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Listening to the minotaur grunt and chew his food like it was cud, however, quickly eliminated any worrisome sexual thoughts that the Drakkaren might have been having... and he made a face at the minotaur, then decided against saying anything. It had taken a long time to find some sort of middle ground with the black-haired minotaur, and Zerrex had learned enough about him to figure it was probably a better idea to avoid confrontations.

Targin Bloodstone had formerly served as a royal guard of the palace, and had begun taking the path to Gigataur: technically, he was currently in the halfway stage, which some wit had dubbed ‘Megataur,' hence the unusual color of his hair. However, after he had been caught selling information to the highest bidder on the royal family, they had kicked him out of the palace: fortunately, they'd taken mercy on him since most of what he sold was gossip and of little use to even the most anal of doppelgangers or shapeshifters, and he had only suffered a thousand years of torture instead of ending up as a head on a fencepost.

Targin was greedy, gluttonous, and just plain mean to everyone except those in a higher position than him... or, as in the reptile's case, who could kick the crap out of him. The minotaur was only a few steps away from becoming Damned with his current behavior... a status passed down by the Scribes on those particularly troublesome in Hell, and those so cursed were slowly stripped of their intelligence and transformed into some sort of twisted lesser demon. The Damned all were cursed to live in the Abyss or one of the nastier circles of Hell, and included beasts like the Plasmids.

Despite Targin's formidable size and strength, after being fired from the royal palace of the Southern Province for information trading, no one was willing to hire him other than Feldstone and his construction company, out in the dusty country wastelands. And so now Targin spent most of his days miserable unless he was yelling at the temp workers who came and went, but for the construction of the temple they were building on the outside of a small village of only a few dozen people, Feldstone required workers he could rely on more than cursed souls who had only been mortals a few weeks ago.

Zerrex was lucky enough to get picked: fortunate in some ways, unfortunate in others. The pay was incredible, on the one hand... in Hell, he could do a lot with a full one-thousand silver coins, after all. But on the other hand, the job was crap and it would still be at least another full week of work before he was paid. He had heeded Selena's advice, however, and avoided buying food or any other unnecessary comfort products, and it had definitely saved him a lot of money. Plus there was the bonus of his home being free of charge, thanks to his work for the construction company... so instead most of his money, ironically, went to paying for baths and getting his three sets of clothes cleaned.

"Breaktime's over, move it up." Feldstone grunted from nearby, wiping at his sweaty forehead. The work crew stood with an audible sigh from everyone, and the minotaur nodded, making a face. "Yeah, I know, this job's a tough one, but look on the bright side: we already built the goddamn base."

"Who the hell orders a base made of exactly one hundred and fifty four concrete blocks, anyway?" Zerrex asked mildly, and several of the others grunted in agreement. "Especially if they're just going to be stacked on top of each other to form a pyramid with a big flat top."

"Don't question the customers, I always say. I hear that's true on the mortal word, but it's double true in Hell. Besides, the warlock might burn my head off if I say anything." Feldstone added, and the others mumbled among themselves before he clapped his hands together and walked over to the pile of unused blocks. "Let's get back at it."

Another four hours of manual labor, and the group parted ways, Zerrex using the Northern Star to immediately create a portal to the catacombs and stepping through to find Selena waiting for him with her arms crossed, jerking her head towards the table and saying mildly: "Get on, Zerrex. I've been ordered to give you a wrath-only punishment today, since the Scholars think I'm having too much fun and that you're not fully understanding the concept of Hell."

"Wonderful." Zerrex muttered, as he climbed onto the table... and within an hour he was howling in agony, hanging suspended above the bloodsoaked table from almost fifty different hooks and knives buried into his scales and attached to metal wire that was strung around the room, and Selena was slowly skinning him alive with a knife.

By the time she had finished the end of his muzzle, a gong rang... and a moment later Zerrex fell to the bloodstained table beneath him, splattering his own blood and panting hard, his body flexing as he clenched his eyes shut for a few moments... and Selena asked quietly: "Is the pain lasting longer?"

"Yeah... a little bit." he glanced across at her shakily, at her sympathetic look that was so different to the cold exterior she put up while torturing him... but the truth is that while she had billions of years experience with this and could recognize the difference between how she should act on the job and how she should act during her spare time, it was getting harder for her to torture her friend and companion. And it's getting harder for me, too... sometimes I feel so angry when I look at her... it's like we're both going to explode. "So we obviously aren't supposed to have become pals, huh?"

"Not at all." Selena smiled a bit... and Zerrex smiled faintly in return before grunting as he slid off the table, the rest of the pain vanishing as he shook his head slowly again. "You're pissed at me... let it out, Zerrex."

"Of course I am. You just skinned me alive." Zerrex said dryly, and he shivered a bit, crossing his arms and closing his eyes as he murmured quietly: "No. I... I just try and put things... into perspective. You're important to me, Selena... and furthermore, you're also someone I need to stay on the good side of and I have to recognize the position you're in yourself. Besides I... I earned this myself."

"Don't talk like that." Selena said quietly but sternly, and then she strode over to him and reached up to gently tap his horns, Zerrex wincing a bit as he leaned away from her. "These are coming in nicely, though. You look like a hell of a bull."

Zerrex gave her a sour look as she laughed... then she smiled a bit and touched his chest, adding quietly: "It looks like you've increased a bit in muscle and weight, too... but for someone with the perfect body and pre-exposure to Hell's influence, you're showing remarkably little corruption. I truly am wondering what kind of demonic entity you'll become... whether it'll be some sort of unique demon lord, a Daius, or some paltry incubus."

The Drakkaren made a face at her, crossing his arms and asking mildly as he glanced over her body. "So did you just give up on being a Drakkaren once you turned into a Dius yourself, then?"

She shrugged a bit, looking genial as she snapped her fingers and created a portal, saying idly: "I never really had the identity to begin with... we were just ‘red lizards' back then in Ire. But come along, Lord Zerrex, today I have a treat for you... today, we're going to explore the Great Library in the Ninth Circle of Hell, inside the base of the Center Spire."

Zerrex stared as she went through the portal, then leapt quickly after her, before cursing and staggering away from the portal to at least snag and tug on his cloth pants before following. Ever since he had discovered where the Scribes and Scholars had hung out, he had been all but begging to go there during the lectures and lessons she was giving him on the history and design of Hell, but she had refused to take him and made it clear that there was no way he could reach it by himself, with all the guards and the sheer distance it was at. But as he stepped through the portal, he finally found himself stepping into the heart of Hell, where the true powers of the underworld resided.

The portal sparked closed behind them as Zerrex looked back in forth in surprise at the beautiful interior of the building: it wasn't like he'd expected some twisted lair, but at the same time, he wasn't expecting it to look so elegant. A soft red, plush carpet that felt good beneath his feet as he shifted his heels against it, and desks lined up on either side of the immense hall they had stepped into, the room lit from above by orbs that saturated the entire room in bright light. The only shadows that were cast were beneath the desks and the huge shelves that lined the other end of the room, seeming to stretch on forever as Selena said quietly: "This is the Hall of Knowledge... it contains all the historical writings of Hell, information on every demon species, and sacred texts long forgotten by most of those who inhabit Hell today..." A pause, and then she bowed to a demon a in a green robe who slowly approached them, and Zerrex quickly did the same.

The three-eyed demon rose his hand, his purple robes falling loose to reveal thick, matted orange fur covering his arms, despite the mottled grey skin that covered his hands and most of his face, with that same fur along cat-like ears and his neck. His muzzle was a mix of wolf and alligator, humped and toothy as he smiled to Selena, then turned his eyes on Zerrex, idly rubbing at his head and saying softly: "Well, you must be Lord Zerrex. Yes, you are... you have an interesting following in Hell.

"My name is Creed Balthus, and I am Head Librarian of the Center Spire. Please let me know if there's anything I can help you with today." Creed bowed to them deeply, and the two bowed back again as Selena murmured what Zerrex guessed was a thank you in demonic... but he still hadn't picked up enough of the language to be sure. The demon walked away, and Zerrex glanced over to Selena curiously.

She rolled her eyes a bit at his look, then shook her head. "Creed is one of the twenty-five Archmages of Hell, but no, he's not a Scribe or Scholar. Come on, you can browse these books later... fuck, you look like a kid in a toy factory."

"Shut up." Zerrex said in a surly voice, and she rolled her eyes before grasping his wrist and half-dragging him along behind her to the right, heading for a massive pair of ornate blue double doors in the marble wall. The Drakkaren made a face as he pulled his wrist free as a few demons stared with distaste, and then he attempted to look as dignified as he could while shirtless, smoothing out his ragged hair and mumbling a bit. It usually stayed at around shoulder length... but for whatever reason, sometimes it ended up starting to grow and not halting until it went all the way down to his ankles at the back and sides, which could make things a bit awkward for him.

They stepped from the Hall of Knowledge into a gently-curving corridor lined with display cases, and Selena sighed a bit before crossing her arms, looking almost like a tired but munificent mother as she stood behind the Drakkaren and let him peer curiously at the different objects behind the tempered glass. They ranged from old, moldering scrolls to small weapons to what looked like most of an arm, and Zerrex frowned a bit at the last before a passing demon in a robe paused and followed the Drakkaren's gaze, the reptile glancing over his shoulder curiously at the sensation of being watched. "That's all that remains of one of the first archmages... the rest of his bones were used over the years by different black magicians who attempted forbidden alchemical rituals to attempt to usurp his power, so in order to honor and remember him, his remains were moved here, although... as you can see... they didn't amount to much." The warlock paused, adjusting the long black cowl he wore over features that were half-covered by a metal mask along the right side of his face and muzzle, the exposed half of the wolf's face covered in long, red scars that cut through his fur. "It's said that his arm will act like a magical scepter in the hands of a powerful-enough magician who can bend whatever essence is left inside it to his will... but perhaps it's just a legend."

"Thank you, Hasen." Selena nodded, and the warlock smiled at her before continuing down the hall, as Zerrex added his own thanks after a moment of silent thought. A pause as Selena glanced down at him, and then she smiled a bit as he stood up from his kneel. "You really need to learn to get along better with everyone here, be they demon, dead, or spirit."

"I didn't mind him!" Zerrex said defensively, crossing his arms and giving her a sour look. "I was just... kinda amazed by the dead arm thing. Like... so... how would that even work?"

Selena shrugged a bit as she continued down the hall towards a guarded pair of double doors, saying mildly: "I'm not entirely sure, myself... I'm an Inquisitor, not a mage or warlock. I might have some experience with black magic and the dark arts, but not enough to know anything about necromancy on that level... you'd be better off asking Hasen or one of the other members of the Warlock's Guild. But keep your voice down, the Scribes are often studying in the next room."

Zerrex nodded a bit as they approached the doors, the reptile glancing at the huge, axe, wielding dragon-demons that stood on either side of the doorway in full armor... but they only looked him over mildly as he pushed open the doors, the reptile stepping through a moment later into a large, circular room.

The area was dominated by the massive, circular table that stood in the center of it, made of wood and shaped like a massive donut, with the center hollowed out for an enormous half-dome of crystal in the very center that was exuding a strange light. Weird demons in white silk robes sat around this, a red scarf around the neck of each of the beings, and it looked like every single type of demon in Hell sat around the circular table, writing on parchment that never seemed to run out of space with long black quills.

In the center of the room floated what looked like a map of all of Hell, each area neatly labeled in runes that Zerrex couldn't understand, and lines were constantly writing themselves beneath the image of Hell in long, flowing runic script. The Drakkaren took a soft breath of amazement at what he saw, as other robed demons strolled slowly past, Selena bowing to some of them... and then a Scribe put down his quill and slid out of his chair, striding over to Zerrex and reaching up to touch his forehead with two fingers.

Before the Drakkaren could think of how to react, he felt something resound through him like a bell, wincing a bit and staggering backwards as the long-tusked, long-horned demon boar glanced over him, before saying in a slow, deep voice: "We will be watching over you."

With that, the Scribe turned... and Selena made a bit of a face as she pulled Zerrex gently around the outside left of the demonic beings, the reptile's head throbbing as he allowed her to guide him, unable to focus due to odd memories and strange thoughts flitting through his mind, like whispers in another room. It began to clear the moment Selena pulled him into the next short hall, however, and Zerrex groaned, leaning on the wall between two large portraits of demon lords and touching his now-tender forehead as he muttered: "What the hell was that?"

"Judgment... at least, probably, but it's hard to tell with the Scribes, since they rarely speak their incantations." Selena muttered in reply, shaking her head a bit and growling under her breath as she grasped one of her horns, and Zerrex glanced over her dumbly: she hadn't looked this flustered since that first time he'd noted he could snap her in half like a stick. "It can be good or bad, depending on how things go... if you get a favorable judgment from the Scribes, you'll get better treatment in Hell... but if they don't like you, you can expect things to get a hell of a lot worse than better."

"Yeah, but it was only one that did that thing, right?" Zerrex said dumbly, rubbing the back of his head slowly. "So... so how bad could it really get?"

But Selena simply shook her head, and Zerrex winced as she said softly: "They're a hive mind. They have one collective consciousness... it's why they're able to perform such powerful magical rites and exert such an influence over Hell. In a word, they are Hell's will... but come on, the Scribes aren't much better, as you'll see."

Zerrex made a bit of a face at this, nodding as he followed Selena down the hallway and into a door that, by all rights, should have led back into the enormous library... but instead these double doors opened onto a massive, dark room that was almost a dank cavern, and from the ceiling grew what looked like the bottom of a golden birch tree, its roots stretched out in every direction over a glowing purple dome of energy.

The ‘tree' had to be thicker than an office building, and the roots varied from stubby bulges at the top to transport-truck thick, pale golden twists of wood-like substance that thinned after going halfway down the dome until they touched the ground. Zerrex didn't want to guess the size of either the room they were in or the squat dome... and Selena murmured quietly to him: "There's a lot of spacial distortion inside the Center Spire... it's hard to tell just how big it really is, or where which door goes. It's designed to screw with the heads of curious wanderers...

"This, however, is the center of Hell... this is the place that keeps powerful mortals and demons at bay. If the Scribes are Hell's Will, then the Scholars are almost certainly its mind, its nerve center."

Zerrex nodded as they slowly approached, finding himself disturbed by the way that the entire room seemed lit by the light of the dome and the countless torches lining the dark, murky stone walls... and then he glanced up the purple wall between a pair of large roots that tore deep into the ground faded outwards, and Zerrex got his first look at a Scholar of Hell.

He'd expected something regal and statuesque, or maybe some sort of super demon... what he was rewarded with instead was a skeletal, tailless being with a flat, gaunt skull, its body covered by torn blue and red robes but its limbs bared to the world. It was enormous, perhaps the height of a Gigataur if it stood... but instead of standing, it had its legs crossed and bony hands resting on bony knees. There was no skin or flesh on its yellow-and-brown, ugly bones... and it slowly tilted its head towards them, the sockets pits of darkness that Zerrex dared not look fully into, what may have once been some sort of cleric's hat laying in tatters upon its cracked skull.

"Inquisitor Selena. Lord Zerrex." it stated, and its voice was rusty from age and disuse, several other Scholars floating around inside the room behind the too-thin skeleton as Zerrex swallowed thickly, and Selena bowed deeply to the being. "We heard about your tour. You are long overdue to come here, and we welcome you gladly. Please, come inside."

Zerrex made a face at Selena as the creature turned slowly around and floated into the purple dome... and Selena shrugged and then carefully pushed him in front of her, the Drakkaren glaring at her sourly over his shoulder but still not daring to speak. This is wonderful. This is absolutely wonderful. Stuck with a bunch of dead things beneath a tree and a glowing purple energy wall. This can't get much worse.

The inside of the dome was lined with moldy, falling-apart bookshelves stacked with scrolls and books that looked like they'd turn to dust with the gentlest of touches, and there were tables here and there with the huge skeletons sat on what may have once been pillows, but had degenerated into flat, torn pieces of cloth over the years. The reptile glanced back and forth, noting that there were a few Scribes in plain white caps on top of the robes they all seemed to wear walking around as well, frowning as they looked at different, enormous textbooks... and then Selena pointed, and he looked forwards and slightly up before staring in shock at one of the Scholars floating in midair with a huge sheet of parchment hovering around him, stretched out and circling the Scholar several times but only crisscrossing when absolutely necessary... and seeming to connect back in on itself at the end of the paper. Small orbs floated in pairs above and below the long scroll here and there, purple lighting flickering between them and over the paper, and Selena murmured softly: "That scroll contains the names of every single demon in Hell, matched against an Inquisitor, a Master, or just a punishment... and when those pairs are lit up by the Judgment Souls-"

"It's like when you torture me, right?" Zerrex glanced over at her curiously, and he made a bit of a face at her nod. "Well, that's wonderful, then... since you know I'm going to ask eventually, can names be cut out of the scroll or erased somehow?"

"Yes, and it becomes a separate scroll on its own, with every little piece of information you can imagine upon the resident of Hell... but only by an entity who isn't currently bound by the powers of the Scholars, so basically another Scholar or Scribe." Selena responded quietly, and Zerrex made a face as he looked up at the levitating scroll. "There's no easy way out from Hell for anyone. Besides, first you'd have to know the route to here, since every room other than the Hall of Knowledge blocks portal magic, and then you'd have to get through the barrier, which kills anything that touches it, and avoid being taken down by the Scribes and Scholars, who all have an immense variety of magic at their disposal."

Zerrex opened his mouth to reply, and then a cheerful voice shouted: "Hey, Lord Zerrex! Hey, how are you doing?"

Selena made a horrified face as Zerrex glanced over his shoulder, before smiling a bit as Amiglion trotted towards him, clad in a plain Scribe's robes without the long red scarf, and carrying a blue book as everything in the vicinity shot him a deadly look... but the not-very-grim Reaper of Souls ignored them all as he skidded to a halt in front of Zerrex, gazing down at him with an affectionate smile. "You didn't forget about me, right?"

"Not at all, Ami." Zerrex said with quiet entertainment, and then he glanced over at Selena, who was making faces at Amiglion, before Death looked back and glowered at her. "Uh... do you two know each other?"

"This loser came begging to me for help and interrupted another job I had... he wanted to see if I could stretch the rules and permit you two to train together or something stupid like that." Selena said irritably, crossing her arms as Ami continued to look at her sourly. "For one of the Naganatine, Ami is a first-class fuckup."

"You've always been a tightass." Amiglion said dryly, and then he glanced over to Zerrex, asking cheerfully: "So have you plowed that bitch yet? I heard that you and her had been havin' some good times on the grapevine."

"Deal with him, I can't." Selena threw up her arms in consternation and stomped away, and the two stared after her as she headed for one of the bookshelves, Zerrex coughing a bit and Ami rubbing at the back of his head slowly.

A moment later, the Reaper glanced over at him and shrugged, smiling cheerfully. "But in any case, Lord Zerrex. I just wanted to say that it's real nice seeing how you're doing in Hell... got some horns on you, huh?" He nudged the Drakkaren playfully, then reached up and flicked the end of one bull horn, the reptile making a face and immediately grabbing his head. "I see they've still got at least a few inches to grow... but your body isn't showing any other demon signs, unless you've got a spiked penis or something now. Or ridges. Ridges are cool, too, if they're big enough."

"Stop talking about my penis." Zerrex grumbled, and then he carefully let go of his head before shaking it and brushing his hair out of his emerald eyes, adding mildly: "So, Ami, what are you doing here, anyway? And it looks like you've recovered pretty quickly from the fight."

The tall, lithe entity nodded, looking amused as he rubbed a hand over his stomach slowly. "This was the hardest to heal, thanks to how much you whaled on it, but otherwise it was a pretty quick procedure. On the other hand, the spell I used sapped a lot of my spiritual energies and temporarily broke my connection with my scythe, Grim. It'll be a few months still until it wanders back and I resume my duties as Death, but until then I'm doing clerical work here in the Scholar's Tree. It's not a bad job... but it can be a bit boring, as I guess you can see yourself."

Zerrex nodded a bit as he glanced around the area, and then Selena cleared her throat from across the room, and the Drakkaren held out a hand to the creature. "Well, my Inquisitor is calling. Take care of yourself, Ami, and we'll have to get together sometime for that training I promised you, too."

"The Princess said in a century, if you're still up for it." Ami said brightly, as if he was referring to sometime over the next week... and Zerrex guessed that in Hell, that's roughly what a hundred years amounted to. Hell is weird. "But sure, I'd love to!"

He dropped his book, seizing the Drakkaren's hand in both his own firmly, and Zerrex coughed a bit as they shook before smiling up at him and nodding, then turning around and striding over to Selena... before staring as she held up a moldy blue book labeled: ‘Basic Magical Principles.'

He made a bit of a face at this as she said mildly: "I still have an hour or two with you... so we're going to work on this stuff, even though I know you hate it. But Zerrex, you have to learn at least a few spells... and God help me, I will teach you how to at least portal over short distances in Hell so you aren't abusing that stone I gave you to get everywhere. You're going to end up breaking it within a millennium, and I'm not buying you another one."

"I walk sometimes!" Zerrex said defensively, then he made a face as they headed for a small, round door in the wall, adding dryly: "By the way, did you know the Plasmids have started to get more brave? A bunch of them attacked me near my home when I was walking to the work site the other day."

"What?" Selena frowned, tilting her head. "But I thought you lived about a mile outside of Lestoia Village. I admit, it's not the most populated place, but there's no caves, no abandoned homes, no nothing out there."

"I know, I was surprised, too... but they had actually taken over one of the larger homes under construction nearby." Zerrex responded mildly, rubbing his side idly. "I found the nest inside, and I took care of it. I have to say, though, they get uglier and meaner every time I see them."

Selena sighed and rolled her eyes, and Zerrex looked at her dryly as she mumbled: "God above. I wish you would leave that to an extermination team, like you're supposed to... but no, even in Hell you have to fix every problem yourself."

The Drakkaren grunted as the demoness pulled the round door open, then shoved her lightly aside, causing her to snort and retaliate by kicking his tail as he hopped through the door... and into a dark tunnel. He blinked and looked back and forth curiously, rubbing absently at his lower back as Selena strolled past him with a mumble before snapping her fingers and saying mildly: "Get in. This is an old aqueduct beneath the Ninth Circle... it serves as both an escape route, in case something went seriously wrong in the tower, and-"

She was interrupted as a white portal appeared, and a moment later two minotaurs stepped out of it, both in full armor and wearing enormous shields on one arm, a war hammer in the other. Selena stared... and then the Dius that Zerrex had first seen in the coliseum stepped out, and he frowned a bit, trying to remember her name before saying slowly: "Queen... Feldspar?"

"My, my... such a sweetheart, he remembers me." The demoness smiled, sliding close and rubbing her hands over Zerrex's chest, before reaching up and stroking one of his horns, the reptile blushing and wincing a bit at the same time. "And such big... horns. You know what they say about people with big horns, though..."

"What is it, milady? I'm afraid Zerrex and I are on a bit of a tight schedule right now." Selena said briskly, and Feldspar shot her a dirty look. It made Zerrex wonder if all Dius acted like this with one another... but on the other hand, Selena tended to just be hostile to everyone they ran into. It must be an Inquisitor thing...

"Lord Zerrex is to meet the Princess in a private session. She wishes to see how he is progressing, so she can adjust her plans for him accordingly." Feldspar replied coldly, and then she smiled and wrapped an arm around Zerrex, adding teasingly: "And there's a fun surprise for you... why don't you follow me?"

Despite the fact was a choice between a demoness dressed in normal clothes who was groping all over him, or a demoness who tortured him daily and spent the other half of the day bitching at him and arguing with him, Zerrex shot Selena a pleading look... but she looked helplessly back as the Drakkaren was half-dragged into the white portal.

Unlike the other portal he had stepped into, there was no pulling sensation, no whirl of darkness... it was like stepping through a door into another room, but it almost hurt his head when that room turned out to be an enormous balcony, going instantly from the depths of the earth to the skies so damned high above. He grunted and covered his face with a wince... and Feldspar's hands slid over his back as she said soothingly: "You'll get used to it, Lord Zerrex... I remember feeling sick the first time I took an instant portal, too."

The Drakkaren nodded, then he blinked a few times and lowered his hands as he looked slowly around, orienting himself. He could see a huge archway leading back into the central spire, guarded by two massive statues of imposing demon lords... but in front of that, sitting upon a large oak throne, was the Princess, with a scattering of succubi and Dius sitting on pillows around her feet, all of the latter two whispering excitedly.

On the other hand, there were also six chairs arranged in a half-circle in front of her... and only one of these were empty, as Queen Feldspar strolled over to sit with the other girls on a large, plush pillow... and Zerrex winced a bit as he strolled forwards over the golden stone that made up the floor of the balcony, quietly dragging a hand over the marble banister that was at head level with him before the Princess invited gently: "Come, Lord Zerrex. We have been expecting you... sit in the open chair."

Zerrex nodded a bit and walked over to do so, sitting down beside a grim-looking devil with flat features and a tiara of spikes jutting out of his head. He glanced at Zerrex for a moment thoughtfully, then looked back towards the Princess as she nudged her mask up just enough so she could take a slow sip of red wine, before putting the glass back down on the arm of her throne and glancing slowly over the group assembled before her, her mask falling back into place to cover her features entirely.

"I have called you all here to discuss the issue of the Warlord." she said softly after a moment, and the sexual demons murmured amongst themselves at her feet, and Zerrex felt himself stiffen a bit. "Lately, the Eastern Provinces have suffered a huge assault and much of Prince Memnon's forces have been destroyed, due to the Warlord's use of advanced technologies from the mortal realm. I have asked Lord Zerrex to join us as he knows the weaknesses of these devices, and has successfully destroyed them on the mortal realm."

All eyes turned to him, and the Drakkaren stood up and swallowed before half-bowing and saying as clearly as he could manage: "I'll aid you with my knowledge however I best can. I do have to admit, though, if there's been corruption and demonic modifications, I'll need to see and know how the... technologies are being used or behaving to give you the best results. But it's an honor to be here and be included."

"Thank you, Lord Zerrex." The Princess said in a smiling voice, and Zerrex sat down, feeling embarrassed as she looked to the other end of the row, saying softly: "Archmage Telius, what can you tell us about the Western Provinces?"

A tall, black-robed creature stood, pulling back his cowl to reveal skeletal features, his pinkish skin stretched tight against bone and a short, slanted muzzle. Amber eyes traced over the group, and then he said in clear, cold voice: "It appears that Prince Raithe has given in to the Warlord against our wishes, in order to stop the raids on his refineries, mines, and settlements. Although I can appreciate the compassion he shows for his people, we have lost many valuable assets and the Warlord has not only gained territory, but many troops and lost souls which he will quickly have broken and converted into Scrags, zombies, or Plasmids. I recommend that we increase all patrols and surveillance along the western border, and double the current amount of soldiers."

"I'm sorry, milady, but we just can't." said a lizard demon in blue armor tiredly, shaking his head slowly and rubbing quietly at a long scar over his muzzle. "My soldiers are already stretched thin as it is... and since we've been attacking the dimensional tears and attempting to hold down the few we have sealed off, I can't weaken the reserves further by placing more soldiers out at the western border."

"Our only other recourse, then, is to ask the Scribes to seal the border completely." Telius responded, glancing down at the Swamp Spine before looking up at the Princess. "I wish my mages could do it, but the entire school doesn't have enough power to form a shield along the whole border, or even most of it, after we already put most of our energies into setting up the teleportation block around the entire province. If we leave the border as it is, without a doubt the troops of Prince Az'Iriel will march through... and from there, they'll almost certainly use their mages to create a mass portal and directly attack your palace. I don't believe I need to remind anyone here that the current spell only halts teleportation from outside of the Province... once inside, he'll have access to anything from anywhere."

The Princess nodded slowly, motioning gently for him to sit... and Telius did so as the monarch gazed over them... before asking gently: "Lord Zerrex. What would you do in this situation? An ally has switched sides, our other ally is under attack, and our troops are divided up across Hell and suffering severe losses from the new technologies they've never faced before, and soon enough it appears we may have invasion. I would like your opinion."

Zerrex stood slowly, rubbing the back of his head and looking half-terrified, half-thoughtful... and after a few moments of silence, he said quietly: "Withdraw. It's more important now than ever that we make sure we hold down our home before anything else..."

"Outrageous." muttered the lizard-demon, and there was a murmur of consent from someone else before the Princess held up a hand, and Zerrex half-moved to sit before she gestured for him to continue... and with a wince, the Drakkaren straightened.

He hesitated a moment more, then added quietly: "Pride is one of the big sins, right? We're punishing ourselves with pride if we keep fighting a losing battle, especially if they're using tanks and guns modified with demonic magic. I almost lost a fight to one of the Warlord's officers using a weapon like that and metal wings that let him fly a lot faster than any demon I've seen so far. We have to withdraw, and we can use some of those soldiers we pull back from the worst fronts to reinforce other key areas and the borders."

"The northernmost front is suffering the worst." added a gentle voice, and Zerrex sat down, looking curiously over and frowning a bit at the sight of a badger who faintly reminded him of the Tinman for some reason... but this one had much more confidence about him, and his clothing was old western style, down to the long duster and the black cowboy hat. His eyes had an unnatural glow to them... but the same golden rings, the same feeling... maybe he's one of Tinman's relatives? He was adopted, though, he never spoke about his family... maybe I'm just being nostalgic upon seeing someone who doesn't look at all like a demon. "I agree with Lord Zerrex. Let's withdraw the troops from there... we may lose some ground and one of the supply bases, but we can destroy it during the retreat."

"I don't like it." the blue-armored lizard said mildly, and then he sighed and looked down as Zerrex sat, but the demon didn't bother to stand up, instead looking miserably down the row to the devil that sat beside Zerrex. "What do you think On'Inai?"

The devil shook his head a bit, frowning from Zerrex to the other lizard, and then he shrugged and said quietly: "I have to agree with Lord Zerrex and Lord Phoenix. As important as this is... we should pull back our troops. It's useless to fight a battle we cannot win... I also suggest removing all our soldiers stationed in the Western Province, as well. If Prince Raithe has turned on us, we cannot discount the possibility of his troops attacking our own as well."

There was silence for a little while as the Princess lowered her head... and then she nodded and said softly: "Very well then. Order the retreat in favor of increasing security around our borders and around the dimensional tears. This meeting is adjourned... Lord Zerrex, if you would kindly wait here for a moment, I'd like to speak to you."

The Princess stood, and the six across from her stood as well before everyone bowed â€" Zerrex quickly imitating this â€" and the Princess turned to leave, several of the Dius following behind her. The other demon lords murmured to each other as they turned to leave themselves, strolling down the balcony and creating portals even as they gossiped... but the badger put his hat on his head and strolled over to Zerrex, and the reptile looked down into his eyes curiously as he held out a gloved hand, noting a ridiculously-oversized revolver holstered on his hip. I'm jealous. That looks awesome. "My name is White Phoenix, Zerrex, sir... but I used to have a different name. Corey Pettigrew... the Tinman, as you called him, is my son."

Zerrex blinked, then reached out and shook the hand of Tinman's father, expecting a flimsy grip... but unlike Tinny, the badger was strong enough to make the reptile wince, as he gave a slight smile and looked up at him, saying quietly: "You did good with my son, and I wanted to thank you for that. Far better than I ever did with either of my sons..." White looked away, then he cleared his throat and tipped his hat to the Drakkaren, a dark portal appearing next to him as he said quietly: "I'll be lookin' forwards to buying you a drink sometime in the future, Lord Zerrex."

With that, he stepped backwards through the portal... and Zerrex stared down at his hand, then at the space where the badger had been only a few moments before, mumbling quietly: "Holy crap. Talk about different... but uh... yeah."

He broke off as he realized he was talking to himself, then glanced up towards the red sky swirling slowly high above, making a bit of a face. A moment later, however, a pair of hands grabbed him, several voices quietly giggling as he was dragged over to sit on a large pillow in front of the throne, a Dius wrapping her arms around her neck as the succubi all but threw themselves upon him, Zerrex staring dumbly back and forth as they surrounded him, all of them striving to rub a hand lightly along his body as they chattered in their demonic voices.

The Dius licked her muzzle slowly above him, leaning down and asking teasingly: "So... is it true? Have you really raped over a hundred people?" A pause, and then she nuzzled into his neck teasingly, the reptile swallowing a bit before twitching as he felt a hand slip into his pants and run teasingly along his outer thigh, the Drakkaren uselessly attempting to wave the demon girls away. "We're so sad you didn't get pulled down into the Circle of Lust... we'd ever so much like a visit from you, Lord Zerrex, to show you a good time..." Her eyes half-lidded as she pulled him down a bit against her body, murmuring teasingly: "It's all about pleasing the Masters there, after all... and we'd make you into the finest and cruelest Master ever to live in Hell..."

"Um." Zerrex said stupidly, trying to think of what to even say to that... and then someone cleared their throat, and the Drakkaren looked up as two demonesses strolled out on either side of the Princess, giving the succubi disdainful looks and immediately sending them scattering to the floor to kneel.

The Drakkaren climbed to his feet, carefully stepping away from the humbled Dius... and he glanced over the two bodyguards, who had longer, U-shaped horns that curled down and then slowly twisted out to either side, and muscular, bulky bodies... and they were also the first Zerrex had seen carrying spears and wearing lightweight body armor. The Princess sat back in her throne as these demonesses took their place standing at either side of her... and then the demon monarch said tenderly: "Lord Zerrex... it's so good to see you, how you've grown, and everything that you've learned. I've been keeping a close eye on you, you know... and truly, you have excelled here in Hell.

"As you have likely noticed, many of the sexual demons in Hell are very taken with you..." she paused, rubbing the underside of her muzzle before adding in an almost-playful voice: "I heard you even had a little run-in with an Incubus."

Zerrex made a bit of a face: the much-rarer, male counterpart of the succubus had slid all over him in an attempt to seduce him when he'd gone shopping in a market one day, and eventually his groping had caused Zerrex to punch him in the face and knock him over, much to the amusement of the crowd. "Yes... and here I was thinking they would behave the same way a Master or Slaver would, looking for domination more than being a slut, if I may say so, your highness."

"Demons, unfortunately, forget themselves sometimes." The Princess responded gently, then she reached out and touched the end of his muzzle, stroking down it lightly as she added softly: "Especially in the face of a powerful being such as yourself. Lord Zerrex, your strength has doubled since you came here... but you are still only an Initiate, and have much to learn about magic and the demonic arts. I fear that still you would lose in battle to the war-hardened Gigataur Attack Teams or the Rakshasa mages trained in cursing and controlling the opponent. You know and understand little of magic, after all... and as a demon, especially now you need to understand these arts."

Zerrex nodded and made a bit of a face, rubbing the back of his head slowly. "Selena... Inquisitor Selena, I mean, has told me the same thing. I'm just... not very keen with any of it."

The Princess smiled, then said: "I believe in time, you will learn much... but for now, I wished to speak to you about what your future holds. Although time here is uncertain, you will continue your tutelage under Inquisitor Selena throughout your stay here, until she has taught you all she knows of the magical arts. In a hundred years, you will be settled enough in Hell to be introduced to other Inquisitors, once you have understood fully that they are only doing their duty, no matter how cruel they may be or the methods they choose to act by... and sometime after that, you will serve a period of your sentence in the Circle of Lust. The succubi tell me they will welcome you warmly... but don't expect such a friendly greeting from the Masters and Slavers, who will likely see you as a threat to be... broken down. I will be watching your progress in that circle with interest, Lord Zerrex..."

The Drakkaren nodded, trying to keep his poker face as the Princess glanced over him, before adding mildly: "You will suffer many trials in Hell, Lord Zerrex... your sentence is a long, harsh one, eternities of unending torment to be served... but I eagerly await seeing you travelling out the other end of this long, dark tunnel. You have the courage, the resolve, and the willpower to endure... but Hell has broken those stronger than even you, and turned them into creatures that have been flung deep into the darkest regions of the Abyss to endure never-ending punishment. I pray that you do not join them there."

Zerrex nodded again, and she smiled with her eyes and waved a hand dismissively, a black portal appearing. "You may leave now, Lord Zerrex... if you like, you may take a few of these eager concubines with you. They would be more than happy to please your every desire, sexual or not..."

It was an offer too tempting to resist... but Zerrex forced himself to bow first as he glanced over the females, all of them gazing up at him with a mix of hunger and adoration, and he spoke in a polite voice: "I don't wish to impose or be rude, your majesty... but may I ask why I'm receiving such special treatment?"

"Simple." The Princess sounded almost surprised, leaning back in her chair and tenting her fingers. "Because you are my ultimate weapon, in the material terms you're used to hearing, Lord Zerrex. I need you to ensure my victory against Prince Az'Iriel... and let me add that should you prove yourself worthy enough as a servant... one day I will be honored and glad to elevate you to the rank of a demon Prince in the place of the cruel dictator."

Zerrex didn't know what to say with the chill that rolled down his spine... and then he simply nodded and murmured: "Thank you, Princess... but I..."

"Having trouble choosing? Then perhaps one of each here... an Amazon, a Dius, and one... no, two succubi." The Princess interrupted, and he remembered with another chill she was a mind-reader as she pointed out the different servants, the huge, muscular reptile at her side looking almost surprised before shrugging a bit, as two of the succubi and the Dius squealed in joy. "Go, and serve his every whim for the next week."

The Drakkaren simply nodded mutely and retreated through the portal to his small home, halfheartedly hoping it would close behind him... but a few moments later the three sexual females strutted through the portal, followed by the towering, more-draconic Amazon, who glanced back and forth at the cramped quarters as the portal closed behind her. Zerrex winced as the three others immediately began rubbing over his arms and his chest, then he said finally, as he tried to think of what time it must be: "I have to get ready for work... why don't you make yourselves at home here?"

"You have another twenty minutes you can spend with us before you need to leave..." a succubus purred, and Zerrex tried to resist staring at the fact she apparently knew his schedule better than he did. "Here, let me massage these broad shoulders of yours..."

"Don't hog him, I'll take one and you take the other!" the other succubus snapped, and they argued briefly in demonic as Zerrex looked back and forth from the blue-scaled demoness to the green-scaled one, and finally they both settled down and paired up to drag him over to his bunk and sit him down, before chattering again as the Dius sat firmly on his lap.

The Amazon, meanwhile, hefted a sigh as she put her spear aside, then flexed one arm, her bicep bulging impressively as she began to pull off her bracelet... and she frowned a bit as Zerrex stared dumbly at her, asking in a clipped voice with a heavier accent than the other demon girls: "What, Lord Zerrex?"

"That's awesome." The Drakkaren cleared his throat, then rubbed at the back of his head dumbly as the other girls stared over their shoulders at the Amazon, who looked across at them smugly. "I uh... dig muscle."

"I'll keep that in mind." The Amazon replied easily, then she offered him a smile as she reached up to loosen one of the shoulder couplings holding on her breastplate. "My name is Tynia."

"I'm Sibia, and the two succubi are Kiorna and Aluo." The Dius piped up immediately, earning glares from the two demonesses before she leaned up and kissed the reptile's neck teasingly. "And it is our honor and pleasure to serve you for as long as we may, Lord Zerrex... we look forwards to providing you service in every way we can..."

It took Zerrex ten minutes and the help of Tynia to extract the other females, and he left her in charge of them as he headed off to work, not feeling like attract any extra attention or jealousy from Targin today due to the fact that he had what could be seen as both the worst and best possible relationship with the female demons of the realm. Even the Amazon had admitted some attraction to him, despite the fact her body was almost exclusively muscle... but on the other hand, he'd been surprised to find that a flat... or rather, no-chested female... was a nice break after seeing nothing but huge boobs on every chick who threw herself at him.

Of course, they were gossiping about someone who'd been granted a private meeting with the Princess when he arrived at the worksite, and that had been awkward... but he'd managed to avoid the topic and keep himself busy working on finishing the patio of the temple with Targin, who was sulky today and avoiding talk, which worked fine for the Drakkaren.

When he arrived home, he found his bed neatly made, a small meal of some sort of shrimp-looking things prepared with an unidentifiable dipping sauce, and the Dius waiting with the two succubi on collars and chains, one leash in either hand. The Amazon, meanwhile, had picked up a book and was reading with her shirt off... and if not for the slightly-effeminate shape of her body and the shape of her features, one would have guessed she was a male. Not even a nipple. I don't know why I want to make out with her.

The Drakkaren permitted the three sexual demonesses to feed him, which, he had to admit, was rather nice. The shellfish things didn't taste too bad, and the sauce was thick and spicy enough that Zerrex didn't dare guess what it was made from... but it tasted good, nonetheless, and that was what mattered. Afterwards, he declined their offer of ‘dessert' and instead went over to sit by the Amazon, who held up another book to him and noted that an Inquisitor had dropped it off while he was at work, and Zerrex made a face at the Magic Principles textbook.

He started reading it anyway with a sigh, before making a face as the Succubi made their way over to rub his feet while the Dius took care of the dishes outside... and upon reentering the home, the Dius glowered at them before taking Zerrex's shoulders, cramping the little bunk up quite a bit. Their wrestling over Zerrex was enough to upset the Amazon, who yelled at the three of them and sent them scattering like animals, and the Drakkaren relaxed as the three sulked in a corner, looking bored and miserable.

Of course, the reptile then made the mistake of asking where they were going to stay... and immediately all three clamored that they wanted to spend some time in bed with the ‘legendary great Lord Zerrex.' He made a face, then suggested they should go and get some of those big pillows instead... and that bought him just enough time to portal out to his torture session while leaving the Amazon in charge of making sure that the Dius didn't kill the succubi, and that the succubi didn't use the stuff he had laying around his house as sex toys.

The rest of the week passed in much the same fashion... except by the third day, Zerrex lost his temper with one of the succubi when she kept crawling into his lap while he was trying to read the textbook, who looked horribly ashamed of herself while the others just... drooled? Either way, it creeped the Drakkaren right the hell out, but he had to admit, they honestly did seem to be taken with the idea of being his slaves... so to keep them entertained, he ordered them to go and find him something nice outside, and they immediately rushed out, giving him some private time with the Amazon who had enthralled him.

Thankfully, she was also harder to get into bed, and took a lot of coaxing... but two hours later, Zerrex felt it was completely worth it, as he sighed and lay back with her huge, muscular form resting against his chest... and then he paused, staring at the doorway, where the three females were gaping. He tried to ignore them... but then the Amazon squeaked as the Dius leaned down and dragged her tongue across the female's vagina and shivered in what looked like ecstasy. On the other hand, Tynia immediately leapt up and chased all three of them outside with a loud variety of roars and yells, and it permitted Zerrex to once more safely portal away.

He gave in on the fifth day to the pleading looks of the sexual demons, though, and they were more than happy to service him at once, and in any way he pleased... and on the last day of their stay, he sated his lusts with all four of them, and it left him content enough to make it through today's torture â€" electrocution, needles, and other nasty things â€" without giving in to the urge to scream, only hissing through his teeth and trying to remember his torture training.

At the end of it, Selena looked over him with a frown, and Zerrex looked back at her sourly: she'd gone extra-mean and stabbed several needles through his penis, which had hurt far too much for him to let out any cry of pain anyway. "What, unhappy with your artwork?"

"Shut up your face." Selena muttered, an expression Zerrex thought she didn't quite understand herself. "No, I just... that should have left you in agony, but here you are, just looking your usual pissy self. You've been going up and down a lot lately, that's all... have you done anything unusual?"

"Er." Zerrex coughed and looked lamely at her, and her frown deepened. "I banged the concubines and guard that the Princess gave to me... at once?"

"You moron, those were priestesses." Selena slapped her forehead, and Zerrex blushed deeply, rubbing the back of his head and looking embarrassed before she paused and asked in a voice that was a bit too serious for the reptile's liking: "Did you eat anything they gave you? Did they prepare dinner for you at all?"

"Yeah, but it was always different." Zerrex said defensively, crossing her arms... and then he paused, adding stupidly as he shrank back in the chair. "Except for the sauce, of course. Now I remember that that was always the same."

Selena gaped at him, and the Drakkaren looked back... and then she grabbed him and hefted him up, shaking him firmly and making him yelp as she shouted: "Do you ever pay attention to me? Zerrex, I told you to be careful around them after our torture session last Do... Gods know what that was, it was probably... ground-up demon parts. Demonic steroids, to boost your corruption and do... who knows what to you..."

She halted, then turned away, embarrassed... and Zerrex rubbed the back of his head a bit before hugging her from behind, and she mumbled quietly: "Nothing bad better happen to you... because I swear, if something does... I'm going to beat your face in, right the hell in..."

"Nothing ever does." Zerrex smiled a bit, and then she turned around and looked at him mildly, opening her arms to likely note where exactly they were. "Well... um... yeah. But I mean... this isn't so bad, really. I mean, apart from you torturing me half the time."

"You would enjoy Hell." Selena muttered, then she shook her head a bit and snapped her fingers to create a portal, saying dryly: "Come on, though. Time for today's magic training."

Zerrex immediately went from attempting to cheer her up to sulking, and this had a much better effect on Selena, the demoness's muzzle curling in a teasing smile. "Oh, what's that, Zerrex? I thought you had been studying real hard this whole week."

She laughed and didn't wait for a response, however, instead turning and leaving through the dark portal... and Zerrex mumbled under his breath as he followed her, by now well-used to the feeling of the vortex as he stepped out into a large, open field covered in short, tan grasses. On one side, a stream quietly trickled by, twisting back and forth as it flowed down into the forest of gnarled black trees behind the Drakkaren... but Selena was currently standing over near a sandpit, tapping her toes and waiting impatiently for the reptile.

Zerrex trudged over, head low and looking morbid: even after a month of practice, they were still doing the same basic spell... something which Selena was all too glad to inform him Cherry had managed after two days with the Sisters. "Come on, you know what to do."

The Drakkaren sighed and sat down, then he made a face as he raised his hands and left them roughly a foot apart, concentrating and mumbling an incantation under his breath... and a moment later, a spark of light appeared between his hands, and Selena and Zerrex both stared at this before it exploded and knocked the reptile over. The demoness winced and rubbed the back of her head as Zerrex sat up, his body slightly charred as he blinked a few times, and then she muttered: "That was... sort of right. But I can't stress enough, you need to work on control... maybe you put too much power into the spell, try using just one hand."

Zerrex nodded a bit, making a face as he held out his hand, palm up, and focused again as he did last time... except this time, instead of a spark, a glowing orb of light flickered into being above it as Zerrex rubbed at his charred chest with his other hand, and Selena let out what sounded like a sigh of relief before blushing as Zerrex looked up at her curiously, quenching the spell out a moment later.

"I was beginning to think you were going to end up being unable to use magic..." Selena paused and rubbed idly under her chin, adding mildly: "And you know, despite your energy abilities and your remarkable toughness, that just wouldn't do for when you encountered a lot of long range opponents or black mages and necromancers using curse and bind magic.

"But maybe the problem we've been having all along isn't just your concentration, but the amount of power you have sizzling through that big body of yours... let's try another beginning-level spell, but one that has a bit more use to it." Selena mused as Zerrex picked himself up off the ground, then guided him into the sand pit before turning and running a short distance away before she spun around, asking clearly: "Do you know the incantation for a ‘Force' spell? It should be one of the first you studied"

"Um... it's..." Zerrex coughed as Selena glowered at her: for whatever reason, he wasn't supposed to say any of the incantations in anything louder than a murmur, and he certainly didn't know enough demonic to know what any of the runes meant anyway. "Sorry. Yeah, I think so... it's a self-defense spell, right?"

"That's right. I want you to try and hit me with it, since it's relatively harmless." Selena said mildly, then she crossed her arms impatiently as Zerrex looked at her morbidly. "Don't worry, I don't expect you to do much of anything with it... just hit me with it using one hand, hard as you can. We won't go with both hands just in case you're actually capable of causing me to stagger."

"Cause me to stagger... what a pointless spell." Zerrex mumbled under his breath, but he sighed and assumed a ready stance, before making a face as Selena simply began to tap her foot impatiently. He rose his hand as he'd seen in the book, muttered the incantation under his breath irritably, and then shoved his hand out at her, as if pushing someone...

And Selena flew backwards off her feet with a squeak of surprise to crash flat on her back almost a meter away, looking stunned, and Zerrex immediately winced and covered his head before dashing over to her, his hands still laced in his hair as he asked stupidly: "Selena, are uh... are you okay?"

The demoness looked up at him stupidly, then glowered and kicked him in the crotch, Zerrex falling backwards with a groan of pain, and they both lay on the ground, muttering about each other before Selena sat up awkwardly and adjusted her breasts against the straps of her bondagey leather corset. "You suck. I want to be very clear on this."

"You suck. Crotch shots are off-limits." Zerrex muttered, sitting up and making a face as he adjusted himself and ensured that she hadn't broken anything in his groin region. "I thought we were very clear on that."

"Yeah, well... shut up." Selena grunted, and then she helped the Drakkaren up before adding mildly: "How much of the book do you remember, anyway?"

"As far as I got, I guess..." The Drakkaren shrugged a bit, rubbing the back of his head slowly before adding quietly: "It's weird. I was admittedly going over the incantations a few times in my head at first... but then I just read slowly and everything seemed to stick in my brain. So up to... I dunno, moderate level spells? None of the actual combat stuff, still self-defense spells at the most, but up to there."

Selena nodded, looking thoughtfully over the Drakkaren before rubbing under her muzzle slowly. "So do you remember how to discover which element best suits you? Fire's pretty common, if just because it's a fairly basic element to master despite its unwieldiness, and earth or water would probably be the least common, because they take a level of control... but I guess the rarest of all would be crystal."

Zerrex simply looked lost... and she looked at him sourly for a few moments before saying flatly: "You didn't read the foreword, did you?"

"Uh... no." Zerrex admitted after a moment, rubbing the back of his head slowly and offering a sheepish grin, and Selena groaned and rolled her eyes. "Well, it was just a bunch of junk about magical elements... I figured they couldn't be very different from the real elements, you know? Earth, water, air, fire."

"They're very different... almost every different manifestation of energy you can think of has its own element." Selena said sourly, and Zerrex made a face as she crossed her arms and sighed. "Alright. Fine. I'll give you a short reader's digest version.

"The High Elements are Air, Earth, Fire and Water. The Low Elements are Electricity, Cold, Lava, and Poison. The Middle Elements are Pure and Crystal. The Divine Elements are Light and Darkness. Finally, there's what you seem most talented with, which is Energy, and it's one of the four Non-Elementals. The other three, since I know you'll ask, are Force, Psychic Energy, and Zero." Selena closed her eyes, one hand holding her elbow and the fingers of her other hand tapping against her temple, looking almost lost in thought. "All four of the Non-Elementals have their own substructures, but I'm not going to explain that to you. Figure it out yourself.

"When two or more High Elements mix, they tend to create a Low Element. When two or more Low Elements mix, they tend to create a High Element. When all four High Elements and Low Elements mix, they create one of the Middle Elements, depending on the mixture. Although Pure Magic has a wider variety of uses, and can be devastating, magical crystals can be forged to contain specific spells or to block specific elements, and in combat magically-created crystal is said to be able to pierce any barrier or armor. On the other hand, it's very brittle, and breaks easily... but that's probably why a lot of mages carry bows, since crystal makes for an exceptionally-deadly arrowhead." Selena continued, still in the same pose, and then she opened one eye as Zerrex looked at her dumbly. "You're not getting any of this, are you?"

"Hey, I'm trying my best!" Zerrex said defensively, and then he brushed a hand through his hair, asking awkwardly: "So... uh... what do you think I am?"

"I think you're stupid." Selena said bad-naturedly, then she sighed when Zerrex looked downcast, reaching out to flick his nose and making him wince. "Alright, alright. In all honesty, it's impossible to know until I teach you more on elemental conjuration and we start exploring that aspect, since now I know you probably have no clue what I'm talking about in terms of elemental spells." A pause, and then she made a face, adding flatly: "And no, you can't just be energy. You need to have an associated element."

"I don't need to do anything." Zerrex said grumpily, and this time he caught Selena's wrist when she reached out to grab him, twisting it and making her yelp as her body spun around in a half-circle, the reptile holding the back of her wrist up above the back of her head and causing her eyes to water with pain. "And stop hitting me, you do it too often. Dear Gods, but are you ever bitchy today. What, did someone take a piss in your bed?"

Selena grunted something out, and Zerrex let go of her after a moment more of letting her flail her other arm in a useless attempt to break free, and she staggered forwards before turning around and glowering at him. "If you must know, it's because they're apparently going to start soul drafting in the mortal world, and I don't approve."

Zerrex looked nonplussed... and Selena sighed, crossing her arms and saying mildly: "Demons and devils collecting souls is a common mortal legend... mostly because it's true. But more often than not, we don't bargain for them... we just take them. The most common method of this is soul drafting, where we send a priestess or mage who specializes in that sort of thing to the mortal realm, and they go to a village and wipe out the old, the weak, and sometimes the young."

The Drakkaren made a face at this... and then he murmured softly: "Croatoan. The word carved in the sites around the world where soul drafting took place... demons did that, didn't they?"

Selena nodded, softening a bit. "Yeah, that's right. Croatoan is the demon word for ‘Taken.' It means we leave the spot alone for a billion years or so, to let the stock ‘replenish' itself, if it ever does. But you mortals seem very wary of taking up residence in those places... it's either a natural sense of us or your unnatural fear of ghosts, but either way, it works against you."

The lizard grunted a bit, but didn't bother to respond as he glanced down at the ground, and then Selena clapped her hands together, saying firmly: "But let's get back to training. We've got a lot to cover and a long way to go."

After spending fifty years in Hell, Zerrex had settled in nicely and gotten himself a two-room flat... and since he was technically still an Initiate, it meant he was quite well off. But then again, his lifestyle wasn't extravagant, and the construction job was paying well now that they were working on expanding a wing of the royal palace.

In this fifty years, not a lot had happened: Zerrex's horns had grown a last few inches and thickened a bit, but that was it for his demonic transformation... and he and Lily still hung out often, despite the large bodyguards that still followed them around everywhere. But trust was gained exquisitely-slowly in Hell, and the Drakkaren had long learned that everything that happened in Hell went either at a lazy pace, or at blinding speeds.

Embarrassingly enough, he and Selena were still working on beginner level spells... but despite how frustrated she acted with him sometimes, she showed him nothing but patience, never giving up on him and never rushing him. It was nice, and he had to admit, she made a good mentor when she wasn't torturing him... but even during all but her most vicious, most sadistic rapes and tortures, he was able to keep from screaming now, much to her chagrin. But he had certainly come close when he saw how inventive she could be with metal objects, which he'd learned were part of a grand tool set all Inquisitors were granted the power by the Scribes to control. It wasn't that she had any abilities like Tinny had possessed... and somehow, Zerrex felt a bit more comfortable knowing that she was more of a pyromancer than anything else, like most Dius tended to be, in part thanks to their lust.

He now spoke more than enough of the Old Language, Demonic, to get around... and he even spoke a few words of one of the less-common languages in Hell, Angelic, just so he could piss off Francis the next time he saw him. It wasn't like the angel had ever stopped in, but ever since Zerrex had mentioned meeting him, Selena had been constantly badgering him for more information on the angel who was apparently a legend here in the Underworld.

The Drakkaren had also found, to his surprise, Homicide working in the Hall of Knowledge one day as an assistant librarian one day... and upon seeing him, the black Labrador had run over to him and grabbed his hand, shaking it firmly before trading a hug and a grin with him. He was still as gaunt as ever, wearing a robe a bit too big for his slender frame, but he looked happier than Zerrex had ever remembered seeing him, and despite the fact it seemed like he now had a white, V-shaped rune tattooed on one cheek, he had no other visible demonic signs that Zerrex could see.

The two had taken some time to catch up, and the canine had brought the reptile aside to an empty aisle and explained to him that he had suffered for a long time in Perdition, a deep prison pit in the Circle of Wrath, but he had ended up being hauled out and put to work in a paper mill before he could go completely insane. He had worked his way up from there to working in the Hall of Knowledge, and had even become a mage after a few thousand years, once he'd fully turned into a demon.

Mostly, though, he was curious about if all the stories he'd heard about Zerrex in the last few million years were true, and he'd shown more sympathy than anything else. Blake Hannick, despite his codename, had always been one of the quieter members of the team... one of the members who'd seen the value of Tinny in ways other than simply his ability to manipulate metals, and someone more willing to show mercy than Zerrex had ever been back then. His codename came from his ability to touch someone and take over their nervous system, for as long as he retained contact, but it had little to do with his personality or the way he acted.

After about half an hour of talking, Homicide â€" Blake now, he preferred â€" had warned Zerrex to watch out for some of the other members of the Legion who were wandering around down here. It was rumored that Twister, another former member of the team, had been driven insane from spending too much time wandering the circle of Wrath and was now seeking ‘enemies of Ire' to terminate, which included Zerrex... and worse, that Gape had been sentenced to exile in the Abyss because of his terrible powers and his lust for destruction, but had somehow managed to escape and was now on the run from Inquisitors after somehow finding a way around the Scholar's magic.

Zerrex had agreed to be careful, not wanting to tangle with either the insane ex-marine with wind powers or the horse who'd already been insane and broken long before he'd entered the Goth Legion, and he'd bid Blake a kind farewell before leaving with a book the canine had offered him of famous literature written in Hell over the last few eons. He'd read a few of the poems, and it had touched him how even the cruelest of demons wrote of the same emotions and feelings and wants that mortals above did... and he quietly touched the swastika tattoo on his arm as he remembered the words of Mengele Tstegi. Love letters that had never been delivered... I wonder if you're here too, Mengele, free to rip apart demons to your heart's desires while you try and figure out every secret tucked away inside the living â€" or not â€" body.

On the other hand, over those fifty years, he'd also had a few far-more-unpleasant run-ins. Demons who refused to work with him because he was just an Initiate, demons who hated him because he'd killed some friend, cousin, or relative of theirs, demons who were terrified of him because he'd killed them during their mortal lives while in the Goth Legion and fighting the wars he had fought. And one day in the city, he'd run into Tank... but the badger had shrieked and run away in terror before Zerrex had gotten a good look at him. All he'd known was that it was definitely Tank, from the sound of him yelling about the Boss being down in Hell now: he could never forget the voice of the male who'd killed the Tinman.

Of course, he also couldn't count how many times he'd gotten laid, which was one of the more pleasant benefits of being in Hell... and despite whatever idle hopes he'd had, demons weren't growing any less fond of him, but apparently more, which he thought disturbing. By now, he'd heard of other legendary once-mortals in Hell, and even met one or two of them, but they always seemed to be jealous of him no matter how greatly their deeds exceeded his, but he'd always played it down by just describing himself as the ‘hot new thing,' and that in a thousand years or so he'd just be another face in the crowd.

Zerrex snorted a bit to himself as he polished the new pair of black metal boots he'd treated himself to today, since it was apparently the one day a year everyone got off, in memory of the day Lucifer sealed the Center Throne on top of the Center Spire and the four Advisors became the first four Demon Rulers. A pause as he heard a loud yelling at the door that could only be Vampire â€" the demonic wolf and even bigger pain-in-the-ass had stopped by a few times to hassle him on his training â€" and Zerrex sighed as he put his boots down by his bunk and strolled out of his bedroom into what was now a pleasantly-cozy living room, shouting at the door: "What the hell do you want?"

"Butt-sex!" Vampire yelled back from outside, and Zerrex muttered several choice curse words under his breath before throwing the door open and glaring out... then staring around at the variety of grinning faces that stared back, Vampire bowing several times in front of the door and hollering: "If I may introduce... Captain Ravenlight!"

The Drakkaren could only stare as he straightened and stared around at the faces: a grouchy looking snake, an orca wearing a cheesy smile, a twitchy cheetah, a rakish-looking zebra, and of course Blake and Vampire â€" in other words, all the members of the Goth Legion, excluding the two insane ones and... well... the third but still-alive insane one, Cherry. The Drakkaren blinked, then said dumbly: "Just... Zerrex will do. Well then. What a surprise. Thank you for informing me, Vampire."

He shot a sour look at the wolf, who cackled and sketched a salute in the plain clothes he was wearing today, before Zerrex looked over the others again in shock, from the loincloth-wearing Ghost to Silverfish in a full tuxedo. Zerrex nodded at the orca â€" he looked much the same as he always had, apart from a bit more bulk and a thin white fin that curved out over his forehead â€" and asked dryly: "So what's the import cost on that tuxedo just to get it down here from the mortal plane?"

"A thousand, but I run a casino now." he said loftily, and his slick voice hadn't changed a bit as he brushed a bit at the lapels of the white suit, showing off the gold and silver rings on each of his fingers. "I see you haven't changed at all yourself: black pants, very chic, Zerrex. But far better than bronze age, here, who thinks he's part of the tribal wars."

"Shut up, I'll dress how I want to dress." Ghost snapped, and Zerrex noted that the once-brown scales covering the cobra's form had turned to a deep red, and his body had definitely increased in size... but he looks just as sulky as ever. I wonder if he still wants to kill me. "And by the way, I want to note that Vampire dragged me here."

The sour look he shot at Zerrex confirmed the reptile's mental question, but then he winced as the zebra â€" now powerful, muscular and tall instead of the chubby weakling Zerrex remembered, his eyes a burning red and his long mane done up in a mohawk â€" said in a playful voice, as he adjusted the leather fingerless gloves he wore that went up to his elbows, matching his patterned leather suspenders: "Hey, hey now there, Ghost. This is our old boss you're talking to, and I'm pretty sure he could still hand you your ass on a platter." A pause, and then he put his hands together and bowed to Zerrex courteously, asking with a hint of awe that Zerrex couldn't overlook: "How are you doing, Captain? Recognize me?"

"You were the only zebra, Bondage." Zerrex responded gently, and that caused Vampire to snort, since it obviously wasn't the response Bondage was looking for as he seemed to deflate a bit, before the reptile added mildly with a gentle punch to the zebra's shoulder. "But you look good... and you look about the same as you ever did, Bullet."

"Baskervilles." the cheetah said sulkily, peering back and forth. He was hunched over a bit, and his eye had developed a nervous twitch... and Zerrex couldn't help but notice that he had developed a thick ruff of fluffy golden hairs, and that he was wearing torn brown rags over most of his body. He was also terribly thin... and then he murmured in a quick voice: "Haven't forgotten the old days, have you? I haven't, I haven't at all. I miss the children."

"Dumbass here got caught picking up minotaur kids to bring home and do things to." Vampire said conversationally, wrapping an arm around Baskervilles and squeezing him almost companionably, but Zerrex thought he saw pity in the demon-wolf's eyes. "Poor fool. He's a bit... out of it, now that he spends most of his days in the dungeons of Lust. You should feel lucky that demons only want to be toys for you, not make you their toy, Cap'n."

Zerrex grunted a bit, not feeling exactly surprised... of them all, Baskervilles had always been convinced he could outrun everything, which had always caused all sorts of problems in the Legion... apart from the fact he was generally just an ass. The Drakkaren stepped outside and closed the door behind him as he glanced around at the seven assembled members of the old team... and then he smiled a bit as he said softly: "So what exactly did you have in mind, Vampire, since for once you're the brains?"

The wolf snorted indignantly, then he paused and rubbed the back of his head, looking lamely at the Drakkaren. "I dunno, want to have a picnic or something? I think one of the bakeries in town is still open, we could get like... flatcakes or some shit, maybe some booze and cider and mortal foodstuffs."

"You're ever so creative." Zerrex said dryly, and Vampire made a face at him before the reptile glanced over at Blake. "Do you know the... you know what? Here." Zerrex dug in his pocket, then produced his Northern Star and concentrated, a portal opening. "This should go to a small field I know by the Ashen Forest. Go ahead out there while Vampire and I grab some stew or something, since that seems to be the best thing in Hell."

"Beans." Blake said, and Zerrex blinked, looking at him curiously as the dog coughed and looked embarrassed. "Try picking up some brown beans, like the stuff in the cans? It usually tastes alright. And oh, hey, Silverfish, why don't you put some of that excessive money you're always sporting to good use, huh?"

The orca made a disgusted face, and Blake patted Zerrex's chest before the Drakkaren could protest as the rich demon twisted one of his rings on his fingers, and a small portal appeared. Silverfish reached into this, then produced a small bag of coins and threw it over to Zerrex, saying dryly: "I want it back, though."

The reptile caught it and nodded, offering a smile as Blake led the others through the dark portal the Drakkaren had created, Ghost still looking at him sourly before Vampire snatched the cash bag from the Drakkaren, snapping his fingers to create a portal of his own nearby as the other one flickered out of existence, saying mildly: "Dude, I had to knock him around a little bit just to get him to agree to coming out here... he still hates your guts, ain't like me. Dude has utterly no respect at all for anything other than himself."

"And you're just bursting at the seams with it." Zerrex said dourly, and Vampire looked almost insulted as the Drakkaren sighed and admitted: "Alright. So maybe everyone else I've met in Hell has shown a lot less tolerance towards me. But that still doesn't excuse the fact you purposefully show up at the worst times and attempt to bite me when I'm not looking."

"It's part of my charm." Vampire responded absently, as he turned and walked through the portal he'd created while counting out coins into his palm, and Zerrex sighed before following the wolf-demon through the portal and into the crowded streets of one of Hell's major cities, glancing back and forth as Vampire added: "Now come on. Watch me use this quintessential charm to score some hot bitches and some pie."

Zerrex rolled his eyes, then said mildly: "I'll bet you a hundred silver coins that I can attract more ‘bitches' in a moment than you can all day."

"Deal!" Vampire said firmly, and Zerrex reached up and snapped his fingers loudly, clearing his throat at the same time... and as he held his arms wide, he was instantly surrounded by a group of leering and groping succubi, Dius, incubi, and a few avid fans. Vampire's jaw dropped... and then Zerrex tilted his head to the side with a slight smile, and the wolf slowly turned his gaze to stare at the fallen flags and banners nearby. "Hey, I could so arrest you for interfering with the royal parade, you son of a bitch!"

"You're just jealous. I'll take you and you and you." Zerrex pointed out three Dius from the crowd, and the rest of the females whined loudly as the Dius clustered around him cheerfully, all of them murmuring rather naughty things in demonic as he crossed his arms and said seriously: "But don't worry, Vampire. Even despite this, I'm sure people will adore you just for your charm and wit."

Vampire grunted something and miserably dug in his pocket for a moment, but Zerrex waved a hand. "You can pay me later. Look on the bright side, now you can buy yourself all the pie you want with Silverfish's money and blame it on the depression of being thoroughly beaten once again."

"I... let's go buy food!" Vampire said cheerfully, then he turned around and strolled off, Zerrex rolling his eyes and following with the Dius fawning over him.

Vampire ended up buying all the food the five of them could carry â€" technically all the food four of them could carry, since the last Dius was loaded down with ciders, cola, and whisky â€" and spent most of Silverfish's money before the Drakkaren created a portal to the small field where he did most of his magic training, to find the others waiting impatiently... and of course, the first thing the wolf did was explain to Silverfish in a friendly voice that he had spent most of his money, which sent the orca into a tantrum. Money had always had that effect on Silverfish, though, and it seemed that few things changed even here in the afterlife.

While the orca chased Vampire around the clearing, Zerrex and Blake set the food out. Bondage was still looking with far too much happiness at the Drakkaren â€" then again, Gape and I were his role models, and if Gape's gone and cracked, then that leaves me as his new sorta mentor... â€" and Ghost sulking, while Baskervilles continued to fidget and glance around nervously, as if something was going to leap out and eat him. Eventually, however, Silverfish gave up the chase to eat sulkily with them, and Vampire promptly dug into one of the many desserts he'd bought as Zerrex relaxed and chatted amiably with Blake and Bondage while the Dius sat nearby, chatting and giggling amongst themselves.

During the meal, Baskervilles managed to slink off into the woods, Zerrex watching him go out of the corner of his eye but not saying anything... and afterwards, Ghost grunted something about meeting a deadline before he vanished through a portal, and Silverfish also bid them farewell, saying mildly that he had another luncheon to attend, as he so phrased it. The Drakkaren watched him go without much reserve, and then he looked around at the three ex-Legion members left as the three Dius squirmed a bit closer towards him, saying mildly: "Well, it's always nice to feel wanted."

"Bah, fuck ‘em." Vampire grumbled and waved a hand, using the other to shove a slice of bjand meat into his mouth and chewing loudly as he continued to speak, even the Dius wincing at his manners as crumbs flew everywhere. "See, as I see it... we fuckers all got what we deserve. Most of us got sent down to the Circle of Wrath, although Silverfish was thrown into Greed and Ghost into Envy, and I guess we all at least learned a little bit. The problem is, that once we got over the hill, we started up a different slope when we began turning into demons and earning all these new tricks and treats, you get what I'm saying?

"So now Ghost is as pissed as he ever was at you being so famous down here, Silverfish is running a casino and making a shitload of money off it so he can feed his ego, Gape decided to go even more batshit insane and somehow fucked over the Scholar's control system, and we all saw the pitiful state Baskervilles was in." Vampire shook his head slowly, making a face as he wiped at his food-splattered muzzle with the back of one hand. "No matter who fast you can run, ain't no way you ever gonna outrun the Scholars and their magic shit."

Zerrex nodded, then he frowned a bit, glancing around at the others and saying curiously: "I've only been down here fifty years, but I was told pretty clearly there wasn't a way to break the Scholars' control system... any ideas on how he managed it?"

Blake smiled slightly as Vampire shrugged with a grunt, and the dog asked playfully: "What, trying to escape from Hell already, Zerrex? But in all seriousness..." He shook his head slowly, looking thoughtful as he tapped a finger against the end of his muzzle. "I can't think of how he did it, or even how he escaped the Abyss. On the other hand, Gape was always full of secrets... you knew him best, Bondage, what do you think?"

The zebra only shook his head though, sighing a bit and looking down. "Gape was... Gape changed a lot when he came down here. Remember the way he was when he was in the unit, how he was... confident, calm but... angry underneath? Well, whatever they did to him down here, all that anger came to the surface, and they kept having to imprison him and black out his senses, because he'd lash out at anyone who came close."

Bondage paused, rubbing a hand over his muzzle as he made a bit of a face, murmuring quietly: "It was scary, I'll tell you that. He wanted to kill everything and everyone, and he wanted to start with you, Zerrex, but eventually take down all of us, the old Legion. And he was powerful, too, and the way his powers worked, it was like it could even get through the shielding around the Inquisitors or the demons put in charge of him by the Scholars, and I know I've never seen that happen before with anyone. It has to have something to do with that illusion ability of his... maybe the Scholars are worried that if they try looking at him even with magic, he'll snag one of them in his trap and then we'll really be in trouble."

Zerrex nodded a bit, making a face as he sat back and muttered: "Well, thank Gods the Abyss is far from here, then... I just hope he doesn't get picked up by Az'Iriel. I don't need another enemy like that between me and him."