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The Drakkaren shook his head a bit, then instead turned around, striding to the other side of the small passage through the door and then carefully examining the next area, this time not wanting to make any assumptions except that the worst possible thing would happen in this area. On the other hand, it also looked and felt empty, and was devoid of any bubbling tar of doom or even sand... instead, it was simply a moderate-sized hallway of stone that widened in the middle and narrowed at the other end, with a bit of moss growing here and there on the tiles and a few curling stems of some sort of ivy Zerrex didn't recognize. Taking in every detail, he noted two patterned braziers that lit the room by means of some strange glowing, bubbling liquid poured inside them... and a long red carpet with a plain golden outline leading to a massive wooden gate.

The floor of the hall was admittedly a bit awkward: the middle of the floor formed a shallow trench with a single stair leading down to it, where the red carpet lay along the dusty stone... but the Drakkaren figured it was an aesthetic choice more than a deadly trap, as he finally stepped out of the doorway and landed with a soft thump on the stone below.

Nothing happened... and Zerrex strode forwards a few feet to step into the wider area, noting the room formed an enormous hexagon... before pausing and slowly turning around to stare at a beautiful female Drakkaren, her body naked and smooth, her scales and eyes a matching crimson... and large black horns jutting from her skull as she reached up to fondle her bosom teasingly, and Zerrex could sense more of these demons stepping into existence around him, feeling arms wrapping around his own and gentle hands caressing along his back and powerful abdominals, the succubi all whispering to each other in demonic as the one in front of him strutted slowly forwards, her long, spiked tail flicking back and forth behind her as she spread a large pair of demonic wings before furling them on her back, murmuring softly: "Lord Zerrex... you should not have done what you did in the world above. Now you're here before we were... fully ready for the little party we had planned."

Zerrex closed his eyes and tried to pull away, but the succubi were strong... and he grit his teeth as the demoness in front of him wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him... but she didn't force herself on him, and she pulled back afterwards with a smile as he hesitantly opened one eye before he realized the only thing running through him was anxiety at testing his willpower against the half-dozen or so sexual demons currently teasing him. A pause, and then he opened both eyes as the succubus ahead of him laughed quietly, looking at him with entertainment he found strange. "Oh Lord Zerrex! Did you really think that we would try and put you under our spell... when we're already captivated under yours?"

"What are you talking about?" The Drakkaren asked slowly, and then he twitched a bit and coughed as he felt one of the succubi squeeze his buttocks, mumbling: "Hey uh... can we lay off with the touch- yeah, okay, I'm going to have to ask you to take your hands off that."

He wiggled a bit, but the demons behind him only giggled, one of them pressed tightly against him and whispering excitedly to the others as her hand rested on his crotch, and the Drakkaren could feel another sliding inside the waistband of his pants... and he tossed a pleading look over to the succubus ahead of him, who gave a sigh before smiling teasingly and saying something in demonic, and the other girls immediately slid away from the Drakkaren to stand in front of him, giggling like schoolgirls. They were all naked, and of various different colors, but all of them had the same slender, attractive figures, large breasts, and curving hips... along with the horns, wings, and rows of spikes that led down to an almost-scissors that came out of the ends of their tails. They have similarities to the Sisters... but at the same time, they're obviously much different... "So please... what were you talking about?"

"So polite, isn't he?" murmured the red-eyed demoness, and the others chattered and giggled for a moment before she stepped up to the Drakkaren, grasping him by the cheeks gently and saying teasingly: "Do you love me for my body, or for my personality?"

"Is... what?" Zerrex looked at her stupidly, and the succubus closed her eyes for a moment before her body swelled upwards, and he stared as she grew from a petite five-six to at least ten feet tall, several spikes of bone jutting their way out of her shoulders and elbows as her arms bulged with thick, flexing muscles, the claws on her fingers and toes becoming long and gnarled, her horns pushing outwards and twisting upwards further with the tiara of spikes along her forehead, her teeth now massive, inwards-twisting fangs as she opened eyes that glowed completely red.

"Do you love me for my body, or for my personality?" she asked, and her voice had taken on unearthly tones that sent chills down the Drakkaren's spine... before one of her huge, clawed hands grasped his and guided his palm gently to rest against one massive, swollen breast, the lizard swallowing a bit as he stared up into her glowing red eyes... before she smiled and said softly: "Yes... you're turned on by this, aren't you? You'd fuck me harder now then you would when I looked so little and defenseless, even though you knew I wasn't... but here, with my real self revealed, you want me on my knees, sucking your cock even more... and oh, Lord Zerrex, this is part of the reason we adore you so much in the Hell of Lust...

"You see, you are being tested. The Princess is watching every move you make, every little thing that happens, so she can know what to do with you... for you, Lord Zerrex, emphasize..." A pause as she leaned down, and he felt a long tongue drag slowly over his neck, the Drakkaren's eyes slipping closed as he tilted his head to the side, automatically squeezing into her swell gently. "So very many sins... but particularly... you are a mixture of Lust... and of Wrath."

Zerrex slowly pulled himself backwards, but the succubus was still holding his hand tight against her bosom as she looked down at him with a teasing grin, saying softly: "You are already as strong as a Prince of Demons... perhaps if you had fought the Warlord one-on-one as you had planned... we would all be writhing in excitement after watching the defeat of our greatest of enemies. But let me express that we are just as glad to see you here, Lord Zerrex... you have many friends and admirers in Hell, and all of us are but your humble servants..."

The succubus slipped backwards... and then she knelt before him and dropped her head as he stared, the others doing the same as a tremble of power ran through him that the Drakkaren didn't like, the demoness murmuring softly: "We shall serve you and aid you on the long road ahead... we shall watch you and help you, as you become a demon... and we shall elevate you to the highest of demons in joy, for you are our master now."

"I don't... I don't deserve this." Zerrex staggered backwards, shaking his head slowly as an expression almost like fear flitted across his features... and then he grunted as he bumped into something before two pairs of strong arms wrapped tightly around his arms.

"Believe me... we all feel you do." said a voice Zerrex had known well once... before he slowly pulled free and turned around to face a pair of smiling twins, both of them gazing up over him with adoration. He fell to his knees, staring back and forth and mouthing wordlessly at the sight of Mist and Shine, their red scales taunt and bodies clothed as he'd remembered them all the way back in Hez'Ranna, before the start of the Great War, their eyes twinkling â€" beautifully-mismatched green and blue, and the only difference was that the other girl had eyes of blue and green.

But now the two also possessed pairs of curling ram's horns, unlike the other demonesses he had seen so far... and before he could even ask, they both giggled quietly and wrapped their arms around one-another, saying teasingly: "Don't look so shocked, Lord Zerrex! We're happy to be here and ready to serve you once more..."

"After all, Hell isn't so bad and has treated us both well... we're rarely even punished anymore, but you'll learn more about that soon..." A pause and a glance past Zerrex, the one the Drakkaren thought was Mist adding: "Sunia, we're going to take the Master out to the next area, alright?"

"Go ahead... and good luck, Lord Zerrex." The Drakkaren glanced over his shoulder, and he blinked as he saw the succubus had already reverted back to her beautiful, slim body, raising a hand and waving at him before adding teasingly: "Maybe you can fuck me later in that form if you behave yourself... just remember to keep up the good behavior, so I don't have to... punish you for being naughty."

The other succubi added words in their own tongue, and a stupefied Zerrex felt himself pulled towards the gigantic wooden gate a few moments later, the twins both raising a hand to the huge door. It shuddered violently... and then slowly rose upwards, and the lizard stared as the twins half-dragged him through the open archway and into some sort of massive coliseum, demons jeering and yelling from the stands around the arena, the reptile's feet sinking slightly into the soft sand beneath him as he tried to process exactly what the hell was going on. "Mist? Shine?"

"It's okay, really... the games won't begin until you're ready." Mist said comfortingly, then she kissed his cheek gently, her other hand adjusting the plain white wrap that went around her breasts, and then her white loincloth in an almost-nervous gesture, gazing up at him adoringly. "Oh, it's so good to see you again..."

"We've missed you so very much, Lord Zerrex..." added Shine, then she kissed his other cheek, gazing up at him affectionately as he looked over at her stupidly, the two halting inside the arena as a metal portcullis dropped slowly down behind them, sealing them inside the huge area. A pause at his look, and then she laughed, and the two blushed deeply. "But look at us! Our apologies, Lord Zerrex... our sincerest and deepest apologies for forgetting that you're so new to all this... but you know the Hez'Rannan culture better than you realize. Look around, and why don't you tell us what this looks like?"

"A battle arena, obviously... a coliseum." Zerrex said dumbly, and when the girls both giggled, he made a face before slowly looking around the area, at the gate opposite, the white sand... and then his eyes settled on the decorative edging around the arena, the high walls, and the way the crowd was rowdy... but at the same time weren't chucking fruit or various other objects at him, demons in heavy armor and carrying enormous weapons slowly patrolling along the top of the walls. Wait... "Not just a coliseum... not just a game. I'm being given time for the demons above watching to size me up and place bets... except no one's getting up. This is some sort of initiation rite, isn't it?"

"You're very close, yes." Mist nodded, slowly drawing her hand over his scarred chest almost reverently, and the Drakkaren glanced at her curiously as she blushed a bit, before murmuring in Hez'Rannan: "Our last master was a traitor... but we both remember serving you, Lord Zerrex. An Iuratus in life..."

"Continues to serve as an Iuratus even in death. We are yours, Lord Zerrex..." Shine finished, speaking in her own native tongue as well... and the Drakkaren found it strange that all of a sudden, Hez'Rannan didn't seem as hard to understand as it had been over the course of his life. "Forever."

"Forever's a long time... you might not like me for that long after I get my ass handed to me by whoever's coming to... hand my ass to me." Zerrex said lamely, and the two giggled before pressing closer, and the Drakkaren slid his arms around their waists, both of them sighing in what sounded almost like pleasure. "Why is it that half the demons I come across worship the ground I walk on? Seriously?"

"Because you killed the Red Beast." Shine looked almost surprised, glancing up at him as Mist nuzzled at his throat playfully. "Patriarch Narrius... don't you remember the story that he told you?"

Zerrex nodded slowly, then he glanced from one twin to the next, saying quietly: "So... it was true? But if they feared him even here... does that mean others worshipped him in Hell?"

The twins nodded, and then Mist murmured: "It takes everyone to make the worlds continue to spin... but those in Hell who worshipped him are often demons who ended up being tossed into the darkest regions of the Abyss and other terrible places, demons interested only in the destruction of all things. Even the Warlord has a goal in mind, which is total domination of all worlds... but Narrius only wished to destroy."

"I suppose your next question is, ‘where is he now...' and it's easy enough to answer." Shine added softly, and Zerrex nodded, looking from one to the other slowly. "When Narrius was sent to Hell, he immediately tore a swathe of destruction through demons, lost souls, and all alike in his rage. He was uncontrollable... so the Scribes and Scholars combined their abilities and sealed him in what is now known as the Prismatic Prison, at the very bottom of the Abyss. There is no way for him to escape..." Shine paused, then murmured: "We have seen it ourselves..."

"I'm glad..." Zerrex felt the faintest twinge of hesitation inside himself, though... after all, once his father had come back from the dead, decades after the Drakkaren had killed him. But that was from tampering with the laws of nature... and Hellabos's research on that has been long destroyed, along with all of Narrius's remains. "But what am I doing here?"

The twins looked up at him with entertainment for a moment, before the reptile winced as a dark portal opened in the center of the arena and a figure in grey cloak stepped out, complete with a large scythe that made it impossible for the Drakkaren to mistake, as he asked stupidly: "Is that... Death? Like, the Grim Reaper, Death?"

"A version of it." muttered Shine, and he glanced down at her with surprise as Death brushed at himself slowly with one hand, the portal vanishing behind him. Zerrex paused and glanced at Mist, noting the same expression... before looking up as Death stepped towards him and tripped on the hem of his robe with a loud curse, only saving himself thanks to the pole of his long scythe.

Zerrex looked nonplussed as the twins stepped away from him, then leapt backwards into the stands... but the Drakkaren didn't bother to stare after them, instead walking forwards and rubbing the back of his head slowly as he approached the cloaked entity, which was now kicking at the torn bottom of its robe. "Uh... hi?"

"Er. Gimme a second." Death muttered, and then he quickly tossed the long robe aside... and Zerrex stared as he found himself not looking at some skeletal creature, but instead a youthful-looking mishmash of different beings. A dragon's head and muzzle with a long mane of hair that pushed out in a tall mohawk from its head, and a thin, almost feline body covered by a charcoal-grey vest. Its legs were unguligrade, going down into huge, clawed talons on bare feet below neatly-hemmed black pants... and the blue-scaled beast also had a long tail that split in half near the end, the twin forks of the tail flicking back and forth.

Death offered his hand with a stupid grin, his green eyes vital and cheerful as he said: "Hey there, Lord Zerrex! Dear fuck, do you know what a bitch it was to fight for your soul? I mean, you know, I might be, well, Death, but that doesn't make it any more fun to get stabbed than anyone else." A pause, his hand still floating in the air, and he added dryly: "And no, you won't die from touching me."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Zerrex said dumbly, and he shook the being's hand, Death wincing at the Drakkaren's tight grip and shaking his fingers out as the lizard looked mildly back and forth. "So uh... what the hell is going on?"

"Well, here's how it works." Death said briskly, straightening to his full twelve-foot height and clapping his hands together firmly, before muttering a curse under his breath as his scythe fell over into the sand. "You have a choice here. You can surrender now, and I'll take you down into..." A pause, and Death held up a finger, rummaging in his pants pocket before pulling out a small, leatherbound notebook and flicking through it with a mumble.

He settled on a page near the end as Zerrex stared, watching as Death squinted at the words on the page, before brightening and slipping the book back into his pocket, continuing cheerfully: "Okay, so. You're set to be transferred from this small pocket dimension into one of the southern provinces of Hell, Le Bolla or something like that. It's a uh... sort of like Hez'Ranna's image of Hell, to give you something you're familiar with." A pause, and Death narrowed his eyes, asking dryly: "Can you like, not make your gaping so obvious? Yes, I get it. I'm Death. Big whoop. There's a whole bunch of Deaths and a whole bunch of worlds though, you know, so like... yeah. We have a union and everything."

"You do not." Zerrex said mildly, shaking his head quickly and glancing up at the reptilian creature, and Death glanced away, looking lame and rubbing the back of his head as the Drakkaren asked flatly: "And if you don't want me to stare, then why didn't you just come in without the getup and tell me your name?"

"Shut up, that's why." Death said proudly, before raising his hands and leaning backwards at Zerrex's glare. "Uh... can we start over? My name's Amiglion, but most people just call me Ami. And for your information, since you don't seem to know what I am, I'm from the First Generation... I'm a Naganatine. They don't make our kind anymore."

"You're weird, is what you are." Zerrex said sulkily, crossing his arms and looking up at Ami dryly, who made a face at him in return. "And if I don't surrender, I suppose I'll have to fight Cerberus or something, right? Or maybe a hydra, to make my day complete."

Ami looked at him for a few moments, then he grinned and spread his arms wide, saying cheerfully: "Hey, don't be like that! You're in Hell, you found out what's on the other side... and it isn't so bad... well... at least not yet." A pause, and Ami rubbed the back of his head, mumbling: "You are sort of a Class-A offender, so there's going to be lots of pain waiting for you down in Hell... but uh... hey, gotta do the time for the crime, right? Right?

"You know, I'm just... going to finish telling you about what's going to happen here." Ami laughed a bit, looking embarrassed again as Zerrex tossed a sour look over the creature. First generation, first whatever, either way. He's an ass. Death is a bigger ass than I am. I might have to punch him in the nose. "If you don't surrender... and the expectation is you won't, which is why all these people are here... then you get to have the fun of fighting me."

Zerrex glanced at the creature in surprise at this, looking over him thoughtfully as Ami said in a more serious voice: "Now, if you lose... I'll take you down to Hell anyway, and you'll be given more duties and leaned more heavily on during punishments. But if you win... then I'll restore your physical body and drag you up to the surface and out of here myself."

"So are we fighting hand-to-hand or do I get a weapon?" Zerrex asked mildly, and Ami looked at him uncertainly for a few moments, the Drakkaren frowning a bit. "What?"

"You uh... you know, why don't we make a deal?" The entity glanced over his shoulder with a wince, looking up towards a balcony that extended out over the coliseum... and Zerrex followed his gaze to see the Princess there, with several other figures he didn't recognize. "We'll call it a draw instead of you surrendering, and I'll take you right down to one of Hell's finer vacation spots instead of-"

Zerrex punched the Naganatine in the end of the muzzle to the laughter of the crowd, and Ami fell heavily backwards on his ass, clutching his nose as his eyes filled with tears. The reptile immediately winced, but managed to say in a surly tone: "I don't want any special treatment."

"Well, I don't want to get my ass kicked!" Ami whined in return, glaring up at the reptile as he continued to clutch his nose. "Do you have any clue how often I'm forced to fight stronger warriors like yourself? And I'd like to point out that I'm not a demon or lost soul, either... while the other Naganatine got to go to Heaven and Hell, you know where God chucked me? Limbo, that's fuckin' where! I was told to watch over the bored souls and entertain them... well, screw that, I said, and I busted out of there and ended up being sent to Hell." He looked so dejected and miserable for a moment that Zerrex sighed and offered him a hand.

The creature glanced up at him curiously, then he took it, wincing as the reptile hauled him up to his feet and quickly brushing himself off with a mumble. "So you know how you've got a kind of dulled sensation right now when it comes to pain, how you don't get tired? Well, I don't get the bonuses of demonic corruption. I'm still the same damned thing I was all those years ago. It might be just as hard to kill me as any high-tier demon, but unlike the popular legend, I can still freaking die and it still freaking hurts to get stabbed in the face." He halted, looking sulky as he snapped his fingers, and a moment later a sword fell out of the sky and landed next to Zerrex, the Drakkaren jumping to the side in surprise. "But no, you get that, if you want it."

Zerrex glanced over at the blade, then he grasped it and slowly hefted it free of the ground, looking over it slowly and smiling slightly. It was made of a strange, silvery metal with several runes inscribed down the double-edge blade that almost glowed. It was thicker than the average sword, but still much thinner than Blackheart's blade had been... the handle, however, was longer and more comfortable for his large hands, and it was exceptionally light â€" or maybe that was just ‘one of the bonuses of demonic corruption,' as Ami had put it. A pause and a frown as he shouldered the six-foot sword, glancing over at the Naganatine as he rubbed his hands in the white sand, asking mildly: "Why the hell do they call it demonic corruption, anyway?"

"Because a lot of people tend to lose themselves when they become demons... it's one of those ‘only the strong survive,' sorta things." A pause and a look of dry amusement as Zerrex looked dumbly surprised. "You saw the Plasmids, the Nightmares and the Goat Demons, and even the Salamanders... they were all once mortals, but they were warped so much by Hell's energies and corruption that they became... something else. And you also saw how much even Miss Cherry changed..." A pause and a cough as he glanced nervously up towards the Princess. "But I'm not supposed to talk about that."

Zerrex frowned a bit, glancing down... and then he looked back up, asking quietly: "Is becoming a demon inevitable?"

"That's... a difficult question." Ami said carefully, as he picked up his scythe and patted his dusty hands up and down against the pole, before he smiled faintly across at Zerrex. "Most of those who resist the process eventually go insane. Others get sick... others simply wither and die. But the worst is when a strong soul resists, because of fear... then the fear takes hold and ends up turning them into... something else entirely that is... usually far worse off, in the end."

The Drakkaren nodded with a quiet sigh, looking musingly at the ground... and then Ami cleared his throat, saying brightly: "Look. Here's how things work in here... I realize you may be afraid that you can indeed die, but I want to assure you, during this phase of the game, you technically can't. Therefore, to avoid the unpleasantness of being cut into pieces, I want to lay down a few ground rules for dueling.

"One, no decapitations: that won't end well for anyone. The same goes for cutting off limbs, although I realize that..." Ami grit his teeth and made a face, looking slowly over the huge sword Zerrex was carrying like a feather. "Accidents happen. Three: let's keep it civil, I'm very sensitive and you already almost made me cry once today. Four: we'll play until someone lands a blow to the other's... uh... heart."

"That sounds fine to me." Zerrex said mildly, then he glanced to the side as a demoness landed next to them and glared over at Ami. She looked like a succubus... except she had the same kind of antler-horns as Cherry and her eyes were blue, whereas her scales were red and tan gold... and she also was actually wearing clothing, whereas most of the other succubi he'd seen today had been naked. And I think the twins were a special case... but then again... skintight jeans and a black shirt? That's a bit... casual, isn't it?

"What's the fucking holdup, Amiglion?" she snarled, tilting her head and crossing her arms. "It looks like you're just getting ready to fight him! The Princess is getting tired of waiting to see you do your duties and would like to note for the umpteenth time, that now you serve her and not any of the other Princes, as written under the contractual agreement."

Ami slowly shrank under her fury, and then she turned around, bowing deeply to Zerrex before offering him a smile that completely changed her features. "Lord Zerrex. I am Queen Feldspar, one of the Handmaidens of the Princess and her Excellency's humble servant. Upon behalf of her Highness, I wish to apologize to you for these hoops we're putting you through..." A pause as she stepped forwards and took the Drakkaren's hand, kissing slowly up his arm from his wrist as he stared at her, before a long tongue slithered out... and out... and out. "A Dius such as I would be... honored... to serve in any and all capacity after this little game is done with... but we ask humbly that you allow yourself to fall... the Princess has many great plans, but requires your help... and perhaps only with the added powers of a demon can you hope to defeat the Warlord and save the material worlds from destruction."

That brought a lot of conflicting emotions to the surface... and Zerrex grunted before looking down, then back up, asking quietly: "Queen Feldspar... you're the... not Hez'Rannan, but the Unity religion popular in Ire writes you as one of the battlemaidens. I'm curious to know if that's true or not."

The Dius looked pleased at this, brightening almost immediately and nodding as she straightened proudly, slipping a bit closer to the Drakkaren. "Oh yes... that's correct, Lord Zerrex! You possess knowledge, a stout heart, and incredible strength... there are many reasons to admire you indeed, and admire you we shall..." She leaned in close, kissing his cheek gently before drawing slowly back and grinning slightly. "We shall spar one day in the future, Lord Zerrex... and I am sure you will achieve a high nobility among all demons-"

Across from them, Ami made a gagging sound, leaning heavily on his scythe before poking the two apart with the pole of the weapon, Feldspar glaring at him angrily. "Okay, we got the idea when you had Zerrex ambushed by the half-dozen whores. Now get off him, I believe you were already bitching that we were late for something?"

"Just remember your contract, Death. You'll serve the Princess until all her desires are met." The Dius snarled, then she strode back towards the balcony before easily leaping up to land on the edge of it in a kneel to the Princess, and then assuming her place back at her side as Zerrex gaped stupidly after her. Dude. Forget every bad thought I just had. I want to jump a hundred feet in the air, too.

"Short fuse that one has, like most of the females around here." Ami remarked, glancing back and forth mildly. "I'd watch yourself around half your fan club, Lord Zerrex... most of them are used to ripping off and eating the heads of whoever screws them silly, much like... bah, you won't get the reference, wrong physical plane."

"Right." Zerrex said flatly, and then he took the sword into both hands, tilting the longish blade forwards as he slid one foot out to the side slightly, tensing and flexing his muscles before letting his body fall loose. "Whenever you're ready to begin, Ami. I'll keep things as friendly as I can."

Ami made a face and mumbled something, then he took his scythe into both hands, the pole turning black as it straightened out, becoming steel instead of wood, and the blade lengthened slowly into a long, dangerous half-moon as he grunted: "I will too. Good luck, Lord Zerrex."

"The same to you." Zerrex nodded politely... and then the two smiled grimly at each other before Ami stepped backwards and threw the scythe as hard as he could at the Drakkaren, the huge weapon going into a rapid spin that cut the air with its scream.

Zerrex snorted, then he leaned into a hard upwards strike as he arched his back, sending the polearm flying high into the air with a zinging twirl as the Drakkaren charged forwards towards Ami, the Naganatine immediately squeaking loudly and turning to run... before Zerrex skidded to a halt and then threw himself backwards in a high, slow flip, arms out at either side as the huge scythe shot beneath him, Ami spinning around at the last moment to catch it with a grunt as the lizard landed in a crouch.

The two reptiles looked at each other with surprise for a few moments... then Zerrex leapt forwards, stabbing hard outwards at the same time and fully-extending his arm, but Ami swung the huge scythe in, catching the blade of the sword between the blade and pole of his scythe, and he twisted hard out to his side with the polearm, almost tearing the sword from Zerrex's hands and sending the Drakkaren staggering forwards instead, his free arm flailing for balance.

Immediately, Ami continued his graceful spin as he leapt past Zerrex... and the tip of his scythe cut a neat line along the Drakkaren's lower back before he pumped both arms in the air with a cackle, shouting victoriously: "First blood! I call first blood! What-"

He turned around with a grin right into a hard, two-handed spinning swing from Zerrex, the sword ripping through his throat and sending Ami staggering backwards with a squawk, dropping his scythe as he grasped his neck and winced, blood spilling from his jugular in a gushing flow as he rasped: "No decapitations!"

"I was aiming for your vocal cords." Zerrex responded mildly, then he strode over and kicked the Naganatine hard in the crotch, and the entity's eyes rolled up in his head as he gave a loud moan of pain, grasping his groin and falling backwards as the Drakkaren added spitefully: "And that's for being a moron and leaving yourself open. Get up, Ami, I want to see you fight me, not prance around like a moron."

"Most people would take the easy win." Ami said miserably from the ground, before slowly rolling up to his knees... and Zerrex gave him a hefty boot in the rear, the Naganatine snarling over his shoulder: "How the fuck can I get up with you kicking me to the ground all the time!"

"Figure it out." Zerrex replied coldly... but he smiled slightly as Ami attempted to scamper away from him this time, remembering when Requiem had taught him this same, hard lesson in life. Zerrex, stop it. You aren't crying because I've hurt you, you're crying because you're frustrated... but this is an important lesson. Sometimes, the enemy will press you so hard you have only a moment to get back to your feet... and if you fail, you have to learn how to deal with those consequences, harsh as they may be.

Ami attempted to climb to his feet again a short distance away... and Zerrex leapt forwards, slashing his sword hard down into the creature's back and causing him to shriek, the dragonish thing falling to the ground and spasming violently before Zerrex added a second firm strike with the flat of the blade to the deep gash in his back, and Ami yelled raggedly: "Fucking hell! Finish me already, what the hell's wrong with you?"

Zerrex stepped backwards and let the bloody tip of the sword descend into the sand, before he said quietly: "I'm not giving you a choice here, Amiglion. I want you to fight me with all the strength you have... I..." Zerrex faltered, then he looked away, murmuring quietly: "I don't want to return to the mortal realm."

Death glanced up in surprise... and then Ami rolled over, carefully climbing up to his feet as he looked at the Drakkaren curiously... before he said softly: "Do you believe you deserve Hell?"

Zerrex gritted his teeth, turning away... and then he spun around with a violent roundhouse slash of the sword, shouting: "Never lower your guard!"

Ami was once more sent sprawling to the ground with a shriek of surprise, blood bursting over his chest... but the wound looked comparatively-shallow, although Zerrex could see the gleam of his breastbone now... not a good sign, no, but at the same time, in let the reptile know he hadn't pierced his enemy's heart. I... I really don't want to go back, do I? My family probably is better off without me there, and if what Feldspar said is true... I can help them from down here. I can gain more power-

Yes. More power. That's what you need... hissed a quiet voice in his head, and Zerrex snarled, looking away as Ravenlight added darkly: By the way, where's the prick who thinks he's me? Do you think he's going to leave the precious girls alone? We never finished the job and made sure he was dead... but yes. Let's continue our ignoble quest for more power... something we've avoided all these years...

"Didn't you just tell me not to let your guard drop?" Ami shouted back angrily, and then he swung in with the scythe at Zerrex's head... and without looking, the Drakkaren leaned forwards a bit so the huge blade overshot his neck, reaching up at the same time and catching the neck of the pole... and Ami gaped stupidly before whining loudly as Zerrex absently shoved the blade of his sword through his stomach, gargling and then whimpering: "Dude. I'm not used to fighting! Kill me already, I'm a frigging inter-Hell messenger and soul-thief most of the time, not a big burly stupid lizard!"

Zerrex withdrew his blade, and Death squeaked before releasing the scythe in an attempt to hold in his intestines... and Zerrex smashed him in the face with the butt of his own pole, Ami letting out a loud moan as he sprawled on the ground, before the Drakkaren looked down at him thoughtfully and murmured: "You... you remind me of someone."

"Who, your punching bag?" Ami muttered, as he carefully folded his insides back into the gaping hole in his stomach, and then he stared as Zerrex laughed a bit at this. "What's so funny, the fact that I'm going to be filled with fucking sand for about five years?"

"No, it's... an inside joke." Zerrex replied, then he walked slowly away, adding quietly: "Listen to me, Amiglion. I know you're trying... but you can try harder, and do better." The Drakkaren turned around, settling his eyes on the Naganatine as he stood slowly, looking utterly miserable. "You've been ordered to restrict the use of your abilities, haven't you?"

Ami blinked at this, then he grinned stupidly and stuttered: "I... you know, n-not like... you know, you still couldn't take me, but the others were scared it would be unfair and... and..."

"They want me to come peacefully... or they know that my only recourse is to go to Hell, one way or the other." Zerrex spun his bloodstained sword slowly... and then he turned to Ami, taking it in both hands and saying quietly: "Go ahead. Show me what tricks you have up your sleeve. Let's make a new deal, though... if I kill you despite you fighting using magic or whatever nonsense you have... I'll go peacefully up to the mortal realm. But if you kill me... one day I'll teach you what I know of combat, and train you in the same arts I've been trained in."

Ami stared at this deal... and then he nodded slowly, murmuring quietly: "The Princess would have to authorize it... but I agree, Lord Zerrex." Death bowed a bit to him, then held out a hand, his scythe floating up to it before he smiled slightly. "Just... just do me a favor and hold back a little, okay?"

"I'll think about it." Zerrex responded with a slight smile, and then he readied himself as Ami closed his eyes and released his scythe, the huge polearm beginning to spin like a fan blade in front of him before his hands glowed purple, and the Drakkaren switched his stance to a more defensive one, the sword across his body before the Naganatine leapt backwards, the scythe moving with him and continuing to shield him as the creature grit its teeth.

The entity made two distinct waving motions, releasing twin blades of purple energy through the twirling scythe... and the first knocked the Drakkaren backwards with a grunt of pain as tremors ran through his body, before he deflected the second with his blade... but it sent painful vibrations through his hands. More blades were flying at him now, though, and Zerrex tilted his body into a sprint to the side, sending up a rooster tail of dirt with his movements as Ami winced and immediately began to release more blades of energy.

These half-moon shaped purple blades twisted to follow the Drakkaren's path, however... and Zerrex concentrated out of instinct, the blade of his sword glowing blue with his energy before he began to easily bat the blades out of the way, shattering them into purple motes as he tilted his charge towards Ami. The Naganatine looked shocked for a moment before glancing back and forth stupidly... and then he created a purple wall of energy between himself and the spinning scythe as Zerrex simply slashed hard forwards into the rotating weapon.

It flew through the air like a crazy top as Ami fell backwards onto his ass with a squeal as his shield shattered as well, blue lighting flickering over the polearm... but Zerrex winced and grunted, wiping slowly at a long cut on his face, holding his sword loosely in the other hand and giving the Naganatine time to scramble backwards and hold up a hand, the huge weapon immediately spinning out of the air and heading down towards him.

The Drakkaren watched as Ami easily caught the weapon before turning around and running straight at the reptile... and Zerrex waited patiently before swinging his sword hard upwards as Ami struck down with the polearm, knocking it flying out of his grip as the entity squeaked in shock before Zerrex's blade slammed into his midsection, Death's eyes bulging... but instead of carrying through and halving the creature, Zerrex turned and pulled hard to the side instead, and Ami flailed a bit, falling over and clutching at his stomach with a moan of agony, his legs kicking in the air as he howled: "That was completely uncalled for! Oh my fuck, it hurts like shit!"

"Yeah, well, you suck." Zerrex said morbidly, and then he swung upwards idly at one of Ami's feet, cutting a deep wound in the sole and causing the Naganatine's screams to raise in pitch. "Now, see, that was uncalled for."

"Bastard..." Ami moaned... and then he winced and crawled quickly away a moment later when Zerrex staggered forwards with a grunt, his eyes bulging in shock before he slowly looked down to see the blade of Death's scythe protruding from his stomach... and a glance over his shoulder confirmed that yes, there was a large pole attached to that blade sticking out of his lower body. He stumbled a few times as Ami fell to a kneel nearby, his arms over his stomach as he rapidly mumbled some incantation... and a moment later, he winced as bloody, shining blue runes etched slowly down his arms, and the terrible damage Zerrex had dealt to the creature's stomach healed itself.

Zerrex, meanwhile, reached one arm back with a grimace... and then he snarled in pain as he yanked the polearm free, before staring as the steel pole turned red in his hand. A moment later, he was aware of burning agony... and the Drakkaren threw the weapon to the ground before looking down at his cooked palm, and Ami said apologetically: "Sorry, but Grim does as he does."

"The weapon's... alive?" Zerrex stuttered, and then scythe righted itself before the butt of the pole smashed him under the muzzle, knocking him flat, and the Drakkaren was forced to make a wild, rolling swing a moment later as the scythe attempted to cut into his skull, barely deflecting the weapon from his eye and instead digging a slash over his muzzle before it slammed uselessly into the dirt, and Zerrex held it in place with his sword, snarling over at Ami as the Naganatine held both his hands out and started another incantation. Spells seem verbal-based... I need to interrupt him somehow... "Hey, your mom is... stupid!"

"What the fuck!" Ami gaped, and even the pole stopped jerking beneath his sword... and a moment later, Zerrex threw his weapon hard at the Nagantine, and it pierced through his chest, both of them staring in shock as Ami staggered slowly backwards with a sword through his breast... before both winced and looked back and forth, and Zerrex's first thought was: Did I... no, no... it was a mistake... Gods, I want to see my family again, but at the same time I know I have a job to do here... I can become stronger here, I can help people here...

"It didn't seem to pierce his heart." The Princess said clearly from above, standing now on her balcony, the voice of the tall, gaunt figure seeming to smile from beneath her golden mask. "You may carry on with the fight."

The two looked at each other... and then the scythe whickered up from the sand and through the air, cutting a gash through Zerrex's chest before spinning over to the Naganatine, who reached out with a hand and snarled some incantation as the scythe cut a circle around him in the earth... and a moment later the narrow trench dug by the scythe filled with blood before Zerrex jerked forwards with a ‘hurk,' and his heart tore free of his chest and flew over into Ami's hand, several long vessels dangling from it.

Zerrex felt agony... but most of it was drowned out by shock as he looked slowly down at the gaping, twisted hole in his chest, several of his ribs sticking out... and a moment later Ami's scythe seemed to disintegrate into flecks of darkness even as the crowd cheered and laughed... before he mumbled stupidly: "I think the sword did hit my heart. Is there a doctor in the house?"

A moment later, he fell forwards on his face with a groan and fainted, and Zerrex merely stood, feeling blood pumping uselessly out the wound in his body as he looked back and forth dumbly, before swaying a bit as a groggy feeling began to overcome him and he fell back on his haunches, which made him feel a lot better. That was pretty cool... but... like... am I supposed to put my heart back in or something?

Above in the private balcony, the Princess relaxed back in the throne, and said with that same smile in her voice: "Tend to them both. Amiglion seems quite badly injured, so perhaps he should be moved to the nearest temple for special care, so we can have him back in servitude within the next year or so... and Lord Zerrex will require some healing and binding, but apart from his missing organ, he seems to have sustained relatively minor damages."

"Is this right, your Highness?" asked a troubled demon with a goat's head and long, curled ram's horns, frowning a bit as he tented his fingers. "While I recognize the value of Lord Zerrex, especially as a combatant and commander for our soldiers... he did succeed in defeating Amiglion and he did land an injury to his heart first. Even using his abilities, our Grim Reaper had to resort to using the combined powers of Grim War and a forbidden incantation..."

"Yes, Balthazar, we recognize that he was no match for Lord Zerrex..." Queen Feldspar murmured, looking over at the Drakkaren with a mixture of lust and adoration. "Your Excellency... may I tend to Lord Zerrex and bring him to meet Inquisitor Selena? I'm sure she's very anxious to meet him by now..."

"You may, Queen Feldspar. Send him my blessings." The Princess said dismissively, waving a hand at her, and the Dius smiled happily as she bowed before turning and leaping down to the Drakkaren.

Zerrex looked up at her stupidly... and then he blinked when she leaned over him and slipped a hand into his chest, before arching his back in a mixture of pain and surprise... and a moment later he looked down to watch as dark essence slowly began to knit his chest together, Feldspar murmuring softly: "This will do for now... you have a demon's heart in you, and it will slowly grow to match your body's needs, but for now avoid damages to it." A pause as she gently took his hand and lifted him up, and Zerrex looked stupidly down at his chest as the wound closed and his ribs slid back into place with a creak. "Dark energy is not usually used for healing, but your body seems to accept and filter it... but come, now it is time for you to be drawn into Hell."

The Dius pointed at the air beside her, and a dark, crackling portal appeared before she squeezed the hand she was still holding, gazing over him affectionately as he remained in numb, stupefied silence, feeling anxiety running through his body... and feeling too much like a scared child, despite how warm his welcome had been. Or maybe that's why I'm so scared right now... "I'm to introduce you to your mentor, Selena... she will be serving as your Inquisitor in the Hell, since she best matches your special mix of sins..."

Feldspar tugged his hand gently... and Zerrex sighed a bit before forcing himself to follow her into the dark portal, resigning himself to the fate he had carried on his shoulders all his life: he had died and gone to Hell.

Zerrex glanced back and forth as he sat alone on a small rock bench, rubbing absently at his chest every so often. The portal had been a strange experience... but stranger indeed had been his first glance into Hell.

He'd expected volcanoes, the legendary river of fire, and lots of screaming corpses and death and general animosity... but instead he found things to be rather... friendly? Amiable, at least... and even though the ground was indeed a barren wasteland of red and black rocks for the most part, there were some ugly-looking black trees scattered around... but also small settlements comprised of demons who had formed little bands together and built villages out of black wood and stone. The sky above was red and sunless, giving the impression of eternal twilight as black clouds slowly passed by... and the Dius had led him through a little village as intelligent and varied demons stared after him curiously before leaving him here, about a hundred feet outside the village on a dusty rest stop where several paths of white sand converged.

For a little while, Zerrex had honestly enjoyed the view: straight below him was a trickling river, along which a few children were playing â€" Kids in Hell... well, I guess it's no surprise there's some running around, with how everyone looks down here â€" but straight ahead of him was the real treat. Fields of some sort of tarnished grass, small settlements in the distance and what looked like a forest to the east... and to the west he could see swamps and a deadly wasteland past the village, some sort of dark desert. But to the north, it was like he could see forever, all the way to where the world seemed to end in a dark pit... and standing tall in the middle of this was a huge tower of stone, and above was some sort of obelisk that was but a black line in the distance... although Zerrex could see that high above this, the sky swirled slowly around in an eternal vortex of red and black that was... in a word, beautiful.

Now, however, he had decided just to relax and try to orient himself, feeling a bit miserable and vulnerable without a weapon... before he glanced up in surprise as a beautiful Drakkaren sat beside him, clad in a long, flowing white dress that covered her entire body and shoulders... and she smiled at him embarrassedly, putting her hands in her lap as they simply looked at each other for a little while.

He took in her golden scales, her glowing irises that seemed to be all the colors of the rainbow, and the fact she seemed to have no demonic signs whatsoever... and she took in his hair, his scars, and his emerald eyes. Her clothing was chaste and elegant... his was dirty and torn. They were like the princess and the pauper... and finally, she took in his lack of anyone here with him... as he took in the enormous minotaur bodyguards standing nearby, clad in golden armor and both looking warily at him. Ugh. Give them sunglasses and suits, and you've got some government agents just waiting to get angry right there...

"Hi." the female finally said lamely, and she offered a hand to him as he started, looking surprised. She blushed a bit, then said quietly: "I'm... Lily. My name is Lily. Are you... Lord Zerrex?"

"Yeah..." Zerrex took her hand after a moment, and he shook it... then raised it to his muzzle, kissing it softly as she blushed and gazed at him with a surprised smile. "But I'm not all bad... at least, that's what I've heard, but... you know, from biased people." Zerrex finished dumbly, and the two looked at each other for a few moments before the Drakkaren coughed and asked stupidly: "So are you like... royalty or something?"

"Sort of... I'm the daughter of one of the monarchs." Lily said quietly, glancing over at her bodyguards with a bit of a frown before returning her eyes to Zerrex. "I guess it's kind of obvious, with all the protection Daddy keeps me around..."

The Drakkaren nodded and smiled a bit, but before he could speak, a mild voice said: "Your Majesty. You're supposed to be studying... and furthermore, you aren't supposed to be talking to strangers, with the increasing frequency of attacks on yourself by the Warlord. Besides, Lord Zerrex isn't your type and has likely had enough of sexual attacks on his person today."

Lily blushed deeply as Zerrex followed her gaze to the voice's owner... and he stared at the female Dragokkaren who reminded him immediately of Cherry... except scarier. I don't know if I'm more aroused or more terrified right now.

The demoness was tall and statuesque, with sizeable but not enormous musculature... and between a pair of large, long bull horns was a long black fin, much like Marina's but for its larger size and longer curve. Her body was covered in red scales that faded to a pale pink over her chest, and she was clothed â€" if you could call it that â€" in a leather lace corset that crisscrossed over her stomach, with straps that circled breasts that could easily compete with Cherry's for size. The thin leather straps formed two rings around her swells, and then went up over her shoulders... and there were other straps of what looked almost like gleaming rubber along her strong biceps and muscular, toned thighs, and a belt with a silver, runic clasp around her waist. From this hung a long leather whip... and Zerrex paused before meeting her black eyes and saying slowly: "You're Cleo."

"Yes... but Selena will do fine here, Lord Zerrex." A pause, and then she added with a strange smile: "Mistress Selena on days like today... now Lily, if you'll excuse us, I'm taking Zerrex out to the catacombs for his introduction to how things work here in Hell."

Lily nodded... but before she left, she gave Zerrex a quick kiss on the cheek, saying warmly to him: "It was wonderful to meet you, Lord Zerrex. You're far gentler than I imagined..." A pause, and then a deep blush as she headed quickly down the central path, and Zerrex looked across at Selena's irritated expression with faint entertainment.

"What?" Selena snapped after a moment, crossing her arms... and then she narrowed her eyes as she added darkly at Zerrex's snort: "Don't laugh at me!"

"You're really, really nervous, aren't you?" Zerrex asked mildly, and Selena looked surprised for a moment before the Drakkaren added quietly: "It's not like I attacked Lily or anything... and Queen Feldspar told me you'd be my mentor and my punisher, and that you're the... ‘perfect mix' for my sins."

"My apologies, Lord Zerrex." Selena sketched an ironic curtsy, then motioned two fingers at him, adding dryly: "Today has been a busy day, so perhaps I am being shorter than usual... but you'll get no mercy from me, and I'll only answer the questions I wish to, you should understand this now."

"Fair enough." Zerrex rose his hands to the dominatrix, and then he paused as he followed her slowly, crossing his arms and asking mildly: "So you're an Inquisitor, right? I've been curious for a while... but how exactly do you determine when who gets punished and how you stop the punished from punishing back?"

Selena snorted in amusement at this, then said easily over her shoulder, as they stepped from the dirt path into a field of tall black grasses: "The Scribes and Scholars take care of it... I'm sure Miss Cherry told you a bit about those." A pause, and she turned around, black eyes gleaming as she added softly: "And if you want to take a swing at me, perhaps in vengeance for poor Miss Cherry's pains... go ahead. But recognize that she was scared of me... so maybe you should be, too."

Zerrex snorted, then he made a face as she stood leisurely, her hands behind her back and muzzle jutting forwards... before muttering: "I don't want to hit you like this, you have no way to defend yourself. It wouldn't be fair."

"You have a strange sense of right and wrong." Selena said meditatively, and then she shrugged a bit and smiled once more, adding idly: "But by all means, please swing as hard as you can... and if you can even make me twitch, I'll forgo all your punishments in the future and get down on my hands and knees and worship you like every other fucking slut succubus seems to be doing right now."

The Drakkaren frowned a bit... but then he stepped forwards and swung his fist with a grunt, putting a fair amount of strength into the blow... and a moment later he was repelled by some invisible force, semitransparent ripples of energy flickering through the air as he landed hard on his ass, his hand feeling like he'd just tried to punch out the earth... and then he slowly stood, making a face as Selena laughed and shook her head, crossing her arms with entertainment. "See? The Inquisitors are protected by the Scribes and Scholars... since I'm supposed to teach you all about this world, one day I'll bring you to see them... but for today, my goal is simply to... try and avoid reducing you to a pile of useless, crying male."

"You're a bitch." Zerrex said plaintively, and the Dragokkaren shrugged as they continued forwards through the field, the reptile wincing a bit and gauging his chances of running and escaping as they approached what looked like a stone shed standing in the middle of the field... but the Drakkaren realized a moment later it was the burned-down ruins of some greater structure as he noted the rocks and dead ground strewn almost at random around it.

Selena was silent as she led him through the archway and down a set of wooden stairs to a torture chamber... and Zerrex wondered for a moment why he was going along with this before she glanced over her shoulder and said mildly: "Escape is futile. You'll be punished for not following me the moment you're caught... and the few portals leading out of Hell are heavily guarded. Plus the Scribes and Scholars would be after you too, and you'd be unable to avoid their magic inside Hell... so it's best you go along with all this, Lord Zerrex."

The Drakkaren nodded... then stared as Selena pointed to a wooden stool next to a blood-splattered table, commanding firmly. "Sit. We start with our agenda for the day first... and I'll explain to you how the torture system works in Hell."

Zerrex mumbled to himself, but did as she said, trying to keep himself passive and remembering the torture training he'd gone through both in the military and with Requiem... but at the same time paying close attention to Selena as she strode over to a metal cabinet and opened the top shelf, pulling out a thick, skin-bound book and tossing it on the bloody table, muttering to herself as she ducked past several large, nasty-looking objects hanging from the ceiling before nodding a bit and straightening, a twisted smile on her face as she said quietly: "Now, Lord Zerrex... it says here that you've committed many sexual sins over your lifetime... far more than most. I have rapes of all proportions, from nonconsensual but enjoyable-for-all-parties sex... to gruesome rapes that I admittedly am somewhat impressed by, with the usual trash that comes through here. But also there's a lot of Wrath... killing after killing after meaningless killing. The more minor sins you've committed are Pride and Envy... despite your own experiences and the many things you have endured and been pleased by, you've still found a great amount of time to hate other people for the most minor of things... and of course, you've been too proud to accept help or advice from many others, which is part of what got you down to Hell in the first place.

"Apart from the big seven, we have things like... say... minor lies here and there, thievery, and a lot of nonsense from your years in the Goth Legion." Selena continued, stepping towards the Drakkaren before grasping his shoulders and looking down into his eyes... and then she slowly dragged her tongue along the side of his muzzle, Zerrex grunting in surprise before she sat in his lap and growled teasingly: "And I know there's still a big part of you in there that wants to throw me down and fuck my brains out... but today, Lord Zerrex, you're the one who will be fucked."

She reached up and grasped his throat... and Zerrex winced at the immense power she seemed to exude, wondering if that was part of the powers she had been granted by the strange academics of Hell he'd heard so much about... yet knew so little of. A moment later, however, he was being pulled by some invisible force as she slid off him and strolled ahead... and then he groaned in pain as she commanded coldly: "Heel."

The Drakkaren fought with all his will... but a moment later he fell to all fours, looking up before choking as a metal collar clamped over his neck out of thin air, attached to a steel chain that formed and then slid up into the female's hand... and she smiled cruelly down at him as she rose her other hand, and his clothes tore themselves apart, leaving his penis dangling between his legs as she said softly: "You're excited by this power... you hate it, but at the same time, it turns you on... no, I know you're no switch, but domination is an art, and I think you can appreciate my style... now follow me."

Zerrex bowed his head forwards, teeth grit as metal circlets snapped into place over his ankles and wrists... and slowly he followed, feeling humiliated and horrified as she led him around the table and through another door... then down a long hallway, smiling down at him every so often as he kept his head bowed, breathing hard in and out through his nostrils as he tried to swallow his pride while paradoxically struggling against the strange spell he had fallen under.

Through the door, they entered into an empty, square concrete room, lit by several glowing orbs set near the ceiling around the room, and the only furnishing was a chair... but as Zerrex managed to look up, he did note lengths of rope and chain hanging on hooks near one side of the room, and a large metal trunk he didn't want to guess what was in. A moment later, Selena sat down, crossing her legs primly and leading Zerrex beside her... and then she said softly: "Sit, my pet. We have much to do today."

Zerrex felt his ass waver in the air... and then he gave a ragged sigh and sat, and slowly he felt her hand playing through his hair as she murmured patronizingly: "There, that wasn't so hard, was it? You're learning fast... but let me tell you some of your own advice, advice you gave once to Cherry. In the face of imminent defeat, it's better to surrender and live another day... than it is to fight, die, and fail everyone you love and respect. You have a choice, Zerrex... or as I've decided to call you..." She looked up thoughtfully for a moment, pushing a finger under her muzzle gently before saying firmly: "Rex. You'll be Rex to me... my little pet."

She grinned down at him, and Zerrex wanted to snap at her like an animal... but he restrained himself as she leaned down beside him, saying teasingly: "Good... that's good, you are learning. I know that some day in the future, you'll lash out, and I'll have to put you back in your place... but for now it seems you've decided to relax a bit and go along with things, and I'm glad to see it.

"If you become too problematic... I will torture you until you break, and there's nothing left of that fine spirit inside of you, Rex." She added quietly, grabbing his muzzle... and Zerrex felt agony rip through his body as dark energy flickered over his form, before she added teasingly: "But behave yourself, and we'll get along just fine... and I'll even keep the pain to a minimum. I can't say much for the other Inquisitors who will be punishing you... but my job has been... very well defined."

She leaned back in her chair, then spread her legs and said softly: "Now, come around to my front... and beg for a treat."

Zerrex shivered... then forced himself to slowly crawl around in front of her, and he sat back in his haunches, looking up at her face as he swallowed thickly, then he brought his hands up in front of himself, the rest of his body limp. Selena looked down at him with a cold smile... and then she slid a hand down to slowly rub at her own crotch, saying softly: "Good boy. Take a single lick."

Zerrex trembled a bit... and then he slowly leaned forwards between her legs, and the smell of her was powerful yet infatuating before he dragged his tongue along the visible outline of her sex, tasting sweat and leather... and slowly he drew back with a whimper. Selena laughed at this before reaching down and shoving him easily onto his back, then she jerked the chain in her other hand, choking him as he gargled and grasped at it... before yelping as he found it was burning hot, smoke rising up from his hands. "Oh, no, you don't want to touch that... but let's see now... what else can I do to you..."

Over the next three hours, Zerrex felt himself more and more degraded and humiliated, in ways he thought no one would ever be able to. He licked her feet and her legs, and again was ‘rewarded' with another lap at her crotch... and then she strolled around the room with him while referring to him as her bitch, her toy, and reminding him of every humiliating experience he'd ever endured before putting a saddle on his back.

For a while she had ridden him like that, the Drakkaren's muzzle harnessed and one of her hands on the reins, the other holding the leash taut... and then she'd decided to play fetch with him while still on his back, throwing a small red ball around and laughing as he chased it around the room with her on his back. He didn't even notice her put the leash down in favor of a riding crop... but he felt it when he failed to move fast enough to please her, and she snapped his sides, his ass, his legs, anywhere she felt like with it as she shouted for him to run faster for the ball, to pick it up, to drop it there, to avoid rearing... until finally, his body worn out and weakened, she had removed the saddle and released the metal leash.

At first he'd been glad as she'd ordered him to stand up... and then she'd shoved him forwards and locked his wrists against the wall somehow... and he'd heard her rummaging behind him in the metal trunk he'd noticed before agony tore through him, the reptile screaming in pain as she nailed his forearms to the wall with massive metal spikes, and then nailed his feet into the ground, the reptile struggling uselessly against her tremendous, terrible power. The worst part had been his tail, however... she had snapped the bone inside in several places as he howled in pain, and then wrapped it around his waist like a twisted, ugly belt before nailing it firmly into place above his buttocks before starting in on whipping him.

The Drakkaren felt tears of ridicule and agony rolling down his face now... it had been half an hour since she'd nailed him up and taken her leather whip to his back, buttocks, and everything else... and he could hear her panting behind her, but he didn't think it was because she was tired. A few moments later, this was confirmed as her palms dragged over deep gouges in her back and she whispered: "Beautiful... you're such a beautiful, unique canvas, Rex... and I've painted you red..."

She drew back, then licked her muzzle slowly before he felt her reach down to squeeze his buttocks in both hands, and she murmured hungrily: "Yes... Rex, now you get to serve me in a whole different way..." A pause as he heard a grunt, and some terrible fleshy sound... and then he felt a terrible thickness, a terrible, gargantuan thickness pushing slowly over his buttocks as he moaned in fear and loathing as she growled hungrily: "Yes... you're mine, pet..."

A moment later, agony ripped through him as she shoved into him, and he howled as she violated him, the length seeming endless as it tore into his anus, her hands grasping his hips as she snarled like an animal, flexing and grinding against him as he felt her pounding him viciously with a massive cock he didn't remember her having.

As she rammed him, it grew worse: he felt something in his anus, and then he not only felt her getting bigger... he felt something else as well, before screaming as he wasn't only stretched and torn into, but cut as she groaned behind him, pounding and grinding harder as he claws dug deeply into his hips, and then her jaws sunk into his neck as he screamed raggedly. It went on and on and on, and he felt every moment of it, down to the pair of huge testicles slapping violently against his own, as one of her hands moved up and clawed deeply over his scarred chest, as she violated him for hours, the pain growing worse and worse...

And then all of a sudden she jerked out, and he felt a wash of blood and sick fluids spilling out of him before her hands grabbed his shoulders and tore him free of the wall, the reptile shrieking in terrible pain as he crashed onto his back before she leapt down onto his chest with a snarl of pleasure on her features, his blood splattered over her maw as she forced a monstrous shaft that was at least four feet long and thicker than a small tree down at him, the head massive and bulging and the entire length of the shaft covered in pulsing spikes as she snarled: "Open up or I break your fucking muzzle!"

Zerrex shivered violently, trying to turn his face away... and she punched him hard enough to dislocate his jaw before seizing his muzzle and ripping his jaws wide, shoving her massive length down into his throat as she moaned in ecstasy. He felt himself choking on the gargantuan cock, felt it tearing him apart and ripping through his throat as she shoved forwards, bending her monstrous penis down his throat until her testicles were pushing against his chin... and then she began to pound it in and out as she moved her hands to seize his hair, the reptile's maw torn abnormally wide and his throat bulging with every pass of her member, feeling as if his body was being destroyed from the inside-out as she violated him mercilessly.

After at least another hour, she pulled free and laughed as thick seed splattered all over his face, grasping her own fleshy member and stroking it viciously to saturate him with it, before shoving into his maw and choking him on her strong-tasting load. He coughed and gagged and screamed through all of it before she finally drew away, her shaft wilting, losing its spikes and slowly drawing back inside of her body, the lips of her sex closing as the head shrank inside of her vagina... and then she reached back and sealed the flap of leather that covered her crotch back in place, before smiling down over him and saying softly: "Every day, Lord Zerrex. Every day I have to punish you, I will violate you, and I will use you as meat to please me..." A pause, and then she leaned slowly down, grasping his flaccid shaft before twisting and tearing, and Zerrex managed to let out another moan of agony as his eyes rolled back, feeling her tear his penis off before he stared in horror as she rose it to her mouth and slowly began to chew on it, at the same time fondling one of her breasts in what looked like ecstasy. "Oh, you taste so strong... and I look down at you and I see hate and admiration and pain in your eyes... and yet somehow, you're still sane."

She licked her muzzle slowly, then clapped her hands twice... and suddenly the pain was gone, and Zerrex sat up stupidly before she stepped on him and shoved him to the ground, the Drakkaren grunting and looking down over himself in terror for a moment... before he saw that not only were all his wounds were gone, his penis was safely back in place, and his clothes were neatly folded behind him on the ground. Selena looked down at him for a few moments as she opened her mouth... and then she withdrew her foot as the air in the room seemed to change, and she said quietly: "Your torture is done for today. Now it's lesson time... but Rex..." A pause and a teasing smile as she spread her legs, rubbing at her wet crotch with a quiet murmur: "Come here. Have a treat."

Zerrex didn't feel any pull, any urge... and yet he forced himself slowly upwards anyway, before grasping her hips and pushing his muzzle between her legs, lapping at the tight leather... and she let out a soft sigh of pleasure before grunting as he nuzzled forwards harder, pushing against her and half-lifting her as he stood up, growling as he nipped and ground his teeth against it, Selena's hips twitching as she reached down and grasped his hair, her hips bucking as she let out a squeak of surprise... and her legs curled around him as he moved with raw hunger and force against her, before standing up, the demoness grunting and moaning in surprise as her eyes bulged, Zerrex snarling as he ripped the leather covering her crotch away with his teeth and shoved her up against the ceiling, his tongue rubbing against the lips of her sex and delving into her passage, a bit of nectar far sweeter than the seed he had tasted shortly again falling out over his muzzle as she began to buck against him with moans of shock and surprise... and then he suddenly jerked her backwards, her head whacking against the ceiling as she let out a caw of surprise before falling into his arms and staring up at him in shock.

"Some say the submissive controls the agenda." Zerrex said quietly, looking down into her eyes... and she trembled as she saw the darkness beneath those emerald irises, felt the power in his arms as he added softly: "You've left yourself vulnerable, Selena... you told me too much, just like the other demons did. And now you're here in my arms, trapped and unable to defend yourself, leaking and wet for me... and you know that I could fuck you, I could rape you, I could crush you out of existence..."

The Drakkaren flexed against her as she moaned and shrank in his arms, trying to stammer something out... and then he slowly set her down, and she stared as the reptile closed his eyes and knelt in front of her, bowing his head and saying quietly: "But I won't. You have your job to do, and I have mine... and I won't hold that against you. But be careful, Selena... what you did to me was horrible, but I've faced the Hell created by my own mind before, and I know there's always worse."

He stood, and their eyes locked before she smiled slightly... and then she stepped forwards, wrapping her arms around his neck and grinding against him as he flexed a bit, before murmuring softly: "Hell is complex... Lord and Master Zerrex." A pause, and then she kissed his lips chastely, before saying quietly: "This... is why so many demons love and fear and respect you. Why so many worship you... because down in Hell, we all rife with sin and attracted especially to power, strength... and the rarest of all things, nobility through lack of fear. Even after what I did to you... you stood up to me. So I will make a deal with you, Lord Zerrex... one that I have rarely made over the eons I have served as an Inquisitor here in Hell.

"If you agree to submit to my tortures and the training I'll be placing you through... I'll teach you everything I can about Hell and see if we can relax your tortures a bit." she paused, then added in a teasing voice, stroking along his muzzle gently with one finger: "I think you need as many friends as you can get right now, because after all... this is Hell, and you're a creature driven by compulsion and discipline, rage and wrath, love and lust, and pure dark hate... emotions all very dangerous on their own, much less combined together."

Zerrex looked at her for a few moments... then he nodded slowly as his arms slid around her body, saying quietly: "Fine. I'll do it... but you better provide me with some damned good information."

Selena smiled at him amusedly, and then she drew back, crossing her arms and saying mildly: "You're an asshole. But since you seem a bit grouchy, I'll throw in this bonus. Come with me."

Zerrex made a face at her, but followed nonetheless after hopping quickly into his boxers and pants, the two walking in silence as Selena absently fixed her torn leather flap, and then Zerrex added sulkily as they reached the fields from what she had called the catacombs. "It's not my fault you're such a bitch. I didn't know you could grow a penis."

"I'm a shapeshifter like Miss Cherry." Selena said irritably, then she crossed her arms under her breasts, glaring at him and muttering: "Besides, you fuckers have earned your punishments... it's not my fault I got selected to perform the duty. How many people have you killed by raping them, after all? And I'd like to note you went after small females, just because you liked to see ‘how low you could go' stuffing your dick in them before they popped like balloons."

"Because you aren't sadistic at all." Zerrex said dryly, and Selena grunted and shrugged a bit before he asked mildly: "Out of sheer morbid curiosity... were you sent to Hell because of your rape fetishes or was it something else?"

Selena flushed and looked down silently, a flash of something crossing her face... and then Zerrex halted and she snarled over her shoulder: "I don't want to talk about it, let's fucking move!"

Zerrex only stood, however, arms crossed... but when Selena opened her mouth, looking furious, he reached out and grabbed her maw, making her blink as he looked down into her eyes quietly and said softly: "You just raped me with a spiked penis bigger than my arm in the ass, then in the mouth, and I can still taste your dick, much as I'm trying not to. Besides, you promised me information... and maybe it hurts so much because of your obvious absolute refusal to talk about it."

The Drakkaren softened as she continued to look defensive... and then he murmured softly: "It was that way with Narrius and with my mother... I would never talk about it... but... he was always there in my reflection..." A pause, and he shook his head before adding in a mumble as she softened a bit as well: "I'm also curious. And like you said, you need every friend you can get in Hell... and part of friendship, as I've learned, is trusting each other."

"Fuck you." Selena said irritably the moment Zerrex let go of her muzzle... and then she sighed and flushed, looking down and crossing her arms. "Fine. But let's go inside first... you can stay with me for now."

He opened his muzzle to ask where her home was, and then she pointed beside her and a black portal opened up before she strode quickly through... and the Drakkaren rubbed the back of his head, saying dryly: "I really need to learn how to do that."

Left with no other choice, however, he followed her through the portal, wincing at the sensation it left him with... and then he stared as he stepped into what looked like an old-fashioned log home, the female already sitting on a large leather couch nearby and motioning for him to sit down wherever he wanted: there was a comfy-looking chair and two wooden ones around a dented coffee table... and a fireplace was cheerfully crackling away in the wall. He only continued to stare for a moment, though, turning around and noting the stone walls and then the divider and set of three small steps that led up into a plain, cheery-looking kitchen... and a moment later he blurted stupidly: "Well, this is better than most of the demonic lairs I've seen in the past."

"Shut the fuck up and sit down." Selena grunted, and Zerrex sat in the chair across from her, the demoness sighing and crossing her arms as she glowered at him. "Well, you have four hours of freedom, and here's some information for you. You don't have to eat or sleep, but it does help restore your energy... and you don't have to deal with any bodily functions, either, which is a nice bonus. Bathing is still a fair idea every now and then, and I believe you've already been set up with a temporary job somewhere between torture sessions to earn some money, and-"

Zerrex cleared his throat, and Selena went quiet as he looked at her pointedly... before she finally glanced away and muttered under her breath: "It's none of your fucking business. It's nobody's business but my own."

"So I take it this has been eating at you for... billions of years, huh?" Zerrex asked mildly, and Selena tossed him a sharp look as he shrugged a bit, crossing his arms and looking sourly back at her. "Hey, if I have to live with you, I want to know why you're such a bitch, so I can either accommodate or tell you you're an idiot."

Selena snarled, then said slowly: "You will only be living with me until such time that we can find you a room somewhere else... feel thankful, because most damned souls have to wander around and find or build their own homes, or end up taking jobs in the palace, joining the barracks, and being tortured regularly by the Royal Inquisitors, who are a shitload worse than me, got it?"

The Drakkaren looked at her flatly again, then he finally said deprecatingly: "You agreed to tell me information. I want to know about this."

"Why the fuck are you so interested in helping people? Why can't you fuck off and die, no one asked you to!" Selena shouted, leaping to her feet... and then Zerrex snarled and jumped up to his.

"Because no one ever helped me when I asked for it!" he roared in return, then he slammed a fist down into her table, crunching in corner of the furnishing and snarling furiously in return as she gazed at him with shock, before he closed his eyes, his body visibly trembling as he reined himself in, saying in a measured, calm voice: "I'm sorry. But you... remind me of Cherry in some ways, and myself in others. And as much as most of me hates you and wants to rip your throat out while you're sleeping and bathe in your blood while I eat your spleen, the rest of me wants to know if there's any hope of me ever escaping the Hell I've gotten myself into, if the punishment ever ends... and if the punishment will at least takes away the pain inside me from everything else that hurts."

"It's the tortured that become the torturers." Selena said quietly and nodded, and then she looked over him slowly before sitting down, and Zerrex slowly lowered himself into the chair again as she leaned forwards and murmured: "My full name is Selena Lamonte, and I was born into a poor family in the middle ages, when they still thought the world was just a layer of big domes, with Heaven above and Hell beneath.

"I was a handmaiden that served at the table of the local governor... and a young, foolish knight took a fancy to me." Selena grinned sourly, rubbing at her face slowly. "Of course, by the time I was nine, Father had already raped me so many times he'd grown bored of me... and when I met the knight at twelve or thirteen, I had had my fair share of males in my bed. At that time in Ire, there was no chivalry lost among the people of that age... and any male was permitted to the body of whatever girl he wanted.

"The silly knight taught me how to defend myself with a sword and with my body... and I remember one particular day where after being in bed with him, I realized his penis was shaped much like the hilt of a blade. And after some experimentation at the blacksmith's forge, I designed myself an interesting little playtoy with a large, barbed end on it, like an enormous but short war arrow." She paused, crossing her arms and murmuring: "I raped my father. I raped my mother. I raped all my brothers. I raped knights and squires, lords and ladies. And it was delicious."

She halted, then shook her head a bit, murmuring softly: "By then, of course, I was sixteen and much more muscular than the other girls... so much so I could pass myself off as a male in the right kind of armor, which I began to do. I travelled the country... I raped as a male... I felt like a male... and I loved it." she said angrily... but Zerrex realized all too well that anger wasn't directed at him, but herself. "And when I fell in love with a young girl... and she rejected me upon discovering I was only a ‘lowly female' like myself-"

"You raped her to death." Zerrex said quietly... and Selena smiled grimly across at him, nodding slowly and looking down.

She was quiet for a little while... then said softly: "Not only that... I raped her on the table, dressed up as a male, with the newest model of my little sex toy... big, thick, gargantuan, stained red with the blood of all the rapes and subtly barbed... and I destroyed her with it, in every hole, and even after she was dead... I kept going to the jeers of the crowd until I faked an orgasm and pulled myself away from her, splattered in her blood. Then I hid it back under the folds of my clothes as they all congratulated me... but at least one of them figured out my secret, and later I was attacked, brought to the dungeons, and gang-raped by so many I lost count until they shoved my toy down my throat and I choked to death on it."

She looked across at him for a few moments, then said darkly: "And in Hell, I was raped. Over and over and over again... in the most vile ways possible. I became an Inquisitor after hundreds of thousands of years of this torture day after day..."

She looked down, breaking off... and Zerrex nodded a bit, looking down quietly as well. He couldn't say anything to help her... and after hearing her life, he realized that in all likelihood... he would go the same way. She would rape him every day for Gods-knew how long... and then one day he would go back to raping viciously all those who were put under his care as Selena rubbed at her muzzle, then murmured quietly: "I hate myself every day, Lord Zerrex. And it makes me crueler... and this is exactly what the Scribes and Scholars who rule Hell want. They want all of us to mete out the worst punishments possible... want mortals to forget their mortality, and demons to forget their morality."

"It's Hell." Zerrex said with faint amusement, and Selena looked over at him for a few moments... then she snorted and smiled, nodding and looking darkly amused at this.

"Hell is Hell, that's right." she murmured in agreement... then she patted the couch beside her and said dryly: "Come over here, Rex. I want a pet to lay in my lap and rub the head of, and you're just adorable when you're on your hands and knees."

"I'm not your ‘pet.'" Zerrex said irritably... and then he glared at her when she snorted and smiled at him with entertainment. "What?"

She shrugged a bit, but continued to look at him imploringly... and the Drakkaren sighed before relenting and striding over to her, laying on the couch and resting his head in her lap... and she gently began to stroke through his hair as she gazed down at him quietly, murmuring softly: "Things would be so different if the Fifth Throne was filled... but no one's sat in the center of the Compass Thrones since Hell's beginnings, and the Archangel Lucifer has long been back in Heaven on the left-hand position of God himself."

Zerrex frowned at this, but he didn't even have to ask as Selena looked down at him with faint amusement, one of her hands sliding down to brush along his chest... and Zerrex did have to admit, he didn't quite mind this. Beats her dick, anyway... now that was some scary stuff. "Lucifer was the Archangel who came up with the concept and design of Hell, from the Abyss to the Circles to the Provinces and the Center Spire. For many years, he ruled over Hell with an iron fist, with four of the most powerful demons serving beneath him... but as hostilities grew between those shipped out of Heaven for ‘unworthiness' and the angels who thought that all mortals should face a period of atonement in Hell before being permitted to step into Heaven, Lucifer was ordered to return to Heaven and start dealing with other duties instead, and four demon monarchs were ordered to take up the reins.

"Since then, Hell has changed drastically: the provinces have been redesigned, borders have been enforced, and only one of the Princes is the same one who was appointed to the throne all those years ago, and it is said he is set to soon be replaced by one of his sons." Selena continued... and Zerrex noted that she seemed happier now, as she rambled on without a hint of the cold bitch he'd met in her voice. "The Warlord, of course, killed his way into one of the Compass Thrones... and it is said that he strives to sit on the Center Throne so he will be granted dominion higher then that of the Scribes over all of Hell... but ever since Lucifer left, the Center Throne has been sealed completely off, and it is said that only a worthy successor will be able to open the seal and sit upon the throne, and only after a great struggle that proves his worth."

Selena broke off, sighing a bit as she continued to idly rub over his muzzle, the reptile closing his eyes thoughtfully... and then he felt her entangle one of her hands with his, the Drakkaren opening one eye in surprise as she shrugged a bit and glanced down at him with the faintest of smiles. "Shut up, don't ruin the moment." A long pause, and then she said awkwardly: "My... my life was full of sorrow and pain... so much so that I all I took joy in was that same sort of thing, and I took a sick pleasure from thinking... thinking..."

"That I had the worst life ever..." Zerrex murmured, and Selena looked down at him with a faint smile, her eyes lighting up. "That my life was completely unmatched by anyone else, from the starving, dying babies who at least had someone trying to help them in foreign lands... to the great, terrified kings hiding in their castles because they were being stormed by army after army... to all the other soldiers who were striding by my side, because at least they had something to return to..."

"I thought like that for so long that... I was almost jealous of you." Selena admitted after a moment, and Zerrex looked up at her with a faint smile. "I hated you, to be honest... because you seemed like a douchebag who could compete with me over how terrible our lives were, and I wanted to think that I had the worst of everything. Sometimes, like now, I realize how stupid I was â€" I have the Sisters as friends, among others, after all... and I guess... are we friends?" she asked hesitantly after a moment.

Zerrex sat up and then licked her cheek firmly, and she snorted laughter as he said mildly: "That's how a pet would say yes. But in all seriousness... I think we're getting there."