The Devouring Dragon-Chapter 68: The Youkai Queen

"Why are you here, Ajuka Beelzebub?" Yasaka asked bluntly, her expression guarded as she sat across from the green-haired superdevil.

"Is it wrong to have a diplomatic meeting, Youkai Queen Yasaka?" Ajuka smiled pleasantly back at her, his expression not breaking as he sat across the table from the Youkai Queen.

The duo were sitting on rather large pillows on the floor, which were within a temple-like room. The room was temple-like because they were actually within a temple - more specifically, the temple in Kyoto where Yasaka spent most of her time, and where she and her daughter, Kunou, lived.

"If it were a diplomatic meeting, then I'd be speaking with Serafall Leviathan," Yasaka countered, as Serafall was the Maou in charge of foreign affairs, "And you devils have never been very diplomatic before."

While the West Youkai Faction, which was home to the majority of the living Youkai, wasn't at war with the devils, it wasn't a stretch to say there were tense relations.

"We can put the past behind us," Ajuka just continued to smile pleasantly.

"That's easy for you to say," Yasaka narrowed her eyes, "You weren't the one who was ignored while your people were slaughtered."

"It was an unfortunate situation," Ajuka's expression didn't shift despite a tension filling the air, "You know that I would've prevented it if I could. I want peace as much as you do. Our hands were tied."

"You're the leader," Yasaka hissed back, not backing down, "Does your title mean nothing?! Are you a 'Maou' just for fun?! If you wanted to stop it, you would have!"

"A leader who must listen to the will of the people," Ajuka said eloquently, "The noble families were afraid, and they needed revenge. Trust me, there was nothing I could do."

"Oh, but Sirzechs Lucifer could do something when it benefited his sister?" Yasaka accused harshly, glaring at Ajuka, "You couldn't save a single Youkai, except for the one that he gave to his sister? Isn't that convenient?"

The 'situation' that the two leaders were venomously discussing had taken place only a few years ago, and was aptly named the 'Nekoshou Incident.'

A reincarnated Nekoshou-Devil known as Kuroka had gone crazy with power, killing her master and becoming a stray. Such an incident wasn't unheard of, as while it was rare for a reincarnated devil to full-on kill their master, newly reincarnated devils committing crimes and becoming strays was pretty common.

Reincarnated devils tended to be treated poorly, with many devils reincarnating them for the sole purpose of treating them like slaves and then killing them when they wanted their piece back.

So, one might think that the incident wouldn't be a huge deal, but they would be wrong. To the public, the murder had been used to start an anti-Youkai wave of resentment that was popularized by the pillar families.

Devils weren't the most moral of creatures to begin with, and a justification was all they needed to begin a murder spree. A manhunt for Kuroka began, and countless innocent Youkai living in the Underworld, many of whom weren't even Nekoshou, were killed in the process.

The pleas of the Youkai Queen Yasaka, who was recognized as the leader of the Youkai race by the wider supernatural world, fell on deaf ears. The Maou did nothing to stop the murders and didn't even attempt to punish any devils involved.

To the public, it was a showcase of the devil's true nature. They would jump at the chance to kill, no matter what the reason was.

To Ajuka Beelzebub, he was one of the few people who knew the truth. That it was a coordinated effort by Zekram Bael to get the Naberius family under his thumb.

The Naberius clan was one of the few families that had never given any credence to Zekram Bael's behind the scenes power, as the members tended to be blunt, crude, and not care for politics.

When Kuroka's killed her master, who was a Naberius extra-branch devil whom the Naberius Head was particularly fond of, the Naberius Head obviously wanted revenge. Zekram guaranteed that revenge and, as a result, gained the support of the Naberius Clan.

It was one of the few times Ajuka Beelzebub would admit he was outplayed, as the incident had occurred while the Evil Piece's system was still widely untrusted and looked down upon. In order for his creation to be trusted, he needed the noble families to use it.

As a result, he couldn't go against Zekram's wishes. Even Sirzechs saving Shirone, now known as Koneko, from her execution was primarily a method to try and dissuade the hate toward the Youkai publicly since the Maou couldn't make any direct moves.

"It was an unfortunate situation," Ajuka just repeated, his lips twitching down lightly, "And I'm here to partially make up for it. I'm here to warn you."

Yasaka blinked, her expression becoming less angry and more guarded at his words, "Warn me? Warn me about what?"

"About the Beast King," Ajuka said dramatically, and Yasaka's eyes narrowed again.

"The Beast King that you just announced an alliance with?" Yasaka hissed, "Is this meant to be a threat, Beelzebub?!"

"Not at all," Ajuka clarified easily, "To explain it simply, the alliance won't last. The Beast King only agreed to it so he'd be able to leave his home freely, but he's too much of a monster to stick to it. He's made it apparent that he wants to conquer not just my race, but the entire Underworld."

Ajuka had come here with the intention of manipulating Yasaka, but he wasn't entirely lying with his words. Valon hadn't been shy about declaring his goals, and he knew the man wouldn't stick by the alliance forever - whether that took a month or a decade, Ajuka didn't know, but he did know that he would be ready when the time came.

Yasaka's eyes widened at his words, but she still looked suspicious, "...Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, no matter how intelligent and untrustworthy you think I am, he's just as much," Ajuka said bluntly, "Now that he's not confided to the Familiar Forest that he took over, he's free to act openly again. I'm sure he knows about our faction's strained relationship, and I'm certain he'll try to exploit that."

"You think he'll ask for my help in fighting against you in the future?" Yasaka asked doubtfully.

"It's very likely," Ajuka nodded. He couldn't trust the formulas that surrounded Valon, but from his own observations, he knew this was a likely scenario.

If the Beast King didn't take advantage of his new access to the wider world, then he wouldn't have accepted the alliance. He would've continued to hole up in the forest, building his army as the rest of the supernatural world overlooked him, and then struck when he was unstoppable.

"He's smart, and he's just as dangerous," Ajuka continued, locking eyes with the Youkai Queen, "Everything you've heard about him is true - he's a monster that eats the corpses of his enemies, manipulates the minds of women to bed them, and will do whatever it takes to conquer the Underworld. No matter what he says to you..."

Ajuka leaned forward, his eyes deathly serious as his pleasant smile dropped for the first time, "You must never trust him, and you must never take his side. He'll lie to you, manipulate you, and tell you whatever you want to hear. I know you don't like us because of the Nekoshou Incident, but what he'll cause will be much, much worse, I promise."

Yasaka just stared back at him strangely for a moment, contemplating his words, but then sighed as she nodded, "I don't like your inaction, but I'm not a fool, Beelzebub. I have no intention of going against your faction, and I have no intention of teaming up with such a man."

Ajuka nodded back, his same pleasant smile forming on his face again, "That's all I can ask, Yasaka."

He stood up from his seat on the pillow, giving her one final statement as a magic circle appeared under him, "I hope our factions can repair our relationship soon, Youkai Queen." freeweɓnovel.cѳm

"I hope the same, Maou Beelzebub," Yasaka nodded as Ajuka disappeared into the circle, leaving her sitting alone in the large room.

The Beast King, huh?

Yasaka stared at the table for a moment, thinking about what Ajuka had said.

If he really does approach me, I doubt he'll just accept being refused.

Yasaka felt a headache coming on as a new situation arose. She'd already had to spend enough time dealing with the East Youkai Faction, and after the Nekoshou Incident, she'd been forced to almost entirely leave her daughter's education to handmaidens over the past few years.

It would've been nice to have a few years of relative peace as Kunou reached adulthood, but it seemed that the world had different plans in mind. She just sighed and stood up, walking towards a door at the back of the room.

"Pretty cool, right? It's called a 'Sacred Treasure,'" Yasaka blinked, pausing for a second as she reached for the doorknob.

Yasaka had been helping Kunou study prior to Ajuka's arrival, and she should've been continuing with a handmaiden, but the voice inside sounded like a man.

Did I mishear?

Yasaka didn't think more about it, reaching down and yanking the door open quickly. As she did, her eyes widened.

Inside was indeed Kunou and her handmaiden, but it wasn't the sight she'd left earlier. The handmaiden was standing behind Kunou, her eyes looking glossy as she was staring at the figure next to her daughter with a dreamy gaze.

Kunou was sitting on her usual pillow, looking down at what looked to be a white scale in her hand. That wasn't the problem - it was the man to her side.

A handsome face with a sharp jaw, a tall body with a muscular physique, sharp eyes that seemed to pierce through her as she opened the door, and a dangerous aura that made the air feel thick.

"Kunou," Yasaka said sharply, causing her daughter to glance up in surprise as she noticed her.

"Mother?" The cute girl tilted her head at Yasaka curiously, "Is your meeting finished?"

"Come here," Yasaka didn't answer, instead looking cautiously at the man sitting next to her casually as her body tensed.

"Huh? The tutoring is almost over," Kunou said, puffing out her cheeks cutely as she didn't sense the danger lurking next to her, "You should've told me you were getting me a tutor, Mother! I wasn't expecting one!"

Yasaka didn't move, her eye twitching over to the charmed handmaiden, who hadn't even reacted to her entrance. Yasaka didn't need to be a genius to realize she was being controlled somehow, and that the man had used her to manipulate Kunou into thinking he was a tutor.

"Kunou," Yasaka just said sharply again, still cautiously staring at the man as he sat casually next to her, "Come here!"

Kunou blinked at the sharp tone, and nodded as she set the scale down. She moved to stand up, but stopped curiously as the mans hand landed on her head and pushed her back down.

"Ajuka really is impressive, isn't he?" Valon hummed, and Yasaka felt a chill go down her spine as he grinned at her. The look was a mixture of hungry and arrogant, his eyes staring her down like a predator stalking his prey.

"It hasn't even been a day, and yet he already beat me here," Valon finished, "Unfortunately, whatever he told you doesn't matter."

"What do you want?" Yasaka asked, her hands gripping into tight fists as Valon's hand sat on Kunou's head. Kunou glanced up at him curiously, still not understanding what was going on.

"Don't worry, Youkai Queen, no one has to get hurt." Valon grinned even wider, and Yasaka had to resist taking a step back at his hungry grin, "Ajuka will soon realize that politics can only get you so far. Power is what will come out on top in the end, so..."

His eyes bored into her, and Yasaka couldn't stop herself from taking a fearful step back this time.

"Just do whatever I say, alright?"

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AN: Thank you for reading! The next Chapter will be out tomorrow!

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