No one said anything. They were not going to show support for him even when a demon god is not obviously incensed and they have not become stupid enough to show any support now that it has become obviously dangerous to do so. It was dangerous to show support for him earlier. But now, the danger has become so large that it is clear and obvious even to stupid people.
Aeternus kept quiet and everyone suddenly became mute. It's not like they can talk anyway. The pressure of the existence of a demon God began to settle on them. It felt like they were carrying the weight of the sky as it was falling on them. Aeternus and the other level 10 demon kings can talk but they will be very stupid to say anything. To say anything, no matter how servile or submissive, is to court death.
"Enough." WRATH sighed and said.
It interfered in the suppression too. It brushed away the pressure with a flick of exertion.
"Why?" PRIDE roared back.
"This is a civilized meeting. If we wanted to force them, we would have cornered each of them in their planes and made them swear the oath. We asked them to come here so that we could meet eye to eye. He is not disrespecting us by asking a question after he has admitted his ignorance?"
"Fine." PRIDE relented and returned to being a silent observer.
What PRIDE hates the most is disrespect. It can get angry because of it. Now that it has been stated that it is not disrespect, it can settle down.
The God of wrath looked at Aeternus and considered how to answer the questions. The questions are loaded with several implications. It has to consider them very well or risk falling into a trap.
First of all, guaranteeing the safety of all the members of the coalition from Demon gods is not something that only it can guarantee. That means that it has to make the other demon gods swear to stay away from the demon kings and demon lords. That means that they can't touch Aeternus if he joins the coalition.
"What a sneaky scheming bastard." WRATH grumbled to itself.
It already told the other demon gods that they could grab Aeternus after the meeting. Asking them to swear not to go after him or anyone else will be very difficult. It is a very difficult request. Aeternus knows that. That's why he offered some incentives. His following questions were the incentives. Asking if they can attack other demon kings who didn't join the coalition will encourage the demon kings to join the coalition.
His following questions are both incentive and critical. Aeternus offered to free his captives if they want to join the coalition. It is an olive branch or a bribe of some sort to the demon god of wrath since it seems to care about attendance. Then he wanted to know what else he has to give up by asking what taxes they have to pay in the coalition.
Now, if all of that doesn't work, Aeternus pointed out the fact that the demon gods must need them for something. Why else would they want the demon lords and demon kings to join the coalition? If the demon gods are so capable, why can't they fulfill the realm Lord's deal on their own?
In a way, Aeternus is making a subtle threat. The demon gods can force them. But at what cost? Forcing them can also lead to bad unwanted consequences. So will the demon gods guarantee their safety or not? If they don't guarantee the safety of everyone who joins the coalition, what's to stop the demon gods from snacking on them? What will be the difference between those who joined and those who didn't join?
And if his safety is not guaranteed, then he might as well create a lot of trouble for the demon gods now. He is going to die anyway. So he might as well hurt them too.
So yes, the questions are loaded with meaning and have serious consequences. They made WRATH angry. If there is something that is similar between the demon gods of pride and wrath, it is that they get angry easily. They just have different things that make them angry. PRIDE is snobbish and gets angry at any disrespect. But WRATH can get angry at anything and anyone for any reason.
So yes, it is very angry with Aeternus. And it was glad to see that PRIDE became angry too. It was looking forward to PRIDE pressuring the demon kings into submission with its questions. But of course, the prideful smuck took it too far.
WRATH grumbled to itself, "I shouldn't have expected restraint from a demon God."
Things would have worked out had PRIDE restrained itself to asking those questions in indignance. But it went ahead to pressure them with its power. That forced the demon God of wrath's hands because it swore to protect everyone that came to the meeting from demon gods. It had to interfere because of its Oath. Now it has to answer the question all because a demon god didn't show restraint.
It could brush the question aside but it understood the threat that Aeternus added to the question. In fact, all the other demon kings understand that threat too. They know now that they shouldn't be servile because the demon gods must need them for something. So they have a basis for confidence which was further reinforced by the behavior of PRIDE.
If they weren't so useful, PRIDE would have attacked them directly instead of pressuring them. After all, the demon God of pride didn't swear to protect them. But PRIDE didn't kill them so it must need them alive for something.
Aeternus didn't say anything. He waited calmly for the answer of WRATH. He has said what he wants to say. It is up to WRATH now. The demon God can choose to address his question or not. But it has to say something. Whatever it says will determine his next move. So he waited in silence with the other demon kings.
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A/N: This bonus chapter is a mistake. I just learned that I have published all the bonus chapter that I owe you guys. Now you owe me one bonus chapter.