Karem sat in his chair, sipping a glass of his favorite wine. He sensed another presence and smiled. "So you came back alive after all."
"Of course I did! I may be a kid, but I'm still a member of the jinn alliance! Have more faith in me, Karem!" This child was a short girl with a delicate frame; she wore the same clownish attire as did Hope and Alnoda Marsh, characteristic of those in the jinn alliance. Her hair was braided into long red pigtails.
Karem nodded. "Very well. I'll try to trust you more."
"Good! Oh, speaking of which, is demon emperor Lyra still at Tempestas or whatever the name was?"
"Yes, Dede," Karem grinned. "She seems to have taken quite a liking to the town. In fact, she's been living there this past month."
"Living there? What, did she fall in love with that sentinel or something?"
This made Karem chuckle. "Perhaps. Although if she did, she would have violated an old rule that the demon emperors have always followed and be revoked of her position."
"Would that even mean anything for her?' Dede shrugged. "Demon emperor Lyra's one of the oldest demon emperors and the most powerful. Although losing the title of a demon emperor means death, nobody's actually strong enough to give to Lyra. Anyway, I wonder what she's up to."
"Your guess is as good as mine. Even Lapas thinks they're something special about him. He says there's an eeriness, although I think he's overthinking it. That sentinel would stand no chance against me."
"Yeah, but Lapas is a cunning guy. If he thinks something is going on, then it'd be worth investigating it."
"Yes," Karem agreed. "We certainly need more information on the matter."
Dede shook her head. "But we can do that another day! Let's go back to what I found!"
"Sure, Dede. Give me your report."
"As it turns out, Lord Sun has no interest in what's going on in Silverlake."
"Oh, is that so? Even the sentinel?"
"Well, he did care, but something else was making him quake in his boots!"
"How amusing. Did you find out what that was?"
"I did, and you won't believe it! Sun was freaking out, saying Scylla was going to be revived," Dede whirled around, stopping when she was in front of Karem's desk.
The news shocked Karem. "Scylla..." It was the name of a monster said to be on par with a demon emperor. According to the legends, it was said to be the size of an entire country. An idea emerged in Karem's head, and it entertained him. He stood up from his chair. "Dede, I've got a new mission for you."
"Good! Hope said he was tagging along with me, and we're itching for a fight!"
"That's good to hear, but I would like you to avoid any conflict. I would actually like the two of you to revive Scylla. First, find the location of the seal that confines the beast. It should be..."
"Stop! I told you not to treat me like a kid, remember? I can find it on my own! Well, I'll see you later, Karem." Dede created a warp portal below her feet. As she left, Karem smiled at the bright full moon on display through his window. "Scylla...Lord Sun would be indebted to me, and he may prove to be quite useful."
Every so often, Gil would retreat to the hillside that showed what he thought to be a lovely view of his city. He enjoyed the serenity it offered him and the quiet bristling of the wind. However, today he was unable to find either. Maria and Alyyiah had replaced them instead.
But unlike previous times, Alyyiah and Maria did not bicker, and Gil was amazed to see how familiar they had gotten with each other. Alyyiah did not address Maria as "Lady," and Maria gave Alyyiah the nickname "Ally." They had become true friends, and it made Gil smile to see how happy the two were with each other.
Gil sat in between them, listening to the two girls talk about clothes, accessories, food, and all the other material goods now available in Tempesta's stores. Gil thought that Lyra's arrival would cause catastrophic problems, but the opposite was true. Many demons around Eastern Tenebris had come to trade or take residence, and all were amazed to see Lyra among the populace. There were now over two hundred thousand citizens, and more were to come. Gil never thought making a kingdom would be such a quick endeavor. He credited everything to Maria, for he saw her as Tempestas's true architect. The dazzling young vampire in nothing but a plain white dress surprised him yet again.
Alyyiah held up a box. "Lord Gil, are you hungry? If you are, I have some food for you."
"Sure. Thank you, Alyyiah." Gil opened the box to find pasta, splattered with rich-red sauce and meatballs. "Yum! Your food's as good as ever, Alyyiah."
"Thank you, Lord Gil." Maria nodded. "How'd you learn to cook so well? Even I can't keep up with you."
"I appreciate the compliment, Maria, but I just copied my mother. Her cooking is the real deal."
"Is that right? Well, it seems we should ask Tiffany to prepare food for everyone for dinner, right, Gil?"
"Yeah. I bet it would boost everyone's morale. We've had to endure Holly's cooking for the last two days." Alyyiah bowed. "Forgive me, my Lords. I know you entrusted me to improve her cooking, but..."
"It's not possible?" Maria asked. Alyyiah nodded. "Luckily, I've managed to convince Holly to stop cooking. Thanks to Lady Maria, she should be too occupied as a secretary to think about making dinner again."
Gil raised an eyebrow as he faced Maria. "Weren't you the one who objected to Holly becoming a secretary? Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Well, it's a much better alternative than to deal with her food. Besides, it turned out Holly was actually suited for the job, and Alyyiah will be helping her. She's still your bodyguard, by the way."
"What about Andromeda?"
"She was always swamped with work, and so I thought making her a consul would ease some of the load off her shoulders. She'll be representing our country in international meetings and negotiations from now on."
"That sounds like you gave her more work to do."
"More stressful work, but it's not like we interact with other nations every day. She most likely will be doing her job only once every few weeks, and she'll have the rest of the time to herself unless you want to count signing and reading documents."
"That's good to hear." What was not good to hear was an explosion that rocked the ground Gil sat on. Brown gas rose from the air, in the center of Tempestas. "I wonder what happened this time."
"I have a feeling it was Lyra," Maria sighed. Alyyiah nodded. "Yes. Lady Lyra has a knack for causing a fuss."
Jaco teleported next to Gil. "What happened?"
"A trio of demons claiming to be demon emperor Carrius's servants have come to our town. They say they have come to bring this town under Carrius's control, and when Hagas declined, their leader punched him. It made Lady Lyra very angry, and the result of that was the explosion you witnessed," Jaco bowed.
"I see." When Gil came to the scene, he found Hagas squirming on the ground, who immediately sat up after seeing him. "Oh, Lord Gil!"
Gil, Maria, and Alyyiah were unsettled by the sight of Hagas's face; half of its skin was ripped off, and the three could see bones. "Do not worry, my lords," the old leprechaun painfully smiled. "For this is nothing more than a mere scratch!"
"Like hell it is!" Gil smacked a potion on Hagas's face as he trotted forward, seeing Lyra holding an unconscious man by his throat; he had spiky black hair, black armor, and tan skin. There were two dark-skinned women next to him, who looked so identical that Gil thought they were twins. But before he could deal with them, he had to reprimand Lyra for "not being on her best behavior."
Lyra ran to Gil happily. "Hey, look, this bad guy was stirring up trouble, so I taught him a lesson with my fist!" Gil questioned if she understood the magnitude of her actions. Attacking a demon emperor's envoys were tantamount to an insult. But since Lyra was the one who did it, Gil could just put the blame on her, although he would do it behind her back. Even if Carrius was a demon emperor, it was unlikely he'd fight against Lyra. "Lyra, remember when you promised to be on your best behavior?"
"Yeah, but this guy wanted to attack your city, so it's all good!"
"No, it's bad."
"What? But-"
"Although you do have a point that he rudely attacked us, especially Hagas. So, I'll be lenient in return and only have Maria and Alyyiah take your lunch away."
Tears flowed down from Lyra's cheeks. "You...big meanie!" She grabbed the same man again. "This is all your fault, you stupid piece of crap! I lost my lunch because of you, so might as well die!" Maria amended Gil's decision. If Lyra calmed down, she would get her lunch back, to which the demon emperor hastily agreed.
As Lyra happily ate the sandwiches Alyyiah made, everyone gathered at the royal court and sat in the assembly room. Maria and Gil sat at the head of the table while the Onis stood behind them. "Why have you come here?" Maria asked. "Why has Lord Carrius asked for our town to join his domain?"
The spiky-haired man, named Leonard, scoffed. "As if I have to answer to a demon who's sold herself to a sentinel. As a vampire, your kind must be severely disappointed."
"One, my kin don't know I'm still alive, and two, I'd much rather be here," Maria smiled at Gil. "It's way livelier here than at Bloodbound. Anyway, while it's true that I've acknowledged Gil here as my Lord, I'm his best friend and second in command, forwarding his will in half of Silverlake."
"Oh, so your Lord's spoiled you too."
"Of course not," Gil scowled. "Maria did everything on her own. Her status as my second-in-command was decided solely on her ability." After calming Lyra down, he continued. "Are you going to answer the question or not?"
"Hmph. As if I, the commander of Lord Carrius's vanguard, would tell a repugnant sentinel anything." Now, Maria, Alyyiah, and the Onis glared, and Leonard softened his gaze slightly, but his attitude remained. "Why the hell do you guys accept one of them as your ruler?"
"You can be as rebellious as you want," Gil sighed. "Do realize that everyone in this room on my side is stronger than you."
"Pfft, as if. It seems being under the protection of a demon emperor has given you a big head." He shut up when he felt Lyra's aura flare up in rage. "Lyra, relax," Gil waved his hand. "Unless you want to lose your lunch again." Lyra stuffed a sandwich into her mouth as if nothing had ever happened. He turned back to Leonard. "I'm going to ask this one last time: are you going to give me an answer?"
"Alright, fine. We came to this stupid town because Lord Carrius commanded us to."
"Why so?"
"He wants us to make all the inhabitants here serve under him, especially you."
"So it seems I have fans," Gil thought. "Isn't that just great?" He telepathically communicated with Maria. "We've met two demon emperors already and are on track to meet a third. The whole battle with the Goblin Lord has spread far and wide, hasn't it?"
"Yes, Gil. It's become public knowledge, and rumors and gossip have spread wildly about you. Everyone's aware that a new power has emerged in the forest of Silverlake, and a sentinel is responsible."
"There's no mention of you?"
"Oh, there certainly is. But as I said, it's nothing but idle chatter. More importantly, let's wrap these talks up. We have to ask Lyra if she knows what the other demon emperors are up to."
"Alright, got it."
Maria blushed furiously as the rumors came to the forefront of her mind. Wild tales of a promiscuous vampire seducing a sentinel and making him a submissive slave. She had ordered Jaco to go around, saying he witnessed the great battle, but he did not see any vampire. It would be problematic if Bloodbound of all nations came here to investigate those rumors, especially now when Tempestas was getting entangled with multiple demon emperors. Yet, those rumors did entertain her. While she had no desire to make Gil a "slave," she did wish to take him for herself and have him submit to her. Socially, vampires bit their significant other to indicate their relationship. After consummating their marriage, they took turns dominating each other in bed as a way to show their love. Maria found it so frustrating to restrain herself after spending night after night in the same bed as Gil. She yearned for him so much...
Alyyiah grabbed Maria's shoulder, jolting her back into reality. "Lady Maria, your face is redder and hotter than lava. Do you not feel well?"
"N-n-n-no, I'm fine!" Maria shook her head. She told herself to save the fantasizing for later. "Anyway, where were we?"
"Your face is really red," Gil observed. "Are you sure you're alright, Maria?"
"Yes, don't worry about it! Anyway, where were we?"
"Leonard here is still telling us to yield to demon emperor Carrius. How should we respond?" Maria regained her composure and faced Leonard. "Sorry, but we respectfully decline. We have no desire to become servants of Lord Carrius. However, if your master is willing to meet with us, we can settle on a date and discuss terms then. Other than that, you're free to go." Leonard was startled by Maria's lenience, as was everyone around her, except for Gil.
"Are you sure, Lady Maria?" Alyyiah asked. "He attacked us and injured Hagas."
"It's not like I'm letting him go scot-free. I planned on making him pay a fine."
"Hey!" Leonard protested. "You think I'm gonna..." Lyra's flaring aura shut him up yet again. "Alright, fine. How much?"
"A hundred gold coins." Leonard tossed Maria a small pouch, which she put into her pocket. "Thank now. You can leave now." Leonard grouchily got up from his chair and gave Lyra one last hateful look before leaving.
"Now that that's all settled..." Maria stood in front of Lyra. "Mind telling us what's going on?" Lyra scratched her head. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. Three demon emperors already know about Gil and me. I suppose there was nothing we could hide from Sun, but you and now Carrius? Judging by the timing, there's no way this is a coincidence. A week after you came, Carrius sent his subordinates here today. How many demon emperors are aware of us, and how many plan to do something?"
"But I can't say anything! We promised to keep things a secret!" Maria rolled her eyes. Lyra's answer implicitly answered her questions with a firm "yes." Maria sat next to Lyra and took her arm. "Lyra, why are you hiding things from me? Aren't we friends? Don't you trust me?"
"But...I made a promise."
"If you tell us, I'll have Klain make you a cool weapon!" Gil wagged his thumb up. "Do we have a deal or not?"
"Yeah! I'll tell you everything!" Maria smirked, and Gil sighed. They were amazed by how gullible Lyra was.
Leonard and the two women with him set up camp near the city. Leonard soured as he ate his marshmallows. "Damm, that dragon! Does she think she can make a mockery of me? I get one back on her!"
"You know that's not possible," the older woman, named Teressa, said. "You can't beat a demon emperor."
"Shut up! I know that!" Leonard chewed another marshmallow. "You know... looking in hindsight, I really regret my actions," he lamented. "I thought of them as lowly demons, as pathetic imbeciles who let their dignity be taken by a sentinel. But the truth is that pulsar's kingdom is much more prosperous than ours is. They have things even we lack."
Teressa nodded. "That's true. In fact, I would have loved to establish diplomatic ties with them. We could have had a lot to gain."
"Yeah, but thanks to my temperament, that won't be happening. There's no way they'll trust us again. Even ignoring the matter with Lyra, I bungled everything up. But my pride won't let me go empty-handed. If anything, I have to get my revenge on Lyra."
The other girl, Triste, repeated her sister's words. "You know that's not possible. You'll get crushed like everyone else that challenges her. Even Lord Carrius wouldn't dare it."
"Shut up! Lord Carrius wouldn't get his ass kicked! Truth is, I'm just t
too weak."
"Oh, is that so?" Hope and Dede appeared from the bushes. Hope giggled. "I suppose it must feel so frustrating to be so...utterly frustrated."
"Indeed!" Dede spun around Leonard. "But alas, where there's a will, there's a way!" Leonard drew his sword. "Who are you? I have no time to play with clowns!" Leonard flung it out of his hands. "Now, now, don't you know it's not kind to point a sword to someone you've just met?"
"Who are you?" Leonard was shocked by their speed. He had not time to react at all. "What do you want?"
"Why, quite simple," Dede curtseyed. "We know a way you could beat demon emperor Lyra in a fight."
"You do?"
"Yes. Have you heard of the demon called Scylla?"
"You mean the one with the power to rival a demon emperor?"
Hope nodded. "Yes, precisely that. Right now, the monster's soul is sealed, unable to escape."
"Don't be ridiculous! If I freed that beast, it would destroy everything in its wake! Lord Carrius would never forgive me!"
"But what if you could control Scylla?"
"What?"
"If you could keep the seal yet harness its power, you could beat Lady Lyra."
"Although this has never been tested before," Dede chimed in. "Feel free to be the first to try!"
"How am I supposed to trust you."
"You want to get revenge, right? Well, other than this, what could you do to harm Lady Lyra?"
"Tch. Fine, you've got a deal. Show me where the seal is." Teressa and Triste stopped him. "Don't go! It's likely a trap!" Leonard brushed them off and followed Hope and Dede to an underground cave. "Is this where Scylla is?"
"Yes, it is," Hope answered. "You want that overwhelming power, do you not?" Leonard pondered on whether he was being fed a lie. Hesitantly, he walked inside, his desires compelling him to unconscious action. He started to smile, and it grew into a grin. "Just you want, demon emperor Lyra."
Dede giggled. "He's exactly like Lord Carrius, don't you think?"
Hope nodded. "All brawn and no brain." The clowns laughed as they left Leonard inside the cave, where he would be devoured by Scylla.