Chapter 729 – I Will Liquefy You
The morning ca.
06:03 AM.
Lux’s eyes opened without an alarm. No groan. No stretching. Just a quiet inhale like a disciplined demon checking his internal clock.
Incubus stamina might be endless.
CFO discipline was worse.
He lay still for a mont.
Naomi was asleep beside him, one arm loosely draped over his chest, hair a soft ss over the pillow. Her breathing was steady. Warm. Calm. Mortal.
He looked at her.
The faint marks on her shoulder from last night. The way her fingers still curled lightly against him even in sleep.
He smiled faintly.
No.
He wasn’t moving yet.
For once, he didn’t imdiately sit up and review ntal dashboards.
He just pulled her closer.
She murmured softly and pressed into him instinctively.
He buried his face lightly in her hair and let himself exist.
Not CFO of Greed.
Not half-Lust war negotiator.
Just Lux.
Forget the Celestial realm.
Forget Vaeloryn’s blade.
Forget sovereign traces.
Forget dia acquisitions.
Just warmth.
And then...
"Pu."
Sothing cold and slightly gelatinous landed on his forehead.
Lux’s eye twitched.
Slowly, very slowly, he opened one eye.
Zehar.
The little abyss sli bounced proudly on his head.
"Get off," Lux muttered under his breath.
Zehar bounced again.
"Pu!"
Lux turned his head sharply and grabbed the sli mid-air before it could launch another attack.
"I will liquefy you," he whispered darkly.
Zehar wiggled in his grip and spoke in that strange echoing voice only Lux could hear.
’An abyss lord has died.’
Lux blinked.
"...What?"
’I can feel it.’
Lux sat up slightly, careful not to wake Naomi, Zehar still squished in his hand.
"Explain."
’One of your opposers. The resonance collapsed.’
Lux’s mind snapped awake instantly.
’An Abyss Lord.’
’Dead.’
That wasn’t a random headline.
That was political earthquake territory.
"Which one," Lux whispered.
Zehar’s form rippled faintly.
’The scent matches your conflict network. He was aligned against you.’
Lux went quiet.
Aligned against him.
That ant two things.
One, soone removed a threat for him.
Two, soone removed a threat and would try to make it look like Lux did it.
His jaw tightened slightly.
"Convenient," he muttered.
Zehar wiggled.
’I do not like convenient.’
"Neither do I."
He set the sli down on the bedside table. Zehar plopped down obediently.
Lux’s thoughts began moving fast.
If an Abyss Lord died, the Infernal King would respond.
If it was one of his political opposers, factions would panic.
So would assu Lux orchestrated it.
Others would assu the King did.
Either way...
It destabilized the board.
Or...
He exhaled slowly.
Scapegoat for what happened last ti?
Possibly.
The Infernal King had used worse.
But it could also be bait.
Kill one of Lux’s opposers.
Make it look like consolidation.
Provoke the remaining opposers to strike preemptively.
Push Lux into open conflict.
Classic destabilization.
Before he could spiral deeper...
[Ding!]
The system chid in politely.
[Urgent Invitation Received.]
Lux closed his eyes.
Of course.
He did not need to ask who.
[Sender: The Infernal King, Kaelmor.]
[eting Participants: His Majesty. Zavros. Lord Asmo.]
Lux’s eyes opened slowly.
"...Grandpa and dad?"
[eting Ti: 30 Minutes From Now.]
Zehar vibrated slightly.
’I do not like this.’
Lux leaned back slightly against the headboard.
"I don’t like this either."
[The probability of this being a friendly breakfast invitation is 0.7 percent.]
"Thank you for the optimism."
[That was sarcasm.]
He sighed.
Infernal King.
Zavros.
His father.
And Asmo.
Lord of Lust.
His grandfather.
All in one room.
Half an hour.
That was not a casual check-in.
That was intervention territory.
Or escalation.
He looked down at Naomi.
Still asleep.
Peaceful.
He ran a hand gently through her hair.
The last thing he wanted was for her to wake up to "By the way, I might be dragged into an infernal power hearing."
He carefully slipped out of bed, slow and quiet. Naomi stirred slightly but didn’t wake.
Zehar hopped onto his shoulder like a very inconvenient accessory.
"You sensed it imdiately?" Lux asked quietly as he walked toward the wardrobe.
’Yes. Abyss authority collapsing is loud.’
"Could it be staged?"
’Yes.’
"Could it be bait?"
’Maybe.’
"Helpful."
’You asked.’
Lux dressed quickly. Black slacks. Fitted shirt. Jacket.
Boardroom-ready demon mode activated.
He glanced at the mirror.
Hair slightly ssy.
Eyes sharp.
Expression calm.
Internally calculating like a high-frequency trading algorithm.
Half an hour.
That ant he couldn’t overprepare.
Which ant this was deliberate.
The King wanted him reactive.
He adjusted his cufflinks.
"If the King removed my opposer," Lux murmured, "he either wants to strengthen ... or isolate . Or... clean his na after what happened in the Limbo."
Zehar pulsed thoughtfully.
’Or test loyalty.’
Lux’s lips curved faintly.
"Loyalty."
He checked his ntal ledger.
He had not directly moved against that Abyss Lord.
That was enough to spin narrative.
He walked back toward the bed and paused.
Naomi shifted slightly in her sleep.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently.
"I’ll be back," he murmured quietly.
She humd faintly but didn’t wake.
For a brief second...
He considered waking her.
Telling her.
But no.
Not yet.
No unnecessary panic.
He straightened.
[Dressing Status: Impeccable.]
"Thank you."
[Emotional Status: Controlled. Slight agitation detected.]
"Also thank you."
[Recomndation: Enter eting assuming hostility masked as formality.]
"Already did."
Zehar tightened around his shoulder slightly.
’If it is bait, will you bite?’
Lux smirked faintly.
"I will."
He adjusted his jacket.
"But I can’t let them think I will."
He snapped his fingers lightly.
A ripple of black feathers spiraled into existence beside him. The air folded like ink being spilled across reality and then...
Corvus materialized in his human form.
"What is it, boss?" Corvus said casually. "You look like soone just shorted your soul portfolio."
"The King summoned ."
Corvus blinked.
"...Oh."
Yeah.
That kind of oh.
Lux reached into his dinsional space. The air shimred like he was pulling sothing out of invisible storage. A crystalline shard the size of his palm appeared in his hand.
Save Point Crystal.
He placed it on the marble floor.
It humd softly, emitting a faint gold pulse.
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