*Cough cough* “Couldn't you have helped me sooner?”

An arm suddenly reappeared on Damien.

'What fun would that have been?'

“Bastard, I'll kill you when this is all over.” Damien growled in a low voice.

'That would be quite interesting as well.' Shaitan merely chuckled.

The corpse of the lizardman girl still lay before Damien.

“Who are you, really? Why was she so afraid of you?” Damien asked curiously.

'I have quite the... reputation in Hell. There is no one who has not heard of me. I am the last Shade of my clan.'

“What happened to the rest of your clan?” Damien asked, feeling that he was approaching dangerous territories.

'I killed and devoured them.' a sinister voice replied.

For a while, there was silence.

“Why? Why would you do that?” Damien finally broke the silence after a while.

'Ten years ago when the rite of the Demon King was decided upon on this day, each of the Greater Demon Clans began preparing and choosing their candidates. I was not chosen by the other Shades of my clan. Can you fathom their audacity to not choose me?' Damien was unsure whether the question was rhetorical.

“You killed all of them... just for that?” Damien asked fearfully.

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'No, I killed them to devour them for their power, and admittedly, because it was fun. Besides, with all of them dead, I am the only possible candidate left from my clan.' Shaitan replied, seemingly amused.

“That lizardman was right... you are a monster. Doesn't that mean you're insanely powerful with an entire clan's worth of power?”

'You are more intelligent than the fool I took you for. Indeed, but that power is only limited to Hell. In the Realm of the Mortals, I am only able to exercise my original power. It is more than sufficient for lowly vermin such as lizardmen. The only way for me to die in the Mortal Realm is if you, as my vessel, die as well. We are bound together for the remainder of my time here.'

“That doesn't make any sense! If you're just a rogue demon, will the other Greater Demon Clans really just accept you as the Demon King for surviving this rite?”

'Yes. They wouldn't dare go against the Demon King's succession ceremony. Only the elites ever survive and go on to become the Demon King, whether the strongest or smartest demon. Even if they did go against it, I will subjugate them with my own power when I return.'

Damien was now beginning to reconsider working together with this demon among demons.