Lu was livid. All his plans began to crumble.
He expected more suffering, hesitation, struggle, pain, but—Konrad had limitless potential.
Despite the corrupt priest's meddling, he could've become the richest merchant in Kasserlane. Or he could've restored his noble house. Become a conqueror. Fill his house with women—
But no.
He had to focus on magic—and trample into his sister's business.
"I warned him." He watched the battle in the dungeon unfold. "Gabrielle's going to kill me—"
"Not if I kill you first, Lucifer."
He froze, then turned around. Slow, measured. Not to anger the greater demon.
"Lilith, it has been some time," he forced the sweetest smile, clutching his hands.
The demon was— Beat up? Her wings in shambles, her face bruised, but—
"W-what happened?" Lu trembled. "What's with that bloodlust?"
"Oh, I don't know," the demon walked closer, graceful even in this state. "It's not every day that I fight an archangel to a draw. And for no good reason."
She dropped onto a cloud, stretching her arms, then patting the space beside her. Lu gulped.
"You knew of the demi-god Maou Midori," she didn't ask, her smile eerie at best. "And forgot to tell me your sister's grandiose plans with him."
"Against him," Lu corrected, shaking like a leaf. "I, uh, promised to stay out of it."
"Mhm, I visited Gabrielle to ask why she nerfed my Konrad—you know, whom you stole from me? And after bruising each other up, it turns out she had nothing to do with it."
Lilith slammed the cloud again; her glare could've killed even a minor deity.
Reluctant or not, Lu had to sit beside her.
"So why'd you lock his mana away?" She chirped. She knew.
"I-I can explain," the angel stuttered. "I could only keep him if he didn't interfere—"
"You said, 'Konny, I'll nerf you, so you can't get in trouble. And this Eyna chick has to sacrifice herself for the greater good, so don't even look at her.' Right?"
"I, uh, didn't go into details. Thought it'd be funny to have him struggle a bit."
"Ugh." Lilith rolled her eyes. "If at least you've told me—But he trampled over those plans while I fought the perpetrator, so you fucked up."
"I've tried to warn him," Lu claimed, "but he hasn't gone to sleep yet."
"So you figured, whatever. Konrad dies, but his actions'll bring a thousand years of suffering to a few universes. You'd still get your fill, so who cares, right?"
"No, of course not," Lu protested, honest this time. Gabrielle would've killed him, too.
He glanced at the vision. That idiot was about to have a showdown with the mercenaries. The martyr evacuated— Hold on.
"You know he's still alive, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lilith froze. "What d'ya mean, alive? I saw him go up in flames."
"Sweetheart, did your future sight confuse you again?" Lu forced a smile, voice dripping with honey. A chance. "Look, he's only about to make that suicidal plan."
"Fuck," the greater demon jumped, pacing around. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."
True chaos incarnate.
"Okay. If Welf left my body in the right place—" she mumbled, wheels turning. "I could make it. I guess. Ugh. Fine, you're off the hook, Lucifer— But next time—"
"You're welcome?" The angel smiled, relieved.
Lilith left as she arrived, tearing a rift in reality, ash swirling where she'd stood. If she weren't so crazy and scary—no, those were her best traits.
"I guess it's not over yet," Lu sighed, lying down. "Let's hope she makes it, or we're both dead."
***
Konrad lay motionless, beyond exhausted.
That last party trick took more out of him than expected, cracks forming on his crystal. His runes faded fast, the goblins only dropping low-grade trash.
Well, those'd still last longer than he could—but not long enough.
A giant freaking dragon flew circles above, drawn to images he had created.
Welf said it wouldn't attack if he avoided the core—but that was why he'd lure the surviving thugs there. He could've still beat them one-on-one, but there were fifteen of them.
And a heavy got away. He squeezed his palm, and a little carved amulet inside.
Eyna gave it to him, with a purple-eyed plea to return alive. Welf was more blunt, citing that Lily would kill him if he died. Was he ever this popular?
"Ye still alive?" A boot tapped his side. "Search the corpses." Okay, not everyone's favorite, but—
"We've to move," he coughed, eyes snapping open, "they'll be back."
Something warm was on his palm, and—wait, he didn't fake the blood fleckles.
"Bossman, they've burned to a crisp."
"No shit, genius, did ye see that fire?" The captain kicked him, turning to Konrad. "That was yer doing. Where's all the livestock?"
"I had no choice," he lied, stumbling to his feet. "They've gone—" To safety by now.
"Haah," the man pinched his nose, "They've expired anyway, grab the loot and regroup."
"Boss, the cave," someone yelled, pointing at the way they came from. "It collapsed."
"What?!" Mouths fell agape as they noticed the illusion he'd made. "Find another exit before those beasts swarm us again. I didn't even hear anything—"
Well, sure, because Konrad still couldn't fake the noises. But he did everything else.
"This way," the footmen formed up, dragging him along.
It was hard to concentrate, and he felt the crystal's mana melt away. But he had to hold out.
"No, that way, around the edges, ye idiot," the captain yelled, and he couldn't have that.
"Goblins," they shouted as dozens of blue monsters attacked from that side. "Run!"
"To the right," Konrad joined in, throwing fireballs to keep the beasts at bay. The Rabid Crows needed no more convincing. "I'll hold them off—"
They rushed through the alien jungle, only one way open.
Some of the blackened trees flickered, but they had no time to wonder at glowing flowers and vines. "That way. More goblins from the right."
Konrad nudged them along a maze he had created, fighting off monsters that didn't exist.
He had to be careful to avoid real ones—he didn't want anything to divert them from this path.
"Where's the dragon?" the captain screamed. "I can almost hear the fucker, but the sky's clear."
"Eyes on the ground, keep going, I can't hold them much longer."
Blue goblins appeared, turning into cinder before they'd come too close. But even faking this intense fight was tiring. He coughed up more blood, dripping from his nose, too.
Crystal or not, straining himself this much had consequences. But only a little closer—
"Bossman, the forest," one footman finally saw through his trick. "It's crumbling."
Well, they've come far enough. Konrad dropped the illusion, falling to his knees.
The maze, the blank sky, the monsters—all turned into smoke. Something above shone brighter than the sun, and behind them—
"Was that yer doing?!" The captain grabbed his collar, pale and shaking.
The boy grinned, ready to faint. He'd laughed, but only bloody coughs bubbled up.
"How does it feel to be powerless?" he asked, swaying on his feet. "To be a toy, used by—"
"Ye bastard," he aimed his blade at his throat, too late.
An enormous shadow swallowed them—fire blooming in the sky.
It scorched the ground with real skin-blistering heat, true draconic flames.
Konrad couldn't move. He might've miscalculated, each breath like shards of glass in his lungs. The world spun. Too hot. He could no longer cling to consciousness—but he took this as a win.