The cloud of blue energy didn't change as it asked its question. A wave reverberated out of it containing its intent and message. The question is harmless. It just looks like the demon god is curious about him. A lot of people are curious about why he came in his main body too.
Aeternus replied calmly. "It wouldn't matter if I came with my main body or not. I am doomed if a demon God wants to get me. Besides, the esteemed demon God of wrath swore to protect us from other demon gods."
What he said is true. It doesn't matter in which form you appear before a demon God. Your death is all but certain. Even the demon lords are not safe. If a demon God can forcefully send a message to all the rulers of the abyss within their plane, then a demon God can reach demon kings or demon lords no matter where they are through their avatar of sin energy.
He used that reasonable reason to mask that he is an avatar himself. It also shows reasonable fear and respect of the demon gods. But GREED wasn't satisfied.
It asked again. "That might be true but what about the other demon Kings? Do you not think it is appropriate to guard yourself against them."
Everyone was paying attention to the conversation. All the demon lords and demon kings are interested in the conversation between a demon God and a demon king. Their exchange is public, not private so everyone can hear what they are talking about.
This question seems valid too. It might be true that he can't protect himself from a demon God but there are other threats here besides demon gods that can harm him. The other demon Kings might use this opportunity to harm him and set back his progress. What if a fight breaks out? That is highly likely to happen when more than two demons are in a place. Coming here in his main body is overlooking the others as a threat.
Aeternus shrugged and said, "I can handle myself."
Yes, he can handle himself. The demon gods know that much about him. Someone who can resist their probing can surely handle himself. But by making it known like this, the attention of other demon Kings will be drawn to that fact. And the result is unpleasant.
The other demon Kings thought he was being foolish or just brave for coming here in his main body. But they know now that it is because he is confident in protecting himself against other demon kings. They know now that he is proud and doesn't fear them. That ruffled some feathers.
Aeternus appears foolish and courting death since they can feel that he is just a level-5 demon king. They want to bring that death to him. It is what GREED was aiming for.
Aeternus is not the only demon king here in what appears to be their main bodies. But he was specifically targeted by GREED. The questions seem harmless on the surface. Beneath the harmless surface is a nefarious purpose.
The questions are meant to create a divide between Aeternus and the other demon Kings. It is so that a believable excuse can be created when Aeternus inevitably disappears. After all, it is possible that a demon king decided to teach him a lesson in humility by killing him and destroying his plane too.
GREED didn't say anything after that. But the damage has been done. Aeternus chuckled and said to himself, "I am sure of it now. Doom is coming for me."
He knows that trouble is coming for him soon. He can't hide his strength in front of a demon God. To succeed in hiding his strength from the probing is already saying that he is very strong.
He also couldn't say that he can't handle himself. That will show that he foolishly came here with his main body without fear. No one will believe him if he said that since he gave a very good reason for why being here in the presence of a demon God with or without an avatar doesn't matter.
It wouldn't have helped if he had lied and was believed. Showing foolishness will make him a weak target for the other demon kings. So he is screwed either way. He knows this but he still chuckled to himself. He isn't amused at the danger he is. His chuckle is but a nervous release of emotions. He is afraid but he is not willing to let fear cripple him.
"This is rock bottom. Things cannot get worse than this." He said to himself.
Now this is a logical conclusion. He knows demons are coming for his life. He knows he is in serious danger of death. But he isn't afraid of death as long as he dies on his own terms. As long as a demon god doesn't kill them then his death will be nothing but a minor loss of a crown. Sure, the entire abyss will hunt him down after they realize what he is. So what could be worse than that? Nothing actually, but his situation became worse.
His throne began to rise after sitting on it. It is an indication of status by power. The throne will rise to a height based on their influence in the abyss. Their influence will determine the number of votes that they have during any voting session of the abyssal conclave. So the higher the throne, the more votes you have.
The height that the throne rises to is based on a culmination of factors. The most important is your personal strength. In other words, the higher your level of authority, the higher your throne will rise. His throne rose to the maximum level that a level 10 Authority should have.
He can fool lesser demon kings by using a weak crown in his avatar, but he can't fool the abyss. The abyss is very aware of his true strength. He can't even fool demon gods about his strength. We've seen how that worked out. So now, everyone knows he is a level 10 demon king instead of the level 5 that he appears to be.