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Zerrex sighed as he stretched a bit, his thickly-muscled body flexing in the red light of the world as he looked back and forth for Selena, tapping one booted foot impatiently in the dirt outside the small home he now owned. The last forty-nine years had been good to him, relatively speaking... and Selena had said something important would be happening today, so he could feel his impatience already growing inside his body, as his mind ticked off the seconds and minutes as he'd learned to do.

He was wearing a nice black t-shirt and a pair of tight black pants, as well as the metal boots he'd bought long ago... and his body was more muscular than it had been when he'd gotten here and perhaps an inch or so taller, but that was likely just a trick of his form... and, of course, that was ignoring the foot-and-some long horns curling up out of the sides of his skull. His eyes almost glowed with his energy, but otherwise he was as he had always been... scars, burns and all â€" apart from the limp and the pain, both of which he was thankful to be missing.

His home had been upgraded several times over the last decade: he now had a bedroom, a den, a kitchen, a small office, and a weight room with a plain bench and a lot of very-heavy weights he would never be able to find on the mortal realm. Feldspar had tried to buy him many other things of the course of the years, but he'd always carefully declined: she was still convinced they were a loving, married couple, but he was worried that she was just using him as a free guinea pig for more of her strange experiments.

He had books, and he had comfort in his home, even though he only spent a few hours a week in it... and ever Feldspar had been dispatched to the Western Front, he'd also had peace. But it wasn't like he hadn't made sure to get what he could out of her when they did meet up: apart from the horrible sex â€" even her oral was bad â€" she did provide him with a lot of information on all sorts of things, and all manner of spells, books, and tomes.

This included a spell he was currently working on with Selena's help and mentorship to imbue one of his swords with a curse powerful enough to kill an angel and most demons... but Zerrex was still trying to coax either Amiglion or Blake to sneak him into the Scholar's Library in the Central Spire, so he could access the texts there. Neither of them were willing to risk their lives for it, though, and even when Zerrex pointed out they were already dead, Blake had muttered: "There's far worse things than death, Zerrex. Just look around next time you go out for a walk. You're a good friend, and my Captain... but it's a suicide mission. I'm sorry, I can't."

He sighed a bit, rubbing at his head slowly and mumbling: "I miss my family." A pause, and he reached down to play with the silver ring around his finger as he glanced back and forth, mumbling: "And where the hell is Selena? I'm going to be late for work."

"I'm standing right here. And you've already been laid off." Selena remarked from behind him, and Zerrex winced as he spun around to face her, before pausing and grabbing at his head, looking horrified as he registered exactly what she'd said. "Oh, stop that. You've got a new placement... don't you ever check the fucking scheduler I made for you?"

"It's pink and has a bow on it and I specifically requested a plain black one." Zerrex said sulkily, then winced when Selena slapped him lightly. "Stop emasculating me. You're just jealous of my muscles."

He flexed a bit and grinned, and the Inquisitor snorted and rolled her eyes before creating a portal, saying mildly: "If you'd bothered to look, you'd see that today we're going down to the Circle of Lust to see Queen Carmen and determine what duties you'll be facing during your stint there. You'll also be introduced to other Inquisitors... I believe originally you were only supposed to spend a year with me before you met them, but they wanted to choose a new set of Inquisitors for you and allow you more time for training after seeing the way you excelled under my competent tutelage."

"You can monologue later. Let's go meet Carmen." Zerrex said mildly, and Selena glared at him before he asked hesitantly: "So uh... am I going to like her, do you think, or am I going to end up getting my ass handed to me on a platter?"

"We'll see." Selena grunted, and then she brushed her way past to step through the portal ahead of him, the Drakkaren following a moment later. He winced a bit at the second or so of distortion in his ears, and then he stepped out with a blink into a large viewing hall with enormous golden walls and a beautiful ceiling from which hung several chandeliers of crystal and gemstones. He brought his gaze down to look at either wall as he slowly followed Selena along a long red carpet, noting the chained and collared slaves at either side of the room sitting on plush red cushions and staring over him with ardor... and then he blinked as Selena kneeled in front of him and quickly fell to one himself, bowing his head before glancing up towards the throne.

It was guarded by no less than four Amazons, all of them armed with spears and dressed in blue plate... and in the middle, sitting in a group of what he recognized as Dius priestesses from the tattoos down their arms, was a half-naked demoness who looked half-Amazon, half-Dius herself. She was at least twenty feet tall, and covered in rippling muscle... but she also had large, sumptuous breasts and features that seemed to radiate beauty. Between the huge, curling horns on either side of her head she had a third, large black spike that jutted from her forehead and curled only slightly back, and her eyes were deep black, while her body was covered in golden scales that lightened over her chest.

She crossed her arms, giving Zerrex an excellent view of the twisting black snakes tattooed along the huge muscles, all the way up to her shoulders... and he could see a red spider's web tattooed over one naked breast, continuing down her right side and bridging slightly out over her strong abs... and under one eye, she had a blue dot that he recognized as a teardrop tattoo. She grinned widely as she caught Zerrex's eyes with her own, holding them as she stood up and proudly tilted her head upwards, revealing a tight, studded collar around her neck. He also noted that she wore baggy tan pants and a plain sash... not exactly what he'd expected the Queen of Lust to be wearing. "Inquisitor Selena! Lord Zerrex! What an honor this is..."

"The honor is ours, Queen Carmen Ra Melody Vanna, ruler of the Circle of Lust and Mistress of Virtue." Selena said gravely, and Carmen laughed, waving a hand, and Selena stood... but swatted Zerrex with her tail when he began to stand, adding seriously: "Today I bring before you Zerrex Narrius, who will be subjected to the glories and tortures of your kingdom-"

"Oh, stop it. And stand up, Lord Zerrex..." Carmen strode towards them... and Zerrex stared as she shrank down at the same time, retaining the same huge muscle mass... and then she grinned and flexed as he noted her piercings â€" namely two studs through her nipples â€" had changed size with her, before asking teasingly: "Do you see something you like, Lord Zerrex?"

"It's just interesting to see how those changed sizes with you..." The Drakkaren admitted as he stood, pointing at her nipple... and immediately Selena smacked him, the reptile wincing, but Carmen only laughed and shook her head, looking at Selena with entertainment.

"Now you stop that." she scolded lightly, and Selena bowed humbly before she looked over at Zerrex, crossing her arms as her breasts and nipples sank into her chest, the piercings popping out and landing in one upturned palm as she said cheerfully: "But what do you think of me now? Am I just as attractive in your eyes?"

The Drakkaren glanced her over curiously, then he smiled and nodded, saying in an amiable voice: "Most certainly. I could do you all night." he added after a moment, and Selena gaped at him stupidly, but Carmen grinned, her eyes flashing as he rubbed the back of his head and winced away from the Inquisitor. "I mean... yes. You've got a wonderful body either way, and not just because... you know what, I'm going to shut up before I get beaten."

"Relax." Carmen reached a finger up to his lips, and Zerrex coughed a bit as she looked across at him cheerfully, saying easily: "You'll fit right in here... but onto serious business.

"Lord Zerrex, you have been judged guilty of the sin of Lust." The demon queen turned away, putting her hands behind her back and striding a few feet away before looking over her shoulder with her eyes glinting. "As thus, you have been sentenced to a period of ten thousand years of punishment in the Hell of Lust, also known as the World of Unearthly Delights. Don't worry... for you, I'm sure you'll be craving more by the time you're done here..."

Carmen turned around and winked, then crossed her arms and looked over him thoughtfully. "You have a good, strong body... and you'll make an excellent addition to the mining crews for now. I'm not to show you special treatment... but believe me when I say I want to. On the other hand... I'm looking for some good, strong people to aid the Royal Guard around here, so keep that in mind, Lord Zerrex. Perhaps if you behave well enough and avoid too many confrontations with the Slavers and Masters, I'll have you enlisted in the military... and perhaps put you on a special palace detail. But oh, before I forget...

"Inquisitor Selena." Selena promptly straightened at this, looking serious. "You will come once a week to Lord Zerrex, and you will spend the entire day continuing to teach him magical arts. Otherwise, the Princess awaits you at the palace to give you instruction on your other duties, so I'd hurry there, if I were you. Lord Zerrex, please approach my throne."

Selena nodded, then bid Zerrex a silent farewell with a nod and a mouthed ‘be good,' before she created a portal and stepped quickly through it... and Zerrex glanced over to the throne, approaching the huge, golden chair as the Dius priestesses murmured excitedly back and forth, Carmen returning to her original size and sitting comfortably down in it as she gazed down at him with something like affection. "Did you know, Lord Zerrex, that you are seen as a sort of role model down here in the Circle of Lust?" A pause as the Drakkaren blinked stupidly, and she laughed quietly, bouncing her piercings in her hand before putting them aside and lacing her fingers together. "I promise you that your stay here will be... interesting, and not entirely unpleasant, to say the least. I have taken a great interest in you myself... but... nothing akin to the interest Queen Feldspar has taken, you'll be pleased to know."

Zerrex coughed and looked away embarrassedly, and Queen Carmen smiled a bit, looking at him with wry amusement. "Yeah, we know. She's nuts. But she's the Mistress's right hand, as well... so I'd be very wary of her, if I were you." The demoness said in a far-more solemn voice, and the reptile wondered if it was good or bad that this was one of the first serious things she'd said to him so far. "I am not so different from Miss Cherry, the Dius who served you so faithfully in life... but I think I would be... far more challenging for you to tame at this point. I would like to get to know you better, however, Lord Zerrex, since I too am a creature of Lust. But in another matter, I'd like to mention that after you get settled into your quarters, you'll be left free to wander the Southern Crescent of the Hell of Lust as you want... going into any of the other Crescents at this point would be dangerous for you, with Az'Iriel's forces always on the move and not obeying to any of the traditional Laws of War in Hell."

She paused, then snapped her fingers, creating a portal off to the side and gazing at the reptile fondly. "You, as a mortal, have stood against Lieutenants and even Generals of the Warlord... you, as a mortal, have tamed demons and bent them to your will. And now here you are, still only an Initiate after a hundred years, with the corruption unable to touch you. You have tweaked the interest of many others, and I am the one who is honored to be in your presence, Lord Zerrex... although you'll be busy with meeting your new Inquisitors and discovering the experiences, pleasures, and punishments this Circle has to offer you, you have my word that I'll find you one of these days.

"For now, though, you'd best get some rest and adjust yourself to your new home and your new neighbors." Queen Carmen stood up, and then she bowed deeply, and Zerrex blinked and looked back and forth in surprise as everyone else in the beautiful throne room did the same. "Please don't think of me as a Queen, but simply as another wistful admirer named Carmen, Lord Zerrex. And let me know if any of the Masters or Slavers get rowdy around you... they shall be dealt with swiftly for their insolence."

"Thank you... Carmen." Zerrex said after a moment, then he strolled up to the throne, the guards tensing a bit before the Drakkaren reached up and took her hand, kissing it gently and making her smile as the Dius priestesses murmured to each other words of either approval or envy. "But only call me Zerrex, then. And I'll be eagerly awaiting your visit."

The Drakkaren half-bowed to her before leaving with a slight smile... and Carmen sat down in her throne with a grin, putting her hands behind her head as the reptile vanished through the portal and kicking up her feet over one arm of the throne to lay sideways in it, cackling and grinning widely around the room. "Fuckin' A. His lordship Kandas Fy'Ren Vanna was right as rain... I do like the little handsome fella."

Zerrex didn't know if his home was the most awesome thing ever or the worst: on the plus side, it was a log-cabin-looking structure of a fair size in the middle of a little forest, with a nice bit of space between it, the dirt road, and the neighboring home... but on the other hand... there was nothing inside but some straw, a moldy blanket, and a small, rusted cauldron. He kicked the last when he stepped inside, and it spilled out a very large centipede that promptly took off for the straw pile, and Zerrex backed out of the home with a shiver of disgust. Centipedes. One thing even Hell couldn't make worse.

He stretched a bit as he glanced back and forth, and then he sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair as he turned around, peering back in through the open door before mumbling a short cleansing incantation under his breath and raising a hand at the pile of straw, and it blew up in a puff of smoke, slowly floating down through the air in a golden rain as several centipedes shrieked and then exploded, splattering the area with green goo that almost immediately faded out of existence. A pause, and then several more creatures on the ceiling went up in smoke, and the Drakkaren made a face as he looked up at several stains along the V-shaped timbers, and Zerrex decided to let any stragglers the spell might not have taken care of clear out as he turned and strode down the path leading to the dirt road, watching as three small wooden carriages rolled by down the uneven track, and he turned in the direction they were heading, glancing back and forth at setup of this circle.

Although he'd heard a lot about the different circles â€" and they were far, far different than even the oldest of poetry had described them as â€" actually standing in one was quite a sight to behold. Instead of a horizon, in the great distance he could see an edge... and beyond that, the Center Spire standing silent sentinel in the middle of the Ninth Circle, or the Circle of Tragedy, to rise up above all of Hell.

But here, in Lust, the ground was fertile and the reptile passed actual farms as he walked down the road â€" an irony he couldn't ignore, as he smiled to himself and slid his hands in his pockets, feeling good about the fact he was actually doing something. He had to admit, his patience was running a bit thin with things, despite the fact he was well aware of the enormous difference between mortal and Hell time... and he also recognized that no matter what he did, he was going to end up being here for a long time.

With his near-infinitesimal corruption, his slow learning rate with magic, and his high-energy content â€" he had a lot more essence making up his body than many other demons did, in other words â€" the reptile was going to be spending a long time in Hell... not just because he wanted to learn everything he could before leaving to assist those on the mortal coil, but also because he was under heavy watch from the Princess and the Scholars, ever since he'd started asking so many questions about whether or not it was possible to escape Hell.

The reptile had come to the conclusion that the Scholars' powers only extended so far, and that there were gaps and loopholes that could be exploited, although it was hard to talk Selena into exploring these possibilities with him during impromptu ‘sparring sessions,' since she was always afraid of the Princess, Feldspar, or any of the other monarchs or powers of Hell watching over her shoulder. Zerrex always made sure to carve the Inverted Echo rune everywhere he stopped, however, even if he was just taking a break... and he had long played with the idea of carving out a charm with the rune on it, but had dismissed that due to a lack of experience with both carving and enchantment of an object over protection of an area.

Feldspar, on the other hand, was also still doting on him, despite her increasing sexual demands and the way, every time she came back on leave from her duties, she begged him to tell her how much he loved her... but he'd gotten good at pressing her buttons and he knew what to say when... and sometimes he'd even thought she was enthralled with not only his power, but the way he manipulated her. It's like she was letting herself be manipulated half the time...

He paused in his thoughts as he glanced up at a gaggle of succubus girls, all of them young and beautiful, and they squealed when he looked at them before the Drakkaren continued quickly onwards, feeling a bit embarrassed as they chattered away. By now, he knew the language well enough to know exactly what they were saying... but he did his best to pretend he didn't as he strode by, before almost bumping into a Nightmare.

The black-haired stallion bowed to him with a grunted apology, and Zerrex bowed back a bit before stepping around him and continuing on his way, before they paused and glanced at each other over their shoulders. Zerrex noted the scar along the horse-demon's muzzle, and the horse-demon gazed at Zerrex's face with terror... and then the Drakkaren spun around as the Nightmare attempted to sprint forwards and away, but the reptile was far faster as he flung himself at the horse, slamming his face down into the dirt road as he shouted angrily in demonic: "What the hell's a member of the Warlord's army doing here?"

"I... hey, please, wait!" The Nightmare stammered, and then he howled when Zerrex grabbed his arm and twisted it violently, snapping it like a twig as his eyes bulged, his face grinding down into the dirt road as he sobbed: "Parlay! Sanctuary for a moment, just one moment..."

The Drakkaren snorted and answered the cry for mercy by smashing the horse's face down into the dirt, saying coldly: "You and your Prince dragged me into an ambush... he was so terrified of me that he had to bring an assault squad of Gigataurs and his fully-assembled invasion army out to kill me. You broke the rules of honor first, demon..." Zerrex snarled, his rage welling up inside him as he twisted bit-by-bit, and the Nightmare's arm groaned as his flesh began to tear, the reptile threatening to pull his limb off like a twig. A cold grin spread over his face as the Nightmare howled and sobbed, and then he leaned down, whispering: "You get mercy only when you answer my questions."

Beneath him, the demon-horse bleated and blathered, shuddering violently and twitching... and then Zerrex let out a yelp of pain as a whip snapped down on his face, and he thought stupidly for a moment that Targin was enacting some foul revenge before a hoarse voice cackled and rasped: "Looks like he just can't wait to get started!"

Zerrex cursed as the Nightmare wiggled out from underneath him and shot off down the road, the reptile leaping up to give chase... and a whip snapped down around his ankle before a blunt wooden club slammed down into his back, and the reptile snarled over his shoulder as he shouted: "He's from Az'Iriel's army! Come on, I-"

The club came down again, this time on his muzzle, and the three grotesque figures standing around him simply laughed as the Drakkaren fell flat. Two of them wore executioner's hoods over stubby muzzles, and the last had a long, crocodilian maw and a bandanna tied around his head, his eyes glinting as he smoothed out the wrinkled tie he wore over a naked, ugly body. The others were clad in plainer uniforms of ugly black leather, one of them fat and the other one gaunt and bony, and then the apparent leader crowed: "Did you hear that, boys? Better sound the alarms, because somehow someone slipped past the barricades!"

They all laughed, and as Zerrex attempted to get up, the leader demon kicked him in the kidney, causing him to grunt and stiffen, his hands curling into fists on the ground as the other two pointed and laughed, bloodstained cudgels hanging from their hands. "Ooh, thinks he's a tough one, Lord Zerrex does! He just doesn't know when-"

The Drakkaren reached out and grabbed the croc-demon's leg, jerking him hard over onto his back as he yelped, before shoving his other hand flat into the ground and kicking both feet backwards into the crotch and stomach of the demons behind him, sending them flat as he swiftly went into a roll and skidded around to his feet. A few people were gathering now as the three Slavers snarled, the middle one with the tie and the crocodilian features hissing and snapping his whip. "I'm warning you, boy. You don't want to cross us... because the moment you get logged in tomorrow as a member of the Lust Circle, we'll make your life a living hell for the next ten thousand years."

"I'm already living Hell, and I don't quite mind it." Zerrex said coldly, taking up a ready stance and focusing his eyes on them as he said darkly: "I think you're the ones who should back off... because the choice is attacking me or letting me go peacefully. Either way I report your incompetence to the Queen... but one way might lead to all of you dying."

"You can't threaten Slavers like that." A cruel voice said from behind Zerrex, and the Drakkaren glanced over his shoulder to see a grinning hyena in full body armor standing behind him, holding a large, silver javelin in one hand. In the other was a pair of chain leashes, attached to the collars of two goblins that were currently snarling and drooling like feral beasts, dressed in mere rags and both of them with heavy metal gauntlets over their hands. That javelin looks like it might be enchanted somehow... "I am Master Ellis, and I'm recommending that you-"

"I recommend you put the weapon down." Zerrex said icily, and he noted the hilt of a sword over the hyena's shoulder, and as the creature looked at him with disgust, the reptile added in an irritated voice: "Now, Master Ellis, why don't you run along and report to the Queen that these three idiots decided to take a free swing at me while I was attempting to get information out of a soldier from Az'Iriel's army."

"Maybe after I teach you a lesson about respect!" The hyena snarled, his eyes turning red and several long spikes shooting out of his mane, and the reptile grinned at how easy it was to bring the demonic characteristics out of some people before he tilted his body slightly to the side at the wide throwing motion the hyena made with the silver javelin.

It shot past Zerrex and struck the crocodilian Slaver, sending him hurtling backwards with a scream of agony as electricity tore over his body... and before the Master could do anything, Zerrex leapt past him and grabbed the handle of the sword sheathed on his back, jerking hard to rip it free of its sheath as the demon toppled backwards at the same time with a yelp of surprise at the strength of the reptile, the chains flying loose from his hands and the goblins immediately diving at Zerrex as he spun around-

The silver longsword tore through both of them, killing one and seriously injuring the other as they both fell on top of the Master, the hyena grunting with their weight before howling in agony, his fur immediately turning black and his eyes burning red as the spikes extended fully out of his mane, a pair of small horns popping loose from his skull as well as Zerrex stabbed the sword through his thigh, and he grinned coldly as he jerked the weapon free. It's blessed. Only a blessed blade brings out all demonic characteristics when someone is struck by it. "Do you two want to live or die? I realize that Slavers and Masters are half-Pride... but surely that doesn't mean idiot, does it?"

The Slavers exchanged a look as the Master shivered pitifully beneath the bodies of the goblins, his armor soaked with blood and the bodies holding him against the ground, his strength sapped for the moment by the holy blade... and then one of the Slavers threw their club at Zerrex, and the Drakkaren easily batted it out of the way as they both turned and ran. Zerrex snorted quietly at this, then he spun the sword easily in one hand before digging in his pocket for the Northern Star he always kept on himself, concentrating as he held it up and created a portal.

He stepped through it and into the throne room, where Carmen was currently speaking to a Master with a lion's head and bright blue eyes, his golden mane tied back in a ponytail... and he glanced curiously at Zerrex as the reptile stepped forwards and knelt, Carmen immediately turning her attention to him as he said softly: "My apologies, your majesty-"

"Carmen." she said firmly, then she stood up from the throne, bowing to him and frowning in disgust as she looked at the sword. "Don't tell me... you were attacked by a Master already. What happened, Lord Zerrex? And I do hope you didn't kill any of them... I'd much rather have a go at kicking the shit out of whoever was stupid enough to fuck with you first."

The reptile couldn't help but smile a bit; she reminded him a lot of Cherry. But then he shook his head and said quickly, trying to ignore the lion in gold and evergreen armor: "I saw a Nightmare that I recognized from the battlefield where I... where Az'Iriel's army attacked me." Zerrex halted for a moment, painful memories of Requiem surfacing for a second before he said quietly: "One of his arms is damaged severely, but before I could find out what the hell he was doing here, three Slavers attacked me and stopped me from going after him. When I turned to try and get them to back off, a Master joined them. He threw some... silver spear at me, and I took this off him... but the only casualties were his goblin slaves."

The lion snorted, looking distasteful as he crossed his arms and bowed his head. "My apologies, Lord Zerrex... some of my soldiers... forget the true nature of our task. On behalf of the Masters, please accept my apologies..." A pause, and then he straightened and added quietly: "If you would permit me, I'd like to use your portal to see to the injured. A Holy Javelin can kill if it's used improperly."

Zerrex nodded, and then he watched as the ten foot lion strode by, noting the two-handed sword on his back as he gave a last thoughtful look over his shoulder at the reptile before vanishing through the portal... and a moment later, Zerrex glanced over to Carmen as she frowned, saying quietly: "You may need a guard on you at all times, Lord Zerrex. Although the sexual demons of this dimension will do you no harm, and Captain Issen and his personal officers can be trusted, the lower-ranking Masters and Slavers are here for one reason, and one reason only: to sate their need for sexual power and domination. They'll try anything to get to you, especially once you lose the ability to fight back tomorrow..."

"I don't need a guard..." Zerrex made a face, shaking his head and looking down in embarrassment as he tapped the holy blade against his shoulder slowly, adding quietly: "I'm getting enough special treatment as it is."

Carmen only smiled a bit at this, however, then said softly: "Careful, Lord Zerrex... don't fall into too many assumptions. Here, let us walk back to your home together, since the Captain will likely be kept busy for a while scouring the area for this Nightmare you mentioned and ensuring that the other Masters see a good example of what happens to those who disobey the law..."

She strode over to him, shrinking down to his height at the same time, before offering her arm, and he took it, glancing down at her breasts and then smiling a bit at her as she followed his gaze, before he asked mildly: "Do you just like... choose any size you want when you feel like it?"

"Good eyes." she commented, then she shrugged a bit as she half-pulled him through his own portal, and the darkness closed behind them as they stepped back out onto the path, carefully striding around a now-decapitated goblin and a hyena-demon who was sobbing as he stripped off his armor piece-by-piece under the glare of the lion Master. "Yes, I do, actually... I've always had this shapeshifting power. I'm a true demon, I was born here in Hell, not a convert like you will become, or an awakened like Miss Cherry, the rarest form of demon.

"My body is malleable... I'm the end result of a romp between a Daius and an Amazon." she added with a bit of a grin, winking at him as they strode slowly down the road together, several succubi staring jealously. "I have to admit, it's nice to have all these abilities, but on the other hand... I feel some days like I lack a real body of my own."

She paused for a moment, then glanced at him curiously and at the silver, runic blade resting on the Drakkaren's shoulder, asking: "Doesn't that hurt, Zerrex? Most demons detest even the feel of a blessed artifact such as an Angel's Longsword."

Zerrex glanced at it thoughtfully, then he shook his head and offered a smile, shrugging a bit. "It feels warm against my shoulder, but not bad at all, to be honest... I don't mind it. I don't know, holy relics have never made me uncomfortable..." He paused at her look of amusement, giving her a flat look. "What?"

"You." she said simply, and then laughed a bit, reaching across with her other hand to flick gently under his muzzle, making him blink. "You're an incredible and rare demon, Lord Zerrex... and you know, I hear that you have a pair of angel wings instead of the leathery ones those gifted with the ability to fly usually have around these parts."

The Drakkaren shrugged a bit, feeling uncomfortable. Selena, of course, had demanded that he use them more often and fly when he could to help strengthen his body, but he could never quite fly hide enough to avoid being seen by any demons, and he loathed the questions he got about them. "Yeah... but well... it's nothing special."

"Says an Initiate who was once a mortal blessed with powers beyond many demons." Carmen said softly, as they turned down the walk towards his home, a passing pair of incubi staring in amazement. But she let it go, instead saying playfully as they stopped outside his home: "Now this... this is hideous. I bet there were all sorts of creepy-crawlies in there."

The Drakkaren made a face and nodded as she slipped away to push the door open and stride inside. "Yeah... I used a cleansing spell to try and get rid of some of the creatures, but I don't know how well it worked... I decided to go for a walk after I cast the spell and that's when I ran into the Nightmare."

Carmen nodded, peering around the inside of the home as her eyes glowed, and then she smiled at the reptile as he strode inside, saying cheerfully: "Well, it worked. There's still some mildew and gunk and unidentifiable liquids, and I wouldn't eat out of that cauldron if I were you, but the bugs have left." A pause as she glanced at the door and it slammed shut, and then she shoved him against the wall playfully, the Drakkaren blinking as she slid close and growled teasingly: "So, I'll bet you twenty coin I'm tighter than Feldspar could ever be."

"Don't bring that up, please." Zerrex mumbled, and she looked at him curiously before he coughed into his fist, then paused and etched the Inverted Echo rune into the wooden floor with the tip of his sword, Carmen looking entertained as he said after a moment in a dry voice: "I finally understood what they meant by the phrase: ‘it's like throwing a hot dog down a hallway' after I had sex with her."

"That's what happens when you're a shapeshifter and you fuck too much with your body." Carmen said disdainfully, shaking her head and crossing her arms with a grunt. "It's no surprise with how many of those potions and serums and alchemical substances she's poured down her throat... I'm not saying she deserved what happened to her, but that she definitely could have made a few smarter decisions regarding what to do with her body."

Zerrex nodded a bit as he put the sword aside... and then Carmen grabbed the back of his head and wrapped his arms around her as she pressed close, and they kissed hungrily and passionately for a few moments before she pulled back with a wide grin, her eyes alight with passion as Zerrex breathed a bit heavier, the female saying teasingly: "Now, Zerrex. Before we have fun... if we have fun at all... first we need to discuss what's going on around here, and what exactly we're going to do with you. After all, I can't have Lord Zerrex himself abused and mistreated under my watch. But I'm going to have to be firm and dominant with you..."

She reached out and grabbed his shoulders, then threw him playfully down on the floor and dropped in a straddle over him, grabbing his wrists and pinning him teasingly as she leaned down with a wide grin, and Zerrex was unable to hide his own as she growled playfully: "Now you listen to me, mister. You are going to have a personal bodyguard for at least the first thousand years of your stay, and you are going to relax and let go of your inhibitions in this realm of Hell when the girls or guys ask you if you want a suck and-or fuck, got it?"

"Yes, Queen Carmen." Zerrex said in a falsely-submissive voice, attempting to look meek, and they both exchanged grins as their eyes met. A moment later, Carmen leaned down and they shared a quick, teasing kiss before the reptile added mildly: "So you don't have a penis, right? Or do you?"

"Hey, as long as you're doing the plowing, I'll have as many penises as you want. Or penii? Whatever." Carmen shrugged, sitting down on his waist and waving one of her hands absently as the other stroked over Zerrex's chest, the reptile staring at her before she grinned widely. "Hey, benefit of being a full shapeshifter, unlike Selena or Feldspar or the other Dius. I can transform myself into pretty much anything, any way I want... the uh... more-special transformations can suck up a lot of my energy, though, so I hope that this body is mostly okay for you if we ever get around to banging."

She paused meditatively, then stroked under her muzzle, asking querulously: "Speaking of which... I hear you tapped Feldspar and Selena... but how many others have you banged in the last century, Zerrex?"

"Um..." The Drakkaren tried to count, then gave up and shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed. "I never really kept track... and I've been kinda hesitant about having sex down here in case they go running to tell everyone else about it. Because... you know, that could be kind of awkward."

"Ugh, you so need to lighten up." Carmen shoved down against his chest firmly, and the Drakkaren coughed before she said cheerfully: "Besides, once I had a hundred big brawny guys gangbang me, and no one gave a shit. You shouldn't worry so much about the way people might be thinking of you."

Zerrex snorted at this, and Carmen tilted her head curiously before he said mildly: "Nothing, nothing... you just... remind me of someone, that's all. Speaking of which... you aren't serious about this whole guard thing, are you?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes and looking exasperated for a moment before poking his nose firmly. "Listen to me, Zerrex. No matter how strong you are, no matter how strong you become, there's still the Scholars and their creepy abilities to deal with... and if even one Master is working for Az'Iriel, and he comes after you when you're registered as a prisoner in this Circle, then he'll hotfoot his way over here and do his damndest to kill your cute little ass, and none of us in the Southern Provinces want that.

"But how about some people you know? Lots of Hez'Rannan-born come down here, you know, although they usually end up in the uh... Circle of Minor Sin and scattered throughout the Provinces. Although hey, I know!" she snapped her fingers, grinning widely. "I'll send you two succubus concubines you're familiar with who serve directly under me. Now, I'm not going to tell you who-"

"Mist and Shine?" Zerrex made a bit of a face, and Carmen stared before he added absently: "The moment you mentioned Hez'Ranna, two, and succubus together, you screwed yourself. Those are the only people who I remember fitting those specifics. But come on, they already died in service to me and Hellabos... you should really cut them a break."

Carmen snorted and flicked Zerrex's muzzle gently, looking dryly amused. "Believe me, I'm sure they'll love this job. And I'll increase the Jailors in the Southern Ring, as well... but I should probably get back to my palace in the pocket dimension." she paused for a moment, however, looking down at him longingly as she played his hand through his hair, gazing down into his eyes. "You need to learn to stop hating yourself. With how hard you are on your own spirit, it's a wonder you're still alive sometimes in a world that runs off spiritual essence..."

She shook her head a bit, then rose a hand to the side and created a portal, adding firmly: "Now don't you worry about a thing, Zerrex. We'll keep you safe here from Prince Az'Iriel's soldiers even while you're left vulnerable... and we'll keep the others safe too. I'm sure you've been told this before, but you're important to all of Hell..." Carmen smiled slightly as she tapped her nose gently. "But we'll discuss that a bit more at her next interview."

Zerrex stared as she stood up and strolled off, then she turned around and waved goodbye with a grin as she stepped backwards through her portal... and a moment later it closed, the Drakkaren left staring dumbly for a few moments after her before he sighed and fell sprawled back against the floor of his little home, grumbling quietly: "So much for being just like everybody else..."

It frustrated him. He didn't ask for this, and he definitely didn't want this... and it was starting to get on his nerves. He hated seeming like some defenseless playboy... and worse, that thing every one of the important demons said to him was starting to really bring up some huge questions in his head. Exactly how important was he? And why? And moreover, if the Warlord was the most powerful Prince, and he was stronger than the Warlord... did that mean that he was the strongest demon in Hell?

"Apart from the scholars, of course..." he muttered, shaking his head slowly, and then he glanced up towards the ceiling and asked irritably: "You know, what did I ever do to deserve this? Not the Hell part, the whole ‘you're-an-important-piece' part? And like, if someone's going to come and attempt to eat my soul, I'd rather they did it now and it was over with."

You moron. Ravenlight said dully in his head, and Zerrex glanced up, making a face: ever since he'd been in Hell, Ravenlight had been louder then ever. They want you to become a demon first, before they do anything to you. Don't you get it? There's something going on beneath this whole civil war guise...

Come on, you've seen it yourself, but just repressed it and buried yourself in petty problems, rationalizing on how Hell-time is so different. Feldspar's a nutcase with a weapon that can banish any demon in a single blow, Selena is an Inquisitor assigned specifically to you but also possibly the only Inquisitor out of the loop on everything that's been going on, the Princess is a fan and supporter, and Az'Iriel hasn't made a single move against you in Hell, but he also hasn't been moving many troops to the mortal world, either, instead concentrating on attacking the front lines here.

Ravenlight paused to let Zerrex absorb some of that, and the reptile frowned a bit at his inner voice as he looked at the ceiling, murmuring quietly: "But why? What's the end goal, here?"

The Central Throne? Rulership of Hell? Domination of Heaven? Who knows, who cares. Ravenlight shrugged inside his mind, adding mildly: You should just live it up while you got it down here, because soon enough you might be getting evicted and sent to another new dimension of pain and suffering.

"Wonderful." Zerrex grunted, sitting up and dropping his hands in his lap... but the problem was, Ravenlight was rarely wrong. After all, the dark side of himself was the side he'd relied upon through all of the years of the Goth Legion, and it had rarely led him to a wrong course of action... so all he could do was hope for the slim chance that Ravenlight was just being self-serving in his own weird way. "You know, I really wish you had died and gone to delusion-Hell yourself."

Ravenlight grunted something, and Zerrex climbed to his feet with a sigh before turning and striding over to the closed door of his little cabin, jerking it open... then pausing and glancing over to the longsword sitting against the wall, and he decided it might be for the best if he carried that with him.

He strode over and picked it up, examining the flat of the two-edged blade for a moment with curiosity at the runes... and then he shrugged a bit before striding out of his new smelly home, absently chopping off a low hanging branch as he passed. Back at the road, he decided to try going in the opposite direction this time.

It seemed much the same: farms, fields, and a few scattered log cabins... from what he knew, there were only a few major cities in the Lust Circle, and none of them were in the Southern Provinces. Despite the fact that most demoness monarchs had pledged their allegiance to the Princess, if only out of familiarity with her, only Queen Carmen openly supported her in the Circle of Lust, along with her bevy of succubi, incubi, Dius, and Daius concubines and slaves. For the most part, the Masters and Slavers had declared themselves unaligned... except that it was rather obvious they leaned towards Az'Iriel's promises of power over the Princess's promises of justice, even if that justice was tinged with revenge.

Zerrex paused as he passed a small shop, and then he stared as an incubus kicked open the wooden door of the modified cabin and charged down the path, bouncing up and down in front of him with a cackle, his eyes bright and wide. He had grey skin and a boyish body, with a slender, slanted muzzle and bright perwinkle eyes... and Zerrex stared at this creature as he pranced back and forth in front of him. "Newcomers welcome here! Trade in your old goods for new ones, sell your wares and buy with a good friendly screw if you got nothing in your pockets!"

The Drakkaren stared at the figure in the navy robe, and then he leaned down a bit and asked, trying to get it to stop dancing around: "So uh... so what kind of wares do you sell here?"

"Come and see!" The incubus twirled gracefully off in a pirouette down the path before heading back to the shop... and giving in to his curiosity, Zerrex sighed before following, opening the door and stepping into the small shack to see the incubus standing behind the counter with a sly grin, another pair of different-colored incubi standing across the room and muttering in demonic as they looked over a broken clock that one of them held. But broken or not, those are rare in Hell... "Here, take a look around, we have anything and everything you'll need!"

The Drakkaren wasn't surprised to see that someone had gone to the lengths of using spacial reconfiguration magic inside the shack to at least triple its size. There weren't many other customers, though, except for a succubus who was glowering at condoms... and as Zerrex passed, she glanced over at him and asked irritably: "Excuse me, but you look like an Initiate... can you please explain to me what these things are and how they work?"

Zerrex blinked, then he nodded a bit and took the box, absently pressing the sword against his side and concentrating for a moment without thinking, and the sword latched itself onto his waist by the hilt as the blade glowed faintly blue. "Sure." He paused as the red-scaled succubus looked at him with faint embarrassment half-hidden by disdain, then he smiled a bit as he opened the box and pulled one of the little plastic-wrapped packages out, putting the box aside for a moment. "See, in the mortal realm you have to worry about STDs and stuff a lot more... mortals get infections really easily, especially when it comes to having sex. So it's basically a wrapper that goes around the penis and stops anything from being transferred."

The succubus looked horrified at this, then she frowned and asked slowly: "Are you putting me on? Because I can take a joke, but I'm being serious here."

Zerrex made a face, shaking his head a bit. "No, and believe me, I wish I was. See, they also tend to cut out a lot of the pleasure from sex for males, and they're designed to fit guys from two inches to twelve... but after that they uh... it's more for birth control than anything else."

"If I could have kids, I'd be gladly popping them out." the succubus said sulkily, shaking her head and looking disgusted. "Hell, when I was alive, I had over a dozen! I wasn't thankful for it then, but I am now, and I miss the little buggers... besides, what female would make her lover suffer like that? But how does it stop the seed from spilling out?"

Zerrex shrugged, then he tore the wrapper open and tossed it aside, pulling it out before she grinned teasingly, asking in a playful voice as her eyes half-lidded: "Are you gonna put that on and show me, big boy?"

"Yeah... on my fingers." Zerrex deadpanned, and the succubus snorted and rolled her eyes, looking entertained nonetheless, before staring as the reptile put two fingers together and carefully began to put the condom on... then he muttered and rolled his eyes, turning it over. "Always put the stupid thing on backwards... I never used these myself. I don't like the feeling of latex so much, the stuff it's made out of, and they always tear or are just plain uncomfortable on me. But anyway, see that? It's got a little pocket at the end designed to catch the average male's load."

"I fucked guys when I was mortal who's first shot carried more than that." The succubus said disdainfully, and then she snorted and leaned away as Zerrex shook the condom off his fingers and tossed it away, making a face. "Mortals are so weird these days. Like, I heard that some of them roleplay with each other, but they have special toys and stuff so they don't actually injure one another. How screwed up is that, huh?"

"Yeah, that crap's always been pointless to me." Zerrex replied, then he crossed his arms and smiled a bit, looking agreeable. "On the other hand, they're up there, and we're down here in the Circle of Lust, so I guess they might have something on us after all."

She snorted and nodded, then reached up and patted him lightly on the bicep as she slid past him, smiling slightly and glancing over him slowly. "Well, I'll catch you later, Initiate. Maybe we can meet up for a fuck sometime, especially if the rest of you is built like those big arms..." She leered over him slowly, licking her muzzle as her eyes settled on his crotch for a moment before strutting away, and Zerrex couldn't help but grin after her as she tossed him one last seductive look before slipping around the corner of the aisle.

The reptile shook his head a moment later, then he glanced the sword down to where it was resting on his belt with a faint hum, rubbing the back of his head slowly as he realized he must have attached it to himself with his energy abilities. It was a trick he'd first done with Blackheart in the mortal realm, but he'd rarely used it... but for now it certainly worked and didn't seem to be hurting him at all, so he left it where it was as he took a quick glance around the rest of the store before slipping out the door while the three incubi bartered at the register in loud voices.

He sighed a bit, then paused as he saw two Masters standing at the end of the path, shoving around a few succubi as they cried and whined in loud voices... and the Drakkaren decided to take a shortcut, hopping the fence next to him and stepping into a field of large, black wheat. He carefully curved his path towards the road, then stuck his head out once he judged he was a safe distance away to see a Master with a longbow over his shoulder striding down the road with a succubus crawling behind him on a leash, and he figured this was as good a place as any to climb out.

On the other hand, he noted what looked like a hybrid between a fortress and a skyscraper ahead, the outer walls made of sharpened wooden logs and the square, slightly-deformed tower inside heavy concrete, apart from the occasional patch-job of wood. The reptile could see the glint of silver armor on soldiers patrolling the top path around the outer wall, and at least five Slavers were kicking some poor sap on the ground on the road outside... so the reptile decided it was better that he go the other way.

The two Masters were currently busy now orally-raping the succubi that they had been haranguing a few moments earlier, and Zerrex had no problem sneaking by them... but on the other hand, an armored transport slowed as it began to pass him, drawn by a team of battered-looking goblins, and the Master at the reins slowly drew them in and halted the transport just past the reptile. He winced a bit as he looked up at them, not liking the Slavers peering out the windows of the armored vehicle angrily at him, before the Master grinned down at him and asked: "Now, look at this. Would you be Lord Zerrex?"

"Yeah... and I really have already had my fill of trouble today." Zerrex said mildly, holding up his hands and bowing a bit, but the goat-demon only laughed as he tied the reins to a large spike in front of his seat, and then he leapt down and drew a silver longsword out of the scabbard at his side, tapping the blade against one of the metal wheels as his eyes burned with malice. The Drakkaren winced a bit at this, pulling his own silver blade free and saying mildly: "Dude, seriously. I... oh dear crap."

At least ten Slavers piled out of the back, along with two Masters that quickly ran around the transport, one of them a black-scaled Dragokkaren with burning obsidian eyes holding a huge war hammer, and the other a rabbit with large spikes and fangs in the place of ears and buck teeth. The last also had a long whip in one hand and a silver shield on his other arm... but the goat-demon Master had already pulled a larger shield emblazoned with a circle of protective runes off his back, and dark fire leapt up around the edges of it as he growled: "See, me and my buddies here have a problem with what you did. Now you can either get down on your knees so we can break all your teeth and make sure you give each and every one of us the cocksucking of a lifetime, or you can die. It's your choice."

Zerrex made a face as he held his sword out, muttering under his breath: "This is not my day, this is so not my day..." A pause, and then he sighed and rose his other hand, beckoning and saying tiredly: "Fine, fine. Let's get this over with."

"You won't be talking so tough in a moment!" the lead Master snarled, and he leapt forwards in a straight, hard swing as enemies flooded towards the reptile on all sides... and Zerrex gracefully swung his sword to the side to knock the goat-demon's away before jumping high into the air, the goat-demon wincing and bringing up his shield, and then he fell to the ground with a strangled yelp as Zerrex kicked off it and landed on top of the high transport.

The Drakkaren created a small blade of energy and threw this at the reins, and it chopped through them before exploding with a loud bang, and the goblins immediately took off at a sprint. Zerrex flailed a bit, almost overbalancing as the Masters and Slavers yelled and chased after their transport, looking furious... and Zerrex grinned widely and waved at them cheerfully, feeling proud of himself for a moment before something smashed into his back and knocked him flying off the transport.

He fell heavily on his face, agony consuming him as he grabbed at the head of an arrow that was poking through his chest and sliced open his fingers... and then he snarled, climbing to a kneel and forcing himself to focus through the pain as he created a dome of energy around his body, and two more silver arrows bounced uselessly off the shield. Zerrex panted quietly as he grasped the neck of the arrow, then he snapped the silver tip off before reaching behind him and slowly dragging it out of his body with a long, low hiss of pain... but the moment it was gone, he immediately felt the agony subsiding into a throbbing pain that was far easier to deal with.

He shook his head quickly, then winced and jumped a bit inside his protective shield as the Masters he had just escaped from all took a swing at the blue dome around him. They were repelled, thankfully, but Zerrex had to admit he was in a bit of trouble now, making a bit of a face as he asked weakly: "So uh... hey. Can't we all just get along."

None of the faces looked remotely amused by this notion, out of the five Masters surrounding the dome shield... and there were at least three with longbows behind him, guarded by a handful of Slavers... and at least ten Slavers now slowly forming a perimeter around the Masters that had already encircled him. The reptile coughed a bit... and then he rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath: "Fuck it."

The Drakkaren slammed his hand down into the ground, and the shield surrounding him shattered into blue shrapnel that flew into the crowd, Masters and Slavers screaming in agony as the reptile leapt up in the middle of this tornado and created a sphere of energy, hurling this at the halted transport around which the ranged Masters had gathered. It struck the carriage before any of them could react, and the resulting explosion knocked all three down, the one standing on top plummeting face-first into the ground.

Zerrex landed... and immediately the goat-demon smashed into him with his shield, knocking Zerrex skidding on his side before he rolled quickly past the Dragokkaren Master as he attempted to squish him. The Drakkaren snarled and lashed out with his own sword as the huge mace smashed into the ground, cutting into the back of his knee, and the Dragokkaren screamed like a girl before the reptile booted him hard in the ass and sent him falling into the aggressive goat-demon.

The reptile dropped flat on his back as his instincts yelled at him, and a heavy chain lashed over his body before Zerrex kicked up to his feet and leapt forwards, kicking both feet into the chest of a minotaur that was raising an axe and knocking it backwards with a grunt, before it stared as Zerrex cut the handle of his pole in half before raising his hand and releasing an uncontrolled, short blast of blue energy, sending it hurtling backwards to knock over a group of Slavers.

He spun around, and a whip lashed across his muzzle, sending up a spurt of blood in his eyes and causing a flare of rage as Zerrex lashed viciously out with the longsword at the nearest creature, and a Slaver fell backwards with a scream before exploding into a cloud of ash that the Drakkaren leapt through, his eyes half-obscured by a red haze as he stabbed into another Slaver before slashing down with a pair of hard blows against the goat Master's shield as it tried to charge again, sending him staggering backwards as he half-hid behind it before the Drakkaren simply booted the shield as hard as he could and sent the creature sprawling on its back, and a moment later he leapt forwards and reversed the sword in his hand, plunging the blade through the armor and into the demon's chest.

It howled in agony, and the group halted for a moment, staring as Zerrex knelt over the creature, the goat demon rasping for breath as it stared up at the Drakkaren, mouthing wordlessly for mercy... and a moment later the reptile stood and jerked his sword free, snarling and looking coldly back and forth as the creature gagged once before slumping backwards and dying.

Several of the Slavers cut and ran... and then another Master charged in with a wounded howl, and Zerrex caught his club before he could swing it down and stepped forwards into a stab through his midsection, the rat arching his back with a shriek as his eyes turned white and his horns sprouted from his head... and then Zerrex shoved him backwards and tore the sword free, half-spinning at the same time and swinging the sword almost idly out behind him to cut off the demon's head, sending it flying through the air to bounce a few times along the ground.

He wiped the blood out of his eyes, then he reached down and picked up the sword from the fallen goat-demon's hand, and he spun both silver longswords once at his side before snarling: "Who else wants to die?"

A pause... and then an arrow shot past him as another Master sounded a battle horn, and Zerrex cursed before flinging one of the silver longswords at the demon with the horn, and he went down with a scream as the Drakkaren kicked the silver shield up to his now-free hand, snarling and looking back and forth as portals opened all around him, Masters and Slavers alike stepping out as a howl went up among the demons already present. "The Lieutenant is slain! Kill the prisoner! Kill the prisoner!"

The Drakkaren leapt back, raising the shield as silver arrows flew in towards him and bounced with loud thuds off the metal before bows were dropped all over as the Drakkaren heard a loud snarl from behind him... and he turned to stare in shock at a Gigataur before it swung a massive stone hammer down towards him. Immediately, the reptile brought up the silver shield and shoved back at the last moment, and the Gigataur let out an inarticulate roar of surprise as the hammer shattered into pieces and it was knocked staggering, before Zerrex ran through its legs and slashed one of its ankles out as he passed.

The Gigataur fell with a howl of pain, crashing on top of several unfortunate demons, and the reptile leapt up onto its back with a snarl, spinning around the sword and holding the point down against the back of its neck as he shouted angrily: "The more of you that come, the more of you I kill! Back the hell off!"

"Stop, stop, for the love of the Princess stop!" The Gigataur howled, looking back and forth in terror as Masters and Slavers continued to approach. "Why won't any of you stop?"

A moment later, an arrow pierced through Zerrex's leg, and the reptile fell to a kneel before snarling furiously, the pain only inciting his rage higher as he stabbed down hard... and the Gigataur gave a keening wail before it died and rotted on the spot, the reptile leaping down on top of its skull and sending up a massive cloud of dust that hid him from sight.

Masters and Slavers looked uneasily back and forth before Zerrex shot out of the mist, his leg bleeding but the arrow safely removed, the Drakkaren knocking several Slavers flying as he charged into them with the shield before smashing a Master aside as he made for the edge of the crowd to try and escape. A wolf with a long scythe stepped into his path and swung at him, and the reptile immediately deflected the pole downwards before leaping into the air and spinning his body sideways overtop the weapon, the wolf's jaw dropping a moment before it was snapped by a hard kick from the reptile as he righted himself at the same time and landed on his feet.

As the wolf staggered backwards, blood spurting from his jaw as he screeched in agony, Zerrex knocked his legs out from under him with the flat of his blade, then sprang forwards over him and cut his way through three Slavers, his raw fury fading into cold calculation. Whereas the Masters usually left bodies behind, the Slavers always exploded from being struck with the blessed blade... and furthermore, were far-more inept at combat than the Masters.

His only goal was escape now, as he ran through the cloud of ash and dived over a Master that attempted to knock him down with a shield bash, before he let out a howl of pain and staggered to the side as the Master spun around and chopped into his side with his longsword, the reptile turning jaggedly around and bringing up his shield as another pair of Masters slammed their weapons down at once, but he was knocked flat from the force of the blows... and memory flashed in front of his eyes as he saw the cruel demons above him all raising their weapons before he hurled the silver longsword straight up into the air.

It spun violently, gleaming like a silver star as the demons immediately looked up, distracted for a moment... and Zerrex closed his eyes and concentrated on the first spell he'd been taught by Selena before raising both his hands in the air, and as the first demons began looking down at him, he shouted the incantation and shoved his energy forwards at the same time.

White and blue light exploded between his hands as he clenched his eyes shut and turned his head away, his arms knocked flat by the force of the spell... but all around him, demons howled in agony as they staggered away, many of them covering their eyes as Zerrex leapt up and stumbled, not just because of his bloody side but because of the dots dancing in front of his eyes, nausea gripping his stomach as he reached up to attempt to catch his sword as it fell... but the blade instead sank into the back of an unfortunate Slaver, the boar-faced demon howling in agony. Zerrex cursed as he staggered over to the demon to jerk it free, sending out a cloud of ash, and then he quickly ran through the stunned ranks of demons with his shield over his head as distant archers shot arrows at him, apparently not as dazzled by the light as the others had been.

The Drakkaren managed to reach the end of the line just as the Masters began to get their sight back, and the reptile grunted as he deflected a hard blow at his wounded side with the shield, at the same time spinning around and chopping through a Slaver and a Nightmare Master's neck, and the gargling hell-horse stumbled into another demon that was attempting to pursue the reptile, knocking it over.

Zerrex, on the other hand, was slowly staggering backwards, panting hard with a shield of energy flickering behind him and several silver arrows sticking out of his back, cursing under his breath about the tactical error he'd made as the crowd once more quickly moved to surround him... and then he fell to his knees, and demons howled and laughed and roared as the energy shield behind him flickered out of existence, and one of them reached down and jerked his head up, spitting in his face before snarling: "Not so tough, are you, Lord Zerrex? You're just a little bitch, that's all you are, and now we're gonna fuck you nice and hard just to prove it... ain't that right, boys?"

Zerrex looked up at him... and then he smiled coldly before slowly standing, demons muttering around him in surprise as he rolled his shoulders and licked his muzzle slowly. Agony was tearing along his back from where the arrows had dug into him, but he didn't care... and he knew he was bleeding, but at the same time he could feel his wounds slowly healing: it wasn't like he hadn't picked up on some demonic tricks, after all. "I said I didn't want to fight. I've killed more than you ever will..." A pause, and then he rose the sword in front of himself, closing his eyes and concentrating, and the blade glowed with blue energy. "And a hundred years in Hell has vastly improved my combat skills."

The demon frowned at him... and then Zerrex slashed outwards, lightning fast, and the demon fell in two pieces, not even able to get out a scream as the reptile looked slowly back and forth at the crowd, shouting furiously: "If you want to die, then keep fighting! I won't die again to a group of cowards like you!"

The Drakkaren felt delirious as he shook his head slowly, memory and present mixing... and then he slumped and fell to a kneel, panting hard as he felt the arrows in his back throbbing, whatever blessing was on them digging into him and beginning to paralyze his body. He snarled as another Master approached, this one carrying what looked like a huge, teardrop-shaped axe, his expression cold as the others nodded to each other, saying something in demonic and passing along some message before one of them muttered: "Too late, dickhead. Your energy is being suppressed as we speak... and the boss there is gonna cut off your head now and fuck the fucking."

"I'm the Boss." Zerrex mumbled, then he shook his head and tried to focus, but his arms felt heavy... and he dropped both the weapon and the shield, his lungs beginning to feel like they were turning to rock inside his body, his heart throbbing in his chest. He tried to move, and couldn't... and then he looked up and said stupidly: "There aren't two Requiems."

Several demons began to follow his gaze, but before they could, Mist and Shine crashed to the ground in front of him, folding their wings as they both swung out with their enormous cleavers â€" the same type of weapon they'd used in Hez'Ranna, rectangular, massive swords â€" and sent demons hurtling all directions as one of them shouted furiously: "Lay another hand on him and you all die!"

Masters and Slavers looked at each other, talking quickly as the would-be executioner continued to approach, snarling and beginning coldly: "The lizard is a threat, he-"

One of them â€" it was impossible to tell who from looking at their backs â€" simply swung out with her cleaver and cut him in half lengthwise, and immediately the crowd was silenced as the other snarled: "We are here under direct order of Queen Carmen and Captain Issen! If anyone else would like to object, we'd be happy to throw them into the Abyss or the Pit for some personal time, however."

There were mumbles through the crowd, and then Mist turned around and pointed her cleaver at the archers past Zerrex, roaring: "And those arrows have been forbidden for more than an eon! All of you will immediately turn over that contraband to your commanding officers, and all of you will undergo trial and sentencing for use of a forbidden weapon on a prisoner... is this clear?"

Mumbles of consent that sounded almost sulky... and then Shine turned around and snapped her fingers, and one of the archers simply exploded, getting a much more positive result as chunks of the demon flew in all directions, all of them immediately fleeing through portals. The rest of the Masters and Slavers followed suit, leaving the road empty except for the various prisoners and sexual demons who had stopped to watch the confrontation, and the wounded Drakkaren and his guardian twins.

Mist immediately dropped to a kneel behind him, pulling out the arrows as Shine examined his features with soft affection and concern, looking into eyes that had become slightly-glassy and chiding gently: "Now look at you, Lord Zerrex... covered in wounds and blood when you could have taken care of that group quite easily. We've seen how quickly your strength has grown and how you spend such silly amounts of time focusing on training, when you already get enough of that with your torture and mentorship sessions."

"Mumble... gargle dumb." Zerrex grunted stupidly, and then he leaned to the side and vomited some viscous black substance, before wincing and grabbing his head as he gave a low groan of pain, chills running through his body. "Ugh... stupid..."

"Come on, get up... Gods, you're in bad shape..." Shine murmured, sliding under one arm, and Mist took the other before they pulled the reptile up to his feet. A pause, and Mist glanced at the sword and shield, both of them burning with darkness for a moment before vanishing from sight, and then she glanced in front of them and created an extra-wide portal with her look alone. "Come along now... we'll get you back home..."

"Don't... home..." Zerrex murmured, as they pulled him through the portal and outside his small cabin, and then they both made a face before Shine kicked open the door and they carried him inside, setting him down on the moldy blanket. "Grr. Bad."

"He's really fucked up." Mist remarked, looking over at her sister flatly as she put her cleaver on her back, and then she leaned over the reptile, touching his chest and wounded side as she added quietly: "And his natural regeneration has been greatly increased... but the blessed weapons got him where he's weakest, in his energy reserves. It left him vulnerable for those arrows, and they might have damaged his thought processes a little..."

Shine nodded with a quiet sigh, shaking her head slowly as she leaned against a wall, asking quietly: "Can you do anything about it, sister? Because if after all these years of training and waiting for this day to rejoin Lord Zerrex as his Iuratus, we fail on the first day... I'll be really upset with us."

"Yeah, well you're not the healer, so I'll be double that." Mist murmured quietly in return, then she closed her eyes, concentrating as she dragged her hands gently along Zerrex's body, and the Drakkaren twitched and blinked a few times, some of the vitality returning to his eyes as she sighed in relief. "No, here we go."

A pause, and then Zerrex winced and arched his back as a small piece of metal tore out of his stomach, the demoness catching it with a smile and holding it up to her twin as Shine looked disgusted. "An arrow flake. So one of those idiots added an extra-long tip to break off and cause even more problems, that's just wonderful. We'll have to report this to Captain Issen."

Mist nodded, and then she carefully tapped over Zerrex's body as the Drakkaren leaned back and closed his eyes, feeling a bit of a shiver run through him as he let his body go limp. "It's alright, Lord Zerrex... you just concentrate on you. I've never seen a demon like yourself cut through the Masters and Slavers like you did, though, despite what they did to you. It's too bad you haven't learned any advanced spellcraft, or I'm sure you would have made very quick work of them all..."

"I didn't want to kill them..." Zerrex said after a moment in a tired, voice, and he reached up to touch his throbbing forehead as the twins looked at him curiously. "I just... wanted them to back off. It started with only a handful, but one of them knocked me off the transport I tried to escape on with an arrow and a bunch surrounded me... and... after I killed a few of them, one of them sounded some kind of horn and a bunch more came..."

"A Horn of Sorrow. That explains it." Mist murmured, and then she smiled as Zerrex opened one eye to look at her with a mix of exhaustion and ‘what-the-hell-does-that-mean.' "They're usually restricted for war-use, but they instantly alert everyone in the same unit, platoon, or whatever that their ally is in trouble, no matter where they are or what they're doing. And when Masters come, Slavers always follow as well, to pick up the dregs of whatever the Masters leave behind..."

Zerrex nodded a bit, and then Shine said quietly, looking down at him softly: "You should have killed them all. Butchered every one of them... no one would mind, believe me there. We hear many tales of how once, the Hell of Lust was a sexual paradise, ruled more by the Amazons and the Spartans than anything else... but now those demons are few and far between, and long ago several arrogant High Monarchs voted that the Hell of Pride and the Hell of Lust should be merged, because of the similarities in the sins.

"But there are similarities in all sins... and it turned out to be just so that the mostly-arrogant Masters and Slavers could be given more territory to roam through than they already possessed. Not all Pride demons are that way: some of them only seek to defend what they are proud of instead of actively instigating battles with those rumored to be stronger... but the Masters and Slavers who seek sexual power also tend to be those who don't understand what true dominance is and means." Shine paused, then glanced down at Mist, who smiled quietly back at her.

"We know what it means... we were trained in the difference between dominance, cruelty, weakness, and strength." she murmured softly, gazing up at Zerrex tenderly as she roved her hands over his strong chest, and the reptile felt the pain replaced by a gentle heat and a strange, itching feeling. "Look at you, Lord Zerrex. You are strong, and you are dominant... yet anyone who met you on the street â€" disregarding your appearance, of course â€" would only think you're a polite twit from the way you act."

"Shut up." Zerrex said morbidly, but it was true. And he had seen far too many people begging to be slaves or pets or toys when they didn't understand what that truly meant: that to be a sexual toy for someone did not mean that they loved you, that to be property did not mean they cared about you in the slightest, or that you were even wanted. "The world... the world upstairs had fallen apart, hasn't it?"

"It fell apart before Narrius... but there's still cancer deep inside it." Mist said quietly, and Shine nodded with a sigh and a grunt, adjusting the loincloth she wore. "The Republic Council of Ire that was destroyed is a good example, along with the way people abuse their technologies, from the cloning systems Narrius created to the enslavement system. Look at the way the Dragokkaren slaves are used by companies, for genetic testing and menial work... they're treated as badly as they were under Narrius."

"I only hope his majesty Albatross can keep things in line in Hez'Ranna... we often look in on our glorious city through the crystals in the Viewing Room of the Southern Palace." Shine added longingly, smiling a bit up at the ceiling before gazing down at Zerrex, who tilted his head a bit. "It is said that every palace â€" and some secret places in-between â€" have a crystal ball of purest magic deep inside their bowels, and through this you can see the mortal realm, and even the streets of Heaven. The Princess does indeed have one, inside a special room designed to hold its magic and make it seem as if you are stepping into the place you wish to see... and although it can bring such heartache... it can also bring such joy."

"We'll take you one day, Lord Zerrex. As Concubines, we can go anywhere we please." added Mist, tapping her temple with a quiet smile as she sat down in front of Zerrex, watching as the reptile sat slowly up and rubbed at one of his horns slowly. "Just please don't overexert yourself right now, alright?"

Zerrex nodded a bit, feeling too tired to ask any questions... and he glanced from one to the other as Shine sat down, asking softly: "So you're here because... you want to be here, isn't that right? And you look the same as you always have, apart from those horns... and you don't look like any succubi I've seen so far. Then again, I've seen a lot of Drakkaren... but very few Dragokkaren around here."

The two nodded, and then they exchanged a look before Shine shrugged and smiled a bit, saying softly as she tapped one of her ram horns: "We are... special, because we're twins, and because we served faithfully as Iuratus, we've been told. So we were specially treated here in Hell, in both the First Circle of Minor Sins, and later on in the Southern Provinces. We're shapeshifters, but our abilities are minor compared to the Dius..."

"And we are two halves of a single whole." added Mist, gazing over the Drakkaren with quiet entertainment as he looked over them with visible interest. "Whereas I deal mostly with healing, Shine deals with the more aggressive abilities... and we have a few other tricks up our sleeve as well."

The two laughed quietly together, and then smiled warmly as Shine continued softly: "Many of the Dragokkaren are in the Circles, not the Provinces... unfortunately, though, we have seen very few clone soldiers here, if you speak of those Dragokkaren." She paused, and the two traded a sorrowful look before she murmured quietly: "You see, Lord Zerrex... if you believe in another world, then that other world is where you'll end up... but if you believe in nothing coming next your whole life, you won't be disappointed, and you'll simply be destroyed instead in the plane beyond all planes, the one rumored to exist as the Last Dimension."

Mist paused, then glanced at her sister, and the two slid forwards under his muscular arms, wrapping their own around Zerrex and pressing close as their hands slid over his chest, murmuring quietly: "We're so glad you're here with us now though, Lord Zerrex... in the kindest of ways possible, I mean." She glanced up at him with a bit of a blush, but Zerrex only smiled faintly. "We don't mean we're glad you're dead."

"It's nice to be wanted... I understand." The Drakkaren kissed her forehead softly, then quietly nuzzled Shine, holding the two against his sore body and relaxing under their gentle movements, feeling comforted by the pair as he leaned back against the wall with a soft sigh. "I chose this path for myself... and now I need to figure out what the hell to do and keep improving on myself and my body. I see this as an opportunity more than anything else, after seeing how powerful Cherry became..."

"And yet you were still the Master... you were still far stronger than her." Shine said gently, gazing up at him softly and slowly stroking his face, before closing her eyes and burying her head against his neck. "You always underestimate yourself, Zerrex... and then you suppress yourself further, because you're scared... so let us ask you this."

"Learn to recognize your own true strength... and learn to release it all when you must." Mist said quietly, kissing his cheek gently as Zerrex frowned a bit, looking away and feeling apprehensive. "We know it bothers you... but this is Hell. People here are bred and born to suffer or cause suffering... and many only understand cruelty and brute force instead of the subtler ways you prefer to work."

The Drakkaren sighed a bit, not knowing what to say and hating that inside him, something squirmed around in recognition that they were likely right... and after almost ten minutes, he said quietly: "But I don't want to just take what I want."

The twins laughed quietly, both of them gazing at him tenderly as one hand from each wrapped gently around either side of his muzzle, and they murmured softly: "In Hell you are the served or a servant. We don't mind. They won't mind. And the ones above will be pleased. You'll learn, Lord Zerrex... you will learn."