Today was the final meeting with the representatives from the different council factions and after Emily from Blood Garden dropped in unannounced Lian was nervous, especially since this meeting was with a representative of Gehenna.

  The only reason she agreed to this meeting was to avoid offending Gehenna since demons, like the fae, don’t have a great reputation for being ignored. Though Lugh turned out to be nice, so Lian decided not to judge prematurely and instead to just be weary.

  Like with Lugh, Lian got a meeting room in the GAT guildhall where she sat patiently. When the door opened, she was surprised to see the representative. Lian was expecting someone to look more human despite hearing that demons come in all shapes and sizes.

  The demon that sauntered in had violet skin, with veins glowing acidic green while occasionally pulses with mana washing through them. His scaled tail moved with serpentine grace, and his inky black hair was neatly groomed around his two sets of horns: bull horns at the front and ram horns on the sides of his head. Dark orange eyes, surrounded by a sclera sea of vantablack, pulled her attention to his impossibly perfect, charming face. His smile widened slightly when he saw he had her undivided attention. Adjusting his yellow suit, he sat down across from her.

  “Hello, deary.” He gently pulled Lians hand upwards as he delicately kissed it like he was greeting high nobility. “I am King Asmodeus, and the pleasure is all mine.” His charming smile should have been enough to enrapture Lian, even without his charm-based skills being activated and his charm attribute being suppressed to its limits. The problem was that just like the Blood Garden representative the danger sirens were going off in her head, except this time the sirens were warning her that if angered death was unavoidable.

  “I didn’t realize Gehenna had a king.” Lian couldn’t help but stutter in this situation. While Asmodeus thought that she simply had a good poker face, Lian had been so overwhelmed by his presence that she subconsciously shut down her own emotions to avoid total panic.

  “Kings technically. Nine kings and thirteen very annoying presidents. A couple of other varying nobility, but the point is that I am here to represent one of the strongest factions of the seventy-two nations in Gehenna.”

  Lian took a minute to wrap her head around this. She did not know that Gehenna was in such a chaotic state and as such her interest in possibly joining went even lower. For now, she had simply decided to play along with the smiling king.

  “If you don’t mind me asking how many others you have spoken to?” Asmodeus already knew everything there was to find out about Lian. Her adoption, being stalked, and problematic personality in her youth. The more he learned the more he was curious about her.

  He had decided to come out personally to appease his boredom since it had been a couple of centuries since he left his realm and wanted to stretch his legs a little. When a copy of Lian's system status showed up on his desk he figured teasing her would be fun, and successfully recruiting her would be a nice bonus.

  Now that she was in front of him there was something nagging him about her. Something he was missing. Something that she didn’t know about herself. A single question circled through Asmodeus's mind. ‘What is your lust?’

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “You are the last I’m seeing, though that is because some were rather forceful when trying to meet and recruit me.” Lian did not want to make Asmodeus feel insulted when he had the power to erase her with a thought, but he might have been able to detect a blatant lie, so she decided to skirt around the truth for now.

  “Yes, some of the council factions can be full of themselves. Mind if I ask why they want to recruit you?” He already had a few guesses, but if he could get Lian to say it then it would be easier to pretend to see the real her.

  “Probably the same reason you seem to be interested in me.”

  Asmodeus chuckled at that response. It went to show that even she knew how to play coy to hide information.

  “How many see you? I mean truly see you.”

  Lian shrugged as she thought about it for a second. “About six people. Don’t need more than that.”

  “Hahaha. I bet. Though, doesn’t it feel bad to be underestimated or valued simply because of an affinity? Let’s be honest, your talent lies beyond a simple sin affinity. I will give you all the resources you need to grow in whatever direction you choose.” Towards the end of his little spiel, he gently held out his right hand. He knew mortals well enough to know that most human cultures put significance into the gesture of handshakes. When the hand is offered mortals almost reflexively trust the gesture and are thus prone to trusting the sale pitch.

  Lian was hesitant for a moment. She almost fell for the gesture but pulled herself back as her instincts blared even louder in her head.

  “I do find it funny how all of you can make such tempting offers while being vague on what exactly I get. In the case of Gehenna, I suppose I become a demon. What kind though? What immediate resources would I get?” Lian responded hoping to steer away from being suckered into accepting without any fine print.

  “A cambion. Very few humans can make the full transition to demons so we will turn you into a cambion and from there you will evolve as you get stronger.” Asmodeus said this with a heavy sigh. He couldn’t help but wonder how disciplined she was. If she truly had the lust affinity, then shouldn’t he have already figured out her desire? And if he had then she would have been putty in his hand.

  If it weren’t for being in the GAT guildhall, he would have used his skills to charm her into joining immediately. The guild hall couldn’t stop him from using his skills, but their entire faction would have been alerted to his activity. Like many, he was worried more about them supplying his enemies than being cut off from GAT.

  “But what kind of demon would evolve into after becoming a cambion?” In response to Lian's question Asmodeus just shrugged.

  “On that front, no one can say for sure. It’s more similar to a human naturally evolving into a yokai than a fae evolving. It’s automatically decided based on your actions, personality, and above all your affinities. If I had to guess, then something like a succubus or a jinn.”

  Based on that information Lian had all but decided not to join Gehenna simply because she did not want to take that chance of becoming a succubus. She may have the lust affinity, but she had no intentions of making sex be one of the most important things in her life.

  Asmodeus had picked up on this decision of hers and just sighed internally. If he wanted her to join, then he was going to have to play one of his old games. Just like he did before Solomon had saved Gehenna from collapsing on itself.

  “I believe there is nothing else to discuss.” He stated as he searched his pockets until he pulled out a small box. “If you decide to join then eat this pill. You will turn into a cambion immediately and I will be alerted to retrieve you. If you join us then know that I will stand by your side, loyal and true. Even if you become a hybrid.”

  Asmodeus set the small box down and slid it to Lian before leaving, his smile having shrunk but never gone.