down quickly with her eyes still focused on Destinia, Helga leaned closer to Haruki''s ears to whisper before rushing off.

    "That de in her body, hand it to me when she''s dead," Helga whispered, wanting to retrieve the other god-de she''d given As long ago.

    In utter shock, Haruki''s eyes widened realizing her sheer indifference to Moriyana''s life. For her so long as the mistress perished, she didn''t care who went down as coteral. Standing up straight again, Helga slowly began making her way to Destinia, all the while the grip of Moriyana''s fingers grew weaker against Haruki''s hand.

    "Helga! Don''t you dare do anything to Destinia!" As screamed aloud, more desperate than ever.

    Although his scream astonished Haruki for a moment, with Moriyana''s condition getting worse, he didn''t care for whatever he was feeling. Instead, turning his gaze back to Moriyana, he tried his best to heal her body. His attempts were repelled by the true essence of holy magic strapped inside the de of light, nothing he did seemed to work, and worse of it all, trying to pull the sword out only hurt Moriyana further.

    "Aghhh!" She screamed as Haruki tried for thest time to get the de out of her chest.

    "Just a bit more!" He pleaded, finally pulling the de out of her body.

    To his horror, however, the moment the de was taken out, Moriyana''s body wentpletely limp. The only moment in her body was from her eyes still tearing up as they looked right at him. Blocking the cries from As, and screams of Destinia in the back, Haruki tried to heal the burning wound in Moriyana''s chest.

    "Rejuvi-" Before he could cast another spell, his mind began to spin. At first, he had no clue what was happening, but then looking at his hand which had held the de of light a while before, he noticed deep burning grooves in his palms that were burning his strength away.

    ''A-smodia? Do something! I know there was a section in the covenant that binds our soul together so stop hiding in my body and save your daughter!'' Much like with Helga, he didn''t get any easing response, or at least he couldn''t get one because his mind shut downpletely for the de of light consumed him to thest drop of mana.

    Dropping t beside Moriyana, Haruki ventured into a deep slumber. Creeping closer to her master, Moriyana threw her arms over his shoulders, and through herst few breaths, as she inched towards death, she whispered to him but a few words.

    "Haruki Shin¡­I only ever felt loved by you, even if it wasn''t as pure as your love for Asuka and the others, I can''t put into words how much I love you," as blood poured into her lungs, Moriyana took her chance to bind a kiss with the only man she ever loved.

    Pressed against his lips, her mind drew weary. Her vision was the first to drain, and then the warmth of her body began to vain quickly. As cold as a drenched log, shey there in a pool of her own blood until her mind submitted in defeat.

    "I-I chose the risk, th-this isn''t your fault¡­" Her hand caressing her master, finally gave in.

    In silence, the army of Valkyries watched the passing of a demon''s soul. Helga was locked looking at the same, only As remained the one still struggling to get himself out of the binds of the Valkyries. Trying to fight the chains on his decaying body, he attempted to burn them off with his mana, but it didn''t work in the least.

    "Struggle as you may, those binds were created to hold down Etherios, no way in the cosmos can you ever break out of them young god," Helga mocked before continuing on walking towards her next victim. "Speaking of Etherios, I suppose it''s time to bring down that whole bloodline!"

    "N-no don''t!" Wheezing as she breathed, Destinia begged for her life with the godde still stuck in her stomach.

    "H-Helga, stop! You''re supposed to listen to me, this world''s god!" As screamed at the top of his lungs.

    Shifting her gaze towards As, Helga wore an unamused look.

    "A god that conceived with a traitor''s daughter? Don''t make meugh, you''re no god worthy of the creator''s legacy!" Without even looking at Destinia, the queen of Valkyrie stabbed her with a trident that spiked her skull like a trophy.

    Turning back to the queen of fairies, Helga kicked the godde deeper into Destinia and tore her head off her shoulder by violently pulling the trident upward. On looking at the sight, As questioned his mind and wondered if it had finally given into insanity. However, as the blood gushing out from Destinia''s neck rained over his body, he knew that what he saw was no mere illusion or a trick.

    ***

    Far away from the tragedy in the distantnd of Hestemia, the two remaining demon lords sat silently together in a castle''s meeting hall. Strangely enough, no meeting had concluded today, and nor was any nned for the day ahead, yet the two sat opposing each other in the giant ss round table.

    Something had gone wrong, and us knew it well, yet for some obscure reason Mercie wouldn''t let the truth slip down her tongue.

    "Mercie, I''m asking for thest time, where were you? And why hasn''t Inferno or the others returned yet?" Wearing a frown so deep it made him look like an old hound, us gripped his fists tight for he''d been frustrated for long enough. "And if you can''t tell me, then forget about this treaty between us and Margarette''s army. Why should I be the one to care when nobody else even shows their faces here?!"

    "Brother us," finally looking up from her painted nails, she shot us a stabbing nce. "Nobody cares if you leave, how did you not pick that up after being left here all alone?"

    Having fled the scene after Harukiid out his ns to summon Melicia, the only part that Mercie was trying to carry was keeping their mission a secret. The less people knew the better, for who knows when and where a betrayal might stab them from?

    "Fair enough then!" Smashing the ss table under his fist, us leaped off his chair and stride off the hall room. He''d be too tired to argue and too spiteful to care, thus whatever happened to the war against As was entirely in the hands of Margarette''s army and the other demon lords.

    ''Good riddance¡­'' Mercie thought, left all alone inside the room. ''Everything is moving too fast, and I can''t keep up with it all while listening to you nag as well.''

    To the extent of her knowledge, As had made his generals retreat back to the castle, Haruki and her siblings were headed to revive Asmodia, and to top it all off, Margarette and the rest were nning an all-out attack on the emperor''s domain to bring his tyrannical rule to an end once and for all. And despite everything lining so perfectly in their favor, for some obscure reason, she felt uncharacteristically anxious.

    "If As dies, and Asmodia is revived at the cost of another god''s body, then¡­" In deep thought, she scanned through all possible oues that could spring out of this unprecedented scenario. But the one that stuck with her the most was what she was most afraid of. "She''ll be the new god with nobody to rival her."

    Already being the strongest of all demon lords, Asmodia would''ve been trouble if she turned rogue at some point, however, once she possesses the body of a god, who dares conjecture what kind of atrocities would rain down from the heavens?

    "Either way," getting out of her seat, Mercie readied herself to take a light stroll. "We''re fucked."

    Making her way towards the exit, all of a sudden she heard a warping sound as if a portal had opened right behind her. ncing down her shoulder, she saw Haruki carrying a pile of bodies in every way possible. In his arms was Moriyana, biting down on Reya''s clothes, he was carrying her as well. As for Inferno and Deus, they were both lunged up his shoulders.

    "What in the creator''s name happened?" Asked Mercie, but before he could answer, his body flopped to the ground unconscious. Even when he''d been carrying them all, something felt off about his eyes to Mercie, but since she had no clue what was going on guessing was only going to lead her further away from what really happened.

 Chapter 286 286 - The Gods Are Dead

    ?

    Before Asmodia regained consciousness in Haruki''s body, the quarreling between the god of this world and the queen of Valkyries continued on escting. Witnessing it all as his eyes slowly cracked open from having recovered some of his strength, the very first thing Haruki saw was the ssy lifeless eyes of Moriyana Malice.

    Laying right before him, she had drifted apart while he''d been unconscious. Not even getting to speak for onest time, Haruki felt his heart squeezing in with a storm of emotions brewing up inside. Enraged by what had happened, he shot up his gaze at the queen of Valkyries standing before a chain-bound As.

    "And for you now, As," to Haruki''s surprise, Helga reached once again for the bloody god de she''d taken out of Destinia. "You''ve tainted your father''s legacy again and again, but to attempt and create an heir with the murderer''s daughter? I cannot forgive such insolence."

    Without a word more, she drew the sword back and plunged it deep into the god''s belly. As flinched in response, but his eyes remained scornful. Had it not been for the chains, he would''ve torn Helga apart or at least he would''ve tried to, however, in the condition that he was in, even half of Haruki''s strength would''ve been enough to kill him.

    "Y-you can''t kill me!" As eximed, perhaps growing a bit delusional. "Do you have any idea what would happen if I die and leave this world without an heir?!"

    "Nothing, that''s what will happen, you arrogant fool," Helga replied, drawing her de out of As''s guts.

    As his blood and innards began pouring out, As''s eyes lit up with a fiery dark gaze and the sea of stars returned to his sight. Pulling onto the chains held by the Valkyries, he managed to take them off of their hands.

    "Without a god, the creator''s world would cease to exist!" Gathering up his strength, As curled up his fist and swung it towards Helga.

    Sighing at his attempt, Helga cut his fist off with the god de before it could reach her. Once again, As let out a disgruntled grunt while the other Valkyries picked up the ends of his chains to hold him in ce.

    "You''ll pay for this Helga!" Looking up from down on his knees, As shot the queen a bloodshot gaze. "You can''t just kill my heir and get away wi-"

    "I''m done with you," drawing the trident from the side of her hips, the queen of Valkyries thrust it right against As''s head. Tearing through his eyes, the spikes dug into his skull beforeing out from the other end.

    For a moment, the forest of fairies was suffocating with silence, but as As''s body grabbed the trident despite being stabbed through the brain, a resounding gasp left the mouths of all who were present. Witnessing it all, Haruki could not be any less certain if he was back in reality or seeing an illusion.

    ''What''s happening?'' He thought, watching As get back on his feet.

    Taking the trident out of his body, As held it firmly in his hands. The holes in his eye sockets and the back of his skull were still bleeding with no signs of recovery kicking in. In spite of the injury, the god of this world appeared ready to fight Helga, but then again, the chains on his fickle frame kept his actions well in check.

    "Demon," Helga muttered, looking down towards Haruki.

    With a smile, she kept looking at him while her right hand raised the god de high and cut off As''s arm holding onto the trident.

    "I suppose he has something that''s kept him alive which might be yours," she said, eyeing a small sphere of white that''d fallen down As''s body.

    With only a nce, Haruki knew what it was. The white glowing from within the small marble was something he''d long been in search of.

    "Serena''s soul¡­" He whispered before quickly taking it off the ground.

    While he hid the soul in his clothes, As''s body finally fell to the ground, and a sudden announcement in Haruki''s head confirmed the passing of a great foe.

    ''Status loss: Emperor''s curse!'' Feeling the emperor''s binds being slowly undone on his body, Haruki had no clue how to feel about the whole ordeal. On one hand, he was relieved; on the other, he couldn''t bring himself to feel any joy with Moriyana''s cold bodyying right beside him.

    "Thanks a lot for taking this out," kneeling beside him, Helga picked up the other god de and put it by her waist belt.

    Straightening herself again, she looked down at Haruki for a minute as if contemting something through her mind. Then, breaking the silence, she spoke in a somewhat hushed tone.

    "I would''ve loved to meet you again, but since you''re no heavenly body, I suppose hell''s waiting for you," with that, she gestured for her soldiers to pick up As''s body and get ready to leave.

    "Wait!" Haruki howled, while the Valkyries moved forward to pick up As. "Why spare me? You''ve killed two gods, and struck down these demon lords, so why?!"

    Unable to reason why she didn''ty a single finger on him, Haruki had to ask. Even in her eyes, he could see a hint of indifference towards him as if she didn''t really care what happened to him.

    "Hmm? Why?" Turning back to the demon sitting on the ground, Helga perked up a mocking smile. "Because you''re not worthy to be struck down, you''re nothing but a rogue who''d been put up on a pedestal he''s not in the least worthy of."

    Pausing for a moment, Helga pressed a finger onto her lips to mull over a certain thought. Smiling at the end of it, she let out a chuckle and spoke once more.

    "And I suppose, As does need a new god, however ipetent it may be," she concluded, turning away from Haruki as she spoke.

    ''Ipetent? Not worthy to be struck down? Just a rogue?'' Those words spoken by the Valkyries echoed in Haruki''s mind. After all he has done, to be addressed in such a way, all the while in his armsid the proof of his ipetence? He couldn''t bring himself to ept the truth. ''I''ve worked every second of my existence being puppeteered around trying to escape this moronic feud between these heavenly bodies, but now that I''m here, but now that I want to be involved to keep my people safe, you want me to be cast away and forget this hell?''

    "No way,"ying Moriyana gently off hisp, Haruki raised to his feet with his gaze downcast. "You''re not just going to walk away after saying that¡­"

    "Don''t try it," Helga responded without even turning around to face him.

    Conjuring up an aura of darkness in one hand and turning his other fist into that of a frost dragon''s w, Haruki leaped towards her with nothing but revenge on his mind. Bearing both ws against Helga, he tried to swipe at her back, but before he could do so a feathered arm appeared above him and struck down at his skull from above.

    "There''s no walk for you Haruki, as a human soul, you''d be joining other mortals in hell," looking back from over her shoulder, Helga red at Haruki. "Enjoy your time in these realms, because once your life ends, nothing but suffering awaits you."

    Downed on the ground with his vision all blurred, Haruki barely caught Helga''s words as the pain from the strike shut his brain slowly. Eventually, as he fell unconscious, Helga shifted her attention to the skies and took to the air with her wide angelic wings.

    "Good night, and take care of this dying world, or it will soon be time for Armageddon," Helga muttered, fluttering her wings as she opened a portal to Valha.

    Passing through it, she led her army back to their home with the bodies of not one but three gods that needed to be buried. Left alone in the realm of fairies, Haruki and the others were quickly surrounded by resentful spirits too cowardly to do anything. And their cowardice only grew when Haruki''s body rose once again, but to their surprise, they felt a different kind of soul control his vessel.

    "What in the world happened here?" Looking around the chaotic scene, Asmodia mumbled through Haruki''s lips. "All this blood and¡­"

    Uponnding on Moriyana with her eyes, a deep-rooted terror struck her like a ton of bricks. Frozen in shock, she stood in ce as a strangling burst of emotions took hold of her heart and mind.

    "Moriyana?" She called, finally stepping towards her daughter''s corpse.

    Kneeling down in front of her, she tried to reach for her bodied lips to wash them off with her thumb, however, the moment she moved her arm forward the nervous jittering in them caught herpletely off guard.

    ''What''s this?'' Having distanced herself from mortal expressions, she had never experienced grief that could shake her whole demeanor. Thus upon seeing her body responding so vehemently toward the loss, Asmodia was lost for both words and at a loss for action. ''Why do I feel this way? What''s happening?''

    Tearing up at the sight, she had no clue as to what she was going through, yet the instincts of a mother were alive and kicking from deep within.

    "I-I should leave before that bitch realizes I''m still here¡­" Although her heart continued to ache, Asmodia powered through her emotions to reach a reasonable end.

    ''Why do I care so much? She was just another pet¡­'' Trying to brush it all off, she lied to her instinct while picking up everyone before retreating back to the Hestemian castle.

 Chapter 287 287 - A Walk Through Shame

    ?

    Carrying the weight of her daughter and the demon lords in her hands, Asmodia pushed forward into an otherworld portal. And although she''d tried fighting her buried emotions, her eyes were numb with blood tears.

    ''What''s happening?!'' With every passing moment, she felt her heart squeeze up tight and her mind rushing with thoughts that made no sense to her. ''Just keep moving Asmodia! You''vee this far, As is dead and Helga thinks you''re dead, there''s no reason to ruin this moment by thinking about-''

    Before she had realized countless eyes had begun peering at her through the ever-stretching dark. Glowing a bright red glow, a familiar snake-like creature slithers up close to its master.

    "What is it?" Asmodia asked, ncing up at the slithery giant.

    Instead of words, the snake leaned lower towards Moriyana''s body held up by Asmodia''s arms.

    "What are you-" Baffled as the snake began gently brushing its nose onto her daughter''s arm, the queen of darkness was left in a state of shock.

    Following the lead of the slithering giant, countless other familiars started to emerge from the shadow to get a look at Moriyana''s body. They hissed and growled at the grim sight, and even gave Asmodia some disgruntled looks.

    "What?!" Yelled the mistress of darkness, and the creatures around her jerked away in fear.

    Still peeking through the dark, they kept their distance but didn''t let Asmodia out of their sight. Her pets were not at all being shy about showing their scorn towards their master. In fact, they''d acted more revoltingly than any other time in front of Asmodia.

    "It wasn''t my fault, okay?" She muttered, ncing over their faces.

    "Now go away!" Yelling at them all, Asmodia kept on walking to cover as much distance as possible before heading back into the real world. Yet despite her warning, the familiars followed her around from the shadows as if to showcase their defiance. "Void eater! Eat anyone who doesn''t go away in a second!"

    Calling out to her familiar, all she got was a hushed grunt. At this point, it was no doubt that none of them were willing to listen to her anymore.

    ''Fuck it then¡­'' Closing her eyes shut, Asmodia kept walking with the weight of the others growing increasingly heavier on their bodies. ''Do they think I did this on purpose? I didn''t kill her! I didn''t¡­What the hell am I doing?''

    Stopping in her tracks all of a sudden, Asmodia gazed down at Moriyana''s body wrapped in her arms. Her skin had turned pale by now, and her body had grown so cold it was freezing her hands. Just looking at her sweet daughter, something kept urging Asmodia to let her heart cry. Trying to gulp down those emotions, she knelt down on her knees to just clear her mind for a moment.

    "I-I¡­" Her lips did part, but her words only came out in a jumble. "I thought you were tougher, always escaping me, and breaking all the rules."

    Laying Moriyana on the ground, Asmodia decided to let her heart bleed before she reached the other end of the otherworld portal. Although a bit reluctant, she leaned onto her forehead and nted a brief kiss.

    "I''m sorry I made you for such selfish reasons, but, I had to!" She eximed to herself.

    ''Who are you lying to Asmodia? You had to? For what reason do you have to create a conscious life that suffers throughout its existence?'' Her own mind began to contradict Asmodia. ''Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!''

    "This was a bad idea," gathering everyone back up, Asmodia decided to keep moving forward.

    Venturing further, she tried not to strain her mind much, but upon stumbling on a strange urrence, she was forced to break that rule. No matter how far she walked, the end of the path was nowhere near.

    "Otherworld, what''s your problem now?!" Talking to the very existence of the isted ne, Asmodia tried to intimidate it.

    However, unsurprisingly, there was no response to be had. Traveling between ces through the otherworld was made convenient not only through magic but with the help of a spirit stuck between space and time. She would often respond to Asmodia''s call and open up paths that connected one spot to the other, yet today it seemed the girl was just as angry as the other familiars.

    "Don''t make me repeat myself¡­" Asmodia warned, hanging at the edge of her patience.

    Giving the spirit a moment, she stood there in silence with all the bodies still piled up on her shoulders. After only a few seconds, the spirit gave into its master''smand and sprang forth a door not far away from Asmodia.

    Turning to the lighting through the door frame, the mistress grunted to herself, feeling more than a bit of annoyance. The hours of walking had taken its toll and waddling over to the door, Asmodia was ready to let her Haruki''s body rest as well as her own soul.

    Coming out on the other end, shended in the meeting hall of the Hestemian castle. Trying to look around, she noticed a blur of a person standing in front, but before her mind could clear things up she hit the maximum strain on Haruki''s body. Like a fish out of water, the body flopped onto the ground and Asmodia''s soul went into a forceful slumber.

    ***

    "She''s dead¡­" Klian told the others, his hand pressed against Moriyana''s neck. Turning around, he was met with somber looks and tears trailing down everyone''s faces. For a spell he wanted to tell them to move on, however, a simple yet stern gaze from Rose let him know not to take that risk. "Margarette, do you want me to freeze her body? That would keep her body from decaying until we find out what to do next."

    Her curled-up nails dug into her palms, Margarette bit down hard on her lips to keep her frustration in check. To some degree, she felt it was her fault for letting Moriyana and Fay wander around unchecked.

    "M-Margrette?" Asuka called out to her through the tears. And although she let her take a while to respond, Margarette stood there in a trance-like silence. "Margarette!"

    It wasn''t until Asuka shook her whole body did the demon war generale back to her senses.

    "S-sorry, yeah, Klian please do, we''ll figure out how to bring her back once Haruki wakes up," giving out the order, Margarette turned to another cause of trouble who''d just returned to the castle. "And Fay, meet me in the throne room, we have a lot to talk about."

    The look of scorn on Margarette''s face was, to some degree, shared by those who knew what Fay had done. None of them wanted any part of what happens when Haruki finds out, and thus clearing things before he wakes up was of utmost importance to them all.

    "Margarette, can I apany you for a moment?" Breaking the moment, the queen of goblins asked.

    "Why?" Margarette responded, not in the mood for useless chatter.

    "The militia, we still have a war to take care of," the queen replied.

    "How about you read the room, and shut the fuck up?" Surprising them all, Margarette had no intentions of holding her rage back. "A war? Without her, our best illusionist? Are you deluded? Or do you just want to march ackluster army with no way of winning a battle?"

    "Mother¡­" Moving forward from behind Asuka. Riley ced her hand on Margarette''s shoulder. Then, as she felt Margarette reel her emotions back with an audible gasp, Riley looked right at the scowling queen. "We''ll discuss itter, I''m sorry for what she said."

    nting a firm step forward, Rose decided to jump into the conversation as well. ncing through the crowd, she had her arms tied crossed and the look on her face screamed murder.

    "Only healers allowed in this bedroom from now on, you can all fight outside if you want to," getting back into her head maid demeanor, she most of them out.

    "Yeah, who knows what''s affecting master''s sleep? It could be themotion making things worse too," Athena added as she moved toward Haruki.

    With haste, everyone except Asuka, Klian, and the demi-cats were chased out of the room. Shutting the door locked from the inside, Rose returned to her station to make sure everything was running alright. Having frozen Moriyana''s body in an everysting block of ice, Klian wished the rest luck and disappeared using Hawthorn''s teleportation.

    "So, what do we know about what happened?" Rose asked, having no clue about what led to this tragedy.

    "I don''t know, ording to Mercie, master just showed up with the demon lords and Moriyana lugged onto his body," Asuka replied, her eyes fixed on Haruki from her stool.

    "And that bitch doesn''t know anything else?" With everyone''s patience running low, Rose no longer had time for niceties.

    "us left after arguing with her apparently," Athena jumped into the conversation as well. "It happened moments before master arrived, I doubt that bitch is telling the whole truth."

    "Mom¡­" A bit shocked by her mother''snguage, Alice tugged on her robe to make her stop.

    "Ah, sorry, I didn''t mean to," Athen quickly apologized and buried her true emotions.

    Watching the exchange, Rose ironed hernguage as well before speaking once more.

    "Maybe I should check on the demon lords, then, the ones that aren''t unconscious at least," saying that she called onto Hawthorn mentally and disappeared out of sight as well.

    ''Bed and stool, how many times does it have to be like this?'' Thought Asuka, her eyes still gazing at Haruki. ''Why do you keep doing this to me?!''

    At this point, Asuka was angry, not yfully, but enraged enough to growl. Noticing the change, and being a demi-human herself, the other two healers understood her frustration well.

    ''We''re not bound to him as servants anymore, and if he keeps pulling stunts like these, some of us are bound to lose their trust, and in the worst-case scenario, even the love they feel for him.'' Having been through a marriage built upon love, Athena knew that Haruki has to prove himself before he can regain everyone''s trust. ''I hope it doesn''t end the same way it did for Moriyana.''

    Shifting her gaze at the frozen body, Athena felt a need to growl out her frustration as well.

 Chapter 288 288 - The War Generalsâ€™ Future[Catching Up With The Generals]

    ?

    ''Status lost: Emperor''s curse!'' The moment Michael, Dominion, and Razor were hit with the announcement, the three had turned to each other''s throats. And unlike Nabe, being bound by the curse they all knew exactly what had happened.

    "Dominion, open your fucking chambers!" Nabe yelled out at the top of her lungs.

    Stabbing her fist against the iron door, she tried to strike it down but bound by a protective spell on the other end, the door wouldn''t flinch even an inch.

    "Michael and Razor are gone, what the hell did you do?!" Howling at him in rage, she kept mming her fist onto the metal. "And where the fuck is As?!"

    ''What?!'' Herst sentence shocked her, after all, she was able to yell out her adoptive father''s name, something she couldn''t do before. ''What changed?! What happened?!''

    "What the fuck are you idiots hiding from-" All of a sudden the door flung open, sending Nabe falling face forward from the momentum of her elerated fist. "Aghh! What the hell?"

    "Michael? Where did he go?" Dominion asked, offering his hand to help Nabe get back up.

    ''This asshole!'' pping his hand away, Nabe got back on her feet by herself. As she collected her thoughts, she first noticed a full set of glimmering armor adorned by the war general in front. ''He didn''t wear that when allegedly protecting the emperor''s room when we were called back from our stations.''

    "You mister!" Grabbing hold of his cor, Nabe jerked his head closer. "Where the hell is As? And why did you lie about him being in his room resting?!"

    His expression contorting into a scorn, Dominion, gave Nabe a look of utter disgust. Having never seen his eyes so full of hatred, Nabe''s fingers uncoiled on their own and she even took a few steps back.

    "Don''t test my patience Nabe, I have no reason to pretend to like you or Michael anymore," Dominion warned before pushing Nabe to the side.

    "Huh?" Being oblivious to the situation with As, Nabe grabbed Dominion''s arm to draw all the information she could from him. "Dominion, what in the hell do you mean by that?"

    "Exactly what you think," without turning around, Dominion opened a mercury portal and passed right through.

    Left behind in such a short span of meeting him, Nabe was at a loss. Not even Michael and Razor would tell her anything when everyone started freaking out, but now with everyone gone, she was slowly starting to get the whole picture by herself.

    ''Something happened in that room Dominion was guarding, right? That has to be it!'' Even still, she was slightly misguided by her optimism toward As''s life. However, as she reached As''s empty room and looked around, the haunting realization finally started setting in. ''In what world could he¡­Who could even hurt him without an uproar through the entirety of As?''

    Even though through her years she''d wanted nothing more than to be freed from her adoptive parent''s shackles, but now that it had turned into reality, she was having a hard time epting it. In her fantasies, she''d hoped to grow ecstatic at the news of his demise, antithesis to her belief she was anything but happy.

    In its stead, her heart and mind were fighting a conjunction of emotions, none of which she could reason through or understand. The more she thought about the situation, the more she felt entangled in an uncharted web of thoughts. Howe I don''t feel happy? Howe I neither feel sad? What the hell happened exactly and where and how could a god get hurt? But most of all what she was at a loss for, was what she was supposed to do now, especially since all the others seem to already know what they wanted to do.

    ''Michael left for who knows where Razor is out and about as well, and Dominion, what did that bastard do and why didn''t he let us help As?'' There were too many questions that needed to be answered, but with nobody to answer them, Nabe decided to abandon them all. ''Haruki? Where is he? Shouldn''t he be under As''s control?''

    Settling down on As''s bed, Nabe continued to ponder until she figured the demon lord of lust must''ve had something to do with As''s disappearance.

    ''Fucking hell, I''m d I didn''t betray him.'' With a n to pay Haruki''s servants a visit to find out if he was there, Nabe began making her way out of the castle to find out some answers.

    ***

    "Where the fuck are you going?" Razor asked Michael, admittedly not too pleased with the current situation.

    Walking out through the front gates of the emperor''s castle, Michael turned around to look at Razor slowly walking up behind him.

    "The emperor''s dead, I can''t expect that bastard to keep his dead brother''s words so I''m returning to my people to keep them safe," Michael replied, his eyes ring at Razor as if warning him to keep his distance.

    "Afraid he''ll start killing the elven now that the throne is his?" Razor dug further, moving closer to him regardless.

    "Him and you both, since I know you''ve never been too fond of elves either," Michael shot back as he started walking towards the barracks.

    Following behind Michael, Razor had something to tell Michael as well. However, waiting until they were both at the training grounds, he only spoke when Michael stopped and turned around visibly a bit annoyed.

    "What¡­Do you want?" Enraged, Michael spoke through gritted teeth.

    "I''m going to leave to find the emperor''s body¡­like always, and I need your help," Razor answered.

    "Out with it then, I''m not going to stall time waiting for Dominion to take the first step," Growing increasingly impatient, Michael was ready to leave if Razor wasted a second more of his time.

    "Alright then," Opening a realm tear beside him, Razor reached inside and took out a brown bag dripping with blood. Reaching in, he threw the bag away and showed to Michael the head of a man with gouged-out eyes. "Dominion''s messenger, apparently that bastard knew the emperor had left for somewhere else despite how sick he was."

    "Nothing new with that, I already concluded that much after seeing that empty room," Michael shot back, still not too invested in what Razor had to say.

    "I know, but, this little fe told me that Dominion and As had a fight before he fell sick and that when As left Dominion said something along the lines of ''Visiting his heir in his condition? I doubt he''ll survive with nobody but himself.''" As Razor finished speaking, Michael knew what he was getting at.

    "So he''s with the mother, wherever she might be," He asked, his eyes squinted with interest.

    "Yeah," throwing the head to the side, Razor looked right at Michael''s scowling face. "Help me find his body, and I''ll sign a covenant to keep you people safe from Dominion once we bury the emperor."

    Scoffing at the idea, Michael turned around and a jolt of thunder surrounded him. Almost ready to leave, he spoke to Razor to what he presumed to be thest.

    "In all the realms, how do you intend to find her?" Michael asked, looking at Razor from over his left shoulder.

    "A god''s heir, not many can carry such a child, the list isn''t as long as you might think Michael, especially after Asmodia died," mulling over Razor''s words, Michael did see some value in incorporating his help, and finding out who killed the emperor was something he too was interesting in.

    "Fine, meet me in feralnd, I''ll be checking up on the eleven settlements there," lowering himself to his knees, Michael readied himself to shoot his body through the air. "But if you dare try to stab me in the back, I''ll tear every fabric of your being like I did the dragons!"

    "Fair enough, I''ll hand over my status to my underling, and be on my way there all by myself," Hearing Razor''s response, Michael finally took flight and left the castle for good.

    Watching the yer of dragons zooming through the skies, Razor reminisced on something he''d realized not long before.

    ''The gods, the empire, the humans, and even the monsters, they''re all morons, morons who fight over the most trivial stuff, and this conquest to be superior over the other is leading us all to a grim end.'' Being helped by Michael and Nabe against Dominion before, Razor''s resentment towards monsters has toppled slightly towards humans. Even now, he didn''t like either side, but being in the middle of that scale of hatred helped him see things through a much clearer perspective.

    "I''ll find his body and bury him, that''s thest thing I''ll do as a soldier, past that¡­" Having no clue what he should do when left by himself, Razor''s head hung low wondering what theymen did to enjoy a peaceful life.

    ''I wonder if the elves do any farming or trade.'' Shaking his head, he pulled himself out of thought and left the decision forter. ''I need to be off.''

    And with that, he made his way to wind hismanders to let them know that one of them was getting a giant promotion.

 Chapter 289 289 - Confronting On All Fronts - Part 1

    ?

    "What were you thinking about taking Ste to thatb in Laria?" Sitting atop the Hestemian throne, Margarette began showering Fay with countless questions. "What the hell were you trying to achieve, Fay Rue? Did you even think about what Haruki would say when he returns? Evidently not!"

    mming her fist on the armrest, Margarette tried to keep herself from losing sight of reason. The stunt by Fay had everyone enraged, most of all the people who were closest to the slime girl. And as the same attendants in the castle hall hurled their piercing gaze at Fay, she felt more than a bit threatened.

    ''Don''t be intimidated, you didn''t do anything wrong.'' Fay told herself before speaking to the temporary council.

    "I did what I had to prepare that body, now, unfortunately, it didn''t work, but I only had good intentions," her answer, however, didn''t carry much weight since the council had already made up their mind over Fay''s crimes.

    They cared not for the traveling merchant''s reasoning, but only for the threat she forced Ste to go through. For all they know, they could''ve perished in the blizzardic storms of Lariannd or perished to some monsters since Fay wasn''t all too apt in fighting.

    "And what do you have to show for your good intentions?" Asked the queen of goblins seated at the sides on a counselor''s chair. "I don''t mean to be stringent, however, it doesn''t seem your secretive expedition bore any fruits."

    Turning her head towards the queen of goblins, Fay scowled at the sight of her green skin. Not only had their rtions worsened because of the tension since Haruki''s death, but their hatred for each other was also growing further as they had begun to see everything through a racial lens.

    "Mind yourself, queen," said Fay to the goblin queen, raising some eyebrows from everyone around her.

    Stomping hernce on the ground, the queen of Arachne warned Fay with a razor re. The tension rose further when Fay conjured her scarf wolves and let them slip down her shoulder to keep a watch on the queens. While she turned to face Margarette again, the wolves kept growling through their teeth to make sure everyone stayed away from their master.

    "Fay, again, why did you do it?" Margarette asked, her patience running low.

    Rolling her eyes to that question, Fay let out a scoff and even spun around on the spot she was standing on. Patting her sides, she let her hands fall back down as she looked right at Margarette again.

    "I told you why I went there, to do what I had to!" She eximed, wearing a scowling grimace.

    "And that included turning your daughter into a monster?" With the light from the windows retreating away, Margarette''s eyes lit up a bright crimson red as she looked down at Fay in utter disappointment.

    "A monster? In case you''ve forgotten¡­" Walking closer to the crimson queen, Fay moved over to the steps to the throne and whispered to her slowly. "We''re all monsters."

    "Is that so?" Getting off the throne, Margarette let the nking of her heels echo through the room as she descended down the steps to the throne. Getting inches close to Fay, she ced her left hand under her chin and from her chin alone pulled her even closer. "When was thest time you saw Haruki experimenting on children? Or torturing them? Care to refresh my memory?"

    A sigh from the sidelines broke the tense interaction between the two. Shifting their gaze in the direction of the sound, they were both looking at Riley slowly making her way towards them both. Getting closer, she pulled Margarette''s hand off of Fay and separated the two by moving between them.

    "Nothing ended up happening to Ste, and nothing will happen now that she''s back here in the castle," ncing between the two, she nodded looking right in their eyes one after the other. "We''ll worry about what kind of punishment or whatever happens once Haruki wakes up since it''s mostly likely better to leave these things in his hands."

    "I suppose that''s been working wonderfully so far, leaving everything in his hands," shocking everyone with thement, Margarette turned around and scaled up the steps again. Feeling everyone''s gazes on her back, she was ready to intercept in case dare they try to rebut.

    "What the hell do you mean by that Margarette?" Fay asked, squinting her eyes in disbelief.

    Settling into the throne, Margarette was reminded of her time as the queen of Daria. Resting her hand on the armrest, she tilted her head to rest it over her palm. Peering right down at Fay, and Riley, her mind wandered through lost ambitions that she''d been so capable of conquering in the time Haruki''s been gone.

    "What do I mean, you ask?" Pressing her lips together, she wore a loathsome look. "Everything has gone perfectly so far without him, but the moment he returns all of a sudden we''re not allowed to do shit and have to wait for orders even though he might not wake up anytime soon."

    "Mother!" Riley yelled, knowing things would escte too fast if she kept going.

    "Am I wrong, Riley?" Margarette was visibly annoyed by her daughter''s raised voice against her. "I know he''s important to us, but without servant status, I can think much clearer, and following him blindly is what has led us to this situation in the first ce!"

    Stomping her staff on the ground as loud as she could, the queen of Arachnes moved forward with raging eyes. Walking in the very middle of the assembly, she held her staff pointed at Margarette before growling out her heart.

    "Another word of sphemy and I''ll march my soldiers against you and not with you!" As the room sat in a moment of silence following the queen''s words, the goblin queen set off her chair and joined the Arachne by standing behind her.

    "We didn''te this far to be disappointed, unlike you, our children, our own flesh and blood died fighting these battles you''ve been mercilessly directly with no regard for their lives!" Reaching into her waist pouch, the goblin queen took out an advanced control ring for demons she''d been working on in secret. "Master is now a demon lord, something we, the monsters, were aiming to get him to be, and now you want to strip us of the benefits it''s bound to bring?"

    "Wait, both of you-" Holding her hand towards the queens, Riley tried to calm them down, however, the moment the ring was on the queen''s fingers things turned a lot more serious.

    "Wait for what? We didn''t serve him because of some bond, we did it because we believed in his vision and the promise of safety," The queen of goblins growled, moving in front of the Arachne queen, ready to intercept any demons who try to do anything funny. "If that promise is no longer there, and you want to rece him, then you bet your life we''re going to tear you apart for betrayal!"

    Clicking her tongue, Margarette let her eyes burn into mes and sparing back out of her seat. Moving her hand over her chest, she ran her fingers through the fire spirit ring to rival the queen ring of control. Even if she tried to manipte Margarette, the spirit not being a demon would defend its master from any threat.

    "All I''m suggesting is that we carry our own burden rather than rely on one man whosepetence as ofte could be considered far more than questionable," enraged still by Moriyana''s death, Margarette couldn''t help me herself as well as the man who brought her back dead. "After all, if your concern is safety and the continuation of your tribe, then would you not want him to prove he can be relied on without pulling us under his demonic spell as servants?"

    Hearing Margarette''s reasoning not so long after seeing Moriyana''s body, the queens felt some truth in her words, and decided to sheath their weapons. The love had shattered with the loss of the servant status and now their master needed more than his likeness to prove himself to his people.

    Reaching some level of agreement, the room fell silent once more, however, that silence didn''tst long as a squeamish sound came from the doors. Opening by the weight of her new adult body, the gates gave in and sent Ste crashing headlong into the floor. Thankfully her body turned into a semi-solid before her head hit the ground.

    "Ste, what are you doing here?!" Fay eximed, furiously rushing towards her daughter.

    Even though she''d been caught listening, Ste kept her slime-form face pushed against the ground so she wouldn''t have to face her mother. That ingenious strategy didn''tst long as Fay took out a pair of gloves from her ouch that she''d made especially for times like these. Putting them on, she reached for Ste''s ears and pulled her up without phasing through her skin.

    "OW! OW! OW!" Ste squealed, acting like a child still.

    "I told you to stay in your room, didn''t I?" Fayined, dragging her out of the room with her ears.

    "Aunt Riley, save me!" She pleaded, but Riley simply looked away as it wasn''t her ce to police someone else''s child.

    ''This is gonna end horribly¡­'' Letting out a tired sigh, Riley hoped things would get better once Haruki was back on the throne as their master.

    ''She heard everything, didn''t she?'' The three queens, however, had someone on their minds. ''Master won''t like what happened here, especially not with her listening to it all.''

    Thinking along the same vein, the queens decided to dismiss themselves from the room and return to their duties. Riley too left soon after, but not for work but to make sure Ste wouldn''t get in too much trouble with her mother.

    In the time the events in the room transpired, Rose too had her handful from dealing with Mercie, and when two titans shed there was bound to be fire.

 Chapter 290 290 - Confronting On All Fronts - Part 2

    ?

    ''I should leave this ce or I''m bound to be pulled into more of their me-'' Amidst her moment of contemtion, a strong beam of white light burst behind Mercie, illuminating her whole room.

    Turning to the sudden phenomenon, she was greeted by an enraged dragoness in her fiery warrior form. Retracting her wings, Rose moved closer to the demon lord with not the slightest hint of reluctance in her eyes. Had it been any other man or a womaning face to face with a notorious demon lord, they would''ve been wise to keep their distance instead of shortening it further with a mocking disy of insolence.

    "About what happened today," standing towering over the mistress of greed, Rose looked down at her with a deep scowl. "What are you hiding?"

    Rolling her eyes, Mercie crossed her arms leaning sideways, and then looked up into Rose''s eyes. The tired, droopy expression on her face ryed how she felt about answering more questions; since now more than ever, she wanted to retreat to her domain, and never to return to Hestemia.

    "I''ve told you already, he showed up through a portal with all those bodies and fainted in front of me and that''s all I know," she tried to lie her way out of the situation, but Rose wasn''t going to have it today, especially not after someone from their group had died.

    Wearing a smile oh so smug, Rose reached for Mercie with her charred fingers streaming withva. Resting a single nail on Mercie''s chin, she smiled while slowly cutting into her skin and trailing the nail down to her throat. Her blood sizzled from the heat, Mercie tried to push away the dragoness, but failed miserably, and only stumbled back herself.

    "A paper doll like you would burn nicely in my mes," As Rose warned the mistress of greed, her smile was reced with scorn again. "How about you spit out the truth before I burn you out of existence? Hmm, what do you say?"

    Taking yet another step closer, Rose grabbed Mercie''s shoulders to keep her from escaping. Feeling the burn on her skin, the demon lord felt her heart race with angst. Even if she tried to escape by shifting into strips of paper, Rose would easily burn her down, and turn her body into ash.

    ''Reya''s portal would''ve been my best bet, but she¡­'' Hit with the realization that she couldn''t rely on the currently unconscious demon lords, Mercie let out a defeated sigh and finally gave in.

    "Fine¡­" Taking yet another step away from Rose, she shut her eyes for a moment before looking back up. "I was asked not to spread the news, but if ites between my life and a half-hearted promise, I think my only choice is obvious."

    "Go on then, tell me everything you know," conjuring up a throne of mes, Rose leaned back into it and settled down at Mercie''s eyes level.

    Looking right at the dragoness, Mercie rolled her eyes once again and began retelling her everything that had happened after Haruki sneaked up on them in Inferno''s training ground back on the battlefield in Scorchen Gaia.

    ***

    A few days passed and the rumors of the emperor''s demise as Dominion was slowly gaining hold of the forces made their way towards Hestemia. The pressure on all war fronts was getting more intense than ever.

    "He''s most likely dead," Inferno said to the gathered council.

    Unlike the time with Fay, Asuka, the demi-cats, and even Rose were present in the room to assess the situation from everyone''s point of view. Still, at the head of them all, Margarette had grown quite impatient with each passing day it took and Haruki not waking up.

    "So none of you three saw him die, but this Valkyrie, Helga could''ve killed him?" Margarette asked, trying to understand the situation now that the demon lords have finally awakened after so long.

    "Yeah, she¡­Well, she took us all down in one hit, that should speak for itself in terms of strength," Deus chimed in from his seat at the sidelines.

    "Worst part of it all, I think their weapons have weakened us," holding her hand forward, Reya tried to conjure up a portal but all that came out was flying silver sparks. "I-I feel like crying, it took me so long to¡­"

    Ovee with emotions, Reya pressed her lips shut before her tears overpower her. Drawing her hand back to her chest, she held it over her heart and tried to calm herself with a deep sigh. As she slowly began to feel better, she turned her gaze back to Margarette to add something more.

    "Those tridents held by Valkyries drain your strength the longer they are stuck in you, getting hit with them in battle would be the worst," done rying the information, Reya clutched her teddy bear tight.

    "Let me have a look at your soul after the meeting. Perhaps the trident burned parts of it and that''s what''s causing the loss of strength," Fay advised, offering her help.

    Even though she''d not beenpletely forgiven by everyone just yet, she''d been put back on the council due to her extensive knowledge of the soul and all kinds of magical oddities.

    "Really?" With her eyes wide open, Reya stared at Fay.

    "I can try and fix it, but let''s not get off topic for the moment," keeping the conversation going, Fay turned to Margarette to discuss something far more important. "If the emperor is dead, and Dominion is taking over, that''ll exin why he''s focusing so much on the interior of the empire instead of Scorchen Gaia and Feralnds."

    "You''re right, but our numbers are barely holding on so there''s not much we can do at the moment," although Margarette knew she could always make use of the human prisoners trapped in the cities, the very fact that she had to rely on them was getting a bit worrying. "We have, at most a week before the borders fall, and even with the help from the humans, the poption in the empire has dropped to perhaps a few thousand."

    ''The war has drained the world''s poption, and if it keeps going we''d be bringing our own demise with nobody left to enjoy the promised safety.'' Rummaging through her thoughts, Margarette was getting quite worried about the aftermath of this war, after all, if nobody was left alive when it''s over then what was the point of these battles?

    "We still have arge amount of children''s poption living under Moriyana''s illusion that everything''s fine, but without Haruki, we can''t visit them in tormentous dungeon," with that said, Margarette felt hopeless about everything that was happening.

    The sudden opening of the door pulled her out of her gloom, however, as she turned to the gates, her hopelessness was reced with a mic of shock and fear.

    "Master?!" Asuka eximed, rushing towards Haruki the moment she saw him.

    ***

    While the meeting took ce in the castle hall, Haruki was left all alone in his room with nobody but Moriyana''s frozen body cased inside a box of ss. Waking up to the sight of herying on the other end of the room, Haruki to some degree figured out what might''ve happened and how he got to Hestemia.

    ''She decided to make a move finally after Moriyana was dead?'' Enraged, he gritted his teeth and formed up a fist trying to suppresses his emotion. Getting off the bed, he moved towards the bedded tform over which Moriyana was encased. ''I did everything as nned but still¡­Why the hell does this happen every time?''

    No matter how many precautions he took or what he tried, in the face of pure strength be it Asmodia''s or As''s, he''s always lost. Even his fight against Inferno went pretty much the same despite the ability to shift into a dragon.

    "Why am I still so weak? Have I not done enough? I''ve drained most kingdoms in the empire and yet there''s always someone whoes along and fucks it all up!" mming his fist on the ss, he made it crack. Worried about it getting broken, Haruki moved a few steps away from it. "I guess this is the problem, isn''t it?"

    Looking at the crack, Haruki felt as though he was looking at the very reflection of conscience. Whenever something went wrong, or when someone got hurt, he always tried to amend the wounds left behind by the hurt.

    "I''m clinging onto humanity in a world that has forgotten what it means to be one! And why the fuck do I care for the lives of these so called humans or anyone else for that matter?" Reminding himself of all those who''d left him defeated in dust, Haruki had begun to recognize something all of them possessed. Thinking about it for a while, his finger dug into his skull and his mind was slowly corrupted by the darkness he''d spent everyday suppressing.

    ''I need to be a monster or else this will happen again!'' From Asmodia to As, he''d seen them all go to all kinds of extreme lengths to achieve whatever it was that they wanted to achieve, and looking back on it, his restraint to do the same was building up to be his biggest weakness.

    "Asmodia, if you''re listening to me right now," drawing a deep breath, Haruki braced himself for what he was about tomit to. "I need your help killing everyone with any amount of strength in this stupid fucking world¡­"

    For a moment there was no response, and Haruki assumed she was sleeping inside, but then as he turned to the gates, Asmodia''s voice trailed into his ears.

    "As is dead and so is the creator, devour this world for all I care, but then keep your promise and kill me as well," She whispered.

    "You don''t have to tell me, you''d be the first to die if I didn''t have any use for you," saying that Haruki marched out the door to find the others, and ultimately joined the meeting that he didn''t know about just yet.

 Chapter 291 291 - Farming Gods

    ?

    "Soul bound," mumbling to himself, Haruki let Asmodia''s soul merge with his to make good full use of her power. Enshrouded in an aura of dark oozing mist, he drew everyone''s attention toward himself.

    ''Forget about a body, for now, I''m using you.'' Looking right past Asuka who was now slightly hesitant about approaching him, Haruki gazed towards Margarette seated atop the Hestemian throne.

    "Is that?!" Sensing the mistress''s presence emanating through Haruki''s body, Deus jumped out of his seat. "How did you retain her soul?!"

    Not at all familiar with the terms of Haruki''s contract with the queen of lust, Dues and the others were shell-shocked by the revtion. So far they''d expected Asmodia to have perished alongside Moriyana, but now that the truth was staring them in their eyes, they were all having a hard time epting it.

    "Your sister? Yeah, she''s alive, just get over it," ignoring their concern, Haruki made his way toward the throne steps all while keeping his gaze fixed on Margarette. With a smile he greeted her, on the other hand, Margarette didn''t know how to react to him showing up so suddenly. "You''ve done well, but I guess it''s time to stop nning and take some action."

    "What action?" She asked, getting off the throne.

    Walking down the steps she got closer to Haruki before stepping to the side to offer him the throne. Ideally, she would''ve preferred for him to prove himself worthy enough to be followed, but with so many people still rallying behind him, Margarette knew better than to test Haruki''s authority.

    "Keep the throne, just ready your men that have at your disposal, we''re going to capture thest god in As," Haruki ordered as the oozing aura finally settled inside his body.

    "What god are you talking about?!" His words didn''t only shock Margarette, but the rest of the crew was just as baffled.

    "So As is alive?!" Asked Reya, her voice a bit squeamish from fear.

    "No, he''s dead, and so is Destinia, they were both killed by a Valkyrie named Helga," confirming their previous theories about As, Haruki climbed up a few steps and turned around to address everyone at once. "There are too many creatures in this world whose strength would put us to shame, and that is why I need to be stronger by draining the strength out of As''s demi-god brother!"

    "Dominion?" Inferno muttered.

    "Exactly, we need him crippled but alive," Spreading his arms wide, Haruki turned his gaze to the queen of goblins as if trying to ry something to her through his gaze alone. "I''m sure you can make use of him, just like you did with the minotaurs that we captured, can''t you queen?"

    For a moment the queen was puzzled by what Haruki meant, but upon realizing what he meant she felt like she''d struck gold in terms of experimental inspiration.

    "To create more gods from him?" She spoke with a smile that stretched further with each passing second. "Oh my¡­"

    Her eyes glowing a mix of red and green, the queen of goblins leaped off her seat and walked down to the red carpetid in the middle. Never had she expected to be able to experiment on a god, and create proxy children that could rival the dead gods. However, presented with the possibility, she was awestruck by Haruki''s devious idea.

    "Although I can no longer bear children myself, to think my tribe will host gods?! How do I even repay you?!" Getting down on her knees with tears streaming down her cheeks, the queen pressed her head against the floor to show her respect toward her new god.

    Joining the goblin, the queen of Arachnesid down her staff and lowered her head in solidarity with the other queen.

    "If you fulfill this promise, we''d forever be indebted to you our lord," said the Arachne, her head refusing to be raised.

    "Don''t be too happy, your children will owe their strength to me, and any who could not provide will be cast aside and ughtered," although still reluctant about sitting on the throne, Haruki settled down on it and looked over the queens once more. "As for you two, I''ve let you be true to your nature so far, however, now that you can''t bore children either way, you''re both going to be turned into demons so we don''t have to worry about your mortality anymore."

    The queen simply nodded to their master and epted their fate. The others, however, were not as epting of the idea of infinitely expanding the pool of gods, and more importantly, none of them were on board with fighting Dominion and his army without any preparations.

    "Haruki," Inferno called Haruki''s attention towards him. "How on earth are you nning to fight a demi-god who has an army muchrger than our own?"

    Before answering him, Haruki stretched his arm forward and began casting a spell of dark magic to shoot a ball of electrified darkness. At the sight of the magical sphere taking form over his fingers, Inferno squinted his eyes in doubt, but the moment the spell shot away from him and in the direction of the opened gates, those doubts quickly fled away.

    "Fine, you caught me!" Appearing out of nowhere in front of the oing dark spell, Nabe smacked it off with the back of her hands.

    Upon seeing the war general, it didn''t take more than a second for everyone to heighten their guard, however, for some reason, Haruki kept seated on the throne without much care for the situation.

    "Unless you''re here to lend me your strength or simply hand it over, I suggest you leave before I take your head," casually crossing his legs, Haruki snapped his fingers and a group of his clones encircled Nabe.

    ''Dammit, I thought he wouldn''t be here.'' Having expected Haruki to be gone with As, Nabe was quite surprised to find him here, instead of just his pack ofpanions. ''But it''s not like I can escape now.''

    Looking around the room with everyone ready to unleash their fury on her, Nabe let her shoulders fall and submitted.

    "I''m here to help," after the way she''d treated Haruki back in the emperor''s castle, her words alone carried little weight. And thus, to challenge her loyalty Haruki decided to put her to a test.

    "Tortemtous dungeon," opening a portal underneath her, Haruki dropped her into a dungeon room and closed it up as swiftly as possible. Thest thing they all heard from her was a drawn-out scream as she fell to the ground. "We''ll deal with herter, one war general is going to be enough trouble for now."

    ''Are we done here? We''re wasting our time trying to exin everything.'' Hearing Asmodia''s voice inside him, Haruki felt a hint of repulsion but kept it hidden deep within himself.

    "Now if we''re done talking, we have a god to capture,'''' Getting off the throne without saying much else, Haruki began making his way out of the throne room.

    Leaving just as abruptly as he''d entered, he left the others baffled. Defeating a god after having almost lost to one, how could he expect them to rally behind him without a solid n? Well, that too wasn''t something he hadn''t considered before addressing the group.

    ''From what I know, their forces are few and we can only afford to use them as a distraction once.'' nning to overpower Dominion, and strip his abilities via Asmodia''s abilities, he wanted to turn him into a marble of soul just like what he''d done to Serena. ''Her body is still alive so that should mean we can research him with his soul and vessels detached.''

    ''You''re hoping to create an army of gods?'' Asmodia asked, her voice sounding a bit dubious.

    "No, I''m hoping to create power, power that would be mine once they reach a certain level of strength, and with gods all different affinities and races, there''s bound to be some interesting abilities for me to plunder," his n, although usible in theory, achieving that goal without any opposition from the Valkyries or even the monster queen was bound to be troubling.

    ''And how do you n on getting Dominion in your reigns in the first ce to do it all?'' Ignoring her question, Haruki marched back toward the room with Moriyana''s body.

    "Before I answer that, tell me, is there a way to retrieve Moriyana''s soul as we did yours?" He asked despite already knowing the answer.

    ''You heard As yourself, the soul is never to return to this world again, not to mention the de most likely burned her soul the same way thenterned reapers,'' hearing her response, Haruki felt his heart squeezing inwards with an assault of emotions.

    "Then, I want to rest her body in the soil before doing anything else," left with no way to revive Moriyana, Haruki decided to at least put her body to rest even if her soul couldn''t enjoy the same luxury.

    For a moment, he''d expected Asmodia to retort with something snarky, however, keeping silent about his decision, she let her thoughts be as apparent as a crystal. Even if she were to deny it, the death of Moriyana had affected her just as it would any mother.

    ''Do what you want,'' She spoke onest time before letting her wounded soul rest again.

 Chapter 292 292 - Unexpected Visitors

    ?

    "March¡­" Standing before a mercury portal, Dominion ordered an army of thousands to march right through to the other end.

    The men, however, were evidently not as thrilled about this scorched earth tactic, as there was bound to be an insurmountable amount of suffering that follows after. Even the generals stood frozen in ce, uncertain whether Dominion had gone mad.

    "But-"

    "Don''t even try," interrupting aining general, Dominion red him down with his dead silver eyes. "I need these pesky demons gone for good, besides, what in the hell have you been doing in Scorchen Gaia with none of the demon lords in sight?"

    The men flinched away, more than they did while fighting against the demon lords. None of them could dare question his authority, especially when the rumors about As''s death were still lingering in the air. Was it grief that drove Dominion? Or was it the fact that he''d acquired a taste for power in his brother''s absence? The soldier had no idea.

    "Now, once again¡­" Drawing his de, Dominion raised his bloodsword to the skies. "March!"

    Following hismand an angelic hymn resounded through the clouds. Growing louder by the second, the voices of numerous angels sang in pure harmony, heralding a grim future soon to be uncovered.

    ''Mellicia''s choir?'' Hearing the song, the soldiers could almost see their own future, lying amidst burning rubble with their limbs torn off and being feasted on by monsters. In service to their lord, they would''ve happily thrown their bodies as shields, but with As''s situation being so dubious none of them knew exactly what they were fighting for.

    That, however, didn''t matter to Dominion for all he wanted was to strike down thest of the demonic army as he''d presumed the demon lord to have been killed by As before dying himself. His delusion reinforced by their absence in the Scorchen Gaia, Dominion lowered his de to his army to threaten them further.

    "God tier summon: Cerberus!" Opening a fiery portal above the men, Dominion dropped a massive hound of me right in the middle of his army.

    The three-headed hellhound drooled with bloodlust, and his presence alone was burning the armored soldiers around him. Flicking its ears, it looked down at the men and began growling through its gritted razor teeth. Ovee with fear, the mem finally marched forward, but not because of their loyalty to Dominion, but from fear of being turned into a meal.

    Marching his men through the portal, Dominion led them directly to the hem of the Hestemian forest edging the kingdom''s border. Leading the sudden charge, he wanted to be done with the demons by hitting them right into their core of operation. If he could sessfully strike it down, thencking any guidance the demons were sure to turn stray, making them much easier to take care of.

    ''Margarette was it? The one orchestrating the wars in Haruki''s absence?'' With a wide smirk on his face, Dominion held his sword firm. ''Let''s bring you down and end this madness!''

    ***

    By the frozen gates of Laria, Harukiid Moriyana''s body into the ground. It was the very first ce he''d ever met her, and he wanted her to rest there for the rest of time. Marking her grave with a rose encased in a translucent film of darkness, he rested it over her.

    "Are we done? That war you wanted is waiting for you in Hestemia," Klian muttered, standing right behind Haruki.

    "You were talking about a portal opening, who is it?" Haruki asked, his eyes still fixed on the grave.

    "If my nephew''s predictions are correct then it''s most likely Dominion," Klian replied.

    Watching Haruki''s back, he noticed him getting back down on one knee and reaching for something in his pocket. Taking his hand out, he revealed in his palm a bright red ring with an inscription of a monster.

    ''A minotaur king''s ring?'' Although Klian recognized what the item was, he couldn''t possibly understand its importance.

    "Portal¡­" Reaching under the snow burying Moriyana''s body, Haruki put the ring on her ring finger. "This belongs to you, I made a promise after all."

    Raising to his feet again, Haruki finally turned around to face Klian. Blinking his eyes, he quickly conjured a dark cloak with a long cape to mask himself and to keep his body warm. Taking hold of the fluttering cape, Haruki moved closer to Klian wrappedpletely in the dark cape.

    "Ughhh, you''re much more difficult to be around than your sister," Harukiined, but Klian onlyughed in response.

    Without a second more wasted, the two were enshrouded in white light and teleported back to the Hestemian castle. Arriving by the gates, the sounds of shing swords and screaming monsters were deafening enough to make Haruki cover his heightened senses. in on the other hand used a natural ear membrane in dragons to protect himself from the noise.

    "Margarette?" Talking to her through hive mind, Haruki wanted to know more about the situation.

    ''What?! Oh, it''s you! Thank the stars you''re here!'' Her tone had taken an audible shift since herst chat with Haruki, but at the moment none of that mattered.

    "What''s happening? And where are the soldiers?" ncing around the barracks just by the gates, theck of any demon guards was quite troubling.

    ''It''s Dominion, he''s brought every soldier in the emperor''s army to Hestemia, the only reason we''re holding on is that only so many of them can pass through the portal at a time!'' Upon hearing her response, Haruki instantly knew what had to be done.

    "Have Riley, Asuka, and Fay meet me above the castle sky, I''ll take care of this while you direct the soldiers," tearing through the cloak with his wings, Haruki turned to Klian again before taking to the sky. "You¡­Make sure not to freeze our own soldier."

    "No promises, I can''t control the cold even if I wanted," Klian''s response was somewhat troubling, but Haruki didn''t have time to waste over it.

    "Just join your sister, she must be around," saying that, Haruki flew up high.

    Looking around the city from the sky, all Haruki saw was blood and carnage scattered everywhere. The army of demons and monsters was barely fending off the royal guards in the areas immediately under the kingdom walls. And from the looks of it, Margarette and the rest were gathered up in the townsquare rallying the troops in all directions the enemies were charging from.

    "Unfortunately timing, but where''s Dominion?" Unable to spot him, Haruki started to be a bit concerned.

    However, noticing Riley, and Asuka flying towards him, he shook that thought out of his mind for a moment. Once they were floating in front of him he was slightly puzzled as to why Fay wasn''t with them as well.

    "Where''s Fay?" He asked.

    "With Ste, that girl was apparently trying to stop people from fighting, but Fay took her away in time," Asuka answered with a hint of worry.

    "That''s probably for the best anyway," Riley added, her arms crossed.

    "Forget it then," turning to Riley, Haruki continued his questioning. "Have you seen Dominion? We need to close that portal, and we''re gonna need to find him for that."

    "I haven''t but if you let me use my spy skills, then I''m sure I can find him without a problem," still bound by a promise not to use her skills due to Ste''s blessing, Riley was eager to be let loose again.

    Smiling to herself, she seemed ecstatic just thinking about getting to be a spy again. And although Haruki realized that sending her for the task could be problematic when the blessing was messing with her, he knew he had to take that bet to find Dominion.

    "Fine, go and find him, but don''t try to engage him, leave that up to me and Asmodia," hearing Haruki''s orders, Riley didn''t waste a second before descending down, to begin with her mission.

    "What about me?" Asuka asked, pointing at herself.

    Shifting his eyes to her, Haruki pulled her closer by the arm. cing his hand on her waist, he pressed their lips together, shocking the demi-fox demon. Her eyes sparkling with a sudden burst of joy, Asuka''s heart began pumping faster than ever, and by the time the kiss broke, she was left panting with her hand clutching onto Haruki''s arms for support.

    "I need every bit of help that I can get, you should go and join Fay for now," even more confused by his words, Asuka looked up at Haruki from his chest.

    As their eyes met, she noticed an unfamiliar glint of darkness in his eyes, it almost seemed as if their violet glow had gonepletely ck. Feeling much lighter, her eyes began to grow weary, but before her mind suddenly submitted to fatigue, she saw Haruki''s gaze burning a bright mix of red and violet.

    ''I guess sucking her levels out until she reached level one, stressed her body far too much.'' Taking hold of her frame, Haruki summoned a dungeon portal and dropped her into a room with a bedded floor and all sorts offorts. Closing the portal just as quickly, he heard Riley''s voice ring into his ears.

    ''I found him.'' She said with an unhinged chuckle.

    "Great," Haruki replied, readying himself to battle yet another god.

    However, this time he had a far more potent strategy.

 Chapter 293 293 - Demi-Godâ€™s True Colors

    ?

    Being a renowned tracker, Dominion was blinded by his ownpetence. Instead of looking for Margarette in the middle of it all, he''d presumed her to be hiding safely in the castle with hoards of guards protecting her kingdom. It didn''t help that he''d parted from the soldiers the moment they''dnded in Hestemia, after all, he cared only to find the queen and the lives of the soldiers were of no importance to him.

    While making his way through the windowed corridors, he nced over to the stained murals depicting tales about As, and unknowingly, sometimes even him. Halting at one such relic, he looked around the empty space, growing increasingly suspicious about why he hadn''t run into anyone.

    "Grhhh!" Growled the fiery cerebus apanying him through the castle.

    "What?" Dominion asked, looking at it from over his shoulder.

    The beast turned its head to the side and motioned toward a branching direction. Staring down its length, it kept growling louder and louder until it couldn''t contain itself andmenced to bark.

    Trusting the beast''s senses, drew his bloodsword and stepped forward. Raising it in the very direction, he mumbled a spell, unleashing a flood of blood to shoot out from his weapon. Everything in the path was pushed as further back as possible, however, amidst the flood, an invisible frame stood diverting the blood away from itself.

    ''Fuck¡­'' Despite being invisible, with blood pooling all around her, Riley couldn''t move an inch. ''I need to climb a column or wall, my feet are giving my potion away.''

    The moment she jumped and the imprint of her feet was out of the pooled blood, Riley attached herself to the back of a column with her sabers in a way that she was still in Dominion''s blind spot.

    "Trying to hide, eh?" Dominion chuckled at her attempt to hide again.

    Drawing his hand back, he gave his bloodsword some momentum before throwing it into the air. The moment it was set free, it arched around the passage and made its way to stab Riley in the back.

    ''Swiftwind-'' Trying to use a spell to escape the de''s trajectory, Riley was reminded why she hadn''t been sent on missions for a while. ''Shi-''

    "Aghhhh!" Stabbing through the spine, Riley was pinned to the wall. "F-fuck this blessing! Ughhh!"

    Failing to cast spells because of the benevolent actor''s blessing, Riley cursed her fate. The shooting pain undid her mask, revealing her body to Dominion and his beast. Stretching his arm forward, Dominion recalled the bloodsword back into his hand, and with the de taken out of her Riley came crashing down to the ground.

    "Riley Phoenix if I''m not wrong?" Quickly absorbing all the blood back into his de, Dominion made his way toward the fallen Riley.

    ''Dammit, and I thought this would be easy¡­'' Reaching for her potion sabersying on the ground, Riley brought them closer to her body. Taking a closer look at them with her head pressed against the floor, she noticed the vial in one of them had shattered while the other had a slight crack on it. ''This is gonna hurt.''

    "What?" Upon getting closer to the spy, Dominion was shocked at the sight of her stabbing herself in the thighs, but it all became clearer as the wound on her back sealed itself shut. "A potion de? What a wonderful idea, ahaha¡­"

    Genuinely impressed by the tool, Dominion wanted to interrogate her about its origin, but s, there were more pressing matters that took precedence. Holding the sword to Riley''s sword as sheid on the floor, Dominion decided to ask her a few questions.

    "Where''s Margarette?"

    "Lonesome widow," Riley whispered under her breath instead of an answer.

    Unbeknownst to him, the giant frame of an invisible threat now loomed right behind Dominion. The beast, more than able to see the reaper-like familiar, began rushing toward its master to protect him.

    "Don''t waste my time," pressing the tip of the de into Riley''s skin, Dominion tried to threaten her some more, but all of a sudden as Riley smiled, he instantly knew something was wrong.

    Looking over Dominion''s shoulder Riley was smiling not at him, but at the raised scythe in thends of the lonesome widow. However, as she was just about to strike down the demi-god, the fiery Cerberus lunged at her as if she was a measly prey.

    "Portal!" Not taking any chances, Dominion teleported himself away from the chaos and appeared right back where he stood beforeing over to talk to Riley.

    While looking at the mess left behind, although Dominion couldn''t see it through his eyes alone, his fiery beast managed to tear the skull off of the lonesome widow. Rising back to her feet, Riley cursed under her breath as she saw her familiar disappearing. While summoning it back wouldn''t be a problem, it would use too much of her mana and the Cerberus was too swift for the clunky widow to stand a chance against it.

    ''I can''t turn invisible either, what the hell should I do?'' Watching the beasts slowly walking closer and closer, Riley''s mind raced to find a way to escape. ''Swiftwind-''

    Once again before the spell could bepleted the flow of mana was abruptly cut off. Left with no other option, she stepped away backward but was soon pinned against a stained-ss wall. Coming face to face with the growling beast, she could feel her skin burning and her clothes were the first to burn off.

    "Get away from her¡­" A familiar voice rang into her ears, but it wasn''t until the ss behind her shattered that she realized who it was. "That''s my spy, you mutt!"

    Flying through the ss, Haruki grabbed the beast by its throat and mmed him into the wall on the other side. Not letting go, he transformed his ws into that of a frost dragon and froze the mes on the fiery beast''s body. Its head on both ends tried to snack away at the demon lord but shielded by dark magic, they couldn''t get even a nibble of his skin.

    Freezing the beast down to its tails, Haruki finally let go. As its body hit the ground it shattered into a million shards of ice. Turning his hand back to normal, Haruki turned to look at Dominion while also creating a clone that can heal Riley''s injuries. Lowering himself to the ground, he lowered the cloak''s hood and stared directly at Dominion. Had it been another time, he would''ve been concerned about dealing with him, but now with the possibility of farming gods for levels, he saw meeting Dominion as a great opportunity.

    "What the hell are you doing here?" Dominion asked, his eyes widened in shock.

    "You thought your brother killed me, didn''t you?" Haruki replied with a mocking smile.

    "Along with the other demon lords, yes, I did," getting a strong grip on his de, Dominion held it steadfast towards Haruki.

    "Ahaha, well you''ve been even more misinformed than I thought then," Haruki revealed, slowly walking towards him to shorten the distance.

    Taking onest nce at Riley before moving forward, he opened a dungeon portal beside her so she could easily escape. However, it seemed leaving her master behind with a monstrous demi-god wasn''t something she could do.

    ''Leave¡­'' Haruki said to her through hive mind.

    ''I can help, and I''m not leaving you here alone.'' Riley replied without wasting a second to think it through.

    ''Fine then, just stay out of the way.'' Shifting his attention back to Dominion, Haruki parted his body into two. One his own, and the other resembling Asmodia with her real soul temporarily vesseled inside it.

    Stretching her limbs as she walked beside Haruki, her presence surprised Dominion as he could feel the aura of darkness emanating through the clone.

    "Finally, I get to move around a little," walking with nking heels, she let out a yful giggle looking at the enemy.

    "Just shut up and fight," Haruki advised, ayer of ice stretching over his skin.

    Eventually turning into a demonic frost dragon adorned in a mystic cape, he stopped a few steps away from Dominion and so did hispanion in battle.

    "Shall we begin?" The two asked in unison, their right arm stretching towards the demi-god.

    Standing before them with his head visibly fuming in anger, Dominion felt mocked by the demonic duo. Not only were they underestimating him, but they even dared to chatter with each other while he had his de pointed toward them.

    "While I didn''t like my brother," sliding his right foot slightly backward, he readied his body to unleash his full potential. "I''ll certainly enjoy avenging him by killing you two!"

    With a jolt, he turned into a stream of silver light and disappeared into a collection of mercury portals that had opened all around the corridor. For a moment, the duo was confused about where he went, but as a giant fist of mercury emerged from a portal right above them, both of them knew exactly what was happening.

    ''Time Magic!'' Before the fist could make it to their heads, Asmodia slowed down time to give them enough time to get out of its trajectory.

    ''Transformation?'' Haruki asked Asmodia, just to confirm his suspicion.

    ''I suppose, possibly the same as your shadow monster.'' Asmodia replied.

    Although the two were safe from the first strike, as the hand came down to the floor, it smashed right through and sent the whole ce crumbling to the lower levels. And as if that wasn''t enough, the shock from the sudden disappearance of the floor made Asmodia''s spelle undone due to shock.

    "Don''t underestimate me, you weaklings!" Following Dominion''s warning, all the portals disappeared while the three demons were still falling, and before they hit the ground, they were all grabbed by crushing fists of metal. "I''ll crush you to death!"

    "As if I''ll let you," Haruki mocked, the white of eyes turning into absolute dark.

    ''He''s gonna kill us all¡­'' Thought Asmodia, letting out a sigh.

 Chapter 294 294 - Tarnished Blood

    "Are you sure about this, Haruki?" Days before the battle with Dominion, hungry for power Haruki traded the very blood in his body for poison. "You will die if you drink from the chalice."

    Asmodia''s warnings were not the least concerning for him, for he had figured out a loophole to continuously revive himself after dying. Yet fearing things might get a little tricky, Asmodia wanted him to think his ns through before going forward with what he was about to do.

    "Only one of us can die at a time, and their soul travels into the other''s vessel, correct?" standing before the blood chalice filled with the tainted blood of the creator, Haruki pressed his onto its side and shifted his gaze to Asmodia to the side.

    "That''s right, but, even I think drinking that is an insane idea!" Asmodiained.

    Thankfully, all alone in an isted dungeon portal, there was nobody to overhear their conversation or even watch Harukimit to his own death. Having already created a clone for Asmodia which could temporarily house her soul before corroding from her strength, all he had to do was gain immunity to the poisonous blood.

    "For now, that body of yours is also part of me, as long as I can be revived before the clone corrodes, we''re both going to be fine and I''d be much strongering on the other end," hoping to drain power through the contact of the blood much like he''d done with the dragon scale to turn into a dragon, Haruki waspletely blindsided to the side effects that the poison may carry.

    Letting out an exhausted sigh, Asmodia shook her head in defeat and decided to step away from the poison chalice. Conjuring a chair under her, she sat down at a safe distance in case Haruki''s poisoned body began oozing the toxins onto her.

    ''Drinking a dead god''s blood, and willing to die, I suppose I severely underestimated how much he desires strength after Moriyana died before him.'' Keeping her own emotions shadowed under a veil of indifference, the mistress of darkness was letting her heart rot from the inside out. Gone with her daughter was her longing to create, which in turn made her affinity to creation utterly useless. ''She was¡­My best specimen.''

    Brushing it all off her mind, Asmodia focused on the sight in front. Flying over the rim of the chalice, Haruki scooped out the poison in a ss potion vial. Then getting back onto the ground, he took a deep breath and began downing the entire bottle.

    "Slow down time so my body has more time to get garner immunity," Haruki requested, his eyes turning dark already.

    "You''ve picked your poison, who am I to deny you suffering?" Slowing down time, Asmodia prepared herself to watch the most grueling deaths in her life.

    ***

    "Tainted blood!" Held in Dominion''s transformed arms of mercury, Haruki unleashed the poison that had now reced his own blood.

    Seeping into Dominion''s body, the blood quickly tainted even the poisonous mercury. And by the time the three demons finally hit the ground alongside the crumbling rubble, the entirety of Dominion''s hands were painted in a gruesome red that ate away at his malformed body.

    "Aughhh! Wha-Gurrhh!" As if a fire was burning under his skin, Dominion was forced to let go of the unbearable pain. Growling out the hurt from beyond the closed portals, he unintentionally announced his suffering to the entire world. "WHAT IS THIS?! IT BURN!"

    Free from the giant hands, Haruki blinked his eyes a few times to drive the poison away from the sclera of his eyes. Once the dark area turned back to white, he helped Riley get back to her feet with shadow hands. Asmodia on the other end, has already gotten back on her feet and was busy dusting the rubbles off of her dress.

    "Where the hell is he now?" Asmodia asked, seeing no open portals around them at all.

    As if answering her call, a giant pair of metal arms sprang right out of a portal above them. Still bleeding with poison, they formed into fists and thrashed right onto Haruki and hispanions. However, this time, before the fists could make contact with them or the floor, the lord of lustbined the poison blood and darkness to create spikes that tore through the fist as they came down.

    "Ugghhh! Y-You! You mortals!" Dominion screamed again as he retreated his arms back into the portal, but this time as it was stabbed right through his fist, he couldn''t get it off of them.

    ''I''ll need some time topensate for the blood, that was thest of it for now.'' Haruki conveyed to Asmodia through his mind.

    Even though his body was teeming with toxins, there was a limit to how much he could produce at a time, and although he''d tried to conserve some of it by retreating it off his skin, the sudden attacks from the fists had forced him to use all of what was remaining.

    "Now what?" Asked Asmodia, her strength is still heavily limited because of the corrosive nature of the clone.

    "I call him back," speaking out casually, Haruki stretched his arm upwards and recalled the blood spikes to be absorbed back into him.

    At first, nothing happened at all, but after a few seconds passed, the stabbed arms tore through the realm and dragged themselves toward Haruki''s outstretched fists.

    "What the?!" Shocked by the strange phenomenon, Dominion desperately tried to stay inside the realm tear, but with the spikes draining Haruki''s blood inside him, his whole body was being drawn back to him.

    Opening a giant dungeon portal right before his fingers, Haruki drew Dominion''s arms inside, and slowly even revealed what was at the base of the countless hands. Forced out of the realm tear, a giant blob of gooey metal had conformed to be Dominion''s transformation capable of creating countless mercury limbs that poisoned everything they touched.

    However, since Haruki had acquired immunity to a much more powerful toxin, even his clone of Asmodia and him werepletely fine dealing with the mercury. As for Riley, the very blessing that she had cursed not too long ago was keeping her from sumbing to the toxins.

    "My strength it-" Losing more and more of his strength as the poison spread inside him, Dominion was on the verge of losing consciousness.

    "Let me help," Asmodia said, conjuring up tentacle-like dark vines that jammed Dominion inside the portal against his will.

    "Now stay there," closing the portal, Haruki curled his fingers into a fist and brought it closer to his thumping heart.

    Drawing deep breaths to recover from the stress the poison had put him through, he was forced to take a knee, and just let the pain grip his every muscle. Like a water cramp in the legs, his body squeezed inward and even his brain was shot with a headache that blurred his vision in a mess of two.

    "Rejuvi-"

    Before he could heal himself, a sudden kiss from Asmodia on his cheeks, stripped the pain away. Confused, he looked at his shaky hands before turning to the queen of dark. Making her way towards Riley, she kissed her on the cheeks and healed what few wounds she had left on her body.

    "That poison was your own choosing, I don''t feel sorry for the hurt it causes you," Asmodia muttered, turning around to look at Haruki.

    "I don''t need your pity, I could''ve healed myself," Harukiined in response before propping himself back on his feet.

    "I don''t mean to interrupt your banter, but there is a war still going on outside," being the voice of reason, Riley reminded the two of the current situation. "And master, if you don''t mind me asking, can''t just Dominion escape with his portal when he wakes up?"

    Moving his head in a negating manner, Harukiid out another part of his n.

    "Don''t worry, I can manipte the dungeon, however, I want, and since it''s attached to me directly, I''ll be pumping Dominion''s body full of my own blood so he can''t way up anytime soon," going even further, Haruki had already filled up an entire dungeon room with jars of his toxic blood; which Lulu the tentacle familiar was responsible to shoot into Dominion from time to time. "Anyways, let''s get this war over and have the goblin queen start her research on that demi-god."

    Opening a portal that led right outside the castle, Haruki walked through it with Asmodia and Riley in tow. Coming out on the other end, the three were standing at the now burning gardens that seemed to have been a site for a recent battle.

    "The portal must be closed now, and with nobody to direct the army, the royal guards shouldn''tst that long," grabbing Asmodia''s hand abruptly, the lord of lust sucked her back into his body. "Riley, you go on ahead and tell Margarette to retreat with her troops, I''ll meet up with Rose and Klian, those two must be itching to show off their full potential."

    Quickly giving out orders, Haruki took to the wind to finish this war that has been going on for far too long.

 Chapter 295 295 - A Thousand Shackles On My Wrists

    ?

    Bound by chains sizzling from the mes of hell, a dragony resting in a range of mountains flowing with fire. The heat blossomed life, a dozen at a time, the heads of feisty dragons would crack out of their shells. Coddled in the warmth of their mothers'' wings, the children grew with full bellies and love enough to spoil them rotten.

    However, amongst these hatchlings, one child was often left neglected, for his father was chained by a thousand binds and its mother long dead. It would crawl and cry until some of the scraps left by the others would make it in through his razor teeth. Even then, he would be scolded and eyed, but thankfully, being a hatchling came with the privilege of not caring for people''s mockery toward him.

    But s, with his mother lost in the past, and his father bound to chains by the dominion of hell, the child perished, with but a scale of its existence left behind as memory. Furious, the father struggled against the chains holding him down, but his struggles only served to remind him that he was nothingpared to those who existed beyond the realities of his world.

    Klianstien Ironfrost, a dragon that once threatened the throne of the deep lord, was forced into captivity while his betrothed perished trying to prevent it all from happening. Their child born in his father''s image was neglected by the pride of dragons, and despite his sister''s numerous attempts to approach the hatchling, her me only made the young frost dragon suffer even more.

    With time as Klian grew weaker than his prime, the chain too grew weaker until eventually he and his sister were able to tear them off. By then, however, something far more menacing had presented itself to their valley as the god of this world brought them the dragon yer that ughtered all but the two straying dragons.

    And in a foolish attempt to get back at the humans, Klian froze countless human viges with his breath, while his sister tried her best to steer him back to his senses. Maddened in rage, and unwilling to be captured or killed, Klianstein Ironfrost became a menace that froze so many that he wiped legions of families right out of existence. Soon enough, however, Rose and him were both captured for their crimes and in a plea to let his brother be spared, she became a ve to the soon-to-be father of her children.

    "This chaos, it reminds me of-"

    "Don''t say it," back in the present time, Rose hushed her brother as they looked at the half-frozen half burnt city of Hestemia.

    The battlested not more than a few minutes when the demonic army had retreated to safety so the dragons could be as reckless as they wanted to be. Now left with a city of rubble, and tortured souls burned or crushed inside it, the two dragons reminisced over their tragic past.

    "The rest of the army left in the emperor''s domain¡­" Turning to his sister, Klian suggested a n he had in mind. "From what I remember, that Nabe devil girl confessed that the other war generals have left the emperor''s castle, I doubt the guards will be able to defend themselves against us if that''s the case."

    Rose took a moment to mull over the idea, however, the chance to get revenge on the army that had yed her pride, she just couldn''t let the chance slip even if there was bound to be danger. Shifting her gaze away from the city, Rose looked at her brother with a bright, genuine smile.

    "Had it been any other time I would have smacked you in the head for suggesting this, but even if the dragon yer was there, I couldn''t say no to carnage after this, can I?" Letting her intentions be known, Rose called upon her son, Hawthorn to teleport them as close to the emperor''s domain as possible.

    With a devilish smirk, Klian let out a hearty cackle, and before long the two disappeared far away from the skies of Hestemia.

    ***

    Handing the war over to the dragons, Haruki teleported everyone into a dungeon portal and then when bing certain of their safety, he made use of Asmodia''s powers to take them all through the otherworld. The demons had no trouble traveling in a straight path to the bright door waiting for them at the end of the eversting dark, the monsters and human prisoners on the other hand turned into small conjoined balls of mass that had to be carried by the demonic army.

    Passing through the door, they arrived at the vige of elves that was once home to countless elves before they were chased off by the Lamenian army. At the very sight of their overgrown home, the few elves that were left in Margarette''s army were delighted to be back, except for a few who were deeply hurt by the haunting memories of what happened thest time they were here.

    "They were all supposed to be under Moriyana''s mind control spell, keep an eye on them, and if they act up, slice their throats with no restraints," noticing their gloom as well as joy, Haruki ordered Riley to keep a close look on them all.

    ''That red-headed elf, Amara Natura, she reminds me too much of Moriyana, it doesn''t help that she''s the general of the elves or I would''ve gotten rid of her.'' ring right at the beaming elven general, Haruki wasn''t shy about his fascination with the beauty, but contrary to the assumption of those who noticed, he had nothing good in mind.

    "I''ll be off then," Riley said before rushing past Haruki.

    Brought back to his senses by a gust of wind as she passed, Haruki turned back to his otherpanions standing behind him. Apart from his close aides, every other demon lord was also present behind him. Having no clue or direction about what to do without their powers Reya, Dues, and Inferno were obviously lost, while Mercie and us didn''t seem too pleased for being forced to tag along.

    "You peeps chatter, I''m tired of being with babying you all," saying that, us swiftly excused himself and walked away to admire the natural beauty of the overgrown elven city. Being half-elf himself, he was more fascinated by its remains than anything Haruki was going to talk to them about.

    "All of you can rest as well, I doubt we''ll need to fight any threat anytime soon now," Haruki advised, confident in his judgment.

    And with As now gone, and the human popce down to a few thousand in the world, the demon lords truly had no reason to worry about fanatics of the dead god. Sending them off to find a ce to stay, Haruki shifted his attention to the others, but before he could say anything Ste jumped closer to him with a look of rage and her hands ced on her hips as if acting defiantly.

    "Why did we have to kill all those people?" Sheined, her tall frame slightly shadowing Haruki at this point.

    "Fay, take Ste away," looking past her, Haruki locked his eyes with her mother.

    Weighted with heavy eye bags, Fay seemed drained for having already held Ste back for so long. Even then, she simply let her shoulders down and mbered onto her daughter''s arm to drag her away.

    "Ste,e with me, and please, don''t make this difficult. I''m starving for sleep," despite being a demon that didn''t require sleep to function, Fay''s level of exhaustion had gone so high that her immortal body was struggling to keep up.

    "But!"

    "Shush!" Margarette stomped her feet against the ground before the little rascal couldin any further.

    Astounded by her strict aunt''s action, Ste jolted forward and bumped into Haruki''s head. Although it didn''t affect the demon lord at all, his daughter fell to the ground and a slight dose of poison rippled through his skin.

    "Ouch!" Ste cried, falling onto the ground.

    ''She has grown too fast to be an adult.'' Was the general thought of everyone surrounding the girl before Haruki picked her up using a gentle pair of shadow hands.

    "Okay, now that''s Ste, I want you t-" Right as Fay tried to grab her daughter again, she felt her weight leaningpletely over her body from the side. As she turned her head, Ste was suddenly fast asleep from the small dose of poison that had just invaded her intricate biology. "I guess, she was tired too."

    Having no clue about the changes in Haruki''s body, Fay picked the most convenient guess as it would help her get to sleep as soon as possible. After a while, as she stumbled away with Ste''s much taller body in her arms, Haruki dismissed everyone else as well except for Asuka.

    "Your lips¡­" Taking a closer look at her, Haruki noticed the cherry color had turned slightly pale. "Rejuvenation¡­There."

    Healing the effect of the poison he''d left behind after their kiss, he sent her off as well as quickly as possible. The strange actions by her master were troubling Asuka quite much, however chalking it up to fatigue, she didn''t think much of it just yet.

    ''He did suck all of my levels at once, maybe that¡­No, it must''ve been his fight with Dominion that drained him so much.'' Exploring her thoughts, she quickly joined the others and left Haruki alone for the moment.

    ''Your touch has be a toxin, I told you there will be repercussions!'' Asmodiained to him, but Haruki simply ignored her piercing voice.

    ''She''ll be dead once I''m done with taking over this world and killing that fucking Valkyrie.'' Isting his thoughts to himself through multi-thought procession, Haruki managed to fool Asmodia into reading the empty process in his mind that was thinking absolutely nothing.

    "Master Haruki!" Breaking his time in a lonesome, a barely familiar voice called out to him.

    ncing over in the direction of the voice, he noticed a horned demon dragging a human prisoner toward him. But even more so, what interested him more were the dried streams of tears running down her pinkish cheeks.

    "Master, I-I''m Greta, I am-No! I was¡­" Lowering her head, she struggled to speak through her quaking lips. "I was Miss Moriyana''s general, and I-I Just wanted to ask what to do with this human?"

    "Hmm?" Looking up at the human standing, Haruki was somewhat baffled to see a familiar face. "Maria, the overseer of the Lamenian council, I thought you might''ve died by now."

    Gulping in fear, Maria bowed to Haruki until her head was pressed against the ground.

    "The emperor threw me in a dungeon after I made the deal with Queen Margarette to hand over Lamenia, but please, oh lord, please! Don''t throw me back there!" Peering up with pleading eyes, she begged for better treatment than the rest.

    Bringing his foot under her chin, Haruki gave it a gentle tap and coursed her body with crippling poison. Shriveling up in an instant, Maria couldn''t even keep her mouth open to scream. Her muscles began contracting and her mind began steaming out fumes.

    "What?!" Crawling away in fear, Greta had no clue what had happened to her.

    "If she survives, heal her up with potions and offer her body to the male soldiers so they can blow off some steam from the war we''ve just been through," with that, Haruki too decided to retire to sleep.

 Chapter 296 296 - The Prince Of Darkness

    ?

    "I supposed it''s my very fault for coercing him into leading a decaying world," looking at the new lord of lust through a decorated golden mirror, held by a pair of enraged lions, Helga scoffed at her own powerlessness. "Even if I desire to take you down, leaving the world to crumble, at least just yet, would be far from ideal when there''s still potential."

    ''Not to mention, I''m destined to bring the end not cause it with my own hands.'' Despite the mask of neutrality towards thend of As, the Valkyrie queen didn''t want the world to fall, especially since it was thest of a few things the creator had made by his own loving hands. All alone in her expansive tent of pure white cloth, she leaped off of her chair and paced with angst.

    ''Why did he curse me to bring the world''s end?'' She questioned herself, assuming that voicing her concerns would help her mind to be at ease. In reality, it had quite the contrary effect, as the more she rifled through her thoughts for answers, the more her mind was consumed by unease. ''God! Why are they such handfuls?''

    "My queen!" With harrowingly deep breaths, a guardian Valkyrie stormed into the queen''s tent.

    Pulled right out of her thoughts, Helga turned to the curtains separating the entrance and her private room deeper indoors. But instead of a reply, what she heard were hasty breaths struggling to speak, and a fit of coughs followed soon after.

    "I asked, who''s there?!" Moving out towards the entrance, Helga pped the curtains to the side and was finally greeted with the blood-gushed face of a Valkyrie. "What in the¡­"

    As her eyes met her pupil she noticed a reddened glow in her pupils, something she''d never seen in any other Valkyrie. With caution, she moved towards the girl while conjuring a spear of true holy magic in her hand in case something demonic had taken hold of her mind.

    "T-The other!" Looking up, the guardian red straight into Helga''s eyes. "The angels u-under you! They''ve revolted!"

    "A pack of angels did this to you?" Confounded by the flimsy logic, Helga stopped herself from approaching the Valkyrie any further.

    "Yes! I swear I-"

    "Then you''re no Valkyrie, you hellspawn!" Before the corrupted vessel could finish her words, Helga plunged the golden spear right through her throat.

    At first, the girl mbered onto the weapon and tried to take it out all the while her screams were drowned under her own blood. Finally, when her limbs went limp, Helga slid her throat entirely before drawing the spear back.

    "Ahaha¡­" The head rolling on the floorughed in ecstasy. "How?"

    "You reek of hell, as always," Helgained, letting her spear disappear into thin air.

    "And you killed a girl based on that simple scent?" The grumbling voice asked, its eyes ring at the queen with a cheeky smile.

    "If she was a Valkyrie, she would''ve been revived at the fountain of life even if I killed her," The queen exined, her feet taking her toward a corporeal weapon on their own. Picking up a halberd from the weapon''s rack, she gripped it firm before turning back to the head on the ground. "Another mistake that you made, princes of darkness, was assuming I''d keep any angels alive who served under a failed god."

    ''Except Melicia, she''s-''

    "Except Melicia, she''s what?" The head read her thoughts and even spoke them out loud. "Go on, let me read some more, I''d quite an avid reader, but I''m not too fond of cliffhangers sweetheart."

    Repulsed by having her mind read by the prince of hell, Helga clenched her jaws and moved the tip of the halberd right against his forehead.

    "What do you want?" She asked, her fangsying bare as a warning.

    The head cackled once more, but this time along with itsughs, a screen of smog coiled up into the air. Masking the head and the rest of the body, it quickly conformed into a humanoid frame.

    "This new god that you''ve elected without a cast of my vote," speaking as a legion of voices, the prince''s eyes glowed a silver. Staring deep into Helga''s eyes, he tried to put her into a charm but failed as miserably as ever. "When the creator assigned us our roles, I do not remember him mentioning anything about you possessing thest say."

    "Barely a soul knows of your existence, it''s easy to forget someone when nobody brings their filthy memories up," even more enraged by his attempt to charm her, Helga tried slicing through his body of fumes, but it passed right through the smog. "Ughhhh, you cheeky fucker!"

    Taken aback by her foulnguage, the prince wondered if he''d stumbled into a different Valkyrie with the same name as the queen.

    "I thought Valkyries didn''t swear, was that a lie, or are you an imposter now that you''ve defied the lord''s wishes yourself?" The prince kept trying to agitate her some more, but seeing through his mask, Helga refused to y anymore.

    "So what if I gave him a chance? As if that mutt can be a real god!" She growled yet again.

    "I don''t know about god," turning to the side, the prince began moving around the room and checked everything that caught his fancy by picking it up and inspecting it by moving it closer to his eyes. "But he''s surely on a path to give me somepetition with those genocidal wars he''smitted to."

    For once Helga chuckled at the thought of Haruki recing the prince of hell. To her, the prospect sounded much more agreeable than him actually pulling off a miracle to gain the title of a god.

    "I guess that''d be the only boon toe out of this mistake then," chuckling some more, she raised her weapon and held it pointed towards the prince''s back. "Now I''d suggest you be gone, you''ve amused me enough as a temporary jester, but even jesters in this world have standards."

    "I suspected as much," mping down on a gem he''d foundying on a desk, the prince turned his head to the queen with a gentle smile. "Besides, I''m not the onlypany you''d be having soon."

    The moment he finished his sentence, an encirclement of spears tore into the tent''s fabric and pierced through his body of fumes. However, instead of simply passing through, this time, the prince burst into a cloud of mist and disappeared like a popped balloon.

    "Are you alright my queen?!" Rushing in from all directions, the Valkyries hade to their queen''s rescue with spears, swords, halberds, and armor. "Are you hurt anywhere? Should we bring the fountain''s water?"

    Their voices faded into a mush of noise in the face of thest words uttered by the prince before he disappeared.

    ''More visitors? Who could that be?'' With only Melicia and her choir alive in terms of angels, Helga couldn''t imagine anyone else making it to Valha in any way possible. Isted far away for even the gods, much like hell, only those designed to be there could ever set foot on thesends. ''As if it matters who it is, there''s only one thing for me to do!''

    "Expect more intruders soon and prepare ordingly!" Stomping her feet, the queen pulled everyone out of their troubled state of mind. Her stomp was so ingrained in their training, that at this point every one of them subconsciously got themselves into a chivalrous stance.

    "If needed throw your lives away as many times as it takes, and remember despite the countless deaths you were designed to be triumphant!" With that order, the queen walked out of the encirclement and busied herself in preparation for whatever was toe their way.

    Much like the queen, the soon-to-be intruders in the faraway feralnds were in for a surprise on their trip to find the dead god''s body. Making it back to his people, Michael wasn''t greeted with as much fanfare as Razor had expected, instead what he received was doubtful eyes and scorn. Much of which could be attributed to the fact that they had no clue about As''s death.

    And thus to shoo off the suspected spies, the elves worked together over the days to find every clue about a disturbance in the realms. At the end of it all, the only thing they could find was theck of spirits and fairies running through their forests.

    "So we know literally nothing else than the fact that fairies aren''t being born in these woods?" Asked Razor, following Michael through the woods.

    "Think about it Razor, why would no new fairies be born all of a sudden?" Michael spelled him a question instead of what he was expecting.

    Tired of the mud and dirt, Razor was in no mood for riddles, and he let it be known with an annoyed grunt grumbling through his throat.

    "Much like a bee hive, if the queen dies so does the entire colony," Michael''s response puzzled Razor for a brief moment before he finally figured it out.

    "The queen is dead," he muttered, knowing just enough about who the queen was.

    "The emperor, he was talking about an heir, and guess who''s the only one capable of birthing a god?" Stopping at an opening, Michael turned around to look right at Razor.

    "Another god, who else?" As the realization set in, Razor''s face contorted in rage. "No wonder Dominion was pissed off with him, he slept with the daughter of a murderer after all."

    "That right, but forget about it for now, and remember your promise," reminding Razor of the promise they made, Michael peered upwards to the sight of a tearing sky. "Because our ride to that same daughter is here."

    Following the elf''s gaze, Razor''s eyes widened at the sight of Melicia''s bloody hands descending toward them with grace.

    "How did you do?" Razor asked, his voice quaking with a nervous jitter of joy.

    "I''ve killed enough to gain her favor once or twice," although the reply came from Michael, it was the dragon yer who was truly speaking.

 Chapter 297 297 - The Realm Of Valkyries

    ?

    Down on his knees, Razor ran his fingers over dried blood spread across what used to be the spirit queen''s throne. With her gone, the ever-flowing fountain had stopped all flow of water, ultimately resulting in the death of the once lushnd, and now a dry, barren forest.

    Huffing out a sigh, Razor rose back to his feet. Turning to Michael who was keeping guard from the disgruntled spirits and dying fairies, he pressed his lips shut for a moment before speaking.

    "The witch was right, that''s the emperor''s blood I can sense him through it," shifting his gaze to yet another driedyer of blood on the ground, Razor''s eyes squinted with scorn. "And amongst the others, there''s that ve trader girl''s blood who was trapped with me in the torturous illusion by Asmodia."

    "So there definitely was a confrontation that happened here, but why exactly?" Michael mumbled to himself.

    "I still don''t understand why she told us only half of what we need to know," Razorined.

    "Well¡­" Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Michael raised his head to the skies to Melicia again. "Thanks to her, at least we know where his body is."

    Moving closer to Michael, Razor followed his gaze upwards to the sight of the bloody hands reaching for them on the ground.

    "A Valkyrie, was it? I wonder what kind of monster it is to be capable of killing a god?" Having no clue about Valkyries, Razor was curious to meet them.

    "I would''ve preferred if we didn''t have to find out," Michael on the other hand wasn''t too enthusiastic about their next trip.

    Taken by the arms of the witch, the two traveled through an unusually expansive realm tear overrun with bright light and an overall sense of enlightenment. Coming out on the other end, however, their senses were overwhelmed by what they had seen and it took a while for their eyes to adjust back to normal.

    When they did, however, they were met with an astounding surprise. Standing in the middle of an army of armored warriors with feathered helmets and gold glistering armor, the war generals were more than a little confused about the situation.

    ''Are these the Valkyries?'' Though Razor, slowly reaching for his sword to defend himself in case they tried anything.

    "Don''t you dare make that mistake!" A feminine voice thundered in a warning.

    Making a straight path in the middle, the soldiers subsided for their queen to step forward. d in a golden armor that glistered enough to blind the brightest angels, Helga marched towards the generals with her golden staff stomping the ground with her every step. Scanning her up and down, the generals were both lost in fascination with her angelic attire.

    Spanning a pair of lush white wings, Helga encharmed the men with her beauty, not through some primal urge, but the sheer grace that fluttered like her fair skirt.

    "Keep your hand off of your weapons mortal," stopping before the two, Helga handed her staff to an attendant so she could be on even ground with the two. "Now spare me the niceties, and out with your reason to be here already!"

    Although she no longer held the staff, her attendant stomped it on the ground for her to emphasize the words further. However, being who they were, instead of being subdued further, the generals picked up on their attempt at maniption and heightened their psychological defense.

    "We''re for the emperor''s body," Razor spat out, confidently taking a step toward the queen.

    The other Valkyries responded by directing their de in the direction of his head. Even then, as arrogant as always, Razor simply scoffed it off without backing away.

    "And why do you need his body?" Helga asked, moving inches away from Razor''s face.

    Her eyes shielded behind the helm visor, Razor couldn''t judge her state of mind from her lower face alone. Yet, as his eyes wandered through her fair skin, he once again felt himself drawn by the charm of her plum lips.

    ''Is it just me or her whole body is glowing with a glistering light?'' Razor mused as he had never seen anything more angelic than her.

    "We n to bury it on As," breaking his train of thought, Michael answered Helga from the back. Moving forward as well, the elf pulled Razor away from the enchantress. "But before that, how about you confess why you had to kill him? Depending on your answer, a lot could change so be careful."

    "What did you say?" Brushing Razor aside with the back of her hand, Helga moved in front of Michael and lifted her vision to look at him directly. "Care to say that again fellow elven?"

    Gazing into her emerald eyes, Michael was quite shocked to find that the Valkyrie in front of him was at least part elf. Fascinated by it all, he wanted to ask so many things, but the situation demanded otherwise.

    "Just hand us the body and we''ll be out of your hair," shaking his head he pulled himself out of yet another trance and quickly stepped away from the queen of warriors.

    "That''s right," swiftly moving between the two. Razor decided to be the voice of reason for once. "I just want to bury him on thend he ruled, not wherever this ce is, and believe me, I don''t mean that in a bad way."

    The queen nced between the two men before shifting her gaze to her attendant standing by the side. With a nod, she sent her off somewhere to prepare for something that she already had in mind.

    ''I can''t kill these two, they''re neither heavenly bodies nor a threat to their world. And besides, '' Taking the staff back in her hand before the attendant left, Helga turned back to the general. ''They''re both warriors who stood toe to toe against some of the most vile beasts on As, I can''t deny them that.''

    "Fine, but we can''t hand him over to you just yet," stomping her staff to the ground, she motioned them to follow behind her. "We''ll need some time to prepare his send-off so nobody can make use of his flesh, bones, or any organs."

    Walking behind her, the generals could feel Valkyries ring them down from both sides. Paying them little mind the two kept their eyes fixed on the road ahead.

    "And what are you going to do to him exactly?" Razor asked, curious about what they were going to do.

    "With a curse, the most effective way of dealing with mortal and even subjective immortals like demons," Helga exined, continuing on down the path through the city.

    ''I doubt she''ll let us take it with us without the precaution.'' Although he would''ve preferred to take him back without any altercations, if the curse is what it took to get him back, then Razor was willing topromise on that end.

    On their tour through the ever-bright city of Valkyries, the generals noticed numerous decorations scattered all around. Amongst them, the thing that caught their attention the most was the pair of lions engraved on every fountain and column supporting nothing at all. The city itself consisted mostly of expansive white tents and barracks that housed the younger Valkyries.

    "Your name, you never told us what it was," led inside an empty tent, Michael could no longer hold his curiosity about the elf.

    "I¡­" Turning around to face him inside the tent, Helga crossed her arms before continuing. "I used to be known as Freya, but then I died and the caretakers renamed me as a newborn to be Helga."

    "What?" His eyes squinted in confusion, Razor didn''t understand a word of what she said.

    Rebirth and revival weren''t a foreign concept to the general, but to be reborn as an infant was utterly unheard of. Not big on exnations, the queen moved between the two and headed towards the curtained entrance.

    "Make yourselffortable for now, you can take As back to your world once the body can''t be touched by Arians," with those words, Helga left the two alone.

    In the brief moment the curtain opened as she left, the two noticed a group of guards being stationed right outside their tent. While the two may have been weed to stay, the Valkyries made it abundantly clear that they had no intentions to be their friends.

    "Getfortable with a gazillion guards outside, yeah, right," getting especially close to the curtains, Razorined loud enough so the Valkyries outside could hear him.

    Pulling him away from the curtains, Michael scoffed in frustration.

    "What the hell are you doing? There are a thousand of them and two of us!" squeezing his shoulders with great strength, Michael looked right into his eyes and spoke again. "I doubt you were ever told this as a human, but don''t pick a fight in and where your presence is only tolerated not wanted."

    As an elf, there have been many times when Michael had felt disdain hurled at him through looks, and despite here, despite not being the only elven, he was feeling much the same way. Razor on the other end, had never experienced such discrimination and thus had no clue to the repercussions that could follow.

    "Whatever," rolling his eyes, Razor brushed Michael''s hands off his shoulders and moved deeper into the tent to get some rest as he''d been advised. "I used to be an adventurer, you know, dealing with monsters wouldn''t be anything new for me."

    Watching him as he walked away, Michael couldn''t believe he still saw people through the lens of their race.

    ''Old habits die hard.'' Was all that ran through Michael''s head.

    "I hope our stay doesn''t extend a minute longer," mumbling to himself he decided to get into a chair to rest his body as well.

 Chapter 298 298 - Stitching The Remains

    ?

    "Finally, it''s time for you to wake up," surrounded by Serena''s followers, Haruki gently ran his gloved hands over her smooth skin. Resting a thumb over her lips, he could feel her body breathe, but there being no soul to fuel conscious action, she''d been like a sleeping doll cased in a shrine.

    "Master, all preparations have been made, can we begin?" Standing beside Haruki, an acolyte of Serena asked.

    "Yeah¡­" Without looking away Haruki reached into a dungeon pocket and took out the mason jar holding Serena''s soul. Shifting his gaze to the follower by him, he quickly handed her the soul and took a step away from the spotlight. "Fay has worked on the soul already, you just need to take it out and let it dissolve into her forehead."

    Visibly a bit shaken, the girl didn''t seem all that confident in attempting the procedure despite the simple instructions. Turning her head to the others, she noticed them flinch backward so they wouldn''t have to take her ce.

    "Uh¡­Can you not do it?" Looking back at Haruki, she pressed her lips into an awkward smile. "What if I mess it up? Everyone will me me."

    "I¡­" Closing his eyes for a moment, Haruki was reminded of the poison coursing through his body. Touching the soul directly even if it was through a pair of globes was not in the list of options. "Just do it, Imand you."

    Forced into it by amand, the girl turned to Serena with jittery eyes. Feeling her heart pumping with adrenaline, she drew long deep breaths to calm herself while reaching into the mason jar.

    "O-okay, but if anything goes wrong, it''s not my fault!" Pinching the marbled soul between her fingers, she closed her eyes shut. Gritting her teeth to power through the spiking tension, she brought the soul out of the container and moved it over Serena''s body. "Here I¡­go!"

    Opening her eyes back up, she didn''t let her mind think too much and just pressed the soul onto the priestess''s forehead. Instantly shattering in two, the soul marble emitted a surge of blinding light, almost blinding the heightened senses of the demons present in the room. However, what baffled them even more wasn''t the shattered soul itself, but a bright crossed mark on Serena''s forehead through which a child-like dark hand sped the shattered pieces and pulled them into the body.

    "Ehehehe!" As the light began to dissipate, the giggles of a young deviant could be heard echoing throughout the shrine''s room.

    "Wh-what was that?! And did it work?!" The girl turned to Haruki, even more flustered than before.

    ''Just like when I signed the contract, a dark presence controls covenants and such in this world.'' Reminded of the time he''d seen something simr after signing the new contract with Asmodia, Haruki grew quite curious about the nature of the being.

    ''For now, it''s not an enemy is all we need to know.'' Asmodia told him through their conjoined thoughts. And although she herself had no clue what the creature was, admitting to it when she once wrote the fate of the world, wasn''t something she could do. ''If we have luck, that creature is nothing like the Valkyries.''

    ''That we can agree on.'' Haruki replied, seeming lost in his own thoughts to the others.

    "Please say something!" The female follower screamed, bringing Haruki back to the conscious world.

    "W-where? Where is this?" Before he could say anything to her, however, the longed voice of Serena broke into the shrine room.

    Hearing their master talk again, a ripple of joyous gasps left the acolyte''s mouths. Moving closer to the elevated tform over which Serena wasying, they stared at her with a smile and even an ecstaticugh here and there.

    "This took too long," getting closer to Serena once again, Haruki looked her in the eyes with a subtle hint of shame. "I''m sorry."

    For a spell of time, Serena red at Haruki with her eyes squinted nearly shut. With the hood from his cloak looming over him, and the mature expression on his face, she couldn''t recognize him at first nce.

    "Haruki?" As the realization set in, however, her eyes bright up like a pair of stars. Reaching up with her arms, she tried to hug him the very next instant, but administering caution, Haruki took a step away from her. "What¡­Why did you?"

    "You shouldn''t move recklessly,y down and rest for a bit before getting up," offering a false reason, Haruki began stepping further away from her. Turning to the acolytes, he gestured with them to take care of her before turning around to leave. "I''ll see you once you feel better, and have had some food in your system after so long."

    Watching Haruki trying to leave, Serena tried to get off the bed, but with her body no longer used to such a sudden moment, her heartbeat jumped aggressively; making her clutch tight against her chest. Breathing heavily as the acolytes rushed closer in fear of something happening to her, Serena kept her eyes fixed on Haruki until he left through the shrine door.

    ''What has happened since I wasst conscious?!'' She thought, and before her mind could conjure another thought, she began throwing up.

    "Your Highnessy down!"

    "Eekk! Don''t move so much!"

    "Let me get a towel!"

    Thankfully for her, the acolytes were more thanpetent to take care of her. In the meantime, Haruki still had a lot to do, one of which happened to be confronting the devil general Nabe, and figuring out her true intentions foring to find Haruki''spanions.

    "Greta, was it?" Coming out of the shrine, he was greeted by Moriyana''s general.

    "Yes, sir!" Great replied, bowing lightly to Haruki.

    "Any progress with her?" He asked, trying to get all the information he could before meeting up with her again.

    Lifting her head back up, Greta looked up at Haruki and nodded.

    "The poison you''ve provided has worked wonders, she''d been utterly crippled and brainwashed to answer questions," a bit surprised by her efficiency, Haruki couldn''t help but smile.

    "Ahaha, no wonder Moriyana trusted you," cing his gloved hand on her shoulder, he let out yet another chuckle. "Now go and bring the monster queens to my chambers, I need them to start experimenting on Dominion, and also it''s about time I turned them into demons before they age too much."

    Walking past her after giving her the orders, Haruki made his way to his log cabin chamber in the replica of the minotaur dungeon. On his way there, even amongst his remaining fellow demons, he received suspect nces as they knew something about him was off from how he used to be, but couldn''t figure out what it was actually.

    "Do your jobs!" Not being able to hold his rage any longer, Haruki scared them straight with a scream that echoed throughout the dungeon.

    ''You can''t hide the truth for long, you know? That poison in you is making you bitter, and I''m just talking about the way your blood might taste.'' Unlike the rest, Haruki couldn''t really do anything about Asmodia''s whispers in his head, even though he really wanted her to shut up.

    "Clone: Asmodia Archangelieus Remure," creating a clone of her, Haruki forced her consciousness into it so he could get away from her for a while. "Go throw your advice on down on some demons you can manipte!"

    In absolute shock from being forced into another body, Asmodia watched as Haruki didn''t even look back at her and kept walking. Engaged, she frowned deeply and turned to a floating gust of mist before appearing in front of Haruki.

    "You dare!" To her shock, he didn''t pay her mind and passed right through the clone.

    "Don''t waste my time, and be useful for once," Haruki mumbled as he continued on walking.

    Grinding her teeth in rage, Asmodia looked around to find the unworthy gaze of countless demons and monsters looking right at her. Humiliated in the middle of a street with ongoing construction, she could feel herself fuming from the ears.

    "Don''t you maggots dare look at me with your filthy eyes!" With just a stomp of her feet, she made the entire street quake. And as if that wasn''t enough to strike fear in the eyes of the onlookers, she transmuted her body to grow sharp parallel teeth that reced her spine.

    Crouching downwards a little, she opened her body from the back and revealed inside the mouth a portal mirror their deepest terrors.

    "How dare you maggotsy your eyes on me?!" Taking out her rage for Haruki on the bystanders, she tortured them with their most horrid nightmares until their minds and body submitted to the stress.

    Filling the streets with screams, Asmodia let her frustration out despite knowing that she''d have to be the one to repair their bodies and broken minds once it was all over.

    ''Dammit, I miss her, she used to deal with people for me!'' Though she was torturing others, the one being tortured the most, was Asmodia herself.

 Chapter 299 299 - The Decaying Gods Day

    ?

    Digging an inch of his nail into Nabe''s skin, the decaying new god of the world stripped her of her power. Every level, even skill, and even the obscure spells of magic were sucked right out by Haruki''s newfound strength. No longer did he only copy the abilities of others, now he could even plunder it all for himself from the original owner.

    "Rejuvenation¡­" Once done stripping her power, Haruki began healing her corrupted mind.

    Strapped to a metal chair, Nabe''s mouth hungzily open with constant drooling dripping down her mouth. The poison potions had squandered conscious thought in her mind, and her body was just as withered as her brain. However, as Haruki''s spell slowly took effect, her bark-like skin was restored to its health.

    Then came the restoration of her body, and eventually her mind. At the end of the procedure, she sat there in the chair holding her hand pressed against her aching head. Flicking her head with his finger, Haruki shot yet another concentrated burst of mana that melted into her skin.

    ''ve status acquired!'' Hearing the sudden announcement in her head, Nabe''s eyes widened in horror. Raising her head with a jolt, she looked at Haruki with a mix of shock and fear in her eyes.

    "What did you do?!" She asked, yelling.

    "I found another way to make ves, and this time my death won''t set you free as you''re bound directly to my soul," conjuring a leash in his hand, Haruki pulled onto the translucent pink cor coiled around Nabe''s neck. "Now¡­Why don''t you start by telling me what led you to visit mypanions in Hestemia?"

    Tugging on the leash, Haruki wore a sinister smile. With no visible way of escaping, and her mind urging her to give in to hismands, it didn''t take long for Nabe to confess everything that she''d seen in the emperor''s castle before she left.

    "About Dominion, I know what happened to him so I don''t need you to tell me, but then, you mean to tell me, you have no clue about the other two''s whereabouts?" After hearing everything she had to say, Haruki was still suspicious about her loyalty, after all, it wouldn''t be the first time she''d tried to manipte him.

    "I''m telling you the truth¡­" Panting because of the pain coursing through her head, Nabe kept her head lowered and her hands pressed against her forehead. "I-I can''t lie to you as a ve, can I now?"

    Finishing her sentence, she kept wheezing and grunting, fighting the remnant effects of the purged poison. Watching her suffer, Haruki couldn''t imagine her lying in the condition she was in, especially when memories of her torture were restored along with her body as well.

    "Rest now, you''ll need it," with that, Haruki turned around and left the grizzly torture room in the dungeon.

    On his way to the same dungeon room where he held Dominion, Haruki was about to meet up with the goblin queen as well as Arachne queen, both of whom had already been turned into demonic beings. Unlike the other demons, however, Haruki had made use of Asmodia''s powers to turn them into part subus without any sexual means.

    It wasn''t that he didn''t find them attractive or wanted not toy in bed beside them, but the very possibility of lethally poisoning them was too much to risk for something that could easily be dealt with another way.

    ''The poison will affect Nabe for the rest of her life, I can''t risk getting others infected or things would get ugly real quick.'' Wandering through his thoughts, he didn''t realize where he was walking to and ran into someone that refused to get out of his way.

    "Are you done throwing a tantrum?" Her face falling apart with burns, Asmodia stood before him vesseling inside a corroding clone that Haruki had forced her in. "This thing will die off soon, I need to get back into your body!"

    "Ughhh, fine, but only if you keep your mouth shut for once!" Sucking her soul back into his body, he made the clone disappear and walked further toward his destination.

    ''I''ll try.'' Asmodia replied to his previous question, after fighting the urge to scream at him.

    As the day ventured on, the lord of lust attended to the experiment on the delirious Dominion along with all the other responsibilities that he was burdened with. The progress of the colonies has been brisk, with even the humans getting to work to repopte the Marquis kingdom. However, even though things were going about smoothly, problems were bound to arise.

    "We encountered a colony of demi-humans in our expedition on Feralnds, but¡­" Reported to Haruki moments after he''d teleported to the elven vige, Margarette wasn''t too proud about what she was about to say.

    "Out with it Moriyana," Haruki urged, taking a seat in the vige''s town hall.

    Surrounded by foliage, the room itself smelled of autumn, something that only tested Haruki''s patience even more.

    "A demi-tiger n and demi-wolf n are at war by our edging borders," powering through the shame, Margarette finally looked up at Haruki seated at the other end of the hall. "If we intervene now, and befriend any of the tribes, the other will take us as their enemy. What''s worse is with our current numbers after the war with Dominion, there''s no way our army can subjugate both ns."

    "Where''s Rose and Klian in all this?" Haruki asked, leaning his head over his hand.

    Taking a deep breath, Margarette replied.

    "I have no clue," gulping her fear, she stepped forward and continued with the bad news. "And there''s a simr problem with the demon lords, I think they''re trying to escape this ce, but with Reya''s powers gone, they''re having a hard time."

    It was bing obvious that with the recent changes in how things ran, a lot of people wanted to keep their interaction with Haruki to a minimum. He''d grown into a threat that needed to be reckoned with, but that came with the price of risking your own safety.

    "Rose wouldn''t betray me so long as we don''t hurt her kids or jeopardize her safety, as for the demon lords, it might be time for them to pass on their titles," hearing those wordse out of Haruki''s mouth, Margarette squinted her eyes, confused as to what exactly he had in mind.

    ''They''re my family, you know that, right?'' Asmodia reminded Haruki through the mind. But as things stood, he didn''t care much for what she had to say.

    ''You''ll die once I fulfill the terms of our contract so why do you care? Besides, progress is how the natural order that you so want to preserve is secured, otherwise, it''ll grow old, crumble and vanish.'' Although his response didn''t persuade Asmodia all that much, she couldn''t find the fault in his logic.

    ''At this point, I''ve lost sight of what the natural order even means.'' On that note from Asmodia, Haruki and her were both on the same page.

    "Master?" Brought back to his senses by Margarette''s call, Haruki blinked a few times and turned his gaze to her. Looking quite concerned, she tilted her head and asked. "Is everything okay? You''ve been a bit¡­Lost, I guess?"

    "I''m fine," getting out of the seat, Haruki moved towards her with his cloak fluttering through each step. "As for the ns, how about I pay them a friendly visit soon?"

    Pressing his gloved hands on both of her cheeks, Haruki steadied her head and gazed deep into Margarette''s amber eyes.

    "Haruki, it''s not safe!" Sheined.

    "I agree, for them, it would be concerning," nodding his head at her while smiling devilishly, Harukiid out his n. "Remember I can still curse their source of water, and spread numerous diseases throughout theirnd. So let''s see what they choose when that happens, their petty war or a generational subjugation that''ll bring them security?"

    "Uh¡­" Seeing his eyes shift into pure darkness, Margarette was too intimidated to utter a single more word.

    "Alright then, prepare for my departure. We need to finish this up before Michael or Razor crawl out of wherever they are and try to follow in the emperor''s steps," giving her the order, Haruki yfully pped her cheeks a few times before moving past her.

    While there was plenty more for him to discuss with her and work on, something else took precedence. The curse of a demon called the carnal curse was high on effect since he hadn''t been able to get physical with anyone around him. Thus to disengage the curse, he had to rely on visiting the dreams and nightmares of hispanions to make sure not to get romantic with them in the physical form.

    Much like hispanions who''d so far relied on pleasing themselves with their own hands and tools, Haruki was much more eager to finally get a taste of another person.

    "Margarette," stopping by the door, Haruki turned to look at her to give her onest order. "When you''re done, I want you to join me and the others in my chambers tonight."

    Lightly blushing at the thought, Margarette internally beamed with joy as she nodded.

 Chapter 300 300 â€“ End Of An Adventure

    ?

    After a few days from their arrival at the realm of Valkyries, there was no sight of As''s body being handed back to them anytime soon. Stranded in their tent for days, only leaving to be dragged back in again, Razor as well as Michael were teetering at their wit''s end.

    "I doubt we''re getting the body anymore," pacing restlessly around the room, Razor bit down on his thumb, trying to suppress his agitation. "I bet that fucking bitch was lying about the curse!"

    Turning to the entrance curtains, a bit exhausted, Michael was surprised that none of Helga''s underlings marched in despite the insults from Razor. It wasn''t as if he was being conservative with his tone either, every word he was saying was screamed intentionally for them to notice.

    "I guess we don''t have any other potion," rising from the chair, Michael looked back at Razor. "Follow my lead and keep your mouth shut for a second."

    "What-What do you have in mind?" Razor asked, frowning his eyebrows.

    "What did I just say?" Pressing his finger onto his lips, Michael gestured Razor to shush his mouth.

    And although that only irked him more, his curiosity forced him to keep his mouth shut. Following Michael with his eyes, he saw him walk up to the tent''s entrance and hold his hand upward to cast a spell.

    ''Hopefully, I can pull this off¡­'' His confidence was receding as his use of time magic was getting scarcer by each day. Much like any other skill, if the trend continued he was bound to get a bit rustic. Thankfully, while pouring his mana into a magic circle, everything seems to be going just as nned.

    "Alter ne: Slow down reaction!" The moment Michael cast the spell, the magic circle grew a thousand-fold and covered everything under it for miles. Dissipating like smoke the mana-fused dust from the circle fell on countless Valkyries, pulling them under itsmand.

    "That should do it," lowering his hand, Michael turned to Razor. "I''ve slowed them for a while, but the spell will grow weaker every second."

    "Wait, but what''s your n now? Don''t tell me we''re just leaving this ce," masking his shock over the spell, Razor questioned Michael with a straight face.

    "No, we''re gonna find the body right now," saying that Michael pulled the curtain to the side and ventured out.

    Stepping into the seven suns, the rays of light were already burning him after having lodged inside the tent for so long. Especially sensitive to the sun because of his pristine skin, Razor winced with a grunt and covered his face.

    "Dammit, wasn''t there only a single sun on the day we arrived?" Razorined, following behind Michael as he began to walk.

    "There was, and coincidentally it was also the first day of the changed season," Michael responded, a bit of a conspiracy building up in his mind. "Either way, I suggest we leave before the increase anymore in numbers."

    Passing through the sluggish Valkyrie guards walking like zombies, the two scattered into different paths to find where the corpse could be. At a nce, the city was filled with expansive tents akin to what you''d find near a battlefield, but the more the two looked around, the more curiosities they uncovered through the ruined pirs and ever-flowing fountains.

    ''Demons, everywhere¡­'' At every corner, every stone, every path, all Razor saw were the engravings of demons and the winged Valkyries shing against each other. In between the two, the sun shone bright, almost as if trying to turn both parties to a crisp. ''The obsidian castle walls, they have the same style of engraving, could it be prophesy or something that has already happened?''

    Having lived in the obsidian castle, Razor''s bemusement was more than valid. After all, the artistry that appeared there on the stained ss only came after the events had already happened, while the engraving in thisnd reminded him more of the kind of prophecies he''d once seen on Protherious'' colossal body.

    "What are you looking at, did you find anything?" Walking up to him from behind, Michael nced at the engraved pir Razor was looking at. ncing over it, he reached the same conclusion as the other general. "I wish the creator wasn''t such a big fan of riddled prophecies."

    "That and creating backstabbing angels who''d lose sight of their true purpose," rising to his feet, Razor continued on with his search again.

    As Michael''s grasp on time began to slip, the two finally arrived at something that could potentially hold the emperor''s corpse. Built atop a flight of a thousand stairs, there was a lonesome shrine with heavily armed Valkyries stationed outside.

    From the looks of things alone, it was clear the ce had some sort of significance, and given that they hadn''t encountered Helga yet, someone who could easily break through the time spell, the generals were sure about her presence inside the reclusive space.

    "Ten seconds, that''s all we have left," Michael informed, taking the first step up the stairs.

    "Ten seconds in slowed down time or the natural flow?" Taking out his fencer, Razor jumped into a realm tear portal.

    "Slowed down flow," Jolting forward with lighting, Michael caught up with Razor at the top of the stairs as he appeared out of the realm tear portal. "Now fight!"

    Without another second more of their thought put into it, their weapons were directed inches from the sluggish guards, but before they could slit their necks, all of a sudden their weapons disappeared out of their hands. Landing on their feet from their flight, the generals quickly turned around to the sounds of nking armor behind them.

    "Children shouldn''t use magic to extend their bedtime," standing behind them with their weapons in her hands, Helga shut her eyes and turned their beloved equipment into pure light''s dust. Falling to the ground with a spark, what remained of the saber andnce was but charred ash.

    Dusting her hands by sping them together, the queen of Valkyries turned around and undid the time magic with a simple gaze into Michael''s eyes. Stripped of his control, the dragon yer felt themand pass onto her before she undid the spell with a second more of wasted time.

    "Didn''t I tell you you''d get the body, hmm? Then why the bloodshed?" Moving closer, she raised her vision to reveal her emerald gaze. "It''s not as though you can keep on fighting till the end of time because believe me, us Valkyries can. That''s what we were designed for."

    If need be, the generals could fight her without their weapons, but given how easily she''d stolen their equipment, both of them knew better than to try their luck against her. To further their surprise, she walked past from between the two and headed towards the entrance to the sandstone shrine.

    "I told you, you will get his body and you will just follow me," Helga ordered without even turning around as she kept walking and disappeared inside.

    Looking at each other for a brief moment, Razor and Michael tried to read each other''s thoughts about the situation. However, neither of them knew what they would encounter once they stepped inside the darkness of the shrine.

    "No turning back I guess," huffing a frustrated sigh, Razor was the first to move forward.

    "Yeah¡­You''re right," Michael followed soon after.

    Despite the doubt in their minds, Helga led them through a dark passage into a room with the rays of suns beaming down on a lonesome coffin. Engraved with gold linings and made of a striking golden-brown wood, the coffin appeared a worthy vessel for the passing of an emperor or a king.

    "So this is it? We''re going to take him back?" Still not too trusting of Helga, Razor couldn''t help but ask directly.

    "Yes, just make sure not to open it or who knows what kind of gue would befall the world he''s left behind," Helga warned, her hand brushing against the coffin''s wooden frame. "And trust me, I do not care if your world dies, I''ve been waiting for that to happen for a while now, so don''t expect any mercy if you fuck this up."

    Hearing her swear struck the two a little odd. Even the way she said it seemed a bit forced as if she wasn''t too used to uttering bad words.

    "Well, I doubt anyone would want to see him after the mess he has left behind," letting a bit of his rage out, Razor moved closer to the coffin and spread his hands across its length. "Reality alter!"

    Changing the very fabric of the ne, he squeezed the coffin between his hands and turned it small enough to be held in a pocket. However, storing it in a realm tear he avoided that sphemous mistake.

    "Now, before you go," holding her hand forward, Helga conjured exact replicas of their weapons and handed them back to the two. "I suppose it''s time for you to pay my Valkyries for the harm you sought to cause."

    "What do you mean?" Keeping a firm hold on hisnce, Michael tracked her every movement with great caution.

    "Ahaha, you mortals are too easily scared," once again moving past the two, Helga began making her way out of the shrine. "My warriors are hungry for a battle, and where would I find any better candidates to sate their hunger?"

    Looking at the generals with a gentle smile she continued.

    "Consider it payment for hanging you that body," chuckling to herself, the queen of Valkyries began walking away once more.

 Chapter 301 301 - Nightmarish Gaze And A Torturous Desire [18+]

    ?

    What do you think when you think of a nightmare? A monster chasing you down the hall? Perhaps even the death of your family, or maybe, just maybe, it''s something much more bizarre. Something that would bend the minds of other men, and strip them of reason, and plunge their minds into insanity. Well then, venture on.

    Mingling with his women in a concoction of their dreams, Haruki could feel his heart soar along with his for their bodies. With every thrust, he watched their breasts bouncing up and down, making the encounter even more exciting.

    "Fuck¡­I missed this," leaning down on Asuka''s frame, he pressed his lips against her peaking nips.

    Coiling his tongue around them, he heard her groan and moan while her nails dug into Haruki''s back. As for the rest of his body, that too was being serviced by the others through their mouths, breasts, and hands.

    Massaging Haruki''s jewels while Riley licked her down between the legs, Margarette pressed her face forward and began licking what dripped down Haruki''s shaft. With each thrust, she would down loads and loads of the juices of the connected too, but the lust for her master made her want even more.

    The demi-cats were not all that far behind with the disy of their desires. Pressed against Haruki''s arms on both sides, the duo of mother and daughter rubbed their naked breasts against their master''s body. Like any feline, their tongues roamed over Haruki''s neck and the rest of his skin.

    Having already been filled to the brim by her master''s cum, Fay watched the whole thing from the other end of the bedded room. Laying beside her were the queen of goblins and the Arachne queen who''d only just recently been turned into demons.

    Filled like never before, the queens watched the scene before them. Biting their lips, they knew their bodies desired more of his love, however with such a long list of people still waiting their turn, they couldn''t help but simply watch.

    "How can Riley resist touching master?" Noticing how Riley kept away from touching Haruki directly, the queen of goblins couldn''t help but ask.

    "Ahhh¡­Yeah, you guys don''t know she used to be a guy, right?" Fay''s answer widened their eyes in shock.

    "What?!" They said in unison, reminded of the countless times they''d gone naked or taken a bath alongside the gender-bent demon.

    "Just don''t tell anyone else or mention it even, she might still be sensitive about that," knowing the bare minimum herself, Fay gave them the same advice she''d gotten from Margarette and Asuka.

    "Enjoying a party without me, eh?" Conforming from a cloud of violet dust, Asmodia appeared beside the trio, astonishing them all. "And I thought I was part of the group now."

    Sensing her presence, everyone stopped whatever they were doing and jumped to their feet. Getting up from the cushioned ground, Haruki turned to look at her with an awfully mean look. His annoyance was palpable, but that didn''t stop the mistress from closing the distance between her and him.

    Walking up closer, she made her clothes sparkle and disappear. Then, getting close enough to nt a kiss, she raised her body on her toes and tried to press her lips against his. But before the contact was made, Haruki ced his hand on her mouth, and even the others who''d been servicing him so far, already had their hands mped onto her body.

    Frowning, the mistress stepped away, her eyes fixed on Haruki.

    "What is your problem?" She asked.

    "You really need to ask? After everything you''ve done to me, even faking the person who I thought was my mother, do you still need to-"

    "And that''s why you''re here, aren''t you!" Screaming at the top of her lungs, Asmodia''s eyes bright up a burning violet. "I''m the reason you''re still alive after that fucking execution! I''m the reason you get to fuck some of the most beautiful women in this world! And still! All I get from you areints one after the-"

    Breaking even Asmodia''s words, something far more sinister took the dreamers by surprise. Appearing over their heads, the personification of the mistress''s grief was peering down at them through a group of varied-sized eyes. Through the very membrane between reality and fiction, the eyes wandered over them all, taking in the sight of them all.

    "What¡­Is that?" Fay muttered, gulping down in fear.

    "I-I think I saw this before¡­" Reminded of the time when Moriyana had used Melicia''s name while cursing, Asuka felt a sense of Deja vu from the eyes peering down at them. "It''s Moriyana''s magic, her curse more like!"

    Looking up, Haruki too tried to get a clear view, but closing her eyes Asmodia shooed the nightmarish creature. Built from her own grief and revulsion to ept Moriyana to be something more than just another pet was what had turned into a conscious creature of darkness that was haunting her here and there.

    "What the hell was it?" Lowering his gaze again, Haruki asked the woman in front.

    "That wasn''t Moriyana if that''s what you''re thinking, it was just a¡­" With a brief pause, she drew a deep breath. "I think I identally created a monster out of my emotions."

    Pressing her hands onto her chest, Asmodia braced her heart for having showcased her weaker side. To her, power had been everything, and seeming weak was bound to bring shame and eventually a crippling death.

    ''I wish I was just dead¡­'' She thought, her hands squeezing tighter around her own body.

    With everything that had transpired in such a short amount of time, everyone around Asmodia had no clue what they were meant to feel. At first, they''d been quite angry at her, but that changed upon seeing the look of her in her eyes. Although Haruki couldn''t bring himself to sleep with the mistress as she desired to, he opened up an exit door so their interaction could end before things got any worse.

    "We''re done here," walking out through the bright beaming door, Haruki woke back into his body.

    Laying in his bed inside the log cabin, he was surrounded by all the women he''d been with in the dream. Letting his eyeszily wander, however, he noticed Ste sleeping in a chair tucked far away in the corner. Focusing his eyes on her, Haruki noticed a letter lying on herp. Using shadow hands he brought it closer, and by the time he did, the others had started waking up as well.

    ''There was no space on the bed, I wanted to hug you to sleep!'' Read the letter with a doodle of an angry slime poorly drawn at the end. Thankfully for Haruki, the girls around him were dressed in their usual wear so even if Ste did sneak in on them, she couldn''t possibly have suspected what was happening in their dreams.

    "Her mind, it''s still that of a child," storing the letter away in a dungeon portal, Haruki slipped out of bed. While making his way towards his daughter, a sudden knock on the door caught him a little off guard.

    "At this time? Who can it be?" Mumbled Fay, still rubbing her eyes from having just woken up.

    "Master Haruki, I have some urgent news for you! Please open the door!" The voice of Greta the war general yelled out from outside.

    Opening the door, Haruki with a stern look wrinkled over Greta''s face.

    "What is it?" Haruki asked while making use of his transformation to cover his body with the dark cloak.

    "It''s Maria, she was¡­" Gulping down, Great corrected her posture and continued. "After our men were done with her, I talked to her and she was utterly broken, but-"

    "Get to it Greta, I''m not the most patient person," Haruki warned, scowling a little.

    "I want her to join my ranks!" Speaking her mind, Greta bowed her head so far down that Haruki couldn''t even see her face.

    More than confused by her proposition, Haruki wanted to reject it at once, but he decided to hear her reasoning first regardless.

    "Why do you want a sickly, conniving woman like her to be in your ranks?" Haruki asked, his eyes fixed on the back of her head.

    "Because she has more experience with politics than most other demons and can help us to deal with those bureaucrats from the demi-tiger and demi-wolf tribes!" Finally raising her head, Great looked right into Haruki''s eyes. "Please?"

    "I can deal with them myself, all it''ll need is a vial of poison mixed in their water source," not convinced at all, Haruki tried to m the door shut, but Greta grabbed the frame before he could do so. Visibly desperate to get Maria in her ranks, Greta was obviously not in her right mind. "Why do you care so much? What does it even have for you in it?"

    "I-I¡­" For some reason, the more time she took thinking about it, the more her lips let out muffled warm breaths. "I love watching her beg, I want to use her, I wanna break her master! I want to make her cry more than let those useless men under me toy around with her body!"

    Her eyes opened wide like an owl, Greta was smiling ear to ear. Crossing her legs, she desperately iled around on the spot.

    ''The demonic whispers that tease you with depraved desires, I suppose nobody can hide from them, even a steadfast soldier like her.'' Letting go of the door, Haruki took a step outside and shut the door behind him so Ste couldn''t hear what they were talking about in case she woke up.

    "Give me your power, and I''ll let you torture her however you''d like," taking hold of her hands, Haruki stared into her eyes, ready to suck every level out of her body.

    Despite knowing what losing her strength could mean as a warrior, Greta ecstatically nodded her head. Ready to be broken into by her master, she then followed Haruki''s lead into a dungeon portal.

 Chapter 302 302 - Returning With The Spoils

    ?

    "A-are we done?" Covered in the guts of zealous Valkyries, Michael turned to Helga sitting in a special section of the Valkyrian colosseum.

    Having witnessed a whole day of continuous battles, an ecstatic smile rested on her lips. Rising from her seat, she walked up to the viewing balcony''s railings. There, ncing between the two warriors, she dramatically apuded their disy of strength.

    "Remarkable!" She praised, despite the pile of Valkyrian bodies lying around the two.

    Gripping the top of the railing, Helga jumped over it and dropped to the ground. Blowing up dust as shended, she raised her sight from the dirt and looked in the direction of the generals. Eager to try her own arms against them, she held her hand stretched to the side and conjured a simple iron de.

    "But before I let you go," standing up straight, Helga spanned her arms wide. "I have to try my own iron against you two, don''t I?"

    Hearing their queen''s words, the remaining Valkyries roared into cheers. So far they''d only seen their own kind being butchered by Michael and Razor, thus their urge to watch them crumble under their queen''s strength was soaring through the roofs.

    ''Dammit, I knew this couldn''t be so easy.'' Tightening his grip on hisnce, Michael held it in Helga''s direction.

    "Don''t bullshit me!" Razor growled, not as inclined to continue with the fight as Michael.

    "Hmm? What happened, scared of a fairdy?" Helga teased,zily iling the sword towards Razor.

    Clenching his teeth, Razor wheezed through them trying to catch his breath after the waves of constant battle. Realizing that he had no choice but to keep on going, he gripped his fencer firm and brought it to the front.

    "Fuck me, always surrounded by crazy bitches," the moment those words left his mouth, the Valkyrian audience gasped upon hearing the curse words. Helga, however, simply continued to smile.

    "Come on then, let me teach some manners to you children," her emerald eye glowing through the gaps in her iron visor was enough for the men to know that they were facing a true monster.

    Their fears came true too quickly as she disappeared out of their sight, and the only thing they felt as proof of her presence was the sharp gust of winds shredding their already shambled clothes in ces.

    "Where did she-"

    Before Michael could finish his sentence, the two men had their faces pressed against the ground with a stabbing headache coursing through their skulls. The impact from being forced against the dirt at a speed they couldn''t possibly match up to, both Michael and Razor were severely disoriented.

    "Just like I thought, you''re good for mortals, but nothingpared to heavenly bodies," letting go of their heads, Helga pulled herself away and stood before the two. "Still, this battle''s not over¡­"

    Giving them another chance, she motioned them to get up. A bit dazzled yet angry at her, both generals rose to their feet and gave her exactly what she wanted. The battle once again didn''tst long as the queen of Valkyries wasn''t known to be a god-killer for no reason. When it was all said and done, Helga helped the two back on their feet before presenting them with an abrupt proposition.

    "Since I can''t meddle with the working of your world directly, I''d like you two to be my apostles, and keep the new growing god in check," having little to no clue what she was talking about, it took the men a while before figuring out what was happening.

    By the time the exnations were done, the generals werefortably sitting in the queen''s tent with her sitting across the two. She''d told them everything that''s happened from her encounter with As, and how Haruki was the only one with some grasp on the world at the moment.

    "You want us to stop him from what exactly?" Despite the long monologue, Michael still wasn''t sure where they came into the picture to deal with Haruki''s army as well as him.

    "Well¡­" Looking at the Valkyrie standing over their shoulders, Helga gestured something to her and she quickly rested two luminous green vials of potions on the table. "While I do not care for your world''s destruction, not giving it a fair chance when it has such great potential would certainly be a shame."

    ring at the vials, the men knew what kind of offer she was making. Having already received the body, they weren''t going to get much of anything else, while in return they had to do whatever she had nned in her mind.

    "And how do we do that exactly?" Razor asked, crossing his arms as if to protest against picking up the vials.

    "He''s not ready to rule as a god, and I want you to make sure he gets that opportunity while you two are still down on Arian soil," Helga gave the final exnation and that was all she had to say.

    "And what''s in these vials," Michael asked, but this time it was guardian Valkyrie who replied.

    "A dead god''s purified blood, it will help you neutralize any poison that you might encounter," as she finished talking, the guard pushed the vials closer to the two.

    Left with no choice and given that neither of them could feel anything malicious from the potion, Michael and Razor gave in to the queen''s demand. The moment they downed the vials, they''d agreed to be the final hurdles to Haruki''s conquest, but even they knew at this point as things stood, they had no way of winning against him.

    ''If Dominion has lost against him and that too as miserably as this Valkyrie ims, then it''s best not to approach Haruki without a n.'' Michael thought while every cell in his body was rejuvenated with lies from the potion.

    ''Asmodia is alive again then? Tsk, first the emperor died and now our biggest hurdle is alive again!'' Although the potion was helping with his injuries, Razor''s temper remained unchanging.

    "Now to send you off, brave warriors!" Helga dered, getting off of her seat.

    ***

    After Klian''s return over the Larian castle, Haruki had ordered him to let the blizzard pass. Despite his initial reluctance, the insistence of Rose finally made him thaw the whole ce and return spring to the lushnd.

    ''They still haven''t told me where they were without telling any of us¡­'' A bit concerned about the secretive action from the dragonkins, Haruki wasn''t too sure about whether to trust them again just yet or not. ''At least they are listening to what I tell them, and our promise of security in return for their help still stands.''

    Lost in through after lodging into a carriage, Haruki hadn''t spoken a word in a long time. Even as the horses took them through a budding field of flowers, he refused to let himself be distracted from his thoughts.

    "Master?" cing her hand on his shoulder, Asuka finally pulled Haruki back to the real world. It wasn''t too hard to realize that he was perturbed by something, and his strange attire of the cloak only made things weirder. "What''s going on?"

    Her sudden question surprised him as he had no clue exactly what she was talking about. However, the moment she reached for his darkened lips, Haruki knew his secret wasn''t as much of a secret as he''d thought.

    "I-"

    "He traded his body for power by drinking a dead god''s blood," before he could say anything, Asmodia, sitting on the opposite side as him, revealed the secret without a second thought. "He doesn''t want to tell you how much it has affected him and his body, and that''s also why he''s wearing that weird cloak to cover up the scars."

    ring at Asmodia, Haruki wasn''t shy in rying his disdain for her. However, with everyone else left in shock from the news, he had far more important things to untangle than to deal with her.

    "Is that true, Haruki?" Asked Athena, staring at Haruki in utter shock.

    "So that''s why you were hiding your skin all this time?!" Alice yelped, finally putting things together.

    Even Riley who was at the head of the carriage as the coachwoman stopped the carriage altogether and peered in through the window in shock. Thankfully, none of his otherpanions were on the same carriage as him, and some of them like Margarette and the queens were left behind in the dungeon or at the elven vige along with Serena and her followers.

    "Fine, I did poison this vessel, but that barely matters, I can always create a new body," Haruki tried to reason, but Asmodia had something to say yet again.

    "I wouldn''t be so sure, isn''t that why you left Fay back in theboratory where Ste was created? You want her to find a way to create new vessels even though she has failed time and time again. I''m afraid to say, but it was probably a fluke that Ste was born and you can''t replicate what happened again," being attached to him through their souls, Asmodia knew a lot more about Haruki than he ever knew. "Also if you could create a vessel as you im you can, then why wouldn''t you give me a new body? Since you hate sharing a body with me after all?"

    Digging deeper into his skin, the mistress was pushing her luck to the limits. Being on a journey to the demi-human tribes, however, Haruki couldn''t afford to lose his temper just yet.

    "Not another word," he muttered before shutting his lips for good.

    No matter how much the others poked him for answers, Haruki didn''t utter a word, and even decided to go to sleep. His pursuit of strength was more important than the doubts from hispanions, especially when everything seemed to work just fine after he''d embraced the absoluteness of individual strength.

    ''I don''t want any of you to die, and if I can secure your lives by sacrificing a few of my years, then I''ll happily do it again and again.'' Being a demon he had the scope for eternal life so long as he wasn''t killed, and if things continue as they were, the poison would be what gets him.

    "Riley, the tribes, we need to get there," ordering Riley to move once again, Haruki let go of all restraints and slipped right into sleep.

 Chapter 303 303 - The End Of An Arc [Catching Up With Everyone]

    ?

    Left behind in the dungeons with the queens, Margarette was turned in charge of the army''s renewal and their deals with the other species. The humans were the least of her worries as they were easier to control given she''d been one at one point herself, the demi-human tribes and monsters on the other hand were entirely different things.

    "How many?" She asked the female goblin guard walking alongside her.

    "Three leopard-men tribe, one kobold tribe, and a hive of vampires," her eyes fixed on the clipboard in her hands, the goblin guard kept leading Margarette towards the burrowed newly built prison on the lower levels of the dungeon. "From the goblin party''s report mostly the women and children survived from the monster tribes since most of their soldiers consisted only of men."

    The phrasing from the report stuck out to Margarette quite a bit, especially the part where she exclusively mentioned the ''goblin party''s report'' even though the expedition was led by a jumble of Goblins, Arachne, and even Demons.

    ''Trying to highlight her people''s effort, huh? If this kind of stuff besmonce, our tribes will be torn apart by their differences.'' Being a lifelong queen, Margarette was aware of all tactics applied to divide and rule over people, thus, minimizing those corrosive practices that needed to be on her list of tasks.

    Walking a while longer, Margarette finally arrived at a long stretch of levelednds inside the dungeon. On each side, the monsters and demi-human tribes were locked inside cages made specifically to trap their kind. For the leopard-men, the iron bars were infused with fire magic with the help of mana-fused stones created by the worker Gremlins. Then there were the Kobolds crammed inside a space so small they could hardly move an inch of their muscles.

    Upon waking up to another cell with electric bars, Margarette peered in to find the glowing red eyes of vampires hurdled away in a dark corner. Dare they tried to escape by turning into bats, their bodies would be fried to a crisp and most likely consumed by their own kind.

    "The goblin queen''s inventions are¡­" ncing the electric rods up and down, Margarette was amused by the creativity of the queen. "Quite effective to say the least."

    Shifting her gaze to the goblin guard, Margarette noticed her smile at the praise for her queen. The sight made Margarette regret saying what she said, but shaking her head, she decided to quickly give her new orders.

    "Send the children to the barracks, they need to be brainwashed into bing heartless warriors," as Margaretteid out the n, the goblin guard''s eyes widened in shock. "The adult men need to be sent to Medusa, she''s taking care of pregnancy potions since your queen is busy with the demi-god."

    "But madam Margarette, wouldn''t master Haruki get furious when he learns that we''re turning children into warriors!" Asked the concerned goblin guard, her hands clutching tight on her clipboard.

    "Those are his instructions, not mine, and while we''re discussing this, he wants the adult women from these tribes to be forced intobor with the potions so we can have arger army," Margarette exined further, surprised herself that she wasn''t lying about Haruki being the mastermind behind these ideas.

    ''It was bound to happen, using children for war.'' Margarette thoughts, although ultimately indifferent to their suffering. ''Who could''ve guessed that the humans will turn out to be the most fortunate of our prisoners?''

    With the humans forced into the Marquis kingdom to breed and flourish, they were the ones suffering the least. In return, all they had to do was swear fidelity to their new master, Haruki, and provide him with a portion of their women, men, and constructive capabilities.

    "Anyways," putting up a smile, Margarette shrugged out of her train of thought. "It''s time to get to work."

    Handing the goblin guard species control rings for all the species present in the prison, Margarette made her way back to the surface level of the dungeon. Now that she''d dealt with the prisoner situation, it was time for her to check on Riley at the barracks training the inexperienced soldiers.

    ***

    Away from the chaos inside the working of the dungeon''s interior, Fay was tirelessly working on the mechanisms that had sessfully created Ste''s vessel. However, even after going through thousands of hoops trying to replicate the same effect, nothing she did could stabilize the clones inside the giant ss tubes.

    "GURHHH!" Growled one such clone, mming its fists against the ss vessel.

    "Ekkk!" Terrified by the sight, Ste flung her body back with the fluidity of a slime. "Mom it-it''s gonna break the ss!"

    Huffing a tired sight, Fay assured Ste by fanning her palms to her. Then, turning to the vessel, Fay made quick use of her soul magic and stripped the clone of its conscious thoughts and actions. Going loose in an instant, the screeching husk paused all movement.

    "There''s nothing for you to be worried about Ste, you should know that," Fay said in a hushed, tired tone.

    Moving towards her daughter, Fay wrapped her hands around her body and let her own warmth course into her. Comforted by the motherly love, Ste shut her eyes for a moment and nuzzled into Fay''s chest.

    "I''m sorry," she whispered, tearing up a little.

    Peering up as Fay patted her on the head, she wiped her tears.

    "I know I shouldn''t get so scared so easily, but I can''t help it¡­" Confessing her heart, Ste let her frustration be known. "I know I should be strong like you and father, and I''ll train with Aunt Riley to be stronger once we''re done here!"

    "Train with Aunt Riley?" Thinking back to Riley''s maniacal outbreaks, Fay wasn''t too sure if that was a great idea. "Maybe, but¡­I think we do need a teacher for you to morph into a warrior from the cute little angel you are."

    Pulling on Ste''s cheeks, Fay''s frustrations werepletely wiped away. Puffing up her cheeks, Ste quickly escaped the embarrassing scenarios and even phased out of her mother''s grip by turning her body into slime.

    "I''m not a kid anymore!" She protested, but in Fay''s eyes, she was obviously wrong.

    "Sure sure, is that why you still sleep with your pet bat Max?" Fay teased, fanning her hands while masking her mouth to muffle her chuckles.

    Although thement made Ste blush a little, it didn''t take long for her to join her mother with augh.

    ***

    The recouping of the elven vige was going about excellently under the watchful eyes of the goblin queen. Every so often she had to leave back for Dominion''s holding in his special cell, but that didn''t stop her from streamlining the path of progress. In fact, even the demon lords nesting in the vige were left aghast by her effective management, however, the desire to leave for their own territory was just as tempting to them as ever.

    "Our demon servants, they¡­" Gathered inside the elven halls overgrown with vines and greenery, Deus was about to deliver grave news to the rest. "They were all killed by Dominion before his army marched into Hestemia."

    "Fuck¡­" Taking her feet off of the table, Mercie muttered in shock.

    "How did you-"

    "Azalea, she''s one of my castle guards, and she managed to lead back a handful of my servants, but it almost cost her life," Deus butted in with the exnation before Reya could finish the question. "She told me what happened back in Scorchen Gaia while we were all passed out from Helga''s attack."

    Hearing the news, Inferno mmed his fist on the table and jumped off the chair. His teeth gritted shut, the lord of envy was fuming in rage.

    "Where is that servant of yours now?! I want to know how Dominion killed my remaining army so I can kill him the same way!" Screaming at the top of his lungs, he was ready to fight this very moment.

    But to his misfortune, with his strength severely drained, the rest of the demon lords couldn''t allow him to make the stupid mistake of fighting Dominion, especially when he was in Haruki''s custody.

    "Settle down, Azalea is in no state to answer your question," trying to calm his brother, Deus decided to buy some time for the moment. "The new priestess, Serena; she''s trying to heal Azalea, and if she''s truly the best healer as her followers im, then it shouldn''t be long before Azalea can tell you everything you want to know."

    Still fuming in rage, Inferno wanted to punch down a hole in the realms and force his way into Haruki''s dungeon prison for Dominion. Yet, in the state that he was in it would be no short of a suicide given how much weaker he''d gotten from his encounter with the Valkyries.

    "So we''re just sitting duck with no strength of our own, and no army tomand?" us finally spoke, not too amused by the state of things.

    "Exactly," Deus replied, wishing it wasn''t the truth.

    However, even in these grim times, there was something that the demon lords shared without speaking out about it exclusively. Their powers grow with their influence, the more servants they have the stronger they get, and thus to regain their strength, they have aplex choice to make.

    ''Spread their own sin to gain strength and much like how spreading lust strengthened Asmodia.'' But to reach that end, they had to pick wisely.

    ''Betray Haruki and steal his servants, or help him expand more and gain servants in return from the newborns and captives.'' The thought floated in the heads of all present inside the room, but none dared speak out in case someone chose the opposite of them.

    "Whatever, happens, we''re not going to tear each other''s skin?" Said Deus, ncing around everyone.

    The demon lords nodded but kept their decisions to themselves.

 Chapter 304 304 - The Arc Of Heavenly Bodies Begins

    ?

    Wandering through the forest in their carriagete at night, Haruki and hispanions were slowly making progress to reach unchartednds. And while getting there wouldn''t have been a problem with Hawthorn''s teleportation, getting the entire army showing up there at once would''ve red all sirens for both the tribes Haruki was trying to intercept.

    This decision to travel onnd, while reasonable enough, did possess some weaknesses, one of which happened to be trailing spies keeping watch of Haruki''s every moment. Taking advantage of just that, the prince of hell watched through the eyes of his numerous hellspawns prowling through the forest. Like rats and other rodents, they''d transformed themselves to keep an eye on the long file of carriages.

    ''Keep your eyes on him.'' With his throne threatened by the new demon lord of lust, the prince of hellmanded his minions.

    Unaware of the happenings outside thefort of the luxury cushioned carriage, Haruki was dozing off lightly. Surrounding him with looks of concern the demi-human passengers kept healing his charred lips and nerves as they were slowly being consumed by the poison.

    Asmodia on the other end simply watched and wondered what a mess the whole situation had been. Feeling her own clone being corroded bit by bit from the sheer strength of her soul, she also felt a hint of jealousy while watching Asuka and the demi-cats constantly healing Haruki.

    "Heal¡­" Perhaps noticing the look of scorn on the mistress''s face, Alice surprised Asmodia with a basic healing spell. "Tsk! It''s not working."

    "It''s a clone, of course, it''s not working," Asmodia retorted, being as ungrateful as ever.

    Scowling, Alice red up at Asmodia. For a moment she said nothing just kept staring seemingly frustrated.

    "No wonder nobody wants to help you with that attitude," Aliceined before turning away from the mistress.

    Following their interaction, the carriage came to a sudden halt, sending everyone present jerking forward. Thankfully, they all managed to keep themselves from hitting the opposite seats. Even Haruki had woken up from the jerking motion and kept his feet nted firmly to avoid falling forward.

    While everyone was collecting their thoughts after what had happened, the coachman''s window opened up and Riley peered inside.

    "We''re at the borders to Feralnds, camping here with the army will be ourst chance to rest before the interception," Riley advised, not realizing how her sudden stop had affected the passengers.

    Visibly tired and frustrated, the girls looked at her as if ready to throw a punch. Flinching back at the sight, Riley knew she''d messed up somehow, but didn''t know exactly how.

    "Fine, let''s camp then," breaking the awkward moment, Haruki looked at Riley and nodded.

    Opening the door to his side, he slipped right out before holding it open for the rest of hispanions to get out. One after the other as they quickly got out and made their way to the tents the demon servants were setting out for them. After the events of the numerous wars, only the most loyal and fruitful soldiers were left behind, and in their eyes being able to serve apetent master was the highest honor possible.

    "Master Haruki, please let us know if you need anything in your tent. We''ve made sure there''s enough room for the other masters, but if we''vee short in any way we''ll make haste to fix it for you," standing at the zipped curtains to an excessively expansive tent teeming with the luxuries of afortable castle chamber, a row of demons and monsters bowed before their overlord.

    Although the disy appeared a bit excessive, the new demon general Greta red angrily at the guards as if their heads should''ve been rubbing against the ground. Her scorn was so palpable that Haruki could feel her ring at them from over his shoulders.

    ''This is¡­'' A bit off-put by the whole thing, Haruki gestured the girls to go inside before him. At first, none of them moved, but when he nced over them all, everyone with the exception of Riley headed right in.

    "Master, is something wrong?" Moving closer to Haruki, Greta tried to figure out what was happening.

    Turning to look at her, Haruki gave her a look of utter disappointment.

    "Just because I turned you into a direct servant under me, doesn''t mean you need to lick my boots," walking closer himself, Haruki red into her eyes and whispered. "The only reason I trust you is because Moriyana did, don''t try and get closer by doing stupid shit like this. You''ll always be a valuable soldier, but you can never rece her so don''t even try to."

    Knowing exactly what she was trying to do, Haruki warned her from attempting to gain his favor through pretentious means. Read like a book, Greta took a step away from her master and gulped down her fear before nodding.

    "I-I just wanted to be invited in¡­" She muttered, her voice quaking in fear.

    "I''ve already given you a toy, go y with her," giving out his orders to Greta, Haruki turned to the demon guards who had been stationed outside the tent. "And you all, go kill some monsters or drain their levels so you can pass your strength to meter."

    Without even a peep, the soldiers raised their heads and stomped their feet in attention. Marching out in a file, the demons sprouted out their wings and took flight to help the goblins,mias, and elves by spying out monsters for them to hunt.

    "Your training seems effective," Haruki said to Riley.

    The spy simply smiled in kind. Bringing his attention back to Greta, Haruki patted the side of her shoulder and dismissed her before venturing towards the forest himself. Watching him heading out, Greta wanted to stop Haruki and ask where he was going, but with Riley following behind without question, she knew she couldn''t disturb the demon lord any further.

    ''I was trying to suck up to him, but I messed up!'' Regretting her decision, Greta started walking towards her own tent to take her frustration out on Maria.

    "Where are we headed?" Riley asked while following Haruki into the forest.

    "To kill some pesky little spies," Haruki''s reply wasn''t much of a surprise for Riley.

    "I did get the feeling of being watched, to be honest," reaching for her sabers, Riley turned invisible to prevent herself from being found.

    "Yeah, I felt the same when I woke up," conjuring his own shadow de, Haruki looked around the dark forest trying to find the watchful eyes.

    "Kind of surprising Asmodia didn''t sense them," Riley whispered.

    "Either she didn''t want us to know or her senses have been dulled given that she''d been in an unfamiliar vessel," finishing the chatter, Haruki leaped towards a pair of glowing eyes watching them from afar.

    From a distance, the spies were in the form of rodents, but as the threat grew closer, their bodies exploded into a st ofva before conforming into red-skinned imps with small horns and slender tails. Much like the gremlins their bodies were arched forward, and like a bright torch their skin burned everything around them.

    "Frost dragon breath!" Filling his lungs with air, Haruki whiffed out breath so cold it turned that part of the forest into an ice sculpture. Given no time to escape, the hellspawns were encased in the solid ice and the mes on their bodies were quickly extinguished by the cold.

    However, as he stood before the group of hellspawns he''d just killed, something clicked in Haruki''s mind and he turned to Riley to share something.

    "They''re the same monster," he muttered, and Riley instantly knew what that meant.

    ''Someone sent these creatures to spy on, there''s no way they are just an erratic tribe following us around.'' Riley concluded, her eyes fixed on the dimming of the creature''s skin under the ice. From scorching red hot, it had turned to coal, and if such a tribe was living amidst a forest, it would''ve been burned to dust in a day''s time.

    "Should we catch one alive?" Suggested Riley, shifting her attention back to Haruki.

    Nodding at her, Haruki looked around to find the rest of the hellspawn bunch hiding throughout the dark forest.

    "The goblin queen might be getting some new subjects to experiment on it seems," Haruki added before jumping towards yet another horde.

    One after the other, the duo kept hunting down the hellspawns and Haruki would either send them to a dungeon portal or kill them outright with Riley helping with the kills. Despite their numbers, the creatures were weaker than wild goblins, and the only strength they had came from their deceptive appearance as rodents and the scorching skin that melted any weapons that came in contact with their skin.

    But with Riley stripping all air around their bodies through wind magic, she was easily able to strike them down, her potion des doused with paralyzing venom.

    "Seems like the moment their skin stops burning their bodies crumble into dust," standing by one such hellspawn''s ashes, Riley put her des away as the paralysis ended up killing them anyway.

    Thankfully, however, Haruki had managed to store numerous specimens inside his dungeon portal without any problems. Now the only thing that was left was to wait for the hunting soldiers to return to Haruki''s tent so they could be stripped of the levels they might''ve gained from their hunt.

    "Hmm? You can just strip the male soldier''s level by touching them now right?" Riley muttered after Haruki had justined about something.

    "I can, and I will, but thenying down with the female soldiers just doesn''t feel appropriate," although Haruki didn''t show it on his face, the soldiers who''d survived the wars received just as much respect from him as they had for him.

    Covering her mouth, Riley chuckled to herself.

    "Ahaha!" Unable to control herugh, she let it out without restraint. "Don''t worry, we hitched some stray goblins from a hidden vige while you slept. Their women aren''t the prettiest, somewhat monstrous even, ehehe! Buttt¡­they should be more than enough for our soldiers tonight."

    "If you say so," Haruki replied, lightly chuckling to himself.

 Chapter 305 305 - Here Lies Humanityâ€™s God [18+]

    ?

    After returning to his people with the emperor''s corpse in the elven tribes didn''t y out exactly as he''d expected, Michaelnded himself and Razor in the obsidian castle so they could bury his body and move on to much more important things.

    Despite having fulfilled his part of the deal, Michael ultimately got nothing out of it since Dominion was allegedly captured. Had the demi-god still been free, Razor would''ve helped Michael get rid of the demi-god''s ploys, but now, with Haruki as theirst hurdle along with his people kicking him out of the tribe, Michael truly had nothing and nobody to turn to.

    "Reality alter: Teleportation trap!" Pulled out of his thoughts by Razor''s words, Michael shook his head and focused his eyes on Razor''s back.

    Kneeling on the muddy ground of the castle''s garden, he''d just finishedying a trap that would teleport the grave away the moment someone tries to dig it up. So long as the spell persists, the casket will keep hiding itself in the most secluded of ces.

    "Now rest you idiot," cing his hand on the soil, Razor shut his eyes for a moment and chuckled at a sudden thought. "I''ve always looked for you around this stupid fucking world, don''t make me chase you after you''ve died as well."

    For the faintest of moments, a smile washed over his lips, but then as the shadow of Michael crept over his shoulders, Razor quickly wiped it off and got back up on his feet. Turning around, he looked up at Michael with a light frown to mask his true feelings.

    "Your fellow elves kicked us out, so where to now?" Razor asked, having no clue where to go himself.

    Letting out an exhausted sigh, Michael crossed his arms while still looking at the grave. With both his captor and master now dead, and his people decreeing him a traitor, he was just as clueless as Razor if not even more.

    "If we''re facing a demon lord with an army, we''ll need an army of our own," closing his eyes shut, Michael tried to think of ways they could acquire enough people to retaliate. "There must be people we can bribe with the prospect of freedom from his rule."

    Thinking it over quickly, another possible idea popped up inside Razor''s head as well.

    "Not everybody is going to like his expanse in Gaia and Feralnds. The demi-humans and monsters will resist him the same way they did against the emperor," speaking his mind was enough for Razor to ry his n to Michael.

    Looking right at each other, the two lightly nodded and decided to prepare gathering an army that was ready to take on a budding god.

    "Let''s find that weak link under hismand then," Michael muttered.

    "Leave the tracking to me, starting from Hestemia," cing his hand on Michael''s shoulder, Razor readied himself for the jolting flight.

    With a single wasted second, Michael took the skies and thundered in the direction of the fallen kingdom. Off on their way to Hestemia, one thought did cross the minds of them both. Nabe, who''d been left behind in the obsidian castle was nowhere to be found, and even the queen of Valkyries had failed to mention her. Perhaps due to herck of knowledge ,or she had some other reason to keep it a secret.

    In reality, however, even the queen of the undying army couldn''t possibly keep watch on Haruki at all times. Peeking into his dungeon portals was also a near-impossible task, thus she had no clue where Dominion was being held or where Nabe was and whatever was happening to them.

    ''We''ll find that traitorter¡­'' Having already been suspicious of her, Michael and Razor were thinking nearly the same thing. The timing for her disappearance after the emperor''s death was too perfect not to paint her as a traitor anymore. Now the only thing left to figure out was to learn exactly how much she was involved in everything that led up to the emperor''s death. ''We need to nt a traitor in his ranks just like he did to ours as well.''

    Once again, their thoughts aligned, the two generals were ready to do whatever it took to take power away from Haruki''s hands.

    ***

    Upon their return from the monster hunt in the forests, the male soldiers were taken to their tents and provided with the women of the captured goblin tribe. Tied up and forced to spread their legs for survival, the goblins did what they had to as the seeds from the male soldiers slowly corrupted their minds.

    One after the other, with each shot of their semen, the women were turned into demonic ves who would ultimately serve under Haruki. On the other hand, away from the tent of the soldiers and into Haruki''s own tent, the sounds of numerous moans filled the entirety of the expansive multi-room ce.

    Digging away at the flesh of the toned female warriors with beauty so encharming it could blind the most virtuous of men. The goblins, themias, and even the demon girls were all iling under his flesh as their bodies were left to shudder with each thrust of his dick. Their tongues explored the wet depths of Haruki''s mouth, and some even ventured all over his skin as if licking him clean like a feline.

    The sight ventured on for hours on end, with Haruki taking turns with the girls and filling them to the absolute brim. In the meantime, his closest aides joined in the fun as well, however, left behind from the orgy, Asmodia wasn''t too keen on letting things be.

    "Are you done?" Sheined, grabbing the girls off of Haruki''s body via the use of invisible hands. Pinning them in the air like coats, she left them floating while making her closer to Haruki.

    Visibly disgruntled, Haruki rose to his feet and looked at her with a crooked expression. For a spell, he wanted to retaliate with something, but deciding against his temper, he moved past Asmodia and slipped into the other room. Following him from the edge of her eyes, the mistress let the female soldiers fall to the ground squealing.

    "Leave!" She yelled, nced through them all.

    Terrified of the mistress, the soldiers hastefully gathered their clothes and sped out the exit of the tent. The rest of Haruki''s aids, however, weren''t too pleased by the stunt she''d just pulled. If anything they were quite disappointed that their fun had stopped even before it properly started.

    "You three, get to the bedroom, and sleep," ordering the demi-human members as though they were her servants, Asmodia tried to have Asuka and the demi-cats follow her orders.

    "Oh shut up¡­" Said Athena as she rose to her feet.

    Moving towards the next room out of her own vition, she led Alice behind her and even bumped the mistress''s shoulder as she headed into the bedroom. And although Asmodia was quite disgruntled by the whole thing, there wasn''t much that she could do, especially in a body that limited her abilities.

    "You should learn to be a little nicer to yourpanions," moving right before her eyes, Asuka spoke her mind to the mistress. Wearing a deceptive smile, the demi-fox tilted her head sideways and even gave a light nod. "Maybe then people will like you more, even better, maybe Master will let you join in on the orgies."

    Patting Asmodia on the shoulders, Asuka moved past her as well. Insulted to an extreme, Asmodia stood there in utter shock, wondering if she''d dreamed everything that just happened. But pulling herself out of that false pretense, she made herself realize just how little she meant to these demons who were once supposed to be her underlings.

    ''Is it because of the title?! Because I''m no longer the demon lord?!'' Gritting her teeth, her mind wondered if it had anything to do with her lost grasp on their minds that she had while being the demon lord of lust.

    "Oi¡­" A sudden voice calling out to her from behind almost made her jump forward.

    Lost in thought she hadn''t even noticed Riley walking up behind her. Shifting her attention to the spy, she expected herself to be insulted once more, but surprisingly reality turned out to be much different.

    "There''s enough room on the makeshift bed we have, you don''t have to sleep in this room if that''s what you were nning," Riley''s words were somewhat elusive to the mistress, as she couldn''t figure out if she was being insulted still or not. "Either way, I can shift the couch I was sleeping on in here if that''s what you want."

    "I-uhm¡­No, I''ming in," Asmodia replied calmly, her rage now having subsided.

    The mellow conversation between the two made the mistress feel a little let down as if inherently she expected a verbal fight. But when it didn''t happen at all, a strange hole was left behind where her rage once used to be.

    ''Maybe¡­Yeah, maybe I should try to be a little nicer?'' Living amongst humans or any other creatures has not been Asmodia''s strongest suit, in fact, her life in seclusion had turned her into an extreme introvert while in the physical form.

    "Alright then, I''ve had enough sleep so I''ll watch the entrance and you can go sleep for now," saying that Riley swiftly made her way out of the tent.

    Letting out a sigh after watching Riley disappear outside, Asmodia made her way to the bedroom with hopes of improving her social skills around the others.

    And while everyone settled into the bed, and Riley watched the outside of the tent, something sinister lingered through the forest with its eyes set to corrode the minds of Haruki''s closest aides. Through the eyes of an elusive hellspawn, the prince of hell kept a stern watch on the swiftwind spy.

    ''Slip into her mind and strip her of her loyalty.'' He ordered, and itplied.

 Chapter 306 306 - Seeds Of Doubt

    ?

    "The extracts are poisoned as well. We need to neutralize them," looking into the ss vial with diluted extracts from Dominion''s body, Medusa huffed a tired sigh and turned to her assistants. "The sedative poison is affecting his bodily fluid, I''m gonna need the goblin queen''s help. Get her to me the moment she is teleported here."

    Nodding at her assistants, Medusa brought her attention back to the vial before cing it in a holding case. Hearing the march away, she raised her head to look around the newly constructed establishment inside one of Haruki''s dungeon portals. Fortunately, Hawthorn was capable of teleporting everything in and out of the altered space, thus keeping the existence of the trapped demi-god a secret from the rest of the world.

    But what interested Medusa more was the expansive scope of thebs, and just how many new people were working on the experimentation part of things. Teeming with life, the dungeon room went high enough to reach the skies with its floors. To further Medusa''s bemusement, every floor, every staircase, and even every room appeared to have numerous monsters and demons walking all over or in and out of them.

    ''We''re capturing new monsters, and experimenting on them to expand our army, not to forget the species control rings will be in the hands of the elite soldiers soon enough as the gremlins finish working on them.'' With the scope of their progress continuously expanding, a subtle hint of angst had taken hold of Medusa''s heart. ''The more people we have here, the less my children''s contribution will be visible¡­Dammit!''

    Afraid of being turned into just another cog in the wheel and not someone Haruki could directly rely on, the queen of Lamias was growing increasingly fretful.

    "Medusa!" Pulled out of her chain of thoughts by someone calling out to her, Medusa shook her head and turned in the direction of the voice.

    "Fay? And¡­" While seeing Fay surprised the queen, noticing Ste walking behind her mother reced that confusion with a smile.

    Slithering closer to the approaching duo, Medusa flung her arms open and pulled Ste into a hug with the help of her tail pulling her closer.

    "Eeek!" Almost crushed under the force of the queen''s grasp, Ste phased back out by turning her body into slime. Taking a few steps back and looking at Medusa, she noticed a confused look riding on the queen''s face. "Uh¡­Sorry, Mother and I were putting stuff in our newb so I''m really sweaty right now."

    "Oh, I didn''t know, but that''s okay," shaking her head again, Medusa decided to ask something far more important. "What are you two doing here anyways? I thought yourb was still at the Larian house under-"

    Realizing she was about to mention Moriyana''s mansion, Medusa stopped herself as her eyes locked with Ste. Lifting her gaze back to Fay, she received a sharp squinted gaze that let her know not to mention Moriyana''s name in front of Ste.

    ''I almost forgot, Ste was heartbroken when that happened, wasn''t she?'' Clenching her teeth over the realization, Medusa kept her mouth shut for the moment. Thankfully, Fay decided to take control of the situation before things turned awkward.

    "Haruki said we should keep our distance from Klian since he''s been kind of moody recently," although her words appeared harmless on the surface, they were truly a warning conveyed to Medusa. "I''d suggest you keep your distance too. After all, controlling a raging dragon, especially a secretive one, would be nothing short of a nightmare."

    ''She''s talking about their disappearance for a while after the war with Dominion, isn''t she?'' Catching onto exactly what Fay was subtly hinting at, Medusa nodded in response and let them continue on their way. Watching the two wander off, she failed to notice someone else creeping up behind her. However, as a whisper trailed into her ears, her body stiffened up in terror.

    "Hey¡­" The voice spoke.

    Hesitant, Medusa slowly turned around to the sight of Mercie standing behind her with a crescent smile. Looking her up and down, Medusa was caught off guard by her uncharacteristically casual dress. At first, she couldn''t even tell who it was in the short frilly skirt and the unusually scanty top with a deep v-cut.

    "Did I scare you?" She asked, waving her hand before Medusa''s eyes.

    "What the¡­" Still unsure if she was seeing things right, the queen lightly poked Mercie''s nose. "Oh lord, it''s really you!"

    Realizing that she was talking to a demon lord, her eyes widened in shock and she even moved slightly away from the mistress of greed.

    "How did youe in here?!" Asked Medusa, having no clue about Mercie''s dragon scale ring.

    Moving her hands over each other, Mercie politely hid the ring so her secret wouldn''t be revealed. To the queen''s mind off of it further, she quickly changed the topic as well.

    "Forget that, I heard you talking about the extraction from Dominion being tainted, can I help?" Making the ring disappear under her other hand, Mercie grabbed Medusa by the sides before giving her a genuine smile. "I''m sure as a demon lord I can be of great help to your experiment!"

    Not sure how to respond to the offer, Medusa''s eyes jittered about nervously. Bringing her attention back to the mistress, however, she looked into her hysteric eyes, but couldn''t bring herself to deny her wishes.

    ''I don''t wanna be minced meat, besides Haruki trusts these people, right? That''s why he''s allowing them to stay in the elven vige?'' Her interactions with Haruki being too limited in recent days, Medusa didn''t know how Haruki truly felt about the demon lord.

    "O-okay, but why do you wanna help here? Why not help master on the expedition to Feralnds?" Medusa asked, genuinely curious as to why Mercie wanted to help.

    Shifting his gaze upwards, Mercie continued to smile as if she was on the verge ofughing. Quicklyposing herself, she looked back down at Medusa and finally replied.

    "Haruki doesn''t like Asmodia, the one he''s closest to, do you really think he''d appreciate me tagging along as well?" Mercie pointed out, her eyebrows raised high. "Also, I''ve been sitting on my butt for a while doing nothing, but now I feel like I should contribute somehow."

    "And that''s why you wanna help me?" Still a bit suspicious, Medusa stared at her with squinted eyes.

    Only nodding in response, Mercie settled the conversation that instant. Getting no verbal response, Medusa had nothing to stretch the conversation over.

    "I guess you can help¡­" She replied, doubting judgment still.

    "Great! Where do we begin?" Mercie asked, jumping enthusiastically.

    ''Why do I feel like I''ve messed up already?'' Thought Medusa, trying her hardest not to cringe.

    ***

    "She should wake up anytime soon now," Serena muttered, shifting her nce from Azalea to Deus.

    Hurdled up inside a small infirmary, the two were checking up on Azalea along with the rest of the soldiers who had managed to escape back here. The wounds from the assault by Dominion''s army wereced with anti-healing magic, but with Serena''s help, things appeared to be looking up for now.

    "Thanks," Deus replied, his eyes fixed on his lover.

    cing a hand over his back, Serena lightly rubbed him forfort before turning around to leave the cramped space.

    "Take good care of her, I''m sure she''ll appreciate it once she wakes up," having been through the same thing herself, Serena knew just how much it means to be looked after by the people you love even though you can''t remember any of it at all.

    On her way out, she turned to take onest nce at the two and caught Dues nting a gentle kiss on the back of Azalea''s hand.

    ''May the god-'' Stopping herself at that word, Serena shut her eyes and paraphrased her sentence. ''May the world be kind to you two.''

    Blessing the duo, she headed right out. Stationed outside, her acolytes were lined up on both sides, creating a straight path for her to walk to the very front so they could follow behind her. Taking light steps forward, she conjured her staff of truth along with her servant dolls. Taking hold of the long hem of Serena''s dark down, the dolls moved behind her carrying the excess of her dress.

    "The queen?" Serena muttered, seeing the goblin queen standing at the end of the line. Moving closer, she could feel something was wrong from her heavy-rested face. "Is something the matter?"

    "Not really, I just-" Taking a pause, the goblin queen''s eyes began flickering between red and green for a moment. But then squeezing her eyes shut, she managed to control the sudden anomaly. "I was about to leave, so take care of the vige while I''m gone."

    Thrown off by her strange behavior, Serena didn''t say anything and simply watched the queen disappear with a bright light. This wasn''t the first time the goblin queen had requested Serena to take care of the vige, but the troubled look on her face paired with the sudden fluttering of eye color was anything but normal.

    ''Something''s wrong, I need to inform Haruki.'' Although she had no clue what was happening, Serena wasn''t willing to chalk things up to coincidence.

    "Hawthorn, can you teleport me to Haruki?" Serena asked the omnipresent dragon.

    ''No, you can''t leave the vige, not unless the queen gets back.'' His mental reply was more than a little bit frustrating to Serena at the moment.

    ''Should I tell him or not?'' Contemting wanting to ry the message through him, Serena couldn''t be certain if the dragon was in on some ploy as well, given the recent suspect behavior from Rose and Klian. ''Ughhh! This is frustrating!''

    In the end, she was forced to keep her doubts to herself.

 Chapter 307 - Control Slips Through The Fingers

    307 Chapter 307 - Control Slips Through The Fingers

    Woken up by a loud scream from Asuka, Haruki rushed out of bed and dashed in the direction of the sound. Coming out of the tent, he noticed Asuka as well as the demi-cats helping Riley get up on her feet. Seeming drained of all power, Riley could barely keep her eyes open. The night hadn''t been nice to her, but the other guards who saw her in that state simply assumed she was too tired from being stationed guard outside the tent.

    Haruki and his aides, however, didn''t buy into that delusion at all. After all, not once had she abandoned her duty by falling asleep while on guard.

    "Something definitely happened to her," creeping up behind Haruki''s shoulder, Asmodia calmly whispered.

    "The benevolent actor''s blessings perhaps?" Haruki proposed the idea, but even he didn''t believe that the blessing was the cause of this.

    ''She was fine when we went to hunt, so if anything her powers should''ve dimmed out when she was attacking those creatures and not while simply guarding the tent.'' Despite the suspicion of foul y, figuring out what had happened without tapping into Riley''s memories wasn''t possible just yet.

    "Leave that to me," knowing exactly what was going on in Haruki''s mind, Asmodia took over that responsibility. "I''ll figure out what happened once her mind is well-rested and not as likely to get damaged."

    Moving to the side, Haruki and Asmodia let the demi-humans carry Riley inside the tent. For once in a long time the two were in agreement, which struck Haruki as somewhat odd given their fight justst night. Unbeknownst to him, however, Asmodia wasn''t as neutral towards Riley as she was with Haruki''s other servants.

    ''I guess it''s time to be a little nice.'' She thought, reminded of her encounter with Rileyst night.

    Turning his attention to the soldiers, Haruki contemted continuing the journey or taking a rest for the rest of the day.

    "Keep the carriages ready, we''ll leave as soon as Riley gets better," giving them the orders, he turned to Asmodia to fill her in on something important. "Someone was spying on usst night, you''ll know what I''m talking about when you see her memories. In the meantime, I''ll go check the forest for more of those pesky spies, and you go ahead and figure out what happened to Riley."

    For a moment, Asmodia wanted to take this opportunity to ask for a reward in exchange for her help, but then again reminded of her promise to be nicer, she bit her greedy tongue and nodded in agreement.

    "Sure, I''ll let you know what I find," with that said, Asmodia turned around and went inside the tent.

    Left alone with only the soldiers wandering around the camping spot, tending to whatever they were assigned to by their superior, Haruki lined straight for the woods. On his way towards the trees, a sudden scream caught his attention. Surprisingly enough, it didn''te from the woods, but from one of the tents that had been set upst night.

    "What''s the hell?" Noticing a bloody arm trying to crawl out of the tent''s entrance, Haruki''s brows were raised on their own.

    "H-Help me!" Screamed the woman, desperately clinging to the dirt with her nails.

    As Haruki began moving closer, the woman''s arms were dragged back inside, and soon enough the screams died off as well. Had it been one of those goblin girls they''d captured yesterday Haruki wouldn''t have given much mind to the incident, but since the hands clearly belonged to a human, he had to find out what was happening.

    "Who''s tent is this?" He asked a female demon stationed outside the tent.

    Her eyes dejected downward, the soldier couldn''t look into Haruki''s eyes with shame. With quaking lips, she finally spoke, although visibly reluctant to do so.

    "I-It''s Miss Greta, she''s with Miss Maria inside¡­" Panting heavily, the female guard shut her eyes tight in fear of some sort of repercussion. "I already asked her toe out, but she''s been especially moody sincest night!"

    "Because I yelled at her?" Haruki asked, showing no emotions at all.

    "Y-yes!" The soldier squealed.

    Trying to ease her soul, Haruki ced his hands on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.

    "You can move aside now, catch your breath. I''m gonna deal with this myself," moving her to the side, Haruki flung the tent''s curtain open.

    Revealed behind it was the bloodied sight of gutsthered on the inner walls. It smelled so pungent that even the demons standing the furthest had to cover their mouth. As for Haruki, he simply created a mask of darkness to cover himself.

    "Greta, what the hell is going on?" Looking right into the war general''s eyes, Haruki was met with a grueling sight.

    Down on her knees, Greta''s face was covered in blood with Maria''s body torn everywhere from down her stomach. And however, it may be, the poor woman was still alive, but the jittering in her eyes and the plucked teeth were definitely a sign that she wished she was dead instead. Not only had Greta tortured her, but it seemed she''d crossed the unholy line towards sadistic cannibalism. Now was it because of rejection from Haruki? Or has she always been such a blood-hungry fiend? There was truly no way to know.

    "M-master! I-I!" Caught red-handed, she tried to wipe her face and mouth. But her attempt seemed to fail as a lot of the blood had dried up around her face. "I didn''t! I-"

    "I do not have time to deal with this¡­" Holding his hand extended towards Greta, Haruki shot a fusion of darkness mixed with his blood poison. Hitting Greta right in the head, she was instantly pushed into a shocked-induceda. "Take her away I''ll put her through rehabilitative tortureter, and heal the strategist she can still be of use to us."

    Fidgeting in her boots, the female guard excessively nodded to Haruki''s orders.

    "R-right away!" She spoke.

    "Not you," Haruki replied.

    Shocked by his words, she expected a simr fate as Greta despite not knowing what she''d done wrong.

    "I''m sorry Master! I-I wanted to tell you, but-"

    "You''re taking Greta''s ce for now, tell your soldiers to do the work instead, get in the swing of things," Haruki''s further reply confused her even more.

    "M-me?! But I''m not-"

    Once again cutting her off, Haruki pressed his finger on her lips.

    "Nod if you''re scared of me," he ordered, and the guard did exactly that. "That''s enough reason for me to trust that you won''t risk disappointing me in any shape or form."

    Pulling his finger off of her, he patted her on the shoulders before making his way towards the forest once more. Although still shaking from anxiety, the female soldier whose name Haruki didn''t even know was temporarily put in charge of managing the soldiers on this expedition.

    ''More and more servants are edging the line between loyalty and insane obsessions. I need to be careful or else I''d be leading an army of crazed cannibalistic maniacs.'' Wandering through his thoughts as well as the forest, Haruki didn''t find anything of value in either one of them.

    The forest was just as empty as they''d leftst night, and trying to control the minds of an increasingly diverse army wasn''t a feasible task, at least not without turning them into mindless drones who couldn''t think for themselves and only followed orders.

    ''Deus and the other demon lords had armies simr to that end, and it didn''t end favorably when they were attacked in their master''s absence. In contrast, Margarette and the others were able to persist and even take over more kingdoms that I''d left them with.'' Deciding against going the mindless route, Haruki returned to his tent to check up on Riley.

    Upon getting there, everyone seemed much calmer than before and Riley was also awake and well thanks to the healing from Asuka and the others. The only thing of concern left was what exactly happened to herst night, and to answer that riddle he turned to Asmodia who''d already looked through Riley''s memories.

    "All I saw were how you two hunted those creatures, apart from that, her memories are clouded," Asmodia revealed, leaving the part about seeing her encounter with Riley again while exploring the spy''s memories.

    "I¡­I might''ve fallen asleep in the cold, that''s it!" Trying not to be barred from doing missions again, Riley threw the first excuse at the party that she could think of. "I really shouldn''t have worn shorts in the chilly forest winds to be honest, ahaha!"

    Her attempt to convince everyone wasn''t as effective as she thought, but with nothing else to go on, Haruki decided to keep moving and see if something like this happens again while she was under everyone''s watch.

    "We''re leaving in an hour, let''s hope it was just a cold as you''ve said," Haruki said, not entirely convinced by the theory himself.

 Chapter 308 - Rummaging Through A Fallen City

    308 Chapter 308 - Rummaging Through A Fallen City

    Hestemia had truly fallen, not a single brick was left whole after the events of the wars. The bodies were piled up into peaks and burned to charr, and what remained of them became food for vultures and other scavengers. Surprisingly enough, however, the earth had already begun reiming the territory with moss growing on ruins and saplings sprouting out of empty eye sockets.

    "Nothing¡­" Razor muttered,ing out to the light from the underground steps to a dungeon.

    "Nothing on the surface either, nobody rather, just scavengers," Michael replied, getting down to the earth by undoing his magic.

    "I didn''t expect much, but seems like the dragons really did a number on this ce," Razor added looking at a discolored dark rock near his feet. Kicking it, he expected it to take off, but instead, his feet went right through the thing and only left a crumble of dust behind. "Maybe a little much even."

    After witnessing the act, Michael shifted his attention to Razor''s face and slowly made his way closer.

    "That''s a dragon for you, if you''re not careful they''ll burn you till even your bones are dust," with that said, he offered a hand to Razor so the two could make their way to their next destination.

    Scoffing out loud, Razor rolled his eyes before grabbing Michael''s hand.

    "I know, I was there when we took down some of those dragon nests before," heined, but Michael wasn''t keen on escting the matter.

    Thus taking yet another flight they began making their way to the Marquis kingdom. Even before they''d taken flight for Hestemia, the news of Human settlers returning to Marquis had reached far and wide, even to the numerous hidden viges of elves scarred through Feralnds. One such tribe that Marquis had tried to assimte into one, had ryed that news to him, but that was all he got from them.

    "The emperor''s dead, and they still don''t trust me," Michaelined, growing more frustrated the more he thought of it.

    Hearing his words, Razor couldn''t figure out why Michael was having such a hard time understanding their doubts. With a raised eyebrow, he let out a tired sight and began to exin.

    "They don''t want your help, in their eyes, you''re the man who could''ve saved them from numerous wars against the emperor, but instead you joined him as his aid," as he was done with his exnation, Michael shot him a troubled gaze.

    "The emperor promised not to touch my people in return for my loyalty, and did keep his word, so why do they not-"

    "Because they don''t care, Michael," frowning into a stern look, Razor gave him the truth as straight as it could get. "The moment you left their tribe you became an outsider, I used to feel the same about you; that you''re a monster that needs to be tamed, not trusted."

    Despite the crudeness of his words, Michael, to some degree understood what Razor meant. In fact, the revtion reminded him of someone, someone from the past who suffered the same fate because he kept quiet about the corrupt workings of the aristocrats, namely, the king of Marquis himself.

    ''Haruki, he was executed for a crime he didn''tmit. I suppose I understand how it feels to be in his shoes now, not being appreciated by those you''re trying to desperately help.'' Connecting the dots, Michael couldn''t help but feel a sense ofradery in the aspect of betrayal with the current demon lord of lust.

    "And now¡­" Bringing his mind back to reality, Michael asked Razor yet another question. "Do you still feel I''m a monster?"

    "Not you, I can''t say the same about the other elven," Razor responded as truthfully as he could.

    ''I guess that''s better than before at least.'' Thought Michael as they continued on soaring through the skies.

    By the time they reached Marquis, the seeds of doubts would''ve already scattered throughout Haruki''s army. Serena would be suspicious of the goblin queen, Medusa of Mercie, and to top it off, Haruki and his party would be off into Feralnds with Greta apprehended and Riley hiding a fever.

    Unaware of it all, Michael and Razornded on the outskirts of the city. Coming from a deste kingdom to a city bustling with people felt quite odd, especially considering the inhabitants were humans living under the reign of the same demon who''d ruined the other kingdom''s cities.

    "I''ll snoop around the city through Realm tear," holding his hand forward, Razor opened up a Realm Tear portal for him to step in and sneak into the city.

    "Fine, I''ll try to find any monster tribes who could still be hiding in the forest," with ns to recruit as many people as possible, Michael let down his armor to appear as unthreatening as possible to whoever he finds.

    Parting ways, the generals ventured off to do their individual duties. Unsure what they would find, they made sure to keep their guards up from the very start, and only approach someone when they were utterly sure about being able to recruit their help in their ns.

    ***

    Far away from the infiltration by the generals, Riley was huddled up in a corner of the carriage trying to make sure nobody would notice the feverish rise in temperature of her body. Her mind was brewing a mild headache, and her body was slowly being drained of all energy. Yet not wanting to be put on the sidelines again, she kept her lips shut and pretended as if nothing was happening.

    "We''re here," said the demonic coach-girl looking into the carriage through the sliding window. "The tribes should be just ahead, going on foot would be our best option to not spook them immediately."

    Nodding at her, Haruki opened the door to his side and slipped right out. Holding the door open for the others, he quickly emptied his own carriage while watching the coachmen helping others out of the other carriages as well. Once battalions of soldiers were all down on their feet, Haruki gathered them all up into small groups with different individual tasks.

    Some had to set up a temporary base, some were trusted with surveince and the remaining were to help Haruki intercept the tribes directly.

    "If we mask ourselves as monsters like kobolds and even goblins¡­" While rying the n, Haruki remembered that a majority of the army was in fact goblins. "Never mind, we just have to pretend to be monsters and mask our base with foliage and illusion magic."

    Turning to Asmodia, Haruki ryed her task with a nce. Knowing he wanted her to take care of the illusion part, Asmodia quickly got up to the task. Then there was Maria, the strategist who was supposed to be familiar with the tribes in Feral Lands and their inner workings. However, after what Greta had done to her, she didn''t exactly seem too enthusiastic to put herself in any kind of risky situation.

    "Maria, you''re going to lead the kidnapping strategy and prove yourself worthy enough to keep around," Haruki ordered.

    "Wh-what?! Kidnapping what if I can''t pull it off?!" Maria squealed in terror.

    "If that happens, I''ll personally take over and you''ll be discarded," wanting to take as many live hostages as possible, Haruki didn''t want to resort to direct violence just yet. "And don''t worry, I''ll provide you with everything you need before that happens."

    ''Discarded?!'' Gritting her teeth, Maria was already freaking out.

    "But master¡­" Jumping in on the conversation, the girl whom Haruki had made in charge of the soldiers presented a question. "Won''t the tribes notice their people missing?"

    "And why not just poison them like you said you would before?!" Maria added, shuddering at the very thought of intercepting a tribe of feral monsters.

    Propping himself up, Haruki nced between the two before replying.

    "First, we want them to notice so they''re busy fighting each other and we can continue kidnapping more and more of their kind," pausing to make sure they understood his exnation, Haruki continued after a few seconds. "Second, infertility from the poison can be a real issue. It doesn''t affect us demons since we can''t have children at all, but for other species, it can be quite detrimental."

    ''Besides, I don''t want to take my army against the tribes just yet since they can easily outnumber us. Even if I do manage to win, which I possibly can, losing soldiers while trying to recruit soldiers would be an idiotic thing, and we''d end up with the same number of soldiers or perhpas even less than we started.'' Haruki reasoned in his own mind.

    "And we''re doing this whole thing to gather more species under our banner, remember? What''s the point in getting them to join if they all end up dying and can''t multiply because of the poison?" Taking Haruki''s points, Athena exined them further.

    With no ws left to point out, Maria was forced to shut her mouth and just do as she was told. In her mind, she didn''t have any other choice, when in reality, Haruki wasn''t going to discard her just yet, at least not after failing at a single mission.

    "Now that everything''s set," looking around at his soldiers doing all the work to set up the camps, and Asmodia masking it under an illusion of invisibility, Haruki announced to everyone. "It''s time to kidnap some tribesmen and tribeswomen and pit these idiotic tribes against each other!"

    Setting everything in motion, all he had to do now was to watch how effectively Maria could strategize and capture as many monsters from each tribe as possible. As long as he could get as many prisoners as possible without having to resort to violence, he didn''t really care what measures she used.

    ''If this n goes wrong, then we can wipe the memories of the prisoners and kill off the remaining tribesmen and women. Even still I''d prefer keeping the chances of someone escaping with a grudge as low as possible.'' Haruki pondered, making use of his strong judgment instead of just a fist of iron.

 Chapter 309 309 - Everything Set In Motion

    ?

    "Where the hell are you people getting this stingy poison?" Done neutralizing all the samples from Dominion''s body, Mercie didn''t want to ever go through it again. "Thank the lord it already has a host or just trying to separate it would''ve suffocated us all to death."

    "How about you stopining since you did offer your help unsolicited?" Tired of Mercie''s winging, the goblin queen howled through gritted teeth.

    Her hands still busy handling the extract vials, the goblin queen fused them with morsels of mana and moved it along to Medusa down the line. Taking the vial from the queen, Medusa set them up individually to be turned into potions for pregnancy. However, only now a great hurdle had presented itself to the research team.

    ''Fine-tuning potions was Moriyana''s forte, but¡­'' Shifting her gaze to the mistress of greed, the goblin queen wasn''t too pleased about having to ask for Mercie''s help. ''Should I really trust her or-ughhh!''

    Hit with a sudden migraine, the queen''s body crouched in hurt, and the vials in her hands slipped through her fingers. As the sses shattered after hitting the surface, Medusa and the other helpers rushed closer to the queen.

    "Are you okay?!" Medusa asked, her eyes wide open with terror.

    "I-"

    Before the queen could reply, Mercie grabbed her by the shoulders and helped her to prop herself back up on her feet.

    "Between the elven vige and this facility, it seems like you''re pushing yourself a little too much. Why not leave things to Medusa and me while you get some rest?" Medusa suggested, looking right into the queen''s eyes.

    Changing their tint from green to red and then vice versa, the queen''s eyes were acting erratic from the migraine. Pinching her nose, she closed her eyes trying to fight the pain. But like a paradise, the hurt kept squirming in her head without any signs of stopping anytime soon.

    "Ughh!" Slipping out of Mercie''s hands, the queen began stomping her feet as if enraged by her persisting pain. "W-what the¡­"

    Feeling light-headed, the queen fell into Medusa''s arms. Held in themia''s hands, she nced around her at the world spinning through her vision. Getting worse and worse by the second, she tried to crawl her way up with the help of Medusa''s body, but Mercie bound the queen in a conjured wrapping made of paper.

    "What are you doing?!" Medusa screamed, having no clue as to what was going on.

    "The poison must''ve affected her, you should spend more time taking her away than yelling at me like that," Mercie responded with a sharp gaze and a light smile. Looking around at the others cramped in the small facility packed with numerous chained test subjects and apparatus, Mercie sowed the seeds of fear even further. "Everyone leave! Staying here is a hazard, especially since the poison got the queen even!"

    Following her words, hushed whispers lingered throughout theb. From one ear to another, from one breath to the next, fear and conjecture spewed into the heart of all present. The queen of goblins was quickly taken out of the room, and into the open, however, while her struggling frame was taken from under the ever-stretching seams of stairs stretching upwards, plenty of rumors began to float everywhere.

    No longer confined to just theb, the news soon made its way to all kinds of facilities. Making it much harder for the management to control everyone''s fear along with their desire to distance themselves from the allegedly poisonedboratory.

    Surprisingly enough, the whole ordeal did not take more than a few hours, something neither Mercie nor us had expected when they came up with the ns to steal the demigod''s extract to create their own godly army.

    Being a demon lord, Mercie was left alone in theb with nobody concerned for her safety. Instead even Medusa expected her to be the one to cure the ethereal poison spreading instead, when in reality no such outbreak had urred at all.

    "Origami: Puppets!" Summoning an army of thin paper dolls, Mercie had them gather all the extract vials belonging to Dominion.

    ''Be done quick, I can''t control the goblin queen''s mind from the vige for long.'' Hearing us''s voice in her head, Mercie opened a teleportation portal with the dragon scale ring and ordered the paper dolls to carry the vials through it.

    "I have to admit, when I left for here, I didn''t expect you''d be able to corrupt the queen''s mind," Mercie muttered, a devious smile curling up her lips.

    ''Just do as we nned before anyone finds out. I can''t keep pretending to be a mindless drone like these three here!'' Saying that us cut the mental line between the two.

    Letting out a sigh, Mercie began recing the stolen extract with a clear liquid that closely resembled the extract. With this, the potions were doomed to be failures, but since the queens were in their testing stage to create gods, these failures would easily be exined.

    "Now we just need to convert these into potions and use them on someone," Mercie muttered to herself, trying to think of a victim she could use in her secret experimentations far away from here.

    Musing through her options, she wandered lonesomely around the wholeb. Hanging loosely from the stair railing, skipping one step to the other, and even teleporting about randomly, all the while in her mind she tried to figure out who to make a god''s vessel.

    "No way will I choose myself, then who should it be? Azalea, perhaps? Torturing her would definitely be fun." The more thought she gave to it, the more she was inclined to follow through. But even then, Azalea would only be able to carry a single kid, when to make an army they''ll need more than a few thousand of the same. "Hmm? Then how should I-"

    ''Wait¡­'' Stopping her own words, Mercie realized something important. ''Unlike As, Dominion is a demi-god, meaning he''s part human. What if anyone can host his child since he''s not entirely a god and doesn''t need another god to host his children?''

    When it came to As, only Destinia could''ve hosted his kid, given that she was the only other god. And although Asmodia too could''ve survived rearing his child, being a demon she couldn''t possibly get pregnant.

    "Very well¡­" Mercie mumbled to herself.

    Holding her hand forward, a storm of small paper shards swiftly flew forward and conformed into a conjoined paper replica of Mercie''s own body. Running her hand up and down the clone, the mistress gave it skin, clothes, and organs to properly replicate her body.

    "You''ll be helping the queens with the experiment and report to me everything that you see at the end of the day," she ordered the clone, and it simply nodded, not possessing much of a will of its own.

    Opening the teleportation portal again, Mercie walked right into it, leaving theb''s mess in the hands of her replica clone. Coming out on the other end, she found herself in the sameb that Deus had once used to try and create a body for Haruki with Fay''s help. Unsurprisingly, us was already there, setting things up for them to start working on.

    "Took your time," heined, turning around to look at her.

    Dressed in an all-rubber suit, he had insulted every inch of his skin to keep away from whatever the extracts were made of. Finding his measures a bit extreme, Mercie let out augh. In the meantime, while the two reconciled, the paper dolls made short of the vial cement andying down of the inked ns.

    "What do you say, ready to create an army of gods?" Her hands rested on her hips, Mercie smiled ear to ear.

    Heaving a sigh with a dejected gaze, us nced up at Mercie before replying.

    "I hope they can defeat that bitch Helga or else none of this would matter," in his mind, Haruki wasn''t even the real hurdle to their conquest. Helga on the other hand, a Valkyrie who could strip their powers away was someone they have to take down no matter whatever it takes.

    "By the way¡­" Moving closer to Mercie, us proposed a question he''d been thinking of since the emperor''s death. "What are we fighting for now? The natural order? What even is that anymore?"

    Shrugging her shoulders, Mercie ryed her indifference to whatever it was that they''d been fighting for for years.

    "Who the fuck knows? For now, it''s about our own survival," Getting even closer to him, Mercie wrapped her fingers around us''s masked face. "We''ve lived for who knows how long? Maybe it''s time to live for ourselves and not some tyrannical master. What do you say?"

    us let the thoughts settle in his mind for a brief moment, but then, feeling a strange pull by the promise of freedom, he couldn''t help but nod at the mistress.

    "You''re right," he muttered, she smiled.

 Chapter 310 310 - The People Of A Fallen Faith

    ?

    After wandering the streets of Marquis through his portal, Razor took to being amoner wearing theyman''s clothes. Walking around the streets without being limited by his mana, he had much more room to explore before having to take a rest outside the city.

    So far, all he''s seen was the everyday lives of the inhabitants with nothing truly out of the ordinary. Had he not known that the kingdom was being controlled by a demon, he would''ve been duped into believing this ce to be just another regr kingdom.

    "Well¡­" Resting a pouch filled with gold on the guilt''s reception, Razor settled into a chair and nced up at the attendant present. "Where''s everyone? No adventurers in town?"

    Her back turned away from Razor, the receptionist kept dusting the wine sses stacked on the shelf behind the counter. One after the other, she would pick one out and clean them with a wet cloth before setting them back into their spot.

    As her cleaning process continued and Razor kept being ignored, he decided toy down all the facade and dig out what he came here looking for.

    "An adventurer''s guild without adventurers¡­Why would they need a receptionist?" Muttering under his breath, he slipped around the counter and stood just behind the mute receptionist. "It''s almost as if people do use this ce just not for what you might expect."

    Whispering into her ears, he was ready to use reality alter to force a confession out of her, but before he could, Razor noticed her body stiffening up before hesitantly attempting to turn around to look at him.

    "Why are you here?" She asked, her left hand confidently resting on her hip.

    Taking just a moment to look the brte up and down, Razor wondered why she would be stationed as the gatekeeper when her looks were sure to attract unnecessary attention.

    "To find adventurers, why else would I be here?" Razor replied, sensing a test on her part.

    Crossing her arms, the girl squinted her gaze while still looking at Razor''s face. With a step backward, her eyes lit up a curious glow as if she''d realized who exactly she was looking at.

    "You''re not a demon, are you?" She asked, trying to make sure it wasn''t someone masking themselves as a general.

    "Not yet, no," upon hearing his response her shoulders instantly dropped.

    Seemingly relieved, the receptionist heaved a sigh soon after which a genuine smile crept up her lips.

    "Razor Alumnibolt, am I right?" Her suspect gaze now reced with curious charm, the receptionist poked a finger into Razor''s chest to see if he was real. "Whoa¡­You''re not a phantom. I thought everyone surrounding the emperor would be dead too."

    "Well now that you know who I am, why not spit out where the others are?" Razor proposed without much reservation about disying what he wanted.

    "Uh-" Drawing her finger back, she wheezed through her teeth wondering if she''d given him too much information too early. Peering back into his eyes, she took a deep breath and dropped all sense of pretense anymore. "Fine, just promise me you won''t tell anyone about our base."

    "I''d suggest getting a better ce to hide the resistance then, finding out about this rebel''s hiding spot was easier than getting a change of clothes," Razor muttered, letting down the hood on his cloak.

    Pressing her lips shut, the girl moved aside and revealed under her feet a dusty small carpet. Kicking it to the side, she then revealed a small openable hatch leading into the basement of the establishment.

    "I feel like every guild has that kind of underground hiding spot," reminded of his time in Laria, Razor was quite honestly surprised that these people haven''t been found yet by Haruki''s demonic guards roaming around the city.

    "I suppose you''re right, we should move out soon," replied the girl while opening up the hatch.

    Just looking through it, Razor noticed numerous people peering up at them with their bows and swords drawn out in fear. They''d possibly assumed the hatch was being opened because a demon guard had found the ce, but upon seeing the familiar face of the receptionist, they quickly lowered their weapons and made room for the two to descend down to the basement.

    ''These idiots would''ve died the moment trouble showed up¡­'' Landing inside the basement and looking around, Razor was not in the least confident about any of them surviving a single demon''s attack. They all looked as if they''d seen a ghost, terrified, and shaking in their boots. ''He probably had the stronger adventurers killed in fear of rebellion.''

    Left with a crop of at best copper te adventurers, Razor had little clue as to what exactly he could do with them.

    "Who is this?" Asked one of them to the receptionist.

    Even while looking around, Razor felt that barely any of them knew who it was. If it had been in a simr situation before the emperor''s fall, he would''ve been deeply offended by the whole thing, but knowing the fate of the human race was on the line, he chucked away his pride and simply let the girl introduce him to the others.

    "He''s one of the emperor''s war generals, sir Razor Alumnibolt," moving through the crowd, the girl had the adventurers subside so she could lead Razor to a set of chairs.

    By the time Razor settled on the chair by the dusty desk, everyone''s eyes were fixed right on him. None of them could take the receptionist''s words at face value, after all, in their mind everyone had suffered along with the emperor''s death.

    "Look, I do not have much time to exin, but just know this," stretching his arm forward, Razor nced through the crowd of varying adventurers. "Michael and I survived, Nabe is missing, and Dominion has been captured. As for the emperor, you already know what happened to him, thus it falls to us to rebel against the demonic rule. If you wish to fight under my banner, I''ll help you, but if you intend to hide in this basement counting your days, then there''s nobody that can save you."

    Keeping things as brief as possible, Razor ryed what he''de to offer. Even though these adventures didn''t appear all thatpetent, when it came to war oftentimes the weaker links can end up causing the most amount of trouble.

    "Again," rising from his seat, Razor offered the handful of adventurers a hand. "The world belongs to us humans, everyone else are pest that need to be culled."

    Speaking in thenguage of religion, the onlynguage effective enough to persuade them, it didn''t take long for him to sway their minds into agreeing with him. Bobbing their heads in agreement, the adventurers agreed to be recruited into Razor''s situationally convenient cult.

    "Alright then, reality alter: Mass teleportation!" With a bright blue sh, everyone inside the room was pulled into a vortex of light.

    Blinded temporarily they had no clue what was happening, all they could feel was a sense of fall that seemed never-ending. But spitted out into the forest near Marquis, their vision slowly recovered and they could finally make sense of things once again.

    "That''s quite a handful of people," an unfamiliar voice called out from behind them.

    Coming out of the realm tear portal at the very least, Razor was facing the direction of the voice.

    "What about you? Got anyone?" Razor asked, staring at Michael.

    "A few tribes, but it''ll take some time to convince them," replied the elf.

    ''At this rate, I''ll be a hundred years old before we have any semnce of an army.'' Even though they were definitely getting people to join them, their rate of recruitment was definitely not as drastic as Razor had expected.

    "He''s taking everyone under his banner, no wonder we''re not finding much," Razor muttered to himself.

    "Let''s just set up camp for everyone first and then worry about everything elseter," Michael suggested, trying to secure the potential soldiers they''d acquired for now.

    For the rest of the day, the two generals as well as the adventurers spent their time setting up a secure parameter around the Marquis kingdom and making sure it was secluded enough to not be found by the demon guards roaming the Marquian cities. Once everyone had settled down, Razor and Michael began to clear their doubts about the emperor''s death but also made sure not to reveal anything about the Valkyries killing him.

    Instead, they turned their rage towards Haruki by making him the monster who''d yed the emperor, the preacher of their god''s words. At a certain point, the duo almost forgot that the emperor and As, their god, werepletely different people to themon folk, but thankfully they hadn''t slipped anything that could help them draw that conclusion.

    ''They can''t know that their god is dead, and not just the man who carried his message.'' These were the thoughts of both generals as they kept their lips shut about the situation.

 Chapter 311 311 - Internal Conflict And A Deadly Mistake

    ?

    Like any other day, Serena was gracefully making her way to the infirmary to heal Azalea and herpany''s wounds, however, walking through a barrage of grimm, shaken looks from the guards, she could feel a sense of bizarre tension lingering in the air.

    Without a word of questioning, she made her way to the wounded girl''s room, but to her surprise, Azalea was nowhere to be found. Confused by the sight of the empty bed, she made her way outside to finally question the guards about what was happening.

    "Where is the girl?" She asked, trying her best to make herself lookposed.

    The guards remained silent with their heads hanging down. Breezing her sight past the elvens, Serena turned to her acolyte, and with but a gaze she passed her thoughts onto them. Moving around the makeshift infirmary, the acolytes quickly surrounded the ce and had a chasm of dark magic floating around their fingers.

    "Again, I ask," resting a nail under the chin of a male elven guard, Serena raised his face so she could look him in the eye. "And trust me, I am being nice since I might have a strain of elven blood in me. Answer, where is the girl?"

    The very first thing the guard noticed upon gazing up; were the sharp edges on Serena''s ears appearing once she undid masking magic. Her acolytes knew of her troubled origins, born to an elven woman with a deficiency of skin pigments, which in turn made their priestess''s skin as pale as the wax of a candle.

    "Now that you know, I''m giving you onest chance to answer before I gouge your eyes out and nobody believes what you saw after," Serena whispered with the gentlest smile.

    Fearing for his life the guard began to pant and inevitably wheeze out a name.

    "The q-queen, the goblin queen!" He stuttered, struggling to speak out any further.

    "The queen?" Tilting her head, Serena squinted, focusing her gaze on the shaken guard''s face. "What did she do exactly?"

    "She took the girl away and some of the other wounded servants of Master Deus''s!" Spat the female elf guard standing beside him.

    Shifting her gaze to the girl, Serena let go of the man and questioned further.

    "Where and who gave her that authority? My patients are mine to move around, not hers," hearing Serena''s question, the other guards defending the ce raised their heads as well.

    The infirmary was a makeshift building with a handful of people guarding it, and even fewer were allowed in. And despite the fact that the goblin queen was one of those people, her authority was limited to checkups since she wasn''t exactly known for the delicate handling of other people.

    "W-we don''t know Mistress Serena, she didn''t say anything, just took the girl away with her!" Yet another useless response left the lips of one of the guards.

    ''What in the world is she plotting?'' Curling her fist tight and clenching her teeth, Serena was barely hanging on the facade of acting the part of a priestess.

    "Hawthorn! Where is the goblin queen!" Serena yelled, calling out to the omnipresent dragonkin.

    ''I¡­I didn''t teleport her from this vige today, she should be around here but I can''t feel her presence anywhere.'' The mental reply from the dragon left Serena aghast. She shook her head from side to side trying to make sure her mind didn''t process the news wrong.

    "You don''t know?" She muttered, and the dragon hummed in response.

    ''Where the fuck is this bitch?!'' Having no clue about where the goblin queen was and what she was doing, Serena only had one possible thing she could do. ''Ry the news to Margarette and Master! We need to find her and the people she took along with her!''

    ''Wait¡­'' Hawthorn ryed to her through his mind, sensing something to have changed. ''She, the queen¡­She''s in the dungeonb working with Medusa and a demon lord.''

    The more things escted, the more confusion it brought. Despite now knowing where the queen was, the very fact that Hawthorn couldn''t sense her before was more than enough to raise suspicion.

    "What about the others? The ones she took with her?" As she talked to herself, everyone around Serena looked at her as though she''d gone insane. However, given the situation, she didn''t care what others thought at the moment at all.

    ''No, none of them are with her.'' As Hawthorn threw yet another curve ball of confusion, Serena decided to go ahead with her n to inform everyone and see where things go from there.

    "Teleport me to her now!" She demanded, and this time Hawthorn didn''t refuse her demand.

    ***

    Far away from the ordeal, Mercie and us were just done sealing the stolen bodies into giant ss containers that they''d gotten with the queen''s help.

    "You sure she won''t remember anything?" Mercie asked us, growing a bit suspicious over the extent of his hold on her mind.

    "Not a second, she won''t remember anything, besides, if you don''t trust me, just see through your clone, shouldn''t it be working with her right now?" us responded while moving towards the working station.

    "Yeah, she''s as bitchy as always," quickly looking through the clone, Mercie joined us to finish thest few steps of their n.

    "Just like someone else I know," us said, ncing at Mercie for a second before shifting her gaze back to work.

    Rolling her eyes, Mercie let the matter go and helped us lift and set up the apparatus before they could finally begin their experiment. The first batch of potions was already forced down the lips of the stolen females from Deus'' army. Thankfully, not being lust demons their chances of pregnancy weren''t as abysmal.

    "Let''s hope this works," Mercie muttered, forcing the girls inside the tubes to wake up with her maniptive magic.

    As the girls began waking up inside the ss, still notpletely having recovered from their injuries they all seemed a little delirious. Even those who were more aware than the rest tried bashing out through the ss vessel, but their hands were quickly tied back by Mercie''s dark magic.

    With the sound of them squirming and screaming, the two demon lords kept working on the finishing touches. Until it was finally time to test a few things.

    "First their blood samples, second, testing out their pain tolerance, andst, speeding their bodily time with a hint of time magic," checking all the things on their list, Mercie moved closer to the ss and had her arm phase in through the vessel and stab the girls with an extraction syringe.

    Seeing them sequel and il around like fish, she couldn''t help beaming as the struggles of those around her have always managed to please her the most. When it came time to extract Azalea''s blood, her excitement grew even further. Feeling herself up between the thighs, she bit her lower lips as she stabbed the girl near the very same ce.

    Showing no shame despite us being in the same room, she began poking her insides with the needles while at the same time, she let her fingers slip into her pussy folds. Drooling like a hungry dog, she subconsciously pressed her head against the ss and kept torturing the semi-conscious girl until her body forced her back into aa-like state.

    "Are you done?" us growled, disgusted by the disy by Mercie.

    He''d never seen this side of her, but at the back of his mind, even he knew she''d always been a little twisted in the head.

    "Almost¡­" Drawing the needle out, Mercie couldn''t help but lick the blood clean off of it. Letting the taste mingle inside her mouth, her eyes widened by the taste of something strange. "Wait!"

    Frozen in ce, she blinked her eyes a few times, trying to figure out if her taste buds had failed her at that moment. She could taste not one but two different types of blood in the cocktail of blood she had gripped between her fingers.

    "She¡­" ncing up at Azalea''s face, the mistress couldn''t believe what she''d just found. "She had a baby in her womb just now, I think I killed it."

    Following her words, the room was silent without a peep from her or us. It was only when a potion vial slipped through us''s fingers and shattered that the two were brought back to their senses.

    "The potion couldn''t have worked so soon, that means!" Turning to look at us, Mercie knew she''d messed up something major.

    "You killed Deus''s child¡­" us finished her thought and the two stood there in silence for a moment, not knowing what to make of the situation.

    ''No wonder that priestess bitch was so stingy about keeping everyone out!'' Connecting the dots about Serena''s overprotective behavior towards Azalea, Mercie wondered if she''d even told Deus about the baby she''d just murdered inside the womb. Either way, the duo couldn''t continue on working, at least not until they figured out how to prepare Azalea''s body for the experiment after the mess-up.

 Chapter 312 312 - Chasing Phantoms And Memories

    ?

    It had been a few days since Haruki and his light army set up camp near the demi-tigers and demi-wolf ns, and in that time, Maria had managed to capture quite a handful of both ns with the help from the provided army.

    Setting up traps, and ambushes everywhere she could, she was for once feeling confident that her head would remain where it belonged for at least a while longer. Aiding her in creating reports, Riley on the other end was having some seriously insidious problems that she could not reveal to anyone.

    "Hey, are you okay?" Noticing the swiftwind spy''s breath growing heavier, Maria rose from her seat and grabbed onto her hand. The moment her skin made contact, however, she was forced to draw away as her skin was burned by Riley''s raging fever. "What the?!"

    "Sit down!" Her teeth gritted in rage, Riley pushed the strategist back into her seat. "Don''t you dare touch me you piece of shit garbage!"

    With a mix of fear and shock, Maria just sat there in the chair with her eyes wide in confusion as to what she''d done wrong. Still grunting, Riley kept ring at her until her mind slowly began to calm down again.

    "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to-"

    "Forget it," Riley blurted out before Maria could finish her apology. "Just keep your mouth shut about this incident."

    ncing around the tent, Riley was d that nobody else had seen her freak out just now. Turning back to Maria, she looked into her eyes again and saw fear paralleling the time she was cannibalized by Greta.

    ''That incident seems to have affected her to the core, I shouldn''t push her too much or who knows what she''ll end up doing to herself?'' Fearing a potential risk of insanity or suicide, Riley decided to dismiss herself from the camp for the moment.

    "I need some air, you can work on the report alone for me, right?" She asked, Maria fervently nodded in response.

    Making her way out of the tent without dragging things any further. Riley started walking towards the forest, far away from the sight of everyone else. From what she remembered, a river was supposed to be nearby, and taking a dip in it might help her body simmer down a little. While making her way there, however, her vision turned to two and a stabbing headache took hold of her entire skull.

    "Wh-what''s happening?" She muttered, slowly bringing herself down to her knees so she could get some rest.

    With the stress on her body getting worse and worse, Riley was forced to let herself lie down on the dirty forest ground,pletely vulnerable to enemies. Thankfully, the tribes didn''t venture where she was, but it wasn''t the tribe that she had to worry about, but something a lot more sinister.

    ''Status loss: Benevolent actor''s blessing!'' The moment that announcement rang in her head, a sharp jolting pain paralyzed every inch of her body. As if poisoned and electrocuted at the same time, shey there with her eyes wide open, looking through the air as if her mind had turned to mush.

    The next thing she knew, she wasn''t there, no longer present in her own body. Drifting off somewhere, somewhere far, somewhere deste, somewhere cold, and somewhere scorching and somewhere with the hint of lingering death. Edging so close to her own demise, she was clinging to life as the parasitic creature began rewiring her brain.

    ''Status changed: Servant of the Prince of Hell!'' And then she awoke again, her eyes zing a crimson red.

    ***

    "Where the fuck did you take my patients?!" Storming into thebs, Serena pped a vial of extract out of the goblin queen''s hands.

    Shocked gasps echo through the room as everyone witnessed the rowdy behavior. The queen, having no idea what was happening, red at Serena in rage, especially since she was being osted in front of plenty of her own people.

    "What the hell are you talking about, priestess?" She asked, baring her fangs to make Serena back away.

    Not afraid of the queen in the least, the priestess conjured her staff of truth and mmed it against the ground. The bells hanging by its top echoed through the room for a while, silencing everyone else who''d been whispering and gossiping.

    "Uh¡­I don''t know what''s happening between you two, but maybe we should calm down first?" Moving between the two, Medusa tried to separate them.

    "Yeah, how about you take a seat first Serena?" Mercie advised, moving closer to the action as well.

    "Don''t!" Directing her staff towards the mistress of greed, Serena shifted her attention from the goblin queen to her. "Don''t you dare call me by my name you monster!"

    Appearing behind the priestess''s shoulder, the pair of wax dolls red at Mercie as well. Their eyes spiraling in the image of the skies at dusk and dawn felt hypnotizing to the trio opposing Serena, but even then they managed to keep their minds without submitting to their spell.

    ''Mistress Mercie, we have a problem.'' Ryed the clone to the real Mercie who was still working back at Deus''sb with us.

    ''Fuck!'' Was all the clone heard before having to cut the link short upon noticing the arrival of yet another uninvited visitor.

    "Azalea, where the fuck did you take her?!" Marching out from the bright teleportation light, Deus rushed towards the queen of goblins with a pair of transparent pistols gripped tightly in his hands. With no regard for anything at all, he zoomed forward like the wind and grabbed the queen right by the throat. "What the hell are you nning to do to her?! Where is she?! TELL ME NOW!"

    "What are you two talking about?!" Tired of ying nice, the goblin queen tried to sh away at Deus''s throat, but her hands phased right through the demon lord''s body.

    Moving even closer, Serena held her staff firm and asked a question to clear things up a little.

    "You''re hiding my patients, including that Azalea girl, aren''t you?"

    "For fuck''s sake, I have no idea what you two are talking about!" Surprisingly, Serena''s staff didn''t tip off a lie as the queen had no recollection of ever taking those patients away.

    Left utterly confused by what was happening, Serena didn''t know whether to believe the queen and lower her staff or keep questioning her. Looking at her staff, she jerked it around wondering if it had stopped working since it was being used after so long. But when that didn''t seem to be the case, she turned to the queen and helped her get Deus''s gun off of her neck.

    "Deus, she''s not lying," lowering his gun with the edge of her staff, Serena grabbed the enraged demon lord by his shoulder. "I can detect lies with my staff, but the bells on its top couldn''t detect any kind of deception from her just now."

    Still refusing to let go of his hand from the queen''s neck, Deus squeezed it tighter as if to torture her some more. To his misfortune, however, having been through much more invasive torture before, the queen of goblins didn''t seem fazed at all.

    "Fuck!" He screamed at the top of his lungs and turned to look at Serena. "Then where the hell is Azalea? And why did those guards back in the vige lie?!"

    ''So he talked to the guards as well¡­I was fearing that would happen.'' Gulping down her own rage, Serena tried to keep a level head and think.

    "A doppelganger, or someone masking as the queen, that''s the only exnation," she muttered, opening her eyes once again.

    Still having no clue as to what was going on, the queen grabbed the two by her ws and growled at them angrily.

    "You two fuckers aren''t just going to get away with insulting me, apologize now!" Her eyes glowing crimson, the queen of goblins was ready to sh away at the two if needed be. Even her people were slowly surrounding the duo who''did their hands on their queen.

    "Until I''m certain it wasn''t you, I''m not apologizing for shit," Deus replied.

    "Look, how about we start looking for the real culprit instead of threatening each other," ncing through the crowd of goblins slowly closing in on her, Serena knew she couldn''t show any weaknesses. "Besides,y a finger on me and my followers will chase you even after their deaths."

    Growling again and sinking her nails deep into the arms of them both, the queen of goblins slowly retreated her hands back to herself.

    "Get the fuck out if you''re just gonna waste our time, unlike you two, we actually have a job to do," she whispered with deep contempt.

    "I will, but before that¡­" Closing her eyes, Serena wanted to first ry what she''d found to Hawthorn.

    ''You didn''t tell Haruki yet, did you? That could cause a lot of trouble now.'' She told him.

    ''I-I can''t contact him and the battalions he took with him, it''s almost like someone is blocking his presence with magic.'' Hawthorn replied, dropping yet another bomb into the giant conundrum.

 Chapter 313 313 - Escalating War And Confusion

    ?

    Following the kidnappings, the tension between the demi-human ns was at an all-time high to the point where an unexpected truce was made. Setting up a meeting through a mediator, the tribe chieftains were about to meet for a quick resolution of the matter, and perhaps even get their people back from the other tribe.

    ''You in with them?'' Hearing Haruki''s voice ringing in her ears, Maria hummed a positive tune to keep her cover intact. ''Great, keep the mediator''s mask up, I need you to keep them busy while we pluck the tribe''s people in their viges.''

    After having kidnapped the demi-wolf, demi-tiger hybrid mediator, Maria was masking herself as that girl to keep the meeting going for as long as possible. All the while, Haruki''s scanty army plucked the defenseless tribe''s men while their soldiers and chiefs were out meeting on neutral ground.

    ''Maria, Riley here, I''ll start ughtering the guards outside soon, make sure the chiefs and their guards are deep enough inside the halls so they can''t hear any screaming.'' Humming again to Riley''s n, Maria led the two chiefs down into the basement of a long abandoned shrine. The spot had been a point of sacred interest for both pastries and thus the chances of anything going wrong from one side were in a severe low.

    "How long until we reach this hall?" Roared the demi-tiger chief, his white mane reverberating with his every word.

    "Don''t waste our time girl, I wouldn''t wanna be stuck with this mutt for longer than I have to!" Comined the demi-wolf chieftain, his emerald gaze stabbing Maria on the back.

    Despite them both having gathered here for diplomacy and the resolution of their missing tribe''s people, the two make any effort to appear likable to the other person. Even as they followed Maria, they refused to acknowledge the other''s presence and in case their eyes ever met for some reason, they would both look away and spit in disgust.

    "Not much longer, we had to repurpose the dungeon to be the meeting room since it was the only ce left standing after the wars between us," Maria exined, trying her best to act as part of both races and a bridge between both.

    "You better not be lying, traitor''s daughter," Howled the wolf-chieftain.

    "That''s right, I''ll tear you apart if you try to y us," added the demi-tiger chief.

    ''Seems like the only thing that brings them together is their hate for this little girl. What is her story? And how did she even manage to get these two together for a meeting?'' Maria''s curiosity couldn''t be quenched at the moment, and knowing that she shrugged the thoughts off and led the two and their guards into the dungeon meeting hall.

    Set between a long array of cells on both sides with a lone table set in between, the ce wasn''t the most ideal for such a meet, but their choices were limited. Since the shriney between the two ns''nd, this was the only spot the chiefs could meet without being seen as weaklings. If either of them had entered the other''s ce on theirmand, they would''ve instantly lost the support as well as the respect of their n''s members.

    ''This should be deep enough.'' Contacting Riley through Haruki''s hive-mind ability, Maria gave Riley the signal to get started on their massacre.

    "Alright, let''s begin," although, turning to the chieftains, Maria said those words to them, but in reality, it was meant for someone else entirely. But, fortunately for her, the two monsters of demi-humans wouldn''t know anything about her true nature until everything they''ve worked for had already crumbled and was over.

    ***

    With nothing but a handful of guards to defend them, Haruki''s army was swatting out the tribe''s people like flies. Once they were struck down, the soldiers would quickly transport them to their hidden camp inside the forest, from which point on, they''ll soon be teleported to the dungeon research facility by Haruki.

    And even though everything was going on swimmingly, something just didn''t seem right to the new lord of lust.

    ''Riley, how''s everything there?'' He asked through hive mind.

    It took a while for the spy to respond but when she did it turned out positive just like at the viges.

    ''The guards outside the shrine are dealt with, we''re waiting for the chieftains toe outside so we can capture them as well.'' Capturing the elite of the tribes had been one of Riley''s tasks, thus killing the chiefs would''ve been counterproductive to what she was assigned to do.

    ''Let me know if anything goes wrong.'' Saying that Haruki temporarily cut their mental link. Feeling anxious still, he couldn''t help but be reminded of all the times when everything seemed to be going well, but then all of a sudden tragedy struck. ''Am I being paranoid or-''

    ''Haruki?'' Standing at the very center of the demi-tiger vige, Haruki was suddenly assaulted with a screeching voice calling out his name inside his head. ''F-finally I got to you!''

    "Hawthorn? What''s the deal with you?" he mumbled, his fingers pressed tightly against his temples.

    ''I-it''s a long story, bu-b-but-'' Hearing the dragon''s words in a jittery mess, Haruki could barely make out what he was saying. ''Y-you''re needed b-b-ack at the-ab!''

    "Hawthorn, what the hell is going on?!" Haruki growled, demanding an answer, but the dragon''s voice had already faded.

    "What the hell was that?" He muttered, standing in the middle of demi-tiger blood and guts, wondering what exactly had happened. But the only way to find out was to do as he was told and return back to theb constructed inside the dungeon.

    Giving quick orders to his soldiers, Haruki made a swift return to their camp masked by Asmodia''s magic. There, he noticed Asuka and the demi-cats healing the injured demi-humans who''d been brought back so they could be in prime shame while being experimented on. But what interested him more at the moment was Asmodia and the weight of responsibilities he had to force onto her while he checked on theb.

    "Something wrong?" She asked, just looking at Haruki''s face.

    "How could you tell?" Haruki said, huffing a sigh.

    "I live inside your head most of the time, you can''t keep any secrets from me you know," hearing her answer, Haruki felt slightly irked but he didn''t have time to indulge in a quarrel.

    "Whatever, just listen to me now," Quickly briefing her on what he''d heard from Hawthorn, Haruki asked her to take charge of the situation in Feral Lands while he went to check on the researchbs.

    Agreeing to the n, Asmodia left for the tribe''s vige to conduct Haruki''s soldiers, all the while, the lord of lust made his own way into a dungeon portal. What awaited him on the other end was a deste ce filled with silence. The stairs that reached the sky no longer echoed footsteps and as he ventured on towards the mainb, he saw only but a handful of people packed inside the room.

    "Finally, you''re here," Serena sighed, relieved at the very sight of Haruki.

    "What took so long?" Deus asked, seeming visibly impatient as he anxiously tapped his feet onto the ground.

    Moving forward, the goblin queen was the first to approach Haruki directly, and although Medusa tried to hold back the raging queen, her hand was simply pped off of the queen''s body. Standing before Haruki, the goblin queen stared at Haruki as if she was directly insulted by him and not by Serena and Deus.

    "I want these two to apologize to me or my children won''t work a muscle for you¡­" Shemanded, her eyes glowing a bright crimson red.

    "Why? What happened?" Looking over the queen''s shoulder, Haruki noticed Serena and Deus both ncing away from him the moment his eyesid on them. "What did you two do?"

    "Okay, wait," crawling closer to Haruki, Medusa slipped between the goblin queen and him to try and calm things down. "How about I exin to the master what has happened, and you guys, uhm¡­Just rx at a corner for a moment? It''s his decision where this goes anyway, right?"

    Although reluctant at first, the queen bit down her pride and made her way to the seats at the of the room. The other two made their way to the stools parallel to the queen and settled down as well.

    "Now will you tell me what has happened? And where''s everyone?" Haruki asked Medusa.

    "Y-yeah¡­It''s a long story, but here I go," following those words, Medusa began untangling the confusion that had spread from the elven vige to the insides of this dungeon.

    By the end of the retelling of events, Haruki was left baffled at the utter idiocy of hispanions and just how childish they''d been in his absence.

    "Azalea and her soldiers are missing, there was apparently a goblin queen''s clone infiltrating our ranks, Margarette was informed of this before me, and all you guys are doing is sit around quarreling with each other over a stupid fucking thing?" With how serious of a matter he''d left behind at the Feralnds, there was no room for leniency in Haruki''s heart for the moment.

    ncing over at Serena and Deus, Haruki scowled in disgust before ordering them.

    "Apologize to the queen, and try to find the real culprit and where those people are," while Serena was somewhat inclined to do as Haruki ordered, Deus was not in the least willing to bend the neck to the queen, especially not when he suspected her to be the one who''d kidnapped his lover.

    ''First, Riley got knocked unconscious that night, now this? There''s no way any of this is a coincidence.'' Intruding on Haruki''s thoughts, Deus yelled out against him.

    "Fuck off! I guess I should''ve joined Marice in trying to find Azalea already instead of waiting for you in hopes that you''d have any semnce of a n!" With that, Deus teleported out of the room with his sister Marice''s help.

    ''Hawthorn? Was that you?'' Shielding himself from the blinding teleportation light, Haruki tried to figure out if Hawthorn was teleporting him away.

    ''No, I think the mistress of greed has some way of teleporting that she''d been hiding so far.'' The dragon replied.

    ''What in the world is going on?'' With so many things tangled up at the same time, Haruki hadn''t a clue where to begin untangling it all.

    Should he try to figure out what happened to Riley first? Or should he try to find the missing people? Perhaps taking care of the tribe''s situation came first, but then again, he also had Margarette and Fay to check on as well. To make matters even worse, the whereabouts of the living war generals of the emperor were yet a mystery, a mystery that was about to cause him a heap load of trouble.

    Having heard of a disturbance in the Feralnds through his informant in his vige, Michael was well aware of the war between the demi-tigers and demi-wolfs, and with things escting so quickly and kidnappings at every corner, the eyes of many rogue elves were helping him keep track of the situation.

    "Say, you needed someone from that demon''s inner circle didn''t you?" Asked an elf keeping watch on the masked tents where countless demi-humans were being brought.

    ''Yeah, but not just anyone, we need someone we can use to get control of him.'' Michael replied, talking to the left through an ethereal link.

    "Greta, a war general of Haruki''s, she can be useful to us," Smiling at the sight of the bound demon general trapped inside a steel cage, the elven was barely keeping himself fromughing out loud.

    Stashing his telescope back into his pocket, the elf climbed off the tree and quickly returned to his battalion to report.

 Chapter 314 314 - The Duty Of Heavenly Bodies

    ?

    The sound of nking armor filled the dusty path ahead. Wandering through the dark, Helga got closer and closer to the light barely cracking from the gaps on the brick ceiling. With each step, the sight before her grew more crystal, and finally, as she stood before the stone mural, she feasted her eyes on thest proof of craftsmanship from the creator himself.

    "Ouroboros¡­" She muttered, pressing her hands against the sandstone artifact. "The devourer of the world, the herald to the apocalypse, and one so blinded by his pursuit for power he devourers himself whole."

    "Sounds familiar, doesn''t it?" Appearing out of thin air, the cloudy image of the prince of hell stood leaning against the walls of the passage right behind Helga.

    For once, she didn''t mind his deplorable presence. Instead, she was d that he was here so they could settle on something extremely important.

    "You and I both know how this ends," turning to the prince, Helga folded her hand and leaned back against the mural. "If that demon has acquired that title, then nothing can stop him except us, that too only if we move quickly."

    Kicking the wall, the prince stood straight up and conjured a light to smoke while the two talked. Even though it was just a reflection of him from the underworld, Helga could still smell the tobo as he burned the end of his cigar.

    "Well, what do you suggest we do then?" Blowing smoke towards the Valkyrie, the prince huffed a sigh and continued. "Not only is that maggot on the path to steal my title, but he''s also your biggest enemy against the world''s end. For all we know he might never let you destroy it if he gets strong enough before those goons of yours get him under control."

    "And your hellspawns, how effective have they been?" Helga shot back, her eyes scowling behind the iron visor.

    "More than that elf and human you''remanding. I''ve even gotten hold of one of his minions, Riley Phoenix she''s called," The prince retorted, blowing smoke right onto her face again.

    Fanning it off, Helga gritted her teeth and threw a punch right through the prince''s illusionary body. To the surprise of neither, her fist went him and she was left grunting behind the image of the prince.

    "It''s not my fault you refuse to defy your duties and just get your own fingers down in the mud," taking a final hit of the cigar, the prince threw it in Helga''s direction but that too went right through her body. "It''d be much easier if you just bend the rules for a day or two, that monster doesn''t stand a chance against your strength."

    "Shut up!" Screaming at him, Helga turned to look the prince in the eyes. Lifting up her iron visor she red at him with her iris glowing a piercing emerald. "Unlike you, I have a duty to uphold and a set of rules to abide by! If I go against them and kill even an ant on As before the apocalypse, then what difference will be left between you and me?"

    The prince''s indifference quickly dropped into utter disappointment. He hadn''te here just to boast about his own progress, but he''d expected Helga to have acquired some sense and break the vows that held her back from unleashing her true power.

    "And here I thought you must have changed after killing one go after the other," clicking his tongue, the image of the prince of hell disappeared from before Helga''s eyes.

    Left alone in the crypt, she took a deep breath to calm herself before gazing at the mural once more. A giant serpent or a dragon, hard to tell yet disastrously all the same. Eating at its own tail, it signified a cycle, a cycle of perpetual life and death along with¡­

    ''A symbol of the world''s end and perhaps the birth of another as well.'' Unsure exactly which one Haruki would be, Helga knew something had to be done, but breaking the rules of her vows to do so wasn''t really an option. ''There must be something that I-''

    "My queen," walking up behind her, one of the Valyrian guards knelt down behind Helga.

    Taking just a moment to wash her expression, Helga lowered her visor and turned to the girl.

    "What is it? Coming in here without my permission, this better be important, soldier," Helga asked, wearing a stern expression.

    "Your messengers in As have caught something of interest," peering up at her queen through her own visor, the Valkyrie added. "I believe it requires your immediate attention and that''s why I barged into the sacred sanctum despite not being worthy."

    "And you know the punishment?" Conjuring her trident, Helga got ready to carry out the supposed punishment.

    Without even a word, the Valkyrie simply lowered her head and got ready for yet another trip to the fountain of life as a newborn.

    "Very well, I''ll check with the others what they''ve found," ring down at her soldier, Helga felt a sense of pride from the girl''s actions. "You did well, now rest for a while."

    Whispering thosest few words, the queen did what had to be done. As the soldier''s head rolled off her shoulders, her body burst into a glister and the dust trailed off into the direction of the fountain.

    With not even a speck of the Valkyrie''s ashes left behind, Helga marched towards the exit and made her way back to her tent.

    ***

    "Asmodia and Haruki aren''t in their camp at the moment, this is our chance to grab the war general and potentially one of the demi-humans he''s close to as well," talking directly to Michael through the minds, the elven scout gave them the green to invade the demons'' tents.

    "Alright, you guys can return to the vige, don''t want the other elves to me me for your deaths too in case that happens," with a simple order from Micheal, the scout bagged his telescope and went on to meet with the others from his group so they could return home safely.

    Not too far away from the scouting area, Micheal and Razor were ready to assault the demon''s camp with a handful of adventurers and some demi-human tribesmen who''d agreed to help them reduce Haruki''s influence in As.

    Gathered under the trees, they''d so far managed to slip unnoticed but now it was time to reveal themselves and take down some demons. And even though some of the participants in the uing battle didn''t seem to be the most reliable bet, they were all ready toy their lives on the line for a change of freedom from a growing tyrant.

    "Alright, let me remind you of your roles again," gathering everyone into files, Razor stood near a raised tree, looking down at the others as he ryed the agreed-upon orders. "Demons, monsters, and demi-humans are all sensitive to light, and so when Michael creates a bright distraction in the sky, the human adventurers are to follow me and grab as many hostages as possible, mainly that Greta girl, and if and only if possible Asuka, Haruki''s closest aide."

    Shifting his gaze to the group of demi-humans, Razor nced through their ranks before rying their orders as well.

    "All demi-humans are to shield their eyes until Michael''s distraction is over, but the moment it''s let down you''re all going to make sure that the adventurers aren''t followed while retreating with the haul. But do keep in mind, if you get captured yourself nobody wille to get you so be careful,"stly moving onto the monster tribes they''d gathered under their banner from here and there, Razor parted his lips for onest set of orders. "As for you guys, act as if you''re rogue monsters and keep watch on the demons once everything is settled."

    ''Never thought I would say this when I first met the adventurers, but with Asmodia and Haruki both away, we can definitely put up a front against the demons.'' Although still not that confident in the abilities of his newpanions, Razor was beginning to wonder if they could actually take down the decaying god.

    The only problem so far had been the Mistress of Lust, and the other demon lords on Haruki''s side. Fighting them would''ve been definite suicide, but since they''ve been scatted all over thend of As currently, this was the perfect time to create an opening that they could useter on to finally get rid of them all.

    Feeling optimistic, Razor nced over to Micheal at the very end of the gathered army of soldiers. Unlike him, however, the elf seemed to be musing in quite the opposite manner.

    ''What kind of can of worms will kidnapping Greta and Asuka open? Maybe we can finally find out what happened to Nabe and Dominion as well as many other secrets. Yet, for some reason, I doubt Haruki will stay silent for long once he finds out what we''ve done¡­'' Heaving a sigh, Micheal raised his gaze to meet Razor''s, and with a hesitant nod, he finally signaled the start of their operation.

 Chapter 315 315 - Crumble

    ?

    "God-tier summon: Archangel!" Following Michael''s words, a tear between realms appeared in the sky above the Forest.

    Peering in through the gap, an eyeball emitted light brighter than the sun, blinding any and all who dared inspect the Archangel with their own eyes. Shielding their eyes with tinted visors, the human adventurers along with Razor made great use of this opportunity to sneak into the demonic camps.

    Blindedpletely and even groaning on the ground from the effect of the holy light, not only were the demons hurt but their skins were burning like charcoal. The only problem they were to run into was in case the demons hiding inside the tents decided toe out with some sort of protection against the holy light.

    "The cage quick!" Seeing how the demons were burning up alive, Razor made haste towards Greta''s cage so she could be kidnapped before being burned to a crisp by the light.

    On their way there, however, something caught Razor''s attention. And even as his soldiers went on ahead towards Greta, he stood frozen by the infirmary tent to check up on something. Remembering back to his encounters with Haruki and hispanions, Asuka was definitely a healer and so were the other two demi-cats, thus if there was any ce they were hiding it was bound to be here.

    "Sir Razor!" Called one of the adventurers.

    Quickly turning his gaze to them, Razor yelled out in response.

    "Go ahead, and get that demon general, I have someone else here to take care of!" With that, he drew his saber and stabbed into the sealed entrance to the expansive tent. Slowly running his de from up to down, he left a giant hole in the tent that let the light finally creep inside.

    The first thing he heard from inside, were screams of countless demons burning up already. To him, those screams were a sweet melody that he''d longed to hear for a while. shing through the entrance, he quickly headed inside, and what met him on the other end put a wide smile on his face.

    "Lulu! Miasmic flytrap! Attack him!" Locking her eyes with his, Asuka sent her familiars to strike the weapon out of Razor''s hands.

    Athena and Alice too tried to get a few swings on Razor with their sharp ws, but before they could reach and swing, Razor used his own ability to render their strikes useless.

    "Reality alter: Wither!" In the blink of an eye, the two familiars wrinkled up and shrunk in size. Even the ws of both Alice and Athena aged to the point where they couldn''t lift a single finger.

    Looking down at their hands left as floppy as rubber, both the demi-cats began to pant excessively as their hearts built up a panic attack. Seeing how things were getting out of hand, Asuka made yet another attempt to distance themselves from the approaching war general.

    ''The other demons are as good as dead, I have to do this!'' Her levels already drained by Haruki, Asuka didn''t have many options at her disposal. Staring into the general''s eyes, she not only used her allure as a subus but also the ability to charm as a demon fox.

    "Charm!" She announced, her eyes glowing a mix of violet and golden.

    For the briefest of moments, Razor seemed surprised, almost lost in her gaze even, but that didn''tst long when he pped Asuka''s face with the back of his hands. Falling down from the strike, she felt her mouth pooling with blood.

    ''W-why do I-'' Feeling weaker than ever, Asuka''s vision grew blurry with each passing moment. Not long after, she noticed Athena and Alice''s body falling beside her as well. Each one of them drained for their levels by their master had no chance to put up a fight against Razor, and since neither Haruki nor Asmodia was here, the chances of them slipping through his fingers were even slimmer.

    Clenching her weakened fist, Asuka red up at the general with her eyes burning in deep rage. However, with but a kick to the face, her hatred was extinguished like a weak, flickering me.

    "Now sleep," was what shest heard as her mind drifted away.

    The rest of Razor''s ns went exactly as expected. The adventurers managed to grab the near-dead Greta from her cage along with opening the cages for the captured demi-human so they could retreat once the light in the sky disappeared. Thankfully, the demi-humans were only affected by the light visually and their bodies didn''t burn, unlike the demons, thus if needed they could easily be convinced to join the rebellion against Harukiter.

    "Michael, send the demi-human battalion, we''re escaping with the haul," Razor conveyed to Michael through their ethereal link.

    ''I''m undoing the summon then, get back quick before Asmodia or Haruki return.'' Michael responded before undoing the giant holy summon in the sky.

    By the time the light retreated, the demonic camps were left aze with bodies, and only the demi-humans survived the archangel''s assaulting gaze. Soon enough they too will be gone from the used ce, and by that time, both Haruki and Asmodia will be on their way back to the camp.

    ***

    Not too long before the operation by Michael and Razor, Asmodia had just arrived at the tribe''s viges and was making sure everything ran as intended. All the soldiers were stuffing the demi-humans into cages which were then dragged along with horses in the direction of their camp. But as the blinding sight of the archangel was revealed, not even Asmodia could keep herself moving.

    Limited in power in the clone from Haruki, she could feel the burn on her skin but could do nothing about it. Even so, she tried to gaze into the archangel''s gaze, trying to figure out exactly what was happening. However, the only thing she could realize before her body turned to dust was that there was only one person in this world who could summon such a monster besides As.

    "Michael?" She mumbled as her clone burned to ashes.

    Her soul parted from the body, was pulled through the realms, and plunged back into Haruki, just as it had been stated in their contract. Plunged into Haruki not long after his quarrel with Deus and Serena, her soul forced the two unconscious. Copsing before the queen of goblins and Serena, Haruki was quickly taken to Fay and Ste in the adjacentb since only Fay could resolve matters of the soul.

    "What the hell?" The moment the two walked into the vessel creationb, Fay was left utterly shocked by the sight of Haruki''s body being carried between the queen and Serena.

    "What happened to him?!" Asked Ste, pale as a ghost.

    The two quickly rushed towards him and got Haruki in their own hands before guiding him towards a table. Having Serena clean everything off of it, Fay and her daughterid Haruki on it and swiftly backed away wondering exactly what had happened.

    "First Deus and Marice stormed in on her for whatever reason and now this, what in the world are you guys doing out there?" Having just shooed off the two demon lords, Fay wasn''t in the most forgiving mood at the moment.

    "Something is going on and I have no clue," Serena replied, her grip on reality slipping as things kept getting progressively chaotic.

    "I¡­I don''t have anything to add either," just as lost as Serena, the goblin queen decided to stay quiet. "Clones, kidnapped soldiers, master falling unconscious all of a sudden, what in the¡­"

    "Mother, let''s just find a way to wake father up first?" Growing increasingly anxious the longer Haruki stayed unconscious, Ste urged Fay to awaken him.

    Taking just a moment to let it all sink in, Fay shut her eyes and heaved deep breaths. After a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes back up, shifted her gaze to Ste, and nodded.

    "Alright, I''ll see what I can do," Saying that, Fay began casting a soul inspection spell to make sure Haruki''s soul was working fine and well.

    In the meantime, the other watched from afar hoping everything would be done soon. Either way, things were about to get much worse the moment they figured out about Asuka''s kidnapping along with the demi-cats and Greta, not to mention the control over Riley''s mind by the prince of hell, all because this time after being revived through his contract with Asmodia, Haruki had stripped all power for himself. Truly something only a self-devouring serpent can muster.

    "I think he''ll be okay," done with the checkup, Fay could feel Asmodia''s soul inside Haruki but nothing else out of the ordinary. "He''s just unconscious, I still don''t know why though."

    Unaware that Haruki had left Asmodia back at the demon camps instead of bringing her here alongside him, Fay assumed nothing was wrong, and thus nobody would go on top to check what was happening back at their camps. Even Hawthorn who was known to be omnipresent couldn''t possibly know what had transpired since the prince of hell was blocking all mental links between As and Feralnds.

 Chapter 316 316 - Sleep And Never Wake Up

    ?

    With every passing moment, problems continued to pile up for Haruki and hispanions, and one such problem was about to be piled on top. Having killed the guards outside the underground shrine where the meeting between the two chieftains was being carried out, Riley''s mind was inplete control of the prince of hell and had something devious nned.

    Taking control over her mind, he ordered Riley to kill the guards and get inside the shrine to the chieftains. And without much effort at all, Riley took out her potion savers and dropped the demi-human guards to the ground one after the other.

    "What now master?" Riley muttered, confusing the rest of the demon soldiers apanying her.

    To them, surrounded by the carnage of her own doing, Riley stood there amidst it all with her whole body covered in blood. Her nails, her face, her skin, and to some degree even her lips and teeth.

    ''Knock out yourpanions and then get me to that Maria girl.'' Intending to take control of the soldiers as well before heading inside, the prince ordered Riley through their mental link.

    "Very well," jerking the blood off of her de, the swiftwind spy turned to face her battalion.

    Feeling concerned by her behavior, the soldiers took a few steps back, not sure exactly what wasing their way.

    "Is something wrong? What did Master Haruki say?" Asked one a demon-goblin hybrid, inevitably making herself the first victim.

    "Lonesome widow¡­" After quickly turning invisible, Riley used wind magic to circle around the girl and strike her at the back of her head.

    Knocking her unconscious in just one hit, she had the others freaking out of their minds. Not having a clue as to why their leader was suddenly knocking her own soldiers, they all turned around in a desperate attempt to flee. However, given their disparity in strength, Riley knocked them all out before any of them even had the chance to breathe another breath.

    Not long after the knockouts, dark slime-like creatures started crawling out of the woods and nted themselves on the faces of the unconscious soldiers. Slowly prating through their skin, ears, and noses, the parasite made its way to their brain so it could be malformed into whatever shape their master intended.

    Once the parasites began taking hold of the situation, Riley turned back to the shrine and started walking down into its dungeon. The silent dusty oath reeked of rats and iron, but Riley didn''t mind the smell, because she simply couldn''t. Her mind had submitted to the reconstructive parasite eating away at her will, and slowly turning her into a puppet of the prince.

    At this point, there was no return for her. Even her vision, her memories, all of it was growing muddled with blood, so much so that she couldn''t even remember why she was fighting the demi-human guards and under whose orders she was working before the hell prince took over.

    Still, under the cloak of invisibility, Riley finally came to the site of the meeting. Seated across a table bickering with each other the two chiefs had no clue what had be of their ns on the surface or what they were going through.

    ''What do you want me to do now?'' Standing motionless before the table, Riley asked the price of hell.

    ''I need them under my control as well, knock them all out, even that Maria girl.'' Knowing full well about Michael and Razor''s ns to free the captured demi-humans from the tribes, The prince wanted to control the chiefs so he could better make a stand against Haruki in the overworld.

    "As you say," those phantom words spoken by Riley peaked everyone''s senses, but as swift as the wind, she managed to knock them all out in less than a second''s time.

    Her strikes had been so brief yet impactful, not even a peep had left their mouths before they were all foaming against the dusty floor of the dungeon.

    Once again the crittering parasites crawled in from towards the dungeon''s entrance and made their way to the unconscious bodies. Witnessing the parasites taking hold of their victims again, Riley felt her murderous intent crawling up from her stomach. Despite the mental rewrite her desire to draw blood was too overpowering to be diminished by a parasite just yet.

    ''Let me¡­'' Clutching her sabers tight, she began walking towards one of the chiefs and his guards. ''I need to!''

    Hearing her mind scream, she raised her de, ready to tear into the throats of some demi-humans, but the moment she tried to swing, an illusive dark mass appeared before her and grabbed her swinging arm.

    Looking right at it for a moment Riley realized that it was none other than an illusionary version of herself, trying to deter her from doing what she wanted.

    ''Stop!'' It yelled but the voice sounded like that of the hell''s prince.

    ''Why would I?'' Ignoring her new master, Riley shed through the illusion before kneeling down to the bodies and stabbing them without any restraints.

    With each stab, she went deeper and deeper into their flesh until their whole bodies were left as nothing but a pile of gaping holes. The parasite in her kept writhing and squeezing her brain inward, but taken by her instincts to destroy she couldn''t care less if that thing killed her then and there.

    Thankfully, however, since the parasite had taken her as a host, killing Riley would''ve caused its own death as well. Thus with the parasite left in a predicament, a moment of rity washed over Riley''s consciousness.

    ''What am I doing?'' She thought, drawing her des out of the carved flesh of the demi-humans. Looking all over herself, all she could see was blood, and from the smell of it, she knew it was not limited to the chiefs and their bodyguards. ''It¡­Smells like other demons, the demons I was leading more specifically!''

    ncing across the desk, she finally noticed Mariaying on the floor with a meager pool of blood under her masked body.

    "Shit! What did I-" The moment she tried to get off to her feet, the parasite managed to take hold of her consciousness once more, rendering her mind thoughtless.

    Although left coughing blood from the mental exertion, Riley wouldn''t even remember what had happened, much like the goblin queen who was still oblivious of us''mand over her mind.

    ''Set her up, I''ll push the me for this mess to those puppets of Helga.'' Ordering the parasitic hellspawn onest time, the prince of hell had Riley fall unconscious before cutting off his link for the moment.

    Much like the shrine, and the hell''s prince, there was yet another heavenly body impressed by her pupil''s performance. Although kidnapping was not her choice of doing things, nor was it honorable for her tomend this as a Valkyrie and yet Helga couldn''t help but feel as though both Michael and Razor were finally on path to bringing down Haruki.

    "Not only a demonic war general, but that cheeky fox girl, and the queen of demi-cats and her daughter too?" Peering through the seeing mirror held by a pair of lions, Helga couldn''t put her smile to a rest.

    Brimming with joy, she nced over at her guards standing in front. Capsuled inside her tent, there were a handful of them present, much unlike the usual quantity since they were all just as excited about the progression as their queen.

    "Raise a banquet, the end draws near!" Lifting her visor, Helga stared right into the eyes of the girls.

    Glowing like jewels, her emerald gaze had all bewitched in a spell none of them could escape from, yet powering through, one of the girls barely managed to voice a doubt.

    "But if the demon lord is pressed to a corner then wouldn''t he-"

    "Fight till hisst breath? Perhaps bring the world to an end even?" Looking more crazed than ever, Helga rose from her seat and moved around the desk to get closer to the girl. Resting her gloved hands against her cheeks, she let the spell of her beauty work on the unsuspecting soldier. "I know they''ve doomed us, when I sent them saying that I wanted them to keep Haruki in check, I didn''t mean to steal his women and sow the seeds of betrayal amongst his ranks, but, as a Valkyrie, the world is of little importance to us, and the chance I gave it was only but a short blessing."

    Saying it all while looking right into the girl''s eyes, Helga showed the young Valkyrie a vision of the world''s end burning inside her own gaze. For better or for worse, she had deemed the world worth saving, but with her puppets having messed up so hard, all she could do was relish in its destruction. Which was the prime purpose of a Valkyrie''s unending life.

    "Now go," pushing the girl away with a gentle push, Helga took off her helm and ordered. "The end draws near, let us have a banquet before marching to a death we may never wake up from!"

    Steeling their hearts, the soldiers knew they had little choice but to be joyous in fulfilling their purpose, finally¡­

 Chapter 317 317 - Death To Trust And Compliance

    ?

    Waking up with a headache sharp enough to pierce the skull, Haruki propped himself up into the bed and sat there struggling to get his eyes open. Feeling a throbbing sensation in his cranium, he felt as though a wagon had run over his skull. Thankfully, however, the hurt didn''tst long as Asmodia''s passive abilities began healing his body by absorbing the hurt.

    Finally getting his eyes open, he found himself in an unfamiliar dainty room. ncing at the windows he noticed heaps of dust floating through the light creeping inside the unkempt room.

    "Where the hell is this ce?" He muttered before getting himself back on his feet.

    The moment he stood up, something coarse caught up in his throat. Like a ball of steel scraps, it scraped his organs from within. Getting lightheaded from the sudden assault of pain, Haruki grabbed onto the bedside table and broke into a fit of coughs that went on for an ufortably long time.

    ''Blood¡­'' Asmodia thought, looking right at the bloody hand Haruki had used to muffle his coughs. ''The poison, it''s killing you.''

    "Shut up¡­" Drawing deep breaths, Haruki propped himself straight and turned to look at the exit door. "Not a word about this to the others."

    Warning the mistress, he began straggling towards the exit to possibly meet up with the others. Once outside, the very first thing he noticed was that he was still inside the experiment facility on a residential floor. Getting closer to the railing looking down at the endless spiral of floors, Haruki sprouted a pair of wings and gradually made his way downwards.

    ''Asuka, where is she?'' Although, having no clue about what had happened while he was unconscious, the very fact that she wasn''t by his side like every other time was more than enough to tip off his concern.

    ''I, don''t remember much of what happened either.'' Asmodia''s reply wasn''t of any help either. Bound in the same body, neither of them had a clue as to what was going on and why they were both left resting in a visibly neglected room.

    Getting his feet on the ground once more, Haruki made haste towards thebs to find some answer. The very moment he entered, he noticed a file of workers roaming around carrying boxes upon boxes with the goblin queen Medusa directing the flow of work. However, upon noticing their master entering the room, the whole operation came to an abrupt close.

    Everyone stopped where they were and just stood there in silence, ring at Haruki as if they''d seen a ghost. Ignoring their gazes, he quickly got closer to the queen and asked.

    "What the hell is going on?" Pursing their lips, the queens broke their gazes with Haruki and even lowered their heads. "Goblin queen, Medusa, what the hell is happening and how long have I been unconscious?"

    "T-two weeks," the goblin queen finally answered.

    Lifting her head a little, Medusa tried to look at Haruki, but the moment her eyes met his, her gaze frightened away.

    "We t-tried to wake you up sooner but nothing worked!" She spat out in a yelp.

    Hearing a sudden clunking sound from the conjoined room to theb, Haruki looked over the queen''s shoulders to figure out what it was. From what he remembered, the door to the room he saw led to Fay''sb where new vessels for Asmodia were supposed to be born. Reminded of their objective all of a sudden, he nced around the room, trying to figure out what stage the experiment in that very room was at.

    "The army, the vessels, how''s their status?" He asked, looking at the queen of goblins.

    Heaving out a sigh, the queen finally looked at her master and answered.

    "We''ve managed to create the first specimen in both, the demonic god-kins we will be using as soldiers, and the extra vessels for soul transfer from one body to the other," hearing the news, Haruki gave out a frown.

    From what she''d just said, everything seems to be on track, and even progressing faster than he''d expected. Then, why did she have such a troubled look on her face? And the same went for everyone currently inside the establishment.

    "Good, show m-" Assaulted with a sharp stabbing pain in the heart, Haruki''s jaws froze up before he could utter a single more word. Clenching his fist, he drew a deep breath that turned into a desperate wheeze. And as he drew his hand over his heart, his eyes, his lungs, and every organ in his body felt ready to pop right out of his mouth.

    ''I''ll heal you, wait a second.'' Asmodia assured, and the pain slowly began soothing up, but not before everyone noticed the sheer bloody hurt in Haruki''s demeanor. Just a look at his bleeding eyes, there was nobody who didn''t figure out that something was wrong with him despite the multiple weeks of rest.

    "Master, are you okay?" Getting closer to him, the queen of goblins grabbed Haruki from both sides. "You shouldn''t move if you''re not feeling we-"

    A sudden jolt of bright light deterred the queen frompleting her sentence. As she looked in the direction of the light, however, she knew things were about to get even messier.

    "Master has awoken, when were you nning to tell me that?!" Growled Serena while walking out of the teleportation light, her truthseeker staff clutched tight in hand. "Thank the Creator, Hawthorn had some sense to let me know at least!"

    Hearing her mention of a god, the demons were left aghast, Haruki on the other hand, knew that she still held some devotion to the ultimate creator of this world. Yet, even if he did mind, the time for quarreling over it was not right now.

    Moving close to Haruki, Serena directed her staff right above his head and began casting a high-tier healing spell. It took her a while to see it through, however, once the spell was fueled with enough mana, it instantly, and temporarily cured all of Haruki''s internal wounds.

    "Also," taking hold of Haruki''s arm, Serena helped him get him back on his feet. "I''m gonna assume neither of you told him about what happened at the camps in Feral Lands, did you?"

    "What?" Haruki muttered, still feeling lightheaded from the aftereffects of the poison.

    When the queens simply stood there in awkward silence, refusing to give a response, Serena began dragging Haruki to the other room so Fay could look at him and see if anything was wrong with his soul. All the while, she could calmly try and exin to him about the kidnapping of Asuka and the others of which, only a handful were aware of right now.

    "Why don''t you two go and find that bitch Marice and Deus in the meantime?" Giving out orders to the queens, Serena led Haruki into Fay''sb.

    ''Fuck, she knows about them too?'' Thought the goblin queen. At this point, the betrayal from Marice was no longer a secret as Deus had figured out exactly what his sister had done with us''s help. Thankfully, before disappearing, he''d gotten Reya''s help to get rid of the mind control from the queen''s body.

    "We''re both fucked, aren''t we?" Reminded of their tortuous punishment from long ago, Medusa wasn''t looking forward toing out of the situation once Serena filled Haruki in on everything that had happened so far. "It doesn''t help that you were mind controlled either, if it weren''t for Reya figuring things out the moment she saw you, we would''ve been in a lot more trouble."

    "It won''t matter that I was mind-controlled once he realized Asuka had been kidnapped," the queen replied, knowing full well that a giant storm would brew the moment Haruki realized the truth. Turning to look at Medusa, she patted her on the shoulder while looking right in her eyes. "Be ready to escape if needed, he might end up killing his own in case he loses his mind to the news."

    ncing around theb, the queen gestured her children to start preparing for a potential retreat. Althoughcking essential information, some of them were reluctant to do so, especially when the whole outside world would be out to get them once they slipped out of the protection of Haruki''s shadow.

    "Not belonging to a tribe, a master, even if it is a tyrant that we serve, heading out into the open now, would be nothing short of a death sentence," retorting to the queen''s ns, Medusa had no intentions of leaving just yet. "Even if by some miracle, Haruki forgives us and grants us our freedom, those generals of As will hunt us down and kill us all!"

    A cheering roar of agreement backed up the queen of Lamias. Even some of the goblin queen''s own children began lining up behind the serpent to show their support for Medusa. ring through her own blood-children, the goblin queen scowled, seemingly disappointed in their judgment. However, with so many agreeing with Medusa and not her, leaving the ce was bound to be even more reckless.

    "Fine¡­But a moment of potential threat and you''re all leaving with me," speaking thest part only to her blood, the queen of goblins gestured them to continue on working.

 Chapter 318 318 - Loss Of Reason

    ?

    Holing up inside the abandoned obsidian castle, Michael and Razor''s army was slowly beginning to fill it up once again. For once, the chambers were filled with hustle and bustle, and the soldiers upying the ce seemed more than amused by the artistry as well as the prophecies carved into the tainted windows.

    "This feels like a circus," sitting on a bench in the castle''s garden, Razor couldn''t bear hearing another word of chatter from the folks they''ve gathered. Thankfully, the grave of the emperor had already made a jump away from the castle upon the arrival of the army, or else things could''ve been a lot messier.

    ''God knows where his grave is now, but at least he''s not here to witness these idiots treating his domain like a park.'' Not at all on board with having the adventurers and monsters over, Razor wanted them to be gone, but he knew he couldn''t do that just yet.

    "Oi, Michael, where are you?" He asked Michael through their mental link.

    ''The dungeon, trying to make the kidnapped demons talk.'' Michael replied, followed by a heavy sigh.

    "Interrogating, you?" Knowing full well that the elf was too soft for interrogation, Razor pulled himself off the bench and began making his way down into the dungeons.

    Descending into the dark, Razor kept marching onward until he heard a range of gruntsing from deep within the dungeons. Assuming it to be the prisoners, he continued on moving and finally reached the cells where Asuka, the demi-cats, and Greta were being held.

    Standing in front of the bars looking inward, Michael had a female adventurer standing right beside him casting some sort of spell on the prisoners inside. Giving her a moment to finish, Razor kept quiet until the girl was done with the spell.

    "The fox girl is level forty-seven, the demi-human cats are around the same, but that demon, s-she¡­" Shifting her gaze to Greta, the adventurer gulped in fear as trails of sweat drained down her nape. "One hundred fifty-five, that''s her level."

    Being no match against Greta, the appraising adventurer was feeling gripped with fear as if her heart itself had been clutched with cold demonic ws.

    "Alright, that''s enough, you can go now," although he didn''t look at her, Michael could sense her fear and thus dismissed her from the dungeons.

    Not wasting a second, the girl fled out of the ce without so much as stealing a nce over the shoulder. Razor, on the other hand, moved closer to get a better look at the prisoners and the very first thing he noticed was that they all looked a bit delirious.

    "What''s the deal here?" He asked, unsure what was going on.

    "Carnal curse I would assume, all demons have it, they''re growing weaker with every day," Michael''s answer still didn''t rify much given that Razor never cared to learn much about demons or monsters ever before. Looking at him from the edge of his eyes, Michael knew that hispanions had no clue what he was talking about. "They''ll die in a week if they don''t get some sort of sexual outlet from a human or their own kind."

    Taking a moment to just absorb the information, Riley couldn''t understand why Michael appeared so worried about their potential death. After all, what did they even mean to them if not chips to bargain against a demonic tyrant?

    "Then I suppose we should make our demands and have Haruki act on them before the week ends," Razor muttered, his thumb curiously resting under his chin.

    Turning his head to Razor, Michael gave him a light frown.

    "If they die then there''s no way either of us will survive that monster''s rage," Michael retorted, but once again, Razor didn''t seem to care.

    "Maybe I need to remind you of something," ncing to the side, Razor ced one of his hands on Michael''s shoulder and continued. "I wanted to lead a normal life after the emperor''s death and that''s why you took me to your people, but now, they don''t want you there, and that ultimately means nobody wants me either."

    "What the hell are you getting at?" Brushing Razor''s hands off his shoulder, Michael urged him to spit out whatever he had in mind.

    "What I mean to say is that I''d rather be dead than live in a ce where I''m not needed. But dying without purpose isn''t something I quite long for, so if my final struggles are against a demon emperor then so be it," with no desire to live for long without purpose, Razor was more than ready to let his soul burn in a glorious finale.

    At a loss for words, Michael didn''t know whether to question Razor''s sanity or just chalk it up to his fanaticism for the emperor. Since As''s death, he seemed to have grown in all manners of ways, and yet longing for death wasn''t exactly what Michael expected of him at this point.

    "Anyways, open the cells, I''ll torture every secret out of them with reality alter," hearing Razor speak again, Michael was pulled out of his chain of thought.

    Shifting his attention back to those inside the cell, he quickly unlocked the cells so the interrogation could begin.

    ***

    "The first vessel, I used the body cells from the prototype the goblin queen created and this is what we have," staring at a lifeless body floating inside a ss vessel, Fay pressed her hand against it while exining the creative process to the others. "What we were missing was either magic from a heavenly body or direct body cells from them, so taking a skin sample from the first god-kin the queen made finally made this creation possible."

    "What about Ste, you and I both know that we didn''t use anything like that when I created her body," Haruki asked, making sure not to look at his daughter looking at them with a curious gaze.

    So far, everyone had tried to avoid talking about her origins, but given how fast things were moving there was no more room for any secrecy.

    "That¡­" Turning around to face the others, Fay let her shoulders fall in defeat. "I have no clue, could''ve been an exception, a million in one, maybe even more."

    ''A miracle? I don''t know if I believe in those anymore.'' Keeping those thoughts to himself, Haruki stretched his arm forward and cast a spell to shoot Asmodia''s soul into the alleged godly vessel.

    From the outside, it appeared like a simple human girl, yet for some obscure reason the vessel alone gave off an aura of deep suffocation to the demons present.

    "Finally, I don''t have to share a body with you," shooting the soul through the ss, Haruki let out a tired sigh before resting his degrading body into a chair nearby.

    The soul was going to take a while to conform to the new body, and in the meantime, Serena had much to fill Haruki on. From the betrayal from the demon lords to the kidnapping and the mystery behind Riley''s whereabouts. Trying to keep things light at the start, Serena began by filling him in on the betrayal that Haruki had expected a while ago. Then as she was done with it, it was finally time to drop off some bombs.

    "We don''t have any connection with Riley and the rest of the soldiers in Feral Land at the moment, thest we heard from them was Hawthorn''s report about a kidnapping," Serena exined, still holding back on the full truth.

    "Kidnapping? I thought everything would be by now and the tribes were supposed to be in Margarette''s care at this point," misunderstanding what she meant, Harukiined about something else entirely.

    "I''m not talking about the kidnapping of the tribe''s folks, someone kidnapped our people instead, and the tribes were free as well," the moment Serena spoke out the truth, Haruki was left baffled and wondering as to who could''ve done it and how such a meticulous n failed so miserably?

    "Asuka, Athena, Alice, and even Greta, they were all kidnapped by the emperor''s generals," tired of waiting around, Fay blurted everything out without restraint.

    For a spell, none of her words registered in Haruki''s head, and slowly even as it all began to settle into his head, he just couldn''t believe what he had just heard. Despite there being no reason for Fay to lie, Haruki''s mind just refused to listen to her, almost as if going through denial of a dear one''s death.

    "What did you just say?" He asked, looking right at Fay.

    This time, however, she knew better than to repeat it. The look of disdain in his eyes was nothing to be meddled with.

    "Ste, leave us alone for a moment," Fay requested her daughter without even ncing at her.

    "Why?" Ste retorted, not wanting to leave theb.

    "Just-"

    "Dungeon portal," before Fay could say anything more to her, Haruki teleported Ste through a dungeon portal that dropped her right outside theb.

    With only Serena to her aide, Fay knew this confrontation wasn''t going to be pretty.

    ''Dammit¡­'' Thought both the women present inside the room.

 Chapter 319 319 - Destruction, Death, Monster

    <h4>Chapter 319 Chapter 319 - Destruction, Death, Monster ?</h4>

    The very first thing Haruki did after learning the truth about the demon lord''s betrayal was to travel to the hidden elven vige and confront the only two left behind in that ce. With Hawthorn''s help, he teleported there and made his way directly to the cabin Inferno as well as Reya were supposed to be in hiding.

    Following behind him were Serena and Fay, and although a bit reluctant about the whole ordeal, the goblin queen was there to keep an eye on Haruki so that in case he did go insane she could tell her children to run away as soon as possible.

    "Here, they''re supposed to be-" before the guards could finish his sentence as he opened the door to their room, a foul stench invaded his nostril, almost making him puke right on that spot.

    "Get off," moving the elf aside, Haruki opened the doorpletely and let light creep into the dark and musky house.

    Standing right at the door frame, what he saw should''ve been shocking, and yet he appeared as indifferent as ever. The others, however, weren''t as nonchnt as right before them the floors were painted in the guts of two demon lords.

    "Dead¡­" Moving inside, Haruki nced over the smeared innards of the two. "They might have been weakened after Helga''s attack, but I doubt anyone other than the other demon lords could''ve done this to them."

    Wasting no time at all, he began deducing what could''ve happened in this ce and how none of the elven guards found out before they came here. The only thing that made sense to Haruki was an instantaneous teleportation, something only Marice and Deus had used on their own apart from Hawthorn.

    "Where are the other three again?" Haruki asked, lifting his gaze to match Serena''s.

    Still visibly shaken by the whole thing, her eyes were jittery but she powered through the emotions and replied.

    "us, he was controlling the queen''s mind, Reya helped us get rid of it and now she''s dead so¡­" Straining her mind, Serena tried to bind everything together. "Maybe us and she had a fight about it? He''s been missing along with Marce and Dues, the only other remaining demon lords."

    ''Dammit, did Deus find out about the kid in Azalea''s womb?'' Still holding onto a few secrets, Serena kept her mouth shut, wondering if Deus was dead as well since the possibility of us and Marcei working together was quite high, besides Deus wouldn''t possibly have agreed to the abduction of his injured lover. ''Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Dammit!''

    "I-I need to check something," turning around without another word, Serena tried to escape back to the dungeon but was stopped by Fay and the queen standing right behind her.

    "You know something, don''t you? I can feel the disturbance in your soul," said Fay, and the queen seemed just as perceptive with her eyes changing shades like an aurora.

    "Uhhh¡­Nothing important, just get out of my way," Serena retorted, slowly reaching to push the two to the side so she could move out of the house.

    Before her hand could make contact, however, a pair of shadow hands from Haruki grabbed Serena from behind. Surprised by the sudden cold touch, the priestess''s senses perked up and she slowly turned to face her master once again.

    "Tell me what you know now," he said, his eyes glowing in the shade of the room''s interior.

    "It''s...uhnn fuck me.." With no way to escape, Serena decided toe out with the truth. But before doing so, she took a deep breath and let out a tired sigh. "Azalea, the girl who was kidnapped, remember? She was, well, pregnant with a kid."

    "And that matters how?" Not in the mood for niceties, Haruki wanted her to get straight to the point.

    Realizing just how much he was bottling up his emotions after learning about Asuka''s kidnapping, Serena couldn''t risk testing his patience.

    "The thing is, she wasn''t pregnant with her lover''s kid, instead it was one from a demi-god," she finally revealed.

    "A demi-god, you don''t mean?!" Squealed the goblin queen, having a clue as to what Serena was getting at.

    "No fucking way, a demon wouldn''t be able to host life in the womb," Fay retorted with her little knowledge about lust demons.

    Turning around to face them once more, Serena nced between the two before speaking out once again.

    "Before she escaped Deus''s domain, I''m guessing Dominion''s army had already had their fun with the demons, and Dominion himself, I don''t know why he did what he did to Azalea," keeping her eyes shut, she took another deep breath before shifting her attention to Fay. "As for not being pregnant, that only applies to lust demons, the others can and will get pregnant if certain conditions are fulfilled. I kept it a secret since it would''ve scared Azalea and made her recovery worse, and you were all working on creating god-kins so I knew I couldn''t tell anyone or that child would''ve be a test subject as well."

    Gently moving the two aside, Serena finally moved outside the room and called onto Hawthorn mentally. Before leaving the ce, however, she turned around onest time to say something to her master.

    "I''ll talk to Dominion and find out if he has a clue about what''s happening, and I assume you''re going to be hunting Asuka''s kidnappers and the demon lords in the meantime?" To her question, Haruki gave a simple nod.

    Even though there was much to discuss, the group had already wasted enough time in the vige, and dying the search for thepanions any longer was bound to blow up in their faces. Thus, teleporting the girls back to the dungeon, Haruki asked them to keep an eye on Asmodia while she adjusted to the new body and even help Serena in any way possible.

    "Hawthorn, find me where the demon lords are hiding, it is time to get rid of them finally,"

    ''It may take a while and if they''re hiding in Feralnds or the emperor''s domain then I can''t reach them currently.''

    "Why''s that?" Haruki asked.

    ''Someone''s messing with anti-detection magic, I couldn''t get in touch with you either before when Serena wanted me to.'' Replied the dragon-kin, but this time there was something more that he had to say. "Also, there''s something I want to discuss."

    Making his way out of the house, Haruki hummed a curious tone, allowing him to go on with his discussion.

    ''This would be myst task for you, mother wants us to abandon this world and live in altered ins until this shitstorm breezes over.'' Hearing his demand, Haruki was not surprised in the slightest. If anything, he wasn''t sure why Rose ever allowed them to make use of Hawthorn''s abilities for so long.

    "You''ve done enough, both your family deserves,," saying that, the emperor of lust hunted for distractions. "Find me the demon lords, Asuka''s whereabouts as well as Riley''s and you''re free to do whatever you want."

    ''As you say, for onest time.'' With that, the dragon''s voice trailed off.

    Making his way through the vige, Haruki had the guards heighten security in case the culprit behind Inferno and Reya''s death decides toe back. In doing so, he scattered rumors around town that trailed from one ear to the other, getting more and more extreme as they passed through every other lip.

    ''Margarette¡­I haven''t seen her in a while either, hopefully she''s fine and we can find Riley before she finds out about her disappearance.'' Pondering whether to return to Laria to talk to her face to face, Haruki settled down on a bench near the training ground and barracks inside the vige. ''Everything seems to be crumbling, I don''t have much time in this body either, for all I know Asuka and the rest might be dead, and there are plenty of others still hunting us down. How did ite to this? I thought all I needed was power to keep everything and everyone in check.''

    Lost in deep thoughts, he finally reached a final conclusion.

    ''I promised them safety under my wings, I suppose it''s time to make good on that damned promise.'' Picking himself up, he began walking toward the battalion leaders training with their soldiers to for the final time drain out some levels and face the monsters haunting every moment of his existence. ''The god-kins will keep them safe, all I need to do is to buy them enough time to perfect the production lines.''

    Loading up a metaphorical coffin on his shoulders, Haruki was ready to die once more, even if it meant leaving behind everything and everyone he''d worked so hard for. And that started with draining enough strength to survive a world filled with enemies, that included even the most viscous of heavenly bodies as well as the former lord of lust, Asmodia.

    ''We can''t kill each other, but I can still drain her until she''s but a rotting corpse.'' nning to give her the attention that she''s always wanted, he began preparing to manipte her with emotions and the touch of the body. ''But first¡­''

    His eyes fixed on the soldiers in front, Haruki began draining them all with just a touch from his fingers.

 Chapter 320 320 - A Mothers Intuition

    ?

    ''Something''s wrong, I can feel it.'' Wandering restless in her room in the middle of the night, Margarette Phoenix was getting more and more anxious the longer no news or any update came from Haruki''s side as well as the others.

    She''d been kept out of the loop about the events that had taken ce in Feralnds so far, however, since it had been way past time for the demi-human tribes to have arrived as prisoners, her worries were worsening with every second to herself. At least while working she could distract herself from such thoughts, thus being free for even a second had turned into her poison.

    Pacing in front of her bed, she often raised her gaze looking out the bright moon peering in through the window, and though it provided somefort, Margarette couldn''t bring herself to rest not knowing where her precious Riley was. Despite not knowing about her disappearance, to Margarette who''d never stayed away from her daughter for so long the situation was already harrowing.

    "What the hell is happening?" Her attempts to connect with Haruki through Hawthorn having already failed, Margarette was genuinely considering abandoning her position to go look for the others, especially since it''s been much longer than the time they were supposed to return to Laria.

    Sitting at the edge of the bed, she tried to calm her mind with deep breaths and a slice of meditation, however, meditation helped a demon the same way lust did a celibate priest, that is, no help at all.

    "Master Margarette?" A sudden knock on the door paired with a call for her, Margarette was jolted out of her trance of thoughts.

    "What?!" As if forcefully woken in the middle of the night, her heart raced with fear as she instinctively answered.

    Getting off the bed, she quickly moves to the door and ponders whether to open up or not. The voice was no stranger to her, it was just one of the girls who worked under her, yet for some reason her anxiety kept her on edge about the situation. Even so, cing her hand on the doorknob, Margarette cracked open the door to sneak a nce at the person before opening uppletely.

    "What do you want?" She asked, peeking at the girl through the gap.

    Confused by Margarette''s behavior, the girl blinked a few times but then spoke out why she''de to meet her thiste at night.

    "Master Riley-" The moment Margarette heard the girl mention Riley''s name, she flung the door open and pulled her inside the room.

    "What about her?!" She demanded, her eyes widened with a crazed look in them.

    Completely shaken by the whole thing, the girl''s heart began pounding and she couldn''t help but pant heavily in fear. Whatever was going on in Margarette''s head, she had not a clue, and thus it made the situation for her even more troubling.

    "She''s in here, master Riley is back in Laria with the kidnapped tribes!" Closing her eyes tight, the girl spurted out the news.

    Hearing the news a bright smile washed over Margarette''s face, however, that soon disappeared as the girl opened her eyes to add more to what she had to say.

    "We still don''t know where the others are, and she only arrived with the tribes and apparently no memories of what happened back there in Feralnds," the girl''s words struck Margarette odd, after all, Riley wasn''t someone who would cut corners in creating a report about such an incident, and the very fact that she was here alone in Laria without the others entailed that something had happened to the other and that''s why she''d left them behind in Feralnds.

    "Fuck this, I wanna meet here now!" Grabbing the messenger''s arms, Margarette dragged her outside and had the girl lead the way to the ce where Riley was currently being housed.

    Incidentally, the ce happened to be the barracks near the dungeon''s opening, and it wasn''t just her who was waiting there, but the entirety of the tribes were also caged and waiting for Margarette. With only a few other demons in her tow, Riley seemed to have managed to bring the chained demi-human tribes all the way out to the near Lariannd, something that definitely should raise suspicion, but Margarette was blinded to it by her daughter''s return.

    "What happened?" Hugging Riley the moment she saw her, Margarette squeezed her tight in her arms. "I missed you so much!"

    Saying not a word in response, Riley simply shut her eyes closed and let her mind drift into an abrupt slumber. Upon realizing that she was asleep in a matter of seconds, Margarette''s concern was raised once more, but before she could worry too much there was an entire army''s worth of people to take care of.

    "Take the demi-humans in the prison, I''ll take Riley to a bed," ordering around her underlings, she lifted her daughter in her arms and made her way back towards her room.

    Unbeknownst to her and everyone around her, Margarette had made a severe mistake. Not asking any questions was only the start, as when the parasites in the brains of the tribes begin spreading to the inhabitants of the dungeon, it would already have been too long and before Margarette would even know, even she would sumb to the hell''s prince''smands, thanks to her blind love for her step-daughter.

    ***

    By the time Haruki was done with the elf soldiers, they were all drained down to a mediocre level of strength. And although he knew it was dangerous to lessen their strength in such a disgruntling time, he needed every ounce of strength he could get.

    ''Deus and Marice, I''ve found them, and Riley seemed to have made it back to the minotaur dungeon with the tribes as well as Maria and the soldiers she was given.'' Hawthorn told Haruki.

    "She probably couldn''t contact the others and since I was unconscious, traveling to the dungeon portal was nearly impossible for her," making sense of the situation, Haruki chucked that information to the sidelines and decided to focus on the others instead. "What about Asuka, where is she?"

    ''The only ce I couldn''t look, the obsidian castle, for a ce abandoned by its dead lord, teeming with adventurers, demi-humans, and even monsters for some reason.'' Hearing it all, Haruki wanted to instantly head for the castle, however, before going there, he needed to make sure his chances of sess were as high as possible.

    Heaving a sigh, he ordered Hawthorn onest time before the dragons were set free from their bond made over a simple promise by Roselia.

    "Take me to Deus and the others, those bastards need to die so I can make use of their strength for something good for once," he ordered, and the light of teleportation consumed himpletely.

    Appearing on the other end, the very first thing he noticed through the blinding light was the trio of demon lords covering their eyes with giant vials of demi-god carriers trapped inside vessels of ss. Unlike Marice and us who were standing before him wearing gloves and other equipment, Deus was bleeding on the ground with giant thorns protruding from the inside of his body. The bare semnce of life left in him was the slight twitching of his fingers, but that too seemed fleeting.

    Just a single look at theb was enough to ry exactly what the two were trying to do, and seeing how Azalea was one of the vessels trapped inside the ss, there was no doubt in Haruki''s mind that arge portion of this chaotic mess was their doing.

    "Fuck you¡­" He muttered, protruding his hand forward to cast an offensive spell. "Ouroboros: Devour!"

    Working entirely on instincts, Haruki''s words came out on their own, and the spell that he had no clue about began devouring the very presence of time and space around him. The first to sumb to the pull were the walls, and the ss vials, and then finally despite trying to hold themselves back, Marcellia''s skin was ripped apart from her body, the same was the case for us. It all happened so fast that they had no clue who or what had appeared behind them, even the light from the teleportation hadn''t dimmed downpletely, and yet one after the other every fibre of muscle in their bodies was being torn apart from the masses.

    Howling in hurt, the two couldn''t even breathe or cry as both the air and their eyes were pulled right away from them. Before long even their organs and bones were pulled into the evesting hunger of the self-devouring serpent. s, the only thing left of them were the abilities and skills that Haruki''s body had stripped for himself.

    Finally, once the two were erased from all existence, Haruki stood there in a in between worlds with nothing but darkness to hispany. Even Deus had been shredded to pieces and the poor soldiers who were kidnapped ended up meeting the same fate. However, to him, none of it mattered as he''d dealt with those meddling heavenly bodies and their underlings for far too long.

    "Now to find Asuka, and the others," opening a dungeon portal, Haruki left the ce behind.

 Chapter 321 321 - Final Banquet

    <h4>Chapter 321 Chapter 321 - Final Banquet</h4>

    Raise a toast to life for it graces you with as many blessings as hardships, rarely more good than bad, yet at the end of it all, you wouldn''t have known had you never been born. The Valkyries lived by that mantra, reminding themselves of it every waking moment of their lives. In death and hardship, they relished, for they were promised a forever paradise with not a de to hurt them anymore. Thus began their struggle, their perpetual cycle of life and death, all in service of a god who had long since perished.

    "That promise it''s our Pris! Our destination, and sole purpose for those countless deaths you''ve suffered!" Flying under the seven suns of Valha, Helga spread her wings tofort the Valkyries under the shade of her white feathers. "So rejoice my children, for beyond this banquet that willst until the end arrives, you''ll be freed of all suffering and nothing could ever scar your petal-like flesh again."

    Moving her right hand over her chest, Helga gently shut her eyes and the suns in the skies dimmed their light before disappearing altogether. Leaving nothing but a cluster of three moons, each of different size and shade in the night sky, Helga gracefullynded on her feet and folded her wings shut on her back.

    "Well¡­" With a smile more gentle than any angel, she raised her head and nced over countless Valkyrian soldiers standing before her. "Bring the ale!"

    For the first time in a thousand years, the queen of Valkyries shrieked augh. Wearing a wide grin stretching ear to ear, Helga reached for her helm and threw it onto the ground. Her emerald gaze beaming with excitement under the starry night just ticked a wave of thrill into the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in front.

    They roared, excited. They sang, delighted. They screamed to their heart''s content, for this was the night they''d been waiting for since the first breath they took in their very first bodies. Death, they craved it, longed for its cold clutch, as through that very dark path they''ll be brought to a light that would forever nket them with a warm embrace.

    Dropping all facade of brilliance, the first to hit the aged barrels of mead was none other than the queen of Valkyries. Lifting the whole thing up on one hand, she stood there at the very center of town as she took a quick nce around the bustling city. Filled with decorated papermps hung on the ruined pirs, along with the beating of giant drums and other reverberating instruments, the whole ce had red up with a hint of joy.

    "To fulfill our purpose!" She hailed and punched a hole into the barrel to let herself be drowned in mead.

    Urged by their queen''s actions, the other Valkrians grabbed their own bottles, jugs, and barrels and flooded thend with inches of meat that flowed through the city like rivers. With the ale draining down their throats, discipline held not long, as the aching hearts of the Valkyries let their desires be unshackled.

    "Come here!" Her mind sumbing to the ale, Helga grabbed onto a Valkyrie''s arms and led her to a throne overseeing the banquet from above. Settling into the throne of gold, she downed yet another jug of mead before pulling the Valkyrie to settle down into herp. "As soft as a petal, how long have I waited."

    Throwing the jug away, she ran her finger against the rosy lips of the girl while slowly drawing her closer with her bewitching emerald gaze. Unrestrained because of the booze as well, the girl made her move first, marking herself as the very first to make her way to the lush lips. A bit shocked by the girl''s action, Helga''s mind-numbed up a little. Not in a thousand years or perhaps even more could she have ever seen herself being kissed by one of her pupils.

    While Helga stayed still in a daze, the girls pulled away from the kiss and gazed into the queen''s eyes. For a spell, she ran her finger through the long curly hair of Helga''s, but then, nting her hand on her queen''s back, she pulled Helga back into a deep kiss that tasted of mead more than anything.

    "To our demise, my queen," the girl whispered as her tongue finally slipped in.

    Dressed in an all-white garb with nothing underneath, many more Valkyrians crawled up the throne steps to get to their queen. Their bodies all drenched in ale, and their clothes left transparent, they appeared like naked angels with their bodies peeking in excitement.

    Soon enough Helga was surrounded by the very soldiers she''d spent an eternity disciplining, however, with their deaths soon toe, she couldn''t let them not have this moment.

    ''As gentle as roses with des as their thorns, how long have I gardened you with but whips of tough love?'' From one pair of lips to the other, from feeling one''s breath on her face to the next, the queen of Valkyries let herself be carried by her love for her faithful army.

    "Cast these away¡­" Sneaking a moment between the kisses, Helga tore off the garb adorned by one of her flowers. "No rose as beautiful deserves to be cased."

    Following her orders, the flowers cast away their garbs and kept each otherpany before they could reach the queen of thesends. Filling the entirety of Valha with locking lips, slipping fingers, and a cacophony of grunts and moans, the Valkyries let the very heavens know that while they relished in the joys of each other, the rest of the world should shudder in fear.

    Carrying their voices through the skies the drums, the trumpets, the harps, and flutes, they warned the angels to abandon their stations, for the end was near, and their grace was no longer needed for the inhabitants of As.

    "My queen¡­" Called a flower like a Siren as she cast away the queen''s armor.

    "Allow me to¡­" Whispered the other, her lips still locked with Helga while sliding her garb down her shoulders.

    s, the queen began to fret about her fate amidst the bush of Roses, yet she couldn''t bring herself to pull away from their lust. One after the other, they kept stripping Helga of all her clothes and army, and when left with nothing but her bare skin, their lips trailed over every inch of her body. Having never felt such ecstasy, Helga wheezed a moan and even tried to shove the girls away, but driven by their desires, none of the girls were willing to go away.

    Teething her breasts, and caressing her thighs and back, the Valkyrian didn''t leave even the sole of the queen''s feet left without service. Like a god, they treated her for she was more than that to them. Many gods have fallen before Helga, and thus none of them could ever even dream of serving some more important.

    "Wh-wait¡­" Feeling her legs being parted, Helga tried to stop the girls, however, with yet another kiss from lips carrying a mouthful of mead, her plea was broken and she was left with no other option but to submit to their demands.

    "Ahh!" Huffed the girl who''d just flooded the queen''s mouth with mead. With a smile, she leaned onto her and parted her jaws, getting ready to bite into Helga''s fair skin. "Lay back, and let us have this moment my loving queen."

    Finally, as she nted her teeth into her neck, another groan left the queen''s lips. Thest few days for these Valkyries were about to be the most indulgent, for whence it was over they''lly down their lives and perish with the rest of the world. Thus now, their minds wandered through desires they''d restrained for so long.

    Smothered under the girl''s, Helga shut her eyes closed and allowed herself to be indulgent for once in her life. A warrior at heart, a leader from the core of her soul, it had taken much for her to break out of that shell, but when it was busted open, she couldn''t care for anything else at the moment.

    Indulgent as she''d allowed herself to be, it was bound to bite her sooner orter, and the most obvious beneficiary of this moment of neglect was none other than the degenerate prince of hell. Watching the banquet flourish into a festival of unwinding, he had his heart set on making the best possible use of this situation.

    ''The world will be mine, I cannot let you turn it to dust¡­'' Thought the prince, his heart set to stab Helga through the back once she manages to get rid of Haruki, for despite being an unholy body of heavenly origins, he was a weakling in terms of pure strength thus he relied not only on his parasitic hellspawn but also his shrewd capabilities to manipte. ''Enjoy as much as you can, but when the timees that foundation won''t save you.''

    Knowing how the banquet would end, the prince simply waited for time to pass while his hellspawns spread through Haruki''s ranks.

 Chapter 322 322 - Parasitic Takeover

    <h4>Chapter 322 Chapter 322 - Parasitic Takeover</h4>

    Not long after Riley''s arrival at the minotaur dungeon, Margarette and her were soundly resting in a luxurious room. Away from the hustle and bustle of the inner workings of the dungeon, they were tucked away in a corner where not even the slightest hint of screams could carry.

    ''Wake up.'' Ordered the hell prince and Riley''s eyes opened wide.

    Quickly slipping out of Margarette''s arms, Riley nced up at her stepmother stillying in bed with her mind fired by the parasite. The journey here had been cruel to her conscience, yet with the hellspawn rewiring her brain itself she no longer had a clue who exactly she was looking at.

    "Go¡­" Getting off the bed, she held a finger directed at Margarette''s forehead, and the same parasite crawled out of her ears and slowly slithered it''s way to the new host it needed to corrupt.

    With the amount of exposure Riley had been under, her memories, her impulses have all been rewritten in the shape the hell''s prince deemed most fit for his selfish means. Her corruptive progression has gone so far that she no longer needs a parasite in her brain to control her anymore since her mind itself had been turned into a servant of the hell''s prince.

    "What now?" She asked while watching the parasite crawl in through Margarette''s ears.

    For a moment she squirmed, and almost woke up, but spanning its sluggish mass over her brain, the parasite managed to calm her down before any trouble could be caused.

    ''The door¡­'' Replied the prince and a sudden knock on the door resounded behind Riley.

    Turning around, Riley slowly moved towards the door before opening it up swiftly. Behind it were the chieftains, both standing with all kinds of wounds marked over their bodies. And although they appeared alive, their eyes told apletely different story. As white as pure cotton, their eyes seemed dead with the parasites controlling their dead bodies.

    Despite one of them being dead from back at the shrine where the meeting took ce, seeing the other dead as well, Riley had a pretty good idea of how trying to take over the dungeon had gone for the hellspawns on their own.

    "Is it done?" She asked, the two simply nodded, letting her know that everything had gone just as expected.

    "W-we¡­w-ehh-" Attempting to speak out a report, the demi-wolf chieftain could only stutter incoherently.

    "Oh fuck off," conjuring a windde through magic Riley stabbed the chief from under his jaw and locked his mouth shut with the de. "Step aside, I check for myself, you''re all useless."

    Shoving the two off the entrance, she made her way out of the room and was off on her way to prepare a proper report for the prince of hell.

    ''She''s still just as moody and bloodthirst¡­'' Thought the prince, seeing everything through Riley''s eyes. ''Maybe I''ve made a mistake by picking her, but then again, she seems to be the mostpetent of that demon''s group.''

    Even though everything has gone ording to his ns so far, the very fact that Riley would often give into her violent outburst with no restrain was somewhat concerning to the prince. Even in his own army of hellspawns, none was as bloodthirsty and instinctively violent as her, something he couldn''t afford to let it be since his strength came from numbers and not from any intrinsic strength or ability.

    Much weaker than Helga, even weaker than Haruki, what he needed to rely on was cheap tricks while hiding far away, hoping the battle between the demon lord and the Valkrian forces would end up weakening each other to the point where he could simply slip in and get rid of both sides easily. But to reach that end, there was a lot that needed to be done, and having an unpredictable servant was bound to cause problems in that n.

    While the prince pondered his doubts about Riley, she herself wandered through the dungeon admiring the view of all its inhabitants desperately trying to fight the parasitic takeover. However, brought to their knees with pain, they were all left foaming in the mouth as their mind was forcefully stripped of free thoughts and will.

    ''First the prison, second breaking free, third taking over the others.'' Noting down the progression path of the parasites, Riley ran the scenarios in her mind trying to get an image of what had happened while she was stuck ying family with Margarette.

    The very first thing was having the tribes taken to prison where they took over the minds of all the prisoners without getting caught. Then came breaking free of the ce with their expanded numbers and bringing down the soldiers one after the other until the whole ce was filled with parasitic hellspawns.

    "Seems like the parasite''s ability to control dead bodies threw off the soldiers and that''s what ultimately caused their demise," Riley muttered to herself having scanned through the entirety of the dungeon after hours of wandering around.

    ''Well done, now keep on pretending to serve that old master of yours.'' Giving out that order to her, the prince''s voice disappeared through Riley''s mind.

    ***

    Gathered up in a meeting hall inside the obsidian castle, Michael and Razor were both surrounded by representatives of different groups seated across them on the table. From adventurers to the demi-humans and even the monsters and tribes that haveter joined them on this path to take down Haruki; they were all staring right at them expecting some decent news.

    "How''s the interrogation going?" Asked a female adventurer, her gaze fixed on Razor, the one in charge of that undertaking.

    Looking around at the faces, Razor took his boots off the table and leaned in before answering.

    "Nothing, I''ve tried everything, but these demons are something else," he exined, the dark spots under his eyes a testament to his sincerity.

    "And they''ll die in a few days time, no?" Added the very same adventurer.

    Letting out a yawn, Razor leaned back into his chair. Once done stretching his arms a little, he nced at Michael who seemed just as tired as him. Bringing his attention back to the girl, squinting at him with an annoyed look, Razor opened his mouth to answer again.

    "Yes, they will, and so?" Utterly unbothered by the possibility of their deaths, Razor appeared visibly frustrated that this topic was even being discussed.

    mming its fist on the desk abruptly, one of the lizardmen from a tribe just recently recruited let his dissent be known. ring at Razor, he bared his jaws as if to threaten the war general.

    "So? What the hell do you mean, so?!" Getting off his chair with vigor he had his chair fall back. "What do you think that demon would do if we end up getting one of those servants killed?! Aren''t they his lovers as well?!"

    "Simmer down," advised the goblin''s representative.

    Wandering over faces with his crimson gaze, hended his attention on Razor and asked.

    "So in short, we''ve learned nothing, and the whole kidnapping n was a bust?" Squinting his eyes, the goblin tribe''s chieftain was ready to withdraw his help depending on Razor''s answer.

    Taking a moment to gauge the situation, Razor took a moment to think things through and blurted out what little he''d learned and was trying to hide so far.

    "The girls know that Haruki wille to save them, they''re not afraid of torture and I''ve tried everything I know to make them talk but nothing seems to work," heaving a sigh, he nced at Michael again who''d been too lost in thought to speak throughout the whole meeting. "As for Greta, it turns out she''s a masochist so torturing her isn''t going exactly as nned¡­All in all, we know that Haruki will arrive to their rescue in a day or two, especially if he remembers that their carnal curse would kill them otherwise."

    "What?" The word resounded through every lip inside that room, none of them had expected to face the demon lord of lust just yet, and what bothered them even more was how Razor hadn''t informed them about this until pushed to the limits.

    "And before you idiots ask," cing his feet back on the table, Razor leaned back into his chair with his hand folded behind his head. "I didn''t tell you because I knew you''d all chicken out aftering so far."

    "Razor¡­" Finally, to ease the tension in the room, Michael spoke up. Closing his eyes for a moment, he nced around at everyone in the room and revealed some more information. "The fact of the matter is that if we panic now we''re all gonna die, so the best chance for survival and this quest of ours is to face him head-on."

    "Head on? Are you out of your mind, we''ll all end up dead the moment he arrives with his army!" Comined the same lizardman, but Michael instantly corrected him.

    "The army he has is but a handful of demons, especially after we burned them to a crisp back at their camps. The very reason they were hiding is because of low numbers, otherwise, it wouldn''t make any sense to slowly whittle down the demi-human tribes the way they were doing," hearing Michael, an expert war strategist speak, none of those present could retort orin. "Us on the other hand, we have plenty of people now to face him, and if we wait for long who knows how many more people will be turned into his demonic servants?"

    With nothing left to say, the members of the council kept to themselves as they wandered through their own thoughts trying to figure out what this would mean for their own tribes and people. At the very end, however, none of them had a better suggestion to give, thus this dubious and desperate n by the war generals was the only thing they could bet on.

    Needless to say, with Haruki done killing the demon lords in a far-offnd, his next destination was about to be the obsidian castle, however, the time of his arrival would be a surprise even to the expecting armies of the conjoined forces under the two war generals.

 Chapter 323 323 - The Last Son And Daughter, Dead?

    ?

    Right after the quarrel with Haruki and the rest, Serena headed for the room Dominion was being chained in. Upon her arrival, however, something struck her as extremely odd. For whatever reason, the guards stationed outside the dungeon with ess limited only to her and some others had stormed inside with looks of great concern riding on their faces.

    "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" Serena heard someone screaming out loud in a tone of absolute annoyance.

    Moving closer to the half-opened gates to the room, she peeked inside all the while making sure nobody had noticed her just yet. Encircling someone at the very middle the guards all appeared like they''d seen a phantom. Some even paced around with their nails being nervously trimmed under the teeth like wood chippers.

    ''Where''s Dominion?'' Scanning the room with her gaze, what struck Serena even more odd was the missing body of Dominion which was supposed to be dangling in the air, held exclusively by the familiar called Lulu.

    "Dusk, dawn,e out¡­" Summoning her protective dolls, Serena barged into the room.

    Shocked by the sudden creaking of the door, the soldiers stood frozen in terror as their eyes met Serena''s hollow dark stare. Just one look into them was terrifying enough, especially since her body appeared like a pale ghost withrge bubbly eyes.

    "What is going on here?" She asked, and the soldiers frantically started looking around, unsure as to who should address the priestess. Realizing that she wouldn''t get an answer quickly, Serena summoned her staff of truth and stomped it against the ground with each step she took forward.

    Hearing the loud bells atop the golden staff was enough for the soldiers to know that their fate was sealed, and if any of them wanted to escape a torturous punishment it was best toe out and let her know the truth. Yet with nobody willing to take charge of the situation, none of them dared to step up ande out with the truth.

    "Do not make me do this," Serena muttered before looking at her dolls from the very edge of her eyes.

    Nodding at their master, the dolls turned their spiraling gaze of reflecting dusk and dawn towards the soldiers. The longer they looked at them, the more the seasoned men and women were pulled under their spell of eternal entrapment. Falling to the ground by the spell, their minds envisioned a never-ending journey through a desert. At day it would burn their skin and parched up their throat, and at night it would freeze them to the point where their fingers and teeth would fall off.

    Leaving them all to struggle, Serena brushed her hand into the wind to summon a pair of angelic hands who would carry them to the corners. But after only a few of them were dragged away, her eyes widened at the sight revealed beyond their fallen bodies. Hit with a grim realization, her summoned hands as well as Dusk and Dawn were undone the very next second.

    Rushing towards a corpseying in the very middle of the encirclement of soldiers, she stood there taking a good look to make sure she wasn''t dreaming.

    "Do-Dominion?" Standing by the demi-god''s dead body, she had not a clue what she was supposed to do in this situation or even what to feel at the demise of a man who''d once stripped her soul away from her body. "You fucking idiot!"

    Throwing away the pretense of grace, she pulled her dark gown slightly upwards and began kicking Dominion''s dead body. With each kick, her strikes grew stronger, and a hint of mercury began pouring out of all orifices in the dead god''s body. While the priestess continued on kicking, Dusk and Dawn summoned themselves and pulled against her garb to try and get her away from the poisonous metal gushing out of Dominion.

    Even the soldiers who''d been pulled under a spell raised to their feet wondering if she''d gone mad, after all, she was known to be erratic but really good at hiding her true colors.

    "Mercury¡­Who could''ve thought he could use his own powers to kill himself?" Muttered one of the guards as he continued watching Serena beating the demi-god''s body to a pulp.

    "You think you can just die without consequences?! That too on your own terms?!" Beyond anger, Serena wished to bring him back to life just so she could kill him with the poison Haruki had been feeding him.

    "Your Highness, stop!" Cried Dusk, the twilight gazed doll.

    "Pleaseee!" Cried the other, her small fingers barely able to hold onto Serena''s iling dress.

    "SHUT UP!" Turning back with her eyes all bloody, the priestess gawked her own summons with a look of pure hate. "DON''T YOU DA-"

    The sight of genuine tears flowing down their porcin skin jolted Serena out of her fit of rage. Blinking a few times, she kept staring at them for a moment before pursing her lips to gulp down her emotions. Trying her hardest not to fume in rage or even tear up herself, she corrected her posture and began making her way to the exit without looking back at Dominion.

    Moving past the dolls, she unsummoned them for a moment before summoning the back on her shoulders. The sudden change in character would''ve been astounding if it was anyone else, but knowing that the priestess masked her true self often, the soldiers decided not to question what they had just seen.

    "Forget that happened," Serena whispered to her dolls.

    Summoning a pair of angelic hands, she caressed their heads with them tofort them even further. Saying not a word, the dolls simply let out a muffled giggle. By the time, Serena was out of the room, she healed parts of her skin that had been burned by the mercury, then taking a moment just to herself she tried to contact Haruki to ry the news of Dominion''s suicide.

    To her further surprise, however, Haruki wasn''t in any of the dungeons and even Hawthorn wasn''t answering to her mental link.

    "Dammit¡­" With no way left to contact Haruki, Serena decided to find the goblin queen and let her know how their experiment had been jeopardized at the very least.

    But before she could leave, one of the soldiers from before rushed in her direction to ry something important, something they didn''t have the gals to tell her before. Taking a few deep breaths, the girl puffed her chest and justid out what she had in mind.

    "The Nabe girl, she''s-"

    "Dead too?" Before the girl could finish, Serena took a lucky guess.

    Blinking in a bit of a daze, the female soldier nodded.

    "Master Haruki drained her too much, and after that, she didn''t survive the excess torture¡­" Telling Serena that information, the soldier simply turned around and left to deal with the aftermath of the poisonous mess the priestess had left behind in the room.

    Watching her head back, the priestess couldn''t help but wonder how convenient the timing of their deaths was. After all, Nabe was a devil, known for their resilience, yet she couldn''t survive some minor torture after being drained of her levels? Something about that just didn''t sit right with her. The piece of the puzzle she was missing was an essential one, something that signaled the doom of all, the overjoyed voices of moaning Valkyries.

    Being so close to a heavenly body like As for long, both war generals knew what wasing, and death felt like a better alternative than sticking around for the horrific end of times. Even the most infamous, angelic choir of Melicia was hiding away to stay clear of the onught about tomence in a few days'' time.

    ''Where is he?'' Serena wondered while rushing to get to the queen of goblins. Sensing something sinister trying to sneak up on them, she wanted to be prepared, and perhaps even have Asmodia use time maniption to age up the demi-god offspring for any uing battles. ''The only thing is¡­I have no clue what''s wrong exactly or who this phantom enemy is?''

    Despite her keen intuition, she had no way of knowing about Helga, the prince of hell, or the uing apocalypse. Thus all she could do was prepare an army the best she could in the absence of Haruki.

    "Margarette, isn''t she a war tactician and a queen? Perhaps it''s time to get her to step up to those duties too!" She eximed to herself, nning to send a pair of her acolytes to incorporate Margarette''s help from the Lariannd.

    If somehow they managed to escape the dungeon without Haruki''s help, her men would need to make a long journey to Laria and warn Margarette to get her soldiers and the ves ready for battle. But even then, missing yet another crucial piece of the puzzle, Serena had no clue about what was happening back at the minotaur dungeon.

    Taken by the parasites, all of its inhabitants were under the hell prince''smand, and although they would fight against the Valkyrian army, the moment the winged forces were weakened enough, the parasites would force the demonic souls to kill their own so the prince could take over.

    ''I need to hurry.'' Thought Serena, not realizing that she among many others was only marching towards her own death.

 Chapter 324 324 - Bringing Back the Lost

    <h4>Chapter 324 Chapter 324 - Bringing Back the Lost</h4>

    "Summon: Lurker in Dark, Void Eater, Marite Ballerinas, Blood Chalice¡­" Continuing on with the summoning while floating above the obsidian castle, Haruki was ready to turn the whole ce into dust if that''s what he needed to do to get to Asuka and the others.

    Already sensing the monsters crawling out from giant portals in the skies, Michael and Razor''s army was anxious, yet ready to intercept whatever came their way. Despite knowing full well that their demise was inevitable in the face of such otherworldly creatures, they''d decided to stand their ground if for nothing more than to instill some principles for those who might follow themter on.

    "It''s time," Michael told everyone through their mental link. Having already set everyone on guards at their stations inside the indestructible castle of obsidian, all he they had to do was weaken Haruki to the point where he could easily be taken down before reaching the dungeon area. "Stay where you are, most of those monsters shouldn''t be able to get inside because of their sizes. All we have to do is bruise him up to the point where he can no longer mo-"

    "Wait¡­What about the girls, about what happened to themst night?" Asked one of the adventurers'' stations right outside the dungeon.

    "Shut your mouth and just do as you''re told," for once Razor''s sharp tongue was the best way to shoot down a conversation.

    "Uh¡­Sorry," with his confidence shattered, the same adventurer decided it was wiser to keep his mouth shut.

    "Michael, go ahead and summon the distraction," Razor fed off to Michael, and that''s exactly what the elven general tried to do.

    "God-tier summon: Archangel!" Despite following the same procedure of summoning, nothing ended up happening in response to Michael''s call to an archangel. Left aghast, the elven wondered if it was because he was confining himself in the dungeon alongside Razor, and that he needed to be under the clear skies to summon the angels.

    "What the hell happened?" Razor asked, leaning against a wall opposing where Michael stood.

    ncing at him from the edge of his eyes, Michael shook his head and decided to try again.

    "Just keep an eye on the prisoners, I wouldn''t want them to perform any miracles and wake up like that bastard did," directing frustration towards Haruki, Michael tried again, and to his surprise, the summoning failed yet another time. Standing frozen in shock, he red at his hand still glistering with trails of holy magic. "What''s¡­Happening?"

    Unaware of the angel''s cowering in response to the Valkyrian moans, there was no way for him to know that the angels had abandoned As once and for all. Not even to his call would they answer, no matter how much he pleaded, but what was worse for his situation at the moment was that he had no time prepared for anything else.

    "What the fuck are you doing?" Kicking his back off the wall, Razor moved closer to Michael and shook him violently by the shoulders. "Summon that eyesore of an angel, we don''t have time to linger about!"

    "Get off!" Pushing Razor off, Michael let out a disgruntled grunt. Straightening his back, he shut his eyes for a moment and heaved a heavy sigh. "That bastard must be blocking all angelic summons."

    Unsure how to take that news, Razor''s eyes widened as he took a few steps away from the upset elf.

    "A spell to block off angelic summons? Are you fucking delusional, Michael? A demon capable of doing that? I don''t buy it!" Still, his disagreeable self, Razor was far from convinced by the lousy exnation.

    Growing even more impatient and angst about the situation, Michael summoned hisnce and violently stomped it against the ground in a fit of rage.

    "I don''t fucking know for sure, but what else could he have done? Made a deal with the angels the way he did with Melicia?!" The moment he finished screaming, Razor summoned his own saber in case things escted anymore. Noticing it from the edge of his vision, Michael decided to take a breath and back off.

    "Well fuck¡­" He muttered before pressing his fingers against his temples to connect with the others through the mental link. "n''s changed, there''s not going to be any helpful summons or anything to deal with his summons or the demonic army that might arrive sooner orter. Now remember, we need to weaken him and take him hostage before any backupes up."

    "What?!" A chain of different voices yelling the same pierced into Michael''s ears, however, instead of answering them, he simply decided not to speak anymore and cut the link off for everyone so that no more discussion of the same would distract them anymore.

    "We''re fucked," muttered Razor, Michael could only agree internally.

    While the mess of preparation came to an end and everyone was freaking out of their minds, Haruki on the other end was done summoning nearly all of Asmodia''s otherworldly puppets. Some had even started attacking the castle walls themselves, but as the name went the castle of obsidian was truly indestructible.

    The void eater and lurker were attempting to tear away at the giant structure but mping on it with their razor-sharp teeth and tentacles that protruded out of the ground. Yet the castle stood tall, unshaken as the very world stemmed from its roots, and thus to tear it apart they''ll first need to tear the world around it as well.

    "Ballerinas, and mini void eaters, follow me," giving out orders to the ballerinas and pups of void of eater, Haruki began descending to the ground andnded right in the castle gardens.

    Looking around at the chaos ensuing all over the castle from the eater, the tentacles, and even the cyclopean giants smashing their fists against the castle, felt strangely soothing to Haruki for some obscure reason. It was almost as if he was finally about to bring down what was left behind by the previous god and rece it with not him, but an army that would be its own ve as well as master. In essence, they would be free, while also being shadowed in safety by the presence of each other.

    ''I suppose that time is yet toe, and if Michael is truly in there, then who knows if I''ll ever even get to see that vision bloom to fruition?'' Carrying that thought with him into the castle, he was met with a handful of demi-humans, as well as goblins with their weapons drawn against him.

    "S-stop there!" Screamed one of them, but that was barely about to have any effect on Haruki.

    "gue demon!" Casting a spell, Haruki infected the very air with a dire gue. With only one whiff, the soldiers were brought to their knees coughing, especially since in that fume floating about, he mixed with it a hint of the god-blood poison coursing through his veins.

    Before long the floor was pooled with blood oozing out every orifice of the infected soldiers''s bodies. The poison affected them so quickly they didn''t have time to scream or even struggle a little before submitting to their dire end.

    "It wasn''t your fault you chose the wrong side, but¡­" Moving through their corpses, Haruki collected their souls in a ball of pure darkness so that the soldiers could be given god-kin bodies and be revived into his army. "You''re far too weak by yourself to raise that weapon against me."

    Moving further ahead, Haruki went through the doors under the staircase that led to a secondary floor right underneath the main one. Having been in the castle before, he knew where he was supposed to be, especially since he''d been given a tour of the whole ce by Nabe.

    Once again, upon reaching the hall yet another fleet of soldiers were waiting to confront him. Instead of the gue demon this time, he simply slowed the flow of time, and cut their heads off with a de made of darkness. As time resumed, their heads fell to the ground at the same time, creating a gut-wrenching sound enough to make the toughest of men vomit.

    ncing back through the trail of blood left behind, he noticed saddened looks on the ballerinas from not being able to partake in the carnage. The pups on the other hand simply relished in the joys of devouring the corpsesying on the ground.

    "Razor, he''ll be your opponent, I''ll be dealing with Michael," saying that he quickly collected the souls and ventured deeper in the direction of the dungeon.

    ''Hard to believe things are progressing so fast. Nothing feels real anymore, especially after¡­'' Recalling a memory not more than a few hours old, Haruki couldn''t help but stop in his tracks. ''Why the hell did she¡­After finally getting on good terms with each other¡­Why, Asmodia?''

    "Give me a second," closing his eyes shut, Haruki wanted to relive that moment just so he could get it out of his head once and for all. "Damn you, you bitch of lust¡­"

    [Note: The next chapter reveals what happened after Haruki killed Marcellia, Deus, and us and then returned to the dungeon facility]

 Chapter 325 325 - Deathâ€™s A Cruel Mistress

    <h4>Chapter 325 Chapter 325 - Death''s A Cruel Mistress</h4>

    "You''re here," muttered Asmodia, pulling her teacup away from her shimmering new lips.

    The others have already told Haruki about the changes in her body, yet seeing it with his own eyes was something else entirely. With her soul hosted inside a demi-god body, the Asmodia everyone knew was far from the one seated before Haruki. Her dark hair was riddled with numerous flocks of golden hair that gave her pure dark eyes an even more mystifying look. Her body was just another extension of the absurdity with her skin a translucent dark with bursting stars glistering underneath.

    Pushing open the door to the cloningbpletely, Haruki took a single step inside. Fay, Serena, and the queen of goblins soon followed right behind him. Being just made aware of Haruki''s one-sided battle against the other demon lords, the girls were expecting a simr fate for Asmodia, thus their anxiety was raised through the roofs.

    "You already know, don''t you?" Standing before her, Haruki red down at Asmodia.

    Smiling in response, the mistress raised her sight to meet him before replying.

    "You''ve grown¡­" Seeming uncharacteristically somber, she picked the tea cup back from the desk beside her and brought it closer to her lips. "In the worst way imaginable."

    "Thest thing I need is a lecture from another monster," Haruki retorted, iming himself and her as monsters on a lone path walking towards each other. And now that they stood inches close, the only thing left to do was for one of them to push the other and continue their journey forward.

    Taking but a light sip from the cup, yet another smile came over Asmodia''s translucent azure lips. Shifting her golden gaze up at Haruki, she made the cup disappear and spoke against him once again.

    "And yet I never killed one of yours, did I? I never left a scar on your girl, and despite that, you''ve killed the only family I had left¡­" Her smile was swiftly washed away as a look of scorn took over her face.

    "I only rid the world of its tyrants, and ording to our contract, as long as I am the only tyrant left, your time in the world of the living has finallye to an end," saying it all with a straight face, Haruki expected some form of retaliation from the mistress of lust, instead, however, she simply rose to her feet and threw her arms around her shoulders.

    Looking right into Haruki''s eyes she whispered.

    "You''vee to take my strength, haven''t you?" Smiling once more, she managed to throw Haruki off his guard. "Then take it, I''ve been done with life for plenty of centuries already!"

    Pressing her ssy cold lips against his, Asmodia began force-feeding her powers to Haruki. Although surprised by the progression, Haruki didn''t pull away and let her have herst kiss. To further his shock, however...Inches from his face, her eyes began glowing a golden glow. Reflected in it were the stars from the night skies, glistering at their full strength. Feeling his corneas burning, he tried to pull away from Asmodia.

    "Not so quick¡­" He heard her say as Asmodia''s tongue elongated and slithered down into his organs.

    And as if having his insides torn apart so her tongue to coil his heart wasn''t enough, a sharp shard of dark matter conjured by Asmodia stabbed not only Haruki but her as well. Unlike the power of darkness, whatever dark matter touched it consumed to the point where nothing was left behind, not flesh, not bones, not organs, and most importantly no soul would ever inhabit that part of that vessel.

    Realizing what exactly was happening, Fay, Serena, and the goblin queen moved forward and tried to get Haruki off of Asmodia. But no matter how hard they pulled, Haruki''s body was kept held in ce by an invisible miasma.

    ''Haruki Shin.'' Stabbing his heart with her tongue, Asmodia ran her hand down his face. ''My woeful warrior¡­Perhaps, it''s time for us to part, I just wish we could''ve ended things on different terms.''

    "Moriyana, I''ll be joining you soon," she muttered, tears rolling down her eyes.

    Having broken her part of the contract by retaliating when Haruki tries to kill her, Asmodia knew well enough that her soul was to be extinguished and her existence be snuffed out just like her only daughter.

    "Wh-what?" Feeling her pulling away from him, Haruki had no clue what Asmodia was trying to do.

    Taking a step away from him herself, she could feel her heart being squeezed by the prince of hell since he was the devil responsible for overseeing all blood contracts in As. Suddenly, a dark portal with ck mes burst out underneath Asmodia. Standing in the very middle of the thing, she knew that she didn''t have much time to spare.

    "My strength I''ve handed it over, it''s thest thing I can do for you," wearing a smile for onest time, she let the mes crawl up on her flesh. "I''ll join my family in nothingness, waiting for you to arrive soon enough¡­"

    The very next moment as Asmodia shut her eyes, her flesh was consumed by the mes, and her soul burned until nothing was left behind. Much like her daughter, she''d been turned to nothing, and thus there was no way for her to ever be revived.

    ''Dammit¡­Going out on her own terms, why the hell does she always stay one step ahead of me?'' Realizing what had happened just now, Haruki stood there cursing his luck, and the fact that the mistress yed him till the very end.

    "Ouroboros¡­" The spell or skill guing Haruki''s every stat screen and lists healed him back to perfection after detecting what was wrong on its own.

    Everyone except for him was still wondering if this was a dream or if the most powerful demon lord in the world had themselves killed over some technicality via their contract with their master. Haruki himself, however, had no time to waste in theb anymore as there was still the matter of retrieving Asuka and the others from the grasp of Michael and Razor.

    "Otherworld portal!" Summoning an otherworld portal to shorten the distance between the dungeon and the obsidian castle, he walked right in without saying a single word to Fay or the others.

    ***

    From Asmodia''s death to summoning her pets and even massacring the scanty army gathered by Michael and Razor, Haruki hade far in terms of strength and the two generals felt it the moment he walked in front of them in the obsidian castle''s dungeon.

    ''Get ready, and remember, no summons will be able to help us.'' Michael ryed to Razor through his mental link. ''I''ll use time magic if needed but remember, I wouldn''tst too long after doing that so it''s ast resort.''

    "Fuck¡­" Huffed the sharp-tongued general as he drew his fencer.

    Stopping before the two, Haruki directed his finger towards Razor, and the ballerinas and void eater pups in his tow began rushing towards the general. Rushed with the otherworldly pets created by a now-dead demi-demon goddess, Razor slipped into a realm tear knowing he wouldn''t survive otherwise.

    "You!" Completing the curse atst, he appeared behind Haruki and tried to spike him from the back with his fencer.

    "Time magic: reversal!" Rewinding time itself for Razor, Haruki sent him back to where he''d been standing before. But this time he was instantly swarmed by the ballerinas and pups the moment he appeared in front of them.

    Pushing him to the ground, they stabbed, tore, and ate at his flesh, and the very first thing they lunged at was his mouth, for even they knew well enough that if he used reality alter again, things could get a lot messier.

    Watching hispanion''s mouth being torn apart, and then listening to his muffled screams as the pups dug their way into his throat, even Michael was frozen in fear despite having been at war for countless years of his life.

    "Time-" Before Michael could cast his own time magic, Haruki used a spear of dark matter against Michael, something he himself had been hurt by not long before arriving here.

    As the spear stabbed through his belly, Michael''s very soul was being burned away and he was brought to his knees without much effort. Possessing Asmodia''s powers as well as everyone that hemanded, Haruki was near unstoppable at the moment, especially given how overpowered the passive effects of the Ouroboros title were.

    "H-how?" Asked Michael, his life draining before his eyes.

    ring down at him, Haruki said but few words before snuffing his soul with numerous spears more.

    "Because I no longer fear doing what needs to be done, even if it''s cruel," with those words, he did what had to be done.

    Even as he stood there with the generals dealt with, Haruki felt no sense of aplishment or contentment, as something much more dire was creeping up on him. The ones he''de to rescue were supposed to be in this dungeon, yet for whatever reason, the only people he could sense a second ago were the generals, and now that they were dead, not even that faint hint of life was left behind.

    ''Don''t tell me¡­'' Expecting the worst, he marched towards the prison cells. ''Not now, not after everything I''ve done to get here!''

    His fingers curled into fists, he tried his best to delude himself from seeing the truth. However, whatid before his eyes, wasn''t something he could deny for long.

    ''Death''s a cruel mistress, she creeps up on those you love in the moment you need them the most.'' No clue where he''d heard that phrase, but that''s what resounded in his mind upon witnessing the cold corpses of hispanions stuffed inside that cell.

 Chapter 326 326 - A Final Struggle

    <h4>Chapter 326 Chapter 326 - A Final Struggle</h4>

    Just a night before Haruki''s arrival at the Obsidian castle, Asuka, Athena, Alice, and Greta were all bound with a pair of enchanted chains of holy magic that deter the use of all dark magic. Not only that, it was made specifically to keep demons from shifting into someone smaller and escaping through the chains. And as if that wasn''t enough, the dungeon itself didn''t allow for dark summons, which was the only kind Asuka and the rest could summon.

    Bound at hands and knees, they couldn''t do anything to fight the carnal curse. Thus, huffing and puffing under their breaths, theyid there on the ground, their faces pressed against the mossy floor, withering away like an extinguishing candle.

    After a while of suffering, their minds were filled no longer with lust, but with the memories of those whom they''d held dear. For Athena, having her daughter by her side was both a blessing and a curse. With her eyes locked with her daughter''s she kept grunting and growling in a weakened tone to keep Alice from falling asleep.

    But s, having her soul slowly burned by the curse, Alice drifted into slumber from which she would never wake up from. With tears and screams, Athena struggled onest time. Hearing the outburst, Asuka and Greta knew what had happened, but worst of all the guards walked in through the gates to silence the grieving mother.

    "Shut up, you monster!" Striking Athena with the blunt side of her sword, the female adventurer screamed at her at the top of her lungs. Frustrated from the guard''s duty as well as trying to exert some power over the bound demons, the girl kept striking Athena at the back of her head until the demi-cat''s head was bleeding like a river.

    Knocked unconscious, Athena barely had any life left in her. Looking at her, Asuka and Greta noticed her eyes were still open, but the life in them was slowly being whisked away.

    "L-light!" Using what little strength she had, Asuka cast a light magic spell to blind the girl hitting Athena.

    However, being as weak as she was, it didn''t bloom as much as it should''ve and only ended up pissing off the girl even more. Thankfully, however, being pulled away from the cell by herpanion, the adventurer was led out of the ce and the door was swiftly locked behind them again.

    "W-why?" Muttered Greta, not understanding why Asuka risked getting hurt as well when Athena was doomed to death anyway.

    With a frowning gaze, the demi-fox red at the demon and barked.

    "Because we''re not monsters, never were, never will be," Asuka''s reply made no sense to Greta, as being a human before being a demon, she had no clue what it was like for demi-humans to live in a world where everyone considered them monsters. "A-and, I wouldn''t want her body to be ruined before Master Haruki revives her back¡­"

    Still hoping for that miracle, Asuka bit her lower lips to keep herself from losing hope. Staring at her dyingpanions, Greta didn''t share the same enthusiasm as Asuka. Instead of believing in that miracle, she shifted her gaze at the female guard now stationed outside. Although Asuka''s words barely meant anything to the demon general, in those very words she found something to redeem herself in Haruki''s eyes.

    ''Athena will die soon, so will Asuka, and Alice¡­well, I''m sure she''s not waking up anytime soon either.'' Racking her mind for a way to get the adventurer girl''s attention, Greta put up a smile and began tough. Sounding manically hysteric, she red right at the girl and kept cackling like the devil himself. Her voice alone was enough to chill the pair of guards, and even Asuka wasn''t spared from the chills that resulted from the desperateughing of a cannibalistic maniac.

    "HEY YOU!" Screamed Greta, biting her own gums to paint her smile with a crimson brush. "WHY DON''T YOU TRY AND SWING THAT SWORD AT ME YOU WHORE! HHHHAAA?!"

    Smashing her head against the ground a few times, she made herself bleed like Athena before slowly crawling towards the door that separated the guards from the prisoner. With her teeth, she clung onto the bar and pulled her body up and up as far as she could bring herself. Before long, the general was on her feet, however, her hands and knees were still tied together by the holy chains.

    "Greta what are you doing?! We have to wait until maste-"

    "He''s noting, little fox¡­" Butting in before Asuka could finish her sentence, Greta nced back down at her with a look of dumbfounded amusement. "Not in time at least, and I refuse to die rotting on that mossy floor."

    All of a sudden, the door flung violently open in Greta''s face. It was a cheeky attempt to make her fall, but the demoness was stubborn beyond reason and kept herself upright on her legs. Seeing the adventurer girl trying to get closer to Greta again, Asuka pulled her knees towards herself before kicking her on the knees to make her fall.

    The moment the girl hit the floor and her sword left her clutched, Greta threw herself on the adventurer and tore into her neck with her bloodied teeth. As the screams from the girl echoed through the chamber, the other adventure rushed right over to help, but was swiftly brought back down as used her tail to fling the sword right at his belly. Her tail being weaker than any limb, however, the sword only made it to his groin, which was perhaps not as lethal but more excruciating than a strike to the belly.

    As it all happened, Greta ate away at the girl''s throat until not an ounce of flesh was left on her neck. Then moving on to the guy screaming in agony as he rolled around the cell, she bit on his face and tore the skin right off.

    "F-Fucking sc-scream! Y-you bastar-d¡­" The massacre of twosting only but a minute was more than enough to drain Greta of what little strength she had left. Even then, while barely keeping herself off the ground, she looked at Asuka and asked for but one thing. "Don''t let me die on this floo¡­"

    To her misfortune, she passed before the demi-fox could even collect her thoughts about what had happened. Yet staying atop the male adventurer''s body, she''d managed to fulfill her own dying wish by not dying with her face pressed against that mossy floor.

    ''I¡­I''m thest, aren''t I?'' Asuka mused, her eyes growing weary. Letting her eyes bind shut, Asuka began taking deep breaths to make sure to stay alive as long as possible. The curse was eating away at her, yet her lust was nowhere near what it used to be. In its ce was a strange calm, a calm that felt familiar as well asforting.

    Then, and reached for her from the darkness of her mind, attempting to snatch her soul or at least what was left of it. Keeping that presence at bay, she kept her mind free of fear by reliving her memories with her master Haruki Shin.

    ''Till the bitter end, remember? He''lle¡­I know he will.'' A tear strolled down her eyes while she kept defying her own fate. ''We''ve been through so much, there''s no way he''ll let us die here¡­''

    Unbeknownst to her, Haruki was far away confronting the demon lords at the time before eventually returning to the dungeons and dealing with Asmodia. Yet she hoped he would show up, she hoped he would revive her family scattered around her like squashed cockroaches.

    ''Rose? Hawthorn?'' Attempting to reach Haruki through the dragons, she tried to call out to the two, but already having been dismissed by her master, the dragons were now living in a faraway in. And even if they were not, the walls of the obsidian castle didn''t allow for surveince from anyone but those trusted by the dead god As.

    Hearing a pair of approaching steps, Asuka opened her eyes to see who it was. However, at this point, her vision was stripped away and all she could witness was the ever-stretching dark. The cold hand was growing closer, draining her very soul, and all she could do wasy there and wait for herself to be extinguished.

    "What the hell happened here?!" A voice eximed, and a few other gasps resounded beside Asuka.

    Hearing a thud from right beside her, she could smell Greta''s blood trailing in her direction. One after the other, the sound of an unsheathed sword stabbing into flesh echoed into her ears, until finally the tip of a sharp deid right against her head.

    ''I''m sorry, I couldn''t keep my promise to stay with you till the end.'' These were thest of her thoughts before the sword tore into her head.

    "Leave the demons here, and take the adventures away!" Ordered the man with the crimson-edged sword as he drew his de out of Asuka''s skull. "And tell the war general that we''re all sorts of fucked!"

 Chapter 327 327 â€“ Acceptance Of The End

    <h4>Chapter 327 Chapter 327 ¨C eptance Of The End</h4>

    "Master, it''s been six hours¡­" cing her hand on Haruki''s shoulders, Serena tried to get him away from the graves.

    Kneeling in the garden of the Larian castle right underneath the gazebo where Haruki firstid eyes on Asuka, he couldn''t get that memory out of his mind. The look of concern on her face, the genuine smile, and the worrisome hug, it felt as though her warmth was still racing along his skin, but s, having put her in the grave with his own hands, her body no longer possessed thatforting warmth.

    "I¡­I know," pulling himself out of a spell that slowed time for him, Haruki pulled himself up and finally turned to face the others moaning the deaths alongside him.

    The first ones he noticed were Riley and Margarette, as they''d been away from him for a while and were holed up in the minotaur dungeon nearby. Apart from them, a massive collection of soldiers and representatives from all monster ns and tribes under Haruki were also present for solidarity. However, even then, Haruki knew it was nothing more than a power struggle against the others for them.

    "To think they will die to that stupid curse," her eyes fixed on the graves, Riley anxiously tapped her feet to the sight. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!"

    Fighting tears from straining over her already tear-marked face, Riley shook her head violently and just buried her face onto Margarette''s sides. Brushing her daughter''s hair with her hands, Margarette tried tofort her, all the while she herself felt like throwing up from the jumble of emotions.

    "It''ll be fine, trust me," said Margarette, reminded of her first encounter with death. "Your father, I grieved for him too, but it''ll get easier with time."

    Hearing her say those words, a disgruntled frown took over Haruki''s face. He didn''t wish for himself to be distanced from this pain, he didn''t want this me of somber rage to even be extinguished. For what he wanted was revenge on those who''ve killed hispanions, but to his own misfortune, he''d already killed them once yet it didn''t feel like enough.

    "Fay¡­" ncing over at Fay, Haruki gave out an order. "Prepare as many god-kin vessels as you can with the samples we have left."

    A bit surprised by the sudden demand, Fay''s expression contorted to that of confusion.

    "Right now? But why?" She asked, taking a step closer to him.

    "There''s still an enemy left that can hurt us, and before long I wouldn''t be here with you to keep you all safe," revealing his eventual death because of the poison, Haruki shocked everyone except for Riley who already knew about the situation.

    "Wait, master¡­" While the others were still trying to process what had been said, Riley stepped forward with a suggestion. "We can ce your soul in a new vessel, can''t we? That should help with getting rid of that poison."

    Standing still, just breathing heavy breaths, Haruki forced a gentle smile on his face before replying.

    "I''ve died twice, lived for, I can''t remember how long in my first life," ncing across all the faces before him, Haruki continued what he had to say. "The second, I came back with the help of a contract to keep my people from harm, and yet it ended up in chaos¡­Needless to say, I''m done and perhaps it''s time for someone new to take my ce in protecting our people."

    Shifting his gaze towards Fay, Haruki nced over her shoulders to look at his daughter. Their eyes met for just a moment, but nobody else but them noticed that brief interaction. Blinking once or twice, Ste''s eyes widened as she came to realize what it all meant.

    "No!" She eximed, not from fear of responsibility, but the very prospect of Haruki''s eventual death.

    Pushing Fay aside, she lunged onto her adoptive father and hugged him tight enough so he couldn''t escape. Breathing heavily with fear, stared at Haruki for a while before banging her head against his chest.

    "No! No! You-"

    "Benevolent actor¡­" Lifting Ste''s face upwards, Haruki beamed her a smile. "Nothing cany a finger on you, Ste, and if you''re the one leading our people with some guidance of course, then I can move on assured that nothing bad could ever happen to any of them."

    As the others too realized what Haruki had nned, they felt themselves shrinking away as if something vital had been stripped away from their souls.

    "Now, go and help your mother get those vessels ready, we''re gonna need them for a battle toe," Haruki muttered, ncing over at Fay so she could take Ste away from him.

    Although the girl tried to stay glued to her father, Haruki managed to send them both off to theb with a dungeon portal. With that done, he turned to Riley and the rest of the gathered soldiers and representatives to ry something else as well.

    "Helga, the queen of Valkyrie, she''sing to end this world¡­" His announcement left the others astounded and just confused in general. "When I was at the obsidian castle, I saw something, in those prophetic windows of that damned ce. A banquet of winged soldiers, a feast, an orgy, all to celebrate annihtion of themselves and the world of As!"

    ''I hope they buy that lie because I never saw that mural on the windows, this damned skill or ability or whatever, it is¡­Ouroboros is filling my mind with visions of the end¡­''

    Keeping the part about Ouroboros a secret, Haruki decided to rile them all up for the uing battle. Those gathered around him at the moment were either elders or the strongest of their tribes, thus it fell on their shoulders to keep the world intact for the next generations.

    "Haruki wait, this is all too much," Margarette butted in, having kept shut for so long, she couldn''t help but interject as the confusion in her mind kept building up. "We need some time to clear things in our head, especially after all this!"

    Extending her hand towards the graves, Margarette tried to slow down Haruki''s racing orders at the moment.

    "We have three days at most Margarette, if we ck off even a second, who knows if we''ll even have a single soul left to remember those we''ve buried," Haruki retorted, a deep frown appearing on his forehead.

    "Three days?!" Letting it out in a yelp, Riley posed a question. "How will the demi-god soldiers even be ready at that point then?!"

    "Time eleration, the same way Asmodia''s skills aged down Klian, we''ll age up those vessels with false memories of obedience," Haruki shot back an answer without any dy.

    While grieving the deaths of Asuka, Athena, and Alice, Haruki had suspended himself in a much slower flow of time, and thus he has had enough time to not only bleed his heart out but alsoe up with a n to deal with the uing war of annihtion.

    "And what''s the n exactly? Fight a war against an unstoppable army capable of bringing down gods with just their leader alone?!" A bit pissed off about the whole thing so soon after the burial, Margarette was the one to break up pretty quickly despite having the most experience with loss.

    "The vessels will need souls to make them work, for the most part, I''ll be using souls that I have gathered in the obsidian castle, but for the rest, I bet we''ll have plenty of volunteers who''d want a new more capable body," nning to transfer souls of experienced soldiers into the vessels, Haruki was ready to throw an army of veteran gods against the god-killing Valkyries.

    "And that''s supposed to help us stay safe, it''s supposed to protect us?" Margaretteined.

    "You gain nothing without loss, and only those who are willing to lose everything will participate. The rest, I''ll house them in the otherworld under the watchful gaze of Asmodia''s pets," with that exnation from her master, Margarette was still aggrieved but she couldn''t retort with anything more. "The war will happen regardless, Margarette. Whether we''re ready or not, the Valkyries will try and destroy our world, and our people with it. Even our hard-earned memories will disappear and nobody will remember us anymore."

    Biting the insides of her mouth, Margarette gulped her dissent before huffing out a sigh. Letting her shoulders fall, she grabbed Riley by the arm and turned around to prepare for the uing war.

    "If you''re right, then I want Riley to be out of this," she demanded, ncing back at Haruki from the edge of her eyes.

    "What? No! I won''t just stand back!" Rileyined, not willing to stand back while everyone else threw themselves to their deaths.

    "I agree with Margarette, someone needs to protect the kids and I can''t hand that responsibility to Fay as she''s not really a fighter," Haruki said, nodding at Margarette.

    "No fucking way! I''m going decide for myself this time, and standing at the sidesli-"

    "RILEY!" Margarette screamed, shutting Riley in an instant.

    Looking up at her mother''s face, Riley knew she wasn''t giving her an option this time, and doing as she said was the only thing she could do.

    "Fuck me¡­" She muttered under her breath.

    Without another wasted moment, Margarette took Riley to the minotaur dungeon where the rest of the soldiers were supposed to be prepped for the war. In the meantime, Haruki had onest thing to do before joining them in the dungeon. Which was to retrace the steps that had first led him to thend of Laria.

    ''Perhaps looking at the past may help me exercise restraint before the war.'' Bottling up all emotions, Haruki was moments away from a violent outbreak. The deaths of hispanions have affected him more than anyone, but knowing that doom was soon toe for the rest, he was keeping it all confined until the time came to let his hatred draw blood and paint the very earth a crimson red.

 Chapter 328 328 - The Preparations For The End Of Times

    ?

    The preparation for the oing war was in full effect. Everyone who could swing a de was getting themselves ready for a battle of a lifeline, and perhaps if they failed the battle of everyone''s life even those being cradled by their mothers. The Valkyries would not show any mercy not to the young, adult, or the elderly for their very purpose in life was to eradicate all life in precedence to the apocalypse.

    "This is a huge gamble¡­" Fay muttered, ncing across the room at the workers moving around giant ss cases for the god-kin vessels to be produced inside en masse. "If even a single one of them goes against our expectations, who knows what kind of cmity might strike? With Asmodia, we didn''t even get to know what kind of new powers she had gotten from the body."

    cing his hand on her shoulder, Haruki squeezed it gently to calm her nerves a little.

    "I''ll rework the memories of the adventurers and other soldiers from the castle, then there shouldn''t be much room for any problems," Haruki tried soothing her worries, but it didn''t make her any less jittery.

    "I believe we''ve dealt with enough gods, and whenever one''s involved in anything it never ends well," having witnessed thepetitive nature of the different tribes, Fay wasn''t too keen on giving the monsters new bodies that could defy allws of nature. "I''m not worried about the adventurers, they''ll be manageable, but the monsters? If we try to do something about them, then who knows maybe their entire tribe might rebel. The same way the goblin queen was willing to retract her support when she felt disrespected by Serena and Deus."

    Hitting the mark with her concern, Fay turned to face Haruki. Noticing her gaze on him, he knew he couldn''t slip away without an answer.

    "I have a cure for that too, but you have to promise me something first," reaching into his clock, Haruki took out a tied bag and held it towards her.

    "What is it?" She asked, taking it from his hand.

    "Dark matter, the same thing I used to kill Michael like a fly," gesturing her to open the bag, he continued to exin further. "I want you to hold onto it, in case you need to get rid of the demi-gods after my death. And don''t worry, I have more than enough stacked away, that is but a stabilized sample."

    Without opening the thing, Fay simply put it in her pocket and nced up at Haruki once more. She knew he''d grown brittle from the heart, but she never expected him to hand her a poison that would kill the very men who would be fighting alongside him.

    "You want me to kill them? How will that solve a rebellion?" Fay asked in a hushed tone, making sure nobody else in the dungeon could hear her.

    Grabbing her by the arms, Haruki brought his face close to her and bumped their noses yfully together.

    "Ste, I''m sure she can bring them together with time, you just need to guide her till then," although he felt like kissing Fay, he could no longer risk passing on the poison to her. "Even if that means killing the rebels, you must do what''s best for the rest of our people."

    ''Hopefully, that time neveres that you have to resort to such extreme measures.'' Keeping thatst part to himself to not demotivate her in case she does have to rely on it, Haruki pulled his head away to leave her with the experimentations.

    "I woe the day I met you on that stupid road," wearing the faintest smile, Fay yful rolled her eyes. "Too bad you''re too much of a lovable idiot to hate."

    Parting with those words from Fay, the two went on their ways to attend to their duties. For Fay, it was the creation of the bodies, and for Haruki, it was to check up on the queens to make sure they were all on board with his suicidal n.

    Jumping out from the portal dungeon, hended himself in the minotaur dungeon where everyone was currently being holed up before the battle began. There, making his way towards the shrine where Serena had been kept while she was unconscious, he was met with anxious gazes from the goblin queen, Medusa, the queen of Arachne, Margarette, and even Serena, all gathered up inside the dimly lit ce.

    "Finally," huffing a sigh of relief, Margarette pulled herself out of a seat and made her way towards Haruki near the door. "Knock some sense into Serena, you have to!"

    Being confronted so suddenly, it took a moment for Haruki to even realize what was said. However, the moment it became clear, he shifted his gaze to the priestess with a question.

    "Now what?" He asked, the priestess simply dejected her gaze.

    "She doesn''t want to fight against the apocalypse, whatever that even is," revealed the goblin queen.

    With a bemused expression stered over his face, Haruki slowly made his way towards Serena and lifted her face up from under her chin.

    "Serena, what do you mean you won''t fight?" He asked, his eyes wide open with shock.

    "I-I¡­" Gulping her words, she took a few hasty breaths before finallying out with the truth. "The creator, I still serve him, master. I can''t give up on my god even if he''s dead, and since this apocalypse is his n I cannot and will not do anything to fight against it!"

    ''Still, bbering about that dead god?'' Feeling agitated by her reasoning, Haruki distanced himself from her before he did something he might regretter.

    "I''ll still heal anyone who''s wounded, and treat them, but I can''t fight against the end!" Serena pleaded, pulling herself out of her chair as well.

    "Agh, fine, just¡­Leave us alone for the moment then," holding back his frustration, Haruki urged her to leave in case his mood got more heated during the rest of the conversation with the queens.

    For a moment, Serena tried to open her lips to speak, but seeing how tense the situation around her had gotten, she bowed her head to her master and left without uttering a word.

    "Another fanatic of god, exactly what we need, sh''yeah!" Tightening her grip on her staff, the Arachne queen cursed under her breath.

    "We don''t have time to waste!" Haruki eximed to bring everyone''s attention back to him. "Let''s make sure everyone knows the ns, and alsoe up with a way to make sure the Valkyries don''t rise from the dead."

    Unaware that the Valkyries couldn''t be revived if they died on Arian soil, Haruki wanted to cover all grounds regardless. His n was the same as while dealing with rebelling demi-gods, which was to arm everyone with weapons capable of burning the very soul of the enemy so they could never be revived.

    Throughout the entire conversation, everyone voiced numerous concerns about a lot of things, but amidst it all, the main general herself stayed silent. Through the eyes and ears of Margarette, it was the prince of hell that was listening to the entire thing, thus, despite having several questions, Margarette stayed quiet on her new master''s demand.

    She and her daughter possessed some freedom to be their true selves unlike the others, but that could easily change whenever the princemanded. Even now, not long before this meeting, while trying to convince Serena to fight, Margarette was her true self.

    ''He seems prepared.'' Ryed the prince to Margarette, expecting her to voice her opinion.

    ''He is, but good ns barely work in As.'' Margarette replied through their mental link. Having experienced even more solid ns crumble under unexpected situations, Margarette had little hope of their survival, but being under the prince''smand she couldn''t offer any ideas of her own to iron the rough edges of the n.

    "Now, go and prepare your best soldiers, and gather the children in the halls so we can put them under Riley''s protection in the otherworldter," giving out the final order for the moment, Haruki sped his hands and nced over everyone''s faces.

    None of them looked too thrilled to throw themselves to sure death, but being monsters by nature they didn''t care so long as the children of their tribes had a chance at survival from their sacrifice.

    "Wait, you said Ste will take your ce, right?" Medusa asked, visibly a bit timid.

    "Yeah, what about it?" Haruki replied, tilting his head slightly.

    "No, nothing, I just thought she was a child herself¡­" Trying to not offend him, Medusa downyed her concern to not drag the conversation any longer.

    "She''ll have Fay, Riley, and perhaps a few of you as well, so I''m sure it''ll be fine," Haruki said, trying tofort her with verbal optimism.

    "Y-yeah, I hope so," seeing Medusa responding with a smile as well, Haruki dismissed himself from the room for onest visit to thend of Laria.

    Although he''d just retraced his step before returning back to the dungeon, he needed yet another trip down memoryne to calm down his bubbling emotions.

 Chapter 329 329 - The Banquetâ€™s End

    ?

    Her mind still consumed by ale and lust, Helga strangled her way to the holy fountain of evesting life. Through its very waters, the Valkyries rose from the dead no matter how many times their bodies perished in battle. However, this time, instead of inviting new life from the ornate fountain of golden statues of lions pouring out water, she''de to destroy it once and for all and dere the start of the end for the world of As and themselves.

    Bare naked before the fountain, she looked up at it for a moment while the rest of the Valkyries finally pulled themselves off of Helga''s body. Lathered with sweat, saliva, and all manner of fluids, the queen dipped her toe into the fountain''s water before sinking her body into it.

    Letting her body wash up in the fountain, sheid back with her back leaning against the circr rim holding in the holy liquid. Sshing the water over her arms and legs, she hummed a song to allow herself to enjoy thesest few moments of peace.

    "Join me¡­" She said, ncing over at the soldiers that stood behind her watching.

    Beingrge enough to house an entire army, the fountain spanked for miles, which just so happened to be more than enough for Helga''s soldiers to dip their toes in as well. Bringing her attention back to the front, Helga nced up into the heavens at the barely visible lion faces soaring into the clouds.

    "Wash away your worries, your doubts, and prepare for a battle that''s bound to get you killed," hearing their queen''s words, the soldiers moved forward and finally began getting into the holy spring.

    Had it been another time, they would''ve severely been punished for training the water as adult bodies, but since the end of time was near, they needed the spiritual revival without being forced into new bodies. Thus to attain such a feat they needed to wash their sins away in the holy fountain of ever-giving.

    "Haa," entangling her fingers with the girl seated beside her, Helga leaned onto her shoulders and huffed a tired sigh. "So sweet, so tender."

    Closing her eyes, she tried her best not to bite into her skin, for now, that they were in the fountain, no sins were supposed to bemitted. Yet, the me of longing kept burning her heart, she''d cared for these flowers for so long that she felt practically inseparable. However, in that time, with nobody to share her burden, with nobody to help her calm, she''d grown quite desperate for the attention of the soft and gentle kind.

    Opening her eyes, Helga nced up at the girl who was smiling warmly at her. The Valkyries were no stranger to their queen''s affection, they''d just kept it a secret since it could''ve led to negligence while performing their duties.

    "My queen, can you, perhaps, tell us that tale of how you defeated the god of monsters?" Asked the girl and the others began crawling closer with a curious glint in their eyes.

    "Etherios, you mean?" Helga tried to confirm, and the girls all nodded in unison. "Sure, I''d love to tell you that story."

    For the rest of the few hours, the queen spent her time exining how she took down the traitor Etherios and turned his body into the de thatter helped her kill As and Destinia. The Valkyries listened to her with perked ears, and every so often even voiced some questions that left them baffled about the whole retelling of the past.

    Although some of them had been present with her through those very battles, their deaths after those incidents have taken chunks of their memories out of their minds. The only thing left intact without ever being touched was their desire to serve and fight alongside worthypanions.

    Once her tale concluded, it came time for them to carry out thest step before ending the banquet. Raising to their feet, they all sprouted their wings and took flight. Conjuring their weapons from tridents, bows, swords, and spears, they got ready for the queen''s orders to bring down the fountain of life.

    "The symbol of eternal life, you''ve served us well, but it''s time for eternity to forever be forgotten!" Helga dered and the Valkyries struck the fountain with their weapons and began tearing it into rubble.

    Like a ho''s swarm, the soldiers lunged onto the lion statues and crumbled them bit by bit until thend of Valha was rained with dust. With the fountain now gone, the Valkyries had but one life, thus even if some of them ended up surviving the war, they''ll gut their own bellies to join theirpanions on the other side.

    ''Eternal peace, prosperity, and love, finally, you''ll be ours!'' Thinking to herself, Helga conjured her own de and lunged towards the fountain statues. With a single slice of her de, the pair of lions were cut clean from the torso. Falling to the ground, the upper portion of the statues crushed the rim of the fountain.

    "Destroy it all!" Helga ordered, finally getting back into her stern disciplined self.

    Watching it all from the safety of theherworld, the prince of hell prepared his own army of hellspawns as well. Like critters they crawled out ofva, from his steaming blood they arose and began crawling up the walls of the scorching realm.

    "Crawl out of thisnd of burn and hide in the shadows until it''s time for us to reveal ourselves!" Seated at his massive throne, the prince nced down at its spawns springing to life from his scorching magma-like blood.

    His very body made of charred stone, he breathed fumes, and his nerves coursed with infernal mes. A sigh alone was enough to turn a lushnd into a desert, yet much weaker and cowardly than Helga or even Haruki, he made sure to keep the attention to himself to the bare minimum.

    ''Spies, an army, a solid n to take over, I have it all lined up. Just need everything to be executed well, but with that demon putting Riley on the sides, I can''t use her on the battlefield.'' Ever since Haruki had ordered Riley to look after the kids after the battle started, the prince''s anxiety was soaring through the roofs. Ideally, he wanted her to be the one to stab Haruki or Helga in the back, but with her being sent to the otherworld, the only way for him to make use of her was through ckmailing Haruki with the lives of the children left under Riley''s care.

    Thankfully for him, it didn''t seem like anyone capable of fighting would be around her in the otherworld, and the only one capable of giving trouble would be Fay, but she was no fighter and he knew it well.

    "That leaves the dragons, but they''re not helping either side it seems," with everything lining up in his favor, a creepy smile crept up on the prince''s face.

    Dreaming of his freedom in the overworld, he couldn''t wait to take thend for himself. The desire to rule amongst all heavenly bodies was the strongest in him, but his inability for foresight was what had held him so far. Against As, he couldn''t lift a finger, and against Helga, there was not even a chance. However, with Haruki, using some form of maniption he could''ve outsmarted him but only if he managed to take care of Helga first.

    Instead of nning ahead, however, he was too lost in dreams of glory once he got rid of all thepetition. In his mind, he was already ruling over the leftover humans, the monster tribes, and scattered viges of demi-humans.

    "I deserve it¡­" He muttered, his eyes ncing into a bright future that may or may nevere to be. "Trapping me here, making me so weak, only capable of overseeing blood contracts and the ilk''s, I''ll finally defy that arrogant Creator and take my rightful ce as this world''s new god and ruler!"

    Too caught up in his delusions, he spent most of his time daydreaming about the potential glory all the while having no clue what it meant to rule sentient beings instead of crittering monsters that did whatever youmand. Thus even if he were to take hold of the world, the very threat of being backstabbed never urred to him, instead, he only dreamed of glory and what he''d do once the world was under his grasp.

    Needless to say, he assumed himself perfect in his ways and thus was doomed for failure sooner orter. Making matters worse for him, the naive prince never checked to see if he could even control Riley when she was far away in the otherworld. And the pets of thete mistress of dark were keener than he expected, perhaps even keen enough to sniff out the parasites guing the minds of his hellspawn.

    But that remained to be seen, as there was still time before Haruki sent her off into the otherworld along with the kids, Ste, and Fay.

 Chapter 330 330 - Last Trip Home

    <h4>Chapter 330 Chapter 330 - Last Trip Home</h4>

    "Laria, thend amidst the tundra¡­" Turning back time for the castle itself, Haruki ventured in through the front gates trying to relive the cherished moment from his past. With a single step in, he stopped to look at the stairs that led to his room as well as the door with the frost dragon seal. "To think I''ll grow attached to this ce, how unfortunate."

    His life before the revival was no better than the one he''d been given by Asmodia, yet thepanions he''d made throughout had made it a lot more tolerable. And this time before death, perhaps he''ll leave behind a legacy, a legacy in the form of his benevolent daughter.

    ''I should head up fir-'' A sudden fit of coughs broke his chain of thoughts. Coughing into his hands for a while, he pulled it away to the sight of blood painted all over his palm. ''Seems like I have even less time than I thought.''

    With a shake of the head, he put a spring to his feet and headed upstairs. Just climbing up the carpeted steps was enough to remind him of a time when everything seemed so simple. He would wake up in a castle that he could call his own, and Asuka would be on his side whenever he went. Getting to the first floor, yet another memory triggered inside his head.

    ''The assassination attempt at Snow Frost, we fell through the roof onto this floor.'' The memory of Snow''s tattered body was still fresh in his mind. ''The whole castle was destroyed after Rose took care of those assassins sent by Margarette, ahaha.''

    Looking back on it all, he couldn''t help butugh. He''d almost forgotten that the very first enemy he''d made in this world was now a lifelongpanion and the general of his demonic army. Then there was Riley, Margarette''s stepson once now turned into a daughter, something that had Haruki conflicted at times but couldn''t spare to fiddle on much since it seemed to have made Riley happier.

    Cruising through those memories, he began walking towards the frost dragon''s sealed door. At the sight of it from afar, he was reminded of the mess the whole ordeal with Rose had caused near the beginning of his new life. At that point, he was still thinking about exacting revenge on those who''d wronged him in the previous life, but now, looking back, he couldn''t have cared less about the injustice he''d experienced in the past.

    ''Marquis, I hope your wife and daughter don''t go to the same ce as you did after their passing.'' Clutching his fist, he moved closer and closer until the sealed door was just inches away from him. Turning his hand into his frost dragon form, Haruki pressed it against the ice and tried to undo the seal''s effect. However, his attempt to enter the room failed as he needed the help of a fire dragon to breach through the sealed door.

    "Dungeon portal!" Teleporting slightly further, Haruki popped up inside the room regardless. "Unholy me."

    Lighting the ce with a violet me of dark magic, he looked around at the massive chains that once held the maddened dragon. Even now, Haruki barely knew the potential of in''s strength which was only worsened by the fact that the frost dragon had been severely weakened after being reverted back to his younger self.

    "I wonder how strong he truly was, the creation of the tundra couldn''t have been an easy task after all," muttering to himself, he conjured up a table with two cups of bitter tea resting on them. Creating a pair of chairs as well, he sat there for a while wondering about all those times he''d had to sip that bitter liquid while conversing with Asmodia. "And then, I did the same to Rose, to make that deal to garner her help in exchange for her brother''s life."

    Picking up the cup, he took one light sip and the familiar bitter taste made him set it right back onto the table. With her powers, perhaps he''d gained more than he expected, as instead of being repulsed, the taste felt indifferent. Or perhaps that was just a strange longing for someone who''d been in his head for most of his new life.

    "Portal!" teleporting outside, Haruki was off on his way to check the room he used to stay in.

    Just a level above, he found it quickly. Standing before the door itself was more nostalgic than he''d expected. As if reunited with a long-lost sibling, he felt assaulted with a wave of emotion, but keeping it all confined, he pushed the door open and headed right in.

    ncing around, he noticed the same familiar bed with white curtains tied around its frame to keep insects out while sleeping. Shifting his gaze sideways, he noticed the window overlooking the tundra and the towns of Laria. Moving closer he breezed through the sights of the once bustling streets and the semi-thawed tundra attempting to regain its natural glory.

    ''I-I did this?'' When he''d first awoken in the castle, the sight through the very window had been substantially different. The streets were filled with traders hauling their carts, and the people of thend let their voices bustle as they went through their everyday lives. But now, nothing but ruinid forth, for the Laria Haruki knew had long been gone.

    "I am a monster," he said to himself.

    ''A monster, for what? Trying to survive when everyone wanted you dead?'' Fought his demonic side.

    "Shut up¡­" He muttered and put his thoughts to a rest.

    Turning around he noticed a stool beside him by the window. It was the very stool Asuka used to watch over Haruki whenever he passed out while staying in the castle. Even now, her ghost of the past, sitting there, watching over him as he slept. Her eyes weary with exhaustion, yet she wouldn''t sleep or take even a light nap.

    As a cold breeze seeped through his cloak, another fit of cough took over Haruki''s throat and lungs. Coughing blood against his palm, he wheezed about heavily until Asmodia''s passive abilities eased some of the effects of the poison. Hunched over and looking at his palm, he noticed the illusion of Asuka turning in his direction. Looking at her concerned face from the edge of his eyes, he forced a smile and assured the nonexistent presence.

    "I''m sorry we had to break our promise temporarily, but I''ll be joining you soon so we can be together till the end of times," seeing a smile rece that troubled look, Haruki straightened himself before deciding to head back to his people again.

    Reaching near the door, however, he took onest nce at the ghost of the past, but this time there was nobody there. Even so, he spoke his mind as if making amitment to himself and the departed.

    "I''ll be the worst monster this world has ever seen for onest time. Past that, it''ll all be in the gentle hands of our daughter, Ste," with that said, he looked back into the front and headed right out.

    While he made the journey back, the others were nearing the end of their preparations for the war was soon toe and they needed as many extra days to tten out the rough edges. With two days more to go, the soldiers inside the dungeons won''t only have time for any correction, but they''ll also be able to make their journey to a much tternd and more manageable battlefield.

    Under Margarette''smand, they were being readied to create numerous traps around the tundra''s forests, so the Valkyries could be surprised from under the shades even if they arrived from the skies. As for the monsters, they too were preparing in their own ways, all the while also preparing the mostponents to receive the new god-kin bodies.

    Fay, however, still not keen on giving out such powerful vessels to thepetitive soldiers, had something sinister nned in case things went sideways. Creating a special pod inside those vessels fused with traces of soul magic, she used them to iste dark matter inside the vessels without letting it touch the rest of the body.

    Making sure it was well hidden in all of them, she cast numerous curses and spells so if in case even one of them rebelled she could easily bust the pod and release dark matter right into their bloodstreams.

    ''Now the only problem is that they''ll die in case a weapon or a crash against a surface bursts the pods open.'' All alone in the facility, looking at the vessels growing their limbs as fetuses, Fay knew that things could go wrong in many ways because of her precautionary measures. ''As if I have another choice anyway? No way in hell do I want Ste to deal with a god in case Haruki¡­''

    Shaking her head, she didn''t finish the sentence and returned to work as if everything was normal.

 Chapter 331 331 - The Beginning Of The End

    ?

    The dreaded day of the battle finally arrived, and the soldiers dutifully bound to protect their tribes had all either gathered in the Larian ins or were hiding throughout the thawed tundra. At the helm of thend army, Margarette had adorned herself in a suit of ming armor made by the Gremlin ves and enchanted with fire by the goblin queen''s magic.

    Her shoulders aze, she held a sword of dark matter infused with her own fire spirit familiar, and if that wasn''t lethal enough she had numerous other jewels with trapped spirits resting on her fingers. Like a phoenix transfigured into a maiden, she appeared angelic except for the demon horns protruding out through her head.

    "How long do we have?" She asked, her fingers squirming with angst.

    ncing at her from the edge of his vision, Haruki could see through her facade of brilliance, and know exactly what was going on in her mind.

    "You''ll make it out alive, Margarette, so don''t worry you''ll get to meet Riley again after the war is over," Haruki assured.

    Huffing a sigh with a mocking tone, Margarette put the ming sword back into its sheath and turned to Haruki to confront him about something.

    "Things may have been different when I was a ve to you, but now, I care more about my daughter than you or anyone," with a frown, she pressed her lips shut for a moment as if she regretted the sentence that had juste out of her. "Fuck¡­I¡­"

    "She''s safe with Fay, Ste, and the others, the otherworld will take good care of her, especially since they''ll have Asmodia''s pets as their guards," feeling sympathetic towards the mother, Haruki didn''t let her sharp words spat in anger get to him. "You don''t have to worry, she''ll be safe, and I''m sure she''ll delighted to see you once this is over."

    Letting down the hood of his cloak, Haruki took a deep breath and raised his attention to the clouds. Seeing the shift in his gaze, Margarette nced up as well wondering if something had appeared in the skies yet.

    "Nothing," she muttered as a cold breeze washed over her body.

    Having the de drawn out so far she''d not felt anything but warmth, however, now that it was sheathed even her zing armor couldn''t keep her from feeling chills run down her spine.

    "A blizzard, I can smell iting," sniffing it in the air, Haruki transformed his upper body into his frost dragon form just to make sure he wouldn''t sumb to the cold and begin coughing out more blood.

    "You think that''s the Valkyries?" Margarette asked, conjuring a ming bow in her hand just in case.

    "Flying through a blizzard? I doubt the Valkyries will take that step," replying to her, Haruki nced down from the elevated teau ofnd the two stood on. Scanning through his soldiers, he made sure that they were all wearing armor infused with solidified darkness and weapons with elemental enchantment as well as runic jewels that provided additional bonuses to their stats. "The goblin queen, she did a great job mass producing the equipment with the Gremlins in such a short time."

    "Considering how she''d been hiding in the forest with her troops, it was the least she could do for the frontlines," Margarette''s response almost sounded a bit condescending.

    "I suppose so," Haruki replied, shifting his attention back towards the sky.

    ***

    Tucked away from all threats in the otherworld and surrounded by creatures of the dark acting as their protectors, Riley, Fay, and the children of all tribes were wasting their time wondering how long until someone came to get them out of this ce. Despite having only spent a few hours in the darkness, none of them wished to stay there a minute more even if it meant getting in a dangerous situation after beingnded on the battlefield.

    "First you said father will die soon and now you won''t even let me help him!" Ste was no exception, and as it stood, she wanted to leave this damned ce more than anyone. Now even taller than Fay, she stood before her mother, her hands folded, and a look of pure frustration was riding along her forehead.

    "Ste, it''s for your own good, and remember your father wants you to take over him onc-"

    "Listen to me!" Grabbing Fay by the arms, Ste shook her with a jolt while looking straight down her eyes. "I want to take his ce! I want him to be there for me! I want him to not die in this stupid war!"

    The memories of the Hestemian war were still fresh in her mind, reminding her of the carnage and the blood that had been spread across the pavement under her father''smand. Even back then she''d rebelled against the bloodshed, but now that things were about to be much more brutal in this war, she didn''t wanna take any chances of losing anyone she loved.

    "Ste!" Screaming into her daughter''s face, Fay pped her hands off of herself. "Stupid, you say? Do you think we''re some war-hungry morons to take these extreme measures, huh?!"

    "Both of you, shush it!" Appearing between the two out of thin air, Riley separated them further with her hands. ncing at the two, he brought their attention to the other kids who''d been scared by their bickering. "We do what we do to survive, Ste. And sooner orter when your reign begins, you''ll understand why sometimes the violence of war is necessary."

    "I don''t care, I just want to be with him, maybe help him somehow!" Steined, not willing to let this matter go. After all, just like Haruki was never there when Asuka passed, she didn''t want the same thing to happen to her father. "I wanna be there if something happens to him you know!"

    Trying to keep her cool, Riley shut her eyes for a moment before looking back into Ste''s squinted gaze.

    "There''s plenty of people with him who are morepetent than you to help him," meaning every word of it, Riley grabbed Ste''s hand and tried to have her back off. "The only thing you could do is heal, but Serena is there along with other decent healers. Apart from that, you''ll only be in their way, making things harder than they need to be."

    Tightening her grip on Ste''s hand, Riley moved in her direction to get her to back further away from Fay. Keeping her eyes fixed on her niece, the spy noticed her countenance drop into a look of doubt.

    "Remember the time you healed me and attached that blessing to my body? Do you have any clue how much trouble that caused us all?" Riley''s intimidation seemed to be working as Ste''s stubbornness was being shattered by self-doubt.

    "But-"

    "But what?" Not letting her finish, Riley jerked Ste''s hand. Bobbing her head lightly, she gestured her to join the kids and stay there in the corner until everything was done.

    However, it wasn''t yet enough to demotivate the girl from trying to protect her father. Simmering in thoughts of self-doubt she was just about to give up, however, looking past Riley and onto her mother she was reminded of a memory that pulled her out of that dilemma.

    "Mom, you took me to that facility in Laira even though you knew everyone would be mad at you," hearing Ste bring up that memory, Fay turned to her daughter with just the slightest haunting clue of what she might be thinking. "You did it to help father get a new body, didn''t you? Even though it would''ve risked my life, and possibly your own, then why can''t I risk my life again when it''s on my own terms and when I can possibly save him from dying?"

    "Ste wait," gulping the bitter taste from those memories, Fay moved around Riley and tried to get close to her daughter. "You don''t understand, it was a mistake okay? I shouldn''t ha-"

    "No¡­" Taking a few steps away as the pets of the otherworld crawled closer from behind, Ste dejected her gaze for a moment before looking back at Fay in defiance. "I''m not a little girl anymore, or even a doll that you can move around however you please, and just like you I''m gonna do something if it means father makes it out of this war alive!"

    To the surprise of everyone, the creatures of the otherworld surrounded Ste''s body, almost as if they were protecting her from Riley and her own mother. Ordered to keep Ste safe above all by Haruki, the monsters made sure not a finger reached her body.

    "What the hell are you doing?! Get away from her!" Riley screamed at the top of her lungs before lunging at the creatures surrounding her niece.

    "Goodbye¡­" Following Ste''s words, a sharp shriek from the void eaters deafened all those present in the otherworld, and even Riley couldn''t help but cover up her ears.

    Taking advantage of the situation, the Ballerinas, the only pets capable of traveling back to the real world without assistance, slipped Ste away to the other side just as the girl had desired. Although having taken over Asmodia''s pets, Haruki nced right over the fact that the creatures of the other world weren''t exactly known for their obedience and often acted out of their own vitions instead of their master''smand.

    Every so often they''ve even tried to devour Asmodia whole or even torture her by taking her angelic form to torture her mind. But s, with pups andpany of each other, they''d learn to get along, and hearing Ste''s plea to protect her father had resonated with their dead heart.

 Chapter 332 332 - God-Killer, Remember That

    ?

    The heavens parted when the Valkyries blew their war horns, the angels shriveled up in dark corners, and the world itself became overrun with cmitous miracles. From within their graves, countless soldiers crawled out to fight alongside the winged roses against the army of demons and monsters gathered by Haruki.

    Peering up at the skies shimmering down golden light through the muffling clouds, the decaying god saw the first Valkyrie who happened to be the queen of them all.

    "Helga," he muttered before turning his gaze to Margarette by his side.

    With but a nod, he left the army in her capable hands. All the while, he himself sprouted out his wings to take to the skies and keep the queen busy so that the battle wasn''t over before it even started.

    "Raise!" Screaming at the top of her lungs, Margarette brought everyone''s attention to herself. Once they were all looking at her with anxious expressions stered over their face, she drew out her ming sword and raised it to the heavens. "Prepare to die, for the safety of your loved one, your sacrifice is necessary! Prepare to Die, for your people, your tribe has graced you with this opportunity!"

    Breezing through her shoulders, Margarette took a deep breath before dropping all pretense after deciding to speak out about how she truly felt. ncing up, she sheathed her sword and conjured the ming bow instead. Then, taking one more look at her baffled men, she let out a nervous chuckle.

    "We all know none of us will war, so let''s drop all masks and fight for what we hold dear as individuals," thinking of her daughter, she could no longer pretend she was doing it for some greater purpose. "I''m doing it for Riley Phoenix, my daughter, and I''m sure you too must have someone you''d rather see happy from the grave than live with them in misery."

    Raising her head again, Margarette drew a magical fire arrow down the string of her bow and directed it right towards the distant horde of approaching Valkyries.

    "Hence, fight not for some glorified higher purpose, but for the people you''re protecting from these damned birds!" Letting go of the arrow she mumbled a spell under her breath and while passing through the air, the single projectile multiplied into the thousands.

    Before the arrows reached the Valkyries, however, she could already hear the soldiers muttering to themselves, the names of those they wanted to protect, and even promises of returnal after this bloody war was over.

    "Now, draw your weapons and fight!" Yelling out with a hysteric smile, for some reason, Margarette now felt excited about what was toe.

    The soldiers, all demons, demi-gods, demi-humans, and monsters, felt much the same as cryptical smiles washed over their faces as well. Looking at the sudden change in their demeanor, Haruki was quite surprised by Margarette''s ability to rile up her soldiers.

    "Men who fight for a cause can move mountains with even a bruised hand," hearing Margarette saying that from behind him, Haruki couldn''t agree more as he too was fighting for simr reasons.

    "Well then," ncing back at her, Haruki gave her a gentle nod. "May we meet again at the end of this dark tunnel."

    Nodding back at him, Margarette gestured with her head for him to finally take flight. Without another word spoken, Haruki took to the air and headed straight for the queen of Valkyries. Unfortunately, as he drew closer it seemed like the arrows shot by Margarette couldn''t even graze the mana shield protecting regr Valkyries much less Helga.

    "Haruki Shin¡­" Stopping in mid-air, Helga held her hand up to the side to keep her soldiers from intercepting him themselves. Knowing full well that they couldn''t face him, she directed them towards the ground under themand of multiple generals under her wings.

    Like a swarm of locusts, the Valkyries breezed past the two for a few minutes. In that time, neither of them dared get their eyes off of the person in case they had some ace up their sleeves.

    "You know they''ll all die, so why struggle?" ncing down at Haruki''s soldiers, Helga instantly knew that her army was tenfoldrger. However, what she failed to realize because of her inability to peek inside the dungeon portal, was that the soldiers she was looking down on were mostly vesseled inside demi-god bodies.

    ''So she can''t peek inside the dungeon portal?'' Wondering how much she really knew, Haruki drew a deep breath before conjuring a fencer made of dark matter.

    The sight of that material had the queen widening her eyes. She knew exactly what it was, and from her knowledge, only a god should''ve been able to create that antidote to all matter in their universe.

    "Did you," blinking her eyes a few times, she brought her gaze to match Haruki''s. "Bloom into a god already?"

    A bit confused by her statement, Haruki tilted his head to the side but kept his grip on the fencer firm. Sharing a moment of silence with their eyes squinting at each other, both of them knew exactly what was about to happen since Haruki hadn''t answered her just yet.

    "Suit yourself," conjuring the trident, Helga swiftly disappeared into the wind.

    "Not so quick!" Feeling her circling around him, Haruki swung the fencer around his back.

    "Aghh!" Although he couldn''t see her, a grunt from Helga''s lips marked the strike a sess.

    Just a momentter, the queen distanced herself from the demon and reappeared before him. Drawing his fencer back, Haruki noticed a strain of blood running down its glinting spine. It seemed the blind attack without actually seeing her had managed tond a strike right across the queen''s face.

    The light wound running across Helga''s nose, however, didn''t take long to path itself with mana. And the moment it was done, she got ready to unleash something far more dire. Throwing her trident towards Haruki as a distraction, she joined her hands in prayer. And while Haruki struck down the strike, she had already managed to finish an incantation for her spell.

    All of a sudden shadowed under the shade of her tri-wings, Haruki was left baffled while looking up at Helga''s body. Having transformed into a creature with eyes like stones of jade, and her body covered with snowy white feathers except for around her limbs, she floated right above him in her marble white armor with golden stripes around the hems and edges.

    "Annihtion!" her voice echoed through the skies, and a flock of golden birds of light sprouted out of nowhere and surrounded Haruki from all directions.

    "Portal!" Thankfully, however, Haruki managed to slip out from the encirclement before the birds zapped his flesh off his bones.

    Peering up against, but this time applying time magic to himself to match the queen''s speed, he watched her grow two additional arms from her back and summon in them the four tridents and the two god-killing swords that had been in her possession. The sight of those swords was enough to infuriate the decaying god, it had been the doom of one of hispanions, and if nothing else he wanted to destroy them both before dying.

    "Aris Magna!" Leaping away to get some distance, Haruki used Asmodia''s cosmic power to summon the giant violet eye that had rivaled the strength of As''s archangels. "Fire! Fire! Fire!"

    Holding his hand forward, he had it shoot concentrated dark magic through Helga''s body. The strikes connected without fail, however, a simple brush from Helga''s hands was enough to close the bloody holes in her body.

    "Shit, God tie-" Remembering his familiars and Asmodia''s pets were protecting Ste and the other kids, Haruki clicked his tongue and decided to use another skill instead. "Blizzard!"

    Transforming into his dragon form, he flooded the sky with a snowstorm thick enough to muffle Helga''s vision. Getting some distance from the queen, he nced down at his people and the Valkyries battling it out under Margarette''smand.

    ''Dammit, seems like they''re not used to their new bodies yet and so making use of those new skins that came along with it might take a while of getting used to.'' Even though things didn''t seem too grim under him, he wasn''t all that optimistic about their survival just yet.

    "Missed me yet?" To his horror, storming through the blizzard, Helga came flying right at him. Grabbing Haruki with her many hands, she tore his wings off before raising her tridents to nt them through his body.

    Bleeding through his mouth from the pressure of his hands alone, Haruki clenched his teeth shut but not before activating a spell to get out of the sticky situation.

    "Damage reversal!" Yet another one of Asmodia''s spells transferred all the hurt that he was going through to anyone who was in physical contact with him. And since it was the queen at this very moment, a pair of her wings were brutally shredded off, making her flight a lot more difficult than what it''s just had been.

    In the brief moment that it took for her to get adjusted to four wings only, Haruki used the portal once more and this time it was him appearing behind the Valkyrie.

    "Body transfiguration: Shadow demon!" While still transforming into the monstrous shadow, Haruki used his fencer to tear a hole through Helga''s chest. Burning all the flesh in its path, the dark matter fencer had the queen screaming in agony. Taking the torture even further, Haruki transformed his hand into a pair of ws reinforced with the same and kept his fencer going until his ws tore through Helga''s chest and came out bloody on the other end.

    For a moment as his body continued growing into the monster and the hole through Helga''s chest continued to grow, Haruki felt like he was done dealing with the worst, but then a cryptic chuckle broke that delusion.

    "Is that all you have got, Haruki Shin? The woeful warrior? The decaying god? Or should I call you Ouroboros instead? AHAHAHAHAHA! AHHHGHHH!" Grabbing Haruki''s hand that was still stuck in her, Helgaughed as if she''d gone insane upon approaching death.

    Looking back from over her shoulder, Helga Stared at Haruki with her eyes wider than ever. Smiling at him while continuing on chuckling, she began pulling on his hand as if she wanted to pull him out through the hole in her chest.

    ''What in the?!'' Still transforming slowly under the effect of time magic, Haruki couldn''t teleport away before he''dpletely turned into the shadow monster. If he tried, his body might be torn apart by the extending limbs, leaving him maimed and unable to fight against Helga.

    "Fuck¡­" Was all he could say before the queen of Valkyries pulled him right through her chest.

    Despite tearing apart her own flesh, Helga showed no signs of the slightest difort as the wounds through her guts were patched in a matter of milliseconds.

    "God-killer, remember that," she said, her face transfiguring into a magus with a yak-ish head and features.

 Chapter 333 333 - A Harrowing Sight

    <h4>Chapter 333 Chapter 333 - A Harrowing Sight</h4>

    Dropped out in the real world by the Ballerinas Ste fell face-first into the dust beside a lone tree standing tall in a light clearing. Attempting to get up, she coughed the dust out of her mouth and dusted her clothes after finally getting back on her feet.

    At a loss from the sudden teleportation, she couldn''t remember who or how she''d ended up here, yet the one thing crystal clear in her mind was that she needed to get closer to her father and help him.

    "I should get going," she whispered, but before taking even a step forward she heard a wave of rustle through the trees echoing around her. "Wh-what''s there?!"

    Turning transparent, Ste prepared herself for whatever was lurking in the trees and watching her. Realizing that her little amount of training in battle was bound to be inadequate against a seasoned foe, Ste slid her feet in the direction of the battlefield and stayed on her toes to sprint away at the first sight of trouble.

    With every rustle through the bushes, her heart raced with a horrid thrill. Gulping the tension-built saliva from her mouth, she took a deep breath and just bolted in the form of a liquid zapping through the air. The sounds chased behind her and even kept up without any signs of letting her go.

    "Get away!" Screamed Ste as she stopped to catch her breath leaning against a tree.

    Instead of trailing off, the sounds increased even more, and picking up the discretion of the noise, Ste could even hear it right above her head. Petrified in ce, she clenched her teeth and attempted to look up, but before her eyes could spy the creature an arrow shot right through her skull from above.

    "Ug-h¡­" Like a deer struck in its vitals, Ste flopped onto the ground lifeless.

    The sounds all around her kept growing closer, and eventually, as the faces of numerous goblins appeared looking down at her from all directions, the arrow dissolved into her skull and she blinked their eyes at the familiar faces.

    "Fuck¡­" Huffed one of the goblins, biting her nails as she realized how they''d messed up.

    "He''ll kill us for sur-" Before another could finish his sentence, Ste shook her head before reaching for help in getting up.

    Still a bit terrified, it took the goblins a moment to even register the reality in front. After all, seeing someone rise with no injuries after being shot in the head wasn''t a sight anyone could just scoff at. Finally, giving her a hand, they helped Ste up. Distancing themselves from her quickly, they all bowed their heads in unison.

    "We thought you were an enemy!" Said one of the female goblins, the other aggressively nodded to disy their remorse.

    "It-it''s okay, I thought you were some monst-I mean an enemy too," shaking her head, Ste gestured them to raise their heads, but then stopped; as far in the distance, she saw someone that could easily ruin her ns foring here.

    ''Goblin queen! She''sing!'' Looking around frantically, she tried to judge the direction of the battlefield and bolted once more. In the distance, as she fled, she even heard the queen call out to have her captured but she couldn''t make out the exactmand.

    "Max! Help me!" Summoning her pet demonic spy, Ste fueled him with mana so he could turn into a giant and buy her some time.

    "Leave it to me!" Said the demon spy, his body blocking off the oing goblin pack.

    The ones who''d just captured Ste a while ago were still at a loss as to what was happening, but one smacked in the head from the queen and they too began rushing at the giant demon eye with a snarly mouth and tongue as well as razor-sharp teeth.

    "Songbird!" Transforming into a transparent blue bird, Ste took to the air and away from the sigh of the incident.

    Staying under the trees, she made sure not to be easily detected while also swiftly making her way towards the battlefield. The screams and screeches of bloodshed had already hit her ears, urging her to get to the site faster before who knows how many people were hurt.

    "Arrow!" Taking a brief stop at a branch, she confirmed part of her body into a spear and shot it upwards in the form of an arrow. As the thing reached high, it turned into a translucent eye that let Ste see exactly what was happening in the direction of the battle from up above.

    ''Is that?!'' Seeing someone in a cloak fighting against a creature with numerous wings, Ste knew it was none other than Haruki and the queen capable of bringing down gods. ''How are they moving so fast?! I need to hurry!''

    "Wolf!" Throwing away all caution, the slime girl dropped down from the tree and transformed into a wolf to traverse thend even faster.

    At this point, she couldn''t hear the goblin that had been chasing her a while back, but that didn''t mean she got to enjoy the silence as the screams from far ahead were tearing into her soul and body.

    "Stop!" Emerging out of nowhere, the queen of Arachne''s nted her staff right in the ground right before Ste''s face. "Slime, always hated that girl."

    Although she wasn''t talking about Ste, the slime girl took it as a threat against herself.

    "Let me go!" She growled, baring her fangs against the Arachne.

    "And risk having my children ughtered by your father''s underlingster?" Raising an eyebrow, the queen took the staff out of the ground and directed it towards Ste''s face. "No way!"

    From the end of her staff a strand of web was shot at Ste, but expecting the kind she simply phased through and stormed past the queen. However, unlike the goblin queen, this time, the Arachne kept following her along with her children who crawled out like giant spiders from every possible direction.

    ''Gosh''darnit!'' Closing her eyes while still sprinting forward and phasing through everything and everyone, Ste looked through the eye above the forest. ''She''s gonna kill him!''

    Witnessing Helga tearing off Haruki''s wings, Ste felt ovee with emotions. No longer being able to hold back, she screamed out loud and poured all mana into expanding her body into a flood of liquid that would drown any and all that came in her way. Even still, as her body rose high and turned into a tsunamic wave, she fused her cells with healing powers so nobody would die from the neutralizing attack.

    While the waves were still washing over the forest, Ste parted herself from the rest of her body and stormed forward through the skies in the form of a songbird. From there on it didn''t take more than half a minute for her to arrive at the battlefield with everyone wing at each other''s through.

    Keeping to the sky, shended her eyes on Margarette and flew right in her direction.

    "Aunt Margarette!" She screamed,nding beside her on the teau.

    Instinctively drawing a fire bow, Margarette fired it at Ste. Thankfully, even though the arrow grazed against her shoulder, fire was the easiest element for her to deal with.

    "Ste?!" Shocked by the sight of her niece, Margarette was about to move closer, but then remembering how she was in the middle of directing her soldiers, she bit down on her worries and turned to the front. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

    Drawing another arrow, she shot it at multiple Valkyries trying to take advantage of their wings against some monsters. With a single fiery shot infused with hate, she managed to tear through their chest and even light their wings on the back. One after the other as the winged creatures fell, her soldiers easily picked them all off.

    "I came to help stop all this!" Repulsed by the carnage, Ste turned her head away and exined her reason for being there. "I don''t want Father, you, or anyone to die in this stupid thing, we''ve lost enough people alrea-"

    "Duck and use your rings!" Breaking Ste''s words with orders to her soldiers, Margarette unleashed the fire spirit to burn everyone not protected by the fire-repellent ring. As the screams of Valkyries filled the ground, Margarette raised her hand again and unleashed the other spirits from her rings as well. "Spirit of nature, Spirit of thunder, and oh spirit of light and dark, I offer you the blood of my soldiers so pluck those stubborn flock of birds!"

    Heeding her calls, vines erupted from the ground and began tearing the Valkyries limb by limb. Zapping the wings of the flock, the spirit of thunder rendered the Valkyries unable to fly, and then there was light as well as dark which burned off their retinas or simply enshrouded them in eternal dark.

    Watching it all happening before her eyes, Ste couldn''t have fathomed the cranage that goes into wars. Spears, des, and blunt weapons all shattered, sliced, or tore through the weakened Valkyries while many of her own people also suffered from the sheer number of those winged creatures. In terms of strength, the demi-gods were superior, but the muchrger army of Valha was nothing to shrug at.

    "Do you think they''ll listen to us now? That there is a middle ground we can all agree on and just stop fighting?" With a look of frustration, Margarette nced at Ste from the edge of her vision. "They are here to destroy the world you were born in, do you know what that means? They had no pit for you, your family, your dreams, or desires, nothing matters to them! And you think you can reason with such people?"

    "I-I¡­" At a loss for a word, Ste stood silent for a moment, onlooking the bloody carnage.

    ncing back up at Haruki and Helga, however, she broke out of the trance. Drawing her hand close to her heart, she began breathing heavily as her resolve only grew stronger. Closing her eyes just for a moment she eximed.

    "I-I don''t care what they''re here for, I''ll stop them!" Opening her eyes this time an auroric glimmer emanated from her vision, just like the time she''d broken out of her ss vessel in Laria. "Because I don''t want any more of us to die!"

    ''Benevolent actor: Peacemaker acquired!'' Following the announcement, Ste''s body began shining brighter than any star. The light kept growing until the demons, the Valkyries, and even the two fighting up above were blinded by a shimmer sharp enough to burn off their retinas.

    "Another god?" Thought the queen of Valkyries as her eyes were burning out by the radiance.

    "No¡­" Having felt this presence before while fighting against Moriyana as a dragon, Haruki knew exactly what was happening in that instance. "Just a clone of one, and miraculous¡­My daughter."

    Peering down through the light, he wasn''t sure whether to feel proud or angry, either way, something had happened as neither he nor Helga could raise their weapons against each other.

    ''Why are you here?'' He thought, feeling stripped of his chance to die in glory.

    However, as the light retreated back into Ste, and her body was revealedying lifeless on the ground, Haruki''s mind quickly changed about the situation.

    "Dammit!" He cursed before flinging himself towards his daughter.

 Chapter 334 334 - The Bond With A God

    <h4>Chapter 334 Chapter 334 - The Bond With A God</h4>

    Many in this world could sully the earth with their blood and conjure demons to create bonds of greed in exchange for their freedom, but only a handful could reach much higher and create a bond with the all-powerful creator. While few could attain such heights even fewer could discern the familiar presence of the all-powerful emanating through such individuals.

    Helga happened to be one of them, and as she stood towering behind Haruki in her beastly form with four wings, and six arms, her eyes squinted in the bony yak skull squinted at the sight in front. In Haruki''s arms was a little girl, her soul half-eaten by some strange phenomenon. Despite the constant healing by the gathered healers as well as Haruki, nothing seemed to work to awaken the girl once more.

    With everyone so busy watching over her, it would''ve been the perfect chance for Helga to strike Haruki through the back and end him once and for all, yet whatever magic the girl had worked through just wouldn''t let her lift even a finger with any sort of malice against the demon lord.

    ''A clone he said?'' She wondered, ring down at Haruki''s back. Knowing well enough that only gods could truly breathe new life into people, Helga arrived at a haunting conclusion. ''Gods¡­Always so meddling.''

    Cursing even the creator of all, she rested her hand on Haruki''s shoulder as if offering to help. A bit shaken by the sudden act, Haruki rose to his feet expecting Helga to unleash an attack. Instead, however, she closed her eyes and transformed back into her graceful form.

    "Allow me to help," she said, brushing Haruki to the side.

    "Wait!" Grabbing her hand with a tight grip, Haruki stopped her in ce. "What the hell are you nning to do to my daughter?"

    Huffing a sigh, Helga turned her head to him and whispered.

    "She may be your daughter, your clone, but you''ve yet to be a god, thus the most you can do is create imitations of new life," jerking her hand off of his grip, she moved towards Ste before getting down on her knees.

    Following their queen''smand, the Valkyrian army knelt throughout the now stationary battlefield as well. Seeing their regted movement and the unified sound of them moving together was almost bewitching to Haruki had it not been for worrying about his daughter.

    "She created an unintentional bond with¡­" Thinking twice before revealing the truth, Helga stopped herself and trailed off to another topic instead. "Half of her soul has been burnt off, it''s a miracle in itself that she''s even alive."

    "Wh-what?!" Having failed to realize that, Serena, the main healer of the group, felt severely embarrassed. "How do we heal her then?!"

    "Someone needs to offer their own soul matter to her, they''ll be severely weakened but an adult soldier should be able to survive with half a soul," offering the exnation, Helga pressed her palm against Ste''s forehead to confirm her suspicions about the little girl.

    Closing her eyes, she peered through her psyche, trying to iste the very instance of her birth. That is where she saw it, the radiance, the st of energy that once created the Arian universe. All confined in a small space just so a singrity could be born to sway the fate of this world. Bitter at the sight, Helga pulled her hand away from Ste and peered back at her father, Haruki Shin.

    ''Father revitalized by a demon and the daughter''s creation was helped by a god. That too the Creator himself¡­'' Shaking her head, Helga scanned through her memories as far back as she could think. ''Asmodia wrote the future of the world, so only the creator knew that things were bound to get here. Then what of the apocalypse? Did we spend near eternity waiting for a time that was never bound toe?!''

    "Get away, I''ll give her part of my soul¡­" All of a sudden as Haruki offered to part with half his soul, Helga''s eyes widened in shock as she was pulled out of the mental dilemma.

    "Why you?" She asked, getting back up.

    Giving her a squinted look, Haruki went right past and knelt before his daughter.

    "Because I''m dying anyways, and myst wish was to die in glory in a battle against you, but since that isn''t happening, I''d rather die doing something fruitful instead," pressing his palm against Ste''s forehead, Haruki let his presence flow into his daughter.

    Along with his soul, he even let go of some powers that could help Steter on as she grew older. For a while, as it all happened, Haruki could feel his muscles withering, and his strength was swiftly washed away. In the end, as he drew his hand away from her, he felt much weaker yet unburdened more than anything.

    "Serena, take Ste to one of the camps," picking up Ste''s light body, Harukinded her into Serena''s arms.

    Bowing lightly to her master, the priestess began making her way back to the camps in the protection of her followers.

    "She''s a pawn¡­" Muttered Helga all of a sudden, and as Haruki turned to look at her, she added more. "Just like you were to Asmodia, she''s a pawn of the creator. He made her, or at least helped you make her. He knew she could stop this war by sacrificing herself, and that''s just the beginning of his ns for her!"

    "I thought he was dead," although enraged by her words, Haruki kept his temper in control.

    "So''s As, so''s Asmodia, so are the other demon lords and gods, and yet their actions in the past have led us here, and are still affecting how we act," conjuring her god-de, Helga tossed it to Haruki.

    Holding the de in his hand finally, his face contorted into a look of unparalleled rage.

    "See? That girl Moriyana is gone yet that de makes you fume up," Helga pointed out.

    "Enough!" Having had enough from the sidelines, Margarette took the de off of Haruki''s hand and confronted Helga herself. "We don''t care what your dead god was nning or what he intends to do. Our daughter isn''t going to be a pawn? to anyone and we''re going to make sure of it!"

    Pressing the de against Helga''s chest, Margarette handed it back.

    "Well, do as you please, too bad we wouldn''t be here to witness it," turning to the mass of soldiers, Helga raised her sword against her own throat. "Our time hase my soldiers, and although, unfortunately, we couldn''t bring an end to this war, our failure to do so needs punishing regardless!"

    Marked by the prophecy, the Valkyries were supposed to die on this very day, thus to fulfill their vows to the Creator they all raised their swords just like the queen. But before their throats were stabbed with des, a sudden scream from behind Helga stopped them frommitting.

    "What?" Baffled, Helga turned around to the source of the noise.

    Having stayed hidden so far and failed to control anyone since the soldiers'' bodies infected by parasites had been changed, the prince of hell had taken Ste hostage along with Serena and her followers. Keeping the girl in his own burning grasp, while impish hellspawns surrounded the others, he kept a stern gaze at both Haruki and Helga, about to make his demands.

    "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He screamed, frustrated that his ns had been fouled so easily without any intentional resistance by the others. "Why did you stop you stupid Valkyrie?! Go ahead and kill yourself so your soldiers may do the same!"

    Having messed up his timing, the prince could only me himself for his foolishness. Being red at by Haruki, Helga, and numerous others, the prince knew he was cornered, but he still wasn''t willing to back away. He thought so long as he had Ste nobody would touch him, but what he failed to realize was in the end Ste was made from a clone of Haruki and thus there was plenty of stuff he could do.

    "That girl carries the creator''s wishes, you degenerate! I advise you to take your filthy hands off of her!" Directing her sword at him, Helga was ready to unleash a fury of attack.

    In the meantime, Haruki, although weakened severely, did what had to be done. Switching ces with Ste''s body, and slipped into the prince''s clutches while Ste fell on the ground where he''d just been standing.

    "You think you can ckmail me with my daughter?" Being made from a clone, Haruki was easily able to switch ces and managed to surprise not just the prince but Helga, Margarette, and the others as well. "Well think again!"

    ''Dark matter spikes!'' Fusing his poisonous blood with dark matter, Haruki stabbed giant holes in the prince''s body. Overrun with holes seeping with god-killing poison, the prince''s eyes grew jittery as he let go of Haruki and stumbled over on his back.

    Along with the prince, the parasites inside Margarette''s mind began shriveling up to the point where howling in hurt, the general was brought to her knees until the damned thing crawled out her ears. The sight continued as the hellspawns surrounding Serena sumbed to the same hurt, and even far away in the otherworld, Riley was feeling much the same way.

    "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" The prince screamed as his mouth foamed up.

    "Ouroboros showed me that someone like you will crawl out of his sewer hideout as well, never thought you''d be this weak however," Haruki replied, moving closer to the groaning prince.

    "Wai-wait! Let me go! I-I-" Trying toe up with an excuse the prince struggled to speak.

    "Die¡­" Holding his hand above the prince''s head, Haruki smashed his skull with a fist made of a rugged de made of pure dark matter.

    For a spell, the prince''s body writhed and squirmed, but eventually, as he bled outpletely, everything stopped calm, even his spawns and parasites.

    "I don''t need your help to protect my daughter or the help of that stupid dead god for that matter," ncing at Helga, Haruki moved towards Ste and picked her back up in his arms. "Now go, as the bastard just said, die."

    Staring at Haruki for a moment, the queen raised her god-killing sword and drew it into her own chest. The Valkyries all followed and fell over to the ground with one strike of their des, Helga on the other hand seemed not all that bothered with just one sword piercing her chest. Kneeling down, she looked up at the skies with her hand held in front.

    "Wake me up when the world, that girl needs me to purge another false god trying to take root in this world," drawing the second de, she stuck it into her belly. Bleeding all over the des, Helga nced sideways at Haruki and Ste before saying with a chuckle. "You know you''ll need me, and since the creator wills that girl to rule this ce, then that''s what I''ll help her attain one day!"

    Following those words, instead of dying, Helga''s body slowly began turning into a statue. Starting from her skin, theyer of stone climbed up her belly and crawled up her neck. Despite getting her lips turned to stone and having two des sticking out of her, the queen kept watching the girl as if making sure she was safe until the veryst moment.

    ''I''m sorry I can''t join you yet my roses, I have to know why the lord of creation lied to us about the world''s end.'' Hoping to confront the dead god one day, Helga wished for nothing more than to see what her god really had nned in his head.

    "We should go," said Haruki, wanting to put Ste to rest.

    ''There''s plenty left to do still, but¡­'' Feeling his knees being flimsy, he knew he didn''t have much time and thus wanted to make the most out of what little time he had left. ''Ste, I hope you live long and without ever falling into war again, because sooner orter I''ll leave to join the others.''

    nting a kiss on her forehead, Haruki ventured towards the camps.

 Chapter 335 335 â€“ Farewell Our Savior

    <h4>Chapter 335 Chapter 335 ¨C Farewell Our Savior</h4>

    After a year of torment, staying alive with only half a soul, and through Asmodia''s passive healing abilities, Haruki knew his time hade. Waking up in his room, he nced to the side at the stool Asuka used to watch over him overnight.

    "Soon now," he said to himself and gathered all his strength to pull himself off the bed.

    Walking up to the wardrobe, he picked out Snow''s white suit that Rose had once given to wear him for the ceremony, and while putting it on the uproar from the Larian streets finally pierced into his ears, Smiling, he waltzed over to the windows onlooking the now bustling city.

    Demons, monsters, demi-humans, and other free tribes of As had alle together to breathe life into the nameless city. Done with the past, their grudges were discarded, and when one had no way of resorting to violence under a queen''smand, things were often sorted through dialogue instead of fists.

    ''No wonder, the creator wanted her to be this world''s messiah. Now if only that didn''t require so much sacrifice, even my own, I might''ve been able to appreciate it a little more.'' Walking away from the window, he began dressing up once again.

    "Age reversal," smoothening up his decaying body, he made sure to look in his prime so that his daughter wouldn''t get too worried about him just yet.

    "Haruki, time to wake up," a familiar voice called, knocking against the door.

    "Rose? Yeah, I''ming now," hearing her voice, Haruki quickly got done with the clothes and headed right out. Standing before her, with her dressed in her work clothes, for a moment he couldn''t believe it was really Roselia Ironfrost. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay in that isted in away from As."

    With a smile, Rose replied.

    "There are a few reasons, but mostly because we felt it was time to return home," ncing up and down on Haruki''s clothes, her smile grew bigger. "Besides, Tiara and Doroke would''ve turned me deaf if I didn''t bring them back here. They''re with Ste though, you should hurry too."

    Turning around, Rose urged Haruki to follow behind her. Gulping the built-up blood in his throat, he did as he was told and followed the dragoness, towards the ceremonial balcony. Much like the time Michael had passed the torch of ruling from Snow''s father to Snow himself, it was time for Haruki to do the same with Ste.

    As they kept walking, Margarette, Serena, and even Riley, adorned in the most graceful dress, joined in on Haruki''s convoy to the site of the ceremony. Holding up their looming hems, they walked alongside him with bright smiles, and radiance to rival the brightest of angels. Looking them up and down, a bittersweet taste washed down Haruki''s tongue.

    ''It''s yourst day¡­'' Said the voice of Ouroboros in his head.

    ''You don''t need to remind me.'' Haruki replied, turning back to look at the front.

    Upon reaching near the site, the three queens greeted Haruki with a gentle bow. Akin to his convoy they were all dressed up in semi-tribal wear decorated with enchanting stones and other decorates.

    With but a single sight, the goblin queen something was up with her master, yet keeping it to herself, she decided not to ruin the moment for anyone else. Having been the one to offer him all manner of healing potions and herbs, she knew how far his condition had progressed, just not that he was on death''s door just yet.

    "Haruki!" A wave of merged screams came from behind the queens.

    It surprised everyone for a moment, except Rose who was left shaking her head with embarrassment. Jumping above the Medusa and Arachne queen''s head, Tiara and Doroke tried lunging themselves towards Haruki. Catching the winged rascals in the air, however, Rose didn''t let them get too close to him.

    "The poison, remember?!" She yelled, embarrassingly louder than she''d wanted.

    Grunting at her kids, she pulled them up her shoulders and nced past the trio of queens. There, rushing to the front from behind, Hawthorn presented himself in a state of absolute exhaustion.

    "I told you not to run!" He yelled, before realizing the convoy had Haruki and the others as well. Covering his mouth, he stood there frozen being stared down by his mother.

    "Sometimes, I wish I could treat you like our tribes did," just those words alone from Rose were enough to set all three of them straight.

    Chuckling a little at the entire ordeal, Haruki leaned against Margarette''s shoulders for a moment. Theugh soon turned to cough, and the cough soon painted his palm red. However, closing his fist shut, he absorbed the blood back into his skin so it wouldn''t be visible to anyone for much longer.

    "I-It''s okay, Rose. I''m d they still have their innocence," Haruki said, looking up at the dragoness with a heartfelt smile.

    Sharing a moment of silence with the demon, Rose felt the need to say something important to him, something she''d been holding back for long.

    "It''s all thanks to you," letting her children off her shoulders, she pressed her hand against Haruki''s withering cheeks. "You might''ve done much harm to this world, but in the end, you brought down the gods, unified demi-human, monster, and even humans under one banner, something even As could only ever dream of. A demon by nature perhaps, but your journey finally led us to a prosperous and safe present and perhaps even a simr future."

    Leaning closer, Rose nted a gentle kiss against his forehead before stepping to the side so he could finally make his way to the ceremonial site. A bit jealous after the kiss, Tiara, and Doroke, both climbed up their mother''s massive frame and pressed their face against hers demanding a kiss as well. Heaving a sigh, Rose let out a chuckle out of pure idiocy of her own children.

    "Fine fine, but stay quiet after this," saying that she made sure to purify her lips of any potential poison and gave them both a gentle peck on the cheek.

    "Haruki? You''re here already?! Everyone''s waiting for you!" Peeking inward from the balcony, Fay waved her hands at the convoy trying to get their attention.

    Heeding her call, Haruki nced at the goblin queen and was instantly handed a neutralizing potion. It only eased the effect of the decay for a few minutes but that was all that he needed. Downing the bottle, he began making his way towards the balcony.

    Reaching on the other end, the light from the open space almost blinded him for a moment, but his eyes adjusted, he saw an even bigger audience than at the time of his coronation as Laria''s ruler. Letting his eyes run over the sight, he saw all manner of creatures mixed in through the crowds, all of which seemed just as overjoyed about weing their new ruler as the other.

    "To think she brought them all together," muttered Fay, looking at the same crowd.

    Turning to her, Haruki noticed her silver dress stoned with rhines and other jewels of simr tint. As she turned to him as well, she had him follow his gaze to her daughter standing on the other end.

    Looking at her, anyone could''ve seen how much she''d matured in just a year''s time. Even before she had grown substantially faster than anyone around her, but now, after a few years, she appeared like ady both elegant andmanding. Dressed in a suit much simr to Haruki''s, she had the scale of a frost dragon looming over her neck as a ne.

    ''Klian?'' Haruki wondered and looked back towards Rose for an answer.

    Noticing the confusion in his eyes, Rose nodded confirming his suspicion. The maddened dragon seemed to have sent a gift from him, even though he wasn''t present for the ceremony.

    ''He was never a people''s person anyways.'' Haruki thought before bringing his attention back to Ste.

    Visibly a bit nervous, she had her fist curled up and her lips puckered shut. Every so often she forced a smile while looking at the congregants but that facade didn''t hold long.

    "I suppose it''s time," holding his hand forward, Haruki had her rest her hand on his.

    Gulping down her anxiety, Ste offered her hand right up. Turning to the front, at the people, Haruki took a deep breath and began brewing up a snowstorm in the sky. As the weather took time to conform, he nced sideways at Ste to talk to her before the ceremony began.

    "I was once standing where you were, filled with rage, anger, and hurt," speaking his heart, he wanted to tell her the kind of person not to be, using himself as an example. "I killed plenty in the name of revenge, I offered my very soul for power and ended up losing nearly everyone I cared for¡­But you, you''re much different, so pave your own path Ste, and never follow your father''s step for they''ll lead you nowhere but more bloodshed and loss."

    Squeezing Haruki''s hand, Ste could already feel the poison killing her father as they spoke. Yet keeping herposure, she said but a few words.

    "D-Don''t say such stuff, I''m you, remember? A part of you, a clone, maybe even part of your consciousness now given half my soul is yours," feeling heavier by the second in the chest, Ste heaved a heavy sigh to make sure not to tear up. "I now understand why you had to do what you did, why you were so angry at the people you killed, but they were no saints either. Besides, if it weren''t for your sacrifices, we would never have gotten to this point."

    Knowing all about Haruki''s past at this point, Ste wished she could''ve done to pull her father out of the tangled mess between the demons and gods, but since it was left behind in the past, there was only one thing that needed attention.

    "Thank you, for forgiving me, and purging this world of poison," referring to the ghosts of the past and himself as well, Haruki raised Ste''s arm and began the incantation.

    As the spell went on they were both encircled with a light storm of ice. Shooting up in the sky, the storm triggered the snowfall, and soon enough the people of thend roared overjoyed.

    "You need no blessing, however¡­" Bringing her close, Haruki hugged Ste tight. "I wish no one under you ever falls in battle."

    With his daughter still in hand, Haruki turned his gaze to Rose, hoping his words too could turn into a blessing on his daughter as they had from the words of the dragoness.

    "It''s time for the banquet, Ste, Haruki let me take you," Fay offered, but Haruki gestured with his hand in denial.

    "I¡­Need some rest," he said before moving away from the balcony.

    Watching him struggle his way back, everyone knew it was for their savior to finally be put to rest. Their eyes were teary, but they couldn''t cry just yet, for they knew on the other side there were people waiting for him with loving smiles.

    [The End]

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