“Since you intend to spare the citizens, are you going to claim some of the territory?” Lilith asked.

“I have no intention of creating my own nation.” I said. “We will have to see how the war goes and what remains. I suspect the Empire will rebuild in some form. Or fracture into smaller kingdoms. To be honest, my knowledge is too limited to predict their future. It also depends on how many people are compromised by runes. What about you?”

“Ruling part of the mortal plane is not easy for a demon lord. I will need to watch my holdings back home, or others will get ideas. And sadly crossing over is not that easy.” Lilith said.

“Unless you created a permanent portal, using mass sacrifice during a war.” I pointed out.

“That is Ashemdai’s plan, not mine. It is foolish. It will start a war in hell. Many would want such a portal. I am not sure if he has enough allies to hold that.”

“Maybe he wants to leverage it? Allow access for swearing allegiance? Set himself up as a ruler in hell? If he has enough support…” I wondered.

“Hm. He is not the smart type. He might be encouraged by someone else. His cult is certainly going to show up in the war. We will need to stop them from doing something too foolish. And watch if other demon lords are with him.”

“You said you don’t want any territory. But I assume you are going to start a few local cults. Have succubi in important positions. Maybe influence some of the new rulers…” I said.

Lilith smiled. “Obviously. This whole situation has shown me that my intelligence network needs to grow.”

“And it allows you to influence their politics.” I added.

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“Mortals are foolish. My guidance will help them.” She responded.

I was not so sure about that. But so far Lilith was reasonable. Her cult was more about seduction and less about killing. I would have to keep an eye on her but I would not stop her from planting some succubi in the future Empire.

“How do you think this war will play out?” I asked.

“The Emperor is too proud to accept any help. I doubt that he will join our alliance even if he can’t defeat the Inquisition. We might face armies from both sides of the civil war. I suspect they will try to wear us down with numbers and hit us with elites once our spells are depleted.” She said.

“What about artefacts? The Empire must have items to deal with demon lords. They have been around for a long time. Also, what will the church do?” I wondered.

“Sure. We can expect them to whip out some blades that can slay us. I do not know of anything truly problematic but we need to be prepared. I suspect once their elites show up they will carry something. We can send our own minions first to wear them down.” She suggested.

I shook my head. “I will not sacrifice my people. I will fight with them.”

She ignored my comment and went on: “As for the church, they are likely siding with the Emperor against the Inquisition. They might not stand against us. Imperius has no problem with a war between nations. But he dislikes rebellions.”

“The biggest issue is likely whoever leads the Inquisition. I suspect they will have power on our level. Either from an artefact, or because they are a peer.” I said.

“Whoever or whatever it is seems to hide pretty well. It would be nice if they confronted us directly but I doubt it. We will need to be vigilant though. Not knowing who we face means we do not know their abilities.” She cautioned.

A fair point. We could be fighting someone who employed shapeshifting or illusions.

“Do you think some creature is pretending to be a high inquisitor? The Empire is rather human centric. Maybe something pretends to be one.” I wondered.

“Possible. It could also be a lich who was once human. But I have no doubt that the high inquisitors could simply be bribed by anyone. No matter how much they claim to fight for humans, they crave power. And they might still think that humans are the superior mortal race and just acknowledge that immortals are above them.” She responded.

I had not thought about it like that. Mortals worshipping a god is a common thing. People could believe in their superiority while still having a higher power they serve. Was the Inquisition worshipping something?

After a bit more small talk I decided to get on with my day.

“I have to say, I did enjoy our conversation. Next time Lucy should join us as well. It is nice to talk with a peer.” Lilith said as I got up.

“Likewise. And thank you for the tea.” I said.

Erin had not said anything but she kept refilling my cup during the conversation. She gave me a short bow as I left.