Bound to the Demon Lord ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Five

It was finally time. After two days of silence from Vesper, a paladin had come to her room in the middle of the night and escorted her without a word. Phoebe quietly followed the paladin down into the depths of the Temple. The marble turned to stone, and the darkness grew with only candlelight illuminating the area.

She was racked with anxiety, but she tried to keep a brave face. She had been praying a lot these past couple of days, hoping the Creator would offer some guidance. Not once did He answer her directly, but she still hoped He had heard her pleas. Perhaps the Creator would take pity on her plight and give her the strength to cure Krios. Or perhaps He wanted this to fail, to see Krios suffer and die.

A part of her even wondered if there was a Creator to even listen to her prayers. After all, all her life she had been taught that Seraphine was a goddess. There was a chance the Creator was another lie as well.

She almost laughed. To have such thoughts was more blasphemous than siding with Krios. Still, she decided to keep her faith and believe the Creator would head her. Seraphine had been loved by Him in her life. Maybe even just a fraction of that love extended to her, since she and Seraphine shared the same soul.

"Their Holiness asked for you to wait inside."

Snapping from her thoughts, Phoebe looked up to find them standing in front of large double doors. The paladin held one door open, gesturing to her to enter. Her anxiety intensified, but she forced herself to move. Regarding the paladin with a nod, she entered the room and the door shut behind her.

The room was a huge, circular chamber. Each corner pillar had a giant mana stone glowing brightly, a hum echoing inside. It made the room much brighter, alongside the lanterns growing. There were over two dozen priests stationed around the room, their faces covered by hoods as they stood by the walls. Closer to the center were even more hooded paladins, armed with daggers pressed against the throats of prisoners. Judging by their clothes, they looked to be Seekers.

And at the center of all of them was Krios, chained to the floor like some sort of animal. Each of his limbs were cuffed and held down, and he was forced to his knees. He snarled and roared like some wild animal, thrashing about in vain to free himself.

"Krios-!"

"There you are, Phoebe."

Phoebe had attempted to run to him, but a hand had clamped down on her shoulder. She jerked away, whipping around to find Vesper standing behind her. But they were in their natural halfling form, which only added to her shock. She turned back to the priests and paladins around the room, who didn't even bother looking at their leader.

They noticed her confusion. "You knew I wasn't working alone."

"I didn't think they knew of... this side of you."

They let out a humorless chuckle. Taking their hand from her shoulder, they gently placed it on her back to guide her to the opposite side of the room. She tried to step away, but they refused to move their hand. "You think you were the only one that could be convinced demons weren't the enemy?"

"That's not what I'm disturbed by." Her eyes flickered at the prisoners, who didn't even struggle. They were bound and gagged, but their eyes were hazy and glossed over. Like they had been drugged and sedated. "How could...?"

"They're Seekers," they said simply. "They would have volunteered by their own free will anyway. This way, they will not suffer."

Phoebe did not want to pity people responsible for all the devil summonings. Yet, she couldn't help herself. They were prisoners, drugged and bound and about to be scarified. There really was nothing Vesper wouldn't do in order to tear down the Veil. And it was all coming to a head tonight.