Zert felt extremely, extremely remorseful. He regretted ever being so greedy and all.
"Please, Commander Kodiac, please forgive me," Zert pleaded after being tossed around like a rag doll by Kodiac.
Kodiac, though, didn't pay him any attention, continuing his ruthless actions until Zert was hanging on the balance between life and death.
"Since you can't hold the fort till I return, I will have to stay behind while you lead the army and attack the human realm. No more allowing you to laze around," Kodiac said to the barely breathing Zert, walking towards his special quarters.
Kyle logged out along with Jessica from the game after reaching their limit. He was pretty pleased with himself, already at level 57.
The reason his leveling was fast? Well, in the real world, he had the strength of a viscount, which was usually level 75. So when he logged into the game, the system had to recalibrate his stats and forcefully place restrictions on them in the game world. But the system was fair—placing restrictions on his strength enabled him to level faster while gaining extra attribute points after each level, allowing him to earn five stat points per level up, unlike the usual four stat points that demons earned.
"Welcome back, hon. You should eat," Lilith said, appearing by Kyle's side and embracing him like a dutiful wife to her husband.
"Thanks," Kyle replied, brushing her off.
Jessica stared at the awkward situation, not saying anything.
Yeah, as you guessed, they weren't in Kyle's room but in a special room prepared for them under Lilith's watch, in case of Nemesis' attack—which they hadn't seen much of, to Kyle's disappointment.
Kyle left the room, leaving just Jessica and Lilith behind, making the room even more awkward. Jessica stared at Lilith for a couple of seconds before deciding to leave, finding the atmosphere tense and uncomfortable.
"What exactly are your plans, siding with Kyle? Tell me," Lilith asked the about-to-retreat Jessica.
Jessica turned around at the question, confused. "To get my revenge on Greg for killing my parents. I thought everyone knew that," Jessica replied.
"Oh, come on. I'm the Demon Lord of Lust—you have to try harder if you want to deceive me. I doubt Kyle believed you then. Can't say the same about now," Lilith rolled her eyes, crashing onto the empty bed.
"I don't understand what you're talking about," Jessica said, staring at Lilith with a monstrous gaze.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to rat you out. I don't enjoy doing that," Lilith said lazily.
"What do you mean? I still don't understand what you're talking about," Jessica sought clarity.
"Alright. I know you're on guard to prevent Kyle from finding out and landing you in trouble, but if you keep it up, I promise you Kyle will be the least of your worries."
"How… how did you know?" Jessica asked Lilith, finally opening up.
"It's simple. Your affection for Kyle remains nonexistent when I look for it, but whenever this Greg guy gets mentioned, your heart flutters. You did a good job controlling your heart rate—perhaps that's how you fooled Kyle since he trusted that completely. But not me, sweetheart. I see your affection towards people, and surprisingly, the man you say you hate and loathe is the man you love the most. Quite the risk you're taking for him," Lilith said, amused.
"I don't understand. You know this—then why didn't you tell—"
"Kyle? Because of the way I act towards him? You all think I've fallen head over heels for him? Come on, be a bit smarter, girl. I'm the Demon Lord of Lust—that's just me playing around," Lilith spoke bluntly.
"Well, I get that now, but I'm still confused. Nemesis is your enemy and a threat, or so Kyle said, so why would you indirectly help him?"
"Another misconception about me. Greg or whatever his name is isn't a threat to me—he's a threat to the Demon God, not me. My goal is different, far different than you can ever imagine. And I thought Kyle shared the same goal with me, but recently, I'm beginning to believe otherwise. Kyle has been acting like a variable—one I can't control and someone whose motives are hard to know. I can't fully trust him."
"And you trust Greg?"
"Nah. If I were that foolish and trusting, I'd definitely be dead by now. But you see, from the outset, my goal had always been him. Kyle was just a surprising variable I didn't account for. Greg is another variable, but I feel more content with him around. Two variables that I can't control—but at least I can guide their actions. Whatever you and that guy are cooking, I don't care. I won't say a word about it—I'd love to see what you do," Lilith said, rising to her feet and preparing to leave.
"I feel you will succeed. The ruthless and evil Kyle having feelings for you—that's enough reason for me not to butt in and just watch the story unfold. A love triangle isn't easy to come by. He loves you, you don't. You love another, who may or may not love you back," Lilith said, enjoying herself as the drama unfolded.
"Does that mean you're not Greg's enemy?"
"Pffftt. If I were, I would've stormed that place he believes to be a safe house already and killed everyone on sight. Having me as an enemy would most definitely be a nightmare for him. Oh, and no need to worry about the cameras or Kyle finding out about our discussion—there won't be any. Goodbye," Lilith replied before disappearing from Jessica's view.
Jessica stared at the place Lilith stood before leaving for some time, then decided to wash up and grab some food as well.
Kyle, after washing up, had his meal—oblivious to the conversation between Lilith and Jessica—planning his next move in Apocalypse, thinking about how to level up and get more contribution points. He had already become the bane of players in the celestial camp, all of them avoiding him like the plague for fear of dying brutally under Kyle's hand.