The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 191: The Rite Of First Kill

Chapter 191: The Rite Of First Kill

As the dinner progressed, Rain found himself playing the adult at the table, mostly by quietly waving off the continuous offers of alcohol as he swiftly devoured each course.

He hadn’t thought he’d be that hungry, given he’d had a decent lunch, but somehow the mana-rich foods were just... better. It was like he was feeding his body, mind, and soul at the same time. Each bite was invigorating, and left him feeling like he could do anything...

And the heavenberry wine... One glass had filled him with such a warm glow, he knew that if he had another he would no longer be able to resist the offers of more.

It was a feast unlike any he’d ever had, and it had started with a small amount of fish roe on a slice of toasted bread, held inside of a leaf of dried seaweed. Then there had been a small salad of lush, blade-like leaves with bits of blood-red fruit and nuts. Afterwards, there was a servant for each Executioner who took requests, and Rainier had asked to try a bit of everything. Each time a new course was brought to him, the waiter would introduce it.

"Lightningbee honey glazed thunderhog." "Braised stone dragon in chokevine grape wine." "Devilchicken."

The side items were just as good, and even the bread was baked from grains raised in mana-rich soil. Unfortunately for Rain, he was only able to get through three entrees before dessert started.

"Iced cream, the milk acquired from rumblecattle," the servant said.

Normally, he wasn’t a fan of dessert, so he just asked for whatever Cassie was getting. But when they brought the mounds of multi-colored balls of some substance, he wondered if he’d made the wrong choice...

That is until he tried it.

The substance melted on his tongue, and was so rich and creamy... before he knew it, he found himself scraping the bottom of the bowl.

Cassie looked over from hers and giggled. "Looks like we found something sweet you like," she slurred slightly from the alcohol. She’d been aware of Rain’s aversion to overly sweet desserts, given he often gave her or Ozzy the sweet items from his meals.

"The brown stuff was the best. What was it called again?"

"Oh, that’s chocolate iced cream, sweetie," she giggled. "We always get the best from Thera."

Rain felt a slight guilt as he realized what the meal really was. Conspicuous wealth, taken from all over Ayther while below the life was slowly being choked by the ashfalls of the Eye of Hell. Everything here, except perhaps the monsters, would grow less and less common for them... and the best of it would come here... because Heaven would still be in the best position to produce any food at all.

He suddenly felt both sober and no longer hungry. For the rest of the course, he simply sipped water as he contemplated his realizations. It didn’t feel right to enjoy so much plenty when the excess could help so many people...

Finally, at the top of the hour, the meal ended, and the bottommost floor was cleared of its contents, servants with long brooms pushing any fallen food into a single pile that was then scraped into a bin for disposal.

"What happen to the rest of the food?" Rain asked.

"I don’t know, maybe the servants eat it?" Cassie shrugged. "Why? Hungry for more, Cousin?" she licked her lips.

Were they even really cousins? If so, Rain felt far removed from what he’d thought his heavenly relatives would be like.

Realizing where his train of thought was going, Rain clamped down on the building dissonance, forcing a smile on his face.

"It was a wonderful meal," he said.

As soon as the floor was cleared, the lights suddenly dimmed and a spotlight was shone on the highest tier.

"My House," a man’s voice echoed into the stadium. Rubiel Eros’s voice. "Erosia lar Ayma!"

"Aya lar Erosia!" everyone toasted.

Rain was a bit late, delayed slightly by remembering what that phrase meant. "Lust for life."

"Ironic to have such a motto, no? In a stadium full of Executioners," he laughed and everyone chuckled along. "I am proud to say we have the largest batch of recruits of not only every house in our choir but every house in every choir!" More cheers.

After a moment he waved everyone back to silence. "Now, let us not say that House Eros spends itself on quantity over quality. Work hard, and when we meet the other Houses at the tourney, they will learn that House Eros is the greatest House of all Heaven!"

There was raucous applause, and after much longer time than the first time, Rubiel raised his arms for silence.

"Now. I’m sure you’re all excited for the main event. Tonight, we are blessed to have been provided with a remarkable specimen from the lower world. A tempest roc!"

At the center of the stadium, a platform rose, and inside a cage of magic was a raging giant of a bird, at least six times larger than a normal roc, by Rainier’s estimate. That made its wingspan just half as wide as the stadium’s short side. The bird paced, eyeing the crowd with hatred in its eyes and lightning sparkling between its claws as it tested the wall. Crystalline growths along its body led up and along its beak, and with his manasight, Rainier saw mana surge up to its beak right before it suddenly pecked at the walls of its cage with enough force to generate a crack of sound. It cried in frustration as its efforts, once more, failed.

Rubiel continued, "And having returned from Ayther, my sister Iriel will have the honor of selecting the squad that will face this beast."

"Ohhhh," Cassie giggled, but her mood rapidly dropped. "So that’s why sh-she met with all the squad leaders... She’ll probably pick Jasiel... He alwaysh gets what he wants."

"You want to fight that thing?" Rain asked.

"I want to beat that thing..." she hiccuped a little, still clearly drunk despite Rain’s best efforts. "Beat it right in front of Aunty so she- everyone knows I’m sher- sheri... serioush."

Rain patted her on the back as Iriel took over for Rubiel.

"This beast, I defeated alone," she said. "The squad I pick for the Rite of First Kill must be swift enough to dodge its lightning. Strong enough to endure its winds. And perceptive enough to spy its weakness. If you are not... I will not intervene."

Rain looked around. Plenty of Executioner squads all over the stadium were leaning forward hopefully. Some were patting each other on the backs as they waited. He looked back along his row and saw Jasiel’s team already standing.

He just wanted to make it through the night.

Then Iriel spoke again.

"Cassiel’s Squad. Present yourselves. You fight the beast in one hour."

Almost as one, the entire stadium gasped and murmured as the spotlight fell on Rainier, Ozzy, and Cassie.

Shit, Rainier thought, as he forced his biggest smile yet.

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