Chapter 911: Outbreak

Asmodeus remained silent for several moments, his eyes fixed on the distorted map produced within Riel’s black mirror.

’Shit, these bastards play dirty!’

The countless green markings seemed to grow more offensive with every passing second. They weren’t concentrated around the gates, military barracks or the palace where an attacking army might logically place infiltrators, but scattered throughout residential districts, markets and the poorer southern neighbourhoods where thousands of civilians lived packed together.

Whatever force planned this attack had never intended those Beastmen to conquer Baltimore.

They wanted them to tear it apart from the inside.

’I can’t just blow them to pieces either... it would hurt Yuina and Yumiko.’

In the many conflicts from his previous world, it was always the opinion of the masses on social media that skewed people’s judgement.

He couldn’t act slowly or carelessly.

If an attack like this came from the beastmen, all the peace and political work over the past four years might suffer irreparable damage.

Things had changed slightly with Yuina stepping down from the empress role, so she couldn’t just hide an event like this from him. They agreed to become a kingdom in return for acknowledging Lumeria as the continent’s only empire and defender.

’I promised not to control the three kingdoms... that was the term for Lumeria to become the ruling empire.’

"How many?" Asmodeus finally asked, his voice calm enough that Riel immediately knew he was far angrier than before. "Can you tell from the memory whether every mark represents one person, or could some of them be groups?"

Riel’s playful expression had vanished completely as she examined the image, narrowing her golden eyes while enlarging portions of the map with a sweep of her fingers

"I can’t be certain because this fool was never involved with transporting them, but from what I can gather, each mark represents a holding location rather than an individual."

Her lips tightened when several memories briefly overlapped, showing chained Beastmen being divided between covered wagons.

"Some contain three or four. Others might contain twenty... forgive me, Asmodeus."

"Eh?"

It was rare for her to speak in such a truly servile way.

Asmodeus slowly exhaled through his nose before pushing the mirror to the side and yanking Riel into his arms, wrapping her tightly with a powerful squeeze.

"D-Darling?!"

Her cheeks flushed red as his massive arms almost completely crushed her against his chest. Riel loved being crushed beneath his body; the size different and vast amount of muscle he gained when becoming a true demon were exactly her ideal type...

Yet when he didn’t take any further action, she chose to remain still, placing her hands gingerly around his waist.

"Don’t blame yourself; without you... would I even know any of this?"

The number could easily reach several hundred, perhaps more if the invaders had been quietly smuggling captives into Baltimore for weeks.

Beastmen stood out among ordinary humans, yet Baltimore was a trading city filled with mercenaries, foreign labourers, slaves and travellers from dozens of territories, which meant small groups could disappear into its population without anyone questioning them.

He had spent so much time worrying about armies crossing borders that the bastards had simply carried their weapons through the gates one wagon at a time.

"Master..." Riel watched his face from below before cautiously asking, "Do you want them eliminated?"

"I..."

The question wasn’t cruel but practical.

Riel knew exactly how Asmodeus fought wars, and if several hundred magically drugged creatures were scattered throughout a city with orders to slaughter indiscriminately, killing them before activation was undoubtedly the simplest solution.

She would have carried out the order without hesitation if he gave it, because protecting their people mattered more to her than strangers whose names they would never know.

Yet Asmodeus didn’t answer immediately.

’Should I do this?’

His thoughts drifted toward the Beast Kingdom and, inevitably, the two women born there who called him husband.

They wouldn’t blame him for killing berserkers who threatened innocent people, and neither was naïve enough to expect him to sacrifice Baltimore because their races happened to match. But captured slaves being drugged, transported across borders and transformed into disposable weapons weren’t soldiers invading his territory.

’These people are more the victims than our people... what would my daughters and sons think if I abandoned them?’

He couldn’t just abandon them; all of the races on the continent were now his brethren.

Worse still, Asmodeus suspected whoever designed this scheme understood exactly how the situation would appear once blood began flowing.

"No."

Riel’s tail stopped moving.

"We don’t kill them unless we absolutely have to." Asmodeus stepped closer to the mirror and pointed towards one of the densest clusters of green marks near the eastern market district. "Think about it. Hundreds of Beastmen suddenly lose their minds and butcher humans inside Baltimore, our soldiers respond by slaughtering them in the streets, and by sunrise every surviving witness believes the Beastman who suddenly launched an attack."

Riel’s eyes slowly widened as the implication settled in.

"Then if another force attacked under the cloak of their frenzy from another gate..."

"Exactly, Riel. This isn’t just about the drugged beasts.

Someone wants to use this knowing part of my abilities..."

Her expression darkened.

"Those disgusting bastards."

"Exactly." Asmodeus crouched beside the first prisoner again, grabbing the man’s chin and forcing his lifeless face upward. "Which means these things aren’t merely weapons. They’re bait, propaganda and a distraction wrapped together."

The prisoner’s empty eyes offered nothing in response.

These men were worthless now; he no longer wanted to sully his wife’s mind with their disgusting thoughts and desires.

Vwoosh!

With a single arc of blood magic, their heads shot into the air.

The sound of their blood spurting created a comfortable background noise as he focused on Riel in his arms.

His muscles tightened, squeezing the air from her lungs, and Riel responded with the most obscene and alluring moan.

"M-Master~ wait... I can’t take it!"

"Riel, I need you to do something for me."

"Heeh?!"

He let her down from his arms and gently patted her butt with his hands. Riel’s expression immediately sharpened once she realised his tone had changed again, the playful warmth in her golden eyes settling into something far more attentive as she straightened her dress.

"I need you to head directly to the eastern district and find the largest gathering point shown on that map. Don’t attack them unless they’ve already gone berserk, and don’t let the Demon Knights kill them either unless there’s absolutely no other choice."

Riel tilted her head slightly.

"You want me to restrain them?"

"More than that." Asmodeus folded his arms while glancing towards the fading black mirror. "You’re better than anyone I know when it comes to manipulating minds and suppressing instincts, so if this drug attacks their consciousness first, there might be a chance you can slow it down. Even if you can only buy us a few minutes, that’s enough time for me to reach the other districts."

Riel remained quiet for a moment before slowly smiling.

"You’re asking me to protect Beastmen?"

"I’m asking my wife to help me protect our people."

His request brought a sudden change in her atmosphere, as black wisps of mana wrapped her plump thighs, chest and stomach, hiding her body from the moonlight as if she became the most chaste maiden in the world.

The teasing smile remained, but beneath it came a softness that only Asmodeus ever seemed capable of drawing out of her. Riel stepped closer, resting both hands against his chest before gazing up at him with a strangely proud expression.

"Sometimes you really do say unfair things, darling."

"What did I say now?"

"You make it very difficult to refuse you when you speak like that." Her fingers lightly stroked his shirt as she leaned against his muscles. "Very well. I’ll keep as many alive as possible, even if I have to personally knock every single one of them out until you arrive."

"Thank you, Riel. I will definitely reward you—Mmmmph?!"

With a slow motion of her fingertip for him to shush, she stood on her tiptoes and softly kissed his lips.

There was no vulgarity or her usual flirtation.

Just a simple peck.

"That’s enough, don’t worry... You know I would do anything for you, Asmodeus."

He stood half dazed as she turned to leave when he subconsciously grabbed her arm. Riel’s head snapped back, her face seemingly just as surprised. "Master?"

’Ah...’

Asmodeus could only curse himself for being too sentimental when it wasn’t needed inside his chest.

"One more thing."

"Hm?"

"If anything feels wrong, anything at all, don’t try to be clever. Call me."

Riel’s eyes widened slightly.

"Master..."

"I mean it. Please don’t fight a dangerous foe alone, although strong you succubi aren’t close combat types..."

"Hmph!" Riel placed both hands on her curvy waist, pushing them out with a cute smile on her lips. "Well~ this weak little maiden will do her best to behave, just don’t take too long or else I might just get eager to fight!"

Asmodeus finally released her.

Riel turned towards the doorway, but before taking another step, a deep metallic sound suddenly rolled across Baltimore.

DOOOOOONG!

Both of them froze.

The sound wasn’t one of the city’s usual bells used for prayer or worship.

It was deeper, heavier, carrying through the air with a strange vibration that Asmodeus could almost feel inside his chest. A second bell answered from somewhere farther south, followed moments later by another from the eastern district.

Riel’s face lost all colour.

"Darling..."

The black mirror behind them flickered.

Several green marks vanished at once.

Not slowly.

Not one by one.

Entire clusters disappeared simultaneously.

Asmodeus’s eyes widened.

"No."

Another bell rang.

Then came the screaming.

At first it was distant, little more than frightened voices echoing somewhere beyond the surrounding buildings. Yet within seconds, the noise multiplied as people began shouting, doors slammed open, and something heavy crashed through wood somewhere nearby.

"GO!"

He wanted to comfort her with all his strength, but their time was over.

His body erupted with a faint golden light, as the sound surrounding them started to distort and slow to an almost halt. The glow extended from his body in the form of dozens of golden tendrils, before wrapping the frozen Riel with a gentle light.

’With this she should have a little more time...’

His blood wings extended one by one, with the countless eyes across them all focused on Riel, observing her from varies different angles.

"I can’t stop time when the enemy remains hidden like this." He mumbled in complaint before slapping Riel’s perky face one last time and vanishing in a burst of air.

To Riel, it might’ve been a flash, but for Asmodeus, the time became much longer and stretched, creating bizarre and terrifying scenes.

He rushed towards the largest cluster of green dots... the slums.

Or the former slums, which became a residential area for the orphaned children and wounded soldiers and knights.

A figure suddenly smashed through the window of the building across the street.

Glass exploded everywhere.

The body rolled across the road before slamming into the opposite wall.

For a moment, neither moved.

Then the figure stood.

A Beastwoman.

Blood covered her mouth; her eyes were almost completely black, and veins pulsed beneath the skin of her neck as she slowly turned towards a group of terrified civilians frozen at the end of the street.

Her lips trembled.

"R...run..."

Then her body lunged forward at him without care.

"..."

The outbreak had begun.