The Demon Queen's Royal Consort-Chapter 91 - Consequences - III

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The four leaders of the noble families left the meeting room with steady steps, yet bearing the frustration of not having achieved what they desired.

The silence that followed was brief, for the door soon opened again, and four figures entered, each representing one of the most powerful magical towers in Atlas.

The first to enter was Thorgrim Ironvolt, a dwarf with a red beard and eyes that sparked like embers. His affinity with electricity was evident, small bolts of lightning dancing in his hands as he walked. Behind him came Lysandra Maris, a human with silver hair and deep blue eyes like the ocean, representing the water tower. Next was Faenor Lasair, a tall and slender elf, with golden hair and eyes that burned with the intensity of fire. Lastly, Laek Painfang, a beastkin with hawk-like features, whose partially spread wings and sharp eyes made clear his affinity with the wind.

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. The air grew heavy, charged with magical energy, and Selene felt the pressure intensify. She remained seated, her posture flawless, but her eyes glowed with a cold and calculating light.

Thorgrim was the first to speak, his voice deep and full of impatience. "Queen Selene, we've already offered a 50% discount on magical goods for a decade, military support in calamity-class dungeon expeditions, and five years of specialized training for the royal demon mages. What else do we need to reach a damn agreement?"

"Commercial benefits don't interest me, Thorgrim." Selene looked at him, her expression unreadable. "With all the intelligence and knowledge you've gathered over the centuries, you seem to have forgotten how much I despise what you do when you find a 'new toy' you can't understand with your flawed logic," she replied with a sharp tone.

The mood in the room, already tense, worsened further. The brows of the magical tower leaders furrowed, revealing that they remembered past events.

"I was once the subject of experiments in a magical tower. If not for my brother's intervention, I don't even know if I'd be alive today. And you think I'd allow Glenn to go through something similar?" she asked.

"Your Majesty, we understand your concern, but you must consider the value of a single life compared to the advancement of an entire planet. Glenn is an Awakened with three affinities, something never seen before. He could help many who are stuck in the Transcendent rank, and even the Sanctum rank. What is a mere Awakened in the grand scheme of things? What is one life against the progress of an entire civilization?" Lysandra interjected, her voice gentle but carrying an undeniable firmness.

"One life? You speak of him as if he were an object, a resource to be exploited. Glenn is not a tool for advancing your research. And I am determined not to grant a single privilege for your dark desires and personal obsessions."

Faenor Lasair crossed his arms, his voice laced with calculated coldness. "Your goodwill has limits, Queen. If you keep refusing, we have thousands of ways to get what we want. Do you really think you can stop us forever?"

"We've tried to work in good faith with the demon realm, hoping for productive collaboration between our sides, but apparently that's impossible. Let me remind you who we are. Together, we're as powerful as any of your finest royal squads. We have thousands of disciples spread across all of Atlas. And any rumor we spread becomes truth. Swaying public opinion to our side is child's play. We have so many resources that not even the demon empire frightens us," Laek added.

"So drop this stupid stubbornness and accept our terms. In ten years, the magical forces of the demon empire will be ten times stronger than they are today," Thorgrim spat.

It was then that Selene rose, her aura beginning to manifest. The air around her grew dense, and the four representatives felt an oppressive pressure. Their hands clutched the arms of their chairs so tightly that the furniture shattered into thousands of fragments. Each one took a step back. The four tower leaders flared their auras to the maximum.

Selene's eyes glowed with a purple light, and the sky visible through the windows began to shift, turning a deep, ominous violet. Lightning cracked in the sky, and the entire castle structure began to creak. In the distance, the waterfall, always a stunning landscape, froze mid-flow, and the water halted in place. Daylight faded, and sound was muffled by the clash of auras.

"The magical towers seem to have forgotten who I am," she said, her voice echoing like thunder. "If mages can slander the royal court, the royal court can just as easily slander the magical towers and their methods. If a tower can threaten someone to study them, then I can just as well start a war and wipe every magical tower from the face of Atlas."

Selene's aura continued to grow exponentially. A violet light enveloped her body, and as it expanded, threads of golden light began to merge with it.

"If you think only you know how to deal with the dark side of society, you seem to have forgotten my title, and what kind of queen I am."

Selene's feet lifted from the floor, and her body levitated slightly.

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"And my greatest pleasure, the truest joy of my life, is hearing all these threats from the mouths of the most powerful leaders in the world. Now, I have the justification to do whatever I want, and what I want most is to erase those filthy things you call magical towers from the face of Atlas."

Selene's aura overpowered the four leaders, pushing them back, crushing them, forcing them to retreat. Her aura surged, reaching the clouds.

"AGH..." the tower leaders groaned.

"And believe me, I have the power to do it."

Eight black celestial orbs appeared, floating around Selene, each radiating devastating energy. Her appearance changed, her body now covered in a gleaming black armor, a faceless helmet completing the transformation.

Selene's aura was so intense that the four representatives were forced to kneel, their arrogant expressions replaced by pure terror.

"Time seems to have erased your memories of the battlefield." A purple smoke exhaled from Selene's skin, enveloping the four leaders, whose vision instantly blurred, their eyes turning white.

"Did you forget how many mages I wiped out in the last war? How many Transcendents and Sanctums fell before they even realized what killed them?"

Selene's memories began to flash before the leaders' eyes, who struggled with all their might to resist the intoxicating purple smoke, but to no avail. Scenes of mutilated bodies, battlefields completely annihilated, battalions of mages obliterated in the blink of an eye. Everything was red. Everything was hatred. Everything was carnage.

"Second coming of Susanoo," the leaders murmured.

"I could start by killing you right here," she continued, her voice now a deadly whisper. "My skin itches for the blood in your bodies, my hands tremble to rip off your heads right now." A maniacal smile, long hidden, finally surfaced. A completely different Selene had taken control, and her presence was devastating.

From the eight orbs, one advanced, stopping in front of the catatonic magic leaders. Wounds began to form on their faces, but before anything serious happened, a hand rested on Selene's shoulder.

Turning her head, she saw no one. No other presence could be felt. But the touch she had sensed brought her back to herself.

"But I won't do it. Instead, here is my final decision: each tower may make one single request to Glenn. It will be up to him to accept it or not. Any request involving reproduction is strictly forbidden. Furthermore, this will only be permitted once he reaches the Master level, or within a ten-year deadline." Selene's aura slowly diminished until it finally released the four mage leaders.

The representatives exchanged glances, but no one dared to protest.

"No reward will be claimed by the demons," Selene continued, "but a letter will be written and sealed by me, then added to the war record book. It will state that any attack by a tower will result in my personal intervention and the complete annihilation of the responsible tower."

The sound of swallowing echoed through the room. The four leaders had never, in their lives, imagined that their relentless pressure would lead to such an extreme situation. In the most optimistic scenario, they'd leave today with what they wanted, a new anomalous species that could revolutionize magic. In the worst case, they'd lose many resources for decades, but it would still be worth it.

Instead, what they got was the wrath of one of the only individuals in the world who always kept her word. Her promises were never broken, especially those involving death. This dark and furious being was at the peak of the world's power.

They all understood that, if a battle broke out now, even with all four united, it still wouldn't be certain that they'd win. No, the real question was whether they'd even make it out alive.

Thorgrim was the first to lower his head, his voice trembling. "Understood, Queen Selene. We accept your conditions."

Lysandra and Faenor followed suit, while Laek, the beastkin, simply nodded in silence, his wings trembling slightly.

Selene withdrew her aura, the black orbs vanishing, and the sky returning to normal. She sat down again, her armor disappearing as swiftly as it had formed. "Now, leave my presence. And remember: patience has limits."

The four representatives stood and left the room, their steps hurried and disoriented. The tension in the air lessened, but Selene's words still lingered like a shadow looming over them.

In the corridor, the leaders of the magical towers exchanged glances, each wearing the same expression of frustration and fear. They knew that, for now, patience was the best path. But they also knew, the game was far from over.