Monarch of Darkness, Arsene

Clenching my scull, that felt like a sledgehammer had tenderized it. I tried to maintain consciousness in front of Asmodeus.

I did not expect my royal ability to require Soulforce, which caught me off guard. Any longer, and I might have killed myself. Although it was weird that this ability cost soul force, but another Soulforce ability within this domain didn't.

Leaning back into his chair, the king stared with his mighty eyes. It was the first time I had been with Asmodeus like this. He had usually spoken to me through the void or in my head.

But having such a devil standing so close, I could not lie and say I was not intimidated. His gaze was far more frightening than anything I had seen. A single glance had my heart quaking in fear.

"Baphomet, that old goat really does have a mouth on him." Asmodeus declared.

"Oh, come on! Stop glaring at Sene." Said Lilith; pursing her lips, she shot me a wink, trying to in her way comfort me.

Not noticing a single change in Asmodeus's face, my brow twitched, "So you are a false god now? When will you return to claim Midgard as your domain? From what I have seen, many demons are racing across the Bed of Chaos. Slaughtering in your name."

"Is someone trying to change the topic?" I pointed out, "But it shall be before the wedding; I am currently training with Baphomet. Although I cannot remember accepting him as my master."

"You should listen. Baphomet is a monster in every regard. His battle prowess is so monstrous; he could fight evenly with me for a bit." Asmodeus claimed, but I could not help see the scorn.

Was it directed at Baphomet or me? Baphomet is a Demon, and Asmodeus is a Devil. Is there some type of blood superiority going on? Although now that I am thinking about it, Baphomet took away billions of souls when he first made his appearance to me.

"How about I make sure Sene learns all that he can? He can be pretty prideful at times."

Shifting our gaze to Lilith, I could not help but flair my nostrils despite my weakened state, "I don't need a master."

"Sure, sweety, whatever you want." She said with a mocking smile.

"I do not like this. It feels like you two are teaming up."

"Well, tough. You are trying to put a baby in my baby girl. I should take your damn head, but here I am." Asmodeus remarked, but there was something I didn't really understand.

Asmodeus was so ruthless to Ezra. It could even be described as heartless. But to Lilith, he is different. No offense but Lilith is super lazy when it comes to cultivation. Why has he never actually scolded her? He gave Ezra a devil heart but not Lilith.

Pushing such thoughts away, for now, I spoke a bit slowly, sinking further into this oddly comfortable chair. That reminded me of sitting on clouds.

"When are we going to war with the angels?"

Sensing a tension rise within the air, Asmodeus frowned. He grew solemn and sinister. "We are not ready. Before, we had time to send out devils and demons, but now. Now We are stuck."

"The angels are about to seal the Bed of Chaos, making it almost impossible for those from the Nine Hells to appear," Lilith added, finding herself mirroring her father's grimness.

"How does one simply seal away devils from entering the Bed of Chaos?" I questioned. Such a thing, while it does sound plausible, it also sounds difficult.

"Arsene, Devils, and Demons, while we are the strongest. It was never this way. Before the change, the Seven Heavens were slaughtered. Blood had turned their citadel into a sea of carnage. So much angel blood had fallen that they fell, in rank. But originally, Angels were superior in every regard."

"What!" I uttered in astonishment. "How does a race fall? Races do not just lose abilities or status without another being stronger.

Asmodeus nodded, seemingly agreeing. "True. Have you heard of the Doctrine of Sin?"

"It's the path devils follow, although I have never seen it much less followed its path myself," I answered, unsure where this was going.

"The Doctrine of Sin is our cultivation path; I don't know why Bael gave you something different. But the Doctrine of Sin is essentially rules and laws we follow; it's a legacy that unlocks our bloodlines." He explained calmly masking the glint of respect he held, "However, the Scripture or Law of Concordance, the angel's version of cultivation, was damaged.

"The one who slaughtered them tried to butcher everyone and everything there. So much blood ran, we devils were summoned by a higher power to stop that mad god. But it too was a blood bath."

Someone was able to kill all the angels that were said to be stronger than devils? Who the hell could have done such a thing? And what possible motivation would they have to do such a thing?

Detecting something off with Lilith, who did not seem the least bit surprised. I could not help but wonder why she never told me if she had already known?

"So they are weaker, but this doesn't explain how they are able to seal the Bed of Chaos from you all."

Drawing in a sharp breath, Asmodeus continued. "They still have other scripture, weapons, and other monstrous artifacts to use against us. Before our rule, Angels maintained order, and Devils and demons allowed chaotic madness to spread."

"In the forgotten Era, Devils and Demons were at war with one another. I cannot remember the name of this war, but it was horrid. Standing here and now, you would not believe the number of times I was going to die." Asmodeus recalled, startling me.

"The angels saw to take advantage of our constant betrayal amongst each other and every plane and gathered power. While we were no slouch compared to the angels, the angels held the high ground in the end."

"Fuck!" I muttered, "So the angels hold with them a slew of divine weapons, capable of many different feats."

"Indeed, and to make matters worse, they have renounced the Law of Concordance. Instead of waiting for time to mend its broken state, I am sure they have decided to alter it. Their power may rise with Raziel upon the Heavenly Throne."