21. Deceit.

In a red and black themed room, Zeus held an empty glass of wine rocking himself back and forth on a chair staring at the stretching mass of green vegetation below him from the tinted glass windows fixed in the stony walls. The lights were off on the fifth floor of the building as well as on all the rooms that had windows to the outside connecting world.

It has been a rule to lay low and unnoticed by both humans and other creatures and that is why they made their secret haven in carved in the middle of a mountain in the middle of the woods. It was surrounded by magical plants and just as a precautionary measure lights were always off in those places.

"M..my Lord, your medicine is ready." A timid young demon with bob cut stuttered, holding a steaming blue liquid in a bowl in his hand.

Without sparing him a glance, Zeus nodded his head.

"My Lord, does that mean I should bring it over or I should go F myself." Zeus pursed his lips and finally raised his head.

"The nod means yes you should advance and my finger, particularly the middle finger means you should go F yourself, Tom. How many times do I need to have this conversation with you?"

"Yes, master. Right, My Lord. I forgot, it keeps slipping away from my brain." He edged closer.

"The next you repeat that, I'll make sure it's not the only thing that's slipping from your brain."

"It won't happen again, I promise. Here's is your medicine My Lord. You should take it while it's still hot, that'll help loosen your veins. The... Right, I'll stop talking now." He caught himself when Zeus glared at him.

Zeus picked up the bowl and gulped it down. It was a concoction made for him by a witch whenever his energy becomes low, ever after a spell was casted upon him by his own brother. That has been a long time ago, it's been ages since he ever felt the need to use it after he was cured, but now no matter how much he drink, the impact is close to zero.

Dropping the bowl down, he came face to face with Tom's face which was only inches away from his face. The servant straightened up fast knocking off the glasses on his nose. But he still didn't made a sign of moving back.

"What else do you need?"

"My Lord, Sir. About the human girl, your wife, my Lord, I was wondering Sir, why didn't you tell her the truth?" He whispered looking behind him and inching even closer.

"Tell me, Tom, what do you want me to tell her?" He asked slowly and calmly, but Tom knew that whenever he got like this, he is far from calm.

"I..i,"

"Hmm? That I am enslaved to her and she can command me as she wish? Or that she could even kill me off if she put her mind to it? Pray tell, is that what you expected me to do?"

"N...nno my Lord. True, if you put it that way..."

"Which other way do you have in mind?"

"N.. nnothing my lord.... my head was just muddled from the fact that you saved her, twice. And risked your life in the process. You had been stuck for two days...."

"It seems you are still naive even after serving me for so long, Tomas. I do not do things that does not benefit me. I only saved her because if anything happens to her, I'll be equally at risk. Not to mention, those that are after her would use her to get rid of me first. It's only natural that I try to preserve my life through protecting her, don't you think? Although that would only last until the bond is broken."

"Ii..i see, my Lord. As expected of the King, always cunning. B..bbut my Lord, when you were hurt and laid down unconscious on the bed, she was the one that unlocked you. Maybe if.. just maybe, perhaps helping her, it might be a good thing for you too. Anddd...and..not to mention, you've been... I mean single for centuries. No..now,"

"Oh, is that?"

"Just thinking, my lord. Just thinking."

"Whose fault was it that I got hurt?"

"Her's my Lord, totally and completely."

"Good, and I don't mind staying single forever, Tom. Do you have anything against that?"

"No, my Lord. I dare not. My Lord is capable and don't need help from anyone even if he's lonely and have no one to succeed him."

"Good, and that is also why I need to do this," Clutching the servant by the neck, he ripped it's tongue out and tossed it to the floor.

"You know too much, I can't have you babbling it to others." He cleaned his hands on his shirt and stepped on his body groaning in pain on the floor.

"You will heal, slave and when you do, you shall not talk unless I gave you the permission."

He took a tissue out of a drawer and wiped his hand feeling irritated. The slave talk too much, even after constantly reminding him to not be in his presence unless it's absolutely necessary, but his nosiness had the better of him. At some point, the gurgling mediocre demon removed himself from the room. Zeus sighed and whispered to the empty room after some time.

"Leila," A white ghostly figure materialized out of the air and bowed down in front of him. The crippled ghost, which only had from the stomach upwards was clutching a notebook with shaky hand.

"You summoned me my Lord." She said meekly having more composure than the demon that just left, but internally she was frightened beyond repair. Although she wasn't a demon and he shouldn't have power over her, the monster he is have tried every means necessary untill he finally figured out how to torture her.

"Report." He said curtly.

"Yes, my Lord." She began.

"Your energy has lessened again, by another 10 percent. It's close to bridging the transcendental stage. When that happens, my Lord....., When that happens, you would no longer be able to hold out your form for long." She whispered the last part, the book in her hand covering her face like a shield.

"I see. What do you suggest?"

"This servant...this...this servant is ignorant my lord. This servant can only read your energy state m..my Lord."

"How useful. So you are only responsible for bringing me bad news." Leila, along with the blue medicinal concoction were all from the witch.

"N..no my Lord."

"No?"

"I mean y..yess, my Lord."

He hummed and turned around stalked towards her when he noticed the elder standing by the wall. He snared putting down his hand. Seeing his attention was no longer on her, Leila popped away.

"Are you here to curse me too?"

He hooked his lips up in a cold and evil smiled. The witch always pop out unannounced, sometimes surprising him. He hates surprises.

"You should learn to trust your subordinates, my Lord. Some of us truly care about your well-being." He snort and turn back to the window.

"About the girl." The elder continued. "Her energy has purified itself, released the negative energy within her which is destructive. With that release she had gotten stronger, gained more stability which in turns means control. If it reoccurred repeatedly, she'll be able to control the energy and thus control you. That is why you are getting weaker, submitting to her."

"And what have you done about that?" He said with teeth clenched.

"The only solution is to redirect the energy back into her. The more unstable she is, the stable you'll get. We would do that untill we are able to break the bond."

"And?"

"And?"

"Why are you still standing there when you have better things to do?"

"Right, I'll retreat now." She bowed and left. Frustrated, Zeus clenched his fist and rammed it into the wall sending vibrations throughout the mountain.