Chapter 129 The Dance Of Despair [Pt 5]
A hatted gentleman Demon.
A cute furball Demon.
A black, sinister Demon.
These were the three foes that stood before Lilith—all of whom were more powerful than she.
The strongest, however, was undoubtedly, the one with the hat.
"You killed a good number of our Demons, but I suppose they were just weak. That is their lot. It's the same as the humans here. Their death is also their lot for being the way they are, wouldn't you agree?"
Lilith didn't know what to think. She simply kept quiet and watched how her fate would be decided.
"Your skills are a bit crude, but I see potential. If you keep resisting us, I will have no choice but to eliminate you, but... if you choose to come over to our side, your life will be spared.
Lilith could sense no malice from the proposer. His black and red eyes were honest, and his outstretched hand—though gloved—was a sign of his sincerity.
"What do you say? Join us and live? Resist and die. The choice is yours."
Lilith bit her lip.
The choice was quite obvious, wasn't it? Yet...
"If you're hesitating because of the terms of your Slave Contract, I can easily take care of it. If you remain silent, I'll assume you desire to join our side, but your contract forbids you from expressing it." The hatred Demon grew closer.
A single step forward caused Lilith to shiver in absolute fright.
"N-NO!" Lilith finally blurted out.
It wasn't even worthy of thought. Her mind had already been made long ago. She just had to gain enough strength to declare her decision.
"Hm? Is this due to your Slave Contract as well? I can't imagine you'd want to remain as—"
"Lilith chooses this of her own free will! Lilith will never leave Master!" She rose to her feet, exuding unshakable determination.
"Hm. It seems I misunderstood. You're quite determined, Young Demon."
Lilith's eyes burned with passion indeed, but her body was weak. She had no strength to fight back.
"As promised, your resistance means death." The hatted Demon sighed.
Lilith maintained her ground.
Her whole life, she had been scared of death above all else. She endured inconceivable humiliation and torture from her previous masters simply because of her desire to live.
After doing all that, desperately clinging to life, the Demon found it strange that she was finally going to meet her end.
It wasn't as though she didn't have the chance to live. It was a simple choice, but she found herself unable to make it.
'Lilith will never betray Master! Lilith will never leave Master!'
"You seem to love your Master so much..." The hatted Demon, as though reading her thoughts, spoke calmly.
His left eye began gaining bright prominence. He was clearly up to something, and Lilith took a defensive stance once she realized this.
"... I wonder where he could be, leaving his loyal slave in this condition."
Lilith felt pierced in her heart upon hearing those words, but there was no way she could imagine her Master leaving her.
He would never betray her... right?
"Surely, you're considering it. Perhaps he left and saved his life. Isn't that plausible?"
"Shut up..."
"Excuse me?"
"Lilith said, shut up! What do you know about Master?!"
Memories upon memories overlapped in Lilith's brain.
She remembered how he defended his settlement from her invasion. How he helped build the town into something amazing and beautiful. How he tried his hardest to protect the City Of Dulum.
Lilith remembered her Master's tears, how he worried about the people... and about her.
"MASTER WOULD NEVER LEAVE ME!" With more conviction than ever before, Lilith yelled with all her heart.
"Commendable. Your personality makes me want you to join us even more. Be that as it may, it is regrettable that you chose this path."
Lilith steadied her breathing and decided to give her all to the very end.
Even if it was to buy one more second, or one extra minute. She would hold her ground and wait!
"I won't let you—!"
Before she completed her sentence, Lilith felt her consciousness fade instantly.
'E-eh...?'
She died that very moment.
"Evil Eye: Death" The hatred Demon gave a soft sigh as he stared at the collapsing corpse of the Demon who dared oppose him.
His eyes narrowed as he watched her. His heart tightened, but he quickly abandoned the feeling.
"It indeed is such a shame."
There was no need to regret, though. He had given her a choice. She was the one foolish enough to refuse. If only she had been more receptive, then Lilith would be like the two behind him.
Those who were wise enough to see.merit in his proposal.
"Black. White. Let's go." He spoke, leaving the scene with his mission complete.
"Yes, Lord Heshu."
With this chorus, the Demon Generals respectfully bowed.
It seemed strange that they would do that to a fellow colleague, but the two Demons knew the hierarchy.
Even among all ten of them, the Demon Generals didn't have the same capabilities and level of authority. Even though they were supposed to be equal by name and title, the reality of the situation was from far from equality.
For the Demon Generals, people like Hogun, Pierrus, and Adu were considered extremely strong. No one dared to mess with them, even though they all belonged to the same rank.
However...
... Even these three understood their level compared to Heshu.
Being much older than the rest of them, Heshu was a prime Demon who had reached his limits ages ago. To complement his abilities, he gathered Magic Items and was now even more powerful than most Middle Class Demons—if not all.
That was the kind of being he was. The kind of existence that made every other Demon General dwarf I'm comparison... almost like an Upper Class Demon.
Even though his comrades watched him in awe, Heshu ignored them and kept walking. He needed to rendezvous with the others at the North Gate.
Still, the picture of the young Middle Class Demon never left his mind.
She wasn't absurdly powerful, but... something about her persistence and spirit moved him.
'Her name is Lilith, huh? I see...' A smile formed on his face.
It was impossible to tell if it was that of sadness or satisfaction.
"Sounds like a good name."