Chapter 15: Part 14 - Surrender?
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***
Dilor Balam is the head of House Balam, nicknamed the Stone Demon, known to all for his incredibly strong body that can withstand concentrated demonic energy right up to the neck.
He fought many battles in the War of the Three Factions, or as it is known, the First Great War. He fought under the command of his masters, with the head of the subordinate Lamperouge Pillar in pairs, or alone, where there is only you and your army that you are in charge of.
Dylor had to admit to himself that things were simpler in the First Great War. The enemies were Angels, the Fallen, and you had to destroy them. Now...
The intrigues of the Pillars, the distrust of your own allies, the machinations of the Highest behind everyone's back, where everyone is only looking to benefit themselves. Even when Dilor was young and his father took him to the first battle where Lucifer was at the head of the legions, Balam realised one simple thing.
Their society is rotten...
And that rot hasn't gone anywhere, even after the past War, where some Pillars earned themselves a lot of economic support from others, influence, money and other things. Even after all that they had all gone through together - suffered the loss of loved ones, friends, comrades in arms - even after that they continued to play to the public and expand the influence of their Clan.
Dilor went away and didn't show his face in high society, even when he was invited by Lucifer himself, he didn't arrive at his invitation. Outrageous, the Highs probably thought so, but it made them feel good. Why, it was a great show, when one of the Demons defied Lucifer, even if virtually. But a little later, the Lord of Hell came to Dilor.
He came. Himself. Lucifer! This news so shocked Dilore that he spent half the conversation mumbling something incomprehensible. But he clearly remembered the last words of the Lord of Hell:
- There are not many like you left, but... - Lucifer stopped, looking directly into Dilor's eyes, - I am glad that even if few people remember the concept of Honour and Dignity, but they are there. So, everything will be fine...
After that evening, Balam made a decision. He would accept his birth, his status, and continue to live as the Supreme. He will fight for the people, the common people who don't care about your merit and status. They only want to live happily under the sky of the Underworld.
For many years Balam invited the Inferiors, as well as the homeless and other marginalised people to his lands, saying he would find something for them to do. And they felt happy, and Dylor was warm inside. It is said that Demons have no soul, but if there is no soul, then there is no emotion. No emotion, no life.
That's not true, which people invented to shut society's eyes to their crimes. People in the Church do the same thing. They pray to their protector God, but behind the beautiful speeches there is a rapist that hides behind his Title and uses little children. There have been many cases...
But looking at the bright smiles of the demons, in the territory of his House, Dylor realised that there was hope....
For change...
The territory of his House was like a different world, cut off from hardship and misfortune.
And when one day the Supreme came to him with the words:
- I want to change the whole world. And the Revolution, which I will carry, will affect absolutely all lands of the magical world. No more inequality, where only Title will decide everything. No more useless deaths for the sake of their masters. There will only be a utopia in which we will all live happy lives.
He immediately agreed then to become a vassal of Rod Lamperouge, for he saw...
in his eyes that he was telling the truth.
Since then, Rod Balam has been the vassal of Lamperouge.....
Such thoughts were in Dilor's mind during the battle with Tsufame Teleak Leviathan's troops when those surrounded them...
Why did he remember it now? He doesn't know...
About two hundred demons of various Classes and hundreds of dragons were now fighting shoulder to shoulder with their Lord. Behind them was a ledge that only led to the earthy peaks near the Jade Mountains. To the left was the forest where the demonic animals tamed by the descendants of the Firsts sat, and to the right was the ruined small fort that had previously housed all those who were now surrounded.
Dylor raised both hands and struck the ground with all his might. From where he struck, spears rose up from the ground towards the enemy. The Demon who was fighting back immediately spread its ten wings and dodged the attack.
- F-Realised! - shouted Demon-Slug Leviathan, -You lowlife should sit quietly in your filthy manor and beg the Lady to forgive your rebellion! YOU SHOULD ALL BE BEGGING US FOR MERCY!!!!! - Was in a complete frenzy Demon, causing his Aura to burst out of his body.
- Mr General! - shouted one of Dilor's subordinates, heading together with several Demons straight towards him, despite the powerful Demon Aura, -We will help....
- NO! EVERYONE STAY IN FORMATION! - Shouted to all the troops Dilor, who had cleared the 'alien' Aura from the others with his Aura, -You are my warriors. I will not allow you to engage in a losing battle. Your job now is to protect the Lord, not me,' Dylor pointed at Lelouch, who was now standing next to Tsufame Teleak Levifan and talking about something.
- N-No General! We...
- SILENCE! THIS IS AN ORDER! OBEY IT IMMEDIATELY! YOU ARE WARRIORS, NOT ROAD GIRLS. Dilor cut him off and turned back to his opponent, who stood grinning contemptuously.
- E-YES!' the demon who had spoken replied with a grimace, and with the others they moved away to set up a barrier.
- Scum. They don't even know their place under the 'new' command,' spat out the Demon-Slug Leviathan, 'When the Mistress gains the upper hand and then smashes your main troops from behind, we will punish you despicable ones! - began to laugh with a mad grin at the Demon, but Dilor did not react in any way, but stood stone-faced...
Inappropriate pun...
- I won't let you,' Dylor said calmly, getting into a fighting hand-to-hand stance.
- Huh, who told you I was going to stop you, you lowlife,' the Demon asked with a snide grin.
It took Dylor a second to realise what was happening, after which he rushed out of his seat with wide-eyed surprise.
- LORD! IT'S A TRAP-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A! - Shouted Diloru, unfurling his eight wings, heading towards Lelouch.
Lelouch turned around at the shout with a confused look, and only after a moment did it dawn on him. A barrier had been placed around him, completely blocking magic, and from the ground came a sling that grabbed his body parts. He didn't even have time to activate Gias as the attack was unexpected.
From above, a huge water projectile flew straight at Lelouch, which carried a huge Force.
Han, who was standing nearby, also turned round at the shout and had already sent his sand towards his Lord, but he couldn't get off his seat as he was attacked by a company of Demons before Lelouch's attack.
His Black Sand didn't manage to reach Lamperouge's head in time, but only managed to grab his leg. Khan sharply clenched his right hand, which he used to manipulate the sand, and jerked sharply, but it didn't help....
Dilor created a denser armour from the earth elemental, pouring all his energy into it, and rushed towards Lelouch.
There was a deafening explosion, forming a whole funnel. Because of the smoke, no one could see what happened there. The entire battlefield was frozen in silence. All eyes turned towards Lelouch.
- Oh, someone died out there. And that, Abyss, is not you, you lowlife Bael,' Tsufame chirped cheerfully, gesturing with her hands.
The restraints that held Lelouch loosened, and a bloody body was in his arms....
Dilor, with terrible wounds and burns all over his body, was bleeding profusely. Blood was pouring from almost every part of his body, and Balam was spitting it out to make room in his mouth.
Lelouch held the bloody body of his Servant-General with his eyes wide open. His hands were trembling and his lips could not utter a word....
Lilac eyes filled with tears, meeting Dilor's black eyes...
- G-Master... so... You're alive... - D-Dilor wheezed, spitting out blood once more.
- D-Dilor,' Lelouch whispered faintly, tears streaming from his eyes.
Behind them, the battle continued, and all sorts of shouts and screams filled the battlefield. But to them, it was all just the echoes of some noise, as if they were in a dome....
- I...want to say something...' Dilor spoke, and then Lelouch shuddered as if from some memory and put his ear to the Servant.
- Why...Why...' Lelouch said through tears.
- W-You...are worthy of becoming...,' Lelouch didn't hear what he said, 'My L-Lord. - Dilor raised his bloody lips.
- No... Dilor!' Lelouch began to use healing magic himself, as he didn't have a fighter with Twilight Healing right now. He was in the second army commanded by Venelana.
- Whichever path you would have taken...I still...supported you...and even there...I won't leave you...' one of the Lamperouge Generals wheezed his last words, closing his life-weary eyes for good....
Those who had not participated in the battle so far were unable to stop their tears, and the Demons of the enemy army also stopped after a while to give them time...
- What are you standing up for! - Tsufame exclaimed as she looked at her troops, -Go! Smash the army of these pathetic sheep!
But all the Demons in her command stood still and looked at their opponents with a sad look....
Do demons have a soul? If a human were to see such a sight, he would answer that.....
- Tz, scum,' Tsufame spat out, after which her eyes turned bright blue for a moment....
And her army's eyes became identical to hers for a moment...
- GO!
- FOR THE STATE!
- FIGHT!
The demons lashed out at their opponents with an incredibly savage ferocity, tearing them to pieces...
They...they're all...my subordinates....
And me... this didn't happen when I was Emperor and Zero...
Well, it did, but...
Not as painful...
- Have I...changed? Or has this world I live in changed? - Lelouch said quietly, closing his eyes.
- Hey, I can't hear you, you lowlife Bael. You're lucky that plebe is dead...' before Tsufame could finish, she was interrupted by Lelouch's voice, cold to the point of goosebumps.
- Kill! - Lelouch said without activating Gias, looking straight into Leviathan's cheerful smile.
But after his words, a gunshot rang out a second later....
The bullet flew straight into his temple, coming out the other side of his skull...
After the shot a second later, the body of the First Leviathan's descendant was burning with green flames....
A hit from a Cursed Bullet would leave no one alive....
Such a bullet could fatally wound even Dragon Emperors....
- I apologise for my tardiness, My Lord,' came a sad and aged voice in Lelouch's head, 'It was my fault. I am willing to bear...
- No, Eitmore,' Lelouch cut him off, 'It is not your fault...only mine...only mine....
After his own words, Lelouch exploded with Aura, unknowingly putting on his Wind Armour and tearing apart all the Demons that stood next to him and the corpse of Leviathan. Lelouch's Aura threw all the enemy combatants back dozens of metres...
- You're all... DYING! - A huge tornado struck the sky, forming dozens of lightning bolts that raced towards the enemy troops.
— А-А-А-А-А-А-А-А-А-А-А-А-А-А-А!!!
***
Not far from the soaring island of Agares. The castle of House Bune, one of the members of the Resistance.
There were six High Demons sitting at a huge round table. Those who would take part in the operation to liberate the fortress city of Lilith. When the last guest of the meeting entered the room, he immediately saw an empty seat in front of him.
- You are late, Lord Lamperouge,' Lord Agares said with a stone face. He was dressed in dark blue noble robes with green piping and a long black shirt collar.
The Supreme's red eyes intently watched the calm movements of Lelouch, who was dressed the same as he had been at Sasex's reception.
- 'I apologise, there was a problem with the army's supply,' Lelouch said and sat down in the empty chair where Serafall sat to his left, who asked the next question.
- What kind of problems? - Serafall asked her question, which was of interest to everyone present.
Lelouch in response to this question began to stare defiantly at her revealing pink dress. Serafall only grinned smugly and squirmed in her chair so that Lelouch could see her firm thighs and perfectly round breasts.
Lamperouge, on the other hand, paid no attention to the judgemental and strange looks from the other Highs. After a few seconds of staring, Lelouch hummed and looked away, and then decided to answer.
- You all know very well that we can't supply the entire army on festrals or through spatial storages,' they all nodded in agreement, 'I decided to look into the matter further and realised that there is a river here.
- И? What river? - asked the head of the Bune Clan, sitting on the other end of the table opposite Lelouch. Their Pillar's ability is that they can transform their body into that of a Dragon.
Due to this, they can become a key figure on the battlefield, for any Dragon is worth a dozen fighters. That's why Lord Bune was dressed in special spacious brown clothes that wouldn't tear during Dragonisation.
- It's faster, cheaper and more convenient to get resources across the river,' Sazex answered instead of Lelouch, putting his hand to his chin as he sat next to Serafall, 'I know of only one river nearby, the Tiras, but it doesn't reach our allied Pillars.
- It doesn't,' Lelouch continued to smile contentedly, 'Remember, Sazex, the geography of Hell, or did Zeotikus not take care of your training?
- No, my father gave me an excellent education,' Sazex didn't show his slight irritation, "But please, don't mention my father just because you couldn't share a girl," Sazex said with a hint of sneer.
- You'll get to that point one day, Sazi,' Lelouch said, and Sazex's eyebrow twitched slightly at the new reference, "When you realise that only one girl can be your heart for the rest of your life," Lelouch sighed, remembering Venelana.
Lord Agares and Bune hummed to themselves after Lelouch's short speech, but even so they were heard.
- Ahem,' Serafall coughed, 'I think we should continue to talk about supplying the army, not what you men think.
- You shouldn't say that, Serafall,' Lelouch addressed those younger than him by name to tickle the nerves of the young demons who felt too important, "Or is that how you remind yourself of Daniel?" he said quietly. - Lelouch asked quietly so that only she could hear.
She opened her beautiful eyes wide and stared at Lelouch in horror, her whole body shuddering.
- How... HOW DOES HE KNOW?! It's Rod's secret. I've only told Sasex, Ajuk and Falbium! - Serafall's thoughts were jumbled, so she didn't control her facial expression until she was called out.
- Sera,' she flinched again and saw Sazex's concerned face. - Is everything alright?
- Y-Yes,' Serafall mumbled, her body shivering, 'I-I just remembered something....
Those who had noticed that Lamperouge had said something quietly to Sitri only looked at Lelouch and Serafall in bewilderment.
- 'Well, I'd like to hear more about the army's supplies, Lord Lamperouge,' Sazex said, settling back into his seat.
- 'Of course...' - Lelouch said.
But then a voice was heard in Serafall's head, causing her to flinch again....
- You better not play with me, girl.
- ...the Tiras River ends near the Blood Lake, which is in my vassals' territory, so my subordinates just made a new path from the river to the lake,' Lelouch continued as if nothing had happened.
- I mean, the last food we got...' began Lord Agares, probably the single most senior in their company, sitting to the left of Lord Bune, but he was interrupted.
- Yes, Lord Agares. These supplies were not from the Resistance's warehouses, but so far my vassals.
- But will they be able to supply us over the long term? - questioned Falbium, the chief strategist of the Civil War and de facto commander-in-chief of the entire Resistance army.
- After the new river route was built, I was just in the process of making sure that the goods would be transported steadily along it. But that's not the only reason I was late...
- Let's say we have no questions about the first reason. The new river route will allow our army to march across the entire front along the Tiras. But what's the second reason? Has something happened? - asked Lord Fenex, the son of Raychem Fenex, who was a full copy of him, but with short blond hair, and who would soon be one hundred and fourteen years old.
- Rizevim Lebanon Lucifer attacked the main supply roadblock on the other side of the Peak Hills, and he has it under his control now,' Lelouch said, and then the hall fell into silence.
No one was panicking, or showing panic, but contemplating what to do next.
- Maybe it's for the best,' Falbium's eyes turned towards them, 'He had to go around the Peak Hills to make that manoeuvre, which means he spent most of his forces in the fortress on that march.
- That's right,' Lelouch smiled, after which the incomprehensible gazes turned to him, 'So I propose to you, Gentlemen, an extremely simple and effective plan....
Goosebumps ran through the bodies of those present after Lamperouge spoke:
- I'll surrender myself as a prisoner...