The realization gave him pause.
Come to think of it, Inferinos also used a lot of her ability creating this rare item in her territory as well. Is she afraid that I'd attack? Perhaps it really is a peace offering.
Karpeios cast around for any logic he could use to make sense of the situation. Since his assistant had also just happened to give him a pleasant explanation about his dream, his brain worked in such a way that was favorable toward accepting the dark purple Dead Man's Flower he so desperately wanted. Just like humans, greed was effective in muddling the decision-making skills of demons as well.
"If you're that suspicious, why don't you check it out yourself? Don't be a coward. Just take it."
"I'm not afraid of a rank three Demon Lord," muttered Karpeios, clearly antagonized by the comment.
As Inferinos' gentle provocation dissipated some of his suspicion, Karpeios crossed his legs and tipped his head back arrogantly.
"Fine," he replied. "If you're so desperate for me to accept it, why not?"
Inferinos nodded and said, "Please open an exit on your end."
"Will do."
A whirlwind suddenly appeared, followed by the opening of a different space. As Inferinos already had a portal opened on her end, the two spaces were connected in an instant.
Swish.
The coffin in which the Dead Man's Flower was planted slid into Karpeios' space.
"Finally!"
Karpeios' hands on the armrests of his stone throne tightened the moment he witnessed the dark purple Dead Man's Flower in real life. He didn't even have a courtyard because of the harsh environment of his territory, so his knowledge about plants was nonexistent. Yet he couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the beauty of the exquisite Dead Man's Flower.
From the many petals that were curled below to the stamens that stretched up longer than the flower itself, the fascinating and bewitching appearance of the flower was more than enough to mesmerize Karpeios. His heart he'd forgotten about for so long instantly proved its existence in his chest as it beat faster and his breath hastened.
"How do I grow it?"
Karpeios was willing to personally care for it as long as he knew the method. He was confident he could take even better care of it than he did Obscuria, a pet he'd painstakingly hand-fed.
"Make sure the sand storm doesn't come near it, and be careful not to break the pot," instructed Inferinos carelessly, as if she was annoyed she had been asked, before the mirror disappeared.
As the dark purple Dead Man's Flower was one of the most precious goods in the Demon Realm, the other demons also expressed their wonder.
"Wow, so this is the famous dark purple Dead Man's Flower!"
"My goodness... Indeed, it is a masterpiece, Your Majesty!"
Karpeios' close assistants slowly appeared and marveled at the beauty of the dark purple Dead Man's Flower.
Then one of them carefully asked, "Shouldn't we open the coffin, Your Majesty? What if something strange is inside."
The others joined in and remarked, "He's right. I think we should check."
"Perhaps you can change the pot altogether..."
"Fine," Karpeios conceded. "Open it."
When one of the demon assistants gently opened the lid of the coffin, making sure not to harm the flower, all of the demons gasped.
"No way! T-the flower is...!"
"This is insane. The real pot is even more beautiful!"
Inside, they had found a female dream demon who was wearing an extravagant, gothic dress. From the purple frills and the black fabric of her dress to her long pink hair decorated with gems, everything went perfectly with the dark purple Dead Man's Flower, as if the clothes had been made to match its petals. They couldn't see her face because it was covered by a half-mask, but it was expected that she was stunning since she was a dream demon. It could even be that she was one of the most gorgeous of her kind, for her seductiveness allured them, even though she was just lying down.
"S-should we remove her mask?"
Everyone was curious what the pink-haired succubus looked like, but they swallowed hard and waited for Karpeios to give his order. Unfortunately, Karpeios was too excellent of a demon.
"No, close the lid."
As all good things were meant to be owned by him only, he wanted to enjoy the pot he liked as much as the dark purple Dead Man's Flower by himself.
"She said to leave it where there's no wind, so I better take it into the Sacred Tomb of Chaos."
"Should we move it to your room? It's a secluded place, constructed so that no one but you can enter, Your Majesty," said the assistant demon who had been giving him an update before Inferinos had interrupted.
Karpeios eyes glistened greedily as he replied, "Good. I have to take a look at the room anyway, so I'll take it myself."
Karpeios lifted the coffin. However, as a Demon Lord, he did not bother using physical force. Instead, the heavy marble coffin floated up into the air with a flick of his hand as if the force of gravity had been removed entirely, before the empty space in front of it wavered then opened up into another.
All locations of the Abyssal Dunes were under Karpeios' control, so it was easy to create a direct path to his bedroom in the Sacred Tomb of Chaos even though he'd never been there before. When Karpeios stepped into the hall with the Dead Man's Flower, the surrounding environment immediately changed.
Swish.
The grand view at the peak of the cliff had now been replaced to a smaller, man-made space. The room was as elegant as a human noble's quarters, with the walls and the floor decorated in luxurious textiles and the space adequately arranged with strange furniture made of human-faced wood. Karpeios tapped on the bed as if he was knocking on it and instantly felt the hardness below the thin sheets.
"This, I like."
He was satisfied that it was a stone bed, as per his preference. He looked around the room for quite some time, then decided to place the Dead Man's Flower pot on the floor in front of his sofa. It was the perfect location where he could use the pot as a table while enjoying the beauty of the flower at the same time.
"Good."
He placed one knee on the ground and lowered himself, a position he had not assumed since he became a Demon Lord, but was willing to adopt for the dark purple Dead Man's Flower. Soon, the lid of the coffin clicked open on its own, revealing the sleeping female dream demon, who didn't even appear to be breathing. When the tips of his fingers gently removed her mask, a lady with a thick layer of makeup, whose beauty exceeded his expectations, immediately captured his eyes.
"I can't believe this!"
This arrogant Demon Lord suddenly felt like a bolt of lightning had struck his head.
"What a marvelous pot that perfectly matches my taste!"
He stared at the dream demon blankly for some time, but quickly pulled himself together, for he was a dignified Demon Lord who could not accept such a behavior from himself even if he was completely alone.
Click!
The dream demon's face was severed from his sight when he snapped the lid closed. He did his best to hide the thumping of his heart as he gently stroked the sepals of the dark purple Dead Man's Flowerâhis touch was so delicate, it looked like he was grazing the chin of a lover he was about to kiss.
Resolutely, he murmured, "I swear I will love and nurture you."
He was a Demon Lord who didn't slack off once he put his mind to something, for had he not become the master of hand-feeding when he raised Obscuria? Although he was presently unfamiliar with horticulture, with some focused studying he knew he would become an unrivaled expert in the field of dark purple Dead Man's Flower cultivation. Perhaps, if he was successful enough, he could produce a garden filled with dark purple Dead Man's Flower all for himself.
More flowers?! This goal motivated him greatly, the explosion of demonic energy seeping out of the excited Demon Lord turning the air of the room toxic, as the faces on the furniture made of human-faced wood trembled with fear.
That was when a belated thought entered Karpeios' mind.
"Come to think of it, he is going to be visiting soon. I'm glad I'll be able to show him something exquisite."
Karpeios was filled with pride as he thought about pleasing the Primordial Chaos, for he seemed to be particularly cold to Karpeios out of the three Demon Lords. When Chaos and Evil sometimes stared at him with his fathomless eyes that looked like the windows to a bloody ocean, Karpeios felt like his lungs would collapse. They were the eyes of someone who was barely stopping himself from killing the creature that stood before him.
"But even he will be impressed when he sees the dark purple Dead Man's Flower," Karpeios murmured, just the thought of pleasing the Chaos and Evil making him excited.
As he couldn't leave his throne for too long, he opened a gate again and stepped inside. In his absence, the enclosed room without any windows fell deadly silent, when something strange happened in a place where no one was supposed to be.
Rattle!
The lid of the coffin was kicked open as the dream demon who was supposed to be dormant rose and stepped out of her eternal resting place.
The dream demon... or Ailette, who was disguised as a dream demon, aggressively pushed her hair back as she muttered, "I better make this quick."
With her map open, she left the bedroom and headed to the deepest point of the Sacred Tomb of Chaos, the Altar of Chaos.
â
The Vatican and the courtyard had been reduced to a pile of rubble, its previous grandeur completely stripped away. The followers and citizens of the holy kingdom who somehow survived Reed's destruction couldn't think straight for quite some time.
"Who... is he?"
"Why is there such an evil being in the holy kingdom?"
Even the Vatican leadership couldn't pull themselves together and failed to serve their roles. Pope Senedict was quietly praying with her eyes closed, while the ministers of the Holy Prosecution Ministry and the Ministry of Gospel were nowhere to be seen. Saintess Muriel was lying limp in her own pool of blood.
"Oh, no..."
Rex, the division commander of Knights of Grace, kneeled at the foot of devastation as he wallowed in sorrow without having the courage to even touch the saintess. He couldn't bring himself to clear her messy black hair away from her face and place his hand in front of her nose to check if she was breathing, when something miraculous happened.
"Ugh..."
"Your Eminence?!"