My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill-Chapter 287

Seraphina’s hand found his again under the table, squeezing. "What did he say?"

Satou took a deep breath. "TheReaper was ordered by King Ferdinand and Pope Gregorius to participate in an attack on my settlement. Three thousand troops, four newly summoned heroes, siege weapons, a hundred-mage support unit, and Commander Elric Stonewall leading them. They’re mobilizing for a full-scale assault."

"Fuck," Loki said simply, his usual playfulness completely gone. "That’s... that’s an army they’d normally reserve for attacking established demon lord territories, not a three-month-old settlement."

"They’re afraid," Satou said. "I killed Vegeta. I’m growing too fast. They want to eliminate me before I become unstoppable, thats what Theereaper said in his message."

Seraphina’s crimson eyes had gone cold and calculating. "That explains the force composition. But it doesn’t explain why TheReaper would warn you. From everything we know, he’s been humanity’s loyal weapon for three centuries."

Her other hand came up to touch Satou’s face, turning him to look at her directly. "What aren’t you telling us?"

Satou felt his heart clench at the concern in her eyes. This was why he’d fallen for her—beneath all that power and predatory danger, there was genuine care. For him. Specifically for him.

"TheReaper refused to participate," Satou explained, meeting her gaze. "And when the humans tried to force him, he opposed them directly. They sealed him—actually sealed him in some kind of divine prison artifact to stop him from interfering."

"What," Loki said flatly. It wasn’t a question. It was pure disbelief.

"TheReaper was sealed?" Seraphina’s voice was barely a whisper. "By his own allies?"

"Before they completed the sealing, he sent me a warning spell," Satou continued. "Information about the attack and told me to be prepared within a month and that i shouldn’t lose ."

Loki stood abruptly and started pacing, his hair moving with unnatural grace as he processed the implications. "This changes everything. TheReaper has been a constant for centuries. If he’s been sealed by his own side..."

"The strategic landscape just shifted," Seraphina finished, though her attention remained focused on Satou. "But more immediately—you have an army coming to destroy everything you’ve built. When?"

"About a month," Satou replied. "Maybe less if they mobilize faster. Maybe slightly more if bureaucracy slows them down."

Seraphina’s jaw tightened. Her wings rustled with barely contained agitation. "One month to prepare for a siege against three thousand trained soldiers and four overpowered heroes." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Hold on," Loki interrupted, pausing in his pacing. His golden eyes fixed on Satou with sharp intensity. "Before we start planning defenses, I need to ask something critical."

He moved back to the table, leaning on it with both hands. "What if TheReaper is lying? What if this is a trap?"

It was a valid concern. Satou had considered it himself.

"What if the humans didn’t actually seal him?" Loki continued, his voice carrying the careful reasoning of someone who’d survived centuries through paranoia. "What if this warning is designed to make you panic, mobilize resources, maybe even draw other demon lords like us into a position where we can be attacked?"

Seraphina looked at Loki, then back at Satou, her expression conflicted. "He has a point. TheReaper could be playing some kind of game we can’t see yet."

"It’s not a trap," Satou said with confidence that made both demon lords look at him sharply.

"How can you be certain?" Seraphina asked, her hand squeezing his.

Satou’s expression shifted to something thoughtful. "Because I fought him"

"Because he wasn’t trying to kill me," Satou explained. "If he had been, I’d be dead. But we fought briefly, and during that fight, I understood something about him." He paused. "TheReaper is a battle addict. Fighting constantly, never finding an opponent who can truly challenge him. He’s bored, Seraphina. Desperately, soul-crushingly bored."

Loki had stopped pacing entirely, listening with complete focus.

"But when he fought me," Satou continued, "something changed in him. Interest. Genuine interest. I’m growing rapidly—stronger with every challenge. And he recognized that. He sees me as a potential future opponent. Someone who might eventually give him the fight he’s been craving for three centuries."

Satou smiled, dark and knowing. "That’s why he refused to help the humans attack me. Not because he’s switched sides. But because he won’t let anyone else kill his source of entertainment. He wants me to survive, to grow stronger, so eventually we can have a proper battle. One where he doesn’t have to hold back. One where he might actually die."

The explanation settled over the room.

Seraphina processed it for a long moment, her tactical mind testing the theory against what she knew. Then she nodded slowly. "That... actually makes disturbing sense. TheReaper has always been described as unstable. His combat reports suggest someone who lives for the fight itself."

"A battle-obsessed immortal who finally found someone interesting," Loki mused. "Yes, I can see him warning you to preserve a future challenge." He looked at Satou with new assessment. "You must have impressed him significantly."

"Or I’m just the first person in decades who didn’t immediately die," Satou said wryly.

"Either way," Seraphina said, her voice firm, "if the warning is genuine, we need to prepare. One month to fortify your defenses against three thousand troops."

"Actually," Satou said, "before we get into tactical planning, there’s something else. Another piece of information that’s potentially more important."

He had their complete attention now.

"This is about Chronus," Satou said quietly.

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. Loki’s expression went cold and dangerous. Seraphina’s wings spread slightly, an unconscious aggressive display.

"What about Chronus?" Loki’s voice had gone flat. His rivalry with the Time Lord was legendary, and any information about his enemy commanded immediate focus.

Satou glanced at Jessica and Lyra, who both nodded slightly—permission to share what they’d discussed earlier. Then he looked back at the two demon lords.

"Before Merc Assault died," Satou said carefully, weaving the lie he’d prepared, "he told me something. A secret about Chronus that he’d discovered during his centuries of information gathering."

Both demon lords leaned forward.