"Yesterday we had a major breach in the Demon Association. As you know, it is not easy to walk through this building. The top floor is our first layer of protection, but it only filters humans. Reaching the lift is not difficult for a Demon or Angel, but the underground floors each have reinforced protection charms. You can't reach the lower levels without passing the scanning process," Xar said, looking at them with his hands on his chin.
He fell back on the green chair when Berlion entered with another person. Xar had called him a boy, so Rose imagined him being eight or nine years old, but the young man in front of her seemed to be around her age. Maybe two or three years younger. He kept his eyes on his feet the entire way to the desk. His dark hair was in desperate need of a cut and his warm ivory skin looked ashy. He stood next to Xar's armchair as a column, not even a sound left his mouth.
"As I was saying, last night someone tried to take Kyalih, the girl you and Rose saved, away. She was locked in a cell after her rampage when a group released the drug through the vents. To keep it brief, this brave man saw me pass out in the hallway and hid me inside Kyalih's cell. Luckily, your doctor arrived and drove them away. Actually, we have to thank your friend. He wasn't affected by the drug, which allowed him to save our people." When Xar mentioned the drug, Rose felt a shiver down her spine remembering what a terrifying experience it had been. If it was the same one the demons had given her, they must have gone through the same emptiness she experienced, as if a dark hole was sucking you in.
It made her wonder why Hariiel hadn't been affected. She was sure the friend Xar spoke about was him. She somehow recalled Crale saying they were coming to the Demon Association when she was in the middle of a new episode. Did it have something to do with Locious and him fighting the night before? She didn't understand much of what they were saying, but she knew something had happened to Hariiel, and he was terrified Locious would go through the same thing. She had something to do with it, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why.
"I lost consciousness for a while, and by the time I came to, Hariiel was already opening the cell door. However, there is something you need to hear. Please, dear. Tell them what they said." Xar pushed the boy forward and he finally raised his head.
His eyes were brown, but they were so dark it was almost scary to look at them. There was a strange symbol under his right eye: three little circles connected by thin lines. It seemed like a mix of ancient languages and symbols. It was surrounded by a double circle that appeared to glow the closer he got to Xar and it was uncanny.
The pact mark! Rose thought as a sudden realization hit her. This wasn't an employee; he was a branded person. He had either made a pact or was the price of one, now forced to serve the Demon King. He had become a possession of Greed and she couldn't help but feel pity for the young man.
"Everything he said is true. When I locked us in the cell, they tried to break the door apart. When they couldn't, they started talking. They said the drug should have knocked everyone out. They called it 'Nadirum.' If it wasn't for your friends, they would have found a way to break in and we would be dead now"
He explained in a low voice, but Rose's hands began to shake and her ears muffled the voices around her. As if a forgotten memory had finally surfaced, Rose jumped from her chair and slammed her hands onto the desk. Everyone looked at her startled by her sudden outburst.
"He's right! When they drugged me, they said the drug's name was Nadirum! They said the one they gave us had something added just for us. They thought I was Locious and wanted the girl and me to have sex! What was the name of the second component?" she asked herself, trying to remember the other strange name the demons had used that day.
She was trying so hard to reach that memory that she failed to notice the sudden change in every face in the room. Xar and Lux exchanged a gloomy look, and Sandy stared at Locious with fear in her eyes. Locious's anxiety was palpable, but everyone focused on her again when Rose shouted:
"I know! They called it Luypris Philna!"
"What the fuck did you just say? Are you sure that's the name they gave it?" Lux asked, his eyes wide with incredulity. Rose nodded; she was one hundred percent certain of what she had heard.
Before she could process what was happening, Lux stood up and his aura exploded into a violent red. She could almost feel the air vibrating around him. His eyes suddenly turned into a pool of melting lava, the red replaced by a spiral of orange, red and yellow. It looked as if a volcano was about to erupt and the magma would spill from his eyes. His fangs also grew in length and sharpened. They now seemed capable of tearing a person apart.
A dark beast, an indomitable force of energy wearing a simple human skin she thought in awe. He had seemed so relaxed and flirty until now that she had almost forgotten he was a Demon King, one of the nine who had gained rationality to rule over a circle of Hell. He commanded armies; he was a punisher. Despite his nonchalant personality, he was still a figure to be feared.
"I'm going to kill whoever dared to get into my garden and steal my plants. I'm going to feed them the raw leaves and imprison them. And once they are done for, I'm going to fucking use them as fertilizer. Those motherfuckers!" He stormed out of the room. His shouting could be heard long after he left, and Rose was certain he had punched something when the entire floor shook. She sat back down and focused on Xar. That was when she noticed Berlion and the boy were also gone; only Sandy, Xar, Locious, and herself remained.
****
"Where did he go?" Rose asked no one in particular.
Before Locious could mutter an answer, Xar's low snort stopped him. "He is very... possessive of his garden. He is going to Hell, and he is double-pissed because it isn't time for his monthly check-up with Hesukho. I bet a few heads will roll and not only on Lux's side."
Xar sounded amused. To Locious, these demons were unbelievable. He had spent a whole year with them, but it didn't matter how much time passed; he still couldn't understand how their brains worked. And honestly, he hoped Hesu would give Lux as hard a time as he had given him today. There was a reason why Hesukho ruled over the Demon Kings in Hell. He smiled internally thinking of Lux in front of Hesu but the air in the office became heavy once again and Xar's smile faded.
"There is something only my doctor and I know. I will share the information, but I need you to keep it among yourselves first. Furthermore, I must be informed of any decision you make after receiving this information."
Xar paused. His green eyes shone, and Locious felt his own eyes glowing in response. It was something no one knew, but there existed a spiritual law called the Law of Domain. It restricted Demon Kings and Tier 1 Angels from using their powers on each other. However, there was also a spiritual phenomenon called the Nexus Concordia. When two high-level beings like a Demon King and an Angel wanted to form a pact—be it for truth, silence, or cooperation—they could unleash their Auras in a deliberate clash.
Because they possessed the same amount of sheer energy, the clash created a wormhole. If they both held the same intention in mind, it would form a knot carrying their instructions. Neither could break the agreement until it was untied by both parties, or they would experience a soul breakage: a state where the knot would constrict their very essences until they were scattered into nothingness.
Rose put her hand over Locious's but quickly pulled it away. She must have felt the explosive energy of the two of them being tied together. He wasn't expecting Xar to ask for a Nexus Concordia , if not he would have warned her. That was something they all agreed should not be taught in the training camp so she must be feeling confused and left out but he couldn't break the Nexus until it was done, or they would both face a backlash. So he stayed put until it was complete. However, he didn't get a chance to explain anything to her because Xar continued talking.
"The demons who came weren't only after Kyalih. A second group went directly to the infirmary on the second subfloor. They took all the papers and blood samples we had. However, my doctor had just left with one of the samples. When he returned, he told me he had gone to talk to Nya because he found something strange in the drug."
Xar handed several papers to Locious. He skimmed them, and his eyes went wide.
"Hold on... Does this mean...?" Sandy gasped.
"What? What does it mean?" Rose asked after taking a quick look but not understanding a word of the technical data written in the file.
Locious looked at her, a hundred thoughts popping into his mind. He felt a sudden urge to hug her. He wanted to tell her how strong she had been when faced with the demons and the drug. How brave she was for protecting a demon girl. How loyal she had been to stay silent when the demons mistook her for him. How strong-willed she was to reject his help just to keep him safe.
But the words stuck in his throat. The situation was perilous, and there was no time for sensitivities.
"It means the main component of Nadirum comes from the Aethium Umbra," Sandy said. "The forbidden and unexplored parts of it."