abnabooks Chapter 929: No Need to be Formal
Chapter 929: No Need to be Formal
Selena continued, her voice calm. "The robe will cover part of your demonic aura. It will reduce unnecessary reactions from council members."Lux snorted softly. "Unnecessary reactions meaning old angels clutching their pearls because the son of Greed and Lust walked into the room?"
"Something like that."
"They have pearls?"
"Metaphorical ones."
"Disappointing."
"Lux."
"Fine."
He opened his dimensional storage.
A dark spatial slit appeared beside him, unfolding silently.
Holy white fabric shimmered under invisible light. The material looked soft but carried the weight of authority, the kind that didn’t ask permission to be noticed.
Lux took it out.
The robe reacted immediately.
A faint glow pulsed across the fabric as if recognizing him, which was still insulting.
He slipped it over his shoulders.
The effect was instant.
His demonic aura didn’t vanish.
Nothing could make Lux Vaelthorn stop being what he was.
But it softened.
Veiled.
Filtered.
Like someone had wrapped a dangerous blade in ceremonial silk. The edge was still there. The danger was still there. But now it looked polite enough to enter Heaven without causing clerks to hyperventilate.
Lux studied himself in the mirror.
Dark outfit beneath.
Holy robe over it.
Clean hair.
Calm eyes.
He looked...
Unfortunately acceptable.
Lux sighed. "I look like a priest who owns a hedge fund."
Selena looked him over. "You look presentable and less alarming."
"Thank you."
Selena ignored his suffering and lifted one hand. "Follow me."
Moonlight gathered.
A circular portal opened in the room, silver-blue at the edges, white-gold at the center. The surface rippled like still water disturbed by starlight. Beyond it, Lux expected the familiar entrance gate of the Upper Realm. The guarded threshold. The polished path. Maybe some annoying celestial receptionist.
He stepped beside Selena.
They entered together.
The transition was smooth.
Too smooth.
Just a brief pressure over his skin, like moonlight checking whether he was smuggling anything morally questionable.
Lux kept his expression neutral.
He absolutely was smuggling morally questionable thoughts.
Apparently those didn’t count.
The portal opened and Lux stepped directly into a meeting room.
No gate.
No hallway.
Just immediate arrival.
He stopped.
His eyes moved.
Fast.
Layout.
Exits.
Seats.
Windows.
Guards.
Wards.
People.
The room was elegant, circular, and overwhelmingly celestial in the way Heaven loved to be. White stone, gold veins, floating crystal panels, high arches with light pouring through them despite there being no visible sun. A long table stood in the center, made of something translucent that looked like glass but felt older than mountains.
Already hostile territory.
At the far side stood Celestaria.
Beside her was Solara.
And then there was Archon Vizreel.
A few other council members sat around the table, their faces composed, their gazes landing on Lux with varying degrees of curiosity, suspicion, calculation, and divine discomfort.
The robe helped.
Good.
Still, he felt their attention.
Son of Greed and Lust.
Infernal contract anchor.
Demon wearing holy fabric.
Walking contradiction.
Lux smiled politely.
Because discipline and manners mattered.
"Good morning, everyone."
Vizreel immediately shook his head from side to side. "No."
Lux blinked.
Vizreel lifted one hand. "Let’s skip the greeting."
The room went still.
Celestaria closed her eyes briefly, as if she had expected this and was already tired.
Solara’s lips twitched.
Selena stood beside Lux with the expression of someone pretending she had not just collected him from a shower.
Vizreel leaned forward, both hands resting on the table. "Tell me what happened with your king."
Lux opened his mouth.
Vizreel continued before he could answer. "Did he break his skull or something?"
Silence.
Beautiful, sacred silence.
Lux stared at him.
Then slowly turned toward Celestaria.
Celestaria’s expression remained calm, but her eyes carried the faintest possible exhaustion.
Lux looked back at Vizreel.
Then smiled.
Not the incubus smirk.
Not the Greed heir smile.
Something much more honest.
The smile of a man who had found another adult in the room and was deeply grateful.
"Archon Vizreel," Lux said smoothly, "I believe this meeting will be productive."
Vizreel huffed.
Not sighed.
Huffed.
There was a difference.
A sigh carried fatigue. A huff carried judgment, impatience, and a deeply personal dislike toward unnecessary ceremony.
"Lux," Vizreel said flatly.
Lux’s polite smile remained. "Yes?"
"Like I said." Vizreel’s eyes narrowed. "Cut the chit-chat."
The room shifted.
Not dramatically.
But several council members straightened.
One older celestial woman with pearl-white hair raised her brows. Another council member, tall and severe with faint golden markings across his throat, looked like he had swallowed an entire etiquette book and was now choking on its index page.
Lux noticed all of them.
His eyes flicked to Vizreel.
Then to the council.
Then back to Vizreel.
He lifted one hand slightly and pointed around the room with two fingers, the gesture subtle but eloquent.
The meaning was clear.
’C’mon, man. The council is here. Shouldn’t we at least pretend this is formal?’
Vizreel stared at him.
Lux stared back.
There was a brief, silent exchange between two exhausted professionals who had both dealt with enough institutional nonsense to develop mutual respect through shared irritation.
Vizreel leaned back. "No."
Lux blinked once.
Vizreel continued, "No need to be formal."
A few council members visibly reacted to that.
Celestaria closed her eyes for half a breath.
Solara’s lips curved faintly.
Selena stood by the wall, serene as moonlight, though Lux could practically feel her amusement trying very hard to stay diplomatic.
Vizreel waved one hand toward the council members. "They are our people."
The golden-throated councilman looked faintly offended by being described so casually.
Vizreel ignored him with the skill of a master. "Just talk like usual. No pretending. No titles stacked on top of titles until everyone forgets what the actual problem is."
Lux looked at him.
Then slowly sat down.
The chair adjusted itself under him, holy material reacting to the robe and accepting his presence with only a faint shimmer of suspicion.
He folded one leg over the other, settled his hands together, and let the holy robe drape elegantly around him. "I see."