"We should just get out of this country as soon as possible."
"Why should we run from some bastards who think they can cut us off!"
Snorting loudly as he angrily crossed his arms with contempt practically written across his face as his true pride in his race shone. As the logistical leader of the demon realm he was smart. However his moniker of the crooked rebirth fell under the sin of pride so often refused to give an inch even in the face of death.
As such Elizabeth (who had studied demons for years) could understand very well why he would find himself unwilling to let humans "look down" on his innate superiority over them. What confused her was the one who sat across from him. The sin of Childish Sin was greedy so often agreed with pride.
That is why the two of them are often recorded to have been quite close; feeding into one another's innate sins like a perfect loop.
One wishing to prove themselves while the other taking the spoils by working under them.
But what she was witnessing was quite different from what her records had informed her about the inner politics of the archdemons. Chokin-Bakon pushed their glasses up the bridge of their nose while letting out a long sigh as if they were tired of pandering a child. Their tone of voice carried the same intention.
"This is not about clutching onto your sin, these humans won't be aware of where we are as there have been no divinations around us, this is just about avoiding conflict."
"And why bother with that? Not like they can even hurt us. Since when were you afraid of getting your hands a little dirty or even "
That hamster just snorted and clearly gave his fellow demon no credence despite their long history.
"Because it's pointless to murder each and every person you come across; not to mention heavily inefficient while painting a clear target on our back."
Shaking their head with clear disappointment in their voice.
Meanwhile Elizabeth just sat between the two of them as they argued. Not having spoken up due to not exactly having an actual horse in the race; she was just kind of there for the ride. If she wasn't the one who summoned the Divine Demon resulting in her having a favour to call in… Who knows.
Quite frankly she found herself less mystified by the archdemons as she got to know them better as time went on. Sure, they were insanely strong, but they seemed strangely… Human. They most definitely were not moral humans but few she had met had known how to spell moral due to it never being considered.
Everything was based on benefits and potential losses; in a way that was the same for the demons but they were just far more honest about it.
Thus, due to not fitting in, they were labelled as pure evil.
As such she found herself quite satisfied in just letting the two powerhouses continue to argue about whether they should sneak out the country or murder everyone guarding the border.
Certainly not your average conversation topic.
"I do not get why such a small delay could matter, though."
That far more demure archdemon moved their hands to slowly massage their temples as they calmed themselves - no doubt formulating a fitting response at the same time. Fortunately that did not particularly take very long. The dapperly dressed archdemon adjusted their tie as they spoke with a half-smile.
"Indeed there is nothing those humans can do to us but I have to ask… Do you think you can fight off an army of Jeeves' like the Divine Demon did? Perhaps you have some plan to protect her from the Mother when she tries to seal her away like what happened with her brother?"
"W-well I, erm, guess you could say… No…"
Elizabeth almost felt bad for the prideful archdemon as he deflated; hunching over as his fingers pressed against one another.
One may find it strange for a demon of pride to willingly & openly admit their inability.
Yet it wasn't actually that strange when one considers who Chokin-Bako brought into the topic. No matter how much pride Necrohamster of the Crooked Rebirth had in himself - his pride about himself couldn't be compared to that he felt for his superior. Risking the Archdemon's safety due to his pride?
Un-
fucking
-likely.
With that in mind, it was no longer that surprising that he gave up so easily, Chokin-Bako precisely found the chink in his armour called pride and ruthlessly targetted it. A satisfied smile appeared on the spiders face as they leaned back in their chair. Intertwining their fingers atop the table.
"Then I think it's appropriate we come up with a proper plan of action which means we'll spend one day gathering information; off duty guards will likely spend their time in this city."
"Mortals and their silly vices."
Snorting after mumbling that line. Although obviously everyone sitting at the table could clearly hear what he said due to having senses far above that of a normal human. Not that anyone bothered to complain about his pettiness as it simply wasn't worth bringing him down even more.
Elizabeth though that the conversation was about over so moved to stand up-
"Boring." <"Elizabeth">
-until she found herself unable to move her own body while a voice came out of her mouth that somehow sounded far different from her own.
It didn't matter if it was the same vocal cords if they were used differently.
That voice was undeniably softer than her own, not forced out but merely flowing like a soft stream, yet the weight it carried somehow caused both Archdemons to visibly lock up. Reverence was on the face of the crooked sins while shock filled the other. She even felt her own facial muscles twisting unfamiliarly.
The one who took over her body slowly stretched out her arm then finger before taking even longer dragging her nail across the table. It shouldn't have done much however it did and became another learning experience for Elizabeth who could only "watch". Specifically as a line was drawn.
A very literal line in the wood of the table; demonic energy flawlessly pumping through her veins to let out a tiny but concentrated blade that treated the table like butter.
As terrifying as suddenly losing control over her body was… Having a first person perspective of such fine control helped her understand a lot about how to control her own demonic energy. It was both her energy as well as body being used to do this act, after all.
Either way it was safe to say that everyone's attention was on the demoness who had abruptly body jacked Elizabeth's body. Lackadaisical laying back in the chair with no urgency. Seemingly not in a hurry to actually address the two powerhouses who were cautiously awaiting her next words.
No matter how brief she preferred to make them.
"Let them come; I am Victory."
Finally speaking once she had finished drawing a straight line perfectly from the focal point of the table.
Standing up from the table only to begin heading towards the door as the two mighty demons could only look on for a second only to quickly rush. She didn't even bother to grab Elizabeth's rucksack as she knew someone else would do it. Since when did a monarch carry her own luggage?
Instead she continued down the corridor toward the nearest window that she just leapt out of without even bothering to learn where the door to exit was.
Such seemed to be a pattern as she didn't head towards the gate to leave the city, no, instead she headed directly for the wall facing the border. Jumping across rooftops while blatantly ignoring anyone who tried to get her attention. Especially so for the guards who were actively demanding she get down.
Those guards were unable to keep up as she almost appeared to float across the rooftops as she kept her body low while running. Perhaps only Elizabeth could see why as it was familiar with the reason. Watching as demonic energy flowed momentarily into her muscles for brief efficient explosions of speed.
Such careful utilization of body enhancement that Elizabeth wasn't even aware of all the nuances were even possible. Even going as far as to empower certain muscle fibres just as they were utilized and nothing more than that. So brief that Elizabeth couldn't even fully comprehend what was happening.
And it was her body where it was happening.
This all meant that she was moving at insane speeds, far faster than Elizabeth could have managed with her own body enhancement, with barely any loss in demonic energy.
It was absurd.
She also decided to not even make note of what the demoness did to the thick stone wall that had once prevented her from travelling in a straight line.
Keeping that in mind provided no benefits to her mental health