A Devil walked across some corpses in a big, bloody room.
You have slain Level 9 Champion Vessel.
You have slain Level 14 Champion Vessel.
You have slain Level 6 Champion Vessel.
He’d killed at least a hundred of the Champion Vessels at this point, and it was really starting to get tiring. There were only a couple dozen left, but still. He was so exhausted that it’d started taking him two hits to kill them, instead of one. And that definitely didn’t speed things up.
You have slain Level 12 Champion Vessel.
You have slain Level 8 Champion Vessel.
Just as he was getting to the last few bodies to kill, one of them that was across the large room began to stir.
“Ugh,” he groaned and walked over to the body, but before he got there, Aankin had awoken, getting to his feet with a gasp of breath and fluttering of his eyes.
He looked around the room at the carnage that surrounded him. It wasn’t like the Devil didn’t understand Aankin’s surprise at the scene. The entire room had practically been painted red by the blood of the bodies he’d killed, and the corpses of them scattered across the floor, broken little things bent in too many places.“You– you really did it,” Aankin said, staring at the Devil in horror.
“I mean, yeah, of course I did it. Did you think I was lying? Fucking idiot,” he rolled his eyes.
“Please, let me live. I’ll serve you. You have proven yourself above me. I’ll gladly serve you. Please.”
“Oh, wow, I get to have you serve me now? The guy who’s so fucking weak I can kill him fifteen times over? Lucky me!” The Devil smashed his fist into another of the Champion Vessels.
You have struck Level 11 Champion Vessel for 3.80k damage using your fist.
You have slain Level 11 Champion Vessel.
Aankin’s face flushed white.
“Y’know, I may just let you live, actually,” the Devil said after remembering something. “Just give me some info.”
“Yes, of course. Anything.”
“Did you get anyone coming through here named Arlan Nota?”
Aankin blinked. “Um, yes. We did.”
“Great. Tell me why.”
“...He wanted a Tribute for his Nymph. After she became a Dryad, she healed him of some sort of malady. Th-that is all I know.”
“Hm,” the Devil took a breath. Then, he crunched another Champion Vessel beneath his heel.
You have struck Level 10 Champion Vessel for 3.55k damage using your foot.
You have slain Level 10 Champion Vessel.
That left no more Vessels in the room. Aankin was the last one. If he died, he’d be dead for good. His breathing quickened in what the Devil recognized as the primal fear one felt when confronted with powerlessness.
“Are you sure you don’t know anything else?” the Devil asked. “Because I’d really like to know a bit more.”
“Uh, he– he departed out in that direction,” Aankin pointed.
“I already know that, dipshit. Anything else that he said about where he was going? We know the direction, but not the destination.”
“An empire! He said they were going to a neighboring empire. Didn’t say which.”
“That’s good,” the Devil mused. It was useful, if Aankin was telling the truth. He’d have to consult his maps and try to figure out where Arlan Nota was heading. Maybe they could set up an ambush or blockade. “Still, though. I really do not like how much you don’t know here.”
“Please, please. I’ll do anything.”
“Tell you what. Is there anyone who might know more about all this?” the Devil asked. “Point me in their direction, and I’ll leave you here.”
“The Queene. She’s in the palace, in the center of the village. She spoke with them more, so you can talk with her.” Aankin had a strange look in his eye when he said that, like he knew something the Devil didn’t. The Devil didn’t care, though. Probably just thankfulness for what he assumed was mercy on the Devil’s part.
“Gratitude,” the Devil nodded and walked toward Aankin.
“So, you’ll let me live?”
“Uh, I didn’t say that, moron. I said I’d leave you here.”
“What does that–”
You have struck Level 29 Faerie Champion for 4.33k damage using your fist.
You have slain Level 29 Faerie Champion.
“Goodbye, dumbass!” the Devil shouted behind himself as he left Aankin’s corpse in the room. He opened the door and stepped outside, taking a breath of air from a place that wasn’t full of blood. “Okay, Queene. Let’s see what you know.”
The Devil stood in front of the massive double doors to the palace. He hadn’t seen any citizens on his way there – they’d probably all hidden off somewhere – so it was a relatively peaceful walk. Especially peaceful now that the pest was gone.
Hopefully the Devil could get some more useful information out of this ‘Queene’ character. Ideally, she’d be honest about what she knew. Well, most people got pretty honest once their lives were on the line.
The Devil shrugged and pushed open the doors. As he walked into the palace, he was greeted with a different sight than he’d expected. When he heard ‘Faerie Queene’ he thought of a little girl with wings. Not… that.
The Queene laid her gigantic body down on the floor, covering up almost the entire back wall of the room. Even in her prone position, her head was so massive that she still looked down on him. She bore her eyes into him without any sort of surprise. Rather, she just looked incredulous.
“So?” her voice boomed across the room, making the Devil jump. “You blow up my forest, break into my village, and destroy my Champion – killing him for good. What are you getting my attention for?”
The Devil shook his head, trying to rid himself of his shock. She was different from what he’d expected, but he was adaptable. “Hello. I–”
“Normally,” the Queene interrupted, “I think I would let you speak. You’ve proven yourself to be at least somewhat notable, so you probably have something of note that I might want to hear. So I would normally be interested in hearing you out. Not this time, though. At least, not for now. I think that you would highly benefit from hearing what I have to say first, actually. You see, I just don’t think you know what’s happening right now. I don’t think you know who you’re talking to, or where you are. I think you’re remarkably ignorant, currently. And ignorance is weakness. So, perhaps you could allow me to enlighten you.”
The Devil squinted. “Listen. I don’t think you know who I–”
“Ooh, I don’t know who you are, do I? That’s an incredibly interesting statement. Maybe I should let you speak, just because it sounds so entertaining to do so. But, no. I’m not currently interested in wasting my time, I don’t think.”
The Devil set his jaw. Was she bluffing? “What–”
“I know that your name is Xhag’duulinithar’obaba’iidook’naisantipoduun’torobaroxhixhonxhaxintep,” she said with perfect pronunciation. Then she grinned a cruel smile. “Or, wait, no. I think I was slightly mistaken. That was you name, wasn’t it, Xhag’duul?”
“Don’t you fucking–”
“I believe that your name is currently Xhag’duulinithar’obaba’iidook. Ah, so short! I’d almost call it cute, if it wasn’t so ugly.”
“Listen,” the Devil raised his voice. “I don’t know how you know my name, and I don’t really give a shit. Very impressive, I guess. Nice party trick. Now, I think you’ll find this pertinent. There’s something you have. And it’s the one reason why I have not fucking killed you yet. And I want you to give it to me. I want you to tell me everything you know about Arlan Nota and his companions, or–”
“Do you want me to? Or are you ordering me? Or maybe you need me to? Or perhaps pleading? Xhag’duul, I’d like you to be a bit more clear. Because, to me, it seems like you’re trying to threaten me. And, quite frankly, I’d like to know whether that’s truly your intention, because I’d like to know how hard to laugh.”
He stared at her.
“I don’t think you understand the predicament you’ve put yourself in. Now, I wouldn’t call myself angry because you’ve wronged me, or because you’ve killed my Champion. Annoyed? Yes. But not angry. No, truthfully, I respect the strength it takes to do that. And, specifically, it is that strength you showed me today that is, how did you put it? Ah, yes, it is the one reason why I have not fucking killed you yet.’”
The Devil frowned. He obviously hadn’t gotten through to her. No matter, just a simple situation of putting someone in their place. “Seems we disagree about who has the power here. Would you like to fight? Maybe prove yourself?”
“No, not particularly, but if you insist.” The Queene’s eyes flashed.
You have been inflicted with Arcane Blight.
For the next 8 years, you gain the following effects:
Your Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity have been reduced by 81.
You lose 81 Mana every minute.
You lose 810 Health every hour.
You are in extreme pain.
The Devil gasped and fell to the floor, hands clenching and fingernails digging into his palms. He could barely feel that, though, over the sensation of agony that wracked over his entire self.
He’d often heard people describe sensations of abstract pain as though it ‘felt like’ something was happening to them. Something felt like getting stabbed a million times, or like your eyes were filled with magma. This was not that. This pain did not ‘feel like’ anything. It felt like the part of his mind that controlled pain was being electrocuted. That was what it felt like. Nothing more, and certainly nothing less. It felt like suffering.
He screamed in pain as black tears leaked from his eyes. His strength had left him, he could barely move, and his mind wracked him with misery.
“Hm,” the Queene mused through his wails. “Looks like I win. You put up a good fight, though. Most people just die instantly. Not that you’d actually die, of course. You’ve got a body down in the Underworld too, right?”
He didn’t respond. He could barely decipher language, at this point.
“Hm, you’re less talkative now, I notice. It’s much nicer. Unfortunately, I do want to finish this conversation with you, so I’ll allow you to speak once again.” She lazily waved a hand.
The Arcane Blight has been lifted. You no longer suffer from the effects of Arcane Blight.
The Devil sat on the floor, panting in exhaustion and fear. He looked up at the Queene. “What do you want from me?”
“Mm. What do I want? Interesting question. I think I’d be willing to settle for you calling off this little invasion of yours. I suspect it has something to do with this Arlan Nota person you’re so keen on knowing about?”
He got to his feet and brushed the dirt from his clothes. If she called off the curse, she was obviously open to discussion. He just had to be careful. “I am not the one in charge of whether or not we try to catch Arlan Nota, so I do not know if the Demons can call off the invasion.”
“Then put me in contact with someone who is in charge of that. I can discuss it with them.”
The Devil shuddered at what she must have meant by ‘discuss.’ “I’m afraid that may be difficult for me. I–”
“Oh, you’re afraid already? I strike fear into your heart? How flattering,” she grinned.
He grit his teeth. “It will be difficult for me to do that. I was demoted, so I cannot call meetings with my superiors – not the ones that matter – directly anymore. I’d have to wait for them to schedule a meeting with me, or I’d have to send in a request. I’d take quite a while.”
“Then do that.”
“There is no guarantee that it’ll be possible, much less one of timing–”
“Then how about I set a time limit? If I continue to see Demons destroying my forest by the end of, say, two weeks, I will personally find and kill you. And it will be much worse than what you just experienced.”
The Devil took a breath. He had no idea if she was bluffing. Could she really come to the Underworld and kill him? Would she do it, even if she could? He hated himself for coming here. Why couldn’t he have just left after killing Aankin. Or, for fuck’s sake, he could have just fought Aankin off whenever he attacked the soldiers. Would it have been so hard to do that? But no, he just had to come picking around where he didn’t belong.
This was the second time that those bastard higher-ups had screwed him. First, they demoted him. And now, they wouldn’t let him just cut his losses and pull out of the Overworld. And he knew they wouldn’t let him just leave. What would they care that the Queene was threatening his life? They’d more than proven him to be disposable.
“Threats like that may not be necessary,” the Devil said. “I can personally promise you that your forest will no longer come under harm by the Demons after this operation. And–”
“How would I ever trust your promises if you cannot back them up with strength? Your word is as useless as your body.” She gave a weighty sigh, her lungs blowing wind throughout the room. “I have said what I have to say to you, and you seem to have nothing of substance to say in return. So I believe our business is done here. I will send you away.”
“Yes, thank you,” the Devil bowed, eager to remove himself from her presence. He backed up to the double doors behind him. “I will leave immediately.”
“No, no. You will not remove yourself,” she said.
The Devil froze, confused. Hadn’t she just told him to leave?
The Queene planted a hand down on the floor in front of her, shaking the building, then placed another hand down. Then, she pushed herself up. Her head and body crashed through the ceiling above her as she got to her feet, and the entire building broke apart, her feet knocking over support beams and punching through walls.
The Devil was left stunned by her massive figure. It was very different to look at her when she was standing, compared to when prone. Her head blocked out the moon from his perspective, a silver halo forming around her head.
The Queene bent down and reached a hand toward the Devil, who yelped in surprise and scurried away from her grasp. Amused, she quickly caught him and clasped her hand around his body, lifting him off the ground. Trying to shake himself from her grasp, the Devil looked down to the ground far, far below him. He could see the tops of the trees out in a wide expanse around him – a perspective he’d only ever seen in bird’s-eye perspective illusions down in the Underworld.
“Don’t worry,” she brought him closer to her face. “I will simply put you back with your Human friends. No harm done. Or, well, the only harm done will be to your body.”
“What do you mean by–”
The Devil was cut off by a sudden whipping of him through the air. The Queene pulled her hand back – him along with it – and he realized what was about to happen. He braced himself for an impact. The Queene reared back fully and said, “Bye, Xhag’duul. Don’t come back.”
She threw him.
The Devil soared through the air at breakneck speeds as he quickly left the form of the Queene behind him, zipping toward a far off spot in the trees. He screamed as the wind’s speed felt like it threatened to tear off his skin. The trees and ground got closer and closer and closer until–
CRASH.
The Devil was in a crater. His body felt broken and folded against itself in the hole he’d bored through the dirt. The trees around him had shaken from the impact.
“Fuck,” the Devil groaned.
“Uh…” another voice said.
He looked up, blinking wearily, and saw that he had been thrown directly into the bomb squad he’d come from. The soldiers stared down at him.
He shakily got to his feet, trying not to wince in pain as he did. “I got rid of the Aankin problem. Now c’mon and finish planting these bombs. We’re under a new time limit, and we are going to fucking kill Arlan Nota.”