Hell's Consort

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Archdemon Empress Luna

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"You don't have to do or say anything,"  Apollyon said.

He loosened his collar and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, showing his collarbones and pectoral muscles.

"This necklace King Zephyr, Prince Aspen, Fei, Cederic, and I have was made of pulverized unicorn horns mixed in this diamond and an onyx pendant. It can determine if one is an Archdemon or not." Apollyon chuckled and Luna felt like he was mocking her. "The necklace had reacted on my skin while I am standing in front of you, Lilith."

"You are an Archdemon," Apollyon told her with conviction, poking her in the chest.

Luna gasped.

Her husband's eyes were like sharp blades stabbing her in the heart with these false accusations.

Wait a minute!

Luna might not be the Archdemon of Envy, that bitch Lilith, whom Apollyon had hated so much.

Still, she couldn't deny the fact that she became an Archdemon because Ravin and Luxen's father, the Archdemon King, had turned her into one!

If she told him that, would he believe her?

From the way Apollyon spoke to her with immense hatred, Luna shouldn't reveal that she became an Archdemon just yet.

"Apollyon." With a heavy sigh, Luna repeated for the fifth time she came back to her body. "I am Luna."

"I am Lunaaaaaaaa." Thrashing her legs about in a tantrum, Luna would repeat this until it would sink into his befuddled brain. "Please!"

"I made your wish come true by reuniting with you." Luna insisted louder, yet her voice came out in a hitch. "Shouldn't you be happy to see me?"

As she pulled at her chains, Luna didn't expect that she had to spend a long time convincing her husband she might as well shed bloody tears if that would make him believe her.

Not.

"Why wouldn't you return to me when what you desired was in front of you all along?" Shoulders drooping, she whispered in defeat, "I am Luna."

Apollyon growled as he wrapped his fingers around her slender neck. "I don't believe you, Archdemon."

With her arms and legs shaking at the force of her anger, Luna was tempted to release a high-pitched scream until all the ears of these living creatures would bleed.

She fought the urge by taking a thousand calming breaths.

"Right." Luna gave her husband a cold glance.

No one, not even her husband, was willing to listen to her truth.

She swallowed hard, dragging one foot forward and the iron ball at the end of her chain followed.

"You wouldn't believe me because you had already shut your mind," Luna said grudgingly as another tear leaked at the corner of her eyes. "It's as if you don't believe that I would come back to you forever, Apollyon."

Glancing at her feet, Luna choked out her next words, "Do you even love me?"

Apollyon's posture went rigid before turning his back away from her.

He didn't want to see her upset.

"'I have been disappointed a lot of times throughout these years." Apollyon murmured, pain evident in his voice, "I don't want to get my hopes up only for it to crumble down, and I would end up more hurt than before."

King Zephyr and Prince Aspen were silent observers in this tableau, and they had this idle posture that felt like they couldn't be bothered.

Their extreme vigilance from earlier had gradually faded.

Bored, King Zephyr had scratched at his cuticle as if he had other things to do than be here.

It was obvious he was no longer interested in the conversation compared to Prince Aspen, who had his eyebrows knitted together--intent and focused on her every word—trying to catch her lies.

King Zephyr must have noticed that Luna and Apollyon's argument wasn't new, and the conversation was going around in circles, not moving forward.

Even if Apollyon kept on insisting that she was Lilith, King Zephyr's and Prince Aspen's subconscious must have told them that she wasn't a threat because she wasn't Lilith.

Luna's gaze had strayed back to the unconscious Faerie High Priestess, wearing an elegant leaf dress, across her.

She had that angelic yet mischievous beauty with her cute button nose.

Her large freckles can be seen from Luna's position far away, but something strange about her perfection.

As she narrowed her eyes, Luna realized that the Fae High Priestess--who Apollyon had ordered to summon her back in this Realm--had a skin that was as smooth as glass as wrinkles surrounded her jaw.

It was eerie, making the Fae High Priestess seemed like she was wearing a mask made of wax that was so realistic it could be mistaken as her real features.

Luna had regarded the Faerie High Priestess's exposed legs and arms marked with Archdemon runes.

From the strong diabolical aura emanating from the unconscious Fae, Luna thought she must be an Archdemon conjurer, but she couldn't tell which Archdemon she had served.

Closing her eyes in concentration, Luna tapped into the conjurer's aura and ignored Apollyon's complaints about the meantime.

Luna absorbed her dark energy, storing its scent in her brain and estimating the power it held.

Luna had increased her knowledge in Archdemon Magic, and it became her source of power.

In such a short time, Luna had learned how to effectively wield it to destroy her enemies due to Satan's difficult lessons and the constant torture of the 'Morning Star.'

She might as well take advantage of this.

It didn't take long for the conjurer's limited Archdemon Magic to register in her senses.

Oh, goddess!

Luna opened her eyes, glowering at the demonic High Priestess with hostility and resentment.

She was sure that the Fae High Priestess' power came from the Archdemon of Envy!

Mayhap, this was the Faerie Lilith had ordered to kill the pure-hearted unicorns in the Faerie Realm for her blood magic ritual so that she could be victorious in dragging Luna's soul to Hell with the aid of her Archdemon husbands!

Good riddance!