Son of the Hero King

Chapter 755: Information

All the Pedestrians surrounding them stopped in unison. Until now, the conversation between Pandora and the Old Demon had been blocked. Now, however, even without hearing any words, they could see the old and feeble man kneeling in front of the young and vigorous man— a scene so contrasting that all of them had to stop in their tracks, no matter who they were.

Sensing the stinging look of disdain and confusion being directed from all over the place, Anubis could only facepalm, feeling rather indignant.

“Pandora. Cover us with your illusion.”

“Understood, sir.”

Pandora, while bewildered by the ancient demon’s grovelling, still nodded and immediately covered the entire gate with her illusion.

From the perspective of the citizens, the last few moments seemed to have been nothing more than a mirage, a hallucination of their minds, nothing of consequence. Thus, they simply went back to their activities as they entered the gate. For all her clumsiness and downsides, Pandora was still a being in the King realm, and one of the most powerful King-level beings to boot, and her mastery had only grown ever since she joined the Tower.

After making double sure that she also erased the memories of the encounter from the people’s minds, she gazed back at the old, pitiful man who was still bowing so low she could see the crown of his head. His forehead was perfectly kissing the ground, and his two knees were bent perfectly in the most perfect enactment of grovelling that she had ever seen in her life.

Pandora could understand kneeling in front of someone stronger. She could even understand begging for their life.

However…

Still…

Was this not going a bit too far? Especially for someone of the ancient demon’s stature?

She was feeling utterly lost in the moment. She felt as though she were a little girl, discovering the tumultuous lies that the adults had hidden about the world.

The Old Demon, or better known as the Old Ancestor of the Demons, was perhaps the source of one of the greatest traumas in Pandora’s mind. A demon who had discarded his very name and only lived in the depths of the Royal Family, lying in patience like a looming guardian deity.

A man who witnessed the Demon Empire at its peak and had also survived its fall. He was both an object of fear and reverence for her. He was also a myth and a legend for all the young demons that treaded the modern Mortal Realm.

Though the old demon would sometimes joke about how much of a coward he was, she had always taken his words as nothing but the humble jest of an ancient being. After all, the Ancestor had not cowered even before the Goddess of Envy. While he respected Invidia, he did not fear her, and even the Supreme Daughter was merely his equal— despite the fact that the ancient demon had already lost his path to Godhood.

For all intents and purposes, he truly was one of the highest powerhouses of the Mortal Realm.

So how could such a man truly be a pathetic coward?

Such a notion was simply incomprehensible to her.

However, that very nonsense was being played out before her.

The regal image of him that stayed rooted in her mind for all her life… had shattered in all but an instant.

“Hah… You should look at the face of Pandora. Seems like your pathetic display destroyed any respect she had for you.” Anubis sneered as he placed his foot on the Old Demon’s head, pushing his face further into the ground. However, the man showed no rejection— not even the simplest sign of resistance.

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“There is no shame in bowing to a man such as you, Your Majesty. Please do not sully your esteemed feet by touching my dirty body.”

“Heh, are you telling me what I should do?”

“I would never dare. A direct contact with you is simply too much of an honor for your faithful servant.”

Anubis’ face briefly contorted in disgust. If the man had been lying or acting, he would have found it admirable. People who could hide their indignation through the humiliation they received and bide their time to strike and crush their enemies, answering the humiliation back a hundredfold, were truly a fearsome bunch. They invoked a sense of admiration from the depths of one’s soul.

But as someone who could read the very essence of souls, Anubis could say without a shadow of doubt that there were no lies in the old coot’s words. There were no signs of hesitation nor any deception, just plain truth that resonated with his belief.

The man was truly bowing and yielding to Anubis from the bottom of his heart.

“Tsk. Bullying you isn’t fun. Rise.”

He took his foot from his head, and all the old man did was,

“I am grateful for your mercy.” He slowly stood up but still kept his head low. As if looking at Anubis directly with his eyes was something he could not dare to do.

Anubis shook his head. It had been so long. But he remembered now. The reason why he spared this man back then.

When Anubis stormed the Demon King's castle with Echidna and Ambrosia, he had been ready to raze everything and everyone to the ground, turning them all into dust. Only a few of his most loyal servants were spared. As for those related to blood with this body, he made sure to kill nearly every last one of them with his own hand.

Be it then or now, he felt no regret for the massacre he caused. They were not family. Merely strangers who shared blood ties with him.

Of the few he did not kill, this old coot grovelling before him was the most memorable one.

This was undoubtedly the most shameless and cowardly bastard he had ever seen in his entire life.

Had he been weak, it would have been one thing. But Anubis distinctly remembered that he had been the most troublesome one to fight after his progenitor, the Demon King.

How in the hell someone like him became a Demigod in the first place was beyond his understanding.

But in a way, perhaps the fact that he was so clear about his desire and his own heart was why he could advance to such heights.

“Can you still use your concept?”

“Surely, you jest, Your Majesty. You personally destroyed my Territory, erased my Name, broke my Horn, and twisted my Veins. I am now nothing but a poor cripple shamelessly clinging to life and an old ghost of a now forgotten glorious past.”

“The way you talk makes me look like a terrible man. Do I need to remind you that you were the one who proposed those measures in exchange for your pitiful life?”

“And I am forever grateful for your magnanimity.”

“Hum…” Anubis mused, scanning the demon up and down, scrutinizing every aspect of the cowardly ancient demon. No matter how he looked at it, the old man was truly crippled from head to toe. The only reason he was still alive was because of his innate vitality as a True Demon and the little divinity he cultivated as a Demigod before his fall.

“You make me uneasy. I truly want to kill you right here and now.” Killing intent started brewing in Anubis’ eyes.

“....”

“Why aren’t you saying anything this time around?”

“I know that mere words cannot change your opinion. Once you decide to kill me, you will act.”

“What will you do then?”

“I want to live. But in front of you, any form of struggle is useless. I would simply destroy my body in a massive explosion and flee to the Divine Realm with my soul. Though it will be a shame, I am sure the goddess would allow me to stay at her side as a reward for my service.”

“So this is why you have been slowly gathering the small amount of energy you have remaining.”

“A cornered rat will bite a cat after all. Letting my soul fall in your hands would be the end. It would be worse than death; at least there is some form of rest there.”

“Heh… Truly a coward, but not a complete buffoon, it seems.”

“I am sorry to contradict you, Your Majesty, but I am quite stupid. I should have listened to my intuition and not approached this place in the first place. Who would have thought I would face you?”

Anubis scoffed. “You should be grateful you faced me. If it were the boy. Losing your body or soul would be the least of your worries.”

“Is that so…?” The Old Demon did not ask if Anubis was exaggerating. Anubis was one of the strongest beings in the whole universe. For him to say something like that could only mean one thing and one thing only…

“Well. It seems like the Supreme Daughter will fail in her endeavor.” Taking a peek at Pandora, he smiled. “Your bet this time was the correct one. Congratulations.”

“Keep your flattery to yourself. All I want is for my daughters to be safe,” Pandora eeked out somewhat emotionally.

“They will be. I can promise you. I have no intention of provoking His Majesty's respect.”

Pandora sneered. She found it somewhat irksome how the Old Demon still called Anubis Majesty, while showing not even the minimum level of respect to her. However, she understood that in his eyes, she was simply no threat to his life.

“Now that the issue had been dealt with, mind telling us why all the Supreme Daughters are sending proxies in Lustburg?”

“Of course.” The Old Demon nodded, “The reason is simple. For one, they wish to meet the new Supreme Daughter of Castitas. The investiture of a new Supreme Daughter is a very important event.”

“Cut the bullshit. What is the true reason?”

The Old Demon smiled thinly. “A Divine Beast will descend in Lustburg. As for who it would be… It’s quite evident, wouldn’t you say?”

Anubis mouthed, speechless at this bombshell of a news, “Asmodeus.”