Lucifer walked in the lead as he stepped inside the Guest Place.
Yasmine and Aslima walked behind him, one on the left and one on his right.
"You're back!" Salazar was the first to notice Lucifer.
After him, Caen and the others also noticed him.
While Salazar and Caen were concerned about Lucifer, the others were staring at Yasmine.
"You are alive?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah. I was trapped in the ground. These two help me get out," Yasmine answered.
Milena also stood up. She was pleased that Yasmine was alive. The loss of Nobles wasn't much for her, but the Noble Lords were the ones who were truly close to her.
With Yasmine's return, all the Noble Lords were safe now.
"It appears that you're up as well," Lucifer said, observing Milena. "That bracelet does look good on you. I suppose Feronia told you about all that you need to know about that bracelet?"
"I was waiting for you too. The broken child who now wants to break everyone else. Is that why you don't want to let me roam free?" Milena asked Lucifer.
Lucifer frowned, hearing her words. What did she mean by broken child?
He glared at Caen, understanding a few things. But he didn't say anything.
He looked back at Milena. "I don't understand what you're talking about."
"The son of the hero, forced to turn into a villain. A kid broken by society? Is that not you?" Milena asked.
"It appears that someone told you about me more than they should have," Lucifer muttered. "But it doesn't matter. Words are useless now."
"Moreover, you do know that I can also use words, right?" He added as he walked to the chair and sat, one leg resting above the other. "And remember, my words will be much sharper."
He didn't appear phased at her words.
"Don't misunderstand me. I'm not mocking you. It's just that knowing more about you helped me understand you more," Milena replied as she sat as well, facing Lucifer.
The two of them sat face to face, at a few meters of distance from each other.
Salazar and Caen stood near Lucifer while the Nobles stood near Milena.
"And may I ask what you understood?" Lucifer asked.
"At first, I used to think that you were just like the Empires that destroyed my home, despite our goodwill. Even I extended my hand for support; you trapped me," Milena said, frowning.
"With that, you didn't appear any different than all the cruel people I crushed under my feet. Similarly, I also wanted to crush you under my feet. But after knowing more about you, I realized that you might be slightly different," she added.
"And how? If I may ask?" Lucifer asked.
"You are cruel, and you are clever. But it's not because your heart is cruel. It's not because you want to destroy the world. You do it all for a different reason," Milena said.
"What different reason?" Lucifer asked.
"To keep yourself safe. After dying so many times at the hands of those stronger than you, you have lost all the faith. You are scared. You are scared for yourself. It's similar to how I was."
" I wanted to destroy all the Empires for my revenge, but a part of it was also because I felt I was going to feel safer after all my enemies were gone. I did that on a small scale, but you're trying to do that on a big scale."
"What do you mean?" Lucifer asked, smirking.
"I destroyed the Empires in the continent of Darkness so I could stay in peace. But that was the limit of my ambition. You, on the other hand, want to either destroy or take over all the powers that have the potential to kill you. Isn't that true?" Milena asked.
Lucifer glanced at Caen, frowning. He couldn't help but wonder exactly how much they told her.
"Don't worry; they didn't tell me anything about your ambitions or goals in coming here. But it wasn't hard to guess either," Milena replied.
"From what I know, my Divine Empire and the Warlock Council are two of the most powerful forces in this World. Taking us down would mean no one would be able to threaten you. It's easy to guess."
" That's why you have enmity with the Warlock Council, and that's also why you pulled that trick on us," she continued.
"And why are you so sure? Can't it be that the only reason for my enmity with the Warlock Council is because of what they did to me? And the reason for me coming here was the stone," Lucifer replied.
"I might have believed that if you hadn't dragged me down," Milena answered, showing her bracelet.
"You already had my portion of the stone and the promise of my support, but you still pulled this trick. Why? Because you don't trust in cooperation. Probably because your father was betrayed by his teammates?"
"I mean, it's not as if you trust your own men, let alone trusting me. This bracelet? If I'm not wrong, it was in the hands of Salazar before me. Probably because you were intimidated by him too?"
"A person like you isn't capable of trust any more. The person who can't even trust his own men? How can I expect him to trust me?" She asked.
"Well, you're in luck then. Because I don't need you to expect either, as long as you stay in your place, you'll be fine. Don't cross me, and maybe one day I'll take off that bracelet," Lucifer responded.
"To get trust, you need to earn it with your actions like Salazar did by not leaving Caen behind at the time of need," he continued.
"That's what you say. But we both know you still didn't trust him entirely, do you?" Milena asked, smirking.
Lucifer didn't answer. Instead, he changed the topic. "If you're finished with all this nonsense, can we get to the point?"
"And what point will that be?" Milena asked, amused.
"As you already know, you can't break that bracelet or use your powers. Moreover, the life of you and all your Nobles is in my hand. That means you will work for me from now on. Are we clear?" Lucifer asked.
"Heh, let me guess. You want to use my Nobles in your war with the Warlock Council?" Milena asked.
"My war?" Lucifer smirked. "Young lady, this is now your war more than mine. The Warlock Council's team has died here. And trust me, they weren't even a fraction of their full powers. It was just one leader of theirs with his team. They had many more!"
"Who knows, next time they'll come with all their force to destroy the Divine Empire? You need them dead more than I do," he added.