The Damned Demon

Asher's chuckle broke the tense silence as he approached Lysandra with a nonchalance that seemed to clash with the gravity of their conversation, "Why do you ask when you already know the answer?" He asked, his question delivered with an easy smile.

Lysandra, however, was not easily placated.

Her gaze sharpened, a reflection of her skepticism, "You already know how much I want to kill Drakar. So I don't see any reason why you have to go out of your way to get my help. I could have understood if the situation was the same as when you were trapped in my kingdom and needed my help to escape. But now...why?" Her question laid bare the puzzle of Asher's motivations, seeking to unearth the true intent behind his actions.

She knew nobody in this world knew the meaning of "kindness". Not even her except towards her son.

So how could the king of an enemy kingdom go out of the way to help her and her son?

Asher's response came as he paced away, then turned to face her, embodying a candidness that bordered on vulnerability, "You must have already realized that I have no blind hatred towards you draconians. Look at me. I am just an alien who woke up a few years ago and do not belong to any race in this world. In between figuring out what and who I really am, I only care about the present and the future. Not what happened in this world before my time. Except for my kingdom, everything is foreign and new to me."

"What are you trying to say?" Lysandra pressed, her expression a mix of confusion and intrigue, though she did feel that he was telling the truth.

At least his actions so far supported his words.

"I am saying...I have no hidden agenda to annihilate or conquer your kind or anything, nor am I interested in whose ancestor was right or wrong. All I want is peace and happiness for my kingdom. For that, I am willing to do certain things like...earning your goodwill by taking initiative on my own. So, at least once we are done, I am hoping we can end this hatred between our kingdoms once and for all. Nobody likes war except for people like Drakar. Or am I mistaken about you?" Asher's earnest gaze met Lysandra's, though inwardly, he was trying to gauge what kind of woman she was.

Based on her answer, he would be able to predict if she was going to be a threat like Drakar in the future or not.

Lysandra didn't even hesitate as she answered, "The last thing I want is a war. I have already lost everything except my son whom I don't even know if I might lose him again forever. But I would never do anything to hurt my motherland. It was where I was born after all and where my family once lived. But if we are to take down Drakar then both of our kingdoms won't come out unscathed."

Asher subtly raised one of his brows as she asked, "So you believe me?" Asher wasn't surprised by her response and felt that he hadn't read her wrong.

Lysandra's reply was swift, her eyes sharp as she deciphered the man before her, "I wouldn't have come here alone if I couldn't figure out what kind of man you are," Lysandra had to admit that she had never met a man like Asher before.

He was so young but very capable and far ahead of his age, not only in strength but in wisdom and wits as well.

But most of all, he was different compared to most of the men she knew. Anybody in his shoes would lust for power and wouldn't stop at anything. Which man with power in this world would utter a world like 'peace'?

Any common person who heard it would react as if such a word never existed.

She still couldn't forget the image of him striking down Drakar in the middle of nowhere…An image she had yearned to see for almost 200 years.

Asher smiled as he said, "It's a good thing you are good at reading people, just like reading mana."

"But your flames…they are of the same color as Agonon's eyes…How?" Lysandra asked something she had forgotten for a brief moment after getting distracted by her reunion with her son.

"As I told you before, I am still figuring out what or who I really am. But I have reason to think that the devils or the devil who is keeping Agonon there has something to do with my powers. Otherwise, why would they let me leave so easily? Maybe they have some use for me. We can't

comprehend what kind of plans they might have for us," Asher said with a shake of his head, as if baffled by his own words.

Lysandra deeply furrowed her brows, finding it hard to digest such an explanation. How could a mortal possibly be…Or maybe it wasn't that absurd.

People do call him the Immortal King and so many other names, all of which hint at how unkillable he was.

It would only make sense a devil had something to do with him.

Otherwise, how could someone so young achieve this much, breaking every record in history?

But does this mean there could be a possibility that he can somehow free Agonon from that dimension? A glimmer of hope lit in her heart upon thinking of this.

Asher tried his best to keep up a naive face since he couldn't think of any other explanation to convince her. This was something he worried about when he planned to show Agonon's damned form to Lysandra.

But to his relief, it seemed that Lysandra somehow bought his explanation and wasn't probing further.

"I am grateful that you took the initiative to let me meet Agonon. But when can I meet him again? I want to meet him from time to time in a safe and quiet place," Her request, both demanding and pleading, reflected the longing in her heart.

Asher's hesitance, reflected in the squint of his eyes, underscored the difficulty of her request, "You do realize how difficult it is for me each time I bring him out? I also have lots of duties and responsibilities to do, even if I am new to being a king. What kind of a man would I be if I let my wife do all the heavy lifting? She is already under too much stress," Asher sighed, though he did lay bare his own thoughts about Rowena.

He barely got time to relax and talk to her because of how much planning and strategizing she was doing for the worst possibilities that awaited them.

Lysandra's response was soft, contrasting against her usually hardened and cold voice, "I know. That is why I am...asking you. Just a few minutes with him is enough, and I will help you with anything you want without any question. I wouldn't demand anything in return as long as I just get to see him occasionally. I can make the necessary arrangements if you don't have the time," Lysandra was willing to make compromises since, after seeing Agonon like that, she couldn't bring herself to sit still while her son was in pain and all alone in some hellish dimension.

Asher could sense the desperation in her voice even though she was trying to maintain her decorum.

But he didn't expect her to lower her pride and plead like this, unlike Rebecca, who straight up only kept throwing death threats.

Both were mothers who loved their sons, and yet they differed greatly when it came to things like this.

Even a blind man could clearly see who the better person was.

If only she hadn't belonged to the Draconis Kingdom, things could have been...better.

But he knew life was never fair, and he would have to use the cards he was dealt with no matter how ugly things could get.

And so he nodded and said, "Alright. We will try to meet every week, and you can make the necessary arrangements. But remember...I am only doing this because you asked and also because I feel a bit bad for Agonon."

Lysandra's response was laced with gratitude, her voice steady and sincere, "And I am ever grateful to you for accepting what I asked of you. You won't be disappointed."

Asher wondered why Rebecca can't at least be as honorable as this woman, though he would rather Rebecca stay as Rebecca so that it would be satisfying to break her.

Yet, he pushed these musings aside, focusing on the matter at hand, "Then you can start with letting go of Oberon. I need him back now," he stated, shifting the conversation back to an immediate concern of his.

Lysandra's intuition, sharp as ever, discerned something, "So I guessed right. You purposefully left him behind to let us capture him. Why would you do that to your own vassal?"

Asher's scoff, light yet dismissive, veiled his thoughts of Oberon, "You have no idea who or what he has done. But let's leave it at that. I don't like to dig up the past."

Lysandra could see that Oberon must have done something severe for Asher to respond like this and she was surprised and wondered why he was keeping Oberon alive if he hated him that much. Or maybe he must be keeping him alive for a fate worse than death.

"I will send him back, but I need a few days so that nobody suspects anything. It will only look like he escaped on his own and somehow found his way back to your kingdom," she proposed while thinking of a way to keep Rhygar busy to slip Oberon out since Rhygar was too enthusiastic in handling Oberon himself to the point she regretted assigning him.

Asher's smirk, a rare display of satisfaction, acknowledged her astuteness, "Perfect. I was going to ask you to do the exact same thing anyway."