CHAPTER 89: ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY

Liam looked at the assembled powers, letting them absorb what they’d witnessed.

"This is the new reality. There is no individuality that supersedes imperial survival. There is no House autonomy that protects you from consequences of resistance. There is only command structure that flows from the Primordial through to every demon in this empire—including those you thought answered to you first."

He gestured to the three legion commanders.

"When I give orders, their bodies execute before their minds can question. That is the nature of authority I possess, that you’ve all just accepted."

Malzeth’s heart lay on the floor beside his body, no longer beating.

"Anyone else want to question whether this is farce?" Liam’s voice carried casual menace. "Anyone else want to demand proof before complying? Anyone else want to test whether I’m pretender or god?"

Absolute silence.

The House leaders stared at the three legion commanders with new understanding.

These weren’t just soldiers pledging loyalty. They were weapons that could be turned against Houses themselves.

Extensions of Primordial will that made traditional power structures meaningless.

"Good." He released [Sovereign’s Dominion] slightly, letting demons breathe without feeling crushed. "Then let’s discuss operational specifics. Because we’re not just defending against the Radiant Empire. We’re preparing offensive operations that will break their capacity to threaten us."

Lord Arcturus spoke carefully, his voice carrying shock that was being processed into calculation.

"Offensive operations? You mean counterattack after they commit their forces?"

"I mean we attack first. Before they complete preparations. Before they consolidate forces that will overwhelm us defensively."

Liam moved back to the dais, positioning himself between the thrones in way that suggested equal authority with Lilith rather than subordination.

"The Radiant Empire is preparing. Intelligence confirms mass mobilization of conventional forces. Strategic positioning that suggests major offensive within months."

He looked at the assembled powers.

"So we don’t wait for that offensive. We take war to them. We destroy their army and we break their capacity to threaten the demon empire permanently."

"That’s suicide," Patriarch Mordain said bluntly. "Offensive operations into Radiant Empire territory? They have fortifications we’ve never breached. Holy wards that devastate demon forces. Conventional military superiority that held against your initial assault, Queen Lilith."

"They held against fragmented attack where Houses were fighting separate wars while claiming to coordinate," Lilith corrected. "They won’t hold against unified imperial force under single command with clear strategic objectives."

"You can’t know that."

"I know that defensive posture guarantees eventual defeat." Liam’s voice was flat.

He paused, letting implication settle.

"But if we attack now—break their military before they’re ready—we change those mathematics. Transform certain defeat into possible victory."

Matriarch Elyndra’s intelligence-focused mind was already processing implications.

"You’re proposing we attack their capital. Sanctum Lux. The most fortified city in their empire. Protected by wards that have existed for centuries. Defended by forces that have never been breached."

"Yes."

"That’s dangerous desperation."

"No." Liam’s smile was sharp. "Desperation was continuing to fight defensive war we were losing. This is recognition that only path to survival requires taking risks that seem destructive."

He activated [Abyssal Plate], and shadows coalesced around his form like living armor.

The effect was dramatic—hellforged energy crackling across obsidian plating that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it.

Combined with his human appearance and grey eyes that now burned crimson, the visual was exactly what he’d intended.

Divine. Terrifying. Absolutely other.

"I am the God you all have prayed to for centuries," he said, his voice carrying harmonics that made demons’ instincts scream. "The harbinger of a Salvation nothing else in this world will offer you."

The pressure from [Sovereign’s Dominion] intensified again.

"So when I tell you that we’re attacking Sanctum Lux, that we’re breaking the Radiant Empire before they break us, that we’re risking everything because alternative is certain extinction—you don’t debate. You don’t question. You execute orders given by authority that transcends your understanding."

He looked at each major House leader directly.

"House Zarthus provides militant forces. House Morwen provides economic support and logistics. House Kraz’gul mobilizes veteran legions. House Vex’thar provides intelligence networks. Every House contributes everything they possess to imperial offensive that will determine whether demons survive or perish."

"And if we fail?"

Lord Arcturus asked quietly.

"If this apocalyptic gamble doesn’t work? If we commit everything to offensive that gets annihilated by Radiant Empire defenses we can’t breach?"

"Then we die fighting." Liam’s answer was simple. "But we die having tried. Having taken action rather than waiting for our prophesied destruction to fulfill itself through our inaction."

He looked at Lilith, and she nodded slightly. They’d planned this moment carefully.

"The alternative," Lilith said, her voice carrying across hall that still held Malzeth’s corpse as object lesson, "is that we sit behind walls while Radiant Empire summons heroes. While they prepare offensive we cannot counter. While they fulfill prophecy that says demons will be cleansed from existence."

Her golden eyes swept the assembled powers.

"I’ve spent ten years trying to navigate politics that preserve House autonomy while maintaining imperial cohesion. It failed. My initial offensive against Radiant Empire failed. Every careful calculation failed because we were fighting war while pretending it was political theater."

She stepped forward, her presence commanding.

"Lord Azra offers different approach. Unified command. Absolute authority. Willingness to risk everything because cautious preservation has proven insufficient. I support this approach. I subordinate crown authority to military necessity. And I expect every demon present to recognize that this is not negotiation—but survival."

The combination was devastating. Liam’s otherworldly power and Lilith’s political legitimacy merged into message that left no room for resistance.

Patriarch Mordain spoke first. "House Kraz’gul will mobilize our legions. Provide forces for imperial offensive. We comply."

His voice carried resignation that suggested he recognized the game was lost.

Veridia Zarthus followed. "House Zarthus contributes our militant capabilities. We will fight as commanded."

The venom in her voice suggested she was imagining future opportunities for reclaim, but her compliance was absolute.

Lord Arcturus stood. "House Morwen provides economic support. Our soul-forges will operate at maximum capacity. Logistics will be coordinated through imperial command."

One by one, remaining Houses pledged support. Compliance. Subordination of their autonomous power to centralized authority that had just demonstrated willingness to execute obstacles without hesitation.

The legion commanders had already pledged oaths. The House leaders had done same.

The political structure of the Demon Empire had been fundamentally restructured in single assembly through combination of demonstrated power and calculated violence.

Liam released [Abyssal Plate], the shadowy armor dissolving back into essence.

Released [Sovereign’s Dominion] to levels that allowed comfortable breathing rather than constant pressure.

"We have two months to prepare," he said, his voice returning to something approaching normal—though nothing about him felt normal to demons who’d just witnessed execution and divine display.

"Two months to mobilize forces. Coordinate logistics. Train combined units that answer to unified command. Prepare for offensive that will either save demon empire or end it."

He looked at the assembled powers.

"You’re dismissed. Return to your territories. Begin preparations. And understand that resistance or delay will result in same fate as Archon Malzeth. There is no tolerance for obstacles. No patience for political maneuvering. Only execution of orders and contribution to survival."

The dismissal was absolute.

Demons began filing out.

Some quickly, eager to escape pressure that still lingered. Others slowly, processing what they’d witnessed and what it meant for their futures.

The House leaders left last, maintaining some semblance of dignity despite having just been forced into subordination they’d resisted for ten years.

Eventually, only Liam and Lilith remained in Grand Hall with Malzeth’s corpse still cooling on obsidian floor.

"That was dramatic," Lilith said quietly.

"Yeah, a bit on the nose." Liam’s grey eyes studied the body. "But Malzeth called the bluff. If I’d backed down, every House would have questioned authority. Better one violent example than constant political warfare."

"I know. Doesn’t make it less dramatic." She looked at the floor, still stained with Malzeth’s blood.

"Indeed" He sighed.

The war was coming.

And Liam Cross—Lord Azra—the Primordial Demon—the thing that was all three and none of them—prepared to lead demons into battle that would either save them or destroy them.

With absolute authority.

With unified command.

With two months to transform political consolidation into military force capable of challenging divine prophecy.