chapter 87. Greed (B)

As Everly and Greed conversed, she observed Devere climb weakly to his feet with a slight stagger before dropping heavily into one of the chairs placed throughout the room. He'd passed out. He'd warned Everly earlier that summoning his lord would drain a large amount of energy from his body. It seemed the cost was even greater than he'd expected.

Everly decided that it made sense if she really thought about it. Why wouldn't the embodiment of greed take more than he needed? It was all part of his brand. Still, that he fed directly off his follower's life energy wasn't something that she'd expected of him. It made him seem more parasitic than she thought he would be. Was that what a demon's true nature was with those who worshipped them? Were they more like mosquitoes with an intellect than actual people?

Everly decided that this was a good reminder that the old demon wouldn't settle for anything resembling a fair trade. The more he could get for his himself, the more he would try to take. That would be what his nature demanded.

What would be the best way to play this out? The easiest solution would be to give Greed however much he wanted. Everly could transmute dirt into gold; there was no shortage of material rewards she could give him if he proved useful. But she had a feeling that Greed would want something more important than money as his payment.

That would be a classical demon lord power move. Pretending to want one thing only to turn around at the last moment and reveal that there was something else he'd been after all along. Then he'd spring his trap and mock Everly's foolishness before hurling her into the abyss. That would be a proper Faustian maneuver, wouldn't it?

(That might be something she'd like to try for herself one day.)

Of course, a potential double-cross could only happen if Everly herself was Greed's target. There was an equally good chance that there was something else entirely he wanted; something that she had no knowledge of. And until she knew more, she'd have to stay on her toes. The seven kings were ancient creatures with lifespans that were impossible to measure. Technically, their greatest weapons weren't their magic or their armies, it was their experience. If she truly wanted to match them, she'd have to think creatively.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured this out on your own," Greed smirked after downing a glass of wine. "Isn't it obvious? You're being targeted by someone who's nursing quite a grudge."

Everly's eyes narrowed at his words. "Are you being serious?" she asked. "I'm obviously being targeted by someone nursing a grudge! Kestral said as much herself. What I'd like to know is why Pride is assisting her and what I must do to convince her to stop. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to declare war on the demon continent."

Heh, no choice. As though she hadn't been spoiling for a fight with them for what felt like ages.

"Well, now, hold on a moment there," Greed said as he poured himself another drink. "Let's not fly off the handle here, okay? War with you is something the rest of us would very much like to avoid. Don't be so quick to believe the press about all seven of us being all-conquering maniacs."

"Aren't you supposed to be all-conquering maniacs? I mean, don't you want to rule the world and all that?" asked Everly.

"Nope!" Greed handily answered. The speed with which he said it was definitely suspicious.

"Nu-uh," Everly insisted. "You're all demons, and everyone knows that demons are sour flavored lollipops. You're just trying to scam me," she said accusingly. "But I'm way too sharp to fall for your tricks."

"This is religious discrimination at its core," Greed complained. "What right have you got to make assumptions about my nature? Just because I'm the embodiment of selfishness doesn't mean I'm incapable of sharing."

"Isn't that exactly what it means?" asked Everly.

"Yes! But that doesn't mean my heart doesn't yearn to be as kind and generous as Father Christmas himself," said Greed. "I'd love to oversee a major holiday. Pride has the fourth of Julius, Gluttony has Thanksgiving, Lust gets Valentine's, Wrath has all the Irish ones. What about Greed? When's my big day?"

"Hey, we're talking about things that concern me, dummy," Everly cut in. "Don't greedily assert yourself as the subject of conversation."

"Did I do that?" he wondered.

"You did!" Everly said.

"I'm incorrigible!" he declared.

"I'm beginning to notice that." Everly replied.

"Well, if we're back on topic, then as a matter of fact, we like the current status quo and would very much like it to continue indefinitely," Greed said. "What good would a pointless outbreak of war with demon-kind achieve? Do you know how much work it was repopulating this stupid continent the last time you little apes nearly wiped each other out?"

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Everly asked skeptically.

"Everly, if we wanted these lands, we'd have taken them ages ago," Greed replied. "We're hardly lacking in manpower. It would be the easiest thing imaginable to place Winstead beneath our heel."

"If that's so, then why haven't you?" Everly asked him.

"I just told you. It took us centuries to get your ancestors off the endangered species list. I wasn't lying about your being a distant descendant of mine. In truth, you've got the blood of all seven of us flowing through your veins. All humanity does. Those with the strongest concentration of it are the ones capable of bonding with the elementals and wielding magic."

"Knock it off," Everly said with a scowl. Did he really think she wouldn't notice what he was attempting to do?

"What? Knock what off?" Greed asked with a genuine look of confusion.

"Quit giving me these meaningless bits of lore that don't really explain anything useful for my situation," Everly said. "I don't care about any of this pointless background info. You're trying to impress me with secrets, but I don't care about these age-old mysteries."

"How can you not? It's all so interesting," Greed said. "It all pertains to the last war against the Speakers and the oath we swore to the Radiant One in order to—"

"Nooooo, please stop," Everly demanded as she stomped a foot impatiently. "Greed, do you really think I can't see these salesman tactics for what they are? I'm not buying a vacuum cleaner from you, okay, bud?"

"Did you just call me a salesman?" Greed asked her as a frown began to grow on his face.

Everly sneered at his reaction before continuing. "Clearly! You're obviously trying to forge a bond here, trying to build up some trust to make me think of you as a reliable source of information; but let me tell you old man, there are drug dealers who operate with more subtlety than you. Obviously the first few impressive but ultimately pointless secrets are free. But anything of actual importance will cost me big time! That's when you'll reel me in."

"Hey, I sincerely resent being compared to a fisherman!" Greed replied angrily. "Those guys smell of the ocean. I can't stand that odor."

"You're an allegorical fisherman!" Everly snapped at him. "Or maybe you're a metaphorical one. I don't know, it's been ages since I attended an English class. The fact remains that this meeting so far has been pointless. Have you got something for me or not?"

"Graah," Greed grunted as he sat himself in a chair and glowered at her. "The lack of respect. That's what I hate the most. I'm Greed of the seven cardinals! Avarice himself! When I was the primary sin, no one would ever dare to speak to me like you just did. If they did, I'd take everything from them!"

"Oh, come on, can you just not help yourself?" Everly asked him in exasperation. "You just had to casually mention that you were once the primary sin, didn't you? Now, despite my lack of interest, I feel obligated to say, YOU were the primary sin? But then why is Pride in charge? Well? Get on with it, you manipulative old bastard."

"Well, if you insist," Greed said smugly. "You see kid, Pride gets all the credit for the great wrongs in the multiverse. Why did that Archangel fall? Why did that woman partake of the apple? What prompted the construction of Babel's tower? On Earth, all the little preachers say to their flocks, pride, pride, pride. Well, BULLSHIT! All that chaos was wrought in the name of GREED! GLORIOUS GREED!"

The old man stood up then and spread his arms, sloshing the contents of his glass as he did so. "I was the one who expanded our reach and introduced the most destructive concepts ever conceived of to the world. I created economics, Everly! Money! Something people are willing to kill for but doesn't actually exist outside of mutual agreement! I created wealth and poverty; I spearheaded manifest destiny and land theft! I'm the father of colonialism! I'm the guy who did all that!"

"If that's the case, then why aren't you the one calling the shots?" Everly asked him. She really didn't care, but Greed seemed to love drama as much as he did free wine.

"I don't know!" Greed yelled. "For some reason, she's just stronger than I am! One day she decided that she could do a better job and then pulled me from my seat! Like I was nothing! Like I didn't matter in the slightest! My own little sister! Can you imagine how that felt?"

"Noooo," said Everly who'd murdered her own elder brother and taken his place in their father's affections.

Still, it was easy to see (at least from her perspective) how Greed could have been overthrown. He had power, Everly could feel that for herself; but he didn't have a warrior's resolve. He was a merchant, a mere man of mercantilism. He might sell weapons or collect them, but it was clear he had no talent for using them.

Pride, on the other hand, from what Everly had been able to learn, was a killer. When she wanted something, she claimed it with her own hands. It was clear to see that she'd patiently let Greed build up the wealth and power of their kingdom and when she felt the time was right, she set him aside and claimed rulership of the seven for herself.

The fact that Greed hadn't retaliated against Pride meant that he was no match for her.

That also meant there was an excellent chance that Greed wasn't a match for Everly either.

And here he was, alone in her palace, dwelling on bitter memories of the past, like the old loser he was.

What would it feel like to murder another demon king? she found herself wondering