Chapter 733 – Loyalty Test
Lux inhaled. "If the throne weakens the realm, I would reinforce it. I’m not Zoltarin. I’m Greed. I like money and wealth. Not power."
Kaelmor’s aura shifted.
Just slightly.
The pressure did not lessen.
But it changed tone.
From attack.
To evaluation.
Lux felt sweat bead at his temple.
He ignored it.
His chest still ached from the lightning strike.
Let the King see that.
Let him think Lux was cautious but too weak to oppose the king.
Inside, his system flickered.
[Damage Assessnt: Minor.]
[Strategic Outco: Undetermined.]
Zavros remained kneeling partially.
"Your Majesty," he repeated, voice strained but steady. "We have bled for this realm. We do not fracture it."
Kaelmor’s aura receded just a fraction.
Smoke drifted through the hall.
The pillars humd faintly again.
Lux kept his posture lowered.
Not submissive.
asured.
Lobbying mode even under assault.
Kaelmor leaned back slowly on his throne.
The oppressive weight reduced to sothing almost breathable.
Almost.
"You both dodge well."
"We prefer survivability," Lux replied quietly.
Kaelmor’s grin returned.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
"You understand that I could have ended this in one motion."
"Yes."
"You understand that I could decide you are liabilities."
Zavros bowed his head deeper. "We serve the realm."
Kaelmor’s eyes moved between them.
Silence stretched.
Long.
Deliberate.
The hall slled of scorched obsidian and ozone.
Lux’s heart finally slowed slightly.
Then Kaelmor spoke.
"It’s to decide, Zavry..."
And his smile did not fade.
The hall felt like it inhaled with him.
Lux was still pinned.
The phantom claw of sovereign authority had him pressed against the far obsidian wall, invisible talons digging into his shoulders and chest. Not piercing. Just holding. Like a king keeping a chess piece in place before deciding whether to remove it from the board.
Heat licked across the floor. Smoke curled lazily around his wings. His chest still stung from the earlier lightning. His lowest barrier had shattered on impact. That was intentional. But the bruising beneath it was real.
Zavros stood several ters away, wings half flared, ready but restrained. He knew better than to charge again.
Kaelmor rose fully from the throne this ti.
And summoned it.
The spear did not appear in a flash.
It condensed.
Infernal energy folded inward from the air itself. The sound was wrong. Like contracts being shredded in bulk. A low tallic hum layered with distant screams. The weapon coalesced in his hand, long and sleek, black tal veined with molten red that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Lux felt it imdiately.
That was not a casual demonstration.
That was a killing instrunt.
Teleport would not save him.
Not with the phantom claw still pinning him in place.
He inhaled sharply.
[Threat Level: Lethal.]
[Probability of Survival: Reduced.]
Of course.
Lux moved his fingers slightly.
Carefully.
Inside his dinsional space, he summoned a second Save Point Crystal.
Not overtly.
Not dramatically.
He let it slip into his palm behind the wall, concealed by his wing. It humd faintly against his skin, ready to use if needed.
Zavros shifted subtly too.
Lux knew that movent.
His father had his own contingency.
Good.
Kaelmor twirled the spear once in his hand.
"I think," he said lightly, "I don’t need your serving anymore."
His eyes flicked between them.
"Both of you."
The air froze.
Lux felt the phantom claw tighten slightly around him.
He did not struggle.
He did not beg.
He inhaled once.
Prepared.
Zavros straightened fully, wings extended in silent acceptance.
Kaelmor’s smile sharpened.
And in one smooth motion, he hurled the spear.
It tore through the hall like an economic collapse given physical form. The sound split the air. The heat from it was imdiate and violent. The weapon aid to bisect both father and son in one strike.
Lux’s eyes did not close.
He did not scream.
He tightened his grip around the crystal and waited for the last possible mont.
The spear reached them.
And stopped.
Hovered inches from them.
Close enough that he could feel the heat searing against his skin.
Close enough that Zavros’s wings trembled under the thermal pressure.
Silence.
Heavy breathing.
Smoke curling upward.
Then a voice echoed through the hall.
"I think it was enough to show their loyalty to you, Kaelmor."
Lux exhaled.
Asmo.
The temperature shifted again, but this ti warr. Velvet heat rather than crushing weight.
Asmodeus stepped forward from the shadowed entrance, looking entirely too relaxed for a man walking into a near regicide theater.
Hot grandpa energy intact.
Tail swaying lazily. Eyes sharp beneath a deceptively amused expression.
Kaelmor glanced sideways.
"Oh, Asmo."
"You’re being dramatic again," Asmo said lightly. "You nearly vaporized my grandson. That’s poor etiquette."
The spear remained hovering.
The phantom claw still pinned Lux.
Another presence entered.
Lucaris.
Lord of Pride.
His aura cut cleaner than Kaelmor’s. Controlled. Regal. A blade rather than a hamr.
He looked at Lux with open disdain.
"He looks pathetic," Lucaris said flatly. "I cannot believe my daughter fell for this kind of demon."
Lux’s wing twitched slightly.
Lucaris continued, cool and cutting. "However... they acted according to hell law."
Varakan’s laughter bood next.
Lord of Wrath materialized in a burst of smoldering embers, arms crossed.
"Well," Varakan rumbled, "he is Greed. Not Wrath."
Lux would have rolled his eyes if he could move.
Ah.
So it wasn’t just father and son under scrutiny.
Kaelmor had been testing the entire sin structure.
If he moved to destroy the Greed throne, would the others intervene.
Would they challenge him?
Especially Asmo.
And the reason why he ntioned Asmo’s na in the urgent request. He wanted to know if Zavros and Lux would beg Lust House to back them up.
Kaelmor leaned casually on the spear mid-air.
"You all arrived quickly."
Lucaris smirked faintly. "Royal authority spiked. We assud sothing inefficient was occurring."
Varakan shrugged. "I ca for the show."
Asmo glanced at Lux, still pinned.
"You can let him down now."
Kaelmor tilted his head. "Can I?"
Lux remained still.
"Your Majesty," Lux said calmly despite the pressure around his lungs, "if I intended fracture, I would not be standing here."
Kaelmor’s eyes flicked toward him.
"Oh?"
"I would have consolidated quietly."
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