Greed: All For What? - Chapter 1615: Stubborn GREED.
Things would have looked more dire had the remaining thousands of Supreme Tyrants come to surround GREED. Unfortunately, they couldn’t all come here for this meeting. They have a realm to save, and this was all they could spare.
One of them said to GREED with a tone that brooked no rejection, “Prove to us that you are not a spy for your realm.”
Another one joined in, “Yes. Swear an oath, or you are not going to leave this place at all.”
GREED would have rolled its eyes if it had them. It didn’t have them, so it made sure to express its disdain as it spoke. “Don’t bother to threaten me. This is just my clone, and the only thing you can do to it is to destroy it. If I were a spy, then your threats would mean nothing to me. I am not a spy, and it still doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“We are not stupid. We know that the threats we make can’t actually threaten you. If not for LUST, we wouldn’t have bothered to meet you at all. But we have met you, and so we must receive a token of sincerity from you. It may not threaten your life, but we will still go through with our threats if you don’t give us that token.”
GREED said stubbornly, “Don’t bother to ask for an oath. I won’t make it, no matter what. I refused to swear one in my realm. That’s why I am here speaking with you.”
A Supreme Tyrant insisted, “That’s your realm. The Tyrant Realm is different. We must get the oath from you, or your clone is gone.”
GREED sneered and said, “You must have some information about the actions of our realm lord to stamp out betrayal in the realm. You must know that those actions are why the demon gods of my realm attacked the Tyrant Realm en masse and so enthusiastically. I will tell you now that I didn’t take the oath the other demon gods took. I can swear on that. I will also tell you that I was the odd one out in the whole high heaven realm, including its abyss. And yet they couldn’t do anything to me. If I was able to survive in the high heaven realm after turning my back on them, what do you think you can do to me?”
GREED’s words lessened their wariness of it. But only a little. The Supreme Tyrants were not stupid. They noticed something amiss in what it said.
“It is true that killing this clone will do little to you, but we still insist on doing it anyway. Your oath to prove you didn’t swear the oath of other demon gods will not change our stance on that. You might have sworn other oaths, for all we know.”
GREED shrugged mentally and said boldly, “Maybe I have. Maybe I haven’t. You will have no way to know because I will never swear an oath to never betray you. I want the freedom to be able to betray you, and nothing will change that.”
The Supreme Tyrants did not like the sound of that. “It seems we have decided. We must destroy your clone.”
GREED didn’t back down. “Indeed, we have. But before you destroy this clone, listen to what I have to say. You can choose to follow it or not. If you follow it, then my plan to sabotage the High Heaven Realm would have worked. If not, then I would have sacrificed this clone for nothing.”
The Supreme Tyrants communicated amongst themselves before speaking. They know of the quest given to the demons to sabotage their realms in the era of conquest. It made them want to consider what GREED has to say.
So they said, “Go ahead.”
GREED wasn’t surprised by their answer. They could have attacked it instead of arguing amongst themselves about whether to allow it to speak or not. It is clear to GREED that they are desperate and open to any suggestion or assistance. They just want to be sure it is not a spy.
Even if they had disagreed, it would still have said what it wanted to say before this clone was destroyed. Their permission has only made things easier and the Tyrants more receptive to what it has to say. After all, they could have blocked out its words if they didn’t give it permission and if they didn’t want to listen. That’s extreme but possible. If it had happened, then its plan would be less effective.
So GREED said, “If the Tyrants are to turn the situation around, then they must have the willingness to sacrifice themselves for the realm. They must be willing to unite and consolidate their power.”
A Supreme Tyrant asked in confusion, “What do you mean?”
“What do I mean?” GREED asked with mirth. “Surely you jest. You must know what I mean. Why are you asking as if I have suggested something never heard before?”
The Supreme Tyrant who asked became angry. It said, “Don’t speak in riddles. Say what you want to say clearly. We are already consolidating our strength. What more can we do?”
GREED replied, “Now you are just acting stupid.”
The angry Supreme Tyrant attacked GREED, but it was blocked by the others.
They placated it, “Hold on. Let it speak. You will have your chance soon.”
GREED laughed but decided to be straightforward. It said, “I am speaking of the Taboo, which must not be spoken.”
The Supreme Tyrants bristled visibly. Especially the angry one. It couldn’t contain its anger at all. But it was restrained so it could only point at GREED and screech in anger, “You dare to
speak of it?”
GREED continued without care, “This situation is different from other times when someone has tried to attempt it. A lot of you are connected to the realm right now in a way you have never had. If all of you Supreme Tyrants perform the Taboo, then you will surely be able to acquire the strength of a world god within the realm. No one will be able to stop you then.”