"You can't be seri-" Mercilla 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 on command.
"If you had the creator's blood then why didn't you use it on Atlas?" Staying calm through the chaos, Klaus couldn't help but ask even if it turned out to be the last thing he did.
"Klaus," breaking her eye contact with Haruki, she quickly turned to answer Klaus. "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 Atlas had died before we found his replacement; 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 replacement, but now that things have escalated 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 successful in creating an endless cycle of perpetual death and suffering for everyone, just like Asmodia has done to you."
"What?!" Being painted as the villain along with the emperor, Asmodia shot Deus with a Razor-sharp gaze.
"Now you know what it feels like?" Mercilla mocked her with a smirk.
Glancing 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 plane 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 Atlas.' Talking to him telepathically, Asmodia explained 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 glance, Haruki looked around the room, at the room full of demon lords before turning his gaze back to Inferno. A deep frown and the flames burning over the flame 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 play into his teasing.
"Then why don't we battle it out? See if I'm worth exchanging direct blows, fists to fists, blade to blade, 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 plan.
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 plan 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 relate with the incubus emperor.
"Asmodia, if I die, ahaha," laughing 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?"
"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 plans, 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," Mercilla said as a similar 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 similar portal Klaus 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 for last, Inferno stood in his place 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 Atlas, 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.
"Atlas 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 his companions waiting for them outside.
'It was a mistake to fucking ask.' He thought and he was right.
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