“You straight up locked the whole capital,” Silva said.
“Well, I’m tired of allowing the nobles to run free. It took you coming here for me to finally act,” Greenwood said.
“I guess. You also said the lockdown will last for seven days. I’m pretty sure I’ll want to leave before then. Your journey continues at empire
The only thing I need to do now is talk to the demon kings and then leave. So how will I get out with the lockdown?” Silva asked.
“As much as I’d like for you to stay longer, you do have a kingdom to run, and as a fellow ruler, I can understand that you need to leave.
When the time comes that you want to leave, I can easily tear open a spot for you to leave,” Greenwood said.
“I understand. Well, I have another question. Where is Elaine? I need to find her,” Silva said.
“Oh, I’m here.” Elaine walked up behind Silva. Silva had not even felt her presence when she came close, and it gave him goosebumps.
He turned and faced her. “How long have you been here?” he asked.
“Long enough to know that the emperor will tear his lockdown for you to leave,” Elaine said.
“So you were here the whole time,” Silva said.
“Well, you can say that, but that is not important. The demon kings have been waiting to speak to you for a while, and I also want to get this over with, so come with me,” Elaine said and started walking away.
Silva followed her until they got to a lounge in the castle. She opened the door and walked inside, and Silva followed without hesitation.
When he locked the door, Elaine snapped her fingers, and she transformed back into her real form. Then a formation of runes covered the wall completely.
“What is with the runes?” Silva asked.
“Well, they’re to ensure no one hears our discussions. The things we will speak about are not something that anyone should hear,” Elaine said.
Elaine took out thirteen crystal plaques and threw them into the air. They flew around in a circle and then stopped, forming a circle around Silva.
“Now let the meeting commence. Demon kings, in front of you is the Dark Dragon Silva, the one that has been on everyone’s lips for days,” Elaine introduced Silva.
“So you are the Dark Dragon, the one that refuses to take a breather and calm down,” a voice came out of one crystal.
“I believe we didn’t come for petty talk,” Silva responded.
“Cocky. I like you already,” the voice replied.
Elaine decided that she would be the one to ask most of the questions, so she stepped forward.
“Silva, do you know the responsibility of a demon king?” Elaine asked.
“To keep the balance,” Silva answered without giving it much thought.
“No, Silva, not at all. Do you know how many races exist outside humans? We have the higher races like the elves, dragons, and more.
We still have the lesser races, like the goblins and the slimes. And the life of those races lies in our hands.
Do you know what would happen if one of the demon kings vanished one day? It would mean war, and an immediate breakout of war, a war that will very much shake all life.
Innocents will die in millions. Kingdoms will fall. Even your loved ones will die, and I can assure you that you will not be able to save them, no matter what you do.”
When she got to that statement, Silva balled his fists, but he didn’t do anything.
“The balance is so delicate that the life of one of us could spell the destruction of the entire world as you know it.
That is why we need to ensure everything goes as it is supposed to, and you, Silva, we need to ensure that you also follow certain procedures.
We need to know where your loyalty lies—with us or the humans,” Elaine said.
“It lies with me, no one else. I refuse to follow any of you. I might be a demon king candidate, but that doesn’t mean I have to follow you guys and do what you want,” Silva said.
“Silva, we demon kings are not dumb. We can tell that all your actions have been calculated. It might look like you are doing what you just want to do, but that isn’t the case, right?” Elaine asked.
Silva saw that this was not going to be an easy thing because they were not just intelligent, but they had lived long enough to see most of the world and how it works.
“Fine, I’ll tell you. The actions I take are set up by the goddess Ophelia. I have a secret deal with her, and I have to do what she asks,” Silva said. He believed that they would just think he was crazy and accept that he was doing what he wanted.
“Hmm, that makes more sense. It all makes sense now,” one of the demon kings said.
“Wait, what? I just told you that I was speaking with the goddess, and you think that is normal?” Silva said.
“Of course, it makes more sense now, but that does not mean we will let you do what you want. Ophelia is the goddess, and she can only speak to you in a limited manner, I’m certain of that.
So we can say for sure that you are the one misinterpreting what she is saying to fit your own wants and desires.
The best solution will be for us to hold you, and when she speaks, you’ll tell us, and we will help you interpret.
You are too much of a risk, Silva. Look at the power that you possessed before receiving your curse. If we let you randomly interpret what Ophelia tells you, it will probably lead to the destruction of our world,” the demon king said.
“Not interested. You see, I have plans to fight all of you one day, so I can’t get too close. Also, I believe I have been interpreting what Ophelia wants pretty well.
I know your next plan after I refuse will be to have Elaine capture me, but it will not work, to be honest,” Silva said.
He cloned himself, and then the clone made another clone, and the second clone made a third clone.
“You can already sense that the third clone is extremely powerful, right? I might not be able to keep it for long, but I can make up to ten of them, and with the strength of the tenth one, there is no way Elaine will be able to stop me without destroying the capital or the entire empire, and we all don’t want that, right?” Silva asked.
“Smart move, Silva,” Elaine commended him.
