For several minutes after the pressure disappeared, nobody in the meeting hall spoke.
The frost remained on the edges of the stone floor, thin enough to be mistaken for decoration if one did not know what had just happened. The guards slowly returned to their positions. The mages who had instinctively prepared defensive spells lowered their hands.
Yet the tension did not disappear.
If anything, it had become heavier.
The representatives of the Church exchanged quiet glances.
They had seen fear in the eyes of several people inside the hall.
They had felt the pressure themselves.
And rather than making them reconsider the treaty, it reinforced something they had already believed.
The Devil Kingdom was still dangerous.
Lord Aamon had been defeated.
The palace had fallen.
The previous regime had collapsed.
But the strength of the devils had not disappeared with their king.
The Church representative who had demanded the harshest conditions slowly leaned back into his chair.
