My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill-Chapter 285

"Of course," Jessica said. "You nearly killed him, and Chronus went insane trying to save him. The whole demon lord council almost executed Chronus for his interference."

"There’s a reason Chronus was willing to risk everything," Satou said quietly. "Richard Clay isn’t just his champion or his servant or even just a valuable tool. Richard Clay is literally half of Chronus himself."

Silence. Complete, stunned silence.

Then Lyra whispered: "What?"

Satou began explaining everything he’d seen in Merc Assault’s memory. The infiltration of Chronus’s chambers. The discovery of the scroll detailing the Temporal Duplication ritual. The revelation that Chronus had split his own power and soul to create Richard Clay three hundred years ago.

"Chronus invested fifty percent of his total magical power into Richard," Satou explained. "And he split his soul—his fundamental essence—allocating half to himself and half to the duplicate. They’re connected through temporal threads that link them across any distance."

Jessica’s face had gone pale as she processed the magical and biological implications. "Splitting your soul... that’s dark magic of the most forbidden kind. The damage it does to your fundamental essence is supposed to be catastrophic. Most beings who attempt it die or go insane."

"Chronus succeeded," Satou said. "But the ritual came with permanent consequences. According to the scroll Merc Assault read, if Richard Clay dies, the fifty percent of power and soul invested in him will be lost forever. There’s no way to reabsorb it, no way to recover it. And the soul-link rupturing would cause catastrophic feedback that would permanently cripple Chronus."

Lyra’s expression had shifted to pure calculation, her strategic mind working through implications at lightning speed. "That’s why he panicked. That’s why he was willing to violate every law and risk execution. Because Richard dying doesn’t just mean losing a valuable asset—it means Chronus loses half of himself permanently."

"Exactly," Satou confirmed. "Merc Assault’s analysis in the memory suggested that killing Richard Clay would drop Chronus from tenth-seat power levels down to maybe twentieth-seat equivalent. Maybe even lower depending on how the soul-link feedback affects him. He’d be permanently weakened in ways he could never recover from."

Jessica pulled her hand from Satou’s and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering despite the warm room. "This is massive intelligence. If the other demon lords knew—if Loki knew—"

"They’d move against Chronus immediately," Satou finished. "The Time Lord has made enemies over his centuries of scheming. Loki has been fighting him for three hundred years. This kind of vulnerability would make Chronus a target for everyone who’s ever feared his power or wanted revenge."

He reached out and took both their hands again, his expression deadly serious. "But we’re not sharing this with anyone. Not yet. Maybe not ever. This knowledge is incredibly dangerous—not just to Chronus, but to us."

"If Chronus discovers we know his secret..." Lyra’s eyes widened with understanding. "He’d have to kill us. We’d be too dangerous to leave alive."

"Exactly," Satou said grimly. "Merc Assault kept this secret because he knew revealing it would be a death sentence. He used it as leverage, as insurance, but he never told anyone else. And now that knowledge has passed to me through [Devour]."

Jessica looked between Satou and Lyra, her expression conflicted. "So we have information that could destroy one of the most powerful demon lords in existence, but we can’t use it because doing so would paint a target on all of us."

"Information is only useful if you survive long enough to use it," Lyra said quietly. "Sometimes the best weapon is the one you never draw."

"For now, this stays between the three of us,but I may decide to talk about it in the meeting " Satou said firmly. "No one else can know about Chronus and Richard Clay. And more critically—" He looked at both of them intently. "No one can know about my [Devour] ability. If other demon lords discover what I can do, if they realize I can permanently absorb the power of anyone I kill..."

"You’d become the most hunted being in the demon realm," Jessica finished softly. "Every powerful entity would either try to recruit you or eliminate you before you became too strong."

"Which is why I’ve kept it secret," Satou said. "And why I need you both to swear—truly swear—that you’ll never reveal this to anyone. Not even if you think it would help me. Not even if the situation seems desperate. This secret stays buried."

Lyra raised her hand formally, placing it over her heart in the traditional demon gesture of a binding oath. "I swear on my life, my honor, and everything I hold sacred—I will never reveal your [Devour] ability or the knowledge about Chronus and Richard Clay to any living soul. Your secrets are my secrets, now and forever." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Jessica mirrored the gesture, her eyes serious and determined. "I swear the same. What you’ve told us stays between the three of us. No matter what happens, no matter who asks, I’ll take these secrets to my grave before I’d betray your trust."

Satou felt something tight in his chest loosen. Relief mixed with gratitude mixed with love so profound it almost hurt. He pulled both women into a tight embrace, holding them close.

"Thank you," he whispered. "For understanding. For accepting this. For being willing to carry this burden with me."

"We’re in this together," Jessica said, her voice muffled against his chest. "Whatever comes, we face it as three."

"Always," Lyra agreed, wrapping her arms around both of them.

They stayed like that for a long moment, drawing strength from each other, united by trust and love and shared secrets that could get them all killed.

"I love you both," Satou said simply, meaning every word.

"We love you too, dummy," Jessica replied, wiping away the last of her tears. "Now stop making us worry and—"

She was interrupted by a voice calling from outside the quarters. Loud, excited, urgent.

"Lord Satou! Lord Satou, are you there?!"

All three of them recognized the voice—Grak, one of the goblin lookouts who’d been assigned to monitor the settlement’s perimeter and keep watch for important arrivals

"What is it?" Satou called back

Rapid footsteps approached, and then Grak’s voice came from right outside the door, breathless with excitement and urgency. "My lord! Lord Loki and Lady Seraphina have arrived! They’re waiting in the main courtyard! !"