"It looks like I've got the winning hand."
Dio laughed happily as the large stack of chips magically came his way.
"How?"
The old man asked while looking at Dio.
That's when the cards were taken out of the game, but to everyone's surprise, there were two more cards underneath the first five.
One of Dio's most potent and challenging spells to use is the Lethe River, which causes the target to automatically forget what it covers.
During the game, Dio used it three times: once to trick the magic that dealt the cards and the players, which made the table and everyone looking at it forget that the cards were only dealt once.
Then, he added two more cards on top of the first ones that made Bogrol's favor stronger, and finally, he used it to trick the old man into forgetting to use his illusions.
It was a risky move; even though it prevented them from cheating, Dio still had to win fairly with his cards, and luckily, he did.
"Bravo!"
The old man said this while looking at Dio.
"It was truly unexpected."
Emily remarked.
"Cheater!"
Bogrol shouted angrily.
"Seriously, a demon calling me a cheater?"
Dio asked and looked at him.
"Hahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
Emily and the Old Man laughed at Bogrol's words.
Bogrol stood on his chair, opening his mouth angrily, and then his eyes began to turn red.
Dio also stood up while expecting an attack until a woman touched Bogrol's shoulder.
"Lord Bogrol, the master's rules are quite clear."
The woman said this behind him.
Unlike the others, she wore a long blue dress the same color as her eyes and hair but had black bat-like demon horns and wings.
The woman's voice contained some power, as the red in Bogrol's eyes disappeared almost instantly.
After taking a deep breath, Bogrol sat down once again and crossed his arms with a stern expression.
The woman in blue gave a glance to all of them, then made a small gesture and left them alone.
"Let's play one more time."
Bogrol said it calmly.
"Do you have chips for that? I'm thinking of raising the stakes."
Dio said while provoking him.
Dio took a small fortune from both of them.
Dio can now raise the stakes, and Bogrol can either buy more chips or quit the game. Bogrol may have given up something to get the chips, but he will never be able to get it back.
"Stop fooling around, son of the underworld. Tell me what you want."
Bogrol said this in understanding.
"The fruit of the underworld."
Dio replied directly.
The fruit of the underworld is exactly that—a fruit produced in the underworld.
There are a few myths about the foods that grow in the underworld, but the most common one is that anyone, living or dead, who eats or drinks something from the underworld will be trapped in Hades' realm and can only leave with his permission.
Dio has a theory about why this is.
The moment something from the Underworld enters their body, it is linked to the realm, thus forcing them to obey its rules.
"Tch, I should have known. You cursed demigods are occasionally born with some intellect, unlike that idiot Hercules."
Bogrol spat.
Dio fully agreed with him.
He didn't like to break the illusion that Hercules was a great hero, but anyone who has read a bit about his story knows that the guy was a top-class idiot.
Of course, he changed in DC, yet Dio doubts that Diana's mother forgot everything he did to her and her siblings.
Bogrol raised his hand while bringing his two claws close to the thumb and index finger.
When they were about to touch, something appeared between them. It was a small, black, and dry pomegranate, an actual fruit of the Underworld.
"How's it going?"
Borgol asked while playing with the fruit with his claws.
"It's getting late. How about I just give you everything I've won except for my initial investment?"
Dio still wanted to get his stone back.
"And what would be the fun in that?"
Of course, Borgol didn't agree.
"This is getting more and more interesting. Hey, Old Man, wake up!"
Emily shouted to the Old Man, who was now with his head down while lightly snoring.
Listening to his breathing, Dio knows he's awake, but his attention is now entirely on the demon in front of him.
"How do we settle this?"
Dio asked.
"How about you owe me a favor and take everything, just like the pomegranate?"
Borgol suggested.
"No, thank you."
Dio immediately rejected the proposal.
It is not easy to owe someone a favor, and there will be serious consequences if Dio fails to do what was asked.
Bogrol then puts the pomegranate on the table and raises his closed fist above it.
"Are you sure? I can crush it right here in front of you."
"Crush it. The fruit may be hard to find, but it's not impossible. I'll just have to make a long trip to the fairy market."
Dio said to him while keeping a poker face.
But Dio was sweating; he didn't know if it was because the magic he did was very exhausting or because of his nervousness.
"Do you think I, the keeper of hell, will allow your entry into the market?"
A curious fact is that the fairies of this reality made a pact with the lord of hell and obtained a large piece of land in hell, where they created their kingdom after leaving Earth, and this realm is the only one with life and prosperity in hell.
"Please."
Dio said it mockingly. It was a foolish move on his part; everyone knows there are several gates to hell.
Seeing that Dio was not hesitating, Borgol quickly lowered his fist towards the fruit, but he didn't stop him.
When his fist was about to crush the dry fruit, he stopped, and Dio won.
"Damn smart demigods."
Borgol exclaimed angrily while holding the fruit and throwing it to me.
"Thank you."
Dio said this while holding the fruit in the air.
"Give back my chips!"
Borgol shouted in return.
Dio moved many of them to him and kept only his first investment.
Then he informed his exit from the game while disappearing from in front of him, and a small black stone appeared in its place.
Dio grabbed it and put it back in his pocket, where the rest of his necklace was.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen."
Dio said while looking and smiling at her.
"That was interesting, but I have to go."
Dio saw Emily's hand reach out to him as he was about to turn around.
"Take it."
Emily said.
It was a card, this time a professional one, not a bum like the one Kori gave him.
"To talk about the job in question."
Emily explained.
"Hey Venho, Are you still sleeping?"
Emily asked while looking at the old man, who was still "sleeping."
"Good night then."
Dio said this to them while ignoring the finger that Bogrol pointed at him.
"One moment."
Emily called him when he turned around.
"It's better to warn your friends, and the big bosses are about to do something big."
Emily gave her warning as he turned his gaze back to her.
'Great, why can't I end the night without such a disturbing warning?'
Dio nodded, and he walked back to the exit while passing by several demon women and other players who looked at him and knew that he had managed to win against a demon for the first time here.
Dio ascended the stairs, this time as a winner, and when he passed by the counter where the Minotaur was serving drinks, he raised his head and asked.
"So?"
"It was good for my first time; I promise you that."
Dio replied and left the bar.
...
A/N: First, I don't know how to play poker, so if any rules go wrong during the vague game, just let it go.
...
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