A while after the generals set Haruki's body in a room of its own, they were swiftly called into an assembly with Atlas. 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 display 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 slave, 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 plausible. Scrapping the idea, she wondered if she should try and fight her way out of the place, 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?" Atlas 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-glass 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. Glancing 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?" Atlas 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 while laughing 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 place. Still unbothered by it all, Atlas 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 Atlas 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, Atlas straightened himself on his throne. "What you want is mindless violence that would end up eradicating more than half of all Atlas. 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 isolated from the rest of Atlas'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 Atlas 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, Atlas'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, Atlas 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.
"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 Atlas. "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 talk later, 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 had laying in front of them. Picking up the parchment in his hands, Haruki scanned through it one last 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 accept purgatory in case of her death…"
Looking off the document, Haruki glanced over Asmodia's naked frame wondering who gave her that extensive last 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 the comic 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 plane, 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 claw-like hand snatched it in.
"What was that?" Asked Haruki, unsure what kind of creature it was.
Turning to him, Asmodia placed 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 very last thing he saw before his vision went completely 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 down completely.
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