Audrina was in utter disbelief.
“What do you mean that old bastard is down there??” She asked intently.
No one had ever seen her so worked up before, but they couldn’t possibly understand her fear.
If her old man was of the same rank as Bekka’s mother, then…
Bekka felt the words get caught in her throat as she stared at the floor.
“He… is being tortured endlessly. My mother said it was punishment for failing the trial…” She explained slowly.
Just because Bekka didn’t have a good relationship with her father, didn’t mean she couldn’t be sympathetic to those who did.
Audrina never really spoke about her father to the group, so Bekka was unsure of the relationship between the two. She didn’t know how the charming vampire would take the news.
The vampire surprised everyone when she dramatically fell back into her seat and let out a massive sigh of relief. “Thank fuck!”
“….”
“….”
Audrina noticed the room had become strangely quiet all of a sudden and looked up to see her family staring at her as if she’d just said something outlandish.
“What? Why are you all looking at me.”
Lisa: “Audrina… Bekka just told you that your father is being tortured…”
“Yes, and?”
Lailah: “You’re not the least bit concerned or even upset?”
The vampire queen suddenly put on a thoughtful expression. “Truth be told… I guess I am a bit sad.”
Now even Abaddon was confused.
“Then my love, why did you seem so-“
“I’m kind of sad he’s not dead but I suppose that endless torture with no chance of escape is not too bad.” She nodded thoughtfully as if she could learn to accept this compromise.
By this point, everyone just accepted that maybe Audrina had some lingering issues and that they should just move on for the sake of time.
“What is this trial he failed and what does it have to do with our husband?” Valerie demanded.
Bekka suddenly came face to face with her husband and even if he couldn’t see the aura of fear surrounding her, he would certainly be able to tell from her expression.
“How many of the Uma-Sarru have blessed you so far?”
“Uma-Sarru?”
“It has many meanings, but the most common definition would be Head King or Overlord.” Bekka explained. “It can also mean head of the beast.”
Abaddon understood she was talking about the abyss kings and nodded. “Only two.”
Bekka shuddered slightly before she let out a long exhale to calm herself.
“Bekka? You’re scaring us!” Lailah prodded.
“Take it easy, Lailah. Can’t you see her? She’s just as scared as we are.” Lisa was doing her part to play peacemaker, but it was difficult when she felt like her heart was going to leap out of her throat.
Bekka finally spilled everything, but she still left everyone shocked and terrified.
“You only have a year and a half to gain the approval of the rest of the former kings. ” She explained.
“And if he can’t gain them all in that time?” Valerie asked.
“… Those that fail either part of the trial meet the same end as Dagon. They are tortured in the most unimaginable way for all of eternity, unable to die.”
The wives felt all of the color leave their faces.
“No!”
“That’s completely unfair!”
“Can he forfeit the trial??” Lisa asked suddenly.
Unfortunately, Bekaa only shook her head. “To forfeit would be the same as admitting defeat.”
By now, tears had begun to spill from the eyes of Lailah and Valerie meanwhile Lisa and Audrina were only seconds away from joining them.
“I don’t understand… how was he even chosen for this in the first place?”
Bekka suddenly clutched her head as if she was having a hard time remembering. “M-Mother told me but… I-I’m drawing a blank…”
“You have to think harder, Bekka!”
“It’s not her fault.” Audrina suddenly said, recognizing the look on Bekka’s face.
“What do you mean?” Lailah asked.
Audrina sighed deeply.
“There is… certain information that the mother goddess does not allow those without sufficient power to know. I am amazed that she has not intervened before this since our husband has told us a great many things that stage 1 and 2 evolved like yourselves should not even be able to remember.”
“What does the number of times we’ve evolved have to do with anything??” Lisa asked.
“Upon evolving, you are injected with a little bit of divinity. As that accumulates, you are better able to retain information that the gods themselves consider to be valuable.”
“Gods, plural?” Valerie asked.
The vampire only nodded as she turned to stare at her husband in a new curious light.
“If the mother goddess is actually intervening this time, there must be something much more special about you than we could’ve anticipated.”
Inwardly, Abaddon wondered if he should mention the strange system messages he received earlier or his heritage name that had yet to be revealed fully.
He simply rubbed Bekka’s back and attempted to relax her. “Don’t force yourself. Whether you can remember that or not will not change what I have to do.”
Bekka finally stopped rubbing her temples and leaned back into his embrace, but she felt a little upset that she was not able to be more helpful.
“Okay so what happens after he gains the approval of those ancient fucks down below?” Valerie asked. “Is he suddenly the new king?”
Unfortunately, Bekka once again shook her head no. “After he gains the approval of the former kings, he must challenge the current one within three months and defeat him in single combat.”
Lisa, Lailah and Valerie relaxed a bit.
If they were confident about anything, it was their husband’s ability to win a fight.
“Okay… How strong does he have to be to defeat the current king?”
“… Strong enough to defeat King Helios… without suffering so much as a scratch.”
𝗈𝚟𝗅xt.𝒸𝑂𝑚
All of the hope that the girls were building was suddenly crushed flat in an instant.
To say that Abaddon only had a year and a half to become stronger than the most frightening monster this world has ever seen… they were naturally completely horrified.
“That’s why….” Bekka reached into her storage ring and pulled out the heart of the phoenix commander. “You have to take every opportunity to get stronger that you can. It doesn’t matter if it’s dishonorable or if you have to be seen as a monster. Do whatever you must so that you never have to leave us.”
“That’s right…” Audrina added as she sat next to the two of them. “Luckily you have that system thing so your growth is faster than normal but still… a year and 9 months will be cutting it close.”
Abaddon only briefly stared at the heart in Bekka’s hand before he accepted it and took a large bite.
When the usual messages showed up in the system, he ignored them.
Now that he knew he was on a timer, nothing else seemed to matter.
Bekka did not even need to plead with him so sincerely.
He would always do whatever was within his power to remain beside his family.
Even if that meant he had to take others from theirs.
–
The army of greed despite its name is not really an army.
Once upon a time it might have been, but continuous infighting and violence toward each other have whittled down their numbers so much that now their once great army now consisted of no more than 100 demons.
But even if they possessed the smallest army among the sins, the weakest among them was stage three.
Led by lord Mammon himself, there weren’t very many forces capable of contending with them.
This very same army was forced at a standstill when they arrived at the site of what they assumed to be a dungeon.
“A qlipoth? In this realm?!”
Even before the sin of greed could see it, he could feel it.
The unique breath of energy that arises only from a sacred demonic tree was something he would never forget.
“Move faster you lot!” Mammon was now more anxious than ever to get his hands on this treasure.
He exited from the ornate solid gold carriage he was being pulled in and sprouted eight massive wings.
His large red body shot into the air with impressive speed, and he followed the scent of the flower of the demon realm.
The army of greed all looked at each other before following behind.
They couldn’t remember the last time they’d seen their king so excited and they were sure he must have sensed a great treasure.
Following his example, the demons all fell out of the rank they were marching in and ran or flew after him, eager to see what had gotten their greedy master so worked up.
Eventually, something strange happened when the sky began to change from a dreary dusk to a combination of vibrant purples, reds, and blues.
Soon the demons saw a battlefield that was littered with corpses and destruction, and the thick smell of death and blood entered their noses.
With a thud Mammon landed on the ground, cracking it beneath him.
His eyes were not on the battlefield that was filled with blood, but on the three women in maid uniforms he found waiting for them.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that all three were succubi and quite the beautiful ones to boot.
“Kekekeke! Father Samael smiles upon me today!” He didn’t question why three succubi were out here waiting for him, only concerned with which one he would violate first.
The three maids felt the urge to vomit when they felt the ugly demon’s yellow eyes on their bodies, but they retained their composure due to the knowledge that he wasn’t actually going to be able to do anything to them.
The army of greed soon caught up and they did not notice the three women because they were obscured by their master’s overly large body.
Instead, they paid more attention to the battlefield and noticed that some of the corpses had been reduced to nothing but bones and the others were crawling with demons who were feasting tirelessly.
“Lord Mammon, those are-“
“Silence Belial!” Mammon roared.
Who wants to hear the voices of men when one is staring face to face with three massive pairs of breasts?!
At that moment the maids bowed and began to introduce themselves.
“I am Nita.”
“I am Tita.”
“I am Rita.”
Mammon smiled showing off a mouthful of serrated yellow teeth the same shade as his eyes. “I am Mammon. the demon king of g-“
Nita : “We know who you are, lord Mammon.”
Tita : “We have been expecting you.”
Rita : “Our master wishes for you to join him inside his city.”
The demon king let loose another guttural laugh. “I’ll follow you beauties anywhere you like! Who is this master of yours and would you consider changing employers?” He said as he reached for the sister with the largest breasts.
Unfortunately, Tita’s next words stopped him cold in his tracks.
“We are the personal maids of lord Abaddon, the demonic dragon of lust.”