60 Warmth

Each Netherworld was governed by an Overlord, and the Overlord of said Netherworld was allowed to do as they pleased. Some became Tyrants and others would become wonderful Overlords. It all depended on the Overlord in question. For example, while Skeith was a Tyrant. Jaccal valued his people and trained them to become a strong army. Roku was a mysterious Overlord who people could never quite figure out. Needless to say, he was not a terrible one. As for Dominic, his Netherworld was all about economical growth. In fact, the Netherworld called Golden Gem was called such because it was where only the rich lived as well as a place for passing traders and other exquisite goods. Then there was Vex, who was a simple Overlord. She never did anything out of the ordinary... well except for research. Her netherworld was mainly filled with studious demons. Regardless, each Overlord and Netherworld worked differently than the others. Riyku only knew these things because it was what he learned from Astraia.

"Umm.. then what about; how The Shadow King was beaten?" Riyku would ask next. There seemed to be some loopholes in the teachings after all. It never explained who actually defeated The Shadow King. "Oh... No one truly knows. However, everyone's guesses are either Hades or Lucifer." Astrid would express with a shake of her head. "Hades?" Astraia would inquire when the name came up. "Yes. Just how Lucifer is never mentioned. Neither is Hades. Hades is the Overseer of the Underworld. Think of him as... the God of the Underworld. Meanwhile, Lucifer is the King of all Demons." Astrid would explain which only brought about more question bubbles and puzzled expressions from both Riyku and Astraia. A soft chuckle would escape Astrid's lips when she saw this sight. "Alright. It's time for a break. I will prepare some honey lava tea. You two just wait here." Astrid would comment while standing up. "I'll go with you! I want to make some as well!" Astraia would exclaim. The expression upon her face would reveal what her favorite beverage was. Astrid would chuckle lightly once again before nodding, "Alright." It was then that Riyku was about to get up; however, both Astraia and Astrid placed a hand upon each shoulder with a smile across their lips. "No, no. You need to rest." Astrid spoke up. "Yup. You've done plenty around here. At least let us make you a drink." Astraia would reply. Riyku looked up at them, shifting from Astrid to Astraia before sighing lightly and admitting defeat. "Very well... Thank you very much." Riyku would reply. Seeing how he admitted defeat so easily the two of them rushed off into the backroom to prepare the drinks and probably talk some more about who knows what.

As soon as both of them escaped Riyku's vision a rough deep and sinister voice filled his mind, "What a bunch of bullshit." It was Skeith. Riyku wasn't surprised though. After all the demon had been mumbling throughout the conversation he had with both Astrid and Astraia. A sigh escaped Riyku's lips. If anything he looked mentally fatigued. "What is...?" Riyku was scared to even ask. "The story about The Shadow King being beaten. No one beat him, he simply vanished." The remark Skieth poured into his mind caused Riyku's expression to shift to surprise. "Vanished?" Riyku inquired. "Mhm. He killed Jaccal, Vex, and Dominic. Roku seemed to be nowhere in sight and when it came to my turn. I pushed him back. The tales of us being as strong as him were bullshit. The Shadow King is far stronger than Lucifer or Hades. The only reason I was able to push him back was that I finally evolved my Overlord ability which set me just below par of his strength. Afterward, I had to seal myself into my sword to keep others from trying to kill me in my weakened state."

As the information came into Riyku's mind; he couldn't help but wonder if Skeith was actually telling the truth. After all, this was a demon and from what he learned from Astraia and experienced firsthand was that most demons were liars. Since they shared his body, Skeith knew what Riyku was thinking. "You think I'm lying huh? Well, I am not. Do you know why no one talks about Hades or Lucifer anymore? It is because of The Shadow King. He hated how the Underworld and Overworld ran things. He despised it and thus sought to destroy it. The reason no one talks about Hades and Lucifer is that The Shadow King killed both of them. He devoured both of them whole and shortly after vanished. Only those who were present during the Great Unified War knew what truly transpired. At first, people tried to explain that Hades and Lucifer killed The Shadow King and went into a resting state, but then people started questioning about it since both Hades and Lucifer never woke up. So they shifted the teaching to just refrain from ever speaking of Hades and Lucifer. That seemed to work best since now no one knows about them and those who do either know of what transpired or know of the false tales." When Skeith finished explaining Riyku was at a loss for words. Not because of the fact that a false tale was made up, or the fact that The Shadow King killed Hades and Lucifer. No, it was more so that he realized why Astraia was so shocked back then when he brought up the fact that he could control the shadows. A thought ran through his mind: Power.

Skeith knew exactly what Riyku was thinking and snickered. "You are a glutton for power, aren't you? Well. I would be too if I knew that I could have saved all those lost to me." These words from Skeith woke Riyku up as if someone doused him in cold water. Riyku would grit his teeth but refrain from saying anything. "Let's make a proposition then." Skeith would speak up which caused Riyku to sigh. "I don't want to. You'll just take over my body when I give you the chance." Riyku would close his eyes with a scowling expression. "Well... that's why it's a proposition. You want power and I want freedom. So how about this. I'll regulate my power through you in exchange for freedom." Skeith brought something to the table. Riyku's brow twitched when this was thrown in front of him.

'How is that any different from before?' The thought rang through his mind. It seemed Riyku kept forgetting that Skeith could hear his thoughts. "Because I'll be dwelling within my sword. When you bring out my weapon, I will regulate the power from it into you. I get my freedom through the weapon and you get your power through me while still keeping your body." Skeith would explain, and he wasn't wrong. But he wasn't being honest either. Riyku was still quite naive as well and ended up accepting the offer after a great deal of thought. "Very well. How would I go about bringing out the weapon?" Riyku would inquire. That was a crucial part of their deal now wasn't it?

"There are two ways. Since you are not strong enough, one of them is not possible. Therefore the other way is to call out my name while filtering hate throughout your body. Hate is a common way to bring forth Diabolical Energy after all. Without it, you would have never been able to awaken me and your little friend would have been turned into a complete mess instead of that Instructor." Skeith would snicker afterward. At first, Riyku didn't understand why it had to be hate. Why not love or the will to protect? However, that thought was overtaken with the image of his body being used to violate the Instructor in such an extreme manner. His face instantly flushed. "Wait... does that mean that I did all of those things!?" Riyku exclaimed which caused Skeith to snicker again.

"Cute, but no. Your body may have, but not you. I doubt you have the experience considering the way you act. I doubt you have even kissed a woman." Skeith would attempt to insult him after answering his question; however, the reaction he got was not what he expected. Riyku placed his left-hand fingers to his lips while recalling the moments he kissed Mina. Skeith was silent when he heard nothing coming from Riyku. "Oi, Oi, you've kissed a woman? Damn... Well, there are plenty of women who enjoy a good innocent cherry boy." The remark from Skeith caused Riyku to close his eyes with a heavy sigh. "Enough already. We've made our deal, just... I don't know. Go away or something." Riyku would retort with a soft blush upon his face which made Skeith laugh. "Yeah yeah, whatever you say... Cherry Boy. When you are able to seduce a woman or two give me a call and I'll teach you somethings about pleasing them. Till then..." With those parting words, it seemed Skeith would go silent. Thankfully he did considering; both Astrid and Astraia finally returned; although, the parting words and the timing caused his cheeks to flare up. "A woman or two..." Riyku murmured.

"Is something wrong?" Astrid inquired with a concerned expression. "Did something happen?" Astraia asked; both of them holding something. Astrid holding two mugs while Astraia was holding a pan of hellbaked cookies and a mug of her own. Riyku would shake his head to free himself of such naughty thoughts. "N-No. Nothing at all. I see you baked some cookies to go with the tea. Are you sure you did not want any help?" Riyku seemed to ask once more, trying to steer his mind away from such thoughts. "We are fine. We just had a little chat and wanted you to rest up is all." Astraia would reply while setting the pan on the table along with the mug in her hand. Astrid would lean against Riyku from behind while setting her mug on the table as well. A teasing gesture since she clearly could have just placed it in front of him instead of pressing her enormous bust against his back. Although she did get the reaction she wanted which was a cute blush that appeared upon his face.

Astraia would sigh lightly at her mother's actions and take her seat. Astrid would follow up afterward to take her own seat. "Oh umm... okay. Thank you." Riyku would reply while calming his beating heart with a few sips of the tea. While the name would make it seem like it would burn off the tongue, the drink itself was more soothing than anything else. The liquid would fill the body and rejuvenate any lost energy as well as help with digestion which was why Astraia loved it so much. "Riyku..." Astrid called to him which caused his attention to shift towards her, "Yes?" He would reply while setting the cup down. "About your arm..." Astrid would place her hand over his right hand which rested upon the table. After all, she was on his right side. Riyku looked from her tender touch to Astrid with another soft blush. "Umm.... what about it?" He could see a blush of her own starting form. Probably a similar reaction to what happened when the two succubi from a little over a year ago had touched it. Well that was what he was thinking anyway. "Are you okay with leaving it like this?" Astrid would inquire to which Riyku would look from her towards his arm. It did resemble something abnormal. Not like how it was before, in fact, it had retained that powerful and wicked look it had when Skeith had taken over his body. Riyku was giving it some thought. After all, having an arm like this meant people would come after him. He did not want to put Astrid or Astraia in any danger. On the other hand, if they sealed up his arm again wouldn't the seal just break again? He did not want to place any unnecessary strain on them either. Riyku finally came to a conclusion. "I am not sure." Albeit it wasn't much of one.

"I do not wish to trouble you two. I have already brought so much trouble as is. With this whole ordeal... Astraia almost being violated and you almost getting hurt... I do not wish to cause you two further harm." Riyku would speak from his heart. That was just how he was. An honest person. That had not changed even after everything that had happened. Astrid and Astraia would smile softly when they heard this. Astraia would place a hand upon Riyku's left hand which was on the table which drew in his attention. He glanced up at her to see a beautiful smile. "Thank you." Both Astraia and Astrid said in sync. Riyku did not understand, he was perplexed as to why they were thanking him. He had only brought harm to them. A soft feminine voice peered forth with grand affection. It was Astrid to started to speak up.

"From the moment Astraia brought you in I figured you were like any other demon. A demon who let their desires consume them. A demon who would sacrifice others for their own. A selfish and greedy demon. However, I was wrong. Astra told me that you were different. At first, I was skeptical. I wanted to protect my daughter, but I also wanted to trust her. So when she asked me if you could live here with us, I agreed. During your stay over this past year, I have come to realize just how wrong I was. You are nothing like the demons. You put others before yourself. You do not fall into temptation, and value friendships highly. However... the most important thing of all is that you are always willing to do what is needed to protect those close to you. You could have easily run away. You have turned away, but you foolishly brought pain upon yourself and saved my daughter. You've helped me out plenty of times and when you accepted the moment I mistook you for Krowth you could have been upset with me, but you held me and let me have that moment. Riyku, you are someone who cherishes and values love more than any other demon. You remind me so much of Krowth that now my heart beats rapidly each I see you. I want to thank you for entering our lives, and I want to say... I love you, Riyku DarkFang." Astrid would take Riyku's right hand in both of her hands with a warm smile that was like none other. Riyku's cheeks flared up brightly, but not out of embarrassment. He was just stunned. "I..." Riyku was at a loss for words, which Astraia decided to take her to turn next with a clearing of her throat to get his attention.

"Riyku. Mother isn't the only one who wants to say something to you. Please, Listen to what I have to say as well before you say anything else." Astraia took a moment to make sure Riyku was willing and when he nodded she would continue. "When I first saw you being harassed by those succubi I thought that maybe you brought it upon yourself. You were stark naked after all and that stench of Vile and Ruin seemed to steam heavily from you. So I figured you were one of the worst demons ever. I only stopped them because I wanted to get in your way... Although after hearing your story, and seeing it in your eyes, I came to the conclusion that maybe something terrible happened to you. Maybe you foolishly placed a burden upon yourself for another's sake and that conclusion became a reality. Not only did you do so once, but you did so twice and for someone you barely even known for a year. Sure, we have shared a lot of intimate moments with our bouts and mental sharing, and sure, we have had various interesting encounters that I will not verbally name of. However, I just thought you only viewed us as friends and maybe you do. But! As I started to look at you more; notice your training and how hard you worked for both myself and my mother. I realized that you generally cared about us. I couldn't stand to think of you like a simple friend anymore. I wanted to become closer to you and during our information exchanges, I started looking deeper into your mind. I know I should have not, but I was curious. I wanted to know so much more about you and as I did I had come to find myself falling in love with you. You have enriched my life so much more than you can even realize. You helped fill a hole that was within my heart and now I want to do the same for you. So... thank you very much for entering my life and I love you, Riyku DarkFang."

Once again Riyku was at a loss for words. Both of these women had just spilled their hearts out to him. They even confessed to him. He did not want to just throw out something random, but when something came to his mind he finally spoke up, "Thank you... Astrid. Astraia. I..." He placed a hand over his heart. He could feel the rapid beating. He relived the memories he had with both of them over the past year. So much joy, so much fun. It indeed had filled the void in his heart from when he lost his mother. From when he found out that he would never see his family again or even Mina. For a while, he had thought that maybe he could find a way to search for them. That maybe they were still alive; however, as time continued onward he accepted it. That he would never get to see them again. Even if he had accepted it, it did not hurt any less. Astrid and Astraia filled the empty space in his heart and eased his pain. So the words that came out were what he felt deep within his heart, "I love you both as well!" A wide warm filled smile had curved across his face. A few tears seemed to even form around his eyes from how happy he was. So much so that Astrid and Astraia also started to form tears around their eyes as well since they realized just how happy Riyku was. Astrid and Astraia would move from their seats to hug Riyku and Riyku held onto both of them. How long this moment of warmth would last was unknown, but did that even matter? All three of them were happy after all.