Right after Creed left with Lilith, Charlotte, along with her maid, headed towards the Walpurgis with a disgusted look on her face. It was as if she had no expectation of a reply from the beginning.
Athena, with nothing coming to mind at the time, decided to follow along.
The Storm Pavilion where the Walpurgis was held was nothing short of majestic, comparable even to the Berserk Pavilion where the Demon God resided. The long pillars, which measured up to almost 200 meters, made it the fanciest pavilion I had ever seen after the Berserk Pavilion.
The entire path, from the entrance of the Storm Pavilion to the hall where the Walpurgis was held, was filled with the disgusted and disappointed looks of everyone whose gaze discovered me.
Athena, ignoring the gazes of everyone, decided to head straight to my seat, which was fairly majestic considering the things this body had done in the past.
*MC's POV*
Just as I arrived in front of the stairs leading to my seat, a pair of twins with an aura comparable to Charlotte's stopped me with huge grins on their faces. They were the offspring of the third highest-ranked demon lord, Beelzebub.
"What do we have here? His highness, the first prince Athena himself, has graced us with his presence."
As soon as my name was mentioned, the gazes of all present in the hall turned towards me. Among them, one particular person's bloodlust filled the entire hall. It was none other than demon lord Asura. His eyes, filled with bloodlust, were enough to send shivers down my spine.
Amid all the chaos, a loud voice echoed throughout the entire hall,
"The lordship, Demon God Asmodeus, is entering the hall!"
With just a few words from the announcer, the entire hall became as silent as a barren land. The bloodlust directed towards me also disappeared as Asura, along with everyone else, bowed down to the presence of my father. Demons are beings with endless pride, but even then, every single presence, including the demon lords, bowed down in front of my father. This scene was enough to show the power difference between the others and Asmodeus.
As my father passed through the entire hall to his seat, not a single head stopped bowing. Except me. Father, along with the demonic advisor Naberius, took their seats respectively. After that, everyone else took their respective seats, and so did I.
After everyone was seated, a few of the seats were still empty, belonging to the demons who were away on their respective tasks.
Then the demonic strategist started announcing the contents of the meeting, which were nothing out of the ordinary. After some time, my name was finally called upon.
With a few dignified steps, I reached the center of the hall, standing right in front of the stairway leading to my father's seat.
"I greet his majesty, the pinnacle of all demons, the Demon God Asmodeus."
As soon as I finished my greeting, bloodlust from all across the hall was directed towards me.
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK THE NAME OF THE DEMON GOD WITH THAT FILTHY MOUTH OF YOURS," Naberius, shouted with veins popping out on his forehead and his fist clenched.
The combined bloodlust of every demon present there was enough to bring Athena to his knees. But despite the bloodlust, Athena, not moving an inch, stayed in his respective position.
Just then, Asmodeus waving his hand, ordered everyone to retract their bloodlust directed towards Athena.
"Do you know why you have been called here today, Athena" said Asmodeus with a cold voice.
"I am aware, your highness, that my foolish actions have tainted the bloodline of the great Primordial Demon God and yourself," Athena replied with a voice filled with sorrow and strength.
As soon as Athena finished his sentence, a strong bloodlust, incomparable to the one he had experienced just a few moments ago, was directed towards him. It was from none other than the demon god Asmodeus.
"You are aware of it and you still decided to enter this hall with that shameless face of yours," Asmodeus expressed with eyes full of anger.
Just then, Black, who was asleep until now, appeared in front of Athena with a face full of happiness.
"Ohhh.. Is that the current demon god? He truly lives up to his title," said Black with a surprised voice.
TSK**TSK
"I sleep for just a few days and you get yourself into this big of a mess?" Black exclaimed while clicking his tongue.
Athena, still unfazed, stood there without moving. After a few moments, the bloodlust was withdrawn, and the entire hall was filled with murmurs about how Athena, the trashiest prince, withstood the demon god's bloodlust. The eyes that were full of disgust and rage just a moment ago were now full of curiosity.
COUGH**COUGH
A sudden voice echoed through the entire hall as Athena, with blood flowing from his already blood-red eyes and veins popping from almost every part of his body due to the pressure from the bloodlust, coughed out blood enough to fill an entire bucket.
Athena, almost about to pass out, stood up after coughing out blood. His gaze first met with Black, but Athena chose to ignore him as the gaze of the interested Asmodeus was still fixed on him. It was as if for the first time in a while, he was expecting something from him.
Athena, after a long and steady breath, with an irregular voice due to the excessive pressure on his body, stated,
"After reflecting on my past mistakes, all stemming from my own foolishness, and following a recent near-death experience, I am committed to atoning for my sins. I humbly request the appropriate punishment, which I will accept gracefully. Furthermore, I pledge to strive earnestly to meet the expectations of both yourself and those dear to me."
In the eyes of everyone present, Athena was only a trash drunk on the power of his ancestors. Everyone around Athena had already given up on him.
Everyone, with eyes with a hint of interest, glanced towards Athena with a bit of hope. But as the saying goes, 'anything excessive is not good for you.' Just as everyone was admiring the new persona of Athena, a loud voice full of arrogance echoed throughout the hall.
"Such words can be easily uttered before an audience. How can we trust that any part of what you've claimed holds truth, Prince Athena?"
Here's the improved and divided paragraph:
It was the voice of none other than the demonic advisor Naberius. Athena's conduct since Creed's birth had caused everyone, including Naberius, to lose interest in him among some of the demon lords, including Asura. Observing Creed's early accomplishments, they began supporting him for the crown prince position. However, Athena's sudden change in demeanor caused widespread concern. The resources invested to curry favor with Queen Lilith and Creed were substantial. Charlotte's presence at the Berserk Pavilion was to discuss her marriage with Creed. Thus, during Walpurgis, they convened via voice transmission to strategize and concluded they must intervene before Athena's influence could grow once more.
"Your Highness, these words of self-acceptance could be construed as an attempt to garner sympathy. I propose that we subject Prince Athena's transformation to a trial, allowing us to ascertain its authenticity firsthand."
*MURMUR**MURMUR*
"I agree with the demonic strategist here, my lord. The crime Prince Athena has committed against my daughter is not something that should be taken lightly."
Asmodeus, with the same indifferent eyes, spoke with a hint of disgust,
"Just by withstanding my aura alone, he has already proved his determination to me. But I still understand your worries."
"Athena, you are to head towards the land of slaughter with the second black order soldiers. There have been a lot of distress there recently due to the increase in the Cerberus population during their mating season. Go there and deal with it before the end of Clawgust."
Athena, motivated by the first task of his new life, replied with an assertive tone,
"Yes, father."
The eyes of Asmodeus, along with everyone else present in the Walpurgis, changed immediately. Some were filled with disgust, while others were filled with doubt. But the eyes of Asmodeus, unlike the others, were filled with a hint of happiness. This was the first time in a long time Athena had called him father. Lilith noticed the hint of happiness in Asmodeus's eyes. She was not happy with it. The plan to give the position of crown prince to Creed was slowly breaking apart. Fearing the unexpected, Lilith decided to do something about it.