Chapter 163: The Banquet, Part II
Rosalie dropped both hands onto the black dining table and nearly jumped from her seat. However, Asmodeus swiftly placed his heavy hand on her shoulder, firmly pinning her back down. With a smile radiating fake politeness, he warned her one more ti,
"Get a hold of yourself. Rember, if my guests notice that sothing is amiss with you, your child will never live."
A suffocating lump ford in the woman’s throat as her big gray eyes frantically ran up and down Damien’s armor.
’What is happening? Why is he here? Did he manage to find
this fast? But it’s impossible to get here...’
Rosalie’s mind drowned in a relentless sea of questions and assumptions.
The demon, perhaps sensing her confusion, offered an explanation,
"While you were getting ready, I received a ssage from Amarath that there was soone I ’knew’ who wanted to et
here. Once I learned who it was, I figured it would be more fun to involve him in the gathering too. Now that I see your reaction, it was definitely a good idea."
A playful smile curled the demon’s lips, eliciting an angry frown from Rosalie.
"You’re a monster. Damien has nothing to do with my request; let him go."
Asmodeus slid his finger over the duchess’s eyebrows, coercing them back to their rightful place, and hissed,
"Sadly, you do not have a say in this, Rosalie. Once you co down to the demonic realm, you have to play by our rules. Now, relax and enjoy the show."
Finally, as if erging from a trance, Damien began to move.
Confused and perplexed by the place he found himself in, he turned around several tis, assessing his surroundings. He froze in place when his golden gaze fell upon the woman with a crown made of thorns on her head.
The sight of Damien’s face caused Rosalie’s chest to tighten even more than the snug fra of her barbed-wire dress. On the other hand, the duke lost color in his face, his eyes widening at the sight of his wife seated next to the demon.
’Rosalie?’
His lips were desperate to let that na escape and reach the woman sitting at the opposite side of the hall and yet, sothing inside him urged to remain silent, as if warning him that even the most timid ntioning of her na would make the woman disappear forever, like an illusion that tortures one’s afflicted body, twisting it in unbearable agony.
Asmodeus looked ecstatic. He kept shifting his black eyes between the couple, smiling like a madman while his big palm was still pressing Rosalie down, almost crushing her shoulder under the pressure.
He cleared his throat with a subtle cough and let his voice thunder through the hall once more,
"I see His Grace did not refuse the armor I provided and yet, decided to co with his own sword anyway."
Damien furrowed his eyebrows and glared back at the demon nacingly as he replied,
"What is going on? Why is my wi––"
Asmodeus made a brief gesture with his hand and made the man close his lips before he could finish the sentence.
"Please, Your Grace, no need to call my hostess nas. Not in the presence of my esteed guests, at least."
He moved his hand again and Damien’s lips parted slightly but the duke chose not to speak. Satisfied with such behavior, the demon continued,
"As I explained before, Your Grace, your role at today’s banquet is our main source of entertainnt. Just a staged display of power. A feat of strength, if you will."
Damien moved his eyes around the hall once again but his silent questions remained unanswered.
"A feat of strength? I do not see my opponent here. Whom am I to fight then? Don’t tell
it will be you, demon?"
Asmodeus’s laughter echoed through the hall, shaking its walls like an earthquake.
"Fighting
will leave you with no chance at winning. Especially now that your soul has been redeed."
’Redeed? He broke his curse?’
Rosalie tried to conceal her surprise as much as possible but a slight twitch of her eyebrows still betrayed her nervousness.
She was happy that her husband’s soul was no longer in the hands of the curse, however, his curse was also that one thing that made him incomparably strong, thus, if he were to fight anything that possessed any kind of extraordinary power, he might end up being defeated.
"Then, who is it? Answer , bring the creature here. I will face anyone head-on. So, do not stall any longer. Show
my opponent!"
Asmodeus’s handso face contorted into a displeased grimace. He expected Damien to be overly confident and arrogant but still felt like wiping that assertiveness off his face himself.
But his direct involvent was not necessary – there was still at least soone whose broken expression he could enjoy while watching the amusent unfold.
Stretching his lips into a smug grin once more, the demon raised his right hand above his head and snapped his fingers, making the heavy doors to the banquet hall open again.
For a mont, the place was silent as if the re notion of sound was obliterated. Then, the hall was shaken by the loud, almost deafening sound of heavy footsteps, finally revealing their source.
What entered through the doors was a large, almost colossal black wolf, his long, ssy fur was glistening with a peculiar shade of blue as the subtle candlelight touched it when he moved.
Its jaws were open, long, sharp fangs sticking out like white sabers, big drops of saliva falling down and sizzling upon touching the hot surface of the red carpet beneath his massive paws.
As the wolf advanced slowly toward Damien who assud a confident stance and wrapped his fingers tightly around the handle of his black sword, Rosalie’s heartbeat sped up. She fixed her rounded eyes on the beast’s muzzle and a horrible realization dawned on her as the wolf’s glowing red eyes responded to her gaze with a shade of unbelievable sandess.
’It’s him... Altair.’
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