'Haaaah... I want to go home and have sex.'
Asmodeus was bored beyond belief.
In the three days since his son had asked him to train the Euphrates, he had done so to the best of his ability.
The method of his training was rather simple, and was as old as time itself.
Beat them until they learned.
His training may not have been as detailed as Seras' or as interactive as Lusamine's, but he liked to think that it was no less educational.
But after three days of doing this nonstop, he had begun to have dirty fantasies about his wife's naked body.
In all honesty, it was quite a miracle that he had lasted without it for this long.
"Urgh..."
Asmodeus suddenly heard a dull groan coming from underneath him and looked down at the soldier he was currently sitting on.
"You've improved in these fast few days, Mace. It took me a whole twenty seconds to bring you down this time."
"Thank you sir..."
Nodding in acceptance, Asmodeus then glanced around him at the bodies of the Euphrates who were all laying on the ground haphazardly.
"All of you have made rather significant improvements. I assure you the list of beings that can stand against me for more than a few seconds isn't very many. You all should be rather proud."
Some of the Euphrates were not currently awake but those that were let out muffled groans of thanks.
Asmodeus suddenly stood up and stretched his well trained body to shake off any rust from his brief rest. "Alright... Shall we go again?"
His simple question sent a jolt of fear down the spines of these fearless warriors, but they knew that this ordeal was a necessary one.
Kanami was the first to claw back to her feet, and her siblings slowly followed her example.
Out of everyone here, she was the only one able to engage in a spar with Asmodeus for longer than thirty seconds before being defeated.
For being who was only within the third stage of evolution, such a thing was scarily impressive.
Just as another round was about to get underway, Asmodeus suddenly paused and looked at the door.
A few seconds later, Abaddon walked in wearing his usual red robes and trailed by his three children.
"Our god has returned!"
The sound of knees hitting the ground in unison was almost thunderous as the Euphrates showed their leader the proper respect.
Both Thea and Mira made confused faces as they stared at Abaddon.
Their father had a lot of nicknames, but god was certainly a new one.
The dragon could feel the eyes of his two inquisitive daughters piercing into his back, but he elected to ignore it for the time being.
"Back already?" Asmodeus asked. " I would have thought that it was going to take you all a bit longer."
"As did I, but the talent of your grandchildren has superseded my expectations." Abaddon said honestly.
"Oh? Well I'm quite proud."
""Thank you grandfather!"" Thea and Mira said happily.
On the other hand, Apophis elected to be a bit more... expressive about his gratefulness.
"Oof!"
In the blink of an eye, Apophis had thrown himself at his grandfather to give him the biggest bearhug imaginable.
"Grandfather is also a precious person to me." Apophis said, a little less robotically than before.
After comprehending emotion within the dungeon, the prince of Luxuria was flooded with awareness and a slew of new impulses that he had never had before.
During the rest of their dungeon run, he insisted on holding Mira's hand when they weren't in combat and would almost single handedly annihilate any monster that came close to Thea.
It was like the girls had their own personal bodyguard.
Abaddon chuckled when he saw the confused face that his father was making over this sudden development.
"Don't think about it too much. He's still getting used to-"
"MY SWEET GRANDSON!!"
Asmodeus' eyes quickly filled with water as he returned Apophis' hug with one of his own.
"What a kind child you are! Your shitty father has never been this affectionate with me, so you're already my favorite!" Asmodeus proclaimed.
'You were dead for 18 years, you missed your window.' Abaddon thought in annoyance.
"Mira loves grandfather too!"
"As do I!"
In the blink of an eye, Asmodeus was besieged from all sides by affection from his three grandchildren.
Suddenly the primordial nephilim didn't look very intimidating at all and seemed like he was going to die of a happiness overdose at any moment.
Abaddon merely chuckled before coming to a stop in front of Kanami who was still kneeling with the rest of her brethren.
"Was training with the old man helpful?"
With one look at Kanami, he could tell she had been through quite the ordeal.
A few of the scales on her face were cracked, and there were even a few bruises across her muscular stomach.
Kanami shuddered at his question as if she was remembering all of the unpleasant things that she had been through in her god's absence.
"It was... very informative. I feel as though we have learned a lot, god."
Abaddon nodded before reaching out and taking a strand of Kanami's hair between his fingertips. "What happened?"
Kanami used to have long bright red hair that traveled down her back and stopped just below her curvy bottom.
After training with Asmodeus, her hair was now much shorter and was styled in a simple pixie cut.
"It... was a hinderance." Kanami admitted.
In one of her first spars against Asmodeus, he had grabbed her by the hair and whirled her around like a rag doll before slamming her hard into the ground.
It was easily her most embarrassing defeat.
After that match, Kanami cut her hair so that no one would ever be able to subject her to that kind of humiliation again.
"I see... Well no matter, it looks quite nice like this." Abaddon said without thinking.
As he walked past Kanami, he missed the scene of her face becoming bright red as she struggled to keep her breathing in check.
Abaddon analyzed each and every one of the Euphrates to see the results of their hard training.
While some seemed to have struggled more than others, all of them seemed to have gained something from training under his father.
'I believe we may be ready...'
Abaddon's plan for the immediate future was to begin the unification of the demon race.
Before he went off to wage war against the rest of the world, he had to ensure that his own backyard was in order.
He wasn't certain of the timeframe, and he had yet to even concoct a complete plan.
But one thing he was certain of was that the might of this private army would be crucial in his next evolution.
"This is the second favor you've received from me, my son." Asmodeus said as he appeared beside Abaddon. "Don't you think that it's time you give your papa a proper thank you?"
The nephilim held out both arms and put on a cheeky smile, as if he was still waiting to receive a hug from his only child.
However Abaddon wasn't going for it no matter how many times his father asked.
"Second favor? I only recall asking you for this one thing, old man." the dragon reminded.
Asmodeus suddenly looked as if he'd forgotten a massive detail and smacked his head in embarrassment. "Ah! Well you didn't ask me per se, but your mother and I decided to help you nonetheless."
Sensing an incoming headache, Abaddon rubbed his forehead to prepare. "What did you do, old man?"
"Well, do you remember how two of your conditions require you to conquer the dwarf and phoenix continents?"
When Abaddon nodded in response, Asmodeus smiled as he finally put down his arms.
"They say that knowing your enemy is half the battle, as such your mother and I thought it might be a good idea for you to get a better understanding of who it is you'll be going up against."
Abaddon's eyes widened before a predatory smirk formed on his charming face.
"You didn't."
"We did indeed."
-
The demon lord of sloth was currently spending his time the same way that he normally did.
Lounging on his enormous throne, doing absolutely nothing.
In the world he envisioned, he would be free to spend an eternity right here free from any sort of strife, work, or loud noises.
But unfortunately, even a demon king of sloth cannot get what he wants all of the time.
Suddenly, the doors to his throne room were pushed open and a familiar figure strode inside.
"So you've awakened, Pythias..."
Clad in his standard silver armor, the death knight dropped to one knee in front of Belphegor's throne.
"Indeed my lord, I have recovered fully and am ready to serve at your side once more."
"Is that so... The why do I feel so much turmoil from within your spirit...?"
Pythias suddenly flinched and opened and closed his mouth like a fish before spitting out an answer. "My wife... I wish to know her whereabouts."
If Belphegor had eyeballs, he would have rolled them at such a question.
"Do you truly expect me to know? I have no interest in anything that my fellow sins do so whatever fate has befallen Eris is not information that I am privy to."
Belphegor did not truly care about much of anything that went on outside of his castle.
After Zheng, Eris, and Lusamine left with Abaddon, he continued on about his life normally as if nothing significant had been lost.
"Then... may I be permitted to go and search for her myself?"
For once, the king of sloth actually sat up in his throne due to the seriousness of what was being asked.
"Are you telling me that you wish to forfeit your title as one of my four generals...?"
ƥαṇdα- ηθνε|·ƈθm "O-Of course not! I was simply-"
"I know you, Pythias... should you find that Eris is still beside the king of lust, your reaction to such a thing will be... volatile to say the very least. As someone who represents me, you should understand full well the potential consequences."
The death night had to swallow his building rage when he briefly envisioned his wife entertwined with that human loving demon lord.
But because this was important, he simply could not afford to let his emotions get the best of him here.
"I swear to you, king of greed. My only interest is in finding my wife. I have no intentions of causing any sort of trouble with the other kings." He professed with a lowered head.
Belphegor stared hard at his kneeling subordinate.
This entire ordeal had already exhausted him beyond belief, and his irritation over what he considered to be a trifling matter was growing immensely.
"I..."
Before the sheep headed demon could voice his decision, a dark gray portal opened up above his throne.
Immediately recognizing the mana signature, he let out a low growl when he realized his headache was about to get worse.
However, instead of the silver haired demon he was expecting, all that fluttered down from the portal was a small white card.
The demon lord opened his large hand and allowed the small card to float silently into his palm.
The portal closed a moment later, and Belphegor began to read the intricate letters inscribed on the card.
"Lord? What is it?" Pythias asked.
"It seems like you won't have to go find him after all..." The demon grumbled.
"Why is that?"
"My brother... he has just invited me to his wedding..."