The Pride Ring had not shaken like this in decades.
Not from earthquakes, battles.
But from fear.
A newly ascended sinner Overlord arrogant, erratic, violent had been erased on Prince Paimon's territory.
Not defeated, imprisoned or chased away.
Erased, permanently, by Holy Steel.
The news struck the Court like a hammer.
THE EMERGENCY SUMMONS
Inside a tall obsidian hall filled with ancient sigils, the Goetia nobles gathered in a panic.
Dozens of crests , wings and voices.
Vael slipped into the chamber, still pale from earlier. He had only heard the rumors he saw nothing but the whispers alone were enough to leave him shaken.
Prince Seviros struck his cane on the marble.
"Explain how a sinner Overlord dared enter Prince Paimon's territory!"
A minister stuttered:
"H-he ascended recently… unstable, untrained"
"That is irrelevant!" Seviros snapped.
"What matters is that Paimon MOVED. He has not acted personally in a century."
A ripple of unease filled the room.
Paimon acted only for law or necessity.
If he had risen… it meant the Overlord had crossed a line no one survives.
Another noble whispered:
"Does this mean Paimon is… active again?"
A third shook their head quickly:
"Don't say that out loud."
Vael listened silently, heart pounding.
He didn't know the full truth. hadn't seen the fight.
But he knew one thing:
Paimon didn't act out of anger. He acted because it was required.
And that scared the Court more than anything.
THE INVESTIGATION BEGINS
Teams of Goetia-appointed scholars and forensic trace readers were dispatched to the site.
They walked carefully around the corpse still intact, drained of its soul.
One researcher murmured:
"…No external magic triggered this. No ritual. No large-scale spell."
Another added:
"No negotiations. No warning. The Overlord simply… trespassed."
A third finished the thought:
"On Paimon's boundary."
Silence.
No one questioned the outcome anymore.
The only question left was:
Why did Paimon personally descend?
That part terrified them.
VAEL QUESTIONED
Later, Vael was called into a side chamber.
Prince Arathorn much older from him stern, cold .
studied him.
"You were near the district that night, were you not?"
Vael nodded cautiously.
"Yes, but… I did not witness anything."
Arathorn leaned forward.
"Did you feel anything unusual? Resonance shifts? Spatial anomalies? Tremors?"
Vael shook his head firmly.
"No. Only fear in the air. Everyone felt it when the news spread."
Arathorn frowned.
"Write a report. Everything you sensed before and after the incident."
Vael bowed and left quickly nervous,
To him, this was just the Court panicking because Paimon had stirred.
BACK IN SIN ROUGE
Malerion sat alone in his chamber.
He was calm.
Focused.
Still silently replaying the vision he witnessed through Alastor's senses Paimon freezing space, folding reality, and ending the Overlord with absolute, ancient precision.
But no one else knew he had seen it.
No one knew he had broken into the Fifth Ring.
His territory was quiet, stable, undisturbed.
Then
Footsteps.
Vael burst into the room, feathers puffed from tension.
"Malerion the Court has launched a full-scale investigation."
Malerion raised an eyebrow.
"Over the sinner?"
"They're terrified," Vael said breathlessly. "Paimon moved. Personally. After a century of silence."
He paced.
"If the Court finds ANY anomaly, they'll panic even more. They're afraid something might have provoked him."
Malerion's expression didn't change.
"And did something provoke him?"
Vael shook his head quickly.
"No! The sinner Overlord was a fool. He walked in without permission. It's his own fault."
Malerion nodded slowly.
Good.
Just Hell reacting the way Hell always reacts by fearing the ancient powers that shaped it.
THE COURT CONCLUDES
Two days later, the official report was sealed:
The sinner Overlord trespassed.
Prince Paimon enforced ancient law.
No outside forces contributed.
The Court calmed.
Nobles dispersed.
Life continued.
But Vael still looked uneasy when he next visited Sin Rouge.
Despite everything, he was still terrified that whatever Malerion was hiding might be revealed by the commotion caused from paimon