'?!'
Suddenly taken aback by Drishti's words, Malphas halted his fingers while drawing a circle on his palm, realizing he had been seen through much sooner than anticipated. He loosened his hands, conceding defeat.
"I apologize, Lady Drishti," Malphas murmured, nodding slightly, his eyes glancing towards the direction from which he had just escaped.
"Weren't you all wanted to deal with me?" Drishti asked with an amused expression. Already aware of the reason behind the Demon Queen's war against Titanora.
"Aren't I right?" she turned her sharp gaze towards Malphas, who suddenly felt a force binding his body.
"No... It was an orde..." Malphas tried to reject the accusation, but his mouth moved on its own, uttering words beyond his control and revealing the truth but he struggled, managing to suppress his voice with sheer will, even going far as to harm himself.
Drishti watched as the demon bit his own tongue off, understanding that the famed loyalty among demons had prompted Malphas to take such drastic steps to avoid revealing the full truth.
But no will can stand against absolute strength.
"Reveal it, Demon," Drishti commanded, her voice reverberating with an authority that altered the space around Malphas, With a tone holding visible pressure running rampant across his very being.
"It was an order from the Demon Queen to attack you," Malphas admitted, feeling his bitten tongue regenerate and his suppressed voice spill out, beyond his control.
"Why?" Drishti inquired further, pressing on. Malphas' body was completely bound, the air solidifying around him with clear binds holding him still, allowing only his mouth freedom without any control.
"Because you were linked to the one behind sending Belial," Malphas revealed, his hands struggling to break free before he could disclose more crucial information yet everything was futile.
'...This kid,' Drishti thought, her smile vanishing as she glanced at the young man immersed in conversation with Regina. The clear distance between them revealed her coldness at being used as a scapegoat here.
-----
Indeed, they couldn't judge someone's preference for using aphrodisiacs for a better experience, but they all glanced at their commander, conveying a single thought: Commander, please suggest to the liege not to drink the whole bottle at once.
'....' Regina, her gaze fixed away from everyone there, finally glanced at the man beside her and informed him of the details, "Liege, that devil's name is Malphas, and he is the right hand of Demon Queen Morana."
"And?" Ryuk, noticing Regina's awareness of the demon's name, inquired with clear curiosity, focusing on her words.
"He came here to search for you without knowing it was you," Regina glanced at Ryuk, both of her eyes taking a peek at him as he continued to smile.
"You're smart, you know, Regina?" Ryuk teased, standing in the dimly lit night with moonlight casting a soft glow on his face, surrounded by several cloaked figures.
"Not more than you, Liege," Regina reciprocated his tone, looking ahead, observing the scenery of broken rubble and dense forest illuminated by the soft moonlight.
"Did you check upon Valhale?" Ryuk inquired about the health of the old man whom he had provided some rest to heal his brain and redirect his thoughts in a direction favorable to Ryuk's interests.
"He seems stubborn enough to not break even after all this time," Regina informed, observing the scene in front of her as a woman's figure started to materialize.
It was Drishti Devereaux arriving after a brief conversation with a demon and sending him to his way with some message for Demon queen.
"Lady Drishti, Do you think he will surrender?" Ryuk inquired as the woman approached him with elegant steps and a mesmerizing smile on her face, holding the soft glow of moonlight in her deep amber eyes, her black hair strands dancing in the air, fluttering with the breeze disrupting the sight yet holding allure enough to break anyone weaker than Legendary Rank.
"If you mean death by surrender, then yes." Drishti said as she arrived, glancing at the two individuals standing in front of her. One was a young man with striking deep eyes like hers, wearing a black suit with his hands in his pockets, while the other was a woman in a military outfit, one eye covered behind a mask hidden by her hair.
'....' Ryuk understood Drishti's clear intent: to convey that old people, meaning the Founders, were capable of bearing pain beyond limits, even to the point of death, showing the strength they possessed as a whole to push forward without any control.
"Though, you can tell me what you want. Maybe I can fulfill your desires," Drishti stopped a few steps away from him, her lips forming a small curve that soon turned into a smile, enough to quicken anyone's heartbeat.
"....." Seeing how, even after orchestrating a death battle between him and Malphas, Drishti acted nonchalant and began using her words to probe her interests, he approached her with confident steps, stopping just short of where their breath mingled in the air. With a sly grin, he leaned in close, his voice a soft murmur near her ear, his hand casually tucked in his pocket.
"Oh, I think you already know what I want." he began, "but the real question is, How far are you willing to let me go?"