Chapter 79: The Banquet

  Bogna stared in bewilderment at the Grim Judge standing before her. It was her first time seeing him in full devilish noble attire, and he looked far too handsome. His high cheekbones, broad jaw, and strong chin, combined with a lively gaze, made her wonder what the sinister man was plotting this time.

  "Well? I asked how the Sarmatian robes suit me."

  The she-devil, however, was not deceived by his words. Since his appearance answered the question all too well, and matters with her superior were never simple, there had to be an ulterior motive. Thanks to reading countless cheap romance novels—the favorite literary genre of she-devils from the 66th Dimension—she quickly saw through his plans.

  'Is he... is he trying to seduce me?!'

  All the memories associated with this dark legend flashed before her eyes. How he had asked her ambiguous questions at the very beginning. How he falsely tried to behave in a non-sinister way in front of her. All of this could lead to only one conclusion, one that turned her cheeks as red as a beetroot.

  'It all makes sense!'

  Convinced there was no other explanation, the girl stepped away from him shyly. When she was being offered as a sacrifice, she had considered exactly this possibility, but its resurgence after a long period of silence completely threw her off balance.

  "No... I couldn't!"

  She began to protest aloud to herself. She knew such villains could not be trusted and immediately put her guard up. Glaring at him with indignation, she signaled clearly that nothing would happen.

  On the other hand, however... she couldn't resist imagining herself as the mistress of the lands around her village and the wife of someone so infamous. So, even though she quickly banished these fantasies, she still lifted her head slightly to give Justinian a view of her most attractive angle.

  The man in question, however, watched her with no small amount of confusion. He had asked a simple question about whether his Sarmatian robes suited the banquet, and Bogna had started behaving terribly strangely. Not only had he received no answer, but now she was glaring at him grimly, as if he had somehow offended her.

  The awkwardness of the scene was interrupted by the descent of the Noble Brothers, who looked even more elegant than usual. Their outfits, generally of high quality, featured even more gilded elements today, making them look simply like tycoons.

  "If I didn't know you better, I would think your revenge on the 61st Dimension consists of flaunting your fortune."

  It was a simple joke, as the young man knew well that the Noble Brothers didn't show off their wealth out of revenge, but out of sheer devilish pettiness and pride. His audience, however, understood it differently, and immediately several nobles, led by Rudnicki, laughed merrily.

  "My dear sir, you know perfectly well that we are very humble devils. We simply dress this way to traditionally honor our ancestors."

  Contrary to his words, the noble's eyes seemed to appreciate the comment, which they had mistakenly taken as flattery. He immediately stepped down to Justinian, who was standing with the still-blushing Bogna, and asked jovially:

  "What are your thoughts on the banquet? Do you intend to showcase some human dancing skills?"

  The young man raised his eyebrows high.

  "Dancing?"

  "Exactly so. Today's banquet will certainly be full of music and good fun!"

  Justinian shook his head in amusement. He had been in Hell long enough not to expect anything normal from devilish music. He believed even less in Sarmatians prancing about on a ballroom floor. As he had learned long ago, devils—despite their terrible nature—were terribly shy, and it was their women who made public advances.

  "In the Kingdom of Pea..."

  His reply was interrupted by an uncontrolled burst of laughter right behind him.

  "The Grim Judge and dancing? Hahaha, no way!"

  This preposterous vision was enough to pull Bogna out of her confinement in the world of her romantic delusions.

  The banquet was held in one of the magnificent stone complexes belonging to Voivode Micromegas. No fewer than two thousand devils were in attendance, a good half of whom were local celebrity hunters who had paid exorbitant sums to be near the stars of the tournament.

  The rest of the spots were allocated to devils from the dimensions participating in the ceremony.

  Currently, everyone was gathered in a vast auditorium lined with ancient columns of crumbling white stone. On the stage at the very front stood Micromegas, addressing the assembly.

  "Today's banquet is dedicated to the Observers who have arrived here in the holy duty of fulfilling the orders of the Ruler of Hells."

  As he spoke these words, Justinian noticed a shift in the devils' attitude. Glances full of condemnation, and even hostility, seemed to corner him from every side. They clearly showed what the local audience thought of his method of passing the arena test.

  'Small fry are one thing; it’s another matter that the big fish aren't letting up on me either.'

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  Dimension 61, in particular, emanated open hatred at the mere sight of him. The young man didn't think this was deserved, but it annoyed him less than a similar display from the 64th Dimension. Bahadyr, whose proposal he had rejected earlier, led the charge.

  'If I had known back then that he would try to intimidate me with his buddies, I would have decked him right there...'

  He had a strange feeling, however, that he would soon have an opportunity to correct that oversight. Nor could he lose focus on the present. For he noticed that while he was accumulating the sinister glares of Dimensions 64 and 61, the latter... had themselves become victims of similar malice!

  The Sarmatians, while looking respectfully towards Micromegas, would every so often glance straight at the Dimension 61 delegation, emanating a dark aura. It all looked like a deliberate action, and they didn't even try to suppress the Ki radiating from them. Even the air between them trembled slightly from these postures, and slowly, more and more surrounding devils began to pay attention to them.

  Voivode Ericus's warriors hadn't responded yet, but increasingly sharp looks were visible in their eyes.

  When Micromegas concluded his speech and music rang out in the auditorium—quite similar to human music, to Justinian's great surprise—Nikodem Rudnicki straightened up and adjusted his diamond-encrusted belt.

  "And now, my dear sir... Don't take your eyes off us."

  Saying this, he placed his hand on his saber and headed towards the devils of the 61st Dimension.

  Dozens of different corridors branched off from the auditorium, hiding smaller party rooms. Some of them were private and covered by protective spells, preventing entry without the consent of those inside. In one such room, three white-haired devils were currently paying not the slightest attention to Micromegas's speech.

  Instead, one of them—middle-aged but with a lively gaze—was voicing his remarks to Envidius, the Observer who had accompanied the local Voivode at the opening ceremony.

  "You are too focused on what you learned in the 32nd Dimension. You were included in this mission also to broaden your horizons."

  Before Envidius could thank him for the lesson, a loud snort resounded from the other side of the table where they were sitting.

  "And how is he supposed to broaden his horizons here? By watching drunken fools or madmen who can't control themselves?"

  These words were spoken by a beautiful she-devil who looked about twenty years old and was smiling mockingly. Her white, gently curling hair fell onto her shoulders, accentuating the violet glint in her dark eyes.

  Dolovarius, who had spoken a moment earlier, looked at her calmly. There was a lot of truth in the statement; after all, the Sarmatians of the 66th Dimension, despite a lifestyle bordering on almost all devilish virtues, could not obtain the power of even one due to their wretchedness. Nevertheless, he did not agree with her.

  "A negative example sometimes yields more than a positive one."

  Hearing this, the young woman rolled her eyes. Dolovarius, however, had already turned his attention to her.

  "Speaking of examples... Alia, how is the progress on the third oath?"

  "Firstly, the oath will be created when the time comes. And secondly..." here, energy warping the air around her began to manifest. "For someone of your standing, it is 'Your Highness Alia'."

  Dolovarius narrowed his eyes, preparing a retort. His gaze, however, suddenly wandered in a completely different direction, where the rest of the devils had turned their eyes. They had sensed an unexpected commotion in the main auditorium.

  While the Observers were conversing in their private room, something was happening in the main party auditorium that was destined to become a legend of the entire dimension.

  Justinian expected everything: a sudden attack, a challenge to a duel, or perhaps even a political scandal. Watching the obese devils from the 66th Dimension move behind Rudnicki to the center of the hall, he even began readying himself for a fight. Meanwhile, however, the Sarmatians did not draw their sabers.

  Instead, nearly staggering from the alcohol consumed earlier and smiling mockingly in the direction of the 61st Dimension's representation, they began... to dance.

  It was a dance like nothing he had ever seen in his life. Despite their intoxication, they barely swayed in place, sometimes bobbing their heads, sometimes stomping their feet, almost completely off-beat. It was so preposterous that it was absurd.

  'Do they always have to make such cretins of themselves?'

  Justinian covered his face with his hand, hoping no one would spot him in the devilish crowd. In the Kingdom of Peace, people danced spontaneously on rare, happy occasions that allowed them to forget their poverty for a moment. This, however, was plain torture for the onlookers.

  But then, something inexplicable happened. A strange sound pierced the air, one he didn't recognize at first. Soon, however, he had to wonder if he was hallucinating and quickly rubbed his eyes.

  A significant portion of the audience... had started clapping?

  This didn't apply to everyone; the other representations, in particular, looked at the Sarmatians with irritation and rage. Moreover, the other male devils were positively scandalized and quickly began hugging the walls to ensure no one mistook them for being eager to dance.

  "Have they no shame!?"

  But the devil women... their reaction was entirely different. They watched the ridiculously swaying nobles with a fascination they couldn't hide. That wildness, that disregard for the opinions of others, and that pure, devilish breaking of conventions were more visible here than in all the other dimensions put together.

  Soon, in addition to clapping, they began to applaud eagerly, clearly showing what they thought of it all.

  Dimension 61, which had managed to retreat to the wall, though stronger in the power of their Voivode's presence, was losing the battle for attention in the worst possible way.

  Septima stood in the shadow of one of the columns, watching this circus with a stone face. Deep in her eyes flashed a memory of a long-lost past, where, like other she-devils, she had loved such amusements.

  Although she showed no emotion, even she had to admit that she never expected to see dancing devil men.

  'It’s another matter entirely that they have no skill in it...'

  However, the very idea of a ball and listening to infernal music held something that slowly resonated with her lost world. She remembered the times before Maleficius's plan. Somewhere deep in her soul, she felt a prick of sadness.

  Then she felt someone attack her. A sudden jerk on her arm threw her off balance and pulled her forward. She instinctively wanted to unleash some of her power, but the confident voice of the "attacker" made her disbelieve what was happening.

  "Enough standing in the corner!"

  It was none other than a laughing Justinian.

  Before she could protest, the young man pulled her along with him. In his other hand, he held Bogna, who was giggling wildly, looking with superiority at the surrounding she-devils who could only envy her for dancing with someone.

  What surprised Septima the most was the fact that Justinian did not dance like a drunken Sarmata. He didn't look like he had any learned moves either; instead, he simply wanted to have a good time. Soon, he began leading both girls simultaneously, whirling among the dumbfounded guests.

  The reaction of the auditorium was immediate. The she-devils in the audience hissed, green with envy, and quickly turned towards their shamefaced partners. They evidently wanted to be treated that way too.

  This, in turn, led to the hateful glares thrown at Justinian multiplying significantly. Even Envidius, who had just arrived from the Observers' room, watched in confusion, while the drunken Noble Brothers began to look at their "comrade" with no small admiration.

  Justinian paid no attention to any of these things. Now, just as he once had in his kingdom, he wanted to seize a rare moment of respite and simply have a good time.