The woman stared at Clyde like she was staring at a sight she had never seen before.
Clyde initially felt a little relieved to see that the woman suffered injuries from his attack.
However, the bit of relief that Clyde was feeling was immediately destroyed a moment after.
The woman stood up slowly. Her movements are slow but sure.
Her thick red lips curved to form a terrible smile especially coupled with the burns that were on the side of her face.
But the burn disappeared a moment later. Her smooth skin is back again.
She stared at Clyde with wide eyes that showed admiration.
"Amazing," she said, with a dreamy voice and eyes that seemed to shine.
Clyde frowned. "What?"
Of course, he was confused by the words that came out of the woman's mouth.
'She's different.'
Clyde saw how she had recovered so quickly after suffering such severe burns.
'Who is she? She is not a monster.'
That woman is strong. Clyde could feel it even before she put up any real fight against him.
"You managed to hurt me," the woman said. She walked closer to Clyde.
Her long and smooth legs create hypnotic movements. Clyde immediately pulled himself together so as not to be affected by the sight.
The influence of the temptation that the woman gives seems unresistible.
Clyde seemed to be forced to stare at every curve of her body every time even though he already knew what he was going to see.
'This must be the influence of her power. Whatever that is.'
"What's your name, young man?" the woman asked.
"Why do you want to know? Aren't you here to defeat me?" Clyde asked back in a sharp tone.
"Ahahahaha!" The woman laughed as if amused. "Defeat you? I didn't even have to come here if I wanted to incapacitate you, or kill you."
Clyde subconsciously swallowed his saliva. The woman is not a monster. She was a very powerful being that he had never imagined before.
But, how did she get here?
"Who are you?" Clyde asked.
The woman tilted her head. She stared at Clyde with undecipherable eyes.
"Very well," she said. "I'll introduce myself first because you're quite special."
If the woman sensed offense from Clyde's words, she endured it quite well.
Clyde himself felt quite tense at her tone of voice. Clyde was under the impression that he had just said something that offended her.
That gave Clyde the idea that a woman was a figure who was used to being respected and had some great power.
"My name is Gremory. Have you ever heard of it?" the woman introduced herself her.
Clyde frowned. "Gremory?"
He was trying to figure out if he had heard that name somewhere. However, Clyde felt he had never heard of it.
Or if he had heard of it, Clyde had forgotten about it.
He hoped that his ignorance would not offend the woman named Gremory any further.
Gremory snorted. "Maybe you've never heard of it. That's fine. I heard that in your world, my name is rarely mentioned."
'In my world?' Clyde frowned. 'How many are the worlds involved in all this?'
"I'm Clyde."
Gremory nodded.
"Put down your sword and let's talk," Gremory said.
"Why should I talk to you?" Clyde returned a question.
"Because I'm about to present you with an interesting offer. It might not even be something you can turn down."
Hearing that, Clyde felt interested. Before Gremory came to him, Clyde had heard about an 'offer' from Agatha who met him first.
Exactly what's with all this offering stuff? The beings behind this apocalypse seem to have a bigger purpose that Clyde has no idea about.
And each of these goals seems to be related to the survivors of this apocalypse.
"What offer? Are you also a World Master?" Clyde asked. He felt the need to know more details about the background of this offer and agreement.
Gremory seemed a little surprised. "So... have World Masters come to see you?"
Clyde nodded hesitantly.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Gremory laughed again while shaking his head. "As it turns out, the rumors about them playing dirty were true."
Clyde just stared at her in silence. Based on her reaction, there was some sort of feud between her and the World Masters.
The way she said that already showed that she wasn't part of the World Masters.
"Have you made a deal with them?" Gremory asked.
Clyde only answered with a shake of his head.
*CLAP!*
Gremory clapped her hands in front of her large chest. So it's pressed together.
"Then, you can make a deal with me."
"I'm not sure," said Clyde.
"Oh, I know you won't be sure right away because you don't know who I am," Gremory replied.
"Yeah. Who are you?"
Gremory smiled proudly before answering. "I am a Demon. More precisely, a Demon Duchess."
Clyde looked a little surprised. A Demon Duchess?
Is it the same as the creature that Agatha said at the time? One of those powerful beings called Celestials?
Knowing that a Demon had appeared in front of him was a real shock.
No wonder she is that strong. She took his attack as if it was nothing.
In that case, making a deal with the Gremory could benefit him, right?
"I think we can talk," Clyde said.
Gremory gave a satisfied smile. "I knew you would say that."
"But before that," Clyde said. "How about this Quest?"
Gremory waved her hand in front of her face. "You don't need to worry about that. Once we finish talking, you will be deemed to have completed this quest and received your reward."
Clyde nodded with satisfaction. As expected from a Demon.
"How long will we talk?" Clyde asked.
"You don't need to worry about that either. Time will stop when we talk."
Hearing that, Clyde gave another nod.
Gremory can even stop time.
Clyde heard her title earlier. She didn't say she was a Demon King - or Queen - but a Duchess.
If a Duchess was this strong, Clyde couldn't imagine how strong a Demon King would be.
~~~