Chapter 532: The problematic demon.
At the same time, the demons attacked the territories.
"Scarlett Sisters..."
"I must say I'm impressed with this technique..." The demon spoke as he reached out, and a snowflake hit his finger, completely freezing his finger.
But as if by magic, his frozen finger started to change, the ice became water, and water became wine.
A portal appeared beside him, and he took a golden cup and poured the wine into it, and with a gentlemanly gesture, he drank the wine.
"Hmm... The joint effort of four sisters whose mother's splendor and conquests are legendary." Like a refined connoisseur, he stated in detail the taste of the wine he drank.
"Splendid! Such determination! Such strength of will! As expected of the daughters of the strongest female vampire!" He commented in a passionate tone.
"...." Ruby, Lacus, and Pepper just narrowed their eyes with a variety of emotions, most of them being confused.
"61 Key of Solomon, King Zagan, Despite being so low in the hierarchy, his influence and military might is second to none of the top 20 demons." Ruby commented in a neutral tone.
"Looks like you've done your research, Ruby Scarlett." The demon flashed a small smile.
"...." Ruby didn't like that smile at all, it was giving her a bad feeling, and the same sentiment was shared by Lacus and Pepper.
The demon, who was wearing a fancy suit, threw the golden cup to the ground, and the moment this cup bounced on the ground, it dissolved, and a golden throne was created from it.
"...well." Sitting on the golden throne, he crossed his legs and placed both hands together in front of him with a neutral smile on his face:
"The demons given by the king have been killed, so all I have to do now is wait, I guess."
"..."
Edward, Leona, Siena, and Liena, who were watching from afar near Clan Scarlett's older sister, narrowed their eyes at this scene.
"Why aren't they attacking?" Leona asked Siena, who at some point left her sisters' joint technique on low power.
"This isn't as simple as it sounds…" Edward narrowed his eyes. He was getting a bad feeling.
"Indeed." Liena spoke as she shared Edward's feelings.
"That demon is weird. Do you know anything about him, Hunter?" Siena asked.
"...Duke Zagan, even though he is so low in the hierarchy, he is considered a 'king', containing more than 32 legions of demons under his command. He is an eccentric and unpredictable demon... At least that's what we learned in training."
"The way to fight this demon?"
"Do not intervene."
"Believe it or not, he's a passive demon."
"…Huh?" All three expressed their disbelief.
A passive demon? This is a joke, right? Where are the cameras?
"Don't look at me like that. All the countermeasures regarding this demon were so as not to pique his interest, and The Inquisition had no information regarding confronting him."
"…why are you sitting down?" Lacus asked, still in her mist form. She wasn't enjoying this situation at all.
The devil's answer was just to smile and say:
"You know? I consider myself... a merchant."
A part of his throne started to melt, and that part floated towards Zagan's hand as soon as a gold coin was seen.
Zagan began playing with the coin by doing what, at first glance, might have looked like illusion tricks from a magic show.
"And as a trader, we should take a good look at an opportunity to profit." The coin suddenly disappeared, and soon that coin turned into five coins, and those five coins turned into golden fluids and returned to the throne.
"...." Now Ruby started to understand why she wasn't liking this demon. The feeling he gave was the same feeling she had when she first met Esther.
A crook.
He looked like the damn witches.
"Ruby, Lacus, Pepper Scarlett."
"The daughters of the strongest female vampire."
"Ruby, who inherited her mother's talents and grew up with a cool head that always tries to look at everything logically."
"Pepper, the survivor of an ancient Noble Vampire Clan."
"!!!"
"And finally, Lacus, the poor exiled princess of a Noble Clan of vampires that eventually went extinct."
"As fate is ironic, the princess who was exiled for having no talent is now the only survivor of that clan~."
The eyes of the three sisters grew colder.
"That's not funny, Demon." Lacus growled.
"How do you know that?"
"As I said, I'm a trader, and a trader's job is to have a good eye on how to make a profit." He replied in an amused tone as if their threats didn't matter to him.
"For example... Would you like to know the information of the survivors of your former Clan?"
Lacus' mist form shook a little, "Impossible. There are no survivors."
"Are you sure--?"
TINK!!
Before everyone could understand what had happened, Ruby tried to pierce the demon's head with the spear, whose runes were glowing faintly red.
But the attack was stopped by a golden spike that came out of the demon's throne.
"… Haah, so impatient." Although he sighed, the smile didn't leave his face.
"Lacus, don't fall for a devil's sharp tongue. You remember the witch, right?"
"!!!" Lacus' eyes widened.
"These demons are the worst kind of species, don't listen to his words." Ruby backed away when she sensed danger coming from the ground, and as she gained space, she saw a golden thorn piercing the ground where she was.
"What a smear, I've never lied in my life. Look at my face."
"...." Looking at the face of the demon who had a small smile plastered on his face, they heard.
"Is this the face of a liar?"
"Yes." Pepper replied in a cold tone, very unusual for her.
"Ugh, hearing this from a generally innocent girl is causing critical damage to my heart~."
Completely unconcerned by Ruby's attack, he inwardly chuckled.
'My assessment was correct. If faced with an unexpected situation, the heiress tends to overthink a simple matter.'
"Tell me, Pepper, Lacus."
"Like your sister, aren't you interested in becoming one of Alucard's wives?"
"......" Ruby's eyes completely darkened and became lifeless.
'Oops, I stepped on a mine there.' He chuckled internally:
' Is their bond with Alucard that strong?'
"...Demon..." Ruby's voice came out in such a cold tone that it sent a chill through the nearby sisters.
"I'll make sure you answer as you know it."
Victor, Violet, Ruby, and Sasha's relationship, if seen from the outside, just seem very close. Even if there are rumors, these rumors are quickly erased to avoid political conflict. After all, all the women mentioned are heirs of Clans and who cared for Nightingale's society as a whole.
If the information that the three heiresses performed a ritual and were married, everyone will think that the three clans of vampire counts are supporting Victor.
And that is something the king would not accept.
Even when Victor first appeared in public at the request of Ruby's mother, his working name was put as; Fulger / Snow / Scarlett.
At the time, it was just a whim of Ruby's mother to spice things up, but even she didn't expect Victor to grow so big in such a short time. So when that question came knocking on her door later, she just said that she put the name because her disciple received training from the aforementioned clans.
No one would dare doubt Scathach's words, the woman's credibility is simply too great, and she's not known for lying.
Yes, she is crazy. But not a liar.
Zagan just laughed a little and said:
"How scary~. Is this the power of a Yandere?"
"Your love is intense, Ruby. Yuno is proud of you! Although, unlike her, you don't have your 'Yuki' just for you, fufufu~."
A small vein popped in Ruby's head, and her cold air rose a few more levels.
She really hated the fact that she could understand this demon's reference now.
'Fuck, why can't I see openings? He's just standing there, but every time I think about attacking, my instinct warns of danger.'
It is worth mentioning that this same feeling was being felt by Ruby's sisters. If not for that, they would have already attacked this demon.
'Not to mention this strange power to turn water into wine and to manipulate gold.' Of all the 72 pillars, Zagan was the one with the least information.
Hidden among the lower ranks, no one cared about him, but his fame grew through his near-infinite wealth and the legions of demons he had.
How could someone at rank 60 have so much power? Where did the money come from? No one had ever discovered, and perhaps, only Baal or Diablo knew something.
"Fumu, it looks like I stepped on a mine. How about some free information to prevent an attack? As you know, I am a weak demon, and I want to avoid being harmed. I am only here to do my bidding."
'Weak, my plump ass!' Pepper felt like commenting but was silent.
'Ugh, this demon is giving me those annoying villain vibes that keep posing as mysterious, but in the end, it's just potato chips, but... That feeling, he's definitely not weak. It's okay. He's a duke, and I had never seen another demon duke, but this feeling of oppression is not normal.'
Pepper believed that with the group's current strength, they could handle a Demon Duke with some struggle, and the sisters have always been good at working together.
But the prospect of attacking this demon and winning... It didn't give Pepper good feelings, and her instinct warned that it wouldn't turn out as she imagined.
It was just a feeling, but her mother always told her to follow her instincts.
What the eyes don't see, instinct understands.
All sisters have been trained to hone this battle instinct.
"So…you want to know the reason for Diablo's attack on the vampire count clans in Nightingale?"
"..." Ruby raised an eyebrow. Although it was an imperceptible movement to the eyes of others, as a merchant whose main strength was reading the emotions of a possible buyer, Zagan saw it.
"Sounds like you're interested…Very Well."
"Diablo attacked the Snow, Fulger, and Scarlett Clans for one simple reason."
"Gain time."
"He doesn't want the vampires meddling while they make their plans on Earth, he's given more specific orders to each fighter, but overall that's it."
"...." Ruby's and the girls' eyes widened.
'The land was attacked!? So early? How do they not know anything!?'
Ruby was the one who was most shocked by this revelation, but over and above that shock, she was suspicious. She wouldn't believe the words of a demon, especially a demon who gave her Esther's feelings when he first met her.
"Lacus, Pepper!"
"!!!" The two sisters woke up from their stupor and narrowed their eyes in distrust. Ruby's message was delivered.
"...." The demon just chuckled lightly as he created a cup with the gold around him while he reached into the black space, pulled out a bottle of wine, and filled the cup.
"To Edgy, relax a little Woman, tsk, tsk. You can ask your Earth contributors to see if I'm lying or not. As an Influential Clan, you must have some, right?"
Finishing filling the glass, he said:
"Cheers."
'Tsk, Tsk, damn demon king and his petty plans, I hope Lilith returns to power somehow, haah.' He had several internal complaints about this situation, although his expression didn't change.
'Although I don't know what kind of shit they did to Lilith, the woman changed from a mean bitch to a cold bitch, and I preferred her when she was a mean bitch, at least kept that demon in check.'
Looking at the demon suspiciously, Ruby bit her lip. She wasn't enjoying this situation at all. She felt like she was dancing on the demon's palm, and to make matters worse, she couldn't feel the demon's strength, and her instincts warned her about constant danger.
She didn't know how to proceed, and that's when she remembers her mother's lessons.
"You think too much sometimes, Ruby."
'I know, mother. But this situation is just weird, and I don't have any information about my opponent.' She grumbled internally.
'This demon, he doesn't act like a demon. Even when I attacked him and we destroyed his demons, he was just standing there acting carefree... And there's also this information that he released. He didn't seem to be lying, but trusting the words of a demon is foolishness.'
"Pepper, Lacus, keep an eye on him."
"Yes." The two spoke at the same time.
"Tsk, Tsk, I won't leave here, just ignore me and treat me like air. I'm a harmless demon. I like gold, rare collectibles that no one has, and the pleasure of a great trade." He gave a harmless and sly smile, then continued:
"Zagan, at your disposal, everything is negotiable for me, even my daughter's virginity."
"...." The sisters looked at him as if he were a piece of garbage, but the man didn't seem to notice their gazes and spoke.
"Oh! This is my daughter!" He clapped his hands, and a black miasma rose to the heavens, and soon an image of a tall, easily 220 cm tall red-skinned woman with pointed horns, golden eyes, and two large wings was seen.
She had a red tail behind her, and what stood out most about her was her height and her voluptuous breasts, which, due to her height, seemed to be very large.
"Isn't she cute? Despite having a spiteful bitch attitude that she inherited from her mother, since she's a half-succubus, and because of that, she's quite social... at times."
"...She doesn't seem like a good person." Pepper muttered unconsciously, and her voice was heard by the demon.
"Don't judge a book by its cover. Despite being a bad bitch, she's a good person... Well, at least as good as a demon can be."
"And that's not good news..." Pepper spoke aloud this time.
"Perhaps… But hey, at least she has big tits and an enviable ass, right? How about, do you want to trade?"
"We refuse." Lacus and Pepper spoke at the same time.
"Meanie."
"Haah, my daughter will be single for a few more millennia, but I think it's her fault who asked her to be a pretentious bitch. I think she is what they call a Karen?"
"...." Ruby just shook her head while sighing. She took out her cell phone, which was made by June, and called Esther.
"Ruby?"
"What is happening on Earth now."
"...Long version, or short version?"
"Short."
"The demons have invaded China and Russia, and they are marching through Africa and Europe now."
"...."
"The Chinese pantheon was completely wiped out from the face of existence, and that territory is now considered hell on Earth."
'W-What—An entire pantheon has been evaporated from existence!?' Ruby couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't doubt Esther since the woman couldn't lie to Ruby.
A small sigh came out of the witch, and she continued:
"...And as you can imagine, the world is in chaos with the appearance of the supernatural shoved into their faces right now."
"...H-How..." Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to remain calm:
"How is this possible? When I left, everything was normal."
"That's the problem, I don't know either, I only know about it now because a contact of mine sent an SOS, and I went to her rescue, and she personally told me what happened."
"Sometime later, the shit hit the fan, and the reports just keep coming in."
Trying her best to stay calm, she asked:
"... are the VIPs ok?"
"Yes, the 'big bitch' is taking care of them."
Ruby internally sighed in relief but didn't let it show on her face:
"We will talk later." She hung up the phone.
"Fumu, Diablo moves fast. For such a big and generic demon, he is quite smart. Is he cheating?" Zagan commented while drinking wine.
"...." Pepper, Ruby, and Lacus pursed their lips. If they were on another occasion, they would have commented on this now. It seems the devil was not followed blindly.
"What do you demons-." When Ruby was going to question something, a big presence fell on Nightingale.
"Hey? Looks like this is my cue. I don't want to stay here and get my ass pierced by the Big Bad Mommy."
"If fate allows that cold bitch, we'll see you again in the future, Ladies."
A gate appeared behind the golden throne, which had begun to crumble and became a simple cup that the devil took while he laughed:
"Cyao~." When his face turned towards the gate, he became more anxious.
"Run Away!"
And just as the demon fled, another gate appeared, and Scathach and Alexios walked through the gate.
"Daughters?" Scathach looked around in mild confusion.
"... Haaah." Ruby gave a big sigh. Despite not having fought much, somehow, she felt that she was more tired than if she had fought a life-and-death battle with that demon.
'I never want to see that demon again.' This thought was shared by Lacus and Pepper as well.
.........
