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The Devil May Care

Part 36

For DuskCypher

by Draconicon

Dusk sighed as he allowed himself to be led from the various bedrooms of the Hellspire, following in the wake of the lioness that had come to bring him back to Hell. The very idea of going back so soon - well, relatively soon, all things considered, as he had been out of it for days at this point - was not appealing, but considering everything that was going on, he supposed that he didn't have much of a choice.

"Can you walk faster?" she asked.

"I could. I don't particularly want to."

"We could be there already if it wasn't for your determination not to teleport."

"It's more fun to take your time."

"And more infuriating."

This was not the same calm lioness that he had met in the past, nor the one that had pulled him out of the rage that had nearly consumed him when Mercy had been playing her games. This was a lioness that was fighting her own stress, and that was not a good sign. It was one of the reasons that he had been willing to get up and leave the debauchery that he had been so involved in for the past few days; if a Pride demon that had been so cool and collected previously was showing this much stress, then there was something big going on.

They took the elevator down from the middle of the Hellspire to the lower levels, where they were met by Ornar and Seraph. The orc demon and the fallen angel joined their party, flanking Dusk on either side like giant shadows. He smiled slightly to himself, wondering if Ornar was feeling the need to act as a bodyguard. Considering the distrust between the different realms of Hell, he wouldn't be surprised. He imagined that Pride had often been in everyone's business with the way that they acted.

"Where is this plane of yours?" Selene asked.

"On the driveway, of course."

"Must we take it?"

"I see no reason why we cannot travel in comfort. The Lord Dusk has many reasons to enjoy himself," Ornar said.

"We wouldn't have to travel at all if we just popped into place," the lioness said. It was only the pride with which she carried herself that kept it from sounding pouting and petulant as she spoke. "But if we must, we must."

Dusk nodded. He glanced back at Seraph, asking with nothing more than a glance if Arnis was still on the plane. The big bull nodded, and he turned back to the lioness.

"We're ready to go."

"Finally."

They stepped out of the Hellspire, and the private jet was waiting for them. The bear was starting to descend from the landing ramp, but the minute that he caught sight of the four of them, he groaned.

"We're not going out again already, are we?"

"We are, Arnis. Back in the cockpit."

"Fucking hell..."

"Well, we aren't fucking Hell just yet, but I imagine that there are few that could do it better than you," he joked, making his way to the landing ramp with the others at his back. "Now, back to the cockpit, and we'll see about getting you some fun later."

Not that I imagine that any of the demonesses in Pride would have him, but there might be some strings that I can pull, he thought as he made his way inside.

The interior changed slightly as he made his way in, and he realized that there was a mild conflict between his sin of Pride and Selene's. The two powers were adjusting the interior, adding different types of opulence to the walls and the furniture. Hers were a more upscale sort of thing, classy and white-trimmed, with gold running through the edges and down to the floor. His, on the other hand, was more of the black and red of the dark lord, turning the interior of the plane into something that was more akin to the dark towers that popped up in fantasy stories and through the evil realms of Hell. He pushed a little harder with his aura, overwhelming hers and causing the interior to be a bit more uniform.

To her credit, Selene seemed to realize what was going on, and bowed her head in apology. The lean lioness strutted to one of the opulent chairs, swiveling it to face her before taking a seat. The rest of his entourage did the same as Arnis grumbled from the cockpit. Selene shook her head.

"He is quite loud for someone that's supposed to be loyal to your cause," she said.

"He does what he does. He's good at it, though."

"I suppose."

"You're rather different yourself, Selene," he said, crossing one leg over the other as he got comfortable. "What's brought you down?"

"I told you already. There are problems in Hell, and you will have to deal with them."

"That tells me nothing. There's always problems in Hell."

"Only when someone is causing them."

"Yeah. I would call bullshit on that," Dusk said, shaking his head. "It's full of demons, all of them looking for a new advantage on the others. I'm not causing all of that."

"To be fair, my Lord, neither are you helping it," Ornar said.

Dusk rolled his eyes. Of all the times for Ornar to start shifting sides and agreeing with someone else, this would have been one that he preferred to avoid. The orc had been so solidly on his side until that moment, and he didn't need a lecture when he was trying to hold everything together as it was.

Well, at least it's only the five of us hearing this, and I'm pretty sure Arnis is too pissed off with having to fly again to really count as one of the five, he thought, crossing his arms and leaning his head back against the headrest of the chair. If we can keep this private, all the better.

The plane began its long runup to the end of the runway, and he took quick stock of the situation just in case Selene wasn't on the up and up with him. The interior of the plane was mostly divided between four sections: the cockpit at the front, followed by the passenger compartment that they were in, a private lounge just a bit further back, and the cargo hold at the far end of the plane. If it came down to it, there were multiple ways to force Selene off the plane, from kicking her to the cargo hold and opening it to shoving her into the lounge and filling it with minions. There shouldn't be a danger for him or the others, as long as they were paying attention.

He, Ornar, Seraph, and Selene sat in a silent square, all of them waiting for the others to speak. Nobody did until they were airborne, and even then, it was Arnis asking them their destination.

"Pride," he called to the cockpit.

"Goddammit..."

The plane turned, going almost ninety-degrees on its side, before evening out. The afterburners hit hard, kicking them right in the spine - or at least, kicking Ornar and Seraph that way due to their positions - and they were off. Selene still seemed ill at ease, and he sighed.

"Are you going to be lecturing me the whole way there about what I 'should be doing'?" he asked, putting air quotes around the words. "I am doing my best."

"If this is your best, then I have sorely overestimated you, Dusk. Not to mention that you have fallen quite far from the man that sicced Cthulhu on God."

"...Was that an insult?"

"Would it stir you from your swamp of pleasure if it was?"

He narrowed his eyes at the lioness, but as ever, she showed no fear. If she felt it, then she was hiding it well. She had always been good at that, ever since the day that they'd met. He still remembered how she had summoned him from his wrath and made him face his mistakes. She could have been utterly destroyed with the power that he wielded that day, could have been wracked with pain for the rest of her existence. Instead, she had risked it all, slapped him, and set him on the straight and narrow path towards victory.

Annoyingly, he owed her for that, and he had every reason to believe that she would hold that debt over his head. He rubbed his forehead.

"May I remind you that I am a mortal, Selene? You were the one that forced me to take back my mortal soul, if you recall."

"Yes, I did. To keep you alive."

"Mmm-hmm. But remember, I did not take this power to become the Second Satan."

If Ornar hadn't been aware of that before, then the orc now knew the score. Regardless, there was no reaction from Lord Onsen, nor any reaction from Seraph, either. The pair of them were good at keeping their faces still. Dusk shrugged, moving on.

"I took Lucifer's soul and power to have fun. Nothing more, nothing less. I want to play with the world, maybe even rule it, but that doesn't mean that I want Hell. It's boring down there, too consumed with its own vices to take pleasure in them any longer. It's been left in the dark ages. You saw what happened in Gluttony; even with all the power that I have at my command, it shouldn't have been that easy to overwhelm someone like Brutus."

"...You aren't incorrect. Which is one reason that you're needed down here."

And just like that, she'd flipped his reasons for not being here to give him a reason to be around. Worse, she'd done it in a way that flattered him, that made him feel like he was needed, that made him feel like he'd have some sort of effect on everything. Oh, she was good. She was very, very good.

He crossed his arms, leaning back to try and not look like a pouting kitten as he tried to come up with a different means of challenging her. She beat him to the punch.

"The role of the Second Satan is not just to rule Hell, but to guide it. One of the only good things that Lucifer did was keep the sense of order between the seven realms of Hell, keeping the seven Sins in alignment with one another. Without that central order, we're already falling into anarchy. As the Second Satan, you would not only give the realms a power to rally behind, but you would also give them a reason to be better than they are. They would be forced to start growing again, to take on the power that they have the potential to hold, rather than remaining stagnant. They are things that one must be ashamed of at this point, rather than things to be proud of."

He glanced at Ornar out of the corner of his eye. The orc didn't say anything, nor did he look back, but he did have a hint of red on his cheeks. Dusk could remember how House Onsen had been before his arrival, how there had been that presentation of strength, but the undeniable starvation that was just beneath it. The same had been true of most all of the Brothelic Houses before he started changing things, and much as he wished to deny it, he couldn't quite say that it wasn't down to him that they were better off now.

They would have starved out of existence. And I bombed their only other method of getting meaningful sustenance out of the way, leaving them with my way or the highway.

He'd already become the ruler of Lust in all but name. Ornar might be his representative, but he was the one that ruled the realm. He was taking authority whether he wanted to or not.

Selene adjusted her dress, the emerald green that ran down her body shimmering as she shifted position. The lioness looked him in the eye.

"You have found balance with your souls, and you have found a way to keep God from interfering with you. That is something that nobody has ever expected. I will be honest. It is barely possible that you will find a way to both have the devil's power and avoid the responsibilities of being the Second Satan, but that is a very slim chance. If you cannot actually find that way forward, then what is your back-up plan?"

"..."

"Do you have one?"

Dusk gritted his teeth. The way that this woman was manipulating things, pushing him, made him feel like some sort of incompetent kitten. Even Lucifer, with all his arrogance and cockiness, hadn't made him feel like he was this weak and ill-prepared. Even Mercy, with all of her infuriating behavior, hadn't made him feel like an idiot like this.

But then again, neither of them had rallied any sort of facts to their side. Selene had come here in pride, yes, but also in power, and that power was based on things that he had been putting off and pretending didn't exist. The black cat sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"How bad is it?" he finally asked.

"Bad enough. There are schisms forming between the old powers and the new ones. Lust is beginning to rise now that the demons there are no longer starving. Greed is falling, slipping away from its former heights as its resources begin to dwindle and their clients go silent. The wars in Wrath are all but gone, but the rage remains with no focus. Envy has been spiteful, but is losing the means to hold that spite with everyone starting to fail around them, and has little identity left to it without someone to envy. Gluttony, thankfully, will be able to rebuild, but as of now, they have no central authority, so their hungers overwhelm them and make them all but useless to the rest of Hell."

"I notice that you haven't said anything about Pride there. A little personal bias, perhaps?" he asked, unable to help a slightly snide sneer.

"Hardly. Pride...is holding together, but not in a way that I would approve of," she admitted, shaking her head.

"Not in a way that you approve of? I thought you were the one in charge."

"I have appeared that way, for the sake of a certain few. However, I only push one faction of the demons of Pride, and that is why I'm the one that came to you, rather than one of the other leaders."

The fact that she was willing to admit to weakness surprised him. It seemed almost a betrayal of pride, and would have been, he supposed, if it was something any differently delivered. Selene still managed to sit tall, however, looking less concerned about the damage that her realm must be taking than she should. Was that the pride of foolishness, or the pride of someone that knew that the weakness could be weathered or even broken?

It was hard to tell, and he didn't ask.

"Then Sloth is..."

"It is the same, as quiet and dark as ever. I doubt that anything will change there until the day of reckoning, when everything is destroyed."

Dusk nodded, leaning back in his chair. The whole situation was a little more dire than he wanted to think about. If Greed was slipping, that was certainly a big thing. As far as he understood, they were the bankers of Hell, the ones that had the capital to keep it running, the ones that made sure that all the other realms had the resources that they needed to keep growing and developing. If they were falling behind, that meant that their stranglehold on everything was slipping, and if that was the case...

Lucifer kept the Wrath demons fighting all the time for two reasons; it forced the Wrath demons to spill their blood and power so that they could never challenge him, and it forced the other realms to rely on him for protection and stability. Wrath, and Greed. They were his cornerstones of power. What will mine be?

He realized that he was thinking of what he would do if he was actually the Second Satan at that moment, and he forced the thoughts from his mind. He hadn't made that final decision just yet, and he wasn't going to do that while he was under duress in the plane.

"I admit that I don't have a back-up plan if I can't avoid this," Dusk admitted, shaking his head.

"You're lying."

"...I don't think I am," Dusk said, raising an eyebrow.

"I felt that surge of Pride, Dusk. You have something; perhaps not for this situation, but something has been planned, something stashed away for later."

...She's stronger than I thought.

There was a failsafe that he had put together, something that he and Cthulhu had planned for the worst. It was, however, vague, and it didn't apply specifically to this. He shrugged.

"I have a back-up, but it doesn't apply to this."

"...I will accept that. Then what will you do?"

"For now? I will do the tour that I promised, and we'll see what the realms of Hell do in response. If nothing else, I'll be able to see in person what the problems are."

And perhaps see if there is a way to handle them without taking the throne. The more distance I can keep from this, the better.

Surprisingly, Selene didn't argue. If anything, she seemed to think it through, and then more surprisingly, she nodded in approval.

"That will likely keep things stable, particularly if you show that you are still thinking about refusing the throne."

"...I thought you wanted me to take it."

"I do, but the others..."

"What are these others, anyway?" he asked, all too aware of Seraph's and Ornar's silence. He appreciated it, but he knew that he'd need to do something to ensure that they stayed that way when this was all said and done. He didn't want them out and blabbing all of this to other people. "Pride is divided, you say. Divided between what?"

"...May we speak privately?"

"To the lounge, then."

The plane was flying smoothly enough that they were able to walk without difficulty. He half-expected Arnis to throw the craft into a barrel roll just to mess with Selene, but thankfully, the bear had the sense not to do that. They walked past the two demons in the other comfortable chairs, then into the side chamber. He held the door for her, then followed after, shutting it tight. The large bed that was the only furniture in the room almost glowed with an inner light of sin and lust, and she arched an eyebrow as she saw it.

"This is your lounge?" she asked. "I would have expected something slightly less tacky."

"I have pride in my lust. It's the main reason that I sought out this power, after all," he said, sitting down on the edge of the satin sheets. "Don't worry. I have no interest in females."

"Yes, I remember that much..."

She leaned against the wall, crossing her arms under her breasts. He felt more comfortable here, almost like he had the power while she did not. Perhaps that was because he could draw on something that made him more comfortable, while any power that she had here was diminished due to the presence of other sins. Regardless of the reasons, he felt like he could smile and smirk with ease in here, and feel the power that came from doing it.

"Now, what are these other factions?" he asked.

"You could call them demon supremacists, I suppose," the lioness said, shaking her head. "There are certain demons that believe that Hell deserves better than a mortal Satan."

"That's not surprising. And it probably does."

"Considering what we had with the last one, I would beg to differ."

"...Fair."

"Lucifer all but ruined us. The only reason that he wasn't overthrown was that we needed someone on the throne, and nobody else would have been strong enough to hold it against all the other threats that came against it, both from above and from below. The last thing that we needed was division when God was at his heights, and Mercy was all too willing to attack anything that moved on the world above.

"But now, he's out of the job, and you have his power. That power, much as you dislike it, has to be used. The more that it is kept pent up, the worse it is. More to the point, Hell requires it to keep the various vices down here under control."

"You can't govern yourselves, hmm?"

"Dusk...if you can look past the snark for a moment..."

"..." He sighed. "I'm trying. It's not easy."

"Perhaps if you embraced Pride rather than suffering from it, you would be less insufferable in exchange."

"Like you, then?" he asked, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"Not like me. You have the power of the devil. That means that you must use it, embrace it, own it. I am Pride. You must conquer it, if you wish to have that power yourself."

He gritted his teeth, taking a deep breath and then forcing it out. She really was one of those figures that was necessary, but that very necessity meant that he had to listen to her in ways that he didn't have to do with Ornar, Arnis, or anyone else. They were people that he could dismiss from his service, demons that he didn't require. Selene had a different sort of leverage over him. She understood how the whole thing worked, and she had power over more than just her realm.

Or, rather...a part of her realm. For all that she posed as the public face of Pride, she had admitted that she only held a piece of it. He rubbed his forehead, getting all his thoughts in a row. He needed to do this properly.

"You said that you don't have the full power of Pride, and that the other factions are, essentially, demon supremacists. You believe that the realms of Hell would do better with me as the Second Satan, but you admit that holding back from claiming it on this trip would be for the better. Is that all just about right?"

"That is an accurate summation, yes."

"And you think that it is going to stay this way for the foreseeable future?"

"Until or unless something happens to break the back of the supremacists, yes."

"...I see."

Which meant that he had to do something to show that his way was better for the average demon of Hell during this little tour. He had already done that with Lust, and he doubted anything more than a minority of the demons there still preferred the way that things had been done under the former administration. Only those that had lost something would feel that, and at this point, he had made sure that most all of the lust demons had stood to gain rather than lose if they worked with him. Yes, some gained more - particularly House Onsen - but most of them gained at least something out of the deal.

He tapped his fingers against the sheets, thinking it through. Pride was their first stop, and he had little doubt that there would be difficulty there. Selene was haughty enough at the best of times, and he had a feeling that she was pushing it down, moderating it around him to keep him from utterly flying off the handle. If he was around demons that did that constantly, always looking for the chance to sneer down their noses at him...

What could I offer a group of demons like that?

The mortal world had a number of things that one could take pride in, but that required being part of it, indulging in a system that he imagined that the demon supremacists would never want to touch. They'd see it as below them, something that they were better than, stronger, smarter, prouder than. They would sneer and look away.

Then again...

He could imagine that there would be some that could be tempted to duchies or counties in the mortal world, given places like the Hellspire on a smaller scare where they could wield power, meld Hell and earth together for the betterment of themselves and the possibilities of growth and power. That might actually tempt them...

But he wouldn't know for sure until he found his way to Pride and saw what they were actually like. Information was wonderful, and he was thankful that he knew what he was getting in for, but at the same time, he knew that there would be things that Selene wouldn't think to tell him. Or, for that matter, wouldn't be allowed to tell him. After all, she had been allowed to come and fetch him to Pride. That meant that there were some among the supremacists, at least, that wanted him in Hell for something. The best that he could hope for was a campaign of discrediting him, something to keep the other realms from paying attention to him as he went about his tour. The worst...

Well, he would cross that bridge when he came to it. He was, after all, the greatest repository of power within the Realms at this moment, and he felt that he was smarter than most of them.

"Well, that is a shift," Selene said.

"What?"

"A different pride. You were glowing, for a moment."

"...Heh, well, I guess I know myself a bit better now."

"Yes, indeed. So, perhaps you can answer a question for me, then."

"Shoot."

"Why bother with a plane? Surely, there are more efficient ways of getting around."

"Well, that's an easy one." He smirked. "It means that you can enjoy certain 'services' on the way to your destination, and there are times when that's the best stress-reliever in the world, let me tell you."

"I see...then perhaps you can offer me some 'stress relief', then," the lioness said, a small smile on her muzzle.

"I believe I know just the demon. One moment."

One moment, they were talking, the next, they were in a disconnected orgy. Dusk leaned back at the head of the bed, while Selene stood at the foot of it, one foot on the ground and the other on the sheets as a rabbit demon worked his tongue in and out of her sex. The nudity did not bother him, but Dusk did tend to look at his own partner more than he glanced across the bed at the lioness's.

Seraph hadn't been in his lap for some time, but the bull still knew what the black cat liked. The muscular fallen angel smiled down at him, running his hands along his sides and up to his leaking nipples. The bull pulled at them, pinching them just enough to allow for some of the milky white liquid to run down his chest, staining him, almost oiling him for the sexy lighting in the lounge. Dusk smiled as he looked further down, enjoying the sight of the bull's hard-on jutting forward, showing off just how much he was enjoying himself with everything that was going on.

Dusk thrust up, feeling that well-used pucker accept him and take him deep. Despite everything that had been done to it, it was still tight, still eager, still taking him and squeezing him with everything that it had to offer. Seraph gasped, arching his back, huffing like a wild bull as he was rutted.

"Mmmph...this one...certainly has talent," Selene said.

"Lay back and let him work; he's paid for that," Dusk said.

He was surprised that she took his advice, looking down at the small-chested lioness as she took a spot on the bed. The rabbit - the red sheen to his fur must have been dye, because it was more of a sand-color now - followed her up, his shaft oozing along her legs, running along and smearing her thighs, showing off just how virile he was. He did not just jump up and fuck her, either, but rather trailed his shaft along her body, teasing her.

Balthus, Dusk thought, making a mark in his mind of just what the rabbit demon's name was. Drippy, horny, and eager.

He smiled to himself, turning back to Seraph. The bull rode him well, hands running along his body, powerful legs keeping him bouncing up and down at a good pace. It was just what he wanted after being the one in charge for so many other demons. He felt like he could relax for a change, allow the bull to set the pace and serve him, and he enjoyed the devotion that he saw in the fallen angel's eyes.

He tuned out the oral worship and slippery slime-fest that was going on at the other end of the bed, looking up at his bull. Seraph rolled his hips, slowly swaying them from side to side as he went up and down, up and down along the feline's shaft. The constant pleasure, the growing pressure, the tight squeezes and the soft moans that came from the bull told him that Seraph was happy to be doing this, and that in and of itself was a pleasure to know.

Up, down, up, down. The bull squeezed his nipples, giving them just enough of a pinch to squirt some milk, and Dusk caught it in his mouth. It was not the same as the cream that he would have fed on back on earth, but it was pleasant enough, and it made him smile to see the bull debase himself that little bit.

"Enjoying your master's shaft, slut?" he asked, bucking up to remind the bull of just how big it was inside of him.

"Ah...ah...yes, sir..."

"You love it...you love to have it in you..."

"I love whatever you want me to love...whatever you want me to do, I'll enjoy it..."

That was the devotion that Seraph had. The fallen angel had replaced any love and loyalty that he had to the Divine with a great need to serve Dusk. Not even Hell, but Dusk. He smiled as he ran his hands along those muscular thighs, along those powerful hips, and he groaned as the big guy slammed down to the base of his cock again.

It was different to the feeling that he got from fucking the various incubi under Ornar's banner. They were all eager for the satisfaction that they were going to get, each of them hungry for the final end of their starvation, but there was more to it than that. They were not close to him, not devoted until the very end of their session, and that wasn't what he got from Seraph. He got something stronger, something more intense, something where the bull all but demanded that he be of use.

It was one of the many things that made him enjoy his time with the fallen angel. Not just the fact that he had corrupted him - though that helped - but what that corruption had created. Someone that wasn't mindless, but one that was completely full of purpose. Someone that wanted him, that craved him, that needed him.

Someone that was just that intensely into him, and who made him smile to feel that pleasure over and over and over again.

Up, down, up, down, up, down that muscular butt went, and each time he felt the cheeks part around his cock, he groaned in pleasure. The sight of that big bull cock rising up, showing off just how hard it was, how eager Seraph was to be filled, was just the icing on the cake. If he wasn't so focused on keeping those hips moving, he might have given the bull the reacharound.

Selene was starting to moan more, and he knew that the lioness was getting close to cumming. She was panting hard in the background, and the soft plap, plap, plap sounds of rutting was getting louder, too. Balthus was probably giving it to her good, better than she'd likely gotten in a good number of years. He smiled as he imagined the lioness making quite the 'O' face when she went over the edge, the pride of her expression stripped away and replaced purely by the pleasure of orgasm.

Not that I want her...

But it was still enjoyable to think of her in that slightly shameful position, well-used and well-rutted. He smiled as he leaned his head back against the pillows on the bed, his toes occasionally curling as Seraph picked up speed. They were going to be rutting all the way to Pride, which would take slightly longer than expected. Arnis had, of course, 'rerouted' them after finding out that they were having fun.

I wonder how long I can stretch this out...

Probably not long, not with the rather important situation in Pride right at the moment, but he would take the time that he could. After all, this was a favor that he'd been asked for, and that meant that he would do it more or less at his leisure.

The End

Summary: Dusk has been approached by Selene for a favor, and then they adjourn for a bit of pleasure.

Tags: M/M, M/F, bull, cat, lion, rabbit, various species, politics, series, modern fantasy, worldbuilding, demons, corruption, anal, oral,