Irethiel then motioned for us to follow her into the mansion. We easily made our way inside since the guards were too terrified to resist.
"Erm, Human, could you please give me a mana potion real quick?" Irethiel immediately says as soon as we entered the mansion.
When I turned to look at her, I was greeted by her pale face and her previous confidence was now gone.
"...."
"...Who asked you to show off? If you had followed my plan, things would have gone more smoothly," As I handed her an advanced mana potion, I remarked.
Irethiel hastily grabbed it out of my grasp and began downing the potion all at once.
—Gulp—Gulp
"Fuuu—" She took a breather after finishing the potion and her face returned to her prior self.
As we proceeded forward, we noticed that the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were made of gemstones and provided a warm radiance to the place. There were servants everywhere, scurrying around as if to carry out their master's orders.
As we strode through the halls, Irethiels aura of power and confidence underlying her again.
Demons hurried out of her way, intimidated by her mere presence. Her dark eyes swept the room, taking in the mansion's details.
Suddenly, a huge demon appeared to confront her. "Who are you and what is your business here?" he growled, his eyes narrowing as he felt the aura of fear emanating from Irethiel.
"Move out of the way you lowly being, I have come to meet with the one who rules this place," she replied, her voice ringing with authority.
The demon hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and gestured for her to follow. "Very well, follow me. The master is waiting for you."
Irethiel followed the demon through the winding halls, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Don't you think I'm doing well? We can meet the leader so effortlessly," Irethiel said, clearly pleased with her acting skills.
"...Yeah, yeah, you look like an actress from a drama," I remarked casually as we trailed the demon.
Meanwhile, the 7-year-old boy walking alongside us was filled with admiration.
We came across many other rooms while following that demon, but the one that piqued my interest was one with a peculiar Gate in it.
'Did they come in through that gate?' I pondered.
"Yes, we were carried here by force through that gate. A sorcerer opened the gate in our demon world, and we were unquestioningly tossed in by the royalty who serves the demon lords and awaits their arrival," The boy spoke to me in hushed tones.
"...I see," I murmured.
But I was now even more curious about the identity of that sorcerer.
The demon we were following came to a halt in front of a door and knocked.
—Knock—Knock
"Master, she has arrived," the demon announced as we stood outside the room.
"Very well let her in," We heard a man's voice from inside the room.
Hearing him, the demon pushed open the door and motioned Irethiel inside.
"You two are not permitted to enter," The demon spoke up and barred me and the boy from entering.
"Stay away from them, they're with me," Irethiel stated to the demon stopping us, by only giving him a glance, which frightened the demon and caused him to withdraw away from us.
I grinned after witnessing how easily the demons are frightened of her. And as we entered the room, we were met by a giant demon with black wings and horns seated on a throne in the center of the room.
The demon was surrounded by female demons who all bowed in respect to him, and two demons stood on either side of him, serving him fruits.
"Ah, I see we have a visitor, and such a beautiful one at that," the demon leader remarked, smirking. "Who might you be?" he inquired.
Irethiel ignored his query and instead questioned him.
"Are you in command of this place?" she asked, her voice firm and steady.
"Yes, I am the leader of this colony, the mighty Zargoth. What business do you have with me, Princess?" Zargoth said, his eyes narrowing.
!?
"Hehe— The mighty Zargoth, you say? Were you not the discarded human slave of the Demon Lord Asmodeus?" Irethiel remarked, grinning.
Zargoth's eyes widened as he heard Irethiel and his smirk from before vanished.
"...EVERYONE LEAVE!" In an authoritative and violent tone, he instantly commanded everyone.
Hearing him, every demon in the room fled outside, panicked.
As soon as everyone left, Zargoth, who was sitting on the throne, vanished and reappeared in front of Irethiel in an instant, kneeling on one knee.
"M-Master! I'm relieved to see you're still alive!" Zargoth exclaimed, sweating.
"...."
"...Well, this is certainly unexpected!" I murmured as I stowed my shurikens away in my inventory, as I was prepared for the fight with this idiot.
Meanwhile, Irethiel ignored Zargoth and strode past him to the throne he had previously occupied.
"...The discarded human slave of Demon Lord Asmodeus,...who was later taken in by ArchDemon Irethiel due to his beseeching..."
Irethiel paused for a moment as she sat on the throne, "I wonder how he rose to be a high-ranked demon," She questioned.
!?
I was awaiting some drama when Irethiel disclosed that this Zargoth was one of her previous servants.
..
"O-Oh! A-After you were captured, everyone who was related to you was tracked down and executed by the demon lord's servants.
A-and I, too, was abducted by the demon lord Asmodeus's servants," Zargoth stammered, pausing to consider his next words.
"Oh, is that it? And were you tortured to join him again?" Irethiel asked, her face expressionless.
"...Yeah, but I-I was just putting on a show! I didn't really join him; I was looking for you everywhere since I knew you were still alive," Zargoth said hastily.
"He's lying!" The boy standing next to me abruptly shouted.
And as soon as he had our attention, he continued to say, "How did she manage to escape that dungeon? I must quickly notify that sorcerer about this! is what he is contemplating."
"...."
"I suppose he isn't all that powerful, huh? Or this brat wouldn't have been able to read his thoughts," I wondered.
"W-What nonsense? W-Who are you? M-Master you don't believe his words, do you? In fact, I believe he is the one collaborating with that sorcerer," Zargoth remarked, staring at the boy standing next to me.
"...."
"Wow are all demons idiots?" I muttered hearing him.
"Is she still as strong as she used to be? Can I possibly have an opportunity to get away? No, let's try to talk this through; she was always gullible and easy to persuade. Perhaps I can fool her once again so I can later tell that sorcerer about her.
That's exactly what he's thinking," The boy added once more.
"H-Huh? T-This jerk, don't pretend like you can read my mind," Zargoth exclaimed and dashed in front of the boy, grabbing him by the neck.
Clank—
But it was only for a second, as I immediately chopped his hand into multiple parts using my skill "Atomic Slash", causing the boy to tumble to the ground.
— Cough
The boy coughed and gripped his neck as he attempted to catch his breath.
"Aghhh—" Zargoth groaned loudly in agony as he clutched his bleeding arm.
"You wretched lowly human!" Zargoth screamed. "How dare you attack me!"
Ares, meanwhile, didn't care about what he said and merely glared at him in disgust.
The atmosphere in the room, however, abruptly altered, and Zargoth felt a cold shudder run down his spine.
When he turned around, he was met with Irethiel's piercing gaze.
Her eyes were scarlet with the deepest fury, and her expression was fierce.
"Zargoth," she spoke in a quiet, deadly voice, "your time is up."
Zargoth felt a wave of dread rush over him as he realized he was no match for Irethiel.
"Please, M-Master," he stammered, "I was just trying to-"
He was about to explain something when two massive eyes loomed out of nowhere, as if devouring Zargoth's entire soul with her gaze. He stumbled back, gasping for air.
Zargoth tried to gather his composure, but he was paralyzed by the sheer terror that Irethiel's skill induced. He felt himself being suffocated, his vision fading to black.
"Aghh, H-Help—"
Zargoth yelled for his servants to come to his help in desperation.
—Creek
The door to the room slammed open, and his servants who were waiting outside stormed in, weapons drawn.
I was about to tackle them, but that seems to be unnecessary as they were no match for Irethiel's might. As she turned her gaze on them, they were all frozen in place in fear, unable to move or even speak.
Zargoth was paralyzed in fear, unable to defend himself against Irethiel's skill. He fell to his knees, trembling.
When I saw the entire scenario in front of me, I was reminded once more that she was once a mighty Archdemon whom even the dragons feared.
Moreover, I've never seen her so enraged since I met her.
***