The man started walking towards them. As he stepped into the light, Junichi could properly see his appearance – a dark and tall male with a striking physique under a dark, ragged cloak. But what truly drew Junichi's attention was his striking red eyes that glowed and pierced through the darkness of the forest. The man stood at four arms' length from them and spoke up, "Amaterasu, is that you? Funny seeing you here in these parts of the forest, and are you with this man?"
Amaterasu was still shaking in her knees as she replied to him, "Lu… Lucius? What are you doing here, so far from your territory? You aren't supposed to be here, and what are you doing to that witch?" The man looked over his shoulders at Komorebi, who had already passed out and was hanging from the vines. Then he looked back at the others,
"I was feeling lonely, so I thought of going out for a stroll. But then this beauty caught my eye, and I couldn't help myself. It's been years since I've been with a woman properly, and she seems too delicious to pass up", he smirked. Junichi went into absolute rage and saw red after hearing this. He looked straight into Lucius' eyes and spoke up with a heavy and firm tone, "What did you just say fucktard? Go shove your manhood in a snake's nest and stay away from my wife!"
Lucius didn't flinch or get agitated; he was rather amused by Junichi's temper tantrum and comments. He gave out a laugh that shook the entire forest, and then he looked back at him with amusement, "You're a funny little man. You think you can intimidate the King of Hell with your puny threats? Ask that bitch beside you if she hasn't already pissed herself by now."
Junichi turned towards Amaterasu, who was practically kneeling on the forest floor at that point – a powerful goddess kneeling in the presence of this man, and that wasn't even the most embarrassing part. A patch of wetness appeared on the cloth of Amaterasu's cloak, and a pool formed on the floor from where she was on her knees – she pissed herself in fear.
Noticing this, even Junichi, who is usually so confident and cocky, faltered in his stance. He slowly asked Amaterasu, trying to mask his own growing anxiety with false courage, "Who is this piece of shit? And why are you so scared of him?" Amaterasu opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out of her mouth. Meanwhile, Yuuhi, who had been confidently standing beside Junichi, was now behind him, peeking at Lucius.
After regaining her strength a little, Amaterasu finally answered in a trembling tone; her voice was practically a whisper at this point, "He's Lu… Luci… Lucius, the King of Hell and the Underworld. He was the one I was talking about, the Demon King himself, Marishka's ex-husband. After turning her, he returned to this domain, the Underworld. But… but… he's returned."
Junichi's legs gave way – "the King of Hell", "the Underworld", "the Demon King" – these words made him stumble, but he held his ground. But then something happened; something broke and snapped inside Junichi. He slowly turned towards Lucius, and this time – for the very first time in centuries – Lucius lost his smile. There, Junichi stood, firmly staring into the eyes of the Demon King and smiling with satisfaction.
Junichi took a step forward towards Lucius and spoke in an authoritative tone, "So, Mr. Demon King himself, huh? Tell me, Lucius, what powers do you hold, and are you all bark and no bite? You can scare these women and make them piss as much as you want. But pretentious men like you who hide behind a title for authority don't scare me or intimidate me; they make me feel pissed. So tell me fucker, are you just gonna stand there or even kill me? Or did the King of Hell forget his balls back at his tiny castle in the Underworld?"