The World Is Mine For The Taking

Chapter 1491: Chapter 211 - The Seven Deadly Sins (7)

???’s POV

After finishing my conversation with the person who was established to be Lilith’s vessel, I headed toward a familiar chamber hall, the designated place where all of us would gather whenever something important needed to be discussed.

And when I say all of us, I really mean all of us.

The Seven Deadly Sins.

Or, as we were more commonly known throughout the Demon Continent, the Seven Princesses.

I was one of the seven.

Right now, everyone who was supposed to be present had already arrived. Looking around the chamber, I could see the familiar faces of the other Sins seated around the large circular table that occupied most of the room.

It wasn’t often that all of us gathered in the same place.

Honestly, getting all of us into one room at the same time was probably more difficult than starting a war.

"Well then, I guess we’re all here."

The first person to speak was a woman whose entire body remained hidden beneath a dark hood. Even after all this time, I wasn’t entirely sure if she wore that thing because she wanted to look mysterious or because she genuinely enjoyed making people uncomfortable.

Knowing her, it was probably both.

She was Levi of Envy.

The Demonness of Jealousy.

The very embodiment of envy itself.

"It’s been a while since all six of us sat around a table like this," she continued while resting her chin on her hand. "Honestly, it’s making me a little nostalgic."

"It really has."

Another voice joined the conversation almost immediately.

The speaker was a beautiful woman covered in enough jewelry to bankrupt several kingdoms if somebody somehow managed to steal it all. Rings, necklaces, bracelets, gems, and ornaments decorated practically every visible part of her body.

She was Morsea of Greed.

If greed itself had somehow taken human form, it would probably look exactly like her.

"The last time we were all gathered like this was when we were planning Lilith’s death alongside Satania."

The room fell quiet for a moment.

That had certainly been a memorable meeting.

Not exactly the kind of thing most people would remember fondly, but memorable nonetheless.

"Is it true that you’ve found Lilith’s vessel, Deus?"

Morsea turned her attention toward Asmodeus.

Her expression immediately became more serious.

"You aren’t making something like this up, right?" she asked. "Because if you’re bluffing about something this important, you’re seriously going to piss me off."

"I am not."

Asmodeus answered quietly.

As always, she sounded surprisingly gentle.

Despite being known as the most seductive among all of us, Asmodeus rarely acted the way people expected her to. Most outsiders imagined some confident temptress who could charm anyone with a smile.

The reality was quite different.

She was often shy.

Sometimes painfully shy.

Her past was partly responsible for that.

Before becoming one of the Sins, she had lived through experiences that would have broken most people completely.

She had been subjected to sexual torture.

She had spent part of her life as a sex slave for demon nobles who viewed people as little more than property.

Yet somehow, despite everything that had happened to her, she survived.

More than that, she rose above it.

Back then, she wasn’t even a succubus.

She had merely been an ordinary demon.

The power she possessed now had been earned through suffering, perseverance, and an almost unbelievable determination to keep moving forward despite everything that had been done to her.

"You all know there are countless fragments of Lilith scattered throughout the world, don’t you?" Asmodeus continued. "At this point, I think it would be wise for us to discuss how we’re going to handle the situation before Lilith finally revives."

"The revival of Lilith is inevitable."

Beelzebub spoke before anyone else could respond.

"I don’t think anyone can actually stop it."

Beelzebub of Gluttony.

Technically speaking, she wasn’t even female.

She wasn’t male either.

She was completely genderless.

The reason was simple.

She was a slime.

A very powerful slime, admittedly, but a slime nonetheless.

Still, she preferred presenting herself as a woman most of the time. Her appearance usually leaned in that direction, and although she occasionally changed her form, she rarely bothered appearing as a man.

As a result, everyone simply referred to her as a woman.

It was easier that way.

Not that Beelzebub particularly cared either way.

She was far more concerned with food.

Or more accurately, consuming absolutely everything she could get her hands on.

There was a reason she carried the title of Gluttony.

The way she ate wasn’t exactly normal.

Actually, calling it abnormal would be putting it mildly.

She didn’t simply eat things.

She swallowed them whole.

Her body would expand and swell as whatever unfortunate object, creature, or person ended up inside her disappeared beneath the surface.

Then, within moments, her body would return to normal.

Anything that entered her was dissolved almost instantly.

Most people didn’t get a second chance after that.

"If we genuinely wanted to stop it," Beelzebub said, "then we shouldn’t have spent all these years waiting."

"Well, some of us have more important things to do."

Belphegor finally spoke.

Or rather, she mumbled.

She was practically melted into her chair.

Looking at her, one would think she had been awake for three months straight and had finally decided that standing upright was simply too much effort.

Then again, this was Belphegor.

The Sin of Sloth.

If she looked energetic, I would probably be more concerned.

She lazily opened one eye.

Just one.

Apparently opening both was asking too much.

In fact, the chamber we were currently sitting in belonged to her.

That decision had been made years ago.

Not because she was particularly important.

Not because she had requested it.

It was because none of us wanted to waste time dragging her across the continent whenever a meeting was required.

Travelling to her location was simply easier.

It saved everyone a headache.

"And more importantly, Lucielle."

Her half-open gaze shifted toward me.

"Didn’t you tell us that the fragments weren’t likely to find each other?"

I felt my shoulders tense ever so slightly.

"They’re scattered all over the world. The chances of them meeting should be incredibly small."

She paused.

"And you also said that whenever you found one of the fractions, you killed them immediately."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"That’s what you told us, right?"

For a brief moment, the room seemed quieter than before.

"Y-Yes. Of course."

I answered a little too quickly.

"Why would I lie about something like that?"

The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them.

I sounded suspicious.

Painfully suspicious.

Even I could hear it.

The slight tremble in my voice.

It felt obvious.

At least it felt obvious to me.

Yet surprisingly, none of the others reacted.

Morsea seemed more interested in her jewelry.

Beelzebub was busy eating something that absolutely should not have been edible.

Belphegor looked moments away from falling asleep.

Levi remained hidden beneath her hood.

And Asmodeus appeared focused on entirely different concerns.

Fortunately for me, none of them seemed capable of detecting a lie.

Or maybe they simply weren’t paying enough attention to notice.

Either way, I wasn’t about to complain.

Because the truth was simple.

I was lying.

Every word of it was a lie.

I hadn’t killed every vessel I found.

Far from it.

In fact, I had done the exact opposite.

After all...

I was the one who raised one of Lilith’s fragments myself.