“I need to make a quick stop first,” Caeldaemos informed the heroes.

They followed him to a manor and headed inside.

“I’m back! I have guests!” He yelled inside.

Liara, Rana, Listamati, and Lily charged up to him.

“What. Happened!?” The wives demanded. There was not a single person in the whole city that didn’t hear the collapse of the palace roof.

“Are you okay, Dad?” Lily asked.

He smiled and patted her head. “I’ll be okay.” He turned to his wives, who kept glancing at the heroes. “Let’s sit down and talk.”

It took about twenty minutes of explaining and discussing to catch them up, but they all had worried expressions.

“Cael.” Liara began. “We are all overjoyed that the rulers have accepted you, but the Evil Goddess is in the world?”

“Do we know where she went?” Rana asked, holding a ‘Really, Mom?’ Lily to herself.

“No idea. I plan to contact Io ASAP to see if I can get some answers.” He stated. “There also might be a… a goddess at the temple as well. She seemed to know something about the Evil Goddess. We will head there to see what she knows.”

“We’ll come with you.” Listamati stood along with the others of his family.

Caeldaemos gave a reluctant sigh while smiling, knowing they figured out that it was Sylfaerune. “Fine. Let’s go.”

He took a moment to warn the heroes before doing it, but he took them all to the temple using Lord of Darkness.

As they walked through the main temple, following Hana since she knew it well, Greggory asked a question.

“Would it be possible for us to join you to meet the gods?” He asked.

“The way to do it is to sleep with a devotee of the gods by your side,” Caeldaemos explained.

“Ah, so it is the same as Hana said,” Haley commented.

Caeldaemos turned to Hana.

“Yes, I spoke to Io. She asked me to help you months ago.” Hana stated.

“A little late on that, huh?” Liara chided the woman.

Hana sighed. “Io warned me not to rush it. The world would have turned on me if I had.”

“Thanks to Haley’s recording, they began to change their minds,” Lindsey added.

“I see.” Caeldaemos understood.

They arrived at the main statue of Io, and before it was Sylvia kneeling in prayer. She stood and faced them. “I am… glad you came…” She sounded regretful.

“It’s her.” Liara angrily stated.

“Damn bitch.” Rana growled.

“Mom, can I?”

“No.”

Listamati coldly glared at the ex-goddess.

The four Heroes were at a loss over the situation.

Caeldaemos stepped toward her.

“Cael?” The ladies were shocked.

“This doesn’t set us straight… but thank you for saving me, Sylfaerune.” Caeldaemos bowed his head.

His family grumbled but kept quiet.

“Just Sylvia is fine.”

The two stood across from each other, feeling awkward with the silence now glaringly present.

“Um, can I ask something?” Hana cut in, to the relief of the two.

“Yes, of course,” Sylvia replied.

“What is a God of Tartarus?” She asked.

Sylvia’s expression turned dire. “Possibly the end of this world if we cannot deal with it.”

“WHAT!?” They all shouted.

“They are the opposite of Divine Gods. Destructive, malevolent, evil, manipulative, all these words can be used to describe them.” She explained.

“Is she that powerful?” Caeldaemos asked.

She nodded. “Yes. The worst part of them is their curses. It is like a blight on a world.”

“How much time do we have?” Greggory asked.

“I don’t know. But we need to inform the other gods as soon as possible. If they know, they can buy us more time.” Sylvia stated.

“Weren’t you just talking to Io?” Hana asked.

“Praying does little beyond sending emotions. Gods are too busy maintaining the world on a larger scale that it is difficult for a single prayer to be heard. I am sure you know the method of contacting Io?” She asked Caeldaemos.

“I do.” He replied.

“Then take me with you.”

“No.” His rage flared.

“Um.” Hana stepped between them. “How about you come with me? I have someone who can help.”

“Very well.” Sylvia bowed her head. “Caeldaemos.”

He still felt distaste for her, but her saving his life helped lessen it.

“I know it means little in words, but… I’m sorry.”

“Yeah….” Caeldaemos turned and left the temple to return to Hallibrush with his family.

“How will we?” Greggory asked.

Sylvia took a brief look at them. “Stay with your partner there, and you two should arrive there. She will just have to keep a prayer in her mind as she goes to sleep.”

Lindsey looked at Greggory and blushed.

“I-I-I see.” The big man stuttered.

Haley snickered. “Don’t exhaust yourselves too much.”

“Haley!” Lindsey yelled at her friend.

“I’ll join you two,” Haley stated to Hana and Sylvia.

“Then let’s go-.”

“Hold on.” Liara, Listamati, and Rana stepped up to Sylvia.

“Y-Yes?” Sylvia asked, feeling like she was going to get punched again.

The three bowed their heads to her. “Thank you for saving Cael. This doesn’t mean we forgive you for what you did… but it’s a start.”

After spinning on their heels, the three women went off after their husband.

Sylvia stumbled in shock, only to have her clothes fall to pieces. “WHAT?!”

Lily’s head popped out of a shadow. “That was for Dad.” Then she vanished.

Lindsey covered Greggory’s eyes while Hana used her cloak to cover Sylvia.

“Are you alright?” Hana asked.

Sylvia sighed. “No.” Her expression was saddened. “But I deserved it.”

The groups went their ways to prepare for a meeting with the gods.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Caeldaemos laid down on his massive bed, still feeling a little irritated over having to see Sylfaerune.

“Cael.” Sophia hugged him. “Are you alright?”

He sighed heavily. “No. I’m not alright.”

She smiled. “I know just the thing you need.”

After clapping her hands, Listamati, Liara, Rana, Lily, Orelia, Geon, and Diana came in.

“Pfft! HAHAHAHAH!” Caeldaemos laughed aloud.

Sophia smiled. “We were all worried about you.”

Diana lay down beside him. “I am glad I could join your harem.”

Everyone else piled into the bed around him.

Sylfaerune may have ripped his family from him, but Io gave him a new one. He teared up with a happy smile on his face. “Thanks…”

The ladies giggled. “Well then, shall we be off to meet the gods?”

“Wait. You all are coming too?”

“Of course! We have some complaints to air out.” Listamati stated.

“And to thank Io.” Rana added.

“Yes, and to thank Io,” Liara commented.

Hugging as many of his loved ones to himself, Caeldaemos closed his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Syl.”

Sylvia opened her eyes to find she was in her own temple with her sister. “Io….”

Io hugged her sister. “Are you alright?”

Sylvia looked down, feeling depressed. “No… Tell me. Did you know I was this terrible?”

Io sniffled. “I’m sorry…”

Sylvia pulled away from her sister. “No. You have nothing to be sorry about.” She began to cry. “Caeldaemos was right. I am a garbage goddess! I hurt him so badly! I hurt so many people because of my negligence!”

“Syl….” Io hugged her sister in tears.

“They were so evil! They didn’t care who they hurt!”

“This is my fault…”

Sylvia shoved her sister away from her. “No! You don’t blame yourself for my failures.”

“But…”

“I said no!” Sylvia sharply stood. “I failed. I didn’t see it before while being blinded by my own avarice, but you gave me chances. You tried to gently help me. I was loved by you, and I took it for granted.” After taking a deep breath, she looked at her sister. “Io. If I return to becoming a goddess, I intend to beg and plead with the Omni-Gods to allow me to make things right before I am removed from world management. I must correct what I have done.”

Io looked to the ground sadly. “I… understand.”

“Now, I believe the meeting is happening in your temple?” Sylvia asked.

Io nodded.

“Then let us go. We have much to discuss.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caeldaemos opened his eyes to Io’s temple, surrounded by his family. Before them was a table with several people sitting at it. It looked like the Heroes had arrived ahead of his group. He chuckled as he saw that both Greggory and Lindsey were blushing as they sat patiently.

“Caeldaemos, wow, you brought more than expected.” Hana giggled.

“Our lord is greatly loved!” Orelia exclaimed.

“I’m surprised I was brought along this time,” Sophia stated.

The black-clad man with crimson hair moved from his seat before Caeldaemos instantly. “Interesting.” He smirked as he assessed him.

“Um, hi?” Caeldaemos wasn’t sure who this was.

“Ah, apologies, Michael. I am Lord Alexander Tulsen.” He offered his hand.

“Oh, Io mentioned you were helping her out.” Caeldaemos shook the man’s hand.

Everyone took a few minutes to get themselves introduced to one another. The three gods who were present bowed their heads in apology to Caeldaemos.

“We are sorry for what happened to you, Michael.”

“Please, raise your heads.” Caeldaemos requested. “Besides, it is only her that is at fault. Please call me Caeldaemos.”

They gave reluctant smiles, and they all took their seats.

Sylvia and Io appeared and took their seats.

“Now.” Io started. “We understand that a God of Tartarus found a way into our world?”

“Huh?” Sylvia was surprised. “All of you knew?”

Tilra nodded. “It was thanks to Lord Tulsen.”

“I was only able to sense the breach. Do you have any additional details?” Lord Tulsen asked.

“I do,” Caeldaemos said. “She called herself Ash Raven.”

“Did you see when she entered the world?” Lord Tulsen asked.

“I did.” Caeldaemos nodded.

Lord Tulsen approached and held out his hand. “Would you be willing to share those memories with me? I might be able to garner something from them.”

“You can trust Lord Tulsen in this, Caeldaemos. He is always fighting with the Gods of Tartarus and knows quite a bit about them.” Io stated.

He took the man’s hand, and the memories of what had happened that day played back through his mind. It barely took a moment before Lord Tulsen pulled his hand away.

The man laughed with an impressed expression. “Clever.”

“Did you figure something out?” Orbus asked.

“Yes.” Lord Tulsen answered. “I gained quite a bit from that memory and what your soul is like.”

“My soul?”

Lord Tulsen gave an assuring smile. “You are fine. You just have the memories and wills of the previous Demon-Lords within you. Well, their true selves, not the corrupted versions.” He turned to Sylvia. “You unwittingly saved your world. Multiple times even.”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“When you made Caeldaemos the Demon-Lord, you threw a massive wrench in her plans.” He summoned up a few diagrams made from magic. “You see, she needed souls to open a gateway to enter your world. The first Demon-Lord, Halturnafey the Slaughterer, also known as Tolopar the Butcher, was her keyhole. By having the corrupted fragment of the Demon-Lord corrupt every successor, she was gradually making her key.”

“She was using the souls they collected to form the key….” Nanduun was in shock.

“Correct.” Lord Tulsen said. “If not for Sylfaerune, your world would have been doomed if Caeldaemos had been corrupted. But thankfully, he was an Other Worlder with Hero’s Call.”

“Wait, that’s what I activated then?” Caeldaemos asked.

“Yes.” Lord Tulsen nodded. “Unintentional as it was, you did. Not only did you save yourself, but also the world.” He turned to the gods. “You perpetuating the Demon-Lord system nearly led to your downfall.”

“What were the other times Syl saved the world.” Io curiously asked.

“Well, her poor decision of a hero was also a saving grace.”

“I don’t see how that was helpful. He did horrible things.” Sylvia looked away guiltily.

“Ash Raven was frustrated that she lost her main conduit and resorted to using Gabriel. Her method was clever but risky. She would gradually replace parts of Gabriel with herself, eventually leading to a complete takeover. Thanks to Caeldaemos, she no longer has her two abilities to forcibly control the minds of others. That will greatly buy us time.”

“How is that attested to her. Cael did all the work.” Liara griped.

Lord Tulsen chuckled. “True. But she did pick a fool who thought he was untouchable.”

Liara huffed. “Fine.”

“The third thing she did,” Lord Tulsen moved things forward. “Was that she saved him at a critical moment.”

Io placed a loving hand on Sylvia’s, showing she was proud of her.

“We are glad that Caeldaemos is alive, but why is that one?” Tilra asked.

“Because he has the soul power of four Demon-Lords. If she had killed him, Ash Raven could have absorbed the power. That is why he now has a building divinity.”

“WHAT?!” The gods exclaimed.

“Uh, that wasn’t you, Io?” Caeldaemos asked.

“Um, no. I didn’t do that.”

“It is from the fragments you picked up.” Lord Tulsen explained. “You currently have the power of four of the seven previous Demon-Lords.”

“Does that mean Dad has the souls inside him?” Lily asked.

Lord Tulsen shook his head. “No. Fragments of thoughts more like. Their souls departed back to the cycle of reincarnation when he purified them.”

“Thank Io…” Caeldaemos sighed in relief.

“I think it is better to thank yourself, Caeldaemos.” Io smiled. “It was your actions.”

Caeldaemos’ family proudly puffed out their chests over his success.

“Wait…” Rana was in thought. “Doesn’t this mean the Evil God will go for the other fragments?”

Everyone tensed at the statement but Lord Tulsen.

“Correct, miss. She will likely prioritize the Lord of Pestilence since he would have the most souls. That would leave the other two.”

“Kuddac the Madwoman.” Nanduun commented.

“Quolitto the Apocalypse.” Orbus added.

“Thank you.” Lord Tulsen chuckled while turning to Caeldaemos. “Which means you need to find their final resting places and cleanse their fragments. That will buy you the most amount of time to deal with Ash Raven, though she isn’t the worst Tartarian you can get.”

“You know of her?” Io asked.

He nodded. “I do. I fought with her once. She is not the strongest, and I know she would have no intention to invade the Divine Realm. Ash Raven is likely to sit in your world and reap the benefits. My guess is that she will slaughter half the population and control half of the world.”

“Half the world….” The mortals were stunned.

“I thought that is what all Gods of Tartarus wanted.” Orbus wondered.

“That is not the case with Ash Raven. She covets her life more than power. Though,” He turned to Caeldaemos, “She has a tendency to become obsessed with other beings. Looks like you are her target, Caeldaemos.”

“Cael.” His wives turned suspiciously toward him.

“I did NOT come onto the Evil Goddess! I swear by Io!”

The silver haze didn’t roll over his body.

“Cael!” The three wives stood from their seats.

Io giggled. “You won’t see it here, but I assure you he spoke the truth.”

The three sat down in a relieved huff.

“Could that be an option to bring peace?” Sophia playfully asked.

Lord Tulsen chuckled. “Not a terrible concept, but I doubt he would want to be with her. She is incredibly possessive, jealous, and sadistic. All of you around him would be killed in horrible ways, and he would be turned into a puppet.”

“Yeah, we’re good.” Caeldaemos’ family stated flatly.

“Lord Tulsen,” Io called him. “Could you help us deal with her?”

He thought for a moment. “I will only help if it reaches the worst-case scenario and she enters the world. If she sensed me too soon, she would likely drop a powerful curse and retreat back to Tartarus. It is a bit too risky when dealing with her.”

Caeldaemos sighed. “Okay. Then that means we have a lot of work to do.” He stood, followed by his family.

“Caeldaemos,” Io called out to him. “Could you stay behind for a moment? I wish to speak to you.”

“Sure.”

His family returned to their bodies, along with the heroes and Sylvia. The other gods and Lord Tulsen left, leaving just the two.

“What do you need?” He asked.

“Could you…”

“I don’t think I can forgive her.” He answered, knowing what she was going to ask.

“I’m sure you saw it yourself. She is truly remorseful of what she had done.”

“It’s not that easy, Io. I know I said I wanted her to be better and stop being such garbage, but… I can’t. She took too much from me and harmed too many people.”

He paused when he saw how saddened she was. Caeldaemos let out a heavy sigh. “Alright, fine. I will… give her a chance. But no promises.”

She brightly smiled and hugged him. “Thank you! Cael!”

He sighed once more while returning the hug.

“You know.” Io started.

“Huh?”

The table was replaced by a bed. “Your wives wouldn’t know.”

Something snapped in his mind. He KNEW full well that she was trying to tease him before sending him back, but he had had enough.

A wicked grin came to his face, and he hugged her more tightly.

“Huh?” She realized he wasn’t sent back. She looked up at him. “C-Cael?”

“You know.” Daemos awoke. “I think I might take you up on your offer.”

Io began sweating. “Um…” She felt Daemos pressing against her stomach. Io tried to send him back a few more times to realize that his divine power allowed him to resist her attempts.

“Well?” He gave a victorious smile.

“Can we take it slow? It will be my first time….”

He let her go and stepped away. “Nah!” And he vanished back to the mortal realm.

Io was stunned, stupid. He got her! He had utterly played with her!

She heard some snickering from behind herself. Turning, she saw Orbus, Nanduun, and Tilra struggling to hide their laughter.

“OUT! ALL OF YOU!” She screamed while covering her face in embarrassment.

Orbus and Nanduun quickly retreated, but Tilra lingered. “Don’t worry, snicker. You two can take it slow!” And she left quickly before Io grabbed her.

Io curled up on the bed and summoned a massive plushy she had made by hand. It had the form of a very familiar Demon-Lord. “I’m sorry, I can’t be serious about love….” She whined.

News of the Evil Goddess and the truth of Caeldaemos the Benevolent spread like wildfire. The rulers of every nation publicly announced and held a live conversation with the Demon-Lord. Though some were still hesitant to accept him, many chose to give him a chance. The two nations that became his closest allies were the demi-humans and demons.

The world had lost one enemy and gained another, but now they had a powerful ally to help fight what was to come. The Demon-Lord.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End Volume Three~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~