Rhys’ eyes widened in shock at the sudden appearance of the woman, he took many shaky steps back as he called his sword into his hands, somehow it was still intact even after traveling through a black hole.

Theodore remained calm and looked up at the demon, more surprised to see that Asmodeus was a woman. “So? What if it was?”

The woman’s lips curled up slightly into an amused smile, her red eyes gleamed with an unknown emotion as she spoke. “Aren’t you an interesting one? No one had dared to speak to me like that in a while.”

Asmodeus lightly tapped the sea serpent’s head and it lowered itself down until she was able to slide off of it, she waved at the monster and it quickly retreated back into the lake. “I would test how strong you really are, but I’m afraid I would end up like Lucifer.”

“What do you want?” Theodore stared at the demon coldly.

She seemed to have gotten the message: He was getting impatient. “Mm? I was just wondering who trespassed into my beautiful lake. I'm building a new palace underwater so we’re quite vulnerable to attacks, I hope you understand.”

Theodore let out a soft huff, he was glad that they could talk over things rather than fight, it would be bad if Rhys ended up dying before schedule. “We were sent here unwillingly, I was going to ask if you could send us back?”

Asmodeus tilted her head, more specifically, she was trying to get a better look at the tanned young man behind him. “I do know of a way, but you’ll have to pay a little price for it.” She spoke with a mischievous smirk, causing Rhys to flinch.

“He’s not for sale.”

“Oh? Why not? I love the scaredy type though~” Asmodeus spoke in a sing-song tone.

“I have business to do with him.”

“What business?” The demon took a step closer to Theodore and leaned forward, staring at him as if she was looking deeper into something else.

[The Demon King of Lechery: Asmodeus is using the skill: ‘Soul Gaze’]

[Warning! You don’t have any mental resistance! The skill cannot be blocked!]

“What are you looking at?” Theodore glared at Asmodeus.

She instantly straightened her back and put her hands up defensively, she laughed it off as if it was a joke. “Calm down! My second name is ‘Demon King of Vengeance’, and your anger is especially strong, I just can’t help but be curious!”

“…What?”

“I know why you’re mad at him, but wow~ You’re really sadistic! Especially that separating organs—“

“Did you just look at my thoughts?” Theodore frowned and Asmodeus took another step back while laughing softly.

“Oh my! I just saw ‘how’ you wanted to take your revenge but I didn’t see anything else, I swear!”

“What did he want to do with my organs?” Rhys expressed clear terror on his face, if even a demon was surprised by it then he couldn’t help but fear for his life.

“I won’t tell~” Asmodeus put a finger to her lips. “That would spoil the fun!”

Theodore let out a long sigh. “Enough, Asmodeus, you know how to get out of here, right?”

“Mhm!” She nodded. “But I’ve already told you! I want payment!”

Theodore rolled his eyes. “Anything else other than him.”

“Oh, I’ve changed my mind,” Asmodeus put her hands behind her back and smiled at him. “I’m starting to like you more now~”

Theodore went quiet after hearing that, even Rhys was shocked that she’d suddenly confessed out of nowhere. “…No.”

“Aw!” Asmodeus looked genuinely sad. “But I really like you though!”

Rhys was amused by the scene, he suppressed a laugh before speaking. “Yeah, take him instead!”

Theodore would’ve turned around and punched Rhys in the face at that moment if Asmodeus didn’t suddenly jump at him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Waa! Please give me a chance~ I’ll do anything for you!”

“No!” Theodore frowned at her as he tried struggling out of her grasp, but her strength was far greater and instead the embrace tightened. “I bet you said the same thing to the last guy too!”

“Eh!? I might be the Demon King of Lechery but I’m an honest, sweet woman!”

Theodore gritted his teeth in annoyance before deciding to transform back into a snake, his sudden increase in size managed to let him break out of Asmodeus’ cling and he looked down at her angrily. “You can’t just force me, that’s not how it works.”

Rhys jumped at the sudden appearance of the giant snake, but no one was paying much attention to him shivering in his shoes.

“But…” Asmodeus pursed her lips and looked down, as if ashamed. “But I don’t know how it works…People usually fall in love with me at first sight…”

Theodore was quiet for a moment, not expecting someone with the title of ‘Demon King’ would suddenly act humbling. He sighed before returning to his human shape. “Unfortunately for you, I’m different.”

“Then…Does that mean you don’t like me?” Asmodeus glanced up at him.

“…” He sighed again. “We can be friends, will that do?”

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That seemed to have cheered up the demon, her eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly. “Yes! I’ll make you love me in no time!”

“That’s not what I—Ha…You can try.” Theodore shrugged, not thinking much about what he’d said, he was too fixated on getting back to his dad and friends.

“Okay! But I still have a favor to ask,” Asmodeus clasped her hands together.

“If you’re not forcing me to date you then ask away.”

Asmodeus smiled as she pointed behind her towards the Lake of Rage. “Can you take care of my palace for me?”

Theodore frowned. “Wouldn’t it be better to have your own people guard the place?”

“Oh, that’s okay!” Asmodeus waved, as if saying that it wasn’t a problem. “I trust you! Besides, most of my men are stationed at the main palace, so sending them here would only weaken my defenses.”

Theodore glanced towards the lake. “…How long do we need to stay here for?”

Asmodeus hummed as she averted her gaze elsewhere. “Hm…Maybe a few weeks? They’d just begun constructing the palace.”

He didn’t want to stay here for long for obvious reasons. He was worried that his friends wouldn't be able to protect themselves if something goes wrong, but then again, he gave them S-Grade weapons because of this wariness so he shouldn’t burden himself with useless thoughts.

Theodore was okay with the demon king’s request though. “I’ll stay for a month at maximum.”

Asmodeus clasped her hands together. “That’s great! I’ll give you a tour of the Under Rage!”

“Under Rage?”

“Under the Lake of Rage!” The woman sounded proud for some reason. “It’s a clever name, I know.”

Rhys, who’d been keeping his mouth shut this entire time, had finally decided to speak up. “How are we supposed to even breathe down there?”

Asmodeus looked at the blonde as if he was stupid. “I came out of the lake dry and you didn’t notice?”

“Oh.” Rhys leaned his head back slightly, a dumbfounded expression on his face, he took a glance at his sword then decided it would be best to place it back in its sheath beside his belt, not even noticing that he was still subconsciously holding onto it.

The woman turned back towards Theodore, smiling softly as she swung her hands behind her back. “We should talk for a bit too, I’m curious about you.”

“Why should I tell you anything?” Theodore raised an eyebrow.

Asmodeus pouted. “Aren’t we friends? Besides, it’s not like I have anyone that I could talk to.”

“The other demon kings?”

The mentioning of the other demons only made Asmodeus laugh, she shook her head in disgust before speaking. “They’re power-hungry idiots, I don’t hang around them much.”

Now Theodore was curious. “…Fine, we can exchange what we know.”

Asmodeus whistled. “Oh? Do you want to know about me too?”

“It’s only fair.”

The demon king laughed. “Okay~ Let’s talk while we catch our ride there.”

“Ride?”

Theodore turned towards the lake as a massive creature rose onto the surface, although this time it wasn’t as violent so it didn’t create a large wave just like before. The blue-scaled sea serpent slowly lowered its head onto shore, allowing everyone to climb onto it.

“Lily here will take us down!” Asmodeus was the first to hop onto the creature before stroking its forehead with the back of her hand. “Don’t worry, she doesn’t bite!”

.

.

.

Rhys had almost gotten his hand bitten off by Lily, but fortunately for him, the pet’s owner was there before he could become disabled.

A thin layer of coating wrapped around their frames as the sea serpent descended into the lake, preventing water from leaking in and providing air for them to breathe.

Lily slithered downwards until they’d almost reached the bottom, by then, the minimum surface light could no longer illuminate the lake’s floor and they would soon be engulfed in total darkness.

Asmodeus used magic to create multiple ruby-like fireballs that would light up the path for them, allowing everyone to see clearly even with so little light. “This place would become the main road once the palace is built! It won’t be as dark as now.”

Theodore looked around to inspect his surroundings, he noticed that there were many eyes watching them, and even Rhys seemed to know that as well since his expression was filled with nervousness.

Or maybe he was just motion sick.

Since Asmodeus was there with them, the other demons didn’t attack. “Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Oh yeah!” Asmodeus clicked her tongue. “I was wondering what sort of demon you are, I’ve never seen a snake creature like you before.”

“…You didn't seem surprised when you first saw me.”

The demon king only chuckled. “Well, nothing can really escape our eyes when we want to know something.” She started, the ‘we’ in her sentence most likely meant the demon kings. “I’ve already seen your true form when I looked at your soul. Now answer my question!”

“Do you know what an Ouroboros is?”

Asmodeus turned around and smiled. “Are you saying that you’re an Ouroboros?”

“No, I’m ‘the’ Ouroboros.”

His words made the woman laugh. “I wouldn’t have believed you if not for your aura, but the power of the Cycle is quite weak, is it because you’re in a physical form? Or is it because you’re actually borrowing the real Ouroboros’ power?”

Theodore was surprised, he didn’t expect her to deduct that much with so little information, despite her actions, it seemed that she was a lot more clever than what she let on.

Asmodeus’ smile grew slightly wider. “I’ll take your silence as a yes, now your turn!”

Theodore didn’t need to spend that much time thinking about his questions. “Do you know why monsters have invaded the human world?”

The demon king frowned with a shake of her head. “Not really, I was just told the nitty gritty of things, but since Hell isn’t that impacted, I sort of ignored it.”

“Who told you about it?”

“I thought we were supposed to take turns,” Asmodeus said jokingly but answered him nonetheless. “Who else would tell me? It’s the Creator himself!”

“God?”

“Yep! Though if you want me to go ask him more about it…I probably wouldn’t get a straight answer.”

Theodore nodded, believing that would most likely be the case, besides, even if God does answer everyone’s question, why would he even bother speaking to a demon?

“My turn!” Asmodeus spoke in a cheery tone. “How did you kill Lucifer?”

He needed some time to think of an answer, he wasn’t sure of how much he should be revealing to her just yet, even though she was willing to answer him truthfully, he wasn’t going to easily give in, after all, the information she’d given away wasn’t that relevant to her.

“I just killed him, he was in a place called ‘Eternal Purgatory’.” Theodore shrugged, as if asking her how he was supposed to answer. “We fought for about three hours, but I used ‘Evil Vanquish’ to end him when he let his guard down.”

“Evil Vanquish?” Asmodeus sounded intrigued. “That’s an angel’s spell, how did you learn that?”

“Let’s just say I copied ‘his’.”

Now Asmodeus was really surprised, her mouth fell slightly agape before she finally spoke. “But that would mean you need to live the Evil Vanquish first, right?”

“Technically I didn’t live it,” Theodore used this as an opportunity to cover up one of his skills. “Besides, I’m an Ouroboros, so wouldn’t I just come back again and again no matter how many times I die?”

“So that’s how he’s alive…” Rhys mumbled, most likely to himself, he was sitting behind Theodore this entire time and had been listening to the two of them talking. “But how would we kill you before the Winter Solstice?”

“What?” Theodore turned around, causing Rhys to flinch.

“Ah…I was just talking to myself.”

“Yeah, and you’ve conveniently let me know about it.”

Rhys frantically shook his head. “I don’t know anything about it either! Father just told me that you should die before the next Winter Solstice and that was it!”

[The Skill ‘Lord of Souls’ has peered into Rhys Griffins’ soul.]

[His words are confirmed as ‘TRUTH’]

‘Why is it that everyone around me doesn’t know anything?’ Theodore was getting frustrated, but since couldn’t exactly do anything about the situation, he thought it would be best to calm down and take things step by step.

“If I find out that you’re hiding something crucial from me, you’re dead.” He turned back to face Asmodeus. “I have one more question for now.”

“What is it?” She tilted her head so that she could glance at him from the side.

“Why are you being friendly towards me?”

Asmodeus giggled. “Is there a need for me to be friendly towards people? First, I felt that you’re someone who I could use words with, and second, I like you.”

[The Skill ‘Lord of Souls’ has peered into the Demon King of Lechery: Asmodeus’ soul.]

[Her words are confirmed as ‘TRUTH’]

While he initially thought that the skill wouldn’t work on her, it turned out that he was wrong, he was just trying it out for the sake of it, but since he now knew that Asmodeus wasn’t lying, he felt more at ease with her. “Okay, that’s all from me, I can’t think of anything else to ask.”

“Mhm, but I still have one more thing,”

“Yeah?”

Asmodeus smiled. “I didn’t quite catch your name yet, and I don’t think your name is Ouroboros either.”

It caught Theodore slightly by surprise. “Ah, I’m Theodore.”

“Theodore, huh.” The demon king chuckled. “It’s a beautiful name, but you already know I’m Asmodeus so I guess there’s no need for introduction.”

“You’re not going to ask how I know?”

The woman shook her head. “It’s easy to guess, there’s only one skill that can bypass even a demon king’s veil: True Dragon Eyes.”

‘Damn, she’s smart.’ Theodore wasn’t sure how he should feel about it, but at the very least, he could be sure that Asmodeus was an ally.

“Anyway, we’re here now!” Asmodeus turned to the front and pointed into the darkness, the fireballs flew towards where her finger was directed and illuminated the area for them to see.

Even if it was still under construction, anyone should be able to tell that it was going to be extremely beautiful. The scaffolding outlined the palace’s irregular structure, the goal seemed to be an infinity-symbol-like shape with one curve being taller than the other. For what Theodore could see, only the base had been built, and their material of choice was some sort of white steel, marble, and another unknown stone that seemed to be glowing all colors in a rainbow.

“Welcome!” Asmodeus spreaded her arms outwards as Lily swam closer to the unfinished building, she would land on the floor, allowing the passengers to dismount. “To the Pearl Palace!”

Theodore jumped down from Lily’s back and was able to get a better look at the palace, it was way bigger than what he’d anticipated, but it’d rightfully earned the right to be called a ‘palace’. “What are you even building this for?”

“Mhm, I don’t know yet!” Asmodeus exclaimed nonchalantly, but Theodore only stared at her as if she was crazy, which prompted her to speak up. “Oh don’t worry! I just thought of what I could do with this place! But if I tell you now it would ruin the surprise~”

Theodore would’ve said something about it if not for the sudden scream in the distance, all three of them whipped their heads around and saw a massive fire tornado coming from the direction.

Rhys frowned. “Fire? Underwater?”

Even Asmodeus had abandoned her usual cheerful look, her expression turned grim as a long spike-covered whip appeared in her grip. “Seems like I need you to do me another favor.”