"Greetings? You call forcing me to experience killing intent so overwhelming that it makes me want to kill myself a greeting?" Zyel asked, his voice low and stern.
"That is correct. It is a greeting," Alisha replied with a calm nod, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "If you are to become my son-in-law, you should at least be capable of enduring this level of pressure."
Her gaze locked onto Zyel, a predatory smile forming on her lips.
"If your will is so fragile that you cannot withstand even this much, then how do you expect to stand beside my daughters? How do you expect to become anything in a world where power defines everything?"
Zyel did not argue.
He remained silent.
Because, deep down, he agreed.
She was right.
He was weak.
A man with no right to stand beside two extraordinary women, the daughters of one of the most powerful high demons in existence.
Was it enough that they were obsessed with him? That they had bound themselves to him through a soul-binding ritual? That everything had gone smoothly until now?
What would he do if someone far stronger appeared and took them away?
What would his powerless self be capable of then, other than drowning in rage and helpless despair?
What could he possibly do if the woman standing before him decided, at this very moment, that he should die?
He would not even perceive the attack before it ended him.
"I am ashamed of myself... It is infuriating. It makes me despise my own weakness," Zyel admitted, his teeth clenched tightly. "But you are right. If I am so weak, so pathetic that I cannot even endure this level of pressure, then I do not deserve women like your daughters."
"See? Your husband understands exactly what I mean," Alisha said, casting a brief glance at her daughters.
Then she began walking toward Zyel in slow, deliberate steps.
The moment she got close, her daughters stepped in front of him, blocking her path.
"Relax. I am not going to kill him. If I wanted to, he would already be ashes," Alisha said coldly.
She narrowed her eyes at them, her gaze carrying a clear threat. Both girls flinched.
While her face showed clear displeasure, inwardly, Alisha was surprised.
She had never seen her daughters stand against her before.
Not that they had ever needed to.
But now, the way they looked at her, like she was an enemy, like they were ready to fight her for this man, it was astonishing.
At that moment, it became clear to her that this young man had become someone truly irreplaceable to her daughters.
Under the crushing pressure of their mother's gaze, Amelia and Aria had no choice but to grit their teeth and step aside.
During the three days he had been unconscious, Zyel had fully completed his transformation into a demon.
His evolution had pushed his growth far beyond what it once was. He now stood at six feet seven inches tall.
Alisha, who stood at six feet, had to tilt her head slightly to meet his gaze.
She locked her crimson eyes onto his sapphire-blue ones as she stood dangerously close to him.
For a brief moment, even she, a being thousands of years old, felt as if she might get lost in them.
His charm was that powerful.
His gaze was that captivating.
But she revealed none of it.
She simply observed him carefully, as though assessing something of great value.
Sigh.
Her domineering expression softened, if only slightly.
She reached out and gently touched his cheek.
The gesture shocked everyone present.
"Thank you," Alisha said in a low, genuine tone.
Even Zyel blinked in surprise.
"For what?" he asked.
"You saved my daughters from those three heroes," she replied.
Another wave of surprise spread through the room. Even Mira, who had been watching everything with a neutral expression and faint smile, suddenly showed clear astonishment.
The high demon, Alisha Astaroth, who had never spoken with respect even to her equals among the high demons, was far too proud for such courtesy.
And rightfully so, for she possessed the strength to justify that pride.
Yet now, that very same woman found herself thinking about showing regard to someone beneath her, a lesser demon at that...
Mira had served Alisha Astaroth for hundreds of years, yet not once had she ever heard words like "thank you" or "sorry," or anything even remotely similar, come from her lips.
She could not help but glance at Zyel once again, this time with renewed curiosity and interest.
Zyel, on the other hand, did not know how to respond. He simply looked at her, slightly caught off guard.
"...Um... you're welcome?" he said hesitantly. "Does that mean you acknowledge me as your son-in-law?"
The answer came faster than anyone could perceive.
Not in words.
But in action.
Zyel did not even understand what had hit him.
By the time he realized it, his body was already airborne, hurled back at terrifying speed.
He crashed into the ground, dragged across the rough surface, leaving a deep trail behind him.
A massive hole had been torn through his stomach, his insides spilling out like shredded fabric, as if someone had ripped his flesh apart by hand.
Cough! Cough!
He spat out a mouthful of blood, more pouring from the gaping wound.
"Just because I am grateful that you saved my daughters," Alisha said coldly, her face filled with contempt, "do you think I would allow a weak, talentless lesser demon with no future to be with them?"
She sneered.
"Acknowledgment? Earn it."
Despite the pain, despite his body trembling and barely holding together, Zyel forced himself up.
The gaping hole in his stomach began to close, flesh knitting together at a visible pace.
"Oh?" Alisha observed with mild interest as the wound vanished within moments. "Interesting. What a powerful regenerative ability."
Her words fell on deaf ears.
Zyel's expression hardened.
In the next instant, killing intent surged from him, focused entirely on the monstrous demoness before him.
His sapphire-blue eyes shifted to a deep Purple, his vision tinted with a violet hue.
At the same time, his hands ignited with energy, and deep silver gauntlets materialized over his arms.
A sphere of light appeared in his grasp, stretching and reshaping itself into a long silver blade.
Its dark hilt contrasted with the radiant weapon, holy energy coursing along its edge and reacting violently to his emotions.
His consciousness merged with his instincts as [Battle Instincts] activated.
His entire body surged into overdrive.
Flesh, bone, and energy pushed to their absolute limits, making him feel as if thousands of needles were piercing him from all directions, as though someone were tearing him apart again and again.
With the enhancement of [Kratheon] and [Battle Instincts], his power surged past Rank-2, reaching Rank-3.
Holy energy spread across his entire body, forming a radiant, blinding aura.
Zyel raised his sword, pointing it at Alisha.
"I do not care about your acknowledgment. They are already mine."
Alisha's smile widened slowly.
He had become something far beyond mere amusement.
"A relic, a holy sword, an optic ability, an ability to enhance your physical strength… How can a mere lesser demon possess so many powers?" she murmured.
"What a curious little thing."
She could not understand him.
Her senses could not fully grasp his existence.
Even with all the abilities he displayed, something about him felt incomplete, like there was still more to uncover, something still dormant within him.
In her eyes, this mere reincarnated lesser demon had become something beyond amusement.
He was thrilling, exhilarating.
She even felt a strange possessiveness—not romantic, but the way an obsessive art collector desires a masterpiece, something they must possess at all costs.
"Let me correct you," she said calmly. "They are not yours. They never were. And they never will be."
Her tone was deliberate, meant to provoke him, to make him so furious that whatever she hoped to draw out from him would erupt uncontrollably.
She had hit a nerve.
His wives were already an unchangeable, irreplaceable part of his existence.
Telling him they were not his was a clear, defiant provocation.
Zyel's presence surged violently.
He vanished.
In an instant, he reappeared before her, moving at a speed far beyond before.
His sword slashed toward her neck, charged with pure killing intent.
His movements were raw, unrefined, even amateurish.
Alisha did not flinch.
As the blade reached her, she casually raised her hand and caught it barehanded.
The sword did not leave a scratch, and its holy power could not harm her in the slightest.
With her other hand, she seized Zyel by the throat.
"You seriously thought that would work?" she asked, her eyes filled with utter disdain.
Zyel struggled, trying to break free, but no matter how hard he fought, it was as if his body were trapped inside a metal mold.
Her grip around his neck cut off the blood flow to his brain, making him increasingly desperate.
She released his neck but immediately grabbed his arm instead.
Before he could react, with a single motion, his arm detached at the joint as if it were made of paper, torn cleanly from his body.
Then she delivered a powerful slap to his chest.
The impact sent the young demon flying.
He crashed into one of the fountains, and the statues around it were reduced to fragments of stone, scattered across the ground, many of his bones shattering in the process.