King Ditun sat on his enormous throne, his gaze fixed on the three elders, draped with white satin wrapped from their shoulders reaching their knees.
The three elderly men stared at him with troubled eyes. "We are not certain about the cause," one of the elders said.
"I think it is getting worse." Another elder nodded, "I fear it is a plague, my king, but it has not spread far enough for the people to be aware. Sooner or later, it will spread."
Ditun sighed, rubbing the lines on his head. What in the world was Lucifer playing at? He knew it was the devil's doing; he would gradually start destroying the humans until he bowed to him.
That was something Ditun refused to do - bow to that devil and turn to evil, just like Makila and Maximum, who were his minions. Lucifer would not only stop at casting a plague on the humans; he would do more, he feared.
"How many are affected?" he asked. He would have to see how dire the situation was before taking action.
"Three so far, my King. They have sore wounds all over them," one of the elders replied.
"Bring them to me tomorrow before sunrise; I will see to it."
"Very well," the elders bowed, a sigh of relief escaping their lips. It would be better if this plague were stopped before it affects more people at the forthcoming festival.
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"A plague," Ditun growled, throwing a fine exquisite black marble vase that came crashing onto the hard floor. "How dare that devil."
"Easy," Maximum sighed, leaning against the wall. The devil minion had a fitted satin golden cloth clinging to his body, his hair long, black, and silky, falling past his shoulders. His jawline was perfectly curved, his black eyes always seeming slippery.
Maximum wouldn't have bothered about him, but Ditun has been a good companion of his. He had tried to convince the king to be on their side, but Ditun was just too stubborn.
"All you have to do is to be Lucifer's follower," Maximum shrugged, walking towards a nearby couch, unbothered by Ditun's outburst. "You are a devil yourself," he reminded, eyes narrowed at him. "You cannot escape that, Ditun."
"I came here for you to remind me of that?" Ditun yelled at him.
Maximum and Makita were very good followers of Lucifer, as were the other minions. They went all out doing the work he had assigned them.
"You are being a rebel," Maximum said boldly. "I keep telling you, Lucifer will get you one way or another."
Ditun sighed, plopping on the sofa opposite Maximum. He was right; it is difficult to escape Lucifer, but he would rather live wretchedly than serve Lucifer. "There must be another way."
Maximum let out a serious laugh, watching his companion with amusement. "This is who we are, devils. There is no escaping."
His face suddenly turned serious as he cocked his head. "Do not make this difficult for yourself and the little humans you have gathered forming a kingdom. Chaos will only befall you if you keep refusing."
"I cannot just be doing evil," Ditun gritted his teeth, all the while his mind thinking of ways to stop Lucifer.
Maximum leaned back. "It is who we are, we cannot change that. We are demons; evil is who we are."
Ditun shook his head, his gaze traveled to the round window that almost looked like an oasis at the end of the room.
Light from outside poured in, bathing Maximum's neat space. Flower verses were almost growing everywhere, with stacks of stone tablets lined up on a table representing every demon's work on Earth.
Each tablet would vanish after every task; it is something he had never done before. The ones at his place will remain there with him untouched.
"A plague is only but a little deal for Lucifer," Maximum shook his head, now taking a tobacco pipe, sulking deeply, creating hollows on both cheeks before exhaling.
"The humans have quite fascinating things," he mused, staring at the tobacco with intrigue. Without his gaze traveling up, he spoke, "Lucifer will come for your human bride if you do not heed his words." He smoked the tobacco pipe again, his gaze now fixed on Ditun, who had his mask off.
The demon king had two blood-red horns on his temples that added to his fearsome appearance. His face was often set in a frown, with deep brown eyes that exuded intimidation.
Ditun grimaced, his eyes narrowing at Maximum. "Which is why I need your help. I need you to do something to stop all of his advances."
"Me?" Maximum laughed. "Do you think I can stop him?"
"Perhaps," Ditun shrugged. "You are his favorite minion after all."
"Lucifer has no favorite," a female voice interjected, causing Ditun and Maximum to sigh.
Maximum turned to the red-haired demon walking slowly towards them, her hips moving with ease from left to right. "Hello," she waved.
"I told you," Maximum drawled lazily, his eyes sweeping over Makita from head to toe, "Not to enter my home without my permission."
"Well," Makila plopped next to him, leaning closer. "We have a companion. Why did you not invite me?"
Ditun cleared his throat, uninterested in their argument. "You need to help me, the both of you"
Maximum rolled his eyes at him. Clearly, the king was not listening to him.
"Sure we can," Makita smiled, then raised her hand, and a stone tablet soon appeared, gleaming under the sun. "Here, Lucifer has an assignment for you."
"Ditun glared at her. "I told you, I will not be one of his minions."
"Argh," Maximum clicked his tongue, "Perhaps you are his favorite. Despite proving stubborn all these years, Lucifer still has given you power and riches. You should be more grateful, Ditun."
Ditun growled, shooting glares at Maximum. Lucifer only gave him half of his riches; the rest, including his power, were something he acquired all by himself. "Do not call me Ditun again."
Maximum shook his head. "I heard your human wife now calls you Di." He almost let out a laugh but Makita nudged him, causing him to frown at her.
"Ditun," Makita called, completely ignoring his warning by not using his name, "Lucifer has an assignment for you. You must take it, for a plague is not the only disaster that will befall you. He knows about your wife. Do this for her safety."