"You say my brat created this?" The voice was thick and firm, even whispered. He held a glass filled with a bright yellow liquid.
"Yes, Lord Asmodeus," Creuserey said reverently.
The young man from the Asmodeus clan didn't know who the man was, claiming to be the original Satan. It did not matter either, as he could easily bring him to his knees. Even the descendant of Lucifer, Rizevim Livan Lucifer, treated him with caution.
He only appeared one day in Old Satan's faction. The next day, he became one of its leaders. Of course, they asked him about his origins, but he only smiled.
Origins matter little when you are strong.
The man seemed to embody the sin of lust so well that he could well have been the founder of the Asmodeus clan. At least he had the decency not to take Creuserey's partner, Katerea, a descendant of the original Leviathan, as his lover.
"It's... delicious," said Creuserey's lover with a small smile. "It seems you are capable of producing incredible offspring, Lord Asmodeus. First Merlin and now Altair," Creuserey felt something strange when he saw the way Katerea leaned toward the man.
The man remained silent, not even reacting to Katerea exposing her chest to him.
"He is. And he is powerful. PhoenixTears. Come here, Reiner," he called to a young blond man. "Since your family sent you to infiltrate us to have a foot in both factions, you will be useful."
Reiner Phenex was the second son of Lord and Lady Phenex. He had three other siblings: Ruval, the heir; Riser, Rias's fiancé; and Ravel, his younger sister.
He was the second son, caught between his older brother's skill and his younger brother's bad reputation. He was sent to join the faction of the old Satan. That way, the family would have a place in the two great factions of the underworld.
"Lo-Lord Asmodeus," Phenex was dressed in a butler's uniform. Asmodeus did not like spies or people with divided loyalties. "AGH!" he cried as he felt his boss's hand on his shoulder, squeezing it so hard that it was enough to break it.
"A tear, give it to me," the man ordered, pulling out a vial. Reiner obeyed. The consent of the Clan member was required to give a Phoenix tear. He wasn't stupid enough to refuse. "I see, it seems to be stronger than the last ones. They say that the happier a Phoenix is, the better the tears are. Are you a masochist?" he asked before letting out a small, mocking laugh. The other two, Katarea and Creuserey, laughed with him.
Reiner just lowered his head, clenching his teeth. He said nothing, just smiled awkwardly, his bloodshot eyes looking at everyone at the table with hatred. None of them cared.
"How does it taste, Lord Asmodeus?" The descendant of Leviathan approached, as if hypnotized by the man's purple eyes.
"Not as good as my son's creation," he said, resting his chin on his fist. His expression was bored. "Reiner, order your family to bring me more," the Phenex nodded and left to fulfill his request.
Reiner wondered if his family would rescue him if they knew what was happening there. Or had they asked him to sacrifice himself for the good of the family?
"He could betray us at any moment," said Creuserey, gritting his teeth.
"Yes, and so what?" asked Asmodeus. "Devils have tense relations with fallen angels and angels. They won't risk a war with our faction unless they know they can end it quickly," he explained. "They can't."
"Even so, it's not—"
"Don't ask for your opinion... Of all my descendants, you are among the most disappointing. What have you done besides throwing tantrums and saying you deserve to be one of the Satans?" Creuserey lowered his gaze.
"Lord. It would be best to get rid of him," he said with difficulty. "I—" his throat closed up. He felt as if a noose had been tied around it and was beginning to tighten. He saw fire in the purple eyes of the Satan.
"Katerea," the man's voice thundered. "I have a mission for you." His eyes did not leave the trash that was his descendant.
"What task?" The woman seemed determined to carry out his every order.
"You are a beautiful devil, I'm sure you know how to use your charms," said the man.
She leaned toward him. Her cleavage was almost bursting out of her dress.
"Yes, I know how to use them perfectly," she said, almost throwing herself at his feet. But he didn't even look at her.
"Go get my son. I want you to seduce him and get all the secrets you can from him," he said, much to the disappointment of Leviathan's descendant.
"You... your son?" She couldn't even hide the pain in her words. No matter how brilliant the boy was, she didn't think he was a big deal in the grand scheme of things. He was barely middle-class.
"Are you refusing?" This time, the purple eyes stared intently at her.
"No, my lord, but—"
"Swallow any buts. Find a way to get into his bed," he ordered.
She nodded fearfully and angrily. She was one of the descendants of the four Satans. She was of high caste and should not be forced to serve as a prostitute for an inferior being. She would have been content to be Asmodeus' mistress, but his brat? A boy with more women in his harem than power.
"You want me to convince him to join the old Satan's faction?" she said, showing submission.
She, despite her anger and pride, recognized that she was disposable in the face of the power of the man before her.
"No. You will seek refuge with him," said the man. "Talk to him about me. Use the hatred you have for me and inject it into every word. Offer him revenge against me," he whispered.
"He will be so naive... what about the Satans, they-"
"Are you afraid of them?" he mocked her.
"No, my lord," she lowered her head.
"In any case, you still have the snake, don't you?"
"Yes, I will use it if necessary," the woman said.
"Go, then," she left in the blink of an eye, leaving her lover behind.
Asmodeus snapped his fingers. Creuserey could finally breathe in peace. He waved his hand, shooing away his descendant.
"Katerea, why her?" he asked from the floor as he clutched his throat.
"She's one of the few she-devils I haven't touched... if my son finds out she was my lover, he probably won't dare touch her," he said boredly, then told him to get lost.
"But she..." Creuserey had tears in his eyes.
He flew out. He destroyed one of the walls.
"Peace at last," said the man. He used a bell to call for women to warm his bed that night.
He sent Katerea to test his son. The woman was an expert, but she wasn't that great either.
He knew that his son had a strange ability that gave him more power when he slept with women, an intriguing ability that even he did not possess.
Katerea would serve to test that ability. He wanted to get to know his son better. In years, he had never had a descendant with such great potential. Since he was defeated in the Great War, his power had waned. He only found one way to regain it by using his descendants as vessels to accumulate power, which he would then take for himself.
His descendants would reach the high-class, perhaps even higher. Merlin had even come close to the ultimate class. Merlin was the only one of his children who had managed to escape him, or so he believed.
Morgana had done an excellent job of trapping the wizard. If she hadn't betrayed Asmodeus, she could have enjoyed a place at his side.
'So much potential... wasted,' he thought.
He wanted Altair to become strong. At first, it was disappointing that he didn't use the book, but over time, it became a blessing. At the end of the day, he has other ways to absorb the magic of his descendants.
Voldemort was also looking for his son. He even contacted him again, offering souls in exchange for his son's body. He offered magical, powerful souls.
Asmodeus still didn't respond.
Was it worth it compared to what he could get from his son?
'Katerea will serve to test that potential.'
"Ah, they're here," he said, watching the women arrive. They were barely dressed. They were trembling. Some from fear, disgust, or revulsion. A few trembled with desire. "Oh, a virgin, you'll be the last," the girl began to sob.