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The Lost Lord Ch. 06

By: TheTask



Note: Forgive the shitty poem crap I did for the spells in the prologue and this chapter and any future chapters. I'm bad with poems but I didn't want to be all ICE BLAST!!! FIREBALL! HEAL SPELL! Ah well. . 

*

Rainer drove himself and Asmodea home that day. He wasn't sure how Nerissa would react towards Asmodea... Or Lauren for that matter. Rainer's mind wandered as he drove. Does Aureal mean me harm? She did act like an angel, not that I know how they act. What could be in this book? Asmodea called it the Grimoire, though she definitely didn't seem like she was happy around it.

Rainer's thoughts tore at each other, none gaining dominace during the drive. Minutes passed during the bearable silence of the drive home. Rainer paid attention to his driving, while Asmodea rubbed his knee.

Wanting her to stop, Rainer said, "Asmodea, please let me drive, who knows what kind of accident we can get into. Wait until we get home at least."

Asmodea replied in kind, "You do know that I am a Succubus, and therefore, sexual experiences are always in mind? You are an Incubus, my male counterpart, you should begin to think like an Incubus if you want to rule..."

While they bantered back and forth, they arrived at Rainer's home. As they walked to his front door, it opened up with Nerissa at the base. She was in a skirt and long sleeved shirt, she also was sucking on a lollipop which she talked around.

"I happy you're back love, I've missed you even if it was only for a short while!" Reluctantly turning her attention to Asmodea, Nerissa lazily said, "And you must be Asmodea..." While Rainer didn't notice, the two women are eying each other, sizing the other up.

"Yes, and you must be Nerissa, I have heard so much about you. From our lord here and your mother." Asmodea spoke with a sweet albeit indifferent tone.

"While you two are busy getting to know each other, I'm going to take a look in this book." Rainer said as he held his Grimoire upwards. He walked between the two demons and headed straight for a quiet room. He desperately wanted to see the mysteries of this book, why Asmodea felt so uneasy near it. He noticed that Nerissa shifted uncomfortably when he passed next to her, like something was off. Perhaps the Grimoire had the same effect on Nerissa as it did Asmodea.

When Rainer had disappeared into the house, both women regained their usual vigor and gave each other icy stares.

Nerissa was the first to speak, "Just know that I am Rainer's fiancee, you are just a vassal. My fiancee and I are royalty and should mingle only with each other."

Asmodea, still smiling said, "You are just like your mother. You really are proud of your arranged marriage. It is like you are proud of being proud of being married to my lord."

"And why not? It is my nature after all. You however are a full Succubus, and all you ever think about is how next you are going to fuck my fiancee. I will admit, you are attractive... Enough to catch the eye of my fiancee, but no more. You may have been the favorite of the previous Lord of Lust, but you are but a relic to Rainer. I shall take my everlasting place next to Rainer in bed."

"I would not expect you to be so... Greedy." Asmodea insulted, "You want anything and everything about my lord all to yourself. I love him just as much as you do, and you will not be the only one to take a place in my lord's bed."

"You dare compare me to those digusting excuses for demons? I am simply expressing my birthright as the daughter of Pride. Must I demonstrate my power? I may be very young, but I am a white demon, I have been impeccably trained, and I will not stand another insult." Threatened Nerissa, her eyes flashing violently.

"Yes, I do compare you to those pathetic demons. The lines between Sin are very... Thin. Wrath and Envy barely coexist. Lust, Greed, and Gluttony are often compared. Pride often takes on Wrath as its face. Envy and Greed are often at war. And yes... Greed and Pride's boundaries are almost invisible." Asmodea said, clearly goading Nerissa. "I am very skilled in combat as well. Try me if you like." As she said her challenge, Asmodea put up her hands in a defensive position, her tail arching e a scorpion.

"Slander, is what you are saying, you insult mine and your people. Have you no shame?"

"No one can live peacefully if they cannot learn to laugh at themselves as well as others. I mean what I said, and it is very much true. And besides, I'm a Succubus, we have no shame."

Nerissa was angry. She could not stand herself and her ilk being insulted. Her people aren't even close to Greed, or Rage for that matter. She held dominon with Pride and Lust, and she would defend her view on Sin. Nerissa raised her hands, ready to trade blows with Asmodea. The Succubus may have more experience to take to the fight, but Nerissa was a white demon, only equal ground stood between the two.

"Begin!" Yelled Asmodea, "Come at me with everything!"

And so their fight commenced.

Rainer stepped forward in between the two demons. "I'm going to take a look in this book." He said as he headed for a quiet room. Upon arriving in his bedroom, Rainer's unbound his Grimoire and placed it on a table. Taking a seat in a chair, Rainer situated himself so he could read comfortably. Rainer looked at the cover of his Grimoire. The cover was some type of leather hide, he couldn't tell, and it was apparently dyed a dark turquoise. Neither the front, back, or sides of the leather book contained any wording that might divulge what could be inside its texts.

Being the only one in the room, Rainer spoke to himself. "Better get started... This book is extremely intriguing. It should contain spells like Asmodea said, but she also mentioned she never looked inside. What the hell could be in here?!"

Taking a deep breath, Rainer finally opened up the cover to the first page. Within the book, Rainer saw characters of a language he had never seen. Yet, he knew what they said. "Is it latin? No way, a dead language can't be used by demons. Some sort of demon language? I can somehow... Understand it."

Rainer slowly began to comprehend all the characters on the page. They read as followed:

To my next of kin. Yes, that's you Rainer. Yes, I know your name, yes it is magic, and yes... I am your power. Well, technically I am the voice of your power... Well, even more technically, I am a message from the original user of this Grimoire, so it's technically like a voice. Though it's writing and not out loud words. Ah, let me formally introduce myself, I am the late Lord of Lust, want to know my name? HAH, too bad, maybe I'll tell you if you're good. Let me begin by saying this, any of the wording in this Grimoire cannot be comprehended by anyone other than you or me. Me, because I was the only one alive who knew the language. You, because you have my power. You should not read any of this book out loud to anyone (unless you are casting a spell), and preferably don't show it to anyone either. God or myself knows what could happen if the Governor of Greed got his grubby hands on this Grimoire. A peculiar thing about this Grimoire, is that once you read a spell, it is permanently burned into your memory, and you will somehow be able to remember it when you think about it. Convenient, huh? This Grimoire contains many spells, all useful in their own way, so read them all. I did, and it took up a decent amount of my time to devour the texts, not literally of course. Keep this Grimoire on you at all times, you never know when you need to internally combust a vicious Gluttonous Berserker, intimidating blighters. Hint - Internally combust them, they don't like it when the gasses they collect in their stomachs blow up. If you wish to know the reason why I chose you to wield my power... Two reasons, I scryed your future and found you wise enough, the second reason... Well, I thought you were kinda interesting. I mean the way you handled Arazra, I mean whoa! Wait, I shouldn't reveal what you do in the future... Damn, I'm new at this. Well, I'm keeping you from your studying. Should you ever need to advice from an old and dead, very much dead, Ruler of Sin, hate that title... Just refer to this exact page. It's the first page in case you hadn't noticed. Right, see you sometime when you die, don't worry, its not going to happen anytime soon. My name's Asmodeus by the way. Do NOT tell that to anyone. It's not because of the name's resemblance to Asmodea, it's because I don't want to be revered as the original almighty ruler of Lust. I bloody HATE that. Chao, soyanara, and chinthougathuck (that's "goodbye" in my own made up language).

Weird, Rainer thought. Several times Rainer had reached the end of the page, only to find it completely rewriting itself with new characters, continuing the message.

Rainer's mind exploded with thoughts. A message from the previous Lord of Lust, Asmodeus? So I just open the book to the first page if I need some advice and he'll give it? Is he still alive? No he said he was very much dead... Aw screw it, only explanation I can give is "magic."

Rainer turned to the next page, lines scattered around the page, none in order. Each line held some sort of incantation; a title for each spell which gave a small description of the spell. He read aloud one of the titles to a spell located within the bottom left corner of the third page.

"Dominion: Ice." Rainer then read the incantation aloud, hoping what the message said about the spells being burned into his memory correct.

"Ice, give me your burning cold.

Let me use your piercing points.

Grant me your frozen might.

Give me frost, give me dominion over ice."

Twelve seconds passed for Rainer to move, wondering if something happened. Then he heard a voice calmly speak into his mind, "Well... Do something, you have power over me, use it."

Looking around to see who spoke, Rainer didn't move an inch, the voice talked again, "Yea, you actually need to move to wield me, I may not move much myself, but the same doesn't apply to you... C'mon, will what you want to do with my ice, it's thaaaaaat easy."

Rainer, still unsure about the voice in his head, decided to heed its advice. Seeing that it was raining outside his window, he decided hail would be perfect. Forming a mental picture of hail, he thrust his hand out of his window, his arm being a conduit for ice to make its move. Cold tendrils shot out of his hand into the sky, and soon, Rainer saw hail. The voice spoke one last time, "That's all there is too it. You who are the possessor of the Grimoire may call upon me anytime you wish. Next time, I expect I will be used in a more useful situation other than making frozen rain." Rainer felt a presence in his mind vanish, as if a part of him left. He knew at that moment it was ice. How the hell ice could talk and whatnot was beyond him, Rainer somehow comprehended the situation.

Rainer soon heard a voice coming from somewhere in the house yell, "Come at me with everything!" It was Asmodea. Following the voice, he heard the sounds of fists and feet trading blows.

That can't be good, Rainer wondered. He headed out of his room, into the living room to see Asmodea and Nerissa fighting. Fists were thrown and parried by both sides of the conflict, only visible thanks to Rainer's demonic self. Asmodea parried a blow to the side of her head while throwing some sort of palm strike with her fingertips out into Nerissa's stomach. Nerissa raised her knee to block the blow, and then retaliated by dropping her free elbow in an attempt to break Asmodea's arm.

"Hey stop it, don't fight each other damnit!" Rainer shouted, his words not reaching the two demons in their frenzy. "I said FUCKING STOP FIGHTING!" Rainer's mind exploded with lust instead of anger. Black wings, violently shot out of his back, black horns piercing the top of his head, a black tail fought its way free from the top of Rainer's buttocks. His skin remained the same, the only thing that remained the same.

Asmodea and Nerissa's fight came to a halt as the where pushed back by a mental wave of lust emanating from Rainer. Asmodea was pushed back into a chair while Nerissa slumped onto the floor onto her knees, both staring at Rainer's metamorphosis. The transformation was not painless to Rainer. It was as if a needle dug its way into his skin and out the back of his body, all around the areas most affected by his transformation and less so around the rest of his body. He felt faint, and fell asleep.

Several minutes passed, Nerissa nor Asmodea dared to touch Rainer for fear of negative repercussions. And so they watched after him carefully. After the seventh minute, Rainer's body violently contorted. they thought at first he was going to feel another bout of pain. yet he only felt an odd euphoria racing throughout himself. Rainer woke up to this odd sensation, wondering and thankful the pain was gone. Standing up, Rainer saw the most probable solution to the euphoria. Asmodea and Nerissa were overjoyed to see Rainer back up to his feet, however they followed his eyes to what he was staring at.

An open window, and a person sitting upon it. That person was none other than Lauren, the witch mage or whatever she called herself. "I said I was coming here, tonight or tomorrow, good that I came tonight.

Rainer attempted to speak, yet no words came out. Only a small croak escaped his lips, signaling that he was still not okay. Asmodea then spoke, "And who might you be? Rainer mentioned a witch. Might that be you?"

Lauren replied indifferently, "Yes I am, my name is Lauren, Rainer's best friend from school and classmate. You should probably make sure he gets some rest. I don't know how this transformation works, so I relieved him of his pain with a spell. His pain is now mine for awhile. Dreadful feeling really."

Nerissa interjected, "While I am thankful you relieved my love of his pain... Why?"

Lauren jumped from the base of the window into the living room. She sat in the nearest chair, wearily. "Taking away pain entirely is impossible, so I gave it to myself. Why you ask? Well I needed a way, any way, to show to you two that I mean nothing but peace to everyone in this house. I wish to accompany you and my friend on whatever it is you'll be planning."

"I see, a witch like you can only become so powerful in this world. Powerful magical beings of the past only became so thanks to their involvement with our ilk." Dictated Asmodea, "Your intentions may be of a selfish nature, but your actions are not. Thank you for helping my lord. My name is Asmodea, you may already know me though as a substitute teacher in your school."

Nerissa then introduced herself, "And my name is Nerissa, I am Rainer's fiancee. I am the daughter of the Princess of Pride."

Taking deep breaths to alleviate her pain, Lauren said, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. May I ask what the point of your little catfight earlier was? I hope I'm not being too nosy."

Asmodea spoke first, "I wanted to see the extent of Nerissa's devotion to Rainer was and if it was pure. I also wanted to see if she truly was a daughter of Pride. I could easily do that by asking to see her wings, but I can't due to our precarious situation here."

Nerissa then explained herself, "I have calmed down and I do understand your actions as well Asmodea. I have made myself appear just as quickly as you did and it would be unwise to not test me. As long as if you do not bring up such insults again, I believe I can restrain myself towards you." Nerissa turned her head to Lauren, "As for you, I believe the same about you as Asmodea does. You have had several years had you not to eliminate Rainer?"

"I wasn't sure what I felt beneath Rainer. It could have been a fluke in my abilities, or it could have been the power of a demon not yet born. Thankfully my predictions rang true. I never intended to hurt a possible demon, the benefits of befriending one are far more than the benefits of hurting one... Besides, I have a little crush on Rainer." Lauren blushed upon her last sentence, wondering if it was wise to tell Rainer's 'fiancee' that she had a crush on Rainer.

Nerissa didn't flinch, "I am content now with you both, as long as if I am given my rightful place as Rainer's wife, we can share him... To my reluctance."

"I would not expect such a compromise from you. I humbly accept this agreement." Nodded Asmodea, "I can bet the three of us all love Rainer equally, maybe for different reasons..."

Lauren interjected, "I know you are referring to me with that, and I will also agree to this compromise. I don't know if I actually love Rainer yet. But I can assure you, I will let no harm within my grasp to come to him."

"I believe you." Asmodea always had a way with divining one's true feelings. She could tell Lauren was telling the truth, and her simple crush was not as simple as she made it out to be.

The three women continued talking, slowly becoming affected by the lingering aura of Lust emanating from Rainer. A demon has a sort of aura that they can control. This aura emanates their aspect of Sin, in Rainer's case, Lust. And since he was an unconscious Lord of Lust fully transformed into an Incubus, this aura was running wild into the nearby rooms. Only those trained could notice a demon's Sin affecting others, Asmodea was one of these demons.

Asmodea was the first to notice this and brought it up, "Rainer is definitely not used to his new body. I can feel his Sin affecting us."

Nerissa replied, "I am feeling unusually aroused. I wasn't sure if it was from one of us or if it was just me. Do you feel the same, Lauren?"

"I do feel as aroused as you two. I'm not familiar with what you are both talking about. You'll have to explain it to me." Lauren answered.

The lust filling each of the women was a melting pot. The three of them all wanted Rainer to come out of that room and take them. It seemed problems had to be solved another way.

Asmodea licked her lips and she studied the forms of the two beings sitting opposite of her. "Since Rainer is asleep for now... Why don't we take matters into our own hands? I'm sure his big pole is sleepy and wouldn't want to wake up."

Lauren smiled, she clearly understood what Asmodea was referring to. "Yes, I'm with you on that. Perhaps it would be better for us at this moment to fix our arousal in our own special way."

Asmodea and Lauren were fine with this, but was Nerissa? The two women thought. Her words surprised them both.

"I would normally take Rainer down onto the floor in the state I'm in. But with the state he is in... I suppose what you're both suggesting is a perfectly decent solution."

"Is there perhaps another room we can take this to? Not that I am fine with this room here..." Lauren innocently asked.

Asmodea answered in her sultry tone, "I'm so glad you asked. There is a spare bedroom we can use while our lord has his much needed sleep. Just follow me." Standing up, Asmodea led the trio into the spare bedroom.

Lauren was the first to begin shedding herself of her clothes, tossing them in any direction she could, until she had no more clothes to remove. She placed her glasses on a nearby table. Nerissa reached around Lauren's back to grope her breasts, "Mine are the smallest... Well, at least that means I get to play with the biggest!" Nerissa observed. She pinched Laurens nipples and pulled them outwards, resulting in a hushed squeal from Lauren.

While Nerissa played with Lauren's breasts, Asmodea became the second to shed herself of her clothing. As she pulled her bra off, her breasts bounced perkily despite being so large. Being a Succubus has its perks. Asmodea placed herself on the bed and spread her legs. She watched the show Nerissa and Lauren were giving in front of the bed while she played with herself. Asmodea took two of her fingers into her mouth, coating them with saliva. She began to rub around her folds, keeping a third finger on her clit when she found it.


The Lost Lord Ch. 06



"No fair, you get to play with my tits, at least let me do the same with yours Nerissa." Whined Lauren.

Nerissa only giggled and acquiesced with Laurens request. Nerissa stepped out of her brand new skirt bought by Rainer showing off her panties. Nerissa shed herself of her shirt, revealing her slender yet sexy body to the spectators.

Lauren couldn't wait anymore, so she brought her arms around to Nerissa's back in order to take off her bra. When she became successful, the two brought their lips together into a lustful kiss. Their tongues fought for dominance while they exchanged saliva. Nerissa's demonically enhanced tongue invaded Lauren's mouth and wrapped it around the human's tongue. Even if Lauren was a demon, orally, she would have no chance against Nerissa's nimble tongue. Their competition was soon interrupted however as they moaned into each other's mouths.

Asmodea didn't want to be left alone anymore. She was doing good work with her fingers, but she just had to take advantage of the two beautiful women in front of her. Crawling under the two girls, Asmodea brought her hands to each girls folds, penetrating deeply with her fingers. Lauren and Nerissa both let out an, "Ahn!" Strands of saliva connecting their lips. The younger girls renewed their kissing with vigor, slightly trembling thanks to Asmodea.

A minute passed before Nerissa and Lauren had to sit down on the bed, Asmodea was being merciless in her attack. Asmodea pushed Nerissa down onto the bed so she was facing up and her legs draped over the side of the bed. Asmodea got into position where she was standing over Nerissa's face, with her nether lips directly above the girl's own lips. Asmodea lowered herself gently until Nerissa was able to flick her forked tongue around Asmodea's folds. Asmodea moaned herself this time and sat down so that Nerissa could continue.

"Let us see this magic tongue of your... Ah!" Asmodea's voice cracked at the end as Nerissa complied. She began to work on Asmodea's pussy with her tongue, savoring the taste of her juices.

Nerissa noted that she tasted no where near as good as Rainer, but that was to be as expected.

Making sure she wasn't left out, Lauren moved from the bed, taking a place between Nerissa's legs. Nerissa was legs were wide open so that anyone there at the moment could do as they wished. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lauren familiarized herself with Nerissa's pussy seeing which spots were more receptive than the others. Upon finding her the clitoris, Lauren nibbled softly on it, forcing Nerissa to moan into Asmodea's pussy. Lauren toyed with Nerissa's clit while caressing the rest of the region with her fingers.

Nerissa continued to moan into Asmodea's pussy while thrusting her tongue deep inside. The vibrations from Nerissa's wordless screams, as well as the skilled tongue, had quite the effect on Asmodea. Unable to last any longer, Asmodea came on Nerissa's mouth, which resulted in Nerissa trying to take in as much of the juices as possible. Nerissa herself came soon moments later, resulting in Lauren taking in Nerissa's own nectar. Lauren was the only one without an orgasm now.

Upon noticing that fact, Asmodea smiled mischieviously, "Bring your sweet self up here, with two Succubi, one half and one full, you will be screaming in no time." Asmodea's smile proved infectious, as Lauren began smiling widely.

"Alrighty then, I'll just leave myself in your hands and mouths." Lauren said lecherously. Lauren crawled onto the bed, propping her her back on a pillow, laying her head on the bed-frame.

Asmodea moved herself in between Lauren's legs, she wanted to prove that Nerissa wasn't to only one with a skillful tongue.

Seeing Asmodea's position, Nerissa moved over to Lauren's chest. "I'll make you squeal no matter what I'm playing with!" With that, Nerissa neared Lauren's breasts. When she was only moments away from contact, Nerissa snaked her tongue and wrapped it around Lauren's right nipple. Deciding to show off her tongue again, Nerissa manipulated the top of her tongue and played with the tip of the erect nipple. Nerissa moved closer to the right breast, as if her tongue was pulling her head. Soon her lips made contact with the areola, Nerissa sucked on the nipple while reaching over with her hand to grasp the other breast.

Lauren shivered from contact with the wet lips. Forgetting that Asmodea had yet to start. Asmodea watched Nerissa's movements for awhile.

She is indeed very skillful with that tongue of hers, Only my lord... Or that one minx back at the palace can hope to compete with her. No time like the present, my turn to please a good pussy, thought Asmodea.

Asmodea thrust her tongue as far as she could into Lauren. She wriggled her tongue around to hit all of Lauren's pleasure points. Her tongue was long like Nerissa's, so she could penetrate very far.

Lauren opened her mouth to scream, but her mouth was caught by Nerissa's lips. Leaving Lauren's nipple, Nerissa kissed Lauren again, in order to capture the scream. Nerissa and Lauren played with their tongues, invading each other's mouths before braking the kiss.

While Lauren caught her breath from the unexpected kiss, Nerissa quietly said in Lauren's ear, "We mustn't wake the neighbors or our new Lord of Lust." Nerissa nibbled on Lauren's earlobe before leaving a trail of saliva with her tongue and lips from Lauren's neck back to her breast.

The trio continued their threesome into midnight, unaware of someone visiting Rainer. The visitor was the angel, Aureal. Aureal was in a generic angelic garment. It was the standard outfit for all angels, though hardly ever worn by them. Many angels preferred their battle custom battle attire to their robes. The angel's battle clothing or armor was one of the few things along with their names that distinguished one angel from another. The robe's were obviously pure white, they were vacant of any blemishes. A golden halo floated above Aureal's head. Pure white slippers with white stockings adorned her legs and feet.

Human's are unable to take the normal appearance of an angel in their clothes, like Aureal was now. Should one witness an angel in his or her radiannt attire, their eyes would be burnt to a crisp and fall out. Only other angels, fallen angels, demons, or other inhuman beings could witness an angel in its full splendor.

So this is Rainer, the second Lord of Lust... He apparently has awoken to his full power. I wonder if he would be just as kind in this state, as he was before. I've never witness or ever believed any demon could show a modicum of respect or kindness to another being, human or angelic. I had always believed what I was taught. 'Demons are nasty creatures, they would sooner stab you in the front or back...' I thought he was only helping me at first as part of a ploy or elaborate trick designed especially for me. But it was not so. It was not that he was incapable of such an act, but that he was not interested in the slightest in harming me. I could sense an odd warmth from his heart, Aureal wondered.

She lay one of her hands on top of his forehead, delving into his thoughts and current dreams. She could see the dream Rainer was experiencing. He dreamed of a mountain, a very snowy one. Two people, a man and a woman who vaguely resembled Rainer, trekking up the slopes. The duo made camp under a large cave-like area shielded from the elements. While a kettle was boiling some water, the couple huddled together, staring into each other's eyes. The peaceful moment didn't last. The woman took her hands, and wrapped her fingers around the man's head, abruptly twisting his head to snap his neck. The man's life was no more.

Rainer's body shifted uncomfortably at that point of the dream, Aureal continued observing the dream. The woman stood up from her seat, smiling at the man's body. She frowned however, as the man's corpse rose and took a rock from the ground. The man bashed the rock into the women's stomach, dazing the woman, and the man, with his head twisted off the the side, bashed the rock several times onto the side of the woman's head. Blood poured from the wound, shards of bone and bits of brain splattered the area around them. Then the dream ended, it was not a dream, but a nightmare.

Rainer rose from the bed, torso up, breathing heavily. He stared at his dresser for several seconds until he noticed a white figure next to his bed. Rainer felt alarmed at first, but kept his cool as he swiveled in order to see who the person was. It was a familiar face. "I know you..." He breathed, bewildered, still out of breath thanks to his nightmare. "You're that girl from this morning... Aureal right?"

"You are correct. And you are the newly incarnated Lord of Lust, Rainer." Aureal said passively.

"Hahh... Um, I hope it isn't rude to ask, but you're an angel... Right?"

"you are correct. And you are an Incubus... A rather interesting one, if I might add."

"Uh, why's that?"

"I have never seen a demon of any kind show kindness that lasts. Ones that do have eventually revealed as part of a ploy to tempt angels or humans into their sinful plans."

"How do you know I didn't help you that morning because of a plan of mine? Whi-Which I don't have one, mind you."

"I could sense your feelings, your intentions to help were purely genuine. I have sensed such feelings ever from one of your ilk."

"Well, I couldn't stand by and watch a girl like you get taken advantage of. Honestly, I would've normally ignore it when something like that was happening. But I couldn't just stand their that time. I've pretty much had it with that mincemeat, Mandal. And besides... There was something about you that made me act."

"As you are the Lord of Lust, it would be obvious that it was my appearance that aroused your battle instinct."

"I'll admit, you're very beautiful, and yes, I may have felt some sort desire to help you because of your looks... But no, it definitely was not because of my lust. You seemed like that kind, sincere, and pure girl that would never debase herself or others. I've never really seen someone like that, and I just had to protect that."

Aureal blushed, though Rainer didn't notice, after hearing his confession, she felt even more confused as to the nature of demons. "I... I thank you. I did not need your help, but you assisted anyways without any intention of taking advantage of the situation or me. I have never seen a demon act like you before."

"Why's that? It is just an act of kindness any normal person should do." Rainer felt confused, what does being a demon have to do with saving her. He realized the answer before Aureal responded.

"It was taught that demons, like you, are nasty creatures. That they would sooner stab you in the back or front the sooner you are vulnerable. They take advantage of the sin of mortal beings and do anything in order to beguile my kind to fall." Aureal explained, "However, an angel hasn't fallen in millennia, yet that doesn't mean a demon won't try. At first that was what I thought you were doing."

"Well I can't say the same for other demons... But I can assure you, that I was not intended to make you fall. Now it's most likely because I was originally human. But I would ever think of doing the dishonorable and disgusting acts of other demons."

Rainer's resolve further confused Aural. She responded, "Other humans who have turned into demons are the same a pure demon, sinful and disgusting creatures... Yet you are different." The more she spoke with Rainer, the more she became confused about the base of her ideals. "I must think about some things... But I would like to converse again soon."

Rainer tilted his head, "You know, you definitely aren't like what I thought angels were like either. I thought they would instantly hate me and revile me. I figured they would sooner kill me just because I was a demon and not human." Rainer smiled, "Yea, I'd like to talk again"

Aureal blushed again, "I-I will find you again when you are convenient." And with that, Aureal jumped out of the bedroom window and disappeared from view.

"She definitely isn't what I'd thought an angel be. Angels are supposed to be absolute, unyielding, and dedicated to their faith. Holy hell... I thought I was gonna get massacred for a second." Rainer checked the time, it was twelve - fifty four in the morning. Rainer plopped his head back onto his pillow and fell asleep to a peaceful slumber.

My heart is pounding... My face if warm... I feel, fuzzy. Why is that? Aureal wondered, I know for certain though... He is different from other demons, perhaps his subordinates are as well? We shall see.

Aureal somehow managed to avoid being sensed by her superiors and the women in Rainer's home. If it was found that she was freely conversing with a demon, and a Ruler of Sin at that, she would recieve one of the highest punishments possible, as her action would have resembled treason and corruption.

Aureal floated onto a tall building within the main part of the city, away from any prying human eyes. She held aloft a glowing ball, wrapped in the same material as her clothes. She spoke to the ball, "I have confirmed that the Lord of Lust has awoken to his power. He is a full demon now."

The ball spoke back, "Well done, Aureal. You have redeemed yourself from your previous failure and we award you your weapon and battle raiment. We will be watching you though, should you be close to failure again on and future tasks or missions, you will be permanently stripped of your rights, title, and war gear." The voice spoke without empathy, it was cold, devoid of any emotion.

Aureal replied, "I thank you for this second chance. I will not fail again."

"Good. We have your next task. Eliminate the Lord of Lust and those who conspire with him."

Aureal choked, "What?!"

"You have heard your orders. Obey."

"I thought there was an agreement to let the Lord of Lust live and go back to his domain? Why are we killing him?"

"There was an agreement, and still is. But we cannot afford this chance to eliminate the next candidate for vacant place within the Rulers of Sin. This act will force a war between the any viable candidates for the throne. There must be a ruler for each side of Sin according to the demons. Eventually sides will be drawn between the other Rulers of Sin, discord will be sown. And the demonic armies will be weakened for thousands if not tens of thousands of years." The voice offered no room for resistance.

Aureal dared not talk back against her superior's logic. She would surely be punished permanently. "I-I understand... It will be done."

"Remember, if we believe you are about to fail this mission, we will take matters into our own hands. You may take your time to prepare as you will surely need your weapon and battle raiment. They will be delivered tomorrow."

The ball stopped glowing as the conservation ended. Aureal fully recognized the logic of her superior's orders... But she was hesitant, after all, Rainer did say that he had expected her to kill him. She felt partially sick of the thought of killing him because of the sincere words he said.

Orders are absolute, there is no way around them. I would be permanently punished and hated. I would be miserable for the rest of eternity. I will not doubt my faith now because of some honeyed words. Aureal thought. Yet, doubt filled her mind. "He is different somehow... I need to find out more." She told herself, "I will speak to him again, is he really a manipulative being? Is he somehow controlling me? I need to find out more."

And with that, Aureal vanished from her spot, awaiting the delivery and coming up with the perfect time to speak to Rainer again.



The Lost Lord Ch. 07



Rainer woke up to the smell of bacon. He could hear strips of bacon frying on a pan, cooked in their own juices. The aroma wafted its way from the kitchen into his room. Almost immediately Rainer began to wake up, wondering about all the ways bacon could be incorporated in every meal.

He slowly pushed himself off the bed into an upright position as he gazed at his surroundings. No one was in the bed beside him, but he could hear voices coming from the kitchen and living room. Asmodea Nerissa spoke out loud, as if their argument from yesterday never existed. Another voice joined the conversation, and Rainer realized at once that it was Lauren.

"She's here already? Bloody hell..." Moaned Rainer, "I have no influence whatsoever with those women. At least they're making bacon... I can at least be happy with that." Noticing he was already dressed, Rainer made way for the bathroom.

He knocked before opening the door and entered in for his morning ritual. Rainer shaved off the scraggly hairs that covered his chin. He completely ignored his own reflection in the hand mirror on the bathroom counter. Checking his appearance in the full size mirror, Rainer was satisfied with himself. Before he left, Rainer did a double take on himself in the mirror.

What the heck is that? Rainer wondered as he rubbed his head. He noticed to horn like appendages sticking out from the top of his head, after finding them, Rainer noticed the other obvious new attachment. Two jet-black wings were closed up behind his back, as if hiding from his eyes. He reached behind his back, hoping it was an elaborate prank, but as he stretched in order to reach for his back, his wings unveiled, showing off his full splendor.

"What... The... FUCK?!" Yelled Rainer, "WHAT the FUCK is this?!" He knew it was only a matter of time before he would have these appendages. However, the sight of them fully connected to his body still freaked him out. Taking a more rational second look, Rainer saw that his skin was grey, his horns were jet black, his wings were black also, there was a black tail swishing around behind him as well, and lastly he saw that he had a forked tongue like Asmodea and Nerissa. Rainer noticed that his tail and wings were fitted through holes in his clothes, taking another second look... He's never even seen these clothes before.

Asmodea must've made them or got them somehow... Ok, you're calmed down, let's just get eat that delicious breakfast bacon and then go to school... Wait, how the fuck am I supposed to go to school like this? I should be able to retract them somehow, should probably ask Asmodea or Nerissa.

As Rainer pondered his predicament he slowly moved from the bathroom into the living room. Lauren was lying down on the couch watching the morning news while trimming her nails. Nerissa was apparently making breakfast, bacon and eggs, humming a weird tune while she cooked. Asmodea was staring straight at me from a chair next to the table.

"So, you have finally awakened to your true self now, my lord." Said Asmodea in her usual sultry manner, "The three of us could hear your initial shock. Well, you may think yourself revolting, but I feel even more attracted to you before. It is taking much of my willpower to not throw my clothes of now and force myself upon you."

Nerissa chimed in, "I agree, you're as handsome as I always thought my fiancée to be! You're are definitely not ugly love, you're more alluring than before."

"That's kinda of insulting my original self, really." Quipped Rainer.

Lauren then added herself to the conversation, "Well, they are demons, they are of course more used and attracted to people of their own kind... But I'm with them, you have a sort of dark allure."

"Right right, more importantly, how the heck do I go back to my original self?" Asked Rainer.

"Well, if you must interrupt our staring session at the most beautiful demon we've ever seen, then I will tell you. Several ways to do it, really." Asmodea began to explain, "The first, a demon could cast a sort of illusion spell to completely hide its appendages from the common or uncommon eye, this is the easiest way, but the appendages could still be touched, so it is not very convenient. The second way is to cast a spell to automatically force your appendages into your body, and since they are forced inside, they will burst out immediately the moment the demon loses itself in Sin. The third is the most convenient way, but the most time consuming to learn. You have to sort of 'suck' your appendages back into your body.

"Suck them back in? How the heck do I do that?"

"Well, starting with your tail... Start off by pushing the tail inwards with one of your hands, which will help while your trying to suck it in. Then like you are clenching your butt together, feel your tail and try to suck it in." Asmodea continued to teach Rainer how to push in his appendages, the horns proved to be the hardest, and you can't suck in your tongue, so the forked tongue stayed. It took the rest of time before school for Rainer to figure it out; thankfully he learned how to bring in his appendages quickly.

Rainer and Lauren finished their breakfast before heading to school together in the car. Asmodea and Nerissa had a conversation before Asmodea headed to school herself.

"Now that he is whole, we will have to bring him back to the Land of Lust. The angels won't look kindly to us staying longer than we should." Commented Asmodea.

"I'm surprised they aren't taking any action towards me, I mean, they should be watching Rainer, right? Wouldn't they notice me here too? Yet, they are silent." Said Nerissa, she felt uneasy, even though she had assured Rainer that the angels didn't know she was here, she knew that angels were not that ignorant.

"My lord did tell me of a suspicious girl, that she seemed and acted like an angel. While he was not certain, she apparently had a sort of angelic air around her." Explained Asmodea, "That girl may be our resident supervisor... Even so, they don't need to send someone to watch us. They could do that from up there if they really wanted to. I plan on not making us leave until we receive a message from the angels in any form telling us to vacate the Earth."

"Though what form this message will come in is the problem, right?"

"Yes... Just like us, angels are not the most trustworthy beings." Asmodea said coldly, "While they may just let us go as part of the agreement, I doubt some, if not many of the angels are too happy at letting a Ruler of Sin live."

Nerissa agreed, "Tactically, it would be smarter to have Rainer killed... Not that I would ever let that happen! Forcing a civil war in one of the Circles of Sin would deviate them from any attack plans on the angels or Earth. Sides would have to be drawn between any heirs that step up and the Rulers of Sin that side with them. Even the Shah of Sloth would be roused. Any vacant seats among the Rulers of Sin must be filled within two decades, or else the rest of the Rulers will have to intervene."

"No matter, Rainer is the true Lord of Lust. At the first sign of trouble, we will get him back to the Land of Lust, and the Circle will have its lord again. One of original guard of the Lord of Lust should be now rousing the rest of the original guard to help him. Tozomat, as silent as he may be, is loyal to Rainer. He and the rest of my lord's personal guard will be heralding my lord's return." Assured Asmodea.

"Hmmm... It will be interesting to be to see how this plays out, in my fiancée's favor of course!"

"Well, I better get to the school. I need to be teaching some students about some human history... Need to get them to focus on something other than my tits. I understand the male students staring, but with most of the female students staring as well, rather annoying really." Complained Asmodea.

The day passed without incident for the three women. Nerissa stayed at the house entertaining herself with various objects, books, and TV channels. Asmodea taught about how the Portuguese lost Brazil, trying her best to stop lecherous eyes from the students, yet she refused to dress conservatively. Lauren stayed silent for most of the day except for exchanging a couple sentences with Rainer during lunch and fifth period. She aced a test in her history class. After all, most of her relatives lived through many of the major events throughout history.

For Rainer however, a rather interesting event happened, during when Rainer was walking to his sixth period class. Lauren was the unapproachable pretty girl in the school. She was silent, cold, and annoyed by half of the people who talked to her. Most people, man or woman, who tried to talk to her, was almost immediately rebuffed. She even threatened to castrate Mandal during the transition time between classes.

If Lauren was the unapproachable pretty girl of the school, Rainer would be the unapproachable handsome male of the school. It was not that he threatened and rebuked men or woman on a daily basis like Lauren had. It was that he was a known delinquent who frequently got into fights. Many guys figured that if they tried to talk to Rainer, they would get KOed. Many girls wanted to talk to him, but none knew how to approach him, and they were also intimidated by rumors that circulated about him.

Rainer was actually quite nice to anyone who did talk to him; he had to on forced partner or group projects or assignments. Yet for the first time in awhile, a girl he knew, though not personally, spoke to him. Her name was Mary; she was quite pretty, yet she rarely ever had a boyfriend. She also frequently went to church; so many guys didn't bother with her since they figured they wouldn't "put out." Yet she was a blonde beauty who was quite nice to whoever she talked to. She had plenty of friends of both genders and was an A-B student. She also had the same age and grade as Rainer. Rainer was walking on the right side of the hallway to his next class when she approached him.

Rainer's Incubi mind started analyzing her. B cup breasts, good curves, nice ass, silky blonde hair, dresses conservatively which adds to her innocent allure. She was wearing a pleated skirt with a sky blue blouse, flip-flops, and a single nose stud. She was not wearing any makeup, making her a definite natural beauty.

The halls were rather empty, most students were either in their classes or skipping class. Those that were in the halls were rushing not paying any attention to the conversation between Rainer and Mary. Rainer had no idea what Mary wanted or why she would even talk to him in the first place. Mary herself was being bolder than she usually was, but she pulled her books up to her chest as if protecting her.

"Hi Mary. Something you want?" Asked Rainer.

"Um, yes there is something I wanted to ask you." Said Mary, she was determined to get through this.

"Well, shoot, I'll help if I can."

"Actually, can I ask you somewhere private? I don't really want anyone to see me asking this... It's not because I'm embarrassed talking to you or anything." Mary requested. With her confidence back

"Sure, that classroom over there isn't being used this period, though we'll be late for our classes, we can use that." Rainer pointed to a classroom off in another hall. Rainer noticed something about Mary, lust. He could feel the lust emanating from her, and he could probably guess what she was after.

Mary's known for her religious passion... Is it because I'm a full demon now? Probably, Asmodea did mention before that Incubi and Succubi had a sort of seductive aura, perhaps this was it? How the heck can I turn it off? Well hell, before any of this, I would've backed out, now I feel like having a sexual encounter every day, thought Rainer.

When Mary and Rainer entered the empty classroom, Rainer closed and locked the door. This classroom was on the second level, so no one could peek through the windows, and there were no other windows connecting to room to the hallway or other rooms.

"So... You wanted to ask me something?" Rainer decided to see how Mary would lead.

"Yes, um, well, I feel really weird right now so forgive my stumbling. For awhile now, I've been kind of, well, attracted to you." Mary blushed as she spoke, Rainer could feel the lust becoming stronger.

Mary continued, "Today especially, I felt overwhelmed when I saw you in the hallway. While I really like you, I don't want to be in a relationship... If you get what I mean."

"Mmmhmm, I'm fine with that. I'll be moving soon enough." Rainer said, it could quite possibly be his last and only tryst with a normal human being; he didn't really want to let that pass. "So what are you looking for right now?" He asked.

Mary had regained her normal composure, albeit added with lust. She made an attempt at a seductive voice, "Well, I would like to at least have..."

Rainer interrupted, "So what you're saying is, you want to have sex." He raised an eyebrow.

Mary blushed again, her seductive voice had the desired effect, but it needed work. "I feel weird, that's not a weird thing to want right? I just feel hot when I look at you. I don't know how to explain it."

Yup, this isn't the normal Mary, but she would have to feel some lust in order for this Sin of mine to affect her, right? Thought Rainer.

Then Mary pushed her mouth against Rainer's, thrusting her tongue as far as possible into his mouth. Rainer accepted the tongue and used his in return, exchanging saliva between the two. Mary brought her hands down to her blouse, unbuttoning it while they kissed. The two mutually decided that it would probably be best to keep the minimum amount of clothes possible on in case someone unlocked the door. The two continued their kiss, toying with each other's tongue while Mary placed Rainer's hand on her butt. 

Minutes passed while they continued their heavy petting, until Rainer sat himself on a chair. Mary unzipped Rainer's jeans, pushing his underwear aside. The shaft was already hard and upright, waiting to receive attention. Thankfully the floor was carpeted, so Mary was able to comfortably place herself on her knees. "Oh lord, your just so... So, big! I don't think you'll be able to fit all the way in my mouth or pussy." Commented Mary.

"I wouldn't know, I've never compared myself with another guy, nor have I wanted to." Replied Rainer. "Well, I have the utmost confidence in your abilities."

Mary blushed again, she wasn't a virgin, but she was not skilled at all on how to please a guy. She took her hand and placed it around the lower part of his shaft. She lowered her head until she was just above the head, breathing on it a couple times as if to cool it down. She looked up again at Rainer, which he thought was oddly arousing with her innocent face staring straight up from his shaft. Mary took a deep breath before plunging down onto Rainer's shaft.

It took quite a lot of willpower for Rainer not to grasp her head and force Mary down as far as possible. He did, however, place on of his hands on top of Mary's head, rubbing her cranium.

Mary bobbed her head up and down many times over the head and part of Rainer's shaft. Knowing she couldn't get her mouth over the full size, she took her hand, which was still wrapped around the base, and started stroking what her mouth couldn't reach. She moved her tongue up and down along the shaft with each movement of her head. She tried to get as much of his shaft as lubricated as possible. Mary looked up at Rainer while practically sucking off his member. She made up for not being able to go down very far with her enthusiasm, making rapid movements with her lips and tongue.

"Can I see how far down you can go?" Asked Rainer lustfully.

Mary made a sort of smile around his shaft, humming, "Mmmhmm." She removed her mouth from his cock, taking a deep breath before her attempt. She stroked his shaft a couple more times, spreading her saliva all over his pole, figuring the saliva would make it easier going down.

Mary hesitated for a couple more seconds before taking action. She opened her mouth wide, pushing her tongue down, and forced her head down as far as possible onto Rainer's large pole. She made it down to about eight inches before holding her place. Rainer could hear her gagging on his shaft, but that mattered little to the warm, soft, and wet sensation he was getting along the covered skin. Rainer couldn't last for much longer.

"I'm gonna burst if you keep this up... Holy shit." He said through gritted teeth.

Mary could feel the pole hit the back of her throat; she was suppressing her gag reflex as much as possible, trying to breathe around the shaft or through her nose. She made what sounded like a throaty giggle around the shaft. The vibrations from the noise are what released the floodgates for Rainer.

Spasms of pleasure ruptured throughout his body as his dick came down Mary's throat. Mary was surprised at first, but kept the shaft firmly within her mouth, he did warn her after all. Besides, she felt it would be more convenient, yet sluttier, if she swallowed Rainer's spunk instead of cleaning it off her face or something else. During this short ordeal, Rainer noticed that his appendages were trying to dig their way out, he did his best to keep them in and not give Mary potential complete organ failure; luckily, he succeeded.

When Rainer was finished, he pulled his still hard shaft out of Mary's mouth, and just in time too as they both heard a noise outside the door. Better safe than sorry, the two buttoned and zipped up their clothes and assumed a nonchalant pose as if they were talking with each other.

"Eh, false alarm, they're just going down the hall... Though that did ruin the mood." Sighed Rainer, his shaft was going flaccid without stimulation, but still feeling a small amount of euphoria.

Mary agreed, she was still aroused, but not as much as before, "That really... Sucks, but I guess it is getting close for this class's time for use."

"Should probably get heading to class, we're already late obviously, but I'd be better to be late than marked absent. I feel sorry that you gave me a blowjob without me doing anything for you in turn." Apologized Rainer, he was looking forward to hearing her squeal.

"I was too, I 'm rather... Vocal, though. Someone might hear. You said you were moving soon?"

"Oh yea, that. I'm all packed and everything, I'm just waiting for the go ahead. Might be today or tomorrow, might be days from now. Heck, might be weeks." Truth is, Rainer was rather looking forward to seeing this so-called Land of Lust. He was very apprehensive about it at first, but thinking about it today, he considered it a permanent vacation. A vacation to probably some grand palace or mansion, or whatever passes off as grand in the Land of Lust. Since he got his appendages, he was feeling more open about the prospect, he knew it was his new demonic self-speaking, but it felt and acted like him in every way, he just had to accept it as his thoughts.

"Were are you moving to? Must be a nice place if it would take so long to even be able to get started on the trip."

"Ahm... I'll be moving to..." Mary tilted her head at Rainer's slow answer to the question. "Ah sorry, hair in my throat. *coughs* I'll be moving to Mt. Rainier, ah well, not on the mountain itself, but a town next to it."

"Sounds like a pretty place... Well, good luck to you on your move. I will hopefully see you again before you move, if not, goodbye."

"Yea, same to you." Said Rainer, as Mary unlocked the door and gallivanted to the class she should've been in.

"Not like anyone'll believe demons and such. Shit, Lauren can't be the only one in or around this school, excluding Asmodea, who knows about the existence of angels and demons." Complained Rainer. Rainer continued to gripe to himself as he collected his book bag, not noticing the angel who silently climbed through the second story window. It was Aureal.




The Lost Lord Ch. 07



Rainer continued to complain, oblivious to the beautiful angel that was in the same room as him, "Bloody hell, I'm getting accustomed to this stuff way too quickly. Like one of those guys in videogames or movies that know how to blast their way through hundreds of guys even though it's their first time using a weapon." Aureal opened her mouth in order to say something, she was immediately cut off by a still oblivious Rainer, "Asmodea said I got that last Lusty Lord guy's power... I don't feel it. Gonna go home and try out some of those spells in that Grimoire after school. That ice thing I did was pretty cool, wonder what other stuff I can immediately do despite it being my first time at magic."

Aureal finally managed to get a word in, "I-." It didn't last.

Rainer apparently didn't notice the noise from across the room as continued his complaining, "Gonna have to go in this demonic circle from hell... Be all, 'Hey! What's up my fellow Bromons! Lets go catch us some human souls! Hey I know! You brosefs do that for me, while I go be an all powerful demon lord guy and go fuck some succubi!' Probably plenty of powerful demons that can be this lord for me, smarter too, what the heck do I know about politics... Demon politics and human politics are probably the same, got to have no soul and take souls away mercilessly. Why the hell did this douchebag from back in time have to give me this power? Son of a bitch..."

Rainer stayed silent for a while, until a voice finally made itself heard, "When I first came into being, I wondered what I was. They told me I was an angel, a warrior of God. I was given this power to eliminate God's enemies assist God wherever else." Rainer was about to say something, but held his tongue. He wanted to hear what she had to say. Aureal continued her monotone speech, he wasn't sure, but he thought he could hear a hint of emotion behind her speech, but it was too faint. "I asked why at first. I was told this, 'God created you and loves you. All he asks is that you have faith and believe in him.' I was but an immature being, since birth, I was blessed with extraordinary power never given to angels before, that's what they said to me. They said they did not know what this power was, but God had informed them about it, and I was a special creation. I was an outcast, many of my kind disliked me, and I was even picked on verbally by some, despite taboos on such acts. My faith kept me going, I tried to ignore those who ignored me. Over time, I grew unsure about this power, and so I requested to ask God about it. My requests were denied. Years passed since I was born, I completed my tasks like normal, with each year, and I began to forget more and more about this special power I was given, until it finally awakened..." Aureal hesitated at the end, her eyes were getting teary. Rainer could definitely see emotion now.

Rainer decided to say something, though he wasn't sure if it would help, "I assume you're telling me this because we were both given power by a mysterious being. I don't know much about God, but I doubt he wouldn't have given you this power without a reason." He walked over to Aureal, and pulled up two chairs for the both of them. Aureal accepted one and sat down.

Seeing her up close, Rainer could see her full attire on, and it was different than the pure robes and human clothes he had seen before. It was intimidating, she did say she was a warrior, and so this must be a warrior's outfit. There were numerous plates connecting to one another, all along her limbs, torso, and lower body. She had on a mailed skirt covered in numerous plates as well. He could tell that the metal these plates were from, that they were not of Earth. The armor was mostly pure white, but with light blue and yellow embossments along the edges of individual plates. Sockets were in the back to obviously allow angel wings to fit through. He could see no helmet around Aureal, but he could only assume she had a helmet with her.

This set of armor was unlike any set he had seen from history class. But he could see faint resemblances from numerous sorts of armor in Aureal's set, as if the best parts of individual armors from history had been compiled together. He could at least see resemblances from numerous armors from all the classic medieval countries, Japanese samurai armor, Roman centurion armor, lamellar armor, Ottoman Janissary armor, Gothic armor, Viking armor, and probably even Aztec/Mayan/Incan leather padding armor for all he knew. Lastly, he could see words, which he couldn't recognize, etched on her pauldrons.

"I'm not very religious myself, even less so since I first learned about myself... But I do know one thing, God would never ruin someone's life immediately from birth, hell, not even Hitler or Pol Pot." Rainer used his best calming voice he had for Aureal, he didn't know how to cheer up angels, or even if what he had said would work, but he was determined to help her.

"You are right... Faith has been my only companion since birth; very few have been exceptionally kind to me. Ever since what happened recently, faith has been all that has comforted me." Aureal had calmed down, but Rainer could still notice some sadness in her words.

"I really don't mean to pry. But talking about what happened, especially with someone who isn't biased about your situation will definitely help."

A silent minute passed, Rainer could've sworn he heard a cat meow outside the window as he waited for her answer.

"I am sorry, I'm letting my emotion get the best of me. I have rarely experienced such sensations. You wish to know about this incident of my past... I do not wish to recount it in exact detail, so I will summarize the important parts for you."

"Fair enough, I won't force you to, just tell me about this power of your and how it relates to this accident... I'm probably too nosy, aren't I?" Mumbled Rainer, he felt guilty at trying to bring up misfortunate events from Aureal's past.

"No, I need to say this. You are a demon, and you have shown me more kindness than nearly all of my kind had to offer. We were both born with power we didn't want, but we have to play the role it gives us."

Aureal continued, clearing her throat, Rainer didn't even know angels needed to clear their throats, how interesting. "I was given a mission, and a partner along with the mission. My partner was an angel who was one of the few who showed me kindness. Although he tried to hide it in the presence of his peers. I notice his act was selfish now, but it was more kindness than I had from most then. His name was Evan. We were given the mission to eliminate a pair of demons that were tempting humans with their offers. While you were allowed safe living as long as if you didn't harvest souls, they were there illegally. The two demons were of Pride and Wrath, two groups that rarely coexist. Still, the two were offering gifts of revenge and vanity in order for the human's souls. Evan and I went to their location, a city I believe is called Seattle." Aureal took a breath before continuing, "Upon finding the location of the two demons, it was decided that Evan would defeat the Wrath demon, and I the demon of Pride. It should have been the other way around. During the fight, Evan and I were separated. The demon began talking to me while we fought. He said he knew about the power I possessed from God. He knew it had lain dormant all my life. He said I liked being unique; that I liked being chosen by God to possess a power no other angel had. He offered to... Unlock this power inside me. I refused instantly, during the fight, he continued to tempt me. I regret that I wavered during one of my refusals. The demon noticed this; the demon somehow unlocked my power despite my refusal. It was then, that I finally found out the power given to me by God.

Aureal grew unstable with her emotions, but Rainer dared not interrupt her, "While all angels, I am no exception, have dominion over the power of light. I was also given dominion over the opposite of light, darkness. As effectively as I could wield light as my weapon, at that moment, I could wield darkness in the same ways. Light harms demons, like a poison, darkness harms angels in the same way, though light can still harm angels and darkness can still harm demons. This new influx of power allowed me to eliminate the demon." Aureal wiped her eyes with a cloth I handed her. "I searched the area for Evan and his battle. I saw Evan, slain at the hands of the Wrath demon. The power unlocked inside me made me unstable with my emotions, and I wanted revenge. I gave my wrath to the demon of wrath, ironic... The resulting fight between the remaining demon and I caused an explosion. An explosion that caused the destruction of a tower within the city. Many humans died in the resulting explosion, and the tower fell, killing even more.

"You don't happen to mean the Seattle Space Needle? I saw on the news a couple weeks ago, it said it was a terrorist attack. And only recently that they were finally clearing the rubble and getting the full death count... You caused it?" Asked Rainer, he wouldn't blame her, but he wanted to know for sure that she caused the tower to fall.

Aureal admitted to the controversy, "Yes, it was I who ultimately caused the death of all those humans. Not Evan, nor the two demons, but my failure to refuse the demon's offer and my emotions. I was punished severely by my superiors in Heaven."

"I see... We may have been cursed or blessed with power, but you have had much more sorrow than me in the past. Especially recently. I won't blame you for that explosion... In my mind, most demons represent their Sin to the fullest. They use convincing words and mind tricks in order to get humans or some angels to fall for their deals. The demon had to have read your past and used it against you. I'm technically describing myself here too, but I can say this for sure. Most, if not all, demons are complete douchebags."

Aureal looked surprised at Rainer's words. Rainer continued his rant, "I haven't met very many demons, but I have read about many, and the ones I've read about use every trick in the book to complete their dirty deeds. I'm sort of self-praising here now, but I can say this for sure, not all demons do this. The ones that don't probably stick back in their lands because they don't want to harm humans or angels, or just don't care or think it's worth their time. Those ones are far better than the demons you met." He resumed his smooth and calm voice, "I'm very thankful you didn't kill me when we first met. Hearing your story now, I would understand why you hate demons so much. I'm actually much more surprised that you didn't kill me when we first met, but don't get me wrong, I'm thankful."

Rainer didn't notice, but Aureal's face turned slightly red. "The reason why I am telling you of my past is because I feel an emotion called guilt."

"Ah, why are you feeling guilty now?" Rainer grew apprehensive, he wasn't sure, but he believed something was going to happen soon.

"I was given a reprieve from my punishment and ordered to investigate you and the demonic sources around you. There has been one legal and illegal demonic entry and a powerful witch residing around you. I was told to investigate you and find out when you would be fully awakened to your power in order to confirm it was you who would be the Lord of Lust." Aureal explained, Rainer could definitely hear guilt in her voice.

"Well, I guess I am."

"I reported to my superiors of my findings and given another chance at full erasure of my punishment. This new chance required me to eliminate you and the sources of power residing around you."

Shock hit Rainer, he could honestly tell himself he wasn't surprised, but he was still shocked at the revelation. He wasn't sure on how to react, and his mind burst with thoughts for the first time in a small while.

She didn't kill me before... And now she wants, no, has to kill me? Fuck, does that mean we're going to fight? Where's that damn Grimoire when you need it...? Hell, where's Asmodea when you need her. Hell, where's Nerissa and Lauren when you need her. Can I even fight an angel? This is more life and death than all my fights in school combined...

Rainer managed to bring out a few words, "Ah, so you are going to kill me... I don't suppose there's any way I can convince you not to?"

"Do not worry... These past weeks, I have began to feel doubt within my faith... Why would God give me such an evil power? The power of darkness within an angel? Why would such an abomination exist? I have never fit in within my community, nor have my superiors ever really liked me." Rainer could feel anger welling up from Aureal's words, "There was an agreement between my superiors and the previous Lord of Lust. To allow you to live until a mature amount of years and then you would go to your post as Lord of Lust. Yet even though demons were involved, angels got something in return and yet they still wish to not honor their agreement. Angels can be no better than demons in some ways."

Suddenly, a new voice appeared from within the classroom. "Well, well. I knew it was going to happen. Aureal with the rumored power of darkness living within her conversing with a demon. So obvious she would be a betrayer of her own people. On the path to become a Fallen Angel are we?" There were two more people, whom Rainer assumed to be angels due to their unique armor. It seemed that no angel owned a set of armor alike. The one talking was a female, the one besides her, a male. They were perfect in every feature just like Aureal.

"Hannah... Linias... I was right to doubt my faith should no one have faith in me. You are correct, I was never destined to become a true angel since my creation." Rainer could feel resolve emanating from Aureal's words. "This demon has proven that even the most evilest of existences can still hold kindness... While you have proven that even the most pure and holy of existences can hold malice." Aureal then whispered something to Rainer, "I am going to bring the two of us somewhere open, so that this coming fight will not endanger the students. Run to the open window behind us. I will distract them for but a few seconds, you will know when."

Upon saying that, Hannah opened up her rather annoying mouth again, "Yes, yes, some philosophical speech that will never work on us. We are here because a certain Archangel knew you wouldn't be able to accomplish your mission. We were sent here not only to eliminate the Lord of Lust, but you as well. It is an insult that an angel should even be associated with darkness. A demon must have tampered with your birth. We know you all too well; we will finish you both off her-" Hannah was interrupted as Aureal made her move. Linias was staring coldly at Rainer, not noticing Aureal's actions, Hannah just seemed to love to talk and was spouting her insults nonstop and couldn't notice Aureal's next move.

Aureal pushed out her hands sending out a burst of bright light, Rainer looked away and started for the window. The light not only disoriented the opposing angels, but sent a wave of energy pushing them and any tables or chairs between them, backwards. Rainer already made it to the window and jumped. Instinct told him to jump, so he hoped he could survive the fall without damaging anything. His worries were for naught.

Aureal grabbed Rainer, wrapping her arms around his chest and under his arms, as he was at the top of the arc of his jump; she flew. She flew straight up in order to avoid and prying eyes. Aureal headed for an abandoned factory in the city.

Rainer pulled out his phone and sent a text to Lauren, as she was the only one of his group that held such a convenience. The text read as follows:

being attacked by angels

get asmo and neriss and follow me

with a friendly angel

said we're heading to that

abandoned factory near 7th

-

Autocorrect fixed most of Rainer's frantic typing, and he managed to send the text despite the uncomfortable position Aureal was carrying him. He still didn't know how to fly, so he had to be carried.

Rainer yelled over the sound of the wind rushing by them, "Hey! We might die soon!"

Aureal returned the yell in kind, "Yes, we may, though I do not doubt mine and your abilities!"

"I've never been in a fight against something supernatural before! And I just wanted to ask you a question!"

"Question?"

"Yea, you've probably haven't had very many friends in Heaven, have you?"

"You are correct, not even the ones who shown me kindness deemed to call themselves my friend."

"Yea well, how about we become friends?"

Aureal was at a loss for words; so Rainer continued, "The past conversations we had these last couple days, they mean a lot... You barely knew me, and I was made out to be some mad monster, and you never had reason to trust me considering what other demons have done. In my opinion, that should make us friends. You don't object, do you?"

Aureal managed to stutter out a few words, which Rainer found cute, despite the wind howling around them, "No I don't... I've just never had a friend before."

"Trust me, if we live through this, you'll meet more than enough people who'll respect and like you." He reassured, "I won't be your only friend, that's for sure."

"Yes... We will live through this. I can promise you that." Declared Aureal.



The Lost Lord Ch. 08



Lauren had just received a text message from Rainer saying that he was under attack from angels. She remained calm like she always was. It would be rather odd for her to make a loud outburst during the middle of sixth period creative writing class. She was not known for even talking in the first place. But she had to leave immediately to help Rainer, could there be an excuse she could use?

Nah, screw that, excuses are boring. It would be insanely more interesting for her if she just up and left, especially for her reputation. She prided herself for having an ominous and cool reputation among the students. Confirming that within her mind, she gathered her belongings and stood up. All eyes in the class, save for those who were sleeping, turned to her as she walked out the classroom door.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Class is in session Miss!" The teacher called out to her as she left through the doorway. The teacher walked over to the door in order to yell for Lauren to come back, but as the teacher looked out from the door, she was nowhere to be found. "What the... I'll take care of this after class." The class itself was in a silent uproar over Lauren's sudden departure.

Lauren first headed to Asmodea's class. Asmodea was just headed back inside the classroom after retrieving a stack of books with a student from the library. Perfect timing. Lauren called out to her, "Miss Asmodea, I need a word."

"Sure, I will be just a moment. Cassie, be a dear and take these in and hand them out to the class. Thank you." Asmodea replied as she handed her half of the books to the student named Cassie. As Cassie went inside the classroom, Asmodea turned to Lauren. "Now what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Lauren cast a spell that placed an invisible barrier around Lauren and Asmodea, the barrier muted all sound traveling from inside to the outside of the barrier's walls. She then reported to Asmodea, "Urgent, I got a text from Rainer saying he was being attacked by angels. He is heading to an abandoned factory next to Seventh Street. It's by that harbor with the old-fashioned steamboat. I'm going to head there now, don't worry, I can more than handle myself in a fight. I know a few tricks that'll work against an angel."

"This is serious... So what Nerissa and I discussed became reality. I'll fill you in on our conversation some other time. Yes, you should go help Rainer. I'll inform Nerissa of the situation and bring the two of us to that area. Rainer may have an immense power, but that doesn't mean he can use it properly, nor does he have any combat experience against foes like angels."

"One more thing..." Lauren added, "He mentioned an angel was helping him. Do you know anything about that? I have sensed an angel around these parts for a couple days now, maybe that's it?"

"That is odd... For now, go help Rainer, if he says the angel is friendly, it probably is. Shit, I am so not going back to that class... We are all going straight to the Land of Lust after this." Said Asmodea with a furious look; "It's too dangerous in the human world."

"I agree. Alright, goodbye, let's hope nothing too bad happens." And with that, Lauren ran to the nearest door outside.

Aureal and Rainer landed on flat pathway next to the abandoned factory on the harbor. They made their way inside so that they could have but a few moments of respite while hiding from their pursuers. Their pursuers were experienced, they would be found soon.

"Fuck, I won't be able to fight very well... I've memorized some spells, but without the Grimoire, I won't be able to use them very well. That's what I was told at least." Complained Rainer.

"That is troubling. I will hold them off, and if needed... I will resort to using darkness against them. Do you not have a spell to summon your Grimoire to you?" Aureal asked.

*Thunk* Rainer hit himself on the top of his head, "Why didn't I think of that, I think there is... But I haven't memorized it."

Then a sentence hit him. 'A peculiar thing about this Grimoire, is that once you read a spell, it is permanently burned into your memory, and you will somehow be able to remember it when you think about it.'

So that's what those words meant... All right, all right, what was the damn incantation? He thought, and then it came to him.

Travel through the void of infinite, Grimoire.

Travel through the doorway between nothingness and existence, Grimoire.

Travel and come to me, Grimoire.

Aureal couldn't comprehend the words that came out of Rainer's mouth, it was unlike any language she knew. It was neither angelic, human, or demon in nature, that she was sure. It was gibberish to Aureal, but complete English to Rainer.

After the final sentence of his incantation, nothing happened. Rainer looked around him, hoping to see the Grimoire. Even though he saw absolutely nothing, there it lay, on a box. "You see it get there?" He asked with confusion.

"No, I assumed you knew it would go there because you cast the spell. It does not matter does it? You have your means to fight. This should be a bit easier." Aureal was reassured at the thought of having the power of a Ruler of Sin next to her, even if it was inexperienced.

Rainer was still investigating the Grimoire and the box it appeared on, wondering how to came to be on that box, when he heard an annoying voice boom. "Easy?! You overestimate yourself, Aureal. Even if a Ruler of Sin is right next to you, he is still immature. He lives on borrowed power from his predecessor. He has no idea how to fight in the slightest! He can help you in no way. " Mocked Hannah, "Once Linias here, is done slaughtering him. We will eliminate you together, something you failed miserably at in your last mission. Evan died because of you, our orders are to give you your punishment for your failure."

"I detect... Pride." Said Rainer, he had yet to say a word to the two angels. "I can see Pride all over your words."

"What was that?!"

"Not only Pride, but I can also feel... Wrath. You knew Evan, didn't you?" He knew provoking her was not very smart, but he had to retaliate to her words.

"You have no right to speak to me, trash. I wil-" Hannah was interrupted by a hand raised in front of her, Linias' hand.

Linias then spoke; he spoke in the most cold and emotionless voice Rainer had ever heard. Linias spoke with complete tranquility, "Evan was a close friend to us. We served together in the same garrison. It is not uncommon for one to want revenge for another's death. But you are correct, revenge is a form of Wrath, and Wrath is a sin. She will reflect upon her words and actions accordingly once our mission is finished."

Once Linias finished speaking, a weapon materialized within his hands. A golden white hand axe appeared. The axe held a large spike at the top of the haft, as well as a spike at the bottom of the hilt. The entirety of the axe was made out of a metal that Rainer assumed to be the same metal as their armor. Leather straps were wrapped, crisscrossed, along the hilt. The axe, from haft to hilt was about eighty centimeters. It's a lethal weapon.

As with Linias, a weapon materialized in Hannah and Aureal's hands. Hannah's weapon was a slightly curved sword. Instead of a normal point, however, there was an arrowhead-shaped end to the sword. Its guard was completely connected to the blade and hilt, as if the guard was forged along with the blade. The hilt was covered in the same leather formation as Linias' axe. It's a lethal weapon.

Aureal's weapon was... Rather big, a large, massive war hammer. It was the same metal as her armor, and the head of the hammer was connected to its hilt like the other two weapons. The hammer had two different shapes for it's opposite faces. The hammer was tapered along each of its edges for the square face of the hammer. The other face was in the shape of a circle. There were four stars etched into the square face, one for each corner. From the top of the head, to the bottom of the hilt, the weapon itself was as only centimeters shorter than Aureal's whole height. There were only two notable differences in design, which differed from Aureal's weapon to the other two. There were blue silk straps wrapped around the hilt. And instead of the white gold color the other two angel's weapons had, Aureal's weapon, and her armor too apparently, began to lose it sheen and luster.

"Hannah, you will keep the renegade busy, eliminate her if you can, I will handle the Lord of Lust, Asmodeus." Linias ordered.

"Asmodeus? Wait, what? That's not even my name! That's that other Lust lord guy's name..." Rainer complained, though it was no time to complain, as Linias' attack began.

Faster than a normal eye could see, Linias thrust the haft's spike towards Rainer. Rainer, however, did not possess normal eyes. With the Grimoire in hand, Rainer tilted backwards, intending to jump back and avoid the attack. However, Linias' attack proved not to be that simple. Instead of a simple thrust, Linias dove forwards, the spike going further than Rainer anticipated.

With split second thinking, Rainer decided to go all or nothing with his dodge, and fell backwards instead of jumping back. However his fall wasn't just a fall. Rainer kicked his foot upwards, with the speed and skill of only Rainer's unorthodox caliber. Rainer managed to kick the weapon out of Linias' hand, much to the angel's surprise. Linias brought his free hand downwards and pushed himself off the ground. The angel went up into the air and grabbed his weapon, before landing on his feet. Rainer completed his fall, landing square on his back.

Frantically thinking of a short worded offensive spell within his mind that Rainer had read, one came to him.

"Air, be compressed.

Air, be shaped.

Air, be commanded."

Rainer remembered reading about the spell before his transformation. It forced air into a compressed ball and it would move wherever he willed it too with his hand. The ball gathered itself within Rainer's right hand, as the Grimoire was cradled in his left. Linias was about to swing his weapon towards Rainer until he saw what Rainer was up too. Thrusting his arm towards Linias, Rainer willed the ball to work. The ball shot out with bullet like speed towards Linias' stomach, intending to knock the wind out of him. Linias simply stepped to his left in order to dodge the ball. After sidestepping the ball, Linias resumed his attack on Rainer with haste.

"Come on, come on... Get back here!" Yelled Rainer, if Linias was confused at what Rainer was yelling, he didn't show it. Rainer was having trouble controlling the ball at first. It hesitated when Rainer gave it a command to hit Linias. Now, he believed he had the hang of it, giving the ball an order, the compressed air halted in its erratic path and shot back towards Linias. Rainer apparently still had troubles commanding it, as the ball hit the wrong target. The ball whizzed past Linias, either he very slightly dodged it, or he had no need to, the ball missed Rainer's intended target. It struck Rainer dead center in the chest, tossing him several meters backwards. The impact felt like a baseball, thrown at far above top speed.

!! Aureal saw what happened to Rainer, one of his spells gone awry. He may wield incredible power... But he sucks at using it. "Oh? Look's like the demon fell. Linias made short work of him. He's rather weak, isn't he?" Taunted Hannah, the two female angels were swinging away with their weapons. Hannah used her sword to make thrust and slash attacks. Aureal was twirling her massive hammer in the air like a quarterstaff, attempting to land a strike and deflecting what attacks she could.

Combat prowess wise, Aureal would be considered superior to the two angels. She had plenty of free time between tasks, so she trained herself with her weapon and abilities in Heaven. She however was distraught at Rainer's fall. She didn't believe her friend would die like that.

Hannah swept with her legs, intending to knock Aureal over. Aureal jumped over the legs, dodging the simple maneuver. Hannah pointed her sword at Aureal, who got ready to block again. However, at the tip of Hannah's sword, the arrowhead started glowing with light, gaining energy. "Looks like you too, will die right here. Be gone, sorry excuse for an angel." Cackled Hannah, with confidence. Light, in the shape of an arrow shot out from the sword's tip straight at Aureal, passing her hammer. An explosion of light filled the scene, and Hannah, despite being used to the brightest of lights, was forced to close her eyes.

"Oh well, this was an easy mission." Said Hannah, eyes still closed. She opened them, and shock hit her as she saw the sight before her. "What is this? You're far too weak to even be standing from that attack."

"You have far too much confidence. You forget what power I wield. I wield not only light, but darkness as well." Aureal said through clenched teeth. "My darkness can completely negate your attacks, as well as strike you down. And that's what I am going to show you..." She was angry, angry that her friend was defeated. Darkness started to flow around her hands, as Aureal's counterattack began.

Rainer pushed himself up off the ground. His spell had completely failed him. "I seriously need to practice this stuff... Oh well, it's still my first day as a full demon." Rainer spit out some blood, the compressed air hit him harder than he thought. Though he was tough, and his new demonic body only made him tougher.

"I found that... Odd. I would have expected Asmodeus, the Lord of Lust to be stronger than this." Linias said without remorse.

"Why do you keep calling me Asmodeus? That's not my name! It's Rainer... Though, Asmodeus does sound like a pretty cool name." Admitted Rainer.

"I suppose since have only just made your transformation, that you do not know of these simple facts. Very well, listen, these may very well be the last words you hear." Then Linias began to explain, "All the Rulers of Sin hold a title, in your case, the Lord of Lust. Along with that, all the Rulers of Sin hold a special name, in your case, Asmodeus. The original demons of Sin had these names, Asmodeus of Lust, Mammon of Greed, Leviathan of Envy, Beelzebub of Gluttony, Satan of Wrath, Belphegor of Sloth, and Lucifer of Pride. After those demons died in wars or personal conflicts, the rulers after them took their names as respect. You may call yourself Rainer personally, but to everyone who does not know you closely will know you as Asmodeus, the Lord of Lust." Rainer had no idea why he was getting a little history lesson from the angel, how convenient.

"How interesting... No, really, that is interesting." Assured Rainer, he wasn't sure what to say after Linias' explanation. Rainer did know one thing. He would not be able to defeat Linias in a fight, not because of a power gap, but of a skill and experience gap. Linias had a lifetime of battle experience to call upon. Rainer had only fought a few delinquents and failed "gangstas."

"Yes, I humble request that you do not resist. I will make your death swift and painless. You will not be able to win against me." Linias looked towards the fight between Aureal and Hannah.

Aureal was swinging her hammer around like a maniacal berserker. Rainer also noticed that Aureal had ominous dark energy flowing from her hands and facial orifices. The angel, Hannah, was desperately trying to stay alive, jumping from one spot of the factory to another. She was unable to deflect Aureal's hammer attacks that seethed with powerful dark energy. Rainer remembered that Aureal said that light is a poison to demons; darkness is a poison to angels. And such a massive amount of darkness seemed to emanate from Aureal...

"It seems I am sorely needed in the fight over there. I will finish you off now." Said Linias, who had turned back towards Rainer, ready to finish his mission.

Rainer scrambled to his feet, trying to think of a spell he could use before Linias closed in. "I was interested in seeing how much power you had to offer, apparently, you have none." Linias said it as fact, not an insult.

"That sort of high and mighty attitude pisses me off... I don't know much about this power I have, but what I do know, is that I have a lot of it. Why don't you see for your damn self!" Rainer then released his demonic form. Black wings sprouted from his back, ripping apart the threads that held the clothes together. (He had changed into different clothes from the ones he had that morning he awoke to his new form) Black horns jutted out from the top of his head; a tail shot out from his bottom.

"So this is the form of the current Lord of Lust... How peculiar, your skin remains the same. No matter, this does not change anything." Linias' voice wavered not once.

Rainer had noticed this morning that while he was in his demon form, he felt calm, collected, and... Powerful. While he was in his human form, he felt anxious, nervous, and weaker. Was it like that with all demons, he wondered, or just me?

"Ah... That's why." Mused Rainer as he figured out the reason. It took no small amount of effort to keep his demonic form inside him. While he was subconsciously keeping it in during the fight, Rainer still felt that something was keeping a good amount of his concentration occupied. "That's why my spells were unruly... No, that's still probably because of my vast inexperience. Now that that's out of the way, let's see how I fare now." Rainer's mind felt clear and devoted to the battle in front of him, because of that, something caught Rainer's eye.

Through a darkened window with shattered glass adorning the sides, Rainer saw a welcome sight in the form of a demon and witch named Nerissa and Lauren. Relief washed over his mind, he was fairly certain he was safe now... Safer now. Knowing that they will interfere with the fight when the time is right, Rainer focused on Linias' piercing gaze.

"Mercy shall not be shown on you demon, just die now and let us be done with this pointless struggle." Linias stole a glance towards the fight between Aureal and Hannah, "It seems my companion is having more trouble than she should, let us finish this."

"Didn't you say that awhile ago? I'm still alive. You don't understand what's gonna happen here." Rainer then intentionally got cocky, "See, I'm awesome, that's the reason why I'm still alive. I'm going to save me, obviously, save Aureal, and I'm going to kick your damn ass right here!"

Rainer then waved his hand forward in an arc, breathing heavily while he mouthed out a spell, "Fire, burn hot!" The air grew hot, as red and orange fire grew in front of Rainer. He devoted all of his thoughts in aiming his fire spell at Linias, it was a basic spell, so Rainer figured he could at least control it now his mind was free.

Rainer's assumption was correct, finally. The wave of fire sped towards Linias, leaving a trail of fire dissipating behind it. "Even if you can control it, a basic spell can only do so much. In my case, it does little." Said Linias as he sliced his axe downwards, cutting through the wave. Partial amounts of Linias' armor and skin were singed, but nothing major or minor was damaged, however, the spell had the effect Rainer desired.

"Just please die no-" Linias was cut off as he coughed out blood. He and Rainer looked at his chest, an arm stuck its way through, as if the armor was nothing. The arm was covered in blood and bits of organs, the hand connected to the arm had its fingers shaped in a sharp cone. Standing behind him was Lauren, whose arm was currently embedded in Linias.

"Arm of the Wraith." It sounded like a whisper, yet Rainer heard it as clear as a sunny day. Her voice had an odd rasp to it as well, but it disappeared with her next words, "You have lost, angel. Through a sneak attack I admit... But it was necessary."




The Lost Lord Ch. 08



Linias only held a shocked expression on his face; he recoiled from the pain as Lauren retracted her arm through his body. Blood welled from the massive wound as Linias' wings appeared. They were just like Rainer expected from any angel, pure white, flawless, and dignified. The wings then burst into flames. Linias' entire body was soon engulfed.

So this is how an angel dies... Rainer though, I kind of feel sorry for him, even if he was a merciless bastard. No... This is like being sorry for one of those genocidal dictators.

"Shit... Thanks for the help, how'd you know I was trying to distract him for you two?" Asked Rainer.

"I didn't." Admitted Lauren, "Nerissa did. She said she could tell whatever you wanted just by your facial expressions... She is quite dedicated."

"That's... A bit scary actually. Thanks anyway."

"What's happening over there?" Lauren asked Rainer as she pointed her bloodied hand towards Aureal and Hannah.

"The one with the hammer is my friend. And we are not harming her... There anything you can do to help her?" He worried.

"I wish. While she is fully alive and well with no external injuries, I can see no life in her eyes. At some point in her fight, she lost herself. I can't help her without risking myself. I-" Lauren's eyes then widened through her glasses, Rainer saw why.

Darkness burst from Aureal's weapon and shot out towards Hannah. Any bits of darkness that wasn't enveloped by her light or parried by her sword touched her skin, causing her to flinch in pain. This is her power, despised by angels, and coveted by demons. Rainer remembered her saying that darkness is like a poison to angels, as is light is a poison to demons. Rainer considered himself lucky that Linias didn't use any light based attacks on him.

"In all of my life... I have never heard of an angel who could wield darkness... This is unbelievable... Impossible." Gasped Nerissa, as she jumped in between Lauren and Rainer. She was clearly shocked that an angel could wield its polar opposite.

"Improbable you mean..." Corrected Rainer, "I've heard her story, She can tell you herself if she wishes... As her friend, I'm not revealing her past without asking her first." Rainer focused on the fighting angels, clearly worried about Aureal.

"Yes... This I've heard of this before." A familiar voice reached the ears of Rainer and Lauren, Nerissa. "Yes, seeing it up close, I know what's happening here."

"Took your time, what've you been up too?"

"Oh... I'm sorry, my fiancée. I was investigating the surrounding areas for any other enemies. I also set up sensors in case one pops up, it's too sudden for me to set up and effective traps or wards unfortunately. We are safe from any other angels for the time being." She was not in her normal frivolous demeanor, she was focused and tensed, ready for a fight at a moment's notice. "In any case, I'm sorry for neglecting you! I will make up for it by the time we get you back home! I should've been the one to help you in your fight, but nooooo, Miss Witch here, just had to beat me in this human game called rock-paper-scissors." Well... That observation failed.

"Hah... You failed to recognize the rules. In real life, yes, a rock can beat paper, but not in the game."

"Oi, you two, save the argument for later. Nerissa, what did you mean be, 'I know what's happening here?'"

"As part of my studies, I learned in a text about the detailed process of an angel falling from grace."

Rainer and Lauren remained silent, only the sounds of the seemingly unending battle between Aureal and Hannah. Rainer especially wanted to know what was happening to Aureal, there was few he could call friend in his life, and Aureal is definitely one of them.

"I won't explain the entire complex process, it would take too long. Essentially, once an angel finds the resolve within itself to give up everything it believed, revered, and fought for, this process happens. For the all cases except for a special few, an angel will fall from grace into the category of sin that it is opposite to in the seven virtues. Judging from what I'm feeling from her, I'm feeling Lust, so she came from the virtue of Chastity. A sort of battle formed from within her heart, soul, and mind, between the Virtue of Chastity and the Sin of Lust. If she resolved to go against her faith and follow her Sin of her own will, then without a doubt, Lust will win. Any angel that does have this happen, on their free will or not, I have heard are executed by their peers, as corruption has already taken a foothold. Only one angel I know of managed to not be executed and has miraculously eventually became an Archangel, though I don't know which. I also read that the angel is unconscious during this time, so the fact that she is fighting while she is unconscious is no mean feat, she uniquely skilled. An angel is unconscious during this process is because they have to wade through the battle between their beliefs. Once you know the fallen side of an angel has won, several things will happen, two of which are very noticeable and are what we should look for. The first, the angel's wings will turn black, or any shade around it. The second, the golden halo, which we can't see at the moment, should shatter. You'll see the rest of the changes for yourself should her Lust win out. And from that point on, my memory is hazy on the process, forgive my horrible memory, fiancée..." She spoke dignified, up until that last part, while she explained how an angel falls from grace.

"What's going on in there, Aureal? You can bloody do this! I've only spoke to you a couple of times, but I know for a fact, you will choose the path that's right for you. I don't care if you fall or not, you're still my friend!" Cheered Rainer, there was no way he, or his two accomplices should get involved in the fight, the only support they should offer was in the form of words.

"...You're still my friend!" Those were the only words that came from Rainer that Aureal managed to comprehend. Her blackened out state forced her to watch the battle between her body and the angel that talked too much, Hannah.

No, that's too nice. Let's call her the bitch that talks too much, bitchannah... No, that doesn't really seem to flow. What's a good name for her? No, that's not important right now, what is important is what is happening to me? Why can I not control my body? Hannah did not weave any spell as far as I can tell. Eh? What might that be over there? No, best not to stray from the fight, lest I can take control of my body again.

"No, it's best you come over here." A harrowing voice came from the direction Aureal was focused on. Aureal thought she saw something shine amidst the dark, but whatever it was, it was quickly drowned by the dark.

Why should I go over there? Something might happen to my body. The bitch that talks too much might come up with a trick...

"Your instincts will take good care of your body, it will not fall prey to your enemy, nor will it take the initiative. That would be too easy now, would it? You have trained yourself well for your instincts to fight on even after sub consciousness. Time will not flow as quickly outside as it does in here, we have plenty of time to spare, plenty. That aside, like any crossroads in one's future, one must decide which way path to take. Now venture towards the origin of this ominous voice of mine."

Crossroads? Very well, I cannot say for certain, but it seems I have no choice but to trust this anonymous voice with an odd sense of humor.

Aureal wandered aimlessly for a small while, following the direction of the harrowing voice. No matter what direction she looked, darkness enveloped the scene. However, after walking for quite a distance, light pierced the horizon. Upon reaching the light, she could see that it was pushing against the darkness she had just come from, and the darkness itself was pushing back.

Now what? I doubt I have to go any further... I do not see your origin, odd voice.

The voice spoke once more, never giving up its location, "Yes, this is what you should be at, the crossroads between two beliefs in your mind. The darkness here is your lust. The lust that built up within you, unknowingly, as you spoke with the new Ruler of Sin, Rainer. He did not force his Sin on you, nor did his aura affect you. This is purely of your own creation. And from the light, is chastity. Your faith, teachings, and your virtues that you had lived by in Heaven. You were raised as an angel of chastity, while technically you had no choice in what you could believe in, you always knew what was right. Ah, the guests have arrived. This is where my guidance ends, and your decision comes." The voice faded away.

Guests? And who might those be in here? I only see myse-. Oh.

Two figures walked forward, one in the darkness, and one in the light.

"Hello, Aureal. It is good to speak with you again."

"Ah, what? Where the heck am I? Aureal? Oh... I get it. Note to self, have Nerissa warn me this might happen."

The two voices were the only two people in her life that had completely respected Aureal, protected her, and could call her friend. The latter would be the Lord of Lust, Rainer. And the former would be the Archangel, Michael.

Michael spoke first, "I see you are at your crossroads... Like many other angels before falling from grace. Do not worry, this is natural. Our three bodies are simply asleep."

"You are?"

"My name is Michael, an Archangel. I already know your name, Rainer. Please understand, this assassination attempt is not of my doing. I wanted to respect the agreement between the previous Lord of Lust and us. Five of my equals decided otherwise, it was a simple outvoting that caused this incident."

"Oh great, well, you seem to know what's going on right now... Mind explaining it to me?"

"Very well. In the very basics, Aureal needs to decide whether to fall towards sin, or stay enveloped within her virtues. Whenever this happens, the two closest to the angel, one immersed with sin, and one wrapped in virtue, come to the angel in his or her mind and try to convince the angel to come with them. Should you require a more detailed explanation, now is not the time."

"Ah, ok."

... Why? Why bother, Michael? Should I choose virtue, there is no way I will be allowed to live. I am already an abomination to the rest of our kind.

"And I am sorry that this is so. In my permanent opinion, and to a few others, you are not an abomination. Not to me, Joshua, Luther, Sanae... Or even Ramiel and Saraquel. God too, he created you for a purpose, like all of us. I am certain that he will speak to us for you. Even four of us Archangels believe you are just a normal angel like all of us. Uriel barely made it out of wrath, but he persevered. He may think of you as an abomination, but those are his latent feelings of wrath. This I promise, I will make sure you have a chance to live on."

...

Rainer interjected, "Look, I have no idea how things happen in Heaven, but Michael is definitely not lying."

Michael looked surprised at the demon supporting him, but remained silent.

"I can see that he is definitely a friend. Throughout my life as a loner, I have had very few friends. But when I had one, I could tell if her was being a friend, just being nice, or other things. I can say now, that I am not your first friend. That would just be conceited of me. Still, in any case, no matter which path you choose, towards a possible new life in Heaven, or with me... I'm still your friend, I don't care what path you choose, and that sort of stuff doesn't make any difference to me. This, I can promise."

...

"I see, yes, you are definitely a friend towards Aureal. Though I am forced with this word of warning Aureal, should you follow your sin... My kind will have no choice but to see you as an enemy. It is not that I do not want to continue supporting you, but it is law in Heaven. Fallen Angels are our enemies along with demons. Whatever insulting words have been thrown at you in your past will be immediately confirmed by your fall from grace. Though, in my opinion, I will understand should you choose to fall. I believe God and Joshua will too. Now, the decision is up to you."

Upon those words, both Michael and Rainer disappeared, much to Rainer's distress.

I already made my decision, as I said before, it is impossible for me to go back to Heaven. Not because I have no chance of living, but because I never was truly happy there. Always being shunned and despised, it is impossible to have any more hate towards me should I fall. Even if I were allowed to live, any positive thoughts would be impossible. I never was and never will be happy in Heaven. Perhaps maybe I will find happiness in the Circle's of Sin. Yes, that is my decision. I shall fall.

The harrowing voice returned, "You choose sin, huh? Interesting choice, though it would be interesting if you chose virtue as well. Now, immerse yourself in sin, in lust, in your desires. Then your fall will be complete."

What is it that I desire? For the first time I ask myself this, I need to know what is it that I desire.

As Aureal was currently wandering around in her own thoughts, anything she tried to visualize in her mind appeared before her. She saw Rainer; he wasn't in his normal form, however. His demonic appendages were out, he was half naked, and it seemed as if he was emphasizing the parts of his body that Aureal only now found extremely attractive.

This definitely isn't the real Rainer this time. I desire... Him? Now that I think about it, he is very... Handsome. Virile, daring, understanding, kind, and, well, sexy... Agh, I could never say that up front to him, too embarrassing. I would very much prefer to serve him than any other demon. He would be a good master... I like the sound of that... I guess that's what I desire, a submissive relationship toward him? I didn't even know that I knew what meant. Yes, when I get the chance, I shall ask him if I am allowed to call him master. I don't know that if I prefer a completely dominating master though, I seem to have a submissive streak, however. It seems lust has taken complete hold of me, I'm speaking much less strict and much more... Lecherously.

"Haha, now all you need to do... Is have sex with your 'master.' And your fall will be complete. Geez, where would you be without my convenient instructions?"

I would not know. Perhaps dead. How am I supposed to have se- fuck Master Rainer when I am still subconscious and fighting?

"Oh rapture, back here again. Hey Aureal wher-! What the fuck? Where'd half my clothes go?" Rainer came back, surprised that he was now in a half naked body.

Ah! Rainer, I'm happy to see you...

"Ah, good to see you too. So what a- Hey! What're you doing?!"

I've made my choice; I want to be with you. I will fall from grace as I have no place in Heaven, not now or ever.

"Ah, ok... But what does that have to do with you taking off the only clothes I have?"

I should think the answer is very obvious... Master.

"Master?... Oh son of a bitch. I don't know if now is the best time..."

Do you not find me attractive?

Upon that note, Aureal shed her armor away with a single thought, as if it was smoke blowing away in the wind.

"No! You're very... Very attractive... Especially since you just took off all your armor in front of me. Who wouldn't find you... And those two things beautiful."

Ah! Thank you... It is good to know that you find me pretty... Master.

"Ok, please tell me why you want to call me master?"

Is that not appropriate? I will be serving under you after all. Do those two demons and witch not serve under you as well?

"No. They don't serve me, they're my friends... Well I guess more than friends since. Well, I had sex with them."

Then I wish to be all three, your servant, friend, and more than friend. But please allow me to call you master.

"Oh bloody hell. Uhm, fine. I guess if there's no harm in it, it should be fine. Hey! Hey! Whoa! Your breasts are... They feel good actually."

Aureal began hugging Rainer once he relented, purposefully squeezing her breasts against Rainer. She was glad that her breasts were fairly large. She thought it was odd that female angels had bosoms, large or small, when they had no need of them.  

Please... I want to have sex with you now. For two reasons, I need to do it to complete my fall from grace... And I want to do it because I love you, as a servant, friend, and more than friend.

Aureal was glad that time was slower in here than it was on the outside. That meant she could enjoy it even though time was still limited.

"It's literally impossible for me to resist if you act like this..."

This will be my first time, please guide me through this, Master.

Aureal then unleashed her full glory, wings spread out from her back, and they were tinting grey, but were not completely black. A golden halo appeared above her head, though dulled and garish.

Rainer took her head in his hands; holding her beautifully pale face, he kissed her. At first the kiss was modest. The two pursed lips and mashed them together. Then it got heated and passionate. Rainer was glad Aureal's tongue was just like a normal humans, not weirdly forked like a demons. Yet, his tongue was demonic now. Longer and a bit thinner, Rainer shoved his tongue past Aureal's lips and tongue. Aureal attempted the same, though with feeble first attempt. As the kiss progressed and got more heated, Aureal began to pick up on how to use her tongue effectively in the situation. Saliva soon coated the outside of both their mouths. They wrapped their arms around each other. Aureal's breasts and nipples pushed into Rainer, giving him a pleasurable feeling.

Both parties' wings kept entirely still. Aureal's pair of wings however, was now halfway to becoming entirely black; her halo was also completely dulled and starting to show cracks.

Rainer mauled Aureal's breasts with his hands, of course not with the clumsiness of a drunken frat brother, but with the "finesse" of an experienced masseuse. He rolled her nipples around between his fingers, squeezed them together, giving Aureal sensations she obviously never felt before.

I've never felt like this before... Soooo good. Ahn!

Aureal squealed in her mind as Rainer took his mouth of Aureal, leaving her tongue hanging and dripping with each other's saliva. He brought his mouth towards her breasts and placed both of her nipples inside his mouth. He clenched down, firmly as to not bring about any pain, keeping them in place. He brought his elongated tongue out and licked around the areola.

Aureal instantly felt herself get even wetter. She didn't know if she could take very much more foreplay. She wanted his... Needed his dick badly. It was her first time, dozens of thoughts about the act of sex flashed through her mind, so fast that not even she could immediately tell what they were and meant.

Please! I ca- can't take much more... So, fucking good!

Aureal's face was burning up; it turned a shade of red that Rainer was only able to see in cartoons.

"Geez, you're incredibly cute right now." Rainer said as he noticed the innocent look Aureal was giving. "Hah... Well, go down and get it, it's your first time after all, get a little acquainted with it before I fuck you." Rainer was surprised at his language, it wasn't normally him even when under his demon lust.

Ah... Ok. I've just never seen one before... I hope yours is the only one I ever see too.

It was Rainer's turn to blush.

It just looks so big... So this is what a man's cock looks like? I wonder how good it'll feel in my wet pussy?




The Lost Lord Ch. 08



Hell, she even knows all the terms for these things, I don't think you'll ever find a girl talk so honestly when it comes to things like this... Thought Rainer.

Aureal grasped Rainer's shaft in her hand. She followed her lust and lowered herself onto the ground, pulling Rainer by the dick with her.

"Ow, that hurts! I'm definitely not into that." Even though it was accidental, Aureal pulled on his shaft a little too hard in her lust.

I'm sorry! So sorry! I just feel so hot down here, got a little eager.

"It's ok... Here, let me take the lead."

Ah, yes, Master. I'm in your care.

Following Rainer's word, Aureal laid herself on the floor completely and surrendered herself to her lover. Rainer got down onto his knees and arranged himself so his member was aligned with Aureal's entrance. He prodded the entrance with his head, which elicited a whimper from Aureal. Aureal wasn't sure what to do with the situation, so she started groping her own breasts while pinching and pulling her nipples. She squeezed them together which looked very hot to Rainer. Neither party could stand anymore teasing and thrust their bodies toward each other. Rainer's shaft pierced through Aureal's wet folds in one smooth stroke, ripping her hymen from the walls.

Ahhh! That hurts! Is it a-always like t-this?

Rainer was somehow able to keep a calm and steady voice, despite the overwhelming pleasure in his body. "Thankfully no, it always hurts the very first time. Though... Since this isn't your actual body, I have no idea how it's going to work out. "  

Ahhh! The pain... It's going away now. Ah, it feels good. Very good, Master.

While Rainer still wasn't sure how he felt about being called, "Master" by someone. It shamed him to know that he felt a little aroused whenever she called him that in her cute voice. He thrust slowly at first, in order to give Aureal a chance to adjust to him being inside her, and to let her get a feel on the new sensations. He also found it oddly arousing to him to know that he popped the cherry of two people, even if one was a demon and the other an angel.

Ah, just hol-hold there for a moment. I feel an overwhelming tingle coming FROM my lower extremities. It is a sensation that I have never thought possible... It is as if I am drunk off this unusual feeling. How do I describe it? The best way to put it is: I've never felt more full or complete in my entire life.

..."Really? Say it again, how does it feel? What happened to all that language you were using before?" Rainer let out a smirk. "No need to get all formal with your words when we're doing this."

Um, um... Y-yes, Master.

Aureal then brought out the lust that was building up in her. Her entire body radiated lust. There was no hesitation in her words.

I mean to say, your dick fills my pussy so much better than anything possible Master. C'mon, let's do this.

"Heh, I'm new to this demon lord stuff, but I can see the lust in you clearly."

On that note, Rainer sprung to action. Unable to stand it any longer, Rainer thrust his cock deep into Aureal's folds, not taking a rest. Every time Rainer sunk his shaft as deep as Aureal's womb, she let out a cute moan, as befitted the beautiful ex-angel. Aureal's full and supple breasts rocked back and forth, Rainer placed Aureal's legs onto his shoulders and reached around for her breasts. He held firmly onto the perfect orbs, pinching the nipples between his fingers.

Unable to keep still, Aureal's own hands began to move. Her right towards her pussy, she could feel Rainer thrusting through her skin. She moved her hand lower and started to rub her clit, she was still new to any such lustful acts, but her pussy was just aching for even more attention. Aureal rubbed vigorously around her pussy, avoiding the fast moving dick pumping into her. Her left hand went up to her mouth as she began to suck on her fingers, which aroused Rainer even further once he noticed.

Quite obvious to Rainer was Aureal's tightness. She would obviously be tight since it was her first time after all. Rainer could feel her walls squeezing his shaft very tightly. To him, it felt like the tightness would be an eternal bonus to her allure, no matter how much she aged (despite being an immortal Fallen Angel now), her pussy would never lose its tightness.

Ahn! Master! It feels like I'm going to cum soon... I can't last very much longer.

Rainer grunted his reply, as he was too busy focusing on fucking the girl in front of him, "Hah... Good, I'm not going to last much longer either."

The two enjoyed another thirty of seconds of sex before they both came to a climax. As if in unison, they both came at the exact same second, Rainer shooting ropes of cum deep into Aureal's womb, while Aureal herself came around Rainer's shaft. The two of them collapsed from their respective orgasm, panting from the pleasant ordeal.

Aureal's transformation was now complete. Black feathered wings, her halo turned to dust, Virtue turned to Sin... A new Fallen Angel was born.

Meanwhile...

"So... What do you think's going on in there? He said he was in that angel's mind." Asked a rather flustered witch named Lauren.

"Since I feel Sin emanating from that angel's body, I would assume she is now turning into a Fallen Angel." Replied an equally flustered demon named Nerissa, though she didn't show it.

The two of them were cradling the unconscious Rainer in their arms as the observed the continuing fight between the two angels. Approximately fifteen minutes passed since Rainer first went limp.

"She's turning to lust you said, right?

"Yes, why?"

"Well, if Rainer's in there, then he has to be 'convincing' her to come with him... If you know what I mean."

"Ah!!! That husband of mine... He decided that I wasn't enough, so he went for Asmodea before we even met... And it didn't stop there. You came along, beguiling him. I decided to be a loving wife and accept the inevitable relationships that a Lord of Lust would have on the side. But I was going to draw the line at the three of us. And now he decides to go bring a fucking angel with us as a souvenir before we leave for our new life together in the circles. I was fine with two extra concubines... But a third?!?! I'm going to have to have a talk with his lascivious ways."

Lauren fought to prevent herself from laughing, "Mmmphm! We-well... He is the Lord of L-U-S-T. Of course he's going to go get himself a 'fucking' angel. And who knows! Maybe he'll get himself a whole collection of rare concubines! Let's see, ignoring me and Asmodea, he now has a Fallen Angel I assume. So he'll also collect a tangible ghost girl, a mermaid or siren, a snow woman... Hmmm, maybe even a cute preteen girl or two, a righteous god fearing nun. Oooh, perhaps he'll go seduce your mother, the Princess of Pride!"

Nerissa was visibly showing her emotion. Clearly anger was on her mind. "Should that ever happen... I'm going to have take certain measures to prevent such possible events. With lethal force. Perhaps I'll tie Rainer to a bed and teach him the meaning of being in love with me."

Goosebumps formed on Rainer's body, despite being unconscious.



The Lost Lord Ch. 09



Note: There's no sex in this chapter. I didn't bother putting this in non-erotic section, as it is part of a larger series. I was also tempted from this point on to upload the chapters into the fantasy/scifi section, but decided against it, because I wanted to keep the series whole and not half and half in two different sections. 

Chapter 09 -- Just like DnD... 

The fight between Linias and Rainer was very short, only lasting a few strikes and spells. The battle between Aureal and Hannah, however was taking quite awhile. That began to worry the two spectators of the fight, the demon Nerissa, and the witch Lauren. They were both holding in their arms, Rainer, he had gone unconscious and supposedly delved into Aureal's own being in order to "bring her to the dark side" and make her a Fallen Angel.

"Eh? Nerissa, look at that. Something definitely happened to the angel." Lauren pointed out, she was right. The angel, Aureal, was changing into a Fallen Angel. Her white wings turned black, a golden halo crumbled into dust, and her entire being emanated sinful lust.

"Oh my! Yes, I can see it clearly. Our lord has done something that hasn't happened in quite awhile, centuries I believe." Confirmed Nerissa, she was clearly impressed, "Without a doubt, when those visible changes appear on an angel, it has fallen. Quite the accomplishment, my love! Few demons can ever change an angel to that extent."

Since Aureal was completely unconscious during the entire fight as she fought between whether to fall or rise, no certain outcome came throughout the entire battle. Neither Hannah nor Aureal's body was able to gain the upper hand.

"Hah! I knew you would never be strong enough to resist Sin's temptation. Weak, weak since the day you were born. Everyone of us knew that being born with a curse like yours would make you betray us one of these days." Taunted Hannah, mercilessly. She then boasted, "I'll kill you, then these two lowlifes over here, then I'll end the life of this insipid Lord of Lust. I'll go back home, and I'll be welcomed with open arms and praised for killing a Ruler of Sin and a traitor like you."

"She talks too much, doesn't she?"

"Ah! Rainer! You're awake! So did you make her a Fallen Angel yet? I'm pretty sure she is with her black wings and all that." "Said the witch.

"I'm not sure, I don't remember much when I was in her soul, or mind, or whatever the heck I was in. Sorry." He apologized.

"My, my... I'll have to interrogate you later on what went on in there! Even if you did forget, there might be some lingering memories on what happened!" Nerissa then whispered to herself, "If I find out you got a new concubine behind my back..."

"Hmm? What?"

"Oh, nothing! Nothing at all that you need to concern yourself with!"

"I came out... Is Aureal ok?"

"The fight has reached a stalemate and has been that way for quite some time. Unless she wakes up soon, she will lose. I'm extremely impressed at her capabilities, very few can continue the fight after being unconscious."

"Can't we do anything to help her?"

"While she's in that state, no. She would be unable to distinguish friend from foe. It'd be too dangerous. Besides, I doubt she'll lose... Call it a hunch." Assured Lauren. She had witnessed many high scale fights, and she had almost always been able to predict the winner.

Then at that moment, Hannah attempted her move towards victory. After barely dodging a wild swing from Aureal's hammer, she slashed at her enemy's stomach. Aureal blocked the slash with her weapon's pommel. The tip of Hannah sword began to glow, unleashing another bolt of light. At point blank range, it shouldn't have missed, Hannah was sure of that. She put forth all the light and power she had left into this final bolt.

"No one can stand before this much power, not even an Archangel! You'll die here."

"Talk all you want... But if you can only put forth this amount of light, you'll lose." Aureal had spoken.

"What?! What are you talking about?"

"I can feel it in you... Pride, Wrath, and Envy... I can feel far more Sin in you, than in me. Your light is weak, polluted with Sin; your virtues are long since gone. I would not be surprised if you fell sometime soon."

"Shut your mouth, demon's whore. Just die already!"

"Yes, you lost."

The sword shot forth a bolt of light. Rainer could feel it himself; it was weak, he could feel the beginnings of a second Fallen Angel within Hannah. No doubt about it, Aureal would win. Dropping her hammer, Aureal brought blocked the bolt with her hands. Swirling darkness enveloped the bolt of light, completely diminishing it.

"As I said, you are quite weak. Now I'll retaliate!" Seethed Aureal, she wanted no more than to be rid of the angel in front of her, and finally escape from the conflict.

Darkness shot forth from her hands, resembling four spears. Each dark spear pierced four different spots of her enemy's body, her head, heart, neck, and abdomen. Instant death took Hannah; blood seeped from each wound.

Rainer forced himself to look, he figured that there would only be more violence like this, he might as well get used to it. While he had bloodied people in past, though never regretted it (Screw that Mandal), he felt rather sick to this level of violence.

"I feel... Better."

"Hey there, your name is Aureal, right? Mine is Lauren, it's a pleasure to meet a brand new Fallen Angel." Lauren immediately went to ingratiate herself with Aureal.

"Ah... Hello. Are you friends with Master?"

"Oooh! So you're master, huh?" Lauren cocked her head towards Rainer as she mocked him. "Well yes, I'm his friend, though I wouldn't mind being more than that. The other girl is Nerissa. She's a Daughter of Pride and Rainer's fiancée."

"I see, Nerissa. I am pleased to meet with you. I hope I can serve both you and Master to your expectations."

Nerissa was taken aback. She hadn't expected the brand new Fallen Angel to be so polite... And willing to recognize the soon to be marriage between her and Rainer. And so willing to serve them. She could get along with her after all!

"Tes... I'm pleased to meet you as well. I can see you're quite powerful." Said Nerissa as she observed the lifeless angel on the ground.

"We never like each other in Heaven, so I am quite glad to be the one to dispose of her."

"Introductions done? Good, I'm sorry to interrupt but we should get moving. We just killed two angels; I doubt the people 'up there' are too happy about that. And Asmodea should be almost done with the ritual to open a portal to the Land of Lust. Aureal, can you still fly? Nerissa alone can't carry all of us, and Rainer isn't used to flying yet." Interjected Lauren, she was worried. They shouldn't stay longer or more angels might show up to eliminate them.

"I am still capable. Black wings are more than capable of making me fly." Without any more talking the four of them move. Rainer sucked in his appendages, as they would be in the way of being carried. Nerissa lifted up Rainer, and Aureal carried Lauren, both pairs made their way towards Asmodea.

"Hmmm, they finally left." Linias pushed himself off the ground, he barely managed to keep himself alive while Rainer's group was present, and once they left, he healed his wound. "That... Was close, I could have died. That witch... I've never seen an attack like that, what was that?"

"Linias, you may return, you have done what I asked." A golden ball of light flew out from Linias' armor and began to talk. "I'm sorry that I placed you in such danger."

"No it is ok, I live to serve. However, may I ask why you let them go?"

"...I sent such a paltry force to deal with the situation because I wanted them to escape. We made a proper agreement with the previous Lord of Lust, and I intend to honor it, as he did right by his side. Also, Aureal has never had a pleasant life here. While I regret being unable to bring her back from falling, I am content to know that she is with people who will care for her. As for letting Hannah die, I knew she was filled with Sin, she would most definitely fall herself if she continued the way she was. It would have been kinder to let her die there than be executed here."

"I see, very well. I will turn, Michael." Linias took flight, towards the sky.

"I hate portals... They are annoying to put up." Complained a worn out Asmodea, portals are apparently very annoying to put up. "Oh well, with this, I can finally return to my home, with Rainer and his entourage."

She just received a call from Lauren telling her that they are heading in her direction with a Fallen Angel named Aureal. She had also learned that this angel had both the power over light and darkness.

"A Fallen Angel... It is quite a feat to make an angel fall from grace. And she is quite a unique one at that. I've never heard of a single being, human, angel, or demon with power over the darkness and light. She will be quite the powerful ally."

"Let's see... All that's left is the incantation. Ah it will be good to breathe the air of my home."

In an open space of a nearby park, there was a circle of stones with inhuman runes etched on. Rituals to open portals between worlds required a circle of stones, and through the incantation, you choose a combination of four stones that brought you to a particular destination. The combinations could bring you two any of the seven Circles of Sin, the human world, Heaven, the intermediate realm, hell, or certain realms of pagan gods. Portals could only open up in certain areas, so guards closely protected each one, and any that didn't arrange beforehand were usually killed or captured upon entering.

Asmodea chanted:

"The door between worlds and realms

I call upon you to open your way

Towards the seven Circles of Sin

Towards the brazen Land of Lust"

Which each line, a stone in the circle began to glow until seemingly four random ones glowed in unison. Each stone's rune began to glow in blue, white, green, and purple light. Each light joined together and started to expand at the center of the circle. A watery like fluid that rippled constantly began to form at the center and expanded into a sphere that fit the circle of runes. Should someone enter through any part of the sphere, they would come out on the side of wherever their destination was.

Asmodea sniffed the sphere, "It has been forever since I could smell the air of my home. Far different than the pollutions of this land. So clean and musky... Ahhhhh."

Then a voice reached her ears, more like a shout, "Asmodea! Here we are!"

"Oh my, they weren't lying, there is a Fallen Angel there. I have not seen one in quite awhile."

Over the tree line of the park, Two sets of wings were flapping, a set of white bat like wings, and a set of black feathery wings. It was like a visual representation of an oxymoron.

"Oh? Finally here are you? I've prepared the portal."

Nerissa and Aureal made a soft landing, Lauren dropped gracefully, while Rainer fell like a lame donkey.

"I've never seen portal magic like this before..." Lauren was mystified.

"I had gathered the runes together before I met Rainer, so I was all ready to go. Be warned, your first time through may make you rather sick. Kind of like jet lag from a plane trip."

"Uh huh... I don't think I'll like my first trip through an inter-dimensional portal very well." Sighed Lauren.

"I've been through portals before, had to get through one to come here to meet my fiancée! How about you Aureal?"

"I fought in the last war between demon and angel, so of course. However, I never liked the feeling... Let's see, in a human analogy, it is like being sucked through a vacuum cleaner face first, while having every single part of your body being stretched in different directions. Master, please hold onto my hand and you will make it through ok."

"...Then hold onto me with your other hand husband, we should be safe."

"Alright, I'll go first, that way I can confirm with the guards on the other side that we are allowed to enter. Your personal guard should be waiting on the other side my lord."

"Personal guard? Eh? Oi! I have a personal guard?"

"Don't worry, they are quite the characters, you will like them."

Asmodea was the first one through the watery sphere; an afterimage of her appeared on the sphere before slowly disintegrating.

"Then I'll go next, I'll go without holding hands just for thrills." Lauren was the next to step into the sphere. Despite being a human (witch), she showed no fear. Rainer was rather impressed at her fortitude. Again, an afterimage of Lauren appeared before disintegrating.

"Very well. Master, Mistress. Let us step through the portal now."

"Eh? Can't we go on the count of thre- WHOA!" Suddenly, Rainer was forced through the sphere. He wasn't sure what he was seeing. He was glad he was holding hands with both Aureal and Nerissa on this extremely scary rollercoaster type experience. It was as if a blur of colors whizzed past him, though not in the normal portal like things he saw on a movie. As if he was moving at an extremely fast speed through world... No, universe. It looked like a spaceship going at beyond light speed in a science fiction movie or show. Although Rainer wasn't sure what he was seeing, that was how he imagined it.

Then suddenly, the trip was over. He was still, and he could feel two warm embraces on both of his hands with must be Aureal and Nerissa. The air tasted odd, foreign in a way, however, much crisper than what it tasted like in his hometown.

"Come on, let's get up now! I've never been to the Land of Lust before."

"I've only been to the Sands of Sloth in the war. But this place... Is different, master, look."

Rainer let go of the hands and stood up, rubbed his eyes before taking a look at the scenery only found in fantasy stories. It was nothing like he expected, no burning pits, no lava flows, nothing so horrific, it was actually the most peaceful bit of scenery he could have imagined.

Snow-capped mountains dotted the horizon, green forests off to the sides, a large lake off to his left. He saw no normal animals or plants, but that's to be expected of a different world. He saw a weird bird like animal off to a rock twelve meters in front of him; it had no feathers, nor was its wings like a bat. Instead, its wings were made of a weird transparent membrane that fluttered in the wind. Its mouth had three razor sharp fangs protruding from it. It had a long tail, which seemed to flap around like a cat. If all fauna was as weird as this one, he had a lot to look forward to.

"My lord, I am sorry to interrupt your gaze, as this land is quite beautiful, but I must introduce to you four important individuals. And already we have a crisis if Rouge's information is correct."

"Ah, you said I had a personal guard? A bit overboard isn't it?"

Rainer shifted his gaze towards Asmodea and the four people next to her.

"First, let me introduce, Tozomat. He was guarding the... Grimoire for us. He knows a unique art known as 'shadow manipulation' for when he fights." Asmodea gestured at the first man next to her.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance my lord, I will do my best to meet your needs." Tozomat's voice was calm, and it sounded older than he actually looked. He looked about 35 something years, but knowing demons, he was probably five thousand years old. He had dark bluish horns curving from the back of his head under his ears. His skin was tinted a dark blue like the horns. Rainer saw no wings or tail, as he was a normal demon and not an incubus. He had a normal build, one suited to a man that looked his age. He was wearing a black suit without a tie. He also had dress shoes, black gloves, and a blue pendant.

"Next to him is Teras, she's probably the most powerful of magic wielders in the Land of Lust, except for you now. She will be training you to use your magic properly. She is a succubus"

"Not probably! I AM the most powerful mage in not only this land, BUT all the other circles as well. I'm SO happy to meet you Lord Rainer. I'll be THE best teacher ever." Teras spoke with extreme confidence, almost like the delusions of a preschooler. She had purple skin, purple horns, purple wings, and a purple tail. She had at least c cup breasts bundled away in her clothes. Her clothes were a purple dress with white lace and frills. She carried an open purple umbrella that also had its own lace along the edges. She even had purple eyes, lips, and light purple hair. She was all about the color purple. Her face held a smile at all times, she had an almost childish look about her.

"This is Caetorum. He is a very skilled warrior despite his blindness. He is an incubus though he has no wings."

"I live to serve."

As Asmodea said, Caetorum was blind. A silver cloth was wrapped around the eye sockets. A rapier and a dagger were both fastened at his waist. He wore black robes that covered his entire body except for his head. He had blue horns and skin, he also had a tail that came out a hole in his robes, the tail even had a rather wicked looking harpoon look on it. However, Rainer saw no wings like Asmodea said, why was that? He was rather slender, but it was hard to tell what was under his robes. The only very odd thing Rainer noticed about Caetorum was that he was perched on top of a tall rock, the tallest rock in the immediate area. He was standing upright as if it was nothing.

"And this here is the succubus, Little Rouge. Just call her Rouge... And let's just say that she likes to kill bad people."

"That's meannnnnn! I don't just like to killlll people. I like the fight that leads up to killing!" A rather happy looking succubus was bouncing up and down next to Teras and Caetorum's rock. Perhaps she was related to Teras? They both seem that way. Rouge, as her named suggested, had rouge colored skin. Her rouge horns curved into a likeness of a bull. Rouge was wearing normal human clothes. At least ones that emphasized her breasts and butt. Rainer forced himself to not stare at her breasts that were already large enough under her clothes. She had to at least have an f cup, but squished under her clothes, they looked larger than Asmodea's own breasts.

"There is actually a sixth member of the personal guard, but the reason why she is not here... Is the reason of the crisis I mentioned earlier. I will explain that later in any case. We should get you some sleep. The four of you, please follow me to our new residence. It is behind those mountains in the distance." Asmodea then began her way down a cobbled pathway that led to one of the mountains in the distance. "There is a secret passage along these mountains that we use to get from the palace to the portal here in emergencies."

Rainer followed Asmodea, Nerissa walked next to Rainer, arm in hand. Lauren and Aureal followed close by, admiring the sights. Of the four demons that greeted them, only the one named Tozomat followed the group. Teras stood where she was as she drank a cup of tea that appeared out of nowhere. Little Rouge jumped off the hill they were on and began flying in the opposite direction, apparently on a mission of importance. Caetorum apparently wasn't much for long trips with groups of people as he headed for the same mountains Rainer was going towards, but in his own way, which involved jumping from rock to rock to tree branch like some ninja squirrel.

Along the ways, Rainer admired the scenery. He was still amazed at how beautiful the place was despite being a home for demons. There were normal pine trees that intermixed with what must have been natural demonic flora. One tree for instance, instead of leaves or pine needles, had long vines that hung from each branch. There were even weird flowers that grew from the trunks of other trees. He also saw an odd animal that looked like a miniature velociraptor, but with fur.




The Lost Lord Ch. 09



Nerissa wasn't nearly as interested in the scenery as she was in Rainer at the moment; she had already seen her weird share of flora and fauna in her home circle. Even though the ecosystems for each circle were different, she had seen most of the plants and animals in her studies. Lauren and Aureal were just like Rainer though. Despite having ventured already in one circle, Aureal was gawking in all directions. Lauren herself was smiling, witches normally use magic involving nature, and this place would be a massive field study for her magic.

"Say, Asmodea, where are the rest of those guys?" Asked Rainer, he was wondering what each of his "personal guard" had gone.

"Ah, if you are embarrassed to call them your personal guard, call them the 'Pillar.' In each circle, the most powerful warriors or mages are gathered into a pillar division, for us, the Pillar of Lust. Each pillar member is given a title that represents an aspect of the Sin they fight for." Asmodea then listed off the pillar members, "I am called Seduction, the Seduction of Lust, as I am also part of the pillar. Tozomat is called Romance, the Romance of Lust. He will almost always be guarding you except on occasions. Teras is called Sadism, the Sadism of Lust, which doesn't bode well for your training. She should be sending a message to the other Rulers of Sin that the new Lord of Lust has finally arrived, or at least she will when she finished her tea. Little Rouge is called Fetish; do not ask me why the last lord called her that. She is investigating something for me. Caetorum is called Maturity, the Maturity of Lust, despite being one of the younger members. He is handling things to prepare for you at the palace. As for the sixth member, Zazie, known as Desire, the Desire of Lust, I will explain her situation soon enough."

"Nerissa, that means there's a pillar group in your home right?"

"Of course love. There are currently eight members in our pillar: Altruism, Loyalty, Ego, Patriotism, Honor, Dignity, Glory, and Perfection. Probably the strongest one is Altruism, as he wields Sacrifice, one of the Aspect of Death weapons."

"Aspect of Death weapons? Ah, I'll learn that stuff soon enough."

The group arrived at the base of the mountain. No secret passage that Rainer could see was in sight.

"Ok now all of you please follow my exact lead." Asmodea then picked up a rock in a nearby stream and walked towards a massive boulder a short distance away. She placed the rock in an odd slot and a doorway opened up. As soon as she walked through it, the door closed, shutting off Asmodea.

"Oh I get it... It's an extremely powerful and permanent illusion spell. This one in particular is probably impossible to de-spell, nor is it possible to walk through it like regular illusions." Explained Lauren, she had quite the aptitude for divining the nature of magic.

Each of the group picked up a stone from the stream and took their turns going through the doorway in the boulder. Once Tozomat came through, everyone looked about and found a dimly lit passageway.

"Please follow me closely, or else you will fall prey to traps that were set in case of intruders." Warned Asmodea as she gestured everyone to follow her.

They walked for ten minutes until Rainer could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, he was pretty sure they were lost, at least he was wrong.

"The passage opens up onto the upper levels of the palace, so you all should get a good view of the city, just know this Rainer, it is now your city."

"Um... Rapture. I really don't feel that important still, I don't even know how manage a city, let alone an entire nation like this."

"Oh don't worry, my mother didn't do stuff like that, she left all the management stuff to her subordinates. Mother really only bothered on major decisions and other random important things. It'll be the same for you!"

As they neared the exit to the tunnel, Rainer strained his eyes in order to accommodate the sun or whatever star the light came from. Once his eyes got used the light, he couldn't help but let out a small gasp at the view in front of him. No matter where he went, beautiful scenery was impossible to die out in this world.

A large city entered his view. The mountains around the city provided a natural defense, several waterfalls rained down from the peaks, each mountain's tip was impossible to see thanks to it being enveloped by clouds. Immeasurable amounts of buildings dotted the scape. However, many different buildings each had its own style of architecture, many of which he recognized from history books in school. At the end of the city, there were smaller houses like adobes and straw roof homes along with other kinds of houses, those had to be the outskirt farm homes. As you got closer to the palace Rainer was standing on, the buildings got more and more luxurious with its architecture and materials. The rich obviously lived closer to the palace; so the poorer folks lived on the out areas of the city. Rainer noticed that the city was terraced, the outskirts were the lowest level obviously, and as you got closer to the palace, the higher you had to climb. That would obviously help in case of a siege or an attack of any kind on this city. Rainer strained his eyes to see several different squares, which must be used for bazaars and marketplaces of all kinds. He could even make out some demons flying around the city, although they were all clad in armor. The city was definitely something he could only find in a fantasy RPG.

Aureal was the first to break silence, "You would never see such a sight in Heaven, nor in the human world. I am quite amazed."

Lauren herself could only be amazed and agree with Aureal. Nerissa had seen sights like this already, but she said this, "I'm quite impressed with this city, it was obviously built with future battles in mind. The defenses are quite amazing."

"I was not alive when this city was first built, but yes, I am told that was the reason why this city was built, for the supreme natural defenses. The mountains are impassable, not even by flying, there are waterfalls the bring fresh water in case of siege, and the terrain definitely gives us an upper hand when raining projectiles on enemies. We have only been attacked here thrice, once during the last war between angels and demons. Each time, they never got as far as the middle terrace." Asmodea seemed quite knowledgeable about the logistics of the city. "Now, let us make our way inside, I'm sure you are all quite tired as you had no sleep coming here. Caetorum must have things ready for us."

Rainer was very tired, he disliked that it was at least three in the morning when he entered the portal, and now it was completely daytime here. They entered a door that brought them inside the palace. It was just as amazing inside as it was outside. Exactly what you would expect from a lord's palace. Luxury carpets, tapestries, and furnishings adorned every hallway. No doorframe did not accommodate a grand double door. Rainer even caught a glimpse of the palace kitchen, raging fires, sweating chefs, and filled to the brim with fresh food. Every time they passed someone in the hallway, they stopped, moved to the side, bowed, and whispered, "My lord."

Most of the demons they passed were succubi or incubi, it seemed that succubi and incubi were the dominant race of the Land of Lust.

They were led to a room that appeared to be a grand bedroom.

"This was the main bedroom of the previous lord, it is now yours Rainer. You can call anytime you wish for... Well... Anything you want, really. It is your land after all."

"Don't make fun of me like that... I still don't really feel like I own an entire country."

"Oh, not a country, this entire world. The Land of Lust encompasses the entirety of this world. Each of the seven circles have their own world, that is why we use portals to travel."

"Just great..."

"Now for you three ladies, I assume you will be joining us in the bedroom?"

"Of course I will. I'm his wife... Or will be!

"Yes... In order to protect Master, I must be with him when he sleeps."

"I might as well join in on the fun"

Nerissa, Aureal, and Lauren each answered in turn. Rainer was hoping that he could at least find some sleep. But alas' it was a futile thought. He knew it would be impossible to turn away such obstinate women. Perhaps they would let him sleep tonight? He was about ready to drop down exhaustion.

"Ok, because I know it will be impossible to turn you all away, at least let me sleep tonight. I'm tired, I want sleep, and I'll do whatever you want tomorrow..." Rainer noticed his mistake and attempted to rectify it, "No, not whatever you want, but just let me sleep tonight."

"Oh that's no fun! Fine, but tomorrow we will be doing what incubi and succubi love to do!"

"I agree, you're an Incubi Rainer, fuck like one." Rainer rolled his eyes at Lauren's words.

And so the quintet found their way to the bed. It was large; probably the largest bed in all existence, as fitted the Lord of Lust. Rainer didn't even have strength to explore the room, he just fell asleep the moment he stepped foot on the bed, with clothes on.

"Awww, that is just such a precious face! I love that the lord I am serving now is just so cute. I wish I could eat him up right now." Asmodea lifted up Rainer and placed him in a more appropriate position for sleeping.

When everyone changed into nightwear that was provided by the servants, they each climbed into bed themselves. They were all very tired as they had been up for most of the night in the human world and were quite ready for sleep. Asmodea latched onto Rainer's left side and snuggled in, Nerissa latched onto Rainer's right side and made herself comfortable, Aureal slept on top of Rainer with her hands on his chest. Lauren didn't attach her self to Rainer in any particular way, but as soon as she fell asleep, she unconsciously shifted herself onto Rainer.

Tozomat stood guard outside of the bedroom. There was always at least two of the pillar division guarding the lord at all times. Asmodea always slept with their lord, and so the pillars rotated their guard every week. All those years guarding the... Grimoire in the desert made him weary, he was glad to finally be getting into some action.

"Warmaster, I am sorry to interrupt, but I have urgent news for you."

"Oh? You have news that could be more important than this annoying rebellion going in my seas? Spit it out then."

"Yes Warmaster. I have received a message that says the Land of Lust has finally acquired a leader. A new Lord of Lust has just arrived and is now residing in the palace."

"That is news indeed. I am quite interested in the strength of this new lord... How strong can he be? Hmmmm. You are dismissed. And a word of warning, I will accept no more interruptions until this rebellious island is squashed under my boot. On penalty of death should anyone interrupt my fun here."

"Yes, Warmaster, I will relay that to commanders."

Once the messenger left, the Warmaster spoke to himself, "Asmodeus, you were indeed strong, the only one I considered above me... How will your protégé show his strength? I wonder."

"Now, what do you have for me today, young lad?"

"Yes, Governor. We have a new shipment of human slaves coming through, the majority of the men are strong and handsome, the women pretty and lithe. The Shah has agreed to let you investigate the ruins of Vash'Ska in his sands for the price you listed. And the Land of Lust has apparently a new Lord of Lust."

"Eh? What was the last one?"

"Our intelligence claims that a Lord of Lust has appeared, a genuine one, and not the pretender, Arazra."

"That is interesting, I wonder what kind of deals can we strike with this Lord? Find out what kind of person this Lord is, his personality, likes dislikes, the whole shebang. Will he be for business? Or will he be a hindrance...

"Yes, Governor. Right away."

"Exalted Emperor! It finally happened!

"Oh? Did that codger of a Shah finally wither away? Did that Warmaster finally drown in his waters? Did that gluttonous General get food poisoning? Did that royal bitch of a Princess decide that she failed her land and kill herself? Did the Governor choke on his own gold yet? Or did those damned succubi whores get a Lord yet?

"Only the last one Exalted Emperor. We have received a report that a portal opened up and all but one of their pillar was there to meet, it had to be the Lord of Lust."

"'Bout damn time. Was going to invade the entire land once these twenty years were up, pity that I can't. You're dismissed, before you go, call up three wives, don't really care which ones."

"How is the book, Belphegor?"

"Very interesting. I'll say it again... Human literature always lifts my spirits. With the sands restless, I've but naught else to do except read. No need to be a Shah when there are people like you, Karszen."

"I'll take that as a compliment... But you really should take interests in events other than those that happen in books."

"I should, shouldn't I? Well, judging by your comment, I assume you have important news?"

"Yes. We have received a message from the Sadist of the Pillar of Lust. A new Lord of Lust has finally shown up."

"That's nice... Hmmm? What'd you say?"

*Sigh* "The Sadist from the Pillar of Lust sent a message saying there is a new Lord of Lust."

"That's nice... One more time, please?"

"Belphegor... I'm going to have to burn that book if you don't pay attention this time."

"Now now, no need to get all violent on me. I'm listening intently this time."

"The SADIST from the PILLAR of LUST sent a message that said they have a new LORD of LUST! If you didn't hear me that time, I will burn that book."

"Don't worry, I heard you. A new Lord of Lust... That's good, the two decades was almost up and I would have been forced to change my attention from my book. Well, I could have finished this book by then at least. Ha ha... That Garfield..."

"May I present to you this human world alcohol, General, they call it... Jack Daniels."

"Ohoh! I like this Jack man already! And his friend Daniels! They like this stuff don't they? The humans I mean."

"It was a popular beverage to the area I visited. I did not try it myself, however, I figured you would prefer to have it yourself."

"Hmmm, tis' quite interesting indeed! I can see why this Jack and Daniels fellow would make this. Perhaps we should bring this Jack and Daniels duo here to make this stuff for me exclusively? Here, have a drink as well! Tis a fantastic occasion!"

"To what fantastic occasion are we drinking towards today, General?"

"Why none other than the arrival of the new Lord of Lust. Tis 'bout time one appeared. I would hate to intervene, and the two decades were almost up! I especially love the vintages from the Land of Lust. Before you go, make a trade agreement immediately in order for me to taste their vintages from eighteen years ago until now! I've been quite sad without my favorite lusty beverage!"

"At once, General. Also, we will make arrangements to have Jack and Daniels brought over to here."

"Very good! Tis a fine day indeed!"

"Princess! Princess!"

"My my... What is it, Rachel?

"We have a visitor here to see you, she is from the Pillar of Lust, the Sadist, Teras."

"My my... Show her in, attend to her every needs, we shan't have a guest here go unserved."

"Princess Lucifer! I AM so very happy to see again!"

"Oh don't go calling me such a masculine name like Lucifer, it's my title, not my actual name."

"If you insist... Princess Lucifer."

"My my... You just won't give up, will you? Pleasantries aside, what brings you here today?"

"I have news that may interest you greatly, as they also concern your daughter, Nerissa."

"Oh? Oh! The new Lord of Lust should be here right? Eighteen years have passed, haven't they! Does my daughter like him?"

"Very much so, at least of what I saw. Although he had already gathered a harem of four girls: including Asmodea, of course, a witch of some sorts, as well as a brand new Fallen Angel. Your daughter would be the fourth."

"Really? The harem I should expect from a Lord of Lust, but it is surprising to hear he has a Fallen Angel with him, one hasn't fallen from grace since the last war between our races."

"Though trouble will be brewing already. I'm also here because other matters. The annoying pretender, Arazra, has gathered AN annoying amount of followers, as well as one from our pillar division, Zazie. I hope to count on your support should drastic events take place."

"My my... Arazra, well... I bet you could take care of him yourself!"

"Of course I could... Zazie, however, is a different story."

"My Lord Arazra, what was thought impossible, happened. A so-called Lord of Lust has taken residence in the capital. And our attempts to beguile any of others in the Pillar of Lust, have failed."

"My damned father thinks he can take away my inheritance by placing his pretender on his throne. Such bullshit. I'm his damned son! We'll have to move quickly. Inform my sister that the plans have changed. Have Zazie investigate the capital. Also, bring those damn mercenaries here already. The mercenaries are powerful enough to handle the Pillar of Lust along with Zazie... We can still do this.

"At once, Lord Arazra."



The Lost Lord Ch. 10



This one's shorter than usual, felt lazy. Just so ya'll know, I just finished chapter 16, and I'll get around to uploading all of them soon enough. Just bear with it. Also, sorry for the shitty formatting of the last chapter, I still haven't gotten used as to how Literotica uploads and formats everything with a space between each paragraph. 

*

My first morning in a demonic world... No, scratch that. An oddly beautiful world that clearly does not resemble or portrays the word, "demon" in any way, shape, or form. I feel like I'm about to go on some fantastic journey to acquire some holy artifact that'll save the world. Ok, maybe not that, but I sure as heck know that it won't be peaceful here.

All these thoughts raced through Rainer's head. He had just woken up in a very large bed that put the term, "king-sized" to shame. He could feel soft flesh in all directions, most likely because there were four girls with large breasts clinging on to him in every direction. Even a sheik in its harem would be feeling jealous at the magnitude of the beauty of the girls sleeping next to him. Though Rainer wished he could have slept alone, he knew that was no longer an option in this world. It was, after all, the Land of Lust, home of Succubi, Incubi, and demons of desire. You would find no unattractive being in this entire world.

"You know, you have the most precious face while you are sleeping. It looks just so innocent and peaceful." A rather sultry voice spoke, a voice that happened to belong to a succubus named Asmodea. She was the first supernatural existence that Rainer had met. "I can tell you are awake, no need to keep your eyes closed."

Rainer, instead of complying with her wish, clamped his eyelids shut in a desperate attempt to get a couple more minutes of sleep. He had the deepest and longest sleep ever, and he refused to wake up.

"Now now... If you do not wake up, I will have to kiss you until you do, of course, I might unintentionally smother you unconscious if you really want to sleep some more."

That did it. "Ah, no need for that. I'm awake. No need for that. I'm seriously awake now. Hey! I said I'm awake, what're yo- Mphmmpfmfphfmphmmmfh" Rainer was cut off as Asmodea made good on her threat despite Rainer complying.

Asmodea closed her lips over Rainer's mouth, effectively blocking any airflow to his mouth and nose. She thrust her tongue, which was coated in her saliva, deep into Rainer's mouth. Rainer's own tongue was currently being strangled by the succubus. Rainer didn't mind being kissed, but he definitely preferred it when he was a compliant partner. Asmodea cupped Rainer's head in between her hands in order to gain a more stable position. She pushed her breasts into Rainer's body, despite being forcefully kissed, Rainer at least felt some pleasure from her soft and large breasts.

"I'm going to have to ask you to stop, Asmodea. You are currently making Master lose his breath and he will soon lose consciousness." A voice of reason! Rainer rejoiced as he saw Aureal sitting in an upright position, with her glorious chest bare for anyone to see.

"Oh, very well. But I have a better suggestion, come here for a second, angel."

"Hmmm? Ah, ok. But why?"

"Don't worry, just come here."

"Finally, are you done killing me here?" Complained Rainer, he was breathing heavily as he tried to regain his breath. Saliva coated the mouths of both Rainer and Asmodea. "There's no damn need to go killing me first thing in the morn-mpfhmfphfmmmfhphfmp." Rainer again had his mouth covered by a different set of lips.

Right when Aureal moved to Asmodea's position, the succubus forced Aureal's head onto Rainer, again suffocating him. "Hahaha! It is just so much fun to have such innocent people forced into such indecent acts! Hey, angel, he likes it when you get reaaally aggressive with your tongue, that way, he's forced to be aggressive on his own too!"

Clearly gaining some sort of thrill from this, Rainer hoped that Aureal would resist her honeyed words. Sadly, the submissive Fallen Angel fell prey under the older demon's influence. Aureal forced her tongue as far as it could go into Rainer's mouth. Rainer attempted to fight back the intrusion, because it felt weird when someone pushed their tongue that deep. Aureal was completely into the forced kiss, however, she too needed to breath. Asmodea relented, and Aureal went up, gasping for air.

"Now are you done trying to suffocate me for your weird sadistic thrills?" Asked Rainer who was very annoyed?

"Yes, I'm satisfied. You should know, however, that Teras is the sadistic one. And since you will be training with her to master your magic... Well, have fun!"

*Yawn* "Good morning, fiancée! I hope you aren't conducting any indecent acts behind my back?" A seemingly tired Nerissa had just woken up, most likely due to Rainer's thrashing against Asmodea and Aureal's aggressive moves.

"None willingly."

"Oh no, that's not good, here have a good morning kiss!"

"Wait? Another o-mpfhmfpmhmphf" And again the process repeats until Nerissa seemed satisfied.

Asmodea had left the bed and gotten herself dressed, "I have some matters to take care of. If you need anything, just pull any of the cords around this room, a servant will appear and comply with your requests. There is a bath over there should you wish to take one, clothes over there when you need them, and Tozomat should still be standing guard outside should you need me." Asmodea pointing to various doors and openings that led to the accommodations she mentioned. As soon as she finished speaking, she made her way towards the door that led to the rest of the palace.

"Ah, Asmodea, where's Lauren by the way? I don't see her here." He had noticed Lauren was anywhere to be seen.

"Oh her? She woke up first I assume, as she was not there when I woke up. Judging from her personality, she should be fine, but I will look out for her. She might have told Tozomat her destination, so I shall inquire, my lord."

Once Asmodea left, Nerissa got up and stretched. "Hey, why don't we take a bath together? I wanted to take one yesterday, but I abstained since I wanted to take one with you!"

"Ah... Ok, I feel dry, so a bath would do me good. Aureal? You want to come with us?"

"Yes, Master. It has been awhile since I have washed myself. Besides, I have yet to... Do it with you in normal reality."

"Okay... Wait what?"

"Rainer! What does she mean by, 'do it with you in normal reality? I did forget to question you about the actions you undertook when you turned her towards Sin!"

"Uh... I plead the fifth on that."

"The 'fifth', as you call it, has no authority here. Very well, I'll ignore the fact that you have acquired another lover. Though, know that I am your legal wife. Yes, Fallen Angel Aureal, is it?"

"Yes, that is my name, Mistress, however, please call me Aureal." The Fallen Angel made Nerissa blush slightly when she said, 'Mistress'. Though she used the term before, Nerissa only recognized her using it this time.

"Aureal it is then, as long as if you recognize that I am this man's legal wife, I will condone any acts you perform with him. He was the one to turn you after all, and that generally requires a special bond! I don't blame him, you are quite beautiful... (Though not as much as me) Powerful too!"

"I am happy to meet your standards Mistress." It was Aureal's turn to blush when Nerissa complimented her. Aureal was apparently weak to compliments; Rainer noted that down in case of an emergency.

The trio entered the bath area Asmodea mentioned. Steam poured from the doorway when it was opened. In came the view of an extremely luxurious bath. Rainer saw Romanesque style architecture and design, as well as traditional Japanese style decorations and layout. There were three separate bath areas. Rainer checked each bath and found that one was cold, very cold, despite the steam and heat from the rest of the bath area. One was warm and tepid. The third had a very hot temperature, it almost scalded his skin, it was a bath that required some getting used to the heat. There was a decorative island with several different types of plants growing on it in the middle of the largest bath, the warm bath.

"Eh, I'll just enter the warm bath, I really don't feel like bathing in the baths with temperatures of lava and liquid nitrogen." Said Rainer as he stripped himself of what clothes he had left. He didn't realize that his clothes from last night were missing and he was now in different clothing, meaning that someone changed him in his sleep.

"This is quite interesting... The baths in my palace was each just one large pool, which could be heated to the exact temperature you wished. But this! It just sets the tone for the perfect experience!" Nerissa explained the difference between the baths from her home to the baths here.

"That must've been convenient."

"Yes it was, though I must admit... I rather like the atmosphere of this one better!"

"Mmm, the temperature's just right, I could get used to taking a bath here every day. I guess since I'm a bloody lord now, I can savor this as long as I want." Just as Rainer lowered himself in, Aureal and Nerissa just finished removing their clothes. Rainer admired the view the two of them presented. Nerissa obviously didn't mind showing herself off to her supposed fiancée, Aureal, however, attempted to hide herself despite being in plain view. Aureal's breasts were larger than Nerissa, but that didn't matter to him. He liked both of the girls quite a bit, Aureal's pretty and innocent look, to Nerissa's cheerful and flamboyant personality, both had the looks, figure, and personality that Rainer found attractive.

"Um... Master, shall I massage your back?" Asked Aureal. Rainer didn't expect her to want to perform such a forward action.

"If that's the case, Angel Aureal, I'll wash my fiancée's front!"

"Uh... Don't I get any say in how I get washed? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Protested Rainer, he brought up as much willpower as he could in order to resist the two beautiful women in front of him. He wanted to keep some semblance of normal reality with him. Fortunately (for us), his resistance was futile.

"Denied! It's the duty of one's lover to cater to your needs, especially in a bath. Right, Aureal?" Nerissa said this as she stepped into the warm bath.

Aureal herself was tiptoeing into the bath, her face flushed red, "I request that you allow me to do this for you Master. I'm your humble servant."

I'm doomed to this extremely pleasurable existence for all eternity. Damn this demonic immortality of mine. Oh well, nothing left to do but indulge and enjoy.

With all thoughts of resistance gone from his mind, Rainer relented, "You'll both never stop anyway, so do what you will."

Nerissa closed in from the front, she reached towards Rainer with an odd object Rainer assumed to be soap. It could've been something else, it was a different world after all; who knew what the procedures were when it came to bathing, Rainer sure didn't. Aureal closed in from behind. She placed her hands on Rainer's shoulders and began to massage them.

"You're rather stiff, Master. You need to stretch more before you fight next time."

"Uh, even if I wanted to, I couldn't stretch at all before that fight with those damned angels. I was being carried by you, after all."

The trio remained silent while they went about their business. Aureal massaged the shoulders and back while Nerissa washed Rainer. Rainer returned the favor to Nerissa by washing her when she was done. Soon enough the two girls switched sides, despite Rainer's protests. People repeated what they were doing, just in a different area. Both the girls slowly started getting aroused by the heavy amount of bodily contact they were giving and receiving from Rainer. Rainer, however, had already been aroused from stage one; he chose to ignore it so they could at least finish the cleaning part of the bath.

"Now that the boring part's been taken care of, let's a little more interesting." Said Nerissa as she reached her arms around Rainer in an embrace. She pushed forward so that Rainer could feel her breasts pushing into his back. Rainer could clearly make out her hard nipples poking at him.

All thoughts of foreplay had vanished with their constant touching of each other. Nerissa stroked Rainer's shaft several times before turning him around. Nerissa herself turned around and bent herself over the edge of the bath. Her legs were submerged in water, but her butt was just above the waterline. Rainer lined up his shaft with Nerissa's main entrance. He teased the entrance a couple times, eliciting a whimper from Nerissa each time.

"Please! Love, just shove it in! I want it rig-! Ahn!" Nerissa's pleading was interrupted as Rainer did as she asked; he shoved it in without remorse.

As she was already quite aroused, there was no need for lubrication. Rainer pounded away with hard thrusts. He looked downwards and admired his supposed fiancée's ass, round and luscious.

"Ahn! Ang-Angel, come h-here. I m-mustn't leave y-you all alone n-now!" Beckoned Nerissa, her words were sometimes interrupted by sharp spasms of pleasure each time her pussy was filled with her lover's cock.

"Uh, yes, Mistress." Aureal was still new to these sorts of indecent acts, but she made up for that by being willing to learn with her submissive nature. If it was that kind of relationship... And maybe it'll turn into that sometime in the future, Rainer noticed that Aureal would be the "submissive" to Nerissa's dominatrix."

Aureal made her towards Nerissa's head, which was moving back and forth due to the thorough fucking she was receiving. Nerissa had Aureal sit down with her pussy in front of Nerissa's mouth. Nerissa began to eat out the beautiful angel in front of her. Her long tongue enabled Nerissa to get everywhere she needed to please Aureal.

Nerissa would never admit it, but she actually liked eating out other girls. Since she was half succubus, she was forced to act on her desires in her home palace. However, she knew she was promised to another man and she wanted to keep herself "pure" for him, so she was at least able to satisfy herself with other women.

Aureal was at least versed in sex with a male, but with a female, she was curious. Now she got to find out what it would be like. Nerissa's long tongue expertly worked over most of the pleasure points within the outer part of Aureal's pussy. Nerissa worked her tongue into Aureal's folds, penetrating her depths. She thrust her tongue deep, poking at Aureal's walls, eliciting a cry of elation from the angel. Nerissa noted that despite Rainer only having sex with Aureal in her mind's soul, while helping her fall from grace, Aureal did not have a hymen to break, weird.

Rainer's lust was getting to him, as he was technically the Lord of Lust, it would be expected for him to be more immersed in lust than the rest of the land. He still had complete control of his mind, yet it felt altered by complete lust. He spanked Nerissa's ass, resulting in another moan. Like Rainer thought, Nerissa did like a little bit of pain, but not to the point of masochistic levels.

Aureal rubbed the top of her pussy, lavishing attention on her clit. She knew that there would no longer be a problem if she completely lost herself in Sin. She was, after all, a Fallen Angel. Her free hand went to one of her breasts. She roughly groped her own breasts, pinching and rubbing her nipples. Her legs flailed around. She, despite joining last, came first. It wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, like her first one with Rainer, but it still felt good... Very good.

Nerissa didn't stop her tongue. Telling herself, she'll stop when she and Rainer were done, she made it her goal to make Aureal cum at least once more, and more powerful than the first. Once a white demon of pride sets a goal, they accomplish it in any way possible, usually. However, this was a goal she would accomplish. With renewed vigor, Nerissa relentlessly assaulted Aureal's pussy with her tongue and lips. She thrust her tongue as far as possible into Aureal's depths. Her tongue managed to reach the womb, thanks to her tongues length. She licked around, savoring Aureal's taste. Aureal herself was unable to continue. The actions of Nerissa, compounded with her previous orgasm rendered her unable to move effectively. Practically paralyzed with paroxysms of pleasure, Aureal relinquished herself to Nerissa's whims. She laid her head onto the floor, spread her legs, and desisted from moving. Nerissa brought her hands to Aureal's pussy. She spread the lips of the pussy and rubbed the inside with her fingers. She located the clitoris and gave that the most attention. Aureal was well on the way to getting another orgasm, and she was surprisingly vocal about it. Moans of pleasure accompanied by the occasional scream rung throughout the private bath, more so from Aureal than Nerissa. While Nerissa was being diligent about making Aureal cum again, she was being vocal herself about the pounding she was receiving from behind.

Goosebumps formed along the akin of Nerissa, she could honestly say that nothing in all the worlds could make her feel better than the dick of her fiancée planted tightly in her. Tempo or roughness didn't matter that much to her, she felt incredibly aroused at the thought of the one she loved fucking her. Rainer slapped his hands down onto Nerissa's round ass. He spanked her every now and then, but not often enough to label him as a sadist. He held a firm grasp onto the soft backside of the pretty demon in front of him. He thrust his shaft deeply into her. He went deep enough to reach her womb with each hard thrust. The tight walls of Nerissa's pussy clamped down even tighter as she began to cum. Nerissa let out the loudest moan of pleasure of the tryst yet, if anyone was outside the bath, they would have heard her. Rainer knew it wasn't long for him either and debated with what to do.

Suddenly, Nerissa reluctantly removed herself from the shaft she was impaled on. She pulled Aureal into the bath with her and moved Rainer to sit down on the edge. Each girl took their place on one side of Rainer's shaft. Straight from the scenes of a pornographic movie, the two girls began licking around the shaft and fondling his balls. Nerissa licked the length from bottom to top with her tongue before going down on the shaft with her lips. Aureal acted on complete instinct and took one of his balls into her mouth. The two girls switched, Aureal brought her lips to the tip of the shaft and went down onto his cock, Nerissa sucked on one of his balls while licking the other with her tongue.

"Can't fucking take anymore..." Rainer forced out some words instead of gasps. The two girls licked the tip of the dick, sometimes coming into contact with each other's tongues. Rainer swiftly came, and ropes of cum shot out. Semen soon covered the faces of the two girls, with some landing in the water or on the girl's breasts. It was a truly erotic sight to see one's own cum on the two girl's faces.

"Mmmm, like last time, you taste delicious."

"Ah, yes... Master, your... It is to my liking."

Both Nerissa and Aureal spoke in turn as they licked their lips and the surrounding area clean from his cum. The girls and Rainer washed their faces and bodies once more and dried up with towels located next to the entrance of the bath.

"So, what's there to do now?" Asked Rainer, he wanted to clean himself before interacting with any new people. And now that was done with, he had no idea what to do.

"Well, since you are the Lord of Lust, you could technically do whatever you wanted. Might I suggest taking a look around the place, get familiar with your new home. I plan on doing that, since I'll be living here with you! Obviously!" Nerissa offered her advice to Rainer while dressing herself with new clothes that suspiciously appeared despite not having been there before.




The Lost Lord Ch. 10



"I guess so. I kinda want to see what its like in the city. It's like a city from one of those games I played back at my old home... Those games I'll probably never get to play again." Rainer, at that point, realized that all of his possessions from his home would probably never enter his hands again. He knew that he could just ask for probably anything here, and he'd get it. But he disliked the idea of losing all the items he bought and lived with.

"Items from the human world, and humans in general, are very expensive. After all, we are barred from entering that world due to losing in the last war against the angels. No offense, Angel Aureal."

"None taken, Mistress."

"This entire adventure took up a short time of my life, yet it changed it so drastically. Ah well, I'm sure I'll find things that I'll love about this place. Probably end up liking it far more than Earth."

"You're surprisingly resilient, as expected of my fiancée!"

"I had to be."

"Eh? Why's that, Master?"

"Ah... I'll talk about that another time. I just want to see what kind of city this place is like."

"You'll probably have to have one of the pillar members follow or come with you for protection. We don't know what'll happen! You are a brand new demonic lord, there might be fanatics out there who want to cause harm to you!"

The trio walked out of the bedroom and into a brightly lit hallway. A single person was standing around, the blind swordsman, Caetorum.

"Good morning, young Lord. I trust your sleep and bath was too your liking?" Dignified. Dignified and solemn were the two keywords to describe the man in front of him.

"Ah, yea. I've never seen a place like this. Better than the highest of high class hotels back on Earth." Rainer answered as honestly as possible.

"Thank you. We, meaning myself and the servant staff were worried you would not find it to your liking, as you might prefer human world lodgings over the ones here."

"Bloody heck no. I could really take advantage of the extravagance here."

"Now, may I ask what your plans are? As the three of you are still very new here, I will try to cater to your needs."

"Um, I would like directions to an armory, please. As I am now fallen, the angels would have surely revoked my rights toward their weaponry and armor."

"And I want to know where I might have some food. I'm famished."

"Ah, I want something to eat too, haven't had anything in a small while."

"Nivenah!" Caetorum called out into the luxurious hallway. He apparently called for a woman, as one hurriedly appeared onto the scene. "Can you please direct... Aureal, is it? Aureal to the armory."

"Of course, Maturity." (Caetorum's title is, "Maturity" of the pillar division.)

"As for you two, please follow me. I'll lead you two to the dining hall."

Aureal was lead off by woman, Nivenah to where he guessed was the armory. While Nerissa and Rainer followed Caetorum to the dining hall, Rainer was furiously wondering how the heck Caetorum knew where he was going, despite being blind. After a while's thought, he tucked the question into his mind and wrote it off as magic or demon stuff of some sort.

The dining hall was almost exactly what you would expect to see in a medieval castle. Several long tables were lined up, with another long one perpendicular at the end of the room. Comfy looking chairs were arranged neatly along each table, with grander ones along the horizontal table. There were opaque dishes and glasses placed at the horizontal table, obviously meant for the two of them as well as some others. Stained glass depicted scenes of what Rainer assumed to be lust. Most of them depicted sexual acts, but some depicted lust in other ways, however Rainer didn't pay attention to the windows for very long. In the middle of the horizontal table, there was a uniquely shaped chair, which he assumed to be a throne. A throne he didn't realize was meant for him until Caetorum gestured Rainer towards. Rainer sat down onto the throne, he didn't feel hard stone or metal, despite being colored that way. He felt that the throne moved, or more accurately, contorted and shifted. It felt as if no matter what position Rainer sat in, he couldn't feel uncomfortable, only comfort.

Nerissa sat in a chair next to Rainer, while several others took a position next to chairs around the table. "Oh, hello Rainer. This place is pretty good isn't it? I'm practically royalty since I'm apparently one of your 'concubines'. Not that I mind." A rather carefree voice rung out on the other side of Rainer, it was Lauren's voice. She had a book wrapped in her arms, which she placed onto the table next to the dish and glass.

"Where'd you go?"

"I went to the library, I wanted to find a book on the flora and fauna of the circles. I figured I better start learning about the plants and animals of these worlds if I'm going to be able to use my witch's magic." Answered Lauren. She had on an outfit he had never seen before; one he figured was native to this world. She still had on her glasses, but he also noticed that the colors in her hair had changed. Instead of the blue and pink colors he had seen in her black hair, she had dark green and purple. Her gothic appearance had always had a certain allure, it had not gone away yet.

"Witches do magic with nature don't they? I only know the basics from myths and whatnot."

"Yes, what is witch magic like? As you can tell, humans are not that common in the circles, so human specific magic is very rare. I'm curious how you fight!"

"Ah well... I'm an offshoot of the main type of witches. I form what I call 'pacts' with certain animals and beings. I call upon their power to assist me in combat or everyday life. I know plenty of herbalism and incantations, but I like to specialize with pacts. My mother was a very famous witch, she taught me all the basics to all kinds of witchcraft and said, 'Go learn what you want, I don't need a brat like you following me... Oh and be careful!' So I chose to directly involve myself with nature. I even used one of my pacts on that angel from before."

"Oh yea, you said something about a wraith or something."

"That's one of my pacts. My pacts aren't normal ones with regular human world animals, though I have some of those, I formed pacts with mythical, mystical, and supernatural creatures. I don't mean to brag, I swear, but very few witches have been able to form pacts with those kinds of creatures. Mother's training helped a lot. You heard me do the full recital to call upon the pact, right, Nerissa? It went as..." Nerissa then began to recite words apparently used to call upon one of her pacts.

"I call upon the pact

Wraith of the abyss, hear me

Arm of the Wraith."

With that, Lauren's arm turned into a sharp point, with her fingers at the tip. It looked as if the arm could pierce through any thing. Rainer did not think that angel's armor was for show, but neither was Lauren's arm.

"Begone, essence of wraith." With those words, Lauren's arm turned to normal.

"Interesting, if your ability is as rare as you say, you would be quite the asset for us. What other kinds of pacts have you formed?" Nerissa was more than interested; in fact she looked like a little girl's first visit to a magic or illusionist's show.

"Hmmm, I've formed pacts with quite a few creatures. Let's see, a Nemean Lion, a Gorgon, a Wendigo, a Fenrir wolf, that Wraith you saw, a Manticore, a Shade, one of the Faceless ones, an ice dragon... And a couple others, the dragon and the Wendigo were the toughest ones to get a pact from. I want to see what kinds of animals in these circles I can get a pact from."

"You mentioned a Nemean Lion and Fenrir Wolf..."

"Hmmm? Yea, why?"

"Sometimes when portals were opened up between the human world and our circles, our fauna would enter the portals. Those animals are generally found in the myths of humans. Like the Kraken... Don't ask me how, but one managed to go through a portal in the Waters of Wrath once, and it wreaked havoc in the human world! It must have been a baby or young Kraken then and grew up in the human world. If you can gather pacts with animals of the circles, you would be quite the force to be reckoned with! Would it be possible to get a pact with a Kraken, I wonder?"

"Oh, I've got a pact with a Kraken, I didn't mention that one." Said Lauren like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"How in hell could you pact up with an animal, or whatever it is, that massive?"

"I'm surprised, I only said that as a joke... And yet you apparently do."

Said both Rainer and Nerissa, they were both quite surprised.

"Hunting wizards were looking for it at the time. I just happened to be around in a boat when they had the Kraken about to be killed. I took them out, mercilessly mind you, and the Kraken turned out to be quite amiable. After saving its life, it was quite willing. I'll show it to you guys sometime."

At that point, three other people sat down at the table: Caetorum, Tozomat, and Little Rouge. Not only them, but several other people, both incubi and succubi, came in bearing trays of food.

"I hope the food will be to your liking young Lord. As it is still morning, it is a breakfast arrangement. Demon world food may be a bit... Different than the food or your world. I can assure you it is good though."

"Ah, I'll definitely try it. I like breakfast, so I'm sure this'll be good." Rainer remained composed, though his eye twitched when Caetorum said the word "different".

"Soooooo, how issssss the place? Caetorum spent the entire day getting this place all clean and ready toooooo meet the standards of aaaaa Lord of Lust.♡" Little Rouge spoke with clear intent at annoying Caetorum.

"Try all you want, I will not stoop to your level in front of the young Lord." Caetorum... Dignified and solemn, those were certainly Caetorum's attributes.

"Ha ha! One day you'll just get tooooooo annoyed by meeeeee. Ohhhhh how much fun iiiiiiit would beeeeee to make Maturity goooooo to immaturity... Yay! Food issssss here, I'mmmmm hungry.♡"

The caterers placed the food onto the table. Caetorum was right, different is how you would describe the food. Straight from Dr. Suess, was green egg like objects. Along that were strips of slightly charred yellowish meat. There was a plate holding a variety of small colored orbs. There was a plate with what would have been normal pancake like objects, but there were definitely demon world things sticking out. Different is key here.

Lauren showed the same amount of hesitance as Rainer. Nerissa and the pillar members however were already eating the food the put on their plates. Rainer took a little bit of everything, mustering as much bravery as possible. The look of the food said one thing, the taste said something else. Just like when Nerissa cooked for Rainer once, taste defied the food's look. Each of the dishes was delicious, each unique in their own flavor.

After the meal was finished, Rainer went up to Caetorum to ask a question, "Uh, Caetorum, how do I get to the city? I really want to explore it and see what it's like. The cities in Earth are nothing like the ones here from what I've seen."

"I'd advise against going to the city, but I guess after seeing a completely different place for the first time, one's instincts are to investigate it."

"A land like this... I used to think they only existed in books, movies, and games. There is no way I can resist seeing the wonders of this place."

"Wanderlust, eh? I cannot go against the requests of the young Lord, but may I make a request myself?"

"Ah, sure. What is it?"

"I request that you keep your appendages, wings and all, inside. Black demons attract attention along with their white counterparts. There is a pretender to the throne that will want your head. There is no way that they can know what you look like exactly, but they are sure to do something with any black or white demons they see. Also, one of us will observe you from a distance. If we are seen with you, as we are pillar members and your personal guard, they will know your identity."

"Fair enough, I don't really want to die anytime soon so go right ahead."

Rainer began the process to suck in his demonic appendages. Once he finished Caetorum showed him the way out to the city, and Rainer began his expedition.



The Lost Lord Ch. 11



You know that moment where you get so into something, let's say a book or a movie. You get so into it, you dream about it that night. That dream is the most surreal and realistic dream you've ever had, and then you wake up, realize it was a dream, and you get ready for the day. Well, Rainer is not having that moment right now.

No dream or CG infested movie could compare to the sights Rainer was seeing. People, buildings, and nouns of all sizes swarmed Rainer's eyes. Demons of all shapes and sizes walked to and fro across the streets, some quickly and others at a leisurely pace. Rainer took his time to admire the sights, clearly looking like a tourist. A building next to him had an ebony spire along with plants on the rooftops around it, something akin to the Hanging Gardens. The city mostly reminded him of, or at least the area he was in at the moment reminded him of Istanbul in the 1600s. Every now and then, Rainer entered a new "region" of the city; each region seemed to resemble different areas around Earth. One area a 1200 British community, another area was filled with architecture somewhat resembling Aztec and Mayan culture, and a third area contained buildings and whatnot he couldn't recognize, most likely native demonic culture.

Throughout the streets, Rainer noticed something about the buildings. There were a large amount of brothels. Each one Rainer passed was either what you would expect of a normal brothel, or a particular one catered to a certain fetish or "group" of people. He passed one, and several of the women plying their "wares" waved and gestured towards him seductively. Each of those places looked visually enticing, wafted a sweet smell, or you could hear the moans of a vocal copulation.

He also noticed that it wasn't uncommon for the male and female demons to go the bare minimum of clothing, or without any clothing at all. In fact, he even noticed several demons engaging in certain sexual acts in areas less traveled by the people, alleyways, corners, or behind large objects. There was a good number of succubi were selling themselves their clients, even a handful of male demons selling themselves. It was truly a free city. Rainer could safely say this was probably one of the most lax cities in the area, or all the circles... Except for the sloth demons.

Rainer sat down on a stone bench in order to rest his legs. Sights like these almost made him glad he left his life on Earth to come here, who knew places like this existed except for the ones who lived in them... Of the denizens of the city he saw, the majority were succubi and incubi. However, Rainer saw plenty of demons without wings, or horns, or tails, or even none of those appendages at all. Those ones must of had them hidden like Rainer did. Anonymity must be hard with distinguishing features like those.

Rainer focused on one rather fat demon, it had a diminutive tail as the sole demonic appendage Rainer could see. The demon must have had strong legs in order to support its large body, its arms were longer than normal, and its face was just as large as its body. The demon was colored tan, a normal color. Instead of lust, which Rainer expected to feel from a citizen of the Land of Lust, Rainer felt gluttony. He didn't know how he was "feeling" the sinful auras from each individual, but he noticed that if he focused on one demon in particular, he could tell what sin a demon was aligned with. In any case, that particular demon completely resembled what Rainer would expect of a demon from Gluttony. Apparently one didn't have to be of Lust's decent in order to be in the Land of Lust, which should have been obvious as each of the circles are connected by portals; so obviously demons of other circles could enter another circle.

After observing a couple more demons, an interesting event happened. Two demons met up in the middle of the square, near Rainer's bench, and began to converse.

The first demon was a blue demon, blue skin and appendages, wings, horns, and tail. It was an Incubus of Lust. He was also very slender, though Rainer noticed toned muscles on the uncovered parts of the body. Rainer also saw that he was holding onto a plain staff. The second demon was brown; it had horns and a tail but no wings. Rainer felt Wrath emanating from it. He was well built and looked experienced in combat. A large scar decorated his left shoulder. He also wielded a shield and sword, both of which were fastened on his back.

The first demon began to speak, "So, Avandar, I honestly didn't expect to see you here this fine day. I could have sworn you despised the Tension District in whole." Apparently the area Rainer was in was called the Tension District.

Then the second demon named Avandar spoke in a slow and rough tone, "I damned do, and my first defeat was in this very square. Thanks to you. Now let's just get this over with. I'm damned eager to get back to Gaarde."

"Now now, Avandar, you don't just rush things like this. We take it slow, and quicken the pace, and then at the peak, its over." Sexual innuendos from a demon of Lust, Rainer wasn't surprised, and apparently nor was Avandar.

"Get that damned talk back to the brothel. I'll have none of that here. I'm expected back at Black Steps, so let's get this over with." Avandar reached for his sword and shield, sword on the right and shield on the left. "I can't stand having a loss over my shoulder, I wanted to end your damned existence on the same spot you beat me last time, Cairz."

"So you say, but can you achieve? Very well, one of us will be ended here." A duel to the death, Rainer was morbidly interested. The first demon named Cairz readied his staff into a martial arts type position.

The people around the square made room for the two demons and gathered around to watch. Two succubi sat down on the bench with Rainer, but they were focused on the fight. Rainer could hear bets being made on the side. It was apparently commonplace to see a fight every now and then in the streets of this city.

A demon walked out from the crowd and spoke, "If it's all right with you two, I'll mediate the duel."

"Agreed." Said the two demons simultaneously.

The mediator placed his hand in between the two duelers. He yelled out, "OK, FIGHT!" He lifted his arm and retreated back to the crowd.

Avandar landed the first blow. He twisted around in high speed and lashed out with his sword, he kept his shield centered on his body to guard and unarmored spots. Cairz simply raised his staff and blocked the blow, he twisted himself and struck out with the end of his staff, and then he twisted the staff to attack with the other end of the staff. After Avandar blocked both blows, he lashed out with his shield to bash his opponent.

Cairz ducked and then yelled out, "Burning spirits! Lend me your power, lash out in the form of a deadly claw!" Fire came out the end of his staff in the form of an arm with claws. The fire claw grew and reached out to lash at Avandar. The Wrath demon wasn't fazed, instead he stepped back and took a deep breath, a very deep breath. He then blew out the air with the force of a small hurricane. The fire claw went out, Cairz frowned but didn't budge a step from the gale.

Avandar unleashed a flurry of blows with his sword. Most were either dodged or blocked, but one managed to scrape the clothing and skin of Cairz, causing him to bleed. Cairz then swept his staff up and knocked the blade out of his way. He thrust forward with the tip of his spear. Avandar punched with his shield and knocked the thrust away. Cairz brought his staff back and pushed Avandar backwards a couple steps while jumping back himself a couple meters.

Cairz shouted out another incantation, "Staff! Lose cohesion! Burning spirits possess and empower this staff!" Cairz was forced to nimbly dodge a blow at the end of the incantation, as Avandar strongly slashed at his opponent in an attempt to disrupt the incantation. The staff immediately went limp after the words and began to glow a soft red-orange.

Cairz seemed unaffected the heated limp staff in his hands. Like a whip, Cairz flailed around wildly, attempting to disorient and land a blow on Avandar at the same time. Avandar couldn't keep up with the whip like staff and covered his head and neck with his shield. Cairz crouched down and swept at Avandar's legs. The whip wrapped around the legs and Cairz pulled, Avandar fell on his back and received burns on his legs. Cairz looked down on Avandar and yelled out, "Burning spirits! Lend me a dragon's breath to scorch and raze!"

During the incantation, Avandar took in another massive deep breath as a last resort. His shield would only protect part of his body; the rest would be scorched and crippled. Both fighters let out their breath, large amounts of fire flowed from Cairz's mouth, a cyclone of air came out from Avandar at the same time.

"Ach! Hah... You penetrated me... I'm out, see you later..." Rainer and the crowd of people was surprised to hear those words come out of Cairz, it looked as if his breath of fire was about to win. Avandar had thrust his sword into Cairz's throat, causing the now lifeless body to bleed on Avandar.

"Damned innuendos to the end. At least I'm done with him." Said Avandar as he pushed the dead body off of him. He pulled his sword out of the dead body and fastened it as well as his shield to his back.

The majority of the crowd began to cheer. Some were handing bags, of what Rainer assumed currency, to other demons, as they must have lost their bet. He managed to snag bits of commentary about the fight just now. "Pretty skilled fire mage there." "Yea, never saw a dragon's breath attack that large in quite awhile." "Black Steps got some pretty skilled people with them." "The guy got overconfident was he had that fellow on the ground, mistake right there."

"This is... Quite the city." Mumbled Rainer under his breath. He got up and dispersed with the crowd into the streets. He eventually came to a stone building with a canvas covering the front of the building. Rainer noticed a sign on the building and read it, "'Humanesque'... I am hungry, I never would've expected to see the deliciously simple and fat food of my homeland."

"Hmmm? You looking to have some of food?" A voice called out from the inside of the building. Through an opened door, Rainer could see an Incubus staring at him. The Incubus was dark green and had all of his appendages out. Apparently demons came in all sorts of colors, Rainer had seen an entire rainbow of demons around the city. "C'mon in, I'll give you a drink on the house."

Rainer was unsure on whether to take up the seemingly kind demon on his offer, but he saw no harm in it. He walked in to see an extremely well furnished establishment. He didn't recognize most of the objects in the building, but he saw some things he remembered from Earth. There were a couple other demons eating plates of food. Each was eating a delicious item of food any human could find at a roadside establishment meant for truckers and travelers. "I didn't expect to see food like this in this city." Rainer confessed to the apparent Incubus who called him in.

The Incubus prepared a drink with bubbles coming out... A soda? Wondered Rainer. "Here have it, this is apparently a popular drink in the human world."

Rainer took a sip and immediately recognized the flavor. It was a classic Pepsi drink soda. "I didn't know they had this stuff here..."

"Really? Restaurants like this are quite popular here, you're not a resident of this city I take it?"

"Ah, no. I just moved here." Rainer debated in his mind whether it was ok to give out information like this, but the Incubus seemed friendly enough."

"Eh? That so? Where're you from then? By the way, it's Emiel."

"Ah, I'm Rainer. I just came from Earth, ah, the human word." Rainer realized he could have made a big mistake with his words just now. That could've been a big flag to those people Caetorum was talking about.

"No shit? No wonder you seemed relieved to have that drink. Heck, I make it a statement that I give out free drinks and food to anyone who goes to the human world. I hate the damn angels who monopolize the place. Human world ingredients for their food are expensive, but it's worth it. Anyone who goes to the human world against the angel's treaty is fine by me."

Either Emiel was extremely good at lying, or he was true by his word. He didn't feel like he was lying, so Rainer went with his instinct. "Well, I've never been to this city, so I'm just doing a little sight seeing. I'm surprised, really."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I just saw a fight a small while ago... Are those even allowed?"

"Yup, definitely new here. Lust, Wrath, and Pride are the only three circles that allow duels in the middle of cities, as long as if there is a fair mediator. Other circles allow fighting, but only in arenas or if an official allows and supervises the duel. But that doesn't stop illegal fighting there. That didn't happen to be the fight between Cairz and Avandar, did it?"

"Yea, it was actually. Why?"

"Just curious, Cairz is a well known member of the Shiirran, a gang like mercenary group. Avandar is a member of a well-known and big mercenary group named Black Steps, I heard the leader of that group is a black demon."

"Black demon, huh... Gang like mercenary group?"

"Well, to put it in human world terms that you'd be familiar with... They're like an underworld gang that forces 'protection' on places like mine. Though the plus side is that they actually protect the places, so there's generally no violence around stores and restaurants."

"Yea, that's different from the human world."

"Well, I got some customers to feed, you come here again and I'll get you a good human meal for free. Good luck in the city, Rainer."

"Yea, thanks for the drink, I'll definitely come back for some human food." Rainer had now gotten somewhat used to referring to Earth and its denizens as the human world and humans. He finished up his drink in a final gulp, handed the glass to Emiel, and left the building.

"Hmmm, nice place." Rainer looked at the building one last time and turned around to find a surprise. A succubus was staring straight at him in the face, he didn't recognize the demon lady, nor did he feel like she was decent. She had violet skin and appendages. She was wearing a blue robe that emphasized her features in every way, it hugged her hips and pushed up her cleavage. She seemed to like jewelry, a diamond stud on her nose, long gold earrings with a red and blue gemstone on each, and a silver tiara with multicolored diamonds embedded. Her dark blue, almost black, hair was short, only reaching halfway down her neck.

In order to break the awkward silence, at least for himself, Rainer spoke to her, "Uh, hello? Do I know you? Or can I help you with something?"

"... Would you like to know your fate?"

Odd question, thought Rainer. "Uh, what do you mean? Some sort of fortune telling?"

"... Yes. Please take a seat with me." The succubus pointed at a nearby stone table with wooden chairs off to a deserted corner in the street.

Unsure with what to do, Rainer followed, besides if anything happens, Caetorum told him that one of his guards would be watching over him for trouble. The two took a seat and Rainer got immediately uncomfortable. "Uh, sorry for asking, who are you?"

"... Irrelevant. Should you need to know, you will find out soon enough. Your desire to know will be denied, for now" The strange succubus pulled out a bag from somewhere and emptied the contents onto the table. She spread them in a perfect semicircle. "... Now please, take one. It is a simple divination, but precise on fate."

Rainer hesitated, wondering which card he should take. He counted twenty-two cards; he vaguely remembered that the twenty-two cards were the major arcana of tarot card decks. He chose one that was just left of the middle. He flipped it over and saw a priestly figure.

"... The Hierophant. I was right to assume you are the Lord of Lust."

"Eh? What was that?" Rainer didn't hear her words.

"... Nothing. The Hierophant represents destined power and knowledge... Either in the future, or now." Rainer rubbed his eyes, unsure of what to make of the divination. He figured that if magic and demons were real, so was fortune telling. The succubus then asked, "... Would you desire a more precise fate? The single card is purposely vague."

"Uh, I guess. Fate can be changed, after all."

"... Rare words from one so young. Very well, give me back the card."

Rainer handed her the Hierophant and watched her do her thing. She shuffled the deck, spread them around the table a few times, and spoke some words that Rainer assumed was an incantation for divination. She spread them again, in a perfect semi-circle. "... Now choose one and place it here."

Rainer did as she asked. He took a card from the far left, turned it upright, and placed it at the designated position. He chose two other cards and placed them in the positions the woman chose.

"... First is the past. Temperance in reverse. You were out of balance, unsociable, for yourself... Second is the present. The Fool. Youth and inexperience. You are seeking adventure, a new beginning... Third is the future. The Chariot. Your emotions and dreams will drive you to make things happen, however, what kind of things?"

Rainer shriveled his nose and made an indifferent face. The past was right on the marker. The divination for the present was correct so far. The reading for the future, seemed positive enough, but she was right, what kind of things would he accomplish? "Now please, who the heck are you? At least give me that much."

The woman stayed silent, when she began to move, she gathered the cards and once again laid them in a perfect semi-circle. Rainer understood what she was telling him to do and chose a card. He turned it over and was rather surprised.

"... The Lovers. That is who I am to you. It represents that we need to decide on the course to take, to give guidance to ourselves. Basically, the answer won't come to you, you come to the answer. And... Ahn!" She trailed off and blushed at the end of her words while letting out an oddly cute squeal. Rainer didn't understand what she was getting at, so he leaned back in his chair, pondering her words. And that's when another interesting event happened.

"Check that out! Now what might you, a beautiful succubus, be doing with this scrawny little piece?" Rainer cocked his head towards the direction of the voice. A group of six demons, four of them incubi, were walking up to the table Rainer and the violet succubus was sharing. "Now c'mere little lady! You'll have plenty of fun with us."

There was no way trouble wouldn't occur with these folks, thought Rainer. Though he wasn't sure that if the violet succubus would actually take them up on their offer, Rainer seriously doubted it. His doubts were soon confirmed.

The succubus took a card and held it up, "... The Devil. No, I will refuse your banal babble; I will not meet your desires. Please take your leave."

"Hey now! I don't remember giving you a choice on the matter, did I? If needed I'll have Ezaer here take care of your friend." A threat came out of the lead incubus's mouth. The one named Ezaer walked towards, ready to take action.

Isn't there supposed to be a personal guard protecting me? Not that I need it, Wondered Rainer.

"Ohhhhhhh damn! Myyyyyy first time guarding that cute little Lord offffff Lust and heeeeee disappears the moment IIIIII slightly move myyyyy eyes off him. Dea's gonna kill meeeee! Now where are you, cute little Lord of Lust? ♡"

In any case, Rainer was unfazed, these people resembled Mandal and his cronies in every way, "Yea, I'd like to see you try." Upon the end of his sentence, he lunged forward with his newfound demonic speed. He was thankful he had gotten used to it, barely, in the fight against the angels. He still needed practice of course, but he was well versed enough in a fight to handle thugs in the human, and now, demon worlds. He latched onto the face of the one named Ezaer, and slammed it against the stone table. Instant KO. They're not so tough after all, if they knew how to fight, like that Avandar guy, then they would have definitely dodged or countered him effortlessly.




The Lost Lord Ch. 11



However, the head incubus was as equally unfazed as Rainer. He sighed and motioned for two of his men to take position to overpower Rainer. "Really? You had to go and smash poor Ezaer's head against that cold hard table of stone? I'll have him punished later for being so easily overpowered... In any case, I can't let you leave alive now. My two good friends here are versed quite well in fire magic, as is the specialty of the Shiirran."

The Shiirran? The restaurant owner, Emiel, mentioned them as one of the gang types around the city. The two incubi began to chant an incantation. Rainer mentally cursed himself, he memorized a single fire counter type spell in the Grimoire, but since had barely any practice in magic, he wasn't sure if it would be successful. The

"... The High Priestess." The succubus stepped in between Rainer and the two incubi who had just finished their spell and releasing the fire in Rainer's direction. She held the card in her hand in front of the fire. It began to glow and float in her hand. Then suddenly, the fire swirled and got sucked, somehow, into the card. As if it was nothing, the violet succubus completely blocked the magical fire.

The two incubi were dumbfounded; they apparently had no idea their magic could be blocked so easily. Even the head incubus began to twitch a little, attempting to remain unimpressed, though his acting failed to be interpreted as such. The fourth incubus then began to recite another incantation for a spell. The head incubi and the two fire-wielding incubi then took a step back, as if they were retreating from an explosive and then going to watch it detonate.

The succubus then pulled out another card and held it in her hand. Like before, it began to float and glow. "... Strength." The incubus then released his magic and punched forward, aiming for the succubus's chest. She held out her palm and blocked the blow like it was nothing. Apparently the spell the incubus had recited granted him a strong punch or enhanced muscles to fight barehanded. But somehow, the succubus was much more stronger than the incubus. The fire wielding incubi silently mouthed a "What the fuck?" for each of them. The head incubi couldn't act indifferent anymore and opened his eyes widely, surprised by the succubi's action.

"... The Chariot." Another card appeared in her hand, it glowed like the other two. Then, faster than Rainer's eyes could adjust to, the succubus jolted out and knocked the remaining four incubi henchmen unconscious, leaving the head one alone. The succubus wasn't superhero fast, but fast enough to where her opponents had little time to react unless they were used to fighting against such speed. The head incubus then attempted to retreat, he dashed down the street he came from, attempting to escape the succubus. His resistance was futile. The succubus, still in high speed, grabbed onto the neck of the retreating incubus and dragged him back to the stone table. She threw him into the chair she was sitting in before and said, "... Don't move."

The incubus's pleads sounded just like every pitiful bad guys desperate screams for mercy on TV, "C'mon! Just let me go... I'll leave you and him alone so you can enjoy each other! C'mon, you know the Shiirran won't fucking stand for this!"

The succubus just looked at him with cold eyes, though Rainer could've sworn he saw her turn slightly red when the incubus mentioned, 'so you can enjoy each other'. Rainer didn't pay that any mind as he watched the process. He didn't feel like interfering, Mandal was annoying enough, but to have such pathetic copies of him in the Land of Lust irritated him even further. The succubus then demanded her prisoner, "... Tell me your name."

"Huh? Oh, uh, its Harrigan..."

"... Do you wish to have an equal chance between complete freedom and death? Or be thrown at the mercy of justice? Which option to decide your life, do you desire?"

"Huh? What? What do you mean?"

"... Very well, I will choose for you."

"Wait! No... Ah I choose the justice!"

"... I will choose for you, and I choose the option you didn't. You desire freedom more than punishment, thus equal chance will be given." Rainer thought her actions resembled the immaturity of a kid who dangled a toy in front of a friend and took it back the moment the kid had it. "... Wheel of Fortune." The violet succubus held a card out, and it began to glow. Unlike the other cards, two pictures appeared on the card, one depicted a man walking among the people, that was freedom. The other depicted a man being laid to rest, death. She tossed the card into the air. The card gyrated and twisted faster than Rainer, the captive Harrigan, and even the violet succubus could tell, it was so no one could see the outcome. Soon, the card returned to the succubus's hand, the outcome was life. "... That was fair, wasn't it? You may go."

The succubus moved out of Harrigan's way, allowing him to escape. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise to not involve myself with you again! I swear!" He ran away as if his ass was on fire. His complete arrogance from when they first met was gone.

The succubus then turned towards Rainer, "...I will be leaving now, may you reach your desires."

"Hey! Wait a sec here." Rainer managed to halt the succubus with his words. "Who the heck are you? I want to at least know that much."

The succubus again blushed, but Rainer was too focused on knowing her name to notice it. "... I'm afraid I can't give you what you desire, yet. I can at least promise to in the future."

"No, screw that. At least give me a chance, with that fortune card of yours."

"... Here, take this." The succubus handed Rainer one of the twenty-two cards. The Emperor. "... I will want that back someday. I can promise you my name then. I don't feel like I will need that card again for a while... Also, I would prefer you don't show that to anyone, most of all the pillar division. Now, I take my leave."

"Hmmmm, I wonder what you were up toooo! Zie! ♡" A whimsical voice sounded off, it came from Little Rouge, from Rainer's guard. She flew in and landed in the middle of the street, right in front of the violet succubus, who was apparently named Zie.

"... Hello, Little Rouge." Zie spoke with a cold malice, there was without a doubt, bad blood between the two.

"What could you have done with the little lord now? IIIII hope nothing bad! ♡"

"... Nothing lethal nor anything harmful towards him and the Land of Lust."

"Well, that really depends onnnnn your definition of lethal and harm! ♡"

"... I wouldn't harm the Lord of Lust, not now or ever."

"When you say it that way, ittttt sounds asssss if you don't see Mr. Arazra asssss the true lord, why isssss that? ♡"

"... What I desire requires me to be on his side."

"And, what might that beeeee, I wonder? Gasp! Don't tell meeeee there's aaaaaa guy you like onnnnn his side? ♡"

"... Inconceivable. While there is a man I desire, he is not on his side." Rainer didn't notice Zie's eyes glance towards him for a moment.

"Ohhhhh my! IIIIII get ittttt now! It's sooooo obvious. Who would have thought you would desire the Lor-"

"NO!... I cannot stand you in the slightest, your immature ways." Zie was blushing profusely, Rouge had apparently pushed a button.

Rouge giggled, she was enjoying herself too much. "Innnnn any case, I shouldn't let you leave here without aaaaaa scratch, I'mmmmm sure you want to doooo the same to meeee, right? ♡"

"... That would greatly please me, but I shouldn't tarry here much longer... The Tower." After her sentence, Zie flung the card at Rouge's feet. A large explosion filled the street. Rainer jumped back behind the corner of the street, avoiding shrapnel. A crater formed in the street, the blast would've killed anyone at the epicenter and those around it. Rainer peered around to corner to survey the area. A crowd soon gathered at the point of the explosion, trying to figure out what had just happened. Zie had completely disappeared from the area, since it was her explosion, Rainer knew that she was alive and had escaped. Rouge, however, was nowhere in sight. Rainer entered the crowd and stood on the tips of his toes in order to find her.

"Hey, Rouge! You still here?" He called out at first, then spoke quietly to himself, "She can't be that weak, she's supposed to among the six strongest of Lust." She was either dead, wounded, or skilled/lucky enough to survive. Thankfully, it was door number three.

Rouge appeared behind Rainer, startling him, "Nooooo, I'm not weak attttt all. That annoying little minx just decided toooo toss some fireworks around to distract meeeeee. However, she isn't weak either... Noooo, she's strong very strong.♡"

"At least you're not dead. You don't really seem like the type to admitting people are strong."

The two of them began to walk back towards the palace, continuing the conversation, "Don't think I'mmmmm that narcissistic. Teras isssss the narcissist, she's practically onnnnn Pride's level innnnn that area. IIIIII just like fighting against strong people, IIIIII like to have fun! Attttt other's expense ifffff needed." Rouge freely admitted her traits without a care in the world, she really didn't care what others thought of her, Rainer thought that much of her. "Now that Zie identified you, sadly thanks tooooo my negligence, weeeee should definitely head back toooooo the palace. Arazra will be able tooooo identify you and attempt tooooo assassinate you. Don't worry, you got usssss pillar members, your pretty little concubines, and Lust's armies! What fun! ♡"

"You have no sense of security... Oh well. Why can't we just fly to the palace? You flew over here and confronted Zie."

"Weeeee would beeeee exceptionally easy targets for magical and physical projectiles. You would beeeee immediately recognized asssss a black demon. And with Zie's confirmation, you would be attacked the moment you came into view offfff a supporter offfff Arazra. Offfff course, that's IFFFFF Zie wants tooooo report onnnnn you tooooo them.♡"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Ohhhhh nothing! IIIII think I'll support little ol' Zie for once. Ha ha! Ohhhh she'll be owing meeeee a favor! ♡"

"Uh, ok... You're quite intense."

"Awwww? A compliment from the cute little lord? Thinking about ittttt, IIIIII can see why Dea and your cute little fiancee and concubines like you! ♡"

"Eh? What's that mean?" What did those girls see in him, Rainer wondered.

"Hmmmm, well, physically... You're quite handsome! Even that other lord could beeeee onnnnn you're level. Lust is known, obviously, for having the most attractive male and female demons. And the Lord offfff Lust isssss no exception. After all, you're the representative offfff all the Land offfff Lust! ♡" Rainer didn't notice, as he figured Rouge was leading him to the palace, but she was leading him to an empty area, devoid of people. "Innnnn fact... IIIIII really want tooooo see for myself what you're made offfff! ♡"

"Uh... Oh." It took Rainer several seconds to see where she was getting at, as succubi are creatures of insatiable appetite.

"Now you're getting ittttt! Don't worry, IIIIII won't make good onnnnn my title for now!" Little Rouge was given the title of "Fetish" of the Pillar of Lust. "I doooo want toooo do all sorts offfff things with you! But for now, IIIII just want toooo see what you're made offff. (And what you taste like, tooooo!)♡"

Rouge at that point, had removed herself of her top. Large breasts bounced out, Rainer figured she was at least around F cup. Rainer eyed the enticing nipples and attempted to go for them. Rouge knocked his hands out of the way, then saying, "Not this time! IIIII just want tooooo show you Little Rouge's assets! Right now... IIIII want tooooo taste you instead! Lose the pants, cute lord! ♡"

"Well, just know, I'm not that kind of submissive guy. Though, I don't really see a reason to refuse such an offer." Rainer's lusty, yet calm and smooth, demonic mind took over at that point. He lost all voracity for faithfulness a long time ago, besides, since when did a Lord of Lust stuck with one woman?

He removed his pants, since no undergarments were given to him after the bath, he didn't have anything under the pants. His cock sprang upright, hard as iron. Rouge let out a cute, but fake, gasp. While she had her share of male demons, it didn't mean she couldn't admire the member of the now most powerful man in the Circle. "Y'know... This is one offfff the reasons why women like you sooooo much! It's cute! And big! And IIIIII really want tooooo see what iiiiit tastes like! ♡" Almost immediately after speaking, Rouge began to work. She went down onto Rainer's shaft. She went as far as she could on the first try, almost down to the base of his cock. She didn't gag nor choke. She slathered her tongue all around the shaft, coating it with saliva. She tried even harder to get the last inch down her throat, but to no avail. Always next time, she thought.

Rainer stared down at Rouge's face. She was making audible sounds of forcing his cock down her throat while looking up at him with oddly beautiful eyes. Reddish eyes blinked at him, it was arousing to see such a pretty, rouge face with weirdly innocent eyes while its lips were wrapped around his cock. Though innocent was no way to describe Little Rouge in any way.

Seeing that she couldn't fit his shaft all the way in her mouth on the first time. She went back up for air. "Hah, I'll make iiiiit this time! ♡" Taking a deep breath, Rouge took Rainer's shaft into her mouth. She still had trouble, but after relaxing herself, she managed to work the last bit of his cock all the way into her mouth. She rested her nose against Rainer's skin, savoring the taste of the "meat" in her mouth. She gagged a little, but held it in. Utilizing her tongue, she poked and teased the pleasure points along Rainer's shaft. With the last of her breath, she also licked the length of his cock with her forked tongue.

"Fucking hell... That really does feel good." Rainer opened his mouth to say those words, but it remained open in a soundless moan. Her mouth felt soft and wet, the tongue knew exactly what it was doing, and her cherry lips wrapped around the base of his shaft almost made him climax.

Forming a smile around his shaft, Little Rouge then removed the cock from her mouth in order to breathe again. "Haaah, time tooooo finish this uuuuup. Tastes delicious! ♡" She wrapped her lips around the head, ready for the main course. She massaged and tickled the head of Rainer's shaft with her tongue. Good, no foreskin, annoying stuff, she thought to herself. Rouge then bobbed her head up and down on Rainer's cock. Rainer observed her red lips moving up and down in a weird mix of cute and vulgarity. Nevertheless, he knew he would cum sometime soon; the deep throating made him very aroused. She worked as much of the length of his cock as she could in a brisk pattern. Rouge also brought her hands to her breasts and squeezed them together, creating a sight to bring all human supermodels to shame. She held her breasts up and teased his balls with her nipples while she sucked on him like a long lollipop.

Rainer wasn't sure he could hold on any longer, he grunted to signal his coming climax to Rouge. "Ohhhhh don't worry! Just shoot down myyyyy mouth sooooo I can see what you taste like! ♡"

"Oh? And why would you want to taste my lovely lord?" A familiar, sultry, and seductive voice sounded off near them, Asmodea.

"Dea! What brings you here? And how are you today? ♡" Rouge wasn't concerned in the slightest as she removed her mouth from Rainer's shaft. However she moved her hand up and stroked his shaft with a warm caress.

Asmodea walked straight up to them, she was in full glory, red wings, horns, and tail outspread. She wore a one pieced dress that covered the upper portion of her breasts, but left the lower and cleavage bare. It acted as a long loincloth, covering the gaps between her legs but not the legs themselves. It went up to her neck like a turtleneck, as well as covering up to half of the forearms. Rainer suspected, and was most likely right, that there was no underwear under that garment. "Oh just joyous. I actually only happened to see you by chance from the air. You do know, Little Rouge, that seducing the lord is my job right? I am fairly certain he would want nothing to do with your weird fetishes."

"Ohhhhh, don't worry IIIIII said IIIII wouldn't involve him with them... Today! Iffffff you would excuse meeeee, I need to finish uppppp here.♡" Rouge said that right at the moment he was about to climax.

However, Asmodea knocked Rouge out of the way, and took Rainer's shaft in her mouth. She went deep, about as deep as Rouge's first try at deep throating. Rainer couldn't resist anymore and came in Asmodea's mouth. Ropes of cum splattered the mouths walls and gums. She moved away, showed Rainer his load in her mouth in a seductive pose, and swallowed it. "Rain Rain! You're just so delightful! I could drink your seed out of a bottle forever."

"Dea!!!!! Noooooo fair... IIIIII wanted his load.♡" Little Rouge pouted and showed a disappointed look, despite the constant cheeriness in her voice.

"I am his favorite, I will always have first rights to the delicious concoction of his. Ignoring the current matter, you are needed back at the palace."

"Ohhhhh fine. IIIIII have something tooooo report anyway. I'll deliver my news once weeeee are all gathered for the meeting.♡"

"I'll escort the lord back." Rouge didn't bother covering her breasts as she took flight, demonic wings flapping behind her as she disappeared towards the palace. "Now Rainer, let us walk back, I would prefer to not reveal you are a black demon to any possible watchers as long as possible, so flight is not yet an option."

"Ah, ok." Rainer clothed himself and began walking towards the palace with Asmodea. "Hey, Asmodea, can I ask some questions about you guys? The pillar division, I mean."

"Of course, my lord Rain Rain! Oh it is just so much fun thinking up new names for you... Anyways, what do you want to know?"

"Well... How did you guys become part of the pillar? You're all supposed to be the most powerful people in this circle, right? How was it decided you were so powerful in the first place?"

"Hmmmm, I will try to shorten this as much as possible. In order to join the pillar division, you had to be powerful. Yes, that is the same case as the other circles, especially for Wrath, Pride, and Envy. Though we are all definitely the most powerful natural members of the Land of Lust, we were not necessarily invited to join the pillar just because of that. The last lord was rather laid back, at a somewhat annoying level of the Shah of Sloth, Justinian. Really, there were two ways to join the pillar, and if you even slightly managed to meet the standards of one of the ways, he let the demon join the pillar. The first way is the easiest way, to compete and win a certain tournament. This is a special tournament that is held once a decade, somewhat akin to the human world Olympics. Though instead of sports, it has battles to the death. The second way is much tougher. All you had to do was simply impress the Lord of Lust, yet it was not simple at all. Of the current six members of the Pillar of Lust, only Caetorum got on the pillar division using that method."

"Eh? How's that?"

"He challenged a previous member of the pillar division, a very powerful succubus named Sazel, to a duel to the death. Normally, that would not be enough to impress the lord. However, unknown to us, Caetorum had actually never wielded a weapon in his life. He also did something unique, he gouged out his eyes and ripped off his wings, hence his current state, and he battled that way. His skills became clear to us during the duel, they were nonexistent, and so Sazel began to play with him. However, that proved her undoing. Caetorum managed, somehow, to slay her and win the duel. That clearly impressed the last lord, though he still wasn't really all that powerful, Caetorum managed to join the pillar division. He trained himself for a long time after that and he is now rather powerful, despite being wingless and blind. He mentioned that he was looking for a quick death, though he wanted to do it while dying for a future. I do not know much of his past, but it apparently is not a happy one. He serves faithfully and well in thanks for being given a future."




The Lost Lord Ch. 11



"That sounds... Well, kick-ass right there. What about you and the others?

"For me, there is nothing special, I fought in the tournament I mentioned and gained a place in the pillar division. I am also the oldest member of the Pillar of Lust. Tozomat did the same, as we were friends before joining the Pillar of Lust, he actually won the tournament the decade after me and followed suit."

"Do you know why he doesn't talk so much?"

"Ah, he actually used to talk quite a bit before becoming a pillar member. And on the day after his appointment, he was talking the previous lord. The previous lord said this, 'You know, you talk too much.' And since that day, Tozomat only spoke for hellos, goodbyes, and only during extremely important situations. Continuing from there, we have Teras. I learned from her that she conned a perverted, masochistic archmage into training her magic, probably where she got her sadism. He was a very powerful human archmage, though Teras refused to talk about him. She apparently fought in a mercenary group before fighting in the tournament. She managed to win the entire tournament with her magic and take a place among us in the Pillar of Lust. She was quite influential when she was in the mercenary group, as she is coincidentally a friend of the Princess of Pride as a result. You will have to ask her herself about that. Speaking of which, I should say that while she is very capable in teaching you to control your vast magical power... Well, watch out for the sadism I mentioned."

"Rapture... What about Rouge? She seems unique. Well, you all are."

"Let me say this, I am glad she is on our side. She is brutal, fierce, relentless, and malicious when she fights. She fought in the tournament for the sole purpose of killing powerful opponents, which she did. She refused the offer to become a pillar member at first, but the previous lord promised her share of fighting powerful opponents if she joined the pillar division. She was the only one he showed a modicum of effort in recruiting, as he wrote a rather long list of potential enemies that could be her opponents if she joined and swore her loyalty to him. She did not show much loyalty at first, even clashing with Tozomat and myself at one time during a short war between us and Wrath, however she soon came to be good friends with us, I think.

"And this sixth member?"

"Oh Zazie, she is definitely the most mysterious of us, she is also the youngest of us and the one who has been in the pillar division the least amount of time. However, her strength is no mystery, she joined the tournament for who knows what reasons and won, rather easily at that. She immediately joined us when offered, not stating why she was so eager. As you may know, she has apparently joined up with Arazra, a pretender to the throne and your enemy soon enough. I do not know why she did, but I do know she will be a very tough challenge to defeat. Ignoring that matter, she is very much a slave to her desires, hence her title of 'Desire'.

"Huh. Not that I'm going to, but since I'm the Lord of Lust, can't get used to saying that, does that mean I can recruit new people to the pillar division?"

"If you want to, though I recommend being extremely prudent with giving out such high titles. Though I can see the usefulness of giving Aureal and Lauren a place in the pillar someday. Nerissa would not need it since she is your fiancée."

"That's what I was thinking of. Well, thanks for telling me about you guys. This place really does have interesting people. Too bad it can't be a permanently peaceful place."

"Sadly that would be impossible, my lord. Well, more a severely improbably case. Still, we are at the palace, let us head to the meeting. We have gathered several important people, none more important than you, to meet with you and introduce the new lord to the land and the circles. Though please be yourself, Rulers of Sin have the luxury to act in any way they please."

"Who's going to be there?"

"You will be introduced to them one by one when you are there, but there are ambassadors from other circles, high ranking people in the Land of Lust, and leaders of other large groups. An official coronation will be held once the matter with Arazra has been dealt with. So this is an unofficial meeting with leaders to the new Lord of Lust."

"Well, time to get my game face on."

-

"Yes, my lord, what is it you would have of me?"

"The information about an unofficial meeting happening tomorrow has been verified, right?"

"According to information, it was let subtly let out that it would happen later today, though it will actually happen tomorrow."

"They think to fool me? The true Lord of Lust... Well, tell Xizaen of Black Steps to send an assassin or two or whatever to eliminate the Lord of Lust. Also, signal the other groups to coordinate with Black Steps in their operation. While I am not as optimistic to think that it will be a 100% possible success operation, any chance to destroy the pretender is a chance to kill him. Who else will be attending this unofficial meeting?"

"While we have unconfirmed reports, we believe it is possible another Ruler of Sin may attend. It is highly unlikely however."

"!!!... Anyone else of note?"

"It is also possible that Ennariel may attend, which I believe is quite the threat, should that person's group attend."

"Ennariel? He has no interest in these sorts of affairs? In any case, I am confident that while he may attend that damned pretender's meeting, he will not interfere with any sort of attempt on the pretender's life. He isn't that kind of person. Have we found out the exact identity of the pretender? While it will be easy to tell who is the pretender at the meeting tomorrow, I want to know who this insolent brat is myself."

"We do not know, I am sorry to say. We had seen someone conversing and walking with Seduction of the Pillar of Lust, we believed him a possible candidate for the pretender and so we went to investigate. Before our spies got close enough to identify the individual, Fetish of the Pillar of Lust slew the spies."

"Damn pillar members, they do not realize they are being tricked by the fake lord. Or they realize and they intend to betray the true Lord of Lust that my father should have chosen. You may go."

"Very well, my lord. Is there anything else you require before I inform Xizaen?"

"None, none at all..."

-

"Warmaster! I have come at your orders!"

"Yes, I have a special mission for you..."

"I am at your command, Warmaster."

"I want to test this new lord. Agarest informed me that there will be an unofficial meeting between the Lord of Lust and various important people I could care less about. I want you to go there and test his capabilities, not necessarily his fighting ability, though I am interested in that, but his reactions and capabilities as a Lord."

"Of course, Warmaster! I will depart immediately."

"Very well then... Now now, time for some leisure... How about a casual hand to hand fight between a kraken and I? I think I'll give myself a handicap this time. Say paralyzing my lower legs? Sounds good.



The Lost Lord Ch. 12



Dusk had approached, when Rainer and Asmodea entered the palace. Rainer was tired from the day of exploring the city. Asmodea had told him that while this city may have been the capital of the Land of Lust, it was not the largest. Rainer had trouble believing that particular fact, though dismissed it until he saw the truth behind it himself. The palace is large, so Rainer barely recognized any of it except for the room he was being led to, the dining hall. Time for some dinner or whatever they called that meal in the circles.

"You said you like the food that was prepared for you this morning? Did you not?" Asked Asmodea, she turned out to be very attentive to Rainer's needs, though refused to engage in the most of the tasks that she left to servants.

"Ah, yea. It looked really weird; I guess so since I've never really had demon type food before. Though it tasted great, I'll try whatever they make this time, I'm usually all for trying out new types of food." Rainer replied as he reminisced about the scary, yet delicious breakfast prepared for him that morning. He didn't have any lunch, so he was famished as any healthy, young lad would be.

"I will convey your compliments to the chef. I believe everyone should be gathered for the meal. Oh and sorry for misleading you about the meeting."

"Ah, no problem. You said it was in case of eavesdropping, right? Espionage must be just as common here than back on Earth."

"That is the reason. Though the meeting tomorrow will be closely guarded anyhow, I cannot expect that many possible enemies will fall for such a common ruse."

The pair walked into the hall, Rainer took a seat in the throne, though uncomfortably as many eyes shifted towards him. Nerissa was seated next to him in the same seat as she did in the morning. Lauren and Aureal sat opposite of Rainer, while Asmodea took a seat on the other side of Rainer. The rest of the pillar division took appropriate seats. Rainer had learned that the highest ranked people in each circle were first and foremost the Ruler of Sin. Next came up the Ruler of Sin's spouse, then the pillar division, and then the Ruler's chosen subjects for positions around the circle (those people will come another time). Though anyone the ruler favored was allowed to sit next to him, in Rainer's case, Nerissa (since she wasn't married yet), Lauren, and Aureal.

Asmodea was the first to begin the conversation once the food was delivered and everyone began to eat. "So! How was everyone's day?" She gestured in the directions of Lauren, Aureal, and Nerissa. She essentially sounded like a mother asking her children how their day at school went.

Nerissa immediately spoke out, quite eagerly, "Ah! I got a message from mother from Teras! I didn't know you were acquainted with mother in the first place, Teras!"

Teras replied, "Oh the Princess, she's just so much fun to be around with. I met her during the war between the pagan gods and us. I had so much fun slaughtering the enemy with her... She's even more fun at night, she is quite into that sort of stuff, I'm surprised." Allusions and anecdotes referring to sex must be common at Lust's dinner table. Nerissa didn't seem to mind Teras' comment as she let out a small laugh.

"War against pagan gods? My mother told a bit about that, as it served as a reference for my hunt for supernatural creatures." Lauren interjected, Rainer was just as curious as her about this war that was mentioned.

"Hmmmm well. Before the last war between demons and angels, pagan gods took root in the world. They were quite powerful and annoying to squash. A mutual pact was formed between us and the angels to eradicate the pagan gods as we both disliked them equally." Asmodea took the reign for the short history lesson, everyone but Rainer, Lauren, and Aureal continued their meals as they already knew and probably participated in the war themselves. "The most powerful pagan factions consisted of five groups, each reigning over portions of the world. There were other pagan gods trying to have themselves worshipped elsewhere, but they were exterminated easily. The most powerful five were trouble. You can probably bet who they were as their mythology is quite popular in the human world. Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Babylonian, and Aztec gods were the most troublesome. They had unique powers; they were believed to be extremely powerful mages and warriors, though it is not certain of their true nature. They also had the help of many monsters and races of humanoids. The pagan gods, or what was left of them, were banished to separate worlds and realms, places we and the angels had no interest in, and made it so they could not re-enter our realms in any way on their side of the portals."

Caetorum then began to speak, as Asmodea became more interested in her food, and Rainer, than the short history lesson. "Actually, right after exterminating the pagan gods of Central and Southern America, that was when the mutual pact between us and the angels had a falling out. The angels wanted to completely and utterly exterminate and eradicate anything that wasn't originally of God's design. That meant performing genocide on all humanoid species. However, the Rulers of Sin decided otherwise. Each Ruler of Sin went to different leaders and representatives of the humanoid races and offered them a deal. They would let them live in space in their particular Circle of Sin, and in return, they offer fealty and loyalty to the ruler that saved them. Several humanoid species agreed, some didn't, the ones that did now currently reside in the circles. In fact, in the meeting tomorrow, the leaders of the humanoid races of the Land of Lust will be sending their representative to meet the new Lord of Lust. You'll see what they are tomorrow." Caetorum took a breather and went back to the food.

"They're rather interesting fellows, your predecessor, being him, only bothered with the races that had a distinct sexual appetite. Not that I am complaining. I've had some fun with them myself, on occasion." Added Teras, she was quite open with her sexual encounters and experiences.

"What else did you do, Nerissa?" Asked Rainer.

"Nothing much, love! Though I did request that my weapon and regalia be sent over here! I am going to be living here with you now, after all!"

"As for me, I spent the day reading. Since I am a witch, I'm quite interested in the plants. Are there many herbalists around here, Asmodea?"

"Plenty, if you wish, I can have someone show you the way to the most revered of the high quality herbalism shops of the city when you want."

"Please do, though not anytime soon. I don't really know what kind of flora and fauna will be useful or interesting to me. I don't really feel like making a pact with any animal, too much work."

"Aureal? How about you?"

"Um, I admired the extensive collection of armors and weapons that had been gathered. There are many types I have never seen before. Am I really allowed to take what I wish?"

"Go right ahead. There's no way we won't show such important guest like you just any small amount of hospitality. Though its probably better to have to fitted for a brand new set of armor, it would take time, of course, but a personal set is always better."

"Thank you, Caetorum. Then in that case, I will do that first thing in the morning tomorrow. I will also need a weapon. I cannot stand being separated from the weapon I have fought with from day one, so now I will need to find a new partner for battle."

Aureal did mention that the angels revoked her rights toward her armor and hammer before. How that worked out, Rainer had no idea, some sort of magic most likely. "Fiancée! What about you?"

As Rainer summarized how his day went, the group finished up their dinner. It was delicious, except for one dish Rainer didn't particularly care for, but all cuisines are like that. Rainer took another bath to wash off the grime and dirt that followed him from the city into the palace. All the girls joined him, though Rainer managed to escape without a giant orgy ensuing, sadly. Each girl changed into nightwear of their choosing, though Lauren decided to sleep naked. Each girl, seeing Lauren's move then followed suit. Rainer felt incredibly aroused at the sight of the women changing clothes, and then removing them. Eventually the entourage snuggled into beds, each girl clinging onto Rainer in a different way, forcing him to sleep uncomfortably for the rest of the night.

Tozomat was on guard again, that night. He stood faithfully around the area that lead to the room of the new Lord of Lust. He abstained from anything that might have affected his duty. Food, drinks, and advances from women. He wasn't one to turn up those things however; he had slept with quite a few demons, succubi, even a lovely human girl once. However, as his title of the pillar was "Romance" he refused to sleep around as much as others. Little Rouge practically slept with just about anyone that would go along with her kinks that seemed to change every other day. Teras also had quite a few partners, although only those that would go along with her role as the "Dominatrix" for the evening. Caetorum, despite being one of the younger members of the pillar, was "Maturity" of the pillar. He, like Tozomat, refused to sleep around frivolously. He seemed to only be interested in younger and older demons, at least ones that looked visibly younger or older than him, practically one of Rouge's fetishes. Asmodea only had eyes for the Lord of Lust, the previous and current one. Though that didn't mean she won't involve herself with the women that were also involved with the Lord of Lust. He didn't know much about Zazie, much less since she joined Arazra's side, but he learned from her that she was only interested in one man or woman, one that her cards would reveal to her. Tozomat speculated that the man or woman of her desires was either on Arazra's side (possibly Arazra himself) or that he was threatening the man or woman of her desires. Whatever the case, he would deal with her as he, or the Lord of Lust saw fit, as is his duty.

*Tok* A sound went off in the halls. Tozomat switched his view towards the direction of the sound. It was almost midnight, no one but him should be awake. An assassin perhaps? Maybe a servant or someone else retrieving something... Whatever the case, Tozomat stood still, fervently investigating the halls with his vision. In the area Tozomat was guarding, several bright lights illuminated the halls. Light didn't illuminate the entire palace, only a select few places.

*Tak* The sound came again. If it was an assassin, it was a rather clumsy one. Unless it was doing it on purpose. Tozomat considered all of the possibilities as he decided on a plan of action to deal with whatever was making the sounds.

*Fwirrrrrr* Suddenly, a chakram spun towards Tozomat's neck. He had no time to react; his head was separated clean from his body. The main body slumped behind a stand, while the head flew back down the hall.

"Really? That's all there is to a so called member of the Pillar of Lust? A lowly human would have a better time." A small group of three men appeared from the shadows down the hall and entered the light.

"I'm disappointed, not much of a challenge to assassinate this lord guy. What was that Arazra fellow offering anyway?" Asked one of the men, an orange incubus covered in darkened leather.

"One billion xens, as well as our choice of concubines from his personal harem." Replied the first demon as he retrieved his chakram.

"Fuck, really? Easy pay for an easy job. This the Lord's room?"

"Yea, that servant wench squealed and showed me a map. This is definitely the place. If not, we'll just kill the whore and force his location from someone else."

The first demon reached for the door, he readied his chakram, the incubi readied two swords, and the third demon began to chant an incantation. "If this useless pillar guy is that weak, then this'll be a cinch."

"You mean... If you three are this weak, then this'll be a massacre. Hello, my name is Tozomat, Romance of Lust and your opponent." And with that, he clamped his mouth shut. Tozomat attached his head back onto his body. The three demons weren't paying attention to Tozomat's body and didn't notice the head rolling towards the neck.

"The fuck? I clearly decapitated your useless husk of a body. Fine, just die now so I can get my money and women." The three demons were clearly startled at the revival of the one they thought had died.

Tozomat took a stance, and then focused on his shadow. His mastery over dark magic was unparalleled, to his knowledge, in the area of manipulating his shadow. He pumped his shadow with dark energy, making his arms form into wicked, though grotesque, weapons. His left arm became a fleshy spiked mace, the spikes weren't flesh, they were constructed out of sharp shadowy energy. Each spike measuring four centimeters long. His right arm became a one sided blade of flesh; it had a blade along the length of his forearm. His arms no longer had hands, only surreal and bizarre flesh weapons. The three demons were startled, apparently none of them had seen such an odd magic.

Tozomat took advantage of their daze, swinging his left arm down onto the head of the third demon. Its skull was immediately crushed, the spikes penetrated and turned the brain into mush. No bone in that demon's body didn't feel the impact, an instant kill. Tozomat then kneeled and thrust his flesh sword straight into the heart of the incubus. The leather was completely useless against Tozomat's arm. In a showy display, Tozomat cut from the heart up to the shoulder, revealing a large gash, though it had no affect against the already dead incubus. Two down. The leader shook his head as he saw his comrades go down without even the slightest chance to fight.

"You motherfucker... You just killed my friends, I am so not gonna let you live."

"Eh, I don't feel like dying. Because of that, this is goodbye, you were never a match against me." Tozomat said his goodbye as the demon flung his chakram and stabbed at Tozomat with a dagger in fury, enrage at his words and the deaths of his friends. Tozomat, in a split-second, blocked the chakram with his flesh mace; he then slammed the mace down on the arm holding the dagger, completely crushing the bones, tendons, and muscles of the demon's arm. The demon let out an anguished cry, he refused to stay down as he pathetically flung his arm at Tozomat's head. Tozomat simply ducked his head while reverting both arms back to normal, each fleshy weapon turning back into a normal arm. Without mercy, he grabbed the intruder's throat and crushed it. All three down. To think they actually thought they could fight a pillar member, let alone the inexperienced, yet still powerful, Lord of Lust with that level of strength. Pitiful.

And thus, the fifth attempt on Rainer's life, since he arrived, had been completely annihilated.

"Ahnnn! Please, m-more..." Nerissa's moans could be heard through the room. She was currently bouncing on top of Rainer's shaft. She wouldn't take no for an answer when he woke up to see her staring at him straight in the face. Oh the troubles of a Lord of Lust. Rainer grabbed onto Nerissa's breasts, massaging and squeezing them, paying special attention to her nipples. Nerissa had her hands holding onto Rainer's shoulders, though they almost buckled each time Rainer sent an extra hard thrust her way. Rainer felt her walls tighten each time he pulled back, savoring the feeling when they relented to his cock each time his thrust back all the way to Nerissa's womb.

Lauren entered the bedroom, tossing the towel she was drying herself with back towards the bath. Lauren had already finished her bath, leaving Asmodea and Aureal alone; she observed the act happening between Nerissa and Rainer and began to feel aroused. Still slightly wet from the bath, she climbed onto the massive bed and crawled over to the tryst. She placed her glasses onto a nearby nightstand and crawled on all fours in a seductive manner that only further aroused Rainer and even Nerissa. She situated herself next to Rainer and Nerissa. Lauren placed on of her hands at Nerissa's pussy, rubbing it. She could feel Rainer's cock go in and out of the pussy. Once Nerissa's pussy felt the touch of Lauren's hands, it tightened up even more, eliciting a groan from both Nerissa and Rainer. Lauren rubbed Rainer's cock through Nerissa's skin, feeling its girth. She hadn't had his cock in her recently, so Lauren decided to change that. They were, after all, in the Land of Lust, not a second goes by when sex isn't had somewhere. Lauren rubbed Nerissa's clitoris with her thumb, while using her fingers to tease the rest of the demon's wet pussy. Lauren moved her hands towards Rainer for a lust filled kiss. They held a short battle of superiority with their tongues, both invading and defending each other's mouth. Strands of saliva connected the two as the broke apart. Lauren held up one of her breasts to Rainer's mouth, inciting his move.

Rainer took Lauren's nipple in his mouth, suckling her like a baby. Lauren let out a cute moan that would surely arouse any straight man, making Rainer only pound harder into Nerissa's pussy. He moved one of his hands to Nerissa's butt. He was wondering what effect did the tail have on a demon? In an attempt to find out, he started to massage the base of the tail. "Aya! My tail... So go-good right there." Groaned Nerissa, it caused the effect Rainer desired. Finding out that the tail, or more specifically, the base of the tail, was Nerissa's weak point, Rainer applied pressure there. Nerissa let out a weak squeal, as she was breathing too heavily. Rainer nibbled on Lauren's nipple even harder, he moved his other hand to Lauren's wet pussy, fingering her folds. Nerissa turned her head towards Lauren, eyeing her free breast. Lauren smiled mischievously under her moans and held up her free breast with her hand, teasing Nerissa. The demoness whimpered, as she was unable to place her lips on the current object of her desires. She was the only one propping herself up as she bounced on Rainer's hard shaft. She nearly buckled with every thrust as well, unable to resist her lover's cock. Nerissa pouted pursed her lips in attempt to entice Lauren and stop her teasing.

Thankfully, Lauren did relent. She brought her free breast to Nerissa's ruby lips. Nerissa enveloped the nipple, enjoying the treat immensely. She licked the areola with her tongue, pushing Lauren's pleasure points, which resulted in another deep moan from the beautiful witch. Lauren enjoyed the current sight in front of her. Both of her large breasts were being sucked upon by Rainer and Nerissa. Rainer was fingering her pussy while he massaged the base of Nerissa's tail. Nerissa was bouncing enthusiastically on Rainer's cock, enjoying the hard pounding the hard shaft gave her while Lauren herself massaged Nerissa's pussy and Rainer's cock through the skin. None of them could last very soon in the orgiastic threesome, not even Lauren who entered late.

Rainer was first, he came deep into Nerissa's pussy, up into the womb. Nerissa could feel his cock throbbing and pulsing through her vagina, feeling his warm seed enter her. Nerissa came immediately after, climaxing on Rainer's shaft and Lauren's hand. Both Nerissa and Rainer then bit down, on reflex, on Lauren's nipples, causing her loudest moan. Several seconds later, thanks to Rainer's vigorous rubbing on Lauren's pussy, her climax came.

Nerissa lifted herself off Rainer's shaft reluctantly, she wanted to feel his warm length in her for a little longer, but she had yet to take a bath. "Oh my... You never cease to please me with that stick of yours. Best fiancée ever! As much as I want to continue fucking you here, I need a bath." Nerissa excused herself and went off towards the bath, Asmodea and Aureal should still be in there.




The Lost Lord Ch. 12



"Mmmmm, I'm going to need a good fucking myself sometime soon, but I don't mind waiting." Lauren mentioned before removing herself from the large bed. "I'm going to prepare myself for this meeting we'll be having. It sounds rather interesting."

"You know anything about it?" Asked Rainer, he, Lauren, Aureal, and Nerissa knew much about this upcoming meeting. So it would be nice to have some information prior to the time it is held. "I don't really know how I'm supposed to act around such high class people."

"Well, as you are the... And I stress THE, Lord of Lust. You're one of the seven highest figures in these circles, you are probably allowed to act any way you want. Even towards the other Rulers of Sin. They said it's an honor reserved for you and you seven alone."

"Rapture. Well, I hope they don't have super high expectations of me. I mean, isn't their like some kind of honorifics or certain procedures for dealing with these types?"

"Well, I'm sure Asmodea or Caetorum will tell you the important details, if there're any. Just be yourself, like I just said, the Rulers of Sin apparently have the honor to act any way they please."

"Hah... Well, now all I need is something to do while I wait... No, I know what to do."

"What might that be?"

"Might as well memorize some more spells out of that Grimoire, I had a lack of useful spells during that fight with the angel and an encounter yesterday in the city. Should probably prepare as much as possible before this rumored sadistic training of Teras'."

"Sounds fun! I'm off then." Lauren finished clothing herself in rather arousing garments that caused Rainer's member to stir. "Hmmm, maybe I should wear this next time I want that dick of yours in me?" She left the room, smiling, apparently amused with herself.

Asmodea told Rainer a while ago that the Grimoire was delivered to his room, ready for him whenever he needed it. He made a mental note to find a spell that would allow him to summon the book whenever he needed help channeling his magic. And until then, carry the book with him at all times. He walked over towards an area devoted to reading books and studying their texts. The Grimoire was on top of a desk in that particular area, ready for Rainer whenever. The last and first time he read out of the magical text, he supposedly spoke to the memory or something of the previous owner of the book. Whether it was a spell or a shred of that demon's soul, it was still a mystery to Rainer. He opened the book to page one, seeing strange characters that somehow, only Rainer could understand.

-Well, well, well... It's been awhile? Hasn't it? How's my personal villa? My personal cities and lands of Lust? My personal servants and retainers? Gosh, I miss them... Eh, kinda, nah, not really. I'm really happy to be long gone of that place, gets on my damn nerves. I mean that brothel on Arhs Street in Lutelia? It seems enticing and all at first, especially on the outside, but... Whoa! Take one step in and you're trapped until you're finished with what you paid for. Hey now! Why am I doing all the talking? C'mon, talk to me man to man... Well, man to book... Well, Incubus to magic spell in book. Still, how's it going? -

Rainer was unsure how to communicate with the boisterous words on the page. It seemed so unnatural to talk to a book, yet he tried it anyways. "Uh... Good, I guess." He wasn't sure what to say really other than answer the question given to him.

- Reaaaaaalllly? Only good? Well, that's okay. Y'know... You should get some enthusiasm in that handsome body of yours. I mean, you'll be doing some serious fightin' soon. Oh shit, I shouldn't tell you the future... Ah well, little hint to you there, get ready for some fun combat! -

"How the heck am I supposed to fight? I know spells and how to unleash them, but controlling them is another question." Rainer voiced his complaints to the entity talking to him through silent words.

- How the heck am I supposed to teach if I'm a book? Teras can give you a lesson or two, but watch out! She's got a killer teaching style! Hmmm, well my advice, if you can't control magic all that well... Walk up to the bastard, take his head in your hand, and BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF THE MOTHERFUCKER! Works every time, I gave you some damn strength, use it to beat some sense in that damn kid of mine. Oh but don't worry, I can give you some more helpful advice any time you want! Just open this book up to this page and ask away! Get's a little stuffy in here anyway, between the cover and the rest of the book... That reminds me, since I' not really up to current events, you know where my sword is? -

"Eh? Where would I know where a book's sword is? You don't even need it."

- THAT'S the spirit. Well, for your information, it's a very powerful sword. And it doesn't like to be in random passerby's hands, or select individuals who took the sword for themselves. Oh boy, Death won't like it that his sword was lost. Well, should ya see it, the sword's name is Old Age... Yes yes, it is a very old sword, and it generally likes old people. Though I have a feeling it'll like you. Maybe someone else if you don't want to use a sword, just preferably find it and keep it safe from those greedy and envious bastards. Oh, one more thing before you go off and get some spell slingin' done, is Nerissa cute? I know I set you and her up for an arranged marriage without you knowing and all, but I'd feel better if she was cute and you liked her. -

"Oh, uh, yea. She's cute, very pretty. Though I doubt I'll be getting married anytime soon, we humans, or uh, ex-humans have standards."

- I like you! Glad I chose you, you're quite fit to be the new 'Asmodeus', the Lord of Lust of the Land of Lust. Quite a mouthful, anyways, good luck with that damn son of mine and that every decade tournament... If you live long enough! HA HA. I'm hilarious, chao. -

And with that, the strange characters vanished. This is only my second time seeing those words and I still don't really get them, thought Rainer. That... Whatever it was... It was definitely the words of the previous lord. Rainer didn't know for sure, but he just felt like they were the same. He opened the book to the page he had left off. Just as last time he read out of the Grimoire, it was disorganized, there was no pattern to the text. It was like a four year old was ordered to copy an entire text into a book at random, with the same handwriting to boot. He memorized each and every spell he read. He thankfully had a convenient eidetic when it came to the spells located from the Grimoire. Whether it was completely natural to him, it came with being a demon or Lord of Lust, or because of the Grimoire itself, Rainer had no idea. He felt rather sorry that it was as easy for him to memorize spells like this, when it must be hard to memorize vast amounts of words in order to cast a large array of spells for every occasion. He had yet to see Teras in action, but he was sure that was what she had to do for her magical abilities.

Then Rainer began to wonder about the succubus the other day, in the city. What she did was definitely magic of some type, Rainer was sure of that. However, she didn't chant any incantations, recite any spells, nor spoke that much at all. All she did was hold aloft one of her tarot cards and said its name out loud. He tried to remember the effects of each card she did use. The first card's ability he saw was the High Priestess card. He remembered that it sucked in the fire that was cast on her, absorbing the fiery heat. Rainer didn't really get it still, but he remembered her also using the Strength card and the Chariot card. Both of those card's effects were easy for Rainer to grasp, strength gave... Well, strength obviously. And the chariot gave fast speed and reflexes. "Oh wait... That's right, she gave me a one of those cards." Rainer suddenly remembered that he was given a card off the succubus Zie's tarot cards. "Wouldn't that fuck up the whole set? How can she even do a reading now? Hmmm, what's it for?" Rainer walked back into the room and found the card still in his old clothes. He pulled it out and brought it back to the desk.

"Oh? And why would you have such an interesting object, my Lord Rain Rain?" Asmodea suddenly startled Rainer by placing her hands on his shoulders. Asmodea pressed her large breasts into Rainer's neck, he could feel her hard nipples poking out and rubbing against him. She had seen the card, Rainer remembered that Zie had asked him to not show this card to anyone, and yet it was seen. "You know, I know a pretty succubus named Zazie who has a collection of cards that looks exactly like that... You would not have happened to have met her, have you?"

"I don't know a Zazie. Isn't that one of the pillar members? The one that isn't with us?" Rainer replied instantaneously, not wavering in the slightest. He always was pretty good at lying, though he doubted it would have an effect on the seasoned Asmodea. 

"Yes, and right now, one of our dangerous enemies. Considering her allegiance towards Arazra, you would do well to be wary of her. I told you a little about her, but she is still an enemy and must be treated as such."

"Hah... Well, I did get this card from a succubus yesterday. Rouge fought her, well, kind of fought her and she left. I don't know if that's this Zazie you're talking about, Rouge called her Zie... Oh."

"Yes, oh." Asmodea sighed, mentally reprimanding Rainer for his slight ignorance. "That was definitely Zazie, mmm, that must have been what Rouge wanted to talk to me about. I do not know what this card may do, but I suggest you burn it, just in case. I am off to prepare for the meeting. You should go do something with Aureal until then." Asmodea turned around and left the room. Rainer couldn't help but notice her attributes, her vibrant hair, swaying breasts, and her round butt from behind. Her title of Seduction isn't just for show, it seems.

"Master, good morning."

Rainer turned around to find Aureal quite differently than he had seen her before. Her face was primped with some sort of demon world makeup to make her look exceptionally beautiful and sexy. Fortunately, it also wasn't caked up to the point where you where all that you were seeing was an aged Las Vegas hooker. Her hair looked extra silky and flowed like a river. Her pale skin shined radiantly in the light, especially in the sparse amount of sunlight that entered the room. Her clothes were more modest than what he had seen in the Land of Lust so far. While she was mostly covered up, a decent amount of cleavage was left for Rainer to stare at. It hugged each of her curves, almost like a skin-tight body suit. Blood rushed to his head as Rainer made sure to pay Aureal a compliment, "Ah, wow... You look really good right now." Rainer was slightly paralyzed; he knew she was pretty, as well as everyone else, but Aureal looked especially good as of this moment. He could act completely normal around Asmodea, Nerissa, and Lauren. However, around Aureal, he felt mystified. He liked each girl quite a bit, and it is kind of hard to have a favorite when you're the 'Lord of Lust'.

Aureal blushed herself when Rainer gave her the compliment. She turned even redder when Rainer failed to stop staring at her body. She appreciated his glances and was glad he found her appealing, though she still found it slightly embarrassing. When she wasn't aroused, it seemed as if her inhibitions came back, though not completely. "Master, before the meeting, can we go somewhere?"

"Eh, like a date? A Lord of Lust, on a date in the Land of Lust."

"Ah, if you don't want to..."

"No wait! I've got plenty of time to kill before the meeting. Sure, let's go somewhere. Did you have anything in mind?"

Aureal brightened up when Rainer accepted, "Ah yes, I have yet to see the city myself. And since you've explored a bit around there, I was hoping we could go there together."

"I don't mind, but we can't stay too long there, the meeting should take up a good portion of the day, right?"

"Asmodea told me it was fine. I learned, during the war between our races, that the circles have a different sense of time than the human world. The day is several hours longer in the Land of Lust than the human world."

"Yea, that makes sense. Can't believe I didn't think of that. Well, you'll have to keep track of the time, as you're more used to these places than I am."

"Of course, Master. Well, I've only been to the Sands of Sloth during the war. I have not been to the other circles. But I do have a firm grasp on the time here, Asmodea told me all about it."

"Shouldn't we tell Caetorum or someone before we go? Or is Asmodea already prepared?"

"Asmodea told me to leave quickly, before any of the pillar finds out, especially Caetorum or Tozomat. She said that someone watching us intently the entire time would distract us. She will keep the Pillar of Lust busy. Don't worry! I can protect Master very well. I have access to my weapon and armor in case of a large fight breaks out, and I also have a firm grasp on my light and dark magic now. I'm not afraid to wield dark magic now; Asmodea said it would be better to use dark magic instead of light. Since light magic is rare in the circles."

"I guess we should also bring in our appendages?"

"That would be safest, Master."

Rainer and Aureal left the room quickly. There were no pillar members guarding the door like the other day. Taking advantage of the situation, the duo went towards the exit of the palace and made their way into the city. Despite there being a large amount of servants cleaning the area in and around the palace, each one simply nodded their head towards Rainer and Aureal and went back to their job. The two hid their demonic and angelic appendages before heading into the main parts of the city for their day out.

"Hmmm? Asmodea, where is the young lord? I wished to speak with him about something for the meeting." Caetorum asked Asmodea as they both ate a morning meal.

"Oh, he is with the fallen angel, Aureal. I left the room before they did. They must still be in there." Replied Asmodea. She knew where they were headed, but for all she knew, they could still be in the Lord of Lust's bedroom. It was only a lie by omission.

"I really don't think you take me seriously. I am blind, after all."

"Really? Since when?"

"Since I first joined the pillar. That has given you enough time to realize that blind people, if trained, can sense when people are lying."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, in fact, I can even tell when a person is technically telling the truth and is only just leaving part of the facts out bare."

"You should show me that trick sometime."

"I have. In fact, you're seeing it right now. Now please tell me where the young lord is? Am I the only one who takes this position seriously?"

"Yes"

"Offfffff course! ♡"

"Mmhm."

Asmodea, Little Rouge, and Teras each responded in kind to Caetorum's question. Only Tozomat shook his head vigorously, he was Caetorum's only ally currently. Yet against the combined apathy of the three female pillar members, they were slaughtered.

It was Rainer's second time in the capital city, so he wasn't surprised or marveled by the sights as before. Aureal looked shocked and awed by the landscape. She could see out to the distance to the lower parts of the terraced city, and beyond. She was every bit of the word tourist.

She particularly loved the gardens that they found every now and then. Odd demon world plants, despite looking so different to the plants of Earth, looked very pretty when in combination of a garden. The plants had many different hues. Generic green plants were the most abundant, of course, but there were also flora associating with each color of the rainbow. One large garden the couple stumbled upon took up an entire space a building could have been in. What they saw were several platforms, each one suspended several feet above the next. As they saw no poles or dowels holding the platforms up, Rainer could only assume invisible cables or magic.

The top platform had all the red plants. Then in order of a rainbow, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet plants each took their place in the platforms. The platforms also had separate types of plants. The red plants were all brightly colored flowers, flowers the closely resembled ones back on Earth; each part of the flower was tinted red. The orange plants were all bearing fruit like objects. Rainer assumed fruit as he saw a couple demons plucking the fruit from the orange plants. The yellow plants were all shrubs or bushes. The entire platform was encased in thick, leafy, and yellow bushes, a large shrubbery. The green platform had vines draping down from the edges. The vines traveled all the way to the ground, some of the longer vines were even trampled upon by traveling citizens. Some of the vines were even moving on their own, Rainer only assumed they were connected to a carnivorous bug (hopefully) eating plant. The blue platform had flora Rainer didn't recognize. The blue plants started off as odd-shaped spheres, root like objects interweaved and connected with the other roots over a wide area of the platform. Rainer shrugged and moved his view to the indigo platform. The indigo platform contained thick, tree trunk like plants. The bark was tined indigo, of course, and leaves sprouted from the top and the sides. The tree plants were stout and short, there were no branches, and only small stems each holding a singular leaf. The final platform, the violet platform, was a mushroom type platform. The middle of the platform contained the largest of the mushrooms; it towered over the rest and covered the majority of the platform with its cap. Then from the middle, mushrooms got exponentially smaller until they hit the edge.

"By far, this has to be the prettiest sight I've seen in this city." Rainer was the first to comment on the spectacle.

"I agree, Master. It would be impossible to find such vibrant color in Heaven, or on the human world for that matter. Seeing this makes me glad I came here with you." While it was still only a short time since Rainer and Aureal had first met, and even shorter since she became a fallen angel, it felt like much time had elapsed.

"Back on Earth, I was bored, depressed, and alone. I don't really want to make a comparison as bad as this, but there are definitely some similarities between us when it comes to our past." Rainer felt like a deep philosopher, though his words came on a whim. "We were both shunned. At least now we have people that like us and accept our beings, even if under the extraordinary circumstances given to me. Sights like this make me glad I left that dreary life."

"I still don't fully understand myself or my place, Master, but I agree. Heaven was and still is a beautiful place only fit for angels are virtuous souls. I appreciated the sights there, though now that I think about it, its beauty is marred by my experience with the other angels. The circles accept anything, nothing is taboo, and everything is permitted. Impossible circumstances like your becoming a Ruler of Sin, and my being able to wield the dark and light... We were both one in billion out of our species, and in the circles, nobody thinks differently."

It seemed silly to Rainer, their conversation just now. He was only eighteen years old; he had hardly any experience in the world, especially since he was now an immortal incubus. Aureal had been able to think far more about her place as she had lived far longer than Rainer had. What right did Rainer have to talk about the life that Asmodeus had given him? Nothing will change of it.

The two stared at the unique garden for a while longer before delving into the city's wonders again. The walked for an hour, admiring the sights the city had to offer. They still had only seen a single portion. "Master, may we please go over there?" She pointed off towards a street that eventually led to a large bazaar.




The Lost Lord Ch. 12



"Eh, looks busy. I haven't looked around in one since I didn't want to bother with the crowds. Sure, let's check it out." Rainer replied enthusiastically, he wanted to see what goods would be offered in a demon world marketplace.

Aureal grabbed for Rainer's hand, the two walked towards the bazaar hand in hand. Rainer turned slightly red while holding Aureal's hand, but diminished the feeling, as it would be safer to be connected in such a busy place. He had sex with her; so holding hands was not problem after that. 

The entered the large square the marketplace was located in. Vast amounts of stalls were set up, each one containing a demon playing their wares. The stall owners were mostly succubi and incubi, but Rainer sensed several demons of Sin other than lust. The majority of the demons in the square had their appendages out, though there were a sizable amount, like Rainer and Aureal, which had them hidden.

Rainer saw a being he didn't recognize, she was not a demon nor human. He mistook the woman for a fallen angel at first, because she had feathery wings instead of the generic leather wings of demons. The wings also took the place of her arms and hands. Rainer also noticed that the woman had legs like a bird, claws too. Her hair was of medium length, shaggy and the same color of her wings, which was a light purple. Her face had a natural beauty to it. She had small breasts, though they still looked enticing in the clothes she wore. She had a round butt, which gave Rainer a slight arousal. Very few in the crowds paid the bird woman much attention, but he was still not the only one eying her. Apparently her kind was somewhat common in the city, despite being the first one Rainer had seen.

Rainer searched his mind for what kind of being that the woman was until Aureal told him. "I am certain that she is a Harpy. I thought their race went extinct thanks to angels and demons."

"I remember being told that several humanoid species were brought in to the circles, they were given asylum from the onslaught of the angel and demon armies as long as if they swore loyalty to the Rulers of Sin. Perhaps the Harpies are one such species?" Whatever the case, soon the Harpy left the square for its destination.

Each of the stalls had a variety of goods for sale. One stall had food items like one would expect of a marketplace. Fruits and vegetables, that Rainer didn't recognize, were assorted and put on display. Loaves of oddly shaped bread decorated another stall. Another stall had hooks holding various meats hanging down from the top of the stall. Aureal pointed out a stall that held various types of alcoholic drinks. Rainer and Aureal both drank a sample given to them by the stall's owner. The drink was a light blue and flowed like syrup, however it gave a soothing and bubbly feeling as it oozed down his throat.

Then there were stalls dedicated to goods other than food and drinks. Rainer passed by a stall that sold various types of swords. It advertised that its swords were all designed after human world weapons, apparently the advertisement succeeded, as there was a decently sized line in front of it. Aureal visited another stall that sold weapons as well. Though it sold more than just swords, it had displays showing the most valuable of its merchandise. Four barrels held an assortment of weapons of all kinds, which must have been the bargain bin. Axes, swords, maces, a couple of war-hammers, a fearsome naginata, and an interested hooked blade, the store had quite the variety. Another stall was dedicated to the arcane, as it was selling wands and staves for which demons could channel magic through. Apparently it was easier to channel magic through a vessel than casting a spell by yourself. Rainer realized that was an important function of the Grimoire he owned. Another stall contained various plants and herbs. It not only had ingredients for potions and brews, but live plants that demons could buy as decorations or to harvest ingredients themselves from the source. Though one stall caught Rainer's eye in particular.

They eventually came to a stall that had several demons around it, browsing the goods. Rainer couldn't tell what the store was offering at first. He saw several jars containing glowing, floating orbs of varying colors. He turned to Aureal and asked, "Hey, Aureal, you know what those are? They're awfully pretty." He could sense latent power coming from the glowing orbs.

"...Those are souls." Aureal said meekly.

"Eh? You mean souls literally?"

"Yes. You should know that demons desire human souls for many reasons. Why else do demons come to the human world other than valuable goods? Souls are definitely the most valuable things a demon can acquire in the human world."

"Why would a demon want a human soul?"

"They are sources of great power, especially the rarer ones. Master, do you remember what I said before when I spoke to you about the demons in Seattle?"

"Ah, yea... Were they trying to get human souls?"

"Yes, Master. Demons have a unique magic, and it is available to powerful magic users. They can capture the soul of a human, but only a willing one. And so to entice the human, they offer a service of any kind. Humans are greedy. Many want money and power. Some want talent. Others ask for revenge for a loved one. The Pride and Wrath demons I fought back then were both 'fishing' for human souls."

"Sick..."

"They are a valuable commodity here. I can only assume what they are used for here... They can probably be used for alchemy, herbalism, enchantments, and magical bombs... They are infinitely useful. While all human souls are valuable, some are even more powerful than others. Sinful Souls are at the bottom, they are the easiest to get. There are also Virtuous Souls, souls of a holy man or woman, although they can be a soul from any person that is deep within the Seven Virtues and far from the Seven Sins. Souls of an Archmage are very powerful and rare, though they are rare, they are not as hard to acquire than a Virtuous Soul. Angelic Souls are most rare, though demons generally prefer to turn an angel into a fallen angel than take their soul. There are other types, but the most common are Sinful and Virtuous Souls."

"Geez, and here I was hoping soul stealing wasn't all that big of a thing here than I originally thought."

"As far as I know, delving for souls in the human world is exceptionally dangerous. Demons are sought out and instantaneously destroyed by angels or exorcists. Besides, it is not like every demon steals souls. Only the vile would perform such an act, and I have come to learn that all demons aren't evil."

"Yea, you're right. Everyone at the palace are nice people, to a certain extent. Well, let's go on, we got at least a hour or two before we should return to the palace."

"Yes, Master."

They walked for a little while longer before they ran into a group of demons blocking off an unpopulated street. Rainer immediately recognized the group; they were the demons from yesterday that Zazie defeated.

"Well well... I can see that bitch from yesterday isn't with you, only this pretty little number. This time I can kill you and take the girl. The head demon, whose name Rainer didn't even bother to remember, spoke in a pathetic and mocking tone.

"Boss, can I kill the guy? I really don't like that he thinks he can smash me into a table." Rainer didn't bother to care about the next demon talking, as they annoyed him far more than even Mandal ever did.

"Yea, go ahead. Just don't hurt the girl, she'll fetch quite the price."

The grunt demon walked forward, Rainer saw that he was apprehensive, as small beads of sweat ran down his face. Rainer was about to react when Aureal acted first. She took a single step forward and struck the demon in the neck. Her knuckles were extended, forming an odd fist. The demon's vocal cords were paralyzed; he let out a wordless scream and fell backwards, fainting.

"Shit, I don't even need to do anything at all again. Though I could take you all out on my own, I don't think Aureal here would let me." It was Rainer's turn to mock, scoffing at the thugs.

"Master, as you just said, I will take care of them. Please step back, it will only take a few seconds."

The head demon stuttered, "Bitch... The bitch from yesterday, we'll get her soon. C'mon, don't hold back and kill her!" The remaining demons charged forward, three of them chanting incantations, while two brandished weapons. Aureal took a step back, dodging a blow. She then pulled the demon's arm forward and snapped the arm in half. She knocked out the demon out with a blow to the back of the head.

Aureal dispatched the rest of the demons in a flurry of weird martial arts type attacks and counters. Rainer could follow her movements with his sight, he was used to seeing fast movement by now. Only a man with a natural talent for fighting could get used to such speed so quickly, though he wasn't one to realize that.

"Wow, you're amazing."

"I used the minimal amount of strength to defeat them. They are quite weak. I didn't even have to use my magic, nor did I have to take out my hammer and armor. You could have easily defeated them as well, Master. Though I promised Asmodea to protect you." 

"I appreciate that, really. Though it's embarrassing to have a girl win my battles for me. It should be me protecting you, all fantasy stories are like that."

Aureal blushed, "I am simply your servant, Master. Tis' my job to protect and serve." Aureal looked towards the sky for several moments before returning her gaze towards Rainer, "It is time to return to the palace. If we return now, there will be ample time remaining to prepare you for the meeting."

"Gotcha... Well, let's head back then."

"Master, thank you for showing me the city with you." Aureal reached forward with her head, kissing Rainer on the lips. She thrust her tongue into Rainer's mouth, exchanging saliva between the two. Rainer, initially surprised by Aureal's forwardness, returned the kiss with vigor. As much as they would have liked to continue the mood with more illustrious activities, they stopped the kiss after a while and started their way back towards the palace.

-

"What time is the meeting? I very much wish to be on time for once."

"The meeting will be in approximately two hours, Iris. I wonder what this new Lord of Lust will be like? Will he be as laid back as the previous one? Or will he be responsible and dedicated..."

"Mmmm, the last lord was a nice guy. I like laid back, as they don't take things too seriously, except when it is needed. I would prefer a lord like the last one."

"How about Arazra? I am not saying to go against the one chosen, as he is most likely the correct lord... But would Arazra be a decent lord?"

"He cares about the Land of Lust, that much I am certain. He would do what is best for the land; at least what he thinks is best. I can't say he would be a bad or a good lord. The last lord trusted me... At least I think he did, hard to tell with that fellow. He told me that his sons and daughters would not succeed the throne. So I will follow the one that is not a son or daughter. He is supported by five of the six pillar members, that is good enough for me."

"Iris, you are just as laid back as the previous lord. If the new lord isn't like you said, you will be in trouble."

"Oh don't worry, he's a Lord of Lust, I could probably seduce him if needed. I hope he's handsome if that is the case. Besides the new lord will want my support, as much as I want his support. I will serve to his orders."

"Hmmm, Iris, what do you think Katiyana will think about this new lord?"

"Oh she's adaptable. She'll adjust to the winning side between Arazra and the new lord. Her neutrality is her best quality. Her snows were given to her by the Lord of Lust, and so she will follow which ever lord wins and allows her to live peacefully."

"I heard a rumor that another Ruler of Sin will be attending the meeting besides the new lord."

"Really? Odd that I have yet to hear that particular rumor. Is there a hint as to which one will attend?"

"No, but the most likely possibility is the Princess of Pride. As the last lord and the Princess were both close allies. The Princess is also a friend with one of the pillar members, Sadism I believe. Also, the previous lord mentioned that he arranged a marriage between the Princess's daughter, Nerissa, and the new lord. Also, Ennariel, the Governor of Greed was believed to be interested, as... Well, too see how to use the new lord for to his benefit, I assume."

"Hmmm... Well, we will find out. Look here for a moment! I bought this cute little doll in the main bazaar of the city just now! It's the cutest thing ever! I bet your daughter will love it"

"It is very cute, Iris... Thank you for the gift, really. Thank you for thinking of my daughter during your foray into the city. I'll give it to her right away!"

"Mmm, her cute little girl could use a cute little doll... Now, just what was that presence I felt in that bazaar? Massive lust, more than I ever felt before, not only that, but also the lust of a fallen angel...



The Lost Lord Ch. 13



Aureal and Rainer made it back two hours early. Rainer attempted to apologize to Caetorum for making him worry, though Caetorum dismissed it saying, "It is my fault for not paying attention. Mine and the fault of that vixen, Asmodea. A man of your stature should not find the need to apologize to me, young lord." Caetorum ushered Rainer and Aureal back to his bedroom at Rainer's request. He had yet to take a bath that morning, and from the walking they both did in the city, sweat came from their skin. They both entered the bath, neither Lauren, Nerissa, or Asmodea was in sight, so the two of them were all alone. They both realized that but silently agreed to finish the bath in order to be clean for the meeting. However, they were both so aroused from seeing each other naked in the bath, as well as touching each other when they had an area they could not clean with the contortions of their arms. Even though they were finished cleaning, they found a comfortable area in the warm bath.

"I don't think I've properly fucked you yet, think you're still pure down there?"

"Not likely, Master. Nerissa informed me that I did not have a hymen. Whether out of a biological process or something else, I do not know why."

"Well, that just make it easier on you." Rainer made the initiative and got the first move on Aureal. He forcefully kissed her while fondling her bust. Rainer snaked his tongue, which was longer than Aureal's own tongue, into her mouth, entangling with the angel's tongue. Aureal relented and allowed herself to be led. Rainer pinched Aureal's nipples with both hands, while still making sure the kiss kept on. Aureal grabbed Rainer's butt and back, pulling him closer, trying to get as much bodily contact with Rainer as possible.

Rainer removed one of his hands from Aureal's breasts and moved it to her own butt. He groped and massaged her, causing a slight moan to escape from between their kiss. He teased Aureal's butt under the water, playing with her tight ring. He slipped a finger into her tight hole, it was very tight despite being lubricated from the water. Aureal whimpered, she couldn't place the sensation she got from Rainer's action. She got more passive in the kiss, practically melting herself into Rainer's body. Even though it was only a single finger, her ass felt filled. She had yet to feel that particular sensation, though as Rainer wiggled his finger in her butt and induced an odd sense of pleasure, Aureal learned to like that feeling.

Aureal almost buckled under the sensations she was feeling from three areas of her body, her mouth, breasts, and ass. A minute passed as they both explored each other's body with increasing lust, which eventually overcame them. Rainer couldn't resist anymore and his demonic appendages erupted from his back, it didn't hurt, though it felt like they slimed their way out of his body. Aureal also gave in to lust, as her black gray wings also ruptured from her back, sending water back in a spray. (Out of convenience, Aureal's feather wings are waterproof, I'm the author here, not you... Author, ha)

Out of pure, forceful lust, Rainer pushed Aureal down to her knees. He sat down on a ledge, his shaft was rock hard, upright, and ready for something wet. Aureal, only focused on Rainer's cock, wrapped her lips around the shaft without any hesitation. She wet the shaft with her lips, going as far as she could. She could only go a bit below halfway, though that produce more than enough sensation for Rainer to feel pleasure from. Acting on pure, lustful instinct, Aureal licked every part of Rainer's shaft while she blew him. She removed the shaft from her wet mouth, albeit reluctantly. Then, in a swift motion, she enveloped her breasts with her hands. She squeezed them together to entice Rainer before putting them to use. She wrapped her breasts around Rainer's cock, enveloping him in soft, warm flesh. In Rainer's 'harem' she had the third largest bust size, though that didn't mean they weren't big. A soft pair of large and natural tits that even a porn star would envy, which had beautifully smooth, pale skin wrapped around a large dick, aroused the two of them greatly. 

Aureal felt pleased at the fact that Rainer's cock fit perfectly between her boobs, nestled affectionately in her cleavage. She squeezed the breasts together on Rainer's shaft, eliciting a wordless moan. Rainer was one of the types to not make much noise during sex, Aureal noticed. It was completely different from her and the other girls, who practically moaned and squealed with every thrust of their partner's (Rainer) shaft. Aureal then began rubbing Rainer's shaft with her breasts, performing the continuous up and down motions required. Soon, Aureal's bust got wet from the warm bath they were in, making her pale skin shine and glimmer. It lubricated her breasts, allowing for smoother movement and a slippery, but still pleasing, feeling. Rainer made the comparison that her breasts almost felt like another wet mouth. He couldn't help but feel turned to the tit-fuck he was receiving from his angelic lover.

Unable to resist temptation, Rainer placed a hand on the top of Aureal's golden haired head. Aureal looked up, with moist eyes, unable to grasp Rainer's intentions with her mind, she was still quite new to shameless acts like these.

With lascivious intent, Rainer forced Aureal's head down onto the top of the shaft's head. Aureal was quite flexible, it was required in order to fight among the angelic armies. Her neck wasn't strained in the slightest at Rainer's lecherous act; in fact, she actually slightly enjoyed being used by her Master like that. She got even more turned on as Rainer forced her mouth onto the head of his cock. With the shaft being deeply massaged with smooth skin by two large breasts, Rainer's head got enveloped between two wet lips. Aureal sucked on the head with vigor, teasing and tickling the tip of the head with her tongue. She danced her tongue around the head, coating the head with her saliva.

Out of more lustful instinct, Aureal began to hum slightly due to the pleasure she felt from Rainer's cock sliding between her breasts. The vibrations from her lips and tongue Rainer felt, gave him a different feeling of pleasure. Rainer couldn't tell, but whatever she was doing, it felt good. After a small while, Aureal made an aggressive move. She held her breasts still, at the base of Rainer shaft. She took in some air, then thanks to her trained and flexible neck, she went down as far as she could until she hit her bust. Her nose was nestled in her cleavage, with her lips pressing against the top of her bust.

Rainer widened his eyes at the sight, he never imagined that Aureal would go for such a peculiar, libidinous act. Though he didn't complain one bit, ropes of cum shot into Aureal's mouth, pasting her insides white with his seed. Aureal kept still with her lips around his shaft, not wanting to waste a single drop of her Master's sperm. She removed herself from her Master's cock, opened her mouth in an arousing way to show that she had his seed in her mouth, and swallowed. While she didn't know what other men's seed tasted like, she never wanted to find out, she savored every bit of Rainer's 'essence'.

Rainer was still hard, being a Lord of Lust had its perks, and remaining hard even after such a powerful orgasm was one of them. Aureal was plenty wet, and she had yet to cum. "Master, may I request my turn?"

Rainer could barely refuse Aureal's pleading eyes as she made her request. "I'm sure as heck not gonna say no to that face. Here, sit on me." Rainer ordered Aureal to climb into his arms, and sit facing him. Once she got into position, Rainer latched his hands onto her ass, feeling the soft fullness of her backside. Aureal captured a kiss from the one she loved, while sitting on his lap. She faced his head, and they made another lustful kiss, which incorporated plenty of tongue, saliva, and roaming of the lips. Aureal raised her hips while Rainer held his shaft. He pointed it at her wet entrance, before winking at Aureal. In one swift movement, Aureal plopped herself onto the thick shaft. She immediately felt completely filled. Her walls constricted around the invader, milking Rainer for his seed. Thanks to his length, he already had reached Aureal's womb.

"Oh fuuuuuck... Maaasterrrr, that was way too quick. I need to adjust, it feels completely filled down there, like I'm complete. Aureal wasn't lying, it was as if Rainer's shaft was made to fit her pussy. Like a missing piece of a puzzle, Aureal felt completed.

Without warning, Rainer began to buck his hips, thrusting his shaft out and in the angelic pussy (

Aureal buckled under the rough thrusts Rainer sent her way, waves of pleasure hit her brain as she began to orgasm immediately and powerfully. She held on to Rainer's shoulders with her arms, while also wrapping her legs around Rainer's back. Her pussy came around Rainer's cock, lubricating not only the entire shaft, but also his base and balls. Rainer didn't let up, he continued his ruthless assault on Aureal's pussy, pounding his shaft mercilessly away. Even though Aureal had just came, she felt herself building up to another rapid orgasm.

Several minutes passed while they fucked in the bath, both groping and rubbing each other to increase the pleasurable friction between them. Aureal, while holding on tightly, kissed Rainer from his shoulder to up his neck, until she reached his ear. She nibbled on the lobe, almost biting down as Rainer hit a particularly pleasing spot deep in her pussy. Both of them knew that if they kept this up, neither of them would be able to last very much longer. Aureal made this point vocal, "I ca-can't last much longer, M-Master... Ayahn!"

"Don't worry, just sit there and let me make you cum again." Aureal's sudden movements confirmed Rainer's confidence. She shuddered, clearly showing her next orgasm. Her pussy pulsed and her juices flowed around Rainer's shaft. Aureal's orgasm caused a reaction in Rainer, which forced his seed out for the second time. They both came on each other's genitals. Rainer shot his white seed deep in Aureal's pussy, making it into her womb. Neither were worried about possible pregnancy, they only cared about the pleasurable sensations they received from each other. Another bout of lustful kissing resumed between the two, until they were finished with their respective climaxes. Aureal panted heavily as she lifted herself off her Master's cock. While the feeling of being filled felt great, the feeling as Rainer's shaft leaving her wet entrance also felt great.

"Hah, that was good." Rainer was also out of breath, he panted to catch up along with Aureal.

Once their breath came back to them, Aureal said, "We should finish up here, at least forty-five minutes have passed since we entered the bath. It would be best to use the remaining time to get ourselves ready." Rainer nodded, agreeing with Aureal's logic. The two cleaned up themselves again, quickly, and headed to the bedroom. Nerissa, Lauren, and Asmodea were there, each of them recognized the fact that the two had sex and smiled... Except for Nerissa. Each of the girls then began choosing out clothes for the meeting in the assemblage, showing off arousing and elegant clothes to Rainer in a miniature fashion show.

"Ah, Caetorum. There you are! I needed to ask you something."

The incubus named Caetorum replied, not turning away from the current object of interest, "Ask away, Nivenah, I am currently busy with arrangements for the meeting. I'm adept with multitasking, thankfully."

The succubus named Nivenah paused to collect herself, then continued, "Yes well, we are having trouble between two of our guests."

"Let me guess, Iris and Katiyana?"

Nivenah nodded, "Yea, I don't see why though..."

"Mmm, where are they at the moment?"

"They are just outside of the Southeast wing of the palace, with their courtiers and retainers."

"No need to worry yourself about them. It's just a petty argument between them from awhile back. I'll go speak to them, they should at least know not to squabble in front of the new lord. Ah, before you go, please assist the young lord, I'm sure he would like some help in deciding proper garments for this occasion. Though he can wear what he wishes, just offer some advice."

"Ah, of course, Maturity. Then I'll head to the Lord's room immediately." Nivenah bowed, and turned around, heading down a hall that led to the Lord of Lust's main bedroom.

"Now to find them... Why do they have to be in the Southeast wing? I won't forgive them if they embarrass themselves in front of the young Lord." Caetorum then dashed down a hall heading south. He nearly ran into a servant carrying food for the larder, sensing the servant's Sin, he calmly sidestepped the servant and continued. Neither him nor the servant were hindered, both were used to such obstacles in this palace. Caetorum, running between two female servants, gave a debonair smile towards one he had a fling with at one time. Despite being blind, he could differentiate the Sin of every demon he had come across; no demon's Sin felt the same to his trained mind. He found what he was looking for in the form of an open archway. The archway was just in front of a bridge leading off to another section of the palace. The arch gave a beautiful view that focused on a particular waterfall coming from the mountains the city was located next to. He jumped onto the archway and then leapt off into the air. Caetorum took pride in his extraordinary agility and speed, it suited a swordsman like him. Instead of falling straight to the ground, like any normal object under the influence of gravity, he floated through the air until he hit a palace wall. Latching himself onto ledges and footholds on the wall, he scampered up, climbing like a monkey. He eventually reached the top of a spire, it was the third highest point of the palace. From there, he tossed out his consciousness, in an attempt to find Iris and Katiyana. Those two women were not demons, so he couldn't sense them with Sin, instead he had to find the emotions of their soul and that is how he would recognize people other than demons. He reached the top of the spire after several seconds of fast paced climbing. He gripped the tip of the spire and wrapped his legs around it to hold himself in place.

"And what might you be up here for, Maturity? Have you given in to your lust for inanimate objects yet?" The voice came from a succubus who just seemed to randomly be sitting on a window ledge next to the spire.

"Doing the job all of you people should be doing, taking care of any problems for the meeting soon. Since you are obviously not doing anything important at the moment, Teras, would you mind telling me if you have seen Iris or Katiyana?"

"Oh, well, I haven't been paying much attention to the ground. I'll have you know I am not completely apathetic, as I am the only one who is even paying attention to any possible attacks from the air. Other than that, I am enjoying some tea... Do you want some? It's mint!"

"Maybe next year." Caetorum didn't want to admit it, but she was right. He had neglected possible interference from the sky, he relied on the city guards too much on that front. Besides, Teras would be the best choice at taking down enemies from the air, due to her powerful projectile magic. While being careful was ok, an intruder from the sky was highly doubtful.

He remembered a time when he was talking to Teras. She told him that she was actually rather weak, as far as physical strength goes. Her muscle structure wouldn't allow her much use of her wings, it would be impossible for her to fly on her own. In order to fight that detriment, she began to carry an umbrella. Just like Mary Poppins, she used it to stabilize herself and glide through the air, with her wings giving what little acceleration they could. She also used wind magic to gain speed or elevation when needed.

"Well, you can't see it, obviously, but there is some ice over there where there should be none. I assume Katiyana will be there, and Iris too if they are in another squabble."

"Mmm, then I shall head there. I do feel an unnaturally cold temperature for that area, and I do believe I sense Katiyana and Iris's presence over there." Caetorum pushed himself off the spire into the air, towards the direction of the cold spot.

"One day, Rouge and I will get him to throw a tantrum... Maybe I should spank him? That sounds fun." Teras spoke to herself like an insane lunatic, though she wasn't an insane lunatic despite her disposition. Caetorum always felt that about her, sadism is not a fetish for the sane, at least for him.

Caetorum jumped from the spire, to the wall of the palace opposite to him. He latched on to the side of the wall and jumped off, propelling him downwards and again, towards the wall holding the spire. Acrobatic moves that even a professional circus performer would be jealous of (even a demon circus performer), Caetorum was able to go from the third highest point of the palace, all the way to the ground in about eleven seconds. Thanks to his sturdy legs, he received no sprains or fractures. Recovering himself, Caetorum leaned against a wall to regain his wits and focus on the direction of the cold spot. After he was satisfied on the exact location of the cold spot, he headed for it.

Soon enough, his expectations were correct. Upon reaching the cold spot, he could feel the presence of the ones named Iris, Katiyana, and their retainers. "I don't see what your problem is. I clearly am going to remain the way I always have so far."

"No good! You know there is a choice you have to make, whether it is the right or wrong one, you've got to make that choice!"

"Why is it with you that there never is a choice that leads out both doors?"

"I don't give one because there ISN'T one. Duh!"

"So unrefined. We would get along so much better if you just learned the basic of the basics of all manners. Winged whores really should not be allowed in the presence of such esteemed people like me."

"If I may interject... You two can freely voice your positions at the correct time, in front of the young lord. I would very much prefer if you take your conflicts outside of the palace... Outside of the city, no, outside of this circle would be even more preferable. The young lord should not see such immaturity, so please don't embarrass yourselves in the meeting." Caetorum spoke with a mature tone, his silver tongue was ruthless and was able to calm down even the Warmaster of Wrath at one point.

"Tch, fine. I wouldn't want to tell my niece that I embarrassed myself in front of the Lord of Lust now, would I?" The harsh and quick voice came from a woman named Iris.

"As you wish, Maturity. You always know how to deal with situations like this. I will see for myself what this new lord is like. After all, the previous one ruled for so long, nobody even knows how to deal with succession in this land." This particular voice had a cold yet sublime sweet feeling. As if it was honed under decades of speaking properly and courteously, it came from a woman named Katiyana.

The two women went off in opposite directions, retainers close at hand, in an obvious attempt to put as much distance between the two as possible. Their animosity towards each other could be described as rivalry. Caetorum remembered when the previous lord was alive, that the two were quite smitten with him. Though because of that, neither of them had ever actually spent a night with the lord. Despite being denizens of the Land of Lust, they were rather afraid to act on their lust more so than most. "Asmodeus himself would have trouble with those two... I wonder how the young lord will take their eccentricity?" Caetorum sighed and went back towards the main part of the palace.




The Lost Lord Ch. 13



"You know, Rainer, I think this suits you rather well."

"Yea, fiancée! I really want to throw myself on you right now..."

"Master looks very handsome."

"Nivenah has outdone herself this time. You actually look the part of a Lord of Lust now."

The four women each spoke in turn as they admired Rainer is his new vestments. Thanks to a maid, named Nivenah, Rainer was given a traditional garment that the previous Lord of Lust wore himself, though it needed a few alterations. He stood in front of the large bed; he struck a comical pose that stereotyped a male model. He wore a robe that started from his neck, and went down to his knees. It wrapped around his neck like a choker, loosely fit around his torso and lower body, and it left room for each of his limbs to maneuver in case of fight. The vestment also fit around each of his appendages, leaving wiggle room for his wings and tail. Nivenah mentioned to Rainer that it was designed so it could expand in case of any spells Rainer might cast. It was colored a purplish brown. He was also offered a golden circlet to wear, but he refused it, stating, "Jewelry makes me feel... Prissy." He also wore the same shoes he had worn when he first came through the portal. He felt relieved that he had some sort of tie back to Earth, even if it was only a pair of shoes. Despite those shoes being very informal in normal 'human' cases. Asmodea mentioned that human world items were a sign of luxury, and were always on demand. That just goes to show how tight of a reign the angels had on Earth.

Each of the four women was wearing a uniquely arousing dress. Nerissa was wearing a regal dress that was fit for a princess, or in this case, a daughter of a princess. Lauren wore what would be a dancer's outfit, though modified for formal affairs. Aureal wore a conservative, light, leather battle raiment, made for agility and speed instead of defense; it also allowed room for her black wings. And Asmodea wore a beautiful robe that emphasized her assets greatly, like all of her clothes.

"Now my Lord Rainer, just be yourself. You are the highest authority in this circle. Not even other Rulers of Sin have any pull on you in your own circle. Though as it seems that it is true another Ruler of Sin will be personally attending this meeting, you should still address him with respect just in case. I do not even know which one will be here. There are some very informal Rulers of Sin, and some very formal ones. Just remember, you don't bow, they bow to you." Asmodea gave a short pep talk to Rainer, as he wasn't at his usual confidence.

He used to be near the bottom of the food chain back on Earth; only able to survive by rebelling against those who were higher. Now he was at the absolute top of the food chain in the Circles of Sin. The transition would of course be difficult. Rainer took a deep breath and spoke, "I got this. I don't have to talk much, do I?"

"Really, fiancée, you only have to talk whenever you feel like it. Heck, you could even order one of us to speak for you if you're so inclined! I wouldn't mind being my love's voice!" Nerissa clapped her hands on her cheeks, drifting off into fantasy land.

"No, I can talk. I'd feel less comfortable if I didn't talk at all. Hmmm, on second thought, this meeting'll be rather interesting. I especially want to see this Ruler of Sin, humanoids, and the sons and daughters of the last lord.

"Well, let us go to the assemblage. They should all be there waiting: Caetorum, Teras, Little Rouge, and Tozomat... Well, not Tozomat, should be talking to them now."

The guests had all arrived. All invited ones and uninvited. All ones with peaceful or hostile intentions. The assembly room contained a large space in the middle, reserved for speakers, entertainment, or even duels. Each of the prominent guests had their own table to sit at; each also had at least two people standing behind the tables and guest. Each guest was allowed two people to accompany them into the assembly room, whether they be bodyguards, advisors, or even random beggars. Each table had a comfortable seat for the guests. Servers placed food and drink of each guest's preference on each table. The room was filled with chatter, each guest talking to another.

One guest stood out in particular, he had a chair unique to him, which he laid back in with a book in hand. He had five attendants with him instead of the usual two, which was not unusual as he was a Ruler of Sin. He was given the most attention out of all the guests, though he refused most attempts at conversation. When he first entered the room, all of the invited guests had arrived and were situated in. He sauntered in, saying, "Don't mind me, folks. I'm just going to read a book over here. The human world has such lovely literature." While it was rumored that a Ruler of Sin would be attending, uninvited, it was still surprising to everyone in the room that that particular one showed up.

Caetorum marched into the middle of the room and asked for everyone's attention. Each guest stopped speaking, and focused their gaze on Caetorum. Only the Ruler of Sin failed to shift his eyes, they wouldn't budge from his book. "I see everyone is here and given every courtesy. If something isn't to your liking, please inform me or one of the servants and we will do our best to accommodate. The Lord of Lust will enter shortly, each guest will be introduced in turn starting from my right." He gestured to his right, where an incubus sat. "Please mind your manners in front of the Lord."

The room remained silent, save for the sounds of demons eating, drinking, and a certain Ruler of Sin flipping pages. "Ah, here he is now. May I introduce the Lord of Lust, his original name is Rainer."

Rainer walked into the room with a blank face. It was impossible for him to show any emotion, less he reveal something that one of the prominent guests find an attribute they didn't like. So Rainer chose to remain indifferent. He walked over to his throne, which had somehow been brought over from the dining hall. He felt relieved to be in such a comfortable seat, as he hated shifting uncomfortably in front of other people. There was a table right in front of him filled with food and drink, enabling him to simply reach over and pluck out what he desired.

Like a Sheik, there were pillows around, which Rainer could lie down on should he choose. "And the ones right behind him are his fiancée and favored concubines." It wasn't uncommon in the slightest apparently for concubines and the wife/fiancée to follow the person in charge and sit next to him at an assembly like this. "The Daughter of Pride, Nerissa." Some whispers could be heard amongst the guests, it apparently wasn't a well-known fact that a Daughter of Pride was the fiancée of the new Lord of Lust. Nerissa took the first spot right next to Rainer, he didn't resist when she snuggled in next to him. "The human witch, Lauren." More whispers came out from the guests, as humans were especially rare in the circles, some were surprised that a human became a favored concubine instead of a slave. Lauren walked up to Rainer, and to Nerissa's lament, took a place on Rainer's other side, snuggling next to him. Nobody noticed, but the Ruler of Sin raised a single eyebrow when he heard Lauren's name, as if he heard the name before. "And the Fallen Angel, Aureal." The last name garnered the most whispers. The last angel to fall from grace was during the war between the demons and angels some four hundred years ago. Aureal, with an air of confidence, walked over in front of Rainer, and sat down in front of his legs, laying her head between them. Nerissa scowled quietly to herself, "Why didn't I think of that..." Came from her only loud enough for the four of them to hear it.

Rainer could feel the weight of the gazes from each guest. He surveyed the room to see what kind of guests he could find. He saw each of the pillar members in different points of the room. Caetorum in the middle as the speaker, Tozomat and Asmodea in opposite sides near Rainer's throne, Little Rouge and Teras were standing on the other side of the assembly parallel to Asmodea and Tozomat. Among the guests, Rainer saw a familiar looking woman among them. "That's the harpy we saw back in that market, Aureal..." He whispered his words under his breath and without moving his mouth.

"Yes, you are right, Master."

"Now, my Lord, if you will permit me, may I begin the introductions?"

"Ah, yea. Go on." Rainer hesitated for half a second, he didn't want to appear as slow to the prominent figures in the room, even if he could order each and every one of them to do... Whatever.

"First district leader, Zagan." Asmodea gave Rainer a basic geography lesson on the Land of Lust previously, so he knew what the districts were. In the Land of Lust, it is divided into ten districts. A district leader heads each district. The districts are then subdivided at the district leader's desire if he wishes, or he can command it all himself. Also, on a side note, each of the Sons and Daughters of Lust are given command over a district, meaning Arazra leads a district in his rebellion.

"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Lord of Lust." Zagan stood up, bowed, and sat back down. Zagan was in full armor, it seemed he was one to be ready for any situation.

Before Rainer could reply, Caetorum introduced the next guest, "Second district leader, Son of Lust, Azail."

"I am pleased to meet the one father chose as his successor." Azail made a complementary bow before sitting down. Rainer remembered that all offspring of a Ruler of Sin would be a black or white demon like their parent, thus Azail was a black demon.

Rainer didn't bother to reply, as he knew Caetorum would just introduce the next guest as soon as each one finished their words. He was right.

"Third district leader, Daughter of Lust, Alizae."

"My father would never choose someone unworthy. I am pleased to see you." Alizae curtsied and sat back down. Alizae was a black demon, just like Azail.

"Representative from the Fallen Angels, Azazel."

Rainer didn't expect to see someone like Azazel. Azazel stood up and curtly nodded his head, it was clear he wasn't one to show fealty to anyone. "I would like to make a request of you, it can wait though." Aureal studied Azazel, she attempted to divine what kind of person her kin would be. Both her and Rainer were wondering what kind of request would come out of the mysterious leader of the Fallen Angels. "I'll hear you out after this, if that is fine." Azazel had black wings like Aureal, and he also had snow-white hair, though he had a tan set of skin. His robes intermixed with black and white details; all in all, he was exactly what a normal human would expect when thinking of a Fallen Angel.

"Yes, thank you for granting me time."

Eyes fell from the Fallen Angel and followed Caetorum, who then introduced the next guest. "Ambassador from the Grounds of Gluttony, Eereio."

"The General of Gluttony sends his regards. He hopes for nothing but peace in the future, he also sends you a gift, a wine from his personal cabinet. A rare human world vintage dating from 1737. He requests you do whatever with it, drink it in one go, savor it, or even toss it out." Eereio pointed at a wooden box that must have contained the wine.

"I won't do anything with it yet, though thank you." Rainer said this out loud; it was the first words he managed to get out since he joined the meeting.

Caetorum nodded at a server, who then walked over to the box, lifted it, and walked out. "We will preserve it until the Lord of Lust desires it." Caetorum returned his gaze to the next demon, "Ambassador from the Plains of Pride, Gaolor."

"The Princess sends her regards, and hopes that her daughter, Nerissa, is to your liking."

"Ah, she is. She's quite what I would expect from a Daughter of Pride. Beautiful, skilled, and knowledgeable..." Rainer slightly shifted his gaze towards Nerissa and then back to Gaolor. He didn't want to make it seem like he didn't like her to someone who directly speaks with the Princess of Pride. Nerissa blushed under the heavy glares from the audience and Rainer's comment, she hugged Rainer's arm tightly.

"Fourth district leader, Nergal."

"My Lord Rainer, 'tis an honor to serve a lord with a name." Nergal had a wide grin on his face. If Batman was a man who dressed up like a bat, then Nergal would be Manbat, who dressed up with some human qualities. Rainer could still tell that Nergal was a demon, and a demon of lust at that, but he was still far from normal. He had short fur, his wings were more opaque, and his face resembled a bat.

"Queen of the Harpies, Iris."

"Like before, I pledge the eternal loyalty to the Lord of Lust, as thanks for allowing us to live in the Land of Lust. We will fight and die when needed." Iris had a somewhat high-pitched tone, though she was sincere in her desire to serve the Lord of Lust. She bowed completely, folding a wing in front and behind her.

Rainer was slightly bewildered at her sudden declaration, though he took it in stride. It must have been common for things like that to happen in such a medieval society. "Well, I hope nothing like that will be needed anytime soon." Rainer was wondering what a species like hers was like, as it used to live on Earth like he did.

"Ambassador from the Waters of Wrath, Pillar of Wrath, Fury. Asura." Several people shifted uncomfortably, it was apparently unknown that Wrath's ambassador was a pillar member.

"Asura? If I remember correctly he has been in the Pillar of Wrath for quite some time, he has been exacting the Warmaster's fury on his enemies whenever he is ordered to." Nerissa whispered this to Rainer, loud enough for him, Aureal, and Lauren to hear.

"Asura... Some consider him a demon or a god back on Earth. So he is a demon, huh?" Lauren whispered back to Nerissa.

"The esteemed Warmaster of Wrath is looking forward to seeing your skills, on and off the battlefield. He hopes he may someday fight you personally." Asura showed complete reverence for this Warmaster, Rainer noticed. It was clear that Asura respected no one but the Warmaster of Wrath. Asura also had odd characteristics. He had three sets of arms, just like the Asura in the myths.

"Well, I will make sure to develop my skills and magic in order to fight against the Warmaster." Rainer didn't necessarily want to admit it, but he was looking forward to a possible battle in future. Sadistic training with Teras wouldn't faze him now.

"Now to the other side. Fifth district leader, Son of Lust, Hezazias."

"Lord of Lust." The black demon, Hezazias gave a simple bow and sat back down.

"Ambassador from the Empire of Envy, Daezias."

"The Emperor of Envy told me to say this exactly... 'I'll respect you as the Lord of Lust when you and Arazra deal with each other. Until then, bugger off.' His words, not mine. As for me, I am pleased to meet with you, Lord of Lust, Rainer."

Rainer tilted his head when he heard the words from the Emperor of Envy, he wasn't sure how to take what he said. It was another of the seven most powerful people in the circles, so Rainer wasn't wholly surprised that at least one of them would be rude. "Well, good for him." Rainer wasn't trying to be funny, but several of the guests cracked a smile.

"Sixth district leader, Daughter of Lust, Sitri."

Sitri, of course a black demon, stood up, curtsied, and said, "Father said he chose a handsome new Lord of Lust, he was quite right." She gave a seductive smile, hinting that she was obviously interested in Rainer.

"Ambassador from the Gardens of Greed, Lelial."

"The Governor of Greed declined to make any statements other than he will make a judgment on whether he can do business with you when you both meet. In other words, until you meet the Governor of Greed, he will wait to make an introduction until then." This Governor of Greed apparently liked to make first impressions by himself, and not with indirect contact.

"Fair enough, I'll do the same then when we meet." Rainer didn't feel aggravated in the slightest. He felt that the Governor's action was a completely fair one to make.

"Eighth district leader, Ornias."

"I hope to live up to your expectations, Lord of Lust, Rainer." Ornias was half naked; he also had his two attendants with him (succubi), cradling them in his arms. 

Rainer noticed that Caetorum had skipped to the Eighth district leader, though he ignored it for now.

"Ninth district leader, Estair."

"I look forward to seeing how you deal with Arazra." Estair was the oddest of all the guests so far, even more so than Nergal. He looked like a twelve year old kid, he was even barely taller than the table he was seated at. Even his retainers were young, as both of them were succubi that at least looked fourteen and sixteen years of age.

"High Priestess of the Yuki-Onna, Katiyana."

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Lord Rainer. I hope you understand when I say I wish to remain neutral in the dispute between you and Arazra." Some of the guests had displeased looks, especially Iris and Ornias. Katiyana was garbed in pure white robes, in fact, everything about her resembled snow. Rainer couldn't hear, but a sneer came from Iris.

"I can't say I'm not disappointed, though I can understand your wish to remain neutral." Rainer attempted to say something a political leader would say, he noticed his words had a decent effect as Iris and Ornias calmed down, while Katiyana revealed a beautiful smile.

The entire room grew silent; apprehension was in the air, all eyes went to the last guest and his retainers. Caetorum cleared his throat, turned to the last guest and calmly said, "I now present our most esteemed guest. As it was a sudden arrival, we had not the time to prepare for someone of your stature, so I apologize. Lord Rainer, I present to you the honored Shah of Sloth, Justinian. I also present his two retainers: The chief of the Anubites, Chigaru. And the Chief of the Jaguar Men, Yaotl."

Rainer could hear the suspenseful music in his head as the Shah, Justinian, closed his book and handed it to Yaotl. He crossed his legs, as if the situation was nothing, and said, "Let's make things interesting now..."



The Lost Lord Ch. 14



Chapter 14 - Sandstorms Suck

"Let's make things interesting now..." The white demon, Justinian said this to the entire assembly. Several heads tilted in confusion at the words of the unfathomable man. It was said, now that the old Lord of Lust is gone, that the Shah of Sloth is now the most mysterious and baffling of Rulers of Sin. No one, except those he confided and trusted in, could understand or tell what the demon was thinking. "Yes... I think I know what I want to do now."

No one knew what to say in this situation, not the district leaders, the Pillar of Lust, nor the ambassadors. Rainer assumed that since they were his subordinates, that the Anubite, Chigaru, and the Jaguar, Yaotl knew what was going on. Rainer, as he was supposed to be the representative of the entirety of this circle, decided to grow a pair, "Ah, what do you mean by 'interesting'?"

Justinian was switching his eyesight between everyone in the room, as if categorizing each person. Caetorum was currently clenching his teeth, he wouldn't do anything yet, but if something threatened his new liege's safety, he would move. Tozomat took a position that showed he was ready for anything. Teras stood still, though she had her eyes strained for anything unusual. Little Rouge smiled in the corner of her mouth, she was clearly intrigued by Justinian's words. Asmodea inched towards Rainer, ready to fight. Each of the district leaders had a slightly different reaction, some were interested, others defensive, and some apprehensive. Katiyana sipped her cold drink, her actions made it clear she didn't want to get involved. Iris ruffled her feathers, unsure whether to take action or stay relaxed. The ambassadors observed the situation with interest.

Justinian waited a small while, as if he was sorting out what to say in his head, before he replied to Rainer's question, "Oh nothing serious. As you know, a Ruler of Sin like you, or myself cannot be weak physically or mentally. I'm not doubting the last lord's choice as an heir, but I feel like it's my duty in order to investigate whether you will be a proper Lord of Lust." Justinian spoke without care, as if the situation meant nothing to him. "It's been eighteen years since a Lord of Lust ruled here. Of course myself and the other Rulers of Sin want to know whether you are worthy enough. Though myself and the Warmaster of Wrath are the only two bothering to do something about it."

"Warmaster of Wrath? What's this fellow have to do with the situation? As far as I know, you're the only Ruler of Sin here except for me." Rainer took the diplomatic approach, being unused to politics, diplomacy, or demons like Justinian in general, Rainer decided to play it passively with his words.

"I am not the usual ambassador. I was ordered here by the esteemed Warmaster." A voice joined the conservation without fear, Asura, Wrath's ambassador stood up from his seat in order to make himself known. "I do not know how, but Justinian assured the Warmaster he will take care of things, so I will follow his lead."

"Mmmhmm, as Fury said, I am going to hold a little test for you. It will be a fair one, I assure you. I am also collaborating with Arazra on this too." Justinian then said a name that resonated with everyone's minds in the room. Some people hated Arazra with passion, some respected him, and some just don't give a fuck, though everyone acknowledged the name.

"So... You, this Warmaster, and Arazra are all planning a test to see if I'm worthy to be a Lord of Lust?"

"Well, the Warmaster and I are doing that. Arazra thinks this is an honest assassination attempt. Even though I assured him that isn't my true intent. Though you may die during this test, if that is the case, then it just means you weren't really meritorious enough for the throne. As I said, it is a completely fair test, I won't make it one sided in the slightest, despite Arazra's protests." Justinian ended his words with slight annoyance, as if he didn't really like Arazra in the first place. Undoubtedly, Justinian would have arranged a test for Arazra, if he were going to be inaugurated as the Lord of Lust in Rainer's position.

It was a conversation between two Rulers of Sin, no one in the room dared to intrude for fear of punishment, even though Rainer or Justinian wouldn't have minded in the slightest. "Alright, this test sounds fun, I'll do it. If it is fair as you say, I'm fairly confident at what you throw at me. What does this test have for me?" Rainer answered the Shah of Sloth's challenge with a determined confidence; he wasn't intimidated in the slightest.

"Well, don't you have the sanguine attitude. 'Tis a simple contest between your people and mine. You're supposed to be a Ruler of Sin, so I'm sure you can handle tactics and guile in a battle. Any planning done in this contest will be done by you and you alone, although you may take suggestions from your subordinates. I'll allow you to choose up to nine people to accompany you. I have ten already chosen."

"Huh... In that case, may I know whom these people are that you've chosen? I'd like to know the names of the people whose ass I'll be handing to you." Rainer had not been in a fight in quite a while. The fight between him and the angel was exciting indeed, Rainer was thrilled to be able to feel the adrenaline rush he got from the fight again today."

"Eh, sure why not. You will be fighting against Yaotl, Chigaru, and Asura here." Yaotl and Chigaru each a step forward, Asura on the other hand was surprised at the situation. He clearly wasn't informed on this test Justinian had planned, though he welcomed it by smiling and walking towards the Shah of Sloth to join him. Justinian continued, listing off Rainer's opponents, "You'll also be fighting two people from Black Steps, Avandar and Luce." Rainer was surprised at the name of Avandar. He recalled the fight he witnessed the other day between Avandar and the late Cairz. Avandar was a skilled swordsman, Rainer was glad to have a little bit of information on one of his enemies. "Also, you will be fighting the five man assassination group known as the Parish. Their names are Archibald, Elizabeth, Veronica, Forsythe, and Reginald. Those are your ten opponents, confer with your subordinates and choose your team. I will wait outside with the three of us until you are ready." Confident that Rainer wouldn't attempt anything while he was out of the room, Justinian, Yaotl, Chigaru, and Asura exited the meeting room.

The room remained silent, most were either too stunned or were contemplating the situation in their heads. Rainer was part of the latter; he had always kept a cool head, even under extreme pressure, back on Earth. He had been in bad situations, lethal ones, though he always had a plan frighteningly similar to those you find in action movies. Which of the ten in this room would he take with him? He felt it slightly obvious that the Pillar of Lust would accompany with him. Neither Caetorum nor Asmodea would have it any other way. That would make six people, so what about the other four? He would feel more comfortable if Nerissa, Lauren, and Aureal came with him, but would they be good choices and are they even skilled enough to fight the enemies Justinian mentioned? Even if they came, what about the tenth person? Time to confer with everyone. "Alright, well to get it out there, I'm sure the pillar people will be coming."

"Of course, my lord Rain Rain." That nickname is annoying. Asmodea sounded out her confirmation.

"Obviously, young lord. I will not let any harm come to my liege." Caetorum sent in his confirmation, well he was a gimmie.

Tozomat vigorously nodded his head, out of all the pillar members, Tozomat had guarded Rainer the most (of what little time Rainer had spent since he entered the Land of Lust, he also protected the previous lord the most, only being second to Asmodea.

"I'mmmmm sure ifffff I come along, there'll beeeee plenty offffff fun enemies to fight! I'mmmmm so there.♡" Little Rouge flexed her slender arms, Rainer could feel bloodlust emanating from her.

"I'm a part of the Pillar of Lust. OF course I'm going to fight. MY superior magical strength will annihilate their magic to atomies." Teras had a deranged look in her eyes, Rainer was sure she would make good on her words.

Rainer nodded to each of the pillar members, thankful for their support. "Well, then for the other four..."

Nerissa was the first to raise her hands, "I'M GOING! This'll be my first battle fighting with my fiancée... Oh I'll treasure this memory!" Nerissa looked up in a dreamlike state. Rainer had yet to see Nerissa's abilities, though he had seen some of her martial prowess back on Earth.

"I am Master's humble servant. I wish to fight for him, besides, I believe my light will prove a powerful asset against the demons we go against." Rainer had seen both her light and dark magic, as well as her martial strength, he was confident in her abilities.

"Well, now that you two are going to fight, I'll just look like a lazy koala. I don't want that, so I will help." Despite the analogy, Lauren showed her enthusiasm and intent to take part in the contest.

"Koala? What's that? Sounds cute! ♡" That particular question came from Rouge, though why she was interested, Rainer had no idea.

"I'll show you after we win this fight. Now what about the tenth of our cohort?"

"We will need someone versatile and flexible. This will be an unpredictable battle. My lord, I honestly wish that you didn't accept the Shah's proposition. We could have moved on without taking part." Caetorum voiced his opinion honestly, Rainer had made it known that he liked it when people were open minded with their thoughts. So he was not scared to voice his disapproval of Rainer's actions.

"Yes, I am surprised that the Shah was the one to show up. He was the second most likely to do so, after the Emperor of Envy. I thought the Princess of Pride would be the one to show up, as her daughter was here and she was a ally to the Land of Lust for a long time." Asmodea added quizzically.

"Well, it doesn't really matter now. I accepted and I intend to win. Besides, we're all pretty strong here, aren't we?"

"We may be known as the strongest in all of the Land of Lust, but that does not mean there are not demons just as strong, in or out of the Land of Lust. The Parish is a group only known by the vast sea of rumors about them, and they are not pretty. I fought against one of them once, Veronica, though it was a long time ago. So I do not know how much they have changed. She was very skilled as far as I know." Asmodea said as a word of caution, "In any case, let us decide on the tenth person to fight against us. We have a pretty versatile group with a little of everything."

"Dooooo we have any volunteers? ♡"

Five different people offered their assistance, the rest silently observed. The ones who offered were: Zagan, Azail, Sitri, Alizae, and Iris. Each of them made their bid in order to join the team, Rainer had no idea of the level each of them were, but he decided to leave it up after they spoke. Each were prominent members of Lust's Court, with three of them being black demons.

"I have yet to participate in such an interesting battle in the name of the Land of Lust, though I won't mind if I don't, I would be glad to assist." Zagan said this as he puffed out his armored chest.

"I'm only interested in participating because I have a grudge against Black Steps. They interfered with a conflict in my district. Either way, Black Steps needs to be taught a little something. Azail seethed with slight anger, despite being an incubus, Rainer felt wrath coming from him.

"As for me, I want to fight against Asura. He is, after all, a member of the Pillar of Wrath. This would be a perfect chance to measure my skills against one of Wrath's finest, Fury." Alizae let out a small laugh, amused with herself for some unknown reason.

"I just want to impress this handsome Lord of Lust with my abilities, perhaps make him fall for me with my beauty while I fight? Maybe I can be your new fiancée?" Sitri flashed a smirking look towards Nerissa, who was clearly annoyed. Rainer flinched backwards, slightly. Everyone else either rolled their eyes, sighed, or mumbled to themselves something meant for Sitri. With such a mischievous reason for wanting to fight, Rainer was uncertain whether Sitri actually was taking the matter seriously (which she wasn't). "Also, I reaaaaaaaally don't like Arazra's choice of assassins, The Parish."

"I serve the Lord of Lust. I said before I will fight and die for the Lord of Lust, and I want to prove my loyalty." Simple and direct, Rainer had to admire her ardent zeal.

Rainer had no idea who would be a good choice to join him for the test. He turned to his 'advisors' for help.

"Zagan, he would be a good front line fighter. I've never seen him leave a battle until its finished, he almost always comes out with wounds that should incapacitate a normal demon. However that's against the small fry, he is strong enough to fight one on one with our enemies in this fight, though his risky behavior might be a problem." Caetorum gave a brief description on Zagan, emphasizing his recklessness.

"Hmmmm, Alizae issssss good fun, I've sparred with her before, she isssss quite strong with her martial arts. Assssss for aaaaa weakness... Well, I'ddddd say she isn't reckless enough. Too cautious, though that may beeeee a good point innnnn a way! ♡"

Caetorum then addressed the points of Azail, "In my opinion, I would choose Azail. He uses a bow to shoot magic bolts with increased precision and accuracy. It requires a diligent mind to concentrate using magic while aiming a bow; he's quite tactful and courageous at the same time. If I had to find fault in him... He's childish on the levels of Little Rouge." Caetorum seemed to have respect for Azail, though his enthusiasm for his description completely plummeted to a muffled whisper near the end. 

"Now now, Cae Cae. You can gooooooooo screw yourself! ♡"

"Not your most eloquent moment."

"Yea, I'mmmmmm working onnnnnn some material.♡"

"Moving ON..." Teras, who was the most serious Rainer had ever seen, began to describe Sitri. "Sitri, as you know Lord Rainer, IS quite the flirt, she's more interested in men than she is fighting. Though IF she's out to impress a guy, then she will go all out. She's quite competitive with Alizae, so they both have equal levels of martial arts knowledge and skill. And both being black demons, they're more powerful than most. In my opinion, thanks to the circumstances, I nominate her." Yea, that pretty much summed up what Rainer already thought about Sitri.

"As for Iris..." Asmodea just now decided to chime in with the last person for some reason, "She's the most zealous of the five, I can give her that."

"How do Harpies even fight? They got no hands." Rainer didn't have a clue.

"I am getting to that." Asmodea cleared her throat after Rainer's interruption, "Magic, obviously doesn't require arms or hands in order to be used. They can grasp weapons with their claws, or even use their razor sharp claws. I have never witnessed her in a fight, but as she is the queen of her kind, she is most definitely not weak. Their race is quite violent, towards themselves or our enemies."

They all discussed it for a short while longer, until Rainer came up with a decision. It was like a reality TV show, where the five contestants were all competing for the final, prize-winning spot. "Alright, as I have only just met with you all today, I chose Sitri. I, uh, have a weak spot for women that call me handsome like that."

"Ahah! Spoken like a true Lord of Lust, I like you." Zagan laughed heartily, he was like that one dwarf you would read about in a book or see in a movie that drank and laugh constantly through the whole epic.

"Mmmm! You won't regret your decision. When I'm fighting for such a handsome guy, I can't be stopped!" Sitri, filled with gusto flashed a smirk towards Alizae, confirming their rival relationship Rainer was told about.

Nerissa frowned, but didn't argue. She clearly wasn't a fan of Rainer's choice, but relented. "Ah, can someone inform Justinian that we are ready to begin this contest." Rainer started getting excited, this contest would be a life and death situation, yet Rainer felt anxious. He had been in a situation where a wrong move meant death, however, Rainer would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the feeling he had in a fight. Even if it was due to the thrill of an adrenaline rush.

Estair (the ninth district leader) motioned one of his retainers. One of the young demon girls left the room; she was understandably scared, as she had to now speak alone to a Ruler of Sin, a member of the Pillar of Wrath, and two dangerous subordinates of the Shah of Sloth. Justinian entered the room alone, none of the three who followed him out came with. "I assume you are ready to take my test?"

"Yea, I'm ready to win this damned thing."

"Confidence, how precious. Like I haven't seen that before. All right, I will take you to the area where you will be fighting my group. Neither your team nor mine have any knowledge of the terrain, I want this to be fair. Both sides will have exactly one day of the time of the world you will be in to investigate your half of the surroundings and make your plans. After that, do have some fun. The side that survives will win, basic survival rules. Although in this case, any demon, angel, or human that is rendered unconscious, unable to fight or move, or dies, will be teleported out."

"Of the world we will be in? What's that mean..." As far as Rainer knew, he had no idea how Justinian could teleport him and his group to another world without the teleportation stones or monument. Asmodea had informed Rainer that Tozomat is one of the few demons that can move between worlds or realms without the need of stones or monuments, though that was one demon.

"Ah, well. Hmmm... Oh, there we go, right, done!" Justinian looked thoughtful for a moment, as if he completely didn't know what or how he was going to do what Rainer said. Though he apparently remembered. Rainer and his chosen nine companions were whisked away. Unlike the experience Rainer had felt when he went through the portal Asmodea had made to enter the Land of Lust, the scenery blacked out in front of eyes, great force pushed against Rainer, forcing him to close his eyes. Rainer felt pressure on the level of being in the middle of an ocean, though it did not kill or damage his body. Rainer felt like he was being pulled in different directions, going left and then jerking to the right. A carnival ride in hell was the only way Rainer could describe it. How true his description was.

When Rainer was able to open his eyes, he was still, lying on a warm, hard surface. Heated air came in from all direction, Rainer opened his eyes to see world completely different than Earth or the Land of Lust. He was in a ruin, filled with orange sand. Orange tinted bricks formed a room, and ultimately an entire castle like structure, although it would now be called a ruin. The stone room contained no furnishings, only stone slabs, a stone table, and a doorway that led to more of the ruin. He walked out of the room, partly because of his desire to explore and in order to find his companions.

It wasn't long until he found someone. In a courtyard in the middle of the ruins, four of the ten of Rainer's group had gathered. Asmodea, Tozomat, Teras, and Sitri were there, and now with Rainer they were five. The courtyard was an oasis in the orange desert feeling the ruin gave off. Green plants adorned the circumference of a circular pond. A lone, tall tree stood in the middle. It seemed like a mix of a mangrove with its large, branching roots, a sequoia with its massive trunk, and an evergreen with its tiered needles. "Ah, there you are, my lord. It seems that the rest of us are either together somewhere else or lost."




The Lost Lord Ch. 14



"Yea, well let's find everyone else before we do anything else. It'd be safer that way." As Rainer had to be the sole tactician for his side in this contest, he brought out a confident voice and his logical part of his mind. "Does anyone happen to know where we are?"

"I am not certain, as I have never seen a place like this before. Though if I am to make an educated guess, I would bet that we are located within the realm of Hell."

"THE Hell? The one where sinful souls and spirits go when they die?" Rainer lost composition for a moment before regaining his voice. Since he arrived in the Land of Lust, he broadened his mind, readying himself to accept whatever fantastical noun life threw at him, yet Hell still set him aback.

"Yes, there are three realms where dead souls dwell, Heaven where the virtuous live, Hell where the sinful live, and Purgatory where humanoids dwell. A unique clan of demons tends Hell, or else it would overflow and its monstrosities would seep to the other realms. If I am correct, then it would be best to group with everyone quickly as you said. I wonder how Justinian managed this? Perhaps there is some unique spell that allows easy transfer between Hell and the other realms... Do you know, Teras?"

"There IS no spell that I am not aware of. This is indeed a mystery that I will have to unravel. No matter, this battle is our main priority... I am going to have fun using my superior magic against our foes."

"Yea, right. Well, who is best suited to flight? I want that person to see if they can spot our friends or foes from the air. Then we'll break into two groups of two to search for everyone. We'll meet back here when or if we find everyone in approximately an hour or two. This tree will serve as a good landmark." Rainer laid out his plan that he hoped was reasonable. He had played a strategy game or two which required such tactics, though whether they would prove useful in real life would be a myth he would soon find out.

"I, OF course, am best suited for the air. My magic will allow me to fly keenly and with haste." Teras said this as she stretched out her purple wings; she unfurled her umbrella and chanted a short spell before taking flight. Mary Poppins much? She flew unlike any demon or angel he had seen yet, practically floating more than flying.

"I must request, my lord, that you accompany either I or Tozomat until we find the others. It is not that I distrust Sitri nor doubt her abilities, but it is a duty of ours of the Pillar of Lust to protect you until death." Asmodea said this as Tozomat nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Ah, ok. Well, we do have a day until the actual battle begins; I doubt we'll be attacked until then. Still, I'll placate you and team up with Tozomat." Rainer chose Tozomat, as he didn't want to play the favorite game between Asmodea and Sitri. When it came to matters like those, Rainer was apt to dodge and retreat.

Thankfully, neither Sitri nor Asmodea complained and went along with the groupings. Their group went off towards the West with caution, while Rainer began walking with Tozomat in the opposite direction. "So, why don't you talk so much?" Rainer asked with curiosity, he had heard the story from Asmodea, but he wanted to know if it was true or if there was an underlying reason he rarely spoke.

"..." Silence, like Rainer didn't expect that.

"Asmodea said that the previous lord guy said you spoke too much, that true?"

"..." Silence again, though this time Tozomat made a gesticulation that said 'Kinda'.

"Well, do you mind telling me why you don't talk? With words, wait... With spoken words?" Rainer negated any attempts by Tozomat to avoid any chances at not using words, or so he thought.

Tozomat swept a finger across his mouth, Rainer wasn't sure what he was doing at first, but realized it after the silent demon finished. Rainer felt dark energy on Tozomat's face, changing the formation of the flesh across his face. Tozomat was actually using minor shadow manipulation magic to change his form. Soon, the oral cavity disappeared, and all Rainer could see was a smooth valley of skin and flesh where the demon's mouth should have been. Startled at first, Rainer stared slack-jawed at the bizarre sight. Staring for several seconds, Rainer convulsed and let out some giggles. It was a slightly morbid sight, seeing no mouth, though Rainer couldn't help but laugh at Tozomat's outlandish face.

If he could, Tozomat would have been smiling right then. The two continued their half mute banter while the explored the ruins, searching for the other five of their team. It wasn't long until they found someone. Tozomat, who was back to his original form, pointed off from a balcony to the surrounding land. Rainer strained his eyes to make out what he saw. Hell wasn't as bad as everyone thought, Rainer decided. While it was an orange, hot, and mostly lifeless desert, at least of what he saw, it wasn't as dreadful as he originally thought of it. It was still far from pleasant, however. There were crevices that spewed fire, though somewhat infrequently from a narrow vent. Vents spouted hot steam. Other than the green oasis he saw in the ruin, there was no sign of life. Sturdy trees that evolved to live in this harsh were sparse, and offered little shade. Plenty of orange rocks were scattered amongst the sands and crags of the land. From the balcony, Rainer managed to make out what Tozomat was pointing at. In another tower of the ruins, a lone figure was standing on top, covering her eyes from the light. The figure appeared to be searching the land just like Rainer and Tozomat were. Eventually, with the help of Rainer waving his arms, the figure spotted him and waved back. The figure gestured towards the bottom of the tower, asking for them to meet the person there. The figure was still indiscernible from this distance, but Rainer was confident that the figure was friendly.

Tozomat and Rainer outstretched their wings, ready to take flight. Rainer still wasn't confident with his wings, but he had gotten some practice back at the palace. Tozomat leaped flawlessly from the balcony ledge, making his way towards the bottom of the tower. Rainer had to learn perfect flying eventually, it would be sad if the Lord of Lust could fail to do such a simple task that most demons with wings learned before they turned teen. Rainer fumbled over the balcony ledge and manipulated the muscles that connected him to his wings. As he never used wings for most of his life, it felt slightly unnatural to have wings on his back flapping. Despite that, Rainer considered the act of flying without aircraft one of the coolest experiences ever. Rainer managed to keep himself in the air, albeit amateurishly. Despite using more stamina than he thought would be needed, Rainer made it to the tower thanks to his demonic constitution.

When Rainer made it to the bottom of the tower, Tozomat was already having a one-sided conversation with the figure from the tower. Thankfully, the person was Caetorum, a sane soul. Caetorum was a reliable demon according to Rainer, he felt somewhat safer now that he was with two members of the Pillar of Lust. Even more so because of the fact they were male, so Rainer's chastity was safe from anyone (not that he minded having it taken). Rainer had learned that not a day went by that a lust demon could go without sex, so you better watch out if you're trying to accomplish that.

"I am glad I finally met up with someone. Now I can continue my duty to protect the young lord." Caetorum sounded relieved, though he was out of breath.

"Well, I formed a plan with Asmodea, Teras, Sitri, Tozomat, and I. Teras is scouting from the sky, hopefully to find our comrades or gain any information on our enemy. Asmodea and Sitri are searching on the other side of these ruins, we'll be meeting back in the main courtyard of this place."

"That sounds reasonable. I have confirmed our location in the meantime since I came here."

"Asmodea hypothesized that it was Hell."

"Yes, her assumption is correct. This is Hell's Famine. It is for those who have sinned with great gluttony. As for the exact location, I do not know. Any souls that manage to find a minuscule amount of sustenance will have to defend themselves lest other souls take it. As for the reason why we do not see the dead souls, it is simply because that we are alive, also we are not part of the clan of demons that tends to hell. Any food or drink we find will have to be searched for carefully."

"Well, we're lucky then. The courtyard where we will meet back at is luckily a small oasis."

"Really? That seems almost too easy. Though I will not look a gift horse in the mouth. Hmmm, it is getting dark. It seems to have been approximately an hour and forty-four minutes since we arrived. I advise that we head back to this meeting place, hope that the others have been found, or find anyone else along the way."

"Okay. Well, it won't take long to get back, we got here as we were searching for the others carefully. Eh?" Rainer formed a puzzled look as the ground began to rumble. Without any warning, as gust of wind blew through the area, bringing along a sandstorm. It was without any warning. It was as if one formed in the immediate area without any natural preparation. Rainer could rule out interference from the enemy side as it was decided by Justinian that a day would pass before the fight began.

"Tch! I had suspicions about this!" Caetorum yelled this as he pulled Rainer and Tozomat into the tower. When they went through the archway, Caetorum pushed a large piece of conveniently movable debris. "It seems that this is part of the punishment given to the sinful souls. A burning gale of hot wind along with sand that flays like a dagger... The punishing storms of Hell are not to be meddled with. It would be best to wait it out until it passes. Even then, we will not be able to return to this courtyard you mentioned."

Rainer sensed the worry in Caetorum's voice, "Why's that? I definitely agree that we shouldn't go out until the storm passes, but why won't we be able to meet back with the others in the courtyard oasis."

"Part of the storms punishment is to reveal a possibly permanent food and water source. Then the sandstorm passes through, it reforms the entire area, changing passageways, rock formations, and even whole mountains to forever trap a soul in a permanent fight for survival against hunger and thirst. The elation of finding a source of water or food is instantly washed away, slowly chiseling away at a soul's mind. To put it simply, the entire landscape has changed. It is an eternal maze." Caetorum said, solemnly. "Justinian's test is flawed, how can you be tested mentally or tactically if our entire group isn't together? Hell is loathsome."

"Whoa... Hell, yea, that's hell alright. WELL! This'll be fun." Rainer's sarcasm could only prepare him so far.

-

Two figures were standing next to a ruined wall. As far as they could see, only desert sand, dead vegetation, and scorching light was all they could see. On the other side of the wall, there was a set of ruins, which the two had scouted earlier.

"Nerissa, so you said that you know where we are? Like Rainer, all I've ever seen is the human world. So I figured wee were in one of the other circles or somewhere else on the Land of Lust." Said a girl named Lauren, she sounded distressed despite trying to remain placid. She wasn't afraid, but she would have preferred to have all facts straight in front of her. Lauren had dispersed her previous outfit, which would have been unsuited for combat. With a simple magical spell, she summoned her traditional outfit that she had worn in previous fights. It consisted of hardened, padded leather dyed the same colors of her hair, black, green, and a dark pink. For comfort, smooth silk was situated under the leather. She also wore a pointed, pitch-black beanie.

"Yea, I've learned the basics about this place. This is most definitely Hell, or more specifically, Eternal Famine. It is where those who have sinned greatly with the sin of gluttony spend their days in Hell." We better find the rest of our group, and find cover quickly." Nerissa spoke calmly, but with haste. She did not like being so out in the open. She also didn't have her usual vigor and enthusiasm in her voice. It seemed she only spoke so passionately when Rainer was around. Nerissa also dispensed with her regal gown from the meeting. Like Lauren, she summoned her uniform which she had saved since she left the Plains of Pride. It was a flexible metallic uniform, which was reserved for important members in Pride's court. The uniform combined maximum flexibility with maximum defense, it was expensive and rare thus not mass-produced like most sets of armor. The metal had an ebony tint with an elaborate, platinum filigree design. She had a sword belted to her waist. It was a sword without a scabbard, nor did it have any special adornments or designs. Its only special quality would be the sword itself, skillfully smithed with blue, quality metal found only in the circles.

"Hell, I figured I wouldn't see it until I died. I kind of expected more of an... Entrance instead of being plopped in the middle of nowhere next to a ruin. Joking aside, let's do as you say. If what that Shah fellow said is true, then our enemy is in the same situation as us. They're separated and lost, and neither side can interfere until an hour before this exact time tomorrow. Let's operate on that theory and go ahead." Lauren analyzed the situation as best as possible.

"I do not know if the Shah of Sloth is to be trusted, or that the other side will follow his rules. We have no other choice, though."

The two girls made their way along the walls length until they found an opening. Nerissa could have flown Lauren and her over the wall, but they decided to take no chances on being seen by a possible enemy. After coming across a gap in the wall, they peered through in order to discern their surroundings. They could only find more ruined structures, many half covered in orange sand. A single unique structure stood next to an open doorway to a building, it was an obelisk with foreign characters dotted vertically. The two girls approached the obelisk, in a hopeful attempt to gather some information. A glowing blue triangle stood at the tip of the obelisk, though in a peculiar upside down form. As if the tips of both triangular objects balanced perfectly. "Can you tell anything about this? I don't know any languages except those from Earth, and these characters are nothing like those on Earth." Lauren asked inquisitively, in hopes that Nerissa knew something about this language.

"I wish. I believe that this is the language of the of the clan of demons which are the caretakers of Hell, the Devils." Nerissa traced a hand over the symbols, very few knew this language other than the ones that speak it regularly.

"Devils? I thought all demons were considered those, or just the powerful ones."

"No, groups of demons other than the ones living in the circles are generally part of different clans. The more prominent ones are the Devils here, the Rakshasa that serves the General of Gluttony, the Oni, and the Leviathans... Also not to be confused with THE Leviathan of Envy."

"Who's out there? I can hear someone!" A voice run out as the two girls conversed about the obelisk. Nerissa immediately recognized the voice.

"It's Nerissa and Lauren, no one else!" Nerissa called out the voice, in an attempt to placate any possible pre-emptive violence. The voice walked out from the behind the building with the doorway, feathery, blackened wings splayed out with a pale, beautiful girl walking between them, it was Aureal. Aureal was wearing simple clothes that made it easier for strenuous traveling, she had not yet brought forth her armor or weapon.

"I'm relieved, it's you two (though I wish it was Master). Do you already know where we are? If not, I can tell you."

"I informed Lauren, it's Hell, is it not?"

"Correct, I also recommend we take cover immediately, the Vanishing Storm will be here shortly. It randomizes the entire area it passes over. It is... Unpredictable. Should we get caught in it, not only will the storm flay us raw, but we will be lost in the area and separated. This building will be amenable provided we cover the entrance." Following Aureal's advice, the trio stepped into the building and covered it up with a basic magical barrier thanks to Aureal and Lauren.

"Do we have no option but to wait it out?" Lauren didn't want to sound nervous, as she wasn't, but she wanted to confirm the situation.

"Yes, I do not know the duration of the storm or when it will pass, but we will have to assume that we may stay here for awhile. Though I doubt it will take up the entire day we have been given for this contest. We may as well spend our time getting some rest." Assessing the problem, Aureal reluctantly gave said her opinion, as it was not one she liked. She wished that they could leave and search for Master and the rest of their group in order to conspire and plan for this contest of the Shah of Sloth.

"Tsk, it seems we have no other choice. At least there are some furnishings here to make spending a night here bearable." It seemed as if this building in front of the obelisk used to be of importance, as there were indeed fanciful furniture. What was there was simple, though it allowed whomever living there all the basic furnishings needed to live (except for food and water): a king-sized bed, table and chairs, and an empty shelf that must have contained books or decorations. The only odd thing in the room was an unusual stack of corks on the table. "Mmmm, we'll have to share the bed." A mischievous smiled escaped Lauren, as she imagined some sort of fantasy.

It took several seconds for Nerissa to see where Lauren was getting at. Even though she loved only Rainer, and would accept Rainer as the only man she would bed with, women, on the other hand, and ones that she knew and liked, she didn't mind having sex with. Aureal, on the other hand, was oblivious to the situation. Still inexperienced in these types of situations, and sexual innuendo in general, she figured that Lauren was just alluding to the fact that the most comfortable sleep situation would be if they all shared the bed. Nerissa returned the banter accordingly, "Yes, well, I certainly don't mind sharing the bed with you both. The storm may not pass for quite some time."

The bed was of simple make, wooden frame and base. It had an out of place soft mattress, a single pillow, and two sheets, one thick and the other thin. "While warmth in this particular land isn't a problem, it would be more comfortable to share the bed. We have shared one in the Land of Lust so I am not opposed to the idea." Aureal's indifferent tone was indecipherable to Lauren and Nerissa. They couldn't tell if Aureal was going along with their innuendo, or was oblivious and simply going along with the idea of comfortably sleeping for the night. Either way, they were going to involve her soon enough.

"Yes... I do like being comfortable when I sleep. It's so much more fun when we're together!" Nerissa's enthusiastic voice returned when she spoke just now.

Aureal tilted her head confusedly, "Eh? What do you mean?" The angel, despite having multiple encounters (with the same guy) still had yet to grasp the nuances of sexual innuendo.

Lauren sighed, "Aureal, you're still so innocent. Here is what we mean..." Lauren walked up to Aureal and planted her planted a kiss on Aureal.

Aureal widened her eyes in surprise, only then did she realize where the two girls were getting at. Very few seconds passed until Aureal returned the kiss. Her main experience had been with Rainer, though she fooled around with Nerissa during one of her encounters with Rainer. It would be her first time exclusively with a female, and two at that. Lauren held Aureal's pale face in her hands as she pushed her lips forcefully against the angel's own. The angel wriggled around to gain a more comfortable position, yet Lauren was relentless, allowing no change in position. Lauren plunged her tongue deep into Aureal's mouth. She entangled Aureal's own tongue with hers, eliciting a slight moan from the angel.




The Lost Lord Ch. 14



Nerissa walked towards the bed, preparing it so that the three could share it comfortably. Once the sheets were arranged, she splayed herself seductively on the bed. She had already removed her form-fitting armor as well as her sword prior to getting on the bed. She stared intently at the arousing sight of the two pretty girls kissing heavily. She slowly moved her hand towards her pussy, feeling the wetness. She coated her fingers with her juices, and moved it up to her mouth. She tasted herself on her fingers, savoring the aroma and taste. She tasted great, sweet and luscious, according to her pride.

"Ahn! I h-haven't done this exclusively with a woman yet..." Mewled Aureal, she sounded anxious about the situation.

"Nice, it's almost like taking away a virginity." Lauren said excitedly, she kissed Aureal again, wrestling the angel's tongue into submission. Saliva escaped their mouths, collecting on the sides of the lips. The extremely wet kiss began to get sloppy as both parties got more and more into it. They saw Nerissa to begin to pleasure herself as they kissed, the two intensified, intending to give Nerissa a little show. Lauren moved one of her hands to Aureal's breasts, squeezing the nipples between her fingers. Aureal returned the heavy petting with her own hands, she moved them to Lauren's butt, groping and squeezing the soft flesh. Lauren lost her breath as Aureal squeezed down roughly, she didn't expect such forwardness from the cute angel. In retaliation, Lauren moved both her hands to Aureal's lower entrances. After coating several of her fingers in the angel's juices, she prodded Aureal's back entrance, loosening the tightness. With her other hand, Lauren caressed Aureal's labia, inserting two of her fingers past the angelic lips. Aureal threw her head back, letting out a wordless groan. Lauren smiled at the result of her actions.

Nerissa furiously rubbed her clitoris, teasing her folds. The show consisting of the two girls touching each other in various places wouldn't let her sit still. She felt herself throbbing down there and couldn't resist indulge in her lust. She desperately wanted something in her, she imagined Rainer sticking his shaft inside her as she slipped two fingers deeply in. In a lustful frenzy, she thrust her fingers in and out. Nerissa took her free hand up to her breasts, squeezing them together. She lifted up one of her breasts, bringing the nipple to her mouth. She sucked her nipple, nibbling the tip. Gratifying feelings flooded her brain; she closed her eyes while letting out a squeal of delight. She made circular motions with her two fingers, when she was satisfied, Nerissa inserted another finger to a total of three. Nerissa couldn't help but be vocal as she climaxed. Thrusting her fingers as deeply as possible into her depths, Nerissa's juices began to coat her hand and other fingers.

By the time Nerissa opened her eyes, Lauren and Aureal had moved towards the bed. Aureal removed Nerissa's hand at her snatch, replacing it with her mouth. Lauren planted a deep kiss on Nerissa, probing the demon's mouth with her tongue.

Nerissa proved superior orally, her tongue won over Lauren's own and probed back. Lauren submissively let Nerissa have her way with her mouth, despite being the initiator. Lauren pinched Nerissa's nipples with two sets of fingers. Nerissa felt a sharp spasm of pleasure, moaning into Lauren's mouth. Soon, even more spasms of pleasure erupted from down below.

It was her first time orally pleasing a woman in her life, yet Aureal's instincts didn't let her down. She licked along the labia, touching upon each corner of her folds. The angel brought a thumb to the clit, rubbing it and lightly grazed it with her nail. Aureal moved the attention of her lips to Nerissa's swollen clitoris. She sucked on with dancing the tip of her tongue around the nub.

After several minutes of the intoxicating feelings, Nerissa pushed Lauren back, it was now her turn to use her oral skills. Nerissa licked her lips with her long, forked tongue, tasting Lauren's saliva. She smiled as she knelt forward, seductively crawling up to Lauren's chest. Aureal followed suit and headed towards Lauren in an odd cooperative synchronized crawl. The angel and demon's busts swayed under them, the arousing sight entranced Lauren, unintentionally inching backwards. Her glasses fell down, she folded them and placed them on a nearby nightstand. She turned her head back towards the girls; they finally pounced on Lauren and began to brush their arms and hands all along Lauren's body. Aureal and Nerissa each moved up to the breasts, kissing along the skin, licking the length up. Nerissa felt strangely aroused at the dual-contrasting existences working together, an angel and demon both working on stimulating lustful pleasure. The girls both reached the breasts, Nerissa on the right, Aureal on the left. Nerissa opened her mouth wide open and enveloped the soft flesh around the nipple. She danced her tongue around the areola, tickling the nub with her forked tips. She manipulated each section of the tongue independently, thanks to her oral skills. She brought a hand to the flesh around her mouth, groping and squeezing the softness. Her other hand went down to Lauren's pussy. She rubbed Lauren's clit with her fingers, eliciting a pleased gasp. Aureal, on the other hand, clamped down softly with her teeth on the nipple. Caressing the areola with her warm lips. Aureal nibbled playfully on the nipple, paying special attention to the tip with her tongue. Like Nerissa, Aureal brought a hand the breast her mouth was at. She massaged under Lauren's breast, caressing the tender skin. Also like Nerissa, Aureal brought her other hand to Lauren's pussy. Leaving Nerissa to handle the clit and the upper part of the vagina, Aureal played with the bottom part, while inserting her middle finger deep inside.

Lauren gasped again, she clenched her mouth down, biting her lower lip. She placed both of her hands on Aureal and Nerissa's respective backsides. She traced the outline of both girls' round butts, groping the smooth flesh with extreme carnal desire. She coated her fingers with the juices of the snatches of both girls, and then brushed her wet fingers across the back entrances of each girl. Aureal and Nerissa immediately recognized what would happen next and braced for impact, though they didn't stop their ministrations on Lauren's tits and pussy. Lauren thought of using her slender fingers, but smirked and prodded the tight entrances with her thumbs. She roughly shoved each thumb into the ass of the angel and demon. The two girls screamed out, in both pain and pleasure. Nerissa came again from the sudden intrusion, enjoying the feeling immensely, her juices got onto the sheets as she climaxed. Lauren herself came a minute after Nerissa, the combined assaults of Nerissa and Aureal proving too much. Lauren forced her scream down, letting out a long, deep moan of pleasure.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aureal saw past of the temporary barrier, she saw the sandstorm still raging on. Turning her attention back to the triage, she said enthusiastically, "The storm will not pass for some time, perhaps not till tomorrow. Now, I think it is my turn." Lauren and Nerissa smiled and pounced on pale beauty.

-

"Well, aaaaat least you're both here, Asmodea and Sitri! IIIII thought I'ddddd be all alone while this damn storm raged.♡" A cheerful, feminine voice rung out, despite the dreary storm that it mentioned.

"We are both glad that we had at least found you, Little Rouge. Although now we are separated from the rest of our group. Tozomat and Lord Rain Rain are together somewhere in these decrepit ruins. Teras... I lost sight of her just before the storm came." Asmodea sounded worried, this situation was unique, and unique is generally dangerous in the worlds of demons.

"Mmmmm, this isssss the Vanishing Storm, issssss it not? This maze will... Labyrinth the heck out! Ittttt will not beeeee easy tooooo find anyone again.♡" Little Rouge had on a tight cloth outfit, which stretched to accommodate her movements. On her hands and arms, she had shiny metal gloves and shoes. They had sharp points at the toes and fingers, like the claws of a savage animal. Her teeth were also unusually sharpened to a point. "Teras should beeeee fine! She's not dumb.♡"

"Mmmmm, yes. Tozomat is with Lord Rain Rain, so I expect they are fine as well. Caetorum, I believe, knows about the punishments of Hell and should be fine. I am worried about the other three."

Sitri then entered the conversation, "The Daughter of Pride and I may not be overly affectionate towards each other..."

"That is an overstatement." Scoffed Asmodea.

Sitri look upwards, slowly nodded her head in agreement and said, "Eh, sure sure. She isn't dumb. Nor is that Fallen Angel. They both should have taken cover from the storm, they probably even know about the punishments of Hell. It's the witch, Lauren I believe, that we should be worried about. Hopefully, if she is alone, her common sense had her take cover from the flaying sands of the storm."

"I hope so. In any case, we have no pull over the current situation. We can take solace in that our supposed enemy should be experiencing the same situation as us."

-

"Ach! This damned storm... Even so, it's nothing compared the might of those damnable maelstroms in the Waters of Wrath, not even Krakens can escape those."

"Avandar, I believe it is considered polite to not swear in the presence of a lady. Even if that lady has fallen from grace."

"No, don't worry about me. Worry about how we will win. Our group normally does not participate in things like this contest. We kill, for pleasure, for money, for honor... For food, and for me, all of the above except for the food part."

"Right, I heard about your damned cannibalistic comrade. I won't complain as long as if his damned mouth never go near my flesh, lest I cut off his jaw."

"Go ahead, Forsythe could use it. In any case, there is only the four of us here. I caught of glimpse of that jaguar fellow, though I lost track of him. I even called for him, either he is deaf, dumb, or he ignored me."

"He's from the damned Sands of Sloth... I heard a rumor, but apparently there is a new member of the damnable Pillar of Sloth, I even heard what the title of this new pillar member is... Ignorance. It's just a damn annoying hunch, but I think either that damned jaguar or the dog fellow is the new pillar member."

"Really? Then whichever one it is, will be quite an asset. Though that doesn't mean they are both equally powerful. We are up against five of the Pillar of Lust, as well as a black demon."

"The Parish is powerful too. Ignoring those six, there are four amateurs. This should be easy."

"Don't count on it, Reginald. Two of those amateurs are a black and white demon. They may be young, but they are both a Lord of Lust and a Daughter of Pride. Inexperience doesn't always mean weakness."

"Pft, whatever."

"Actually, I don't think any of those four are amateurs. The Fallen Angel is a veteran of the last war between demo and angels, despite her young looks. Also the witch... I have met her mother."

"Eh? Really, Luce?"

"Yes... Her mother's name is Morgana. She summoned me once through my sacred vessel in a ritual. Before I joined Black Steps, and after I left my people in the Gardens of Greed, I slept in a sacred vessel of my people. She found me in the human world and used me in a ritual. Fortunately, her reasons saw no need to harm me. Her power was far greater than mine. She allowed me to leave provided I perform a service for her. I decline to say what kind of service it was."

"Eh? Really, Luce?"

"Yes... Really. The similarities between the two are uncanny. I managed to catch a glimpse of the girl before the contest began in the capital city of Lust. Her mother's power is hers."

"Can she wield magic powerful enough to utilize it?"

"I believe not. Though I would have no idea, I only saw her once. It was not enough time to evaluate her power."

"We can take her, this job isn't as tough as you all are making it out to be."

"Reginald, I hope you are right. Though I know for a fact, that we should not underestimate a single one of them, nor should they do the same to us."

-

"I like this sand... Reminds me of home."

"You lived in the desert, at one point? Is the sands there not the same as the sands in your new home?"

"No, they are the exact same. This sand is just providing a different pace. Anubis, whom I served... He gave me a home in the sands, we fought and died for him, we did not regret that once. Though he left for his own home, the sands he let us live in must not be the same as his home. It is the same as I am now. I am happy to live in Shah Justinian's sands, we would have no other sand to live on if not for him."

"I understand. The jungles surrounding the oases in our new home are not the same as the jungles I lived in. We served Tezcatlipoca; he gave us a home... His home. He died for his and our home, though it was for naught. Like him, let us die here, to let our kin live on and be happy in their home."

"Yes... Lets."



The Lost Lord Ch. 15



In the circles, each 'Sin' starts off their day in a different way. The demons of Pride generally start their day off with a morning ritual of perfecting themselves before the day, consisting of beautifying, stretching, vocalizing, and honing skills. The demons of Gluttony almost always start their day off with a healthy breakfast with a palate of their choice. Some of the demons of Envy do their best planning, plotting, and conniving in the morning. Demons from the Waters of Wrath focus on their enemies, as many duels to the death take place in the mornings. The demons of Greed prep themselves for the day before they set out to acquire their objects of interest. The demons of Sloth mostly do none of the above, though they at least know the importance of eating food. Though of course, the demons of Lust pride themselves on the fact that their way of waking up is the most fun, and I'm sure you can guess what those from the Land of Lust do in the mornings.

And that is what the succubi named Asmodea, Sitri, and Little Rouge were participating in the moment. Asmodea had her head face down in Sitri's bountiful chest as she felt herself being penetrated. Sitri was lying down on a comfortable bedspread that the three had arranged the night before. She had an unusual phallic object where her vagina should've been, which was hilted in Asmodea's wet entrance. Though that wasn't the only large shaft that had entered the red succubus.

Little Rouge had her own phallus covering her vagina. She coated the object with Asmodea's juices, lubricating before she entered Asmodea's other entrance. Rouge spanked Asmodea with both hands several times, turning the red succubus's soft skin an even brighter shade of red. She plunged her pointer finger in Asmodea's back entrance, eliciting a soft moan that was muffled by Sitri's breasts. Not satisfied with one finger, Rouge traced the entrance with her middle finger before thrusting it in to join the first finger. The hole tightened in around Rouge's two fingers, attempting to hold them in place. Little Rouge chuckled at Asmodea's eagerness. The cute little lord had to be stuffing her entrances all the time, shouldn't he? Who wouldn't want to.

"Rouge! S-stop teasing... Shove it innnnn." Mewled Asmodea.

Cute. Little Rouge rarely saw Asmodea be this cute. Her mature face and body resembled sexy and sultry, not cute and pretty. Yet her face was blushing and constricted, her fists were balled up and on both sides of Sitri, her toes were curling from the prolonged teasing, and the noises she made were unusually higher pitched. Way too cute, Little Rouge thrust and wriggled her fingers around in Asmodea's back entrance for a minute more before removing them, Asmodea let out another moan when she felt the fingers leave. Placing her phallus shaped shaft, Rouge prodded the entrance several times, getting Asmodea's juices to lubricate the entrance. "Here you gooooo! ♡" Said Rouge cheerfully, as she penetrated Asmodea's asshole.

Before the trio had begun this act, Rouge came up with two phallus shaped objects with straps. Sitri and Asmodea had apparently found out that the voyeur of fetishes, Little Rouge, had them in her throughout the entire meeting and didn't take them out until just now. She fashioned a strap on with the two toys, and suggested the three of them engage in a ménage a trois. Sitri managed to grab the first strap on before Asmodea, resulting in the mature succubus being the one getting fucked in both holes by Rouge's toys.

Asmodea gasped as Little Rouge filled her ass with the large toy. It wasn't a real penis, so of course it didn't feel as good as a real one, but it was the next best thing. Rainer of course would satisfy her far more than anyone else, but that didn't stop her from getting involved with others in the feminine persuasion. Sitri was your all around succubus who engaged in all sorts of sexual acts with both genders, though preferably male ones. Little Rouge didn't stop with demons and the handsome fallen angels, but also engaged in sex with humans, humanoids, beasts, and even a couple plants, she was, after all, Fetish of the Pillar of Lust. After Rouge began thrusting wildly into Asmodea's puckered entrance, the walls squeezed the shafts in both the asshole and pussy, trying to milk them despite both not being a real dick. Asmodea couldn't resist the dual pleasure erupting from the assault she received from both her ass and pussy, and swiftly came around the shafts. Her juices flowed around Sitri's toy, mixing with Sitri's own wet pussy. Though Sitri and Rouge didn't stop there, they continued to assail the entrances they claimed.

Sitri lifted Asmodea's head out of her cleavage and went for a kiss, thrusting her tongue into Asmodea's mouth. While she kissed the red succubus, she moved her hands to the succubus's breasts, fondling and groping the large mounds. Asmodea had very big breasts, even for a demon, but of course there were bigger busts out there, especially among other succubi and certain humanoids. Though presently, Asmodea had the largest bust out of the three, and Sitri couldn't resist to feel that large, soft flesh with her own two hands. She groped the large tits, massaging all around the orbs. She paid special attention to the sensitive nipples, squeezing them with force, tickling the areolas, and pulling them as far as she could.

Asmodea, feeling the plethora of sensations from her nipples, pussy, and ass, moaned deeply into Sitri's mouth, who she was still kissing. A battle of tongues was going on between the black and red demon. The long, forked tongues became entangled, almost forming a knot. Asmodea, sucked on Sitri's lips, licking the sides and coating what skin she could with her saliva. Sitri returned the favor, by sucking on Asmodea lips, thanks to the length of her tongue, it stayed in Asmodea's mouth, licking the underside of the lips. Asmodea wrapped her arms around Sitri, hugging her tightly. Both demons' breasts pressed into each other, jiggling with the thrusts of both Sitri and Rouge as they fucked Asmodea with enough force to shake the shabby bed they were on. If they got any wilder, the bed would most likely break, though that wouldn't stop the triage.

Little Rouge continued the assault on Asmodea's ass, spanking the cheeks and ruthlessly pounding the tight entrance. Asmodea's tail flailed around, with nowhere to go. Rouge eyed the tail, and then wrapped her hand around the base. She massaged the area around the base of the tail and the tail itself. Asmodea's eyes went wide open, gasping for air. It was no secret that the base of a tail was a weak spot for most demons, though it was a private area and it was reserved for those that a demon loved or trusted. A succubus, however, had no reservations like that when it came to sex. Asmodea's wings constricted and then went limp, draping over Sitri's knees and legs. The tail also went limp, though Rouge held it upright with her hand. With a swift motion, Little Rouge spanked the tail down on Asmodea's ass. The dual stimulation of the pain and the sensation from her tail proved too much, and she came again. Asmodea moaned an inaudible sentence into the air. Anyone that was near the building they took shelter in would have been able to hear the noises from the sex. Thankfully the time limit still had hours left before the actual contest began, so the three could fuck without lethal interruption. Besides, if anyone friendly were in the area, they would be able to meet up.

Many sounds other than Asmodea's moan could also be heard. The loud smacks as Rouge hit Asmodea's ass with her tail and Rouge's own pelvis. The sound that resulted when Sitri thrust upwards into Asmodea's pussy was quite arousing to the three. The grunts and giggles that came from Little Rouge and Sitri. And Asmodea's own squeal, moans, and groans.

It was a long time coming, but Sitri came, the friction as she thrust upwards into Asmodea hit her own pussy, rubbing against her clitoris and labia. Also there was the stimulation that came from her breasts as Asmodea's hands groped and rubbed them with practically mindless lust. Her pussy overflowed with juices, staining the spread below her. She moved a hand down to Asmodea's pussy. While she ravaged the nether region of the red succubus, she roughly rubbed the clitoris with speed.

Asmodea arched her back upwards, her breasts dangled freely in front of Sitri, her red hair shook as the shafts fucked her, and her ass clenched up. Sitri and Rouge feasted their eyes on Asmodea's beautifully mature body. "I-I do not think I can go after this n-next one..." Warned Asmodea as an impending third orgasm started to come her way.

Little Rouge wrapped her arms around Asmodea, holding the large breasts up and pushing them together. "Mmmmm, that's ok! I'll just fuck your unconscious body ifffff I have tooooo.♡" Said Rouge as a malicious smile appeared on her face.

"Rouge... We do have an important fight to win... I can't impress The Lord of Lust if we're just fucking Seduction into submission. As attractive as that idea sounds." A voice of reason came from Sitri, which surprised Asmodea. Though her surprise washed away from the pleasurable sensations that continued nonstop from her two entrances.

"Ohhhhh fine. I'mmmmm going to cum aaaaat least once though. Don't worry, it's soon! ♡" Upon the end of her words, Rouge pulled one of her hands back to her butt, specifically around her own tight entrance. She coated her fingers with her juices and slathered them around her puckered ring. After another hard thrust into Asmodea, she thrust two fingers into her own tight hole. Penetrating someone up the ass and penetrating herself up her own ass, Little Rouge liked the idea of that.

The two demonesses fucked Asmodea a little while longer until she climaxed for the third time. The third time wasn't as powerful as the other two, but it still felt extremely good to Asmodea, so good that she felt hypersensitive sensations coming from her pussy as her juices flowed out. Sitri pulled out once she heard wild screams from Asmodea, she knew then that the slutty yet mature red succubus had came again. Once she pulled out, she brought her phallic shaft to Asmodea's mouth, forcing it in. Asmodea's moans immediately got muffled as she lustfully sucked on the toy. It didn't taste like Rainer at all, but she savored the taste of her juices on the shaft.

Rouge, as she eyed the spectacle, finally came. She thrust her fingers as deep as possible into her ass, stretching it out. She hilted her toy in Asmodea's ass, eliciting one more whimper which was muffled around Sitri's own toy. Waves of pleasure accumulated from the entire session had built up like a dam and finally burst forth. Rouge was forced to be the most vocal she had been so far, screaming in pleasure as she arched her back.

When the pleasurable sensations finally ceased, Little Rouge took out her toy from Asmodea's ass. Asmodea panted, gasping for air as she lay still on the bed. Soon, she spoke, "Fucking hell... That was good."

"Mmmm? Hasn't our cute little lord been fucking you daily? ♡" Little Rouge was honestly surprised. Though after thinking it over for a couple seconds, she apparently forgot that Rainer had three other girls with him other than Asmodea.

"I have been busy over the past days. Getting the land ready for a new lord is much tougher than expected."

"Of course it is, father was the oldest demon in all of the seven circles, not even Justinian who is now the oldest was close to his age. Speaking of which, why would Justinian do this? I don't buy this whole test thing." Sitri offered her own two bits on the scenario that they were currently involved in.

"Other than our late lord, Justinian had a reputation of never letting out his secrets or plans to anyone, not even his trusted ones who are allowed to call him his honored name of Belphegor. Whatever his plan is, none of us can fathom it." Asmodea pushed herself off the bed, the euphoria still remained but she could at least stand and move now.

"The deceased lord isssss pretty much the same. Both are frivolous folks who are only interested innnnnn what they find interesting.♡" Little Rouge gave a piece of surprisingly mature insight. "Innnnn any case, weeeee shall win this contest for the cute lord! ♡"

"Mmhm, we cannot afford to have father's chosen heir to die now. I really don't want to see Arazra and Sasilith's smug looks when they are the only contenders for the throne." Seethed Sitri, there was no love between these siblings. Sasilith was also a Daughter of Lust, and the 7th district leader, and she is loyal to Arazra.

"Poor Sasilith, I doubt her love for her brother will ever be reciprocated." Asmodea said this as she summoned her battle regalia. She had not put it on in quite awhile, since before she left the Land of Lust to protect Rainer. Chanting a soft spell, which neither of the two fellow succubi could hear, Asmodea's battle regalia appeared. Metal plates colored a dark red formed over her body, covering her chest, stomach, and shoulders. Like what you would find in an MMO, her chest was emphasized and left uncovered, though it was squished back and bound as to not get in her way for battle. The plates also covered up her limbs, though her joints were left sizable room in order to move around. Holes were left for her wings and tail so they could move and flap freely. A helmet covered her head, though leaving much of the face, ears, and horns uncovered. Her hair was bound in a ponytail and draped over the back of the helmet. The horns were adorned in several decorative gems. A leather belt appeared around her waist, and on that belt appeared a pouch containing several more gemstones. A large sword appeared on her back. It was an obvious two-handed sword. Its features included: its double edged blade, a sharp point, a jeweled pommel, a leather hilt, and the guard was a red oval with two red gemstones on both ends. Her entire ensemble was quite extravagant, and despite that, it served its purpose well. The Pillar of Lust was supplied with only the best of course, though they may use their own weapons and armor should they wish. Asmodea's armor was custom made by the most skilled of the Norse Dwarves of the Gardens of Greed (One of the humanoid groups that joined the Governor of Greed). Her sword was one she acquired from a dead member of the Pillar of Lust who left it to her after she joined the Pillar division.

Rouge followed suit, summoning her cloth outfit and metal gloves and boots. As her garments appeared on her body, her teeth also sharpened. The cloth was a mix of red, black, and dark blue. Her odd metal gloves and boots were colored an odd green. Only Little Rouge knew about her unusual gloves and boots, they were obviously enchanted, but she told no one what the enchantments were or where they came from. Asmodea, of course, was very curious but every time she asked she was refused the information.

Sitri was the final one to make the cliché transformation from nothing into her battle outfit. Light mail armor appeared over her chest and lower body, beautiful cloth covered the mail, giving it an attractive appearance. The cloth had on a design of a three dragons colored red, blue, or green respectively, encircling each other. Fingerless, leather gloves appeared on her hands, the leather covered the rest of her arms up to her shoulders. Two single metal pauldrons appeared on her shoulders. Leather covered her legs, though she also had greaves, up to her feet where appeared padded shoes designed for kicking. Her head was left uncovered, as a helmet would only dull her senses she would say. Like Rouge and Asmodea, holes were available for her wings and tail so they could move around. Unlike Rouge and Asmodea, her tail was armored, and at the tail's tip, the armor had a keen point. Almost like a scorpion's tail.

They were ready for fight.

-

"Mmmm. The Vanishing Storm's been gone for a while now. Yay. Now what? I can't even find anyone no matter how high I fly up. And I shan't fly up anymore in case an enemy will spot me." Teras said as she stepped outside of a small dwelling. She twirled her umbrella as she sipped a hot cup of tea. "Ech, this conjured stuff is never up to snuff. I should have brought some leaves of my favorite with me, but that annoying Shah just HAD to set up this annoying test." She said this to no one in particular. When no one was around, she had a tendency to talk to her umbrella as if it was a live object. She dusted off her purple dress until it was impeccably clean and set out in search for her allies and possibly an enemy to fight.

-

"There is only an hour left before the time limit is up, young Lord. What shall we do?" A calm voice rung out in an inconspicuous tower, Caetorum.

"Fuck... We can't find any of our friends out there. Not even an enemy. Just where the heck are they?" The young lord, Rainer said this as he sat down on a stone chair in the tower. A third person was also in the room, named Tozomat, though he stayed mute for the conversation.

"We should leave, there might be a chance where one of us is alone and ambushed. The three of us together should be able to stop any ambush unless the enemy has gathered all together."

"Yea, I agree. We really have no other option but that. We could stay here, but we'd eventually either die of starvation of be found by an enemy. I doubt we'd be lucky enough to be found by an ally, luck just doesn't favor people that way. Right, let's go out." Rainer wore the outfit he had worn in the meeting. Fortunately it proved comfortable in the desert's heat. Caetorum offered to summon a suit of armor, but Rainer declined saying, "That stuff's too clunky. I like to be mobile and move around quickly."

Caetorum on the other hand wore a black priest's outfit. It was ragged and torn on the sleeves and cuffs of the pants. Other than that, it covered the entirety of Caetorum's body. The incubus said that he acquired this outfit from an exorcist he had slain; he took it mainly because of a unique enchantment on it. Like when Rainer first saw Caetorum, he had a rapier and an oddly shaped dagger belted at his waist. The rapier was almost normal, but it the guard looked as if when you put your hand on the hilt, the guard would envelope your hand completely. Caetorum also had his normal cloth blindfold on, though it was strangely fastened to his head by a small but dense chain. Why? Rainer somehow felt that he shouldn't ask.

Tozomat wore a suit, though a demonic version of one. The suit was loosely formed around his body, almost as if it wasn't made to fit him completely. The suit was a shade of dark grey. He also wore a black string tie. Other than that, there wasn't much to say about Tozomat's outfit. He had no weapons nor did he have some special armor underneath the suit. Of course, he declined to say anything about his garments.

Before they left, Rainer summoned his Grimoire, he felt more at ease when he had the Grimoire under his arm. Like the strange book made him feel whole. Rainer wasn't sure if that was the normal effect of the book, or if that odd presence named Asmodeus was doing something. Paying the feeling no mind, Rainer walked out of the tower with Caetorum and Tozomat.

They traversed the scenery of the desert. Through ruined buildings, past dried shrubs, and passing the occasional skeleton. Whenever Rainer peered off to the vast emptiness of the desert, he felt slightly hungrier or thirstier. Whatever souls were exiled here, Rainer sympathized with them, it was a truly punishing place. "... The hour is almost up. Yet our search turns up nothing, this place is a maze, and I dare not scale the buildings lest an enemy sees and attacks." Said Caetorum as he swiveled his head to take in his surroundings.




The Lost Lord Ch. 15



"Well, we might be searching forever if we don't take a chance." Debated Rainer, he then added, "Hopefully our enemy is in the same situation."

"Very well. Even if an enemy does see us, we will give them a good fight and bring us closer to the goal of eliminating the enemy side." Caetorum then hunched down. He took a deep breath before launching himself into the air towards the side of the tallest building they trio was next to. Once he got to the wall, Caetorum latched onto walls despite there being no hand or footholds. He scampered up the side of the building until he came to an open window. Caetorum didn't sense anyone inside the building so he climbed past the window.

By the time Caetorum made it to the top, Tozomat placed a hand on Rainer's shoulder. He made a hand movement that obviously made an image that told Rainer the hour was up. If he played charades, Tozomat would win every time. The contest finally had begun its lethal half. Rainer half expected that once the hour was up, they would be attacked out of the blue by a projectile or engage in a melee. Thankfully, no such thing happened.

Caetorum made it to the top safely. He reached out, trying to sense the Sin of other demons. Thanks to the hot environment of this place, his senses were inhibited. Though from the top of a building, his senses broadened. He poured his concentration into his senses in hopes to find a demon's Sin. If he felt Lust, there was a high chance that it would be someone from their side. While he could sense other demon's Sin and differentiate between the different types like Lust or Pride, he couldn't sense the individualities of each demon's Sin like he could back on the Land of Lust. Though even if he did feel Lust, that didn't mean there wasn't a demon of Lust on the other side. After several minutes of searching his surroundings, he felt a presence of Lust, Eastward. Whether it was from their allies or from an enemy, it was their best lead on finding their team. Caetorum regained himself and peered down at Rainer and Tozomat, they looked back up quizzically. Caetorum grabbed onto the ledge and slid down the ruined building. Thanks to the building have been aged and not taken care of, the stone was soft enough for Caetorum to penetrate with his fingers. He slid down while making a claw like mark on the wall all the way down.

"So, did you find anything?" Rainer didn't bother to ask how Caetorum could find anything with that blindness, though he had a hunch that it had something to do with feeling the presence of Sin.

"Fortunately, yes. Though I do not know if it is an ally or enemy. I felt the definite presence of Lust towards the East. Only one, however." Caetorum said as he pointed towards the East. Rainer's hunch was correct.

"We got no other choice really, let's go that way. We'll deal with it it's an enemy." Rainer was getting excited, like it was a game. It wasn't a game, Rainer knew that. He couldn't help but feel slightly excited at the situation, however. He made a wish in his head that no one died, no one on his side at least.

The three made their Eastward while hugging the sides of buildings. They didn't want any enemies to possibly see them and set up an ambush. The time limit was up so they could now be attacked and attack. After traversing a decent distance, Caetorum gesticulated for Rainer and Tozomat to stop. He opened his senses again and attempted to sense the Lust he felt before. He wanted to confirm that demon's position in case it moved. He would have opened his eyes in surprise, if he had any, as he sensed a new demon's presence, and it was not of Lust. He sensed Greed. And while he was not certain, Caetorum believed he knew the identity of this demon. "I sense a new presence, Greed. And I believe this demon to be Veronica of the Parish. Of course there can be another demon of Greed on their side, but I believe this one to be Veronica. I fought her, and our fight was not pretty. We must hurry, should this Lust I feel be an ally, then they will be fighting. If not, then we will have a fight on our hands with two enemies." Caetorum clenched his teeth down, there was no love lost between him and this Veronica.

Rainer nodded, "Yea, let's get there."

It seemed that the two demons were not moving from the general area Caetorum sensed them in, whether they were fighting or just resting, it was unknown. Eventually the three came to a ledge that peered off into a crater. The crater was filled with sand of the sides sloped up gradually. Caetorum motioned that the two were in the crater. None of the three could hear the sounds of a fight so it was determined that the two demons were enemies. Rainer then whispered, "Wait a sec, I got an idea." Caetorum and Tozomat looked at each other and nodded. The three of them got comfortable at the ledge and watched Rainer prepare himself to cast a spell. "This book has all sorts of useful spells. And apparently a good amount of them aren't known publicly." Rainer focused on a small rock that was open to the crater.

Eye of Rock

"Eye of my body, remove thyself

Become a part of a simple piece of Earth

And open yourself to the elements."

-

Rainer opened his eyes; his vision became thoroughly fucked up. One eye saw normally, out of Rainer's eye socket. Yet the other half of his vision was peering off into the crater, in a completely different direction, it was attached to the rock Rainer had focused at. In order to accommodate his vision, Rainer closed the eye that was still attached to him. He got used to moving and looking out with the eye on the rock. He could see a small encampment; two figures were walking around doing various things. He could see their lips moving, but not hear them. Rainer mentally cursed himself for not doing the same thing with his eye to his ear. Thankfully (and conveniently), Rainer was adept at reading lips. His demonic vision was far superior to his human vision of before, and could acutely see the movements of the two figure's lips.

"Oh c'mon, seriously? After all this time, you still don't wanna do me?" The male demon, which Rainer identified as the demon of Lust, was an incubus.

The female demon, which must of been Veronica, looked irritated, "Yes. After all this damn time, I do NOT want to have sex with you. Elizabeth may fall prey to you every once in awhile, but that does not mean I'll do the same every week. Besides, we are in a fucking bad situation here."

"Yet you do at least once a month... C'mon that month's almost up! I doubt anyone's in the vicinity."

Veronica tossed a rock at the incubus. "Then wait until that fucking month is up! Even then, that doesn't mean I'll do you. Get a goddamn grip."

The incubus didn't know when to give up, though he seemed slightly defeated, "Very well, I'll get you once the month is over... Can't you at least do, well, suck me off? If not that, then lemme fuck your tits or even stroke me off!" He was getting desperate.

"For fucks sake, I will if you just shut up. I'm not a succubus, I don't fuck every day. Archibald, fucking hell, you're damn persistent. Just keep watch for me, we're not exactly safe here." Veronica relented and paced over to the incubus who was named Archibald.

"Hell yea. Yours and Elizabeth's lips never get old. Yea yea, I'll watch out for enemies."

Rainer relayed the conversation, as he figured when they were engaging in the sexual act, the three of them could ambush. It was a despicable move, but having the advantage is the best, especially in a death match.

Caetorum whispered to Rainer, "I request that you let us two fight them. It would be safest for you."

"Fuck that, I'm at least going in there with you guys." Rainer couldn't let people do fighting for him.

"I only request that you stay back because you are still not very experienced in combat, nor are you with your magic. Teras will expertly teach you when we get back. If you must go with us, then come, but only intervene in case one of us loses. Though I doubt that will be the case."

"... Fine." Rainer relented and didn't say anymore, he released the magic containing the Eye of Rock spell, and his vision was completely restored on his face. Caetorum and Tozomat were very skilled, of that Rainer had no doubt. He still held reservations on some one dying for him, so he resolved that if one of the two were close to death or dying, then Rainer would intervene.

Audible sounds of lips sucking, on an object too obvious, could be heard. This Archibald character was definitely a demon of Lust. Caetorum turned his head towards Tozomat, "Tozomat, it's fairly obvious I am going to fight Veronica, take care of Archibald for me. Let me get in a better position, my skills are better suited to a sneak attack than yours."

Tozomat nodded his head, his dark magic was better suited for close quarters combat. He could only manipulate his own shadow, not the shadows of other objects. Caetorum was by far the most agile and quiet of the Pillar members, he was best suited when it came to stealth. Tozomat could be stealthy as well, but his magic was too obvious for sneak attacks, he preferred nonviolent espionage. Caetorum moved towards a boulder that was situated halfway down the crater, despite being blind, his senses allowed him to freely move across the unstable ground. Rocks shifted if weight was put on them, fortunately, Caetorum steps were light. He made it to the boulder without delay; he broadened his mind in order to sense the two enemy demons. They were still in the crater, engaging in oral sex. Caetorum made several hand signals to Tozomat, Rainer wasn't fluent in the code so he guessed that Caetorum was about to make his attack.

Anxiousness was the only thing Rainer could feel at the moment; he took several deep breaths in order to calm himself. Suddenly, Tozomat leapt from their hiding spot and made a mad dash into the crater. Rainer lifted his head over in order to see what had happened, the boulder Caetorum was hiding behind had shattered into several different fragments. So much for the sneak attack.

Rainer widened his eyes as he saw what destroyed the boulder. It was the same jaguar fellow, Yaotl, from the meeting. Rainer also noticed the humanoid dog, Chigaru, standing on the other side of the crater. Archibald and Veronica were just as surprised as Rainer, a yelp of pain erupted from the male as Veronica accidentally chomped down. Veronica got up and readied herself; she rushed back to a section of the encampment where her belongings were located. Archibald did the same, wincing from the pain from down below.

Caetorum jumped back, avoiding the fragments of the rock, drops of blood appeared from a small scratch on his cheek. Yaotl obliterated the rock with a strange club. It resembled a wooden sword, though it had black chunks embedded on the sides, the black rocks had irregular serrations. Obsidian, that was the black rocks embedded in the wooden club sword.

The situation turned from a three against two, to a three against four, things didn't bode well. Yaotl looked like a jaguar, obviously, but a more humanized version of one. He stood on his haunched hind legs. "A furry? Two of them?" Rainer asked himself incredulously. How the heck are the three of them going to survive now, he wondered. His question was soon answered.

As Yaotl began to rain a series of blows on Caetorum, who narrowly dodged or deviated them with his rapier, Chigaru bolted off towards the two Parish members. He wielded a polearm, which resembled a spade or a half-moon, on both ends. Instead of attacking Rainer's posse, he advanced and attacked Archibald, who managed to grasp his sword in time to parry Chigaru's attack. "Hey! What's your game? Aren't you on our side, damnit?" Archibald was just as bewildered as Rainer.

Chigaru growled back, "We fight for our Shah. Anyone who isn't on his side will be our enemy. We won't stop until you all perish... Or we die for our sands and jungles."

"Pah! You truly are a loyal dog, fine then. Unless our other allies do the same as you, the eight of us will kill you and The Lord of Lust." Archibald sliced forward, twisting the blade at the last second to chop down under Chigaru's arm. "Just tell me one thing, which of you two is Ignorance, of the Pillar of Sloth?"

Chigaru wasn't fazed by Archibald's counterattack; he blocked the blows with his polearm's shaft, before returning the favor with one of the spades. "We have no reason or need to tell you."

"Pfff, fine then, we'll beat-"

"I am Ignorance of the Pillar division." Chigaru, after refusing to tell Archibald, interrupted the incubus and told him the information he desired. Archibald was visibly annoyed; his sword became wilder with its movements.

Veronica wasn't sure to make of the situation. Two of their allies turned traitor, and now there was a three-way conflict going on. When she initially saw Yaotl destroy the boulder, she was elated. She hadn't seen Caetorum, that blind bastard, until Yaotl entered the scene. Then Chigaru attacked her and Archibald, and it was all for their loyalty towards the Shah of Sloth. Perhaps those two should have been members of Pride.

She swiveled her head to see a demon rush after her, she could only assume that it was an ally to The Lord of Lust. While she didn't recognize the demon in question, she remembered his name and rank when he used his magic. The shadow manipulation of Tozomat, Romance of the Pillar of Lust was quite famous. Very few could or would master that painful and difficult magic. She already had her full set of armor on, and she picked up one of her many weapons for the fight. Originally from the Gardens of Greed, Veronica made sure she had the best of the weapons, armor, and training. She knew how to fight with practically any weapon given to her; the dual swords she now carried were no different.

Tozomat summoned his usual dark magic; he thickened his skin in preparation. He turned his legs into just that, but with fleshy blades on the front and back. He turned his left arm into a spear of flesh, with a sharpened bone at the tip. His right arm turned into a fleshy sword, with hooks on one side. He turned his own flesh into dangerous weapons, and because of that, whenever he fought with them, he had to ignore the pain. His magic was very painful to the user, it was really only suited to those who are good against pain or those who enjoy pain. He lunged forward with the spear arm, in hopes to end Veronica's life with one blow. Of course it wasn't going to be that easy. Veronica deflected the thrust with one of her swords, before attacking with her other sword. She wielded a curved saber in one hand and what looked like a lengthened machete in the other.

Rainer didn't dare enter the ensuing fights, while he knew he would have been useful, he just had to watch.

-

"Why did you want to separate from those two? You cannot deny that it would be more prudent to group together."

"Heh, they may be damned professional assassins, but we are damned professional mercenaries. Our kind just doesn't mix."

"Hrm, you are correct. Let us hope, however, that we do not encounter a group of enemies too large."

"Don't damn worry. Your summons are quite mighty, Luce." The two voices originated from what used to be a town square, though ruined and decrepit from time. They continued their walk down an alleyway, keeping their eyes and ears open for the sights and sounds of possible combat or enemies. After many minutes of walking, the two came up with something. "Eh? You hear that damned noise, don't you, Luce?"

"Yes, Avandar... Let me see what is there." The one named Luce waved his arms in a ritualistic manner. Soon, a dark void appeared on the side of a building. A small bird like creature appeared out of the dark hole. It flapped happily as it danced about in the air near Luce. Soon, the black void closed up, sucking in air and dust as it ceased to exist. "This creature here is called a Hark. It's not very useful for combat, though it is quite handy for scouting."

"I've only seen your damned combat summons, what does this diminutive thing do, exactly?" Avandar asked inquisitively, despite his generally harsh tones, he liked to know the secrets behind people's skills.

"I form a psychic link with each of my summons, while they can act on their own, I can also control them when needed. If I focus on our link, I can see what the Hark sees." Luce then tossed the Hark in the air, letting it take flight towards the sounds of combat.

"Hrm... I see four people. The young ones we discussed before are three of them, the Fallen Angel, the witch, and the white demoness. I also see another; I believe it is that gluttony demon from the Parish, Forsythe. Other than that, I see several creatures around Forsythe... Wait, a large monster appeared, like a worm, it is attacking the girls. It seems a three on one situation is not the case, but a three on one and his minions. I am going to call back the Hark, as it is being attacked by one of Forsythe's creatures." Luce made another series of ritualistic maneuvers; the Hark disappeared in mid air as it was swallowed by a small dark void.

"Finally! Some damn foes to fight. Though I despise being near that damned Gluttony demon, perhaps I'll kill him too. I wish to try out this sword given to me by Arazra. What did he call it? Old Age? Whatever, it's eager for some damn blood." Avandar smiled as he patted Luce's shoulders. The two set off towards the battle.

-

"Guh! I underestimated you, Sadist... Very well, I'll bring out my full strength like you ask."

"OF course you will. And IT still won't be enough to win. I expected more from the Asura of the human world legends, the Fury of Wrath."

"And you will get more, my power amplifies with each set of arms I take out, getting doubled, and then tripled. The honor of the Warmaster demands I bring my fury upon you."

"OH I love magic, especially the raw power of the natural elements! Now, let's see what you have to show?"

-

"Thith ith tho much fun. I wonder what you tathte like? Juicy? Thour? Thweet? Perhapth a little bit of all three?" A skinny demon said this with a lisp to three girls.

"Foul demons like you, should stay here in hell. Mother was right to never like your kind in the Grounds of Gluttony." A demoness of Pride and Lust named Nerissa said this as she pulled out her sword from her scabbard. She cut it through the skin of a furry animal that attacked her. Behind her, the Fallen Angel Aureal shot a concentrated beam of light out of her warhammer into a bird of prey in the sky. Off to her side, a witch named Lauren stabbed a wicked dagger into the throat of a third, practically skinless, animal that attacked them. All of these animals were summoned by the demon before them, Forsythe.

"I bet your mother would be tathty. Perhapth I thould make her the main courthe of thupper? You can be dethert." A rodent crawled around the shoulders of Forsythe, before latching on to his face and crawling across it. Once the rodent got near Forsythe's mouth, the demon opened his maw and bit down on the rodent. He crunched up the rodent, swallowing the now dead animal, bones and all. "The boneth are the betht. It replenitheth calcium. Hmmm? What ith that? Oh, them." Forsythe cocked his head as he saw two figures moving towards the four of them. He recognized them immediately, yet Nerissa squinted her eyes.

Once the two were visible in her vision, Nerissa sighed, as she knew the newcomers were trouble. She felt a familiar, dangerous aura. She had felt it before from Altruism of the Pillar of Pride, or more specifically, his weapon. The other was a creature very rarely sighted outside of the Gardens of Greed, one of the humanoid species that was saved. She warned her two friends, Aureal and Lauren of the newcomers, "Watch out you two! We have more enemies... And I am sure strong ones at that. After all, one is wielding one of Death's weapons, Old Age, and the other is a Djinn of the Gardens of Greed."



The Lost Lord Ch. 16



Note: After this chapter, updates won't come as often. As I have already written up to this chapter once I started uploading them to Literotica. 

*

An eight limbed demon lashed forwards at a purple succubus. The bloodshot demon, Asura had a total of six arms and two legs. A crown of horns rested on his head, he wore golden armor resembling a set of chains covering his entire body, though each of his arms was uncovered. He had two short swords in the middle set of arms, javelins in the top set of arms, and the bottom set held a buckler in one and nothing in the other.

Asura's current enemy and foe, the purple succubus, Teras, had already confirmed that the bare hand was used for manipulating magic. In fact, Asura was already charging up a bolt of magic in that same hand. He shot out his arm and opened his hand to release a burning fireball. It exploded on a dry rock near the demoness. Shrapnel whizzed by Teras, though she coolly dodged each bit, even bending the wind to deviate the paths of some of the rocks.

In the beginning of the fight, Asura only had out one set of arms, case in point, he was too weak to fight Teras. That one set of arms, however, was enough to obliterate a small army of foot soldiers. It was painfully obvious to Asura that one set of arms would do not good, eventually he brought out a second set of arms, grasping the javelins he had on his back. He surprised Teras by throwing two javelins at high speed towards her direction. While she was surprised, it would take more than a surprise to knock her down. The first javelin only grazed the lace on her purple dress (everything about Teras was purple, skin, dress, umbrella, eyes and all). The second passed between her neck and the haft of the umbrella.

Thanks to her specialty in wind magic, Teras could nimbly dodge every blow Asura tried to land. His short swords and javelins could never hit her, not even with the second set of arms. Asura had a hard time believing that Teras was powerful enough to outmatch him, even with only two sets of arms. If that was the case, he had no choice but to bring out the third set, with his magic and shield. And that brings us to the present.

"It does seem that what you say IS true! You DO gain more power with each set of limbs. Perhaps I should cut them off?" Teras happily said as she smiled with her eyes closed as if the fight meant nothing to her.

With Asura's third set of arms out, he could finally match Teras' abilities. Even if both were members of the main pillar force of their Circle of Sin, without bringing out his maximum power, Asura could not match Teras who could fight at full power 24/7. Asura would have to end the fight before he expending his power too quickly. He gritted his teeth as the battle continued, in terms of ability, they were equally matched, though in terms of power, Teras could rely on her inner reserves of strength far longer than Asura.

You would think that these two pillar members, of different Sins, would fight each other someday with their immortality. At least sooner than one would expect. Lust and Wrath have never had a large conflict in a long time. In fact, the two circles fought the least wars between the two than any other combination of circles in the seven circles. Even the between Lust and Pride, who have frequently been allied to each other, have fought several wars between the two.

"I see you have arrogance the belongs only to Pride and Envy. Your impudence is unmatched." Asura said this as he managed to block, with his buckler, a gust of magical wind. He retaliated with his short swords, releasing dark energy from the tips. 

"I learned that from the Princess OF Pride herself! She's quite fun, I especially like the way she screams..." Teras smiled dreamily, she gazed off towards the piercing sunlight (technically not the sun, as it is another world).

Asura made a mistake just then. He thought Teras was distracted for a moment, and he attacked her blind spot with his swords and javelins. He stabbed just below the neck with the javelins and into the abdomen with his swords, or at least he thought he did.

Practically the speed of light, Teras twisted around, leaving only an afterimage for Asura to stab. She then sliced downwards across Asura's chest, slicing through the gold chains easily. The chains weren't decorative gold, but an alloy allowing for superior protection.

A sword? Asura felt a slicing pain as Teras slashed down with a sword that he had yet to see in Teras' possession until now. Asura felt his thoughts wander... Me, Wrath's Fury... Slain so easily by a sadistic bitch slut. Such words... Are unbecoming of one of the honorable members of the Pillar of Wrath, perhaps I should deal with my death with some dignity? Warmaster, I've failed you. I'm not even fit for a funeral. Asura flashed through his life, visiting memories he was fond of, barely any.

"I expected more form the Fury of Wrath. How disappointing, you only sated MY lust by A small amount. Perhaps some of your friends may? Tell me that now, lest I make your death painful." Threatened Teras, she continued her sadistic smile, with obsessive eyes staring straight into Asura.

Asura choked on his blood, he managed speak with some dignity, however. "I-I know little of the abilities of my temporary comrades. *Cough* I believe the strongest to be... the hound and cat." Asura continued to suffer painfully as his death proved to be a slow one. While Teras only inflicted a single wound, it was a deadly one.

"The hound and the cat? Why that must BE Justinian's men. I've never even heard of them. Thank you for your information!" Teras then stimulated the wound with her blade than she seemed to produce out of nowhere. She applied pressure with the tip, inflicting even more pain on Asura's mind. He convulsed violently as his body was wracked with pain.

Asura couldn't even make legible words anymore, only groans and mumbles of pain could be heard as Asura did his best to dull and ignore the pain. Teras continued the sadistic display that befitted her title of 'The Sadist' well. She continued her mutilation of Asura's body until he arrived at his death throes, unable to live through the pain any longer. He would have begged for death, but it would impugn his honor, even though only the two was present. Also, he couldn't talk with his blood flowing where it shouldn't.

"The dog and cat, how unnatural for those two to work together. 'Tis ironic in a way." Teras mused to herself as she cleaned the blood from her blade. The blade itself was a slim sword, with no noticeable adornments. It had a rounded tip, sharp edges, and it was absent a guard. Teras lined up the tip with her umbrella, and slid the sword into the haft. One would have mistaken the sword for a 'cane sword', though it served as the handle for her umbrella. "If only I could make myself a cup of tea in this desolate wasteland." Teras then strode her way down a partially covered path, umbrella twirling in her hands. She thanked the umbrella for providing her with some cool shade. "Perhaps I shall find this dog and cat and fight to a pleasurable death."

And thus Rainer's side took the lead.

-

"Urhrah!" This grunt came from a bloodied demon fighting a battle against his supposed ally. The one named Archibald of the Parish had believed that Chigaru, the Anubite from the Sands of Sloth was supposed to be an ally. Which he originally was, but Chigaru and Yaotl's extreme sense of loyalty allowed them no allies but those loyal to the Shah of Sloth. Archibald couldn't fathom the flawed logic of the one he was fighting, after all, Justinian ordered the Anubite to slay The Lord of Lust and his crew with the team Justinian chose.

Archibald was surprised that the skills and strength of his friend turned foe, it was beyond what Archibald had expected. It was all Archibald could do to defend himself with his broadsword. He knew this mission he and his group was hired for was going to be no cakewalk. Fighting The Lord of Lust? Even if he were young and inexperienced, that would be no mean feat. The Rulers of Sin are supposedly the most powerful demons in the seven circles, and after that, the Pillar of Sin protects them, the most powerful demons in each of their Sin's Circle.

However, Archibald was no weakling, far from it in actuality. He and the rest of the Parish were renowned assassins, though it would be more appropriate to call them extremely loud people eliminators. In any case, each of the Parish had fought beings either from a pillar or at least equal to a pillar member's power. Chigaru would not defeat Archibald so easily...

Chigaru spun his polearm around his body before attempting to land a stunning blow on Archibald. The pole had two sharpened semi-circles on both ends of the staff, like a garden spade. Archibald parried the blow narrowly while also sidestepping in preparation for his own attack. "Damn dog! Go back to your bitch!" Taunted Archibald as he slashed at Chigaru's side. Perhaps the Ignorance of Sloth would ignore Archibald's strike?

Chigaru moved his polearm in order to block the broadsword with the staff section of the polearm. The Anubite thrust half-moons into Archibald, at high speed. Archibald deflected the thrust narrowly with his sword's guard.

Their fight was a complete stalemate, though in Chigaru's favor. Until Archibald tired out, or if one of the parties made a fatal mistake, their battle would continue until there was outside interference. And it seemed that would be the case, as there were two other battles going on near them, and they were nearly at their end. One was between a member of the Parish, Veronica, and the Romance of Lust, Tozomat. The other was between the Maturity of Lust, Caetorum, and Chigaru's only ally, Yaotl of Sloth.

"Why do I always get shitty men...?" The one who said this was Veronica, who was currently fighting against the voluntarily mute Tozomat. "Can't you even say hello to whom you are fighting?" She asked this as Veronica dropped her current weapons and summoned up a large scythe. She spun the scythe around her body with ease. When she was young, Veronica used her family assets to purchase only the best of the weapons training, and with every weapon she could think of, Veronica was impeccably trained in. From scythes to chakrams, from bows and arrows to slinging rocks, Veronica knew them all.

"I can do that much. My name is Tozomat, and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance." After only those words, Tozomat clamped his lips shut, never to open them for the duration of his battle. He clashed his deformed arms together, as if to create sparks from them if the arms were metal. He did this because his arms were his main weapons, and not in the way one would think. If one thought that one's arms and hands would become weapons, then it would be a form of martial arts, but Tozomat, while trained in in hand to hand combat, literally turned his body into a weapon.

Tozomat fought with shadow manipulation, a form of dark magic used for manipulating one's shadow. And as a person's shadow MUST conform to that person's body, the body or shadow changed with each other. Tozomat tuned and sculpted his shadow down to the meticulous details, forming exactly what he wanted. In this case, he had an arm formed into a single, sharp spear. It had a keen bone protruding from the end of the spear arm for extra penetration and damage. His other arm was formed into a fleshy sword, with serrations on one side and a smooth acuteness reserved for the most masterfully skilled of swords.

It was hard to believe that ones own flesh could slice and destroy as easily as normal weapons, according to Veronica. She had heard of shadow manipulation, and even fought against weaker users of that magic. However, she had never seen such a skilled user of that particular dark magic. Out of her group, only Elizabeth and Forsythe used magic. Reginald used what looked like magic, but required none of the incantations or magical power that normal magic used.

"Ugh... I have to pay attention. I can't afford to lose focus in front of this kind of unpredictable opponent." Said Veronica to herself through gritted teeth. She was right, Tozomat's ability offered plenty of uniqueness and variety to his attacks.

Right when Veronica thought she had chopped off Tozomat's left arm, he had separated the arm from his body using his magic and reattached it when Veronica's scythe was clear. If Veronica wanted to inflict permanent damage, she would have to damage him before he could react with shadow manipulation. And that proved to be a very tough ordeal. Veronica slashed and swerved her scythe at many points of Tozomat's body, only to be parried and deflected by his fleshy weapons, or to have what she thought was permanent damage be repaired by his magic. At least the current flow of the fight was in Veronica's favor, as she wasn't giving Tozomat any room to go on the offense.

Veronica winced along with Tozomat. Each time he manipulated his shadow, Veronica saw what looked like pain on his face and body. Forcing his mortal body to contort and stretch into weird positions forced a painful price on him. She obviously did not sympathize with Tozomat, as such a unique and powerful magic must come with a heavy price, in this case, extreme pain. Especially when Veronica slashed the scythe's tip directly into Tozomat's chest.

Her scythe ripped through his suit (you can't manipulate the shadow of external objects resting on your body, AKA clothes, only your own), and Tozomat forced a hole to appear in his chest exactly where the scythe point appeared. Tozomat groaned in pain as he performed this ability just now, forcing a hole in one's body was no mean feat, nor a pleasant one. Tozomat, due to the pain, couldn't open the hole in his chest any wider, and the scythe managed to cut his chest slightly before Tozomat jumped backwards.

"Success! I managed to hurt him, even if only a little." Veronica smiled as she summoned a small dagger, which she threw at Tozomat in order to pressure him. "Wait a second..." Veronica thought something was odd for a second about Tozomat's gait, but diminished the thought. She saw no visible maladies or impairments, and she dismissed the notion. "It seems your dark magic is not invincible, as you seem to give off that feeling. Perhaps I-... Guah!" A large wound appeared on Veronica's chest as a bony, fleshy spear penetrated her chest from her back and all the way through her armor.

"Thus you meet your end. Your heart is punctured and your life will now diminish to nothingness, I suggest you say your farewells, as that is what I am doing now. Goodbye, Miss Veronica Deloes Astar." Tozomat said this neutrally, his words, however scare, would never show a hint of malice or hate. He believed that dealing fairly and equally with everyone was the correct way to proceed through his life. He only kept that mindset since he first joined the Pillar of Lust, and was titled Romance of Lust.

What happened just now was what Veronica tried to figure out. Apparently Tozomat separated his leg from his body and hidden from her view. He manipulated his shadow by giving himself a faux leg in order to fool Veronica that he was still all together. While Veronica taunted Tozomat, he manipulated the shadow of his severed leg, giving it a harpoon tip, and thrust it into Veronica's heart. Tozomat reattached his leg to his body, ending the painful feeling of having a leg freshly cut off. Shadow manipulation was no cakewalk. You had to feel the exact sensations one would normally have if something happened to them, in this case, losing a leg.

"E-Elizabeth... I can't let you win. Reginald, you r-really *cough* are like me. Forsythe, I-I still do not care for you... Ar-Archibald I-" Veronica couldn't say anything more as blood welled up in her throat, she choke painfully, attempting to prolong her life, even if by only several seconds. She had yet to say goodbye to Archibald.

"VERONICA!!! Ohhhh you motherfucking bastard... I am SO GOING to kill you." This commotion erupted from Archibald, whom was currently fighting the Ignorance of Sloth, Chigaru. "HAWH! I'm DONE WITH YOU!" Archibald, in a fit of rage unsuited for an incubus, threw all of his power into a single blow centered on Chigaru.

Chigaru, using supernatural strength, received the heavy strike. The Anubite could barely believe that such power erupted from the incubus whom had yet to show enough power that could end his fight. Chigaru was staggered, and pushed to the ground by the force of Archibald's strength. The hound's polearm was splintered, it being severed into three separate pieces. Chigaru scrambled to grab the two pieces which still had the deadly semi-circles attached to it, he did, and crossed them in order to block Archibald's second rage filled strike.

Archibald broadsword was nearly deflected, it would have been if it weren't for his quick hand that grabbed one of Chigaru's weapons and pulled it out of the way. The sword went into Chigaru's furry abdomen, devastating the internal organs that were inside. Archibald didn't stop there, with the half-moon he took from Chigaru, he hacked it diagonally into Chigaru's neck many times until it was covered in a bloody, gory mess. Finally, Archibald's overkill was completed when he used the half-moon to sever Chigaru's nose form the body, saying, "Fucking sphinx."

Archibald turned towards Tozomat and glowered venomously, if one could steam out of their body, Archibald's entire body would surpass that of a steamboat. "You... I will kill you. Endless despair awaits you."

"Greetings, my name is Tozomat, Romance of Lust. I am sorry for slaying your comra-" Tozomat started to apologize, but was quickly cut off.

"Don't give me that bullshit. This is a damn battle, and we both know there are casualties. That still won't stop me from taking revenge against you for Veronica." Even among merciless assassins, love is red until it ends in blue.

Not wasting any time to battle, Archibald chanted a strange mantra and rushed off towards Tozomat, landing the first strike that even Tozomat didn't expect. While Tozomat was able to manipulate his shadow in time to dodge the attack, Archibald's fresh onslaught was faster than Tozomat expected. Archibald unleashed a flurry of blows; each managed to reach Tozomat's body before his fleshy arm weapons could react. However, each did not manage to land a scratch on Tozomat due to his peerless manipulation of his shadow.

Tozomat was in a predicament, he was on pure defense, and he could not attack without possibly receiving a mortal blow in retaliation. Yet Tozomat made that risk. Before he joined the Pillar of Lust, his motto was, 'Just beat the nail with a hammer.' He said that because when he couldn't figure something out, just follow the simplest path and it usually won't fail. Tozomat swerved his head around, dodging one of Archibald's attacks with his broadsword and thrust his head straight towards Archibald in a head butt. Tozomat formed a wicked spike on his forehead due to his dark magic, and stabbed it towards Archibald for a possibly lethal head butt.

Archibald saw through the attack, and tilted to the side, managing to escape death with only a scratch on his ear. Their stalemate continued fiercely, both sides unleashing their most cunning and powerful of attacks on their opponent.

On more than one occasion, Tozomat was tempted to unleash dark magic other than shadow manipulation, but decided against it on the principle that it wasn't his style. Archibald, on the other hand, was persuaded to try a new tactic, one that involved some more than basic fire magic. While Archibald wasn't terribly talented in fire magic, he at least forced himself to practice several convenient spells that would prove useful in case he ran into a troublesome opponent like Tozomat or Chigaru.




The Lost Lord Ch. 16



"Flames of yore, possess thy simple blade of mine, unleashing your very essence, change the very properties of this sword and become one."

Tozomat was slightly impressed, there weren't many who could chant an incantation and form magic while also received the vicious blows of his flesh weapons. He spectated the effect that Archibald's spell had on his broadsword. The sword that was in Archibald's hands turned into a practically living embodiment of fire and metal mixed together, as if both could live in harmony. The sword seemed to dance harmonically in the flames the imbued the blade. It was then that Tozomat saw what his opponent was doing. On a separate occasion, Tozomat once fought a skilled mage in a duel at least one hundred years ago. The mage soon found the type of magic that worked wonders against Tozomat, fire magic. That mage discovered that while Tozomat could force his body to dodge blows from physical attacks, it didn't help against the pure energy of fire. Tozomat found it impossible to dodge fire's embrace, and his skin was singed and burned whenever the mage attacked with fire. In this case, if Archibald attacked with his flaming sword, Tozomat could dodge the blade section by manipulating his shadow to move his body at whim, but the sword's flames could still reach Tozomat's flesh and burn it to a crisp.

Archibald had pondered several ways to counter Tozomat's shadow manipulation, one being to block out his shadow from the sunlight. However, in this open area, that would prove impossible. He then came up with the idea of using fire. And luckily for Archibald, he had memorized a useful fire spell for this exact situation.

And thus their battle resumed.

"Just try bending your shadow to this!" Archibald sprinted towards Tozomat, with clear intent to annihilate his enemy. Once he was close enough, Archibald unleashed his sword, swinging in several directions, twisting the sword around in order to confuse Tozomat, even if by a little bit.

Tozomat reacted, but just barely. He swung his flesh spear up and blocked the sword. He then slashed his flesh sword at Archibald, attempting to hack at his side. "You forgot something..."

!!! Tozomat, at that instant, knew where Archibald was getting at, and he tried to manipulate his shadow, but he was far too late. Archibald, in a movement even a contortionist would wince at, dislocated his other arm and swung his fiery half-moon at Archibald. He hid the half-moon until Archibald found the perfect moment for it, which was now. The half-moon, originally from Chigaru's polearm, slashed against Tozomat, leaving a deep gash. The flames added on extra damage, burning the skin around the wound. This flame in particular, was favored by Archibald for thee sole fact that it avoided cauterizing the wounds it danced across, giving the same pain with even more damage. Tozomat widened his eyes, and coughed blood out form his mouth onto Archibald's body. "Now you... Say your damned goodbyes this time." Archibald said this as he readied his broadsword for the finishing blow.

-

"Hey! Tozo! Why are you doing this again?"

"Ah... Um... I want to be strong, like you. He-Hey! Don't laugh like that Asmodea."

Two demons were sitting next to each other. Both were young, especially for demons. The one named Asmodea was an especially cute succubus around the age of nineteen. She was a red demon with large breasts, perfect curves, and an all around beautiful body, even for a succubus. The one named Tozomat, or nicknamed Tozo here, was a short male demon at the age of sixteen; there wasn't much to say about him other than the fact that he wore an unusual blue pendant around his neck.

"I'm- *giggle* I'm sorry... Just, you just don't hear that very much. Hey! C'mon, you don't really want to be like me, don't you? I mean, I understand wanting to know some magic in this dangerous world, but magic of that weird kind? Just what are you thinking?" Asmodea said this as she finished up jokingly laughing at Tozomat's statement.

"I can learn what magic I want! I'm not good with swords like you are, nor can I go on very long with such heavy armor like you can... I tried shooting a bow before, and I almost hit grandfather in the eye. He said I have good aim, but not at the correct target. So my only hope lies with magic." Said Tozomat eloquently as he gazed up at the clear blue sky, observing uniquely shaped clouds.

"No, I get that much. Magic is an honorable path, especially the reserved dark arts. I'm asking why you chose to be the student of that old geezer Rasppo. I've heard stories about his shadow manipulation, in tribute for great power and unpredictable skills, it comes with extreme pain. Pain that resembles ripping your body apart at the very seems with your own fingertips." Asmodea was genuinely worried about Tozomat's wellbeing. While they weren't related, both shared a relationship on the level of the closest of twins.

A cool breeze set in as Tozomat sighed and shivered at the word of pain, "This pendant... It came from someone dear to me. A year or two before we met, mother died. I only saw a glimpse of the killer and saw a unique scar on his head, in the form of a star. Every part of his body was veiled and I couldn't even tell what color he was. Out of everything, that scar stood unique. Once I entered mother's presence, she was barely alive and the killer stood above her. The demon forced... Forced me to kill my mother. He laughed and left me for dead, though not until cutting me several times for his own pleasure." Tozomat's voice faltered at many times, though he summoned up the courage to speak each time he saw himself wavering.

Asmodea was deeply troubled, as she had never heard this story before. Not that she didn't believe in it, it is just that she never expected such a disturbing memory of his past. It was truly a memory of tears. She let Tozomat continued as it looked like he had more to say, though she wrapped her arm around him in a comforting embrace.

"I'm.. I'm a weak executioner. I wanted to kill myself many times because I killed my own mother. I could never bring myself to do it. Instead of ending my own life, there was only one way to pay for my sin."

"Sin? What do you mean? We are of the Sin of Lu-"

"I don't mean that. True sin, even for demons, is one that can never be erased. It is permanently inscribed in your mind, digging at your head like a corkscrew. Shadow manipulation, like you say, is extremely painful. Rasppo has agreed to instruct me, as he had never found a single demon with the resolve to put one's body through such torture in battle for the rest of its life. I will find the one who had me kill mother, and I will do the same to him. I will live my immortal life through eternal pain to erase my sin. I won't even indulge in the depravity of Lust. I will only look towards the purity of Lust, if any. I talk like an angel, don't I?"

"Hey now, don't beat yourself up. Even in Lust, you can find love... Romance, if you will. Let's both get stronger, ok? Strong enough to win the tournament of the decade. I'm sure that even in the position of the Pillar of Lust, we'll have access to information that may help us find your mother's killer."

"That is... A long ways away."

"Well, get your spirits up! There are only two ways to join the Pillar of Lust, that's by winning that tournament or impressing The Lord of Lust. And the latter of the two is supposedly far more impossible according to rumors. Shadow manipulation, if it's as unique as you say, it will be a powerful asset when you fight."

-

"You have really come far, 'lil Tozo!" Said Asmodea to her childhood friend, Tozomat. The two had been friends for as long as they can remember through the decades of demonic life. "Really, only one more battle and you will win! And that's no mean feat. I won last decade, though barely, thanks to the mistake my opponent made."

"Stop calling me that, my name is Tozomat. Please, I have confidence I'll win and join the Pillar of Lust like you did... Seduction of Lust. I'll just beat the nail with a hammer, it is as simple as that." Tozomat, though flustered, was quite thankful for Asmodea's presence. She acted like an older sister to him and took care of him when they were younger, even supporting him in his training and search for the demon with the star-shaped scar. Many times over he wanted to quit training in the art of shadow manipulation, is was very painful to have the feeling of body parts severed, bone piercing your body, and the feeling of being flayed. Yet he endured it for the sake of fulfilling is vengeance, though also thanks to Asmodea and Master Rasppo's support.

"As usual, overconfidence. HAH! Oh well, ye deserve it, young 'un." Said a gruff, raspy voice the belonged to Tozomat's teacher in the dark magic of shadow manipulation, Rasppo. "Heh, if ye do win, I wonder what'll ye be called? Bah, just get going, the crowds are getting impatient." Rasppo nodded his head while also downing a bottle of alcohol. He flicked his head off towards the entrance to a large arena where two opponents fought in the midst of a giant crowd.

Every decade, the location of the arena changed between the Circles of Sin. This decade, the tournament was located in the Sands of Sloth. As what you would expect of Sloth, the arena was less grand than the others, though it held the meticulous architecture of over millennia of work done upon it. It was well maintained despite being so plain.

Tozomat put on his clothes. He refused to wear armor, as it would impede his shadow manipulation in case he wanted to bend parts of his flesh covered by armor. Thus, Tozomat always made sure to wear a nice suit when he fought. It would leave a decent impression on those who spectated his fight with his final opponent of the tournament.

As Tozomat walked onto the arena floor, he could hear the announcer introducing him, "Aaaaaaaaannnnnnd here we have the young, the brash, the crafty, and the unpredictable (in a good way)... Tooooozomaaaaat of Lust! The demon mastering the honorable art of Shadow Manipulation!" Tozomat walked with a neutral face, while he was nervous, he refused to show it in front of the audience. He believed in dealing with neutrality with everyone he came across and refused to show certain emotions in front of people except when it was a person he cared for.

Tozomat was the first into the arena. He waited several seconds until he saw his opponent enter the arena. He had watched the fight of the person that he was about to face, and it wasn't very pretty.

The announcer then introduced his opponent, "And finally! Weeeee have both competitors on the arena! Let me introduce the lovely, the relentless, the smooth, and the merciless... Jaaaaaanr offfffff Envy! The Jotun who reigns supreme over her frozen arsenal!" While it there was quite a diversified audience and list of competitors, it was generally rare to have Jotuns take part in just about anything unless the Emperor of Envy commanded it. Perhaps the Emperor had her take part today? In any case, she was an opponent Tozomat had to eliminate.

Janr, as she was called, was quite beautiful, noticed Tozomat. He observed her in the moments before the battle begun. While he also surveyed anything that would be tactically useful to remember in a fight, he also paid attention to her attributes. Pale blue skin, of the hue of ice, was everywhere. She had one a fur coat that seemed to do little for warmth, as it seemed to do the opposite of its intended purpose. She also wore open sandals, an icy choker, and a hood that stopped on the middle of her head. The fur coat was quite thin, only providing a slim covering on her skin, but Tozomat took note that he felt latent magics on the surface of the fur. From what he saw from her fights, Janr formed weapons out of ice, provided the air was moist enough, she could form then anywhere. Though as the Sands of Sloth was quite arid, she could only form weapons in close proximity of her body, thus she could only form ice at least a little bit less than a meter away from her.

Once the two competitors were given the go ahead, both sprang into action, immediately making sure they got the first attack in. They continued for quite some time, ranging into at least thirty minutes of combat that never cooled down. Many times when Janr thought her ice was about to pierce or slash into Tozomat, he bent the flesh into a position that wouldn't get hit. Several times when Tozomat's fleshy weapons were about to hit Janr, she formed a small shield of ice to block the attack. Neither could get close enough to each other to deal a mortal blow. Of course that didn't mean they couldn't scratch or nick the other, even if by a little bit. Eventually both the Jotun and demon began to accumulate a small collection of cuts and bruises. After Tozomat was feeling slightly tired, that was when he decided to get creative.

Tozomat changed his left arm into a strange, fleshy whip, a whip that swung around crazily, wrapping itself around what it could get its... Hands on. Janr tried to form an ice shield to block the fleshy whip, but Tozomat deviated the course of his whip by a small amount, and the whip managed to land a blow on Janr, leaving a red mark on her smooth skin. That was when Tozomat gained the upper hand and the flow of battle tilted largely in his favor. The two exchanged blows for a while longer until Tozomat dealt the deciding attack.

Tozomat thrust his right hand, which was a bony and fleshy spear, towards Janr's bosom. She reacted like normal and formed an ice shield to block, and turned her attention towards Tozomat's unpredictable whip. However, Tozomat forced himself into extreme pain for this attack. He manipulated his shadow to have his right arm to splinter off into several different strands of erect bone tips, each parallel to one another. Tozomat had the multiple bone spears strike into Janr's chest, wounding her greatly. Once Janr reacted to the pain, she was left open for Tozomat's whip. He formed several wicked, fleshy spikes on the whip and struck Janr. It was extremely painful for both of them, Janr due to the wounds, and Tozomat due the shadow manipulation. In fact, the pain was so intense for both parties, that they both fell unconscious, Tozomat falling several seconds after Janr.

"Demons, demonesses, and humanoids alike! Tozomat dealt the deciding blow and won the tournament! Even if by a hairs width! Tozomat wins due to his opponent falling unconscious during battle, and the winner of this decade's tournament is Tozomat of Luuuuuuusssst!"

-

"Weh? Tis' you..." Said Tozomat roughly a week after he woke up from winning the tournament. He had received all forms of congratulations and already was accepted to the Pillar of Lust, though he had yet to receive his title and perform the required ceremony. He had fully healed from the battle and was now resting for the night in a grand hostel that was provided for him. He had reacted to a woman whom had entered the room while he was undressing for bed. It was the Jotun, Janr he had fought.

"I had yet to congratulate you on your victory over me. It would impugn my name if I did not honor the one who defeated me." She said this with complete grace that Tozomat did not expect to find on the battle maiden. He found himself attracted to her demeanor and it was only intensified was he reaffirmed how impeccable her looks were.

None of the wounds from the battle were present on the women, even the final blow he had dealt to her. He regretted that he had harmed her in the tournament, but it was necessary for him in order to win. This time around, the female Jotun was not garbed in her magical fur, but a garment that was designed for comfort and not battle. A Lavish coat that was outlined with thick, warm fur covered her upper and lower body. "Ah... Well, there's no need for that, milady." He decided to play it polite and cool, "In fact, I would feel it appropriate if I honored you for a battle well fought." He said this calmly with a quaint smile on his face.

He then remembered a fact about the Jotun people. It was a rumor that if one fought one of the Jotun maidens, and won in a death match, they would offer themselves to the victor. Was that what she was doing now? Tozomat saw that Janr shifted uncomfortably. It seemed as if that Janr was offering herself, but didn't want to initiate the process. How... Cute. Also, Tozomat got the feeling that Janr didn't seem to mind doing this. Generally, one would think that a maiden offering herself to the man that defeated her would do it reluctantly and would despise the man in question, yet that wasn't necessarily the case with Janr.

However, Tozomat was a complete virgin. Even for an incubus of the Land of Lust, he chose to devote himself to his studies and not delve into Lust like most did. If he ever was to engage in sex with another, it wasn't just going to be a common fling, he wanted it to mean something to both parties involved. "So let me begin by saying, you fought well in the tournament, I couldn't have asked for a more worthy and beautiful opponent." Tozomat never dished out compliments unless he meant them, it was a part of his neutrality. He let out an unintentionally captivating expression that seemed to make Janr more comfortable.

Janr started to feel that she might actually enjoy tonight. It was not that she didn't enjoy sex. Jotuns generally do not let themselves delve into lust and have sex unless law or honor demanded it. Very few of her people had sex for fun or for love. And it wasn't that she disliked Tozomat, he was a strong and intelligent opponent. In battle is one of the easiest ways to get to know someone, that was one thing the Jotuns truly believed in. It is said you can even divine one's reason for combat through a duel. Janr had herself attempt to understand each of her opponents through battle, yet none had a more depressing feeling than Tozomat, she was duly intrigued.

"Th-Thank you for your compliment, though you also fought marvelously. I was one of the top warriors among my people, at least according to them, and my confidence didn't allow me to believe I could be bested. Yet here I am, speaking to the one who did." Janr didn't know how to move the conversation further than this; thankfully her question was answered when Tozomat spoke next.

Tozomat honestly felt like he wanted to get to know Janr better, even in the coming weeks. He could feel his own lust growing from within him, his Sin required him to become more intimate. And since Tozomat felt that he actually liked Janr, why not? Very few demons kept themselves 'pure' until a certain time. And generally those demons were promised or had an arranged engagement. "Ha-ha, well, I seem to do better in a fight against some one that is equal to my skill. It felt like could understand you from fighting. That is what Jotuns believe in? You can get to know someone through battle? Allow me to be somewhat presumptuous when I say that you can get to know someone through something other than battle."

Janr was relieved, she was thankful that Tozomat seemed to be the one taking the lead. She just didn't know how to proceed in this awkward situation she created. "I agree, a duel is one thing, but there are many more ways to know someone."

Tozomat became increasingly aware of Janr beauty, as if she let out a strange pheromone that attracted him. He quelled his Lust within him, telling it wait for a small while. "May I offer you something to drink? I don't partake of many spirits, as I find them too intoxicating." Tozomat only drank alcohol that allowed him to keep his sense of reality. He also had to prevent Asmodea from drinking too much lest she got taken advantage of.

"Yes please, I don't mind if it's strong or not, do you have something that tastes somewhat decent? The Sands of Sloth is rather lacking when it comes to spirits.




The Lost Lord Ch. 16



Tozomat poured Janr a glass of wine he had taken with him from the Land of Lust, he had liked it for a strange reason that he couldn't put his finger to. The two partook of the wine for a while, conversing over many small matters, until the entire bottle was empty. That was where things began to heat up, or cool down in Janr's case.

The two began to hold hands and pushed their heads together for a slightly awkward kiss. Even if they didn't have the wine, the two were feeling aroused and interested enough to progress this far in any case. Tozomat received Janr's cold lips, due to her Jotun nature, and retaliated with his own. He kissed and danced his lips around Janr's landing small pecks on the outskirts of her own blue lips. Janr played the receiver as Tozomat then took things one step further with his tongue. He forced her mouth wide enough to accept his tongue, which she then began to suck on, tasting his saliva and mixing it with her own. Both Janr and Tozomat's eyes were closed tightly shut as they acted on instinct.

Janr's blued tongue wrapped itself around Tozomat's, holding it hostage. She sucked on the tongue with her lips, holding the tined, demonic tongue in place. Janr had never engaged in sex with a demon before, and was initially surprised at first of Tozomat's tongue, but remained calm, as she knew all demons had such strange attachments.

Soon, Tozomat's lust proved too much for him to handle, and the rest of his demonic appendages burst forth in all their dark glory. Janr was instantly surprised, not out of fear, but out of anxiousness. However, she had seen the appendages in the tournament. She was, however, curious about the fact that Tozomat was a demon of Lust, yet he had no wings like most Lust demons. Out of all demons, Lust held the most with wings, as the majority of their population are incubi and succubi. Tozomat was not an incubus, but a regular demon of Lust.

Janr felt the effects of Tozomat's sin permeating his being, she felt herself growing more and more aroused as the two continue their kiss with fervor. Her pale blue skin began to feel warm, though not in the temperature sense.

Janr thrust her tongue deep into Tozomat's mouth, licking the insides and intermixing the saliva of the two. Tozomat accepted the invader, as he wriggled his own tongue in Janr's mouth. As the exchange grew more intense, saliva coated the outside of both people's mouths. In accident, they clicked their teeth together, but the pain was ignored and both continued on with their business.

Eventually, Tozomat's hands began to roam around on Janr's body. Janr, upon feeling them, reached out for her partner's hands with her own and guided them towards her breasts. Tozomat never did have a good chance until now to tell what size they were, and he tried to determine the size as he groped the sizable amount of flesh hidden behind Janr's coat. They were not small, Tozomat could tell that much, but neither were they terribly large.

Janr slowly peeled off her fur coat and removed it from her body, she had deigned logical to not have on any underwear for this moment. She regretted her decision at that moment as it would have been better for her to arouse Tozomat even more if she had on appropriate, sexy undergarments to show off to her partner. Oh well, it is better to dwell on the present, thought Janr.

As the two continued their long kiss, heavy petting set in. Tozomat firmly mauled Janr's breasts, which he estimated to be at least around C cup. He massaged the soft flesh, squeezing it firmly. Janr moaned into Tozomat's mouth as he stimulated the sensitive spots around her breasts, including the nipples. He tweaked and rolled the hard points on the Jotun's breasts. He pinched the hard nipples softly, pulling them with a firm grip between two fingers each.

While Tozomat played with her bust, Janr reach around Tozomat's back and held him tightly. She brought one hand down to his crotch and began to rub it through the cloth Tozomat was wearing. The hand on the back flailed and groped around as it had nothing to play with, though her other hand began to playfully stimulate Tozomat's member. She eventually slipped the hand through the cloth and began to slowly stroke the shaft that was inside.

It was Tozomat's turn to moan as he felt one of Janr's cool hands down at his crotch. He relished the pleasurable feeling of Janr's hand on his shaft, rubbing and stroking it. She rubbed the sensitive tip of the cock with her thumb, stimulating the bundle of nerves down there greatly. Tozomat broke the kiss as he gasped.

Before long, both Tozomat and Janr had dispensed of all articles of clothing, and the only thing separating the two was the air. Both parties feasted on each other's body. Tozomat was greatly aroused at the sight of Janr's bare skin from her breasts down to her nether lips. Janr was getting increasingly wet at the sight of Tozomat's handsome body and hard shaft.

Janr let out a cute smile towards Tozomat, forcing him to stiffen even more, as she moved her head downwards towards his shaft. She swiped the head of Tozomat's cock and slathered her saliva over it, lubricating the head.

Tozomat greatly enjoyed the oral attention he was now receiving; he resigned to submit himself to the blowjob.

Janr licked the head several more times before moving on to the rest of the pleasure points. She tickled and pleased the underside of the bulbous head before licking the length of his shaft. She wondered how much Tozomat was enjoying her attention, she looked up to see Tozomat with his eyes closed and mouth clamped shut in obvious pleasure. She fondle his balls until her tongue reach just that, which she then licked and sucked on both of the small orbs softly. She took care as to not damage the product, though she swiped her tongue around the balls skillfully enough to elicit a reaction form Tozomat's generally expressionless face.

Deciding it was time for the main course, Janr licked up to the top of the shaft, to the sensitive head and wrapped her ocean blue lips around it. She glanced up as Tozomat placed a hand on her head, stroking her hair and holding on firmly. She would have giggled if her lips were not preoccupied. Soon, Janr moved her lips up and down the shaft, sucking on the sensitive head. She manipulated her tongue, licking the top of the head, as she sucked on Tozomat's shaft. Every tens of seconds, Janr went further on Tozomat's shaft. Also, the further she went down on his cock, the tighter Tozomat's grip on her head was. She moaned lustfully as she moved her head up and down on the demon's cock.

Eventually, Janr was about half an inch away from Tozomat's base. She hesitated on that last bit, as it proved tough for Janr to swallow the man's entire member. Tozomat, however, could not wait that much longer. His grip tightened slightly and he pushed Janr's head down to the base of his shaft. While she was surprised at first, she allowed her head to be used by Tozomat's hand for his dick's pleasure. He did just that as the demon pulled her head back up to his cock's head and all the way back down to his crotch's base.

While he had control over Janr's lips, he did not have control over her cool tongue. Janr licked everywhere she could on Tozomat's shaft, as she adjusted to Tozomat's pace. She even placed one of her hands at his balls and began to fondle them softly but pleasurably. With all this stimulation, it wasn't long for him to burst.

Ropes of his sticky, white seed coated the insides of her mouth. Janr immediately pulled his shaft out of her mouth and stroked it off until he had completely spent himself on her face. At least half of his spunk was inside of Janr's mouth and the rest on the Jotun girl's face. She received his seed willingly, swallowing what was inside in her mouth and licking off what she could reach with her tongue.

Janr could honestly say that she liked the tase of his semen. It was warm, musky, slightly salty, and an odd smell that she couldn't get enough of. She brought one of her hands up to clean off her face, and the other continued to tease her clitoris, which she had begun doing somewhere in the middle of the blowjob. In fact, she had already come twice. Janr noticed that she was one who came climaxed quite easily and often, especially to Tozomat. She had not came nearly as much with her previous partners.

"Ah, perhaps I should return the favor? Miss Janr?" Said Tozomat with a dignified face that impressed Janr.

While she very much wanted to receive the attention of Tozomat's tongue and fingers down at her wet snatch, she also wanted a big hard cock in her pussy, and she wanted the latter even more than the former. Her own fingers and Tozomat's as well were too small to satisfy her. She eyed Tozomat's amazingly still hard dick and knew it was more than enough to fill her up. "I-I'm impressed at a demon of Lust's fortitude. Surely you have had many partners before?"

"Ahah... Well, to be honest, this will be my first time." Tozomat said with complete honesty. While it was true it was his first time, a demon of Lust, of any kind, has a sort of sexual instinct within them that will tell them what to do. "Don't worry though, allow me to be confident enough that I will prove to be quite satisfying for your exquisite tastes." Tozomat romantically stroked Janr's blushing face as he pushed her into a comfortable position that would allow both parties to adjust and enjoy intercourse easily.

"Your first time? Really?" Janr was slightly bewildered at the thought. In fact, she thought it was completely impossible for a demon of any Sin, and especially Lust, to stay a virgin for a prolonged period of time. Not that she minded, in actuality, she thought it was quite special for her to be taking the virginity of Tozomat. "Well, just do what comes natural, I've already came twice to you, and I'm sure you can get me to cum more..." Her words trailed off as she blushed again and gasped as Tozomat took action.

Tozomat already had his cock aligned with Janr's wet folds, which he lubricated his shaft with beforehand. He teased the entrance with his shaft's head several times, prodding the clitoris and rubbing the labia. Yet teasing would not satisfy Tozomat, and his member wanted to climax once more. He inserted the head slowly, but of course even that wouldn't be enough for both the demon and the Jotun. Janr's pussy practically inhaled Tozomat's shaft as he immediately went for full penetration. With the gates open, Tozomat wasted no time in ravishing Janr.

Janr squealed cutely as she felt herself getting filled up completely from the inside. The invader pried open her walls and had its way with the inside of her vagina. She reflexively clamped down on the shaft with her wet walls, squeezing it tightly. She could even feel the throbbing veins from inside the member, as it ribbed its way through towards the back of her pussy with each hard thrust.

Tozomat had no trouble in keeping up with his swift pelvic thrusts, due to his stamina greatly increasing during his training. A resistance to extreme pain was not the only thing shadow manipulation gave you, but extreme flexibility and agility. Tozomat could safely reach out and grab Janr's breasts without fear of losing his pace. He continued to pound his dick in and out of Janr's blue nether lips as he fondled her breasts.

Janr immediately came again, her juices coating around Tozomat's crotch, as she felt Tozomat's hands on her breasts and nipples. He playfully pinched, pulled, and rolled the hard pods in his fingers and he continued to competently stab into the Jotun's wet, blue pussy. Janr wrapped her legs around Tozomat, encircling him and pulling him closer to her body.

With just enough room, Tozomat continued to pound away into Janr's folds, piercing the entrance to her womb each time. Janr moaned every time the head or more of Tozomat's cock entered her pushed away the tight walls and entered her womb.

After only a couple minutes of sex, Janr had climaxed again. She would have moaned loudly, but she muffled her voice by kissing Tozomat with pure, unrestrained lust. How much longer can he last? She wondered. Her question was answered when she ended the kiss and stared into Tozomat's eyes.

It was while their gaze was locked that Tozomat then did climax for a second time into Janr's snatch. The Jotun's juices intermixed with Tozomat's seed, mixing what she imagined to be a nice concoction. The two held their position for a while longer as Tozomat continued to spend all of his white seed into Janr's pussy. It was when his panting died down that he then left the tight walls that he had come to grown attached to.

The two relished the afterglow as they both lay down on the bed, mixing with the blankets and eventually falling asleep.

-

My confession... My victory... My first... That was undoubtedly the three most important and positive events of my life, yet it doesn't mean anything more. Mother? I never found the man with the star shaped scar. Perhaps you may find it in your hear to forgive me for killing you, because I will not... After all, I'm a weak executioner.

All these thoughts raced through Tozomat as his life almost literally flashed before his eyes. He was most assuredly not going to live very much longer, not even possible healing magic from the Lord's... Grimoire may help.

How regrettable, am I that useless?

'*Cough* May-ergh... May I ask for some words with my Lord? To say good bye and a-among other things..." Now was not the time to refuse to speak, Tozomat told himself. He said this to Archibald, whom had just dealt the ending blow to their duel.

"Hrm... Very well, your were at least gracious enough to allow Veronica her last words to say goodbye, even if it was not for very long." Archibald surprisingly gave a merciful reply, it did not match his previous vengeful demeanor. "Ah, thank you. You fought marvelously, as did Veronica of Greed." Archibald nodded motioned for a hesitant Lord of Lust to come down and speak to Tozomat. It was only when Tozomat weakly gestured as well that The Lord of Lust came.

The young Lord of Lust seemed sorrowful at the sight of the downed Tozomat and kneeled down to speak to the lesser demon. Tozomat spoke first, "Ah my honorable L-Lord... Permission to speak freely?"

"Of course." Without hesitance, the young Lord of Lust revoked the previous Lord's decree that Tozomat spoke too much and should talk less.

"A-*cough*... Thank you." Tozomat then pulled off the pendant from around his neck and balled it up, before handing it off to the Lord of Lust. The Lord of Lust accepted it quizzically, "Ah, th-that is my mother's pendant. Please grant my request when I ask you to take it. Also, please find a demon with a star shaped scar... And kill him, torture him, do whatever you want... But please bring him to justice." Tozomat coughed up more blood, as he was rendered unable to speak and breathe due to his esophagus being clogged up.

Janr? What did you do when we parted?

Tozomat closed his eyes and thus, the Romance of Lust was no more.

"..." The young Lord of Lust was at a loss for words, as he did not no a good way to react to the depressing situation. What he did know, was that there was a hostile enemy next to him, and he would undoubtedly do battle. "You will be my opponent, it seems."

"Apparently so, Lord Rainer of Lust. Let us finish this quickly, as I'm sure we both want to bury our friends and only one of us will be able to do it." Said Archibald with a grimace.

The Lord of Lust, Rainer had pangs of revenge swirling within him. He had barely known the taciturn and reticent Tozomat. He had only known that he was the most dedicated of all of the pillar members, working nonstop as if to relinquish himself of any permanent sins. Rainer told himself he would surely find the one with the star shaped scar and exact Tozomat's last request, but now, he had to fight off Tozomat's killer.

"Ohohoh... I am so looking forward to testing myself with this damnable magic."



The Lost Lord Ch. 17



Note: Been awhile, hasn't it. The main reason for my lateness was my extreme laziness and lack of motivation. I mean, c'mon! I'm doing this fo' free, so gimmie a little break. The second reason was follow up surgery on what the doctors had done to me a while ago. It wasn't pleasant so I'll leave the gory details to you. Also, no sex this chapter just so ya'll know. Couldn't really figure out a decent way to fit in any sex without extending the chapter by several thousand words, and I'm too lazy for that. Around 10,000 to 11,000 or less is my max for each chapter.

 Ch. 17 - We Have Our Reasons to Fight

   "ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO!" An imperious voice yelled this out as it placed a foot on top of an unconscious body.

   Asmodea, a red succubus looked onward as she saw her ally, Sitri, sleeping under the aggressor's body. Her group consisting of Asmodea, Sitri, and Little Rouge had received a sneak attack from two enemies. It was a well thought out attack and the sneak attack managed to knock Sitri unconscious. A black demon, and Sitri at that, normally would never fall prey to such a lowly tactic. And yet, it happened; that was no mean feat their enemy, two of the Parish, could accomplish. They well deserved their name.

   Asmodea checked on Little Rouge, who was now currently engaged in a fight against her fallen angel enemy. Little Rouge could more than handle herself in a fight; in fact, she was probably the most capable fighter in the Pillar of Lust.

   Asmodea inspected her enemy. It was a man, a Pride demon, and he was half naked. While his flamboyant demeanor was not out of a desire to be an exhibitionist, it seemed that in order to fight, the demon needed to have part of his body uncovered. The Pride demon had light blue skin and appendages. He had the normal demonic horns and tail, but no wings. He wore baggy cargo pants that seemed like he had acquired from the human world. Also, apart from his shoes and pants, he wore no clothing. While cloths did not cover his skin, a large range of tattoos did. Numerous tattoos covered his body; each with an impeccable drawing that would rival many artists. Other than his bare hands, the demon had no weapons around his body.

   Deciding to play the passive card, Asmodea asked this, "And what might your name be, good sir?"

   The imperious voice replied, "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

   Asmodea's eyebrows twitched, "It is... Asmodea."

   "Do I really need to give my name to every random enemy I come across? Fine, call me Reginald of the Parish." The imperious voice gave its name and continued its arrogance.

   Asmodea then added another person to her dislike list. "Now I request... No, I demand you get your thrice damned foot off the Daughter of Sin."

   Reginald tilted his head confused, "Why, what in the world do you mean? I mean, sure, I've got my foot on a piece of trash that couldn't even withstand a simple sneak attack mind you. I really don't think this trash below me is a true Daughter of Lust."

   Their conversation then turned into a mud-slinging contest of words, "Worm, do not even think for a second that you can hope to match Sitri in open combat, much less combat me."

   "OH MY! Didn't you insult this trash below me just now? Technically. Gosh, all I did was inject a little bit of poison in her and... SLUMP! Down she goes onto the ground." Reginald shrugged as if the situation meant nothing to him.

   Asmodea never saw how Reginald managed to knock Sitri unconscious, and it turned out to be some type of poison. She would have to be careful. What kind of poison was it? Deadly or non deadly? Did he have an antidote? Of course, the real question was: How did Reginald even manage to inject that poison in the first place? Poison released through the air would not have been effective, as their current environment had swift winds coursing around them. Liquid poison would have been most effective, but was severely reduced in ways of how to get the poison induced. The only viable way that Asmodea could gather was being poisoned by direct contact.    Yet how could Reginald have done that? Asmodea saw no weapons or anything that could carry poison in Reginald's possession. It was a mystery that Asmodea could only find out in combat.

   "Really, I would never have expected such a cowardly way to finish off an opponent from a prideful demon." Goaded Asmodea.

   "Uh... In case you forgot. I'm a damn assassin? In fact, I'm really the only one on my team that even bothers with stealth and true assassination. Whether it is by poison, blade, or natural causes, I will arrange my target's demise. And if needed, I will fight in an up front battle. I sure hope you can provide suitable entertainment for me." Reginald haughtily returned his words.

   How did Reginald fight? Is he a master of unarmed combat? Does he have any weapons in his pants or shoes? Asmodea continued to ponder Reginald's skill set. She had long ruled out magic, as she sensed absolutely zero latent magical power in Reginald's body. Her question was answered, with a twist.

   Charging straight in, Asmodea rushed towards Reginald, swinging her claymore into Reginald's body. It was a simple maneuver, one that Reginald easily and stylishly jumped over. With an acrobatic feat, Reginald swiftly kicked his shoe, in mid air, at Asmodea. She knocked the shoe out of her way, only to find Reginald's foot no longer inhabiting the shoe.

   Reginald landed and kicked his other shoe straight at Asmodea's stomach while also kicking his bare foot into Asmodea's knees. The red succubus arced her sword, slicing the shoe in half while also blocking the bare foot with the cold metal of the sword.

   "I'M IMPRESSED! You don't see many who can see through my opening." Reginald spoke his first positive words towards his opponent in quite a long time.

   Reginald was very skilled, Asmodea could gather than. Yet she soon realized that his martial capabilities was not all that Reginald had up his sleeveless body.

   Reginald stabbed forward with his hand. Asmodea jumped back, avoiding the blow, but soon felt something penetrating her armor. A glowing, transparent, and green snake bit through her armor. Asmodea pulled the snake out just before it was about to bite into her body. The snake appeared out of nowhere, but Asmodea followed the snake's body only to find it connected to Reginald's arms.

   Apparently, the tattoos on Reginald's body could take form and attack as if they were tangible. How in the world did Reginald gather enough magical power, from his body vacant of magic, to do this?

   "Is this how you poisoned Sitri?" Asked Asmodea.

   "Eh, I suppose I poisoned the trash with this ability of mine. Almost got you too."

   "How can you even gather this magical power? I have never seen anything like this. Creating tangible existences of your tattoos, that should be impossible for you." Asked Asmodea as she and Reginald exchanged several more blows.

   "If you managed to cut me once, I think I'll tell you then. Maybe. NOW COME ON!" Bellowed Reginald, he was excited for this fight.

   Asmodea's masterfully crafted armor managed to deflect and stop the less powerful attacks, but it crumbled like butter under Reginald's more heated strikes.

   At one point, both of them ended up on crumbling structures eight meters away from each other. Reginald unleashed a ranged tattoo at Asmodea at that point. On his shoulders, Reginald created two mounted guns. The display looked comical to Asmodea, who had to stifle a laugh, but she soon realized that all of his tattoos were no jokes.

   Both guns fired deadly bullets at Asmodea, each racing towards the succubus at speeds that no normal being could see. Yet Asmodea was no normal being. The red succubus deflected one bullet while nimbly dodging the other. And before Reginald could fire any more, Asmodea sliced her claymore in a forward arc at the Pride demon. From the arc the sword slashed in, misty energy sped off towards Reginald as Asmodea revealed her own form of a ranged attack.

   Reginald was genuinely surprised, he never figured that Asmodea could or would use a ranged attack. The misty energy mostly missed Reginald thanks to his reflexes, but it managed to land a small cut just below his left knee. "Hey! How'd you do that?"

   "I will show you mine if you show me yours. I cut your leg." Asmodea smiled with a mischievous, seductive quality.

   Reginald raised an eyebrow before shrugging, "Fine then. As promised, I'll tell you the secret of my tattoos. Its simple really, I had an artist make these tattoos out of special ink. I reaped the soul of an Archmage several hundred years back, and I infused the vast power of that soul in the ink the artist used to make my tattoos. And I'm sure you can gather the rest."

   Right when Reginald mentioned the bit about the Archmage's soul, she understood. This particular variety of souls are quite unpredictable. And its power can come in an infinite amount of forms. So in Reginald's case, the soul's power helped him form tangible realities of his tattoos.

   "Very well. My sword is a famous one in the human world. I acquired it during my time of protecting my precious lord in the human world this past eighteen years. Perhaps you have heard of the hero, William Wallace? This is his sword. The Wallace Sword is quite powerful, and it perfectly suits my tastes when it comes to weapons. This blade gathered its power over the time it was wielded by its user."

   "REALLY? I see, it is quite interesting actually. Elizabeth over there... Whoa, their fight's getting pretty intense. Elizabeth wields a pretty famous weapon herself, though you can find out should you somehow manage to defeat me. LET'S GET BACK TO THINGS NOW!" Bellowed Reginald.

   The blue Pride demon unleashed two more bullets from his gun tattoos before releasing them and forming another tattoo's reality. He formed brilliantly white angelic wings on his back and flew towards Asmodea.

   Asmodea stopped the two bullets with another of her sword's energy slashes. She wasn't surprised that Reginald had angelic wings for his tattoo instead of demonic ones. He was probably going for style and uniqueness points there. It was the most contrasting thing Asmodea had seen in her life. Angelic wings on a demon, it was as contrasting as the simple matter of light against dark, ground against the sky, and of course Little Rouge versus Caetorum.

   Reginald sped off at Asmodea at fast speed, his wings practically frozen in the air. He sliced his arm forward, with the snake biting and glancing off Asmodea's blade. He struck upward with his fist, aiming for the chin. The fist connected, but the magic snake bounced off of Asmodea's metal gauntlet that she brought in to counter Reginald.

   Asmodea went on the offensive herself after slicing at Reginald's neck. She chopped downwards and upwards, she stabbed at his eyes and at his groin, and she also shot forth another burst of misty energy towards Reginald.

   Reginald brought out another hidden tattoo, which was located on his right underarm. This particular tattoo was a gaudily colored tower shield that he used to block Asmodea's blasts of misty energy.

   It was all but a stalemate.

-

   It may be a stalemate for the battle between Asmodea and Reginald... The fight for Little Rouge and Elizabeth however, was nearing its end; in Elizabeth's favor.

   "I must admit... You are quite the opponent. Even for a member of the Pillar of Lust, you have far exceeded my expectations. Are you sure this is all you can do?" Confident and cold words came from Elizabeth.

   Elizabeth is a member of a rumored assassination group named the Parish. She is not your normal member of a demonic group, as she is a Fallen Angel. Greyed-blonde hair rested on her head, which was bound back by a simple, silver circlet. She wore matching silver (colored) armor with assorted gold embossments. An unstrung bow was fastened to her back. Her most prominent feature was her daggers. Two long and sharp daggers were placed in each of her clenched hands. Both daggers were symmetrically similar, in both design and color. Yet despite that, both daggers were centimeters shy of being classed as short swords. They both branched off on opposite sides of the daggers, branching off into a sharp hook.

   While she spoke confidently, Elizabeth was panting as if she had been through a severely tough ordeal. Numerous scratches marred her uncovered skin. There was one partial gash that dug into her armor on her hip, which met her flesh. And while she was in this state, her opponent, Little Rouge was in a far worse state.

   The red succubus stood proudly several meters away from Elizabeth with her arms draped down, her legs lazily holding her body up, and plenty of wounds and battle scars decorated her body. The most serious of them was a clear hole that rested just below her bosom. It was a fairly small hole, but it cleared all the way through her body. Little Rouge had miraculously stopped the bleeding a while ago, but it was still a serious wound that required serious medical attention. An arm was nearly severed, however Little Rouge had luckily got off with only a fourth of her arm chopped by the daggers. Those two wounds aside, numerous cuts and gashes littered her body.     While she was in this state, she could confidently say that this wasn't the worst Little Rouge has endured. In fact, she once had an arm severed from her shoulder, but she got it re-attached in time for it to successfully make use of the arm.

   Despite all this, Little Rouge held a curious, smiling expression on her face: her eyes were closed as if daydreaming, she hummed a cheerful hymn, and her cheeks puffed in an out playfully. "That's quite the compliment! ♡" Said Little Rouge as she relaxed and bounced jovially.  "Ohhhhh I've got plenty more... I'mmmmm having tooooo fun tooooo lose here! I III suppose IIIII will try harder now. ♡"

   Elizabeth frowned, "You were not trying before? I find that hard to believe you would allow yourself to be injured to this extent without fighting for your life... How is it you can even stand up with your wounds?" Elizabeth ruffled her black feathers, clearly unhappy with the situation.

   "Hmmmm? What's wrong? I'mmmmm giving you aaaaa handicap! ♡"

   "Handicap?"

   "Yup! I'mmmmm suppressing myyyyy adrenaline sooooo as tooooo enjoy the yummiest pain to the fullest! I'mmmmm the Fetishes ooooof Lust, after all! ♡" Little Rouge gave off an oddly radiant demeanor coupled with her widest smile. This was an exceptionally tough battle where Little Rouge had accumulated a number of pleasurably painful wounds; she wanted to enjoy it a little bit longer.

   "You... Have no desire to shield yourself from my attacks? All merely for your disturbing masochistic... Fetish?" Elizabeth scrunched her facial features into a confused expression. If that was true, she was not inflicting all of these wounds simply because of her skill, but the fact that Little Rouge allowed it. At least, that would be the case if Little Rouge was not bluffing.

   Elizabeth glanced at Little Rouge and surveyed her opponent: she showed no signs of fatigue, pain, or even concern. All she saw was her opponent's face twisted into a rather scary smiling expression. Little Rouge licked the blood off of her lips. She clapped the metal palms of her gauntlets onto her cheek, as if savoring the taste.

   Only silence purveyed the field, which was broken partially by the continuing battle between Asmodea and Reginald. One would think Little Rouge had the disadvantage due to her choice of weaponry. She wore a type of thin metal armor over her hands and feet, both fashioned into deadly claws and talons. Gruesome hand to hand combat was Little Rouge's preference, as she liked to be in the thick of the bloody carnage. And she normally is at the disadvantage against many opponents with weapons, as they had longer reach and space to avoid her lethal claw weapons. Yet that provided the added challenge and thrill to the frequent and brutal fights Little Rouge enjoyed so much. Nothing was going to stop her from enjoying her prey. And if she died in the process searching for her thrill, well... That hasn't happened so far, has it?

   "Had enough ooooof a rest cute little angel girl? ♡" Said Little Rouge to Elizabeth. In normal circumstances, such as a random every lustful thrill that Little Rouge got herself into, she would have enjoyed toying with Elizabeth, she was quite cute after all.

   Elizabeth gritted her teeth, considering Little Rouge's demeanor, the fallen angel felt that she was at a clear disadvantage. If she had any hope of winning this fight, she had to deal only lethal blows from now on. She could afford no mistakes and petty cuts, only absolute perfection.

   Elizabeth shot forth five bolts of light, each angling towards Little Rouge at a different direction (she's a Fallen Angel and thus she has light magic from when she was an angel). Dashing off while using the bolts as cover, Elizabeth held the pommels of her daggers perpendicular to her palms, ready to strike.

   Little Rouge was waiting for this sort of attack, she had already received one extremely painful bolt of light through her chest, and while it did feel good, she did not believe she could survive many more. Light was poison to demons, Little Rouge knew that much and didn't want to stick around for much longer. Death, even a pleasurable one, should of course be avoided. The red succubus sidestepped the bolts of light and set up her guard so as to block Elizabeth's daggers.

   The daggers met Little Rouge's metal gauntlets; sparks were created between the friction of each two's metal implements. Little Rouge kicked upwards with her metal boot that consisted of sharp talons. While they didn't hit too deeply, the succubus managed to inflict another small wound into the Fallen Angel's fair skin. Elizabeth winced at the slight increase of pain, but persevered and let out a flurry of frantic attacks with her daggers; all of which Little Rouge swept to the side with her powerful clawed arm.

   Elizabeth surrounded one dagger with light and sliced it backwards. It managed to land a sizable cut on Little Rouge's left forearm. Little Rouge cursed the efficiency at which angels could use their magic, though she also moaned happily at the pain.

   Very few species, which demons and humans and most humanoid species were excluded from, could use magic innately. Angels were one of those few that could. They were born with the innate ability to wield light magic and could call it from their very core and soul. That is the reason why angels do not need to chant incantations for their light magic; it is the same with Aureal when it comes to both her light and dark magic.

   Eventually, after plenty of exchanges, the two of them came to a frantic grapple contest. Both Little Rouge and Elizabeth were locked in a position that forced them to hold on to each other and attempt to overpower one another. If either let go or lost the power exchange, they would be gutted and impaled on their enemies' weapons.

   As if the most intense game of arm wrestling was occurring right now, both players stared into each other's eyes, sweating and pouring all their might into the outcome. Little Rouge grinned as she slowly began to overpower the less muscled opponent. "How's that! Entertain mmmmme a little bit longer please! ♡"

   Elizabeth was concentrating too much on the grappling in order to formulate a proper amount energy to bring out light magic, yet just because she was born innately with magic didn't mean she couldn't chant incantations. "Light of a thousand suns... Heaven's own door be closed to me..." Elizabeth slowly chanted this while staring deep into Little Rouge's cheerful face.




The Lost Lord Ch. 17



Little Rouge, while not one to panic, began to panic in her mind.

   "I call upon Muspell's own grace and radiance!" Fiery light erupted from Elizabeth's daggers; with the epicenters being the tips of the hooks. Elizabeth felt the balance in their grappling exchange begin immediately change.

   Muspell, the world of flame's own light shot forth from the daggers into Little Rouge. Elizabeth had to clamp her eyes shut due to the extreme radiance of the light before her, lest it burn out her eyes. She could finally hear cries of pain coming from Little Rouge, the lethal attack had connected.

   Approximately twelve seconds passed until Elizabeth was confident enough to open her eyes again. Yet before she did, she felt a piercing pain on her neck. Immediately focusing her gaze on her neck, she saw a bloody row of sharpened teeth biting away a large lump of flesh from her neck. The fallen angel began to convulse and spit out blood as she saw what happened.

   The light magic did connect, as she could see a two large wounds decorating Little Rouge. The first was a completely severed right arm from the elbow down. The severed limb was lying on the ground somehow still twitching. And the second wound was a missing clump of flesh from the same area in Little Rouge's body where she had just bitten into on Elizabeth's own body.

   Elizabeth, in her death throes, silently complimented the one who killed her.

   As she could not talk, she could only think about a two people who have played a pivotal role in her life. 'Archibald...? I do love you and you did well by me for turning me to Sin. Though I now realize I loved him more... Thank you Linias.'

   "That was... Sooooo good! I-I really need too-to take a long nap. ♡" Little Rouge said sweetly to herself. She had never experienced such a large amount of injuries before, this was a perfect opponent. She was still unsure if she could live for much longer, though if she put herself under a special spell, she could prolong her life in order for her comrades to re-attach her severed limb and stitch together her wounds. Though there would be no point to that if Asmodea lost, as that seemed how her battle was going.

-

   "Tsk, tsk. Elizabeth lost did she?" Reginald sighed as he and his opponent, Asmodea took another mutual and tense break.

   "Are you going to call her trash and scold her dead body for losing?" Asked Asmodea innocently.

   "Ah, not this time. Even though she did fail... And miserably at that. I've heard of this Little Rouge, and she is apparently not a pleasant opponent to fight. So I'll give her props for kicking the shit out of that bitch, she looks like she'll fall over any second now. What joy!"

   Asmodea, being the seductive one, stretched out and yawned before taking her stance again. "The spirit of this sword, no longer shall you remain dormant. Awaken to your true lust for battle and attain victory!" Chanted Asmodea.

   Swords and weapons like hers who had been in prominent and active members of history have always held a reclusive power. Only those who knew its secrets or have lived and fought with it long enough could hope to bring out this power. This power could come in different forms. It depended on many factors that pertained to the original owner of the weapon. In Asmodea's case, the Wallace Sword of the leader of the Scottish rebellions in medieval Britain, the sword seemed to grant power over mists... Though that made practically no sense to Asmodea who had only been with the sword for two years now. She somehow managed to unlock the blade's secrets and could wield the sword's mists to its fullest.

   "That's right. Your sword is quite famous like you said. Let's DO THI-" And Reginald fell silent.

   The blue demon slumped over revealing a bloody and severely injured figure that belonged to Little Rouge.

   "Shut uuuuup! Gosh you're annoying.♡" Little Rouge somehow managed to bring these words out using up her last bits of strength.

   "You must have had fun... I wish you did not ruin mine and stopped him before I could unleash my sword." Asmodea said as she let out a smile in the corner of her mouth.

   "Yea yea... III-I need toooo sleep now. Dooooo that thing you dooooo for meee-me. I obviously can't gooooo on for much longer with any healing. ♡" Little Rouge requested Asmodea to cast a spell on her that allowed her a deep sleep that slowed down the bodily functions, almost ceasing them. As explained before, it allowed Little Rouge to stay alive for an extending duration of time so that she could receive attention to her wounds at a later date that her wounds should not have provided.

   Wasting no time, Asmodea weaved the spell, "The sun may be up and the moon may be down. Yet thy rest shall come to you."

   Little Rouge rested peacefully on a flat rock. She did not need to worry about the Vanishing Storm coming around again as this rock was located under a covered, partially sunk room. "Now that you are taken care of... We can come back for you later, Rouge." Asmodea placed a small gem next to Little Rouge that would act as a beacon for when she and hopefully the rest of her group could find her at a latter time. "And how about you, Reginald of the Parish? I really do not mind killing you."

   "Hey now! Let's not kill him yet." A voice that Asmodea was slightly overjoyed to hear reached her ears, Sitri.

   "I apologize for letting an esteemed Daughter of Lust to be knocked unconscious like just that. I trust the poison has been sifted out of your body?"

   "Yes, it is quite lucky that the poison turned out to be of the non-lethal variety, and that it didn't last all that long." Sitri said calmly. On a side note, since her poisoning and to the end of the fight where she woke up, approximately forty-five minutes had passed. "Here, as for handling this Reginald fellow, let's bind him so as he cannot move or wield his tattoos. I could make out bits of your fight through my sleep. It should count as a down for his side if he cannot fight back, right? Might as well use the resources at our disposal as a hostage or something like that."

   Taking Sitri's idea as meritous, Asmodea and Sitri bound Reginald tightly in a convenient band of rope they pilfered from Elizabeth's corpse. It wasn't long for Reginald to wake up and take realization of his predicament. He took one look at Asmodea, one look at Sitri, and one look at his bindings and said, "Fuck."

   "Now, as people say to all their captives, 'Come with us the easy way and you won't be harmed.'" Chirped Asmodea, she was having quite a bit of fun here. She had her sword out and pointed it at Reginald.

   Sitri herself had slanted her eyebrows in annoyance at Reginald, mainly because he had poisoned her earlier. "Yes, we might let you live, if we manage to survive this contest, only if you keep still and kindly shut the hell up when we need you to. Also, no more poison!"

   Reginald rolled his eyes, while he seemed to hold no animosity towards his captors, he also regarded them with discontent. "My poison only dissipated from your system due to my falling unconscious. As it is poison produced from the snakes on my arms, I also have to put forth energy in order to keep the poison going. That's a free tip for you. Can we get fucking going now?"

   "Not yet, tell me where the rest of your group is, and about their abilities. I really don't want to turn into Teras here, so let's get along now, mmmk?" Said Asmodea as she got her bad cop routine into gear.

   "Eh, considering the fact that I hate getting tortured, which is what I assume turning into Teras means, and I dislike dying... I don't mind telling you. Elizabeth and I had separated from Avandar and Luce not too long ago, on our own volition. As for the rest of the group, I would have no idea. Though one of us apparently spotted the jaguar man, Yaotl the other day. Huh, just now... Veronica died, give or take an hour or two. Good for you, eh?" Reginald had no hesitation in his voice, he held no loyalty to the ones who had only just became his comrades. He wetted his tongue as he continued, "As for abilities... I know little of our temporary comrades. Considering the deaths of Elizabeth and Veronica, I see no need in telling you about them, also the same for me. Archibald, he is very skilled with his swords, he also knows some basic but potent fire magic. Forsythe, whom I despise... Lucifer himself only knows why he is friends with Archibald and Elizabeth. Forsythe holds contracts with a plethora of disturbing creatures. I shudder to think about his strongest ones, well, his freakiest ones. I know nothing about Yaotl and Chigaru, so I'll skip them. Luce, he's a Djinn who also makes use of summoning magic that is fairly similar to Forsythe, though with creatures that are not all organic. And Avandar, and I have no idea why he has it, wields Old Age."

   Out of all the descriptions, Reginald's final one shocked Asmodea and Sitri the most.

   "Lord's personal sword... Gifted to him by Death himself."

   "Father's sword, how in the-! Arazra..."

   Asmodea marveled while Sitri seethed. Both were equally curious about this Avandar and why Arazra trusted him enough to allow him to make use of most likely one of the seven most powerful weapons in the seven circles.

   A long, very long mind you, time ago, Death separated his scythe into seven different weapons and gifted one to each Ruler of Sin. He allowed them to use the weapons as they saw fit: wield the weapons themselves, give them to others, or lock them away.

   Old Age was given to the Lord of Lust, Asmodeus, obviously. It is a simple, but also elegant sword. It is also considered the strangest and most secretive of the weapons.

   Sacrifice was given to the Prince of Pride, Lucifer. It is a ruthless, yet solemn axe. As mentioned by Nerissa before, the Altruism of Pride currently wields it.

   Famine was given to the Emperor of Envy, Leviathan. It is a wild and reaping whip. Its power has defeated many cities and broken many sieges.

   Affliction was given to the General of Gluttony, Beelzebub. It is a versatile, yet unpredictable halberd. It is said that this weapon can change form so as to provide numerous 'heads' for the polearm to wield, though that is not all of its power.

   Disaster was given to the Governor of Greed, Mammon. It is a harrowing and destructive hammer. It is considered to be potentially the strongest of the weapons.

   Strife was given to the Warmaster of Wrath, Satan. It is a cold, harsh, and quick gun. Ever since its creation, it is said that current and previous Warmasters have never used the weapon.

   Decay was given to the Shah of Sloth, Belphegor. It is a quiet and somber sickle. Its power is considered to be the scariest and most unavoidable should it be wielded.

   Yet there was one more rumor about the weapons, one that Death neither confirmed nor denied. One that none of the Ruler of Sins or hundreds of scholars have managed to find out. And it was one that was most likely to never be confirmed. It was said that if all seven weapons were gathered together under one master, it would reform into Death's Scythe, a weapon of unimaginable power only known to Death himself.

   It was extremely surprising and unfathomable as to why Arazra gave such a powerful weapon to a random, though most likely quite skilled, mercenary. "I knew that Old Age went missing about a year after the Lord's death... But to think it ended up in the hands of the Lord's son." Asmodea said this to Sitri as they pondered that situation.

   "Brother obviously stole the sword, when it was obviously not meant for him. He probably believes he is entitled to all of father's belongings. Arrogant prick."

   As Sitri insulted her brother, Reginald quietly observed his captors. Trash and Asmodea, he decided it was probably safer for him if he from now on called Trash by her actual name, Sitri. He was tightly bound with no wiggle room in the slightest, even his fingers were individually tied up.    The only way to survive the situation was buckle up his pride, for once, and follow their demands.

   "It doesn't matter the why, for now, all we need to focus on is the where the sword is and take it back. Hey, Reginald is it? How did you know that this Veronica is dead?" Interrogated Asmodea.

   "Ah, how about I skip how I can do that and just tell you that I can show you where the rest of my group is? Though only Archibald and Forsythe." The prideful demon showed no care or regard for his fellow comrades. He gave his shallow reason as to why next, "I don't particularly care for men. I only joined this group because of Veronica and Elizabeth, and now that they're dead, I see no reason whatsoever to provide the rest of my comrades any more loyalty."

   Sitri raised an eyebrow, "You're definitely a demon. Whatever, point us towards the closest one. It would be great to completely finish this before the arrival of the Vanishing Storm."

   And so Reginald took a brisk pace as he led Asmodea and Sitri off in search of one of his comrades.

-

   "Let me handle this despicable creature and his vile servants." Said the beautiful, pale Fallen Angel, Aureal. She and her two friends were originally ambushed by the Gluttony demon, Forsythe.

   Forsythe had launched a quick ambush with several vile creatures that didn't even look like they belonged to the circles. He was a strangely skinny fellow, at least strangely skinny for a demon of Gluttony. His greenish hair pointed upwards on the side of his head as if it was a crown. He wore a deep blue sweater with buttons. His lower body wore thin baggy pants and he went barefoot. All in all, he looked quite unkempt and disgusting. He wore no armor, he looked quite confident without it anyways. 

   While Aureal said this to her friends, Nerissa and Lauren, she swiftly smashed down her hammer onto a mole like creature that jumped at her from behind a rock. Its skull, if it had one, was immediately crushed and its blood bubbled once it came into contact with the searing sunlight.

   Both Nerissa and Lauren rushed off to face the newcomers while also wishing Aureal good luck. In the current situation, without knowing the power level of their enemies, Aureal was without a doubt the most powerful of them. And while Nerissa was ashamed to admit it, she believed Lauren was slightly more powerful than she was. It also made sense that Aureal should fight one of the demons and not the Djinn enemy. And out of the two demons, Forsythe was the more troubling one with his numerous, revolting, and annoying servant creatures. Even then, the other demon was wielding Old Age. Nerissa wanted to fight him and take that sword for her fiancée, which would surely please him.

   "Lauren, I'll fight the demon. I'm curious as to why he has that sword with him. You take the Djinn, I think he's heading for you anyways." Nerissa informed Lauren of her desire of whom to fight and her perception of the enemy.

   Lauren's eyes flared as she watched the Djinn pacing himself as he walked towards them. "I agree, he reminds me of something that I can't put my finger on." Lauren then chanted an incantation,

"I call upon thy intimate pact

Being of the shunned and darkness

Wendigo's indomitable grace!"

   The Wendigo, a creature born from a shunned activity in the human world and born of humans themselves. They had superior agility and stamina for when they need to hunt their prey.   That exact boost was what Lauren was given when she called upon that pact. Taking advantage of the pact's boost, she jumped onto a rock and launched herself off of it straight at the Djinn. Her strength and agility far superior than normal, Lauren shot forth like a rocket, holding her dagger outwards in an attempt to stab the Djinn. This attack was mainly for unsettling the opponent and making sure she got the first attack in.

   The Djinn was initially surprised but he easily swept the attack aside. The Djinn had a sort of tan blue skin color. Numerous, black tribal tattoos decorated his body. The tattoos were important for Djinn, the type and design affected how they would use magic in the future. In this case, they were designed for ritual summoning. The Djinn wore a set of thick leather straps covering his upper body with his arms bare. A thin, wrinkled, and grey robe fastened off at the waist covered his lower body; he also had sandals covering his feet. As for his weapon, the Djinn carried a scepter that could extend into a staff; at the tip of the scepter, there was a black pearl.

   "Yes... I do recognize you, you're the daughter of Mistress Le Fay, correct?" The Djinn suddenly asked this to Lauren. "I humbly request you call me Luce."

   Lauren was alarmed at what the Djinn asked her. The being known as Luce had asked if Lauren was the daughter of the famous witch Morgana LeFay. Lauren knew her mother's first name, and that she is a famous witch, but she did not know the actual identity of her mother.

   Lauren was unsure if Luce's assumption was correct or not, and she conveyed this to the Djinn. "I-I do not know who my mother is. I know her name, her first name, is Morgana. Also that she is an extremely powerful and immortal witch, though not who she actually is." Lauren saw no need to not answer Luce's question.

   "I see. I do know one way to find out though. Will you hear me out?" Luce splayed his arms out in a submissive manner, signaling that he truly wanted to talk and not fight, at least not yet.

   Lauren kept her dagger at the ready, though she released the pact that currently was affecting her. "Ah, please tell me how. I really want to know mother's identity. She taught me many things about witchcraft..."

   "You must have loved her." Commented Luce.

   "Hardly, I didn't know anything about her. How could you love one who has been with you for much of your life yet stayed so far away? Still, I wish to know the one who I should give thanks and my respect to." Lauren said with a downcast look to her face.

   "Then I request you give me a battle where you throw your all into. I will be able to tell through your skill and ability whether you are the true lost daughter of Mistress Le Fay. Though I bet you would have done that anyways." And with those words, he raised his scepter in a defensive stance, ready for whatever Lauren threw at him.

   Fight him eh? This thought went throughout Lauren's mind many times over. If she had to fight him in order to find out who her mother was, she would do it. Ever since Lauren had met with Rainer, she had been surrounded by demonic energy. And while it had not been a terribly long time since this energy had been affecting her, she could already see a noticeable difference in her strength. Also, in the realms separate from the human world, she found it easier to manipulate the magical essence of the world, which a witch relied upon. Because of this, Lauren could take advantage of her pacts in ways she could never have done in the human world. Instead of a partial summon, which resulted in a transformation of her body, she could perform a full summon and call upon the creature she formed a pact with herself. And Lauren knew what she wanted to call upon, the deadliest creature she had ever made a pact with.

"I call upon thy solid pact

From the frigid northern wastes

I call upon thee, Fáfnir

Not only give me your frozen breath

But be roused and breathe once more."

   Fáfnir, a dragon of ice of Norse mythology. How Lauren happened upon it and made a pact with it would be a story for another time. For Lauren, calling upon the full nature of a pact, and a dragon at that, was extremely tiresome and arduous. She had to call upon her back-up reserves of energy in order to keep moving. This was an all or nothing move that would end things on the first move, Lauren was making a big gamble. While dragons were obviously powerful, they were somewhat large and cumbersome. An agile being could easily run around and dodge its attacks.




The Lost Lord Ch. 17



The ground under Lauren and Luce rumbled and shook, as if a massive earthquake was occurring. The rocky ground split open and sand filled the crack. From between the crack in the ground, two mysterious blue orbs came into view. The orbs looked around, and it occurred to Lauren that the orbs were actually eyes, the eyes of Fáfnir.



   It took several seconds for the voice in Lauren to register with her brain. She could vaguely recognize the voice as the wise being known as Fáfnir. It was correct to say that Lauren has never taken advantage of their pact, as she found it quite impolite to call upon the aid of such a revered being as a tool for combat. Lauren didn't even intend to use this pact anytime soon, much less than use it during her fight with Luce. Yet when she found out that her opponent would be able to tell Lauren her mother's identity if they fought, she hesitated not one second in calling upon Fáfnir.



   Lauren strengthened the mental link with Fáfnir and said telepathically, 'I-I'm sorry, I did not wish to use you merely as a tool for random combat.'



   'My opponent, a Djinn named Luce may know of my mother's identity, and he does not mind telling me. Though he cannot know for certain unless he fights me and finds the similarities between me and mother.' Confessed Lauren to the dragon.



   'T-Thank you...'

   "To think you made a pact with a dragon... A dragon of ice affinity... You truly are powerful. Yet I cannot confirm if you are Mistress LeFay's daughter with just this. I will begin my assault." The Djinn said this while Lauren was speaking to Fáfnir in her mind. Luce then began a ritualistic dance to summon his own creatures.

   Summons and pacts are two different things. Summoning requires a being's complete subservience to its master and its will completely bended to the master's will, it usually cannot work on beings with strong will. Pacts require a mutual agreement between two beings, where both parties profit. In Lauren's case, she acquires power in combat; in the creature's case, they usually have some sort of task or requirement for the other party to fulfill. Luce dealt in summoning while Lauren dealt in pacts.

   Luce performed a complex dance while Lauren was speaking with Fáfnir telepathically, so he was given time to prepare. He summoned two beasts beside him. One was a creature that looked like the child of a wolf and panther, and obviously larger and fiercer than the both of those two animals; it also had leather wings to fly with. Luce called him Tyul. The second was a beast native to the lands the Djinn occupied in the Gardens of Greed, it had a thin layer of striped black and grey fur, a horn growing out of its chin and behind both ears, an extremely long and winding tail with a tuft of black fur, and two sets of eyes both symmetrically located under the ears. The species of creature was named the Blackened Triops, while Luce personally gave it the name of Kuam.

   When he was finished, he looked over and saw Lauren undertaking fully rejuvenated and ready for battle. Also, the ice dragon had mysteriously appeared from underground next to her. It had a set of beautiful and pure silver blue scales, long claws, misty breath, and it was about ten meters long and about five to six meters tall (not all dragons are as big as myths say, though all are still bigger than the biggest of elephants). He pondered several strategies on how to deal with the dragon, it would certainly be a tough endeavor. He knew his pets could handle the dragon for a suitable amount of time, and if needed he would have himself summon more from his reserve army of pets. Luce was only strong enough to control three at a time, but he could only manage to summon two before Lauren was ready. He gambled on the fact that his pets could hold off on the dragon long enough for him to beat down Lauren in a melee. Luce could also tell that Lauren only had enough strength to maintain the current contract.

   Fáfnir relieved Lauren with his supply of practically inexhaustible hoard of strength, though he was limited on how much he could give Lauren as dragon energy and the human body didn't always play well together. Still, Lauren was charged up and ready to go. She held her bare hand out and her dagger close in a stance ready for melee combat. Lauren steadied her glasses, positioning them so that they would not jiggle around during the fight. Also, Lauren's hair color changed yet again, her black hair also held strands dyed red and orange.



   "TYUL! KUAM! Keep the dragon busy! Do not let its breath reach me, I'll make sure to feed you quite the feast if you fight well!" Luce made sure to have his creatures know that they didn't have to attain victory, all they needed was to keep the dragon busy.

-

   *Pant, pant* Nerissa grasped for breath as she managed to parry another blow from the demon known as Avandar. Like all polite and honorable beings, they had introduced themselves and made each other known before they fought. Nerissa made it known that she wanted Avandar's sword, and she would do anything to get it. Avandar didn't say it outright, Nerissa could tell he was subtly saying he would decimate her.

   Avandar wore a set of mail armor colored shaded a dark grey, along with an open helmet on top. His shield looked like a square and circle morphed together with the circles being the sides and the square acting as the points. The shield had a black and blue coloring with a grey emblem in the middle. Nerissa could see a notable scar on Avandar's face, one that looked permanent. It was also fairly obvious that Avandar is a demon of Wrath.

   And while decimation was an obvious exaggeration, Nerissa was finding herself on the defensive more often than she wanted. During her eighteen years of life, she had made sure to receive the best education in everything, and of course swordplay was no different. The Plains of Pride's best swordsman trained her: the Perfection of Pride. A well known member of Pride's pillar, the Perfection of Pride obviously sought to be perfect at everything; so swordplay was no less of a goal to reach. He also sought to best the perfect teacher when showing Nerissa how to fight with a sword, he taught her many styles of swordplay: classical types of European fencing, several types of Kenjutsu, the Roman gladius, two handed swordplay, and an original school of demonic swordplay (that Perfection created himself) known as Unholy Cuts.

   Nerissa saw the main gap between her and Avandar was experience, the hardened mercenary has probably fought in dozens of battles and wars; while Nerissa has only fought in practice fights. Still, Nerissa was complimented by Perfection to be the most naturally talented swordfighter around her generation of student swordfighters. Nerissa was determined to make his words not be for naught. What was the point of being the wife of a Ruler of Sin if she could not slay a lowly mercenary?

   "Ach! This damned sword will not damn obey! I cannot fight with this damned sword acting like an inane child." Complained Avandar as he backed off from Nerissa. He lowered his sword and shield as he stared at his sword menacingly with no regard towards his opponent.

   Nerissa was confused, Old Age, while though it is an extremely powerful weapon of Death, it is still a normal sword. And that is where Nerissa would soon learn where she was wrong.

   "Fuck! I can't use this damned sword's damnable power just yet it seems, all I could do was force out that measly bit. Guess I'll have to rely on normal swordplay and magic. You're damn lucky this time little princess! So much for this damn sword playing the role of a trump card." Avandar sighed as he swung the sword around several times and slid it across his shield. He the mumbled some more words to himself that Nerissa didn't hear, though she could tell it was not an incantation.

   Nerissa readied herself in a different stance than she began with, a stance for Unholy Cuts style. While the normal stance for most swordplay required the user to stand with his side facing the enemy, his arm behind him, and his sword out, this style called for a different position. While the side facing the enemy was the same, Nerissa used both of her hands to hold up her sword with the tip facing Avandar, though at a slanted angle.

   Avandar advanced upon Nerissa with his shield raised to cover his upper body and the bottom of his face; he slashed twice at Nerissa with Old Age. Nerissa saw hesitation in the sword, though she found it strange that the sword hesitated and not Avandar himself. It was as if Old Age was resisting Avandar. Still, in the end Avandar managed to land his strikes, though they were cleanly deflected by Nerissa's stance.

   For the first time in a while, Nerissa got on the offensive, using her Unholy Cuts. The basis behind Unholy Cuts was to lure in the opponent and make them falter, even if by a slight amount, and by taking advantage behind that, Nerissa would immediately strike in the split-second while her opponent was readying for his next attack. This stance was perfect for Nerissa, and quite possibly her most powerful style, though not always the most convenient. Nerissa took advantage of the hesitation in Avandar's sword when he attacked and stabbed forward into his breast.

   So far, only Nerissa has received damage, fortunately only minor cuts and bruises. And yet the first major injury happened upon Avandar. Nerissa's sword gouged through the mail, slipping in between the separate links and entering the demon's flesh. The stab managed to enter the area just below the shield, so its defense was rendered void.

   Avandar cried out in pain as he immediately recoiled backwards. He swiped his shield around to force Nerissa to not continue the assault. Steeling himself, Avandar then tried to slash at the white demoness, but the sword acted on its own and resisted his command. Its resistance was more powerful this time and his slash was weakened, though it still managed to connect with Nerissa's sword.

   Nerissa parried the weak attack as she wondered why Avandar's attacks were getting weaker and weaker. She noticed that the sword seemed to resist again. Was that an effect the Old Age sword had on its wielder? What a strange sword... Those two sentences raced through her mind as Nerissa readied another attack.

   Nerissa stabbed her sword at an odd angle down at Avandar's shoulder while also attempting to hold the shield in its place. Avandar punched with the shield and knocked Nerissa off balance enough in order to have her sword just barely miss its target. Taking advantage, Avandar sliced at Nerissa's neck with all his might.

   Shit! I can't stop this! Nerissa said this to herself with a frantic state of mind, she had no realistic way of stopping her sword, though she still tried to raise her hands in time to stop it. Somehow, her sword hand made it in time to parry what should have been killing blow. Nerissa saw why as Old Age came to a halt this time, resting on Nerissa's blade.

   What happened at that moment was quite strange, stranger than any moment Avandar and Nerissa had ever encountered before. Both swords shivered and began to glow. At the tip of Old Age, the epicenter of the brightest of its glowing, a swirl of blackened energy seeped out. Some of it splashed onto the ground and dissipated while some floated up into the sky. Yet what was truly odd was that the majority of the black energy formed a thick strand and pulled itself out of Old Age and focused its direction into Nerissa's sword. The black thread like energy flowed into Nerissa's sword as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

   Both Avandar and Nerissa were surprised and attempted to separate themselves, but when they both pulled on their swords, they stumbled. While both parties could move their bodies, their swords would not budge and they floated in the air while the black energy continued to flow into Nerissa's blade. Eventually, as both Nerissa and Avandar watched the strange sight, the last of the ominous black energy flowed into Nerissa's sword and both weapons fell onto the ground, making a loud clattering noise.

   Nerissa slowly walked over to her sword and watched it. It seemed the same as usual, thinking that, Nerissa cautiously picked up the sword. Right when she touched the hilt, Nerissa was hit with a barrage of sensations. Pleasure and pain, hot and cold, salty and sweet, elation and boredom, smooth and rough, frozen and burnt, all these and many more raced through Nerissa's mind one after another. While this felt like tens of minutes to Nerissa, in actuality, it was only ten seconds. Eventually, the barrage of sensations ceased and silence purveyed Nerissa's mind.

   Nerissa opened her eyes to see that she was no longer in control of her body. While it moved and began to attack Avandar in order to continue the duel, she could not control her actions. Yet while she was not control, to Nerissa, it didn't feel like she was unconscious. Or more specifically, she could feel herself moving and attacking. "What in the-" Nerissa was suddenly cut off.

   'You, I like you.' 'Agreed, that other guy's a wee bit much.' 'Such grace!' 'That's Unholy Cuts, right?' 'Yea, you must be.' 'Really? Man only that one can go and create his own style of swordplay.' 'You all may be pleased, I for one don't see what you see in her.' 'What else is there? She's a pretty 'un at that.' 'Fucking dirty old fuck...'

   Numerous voices all began to speak, some Nerissa could make out, and others she could not. There must have been hundreds of voices speaking until all quieted down for what must have been the voice's leader. 'Lass, what you are seeing now is yourself fighting the one known as Avandar Rdsa Nuir. You are literally fighting and thinking right now as yourself in the outside world. Though you are also moving and thinking autonomously here as well.'

   Nerissa uttered a question, "Where is here?"

   '...You are located inside Old Age, Death's personal weapon gifted to Asmodeus, the original Lord of Lust. Myself and everyone you previously heard are souls living in Old Age, if that makes any sense.'

   "No, no it doesn't, make some damn sense!" Nerissa wasn't sure how to react to the situation.

   'Well, let me continue and you will learn, lass. Old Age is a collection of one thousand two hundred seventy-seven souls of the greatest sword wielders that have ever lived in all of the realms. It does not discriminate between humans, demons, angels, pagans, humanoids, and every sentient being created. I myself am considered the strongest out of them all so I am elected as the head voice, if you will. We are souls whose only wish is to continue on perfecting our swordplay for eternity in Old Age, it's quite fun too.'

   "Does this mean we are in a different... Realm for dead souls to live in?" Hypothesized Nerissa.

   'Bright lass, that is basically what the inside of Old Age is. Beings don't choose who wields Old Age, we do. And while Asmodeus was given Old Age, we didn't agree with him and we voted not to be wielded by him. He didn't mind, and he actually agreed with us even though he still considered Old Age his sword. He preferred his magic to swordplay and thus he does not live in Old Age. When Old Age passes on to a new owner, we vote, all of us, to see if the wielder is worthy enough to hold Old Age. And in Avandar's case, we found him wanting and the vote came in 369 in favor of him wielding Old Age to 908 against.'

   "That is quite the gap..."

   'Yes, though there have been worse gaps. And now we come to you. We voted 1205 in favor of you wielding and 72 against. I must admit, I am surprised at this. Never has there been such an amount of votes in favor of someone. You should feel honored. In essence, Old Age now belongs to you unless you pass it on, and then we will vote to see if that person is fir to wield Old Age. But be warned, once Old Age passes on to a new owner, it will never return to a previous wielder.'

   "..." Nerissa was at a loss for words. She originally wanted to claim Old Age and give it to Rainer as a present representing her love. Yet while she could do that, she now had to decide whether keeping the sword for herself or giving it to Rainer. Nerissa decided to cross that hurdle later when she could discuss it with her fiancée. "So how do I get back? Back to fighting Avandar."

   'Lass, you are already fighting him yourself...

   And with that, Nerissa found herself in the midst of a duel with Avandar. She felt as if she had been fighting him the entire time so she was not surprised by immediately going back to her original body. To be more accurate, she held the memories of being in Old Age and fighting Avandar at the same time so it felt like she was in two places at once.

   "Keh! I guess I'll have to take that damned Old Age back when I kill you." While Avandar said this with confidence, in reality he had no way to have his sword reach the white demoness' flesh.

   In the beginning of the fight, Avandar, thanks to Old Age, held supremacy and was in complete control of the flow of the duel. He managed to inflict a number of lesser wounds to Nerissa and it was getting to the point where he would mortally wounded her. Then Old Age began to resist his commands and the tide slowly shifted in favor of Nerissa. In terms of martial prowess, both parties were equal. In terms of experience, Avandar far outclassed Nerissa and he also had the advantage of wielding the powerful Old Age. Yet now that advantage was given to Nerissa, and his advantage of experience was nullified due to Old Age's influence. Without outside influence, Avandar saw no way of surviving this fight.

   While continuing to nimbly block Nerissa's sword with his shield, Avandar glanced at the fights going on between Luce and Forsythe. Out of the two, he could see that the fight between Luce and the witch had yet to begin. Though surprise hit him when he saw a large dragon resting next to the witch, he moved his attention to the gluttony demon Forsythe. The fallen angel's magic was far outclassing the demon. Every creature he summoned was immediately disintegrated by light magic and every time Forsythe went in for a melee attack, he was rebuked by dark magic... Wait, dark magic from a fallen angel? Avandar was even more surprised, surprised enough to show an opening to Nerissa.

   Taking advantage of Avandar's loss of attention, Nerissa swept aside the wrath demon's guard and sliced through his neck. An instant decapitation. Where there was a neck, blood spurted from the obvious openings. The look of surprise remained on Avandar's face as it fell onto the ground, his horns immediately breaking apart when it came into contact with the rocky surface. His body took several strange steps as if it was still alive, though it eventually fell over.




The Lost Lord Ch. 17



Old Age was now in full possession of Nerissa Restia Astarotte, Daughter of Pride, Fiancée to the Lord of Lust, and the seventy-third wielder of Old Age.

-

"A dead body? Oh my. IF memory serves correctly, this is that fallen angel opponent from the Parish. Little Rouge, you certainly did a number on her!" The Sadism of Lust, Teras, strode over to a mutilated corpse lying on the ground. 

Teras was about to simply walk by and ignore the corpse, but something caught her eye, an unstrung bow fastened to the fallen angel's back. She lifted her left arm and twisted it around, causing the strange bow to slip out from under the corpse and float to her hand.

"This... Little Rouge, you could not have not noticed this, could you? Oh well, all mine!" Teras opened up a small black circle that appeared out of nowhere in air. She used this black circle as a sort of pocket to put her extra belongings when she needed. Normally, she used this pocket to store her favorite types of tea leaves, yet she forgot to store any before this sudden trip into Hell. 

Teras slipped the unstrung bow into the black circle and it disappeared into thin air. The weapon she pilfered from the corpse was a notable bow wielded by a group of pagan gods that was eliminated long ago in the Pagan Wars. The bow of the God of the Sun, Music, and Plagues: Apollo's Bow.

-

   "Really... You did WHAT?"

   "I put the supposed Lord of Lust into a death match with nine of his allies against ten of my chosen. You not get that the first time?"

   "I BLOODY GET THAT! What in... Just what the fuck were you thinking, Belphegor?"

   "I want to know if this supposed Lord of Lust is a decent one... Though I admit, I did screw up the competition. I didn't mean to send them to Gluttony's Punishment... Meant to send them to Lust's Punishment. Oh well!"

   "I just... I don't even... I hate my job."

   "Hey now! You love it and you know it. Now shut up, I want to read my book."

   "You are taking full responsibility of the repercussions I hope... This may potentially, no it WILL damage future relationships with the Lord of Lust, either this Rainer or Arazra. There is no way we will not be fighting a war in the near future." 

   "Yes yes. Now shut up! Ha ha, Satchel... Bucky, why are you so funny?"



The Lost Lord Ch. 18



Note: This'll be the last full chapter for this battle. The next chapter will wrap things up and finally get everything going, I've drawn this battle for far too long. Also, just a quick question I wouldn't mind if you all would answer: Do you prefer stories on sites like these with more story or more sex? Also do you prefer shorter stories or longer "epics"?





   "I presume you are quite satisfied?" A cavalier voice rung out in a regal hall some ways away from the Capitol of Lust. It belonged to a female succubus, and not a normal succubus.

   "Yes... In return for my support, I will be given Estair's area? I've always liked his lands. Can't really forgive him for his district holding such beautiful girls." And this libidinous voice belonged to a rather brawny incubus.

   Both demons were surrounded by several retainers and faithful servants that only followed the two. They were discussing their business in a secluded building that was designed to satire human world chapels. More specifically, the building was a brothel that dealt in the priest and nun type fetish for demons; thus the chapel was quite appropriate. It was apparently a brothel frequented by the incubus and he could assure the discretion of their conversation here, safe from prying ears.

   "...Really, I'm sure your lands have beautiful women suited for you, why bother taking over Estair's territory? Though I do not mind since Estair stupidly thought that my brother was not the one to rule." Inquired the succubus.

   "Well, OB-viously the girls there are not my priority. One of the reasons is that I despise that such a young demon like Estair is ruling there. He is only nineteen years of age and he still was allowed to rule when there were obviously better men or women to lead in his stead." Ridiculed the incubus, he said the name Estair in a mocking tone.

   "I see, then you believe the same thing about the pretender? Good."

   "Yea, I gave my best acting when I attended the meeting. And when I saw the supposed lord that was brought in, I was not impressed. Eighteen fucking years? What kind of bullshit is that?" Seethed the incubus.

   "With that in mind, please inform me of any useful information about this lord. Yreir! Take note of this." The succubus barked a command to another succubus woman standing next to her. The servant demoness pulled a quill out of thin air and held it at the ready of a notebook she also produced.

   "Hmm... Well, you can't say much about someone you only could observe for an hour, though I can tell you some definite information. This young demon has somehow inherited the black attributes. Reddish brown hair, a slender build, and while he looked rather meek... I could say confidently that there is malice in his eyes. I have learned that he has not yet acquired a decent knowledge of magic, only the basics even with the help with the so called... Grimoire. Other than that, I can't really say much without making things up." The incubus recited a small list of attributes about the pretending Lord of Lust.

   "Can you tell me anything about his concubines that he brought over? We only know that he has three of them, not what they are."

   "Yes, this... None of them are your normal concubines. The first one is a human, a witch to be exact, and I can say that there is not normal magic within her; her name's Lauren. The second is a white demoness... The Daughter of Pride, Nerissa; she's even this pretender's fiancée. And the third is what surprised most of us, though each of these three are anything but normal. The third is a fallen angel, a brand new fallen angel turned to lustful sin; her name's Aureal."

   "!!!" The succubus was left speechless after each of the concubines were introduced. A mysterious human witch, a revered white demon that is the Daughter of Pride, and a brand new fallen angel after a several hundred-year gap of none turning to sin. The succubus regained her composure and postulated, "Politically this is quite bad... A Daughter of Pride as a fiancée to the pretender, this pretender can and will most likely call for help from the Pariah of Pride if we move too slowly. A fallen angel, Azazel will most assuredly not keep quiet about that. And a witch with unknown power, she has to be this pretender's trump card. I will relay this information to Arazra. Please ready your forces as quietly and as soon as possible. We may have to resort to a blitzkrieg type tactic in the next day or two, depending on this retarded game the Simpleton of Sloth created."

   "Right then, I'll be on my way. You may count on the forces of Ornias at any time." And on that note, the incubus named Ornias left the satirical chapel with his attendants in tow.

   "Us as well, let us return to the seventh district and mobilize our armies. I must have honorable brother on the throne, there is no one better suited to sit there than the one I love." She commanded the first part to her attendants, though her voice trailed off into a mumble in the second sentence.

   "Of course, Mistress Sasilith."

   And thus the armies of Arazra began their mobilization.

-

   "I have never tathted the fleth of a fallen angel before. Elithabeth looked tho deliciouth yet I find it quite appalling to featht on the fleth of friendth." A voice with a lisp said this to the fallen angel he was currently in combat with. This voice belonged to a gluttony demon named Forsythe.

   The fallen angel in question looked upon her opponent with expressionless disgust. Aureal, out of personal preference, wished that she did not have to fight this kind of enemy. Though it was a perfect opponent for her. As her light magic was perfect in countering the numerous appalling and demonic creatures her opponent summoned. "I request that you do not speak. I find your voice uncouth and loathsome, both the words and dialect. Seeing as how I am obviously in a better position than you, I recommend that you surrender or I will be forced to eliminate painfully."

   This was no threat that Aureal was bluffing on. Should the situation require it, Aureal attack Forsythe with her extremely painful and poisonous light magic. So far, all Aureal had done was perform her light magic and wield her war hammer with her martial prowess.

   Forsythe frowned and flicked both of his wrists outwards and inwards. Two identical skinless beasts burrowed their way out of the harsh rocky terrains and lunged at Aureal with their gaping, toothless maws wide open. He noticed that the fallen angel could only manipulate light magic out of her war hammer, which was also the case with Elizabeth when it came to her daggers and bow. Yet it was never as easy as a pincer attack.

   Aureal spun her war hammer in a circle, smashing both beasts in the body. The first beast was slammed into a rock, leaving behind traces of steaming blood. The second, upon impact, was thrown at least thirty meters away due to momentum and gravity.

   This entire battle had never come down to exchanging blows in a bloody melee duel. Forsythe, the entire time, had spent a safe distance from his enemy sending as many monsters as he could against the fallen angel, wearing her down. It was a rudimentary, but effective tactic. Yet that didn't mean he was safe.

   While it was given that Forsythe would not last that long in close quarters, Aureal was forced to resort to her ranged magical attacks, which were frequently blocked by the overzealous creatures of the gluttony demon. At one point, while deflecting the swoop of a scaled bird, Aureal swept her hammer upwards, tossing an arc of solar light at the demon. Forsythe responded with a toothy grin and swiping his arm in a full circle, thanks to this, an animal with a shell resembling a tortoise dashed in and somehow stopped the arc magic, though it died in the process as light always wins against demonic entities.

   "I refuthe. You cannot honethtly exthpect me to thurrender. The thame would be catathtropic. I propothe the thame offer to you, thurrender and I will only eat two of your limbth.. And a wing." Forsythe crouched down on a small rock that gave him a decent view of the surrounding area. Right now, the fallen angel was fighting against an armored cat creature without eyes, nose, and ears.

   (I was hoping to not rely on this magic until I had found a suitable tutor, maybe that Tozomat, to teach me about it.) Aureal crushed the armored cat's neck under the pommel of her hammer and sighed. "Since you decided to keep talking, and to not surrender, I suppose I will bring out an ability only an amount of people that you can count on one hand have seen. I regret that I have to wield such a gift against a troublesome and wretched opponent such as you."

   Forsythe cocked his head, curious as to what the fallen angel might pull out. While he was curious, he knew that he should not underestimate the enemy. "If you do thith, then I will do the thame!" Swore Forsythe as he stood up and took a deep breath. With his hand movements, several rodent creatures crawled up to him, nearing his mouth. He took each one of these vile beings and bit off their heads, chewing graciously and swallowing every bite. He didn't finish until each creature's head was gone. He savored the bones, as they required more attention and ability to digest. Then he ate the rest of the bodies. While it wasn't required to eat the heads first, he did that just because he enjoyed the heads more than the bodies, especially the eyes and bones. He also made several strange noises with his mouth, as it was part of the ritual for this particular magic. Now he was ready for almost any situation.

   Before Aureal could take action, Forsythe leapt off the rock with his arms forward. He swiped both arms diagonally at Aureal and several shards of bone slipped out from his skin and hurtled towards the fallen angel. The points at where the bone left his skin bled profusely. The bone darts were too quick and small for Aureal to follow, and they flew past her guard.

   Three of the six bounced harmlessly off of Aureal's armor plates and clattered to the ground. The other three managed to find their way to Aureal's beautiful pale flesh. Two slipped between the plates and through the links of the mail shirt. The third one was stopped by Aureal's hand, though it still painfully embedded itself between her finger bones.

   Aureal stifled a painful scream as she bit down. (I have to bring out my dark magic... How did I do it last time?) Aureal flashed her memories to the time she was fighting the angel Hannah, and how she managed to kill that bitchy angel with her dark magic. While she remembered killing with dark magic, she did not remember how she caused it. Aureal tried to remember the basics of dark magic, from what she once learned of how to counter it. She figured that if she once knew how to counter dark magic as she used to be an angel, then she should know how to wield dark magic in the first place. The basic idea behind dark magic was that in order to wield it, there must be darkness. Either darkness from in a dark room or from the darkened shadows of a lightened area, it did not matter. And obviously, the darker the area, the stronger the magic. (In shadow manipulation, there must be a light source or else the user's shadow won't appear).

   Yet despite that basic knowledge, Aureal had basically no idea how to invoke dark magic. At this rate, Forsythe's speed would overwhelm Aureal who had held the fight so far to a standstill. With this mysterious bony magic of Forsythe's there was no doubt in her mind that he could effectively engage her in melee combat.

   The gluttony demon chewed down another rodent before flinging more bone darts. This time they weren't normal darts, they were coated with something strange. He shot forth three darts from his left arm and jumped backwards to dodge Aureal's swinging hammer. The fallen angel barely managed to deflect two of them and her metal gauntlet luckily blocked the third. The darts bubbled and melted ominously when they touched the rocky terrain.

   "What is this foul magic?" Commented Aureal on the evil looking substance the bone shards melted into. The substance bubbled some more and seeped into the grown leaving a grotesque green residue behind.

   "It lookth deliciouth! Doeth it not? I jutht ate a boldwig, tathty little critterth. I eat them and ith poithon coath my boneth. You thould apprethiate the finer flavorth of life Mith Fallen Angel. Are you thure you cannot part with thome featherth for garnitheth?" The vile demon licked his lips lecherously, though not in a lustful manner.

   "I despise your words more than I did Hannah; you're not even fit to eat her. You will not even reach my skin with that foul body of yours." Flared Aureal as she slammed her hammer into yet another skinless creature that popped up out of the ground.

   "Tho you thay... Yet I thcarred that lovely thkin of yourth, I really want to eat it. Where ith thith gift of yourth that you were previouthly threatening me with? Ith it pothible to eat that too?" Forsythe clapped his hands together in glee.

   "You have no idea..." In the several seconds before combat resumed, Aureal pondered the ways she could take advantage of her dual magic. She could use an incantation, that was most likely required, but even then, she didn't know any incantations for dark magic. All the dark magic she had seen was from demons and their allies in the previous war between angels and demons.  Even then, she had only seen dark magic from demons all her life and she did not remember the incantations she used. (Is there any dark magic that didn't require an incantation? Yes there is...)

   Soon, Forsythe darted towards Aureal and nimbly moved past her war hammer, avoiding the head by the length of a short hair. He sprung two larger pieces of bone from the palm of his hands, which bled excessively, and stabbed straight at the fallen angel's heart. Aureal gasped as she felt her armor being penetrated due to the force and her skin giving way to the sharp spikes. (Please work my dark magic given and forsaken by god...)

   "Thtrange... I thtabbed you, yet why am I the one feeling pain?" The gluttony demon swiveled his eyes around to find his answer. "That ith why... I don't thuppothe I can tathe a little bit of deliciouth angel fleth before the abyth taketh me?"

   Aureal's eyes became enflamed, "You are truly the spawn of the lowest of Gluttony. I should have fought in the Grounds of Gluttony in that war if this is what they are all like. Get your fangs away from me! Ew..." The fallen angel pushed Forsythe off of her body, who was currently trying to take a small bite of Aureal's flesh. She removed the bone spikes embedded in her chest. Aureal had managed to stop Forsythe's attack with a dark magic rarely found even in the Circles of Sin where dark magic reigns supreme, shadow manipulation.

   Two fleshy, sharp cutting edges appeared on the fallen angel. She had dropped her hammer in order to somehow wield the shadow manipulation. Yet while she successfully slew the foul gluttony demon, it came at a painful cost. "Why would Tozomat wield such a foreboding magic? Surely it would destroy any vestments of sanity thanks to the pain it brings." The first day her master, Rainer, had left to explore the capitol city; Aureal had surveyed the armory and weapon smith of the palace. After that, she had found Tozomat dealing with a group of demons that had brandished weapons on him. She had noticed his dark magic, the art of shadow manipulation, and how he dispatched the armed men. Apparently those demons were a small group who had somehow found out about Rainer and tried to kill him, though they were stopped thanks to the Romance of Lust. Thanks to her fairly decent memory (which for some reason couldn't remember incantations), Aureal managed to grasp the basics of shadow manipulation and how to call upon it in combat. Even then, she called for the magic in desperation and she bet that it would most likely not aid her without training first.

   In any case, Aureal looked towards her friends and saw what condition they were in.

Lauren was currently, somehow, fighting besides an ice dragon and clashing against the Djinn opponent. She recalled the names of the creatures Lauren had said she formed a pact with, and remembered that ice dragon was numbered among them. Even so, it was quite amazing that a witch so young could summon such a powerful creature, and that she communicated a pact between her and a member of the renowned ornery race of dragons.

   Nerissa, after several clashes with her sword, soon decapitated her opponent in a flashy manner and dashed off towards the fallen angel. She was visibly excited as she exclaimed, "Hey! Look at what I got! It's SOOOOO cool!" The white demoness was waving her sword around in the air, stopping once the two were reunited.

   "Mistress... That is not your original sword, yet it looks the same. May I ask what happened? I feel, death of the old." Aureal felt apprehensive in the presence of the sword. And while she knew Nerissa would not harm her, she still felt slightly uncomfortable when such dangerous objects were in the area, just like Rainer's Grimoire.

   "That's the thing... This sword of mine is now Old Age, yea I know. Even I'm awed at what happened! Well, there's too much to say right now about it so I'll explain fully later. Right now, let's help Lauren!" Replied Nerissa as she pointed her sword in the direction of the witch, Djinn, and dragon.

   "Yes, Mistress."

   And on that note, the two ran over to assist Lauren.

-

   "Your magic is assuredly on the level of Mistress LeFay... Yet it still requires refinement and trimming around the edges. Though your skills in a battle of weapons is rather lacking." Observed Luce as he tested the abilities of Lauren.

   It was clear from the beginning that the female witch would never win in an upfront battle, though if she brought in some magic, that outcome may change, yet if that happened she would most likely kill Luce she would never know her mother's identity. That was what Lauren thought.

   "And it seems you are underestimating me in your thoughts. Please, even your dragon would not be able to kill me that easily if both of you were fighting me alone. I do not only know the summoning magic arts... Perhaps I should add some incentive." Threatened Luce as he jumped backwards several meters.

"The wish of Mistress Lefay:

Find that useless brat of mine

Beat some sense into her

Make her strong and dependable

Until she doesn't even need those damn pacts.

Your wish is hereby granted."

   Lauren observed the Djinn before her as a subtle transformation happened upon him: His muscles tensed and grew, his tattoos glowed a faint blue, and even his summoned beasts took on a fiercer visage. Luce was about to take action with his new power, though eh was stopped once he saw the witch's companions rushing towards their fray.

   "When a Djinn is given a wish to fulfill, they will give their all to complete it, even if it is beyond their capabilities. Can I request that you tell your companions that this battle is between us alone and no one else?" Said the Djinn indifferently as he stood at ease.

   "Right, I will beat you by myself." Turning towards Aureal and Nerissa, Lauren said this passionately, "Hey! Please don't help me here. If I lose, interfere then, just not now..."

   "Very well, we weren't going to interfere anyway unless you needed help. I don't believe in unfair fights! At least I don't believe in them as long as if the enemy seems like a decent person."

   "That leaves much to be interpreted, Mistress."

   "...Whatever. Then you better win, Lauren! You want to stick with Rainer, then fight your best!"




The Lost Lord Ch. 18



"Mistress... I thought you would wish for Rainer to be only yours, yet you are encouraging Lauren to become closer to Master? I am in awe of your tolerance." Praised the Fallen Angel as she and Nerissa took several steps back in order to spectate the fight between Lauren and her dragon against Luce and his beasts.

   "Now that they are gone, let us continue. Show me what you can really do..." Luce said this with fervor in his eyes as he ran towards Lauren, arms outstretched.

   'Young witch, may I recommend that you move on to a new pact? I am fully capable of supporting the link that ties me here. You focus your magic elsewhere. I don't really care for the young Jinn taking advantage of the situation.' These words came from the telepathic link between Lauren and the dragon she summoned, Fáfnir. This time, he offered his advice.

   'Ah, ok... I can't win without using another one of my pacts, probably the wendigo... Though I already wasted my usage of it for now.' And these words are what Lauren said back to Fáfnir as she replied to his wisdom. The witch pondered what pact she should take advantage of now for a straight up melee battle. (The Pact of the Nemean would be the most logical choice right now, as it would harden my skin to levels of the toughest of forged armors. The Pact of the Wraith is best for sneak attacks. The Pact of the Minotaur would also be extremely useful in this situation, though I can't see an effective way to use it. The Pact of the Fenrir is the same, though it might come in handy. The Pact of the Kraken... That one is too unpredictable on land. The Pact of the Manticore, which might be my key here. Ok, right then, I know what I want to do...)

"I humbly call upon the pact with thy honored beast

The ferocious and mighty Nemean Lion that bows to none

Give me your hide, and may it protect my being."

   Suddenly, Lauren felt a prickly feeling dot around her skin, everywhere. Many places itched and Lauren fought the irresistible urge to scratch at them. As if a thousand calluses formed across her body, Lauren's skin hardened and thickened to an annoying level. She didn't particularly care for this skill, as it was quite unpleasant, yet despite that, it still had its uses.

   The transformation finished just in time, as Luce slammed down his club-like scepter onto Lauren's shoulder. Instead of the bone shattering, like the Djinn expected, the toughened skin absorbed the impact and it spread through her body, minimizing the damage.

   "That's going to leave a bruise on my beautiful skin... I hate it when my skin bruises. (Like over-ripened fruit, ew) What'll happen if Rainer finds me unattractive now?" A pleasant smile formed on Lauren's lips as she spoke, a smile generally unfit for a duel like theirs.

   Lauren pushed back Luce, causing him to stumble on a rock behind his foot. Taking advantage of that, she stabbed downwards with her dagger, releasing an unorthodox punch at the same time at his body. The Djinn barely managed to block the more dangerous of the attacks, the dagger, and swept it off to the side. The punch landed a heavy blow on his ribcage, most likely shattering or breaking one or two rib bones. Luce coughed up some blood as he quickly stood up again, despite the painful injury.

   Lauren was more surprised than Luce at the effectiveness of her attack now, maybe she could finish this without relying on another pact. She picked up a rock and tossed it faster than a baseball player in Luce's direction. He blocked it with his wrist, narrowly deflecting the rock off to the side.

   While Lauren's skin was toughened, Luce's muscles had formed a suit of thin armor underneath his own skin, which could deflect attacks and absorb blows. Though his muscly armor was useless if he didn't tense up at the right moment, which previously let Lauren's punch hit. He smashed another rock that was thrown at him with his scepter, and then at high speed, he twisted his trusty scepter around his head and attacked Lauren downwards.

   The witch sidestepped his attack and grabbed the Djinn's arms. She smashed a palm upwards under his elbows, hoping to damage the bones in his arms. Luce stopped the potentially harmful attack with his other arm, swinging it at the witch's head.

   The fight continued for many more minutes, both unleashing a flurry of hand to hand, scepter, and dagger attacks; with most of them blocked and the rest leaving blemishes on each other's skin.

   Lauren was hoping Fáfnir was all right, but she couldn't look at him without paying the price for diverting her attention away from Luce. In actuality, Fáfnir had long done away with the beasts Luce had sent after the dragon, dispensing one with his boulder crushing jaws and the other with a combination attack of frigid breath and a swipe of his claws. If this was a more threatening circumstance, he would have interfered with Lauren's fight, assisting the one he formed a pact with, yet he saw no need to assist the young witch against her fight with the rash Jinn.

   Lauren, though she wanted to not rely on another pact, saw a chance where another one would be useful, and she took that chance. Time to rely on the Fenrir Wolf.

"This pact with the noble beast

The un-yielding wolf that bites through even gods

Grant me your savage fangs, so that I may finish the hunt."

   As the pact alluded to, Lauren felt a change around her jaw and teeth. The Pact of the Fenrir granted its user a bite that rivals none but its own kind. If she wanted to, Lauren could chew through the toughest of metal alloys. There was only a single metal that the Fenrir could not resist, and fortunately its existence is not known in the human world, heaven, or the circles.

   The situation Lauren was taking advantage of was one where Lauren had managed to pin Luce to the ground. Luce had overextended himself when he unleashed a spinning kick against Lauren, which landed, but Lauren somehow managed to divert the momentum to force Luce to the ground. She had pinned both of his arms down and immobilized his legs. If she moved even an inch with her limbs, Luce would be able to escape and deal a potentially mortal blow to the witch.   Yet Lauren did not need to rely on her hands and legs to win this fight, all she needed was a strong bite.

   With sharpened fangs that belonged only on a bloodthirsty Fenrir Wolf, Lauren lowered them to Luce's neck, but stopped right when she was about to bite down. She then said with a smug look on her face, "Do you yield?"

   Luce hesitated with a frown on his face, though it turned to a satisfied smile. With his eyes closed in a submissive manner, Luce acknowledged his defeat, "Yes, I yield to you. I will not move against your team anymore in this contest."

   Lauren lifted herself off of Luce, then demanded with a somber look on her face, "Now tell me, is this witch that many despised in myths truly my mother?"

   "Would that sadden you?" Replied Luce, he looked honestly interested in Lauren's reply.

   "No... Honestly, it wouldn't make one difference if mother murdered hundreds or if she lived as a remote and peaceful hermit in the forests of Earth." Said Lauren grimly.

   "I see, well as I promised... I can confirm that you are most assuredly the daughter of Mistress LeFay, not only does your magic have the same feeling... Even your tenacity surprised me at how alike it is with your mother. Practically the same." Luce sighed and looked up, "I now officially surrender to the Lord of Lust's side in this annoying competition. There, that should count towards the end result."

   "You surrender? Why would you do that?" These words came from Nerissa as she and Aureal joined the witch and the Djinn in conversation.

   "Well, since Mistress LeFay's wish is now completed, I see no need to continue with my travels. I only joined with Black Steps with this in mind as it is not very likely I would find Mistress LeFay's daughter if I intentionally looked for her. The realms are vast; my best bet to find Miss Lauren here is by complete chance. Also, I don't really want to die, and thus I surrender." Confessed Luce.

   "How... Honest. Very well, then what will you be doing now? And after this farce of a contest?" Asked Lauren.

   "That, I have yet to think about it really. It has been many years since I was asked to find you be Mistress LeFay, and all this time, I have been have doing the very things I would have done after finding you... Well, shit." Luce couldn't help but chuckle at the way he had been living up to this point. He saw no need to continue working for Black Steps, yet he really had no idea what he wanted to do. "I'm not sure really, I have no desire to return to my people in the Gardens of Greed, nor do I wish to return to my sacred vessel in the human world." He let out a wry smile.

   "If I may interject..." Said Aureal monotonously, "If you have no idea what to do, please assist Master, the Lord of Lust. Your obviously powerful summoning skills would be a good boon in the near future."

   Aureal's idea was so simple that it was genius, Lauren made that clear, "That's perfect! At least agree to help out Rainer for the time being, you can think of what to do with your life after his place as Lord is situated."

   "Yes, there is no way there is not a war coming soon. This Arazra, he will not keep quiet for long. I doubt even mother would be able to assist my darling fiancée in time, your skills would be greatly appreciated." Nerissa added her own two bits to the conversation, agreeing with her two friends.

   "That sounds perfect for my situation. As I do not wish to reunite with Black Steps, and that less than desirable Xizaen, I humbly offer my assistance to you three and the Lord of Lust for the time being. (I can't stand that odd scar of his...)" Luce bowed as he offered his assistance, righting himself after several seconds.

   "This is all well and good, but as the ones we beat just now are apparently not the last three, we still have some enemies to slay. Let us make our way to the next group of opponents and kick some ass." Said Lauren in an upbeat manner, her mood had obviously improved. 'Fáfnir...' She then turned her attention to the still active telepathic communication between her and the ice dragon, Fáfnir. 'Thank you very much for your assistance in this fight... Eh?'

   'You are quite welcome, as you may have noticed, I have already severed the link of the pact that sustains my presence here until the next time you find the need to fully summon me. Though at least let me sleep a good few years before that happens. Ever since I formed that pact with you... Well, I can see that you have grown into quite the fine young woman, young witch. Have fun with your little demon lord of yours.'

   Lauren swiveled her head around in search of Fáfnir, and like he said, he was nowhere to be seen. Most likely he transported back to where he was before Lauren called upon him. Well, it would be quite rude to such an honorable being if Lauren continuously relied on Fáfnir.

   "I wonder if mother is still alive?" Lauren wondered to herself.

-

   "You... You are more powerful than you and that Anubite give off. I sense just normal power within you, yet I receive much more than that in battle. Is this native to the Jaguar Men?" Asked a certain blind swordsman, named Caetorum, as he engaged in combat with one of the Jaguar Men, one of the humanoids living in the Sands of Sloth.

   The Jaguar Man, Yaotl, simple grunted and wildly swung around his reinforced wooden sword with obsidian edges at Caetorum. The complete random and wild attacks of the jaguar were unsuited for Caetorum's more gentle way of sword fighting. Instead of deflecting and manipulating the sword, which was what one did with a rapier, he had to dodge every single attack thrown at him. The momentum of the Aztec weapon was too great for the rapier to handle.

   Because his opponent's weapon was too barbaric, Caetorum was forced to sheath his parrying blade. The parrying blade was designed more for the common sword or other light weaponry, as the hook on the bottom of the dagger-like weapon would assist in blocking and disarming. Both he and Yaotl were men of weapons, not magic, so they knew not to expect any annoying magic tricks.

   Yaotl's more than supernatural strength and speed outclassed Caetorum in that regard, Caetorum believed he was magically enhanced, though he could not confirm it. It had to be that, as Caetorum has fought Jaguar Men on separate occasions. This magic was not of either Yaotl or Chigaru's origin. Caetorum was only staying alive so far thanks to his superior supernatural senses, which thanks to his blindness, were honed far more and effectively than just about anything that relied on eyesight, which was his main advantage over Yaotl.

   Caetorum pondered the situation, his battle with Yaotl has been going on for quite sometime, he had only stayed alive this far thanks to his senses and stamina. He witnessed the death of three people on Tozomat's side, Veronica, Tozomat himself, and the Anubite named Chigaru.  Caetorum was not one to feel sorrow, especially not during important moments like a battle, and the incubus forced his feelings deep into his mind, ready for another day. Tozomat's death will be dealt with soon, AFTER the matter with Yaotl was done with. And quickly, as the man Caetorum is supposed to protect is currently in a fight to the death with the one who killed Tozomat, Archibald. Still... Revenge will be sweet.

   Caetorum sensed a blow from the wooden sword going for his head; he ducked and moved in to attack Yaotl, stabbing with his rapier. He inflicted a wound, but not a terribly deep one, as the rapier's momentum was not enough to puncture any internal organs. The Jaguar Man forced Caetorum away with one of his hands that had claws extended.

   Yaotl slashed upwards at Caetorum, though it was once again missed. Their exchange of attacks continued for several more minutes. Caetorum dodged the majority of Yaotl's attacks with his wooden sword, though he gained a few menacing scratches thanks to the obsidian edge of the sword. And most of Caetorum's thrusts, stabs, and lunges were all blocked by the tough wooden sword, with only one managing to get through the guard and piercing the skin just above the waist.

   It would have behooved Caetorum to bring a different type of sword to this fight, according to Caetorum himself. However, his rapier and parrying blade would always be his favorite weapon combo and rarely used anything but except in emergencies. The incubus saw on the ground, several meters away from the dead Veronica's body, the twin sabers she pulled out in the beginning of her fight with Tozomat. Those swords would be far better suited for fighting a heavy weapon like the Aztec wooden sword Yaotl wielded.

   Putting a small plan into action, Caetorum kicked rocks and dust in Yaotl's direction, blinding him for hopefully a decent amount of time. It seemed to work as Yaotl recoiled backwards to evade the dust cloud. At that second, Caetorum leaped up and over a mound of bricks, aiming for the sabers.

   Just a meter away from the sabers, Caetorum lunged at the ground, as he saw that the dust cloud didn't give him nearly as much time as he needed. Yaotl jumped higher, higher than Caetorum, over the dust cloud and bricks and raised his wooden sword over his head, ready to strike.

   Caetorum grabbed the twin sabers and attempted to guard himself with the swords using a cross formation. Yaotl's strength was more than enough to break through the guard and land a blow on Caetorum. The blind incubus sensed the incoming blow and tried, while holding his guard, to move away, though he proved unsuccessful as the wooden sword partially hit his shoulder, completely dislocating the bones. Dislocation wasn't the only wound obviously, but it was currently the most pressing and painful to Caetorum at the moment.

   Caetorum released a painful cry as the pain coursed through his body, unlike Little Rouge and the late Tozomat, Caetorum, like the majority of people, fully felt the pain. Caetorum coughed up some blood, which sprayed on Yaotl's face. Yaotl didn't even flinch and raised a free hand with its claws outstretched.

   Caetorum realized the situation he was in. He was pinned to the ground by Yaotl's unnatural strength, a dislocated shoulder, and a hand with sharp claws ready for the kill, he was most likely about to die. Trying to say some words, Caetorum grinned and simply said, "I'm not usually this weak... I've barely got a chance to serve the young lord the previous one entrusted to me."

   Yaotl, instead of claws, balled his furry hand into a fist and slammed it down onto Caetorum's head, knocking the incubus unconscious instead of killing him. Yaotl blinked twice, looking at this hand and why he didn't kill his opponent. It certainly wasn't out of mercy nor was it out of respect. Whatever, it did not matter to Yaotl; all that did matter was that another opponent was taken care of.

   An opponent either had to be killed, unconscious for the duration of the contest, or have unconditionally surrendered. And once that happened, the winning team, and the ones that surrendered, would be transported back to where they came, simple as that. At least, that was what the Shah of Sloth told Yaotl.

   The Jaguar Man looked towards the other ongoing battle that was between the supposed Lord of Lust and the Parish assassin, Archibald. After the death of the one named Veronica, Archibald went into a fit of rage and somehow overpowered Yaotl's comrade, Chigaru. That was no mean feat as both of them had undergone a certain spell that empowered the two. The spell called 'Body Overload' was one that greatly increased one's general combat abilities and body strength so as to surpass normal limits. Yet with that boost, like any other drug, it came with a heavy price, otherwise known as death. Both Chigaru and Yaotl were ordered to perform their best in this contest, or die trying, and the way to maximize their performance was to undergo an enhancement spell. Yaotl did not fear death, though he wished he did, but as he had now undergone 'Body Overload', it was an all or nothing situation, simple as that.

   The Jaguar Man picked up his macuahuitl (the traditional Aztec wooden sword with obsidian blades embedded in it); he let it rest on his shoulder before silently walking towards the current battle.

-

   "Huuuuuuh? Whozat? ♡" A less than normal cheery Little Rouge asked this to a certain person sitting beside her. The first thing she noticed when she woke up was that her arm was fully reattached to her body with no marred flesh in between. In fact, Little Rouge couldn't feel a single hint of pain (unfortunately for her) across her entire body, only an odd sense of euphoria.     As for the person beside her, she couldn't recognize the person until she spoke, as she still felt a little groggy.

   "My MY, Little Rouge... I know you love to accumulate just all sorts of injuries, but I've never seen you destroyed to this extent!" The voice, along with Little Rouge, held a strange sense of cheeriness, though with a more malevolent feeling to it.

   Ah, it's Teras, rapture.

   "I saw your handiwork out there, you did quite the number on that little angel girl!" Teras mused as she bounced around in her seat happily.

   Little Rouge coughed several times before replying, "Yup-*cough*... Annoying little minx, crushed her heart, maimed her breasts, and IIIII slashed her throat tooooo pieces for good measure.♡" Little Rouge hummed as she recounted the apparently joyful adventure of her slaughtering the fallen angel, Elizabeth. "She's quite the active little angel, did quite aaaaa number ooooon me before IIIII got innnnn my chance! ♡"




The Lost Lord Ch. 18



"I do admire your works, no one can get as violent as you in combat. Here, let me tell you how I had a little fun with that Asura fellow! Though he wasn't nearly as satisfying as some of the other opponents out there... I don't even think he was the real Asura, maybe a son or something?" Then Teras went into great detail of how she decimated, massacred, mutilated, and ultimately liquidated the Fury of Wrath, Asura.

   The two shared a conversation that was not for the faint hearted, there were very few who would willingly join in to talk about how excessive their most recent kill was. Though fairly soon, their conversation became slightly less gruesome.

   "Mmmm, you know, I've rarely seen your healing magic before. IIIII didn't know you had that special water.♡" Said Little Rouge as she surveyed her seemingly woundless body. And as to what Little Rouge was referring to just now, in the water magic section of elemental magic, there are some healing arts, though they require a special kind of water.

   "Ah yes, I just happened to have some Cauterizing Water (it doesn't literally cauterize) with me. I don't know what I was thinking, really. I don't usually heal wounds, quite the opposite as you know!" Teras gestured to a partially emptied vial of seemingly normal water, which was tinted red.

   "Hmm, well since I'mmmmm all set tooooo go...♡-" Little Rouge's words were suddenly cut off as Teras placed a hand on her forehead and chanted a short spell. At that point, it felt like her entire body was receiving a mild shock of electricity and her body went limp. Little Rouge knew what was happening, as it had happened many times before in the Land of Lust, partial paralysis.

   "You know what this means!" Sand Teras as she closed up her umbrella and removed her purple gloves. "You're not going anywhere, at least not yet!"

   As Teras was of course the Sadist of Lust, she liked to be in complete control for those certain activities that frequented the night and day of the Land of Lust. Normally, Teras would be into a more... Painful experience. Though she knew it would be best for Little Rouge, as she had just recovered from many supposedly lethal wounds, to live with just some simple power play. Though disappointed, both parties realized this and decided it was for the best but readied themselves for what was to come, literally.

   Teras hummed a soothing tune as she slowly slipped off Little Rouge's leather and armor; no matter how many times she saw it, Teras could never grasp the concept of how the metal gloves slipped off the hand like liquid. Eventually, a glorious and ample bust appeared for Teras to devour. Smiling mischievously, Teras wriggled her fingers in the air and leisurely drew it to Rouge's breasts. She pinched the nipples and tickled around the areolas, which resulted in a strangely cute mewl that didn't belong to Little Rouge's mouth.

   Little Rouge desperately wanted to move her arms in order to roughly grope her breasts and begin rubbing her snatch, to take out one of the toys that was still buried in her pussy and ass and pump them both in and out until she reached a smashing climax, however, her entire body from her neck down was partially paralyzed. This spell was perfected so that Teras could have her way with any person and still leave their mouth open for 'receiving' certain objects. Little Rouge could feel everything, she just couldn't move.

   Teras teased the other nipple by dancing some of her fingernails around the skin, causing goosebumbs to rise. She daintily drew her fingers all around the breasts, making each finger perform a different pattern. Teras could arrogantly, but honestly, admit that she is a master in teasing both genders. She didn't pull the clumsy actions of just plain groping and grabbing the breasts; she tickled and stimulated the soft flesh, making every nerve stand on end.

   "Ayahn! Sooooo tingly! ♡"

   Little Rouge found herself come closer and closer to climaxing from her breasts, but she knew Teras wouldn't stop there. Right as Little Rouge was beginning to scream in joy from the mounting pleasure, Teras vexingly removed her hands, forcing the impending orgasm to stay its course and not come around. The red succubus whimpered from the purple succubus' actions, Rouge so very much wanted Teras to continue to play with her tits, even begin her attention of Little Rouge's pussy. Yet Teras would obviously not do that, she was in control here. The purple succubus liked to draw out a person's orgasm until the very end of their tryst; sometimes not even then.

   Deciding that she herself could not stand being clothed, Teras stripped herself of her purple dress, removing every bit of cloth except for several straps around her legs. She figured that she could continue teasing Little Rouge by forcing her to watch her little show of stripping. When she removed her underwear, Teras seductively moved her demonic tail around and caressed Little Rouge's face and neck. Rouge, as she could only move her head, licked everywhere she could with her tongue, coating the purple tail with her saliva.

   Teras climbed onto Little Rouge and straddled her waist. She rubbed the stomach and sides of Little Rouge's body, warming the skin with the friction. The purple succubus manipulated her tail, flicking it around the air, until it found its way to the hood of Little Rouge's increasingly wet folds. Instead of sticking the tail in, which Little Rouge hoped would happen but knew it wouldn't, Teras teasingly slipped the tail around and under the hood, softly stimulating Rouge's clitoris.

   Little Rouge released another cute cry, which was silenced by Teras' mouth and invading tongue. She forcefully mashed her lips against Little Rouge's own pliable, red lips. Before long and soon, their supple tongues licked against each other and the insides of their mouths. Teras could feel a continuous vibration that came from Little Rouge's humming in pleasure from the stimulation of her clit. Only Teras' eyes were open, which would have been accompanied by a smug expression on her face if it was not for her mouth currently occupied by Rouge's desperate grab for attention.

   Little Rouge, as she always did with Teras, was going crazy for the need to orgasm. The tip of Teras' tail forced the tingling sensation to continue, never to reach a climax, and Rouge was enjoying every bit of it, kind of.

   Going back up for air, Teras retracted her tongue and lips, wet and coated with saliva, from Rouge's mouth. Both parties panted for several seconds, grabbing as much air as possible. The purple succubus then turned herself around, also removing her tail from Little Rouge's snatch. The red succubus watched with great anticipation as Teras hovered her purple nether lips above Little Rouge's wanting mouth.

   Little Rouge extended her tongue as far as possible, her tongue wasn't the longest of the numerous demons out there, but she definitely gave it plenty of stamina. The tined edges of the tongue just barely managed to taste the tip of Teras' lips. The taste of the purple succubus' juices coursed through her body, sweet but with a tinge of bitterness, delicious.

   Seeing her enthusiasm, Teras chuckled and slowly lowered her own snatch, tauntingly lifting it several times from Little Rouge's crafty tongue. Eventually, Teras could take no more herself and plopped her pussy down on Little Rouge's mouth, putting her knees and butt in a comfortable position. And before Little Rouge could begin to eat her out, Teras nibbled and pinched Rouge's nipples.

   Little Rouge moaned as she went face first into the object of her current desires. In a lustful frenzy, Little Rouge paid little attention as to where her tongue was at, though she kept it in the general area of Teras' crotch.

   Teras kept a happy tone of moaning as she continued to bite down playfully on Rouge's nipples. She licked around, poking the skin with the tip of her tined tongue in various places, inducing shivers. In order to accompany the spasms of excruciatingly pleasing sensations erupting from her pussy, Teras forced her wildly bouncing tail towards her ass, guiding it to the tight entrance. She poked and prodded the puckered, tight hole, little by little worming her tail inside. Teras savored the feeling of being pried open by her own appendage, the dual stimulation worked wonders for the bundles of nerves as they worked overtime. Teras only allowed objects in her ass that she put in there herself, one girl before tried to put something in there, and she was slain.

   Little Rouge continued licking Teras' pussy like a madwoman, lavishing attention on the clitoris with her tongue and penetrating the folds every now and then, wriggling the forked tongue in and out of Teras' wet depths. Yet she was suddenly forced to stop in order to gasp and moan loudly as she felt a certain phallic object being slipped out of both of her entrances.

   Teras leaned over, keeping her pussy firmly planted on Little Rouge, as she looked over Rouge's snatch and asshole. If one looked at the tryst from the side, they would see two succubi engaging in a sixty-nine position with two reasonably sized set of breasts mashed together liked soft balls of cotton. She noticed that Little Rouge had two dildos stuffed inside both of her holes.     She chuckled as she imagined Little Rouge trying her best to keep still during that important meeting with two larges toys deep inside both of her entrances, most likely vibrating. She tightly gripped both of them with her hands and slowly but surely removed them from the wet entrances. She savored the moan of Little Rouge reacting to the sensation while also keeping her tongue at working eating Teras out.

   Teras, once the toys were free of both entrances, looked at the gaping holes and decided to tease them with the toys. She lightly scraped against the skin with the tip of the phallic shaped toys, tapping and pushing against the closing entrances, keeping them slightly open.

   "Oh my! You're quite the slut, Little Rouge. Do you never NOT indulge in your desires?" Said Teras as she licked the juices off the soaked dildos.

   "Pl-Please! Fuck meeeee with them... ♡" Pleaded the red succubus, she had been on verge of orgasm for quite some time now, as their tryst had taken a good majority of the hour.

   Teras on the other hand, had came three times already, once from Little Rouge's original pussy eating, the second from the anal sex with her own tail, and the second as she enjoyed herself with Rouge's own toys. "Mmmm, I don't know, mayhaps I should keep you this way until this contest is over? We will win if that's all our opponents could offer. You did decide to please yourself with toys on your own accord instead of asking me first... Eh, I will if you can say the magic phrase!" Teras had forced Little Rouge to say this every time Rouge had to endure Teras' teasing sessions.

   "Teras... Owns my pussy, ass, and mouth! I'm your little toy and I apologize to my mistress for touching myself with toys! Mistress Teras is all I need to please me! ♡" After faltering on the first word, Little Rouge loudly moaned and cried at the same time the rest of the words, she very much wanted to climax.

   "You say this so many times, yet you forget just as much... Why it's AS if you want ME to punish you like this!" And on that note, Teras shoved both dildos into Little Rouge's pussy and ass, ignoring all sense of lubrication and gentleness.

   Little Rouge could barely let out a whisper as her breath had escaped her as two large toys were forced their way into her insides. Instantaneously, Little Rouge climaxed and her juices flowed wildly out of her pussy.

   It took no small amount of minutes for the extreme pleasurable sensations to die out from Little Rouge, which left her with a greatly pleased face gasping fro breath. "M-More... Mistress, more please. ♡" Grunted Little Rouge as she looked up at Teras.

   "So insatiable, ok then! You asked for it!" Teras grinned evilly and spanked Little Rouge's cute and soft butt.

-

   "You sure that snow bitch won't join up with us? You did tell her that I would give her certain advantages over those harpies."

   "Yes, milord. I informed her what sort of possibilities would await her people should she ally their ice and snow to our side. Yet she made it expressly clear to... 'Bugger off! I've said it one hundred times now and I don't mind saying it a thousand more... I serve only the Lord of Lust. And as long as if there are two contenders for the throne, I will wait until the victor arises from the cinders and ash to be crowned, and then I will offer my allegiance. To either your Arazra or that young lad.' Her words, not mine."

   "Pity, the Yuki-Onna would have been quite a boon, father should have had them swear allegiance to me before he died, to the true Lord of Lust. Any word on Ornias?"

   "Yes, Ornias has agreed to fight for us on the conditions you agreed to, Estair's lands."

   "How about the rest of our forces? Who has been rallied?"

   "Yes milord. The tenth and seventh districts together should provide more than enough forces to overwhelm the garrison at the capitol. Though with Ornias and Hezazias' pledged forces, along with Black Steps, the Parish if they survive, Hurracan's strength, Zazie's underlings, and the Legion of Renning... There should be no way for the pretender to survive long enough for reinforcements from anyone."

   "Splendid! Then let the attack begin as soon as everyone is rallied. I don't expect Justinian's farce to succeed; he wasn't really all that amiable towards me in the first place. So during the confusion of the battle, if that damn pretender shows up... We can easily slay him, no matter his level of strength or resistance of those traitorous Pillars."

   "Yes, Lord of Lust, Arazra."



The Lost Lord Ch. 19



Note: From now on, I won't be putting as much sex into every chapter like I've done before, excluding the two without sex already. Besides, in such a heated situation, I doubt I can figure out a way to involve sex that easily, though I'll keep my mind open. Absolutely no rape (non consent/reluctance in this case) situations though, the way I see it, I just don't like condoning any sort of rape, even if in a fictional text. While I may allude to such action (it is war after all), I won't narrate a full scene like that. 

Chapter 19: And into the fire. 

"Guah!" Pain, that was all that coursed through the mind of the one known as Rainer, the Lord of Lust. It was not arrogance for Rainer to say that he was well versed in combat, at least the normal hand to hand fisticuffs type of combat. Yet no matter what Rainer tried, he could not make his magic work. Whatever spells he versed and released, after chanting the required incantation he remembered, the spell soon went out of control. It was just like the time with Linias, yet it seemed even worse now. 

A lust demon had landed a small cut right next to Rainer's shoulder blades. "After I kill you, this thrice damned job will be over. We both may have lost comrades, friends, or whatever here... But I'm the one who'll win in the end and exact vengeance." The incubus known as Archibald said irately. It seemed that he was rather close to the greed demon Tozomat slew, and slew Tozomat in his rage. That rage perpetuated and the battle between Archibald and Rainer went on.

If you could call it a battle...

If one used a war as an example, let's say the One-Hundred Years War: Rainer would be the French, as he was limping around and desperately clinging on to life, fighting back with all his might; then Archibald would be the British, completely dominating the entire scene for the first half of the war. Yet if one used that war as an analogy, then one would expect the French to make a comeback, to ferociously make a side on the losing end for one hundred years suddenly show what is what and beat back the British. So far, for Rainer, it looked like it would be a complete loss for him.

Rainer told himself, (I'll try one more time, a simple spell this time, if I can't do it then...) summoning the resolve to cast more magic, or at least try, Rainer chanted:

"Cutting Wind -

Piercing northern winds

The slicing southern winds

Destructive central winds...

Congregate together in my worthy palms to be commanded!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past the faces of Rainer and Archibald, nearly knocking them down. It was as if a hurricane or a tornado decided to stop by for some tea and chatter.

Yet, just as suddenly as the winds appeared, the winds dispersed and spread in all directions. Yet another failure.

Rainer barely had time to back step a slash from Archibald's sword, retreating his way past a rock.

"Seriously! Let's get this over with! Where's that anger from before? You had the exact same eyes as I did when Veronica was slain! Yet now all I see are the eyes of an abandoned pup!" Taunted Archibald, in truth, Rainer wanted nothing more to face him and end the fight in an instant. Yet there would be no point to that if Rainer didn't have a chance to win.

All Rainer could rely on was his instincts for battle which he had honed back on Earth, facing numerous and expendable grunts of various gangs. He had nearly died several times back on Earth, and Rainer reveled in the adrenaline rush from those situations. Even his fight against Linias was one of pure joy for him. It was not a healthy addiction, quite the opposite, yet Rainer couldn't help but want to take part in these situations. And in order to succeed, he needed to learn magic in order to wield the power the consciousness known as Asmodeus that resided in his Grimoire.

Suddenly remembered that he was carrying it, Rainer looked at the book bundled under his left arm. Latent power emanated from the strange book. Asmodeus, who was also the previous and first Lord of Lust, said the he himself could not unlock the full secrets of the Grimoire. That it is a book of infinite secrets that one would never be able to decipher and find them all.

Rainer rolled to the side over the pointy rocks and rubble as Archibald chopped down again. He swung several times at Rainer, only one of which managed to slice some of Rainer's clothes.

Fine, you want to play that way? Screw magic, I'll get serious by myself...

Those words almost made their way out of his mouth, but the Lord of Lust interrupted himself as he kicked downwards, on the ground, at Archibald's heel. Rainer wasn't sure if it was the dormant demonic energy that resided in him, but all his life Rainer noticed that he was faster, stronger, more nimble, and quicker to the draw. His reflexes were second to none to everyone he knew before he met Asmodea. Just for fun and pocket change, Rainer even attended a "fight club" that was frequented by folks of all varying sorts. He stifled a laugh at how cliché that would sound, especially to Lauren, but thanks to that place, Rainer had acquired a peerless fighter's instinct and skills.

Archibald leapt back, only to find Rainer coming straight at him. As if the docile and timid squirrel had turned into an indomitable and intimidating bear. Rainer not hesitating one second jumped straight at Archibald with a battlefield's roar, kicking again diagonally up. Archibald fumbled his dodge and took the kick to the side of his jaw.

Archibald nearly felt himself go unconscious for a moment from the force of the kick nearly unhinged his jaw and rattled his brain. How in the world did such a young man have a kick of such caliber? This Lord of Lust, it was right for Elizabeth to say to not underestimate him in the slightest.

With the ferocity of a swarm of angry hornets, Rainer forced Archibald on the defensive. He punched straight at the enemy incubus' face, which was guarded by the back of Archibald's sword. Rainer whipped his other arm at his opponent, hitting Archibald with his arm. When an opponent just guarded their face from an attack, Rainer liked to attack with his other arm and move it like a whip. He arched his arm backwards and flung it at Archibald, letting the momentum do all the damage.

"Kuh... Where did you learn this?" Archibald grunted as Rainer's whip like arm connected, landed a stinging blow on Archibald, bypassing what armor he had on. The way this Lord of Lust fought with only his arms, it completely overwhelms, thought Archibald.

"You wanted me to fight, and that's what I'm damn doing! No complaining now, ok? Besides, I learned by watching and doing." In the aforementioned fight club that Rainer had frequented, there were many different types of people. Most of which were quite friendly with Rainer, as they liked to consider Rainer their mascot of the club due to his much younger age. He learned several extremely useful techniques from them and learned the rest by analyzing them when they fought. And when Rainer started getting in to fights with other delinquent types, he didn't play the honorable disciple and faithfully remember the techniques... No, Rainer, in layman's terms, took apart every technique he learned down to the smallest bit and only took out the useful bits and mixed them together to form the best mix between efficiency, speed, power, and style. As expected of the new Lord of Lust, this is what Asmodeus exactly expected from him in the past.

Rainer grabbed onto Archibald's head. Due to the proximity of Rainer, Archibald could not use his sword. And due to Archibald's surprised sudden grip on his sword, he could not retaliate with his hands. Once Rainer's grip on Archibald's head tightened, he kicked the ground, jumping up, and quicker than a Bugatti, he sent a single knee straight into Archibald's face.

Archibald dropped his sword and recoiled backwards, he latched onto his face in pain as blood streamed from his broken nose. "Son of a bitch... I'm so not underestimating you anymore." He then took a deep breath and chanted, "Flames of yore, possess thy simple blade of mine, unleashing your very essence, change the very properties of this sword and become one."

Rainer remembered that incantation, it allowed Archibald to change his broadsword into a blade of fire, not just a metal implement surrounded of fire, but strangely enough, it was as if the metal itself WAS fire.

"You're not too mature are you? I watched you each time you tried to cast a spell, and all I see is a poof!" Archibald snickered as he swung his sword around his body several times, leaving behind afterimages, before slashing at Rainer horizontally.

Rainer saw the trick behind that particular move. It forced people to watch the sword, to see when it would dart out and attack, which it could at any time. It forced people to become mesmerized by the fire and pay attention to the image of the sword in the flames, only to see the fiery sword strike at their heart before it's too late. Yet thanks to Rainer's eyes now accustomed to such demonic speed and tricks since day one of Asmodea, Rainer could look past the flames and see the blade. As Archibald slashed at Rainer, Rainer jumped up and risked his body as he kicked at Archibald's head with both of his feet, leaving the fall to his hands and body.

Archibald took the drop kick head on and staggered back. The enemy incubus stumbled over a rock and fell down, dashing the back of his skull against a rather sharp slab of red brick. He was still alive, as the rock didn't penetrate the bone, but what happened next did.

The Jaguar Man, Yaotl, stepped up right next to Archibald and looked down at the incubus. He raised his Aztec wooden sword, ready to strike down.

"NO- WAIT!"

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING?"

Both Archibald and Rainer cried out at the same time as Yaotl slammed down the club-like wooden sword on Archibald's body. The obsidian blades embedded themselves in Archibald's body, completely bypassing and shattering the ribcage. At that point, Archibald's innards turned to mush and the torch blazing in the incubus was snuffed out.

"HEY! Why'd you kill your comrade damnit!?" Said Rainer, clearly angered at the display just now.

"...He killed mine." This simple answer were the only words that Yaotl needed to say, as it was all true.

Archibald had killed that Anubite fellow, Chigaru; he also killed Tozomat, the Romance of Lust and one of Rainer's more faithful bodyguards. Rainer barely knew Tozomat, yet he very much appreciated his dedication and zeal, he felt quite unworthy of the attention actually. Tozomat also entrusted Rainer with a blue pendant that the dark blue incubus had always wore. It was very important, Rainer was only told that it was a belonging of Tozomat's mother; he was only asked to find the one with a star-shaped scar and bring justice. "Eh, maybe so. Though one should not complain about who dies when they were attacked in the first place, you and that guy, Chigaru, are no different." Rainer did not expect Yaotl to be swayed by the logic of Rainer's words, only to understand them.

"Those who are not sided with Shah Justinian are our enemies, as are you, our main target and prey. Just die... Please." It almost seemed as if Yaotl was pleading with his raspy cat voice.

Suddenly, at speeds faster than even Rainer could recognize, the Jaguar dashed at Rainer with his wooden sword at the ready. It took all of Rainer's processing power to nimbly dodge the coming attack by a hair's breadth. Yet once the wooden sword passed over his body, it stopped in mid air and went backwards, hitting Rainer in his shoulder. This attack had less power than the initial blow, but it still had enough to knock Rainer away several meters and send pain through his body.

Yaotl jumped at Rainer and rained several strikes at the ground. Luckily, Rainer had just enough time to roll over and escape. Yet the assault didn't stop their, Yaotl kicked his foot off to the side, into Rainer's waist.

Rainer' eyes nearly blackened with the desire to sleep as he was pushed backwards, crashing through a standing wall of bricks.

Just as suddenly as the wooden sword attacked Rainer, a strange voice appeared in Rainer's head, though it felt infinitely familiar to a certain sarcastic presence from his Grimoire.

'Eh? Sorry for interrupting, but while I was currently enjoying some snacks, I came to warn you.' It was the presence known as Asmodeus.

Rainer instantly shot retorted in his head, 'Hey! Stop spectating me as if this has nothing to do with you.'

'Whine, whine, whine! It DOES have nothing to do with me. In case ya haven't noticed, I'm just a voice in your head and words in the Grimoire. Still be thankful for my advice here. I hadn't expected a foe like this to appear, and I don't thick you'll be able to beat him without help. Either from outside influence, which won't appear anytime soon, or from your magic.'

Rainer stood up and faced his foe again, continuing the conversation in his mind, 'I can't bloody use magic, damnit! No matter how much I try, I can't use any magic!'

' Good gosh you're a pussy. Seriously, I expected more from you. Still, I'm going to give you two pieces of advice, which I normally wouldn't do in the middle of combat... It's too fun to watch people struggle after all.' Rainer could imagine the strange presence rolling its eyes, if it had any, as the voice continued. 'The first is, stop using pitiful magic spells! I gave you a shit-ton of magic power! There is no need for the basic elemental spells that shoot fireballs, wind blasts, icicles, and lightning from your fingertips... Only bother with large scale spells, magic big enough to destroy even that little country back in the human world that's called the Roman Empire?'

'That's little? Besides, the Roman Empire doesn't exist anymore, smart-ass.' Replied Rainer sardonically.

'Eh, close enough. Still, the second piece of advice... That Jaguar fellow, he's using a spell called 'Body Overload'. It's part of a classification of spells, which are called 'Rush' spells, which require you to pay the price of increased abilities with your body. It allows you to reach capabilities far past your normal body, and the price you must pay for it, is death. It practically ages your body to the point of exhaustion that only the elderly of our races would reach. And in a situation like this, I can tell you a way to help you counter 'Body Overload'. Which is to use a 'Rush' spell of your own.'

Asmodeus' advice didn't really seem all that sane, though it wasn't like Rainer expected anything sane in the first place. Rainer made that clear to Asmodeus, 'Why would I use a type of spell that you basically said would harm my body far more than any Earth drug, for a simple increase in abilities? Besides, it's not like I can even cast magic in the first place!'

Asmodeus, for the first time, seemed to take a serious tone to his sarcastic words, 'Look kid, grow some balls. Yes you may pay the price with your body, but I bloody think living is a reward worth paying for. Now for my besides, I notice you got a little sumthin' sumthin' from Zazie in your pocket. The 'Emperor', eh? She always was looking for that certain someone...'

Rainer garnered the words Asmodeus had said in his head, though he didn't hear the last sentence. Remembering that he stuffed the 'Emperor' card in the pocket next to his waist, he reached for it with his hands.

Asmodeus then bid his farewells, though it didn't seem like that because he was watching Rainer's life from the Grimoire, it seemed. 'Right then, I don't really feel like talking to you for a while, at least not until you kick my son's ass ALL the way to Heaven's gates. I Reeeeeally want to see what those angels would do then.'

Gee, what fatherly love.

Rainer did remember memorizing several 'Rush' spells before, though back then, he had no idea what they did. Focusing on one, which Rainer believed to be the one that provided the most bang for your buck, Rainer held the 'Emperor' aloft and chanted,

"Drastic Stand:

Before I'm beaten and battered

Before my enemy stands above my corpse

I will take a drastic stand and rush to victory

Under thy Emperor's grace."

The Emperor. He represents power, spirituality, and wisdom. It stands by that through repeated practice, through action, and through self-discipline... That one's endeavors and hard work would always be rewarded.

And why wouldn't the 'Emperor' reward Rainer's persistence when it came to casting spells?

Rainer felt adrenaline rush through his body. He felt his skin become gradually warm. He felt completely refreshed as his muscles aches and pains lessened. He felt his fatigue and weariness on his body and face dissipate. Rainer felt like he could take one last stand and defeat his enemy.

Rainer stood up, with the 'Emperor' in hand, and picked up a saber lying near Caetorum's unconscious body, which he happened to be next to. Rainer felt powerful, powerful enough to point at Yaotl and decree, "One attack, that's all I need now..." And with a silent breath, Rainer nearly disappeared as he kicked the ground and launched himself at Yaotl.

"Zazie, Zie... Whoever the heck you were, you better be right about this damn card! 'EMPEROR!'" With a cry that rivaled a newborn baby harpy (they're quite loud), Rainer stabbed with the saber with all his might.

As a saber is a sword normally designed for slashing and not stabbing, the penetrating power is drastically reduced when compared to other swords, especially Caetorum's rapier. Yet that handicap meant nothing to Rainer right now.

The 'Emperor' glowed as the light around Rainer blurred.

Yaotl widened his eyes, by held up his wooden sword and dug his feet in to the ground, he was ready to receive the attack. Yaotl was thinking to himself, (He cast a 'Rush' spell... But surely with my 'Body Overload' I can defend against it.)

In reality, both Rainer and Yaotl should have died. Yet reality had long been abandoned, gone since Rainer had first met Asmodea, and that proved in his favor.

-

Minutes before...

"And you're sure one of your comrades was in this direction?" An exasperated voice said out loud to its prisoner.

"Yes, of course it does! I'm not going to risk my head for Archibald... And definitely not Forsythe of all people. In fact, Miss Sitri, one of them, I don't know which, should be past this strange little building." A light blue pride demon, which was the prisoner of Sitri and Asmodea, said this with a sharp, mocking voice.

"Oh my, aren't you just a bundle of friendship and hope?" Sitri shot back her own sarcastic reply.

For the majority of their short and bittersweet journey, Asmodea spectated the two's banter, clearly amused, as she kept a sharp look out for potential enemies and their friends. If she didn't know better, Asmodea would have normally thought that the two were flirting, though if she made this clear, Asmodea would be resolutely denied. Reginald, the pride demon, didn't seem all that arrogant, at least to Asmodea. Sure he made sarcastic replies and sentences to just about everything he had said to his captors, though it didn't seem like he hated or despised them. His pride only showed in him when it came to battle, and quite strongly.

The building Reginald mentioned was quite large. It was noticeably ruined, as all the structures around here were, though it seemed the most intact out of them all. The only entrance to it was a staircase several meters away from their position, a staircase that led downwards. Yet what was the point of going under when one could go over with flight?

"Reginald, can you still accommodate your wings for flight?" Asked Asmodea.

"Yea, the bindings won't be in the way, I can fly over just as well as you two. Hell, probably better." Reginald said haughtily, as he readied himself for his wings to appear.




The Lost Lord Ch. 19



"Wait... What do you mean? He has no wings and all of his appendages are out, so-" Sitri looked confused, as would most people.

"Heh, just watch and be amazed little princess." With those confident words, Reginald stood tall, still with his hands bound behind him. Though it seemed that he did not need his arms to call upon the power of his tattoos.

Reginald had a number of tattoos emblazoned across his body, tattoos that were created using ink infused with an extremely potent soul of a human. These tattoos were objects that Reginald could create tangible realities of: Snakes for piercing, biting, and poisoning, a strong shield for the obvious blocking, ridiculous looking shoulder-mounted guns, angelic wings for flying, and probably even more.

Like a blossoming flower, beautiful angelic wings sprouted from Reginald's back, wings that should not exist on a demonic entity. As surprised as Asmodea first was when she saw the contradicting existences, Sitri's mouth gaped, much to the enjoyment of Asmodea and Reginald. Most words of language escaped Sitri, "Uh... Right. Where can I get some of those?"

And on that note, Asmodea and Sitri unfurled their wings accordingly and took flight along with Reginald, over the decrepit structure. The air was unusually thin but expectedly clear. With the desert area as annoying arid, there was not a cloud in sight. As expected of Gluttony's Punishment.

The three of them stayed silent for the duration of the flight, only enjoying the monotonous scenery that contained only red boulders and ramshackle buildings of various sizes. There were very few plants, and all of which were dead. The strange oasis that Asmodea had first found when she had been transported to this desert was nowhere to be found.

Eventually, the trio came across the building to a very welcome sight: A young white demoness, a human witch, a fallen angel, and two corpses belonging to their enemies. Though there was also a Djinn among them, Asmodea assumed that circumstances had the Djinn cooperate either willingly or not, in either case, she made the observation to Sitri and Reginald that the Djinn must be friendly.

Yet despite the unusual case with the Djinn, there was one more surprising thing that both Sitri and Asmodea couldn't help but be slightly amazed: the new owner of Old Age.

"Nerissa... You really are your mother's daughter, aren't you? Full of interesting surprises. I understood your skill, yet to think you impressed Old Age enough to be its new wielder." Venerated Asmodea. She and the youngest daughter of the Princess of Pride weren't exactly all that friendly towards one another, that was made clear when they first met in Rainer's house in the human world. Yet Asmodea knew when to separate her emotions from when someone truly deserved a compliment.

Sitri agreed, "Yes, father's sword may have traveled around a bit, but it never chooses a weak owner." What Sitri meant by the sword traveling around, was that when Old Age was being given a new wielder, or it found someone to be its new owner, the sword that Old Age inhabited transferred its consciousness, energy, and power to the new sword. It was believed that Old Age did this because it never wanted its owner to be forced to learn a completely new sword style depending on the shape and style difference of their old sword to Old Age.

"I know, right? Though I didn't mean to take one of Death's weapons for my own, I meant to give it to my darling fiancée! Yet, I don't know if I want to now..." Said Nerissa with a tinge of regret.

While Nerissa conversed with Asmodea and Sitri, a conversation began with Reginald and Luce, the Djinn.

"Hmmm, looks like your turning traitor to Black Steps, eh? Doubt Xizaen would be too pleased, he's an ornery fellow!" Gibed Reginald.

Luce responded emotionlessly, "Xizaen is jabberwock. While I appreciated the money, I did not particularly care for his destructive tendencies. Besides, it doesn't seem like you're resisting your capture all that much, are you?"

"I see no need in trying to hide it. I only joined the Parish because of those two bouncy women, though I can sense that they're dead now." Reginald joggled his head around as if summing things up, then asked, "Hey, who's the one who killed Forsythe? That creepy gluttony demon with a tongue of rotten flesh?"

Aureal cocked her head confused, wondering how the pride demon would react to her slaying of the detestable gluttony demon?

"Tis you? A beautiful sight like you killing Forsythe? Man, AM I glad I decided to be stick with being captured." Reginald heartily laughed with no regard towards his dead comrade. It seemed he despised this Forsythe just as much as Aureal did.

Suddenly, a noisy shockwave of dramatic proportions erupted at least a kilometer and a half away from their position. The group had no idea what it belonged to, but they knew that it was at least involved to their competition. The group, excluding Reginald, made a silent prayer towards their allies, with some of the group chanting loyally just under their breath for Rainer.

Dust clouded up at the epicenter of the shockwave, with it spreading up into the air. However, the group couldn't watch the spectacle for too long, as they were whisked away in a strange void to be transported back to where they came.

-

"Ah, my good man, did you manage to plant it securely?" An extremely laidback voice asked this to a kneeling demon.

"Yes, my Shah. The translocator is ready to receive the victors."

The Shah clapped and reached for a thick book laid face down on a hand table next to him. "Good, good... While I'm not really surprised, it is quite interesting that the Lord of Lust won. I do admit, I blundered up my little contest. How sad... Though I still found it profusely enjoyable to spectate." The Shah opened up the book to the chapter he left off. He was currently reading how a character doing something that the Shah could care less about. He was reading just for the sake of passing time after all and he had no interest in the current book he was reading.

The kneeling demon stood up and bowed before taking his leave, opening the door only to be replaced by another demon entering the room.

The newcomer was a haggard looking fellow with thin glasses and a worn, grey suit. He had orange-green skin along with horns and a tail (most demons outside of the Land of Lust did not have wings, most demons with wings lived in the Land of Lust). The haggard demon performed the disrespectful action of taking the book the Shah was reading away and tossing it behind his back, saying, "Really... I damn knew this wouldn't end well, Belphegor."

"Eh? What might you be talking about my good friend?" The Shah asked, clearly bemused as if he had never been guilty of even a single white lie.

"While I am pleased that you are at least capable, willing, and actually bringing the Lord of Lust and his followers back to their land... They will be entering a DAMN wildfire!" The haggard demon was calm at first, though his words grew increasingly perturbed.

"My word... You're not kidding? Do tell! I love a good story. You're a great story-teller Sir Mortol!" The Shah slapped his hand down on Mortol's shoulder as if he was getting a giant inside joke.

"I'm not a knight, please refrain from using 'Sir' in my name. What I mean is... I mean that you will be transporting the Lord of Lust and his followers into a bloody warzone!" Mortol abruptly threw his hands in the air, gesticulating a large conflict. "That Arazra and his allies, which are quite numerous mind you, have all gathered and begun sieging the Land of Lust's capitol! Of course that city was designed to counter sieges, though it cannot stand against such a large force with its paltry garrison. They won't even be able to get word out to any loyal forces! You said you would take responsibility for the consequences of your idiotic competition, so please take responsibility for once!"

"Whoa, I don't think I've ever seen you so angry. I refuse. Obviously, I don't really care who wins, this Rainer or Arazra. Both are quite capable folks, and while this Rainer may be quite a nice person and would undoubtedly grow into a great ruler someday, Arazra is also dedicated to the Land of Lust and does not have any selfish intentions for the future after becoming Lord. It is not like genocide will occur depending on who will become Lord of Lust, and even then, I wouldn't act." The Shah ended his rant with a smashing crescendo, though he added this several seconds after, "Besides, you should obviously know that the Rulers of Sin have to wait two decades before interfering with who actually takes the vacant seat of the seven Rulers of Sin. Sure I can 'test' the Lord hopefuls, though I will not choose between them. Petty squabbles like that will resolve themselves."

Mortol sighed, he was quite reluctant to admit it, but the Shah was right. Only eighteen of the twenty years have passed, and thus it was law that the Rulers of Sin cannot interfere with who becomes Lord in the end. The Son of Lust against the youth who came out of nowhere, who truly was a better bet for Lord of Lust?

-

In a certain meeting room of a certain palace located in a certain capitol city of the Land of Lust, there were several guards posted. Each of the four guards had on the same set of mailed armor, though colored faintly in the color of their choice. Each had a different weapon, one with a sword and shield, a spear, an axe and shield, and a battle-axe. They were posted there because it was unsure that the Lord of Lust and his subordinates would reappear there or not, as that room was the exact place where they were transported at least two days ago.

"Just stand watch there in cases our Lord, his fiancée and concubines, or any of the Pillar of Lust show up and if they do, immediately come and warn me or any superiors." This command was given by the chief of the city guard, a fairly young demon that went by the name of Dezeil.

Dezeil was given command over the forces that oversaw the going ons of the capitol city, he was found apt for duty and quite capable as a tactician and warrior, even commended by Zagan, the first district leader. The entire city guard respected Dezeil and would follow his every command; some would even follow his commands to the zealous degree of even betraying the Lord of Lust or any other superiors. Dezeil, thankfully, was a true loyal demon of the Land of Lust, and would follow the one that was supported by five of the Pillar of Lust.

The four guards were conversing, discussing various topics about the city as they stood watch and ready to spring into action. Suddenly, with a burst of green light, several people warped into the room. The people that appeared first were two pillar members, the Sadism and Fetishes of Lust, and a corpse of a fallen angel.

Three of the four guards immediately kneeled down and made themselves known to the pillar members, while one, the one with the sword and shield, rushed off to inform Dezeil.

Teras, the Sadism of Lust, spoke first, "Ah good, we're back and that means we've won. That should have been obvious from the start in any case. Still, you three, are we the first ones to arrive?"

One of the guards answered her question, "No, ma'am. You two, as well as the corpse, are the first to appear."

"Eeeeeh, corpse? Oooooh my! It's myyyyy handiwork again.♡" Little Rouge gallivanted over towards the dead fallen angel and nudged it several times with her foot, turning it over to reveal the marred face.

Another flash of green light occurred and another body appeared, and this time it belonged to the dead wrath demon, Asura.

Teras twirled her umbrella in delight, "And there's mine! Quite a weak little pillar member, sad that I didn't get to fight anyone fun."

"Miss Teras and Rouge, you have returned, praise Asmodeus." This relieved voice belonged to Dezeil which continued to speak, "We have a desperate situation in our hands and we severely are short of hands.

"Oh my sounds serious! Oh, here are some more." Blandly said Teras as she sensed more arrivals before the green light appeared again.

A fairly large group arrived this time, consisting of Asmodea, Sitri, Nerissa, Aureal, Lauren, Luce, and Reginald. As well as the corpses of a gluttony and wrath demon, who were Forsythe and Avandar.

"I am very pleased that you have all returned safely..." Dezeil sounded even more relieved than before at the sight of the Daughter of Lust, the Seduction of Lust, and the concubines and fiancée of the Lord of Lust, he even failed to notice that the Lord of Lust had yet to appear.

"We are not the first to come back? Rouge... You are fully healed, that is a relief." At the sight of the fully healed Little Rouge, who had accumulated the largest collection of mortal wounds she had ever seen, Asmodea breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yup yup! Good oooool' Teras healed meeeee right uuuuup with 'Cauterizing Water'. ♡" Said Little Rouge enthusiastically and she slapped her hand down several times of Teras' shoulder.

"That is all well and good, but have you seen my husband?" Asked Nerissa frantically, as she looked around and checked the corpses for any sign of Rainer.

"Nope! Neither of us didn't see him once, not since I parted with him to go scouting. He shouldn't be dead, as we would have failed this contest, yet we won." Responded Teras calmly.

"There was that large shockwave from earlier, Master should have been involved with that. Perhaps he dealt the winning blow?"

"Miss Asmodea, I understand the importance of our Lord, and we will keep vigil until he returns here, but we have quite the pressing situation to report to you." Said Dezeil frantically. He was covered in sweat as he ran here with all of his remaining stamina.

As Asmodea was the head of the Pillar of Lust, and the oldest member of the group, without a Lord of Lust to command, she was considered the head of all of the Land of Lust's forces. "Yes... The Lord of Lust... Very well then, tell me what is happening."

"We're- we are being assaulted by the forces of Arazra!"

"!!!What? He would pull such a drastic action?" Asmodea sounded clearly surprised and worried.

"Yes, and it is not only the Tenth district forces! We have seen the sigil of the Seventh, Fifth, and Eight district's forces alongside! As well as numerous mercenary forces..." Dezeil was quite on edge, though he kept his fears in check in order to keep a clear mind.

"This is... Sasilith was fairly obvious, yet Ornias and Hezazias as well?" With the revelation in tow, Asmodea pondered the situation before returning with a serious expression, "I assume you have been able to keep them at bay for a decent amount of time?"

"Yes, ma'am. As their assault only started several hours ago, we have somehow managed to keep them out of the city, though it is only a matter of time before they enter the first terrace." Dezeil reported the situation without hesitation.

"We can use that secret passage to send word and request help. Hopefully we can hold out until reinforcements arrive, as I doubt any of the other districts know of our plight. Dezeil, send some of your fastest along with Roal to send word to any loyal districts along with the harpies. Ignore the Yuki-Onna as I bet they will keep their neutrality. I, Sitri, Little Rouge, and Teras will take command of our forces and keep the enemy at bay for as long as possible." Asmodea barked her orders, which Dezeil nodded firmly too, he left the room along with two of the three remaining guards. Asmodea turned to Nerissa, Lauren, and Aureal and solemnly said, "While I wish you three would keep yourself safe here in the palace, I doubt you can stay still with such serious action going on."

"Of course, no one will be taking my lovely husband's city while I'm around!"

"While I prefer living, I don't think they will let me live if I stay still, so I will obviously help out."

"I will defend Master's city from any intruders..."

Nerissa, Lauren, and Aureal gave their responses in turn, each willing to help out.

Asmodea smiled grimly, "Heh, Rainer is quite the lucky man to have us, right?" Asmodea then turned to Reginald and Luce, "Now what should we do with you?"

Luce spoke first, making his intentions clear form the beginning, "I was asked to help out the Lord of Lust by his three concubines as I have no need to keep my loyalty to Black Steps anymore. I would love to kick the shit out of Xizaen's pompous ass if possible, so I will fight as well."

Asmodea smirked, the Djinn did not look weak, nor did it look like he was lying. He would indeed be a boon to the city's defense.

Yet Reginald was a different matter, he laughed out loud and said, "I don't really see the point in helping out my captors you know? I mean, my situation here isn't all that desirable. Though I do have a proposition..."

Asmodea raised an eyebrow, "And what sort of proposition can you concoct in your position?"

"I am not weak, quite strong actually. Let me be prideful enough to say I would have killed you and that Rouge fellow if she didn't knock me unconscious with my attention elsewhere. I will agree to help you all out, massacre quite a few troops and even take out some generals if you want, for one thing only..." Reginald smiled and sounded quite pleased with himself.

Asmodea could admit that Reginald was powerful, and very crafty. There was no doubt that he had more tattoos (which he did), he would have taken Asmodea by surprise and slay her. "That entirely depends on what you want. I can't imagine a demon like you wanting anything in particular."

"Yet there is! With my group, the Parish pretty much all gone, I see no need to going back to assassination. Nor do I have any desire to join up with more groups of mercenaries or assassins. I will help you out with all my might for one thing, leadership of one of your districts."

"Huh?" Asmodea smacked her ear, thinking that she must have heard him wrong. Along with her, everyone but Teras and Luce held an astonished or bewildered on their faces.

"Trust me, I'm much better than your traitorous district leaders. Here's my little speech, I can be quite loyal, and I would refuse to betray that loyalty if I'm in a position that high. I wouldn't mind being in a position of power like that. Tactics, management, economics, and etcetera... I can do all that. Or at least consider me as a candidate for one of the district leaders." Reginald abstained from his usual sarcasm and tried his best to sound convincing.

"I see... I obviously cannot appoint you as a district leader, only the Lord of Lust may do that and he is still missing." Asmodea pondered the insane words of the pride demon. While it was true they needed all the help they can get, and the skills and strength of a strong person like Reginald is worth hundred fold more than an average soldier, she was appropriately hesitant to agree to the proposition. "I will bring your case to my lord, though I cannot assure anything other than that."

"Fair enough, it would be insipid of anyone to outright agree to a proposition such as mine immediately."

Asmodea unfettered Reginald, "Though I want you to be in the presence of at least two of us at all times, Little Rouge and Sitri will be those two."

"Ehhhhhh?"

"Ohhhhh my! Must IIIII babysit? IIIII don't mind asssss long aaaaas if heeeee doesn't hold meeeee back.♡"

Sitri looked incredulous while Little Rouge didn't seem all that pleased, though they understood Asmodea's caution.

After some more complaining on Sitri's part, that trio, along with Luce and Teras, they left for the frontlines.

At that point, the fourth and final green flash made its course in front of the remaining people. Asmodea, Nerissa, Lauren, and Aureal elected to stay behind several more minutes to wait for Rainer, Caetorum, and Tozomat. Seven motionless bodies appeared.




The Lost Lord Ch. 19



As if shell-shocked, everyone stayed silent and surveyed the bodies, searching for Rainer and the other two pillar members. They were found immediately. The bodies of Archibald, Veronica, and Chigaru were all splayed out in random spots in the room. Caetorum was slumped next to a chair, Tozomat lied face down on the floor, and Rainer was breathing heavily on the ground with an arm lying on top of the Jaguar Man, Yaotl.

Each of the four women could not hold back their cries. Caetorum and Rainer were alive, though with closed eyes and a silent body, yet Tozomat was devoid of life. While Nerissa and Aureal immediately rushed over to Rainer, looking to see if Rainer had any serious wounds, Lauren stood silent, watching the display of Asmodea. Asmodea wasn't sure which body to visit, her beloved Rainer who was still clinging to life, or the one who she treated as a younger brother that was now dead, Tozomat.

Lauren placed a hand on Asmodea's shoulder and said with a somber tone, "They'll take care of Rainer... I will revive Caetorum. You do what you need."

Asmodea stood still and slowly nodded her head, as if thanking Lauren in her silence. With a taciturn demeanor, Asmodea walked over to Tozomat. That last time Asmodea drew tears? Not even she remembered, though it was a very long time ago. And for the first time in that gap, she could not control herself and depressing drops of salty water formed from her eyes and flowed down her face leaving behind a glistening trail.

Pull yourself together... Since when do the dead appreciate those who mourn excessively?

That was what Asmodea told herself, while she very much wanted to cry for her dead friend, she knew that there was an extravagant crisis on her hands. If she was dead, Tozomat would obviously have taken care of the enemy at the gates first, and then bury the ones he cared for, that was the taciturn demon's style for hundreds of years. Not even when the previous lord died, did Asmodea feel such sadness in her. She knew that Tozomat died in a glorious battle against the ones who wanted to harm Rainer and did not regret one bit. His dedication in protecting the previous Lord's most valuable possession, the... Grimoire was more than what Asmodea would have ever done.

Yes, mourning must come later. The capitol is in trouble and Rainer might be slain if things get too out of hand, and Tozomat would do anything in his power to prevent such happenings.

Turning towards the remaining guard, Asmodea ordered, "Place the Romance of Lust's body in his room and get some others to help transport these dead bodies to a suitable room. We will take care of them after this despicable war is over." War, that is definitely what this situation could be called.

Out of the frying pan... And into the fire.

-

(Eh? I'm still alive? That is quite a relief. Wait, if I'm alive, why can't I move my body or open my eyes? Somehow I can still breathe, probably cause I've been unconsciously been doing that since day one of life.)

"I'm so happy... He's not dead and in a coma, thank Lucifer."

(A coma, that's just jolly good. Nerissa... And Aureal?)

The white demoness and fallen angel were both located inside the bedroom of the Lord of Lust, as they transported him from the meeting room to there. Several physicians have come and gone, all saying that with his wounds healed, it would be much safer for him in general to let his sleep run its course until he wakes up. They had identified the source of the coma to be a 'Rush' spell, and a dangerous one at that. While it wasn't deadly, it certainly wouldn't allow its user to move any part of their body for varying amounts of time.

"'Rush' spells, Master chose a very dangerous spell to use. Mistress, while I very much wish to stay behind and care for Master, there is a pressing situation outside and our help would be very much appreciated." Deadpanned Aureal.

"...You're right. Though one of us should stay behind and that will be me, obviously my fiancée should be nursed back to health by his loving wife." While Nerissa tried to sound cheerful, she was clearly worried.

Aureal understood and nodded her head, "Of course, Mistress, then I will go and assist the pillar members."

The door to the bedroom opened and what strode in was a funereal Asmodea, "Nerissa and Aureal, both of you help out at the walls. I will stay behind and protect our lord." Aureal tilted her head while Nerissa clenched her teeth while Asmodea continued, "One of the Pillar of Lust must always stay behind and protect the Lord of Lust. Normally that would be Tozomat in most situations, and now... Well, now I will be the one to protect the Lord as often as he did, and I will begin now."

"But the husband should be pro-" Nerissa tried to argue but she was quickly cut off.

"I have protected the Lord of Lust for the majority of my life, and I will not fail here anytime soon. I know more about protecting my Lord more than you. You will not be doing nothing, our Lord's enemies have gathered and opened siege and you will do more than me by protecting Rainer out there than in here." Asmodea gritted her teeth at the end of her words.

"Mistress, I agree with Asmodea. You can do more out there than being cooped up in here. Besides..." Aureal words became quiet as she whispered something into Nerissa's ears that Asmodea couldn't hear, "Besides, she just lost a dear friend, and the only one who can comfort her now is Master."

Nerissa solemnly looked down and nodded her head. The white demoness picked up Old Age and fastened it to her waist before following Aureal out of the room.

(...Asmodea.)

Asmodea caressed Rainer's face lovingly with her soft hands. She drew her hand down to his neck to find a curious blue pendant. Not sure if Rainer could hear her or not, Asmodea talked out loud, "This pendant... It is the pendant of Tozomat's late mother. I do not remember a single day when he did not wear it around his neck."

(His mother's pendant... I knew that, but I did not know how devoted he was to it.)

"He said that it reminded him of his Sin... And not the Sin of the Seven Sins." Asmodea then quoted, "'True sin, even for demons, is one that can never be erased. It is permanently inscribed in your mind, digging at your head like a corkscrew.' These are the exact words of his when we were very young, around your age to be exact. He said that his shadow manipulation was a way of paying for his sins, due to its painful nature."

(Even demons at that age are quite mature.)

"I don't know how much he told you when he entrusted this pendant to you, though I know he would have never have parted with it unless he trusted with you to the deepest part of his being... He never even let me take care of it once and I knew him far longer than any other person." Asmodea let out a melancholy laugh.

(I didn't even know him for more than a week... And he trusted me that much?)

"He said that a demon with a star shaped scar forced him to kill his own mother." Asmodea smiled grimly, "This demon with the star shaped scar... I wonder if that demon is still alive? Promise me you will bring the justice it deserves."

Even though Rainer couldn't move consciously, somehow, his arm moved over and grasped Asmodea's thigh lightly.

Asmodea tender smile beamed even brighter as she tightly gripped the hand that was on her thigh. Asmodea lowered her head and planted several small kisses all over Rainer's body. She wanted nothing more than to throw herself on Rainer's member, though it would be highly inappropriate in this situation, even for a succubus.

Succubi, and demons in general, felt emotions permeate their being far more than humans, especially the more happy and tender emotions. Love too, was an emotion that affected Asmodea far greater than any human. Humans are very frivolous with their love, tossing it around at many different other people. And while many demons did that too, demons like Asmodea did give their love unless they meant it.

"I truly do love you, Rainer." This time, Asmodea planted a softer kiss on Rainer's lips, though she refrained from making it too deep.

(Then what do I feel?)

-

Twenty sets of footsteps could be heard quickly making their way through a long and dark tunnel. The tunnel traveled from the top of the palace, under the mountain, and out the back of the mountain. This was a secret tunnel known to very few, and only used in extreme emergency. Right now was one of these emergencies.

The leader of this group of footsteps went by the name of Roal. He and his subordinates, which numbered fourteen females and six males including him eventually, reached the end of this tunnel. As Roal was one of the few who were allowed information about this secret tunnel, he was entrusted with the task of leading some demons through it and delivering urgent messages to the other districts. Roal himself was given the message belonging to the queen of the Harpies.

While Roal was traveling through the long tunnel, he pondered the terrain of the seven circles. The Waters of Wrath contained the most and largest bodies of water, with most of its land separated into islands of varying size. The Grounds of Gluttony were known to have the largest expanse of forests mainly used for hunting, though it had large farming areas for growing varying edible substances. The Plains of Pride had the flattest terrain of the circles, with very few mountains; it was perfectly suited for the humanoid species the Princess of Pride adopted which were the Centaurs and Satyrs. The Gardens of Greed was the smallest of the circles, though it had rich veins of metals, fertile soil, healthy and delicious animals, and beautiful urban environments. The Sands of Sloth had many jungles situated around oases randomly located in its deserts, it was noted to have a large amount of dangerous ruins that were abandoned by the circle's laidback attitude to everything.

Roal operated the mechanism that opened up the passage leading to the back of the steep mountain. This set of mountains, which hugged the capitol city, was famously known to be impossible to traverse, even by flying creatures, demons, and humanoids of all sorts. The mountains were impossibly high, and it was said that even technology of the human world would be unable to reach the top. The Lands of Lust were the most mountainous of the circles, though it wasn't necessarily a good thing.

The secret entrance dissipated, as it was an extremely powerful illusion spell that the previous Lord of Lust said even he couldn't dispel it normally, and Roal and his subordinates made their way out to meet an unwelcome party.

Soldiers of the Tenth district met the twenty soldiers of Lust. More than a hundred demons were camped out by the secret entrance under the orders to intercept and report back any attempts to escape through the secret passage. Before anyone noticed, a skirmish occurred and the twenty Soldiers of Lust and the army of the Tenth district.

The twenty messengers were no average soldiers, and easily slew quite a few of the Tenth district, though the sheer amount of forces on the other side ultimately overwhelmed the messengers. Blood and giblets went flying everywhere, coming from both sides.

Roal slashed his trusty axe at one soldier, hacking through the thin leather and cutting through the soldier's heart. He turned around and kicked the chest of another charging soldier who had his claymore raised. Roal pulled out the soldier's dagger from his harness and stabbed it into the soldier's neck. Soon, Roal's forces dwindled down to eight. He shouted out to his comrades, "Everyone! Retreat and escape into the forest and fulfill your mission!"

The remaining eight messengers silently nodded to the order of their superior and did their best to escape into the forest. Two more of the messengers were cut down in their attempt to escape, though they valiantly fought back and slew more than fifteen soldiers each before they died. Thanks to their distraction, the remaining six messengers, including Roal, managed to melt into the wilderness and evade the rest of the soldiers.

Roal panted in relief as he found that his message was still located in his pack and ready to be delivered to Iris, the Harpy Queen.



The Lost Lord Ch. 20



Chapter 20 -- Forces in Motion... If you know what I mean. 

"Ha ha ha, I'm quite enjoying myself today, what do you think... Lizias?" A dark green demon stabbed his spear into the gut of another demon, instantly killing that demon.

The one named Lizias stood by his ally, grabbing onto the face of an enemy demon and tossing him off a high ledge to its doom. Lizias had no weapons on his body, as he liked to defeat his enemies, even the small frys, with only his fists. Lizias barely even wore any armor, preferring the comfort of various cloths to the bulk and weight to various armors. He replied to his comrade happily, "I sure am, Renning. Really, I'm honestly surprised here, I never expected these soldiers to be so... Zealous."

Renning, the leader of the egotistically named Legion of Renning. This particular group of mercenaries always fought for money, though they refused any job that they deemed too "boring". In fact, they considered any job where if a set few of their number didn't die, to be a failure. It was also quite famous for being a fairly organized group of mercenaries, keeping a strict set of discipline for their group and a rigorous routine for all the lower ranked members.

Renning laughed heartily, clearly enjoyed with the current situation. He knocked the chin of lust demon with the butt of his spear, kicking the demon in the solar plexus as a finisher. He twisted his spear in the air and sliced across the neck with the tip of the spear of a third demon. "This Arazra fellow... He certainly gave us a fun battle this time. Though... It's rather lacking in interesting opponents? Where's this Pillar of Lust? You would think they would help defend their capitol."

Lizias smirked and lifted up succubus by her legs, swinging her into a group of archers firing upon the troops below the walls. "Be careful what you wish for, Renning. It might just come true, though not that I mind if it does." Lizias tossed out his "sage" advice to his friend and superior, Renning.

In the beginning of the battle, the Legion of Renning was tasked with the initial strike, though Renning would have volunteered for such an option in the first place. Arazra didn't want to risk the district soldiers in the most dangerous of jobs in the siege. He preferred to use his hired forces to wear down the enemy until a final surge of troops was needed. Arazra had several large mercenary groups under his control, with the most notable and famous of them being Black Steps, the Legion of Renning, and Huracan. Black Steps was particularly famous for being led by a black demon, which are extremely rare outside of the families of the Ruler of Sin. The Legion of Renning was most famous for a certain battle they took part in at one time, which occurred during the previous war between the angels and demons. And Huracan was fairly mysterious, as none were allowed to know their secrets unless they joined the group themself; though it is rumored that they have something to do with the Mayan god the group is named after.

The forces of Arazra were quite vast, though it wasn't as large he previously had hoped it would be. Considering the matters of running his own district, and the same for his allied district leaders, they all had to leave behind a portion of their troops to keep order and defend the borders in case forces affiliated with the fake Lord of Lust attacked them.

"I'm quite enjoying myself here, Renning, but I advise that we pull back by a little. Our enemy is rallying and ready to charge. Strong as we may be, even we will be overwhelmed by such a large amount of demons." Counseled the rugged Lizias.

What Lizias said was true, as there was a surge of lust demons crawling up the stairs of the walls, ready to push back the intruders. A strange purple succubus in an odd purple dress with lace frills led them. The strange succubus also twirled around an umbrella that was out of place in the dusty battlefield as of now, though she seemed completely unfazed by all the noise and strife. Every step the succubus took seemed to resonate through the eardrums of the Legion of Renning currently fighting on the high walls. Though the mercenaries continued to fight, they seemed unusually afraid of the succubus, they all itched to be away from her presence. The only ones not affected were Lizias and Renning.

The succubus then turned her head and gleefully and ordered, "Eliminate these detestable mercs... And if you don't put up a good show and give them pain, I'll be the one to administer that pain I want. Hmmm? I'll handle those two." The female and male demon soldiers behind the succubus paled, though they immediately rushed out and attacked the Legion of Renning soldiers, leaving Lizias and Renning alone.

Renning knocked an incubus to the side with his spear before planting the haft into the ground. "You're quite an arrogant little minx. Hrm... You don't happen to be a member of that pillar group, would you?"

"Renning... Please, if you don't retreat soon, this woman will have the upper hand with her forces and she will easily slay us. I will cover your escape. You can fight plenty of strong opponents if you live another day." Lizias offered his word of warning.

The purple succubus frowned, "Tsk... I really want to kill one of you two. Fine, tell you what, I'll let one of you live and the other will have some fun with me here! And to answer your question, I am the Sadism of Lust. And who might you two be?"

"I am Renning, of the Legion of Renning. This is Lizias, not of the Legion of Lizas." Renning stood still, combing the body of the Sadism of Lust. As always with succubi, she is extremely beautiful, a sizable bust, and a toned body.

Lizias looked downwards, he had an austere expression on his face, "Renning... You always think you're hilarious. Please escape while I hold of this Sadism of Lust and her troops. I'll do what I can to escape and we can fight future battles alive."

Renning grinned and placed a hand on Lizias' shoulder, "No I don't, Lizias. If anything, you're the funny one. OK, then... LEGION! PULL OUT! Live or die, just have some fun, will you? Hey Sadist! Make sure you give him a run for his money, kill him if he needs it!" This was the attitude Renning had with all of his subordinates. He never played favorites, nor did he particularly care for any of them, though he enjoyed the occasional duel with his comrades.

Lizias, while he did not consider himself weak, found it impossible to consider Teras in any way remotely close to him in strength, with him on the wrong side of that scale. He was prepared to give his life for the one who had paid his wages, which were quite large, as it was a staple among the Legion of Renning to give up on life once you join.

The Sadist tilted her head and smiled, "Well, you heard him. There is no point in me holding back, is there? The quicker I kill the Land of Lust's enemies the better." With her grim sense of loyalty, the Sadist pulled out an odd cane sword from the handle of her umbrella.

Lizias gritted his teeth and took a defensive stance, he wasn't sure how long he could hold of the Sadist before she killed him.

The Sadist of Lust ran pointer and middle finger along the length of the sword, forming a striking blue sheen. Soon, sparks randomly went off on various points at the sword, with them concentrating around the tip and close to the pommel. Without hesitation, the Sadist lowered herself and sprinted off towards Lizias with her cane sword at the ready.

"So fast!" With those words, Lizias attempted to intercept the Sadist. He tried to step off to the side and grab onto the Sadist as she passed by.

Yet it was futile to resist in the end. The Sadist immediately halted her momentum and stood just before Lizias' outstretched arms ready to grab onto her. She sadistically smiled with her eyes closed cheerfully. In one fell motion, the Sadist of Lust cut through Lizias' arms, which normally would not kill instantly, but the lightning she infused her blade with coursed through the male demon's body and immediately stopped his heart, though not before Lizias felt the full brunt of the pain of the severed arms and electricity in his veins.

Lizias screamed out in pain for a long while, even faint squeaks and groans could be heard even after the demon's death.

"Hardly fun... Hmm, I might as well capture you then!" The Sadist grumbled for some unknown and unhappy reason, "I promised that you may live, though not until I have a little fun with you. Surround him, please!"

Renning hardly had time to vault himself back over the walls and secure his escape before soldiers of Lust surrounded him with their weapons pointing at his neck. He knocked several of them aside with his spear and tried to stab the spearhead into the gut of the demon behind him, which incidentally turned out to be the Sadist who had already converged upon his location. He grimaced at the body of Lizias, though he soon lost interest and switched his gaze to the Sadist.

The Sadist of Lust spoke first, "I would just love it if you would resist and make this SO much more fun to capture you!" The Sadist of Lust slowly sheathed her cane sword back into her umbrella while saying this.

Renning spun his spear in the air and slammed the haft into the ground before taking replying, "I agree, there would be no point in participating in such a fun war if you don't risk your life. Still, I prefer life and I doubt I can survive in this situation. And on that note..." Renning tilted his spear into a sixty degree angle and chanted, "Regaled Ascalon, the spear that bathed in dragon blood. Grow and grow until you reach the clouds!"

Abruptly, the spear that was in Renning's hands grew, expanding from the center. The demon held onto the spear tightly as he was launched into the air, narrowly avoiding the piercing lances and swords of the attacking Lust demons. The Sadist of Lust didn't budge, though she followed Renning with her eyes that seemed as if she was looking down on Renning even with him all the way up in the sky.

Renning eventually called back up his spear, it returned to its original length as he continued to soar through the sky. And since he had no wings, Renning eventually began to plummet to the ground. He twisted his spear and extended it again towards the ground. Once the haft touch soft soil, he carefully but swiftly lowered himself to the ground.

"Oi! You're back already? C'mon, I honestly thought your legion would do much better than that." This gruff voice came from a being that Renning rather disliked.

Renning twirled his spear around in the air as it returned to its original state. He looked up and stared the gruff voice straight in the eye, "Have someone tell Arazra that the Pillar of Lust have returned, and most likely the Lord of Lust as well." And without waiting for a reply, Renning stalked off towards the tents and encampment of his subordinates, most of which were now seeking healing. "She was... Quite beautiful."

-

Around several hours passed since everyone left the meeting room and night soon approached. Watches were posted by Teras in order to patrol the walls and look out for any possible night attacks.

Due to the geography of the capitol, which was a massive city surrounded by immense mountains, there was only one direction in which the enemy could attack. Even in the areas where the terrain dipped down, the freezing artic winds allowed no flying demons or humanoids to pass through unless wearing heavy clothing to negate the cold, and even then, the heavy clothing wouldn't allow flight.

Due to this mountainous terrain that wasn't restricted around the capitol, but covering the entire landscape to the point where there wasn't a single spot in all of the Land of Lust where you couldn't see a single mountain. And this was one of the main reasons why the previous Lord of Lust adopted the particular humanoid species into the Land of Lust. The Harpies because they were naturally suited to flying in many temperatures, even more so than demons. And the Yuki-Onna because they were naturally suited to freezing temperatures of any type and could live comfortably in the cold.

High walls were extended from one side of the mountains to the other in order to block out invaders from entering the city. And there were several terraces to travel until one reached the palace from the ground floor. The elevation advantage allowed siege weapons, archers, and mages to rain projectiles down on the attacking enemies, even if they penetrated into the terraces.

Numerous patrols walked along the length of the grand walls, above and below. There were even some demons patrolling the skies for flying invaders. You would think that if a large force invaded over the walls from the skies that they would easily overwhelm or bypass whatever defenses were there, quite the opposite in actuality. Flying isn't nearly as convenient as people think, you are an easy target for archers and mages or swarms of other flying demons that can surround you in heartbeat.

Thus the invading armies took a short break, planning their next immediate attack. While they could attack under cover of night, it would not prove all that prudent. Defending mages had dispersed any clouds and fogs that could hide troops, and many worked spells of night vision that allowed easy sight at night.

Yet since a siege is a war of attrition, there was still line of soldiers hidden behind movable barriers and objects of varying size, firing projectiles at the defenders on the walls. The patrolling guards on the walls hid behind the battlements, with many of them retaliating. In this pitiful exchange of projectiles, very few soldiers on both sides died.

In one very tall tower, several prominent demons, a fallen angel, and a Djinn were resting for the night, conversing before sleep took them. Their names are Nerissa, Aureal, Sitri, Little Rouge, Luce, and Reginald. Not all of them were in the same room, though they came and go as they pleased looking for sustenance, the facilities, and the bedrooms. This tower was reserved for officers and there were separate, lavish beds for each individual (for the females, not the two males who slept, with some complaint on Reginald's part, in a lackluster room).

Conversations of random and strange topics permeated the tower.

-

"You know, Sitri... Tooooo outsiders, iiiiit honestly looks like flirting!♡" Little Rouge said to Sitri in the room they were currently occupying.

They were both alone in this room and Little Rouge intentionally spoke in a voice that was loud enough to make a person seem like they were shouting, but low enough for none outside the room to hear.

"Oh? I don't know what you mean. I haven't gotten very many chances to speak with our handsome lord so far." Sitri responded dreamily. It seemed that the black demoness had no idea what Little Rouge was talking about.

Little Rouge, contorted in a comical pose, positioned both of her palms under her chin to support her lying down and amusedly said, "Our cute little lord? Nnnnno, I'mmmmm obviously not talking about him.♡" Little Rouge blinked her eyes mischievously before continuing on, hell bent on annoying Sitri, "IIIII'm talking about that interesting pride fellow.♡"

Sitri waited five seconds exact for the words to process with her brain, "Please repeat that again, but much more slowly this time. I think your brain must be damaged or something and you started to spout nonsense."

Little Rouge was laughing uncontrollably, in her mind. It took all her power to not laugh at the black demoness' face. "Nope! You heard correct, that interesting Reginald fellow with the strange tattoos, iiiiit seems you've taken aaaaa liking tooooo him!♡"

Sitri calmly stood up and rigidly walked towards the door; just before she left, she threw a miniature knife at Little Rouge, with it just barely missing the red demoness' jugular vein as it passed by and stuck into the wall. She left Little Rouge to herself, who was now unable to control her laughter.

-

In the room designated for the two sole males, Luce and Reginald, they quietly kept to themselves, contemplating about the upcoming battle.

Luce looked completely relaxed as he lounged on a cushioned chair facing a table. He was currently playing a game of solitaire, which he frequently played when there was nothing else to do. To his despair, he lost, completely giving up on solitaire in general. He instead opted to build a card house, which he cheated at by applying a light bit of magic to the edges of the card so they stuck together as if the card edges were made of adhesive.

Reginald on the other hand had no means of entertaining himself other than falling asleep. He laid down peacefully on a soft cot while he daydreamed, despite it being night, about various things, most of which ended up at the numerous pretty demons he had seen lately.

The two never engaged in conversation, and whenever their eyes met, they nodded and went back to their own thing.

-

Nerissa and Aureal had arrived earlier, joining the remaining pillar members in the officer's quarters of the tower. Though soon after, Aureal left, saying that she couldn't sleep and wanted to survey the situation so that she may prepare herself.

Nerissa, however, was currently practicing with Old Age. The sword, while it was the exact same sword she wielded before she even met Rainer, was now being inhabited by the strange presence known as Old Age. Apparently Old Age jumped from sword to sword whenever they found a new suitable user of the sword, at least that was the basic explanation of it.

Still, Nerissa wanted to practice using the sword's power for when she needed it. Nerissa now wielded one of the seven most powerful weapons in the seven circles, and completely by chance was she able to come by it, the proud white demoness was determined to not squander the honorably weapon's ability.

A dummy target was located inside her room, which Nerissa practice a flurry of different techniques on. She found that her prided 'Unholy Cuts' style was strangely compatible with the sword. Even so, Nerissa found that all of her sword styles and techniques were far more potent than before. In her fight against Avandar, Nerissa was outmatched by the wrath demon by a hundred fold, and by a thousand fold when he wielded Old Age.

Nerissa considered her honored stained at the massive difference in skill and power, thus she trained. Deciding to train to the point her fiancée would never have to lift a finger if he didn't want to.

Her love for her fiancée was out of an infatuation for fictional romance type stories she read in Pride's Home (the palace for the Princess of Pride and her children). She was teased by her siblings for being too 'human' in the fact that she wanted a blissful romance, preferably with another person who was the same age as her, which was rare for demons.

And when it was revealed that Nerissa had a fiancée in the young Lord of Lust to be who was surprisingly the same age as Nerissa, words could not express her joy. And when she actually traveled over to the human world, she observed the one named Rainer too see what he was like before introducing herself. It only took days for Nerissa to confirm that she liked what she saw and introduced herself to the young lord to be as his fiancée. She even went as far as to say that she loved him, even though she barely knew him. Even Nerissa was surprised at her audacity that day, and it was only a couple weeks ago yet it seemed so long ago.

It really did turn out as she had dreamed. And nothing was going to stop Nerissa from destroying the forces that was going to attempt to pry that apart.

-

Lauren, at this time, had just arrived after reviving Caetorum and leaving him to the palace physicians. She was led to the tower by several demon guards who treated her with deep respect. She was quite amazed at how high the position of 'Lord of Lust's Concubine' got her.




The Lost Lord Ch. 20



Far more than it did in the many harems of various Earth sultans and kings.

She hummed a tune from a certain song she liked back on Earth. Whenever she was alone, she hummed this song, which she did quite often when in the care of her mother.

"My mother, huh? I have quite a famous one." Whispered Lauren quietly to herself under her breath. "She didn't care about any of her other children... Which I guess would be my siblings. So why did she even bother with me?"

Being taught various magics, Lauren learned the ways of being a witch from her mother. It really was the only thing that connected Lauren to the single parent she knew. There was no father, only a mother that doled out harsh punishment when displeased and returned zero tender thoughts. Yet even then, Lauren felt that her mother was slightly overprotective.

"Hell... It's not like I'm ever going to see her again, besides, Lauren, there're more important things to think about at the moment. Like living through this dramatic scene."

"...You're correct."

!!!Lauren was suddenly spoken to by a lazed voice that held a hint of sorrow. "Who's there!" Demanded the witch.

"...The [Moon], in reverse. I shall not tell you." The strange demon revealed herself, despite saying that she will not name herself.

The demon in question was a succubus with violet skin and appendages that were revealed in all their splendor. She wore a lavish green dress with gold trim that was out of place in the dank alleyway. She wore numerous sets of jewelry, which included a silver tiara with sapphire studs, emerald earrings, a diamond nose piercing, a thin platinum chain necklace, and several armlets made out of various precious metals. Even the Pope would be envious, well, the older one at least.

The violet succubus held an icy stare, which strangely enough, held no hints of malice. In fact, it was as if the succubus emphasized with Lauren's general situation but was forced to fight against it, that was what Lauren's instinct told her.

Lauren asked another question despite the succubus' shortness with her words, "Then what do you want, at least tell me that much. This is rather tense situation if you haven't noticed."

The violet succubus pulled a card out of a deck of cards she was shuffling in her hands, "...[Judgment]. Hmm, would you like to know your fate? Madam LeFay?"

Ok, that's where Lauren drew the line, "Ok, tell me how you know my name, why you're here, and who you are, or I seriously will attack.

The violet succubus drew yet another card, "...Wheel of Fortune." And with that, she tossed the card into the air. It flipped many times in the air, faster than Lauren's eyes could follow, as it landed in the succubus' left hand. "...Very well, I will answer your questions. My name is Zazie, the Desire of Lust."

What, the, heck?

"...I'm here because I was ordered. And I know your name because I was given the name of my target, Lauren LeFay. Now that I answered your questions, will you please come with me? I have no desire to harm you, the loved concubine of the Lord of Lust's desires.

"You're... You're a part of the Pillar of Lust?" Staggered Lauren, then she remembered something, "That's right... I remember there was one that traveled to this Arazra's side, the Desire of Lust. And if that's the case, then you should know I have NO desire to go with you."

Pact of the Minotaur:

"I request your presence by thy pact

The indomitable fortitude of the one in the maze

Grant me your staunch strength mighty Minotaur!"

Lauren felt strong, stronger than she felt when using any of her other pacts, much more so than even her pact of the wendigo. When she called upon this pact, Lauren could even stop a steam train going at full speed. When she ran, her momentum rivaled that of a fast truck. When she lifted objects, she could pick up three buses. And when she fought, bones shattered into dust.

Taking no heed of Zazie's reaction, Lauren picked up a sizeable stone boulder and tossed it at Zazie before running off towards her. She knew that a single boulder would not faze the demon, hence her charging attack.

"...[Justice]."

Suddenly, Lauren's thrown boulder was sliced into pieces. The shards of rock split apart and spun off towards the sides of Lauren's target. Skidding to a halt, Lauren hesitated as she found herself quite scared, more so than she ever felt in her entire life. More so than when she met Fáfnir. More so than when her mother gave her the harshest of punishments. And more so that at death itself.

A divine figure appeared before Lauren, taking Zazie's place. No, it was more accurate to say that divinity itself possessed Zazie.

Zazie's skin changed to a pale purple, with her demonic appendages shimmering into light, though not disappearing completely. Her jewelry shone and glowed brightly the colors they came as, green for emeralds, blue for sapphires, and a brilliant white for diamonds. Zazie's eyes turned completely white, as if she was blind. Her green dress held ripples of green and white, as if there was a miniature war between the two colors. A circle of swords gyrated around the divine Zazie, spinning around in different directions and forming marks in the ground if the swords got too close.

"Just what are you..." Asked Lauren who was completely mystified.

Words in Zazie's dialect resounded in the air even though her lips didn't move, "...I am Zazie, though I am now no longer demonic for the time being. If you so wish, you may call me Astraea, the personification of [Justice]."

Lauren was truly scared for her life.

-

"I do not know if I can do it anymore, I cannot stand waiting here." Said the Seduction of Lust, Asmodea.

"Mmmzmumuzmbu" And this dazed grumble came from the Lord of Lust, who while was still in a strange coma, could still make sounds.

It seemed to Asmodea that Rainer could now understand everything going and make basic sounds close to a baby's first cries. However, he couldn't do anything beyond that point, he couldn't move in any direction. That was good news, it meant he wasn't dead, deaf, or dumb; his brain was all right.

Still, he couldn't move or do anything in general. If enemy soldiers or assassins incapacitated Asmodea, her precious lord would be defenseless.

Perhaps it was time for "that" sort of ritual.

Among the Land of Lust, there existed a special ritual that was passed down by its denizens, known as [Ritual Lust Sin]. It was quite a basic name, though it was named for that exactly as there existed similar but also similarly different rituals in the other six circles. Yet the people who knew [Ritual Lust Sin] prided themselves on the fact that there version of the ritual was infinitely more fun and entertaining while also useful.

[Ritual Lust Sin] basically transferred precious life force from one to another, in this case, Asmodea to Rainer. One could even die if the amount of energy transferred was greater than the amount that the giver had, which was especially dangerous when the receiver could hold larger reserves of life force. What determined the amount of life force a person could carry was their will, their soul if you wish to call it something else. Life force at its basics was very powerful, especially when one devotes their body or mind to a particular ideal or motive.

Hence the reason why demons frequently went to the human world to reap human souls, as their souls were more potent in every way compared to demons, angels, and basically any other race that exists, though it is unknown why.

With the explanation aside, Asmodea decided to resort to giving a portion, no matter how large, to Rainer in hopes that he may awaken soon enough before his life is in danger.

[Ritual Lust Sin], the name alone says it, the two parties involved must immerse themselves in sinful lust.

It didn't matter what kind of licentious act they engaged in, as long as if both parties realized that the were engaged in intimacy. Also, one must decorate the room with various objects regarding sin in general, in this case, objects regarding lust. And what better room than to perform the ritual than in the Lord of Lust's personal bedroom?

Also, the giver of the energy must subconsciously emit a steady stream of energy, which the receiver will take in through their bare bodies.

Engaging in sex and saving a person's life, what more could a succubus ask for at this moment?

Hmmm, maybe some chocolates, dark preferably, though Asmodea was she prepared herself.

The last time Asmodea engaged in this particular ritual was with the previous Lord of Lust during the last war between demons and angels.

"Rainer, mumble again if you understand the concepts of this ritual I just explained to you." Asmodea had already informed Rainer what she was about to do.

If he could talk, she was sure he would say something like this, "Must you come up with such a frivolous answer to our problems?"

Still, Rainer couldn't talk yet he mumbled once more, "Hamuzzmrmazm." Which stood for, Must you come up with such a frivolous answer to our problems?

He understood the concepts of the ritual, but he couldn't help but want to be sarcastic at the fact that he had to have sex for it to work. Still, it was not like he was in a position to argue, and he wasn't entirely against doing this.

Asmodea smiled and rubbed her palms together while looking at Rainer with a crazed lecherous look. "It has been awhile since I last had you all to myself! I will make sure take care of you..." She clasped her hands together as if she was giving thanks for a meal at dinnertime.

Asmodea took her time taking off Rainer's clothes as he laid down motionless on the bed. She made sure to entrance him in his aware yet sleeping state. As she playfully pulled off his pants, she lowered her fingers so as to drag them across his legs, tracing the skin. She played with his navel, sending shivers up Rainer's spine, as she pulled up the bands covering his chest. The red succubus licked her beloved's chest, landing cute but elegant pecks with her lips at random spots on his torso. She nibbled on his earlobe, pushing and pulling in seemingly separate directions, lavishing equal time on each ear.

The constant shower of affection overwhelmed Rainer's senses, overloading his brain with pleasant sensations from every corner of his body as the rippled from his crotch to his head. It took less than a minute for Rainer to get fully hard with precum already seeping from the head.

Asmodea looked at the phallic object in question before flashing a smile at Rainer. Seductively, Asmodea dragged her respectable chest across Rainer before kissing the sensitive head with her soft lips, licking the salty precum off with her tongue.

Of his body parts that Rainer could control consciously, it was none. Because of this, he couldn't open his eyes and stare at the delicious sight in front of him, but he could sense it was there.

The sight in question was Asmodea's round butt looking down on Rainer's face with the damp snatch hovering over his chin. It wasn't an understatement to say that no matter what outfit Asmodea put on, her curves would show themselves. And if she were to put on an outfit that intentionally added on to what she already had, then voluptuous and salacious would be thrown out of the English language and replaced with words that exceeded those.

Asmodea licked around the head some more with her demonic tongue, poking and teasing the more sensitive spots like under the head and around the tip. She even wrapped her long tongue around the head and jerked it off like a miniature cock. As she did that, she wrapped one of her supple hands around the shaft, squeezing it lightly with her silk like fingers.

"Now for the first one..." Mused Asmodea as she proceeded to stroke off Rainer with her hand and tongue.

To Rainer, a warm presence rubbing up and down on his member felt like heaven, while a wet and slick tongue wrapped around his cock's head and moving around felt like he was being milked for all his worth. It was a font of various sensations that ribbed through his bones like miniature electric shocks.

Asmodea fondled Rainer's balls with her other hand, tickling and stimulating the pleasure points located around the two objects. She started off slow and smooth, pulling her hand along the dick's length, as if her arm was the one moving and not her hand. Asmodea firmly kneaded the balls, effectively pushing his seed out and into the shaft. Once he felt him throb and pulse, she began to stroke him off even faster.

As she did that, Asmodea licked the head several times before unraveling the tangled wet snake, before aiming the thick cock at her face with her mouth open.

Rainer let out a pleased groan as he felt himself climax, his semen bursting out from his shaft and onto Asmodea's face. Most of it was caught between her lips, most of the ropes of sticky white seed streamed along forming a warm line from her chin up past her nose and ending just below her eyes. Some of the seed was caught on her wriggling tongue, which she immediately gulped down, savoring her beloved's essence.

The thick smell of his seed soon permeated Asmodea's face, arousing her to even greater lengths... She was not done there.

-

"Guhhhh... I really hate this." Said perturbed and pained voice that belonged to the Maturity of Lust.

"I'm sorry chief. We're doing all we can to ease your pain." Replied an honest succubus who was tending to Caetorum (the Maturity of Lust).

"No... No, it's not that, I hate the fact that I can do anything. After all, this is exactly the time when I need to be doing my job and eliminating the threat to the young lord. Can't you go any faster?" Caetorum asked as he gritted his teeth through the pain.

The succubus, whose name was Iireza, smiled wryly and replied, "Even with healing magic, if I don't do it carefully, the nerves and sinews and other anatomical stuff won't connect properly. You'll be able to move your body without pain, but you won't be able to make very much use out of parts of your body. It should take about another hour or two, depending on how much you move, so stay still!" Iireza forcefully pushed Caetorum back on the bed and continued to heal with [Cauterizing Water].

"...This isn't good." Caetorum said as he held his body still while keeping his sense open. As he was blind, he relied more on his other senses in order to determine his surroundings, also, he pushed out his mind in order to sense the Sins of other demons. This was an impossible task to anyone but the strongest of Sin, the Lord of Lust in this case, or if a person was blind like Caetorum and they trained themselves.

"What is?"

"I sense a familiar Sin... Lust mind you." Which Caetorum then added, "Hurry up as quickly as possible, something bad may or may not happen soon. She... Is here."

Iireza looked confused, "I'll speed things up, as dangerous as that might be, but who is back?"

"You know her name, it's quite famous. She's a member of the pillar and she moved to Arazra's side." Riddled Caetorum, though it was a poor riddle.

As Iireza instantly knew what he was talking about, "Zazie. I can see why you're worried. Even so, I cannot let you out just yet, I'll double the speed of the healing, but no more. You can't do anything with a half working body, chief."

Caetorum grunted. He kept his mind open, following Zazie's Sin until he heard a certain word, "...[Devil]." And with that, Caetorum found his mind clouded by Sin, and not just lust, but all of the Seven Sins. Even his normal senses like his hearing, smell, touch, and taste instantly became less than useless. He knew this power.

One of Zazie's mysterious tarot cards, the [Devil]. Caetorum knew few of the powers of her cards, and the [Devil] is one of them. The [Devil] stands for temptation, a bond to things we find unhealthy, where we force ourselves to believe and stand for things we know is not good for us, in general it stands for chaos. The [Devil]'s power clouds a person's mind and muddles their senses, it effectively makes a person a useless liability. It can even change a person's senses to the degree where they think their allies are their enemy.

In this case, all she did was cloud Caetorum's mind so that he could not follow her presence.

The blind demon grabbed his head seething, "How did she even know I was following her? How!?" He thrashed around, forcing Iireza to stop the process.

Iireza, worried that this may cause irreparable harm to Caetorum cast a simple sleep spell to force the demon back to his calm state and into a blissful sleep.

"Don't worry, chief... You'll be up and running in no time." Said the kind succubus as she stroked Caetorum's head and continued healing his wounds.

-

Asmodea sucked curiously slow on Rainer's shaft. While she was moving her lips slowly, gripping the cock with her soft lips, she was expertly massaging Rainer's dick through her large breasts. It was as if his cock was enveloped by tangible clouds or at the very least, a warm expanse of satin.

Asmodea's breasts were quite big, even for a succubus, around a G cup, if not larger. These two bags of fun helped out whenever she was making good on her title of the Seduction of Lust.

The red succubus was also quite sensitive around her breasts, especially on the prominent nipples. She squeezed her bust together, keeping the pleasurable exchange of friction between her tits and Rainer's dick going, while also having her nipples rub together. Her red fingers sunk into the fluidic flesh as she rubbed the cock in between her breasts.

Deciding on a new tactic, Asmodea grabbed her breasts, with one in each hand, and began to slide them up and down Rainer's thickness, with the soft orbs going in opposite directions.

Whenever the head of Rainer's shaft popped up to say hello between the massive tits, Asmodea lustfully sucked on it and licked whatever precum was there with her tense tongue. Whatever precum she couldn't gather would disappear between her tits and slicken up the skin, causing her to slide them around much easier but also more pleasurably.

Even though Asmodea was giving Rainer a thorough tit-fuck, she moaned happily into the bedroom, which was music to Rainer's ears.

Eventually, Asmodea decided to abandon pleasing Rainer with her breasts proceeded to lube up the thickness with her hungry mouth. She coated every inch of the shaft, along with the balls, with her saliva, forming a shiny effect. As she forced her mouth down on Rainer, she waved her arms around in the air before plopping them down on Rainer's chest, which she proceeded to rub with her arms and hands. Her hands massaged Rainer's chest, teasing the skin that was riddled with goose bumps.

Asmodea's hair lay peacefully around in a strange symmetrical pattern, though it jerked around whenever the succubus went back up for air. Without paying any mind to Rainer's impending orgasm, she milked his shaft with her lips, clamping down with a wet softness that even gelatin would be envious of. The warm wetness affected every nerve on Rainer's crotch, and even though he couldn't move, he could still go crazy with pleasure in his mind.

Asmodea sucked on the shaft several times before going down as deep as possible, pushing her head down with all her might. She wrapped her arms around Rainer's body and clamped onto his butt, pushing his body and her face together. Her breasts were squished against Rainer's legs and knees, which added to the fountain of sensations.

That's two... Asmodea said in her mind as Rainer uncontrollably unleashed another orgasm in Asmodea's mouth. It seemed that there was even more semen than last time, as the sticky whiteness gushed down her throat and into her stomach. It almost felt as if Rainer had impregnated Asmodea, as the his warmth resonated from within her body.




The Lost Lord Ch. 20



The succubus had emitted a constant flow of her life force, which was sucked up greedily by Rainer, the ritual was proceeding smoothly and still was not done.

-

"You did exceptionally well in delivering this message to me... What was it again? Oh yes, Roal." A certain Harpy queen beckoned over two more Harpies, "Make sure he is given the attention he needs: food, rest, and pleasure."

Two young Harpy girls smiled and nodded and led off the panting Roal down a hallway.

Iris, the Harpy queen looked down on the note she deftly grasped between her claws. She read it thrice, clearly unhappy with the contents of the note. Apparently Arazra, Sasilith, Ornias, Hezazias, as well as a number of mercenaries had assaulted Lust's Capitol. This she could not stand for.

"Risoi, ready everyone to fly towards Lust's Capitol." Commanded the elegant queen.

A another harpy, who was named Risoi, bowed and took off in the air, making way for her subordinates.

"You look really angry right now, Iris..." Commented Iris' dear friend since a young age.

Iris stood up and stretched her wings and body, "You're damn right, Trais. I should have known Arazra was bastard enough to do this, and along with Sasilith, Ornias, AND Hezazias of all people? Three Children of Lust, three black demons, and four district leaders are now rebelling against our Lord of Lust. Seriously, I don't even know where to begin. Trais, have some others send messages in case Roal's subordinates didn't make it to the other districts."

"Of course Iris... But there is some heavy snow in the mountain passes we take advantage of, but we'll persevere." The Harpy named Trais flapped into the air with the intent of gathering some message bearers.

"It's been awhile since I've used you, my dear Torpor..." Said Iris as she grasped a terrifying cleaving sword with her talons.

-

"Fuck, fuck. ohhhhh fuck!" Cried the lovable Asmodea as she bounced on Rainer's still hard shaft. Right now, if Rainer opened his eyes, he would be staring at the sight of the luscious red succubus enthusiastically fucking herself on his shaft with her tits bouncing with the flow and her face contorted in a look of ecstasy.

One of her hands was holding herself up by propping itself between Rainer's legs, while the other hand was passionately giving her own pussy some added attention. She could feel her insides open and close for the intruding cock through her own skin as she rubbing her clitoris furiously. Asmodea had already came three times on Rainer, as it had been a decent amount of time since she last felt him in her.

Asmodea's hand was close enough to the back of her butt that if she extended her thumb, it would tease her other tight hole. Which she did, and the new source of stimulation forced her to climax once more on Rainer's shaft.

Moving her body forward, Asmodea now could hold herself up by her knees while she continued her frantic pounding on Rainer's pelvis. Her tongue rolled out of her mouth and just dangled there on her lips with her eyes rolling up into the back of her head as she reeled from the constant rush of pleasure entering her mind.

Every time she pushed her sweet pussy down on Rainer's cock, the head revealed itself for just a second before diving straight into her juicy nether region. She slammed her butt down on Rainer's crotch hard enough for the head to push and slightly open the entrance to her womb, sending a shockwave of pleasure straight to her brain. And when she forced herself balls deep, the head actually did push aside the cervix and lightly touch the back of her womb, which forced Asmodea to have a mini-orgasm every time that happened.

The succubus coated some of her fingers with her own juices, which she put in her mouths and lustfully sucked them clean, leaving behind a trail of saliva when her fingers left her lips. Her lips had a shiny red sheen to them, which she kissed the air several times before clamping her lips shut with Rainer's own mouth. Her moans immediately quieted down as they entered his mouth, her own hot breath went down his throat. While Rainer could still not move, Asmodea continued to pleasure herself with her beloved's body, pounding her snatch down repeatedly, having his cock enter her womb each time, making her go half crazy with pleasure.

But that is what being a succubus is all about, losing your mind in lustful sin, and that is what [Ritual Lust Sin] is all about as well.

Unexpectedly, Rainer's cock burst into Asmodea's pussy, having the semen enter her womb.

Haha... I might get pregnant with that, I wouldn't even mind at this point.

True to her thoughts, Asmodea had completely fallen for Rainer and would not mind in the slightest if she had his kids. The previous lord had his kids with special concubines, though he refused to impregnate his favorite, Asmodea. Still, Asmodea could honestly say that she didn't truly love the previous lord, at least no where near as much as she did Rainer.

"I'll make you cum one more time, Rain Rain, in my ass." Asmodea had been stretching out her tight hole with her fingers that she lubed up with her own saliva since she began kissing Rainer. While she removed her thoroughly pleased pussy from Rainer's amazingly still hard cock, she pulled out two of her fingers that she had been using to loosen her asshole up.

Also, as she previously felt with Rainer's warm seed in her stomach, this time it truly did feel like she had a kid inside her, as the Rainer's sticky seed that was now in her womb burned hotter than his previous loads. She subconsciously clamped her insides shut, so that his semen wouldn't spill out, she wanted to keep his warmth inside her for as long as possible.

Positioning her butt over Rainer's cock head, she steeled herself for the incoming rush of dazzling sensations. Little by little, Asmodea erased the centimeters which separated the two's genitalia, which eventually touched. Stifling a squeal of delight, Asmodea pulled her butt wide open so that it would be slightly easier for Rainer's cock to enter her ass.

The tip made its way sever centimeters before Asmodea couldn't resist anymore and slammed her butt down abruptly, forcing Rainer's full length into her ass. She couldn't help but moan loudly as she felt herself completely filled in every possible way.

Rainer himself couldn't help but succumb to the pleasure, begging for more in his mind.

Then slowly but surely, Asmodea lifted her butt up, savoring the feeling of Rainer's shaft moving through her insides.

Really, is there no better feeling than this? Asmodea really wanted this question answered, though she bet the answer would obviously be involved with sex with Rainer.

Asmodea lifted her butt high enough so that Rainer's shaft left her ass, hesitating a single second, before pounding her asshole down on Rainer's thickness. Asmodea's libido would probably be completely satisfied for the first time in a long time after tonight, after more than several hundred, if not a thousand, years.

Asmodea moved a hand down to her pussy and furiously rubbed her clitoris, which the added stimulation made her come yet another time.

It didn't take long for Rainer's fourth orgasm to hit.

Though it wasn't the most powerful of them, as it was his fourth time, it was still immensely strong, stronger than it should have been for a fourth climax, according to Rainer.

Ropes of sticky white semen was smeared against Asmodea's insides, going quite a ways up her tract.

Asmodea smiled and sweetly whispered into Rainer's ear, "That is number four."

And thus the ritual was complete, though that didn't stop Asmodea from taking one more of Rainer's loads minutes later.

-

"Success, huh? You got the witch girl?" Said a calm but rigid voice.

The one who replied was Zazie, "...Yes, she is in Sasilith's custody. However, I can assure you, there is no hidden trump card within the witch."

The voice frowned but continued on, unperturbed, "Huh, well, I believe you. Though I might as well keep her just in case anyways. No point in releasing her now."

Zazie's looked extremely displeased, "...I do not you will win in the end.."

"Oh? Did you bring out another one of your pesky cards? I would think your readings would be incorrect with your incomplete deck. After all, I have the [World] here."

Zazie's eyes flared once the voice before her held up a card representing the [World]. She must make sure the voice does not take advantage of that card's power at all costs. "... I can substitute in other cards, though they do not have the same power as the original deck."

"And what card revealed to you that I would not attain victory?"

"...[Wheel of Fortune], in reverse. The future is unclear, yet it will arrive, and it will come with a harsh outcome." Zazie kept her eyes on the [World] at all times, hoping to divine any possibilities to take the card back. There were none.

"If the future is unclear, then I still obviously have a chance of winning, and I will fight with EVERYTHING in my power to stop victory reaching the hands of that DAMN PRETENDER!" Shouted the voice, clearly furious with the situation at hand.

"...Arazra, I will not let that happen. Not with your sins." Warned Zazie.

The voice, whose name was Arazra, cooled down and said, "Aha. I'm sure. Even so, as long as if I have this card, you will not move lest I invoke its power. I wonder what fun I could have with it? Without a doubt the circles will be in my control, then heaven and the human world, and eventually even those pagan realms."

Zazie's will remained as strong as ever as she fervently searched for a way to take back the [World]. If she attacked now, Arazra would instantly invoke the [World]'s power. And if he did that, no one could stand in his way, not even the Devil or God themselves.



The Lost Lord Ch. 21



Note: Note: This is a re-upload due to some of the text being cut off. There is no sex in this chapter, so watch out people. Also, to the people bagging me to get an editor, this is a hobby. And because it's a hobby, I have no interest in pulling out all the stops to making a "masterpiece". When it comes to the stories I make with individual chapters, I won't bother with getting an editor, it's just extra time added on and I'm too lazy for that. 

I'm working on a separate story (unrelated to TLL), for fun mind you, which will be a single parter, and because it is a single parter, I'll look for an editor for it.

*

Realism, that word has no place in a battlefield belonging to demons.

Demons come in many shapes and sizes, thus the demon race in general have become accustomed to fighting against the numerous tricks and tactics that demons come up with. Some demons fly, some burrow, some take two meter long steps in their stride, and some demons can take down walls with their fists.

While those demons exist, there exist methods to deal with those types of demons, methods that are being put into place in this very battlefield.

Dawn arrived, and with dawn, came a furious assault of an army of immense proportions. Though that immensity is nothing compared to the full force of the seven circles together.

Two separate battlefields were taking place: one on the ground and walls and one in the sky. And as this is the Land of Lust, which contain the largest number of winged demons (even without the Harpies), the sky battle was larger than most.

Soldiers of the fifth, seventh, eighth, and tenth districts were engaging the guard of the capitol city along with Lust's own set of soldiers (an army dedicated to the Lord of Lust only). Still, the district soldiers outnumbered the defenders by about two to one, yet the zealous fanaticism of the defenders far outmatched the morale of the district soldiers.

On the ground, the mercenary forces, along with a small set of soldiers from each district, was making their way across the ground to attack the walls. Already there were some demons attacking the defenders on the walls, some of which flew in and the others taking advantage of the ordinary siege implements.

Like one would expect in a classic medieval type siege, there were ladders, a battering ram, several siege towers, ballista, catapults, and even some trebuchet on the attacking side. And on the defending side was an arrangement of numerous catapults and various siege weaponry designed for whittling down enemy forces. The defenders also used strong magical ammunition in place of normal missiles and shells.

In terms of weaponry, both sides were completely equal, though the manpower that was required to operate the machinery was one sided in Arazra's favor. Still, sieging the capitol of Lust required a large amount of troops, which Arazra had. And if Arazra wanted to win this battle without too much trouble, he had to be decisive and quick about it, or reinforcements from the other districts loyal to the pretender may arrive and attack him.

Many famous names were taking part in this battle, if either side wished to take victory, then even the powerful leaders must take part. On Arazra's side were Arazra himself, Sasilith, Hezazias, Ornias, Zazie, Renning, Xizaen, and the mysterious leader of Huracan who had yet to show up. Those were the most powerful figures from his army, though there were numerous leaders of several smaller mercenary groups that had been hired.

And on the Lord of Lust's side, there were: Teras, Little Rouge, Sitri, Aureal, Nerissa, Dezeil, Caetorum, and Asmodea or the Lord of Lust if they left the palace. Those were the most powerful figures that were taking part in the battle currently on the Lord of Lust's side. There was also the Luce the Djinn and the Pride demon, Reginald, though they were not considered official leaders of Lust's forces. Yet those two, who are both powerful in their own right, on the Lord of Lust's side, tips the favor to the defender's side if ever so slightly.

If Roal and his subordinates failed, then the Lord of Lust's side could not hope to expect any help from reinforcements, not even Sitri's sixth district. The last time she had contact with her district was before she attended the meeting.

Currently, on both sides, only a few of the powerful figures were taking part, with the others reserving their strength for special moments. Aureal was taking part in the battle in the sky along with Nerissa. While Teras, Dezeil, and Luce fought on the walls, with Sitri and Reginald (who fought alone) cleaning up any who got past the walls with the reserve troops. On the attacking side were Sasilith in the air and Renning, Ornias, and Xizaen sieging the walls.

Let's see what happens...

-

"Azazel, are you really content with watching?" Asked a calm and serious voice.

"No, no I am not." Earnestly replied the one named Azazel.

"..."

"I don't want that girl to die, which is infinitely possible in this battle. Her strange power, the ability to wield angelic light and demonic dark is unprecedented. It would be irresponsible for me to let her perish. Yet it would also be irresponsible of me to take a side in a political conflict... Just what do I do?" Azazel seemed truly stressed, even for the leader of the fallen angels.

"Permission to speak freely?" Requested Azazel's aide.

"Mhm, of course, Garret. I'm not some dictator like that Uriel." Lamented Azazel.

"Well, to be frank... As of this moment, I think you're a coward." Deadpanned the aide, Garret.

Azazel frowned, though he stayed silent.

"What is the point of keeping our people together if we don't do anything?" Garret tilted his head as he said something else, "Of course I'm not saying recklessly charge into combat, but we should be open to the possibility that we should side with Aureal's defense."

Azazel stood up from where he was seated, which was on top of one of a ledge on one of the shorter mountains surround Lust's capitol. He turned to Garret and laughed before saying, "Mhm, I agree. Very well, I've decided that we will take part only if Aureal faces death. We cannot afford to let her die." Azazel took a look at the demons fighting in the sky before adding, "Though I'm not sure if she will have any trouble with this Sasilith, though we should be careful."

Azazel turned around and motioned for his group to sit back and relax, until he gave the go ahead. While Azazel's force only numbered five, all of them were strong warriors in their own right, and all would make sure that the legendary fallen angel of the dark and light survive, or die trying.

-

"Why?" Asked a certain young witch named Lauren.

"...?" Wondered a certain violet succubus with a fondness for jewelry named Zazie.

"You clearly didn't want to do this to me, so why? It's a simple question." Asked Lauren again, though this time with more force in her words.

Lauren was chained to an iron circle embedded in the ground. She had expected herself to be stripped and toyed with, like most prisoners of war usually are. Though unexpectedly, Lauren was given warm clothes, a decent meal, and even a bath, though she was constantly watched by Zazie every step of the way.

"...[Strength]. It seems you won't give up with your questions, there are too many of them nowadays. I do not desire to answer them all." Said Zazie without any remorse as she picked up a card and read its meaning.

Lauren snorted, "Hmph, then I'll ask again until you answer, why did you capture me if you clearly didn't want to?"

"...The [World], this card just isn't the same as the real one. Patience, young witch. I'll tell you this, if I see a suitable time to release you and retrieve the true [World], then I'll gladly do so."

"The true [World]? Just what in the..." Lauren trailed off as she searched her memory for any possible references to the [World]. Only one came to mind. "The [World], it stands for wholeness, success, and prosperity. It forges the road for us to shed the old in order to acclimate to the new. That [World]?"

Zazie raised an eyebrow at the surprising intelligence of the girl, "...It seems you know of these." Said Zazie as she spread her cards in the air, causing them to float in mid air.

The major arcana, mainly used for vague fortune telling, very few know of its true power. Lauren had utilized both the major and minor arcana several times before, though it was mainly for dabbling in her random interests at the time and perusing the numerous forms of witchcraft. Still, Lauren was very surprised at seeing a deck of tarot cards like those in the hands of a succubus.

Zazie then asked a question, "...Would you like to know your fate?"

It was Lauren's turn to raise an eyebrow, somewhat baffled at the question put to her. "My fate?"

"...I once gave the Lord of Lust's fate to him, and not the old one."

"Eh? You told Rainer of his fate?" Lauren was genuinely surprised.

"...These cards are not meant for telling you about what happens, it tells you the meaning of future events, so that you may interpret and accommodate yourself as you adjust. So that you may better be prepared in the case of a more serious divination." Zazie shuffled her cards, "...Now I ask you again, do you desire to know your fate?"

Lauren thought it over, and considering she had nothing better to do, why not humor the strange succubus. "Okay then, do it."

"...Your past, [Death]. You were stuck in one phase, until a change occurred, a change of an era that brought about a new way of life. The present, the [Hanged Man]. Your life changes once again and you're forced to look at things with new wisdom and viewpoints. The future, the [Empress] in reverse. You're unsatisfied with how things have turned out, you will want to unravel past mysteries." Zazie's words were not normal. It was as if she spoke in another voice, though it was still the same Zazie.

Lauren mulled the succubus' words over. Once her mother disappeared, Lauren truly did have a change in how she lived, though not necessarily for the better. Nowadays, Lauren had another change in her lifestyle, with her new adventure with Rainer and her new demonic and angelic friends, Lauren knew she needed to think differently than normal in order to survive, especially now. As for the future... Lauren could only assume this unexplained mystery had something to do with her mother. Zazie was more accurate than Lauren expected.

Changing the topic, Lauren investigated, "If you're helping Arazra, why are you here and not out there, fighting?"

Zazie blinked, her expression held a perfect blankness which should be reserved for card games. "...I'm not trusted, and for good measure. I was ordered to watch over you, Arazra seems to think that the Lord of Lust brought you in as some sort of trump card. He seems to believe you hold a power that may be potentially deadly. Do you?"

"Heh, the 'moon'. I may deceive your question with my answer." Laughed Lauren.

Zazie smiled and nodded, "...I agree." Zazie shuffled her cards and pulled one more from them, "...The [Devil], that suits you, Arazra. As well as all of us."

-

Pure chaos, those two words are the only ones that could be used to describe this scene. Volleys of arrows and magical missiles flew through the air, some finding a target and some failing to. Various war cries, screams, and taunts were being shouted across the battlefield as foes clashed with each other. There were thousands of demons engaging in a brutal frenzy of blood and gore, each with the devotion to their commanders and their resolve to fight till death.

All of the citizens living in the city were hiding in their barred homes, which were occasionally broken through so as to provide defenders with a height advantage with their attacks. The majority of the city's citizens took shelter from the combat in caves with strong barriers to protect them. It was well known that the demons who wanted nothing to do with battle took shelter in those caves, well known to the fact that any attacking force wouldn't even bother with the barriers, only post simple guards instead of breaking through them.

After all, why would the people who wished to take control of the city kill and plunder the very ones they would soon be ruling?

Still, the enemy had yet to penetrate very far into the city, though it was only a matter of time now. On the walls, the attacking soldiers outnumbered the defenders who were now retreating except for a fanatical few. And some of these fanatical few included Teras, Dezeil, and Luce.

Luce, who had summoned two creatures to fight by his side, was making short work of the generic soldiers who attacked him with his extendable scepter. Whenever he encountered an enemy who decided to fight with a pole weapon, all Luce did was stab his scepter in the air, causing it to extend, so that the head of the weapon slammed into the enemy. One time, Luce swept at the legs of a soldier, causing him to fall, while also striking the soldier in the face with the scepter, leaving a bloody mess. Many of the enemies Luce fought were of Black Steps; he even recognized some of them. And a good majority of them recognized Luce and were bewildered as to why they were now fighting one of their leaders. Yet they knew they were no match for Luce in a simple one on one fight, though the flow of battle didn't let them think too long or they lost their life.

Teras was slaughtering every enemy soldier who went near her with great joy, utilizing each of the natural elemental magic. Of her magic, Teras had mastered each of the four natural elements, though it was common sense that she would have a strong point and a weak point. It went as follows: Air, fire, water, and then earth magic. Still, that didn't stop Teras from using a slew of earth magic spells. Also, because this was such a hectic fight involving many weapons, Teras had out her cane sword that she took from her umbrella handle. She didn't like to fight with her sword normally like Caetorum, normally infusing her sword with magic and attacking then. One such example included Teras freezing a cone of water that enveloped her sword giving an extended reach, causing a sharp icicle to form that pierced the armor and body of an unlucky mercenary. The only emotion Teras could feel was glee, she loved causing pain.

Dezeil, the loyal head of the city guard was noticeably weaker than the Pillar of Lust, or he would have considered making an attempt to join that group. Though that didn't mean he was weak in the slightest, and his aptitude in combat proved it. Wielding a simple long sword and shield, Dezeil unleashed his martial prowess to the max, swiftly slaying his enemies alongside his fellow guardsmen and women.

These powerful three paved their way in the coming onslaught of attacking soldiers, and the only ones who could stop them were enemies of equal regard, and in this case, the mercenary leaders Renning and Xizaen, as well as the eighth district leader Ornias.

Some of these foes purposely aimed their paths towards particular enemies, while one just randomly happened upon his equal foe.

"Ahahaha! So weak!" Roared Ornias, the dogmatic leader of the eighth district. He was fighting with a sword of solidified darkness. Ornias loved to fight with weapons, though he found ordinary ones too weak for his style of combat. He soon mastered a type of dark magic that allowed him to fight with objects of solidified darkness. On a side note, there is magic like this though with light, it is frequently utilized by angels as a popular magic type.

He slashed through the neck of one incubus who attacked Ornias half heartedly, attacking only out of fear. It was natural for the normal soldiers to be afraid of the strong foes that existed, though if they hoped to win, those foes must die. And in the thick of battle, it was either do or die and many common soldiers attacked without thought. Ornias realized this every time he fought in a battle, and he relished it. It was fun to kill the small fry soldiers, as he preferred easy fights to tougher ones, though that didn't mean he wouldn't fight a tough battle every now and then.

He reformed his dark weapon into a mace and smashed it down on a helmeted incubus who was facing a mercenary soldier, destroying the skull. The trouble with this sort of magic was that Ornias couldn't instantly reform his weapon. It took several seconds for the solidified darkness to form. So unless he had some seconds to himself between each enemy, he was forced with the weapon he had, no matter how advantageous or disadvantageous the dark weapon was.

Still, that didn't stop Ornias from reforming his darkness every now and then. Ornias also distributed a steady supply of energy towards a thing covering of dark armor that covered every inch of his body except for his eyes. The darkness that covered his body allowed a decent (but not absolute) armoring as well as his full range of motion that armored opponents didn't have.

Ornias formed a dark sword again and stabbed it into the gut of a succubus before finishing her off with a slash down her left shoulder. "SERIOUSLY! You're all so WEAK!"

Ornias slew several more soldiers that came before him and some that didn't. Just for shits and giggles, Ornias even formed a rather large hammer, which he proceeded to bat off a dazed demon off the ledge and into the swarming attackers who had yet to scale the walls. "No strong ones today, huh? Then I'll have some more fun slaugherin'!" Declared Ornias as he cut downwards on an incoming incubus who rushed at him with his shield raised.

Assuming this newcomer was just another generic defender, Ornias simply cut down, not expecting anything big. Though his attack was welcomed with it being blocked by the incubus' sword, while at the same time the incubus' shield bashed into Ornias' stomach.

The dark armor absorbed the impact of the shield bash, though it still pushed a little air out of Ornias' lungs.

This guy has some measure of backbone to him! Fuck, it's so tedious fighting these guys, takes too long.

Those words coursed through Ornias' mind, though he still resolved to slay his attacker. The attacking demon stabbed his sword into Ornias' chest, though it was narrowly deflected by the district leader's arm as he blocked the sword on the side of the blade. Pushing the demon's defense to the side, Ornias sliced across the demon's lower body, though the demon jumped and the cut nicked the demon's lower legs.

The demon, as he went up into the air, kicked Ornias' shoulder, pushing him backwards. The two demons now stood two meters a part, waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Heh, al-RIGHT! I'm getting pumped up now." Ornias truly was interested in fighting now.

-

(So this is the eighth district leader? I have never seen him fight before, yet now I fight against him, fuck...) Said Dezeil to himself through clenched teeth.

Dezeil, the leader of the city guard, was currently fighting a losing battle against eighth district leader, Ornias. Dezeil did not call himself weak, but he also didn't call himself overly strong. If anything, the only way Dezeil could win against Ornias was with outside help or by pure luck, and Dezeil was anything but lucky.

Still, he would do everything in his power to stop Ornias from slaughtering his subordinates.

Dezeil hit his shield with his sword, enticing Ornias to take the initiative. It would be best to not get too confident and go on the offensive, or else Dezeil would find himself losing his life a lot sooner than he would if he was defensive. Ornias formed a dark naginata, stabbing it forward once the process was completed.

Dezeil stopped the stab with his shield, only to find Ornias rushing in with his free hand out, ready to grab onto Dezeil's body. Which succeeded, as Ornias grabbed onto Dezeil's shoulder, pushing him to the ground. Ornias twisted the naginata in the air before cutting the air with the blade and slashing it down on Dezeil's dazed body.




The Lost Lord Ch. 21



Dezeil released an anguished cry as the naginata embedded itself, though not too deeply, into his right shoulder, landing a fairly nasty looking cut. In a feisty display, Dezeil thrashed around and kicked into the chest of Ornias, who dodged and jumped back.

"Hey! You have more fight in you than these grubby little things." Jeered Ornias.

Dezeil stood up, "These grubby little things, are far better soldiers and demons than traitorous vermin like you."

Ornias sighed and shrugged, putting himself in a vulnerable position on purpose as if he didn't take the current situation seriously at all. "Whine, whine, whine! Seriously, you're obviously outmatched, how about a little proposition? I'll let you live and escape so that I mar continue having some fun killing these trash around me?" Said Ornias maliciously.

Dezeil gritted his teeth, there was no way he would let that happen. With glances off to both sides of him, Dezeil surveyed the current situation. While the zealous defenders were fighting bravely, it was evidently clear that they could not hold onto the walls for much longer. It would be best to retreat back to the second terrace.

"RETREAT! Pull back to the second terrace!" Ordered Dezeil to his comrades, many of which were quite reluctant to fall back, but they would not go against their orders.

"Hey! Did you really just do that? Fine, I'll kill you if you're so inclined to sacrifice yourself for your worthless comrades." Said Ornias quite menacingly as he brandished his dark sword once again. The sword this time resembled a simple, though heavy, long sword designed for impact.

As the numerous guard demons fled the scene, Ornias would have cut down many with their backs turned, yet he was blocked by the unyielding Dezeil. Yes, Ornias recognized Dezeil, he had seen him several times before, and he even spoke with the man before the meeting. Ornias didn't respect or disrespect Dezeil, he just didn't care about him in general. Ornias was a man who just didn't care about those who didn't fall within his range of interest, which as expected of an incubus, were mostly pretty succubi and other female demons.

Ornias held his sword with both hands, even though it was weightless darkness, if he swung with both hands he would logically attack with more power. He swung sideways at Dezeil, which was block, and proceeded to engage in a battle of sword swinging.

Both parties attacked each other, received the sword by parrying or dodging, and did everything possible to attain victory... Well, at least Dezeil did. While Ornias could still be killed if he wasn't careful, it was painfully obvious at whose skill was higher than the other. Eventually six minutes passed and the walls were devoid of any defenders, only attackers reveling in their victory and observing the duel between Ornias and Dezeil.

Because their duel was so intense, the mercenaries did nothing to stop them for fear of being slain by the wild movements of Ornias. Ornias had taken to fighting like a berserker, swinging his dark long sword in seemingly random patterns. While it seemed random, Ornias was very much in control, this state he was in was known to him as Berserk, a simply named [Rush] spell. Berserk induced a person in a practically psychotic state, somewhat akin to the berserkers of the ancient Vikings. Instead of physical strain, like most [Rush] spells, Berserk gave the user mental strain. The spell heightened a user's reflexes and "convinced" the brain to swing harder and swifter. Also the spell normally wouldn't let the user stay in control, and the reason why Ornias was in control was because of his extensive training with the spell and the amount of times he used it in combat, if anything, Ornias had truly mastered Berserk.

Still, the lines between enemy and foe did indeed blur, and thus Ornias would strike anyone who entered the circle with him until his foe fell or the spell wore off.

Dezeil took the full force of one of Ornias' strong attacks with his shield, knocking him back several steps as he prepared his counter attack. Yet that chance didn't come to him, Ornias struck Dezeil's head with the pommel of his dark sword while also sweeping at Dezeil's knees.

'Shit! This is bad!' Thought Dezeil as he fell to the ground, dashing his head against the cold stone.

Dezeil stabbed upwards with his sword with all his might, 'Yes!' A complete hit, it looked like Dezeil had successfully stabbed Ornias through his weakened dark armor, it looked like it.

Ornias stared down maniacally due to the effects of Berserk and laughed as Dezeil stabbed thin air with his sword. When the fallen demon had hit his head on the ground, it must have rattled his brain, forcing his senses out of sync. Without remorse, Ornias stepped to the side of Dezeil and chopped through the demon's neck with his dark sword, cleanly severing the flesh.

Cheers erupted from the sides of Ornias as the mercenaries applauded Ornias' victory. Jolted out of Berserk's effects, Ornias looked around blindly, he relished the applause, it was right that a powerful being like him should be praised for his efforts, no matter how small.

That was too easy...

-

At the same time-

"You... So you're fighting against me? Pitiful, I quite liked you." Said a detestably smiling voice, as he looked straight at a familiar Djinn. "Betrayal, my punishment for that is quite severe? You should know... You've given the penalty to some traitors for me. Though I suppose that out of respect for your past accomplishments, I'll lessen the penalty to a quick, possibly painless or painful death instead of a slow one."

Luce the Djinn's mouth twisted into an angry expression as he reviled the demon before him. He is an extremely strong and powerful demon, a demon that is the leader of a prominent mercenary force, a black demon whose name is Xizaen.

Xizaen was exactly as the rumors portrayed him as, on the outside. He wore a simple though extravagant set of mailed armor that held the emblem of the Teutonic Order, a black cross outlined in white. The famous army of knights who fought a holy war in the Middle East, they also had a separate division of soldiers dedicated to wiping out humanoid species and demons, and were quite good at it too. Xizaen, in a botched mercenary assignment, was being hunted by a small group of knights that were strangely strong to the point where they rivaled even normal black or white demons. Such power was not expected in the group of knights, yet even so they completely wiped out Xizaen's cadre of mercenaries.

He, all by himself, slew each of the powerful knights, though not all at once. It was a legendary victory for demons and a legendary embarrassment for the Teutons. No one knew how he did it, but they knew he did. He looted the knights and found that wearing the set of armor of a powerful enemy that he mercilessly slain suited his style. The rumors said that if he ever fought an enemy stronger than those knights, he would take his new enemy's armor and wear it no matter what type it is.

The black demon's head had on a Teutonic style helmet, though he made it so that his face was fully visible for all to see. He also wielded a scimitar that was supposedly also a souvenir of another powerful warrior of the Muslim forces at that time.

Luce knew Xizaen's abilities, his magic, and his martial prowess. The Djinn could not know if he could match the black demon in any way. The chance would be much higher if defeating Xizaen triggered a wish he was requested to fulfill, but he only had one wish to fulfill and that was completed recently. Still, Luce knew he had to do his best to hold back Xizaen as long as possible and retreat, unless Luce found a way to attain victory.

Luce performed the necessary rituals to summon a special creature, amusedly named the "Rooroo". That creature had a special purpose that Luce would utilize later on in the fight. Luce also summoned a being he normally never bothered with, but the Djinn figured that the more protection he had the better. Summoning the "Orter", a small circle appeared, and what came through were both the Rooroo and the Orter.

The Rooroo resembled a bird with tentacles, which immediately took flight in the air, finding its perch on a nearby rooftop until the command was given. The Orter resembled a bendable sheet of metal with the features of a swordfish that can breathe air. The Orter wrapped and contorted itself around Luce's body, giving him a defense rivaling a solid set of steel, though the Orter didn't cover nearly as much as an actual set. The Orter also coiled itself around Luce's arm, leaving a warm imprint on Luce's body.

Xizaen spoke again despite Luce's silence, "Well, I'm honestly happy that you're here. While I'm obviously not going to welcome you back with open arms... Or closed ones for that matter. I'll just administer the appropriate penalty myself! Aren't you lucky? I never do that!" Exclaimed the black demon roughly.

Luce finally spoke, "I despise you."

Xizaen raised his eyebrows and coldly said, "Well I fucking hate you too. Damn Djinns, fucking hate them."

Luce then decided mock Xizaen, despite what a stupid idea it was, "And I really am disgusted by that shitty scar of yours. What decent demon gives himself his own scar that size? And in the Star of David of all things."

Xizaen frowned, "The scar, don't talk about that thing ever."

If Luce knew anything about Xizaen's weaknesses, it was that the black demon could get angry very easily. And when he was angry, Xizaen went into an all or nothing state where he wouldn't care if he died unless the object that caused his anger was destroyed. A black demon of Wrath, that is Xizaen's nature.

And while Luce didn't know why, Xizaen hated talking about his scar, though he seemed somewhat proud of it at the same time. Luce speculated that it was a wound of some sorts from that famous battle Xizaen partook in where he slew the Teutons. Still, it was only speculation, but whatever Xizaen derived that scar, it must have come at a great cost or painful agony.

Goading Xizaen some more, Luce smirked confidently even though he was anything but, "Well, the way I see it, you either gave that scar to yourself... Or it was burned on you some time ago. Either way, it makes you look quite macabre."

Xizaen paced himself back and forth in the same pattern as he observed Luce with eyes of malice, "You are not going to see the end of this day, I will assure you that. Not even if it takes my life will I let you breathe until I'm finished." Closing his eyes, Xizaen mumbled some words under his breathe, which was obviously an incantation of sorts due to his magical power fluctuating within his body.

Luce readied himself, holding his scepter in one hand and holding the Orter's metallic body, which was coiled around his other arm, and hand like his own set of claws.

Suddenly, flames burst around Xizaen's body, though he didn't flinch, as those were his own flames. Luce knew instantly what type of spell this was, a [Dominion] spell. These spells gave the user absolute control over the element the incantation alluded to, in this case, fire. [Dominion] spells can range from the four natural elements to light and darkness, to metals, lightning, wood, and even flesh. Yet in order to cast such a spell, one needed a massive reserve of magical energy, and once that runs out, it saps your own body for its personal energy like a thousand hungry leeches. Very few in the realms could cast such spells, with the only notable examples being: various Rulers of Sin, Archangels, black or white demons, pagan gods, Archmages, or other extremely powerful magic users in the human world (like Lauren's mother). Xizaen was a true black demon; practically no other type of demon could cast a [Dominion] spell. Luce had no idea what to expect next, his mind was a complete blank.

Just play it cool for now... "As expected of the mighty Xizaen, a Dominion spell, and fire at that. You're really going to go that far over such a pitiful scar?" Since I already brought him this far, which was a mistake, I might as well take him further.  

Xizaen stared down Luce coldly as flames crackled around his body. He raised a solitary hand, extending two fingers, and fire sprayed out at Luce.

This attack was fairly simple, which Luce stopped by deviating the flames with some twisting of his scepter that he extended into a staff. Yet immediately after, Xizaen sent a fist of solidified fire in Luce's direction, which hit square in the Djinn's stomach knocking the wind out of Luce.

Luce, desperately swallowing air for his lungs, recoiled backwards, stumbling back a few steps where an enemy mercenary saw him and swung his battle axe at Luce's neck. Unable to retaliate, Luce saw death about to reach him when a blast of fire hit the mercenary, knocking him off the thick walls in the defender's direction.

Luce hated being defended by Xizaen, though he knew very well how much Xizaen hated his prey being taken by another being.

Several of the mercenaries and defenders around the area gulped and held their breaths as they paused for what seemed like an eternity as Xizaen spoke out loud to everyone, "Do not... Interfere. Scatter, ALL OF YOU!" Swiping his arms in opposite directions, two walls of fire spread from his body, slamming into any demon that didn't run away. Luce was spared only because of a small in the flames.

'It seems that Xizaen wanted an arena for us all to himself. Well, not that it'll be much of a battle if he can dish out that much fire with that unfairly strong spell.' Luce told himself.

Xizaen laughed, though not out of joy or lunacy, mainly out of a sense of fulfillment from demonstrating his obvious power. In Xizaen, there was no place for humbleness or humiliation, only power... And lots of it.

"Ha! Ha ha ha heh heh... You really can't fathom how pissed off I am right now, I will not hold back in killing you know. Let us see how long you take before you throw your hands up and beg for a quick death. You'll soon realize you have no place in fighting me." Xizaen said arrogantly as he took on a simple gait.

Luce figured it was as good as a time as any to take advantage of the Rooroo. The Djinn released a sharp whistle to call the Rooroo. Xizaen stood patiently as if waiting to see what Luce was doing, though out of curiosity and not caution.

The Rooroo flew from its perch over to Luce and proceeded to stick two slender tentacles, which came from the creature's mouth, into Luce's light blue skin. The tentacles didn't pierce just any spot, but in both stabbed into symmetrically opposite sides of Luce's body, both into a circular section of Luce's tribal tattoos.

If Luce was serious about fighting Lauren the other day, he would have taken more advantage of his pets, though he figured that his martial skill was enough and that if he summoned any creatures in the first place, that ice dragon would have taken care of them.

What the Rooroo just did was incorporate its body with Luce, basically, Luce absorbed the Rooroo's body. It injected itself into Luce's body with its tentacles. Now Luce could fight with extra sets of longer limbs that writhed around like a kraken's tentacles. This particular ability was abhorrent and quite difficult to use, which is why Luce disliked using it, but if he wanted to fight at full power then this ability was needed.

Xizaen could wait no longer and he shot forth pistol like bullets of fire from his fingertips, racing towards Luce's body. The tentacles, while they were connected and controlled by Luce's mind, could not reciprocate and feelings, so no sensations of any type could be transferred, which is why Luce used the numerous tentacles which just now sprouted from his body to dash away the fire bullets. In important and centric spots of Luce's set of tribal tattoos that covered his body, tentacles now lived there. If a human were to see him now, Luce would be mistaken for a Lovecraftian type deity.

Each tentacle, while wriggly and soft, had a sharp tip, sharp enough to pierce iron. Because of that, Luce didn't hesitate when he charged Xizaen with his scepter, claw, and tentacles outstretched menacingly ready to strike. Luce attacked with unbridled ferocity as he exchanged blows with Xizaen and his scimitar that he imbued with fire.

Xizaen, taking this seriously, chopped off a tentacle that tried to stab him like a bee's sting. He tossed out an arc of fire at Luce's way that was barely sidestepped by the Djinn. Luce tried to slam against Xizaen's chin with his scepter, but it was easily knocked away by a palm of fire, burning the Djinn's hand closest to the fiery palm.

Xizaen, after parrying Luce's flurry of attacks, slammed his free hand against the ground, causing an eruption of fire to appear in that vicinity. The fire bust upwards like a volcano as it traveled briskly along the stone wall, homing towards Luce's position. The Djinn jumped back several times to evade the volcano until it dissipated.

Out of the corner of their eyes, both parties could see that the flow of battle was subtly shifting in their direction. The defenders were now retreating, presumable towards the second terrace to create a new line of defense. Without a doubt, the ground forces of Arazra have taken the walls of the first terrace.

Xizaen could see some mercenaries rushing towards him in order to help him against his fight against Luce, but stopped immediately once they noticed his blazing body of fury. The Black Steps soldiers knew what was happening and stopped to watch, any other mercenaries stopped as well, assuming that the Black Steps soldiers knew what was up.

Still, this was no longer a suitable arena for Xizaen's anger to run rampant. Deciding it would be better to continue elsewhere, Xizaen shrugged and went into a relaxed state where he began to smolder.

Luce, keeping his defense up, slowly inched forward, ready to challenge Xizaen once again. It was as if Xizaen purposely left himself open to attacks, though Luce realized that until it was too late. Rushing towards the black demon, Luce unleashed an attack with all his might, only to feel a cold fist punching into his chest.

Xizaen, releasing his magic, punched with his strong arm into Luce's body. Time practically as Luce felt the impact and the seconds after. Xizaen, followed through with the punch, sending Luce even further.

Every spectator gaped and did their best to hold back cries of amazement at the moments that happened next.

Luce, feeling the full hit of the impact, went flying into the air, getting knocked back by the momentum of an impossible punch that shouldn't ever exist in reality. Luce was blown back, not by a measly hundred meters, no, that record was long since passed by Xizaen, Luce flew back more than a kilometer into the air, disappearing into the night. Wherever the impact of Luce hitting the ground, Xizaen could not guess, though he locked on to Luce's feeling, declaring to himself his intention to follow where Luce landed and finish him off there. The Djinn, while he may be incapacitated, should not die from just that.

Before the spectators could begin to cheer at the supposed victory, Xizaen jumped off the defender's side of the wall, which was more than forty meters down. He erased his presence, magical energy, and Sin as he went off to hunt down the traitorous Djinn. 

-

"The order to pull back has been given, Mistress, we should retreat as well along with the guards." Counseled the fallen angel, Aureal.

At this point, the order to pull back was given by the guard commander, Dezeil. The ground forces were not doing that well it seemed. While that was the case, the forces battling in the sky had the tide of battle in the defender's favor. Yet if the ground forces were forced to give away their position, then the attackers will gain the walls and first terrace and will be able to attack any of the sky forces with projectiles. Simple tactics required both the sky and ground forces to stay at roughly the same line either vertically or horizontally.




The Lost Lord Ch. 21



Yet retreating wasn't so simple in the sky as it was on the ground. In the sky, you always want the wind to be in your favor, if you went against the wind, it is obvious what would happen next, a slower and easier target. Also, if you slowed down your flight in order to turn around and present your back to the enemy, you're just asking to be struck from behind. Also, flying backwards was extremely tough, while it was possible for any experienced flyer, you have to be aware where you're going and of the wind, which in this case was flowing from the city towards the attacking encampments. If you make a mistake when flying backwards, your wings will buckle under the wind pressure and you will begin to fall, though it isn't that dangerous because it is somewhat easy to regain your flight when falling. Still, because of the wind, retreating was much tougher than it should be.

Aureal, being experienced in flying tactics of angels and demons from her battles on the angelic side in the previous war between demons and angels, was given full command over the forces in the sky. It was quite common for a new commander to appear every now and then in demonic armies and thus the soldiers were fine with it, especially since it was a beautiful fallen angel girl, eye candy for the soldiers is always good for morale.

"Darn it! I wanted to do more for my fiancée, I can't do anything like that if I'm retreating!" Cried the white demoness, Nerissa.

In the sky, the attackers were extremely wary of Aureal and Nerissa. Aureal because she is a fallen angel and has access to light magic which is like a painful poison to demons. Nerissa because she is a rare white demoness which has access to reserves of potentially extreme power. Though it wasn't like they were attacked every now and then, yet any soldier who stood in the femme fatale duo's way was slaughtered mercilessly. Both girls had killed, Aureal more so than Nerissa, and both were accustomed to experiencing war and death.

Also, because of their semi-close nature, the two had acquired a slight understanding of each other, so that both could accommodate each other in combat. They both realized this, the fact that they were quite compatible with each other in combat. It would probably the same with Lauren if she was here now and she could fly.

"I know Mistress, I also want to do more for Master right now. But we can't do that if we die, let us retreat and fight some more when we are safe." Agreed Aureal.

At that moment, a flash of dark magic pierced the sky and raced towards their position. As both girls saw it before it arrived, they easily dodged the dark bolt and flew away. This dark bolt was very fast and much more dense than the other dark magic Aureal and Nerissa had witnessed throughout this battle.

"That... Is no normal dark magic, even for such a simple spell." Observed Nerissa.

Aureal nodded and then added, "I can only assume this belongs to the commanding officer of this flying force, Mistress."

The two girls slowly flew backwards, retreating while also watching their backs. Several seconds passed as more dark bolts sped towards the two. As if a gatling gun was going off, hundreds of dark bolts, which were drastically smaller than the first but almost as dense, entered the sky. It was a grimly beautiful sight, dark rain coupled with the gray and blue skies, a painter would sorely miss such a sight.

"I'll handle this, get behind me Mistress." Assured Aureal.

Nerissa nodded. As far as she knew, she had no definite ways to block such an onslaught, yet the Aureal and her light magic would surely have a way.

Her hopes were instantly confirmed as Aureal dropped her hammer (which floated next to Aureal), and clasped her hands together. As she moved the hands apart, Aureal created a brilliant shield of light, which forced everyone in the vicinity except for Aureal to pervert their eyes away from the brightness.

Aureal made sure that the intense light didn't touch Nerissa, in order to not cause her pain. The shield expanded to a diameter where Aureal's arms were no symmetrically off to the sides, it turned into a perfect circle that was more than enough to protect their bodies from the dark bolts.

All of the dark bolts that pervaded the skies finally made their ways to the two girls' position. While they were generally accurate, a decent amount of dark bolts missed their intended target and sped off to their sides. And the dark bolts that did reach their intended target charged at the shield of light. Yet the shield worked perfectly, as all the dark bolts splattered against the shield and rained down towards the ground, though not until they disintegrated into the sky.

"Hmmm, fairly impressive. You have some talent, fallen angel girl. You too, white demon girl, I'm impressed that you managed to tame the Old Age that my love gave away to that lowly wrath demon. It fits you much more than him." Professed a halcyon voice.  

As Aureal released her magic, the two girls switched their gaze towards the voice's location. The voice belonged to a black demon, a succubus at that. Of the names of the commanders in Arazra's army that Nerissa and Aureal knew, only one matched the identity of a black demon succubus, Sasilith.

Sasilith was the first well known name to fall in with Arazra's plot. As the leader of the seventh district, she had supply to an entire army and resources of a tenth of the Land of Lust's vast wealth (which of course doesn't even come close to matching the wealth of the Gardens of Greed). Every district was important to the well being of the Land of Lust's general state of affairs, economy, politics, military, and etcetera. So when it was found out that not only did Arazra begin his plot to take over the Land of Lust, but his sister, Sasilith joined in, the Land of Lust had suffered a great loss. Yet now because of this war, four districts were now under Arazra's influence, which would be a tremendous loss if the other districts didn't do something. Which they couldn't, since they have no idea that this war is happening unless those messengers make their way to their destination.

Sasilith, while it wasn't well known, it was rumored among the higher ups of the social ladder that she joined out of love for her brother. And in the Land of Lust where practically nothing is taboo, incestuous relationships were not prohibited and neither where they frowned against. Still, such a relationship between to very prominent figures is extremely surprising. Though it was not known how well their relationship actually was, and how well Arazra was reciprocating Sasilith's love.

Sasilith continued her words, "I honestly admire such talent. What say you? Will you switch your allegiance from the false pretender towards under my command or my brother's rule?"

No she was not joking, that was what Nerissa thought first. Still, to offer such an impudent suggestion...

Before Nerissa could express her outrage, Aureal calmly replied first with a graceful voice, "We respectfully decline." Aureal turned to Nerissa and said apologetically, "While I apologize for speaking for you, Mistress, I am sure you will not be unhappy with my words."

Nerissa registered Aureal's words in her mind. Even though she considered Aureal a rival for Rainer's true love, she could honestly say that Aureal was a friend. Smiling, Nerissa looked straight at Aureal's eyes and nodded silently. It was as if the mistress was allowing her servant to speak for her, but it was obviously much more than that.

Aureal returned her gaze back at Sasilith, "Neither one of us would ever think about abandoning Master. Nerissa is Master's betrothed, and she does not marry out of respect of her mother's wish to cement a possible alliance between Lust and Pride, but out of an honest love that every girl has at a young age that will never dissipate with the time our immortal bodies will experience." Aureal, from the bottom of her heart, closed her eyes, placed her hands on her left bosom, and earnestly confessed, "I am but a servant to Master... He rescued me from my despair. A despair I held secured in my heart throughout my life in Heaven. Never once did I think about betraying Heaven, even with their constant distrust of my suspicious ability, and rightfully so considering my current position. Still, the day I first met Master, I began to experience the emotions I bottled up. He, without my realizing it, turned me to Sin and made me a fallen angel. While I experienced that process, I realized I had been experiencing an emotion since I first met him, love."

Aureal's words flowed out of her mouth as amorously as the most experienced of poets. There was no fallacy or hindrance in the fallen angel's words, that was what Nerissa and even Sasilith realized.

Sasilith warmly smiled, "I understand. There is no love as honest as the ones you two hold in your hearts and souls. I doubt even mine can compare to yours. While I am obviously disappointed at your intentions, I will respect and recognize your devotion and stance. Still, because of our love towards our respective persons, we are enemies."

'Who would have expected that she was such a person...' Marveled Nerissa and Aureal together in their minds.

"I would be ashamed that if I had to kill such a pure love, not that I am disrespecting your skill. The both of you alone could not match me, though the both of you together would make a formidable force that would be able to fight me equally." Admitted Sasilith with an air of humbleness, she was not trying to sound arrogant or haughty.

Nerissa winced at the imperiousness of Sasilith. Though she had qualms against it, she realized that Sasilith was probably right. Their opponent was, after all, a black demon succubus who had an immortal lifetime to master her skills, even Nerissa's Old Age and Aureal's light magic would have trouble alone, but together was a different matter altogether.

Both she and Aureal put up their defense, only to find, to their surprise, Sasilith pulling back.

The black demoness called out to the two girls, "Let us fight at a later time in this war. I do not wish to fight you on unfavorable territory for you two. As our forces have just about taken the walls. When we make it to the final section of terraces, wait at a secluded area, any will do, and release a marker with light magic or something and I will arrive. Then, we will see whose love is stronger in the end. Talent such as yours that belongs to such young girls should be defeated or become victorious in a secluded battle suited to such an occasion. I look forward to our battle and I say this, I will not lose!" And on that note, Sasilith turned away and flew towards the ground.

Nerissa and Aureal were somewhat mystified. Nerissa called out to the succubus, "Neither will we lose!"

As she flew down, Sasilith smiled. Among the numerous people she liked, very few of them were male. In fact, other than Arazra, the only two other males that she liked were faithful butler eunuchs. And of the people that she liked that were female was far greater in number, and it was not out of attraction. This Nerissa and Aureal were both members of that group

And with that, a duel where there would be death, was set up.

-

Several hours passed as nightfall took the region. Arazra didn't manage to reach his goal of terrace's taken over in the day, but he had an impressive plan to reach the second last terrace for the next day. If he hesitated yet another day to reach the palace, any possible reinforcements may make their way to assist the pretender.

A certain individual pondered the tactical situation of both sides. The individual was a demon with dark green skin; he was also an incubus and had all of his appendages out and poking through his cloak. The cloak he wore was only for keeping his anonymity. The incubus also enchanted the cloak with a powerful spell that hid his presence completely from purveying eyes, he would be impossible to discover unless someone was intently focusing on the incubus' position that could only happen by chance. This spell could even deviate the senses of the blind swordsman form the Pillar of Lust, Caetorum.

The incubus walked through the besieged city, in one of the upper terraces as he came back from his self given objective, which was to observe and find the location of the supposed Lord of Lust. While the incubus had quite a bit of loyalty to the one who paid for his services, he was honestly surprised to see the supposed Lord of Lust, as he recognized the face.

The incubus belonged to a mercenary force that was mainly shrouded in mystery, otherwise known as Huracan. In fact, the demon was also the leader of the force. The way he organized his group was that all of his subordinates was allowed to take contracts in their own name or in the name of another mercenary group. And when the incubus had a contract for the whole of Huracan to complete, every single member would drop their task, usually no matter how important unless they had a drastic personal situation, and would assist their leader. Also, as for the reason the incubus chose the name Huracan, it was mainly in order to deviate speculations and unwanted attentions towards a certain Mayan pagan god. On the outside, the group held the guise of cultists worshipping a pagan god (which was quite frequent in small groups of demons and humans), and on the inside the group was an elite group of mercenaries only selling their skills to the highest bidder or for the interests of the group.

With that aside, the incubus had recognized the face of the supposed Lord of Lust and was wondering what to do now. Even before thinking about it, he knew what he wanted to do: Betray Arazra. The incubus' experience with the supposed Lord of Lust didn't even span half of an hour, yet it deeply impacted the dark green demon's being.

Eventually, the incubus came into contact with a subordinate and relayed his new orders: "I want you all to hold back in the fighting. Make it look like you're fighting while not actually killing or being killed until I give the order to turn on Arazra's forces."

No one in the group would question the incubus' orders, not even if they died, that was how devoted they were to their group. They knew their leader would not turn them the wrong way and would not let them die meaninglessly, the incubus truly would never let that happen.

As the incubus made his way towards his next destination, he noticed a body flying through the air, landing in a nearby bathing area. Curious as to what had happened, the incubus made his way towards the body. When he entered the bathhouse, the incubus found the body with its limbs splayed out on the side of one of the baths with its feet touching the water.

The incubus investigated the body, and to his surprise recognized it to be a Djinn with light blue skin and tribal tattoos. "Huh, it seems that from that height you obviously would have died, yet you applied a [Texture] spell to make the ground you land on into a soft cushion... Impressive that you can concentrate on such an incantation in mid-air." Investigated the incubus.

The Djinn was unconscious and could not hear the incubus' words, but that was intentional, as the incubus sometimes spoke to no one in particular towards himself.

As the incubus investigated the body a little more and applied some cauterizing water to the body to heal the wounds. Ten minute passed, and as the incubus put the finishing touches on his quick healing process, an explosion was heard on the opposite side of the bath.

Where there was once a wall, was a black demon that the incubus recognized.

Upon noticing the incubus, the black demon yelled out, "Oh yeah! I am so damn lucky today! I get to utterly destroy this traitorous fuck of a Djinn that talked about my scar... And I get to kill the motherfucker that gave me it in the first place!"

Yes, the incubus did indeed give the black demon, Xizaen a scar in the shape of the Star of David. And he was quite proud of his handiwork as well considering how much the two demons hated each other.

"The last time we fought... Was a long time ago, Xizaen. It will be good to fight you today, and hopefully to a final conclusion. Though I don't plan on losing." Smirked the incubus as he furrowed his brow.

"Shut the fuck up, Emiel. There's no way you'll be living once I'm through with you. In fact, the only reason why I signed up to help Arazra was because I heard a rumor that Huracan was also helping out that damn lord."

"Eh, that's good. Because I no longer plan to be helping out Arazra, I unofficially announce my decision to side with the Lord of Lust, the newer one I mean." Declared the incubus whose name was Emiel.

Somewhat curious to his archenemy's intentions, Xizaen raised and eyebrow and asked, "To what end?"

"Huh... Well even I don't know myself. If I had to say something, it is because I have already met the young Lord of Lust, though for a short time. And I must say, his entire being made a larger impact on my mind than my entire conflict with yours." Taunted Emiel.

Xizaen frowned, clearly annoyed and getting angry, "I don't give a fuck who made more of an impact on whom, I JUST WANT YOURS AND THAT DJINN'S HEAD!"

Revealing his scimitar, Xizaen got himself ready for his opponent.

Unveiling his body from the cloak, Emiel revealed his own battle gear, ready to fight his most persistent of enemies.

-

"Oh man... I feel like hell." Said our hero, Rainer. 

Just this moment, Rainer was feeling drawback symptoms from that strange and libidinous ritual called [Ritual Lust Sin].

His head was filled with a hot sensation that throbbed through his body painfully. Though the pain wasn't necessarily a bad thing, quite the opposite. The pain resulted from the influx of energy that flooded his body and made it recover faster than it normally should. 

'[Rush] spells are not to be trifled with it seems...' Thought Rainer.

Rainer looked to his side, apparently several hours had passed since Asmodea performed the ritual and she was sleeping peacefully, recovering the energy she sacrificed in order to help Rainer recover.

Rainer could help but smile wryly. He truly appreciated Asmodea's efforts, though he wished she didn't put her own life in danger because of it. It almost seemed as if Asmodea sacrifice almost all of her life force because of her desire to help Rainer.

'Just why do these people go so far for me? Asmodea practically gives up her life in order to keep me going. Nerissa fights so devotedly for a fiancée that she barely knew all her life. Lauren gives up her entire life on Earth in order to accompany me. Aureal is forced to start completely anew from the life she knew for many years. Hell, even that Tozomat died fighting for me all because of his duty as a member of the Pillar of Lust.' 

Rainer continued to ponder the situation for some time, until he was interrupted by words in his head.

'...It has been awhile, my lord.' Said a mysterious voice in Rainer's head.

Rainer swiveled his head around, searching for the voice, only to find a strange glow originating from inside his clothes, it came from the [Emperor]. Rainer guess, correctly, that the voice had something to do with that succubus who gave him the card from before.

'Are you... Zazie?' Inquired Rainer.

'...Your intuition is amazing, my lord.'

'Well, how are you talking to me now?'

'...The [Emperor] that I gave you and the [Empress] that I hold now are connected. They are one and the same, though they belong to opposite genders. Still, that does not stop them from interacting when they are miles apart.'

'Huh... Well the, why ARE you speaking to me now? Aren't you on that Arazra fellow's side?'

'...For the time being. Circumstances have forced me to side with him. My desire is to lay to stay by your side.'




The Lost Lord Ch. 21



Rainer scratched his head, 'I don't understand? What circumstances?'

'...The [World] is in Arazra's possession. I cannot leave his side until I find a way to take it back. I am speaking to you now to give you some information. I originally gave you the [Emperor] for this purpose.'

Because the two were not speaking face to face, Rainer could not divine Zazie's true intentions from her facial expression, like if she was lying or not.

Zazie continued, '...Your friend, the witch, has been captured by Arazra's forces. They are under the impression she is some secret trump card you brought with you from the human world.'

Rainer stayed calm, though he couldn't help but twist his face into a snarl, 'I am not letting anyone die for this shit. I was brought into this cyclone of demonic politics because of some douchebag thinks his dad didn't love him enough and got mad. Tell me where Lauren is!'

'...That I will and agree with. Your friend is located in the tenth district's main encampment; she is bound to a magical Yew Spirit. It'll defend itself from anyone and attack anyone trying to free the witch. The Yew Spirit looks like a massive tree, I am sure you can tell what it looks like... If I may ask something, has the [Emperor] been of assistance?'

'Hm? Yea, it helped me cast magic that for some reason won't agree with me. Even though I'm supposed to be some sort of all powerful demon lord, I can barely cast any magic, the card helped with that.'

'...That is good. Very well then, I wish you the utmost of good luck and fortune.'

And with that, the presence in Rainer's head disappeared.

"Maaaaan, there are way too many people that can talk in my head. Still, I need to go rescue someone?" Rainer moved his head towards Asmodea, who was still regenerating. "I don't want you people to have me rely on you anymore. I'm sure as heck doing this myself. This [Emperor] ought to help me."

Rainer pumped his fist in determination. He had been in many do or die situations, with the majority of them coming to him since his revelation. Rainer wasn't afraid of dying, though he wished he were. He wished he didn't get this thrill form being in a perilous situation.

Well, why not indulge just this once?



The Lost Lord Ch. 22



Note: I FUCKING LOVE ZAZIE!

The Lost Lord Ch. 22 - The name of the game is stealth

"Damn you, Emiel! I am going to rip out your intestines and strangle you with them..." Hissed the black demon, Xizaen. He unfurled his jet-black wings that contrasted against his tanned skin, in a threatening position. He twirled scimitar in the air, chopping at every projectile sent his way.

Xizaen's archenemy, Emiel was a powerful master of magic, who was especially strong with his earth magic. Masters of earth magic were the rarest of the four natural elements, with the popularity being fire, air, water, and then earth. It was understandably so, as earth masters, or more popularly known as Geomancers or Geomasters, required peace of mind and stillness as well as a suitable amount of brute force. Basically, in order to be a Geomaster, you needed to have forceful strength as well as tranquil stillness, which were complete opposites.

Emiel sent shards of rock at Xizaen every chance he could in order to harass and slow down his foe. In this urban environment, there was no shortage of rock, so as long as Emiel had enough energy, he could continue flinging shards at Xizaen until the end time came.

One shard, which was colored a sky blue, rushed straight at Xizaen just as he barely managed to dodge the last. While it didn't hit, this one was the closest yet, skimming past and marking Xizaen's mail armor.

Out of nowhere, a large bit of debris came flying down into their bath arena, most likely due to a misfire in a siege machine. It should have hit Xizaen at that moment, but it was stopped in midair.

Emiel was straining his hands as he tossed the debris aside into another bath, causing a large splash. Laughing heartily as if that display was nothing (which it was), Emiel chortled at Xizaen, "And I wouldn't want my lifelong foe to be smashed to bits by something OTHER than me, would we?"

"Bastard... You're saying that as if it was decided you would win in the first place. NOW JUST DIE!" Raged Xizaen

'He truly is a demon of Wrath.' Thought Emiel, 'Just like I am an incubus of Lust. I get way too much pleasure from this...'

Xizaen, in a fit of rage, charged at Emiel, dodging all the rock shards flung at him. One of the larger pieces, Xizaen cut clean through with his sword. No more going easy, he decided. When he reached his nemesis, Xizaen smashed through a shield of concrete with his sword that was set up by Emiel. Dust and bits of rubble sprayed in all directions as a result.

"As always, the rage of a black demon is to be feared. Have you ever thought of anger management? Ever since I gave you that scar, you've seemed awfully easy to annoy." Jabbed Emiel as he jumped back to avoid the explosion of dust. "Its because of your anger, that you always fall into my traps, I suppose now is as good as a time as any to kill you." Emiel then chanted words to a spell he called, 'Stalactite Storm'.

As the spell suggested, seemingly out of nowhere, spiked rocks rained down on the ground at Xizaen's position.

Xizaen cursed his luck, he had used a vast majority of his strength utterly destroying Luce and getting to the location he knocked the Djinn towards. While his rage told him otherwise, and if Xizaen's head was in a normal condition, he would know he could not win this fight.

One of the stalactites pierced Xizaen's legs, though it shattered on contact with his tough bones that were even stronger than his armor. Another stalactite would have smashed in his head, though Xizaen punched it aside with his right hand, slamming it at Emiel who effortlessly dodged. With his leg wounded, Xizaen couldn't escape easily. And even then, Emiel would surely have the storm continuously pinpoint its attacks on Xizaen's position.

"By the Emperor's grace: Prison of Flesh

On those whose will and body has been weakened,

They will be cast into a prison of their own flesh

Until the Emperor decides otherwise."

The young Lord of Lust, Rainer rushed into the scene, vaulting himself over a crumbling wall of the bathhouse. He cast another spell, a simple one, which tossed aside the stalactites to the side, avoiding Xizaen. "I'm sorry, but I need him to stay alive!" He called out to Emiel.

"Ohoh! If it isn't the young incubus from the human world! I thought there was something strange about you, young Lord of Lust." Commented Emiel as he laughed heartily.

Rainer was surprised at the demon he saw and recognized from a certain restaurant that catered exclusively to human world food. The dark green skinned incubus, Emiel. The nice demon that operated the restaurant had kindly given Rainer a drink he had dearly missed from Earth, a carbonated soda. Still, Rainer hadn't expected Emiel to ever be fighting this guy, Xizaen.

"It's you... From that restaurant!" Exclaimed Rainer in surprise.

"Obviously. May I introduce myself? You may call me Emiel Cano, leader of Huracan." Emiel bowed as if in the presence of the highest presence in the world (which he technically was).

"Wait, if you're the leader from Huracan... Aren't you one of my enemies?" Inquired Rainer as he took a step back defensively.

"Not anymore. From the moment I met and spoke to you in my restaurant, I honestly liked you. While yes, Huracan fights mainly for money. They also fight for the same ideals as I wish for. You symbolize those ideals, at least to me you do. I hereby request that you allow us to fight for you, the true Lord of Lust." Emiel spoke with all his soul.

"Out of curiosity, Rainer asked, "And what are these ideals you are talking about?"

"Let us just say that you're the kind of person wishes for peace, yet knows and will instantly fight when that peace is threatened. I, for one, believe that peace is impossible without the origins of violence and strife. Compared to the previous Lord, you are much more willing to wade into battle for those you want to protect... No?"

Rainer thought for a second, Yes... I fought with Aureal to make sure she had a place to live free in and live by. I want to finish this war for Nerissa who finally met a person she had loved and never knew. I'm heading out to rescue Lauren who is capture by Arazra, and I didn't tell Asmodea or anyone where I was going so that I could do this myself without anyone getting in harm's way.

As if he could tell what Rainer was thinking, Emiel then warmly said, "Really, there has never been a single Ruler of Sin quite like you, and that is a very good thing. Your qualities will definitely bring stability to the Seven Circles some day, which has never even heard of stability. Arazra will never bring that, only undying devotion for the Land of Lust perpetuated by a never ending circle of battle among the circles and even Heaven." Emiel then turned his glance over to Xizaen, who was completely petrified by his own flesh. "May I ask why did you imprison and save my nemesis?" Emiel emphasized the word 'Nemesis'.

Rainer had only cast the spells to save Xizaen's life because he first thought there was a battle going on between one of Arazra's men and someone else. Yet he was infinitely more surprised to see a certain scar, a scar in the shape of a star on Xizaen's face.

"That scar on his face, its in the form of a star." Said Rainer blankly.

Emiel nodded, "Yes, and to be specific, the Star of David. I etched it on him myself, that action gave me great joy."

Rainer mentally reeled back at Emiel's gruesome words, though he withstood it and gave his reasons for saving Xizaen, "I promised someone, someone who I barely knew yet he cared for me more than I thought possible of him. Well, I won't give the reasons why he wants this done, but I said I would capture the demon with the star-shaped scar on his face and bring him to justice, be it death or eternal imprisonment. This black demon, he committed a grave atrocity to my friend, one that I intend he will pay dearly for."

Emiel smiled, "I understand."

"Can I also ask a favor of you?" Rainer asked.

"Of course, I'm under your command after all."

"Please take him back to the palace and have him locked up in whatever prisons they got back there. We can handle him later if we win this war. Also, tell Asmodea what you're doing now, with Huracan switching sides and all, but don't tell her you saw me here. Just say I'm safe." Rainer asked with an air of a true leader.

It wasn't a command or a demand, or even an order, it was a simple request. A request that Emiel felt compelled to follow, that was more than enough material for him to confirm his hopes of Rainer being a true lord someday. "Of course, my lord. May I know where you are headed at least? Out of pure curiosity, that's all."

"Like you said before, I can't help but protect everyone. And in order to do that, I need to go straight into Arazra's camp." Rainer replied with an indomitable will.

-

Terraces taken: Four out of eleven.

"Lord Arazra, our forces are about to take control of the fifth terrace." Reported a stocky incubus donned in full plate armor and sporting a long sword at his hip.

"Ah, good. It's long past afternoon, we are making more progress than expected despite that little setback on the fourth terrace.."

By the time morning began, Arazra's forces rushed for all its worth. Out of all the terraces, the first one is without a doubt the toughest to penetrate, even if it had the largest length of walls. Morale had boosted in Arazra's favor by tenfold and formed a wave of momentum that allowed them to come crashing through the next few terraces like a typhoon.

Before the sun even rose, Arazra's forces took the second terrace. He poured all his strength, for that terrace, into his sky army, allowing him to overflow and eradicate any that even tried to stand in its path. The balance between ground and sky troops was too great, and the defense on the second terrace was easily overwhelmed.

The third terrace was already partially destroyed, thanks to an "accident" that Arazra had arranged a year back in preparation. Because of the wall's vast size for each terrace, repairs didn't start until seven months after the accident and it would take seven more to finish. Thanks to this hole in the wall, Arazra's ground forces flowed through like a swarm of locusts.

The fourth terrace was considered the second weakest terrace, in terms of defense (the first is the eighth). Its walls were located on a semi-hilly area that forced parts of the defense to have favorable and unfavorable terrain. It almost looked comical in a way. It was decided that the defense wouldn't waste too large a size in defending the fourth terrace, leaving a paltry and zealous force with orders to defend as long as possible and then immediately retreat using tantas (the equivalent of horses in the Land of Lust, think of a manta or sting ray with legs).

In order to maximize the time Arazra's forces wasted, four of the top defending warriors and mages stayed behind on the fourth terrace, which were Teras, Little Rouge, Sitri, and Reginald. In tactical terms, it was not best to send out more than three of your most powerful in each phase of the battle. In essence, it was the same as putting all your eggs in one basket and somehow dropping it on accident. It was a risk, and unfortunately a successful tactic that annihilated a decent amount of Arazra's troops and wasted more time than necessary.

Night would come soon, and Arazra knew that if he took the sixth terrace before night, he would be in a much more advantageous position. Obviously, one more terrace is better than one less. However, on the sixth terrace... There was a little something he could take advantage of only at night.

"Hm... Maybe I should take part." Pondered Arazra out loud to his subordinates and sister who was nearby.

"M- My lord?!"

"That damn fake, while I doubt he will, who knows when he will take part in the battle himself. I do not wish to, but it would be a fatal mistake if we underestimated him. I want the sixth terrace before tonight by any means necessary, even if that means fighting in it myself."

"Brother..." Said Arazra's more than loving sister said remorsefully, Sasilith.

"The sixth terrace? Modeled after Sitri's district. I have no doubt she will take part in the defense there." Commented another sibling of Arazra, Hezazias.

Each of the terraces was modeled after their corresponding districts. For example, the first terrace was modeled after Zagan's first district, the second was modeled after Azail's second district and so on until the tenth terrace. The eleventh terrace was solely dedicated to the Lord of Lust and the few who lived there was the Lord of Lust himself, his retainers, servants, the highest of nobility and the richest of demons, and any others the Lord of Lust chose.

While the district leaders had no control over the terraces, the terraces were designed to honor each of the original leaders of the districts a long time ago. Obviously, none of them lived now, or else they would have been just as old as the current and now oldest demon in existence, the Shah of Sloth. And that is nowhere near close to the age of the previous Lord of Lust.

"Prepare my sword. Now that I've talked about it, I do want to take part in taking the sixth district."

"Yes my lord. Also, we have reports that reinforcements will be coming to the pretender's aid. Some of the messengers that escaped earlier somehow lived." Reported Arazra's herald.

"All the more reason for me to take control of the sixth district by tonight. Also, is Xizaen still missing?"

"Yes, my lord. Though Black Steps confirms that he still lives. It is possible he has been captured."

"Weak, a black demon dares lower himself to be capture by his enemies? How about the leader of Huracan? Has he shown himself yet?"

"I'm afraid not, my lord. Continuous requests sent to Huracan have been refused. Though it is apparently not because Huracan does not wish to, it is because they themselves do not know where their commander is and have no way to contact him or her."

"That's right... Their leader could be a her, though I doubt it. Very well then, time for me to slay some of these traitors."

-

"Yes, milady. With our life." Several elite guardsmen responded to an order from Sitri.

These guardsmen, when working together, could rival one of the ten district leaders. Though only if all of them worked together. That basically meant that each of these guards could be their own miniature army and slay hundreds of incoming troops, even a potential thousand or two.

"I have no doubt that that detestable brother of mine knows about my little secret here in this district. He will without a doubt try to take advantage of it. If they do know about the secret, defend it until I close it off. If you can't, come inform me and I will destroy the entrance." Commanded Sitri. The black succubus clenched her teeth and balled her fists, chanting some dangerous words to a spell, but stopped halfway and releasing the magic.

"Milady, what might be down there that you'll be sealing away?" Asked one of the guards politely.

In the sixth terrace, there was a secret Sitri kept. She had only ever told three people: Her father, Asmodea, Caetorum, Dezeil, and Alizae, who is Sitri's sister. Sitri didn't know how, but she knew Arazra spent many years and vast amounts of resources on secrets of Lust's Capitol and the capitols of the districts. There was a high possibility that Arazra divulged Sitri's secret.

Her secret was a potentially dangerous one, one that may allow Arazra to increase the momentum of his capture and even eliminate any resistance from after the war.

Sitri would have taken advantage of her secret, even use it to fight Arazra, though it required time and large magical power to make it work. And neither of which Sitri and her lord had, especially considering that the sixth terrace was currently under attack.

"That is on a need to know basis, none of you need to know. Though I might as well say this, it is dangerous."

-

"Ah, if it isn't Miss Asmodea! It's been awhile since our last encounter!" Happily exclaimed Emiel. He threw his arms out as if inviting the succubus in front of him for a hug.

"..." Asmodea was walking through the hallway of the palace, in order to speak with the artillery officer of the palace. She randomly encountered the person she least expected to meet ever, the leader of Huracan. In fact, he was one of the people she least wanted to talk to as well, especially more so considering he was leading a mercenary force that was fighting for Arazra. Her silence and cold expression showed just how much she disdained Emiel.

"I never expected to meet you here! Isn't the circle a small world?" Emiel showed no concern for the situation at hand.

"What?" Sighed Asmodea. "You are an enemy commander, if you do not get out of my way, I will do everything in my power to kill you. Maybe I should just do that anyway."" Asmodea's words were ready to give Emiel frostbite.

"Now, now... I'm here with peaceful intentions, and information you may wish to know." Emiel made a grand swooping move for no reason in particular other than to annoy Asmodea.

"Oh? The last time you said that, I believe it was for the express purpose of finding your way into the pants of a good friend of mine." While the matter she just said wasn't important in the long run, Asmodea still held a grudge. She didn't like Emiel in the slightest, and wanted to deprive him of any chances to indulge in his incubal lust. It was a petty matter, but Asmodea still held to it.

"Ha ha. Trust me on this, I know where your interesting little lord is!" Declared Emiel as he continued to prance around. And as Asmodea widened her eyes, Emiel bowed and said with pride, "I am proud to announce that Huracan officially joins sides to the young Lord of Lust's side. Now, use the magic words we tell small children to use and I'll gladly tell you where our little lord is."

Asmodea stood still while looking down. She impatiently tapped her feet and swished her tail around. "Please tell me where Rainer is, or I will fucking gut you from your dick to your eye sockets." She threatened with her most civil voice possible. 

"Eh, close enough. Very well then, our little lord, whom I met while fighting Xizaen, said he was going to rescue someone who was captured by Arazra. I think that human girl of yours, I heard Arazra was under the impression that he thought she was a hidden trump card of the little lord. I don't know why he went by himself, but that was his honest intention. Also, he somehow froze Xizaen in a prison of his own flesh, a spell that only mages on the highest of levels can accomplish. He's quite an interesting demon, is he?"

Asmodea reflected on the knowledge given to her. 'Lauren was captured... It is not a good or a terribly traumatic thing. While I of course want to rescue her, it would be impossible to do it while under siege, just what is Rain Rain thinking? And I thought his magic was lacking. I was going to have Teras teach him the fundamentals, yet to think he performed such a high level spell... The power and abilities of a Ruler of Sin is not to be trifled with, even if that person is immature in his growth. The only ones who can hope to fight with a Ruler of Sin on par by himself are other Rulers of Sin, Archangels, certain pagan gods, and the rest are an extremely rare few that shouldn't even exist in common sense. That is the main reason why Arazra has no hope in winning against Rainer in an upfront fight, he must resort to sneaky tactics or overwhelming forces or other such dangerous tactics in order to beat Rainer. Not even a black or white demon under the effects of the strongest [Rush] spell would be able to defeat a Ruler of Sin in just a battle of power. Rulers of Sin are just that unreasonable in their strength.'




The Lost Lord Ch. 22



And if Asmodea knew anything about her beloved Rainer, she knew that his strange skills and unrivaled tenacity would bring him farther than anyone else in this city. Rainer had the... Grimoire after all, she didn't know much about it, but she speculated from the information the previous lord revealed that the... Grimoire contained a compendium of every spell in existence, and it supposedly even updated itself when a new spell is created from the imagination of all mages. Not even the previous Lord of Lust knew what it was, but he knew enough that only a man with his power could wield it, the power of the Lord of Lust.

"I see. While I have no wish to welcome your group and you yourself, I understand that help is necessary. You know better than anyone on how to lead your group, please lead as necessary. Though find Caetorum before you do. He should be in the main tower in the back of the sixth terrace." Advised Asmodea without once looking at Emiel's face. She made it a point to never look at that bastard's face as much as possible.

"Ah, one more thing!" Emiel said in revelation as he remembered something. He pirouetted and snapped his fingers while chanting a short spell that allowed spatial transportation of objects. Considering the size and distance that Emiel of the object Emiel had to transport, he wasted a good deal of energy, though not enough to prohibit himself from walking and annoying Asmodea. "I present to you the captured leader of Black Steps, Xizaen."

Asmodea tilted her head at the object that appeared before her. It resembled an egg, though in a brilliant opaque blue crystal. On a closer look, there was a body located inside of the crystal, which in deed resembled a black demon that could be no other than Xizaen. Asmodea rubbed her eyes, while she did hear that her beloved Rainer placed Xizaen under an extremely powerful petrification spell, she found it hard to believe and attributed to Emiel's frequent exaggerations.

"Obviously our young lord's spell would wear off the moment he left the vicinity, so I cast a [Crystal] prison spell, type blue sapphire. It constantly drains a person's magical power and energy, the perfect prison for a black or white demon, though troublesome to cast and place. Since he was petrified, I found it quite easy!" Explained Emiel with a seemingly straight face. "Oh, and I decided (on the little lord's request/orders) to place him in your care. Have fun! And make sure you detain him properly before the spell wears off! Bye, bye!" And with that, Emiel swept his arms in a downward arc, causing him to sink into the ground thanks to his earth magic. He liked to transport via underground tunneling, which frequently pissed off Asmodea and others as he could instantly disappear without anyone's noticing.

"Son of a bitch..." Cursed Asmodea. "GUARDS!"

'Rain Rain... I sure hope you're safe.' Asmodea whispered to herself as she stared at his handiwork

-

"Wow, this is more fun than I thought." Rainer told himself quietly. After trapping Xizaen with a petrification spell, Rainer had managed to slip through the city down to the first terrace and over the walls.

Due to Rainer and his frequent forays in the crime-ridden city he lived in, he found himself trying to make himself "not seen". He had always found himself light on his feet and quite nimble. His imagination always made him pretend to be the "honorable assassin" for kicks as a kid.

Now it was the first time ever Rainer could try out his stealth skills, which turned out to be more effective than he expected. Of course Rainer utilized several spells, thanks to the [Emperor]'s assistance, in order to aid his venture.

Eventually, an hour before evening, Rainer was nearing the main encampment of Arazra's troops. As expected, there were numerous demons patrolling the area, officers and foot soldiers. There was also a veritable supply of demons flying in the air, keeping a sharp eye out for intrusions just like Rainer.

Rainer peered over a large brown boulder, he could see three demons patrolling several meters nearby. If he made any strange noises, the soldiers would without a doubt investigate and find Rainer, thus Rainer stayed as quiet as possible. What Rainer needed, in order to bypass the prying eyes of the patrolling soldiers, was a good disguise. And those soldiers would provide it. Of the three, there was one demon that looked Rainer's size.

'Perfect!'

"Fweeeee!" Whistled Rainer, calling the group of soldiers near him. If it was just one demon, Rainer could easily dispatch him with a blow to the back of the neck or temple. If it was two soldiers, Rainer planned to take out one of them with an instant blow and punch the other demon's vocal cords to stop his scream and then take him out. Three soldiers would prove rather difficult, and difficult was coming to him in the form of three demons.

'Perhaps a spell?' Wondered Rainer.

"Sound Disruption.

The chitters and chirps of the chatters and smirks

Become disturbed and disrupted and diminished

All sound enters oblivion

By thy [Emperor]'s grace."

The surroundings became unusually silent. The guards who were investigating the whistle suddenly turned from side to side due to the feeling of complete silence. I realized that everywhere around me was completely devoid of sound. Perfect time to take out some enemy soldiers.

Smiling maliciously, Rainer vaulted himself over the boulder and rushed at the demon soldiers. They each instantly saw Rainer and tried to call out, but couldn't due to Rainer's spell. Realizing their predicament thanks to magic, the soldiers tried to draw their weapons, only two of them did successfully.

Rainer, while running, picked up a sharp rock and tossed it at one of the soldiers with his immense strength. The rock instantly crushed the soldier's skull. Rainer saw that the soldier he just killed was a member of the eighth district, the other soldiers belonged to the seventh and tenth districts respectively.

The seventh district demon sliced down at Rainer's position with a semi-circular two handed axe. Rainer stepped to the side where the tenth district soldier was waiting with his curved sword ready to strike. Rainer caught the demon's hands and they both struggled for dominance.

Rainer flashed a mocking smile at the demon, who sneered back. Accompanying the smile, Rainer kicked the demon in his most vulnerable spot, the groin. The demon keeled over while soundlessly screaming, trying to grasp himself through his thin armor. Before the seventh district soldier came over, Rainer struck the rolling demon in the temple, knocking him unconscious.

The final demon came lumbering over, swinging horizontally at Rainer. Rainer ducked down to his legs and kicked at the demon's knees. Rainer underestimated his own strength and accidentally smashed in the demon's kneecap. Like the other one, the third demon clutched his knee, trying to howl in pain. Saying sorry in his mind, Rainer knocked the third demon unconscious.

'That was quite thrilling.' Rainer told himself while trying on the demon's armor. It fit close to perfectly.

Up until this point, Rainer had never seen himself kill anyone. Yes, he knew that he had killed the jaguar man, Yaotl, but he fell immediately unconscious after and the next second he realized it, he was in the bedroom of the palace. And just now, he had killed a demon and knocked two unconscious.

Rainer looked at the corpse whose face was smashed in by the rock he had thrown. Rainer knew he should have felt disgusted and remorseful considering he had just killed a living being. Yet he couldn't help but wonder one thing, 'Why don't I care?' 

Demons are the essence of Sin. Compared to humans or any other species in general, demons feel much less when it comes to sinful and despicable acts. Basically, Rainer didn't care as much when he was a human about whom he hurt or killed. This is the main reason why demons have so many wars and are so open to death and other malicious acts. His morals were severely damaged against his will and it was unlikely he would get them back.

Paying the dead body no mind, Rainer found his way into the enemy encampment. The main encampment was surrounded by the camps of mercenary forces a considerable distance away from the main walls of the first terrace. In the center of the camp, were the portable buildings where various leaders lived in. Rainer now realized how little thought he put into this, by now, he was definitely going with the flow.

There were two people he wanted to find, the first is Zazie and the second is Lauren.

Though how? That was the real question.

Remembering the rarity of black demons, Rainer sucked in his appendages so that he could traverse the camp without being mistaken for Xizaen or another black demon. Just like a war camp from a movie, there were numerous tents and portable buildings of many kinds and flavors.

'Zazie... Zazie... Where in the heck are you?' Wondered Rainer as he tried his best to be soldier-like while also surveying the camp for any useful information.

Rainer then realized he completely forgot about how he communicated with Zazie last time, through the [Emperor].

Taking the tarot card out of his pocket, Rainer could feel its latent power as always. He had utilized it quite frequently lately, borrowing its power in order to stabilize his strangely unstable magic. He hoped one day he wouldn't have to rely on the [Emperor], as he did take it from Zazie. Rainer also wished he had the Grimoire with him, but that object's presence was too unsettling for other demons it seemed, and he would be recognized with it immediately, so Rainer left it at the palace.

He held the card before him while hiding behind a thick vine tree and tried to speak to the card, "Zazie? You there?"

"...Yes, my lord?" She answered in less than three seconds. As before, the voice seemed to emanate from the card and directly enter my mind.

"I'm here in the camp, where's Lauren exactly? Sure you said something about a tree, but I don't know which one it is she's bound to."

"...I believe I mentioned the largest and thickest tree around, the Yew Spirit. It was summoned by Hezazias as a sort of guard in order to prevent any except those authorized to reach its charge."

"If that's the case, how in the heck do I even get past it? If I destroy it, if I can, it'll definitely alert everyone around that I'm here."

"...I am at the service of my lord, please find me and I will give appropriate assistance. The [Emperor] will show the way to its partner, the [Empress]." Said Zazie in the form of speech I hate the most, riddle language.

The voice disappeared from the card and its power waned once more. I hid the card in my hand and tried to make sense of what Zazie said. As if I had animal instincts, and thanks to the [Emperor]'s influence, I had a mental itch tell me which direction I should head in.

Following the mental directions, I eventually found my way to the portable building Zazie was located in.

On a side note, portable buildings were structures that could look like any piece of architecture you wished and you could easily teleport them across large distances. The upsides are obvious, a comfortable and movable home. The downsides are also fairly obvious: they are very expensive, they cannot traverse worlds or realms (they must stay in the Land of Lust), and if you screw up once in the transporting procedure, you could distort or even destroy the portable home.

Zazie's portable home resembled a closed pagoda on the outside, complete with a rigid red rooftop and tiles, sliding panel doors, and even a stream and pond system where water flowed from the top of the pagoda into small pools in rocks that were attached to the building.

'Extravagant...'

Rainer walked up to the entrance of the pagoda, but was immediately stopped by several guards. "State your business with Miss Zazie, Desire of Lust.

These guards belonged to the loyal group of soldiers and retainers each member of the Pillar of Sin owned. Rainer was informed of these groups of subordinates that each pillar member had, and that each of them were assisting in some way around the city. They were all probably even fighting in the city's defense right now.

"Ah... Zazie sent for me." Stuttered Rainer, trying to scramble for sentences that may get him in to talk to Zazie.

"Do you have any proof? We obviously cannot and WILL not let JUST anyone see the Miss." Remarked the seemingly stuffy guard.

'Damn prick.' Rainer thought to himself before asking, "Will this do? Obviously Miss Zazie wouldn't hand this out to JUST anyone." Rainer showed them the [Emperor].

"That's! How did you get this? Answer right now, swine. We will not stand for Miss Zazie's personal possessions to be stolen. Hand over the card now, or face slaughter!" Yea, he's a prick.

"...[Hermit]." A familiar voice chanted out loud the name of another major arcana card.

"Eh? Did you hear Miss Zazie?" Asked one of the guards alongside the one henceforth known as "prick".

"No... HEY! Where did the robber go? You three, search for him now, recover Miss Zazie's possession!" Ordered Prick.

"Yes, sir." The three soldiers jogged off, apparently in search of Rainer, who was standing right in front of them the whole time.

'Was that another power of these cards?' Wondered Rainer, his question was immediately answered by Zazie's voice through the [Emperor].

"...Yes. The [Hermit] has the ability to make it so the user or a close friend is practically ignored by every person, unless someone focuses very clearly or if affected makes their presence known. Please, come in."

Following Zazie's words, I walked into the pagoda, going right in front of Prick's eyes. I even waved my hand several times in front of his face, and though he didn't see me, he saw something and strained his eyes to divine its identity.

The inside of the pagoda was completely different than what its oriental architecture suggested. It was as if the outside took on the looks of an ancient geisha or bridal maiden, and the inside instantly became a modern woman with a PhD and a CEO position. I saw modern, and praise to whatever higher power that demons had, furniture from Earth. I saw couches, chairs, sofas, tables, hassocks, rugs, a sink, lighting, a ceiling fan, a magic powered stove with human design, and even lamps. Just what sort of Shambhala did I walk into?

It almost seemed as if I was back home, safe in my haven of modern appliances and furnishings. If only there was network television and Internet access.

"...Ah, my lord. It has been, um, been a while." Said a familiar face and a much more familiar voice, Zazie.

Zazie resembled the same succubus since we last met, though with a different dress and jewelry. This time, she wore seven different piercings around her ears, nose, and eyes with each piercing a different color of the rainbow. An extravagant tiara adorned her head with a gold platinum mold as well as a brilliant and superbly cut diamond in the middle. Two fingers on her right and one on her left hand had crystal rings made of topaz, amethyst, and malachite. Around her neck was a silver choker with a rosary hanging around her neck where a single blood beryl sat in the center. All of her jewelry perfectly accommodated Zazie's luxuriant orange and green dress that seemed as if it was made of spun moonbeams, probably was. She also had impeccable, though not excessive, make up. She had a sort of Egyptian princess set of eye shadow and a fitting intense red-purple lipstick. All in all, Zazie perfectly resembled the Desire of Lust, especially when she desired material goods.

Rainer remembered what Asmodea said about the rankings within the Pillar of Lust, not socially but ranked in terms of "Who would win if there was a tournament or battle royale to decide who's the best and strongest". Asmodea rated herself quite humbly and Zazie quite highly: Zazie would be in first, Teras in second, the late Tozomat in third, Little Rouge in fourth, Asmodea in fifth, and Caetorum in sixth.

"Ask me now, and I still probably would have a hard time believing you're a member of the Pillar of Lust. Though if I think about it, you're perfect for the part. You fit desire, you're really damn strong and have plenty of abilities, and you're plenty beautiful, Asmodea described you to a 'T'." Rainer said absentmindedly, completely unaware of his compliments and their effects.

Zazie instantly turned a shade redder compared to her normal violet skin and appendages. She clearly remembered her divination from before. Rainer had asked, 'What am I to you?' As Zazie would not reveal her name or what she was at that time. Pulling a card from her deck, she found the [Lovers]. No matter how times Zazie performed a reading where she was directly involved with someone else, the [Lovers] had never appeared. Yet for the first time, that card showed up when encountering the young Lord of Lust. Fate had a funny way of showing itself.

"...T-Thank you. I am just a simple servant of the true Lord of Lust, you." Zazie said as monotonously as possible so her words wouldn't betray her feelings. All her life, the only partner she ever desired as a succubus was a partner of the destined sort. And her divinations would reveal that, and it did.

"Can't you just call me Rainer? Or hell, even call me by my last name, Sonian, if you want. Getting called the Lord of Lust, young lord, little lord, my lord, lord anything is getting on my nerves. No worries though, it's not a priority at the moment.

Rainer couldn't help but notice Zazie's abnormal breathing, though he didn't pay it much attention. What he was paying the most attention was Zazie's more attractive features. Rainer's incubus mind took over and observed Zazie's exceptionally attractive body. She had plump breasts, which were natural to succubi, yet they seemed a bit smaller than the average succubus, probably smaller than Aureal but bigger than Nerissa. Her curves that showed not a hint of fat rounded up nicely when it came to her butt, giving a bubbly and soft feeling. Rainer could even see Zazie's violet tail poking its way under her dress and between her legs. Zazie was also tall, taller than most of the demons he had even encountered so far. Though he wouldn't say Zazie was top tier basketball player tall, she was noticeably taller than Rainer and probably even Caetorum. Zazie seemed quite fit to be an underwear model instead of a dress model, though she still looked fantastic in her current dress. Zazie even had a set of silky violet hair that streamed down her head. It was an unusual style, the left half of Zazie's face was covered up by her hair, though her right half was bound back by the tiara.

"...I, um. I cannot, my lord. It is a matter of duty and rightful subservience. It would be disrespectful to-" Zazie was interrupted by Rainer's sudden annoyed words.

"I don't want to be a tyrant or some dictator that just orders everyone to do my bidding. Please, just call me a normal name, I've given up on many things, but I'm not going to on my name." Begged Rainer with a tired face.

Rainer had been given many new names and titles recently, such as: the Lord of Lust, Ruler of Sin, Asmodeus, and any variation of lord and ruler there could be. It would be impossible to get everyone to continue using his name, but Rainer wanted to get as many people as possible to use his regular name.

Zazie, wordless, deeply considered her lord's request and couldn't help but wryly smile. "...Very well, my lord. I will now only call you Rainer as you wish." Her plush cheeks burned even hotter and turned a darker shade of red than before.

"Well, getting to the point, can you help me rescue Lauren?" Asked Rainer.

Zazie put on a serious expression and answered, "...While I cannot help you directly, as that would blow any cover I had. I can lend you another one of my cards, which should help you. This is the [Hierophant]. It will transform into a helmet which will allow you to perfectly transform into any being you have seen previously, it is famously known as the Tarnhelm."




The Lost Lord Ch. 22



Rainer's face twisted into a look of curiosity. "Just how many strange abilities do you have?"

"...I have one for each of the major arcana. Though that is not important right now. Please accept the [Hierophant]."

As Zazie handed Rainer another of the strange cards, Rainer couldn't help but wonder why Zazie was giving them up in the first place. "Why are you helping me this much? Wouldn't you be put at a disadvantage the more cards you give me?"

"...I am but a simple member of the Pillar of Lust, you may command me at your will. Also..." Zazie averted her gaze, mainly because she felt too embarrassed to look at Rainer at this point. She was destined to be his lover after all, according to her own divination.

If Zazie thought about it clearly, there was nothing bad about Rainer that she disliked and there are many features she did like. Rainer wasn't bad looking, generally no demon of Lust did, but Rainer seemed to be even more attractive in Zazie's eyes. His younger body and build pulled Zazie even closer. Rainer, as he stated, did not want to become a tyrant and make arrogant and selfish orders, completely the opposite of the many Emperor's of Envy and many other Rulers of Sin. He was gallant enough to protect those he cared about and even those he knew little about, he proved that several times. And Rainer is a healthy male incubus, there was no doubt he was good in matters of the more intimate nature.

"Eh? Are you all right?" Rainer quietly walked over to Zazie who was still moving her head around, thinking of the good points she liked about Rainer, though he didn't know any of that.

Zazie didn't notice Rainer walking up behind her. Rainer placed a hand on Zazie's shoulder and failed to expect the sudden reaction from Zazie.

Zazie, who didn't notice Rainer walking up to her or placing his hand on her shoulder took several seconds to realize the presence on her left shoulder. Considering how old she was, she didn't think she would ever get this flustered. Though she knew why, as not once had she ever bothered delving into the path of Lust unless it was with the person who her divinations allowed. Thus she was not experienced in matters concerning lust and lascivious actions, quite rare for a succubus. Basically, in all of her centuries of life, Zazie had never lost her virginity, which was extremely rare for demons of lust, and demons in general.

There were a few incubi and succubi who remained chaste, but they were the few who found themselves capable and willing to resist their nature. Zazie only could because of one of the abilities of her cards, the [Fool]. It allowed her to clear herself of all Sin and clear her mind and heighten her senses. Though she knew one day she would have and want to lose that precious virginity to the man of her desires, and that man was before her with a hand on her shoulder.

Zazie accidently fell down on the ground after realizing the location of Rainer's hand. While she fell down while twisting around; due to reflex, Rainer tightened his grip and fell down with Zazie. Rainer fell onto Zazie's body and they both crashed onto the rug.

Zazie opened her eyes to see Rainer latched into a salacious position most likely due to their fall. Rainer's face was buried in her cleavage with one of his hands grasping onto her breasts and the other still gripped, though loosened now, on her shoulder. Her desires were flaring and she felt herself become aroused at the man of her desires inadvertently groping her breasts. Perhaps now was as good as a time as any to confirm with Rainer her desires and wish to become one of his lovers.

After all, it would be impossible for the Lord of Lust to stick with one girl. Ask a thousand or more people of any race and status and each one of those thousand would agree with her. The most Zazie could hope for was that Rainer would consider her feelings.

Rainer could feel his own arousal growing thanks to his libidinous demonic nature as Zazie's aptly sized breasts smothered him. Pushing himself out of the warm flesh, Rainer moved his eyes towards Zazie. Since her hair covered up one of her eyes, Rainer could only stare at the uncovered one as its gaze penetrated Rainer down to atoms.

At this point, both parties found it hard to resist to not give in to lust, as is their nature as incubus and succubus.

"...I also wish to affirm my desire to serve you. As your loyal follower and... Lover if you wish." Mumbled Zazie in a cute manner that didn't suit her body in general.

"Back when I was human, I often wondered what kind of girl I'd fall in love with. And now I find myself involved with so many demon girls because I'm a damn lord. Man, it's so hard to keep my lust in check when I'm a Lord of Lust, not that I mind." Confessed Rainer.

Back in his school, he never really bothered or even cared about finding a girlfriend, he'd say it was too troublesome and tiring, especially considering his living arrangements and life. Now all of that was settled and he didn't have to do a thing, one may consider Rainer luckier than all the lottery winners put together, though Rainer didn't feel that way.

'No point brooding over that stuff now, not when I'm going to be doing this... Pretty succubus.' Rainer looked at Zazie directly and thought, 'She seems like she wants me to take the lead. No objection there.'

"You know, Zazie, you're awfully cute. Especially since your quite tall, it's hard to make a person with a sexy body like yours so cute. Yet you pull it off so easily." Rainer showered Zazie with praise, making her twist in anticipation and embarrassment.

"...I don't stand out much. All succubi are cute or sexy in some way or another. There can't be much that is special about me." Zazie said, willfully degrading herself.

Rainer stroked Zazie's hair, which caused the succubus to mewl almost like a cat. He nibbled and pecked her earlobes while also massaging her arms and shoulders with his hands.

"It's people who say things like that are the cutest. No need to be humble, Zazie, you're obviously quite beautiful in your own unique way. Even if this place is filled with succubi, all good looking in their own way, I'd prefer you to them any day." Assured Rainer as he kissed Zazie tenderly just above her lips.

Zazie smiled wryly, thankful for the praise. It was true, Zazie had a unique look that seemed different than all of the other people he had been with until now. Not that he was belittling everyone, but Zazie had a sort of style and personality that didn't fit among demons and succubi that made him get even more aroused than normal.

Zazie finally received Rainer's attention, accepting his lips on her own. She started off pure, though her tongue and lips became more and more depraved. She licked and sucked on Rainer's lips while he did the same. Her tined tongue wriggled its way out of her mouth, coating their cheeks and the outskirts of their lips with their saliva.

Rainer could help but note how avid Zazie's tongue became. It practically attacked his own demonic tongue, pulling and caressing it with a shield of her own saliva. Perhaps Zazie was like Nerissa in how her oral skills proved superior to the others? Though her tongue wasn't as long as Nerissa, it was just as active and eager to please, which it did.

Their teeth avoided any painful and annoying clicks instinctively, allowing both Zazie and Rainer to enjoy their impassioned kiss to escalate.

"You know, you're quite active in this regard." Commented Rainer.

Zazie blushed once more but didn't recoil this time, instead, she accepted Rainer's words and tried her best to please the Lord of Lust. As Zazie had never experienced this situation before, she was at a lost on how to proceed, though she found herself lewdly rubbing her thigh up and down Rainer's groin.

Rainer chuckled to himself in his mind. Considering how long the time he had spent from now to his initial revelation of being told he's a demonic lord was quite low, he found himself more and more experienced in the matters of sexual encounters. Perhaps that was a side effect of being given the previous lord's power?

Rainer lavished one last deep kiss on Zazie, penetrating her mouth with his tined tongue as deeply as possible, which resulted in a moan of joy from Zazie. He then pulled Zazie's hands to him and onto his crotch where she was actively humping her thighs on. Her violet hands and fingers seemed small and dainty considering the cute, rigid movements of her inexperience, exceptionally cute.

"Ah!" Zazie's reaction was sharp. She, who had lost herself in her lustful kiss, didn't notice her hands being guided to Rainer's member. "...I'm sorry, my lord. I'm not as capable as your fiancée or Asmodea."

"Hey, don't say 'my lord', remember? And if you're not capable, then learn to become capable."

Zazie mournfully nodded and put forth all her might in pleasing her lord, and hopefully lover. She grasped Rainer's shaft in one hand and spit on it for some lubrication. While she was not experienced, she did have succubus instincts and a general knowledge of what to do in this situation.

Rainer, with his demonic strength, picked up Zazie's body and turned it around so that her already wet pussy was hovering over his head. Zazie was startled at first, her hand was still gripping Rainer's dick, though as she moved, her hand twisted and rubbed the member forming a different feeling of pleasure other than just stroking the organ.

"You're already so wet, as expected of a succubus like you Zazie. Don't worry, I'll make sure you'll have a good time here and down there." Hinted Rainer with a cocky smirk.

"Ahn!... You don't need to- Weh?!" Moaned Zazie as her face contorted in joy.

Rainer probed Zazie's snatch with two of his fingers, circulating and widening her never used hole. He still found it strange that demons, especially ones of Lust, could be virgins and could even last this long. He inserted his longest finger inside while moving the other finger along her folds, which sent shivers up Zazie's spine and directly at her brain.

Zazie's eyes rolled in the back of her head as her back arched in ecstasy and her tongue lulled about on the outside of her mouth. In order to stifle her receptive moans, Zazie tossed her head down on Rainer's shaft, swallowing his dick whole. While in this position, it was impossible for Zazie to completely eat Rainer's cock, she could only get about half in, give or take an inch. Like the previous moments, Zazie had no experience in this matter. Still, going by instinct and Rainer's pleased reactions, Zazie adjusted her ministrations on Rainer's sock with her tongue and lips. She squeezed her breasts together so that the nipples touched Rainer's shaft. As she did that, Zazie licked and teased the cockhead. Though her teasing didn't last as long as she wanted, as a sudden intrusion forced her mouth down again on Rainer's shaft.

Rainer shoved two fingers into Zazie's nether lips and his other middle finger into Zazie's other hole. He thrust each of his fingers in Zazie's two separate entrances, forcing each bit of tightness away.

The violet succubus squealed subtly on Rainer's shaft, sending pleasurable vibrations down to Rainer's core.

In reaction, Rainer pushed apart Zazie's moistened lips with his tongue and lips, where he played and teased each bundle of nerves there were individually. It was when Rainer shoved his tongue forcefully into Zazie's snatch that she came.

"Ahn! Ahhh, R-R-Rainer, I'm bursting so much..." Zazie's normally hesitant speech was replaced by sudden words as if they were tossed and joggled around by Zazie's spinning mind.

Being completely naive and inexperienced around sex, Zazie had never bothered to bring herself to orgasm, either with anyone or by herself. She always kept her succubus nature in check thanks to the [Fool]. Yet Zazie knew that she no longer wished to rely on that card's power, not when her first orgasm told her how good sex felt.

Rainer smirked confidently once again and lifted Zazie off his body. His cock was still fully erect and twitching in anticipation. He picked up Zazie in both arms and carried her over to the bed and laid her on the sheets. Zazie lazily splayed herself on the bed, still reeling in pleasure from the earlier orgasm.

"Mmm, we're not done yet. I've still got the matter of my own dick for you to attend to. Perhaps you'll let me take advantage of that fresh pussy of yours?" Rainer said to Zazie with smooth and willful feeling. He never spoke like this in other times, only during erotic encounters did his incubus mind perk up and decide to go all out with dirty talk like this. It would be more accurate to say that the Rainer now, is the Rainer he would be if he was more honest with his lust and desire as the Lord of Lust. "Now, before I do that, you have to tell me how much you want me to do this. Not tough, all you've got to do is ask."

"...Yes, please, sir, okay..." Zazie breathed in deeply, as if steeling herself for her next words. She felt gravely embarrassed with herself. It slightly comical to think that the supposed most powerful member of the Pillar of Lust was this way when it came to delving into lust, at least that was what the previous Lord of Lust said to her. "...Please fuck Zazie with your big, thick, lusty cock into my tight, virgin pussy. Please fuck me as hard as you wish, R-Rainer."

That did it. Rainer involuntarily found himself thrusting into Zazie's pussy like she asked. Though he didn't rip her hymen yet, each time he entered, the virginal reminder was there, waiting for Rainer to perform the deed. "Geez, you really can talk the talk when you want to." Mulled Rainer as picked up Zazie from under her legs.

He lifted Zazie's tall, violet body off the ground and gripped her tightly around under her legs and on her back. He aimed his aching member at Zazie's pussy, ready to thrust in fully whenever.

Zazie, once she found herself lifted in the air by Rainer, grabbed onto his back and lustfully kissed along his neck and ears. She wrapped her legs and thighs around Rainer's posterior and lower back, tightening each other's grip on each other.

"Well! No point in wasting time." Laughed Rainer as he dropped Zazie sharply on his shaft.

Zazie's reaction was delayed. At first, Zazie didn't even notice her hymen being ripped apart as Rainer's dick intruding in her vagina. And the seconds after, Zazie opened her eyelids to the max, her tail went upright, her wings splayed off to the sides as if taking off, and her fingers dug into Rainer's skin which left red marks. However, it wasn't nearly as painful as she expected. Of course there was a sharp fount of pain that erupted in Zazie, but that was immediately overwhelmed by the intense feeling of pleasure.

Unless they wished for it, succubi and incubi can dull and retard their sense of pain during lustful acts and replace it with pleasure. Though this ability is largely subconscious.

Zazie gasped into Rainer's mouth, which she had sealed for another salacious kiss of tongues. She groped his stretching back muscles as her own set of muscles contracted and squished down on the large intruder pushing into her deep insides, even pressing a bit past the entrance of her womb.

Yes, Zazie's wet insides were squeezing and massaging Rainer's cock for all its worth. It wasn't the first time he had fucked a virginal demon, as implausible as that even sounds, Nerissa was the first. Still, Rainer couldn't get over the incredible tightness he felt whenever he thrust in, forcing Zazie's folds and walls apart every time.

"Fucking hell, you're really tight, you know that, Zaz?" Nicknamed Rainer.

Zazie couldn't really tell, considering how both of them were being overloaded by a waterfall of pleasurable sensations. Her hair had long lost its silky and pattern formation, as it completely went into disarray and began to fly everywhere between her and Rainer. Her wings were bouncing along with her each time Rainer bounced Zazie on his shaft. Her tail as took on a mind of its own and began to probe her own butt, trying to keep the feeling of Rainer's fingers in there.

Her breasts were no different, Rainer knew that much. Even though Zazie's breasts weren't nearly as big as everyone else's, it would be impossible for man to not like any pair of breasts. Even so, Zazie's bust was still reasonably sized, and could fit quite comfortably in Rainer's hands. They bounced around in the pocket created by the close proximity of Rainer and Zazie's skin. Her nipples even touched and poked Rainer's chest every so often, sending warm vibes up both Rainer and Zazie.

Rainer found that he had no trouble keeping Zazie aloft as he continued to vigorously pound and thrust into the succubus' snatch standing up. In fact, he fount himself getting closer and closer to his own climax.

Rainer told himself that he would keep this short, as he had much more pressing matters to attend to. Still, why not enjoy the moment?

Rainer saw Zazie's tail swishing around while trying to find a suitable path up her own ass. He grabbed the appendage while keeping Zazie up with his arm, and coated the tip with Zazie's own juices, getting it ready.

Zazie could see Rainer's intention, and she bit down in a pouty manner while balling her fists on Rainer's back. Several seconds passed as she waited, and finally received. Zazie soon found herself filled to the brim with Rainer's thickness in her wet pussy and her lubricated tail in her ass.

Almost as if every single pane of glass was pulverized, Zazie found her mind's rationality broken by another orgasm. This one was just as powerful as the last, as it coursed through her veins and nerves like lightning as it invaded her mind.

"Oh fuck, that's so, so goooood." Groaned Zazie as she experienced yet another blissful moment.

"I'm about to burst here too, you want me to paint your insides or outsides white?" Said Rainer as he emphasized the vulgar words.

Zazie was stilled being fucked mercilessly, so she had troubled answering considering she was being filled up in two different holes by the shaft of her pre-destined lover and her own appendage. Zazie also couldn't comprehend how Rainer could keep his voice so smooth and calm, especially when both of them were recovering and nearing their respective climax.

"I-inside! Please! Harder!" Zazie shouted without hesitation. If being fucked to this degree felt this good, then what would it feel like if Rainer speared deeper and released his seed in her?

"Sure thing, Zaz." Rainer wasn't one to use nicknames much, but it felt better to use as little letters as possible so he could enjoy bouncing Zazie up and down on his shaft.

Rainer, as he had finally penetrated the opening to Zazie's womb, made good on his words to paint her insides white. All of his sticky semen found its way into Zazie's deep insides and into her womb, coating her the sides and the back of her womb. Some of the seed seeped its way out along with Zazie's own juices.

Zazie released Rainer and Rainer did the same, and they fell on the bed, relishing the their experience just now.

However, rationality had to kick back in sometime. Rainer did have another cute girl to rescue.

"...Thank you, Rainer. I hope you'll allow me to be selfish enough so that I can find a way into your harem." Requested Zazie with a face that perfectly embodied the definition of the word "serious".

"Yea, I'd guess Lords of Lust would have those." Commented Rainer. He didn't like calling it a harem, but when you had this many girls who were supposedly that into him, what else could you call it? "Look, don't call it a harem. I'm not trying to be arrogant or anything when I say, 'Yes, those girls care very much about me.' I also care very much about them. You should treasure yourself more, give yourself some credit." Rainer found it slightly awkward that he was the one giving advice to the demonic entity before him that must have been at least a hundred years older than him, give or take a few decades (Zazie is actually the youngest member of the Pillar of Lust, even younger than Aureal).




The Lost Lord Ch. 22



"...You are much different than the previous lord, which is a very good thing."

"Yea, I get that a lot." Rainer rolled his eyes as he imagined how the previous lord actually was.

Rainer half expected the voice from the Grimoire would retaliate, though he didn't have the Grimoire.

Several minutes passed, and Zazie was giving Rainer the [Hierophant].

"...As you have figured out the [Emperor], I am sure you can figure out how to utilize this one by yourself. I wish you the utmost of luck... My love." Zazie practically whispered the few words.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't hear that last part."

"...Ah, nothing. You should go quickly, the faster you save the young witch, the faster you can get back to defending the city." Encouraged Zazie.

As Rainer left, Zazie stared at her deck, which held all but three of her useful cards. Two were in the possession of her dear Lord of Lust, and Arazra was holding the other hostage. Zazie focused her gaze on one card in particular, [Judgment].

Soon, one of her subordinates gave a report to Zazie, "Arazra requests your presence in the city. In taking a certain section of the sixth terrace. He himself will be taking part in the battle over that terrace."

"...How rare. The willful man he is, is actually fighting for once? Very well, gather the rest and join the forces sieging the sixth terrace. I will head over immediately. Is there any information on the particular commanders defending the terrace?"

"There have been sights of three of them, like most of the other terraces. They are Sitri, Caetorum, and a new presence whom we have not confirmed but has been seen giving orders."

"...Hoh? Perhaps I can find some way to take back the [World] in the battlefield. It seems much more likely there. Are all of the men and women of our squad still willing to follow me?" Asked Zazie in a mournful tone.

"To the death, ma'am. It doesn't matter who you follow, we follow who you follow."

"...That's... Thank you."

-

"He was this prepared? I am legitimately impressed at that bastard." Scowled a certain Harpy queen named Iris.

What Iris was referring to was a large squad of forces blocking the paths in the sky and ground in order to prevent her army from passing. Arazra, in order to be safe against reinforcements, ordered a chunk of the fifth district's forces as well as two moderately sized mercenary groups to keep the Harpies at bay or any other incoming groups of reinforcements for as long as possible. Arazra didn't expect them to hold out forever, just as long as possible.

Though if Arazra was one thing, he was cautious. None of the armies of Lust, from any group, should be underestimated. Their leaders are cunning and powerful. Their soldiers are zealous, loyal, and dedicated to their leaders. He even ordered a larger group to move around to the back of the mountains in case any reinforcements knew about the secret passage, though he doubted it.

"Yes, though they are not infinite, they are doing a surprisingly decent job at keeping our girls at bay." Reported Iris' friend, Trais.

"Don't compliment the enemy. Fine, you, Risoi, and Kiryin go out and slaughter them. My Torpor can keep its sleep for now." Sighed Iris.

"I do not mind, but should we not save the Three Furies strength for later? Well, of course its not like we'll waste any." Arrogantly said Trais.

"Just slaughter them, I really want to kill Arazra. Though I guess our new lord will want the pleasure of that to himself. Yes, judging from the looks of it, we can probably overrun the enemy here. Though I doubt this is all, let us get as close as possible to Arazra's forces and attack from behind."

"Of course, Iris." And with that, Trais went off to find her comrades Risoi and Kiryin.

"Any word on the other districts?" Asked Iris to another Harpy nearby waiting on Iris.

"The results leave much to be desired for, milady. Only one of the districts has acknowledged us so far, and that would be Nergal's district.

Iris spat on the ground at hearing that name. "I despise him, but in this dangerous war, we need all the help we can get. That furry bastard is at least decent when it comes to speed. He should arrive even quicker than we did. And his district does have the fastest flying squadrons, at least for demons. They can't match us, the Harpies, of course."

"Lethargy." Commented Iris' attendant as she nodded vigorously.



The Lost Lord Ch. 23



Note: No sex again this chapter, even though I meant to write a scene with Rainer and Lauren. sorry 'bout that. I should estimate that this story should take five to six more chapters, excluding any epilogues. I'll try to narrow that down, because I dislike writing a long drawn out battle. I'm hungry, anybody want some Tanta meat?

The Lost Lord Ch. 23

"So... Sister, this is what you were hiding down here. I am honestly surprised. However, it pisses me off more than anything that you were planning to wield these weapons against me..." The voice did indeed sound pissed, it spoke in a tone resembling a snake's hiss and a dog's bark. This voice belonged to Arazra, and he was speaking to his sister, Sitri.

Sitri was sprawled on the ground, half dead from Arazra's attacks. It was no fallacy to say that Arazra was the strongest of the previous Lord of Lust's children, Sitri hated to acknowledge that. However, the truth was before her, in the form of Arazra's bloody weapon coated in her lifeblood. 

Arazra continued his speech riddled with emotional comments, "These... Soul weapons you compiled. I cannot believe that you managed to hide the presence of such powerful weapons. I wonder how many souls were reaped to make these."

In a vault that Sitri maintained under the sixth terrace of the Capitol of Lust, there was a cache of weapons forged with human souls. Very much like the ink Reginald used to make his tattoos, human souls were added in the process of making these weapons, creating unique and powerful weapons of various types. Human souls are finicky things, many times when forging a weapon, the desired finish was not created and the soul created a different magical effect. Sometimes these effects can be extremely beneficial, sometimes not. Though not all souls head towards the forging of a weapon, many demons would go to great lengths in capturing and keeping a soul weapons for a collection or personal use. The Aspect of Death weapons could be considered soul weapons, though much more powerful versions of them. Asmodea's sword she stole from the human world could also be considered a soul weapon, though created by the bond the weapon had with its human wielder over the years. 

Also, even if the forge went well, not every time was a soul weapon successfully created. Sometimes, the weapon broke in various ways, due to the stress the soul put on it.

To sum it up, soul weapons are rare, and the fact that Sitri managed to stockpile this amount without anyone finding out, except those that she told, is an amazing feat. 

"You bastard... I was trying to seal this place, so that not even you can open it up. Only the true Lord of Lust would be able to, and that's not you." Sputtered Sitri, as she tasted blood in her mouth.

Arazra stood still for several long seconds and then closed his eyes. He turned towards Sitri and raised his bloodied sword. Arazra slashed it down on Sitri's neck.

Sitri closed her eyes, awaiting imminent death.

"The reason why I don't kill you for that impudent statement, is that you are my sister. And I care about my siblings, even if they are deluded by a false lord." Arazra had stopped his sword at Sitri's neck by just a few millimeters. "You there, bind her and take her back to the main encampment. No harm will come to my precious, but arrogant, sister or I will have your heads." 

Six tenth district soldiers followed Arazra's orders. Turning away, Arazra investigated the soul weapons.

Considering the value and rarity of the weapons, the amount was quite vast. Though to others who did not realize that, would consider the vault lacking in its features. In actual fact, the soul weapons numbered only five. Five very powerful weapons.

"Let's see... First up is this, Sitri calls it the 'Needler'." The weapon in question was like a long, rigid, and metallic spike. It had a green hue, a yellow hilt, and a small nub that acted as a guard. The Needler, if seen from a distance, could be considered a sword, though it was devoid of any edges, so the ways to kill were only with whacking people with the blunt conicular edge or stabbing with its lethal point. As for the particular enchantment it carried, the Needler had the ability to pierce anything in existence, almost anything.

"Next is the 'Swallower'. Really?" This particular weapon also resembled a sword, a curved saber at that. It also had a blue leather strapped hilt with a diamond guard. This weapon had an extremely unique feature where its point opened up to the sides into a dragon's mouth. Its enchantment had the ability to "eat" objects and spit them out at high speeds.

Arazra picked up a hook like weapon next. "The 'Gutter'... How interesting." The Gutter resembled an enlarged fishhook with a thrice-tined tip. It had no guard and its hilt was wrapped in white bandages. The Gutter had the ability to home in on various organs and take them out with surgical precision, perfect for assassination.

"The 'Miner'." The Miner obviously resembled a pickaxe, though with a much more extravagant and elaborate design. The entire weapon was on conjoined piece of metal all forged together since its beginning. It had a platinum gilded tessellation design from the bottom all the way to both tips of the pick. It would be more correct to say that the Miner was more of a polearm than an actual pickaxe. This weapon's enchantment was completely unrelated to its design and name- the metal could change its properties and conduct various elemental attacks when in contact with another object, living or not.

"And finally, the 'Ravager'. I like this one." It would be safe to say that this weapon began at its hilt, which had leather straps covering it. The weapon currently had no guard, and the metal was colored a faint green like the Needler. This weapon had the ability to transform itself into any weapon it wished, provided it had enough matter to make the transformation. Right now, the Ravager looked like a scimitar, though if the wielder wished, and practiced enough, they could turn the weapon from a scimitar into a war hammer or spear.

"These will provide an exceptional resource for my army... Perfect for those strong enough to wield it in my new lands." Commented Arazra as he admired the craftsmanship before him.

If used by the right people, these weapons could massacre many soldiers. Even so, Arazra knew he should not rely on them, war is an unpredictable mess after all. If he was not careful, he could still lose. 

"My lord!" A soldier walked in and bowed.

"Speak."

"Yes, sir! The Harpy army has penetrated the line we set before them with unpredictable speed. And we have now been informed that Huracan has turned traitor and sided itself with the pretender." The soldier quivered in fear, knowing full well that his leader could and would kill him any time he wished.

"A perfect example of war. Speaking of which, I should give these weapons to them..."

-

"It can certainly be as unpredictable as God himself, who creates and changes to on his whims."

"I can do without your random bits of philosophy, Emiel. What are your intentions? All of a sudden, you show up, claim you're the leader of Huracan, and say you want to turn against Arazra and fight for our lord. What are you after?" Demanded Caetorum.

Currently, the two incubi were fighting various soldiers of Arazra's army in close proximity of each other.

"Can it not be the same as your reason? To serve the young lord? To be honest, I don't really know myself!" Shouted Emiel over the sounds of war as he stabbed a demon with a pike made of concrete. Emiel was fully utilizing his earth magic in order to decimate every enemy soldier that passed him.

Caetorum was currently dueling a stronger enemy, though of course not as strong as him, with his rapier and parrying blade. A quick riposte and Caetorum's rapier found its way into the enemy's neck. "It can, though I would still elect not to believe you. However, it is true that you cannot go back now, thus I will elect to believe you for now."

In order to show his sincerity, Emiel volunteered to fight on the sixth terrace walls and give out orders to his fellow turncoats of Huracan. One would think that a leader, who never shows himself, of a mysterious mercenary force would have trouble commanding his forces. Yet thanks to a secret code, every single member of Huracan knew when they were given orders by a superior and followed them without hesitation.

Numerous Huracan soldiers immediately turned on their comrades, stabbing some in the back and some in the front. Some elected to wait until they were in a safer position until they turned on their allies. Some immediately went berserk and slashed at every soldier of Arazra's in sight. One, when he found he could not escape safely, blew himself up using a strong magical spell popularly called 'Infernal Combustion.'

Nevertheless, the results were as desired. Great confusion erupted among Arazra's army, many could no longer tell friend from foe and went on a rampage until their candle was ceased. Statistically, thanks to Huracan's defection and the resulting aftermath, almost a sixth of Arazra's troops were eliminated. It was a complete success tactically, something Arazra never expected.

"And I assume you heard about my little encounter with Xizaen?"

"Yes, I am greatly surprised to hear that our lord performed such a complex and powerful spell. Considering he has no experience or training in magic, the only explanation there is is this: He is the true Lord of Lust. Only a Ruler of Sin could perform a feat like that." As Caetorum swiped away three more enemy soldiers with the air pressure from his swing, Caetorum asked loudly, "Are there any others who might betray Arazra?"

"None that I am aware of. Remember, I've been living in the capitol this entire time, running a peaceful restaurant." Sighed Emiel, seemingly bored as he launched a pair of Black Steps soldiers from the ground and down the sixth terrace walls. 

"Hrm, we're being overrun." Glancing off to the side, Caetorum sensed three powerful presences. Most likely enemy commanders, maybe even the black demon siblings? "We should retreat immediately, Emiel. We will soon be in a disadvantageous position. I can sense three strong foes a distance back, but they are closing in on us.

"Right then, I guess I'll fly out. Want me to carry you?" Cautiously asked Emiel.

Normally when demons said this, it was used to mock the person the phrase was intended for. Caetorum could tell that Emiel was not being mocking him. "Don't bother, I'm more than capable at escapes. Despite my blindness, I am fairly good at climbing and running."

With those words, both Emiel and Caetorum made their escape towards the seventh terrace along with the rest of the defenders.

As for the three newcomers...

"Aw! They ran away! I wanted to have fun with my new weapon Arazra so graciously gave me."

"As did I, Arazra found a small cache of powerful soul weapons. We would be distraught if we were not given the chance to kill with them."

"Do not worry, us three, as well as our other two brothers, will have plenty of chances to erase the calamity known as life with these gifts."

So said Arazra's final and ultimate trump card- The five forms of War.

Like how Death separated his scythe into seven aspects, War separated himself into five aspects. 

Into Rebellion, the defiant war. Into Genocide, the merciless war. Into Desperation, the tenacious war. Into Serenity, the hidden war. And into End, the one who will bring the war of the end times.

How Arazra managed to recruit them, is a secret that would astonish many of the Seven Circles and even Heaven, and it is a secret none would wish to hear.

Even so, not all of the five had the same agenda, at least not the same one as Arazra. They did not even have the same agenda together.

-

"Oh shit... THAT'S a Yew Spirit? What in the fu-" SLAM!

A loud crash disrupted Rainer's thoughts, as a vine slammed down on what was his position. 

Rainer recalled what Zazie said about the Yew spirit, 'A Yew Spirit is a tree birthed from an amalgamation of various parts of other trees. Think of it as necromancy for plants. It has a mind of its own and only listens to the orders of its master and the ones its master tells it to follow.'

"YEA, like I'll be able to get through it without it killing me!" Rainer wasn't worried about the sounds revealing his location, as many soldiers have been forced to go near or towards the tree itself, and suffer an attempt on their life thanks to the tree. Hearing one or even ten crashes from the tree's limbs wouldn't alarm anyone unless they were consecutive.

Rainer could see the object of his mission. Lauren was resting due to a deep sleep in a small alcove just inside its trunk. Thankfully, she seemed well fed and strangely enough, very clean for a prisoner of war. 

"Let's see, [Hierophant], huh? So how does it work?" Rainer held up the tarot card in question Zazie had given him and waved it in the air as if holding up a ticket at a raffle. "C'mon, Zazie cannot honestly expect me to know how to use this off the top of my head. Hell, what even is a Tarnhelm?"

With that final word, the card was sucked into a small, dense hole. Right after the card was sucked in, something came out of the hole with a soft howl. Once the process was complete, Rainer found himself holding onto a heavy metal helmet. The helmet in question resembled a dome cap, with a conicular point. It had small feathers on both sides of the helmet where a person's ears would be. On the helmet's outside was an intricate design that showed the transformation of a man into a dragon and then back into the man.

"It doesn't look all that special... Wait! How am I even supposed to find out whom to transform into?" Rainer mumbled to himself, somewhat frustrated.

Convenience and luck always seem to wriggle their way into the scene.

Rainer observed, from behind another portable building, a demon covered in a cultist's apparel, a long purple robe with a pointed hood. He was carrying a plate of food, most likely for Lauren when she woke up. The demon removed his hood revealing a man with similar purple skin and bull-like horns. He stroked the tree several times while whispering calm words to the tree. The tree seemed to relish the attention, wiggling like a dog. 

Rainer stared and investigated the purple demon from top to bottom and even into his presence. Rainer could sense Lust, so the purple demon was a normal demon of this circle.

The tree was obviously not attacking the demon, so thanks to his good timing, Rainer knew who to transform into. Hoping that the helmet would do its job, Rainer placed the cap on his head and imagined the purple demon with all his might from clothes to horns. A silent cyclone of various colors of light rained down on Rainer's position, turning his armor and skin into an exact replica of the purple demon. However, as Rainer could only imagine the demon's outside appearance, Rainer could only transform his appearance into what he saw, thus giving an incomplete transformation for anything below the robe. Despite that, Rainer noticed that even the feeling of his body and soul seemed different, as if he literally was the purple demon. Was this the result of peering into the purple demon's entire being?

Waiting until the purple demon left, the transformed Rainer made his move, cautiously walking towards the Yew Spirit. Pleading silently with all his heart, Rainer walked towards Lauren who had yet to wake up.

'So far so good.' 

The tree remained still, seemingly uninterested in Rainer, despite being transformed into the demon that was giving it so much attention.

Breaking into a brisk pace, Rainer finally reached Lauren after several anxious and slow minutes. 

Rainer cradled Lauren in his arms, looking her over for anything unusual. Rainer was too oblivious to see two creeping hands behind him.

They grabbed Rainer and pulled him closer to Lauren, straight into her bust. "You know... Despite how you act, you can actually be a fairly sweet guy, even if you resemble that creepy priest from before." The creepy hands and slurred voice belonged only to Lauren.

Initially shocked, Rainer recoiled in surprise; his lack of concentration dispelled the transformation effect. Though in less than three seconds he realized that the hand and voice belonged to Lauren. "Holy shit... That scared me, really."

"You also don't seem like the type of guy who gets scared easily. You seriously came all this way just to rescue me? Did anyone else come with you?"

"No, I came by myself. I really hate having people get themselves hurt in a battle I barely know anything about. This whole war in general included."

Lauren coughed, spitting up a small globule of blood. "I see, then why didn't you refuse to leave Earth in the first place?" She inquired.

Rainer sighed and looked up, thoughtfully, "Well, first, I didn't know that something of this magnitude would ever happen. It's kinda hard to comprehend, no matter how many times I rationalize the situation in my mind. And second, I wasn't really being a 'useful member of society,' all I did was live off my parent's will. So I guess I was desperate in a way, trying to find something that would make me matter. And I guess being a Lord of Lust was too attractive of an offer, damn demons always know how to get in your head... Ha ha."

"Rainer, I think you matter more than you believe. I had the pleasure of speaking with the other contender for the throne, Arazra. He spoke with a silver tongue and words of honey, and logically speaking, everything he said was quite true. However, I could tell that he wasn't all that sane back in his mind. He's someone who will someday get drunk off power and over extend himself and the Land of Lust should he attain the throne."

"So? That doesn't necessarily mean I'm the only choice for the job."

"I'm getting to that, hush. All demons and demonic entities have lived in a life immersed with Sin their entire life, practically bathing in it. Even the humanoid races are no different considering they live in the Circles of Sin." Lauren took a deep breath and gazed into Rainer's eyes. "You are completely different. You are a human who turned into a demon. As far as I can tell, there has been no successful human-demon metamorphosis. You are the first success. I believe, that as a being that has not lived a life immersed in Sin, will bring a welcome change to the circles. I can't fathom the exact reasons why the previous lord chose you out of all the humans, but he wouldn't have done so without carefully evaluating you all the way down to your soul... Which I might add is very warm." As Lauren said this, she hugged Rainer tightly, pushing her voluptuous chest into Rainer's body. 

Rainer still didn't sound convinced, but he was at least happy with Lauren's words. "Whether I'm the rightful person for the job or not doesn't matter anymore. I've been forced in this position, I might as well go for the gold. We need to get you out of here first."

Suddenly, cold and calculating voice reached both Rainer and Lauren's ears, "So someone did come to rescue the wench. Arazra was right, apparently the witch is quite an important trump card of the pretender after all."

The way the voice said that, made it seem as if he did not know Rainer was the supposed pretender he was talking about. Keeping that secret to himself, Rainer stood up with Lauren on his shoulder. "How did you know this was going to happen?"

The voice spoke again, this time revealing itself to be the purple demon that had approached the tree earlier. "It's quite obvious, even a youngling would understand. If the witch is so important, then of course the pretender would send someone, and yes he did." The purple demon frowned upon seeing that the Yew Spirit was not attacking Rainer. "I know not how you managed to beguile the Yew Spirit, considering I set who it would let pass. Though it does not matter now. You will drop the witch and remove all of your gear lest you receive a body full of arrows."




The Lost Lord Ch. 23



Like he said, ten demons crept from the darkness of the night with their bows drawn and arrows nocked.

Lauren whispered something into Rainer's ears, "It would be a simple matter if you escaped yourself. I doubt they will harm me."

"You don't know that..."

"No, I don't. But as of now, it is either both of us are captured, and your identity will be found out and we will have no hope of winning. Or you escape and I am recaptured. I'll provide a distraction while you do so." Assured Lauren as she stood up without Rainer's support. Without Rainer's acknowledgement, Lauren immediately called upon one of her pacts.

Pact of the Nemean:

"I humbly call upon the pact with thy honored beast

The ferocious and mighty Nemean Lion that bows to none

Give me your roar, and may it brush away my foes."

The Pact of the Nemean not only granted Lauren a tough hide practically impenetrable by most physical objects; it also could give her the Nemean's fearsome roar.

Pushing Rainer aside forcefully, Lauren roared. "GET THE FUCK AWAY!" It was just four simple words, but to everyone else, it seemed like an entire paragraph considering how loud and long the roar lasted.

Just before Lauren roared, the demons released their arrows in order to stop Lauren's incantation, they failed. Both the arrows and demons were easily tossed backwards, getting launched at least more than thirty meters away. Yet one of the demons remained, the purple demon in a cultist's robe. 

He smirked as if the roar was a calm spring wind, and fired a single spell.

"Force Bullet" The purple demon chanted the words for this spell. While not a complex spell to memorize and wield, it required more power than normal spells, as force spells are undaunted by any physical interaction except by what it hits. 

Completely ignoring the massive wind pressure generated from the Nemean roar, the bullet found its way straight into Lauren's left shoulder.

"Kwah!" An incomprehensible shriek fell from Lauren's lips. 

Her roar ceased and she fell to the ground, barely landing in Rainer's arms.

"You fucker!" Rainer glared venomously at the purple demon that was smiling evilly.

"Lord Arazra didn't say whether to keep the wench alive or not. Hence I see no reason in keeping her alive, you too, will follow her in death." Said the purple demon with heartless words as his smiled became even more twisted.

Rainer kept Lauren in his arms, holding her up as if she was only sleeping. He didn't know, or had time to confirm, but Rainer was incensed. "Not again... I am NOT LETTING THIS HAPPEN AGAIN!" He roared while staring at Lauren's face.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about- GAH!" The purple demon tried to taunt Rainer again, but he was silenced without hesitation by a fist grasping his throat. 

Traversing the distance between him and the purple demon almost instantaneously, Rainer malevolently began to choke the purple demon. He even lifted him in the air as if the demon's weight meant nothing to Rainer's strength, this strength belonged only to black demons, and it was increased exponentially by his power as a Ruler of Sin.

Rainer's words transformed into a true demon, "Damn you... You have no right to cause harm to Lauren or I. As the Lord of Lust, I sentence you to death." Rainer wasn't currently in his right mind, it was as if he personified what demons were perceived as in the human world. 

This would be the first absolute order Rainer gave as The Lord of Lust, an order of execution. 

"What?! That's the Lord of Lust? No... The pretender is in the camp?!" These cries came from several of the soldiers from earlier and those who wandered here, drawn by the loud sounds. 

Rainer confirmed these suspicions by completely unveiling his true guise, that of a rare black demon. His wings violently burst forth from his back, bending and distorting his armor. His tail pierced the metal plates, ripping through as if the armor was made of paper. Rainer's horns grew from his head, though they passed through spots uncovered by the Tarnhelm that was still on his head. 

Several of the enemy soldiers cowered in fear, which many did when in the presence of a black or white demon. Even if their main enemy, the supposed pretender was before them, none of the common soldiers or officers that appeared in the scene could find the courage to stand and face Rainer, much less than even hold a weapon before him. Rainer was releasing a malevolent aura that terrified everyone.

"Y-You bastard! Don't even think you can win this war! You'll surely be dead before you can even leav- Aghk!..." The purple demon tried to threaten Rainer, but the grip around his neck was tightened.

Rainer, in his unstable state, chuckled and replied, "Do I care?" With those cold words, Rainer crushed the demon's neck and tossed him off to the side straight into several more demons that felt the full impact of the body. Dust and dirt flew up in the air as the bodies collided.

Several magical projectiles sped towards Rainer, some dark, some elemental, and some natural. However, their strength compared to Rainer's current power resembled an ant challenging an elephant, or even a single human challenging god himself. Rainer simply held his hand aloft and caught each of the projectiles in his hands, keeping them together and morphing them into one giant ball of dangerous energy. Without regard as to what happened, Rainer tossed the ball at the group who fired at him initially, who all fled as soon as they saw the difference in their power. Yet none of them could escape, any who challenged this insane being was immediately squashed; the fleeing mages were no different. The energetic ball made of several different types of magic didn't explode, instead it homed in on each mage and ripped through their body with momentum superior than that of a cannonball, limbs were severed and clumps of flesh disappeared.

Mainly out of fear and intense pressure, several soldiers tried to stand up against Rainer, hoping quantity trumped quality, it did not. Each of them were obliterated in some way or another. The chaos could be considered a gruesome piece of art.

Lauren, who had been unconscious the entire time, managed to open her eyes for a small sliver of seconds. She could see Rainer laughing maniacally as he slaughtered numerous demons. This was not Rainer, it couldn't be.

Though she had not much strength left, she tried to reach for Rainer's face with her trembling hands, shivering from weakness and fear. Her hand touched Rainer's face, which immediately halted its laughter and replaced it with a horrified frown. However, the contact didn't last long, as an explosion from one of Rainer's earlier attacks began, interrupting the contact.

Rainer, after hearing the explosion, managed to regain some of his senses. 'Shit, Lauren's hurt. I guess I know some healing spells, but I can't do it here.' Rainer looked for Lauren's pulse, he couldn't feel any blood flowing at first, but he was soon given some relief. 'Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. She's not dead yet... Yet.'

Rainer could hear cries and shouts as more soldiers flooded the scene. It was only a matter of time before more powerful foes like the powerful enemy commanders enter the area. "I'll annihilate all of you that get in my way-" Rainer shook his head several times in order to clear his mind, he still wasn't fully stable and it felt as if his mind was going to be overwhelmed by Sin at a moments notice. 

Rainer completely ignored every soldier that attacked him as he sped off in a mad dash in order to find a safe haven where he might heal Lauren and prevent her incoming death. Thankfully she was unconscious, else she would be feeling great pain. The force bullet had hit her exactly where it would hurt the most in that region of the body, if she woke up while escaping, she would not go without pain.

"Just wait Lauren... I'll surely heal you, I'm not going to let you die, not the only other person with a semblance of humanity here along with me." It wasn't much, but some tears formed in Rainer's eyes. "If you die, I'll definitely be lonely here. If you die, you'll make a lot of people sad!"

-

The night passed without major incident. There were hardly any deaths, at none of significance. No terraces were taken. Even so, Arazra's forces sieged the seventh terrace without break. It wasn't until dawn that they finally broke through and took that terrace. 

No major battles took place, neither were there any large confrontations between powerful foes or weaker cadres of soldiers. 

The seventh terrace, modeled after Sasilith's seventh district, marked the halfway point of the war, at least chronologically. 

"Have we closed up the secret passage successfully?"

"Yes, Caetorum. We noticed a large force originating from the eighth district engaged in a battle as well. I came here immediately upon being notified, I believe the group who is fighting the eighth district soldiers belong to Nergal, the leader of the fourth district."

Caetorum instantly stood up and slammed his hands down on the table he was at. If he had eyes, they would be wide open in surprise and glee. "That's tremendous news! Finally, reinforcements relatively close by! It's a pity we can't bring them in via the secret passage. Even in this situation, we must keep its exact whereabouts and procedure to open it an absolute secret for the young lord. We'll have to trust Nergal to make the right decision here. Out of all the demons living in the Land of Lust, excluding the humanoid harpies, his troops are the fastest flyers."

The contents of the room were included each of the Pillar of Lust (excluding Little Rouge who was too busy enjoying herself on the battlefield), the second in command of the city guard, Luce, Aureal, and Nerissa. Sitri was unaccounted for and was assumed lost on the battlefield, though not dead. Reginald was also fighting alongside Little Rouge, making an earnest effort and trying to gain all the trust he could. Emiel was currently coordinating the troops, once his identity was known, everyone acknowledged his skill as an officer and allowed him current control. They only trusted him because it would be impossible to switch allegiances twice. 

Also, they wanted to discuss a different matter, one that was recently brought to them. Due to the sudden news of reinforcements, Caetorum had yet to address the issue. Caetorum, thanks to training his senses, he had gained the ability to sense individual demonic Sin to a certain extent. And he had sensed a massive Sin a good distance away. It was the largest he had felt in eighteen years, especially at that distance. It only meant one thing, a Ruler of Sin, and a Lord of Lust at that. Yet why was that out there? Why was Rainer all the way out past the city?

"Now to discuss the reason why the young lord has completely bypassed the invaders and entered their camp. Is it because of the disappearances of Sitri and Miss Lauren?" Asked Caetorum out loud.

A rather flustered Nerissa spoke first, "I knew it! I shouldn't have left my fiancée behind. I should've stayed and nursed him..." 

Next to her, Aureal simply nodded in agreement and patted her back. "I would not presume for a second that Master is even in a bad position. As you should all know, a Ruler of Sin, backed into a corner, is like a wild beast. They can cause unbelievable damage. Considering the similar strength level between them and the Archangels I am familiar with, I will hope for the best."

"Quite right."

"They are that unreasonable..."

"What's the point of even considering a straight up fight with them?"

As everyone in the room each put in a comment denoting the various quirks of Rulers of Sin, the conversation turned back into a more serious tone. 

"You said Zazie was located inside the city for a time? Before the first terrace was overrun?" Questioned Asmodea.

"Yes. She managed to baffle my senses with one of her strange abilities." Confirmed Caetorum.

"That's not easily done. We know so little about her. If I had to harbor a guess as to her intentions at that time, it was most likely to capture Lauren. Though I would have no idea why." Hypothesized Asmodea.

Then an unexpected voice joined in, "If what you say turns out to be truth, then it should be fairly obvious. Humans in the seven circles are quite rare, and those that are here usually become slaves. It would be prudent, and considering the caution of Arazra, to regard an unknown as a possible threat to be immediately eliminated. If he has killed her... I shan't let that slide."

"With your wounds, Luce, I doubt that will happen, at least not by your hands. Xizaen did a number on you..." A slightly sympathetic voice could be heard from Asmodea. 

Luce ground his teeth at the biting truth. 

"Even so, we can't do anything about that at the moment. We've lost more than half the city. All of us are needed in defense. The Lord, with his strength, will be more than enough to keep himself safe. He's probably even rescuing the witch girl as we speak. How... Manly." 

No one in the room could tell if Teras was being sarcastic or not.

-

"Fuck... Alright, we should be safe here." Breathed Rainer with extreme relief. He had successfully escaped the camp holding the forces of the district soldiers of Arazra's army. 

He refused to even look back or think back on that experience... It was greatly unpleasant. 'I truly was not myself back there. I could tell what I was doing and it really felt like I was acting on my own accord. Just what in the, I should ask him about that.'

Rainer laid Lauren, who he was currently carrying like a newly wedded husband and wife, on a flat rock with a bed of soft moss. He had entered a small cavern, which didn't reach too far, located on the opposite side of the mountain range the city was between. Though Rainer had no idea where he was, as he ran blind when escaping the camp. He was most worried about Lauren's safety.

Right after giving Lauren a place to rest, Rainer searched his mind for various healing spells. Thanks to his demonic memory, he had a vast library of spells, which he memorized from the Grimoire. However, what he had memorized barely amounted to a fourth of what was inside that book. And there was that strange presence that lived in the book.

Healing a puncture wound like Lauren's was quite easy, at least closing up the wound was. The hard part was that the force bullet was still circulating energy around its epicenter, and such a phenomena was much harder to erase. 

He needed some help.

'Ask, and I shall deliver. That sounded more serious than usual, right?' That same frivolous voice that belonged to the presence known as Asmodeus spoke to Rainer right as he summoned the Grimoire.

"You're bloody annoying, you know that?" Lamented Rainer instantly.

'Don't be like that. Oh, it seems you've awakened to a certain power and process all young little Rulers of Sin go through.'

"What? Just what are you talking about?" Since Lauren's current condition has stabilized, Rainer talked leisurely though with slight displeasure at the trivial sounding voice.

'You are assimilating my power at a faster rate than I expected. I never thought you would awaken to my persona, [Asmodeus]. Good goin' there, guy!'

"[Asmodeus]]?" Rainer wondered, completely bewildered.

'Eh, well I guess I should explain this to you. Since only the Ruler of Sins have any knowledge about this ability. And because of that, I'll relish the number of ways I can annoy you if you ever relinquish this valued knowledge to anyone but the next Lord of Lust of your choosing or not of your choosing.' Since it was only a voice that came from the Grimoire and entered his head, Rainer could almost feel Asmodeus take a deep breath. 'The original Rulers of Sin: Lucifer of Pride, Mammon of Greed, Leviathan of Envy, Beelzebub of Gluttony, Satan of Wrath, Belphegor of Sloth, and of course the star of them all... Aaaaaasmooooodeeeeeuuuuuusssss of LUUUUUUST!'

"Die."

'I already have! Well, getting on with things... It is physically impossible for any demon other than ourselves, or fallen angel in Lucifer's case, to hold our level of power. And without that power, how could the demon races fight against the level of power resting in Heaven? Thus we devised a powerful spell and recited it, which killed all of us except for Belphegor and I. This spell allowed us to move our power to suitable vessels, ones we chose and those they chose after them. After all, it is only right that the Ruler of Sin of each circle holds the most power, whether for dastardly or benevolent means.'

"That almost sounded sincere."

'Hehihiha. You really crack me up, I'm glad I chose you. Well, time passed and Belphegor eventually died thanks to a certain Archangel, leaving me the sole survivor of the original Sins. Many millennia passed and everyone soon forgot my name and that I even was the original Sin of Lust, Asmodeus. It brings such tears to my eyes! Sniff sniff.'

"You should've died long ago you old fart."

'Well aren't you a bundle of joy! Basically, when you were a different person, you were bringing my full power into your body. It's not always a pleasant process, as your personality often changes with your body. Back before, many millennia ago, I was not the heartwarming and gracious man I am now. You can see that, right?'

"Get blasted by angels, bastard."

'I recommend that you do not rely on the persona, [Asmodeus] too often. However, considering this war, you may need to use it again. As for how to activate [Asmodeus]... I have no idea, honestly. It's not like I've ever needed to do it before considering I really am Asmodeus. Oh well, you need a way to dissipate that force bullet right? The spell's on page four hundred thirty-five. There, I was serious enough, right? Mind shooting a bit of praise for me?'

"You've done everyone a favor by finally dying."

'Ah... Hah. Ciao!' 

As quickly as his voice appeared, his voice vanished, Rainer was overjoyed.

Despite how much Rainer despised Asmodeus, his words and advice was sound. Rainer immediately turned to the aforementioned page, since this was part of the Grimoire Rainer had yet to venture into, he immediately set work to memorizing all of the spells on the page, including the one that erased force energy. 

Force energy was a quite a malicious type of magic. Simple spells involved pushing and pulling objects around, which includes telekinesis in its mix. However, a mage experienced in force magic could memorize and wield spells that allow the energy to perpetuate instead of immediately dissipating after the desired action was done. Basically, normal force magic involves pushing and enemy back and the force wave would disappear afterwards, abnormal force magic involves releasing a wave or form of force energy and its existence would be sustained for as long as the caster's magical energy could be drained. It was quite a feat that the force bullet had yet to disappear.

However, thanks to magic's adaptive flow, spells were designed to counter perpetual force spells, mainly manually dissipating the spell. This was what Rainer desired to do.

Before, Rainer had no idea how to do it, because he had yet to memorize the spell, but now he read the page containing the spell and the rest is child's play.

"Just why is it like this?" Rainer wondered to himself. The only magic he could control without the assistance of the [Emperor] was any magic outside of combat. Deciding not to dwell on the matter, Rainer set to work on healing Lauren.

"Force Disruption

Thy pure, basic energy

Shall no longer remain in this world."

This spell was quite simple to cast, and not nearly as draining as some of the other spells. However, it required Rainer to spend all of his concentration on the force bullet embedded in Lauren's shoulder. It was writhing and spinning uncontrollably, ripping apart any blood and flesh that got in its way. While Rainer could close the wound to stop bleeding, the bullet was causing large damage on the inside, and now it no longer exists.




The Lost Lord Ch. 23



"Right, now to heal the insides."

Rainer set to work healing the inside of Lauren's body with another spell. That was a much easier task than dissipating the problem. 

After a grand total of twenty-five minutes spent on giving attention to Lauren, Rainer successfully restored her entire body free of wounds. She was not going to die, yet. 

'I'm sure as heck not going to let that happen.' Rainer then turned his attention to the knowledge Asmodeus provided, about the persona change. 'So basically, I undergo a complete change. My power elevates, that was evidently clear, my personality changes, I could tell what I was doing and I seemed to revel in it. It was like my destructive and sadistic tendencies were maximized and my mercy and compassion downgraded to nothing. [Asmodeus], huh? That really doesn't sound like a pleasant state.'

Rainer pondered the situation a while longer, long enough for Lauren to eventually wake up. Rainer was too into his thoughts to notice Lauren sitting up and understanding her surroundings and situation. She was in a small cave, which was beautifully filled with lush plants and a small underground river flowing through it. It almost seemed like a completely different ecosystem here than out there. She knew she was still close to the city, as the sounds of war could reach even here. And almost as if her thoughts reached Rainer, he cast a sound proofing spell and another kind of barrier spell on the entrance to the cave. He was quite adaptive with his magic already, impressive.

"Can't bloody think with that shit ringing in my ears. Eh? Oh thank goodness... You're awake!" Rainer exclaimed excitedly as he just now saw Lauren sitting upright. "Do you feel ok? No pain anywhere? I'm still kind of new to this whole magic thing."

Lauren certainly felt nothing, though she had no recollection of anything that happened prior to the seconds before being shot. Even so, she felt no abnormalities within her body. "I feel great, I assume I was injured in some way. So I assume you healed me, there's no need to denounce your skills, it's as if you're magic prodigy of some sorts."

"I... Guess." Rainer didn't feel like he deserved the praise, it was, after all, borrowed strength from Asmodeus. Still it wasn't like he wasn't going make use of it. He had it, might as well use it. "Do you remember anything from your time captured? Anything useful?"

Lauren tilted her head sideways, clearly thinking back on her ordeal. "Ah, yes! I spoke with that succubus, Zazie. She said that Arazra was in possession of a tarot card called the [World]. It apparently contains a scary and destructive power."

"I already spoke with Zazie before I rescued you, heck, she even helped me do just that." Rainer held up the [Hierophant] and the [Emperor]. "These contain some weird powers along with the rest of her cards." He explained.

"She is... Rather adept at divination. She told me of my past, present, and future." Admitted Lauren.

"Oh? She told your fortune? She did the same for me, it's quite odd how she does it, even though it's simple in the process." 

"It's rather refreshing, to talk like this. We never really have done something like this before, have we?"

"You're right. Even at school, while we sat at the same table in lunch and had a class together, we never really did speak much until a couple weeks ago when all this started. Why did you keep to yourself all that time? Lots of guys, and even a few girls, from the numerous whispers I heard said they had crushes on you or wanted to be your friend." Rainer put this quandary to Lauren.

"I could ask the same thing of you, Rainer. Still, I guess it was because nobody was interesting. Is that too vague?"

"Hahaha! I guess I was kind of a loner. Relatively speaking, it has only been a short time since then, but it feels like I'm completely different personality wise now. Considering when I was younger, my childhood wasn't the best."

"Why? Neither was mine, but I persevered." Asked Lauren with innocent curiosity.

"The usual crappy childhood: My parents died, I was forced to live on my own with my parent's inheritance which I somehow managed to legally acquire, and got involved with plenty of violent people... That's the basics." Sighed Rainer as he smiled wryly.  

Knowing he didn't want to continue the matter, Lauren reached for Rainer and wrapped her arms around him, to his surprise. All her "encounters" with Rainer were purely out of lust, as appropriate as that may be for an incubus like him. However, she was the sole human being in Rainer's life, his only lifeline back to the human world. She was the only one who could console him and comfort him when Rainer just couldn't handle being a demon.

"More and more... I'm completely losing what it means to be a human? I've probably griped about this tons of times now, and I've more or less gotten used to it. However, just what did those eighteen years of my life mean, if they are only to be washed away like a damn seashell." Rainer opened up to Lauren exactly like she wanted.

While initially, she did choose to accompany Rainer because of the fringe benefits, increase in power, access to new plants and animals for her magic, and any other benefits off the top of her head. However, more and more Lauren began to think she went with Rainer on his exodus for two completely different reasons: to care and counsel Rainer for when he desperately needs it; the other reason is that Lauren liked Rainer, no... It may be more appropriate to say that she loves Rainer, or it will soon be that way. 

"Back when you were knocked unconscious, I didn't know what to do. I thought you died at first, and because of that, I went into some sort of frenzy. All I saw before me from that moment, in front of the demon soldiers attacking me, were ants ready to be crushed. It almost felt as if they weren't even worthy to be killed by me."

Lauren vaguely remembered Rainer's crazy eyes back then. He truly felt arrogant at that moment, and rightfully so considering the amount of power that woke her up. Nothing in her entire life could amount to that level of power at that moment. 'Is that the true face of a Ruler of Sin? It is an awesome power. Seriously, Rainer, you're going to make me worry...'

"Rainer, if there was a way to turn a human into a demon, then I'm sure there is a way to turn a demon into a human. I'll stick with you forever, and I'll even turn into a demon like you if you want- No, if I want. I'm more scared than you are at the moment." Confessed Lauren. 

Rainer turned his head towards Lauren, which was close considering their current embrace. "Eh, what do you mean?"

"I'm mortal! I'm a simple human! The number of humans who have transcended mortality can't even be counted on two hands, and you're one of them! It's a gift if anything. Of course there is a price, in becoming a demon, but there are millions who would take advantage of your gift. I'm scared more than anything that I'll die and be left behind by you, Nerissa, Aureal, and Asmodea! I might not even be able to ever see my mother, who also is one of those who transcended mortality. Count yourself lucky..." It was half act and half truth in Lauren's words. She couldn't even tell herself anymore.

Rainer stared wordlessly with his mouth half open. Of course he isn't the only one in these vast worlds that goes through trouble, he should count himself fortunate and help those who are. 'I've been selfish...'

-

"GYAHAHA! The Three Furies? More like the Three Fearies!" Roared a hearty voice.

"That... Makes no sense, Desperation."

Desperation looked back on his partner with a confused, disgusted look. "Shut up, Rebellion. My jokes are flawless, FLAWLESS I TELL YOU."

"You get annoyingly passionate about such stupid things." Rebellion just shook his head with his hands in the air as if he gave up. 

Their opponents, the Three Furies of the Harpy army were looking at their opponents cautiously. More accurately, two of them should be doing that while the third lay unconscious thanks to a vicious blow made by Rebellion without her noticing. 

Rebellion wielded the Gutter. And with that weapon, he attacked one of the Three Furies in the back of the head using its surgical power to attack any part of a being's body like a homing missile. It can be an internal organ or even a single cell of a person's skin, all it has to be is carbon based and physically attached to their body along with every other part of the body. Thus it can't be a bit of flesh or a fingernail that was severed or chopped off, it must accompany the soul's vessel. 

Of the Three Furies, Trais and Kiryin were conscious, Risoi was not. It was no mean feat to knock one of them unconscious, much less kill them. Other than Iris, they were the three strongest of the Harpy army. While they were obviously not as strong as a Ruler of Sin or their Queen, they were at least as strong as a district leader. That must mean their opponents were at least above their level, maybe even stronger. 

"Who are you? At least grace us with who you are, not only your names." Politely asked Trais. She did not believe in rudeness.

"WHAT?! You damn bitch thinks she can-" Desperation was cut off by a swipe of Rebellion's hands.

"If she's polite, especially after my attack, then it is only respectful that we do the same." Orated Rebellion with the utmost peaceful nature.

"Fuck you, I don't take orders from a traitorous war." Desperation raised his sword and shot forth several projectiles that the sword had already swallowed.

Desperation wielded the Swallower. Aptly named because the weapon has the ability to swallow objects and spit them out like high speed bullets, far faster than any arrow or magical attack. It can swallow any inorganic object, thus it cannot swallow bits of flesh, small animals, or plants. Though Desperation had commented numerous times how hilarious it would be for his sword to swallow a small rodent and shoot it out while it squeaked for its dear life. Rebellion and Serenity just shook their heads at those words when he said it.

The projectiles were several small rocks and a curved dagger. They sped off straight for Trais, who stood up in order to defend herself. It was a simple attack, one simple enough to defend against. 

Of all of the Harpy magicians, wind was the most popular style. Quite fitting for a race bred to fly. However, Trais literally said this to her friend, Iris, "It's so boring when everyone else uses wind! I wanna be unique! No fucking wind for me! I wanna use water magic!" Considering when their wings get wet, Harpies are unable to fly effectively. Only when they take baths, do Harpies go anywhere near large pools of water. Since then, Trais went about her way, mastering water and ice magic abilities.

From her water skin, Trais pulled out all the water and formed a shield of swirling water meant to receive and nullify high speed projectiles. Instead of an actual shield, the water was in the guise of a cone, which pointed at Trais. Each object, rocks and metal dagger, entered the sides of the pool and their momentum nullified by the swirling pool. Since it was a cone, the objects, no matter how strong their momentum, could not simply pass through.

Each of the objects went with the flow and plopped out of the end, straight between Trais' feet. The pool of water went back into her water skin, ready to be used again. 

"Damn bitch! I'll fucking eat you with this soul weapon!" Cried Desperation.

"Soul weapon?!" Trais was instantly surprised at those words. She thought the projectiles came from Desperation's own power, not his sword. That mean he had yet to use his own power, only the strength of an incredibly rare weapon. She was surprised and took a step back in that surprise.

"GYAHAHA, THE SWALLOWER HERE WILL EAT YOU ALIVE- gah!" Desperation rushed at Trais with the Swallower at his side, ready to stab, or more literally, take a bite. However, before he even took his fourth step, Rebellion stepped behind him and knocked him out with the Gutter just like he did to Risoi.

"Like I damn said, it's respectful to introduce yourself. Learn your place, Desperation. Besides, your weapon can't eat flesh... Oh shit. I knocked him out, he can't hear me that way." Rebellion grasped his head with his hands as if he made a fatal mistake. "Well, I might as well introduce myself. Have you heard of War?"

"I'm not interested in riddles." Growled Trais. Her ally, Kiryin, walked up next to her, ready to back her up anytime.

"No, I'm being entirely serious. War, as in a certain Horseman. Our master has split into five entities. I am one of those entities. And regrettably, so is Desperation." Said Rebellion as if his words were the most natural thing in the world. 

Both Trais and Kiryin were taken aback. There was a rumor among the circles that War had split just like Death's scythe, but there was no actual proof that such an occurrence had happened. If this person's words were legitimate, they could not take him lightly. They could probably not even fight him together on even footing.

Rebellion looked nothing like a demon or a Harpy, that much was clear. He mostly resembled a human, though with notable differences. First off, his skin was pure white, not even pale. It was as white as pure snow. He had hair dark as night covering his head and ears. He wore fairly normal clothes, common among lesser demons. 

However, his most notable feature was his left arm, which carried the Gutter. His left arm was colored completely different than the rest of his skin, a crimson, bloody red. As if stained by millennia of blood from war and violence. 

Desperation also looked similar to Rebellion, same colored skin and hair color (though cut short). Though it wasn't his left arm that was stained red, it was his left leg that was. 

"As you know my name is Rebellion. I am the defiant war. The war carried by the hearts of the people and oppressed. The war the overthrows kings and tyrants. The war that will never end until a country is destitute." Rebellion bowed as he said his name. His voice was crisp and pure. 

"Why did you take out your comrade? He's one of you, isn't he?" Questioned Trais.

"Naturally. He is Desperation. The tenacious war. The war that carries the hearts of loyalty and patriotism. The war that embodies a nation's pride. The war that will bring a country to its ruin." Said Rebellion calmly as he pointed out Desperation. "As for why I knocked him out... It is my nature to betray. Even though we were born from our master into five, we are not friends. No, we are not comrades. I believe Serenity will do the same as I. End, Genocide, and Desperation will be the only ones to fight for Arazra."

"Wait, does that mean you wish to ally yourself with The Lord of Lust?"

"No. And I do not believe you want me to. As I said, it is my nature to betray. I embody traitors. In the end, I will betray your side like I did to Arazra's. Will you let me leave? I can at least promise that I will not fight anyone except those who attack me."

Trais wasn't sure if she should believe his words. Rebellion, he was quite an enigma. "If you're going to leave, I will make sure. Kiryin, continue leading the forces here and send a report to the queen about this discovery. I will come back as soon as possible. 

"Yes, Trais." Kiryin said softly enough for only Trais to hear. She beat her feathery wings and flew into the air.

"No choice I suppose, I'm going to keep my soul weapon just so you know. I could care less what you do with Desperation and his weapon. My only request is that he stays alive. I have not much knowledge about my existence, and I do not know what a death of my kin will do to me or my future." Asked Rebellion humbly as he began walking to his new destination. 

"We were going to do that anyway. You four! Detain him and send his weapon to Iris." Giving orders to four Harpies, Trais followed Rebellion in the direction he was headed, opposite of the capital city.



The Lost Lord Ch. 24



Note: I plan to end each of these fights all in one chapter after this, so don't groan too much. 





Terraces taken by Arazra's army: nine of eleven.

"We're fighting a war on three two fronts now. In our front, we have to take the remaining terraces and slay the pretender before we're overwhelmed on our back, which is being assaulted by the Harpies and Nergal's forces, and any possible others that may join them." Explained Hezazias, the fifth district leader and brother to Arazra, to the rest of the commanding officers.

"Yes, we hadn't expected any reinforcements other than the Harpies to attack us so quickly. Of all districts, it had to be Nergal's fourth district." Lamented Ornias, the eighth district leader.

"His demons are fast. If any more districts show up on the pretender's side, it is only a matter of hours before they overrun our flank and rear guard. We can thank the fact that while Nergal's forces are fast, they are not as strong as Zagan's behemoth of an army or Estair's skilled magic users." Added Sasilith, the seventh district leader and sister to Arazra, as she nodded knowingly.

"Forget them. Have all of Black Steps move to the flank and rear, they are useless without Xizaen. The best they can do is act as fodder and a buffer against any reinforcements. Put the district soldier's full strength in capturing the last two districts. Every single commanding officer will fight from now on. We will not stop until we reach the palace and slay the pretender." Commanded the leader, Arazra of the tenth district.

"He got back his witch, will that affect anything?" Ornias put this question forth to the group.

In this think tank of Arazra's army, only the district leaders were allowed to take part. Not even the highest ranked member of their mercenary forces would be privy to their conversation. Not even Zazie was allowed in, Arazra didn't trust her one bit, even with her precious [World] in his hands. 

"No, it will not. If the witch does pose a threat, she will be mercilessly slain just like the pretender himself. This will without a doubt be a tough battle. We must not break our momentum for anything. Once we enter the tenth terrace, tell the soldiers to not even stop their assault for orders unless we go out of our way to order each and every soldier." Arazra said coldly.

"Mmm, yes. Five pillars are inside those few terraces, biding their time. We managed to deprive them of Sitri, but it will not be enough. Of course undiluted aggression is important now, but we cannot deny the essence of caution. Who knows what the true strength of the pretender's concubines, that Daughter of Pride, the fallen angel, and the witch?" Advised Hezazias.

"Leave the fallen angel and Daughter of Lust to me. I have a previous engagement with them, a battle to possible death." Warned Sasilith. She was legitimately interested in Nerissa and Aureal, both in their skills and devotion to the pretender. They both had honest and pure love in them, extremely rare for beings of Sin.

"Oh? Interesting. I've no doubt of your skills, Sasilith, but can you take on two of the pretender's favored? He must have chosen powerful beings to be his concubines." Asked Arazra.

"I can, though not with ease. Initially, I thought the Daughter of Lust to be the weaker of the two, despite being a white demon. However, I learned two major things about both of them that should tell us they are both powerful foes that cannot be underestimated." Sasilith's words were solemn.

Arazra raised an eyebrow, "Ah yes, I know what you're talking about. Still, explain for these two."

"Very well brother. The Daughter of Lust wields Old Age, which I assume she stole from the slain Avandar." Both Ornias and Hezazias widened their eyes in surprise. Sitri continue with an even more insane prospect. "And the fallen angel has an even more mysterious power, one that should be fundamentally and physically impossible for any being in existence... She wields both the dark and the light."

"Oh?" "What did you..." Both Hezazias and Ornias stood up, either surprised or interested at Sasilith's impossible words.

"That's what I thought. Though she did not perform this power in front of me, so I have yet to find out if it is actually true, I did feel both light and dark inside of her. "

"Ornias, find those damn Wars, gather the Legion of Renning, and while you're at it, get Zazie and her underlings ready. Hezazias, take command of the district forces. We will all begin the attack within the hour." With Arazra's command, each of the district leaders bowed and left, with Sasilith blushing a slight red before she left.

-

"Uh, not that I mind, but..."

"But what?"

"Shouldn't we get back to the palace instead of having sex?" 

"And you call yourself an incubus, and a Lord of Lust at that. Let me at least be this selfish."

Yes indeed, instead of going back to the palace and coordinating with the Pillar of Lust how to defeat Arazra, Rainer and Lauren were currently engaged in a battle of foreplay. Well, prolonged exposure to the Land of Lust did that to people. Unknown to Rainer and his people, Arazra himself and his subordinates also engaged in libidinous acts quite frequently during this war, just not during important moments. 

"Gah, fine, you'll regret it." Warned Rainer with a mischievous smile.

Lauren returned the exact same smile, though with a salacious hue to it, "That's the plan- ayahn!"

Lauren's incessant words were silenced by a relentless kiss from Rainer. Her lips were whetted by saliva before even half a minute past. Swooning into her lover's embrace, Lauren smooshed her bountiful chest into Rainer, which was only separated by a thin cloth from when she was captured. Her fully erect nubs could be felt through the cloth, and betraying how aroused Lauren was as she hugged Rainer tightly. 

Rainer enjoyed the cute actions of each girl he had been with, Lauren, though having a more mature feel like Asmodea, was no different considering her age. She seemed resistant and rebellious at first, but instantly surrendered when pressured, via lavish and affectionate attention. Almost as if she enjoyed being pampered, though who wouldn't?

Lauren attacked back with her tongue, licking his and her lips seductively. The soft opening to her mouth freely opened up, relinquishing power to Rainer's invading tined demon tongue. They both slithered about in each other's mouths, exchanging saliva and kissing in a hasty, though deep, manner.

Neither party wanted to continue this small level of play for long, they both equally wanted to get to the real action. Smiling viciously, Rainer undid his clothing while Lauren did the same. She swayed her cute butt and cupped her tits in her hands, which proved to be good handfuls each. Showing off for Rainer, Lauren tweaked her nipples, which were not terribly sensitive, though the still did the deed, eliciting a sexy moan of "Yeeeeeesssss..." from Lauren. 

Every sound that came from Lauren aroused Rainer even further, hardening his member to full size in minutes. She stoked her pussy several times with several of her fingers, coating them with her juice, and licking it off with her sultry tongue. Lauren bit the tip of one side of her glasses, giving off a "sexy secretary" kind of feeling. Without either person noticing, Lauren's shaded parts of her hair changed color once again- to a bloody red and fervent turquoise. Rainer noticed, and loved, Lauren's beautiful alternative look to her.

"Let me have a little fun first, sit down, lusty incubus." Smirked Lauren as her breasts jiggled with every movement.

Following her request, Rainer sat down on the soft ground next to the lake, with his back propped up by a cushion from his clothes. His soldier was at attention, saluting Lauren's tits as she kneeled down and wrapped her lovely, silken hands around Rainer's cock. Spitting on it, Lauren smacked her lips and licked the tip. She twirled her tongue around the head, slowly going down the shaft kind of like the stripes of a peppermint stick. And as if it was a peppermint stick, Lauren savored Rainer's musky taste. She kissed the tip, taking away and tasting his precum. Desire and lust flooded her body, as an incubus' semen was not unlike an aphrodisiac, and a powerful one considering Rainer's status. She couldn't resist swallowing Rainer's delicious shaft much longer.

"As much as I love this, why don't you put those lovely big tits around my guy?" Rainer asked lewdly, completely into his incubus persona. He smacked his lips as he watched Lauren sweetly smile and comply. The pretty witch groped her sizable bust and placing the left before the right around his throbbing cock. 

Seeing even more precum leaking out, Lauren took that and smeared it on the inside of her cleavage, giving a piercing shimmer and lubed skin. The witch flexed her fingers and sucked off any leftover precum into her mouth, savoring even more of the sweet seed, which only served to make her even hotter. Because of Rainer's nature, it was an extremely pleasurable act to orally stimulate him, even through her breasts. He not only gave off a musky smell and taste, but it seemed somewhat spicy and sweet at the same time. It almost seemed as if her own breasts were being given a massage, despite her being the one pleasuring the shaft with her tits.

Either way, both sides profited. Whenever the head of Rainer's cock disappeared into the soft mounds, Lauren focused her fingers in the area where the head was at when she rubbed and pushed her breasts on the member. To Rainer, it felt like a tickling sensation amplified by a hundredfold of pleasurable sensations. Using a confusing metaphor to describe it, it felt like hundreds of tiny feet from pretty, lewd faeries dancing on his shaft.

"Here, make me come quickly, I want to have enough time to get into one of your other entrances, the tighter one, maybe?" Rainer tossed out this suggestion as if it was a passing fancy, though fortunately for him, Lauren took it seriously.

"Of course, you tasty incubus, you. Allow my magical breasts and tongue bring you to climax!" Lauren partially laughed with her sarcasm, though she put to work trying to make her statement reality. 

Rainer felt the incoming rapturous sensations instantly. Lauren rubbed her voluminous along Rainer's slickened shaft in opposite directions, bringing two separate feelings surging through his spine. Opening her soft mounds of flesh wide enough for Rainer's cock head to pop up and say hello, Lauren dropped her head and enveloped the shaft into her mouth as deeply as her neck muscles let her. Being a child of nature, Lauren naturally had a flexible body when traveling, thus her head could stretch downwards more so than the average person. She swallowed at least a third of Rainer's cock that was revealed between her busty chest. Rainer watched as Lauren's perky nipples twitched cutely in front of Rainer's eyes as the pressed together, pressing each other's button. 

Seeing Lauren's brusque, though oddly bashful at the same time, licking and sucking on his cock while also pressing her breasts down on that same shaft proved too much for Rainer to hold onto his orgasm, and it burst almost violently in Lauren's mouth. Lauren couldn't even choose whether to keep the thick, white seed in her mouth, it forced and slipped its way down Lauren's throat, though not before letting Lauren taste it on her tongue. Even more potent than the precum, the full stuff proved to be a powerful aphrodisiac to her human body, whether it was the same for demons was unknown to her. All Lauren knew was that she was practically addicted to Rainer's delicious ropes of cum. 

Unsheathing herself, Lauren looked up and let the last of his seed trickle down her throat, savoring every bit of taste that her nerves released into her brain. If they bottle this stuff up, The Lord of Lust's semen, any demon could make a fortune selling it off as the most powerful aphrodisiac in existence. 

"You cannot believe how tasty that stuff is... I could drink it forever." Lauren marveled, not faltering at the salacious intentions of those words. 

Understanding and playing along, Rainer answered, "You're free to do so, its not like I'll be going anywhere, and I don't plan on losing." Even though it was because of the high of sexual release, Rainer felt like a chain in his mind shattered into pieces because of his declaration. However, this was no time to ponder that sort of serious stuff, he had more important things to worry about. Things like what position he should use while taking Lauren's tight ass. "You're quite pretty, you know that? Sexy too."

"You realized that only now? Well, thanks anyways. So how are you going to take advantage of me next? O Lord of Lust, devil of the night." Lauren grinned, clearly enjoying her own high from the taste of Rainer's seed, even the aftertaste was fairly pleasant. 

Even though he was a Lord of Lust, and he could make rational decisions no matter his mental state, Rainer felt that was no fun. So he allowed his affected brain to decided his next move, which resulted in Rainer roughly grabbing Lauren's round ass and pulling it to him.

"Aya! Why'd you decide to be so manly all of a sudden?" Giggled Lauren.

"Oh? I wasn't manly enough before? I guess I'll have to change that. Let's see how your tight entrance right here fares." Said Rainer as he dragged his finger, coated in Lauren's saliva from her mouth, across her the outline of her butt and into her puckered hole, teasing the entrance playfully. "Just to be different, let's go here, mmhmm." Rainer hummed at the end whimsically as he penetrated the hole with his middle finger, stretching it slowly. Lauren had cleaned herself thanks to the cave pools, so there was not a hint of dirt or grime anywhere on her body. It would be more accurate to say that her body glowed thanks to several natural remedies Lauren devised from the plants in the cave. It was a testament to her genius in this regard in that she could even develop products from plants in a foreign world. Heck, maybe she could even cure cancer from the plants here.

Lauren shivered from the intrusion, tensing up unintentionally, tightening around the finger. Rainer, in retaliation, moved his finger around in circles, and once he was satisfied, he abruptly shoved in a second finger, eliciting a moan from Lauren's mouth. She couldn't help but shut her eyes as she sat down on Rainer's lap, splaying her legs widely. If anyone saw, they would be given quite the exhibitionist's show. 

"Ah, let me lube it up before you push that monster in here, I soooo want to do this now." Lauren moaned lazily as she opened her eyes to look straight at Rainer's sockets. Rainer relented his assault on Lauren and allowed her to "lube" up his shaft. 

Even though it had climaxed recently, Lauren marveled at the ability an incubus had in keeping his shaft erect at almost all times, especially during licentious acts. Lauren sucked and licked the shaft several times, giving it a fresh coat of slippery saliva.

Rainer whistled and relaxed his hands behind his head as if he had nothing to do, though immediately turned his attention to Lauren's deliciously round butt. All of the girls and woman he had been with each had qualities surpassing the "fakeness" of models and pornstars; Lauren was no different. Though that was to be expected when living in the Land of Lust, home of the lustful race of succubi and incubi. 

Rainer pushed Lauren's body into the classic and ever-arousing doggy style position, where Lauren's hands were positioned on the mossy log with her butt wiggling and ready in the air, just waiting to be penetrated by Rainer's shaft. And Rainer himself could only keep himself sane so long without indulging. He playfully smacked Lauren's ass a couple times, leaving a faint red mark behind, each time he did so, Lauren moaned loud enough for anyone in the cave to hear.

"Jus-just stop teasing! Fuck meeeee already!" Begged Lauren with a shrill voice, almost buckling at her legs under the mix of slight pain and pleasure, both of which felt arousing and great to her body. 

"Fine fine, you're so needy, you naughty witch. Now, where do you want me to take you from?" Asked Rainer cruelly. 

Lauren pouted her moist and full lips. "Gawd... Rainer, don't t-tease me more! Please! Please fuck me in my ass!" Begged Lauren as she succumbed to her desire. "Fuck my tight little ass with your big fat cock, jam it in nowwww!" Lauren wiggled her butt, trying to entice Rainer with her full posterior.

"You're just too cute when you talk like that. Oh very well, I can't be too mean to my subjects as a lord." On that note, Rainer, who was prodding the tight ring with his slick shaft, sheathed his spear inside Lauren's anal entrance. "Unbe-fucking-lievably tight... Shit, you're going to chop me off." 

As it was obviously a joke, Lauren tried to laugh in between her deep breaths. It was hard for her to speak normally with Rainer's thick incubus dick throbbing and thrusting in her tightest hole. Thanks to the initial lube on Rainer's cock and Lauren's puckered entrance, the invader didn't have too much trouble working its way inside. Even so, Lauren felt the full impact and girth as it slowly slid its way inside, sending warm waves of pleasure straight into her soul. The throbbing veins full of warm blood ribbed through her insides, rubbing against her tight walls. Lauren's tongue slowly but surely lazed out of her mouth in a dazed state as she let the log hold up her weight.

Rainer grabbed onto Lauren's round butt tightly, keeping it aloft so she didn't just fall over. He dealt it a sharp spank as he continued to pound his thick cock into Lauren's anal entrance, causing Lauren to arch her back and moan loudly into the cave. "Keep fucking doing thaaat, slap my ass, do whatever you want to me back there... Just keep fucking me as hard as you can!" Lauren cried, feeling the full force of Rainer's incubus genitalia prying and pushing into her ass. Every fifth thrust, Lauren came dramatically, climaxing multiple times from her ass. "Yessss, keep hitting there. Fuck my horny ass to oblivion!" Moaned Lauren over her multiple climaxes.

"Sure sure, I'll burst again soon, your ass is just way too sexy and tight. I seriously want to take you here again." Commented Rainer. He himself had his mind wracked with gratuitous pleasure. If it weren't for his earlier load going down Lauren's throat, he would have come much earlier. 

It had certainly been a decent while since the two had fucked like this, this was a much more carnal encounter for the two, and they both relished it extremely. Sharp slaps could be heard round the cave coming from Rainer's crotch slamming into Lauren's ass, giving an erotic undertone to the environment. 

All of Lauren's miniature orgasms had been building up to this moment. Like the climax of a great orchestral performance, Lauren herself was building up softly and harshly into a smashing crescendo. She had been releasing a constant moan of pleasure from the savage ass-fucking Rainer was giving her, not one moment didn't feel good, and not one point of her body tingled and shivered with desire and joy.

"Like five seconds, then I'm going to do it inside your ass." Warned Rainer as he gave Lauren another sharp slap on both cheeks of her ass. Though her butt wasn't terribly thick or jiggly, it was round in the right spots and looked very enticing to him no matter how many times Rainer spanked Lauren.

"O-okay... Paint my insides full of your delicious seed, get me full from the other side!" Lauren was panting like a dog with her tongue out and eyes everywhere. Lauren had that look on her face that many women did when in the throes of a powerful orgasm, relinquishing their body to pleasure.




The Lost Lord Ch. 24



"Ah, I lied, make that two seconds." Then all of a sudden, Rainer violently shot ropes of his sticky seed into Lauren's tract, giving the walls a new shade of white. 

"Aaaahhhn! So gooood..." Lauren was confident no woman in the world wouldn't agree with her, their decision would be unanimous: pure bliss. Asmodea had experienced it first apparently. Then Nerissa after her, then Lauren was number three, Aureal fourth, and who else Rainer had fucked since coming here in the circles. All of them could get together for a casual coffee klatch and discuss with great detail and length their experiences with Rainer. 'Hell, that may actually happen if we all survive this.' Though Lauren.

Great euphoria overtook the two partners, resulting in mutual sounds of verbal pleasure coming from their mouths. Lauren's glasses had long since bounced off her face, landing in a soft pile of cave moss. Even her makeup trailed down her face by centimeters due to her eyes watering from the sudden intrusion up her butt from earlier. 

A noisy 'schlop' and Rainer's shaft fell out of Lauren's orifice. "Heck, it's like you just sucked out every bit of my stuff straight out of my dick. Seriously, did you apply some witch magic to your ass?" 

Despite Rainer's slightly crude language, Lauren only smiled and laughed while basking in the afterglow next to the log, "Nope, I'm just training myself to be even better than a succubus for you than all of these sex demons here in this circle." Lauren beamed at Rainer with a seductive smile that only proved to make his shaft stiffen by a little bit.

"Hahaha, really, if only I got to know you before in school. This would've been fun." Laughed Rainer. 

...

Both Rainer and Lauren clothed themselves in their own attire, summoning outfits with basic magic. Lauren wore her armor and clothes from before when she was playing that deadly game: loose leather armor, magically reinforced pointed beanie, and tightly bound sandals. Rainer, using a summon spell for the first time to bring himself an outfit, acquired a set of garments from the closet in his large closet of his bedroom in the palace. Rainer didn't want heavy or bulky armor and protection. Instead he opted for a lighter set of clothes like Lauren, though even lighter and smoother than that. He donned the outfit, and showed off his uniform to Lauren.

"Really, it's almost as if you purposely chose an outfit straight from a video game..." Lauren smirked as she made fun of Rainer's choice of attire.

In truth, he was thinking like he did when he played video games from before. He gave himself this question: How badass do I want to look? And Rainer answered it. 

Among the casual, fancy, and various sorts of attire in the massive closet of his room in the palace, there were also more interesting outfits. Ones made for battle. Rainer wore a set of light malleable plates that seemed fused together. It seemed like an ultra lightweight material that also gave great protection. These plates covered Rainer's chest and lower body like a film of water, perfectly conforming to every contour and curve of his slender build, perfectly adapting to every flex of his muscles. It was almost as if the armor was made for him prior to his existence (though Rainer would never find out, Asmodeus used a peculiar magic to design various sets of armor for Rainer when he came to this position, a magic beyond Zazie's level of divination).

Instead of different plates, his four limbs were covered in what resembled "molds" of those limbs. These molds perfectly fit his legs and arms, and seemed to move with his body as if they were a part of his body. Pointed boots fit over his feet with a tough grip on the bottom so he could maximize agility. Rainer pulled his gloves over his hands, gloves that allowed his fingers almost complete freedom of movement. The fingers had a faint pattern of ribbing that would stick to objects almost like a sticky grip. 

Going for even more "tacky badassness", as Rainer liked to put it, he donned a thin mask which covered his face, neck, and head. His hair was kept comfortable and cool, with the mask fitting over his ears and nose. The mask was designed so that it gave full freedom over Rainer's senses, not allowing a single inhibition of sight, hearing, smell, and even taste. Finally, a durable silk hood was pulled over his head. This hood wasn't just for show, it also had an enchantment interwoven in done by Asmodeus himself, which gave Rainer anonymity, coincidentally modeled after Zazie's [Hermit] ability. In the end, the entire outfit had a pattern of pine green, black, and lustrous silver. 

"I don't know about you, but let's finish a war." Rainer, from this moment on, chose to never hesitate again with his ideals and beliefs. He wasn't going to end this war because he wanted to stop Arazra and become a true Lord of Lust. He was going to end it because he was the only willing to take on war itself.

-

"So... We'll wait until they take the tenth terrace? That is quite a risk, sir." A soldier wearing fairly light armor studded with metal gave his honest opinion. He had his full set of appendages out, colored a bright green. 

"I hate being called that, I really do. Don't do it again. I'm not like the Rulers of Sin or arrogant Daughters and Sons of Sin, just call me by my given name, Nergal." The fourth district leader was devoid of any armor. Out of all demons, he had a fairly different appearance, one much more bestial in nature. Almost like a bat in demon form, Nergal had brown fur all over his body with a face like a bat, leathery bat wings, as well as sharp claws on his hands and feet. Despite his bat like nature, Nergal was still a demon of Lust, and so he furless horns colored brown and a wriggling bat tail. One would think, "If he isn't wearing clothes or armor, then isn't he naked? Where's his genitalia?" Nergal developed a unique ability to hide those parts in his body, almost like a reptile. His nature certainly explained the way he fought, which he planned to make full use of in the oncoming battle.

"Yes, sorry. Still, I must stress that it would be more prudent to attack the enemy now. Surely, with our speed, we can perform lightning guerrilla attacks on the enemy in order to distract them from their goal and allow the defense to retaliate." The soldier was an honest fellow, he did not fear giving his opinion, much to Nergal's lament.

"You're annoying. No, we will wait until they take the tenth terrace. I know Caetorum's tactics, he will feign heavy casualties in the tenth terrace and reserve the defense's true strength for the palace terrace in a hopeful attempt to fool Arazra's forces and blitz his army. That tactic worked perfectly when Uriel's forces sieged this city before when Caetorum and I were in it. In the war, Arazra was to busy defending his district at the time to know about this unique tactic. We will devastate their rear guard during their siege of the eleventh terrace, slaughter the traitors. I don't know what this young Lord of Lust wishes to do with the captives, but kill every single traitor until given the order not to by The Lord of Lust himself. There is no room for mercy among traitors." Nergal smoldered with malevolent words. Nergal, while being more of Lust, was also part Wrath and even a sliver of Pride. He absolutely hated traitors. Though he kept his hate to himself most of the time, so most leaders in the Land of Lust regarded him as a wildcard. 

"Give the command to make camp for now. Send an elite team of scouts to find out when Arazra sieges the eleventh terrace. Form a perimeter of our fastest around our camp in order to eliminate any scouts unwanted eyes." Nergal commanded to his subordinate.

The subordinate bowed and waved his hands to reiterate the orders to the rest of the officers. In the short amount of time Nergal responded to the call for reinforcements, it would be expected for him to call upon around a thousand or two soldiers from the immediate area. Nergal, however, had been silently amassing troops before he even attended the meeting, though only out of a premonition of his. He wanted to inform the other district leaders of his premonition, but he knew that most would laugh or suspect him of suspicious plans. He also didn't trust all of the district leaders, and he was right to do so considering the unexpected betrayals of Ornias and Hezazias. Nergal was ready to go to war. He amassed ten thousand demon soldiers.

-

"Ah shit... I knew I should've done that thing." 

"What thing, Caetorum?" Asked Asmodea casually to her fellow Pillar of Lust.

"Back when the Capital of Lust was sieged, I used a tactic where I feigned the death of a majority of my troops, and it proved successful. Well, maybe I should've done the same thing here." Sighed Caetorum as he dodged a wave of arrows behind a battlement.

"Even if you did, I have no doubt that Arazra studied the various tactics of ours and would have planned or be cautious about every aspect of this invasion. In the end, all we have to do is hold out for as long as possible until Nergal shows up." Assured Asmodea as she drew her sword, a soul weapon.

Asmodea shot a bolt of misty energy from her Wallace sword at a clump of tenth district soldiers firing their bows and crossbows. The misty bolt exploded and four sharp blades of mist shot out, cutting each of those soldiers apart. That was her Wallace sword's ability, Blade Dispersal. In the mists the sword created, blades could be formed that cut apart any enemy as if they were large pieces of shrapnel. Though the ability wasn't very well suited one on one combat, it was an extremely potent power.

All of the powerful figures of both sides were engaged in battle. Though the superior numbers of Arazra's army would eventually win out in taking the tenth terrace, it would be done with a bloody loss. There was no doubt in every single person's mind, on both sides, that this siege would end today, either with the palace taken or the attackers routed. Not even Arazra was so confident now, as two sets of reinforcements had come to the pretender's aid, and he was having quite a bit of difficulty holding the Harpies back.

"Shit, there's one of them!" Caetorum called out to Asmodea. "I sense the presence of powerful Sin fairly close by, I assume it is either Hezazias or Sasilith. However, in this thick battle, I can't rely on my sensing ability for distance." A ladder pulled up, bringing several low ranked demons along with it. Caetorum stabbed one in the eye, which caused the demon to fall, bringing his friends with him. 

On Asmodea's side, several enemy demons had made it up on the tenth terrace's walls, which she dispatched in several flawless sword attacks with her magic claymore. In a war where there are basically two different types of participants, the weak and the strong, both sides will eventually only mingle with their own. If Hezazias was near them, he would no doubt fight either Asmodea or Caetorum.

"I do not mind fighting him, but he is a black demon, and a Son of Lust as well. We should fight him together, overall he is stronger than us by ourselves." Asmodea rationalized the situation with Caetorum.

"Agreed. It would be best to fight the stronger foes with two on one if possible, only engage in a one on one if there is no other choice."

"And you still believe you can win? I guess it is possible." A voice spoke to both Asmodea and Caetorum with an air of passiveness, a voice belonging to the exact person they were talking about, Hezazias.

Hezazias simply walked over the walls as if walking up a ninety-degree angle was an everyday thing. He pulled himself over the battlement and crouched down, surveying the two before him. Hezazias was known to not be terribly arrogant, he treated his opponents with dignity while at the same time ridiculing them. 

"You! You shouldn't have been able to get over here so quickly, not at the distance I sensed you from." Caetorum was surprised at first, but regained his senses quickly.

"Ah... You're right, I was over there, and now I'm here. Amazing, huh? Well, how I got here doesn't matter, can we just get this over with?" Hezazias said with disdain.

"Can I ask you one thing first?" Asmodea asked.

"I guess."

"Not once since the Lord's death did you show any sign of supported Arazra. Why did you all of a sudden decide to ally yourself with him and bring your army here?"

"That's a good question. To be honest, I don't really remember the reason myself. If anything, I sided with him because he is my brother and Sasilith is my sister. I can't let them be alone on this as siblings. Sitri would never think about it, Alizae would simply scoff, and Azail would probably kill his siblings first hand if he had the chance. Really, am I the only one who cares about all of us?" Hezazias sighed deeply. He was clearly not at all pleased to be fighting in general. 

'He seems to laid back right now, whether he speaks the truth or not, it is impossible for me to tell. Without a doubt, Hezazias is a very mysterious person like his father.' Asmodea told herself. She wished she didn't have to, but she did have to fight Hezazias after all. They were on opposite sides of the war after all.

"If you want to talk more, do that while we fight, or after I beat you both into the ground, horns first." Hezazias drew his weapons, two menacing axes. 

-

"We're here. Now what sort of signal shall we make?" Wondered Nerissa out loud. 

She and Aureal were currently flying high up in the sky, dodging various missile attacks and slaying any normal demon soldier who dared to fly near them. It didn't take long for the enemy soldiers to take the hint that they could never defeat the two, a fallen angel and a white demon. 

Like with the rest of the terraces, there were two main battles, the sky and wall battle. If one side dominated either battle, it would be easy to destroy the enemy forces in the sky or ground. Both Nerissa and Aureal figured it was appropriate to fight their already decided opponent in the sky considering they met her in the sky, Sasilith.

Sasilith was completely not as they expected, cordial and pleasant. While they didn't know what to expect when first meeting Sasilith, her curiosity and politeness was completely unexpected. Heck, even the name sounds menacing.

"I have no doubt she is here in the air, my light magic will be a suitable beacon, mistress. I am the only one on this battlefield who can wield light magic after all." Impassively said Aureal.

"Alright, then be my guest Aureal, show them what you can do!" Enthusiastically cheered Nerissa as she flew back a couple meters and allowed Aureal to shine, literally.

Aureal held her massive war hammer in one hand, keeping it aloft with supernatural strength. Then she grabbed it with both hands, and swung it in a fearsome arc sideways and then downwards in quick succession. What formed was a cross of light, though with round and jagged edges. Aureal placed her palm in the center of the cross and it burst forth, accelerating to its max speed instantly. The cross of light smashed into exactly six enemy demons, burning their skin and destroying their bodies before returning to nothingness. After that, Aureal practically kick the air behind her, sending her barreling towards a group of demons fighting it out between each other. Aureal identified the two enemy demons of the group and as she skimmed above the group in the air, slammed her war hammer into the head of one of the enemies, causing to explode with light. The allied demons flew back, avoiding the light easily. The enemies however were caught in the explosion and died.

"She can't do all the work, time for Old Age and I to really get into action together." Nerissa did a couple short stretches, getting her body limber in case she pulled a muscle, like that would actually happen. "I'll never let them take my fiancée's city! I haven't even got to see him at all recently because of you damn lust demons!" Nerissa beat her wings, gaining speed and sped towards several aimless seventh district soldiers. 

They seemed more skilled than the average soldier, so they readied themselves and got into defensive stances. However, Nerissa didn't plan on eliminating them head on. Instead, Nerissa flew over the demons, as if jumping on a solid mass of air. Her agility and acrobatic ability in the air stupefied the demons and stared in awe at the pretty white demoness that made the sky her playground. Looping around the demons, Nerissa brought Old Age back and swiftly decapitated one while spinning around and cutting the next twice across the stomach, causing his guts to spill out. Anyone directly below the demon would soon be having a bad time.

...

Meanwhile, Sasilith had just donned her armor and equipped her weapon. It was time to fight for her beloved brother. "Now, when will I get to fight those two adorable girls? You there, any words of the fallen angel and white demon girls?"

"Mistress Sasilith. While it is unconfirmed, some of our seventh district soldiers have reported seeing burning light exploding around in the sky above the tenth terrace walls." Reported a simple messenger.

"Back in the air, eh? Alright then, let's."

-

"Damn it, don't know why I got to do this with you. Too bad Sitri got captured."

"I'm sorry, did you say something that may be construed as disrespect towards me, Reginald?"

"You're a damn bitch, Teras, you know that?" Reginald intentionally insulted Teras this time.

"Better, there's no need to be so quiet when you can just hate me in front of my face. Though I'll have fun cutting you if you call me that again." Teras threatened Reginald with the most pristine smile he had ever seen.

'If there's a personification of fear, she's it.' Reginald told himself. 'She's a damn monster. Glad I didn't fight her in that death game, poor bastard who ever did.'

Reginald pulled out the heart of foe before him with his snake tattoo. His snakes were his main weapon, biting and gnawing at high speed and deadly penetrative power. He had several tattoos on his body, each of which could form an existence because of the special property the ink used to make them had, the soul reaped from an Archmage. Archmages are considered the most powerful of human existences, it didn't really matter what kind of power it was, it could be magical power or physical power (Lauren holds an Archmage's soul herself). Taking a giant leap with his tattoos of angel wings, Reginald downed another enemy with a kick from his foot using another tattoo located on the soles of his feet (thick, sharp spikes). He shot two more demons with the mounted gun tattoos on his soldiers before spinning around and having his snakes bite through the mail armor of an enemy officer. While he knew he kicked ass, his path of carnage was nowhere near as scary as Teras'.

A large mass of opposing demons from various districts tried to stand before Teras. The Sadist of Lust simply smiled and said, "You're all ugly, bye bye!" And with a massive gust of wind, she tossed each of them over the side of the terrace walls. She pulled out her cane sword from her umbrella and charged it with a bolt of lightning, which was released when she stabbed a large demon in the leg. The lightning flowed from the sword and burnt the large demon to a crisp from the inside of his body. Teras traced a circle in the ground with her sword, and a fount of fire erupted, decimating any demon who dared to pass it, friend or foe. She stabbed the air seven times in rapid succession, and each stab formed icicles, which shot forth and buried their selves into vital points of enemy demons. Also, because of her weak muscle structure, Teras could not lift fairly heavy objects. Yet with earth magic, Teras performed an amazing feat of literally punching a catapult's stone projectile back a couple meters, crashing into a clump of fifth district demons.




The Lost Lord Ch. 24



"You don't see pure elementalists too often." Reginald muttered under his breath. 

Elementalists referred to magic users who wielded more than one of the natural elements, with pure elementalists wielding all four. Though that didn't stop Teras from using her favorite wind and lightning magics.

"I can't let her outshine me, who'll definitely be a new district leader." Reginald, with newfound determination, laughed out loud and released his chest tattoo, the fiery maw of a dragon. A cone of fire erupted from his chest, searing every enemy demon in front of it. 

One demon, however, wasn't fazed and blocked the fire with the twirling of his spear. 

"Move out of the way, I'd like to visit Miss Teras." The demon wore a set of thin, regal armor and wielded a peculiar spear.

"Uh, I don't recommend it, she's likely to castrate you and force feed your own dick" Warned Reginald sarcastically.

"While I'm fully aware of her deadly, sadistic nature... I can't help that she's so beautiful!"

'Watch out, we've got a weird one here.' Reginald shook his head in mock despair, "Even so, you're obviously an enemy. You can meet her after you kill me. Not like that's ever going to happen." 

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, while I hate boasting, I'm sure you've heard of me- I am Renning, leader of the Legion of Renning." 

"What a self absorbed name for a mercenary group. It can't mean all that much, sounds like a weak name." Reginald knew who Renning was now that he heard the name, one of the various mercenary groups Arazra had hired. 

The most famous groups he had hired were Huracan, Black Steps, and the Legion of Renning. Before playing the death game, the Parish had researched all of the groups that were hired. Renning in particular was no different in power next to Xizaen, despite not being a black demon. That was mainly because of his weapon of choice, a soul weapon from the human world called Ascalon. What power did it possess? That secret was only told to Renning's trusted few and those he killed.

"Pah, I'll kill you if you get in my way, shouldn't take more than twenty seconds for there to be some sweet death."

"Oh? That's your prediction? Then I'll be killing you in those twenty seconds." 

With both men ready, they ceased their constant stream of 'I'll kill you' phrases and actually got to fighting.

...

Meanwhile, close to Teras' position, she found her main opponent for the war after some searching, the eighth district leader called Ornias.

The two have never liked each other and clashed with words on multiple occasions. And considering their status, they could not engage in actual battle in the past, now was different. Now was a time to end each other's stain of hate for each other with the detergent of death. 

The two didn't even bother with words, they just saw each other, glared, and smacked their lips as they readied themselves for the kill. Ornias conjured his dark armor and weapon while Teras wiped her sword clean of blood, even tasting a little bit of it. 

Teras danced the tip of her cane sword around the opening of a wound an injured enemy demon had that was lying by her legs. Sadistic thrills danced up her spine and sending shivers down to her moistening snatch, she wasn't called the Sadist of Lust for nothing. Oh, she relished thinking of the ways she could have fun with Ornias. Cutting off his finger and toenails. Mincing up his tail and slicing up the veins along his wings. She wouldn't touch the horns, no, that would be a waste. Teras imagined the ways she could pierce Ornias' own body on his own horns and her mind went increasingly dark and black. Anyone not used to such dark and painful fetishes would surely faint from delving too far in Teras' depraved mind. 

Ornias took action first, tossing several solidified dark daggers. They would have hit their target if Teras didn't block them all with a shield of ice. Then, using that shield, Teras struck the shield with her palm, sending shards of ice towards Ornias. The eighth district leader sidestepped the shards and dashed even closer, forming a solid dark lance. He lunged for Teras, aiming for her abdomen. Teras laughed haughtily and flew up in the air, allowing her wind to carry her wings and body some ways away. Though before she landed, Teras stabbed her cane sword several times at Ornias, sending charges of lightning at his position. Only one of the charges hit him, but it did nothing but make him tingle as the charge splashed against his dark armor.

In terms of overall power, the two could be comparable. In terms of versatility and ingenuity, Teras would always win. The sole reason why Teras would win this fight is because she had an extremely large array of attacks to use and could crush Ornias with. However, Teras didn't want to win that way, she wanted to humiliate Ornias. To show him that even without her magic, even with her weak muscle structure, she could still easily defeat him in melee combat. 

Teras wasn't strong, but she was most definitely fast. She thrust her sword multiple times at Ornias, it almost seemed as if each stab happened at the exact same moment. Ornias, unaccustomed to this level of speed could only block two stabs and the rest rained blows on his dark armor. The two contrasted each other, Ornias excelled in strength and defense while Teras excelled in speed and agility. The main problem was that while Teras could hit Ornias, she could not damage him, and while Ornias could deal severe damage to Teras, he could not hit her. 

'Hm, maybe I should stop being stubborn and use some magic?' Teras pondered to herself as she continued to rain down a series of attacks on Ornias, many of which bypassed his defense and pricked his dark armor but could not go through. 'Fuck that, all I need to do is focus on one spot. After all, he can only keep up his dark armor for so long, and the dark power seems to need to regenerate in any spot I attack.'

Teras then formed a wicked smile, "Ornias, it's been a joy, but let me show you how truly weak you are..." She dragged her tongue across her lips, like a predator about to pounce on its prey.

Because the two have never actually fought before, both could not guess the other's level of strength, and they went into this fight blind. Ornias, for the first time in this war, showed fear. "Damn sadist, what are you planning!" He formed two spikes in his hand and tossed them at Teras, his first attack in a small while.

Teras gracefully ducked and pulled her sword arm back, ready for a lunge. Hers and Caetorum's sword fighting were very similar, graceful fencing. Teras winked at Ornias and dashed towards his position, cheating a little bit by using her wind to gain a little speed. She traversed the distance between them, nine meters, with only five grand steps and thrust her sword with all her might at a single point in Ornias' body- his heart. The first thrust connected, piercing away some of the darkness that contained Ornias' armor. Then the second, and the third, and the fourth, and the fifth, up to eleven consecutive thrusts rained down on the exact same point on Ornias' dark armor with a sniper's precision. Little by little, Ornias' tough dark armor was chipped away until the eleventh thrust managed to hit home into his heart. 

It had been a long time since Ornias had felt true pain, he had always relied on his dark magic to block any possible harmful intent on his body, thus he was not prepared to feel the pain Teras was about to give him. "GUAAAH! Da-DAMN, that fucking hurts!" Ornias sputtered as he recoiled from the extreme pain he was unused to. His lack of concentration erased all of his dark protection, completely unveiling his body for the world to see, and for Teras to toy with.

"Mmmhmm, and there you are! I'm going to have such fun taking you down a notch!" Teras giggled sadistically. 

"Damn you, Sadist of Lust, why don't you kill me? Aren't I a traitor?" Ornias spat, knowing full well what Teras had planned for him and hoping he might gain a salvation from a great deal of pain with death.

"Nope! Asmodea said to capture you guys if possible for appropriate punishment that the little Lord of Lust may want to dole out. Though what I'm going to do will make you wish you could beg for your life to be taken." Then, turning to several of her subordinates, Teras ordered, "Paralyze him and take him to custody at the palace. Don't do anything painful to him, I want to do allllll of that myself!"

Her subordinates smiled and nodded their heads, they had done this before with Teras' personal captures, Ornias was in for a rough night if no one bothered for him before or after this war was over.

"Too easy... Though I guess his skills were just too easy for me to counter." Teras calmly reviewed the previous battle in her mind. "Now, time to have a little more fun until the main event tonight..."

-

"Emiel! You're actually going to do that?"

"Ah, that's SIR Emiel to you."

"Um, Sir Emiel, you're actually going to do that?"

"Wow, you actually said it. And yes, I'm going to free him. Why do you ask? Don't you want him dead as well?"

"I very much do, but it is obviously much easier to have him executed after this war. Shouldn't we go help out in the defense?"

"Luce, you know full well about the animosity between us two. And you know more than me just how powerful Xizaen actually is, I could only overpower him before because he wasted a great deal of his strength fighting and chasing after you. I cannot be satisfied with that victory, I will kill him in a fair fight." 

Luce shifted uncomfortably as he walked beside Emiel. He had followed Emiel when he saw the green incubus head in a different direction than the tenth terrace walls, hoping he wasn't up to anything suspicious, sadly his concerns were valid. Emiel wished to free Xizaen and defeat him in a battle where both were equal, so they can finally end their eternal feud. 

"Even so, it has hardly been a full day since he was captured, how could he regain his strength so quickly?" 

"I know him, and if anything, I know he is never weak. He is constantly regenerating from his wounds and gathering his strength. I fought him once before, which resulted in a tie or else one of us would be dead, and while I escaped in order to recover, a report came to me that Xizaen had regained his full power and regenerated from his wounds in less than a day. Now, I devised a way to halt that progress with one of my crystal prisons, but it occurred to me that he might not have been put in a crystal prison here in the palace. Thus while he is bound, he is currently recovering to full power since before he fought you. He will escape, and I mean to prevent that."

"Yes, when I fought under him, I saw first hand his unbelievable recovery ability. No one healed him with cauterizing water nor did they speed his metabolism, he simple recovered somehow. Is it an ability unique to black demons?"

"No, else the black demons in this war would have done the same. It doesn't matter. All we have to do is kill him tonight. Neither I nor Xizaen will agree to run away, one of us will die."

-

"...[Sun]." Intense heat and light filled the scene, speeding off towards its victim like a bomb.

The victim was so beat up, that it couldn't dodge and could only take the blast head on. She received the full strength of the poisonous light, burning and bubbling her skin as if she was in a pot of water beyond the heat of boiling. She couldn't even scream out in pain nor react as well. All she felt was unimaginable pain coursing through her body. The rouge colored succubus instantly fell down, unable to breathe.

"...[Temperance] I'm sorry, Rouge, but I was ordered to eliminate you by Arazra. However, I can't let the Fetishes of Lust die, so please live." 

The skin on Little Rouge's body was healed as quickly as the light burned it. It was as if a person was brought to the furthest depth of death and brought back to life like it was nothing. That was the power of Zazie's cards. The [Sun] brought intense solar heat and light to incinerate enemies, while the [Temperance] could heal any wound, no matter how drastic, on a person's body that the card's wielder deemed worthy. 

"You..." Little Rouge tried to speak, but she fell unconscious, it was unlikely she would recover at all until after the war.

The two had fought a magnificent battle in a section of the tenth terrace near the mountains. Little Rouge, with her legendary stamina and combat ability, fought Zazie's unique strength and abilities to a standstill numerous times. However, in the end, Zazie defeated Little Rouge with the [Sun]. 

One would think, with all twenty-two cards of Zazie's major arcana that she would be invincible, she was anything but. Once she used a card, Zazie could no longer use that ability for a full day, which in the Land of Lust was around twenty-seven hours. Zazie had few cards left to use, and most of them weren't even combat abilities. However, Zazie made sure to save two cards, [Justice] and [Judgment] until the end, as, other than the [World], they were her strongest combative abilities. 

This war wouldn't last another day, so Zazie would be forced to rely on what she had left. Of her usable cards, only six were left for use. She couldn't help but wonder, 'How is it that he... *blush* Can use the [Emperor] continuously?' Zazie cheeks reddened at the thought of the one of her desires.

"...Don't worry, Rainer, I will get the [World] back so you can win."



The Lost Lord Ch. 25



Note: Apologies denizens of Literotica for taking this long to get the other half of this chapter posted. I might as well tell you all that Ch. 27 is finished and someone offered to edit it... GASP! A chapter is actually getting proofread? Well, that's if they actually do it. Either way, thank you for your patience.

Ch. 25 - They're dropping like flies! 

One day, I found myself filled with Wrath. A Wrath so pure and inescapable, that I acted out upon my Wrath and destroyed everything in sight. Of course, it was in my nature to be Wrathful, being a demon born from Wrath. Yet it was odd, I felt so hateful and furious that I despised all of creation itself. I wanted to destroy everything in existence, even if that meant dying along with it and not seeing my work. I killed and I killed, destroyed and destroyed, at least until you stopped me, my eternal enemy.

You gave me this mark, this damned star on my face. I want to kill you, mutilate your corpse, shit on your skull, grind your bones into dust, and I want to revive you so I can do it all again. Yet why is it, why is it that you don't hate me back? Emiel?

"We may be enemies, but I found a kinship in the one I fought since our first meeting. Usually it is that familiarity breeds contempt, it was the other way around for me. Still, our relationship is one made of poison, and when eating poison, you might as well lick the plate afterwards. Let's make an agreement here, only one of us will live from this day onwards."

"Ha... Ha... Ha... Ha... Ha..."

"You find this funny, Xizaen?"

"Ha... Ha... Ha... You... Actually think you have... A chance?"

"Oh, very much so."

"Die... You accursed bastard!" Xizaen screamed as he crushed the bars in his cage with his strong grip, tossing them at Emiel point forwards.

Emiel saw that his suspicions from earlier were true, Xizaen had gathered his full power and released himself from his prison. It was purely by chance that Emiel arrived at the exact same time Xizaen was about to do this deed. He arrived in time to fight a duel to the death with his foe.

Off to the side, Luce watched the beginning of a deadly duel that would encompass everything and everyone around it. (Should I really interfere? This is not a battle I can enter and escape unscathed more than I am. I still have fairly severe wounds.)

Emiel tried to crush Xizaen with chunks of stone taken from the walls of the prison, only to find that each one was soon smashed after entering the range of Xizaen's arms. The wrathful black demon punched each boulder with his bare fists, which drew blood from his skin but did not dent his bones or sever his major arteries and veins. Emiel clicked his tongue and grabbed a broken bar from the prison and thrust the jagged point several times at Xizaen, he attached a red crystal to the point for a certain magical effect.

Emiel specialized in crystals when it came to Earth magic, but either way, he was still a complete master in everything Earth magic related. The improvised polearm missed each time thanks to nimble dodges and ducks from Xizaen. In retaliation, Xizaen whacked Emiel's side with a metal bar, causing the green incubus to cough up blood from the impact.

"Ha... Ha... Ha... Finally, I'll be killing you. You're nothing but a shadow in my blue sky, begone!" Xizaen roared happily as he hit Emiel on the side several more times, snapping some of the ribs in the incubus' ribcage.

Though while he received the blows, Emiel finally managed to pierce Xizaen's skin with the red crystal, causing a fountain of blood to spew forth. Xizaen staggered back from the sudden loss of blood, but that amount paled to the amount of blood he shed in their last encounter.

The two had fought in a small forest area of the Plains of Pride where they were both hired in two different jobs. The two had found each other by coincidence and their confrontation resulted in a deathmatch. In the end, both mercenary groups had to do the job themselves because their leaders were caught up in a feud duel. By the time their duel was finished in a draw, each tree in an eighty meter radius was covered by some amount of blood.

Emiel, regaining his composure, attached a green crystal to the resilient metal bar, pocketing the red one. The red crystal drew out large amounts of blood with each wound, but it drew out blood from any wound nearby and it was unreliable when Emiel had taken as much damage as he just had. The green crystal had the most affinity with Earth magic, so Emiel planned to use it in conjunction with his own Earth magic.

Xizaen jumped up several meters and slammed down on the ground, kicking the prison floor with all his might. This particular move, otherwise known as the 'Earthquake Kick' sent shockwaves through the ground from the kick's epicenter. Xizaen, being unaffected from his own move, held steady while Emiel failed to stay afoot from the shockwaves.

Emiel tipped over and shoved the green crystal into the ground. As if the floor was made of soft mud all along, the floor lost cohesion and Emiel sunk into the mud. As Xizaen surveyed the area, wondering what was up with this new trick of Emiel's, the ground beneath him suddenly lost cohesion into soft mud and two green demonic arms went forth and grabbed Xizaen's legs. Emiel's arms burst from the ground and pulled hard as if a game of tug'o'war was in session. He managed to pull Xizaen down at least half a meter in his surprise. Emiel left, turning the soft mud like ground back into a hard stone floor and emerged from the ground. Emiel attached a translucent white crystal onto his improvised staff and swiftly, before Xizaen managed to free himself from the hard ground, stabbed Xizaen through his chest.

The staff passed through as if it was made of air, but suddenly became tangible and Xizaen found a metal pole embedded in his chest. "Kuh, bastard!" In another fit of rage, Xizaen punch the ground with his fist. He freed his legs and feet while grabbing a rock with the other hand and tossed it at Emiel. Emiel received the attack head on, leaving a bloody red mark on his right shoulder.

"If you didn't actually stab me in the first place, then this damn trick will do SHIT TO ME!" Xizaen shouted as he pulled out the improvised polearm with one hand, revealing a messy hole that led to his internal organs. The bloody staff, which still had the white crystal embedded on the tip, melted in the extreme hatred of Xizaen's hand. Everything that Emiel owned melted in the extreme wrath and heat of Xizaen's body.

(Shit, this is bad...) Emiel told himself as he cast another spell with a quick incantation, his arms became covered in jagged rocks and crystals, ready to rend flesh. If Emiel could not destroy Xizaen's bones, then why not rend the flesh off of them?

"I remember this trick, last time I faltered, but this time I could care less how much you cut me with those arms. I will end you... Ha... Ha... Ha..." Xizaen laughed maniacally as he gathered a vast majority of his strength into his arms.

Xizaen, being a black demon, had superior strength and power. He trained his abilities until the point where he could focus that immense power into different parts of his body. And he did just that. Xizaen readied himself to meet Emiel's deadly arms with his own strong hands.

Emiel took a quick step to the side and dashed around Xizaen, utilizing even more confusing steps in order to mislead Xizaen's eyes. Taking a boxer's stance, Emiel punched Xizaen with one of his deadly arms, managing to land scores of painful cuts along Xizaen's torso and right arm.

Slam.

Xizaen completely ignored Emiel up to now, waiting for him to get close. And once Emiel managed to cut his body, Xizaen slammed the back of his hand into Emiel's body, sending the green incubus hurtling towards the back prison wall. Upon impact, then entire structure shuddered and groaned as if in pain. Xizaen leapt at Emiel and slammed his foot down on Emiel's back, eliciting an intense painful cry.

*Cough, cough* Emiel spouted blood from his mouth, choking on the iron tasting fluid in his mouth.

"So? How is this? You're finally below my feet! How about it, are you going to beg for your life? Are you going to comment about how great it was to fight me? Are you going to make a snide remark? Are you going to curse me? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO SAY, DAMN IT!" Xizaen roared with all of his vocal power. The end of his words was so loud and intense, that everyone in the eleventh terrace could hear him.

Emiel simply smiled and spit some blood out of his mouth. He looked back on Xizaen with stern eyes, "You know, I do regret giving you that scar. You have been an interesting comrade in our intense struggle. If I said I was sorry, would you accept it?"

Xizaen was about to shout more, but faltered in his words. Several times, Xizaen tried to speak. He could only press harder with his bare feet on Emiel's body. "B-... Bastard... YOU INSUFFERABLE FUCKING BAAAAAAAAASTARD!" Xizaen punched down on Emiel's body, crushing one of the lungs. For some reason, Xizaen retracted his arms and stared down at Emiel in pure hatred in one eye and confusion in the other. "I hate your being more than the collected fury of the Warmaster himself... I acce-."

"Eh?" This time, Emiel was the one who became confused, though not at Xizaen's words, at Xizaen's severed head that fell from his body.

Xizaen's body slumped down to Emiel's side, revealing an indomitable Luce carrying a rusty sword. Luce looked just as confused as Emiel did, as Xizaen would never be slain that easily. "I tried to kill him, expecting to fail instantly and be killed. Yet... I did it?"

Normally, no normal weapon would be able to sever any part of Xizaen's body, but how could a rusty sword, of all weapons, be able to do it? Emiel understood at once.

"For the first time since we met, Xizaen felt peace, happiness if you will. It must have been an emotion he had never felt once in his life, and became confused once it hit him. Demons, compared to other races, feel their emotions to a much higher level. Such a euphoric sensation must have felt invasive, even suffocating. His toughened bones relaxed their reinforcement and his muscles slackened, thus allowing you to sever hid head. It's ironic, if you think about it, that his happiness saved my life."

"Black demons... Are truly terrifying." Mouthed Luce as he listened to Emiel's words.

"As are white demons. Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet. You haven't seen a Ruler of Sin at work." Emiel laughed through his painful injuries, with each sound that escape his mouth, spasms of pain wracked his mind and brain."

"This... Has drained me. I don't think I can participate anymore in this war."

"Yea, hey, why don't you join Huracan if we live through this? There's no way, with my recommendation, that you won't be allowed to join."

"I apologize, Emiel, but I want nothing more to do with mercenaries."

"Really? What a pity. Damn, my entire body hurts. At least I've got no serious open wounds, though my insides hurt like a bitch. I think I'll take a nap, wake me up if we win." Roughly joked Emiel as he closed his eyes into hibernation.

-

Meanwhile, on the walls of the tenth terrace...

"Caetorum, I am sure you know what we have to do to beat him." Whispered Asmodea hastily, clearly out of breath from her two on one battle with Hezazias.

"Obviously. Hezazias has both speed and power, from being a Son of Lust. While I have equal speed and you have equal power, we can only win if we work together with surgical precision." Commented Caetorum as he breathed just as hastily.

Currently, Caetorum and Asmodea are fighting Hezazias, leader of the fifth district and a Son of the previous Lord of Lust. Compared to his siblings, Hezazias would be considered the second strongest, next to Arazra. However, that doesn't mean he is invulnerable, anything but.

"Ah, fighting you two... I can definitely see why you are both the Maturity and Seduction of Lust. Really amazing, really. One joined by that tournament and the other by impressing my father, honestly, I am impressed. Up till now, I have never gotten a good chance to see the skills of any of the Pillar of Lust. Yet it seems you are lacking in certain departments... You're both right, some serious teamwork will be the only way to beat me. Well, not like I'm gonna let that happen anyway." Hezazias just spewed out the largest amount of words to them since their meeting. Generally being an unsociable fellow, Hezazias was one to sulk in the corner for family reunions.

"You talk too much..." Chuckled Caetorum just loud enough so he could be heard over the sounds of war.

"Touché. Here I come. Now, let's see how you counter me now." Hezazias, upon the end of his words, kicked at his position, launching his body into the air. He performed an aerial somersault and swept his legs around in an arc at high speed. The resulting combination of strength and speed in Hezazias' kick created a wave of cutting wind from air pressure, which arced down at Asmodea's position.

Asmodea smacked her lips and deflected the attack with her sword, though just barely. Asmodea, continuing the exchange of ranged attacks, swung her sword thrice diagonally at her opponent who deftly landed on the tip of a battlement. "Go, now!"

Caetorum flipped around the battlements with his superior speed and agility and shot multiple thrusts with his rapier at Hezazias. Asmodea's misty waves of energy splashed onto Hezazias, who simply knocked aside each wave of energy with his arms. However, as he was occupied with Asmodea's attacks, how could he deal with Caetorum? With his other two limbs, his legs and feet.

Hezazias balanced himself on the battlement with one arm and deflected Asmodea's attacks with the other. And just as Caetorum attack with his rapier, Hezazias blocked each thrust with his feet in an unimaginable display of martial prowess.

"What are you? A damn monkey?" Caetorum hissed as he sensed Hezazias' movements with his exceptional senses. Caetorum vaulted himself back over the battlements without even once looking down at the invading horde. An incoming tenth district soldier tried to attack the incubus, but received Caetorum's parrying blade to his neck and fell down dead.

"The best way to move in battle is by moving right next to your enemy. Wait... That doesn't make sense." Hezazias tilted his head to the side, baffled by his own words. "Well, whatever, my turn again." Hezazias jumped off the battlement down to the wall. He switched his gaze back and forth between Asmodea and Caetorum, as if measuring up his targets.

Hezazias stomped his feet on the ground, where two pikes were located. The pikes jumped into the air and Hezazias kicked both of them at Asmodea while dashing straight for Caetorum. Hezazias, with speed equal to Caetorum, attacked Caetorum's neck with a lariat. Caetorum ducked and stabbed his parrying blade at Hezazias' armpit. It just barely grazed the skin. Several drops of blood fell to the ground. Hezazias didn't even blink, as he brought the back of his heel on Caetorum's back, sending the incubus' body barreling into the battlements.

Asmodea, who narrowly deflected both pikes, just managed to see Caetorum's body smashing into the wall. The blind incubus gritted his teeth through the pain, but shuddered from the shock. Asmodea gritted her own set of teeth and watched as Hezazias stood up and brushed off the dust from his body.

"Ahhh. That's not good, you can't win that way. Tell you what. I'll arrogantly give you one last shot in beating me. Hey, get up, the Seduction of Lust needs your help, she can't win by herself." Hezazias deadpanned the entire time.

"Gracious of you." Caetorum mumbled as he shook off the pain. He pushed himself off the ground, and walked over to Asmodea's side.

"Are you alright? Can you continue to fight, Caetorum?" Worried Asmodea.

"No to the first and yes to the second. Either way, let's do our best." Caetorum stepped into a fencing stance while Asmodea nodded and stepped into a berserker's stance.

Power and speed, one can hardly fight without a hint of the other. Hezazias had both while his opponents each had one of the important attributes.

"Huh, at least this won't be boring." Hezazias kicked at his position, launching himself into a straight pitch towards Caetorum and Asmodea. He twisted both of his legs midair so he could kick both opponents at once.

Asmodea, anticipating such a flamboyant move, swung her sword at Hezazias while Caetorum ducked under and rained several short stabs at Hezazias' undersides. The majority of them bypassed the black demon's armor, piercing multiple points and with one even hitting home into the demon's stomach.

Hezazias, while pained, show no expression on the outside as he flew past the two who managed to bypass his defense and attack. "Ahah, good stuff. Honestly, I'm not too worried about this fight. If anything, my worry is directed to your soul weapon, Seduction. You've never wielded it before in the Land of Lust, so it's obviously a powerful weapon from the human world. Although its power seems rather lackluster."

Asmodea simply smirked, like most demons did, which caused Hezazias to tilt his head in empty confusion. "Oh, you have not seen anything yet, not this weapon's power." Asmodea then turned her head towards Caetorum for a whisper, "Can you keep him busy for a couple minutes? This soul weapon's power is not easy to release. It requires my undivided attention."

Caetorum sighed, and would have blinked if not for his missing eyes. "I'll try, though it cannot be for more than the minutes you asked. His speed, power, and technique are too great for me to handle in a prolonged fight. Hm, maybe I'll get lucky and end it before you can?" On that note, Caetorum entered his stance once again, ready to hold out the deadly foe.

"Hoh? You're quite confident. Allow me to shatter that." Hezazias performed a slight bow, which was only a prelude to his attack, and cut through the air with his legs. It looked like he was making an awkward stride, but Hezazias was actually kicking at high speed and velocity, causing scythes of air pressure barreling into Caetorum's position. This wasn't wind magic, this was pure power.

Caetorum saw the incoming waves and received each one. When standing still, Caetorum's defense and manipulation amplified, allowing him to deviate the paths and block each scythe of air. This was the purpose of the rapier and parrying blade, to receive, manipulate, and disarm. Once Hezazias closed in on Caetorum's position with several quick punches, Caetorum swept himself to the side and cut Hezazias' side with his dagger like parrying blade. He tried to pierce the black demon's neck, though Hezazias brushed it off to the side and struck Caetorum's gut with a fist where his knuckles were extended. Twice more was Caetorum was hit in that manner, which caused internal damage to his organs, but not external damage. Basically, Caetorum could still fight on equal grounds for a while longer, though not until his body shut down from death or unconsciousness.

Hezazias slammed the front part of his heel on Caetorum's neck in a diagonal high kick, sending the incubus to the ground. Caetorum slashed Hezazias' hamstring and flipped himself off the ground. Caetorum resumed his fencing stance, ready for more attacks. While he couldn't see it, Caetorum knew that his opponent was slowed down a bit thanks to the cut on his leg.

Hezazias wordlessly sent a flurry of attacks towards Caetorum, each of which was deviated or missed. Caetorum sensed the incoming blows and performed his defense, which closely resembled a high class dance. Hezazias kept up the pressure, which forced Caetorum to keep defending or get done in by the fists. The black demon kicked a curved dagger lying on the ground, which flipped into the air before Hezazias' fists. He punched the hilt of the dagger, sending it slicing towards Caetorum.




The Lost Lord Ch. 25



The wingless incubus gritted his teeth, trying in less than a second to decide what to do. Not enough time. While Caetorum dashed the dagger aside with the help of his stance, his focus was placed too much on that and Hezazias swept at Maturity's legs. He promptly fell to the ground with Hezazias grabbing his arms, placing him in a tight grip.

The two grappled for sever dozen seconds until the victor was obviously clear, Hezazias. "Ah, good try, but not good enough." He knocked Caetorum's chin with his elbow, knocking the incubus out. "Ah, you guys, from my district, take this guy prisoner. Don't kill him." Hezazias got off the ground so his subordinates could follow his orders before shifting his gaze towards Asmodea.

The Seduction of Lust was standing still, with a harsh smile on her face. She stood without her sword for some reason, Hezazias looked confused, how could she fight effectively without her soul weapon?

"Looking for my sword?" Asmodea cackled haughtily.

Hezazias raised an eyebrow and made his thoughts clear, "You laugh like an old crone, even for a demon. Hrm, where could your sword be? Wait a second, it's not that, is it?" Hezazias pointed a finger towards a unusually serene cloud behind Asmodea, undisturbed by the raging war."

"That's correct, yet not entirely correct. This little cloud of mist is only part of the sword. The other part is behind you, stabbing you right now." Right when Asmodea said the word 'behind', Hezazias swiveled his head, only to find the tip of Asmodea's sword piercing his upper chest.

"Guah! What kind of soul weapon is this? Has to be magic..." Hezazias mumbled loudly, incredulous that he couldn't even defend.

Several more metal shards came forth from the mist and cut into Hezazias' body, sending maximum pain to his mind. He didn't care, not now. He felt the full brunt of the pain, but did not make it visible on his face. He merely wanted to know the secret behind this weapon's power.

"Out of the desire to be free from his oppressors, the wielder of this legendary sword in the human world fought with this weapon in his battles. The Wallace Sword, it has the ability to be free from any restrictive environments, even from its confinements as a 'sword'. Thus the mist here and there." Asmodea willfully explained the secret behind her sword to Hezazias who just blinked and smiled.

"Really? Well, can I trust you to make sure my body isn't damaged too much so I can receive my rewards or punishment depending on who wins this war?"

"Yes."

"Cool."

Asmodea picked up Hezazias' sleeping body from the ground and took flight with her wings. Her red armor had holes especially designed so a demon can take advantage of their flight. She flew straight to the palace while giving the order to pull back to the troops.

-

"Aaaah, so lovely."

"The hell? Are you hallucinating?"

"I must ask you that same question, are you hallucinating the fact that such brilliance and loveliness does not exist?"

"No... She's a succubus, so of course she is attractive. But how in LUCIFER'S NAME, can you find that 'brilliant and lovely'."

Reginald exclaimed towards Renning. The spectacle they were both talking about was the very painful looking duel between the Sadism of Lust and the eighth district leader, Ornias. Her words, more so than her violent actions, seemed far more malevolent and disturbing, even for most demons.

"Extend!"

Out of nowhere, a spear tip tried to hit Reginald's heart.

"Retract!"

The spear tip rescinded and flew back to Renning's spear, the soul weapon named Ascalon. A famous spear known for slaying a powerful dragon in the human world, it had soul weapon capabilities and powers, powers Reginald had already figured out.

"Hum, you're spear is just like that one staff that monkey wielded. Either way, it can extend and retract at your will. It can probably expand and compress as well. Amazing, how did you come by this weapon?" Reginald easily explained the soul weapon's power to its wielder.

Renning nodded, "You're right, absolutely correct. As for how I came about it, uh... NOW'S NOT THE TIME FOR THIS! Move aside, retch." Renning brandished his spear and whacked the head of a random defending succubus.

"Whoa, what's up your ass? You... Are such a damn idiot. Screw off, Miss Teras has no need for a useless idiot like you. Besides, she's scary (who knows what she'll do to you if she captures you, ling chi perhaps?)." Reginald faked a stressed face and danced around comically.

Renning scowled and charged forward, twisting his spear in the air before bringing the spearhead down on Reginald. Reginald formed his shield tattoo located on his arm, easily blocking the attack and sent his snake tattoo at Renning's face. The snake managed to snag the amorous demon's nose.

Renning swatted the ethereal snake away, though not before it managed to rip part of the cartilage and skin away. Renning clumsily touched his fresh wound, though recoiling once a spasm of pain coursed through his body. "Guh, it throbs and pulses... Did you inject me with some poison?" Renning questioned Reginald.

Reginald flamboyantly splayed his arms out, with his ethereal green snakes slithering through the air like miniature Chinese dragons. "Yup! My snakes here hold some pretty effective poisons; the one I injected you with is pretty lethal. Now! How long can you last while fighting me with that stuff coursing through your veins and arteries?"

Renning smacked his lips and narrowed his eyes. "Ascalon, slayer of the dragon and the spear that bathed in its blood. I commend you for staying still this long, LET'S GO ALL OUT!"

Without a moment's notice, Ascalon extended by one hundred meters. Reginald only dodged the thrust by centimeters, though he saw the spear trailing off, impaling several soldiers of both sides. "Retract! Eeeeeextend!" Ascalon retracted back to its normal state and thrust out again, extending for an even greater distance of one hundred and fifty meters.

"What the he-WEH!" Reginald managed to sputter out some words, but the haft of the extended spear slammed into his side, bruising his body a forest green. Reginald went flying and slammed into the battlements.

"Retract! Extend! Retract! Extend! Retract! Extend! Retract! Extend! Retract..." Renning shouted numerous times, commanding his soul weapon to retract and extend multiple times. Each time, the spearhead pierced Reginald's bare body, bloodying up his chest and opening multiple holes to his insides. "EXTEND! EXPAND!" Two more cries strode out from Renning's mouth. Ascalon's spearhead entered Reginald's abdomen, brushing aside the bones and organs painfully. And with the cry of 'Expand!' the spearhead did just that, expand.

The spearhead enlarged and sliced apart the inside of Reginald's body. The massive pain paralyzed Reginald, who could do nothing but watch as his body was mutilated from the inside out. He couldn't even concentrate long enough to utilize any of his tattoos, at least the ones on the outside of his body.

At a great deal of pain and money, Reginald not only had his outside skin tattooed, but the inside of his body as well. It was a tattoo Reginald liked to call, [Black Hole]. Purely out of speculation for the future, Reginald figured that foreign substances might enter the insides of his body, in this case, Ascalon. "Bingo! R-*cough* Right where I want you, damn idiot."

"What?!" Renning furrowed his eyebrows. "Retract! Eh? Ascalon, why won't you retract, damn it?"

"You know what they say? Checkmate! Your Ascalon is now inside of my abyss." Reginald coughed up more blood. Streams of the crimson liquid seeped from every facial orifice of Reginald's body. "The tattoo in my body, the [Black Hole] tattoo, it takes in every invasive substance into its abyss."

Just like Reginald claimed, the soul weapon, Ascalon, was vigorously sucked into a menacing black tattoo that swirled with dark energy. From the extended spear head to the bottom of the haft, every meter of it was sucked into Reginald's body.

"What the hell are you? What did you do to my spear?" Growled Renning.

"..." Silence emanated from Reginald's body.

"Fuck... You're asleep from your wounds... And I'm dying because of the poison. And I can't even talk with that amazing succubus..."

And so the two warriors fell asleep for the duration of the war. As for why death did not take them... Reginald's poison is only tangible for as long as his snakes are, which cease existence once Reginald loses consciousness, allowing Renning to live. Reginald only lived because of his massive resilience towards wounds and pain. He is, or was, an assassin after all.

"Huh, were they both this weak?" Wondered Teras as she carried Ornias' body with levitating rock.

-

"Ah, it is good to see your youthful faces. I don't suppose you have affirmed your love with him since our last meeting?" A surprisingly warm voice entered the ears of Nerissa and Aureal.

"I'm sorry, we cannot say anything that may divulge master's whereabouts." Aureal, understanding the meaning behind Sasilith's words, declined to reveal any information about Rainer.

"My fiancée is probably having a lovely time without me..." Whined Nerissa dramatically. "I'll make sure to defeat my fiancée's enemies without fail!" As fast as Nerissa became depressed, she became enthusiastic.

"Oh? As will I, for my beloved brother. Let's not waste time on words, let us waste time on action." Sasilith dipped her head politely.

Aureal and Nerissa tensed up, tightening their hold on their weapons and keeping their minds clear to increase their reaction time. They watched as Sasilith's wings beat faster and faster.

The black succubus drew her weapon, a different one from last time. It was about two meters in length and five centimeters in diameter. The pole was made of a glassy black metal, probably of Greed's Norse Dwarf make. A long strip of blue cloth decorated the back length of the pole. On the front length, was a sharpened piece of curved metal adjoined from both ends of the pole. The blade had a double tempered edge made of grey-white steel. The blade was connected to both ends of the pole with a small, but durable, metal dowel. A metal circlet circled around the pole, so that it slid between both dowels. Connected to that circlet was a thick chain that was wrapped around Sasilith's right arm. In all, it was a strange weapon.

Sasilith jumped in the air and raised her weapon, which in the circles is called a crescent. She closed the distance between her and the girls within seconds with weird crisscrossing sidesteps.

"I'm sorry to say to you both, but I excel in air combat. Not even Iris can hope to match me in winged combat. While I can appreciate your affections for your loved one, he is my enemy, and so are you two. Please be defeated in a glorious battle, younglings." As caring as her words were before, only directness could be heard.

"I do not know where you got your information, but neither of us are lacking, in age, skills, or experience." Aureal easily blocked an attack from Sasilith's crescent with her massive war hammer.

Taking advantage of the situation, Nerissa ducked under and instantly flapped her white wings. A solid thrust from her brand new sword, Old Age, was aimed directly for Sasilith's breast. It pierced the armor, but not the skin, surprising Sasilith greatly. 

Sasilith bounced back, alarmed at the ferocity of the duo's attacks. "I should not have taken a fallen angel and a Daughter of Pride lightly, it seems. A grave mistake, and mistakes should not be allowed on this battlefield." Murmured the succubus softly, though loud enough for Nerissa and Aureal to hear.

Aureal twisted her hammer in the air and slammed the head down on the ground. A small explosion of light erupted from the center of the hammer, literally forming cracks in the air. Aureal dragged the hammer around her in a concentric circle until a completely filled circle of light formed below Aureal's feet. The circle spun towards Sasilith, leaving a bright trail of light behind.

Sasilith at first tried to stop the circle with her strength, though it was clear that blocking such a magic wasn't as simple as putting her crescent forward. And unfortunately for Sasilith, she did not use large-scale dark magic, which could easily negate the circle of light.

(Hm, no choice but to go under or above.) Sasilith beat her wings and flew above the circle of light only to find, once again, Nerissa aiming a sharp thrust. The white demoness, with the help of Old Age, stabbed multiple points of Sasilith's body.

The armor was once again pierced twice, but Sasilith learned, and blocked the rest of the thrusts with her crescent.

"Ah, so you think so too? Which one are you again, number one hundred and sixty-four? Really? You're a famous one! Alright then, I'll try that with Aureal." Nerissa spouted out words to no one in particular.

"Hm, to whom are you talking to?" Wondered Sasilith out loud.

"Oh? Considering you are a Daughter of Lust, I thought you would know about this sword's secret. Nerissa formed a prideful smile.

"The sword's secret... Old Age, I presume? No, I do not wield swords nor have any of its previous users ever told me of it. Only its users probably know of what you're talking about." Sasilith answered honestly while exchanging blows with her crescent and Nerissa's sword. "It is an Aspect of Death weapon, Old Age. It should obviously have some sort of power, though what?"

"That's confidential! Hey Aureal, I need your help!" Nerissa flew back to Aureal with Old Age in hand.

Right now, in order to keep Sasilith back, Aureal engaged in a magical war of attrition. Various bolts of light and dark of varying size entered the scene, either flying past both parties or being negated by another bolt. Sometimes, larger bolts enveloped the smaller bolts and became smaller until they were negated or dissipated. Neither side could spend too much time creating a large bolt, lest the miniature war turn against their favor.

"Uhn... What, Nerissa, I can't keep this up forever." Aureal said through grunts and mutters when she cast her spells.

"I got a little strategy..." Nerissa then engaged into a whisper where only she and her friend could hear. "She seems somewhat weak now, but she's a black demon, so she obviously has a trump card hidden up her sleeve. If we want to end this without too much trouble then listen and follow this." Nerissa took a deep breath and explained her strategy. "Set visual mines of light in key points, make them as dense as possible. Before that, infuse my friend here, Old Age, with as much light as possible. Don't worry, only the blade will hold the light, I won't be harmed. Death does not adhere to dark or light. Then pressure her, keep her busy until I can release this energy."

"You... Do not seem sure about this, mistress."

"Yea, to be honest, I don't even know how to hold in light magic with Old Age yet. Don't worry! I'm the fiancée of The Lord of Lust and a Daughter of Pride, there's nothing I can't do!" Nerissa puffed out her chest proudly and an oddly confident smile appeared on her face accompanied with beaming eyes.

"Very well, mistress. Although, I can't help but be a little skeptical." Aureal then focused her undivided attention on Sasilith. As she stared at her enemy, Aureal hovered a hand over Old Age, channeling light into the sword like Nerissa asked. Almost instinctively, Aureal knew when to stop.

Aureal followed Nerissa's earlier suggestion, by placing aerial land mines of light magic in the sky. She sidestepped individual dark bolts originating from Sasilith while flying to various points in the sky. Each time Aureal stopped, she concentrated for only a second, until an amorphous blob of densely concentrated light literally oozed out of the butt of her war hammer. At one point, Aureal swatted a dark bolt with her hammer like a bat, which normally wouldn't have happened with angels or fallen angels if not for Aureal's condition.

It was an extremely strenuous procedure. Aureal was forced to keep on her toes at every second and could not have a single moments respite. She had to strain her muscles in order to stay alive. Each time when Sasilith neared Aureal's position in the sky, a small clash of arms occurred. Sasilith used her crescent to the fullest of her skills, however, she could not once breach Aureal's strict defense. Both had been in wars and multiple battles, and while one had a large advantage of being a black demoness, the other had a special condition.

Around thirty minutes passed until Aureal was satisfied with her arrangement.

"Now, it's complete. Sasilith, I apologize, but your loss has been confirmed when you allowed me to set this field in my favor." Aureal wiped the sweat off her brow and finally relaxed.

Aureal was even more amazed than Sasilith that she was even able to set this amount of bombs. A large field of bombs of light magic littered the scene. If one looked from down below, it would seem as if the night sky full of stars seemed even closer than before.

"It was obvious that you were up to something. Yet I failed to hinder you even once. I wanted to save this power for later so that I may at least reduce the capabilities of the pillars and the pretender, but if I am to continue in this war, I must use it now." Sasilith that wrapped the chain of the crescent around her waist, allowing the weapon fall freely around her body.

Sasilith pulled a small, but sharp, needle from her boot. Without hesitation, she swiftly pricked two thin holes through both her wrists, all the way through the arm. Black blood flowed from the self-inflicted wounds, dripping to the ground far away.

Sasilith then opened her mouth and released an ominous chant, "[Dark Avatar], activate." Her words, from before, they seemed normal, even slightly sweet. Yet now, malice and darkness seemed to seep from every syllable. "I haven't felt so invigorated enough to bring me out for a long time. You really dislike me, me. Why does myself seem to hate me? I don't understand myself."

"You... Are different. You are not Sasilith, what are you?" Aureal barely kept her composure.

"Hm? I don't know what you're talking about. I am me, myself is I. Or is that too much for that rotting brain of yours, fallen angel?" Sasilith formed an evil smile coupled with eyes that seemed to look down on everyone and everything. As if the situation didn't matter to her, Sasilith looked about frivolously, surveying everything in sight. "What a simple trap. I can do the same thing, you know."

Sasilith held aloft both arms and scores of amorphous black blobs of dark magic dripped from her hands. Each of the black blobs sought out one of Aureal's aerial mines and attacked. Within the span of four seconds, each mine that Aureal spent so much of her energy to create disappeared without Sasilith even breaking a sweat.

"How!?" Aureal cried, breaking her expression.

"Yes, how is the question. Though I really don't feel like answering. I'm thinking about administering a little test. A test of how long your pitiful body can keep out. And the price for failure is the death of you and the prideful bitch. She seems to be in a little coma, I wonder why? Oh well, if she doesn't move soon enough, I'll be slitting her pretty throat." Sasilith seemed gruesomely cheery and energized.

"..." Aureal tightened her grip on her hammer, "Mistress... Nerissa, please hurry." ... "Ohohoh! It's been awhile, girlie." "The Daughter of Lust's back?" "Heh, our source of entertainment decided to grace us with her presence." Several presences spoke out, either in whispers or in loud shouts. These, among the one thousand two hundred seventy seven that resided in Old Age, all congregated in one way or another around Nerissa.




The Lost Lord Ch. 25



"Hey hey HEY! It's been decided that I will guide you this time. Please call me Daz. I was a pretty good assassin back in the day! Gahahaha! Now, what brought the current wielder of Old Age into our humble abode?" A fairly buoyant man walked in front of Nerissa, bowing dramatically. He was brown skinned and bald. He owned two swords resembling lightning bolts fastened at his waist. If he was here, it was no doubt that this man was one of the most powerful swords men or women of all time.

"Teach me how to wield light magic with Old Age." Nerissa said bluntly.

"How arrogant... What superbia... I LIKE IT! Well, considering you are our wielder, we have no choice but to agree. Though we overwhelmingly voted in favor of you wielding us, no problem! I'm not a demon, so I can't understand the skill behind this." Daz stroked his bearded chin thoughtfully, mocking the Thinker. He then raised a finger in the air as if a light bulb went off above his head. "Gremory! IIIIIT'S YOUR TURN! Gremory is a previous wielder of Old Age, and a fairly old one at that. If anyone, he should know how to wield light as a demon with this sword."

Daz then bowed while smirking under his breath before disappearing. Just as soon as Daz appeared, another man entered. This time, who Nerissa assumed to be Gremory, seemed to be a demon with dull grey skin and demonic appendages, sans wings. He possessed a set of short flaming red hair and devoid of any facial hair. As for clothes, Gremory wore naught but a single piece of skin matching silk grey robes. At his waist, was a fancy long sword wrapped in black bandages made of silver colored metal. How material possessions came with souls into a place like this, another sword, was beyond Nerissa's intelligent mind.

"So, this is how you will be using Old Age?" Gremory's words seemed harsh.

Nerissa chose not to falter and keep steady. "Yes, in order to defeat a Daughter of Lust, it is necessary for me to wield light with Old Age."

"Is it? Well, we will see if you can wield a demon's natural enemy. Holy and solar light is poisonous to demons if concentrated in the slightest, it is immensely painful to even be within meters of the amount of light you wish to wield." Gremory then stopped speaking and diverted his head directly upwards towards the pristine sky residing in Old Age. "Hm, this will be interesting. You do realize that time is not affected when you are in Old Age. You could very well die any second."

"Ah!"

"You wish to learn such an impossible technique, and you don't even consider your own safety. You cannot win if you die, idiot. Whatever, let us begin." Gremory pulled out his sword from the bandage wrap and began to instruct Nerissa on how to perform [Demon Light], a complex sword technique only usable by wielders of Old Age.

Gremory soon motioned several other souls residing in Old Age to assist him, though not in training, in faux defense. As Nerissa's body was unguarded, anyone could harm her and even kill her. Thus Gremory decided to have himself and his fellow sword wielding souls to act as the demons that would do her body harm, with perfect precision. These souls literally followed in the footsteps, wing flaps, and weapon attacks to a key. Nerissa fought back, while training to use [Demon Light], against the souls, killing every single demon that sought to harm her body back in the sky battle.

"Ow! It feels like my hands are going to melt from the inside out!" Nerissa complained while sucking on her reddened fingers.

"If you cannot handle that level of pain, then you should stop here."

"No, Sir Gremory, I will endure. For my fiancée, I must endure pain beyond even this pain you refer to."

"Admirable resolve, but entirely unnecessary. Enduring is not the answer behind this skill, accepting and living through the pain is. If you try to endure it, the pain will prove too much, even for me, and render your hands useless for eternity. Let the sensation flow to each point of your body, minimizing the danger for any one part of your body. Obviously, there is a risk for your body to run its course and turn useless, but that is only if you fail to disperse the pain correctly. Let us start on that..." ... "Azazel... Should we not interfere yet?"

"Not yet." ... "Are you not supposed to be a fallen angel with a legendary power never seen in any world existing. wielding both the dark and light? A fallen angel has never even fathomed the power of dark magic, yet I know you can. How pitiful, so weak, you are obviously not worthy to live, if you cannot fight me to your full potential." Sasilith's darkened state spewed out hurtful words and phrases without remorse.

Aureal was not affected, though she was winded and had several bloody wounds covering her beautiful skin. Aureal was no stranger to combat, and she had received many painful wounds in the past. Yet nothing, nothing she had ever experience, compared to now.

Aureal just barely parried a blow from Sasilith's crescent. Just as the weapons connected, Sasilith sent a lance of darkness curving towards Aureal's neck. (Have to dodge!) Aureal pulled back her head and hammer, grazing the lance with the hammerhead as she just barely avoided the attack. However, because she pulled back, Aureal found herself on the receiving end from Sasilith's fist.

Swallowing the bile in her throat, Aureal ripped herself away from Sasilith's grip and flew back a couple meters. Sasilith pursued and sliced consecutively with her crescent in all four diagonal directions. Miss. Block. Hit. Hit. Two of the cuts managed to slice Aureal's beautiful pale skin, some of the resulting blood even splashed against her black wings.

"Hmmm, hmm, hm, hmmmmm!" Sasilith happily hummed as she felt pure joy from slicing her opponent. Yet something felt off, Sasilith had forgotten something. "Ah, that's right, you're supposed to be distracting me from the Daughter of Pride. Nauuuughty fallen angel girl, you've been bad. How dare you even think of opposing me? I am a Daughter of Lust, sister to the esteemed Lord of Lust. Trash like you should have been executed back in Heaven. The standards for angels these days have really dropped, huh? You can't even use the darkness you're so proud of."

As Sasilith belittled Aureal, the fallen angel took a moment to regain her breath and calm her nerves. "Mistress, I can't hold out much longer-!!!" Aureal saw Sasilith finish her words and fly up to Nerissa with clear intent on killing.

"I won't let you harm mistress!" Shouted Aureal as she raced towards Sasilith.

"Grew a back bone, have you? That just means one more bone to cut to tiny little pieces!" Sasilith turned around while flying backwards, focusing her attention on Sasilith.

(I must use more shadow manipulation, I have to ignore the pain it brings...) Burdened by resolve and recklessness, Aureal called upon her shadow. Before the distance between the two shortened to three meters, Aureal had her shadow spike out in multiple spots on her unarmored parts of her body. She had no choice but to hope Sasilith's attack would do minimal damage or hit her armor. Aureal hooked Sasilith's body with the corner of her armor and brought her in, piercing the black demoness' skin with the fleshy spikes formed from the dark magic. Or so she thought.

"Mhmhehehe! You actually thought such an obvious trick would work? SHADOW MANIPULATION! OF ALL THINGS! HAHAHA! You're so pitiful. Allow me to end the misery of your idiocy." Sasilith spouted arrogantly.

"NOW NERISSA!" Aureal didn't feel like calling her mistress this time.

Sasilith sharply turned her head in legitimate surprise, for the first time since activating her strange dark personality. It was too late to react, as a black demon's physical superiority meant nothing to a white demon's similar superiority.

Nerissa pulled Old Age behind her, leaving an intense trail of yellow light from the sword behind. An obviously anguished face could be seen on Nerissa's face as every muscle in her body tensed together, straining her mind and body together. Nerissa cut Old Age deeply along Sasilith's flank. The sword emitted a bright array of light as it cut, leaving its mark on Sasilith.

"YAAAAGH! Sasilith inelegantly screamed out in terror and pain as poisonous light flowed into her body, burning her insides and outsides to a crisp around the wound. Her scream continued for more than a minute until she passed out and floated gently to the ground.

Nerissa and Aureal supported each other as they both endured their respective pain. Aureal couldn't fathom what Nerissa was feeling, though she knew that her pain must be magnified by tenfold as she wielded light instead of receiving it. Still, both gasped, relieved that they somehow managed to endure their pain and persevere to defeat Sasilith.

"Mistress, I can't believe you did it. A demon wielded light."

Nerissa brushed aside her pain and resumed her prideful personality, "It was nothing, I did it all for my fiancée's sake! Besides, it was only with the help of Old Age, and you can wield darkness, so it can't be too impressive for you."

"No, I admire your resolve greatly. You truly are fit to be my master's wife." ... "I see, you were right, Azazel. They didn't end up needing our help after all. But... There's no way you could have predicted a demon wielding light, could you?"

"No. Though I knew that Daughter of Pride wielded one of the most powerful seven soul weapons in existence, Old Age, I could not have fathomed that outcome. Let us continue our vigil. We will only interfere in case Aureal's legendary power is threatened to be erased by death or other means."

-

On the far left side of the tenth terrace walls were two beings. Two beings that were born into this world by being split from their father/master.

The merciless war, Genocide. And the quiet war, Serenity.

Like Rebellion's earlier speculation, Serenity planned to fight against his brothers. However, it was not that simple.

Beyond Rebellion's speculation was Genocide's wish, a complete destruction of all life within the area. That also included his brothers. Of course he would use his given weapon, the soul weapon known as the Miner, to slay as many defending troops and commanders as possible. Then he would kill, if possible by assassination, every attacking commander.

The Miner's potential was massive in destructive power. It allowed any object it touched to be affected by an elemental power. Genocide planned to pour all of his strength into affecting the ground with the fire element, maybe even turn the ground into lava. It didn't matter what the means was, as long as if the desired result was utter chaos and destruction. It would be easier to kill if the area was in a state of complete anarchy.

Serenity, on the other hand, wished to kill in peace. His soul weapon, the Needler, was perfect for that method. Assassination would be easy with that weapon, as it allowed the user to pierce anything in existence. That included all metals and alloys, armor was meaningless to the Needler. Serenity could also easily tell his brother's plan. It was fairly obvious that an Aspect of War named Genocide would engage in the act of his namesake. Thus Serenity decided to kill Genocide.

The two clashed, beginning with a failed attempt on Genocide's life with the Needler.

The result was destruction, though not on the scale Genocide would have wished. The two fought without regard to the lives around them, which were slaughtered mercilessly if they got in Genocide's way.

At one point, Serenity poured all of his remaining power into a killing blow with the Needler, which resulted in the complete destruction of a portion of the left side of the tenth terrace's walls. As the two fell to the defender's side of the wall, Serenity made his attack. Rubble exploded when the Needler made contact with Genocide's body and the wall that he was pinned to behind him.

The Needler performed its job, a little too well. The aftermath allowed the attacking forces to take advantage and flow through the wall's open wound like its own bloodstream.

Neither of the Wars, Genocide or Serenity, survived the explosion. Genocide because he was at the epicenter of the attack; Serenity because he deprived himself of the last of his life force.

"It's really amazing, if I think about it. Why didn't we think about it before? Serenity could have easily destroyed the walls before, allowing Arazra's troops to invade even further." Commentated the remaining War left in the siege, End.

"Commander End, I have an order for you from Arazra." A young demon soldier fearfully approached End with an envelope in hand.

"Well give it here, I don't bite. I'm War, not Gluttony." End beckoned the young soldier to him.

"Ah- Ah, yes sir." The young demon cautiously handed the envelope over and stumbled back when End sharply shot his arms toward the demon.

The arms stopped just short of the young demon's neck. "Just a joke, you can go now. Be sure to enjoy war until its end, as there won't ben any more thrill until it begins again. Let's see here..." End ripped open the envelope and raised an eyebrow at the new orders. He smiled and tilted his head backwards, releasing a throaty laugh. "Jehahaha! So, she's no longer needed. An expendable ally is no longer wanted. I've got to kill Zazie, huh? The Desire of Lust, she'll be an interesting fight with her odd powers."

-

Zazie found herself taking a much needed rest in an abandoned home. Most of the citizens of the capital had designated shelters to head towards in the sides of the mountain range and were barred by powerful barrier magic.

After defeating Little Rouge, Zazie had not a single moment of respite. The finale of the war was closing in on everyone, and she needed to calm herself and rest in case she had another tough battle, which was almost certain.

Her thoughts drifted towards her new loved one, Rainer. She immediately blushed shyly and brought her knees to her chest. One would never think a demon could act in such a cute manner, and despite her tall stature, Zazie took the cake on cute actions. Age matters little to a demon, one could act cutely or maturely from any year if they wished. Zazie seemed aligned towards the former.

The more she thought of her beloved, the more Zazie found her fingers drifting towards her erogenous zones. "...I really don't understand this feeling very well. I cannot tell if it is perpetuated by lust or not, considering my nature. The [Fool] is not active, so I am affected by lust like every other succubus." Zazie forced one of her hands to her heart just below her left breast, "...This feeling, is too foreign."

Zazie wanted to calm down, but her lust was increasing with every thought of Rainer that floated within her mind. Each time she took her hands away from her hardening buds and tender folds, seconds later Zazie would subconsciously brought them back to those spots. "...It seems I cannot calm down. I must relieve the tension somehow... How is key, how should I do this?"

Zazie had only experienced a single sexual encounter in her life, and that was very recently. Thus it was only natural that she was inexperienced when it came to these matters. Of course, as a resident of the Land of Lust, Zazie was unable to not hear of matters like this. So any knowledge regarding the erotic arts were from what she had listened in on. It was not because she had a voyeuristic tendency, it was simply because she was in the wrong place (or right) at the right time.

"...Perhaps I should take advantage of that card?"

Of Zazie's remaining six cards available for use until a full day had ran its course, only one had no use in combat or battle related situations, the [Lovers] card. Its abilities were useless for the most part anyway, though it occasionally came in handy. This card's ability was quite appropriate for a succubus. It made the user or target exceptionally attractive, physically or personality wise. However... It also had an even more lascivious power, which Zazie had absolutely had no idea why this card possessed this ability. Basically, it could turn into an object designed for sexual use, any object.

"...Am I really going to frivolously use a card's power for something like this? It is... Too much to bear if I let this feeling linger." Summoning up the courage, Zazie pulled out the [Lovers]. "...How does it even work? I've never used this card for this purpose."

The violet skinned succubus inhaled deeply and called upon the card's power. "...[Lovers]. Please turn into him... Two of him, please." Zazie blushed profusely at her sudden audacity. She just asked for the card to turn into Rainer, two versions of him.

The card split in half into two thin slips. The slips contorted, stretched, and colored until they turned into something surprisingly realistic. "...I see, it called upon my memory of what he looked like back then. They look very alike." She stared at the lifelike copies of Rainer, which breathed in and out as if it was natural. "...Obviously, they are not him. That much is true. I can't resist this growing lust much longer though. Being a succubus is such a pain."

Zazie mewled softly as the copies nonchalantly strode over to her, already completely naked. [Lovers] cannot effectively replicate substances unrelated to sexual desires, thus the replications were devoid of clothing in the first place.

Even though it was a copy, it looked exactly like Rainer. So Zazie finally had a chance to admire the body of the one she fell in love with. While Zazie had no idea what he looked like before coming to the Land of Lust, she had to admit that he was greatly attractive, even for the naturally beautiful race of the incubi. Well, that was to be expected of the one to inherit the title of the Lord of Lust.

The first copy, "...Uh, I'll call you by his first name, Rainer. And you with his last, Sonian." Zazie mumbled, half delirious from the sudden, though not unwanted, attention of the copies.

The copies simply nodded, as if welcoming their new names. Though dimwitted, they at least knew how to obey commands such as this one.

Both copies, Rainer and Sonian lavished attention on their creator. Sonian helped Zazie out of her extravagant dress while Rainer relieved Zazie of her boots and undergarments. Rainer kissed Zazie lovely folds gently, increasing the amount of fluids generated by Zazie's arousal. The copy extended his demonic tongue tickled the more sensitive spots, including Zazie's hidden bud through the silken garment. As he pulled down the piece, Rainer snaked a finger along her back entrance and up to her pussy as he continued to eat her out.

Sonian had already done away with Zazie's brassiere at this point and was kissing and licking freely with Zazie's violet bust. Though not terribly large, Zazie had breasts that seemed to perfectly accentuate her body, even for her tall stature. Sonian suddenly bit down, though not roughly, on one of Zazie's quivering pods. The copy teased the areola around the skin and pressed down with his teeth, cushioning his face with Zazie's soft flesh. She moaned softly, muffled by one of Sonian's fingers in her mouth, into the crisp air. She sucked on the digit lustfully, like a true succubus, and relished the attention the copies were giving her.

It was almost like having two slaves that performed her every sexual desire. She remembered Teras talking about things like that, and how horny and hot it made her. Teras even tried to seduce Zazie into her little harem once, even though seduction was Asmodea's strong point.

Zazie wanted to make some intimate contact herself, she couldn't stand foreplay for much longer. The violet succubus blushed once again when she brought a hand down to Sonian's perfectly copied penis. She swiped away the precum that had formed from the tip and licked it off her fingers. Though it tasted slightly off from Rainer's actual taste, it was still a delicious mix of salty, musky, sweet, and spicy.




The Lost Lord Ch. 25



The other copy, Rainer, was still proving its worth by successfully bringing Zazie to her first orgasm through his oral treatment. He extended his tongue so that it entered the wet entrance easily, exploring Zazie's tender insides with enthusiasm. He sucked on the nether lips and parted them so his tongue had easier access. While he explored the inside of Zazie's snatch, he brought some fingers over to the hidden bud that stayed just as shy as Zazie actually was. He gently uncovered Zazie's clit and played with it with two fingers.

Motioning for Sonian and Rainer to get closer, Zazie shyly wrapped her violet fingers around the thick shafts, slowly but lovingly stroking both to full hardness. Soon, Zazie found herself sitting between both copies with her knees down with her head and hands between the two hard members. Realizing her situation, Zazie once again turned red, her entire body almost. She was still not used to sex as a whole, even though engaging in it for the first time recently with her beloved non-copy Rainer.

Still, lust overtook her and Zazie blindly opened her mouth into an O shape and swallowed Rainer's cock, head and all. While the copies didn't care about anything but their creator's pleasure, Zazie was surprised at how much of the meaty shaft she took in. More than half was now situated in her mouth and throat, with the gag reflex kicking in. She relieved her mouth of the voluntary intruder and took a deep breath before swallowing Sonian's cock this time.

Both tasted equally delicious with not a hint of grime or other unsavory substances. Almost like a gourmet dish, Zazie delicately feasted on the two thick shafts that stood at attention before in her hands and mouth. She licked the head, tasting the arousing seed on the tip as it dripped onto her tongue. The head itself felt like a part of a sculpted statue. Lustful instinct kicked in and Zazie pulled both delicious shafts together and licked them as one. Her tongue, though not terribly long, swerved and writhed between and around the cocks, coating every inch with her saliva.

The obviously libidinous act aroused Zazie to even greater heights, she could tell her next orgasm would overpower the last, though not to the degree she had with the real Rainer. "...Lay down, I'll get you off with my... Tits. I have to practice for him. And you, please enter me from behind." It was hard for Zazie to say such embarrassing things, but eventually the words sputtered out of her mouth like a fountain.

Wordlessly acknowledging their creator's demands, the copies assumed their position with Rainer lying down and Sonian standing kneeling behind Zazie. Once Rainer lied down, his shaft pierced the air like a straight arrow, hard and ready for attention. Zazie kissed the head with her beautiful lips, colored with a deep shade of fire red. Her hands were at the ready at her bust, pinching and pulling the nipples for extra pleasure. She squeezed her tits together like dough and brought her chest down to the twitching cock. One touch with her cute nipples sent shivers down her spine as she arched her back like a cat. Though that wasn't the action that initially made her cry out in dense pleasure.

The other copy, Sonian, was behind Zazie's rounded butt. Like her breasts, her butt wasn't too big or small, it seemed to perfectly accentuate her curves even with her tall stature. The soft globes wiggled delightfully, surely enticing anyone behind her. The copy, though unaffected by such stimulation, still groped Zazie's posterior and kneaded the flesh as if it was made of gelatin. He lined up his thick shaft with Zazie's wet nether region, knowing their was no need for lubrication due to the juices swarming Zazie's snatch. In one swift motion without interruption, the copy penetrated Zazie's pussy with his cock.

Zazie cried out in pure pleasure and panted gleefully, relishing the sensations that ricocheted from the walls of her pussy to her breasts and ultimately to the top of her head. A feminine growl came from the depths of her throat as she squished her breasts down on the shaft before her. Because she wasn't too big, Zazie had to wrap the flesh around the cock after spitting on the shaft once more to slicken the sides of the member. She stifled her own moan by forcing the head of the dick past her ruby lips.

The hard thrusts from the Sonian copy sent waves of vibrations that forced Zazie to moan past the thick shaft, stimulating it with a double dosage of pleasurable vibrations. Zazie cupped the throbbing sack beneath the member and caressed it playfully. She applied soft friction with her lips as she pushed her head further down the shaft with each time her lips sucked on the thickness. Just as always, the copies showed no sign of emotion or pleasure on their faces, though Zazie could tell that her ministrations were working because of both shafts pulsing and throbbing with their climax nigh.

The Rainer copy continued to pound away on Zazie's wet, though still tight, pink entrance. It showed no signs of relenting, even with the threat of impending orgasm. It was obviously the case that it could hold back so it could continue to exist for his creator's pleasure. The copy angled his cock so that it hit different spots on Zazie's constricting walls, forcing them to spread wider and wider. Naturally, Zazie's inner walls of her snatch tried to squeeze down on the intruder, in order to milk it for its white seed. Though the copy's style of attack forced her to feel even more filled than before, making Zazie's arms go limp.

The two copies held Zazie up and continued to pound away into Zazie's willing orifices, making sure that they gave their creator maximum pleasure in lieu of their own. Zazie's eyes rolled back with her wings and tail going limp in exaggerated pleasure that showed visibly on her face. Another rolling orgasm erupted within her nether folds, and with each thrust from the copies, another, though weaker orgasm possessed her body.

Zazie's entire body turned into a veritable fount of volcanic pleasure. She long lost track of how she was pleasuring both shafts. Her hands fumbled around, trying to find a vantage point, eventually resting themselves on the Rainer copy's chest. Her lovely breasts jiggled around below her chest. Her butt was raised high with her knees on the ground, giving the Sonian copy easier access to slam its thick cock deeper into Zazie's pussy.

After cumming many more times, both copies abruptly released their sticky seed. Rainer wordlessly burst inside Zazie's mouth, coating her throat and teeth with his musky semen. The violet succubus greedily swallowed every spoonful of the delicious seed, even though its flavor wasn't the same as the original.

The Sonian copy shot forth his own climax, plastering the walls inside of Zazie's drenched snatch. It was good she couldn't get pregnant, else the volume of such dense amount of liquid would surely do just that.

By the time both copies spent themselves completely in Zazie's salacious holes, they transformed into a weird gel and removed themselves from Zazie, combining into a card shape. The two copies turned back into the [Lovers] after completing their objective of fully pleasuring their creator.

"...To think that that card could be used in such a licentious way. Amazing if one thinks about it. These are truly mysterious artifacts." Zazie managed to say between heavy breaths that physically showed the glow from her most pleasurable ordeal.

Zazie drifted off to a restful and relaxing sleep, pondering what may happen soon...



The Lost Lord Ch. 26



Note: Apologies for the screw up on last chapter, it should be fixed before this uploads. If not, well... wtf? Either way, about this chapter, I seem to have a lot of impossible existences.

The Lost Lord Ch. 26 - A Deadly Climax

"This... This is not good. This is very bad." Bluntly said Asmodea to her fellow officers.

Nerissa posed a frantic question "Is it true? Did the tenth terrace's wall actually crumble?" 

"Not literally. An explosion occurred which destroyed a small portion of the wall on the left side. I do not know how it happened, but we can take solace that it is most likely a one time thing. Even so, it is not like they need to do it again considering how the eleventh terrace's defenses are designed."

"Yes, it is most troublesome and impractical. Why are there no gates? It is as if the previous lord wished there to be an opening to allow invaders to come in easily." Aureal pondered. 

Each of the first ten terrace walls consisted of a long, thick wall. Of course there were towers located every now and then for guards to live in. Between every set of towers, there was a gate and a gatehouse. Yet the strange design of the eleventh terrace walls made it so that it was devoid of any gates, instead there were openings for people to simply walk through. 

"Yes, even I do not know the reasoning behind this. The capital city was created long before my birth. In fact, the city's age even rivaled the age of the previous lord. No one knows how many years it has been since its construction or how it was made in the first place. There are similar cases in other circles as well as other places in ours." 

"Did you not think to ask?"

"I did once and he offered to create gates there, though he preferred there wasn't for some reason. I dropped the issue then."

"Defense will be a problem. We have no choice but to have a final bout between our forces. We will have to hope that Nergal will finally make his way here." Commented Caetorum as he lay down wistfully on a couch. 

"Please sit still, you have had barely any time to heal your wounds from Hezazias."

"Fine, though at least let me join in strategizing."

Asmodea sighed and relented, "Very well, you might as well be useful. Though, I do not think there is much to strategize on."

"Yes... All I can see here is a straightforward battle between our both sides. We must simply hope we are strong enough to last."

"We are extremely depleted. Even though he defeated a large amount of both normal troops and abnormal officers, we are still lacking." Nerissa counseled. 

"Sasilith, Hezazias, Renning, Xizaen, and Ornias. Such powerful foes are defeated, yet they still have Zazie and Arazra himself left. They are both extremely powerful, and Arazra without a doubt cannot be defeated without us ganging up on him. Zazie will prove an equally large problem."

"Leave her to ME!" Laughed Teras maniacally while sipping a cup of bitter tea. "I cannot stand for an amateur like her to be considered stronger than me when I am obviously her senior by centuries!"

"How petty. Well, if you insist, I have no qualms leaving her to you. If you lose too suddenly and early, we will have little to no chance of victory without a miracle." 

"You worry too much, Caetorum."

Asmodea couldn't help but ponder about Emiel's words, 'I cannot be sure if Zazie is truly on our side or not. It would be better to play it safe and hope Teras can defeat her. I hope you are alright, Rainer...'

-

"Can I trust you on this?"

"...Of course... Rainer. I will leave it in the exact place you told me of." Zazie managed to hold back the redness on her cheeks as she spoke to her beloved through the [Empress]. 

"Good, I really need the help of that card. Are you sure it's not too much trouble? I mean you need your cards to fight and all."

"...It is not, besides, I cannot use the [Fool] currently anyways. You should be an exception however."

"What do you mean by you can't use the [Fool]?"

Zazie hesitated not a single second in informing her beloved her weakness in combat. "...I can only use each card once a day. For some reason, you are an exception to that rule. As of now, I can only use five cards: [High Priestess], [Justice], [Judgment], [Star], and [Devil]. And out of those five, only two are offensive in nature."

"Won't that be hard to fight then?"

"...Yes... And no. Those two cards are very powerful. The other three are potent defensive cards."

"Good stuff, I guess."

"...Um, Rainer?"

"Yea?"

"...What do you plan on using the [Fool] for?" Wondered Zazie.

Just as she woke up from her "relaxing" rest, Zazie found Rainer trying to speak to her through the connection between the [Emperor] and [Empress]. He immediately requested for her to lend him another of her cards, which she saw no problem in doing. They arranged for her to leave it on the second layer of the famous rainbow garden on the ninth terrace. 

"Ah, that's a secret. Now, may I make another request?"

Zazie wasn't perturbed by Rainer's secrecy, it actually made him slightly more attractive in her eyes. "...Of course."

"Please forget about the [World.]"

"...What?" Surprise hit Zazie's ears.

"I don't mean that literally. Please allow me to take back the [World] for you. I want you to stop this farce of being Arazra's ally."

"...In other words, switch allegiance to you? Publicly this time... Yes, I can do that. Just for you..." Zazie couldn't stop the cascade of emotions that wracked her mind in the end and her voice nearly cracked.

"Ah, thank you very much! Don't worry, I'll take back the [World] for you. I'll make sure the cards you gave me remain safe until I return them to you. I hope next time we meet, it's as friends... Well, I guess what we did would consider us more than that." 

Zazie couldn't understand why Rainer didn't show embarrassment with those words. Normally her stern demeanor could never be altered. Yet that changed whenever she was speaking to Rainer. "...Th...Th...That is too much... But... Thank you, I look forward to our next meeting."

The connection between the [Emperor] and [Empress] ceased.

Zazie stared at her set of cards for several long minutes until she called for one of her personal subordinates. "...Please get everyone ready for battle. I have decided on our final course of action in this war, please relay this message to everyone in secret. Make secrecy your top priority and do not let a hint of these orders to reach Arazra's ears."

"Yes, milady." 

"...Arazra, you are beset on all sides by enemies. Reinforcements from the armies of Iris and Nergal are here, in a much larger force than wanted and expected. The defense decimated your troops by more than three fourths. None of your commanders are still able for battle. It is only you and I. Yet I will not help you. Surely you can see the futility behind this war now? Continuation will only mean your ruin..."

-

"TAKE 'EM DOOOOOOWN!" An unorthodox cry boomed through the scene as the battle commenced. Many other battle cries accompanied each other, turning the scene into a veritable festival of chaos and blood. 

Sword clashed against shield. Mace clashed against skull. Spear clashed against flesh. Magic clashed against armor. Not a single second passed where dozens of lives perished, all for the sake of a single title and position. Many of the incubi, succubi, and demons questioned the purpose of this war, why they were risking their lives in a war of selfishness and denial. Yet they never wavered in their loyalty. If asked, they would immediately risk their life in any battle for their leader. That was the strength of demonic emotion.

Angels suppress their emotions via Virtue. Demons immerse themselves in their emotions via Sin. 

There were three large openings in the eleventh terrace walls, with two small corridors like openings in between each one for military personnel. The smaller openings were easily blocked off and defending with arrows and magic projectiles. Virtually no one could even get halfway through the opening without several extremely powerful barriers, even then, the sheer amount of projectiles whittled away at their defense. 

Logically speaking, the attacking army could only hope to penetrate the eleventh terrace walls through the larger three openings or by the sky. However, the sky was not an option as compared to the other terrace walls. 

On the tall palace, there were hundreds of siege weaponry designed for anti-air. And unless Arazra wanted to suffer a large amount of casualties, he had no choice but to go through the three lower openings. 

"This is too thick of a battle!"

"So? It just means more people to kill!" 

Back and forth banter could be heard between the Sadist of Lust and the Maturity of Lust. They took authority of the right opening, directing troops and slaying every single attacking demon that got past the defensive line. 

Even though Caetorum was injured, he managed to convince everyone that he had healed enough to at least be near the battle. If there was one thing he could not stand, failing in his duty as a vassal to The Lord of Lust. The thought had never crossed him that he may one day fail his duties. The previous lord gave him a second chance at life; he would not spurn that offer now.

Since he was wounded, Caetorum could not engage in melee combat too frivolously. If he came up against a strong opponent, he would be hard pressed to win without receiving an even deadlier wound. Even so, Caetorum didn't just know how to fence. He also knew how to fire a bow as well. He pulled a masterfully crafted recurve bow into his hands and knocked an arrow. He promptly released and the arrow found its way directly into a tall demon's windpipe. 

Teras on the other hand simply wanted to flaunt her title and slaughter as much as possible until they were overwhelmed or Arazra's forces broke and disintegrated by a hammer and anvil strike from behind by reinforcements. 

"Which opening do you think Arazra will show up from?" Caetorum asked calmly over the sounds of war.

"If he shows up here... I'll be more than happy TO give him a good thrashing!" Teras gleefully said while directing a whip of flame into the attacking forces.

"You do realize, that while you are an extremely powerful mage, that you will most likely not be able to stand up to him? He is a black demon. He is a Son of Lust. He managed to gather this massive army and invade to the eleventh terrace, which has never happened before. He surely has something up his sleeve that will not allow him to lose against a single demon."

"Of course, I am not an idiot, I am simply a sadist." Teras acknowledged without regard to her image. She pointed her cane sword into the air, releasing a large bolt of lightning into the air where some demons were trying to sneak over the walls. They fell to the ground and died instantly.

"Basically, you will try to kill him anyways without regard to your life?"

"Caaaaetoruuuuuum... I may not look it, but I AM A very loyal succubus. I serve The Lord of Lust. I will die for The Lord of Lust should he command (as long as if it's for a good reason). I will fight Arazra and attempt to kill him until my final breath, not that I plan to give my final breath today."

Caetorum stroked his forehead several times at Teras and rubbed his eye sockets with his knuckles. He shook his head several times and smacked the side of his head with his palm. He slapped both of his cheeks until a faint red could be seen.

"If you want, I can do that for you!" Teras said. "Anyways, what are you doing?"

Caetorum chuckled and said dryly, "Oh, nothing... I am legitimately astonished that you said something so responsible. I'm just so happy!" 

"And I am legitimately astonished to see you making light of a situation for once. Either way, it seems we have company..." Teras smirked and reported to Caetorum as she turned her head towards a familiar demon.

Caetorum swiveled his head towards the direction Teras was facing. Since he couldn't see, he had to sense the presence Teras was talking about. Although Caetorum already had a while ago and that was the reason why he posed that one question to Teras. "Veritably so. It has been a long while, Noble Arazra."

Arazra, the leader of the invasion force and contender to the throne of the Lord of Lust. 

A cold, though calm, presence filled the scene. And while both side's common soldiers continued to fight each other, it seemed as if silence purveyed the scene. If this was a movie, ominous music would most definitely had been played in celebration of the introduction of the bad guy to the good guys.

"Caetorum... Maturity of Lust. And Teras, Sadism of Lust. Yes, it had been quite a long time, eighteen years I would say? It's been such a lovely time during my stay here. I look forward to claiming this place as my new home. Hm, I wonder who'll become the new district leaders? I'll have to give someone I trust the tenth district leader position. How about it? Either of you two want to finally join my side, I'll make you tenth district leader-."

"Wretched bastard! Don't make light of what you've done here! You started a war that has ended many lives! You had Azadon and Azodan murdered! You will be stopped and this war will end!" Furiously declared Caetorum.

"Oh? I do suppose that the war would end if I died. However, how will that happen? Will you two test your luck and try to kill me? Don't even think for A SECOND YOU CAN KILL ME!" Arazra yelled, his voice booming over everything and even causing the battle to halt for several seconds.

"Test our luck? Hmm, I do feel pretty lucky today. I think I'll give it a shot and be sure to make good on my title."

"Ah yes, our Land of Lust's little sadist. I've seen you fight before. You're quite a powerful pure elementalist, aren't you? And that lovely little sword you hide in your umbrella, how original. Purple dressed and accessories, it looks like someone has yet to graduate from her child years." Arazra taunted, undaunted by Teras' words.

Teras licked her sword with a demonic purple tongue. "And you're just a selfish little brat who cried every night because his daddy didn't love him enough to give him power he shouldn't have. Oh yes, I love cutting up little brats like you."

"Teras, I'll back you up with my bow. You know you stand a much higher chance of landing a single blow with my help, I'm not letting you not accept it."

"Fine."

Arazra furrowed his brow and ground his teeth on Teras' words, but he remained calm. "Two against one? Yes, obviously that gives you a higher chance of victory. But that means shit when that increase only amounts from a one percent to two percent. Come at me with all you have, and it still won't be enough." Arazra stood proudly among the numerous soldiers fighting each other. A large circle had formed around him. Every lesser demon knew to stay away from a battle of greater demons.

Teras clapped her hands together with her sword in between. She mumbled several sentences which was an incantation for a spell she called "Magmatic Sword". This was a small class of spells reserved for creating swords out of the elements and other natural substances. 

Beneath Arazra's feet, the ground rumbled and shifted. The cobble road cracked open as if an earthquake occurred. The crack was just large enough for Arazra to stand still and part his legs slightly. Yet he squinted his eyes and jumped backwards when a pillar of magma burst forth from the underground veins of molten metal and rock. 

The magma took the shape a long sword and would have instantly incinerated anyone above or nearby by its heat. Arazra flicked his hands around and a barrier stopped the heat from cooking him to a crisp. Everyone nearby was not so lucky, resulting in several burnt corpses falling to the ground.

Several more "swords" appeared nearby. Teras chanted incantation after incantation, resulting in numerous elemental swords taking existence and attacking Arazra's position. An Igneous Sword came out from the cooling magma that appeared from the ground and slashed at Arazra twice, missing and melting the ground it slashed at. A new sword attacked Arazra soon after. A Cloud Sword struck the ground with a high velocity, a sword made of gas that condensed quickly after into water. It pierced the ground completely, forming a five-meter hole in the ground in the shape of a sword thrust into the ground. Then came a Sand Sword that continued to extend with every bit of sand added. Teras sent the sword spiraling after Arazra, who simply ducked and dashed forward. 

Teras formed a cute frown on her face, angry at her failure to even force Arazra to break a sweat. "I'll just have to use even stronger spells..." Then Teras, while keeping Arazra busy with her swords, chanted four long incantations, incantations for [Dominion] spells. 

"So we're going into that territory of magic now?" Arazra laughed as he saw the obvious strain Teras was under. "Yea, why don't we see who can control more dominions than the other... Let's see, you can do four? That is extremely impressive. I really wished that talent was fighting for me."

[Dominion] spells are literally at the top class of all magic. Each one allowed the user absolute control over the spell's affinity for as long as their energy persisted. Memorizing a single [Dominion] spell was quite a feat, and many tried to reach those heights. Many succeeded, though usually they could not keep the spell going for too long. Those who could cast two [Dominion] spells and keep them going were considered top class mages. Those that did three were considered prodigies. Those that did four, like Teras was doing... Well, not many existed. Beyond that was the realm of pagan gods, certain rare humans, Rulers of Sin, and Archangels (should they choose to wield anything other than light). 

Teras raised one hand in the air, extending her four main fingers. From the pointer to the pinky, Teras had dominion over fire, cloud (a quick name for water vapor), lightning, and sand. She sent swirls of fire spiraling around a spear of sand towards Arazra while focusing some lightning into condensed cloud and sending that floating around in a curve. 

Using four dominions at once put Teras under a strain, a strain she very rarely felt. Her magical stores were draining at a much quicker rate than usual. Still, out of every enemy she fought, none could stand before her combined attacks. At least, until now.

Arazra created a wall of magma in front of him, absorbing the fire and sand into its burning embrace. Then a second wall of, strangely enough, rubber formed and neutralized the lightning attack. 

Teras stared solemnly as she saw the opponent before her, a wielder of five [Dominion] spells at once. "Oh my, is this the power of a Son of Lust?"

Arazra pulled back his head and laughed very loudly as he raised a hand, showing five fingers comprised of the entities he held dominion over. "YUP! Sadist bitch, you're nothing compared to me. I have dominion over magma and rubber as you have already seen. I also hold dominion over ice, bone, wind."

Though Teras normally never did this, she could not help but marvel and be impressed. "Five [Dominion] spells... I can't beat that." Teras admitted to herself quietly in the end.

Arazra must have heard, because he next said, "And since when did you ever think you could beat me? You're just a lowly pillar. I AM A RULER OF SIN! A Lord of Lust. You are reaching heights that you should never even think about breeching."

Just as Arazra was about to boast more, three arrows entered the scene. They each exploded into fire, a blinding flash, and smoke. Just because they were a powerful black demon, does not mean they can stand up to these time honored tricks without the right counter. Arazra instantly slashed through the smoke with an arc of wind while his eyes were closed, relying on his other senses. The winds hit nothing but smoke, clearing the scene back into a war scene. 




The Lost Lord Ch. 26



"That's right... I forgot about Caetorum." Arazra mused to himself. "Well, even if they escaped, I can always kill them later.

-

There are many terms that go parallel with the word "End". Some believe Ragnarok will bring the end of the world via a fantastic battle involving everything. Some believe that the world has already ended four times by a flood, by man-eating jaguars, by rain of fire and gravel, and by a massive hurricane. It doesn't stop there. Recently, it has come to the attention that war is the most probably factor of the world's end. Hence the "End" became an Aspect of War when he separated into five aspects.

End doesn't care about who. End doesn't care about where. End doesn't care about how. End only cares about when. And now was the time End destroyed. 

The Aspect of War, End, used the soul weapon the Ravager given to him by Arazra to slice and smash his way through the crowd. End didn't care about who he killed, as long as if he or she was alive. End explained that to Arazra, and he was just told to think about killing more defensive troops than attacking troops. 

The Ravager could transform itself into any weapon it wished thanks to the Archmage's soul residing inside. End fully utilized the weapon's power in every way. Sometimes, End didn't even have the Ravager turn into a recognizable weapon, he just had it curve around some armor in order to bypass and kill more easily. 

End turned the Ravager into a polearm with a wicked mace head attached. He swung it around like a berserker, crushing the bones and organs of many demons with End's immense strength. 

"Hm, I could use an interesting opponent to fight. There should be enemy commanders at each opening, right? I know there's one over here, I can sense it. I guess I'll just have to keep slaying until I find them. Huh? What's happening over there?" End, while cut the knees and chest of another demon, saw something very interesting. A strange confrontation between a red succubus and a violet succubus. "Let's go check it out..."

-

Asmodea took authority over the center opening. She, along with Caetorum, Nerissa, Aureal, and Teras all knew quite a bit about tactics and the game of war. Caetorum was the most tactically gifted of each one with Teras self-admitting she was the least, so they went together. Nerissa and Aureal had already proved to be a potent team, so they stuck together on the left opening. Asmodea alone took control over the center. 

Asmodea, while directing the troops effectively, wielded her soul weapon to the max. Using its misty blades to cut through the enemy ranks every chance she found. Yet her weapon proved ineffective against a certain violet succubus that found her way to Asmodea. 

Asmodea slashed downwards with her sword, sending a wave of misty energy towards the succubus' position. The succubus raised a hand where a card was located and said with somber grace, "...High Priestess." 

The misty energy was absorbed into the card as if it was just a puff of air. 

"You! Why did you side with him?!" Asmodea cried to the demon before her, Zazie. She already knew who the demon was without asking.

"...Like I said before, there are extenuating circumstances." Zazie spoke in a rigid voice.

"That means nothing when you betray our lord!" Asmodea completely shoved out Emiel's words. She wanted an answer now and would get that answer with violence if need be.

"...If I told you that I no longer want to fight for Arazra, would you believe me?" 

Asmodea slashed her sword twice more at Zazie, half crazed from her accumulated anger from the past decades. Each of the arcs of misty energy was absorbed by Zazie's card. "How could I without proof!"

"...I've met the new lord several times since he arrived in the circle. I've even spoken to him several times during this war."

The first part Asmodea already knew. She knew that the [Emperor] Rainer had from before came from Zazie. Though the fact that Rainer had spoken with Zazie numerous times during the war was not news. "What?!"

"...I helped him in rescuing the witch. I spoke to him not two hours ago and he informed me of his success. He has even been able to use some of my cards' powers. I have, and always will be, a loyal subject to the Lord of Lust, Rainer."

Asmodea lowered her sword, using all of her mental power in dissecting the newfound knowledge. "How have you spoken to him? Surely you have not been in face contact each time."

"...I still wish to keep the powers of my cards a secret as much as possible. Though should Rainer command it, I will reveal every detail."

Asmodea soothed the anger in her heart, in fact, she took a slight joking tone next, "Rainer, huh? And how did you get on a first name basis with him? Is he the "man of my desire" thing you used to spout out?"

Zazie became hot in her face and body, her cheeks shriveling into a cute pose. "...Th-th-that's..."

"That's?" Bingo, Asmodea thought.

"...That's not important right now." Zazie calmed down and flew up to Asmodea's position with her violet wings. "...Please trust me. When I last spoke to, um, Rainer... He ordered me to no longer pretend to be on Arazra's side. Currently, my subordinates are wreaking havoc among Arazra's troops."

"I will if you tell me why exactly you sided with Arazra in the first place." Asmodea was not taking no for an answer. She kept her hand hovered over her sword just in case, but her pose relaxed slightly.

"...Very well. Of my cards, each of the major arcana, twenty-two cards, have different powers. The final one, or second to last depending on how to number the [Fool], contains the strongest power. I have never used it myself, but I know what it does and it supposedly is on the level of a Ruler of Sin's strength." Zazie explained as much as she believed was needed with a basic summary of her actions in the past decades.

"Let me guess, Arazra took that card?"

"...Yes. The [World]. I originally joined his side thanks to his blackmail with threats of abusing the [World]'s power and in hopes to somehow steal the [World] from him. Yet Rainer told me he has an idea to defeat Arazra. All he wanted was one of my cards, the [Fool]. Other than that, I have no idea what he wishes to do."

"I guess experience is everything, even if you are a Ruler of Sin." Asmodea then twitched and shook her head. "Eh, do you feel that?"

"...This is familiar."

"What is it?"

Zazie answered simply and literally, "...War. Arazra had brought in a powerful force of five beings. You know how Death separated his scythe into seven weapons, correct?"

"Obviously."

"...Just as death performed that deed, War separated himself into five aspects, five different people. One of them is coming."

"Just how powerful are they? Are all five of them working for Arazra?" Asmodea was worried that they may have a new slew of powerful opponents to deal with.

"...You do not need to be too worried. Two disappeared when engaging Iris and her set of reinforcements."

"Wait a second... Iris came with reinforcements? We only thought Nergal arrived."

"...Yes, and both have large amount of forces to deal with Arazra. Though Arazra left a large portion of his army to hold them back, they will eventually be overrun. And two more Aspects apparently died somewhere in this battlefield. I believe they fought in the exact place the explosion in the wall happened. Perhaps they caused it?"

"If one of them could cause an explosion that massive..."

"...As I said, I believe they both perished already. One of them seems to be left."

"How should we fight them? You should know more about these Aspects than I do."

"...I do not. However, in order to show my sincerity that I am truly on Rainer's side, I will defeat him."

And with that, Zazie stood up and strode over to the newcomer. Asmodea didn't even get a chance to stop her. Asmodea didn't know what to think of the mysterious Desire of Lust. Many decades ago, she completed that tournament and gained the Lord of Lust's favor and rose to the ranks of the Pillar of Lust. How she fought her opponents was still very much a mystery, though everyone knew it had something to do with her cards. It was almost as if that no matter the situation, Zazie had some special power from her cards that could counter her troubles. All Asmodea actually knew was that if she fought Zazie, she would most likely have lost depending on her powers. Asmodea could not help but think that Zazie was slightly omnipotent in that regard.

In actual fact, because Zazie had restrictions for her powers, she was anything but omnipotent. She only had four powers left (she just used up the [High Priestess], and Zazie knew that she could only fight one more opponent for the day. Her biggest weakness lay in consecutive battles where Zazie would be forced to use up her powers. It was either relinquish her trust in Rainer and try to use her own abilities to take back the [World]... Or trust in her beloved Rainer and allow him to take out the mad demon Arazra.

The decision was all too obvious to Zazie.

"I see. You must be Zazie, the Desire of Lust that Arazra told me about. Allow me to introduce myself as End, the war that will bring the end." The newcomer introduced himself as End and spoke with strange politeness on the battlefield. 

"...I take it you are here to bring victory to Arazra?"

"Of course. Not out of loyalty or compensation, I'm not a petty war. In fact, none of us, my brothers and I, really knew what to do once we were created. We simply followed the sounds of war and we found ourselves on Arazra's doorstep. We were bred from our master, War, with no reason to continue our life. War is what we were born for, we discovered that soon enough. I don't really care what side I place myself on. If I found my way to the other side, I would have fought for him."

"...What an onerous existence. I don't feel like wasting for time. Can we begin?" Zazie pulled out her cards and readied herself.

End did likewise while nodding. 

Zazie took a good look at End. He wielded one of the soul weapons Arazra had found, the Ravager. That was no surprise. End had completely white skin all over his body except for his head, which was dyed crimson red. End had no hair on his body, none that Zazie could see. He wore leather boots along with copper colored metal greaves, leg plates, gauntlets, and a metal plate that covered his chest in a bottom-left to top-right diagonal.

End moved first.

He placed both hands on his weapon's hilt and closed his red eyes. It almost seemed as if all the color from his exclusively crimson head disappeared as he poured energy from his vast reserves into the soul weapon. 

The Ravager didn't just have the ability to transform into any weapon, it could transform into anything its wielder wished, provided he had the mental ability and concentration. End had everything a perfect warrior needed in order to fight. In terms of combat, he had no weaknesses.

End emptied a great deal of energy into his soul weapon, though he still seemed all the better for it. The Ravager changed slowly at first, but increased its transformation speed at an exponential rate. 

It transformed into a massive two-handed sword. The size of the weapon dwarfed even the largest of claymores and flamberges. The weapon itself had to at least be seven meters long from guard to point with the hilt itself being a full meter long, an eight meter long sword and at least thirty centimeters at its widest point. The guard was also quite large with an elliptical shape and made of an ebony metal. The hilt was made of the same ebony metal though it was wrapped in a durable scaled hide from some fearsome animal. Then the scary part came, the actual blade. The blade itself was made of strange dark blue alloy that seemed melded in place with the guard. The blade was single-edged, though that made it look even more fearsome. Along the edge was a selection of barbed spikes that could cut and rend. The edge ended in a curved tip that bent outwards. Despite being such a fearsome weapon, the weapon itself held no remarkable decorations.

Zazie frowned, but wasn't too worried. It didn't really matter what the weapon was, her final two attack type cards were her two most powerful. Though a Ruler of Sin and an Archangel were different, Zazie could think of no being that could stand up to both of her two cards, [Justice] and [Judgment]. 

The area around End and Zazie immediately cleared up into a large circle with a thirty-meter radius. Both sides, attacking and defending, were stunned to see the massive sword and logically thought that nothing could stand against the man that wielded it. They thought the person, whom they soon recognized as Zazie, that not even she could stand against the sword and would be swiftly sliced or crushed. 

End shouted, "Depending on how much strength I put into this weapon, I can create so many things! Let's see if you can stand up to this guy, I call him the Lyndworm!" 

"...Even though it looks nothing like a Lyndworm? Either way, it is quite a fearsome weapon." Zazie commented honestly.

End smiled at the compliment and pulled the sword up in a ninety-degree angle, creating a menacing shadow over the area.

Asmodea who could only stay back and watch with an aghast expression wanted to go assist Zazie or at least pull her out of the weapon's way. However, Asmodea believed Zazie when she said she would take care of End. "I better take note of what kind of power she uses..." The red succubus told herself.

"Now, Lyndworm, let's see what you can do!!!" End cried excitedly.

End pulled Lyndworm down with all his might. The sword accelerated slowly but soon fell down with intimidating speed. All of the spectators, Asmodea excluded, stared dumbstruck as the sword crashed down on Zazie's location, sending a dust cloud into the air.

"Really, that's it? I guess I expected too much- What the?!" End spoke sorrowfully at first but then found that he couldn't pull back Lyndworm.

"...[Justice]" Light pierced the scene. Not the kind of light that poisoned demons, but the kind of light that blinded and sowed fear. The dust cloud vanished as if blown away by a sudden wind, revealing a completely different Zazie from before.

Zazie changed into Astraea, the avatar of justice. The transformation was all too obvious. Zazie's eyes turned white until the pupils disappeared. Zazie's numerous piercings and jewelry along her face, neck, and arms each glowed the respective color of gems that each piece held: clear white for diamonds pierced on her nose and eyebrows, orange for the topaz on symmetrical spots on her cheeks, red for the rubys pierced in both ears, silver for the silver tiara that hugged her forehead, golden for the pure gold bracelets around her arm, and a thick white for the rosary choker around her neck. It didn't stop there. Zazie's lavish dress, which was devoid of any dust and dirt, seemed to flow like liquid as the fabrics rippled around as if a thousand rocks were tossed in a pond. Zazie's dark violet hair fluttered around her head while bound together by her tiara and magic band. Her wings and tail seemed frozen solid, though they gave off a very faint violet glow. Her horns emitted an intense violet light at the tips.

Zazie spoke, though her words seemed unlike anything in this world, even a world populated by magic and demons, "...Fascinating, it seems as if you put out double the strength with this sword. Strength that you poured and strength you put out with your muscles." Said Zazie as she held back Lyndworm with both her arms protected by her bracelets. 

When possessed by Astraea, Zazie personified justice. Increased strength, speed, power, magic, and other such stats was the normal bonus. However, when Zazie fought against someone who fought against justice, who broke laws and cared less about his kind by engaging in murder or worse, Zazie's abilities increased exponentially. 

End, though he wasn't a technically bad person, didn't care who he killed. As it was in his nature as the war of the end to destroy everything in existence, very similar to animal instinct. Yet the general populace as a whole do not want the world to end, and would see his actions as violent and senseless, thus fulfilling the condition to release Astraea's power.

"And it seems you can put out even more strength than I with that interesting power of yours. You know, I've learned a little something interesting about this soul weapon, Ravager. It doesn't just turn into the form of any weapon I want. Provided I pour enough of my magical strength into it, it can also take on any enchantment I wish. Hm, demon's don't like holy light, do they?" End grinned and focused on Lyndworm for several seconds.

Zazie didn't like the sound of End's words and sped forth with exceptional speed. Along the way, Zazie picked up a broken half of a spear and thrust it at End's chest. It seemed her interruption was successful, as End gnashed his teeth and lowered part of Lyndworm to block barely in time. End kicked the broken spear out of Zazie's hands, jumped up, and sent his other foot into Zazie's body. 

As strong as Zazie was, End was also just as strong. His foot forced Zazie back several steps. "A partial transformation, but it'll do. Alright, let's see you handle some light!" 

End's large sword glowed faintly a bright gold-white. Zazie could hear her mind telling her that the sword was scary and dangerous, more so than before. Around Lyndworm's cutting edge, was concentrated light, designed to fight demons. Even though it wasn't as strong like End alluded to, light was still poison to demons, so Zazie grew apprehensive. 

End effortlessly pulled the large sword to the side and readied himself for an attack. 

It was all to obvious how End was going to attack, but honor and pride dictated that Zazie received the incoming blow like last time. So she stood still and her arms ready. 

Shwoom! 

The sword cut through the air, ignoring all air resistance and raced towards Zazie. The violet succubus raised her arms, bringing her glowing bracelets up so they could act like armor. A loud crash was heard as the impact between Lyndworm and Zazie occurred, sending a small shockwave of air into the crowds, pushing any unsteady demon off their feet. 

Zazie winced painfully as she blocked the blow from the massive sword infused with light. She was pushed back a full meter until she stopped the force of the sword. "...That doesn't hurt as much as it should for two reasons. The first is the reason you stated before: the light isn't at full power. The second, I'm not entirely a demon right now..." Zazie showed a rare mischievous smile.

Asmodea couldn't fathom what Zazie meant as she watched from the sidelines. However, she knew that Zazie was being truthful. The violet succubus just didn't feel like a full demon anymore. As if she was possessed by something. The physical changes didn't mean much, but the aura Zazie gave off was more mysterious than anything. "Just what are you, Zazie?" Asmodea mumbled to herself.

End pondered Zazie's words with serious endeavor. "Alright, then I think I will gamble a little bit." End focused more of limitless amount of strength into the Ravager once again, changing Lyndworm's properties to give it a new enchantment.

Zazie found herself by dozens of knives, left over by a slain demon of the defensive side. She looked remorseful for only a second until the urge to dispense justice overtook her. She reached down and picked up an armful of knives and tossed them at End one by one. Each dagger seemed to leave behind an afterimage thanks to Zazie's immensely increased strength and power as the knives fought the laws of physics and aimed for End.

A hint of worry flashed before End's eyes, though he looked down at the massive sword he wielded and sighed in relief. He proceeded to dodge each dagger as if they were a harmless sideways rainfall. "This time. This time I will cut you. I deny the fact that I will not be able to cut you this time with my sword."




The Lost Lord Ch. 26



"...You desire to cut me again? I will give those desires a chance." Zazie said as she stood still, accepting End's challenge. She noted that Lyndworm didn't give off the dangerous vibe from before, which seemed odd to Zazie. Would he not increase the infusion of light in the sword? That would be what most opponents would do when facing a demon.

"You seem confused. I took your words to heart when you said you were not entirely a demon. I thought, 'Just how could a demon not be a demon?' Then something hit me..." End smiled, clearly enjoying their fight.

End pulled his sword off to his left and closed his eyes while a warm expression overtook his face. "Graaaaaaaaaaagh!" And with a furious roar, End violently pulled the sword towards Zazie. The massive eight-meter sword didn't make a single sound as it cut through the air, which was strange to Zazie, too strange.

Zazie put up both of her arms, ready to block the blow once again, though the unthinkable happened. Lyndworm passed through Zazie's arms and body. Zazie widened her eyes as the sword passed through Zazie's body, even all the spectators stood still with dropped jaws and bulging eyes. 

The effects were instantaneous. Zazie no longer felt the need to dispense justice. She no longer felt her increased strength and power. She no longer personified justice. The effects of the card wore off and Astraea's presence was literally cut away from Zazie's body. 

Zazie quickly regained her composure. It just wouldn't do to keep her enemy waiting in her surprise. "...May I ask what did you do to me? Though I can already assume what happened, please elaborate." 

End dipped his head in acknowledgement, "Very well, miss. Like I said, I can change the Ravager's enchantments if I infuse enough of my strength, I did just that. I turned this sword into an exorcist's blade. I cut away the presence that possessed your body. Though I know not what possessed you, I must admit, it was quite a conundrum to figure out. Now, I don't suppose you will grace me with the secret behind your power?" End asked politely. Strange, even though he slaughtered friend and foe alike, Zazie could not find it within herself to truly hate him.

"...Would you mind if I do not?"

"No."

"Then, [Judgment]." Zazie pulled out her final battle card. She wanted to reserve this card's power for Arazra, but it turned out End proved to be an exceptional opponent. 

End watched, mystified as Zazie pulled out a strange tarot card, like before, from a deck between her hands into the sky. The card floated into the air and expanded thrice its size. Zazie placed her hand on top of the floating card and pushed her hand into it. End half expected Zazie's hand to poke through to the other side of the card, but he knew that that was far too logical in this battlefield. One must embrace illogical circumstances in order to survive in the circles.

Then, End, for the first time, felt something to be fearful of. Zazie reached into the space her card created all the way to her shoulder and then some. Zazie released another one of her rare mischievous smiles and retracted her arm, pulling out her final trump card. 

Zazie pulled out a sword. The card dissipated into particles once Zazie fully pulled out the lengthy sword. Though it wasn't anywhere near as long as End's Lyndworm, Zazie's sword was at least two meters long, with twenty-five of those centimeters belonging to the sword's hilt. The sword seemed simple in make, double-edged, diamond tip, and made of a silver colored metal. Its pommel was anointed with a single dark ruby. The hilt was wrapped in brown strips of toughened leather. The guard was double pointed with small metal spheres attached to each end. And last but not least, was the inexplicable aura the sword released. 

There were two sides to the sword's feeling. On one hand, it felt dark, sinful, and malicious. One the other hand, it felt holy, virtuous, and compassionate. A sword that fell from grace, yet refused to be leave behind its power. There was a legend of this sword, that it fell from grace once it was embedded in a wall in France from the human world. 

"Again, Zazie... Just what are you?" Asmodea could not help but feel separated from Zazie as a whole. As if the two succubi could not exist in the same group.

End didn't frown. In fact, he just widened his smile and opened up to reveal a set of white teeth that contrasted against his crimson head. "I know that sword. I remember feeling part of it when I was still a part of my master, War. That sword, it's the legendary sword of the holy demon? Durandal."

Apart from the speculations and legends from the human world, there was a small tale that remained in the magical societies of the human world and other realms. That a demon performed the impossible and transcended his Sin. Just like how an angel falls from grace, the demon rose from his sin. Though such a process proved to be impossible in the end, and that legendary demon died after seconds of receiving holy virtue, resulting in a body that held both Virtue and Sin. The demon disintegrated into nothingness, but his sword remained, which he had named Durandal. 

Yes, [Judgment]'s power summoned that sword, Durandal. 

"...If you know of his name, I'm sure you know of his sharpness. It is second to no other cutting weapon in existence." Zazie took on an air of confidence that seemed out of place on the violet succubus. "...I declare this, there is nothing in this world that I cannot cut. Not even your sword. Will you accept this little challenge?" Zazie smiled sweetly. She decided that she wasn't going to lose here, not when her beloved was going to fight on her behalf and retake the [World]. 

End gulped and forced himself to smile. He breathed deeply and relaxed. "If you say that, then I will give this sword the property to defend against anything. I declare this: There is nothing in this world that I cannot block with this sword! I accept your little challenge." 

The world paused. Asmodea once again couldn't fathom the exchange between the two. She stood on edge as she watched the confrontation between the absolute existences. The sword whose sharpness can cut through anything and the sword whose defense can block anything. Asmodea smiled, as she already knew who was going to win. It was simple logic. One needed to embrace not only the illogical, but also the logical if one wanted to survive in this world.

Zazie waited for End to change the properties of his sword again to an unstoppable defense. With a single smirk, Zazie saw that End was ready to receive her attack. She swung Durandal at both of her sides, testing the weight of the sword. "...It's been awhile since I used you." The violet succubus told herself as she pointed the sword at End.

Zazie sprinted at End, dragging Durandal along, the tip scraping the ground. On a side note, as Zazie wore a fairly long dress, her fast paced sprints and running was assisted by a small friction spell that basically allowed Zazie to slide along the ground with her boots.

When only three meters remained between the two, Zazie slashed Durandal at End, who met with Zazie's challenge by pulling up the massive Lyndworm. A loud explosive sound violently shook the arena when the two swords clashed. Durandal seemed to push into Lyndworm with great might, trying to cut through the blade imbued with unsurpassable durability.

The phrase bigger is better is uttered quite often among the denizens of the Land of Lust, however, the exchange between Zazie and End proved it wrong.

Durandal, in one fell swoop, cut through Lyndworm, removing more than six meters of the blade from the hilt. Due to the sudden loss of matter, Lyndworm reverted back to the Ravager. 

Durandal didn't stop with cutting through Lyndworm, its course continued on by slicing open End's snow white chest. However, that wound proved unable to put End down to an eternal sleep. He coughed up some blood and spat it out before speaking to Zazie with the same tone as before, "Amazing, I honestly can't believe it." End reflexively pulled his weapon arm to his chest in a feeble attempt to save some of his blood.

"...It is simple, really." Zazie replied nonchalantly.

"Do tell."

"...Your Ravager is basically a copy of impenetrable defense while my Durandal is the real thing of absolute cuts. Giving your weapon the enchantment of unsurpassed defense pails in comparison to a soul weapon with the actual enchantment." 

"Hahaha! I guess I got too confident. Well, I give up, you may do with me as you wish."

Zazie seemed undaunted by the strange surrender of End, much to Asmodea's confusion. End obviously had plenty of strength left to fight. And it wasn't like his soul weapon couldn't be used anymore.

"...I don't really feel like killing you." 

"Well, I do, End, I'm deeply disappointed by your failure." A familiar voice entered the scene, Arazra.

Boom!

A literal blob of molten rock rammed itself into End's crimson head, sending him crashing to the ground. Zazie swept aside the magma, but End was already knocked out. At least he wasn't dead... Yet. 

Arazra flew down into the arena scarred by End and Zazie. Black wings flapping behind his back, a visual reminder that he had an advantage over every other colored demon in terms of power. "I was just visiting the other two openings, only to find Sadism, Maturity, and the two concubines. None of them were much of a match for me. And here I was hoping that Zazie betrayed me so that she could fight me head on. I guess you don't really care about this then." Arazra rambled as he pulled out a familiar card from a spot next to his heart, the [World]. 

Zazie raised her hand, trying to pull the card to her using a simple connection between her and her cards. Though Arazra held the card too tightly between his fingers, and the top of the card just fluttered around, desperate to free itself. 

"Oh no! It looks like you can't take it back yet! And here I thought your switching sides, finally I might add, was all part of some major plan. Your pitiful little attempt barely passes my eye. Hmmm, maybe I dispense punishment and abuse this card's power a little bit?"

"...Don't you dare..." Zazie seethed.

Asmodea flew down to Zazie's position and kept her sword at the ready, pointed at Arazra. Asmodea knew there was no way she could defeat Arazra in frontal combat, but she at least wanted to protect Zazie who all along actually never betrayed the previous lord's wishes.

"Oh, it's Asmodea. Well, ignoring the red bitch... Don't you dare what? What could you even do to me? Once I found out this object's power, I knew I just had to have it in order to win this war. Let's see, come on, [World], let's see you GET ANGRY!" Arazra roared as he raised the [World] into the air.

The card glowed and ethereal swirls of a jelly-like substance turbulently burst forth from the card. 

Grrraaaaaaaaashhhhh!

"What in the..." Asmodea stared dumbstruck. Nothing that happened in the fight between End and Zazie could prepare her for this. Never once in her long life as a demon had a fantastical sight like this ever occurred, not even in stories. 

The [World] changed the world, literally. 

In front of the city, was a large plain filled with fragrant and lovely gardens placed there to welcome visitors. As the front entrance was the only way in the city (secret back entrance excluded), the mountains were so high, that no flying creature has ever been able to fly through their passes. Yet, where there was once a flatland, appeared multiple tall mountains covered in snow peaks and forests. Mountains sprouted out of the ground and merged with their tall neighbors.

"...Arazra... You should not use that card." 

Arazra just raised an eyebrow and released a throaty laugh, dwarfing all of the cries and woes of the soldiers of both sides staring at the sight. "GAHAHAHAHA! And why shouldn't I? Tools are made to be used. What use is there in letting this card rot! I plan on taking advantage of this useful gift very much. And with that new addition to the mountain range, looks like no reinforcements can stop me from taking over this city! No Nergal! No Iris! Not even that pretender can get past those mountains! Yea, I heard he went to go rescue his little witch. Of course, if he did make it back in the city, it will be a simple matter to execute that upstart."

Zazie grit her teeth, there was no need to reveal that Rainer was inside the city, and with a plan to take back the [World]. If Arazra already knew how to control the [World] to this extent, the only one she could count on was a Ruler of Sin, and the closest one is Rainer. "...Asmodea, we have to keep his attention on us until Rainer gets here. We can only put our faith in him."

Asmodea nodded then posed a question to Arazra, "Did you kill them?"

"Hmm?" Arazra didn't seem like he particularly cared about Asmodea's words, he was too busy reveling in his currently unrivaled might.

"Did you kill them?! Nerissa and Aureal! If you killed them... I swear you will not live to see the end of this day." Declared Asmodea with a venomous nature that was unbefitting of her usually sultry nature. 

"Oh yea, it is still daytime. I didn't notice. Your point, Asmodea?" Arazra said as he stared down at the Seduction of Lust.

"Bastard!" Asmodea hissed and raised her sword, ready to use the full power of her soul weapon.

"No, no, no, no, NO! Sit still, little Seduction. [World], please restrict her." Arazra raised the card once more and tendrils of solid rock sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around the limbs of Asmodea. Her sword was forced to fall down to the ground, effectively sealing off Asmodea's ability to wield the soul weapon. 

Asmodea pulled and twisted with all her might, but she could not break free from the iron grip of the constrictive rock. Asmodea never felt so weak in her entire life. Her martial skills were beyond peerless, helping her earn the title of the Seduction of Lust, and she managed to wield Old Age for a small while, though she found it too burdensome. Yet why couldn't she break free from a single stone prison and smite the object that blocked her lord's path?

"It's because I am a Lord of Lust, Asmodea. Do not delude yourself into thinking that pretender ever was the Lord. He is just some false prophet leading the lambs to the slaughter. With this card, I can fulfill unity among the circles... Our race can finally defeat Heaven. I can exterminate the surviving pagan gods. And I will conquer the human world where we can sit on a farm of human souls." Arazra's honeyed words didn't affect Asmodea or Zazie in any way.

The two pillar members could finally see just how coercive Arazra was in order to convince his fellow district leaders into joining him, Hezazias excluded. There was no doubt that a single demon in the entirety of Arazra's army, dead or alive, did not doubt the belief that Arazra was the true lord. 

"Now, if you say you're sorry and look up that word in a dictionary one thousand times while swearing fealty to me, I may forgive you and release you. Hey, I may even tell you about those concubines you seem to care about." Arazra said arrogantly. "Oh, wait, never mind. I forgot I let them live and they pursued me."

Not only was Arazra telling the truth, along with Nerissa and Aureal, was Caetorum and Teras. However, not a single one of the newcomers did not bear visual wounds.

By this time, Arazra had his troops clear out the field and rush towards the palace, leaving him and his unwilling companions behind. Though that didn't mean the defensive troops were annihilated, as a large portion of them were still located in the palace itself. 

Arazra stood proudly in the center of the bloody opening in the wall, between the wall's edges. The demons before him, Asmodea, Zazie, Nerissa, Aureal, Caetorum, and Teras all stood before him with weapons drawn and solemn faces decorating their expressions. Even the usually unserious Teras forced herself to take a serious expression for once.

"Oh my, I'm scared when you all point those faces at me. Ayah! Okay, I screamed, you all done yet?" Arazra just couldn't read the mood.

"Oh all right, I'll just take advantage of the [World]'s power again. Making mountains is fun and all, but there's something satisfying using such a grand power to effortlessly bind you all." Arazra didn't even give everyone a chance and proceeded to bind each of them at the same time when his words began. 

All of the demons found themselves restricted just like Asmodea by tendrils of smooth rock. The magic was too sudden and fast for them to react to with their senses dulled by their wounds. 

"A-Arazra, you damned bastard!" Caetorum just barely managed to croak this out as he found his mouth covered by a slim layer of rock. 

"Hum... That wasn't nearly as satisfying as I hoped. My troops will easily ferret out those pesky guards in the palace. I hope they don't stain the place with too much blood. I guess I need to do my job, by killing that pretender." Arazra took a deep breath and yelled with all his might, "IF YOU'RE OUT THERE IN THIS CITY! COME TO ME YOU PRETENDER! IF NOT, I WILL KILL YOUR CONCUBINES FIRST, THEN EACH OF THE PILLARS ONE BY ONE! AND I WILL MAKE THEIR DEATHS PAINFUL, YOU CAN COUNT ON THAT!" 

Many seconds passed until Arazra sighed and boredom took over his face. "Well, it's either that he isn't in the city, and can't get here because of my beautiful mountains, or that he's in the city and could care less about you guys. Let's see, I'll begin with the Daughter of Pride." 

Arazra held the [World] in his hand and balled his other hand into a fist. Slowly the rock that constricted Nerissa squeezed together, robbing her of air and any possible movements, no matter how slight. Nerissa's eyes bulged out, nearly popping from her sockets. Her veins and arteries pulsed as they forced to keep the blood flow going. Her mouth went wide as she silently pleaded the air to enter her lungs.

"No matter how many times I say it... I WILL NOT LET ANYONE DIE BECAUSE OF ME AGAIN!" 

The rock compressing Nerissa's body into a puled was cleanly sliced through, freeing her body. Nerissa gasped for air and convulsed as she tasted the sweet taste of life filling her lungs once more. 

Once Nerissa opened her eyes, she saw Lauren with two large protrusions coming from the top of her wrists. Lauren used one of her pacts. One that she rarely used because of how unpleasant and painful the feeling was when she took advantage of its power. The Pact of the Manticore, which allowed Lauren to grow metallic spike-blade protrusions from her body. In fact, her wrists bled from using the pact. Either way, it was a deadly ability despite it saving Nerissa's life.

"Lau-cough-Lauren!"

"Shhh, I know I won't be able to beat him... But the one we love can. And he's right over there now." Lauren pointed with her protrusion towards a most welcome person, Rainer.

"It's... Been too long since I last got to see him well." Nerissa said warmly. "Not that I doubt his strength as a true Ruler of Sin... But how can fiancée fight such an unreasonable power?"

Almost as if Lauren knew about demons more so than Nerissa, who was taught by high class tutors about everything a Daughter of Pride needed to know, gave Nerissa the most reasonable words she has heard so far. "Rainer is a Lord of Lust, isn't he? Aren't Rulers of Sin supposed to be absolute rulers of their circle? Someone who is not the Lord of Lust cannot alter the circle at their whim, like Arazra did just now with the mountains. The Land of Lust belongs to one soul, Rainer's. Besides, Rainer has a plan that even I don't know of... Mystery does has its charm, and he plays that card well."

...

"Ah, so we finally meet. 'Tis funny in a way, two demons who are fighting for an absolute position yet barely know anything about their opponent?" Arazra said as he stared coldly at Rainer.




The Lost Lord Ch. 26



Rainer wore his strange armor he put on before, sans mask. Lauren had to pin him chokehold and take away the mask by force. Her complain was that it was too corny. She finally managed to convince Rainer to give up the mask with, "If you wear that mask... I can't see your handsome face?" Rainer knew Lauren was seducing him at that point, but it worked. Perhaps Lauren learnt some seduction techniques from Asmodea from before?

Either way, the amorphous leathery armor worked wonders in comfort and protection. Yet armor meant nothing to the [World]'s power.

"Yea, I guess it's kind of funny. Mind if I ask a question?" Rainer asked curtly to his destined foe.

"I see no reason not to answer, ask away."

"If you always could use the [World], why didn't you use it before? You didn't even need to leave behind a portion of your troops to hold them back."

"I've spent my life getting to this point, it would be a waste to end it so easily. I need to enjoy the fight at least a little bit. Don't worry, I won't use the [World] too quickly in our fight."

"But you'll still use it? I suppose I should be thankful for that small amount of courtesy."

"Yes... You should."

And so the two potential Rulers of Sin bared their fangs at each other. 



Note: I'm such a tease, aren't i?



The Lost Lord Ch. 27



The Lost Lord Ch. 27 - A Dramatic Finale

"Hum... Now that we're actually doing this, it is kind of hard to start."

"Yea, when it comes to encounters like these, I never like being in the initiative."

"..."

"..."

"As expected of this place."

"Yea, I've seemed to notice that ever since I came to this place, that conversations among demons of Lust seem to have some sort of innuendo to their sentences."

Two incubi who were mortal enemies both agreed on a seemingly trivial matter. Rainer and Arazra, two potential Lords of Lust shared an odd, yet friendly, conversation. They both clearly disliked each other and their personalities. Yet both of their personalities dictated that they at least be polite in their introductions towards each other. It was as if they were good friends, even if for only seconds. Sadly, those peaceful moments obviously couldn't last.

"Fine, I'll start off. Let's see your martial prowess..." Arazra said bluntly.

Arazra raised his fists and crouched low, sprinting at Rainer with haste. Normal eyes wouldn't be able to perceive this level of speed, which was normal to black and white demons.

Rainer, being much more than the average black demon, easily saw through and blocked Arazra's punch. Rainer retaliated with a punch of his own into Arazra's gut. It hit home, and forced Arazra back several steps.

With invisible smiles, both men engaged in a whirlwind of attacks. Nothing went unused: fists, feet, elbows, knees, and even foreheads were all used in attempts to hurt the other.

Rainer punched under Arazra's arm, rendering it immobile for a few seconds. He proceeded to send a solid straight kick into Arazra's chest. Arazra easily dodge and swept Rainer's legs from under him.

Falling flat on the ground, Rainer saw a hard bundle of knuckles dashing aside the air and aiming for his face.

Rainer prided himself on being quite flexible. And when he needed to, bones be damned, he could bend himself in painful ways if his life depended on it. Rainer, in the split second before Arazra's fist hit him, kicked the back of the demon's head with the tip of his shoe.

Bending his leg in a ninety degree angle hurt fairly badly, but the pain receded soon after as Rainer escaped from Arazra's grasp.

Rainer whipped his arm around like a frantic berserker. He allowed momentum to control the speed of his strikes, bringing about harder hits and swifter strikes. Arazra nimbly dodged the first few, but was forced to block the final whip, denting the flesh into a new bruise.

Arazra brought his hand low and sent a palm into Rainer's ribs, though with not nearly enough power to snap any of the bones. However, the strike was ample enough to disorient

Rainer and force him to acquire a deep breath of air. Arazra narrowed his eyes and sent a hard hitting fist into Rainer's face.

Rainer blocked that fist, mainly out of reflex, and pulled Arazra to him. He slammed his forehead into Arazra's cranium, sending both parties back several meters, clutching their heads in pain.

Rainer didn't waste a second in continuing the fight. He jumped at Arazra, spinning his leg around and hitting Arazra with his heel. Or so he thought.

Arazra stopped the kick with the back of his arm supported by the other. "Honestly... This is amazing." Arazra's words took a turn for the malicious, "However, you're still a lowly pretender to my throne, just die quickly."

The arm that supported Arazra's blocking arm formed a finger pistol and "fired". A small sharp icicle formed thanks to Arazra's magic and entered Rainer's chest. Ice cold pain slashed apart his brain thanks to the wound. The icicle pushed its way between the flesh and somehow managed not to destroy or damage anything vital, even so, it still hurt.

Blood seeped from his wound, but Rainer pulled through with his willpower as he pulled out the icicle with his bare hand. Putting the [Emperor] close to the wound, he whispered a short healing spell, which basically stopped the bleeding, not actually healed the wound. It was a known fact that full healing in battle never worked, considering the sensitivity of the flesh afterwards rendered it susceptible to wounds and excessive pain. Stopping the bleeding was the best option.

(I still can't use magic effectively in combat without the [Emperor] still... I guess if I want to use really powerful magic, I have to go into that mode again.) Rainer told himself through the pain.

"Damn, a miss." Arazra spit on the ground.

"And here I thought we could have a civil fight. Yet you had to go and use some magic. C'mon, shouldn't a lowly pretender be small fry to you? This is going to be easier than I thought..." Rainer fought back verbally as he grasped his wound.

It didn't hurt as much as Rainer expected, his demonic body seemed to reduce the pain when he wished it to. He was confident that he could last some more injuries, though he wished he knew just how many.

Arazra frowned and glowered, cold eyes focusing on Rainer's wound. "Impertinence... Magic is a completely normal occurrence in any fight. If we went on, I would show you how out of place that arrogant tone is towards the rightful Lord of Lust. However, I wish to get through this rather quickly. Enjoyment is not a part of my plan here."

Arazra raised his fingers from both hands, which seemed to glow an icy blue, next to each other. A large and potently sharp icicle formed and shot forth from his hands. As it was a very simple attack, Arazra used it in order to see how the pretender would react and defend.

Rainer stepped to the side, watching the path of the icicle as it flew past his eyes by only centimeters. He turned his gaze back towards Arazra, only to see a storm of more icicles racing towards him. (Shit, if I use the [Emperor] again, he'll surely know I've got some of Zazie's cards and how to counter them.)

Before he came, Rainer thoroughly thought about how the battle would go. It was a given only he could fight Arazra, considering the level of power the two black demons contained.

And the one thing that was common to all fights in the magic world is that they are unpredictable messes. It was nearly impossible to consider a meticulously thought out plan. So Rainer thought out loose strategies with Lauren. Rainer wasn't dumb, nor was Lauren, so both could easily decompile their knowledge pertaining to this fight. One of the results from this brainstorming session was that if Rainer used Zazie's cards too often, Arazra would take notice and counter them, somehow. Another results was that Rainer should only fight against Arazra using the same style of combat as Arazra, whether that be by fists, swords, magic, or even simple mental power.

'He's using a [Dominion] spell... Use me, I am of the same type as that spell.' A voice entered Rainer's mind, and his thoughts immediately focused on Asmodeus. Rainer called out the Grimoire, using a simple spell that required no special concentration from him, to his arms.

"I was wondering where that was, my father's... Grimoire." Arazra said with strange hesitance.

Rainer ignored Arazra's words and spoke to the presence residing in the Grimoire. 'Oi! Did you just speak to me now?'

Time seemed to halt as the presence in the book spoke to Rainer. 'Ah, so you're fighting my son now... Excuse me, but I have no wish to converse with you now.' The presence that Rainer felt in the Grimoire seemed to vanish from his mind.

'Use me.'

There it was again. It was definitely not Asmodeus. No, this new voice seemed a lot colder and icier... (Wait, that's it, I remember now. Yea, I'll use you all right!) 

Determination poured into Rainer's eyes and mouth as he begun to chant with the [Emperor] in hand:

"Dominion: Ice

Ice, give me your burning cold.

Let me use your piercing points.

Grant me your frozen might.

Give me frost, give me dominion over ice by thy [Emperor]'s grace."

Rainer grabbed one of the icicles out of thin air and pulled it in two directions as if made of gum. Like he expected, the ice expanded into a thin shield of frozen water. As thin as it was, the shield was enough to stop each of the incoming icicles. Driven by instinct and the flow of battle, Rainer punched multiple spots in the shield. Each section he hit, sent a solid chunk of ice in the form of Rainer's fist, hurtling towards Arazra.

"I guess if I'm going to cast magic, I've got to do it in style." Rainer told himself, commenting on the fist shaped chunks of ice.

'Good, this time you actually had need of me.'

Because it was unexpected, Arazra was caught off guard initially and one of the ice chunks hit him square in the shoulder. Though a simple step of to the side, while grimacing, allowed the black demon to escape the paths of the other ice chunks.

Arazra couldn't help but be annoyed and spoke as he clutched his hurt shoulder, "Hrm, the bone is probably fractured. So you also know a [Dominion] spell? And of ice like I, that is... Hardly impressive."

"Is it supposed to be impressive? All I did was cast a simple spell. I don't see what you're fussing about. You hurt me with one, I did the same back, we're even." Rainer shrugged and ruffled his hair through his armor's hood.

"Boy, do you know why I don't wear armor and you do?"

"Odd question. No I don't, enlighten me my good chap."

"It is because I am a being above every single soul in this land, the Lord of Lust. None dares to attack me for fear of punishment, which I will dole out very harshly. You wear armor because you are afraid of being hurt, from being hurt by the weaklings that populated every war." Arazra spoke as if each of his words made perfect sense.

Rainer scrunched up his face and formed a confused expression. "I've seen presidents debate better than you. What the hell does that even mean? I wear armor because pain is a bitch. And I'm guessing you don't wear armor because of some delusional fantasy that you're better than everyone else. I'm going to prove to you that some "pretender" is a far better person than you and can kick your ass!" Rainer pointed his finger straight at Arazra's furious expression.

"Little wretch... Fine, I'll prove to you the real difference between you and I. Try to stop me from killing your little concubines." Arazra began to backtrack to Nerissa while watching his foe carefully.

Lauren, who was beside Nerissa, was blown away by a gust of wind from another one of Arazra's dominions. The black demon held up his arm, where the [World] lay in his hand, and wrapped Lauren in a new batch of stone tendrils.

Lauren was too restricted to make any use of her manticore blades, though she sawed one of the blades back and forth along one of the tendrils while Arazra walked backwards to her.

"Why don't you try to stop me from killing this witch? If you want to abandon her, go ahead, I'll at least make her death painless." Arazra said emotionlessly as he formed a sharp sword made of steel bone thanks to his third dominion. "Slow, but painless, that is how she'll go."

It was fairly obvious Arazra was egging him on, and it was working.

Rainer tossed some threatening words of his own at Arazra, "I don't care how you do it... But if you harm any single person here, I will kill you with everything I've got."

"Ohoh, so you have a backbone? Interesting, I wonder what you could even do that could possibly hope to kill me. Right now, I've three domains using [Dominion] spells. You can do only one, how pitiful. Annnnnnd a cut!" Arazra sliced the bone sword across Lauren's arm, leaving visible marks rippling with blood.

Lauren winced and screamed in her mind, she didn't want to give Rainer too much worry. Before, Rainer had turned into a vicious beast that simply slaughtered. If he turned back into that now, who knows how much damage he could do?

Rainer's eyes twitched, but he kept calm. He jumped and thrust a lance of ice that he formed, into Arazra.

However, Arazra simply raised his hand like a conductor and a spout of magma flowed from the ground, melting the ice before it could reach him. He then reinforced his own fist by steeling his bones and covering his hand in a sheet of flexible, though solid, ice and struck Rainer.

A solid hit on the side of his head forced Rainer to face plant on the ground very painfully.

"It was since the beginning that I knew you couldn't win. You're going against the Lord of Lust after all. It is only natural that those who go against me are forced to the ground." Arazra twisted his head, but continued to stare down at Rainer. "Now, watch me as I kill this witch."

"Do-don't you dare..." Rainer swallowed the bile in his throat as he spoke.

"In my caution, I once thought that your witch here would be a dangerous obstacle. And while I can certainly see that is far above the generic lot, it seems my concerns were for naught. What better way that to erase this annoyance than by doing it in front of the pretender?" Arazra kicked Rainer in the chest, sending him flying several meters away and stopping once he hit the opening's walls. "Well, I will at least give you the option between a slow or quick execution. Mind you, both can or might not be painful."

Those who could, watched with grim expressions on their faces as they continued to be restricted by the stone tendrils. Lauren herself glared venomously at Arazra, and if looks could kill, Arazra would be dead a hundred times over.

Rainer slowly pushed himself off the ground and said through hasty panting, "Neither."

"Oh?"

"I'm not done yet. As if I can let some sadistic freak, no offense Teras, like you be a damn lord!" Rainer shook his body all over and flung his arms around as if checking to see what limbs were still attached to his body.

"And what can a pretender like you do to a true lord?"

"You seem pretty proud of your [Dominion] spells there..."

"Yes, right now I am using three. Why, is it possible you can wield more than one dominion?" Arazra's curiosity was perked up and stopped him from carving up Lauren.

"Yea, I'm pretty sure I can." Rainer summoned up his courage and will and pulled out the [Emperor].

"I see, you are using one of Zazie's cards, like I am. Why, I bet she even trusted that you had enough power in you to stop me, how laughable."

Rainer then tried to chant the words for another [Dominion] spell he had memorized from the Grimoire. However, he found that he could not even utter a single word.

Even with the [Emperor] and the Grimoire, Rainer could not begin to weave a second [Dominion] spell to go along with his first.

Zazie, who was bent into a position that she could watch the entire ensemble, wanted to tell Rainer that it wouldn't work. Though her mouth was tightly bound by stone, so she could not.

The [Emperor], if used with the purpose of channeling magic, could only perpetuate a single spell at a time.

(Shit, why won't it work?) Rainer cursed in silence.

Arazra laughed, "HA! Wow! And to think I actually expected something. It turns out the only good you can do is in a fist fight! Right, I think I'll get back to killing the witch."

Arazra turned around with the bone sword in hand and slashed Lauren without hesitation.

(No! STOP!) But Rainer was wordless in his shock.

Arazra cut three more times on Lauren's limbs and torso until the pain and loss of blood forced her unconscious.

(I said... STOP!) Rainer tossed a nearby rock at Arazra's head, which only managed to shift his head upon impact.

"Ouch. Not really. All right, time for the Daughter of Pride. Now, I know you're the Pariah of Pride's daughter, but I simply cannot let you live for supporting this pretender."

Arazra walked over to Nerissa and before she could cry out, he stabbed the white demoness in her stomach. He twisted the sword and moved it around in the open wound, causing the girl to cry out in intense pain.

"You god damn bastard..." Rainer croaked hoarsely.

"God? You don't hear that name too often down here. Maybe I should kill him after I finish uniting the circles. We will need the human world as a farm for its souls." Arazra didn't even pay attention to what he was doing to Nerissa. He pulled out the sword and slashed it in the air, tossing Nerissa's blood on the ground. "Ah yes, the fallen angel. The circles haven't seen one of your kind fall from grace in quite a while."

"I'm... Going... To... Beat... You... Down..." Rainer fought to say every word, even though his body demanded he rest.

"Again with that nonsense. A pretender like you doesn't even have the right to raise their hand against me. And everyone here did, so I will kill each one of you personally.

Arazra walked to Aureal with seemingly long steps that pounded through everyone's eardrums like a gong. He stepped next to Aureal, whose wings and limbs were tightly bound by stone like everyone else.

-

"Azazel? If we are to interfere, now is the time."

"..."

"Azazel..."

"Look at that."

"Eh?"

"He's becoming something."

"The younger black demon is changing... What do you mean?"

"I've felt power similar to this before, similar to the previous Lord of Lust."

"Even so, he is about to kill Miss Aureal, should we not-"

"No, I'm going to gamble her survival on him. If she dies, then I will resign in disgrace because of my failure."

"Uhm, very well, Azazel."

-

Arazra raised the sword in a ritualistic manner and slashed it down on Aureal. The first strike connected, but when he raised his sword arm again, the black demon felt a tight grip on his wrist.

Arazra could see Rainer, glaring with eyes of malice. "As I said, I'm not going to let you win."

Rainer lifted Arazra into the air with no effort as the demon dangled in the air. In one fell swoop, Rainer easily tossed the older black demon into a wall with strength reminiscent of a titan.

"You wanted to play a game of magic, did you? Three... No, you can use five dominions. Let's see them now." Rainer's words were full of absolute order. To everyone, and Arazra was no exception, Rainer's words seemed to compel them and strike passion in their hearts.

Arazra, though confused, didn't falter and gathered anger into his voice. "You dare harm me? A RULER OF SIN? I am the eldest Son of Lust and the true Lord of Lust, not some WRETCHED PRETENDER LIKE YOU!"

Arazra chanted the spells in order to fully control his five dominions of magma, ice, bone, rubber, and wind. An odd combination, Arazra fully understood that, but he decided to go with the route of offensive and utility capabilities. When he used all five together, he was more than confident that nothing could stand against him.

"Five dominions, no one other can me has reached this height." Arazra declared arrogantly.

While it was true that virtually no one could cast up to five [Dominion] spells as easily as him, that didn't necessarily mean no one actually could, far from it.

Rainer seemed to have a new presence on the field, as if he towered over everyone by right. He could feel warm and explosive energy swerve through his own body, the limitless power of the [Asmodeus] persona.

"Only five... How pitiful. A true Ruler of Sin can outmatch you easily, as I will now demonstrate." Rainer didn't know where his confidence was coming from, but he knew he was correct and his words were law.

Rainer raised both hands and spread his fingers out. On each finger, from left to right, were ten glowing balls of magical substance: Fire, darkness, iron, wind, blood, ice, lightning, magma, sand, and even flesh.

Rainer showed off his true power given to him since his birth, what he was, albeit reluctantly, destined to wield since his beginning. Rainer wielded ten dominions.

Arazra attacked without even contemplating resistance from Rainer. He failed to notice the monster before him and slashed at Rainer with an arc of magic containing properties from all five of his dominions.




The Lost Lord Ch. 27



"Iron." A single word from Rainer caused all of the iron in the scene to collect together and form a thick wall, completely blocking Arazra's attack.

"Flesh and blood." Rainer pointed both hands at Lauren, Nerissa, and then finally at Aureal, completely healing their wounds thanks to his dominion over flesh blood.

"Fire." A blazing pillar of fire, that would rival even Moses himself, formed in the scene, spiraling from the sky. The center of the attack hit Arazra, immolating his skin.

The tough body of a black demon could normally ward off burning flames for a short time, but fire of this magnitude burned Arazra on multiple spots of his body. The black demon jumped out of the pillar, breathing heavily, and stared furiously at Rainer. "You..."

By the time Arazra realized the circumstances changing around him, Rainer had destroyed each of the stone tendrils restricting the spectators with only his fists. 

Rainer then spoke as he walked towards Arazra, "Do you now realize your place? Yes, you are a Son of Lust, and the eldest at that, but you are most certainly not-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT!" Arazra screamed.

"-The Lord of Lust, pretender."

Violent winds exploded in the area caused by Arazra, which were soon calmed by Rainer. Arazra sent dozens of bone shards from multiple corpses left by the fighting flying at Rainer, who caught them all with a shifting wall of sand. Arazra tried to cause more magma eruptions, but each of the spots he focused on was unable to burst, thanks to Rainer holding the ground together. Arazra, frantic with crazed thoughts, ran at Rainer with a frightened face.

"Iron and lightning." Rainer formed a thin line of iron around his fist, which conducted his lightning and slammed it into Arazra's chest.

Arazra received the full impact, not even trying to block, and was sent soaring around seventy meters down the opening in the eleventh terrace walls. Rainer burst into a quick pace in order to catch up to his opponent.

The people who watched both black demons practically fly away could only stare in astonishment.

"Is that truly a Ruler of Sin's power? The power of a Lord of Lust?" Caetorum spoke.

While he could not see, he could clearly sense the immense strength that gravitated only to Rainer.

"I have rarely seen even the previous lord get to this point, but yes... That just goes to show, Rainer is the true Lord of Lust." Asmodea said to the group. "He even healed the wounds of you three without any trouble."

"Fiancée..." Nerissa could only smile and enthusiastically focus her eyes on the distant Rainer, as she paid no attention to anyone else.

Lauren took a more serious tone when she spoke, "I could never fathom such a powerful being. You all saw it clearly, didn't you? He wielded TEN dominions."

Teras joined in, "Yes, as I can only wield four, I am very impressed. I was surprised when Arazra pulled out five when we previously fought, but it is far more amazing to see such an impossible sight of ten dominions. Asmodea, you are very much correct, he is without a doubt the true Lord of Lust."

"...Arazra will not be able to put up a fight against Rainer. However, he still has the [World]." Zazie said solemnly to the group.

-

"I *cough* I'm the rightful Lord of Lust, bastard. How did you do this to me?" Arazra was legitimately surprised, though he refused to accept he was clearly outmatched.

Rainer, still under the effects of [Asmodeus], replied coldly, "It is simply my strength. And if you want to know, you cannot achieve this level by yourself. Only a Lord of Lust can, and I supposedly was given this by the previous lord."

"You're not the lord... Only I can be that person. Father refused to rightfully pass on his power to me. Only a Son of Lust can hope to lead the circle to glory, NOT SOME DAMNED OUTSIDER!" Arazra pulled out the [World].

"Ah, I was wondering when you were going to take that out. I've already seen its power: It can transform and destroy the land of any world or realm. I've noticed something about the Land of Lust when you used it to create those mountains." Rainer pointed his thumb behind his back at the towering new addition to the landscape. "You damage the world each time you use that card. If you use the [World] too much, the Land of Lust will die out. Does a true Lord of Lust do this?"

Arazra burned hotter than a furnace as he swallowed Rainer's words. Even though he listened, the words went through one ear and out the other. Arazra used the [World], despite Rainer's words, and created a tough earthen dome around Rainer. "Don't think a pretender like you can talk to me like that. This [World] will help me conquer everything out there!"

Arazra continued utilizing the card, using its power to make the dome smaller and smaller until it threatened to crush Rainer's body. 

Suddenly, the earthen dome dissolved.

Rainer, amidst the dust, casually spoke again as if nothing in the entire world could threaten his life, "I learned this just now, but there is one special responsibility of a Ruler of Sin, not just I. To keep their circle safe and unscathed." Rainer raised his hand until, to his eyes, was above the mountains Arazra previously formed. "We are given complete autonomy of our circles. We are allowed, to some restriction, to affect our circles and form formations of our desires. And, I don't really like those mountains you created, so say bye bye to them!"

Rainer lowered his hand, and with each centimeter it lowered, the mountains descended a full kilometer. He continued until the mountains completely disappeared and the city was surrounded by the normal mountain range.

Rainer lowered his voice back to normal as he felt [Asmodeus]'s power leave him. He felt the urge to vent his frustration from the entire fight in one final, and unsportsmanlike taunt, "Listen up! You won't ever be a badass demon lord like I can! You failed the three most important criteria: One- Cool bad guys always wear capes or cloaks like I am! Two- Never sleep, that allows dark rings to form under your eyes that make you look like your plotting some nasty demon stuff! And three- Always make cool thoughtful poses that make you look like you got some interesting demon plots in your brain!"

Arazra finally decided to be amazed, much to his disappointment. While he completely ignored Rainer's nonsensical and idiotic words now, he realized the true gap between himself and an actual Lord of Lust. Even his wings and tail seemed to deaden in conjunction with his expression.

"Hm?" Rainer looked at the Grimoire under his arm then back to Arazra. "Someone wants to talk to you." Rainer set the Grimoire down on the ground two meters in front of Arazra.

'Ah, hey there!' A jubilant, ethereal voice spoke mentally to both Rainer and Arazra.

Arazra immediately recognized the mental voice and replied with the same mental words, 'You... Father.' 

'Yup, yup, yup! I'm living inside the Grimoire as of now. Quite a cozy place, even has a quaint canopy bed with some interesting pillow arrangements.'

'As frivolous as always, father. Get on with it.'

'Muh... Oh all right. Now, I suppose you're wondering why I live on in my favorite book. Well, I kinda like living, but I don't really feel like dealing with the problems of life. So, I decided on death and giving my power to a chosen heir.'

'Why? Why didn't you choose me?'

'Two reasons: The first is that your ambitions are too great. Us Rulers of Sin, while we may wage war for whatever reasons, will and should never try to take over another circle, neither is it possible to usurp Heaven. The price for doing so will be the utter destruction of the Land of Lust.'

Arazra and Rainer listened carefully. Both were learning things they never knew before.

'The second is that I didn't want you to have the great responsibility of being a Lord of Lust, it is too troublesome. I can understand your loyalty to this land, but give it a break and learn to relax. I gave my power to this guy because... Well, I thought it'd be interesting! Hahahaha!'

(You damn bastard.)

'I heard that, Rainer. Either way, I warned you not to go bringing war to the circle. You lost, so you have to face the consequences fit for traitors of the highest level.'

Arazra seemed as if he lost all thoughts of resistance. 'I see.' He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep with a strange peace to his eyes.

Rainer popped in the mental conversation, 'If I may have a thought...'

'Oh? Only one thought?'

'Die, bastard. Erm, since I'm the Lord of Lust and all... I get to decide on the punishment, right?'

Asmodeus' voice seemed to give off a throaty laugh, 'Now you're getting it! You resemble a Ruler of Sin more and more each time we talk. Yup, you're absolutely cooooooorect! However, please do not be too lenient with my son, or anyone who fought with him for that matter. I warned them time and time again not to trespass with my decision over who will become the Lord of Lust, yet they did and caused a vast amount of death. Be harsh... Very harsh.'

'Oi, I'm the Lord of Lust. You can't order me around. Still, I'll at least go with that... I'm too tired to even think about this damn war anymore.'

'Yea, you surprised me there. I didn't think you would try to control my power with Zazie's [Fool]. That card can clear a person's mind and focus his senses. You must be thoroughly exhausted by trying to control [Asmodeus] with that card and your power. WELL! I've got no problem! I'm all snugly and warm drinking some nice wine while I watch your entertaining life!'

Rainer wanted nothing more but to enter the Grimoire and beat Asmodeus to death, despite there only being a piece of the late demon's soul in a book.

"I just want to go take a long nap..."

-----

A full two weeks passed since the war ended. News of the infighting in the Land of Lust reached all corners of each of the seven circles, Heaven, and magic heavy spots of the human world.

The results of the war known as the "First Great Rebellion of Lust" were heavily stretched and exaggerated. As the Land of Lust never encountered a war of such stature, it was classified as a rebellion among the general supernatural populace.

Either way, it soon became known that the Son of Lust, Arazra, completely lost and was defeated by the mysterious chosen heir. Rainer's name was well protected, only the close few ever knew the real names of a Ruler of Sin, unless that person was well known before becoming one. Most only knew him as the two given titles to the Ruler of Sin of the Lust circle, the Lord of Lust and Asmodeus.

Because of a war of such magnitude passed through such a short amount of time, correct information regarding the war never got too far. The only news that could be confirmed by most outside the Land of Lust was the outcomes of several important figures.

Xizaen was slain by the nameless leader of Huracan. Emiel didn't wish his name to become known, but he at least wanted some prestige to go to Huracan, so Xizaen's death was given credit to the unknown leader.

Renning was found to be alive and had escaped somewhere with his soul weapon in hand. Reginald found that he couldn't keep such a potent item inside his body for too long, so during his sleep, it left his body, somehow, and returned to Renning.

Ornias was found dead by suicide after biting off his tongue, it didn't get out what Teras had done to him, but it wasn't too pretty.

Hezazias disappeared, but not before leaving a note next to Caetorum's room saying,

"Good work out there. While I am disappointed my brother lost, I am also somewhat happy your side won. Well, I don't want to be punished nor do I really feel like staying around... Maybe I'll retire to the Sands of Sloth and enjoy all the interesting girls there! Hahahahaha!"

Sasilith was found alive; she was given the same punishment as her beloved brother.

And Arazra, whom everyone who was interested in the war's results, was sure to be executed, was given a chance at a life by being banished from the Land of Lust. The reasons for why was not divulged, no one could fathom the Lord of Lust's reasoning.

-

"The mountains disappeared, and you guys just rushed straight in and made Arazra's troops surrender. That's really awesome!"

"I don't know what you mean by awesome, Estair, but I simply just did as my duties dictated. Iris and I, while we may not care for each other, at least know when to set aside differences and work together... Though I bet next time we meet, we'll probably end up killing each other, hahaha!"

"Gyahahagya! But still, just why did only your district receive the message?"

"I suspect that there were probably sympathizers to Arazra in the messenger group or something along that line, Zagan."

"Nergal, Nergal, Nergal, NERGAL, Nergal..."

"Oh shut it."

"Hell no, it's fun to annoy people like you."

"I don't see why, you're not even participating in the conversation, Alizae. You're a nuisance as always."

"Hey now, don't speak like that to a Daughter of Lust!"

"Well, sister, we're not necessarily Daughters of Lust anymore. I mean, technically, that guy is the Lord now, not father."

"Well, it's still fun to flaunt rank!"

"Alizae, Alizae, Alizae, ALIZAE, Alizae..."

"Don't you go copying me!"

A rather heated, and increasingly more and more off topic conversation was occurring in a reserved spot in the ninth terrace of Lust's Capital. The participants were all the current district leaders, excluding those who rebelled. Zagan, Azail, Alizae, Nergal, Sitri, and Estair all sat down in a circular table awaiting their orders. Their location was a classy restaurant dedicated to human world food. Though the district leaders decided to be anything but classy.

Thanks to the utility of magic, already a fifth of the damage done to the city had been repaired, though only the easiest fifth. Demons were no stranger to major conflicts thanks to their long lives, so life basically returned to normal.

"Sitri, have you recovered fully?" Azail asked with a relaxed tone.

Sitri drank a full glass of tart wine before replying, "I've had worse! I was captured, that's all, really."

"That's a relief."

"Even so, it was a lamentable capture. A conflict so immense was taking place while I was taken prisoner so easily."

"Wow."

"Yup."

"No... I mean, wow, you used some big words in that sentence compared to other sentences you've spoken in the past-guh!"

Sitri punched her brother in the shoulder with the force of a bull, much to everyone's enjoyment. Even the youngest participant, Estair, could talk and laugh just as jovially as the gruff Zagan.

"The official coronation will happen tomorrow, as why everyone's here." The furry bat-like demon flexed his wings and fingers before continuing, "Think our new

Lord can take being a Lord of Lust?" Nergal put this question forth to everyone.

Zagan went first, "As long as if he kicked Arazra's sorry tail single-handedly, he's fine by me! Gyaha!"

Then Azail, "I obviously couldn't get a good impression of him at the meeting. It was over so suddenly thanks to Justinian's interference. I could tell that he seemed like he was in way over his head then... But now, after hearing his grand accomplishments, I don't know what to expect from him."

Alizae spoke semi-seriously for once, "Yup, he's a chip off father's block. Almost like a direct Son of Lust himself... Wait, you don't think...?"

Sitri laughed, "Mphmf! Of course not! Still, out of all of us, I've watched him the most. He obviously has time to grow, but there is no doubt that he is the Lord of Lust, father's power certainly resides within him."

Estair waited patiently last, as he usually did considering the seniority of everyone around him. "If I may be a bit august... I think I've done rather well as the ninth district leader, even though I've yet to reach triple digits in age. I'm only older than the Lord of Lust by eight years. We're both fledglings in that regard, of course he can do just as well as I, even better by my speculation."

Sitri and Alizae, who sat next to Estair on opposite sides of him, began to tease him by mussing his hair and pinching his cheeks. "He's practically your mirror! You'll have to bow to yourself next time you see him!" "Our little Estair is all grown up... My how the years have gone."

(On a side note, Estair, though aged twenty-six years, is considered to be a cute little boy to older demons. You're not considered a full "adult" by most demons until you pass the triple digits in age.)

Estair sat motionless through the unwanted attention and only said, "Oy vey..."

-

"Hoh, why didn't you join us at the restaurant! You're welcome anytime my interesting new comrade! Gyahaha!" The boisterous Zagan happened upon Reginald and decided to strike up a conversation.

"I'm not entirely comfortable sitting next to so many Lust demons when I'm a Pride demon. I mean, when has something like this ever happened? A demon of another Sin being promoted to one of the highest positions in another Sin's circle." Reginald wasn't his usual proud and confident self. He was more apprehensive than anything.

"I don't see why you're so scared, boy!"

"Hey!"

"You're the one who wanted to become a district leader... And here you are, leader of the fifth district, Hezazias' old spot!"

"Well I wanted to become a district leader because I thought it'd be interesting... I mean, a pride demon becoming a district leader inside the Land of Lust is quite strange. That ought to turn many heads! Now I'm thinking it is more and more impossible."

"Mm, you're quite the scaredy cat, aren't you Reginald?" Sitri saw the two demons talking to each other and decided to butt in.

"Hey now, Miss Sitri! You're speaking to your equal! Gyahaha!" Zagan switched his gaze back and forth between the two, until he saw a certain invisible spark. "Maybe I should leave the two you alone?"

"Ah, hey! What the heck does that mean? Dirty old armored fuck..." Sitri scowled at Zagan who comically pranced away in a full set of plate armor.

"Looks like we're district buddies. I'm fifth and you're sixth, after all." Reginald said, trying to gain some vigor.

"That doesn't mean jack. Seriously, you become a district leader after somehow convincing our cute little lord. You're too arrogant!"

Reginald smiled and stood upright, "Of course I'm arrogant. I am a pride demon... A pride demon serving the Land of Lust. Oh yea, this'll be interesting indeed."

"There are going to be so many problems in your district..."

"Then I'll need your help? Tell you what, I'll get off my high horse every once in a while and ask 'Pretty please, Sitri?' in order to gain your assistance. That good?" Reginald emphasized the expression with a sarcastic humor that finally forced Sitri to squeak out a small laugh.

Instantly noticing the break in her attitude, Sitri hushed up the laughing before it got too loud. "You'll have to beg harder than that, but I guess I could help you out."

"Mmhmm, Miss Sitri indeed! I look forward to the future." Reginald said with a small head bow, he clearly had ulterior motives at hand, motives that Zagan already noticed and seemed to encourage.

Only Sitri couldn't understand the meaning behind Reginald's words. "Seriously, you're just like Zagan, damn it. So annoying!"

-

"Oh, so you ARE going to stay for the coronation after all. I thought you left already." Lauren asked to the Djinn, Luce.

Luce stroked his bald, blue, and tattooed head, "Yea... I guess there's no harm in scoring some free food before I go.

"Really? That's rich."

"Why not? I do admit I like the deserts Lust offers compared to the other circles.

Besides, it's not like my people or your mother are waiting for me."

Lauren sighed, "I'll ask again, don't bother with mother. Just give her up already. You didn't fall for her beauty or something, did you?"




The Lost Lord Ch. 27



"No, no, no, nothing like that... I think. All I'm really going to do is tell her there's no more need to fulfill her wish to protect you."

"Geez, for such a violent mother from what I read of history, she sure gives a flip about her daughter on the side. Of the kids she had that's recorded in history, didn't she abuse or use them or something?"

"Oh, them? Nah, they weren't her kids. As far as I know, you're her only daughter."

"I see." Lauren looked down, as if deep in thought before breaking up again. "With your accomplishments in the war, you probably could have gotten a new title, like that Reginald guy."

"I'm not really interested."

"Well aren't you cool."

"Damn right! Still, it'd be weird enough having two non Land of Lust denizens as influential folks around here. It's strange enough to see a Pride demon like him being ranked up in this circle instead of the Plains of Pride. I wonder how that'll go over there..."

"Well, in case I don't get a good chance to speak with you after the coronation... Good luck on finding mother."

"Yea, thanks. I'm sure as heck going to need it."

-

On a grave where a good friend of Asmodea was buried, the red succubus knelt down and forced herself to hold back tears. "Tozomat... I was not able to do it in the end. You wanted the man responsible for that cruel death of your mother given justice. Yet he died by his rival's hands."

Asmodea pulled out a blue pendant that Rainer had given her. When she saw it, she instantly remembered the pendant Tozomat always wore. She remembered that Tozomat had given Rainer the pendant so that he may also exact justice on the man with the scar in the shape of a star, Xizaen.

Tozomat's grave was in the shape of a crescent moon (though the Land of Lust actually has two moons). The grave itself was carved out of a special stone that was taken from the tenth terrace, which had several influential sculptors. She didn't know whether Tozomat would have like his grave to be made out of stone from Arazra's district, but in the end, dead men have no eyes or ears.

She placed the pendant around the crescent moon, letting it slide to the bottom of the grave with its golden colored chain rope.

"Whether you thought death was an appropriate punishment for Xizaen in the end, I won't ever know now. However, Rainer managed to capture him before his death, so that before the war was over, he could dispense justice like you wished." Asmodea placed a hand above her breast and heart. She spoke through closed eyes in order to cease the tears, "I am truly sorry you couldn't live through this."

Over her shoulder, Asmodea heard a voice she vaguely remembered. "Hello, may I know your name?"

Turning around, Asmodea saw a tall blue woman. She was definitely not a demon,

Asmodea could tell that much from simple observation. On a closer look, Asmodea could see hints of a certain humanoid species that resides in the Empire of Envy, the Jotuns.

Asmodea replied politely to the newcomer, "Of course, please call me Asmodea, I have been friends with Tozomat since childhood. Are you also here because of... Tozomat?"

"Yes, please call me Janr. I had heard he had died, and I wanted to pay my respect."

Asmodea finally remembered- Janr was the Jotun woman who Tozomat had fought in the decade's tournament.

"Janr, you are the one who fought Tozomat in-..."

"Yes, in the decade's tournament. He fought a grand battle, that day was forever etched in my memory." Janr bowed and asked respectfully, "Is it alright for me to know how he died?"

Asmodea saw no reason not to tell her, so she answered honestly while forcing her voice not to convulse or crack. "I do not know the exact details myself... However, I learned from my Lord that Tozomat fought in a three-way battle between himself and Caetorum, two of the Parish, and two pillars from Sloth. Tozomat fought and defeated Veronica of the Parish, though he was defeated by Yaotl, Ignorance of Sloth who apparently used a [Rush] spell."

Janr's eyes narrowed. "I see. I have heard of the skill and prowess of the Parish, it is no small feat to defeat any one of them. And fighting a pillar right after is even more exceptional... That pillar could only defeat him through use of a [Rush] spell, how cowardly."

"I learned that my Lord defeated Yaotl right after in revenge." Asmodea added.

"It would have been nice to take revenge myself... But I believe it is better this way. Please convey my utmost gratitude and thanks to the Lord of Lust. I am glad Tozomat at least got to serve such an honorable and strong demon like him before his end." 

And with that, Janr knelt down next to Asmodea and closed her eyes. The two sat together, in front of Tozomat's grave.

They could almost feel the shadows around them reaching up behind them and giving a silent pat on the shoulder from the taciturn Romance of Lust, Tozomat. His name would most certainly go down in legend among the Pillar of Lust.

-

"Oh? You're not only a Daughter of Pride and a rare white demon... But you're also the fiancée of the Lord of Lust? Neato!"

Nerissa found herself practicing a new style of swordplay inside Old Age. In order to pass the time, she vowed to practice until even her clothes would perfectly adhere to her movements, no matter how loose or baggy. Currently, Nerissa was being trained by a soul residing in the sword called Croft.

"Yup, my fiancée, Rainer, is the absolute best!" Nerissa replied enthusiastically.

"Not that I am disrespecting the Lord in any way..." Croft tried to put in as he clashed with the young white demoness.

"Then don't!"

"Uh, ok. Well, but isn't it kind of boring to be given a marriage like that since before birth? You don't really get to discover love, it's basically forced on you."

"Not at all! I thought like that at first... But mother would never, I think, put me in a situation like this that I would hate. And it turned out to be true, I really, really, rweally love him!"

"Haha, you messed up on that word. And it's my win again!" Croft forced Nerissa's sword to the side with a powerful slash and continued the momentum of the slash by resting the blade on the demoness' neck.

"Make sure to take us with you when the whole marriage thing actually happens. Marias loves a good wedding love story!" Croft joked as pulled back.

Another soul, whom Nerissa presumed to be Marias said, "I do not!"

"Out of curiosity, do all of the souls in this sword know and get along with each other?"

Croft tilted his head and thought about the question for a second before replying. "Well, until a better swordsman comes in and replaces one of us, we're basically stuck with each other for eternity. So yea, we try to get along. There are a couple rivalries here and there, especially with Peter and Mol. Heck, maybe someday you'll join us here. Well, let's hope you live a long life with that Rainer fellow!"

"Thank you."

-

"You are to be given a full pardon, eh, Desire Zazie?"

"...Yes."

"We haven't spoken in quite a long time. And here you are, telling me you will be joining the new Lord of Lust as a what?"

"...Do I have to say it?"

"Of course! It's fun to see a tall girl like you squirm all cutely like that."

"...Um, I will be Rainer's new concubine... Or wife, I hope."

The one teasing Zazie was one of the succubus' few friends in the Land of Lust, Katiyana of the Yuki-Onna humanoid species that was taken in to the circle. While the two rarely ever visited each other, Katiyana was actually one of the only people, Rainer now included, who knew about Zazie's abilities. The two trusted each other that much, and neither could figure out why.

"Ohohoho! You hope, huh? I knew you were searching for the man of your desires this long time, Zazie... But for it to turn out to be the new Lord of Lust, you certainly have high standards! Trying to rise up in the ranks, eh girl?"

Katiyana's somewhat crude speech relaxed Zazie to speak much more comfortably. "...That's not very appropriate of you to say, Kati. Didn't you and Iris cat-fight over the previous lord quite a bit?"

Katiyana raised a dark eyebrow over her pale skin, "Touché. That's the Zazie I remember. Still, it is impressive that the new Asmodeus managed to change you this much. I wasn't sure what to think of him at first when I saw him during the meeting, but I change my opinion of him quite drastically. There is no doubt I will be serving him faithfully. Maybe I'll even get interested in him too, hmm?"

Zazie stared coldly at her friend, "...[Justice]." She pulled out one of her more powerful cards and channeled the power from it.

"Hey, whoa there, girl! I was just kidding, honestly."

-

The leader of the fallen angels sat before Aureal and asked quietly, "I would implore you to reconsider... But I can obviously see there is no point when facing your loyalty and determination to the new Lord of Lust."

"I thank you for the offer. I am most grateful that you told me about my kind."

"Yes. Because of the valuable nature of fallen angels in general, many demons go to great lengths to acquire one of us. Many do associate with demons still, like you, out of their own free will of course. Sadly, some fallen angels fall too greatly and become even worse than some of the worst demons out there."

Aureal shifted uncomfortably, "I was alone for a great majority of my life because of a strange power given to me by our creator. I was alone and despised by many angels for many decades. Very few even talked to me, and those that did, generally did so out of requirement for my missions. I thought my power to wield both dark and light useless and a burden. I thought I should just die because of my useless nature. What use is there for an angel who betrays her very nature by even being able to cast dark magic? I never once considered falling from grace as that would convince myself about my useless nature." Aureal's voice was sorrowful until now. It took on a strange light that seemed directly from the heart. "Then by pure luck, I was given a mission to watch over and eventually kill Master- No, Rainer. Before given the order to kill, I accidentally spoke with him, and I felt strange, being able to speak normally. Even after divulging my nature as a demon's natural enemy, he didn't seem to care. He wanted to befriend me not out of a desire to save his life, but because he truly didn't see why he shouldn't. He never saw the boundary between himself and I. At that point, I questioned my life within Heaven for the first time. He didn't even want to turn me from Virtue at all... Not that Rainer knew how at first. Still, I knew then at least. I knew that there was a life away from that prison in my heart, which he unlocked with the key known as Sin. I am honestly happy for the first time as a whole in my life... Thanks to him, the man I love."

Azazel listened patiently, soaking in every word. "That's quite the story. I won't say I'm not disappointed, because your power is truly legendary. You would be a great boon to our community. And knowing your history in the previous war between demons and angels, I would give you a top ranked position among our small military. But it's obvious what path you wish to take."

"Thank you, Azazel." Aureal dipped her head in respect, stopping when she thought of a question. "Are you going to attend the coronation?"

"Probably not. I don't really show political favor to any circle. I only came to that meeting from before because I hoped for a chance to speak with you." Azazel placed a hand on his brow and bowed even deeper than Aureal, "I hope we can meet again. Make sure to train that power of yours to protect the Asmodeus from harm with light or dark."

"Of course."

As Azazel turned around and about to take flight, he raised a finger in the air as if remembering something. "One more thing! Since you're obviously so head over heels for the guy, get a little aggressive with him. Try to steal him away from the Daughter of Pride and marry him first or something! Muahahaha!"

Aureal smiled and watched Azazel and his cadre of fallen angels fly away to the realm transfer stones.

-

The official coronation was not a grand spectacle like most demons thought it would be.

The circles, depending on their Sin, had ceremonies of this and other natures be quite varied.

Some were extravagant, some were simple, some were ritualistic, some were flamboyant, and to Rainer's request, the coronation became a simple matter.

Because no demon was old enough to have ever saw the coronation of the previous lord, none knew how Lust's general coronations actually went. So the circle followed the standard procedure that all the other circles followed, though without the booming crowds and flowery decorations.

All Rainer did was walk up to the comfortable throne, sat down, and accept leadership by way of a somber gesture acted out in front of a number of Lust's most important figures.

There was no jewels, no crowns, or lavish clothes like the other circles, Sloth and Wrath excluded, only actions that spoke more than ten thousand words.

Of those who attended were the district leaders, excluding the rebelling ones of course. Both Iris of the Harpies and Katiyana of the Yuki-Onna attended, though taking places in opposite sides of the room like usual. Each of the Pillar of Lust attended, including Zazie since she was given a full pardon. Nerissa, Aureal, Emiel (who maintained anonymity), Reginald, and Luce also attended, which was obvious. The ambassadors who attended the meeting from before, with a new ambassador from Sloth, each attended. Various figures from Lust's economy, politics, military, and offices attended. And like usual, none of the other Rulers of Sin thought a coronation was worth their time, like they did with any other new Ruler of Sin.

A magic picture was taken of Rainer and distributed to the Land of Lust and other circles and realms, showing the new Lord of Lust. While many secrets were kept, the Rulers of Sin were at least expected to give out their picture.

And so, a picture was distributed, a picture that showed Rainer with a purposely funny face, close to the mastery of Calvin from the old comic strip, and holding up double peace signs on his hands.

-

The evening after...

Rainer found himself flopping down on the massive bed in the Lord of Lust's personal bedroom. As of now, only he was inside, though as procedure demanded, Little Rouge was standing guard outside.

Rainer was half amazed and half confounded when he heard that Little Rouge and Zazie shared an intense battle that ended in Zazie's victory. He was slightly depressed on hearing just how much trouble everyone went through for him. He heard how much pain everyone went through in a war he never really had a choice in taking part in.

However, Rainer told himself that nobody did this because they had to. They did it because they wanted to, because they believed in him. And so he perked up and ate some more of that strange delicious demon food consisting of grilled plants, marinated meat from an animal called a gale, and a fluffy pyramid like pie for desert.

Rainer knew that things would only get more complicated from here. Demons are just that sort of species. So he should take every chance he could and relax and have fun like a Lord of Lust should. And speaking of which...

"Raaain Raaain!" A frilly, though with a mature seductive feeling, voice rang out into his ears.

"Asmodea... My name is Rainer, R-a-i-n-e-r! Rainer, got it? Not Rain Rain, not Rainy, it is Rainer." Rainer emphasized his name numerous times, though, to his misfortune, it fell on empty ears.

"Yes, I know, Rainy Rainy, but I have not gotten any alone time with you at all these past two weeks! I am lonely without you..." Asmodea placed her round butt next to Rainer and swooned up next to his body, pushing her massive chest into his body.

It was true. Rainer hadn't had a single chance to be alone with not only Asmodea, but anyone else. Throughout the two weeks, he had been in a perpetual state of arousal that threatened to have his cock burst out of his pants at any moment in front of a pretty female.

Right now was no different.

"Rainy Rainy... Just why the he-"

Asmodea silenced Rainer's words by pushing one of her fingers, which she just coated in her own juices, into her beloved's mouth. The young incubus couldn't help but fall prey to Asmodea's seductive actions.

Rainer licked up Asmodea's sweet taste on her finger until she pulled out the finger and brought him in for a heavy kiss.

As if days of accumulated frustration peeled away like an onion's skin, the two lovingly played with each other's tongues and lips. Rainer sucked and kissed both of Asmodea's red lips while she sucked in his tongue and caressed the forked appendage with her own tongue in her mouth.

The two would have continued on, if not for an interruption.

Tinkle!

The two abruptly broke the kiss and faced the source of the noise. An open mouthed and wide-eyed Nerissa who dropped a plate full of demonic fruit. Beside Nerissa was a giggling Lauren who was obviously laughing at Nerissa's reaction and a solemn, if not sorrowful, Aureal watching Rainer and Asmodea's display with an expression that said, "I want to join!" Last but not least was Zazie, who seemed to be saying under her breath, "...I knew it, he's a Lord of Lust after all."

"Oh my, I thought I got here with plenty of time to spare to be with my cute little lord."

Asmodea said with a sarcastic frown on her face.

"Asmodeaaaaa..." Nerissa walked with the gait of a swaying undead monster and the voice that just shouted for everyone to run away. "We agreed that no one would attack MY fiancée until he came for one of us... Namely me."

"Master apparently cannot resist the charms of the one known as the Seduction of Lust... As expected of my salacious master." Aureal's words pierced Rainer like needles.

"I knew coming here was the right choice-haha! Ahem, everything is so entertaining, especially watching Nerissa catch Rainer with his pants down." (Oi, Lauren...)

"...Rainer!" Zazie almost looked like she was about to burst into tears, though she kept that to herself with some stealthy face maneuvering.

Rainer, the source of the commotion could only lean back, as if retreating from the Mongolian horde before him. The situation now looked like a husband being caught by his... Four wives with a brand new mistress. Despite engaging in multiple libidinous acts since becoming a demon, he still could never figure a way to fast talk himself out of this sort of trouble.

Despite it all, Rainer's voice remained sturdy and smooth, "Ah, if you give me a moment to explain..."

"NOPE!"

"Denied, Master." 

"Why would I? Hahaha!" 

"...No." 

"You are on your own here."

Nerissa, Aureal, Lauren, Zazie, and then finally Asmodea each spoke at practically the same moment, interrupting Rainer's train of thought.

(Am I going to die here? Tonight may be my greatest trial...) Rainer told himself while trying to placate the girls with frantic gesticulation. It felt like Death itself had its grip on him and was able to crush him at any moment.

Then, safety came in an unlikely form. Each of the five women huddled together and began mumbling and whispering to each other low enough so that Rainer couldn't even hear when he strained his ears.

He grew worried and once again felt Death's grip on his neck. Just what sort of plots and devastating plans could these sirens come up with?

A long ten minutes passed. Each time Rainer tried to inch closer and pry into their secrets, the circle of girls moved further away, laughing their evil laughs.

"We've come to a decision." The representative of the group who spoke turned out to be Aureal of all people. "Master is not allowed to come to climax until each of us has done so first."




The Lost Lord Ch. 27



"Ahah..." Rainer placed a hand on the back of his neck and laughed uncomfortably. "Um, but..."

"No buts! Fiancée, I knew that since you were a Lord of Lust, your insatiable appetite wouldn't allow you to stick with only me. You had to stick your paws into Asmodea here before me, then after I, Lauren, even poor little Aureal, and I soon learned you placed your corruptive lust on Zazie."

"..." Zazie shifted shyly behind Nerissa with a profusely blushing face.

Rainer sighed and looked downwards. He waited a good long minute before looking up with a lustful smirk and relentless eyes. "Alright, I don't mind."

"Oh my, aren't you confident."

"My little Rainer, you are just so delicious!"

Both Lauren and Asmodea spoke in turn as they helped each other out of their clothes while moving towards the bed. Once free of their cloth prisons, they snuggled up next to Rainer on opposite sides, pushing their voluptuous chests into his body.

Rainer grew more and more lewd at the sight of these two stripping, and decided to take advantage of their willingness by grabbing the large fleshy orbs softly. He reached around the soft tit flesh with his fingers and squished the hardened buds eliciting moans of varying husky degree from both Lauren and Asmodea. He squeezed and pushed the bumps around in different directions until he found a new set of breasts in front of his face belonging to Nerissa.

Nerissa squealed happily and crushed her chest in Rainer's face. Rainer himself, while surprised, opened his mouth and took in both of Nerissa's sensitive nipples. He sucked and nibbled on them both at the same time while playing with both lovely chests of the human and succubus next to him.

"Time is money, fiancée!" Nerissa kissed both cheeks and smothered her lips all over Rainer's face while moving a hand down to his bulging crotch. She fished out Rainer's shaft, which had been itching to sink itself in a tight snatch like Nerissa's own.

Nerissa practically tackled Rainer onto the bed and forced her pussy instantly on Rainer's hard cock. "Yaaaahn! Fian-Rainer! You're filling me up to the brim..." Nerissa moaned as she felt her tight hole fill up completely to the brim as she had described.

In order to make Nerissa the first one to fall, Rainer grunted and wrapped his fingers around Nerissa's plump butt and pulled her towards his body. Nerissa tossed her head back while groaning in joy. She silenced her cries by locking her lips with Rainer's mouth. She felt Rainer pump his throbbing shaft into her yearning nether region.

...

Off to the side, the other girls finally went into action. Asmodea, as she pranced over to Zazie, called to Rainer and said, "Now, we said you have to make us each cum once. So even though I plan to have a little fun with Zazie here, unless you cause the climax, it will not count!"

Zazie stepped back in apprehension because of Asmodea's prophetic words. "...Um, Asmodea, I don't think-Ayah!"

Asmodea simply smirked and chuckled in a sinister voice as she grabbed Zazie's arms and pulled her face into her mouth. Asmodea pulled out her best seductive kiss on the shy violet succubus.

Zazie resisted at first, but she soon fell prey to the prying lips of the one known as the Seduction of Lust. She found it impossible to break out of the red succubus' pace no matter how hard she tried. Zazie attempted to push away Asmodea, but she only ended up opening her mouth wider, granting Asmodea unrestrained access to her luscious lips and forked tongue.

Eventually, Zazie found it impossible to resist her lust demon tendencies, so she accepted the tongue and returned the lewd kiss. The violet succubus got so into the display, she even ended up accidentally pushing Asmodea onto the bed, with the red succubus' voracious set of large breasts hugging Zazie's body.

...

While those two engaged in a gratuitous display of love, Aureal grew aggressive and moved behind Lauren with her armor gone. She surprised Lauren, who released a cute shriek, by grabbing the busty witch's boobs and bounced them around in her pale hands.

Lauren was sitting down, cross-legged, when she found herself being groped by a sexually senseless fallen angel from behind. "Oooh, Aureal, you naughty little angel! Let me return the favor!"

Lauren pulled off her glasses and set them to a stand on the side. Her giggling voice found itself silenced when she pushed Aureal flat on the bed with jiggling breasts upright and a deliciously wet pussy for Lauren to enjoy. Lauren moved into a position where her butt was pointed upwards for any of the members of the tirade to enjoy. She moved her lips down to the angelic snatch. She licked and smacked her lips, as if readying herself before a grand meal.

"Ah, please!" Aureal begged.

Lauren looked at Aureal's pale face evilly, "Please what? In a full sentence, dear."

"Um, please eat me out down there."

"Of course!" Lauren gave Aureal's tits a small squeeze before complying with the fallen angel's request.

Lauren began by locating the sensitive nub under the angel's hood. She placed her lips around the small object and sucked on Aureal's clit until the angel began writhing in obvious pleasure. "It seems this is one of your weak spots!" Lauren said enthusiastically as she poked the nub with her tongue and licked each millimeter.

Aureal spread her legs even wider as Lauren moved on to other parts of her pussy. Her black feather wings lay down, splayed on both her sides. She forced her legs wide open with her arms in order to give Lauren unrestricted access.

The witch took advantage of Aureal's wordless offer by plunging two of her fingers into Aureal's tight depths. Around her fingers, Lauren licked and played with her lithe folds. She pulled out every trick in the book and swiftly brought Aureal to climax. 

...

Rainer almost effortlessly made Nerissa cum. At this point, Rainer had Nerissa pinned down on the bed as he shoved his cock back into Nerissa's pussy, piercing the entrance to her womb.

"Wahhh! Yes, Rainer, fucking harder! I'm going to..."

Rainer could already tell what was happening before the pretty demoness could speak.

Just to tie the knot, Rainer bit playfully on one of Nerissa's erect nipples as it bounced wildly in front of his face. With a final grunt, Rainer pushed his cock all the way into Nerissa's pussy, completely penetrating into her womb.

Nerissa's wings and tail shot out into the air as a reaction to Nerissa's explosive climax. She called out various incomprehensible words that died out when the pleasurable waves died down.

Rainer retracted himself from Nerissa's pussy and looked around. He saw Asmodea pushing her tail into Zazie's drenched folds while teasing her breasts and tight backdoor with her fingers. On the other side, Lauren and Aureal were in a sixty-nine position, licking and eating away at each other's openings.

He looked down at Nerissa, who was mumbling Rainer's name as she drifted to sleep.

He swiveled his head around, trying to decide his next victim-erm, partner. Eventually, he decided it would be easier to take advantage of the lovely duet involving a witch and angel. Rainer sauntered over with his hard shaft dangling below him until he found himself positioned behind Aureal's bubbly ass and above Lauren's pretty face.

"Ah, mind if I join in?" Rainer asked politely.

Lauren pushed her hair out of her eyes and giggled when she saw Rainer's hard prick resting several hairs above her nose, ready to push into Aureal at any time. She didn't say anything; the only action she pulled was sucking one of Rainer's deft balls past her lips. She sucked and licked around the sack below his shaft even more lewdly than she meant to thanks to the fierce, but orgasmic, tongue Aureal applied on Lauren's pussy.

While Rainer would normally just enjoy the sensations Lauren applied on his balls, he couldn't let himself cum until everyone else did. Hell hath no fury like a group of women scorned (and in this case horny!).

Rainer pushed himself into Aureal's tight entrance, not her wet snatch, but her warm ass. Nerissa's juices already lubed his cock up, so the journey into Aureal's butt wasn't too tough to deal with.

Although only a small bit of his shaft was able to enter Aureal's backdoor, the fallen angel's wings became upright and her voice shrill. "Rainer, it's to-too tight back there!" Aureal's words seemed to conflict with her body, as she tightened up around Rainer's shaft and tried to pull it in deeper. Aureal's moans and squeals flooded the room, even drowning out Zazie's frantic screams of pleasure.

...

At this point, Asmodea was using her tail as a live toy and penetrating deeply into Zazie's pulsing vagina. Zazie was at the red succubus' utter mercy, being used to please each of Asmodea's carnal desires. Although, it was more like Asmodea was pleasing each of the ragdoll-like Zazie's carnal desires.

As she was taller than Asmodea, Zazie's limbs and head went limp over the red succubus' shoulders and thighs. The only body part that obeyed Zazie, was an arm that held on to Asmodea's chest. Although unintentional, Zazie's hand grasped the underside of Asmodea's right breast.

Asmodea laughed and grinned her ever sultry smile. She laid the savory and exquisite Zazie down on the bed. "Now, my desirable Zazie, I think you should be the one to please me until it is our turn for Rainer to attend to us."

"...We attend to Rainer. Not the other way-mpfm!" A dripping demonic pussy belonging to Asmodea muffled Zazie's protests.

"Maybe so, but in the Lord of Lust's bedroom... All the rules change!" Asmodea said sweetly as she patted Zazie's cheeks.

Asmodea perfectly positioned herself so that Zazie's horns didn't get in the way. The only thing that could penetrate her body at this moment was Zazie's tongue. And penetrate it did.

Zazie found herself complying and instantly giving in to Asmodea's forceful flow.

She felt compelled, by her lustful nature and Asmodea's succubus "pheromones", to begin eating out Asmodea. While hesitant at first, a sharp sensation of intrusion that shot forth from her violet snatch forced her to give in and lick away.

Asmodea wiggled her tail around with nowhere to go. "Oh my... My tail could use a nice, warm, and cozy little succubus hole to sleep in. Oh, it looks like your lewd pussy, Zazie, is offering again."

While Zazie wanted to protest, she couldn't, lest she give up tasting Asmodea's delicious center. Like a drug, once Zazie got into it, she just had to go back for more. 

That was how sexual acts were to lust demons. And Zazie who went without sex for the majority of the decades of her life, the lascivious spirit inside her finally broke down in quivering heaps of pleasure.

Thanks to the unusually long length of her tail, Asmodea could put around half of it in Zazie's grasping pussy. While she felt the spasms of pleasure from Zazie's lips and tongue, Asmodea did her best to please the tall succubus below her with her red tail.

...

Rainer grunted in discomfort as he forced himself to hold back his climax. The threats from the girls were far scarier than facing Arazra from before.

He slammed his shaft into Lauren as he plunged his fingers inside Aureal's gasping snatch. He had just finished coaxing an orgasm from Aureal out of her ass, but the insatiable fallen angel was lying down next to Rainer's legs and he found the exceptionally cute fallen angel irresistible to tease some more.

The human girl who followed Rainer into the Land of Lust was in front of Rainer on her knees and butt in the air. Such a simple position proved more than arousing than Rainer expected, and it proved a tough opponent for him to resist cumming into Lauren's tight pussy.

He felt the tender walls constrict around the shaft as he pistoned it in and out, attempting to milk his shaft for the seed that he so desperately wanted to keep in.

Rainer took his free hand, which was groping the luscious globes on both sides of his shaft, coated the middle finger with Lauren's fresh juices, and slid it into her tight ring. As he briskly pumped his shaft through Lauren's tight walls, he saw the other hole was just lonely without a friend, so why not give it one?

While he expected Lauren to last a little bit longer, the witch cried out in pure elation thanks to her impending orgasm that she made vocal. "O-o-oh... FUCK YES! FUCKING HARDER INTO MY ASS AND PUSSY!"

Rainer raised his eyebrows at the sudden outburst, but he gave off a demonic smile and did as she asked. He pulled out all the way until only the head of his cock was showing, glistening in the tasty liquids and writhing in denial of climax. In one fell swoop, Rainer slammed her crotch into Lauren's own, making Lauren wide-eyed once the entrance of the womb gave way to Rainer's head. She instantly climaxed and shoved her ass back into Rainer's cock before he could relieve it, trying to keep that full feeling inside her pussy for even a moment longer.

"Hey now! I kinda want to live a little longer, so forgive me if I leave you hanging after this for a couple minutes." Rainer said, shrugging and still twisting two of his fingers in Aureal's nether lips. (Now, only Zazie and Asmodea left...)

A quick glance to the final two revealed a odd, though arousing sight- Zazie on her neck and head with her butt and legs up in the air in front of Asmodea's face. Asmodea sat down on Zazie's face, allowing her pussy to drown the violet succubus' in her fluids. And with Zazie's back bent and round butt in the air, Asmodea teased both of Zazie's entrances.

Rainer found a perfect spot to enter in. As Asmodea's pussy was occupied, a certain other sexy hole was waiting for an intruder. It wasn't the easiest position, but it was certainly an interesting one for Rainer.

"I'm not going to let you do whatever it is you all agreed on as punishment!" Rainer declared as he slapped Asmodea's plump ass with both his hands. He grabbed the soft and already red flesh with his fingers, giving him a handhold as he positioned his pulsating cock in front of Asmodea's puckered ring.

"Hello Rain Rain, how nice of you to drop by! I remember the first time we did anal like it was yesterday... In that contraption you called a shower." Asmodea said with a seductive tone despite her panting from pleasurable bliss.

"Hey! I said that's a stupid name!" Rainer growled as he decided taking it slow wasn't enough for Asmodea. Going rough and hard, especially in her rapaciously tight asshole of hers, was a much better punishment for continuously using that annoying nickname.

He abruptly thrust his steeled dick into Asmodea's ass, disrupting her train of thought and forcing her to finally break that smug smirk of hers she kept from the beginning.

"Hey Zazie, uh, I hate to ask this of you... But seriously, don't get swept into this lady's pace. Give her a serious... Um, tongue lashing." Rainer already realized the bad joke before he made it, but went through it anyways as he pulled his shaft back out to the head.

"Really Rain Rain? I adore you... But that is a bit-AHHHYESSS..." Asmodea tried to speak again, but was silenced by another hasty stab from Rainer's prick.

Rainer found himself with a useful handicap. Thanks to Zazie's relentless tongue, compounded with Rainer's ravishing of Asmodea's anal entrance, it obviously wouldn't take long for the Seduction of Lust to climax. After finding a steady pace to work with, Rainer got to work and did his job of making each girl cum before him.

Asmodea turned her head around and seductively worked her tongue and lips together, enticing Rainer to go in for another kiss. Or so he thought.

Nerissa had woken back up thanks to the lustful moans and cries from each of the girls. She found the object of her love and crawled over to him, wrapping her arms around his chest and stealing his mouth with her lips before Asmodea. After finishing, she stuck her long tongue out at Asmodea, who smiled and simply licked it with her own tongue. Nerissa pouted and coiled her tongue around Asmodea's shorter appendage and forced their demonic lips together. She reached around Asmodea's body and groped her massive chest, which was bigger than any girl here. Her G-Cup breasts bounced around and squished between Nerissa's fingers. The white demoness pulled and teased the nipples, which only exponentially increased the sensations sent to her brain.

The triple attack proved, very obviously, too much for Asmodea. The red succubus couldn't concentrate on one source and fell prey to her lascivious nature by moaning lewdly into the air. She felt a probing, wriggling tongue reach all sides of her tightened walls in her quivering snatch. She felt a thick intruder force her tight ass open over and over again. She felt fingers groping and pulling both the large orbs and the flower buds planted in the middle of both sacks of sexy flesh.

Not a single second did Asmodea last the sensational electricity that wracked her every nerve. Asmodea clamped down on Nerissa's lips and moaned into the demoness' mouth.

(She's been the quietest yet, though that's not saying much.) Rainer told himself as he removed himself of Asmodea's puckered hole. Rainer stared down at his raging erection. Half the time he felt like it could burst any moment. He managed to keep himself from doing so by squeezing the base. And while it hurt slightly, all he thought about was how good it would feel after he finished with Zazie.

Rainer was standing upright on his knees and feet, cock ready to enter any willing hole nearby. And a volunteer appeared.

Zazie stood up next to Rainer and looking very embarrassed. "...Um, Rainer."

"Oh, you'reeee next!" Rainer was not his normal self, Zazie understood that much. Did his personality change that much when libidinous acts were involved?

"...Ah, Rainer, nooooooyeeeeessss..." Zazie's protests were quickly changed into a moan of approval as Rainer grabbed Zazie from under her curved butt.

He lifted the tall violet succubus and propped her up with his arms. He swiftly sank into her wanting snatch, not wasting any time in doing what he could to make her cum before he did.

Though it was unintentional, Rainer fell back onto the bed, forcing his wings to the side. Zazie released an oddly cute squeal as the force of falling made her sink even deeper down on Rainer's thickness.

She couldn't help but impale herself deeper and further with every thrust that Rainer sent her way as they continued fucking each other. Rainer sucked on Zazie's tongue as he sent another hard thrust into Zazie's almost virginal tightness.

"Ah, sorry... Well, I'm not sorry, buuuuut... For my sanity's sake, I'm going to make you cum rather quickly!" Rainer smiled out of the corner of his mouth in what could only be known as the scariest face Zazie had seen her lover make.

Not so much scary in the life threatening way, scary in the way that Zazie had no idea what Rainer had planned.

In actuality, there wasn't much Rainer could actually do with the limited resources. All he really needed was the swishing tail that belonged to Zazie's behind. Rainer figured he could emulate what Asmodea did, but by shoving the entire length of Zazie's tail until it nearly reached her stomach from her back entrance.

Rainer did just that while continuing to pound away in Zazie's tight pussy. He grabbed the tail and pushed it in roughly, causing Zazie to arch her back like a cat. He felt Zazie's inner walls squeeze down from the double penetration, massaging every centimeter of his dick as he continued to push it in and out of the tender lips.

His crotch and hand acted in unison, pushing both his cock and Zazie's tail into the wanting holes. Zazie felt the full force of being filled in two entrances at once. Even then, it was unusually stronger because of the erogenous zone around spots of her tail.




The Lost Lord Ch. 27



Pleasure shocked her brain like lightning, finally bringing about her climax. Zazie cried out while covering her blushing face. She curled her toes and tensed her muscles. Waves of pleasurable sensations vibrated in both her pussy and asshole, working Rainer's shaft for his semen.

Rainer, who could handle no more of trying to please each of the girls without his own release, flopped back on the bed and felt his shaft pulsing into a mind blowing orgasm. He closed his eyes in order to fully enjoy and feel the fount of pleasure that began at the tip of his shaft.

As if coaxing the thick cock of even more of Rainer's sticky seed, all five girls surrounded his shaft. Nerissa took the lead and positioned her body above Rainer, despite him not having the will to move at the moment. After Nerissa, Aureal, Asmodea, Zazie, and Lauren all circled around the throbbing shaft. They each played with the raging erection, teasing Rainer mercilessly, their ministrations made the head seem like it would burst at any moment.

Finally, a single lick from Nerissa's long and talented tongue released the floodgates. A fountain of Rainer's seed burst forth from the tip of Rainer's shaft. He released more of his sticky semen at this moment than he ever remembered once in his life. Multiple ropes of his white milk violently shot forth. His white essence coated each of the girls like strands of thick cream. Into closed eyes, into open mouths, on the nose, on cheeks, even in the girls' hair, Rainer's white seed hit random spots on each of the girls' faces.

Eventually, the flood ceased. Rainer tried to gather every breath of air in the large room. Despite his trial, he didn't feel all that fatigued or tired in the least. In fact, he felt more aroused than before.

In his tired state, he said through deep breaths, "You people are scary..." Rainer laughed while lamenting and enjoying what could either be called incredibly great or bad luck.

"You know, Rain Rain..."

"Rainer."

"Rain Rain... The night is still young, it looks like you survived punishment this time!" Asmodea said with a mix of sultry and sweet.

"Master, I want to do it some more." Aureal said with an odd monotone.

Nerissa soon added with vigor, "Fiancée, I wonder how our wedding night will go?"

Lauren laughed while wiping off Rainer's seed from her face, "Probably just like this night!"

"...I am with Aureal." Zazie continued to shy away, which didn't look convincing as she licked the tasty white seed from her face.

Rainer look up at each of the girls and laughed hysterically. "Yea, I've decided... It would've been so much better if I never became a demon."

-

Would someone really give up their humanity just for immortality and a life among the decadent pleasures willingly?

Would someone really be able to risk their life and the lives of others just because they were thrown into a war they knew nothing about?

Would someone actually want to take on a destiny forced upon them from birth by the whims of a frivolous lord?

Rainer thought these questions as he lay peacefully in a bed among five girls whom all seemed to love him. He knew he would have to find some way to give back to the girls, as they have done much for his life in general.

Rainer spoke quietly to himself, "I'm a demon now, and there's no turning back. I am going to make decisions that may affect thousands- no, millions or more lives."

'Oh, don't be a worry wort! You can handle it.'

"Asmodeus..."

'Hmm?'

"I didn't know what to expect from some writing in a book called a Grimoire. Then I find out you can actually talk to me through my mind."

'What about it?'

"You're a dick."

'HAHAHAHA! That's all? Let me tell you a story...'

"Fine, go ahead, but only this once. Annoying bastard..."

'Be respectful to your elders! Well, there's not much to say really about this story. But one time, I was participating in a tense negotiation between myself and the Princess of Pride, not the current one, the one before her. Well, one of my Pillar of Lust back then was pretty disrespectful to the Princess of Pride, called her a papyrus crotch!'

"What the heck does that even mean?"

'Go figure. Either way, the Princess and I were actually negotiating over a small world a group of pagan gods left behind. In the middle of the procedures, during a break, my pillar guy said that insult. Furious, for understandable reasons, the Princess came to me and demanded the execution of my pillar guy. I asked why, to both her and him, and they answered honestly. Though the Princess probably exaggerated a bit. After hearing my pillar guy's answer of calling the princess a papyrus crotch... Well, I laughed and said, "Really? I figured her for a bamboo crotch!"'

"Eh? Well, I should've known for such an immature bastard like you."

'Both my pillar guy and myself just burst out laughing, guffawing harder than in a long while right in front of the Princess' face. In that room, fighting broke out, initiated by the Princess, and so both of our staffs fought to a bloody finish. It didn't stop there. An entire war broke out between Pride and Lust, which was fought on both our circles and on that small world. Eventually, it resulted with my saying sorry and calling her a bamboo crotch behind her back so she couldn't hear, much to my pillar guy's delight.'

"I don't see why you're so happy! You just caused a war that killed probably thousands!"

'To my count, approximately one million demons died. Don't worry, we breed quickly and there are more than many billions living in each circle.'

"But you fought such a stupid war over a petty insult!"

'My point is... Demons are fickly creatures. Our emotions cloud us and guide our actions. The demon race love conflict and would hate long periods of peace. You would find more than ninety percent of the entire demon race saying they would prefer a good war to a prosperous peace. We need to vent our Sin out on petty wars like this, whether they be out of an insult or a large source of resources.'

"..."

'For humans, it is definitely different. Your short lives are practically meaningless to our immortal ones. You all scurry around, trying to make small sums of money incomparable to our vast wealth. You all try to create works of art that will never amount to the beauty our Sin and emotions can create. You all try to make sure your lives amount to something with jobs you will retire at in the time we take to enjoy a good period of life till our next hundred years. Yes, you were once a human... Now you are a demon. Can you honestly say that being a human is more interesting than a demon?'

Rainer didn't want to admit it... "I can't. But I know this. I was once a human and am now a demon. You chose me as your heir so that I could bring a human perspective to this demonic strife. I don't give two shits about your asinine views of humans. Both of my races, human and demon, are beings that never give up. We fall to temptations and give in to Sin, yes..."

Rainer cleared his throat and sternly said, "But we all have a chance in having an interesting life, no matter how long, short, or eternal."

'You know... I kind of consider you my seventh son.'

"I certainly can't be."

'Of course not, you aren't actually my son. However, should I have not killed myself and adopted you in, you definitely would have made a positive impact on my children. Maybe that would have been the better path?'

"..." Rainer's eyes were already closed and a peaceful look overtook his face.

'Ah yes, even you need sleep. Maybe I have lived long enough? Even if this is a piece of my soul...'

'Whatever... Rainer, you certainly are going to be the most interesting demon ever, my little Lost Lord.'

-

Note: Wow. I started this last year around October 2012. It was an extremely simple story at first in terms of plots and overall writing ability. I didn't expect to blow it up to this size. More than 200,000 words. The fuck? That's like a fucking novel. 

To those who read, favorited the story, or rated up the chapters... An honest thanks comes from me and the "good jobs" everyone tossed my way on this site. 

Whether I make a sequel story mainly depends on everyone's interest. If you want one, post a comment on my profile or this story saying, "YOU'RE FUCKING AWESOME! MAKE MORE FUCKING LOST LORD OR I'LL CUT YOUR THROAT!"

...

Well, hopefully not to that degree. Even if I do end up making one, a sequel will be a long ways off.

Also, if anyone wants to, I would very much appreciate anyone who goes through my previous chapters and does a thorough edit so I can replace the current chapters with a proofread version.

Finally, thanks to the letter "R" of the alphabet for proofreading this chapter. Though I can't really say much considering this is the only chapter I didn't feel too lazy enough to not have it edited.

Whatever.