The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 377: Romance of Three Kingdoms - Part 2

Chapter 377: Romance of Three Kingdoms - Part 2

Kordia watched with blossoming dread as their plans began to fall apart.

"You cannot, or will not?" Lapins’ fists clenched as she took in her father’s words, speaking so loudly the music ended as the band stuttered to a stop. "Do you even know what I wish to propose?"

"An alliance with Gra’Rhuel is unnecessary and brings us nothing. Heaven wills that Montmorency will stand on its own, and that is exactly what this kingdom will do." The King stood, looking sadly and sternly down at his daughter.

"Even when there’s a better way?" Lapins raised her voice. "I know an alliance won’t help us at this time, but I’m not proposing an alliance," she turned and stepped back, taking Kassin and then Kordia’s hands into hers. "I’m proposing unity."

"What way could be better than what the Son of Heaven himself has given to your people?" A new speaker rose, his words bursting out loudly as he amplified his voice with magic. It was Heaven’s Ambassador, a stalky, gaunt-faced angel with grey hair, red-irised eyes, and white wings, one whose name Kordia hadn’t learned. "You presume above your place, Princess Lapins, but that can be forgiven because you are young. The prizes you have brought Montmorency will be rewarded in due time."

"Prizes?" Lapins gasped.

Hostages. Kordia realized.

The King lowered his head and gestured, and from behind the table, a full squad of knights stepped forward, moving to surround Lapins, Kordia, and Kassin. "Lapins, please step away from them. The Gra’Rhuel royals are our guests, but they will not be permitted to leave."

"You can’t even look me in the eyes, father?" Lapins quivered with anger.

"Don’t make me give the order," he replied. "This was already going to happen after tonight, but you’re forcing my hand."

"Fret not, young King, it is likely that there has been some... corrupting influence from Ambassador Jeviel’s domain." The Ambassador pulled down on his formals, adjusting them. "We can correct her, just as you will correct Norneau when the time comes."

"Father-"

Without another word, the King gestured the guards forward.

As the first stepped onto the dance floor, Kordia dropped Lapins’ hand and stepped in front of her and Kassin, casting up a shield three layers deep, proofed against both magic and physical attacks.

"King Lambert!" she called out, amplifying her voice with magic as the guards halted, unsure of how to continue. "I am Kordia Van Mora. And I did not come here to elope with my fiance. I came to deliver a message. One you should have already received, had you not killed our messenger."

"What messenger? What message?" The Ambassador scowled.

The King, however, raised his head, his eyebrows knitting together as understanding dawned on his face.

Kordia looked at Lapins. "I’m sorry..." she looked down, Lapin’s hip, where she had her storage tattoo.

"I thought he would listen..." she pulled the scroll out of her storage, and handed it to Kordia.

Unfurling the scroll, Kordia read.

"To the leaders of Montmorency, whoever they may be, I, the Duke of Pride, ask only for passage across the Grand Lake for my nation, in exchange for peace and a share of the prosperity to come to this corner of the world. We shall await your response on the Grand Lake’s northern shore and we welcome negotiation."

Kordia opened her shields and tossed the scroll out, where it clattered onto the wooden floor.

A simple message, with complex implications. Kordia had counseled Kir against insulting King Lambert with his opening, but Kir had insisted, stating that Lambert likely wasn’t in charge if he was destroying his own land to appease Heaven.

She knew Kir was holding back; that he knew about the abuses being suffered by slaves and common folk to make the exploitation of Montmorency possible. He was setting aside his principles and desire to act in order to protect the nation he’d assumed responsibility for.

"Pride..." the Ambassador snarled as a guard stepped forward and picked up the scroll, bringing it to King Lambert. As the King read, the Ambassador continued, "If Gra’Rhuel has thrown its lot in with demons, then the end of you beasts is more than due."

A clatter of plates sounded as Jassiel stood and stepped onto the table before hopping down with a slight flare of his wings.

"Finally, something to do." He drew a halo out of his storage and hovered it over his head. Reaching up, he slowly drew down a weapon Kordia recognized. A black blade of anti-magic, far more solid than the one she’d seen wielded by Rainier years ago.

She watched in horror as he approached, slipping the tip of the blade into her first shield. When he saw that only a single hex died beneath the tip, he slashed outward, carving out a long slice.

"Don’t hurt Lapins!" Queen Linda cried out, her husband holding her by the arm a moment later as he quietly watched the scene unfold.

"Wait!" King Lambert said to the Ambassador, "Give them a chance to surrender."

Jassiel ignored them, sneering at Kordia through her shields as he carved his blade through her second shield.

"There can be no peace or surrender for those who cast their lot with Hell spawn," the Ambassador said. "That is the will of the Son of Heaven." Jassiel paused to look at the Ambassador, who gave him a nod. "Break their magic. Leave them alive."

Jassiel grinned and carved upward through Kordia’s final shield.

"Now who’s first..." he jeered.

"No one," Lapins replied, blasting him backward with bands of magic that carried aspects of the four base elements.

Strike after strike flew at Jassiel, who shielded himself quickly but held his sword forward, letting it absorb the spellfire as he reached with his other hand and started to squeeze the local magic around the edge of his blade, concentrating Lapin’s magic into the black flame until she finally ended her spell, realizing how little she was accomplishing.

"And here I thought mortal princesses were supposed to be demure," he sneered.

"I’m going to drop the shields," Kordia warned. "Remember when we sparred in Amrita?"

"I remember you turning all foxy and nearly throwing me off the tree," Lapins answered.

"What are you talking about?" Kassin asked.

"Go for the window," Kordia said as she drew fully on the magic in the air, only managing to condense two silvery fox flames as she absorbed what she needed to transform. Silver fur grew over her skin. Her face lengthened and her tails flared out.

The silver edge of her mana aura thickened, becoming visible around her as she opened herself to her bond with Silver -

Pain.

Claws.

Teeth.

Flashes of lightning.

The moment Silver’s power flowed across the distance between them, Kordia fell to one knee, her body spasming with the agony transmitted across the bond.

"No, Kit! Do not need me now!"

The connection reversed. Power fled from Kordia as Silver pulled back more than what had been taken.

She was left gasping for breath, clutching her chest where she’d felt the worst of the clawing pain. Silver was in trouble... And she was...

Jassiel burst out laughing. "Is that all?"

Behind Kassin and Lapins, the guards had gathered, Captain Lacelotte blocking the window herself.

"Lapins, please," the Captain called out. "You don’t have to fight."

Jassiel raised his sword.

BANG!

From across the room, a sudden clap of sound preceded the red explosion of Jassiel’s hand.

The wolfkin merchant was holding his staff strangely, the top half of it seeming to flow along his shoulder as his clothes seemed to retreat from existence. He began to grow, until with a slight pop a ring on his finger broke, revealing that underneath the disguise was a demon in full warform, holding not a staff but a rifle.

Kir!

Kordia resisted the urge to call out his name as he stepped heavily onto the stage, a mask over his mouth as he loomed almost four measures tall.

Shifting Kangetsu into a sword, he swatted aside the guards who attacked with tail, claw, and blade, letting them recover as he stepped in to defend them.

"Greetings," Kir said, his voice booming in the hall as he amplified it with magic, above the shouts and cries of the guests.

"Ghostheart..." Jassiel hissed as he backed away, clutching a hand that now sported a large hole and two missing fingers.

"I am known as Ghostheart," Kir confirmed. "And now the Duke of Pride." Soul-bound metal slipped down the rifle, producing a long bayonet of kiralloy that began to bristle with frost. "I wish no battle with you or your kingdom. Leave me and mine alone. Allow those who have aided me to leave, and you will have peace."

The King looked past Kir at Lapins, a look of betrayal on his face. "Why have you done this?" he half-whispered.

Lapins opened and closed her mouth, unable to summon an answer.

The Ambassador’s gaze snapped to the stunned King, before he cast his red gaze about the room. "What are you waiting for? Everyone attack!"