"Karpeios." The sinister edge of Reed's voice immediately silenced the Demon Lord and made him feel anxious. Reed ignored Karpeios' question as he said, "The Holy Demon Scythe has gone missing."
Karpeios' anxiety turned into shock. The Demon Lord then started emanating demonic energy from his body. This was different from the outburst he had when he found out about the destruction of his precious Dead Man's Flower. It was a dark, burning fury that rose from within.
"What kind of demon would sneak into the treasure chamber of the Abyssal Dunes and steal a weapon cursed by the Chaos and Evil himself? Who would dare?"
"It was no demon. It was taken by a human."
Confused by the remark, Karpeios' anger quickly subsided. "Please forgive me, great Chaos and Evil. But there are no signs of humans infiltrating this place."
"Do you really think so?"
"Please enlighten me, Great Darkness."
Reed decided to give him some information. "The pot that bloomed the Dead Man's Flower was no succubus. She was a human disguised as one."
The shock was apparent on Karpeios' face. Only then did the Demon Lord shake off his greed and realize what had happened.
"I knew Inferinos was up to something!"
The Demon Lord's demonic energy flared up once again. He tried his best to control himself before Reed when a question flashed through his mind. Karpeios calmed down yet again and asked, "The human must've touched the Holy Demon Scythe... Does this mean the scythe didn't corrupt the wielder?"
"No, it didn't."
And what a shame that had been. Reed kept that remark to himself and turned his gaze downward. His mind wandered down into his soul and filled the air around them with gloom. Then a quiet scoff caught his ear. It had, of course, come from Karpeios.
The Demon Lord quickly bowed his head down once he felt Reed's gaze upon him. "Please forgive me. I was just reminded of another human who wasn't corrupted by the Holy Demon Sword."
"Who was it?" Reed asked, his voice remarkably icy.
Unfortunately, Karpeios was too excited about Reed's attention to notice his cold tone. The great Chaos and Evil was showing interest in him. This was his lucky day. Perhaps a record of his malevolence could earn him the favor of Chaos and Evil.
"Ah, he was an interesting human to toy with." Karpeios let out a cruel laugh and explained, "He'd been my plaything long before he ever held the Holy Demon Sword. There is nothing more pleasing than to break down a devout human's faith and corrupt his soul so that he is damned to hell. Don't you agree, Your Malevolence?"
The Demon Lord's question was met with silence.
"This happened before he came by the sword," Karpeios continued on thoughtlessly. "He once came to the Heathen's Valley, a place where humans used to offer living sacrifices to me, on his own accord."
More silence followed.
"Behold, the lifeless husks of the wretched unbelievers. This was wrought by you. They are but a testament to your handiwork."
"The only way he could stop the ritual was by killing the humans before they were offered as sacrifice. He hesitated for quite some time before slaughtering all those people who were too weak to even put up a fight."
Reed quietly listened to Karpeios' fond memories.
"How excellent. You marked your first murder by slaughtering a bunch of sacrifices. Aren't you proud of yourself, scion of the Strict Order and Goodness?"
"He tried his best to keep his fury in, but he started screaming when he had to kill a child offered by his cultist parents. That was truly..." The Demon Lord's eyes became dreamy as he savored the memory before finishing the sentence, "Entertaining."
Reed was silent.
"It was hilarious."
The extra commentary earned Karpeios nothing but a stare.
"I remember laughing my heart out for the first in centuries."
Yet again, the Demon Lord's audience made no remarks. Reed remained calm through the mockery of his past.
"The next time I saw him was in the dungeon of the fifth Holy Demon Sword. He had become quite the butcher by that point, and immediately chopped off the head of the demonic sword's host."
"So, how was it this time? Easier than before? You seem to be doing better than when you had to slaughter a child who was offered as a sacrifice by his own parents."
"I nurtured and trained him to be a ruthless murderer! It was a shame that he took the Holy Demon Sword, but I was truly proud of him." Karpeios' triumphant tales of demonic instruction were met with more silence. "Of course, I would have preferred to offer the sword to you if I had the chance... Oh, but speaking of which..."
The Demon Lord swiftly changed subjects. "I noticed that you already own a demonic sword, great Chaos and Evil. But it doesn't seem to be the great Holy Demon Sword. May I ask how it came into your possession?"
Karpeios took the opportunity to ask about the sword, but Reed's lips were sealed. Only then did the demon realize that Chaos and Evil had taken no interest in his tales. Perhaps his evil deeds were not heinous enough to impress the other man. And so, he decided to switch the topic yet again.
"Anyway, the intruder must have been quite an impressive human if she managed to steal the Holy Demon Scythe like that. You would think her to be a seductress, but she must have been as devout as a..." Karpeios stopped mid-sentence in sudden realization.
Pink hair was extremely rare in humans. But the saintess had pink hair, the one the humans called the Divine Emissary.
"Oh." The epiphany struck his blond head like a lightning bolt. "The Executioner of Evil!"
Rumble!
Frantic with rage, the Demon Lord let out an explosive burst of air that made the ground beneath them sink. The shattered fragments of the ground rose into the air in the rebound. Karpeios let out a manic cackle that was truly befitting of a Demon Lord.
"Ha! Hahaha! Haha! That pot... was the Executioner of Evil herself!" His bloodshot eyes flashed dangerously. "So that's why she inspired the sadist in me! I could even go rough on someone like the Executioner of Evil. I must make sure she doesn't get away... And once she's captured, I shall modify the pot so she can never run away again... Oh, that's right! Why don't I make a singing pot out of her while I'm at it?"
In the Demon Realm, "singing" was a reference to human screams.
"If I ever grow tired of her, then I shall cut her head off to use it as a pot instead."
A sinister laugh escaped Karpeios' lips.
Clatter.
For a moment, debris flew through the room before crashing to the floor. The air no longer seemed to sympathize with the Demon Lord's excitement. In fact, it seemed to fear another powerful being. By the time Karpeios realized what was happening, he noticed a pair of icy eyes pinning him where he stood.
Reed's crimson glare flashed in the darkness.
"Ugh."
With his gaze alone, Chaos and Evil choked Karpeios, squeezing the air out of the demon's lungs. The Demon Lord let out several grunts, his saliva sputtering out of his mouth as he did so.
S-so this is... the power of the great Chaos and Evil... Although a human in his situation would struggle, it was instinctive for demons to welcome anything the Chaos and Evil gave them. Sickened by the sight of the demon relishing the pain of strangling, Reed finally released him.
Karpeios immediately knelt down and apologized. "Whew... I-I apologize, Your Malevolence. I did not intend to flaunt my measly power before you, great Chaos and Evil."
Indifferent to the demon's apology, Reed took on a dry tone as he asked, "When will the tomb be finished?"
"It will be completed in a few days," Karpeios answered.
"Be quick about it."
Reed walked past Karpeios. The Demon Lord then raised his head and tried to stop his honored guest with a question.
"Are you leaving, Your Malevolence?"
"Yes."
"My Lord, may this vile servant ask where you are headed?"
Reed quietly answered without even turning his head. "The Litennial Plains."
"But it is a worthless piece of land ruled by humans. Why do you seek to go to that lowly place, O Infamous One?"
Karpeios couldn't seem to stop asking him questions. Reed was starting to get annoyed by the interrogation but responded nonetheless. But it sounded more like a reminder for himself than an answer to the Demon Lord's question.
"I made a promise of salvation."
â
It was dark at the bottom of the pit, and the air was moist from all the blood on the floor.
"Ha... Hah..."
Strained, panting breath disturbed the silence hanging in the stagnant air. A light joined the sound. The stigma Tesilid gained on his right arm by killing countless demons glowed white, dispelling the darkness around him. But soon, the light of the stigma began to flicker. Likewise, the sounds of his breaths grew few and far between until it eventually quietened down.
"..."
After that, there was nothing to be heard in the Pit of Solitude. Tesilid closed his eyes and tried to withstand the horrors of the abyss, which was devoid of any sight or sound. He waited for so long, suspended in nothingness, it began to feel as if time itself had stopped within the hole.
"Why?"
This wasn't what he had been promised. He fell into the same despair he had become accustomed to during the endless torture of his lives, and his sanity quickly deteriorated in the darkness.
The Meaning of Salvation
The Courthouse of Last Judgment seemed to have a predefined entry point. My legs landed in the prisoner holding pen, just as they did when the dungeon sink led me here for the first time. Unlike the previous time, however, at present I was the only one in the room.
I walked across the narrow path along the cliff ledge that brought me from the holding area to the place prisoners faced their final judgment. The two yawning chasms on either side, which led down to the Labor House and the Execution House, were empty as well. Only my footsteps rang out in the silence.
I kept walking on after I reached the vacant courthouse, heading straight toward the Pit of Solitude. I soon heard a rather leisurely voice from a spot not too far away.
"Does this flower tea agree with you, Your Majesty?"
"Yes. The salty and rancid flavors are quite exquisite."
Infernos sat by the edge of the cliff from which sacrifices were tossed into the Pit of Solitude. She had arranged a tea table with a set of cups and desserts so she could savor light snacks while enjoying the scenery.
"Take a seat, Executioner of Evil," Inferinos said after taking a polite sip from the red liquid in her cup.
I took her invitation and sat on the chair Marchioness Levant pulled out. The table was full of odd desserts that seemed to resemble props more than food. The eyeball-shaped macaron and I stared at each other for a brief moment until I shifted my gaze upward.