NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26: Enter: 7 Lower Demons
The Abyssal Caverns were silent but alive with an oppressive energy. The flickering crimson glow of a massive crystal embedded in the ceiling cast shifting shadows across the obsidian walls. Around a circular table of jagged black stone sat the 7 Lower Demons, their expressions a volatile mixture of disdain and anxiety.
Zerak, the Shadow Enforcer, sat at the head of the table. His blackened eyes swept over the room, missing nothing, while his fingers tapped a slow, steady rhythm against the cold surface. The sound was deceptively quiet but felt like a blade scraping against raw nerves.
"The crystal is gone," Zerak said, his voice low yet sharper than a whip. The words sliced through the tension, leaving a weighty silence in their wake. "Stolen. By humans. Under our watch."
Dravokh, seated at the far end of the table, shifted uncomfortably. His hulking form seemed smaller under the scornful glares of his peers.
"I warned you," Isidora hissed, leaning forward. Her fiery hair glowed like embers in the dim light, and her voice crackled with the heat of her barely-contained anger. "Burn the ruins. Leave nothing behind. But no—'subtlety,' you said. Now look where that got us."
"We couldn't risk destroying the artifact," Malgrath countered, his voice slithering like a serpent's hiss. His dark green skin shimmered faintly in the red light. "It wasn't a matter of destruction; it was a matter of control. Something you clearly lack."
"Control?" Isidora's voice rose, flames flickering at her fingertips. "You want to talk about control while the humans are parading around with our prize?"
"Enough!" Zerak's command was like a thunderclap, his shadow rising unnaturally as his presence seemed to envelop the room. Silence fell, though Isidora's lips twitched with the unspoken desire to retort.
Zerak turned his attention to Dravokh, who visibly bristled under the scrutiny. "Explain," Zerak demanded. "You were in charge of guarding the crystal. And yet, it's gone."
Dravokh's claws raked across the table, leaving deep grooves in the obsidian. "I underestimated them," he admitted, his growling voice filled with reluctant shame. "Their leader—Adrian—was stronger than I anticipated. They moved like a single unit, like they'd fought together for years."
"Underestimated?" Zerak's tone was lethal. "You mean you failed. Miserably. Do you understand what this means for all of us?"
Lilithra, her serpentine voice dripping with venom, leaned forward with a smirk. "Oh, we all understand, don't we? The Upper Demons won't care that it was Dravokh who failed. To them, we are one entity. If one of us falls short, we all bear the punishment."
Her words hung in the air like a noose, tightening with each passing moment.
"That's enough," Zerak snapped. "We don't need a reminder of what happens to failures. What we need is a plan to salvage this mess."
"Salvage it?" Isidora sneered, crossing her arms. "The humans won't just hand the crystal back. And if Dravokh's going to keep dragging us into his blunders, maybe we're better off without him."
Dravokh snarled, his claws elongating. "Say that again, and I'll make sure you regret it."
"Enough," Krynos said, his gravelly voice calm but commanding. "Dravokh failed, yes, but casting him out now won't solve anything. The humans are prepared. Rushing in blindly won't work. Let Dravokh redeem himself. If he succeeds, we gain the crystal and some respect back. If he fails..." He trailed off, letting the implication hang heavy in the air.
Malgrath leaned back in his chair, a sly grin on his face. "Letting him prove himself could work, but not without a strategy. Humans are weak to betrayal. What if we turn one of their own against them? Sow discord among their ranks before striking."
Dravokh slammed his fist onto the table, cracking its surface. "I don't need schemes or manipulation! I'll crush them myself and take back what's ours."
Lilithra chuckled darkly. "Because brute force worked so well the first time, didn't it?"
Before Dravokh could respond, Zerak's voice cut through the room. "Enough. If Dravokh wants to redeem himself, he will do so alone. No tricks, no assistance. This is his chance to prove that he belongs among us. And if he fails again..." Zerak's eyes burned with cold fury. "There won't be a third chance."
The meeting dissolved, the others retreating to their chambers. Dravokh lingered, his massive frame hunched as he paced the cavern. His claws scraped against the stone walls, the sound grating but grounding.
"I'll show them," he muttered to himself, his voice low and dangerous. "I'll show all of them."
He stopped in front of a small alcove, where a faintly glowing shard of a demonic mirror lay. The artifact's surface swirled with dark energy, distorting his reflection into something monstrous.
"I am the Howling Terror," he growled, his claws tightening into fists. "And I will remind them why."
With a final glance at the mirror, Dravokh turned and strode out of the Abyssal Caverns. His steps echoed through the dark passageways, each one more determined than the last.
Zerak stood alone in the now-empty chamber, his gaze fixed on the entrance through which Dravokh had disappeared.
"If he succeeds," Zerak murmured to himself, "we might survive this. But if he fails..."
He didn't finish the thought. The weight of the Upper Demons' judgment loomed over them all, an ever-present reminder of their fragile existence. For the 7 Lower Demons, failure was not an option—it was a death sentence.
Zerak's shadow stretched unnaturally across the chamber, the faint glow of the crystal overhead casting jagged patterns on the walls. His voice was a whisper, almost lost in the oppressive silence.
"We're running out of time."
Deep in his heart, he knew that the humans—and the crystal—were only the beginning of their trials. Their survival depended on their next move, and Dravokh's success or failure would tip the scales.
The shadows of the Lesser Sins grew darker, and the fragile alliance of the 7 Lower Demons teetered on the edge of oblivion.