In the Main Hall of the Demon King's Palace, Lilith sat regally upon her throne. One hand rested casually against her cheek, while the other lay draped over the armrest.
Her expression was calm and lazy, yet when her blood-red eyes looked down, they carried a heart-stopping pressure.
Veen and Luya stood slightly behind her, flanking the throne on either side.
Veen remained expressionless as he watched the crowd below.
Luya, on the other hand, looked somewhat... uneasy. She tried her best to maintain a serious expression, but her eyes kept drifting involuntarily toward the corner of the hall.
Below the platform, the once-empty hall was now packed with all manner of demons.
Without exception, every one of them radiated powerful magic fluctuations. The weakest among them were at Rank 6, while many were at Rank 8, and a select few seemed to have even touched the threshold of what lay beyond Rank 9.
These were all figures of consequence in the Demon Realm. Once they received an emergency summons from the Demon King, no matter who they were, what they were doing, or how reluctant they felt, they were required to arrive within the allotted time.
Currently, the hall was in absolute silence.
Every gaze was focused on the figure atop the throne.
An hour later, the last few figures hurried in, quietly blending into the back of the crowd.
Lilith’s gaze slowly swept across the sea of black below.
As her eyes passed over them, every demon, regardless of their strength, subconsciously stiffened and lowered their heads, not daring to meet her gaze.
“You all arrived quite quickly,” Lilith spoke.
A scattered chorus of responses immediately rose from below: “Greetings, Your Majesty!” “Welcome back, Your Majesty!”
Lilith gave a soft “Mm” in acknowledgment of the greeting.
She lowered her hand from her cheek and leaned forward slightly.
“I imagine you are all quite confused as to why I’ve called this emergency meeting today.”
The crowd nodded in unison, their faces displaying appropriate amounts of confusion and attentiveness. Of course, it was impossible to tell how many were genuinely confused and how many were simply playing dumb.
“I won’t beat around the bush.” Lilith’s gaze swept the room again. “Do you know Orosius, the First of the Four Calamities?”
The question was followed by a brief silence in the hall.
Orosius.
In the Demon Realm, especially among high-ranking demons, that name carried an extremely complex weight.
He was a symbol of power, a synonym for destruction, and a follower of the overlord of the old era.
After the brief silence, scattered but firm responses rose from below: “We know.” “We’ve heard of him.” “The head of the Calamities, his fame is legendary.”
Lilith nodded, seemingly unsurprised by the answers. She suddenly turned her head toward Veen.
Veen understood immediately. He stepped forward half a pace, bowed slightly, and leaned in.
Lilith spoke quickly in a voice only the two of them could hear: “Watch closely to see who has the strongest reaction. Then, conduct a private investigation into what influence Orosius still has in the Demon Realm and who is connected to him, even if only slightly...”
“Execute them all.”
A flash of surprise crossed Veen’s eyes, but it vanished instantly. He nodded slightly. “As you command, Your Majesty.”
He stepped back to his original position and said no more.
Lilith slowly turned back to face the crowd below.
“Well then,”
Lilith smiled and clapped her hands. The crisp sound echoed through the silent hall. “Next, let us invite an important guest. Perhaps he can help us clear up some confusion.”
The hall doors were pushed open once again.
Two high-ranking demons entered, escorting a figure between them.
When the crowd saw the face of the prisoner, a wave of muffled gasps and whispers instantly broke out!
“Derrick?!”
“Samael’s adjutant?!”
“Why is he here? And why is he being restrained? Where is Samael?”
Derrick’s face was deathly pale and his eyes darted about; he looked completely wretched. He was dragged to the center of the hall and forced to his knees.
Lilith looked down at him from above.
“Derrick. Point out everyone you know who is connected to Orosius, as well as those who, like Samael, attempted to make secret moves outside the Demon Realm... Point them all out.”
She paused for a moment, her tone carrying a hint of demonic temptation:
“Point them out, and your life will be spared.”
Derrick’s body began to tremble violently. He lifted his head and looked at the crowd, feeling countless gazes landing upon him.
He knew he had become a discarded pawn, a tool for Her Majesty to assert her authority.
To identify them would offend a large group of powerful figures, making it impossible for him to survive in the Demon Realm in the future; but to not identify them meant dying right now.
The instinct for survival ultimately overrode everything else.
With a trembling hand, he pointed in several directions within the crowd.
He quickly pointed out seven or eight people—nobles, officers, and merchants. With every person he identified, the target’s face turned a shade whiter.
“This is a frame-up! Your Majesty!”
A fat merchant who had been pointed out collapsed to his knees, tears and snot streaming down his face. “Derrick is lying! I don’t even know a Samael! I am completely loyal to Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty, please see the truth! This is slander!” An armored general also dropped to one knee, his voice booming in an attempt to use his presence to intimidate.
However, their pleas came to an abrupt halt.
Lilith lightly lifted a finger.
The next second—
The seven or eight demons who had been identified were engulfed by countless sharp slashes. In the blink of an eye, their bodies were sliced into fragments.
The hall fell into a pin-drop silence.
The demons looked at the piles of still-warm meat, and the last shred of hope in their hearts vanished completely.
Lilith’s gaze fell back upon the slumped Derrick.
“Any more?”
Derrick shook his head frantically, his voice cracking. “N-No more! Your Majesty! I’ve told you everything I know! Truly, no more!”
Lilith watched him for a few seconds before waving her hand.
“Go then.”
Hearing this, Derrick scrambled to his feet and ran toward the exit of the hall.
Having dealt with the traitors, Lilith’s gaze swept over the remaining demons, who were as silent as cicadas in winter.
“Alright, that concludes the interlude.”
Lilith’s voice rang out again, breaking the suffocating silence. “Now, I shall announce my first order—which is also currently my only order.”
She stood up, looking down at the gathered demons.
“All demons, regardless of status or affiliation, hear my command.”
“From this moment forward, without my explicit permission, no demon may initiate war against any race or any power. Those who violate this order...”
“Shall die!”
“...”
After a brief silence, the crowd below instantly erupted!
“Your Majesty! You must not!!”
A burly demon general with a face full of scars took a sudden step forward. “Demons are born for battle and raised for conquest! Stopping the wars is equivalent to strangling our race's future! If this order is issued, morale will crumble! Where will our dignity go?!”
“Indeed, Your Majesty! Other races are watching us like tigers. If our race shows weakness, it will surely invite an invasion!”
“Plundering resources is our way of life! Your Majesty, please reconsider!”
“This order goes against the very nature of demons! We cannot obey!”
The waves of opposition grew louder and louder, with many demons showing expressions of fury.
Concepts formed over such a long time were not easily changed.
Lilith watched the commotion below silently, her face devoid of expression.
The Commander of the Blood Axe Legion, the one who had spoken first, was the most agitated: “...Your Majesty! You have only just ascended the throne; perhaps you do not understand our traditions! Such an outrageous decree, I simply cannot—”
His voice stopped abruptly.
Pfft.
A thick arm was severed at the shoulder and fell to the ground with a dull thud.
The excitement and anger on the face of the Blood Axe Commander were instantly replaced by agony. He stumbled back a step, staring down at his empty left shoulder.
Lilith had, at some point, sat back down on her throne, once again resting her cheek on her hand.
She tilted her head slightly, looking at the commander clutching his severed arm.
“What? You have an objection?”
Every voice of opposition caught in their throats.
“Y-Your Majesty, please forgive me!” He dropped to his knees, his voice trembling from blood loss and terror. “I... I dare not have an objection! I... I obey! I shall follow Your Majesty’s decree!”
As he spoke, he used his remaining right hand to desperately press down on the spurting wound, large beads of sweat rolling off his forehead.
The demons who had been fiercely opposing her moments ago now felt as if they were being strangled by the neck.
Looking at the wretched state of the Blood Axe Commander, they finally understood one thing clearly.
The Demon King was not negotiating with them.
Lilith’s gaze slowly swept over the face of every demon below.
“Good.” She finally nodded, appearing somewhat satisfied with the scene.
“The order takes effect immediately. Spread the word to every territory and every legion in the Demon Realm. If anyone defies it...”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.
“Dismissed.”
She waved her hand.
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