"You...!" Azriel's anger surged as he grabbed the cloaked figure lifting them off the ground. His growl resonated with barely contained fury.
To his surprise, the figure under the cloak began to laugh hysterically. The laughter was incongruent with the current situation, hanging in the air as a mark of their disregard for Azriel's wrath. "So this is where you were, Wrath," the figure taunted through their laughter.
"What did you do?" Azriel demanded, his voice rough with anger, the veins in his neck standing out as he spoke.
"What did I do? Nothing...?" the cloaked figure, still laughing, pulled down their hood, revealing their identity. It was Sophia, one of the demon generals. But Azriel's focus was not on her identity. He could care less about who the person in his grasp was.
"But I think I might know," Sophia continued, her voice taking on a sly, knowing tone. Her lips curled into a devilish smile.
Sophia, still held in Azriel's unyielding grasp, continued to speak with a disturbing blend of amusement and revelation. "Gods, goddesses, divine beings. They are beings that can't intervene in the mortal world," she explained. "They can, but they will be met with severe punishment."
Azriel's grip tightened as he processed her words. "Then are you saying..."
"That's right...! It was fate for the elven queen to die! But the shitty divine being over there intervened," Sophia interrupted with a manic laugh. Her laughter was laced with a sense of triumph and mischief. "I never expected a divine being to be in the mortal plane."
The atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically as a death-threatening aura emanated from behind Azriel. It was a sensation so intense and foreboding that it sent shivers down everyone's spine.
Almace, the source of this aura, stood there, tears streaming down her face. Her expression was one of pain masked by a smile. The words Sophia had been speaking seemed to have no impact on her; it was as if she was lost in her own world of grief and anger.
The root of Almace's anguish was clear: the severance of the soul bond between her and Lilith. This bond, deep and sacred, had been abruptly and devastatingly broken, leaving her reeling in shock and loss.
In her grief-stricken state, Almace's thoughts were consumed by a singular notion, a focused and raw emotion. 'If this bitch didn't appear... if this bitch was never born...' These thoughts echoed relentlessly in her mind.
"If my master isn't alive, then there's no reason for me to live," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes, filled with pain, then locked onto Sophia. "But before that, I will bring pain upon your very soul," she declared.
"Stop...!" Almace shouted.
"Don't try to stop me!" Almace retorted.
Azriel then turned to Sophia, his red eyes still glowing with an intense hostility. "Leave," he commanded.
Sophia, taken aback by the turn of events, raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You're letting me go?" she asked, unsure of Azriel's intentions.
Azriel is known among humans as the sin of Wrath. He wasn't someone who would let this go so easily.
"Don't make me say it again," Azriel warned, his voice strained as if he was fighting to keep his wrath in check. The unspoken threat behind his words was clear – he was on the edge of unleashing his full wrath, and Sophia's departure was the only thing that might prevent a catastrophic outburst.
"Tch..!" Sophia's face contorted with frustration as she realized her situation. Being forced to heed Azriel's command was a bitter pill to swallow, especially for a demon of her stature. Yet, she understood that compliance was her only option for survival.
With a sound of disdain, she swiftly transformed into a black mist, a demonstration of her demonic abilities, leaving behind a tense atmosphere.
The sudden departure of her target left Almace with a void where her burning desire for revenge had just been. Her fighting spirit, which had been fueled by intense emotions of grief and vengeance, abruptly faded. Overwhelmed by the loss of Lilith and the subsequent events, Almace's strength gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.
...
"So that's why I disappeared then..." Lilith muttered as she listened to Veda's explanation.
Lilith found herself in a different situation than what those at the banquet might have imagined. Contrary to the belief of her friends and companions that she had disappeared or met a dire fate, she was actually quite safe.
Resting on the still grass in her part's backyard, Lilith took a moment to gather her thoughts.
Lilith gazed at the blue screen that appeared before her. The screen displayed a clear message:
[All skills locked.] [Skills unlock in 167:58:34]
<
"It's fine. I also didn't think that Galena's death was supposed to be fate," Lilith responded. "But I do hope they aren't worrying about me too much," she added.
"But how will I know what is fate and what isn't?" Lilith asked.
<
'Is it when time slowed down...?' Lilith thought to herself as she didn't remember doing anything that would cause time to slow down.
"Then is there any way to change fate without suffering the consequences.?"
<
"Hmmm... I guess that makes sense." Lilith muttered.
At that moment Lilith was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected voice. She looked up, a hint of surprise on her face, as her mother, Lisa, walked out into the backyard. Lisa was carrying blankets to hang them up to dry.
"Ah..." Lilith murmured softly, her eyes fixed on her mother. Lisa, in turn, looked back at her daughter, her expression one of confusion.
The silence stretched between them before Lilith finally made a move. In a swift and somewhat unexpected decision, she got up and effortlessly jumped over the fence, leaving the backyard and her puzzled mother behind.
"Why was there such a pretty lady in my backyard?" Lisa wondered aloud to herself. She continued to flap the wet blankets, her mind preoccupied with the fleeting image of Lilith in her elegant attire. "That dress looked expensive..." she noted.
"Such a bad timing." Lilith shook her head with a hand on her head, walking down the empty street.
"Nothing bad will happen to my sister, right?" Ragnarok suddenly asked, her tone laced with worry.
"Yeah. Nothing bad will happen." Lilith reassured her confidently. "But that being said, seeing you always fight with Almace, it's refreshing to see that you had a soft side for Almace, haha. It's quite cute."
Ragnarok, slightly embarrassed by the comment, responded defensively yet affectionately, "What are you saying?! Of course, I do... it's my sister...!"
"But What do you plan to do now... master?" Harpe asked clearly shaken up by the recent event.
"Well I don't want to pretend to be an infant in a crib for a whole week, nor do I want to waste any of my time," Lilith spoke.
"Does that mean...?" Both Harpe and Ragnarok spoke in unison.
"It's time to make money...!"
...
In the Demon King's office, a tense exchange was taking place. Sophia was knelt on the ground facing the Demon King, who looking through some paperwork.
"I did say to deal with them..." the Demon King remarked, setting aside some paperwork with a hint of displeasure in his voice. "But I don't remember telling you failure was an option."
Sophia, clearly chastened, responded without raising her gaze from the floor. "My deepest apologies...!" she exclaimed. "But our plans have not been leaked."
"I'm sure that's true,"
Seizing the opportunity Sophia then added, "Yes, and I have found the whereabouts of Ezekiel."
The Demon King, however, seemed less impressed. "What's the point in knowing where that guy is," he questioned, his tone indicating a lack of interest.
Sophia continued, "He's residing in the elven nation, along with the master he is serving."
"A master?" The demon king's voice raised with surprise.
"Yes, I believe that his master is a divine being," Sophia affirmed.
A prolonged silence followed her statement, thick with a weird tension. Sophia, feeling the weight of the moment, dared to look up at the Demon King.
"This is interesting..." the Demon King finally commented
Sophia, however, seemed perplexed and agitated by his response. "What?" she exclaimed, her expression a mix of confusion and shock. "Is that it? That guy is now a traitor!" Her frustration was evident, as she expected a more decisive reaction from the Demon King.
"He's never done anything that would harm the demon," the Demon King pointed out.
"But he's now a faithful servant of a divine being. For all that we know, it would only take one order for him to start massacring our kind! He should be labeled as a traitor and be killed!" Sophia argued
The Demon King pondered over Sophia's words, weighing the situation carefully. After a moment, he sighed and stood up from his seat. "I see," he said. "Then from this moment onward, the demon general Ezekiel will be banished from the underworld!" he declared.
As Sophia exited the Demon King's office, her mind was filled with dark thoughts. She harbored a deep resentment, which was evident in the sinister smile that crept onto her face. 'Ezekiel, you bastard... I'll make sure you regret looking down on me...' she swore to herself.
Meanwhile, Vaeloria had been discreetly eavesdropping on the conversation from just outside the office. Concealed behind a support beam, she had heard every word that came out of that office.
"Divine being? Traitor? You little brat!" she muttered under her breath.