Chapter : 1831
The interior of the Palace of Stillness was vast, dimly lit, and eerily quiet. The floor was covered in thick, plush carpets in shades of midnight blue and grey, so deep that they swallowed the heavy sound of Lloyd and Ben's armored boots. The walls were lined with tapestries depicting scenes of demons sleeping, resting, or staring at the stars.
The air here was even heavier than outside. It slled of ancient dust, old books, and a sweet, cloying perfu that made the head spin. It was a scent that promised rest. It whispered to the body that it was ti to lie down, to close the eyes, to just stop moving.
[Warning: Neuro-toxin detected in the air,] the Aegis system flashed a red alert on Lloyd's visor. [Analysis: High-density mana particulates. Effect: Extre Sedation and Motor Function Suppression.]
"Atmospheric hazard," Ben announced before Lloyd could speak. His voice was steady, unbothered. "Neuro-inhibitors in the air. High concentration."
Lloyd looked at him. "You aren't affected?"
"Please," Ben scoffed. "I have a spirit that controls Stasis. You think a little sleeping gas is going to slow down? I froze my own tabolism the mont we walked in. I’m running on internal reserves."
Ben walked past Lloyd, taking point. "Keep up, General. Don't let the air put you to sleep. It would be embarrassing to drag you out of here."
"I have filters," Lloyd replied dryly. "But thanks for the concern."
"I'm not concerned," Ben said over his shoulder. "I just don't want to carry your heavy suit."
They approached the massive double doors at the end of the hall. The doors were made of black wood, carved with sleeping faces. As they got close, the doors didn't slam open. They slowly, agonizingly creaked open on their own, revealing the throne room beyond.
The throne room of the Palace of Stillness was less of a governnt chamber and more of a gigantic bedroom. The ceiling was lost in shadows, miles above their heads. The room was filled with pillars of dark stone, each one carved with runes that pulsed with a slow, rhythmic light, like the heartbeat of a sleeping giant.
There were no rows of soldiers. There were no courtiers whispering in the corners. The room was empty, save for a massive, raised platform in the center.
The platform was covered in hundreds of silk cushions, velvet blankets, and furs from beasts that had been extinct for a thousand years. It looked like a sea of comfort.
They approached the massive double doors. They creaked open, revealing a throne room that looked more like a sea of cushions. And there, in the middle of the pile, lay the woman Lloyd had danced with at the royal reception.
Monalisa Belphagor.
She was devastatingly beautiful, her moonlight skin and ink-black hair contrasting with the grey silk gown that shimred like smoke. Her eyes were half-closed, but she wasn't sleeping.
Ben stopped ten feet away, slamming the butt of his lance onto the floor. The sound cracked the silence. He didn't bow. He stood with the arrogance of a Sovereign.
"Wake up," Ben commanded, his voice a rough roar. "We didn't co all this way for a bedti story."
Lloyd stepped up beside him, his Aegis suit whirring. "Monalisa. I see you’ve traded the ballroom for a bedroom. Though I suppose you're better dressed for it this ti."
For a long mont, the crushing spiritual pressure in the room increased, pressing down like gravity had doubled. Ben shifted his stance, his Steel Blood density increasing to match the weight. He narrowed his single eye, refusing to buckle.
Finally, Monalisa’s lips parted. A small, predatory, and devastatingly beautiful smile touched her face as she looked directly at Lloyd. Her eyes were blue voids, shifting with a sudden, bewitching spark.
"The little lion..." she whispered, her voice like silk rubbing against velvet. She didn't look at Ben; she focused entirely on Lloyd, her gaze roaming over the Aegis suit with hungry curiosity. "You didn't break my heart at the wedding, Lloyd Ferrum... so you’ve co to my ho to finish the job? How... bold of you."
She shifted on her cushions, the movent languid and deliberately provocative. "I rember our waltz. Your hands were... colder than I expected. Are you here for another dance? Or have you co to join my collection of pretty things?"
Chapter : 1832
"I'm here because your engine is stalling," Lloyd said, stepping forward. His voice remained a flat monotone, ignoring the bewitching aura she was projecting. "And my friend here sees a strategic failure. You're petrifying, Monalisa. I saw it in the ball, and I see it now."
Monalisa’s gaze sharpened, a flicker of genuine interest piercing through her seduction. The crushing pressure in the room spiked again, cracking the floor tiles.
"Petrifying?" she murmured. "I am a King of the Abyss. I am the apex of stillness."
"You're a broken engine," Lloyd countered. "Your nature is stillness, but your mana flow requires movent. Because you stop everything around you, you've started stopping yourself. The 'Abyssal Sedint' is clogging your veins. You aren't being lazy, Monalisa. You're seizing up."
Monalisa leaned back, her eyes tracing Lloyd’s silhouette. A soft, tired laugh escaped her lips. "So observant... and so very arrogant. You speak as if you can touch the soul of a demon and fix what is broken."
She stretched a hand toward him, her fingers curling as if she were stroking the air. "Tell , little human... why should I listen to you? Why shouldn't I just wrap you in my stasis-field and keep you as a silent, unmoving statue in my garden? You would be such a... charming addition."
"Because a statue can't fix your plumbing," Lloyd said dryly. "And if you don't get a tune-up soon, you won't be a King. You'll just be a very beautiful rock."
Ben scoffed, hefting his lance. "She’s stalling, Lloyd. Her battle IQ is dropping along with her mana pressure. Make the offer or let start breaking things. I’m tired of the perfu."
Monalisa looked at Ben for the first ti, her smile turning sharp and dangerous. "Iron and arrogance... a tireso combination. But your doctor..." she turned her gaze back to Lloyd, her voice dropping to an intimate whisper. "He is far more interesting. Speak, Lloyd Ferrum. Convince that you are worth more than a decoration... before I decide that keeping you is worth the effort of waking up."
The silence inside the Palace of Stillness was not empty; it was heavy. It was a physical weight that pressed against the shoulders and filled the lungs with a cold, thick pressure. To the average person, this atmosphere felt like the terrifying, majestic aura of a Demon Prince. It was the kind of crushing power that made warriors kneel and made lesser n lose their minds from fear.
But Lloyd Ferrum was not an average person, and he was certainly not just a warrior. He was an engineer. He was a man of science from a world of logic—Earth—currently trapped in a world of magic. And to an engineer, "aura" was just data that hadn't been processed yet.
He stood before the massive platform of cushions where Monalisa Belphagor lay. On the surface, she appeared to be the definition of terrifying beauty and unreachable power. Her skin was pale and flawless, glowing like moonlight against the dark silks. Her breathing was slow and rhythmic, her chest rising and falling with a deliberate, hypnotic cadence. Her eyes were half-closed, watching him through a curtain of lashes with a look of smoldering, predatory amusent. She didn't look like a stranger; she looked like a cat that had just found a mouse it recognized from a previous ga.
However, Lloyd knew that appearances were often just lies. In his past life, he had seen beautiful machines that were rusted shut on the inside. He realized that talking to her with flowery diplomatic language would be useless. He needed hard facts. He needed to see what was happening underneath the silk robes and the seductive expression.
Inside his helt, Lloyd’s eyes shifted. He activated his unique ability, the [All-Seeing Eye]. This wasn't just a simple magical scan; it was a deep dive into the fundantal structure of reality.
The world around him instantly changed. The dark, gothic colors of the throne room faded away. The heavy velvet curtains, the stone pillars, and the sleeping guards all dissolved into a grid of wirefras and energy streams. Lloyd was no longer looking at a room; he was looking at a schematic. It was like looking at a blueprint of a building, but for living things.
He focused his gaze entirely on Monalisa.
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