The 17th demon, Bottis, looked up at the highest point with eyes filled with utter confusion. Whether the human had forgiven Revenna or not, this was the Demon King’s nest and only he, himself, could decide how to treat Revenna in entirety.
“Master, it is time for the execution.”
“……”
“I will be killing Kimaris first.”
It was an incident where they had almost lost their hard-earned, valuable key. Even if Revenna was kept alive for some time in consideration for the key, Kimaris still needed to set an example for the future ahead. In regard to the fact of the price they would have to bear if they were to lay a hand on the King’s possessions.
At that time, Julia, who heard of Bottis’s sudden words, immediately raised her head. Her exhausted limbs trembled uncontrollably, but she didn’t care at all as she ran towards Bael and knelt down on her knees right in front of him.
“I, I didn’t act wisely enough.”
“Therefore?”
“Mister Kimaris has his heart held onto as collateral. So, please listen to the whole situation. He probably didn’t even wish to go against the Demon King at all.”
Bael’s high-pressure gaze fell directly towards her. Just because his magical powers hadn’t worked, it didn’t mean that she could ignore the sense of absolute intimidation which he exuded. Julia’s small shoulders instantly trembled with fear. Nevertheless, she still did not withdraw her standpoint at all.
After a brief moment of silence, the Demon King who twisted the corners of his lips began to ask.
“Then, what will you be able to give me?”
“I…….”
“You belong to me. Those two pieces of trash dared to actually covet their Master’s belonging.”
An extremely bored voice eventually resounded through the whole damp prison. Bael’s eyes that had been looking down on Julia were mixed with a sneer which could not be hidden at all.
“If something leaves, then something else must come instead. If I really save them, what would you give me in return?”
Julia instantly hesitated. She had possessed nothing of her own. Even this fragile body of hers that would die with just a touch of Bael’s hand was already as good as his own when she had first fallen into the Demon Realm.
Bael simply read her thoughts without much difficulty. His eyes were already gleaming with satisfaction.
“Make me into the Demon God. Whatever method it will be, be happy to accept it all as the key.”
“……”
“You can never escape. That body of yours and even a single strand of your hair.”
The methods that used humans as a medium were often rather irregular. This was because there had been several types that got affected by the will or even the emotions of the medium itself. If a way could actually be found and it required the voluntary help of the key itself, the situation was bound to become difficult then.
“I understand.”
As she realized Bael’s actual intentions, Julia nodded her head without any single hesitation. Then, the Demon King heavily descended the high stairs with an ultimately satisfied face. As much as that transpired, the pressure he was simultaneously exuding had also increased and not only Julia, herself, but the other demons had no other choice but to bow their heads.
He bent his head before grabbing onto Julia’s soft hair. Then, Bael whispered in her ear as she was dragged upwards.
“Even if you die.”
“…even if I die.”
As if she became possessed by something, Julia began to follow his words. Bael’s breath, which had kept a vague distance as if it could just touch her earlobe at any time, moved along her thin neckline before crawling down to her chin and slowly within a circular trajectory, along with his soft lips as well.
He stopped moving at a distance where their lips could just brush against each other while their breath seemed could intermingle with at any moment before he then continued.
“Accept all of it gladly as you turn me into the Demon God.”
“…I will gladly accept it all and turn you into the Demon God.”
The moment Bael’s hot tongue invaded her lips right after finishing the sentence, the most noble and pure red magic began to wreathe around her neck. It soon turned into an unrecognizable ancient sentence that eventually entwined into layers of chains all over her neck.
Julia instantly knew that this was a contract with the devil. And the price of such a particular contract was life itself. Still, she couldn’t refuse. From the very beginning, she had neither the justification nor the ability to refuse it all.
“Good.”
“Cough, cough!”
When the Demon King finally opened his lips and let go of his hand, she immediately dropped upon the floor. Barbatos, who was then the closest to her, grabbed a hold of her reflexively.
An engraving was ultimately left on the heart of whom had already lost her consciousness. If she didn’t fulfill the contract, it would then devour her life in an instant. And accompanied by such terrible pain—just like hell.
Bael eventually turned around as if he had already lost all interest. Only then did all the other demons become able to break free from the bondage of their King, like magic.
* * *
Julia slowly blinked her eyes, albeit blankly. A bright streak of sunlight was streaming in through the large window. The structure of the room was rather unfamiliar, but there was the Demon God’s tower standing right outside the window. So, she could realize that this current place was still the Demon King’s Castle.
“Little key, have you awakened?”
“Miss Agares…”
Julia made eye contact with the person who was gazing down at her from the bedside. Amidst Agares’s sharp pair of pupils lay a deep concern for her.
Julia suppressed her dizziness as she tried to get up straight away. Agares quickly restrained her and placed a cup to her lips. Julia, who looked down puzzlingly, instantly knew that it was water. Still, normal water that could be drunk by humans would never come from the Demon Realm itself.
At the same time, she immediately felt the thirst that she had forgotten all about at an instant. She grabbed onto the large cup in her hands and drank in haste.
“Cough, cough!”
Julia began coughing very hard, but Agares, who had wrinkled her eyebrows just momentarily before, subtly avoided her gaze in return. The expression on her face that always painted in confidence had seemed dark somehow.