The first floor opened with a scream.
A massive gate of black iron slammed apart, chains snapping like thread. Mana flooded the tower, thick enough to choke lesser beings. The floor beneath them pulsed, reacting to the Demon King's presence.
Princess Elowen leaned forward eagerly.
"Are they coming out? I hope they're cute."
The assistant's eye twitched.
"My King," he said carefully, "the beasts on this floor once devoured entire armies."
"Good," the Demon King replied.
The gate exploded inward.
Something huge stepped out.
Its body was covered in obsidian scales, each one etched with ancient curses. Four burning eyes scanned the hall. Its breath alone melted stone. The beast lowered its head slowly, jaws dripping magma.
A Hell Basilisk.
Even the assistant instinctively stepped back.
The basilisk roared.
The sound shook the tower.
Elowen gasped. "Oh my— you're enormous!"
She ran forward.
The assistant shouted, "PRINCESS—!"
Too late.
She stopped right in front of the basilisk, tilted her head, and smiled.
"You look very angry. Do you want flowers?"
The basilisk froze.
The Demon King watched.
Golden light poured from Elowen's hands, gentle and warm. Flowers bloomed beneath the basilisk's claws, fire-resistant petals glowing softly. The rage in its eyes flickered.
The basilisk slowly lowered its massive head.
Then it knelt.
The tower trembled.
"…It bowed," the assistant whispered.
Not to the Demon King.
To her.
The Demon King stepped forward.
The basilisk instantly slammed its forehead into the floor.
The difference was clear.
Elowen softened it.
The Demon King owned it.
"Bind it to the floor," the Demon King said.
The runes ignited. Chains of shadow wrapped around the beast, not as restraints—but as loyalty seals.
The basilisk roared once, proudly.
Elowen clapped. "We should name him! He needs a name. Something friendly."
The Demon King ignored that.
"Next," he said.
The second gate opened.
Then the third.
A storm wolf made of lightning.
A bone wyvern stitched from fallen dragons.
A swarm of abyssal ravens that darkened the ceiling.
Each one emerged raging.
Each one bowed.
Outside the tower, the world broke.
---
The Holy Empire's council chamber exploded into chaos.
"They're kneeling! The beasts are kneeling!"
"To whom?!"
"To the Demon King… and the princess!"
Silence fell.
"A human has influence over the tower?" a cardinal whispered.
"Impossible."
But the scrying mirror showed it clearly—flowers blooming around monsters that once caused extinction-level disasters.
---
In the Celestial Realm, gods stared at the vision.
"She should not exist," one god hissed.
"She's changing his domain," another said.
A third leaned forward slowly. "No. She's making it stable."
That was worse.
---
Back in the tower, Elowen stood happily among monsters that could erase nations.
"This place feels lonely," she said softly. "It needs life."
The Demon King glanced at her.
"Life attracts enemies."
She smiled. "Good. Then they'll come to you instead of hurting others."
The assistant stiffened.
"That was… unexpectedly wise."
Elowen blinked. "Was it?"
"Yes."
She beamed.
The Demon King turned away.
"Prepare the next floor," he ordered. "I want movement."
The assistant bowed deeply. "As you command."
As he left, Elowen looked up at the Demon King.
"Thank you for letting me stay."
He didn't answer.
But he didn't send her away either.
Deep inside the tower, the core pulsed faster.
The Demon King's domain had accepted something new.
Not mercy.
Not weakness.
Balance.
And the world was not ready for it.