Ch 10 - Pride's Return

This kiss felt like none of the previous ones. My heart was beating on my throat. This was not the cute girl who saved my life, this was the love of my life. This was my foster sister whom I cherished ever since we met for the first time. This was my woman. There was no space in either's mind for any indecent thoughts, instead, our hands caressed each other's face and nape while we indulged in each other's embrace. Her body touching mine as our mouths connected for a long time. It hurt knowing all I'd been losing for all this time. How many years had it been since we last saw each other, how many thousands of them. How many lives had I gone through and reincarnated without her having a single change to intercept my soul like this time. How hard had she tried for these last hundred years. I could barely fathom the effort she had put into finding me and there's no way I could've hoped for a woman better than her.

She was my all. And I was hers. The prideful existence that stood atop of all others, yet lowered itself to stand by my side.

After a while, Lue parted our kiss, holding my hand as she turned towards the dark tunnel which now no longer looked as dark.

"We really need to go, things don't look well around here, my people need me." She said, turning towards me once again before pulling me by the hand.

I followed her through the uncountable windings of the underground system. I could see as she chose the path with certainty as we passed over a dozen intersections, and soon enough, after almost half an hour, we reached a large spiral staircase.

"I'm sorry, we need to climb this, it's very long." She kissed my lips once again, before starting to climb the seemingly infinite staircase. I lost count of how many steps we'd climbed after around two thousand, yet I still could not see the end of it. The staircase spiraled again and again in an almost unending loop for another half an hour at least, until it abruptly ended into a wall.

Seeing what had happened before I awaited with anticipation for a fanciful casting, but contrary to my expectations, Lue said a single word in a domineering tone.

"Aperire."

And the wall disappeared as if it were only an illusion. In front of us a large room. The level of detail and luxury in this room was something I had never seen in my entire life. A huge conference table made out of ebony, with details in ivory and gold occupied its center, large enough to fit the twelve Iyrin under her rule, the emperor of the west, who commands his 200 legions and Luecifer's other generals. But now, it's abandoned ever since she vanished. And further into the room above a raised platform, lies a throne made out of solid gold, overseeing the table and looking onto the balcony, that leads to the view of the whole principality. Embedded onto a Carrara pedestal, is a sceptre, made out of gold and amethysts, The Sceptre of the Commander of All Legions, that who oversees the pride of creation, Luecifer herself. The girl slowly walked towards the throne, and as she reached her hand for the scepter, the large doors that led into the room opened with a bang, a dozen soldiers bursting through while yelling.

"Stop the imposter! She wants to pretend to be our lord!" A voice yelled behind the soldiers. It was not hard to imagine this was a stooge for Amaimon inside the army. I stood in shock staring as they poured into the room, while Lue nonchalantly pulled the scepter. As soon as she removed it from its pedestal, the room was flooded by an overbearing light that blinded all inside, until a scream resounded. Powerful enough to drop all soldiers to the ground, soiling themselves in fear.

"FOOLS!"

I looked back to see her dressed in a way I'd never imagined. Her purple dress fluttered about, golden threads marking all of the hems and creating an image of a royalty, no, an overlord. The scepter glowed in an ominous dark purple, almost black, contradicting the very concept of what light even looks like. Her image was enough to inspire fear into the bravest of all men, while also instigating the most profound admiration and desire. An image worthy of Pride Itself.

"Shall Th'all be damned for falling under such cheap stratagem."

A man could be seen shivering with his eyes wide, one with enough knowledge would've realized was an incubus under Asmodai.

"YOU! Tell my sister I will not forgive her for once again siding with that spineless usurper! Tell her I'll have her crawl under my feet for this!"

"Hiiiiie~!"

And Lue knew this very well, making the grown up demon shriek in fear as it ran away to deliver the message.

"Now, let's fix all of this." She muttered as she slowly made her way onto the balcony. I stared at her back in awe, only able to imagine what she would do. But I was yet to fathom the size of her power.

"Thy Suzerain has returned! And listen to his words!"

Her voice echoed over the whole principality, all demons leaving their homes and businesses to look straight into the castle as the city walls emitted dark miasma notifying about the importance of the words.

"Thou who betrayed thy allegiance shall be judged under thy guise. And ruin shall befall thou who conspired against the stability and peace of thee."

Demons shuddered in fear as the words imprinted the weight of pride onto their soul, a weight which they had not felt in over a full century, enough for almost half of the daemons to not have ever experienced it, some collapsing unconscious right there and then.

"And no mercy shall be given, for those found in such conspiracy. But not to those around them."

Lue softened her tone, standing silence for a second before speaking one more sentence, the weight of her past words nowhere to be seen.

"I've returned."

Ovation exploded over the whole principality, demons crying their happiness for the return of their ruler. And with the choir of laudation, she turned back towards me, walking back in.