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The Archdemon of Gluttony

Prince Ravin from the First Circle of Hell

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Ravin's smile dropped when he saw an Archangel's feather stuck in its mouth.

Eyes widening in surprise, Ravin almost released it out of his slippery hold.

Still, he dropped the whelp to the suds, anyway, lest someone from his demon servants saw the feather and spread rumours around the entire Kingdom that he had an Archangel imprisoned in his dungeons as a prisoner. Or maybe he would have accusations of betraying the Royal Family of Archdemons by coddling an adventurous Archangel who got lost in his Circle instead of just exploring the Underworld.

Some demons were good at spinning stories like that. Loyalty will not matter if they get something in return out of that information—as all demons would.

Ravin shook his head to clear his mental chatters as he placed his hand on top of the whelp's head. The outcomes racing through his brain were too outrageous to happen, but better safe than sorry.

He lowered his head and whispered, "I'm sorry, Re, but I have to."

Placing a hand over its head, he drowned Rere's face for a little bit so they couldn't see his mouth while his servants pour fragrant perfumes and grounded herbs into his literal bloodbath while some of them lit up three black candles at each corner of the room.

From the excited look of its large reptilian eyes, it looked like it didn't mind as it stared at him like he was its own world, enjoying his attention.

The whelp blew from its wide mouth, churning out bubbles playfully.

When it realized that it couldn't eat the residue of the evil spirits and demon blood mixed in the bath due to the scented perfumes and herbs mixed in the water, the whelp coughed, and it splashed red water from its mouth and its nostrils.

It was smart enough to know that ingesting those stuff would upset its stomach.

"Baby." He wiped a palm across his wet face, muttering a string of curses. "I was supposed to be bathing to get clean and now you are throwing up on me."

"Reee~" It growled happily as its head rose fully underwater, giving him a wide smile full of sharp teeth. He slapped a hand across his forehead when he noticed the feather gone.

Ravin loved the whelp because he was the one who raised it while its mother was temporarily in prison. But it was also the bane of his existence.

Closing his eyes in regret, Ravin let out a groan as he leaned his head on the cold tub.

The whelp can be careless like his Amare. Now, he knew that Rere's sharp teeth had released the Archangel's feather unto the water.

What shall this entail that he had a blue feather in his pool?

Was it dangerous?

Will it kill him?

When he opened his eyes to stare at the whelp, it was oblivious to his conundrum.

Now, he had to search for the feather away from the prying eyes of his servants.

"Stupid, little dragon." He clicked his tongue and said, "You should be happy that you are mine like my Amare or I would be eating you for breakfast due to this insolence."

As he waited for the right timing, he gave the dragon a little scratch on the spot between its nose, and it purred like a cat, its tiny pleasant growls creating ripples on the red water.

The tendrils of smoke from the flames reached through his nostrils, and the Archdemon Magic infused in them improved his mood like how a drug would, calming him down.

When his female servants had finished the initial preparation, they began to inch closer, reaching for his arms to rub the cloth to his neck, arms and shoulders while sharp fingernails massaged his scalp, and he moaned from how great it felt like, wishing it was Luna who did this to him.

He would have appreciated his servants' assistance today if not for the whelp and the feather he brought.

So, Ravin had no choice but to command the female demons to scram and get out of the bathroom, making it clear that he didn't want to be touched.

There was no commotion.

They quickly followed his orders without question, got out of his bath, and the last servant even shut the door gently when they all left.

As he peeked through the area, he sighed.

He was finally free.

It was time to bathe himself and the mischievous dragon he had. Perhaps, not one but two. Maybe, later—priorities, priorities!

The Archdemon of Gluttony was too large to submerge himself underwater because of his wide demonic wings, so he settled for groping for anything solid at the bottom of the pool which could work against him because the feather was thin and light. His eyebrows knitted in confusion.

'Wait a minute, if it was that thin then it should float on the water surface!' He mused. 'Damn, this suds from the liquid soap his demon servants had spilled was a struggle.'

He noticed the whelp swimming vigorously at the farthest side of the pool across him as if its life was on the line with its short limbs while dragging its soapy wings.

"What are you up to now, Rere?"

Ravin shifted around the tub as he sneaked behind it just in case it found the Archangel feather.

This little thing had to pay for the trouble it caused him!

As his eyes ricocheted around the suds where the whelp was headed, Ravin spotted the blue feather almost immediately.

He stretched an arm and snatched the wet, blue feather beneath his fingers before it could guzzle it down.

It was the first time he touched an Archangel feather, and it was also the first time he realized that it was tied to a thin white cord which was almost invisible to the naked eye like a handmade necklace. The next thing the Archdemon of Gluttony knew, his consciousness was stuck into another world and another timeline.