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 his companions 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 blame me later 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 his companions, 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 and laces 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. Glancing 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 glasses 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 place, he glared 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?" The last 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 playing 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.
"I agree with Dues," slamming 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 slamming the apparatus shut, Deus glanced at Asmodia. "That thing is as accurate as Merciella'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, Klaus, the druid shut the mouth of them both by clamming their lips shut with magic vines.
"Anyways, where were we?" Even though the two quickly broke the vines off, Klaus stuffed an apple in their mouth that appeared out of thin air. "Ignore those two for now, your life hangs in balance so just answer our few questions."
Shooting Haruki a gaze devoid of all emotion, Klaus extended his hand toward him. Not sure whether he wanted him to come closer, Haruki turned to Asmodia to see if her expression gave anything away.
"You're not killing him," she said looking at Klaus with her eyes open wide. "I need him, we need him to take the emperor's place because none of us can!"
Those few words cleared yet another frame of plans laid 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 his command, he was surely going to be able to control the land of Atlas, 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 place, 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 and lay a single finger on me or my companions!"
Placing 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 was completely 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.
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