I inspected the demon who stood before us. She had a slightly reddish skin, deep red eyes and her horns were black. Her clothing changed with the transformation. Possibly due to a storage device. She now wore a very form fitting black leather armour. It certainly highlighted her big bust.

The demon looked rather seductive. Maybe she was a succubus? There were obvious differences to Lilastheria’s form. Like the wings. But I had no idea how many types of succubi existed.

While I simply studied the demon Lucy had summoned her spear and was twirling it. Shani grinned, possibly contemplating a slaughter. Lily looked annoyed. Oh, and Josef started drooling. Maybe a passive effect from the demon? Minerva looked flushed. At least Thessia only frowned.

“Maybe you should introduce yourself, again.” I suggested with a firm voice.

“My name is Marry, I am a succubus in service of Lilith.” She said with a bow.

“She is lying. Her name is Eshantri.” Lily corrected the demon.

The expression of pure shock on the succubus was amusing. “We are off to a great start. Lying about your name really helps with trust.” I said chuckling.

“I… That… How did you know?!?” Eshantri seemed slightly panicked.

“She is also a high succubus. They tend to be slightly stronger but the most defining feature are the wings. Keep in mind that the exact power depends a lot on the individual and their age. She is mostly an infiltration specialist. She is in charge of several normal succubi and her showing up personally means this is something she considers important.” Lily explained.

“How high does she rank in Lilith’s court?” I asked.

“Somewhere in the middle, definitely not part of the inner circle. But considering the situation she might be in contact with people rather high up.”

“Stop! How do you know all this? WHO ARE YOU?” Eshantri was really panicking now.

“She is our loyal maid knight!” Lucy helpfully explained.

I addressed the distressed succubus. “Well hello, Eshantri. Now that we got the lying out of the way, please tell us what you are doing here. I would also advise you not to try anything.”

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Eshantri was trembling now. She was not prepared for the insight we had. “I… I was trying to get more information on the mind control runes. I hoped that we could get Minerva and examine her. You… you probably know that they are experimenting on demons. They used some of Lilith’s subordinates and she is not amused. Our spies in the inquisition noticed a commotion. Anything that has the inquisition worried is something worth investigating. I hoped I could finish here before the real negotiator showed up. My agents should have delayed him.”

“So Aiden is real?” I asked.

“Yes. I doubt he would actually appear in person but he has a lot of authority. I needed a cover that could overrule anyone on the scene to abduct Minerva.”

“Are you responsible for the demonic cult?”

“No! That is Ashmedai. He is more into brute force, blood sacrifice and things like that. Lilith is a civilised demon lord!”

“Uhu. Lily?”

“The cult certainly fits Ashmedai. I have no knowledge if he is really involved but he was an associate of Mantus. They worked together in the past. It could be true. He is ancient and quite a bit stronger than Mantus was. As for Lilith being civilised… to a degree. She is more into manipulation than outright conflict. But she is still a demon lord. Most beings of power are not as kind as you are my lady.”

Eshantri’s tail stiffened at the mention of beings of power. Had she forgotten that I was an archfey? Or did she not believe the reports?

“Are there any more demon lords involved?” I asked.

“I… I don’t know of any others.”

“What can you tell us about the inquisition and the runes?”

“A human mage named Beira was experimenting on creating better human bloodlines. At some point, for reasons I don’t know, she cooperated with the inquisition. She provided them with the information to summon them. That is when they started using demons. After a while, Lilith noticed something strange happening with some of her succubi. They were killed, but in a disturbing way. I do not know any details. But I was among the demons ordered to figure out what was going on. We encountered the mind control runes when trying to charm a human. Since the person died in the process, we did not get any information. We know that they are working on demons but we do not know how far they have come. And we were unable to free any human affected. Minerva was too tempting to ignore.”

“My lady, there is something to add.” Lily said. “Most likely Lilith has multiple groups working on this. Eshantri is not high enough to be informed about all the progress that has been made. So her knowledge might be incomplete.”

Eshantri glanced nervously at Lily. Her insight into Lilith’s operations clearly bothered her.

I pondered her words. “Do you know who is in charge? The remaining high inquisitors?”

“We believe someone else might be pulling the strings. But we don’t know who.”

“You don’t know very much, do you?” Lucy said.

“I can get in touch with my superiors though! I am certain they would like to work with you against the inquisition!”

“Thoughts?” I asked my companions.

“Whatever, let's kill more things!” Shani said.

Lucy shrugged. “Lily is the expert, I am fine either way.”

I looked at Lily. “Lilith might not be pleased with your past actions, my ladies.” She was clearly referring to us freeing her. “But I think she would consider this important enough to overlook that. Also, Lilith would honour a deal with an archfey. You are powerful enough that she would treat you with respect. Working with a demon lord will hurt your reputation with the Empire. I am not sure what the Dominion will think about that.”

“It’s not like the Empire can hate us any more.” Lucy pointed out. I nodded.

“What does Sylphania say about working with a demon lord?” I asked.

“She would not punish me for it.” Thessia said. “Lilith is not one of the cruel ones. While I am uncomfortable with her manipulative nature, her more sexual aspects are nothing the church objects to. If it can help us solve the problem I would consider working with her the lesser evil.”

“I see. I suppose it can’t hurt to hear her out. Of course we can’t let you slip away Eshantri. You will have to stay with us until we make contact with your superior. Now, what do we do with the actual negotiator?”