NOVPUB"Just do as we say and you’ll be fine." Elysia patted the captured Demon King’s shoulder.
"I’m back..." Zera returned with a large egg hovered above her palm.
"What’s this?" Elena pointed to the large floating egg, which she thought resembled a dinosaur egg.
"That?!" Demon Queen Azril widened her eyes in both shock and fear. That large egg was the subject of her nearly successful experiment. Still, that malevolent foxkin breached her castle’s deepest secret lab!
"Oh, so the situation at the Demon Queen’s castle is terrible. Tell us what you’re going to do." Elysia raised her eyebrow and then crouched down, raising the vampire queen’s chin so the other party would look into her eyes.
"I, ah..." Demon Queen Azril tried to come up with a reasonable excuse as she knew demise would be so lenient if these foxes knew the truth.
Sadly, she suddenly lost control of herself and fell into an ultra-high illusion, trapped in unavoidable strong hypnosis.
"What egg is that?"
"The fruit of my greatest experiment to create the perfect demon with various genes."
"Are you becoming a crazy scientist? Tell us in detail about your goal."
"My ultimate demon creation shall help me to achieve immortality. The world domination will be so close by then." 𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
"What would you do if we were helpless foxkin under your mercy? What kind of experiment would you do?"
"I shall first taste your blood, then inspect your entire body. After drugging you, I shall begin to dissect your body and begin further experiments in my secret lab."
Elysia asked and Azril answered with nothing to hide. What came out of Azril’s mouth next was nothing but unpleasant details about how the Demon Queen would proceed with the inhumane experiment to create an ultimate great demon that could kill God.
"Mortals with their foolish ambitions..." Xentia clenched her fists.
She was once a human too, but some crazy scientists used her as an experimental subject to create the Angel of Destruction, the ultimate killing machine with the power to kill a God.
Among hundreds of subjects, she was the only survivor, but she was no longer herself. Fortunately, she was rescued and liberated by the Elysium Family. Breaking free from her past, she joined Elysia and the Elysium Family to discover the beauty of the worlds and universe.
"You’re here with us." Lyla held Xentia’s hand in reassurance.
"I see... thank you, but I think we can’t let you get away with only the compensation and a hundred years of slave seal." Elysia put her hand on Azril’s head to engrave a mind seal of obedience.
"Ah-aahh!" Azril broke free from the illusion and hypnosis, but her mind was invaded by an overwhelming force. It was so painful, and she felt that her current self would disappear, but she soon forgot about many things.
"..." Demon King Obel broke in a cold sweat. Apart from the beating and humiliating defeat, he only got his possessions stolen and had to obey as a slave for a hundred years as his punishment.
He only devoured his prey as nutrient and it wouldn’t arouse so much hatred. However, Demon Queen Azril’s situation was much worse because she experimented with many mystical and unique creatures.
Her ambition was so big. These powerful foxes would never let this Demon Queen go for sure. It wasn’t just one or two Deities with some additional force, but a whole pack of overpowered foxes!
’Mommy, I’m scared. I finally understand why you warned me about the dangers behind beautiful women.’ Demon King Obel muttered fearfully in his mind. These foxes already terrified him, and the Demon Queen’s ambition was even more terrible.
After being suppressed and hunted for so long, the foxkin emerged with an overwhelming force. He was not stupid to realize the truth and possibility of the future. Since he could get away with minimal punishment, he might as well comply with the foxkin’s demand. He could probably grab their legs to help him into immortality.
"Who are you?" Elysia released the binding.
"Azril, at your service." Demon Queen Azril knelt in respect.
"What are you?"
"The Elysion Church’s undercover. Your most loyal spy."
"Who do you serve?"
"Yours truly, Your Divine Grace, the Sacred Sakura Goddess."
"What are the six Great Demon Kings of Hell?"
"A bunch of losers that should know their place. They should be grateful because the Goddess’ grace put her attention on them."
"Who is the Demon King of Envy to you?"
"She is a jealous btch, loved by nobody."
"If I wish to destroy the great evils, what would you do?"
"This humble servant shall put her body and soul for your noble cause, Your Grace. Not even death can stop me."
"Very good. Redeem your sins so you can reach the paradise in afterlife."
Elysia felt a bit surprised at the sudden loyalty shown by the Demon Queen Azril. She used Rhea’s divinity to twist the truth in Azril’s mind, and it rewrote Azril’s memories to her image and reasoning.
The effect might be temporary like the slave seal, but far more potent. Azril could still regain the original memories as the Demon King of Envy’s servant, and this was a proper punishment for the one who planned the world destruction agenda.
Though temporary, the enemy was turned into a spy with 95% loyalty. Azril would help the Elysion Church to balance this world with all of her heart obediently.
"One hundred years of punishment. Redeem your sins, do as we say, and you shall regain your freedom. The Elysion Church is your ally in this world. Help them as much as you can. You’re the Demon Kings and also our undercovers. Await our further instructions. You are dismissed." Elysia raised her hand.
"At your command." Azril bent down in her kneeling position then leaped and blended well into the darkness of the night, flying back to her castle.
"Err, can you at least unbound and unseal me first?" Demon King Obel asked as he couldn’t even go anywhere if his power and movement were still sealed.
"Go." Elysia waved her hand and the magic sealing chain vanished.
After Demon King Obel left, Ella and Evelyn stood by Elysia’s side.
"Will they be obedient?" Ella asked with concern.
"It doesn’t matter. Demon Queen Azril got her memories rewritten, albeit temporarily. And Demon King Obel will side with the strong. He will switch sides with no second thought to the stronger one." Elysia shook her head.
"But, you literally made the Demon Queen as a puppet, Ely. Can she, I mean the Great Demon King, break undo the spell?" Evelyn felt a bit uncomfortable, but the punishment was already merciful enough.
"Yes, but the seal is potent. A hundred years is the time it will take for it to fade. As for the Demon Queen, she will be the agent who will lead us to the Great Demon Kings of Hell. Although she won’t remember now, I will never ask her to betray her previous master as she is only required to open the door..." Elysia sighed as she felt like the villain, but it was necessary.
"Well, you don’t have to worry, Ely. Her master-servant bond is so weak. She will gladly betray her previous master to serve the stronger master." Sylvia flapped her wings, hovering a little high to see Demon King Obel run with his tail between his legs.
"No wonder they doubt whether we are foxkin or not. There are no foxes with wings there." Morfina held her head.
"Yes, that’s it." Yae nodded in agreement.
"Uh, what can I do? We even have a fox fairy here. Let’s say I’m a fox-dragon, hehe. Anyway, the matter here is over, right? The rumor about the overbearing foxes has spread like wildfire. So, what should we do next?" Sylvia shrugged, pretending to be innocent.
"Let’s visit the imperial capital. It’s almost dawn, and it must be morning there." Elysia looked at the sky in consideration.
Yet, she then recalled about the egg floating above Zera’s palm. They had yet to decide what they would do to the ’dead’ calamity monster’s egg. It would require everyone’s opinion.
---
In the gentle breeze of a serene morning, Jophiel appeared as the saintess of peerless beauty. She was clad in flowing white robes that glowed softly under the early sun as she strolled quietly around the lush flower garden.
She moved with grace. Her delicate footsteps barely disturbed the dewdrops on the grass. Her eyes, a light shade of pink sapphire, were fixed upon the distance where the summoned heroes conversed. From behind a flowering shrub, she observed them with a mix of curiosity and concern as she wanted to find out the fake hero’s identity among the seven summoned heroes, the one who held the contract with the one of the Great Demon King of Hell.
"One, two, three, four, five, six... where did the other one go?" Jophiel muttered softly as she counted the summoned heroes.
Unbeknownst to her, a shadowy figure had been watching her movements with a keen interest. The missing hero already approached her stealthily, using the cover of the garden’s tall hedges and blossoming trees.
He caught her by surprise and pulled her out of anyone’s vision, cornering her against a stone wall in a secluded corner. With a sinister smile, he sealed her mouth with his palm and began to mutter demonic incantations under his breath, attempting to hypnotize her. His voice was dripping with malevolence as he commanded her to obey his command.
"..." Jophiel lost her senses for a few seconds and stood still with a blank stare.
"Obey me, Saintess Jovee."
The man’s eyes glowed with a dark power as his mind control spell began to take effect.
However, Jophiel was no ordinary maiden who would get affected by hypnotic power or mind manipulation. Under the divine protection of the Goddess she devotedly served, the wicked mind control had no power.
When the fake hero’s dark magic touched her mind, it encountered an unyielding force of the divine light. A fierce backlash erupted, repelling the fake hero with a powerful surge. The malicious spell rebounded upon him, sending him staggering back as his demonic power turned against him.
"How dare you..." Jophiel stood unharmed. Her serene composure and faith remain unshaken as the divine grace shielded her from harm.
She never expected the fake hero’s demonic power to be so potent. If it wasn’t for her master’s protection, it would be difficult to break free from his mind control. She would probably become his slave for a few hours or even days before she could remove the mind control spell from her mind.
