Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

There is no doubt about this, since Belial has been speaking in Purgatory from the very beginning, so there is no possibility that the two of them would not understand him.

As one of the earliest languages, Purgatory itself possesses magical properties, so could this also be considered to meet the requirements?

This is what the devils in purgatory often do, and even the lawmakers are no exception. The only difference is that most devils can only find loopholes and interpretations in existing laws, but Belial and Philna are able to create a large number of loopholes that only benefit themselves.

However, Belial believed that such authority might not be necessary to deal with two mortals—what he had was sufficient.

"This isn't what I wanted!" Sure enough, as the wind repeatedly shifted in favor of the devil, Daisy began to panic. "I didn't—"

“Subjective or objective reasons,” Belial tapped his finger on the legal text that Leslaufer and Daisy didn’t even glance at, “a decent struggle, but let’s stop here.”

Belial was not good with words long ago, and he still is now, but Philna has repeatedly escaped his control through her eloquence, which has taught this great devil some skills.

Under his domain, his rules, and his authority, the other party even has to guess who they are. The rules, though written in black and white, are unreadable. On top of all this, there is his misleading and seduction.

No matter what kind of dialogue they have, it cannot change the fate of these two mortals; they are destined to pay the price for ruining their own plans.

Daisy's guess wasn't entirely wrong. Those cultists in the material world were indeed part of his plan to deal with Philna, but the attempt was thwarted before it even officially began. Otherwise, he wouldn't have responded to the cult leader's request to glance in that direction.

As for the punishment of these two mortals, it can be seen as retaliation for "Ferna's damage to Belial's conspiracy to damage Ferna's plan," and it can also be seen as a test to confirm whether this chain of suspicion is complete.

Against this backdrop, Daisy, in her position as a victim, could never gain the upper hand.

But others can.

Just when Belial was certain of victory, there was a knock on the door of the room. Before the Grand Duke could say anything, a breeze carrying the scent of sulfur mixed with red wine swept into the room uninvited, transforming into the image of a graceful female devil.

To Belial's bewilderment, however, the newcomer was neither Philna, whom he had long been wary of, nor a demon connected to either Raslauferdais. She resembled a succubus with small horns, leathery wings, and a forked tail, but everyone in Hell knew the dark cunning and cruelty hidden within that guise.

“Graceya?” Belial could no longer ignore this fellow ruler in the sixth level of purgatory. He stood up and looked at her seriously. “What are you doing here?”

Princess Ninja of the Nine Hells is a regular visitor to the fourth level, but that has little to do with him. The second largest city, Abrimok, which is mainly managed by Philna, is where Gracia frequents.

"Calm down, calm down, Your Excellency Belial, this isn't like you at all," the little princess chuckled, her gaze sweeping over the two mortals across the desk, feigning surprise. "Oh, why are you suddenly interested in the material world?"

"Ferna sent you?" Belial looked at his colleague, whose status was slightly higher than his own, for a moment before suddenly speaking.

“As expected of you, I think among the Nine Hells, only my father’s wisdom can surpass yours,” Gracia put her hand on Daisy’s shoulder, offering empty flattery while casually admitting, “This beautiful lady, the future sect leader, noticed your actions and immediately reported them to Philna, and I happened to be there.”

“They ruined my plans,” Belial felt a pang of stomach ache (if he had one). The same words carried completely different weight depending on who said them. If Daisy’s story came out of this guy’s mouth, he wasn’t so sure he could win this round. “According to—”

“Okay, okay, I understand. After all, our businesses are interconnected,” Gracia waved her hand, indicating that Belial could skip this part. “But Philna and I are both very curious about what kind of arrangements you have in the material world.”

"Could it be that they're targeting Philna?"

“It’s common knowledge that I’ve entrusted her with managing my own soul indicators, and even the mortals who have made contracts with me,” Belial replied with a blank expression. “Why would I target her?”

“Ah, that’s my favorite part,” to Belial’s surprise, Gracia actually laughed and clapped. “Our Grand Duke Belial, as the administrator of Hell’s Justice, is keeping it from everyone. If he doesn’t want to do something to Philna, then his purpose is quite obvious, isn’t it?”

"What, you also intend to overthrow my father's rule? That's wonderful! We can definitely become staunch allies!"

“Don’t…” Belial tried to stop Gracia halfway through her sentence, but ultimately failed—he was most afraid that this princess would steer the conversation toward this!

Asmodeus's doting and indulgence of his daughter was almost limitless; he even openly discussed her plotting against him—but not every grand duke is the daughter of the Lord of the Nine Hells! If that lord were to truly begin to doubt him, he might find himself in the dock the next time he went to court!

“Listen, Glacia, my loyalty to Lord Asmodeus is absolute!” Belial had to make this unambiguous. “My experiments in the material plane were entirely motivated by a desire to maintain his stable rule. If you came here to persuade me, then please leave!”

“None of those three sentences are true,” Gracia scoffed nonchalantly, showing no intention of leaving. “But since you’re so ‘loyal,’ I have nothing more to say—Philna asked me to pass on a message to you: let them go back.”

"Neither you nor she has the right to order me around."

“You’ve only glanced at them a few times in this short while, but she’s been watching them for a while,” Belial’s increasingly forceful tone continued to be ignored. “If you don’t believe me, take a closer look at them. If you insist on doing this after that, Philna will have no choice but to find new targets to focus on with her men.”

The Grand Duke of the sixth level of Purgatory transformed into a light whirlwind once more: "That's all she has to say. As for myself, I'd prefer you to ignore her opinion. After all, it's not a bad thing for me if either of you suffers, hehehehe."

Chapter 336 Full Body Examination

"That cursed woman."

Grand Duke Belial muttered a curse under his breath. Despite his reluctance, he knew that he would eventually have to compromise on this matter.

Those two venomous women, individually, are no pushovers; together, they are utterly deadly. More importantly, while Belial and Philna are natural and staunch allies in maintaining their shared power, they both inevitably harbor a desire to oust the other and become the sole ruler of the fourth layer—just like in other parts of Purgatory.

But aside from their innate jealousy and competition, as long as the princess didn't covet the souls of Philna and his traders, there was almost no other place where Philna and Gracia could have a conflict of interest.

Moreover, Gracia has neither shown nor needed any interest in ruling Fregetus at present!

That means if he can't find any leverage over the other party and instead exposes his own weakness, he might lose everything he has now!

The great devil's face was so grim that the two mortals in the room felt as if they were facing this very level of hell: "Well, you've got good luck. Let's see how long it lasts."

“I will listen to them and take a good look at you first, but if this is just bluffing, you will know the consequences.”

"All I know is that I won't sit idly by and wait to die." Raslaufer stared directly at this being who was far more powerful than himself, and slowly tightened his grip on the hilt of the Hellblade.

Faced with the snake-man who was his equal, he couldn't help but feel hesitant; but when he learned that the other's strength far surpassed his own, Dubul was no longer afraid.

If the reward for death is a scar on this guy's face, that's not bad.

"Find out where you are! Death isn't the end, mortal!" Belial quickly realized Leslaufer's intention and growled, "If you dare do that, I swear I'll make you swim in lava for ten thousand years!"

“Is it worth it? I think it is,” Leslaufer licked his lips. “If I get ashore, I’ll definitely find another chance to do it to you.”

The Grand Duke cursed in Purgatory, saying that even among the most warlike demons, it would be difficult to find this mortal-like fellow. The wisest solution was to stop indulging his desires.

“Come, let me see what’s so special about you.” Belial reached out and pressed his thumb on Daisy’s forehead, causing the poet to twitch slightly.

Memories of the past flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern, but not for their owner to see—another pair of eyes from hell carefully and quickly scanned everything, leaving no clue unchecked.

Azure planets, skyscrapers, bustling traffic, dazzling lights... If Raslaufer saw these, he would find them incredibly novel and unfamiliar, but in the eyes of Grand Duke Belial, who had seen countless universes and worlds, all of this was nothing more than ordinary.

He found no useful information.

“That’s all…” Belial withdrew his hand, but his expression was far from relaxed. He turned directly to Leslaufer and said, “Come on, let me see if your brain is as hard as your mouth.”

Soon, the upside-down "illusion" that Raslaufer had once seen appeared before Grand Duke Belial's eyes, and the souls of those killed by Raslaufer had nowhere to hide either.

“What’s this?” Belial felt he had been fooled by his two colleagues. “It’s just a demiplane. Although the rules are a bit strange, the only suspicious thing is that it would parasitize a mortal. So what…”

As he spoke, a fragment of Belial's consciousness invaded the world of Raslaufer. The mercenary, also suspended in that starry sky, began to unleash his thoughts, and the souls within him charged toward the Great Demon as if possessed.

"They actually obey your commands?" Belial observed everything with great interest. Flames and rocks transformed around him, creating a light shell that prevented the spirits from getting close. "So skilled. Looks like you've used this trick to kill people before, hmm?"

Attempting to attack a demon with one's soul is like trying to kill Raslaufer himself with the help of farmers—a fact Raslaufer is well aware of. But since it's the same thing, why not give it a try? Judging from the demon's previous actions, such petty skirmishes are unlikely to provoke him.

As the demonic duke who ruled the Purgatory Court, Belial could naturally control his emotions at will. Otherwise, regardless of anything else, Philna's operational skills alone would have been enough to oust him. The duke watched the movements and patterns of these spirits with great interest, but a hint of impatience gradually crept into his expression.

“That’s enough,” Belial nodded, casually grabbing a spirit. “There shouldn’t be any of your loved ones here, right? Even if there are, it doesn’t matter, I don’t care.”

“Your understanding of this place is too… superficial. I should delve deeper to make a judgment. In other words, it might deplete some of your reserves.”

"If you have any complaints, go and cry to Philna. It's all her fault."

As he spoke, the spirit in Belial's hand suddenly dispersed, turning into a dense cloud of light. To Leslaufer, this was merely the dispersal of a spirit, but to a higher-level spellcaster, it appeared as wisps of passing clouds.

“Interesting…” A strange smile appeared on Belial’s lips. “You actually injured Zariel’s people and usurped that demon’s power? I thought it was all Philna’s scheme. With that alone, you can go back alive—anyway, when that madwoman has time, she will definitely come and deal with you herself.”

This was probably what Philna wanted to remind herself of. If that warmonger found out that he had overstepped his bounds and caused unrest throughout the entire fourth level, Philna wouldn't be able to escape unscathed either. As for Gracia... Belial guessed that she would definitely be present when some step of all this happened.

Belial nodded with satisfaction. This feeling of having everything back under control was the best. However, he soon noticed that within the cluster of lights, there was a dark spot that he hadn't noticed before.

Philna? No, it can't be them, that woman isn't good at this.

Belial hesitated for a moment before deciding to investigate—something hidden in a mortal could almost fool him. It might be dangerous, important, or tempting, but one thing was certain: he had to know.

Belial, on high alert, went to investigate. However, moments later, the glasses on his desk shattered without warning, followed by the hoarse roar of the Demon Grand Duke:

"Get out! Both of you get out of here! And never come back!"

"Get out of my territory and let the ominous clouds hang over you!"

Chapter 337 Confusion, but Peace

"So, you just... came back like that?"

In the underground cave, the Daylight spell on Daisy's rapier replaced the burning flame in Bella's hand, once again illuminating the corpses of the cultists around them.

But no matter what, it couldn't illuminate the panicked hearts of his companions.

“That’s how it is,” Daisy said, still in disbelief after recounting the events. “I’m probably the luckiest person ever! That big devil wouldn’t even look at me properly in the end; he was completely focused on Old Ray, and even his glasses shattered!”

"Then he yelled at us and threw us out! What did he see?"

This wasn't just Daisy's question, but everyone else's, yet Raslaw himself couldn't answer it.

“He can do it, but I can’t, and I can’t see it,” Raslaufer said with his eyes closed. Angelita knew he was trying to replicate something in the illusion that the Great Demon called a “demiplane,” but in the end, the mercenary could only sigh in despair. “It’s more practical for me to beat him up and force him to tell me than to study this myself.”

After all, if it were in the material world, and that devilish grand duke didn't use any special powers and relied purely on physical combat, he might have a chance to win a few times. But to study the soul as thoroughly as a devilish grand duke? Even if he dared to think about it, he didn't know how he would even begin to imagine it!

“In short, he must have seen something above him—or at least equal to him, and above him, I’m afraid the only thing I can think of is the gods,” von Dahl stroked his beard, puzzled. “But old Ray, Edas is the goddess of peace, and Dionysus, who helped you a while in the City of Wine, has nothing to do with ‘misfortune’. And most importantly… these two, although they are gods, have absolutely nothing to fear.”

Even mortals wouldn't be afraid of these two deities, let alone the Grand Duke under the Lord of the Nine Hells—what is he panicking about?

Should they also be worried about this?

"Perhaps..." Just as everyone was lost in thought because of the safe escape of Raslaufer and Daisy, a weak voice suddenly rang out in the cave. They turned to look and saw that it was the inquisitor of the Black Knight Order, who had woken up at some point.

They came for these people, and they've completely forgotten about them!

"Don't speak yet, I'll save you!" Bella rushed over and rescued the inquisitors who had been captured by the cultists of Belial, and began to treat them as a last resort. "I'm so sorry, when did you wake up? We completely forgot about you!"

“It’s… alright,” the judge weakly grinned, revealing two rows of teeth smeared with blood. “The important thing is, we survived…”

“I woke up early, so I might have seen it… but you can rest assured, as long as you are not cult members, I promise I will keep my mouth shut.”

Daisy turned her face away somewhat guiltily. Before, she could proudly claim that she had not been tempted by the devil, but now she was not so sure.

Zhengling even moved her mistress. Whatever the reason, if it weren't for the words of those two important figures, she and Raslaw would probably have been trapped in hell. Although judging from the later events, Raslaw must have something that even the Demon Grand Duke feared, the process from being captured to escaping was certainly not easy.

Even whether they will live to see the day when Belial is afflicted by that so-called "ominous sign" is questionable.

“Thank you very much then,” Leslaufer nodded. “It’s a matter of repaying kindness. But what did you mean by ‘maybe’ earlier?”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure either,” the judge said, his condition noticeably improved as the healing spell was cast, and he spoke more fluently. “You’re from the East, right? I’ve heard that there are quite a few Ampiri people in the East, and they tend to believe in things like fate or destiny and have gods over there.”

Have you been influenced by them?

“That’s a real problem for me,” Leslaufer chuckled. “Those of us in this line of work either believe in nothing or believe in everything. I’ve seen a superstitious guy who always carried several kilograms of amulets as a weight and would pray for hours before every battle.”

"As for myself, I believe in a little bit of everything, and I worship whichever comes to mind. I'm not entirely against the one you worship either; I even pray with your fellow believers."

This statement is essentially meaningless; many people in the world are like this: they cannot be classified as unbelievers, but they are not even considered shallow believers. Even if the gods have plenty of free time, they are unlikely to spend too much time on such mortals.

Or vice versa. If a deity has poured too much into someone, then they certainly won't be stingy with a little more effort to make that person sincerely or reluctantly worship them.

But there is absolutely no trace of that in Leslaufer.

"Alright, if you can't figure it out, forget it. It's not a big deal," Leslaufer waved his hand, quite nonchalant about the matter. "Isn't this great? Even the devils are avoiding me. When we get back to Eastern Inassus, I'll brag about it for a while!"

Having truly "walked through hell," such an experience is top-notch even in the world of boasting, let alone a real one.

“If you can come to terms with it yourself, that would be best,” the judge chuckled helplessly. “However, I suggest that if you have any senior priest friends, you should put in some effort. Some things don’t disappear just because you don’t think about them.”

The Black Knights Order primarily relies on physical methods to subdue people. Although this Inquisitor is also a clergyman, his knowledge of arcane arts is only superficial. When it comes to matters involving demons, he is not only no better than Leslaufer, but may not even be as capable.

“You don’t need to worry about that,” the mercenary nodded. “This is a mess, and we’re not going to help you anymore.”

“This is our duty,” the other person said, his expression immediately turning serious as he mentioned the present moment. “There is only one thing we need your help with.”

He stood up, looking with some hesitation at the scattered corpses of the cultists on the ground. The cult's prophecy had been flawed, but these bodies could still be protected with a special powder from being devoured by the snakes and lizards lurking underground, but…

"In our current state, it's probably difficult for us to even walk back up on our own. And even in our prime, I wouldn't be able to use this young lady's illumination magic. So, uh, could you send us brothers up first?"

Chapter 338 Danger Always Lies in Relaxation

It was a long time before Leslaufer and his party heard news of the "devil's hotel" again.

The Black Knights didn't publicize the incident. To outsiders, the inn was simply destroyed by fire, and the owner unfortunately couldn't escape. After some time, perhaps that road would attract some shrewd individual again, who would open another place to stay. Or perhaps travelers would be forced to sleep in the open and complain about the fire.

"If that Tifferin were still alive, he would definitely start blaming us for all the dangers that travelers will encounter in the future." Daisy played the matte with a bored expression, but could only end the overly tedious performance with a resentful final note.

"I've been so incredibly bored lately!"

"Save your breath. You'd be unhappy if you had to swim through Purgatory again," Bella teased, adding more firewood to the campfire. "Central Inassus just ended a year ago, and now it's been dragged into war by the west. What's wrong with us getting through safely?"

Perhaps it was a way to make up for their extreme bad luck, or perhaps it was because the further north they went, the more renowned the reputation of the Raslaufer double-pay mercenaries became. In any case, although the group had a lot of dealings with soldiers from all walks of life in the days that followed, they did not encounter any danger.

Even if the party drinking in Leureslaufer and the party inviting the poet to perform soon find themselves on the battlefield, it has absolutely nothing to do with them.

“I agree with Bella, Daisy,” Leslaufer said lazily, tearing a piece of meat from a skewer with her teeth. “My commission is almost complete, and there’s no room for any complications at this point.”

Beside him, Angelita, who was grilling a skewer of freshly cut meat, showed a slight change in expression; her brown eyes, which gleamed faintly in the campfire, seemed to hold a hint of other emotions.