Among the three princesses, Yekaterina was the most belligerent and battleloving. Under her command were numerous combat units.
The demonkind warriors who had sworn loyalty to Yekaterina let out battle cries at her order and prepared to sortie.
But at that moment, a servant hurried over to Yekaterina's side.
"Master!"
Yekaterina glared at the hobgoblin servant.
"What is it at such a crucial moment!"
At her sharp reaction, the hobgoblin servant broke out in a cold sweat and said,
"It's... a message from Lady Elizaveta."
At the mention of Elizaveta, Yekaterina grew even more agitated and shouted,
"Why would that damned Beta contact me!"
Though they were both adopted daughters of the same demon archlord, the relationship between the three princesses was far from amicable.
They weren't blood sisters, and ultimately, they were rivals.
In particular, the first princess Elizaveta and the second princess Yekaterina were locked in a fierce rivalry as they vied to expand their respective influences.
In that situation, if one of them absorbed the forces of the third princess Anastasia, she could gain the upper hand in the delicately balanced competition. That was why they had responded to Narak's summons and come to the phenomenal world.
So Yekaterina was already displeased just hearing that her rival Elizaveta had reached out.
As she fumed, a screen suddenly appeared before Yekaterina.
[Lina, were you badmouthing your big sister again?]
Yekaterina ground her teeth at the sight of Elizaveta's face on the screen.
"Damn it, I told you not to access my invasion fortress recklessly!"
Watching Yekaterina lose her temper and flail about, Elizaveta shook her head.
[Oh dear. Sorry, Lina. But your tiny, insignificant security system just tempted me to breach it.]
Hearing Elizaveta's needling words, Yekaterina ground her teeth even harder.
"Grrrr, well, your arrogance won't last much longer. Wash your neck and wait. I'll cut your head off myself."
[You're as barbaric and ignorant as ever.]
Elizaveta clicked her tongue at Yekaterina and continued,
"Sorry to say, but it looks like I've won this round too." At those words, Yekaterina's eyes widened in shock.
"What? What do you mean by that!" It was then.
Woooong!
A gate opened in the hall of Yekaterina's invasion fortress.
Elizaveta, a master of magic, had accessed Yekaterina's invasion fortress and forcibly created a translocation gate.
The demonkind warriors waiting in the hall drew their weapons warily.
Fwoosh!
Elizaveta, wearing her golden mask, stepped out from the gate.
Seeing this, Yekaterina let out an incredulous laugh.
"Haha! You've gone mad. To walk right into your death here!"
Even for Elizaveta, opening a gate inside another princess's invasion fortress—one that could pass high-ranking demonkind—was impossible.
In other words, she had just thrown herself alone into enemy territory.
Yet Elizaveta casually waved at Yekaterina, who glared at her.
"Lina, it's been a while, but you're still so vulgar and brutish." Yekaterina ground her teeth at her.
"Yeah, it's been a while. Ever since you stole the victory in the demon realm grand tournament with your cowardly tricks."
In Pandemonium, a grand tournament called the demon realm grand tournament was held every ten years to select the most outstanding demonkind, and the demon archlord personally bestowed treasures on the winner.
And the most recent winner had been Elizaveta.
Yekaterina, who had harbored resentment over that outcome, spat her words, but Elizaveta covered her mouth and laughed before replying.
"It was a fair victory. You were just too worked up to read the board properly, Lina." Yekaterina ground her teeth at Elizaveta's continued provocations.
"No need to waste more words on you. What are you waiting for? Kill her!"
The fearless warriors of the demon realm advanced toward Elizaveta at Yekaterina's command.
But at that moment, someone else stepped out from the gate.
Shooo!
Black blades erupted from the floor.
The demonkind warriors backed away at the sight of the threatening shadow blades.
The one who emerged from the gate was none other than Zeke.
But Zeke looked different from usual.
His ears had elongated, strange patterns adorned his face, and his hair had turned violet.
Yekaterina flinched in surprise at Zeke, who positioned himself behind Elizaveta.
"Zeke Draker?"
She knew who her target Zeke Draker was, so she recognized him at a glance.
But the reason for her shock was something else.
'Why did a human carry the aura of demonkind?ʼ
Zeke's appearance and aura were entirely that of demonkind.
At that moment, Elizaveta turned to Yekaterina and said,
"Lina, you've always been one step behind me." She snapped her fingers toward Zeke.
Zeke nodded and extended his hand.
Woooong!
A summoning circle drew itself on the floor, and something was summoned.
Nyaaang!
A cat's cry echoed through the hall.
What appeared atop the summoning circle was Anastasia in the form of a cat.
Since Zeke had formed a soul contract with Anastasia, he was able to summon her at any time.
As a result, Anastasia, who had been hiding deep within Mycenae Castle, was suddenly summoned to Yekaterina's invasion fortress. She seemed flustered by the situation, her fur bristling as she hissed.
[Zeke Draker! What is the meaning of this!]
She raised her head and yelled at Zeke Draker.
But then she sensed something off and recoiled in shock.
[D-Demonkind?]
She had realized Zeke had transformed from human to demonkind.
At that moment, Elizaveta approached Anastasia.
"It's been a while, Asha."
Seeing Elizaveta, Anastasia raised her tail and backed away.
[Elizaveta... what have you done!]
In response to her cry, Elizaveta silently beckoned Zeke.
Zeke extended his hand toward Anastasia at her command.
Kugugugu—
Due to the contract, Anastasia's soul was bound to Zeke, so when he exerted his will, she was restrained and couldn't move anywhere.
[Urgh!]
Unable to budge, Anastasia struggled as Elizaveta pointed at her and turned to Yekaterina.
"Lina, I have a proposal for you."
She indicated Anastasia and said,
"I'll hand Anastasia over to you. In return, grant me one favor."
Yekaterina was taken aback by Elizaveta's offer to relinquish Anastasia.
'What scheme was that witch plotting now...?ʼ
As if reading Yekaterina's thoughts, Elizaveta smiled behind her mask and spoke.
"Help me open a communication line with Father, and I'll cleanly surrender Anastasia to you."
Direct communication with the demon archlord—the pinnacle among the six rulers of the demon realm—had been Zeke's condition in his deal with Elizaveta.
Yekaterina eyed her suspiciously at her words.
"You'll give me Anastasia whole just for helping open a line to Father?"
It was an offer so favorable to Yekaterina that it was hard to comprehend.
Anastasia was infamous in the demon realm, and her sphere of influence held considerable power.
Absorbing her forces would rapidly expand one's own territory, yet Elizaveta was essentially forfeiting that opportunity.
As Yekaterina regarded her with suspicion, Elizaveta explained,
"Honestly, Asha's forces aren't that appealing to me. Most of my subordinates are mages. Even if I took in her low-rank warriors, integrating them into my ranks would take time."
Yekaterina thought there was some truth to Elizaveta's words.
Unlike herself, whose units were built around chakra-wielding Tuma tribe warriors and other combat-oriented races, Elizaveta's subordinates were almost entirely mages.
On the other hand, Anastasia's followers were mostly ferocious beast-type low-rank warriors and demonkind with bizarre abilities.
To the perfectionist Elizaveta, Anastasia's subordinates must have seemed utterly vulgar and unacceptable.
After pondering Elizaveta's words, Yekaterina slowly spoke.
"Why make opening a line to Father the condition of the deal?"
Even for the adopted daughters, the demon archlord at the apex of the fallen constellations was an absolute being they couldn't approach lightly.
To properly communicate with him, all three princesses had to gather and jointly use the authority bestowed by the demon archlord.
Anastasia was bound to Zeke, so compelling her to use the authority was no issue, but if Yekaterina refused, contact with the demon archlord would be impossible.
Elizaveta responded to Yekaterina's question.
"It's the condition of my contract with Zeke Draker. To fulfill the deal where he becomes my subordinate, I need direct communication with Father and his confirmation." Yekaterina mulled over Elizaveta's words.
'If that's true, then in this deal, I'd gain Anastasia's forces, while that witch gets the human Zeke Draker.ʼ
A princess of the demon realm versus a human.
She weighed their respective values.
After a moment's thought, Yekaterina chose Anastasia.
Even if her subordinates weren't to her taste, taming them was a matter of time and method.
The human, on the other hand, was already aligned with Elizaveta, making it unlikely she could claim him.
Yekaterina glanced at the cat-form Anastasia and nodded.
"Fine, I accept the deal."
At her words, Anastasia hissed again.
[You two bitches...!]
Ignoring Anastasia's curses, Elizaveta extended her hand toward Yekaterina.
As the two clasped hands, a provisional contract was formed.
As incarnations of the demon archlord, the contract devil, the princesses were more bound by contractual restraints than any other demonkind.
Thus, once made, they couldn't break their agreements and immediately moved to fulfill it.
Elizaveta gestured toward Anastasia.
"Come here, Asha. Your form may have changed, but the authority of Father inscribed on your soul remains."
Anastasia tried to resist, but to no avail.
Zeke had ordered her to move.
[Zeke Draker! Are you breaking our contract of subjugation? You promised to protect me —what is this?]
Elizaveta laughed at her outburst.
"Zeke Draker kept his promise. I guarantee your safety, Asha. Of course, your form will remain that cute beast forever."
Anastasia let out a sharp cry at Elizaveta's words.
Regardless, the three princesses were now gathered.
Excluding Anastasia, Elizaveta and Yekaterina brought their hands together.
Light then emanated from the backs of their hands.
The avatar's sigil directly inscribed by the demon archlord.
A similar sigil glowed on Anastasia's forehead.
Tzzzzz—
The three lights converged into one.
Zeke watched the rising light with a stoic expression.
The lights formed a large circle, shaping into a massive mirror.
Once the mirror formed, Yekaterina and Elizaveta knelt before it with reverent bows.
Crackle—
Sparks flew from the mirror. But they soon faded, and the mirror's interior turned pitch black.
As complete blackness filled the mirror, concentric ripples began to undulate from the center.
Woooong—
A form took shape on the mirror's surface, resembling a human face shrouded in cloth.
Yekaterina and Elizaveta knelt before it, while Anastasia curled up, trembling.
The facial form grew clearer, and an unbelievable pressure emanated from the mirror.
Kugugugu!
The demonkind in the hall couldn't withstand the pressure and fell to their knees.
The only one left standing was Zeke.
At that moment, Elizaveta sensed something amiss.
'How could he remain standing?ʼ
The contract had connected the line to the demon archlord, fulfilling it perfectly.
That meant Zeke was now fully demonkind, yet no demonkind could withstand the demon archlord's pressure while standing.
But Zeke wasn't just standing—he slowly walked toward the mirror.
Step, step!
In a hall where all had knelt, Zeke alone advanced to face the mirror. The princesses, heads bowed, wore expressions of disbelief.
Then Zeke spoke.
"Demon archlord. No, ."
Calling out the demon archlord's constellation title, he continued.
"I want to make a deal with you."