Floating some distance away from Adrian, Damian remained seated lazily upon his throne while Rin stood near the armrest with its tails swaying behind it. Their voices stayed low enough that even with demonic hearing, the possessed man could not make out their words. Damian’s gaze remained fixed on Adrian the entire time while his expression grew more thoughtful.

"Clearly he’s not one of the bounty hunters looking to claim my head," Damian said quietly while tapping the armrest with his fingers. "But I don’t think we gave him a very good impression. One wrong report and we become a threat to all demons."

Rin nodded slowly.

It had arrived at the same conclusion. Based on the demon’s words, Astaroth had not sent him as an assassin.

This was observation, nothing more. The Duke wanted information. He wanted to understand what kind of prince Damian had become and that changed everything.

If Astaroth received a favorable report, it could discourage neutral Dukes from accepting Envy’s bounty. More importantly, if enough influential demons began viewing Damian as someone capable of opposing Sol, many would naturally protect him instead of hunting him.

Rin’s ears lowered slightly.

"We need a different approach," it decided after several moments. "We need to leave a good impression before sending him away."

Damian agreed but not completely. His eyes narrowed slightly as he thought of a larger problem Rin seemed to have forgotten.

The issue was not Astaroth, the issue was someone else.

"If we make this move..." Damian spoke slowly while staring into the distance. "Wouldn’t we end up on the bad side of that man?"

Rin understood immediately.

Sol!!!

That name alone made the situation feel impossible. Damian rubbed his temple with a frown. His thoughts had become unpleasant lately.

The more he learned, the more complicated things became.

"Even if we make demons like us more..." he muttered. "Wouldn’t that just make Envy more envious?"

Silence followed.

Even Rin revealed a bitter smile. For once the all-knowing fox looked helpless. There was no perfect answer.

If they wanted to avoid becoming a target, running and leaving Earth was the only option

But Damian would never agree to such. This was his home and his birthplace. Rin understood that asking him to abandon all of it was impossible.

After a while it finally spoke.

"That man is too proud to become a mere mercenary for another demon."

Damian looked at it with surprise written all over his expression.

"Even if he wants to kill you, the moment he realizes another demon desires your death, he won’t act." Rin continued. "That’s how prideful he is."

Damian slowly relaxed. That meant Sol truly was not his immediate problem.

At least not yet.

Unexpectedly Damian felt grateful towards that prince.

While he had never met Sol and everything he knew came from stories told by a fox and the frightened reactions of others.

Yet somehow this unseen prince had become one of the reasons he could still breathe comfortably.

Damian sighed.

His floating throne slowly descended until it landed gently a few meters before Adrian.

Without ceremony he waved his hand and the crushing pressure vanished. Adrian immediately collapsed forward and coughed repeatedly while trying to steady himself.

"I apologize." Damian stared at him while speaking in a calm tone. "I thought you were among the demons sent to kill me."

His eyes however did not apologize. The demon blinked repeatedly as its eyes moved between Damian and Rin. It genuinely could not tell if this was an apology or a threat disguised as one.

Rin floated forward.

"My lord has suffered consecutive attacks after pardoning Duke Haborym’s surviving soldiers," it explained calmly. "We thought this was retaliation for showing mercy to outcasts."

The demon froze and his head slowly lifted.

"He... pardoned Duke Haborym’s legions?"

Rin nodded naturally and the demon’s mind shook. Because currently, the underworld believed something entirely different.

Rumors had spread already. Everyone said Duke Haborym died and his army died with him. They claimed Damian’s wives slaughtered every survivor in revenge.

Honestly, most demons accepted the story immediately. Everyone knew enough about Damian’s wives. They were known to be violent, possessive and reckless.

Yet this prince actually controlled his wives and spared them?

The demon looked at Damian again and something shifted. Not even Lin Qui had control over his wives. That’s why he spent most of his life doing damage control.

"The boy you inhabit belongs to an old enemy of mine. I didn’t expect to find a demon living inside him." Damian casually added.

The demon nodded quickly. Suddenly, everything made sense. Damian is a young prince without backing but surrounded by enemies, of course he would become paranoid.

Any prince in his position would.

After thinking briefly, the demon spoke.

"Should I leave the body so you can kill him?"

Damian stared at it blankly for a few seconds and then suddenly laughed softly.

For some reason he found the answer hilarious.

"Relax." He shook his head. "You already ruined the mood."

"Besides... the Order of Moses is active around this region. You need that body if you don’t want to get caught and killed." he added casually and Rin nodded.

"My lord recently saved some of Duke Haborym’s soldiers from those priests. They have a Seed among them." Rin added quickly.

Buzz.

The demon’s entire body jolted as his eyes widened. Excitement quickly replaced fear.

"You mean... a Seed exists on this planet?" His voice trembled.

The demon sounded like a man who just discovered oil in his backyard.

"Yes. But he belongs to the Commandment of Piety and currently possesses Archangel Gilbert." Rin nodded.

Immediately the demon’s expression changed. His excitement vanished and his brows furrowed.

A wasted Seed, that was unfortunate. Someone that far gone could no longer be recruited. He knew most likely, Astaroth would consider elimination instead.

Still this information was priceless and more than that the demon became confused vecause Damian had no reason to tell him any of this. He expected hostility but somehow he saw something else.

Damian felt closer to Sol, yet also had a striking resemblance to Lin Qui.

To think the man he would find is one talented and bold enough to rival Sol, yet kind enough not to become him.

Maybe... Just maybe this really was the prince everyone was waiting for.

Suddenly his thoughts stopped we his head snapped upward only to realized Damian and Rin were gone. Far away, he could see the throne flying across the night sky.

"They really didn’t kill me..." His mouth slowly opened.

Despite everything pointing toward this outcome, yet surviving felt unbelievable. Truly this prince is God sent!

At this point, the demon’s thoughts drifted elsewhere.

’Lord Envy’s hunters had already started moving.’ His expression became serious.

"I need to report to my lord immediately." He concluded decisively.

Meanwhile Damian sat on his throne while flying through the skies with an annoyed face.

He came here to kill Adrian. Instead, a random demon ruined everything. Now he had to act mature if not he would have torn both Adrian and that demon apart.

"Are you okay with Adrian surviving another day?" Rin glanced at him.

Damian stared ahead for a moment and then raised a brow.

"Do I have a choice?"

Rin smiled bitterly while Damian sighed and pulled out his phone. He dialed Twenty and the call connected instantly.

"Brother! You got him?" Twenty sounded excited.

Less than an hour had passed Damian left. If he was done this fast it meant they what time for celebrations.

"Have your men withdraw." Damian looked ahead calmly.

Twenty choker instantly on his drink but Damian continued.

"The target is protected by an allied demon. The hunt is over."

"What?!" Twenty blurted

But Damian had already ended the call as the night swallowed the throne as it continued flying forward.