“He talked yet?”
“Only in snide remarks and insults.” Mai responded to my question with exasperation, before looking at Saki and Nao in confusion. “What the hell happened?”
“It might take a while to explain, but we should both be fine. Nao’s out for the count at the moment, though,” replied Saki. “Shin, reckon you can keep hold of her for a moment? I’m gonna need both my hands for the ‘chat’ I’d like to have with our friend here.”
“Just don’t kill him. We won’t get a second chance at this.”
“Don’t worry. I know my limits.”
As Saki passed Nao over to me, I could see the silent rage in her eyes. She was pissed off that Nao had been rendered unconscious due to her injury caused by Descartes, and she was prepared to let that frustration out on his already injured body.
She stepped up to Descartes, his right arm removed from his body and his legs riddled with arrows, and ripped the iron mask off of his head. Underneath was a face that was missing eye sockets, his skin a pale purple and his teeth black and fanged. He was the very picture of a hellish demon.
“Baal Zebul. Talk.”
“Do basic manners not exist in your home world, you barbarian? At least ask a full question before demanding answers.”
Saki grabbed him by the scruff of the neck on his expensive-looking garment on his upper body and held him up. He momentarily flailed with his remaining limbs, before resigning himself to his situation.
“Where is he? How do we get to him?”
“Are you suicidal, girl? I am not one tenth the strength of The Lord Of Flies, and yet you nearly succumbed to me. You well and truly believe you have a chance against him?”
“What are you saying?”
“As you rightly pointed out earlier, it is not in the nature of demonkind to adhere to hierarchy. To be governed by another is against our nature of individualism. So why, do you think, do all of us fall in line at the beck and call of Lord Baal Zebul?”
“Because he’s the strongest?”
“The strongest? That fails to do him any justice at all. His power is beyond anything you could imagine. It’s fantastical, almost immeasurable. We do not follow him out of obligation or respect. We follow him because we have no choice but to obey his will, lest we fall victim to his wrath. None but the one you call God can approach his level of power. To face him down is a fool’s errand. Each and every one of you will die.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Though it was vaguely what we had expected, those were the last words we wanted to hear. It seemed our foe was just as insurmountable as we had anticipated, if not more so. It was becoming increasingly clear that defeating Baal Zebul in single combat was not on the table. That being said, we had no option but to seek him out.
“We still need to find him. Maybe we can’t beat him, but he might be open to negotiation. This war has been happening for less than a day and his losses have already been enormous. He underestimated us. We can use that.” Saki seemed to be thinking the same as me.
“Change the mind of the Lord Of Flies? Your hubris is great. But as it so happens, our lord gave us strict orders to allow a certain group of humans an audience with him were we to come across them. I believe four of you fit the descriptions he gave.”
Four of us… that almost definitely meant Saki, Sunao, Mai and me. We had been the ones causing him so many problems from the beginning. I should have been glad to have a stepping stone forward for our plan, but the fact that he requested us specifically made me fear for his intentions. Had we drawn his ire to such a degree that he wanted to do away with us personally?
“If that’s the case, then how do we find him? Where do we have to go?”
“You fools truly mean to parlay? And here I thought you to be an intelligent bunch.”
“Stop dodging the question, demon.” Saki tightened her grip, her first now right up against Descartes’ throat.
“Ack- you cretin, release me and I’ll speak. I’m already rendered immobile, must you humiliate me further?” At the demon’s complaints, Saki begrudgingly released her grip on him, causing him to fall to his knees. “If you imbeciles truly mean to make your way to Baal Zebul’s audience, your best route is to continue due south around the great mountains. On the far side, you’ll find a castle surrounded by a moat of molten metal.”
“And that’s where we’ll find Baal Zebul?”
“Yes, but do not expect to to meet with him immediately. First, you’ll be forced to undergo three trials.”
“Trials? Like what?”
“What they pertain to exactly, I cannot say. But these were the conditions he gave for your audience with him. It seems he wishes to ascertain the depths of your skill before giving you his time.”
“Why does every damn demon we meet wanna test our strength or something? It’s beginning to get old,” complained Hikari.
“Strength is a matter of absolute importance among demonkind. When one most fend entirely for themselves, they’ve no choice but to obey those stronger than them and oppress those who are weaker. Consider his trials a compliment: he believes you to be strong enough to be worth the effort in the first place.”
What an abhorrent place this was. Rule by kratocracy was no fair rule. But I couldn’t deny its effectiveness in a society devoid of collectivism. Perhaps all demons together would be able to overpower and dethrone Baal Zebul, but no such concept existed in their eyes. There was no “us” and “them,” just “me” and “everyone else.”
“I’ve heard enough from this shitbag,” said Saki with utter disdain in her voice, “let’s get moving. The sooner we leave this putrid place, the better.”
The rest of us silently agreed, following behind Saki and passing by the crippled demon, leaving him to die of his wounds.
“Oh, just one more thing before you go off on your merry little quest,” said he, his voice dripping with sardonicism, “the trip should take you a few hours. I suggest you hurry to it, as night will fall on your world in that time. I wonder, how will your allies on Earth fair against our armies when they don’t have a convenient choke point to funnel us down?”