————

"Home, sweet home."

Yeah, right! More like, welcome back to hell! But before you once again join me on this journey let me give you a quick tour.

Above we can see a gray sky. Gray rocks to the left, gray rocks to the right. And gray sand fucking everywhere. Gray everything.

Well, that's all. A lot of gray nothing, a wasteland.

Deer that was fueling the summoning is already gone, hell turning the remains to dust after its essence went to me with the magic of the ritual. Mortal bodies weren't made to last here.

The book goes away into my pocket space, as I take a look around. It can't hold much but I'm still working on it.

There is no color to be seen in hell, a monochrome world. The only bit of color around is my sorry ass. At least I hope that's the case, otherwise we are in trouble.

Ok, that's not totally true. There's also the nasty black stuff - that's what makes Hell what it is: A hell. And likely the reason why all the stuff around is all shades of gray, and not a bone white.

Strangely lack of mana makes things lose all color. Take out all the mana from the world, and it would be like spilling bleach over everything. Equally as painful for everyone involved I would guess, but what do I know.

Then the black haze comes around and turns everything into a gray wonderland.

"This place drives me nuts. Literaly."

I was doing something before that magic circle popped up, but it seems the little buggers went and absconded on me. It's been a whole day in the mortal realm connected to this hell so that's not surprising. Time is a bit wonky here.

"Tsk, doubt i will be able to track them now" But it's not like i could take them with me, and a summoning is too much of an opportunity to miss because of few Lemures.

I'm full anyway thanks to the sacrifice Jarred prepared for his ritual. The green, rich essence of my prize is still flowing in a fluorescent haze around me. Absorbing it all will take me a bit, but I can already feel the changes. Growing pains.

Now this realization brings a smile to my face.

Speaking of. What did I get? Rubbing my hands with anticipation I bring up the window.

"Wow, now that's what i call a prize." This little trip sure was worth it.

> Consumed essence: Adolescent deer (2)

> +2 agility

> +1 perception

> +1 Horns

No wonder my eyes are itching. But an upgrade to my Traits? That's a nice surprise, let me see.

> Traits: ????, Humanoid (1), Horns (2), Wings, Tail (2), Digitigrade (1), Small.

Neat, I started with a +1 as a newborn demon and now finally there's an upgrade. Long overdue, and I know exactly what ability I'm spending my point on.

But that's for later when I'm somewhere safe.

Since dinner ran away we might as well head back now. Those taste like sin anyway. Again I mean it literally, they are filled with the stuff; that's why I was on my way to 'prepare' them. Yes, as a demon I'm supposed to feed on it, but I just can't stomach it.

Nasty little shits.

"Back to my hidey hole then-"

...Scratch that. Bottle in tail, with a grin I turn on my heel and set into a light jog as I've noticed something.

Seems the weather has been spoiling us today.

There are neat trails left in the gray dust, and conveniently they are headed in the right direction. No Hell Storm must have visited this part of the wasteland since my summons, so nothing disrupted the ground over where my little friends crawled away.

I'm not really hungry anymore since i just had a whole deer to myself- but hey, we are in hell already, what's a bit of gluttony between demons.

Annoyingly, judging by the tracks, one of them separated from the rest. But the other three are staying together.

Safety in numbers? Ha! Not in hell. Here that just makes you a better target when you are at the bottom. I follow the trio through the rocky terrain. These hilly parts are littered with huge boulders and rocky outcrops, but there's a thick layer of dust covered sand between them, making the tracking easy.

I don't bother to cover my own footprints since barely anyone visits the fringe wasteland these days. And frequent storms wipe any signs of activity anyway.

...

How far did the damn things manage to crawl away? I've been running for some time and we are almost at my special place.

The stones are more sparse around here and the land is more flat, but its still dotted with rabble and house sized boulders slowly getting covered by more sand from the nearby desert. The memory of how these got here still sends shivers down my spine. I can already see the distant dunes of dark gray.

There is movement in the distance and I freeze on the spot, yet relax right after as I notice my quarry. Group of gray, maggot-like creatures just started climbing a low hill.

Hey, the food is here!

I follow and then slowly walk up after the group. They can't really run and their sight sucks.

Grabbing one in each clawed hand and stepping on the third to stop its futile attempt of escaping, I smile sweetly at them and greet my wayward meal as they squirm and squeal; grabbing at my fingers with they tiny hands.

"Hello lunch, Hi dinner. And-"

Nope.

I duck to the ground while still holding my captives, looking for cover. Their cries grow even more noisy at the sudden movement so I murder them with my sharp nails. They die fast leaking a disgusting viscous ooze, it splashes over the rocks and paints them black - the Taint. Concentrated miasma that stains everything in hell.

Remnants of all the worst the mortal realm has to offer, that constantly seeps into this place...

There's a fucking goatman out there behind the hill. What is it doing here, alone in the middle of nowhere? Those usually travel in groups and stay in their clan's territories along the outer rim. I risk taking a peek from behind a flat rock, thankfully he hasn't noticed me.

And this crazy bastard is pitch black. Completely covered in miasma; must be insane by this point.

Consuming too much Taint can drive you mad. It makes demons turn dark and with time makes even more of it stick to them like tar. Normally your magic shields you from the stuff and slowly breaks it down into mana; but if you take in to much that your power can't keep up, it builds up... And it's really nasty for the mind.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Tastes like crap too. But what can you do? When in hell...

I hate that this crazy asshole is snooping around here, we are too close to that place, and you never know what an insane demon has in mind.

The fact that it's a damn goatman is double the trouble. I would prefer to avoid fighting if possible, wasting precious mana in pointless fights is stupid and those guys are no joke - but the rose is nearby. What if he finds it? Would a random demon even care? Would an insane one? They seem kind of rare at least in the wastelands...

It's not the reason why he is here right?

This type of demon is not that far above an imp, and it just looks like this because they had too much goat. For whatever reason some old, crazy demon cult on the mortal plane almost exclusively uses goats as sacrifice in their rituals. What's the deal with that?

Those people learn a demon's name and bind it with magic. Since all they get is mostly goat, with a virgin mixed in, they end up looking like some half man-half goat, horror freak as they absorb the essence.

That means regular summoning and a lot of power for the demon. The practice is widespread enough that the hell basically ended up with a new species of demons. And since they often work for the same organizations out there, they form Clans down here. Well fed, well equipped and bat-shit crazy. Damn it.

I'm fresh out of my own summon, so I have a full tank, but I'm still processing my gains. I've gathered quite a bit of mana in my enchanted bottle as well, but I would rather prefer to keep it.

Stealth is the name of the game here.

Expending some precious mana to cast the magic that will hide my presence I make a wide arc around the bastard. While staying out of sight, I quickly get ahead of him. He doesn't seem to be in a hurry.

Our destination appears to be the same. -Damn it. The sole high ground looming over the area. A plan slowly forms in my head.

I hope the guy turns around.

——

At the border between rocky wasteland and a giant desert stands a lone mountain.

Or rather, what's left of it...

Not very tall anymore, at least not by hell standards. But it's very steep and the side facing the sea of sand is completely broken. Filled with cracks and deep ravines.

There is a relatively easy path along many of its sheer cliffs that leads to the summit. On this path, a lone demon slowly makes his way up. Careful, as the road ahead is treacherous an littered with rubble that broke off from somewhere above. Even now small pebbles roll down the mountain putting him on edge, sometimes literally as they fall down the cliff the black goat-like demon is currently traversing. It's a long way down.

But the reason for Sabrotc's wariness - as that's his name, is not the crumbling mountain. He is looking out for enemies since he is currently following a trail of dark blood.

He has been send on a 'diplomatic' mission to the desert, to bring the tribes living there under the banner of his masters. Finding them will be a pain; this strange broken mountain should give him a great view of the dunes though.

I'm lucky I've found it- he thinks to himself. Those pathetic demons that live out among the dunes are weak, odd creatures, but every body counts; and even Lemures can be useful, if just as cannon fodder, for what is to come.

He finds the corpses at the edge of a big drop leading all the was down to the flat ground, probably the tallest one on this mountain. -Three dead squidges.

His heavy dark-iron mace in hand, he picks up one to examine it. That's when a loud Thump! of stone hitting rock alerts him to the danger. As Sabrotc turns around he barely manages to brace himself, arms wide, as a boulder almost twice his size bounces off the wall right about to crash into him... Just in time.

The impact took a lot out of him, but he stands his ground and manages to grab it after dropping his weapon.

He's filled with pride, as he took only one step back on this narrow spot in face of such mass crashing into his chest. But it is just a rolling stone, he scoffs in derision. Holding it up with his tremendous strength he shakes off the surprise and is about to throw it over the edge, when the weight shifts as something impacts with the heavy rock, there is a push... And the powerful demon finds himself falling.

Arms flailing, trying to understand what just happened, yellow eyes wide— he crashes! into the ground.

This is not his lucky day as the weight he's been holding to not moments ago, follows right behind and breaks to pieces on top of him. The solid ground *cracks! from the impact.

Yet he still lives. He won't go down from something like falling down the mountain. His pride as a part of Bloodmoon Clan won't allow for it... -But it hurts so much. It's not just the stone that broke. Can't move...

As the dust clears out, his gaze focuses with some effort on the cliff above. Up there on the ledge he just fell from-

Hate fills his broken body. A fucking Imp. It dares!

-I'm going to flay the little shit! Rip it apart piece by piece. Just you wait I will wipe that smirk of your dumb face.

High above the Imp frowns, likely realizing its failure. It stomps the ground, looking angry. Its black eyes not leaving Sabrotc.

-Your tricks won't save you from my wrath. You will pay for your mischief. Wish I had time to enjoy myself torturing your sorry ass, I'm on a mission but maybe-

Thundering *crack! stops his thoughts in their tracks and then derails them, as a massive part of the cliff splits off the mountain. A wedge shaped mass of stone comes crashing down, right where Sabrotc's broken body lies embed into the ground. Filled with disbelief and horror, the last words he heard over the sound of his own body being split in half, were some nonsense coming from the Imp.

"Gravity for the win!"

——

Someone smart once said: Just let the gravity do the work for you. Good advice, I like it.

Shudder runs through me as I look down from the ledge -part of it gone, at the scene down bellow. After the dust settled and so I can confirm the kill, comes time for digging.

From what remains of the Goatman after I brought half the damn mountain on him -Well that's a lie, just a tiny bit of the mountain, but still it took a lot of effort to dig him out. There isn't all that much left. -Had to spend more mana; send it into the wall Toph style, to cause a pressure to build up inside and break off a big chunk. The end effect ain't bad if you ask me. A lot of mess, but the crazy bastard is dead.

I still can't believe he fucking caught the giant boulder I pushed down on him. Had to jump after the damn thing to push him over the edge, and he still survived! That's like 20 stories high drop!

A lvl. 27 Chort is no joke. I was ready to start throwing magic at him even as I saw him get split in half.

Yet seeing how much I've gained from this whole ordeal, this sure was my lucky day. And best part is I won't have to carry his remains that far since we're are already here! At the 'not so white anymore mountain'.

I even recovered two of the Lemures. I can't use his weapon, way too heavy -but I can see some interesting trinkets on the body that survived the impact.

First thing first though, let's bring him to the Rose. The essence is leaking and I don't want to touch it with all this Taint on him.

...

The Rose is just as I've left it, and currently busy draining the Taint from the corpses I've brought to it. Little guys are almost ready but the goat still needs some time in the oven.

A tangled mass of thorn covered vines and roots wrapped around the bodies. Turning more and more black as it absorbs the nasty sludge. An oversized bud growing well protected in the middle. I've invested a lot of time in it, and watched it grow ever since I learned it can pull the miasma out of stuff. Sure it takes some of the essence in as well, but at a much slower rate so there is plenty left for me after that.

And I really hate the 'taste' of this tar like stuff -Disgusting. I know demons are supposed to consume it and turn it into mana inside them, but I can't force myself to eat shit anymore.

Don't know what I would do without this wonderful, scary plant.

I wonder what will happen when it turns all black and blooms?

> Hell Rose: These rare plants native to hell absorb Taint of Sin from their surroundings to grow. Originally white like bones bleached by the sun, they will slowly turn pitch black until they bloom.

Yeah, still not helpful. I guess time will tell.

"I'm very curious, what will you look like in full bloom?" But for now, do your thing, so I can get my sweet rewards.

——――