270 THE ENEMY'S ENEMY IS FRIEND
"What the fuck?" Agathae muttered under his breath. He mentally accepted the request, desperate for any salvation.
"What do you want from me?" he asked cautiously.
The message of Black Pink ran through his thoughts. "Do you wish to escape your current predicament?"
"Yes!" Agathae replied fervently. "If you can get these demons off me, I'll do whatever you want!"
"Good. Then listen carefully."
Just as Harith's grip began to crush his windpipe, Agathae shouted, "I know how we can leave Sodom's ruins!"
"Liar," Harith growled, his hand poised to strike.
"Wait," Argun interrupted, his interest piqued. "What did you say?"
"I can reopen the gates to Heaven's Cage," Agathae wheezed, clutching his bruised neck.
Lord Argun's apparent lack of interest was woken up by the sudden proposition. "Really!!!"
"But I have conditions!"
Harith snarled, raising the axe again. "Conditions? You insolent bastard, how dare you talk to us about con…"
"Enough, Harith," Argun snapped, silencing the other demonlord. "Speak, Agathae. What conditions are you talking about?"
Agathae straightened himself, feigning confidence. "Our target cannot be Sodom City."
Argun's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Those conditions…"
"Why would a bastard like you care about the damned city?" Harith asked impatiently.
"It's a necessary condition for us to have access to the realm again," Agathae insisted with confidence.
Lord Argun thought about it and understood. "Are you in contact with the humans in Sodom City? Those are the conditions of the humans?"
Agathae hesitated but nodded. "Yes. Someone from the city reached out to me with an offer."
"And what, exactly, are they offering?" Lord Argun asked, his tone laced with curiosity and menace.
"They'll help us escape these ruins."
"They'll do that for us? You are insane", Harith protested.
But Agathae was undeterred.
"It's the truth… and… they have prepared an army for us—a feast of flesh and blood, an offering of truce," Agathae said, his voice growing steadier and confident.
Lord Argun leaned back, intrigued by the proposition. "Truce? … Interesting. Tell me more?"
Lord Argun thought deeply about the proposition. This was an unexpected turn of event. Their ancient enemy, Sodom city, which was designed from its inception to encircle the Heaven's Cage to prevent the demon invasion into the realm, proposed to release them instead.
"This sounds incredulous.. what can be the motive of the humans?" Lord Harith asked as his hands were about to crush Agathae for wasting his time with his proposal.
Lord Argun stopped him.
"There must be something the Sodom wants from us?" Lord Argun asked.
"Yes… They suggest we march on Debauchery City instead of Sodom city after we reaches the realm. It's a far richer prize than Sodom, that's the proposition from Sodom city," Agathae added, repeating Black Pink's proposition.
"Huh I get it finally", Lord Argun said suddenly with reckoning.
"What is it? Why would Sodom city allow us to enter the realm after keeping us imprisoned for millenniums?" Harith asked.
"Its because they have another enemy… one more dangerous than us", Lord Argun explained.
Lord Harith shook his head confused.
Lord Argun couldn't be bothered to explain to the simple mind. He simply said, "The enemies' enemy is our friend. Our enemy, Sodom city, now has a greater enemy.. so they need us as friends."
"Friends with the humans, Never."
"It's for our mutual benefit. We return to the Realm of Sins, Sodom city gets rid of their enemy, Debauchery City", Agathae added with understanding.
Lord Argun nodded in agreement.
Harith growled. "Debauchery City and the Koresh army are no pushovers. It might be wiser to crush Sodom first."
"Perhaps," Argun mused, tapping his clawed fingers together. "But if the Sodomites truly intend to cooperate, we could conserve our strength for a greater conquest. The Sodomites would become our allies… for now. But once we grow in strength…"
"Then we come back to deal with Sodom city", Lord Harith added.
After a pause, Lord Argun made his decision. "Fine. Tell the humans we agree to their terms—if they reopen the gate to the ruins for us."
Agathae bowed low, hiding the glimmer of relief in his eyes. "Yes, my lord."
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[Eoloth Fortress]
Leo stepped through the glowing magic portal hidden within the wardrobe and emerged into a breathtaking rose garden. The air was thick with the heady scent of blooms, but the tranquility was disrupted by frantic cries.
Ahead, a naked woman darted through the garden, pursued by monstrous Hellhounds, their snarls echoing ominously.
"Why is that bitch Hanna here?" Leo asked with an annoyed frown, glancing at Petunia.
Petunia shrugged dismissively. "I don't know. Just forget about her." She waved her hand as they continued toward the garden's center.
Before they could advance further, the world around them shifted. The garden dissolved into mist, and in an instant, their bodies were pulled into a deeper level of the dungeon—The Palace of Willows.
"Finally, you've returned to us," Yun-Yun greeted warmly, as she approached Leo's shadow minion.
Leo's gaze landed on the Jade Throne at the heart of the palace. To his surprise, Leo was seated there, an almost mirror image of himself but exuding a calm detachment.
"Why are you lying flat here while I do all the hard work?" Leo, the shadow minion snapped.
The figure on the throne smiled amusedly but said nothing. It was Yun-Yun who spoke. "You won't be complaining once the merging is complete."
The shadow minion approached Leo who was on the throne. Without hesitation, he extended his hand. The two clasped palms, and the shadow minion's form began to dissipate, swirling into an ethereal mist that flowed into Leo.
The merger was seamless.
Memories, magic, and essence fused together, leaving only one Leo standing in the hall.
Leo clenched his fists, feeling the surge of power and the flood of vivid memories.
"This is... fucking real," he muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief. "I can remember everything—every damned thing that happened in Sodom City—as if I lived it myself."