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Three days later, a banquet was held in the ‘Castle of Mirrors’ to celebrate Mirror Princess Anaxia’s usurpation of the Duchy.
Vassals dressed to the nines in fancy gowns and ceremonial robes danced in a grand hall illuminated by magical candles.
At first glance, it looked like an ordinary ballroom. The only suspicious thing was that the wrists and ankles of all the retainers were handcuffed and shackled with long chains stretching out through the place.
The source of the chains was in the many mirrors that covered the walls and ceilings of the castle. They were connected, like marionettes on a string, to four rows of chains extending from the mirrors.
Clank, clank, clank.
Thanks to this, no matter how gracefully they danced, the sound of metal dragging on the floor caused dissonance.
It was inevitable. Because this was the relationship between the ruler and the ruled in the realm of Demons.
The Demon World followed the Law of The Jungle. For a demon to acquire a vassal, it meant that it used its power to force another demon, weaker than itself, to submit its soul.
In other words, they were called vassals, but they were Anaxia’s eternal slaves.
Anaxia sat in her chair and sourly watched the ball.
“Haa……”
Letting a loud sigh to call for attention, the Succubus Queen looked at her.
“Are you uncomfortable, Lady Anaxia?”
“Do I look comfortable to you? Look at the conditions of this ballroom.”
“Hmm……Oh, I see! Are you unhappy because the vassals can’t dance? I’ll cut off their ankles right now!”
The dancing slave-like vassals hiccuped and their feet slipped, causing them to stumble.
“You idiot, that’s not it.”
“Kyaang, then please tell me why.”
“There are no guests at the banquet hall, only retainers. I sent out a lot of invitations to the Demon World, but how come not a single one came to celebrate?”
“……”
For a moment, the Succubus Queen almost forgot her cunning coquetry but held out before changing her face.
Chains were worn on the wrists and ankles of the Succubus Queen, just like the other vassals.
It had been a long time since she had been dethroned as Queen of her species and was treated like a dog by Anaxia, so she knew better than anyone what kind of demon Anaxia was.
Just 150 years after her birth, she killed her brother and sister, as well as her father, and ascended to the Ducal throne.
Among her current vassals, there were more demons she’d enslaved herself than slaves inherited from her family generation after generation.
When she applied for a soul duel, most of the demons avoided encountering her because of her aggressive nature.
‘Do you think they are insane? Could there be anyone who would come to offer themselves as a slave for a succession gift?’
While the Succubus Queen rambled inside, Anaxia was genuinely distressed.
“Alas, I thought that Lord Carpeus would come.”
“Why would the Demon King of Sanarak come here……haang~! You must be upset, Lady Anaxia!”
“Yes, I am upset. So, react correctly.”
“Yes.”
“Anyway, if things had gone according to plan, I was going to propose to Lord Carpeus today with a black and purple spider lily.”
“So romantic, Lady Anaxia.”
“But everything is a mess. Lord Carpeus isn’t coming, and there’s no black-purple spider lily.”
News of the Marquis of Gibrilte’s black market auction of a black and purple spider lily swept the Demon World.
That’s why Anaxia even let go of prey who walked into her thousand-year-old ice castle on their own feet and ran in a hurry, but it turned out that it was a fake.
“Marquis Gibrilte, how dare you fool me with false information!”
Anaxia’s wrath engulfed the grand hall.
As a result, the music played by slave musicians stretched as if melting, causing a bizarre cacophony.
It was then.
Kieeee-.
The door to the Grand Hall began to open left and right.
“Gu-guest?”
“A guest?”
“Really?”
The vassals, including the Succubus Queen, had disbelieving faces.
Anaxia, on the other hand, folded her hands together with sparkling eyes.
‘Could it be Lord Carpeus?’
Thump!
The fully open door made a heavy sound and at that moment, the silhouette of a human slowly seeped out
“Oh, my!”
“Huh!”
As soon as the jet-black handsome man stepped into the banquet hall, the air inside pressured everyone. It seemed as if hundreds of invisible hands were suffocating the demons and pressing down on their shoulders.
They gasped for breath and lowered their stance. Only Anaxia, the owner of the dungeon, could withstand the intimidation of that overwhelming presence.
“Holy sh…..”
Something far greater than she had expected revealed itself.
“Good evening, Duke Pelhemstein.”
A deep, resonant bass pierced their ears. It was a voice that shook not only the eardrums but also the heart and soul.
“Ah……”
Anaxia approached the opponent, dragging her body trembling in fear.
“By any chance, are you……Who I think you are?”
“Yes.”
“Oh…my……It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, Newborn Chaos and Evil.”
Anaxia’s cheeks turned red as she looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with ecstatic and fanatical anticipation.
She was the third demon to receive the honor after Demon Sculptor Silevan and Demonic Beast Hellkaion and each demon who was visited by him received an indescribable amount of grace.
An unpopular sculptor in his lifetime, Silevan’s posthumous works fetched top prices every time it appeared on the black market.
Hellkaion, who was only a C-class boss, was instantly promoted to SS-class.
If a low class can go that far, what about demons who are already SS-class?
‘Maybe I can become the demon king……!’
At this moment, Anaxia’s thoughts of proposing to Carpeus were wiped clean from her mind.
All she could think about was receiving grace from Newborn Chaos and Evil and becoming the top dog of the Demon World.
Carpeus was to be her slave, not a companion.
It was at this point that Reed’s intimidating presence gave the Demons some breathing room and a slightly out-of-context question was directed at Anaxia.
“Duke.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think of when you look at my face?”
“What? Of course……”
Anaxia’s blush deepened.
“A being so terribly beautiful, so decadently lofty, so finely corrupt, as if a sanctity was thrown into the mud……so ecstatic I feel like I’m going blind.”
Unfiltered praise indeed.
The vassals, who lined up around her, seemed to have a similar sentiment. The demons blushed and gasped, unable to take their eyes off Reed. It was only natural.
He was an evil being who would bring chaos to the world. As demons, they could not help but admire and worship him.
They would sweetly accept insults, contempt, and disgust as long as it came from Newborn Chaos and Evil.
It was like a kind of imprint engraved on them.
Of course, this fanatical and blind following of demons was not Reed’s concern.
“You don’t recognize.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
It was around that time that she saw the succubus maids’ eyes loosen as they lost control of their instincts.
Anaxia acted quickly.
“Kyaaaang!”
The chain pulled them into the mirror and out of the way. The Succubus Queen was no exception.
Anaxia began to welcome her guests as the owner of the Castle.
“It’s a banquet that leaves much to be desired, but I hope you will enjoy it.”
Compared to the polite host, the customer’s reaction was bitter.
“It is indeed lacking.”
“……!”
“A mere imitation of a human ball, at best.”
Anaxia hastily explained, embarrassed.
“Pl-please wait a moment. The real thing is a banquet at night. At midnight, everyone is mesmerized and……”
But apparently, this wasn’t Reed’s cup of tea either.
“Wasn’t Pelhemstein a venerable Ducal family of Great Demons?”
“Th-that’s right.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better to follow the classics?”
“Classic……What do you mean?”
“Since ancient times, demons used to kidnap princesses and princes to their castles to taunt warriors.”
“Oh……!”
Anaxia and other demons were amazed.
Kidnapping royalty!
Perhaps because he was a higher existence, outdated tastes sounded noble when he spoke about them.
However, there was a problem and Anaxia wiggled her fingers in embarrassment.
“Well, with all due respect, things are different nowadays than they were back then, and I don’t know of any way to kidnap them…….”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Reed snapped his fingers.
A giant gate opened in the middle of the ballroom, spilling out dozens of screaming humans.
“Aaaagh!”
The demons marveled at the sudden Dungeon Sink.
“Oh my!”
“This is the power of Newborn Chaos and Evil!”
“Awesome! Exciting!”
Meanwhile, the humans who had landed in an unfamiliar place were confused but moved in an orderly manner.
“Du-dungeon sync!”
“This magi is not ordinary!”
“Protect the prince and princess!”
Less than ten knights and maids stood in a circle, guarding their surroundings.
The subjects they protected were a man and woman in their 20s with platinum-blond hair.
Reed, looked back at Anaxia and said.
“I have placed a toy in front of you, and now you may play with it to your heart’s content.”
“You mean classically, right?”
“Yes, classic.”
Reed replied, laughing a deep, almost ecstatic laugh.
It was a smile he reserved for the puppet who would wreak havoc on his behalf.
He opened the exit gate for himself and turned his back.
“I’ll be back when the banquet begins, Duke.”
“Yes! Wishing you a pleasant journey, Newborn Chaos and Evil!”
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