The demon of pride asked the demon lord seriously, "What do you suggest we do against him? He is staying in the domain of high-rank demons. We can't exert our strength there and he is too strong. He is too strong."
The demon lord already had an answer so she answered immediately. "We should send all the high-rank demons in our houses to fight him. The ones with Accumulation can bombard him with power. As long as he dies, then his parasites will become inert."
The demon nodded seriously. "That's a good suggestion. We need time to think about it."
The figure of the demon lord in the form of the sweet innocent girl spoke hurriedly, "We don't have time. We have to hurry before it's too late."
The previous demon noble asked another question, "Too late for whom?"
"Too late for every one of us." She answered with conviction.
The demon nobles smiled at her answer. Either she is a good liar or she is naive enough to believe what she just said. Some of them couldn't hold it in anymore and began to laugh.
A noble demoness with a pleasant voice and a more than pleasant-looking voluptuous body was pointing at the demon lord while laughing. Her bountiful chest rose and fell as she laughed.
She said to the demon lord. "Look at you. Look at how low you've fallen. You can't even lie properly anymore. I wonder why."
The demon lord is a great liar but her lie isn't believable. These 8 are not buying it.
Salazar the blade of destruction spoke, "I know why. It's probably because of that upstart demon called Aeternus. I thought he was insolent and sore to the eyes but it seems I was right. The demon lord also finds him insolent and sore to the eyes. Her sore eyes are making her unable to lie properly."
The demoness nodded. "It is a shame what sore eyes can do to a demon trying to make a honest living in the abyss. A true shame."
The other demon nobles began to chuckle. Some of them joined in making fun of the demon lord too.
The demon lord spoke coldly to them. "You don't intend to root out this calamity?"
The demoness of lust answered. "No. We don't intend to help you root out your calamity."
"It is a calamity for every one of us." The demon lord shouted at them.
Another demon spoke up. This one looked like an illusion. One can see through his body but whatever they see isn't right.
This noble demon of deceit said to the demon lord. "It is certain that he is a calamity for you. It is uncertain if he is a calamity for us. He may be a calamity or a boon for us. But for you, he is surely your doom."
The demon lord didn't give up. She tried to persuade them again and again. The demon nobles listened to her with rapt attention. It doesn't cost them a thing to come and listen to her. Quite the opposite, it is an enjoyable sight to see her so frustrated. They don't intend to help her one bit but they will pressure her and try to make her attack Aeternus.
Fighting among demon nobles is tricky business. For one, it is rare for demon nobles to fight but once it happens, it quickly escalates. If one side has a power of 100 and the other side with 10 had done something bad to the side with 100. Both sides will prefer to settle the matter with other methods apart from violence.
The superior side with 100 units of power won't fight their enemies which they are more powerful than by 10 times because if they win, their power will fall to 90 units. Even if they were the ones to be provoked, an alternative to violence is usually found to put the matter to rest because more fights like that against weak foes will gradually reduce the superior side with a power unit of 100 to an inferior side of 10 units.
But if a fight is to happen, the superior side will try to rope others to their side to share the burden of the fight and its benefits. It is why the demon lord is trying to rope the demon nobles into this fight.
The demon lord is hoping to escalate the conflict and reduce her losses. This usually works if there are benefits to be had. But the demon nobles aren't taking the bait even though Aeternus has also wronged them. Their subordinates and geniuses have been forced into the situation. Even though they have already started to suffer from the crossfire between Aeternus and the demon lord, they are actually looking forward to the fight and its outcome.
The demon lord expected this. That's why she brought out a card that is sure to change their minds. She always has a plan. Even though she already planned to give up some benefits, she had to be obstinate in giving them up and she has to make her card worth the price.
"Don't you wonder where he got his abilities? How can a high-rank demon make demon nobles and demon dukes?" She asked them.
"Yes, we've wondered. So what? It doesn't change the reality of things. It is too late to stop him now." Someone answered.
Aeternus has entrenched himself within the domain of high-rank demons like a malignant tumor. Removing him is next to impossible if they can't get to him. So why bother with how he got his powers?
She said to them. "I believe that it has something to do with that spatial artifact. Something within it empowered him. He has always been too strong for his rank."
Her words got them thinking. They too have suspected as much and have come to various conclusions.
One of them voiced such a conclusion. "You mean like the Authority of a demon king?"
"Yes." She agreed.
It wasn't the truth but it was close enough to it.
"I'll ask again, so what? So what if he has the authority of the king? He is too strong now for that information to be useful."
The suspicion about Aeternus's source of power means nothing to demon nobles if they can't get it.
"I have a deal to make with you. As long as you help me apprehend Aeternus and capture him for me, I'll give up my seat as the demon lord of the 541st plane of the abyss."
Her words silenced the mocking demon nobles. They were stunned at her dedication and sacrifice. The demon nobles need benefits if they are to take the bait and her willingness to abdicate the throne of the demon lord is more than enough benefits for them. It is a tempting offer and it made them start to think deeply.
The demon lord watched their reaction. None of them is talking. If they would refuse her, they should be talking. They can either refuse or ask for more, but what she is giving is more than enough so now they are thinking about the consequences of accepting her deal.
They are already considering the difficulty of capturing Aeternus, and how to do it efficiently so that they won't take too much damage that will reduce their chances of getting her throne after she is gone. They have brought out the mental abacus and are tallying the scores, considering the possibilities, and making predictions.
One of the demon nobles with deep considerations about the situation is Salazar. The blade of destruction is deep in thought. He would like to say no and watch Aeternus clash with the demon lord. This preference of his is because he is honestly afraid of Aeternus. He has clashed with Aeternus twice already and he lost on both occasions. His 11th commander, Alkazhi died to Aeternus.
Even though he planned his revenge for when Aeternus comes to the domain of demon nobles, he has given up on it because of recent developments. Aeternus is not the ignorant demon he thought he was. There have been numerous cases of demons underestimating Aeternus only to regret it and pay for their mistake with their lives.
The fact that the strongest demon nobles and the demon lord are meeting to scheme against him is more than enough proof that messing with Aeternus will lead to far larger repercussions. Aeternus is not a demon anyone can handle and hope to get out of the conflict without paying a large price. There is even a large possibility of not coming out of the conflict at all.
But Salazar also wants to be the demon lord. He didn't bear kids and made them fight and eat each other for the fun of it. He isn't that bored. Salazar is an ambitious and genius demon. The fact that he has a DIVINE rank Accumulation is proof that he got Accumulation as a high-rank demon before he evolved into a demon noble.
LOA CODE:
GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?
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