Adam’s story came to an end and the room grew silent. Even Raou, the one who’s been most vocal, sat contemplating the severity of what he had just heard, but it didn’t last for too long.
“Onvyr, you better start explaining right away. There isn’t a single record of any pale demons with this sort of magic. It’s unnatural, there is no way the great spirits would approve of it.”
The spitful eyes of Raou darted between Adam’s and Onvyr’s. his collected words made him appear much calmer than he truly was, and Adam saw right past it and prepared himself.
He expected Onvyr to drop the charade and come clean, he definitely knew more about the old world than any living being, yet he played the fool and kept even the one he served in the dark.
“I…I was there when we first crossed the gate, amongst the first wave. I was there every single time the old lord opened it for all of the other waves to pass through…not a single pale demon ever walked out of that gate, that I can promise. I don’t understand, this is impossible, could it be that someone else opened the gat—”
Raou slammed his hand on his armchair and stood up.
“blasphemy! Only the lineage of the demon lord could open the gate, it is the will of the great spirits.”
“spare me with the religious nonsense will you Raou, we followed the old lord blindly through the gate, he gave no reason for our departure yet we believed him because it was the will of the great spirits, look where that has gotten us.”
It was rare to see Onvyr give in to his anger yet it was happening right in front of their eyes. Raou was taken aback by the sight but still furious at his words, but he wasn’t the first to reply.
“what do you mean? You came here without knowing why…my god, no wonder we never managed to extract that information from any prisoners. You fucking parasites killed billions because of superstition?”
Adam cared very little about their conversation up until now. An argument between demons was uninteresting for him, but that one bit of information that slipped out of Onvyr’s mouth was enough to get him fully invested and truly furious.
The war was long and the deaths were plenty, he remembered it with agonizing detail. The faces of those he failed to save as well as those he had to sacrifice would haunt him in his sleep every night.
Humanity went from billions to nothing in such a short time. all the greatness and achievement they accumulated over thousands of years were wiped away in the blink of an eye. entire continents lost in nuclear hellfire and structures that stood since the rise of man began toppled and turned to dust. Knowing that all was lost because of religious superstition was unbearable for Adam, and it was made clear to all present.
“you mindless cattle are no different from the animals you eat. You stand on the rubble of my people’s greatness, erect this poor excuse for a city on top of it and call yourselves our equals. Maybe I should’ve destroyed it when had the chance.”
Onvyr and the demon lord were shocked. Adam’s situation was contained up until now, the In’shi clan might have taken him in and even given him their name, but in reality, that meant very little and everyone of importance knew it.
But the situation just took a drastic turn for the worst, Adam was on his feet saying things that would get any other servant of the demon lord executed right to his face. Onvyr knew he had to dial him back before things get out of hand.
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He took a glance at the demon lord a quickly saw fear he desperately tried to hide. He had fate in his followers, especially Raou and Onvyr but memories of the massacre Adam carried out chained him in fear.
“Moren, calm down. Remember, it’s all in the past, right now we are trying to help you get back—”
Onvyr couldn’t finish his sentence before the shadow of Raou dashed passed him, sword out and eyes wide open in anticipation.
“YOU INSOLENT LITTLE—AGH”
Raou’s dash along with his screams suddenly halted. His body stood still clutching his sword, the tip only inches away from Adam’s neck. He tried to move but couldn’t, he trailed to thrust his sword but couldn’t, he tried to speak again but couldn’t. Raou was rendered a prisoner in his own body, and the walls of his cell were crushing him alive.
His eyes were the only thing he could control, and a single look at Adam gave him the explanation he needed. Their eyes met and Raou felt something he thought was long lost to him, fear.
Behind the faint blue light enveloping him, Adam’s eyes were staring back at him, almost peering right into his soul.
Raou locked eyes with many enemies before, all looking to take his life, but this was not similar. They were not the eyes of a devoted warrior or a cold-blooded soldier about to strike down an enemy, they were the eyes of a giant about to crush an annoying mosquito. Emotionless and empty of everything but momentary spite.
“bow”
The ground beneath Raou’s feet cracked as the pressure pushing him down increased, planting his knees in the ground. Unlike his run-in with Shiira, his body wasn’t getting shredded by spikes of ice but was getting crushed by an invisible force. One that rendered his magic useless and his weapon little more than a liability
he cursed himself for not preparing a barrier before jumping into a fight, his words only echoed inside his mind along with his silent screams of pain.
“Moren let him go!”
Onvyr’s hand was hovering over his sword, his eyes held both conviction and a hint of fear, but it was not directed at Adam. He kept glancing back to the demon lord behind him, and Adam quickly picked up on it.
Raou’s body finally gave away and his head was driven into the ground, putting him in a groveling position that he no longer had the strength to resist.
“listen to me Moren, right now you still haven’t done anything wrong. He attacked you first and you defended yourself, but if you go any further I’ll—”
“do what? The same trick won’t work on me twice and you know that. Also, isn’t your lord right behind you? Can you even fight in here?”
Adam put his foot on Raou’s head as Onvyr watched, his eyes wide open and sweat running down his forehead.
The entire room shook and cracks began forming on the walls as more power emanated from Adam’s body. Onvyr took that as his cue to draw his sword, the same one that fell Adam not too long ago.
“put that thing away, we both know that I could destroy this entire city before you can kill me…but I won’t. Finding others is more important for now. I’ll do your little mission, give me the map, I’ll go right now.”
“there is no need, just go to your chambers, someone will reach for you in a few hours and guide you to the palace, that’s where you’ll meet your guide and begin your journey, try to use this time to calm down.”
Onvyr breathed a sigh of relief and put his sword away as Adam walked out the door, the power that enveloped the room and was crushing Raou disappeared as he closed it behind him, leaving him collapsed from exhaustion.
“this wasn’t how it was supposed to go Onvyr, will you tell him of his real objective?”
The demon lord coughed and tried to compose himself before speaking, hiding the nervousness and fear in his voice behind a layer of calm professionalism.
“not to worry my lord, we’ll entrust that task to his guide. Aside from the little mishap at the end, it all went smoothly. we needed him to go to the city of mist as soon as possible and he just volunteered to do it. the rest can be carried out by the girl, she’ll be safe as long as she’s around him.”