After Lilith came to the realization that the demon/daemon that was tasked with the fate of the entire demon realm was not actually a mere sixteen year old but an old demon in the body of a sixteen year old, she knew that she had to change her methods of interacting with him.
She had been observing him ever since he entered the underground cave, and every decision he made and every action he took was not something a sixteen year old would do.
Normally, she would have chosen to act like a master to Simon if she found Simon worthy enough.
She would teach him several things and guide him on the right path of power to take. She would gain his gratitude, his awe, and before Simon knew it, subconsciously, he’d be reliant on her when it came to certain things.
While doing this, she would also ensure that Simon works hard enough to recover her lost strength.
She would barely have to do anything, yet Simon would still help her regain her strength first and foremost.
It’s not that she’d have evil intentions toward him as long as he had none toward her, but for her, her strength mattered the most.
However, now that she knew that she was working with an old demon/daemon, she could not help but curse her luck.
Compared to a sixteen year old, dealing with an old and experienced demon was more complicated.
Instead of a situation where she could tell or convince a sixteen year old boy with words to do what she wanted, now, she had to give something that’ll be beneficial to Simon.
Mutual Benefits.
That was a method she knew would work on Simon, and well... everybody.
’And this old demon is even a backstabbing demon. My luck is truly bad.’
Lilith could not help but release a soft sigh.
As for Simon, he could not deny the fact that he could benefit greatly from Lilith despite the fact that he did not trust her and did not like how she literally had a front-row seat to everything he did.
He would learn and benefit as much as possible from her, and at the same time, he’ll remain wary and cautious of her.
The only thing that gave him assurance was that she could not see his Seven Stars Blessing and that she could not read his mind.
’Having a being that’s stronger than the gods I know living rent free inside my heart... Life is truly filled with surprises.’
Simon shook his head softly, then he finally broke the silence that was between them, bringing Lilith out of her thoughts.
"Can you fight for me?"
Lilith looked at him with slightly raised brows.
"You want a woman to fight your battles for you?"
Simon nonchalantly shrugged. "It’s something that I’m not averse to doing. The important thing is that I don’t die."
Lilith looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Are you afraid of death? Is that why you possessed this child’s body? So that you won’t die? To cling unto life?"
Simon could sense the disdain in Lilith’s voice and he could even see it in her expression. He understood why she had such an expression, but it’s not like it affected him.
"I am not afraid of death. Those who kill by the sword must be prepared to die by the sword. I’ve killed countless people, so why should I be afraid if death finally catches up to me?"
Lilith’s expression slowly eased up as his words reminded her of her father and mother.
"Those who kill by the sword must be ready to die by the sword. Never forget that, Lilith."
"Yes. And those who consume lives by the flames must be prepared to be consumed by the flames themselves one day. Don’t you forget that, Lilith."
It felt like her mother and father were speaking right to her, and the way she looked at Simon changed.
’Not every Daemon, talk less of demons, is able to have the same mentality as my father and mother. I know that for a fact, and I have seen how some Daemons clung to life.’
’But this demon... He’s actually speaking his heart... I can see it.’
Lilith’s eyes flickered with an unknown light, and Simon continued, not knowing her thoughts.
"As for your remaining questions, I’m not going to deny or say that your words are true. But what I can tell you now is that if I have to possess a child’s body to survive and live, I would do so without hesitation."
"Even if it’s a newly born child."
This time around, Lilith could not help but frown.
"You’re contradicting yourself. If you’re not afraid of death, then why would you be willing to look for a way to cheat death? You say you’re not afraid of death, but you look for ways to preserve your life and run away from death, then how are you not afraid of death?"
"Do you not have pride."
This time around, Simon could not help but burst into loud laughter.
He didn’t mind the fact that everybody around him gave him strange looks, because he just couldn’t help himself.
Lilith had a slight frown and a flicker of bafflement in her eyes as she looked at Simon. She wondered what was so funny.
A few seconds later, Simon stopped laughing, and he wiped away the tears in his eyes.
"Will you tell me what’s so funny now?"
Simon chuckled softly with a smile.
"What you said made me laugh."
Lilith narrowed her eyes. "I said something funny?"
Simon shook his head. "Even if one is not afraid of death, or accepts that death can come at any time, that does not mean you should foolishly face death without trying to defy it."
"If there is a path that allows you to live even one extra day, you should take it and not claim that your pride would not allow you to do so."
"At the end of the day... It’s the living that rewrites the story of the dead."
"If the living decide to paint a good dead man as evil, can the good man defend himself?"
"If the living decides to make an evil dead man good, can the actions of the evil man change the script? None would believe that he was actually evil because a dead man can do neither evil nor good."
"So it is foolish to say that, because of pride, you would refuse a path that grants you life."
"You asked if I had any pride."
"My pride lies in the fact that I’m alive and that I escaped the jaws of death. That’s all."