Fenrir and Selene teleported to Azazel's castle. It was a massive structure, reminiscent of humanity's Dark Ages—foreboding, well-kept, and upgraded with the best technology discovered across several planets. Fenrir and Selene quickly walked into the hall, brushing aside the guards who tried to stop them.
"Welcome, please sit," Azazel gestured to a couple of empty seats, his voice calm. "We have some very important information to share."
Beezle, Adramelech, Astaroth, and Verrine presented surveillance on the Savior party. Eris and Helen sat behind Azazel. Ankha sat beside Azazel, looking like a mere sliver of his usual titanic size, thanks to a spell from Eris.
"Our intel shows everything went according to plan at the Ruins," Astaroth presented. "Our secret agent passed on the necessary information from our hidden ally and tried to have Brie and Sora to reveal the position of the elves. Unfortunately, they failed."
We cannot get access to Sora's mansion no matter how hard we try, so we do not know how long they will be there. If it's one day, it's one week in our constructs of time. They'd be foolish to remain away for much longer."
"Very good. Did Loxus stress how strong the titans were in his conversation with Sora, Brie, and his wife? Did we successfully trick them?" Azazel asked with a cruel smile.
"His kids were returned to Paradise. That leads me to believe he performed everything asked of our hidden ally."
"Astaroth, what do you think we should do about the Elves and the Chimera?" Beezle asked.
"Leave them for now. We do not know where their entrance is and their magic is very strong. The invisible barrier is impenetrable. We'd simply walk through it like it didn't exist."
"How is that possible?" Azazel was frustrated.
"Elves have unique masking magic. That's why we focus on driving Sora mad."
"If the new prophecy shows Brie alive, what causes Sora to snap?" Azazel asked in an even tone. "This is the piece of information we need most."
Helen stood and addressed the room calmly.
"Our hidden ally will not reveal that answer to us yet. He stressed pushing Sora and Brie to rapidly gain strength. Their party is irrelevant to us at this point, Celeste included. The goal is to continue to attack with an increasingly difficult opponent to push him into madness. That is what our hidden ally desires."
"I wish we had all the pieces, but everything our hidden ally told us came to fruition. Does he truly want Exteria destroyed?" Azazel asked, admiring his lover.
"Yes…" She replied calmly. "He's very angry at Athena. When Exteria is destroyed, we will move to another planet."
"We took care of Earth. We can help you take care of Exteria as well. This should be no problem for us," Ankha said in a boastful tone.
"Don't forget about us!" Fenrir smirked. "All of our packs are trained and ready. If we move on the night of a full moon," he slammed a fist against his chest, "we will secure a victory."
"Excellent! We forced Sora to kill thousands of innocents. Unfortunately, he was rescued by his wife and the souls in Paradise. We must push him further and test his power to see how much pain and loss he can handle," Azazel smirked as he stood and raised both hands. "Until next time, thank you for coming. Fenrir and Selene, please stay."
The others left the room, leaving Eris, Helen, Fenrir, and Selene behind.
Azazel turned his gaze to Fenrir.
"Why are two of your children in the Saviors' party? Have the werewolves lost their interest in helping me?"
"You mean our worthless children?" The big man scoffed. "Those who cannot produce a Nyx heir do not belong in my pack. Even if they share our blood and powers, they are no match for our youngest son. Let the werewolves handle our internal problems. I assure you, we are with you."
"Good," Azazel said as he elongated his nails and pumped his demonic art into Fenrir.
"Ah-WO!" Fenrir howled, still in human form. "My wife always gets so frisky after you give us more power," a mischievous grin stretched across his face. "Thank you, my Lord. Eris, Helen, nice to see you both."
Azazel turned, repeating the same process for Selene, then sent them away.
*****
"Well, I'd say things are going quite well, what do you think?" Azazel asked.
"My titans are unbeatable on any planet." Eris said smugly. "I don't understand why we don't just stomp the entire world right now."
"Calm yourself, Eris. You know why we can't. We need to ensure the demons extract power on this planet like they have from the other extinct planets. We have werewolves to feed now. There's no point in taking over and exterminating a planet if we're not going to steal and absorb all the lifeforce from it," Helen retorted.
"Is Sora and Brie's power-up really worth all of this?" Eris asked angrily.
"According to our hidden ally, if they both hit their full potential, they would be more beneficial to life drain than 20 complete planets," Helen said with a calculated tone. "That saves us tens, if not hundreds of thousands of years."
"So we are going to drain their power and slay them as god and goddess? Doesn't that make us outlaws and send us to Athena's dungeon?" Eris asked, a little fearful. "I don't want to go back there. Athena will send for us and that is a war we will not win."
"No. We won't be doing any of it. That's the beauty of all of this. If Sora destroys the world, the three of us simply absorb the lifeforces and divide them as we see fit," Azazel smirked.
"Exactly!" Helen said, excitement bubbling in her tone. "This world will be ruined, his party will be stuck because they will be powerless. Once we have the power to control time and cast illusions, every planet will bend to us. Eris, how quickly could your titans eliminate a lifeforce frozen in time?"
"Depends on the size of the planet. Some in hours, some may take months. It will certainly make taking over planets much more efficient. We can rule over the entire Universe."
"Exactly! Then we will be strong enough to take the war to Athena!" Azazel said as he teleported to his bedroom. Helen followed, the two of them spending the night together.
Sometimes the best-laid plans take time to unfold.