Chapter 91 – Floor 9: Part 12

Yule felt an overriding sense of trepidation and nervousness as she descended the stairs leading to the pavilion. In front of her, Demon Lord Mathew seemed unfazed by the mana in the air. But to Yule, it felt like she was entering into the midst of a tempest of energies.

There was a swirling of mana around Mathew that she hadn’t been aware of until she had come close to the young man. It had been absent from the throne room; most likely, he had deliberately retracted his power to stop Goodwin and herself from being overwhelmed.

But here, in this place, Mathew’s powers were on full display to the chronicler.

It felt like an electric current was passing over her exposed skin, static energy that created goosebumps. Even her hair was rising on its ends. The strands moved despite the absence of any wind.

With each step she took toward the pavilion, the feeling worsened. The energies of the Demon Lords clashed and merged, invisible joining and battles that could only be felt by the weak humans that were permitted in their presence.

Yule resisted the urge to make notes. As much as she wanted to document this phenomenon, she didn’t want to take her eyes off the approaching scene. Everything she experienced here would be burned into her memories, and she would never forget this momentous occasion.

She could recognize the other chronicles that accompanied the Demon Lords. Men and women of the Cathedral of Knowledge with decades more experience than herself. She was the youngest here, her position was earned through dedication and hard work.

Looking away from the white-robed figures that were sprinkled throughout the Pavilion, Yule studied Mathew carefully as he exited the staircase and entered the Pavilion.

“Finally! I thought you were never going to arrive, Larson.” One of the Demon Lords called out, a young woman wearing a long, black leather coat with silver buckles. Her dark brown hair was pulled up into a bun, and she had a grin on her face as she approached Mathew.

Yule thought that the young woman was going to embrace Mathew, and to her shock, she slapped him hard on the shoulder. The force of the blow gave Yule pause; it was hard enough that it would have no doubt knocked her down and caused serious injury, but Mathew was completely unfazed.

“Alivia. If I had known you were going to be here, I would never have come.” Mathew replied, but his words were contradicted by his smile.

“Right! You would have been running after me like a little lost puppy. Everyone, did you know I saved Mathews's worthless life back on the Fifth Floor?” Alivia shouted, throwing her arm around Mathew’s shoulder and turning to the others.

“You saved me more than once if I recall correctly. But I returned the favour.” Mathew countered, causing Alivia to laugh.

“That you did. Cost me my deck, though.” Alivia grumbled.

‘Deck?’ Yule thought, filing away that tidbit of information for later.

“It was worth it. I’m glad you’re here. It's nice to see a friendly face.” Mathew answered.

Alivia was about to speak when another woman approached. This one was young as well, and Yule estimated she couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen. Heartbreakingly beautiful with long, blond hair framing a pair of green eyes, the Demon Lord stopped in front of the pair.

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“Alivia, it is disrespectful to monopolize Demon Lord Mathew without introducing him to everyone.” The young woman stated, and Alivia scoffed.

“Aster, Mathew. Aster is the Twelfth Demon Lord if you can believe this floor’s asinine way of ranking us. Load of horseshit if you ask me. There’s no way you should be Thirteenth, Larson. Not after I met the rest of this bunch.” Alivia whispered the last part so only Yule and Mathew could hear it.

“I know who you are. Your name made the rounds on the seventh floor. Mathew the Enduring. You killed Samuel, the Traitor.” Aster replied coldly. Yule gave a start at the comment.

‘Who is Samuel, and why was his death important?’ She thought.

“I don’t like that title. Samuel was a friend who made a mistake.” Mathew responded, his face forming a frown. The air felt heavier, like it was pressing down on her, and it caused Yule to shiver. She had only known Mathew for a short time; was this what it was like when he was angry?

“Now, now. We’re all friends here. Bringing up the Seventh Floor isn’t good for anyone.” Alivia intervened, and Mathew’s face relaxed.

“I wasn’t aware you were on the Seventh Floor with me, Alivia.” Mathew said, his tone questioning, and Alivia shrugged in response.

“We all were. We just were all more fortunate than you that we didn’t have to fight an Apostle. I was near the south pole. Bloody freezing. It would have been a mile deep in ice if there were any moisture there. But I heard about what you were up to. Righteous Subjugation made sure to keep us updated.” Alivia explained, and Mathew nodded.

“Aster here was with me, along with some of the others. Good times.” Alivia finished, and Yule guessed from her expression that the experience was anything but ‘good.’

“It was a challenge, but one that made us stronger for the experience. I am surprised that you did not take more advantage of it, Mathew. I had thought you would be stronger.” Aster said and Yule’s ears perked.

There was so much information hidden in what they were saying! It was frustrating that she couldn’t grab Mathew and drag him away to barrage him with questions. But she was here to watch and listen. The Cathedral had made that very clear. She could only record what was offered.

Mathew didn’t respond to the taunt, and he just shrugged his shoulder.

“What rank are you, Alivia?” Mathew asked, and his friend smiled broadly.

“Eighth!” She replied with pride, and Mathew nodded calmly at the declaration.

“So, are you going to introduce me to the others?” Mathew asked, stepping past Aster and moving toward the Pavilion where the other Demon Lords were gathering. Yule studied them carefully, committing their appearance to memory.

“Of course! We’ll start in order of Rank since that will be easier for you. Don’t worry. Not everyone is as bad as Aster. She’s a special kind of assh-” Alivia was cut off by Aster before she could finish her curse.

“Marvin, Fencer.” Aster said, gesturing for the next person standing in the Pavilion. A large and burly soldier, he was wearing camo pants, a black shirt that clung to him tightly to show off his muscles, and a thin mustache that was curled slightly on the ends.

Hearing his name, he left the others, stepped across the Pavilion, and held out his hand.

“You must be Mathew, the last of our compatriots. I’m number eleven, by the way. Terrible how they rank us like that, but I must say, it gives me a bit of motivation to improve.” Marvin said, and Yule blinked in surprise at the onslaught of words. She had expected a deep voice combined with a rough style of speaking based on his appearance.

Instead, he spoke quickly. He had an odd accent compared to the other Demon Lords, and Yule didn’t recognize it.

“That it does.” Mathew said simply.

“So, you were there during the assault against the Apostle? I heard that not many of you made it out of there alive. ‘Enduring’ indeed. I wish I had earned a Title like that when I was on the Seventh Floor.” Marvin continued.

“You did! Marvin The Never Shutting Up Even When We Ask You To.” Alivia retorted, and Marvin burst out laughing. Aster took the moment where the two of them were distracted and arguing to speak to Mathew.

“The three of us were on the Seventh Floor together. It was...trying, but Alivia and Marvin can be counted on. Alivia has assured me that you can be trusted as well. It's important that we present a united front.” Aster said.

“United against who?” Mathew asked, and the frosty woman faltered for a moment. Her eyes flicked to the far side of the Pavilion where six Demon Lords stood, deep in discussion while excluding their Chroniclers.

“They are the top ‘Ranked’ amongst them, and they expect us to obey them in all things.” Aster whispered.

“I can understand why. The ‘Buzz’ is warning me from all the way over here to stay away from them.” Mathew replied, his eyes locked on the six figures across from them. Yule didn’t understand what they were saying.

‘What is the ‘Buzz’?’ Yule thought with frustration. It was bad enough that a tempest of opposing energy was battering her; would it kill them to speak plainly!?