Wager with the War Maniac
"How dare a lowly thing like you rebel in my presence? Should I erase that pathetic avatar of yours?"
"Hee hee hee!~♥ The real you would've annihilated me before I even thought to rebel. But you don't have that power anymore, do you? Lady Baal?"
Whiiiiiing!—
"Kuh!"
She staggered—
"Even if I can't completely obliterate your true form, I can sure as hell vaporize that meat puppet of yours right here. You should've known you were done the moment you set foot in my temple without permission."
'Temple? This mansion?'
My head was spinning from Vanessa's sudden true identity, so I couldn't keep up with their exchange. Then came Vanessa's quiet command, and a massive pressure poured out from her body. The Demon of War crumpled like a scared puppy, staggering before collapsing right there on the spot.
A Rank 38 great demon folding without a fight before Rank 2—the once-demon king herself. Dantalian's implanted knowledge had told me demons in the Top 10 were on another level entirely, but that was just data. Vanessa turned the current Halphas—who even Dantalian said she couldn't handle alone—into a tail-tucked pup. That showed just how much of a heavyweight she was.
I had to see it with my own eyes to get it.
"Ugh... heh... haha... hahaha... Impressive... So this is your [new temple]? Then yeah, you can do it. I've trespassed in your domain without permission... ugh... this body won't last much longer before it fades."
"You know it well. Then vanish without a trace."
"Ugh... But do you know something? Even in that short time... I could take the lives of this guy here all alone... and all the other humans too?"
"You think I'd let that happen?"
"Hey, you crazy bitch! Don't drag us down with you..."
"Hee hee hee... W-what can I do? I'm the incarnation of war. Plunder's natural in war... killing's natural too... hee hee hee... I don't want a boring death. If I can't take it... I'll just kill it~♥"
"What kind of psycho bitch is this?!"
Woooong!—
"Filthy trash... Get lost quietly. And never approach him or anyone by his side again."
Just as Dantalian said, this was a true psycho bitch. Vanessa eased off the pressure at Halphas's declaration of taking us all down with her.
Demons don't lie. So Halphas wasn't bluffing—it was fact. Vanessa knew that too, which was why she was pulling back to let her go.
"I don't like that idea? Plenty of others are eyeing this chaos-bringer besides me?"
"You bitch..."
"So how about a wager? Hell style. My contractor versus Dantalian's contractor. We let their fight decide. If my contractor loses... I'll back off quietly. What do you say? Contractor of Dantalian?"
...
Vanessa turned to look at me at Halphas's words. She glanced between me and herself, waiting for my answer.
If I refused, she'd probably erase Halphas on the spot. But as Halphas said, she wouldn't go down quietly. Even in her final instant, this psycho bitch could snatch me and my family's lives.
A yandere-type lunatic who'd declared she'd take us as companions in death if she couldn't have her prize.
In the end, I had one choice.
"Fine. I accept. Piece of cake. Just gotta smash your contractor, right? Yeah?"
"Everything as Boss wills."
And so the bet between me and Halphas was on.
A fight I couldn't dodge anyway. If this got me free from the yandere stalker psycho bitch, it was a win.
**
.........
"Boss. There was no need to take that trash bitch's wager. If you wish, I can dispose of her even now..."
"Nah. Like the psycho said, our family's lives are on the line. Refusing felt off... Might as well smash her contractor and show the other demons our power while we're at it."
"Understood."
"Alright! Let's prep! Gotta hustle starting tomorrow."
"...You're not going to ask?"
"You'd just say you can't answer anyway, right? Demons don't lie."
...
"Vanessa. Listen. Over these past ten years, I don't think the time you've spent with us by my side was fake. Just tell me everything when you're ready to spill."
"Boss... You're curious, aren't you? If it's your order..."
"Stop. Whether you're the demon king Baal or whatever, you asked me to call you Vanessa, so that's that. You're family! My personal secretary and this mansion's manager! That's enough for me! I don't wanna think about the complicated shit anymore!"
"...Thank you, Boss."
"Alright, let's clean up and hit the sack? Quietly, so we don't wake the others..."
Woooong!— Craaaack!—
"Huh?"
The broken window from Halphas's intrusion, the trashed room—it rewinded like a video tape. More precisely, like time itself reversing. Starting with the fallen vase, the shattered glass and torn curtains restored themselves perfectly in under a minute.
True to her title as Ruler of Time, Vanessa's will had reset my room flawlessly.
"Whoa~ That's some insane cheat power."
"Pfft! This is barely a fraction of my peak."
'Insane... And even that's enough to make that war nut Halphas kneel?'
"But sadly, my power only works within this mansion. I'm not... fully restored yet."
"That [weakened state] Halphas mentioned? Aftermath from battling Lucifer, like the Holy Kingdom and temples always yap about?"
"Yes."
'Just how strong is that justice demon freak?!'
Rank 1: Lucifer, Demon of Justice. Apex of the 666 demons. Current lord of Hell. He'd beaten Vanessa, absolute master of time, and conquered Hell—God's fallen right hand.
Honestly, after Dantalian, I didn't wanna tangle with any more demons. But starting with Halphas today, I was knee-deep in absurd heavyweights. Thinking of my fate drifting far from peace, I felt drained—body and soul!
No more complicated thoughts! Bedtime!—
**.........
"...Thank you, Godfather. Like back then... you're always the same."
Vanessa gazed at the sleeping Actor on the bed, reminiscing faintly.
She wanted to tell him everything right then, but it wasn't time yet. Time itself would answer all. Even for the Ruler of Time, her options here were limited.
"I'm truly sorry. Compared to the grace you've shown me... all I can offer is this paltry help. But for your mercy in letting me stay by your side always... I swear I'll repay it..."
Mwah!~♥
Vanessa quietly kissed the sleeping Actor's forehead. Faceless black mist from his Dantalian contract or not, she pressed her lips without hesitation.
"Sleep well, Godfather... This time, I'll make sure..."
With that, Vanessa slipped out of the room quietly. Unlike usual, a radiant smile graced her face.
...
......
"Heh heh... haha! Kyahaha!!— Incredible!~♥ How do you keep that eternal glacier of a demon king by your side?! Haaa~♥ I'll make him my apostle no matter what!— Yes~ I will!—"
Halphas burst from Actor's mansion, soaring into the clouds far away, unleashing mad laughter.
Who'd imagine the long-vanished Time God still lingered in the mortal realm? Let alone that the once-absolute queen—who no demon dared lift their head before, standing before her on two legs an affront—now served under a mere human?
"I'll win this wager... no matter what! Yes, absolutely!~♥ My heart's pounding harder than ever! He'll show me the most epic war this world has ever seen!!~~♥"
Halphas, obsessed only with war, had never fixated on any being since her birth like this.
She didn't know exactly what this new feeling was, but based on her knowledge, she defined it.
"Aaaah~ Is that it? This is... love?! Haaa!~♥ This urge to possess someone completely—if that's not love, what is?! Love's great. Taking from someone else and making it mine... I'm already an expert if that's love! Kyahahahaha!!~~♥"
To Halphas, plunder equaled love.