Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 441 The Ruse Of The Three-Handed Devil

Born from the fiery gaze of the one called the creator, Tamiyaan was amongst the holy few whose existence had grown akin to a god. Many followed, many praised, and none dared to incur his wrath, he was in many ways, a primordial devil–held back only by those who outranked him. Sitting on their thrones with an iron grip, the primordials refused to move and yet the hells moved to their whims.

He wished to taste that power, much like his wish to hoard every treasure of the world in his treasury. From the crystalline body of a cosmic sorceress to world-shattering artifacts capable of sinking islands at ease and continents with leisure. Only held back by his mistrust towards any and all who could guard his artifacts, he mostly rested in his mansion, ever ready to take on an assault even against the gods.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

But today was different, for once he'd left his treasury in the hands of his armies. An army of skinned giants chained to each other, an army of minotaurs kept too long from breeding, and an army of all kinds of monsters turned devils and many races over. However, despite their differences, they held one thing in common, the monsters, these humans, elves and faes, had struck an eternal deal with this man, a man whom they considered their only god in hell.

A man of many talents, a man of many faces, a man whose name was as revered as it was hated–Tariyaan, the devil in the details. He walked and thus the hellscape fell silent. The imps forced their lips shut and the agony of tortured souls halted but for a moment. The cave through which the blood of monsters flooded, he was headed inside with the sole purpose of meeting Libyan.

As he passed the many servants that she'd gathered, he reflected differently in every single pair of their eyes. To some he was a hulking giant with a gaping mouth and needle-like teeth, the others saw him as a gentleman-kind, wearing a suit with a mask and a flamboyant top hat. However, none saw him the same for he was a man of infinite secrets.

"Libyan, my lovely girls, ahaha!" Walking into the throne room decorated with mountains of monster bones each one of whom Libyan had picked her teeth with, Tariyaan stood before the Lamia queen wearing a white mask with a crooked smile. Tapping his curved cane in front, he urged her to shrink from her colossal size and talk to him on equal footing. "Come on girl, remember I can still devour your fucking soul and you'd be gone, ahahaha!"

Like a clown gone insane, he laughed at her, and although staring down at him with nothing but disgust, Libyan knew better than to defy the man who possessed her very soul.

"As you say..." Spitting blood to her side, she emphasized further. "Master."

"You don't need to threaten me, I let go of my daughter's body the moment you walked in," she said, moving his hands off of her sides.

Gasping at her words, Tariyaan covered his mouth.

"Threaten you?! Who dares spread such a rumor!" Grabbing her hand again, Tariyaan pulled them closer to his chest. Shaking his head, he grunted in defeat. "Devils these days? Ahaha~ Always spreading these rumors and all, but don't worry little girl, I won't hurt you much less crush that soul if you misbehave a little, I need you to lead an army of a million imps, after all!"

The man standing before Libyan was far from the most intimidating she'd met. And yet somehow, the flamboyance, the honey-laced threats, and the overall demeanor of pretend likeness left her at a loss as to how to handle him. She wasn't afraid, just uncomfortable, and knowing that full well, Tariyaan showed her kindness through a menacing lens.

"Now then, why don't you have your underlings bring me those barrels of scrolls? They won't mean much but every bit counts when dethroning a primordial, isn't that right?" Laughing behind the mask of many secrets, Libyan for the first time realized that there was strength in speech, it simply depended on how you delivered it.

In Tariyaan's case, it was just...

'Fucking weirding me out.'

She thought and that was exactly his plan.