In the far distance, a tower stood erect. If you followed the tower all the way up with your eye, it would seem to go on forever into the dark night sky. Originally, you had to climb it step-by-step to get to the next circle of hell, but thanks to new technological inventions, many borrowed from Earth, it was possible to now take the Elevator. The Elevator is a super-fast, super-resilient steel box that zooms up the entire length of the Tower of Babylon, reaching all the way up to Earth in less than five minutes!
And this was the tower that Arthur was now gazing longingly after, a little satchel containing the letter and seal as well as his little needle by his hip. He took about three steps on the lush, grassy road before his human-sense started tingling. He looked about in a wild stupor, knowing he was around five minutes from being attacked by a horrific creature that was the only source of food for demons.
And lo and behold, standing around two decimeters behind him, a two-headed serpent, standing on chickens legs, it’s tail buried strangely in the ground, stared him down. It’s breath was thick and heavy with blood. It’s fight, flight or freeze, Arthur. What will you do.
Arthur didn’t even bother to figure out what kind of human was staring at him before darting towards the nearby woods. A humongous human like this could definately not find him that easily if he’s hidden by the trees, he argued.
But before he even made it three meters from the static creature, another head burst out of the ground between his feet, mouth wide and hundreds of tiny barb-like teeth pointing at him. The creature screeched some strange human noise “YEEEEEET” before lounging at Arthur, ready to strike.
Arthur had no choice but to jump. He may look like a low-tier demon, but he was still born in the 8th circle, damn it! He kicked the ground, taking to the air. His tiny, comic wings spread out, and started batting and flapping at incredible speeds, allowing him to stay in the air for, well, five or six seconds maybe? After that, he was almost in a free-fall, plummeting towards the open mouth(s) of the three-headed basilisk-thing.
But it wasn’t too late for him! As he fell, he readied himself, bending one leg and flexing what little muscles he had in it, and as the gaping maw(s) came ever closer, he striked!
His leg slammed into the side of one of the heads, causing the basilisk to lose balance and fall over. After all, it was somehow standing on chicken-legs, so it couldn’t have the best balance.
It roared “KEK” and started writing about on the ground. Arthur decided to take this opportunity to A, start running away, and B, shout “HUMAN SIGHTED COME GET ‘EM” as loud as he could. A human of this size and caliber could last a whole family of demons a whole day or two!
And within only a moment, he could already see a cherub riding a two-headed dragon and a goblin holding burning coals. Better run fast, Arthur. And that he did.
Arthur was remarkably good at running. Not too fast, but not slow enough to be caught by humans. Just enough.
After only a minute or so of running, Arthur heard the unmistakable cry of a dying human (“Oof”) and cautiously slowed down to a normal walking speed. The city of Babylon reared into view on the horizon, with all its square clay buildings in rows and fancy towers striding towards the skies. But the most striking feature of all was, of course, the famous Tower of Babylon. To say that the other towers standing erect around it were scraping the skies would be an insult to this magnificent tower. The city of Babylon was the only even slightly modern city in the 8th circle of hell, and that is not something to be taken lightly. There were literally no other cities there, unless you count larger-than-average villages as “cities”, which I recommend you not to.
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Arthur stood transfixed by the bustling city, wherein all kinds of demons, not only those from the 8th circle, could be found. The easiest way to separate these was by their looks, which isn’t such a good way to tell people apart, but when it comes to demons, it is both generally accepted and effective.
Compared to these five-legged heads and flying deers, Arthur looked remarkably ordinary, which he also was. Stepping into the city, all he could find was resentful gazes from the various lower-circle demons which abounded. Nobody liked 1st circle demons, those lucky pricks. Always have meat on the table, good infrastructures, bah! Who needs it? All you need is a good sword and a big human to slay and you’re set!
Arthur didn’t exactly share this view, but he was something of an enigma, so it doesn’t really matter. The city was crammed with markets and demons and the shouting was extremely violent. A large-eared demon might get tinnitus just by popping his head into a shop! Regardless, Arthur knew where to go. He stoically ignored the stabbing gazes of the nearby demons who believed him to be some sort of tourist(the most hated kind) and made his way towards the tower. All he had to do was ride the Elevator and he’d be out of here!
The streets were made of solid rock and lined with stalls filled with, well, human meat. What else could a demon want? There were souvenirs and clothes and the such as well, but nobody really cared for that, so the sweet scent of blood hung like a mist around the city, which pleased most everybody.
Arthur quickly found himself lost in thoughts. “I’m sure I’ll do well once I get there.” he thought with a cautious optimism. He really was quite unlike most demons. But much like most demons born and raised in the 8th circle, he was all too familiar with scamming, albeit for rather good reasons. And so it was that he found himself by that great tower. His eye could follow it all the way up and it still seemed to go on even further.
“Whoooaaaaa” he sighs in awe, arching his back to follow the ascent of the tower, to which someone right beside him answered “This can’t be your first time, Firster,” with a smirk. Arthur now came to notice that the great Tower of Babylon was entirely surrounded by a fence of sorts, the only entrance being guarded by the one who called out to him, sitting in a booth of sorts. She was very fair, with round features and a quaint smile, sitting there without a scrap of clothing. She must be cold. She didn’t have any horns or wings or anything of the sort. How strange. Was she even a demon? Ah! After a moment's hesitation, Arthur realized that she must be a succubus from the upper levels.
“Well,” she snarked, “what are you here for? If you want to ride back up, it’s gonna cost ‘ya.”
“I’ve got a permission,” Arthur said confidently, handing over the envelope and signea, “from something something himself!” “Mhm…” the succubus said, quickly scanning through the contents of the letter, “and who did you have to suck off for this? Sir Eligos? I can’t imagine a firster like yourself ever getting a letter like this. Did you steal it?” “No!” Arthur said in response to her accusations, “I got it fair and square, and it’s my ticket to Earth!” The succubus gave the seal a sniff. “Huh. Well, considering this is a real drop of Satan’s blood, and since this is the 8th circle, scamming and thievery is hardly a crime, so I guess I’ll just have to wish you a safe trip. Kill lots of humans, will you? There’s a famine going ‘round these parts,” she finally said, opening the gates for Arthur to enter. Which he happily did.
From the other side of her stall, he noticed she had not only a crossbow, but all sorts of weapons, including some things he wouldn’t even take to the 2d circle!
Damn, that was a tall tower. But Arthur didn’t have time to dilly-dally around, he had an Elevator to take! The doors to the tower were closed, but when he touched them, they easily slip open without the slightest creak. It was dark and dreary inside, and the smell of dust and mould permeated the place. To the left, he could see the beginning of a spiral staircase. To the right, a wall. And right in front of him, one hell of a fancy elevator.
It only had one button with two arrows on it, which he pressed. A bell somewhere went “ding!” and the doors to the Elevator opened. The inside was smooth and metallic, resembling every single elevator you’ve ever seen on Earth. But, to Arthur, this strange steel box was other-wordly. Truly a work of our Lord Satan himself.
Arthur stepped inside with big, anxious steps, and gave a little squeal when the doors closed suddenly behind him. He sighed and looked around the steel box curiously. To the left of the doors there was a panel with 19 buttons, ranging from -9 to E to 9. The -1 through -9 must be hell, the 1 through 9 must be heaven, and E must be… Earth! Arthur happily pressed the big green “E” button. The Elevator immediately gave a loud metallic whine before rocketing upwards, forcing Arthur to fall to the floor like a pancake with a remarkably human “OOF”.
And, off he was.