Zzzzz-
"My Lord."
Zzzzz-
"My Lord...?"
Zzzzz-
"Sir?"
Time seemed to stop as the whole space around him froze.
Yawn-
He rubbed his sleepy eyes as he pushed himself off the circular bed on was lying on.
Of course, he remained seated. Standing up was too much of a hassle.
He peeked from above the bed's elevated edge.
"Who are you?" The Demon Lord Of Sloth's voice shook the castle.
"I am..." The kneeling interlocutor seemed taken aback by the question. He did his best not to show it. "The Fifth General of your-"
"What do you want?"
"Well, my Lord. It's about the creature you were interacting with-"
"Spying on me?"
"NO! No... My Lord. Of course not. I was assigned here by yourself a couple of-"
"Continue."
The General coughed, obviously feeling nervous in front of his Master. His Lord.
Unlike what some might think, the Demon Lord did not have a monstrous appearance.
If only physical appearances were to be taken into account, the Devourer would appear much more menacing and horrifying.
But appearances weren't everything.
In truth, they didn't mean much, especially the closer one got to the top of the pyramid of power.
The Demon Lord Of Sloth yawned.
"I was... Well, you, my Lord, said that you could sense-"
"I couldn't sense. My Territory's limit is made so as to notify me when a Demon Lord enters."
"Yes. Yes... But instead of a Demon Lord, it was a Candidate."
"Advance faster." The Demon Lord Of Sloth ordered.
"For a Demon Lord's entry to be notified, the Deadly Sin he holds has to be detected by the Barrier."
"I told you that already." The Demon Lord let himself fall back onto the comfortable and large bed. "It smelled like Greed and Gluttony."
"Then... Perhaps we could kill or capture him. Surely..."
The Demon Lord Of Sloth extended a hand to the side.
He curled that hand up slightly, and the words leaving the General's mouth turned into gasps for air.
"Is that..."
Choked breaths resonated.
"What you woke me up for?"
"My... My Lord... I just...!" The General pleaded between the panting.
"Capture him? Then sell him to Gluttony or Greed? Is that your proposition?"
The General nodded energetically. Or rather, frantically.
The Demon Lord Of Sloth did not need to see the nodding to know about it.
"And who would go through the negotiations with Gluttony or Greed? You?"
"No... My Lord, I would never... Overstep..."
"Overstep, huh? So, I will do the negotiating?"
"Of course... My Lord. I would never...!"
The invisible hand around the General's neck made it even tougher for him to breathe.
"How long have you been a General here?"
"Th... Th... Three weeks."
"Know why that is?"
"I... I..."
The Demon Lord Of Sloth sighed.
His hand was clenched into a fist, and the General's neck snapped.
Thump-
His body hit the ground, limp and unmoving.
"Someone come clean this up."
Immediately, two Monsters pushed the room's large doors open.
They walked into a spacious room where there was nothing but the Demon Lord's circular bed.
"Yes, my Lord." They shouted in unison.
"Not so loud, you dolts." The Demon Lord complained as he picked his ear.
The two lifted the General's unmoving body off the ground.
"You're Commanders under him, right?"
"Yes, my Lord."
"Your strength is suitable. What do you think about the plan proposed by the General?"
The two exchanged glances for a second.
"My Lord," one of them said. "I would never dare propose a plan. I will follow, implement, and enforce any order you-"
Splash-
The Commander who had remained silent twitched.
His eyes narrowed, as he was sprayed and drenched.
"What about you?"
The Commander's tongue exited his mouth and slowly moved towards a spot on his own cheek.
Lick-
Another Commander's blood.
He didn't dislike the taste.
"I wouldn't burden you, my Lord. I will capture the Candidate, find a General of Gluttony with whom I will negotiate, and bring a suitable price to you."
"You won't go to Greed? Why not?"
The Commander's lips curled up.
"Greed's Generals would be... Too greedy for me to negotiate with."
"Mmm..." The Demon Lord nodded. "Greed and those below him usually want to have their cake and eat it too. You think Gluttony will be an easier option? Is that it?"
"Yes, my Lord." The Commander answered. "Anything else feels like it would be too much of a hassle."
"Your Sloth isn't bad. Make sure you find the most optimal course of action, so that you have to take the least action."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Find the most optimal course of action..." The Demon Lord closed his eyes. "So that I have to take the least action."
***
"So what does a Demon Lord want with you?"
"Who knows."
"Anything he wants from you?"
"Who knows..."
"You like keeping some secrets. I understand."
"Who knows..."
Elisa turned around.
She stared for a bit, before breaking a branch off and throwing it towards the absent-minded Mark.
The latter was hit, turned around, and almost lost his balance.
"Shit-"
"Bfahaha!" Elisa laughed.
Mark had managed to regain his balance at the last instant.
"You're really not made for this type of thing, huh?"
He remained silent, slightly annoyed.
"What were you thinking about?" Elisa asked innocently.
"None of your business."
"No need to be rude. You put me in a world of trouble adding a Demon Lord into this. I accepted that, but I won't accept you talking rudely."
Mark rolled his eyes.
"What were you thinking about?"
He sighed.
"My Underlings... And the Fire Spirit.
"Huh..." Elisa turned back to face in front of her. She stretched her crossed legs and raised her gaze towards the dark sky above. "You really care about them..." She whispered.
"More than I should."
"Aha. That's your problem? Caring about them?"
"They're my Underlings. I shouldn't get too... Attached. Or shouldn't have gotten attached."
"Mmm. I don't think you can help it though."
"Of course, I can."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah."
"How would you go about that?"
"I just have too... Not think about them."
Elisa chuckled.
"How is it working out for you?" She asked.
He sighed.
"I just think that-"
"No... Bfahaha! Don't tell me you were about to fall again."
"Shut up..."
Mark rearranged himself on the thick tree branch he was seated on.
"Think being here will really make it safer?" Mark asked, eager to change subjects.
"Yeah, except if you end up falling, I suppose."
They were currently about 90 meters above ground level.
After climbing up a tree with especially thick branches, each took one as their own.
"Maybe you should do like her. Since your balance sucks." Elisa said as she pointed at Krista.
On a nearby branch, a couple of meters below the two, the Moonlit Feline lay.
Its stomach and chin lay on the thick branch, while its limbs were hanging in the air on each side of the branch.
"Fuck off." Mark said bluntly, and Elisa chuckled.
The two were seated on branches that were on opposite sides of the tree, with their backs against the tree's trunk.
They remained silent for a bit, under the dark night sky.
"You care about them, huh?"
"So?"
"More than you realize, maybe."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well..." Elisa scratched her neck. "You Revived them after died, right?"
"Yes."
"Haha! Then it's true!"
"What is?" Mark asked as he turned around, slightly annoyed.
"You care about them more than you realize. They're special."
"I don't see why-"
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Elisa declared as she turned and pointed at him. "Since you didn't Revive any other since they were taken away from you!"
Mark stared with wide eyes for a bit.
He slowly turned to face in front of him once more.
After a pause,
"It's not that I haven't tried, it's that I can't."
"But have you?"
"Mm?"
"Tried? Have you?"
"No." Mark answered, and a victorious smile was drawn on Elisa's face. "The System won't tell me about the Conditions anymore, so-"
"Ah. That's not the System's job though."
"Fuck..." Mark whispered as he massaged his eyes. "True. Forgot about that."
Elisa chuckled.
"Want help to figure out how it works?"
"Ominous, ominous. Isn't that how you feel about it?" Mark asked.
"It is, but..." Her slender fingers took hold of a flock of hair. "You care about them, so it's different."
"How so?"
"Well, you gave them life, didn't you?"
"Yes." Mark said as he scratched his head. "Only after taking it away from them."
