Chapter 24 – Lewis and Vow
Planet C-E-8
Star system C-E
Nemo Galaxy
Year 709 of the 50th General Calendar
Eight-year-old Devildom Prince Arthur Vaughn stared at the planet before him as he watched a world burn with a solemn expression.
Ever since the incident about two years earlier, when Creusery consigned a planet to oblivion right before his eyes, he'd been taken on various "adventures" with his uncle and had witnessed his fair share of celestial bodies meeting untimely ends.
Because of that, the eight-year-old had become almost numb to the scene before him, and he only heaved a sigh while wondering when Creusery would return from the next planet and take him back home.
Beside him was a man Creusery had introduced him to, a being who held a special position in the Hell universe.
He was a tall man over six feet in height with hair as dark as the night. As for his race and position, he was a High Drifter, a breed of drifters much like the High Elves and Arch Devils.
Bearing the name Larry, this man presided over all drifters in the Hell universe. He was someone Creusery believed would be helpful to Arthur in the future, so he'd introduced the young eight-year-old to him.
Larry chuckled when he saw the expression on Arthur's face and was about to speak. However, he was interrupted by a massive explosion, one that wasn't caused by the black flames slowly consuming the planet they were on.
"Hmm...."
Brows narrowed, he looked in the direction of the explosion as he tried to determine its cause.
"What was that?"
By the time Arthur asked the question, Larry had already figured out what caused the explosion. He placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder and warped both of them to the location.
Waving his hand, the flames in the area disappeared, revealing a massive crater four hundred meters wide with a lone being at its centre.
Larry snapped his fingers, and the being who'd been lying at the centre of the crater appeared right in front of Arthur.
"Huh? A devil?"
Two pairs of bloody, tattered devil wings extended from the being's back. Arthur raised his head and studied the face of the brown-haired devil.
While Arthur was looking at his face, the unknown devil's eyes opened, revealing a pair of red pupils glowing dangerously.
Arthur trembled involuntarily in fear, but Larry grabbed the unknown devil's head and spoke to him.
"Know your place, kiddo."
Turning to Arthur, he asked whether he wanted to know who the devil was, and the boy agreed. Larry nodded as his eyes flashed purple for a moment.
|Authority of Knowledge: Information Database|
The essence of the Law of Knowledge swirled around the two of them. Larry raised his other hand and shielded Arthur from the pressure of the Law's energy while searching his information database for the devil's name and face.
"Found him."
He released the devil's head, causing him to collapse onto the ground before turning to Arthur and speaking.
"His name's Lewis. He's quite special.
He was a knight under Marquis Subtem, but some incident occurred, and he earned the Marquis' ire. Now he's being hunted by the Marquis, who wants his head.
What's more, he's a descendant of a powerful Ancient B—, Giant. Ancient Giant."
Larry had obviously been about to say something else before correcting himself, but Arthur didn't get the chance to point it out because the man immediately looked up at the sky with a frown before speaking.
"And here comes Marquis Subtem himself."
The brown-haired devil, Lewis, struggled to his feet but couldn't manage it. He was covered in wounds, and every bone in one of his legs had been shattered.
"About 3 minutes till he's here."
Larry was a powerful Drifter, most likely the strongest Drifter in all of Hell. His senses were on an entirely different level, allowing him to detect the Marquis crossing the void of space from an entire light-year away.
Looking back to Arthur, Larry said, "I have a suggestion."
"What is it?" Arthur asked.
"Take him in. He'd be useful in the future."
Arthur raised an eyebrow at Larry's sudden suggestion. He didn't understand how Lewis would be useful to him, especially when he was on a Marquis' hit list.
"You should start building your own force. Your uncle told you this before, right? Despite how this guy looks, he's actually a deity. If you make him your subordinate, it'll do you well in the long run."
Arthur fell silent as he weighed the pros and cons of taking Lewis in. He remembered Creusery's words about building his own band of subordinates who took orders from him alone, and he made his decision.
"Okay then," he said, agreeing.
Larry smiled and flicked his fingers. A parchment and pen appeared between Lewis and Arthur.
"It's a soul contract, something to keep him bound," Larry explained.
Turning to Lewis, who was glaring at him with bloodshot eyes, he continued.
"This prince over here can save your ass from the Marquis. All you've got to do is sign that soul contract, with your blood, of course."
Arthur looked at Larry, thinking the latter was even more devil-like than he was despite being the son of a devil, before turning to Lewis on the ground and grabbing the contract from the air.
He skimmed through it, signed it with his blood, then placed the parchment on the floor in front of Lewis.
"How much longer, Larry?"
"Less than a minute."
Hearing that the Marquis, who was after his life for reasons he didn't know, was so close, Lewis decided to sign the contract.
Not because he knew who Arthur was, but because Larry, someone he sensed was far more powerful than the Marquis, was glaring at him with glowing purple eyes.
The moment he signed the contract, the parchment burst into flames as he felt something wrap around his soul for a second.
"Guh!"
He grunted in pain as he raised his head to speak, but he suddenly sensed the source of an enormous amount of energy entering the planet's atmosphere.
A streak of light shot toward the ground. The instant it collided with the surface, a deafening explosion erupted and shook the entire planet.
Larry waved his hand, and a tall, elderly-looking man with dull grey hair appeared in front of him and Arthur.
"Hmmm?!"
The man immediately went on guard and roused his energy the moment he appeared, but upon seeing Arthur, he lowered his guard and bowed.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
"Marquis Subtem."
Arthur addressed the familiar old devil before him by his title before looking at Lewis on the ground and then back at the Marquis.
"It has come to my attention that you're after the life of my property," he said.
"Huh?"
The Marquis' expression turned to surprise, as he'd never expected Arthur to say something like that. Looking at Lewis on the ground beside him and Larry, who was grinning mischievously, the Marquis reached a conclusion.
'Did that drifter make the prince do something?'
Arthur ignored the Marquis' skeptical expression and continued.
"Since you were unaware of this fact, I'll let it go this once. However, should you target my property again, I won't stay put."
"But, Your High—"
"Since when did Marquises have the right to object to the words of royalty? Even after I gave you the benefit of the doubt, you still dare to refute my words?"
The young prince narrowed his brows as he looked at the elderly devil, who was struggling to hold back his annoyance.
"Lewis here is my property. I can't have you killing my property.
Case closed."
Marquis Subtem was about to suggest a compromise when he suddenly felt a crushing pressure bear down on his body.
"I delayed the destruction because I was still close by, only to come back and find this amusing scene."
The Marquis felt a hand tap his shoulder, and he didn't need to turn around to know who it was. He immediately offered his greetings.
"Greetings to the Crown Prince."
Creusery ignored the Marquis' greeting and continued speaking.
"I believe my nephew said that the devil was his property," he said. "The Marquis has a lot of authority, but I don't think that authority gives you the right to attack a royal's property, now do you?"
"No, Your Highness."
"Good. You should go home and deal with your granddaughter instead of trying to kill the guy who didn't even know she'd fallen for him."
Creusery tapped the Marquis' shoulder once more, and the light of teleportation enveloped him, warping him out of the area.
Turning to Arthur and Lewis, he shrugged his shoulders before warping all three of them back to his spacecraft, which was waiting a few hundred miles above the planet's atmosphere.
"You said he's your property. From now on, he's your responsibility."
With those words, Creusery walked out, leaving Arthur and Lewis in silence. The young prince then turned to Lewis and began thinking about how he could make the latter useful to him.
As he was lost in thought, his mind couldn't help wandering back to the events that had occurred a few months earlier.
◇ ◇ ◇
After Creusery began taking Arthur around the various planets, realms, and galaxies he explored, Arthur came to learn about the dark side of reality.
It was also during that time that the young Arthur realised a great deal of the nobles' children who were "friends" with him were only there for the benefits they would gain.
They'd all been sent by their parents to befriend the new prince while they themselves remained completely unaware of the things happening behind the scenes.
A few of them had already been enlightened by their parents about the real reason they wanted their children to befriend Arthur, but the majority of them remained ignorant.
This discovery saddened Arthur. Despite everything Creusery had made him experience, and even though he matured faster than his peers, he was still only a seven-year-old boy at the time.
The reality that the majority of his friends weren't truly his friends affected him more than he'd expected. However, after taking the time to think about it, he came to understand the nobles' reasons for acting that way.
He was the son of the Devildom's Princess, who held the title of Archdevil of Destruction. If they ever earned his mother's ire, a friendship between him and their children might result in his mother sparing them from certain doom.
There were many people who'd stop at nothing to stay on his good side.
Not long afterwards, he realised his mother already knew about this and was worried he'd be used for the nobles' benefit, but she took no action.
The devils followed a "Hands Off" policy when dealing with the younger generation. Excessive interference wasn't allowed.
"We devils are essentially selfish creatures. We're apparently ruthless, with strong impulses to compete against each other for resources and accumulate power and possessions.
If we're kind to one another, it's usually because we have ulterior motives, just like most of the nobles do with each other.
If we're good, then it's only because we've managed to transcend our innate selfishness and brutality. There's always a reason behind someone's kindness.
It's up to Arthur to figure out that reason and decide whether he should cut that person off or not. If he ends up being used by them, it'll be his fault and will serve as a lesson for him in the future.
He's quite mature for his age, so he should be able to figure out who's genuine or useful to him and who isn't.
You should, shouldn't you?"
He overheard his grandfather, Devil King Diablo, saying those words to his mother once.
He also realised that the last question had been directed at him rather than his mother. After all, there was no way his grandfather hadn't realised he was hiding behind the door that day. The fact that his mother hadn't noticed him was most likely because of him as well.
As he pondered his grandfather's words, he realised the Devil King was right.
Although devils matured quickly, Arthur was an anomaly who matured far faster than his peers. He was also much more capable than them in many other areas.
He decided to cut off those who weren't useful to him, though he also warned himself not to become overconfident.
Even if he could outsmart his peers, there was no way the old noble devils, who'd lived through well over a hundred of his lifetimes, wouldn't see through him with ease.
Nevertheless, it became both a reason for caution and a source of motivation. He vowed that he'd never allow himself to be used by anyone and that he'd become strong enough that no one would ever see him as someone they could deceive easily.
He wouldn't be used by any of the Devildom's Nobles, regardless of rank, whether it was one of the Four Grand Dukes or any of the Six Dukes.
He vowed to use the frightening talent he'd been blessed with to make himself stronger, smarter, and wiser. After all, those with power stood above everyone else.
Weakness could effectively be considered a sin.
That day, Arthur had just turned eight years old when he made the vow to become stronger than everyone else in every way.
It became his creed, one he'd uphold for the rest of his life.