Die, princess, the devil is mine!

If we were to assign a specific level to Ilya in her current state, it would be around level 998.9.

Not quite a near-god, but not far off.

Victory suppressed the slight hint of disdain in his heart and became serious.

The arrogant demon king is now putting real pressure on her. Although she hasn't crossed that insurmountable barrier, a true demon king is not something that ordinary demons or even demon dragons can compare to.

Victory had a premonition that once she went to war with the Arrogant Demon Lord, even if she won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. The seven Demon Lords would still be no match for her, but she wouldn't fare much better after the war.

"Your Majesty the Dragon Mother, my Demon King's Sword has proven ineffective!"

Having gathered the maximum power her body could withstand, Ilya was filled with boundless pride when she faced Victory again.

She might not have complete confidence in defeating the near-god before her, but she believed she wouldn't lose; at most, she just wouldn't gain the upper hand.

"Heh, as expected, you can't judge a book by its cover. They look like a bunch of little witches who haven't even grown their hair yet, but when they really get ruthless, they're already quite formidable."

Victory stared directly at the arrogant demon king, whose aura was surging, his eyes darting around several times, but ultimately he did not make a move.

She is not as young as she used to be; her recovery ability is far inferior to what it once was. Unless absolutely necessary, she will not engage in battles that would injure herself. Moreover, the conflict with the Seven Demon Kings is not even a question of whether it was necessary or not; it can only be described as making trouble out of nothing.

Winning offers no real benefit other than establishing prestige; a draw means all the effort wasted and requires a long time to recover; losing…

It's impossible to lose, but if you don't win decisively, it's practically the same as losing.

"Would Her Majesty the Dragon Mother be willing to apologize to my sister?"

Ilya did not sheathe her Demon King's sword, nor did she point it at Victory; she simply pointed the tip of the sword at the ground and spoke in a stiff tone.

Do I still need to apologize?

Victor was stunned upon hearing this. What kind of logic is it for a near-god to apologize to a peak demigod? If Betty wasn't the Gluttonous Demon King, then they wouldn't even belong to the same class. The demon race's hierarchy is extremely strict, and the Arrogant Demon King's request is indeed a bit excessive.

"Boss, it's not that bad."

"Calm down, Her Majesty the Dragon Queen has already converted to the Guardian Demon God..."

Hearing Ilya's request, not only did Victory find it outrageous, but even her own sisters felt that their eldest sister was being too arrogant. If near-gods were so easy to manipulate, they wouldn't have pitifully begged Lynn for help in the first place.

"I am the eldest sister, and I must protect my younger sisters from being bullied! Even when facing the most terrifying near-gods, I will not back down an inch!"

Before Victory could express his opinion, his younger sister tried to persuade her, but Ilya did not take the opportunity to back down. Instead, she stubbornly insisted on her own opinion, displaying a defiant attitude that said, "I'm not that easy to talk to."

I hope you'll be just as protective of your own when you face Lynn, that near-godlike figure who's so timid...

For example, when the seven sisters were required to take turns serving him in bed, you, the eldest sister, stepped forward and spent seven days with him alone, protecting your sisters at the cost of becoming a cream puff...

Just as the demon lords were lost in thought, Victory, seeing the arrogant demon lord's tough attitude, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Despite her strength, even in her twilight years, she didn't seem old or frail. However, when faced with the incredibly young yet exceptionally powerful contemporary demon king, the arrogance she had maintained throughout her life finally crumbled.

If the Holy Emperor of Miracles had treated her this way, she might have felt a surge of long-lost passion and vowed to test her skills against him. However, in front of the Demon King of her own faction, she was unwilling to act impulsively and harm the demons without benefiting herself.

If they were to truly clash with the Arrogant Demon King and something serious were to happen, the Holy Emperor of Miracles, who was currently inspecting the Forsaken Continent, would probably be overjoyed.

However, as a near-god, a powerful being at the level of a demon emperor, Victory could yield, but he absolutely could not back down.

If you want to apologize, then apology is fine, but a formal apology is inappropriate. At worst, you can offer a substantial apology and provide ample benefits to subtly express your attitude.

Thinking of this, Victor reluctantly pulled out a blood-red vine less than a meter long from his storage space.

The moment the vines were exposed to the air, they emitted a thick, pungent magical aura. Even from a distance, the little girl couldn't help but sniffle, a greedy look on her face.

The Blood Vine of the Demon Dragon is, in fact, just a byproduct of the Demon Dragon race; this thing grows near the long-term residence of every Demon Dragon.

However, something that even a near-god-like dragon like Victory is extremely reluctant to part with is clearly no ordinary treasure.

Although the Demonic Dragon Blood Vine is merely a byproduct, its growth conditions are extremely demanding, and its effects are quite astonishing.

Moreover, a dragon will only have one dragon blood vine in its lifetime, without any additional branches, making it extremely rare.

It grows along with the dragon, so it's similar to a bound item; it grows as much as the dragon.

In other words, a dragon takes a thousand years to reach adulthood, and a dragon blood vine takes a thousand years to grow. Once a dragon reaches adulthood, it stops growing, so the dragon blood vine will only grow to its full length.

The length of the accompanying Dragon Blood Vine when it reaches its final form can often be used to measure the strength of a dragon's talent and its future prospects. While not always entirely accurate, it is a highly regarded reference within the race.

When Victory came of age, the blood vine that accompanied her growth reached a length of nine meters, which meant that her minimum level was a demigod dragon of level 900 or higher, and she couldn't be much lower. As for the upper limit... there is no upper limit for the dragon race. Two or three out of ten genius dragons in history eventually became demon gods, which is an extremely terrifying rate of becoming a god. It is the highest among all races in the demon realm, and even the abyss demon race can't compete with it.

However, after so many years of consumption, only 1.5 meters of the Demonic Dragon Blood Vine remained. At this time, she cut off 70 centimeters of it as an apology to the Gluttonous Demon King. This gift was quite heavy, as it was her own daughter. During her growth period, she had only fed her 1.2 meters of the Blood Vine.

"Sniff, sniff~~ Give me that and Betty will forgive you!"

Even as the Gluttonous Demon King, Betty had never before enjoyed the Dragon Blood Vine, a top-tier natural treasure native to the Demon Realm. Even her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather might not have had the privilege of tasting it. Such treasures are traditionally produced but not sold by the Dragon Clan; they are always consumed internally. Even if other demons offered billions of magic crystals, they might not be able to buy even half a meter of Dragon Blood Vine.

So, in order to maintain the unyielding pride of those who are close to gods, Victory really went to great lengths...

Hearing the gluttonous demon king's urging, Victory stiffly threw the demonic dragon blood vine in her hand. The way she casually tossed this precious treasure over once again proved her arrogance, but the cost of showing off was higher than her arrogance.

"Awoo...woo?"

As the dragon blood vine, tossed high into the air, flew over, the little girl took a few steps forward, preparing to swallow it whole. But a demon was faster than her, arriving first and pressing the little girl's head down with one hand while catching the dragon blood vine steadily with the other.

"What are you whining about? Eating it directly is a complete waste. The Demonic Dragon Blood Vine needs to be refined together with Black Crow Blood Leaves. The effect will be 1.5 times stronger. Black Crow Blood Leaves sell for 1 magic crystal for eight catties, but the Demonic Dragon Blood Vine is priceless. If you dare to eat this main ingredient, the boss will sew your mouth shut and lock you in the white room for three days!"

This time, it was the second sister, the Jealous Demon King, who stepped forward first, even faster than the Greedy Demon King, who had the strongest ability to identify treasures.

It's because she's the closest one. If we hadn't stopped little Betty, who puts everything in her mouth except poop, we would have really wasted our precious baby.

Whether eaten raw or processed, the main effects of the Dragon Blood Vine are the same. Its preciousness lies in the fact that it can provide the user with pure Dragon Power at the cost of minimal side effects!

As the name suggests, the power of the dragon is the power of the dragon, literally meaning the power, referring only to the attribute of "force".

Even the most fragile slave demon, as long as it can bite into a dragon blood vine, its physical strength can reach a level comparable to that of a dragon beast. And if it is a warrior-type powerhouse, the surge in strength will inevitably lead to an increase in its strength level.

For fragile magic classes, a strong physique can greatly increase their stamina, endurance, recovery speed, resistances, and physical defense. In short, the benefits are significant.

Her Majesty the Dragon Queen was quite generous. The length of this section of the Demonic Dragon Blood Vine, though intended as an apology to Little Betty, was actually enough to make seven potions. It should have been used to shut up the seven sisters.

"Huh? It needs to be cooked before we can eat it? Will it taste good?"

Watching helplessly as the food that was almost in her mouth flew away, the big little girl stood with her hands on her hips, glaring angrily at her second sister who had snatched the food from her mouth with her big, blinking eyes, as if she wanted to make her sister feel ashamed and then obediently offer her some delicious food to coax her.

"That's called refining! These are the main ingredients for magic potions, not food!"

The jealous demon king completely ignored the big loli's angry glare, casually pulled out a handful of dried fish and stuffed it into little Betty's mouth. The action was even more brutal than Lynn feeding a cat, but the big loli didn't care, as long as she had something to eat.

Actually, she always kept a whole warehouse full of these snacks in her storage equipment, but as she herself said, no food at home can compare to the food eaten outside. The food she got from Biemo was the most delicious.

"Alright, alright, it was all a misunderstanding. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, we, as the lower realm agents of the guardian demon god, should still live in harmony."

The Phantom, who had been repeatedly praised by Victory, stepped in to smooth things over, defusing the previously tense standoff.

They didn't really want to confront Victory head-on, since all of them, the Demon Lords, had trump cards up their sleeves. How could Victory, a near-god, possibly only have the strength he showed on the surface?
If they really fight, a draw would be the best outcome, and they would most likely be the ones who suffer losses.

There's no need for that. Let the near-gods handle it. When Lynn comes back, all we have to do is some cover-up and deal with her without exposing her dual identity. That'll solve everything. We don't need them to fight it out.

Considering the substantial amount of Victory's apology, even the arrogant Ilya had to back down. Although she didn't offer a verbal apology, the amount she gave was far too much, and even she would feel a little embarrassed to insist further.

Thus, the tense atmosphere caused by a trivial matter eased, and the seven young demon kings and the immortal demon emperor-level powerhouse tacitly fell silent, waiting for a certain inspector to return from another world.

However, the God-Abandoned Continent is, after all, a complete continent with a vast territory that should not be underestimated. It took the seven demon kings nine days to purify it using magic arrays. Even if the Holy Emperor of Miracles is fast, it will still take him at least that long to complete the inspection, since he will have to make a round trip.

However, the eight high-ranking officials of the Demon Realm, who maintained a facade of harmony, only waited in place for two and a half days before Lynn's head popped out from the other end of the spatial passage.

"I've inspected it, and the project is done well. Here's the final payment for you."

Lynn, who had just traveled from the God-Forsaken Continent, didn't even have time to catch his breath before he generously took out the God-Slaying Scythe that he had temporarily confiscated and handed it over to Ilya, the leader of all demons.

This is a set of demonic artifacts that Illidan, the Demon Emperor, was traded for. Victory wouldn't use a single piece of it, so naturally, she didn't need to handle it.

Ilya silently accepted the Godslayer Scythe, merely nodding to Lynn. She didn't need to be a great actress; even without Victory's presence, she would have had roughly the same attitude. After all, she was arrogant, not tsundere, and wouldn't have the reaction Lynn expected.

However, it's not a big problem. Tsundere is already outdated and not many people like it anymore, so Illya doesn't need that label.

"So, isn't it time to prepare for the next deal?"

After the handover was completed, Lynn looked at Victory, whose presence was even less noticeable than that of the Demon Queen ladies. His last set of equipment pieces was still with her. Once he got his hands on them, he would basically be invincible in both the righteous and the evil worlds.

"There's no rush. As we agreed before, we can only complete the final exchange after Illidan has received all the equipment."

"Now that the continents of God's Protection and God's Forsaken have been returned, the world of miracles has been restored to its original state. Your Majesty the Holy Emperor of Miracles may return to your own world and wait for a while. We will contact you when Illidan returns."

Greedy Demon Queen Liz, as the facilitator of the transaction, then peeks out to communicate on behalf of the Demon Realm and Lynn.

"Should I go home and wait for further notice?"

Lynn felt that the line sounded familiar, but he didn't know where he had heard it before.

"Yes, His Majesty the Holy Emperor must have our message receivers. Cross-dimensional communication won't waste any time."

The Greedy Demon King said with a charming smile.

(End of this chapter)