Chapter 188: Ethan's origins, and Adam's case
"Have you been talking about death all the time, almost as if begging for your end, and yet, you question the demon about your journey to hell?" Dante asked, laughing. Adam smiled as he settled into bed.
"What brings you here? I'm sure all those women should be all over you now, wanting to know what happened in these ten years," Adam remarked. Of course, he knew what was going on in his palace, how could he not? One of the Demon Kings was in this place.
"I needed to deal with the issues related to you. I've already arranged the power exchange, centralized the economy in the hands of a competent woman, and killed some of the nobles who were supporting Ethan," Dante said, and Adam seemed quite surprised by the turn of events.
"Hey, don't look at me like that, I'm just ensuring that my future official wife has the best by her side and nothing disturbs her!" Dante said quickly, with a contagious smile that still made Adam laugh lightly.
Adam felt better about this. It was a relief to know that his little girl was safe and had a reliable man by her side, unlike him, who couldn't offer the best support. He wanted her to find someone who would, even if that someone was none other than a Demon King.
"I'm glad my daughter can live peacefully," Adam said, closing his eyes. "But let's be honest, why are you visiting this old rot?" Adam questioned.
"I came to tell you what I did with Ethan and to ask something," Dante said, and Adam opened his eyes, staring at him, waiting for Dante to speak.
"Your son is now on the tenth floor of hell, in the Sanctuary, the last layer of hell created for the Progenitor. He will be tortured until the end of time," Dante said, and Adam nodded. He had no attachment to that child, and he really didn't care after seeing what the one who claimed to carry his blood did to his own kingdom, condemning several people and even killing them as a consequence.
"It seems that doesn't matter. Well, I expected that. This leads me to the question at hand," Dante said, staring at him. "Who is Ethan's mother?" Dante's voice echoed throughout the room. Adam grew slightly grim, but after a few minutes, he spoke.
"Years ago, I ended up getting involved with a woman after a serious fight I had with my first wife, Zayah Luminus," Adam said, and Dante paid attention. "Zayah Luminus, mother of Velryna and sister of Aldria."
"Our relationship lasted a few weeks. I met her in a brothel," Adam said, and Dante's expression quickly turned to disgust. He hated that kind of thing. "Tsk, you disgust me," he said quickly. "I was an immature emperor and didn't value what I had in my hands and by my side," Adam said regretfully. Dante, however, couldn't help but think about how much of a huge idiot Adam was.
Given that he had someone like Aldria by his side, if he knew a Luminus well, like Aldria and Velryna, Zayah was definitely amazing, and this man... "I hate traitors," he thought, bitter about the situation.
"I wish you'd stop looking at me like that, you know? I haven't even started the story, and I'm already being heavily judged," said Adam, and Dante looked at him with an impassive expression.
"Continuing, this woman... she was charming, so charming that I... was mesmerized." It didn't take many words; Dante quickly understood.
"Enchantment," Dante commented, and Adam nodded. "Yes, charm magic. This woman enchanted me into sleeping with her several times, and one day, this happened, Ethan was given to me the last time I saw her in person," Adam concluded, and Dante observed him.
"Did you already have the Hero title?" He questioned, after all, the Hero title proves high resistance to enchantments and against negative statuses like illusions and persuasions.
"Yes, I did," Adam said, and Dante's eyes sharpened. "Tsk, demons are always idiots," Dante said, and Adam looked at him. "Demons?" He questioned, and Dante informed him. "Congratulations, little Emperor, you probably had a child with a woman possessed by a Demon," Dante said with a happy face, and Adam nearly had a heart attack.
"What?" He choked. "And not just any demon, since this woman who ensnared you is probably a high-ranking demon, since... well, you had a hero title and it was completely overlooked by her, so let's assume she's a subordinate of a Demon King, or she could probably be Lust herself, the Capital Sin," Dante said, and Adam couldn't say anything but sigh. "Damn mistake," he commented.
"Well, at least you had a beautiful woman like Velryna, take pride in being the father of that angel," Dante said, and Adam laughed lightly, a smile of pride, but also of sadness.
Dante got up and looked at Adam in a different way; the Emperor noticed and raised his eyebrows. "What's up?" He questioned; he didn't know, but Dante... could see something different with the eyes of a Progenitor.
Adam's soul was cursed. With his hand pointed, he ordered, "Disperse." Unfortunately, nothing happened. "Disperse," he repeated, but nothing came out.
"Tsk, I'm weak," Dante said, and Adam still didn't understand. "What are you doing?" He questioned. Dante ignored him and began to use his demonic energy to try to heal him.
Again, nothing.
"You're a liar, Adam Smith," Dante said, looking at Adam with a serious look. "You've been cursed by something, your vitality has been completely drained, that's why there's no cure, you can't restore vitality with simple cures," Dante said, and Adam again, wordless, couldn't say anything.
"At least now I know the cause of my death, I'm glad it wasn't someone's betrayal..." Adam said, and Dante couldn't help but comment; "Now you have the reason why your 'God' abandoned you, you're corrupted," Dante said, and Adam felt bitter.
"I'll probably go to hell, won't I?" Adam questioned, but Dante just smiled. "I wouldn't leave someone like you in the hell I want to create," Dante said with a smile.
"Spend some time with your family, you have one more day of life," Dante said, and before leaving. "Dante," Adam called him, and he stared at the man.
"Take care of Aldria," he said and added, "I wasn't the best husband, and we didn't have much time for it, but I ask you to take care of her as you take care of Velryna." Dante's eyes slightly trembled upon hearing that, however. "I can promise to take care of her, Adam, not to force your feelings onto me.
I'll do my best," Dante said and left the room, leaving only Adam with a calm expression on his face.
When he left, he encountered Aldria. "You heard everything, didn't you?" Dante questioned, and she nodded. "Make the most of your time, I'll ask Velryna to come spend time with him, and tell her soon that you're her aunt, it's time for her to know," Dante said, and Aldria's calm gaze agreed.
He didn't even give Aldria time to question him about what Adam had said; he just disappeared full of thoughts. Now he had one more clue about his future challenge.
"Tsk, I hate having to clean up Lilith and Lucifer's mess," Dante said, appearing at the top of the palace, which consequently is the highest point in the entire city.
"Let's see if I can find you... you damn bitch," Dante said as he began to search for any trace leading to Ethan, any slight resemblance. His aura spread throughout the city, but he felt nothing.
"Damn it... if this bitch is Lust, she must already be running to Lucifer's arms to tell him what happened here," Dante said and looked up at the sky. "Hey, big guy, if you can hear me. I want an audience," Dante said; however, no one or nothing responded.
"Playing hard to get, huh? Fine, you must be annoyed that I brought your creation back to life," Dante said and looked to the horizon. "If your virtues are in jeopardy, I'll compensate for the help with the orphanage and for having taken away Ethan's blessing, but I want to ask you something, can you ensure Adam's place in heaven?
Even if it's in the first layer, I can't send a man like him to my hell," Dante said, and again, no response.
"Well, I figured as much, I'll speak directly to the Archangel who welcomed Sara; he'll probably be more discerning than you, old weirdo," Dante said and again headed for his wives...
However... some people, or rather... some beings were not at all pleased with his declarations in a quite... unusual place.
"A mere disgusting demon dared to utter such blasphemies against our father? Will you remain silent?!" a man shouted, slamming his hand on the table, completely cracking it.
"Calm down, brother, he's just any demon," a celestial voice came; however, the man did not back down. "Calm down? He insulted our father! Why are you all so passive?" he questioned.
"Quiet," a different voice came, a tall woman with silver hair that subtly captured the light, amber eyes. Her slender and graceful figure radiated; she dressed in fabrics that seemed woven from the stars, something that if a human saw it, they would call it divine.
"Uriel," the man proclaimed. "Are you going to ignore another attack by demons against our father like this?" he totally ignored his brother and looked at the destroyed table. With her eyes shining, she returned to normal, and then, Uriel said to her siblings;
"The Father summons us, it's an important matter involving the demons, including... the New Progenitor of Hell," she said, and everyone looked at her. "What do you mean?" one of the archangels asked.
"You're insulting someone you shouldn't, brother. You've just met the ruler of hell, the problem of the present day, the Celestial Demon of Hell, Dante Scarlet," Uriel said, and everyone looked at her curiously.
"Power shift? I thought Lilith and the traitor were starting to kill each other," one of the brothers said. "That's declared; Lilith has just declared war on Lucifer, and Eva's soul has been stolen. Moreover, this Dante recently killed the former Avarice, who allied with Lucifer," Uriel completed.
"This is..." one of the archangels murmured, and Uriel completed.
"War."