Harem Startup : The Demon Billionaire is on Vacation

Kaelmor returned to his throne slowly. ”So.” He leaned back. ”You do not accuse me? Or defend yourself? Or deny benefits?”

”No.”

Kaelmor’s grin became razor-thin. ”Good.”

Zavros exhaled quietly.

Kaelmor waved a hand lazily. ”I did not authorize that death. ”

There.

Plain.

Clear.

Lux did not react outwardly.

But internally, his mental board shifted.

The King was not claiming it, yet he laid all Lux’s suspicions bare. Which mean… this could be escalated.

Kaelmor’s eyes gleamed.

For half a second, the throne room felt like a stage again. Lava veins glowing beneath the polished obsidian floor. Soul chandeliers humming faintly overhead. The skyline of Infernal high towers flickering red beyond the massive arch windows.

Then the temperature shifted.

His aura flared.

Not gradually.

Not theatrically.

It detonated.

The pressure hit like a collapsing star, slamming into Lux and Zavros in a wave of raw sovereign authority. The air itself warped. The sigils carved into the pillars screamed in response, flaring bright crimson before dimming again.

Kaelmor’s smile did not disappear.

It just sharpened.

”So,” he said softly, voice layered with something far older than humor, ”since I did not authorize that death…” His eyes locked onto Lux. ”Why did he die?!”

The air tightened around Lux’s lungs.

”Was it because that ancient Abyss Lord was one of your opposers too, Luxy?!”

Ah.

There it was.

The entire conversation before this had been foreplay.

This was the main event.

Lux’s system flared in his peripheral vision.

[Warning: Sovereign Aura Escalation Detected.]

[Threat Level: King.]

[Recommendation: Extreme Caution.]

He bowed immediately, wings folding slightly lower.

”No,” he said clearly. ”I did not kill him, Your Majesty.”

Kaelmor’s grin widened. ”Really?”

His tone was light.

His aura was not.

The throne cracked slightly beneath him.

Zavros knelt deeper. ”We have no motive to fracture the realm, Your Majesty.”

Kaelmor’s tail snapped once. ”Oh I think you have many motives.”

And then he attacked.

No movement.

No rise from the throne.

Just a flick of his fingers.

The air split.

A spear of condensed infernal flame tore forward like a market crash in physical form, screaming toward both father and son.

Lux moved first.

Instinct.

He pivoted sharply, wings snapping open as the spear carved through the space where his head had been.

Zavros rolled to the side in controlled grace, the flame slamming into the obsidian floor behind them and erupting into molten fragments.

The impact shook the hall.

Heat blasted across Lux’s face.

The smell of scorched stone filled his senses.

Kaelmor watched.

Amused.

”You dodge quickly.”

”Occupational hazard,” Lux replied calmly.

Second attack.

This one came slower.

Worse.

A gravitational compression field folded inward around them. The space between molecules tightened. Pressure crushed downward like debt compounding at infinite interest.

[Warning: Sovereign Compression Field Detected. Structural Integrity Declining Rapidly.]

Lux felt his bones strain.

Zavros snarled softly, pushing back with his own infernal authority.

Lux’s mind moved fast.

This was not rage.

This was calibration.

Kaelmor was measuring them.

He did not summon full defense.

Instead, he twisted sideways, slipping through the tightening field at the weakest vector point.

Zavros burst outward in a surge of black flame, shattering the compression zone.

The pressure exploded outward in a shockwave that cracked several columns.

Kaelmor’s eyes gleamed brighter.

”Still coordinated.”

Zavros did not rise fully.

”Your Majesty, we remain loyal.”

Kaelmor tilted his head.

”Do you?”

Third attack.

No warning.

A chain of sovereign lightning erupted from the throne itself, snapping across the floor toward Lux specifically.

Targeted.

Precise.

Lux’s instincts screamed.

[Barrier Recommendation: Max.]

He did not use it.

If this was a loyalty test, deploying high tier defensive constructs would give Kaelmor information about Lux real power. That he was now above Prince level.

He summoned the lowest barrier in his arsenal.

A thin, shimmering shield barely thicker than glass materialized in front of him.

It cracked instantly.

Shattered like cheap stock under panic selling.

The lightning tore through, slamming into his chest.

Pain detonated across his nerves.

He forced himself not to cry out.

Instead he twisted with it, letting the blast throw him backward.

His body hit the floor hard, sliding across polished obsidian, wings scraping sparks against stone.

Smoke rose from his chest.

He tasted copper.

He could have absorbed that.

He could have neutralized it.

He chose not to.

Kaelmor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Zavros roared and surged forward instinctively.

”Your Majesty, no! We have been loyal to you! He worked his soul for the hell economy!”

The words echoed across the chamber.

Lux rolled to one knee, coughing once, then rose slowly.

He did not glare.

He did not retaliate.

He straightened his posture.

”Yes,” he said calmly despite the burn under his skin. ”Quarterly growth remains stable. If you kill me, it will collapse.”

Kaelmor stared at him.

Then laughed.

”I don’t care.”

Fourth attack.

This one was personal.

The King’s aura condensed into a phantom claw that lunged straight for Lux’s throat.

Close range.

Testing reflex.

Lux let the claw graze his neck, tearing a shallow line of skin, then twisted beneath it, sliding sideways at the last possible second.

The phantom claw slammed him into the wall behind him, exploding stone into molten fragments.

Lux groaned in pain as the phantom claw still pinned Lux on the wall.

Yet…

His heart was steady.

His mind was clearer than it had been all morning.

This was not about the Abyss Lord.

This was about power alignment.

If Kaelmor suspected consolidation.

If he suspected Lux was building too fast.

This was the moment to crush him.

Or confirm him.

Zavros stepped partially in front of Lux. He was afraid of losing his son, but as a Lord, he needed to act calm. Panic would make everything worse.

”We do not seek fracture,” Zavros said firmly. ”We stabilize markets. We secure contracts. We expand infernal influence.”

Kaelmor’s aura pulsed again.

”And you, Luxy.”

Lux met his gaze.

”Yes.”

”Do you seek my throne?”

The hall went silent.

Soul chandeliers dimmed slightly.

Lux did not hesitate.

”No.”

Truth.

He sought leverage.

Not crowns.

Kaelmor’s eyes burned brighter.

”And if the throne becomes inefficient?”