Chapter 32: You Are Not a Useless Demon Lord!
"What 'outside'?"
Facing the orc's questioning, Lilith retorted subconsciously:
"We didn't come in from the outside, we came up from below! So you fellow, you don't even recognize your own Demon Lord... Mmph?!"
Before she could finish, a large hand suddenly reached out and covered her chattering little mouth.
Immediately after, Lilith felt her body lighten.
Asmodeus wrapped one arm around her waist, lifting her into the air as easily as if he were holding a body pillow or a large doll—her feet left the ground, and with her mouth sealed, she could only kick the air in vain.
"Apologies."
Without a change in expression, Asmodeus held Lilith while explaining to the suspicious orc in an extremely calm, even somewhat sincere tone:
"My servant is indiscreet and speaks out of turn."
"In truth, we committed some errors above and offended the nobility. We were knocked unconscious and thrown down here—we only just woke up and found ourselves in this place, knowing nothing of it. If possible... could you explain things to us?"
Clearly, while Asmodeus lacked some common sense, he was not stupid.
Since this was a sealed area, openly proclaiming himself as the "former Demon Lord" would bring nothing but endless trouble.
"Mmph, mmph!!"
[Let go! Don't touch me!]
Treated like an accessory, Lilith struggled in the air, but that iron arm didn't budge an inch.
The orc eyed Asmodeus suspiciously, then looked at the charming Lilith and the cute Hill. After a moment's thought, he seemed to accept the "exiled for a mistake" backstory.
"Tch, another bunch of unlucky nobles from somewhere..."
The orc curled his lip and irritably slammed his cleaver into the cutting board:
"Want to know? Fine. Give me some money, and I'll tell you."
"Fine."
Asmodeus nodded slightly, signaling Hill with a glance.
Hill understood immediately and hurriedly fumbled through his pockets, luckily finding two gold coins after a bit of searching.
During this interval of searching for money, Lilith—held in mid-air with her mouth covered—fell into a strange state of mind... Because he held her so tightly, the tip of her nose was almost pressed against Asmodeus's fingers.
*Sniff, sniff—*
[Hmm?]
[Asmodeus's hand actually smells quite good?]
[It doesn't smell like vulgar perfume, but rather a deep fruity wood scent mixed with a hint of gunpowder...]
[And it's so warm... why is his body temperature so much higher than mine? An illusion?]
Lilith's eyelashes fluttered.
However, because the Sage Potion was still in effect, not a single romantic thought could arise in Lilith's heart.
[But... hehe, it's useless.]
[I'm in Sage Mode right now! Simply being held in his arms or a little pleasant scent can't sway me in the slightest.]
[That foolish Demon Lord can never influence my mind again! Hmph~]
At that thought, Lilith glanced away, adopting a disdainful and aloof expression.
However.
She likely didn't notice it herself... but when Asmodeus's fingers accidentally brushed against the soft flesh of her cheek, her right leg hanging in mid-air twitched reflexively, and her toes curled involuntarily.
"Here, for you."
At that moment, Hill handed over the gold coins.
The orc took the coins and bit one to confirm it was real gold. Only then did his ferocious expression soften slightly.
"Fine, listen up then. I'm only saying this once."
As the orc pocketed the coins, he explained nonchalantly:
"This is the The Seventh Layer, the largest'shelter' in the entire Abyss Labyrinth."
"Three hundred years ago, the Demon Lord Asmodeus was sealed after his defeat. But he had far too many remnants. To maintain his rule and keep up a good image as a monarch, the current Demon Lord locked all those die-hard loyalists to Asmodeus and their families into this Abyss Labyrinth, ostensibly to let these sinners reflect."
"Most of the people here are the descendants of those'sinners' from back then. We've been locked away like this, left to fend for ourselves without ever seeing the light of day."
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Hill's mouth dropped open in surprise:
"So... so you are the most loyal believer of the Demon Lord?!"
So this wasn't an ordinary prison, but an exile for loyal subjects!
But in response to Hill's excited inquiry, the orc rolled his eyes as if he had heard a joke:
"Believer? Hahahaha!"
The orc snorted:
"How is that possible! The most loyal believers were old fogies from my great-grandfather's generation!"
"I've been in this sunless dungeon since I was born. Every day is nothing but mining or selling lizard meat. That Asmodeus or whatever, I've never even seen him! Who would be loyal to him?"
At this point, the orc spat forcefully, his tone filled with resentment:
"In the end, it's all because that Demon Lord was useless! If he hadn't lost, if he hadn't insisted on some 'reforms,' would we be trapped in this birdcage for generations? He's the one who ruined us!"
"You—!!"
At those words, Hill grew angry again, looking ready to raise his hand and gather magic.
But Asmodeus pulled him back once more.
The Demon Lord's expression remained calm, showing neither joy nor anger, nor even a hint of sorrow. He simply asked indifferently:
"So many years have passed, and there are so many demi-humans on this floor. Has no one tried to break the seal and leave?"
"Break the seal? Hahahaha!"
The orc laughed as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world, doubling over:
"So you actually want to leave? Stop dreaming!"
"Setting aside the six layers of seals above us, no one can deal with the guardian of this The Seventh Layer—[Grand Duke of Greed, Mammon]!"
"He controls all the resources and exits on this floor. He's also set up three trials. If you can't pass them, you can't get the key to leave. No one can escape his grasp!"
After he finished laughing, the orc added another sentence, seemingly for the sake of the gold coin:
"However... if you're truly interested in researching how to throw your life away, it's not impossible."
"Go straight down this street, past five intersections, and you'll see a shop called the [Dawn Antique Shop]."
"A group of freaks gathers in that shop. They spend all day studying how to pass the trials and defeat the Grand Duke of Greed. They even try to defeat the guardian of the next floor, the Pure White Collector, to awaken that Asmodeus—you should be able to find the information you want there."
"Alright, I've said everything I need to say. Now get lost, and don't interfere with my business."
...And so, the three of them left the butcher shop.
Only after they had walked some distance did Lilith poke the large hand still covering her mouth with her finger in dissatisfaction.
"Oh, apologies."
Asmodeus finally realized and hurriedly set Lilith down:
"It felt too natural to hold you, I forgot."
"..."
[Natural? Does he mean comfortable?]
Hearing this, the aloof Lilith's eyes flickered slightly, a strange light flashing within them.
[Why am I suddenly a little happy?]
[Something's wrong! Could the potion have worn off already? It's only been how long? What a low-quality product!]
Lilith shook her head hurriedly, forcibly suppressing that damn joy.
To hide her abnormality, she looked at Asmodeus's somewhat silent profile. Thinking he was saddened by the orc's words, she uncharacteristically took the initiative to comfort him:
"Um... Lord Demon Lord... don't take that orc's words to heart."
"Ignorance is no crime. Besides, you're not a useless Demon Lord. Haven't you already led Hill and me through two floors of the labyrinth? You are the strongest!"
"Hmm?"
Hearing Lilith's comfort, Asmodeus snapped out of it and smiled slightly:
"Yes, I know, of course. I was just thinking..."
He looked toward the center of the city with a deep gaze:
"Grand Duke of Greed, Mammon... I have never heard that name. There was no such figure in the war back then. For an unknown ant to actually occupy my territory and imprison my subjects... the world has truly gone to ruin."
"Who cares who he is."
Lilith shrugged and spread her hands with a look of disdain:
"He won't be able to beat us anyway. In any case, let's go check out that [Dawn Antique Shop] first."
"Yes, let's go."
With that, the three turned and walked slowly in the direction the orc had pointed...
However, the three did not notice at this time.
Shortly after they left, in the shadows of the bustling crowd, several sneaky figures followed silently, discussing something in hushed tones:
"Are you sure... they came up from the lower floors?"
"Absolutely certain! That man must be him, it must be him!"
"As long as we kill him, we'll be able to get out of the dungeon!"