“Can’t forget the spoils of war,” Abraxis muttered as he looked around at the fifty corpses. Lilith made sure none were left alive and kept each of their Nexuses intact. “Clean kills, just as I thought.”
First thing’s first, Abraxis needed to harvest Lilith’s bounty before making his way to the Nine Gates. Incapacitated as she was, she couldn’t reap the spoils of her massacre. It went against his greediness to leave anything behind.
And thanks to her, he had somewhere to be sooner than later, so of course he did her the favor of collecting the meager snack himself.
He drew the energy towards him. If he didn’t take them, they’d be consumed by the pathetic demons slinking through the shadows of the Underdark. The most optimal outcome would be to have her consume the energy, but the energy would disperse back to the land before Lilith would awaken.
The pea-sized Nexuses were multi-colored, indicating which Sins the demons had. Just from looking at them, he felt gross that he had to scrounge around with the lame failures of Hell’s trash for petty scraps.
But Lucifer's request reminded him just how glorious he was. Even Hell’s glorious Emperor wished to bathe in Abraxis’ greatness and request services from him. So even if he needed scraps now, that would change. For all he knew, it might even change with this meeting. As his motto went, he would do what he could, where he could, when he could do it.
And never, ever would he do so for free.
The sparse, barely-a-snack energy made him want to sigh. He knew he deserved more. The demons shouldn’t even have fought. They should appreciate his very being and deliver themselves, like cattle to the slaughter, for him to butcher and consume and grow from.
The time would come, but that time was not now. Instead, he would be content with scraps until his greatness, a sapling of something unparalleled, bloomed and flourished to transcend conceivable limitations.
So he crushed all of the raw Miasma and stripped away the power of Sin attached. Nasty buggers, these ones. And Lucifer wants to call the first layer Hell’s Bastion. Who’s he kidding with such a grandiose name? This is more like Hell’s Asshole, if anything.
Abraxis frowned. He didn’t want to put anything that came from these lowly demons into his Nexus, even if it might help him grow. There were better ways. On a good day, these types that attacked, ones driven by desperation of the greatest order, had some tidbit of Primal Sin if they’d managed to live long enough—which most hadn’t.
By the time he finished refining the impurities of the Minor Sins out, he had another pea-sized, perfectly-circular orb of condensed and refined Miasma. It wouldn’t do much more than stimulate his Nexus a bit, since all the Sin had been removed. He’d have a bit more juice for the next time he wanted to fight, but aside from that, a disappointing haul.
If the Miasma was more stable, more refined, he’d keep it and feed it to Lilith later when she regained consciousness. From what he could sense from her, the amount of energy he’d refined from her slaughter would likely trigger a minor growth spurt.
“But she’s gone and fainted. Truly a tragic occurrence,” he muttered to himself, wondering if she’d take kindly to having him manipulate energy into her Nexus while she slept. Probably not wise to find out… “Too bad, I suppose. It’s a little wasteful, but who knows? Maybe I’ll need the energy for when I meet Lucifer.”
Without further contemplation, he almost-unwillingly popped the pea-sized marble in his mouth and crunched it with his teeth to break the glass-like outside. The hot Miasma streamed down his throat like a delicious slug of power.
When he absorbed the power, he smacked his lips and shook his head down at Lilith. “Even with all my efforts, it was still quite impure. I do have to say, the impurities add a nice nntz flavor that stings at your mouth and throat and sinks into the Nexus like brimstone.” He nodded to himself. “The taste of squashing lesser beings. I can’t say I hate it.”
Abraxis had nothing interesting to do as he made his way to the Nine Gates. He still didn’t want to go, but he’d doubled-down on his greed and schemes of attempting to gain as much as he could from Lucifer. If he had to go, might as well make it profitable.
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From there, he could access all of the Nine Hells that Lucifer ruled over, to include the portal hub closest to where Abraxis needed to go.
And contrary to what the majority of the humans he’d interacted with thought, Lucifer didn’t reside within the ninth level of Hell. Rather, the center of Hell’s operations resided in the first layer. That way all things that passed through Hell wouldn’t do so without Lucifer knowing.
Unless, of course, that thing happened to be from an unknown bloodline and named Abraxis.
Whatever Abraxis’ bloodline was, it didn’t care about Lucifer’s authority. That reminder made Abraxis lightheaded as his Sin swirled around in his Nexus and stirred up the nasty pot of power within. There were too many things he felt, and all of them made him lose sense of his identity.
All of the Prime Sins stirring in his gut swooned in a way he loved and hated. He didn’t need any of the other Prime Sins to grow in power. That would make dealing with the temptations of the others even more difficult in the future, but if they didn’t grow, he’d stagnate. The double-edged sword of the magic rushing through his veins really smacked him hard sometimes.
Abraxis focused on his current plan rather than think about Lucifer, Andariel, or his lovely betrothed—all three were a good way to stir up more of the Sin in his Nexus, and he lacked sufficient mental energy to deal with a growth spurt.
He looked down at the beautiful, sleeping princess and whispered, “I blame you.”
She’d likely remain asleep until they made their way back to the mortal realm, since he would attend Lucifer’s summons and make sure she recovered properly. She shifted in his arms, snuggling closer to his chest, stirring something primal in his gut, something… strange.
“Even sleeping, you’re dangerous.” He chuckled to himself before blasting another demon who dared look at him with disgust.
His pace remained measured and head high as he regarded the pathetic state of the region in between his beautiful manor and Lucifer’s palace. Demons of Minor heritage, their Sins a blatant testimony of disgrace for the entire demonkind, petered about. They avoided him like he was one of Lucifer’s Heralds.
In this case, where their Existential Ranking couldn’t even rank on the charts. His ranking broke it. Scurry and flinch, bow and fawn, some even played dead. They were pathetic creatures, and he didn’t hesitate to snuff them out if they got within range of his capabilities.
The way they groveled, he relished in it before he remembered just how unworthy of being in his presence they even were. Groaning, he quickened his pace.
Lilith stirred another couple times as he walked, careful not to jostle her. To wake her would be to admit imperfection in his lofty gate and measured paces or even a misplaced foot. He wasn’t capable of such a thing, so of course she’d remain resting, nuzzled into him.
Everything about the Underdark assaulted his sensibilities, and he almost breathed a sigh of relief when he finally stepped across the boundary into the Nine Gates portal hub. The entire line waiting to use one of the services of the Nine Gates hub scowled as he past, but they all made sure to keep quiet enough not to draw his ire.
Needless to say, those that managed to draw his attention didn’t remain around for long. All of the greed or sloth demons managing the portal hub didn’t dare to request identification from either Abraxis or Lilith. They were quite notorious in their generation, and nobody would mistake their appearance. Anywhere. Ever.
As much as he wanted to rush up the stairs, get through the portal, and move on from the Underdark, he wouldn’t demean his image by doing such a thing. Each step was taken with grace and dignity befitting his reputation.
Though he had to admit, carrying Lilith around as she snored a storm didn’t make him appear as dignified as he’d like. The thought to wake her and feast on all of the inhabitants of the Nine Gates crossed his mind a few times, but they weren’t worth the effort. Additionally, he didn’t really care to deal with Lilith’s grumpiness.
When she didn’t sleep enough, he wouldn’t put it past her to raze Hell. As a princess, she needed her rest. As a lustful princess, even more so. As a lustful princess of wrath, he’d never willingly wake her. He’d learned his lesson after the first time. In this case, it was an experience he’d skip.
Tempering only worked if you were alive, and something snapped in her if she didn’t sleep enough. Even so, he almost let her loose on the horde just for a little amusement.
But no. The amount of Miasma wouldn’t be worth it, and she’d still be raging in a fit by the time she finished. So yes, he’d carry his princess with utmost pride in knowing that their lives had been spared by mere whimsy—not exhaustion. He was plenty rested and definitely not at all ready to sleep for two moons when he made it back to the mortal world.
When he stepped onto the platform and off the steps, he paused. From atop the Nine Gates, where Abraxis lorded over the Underdark, he glanced towards the Gates of Hell. He’d always wondered what waited on the other side, and that curiosity ate at him, gnawed at his mind and demanded he chase that knowledge. He couldn’t be a perfect being without knowing something so crucial to sustaining his existence…
Okay, so maybe knowing wasn’t important, but that didn’t change the fact he wanted to know. Maybe he’d ask Lucifer. Then again, maybe not. He didn’t want to give the Emperor of Hell too much satisfaction from lording his power over Abraxis.
With that thought, he stepped through the necessary portal.