Having had to use several communal teleporters in order to reach the pace, thanks to his weakened state, Varzath is still grumpy by the time they finally manage to arrive, shooing away the surprised servants to flock his immediate surroundings once he appears, bruised and utterly disheveled, through the front door.

  If there was a chance Sunnazoth might’ve waited for him, at least for an hour or two, it is surely gone by now, considering how long they took to walk back without the use of his powers.

  Biranal might’ve been able to carry him, either in her original form or otherwise, had her wings not been wounded during their fight, but asking a demon he’s not familiar with to teleport them would’ve been simply too pitiful as a Lord… Not that the alternative was that much better.

  He’s certain his subjects will still be ughing about their half-naked Lord, bruised and battered, walking across his own Domain, while barely able to stand, for centuries to come.

  But were he to care for something so stupid, he’d never have Ascended to begin with.

  Let them ugh if they want; This pce could use a bit of honest ughter, every once in a while.

  Speaking of which, Biranal, who walks behind him, now wearing a spare set of armor, seems to still harbor a slight blush on her face as she continues to throw coy gnces in his direction occasionally, which she probably considers as sneaky.

  Although he did contempte having her walk naked in front of her soldiers as punishment for being an idiot, she managed to convince him to show mercy by mentioning it might affect the soldiers’ morale to see their commander in such a pathetic state.

  It was a weak argument, born from desperation, considering she, herself, was using said soldiers as a way to vent her pent-up frustration not long ago… But it was apparently enough to mellow his soft, bleeding heart.

  Heh; Old Varzath would’ve had them form a line to fuck her, then joined in on the fun himself... What would Ig'droren think of the soft creature her pet has become?

  Then again, doing things the exact opposite way of what she would have has been his guiding principle since he stuck a knife to her back, twisted it, and ughed as she bled at his feet…

  Good memories aside, his body and mind need a good night of sleep in order to recover, even if he’d like nothing more than order the closest Succubi to get on her knees and open her mouth.

  It’ll also take him a week or so of feeding to recover his original strength, considering how long he spent without doing it.

  Ugh. How long has it been since he’s been beyond the point of being picky…? And to think not two days prior he feared his interest in sex might have dwindled forever…

  In between Biranal and Sunnazoth, he’ll be soon throwing orgies again... Orgies he’ll actually participate in, obviously.

  “You. Fetch me Sonog and bring him to the portal room,” Varzath orders, pointing toward a nearby incubus who, despite his obvious surprise in regards to the orders he received, is quick to bow as he disappears in a small show of shadows.

  Rolling his eyes toward the obvious, and honestly quite cheap imitation of his own magic, Varzath then points toward a nearby succubus, “And you, fetch me a new set of clothes, and somebody proficient in casting water spells… No, scratch that; I’m sure Sonog is more than capable of casting some basic cleaning spells. Just the clothes will do.”

  The succubus curtsies, containing an obvious smirk as she also disappears by utilizing a simir shadow spell.

  Varzath nearly curses out loud. When have they all…?

  “My Lord? By portal room, do you mean…?”

  “Shush.”

  Ignoring Biranal - lest he is no longer able to control himself and ends up spending the st of his energy by tossing her against the nearest wall - Varzath sets on walking the rest of the distance toward their objective, soon arriving upon a rge hall nearly covered in magic runes and humming with power.

  Sonog is not far behind, teleporting in with his usual fire spell of preference while grumbling about Lords who give their servants an unreasonable amount of work only to then distract said servants from said work…

  One look at Varzath’s current state, however, and Sonog ceases his grumbling, stopping dead in his tracks while raising an eyebrow.

  “…Did Milord perchance encounter a wild dragon while walking the corridors of the pace?”

  “Hirious. And not far from the truth, ironically enough.”

  Ignoring the curious look Sonog throws Biranal, having obviously understood his implication, Varzath shamelessly removes his trashed clothes, as he throws them aside and opens his arms.

  “Sonog, if you’d be so kind as to…?”

  To his credit, the demon doesn’t even blink, unlike a certain sck-jawed dragon, before waving his hand in Varzath’s direction.

  Varzath shudders as the spell courses through his skin, having been immediately reminded of why he repced such spells with baths at the first opportunity, despite their convenience.

  And, as most of his bruises and cuts also disappear, along with a considerable portion of his aching, Varzath blinks.

  “Did you…?”

  Sonog snorts, snapping his finger as he causes the ball of water used for the spell, now murky, to evaporate.

  Damn it, he needed those. But he supposes it is too much to ask for a mage of Sonog’s caliber to cast a simple cleaning spell; Of course the demon would have no problem doing both things at once.

  Conveniently, the succubus bringing his new clothes chooses this moment to arrive, and Varzath doesn’t waste time before dressing himself again; Despite having no shame in regards to his body, he takes no particur pleasure in exposing it either.

  Once redressed, and now clean, Varzath releases a sigh of relief.

  Much better.

  However, before dismissing the demon, he uses a finger to beckon her closer.

  “Milord?”

  She can’t possibly think he’d have forgotten, or forgiven, her smirk from earlier, can she?

  Well, he should at least be able to accomplish this much at this point…

  Snapping his fingers, Varzath creates several shadow bdes that cut through the female demon’s clothes, other than a pair of bck see-through panties, as she releases a surprised yelp.

  “Your new uniform for the next month,” Varzath is kind enough to inform her, “During which you’re forbidden from using magic of any kind. Now go, before I think of something worse.”

  For a moment, he thinks the trembling succubus might cum on the spot, but a warning, firm gaze from him is enough to have her regain her wits, quickly curtsying as she grabs his (and hers) trashed clothes, leaving in a hurry.

  Well, somebody had to pay for his ruined night, and since she volunteered herself, he can’t exactly be bmed for what happened… Although, in this case, the real punishment might’ve been that he did nothing other than merely remove her clothes.

  Regardless, he is sure she’ll find a way to relieve herself on her own… Even if he, himself, seems to be having problems to find the time these days.

  A gnce toward Biranal reveals the expected exasperated look she wears whenever calling him a perverted in her mind, while Sonog produces a hum of appreciation as he stares toward the bouncing features of the quickly retreating succubus.

  …She does have a nice ass, doesn’t she? Well, nothing stops him from looking for her around the pace ter; Assuming he’ll find the time to do so in the near future, that is.

  Varzath clears his throat. “Anyway, I didn’t call you here for sightseeing. What of the seal? Is it going to be possible?”

  Sonog mumbles for a moment, then sighs as he crosses his arms and grunts. “I’ll make do, but it won’t be any safer than before; Milord is pying with fire, quite literally, in this case, adn heavingly fire at that..”

  Ignoring Biranal’s deep frown over Sonog’s swords, Varzath nods, then shrugs. “Really makes you nostalgic, doesn’t it?”

  Removing one of his rings, an intricate red piece of metal, Varzath throws it toward Sonog, who catches it midair, before taking a surprise look in its direction.

  “The second reason I called you here; Attune that for me.”

  Sonog raises an eyebrow. “Milord can’t seriously be thinking about leaving the Domain in your current state. With all due respect, without your magic, My Lord is as defenseless as a chicken.”

  Varzath snorts. “I wouldn’t go that far. Besides, Biranal is coming too… Although, even were we both at full strength, I doubt it’d make much of a difference. As, this cannot be postponed more than it already has been... Or rather, it shouldn’t.”

  “If we’re leaving, then Sonog is coming with, or I’m staying,” Biranal interjects, her voice leaving no room for discussion.

  Throwing her a gnce, Varzath widens his eyes, as if shocked. “And you’d leave poor old Varzath to fend for himself?! What if something terrible attacks me while I’m just a frail, defenseless incubus without his magic?!”

  Biranal grimaces. “It’s obvious My Lord is trying to drag me somewhere. I can’t imagine why, but I’m not stupid enough to believe he felt a sudden desire to take a stroll outside.”

  Dropping his act, Varzath clicks his tongue. In a way, he is gd she is finally standing up for herself, but of course she’d choose to do so at the most inconvenient of times…

  “Fine, he can come with,” Varzath concedes, “Since you both don’t seem to believe my words anymore. Don’t worry, Sonog, it won’t take more than a few dozen minutes. I know you’re pressed for time as it is.”

  The demon bows. “In that case, we should hurry.”

  Since the portal itself is already built and ready to go, the process of attuning something to it and opening its gate is fairly simple, at least in theory; One must merely supply pure mana to the right runes while maintaining the item they wish to attune to it in hands.

  In practice, Varzath and Sonog are the only demons capable of doing so, on their own, in the Domain, while Sunnazoth and Zugdradak might be able to manage if they’re together, as purifying enough mana, let alone controlling it, to turn on the giant magic contraption is a monumental task, even if one which is simple in theory.

  Still, not five minutes have passed before Sonog has the entire hall lit by his magic, and positively glowing with power.

  Considering he couldn’t do the same in less than double that amount of time, even while supported by his Domain, Varzath can’t help but feel impressed by the dispy of magical mastery happening before his eyes.

  “I see you didn’t spend the past millennium merely engrossed in research!” Varzath screams over the stormy airstream caused by the portal’s activation.

  “Milord might’ve forgotten, but these are my runes!”

  Somewhat abruptly, the wind dies down as the portal is finally stabilized, drawing the hall in silence once more.

  “I’d feel embarrassed if I wasn’t able to do at least this much,” Sonog completes, now in a normal tone, as he tosses Varzath back his ring and releases a small sigh of relief. “Shall I summon some of my appendices to keep the way open until our return?”

  “No need. Just have the portal close once we’re through... Coming back won’t be a problem.”

  Sonog raises his eyebrow, then shrugs. “Then I suppose we’re ready to go.”

  Varzath heads toward the portal valiantly, leading the way despite Biranal’s protests in that she or Sonog should be the one leading, in the case of an attack on the other side.

  He doesn’t know what has them both so scared. From a certain perspective, the pce they’re going to is even safer than his own Domain, at least while they remain under the good graces of its ruler.

  Having long grown used to the discomforts of teleportation magic, Varzath steps into the humming aggregate of mana without hesitation, even as it seems to attempt to tear his body apart…

  His senses grow hazy, then functional again, as Varzath finds himself standing in a hall many times rger than the one he left.

  Except, the hall he arrived at possesses no walls or ceiling, ending abruptly on one side as it showcases a breathtaking view of a valley bellow, extending seemingly forever, and a mountain so tall Varzath cannot spot its peak, on the other. Moreover, the hall’s floor and giant columns - which seem to depict several kilometers of drawings – are made of a green, slightly transparent material, suspiciously simir to jade.

  Other than the wind, no other noises are hearable within immediate vicinity…

  Ugh, he already feels sick.

  Varzath contains a grimace as Biranal, closely followed by Sonog, steps through the portal at his back, the former looking slightly green as she bends over, stopping just short of emptying her stomach all over the beautiful floor they stand atop.

  “Don’t touch anything you’re not willing to give up your life in exchange for,” Varzath warns, “And - I can’t stress this enough - do not challenge any of them for a fight. They love it more than fucking, and there will be no end to it.”

  Without Sonog’s magic to sustain it, no more than a couple of seconds go by before the portal they came through fizzles out of existence. Biranal seems to want to say something, although she’s still too sick to speak properly, while Sonog stares at their surroundings with obvious curiosity in his usually disinterested cat-like eyes.

  Not wanting to extend his stay more than strictly necessary (he’s somewhat hopeful Sunnazoth might’ve waited for him, after all), Varzath immediately sets on walking toward the infinitely tall mountain, and the rge tunnel’s entrance standing a couple of hundred meters ahead of where they appeared.

  The others follow without compints, at least initially, as they seem somewhat dumbstruck by their new surroundings… It isn’t long before Biranal recovers enough to begin asking questions, however.

  Varzath simply ignores her. She’ll understand what this is all about soon enough; And besides, maybe now, next time they fuck - even angry fuck - she’ll learn not to ignore his dick in favor of her own pleasure…

  As they approach the tunnel’s entrance, it becomes clear it is several hundred meters tall, and almost equally rge. Still, its insides are well-lit by red, glowing crystals spread evenly across its ceiling and walls, while its floor is littered with the occasional gemstone, precious metal, or piece of jewelry, all of which seem to have been left there as though carelessly discarded, or forgotten.

  Ignoring the oppressive feeling permeating the tunnel’s entrance, Varzath doesn’t hesitate before walking in… That is, until he gnces at his surroundings, and realizes he is now walking alone.

  Oh, by all the Lords…!

  Stopping as he murmurs curses under his breath, Varzath turns toward the tunnel’s entrance to find both his retainers gging several meters behind.

  While Biranal stands wide-eyed, staring toward the tunnel's dept, seemingly paralyzed in fear, Sonog possesses a look of concentration on his face, as if fighting against some invisible force, as he smiles tensely toward Varzath, “Milord, perhaps… Perhaps we should return once your strength has been fully restored…?”

  Varzath waves his hand dismissively. “Nonsense. And besides, we cannot return home without continuing forward… Well, I suppose I could move on with Biranal, while you wait here.”

  Varzath raises an eyebrow at him.

  Still smiling, Sonog clenches his teeth. Then, he steps forward once, waves his hand, and murmurs something under his breath.

  No other external changes are visible, although once the spell has been cast, Sonog releases a sigh of relief, having lost his frown.

  Sonog’s actions seem to snap Biranal out of her trance, although, rather than stepping forward, she steps back, expression bordering on panic.

  Sonog raises his hand in her direction, presumably to cast a simir mind-shielding spell, before Varzath silently shakes his head at him.

  In the following silence, Biranal seems to finally realize they’re both looking at her as she steps back once more, attempting a smile, which ends up more as a showing of teeth, “If My Lord is so s-sure the way ahead is safe, m-maybe I’ll just w-wait here u-until y-you’re done…”

  “Ridiculous. Who do you think this trip is for, to begin with? Now get your ass over here, lest I decide you should continue as the day you hatched from your egg.”

  Biranal’s eyes widen.

  “Five,” Varzath counts, narrowing his eyes at her, “Four…”

  Biranal clenches her teeth, taking a deep breath through her nose. Then, as if hardening her resolve, she closes her eyes... Once reopened, they reveal vertical pupils, contracted to their limit.

  As she steps forward, this time, Biranal doesn’t hesitate.

  Varzath rolls his eyes as she approaches, closely followed by Sonog.

  “And you call yourself creatures of Hell.”

  “I apologize for my pathetic dispy, My Lord,” Biranal says, her voice tense, “It won’t repeat itself.”

  “Good, because if we have to stop at every junction, we’ll be here for a while. Now follow me, and don’t stray from the path; This pce is a damn byrinth.”

  Far from dropping, the pressure only seems to increase the deeper they move. Although Biranal, having kept her promise, doesn’t compin or stop, Varzath can tell at a gnce her body is trembling slightly.

  Most likely, for her, each step taken forward is a battle in and on itself.

  As for Varzath, most of his concentration is focused on trying to remember the correct path, even if following the pressure itself does give away which passage they should take, more often than not.

  …Was that diamond always there?

  Shaking his head, Varzath decides to trust his instincts and continue ahead. Worst case scenario, they’ll have to ask for directions by meeting one of the mountain’s inhabitants, though he’d like to avoid wasting more time than he already has…

  Eventually, after what felt like hours of walking through giant tunnels, but was most likely no more than a couple dozen minutes, Varzath finally spots their objective ahead in the form of a better-lit cavern opening.

  Biranal is now visibly shaking, her jaw tensed and fists clenched. She seems almost oblivious to her surroundings, eyes downcast and narrowed as she continues to take slow, controlled steps forward.

  Rather than breaking her concentration, Varzath chooses to remain silent while continuing to lead the way, and soon, their gloomy surroundings are repced by the glow of treasure; More specifically, mountains upon mountains of gold, silver, and jewelry, enough of it to bury a city whole.

  Sonog stops, his mouth hanging slightly open, as Biranal nearly bumps against him. However, the short demon’s eyes are not drawn by the gold, or jewelry; But rather, toward the thousands of magical artifacts thrown atop piles of gold as though discarded toys.

  Biranal, on the other hand, has her gaze fixated forward, eyes wide and breathing accelerated; She seems moments away from summoning her maces.

  Not far from the colossal cavern’s entrance, as the fixation of Biranal’s gaze, ys a woman of unfathomable beauty, her skin a soft shade of gold which almost blends her form against the giant pile of coins she sleeps atop of.

  The coins’ many sizes and forms seem to suggest they belong to thousands of different nations, and, most likely, Pnes, while the woman herself possesses long hair of a slightly darker shade of gold than the rest of her perfectly shaped body, eyes which, once zily opened toward them, gleam as the clearest of jades, and a pair of golden, dragon wings stretching across a span of several meters, accompanied by a tail of the same color.

  As the woman’s eyes come to rest atop him, Varzath slowly bows. “Midy Saendara, I apologize for the unannounced intrusion. Have we interrupted your afternoon nap?”

  “…Lord Varzath?” Saendara asks, sounding slightly groggy, as she then moves her eyes from Varzath to Sonog, who now also has his gaze fixated upon her, before finally resting them against Biranal. “And thee has brought guests…”

  Stretching herself, no different than a cat might have, Saendara smiles faintly, looking more awake by the second, and utterly unbothered by her own nudity, as she sits up and takes in her surroundings.

  “Oh, the others must be out hunting… No wonder nobody awoke me.”

  Well, he did wonder why they had yet to meet anybody on their way here.

  “But where are my manners…” Saendara yawns, cocks her head, then smiles pyfully, looking now fully awake as her jade eyes gleam sharply, denouncing extreme intelligence and cunning. “Varzath, Lord of Hell’s Seventieth Circle, I welcomed thee and thine entourage to my kingdom, humble as it may be. May no harm befall thee for so long thee remain devoid of malevolent intentions…”

  Humble, she says.

  Saendara giggles. “How close was I?”

  “Close enough, Midy.”

  Saendara rolls her eyes. “Please. Considering the things we did st time we met, you’d think we’re beyond empty formalities by now… My memory might not be what it used to be during my youth, but I still remember how much you hate them.”

  Varzath smiles. “As, even if your memory is failing, I thank the Creator the rest of you remain just as beautiful...”

  Saendara clicks her tongue, all pretense of pyfulness disappearing from her expression. “And I see you’ve come for favors, not fun... In such a case, speak thy wishes, so that I might consider them at once and return to my nap thee so carelessly interrupted.”

  Varzath sighs, his tone growing equally colder, “I see I’m considered nothing but an extravagant sex toy by the Queen of Dragons, easily tossed aside once attempting to express anything other than that which is my primary function. I’m sorry for having come… You may return to your nap, Midy.”

  Saendara blinks, mouth hanging slightly open, as Varzath makes as though he’s about to leave by turning away.

  “Wait!”

  Varzath stops, maintaining his expression carefully neutral, as Saendara quickly rises from her pile of gold and jumps, beating her wings a single time in order to nd before them as she then walks until she’s standing close enough to touch his face, slowly dragging her fingers across his cheek while meeting his eyes apologetically.

  “I’m sorry for hurting thy feelings. Please, it’d be a shame for our first meeting in so long to end in such animosity… I’d not have presented thee the ring if I didn’t wish for thee to visit.”

  Varzath averts his gaze, although he doesn’t move away from her touch. “I’m a demon. I possess no feelings Midy could hurt.”

  “Nonsense! I’ll not allow thee to speak of thyself in such a manner!”

  Smiling faintly, Varzath meets the dragon’s infmed jade eyes as if hesitant, then slowly drags his finger against her waist, until a fsh of desire crosses through them, and Saendara releases a small, surprised moan.

  “Saendara… As gentle and caring as I remember… And just as sensitive…”

  Saendara returns his smile in kind, stepping even closer as she presses her body against his and softly pnts a kiss over his lips, whispering against them, “And thee are just as much of a cunning, maniputive bastard…”

  Saendara is far from shy in her advances, and her tongue is soon to invade his mouth, her hard nipples dragging against his chest as her hand makes its way to his erection, squeezing it through his pants almost painfully.

  A pronounced clearing of throat, however, cuts their embrace before it could progress any further, and Varzath quickly steps back, smiling apologetically toward Saendara as he does so, whom licks her lips hungrily, but, thankfully, does not follow him… In his current state, audience or not, Varzath isn’t sure he could’ve resisted her advances for much longer.

  A gnce over his shoulder reveals Sonog with a closed fist still against his mouth, clearly having been the one to interrupt them, while Biranal carries a strange look on her face; A mix of fear, confusion, disgust, jealousy…

  “My apologies, Midy, but you’ve guessed correctly in that I’ve come for business, not pleasure,” Varzath expins, his tone denouncing his unfeigned remorse as he turns toward a disappointed-looking Saendara again.

  “In such a case!” a new voice booms across the cavern, deep and obviously angered, as a creature of gigantic proportions descends from above and nds before them, baring its teeth and cws as a small cloud of dirt and flying coins accompanies its arrival, “You’d better leave, demonlings!”

  JBDantas

  Additional Info: For reasons unknown, although Elysium is not protected by the Veil, and both demons, as well as angels, may enter it at will, they'll begin to feel sick and weakened almost immediately upon doing so (the stronger they are, the stronger the effect). Additionally, just as Biranal and other infernal dragons are not barred by the Veil from entering Mortal Pnes, they do not face any problems when entering Elysium. As such, it is possible for Infernal Dragons to leave Hell if they desire to do so, and many in the past have managed... However, possessing little magic of their own, gaining access to a portal leading to Elysium is far from simple, and that's if they ever come across the information which allows them to make the decision to leave to begin with.

  PS: Elylium creatures will also often feel sick when visiting Hell or Heaven, but strangely, the Veil seems to possess no effect on them, leaving mortals to deal with the occasional lost dragon or fey on their own.

  [colpse]