Episode-942
Chapter : 1883
The sensation of spatial travel was never pleasant. It felt like being squeezed through a very thin straw while the rest of the universe spun in the wrong direction. But this time, it was simply an annoyance. The exit from Gator City hadn’t been a desperate escape; it had been a tactical relocation initiated by a third party just as the fight was getting interesting.
When the swirling vortex of water and shadow finally spit them out, Lloyd Ferrum touched down with practiced grace. He didn't crash; he simply absorbed the momentum, his boots skidding slightly on polished black stone before he snapped into a perfect combat stance. He didn't pant or heave. He stood with the calm, regulated breathing of a machine, his chest steady, his eyes scanning the new environment with the cold, rapid-fire processing speed of a combat computer.
"Clear," Lloyd muttered, though the word was laced with frustration. His body hummed with the adrenaline of the backlash from the fight with Rubel, and his mana reserves were still surging, agitated by a battle that had been cut short. He wasn't running on empty; he was running hot.
A few feet away, Ben Ironwood landed. He didn't roll. He didn't stumble. He simply hit the ground with the heavy, metallic thud of a war machine and stood up straight, immovable as a mountain. Steam hissed from the joints of his prosthetic legs, not from damage, but from the rapid cooling of his combat systems. He dusted off his shoulder with a look of supreme annoyance, as if the dimensional travel was merely a rude interruption to his day.
"Sloppy," Ben said. His voice was deep and lacked any warmth. He looked around the silent chamber, his mechanical eyes narrowing as they adjusted to the lighting. "That exit vector was unstable. If I hadn't reinforced my internal gyroscope, I would be irritated right now. The magic in this realm is crude. Powerful, but crude."
"We are positioned, Ben," Lloyd said, standing up and straightening his coat. He checked his Nova Cannon arm; it was glowing faintly, still holding a charge he hadn't fired yet. "In my book, that counts as a successful calibration."
Ben let out a short, sharp scoff. "Interruption is the baseline, Lord Lloyd. It is not an achievement. The fact that we had to disengage from trash like Beelzebub is an insult to my engineering. I had the calculations ready for a counter-offensive."
Lloyd ignored the jab. He knew Ben well enough by now. The man was arrogant, prickly, and possessed an ego the size of a small moon. But he was also right. They hadn't run because they were afraid of dying. They had been moved. If Leviathan hadn't intervened, they wouldn't be dead—they would have just been forced to burn down half the city to finish the job.
Lloyd turned his attention to where they were. They weren't in a wasteland. They weren't in a cave or a dungeon. They were standing in a hall that defied every expectation Lloyd had about the Devil Realm.
The architecture was vast, soaring hundreds of feet into the air, but it wasn't the jagged, chaotic rock formations he had seen in Beelzebub’s territory. This place was... organized. The black stone walls were smooth and perfectly cut. The pillars were spaced with mathematical precision. The floor was a seamless expanse of obsidian that reflected the pale, blue light emanating from glowing crystals set into the ceiling at regular intervals. The air smelled sterile, like ozone and cold stone, lacking the sulfurous stench of the rest of the Abyss.
It didn't look like a demon's lair. It looked like a corporate headquarters designed by a minimalist architect with an unlimited budget. It felt strangely, hauntingly familiar.
"Where are we?" Lloyd whispered, his guard still up. "This doesn't feel like the Abyss."
"It is the Abyss," Ben said, walking over to a pillar and inspecting it. He ran a metal finger along the surface, checking the density. "But the geometry is different. It’s cleaner. Efficient. Whoever built this place hates wasted space. Look at the load-bearing stress points. They are perfectly distributed."
Ben turned back to Lloyd, a rare look of grudging interest on his face. "I hate to admit it, but the structural integrity here is... adequate. Better than the garbage back in the human kingdoms."
"Adequate?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "That’s high praise coming from you."
Chapter : 1884
"Don't get used to it," Ben snapped. He looked toward the massive double doors at the far end of the hall. "So, the water-witch brought us here. Where is she? I don't like waiting."
As if on cue, the massive doors groaned. They didn't creak with rust; they slid open with the smooth, silent hiss of perfectly oiled mechanics—or high-level wind magic mimicking mechanics.
"Enter," a voice echoed from within. It was calm, cool, and commanded absolute obedience without needing to shout.
Lloyd and Ben exchanged a look. Ben shrugged, his demeanor relaxed but ready to kill anything that moved. Lloyd took a breath, centered his mind, and walked forward.
They entered a throne room that was even more impressive than the hall. It was a vast, circular chamber dominated by a central pool of dark, still water. Suspended above the water was a platform made of silver and glass. And sitting on a throne atop that platform was the entity known as Leviathan, the Devil Prince of Envy.
She was humanoid, wearing a gown that seemed to be woven from the night sky itself, shimmering with tiny points of starlight. Her face was hidden behind a heavy veil of silver chainmail that obscured her features completely. She sat with perfect posture, her hands resting on the arms of the throne. To her left sat Monalisa, the Prince of Sloth, who looked bored and slightly terrified, clutching the Spirit Fruit Lloyd had given her earlier.
"Welcome," Leviathan said. Her voice was distorted, layered with a magical resonance that made it impossible to identify her age or origin. "You have caused quite a mess in the Gluttony State, Lloyd Ferrum."
Lloyd stopped ten paces from the pool. He didn't bow. He stood tall, acting the part of the Major General. "I cleaned up a mess," Lloyd corrected. "Viscount Rubel was a stain on my family and a liability to your world. You should be thanking me."
Ben stood just behind Lloyd, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked at the Devil Queen not with fear, but with a critical, evaluating stare. He didn't speak, but his body language screamed that he was unimpressed by the theatrical lighting.
"Thank you?" Leviathan tilted her head. "You started a war between the Princes. Beelzebub and Mammon are currently tearing the border apart looking for you. I risked my own standing to pull you out of the fire. And yet, you stand there with your chin up."
"I am a busy man," Lloyd said flatly. "I don't have time for false modesty. You saved us for a reason. Devils don't do charity. Especially not for humans. So, let’s skip the pleasantries. What do you want? Is it the Aegis blueprints? The Lilith Stones? Or do you just want to use me as a weapon against the other Princes? Whatever the price is, state it. I prefer open negotiations."
Leviathan stood up. She was tall, her presence filling the room. She glided down the steps of the platform, moving with a grace that was almost mechanical in its precision. She stopped at the edge of the dark pool, just a few feet from Lloyd.
"You think this is a transaction," she said. "You think I want something from you."
"Everyone wants something," Lloyd said, his hand tightening on his sword hilt. "That is the first rule of politics. And war. You didn't bring me here for tea."
"Is that what you think?" Leviathan asked. The distortion in her voice faded slightly, becoming clearer. "Always the cynic. Always the soldier calculating the odds. You look at a miracle and you search for the wires."
Ben let out a loud sigh from behind Lloyd. "We are wasting time," Ben grumbled. "She knows who we are. We know she has an agenda. Can we get to the point?"
Leviathan ignored Ben. She kept her veiled face turned toward Lloyd. She raised her hands to her veil.
"Stop looking for a fight, Major General," she whispered, her voice trembling just a little. "And look at me."
The silence in the throne room became absolute. Even the ambient hum of the magical crystals seemed to fade away. Lloyd felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck. His instincts, usually so sharp, were screaming conflicting signals. His combat sense told him she was a threat—a Sovereign-level entity capable of crushing him with a thought. But his intuition... his intuition was telling him something impossible.
Leviathan lifted the veil.