Chapter 910: Seeds of Rebellion

"So, what would you like me to do, Master?"

The quick transformation of Riel’s atmosphere and voice almost shocked even Asmodeus, who watched as she squatted before the vegetable-like men sat bundled together. All the while, her long black tail flicked from side to side as if she were a playful cat, toying with a few mangy mice that slipped into her den.

’She’s quite scary at times...’ ℴ

Asmodeus glanced at the men before shaking his head.

"No, this is what they deserve." He muttered to himself. Aware that these bastards would have murdered him and done unspeakable things to Riel if they were normal residents of Baltimore or his empire.

"Find out everything they know, what they are here for and why now. I don’t care if you crush, mince or shred their souls into pieces to find the answer, Riel."

The smile on Riel’s face widened... and yet there was no hint of excitement or delight. What he saw was a cold and terrifying smile.

"As you wish."

Instead of her usual playful voice with a seductive or suggestive tone, it was one of obedience and calm.

The kind that reminded Asmodeus that, before becoming his wife, before becoming the mother of his child, Riel had survived for almost two thousand years within a dark world that rejected demons while being sealed beneath the earth.

Her fingers gently cupped the first man’s face.

"Aww... look at you."

The tenderness in her voice made the scene even more disturbing.

The man’s eyes remained unfocused, his mouth hanging slightly open as drool dampened the edge of his chin.

"Master really did scramble you quite badly. Heh~ disgusting insects sure are weak."

Riel stroked his cheek with her thumb while her tail slowly curled around his throat.

"Normally, I would need to break through several layers of resistance before entering a conscious mind, especially one trained to resist magical interrogation. However..."

Her golden eyes brightened.

"...there isn’t much left for me to break."

Asmodeus leaned against the nearby wall with his arms folded.

"Can he still answer?"

"Well, he can speak..." While examining the men, Riel tilted her head and replied. "Whether there is enough of him remaining to understand the question is another matter."

"Then don’t ask him."

Riel glanced back.

"Master?"

"Use whatever remains like a library. I don’t need his interpretation of events. I need what he saw, heard and was told."

A flicker of approval crossed her expression as she began to swoon, holding both hands in front of her face as she swayed from side to side.

"Kyaahh~ such a heartless and cruel Master is the first time!"

"...don’t mimic Sariel."

Riel’s lips immediately swelled with her pout.

"Hmmmph~ why are you so soft on her?!

...Well, whatever, I can still feel your warmth pulsing inside me~"

Her hand moved from the man’s cheek to his forehead.

Dark mana immediately leaked between her fingers, resembling thick smoke illuminated by a faint violet glow. It didn’t spread across his skin like ordinary magic, but seeped into his pores before travelling beneath them in branching black veins.

The man jerked violently, his mouth opening with strange moans, as if desperately trying to tell them of his suffering.

He clawed at his throat, chattered his teeth, and even wet himself.

A dry choking noise escaped his throat.

Riel’s smile disappeared entirely.

"Don’t resist."

Her words carried a strange kind of force as she spoke each letter with a deeper, more husky tone than her usual voice.

Yet that seemed to do the trick. The man’s eyes suddenly rolled backwards as his spine straightened, his entire body tightening until the restraints around his wrists began cutting into his flesh.

Riel closed her eyes, and for several seconds, nothing happened.

Until her brow twitched.

"What?"

"He isn’t from Baltimore."

"No shit. I assumed as much..."

"No." Riel slowly opened her eyes. "I mean, he isn’t even from this region, nor the empire... it seems he is a slave captured in the far west, where many small islands still exist, completely cut off from the larger continents."

Her other hand pressed against his chest, and another pulse of black mana sank into him.

’Oh?’

Images flickered across his pupils.

These weren’t just metaphorical images, but scenes from his life.

A stone road, soldiers marching through the heavy rain... suffering a chaotic defeat. The defeated were sent to a dark, cold place where they underwent strange training.

A wagon filled with weapons covered beneath dark canvas.

A symbol carved into wooden crates.

Asmodeus pushed himself from the wall and squatted beside Riel while curling his lips as the man writhed in agony.

"Can you show me?"

"I can try, although what you see will be fragmented."

Riel extended her free hand.

A black mirror formed in the air beside her, its surface rippling like oil.

The image sharpened.

What appeared first showed dozens of men standing within a torchlit chamber; a few of them wore armour, while others wore plain travelling clothes.

But they all faced one man who stood before a map.

Asmodeus immediately recognised the shape of the coastline and island area they were examining.

It was Baltimore.

Several red marks had been drawn across the southern roads, while danger was written near the palace and other areas where Demon Knights defended. Then he saw another mark set directly beside the city.

’What are those green marks?’

There were countless of them spread through every district, but not the palace area. When he was going to ask, the memory changed as a voice echoed through the room.

"...first detachments are already in place. Merchants, mercenaries, refugees, anyone who can enter without raising suspicion."

Riel frowned as the image began to collapse, the face of the man still hidden. "Tsk! His memory is damaged here."

Continue."

She increased the mana flowing into the man’s skull.

His nose immediately began bleeding.

The black mirror steadied.

"...No banners until the western gate falls. The Empire must believe the attack came from inside the province. How are the captured Beastmen?

Did the medicine work as we hoped?"

Asmodeus’s expression darkened as he listened. The mention of beastmen reminded him of the continued attacks which began a month ago and only stopped after they managed to slay Leviathan.

The voice continued.

"...once the city is isolated, the main force crosses the border. Seven days at most."

Then the memory vanished like a puff of smoke, while the man’s body collapsed forward.

"Insolent worm!"

Riel caught him by the hair and smashed his forehead against the floor.

"Seven days."

Asmodeus repeated the words quietly.

"That’s much less time than I had anticipated..."

Riel trembled as she glanced at his face; the expression on his face was enough to make the seasoned demoness a little fearful. "M-Master..." Or maybe it was the immense mass of demonic aura that flowed from his body like the ocean itself.

"Eh...? Oh, sorry, Riel..."

"Mmm, it’s fine, Master. I understand."

In reality, it was dangerous... not just because the thick aura almost choked her. But rather, the intense aura of her husband drove the succubus mad with lust... her thighs now sticky with translucent fluids which oozed from within.

’What’s wrong with her?’

Asmodeus cocked his head to the side, noticing her fidget and blush while avoiding his gaze like she was some chaste maiden.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Riel cleared her throat.

"Ahem! What I meant to say was... Master, this memory is at least two days old.

So we have five days."

Asmodeus’s gaze shifted towards the other two men.

"We’ll have to check with the other two if this is accurate, but it would be best to prepare for whatever foolish notions they have in three days."

’Should I contact Velvet?’

Ygrenn might be able to fend it off herself normally, but she was pregnant with Simon’s child. Thus, Asmodeus felt determined to solve this with his wives instead. ’I can’t let my tutor and teachers always suffer because of me.’

Even Paul’s wives recently discovered their pregnancies.

’Those fools claimed it was thanks to the potion I gave them...

Fuck, it’s so embarrassing that potion is just my diluted blood and mana water!’

"Riel, finish the job."

Although his aura made her horny, the succubus didn’t return to her previous flirtatious mood and instead endured. Even she knew how to follow the flow of the atmosphere, and right now it was clear Asmodeus was in a foul mood.

"As you command."

This time, she didn’t bother pretending to be gentle.

Her fingers sank into the second man’s hair before she dragged his head backwards.

His blank eyes stared toward the ceiling.

Riel placed two fingers beneath his chin.

"Open."

His jaw immediately obeyed.

A thick strand of dark mana stretched from the tip of her tongue.

Asmodeus raised an eyebrow.

"...That’s new."

Riel glanced at him.

"Succubi have many methods of entering a person’s mind."

"However..." Asmodeus raised his arm and quickly slammed it down on the succubus’s plump butt, which peaked from beneath her clothes.

PAH!

"I don’t like it, so don’t use that method for anyone but me in future."

"Ah?!"

Riel’s eyes widened as she quivered. "M-Master... can you say that again?!" Her voice was almost desperate and filled with an intense power. Her breathing became erratic as her nostrils flared with each breath. "Please~~"

"Aha, did that get you going?" Asmodeus crossed his arms while smirking at her.

’Yes, this is the Riel I know and love.’

Though he wanted to destroy these people, using Riel as a subordinate made his chest feel stuffy, so he broke the atmosphere himself. This, of course, made Riel cling to him, letting the man drop face-first in the pool of piss that his comrade left for him in death.

"Behave!"

"Mmmmmm~ Master, don’t push me away now when you made me like this!"

Without warning, Riel spread her legs, revealing just how soaked her pussy remained, the obscene view of her neat light pink crevice oozing a lewd mixture of his semen and her viscous juices.

’This damn succubus...’

Asmodeus pinched the bridge of his nose, resisting the urge to entertain her when something suddenly changed behind them.

"G-Green..."

Both turned.

The first man, whose mind Riel had already torn apart, was staring blankly at the floor while blood dribbled from his nose.

Asmodeus narrowed his eyes.

"What did you say?"

"G-Green... marks..."

Riel immediately sobered and pressed her palm against his skull again, and the black mirror flickered violently before returning to the map of Baltimore. It was the countless green markings that remained scattered throughout every district.

Then another memory surfaced.

Rows upon rows of chained Beastmen appeared within a dark chamber as masked men forced black liquid between their lips.

A familiar voice spoke from beyond the memory.

"Once activated, they won’t remember who they are. Their only instinct will be to kill."

Asmodeus’s expression froze.

The voice continued.

"Every green mark is already inside Baltimore."

Silence filled the room.

Riel slowly looked towards her husband.

"...Master."

Asmodeus stared at the map.

The invasion hadn’t begun in five days.

It had already begun.