Chapter 63 (1 of 2) [Insert Generic Complaint About The Demon Emperor Here] (Patreon)

“Open Obelisk Directory.”

[Directory: ]

1. Beast Realm
2. Demon Realm
3. Tartarus Realm
4. Mystical Realm
5. Heavenly Realm

[ ]

Floating before Lucille was a familiar screen, faintly glowing with sky-blue light behind its white text. She gazed wearily at the selection options and pinched her nose bridge.

“Take me to…” she began, sighing. “…the Daemonium Palace Stronghold in The Demon Emperor’s Dominium.”

[Directory – Demon Realm ]

Dominium selection:

1. The Demon Emperor’s Dominium

Stronghold selection:

• The Daemonium Palace Stronghold

[ ]

[Confirm selection? Yes/No]

Rubbing her face, she held back a grimace and pressed on [Yes]. Her body was whisked away as she prepared herself to meet with the Demon Emperor for the ‘first time’ in six months.

…

“Good morning! Or evening. As I recall saying before, the time in the Demon Realm is rather difficult for me to determine,” Lucy said with a cheery smile.

The two demon gatekeepers whom she had met last time she went to the palace were there again, staring at her like she was insane. Which, in the common person’s eye, she probably was, as she was returning to the Daemonium Palace after surviving a trip there six months ago.

Lucille clasped her hands together, her smile bright. “Do we need to re-enact the scene from back then, or will you let me pass without difficulty?”

The Ashveil demon with grey hair sighed and stepped away, allowing her to walk through. The other winged demon had a frown on his face but also allowed her to go through. She nodded and began her climb up the many stairs to the Daemonium Palace.

With her new stats, the climb was shortened from half an hour to fifteen minutes, and she entered through the open doors of the colossal building. Her perception field was shrunk again, so she wouldn’t tempt death any more than she was by visiting a murderous Demon Emperor, but she could detect the omnipresent demonic power of the Primordial Demon, the red tides of energy rolling around as if a gargantuan thundercloud filled the building.

As she hadn’t been sent any message by anyone, she presumed she was to head in the direction of the room where she and the Demon Emperor had met last time. She walked through the hallways, keeping a calm and measured pace, because she didn’t want to upset the Demon Emperor by running late, but she really didn’t want to have to see him any earlier than she had to.

She blinked when another pair of footsteps echoed down the marble-floored hallways, approaching the intersecting corridors she was heading towards. Lucy turned the corner and quickly stepped back when a large pair of black leathery wings buffeted her.

The individual the wings belonged to let out a startled yelp, dropping a few pages from the stack of documents in her hands. They quickly snapped their fingers to cause the pages to float up, resettling neatly in their arms. Then they turned their attention to the person who they happened to walk into.

Demon Duchess Lilith Al’Abyssus, the ruler of all Abyssal demons and the one with the title of the Ancient Temptress stared at Lucille with wide eyes.

Lucy quickly bowed to the demoness. “My apologies, Duchess Al’Abyssus. I should’ve considered the fact that you would be incapable of sensing me within the presence of His Majesty.”

The raven-haired demoness continued to stare at her, utterly flabbergasted by her presence for some reason. Still wearing the same revealing leather outfit Lucy had seen her in last time, her skin swam with frantically shifting pitch-black demonic script. Her emotions were quite literally being shown on her skin, allowing Lucy to know just how stunned she was by Lucille’s presence.

Lucille tilted her head. “Duchess Lilith Al’Abyssus?”

The demoness blinked, and her eyes widened further. “Why are you here again?!” she asked with shock, broken out of her trance.

…something about this situation was giving Lucy a deep sense of déjà vu, but she didn’t dwell on it as Lilith shook her head, holding up a hand to pause Lucy.

“Never mind, that’s not important. Instead…” She eyed Lucille as if she were some peculiar insect that had managed to survive being crushed under her heel thrice. “How are you even still alive?”

“…am I supposed to be dead for some reason?” Lucy asked quizzically.

“Supposed to? I don’t know,” she stated flatly. “But anyone else who has tried to trespass here died before I could meet them beforehand.” She looked over her shoulder. “He’s not asleep already, is he? He still has three more hours’ worth of work to do. If he decides to sleep and push his work off for one more day I swear I’m finally going to resign this time…”

Lilith flinched when met with Lucy’s strange gaze. “Ahem…” the demon woman coughed. “Pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Lilith put a hand up to her forehead for a brief moment, looking exasperated, before she straightened up. “Yes, well, even if by some miracle he hasn’t killed you yet, you technically are trespassing, and the punishment for that is death…” She narrowed her dark eyes at Lucy. “Although, perhaps it would be more worthwhile taking you back to my Stronghold to study you if you’ve survived so far…” She shook her head. “Anyway, please provide me with an adequate reason for being in the Daemonium Palace or I’ll have to make an example of you.”

Lucille finally realised why she was feeling such an intense sensation of déjà vu. She gazed wearily at the demon Duchess. “He hasn’t told you about our contract, has he?”

When Lilith heard Lucy’s response, she paused and studied Lucy closely. After a few seconds, she let out a long sigh. “It seems not. Not to worry, I’m familiar with His Majesty’s manner. Perhaps you can enlighten me about the details of this ‘contract’ as I take you to his study.”

Lucille did so, informing her that she’d be going to the Daemonium Palace and meeting with the Demon Emperor every six months to discuss the cycle. Internally, Lucy was comparing the situation to that of Count Bentsen when she visited the Aethereal Palace.

So he didn’t tell her either… was it because he wanted to hide it or for another reason? It couldn’t be that he just didn’t bother telling either of them… could it?

Instead of taking her to the room she had met the Demon Emperor in last time, Lilith walked right past it and down the hallway. Lucy was taken up a flight of stairs before they stopped in front of a large pair of black wooden doors, a wide open hall directly in front. Lilith coughed and rapped the back of her hand against the door.

“Count Lucille Goldcroft is here, my lord.”

“Enter,” the familiar low voice replied.

Lilith opened the doors and bowed as she entered, letting Lucille pass. Then the demoness swiftly shut the door, leaving only Lucy and the individual behind the single desk in the room.

The individual with long pitch-black hair was seated behind a desk just as luxurious as the one he used at the Aethereal Palace, or possibly more so. Unlike the last time she had seen him in person, he was dressed in a scarlet imperial jacket, adorned with gold, on top of a dark high-necked shirt of some kind. A blood-red cape sat across his shoulders and fell to the ground, golden epaulettes on either side.

The Demon Emperor Imperatoris-Daemonium raised his large ruby-red irises from the page before him to look up at Lucille. Then they began to glow with malevolent bloody light.

Lucy turned off her expression regulator as she stood up straight, her gloved hands held behind her back. Thoughts about the glow coming from his eyes ran through her head.

So… his eyes only glow when he wants to kill someone? Or he’s feeling some intense emotion of some kind? That’s a little… no, actually, that is very freaky.

Because his glowing eyes meant just the mere sight of seeing her in his presence triggered a powerful feeling of wrath in him.

Lucille bowed to the Demon Emperor. “As requested, I have come before the fifteenth. I hope my arrival doesn’t cause you any difficulty, Your Majesty.”

“You are standing before me,” he stated harshly. “That in itself is a difficulty for me. Don’t give me such ridiculous pleasantries, Goldcroft.”

She bowed again. “I apologise, Your Majesty.”

Her response only made him scowl. “Enough.” He pointed at one of the two couches in the room, positioned just like the ones in his study in the Aethereal Duchy. “Sit. I don’t want your constant gaze distracting me from my work.”

Lucy sat down, inwardly sighing. It seemed that arriving so early in the month only made his mood worse… not that she thought it would’ve been particularly better after then. Although, that reminded her of something else she planned to ask the Demon Emperor while there.

“Your Majesty, I know that meeting bi-annually was a clause in our contract,” she began, keeping her tone polite. “But I didn’t know the exact time of month was an alterable detail.”

“I expected that I would eventually be unavailable,” he replied indifferently, signing a form of some kind. “I arranged the contract so we had to meet in March and September, but the time was unspecified. If I failed to meet with you in the last week of September or March then the contract would’ve been broken.”

Lucy blinked. “Would a broken contract affect you too, Your Majesty?”

The look on his face when he glanced at her told her he didn’t think highly of her mental faculties. “Don’t be moronic.”

She prevented herself from sighing once more. As pleasant a person as always…

“Well then, Your Majesty,” she said with a cough. “Is there anything you would like to discuss with me?”

The Demon Emperor glared at her and Lucy nearly rolled her eyes. “What I meant to say was is there anything you intend to discuss with me.”

“Unfortunately.” He looked at the page he was reading with a frown and then placed it down. “Your little stunt last year with the Commission’s competition drew the Athenaeum’s attention, but with the discovery of the Ancient Dungeon, several Athenaeum clan nuisances have become interested in the flow of power within the Commission.”

She stared at him, slightly surprised that he was willing to inform her of that. She dipped her head. “Thank you for the warning, Your Majesty.”

“I gave you no such thing,” he responded coldly. “My motivations for telling you that were so you would do something to clean up your mess. I have enough to resolve in this timeline without solving your problems too.” He looked down, paused, and then looked back up at her. “Let me rescind my statement. This is a warning. A warning to deal with those nobles…” He narrowed his eyes. “Or I’ll personally deal with you.”

I’d like to see you try.

Lucy was glad she had turned off her expression regulator because if it was still on then she’d be struggling to suppress the twitching of an eyebrow. Something about the way the demon in front of her treated her so dismissively made her very irritated.

Luckily, she wasn’t so easy to anger and was prepared to wait a few more months before dragging the truth about the contract out from this demon. She wasn’t anything if not patient.

…still, the thought of putting up with him eight months out of twelve in a year made her feel a sense of despair.

“Could I please have a list of those who you deem ‘nuisances’?” she asked calmly.

“Tell Lilith to do it next time you meet,” he stated coolly.

I’m feeling a bit of pity for Lilith right now. Funny, I never thought I’d be feeling sorry for someone of her status, the one known to the realms as the Queen of Succubi.

“As you wish,” she replied. “Is there anything else you intend to discuss?”

He opened his mouth to reply when the doors opened behind Lucille. The Abyssal Duchess mentioned only moments before walked in, carrying a stack of documents.

“My apologies for interrupting you both. Your Majesty, here is the work that wasn’t completed this past week,” the demoness said, walking towards the Demon Emperor. “It’s been gathering dust while you’ve been asleep, so please complete it this time.”

Lucy watched with a slight bit of schadenfreude as he glared at Lilith and the pile in her arms, which then turned to an outright scowl as she placed them on his desk. The demoness didn’t seem fazed and ignored his expression as she bowed and left the room.

“What was that about sleep she mentioned, Your Majesty?” Lucy asked lightly.

“Nothing. Mind your own business.” He snatched the top document off the pile and scanned it, frowning. He let out a short sigh as he placed it back on top and glanced at Lucille. “I’ve been informed that you intend to attempt the first sabotage of a Malediction Society branch today. You need to know that several temporary allies of my Duchy’s forces will be in the vicinity of the branch you wish to destroy.”

She nodded, internally taking note of the way he referred to the Aethereal Duchy. “Then I suppose you wish for me to avoid affecting them when I attack the bran-”

“Quiet. I hadn’t finished,” he ordered coldly. He frowned at the page on the top of the pile again. “On the contrary, I want you to ensure they are dealt as much damage as possible. They’re an unpleasant lot, a borrowed force and loose ends need to be tied. While it wouldn’t affect me, a link to those forces could create additional difficulties in the future so-”

The Demon Emperor’s words trailed off as he glanced at a line on the page at the top of the pile once again and then took it. He furrowed his brows and then tapped his fingers against the desk. “…as I was saying, you need to eradicate them while you have the chance,” he continued, still distracted somewhat. “If a moral dilemma is what prevents you from doing so, then you do not need to care about them. In many respects they are just as bad as the society you aim to dest-”

The Demon Emperor stopped again to scowl at the document in his hand. He flipped it over to read the other side and then grabbed the next page on the pile to compare.

Lucille watched him cautiously, not sure what could be important enough for the demon in front of her to be reacting like that. “Your Majesty…?”

He ignored her, still scowling at the page. Lucy decided to remain silent in case she made him angry again.

…except as the minutes ticked by, he only looked more and more annoyed. Lucy didn’t think that would be good for her if it continued. “Your Majesty, is something the matter?”

“Be quiet,” he growled, not looking at her. “I don’t want to waste any air talking to you. Look for yourself to satisfy your curiosity, just so you’re not tempted to speak again.”

Lucille hesitated, considering what to do, and then awkwardly stood up from the couch. She slowly walked near his desk and stood slightly behind him to read the page.

“Strong evidence has been obtained that indicates the Heartflame Guild of the 3rd Major Kingdom has allied with a noble faction of the Kingdom to push out the Dark Tower’s wizards from a newly discovered unranked plane with many mines…” Lucy murmured, reciting what was written. She gazed wearily at the Demon Emperor. “And the reason why a Guild thinks they have the power to go against the Athenaeum’s wizards is?”

“They’re stupidly trusting in the backing of the Light Tower,” the demon stated blandly. “It’s the Citadel’s doing. You should be aware already that the Light Tower has long been a force with strong ties to those Fate distorters.” He glared at the page again.

So some half-witted Sage has decided that they need to reattempt spreading the unoriginal propaganda of ‘light good dark bad’ to up their status in the Institution.

Lucille pinched her nose bridge, already knowing that the reason why those nobles were against the dark wizards was that they were ignorant morons who thought their little plane was the most powerful thing since magic was discovered. They were likely greedy for the gemstones and precious metals in the mines too, so the ‘evil’ nature of the dark wizards meant they thought they had a justification for the act.

Lucy put a fist to her mouth and coughed. “Is this something related to the chaos of the cycle?”

He gave her a look, his eyes still glowing, but finally replied, “If the Guild hadn’t involved themselves, then they’d be able to benefit my plans at a later date. Now, they can only be crushed by the retaliation of the Dark Tower and the Light Tower will sit still after receiving that warning from the dark wizards.” He narrowed his eyes at the pile of documents. “The Dark Tower and Light Tower have always been at odds, but they restrict each other. I can’t have them interacting with each other before the Chapter.”

Whatever the Demon Emperor saw would happen with his Disorder essence, it clearly wasn’t good enough for him. Lucille nodded. “I see. Your Majesty, I have another question.”

He glared at her. “What.”

Lucy bowed slightly. “Do you plan to give this task to me?”

The Demon Emperor stared at her as if he had just witnessed a frog speak. “Give this task to you.”

Lucille blinked and straightened up when she heard his tone of voice. “Is handing it to me not the logical conclusion?”

A mildly incredulous and very, very disdainful expression appeared on his face as he continued staring at her. “What in the Origin Reality’s name has made you think I would ever think of you, let alone assign you a task?”

Lucy stared back, beginning to realise just how difficult it was to be around this demon.

I said he was being dismissive, but really. To not even think of the fact that I met him in this palace for the very purpose of doing this?

She suppressed a sigh again and peeled off the glove on her left hand to show him the mark. “Your Majesty, the demonic contract we signed was made for this reason. Excluding the fact that the System contract means I must follow your requests when it comes to maintaining the physical integrity and safety of the timeline, I came to the Daemonium Palace this time last year, purely to request you involve me in your plans for the cycle.” Lucille bowed again. “I believed that I was to collaborate with you when it comes to altering the time-”

“Shut up.” With a scowl on his face again, he looked between her hand and the information he held. Then, with an inhumanely swift and fluid movement, he threw it at her, nearly too quick for her to catch it. He propped his chin up on his arm as he narrowed his malevolent red eyes at her. “How would you resolve this.”

Quickly scanning it once more so she didn’t get any of the details wrong, she nodded to herself. “You told me that several All-Aeon Athenaeum nobility have become dangerously interested in the Aurelian Commission. If I leverage my control over the newly discovered Ancient Dungeon and its mineral resources, I’m sure the Dark Tower will be willing to negotiate.” She traced one of the lines with her finger. “Especially if the Commission permits them to choose the location for a new Wizard Tower in the plans for the Dungeon City. The Commission has already bought New Syna, after all.”

He continued staring at her for a few seconds, not blinking. “Do that then,” he stated sharply. With barely a movement of his hand, Lucille suddenly found herself sitting on the couch again, facing him. On the table in front of her was the report on the Heartflame Guild, blank pages, an inkwell, and a pen. She picked up the pen, prepared to begin writing out her plans for the Demon Emperor, but then he spoke again.

“Also…” He snapped his fingers and some of the pile of documents on his desk teleported onto her table. “Work on those too.”

She eyed the pile, held back a sigh, and lowered her head. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

When I said I’d help, I did not mean paperwork.

The black-haired demon proceeded to ignore her and continue his work, but Lucy narrowed her eyes at her pile and glanced between his and hers.

Also… did he just give me more than half of the stack?

She kept her complaints to herself and began working, speedily going through the workload even in the absence of her spiritual perception to instantly absorb the papers’ contents. Having gotten over her nerves once she could see that while angry, the Demon Emperor wasn’t going to kill her, Lucille found that the time she spent in his study was quite peaceful and uneventful.

That was… until the Demon Emperor raised his glowing eyes to glare at something invisible to her, hovering to his right.

_________________________________________________________________________

[Well, well, well! What do we have here? Is someone finally managing to get along?]

The Demon Emperor narrowed his eyes at the floating blue box, but whatever internal response he had was completely ignored by the voice that echoed in his head.

[All thanks to paperwork! Ah, the joys of finding a competent person to complete your paperwork for you! It breaks all barriers, doesn’t it? Even the scary Demon Emperor is willing to set aside his anger in return for gaining an efficient subordinate!]

The red-eyed demon scowled but the voice was, as usual, undeterred.

[Look at her, such neat handwriting and with such speed, too. She reminds me of someone. Someone else I know who is a master at paperwork. Who could it be, hm?]

The Demon Emperor gripped the edge of his desk.

[Could it be… you? Could it be that she’s just as good as you? Yes! No… wait!]

He pinched his nose bridge as the voice continued.

[Like hell she’s as good as you! She’s ten times better! She doesn’t waste her time sleeping all day, hoping that her aide won’t wake her – she’s up at the crack of dawn, getting things done! Unlike you, who avoids doing work with every fibre of your being, and an existence that doesn’t even need a physical body yet always manifests one just for the sake of sleeping! I swear, if something ever happens to you, your replacement Authorizer is going to be-]

_________________________________________________________________________

He's probably talking to… that.

Lucy shot the Demon Emperor a glance, but he was distracted, still looking at the notification he seemed to see. Not that he would be unaware she was watching him. While demonic power didn’t quite have the same deep-level analytical abilities that spiritual energy had, he was still capable of seeing on all sides of him.

And he was a ‘higher race’, a lifeform on a completely different level to her. Every single one of his motions, such as the strange pauses he made, or the exact and fluid movements when he wrote, were starkly different to any other person she had met and hinted at his appearance showing only a small part of what he truly was.

She had only met one other person like him, but… well, all of this was to say that what she saw him as would never be the truth. She knew that in his battle form, he had wings, too. Everything he did was slowed down and purposely shown so she could see him as an individual instead of some terrifying force of energy. Her lower race senses wouldn’t be able to detect his movements otherwise.

And that terrifying force of energy, who had mana so dense he could form a physical body at any moment he pleased, seemed to be talking to an even more terrifying thing.

I… really want to know what he’s discussing with that ent- I mean, with the…

She shook her head, trying to move on from her thoughts before she got killed or the Demon Emperor was told what she was thinking. The demon glanced at her when she moved but ignored her again.

Argh, I’m curious. Being able to have a one-on-one conversation with them… I should be focusing on this and getting out of here.

She sighed and got to work, attempting to distract herself from her curiosity. She still had more to do after she finished the work for the Demon Emperor and knew it would be a very, very long day.

…

“Here is my plan to resolve the issue of the Dark Tower and the Heartflame Guild. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to complete all of the other allocated paperwork, but as my tasks relating to the Malediction Society are waiting, I thought it might be best to request leave now,” Lucy said with a bow.

He frowned at the small pile of work remaining on her table but sighed and dismissed her with a wave. “Yes, get out. Good riddance.”

With one last bow, she briskly turned away and left his study. Standing outside was the Abyssal Duchess Lilith, waiting with several more documents in hand.

“Duchess Al’Abyssus,” Lucy began, bowing to the demoness. “I was told by His Majesty to ask you for a list of Athenaeum nobles becoming too interested in the Aurelian Commission.”

Lilith nodded. “I have the list for you here. His Majesty sent me to fetch it.” The demoness passed Lucy the page, who scanned it. “Also…” She studied Lucille. “I recall you saying this earlier as well, but… you’re calling me Duchess Al’Abyssus.”

“Ah… yes.” Lucille nodded. “If you would prefer that I didn’t then that’s fine, but considering we’re going to be seeing each other at least a few more times before the Millennium Chapter, it assumed it would be best to clarify things.” She gained a wry smirk. “Don’t worry, Duchess Al’Abyssus. Your position as His Majesty’s ‘special person’ is well and truly safe.”

Lilith gave her a long-suffering look before sighing and nodding. “Yes, I suppose that would be best. We’ll see each other again in six months then, Count Goldcroft.” She smirked coldly. “If you survive.”

Lucy shrugged. “I was able to survive meeting the Demon Emperor and managed to do it again today. I have no doubt I’ll be fine.” She bowed one last time. “Farewell, Duchess.”

Lilith eyed her as she walked away, but shook her head and headed inside the study. Lucille quickly made her way through the palace, not stopping to admire the décor or treasures on display. She made it to the bottom of the stairs, walked straight past the staring demon guards with a cheery wave, and headed straight for the Daemonium Palace Stronghold’s Obelisk.

She had once again survived meeting the Demon Emperor. Now that she had that on her resume, she doubted any Malediction Society member would ever compare.