"Oh, you’re back so soon?" Remarked Satan in surprise, as I slipped back out through the gap under the doors.

"Yeah, I mean, I just had to get her in my Pocket Dimension and then get back out here. I need you to be the first person she sees when she regains consciousness, after all," I pointed out, as I opened my Pocket Dimension and lifted her out of it, setting her down against the wall.

I then pulled the metal rod out of her wings and broke off the concrete around her claws, before kneeling beside her and placing my hand on one of the control devices.

"Over two centuries ago, when each of my Generals were defeated and captured one by one by the humans, until I was the only one left, I truly thought that we Demons would never see the light of day and have freedom ever again. But now, I am finally free, and so are all of my Generals...well, it might be a bit of a stretch to say that Azazel is ’free’, but still," Said Satan, as I shattered two of the devices and moved onto another one. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"By the way, can Demons reproduce in the same way humans do? I know you guys are functionally immortal, but there are only four of you left, not counting Izzy since she’s a half-Demon, and Azazel since he doesn’t have a physical body anymore. With that in mind, you might want to, you know...repopulate," I replied, as I shattered the third device.

"Yes, I have thought about that quite a bit...there were once a few thousand of us, but the vast majority were killed by the humans. My Generals and I only survived because we were too powerful to be killed, so they opted to seal us away instead. We Demons only have one fatal weakness, our cores.

And the stronger a Demon grows, the smaller and more dense the core becomes. Not to mention, we can move our cores to any part of our bodies at will. And even if we don’t, the cores move automatically if they’re about to be hit.

More to the point, yes, of course I want to increase the Demon population to what it once was, but young Demons are highly vulnerable beings...when Demons are born, their cores are quite fragile, you see, it can take decades for their cores to grow smaller and more durable. So, until our nation is more secure, it is rather risky to try to, as you put it, repopulate," He explained, as I finished shattering all the smaller control devices and then moved my hands over the one across her torso, the final one.

"Well, you do have the right ratio of males to females at the moment. Two males, with you and Aratron, and two females, with Lucifer and this girl. Though, can’t exactly pair up you with Lucifer since, you know, she’s your daughter and all-...wait, Demons don’t practice incest, do they?"

"Wh-wha-...of course, not! What a vile thought! And to be clear, I cannot ’pair up’ with either of them...as you said, Lucy is my daughter, and Vorph here in my niece, she is the daughter of my late brother, who was killed by the humans."

"Oh, I see...well, if nothing else, maybe you can make more half-Demon, half-Dragon babies with Frielektra," I suggested wryly, right as the final control device broke apart, the Demon Pavorphobus slowly opening her eyes.

I quickly stepped out of her line of sight so that she’d see Satan before seeing me, a slight, dazed groan echoing out as her eyelids fluttered open. Wow, her irises and pupils are pure white, while everything around them is jet black, like all Demons have.

"Huh...? Where am I?" She muttered, her eyes glazed over.

"Hello, Vorph...it has been some time, my dear," Satan greeted her with a smile, as he walked over and placed a hand on top of her head.

"Hm...? Uncle, is that you?"

"Yes, it is. How are you feeling?" He asked her gently, as he slowly helped her back up onto her feet.

"I feel...worn out. My memories are a blur, I-...," She began, before trailing off as she looked around and spotted me, immense rage and hatred welling up in her eyes as she met my gaze.

Uh-oh.

Her eyes began gleaming, a strange sensation hitting my head as I felt a force trying to take over my mind, before gritting my teeth as I pushed back and resisted, her eyes widening slightly in surprise before she shot towards me with immense speed, closing in on me in the blink of an eye.

Shit, she’s fast!

She rapidly reached out towards my forehead, her fingertips getting within millimeters of making contact, right as Satan zipped over and grabbed her wrist before her fingers could touch me.

"Calm down, Vorph! This human is not our enemy, he helped me free you! He also helped free myself, Lucy and Aratron, and he is a close friend of Izzy...additionally, he has formed a Contract with Azazel, he can be trusted!" He quickly explained, sounding like he was on fast-forward.

Pavorphobus turned her gaze towards him in response, the rage in her eyes facing and getting replaced by...confusion?

"What? A human did all that? Hm...I do sense Azazel’s presence in him, so it would seem so. My apologies, human, I acted rashly," She remarked as I sensed her animosity fading, though I could still feel a bit of suspicion being directed at me.

"Oh, don’t worry about it, it’s fine, no harm done. I’d probably have reacted in the same manner if I were you, I can’t imagine what you must have gone through down here," I replied with an amicable smile.

"Still, I’m quite surprised...you were able to resist Vorph’s Mind Control ability, I don’t think any human has ever done that before. Hm...if I hadn’t stepped in, I wonder if you would have been able to survive the Mind Break ability she was about to use on you?" Mused Satan curiously.

Mind Break? Yeah, I definitely don’t like the sound of that...

"Yeah, I’d rather not find out. Alright, then, shall we get going? Frielektra’s probably growing impatient waiting for us, so let’s head out, display the Queen’s head like I suggested and then go back home," I declared with a sigh, stretching my arms up.

"Yes, that sounds quite good to me. Let’s get going," Nodded Satan in agreement, a relaxed, content look on his face.

Ever since I first freed him from his imprisonment, he’s constantly had a bit of tension in his expression...it was slight, so until it completely faded just now, I didn’t even notice it before.

I guess he must’ve been blaming himself for what the Demons went through over two centuries ago...but with now having freed all the surviving Demons, I think some of the guilt and regret has been alleviated...

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