"W-What?" Ariel froze, her mind not fully accepting Akagi's words. "N-No, I mean... The Cult was the one that..." She trailed off, her entire body practically growing cold from anxiety as it wonder if not the Cult then who did this to her Father.

{They... No... But... The Cult is the only ones who would do such a thing.} (Ariel)

"I think you broke her." Silfana sighed as she helped the barely holding it together Ariel off the floor and onto a nearby chair.

"I tend to have that effect on people." Akagi chuckled at the sight of a completely shell shocked Princess. "But I'm not sure why you're surprised, Princess. I already told you the Gods of this world hate your kind, so the fact that they'd be the ones behind your Father's curse can't be that shocking."

{I think it's more that you've turned things so far onto their head that it's overwhelming her. She's held a hatred for the Cult ever since her Father was attacked, so finding out that the people she'd worked alongside had actually been the ones to take him away may have been a bit much for her to handle.} (Yumi)

"H-How can you tell?" Ariel asked, barely holding her composure together as she asked Akagi to clarify. "Our best mages examined him, and concluded that it was some kind of Demon Lord power that cursed him. The Cult has artifacts filled with it from the time of Vikes, so it's not unprecedented for them to have access to it! They even managed to kill a Goddess with it once!"

"Oh, I get why your people wouldn't be able to tell. In fact, it does have legit Demon Lord power kicking about to make it look like one of my kind's power is the cause of this, but that's nothing more than a distraction." Akagi shook her head as she explained. "Whoever made this curse intentionally layered Demon Lord power over top of Divine power to mask its presence. Only a Demon Lord or the creator of the curse would be able to tell since it's a pretty complex weave, but this indeed of Divine make. No other beings have access to this kind of power at a level needed to pull off something like this."

{And this little curse is one that undoubtedly took a great deal of time and effort to make. Whoever made it took great care to hide its true nature from any prying eyes.} (Akagi)

"Wait, they used actual Demon Lord power? Not some kind of fake?" Silfana was surprised to hear that someone that wasn't the Cult had access to real Demon Lord power. "Then if you're saying the Cult wasn't involved where would they get it from? Doesn't that still mean the Cult is likely involved in some way? Its not like one can just find that kind of power laying around."

"I suppose its possible that they might be. I've yet to see any of these so-called Demon Lord artifacts that the Cult has, so I can't tell you how potent they are or what their limitations might be. But what I can tell you that this power isn't some remnant from a time long past; it's fresh." Akagi said, her tone growing sharp. “This isn't a leftover from a bygone era or power sealed away in some ancient device. What's woven here was recently created. With recent being somewhere within the last few decades based on my calculations.”

"Wait! Does that mean they have access to Demon Lord power directly from its source?!? Then-" Silfana was cut off mid-sentence.

"The Gods are far more of a threat then I first thought." Akagi clicked her tongue. "And unless Demon Lord number three has shown up in this world, then that can only mean that Vikes' power is still available to them."

{And me without Elariel or Halifax to interrogate over this matter, not that she or the stupid Goddess would likely know anything about this anyway since I'm pretty sure I know who did this, and he is not one to go spreading this information around. Now the only question is, how.} (Akagi)

"What exactly does this mean?" Silfana asked, a bit worried by these developments.

"I don't know." Akagi groaned. She knew that this wasn't good, but exactly what it meant on a larger scale was unknown due to any further information. "I never expected the Gods to have access to any of Vikes power beyond what small traces could remain four thousand years later. Leftover artifacts are one thing, but if they've got Demon Lord power on tap, that changes everything.” She sighed.

“So, what do we do?” Silfana asked. “If there's something even a faction as dangerous as you walking around, I'd advise caution.”

“Caution is warranted. But other than keeping our eyes extra peeled, let's proceed as normal. There's no reason to go jumping at shadows and panicking when we have no idea what's going on since that will just open us up to mistakes.” Akagi said. “I'll just have to be more careful and add the threat of Demon Lord's power to my calculations, but make no mistake, if the Gods really have access to his power, even a portion of it, I'm going to have to scrap most of my plans. Even the underdeveloped Vikes had power far beyond what an individual God could handle, which means even shards of it could be catastrophic in the wrong hands."

{Like yours?} (Yumi)

{Oi, I've got restraint!} (Akagi)

{Suuuure you do.} (Yumi)

{Don't make me mute you...} (Akagi)

{Doing that means you know I'm right!} (Yumi)

{...} (Akagi)

"But if they have such power, why not use it against you or the Spirits for that matter? And why target the former Demon King with it?" Silfana asked, breaking Akagi and Yumi out of their back and forth.

"Either because the amount of times it can be used is limited, or they don't want people knowing they've got it." Akagi replied, furrowing her brow in thought. "I can't imagine the Gods want the people of Enoris to know a part of Vikes survived, let alone that they're putting it to use. Wouldn't really do their image any good." She laughed.

{Not that they probably give a fuck what the mortals think of them.} (Akagi)

"But why use it on my Father?" Ariel asked, partially recovering from her shock but still reeling. "Why go so far as to turn Demon Lord power on him? Why would the Gods curse him?!?"

"The answer is obvious, Princess." Silfana shook her head. "Your Father was pushing for a diplomatic solution to the war with the Spirits, which would've completely derailed the Gods' plans. So they decided to be rid of him, and thus ensuring the war would continue."

{A standard play, if one done via extreme means.} (Silfana)

"That is the most likely reason. Taking him out directly would be far too obvious, and they couldn't go terrifying people by saying the Spirits have the power to do something like this, so pinning it on the Cult makes the most sense." Akagi nodded. "Nobody would think twice about the Cult having the ability to access some Demon Lord power, and it ensured instability in the Kingdom would end any push for peace. After he was cursed, I'd imagine that more or less ended his active role in foreign affairs, right?"

"He only fully succame to the curse five years ago. Before that he was active." Ariel explained that her Father's condition was stable for a while but eventually started to deteriorate. "However, it was clear from the very beginning that he couldn't govern like he used to, and I was appointed Regent less than one year after the attack due to health concerns."

"Lets add that as another example of how little the Gods cared about your people." Akagi commented. "They were so desperate to save their own asses that taking your Father down and preventing meaningful dialogue between the races was deemed necessary to save themselves."

{In fairness, if your goal is to destabilize a nation you already dislike politically and cripple it for the foreseeable future, then they picked the right way of doing it. Keeping the former leader alive but in a weakened state meant that a succession crisis was inevitable. Ariel would never have accepted a new election while her Father was still alive, and I suspect she'd rally a number of other supporters to fight the other Elector-Kings that stood against her if it came down to it. This would've eliminated the Demon Kingdom as a political actor for decades and could've very well been the domino that caused the nation to fall. I could see a future where the Empire marched into a divided and warring Demon Kingdom to 'secure order.' Those Gods might be foolish, but I don't doubt their ability to scheme, especially their leader.} (Akagi)

"Regardless, I'll interrogate Elariel a bit more on the matter later, but I can almost guarantee she will have no useful information." Akagi sighed, noting that her captive Goddess was quite clueless when it came to the larger schemes at hand. "She was the one who told me the Cult was behind your Father's condition, and based on my interactions with her I'm pretty sure that she, as well as most of the Gods, were fed the same lie as the rest of the population."

"Which means that only one man could've done it." Ariel balled her fists as she bit her lip in anger.

"Yup, the head asshole himself almost certainly orchestrated this whole thing." Akagi's words caused Ariel to explode in anger, her aura flaring before calming down a moment later. "And people wonder why I've got a healthy skepticism of others."

{I... Yeah... Based on everything we've seen, I'm pretty sure your paranoia is warranted...} (Yumi)

{*Sips coffee smugly*} (Akagi)

"But irrespective of the Gods involvement...” Akagi said as she turned her attention back to the former Demon King. "I suppose we should break the curse. If nothing else, this will allow you some closure on the matter and having him around will be useful."

"Are you sure that's such a great idea?" Silfana interjected. "Wouldn't eliminating him be the better option?" Her words caused Ariel to leap out of her seat in an attempt to tackle the Vampire, but the former Princess quickly found herself subdued and pressed to the floor with her hand behind her back. "Nice try." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveIꜰire.net

"You bitch!" Ariel hissed as Silfana continued to restrain her. "How dare you speak of killing my Father in front of me!" She attempted to channel more magical power but paused as Silfana slipped the tip of her blade next to her throat.

“From my perspective its the right move to make. The Demon King could easily turn around and become a nuisance later. I say that removing that risk is the correct course of action.” Silfana said. “And do get stronger if you wish to try something like that again, Princess. As you are right now that was nothing more than-”

"Enough..." Akagi sighed. "Silfana, let her go, and Princess calm down. I promised you I'd break the curse and that's what I'm going to do." She rolled her eyes as Silfana let the former Princess go. “I do not break my word. Your Father will not be killed unless he starts causing me problems.”

"Fine, but next time she tries something I can't guarantee I'll hold back." Silfana smirked and gave a wink to the former Princess as she got off her.

"And next time you won't be so lucky!" Ariel hissed.

{Oh for fuck's sake, first Hishya and now Ariel's got a hate boner for the Vampire...} (Akagi)

"Now then. Let's get this over with." Akagi said as she snapped her fingers, causing a black film to appear around Lockheed before shattering like glass. "And there we go, one curse gone. Time to get up, old man... Wakey-wakey!"

{Really...} (Ariel x Silfana x Yumi)

"I... I'm not... old..." Lockheed muttered a response, surprising almost everyone in the room as he slowly opened his eyes. "But damn if I... Don't feel it..."