"You dare take my husband?"
A voice, teasing yet laced with absolute authority, rang through the grand council chamber, sending an eerie silence through the once-chaotic hall. The guards, who had been forcefully holding Elliott in place, froze mid-action as the temperature in the room seemed to drop. A suffocating presence filled the air, sending shivers down the spines of everyone present.
Then, as if emerging from the very shadows themselves, Azreal—the feared Demon King—materialized into view, his breathtaking yet terrifying form commanding attention. His eyes, glowing with an unnatural silver-crimson hue, swept over the room, sending waves of invisible pressure crashing against everyone present.
Gasps filled the chamber. Some guards involuntarily staggered back, their legs trembling beneath them, while others immediately fell to one knee, their instincts screaming submission. Even the high-ranking nobles and officials seated in the council chamber could do nothing but lower their heads in terror.
The Demon King was here. In the mortal realm.
Elliott, who had been too occupied with his impending doom, pinched himself harshly. This has to be a dream. A nightmare, even. Why was this damned demon here?! Wasn't he about to be executed? Shouldn't he just die peacefully and be done with it? Why in the world was Azreal, the most fearsome being known across realms, suddenly interfering?
The answer came in slow, calculated steps.
Azreal moved forward, his posture exuding an air of effortless dominance, his heavy boots clicking against the polished stone floor of the council chamber as he made his way toward the grand throne where King Melvin sat.
To Elliott's utter disbelief, King Melvin, the ruler of the strongest mortal kingdom, stood up immediately and, to the shock of all present, bowed.
A king, bowing.
His voice, though forced into calmness, still trembled slightly as he greeted the demon lord, "King Azreal."
And yet, Azreal didn't even spare him a glance.
The Demon King merely continued walking, only stopping once he was directly in front of Elliott, his sharp gaze settling on him like a predator eyeing his prey. The air was thick with tension, and the sheer contrast in power was suffocating.
The room was deathly silent.
Then, breaking that silence, King Melvin cleared his throat, attempting to regain some semblance of composure. He forced out a nervous chuckle, his lips twitching into a poor attempt at a smile.
"Hehe, I've been hearing rumors about you…" The king's voice was uneasy, his eyes darting between Azreal and Elliott. "Rumors that you've claimed a mortal from my realm as your—h-husband." He swallowed. "I hope they're just that.... rumors."
A dangerous smirk tugged at the Demon King's lips. It was a smile—deadly and chilling.
"Oh? They aren't rumors." Azreal's voice, smooth yet carrying an unmistakable edge of menace, reverberated through the chamber. He tilted his head slightly, his piercing gaze locking onto the mortal king's. "In fact," he continued, voice dangerously low as he neared the end of his sentence, "the mortal you're referring to—the one you dared to plan an execution for—is none other than my husband."
Elliott felt the blood drain from his face.
The guards restraining him visibly shuddered before, as if suddenly realizing the grave mistake they had made, they hastily released him, stepping away as though touching him any longer would bring about their doom.
Elliott inhaled sharply, sucking in precious air now that his lungs were no longer being squeezed. His mind was racing.
What the hell?!
This demon—Azreal—was insane!
Stating the fact that they were married in this situation? It would only make his death sentence worse...
Elliott was screaming violently in his head. "I am NOT your husband!!!"
But of course, no one dared to echo his thoughts aloud.
The once-chaotic hall, filled with heated debates and clashing arguments moments ago, was now plunged into absolute silence. The presence of the Demon King alone had brought the entire chamber to its knees.
King Melvin, despite being a ruler himself, was sweating. He forced another nervous smile, though it looked more like a grimace.
"You… You can't be serious, King Azreal." The mortal king's voice wavered as he gestured toward Elliott. "What could you possibly find appealing in a mere mortal like him?"
Elliott's face twitched. Excuse me??
Did this bastard just insult him to his face?
Elliott didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Sure, he was no mighty magician or noble hero, but his face was at least pretty, right? Well, at least the body he had been forced to possess was attractive! That was appealing… right?
Azreal, however, didn't even blink at the insult. Instead, his expression darkened as he tilted his head ever so slightly, his crimson gaze sharp enough to cut through steel.
"Oh?" His voice was deceptively calm. "And since when does a mere mortal king like you have the right to question my choices?"
A suffocating silence fell over the room once more.
King Melvin visibly flinched. He opened his mouth, probably to argue, but the moment Azreal's gaze hardened, he immediately lowered his head, his voice growing small.
"I… I deeply apologize if you feel offended, King Azreal."
Elliott's jaw nearly hit the floor.
Wait.
What?!
King Melvin, the very ruler he had been too terrified to even greet properly since transmigrating into this body, was now apologizing?
To his 'husband'??
That meant one thing. Azreal wasn't just powerful. He was terrifyingly, absurdly, world-endingly powerful.
Well, of course, Elliott was too much of a single-celled idiot to realize that until now.
Azreal, seemingly satisfied with the response, turned his gaze back toward Elliott, then flicked his attention to the king once more. His voice carried the weight of an unshakable dangerous decree.
"Good. Now let's move on to the pressing matter." Azreal's voice held the quiet intensity of a brewing storm. "If I recall, you were mere minutes away from executing my husband."
The room, already filled with tension, grew unbearably heavy.
King Melvin, for all his previous bravado, took a shaky breath. He struggled to maintain his composure, but his eyes betrayed his fear. He clenched his fists before forcing himself to answer.
"He caused a catastrophe equal to a crime that deserves punishment by execution."
Azreal raised a single eyebrow.
"Oh?" His tone was neutral, yet the very air crackled with something dangerously close to rage. "And what crime, exactly, did he commit?"
King Melvin hesitated. He glanced at the trembling officials around him before finally gathering the courage to state,
"Summoning you as a husband into our realm… and breaking the barrier between the two realms."
A shadow passed over Azreal's face. His silver eyes turned darker, deeper, crimson red.
A chilling silence fell.
Then, in a voice that sent ice down everyone's spines, the Demon King uttered,
"Good. Then I dare you…"
He took a step forward, the very ground beneath his feet trembling.
"… to execute him now."