"Supreme, invincible Emperor of Cinders, Your Majesty, you must understand—this was never my intention..." Trapped within the goat's head, the devil begged repeatedly for mercy, showing not the slightest trace of his earlier arrogance.
"Your Majesty, you have to believe me! It was—it was the King of Chimeras' goat personality! He framed me!"
With both the chimera and the red dragon present, shifting the blame to a secondary personality he had already devoured was undoubtedly his best move.
Yet the emperor gave him no chance to spin more honeyed words, cutting him off directly.
"Spare me the drivel, devil. Since you've trespassed onto another's domain—how could you not meet its master?"
A colossal claw clad in crimson dragon scales closed through the air. The chimera, nearly twenty meters in length, was plucked up as effortlessly as a chick and dragged into the burning dimensional rift.
Albert twisted his head in futile struggle, yet he was dragged in without an ounce of pity, while the chimera governing the rest of the body remained remarkably compliant.
Even in that fleeting span, the devil's mind raced, constantly weighing the pros and cons to calculate his next move.
The worst-case scenario was merely being obliterated by the emperor and reborn in the River Styx. As a trusted confidant of Bel, this was hardly irreversible...
*Whoosh—*
With a crisp whoosh, they left the Chimera Nest behind and materialized inside the spacious Steel Dragonwing Palace—the venue where the emperor received outside guests.
The instant he entered the palace, the devil felt an unprecedented, terrifying pressure bear down upon him. The force surged from every direction, mercilessly compressing his flesh, mind, and very soul.
It was an aura of dread even more overwhelming than anything his master, Bel, or even the current Lord of Avernus, Zariel, had ever exerted upon him in Hell.
His head hung low, an unmistakably human expression of fear creeping across his grotesque goat face. He could not help muttering under his breath, "Nine Hells... this is..."
At this moment, Albert felt like a solitary reef in the vast ocean, endlessly battered by violent waves.
In an instant, all the schemes and calculations in his head were washed away by this overwhelming torrent. Only a single thought remained in his foul soul—*What in the world is this?*
It was... practically godlike.
Panting heavily, the devil strained to lift the goat's head, gazing toward the towering figure not far away. His eyes widened again, filled with sheer shock.
There, sprawled casually upon a throne forged of steel, sat a colossal dragon over fifty meters long.
Even the most gifted bard would struggle to describe the red dragon's appearance. His scales resembled the parched earth of Hell, his spine rose like winding mountain ranges, his wings stretched like sprawling hillsides, and his four thick horns crowned him with sovereign majesty...
Cassius—or rather, the Cinder Emperor—lowered his head. His pale-golden pupils, glowing like orbs of molten lava, fixed upon the devil with undisguised contempt.
The red dragon merely leaned forward slightly, yet the devil felt as though the entire world were crashing down upon him, the oppressive aura sweeping over him like a tsunami.
"Albert, wasn't it?"
"Y-Yes... Your Majesty. Your magnificent stature is something I shall never forget for the rest of my life. I have never seen... a dragon quite like you."
Albert strained against the crushing aura, barely managing to steady his wits as he answered with trembling deference.
In truth, the devil was not lying. Millennia ago, Albert's master, Bel, had betrayed Zariel without hesitation to become the new Lord of Avernus.
Yet neither Mephistopheles nor Baalzebul trusted him—precisely because he had so readily betrayed his former mistress.
Consequently, Bel lived in constant fear of retribution from behind, yet under the relentless onslaught of demonic hordes, he had no time to secure his rear. He spent most of his days consumed by the Blood War against the Abyss—inspecting fortifications and formulating battle strategies, draining his mind to the limit.
Thus, Bel entered into a hollow alliance with Tiamat, the Chromatic Dragon Queen who shared the Hells with him. This granted her a domain in Avernus, while Bel gained chromatic dragons and abishai as allies.
Zariel was locked away deep within the Bronze Citadel and subjected to cruel torture; the abishai used razor-sharp blades to slice flesh from her body piece by piece, presenting the meat for their masters to savor.
As Bel's confidant, though Albert had never seen the Chromatic Dragon Queen with his own eyes, he had encountered many of the red dragon kin she dispatched.
In Albert's memory, those red dragons were brutal, uncouth, and possessed of boundless strength—natural-born killing machines that constantly incinerated enemies to ash on the brutal battlefields of the Blood War, sometimes without even distinguishing friend from foe, slaughtering weaker devils along the way.
Yet not one of those red dragons possessed supreme majesty like that of the Cinder Emperor before him. Merely standing in his presence made Albert's spirit tremble, compelling him to submit.
Nor had any red dragon possessed such a massive stature—colossal as a mountain, a presence whose mere existence could shake the entirety of Anzeta. Even Tiamat's consorts, those mighty great wyrm red dragons, fell short.
Facing such an entity, there was only one path: curry favor, and never offer the slightest defiance.
With that realization, Albert completely abandoned his earlier plan of using his master Bel's name as leverage. After all, before a dragon like this, even his master in person might not come away unscathed.
The devil organized his words, swiftly adopting a new rule of conduct: flatter him as much as possible, and demonstrate his own usefulness.
Gathering his emotions, Albert squeezed out a fawning smile and began reciting like a bard.
"Supreme Cinder Emperor, sovereign of all living beings in Anzeta, sole master of this realm—great Lord Cassius, pray forgive my insolence! Your physique is as majestic as the mountains..."
"Enough, devil. I told you, do not play with honeyed words before me. Did you take me for one of my muscle-brained kin?"
Cassius sneered, cutting off the devil's impromptu performance without hesitation. He mused inwardly that when it came to silver-tongued rhetoric, not even an infernal devil could necessarily match someone possessing Silver Tongue.
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! It was merely spontaneous inspiration; I simply could not contain the reverence in my heart..."
Trapped inside the goat head, the devil hastened to bow low in utter subservience, pressing his snout against the floor.
Just then, the chimera—which had been as docile as a kitten at the side—took control of the body. Kneeling before Cassius, its dragon head snarled viciously, "Master, do not be deceived by this pretentious devil!"
The lion head chimed in right on cue: "Indeed! This devil wanted to make us rebel! Fortunately, we resisted the temptation, but that suicidal goat..."
Cassius was amused by the chimera's double act. With a grin, he cast an imposing gaze upon the goat head. "Devil, is that so?"
Albert opened his mouth to defend himself, only to be met by the emperor's chilling voice.
"If you dare deceive me, I will burn your foul soul to ash, ensuring you can never be reborn in Hell."
Under the weight of that gaze, the battle-hardened devil felt on the verge of suffocating. He could only force a stiff smile and mutter awkwardly, "Objectively speaking... that is the case."
"Should I interpret this as Bel declaring war on me?"
Cassius's question scared the wits out of Albert. If he truly provoked such an enemy, his master would subject him to eternal torment.
Cold sweat broke out all over the devil as he hurriedly scrambled to explain: "Your Majesty Cassius, please do not misunderstand! I had no choice in the matter...
"It's—it's all because of Zariel! Yes, that despicable madwoman stole my master Bel's position as Lord of Avernus, leaving us no choice but to scurry about, seeking powerful entities to replenish our forces and pursue vengeance.
"I only attempted to tempt the chimera because—because your vassal was simply too formidable!"
The devil spoke with tears and sniffles, sounding remarkably sincere.
The corner of Cassius's mouth twitched faintly. He mused that devils truly lived up to their reputation for deception; when it came to sophistry, even he would struggle to outmatch them.
Still, although Albert's excuse was cobbled together and painfully contrived, it steered the conversation right where Cassius wanted it to go.
Thus, the red dragon rose slowly from his throne. An intrigued expression crossed his majestic countenance, a faint glint shimmering within his pale-golden slit pupils.
"Zariel?"
"It seems your master and I have something to discuss. The enemy of my enemy is a friend, and my Cinder Empire... happens to have some unresolved grievances with her as well."
Albert's eyes lit up, his joy boundless. "Your Majesty Cassius, didn't I say it was merely a small misunderstanding? At the root of it all, that damned madwoman is to blame... I shall contact Lord Bel for you at once!"
The devil's delight was written plain across his face. As incarnations of lawful evil, their lifelong ambition was advancement, and Albert was merely a high devil.
If he could secure an ally so powerful that they could rival Zariel on his master's behalf, his status would undoubtedly rise to new heights.
As if struck by an afterthought, the devil rolled his eyes and spoke in a pleading tone: "Your Majesty, could you... release me first?
"This noble body of the King of Chimeras coursing with dragon blood... a lowly devil like myself is truly unworthy to occupy it."
Cassius merely chuckled. "Heh, I have always believed in addressing things matter-of-factly, keeping each account separate. Your crimes of trespassing into the empire and inciting my citizens to defect have yet to be repaid.
"The chimera has lost one of its personalities, and having you serve as its 'intellect' for the next few centuries strikes me as a rather fitting form of atonement."
Despair instantly gripped Albert, filling him with regret for ever setting foot in the Cinder Empire. Yet a shred of optimism remained; while he could not stand against the emperor, taking control of this dimwitted chimera seemed no great challenge to a devil.
Cassius, however, narrowed his eyes slightly and continued, "Furthermore... so long as you remain within this body, the life and death of your soul rests entirely upon a single thought of mine. You had best think carefully."
"Your Majesty Cassius, but..."
"No buts, devil. You've earned this. Now go on and contact Bel for me."
At the red dragon's signal, the chimera yielded control of the body. Yet having seized the very vessel he had once coveted, the devil felt no joy. Under Cassius's watchful eye, he cautiously began to trace a magic circle.
Before long, an intricate ritual circle based on a hexagram appeared upon the floor, exuding a twisted, sinister aura. Upon it were arranged bizarre sacrificial offerings: mermaid fat candles, soul coins, infernal stone eggs, and skulls.
The candles were lit, and the summoning ritual began.
At once, layered, piercing shrieks resonated throughout the palace—the wails and cries of countless sinful souls.
*"The souls of sin shall ultimately plunge into Hell—"*
*"He is the Lord of Avernus, the nightmare of mortals, the flame that snuffs out hope—"*
Cassius merely snapped his fingers, and the surrounding chamber fell utterly silent, the grand, operatic clamor vanishing into thin air.
"A bit noisy..." the red dragon murmured.
Immediately after, the hexagram array flared brilliantly. Countless sparks shot toward the ceiling as hellfire blazed fiercely, wild tongues of flame coalescing into a ferocious, towering fiendish silhouette.
Yet the moment that fiendish shadow caught sight of the red dragon, all the flames and black mist abruptly snapped inward, condensing into a handsome, dark-haired young man clad in luxurious attire.
He appeared thoroughly refined, like a well-bred noble scion, yet his pitch-black pupils gave his identity away—a devil, and a former Archduke of Hell who stood atop the Nine Hells: Bel.
Such an appearance was hardly surprising. Among the archdevils of the Nine Hells, Bel was never famed primarily for brute force, but rather for cunning treachery, betrayal, and ambushes, always staying one step ahead of his rivals.
Bel offered a slight, courteous bow. "I wondered who was summoning me. So it is you."
He offered a remarkably genial smile, his voice deep and magnetic. "I have long heard of your renowned name. Pray forgive my discourtesy, honored Master of the Northlands, Emperor of Cinders. That display just now... was merely a trick to frighten mortals."
Yet from that brief entrance ritual, Cassius had sensed an extraordinarily terrifying aura belonging to Hell. It had not been accidental, but a deliberate demonstration of strength.
"You know my name?"
Bel smiled and replied, "Naturally. Your fame resounds throughout Hell as well. Last time... Her Majesty the Dragon Queen was thoroughly infuriated."
Seeing his ally, who held territory in Avernus, suffer such humiliation was evidently a source of amusement for Bel.
Confronting an entity that could barely be considered on an equal footing, Cassius rose, unfurling his wings slightly as he inclined his head. "Good day, Archduke of Hell... Lord Bel."
Bel replied, "Alas, I am merely the former Lord of Avernus. Now, I am nothing more than a fallen noble."
Cassius looked at the devil, sharing a knowing smile. "Lord Bel, I, on the other hand, believe you will supplant Zariel and reclaim your seat as the Lord of Avernus.
"Provided... you can cooperate with me, and become a friend of the Cinder Empire."
Chapter 593