Bound to the Demon Lord ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Three

Phoebe screamed in frustration, picking up the only chair in the room and hurling it at the door. But it still didn't budge open, causing her to shout again. The paladin guarding the door must have been one of Vesper's cronies. She didn't seem at all frazzled when she had carried her down into the prayer room, even telling her to stay quiet until the Veil Keeper called for them.

And this prayer room wasn't like the normal ones in other temples she had been in. Those prayer rooms always had a stained glass window with the image of an angel within it. There was always a statue of Lady Seraphine as well, with small prayer matts laid across the floor facing her. Sometimes there was even an altar with a sermon book on it, allowing patrons to read and recite prayers aloud.

This room was nothing like that. There were no windows of any kind, and the only image of Seraphine was a small portrait high on the wall with the words "Repent and receive His Mercy" engraved on the frame. But the only thing she cared about was finding a way out of this room and saving Krios.

Though she feared she wouldn't be able to. The Void had claimed him, and the only way to bring him back was to chase the black magic away. But she knew her limitations. She likely didn't have the holy power to cure a normal demon; how would she ever be able to pull Krios from the Void? He had even said that only the Veil Keeper would have such strength.

Not that they could rely on that lying piece of shit. They only cared about tearing down the Veil, everyone else be damned. She still couldn't fathom why they would go so far. They kept insisting it would right their wrongs. Yet, if the Veil was torn down, the potential chaos that could follow would have been catastrophic to both realms. And no one would have been able to stop the fighting like Seraphine had all those centuries ago.

She couldn't do anything about it while she was still stuck in the room though. Her screams were being ignored, and the door wouldn't budge. Instead, she was left there to despair and worry, wondering what else she could have done to prevent this from happening. Maybe she should have been more assertive and had yelled at Krios to get him to listen. Maybe she should have hit him to get his attention.

She slumped to the ground in defeat, burying her face into her hands. Krios was gone. Lost to the Void, and she wouldn't be able to pull him out. It took a lot of divine power with just a regular demon. But Krios was the Demon Lord. The black magic was unprecedented. Even if she tried, she would probably just end up getting herself killed. Either by overexerting her capabilities or by Krios's hand.

With a pathetic whine, she moved her hand to run through her hair. She couldn't start crying now. If she wanted to cry, she should have done so when she had been brought into this room hours ago. Besides, no matter how hopeless the situation was, crying wasn't going to help her. And since there was no escaping the room on her own, she would have to wait until someone finally came to get her.

Then she would have to find a way to force Vesper to help her pull Krios from the Void. Even Krios had mentioned once that only they would have the strength to do so. Whether by persuasion or by force, she had to find to make them help. And she did have an advantage over them – they desired her, as per their destiny. Even if Vesper claimed to be better, there had to be a chance that they were weak to their desires.

Muffled voices behind the door caught her attention. She lifted her head just as it swung open. But instead of seeing the paladin that had locked her inside or Vesper, Tobias stood in the doorway. Her eyes widened at the sight of a friendly face, her mouth falling agape.

"Phoebe!" Tobias ran to her, dropping to his knees in front of her. He seized her hands, bowing his head as he squeezed them. "Thank the Goddess, you're all right..."

"Tobias-!"

"The Veil Keeper informed me what happened," he said, helping her to her feet. "Come with me; they wish to see you."