Chapter 605: Escalations

The entire Council Chambers fell into a deathly silence despite the enormous crowd gathered around the seven intersections.

Demons had come from every corner of the realm to witness the arrival of the Princes, filling the surrounding platforms and walkways with soldiers and civilians. Yet none of them dared make a sound as Sol continued walking down his intersection, his golden robes moving gently with each step and the enormous lion at his side keeping pace without the slightest hesitation.

The five other Princes watched him with cold, guarded expressions, their attention fixed on the man whose presence had turned an ordinary gathering into something that could easily become a massacre.

Even the soldiers lining the roads seemed to have forgotten their duties. Some sucked in sharp breaths, while others exchanged shocked glances, silently searching the faces of those around them for confirmation that they were witnessing something real.

Sol had actually dared to enter the Imperial Capital. The Prince of Pride had walked into the heart of the Underworld’s political power, where God Killing Arrays suppressed divine abilities and millions of demon soldiers stood ready to defend the Imperial Throne.

Was he tired of living?

Had he finally grown so arrogant that he believed himself untouchable, or was there something else behind this seemingly suicidal decision?

Nobody dared voice the questions aloud, but the same thoughts passed through the minds of nearly everyone present.

Kazier and the other Princes exchanged uneasy looks, each trying to determine how the others intended to respond. Sol was their greatest threat to all inhabitants of the underworld, and his arrival presented an opportunity that none of them could afford to ignore.

If they joined forces, they might finally eliminate him within the Imperial Capital, where his power is restricted by the arrays.

The city was packed with soldiers, and the Imperial forces could reinforce them if Sol proved to be a problem. This was the kind of opportunity they had waited millenniums for!

Damian understood the situation better than most. From a purely strategic perspective, the Imperial Capital was the worst place for Sol to fight. The arrays restricted his power, the soldiers outnumbered him by millions, and five other Princes stood within striking distance. If Sol had arrived without a plan, he would have been walking into a death sentence.

However, Damian knew enough about the Prince of Pride to dismiss that possibility. Sol was many things, but he was neither a fool nor a suicidal maniac. If he had chosen to enter the capital despite knowing the risks, then he must have been confident that he could leave alive, regardless of what the other Princes decided to do.

Even if Sol is dumb, Leo is not. The spirit beast would never let his master walk into a disadvantageous position.

Damian had little time to consider the matter further because he suddenly sensed agitation rising from Kazier. His gaze shifted toward the red skinned Prince just as the latter began advancing down the intersection, his massive arms folded across his chest.

Kazier’s expression had darkened, and the murderous intent radiating from him grew stronger with every step. He had apparently decided that Sol’s arrival was an insult that could not be ignored, or perhaps he simply saw an opportunity to strike at Sol. Whatever his reasoning, he was walking directly toward the approaching Prince of Pride, making no effort to conceal his hostility.

Whispers spread through the crowd as the two rulers drew closer. Soldiers stiffened, civilians retreated from the edges of the road, and several other demons hurried away in terror.

Sol continued forward without changing his pace, his golden lion walking beside him with its head held high. He neither acknowledged Kazier’s hostility nor gave any indication that he intended to stop.

Kazier, meanwhile, refused to yield even an inch, his long claws resting against his muscular arms as he prepared to meet Sol head on. The distance between them dwindled with every passing moment, and the atmosphere grew so tense that even the most powerful demons present began preparing themselves for the inevitable clash.

If the two Princes met at their current pace, violence would erupt almost immediately, and once the first attack was launched, there was no guarantee the other Princes would remain uninvolved.

"This fool..." Damian muttered, pressing a palm against his face.

His body erupted in purple flames, the sudden burst of demonic energy drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

Flame Jump!

The words had barely left his mouth before his figure vanished from his original position, leaving behind a brief distortion in the air. In the next instant, Damian appeared directly between Sol and Kazier, his broad frame blocking their path and forcing both Princes to confront him instead.

His arrival finally caused the two to slow their advance. Sol’s golden lion paused beside its master, while Kazier’s eyes narrowed at the unexpected interruption.

Damian paid neither of them much attention at first, keeping his gaze fixed on Kazier as though the red skinned Prince were the only person in the entire intersection capable of causing trouble. His expression remained calm, but the warning in his eyes was unmistakable.

"Only cowards act tough when they believe they have the absolute advantage... but before you get us all killed, I need you to understand something. Unlike you, he actually uses his brain. If he had no means of surviving a joint attack from all of us, he would never come here." Damian spoke, making no attempt to disguise his contempt. "If you plan to provoke him into action, I have no intent of being a part of it. That’s all I need you to know."

With that, Damian’s body dissolved into purple flames once more, and he reappeared at his former position as though he had never moved.

Aein watched the exchange from his floating lectus before giving a lazy nod, his head settling comfortably against the succubus’s lap.

"Yep, you are on your own, Kazier," he said with a yawn, sounding as though the possibility of a fight had only interrupted his relaxation.

Brolly also shook his enormous head in agreement, offering a muffled "Mhm!" before dropping onto his backside and raising his gourd of wine to his mouth. He chugged the contents without a care in the world, allowing the excess to spill down the corners of his lips and soak into his beard.

Belial’s expression remained sour, but even he appeared unwilling to support Kazier’s impulsiveness.

"I hate to admit it, but he’s not wrong. This man won’t come here if he isn’t sure he can walk out alive. He’s proud, not stupid." His gaze followed Sol as the Prince of Pride continued toward them, and after a brief pause, Belial folded his arms. "I won’t be a part of this."

Kazier’s advance finally stopped. The veins bulging across his forehead stood out against his crimson skin, and his fists clenched so tightly that his sharpened nails pressed into his palms.

Sol was now close enough that the two could have exchanged blows without taking another step, yet the Prince of Pride continued to look at him with the same untroubled expression while approaching Kazier’s teeth gritted hard enough to expose their sharp edges as he stepped aside and allowed Sol to pass.

The movement was small, but the humiliation was not. Kazier’s glare immediately snapped toward Damian, whose interference had deprived him of the confrontation he had clearly wanted.

Damian, however, had already returned his attention to the gathering, apparently uninterested in the red skinned Prince’s resentment. Rin and Biron were far less considerate. Both spirit beasts burst into laughter, rolling back and forth across Damian’s broad shoulders as they watched Kazier struggle to contain his anger.

Rin clutched his stomach while Biron wheezed between bouts of laughter, making no effort to hide their amusement. Their reaction only deepened the scowl on Kazier’s face, but he could do little more than glare as Sol walked past him.

Sol briefly turned his head toward Damian and offered him a smile. There was no visible gratitude in the gesture, nor did he appear particularly surprised that Damian had intervened. It was simply the acknowledgement of one Prince toward another. Leo, walking near Sol, was considerably less composed. His eyes followed Damian with open hostility, his expression making it clear that he had not forgotten their last encounter.

Damian noticed the glare but ignored it, unwilling to waste his attention on an adviser who possessed neither the authority nor the power to threaten him directly.

Kazier eventually returned to his side of the intersection, still seething, while Sol took his place among the assembled rulers. The Princes now stood facing one another, each accompanied by their respective entourages, and the gathering finally resembled the formal assembly it was supposed to be. Yet an unmistakable absence remained.

The position once occupied by Lazarus, the former Prince of Greed, stood empty. Several gazes drifted toward him, some openly hostile and others calculating, but nobody raised the matter.

A loud, familiar voice suddenly boomed from the colossal tree like structure above them, its authority carrying across every intersection and silencing the remaining whispers.

"THE COUNCIL OF PRINCES WILL NOW BEGIN." The announcement echoed through the vast gathering place, and the immense structure responded immediately.

Several circular platforms detached from the main building overhead. Each platform descended slowly toward the ground, its surface covered in intricate runes that glowed with restrained demonic energy.

When the platforms reached the ground, the Princes and their entourages began boarding them, while the crowds remained behind the designated boundaries, watching the rulers prepare to ascend into the Council Chambers.