Chapter 264. Asmodeus’s Temptation
Seduce him?
Asmodeus twisted the corner of his lips upward.
This was the first ti a human had ever spoken to him with such insolence.
He was the demon of lust.
As long as humans possessed base desires, no one could escape his temptation.
Even high-ranking priests with powerful Divine Power had failed to endure it.
And yet his opponent was rely a seventeen-year-old boy.
An age utterly unfamiliar with restraint. For the 8th Prince to dare challenge him like this.
“This should be amusing. Let us see how long you last.”
Asmodeus wore an enchanting smile, then suddenly seed to rember sothing and turned toward Belphegor.
“You must have had your eye on him first. My apologies. I will take this one.”
Belphegor, who had shown brief interest upon sensing Radel’s Magic Power, closed his eyes again with an indifferent expression and tossed a single remark at Asmodeus.
“You still do not know your place.”
The fool clearly had not grasped the situation.
This was the 8th Prince who had gathered all the black Keys of Seal and yet remained completely unaffected.
The more keys that were gathered, the stronger an Archdemon’s power beca.
To collect all six Keys of Seal ant that an Archdemon’s complete soul had been reunited in one place.
And yet a human with no Divine Power whatsoever was enduring it.
An ordinary human would have been ensnared by an Archdemon’s soul without question, but the 8th Prince did not waver.
There was a reason Belphegor had personally entered his dreams to offer a contract.
Even then, he had only managed to make contact by targeting the mont when the 8th Prince’s stamina was at its lowest.
‘He even showed him a level of swordsmanship forbidden to humans….’
Despite that, the 8th Prince’s desires had remained eerily calm.
Belphegor had not forgotten that failure.
And yet Asmodeus, who possessed the power of only a single key, thought he could subdue the 8th Prince?
“Know my place? Just because you failed, do not start spouting nonsense. You and I are different.”
Asmodeus snorted at Belphegor’s words.
There was no reason to listen to soone who had gathered all the keys and still failed to break a single seal.
“Does the demon of sloth even understand what temptation is? I can guess without seeing it. You probably just lay there and muttered sothing about making a contract.”
“Kyahah! He has a point.”
Leviathan chid in, cackling along with Asmodeus.
But as befitted the demon of envy, his vertically slit pupils flashed as he turned toward Asmodeus.
“Asmodeus, do not delude yourself into thinking you can do what Belphegor could not. If anyone could, it would be .”
“Who knows if you will even get a turn. You seem quite upset that the 8th Prince did not ask you to tempt him?”
“He chose you because you are an easy mark. You and Belphegor are about the sa level, really. Heh.”
Leviathan mocked both Asmodeus and Belphegor while flicking his tongue.
It split into two like a serpent’s.
“Shut your mouth, Leviathan. Your words are as repulsive as that tongue of yours.”
“Kehehe, thanks for the complint.”
Asmodeus glared at Leviathan, then curled his lips.
Leviathan was all talk anyway. He did not have any real thod either.
Among them, the one who had been openly given the chance to tempt the 8th Prince was Asmodeus himself.
“Just watch. I will succeed.”
And when he did, he would imdiately devour the 8th Prince’s soul as a sacrifice.
He could already picture the 8th Prince kneeling at his feet.
A cruel smile spread across Asmodeus’s beautiful face.
***
The full executive council of the Black Order.
Among the heretical gatherings held regularly, it was the largest by far.
The location changed every ti, yet the executives of the Black Order always arrived at the correct place without fail.
Whoooooosh.
A desolate field devoid of human presence.
One by one, the executives of the Black Order, who had concealed themselves throughout the empire, revealed their forms.
There were ordinary farrs, hunched elderly n, won carrying baskets, even small children.
People of all appearances gathered.
Of course, these were nothing more than disguises.
Even the executives themselves did not fully know one another’s true identities.
Alongside the disguised figures, individuals clad in dark robes also appeared.
Among them was Kier Iern, a follower of the 4th Princess and a servant of the Archdemon Leviathan.
When the executives who had arrived earlier saw Kier, they spoke in excited voices.
“A servant of the great Leviathan has arrived.”
“I hear the long-prepared plan succeeded.”
“Is our master finally being resurrected in the middle realm?”
Word had already spread among the executives that the 4th Princess had tapped into the power of a key.
That achievent undoubtedly belonged to Kier.
The corruption of a royal ant that a soul with an Ability could be offered as a sacrifice.
And the 4th Princess was especially valuable.
Even the power of an Archdemon, which an ordinary human body could not endure, could be borne if the host transford into a magical beast.
It was incomplete, but it was the only way to summon an Archdemon without fully breaking the seal.
The descent of Leviathan.
For that purpose, Kier had entered the service of the 4th Princess and patiently awaited the right mont.
Because the 4th Princess trusted no one, he exploited his weakness as a bastard of his family and swore loyalty, claiming he wished to use her power to take revenge on the Iern earldom once she beca emperor.
Estina did not trust Kier, but she believed in his hatred.
Thanks to that, Kier succeeded in fulfilling a crucial condition of the plan.
Of course, not everyone was pleased.
“Tch. Just a bit of good luck.”
An executive whose face was hidden beneath a dark robe muttered.
Biting his lip, he watched Kier, who wore a confident smile.
His na was Gillian.
A loyal servant of Asmodeus, he had recently lost Bishop Taylor, a high-ranking priest, and was now searching for a new target to corrupt.
The day he corrupted a bishop of the Supre Deity Order and received praise from the other executives was still vivid in his mory.
To achieve that, Gillian had hovered around Bishop Taylor for years.
How delighted he had been when Taylor finally wore the green key around his neck.
He had even grown excited at the thought of seizing control of the Supre Deity Order.
But now, Taylor had been exposed and imprisoned in the underground prison of the Supre Deity Order.
The whereabouts of the green key he possessed were unknown.
‘I lost everything, and that bastard corrupted a royal?’
As Kier approached him, Gillian provoked him with a sarcastic tone.
“I heard the news. Sounds like you had a rough ti.”
“For the resurrection of our master, such hardship ans nothing.”
“I see. But tell … why not resurrect Lord Asmodeus this ti instead of Lord Leviathan?”
Kier could clearly see Gillian’s intent, but he played along for the mont.
“Lord Asmodeus?”
“Yes. We are not breaking the seal properly anyway, are we? It is a half-asure ritual.
Rather than Leviathan, we should summon Asmodeus. He excels at tempting humans. He would surely help us gather the remaining keys.”
Kier listened quietly, then let out a soft chuckle.
“You must be feeling impatient after losing Bishop Taylor.”
It was unmistakable mockery.
Gillian’s expression twisted.
“Impatient? Says who?”
“If not, then stay quiet. You only have one chance left, do you not?”
One chance left.
Gillian knew exactly what that ant.
The leader of the Black Order.
His identity was shrouded in mystery, but his commands were absolute.
He granted at most two opportunities.
Executives who failed three tis never returned alive.
“I infiltrated the academy and endured humiliation to earn my opportunity as well. If you knew what I had to endure—”
Kier fell silent.
The image of the 8th Prince splashing Holy Water on him flashed through his mind.
‘Was the 8th Prince’s despicable behavior more shocking than the 4th Princess’s cruelty?’
Realizing this, Kier’s face hardened.
Sensing the killing intent suddenly emanating from Kier, Gillian instinctively stepped back.
He did not know why, but provoking him any further felt dangerous.
‘I will not let this go, 8th Prince.’
Kier’s eyes glead darkly.
***
“You fool! What were you thinking, sticking your head straight into the jaws of those demons?!”
The Spirit of the Library exploded in anger at the reckless contractor who had provoked an Archdemon without warning.
It flew around Radel as if it might pound its own chest if it had fists.
“Get a grip! You cannot let your mind slip— huh?”
It froze when it noticed how completely normal Radel looked.
Aside from his gaze briefly losing focus and then returning, nothing about him had changed.
“What? Are you… all right?”
“Yes. It seems Asmodeus failed.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? He is an Archdemon. That cannot be—”
Seeing the Spirit of the Library’s disbelief, Radel explained what had just happened.
A beautiful figure had appeared, then vanished without a trace.
He had been surrounded by female students at a party, only for everything to disappear in an instant.
It was proof that Asmodeus had attempted to tempt him.
That was, until Status Effect Nullification activated.
With the familiar ding, every trace of Asmodeus’s temptation collapsed and ended.
‘To be precise, it activated before he even managed to do much….’
Radel checked the windows that had appeared before him one by one.
[The temptation of the Archdemon Asmodeus is invading the user’s mind.]
[Status Effect Nullification has been activated.]
[Status Effect Nullification has been activated.]
[Status Effect Nullification has been activated.]
In any case, it ant that Status Effect Nullification worked even on Archdemons.
‘Still, for an Archdemon, did it not end a bit too quickly?’
The Spirit of the Library was utterly dumbfounded by Radel’s calm reaction.
“Asmodeus is the Archdemon of Lust! You endured his temptation in a clear state of mind?!”
Asmodeus himself was just as stunned.
“Why… why does it not work?”
Asmodeus’s outstretched fingers trembled.
He had used every ounce of his power, yet the 8th Prince had not budged at all.
“…Impossible. How can such an unremarkable brat…?”
The 8th Prince had seed laughably easy.
He was not a high-ranking priest fortified by faith, nor did he appear particularly ascetic.
Yet the 8th Prince had blocked every temptation Asmodeus unleashed.
No—he did not even seem to recognize them as temptation.
As Asmodeus reeled in shock, Radel’s voice echoed again from afar.
-Excuse , is that all the temptation you prepared?
Asmodeus’s lips trembled with humiliation.
He had always prided himself on being able to shatter human instincts faster than anyone.
And yet he was being toyed with by a re seventeen-year-old human.
“How dare you… how dare you mock ?!”
Asmodeus roared, spewing demonic energy.
“You insolent wretch! I will drag you into hell no matter what it takes!”
Hearing that, Radel scratched his head.
He had not intended to provoke Asmodeus, but perhaps he had hurt the demon’s pride.
At that mont, a book caught Radel’s eye.
‘How to respond when a demon threatens to send you to hell.’
Ancestor Hayden really had experienced everything.
Without hesitation, Radel opened the book.
And at that very mont, an illusion swept over him.
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