Chapter 419: Demon King's 'Castle'
Three days later, along with the chill of early winter, came another invitation from the demon girl.
As expected, the old fools of the Demon Cardinal Council were unwilling to give up such a golden opportunity. Faced with Haruto's firm stance, they chose to compromise.
But the compromise was minimal.
Naruse Mio could only bring two people to the Demon King's Castle, and these two slots did not include Haruto or Rias.
Not only were the numbers restricted, but the Red Dragon Emperor and the next head of the Gremory family—the two most likely to cause variables—were explicitly excluded.
Setting aside Haruto and Rias's strength, given their status, once they set foot in Leohart's territory, not only would the young Satan pay close attention, but many external forces would also shift their focus accordingly.
Being in the spotlight didn't align with their goals.
Even if the plan succeeded smoothly, if they were discovered to be involved with the Old Satan Faction, they'd have no choice but to flee disgracefully to the abyss and endure a harsh, lightless existence.
Given their age and power, it wouldn't be long before they became nourishment for the abyss.
This time, at Haruto's signal, Mio Naruse expressed her agreement.
This outcome was likely the final bottom line of those old fossils in the cardinalate, and even this was only achieved after three days of negotiation.
Haruto feared that if the stalemate continued, those old guys might actually grit their teeth and abandon the plan.
If the demons of the Cardinal's office truly gave up on harming Mio Naruse, he would lose his legitimate pretext to pursue benefits, investigate the whereabouts of the previous Satan's sister Sapphire, and locate that hidden, ancestral-feature-bearing seductive demon girl.
As for not allowing him to go...
Heh, as long as they weren't discovered, wasn't that enough?
The demon girl responsible for delivering the message also breathed a sigh of relief. This time, the cardinal had personally sent someone to notify her. If she failed to complete the task again, she feared she'd either die or be crippled.
Serving among nobles, she knew certain things all too well, including how many young and beautiful female demons disappeared each year.
Besides the "paradise" Zolgear had established, there was another powerful demon in the Cardinal Institute who took pleasure in training and toying with women.
His name was Belphegor.
...
Over an hour later, after some discussion, the two slots to accompany Mio Naruse were ultimately given to Sheila and Lucia.
Maria was quite unhappy, but in front of her mother and sister, she didn't dare to make a scene.
Choosing Sheila and Lucia was the result of Haruto's careful consideration.
Sheila excelled in teleportation magic, was very familiar with Satan's castle, and possessed considerable strength. Bringing her along wouldn't require his attention, and she could secretly help him gather information about Sapphire and Liala.
Lucia, on the other hand, was steady and calm, with prior experience serving as head maid and chief secretary at Ramusas's residence, making her suitable for assisting Mio Naruse with surface-level formalities.
After finalizing the selections, Mio Naruse, holding Haruto in his black cat form, arrived at the reception room with Sheila and Lucia.
"Mio-sama, this cat is..."
"My pet."
Mio Naruse held Haruto in her arms and humphed, "What? Is bringing one extra pet cat not allowed either?"
"Of course, it's permitted."
The demon girl responsible for receiving them gave an awkward smile and said respectfully, "But may I inspect it?Although she didn't know why the cardinalate forbade Mio Naruse from bringing excessive protective forces, for the sake of her own life, she diligently carried out her duties.
If this cat turned out to be some powerful magical beast or even a disguised entity, then once they reached the Underworld, whether Mio Naruse came to harm or not, she would undoubtedly be dead.
"Mio, just let her check."
Mio Naruse deliberately put on a displeased expression and, amid Sheila's cheerful persuasion, handed the black cat over.
Haruto, ever the drama king, cooperated by meowing a few times, pretending to be reluctant to leave the soft comfort of Mio Naruse's chest.
After breaking through to the god-level, his innate bloodline abilities merged and upgraded, and the transformation into a nekomata was no exception.
Not only was the weakening of strength and physique after transformation eliminated, but it also enhanced abilities in concealment and agility.
Moreover, due to the bloodline fusion, his previous blue-gray leopard cat appearance had transformed into a more mysterious and handsome black cat form.
What was once a rather useless transformation skill could now be used without detection, even by experts of mid-level deity strength—unless Haruto deliberately exposed himself—let alone by the demon girl before him who had just reached A-rank.
The demon girl took the black cat and carefully examined it, even scanning Haruto's body and interior meticulously with her spiritual energy and magic power.
But that wasn't all. She even used her hands to thoroughly feel him all over, not sparing even the most private areas.
Being handled like this in front of so many people made Haruto a bit embarrassed. Fortunately, it was a pretty demon girl doing the touching; if it had been a rough demon man, he would have slapped him long ago.
Perhaps it was precisely because this demon girl was so thorough that she was specifically sent for this task.
After checking three times, the demon girl finally confirmed that this was just an ordinary black cat—at most a bit smarter and more lecherous.
Indeed, because he was being petted so comfortably, he simply refused to leave her chest, even extending his soft pink paw pads into her ample bosom.
The demon girl looked troubled at the black cat unwilling to leave. "Mio-sama..."
"Since he doesn't want to come down, just hold him. It's easier for me this way.Mio Naruse secretly curled her lips, inwardly mocking Haruto for falling for every new girl he met.
"Alright then..."
The demon girl had no choice. After all, she was the one who had insisted on petting the cat earlier, so she couldn't complain now.
A magic circle connecting to the spatial coordinates of the Demon King's Castle unfolded beneath her feet, then extended to Mio Naruse, Sheila, and Lucia.
"Mio-sama, Sheila-sama, we shall depart now."
At the same time, in a dim room filled with purple mist, Belphegor—who had inherited Zolgear's legacy and was toying with a female demon—also received news that Mio Naruse was coming to the Demon King's Castle.
"Ah! Uh..."
In his excitement, he failed to control the strength in his hands. The sexy female demon in his arms, her face flushed and her large breasts deformed from his rough handling, let out a scream before collapsing lifelessly on the bed.
"This one has reached her limit too..."
Belphegor stuck out his tongue, licking his purplish-black monstrous lips, then turned to the attendant standing nearby. "Well then, bring in the next batch."
As he spoke, the buxom, sexy female demon lying on the bed breathed her last.
Looking closely, five or six other disheveled, alluring female demons of various shapes and sizes lay scattered around her.
Compared to Belphegor' monstrous appearance, these lifeless female demons—aside from the pair of horns on their heads and their medieval-style clothing—hardly differed from human women.
As time progressed, the once war-focused Devil Bloodline gradually faded. The new generation of demons and angels increasingly resembled humans, who were the most numerous and had the strongest bloodline compatibility.
This change did not signify a deterioration of the bloodline.
In reality, this transformation was precisely the result of natural selection.
These demons of the Sacred Assembly had already been left behind by the times. Even their own direct descendants, aside from demon horns and wings, were practically indistinguishable from humans.
Yet they attempted one last desperate struggle, striving to consolidate their power even at the cost of countless casualties and the fall of the Demon King's city.
"Yes."
A masked demon, who secretly carried out the Sacred Assembly's dirty work, responded respectfully before decisively using magic to reduce the now-useless female demon in the room to the most basic magical photons—ensuring there would be no evidence left behind.
Before the next batch was brought in, Belphegor's deep, terrifying voice suddenly echoed through the room.
"I wonder... just how delicious the emotions and memories of the former Demon King's daughter will be..."
As a tool of war, Belphegor had his own desires, though they were few. Inheriting Zolgear's legacy and training female slaves for the Sacred Assembly was only one of them.
Another reason was his ability to absorb the life force and magical energy from women to enhance his own power.
Memories and emotions were merely byproducts, adding to his pleasure.
However, this ability was crude; the slightest carelessness could easily kill the vessel.
Just moments ago, a momentary lapse had allowed him to effortlessly drain the life from a young, attractive female demon.
Speaking of which, the old relics of the Sacred Assembly, despite their grotesque, monstrous appearances, shared a similar aesthetic taste with ordinary demons.
They had no choice—there were no longer any young female demons who resembled them in appearance.
Even within the Sacred Assembly, no two looked alike; each was uniquely ugly in their own way.
Unbeknownst to Haruto, someone had already begun courting death the moment he stepped onto the teleportation array.
At that moment, he was nestled in Sheila's arms, curiously observing the town brimming with medieval European style.
Unlike Sirzechs's Demon King's Castle, Leohart's Demon King's City was a proper small town.
Roughly the size of a small town in the human world.
From above, it formed a perfectly symmetrical circle.
The outermost ring was a wall over ten meters high, with four gates facing each cardinal direction.
Various buildings were arranged in an orderly fashion, layered in concentric circles that gradually narrowed toward the city center.
Leohart's Demon King's Castle stood at the very center, the most prominent structure.
Surrounding it were the mansions of the nobility—the higher their rank and the stronger their family, the closer they were to the castle.
Beyond the noble district lay the affluent district, inhabited mostly by wealthy merchants or exceptionally talented individuals.
After all, in a supernatural world, the simplest and most effective way to climb the social ladder was to enhance one's own strength.
If the Demon King's Castle was the first ring, the noble district formed the second ring, and the affluent district the third.
Beyond the fourth ring, distinctions blurred.
Though it resembled medieval Europe at a glance, closer inspection revealed many differences.