S-Class Dungeon’s Mistress - Chapter 199

Chapter 199

Lord of Chaos, Agapanthus. The one who dethroned the previous Demon King 300 years ago and ascended to the throne. With his cruel and merciless governance, he brought terror not only to the demon realm but also to the human world, commanding no less than five devils beneath him—truly the most demon king-like of demon kings.

From his time in Morpheus, rumors about him had often circulated. However, information about his appearance was not well-known, and Maximilian, the only demon in his vicinity who had directly faced him, was extremely tight-lipped. Thus, Adelaide and other demons could only imagine him as savage and frightening, much like Abaddon.

However, the Demon King Agapanthus before her eyes was entirely different from the image she had imagined.

He was two hand-spans taller than her, with a fairly muscular body that could be considered slender compared to the surrounding demons. His face was small and oval, with an elegantly raised nose bridge, thin lips, and violet eyes within long, slanted eyes—each feature beautiful enough to evoke the image of a noble snake.

In other words, contrary to her expectations, the Demon King was incredibly handsome. So much so that even she, who lived alongside stunningly attractive men, had to admit it.

But that wasn’t why Adelaide was surprised.

‘Lisianthus?’

She looked over Agapanthus’s appearance again, bewildered.

Long black hair down to his waist, a face simultaneously elegant and arrogant, a neat all-black ensemble complete with gloves. Though his features were entirely different, he somehow emanated a feeling reminiscent of Lisianthus.

If one were to describe it, he seemed like how Lisianthus might appear if he had undergone an extremely difficult experience and turned dark. Adelaide, sensing traces of her lover in this unfamiliar Demon King, momentarily forgot the situation and merely blinked.

At that moment, someone poked her side. It was Caladium signaling her.

‘Oops.’

Looking again, she noticed Agapanthus’s gaze gradually turning cold. She finally regained her senses and quickly bowed, greeting him as Lisianthus had taught her.

“I am honored to be in the presence of the great Lord of Chaos, King of the Demon Realm, Agapanthus.”

Immediately, the gazes of Agapanthus and the demons surrounding him softened. Just a moment’s delay could have been disastrous. She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Come here,” Agapanthus commanded, slightly tilting his head. His voice was refined yet somehow chilling, possessing an immense presence despite not being particularly loud.

Adelaide quickly moved closer, worried about offending him. The demons serving the Demon King seemed to mock her awkward movements, but she couldn’t care less. Who were they to judge?

Meanwhile, Caladium wore a dissatisfied expression, barely restraining himself from tearing their mouths apart.

“So, you are Adelaide?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Adelaide knelt before him and nodded obediently. Up close, his intimidating presence was even more overwhelming. His demonic energy alone was enough to make her entire body stiffen. Her limbs were indeed trembling momentarily.

“Hmm… indeed.”

Agapanthus looked at her with an interesting smile, scanning her from head to toe. She swallowed hard. Though he was smiling, his gaze was extremely fierce. It seemed entirely possible he might suddenly decapitate her.

Fortunately, her fears did not materialize. Agapanthus shifted his gaze from her and fixed it on Caladium. True to his self-proclaimed title of Flame Demon, Caladium met his gaze without particular concern.

“I thought you had died 100 years ago. Yet here you are, alive.”

He seemed to know something about Caladium. Naturally, as the Demon King himself had ordered Abaddon to kill him and seize his position, he would be familiar with him. Especially now that Abaddon had been killed by Caladium’s hand.

“Well, thanks to the Demon King.”

Caladium responded with a sly smile, lifting his mouth’s corner. Though he was using honorific language as Lisianthus had instructed, his tone remained incredibly impudent.

‘Caladium!’

Adelaide turned her head and glared at him. Her look meant, “Please, show some restraint.” Caladium merely shrugged as if to ask how much more restrained he could be.

“…Quite the spirit. A high-ranking demon should indeed have such breadth.”

Instead of getting angry or using force, Agapanthus softly curved his eye corners and smiled. However, one couldn’t feel at ease. The demonic energy emanating from him had grown even deeper compared to moments before.

“But from now on, you must be more mindful of time and place.”

His violet eyes flashed coldly, and a warning voice rang in their ears.

Caladium’s eyebrows twitched as he faced the demonic energy that seemed about to pour down on him. Indeed, the Demon King was truly a Demon King—his presence was as massive as a giant mountain looming right before them.

A momentary urge to fight him directly surged, but he restrained himself. He couldn’t ruin things because of his pride.

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

Caladium slightly bowed his head. Unusually, he had suppressed his ego and stepped back. Agapanthus smiled as if praising him. Then, elegantly fluttering his cape, he slowly turned around.

“I invited you here for a proposal.”

Despite expecting these words, Adelaide’s eyes widened. With an innocent face, she blinked and asked, “A proposal? What kind?”

Agapanthus responded in an elegant voice, “Join under my command.”

“Excuse me?”

“I propose that you and all your subordinates become entirely affiliated with the Demon King’s Castle. The entire Greenville Dungeon will be subordinated.”

In other words, this was a proposal for Greenville to become a direct dungeon of the Demon King’s Castle. This would mean that Greenville’s operational policies and management would henceforth be conducted according to the Demon King’s Castle’s wishes.

While this might seem disadvantageous to Greenville at first glance, considering the current dungeon system was already oriented around the Demon King’s Castle, that wasn’t the case.

If the Demon King’s Castle directly facilitated their operations, they could obtain benefits incomparable to their current state. Considering that even the once-prominent Los Halde had merely maintained a collaborative relationship, this was tremendously significant.

“The Demon King’s Castle will support Greenville, and the compensation will not be insufficient. Let’s see… how about this?”

Agapanthus extended three fingers. Upon seeing this, Adelaide gasped in admiration.

“Three hundred alma?”

Like Penelope, the top-tier succubus, each alma was equivalent to a monthly salary. Three hundred alma would mean receiving 25 years’ worth of Penelope’s annual salary in one go.

However, Agapanthus raised an eyebrow as if questioning her statement.

“Three thousand.”

Simultaneously, Adelaide’s mouth dropped open.

“Three thousand alma.”

Three thousand. This was six times her entire fortune and equivalent to 250 years of Penelope’s salary. It was an amount one could spend lavishly their entire life and still not exhaust. Even the demon Caladium had never touched such a sum.

Her pink eyes wobbled in shock. Within her small head, imagination ran wild with visions of bathing in money bundles.

“Well? Isn’t this sufficient compensation for a bit of freedom?”

Seeing her expression, Agapanthus wore a satisfied smile. He had anticipated her joy, but he found it amusing that a high-tier dungeon owner would be so dramatically stunned. From his perspective, an easily manipulated target had just fallen into his hands.

“So, your answer?”

Adelaide swallowed hard again. Caladium beside her watched her anxiously, knowing well how much she loved money.

And then came a clear response.

“No!”

A reply no one in the reception room had anticipated.

A heavy silence descended. Adelaide, however, looked around with an incredibly innocent expression, as if nothing was wrong. Her face suggested she saw absolutely no problem with her statement.

“…What did you just say?”

Agapanthus furrowed his brow and stared at her. Her expression was so guileless that he even doubted whether he had misheard.

“I said no. Greenville will not become subordinate to the Demon King’s Castle.”

Her response remained unwavering.

“And why is that?”

“Freedom. It’s one of the most important values for Greenville.”

“Is that mere freedom worth more than three thousand alma?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t sell it even if you offered the entire demon realm.”

As her words continued, the atmosphere in the reception room grew increasingly cold. Dense energy radiated from Agapanthus, and the attending demons looked at Adelaide with meaningful glances.

However, unlike before when she trembled under his intimidation, Adelaide was now entirely calm. Though her personality was timid like a low-ranking demon, she was still a demon of considerable skill. She had more than enough courage to say no when something didn’t suit her.

“You’ll regret this.”

The Demon King warned with a bitter smile.

“It seems you don’t mind if war breaks out again.”

“Oh, war? I don’t like that…”

Adelaide drooped her eyebrows as if she had never been fearless. This left Agapanthus utterly bewildered.

“If you don’t like war, then join the Demon King’s Castle directly.”

“But I don’t want that either… If I don’t like both options, what then?”

What kind of absurdity was this? Agapanthus narrowed his eyes, carefully examining her. At a glance, she didn’t seem particularly intelligent. Frustration rose to his throat. Neither persuasion nor warning seemed to work, and he was losing confidence in winning this encounter.

He turned his gaze to Caladium. At least this demon would understand worldly matters better than this foolish woman, he thought.

“What would you do if you disliked both?”

However, Caladium merely tilted his head, indicating he had no idea. His slow blink with silver-gray eyes made him look incredibly stupid.

Suddenly, Agapanthus recalled what Abaddon had once explained.

“I’ve never seen someone so stupid in my entire life. I’m horrified by how he managed to reach a devil’s position with that brain.”

Now he understood why Abaddon had shuddered while speaking those words.

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