Chapter 697: Lilith, Demon Goddess.
"Are you trapping me here?"
"No, Lady Lilith. This is for your safety."
Lilith snorted at the two Generals, Vine, and Vepar, who were standing in the doorway:
"I never thought preventing me from leaving the Castle and having two Elites stop me from leaving was for my 'safety'."
The two Generals were silent. Lilith didn't miss that the two were prepared to act at any moment.
"How long did I sleep?" Finally, she decided to change the subject.
"Hard to say, but likely a few years," Vine replied.
"Oh, Time is really messed up here, huh," Lilith spoke when she remembered that detail.
"Correct, although, now that is no longer true." Vine continued.
"What do you mean?"
"Recently, our Master managed to prevent excessive Miasma from flowing out of the Castle. Instead, he trapped all the Miasma inside one room." Vepar added.
Lilith opened her eyes wide, "...That's impressive."
The two women nodded in satisfaction.
"According to his words, the Castle is built on top of where the Miasma is born. The entire structure of the Castle is strong enough to withstand the Miasma, so filtering out most of the Miasma in a room is not impossible." Vepar spoke.
"... It surprises me that he discovered this feature of the Castle, only Lucifer and I knew about it."
"His Majesty was taught by the Ancient Demons." Vine continued.
"Ancient Demons?"
"Also called Guardians of Hell, whose names are Zahal and Albu," Vine explained.
"... Oh... I had forgotten about them." Lilith was honest. If there were any other Beings in existence that knew more about Hell than Lilith and Lucifer, they would be those two Demons. They were here even before Lucifer and Lilith came to Hell.
"It's understandable. The two only appear when our King is present.
Most of the time, they are in his garden." Vine spoke.
"..."" Lilith nodded, indicating that she understood, but suddenly opened her eyes wide when she realized what was said.
"Wait. Garden? What do you mean by that? There can be no life in Hell." Hell was a barren and extremely hostile desert. Biomes like Ice and Flaming Hells were prevalent. These were not easy places to live. If you didn't die for the Miasma of Hell itself, you would die at the hands of the Demons. Only the strong ones survived in that place.
"There is a reason our King is called the True King of Hell." Vepar smiled.
Lilith snorted when she saw the two women's proud expressions. It was obvious they weren't going to say anything.
Suddenly a thunderous roar was heard, making the windows and the Castle itself shake.
"Oh, looks like that slacker Zaladrac has woken up." Vine couldn't hide the happy smile on her face.
"You know she only does this when our King comes back," Vepar spoke as she thought of the dragon that slept around the Castle most of the time.
Due to the Dragon's size, a new area behind the Castle had to be made, something simple to do with the Demon King's Authority. The Castle was connected with him and was almost sentient. Therefore, changing some rooms to leave enough space for a Dragon to stay was easy.
The reason for doing this was that Zaladrac didn't want to be away from Victor. Most of the time, the dragon was seen sleeping or flying through Hell in search of food. Her diet consisted of gigantic Demonic Beasts that lived in the wild parts of Hell.
"I know," Vine laughed.
The door behind the two Generals clacked as someone on the other side knocked. Soon, the two heard the soft voice of a woman.
"General Vine?"
The two Generals assumed neutral expressions.
Soon, Vine replied:
"Come in."
Soon a demonic woman of 182 cm with long snow-white hair, chocolate skin, and white eyes entered. She had white horns and a demonic tail of the same color as her horns.
"His Majesty has just arrived. He is on his way to these chambers. I would like to speak with him about that plan..." She commented casually in a neutral tone, but a bit of anxiety was heard in her voice.
Vine raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you too anxious, Aline? You could have waited for the King to settle down."
"I don't know how long the King will stay, and last time, he left for a long time. I don't want to miss the opportunity."
"Well... That's understandable." Vine looked at Vepar, "She's your subordinate, Vepar. You decide."
"...Very well, you can stay. But only speak when necessary, okay? Do not disrespect the King because you are anxious."
"Yes, thank you for the opportunity."
Lilith looked at Aline with a confused look, "You have the traits of Valefar and an Ice Demon. Are you his descendant?"
Aline looked at Lilith with a neutral and cold gaze. The Demon Goddess was surprised that she didn't see respect or fanaticism as was usually expected in the eyes of Demons when they met her.
"Yes, Lady Lilith, I am the daughter of the former 6th Rank Pillar Demon Valefar. My mother was an Ice Demon."
"My name is Aline Valefar, Head of Abbadon's Technology Development Department and one of the Four Commanders who report directly to General Vepar."
"Technological Development Department?"
"A government body created by His Majesty to innovate technology in Hell. The department is divided into two sectors, Military and Domestic. We develop everything in Hell, from simple chairs to weapons of mass destruction." Aline explained with pride in her voice.
Lilith nodded with a look that said she understood and yet didn't.
She asked, "Abbadon? What is that?"
"That's the name of the City we are currently in. In total, the King built three Mega Cities to separate the economy, the development of Hell, and to help the Demons who haven't developed enough to come to Abbadon."
Lilith just looked at Aline like she used four different languages in the same sentence.
"... It seems like a lot has changed since I've been away." Lilith sighed.
"Which is why we stopped you from leaving, Lady Lilith."
Lilith looked at Vepar with a look that said: "Explain yourself".
"Hell has changed a lot. This place is not what it used to be. For someone of your Power, it can be stressful. We don't want you going around destroying things because you don't understand them."
Lilith huffed, "I won't do that."
"Yes, you will. As soon as you leave the Castle, and, for example, stumble across some food shop or stall and want something but don't have Knull for it, you'll get pissed off, and you'll try to get it by force, only to be thrown into the gallows."
"...Knull..."
"It is the currency of our Hell."
""Money...? Does Hell have a currency system now?"
"Yes."
"...Fuck."
"As I said, if you left here, at the first sign of trouble, we'd have to arrest you."
"Oh? Do you think you are capable of arresting me?"
"No, we don't." Vepar casually admitted, "But if you created a mess in the middle of Abbadon, the Royal Capital where the King lives, you would become an enemy to all of Hell."
Lilith swallowed hard.
"It is an unspoken rule that no one can cause trouble in The Three Cities built by the King, and all those who cause trouble will be hated and hunted throughout all of Hell. This crime is even more severe if committed in Abbadon, the Royal Capital."
"Believe me; you would have no place to hide. All Demons, from the smallest and most harmless to the Elitest of Demons, would be after you." Vine added.
"The Three Cities are so safe that Vine doesn't even need to deploy our military forces for the 'protection’' of the citizens. The citizens do it themselves; after all, most Demons don't want to lose the peace we have in The Three Cities." Vepar added, leaving aside the fact that they had several 'assassins' spread across all three cities to keep an eye on everything.
After all, there was no such thing as too much security.
"...The new King seems to be doing a great job..." Lilith couldn't help but comment sarcastically as she tried to ignore the 'subtle threats' the two Generals were making.
The three women smiled widely at those words.
Meanwhile, in the halls of the Castle, Victor, Helena, and Lily walked quietly while conversing with each other.
"Hmm, looks like development has been going well since I left."
"Yes, thanks to the feat of Your Majesty controlling the amount of Miasma spread throughout Hell, the weather has finally become stable. Now we can have schedules, days of the week, and a Conquest Calendar."
"Conquest Calendar?"
"Since we don't have a moon like Earth, we decided to make a calendar based on the day you conquered all of Hell."
"The calendar will have 377 days, and a day will have 27 hours," Helena responded excitedly.
"Why the fixation with the number 7?' Victor thought amusedly.
"So, how many years has it been since I conquered Hell?"
"... Unfortunately, that's hard to say." Helena looked quite distraught.
"For you, it may have been 700 years; after all, you spent most of your time in the Deepest Pits of Hell where Miasma is born, but for us, in Abaddon, it may have been 400 to 600 years."
"In other Cities, the number may be even lower."
"It's hard to say how accurate that number is."
"I see... In that case, we just have to count the calendar from today.
Don't forget to put the speculation of the time it took me to conquer Hell in the history books."
"History is written by the victors, huh."
"Indeed, this will influence the Demons of the new generation in the future." Victor nodded.
"Don't forget to put a day of the week as a holiday, too. Of course, the citizens are not obliged to take that day off, but this will be important for the future."
"Will you move the entertainment project forward?"
"Correct, fighting each other is good, but having only that as entertainment is unhealthy. I was thinking of putting some arenas where Demons fight Demonic Beasts as well."
"Oh..."
Victor could see Helena's brain thinking about his proposal. That's what he liked about his subordinates. They knew how to think for themselves, so he didn't always need to be here; they were very competent.
"That's perfect. We can guarantee a controlled environment for Lesser Demons to learn about the horrors of the outside world. As a result, the death rate will go down even further."
"Yes, but we must maintain a certain amount of danger. Do not curb the possibility of dying."
"Only when Souls are nearing their end do they show their true potential, don't forget that."
"I understand. We should lower the chances of dying from 100% to
50%."
"Correct, and keep an eye out for 'geniuses'. If you see that the younger Demons are passing the challenges easily, we can introduce them to harder challenges."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"We live in Hell, a hostile place. Danger is always among us; we must not forget that. Although I brought order to Hell, that only applies to The Three Great Cities. Outside the Cities, it's still the old Hell we know."
"We are survivors and warriors. We must not forget that."
The two women nodded, and as they looked admiringly at Victor, it was obvious that they were absorbing what he was saying as if it were a life tenet.
"What about our mutual friend, Lily?"
Lily awoke from her stupor, replying, "... He's growing at an absurd rate. He fought a Demonic Beast that would require at least 10 Elite Demons to defeat. He almost died and fainted shortly afterward, but he managed to defeat the Demonic Beast."
"When he fell unconscious, the horse protected him from the other Demonic Beasts."
Victor flashed an anticipatory smile.
"He was already strong before I met him. He seems to be growing well, and the bond with the horse seems to be growing as well."
"Bond?" Lily asked.
Victor nodded and explained, "The Bond between a Horseman and his horse is absolute. They are lifelong companions. Wherever a Horseman goes, the horse follows him. It too will grow stronger along with its Horseman."
"Oh... I thought that was just a myth."
"I guarantee you, My Dear. It is no myth."
Lily just nodded. She didn't even question the veracity of Victor's words considering that the man had consumed The 4 Horsemen in the past.
Not to mention that at this point, her loyalty and trust were so great that if Victor said that the sky was pink, she would believe with all her being that the sky was pink.
"Will he arrive in Alcantara soon?" Victor asked.
"With his pace, it will take him a while to get to Alcantara."
"Hmm ..." Victor hummed and thought about plans for the future.
Lilith found herself staring into the violet eyes of a man who seemed to be perfection personified.
He was wearing an exquisite black suit.
"I had forgotten how ridiculously handsome he was."
"Tell me, Lilith, how are you feeling? How was your stay? Did my subordinates treat you kindly?"
"...I'm feeling fine, and your subordinates have been very 'kind' to me." Lilith finished with a sarcastic tone at the end.
If Victor, or the women behind him, noticed it, they didn't take it to heart.
"I see. I am happy about that." Victor nodded in satisfaction as he smiled gently.
Lilith visibly swallowed her saliva as she tried to calm her heart.
"Damn, you! Why is he so charming!?"
Lily rolled her eyes when she saw her mother's attitude. It was obvious what was going on. This was already a common effect on all the women who wandered through the Castle.
"Cut the bullshit, Demon King. What do you want from me?"
"I do not understand what you mean?" Genuine confusion was seen on his face.
"You didn't help me without wanting anything in return, so spit it out. What do you want?"
Victor was silent for a few seconds and looked at Lilith with appraising eyes. She was beautiful; that was a fact. As a Progenitor, Queen of Succubi, and a Demonic Goddess, her beauty was second only to Aphrodite's.
Lilith felt a delicious shiver run down her spine when she saw Victor's gaze wanting to devour her.
Immediately, the memories of Diablo's 'battle' with him appeared in her mind, all that intoxicating Power coursing through every thread of her existence, the gravity of his very presence. The memories left her completely wet.
Lilith's breath got a little heavy as images of what could happen were already flashing through her head.
"You are correct."
Her body shuddered a little when she heard his words.
"I want something from you."
"...Right? You wouldn't be a Demon King if you didn't want something. Now tell me." Her voice sounded anxious for various reasons that were pretty obvious to everyone present.
"I want you to learn about the new society I've built and follow your own path."
"...Eh?"
An amused smile appeared on Victor's face, "I may be a Demon King, but I'm not cruel."
Vine, Lily, Helena, Vepar, and Aline just rolled their eyes when they heard what the man said. If Victor isn't cruel, Demons might as well be saints.
"And far be it from me to want to imprison a Demon Goddess.
You've been imprisoned for too long at the mercy of someone else's will, and no one deserves that."
"..."" Lilith narrowed her eyes when she heard about this topic.
"Therefore, all I ask of you is to learn about the new society I've built, and when you're confident, you can leave the Castle. Until then, the Castle will be your home... Of course, I won't stop you from leaving if that is truly your wish."
"Just keep in mind that any act that jeopardizes the peace and order of my Cities carries grave consequences,"
Victor said it all in a cordial, gentle, and noble tone, but the cold threat in the last sentence was obvious to everyone.
"Helena, my dear, bring me the Orb, please."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Helena put her hand in her pocket and removed a bag. Then she unfolded the bag and pulled out an orb from inside.
Helena walked up to Lilith and handed the Demonic Goddess the Orb.
"I call it The Learning Sphere. Thanks to the splendid work of the Technology Development Department at Abbadon, we managed to make a device that stores our entire educational material."
"This is a far cry from what the internet is, but it's close enough. Unfortunately, the Orb's design itself isn't good enough. I wanted something more compact that I could wear on my wrist, like those futuristic bracelets... Haah, there's still a lot of work to do."
"The Orb in your hand has material that covers the most basic topics of the new society to the most advanced. It will be your guide in this new Hell. All you need to activate it is to put a little of your Energy into the Orb, and it will open an interaction screen."
"That Orb is still not complete. We plan to add more things to it in the future, we should-..." Aline stopped talking when she saw the look of the Four Generals and Victor's look of amusement:
"Uhh... Sorry." Aline lowered her head in shame. She knew she always became hyperactive when it came to technology.
"Intruding is not polite, Aline."
"I-I'm sorry-."
"It's okay, just hold back, okay? I like your enthusiasm and value your talent, but remember that there is a time and place for everything. Remember that your behavior affects Vepar's image and, consequently, mine too."
"Mm."
"Good." Victor smiled, satisfied, and looked back at Lilith.
"Treat the Orb with care; it will help you a lot." Victor smiled gently and soon rose from his chair. He raised his hand to the side, and soon Helena placed a bag of coins in his hand.
Victor opened the bag to check something, then nodded, seemingly satisfied. He then placed the bag gently on the table before him and said:
"Here is 100,000 Knull. For reference, the Knull is equal to the Dollar in the Human World. That is, 1 dollar is equal to 1 Knull. So you have $100,000 in front of you. That will help you move around the City."
"Enjoy your stay in Hell, Lilith." Victor turned and left along with the five women. Soon the bedroom door closed, and silence greeted the room.
"...Huh... What was that?" Lilith looked at the Orb, then at the bag of money, and then at her legs and saw that she was very wet. Her face turned red with anger and shame:
"Damned provocateur! I will kill you! How can he leave me like this!" -
Edited By: Davo 2138, IsUnavailable
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