He stopped in front of the rock giant.
The giant looked down at him, lava churning in its eye sockets. "What if I refuse?"
Crowley smiled.
He reached out and lightly patted the giant's knee—the highest he could reach at his height.
"Of course you have the right to refuse. But you'll have to bear the consequences yourself."
The moment he finished speaking, the giant suddenly stiffened.
Dense golden patterns emerged across the surface of its rocky body. They were residual marks of angelic Holy Oil, which Crowley had secretly gotten on his hands at the Sioux Falls warehouse.
The patterns spread rapidly. Wherever they passed, the rock began to dissolve, bubble, and collapse like limestone exposed to strong acid.
The giant tried to roar, but the instant it opened its mouth, its jaw crumbled into dust.
Three seconds later, all that remained was a pile of smoking rubble and a black heart that still pulsed faintly.
Crowley bent down, picked up the heart, weighed it in his hand, and tossed it to the attendant behind him.
"Keep it safe. A high-ranking demon's heart is valuable material the Demon Hunter Guild needs. It can serve as a bargaining chip."
He turned to the other two lords.
"Now," he said, "what's your answer?"
The two-armed lord immediately prostrated himself, pressing his forehead to the ground. "I am willing to submit, my lord."
The Shadow Lord hesitated for a second before slowly lowering his indistinct head as well. "...I submit."
"Very good." Crowley returned to the throne, sat down, and formed contracts with the two of them.
"Then your first task: convince the other lords who are still watching. Use words, bribes, threats, the method I just demonstrated—whatever you like. In three days, I want to see the lords of every level