WRATH finally spoke after several seconds of silence. "The coalition of the abyss is a good thing. I will tell you why it is a good thing. For starters, the demon gods will not be leaders of this coalition. This coalition is a union of the entire manpower of the abyss by swearing an Oath of cooperation with the will of the abyss."
"The realm lord met with us and offered us the deal. But the most important thing he needs is the cooperation of the will of the abyss. He won't get the cooperation of the will of the abyss with just us. For that to happen, the will of the abyss must be called into action when two-thirds of the total influence of the demon lords and demon kings agree to it."
"This two-thirds of influence will be calculated for every demon king that has ever existed, for every plane that exists in the abyss, and for every Authority that has been bestowed by the will of the abyss. Do you understand why we need everyone now?"
What WRATH said is enlightening. They finally understand why the demon gods need them and why they can't kill them. They can coerce the demon kings but they can't eliminate them because each demon king that doesn't vote is a vote against what they want.
Another important thing is that there is no way to know what the demon kings vote for. So forcing them will not work. The demon gods have to convince them to vote for it. The demon kings with the highest influence and votes are also the highest priority to convince.
Aeternus ruminated on this information and came to some conclusions. He thought to himself, "I see. It seems the realm lord is up to something. That schemer has turned his eyes toward the abyss."
The realm lord needs the will of the abyss for something but he can't order it around. It is because the will of the abyss is not a part of the realm tree. It is a part of the universe and it is present in every realm tree.
In fact, the abyss and the realm tree are at odds with each other. Any being other than a demon that comes to the abyss will be hunted by all demons in a frenzy induced by the hostility of the will of the abyss.
The realm lord himself should know about this. He once had to come to the abyss to escape a hunt for his life. He has experienced the hostility of the abyss personally so he knows that the abyss can not be bossed around by him. He needs the help of the abyss but he won't get it no matter how pushy or influential he is. Two-thirds of the influence of the abyss within this realm tree must be in agreement for it to move and for him to receive that help.
The demon God continued. "There will be no leaders if the coalition is formed. Every decision will be taken by vote. No one has any obligations toward one another. You don't need to pay any tax. In fact, you might not need to do anything once the coalition has been formed. You can choose to stay out of the rest of the deal once the coalition has been formed. You will only need to make any effort if you want to enjoy the benefits of the coalition."
"In summary, you don't need to do anything after the coalition is formed. There are no rules to adhere to as a member of the coalition. You can choose to continue with the deal or not. Is everything clear now?"
Aeternus raised his hand again.
WRATH practically growled as it asked, "What is it this time? Take note that you are walking on thin ice here. Make sure not to make me angry. I can be very nasty when I get angry."
Aeternus took note of the threat but didn't back down. The demon god tried to sideline what he cares about the most. He won't allow that to happen. At least not peacefully.
"Thank you, your Excellency, for explaining the aim of the coalition to us. But there is something I might have an issue with." He said.
GREED interrupted him again. "Is that so? Do you have something that you have an issue with? I sincerely hope it won't be the last thing that you have an issue with."
WRATH sighed. Then it said, "Let him talk."
WRATH knows what Aeternus is going to complain about but it can't stop it now. After all, it has given the demon kings all the ammunition that they need to be obstinate. They were suspicious before about why the demon gods were not threatening them with violence. But now they know for sure. So it has to address Aeternus's so-called "issue."
"Thank you, your Excellency. What you have explained is very insightful. Correct me if I am wrong. I was able to glean that you can't force us to swear loyalty and create the coalition of the abyss. But you can force us to do anything after the coalition has been formed. It is like you said, we have no obligations towards one another. It means that you are not obligated to protect us at all. Any demon god can take advantage of us. They can force us to participate in the deal and they can take our benefits from us."
"Just shut up, will you?" GREED asked with a shout.
"So what do you want?" WRATH ignored the shout and asked Aeternus.
"We are only useful for now. That will change after the coalition has formed. We don't require protection from other demon kings. We hardly fight and killing each other is a hassle at most. But demon gods are a real threat to us. In light of this information, it will be best if the demon gods promise not to act against us if the Coalition is formed."
"You imbecile. You ant. I will break you." GREED roared as it attacked.