"Hell isn't a place without treasures! Where did you get that?"
Artoria curiously examined the pink bubble surrounding the Little guy. Perceptually, this bubble directly suppressed the Little guy's eerie power. Artoria didn't know where the Lord of 'Lust' got such a convenient treasure that could even suppress such strange power. Unfortunately, its weakness was obvious; its physical defense seemed very low. Artoria felt that with just a little force, this thing would surely break. Lust's expression would definitely be wonderful! Artoria didn't have such malicious interests. After touching the bubble and feeling its silky texture, Artoria stopped her exploration because Likely Liliths given name was watching her nervously, fearing she would cause more trouble.
"I got it from a magician. Setting that aside, you brought the Lord of 'Sloth' over. Do you know you've broken the balance between the Seven Deadly Sins?"
Seeing Artoria pull back her hand, Likely Liliths given name's tension eased, but she couldn't help complaining. This was no small matter. If this was considered small, how chaotic would Hell be? It had finally stabilized for a thousand years. If turmoil broke out again, those Birdmen in the sky would surely take the opportunity to catch Hell off guard. Thinking of this, Likely Liliths given name looked displeased.
"It's because you didn't tell me the information about the Lords. If I knew it was such a Little guy, how could I have gone to pick a fight? So, the root of all this is you, Lord 'Lilith'."
Hearing Likely Liliths given name's questioning, Artoria smilingly pushed all the responsibility onto her. This maneuver left Likely Liliths given name feeling breathless. Even if she had a prankster's mindset and wanted to see if Artoria would suffer a setback, she had still given basic information and guided the route. She had only hidden the identity of the Lord of 'Sloth'. How did all the responsibility get pushed onto her? What kind of move was this? Likely Liliths given name's face turned red with anger, and she ground her teeth, wishing she could tear a piece of flesh off Artoria.
"Looking is one thing, but why did you bring her here?"
Patting her chest, which was heaving due to intense emotions, Likely Liliths given name asked Artoria in confusion. No matter how cute this little girl was, she was still a Lord of Hell, a character who walked sideways in Hell. How could you bring her out? What kind of logic was this? She had truly never seen a human 'kidnap' a Lord of Hell. It was a first, very novel.
"Because she's very cute!"
Facing Likely Liliths given name's questioning, Artoria said this very casually, nearly choking Likely Liliths given name. Bringing back such a huge trouble for such a shitty reason—this reason simply couldn't convince Likely Liliths given name. She really wanted to open Artoria's head now to see if it was filled with water or if a nerve had snapped for her to do such a thing. Likely Liliths given name calmed her emotions, using common sense gained from human souls to try and reason with Artoria.
"Artoria, don't you humans have laws? You should know, this is a capital offense!"
For some reason, Likely Liliths given name said such words. She was a demon; how could she advise someone to be good? The moment she said it, Likely Liliths given name regretted it. As a demon, if she wasn't inducing others to commit crimes, how could she encourage them to do good? It was truly a disgrace to her status. She must have been driven mad by Artoria! Likely Liliths given name could only comfort herself this way. She didn't really want to look at Artoria now because this human had caused her to violate the principles of being a demon. For a Lord, this was simply too incredible.
"Then you definitely haven't finished listening. There's another saying: 'Ten years is a massive gain, the death penalty is not a loss'."
Likely Liliths given name's words amused Artoria. This Lord of 'Lust' was truly interesting. If an Angel had said those words, it wouldn't be this jarring, but hearing the word 'law' from a demon's mouth, Artoria felt it was hilarious. With a prankish thought and a face full of malice, Artoria said that classic phrase to Likely Liliths given name, leaving her stunned.
"Are you sure you didn't choose the wrong race? You should be a demon, Artoria. You're very suited for it."
When Likely Liliths given name came to her senses, she spoke to Artoria seriously. She considered that it was a waste for this person to be a human; it would be better to transform into a demon in the 'Blood Pool'. So, Likely Liliths given name suggested it to Artoria. She highly supported Artoria's 'demonic' thinking and was very optimistic about her prospects. If Artoria could become a demon, with her strength, she should be able to tie with 'Pride'... no, perhaps even be stronger than 'Pride', and even move toward the position of the Lord of Hell. Thinking of this, Likely Liliths given name's breathing became rapid. That would be fantastic. Their Hell hadn't had a Lord of Hell for many years. The title had slowly faded from the minds of all hellish creatures, but she could never forget how glorious the Hell with a Lord of Hell was.
"Become a demon? That might be a good choice."
Hearing Likely Liliths given name's suggestion, Artoria didn't show any discrimination; she even considered it carefully. This body had a great affinity for dark power. If transformed into a dark creature, she would surely become a Demon King-level existence. Although she hadn't seen a Demon King, her aptitude in another world wouldn't be that bad. However, she wasn't the original owner of this body after all. Artoria didn't want anyone to make decisions for her, so her self in this world should be the same; otherwise, the situation of a soul taking over wouldn't have occurred.
"I will consider it carefully."
Facing the somewhat excited Likely Liliths given name, Artoria spoke with a smile. Although she didn't know what she was excited about, her suggestion was indeed good, and her attitude toward her was impeccable. Artoria wasn't the type who didn't know how to be grateful. Since she had helped her so much and seemed to want to help her handle the 'Sloth' matter, such a favor—if she didn't want to go home, she might have actually done as she wished.
"I hope you'll consider it. We demons aren't as bad as those brainwashed lunatics claim. We just act according to our whims, and we even snatched God's precious human souls, which is why we're blackened like this. If you look into it carefully, you'll find..."
Seeing Artoria was slightly moved, Likely Liliths given name felt it was a good time. She immediately began talking about the various benefits of being a demon and started explaining why the demon image was so poor. In fact, it wasn't like that. Most demons in Hell were very ugly because of their power. Little Demons didn't even have intelligence and were no different from Beasts. But Lower Demons and Middle Demons were entirely different. Lower Demons' intelligence wasn't high but wasn't low either, comparable to a human teenager—somewhat simple. Middle Demons had the intelligence of a human in their thirties, knowing how to use schemes and being very cunning. But all of this was for survival, unlike the environment in Heaven. Artoria listened to Likely Liliths given name's talk for a long time.
Finally, she learned some trivia about the past between Heaven and Hell, as well as the matter of the Demon King. It seemed she really wanted Artoria to join the forces of Hell as a demon. She even told Artoria some confidential matters. The Demon King hadn't appeared for a long time. That's right, Hell actually had a Demon King. The subordinates of the Demon King were the Seven Deadly Sins. As long as a Demon King-level demon appeared, the Seven Deadly Sins Lords would 'communicate' with the Demon King—that is, have a fight. If the Demon King defeated them, the Seven Deadly Sins would fully belong to the Demon King. This method of subjugating forces depended entirely on the Demon King's strength. That's why a Demon King could be the Lord of Hell. But such a powerful Demon King suddenly disappeared one day.
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