There are only two people who can tell you the truth about yourself - an enemy who has lost his temper and a friend who loves you dearly.

— Antisthenes, Greek philosopher of Athens, disciple of Socrates (445-365bc)

The demon’s face got slashed by four claws, losing an eye and half his nose in the process. He howled in both pain and rage then lashed out. Swiping a claw strike of his own. Razor ducked underneath the blow meant for his face and came back up with a kick to the demon’s groin. This time, instead of a howl, the demon squealed and fell to the hard stone floor clutching his precious parts. Razor had no time to look satisfied with his victory because another demon smashed a metal chair over his head, the chair bent in multiple places, but it did not bring Razor down.

He whirled on the pint-size minor demon and slammed a fist in his pig-like face. The demon went flying back, hitting two other demons who were grappling. All three went down in a heap of wings, tails, and limbs. Razor shook off the effects of the chair shot and looked around. The entire bar was in chaos, every occupant was engaged in physical altercations. Demons both male and female bit, clawed and wrestled. Those with makeshift weapons such as stool legs, or jagged metal used them to stab and slash at each other. It was a bar fight unlike any other bar fight in the mortal realm. The type of injuries these demons receives would have killed a mortal, but demons can regenerate so they went all out on each other.

Honestly, it was more of a battle than a bar fight. Fifteen minutes before, Razor had flung the doors open into this bar in a foul mood. Eldest, that bastard had reneged on the reward. They had left the Palace of Lust with nothing but their skins. Razor was angry and he wanted to vent his anger, Crank and Block tried to calm him down. Telling him that there were other jobs which could pay them well. Maybe not as great as the reward they would have received if Eldest was not a lying bastard. But it would be enough to slowly power them up. Then, a demon who was walking by with his buddies. Bumped into Razor and he just went off. It did not take long for the entire bar to erupt into violence.

A demon rushed Razor and he was about to take a swing when he recognized Block. Block said in a rush.

“We need to leave now bro! The guards are coming!”

Razor did not hesitate, although he wanted to stay and fight some more. He did not relish going toe to toe with the guards no matter how angry he is. The guards are like the modern-day police in the mortal realms, except police brutality is not just encourage. It is the rule they go by; the guards are vicious pricks with the full authority from the Nether Lords to maintain law and order throughout the Courts. Razor looked around and found Crank being held by the neck by a seven-foot tall one horned demon in a biker outfit. Razor ran to his pal, grabbing a stool along the way. He jabbed all four legs into the demon’s back, the chair struck and the demon released Crank and went to one knee.

Crank landed on his feet and gave the demon a swift kick to the head. The demon went down, and Crank was about to launch himself at the demon when Razor grabbed his furs and yelled.

“Guards are coming! We need to go now!”

Crank nodded and followed Razor and Block out the back. He did not want to end up in the guards’ dungeon. They tend to forget their prisoners for a few years or even decades. They ran around combatants, avoiding them and burst out the back door and into the alley. They continued to run not bothering to take flight, the guards would be in the skies looking for anyone flying away in a hurry. After running for four blocks, the three rogue demons stopped in an alleyway far from the mainstream crowd and waited. When it was clear that no one was coming after them, Block whirled on Razor.

“Are you crazy bro!? We could have ended up in the dungeons!”

Block sighed and calmed himself speaking to Razor in a more moderate tone.

“Listen, I get it. We got screwed, and you’re pissed. I understand we’re pissed too. But you can’t let that control your actions. It’s not how we wanted it to go down, but it did go down that way. All we can do is learn from it and move on.”

Razor knew that his friend was right, but he was tired of all this crap.

“Block, Crank, we’ve been going on like this for three hundred years. Making deals with Demon Lords and Archdemons, hoping they don’t cheat us in the end. We do the crappy jobs so that they can keep their hands clean, and if they get a wild hair up their asses. They don’t have to pay us, and we get nothing. Round and round and round we go, and we’re going nowhere fast.”

“Yeah, I hear ya man.”

Crank agreed but he had more to say.

“We’re major demons sure, but we have centuries before we can ascend to greater demon-hood. We are not at the bottom, we’re in the middle. We can only learn and move on. Things won’t change quickly just because you’re mad. That’s the cold hard truth.”

“I know!”

Razor snapped and then he said gently.

“I know. I’m just sick of the Nether Lords treating us like dirt beneath their feet.”

Razor shook his head in frustration.

“I became a demon seven hundred years ago. At first, I thought I did something evil back when I was human, but I was a farmer in my old life. Good with my hands too, and when the farming was done I tracked and hunted game in the woods to provide for my family. It was the only life I ever knew. The country I was born in was ruled by a tyrant king, who took and took and gave nothing back. I did not have the power to do anything about it, I thought it was the way of things.”

Crank and Block remained silent, they did not interrupt, and they did not ask questions. For the three hundred years they have been partnered together, Razor had not talked much about his past as a human.

“Of course, because of the tyrant king’s excesses. Rebellion swept through the land, and the tyrant king’s response was to punish the people. Whether they were guilty or innocent, it did not matter. I and my family were punished, we did nothing but try to live our lives in peace. Yet, we paid the price for the tyrant king and the rebels’ conflict. I found myself in the Nether Realm, and not with my family in the afterlife. It took me some time to realize that I was marked by the Nether Realm, and not placed here for any evil I had done.”

Razor laughed, and it was not a happy sound.

“I thought I had power, I thought I would never be at a tyrant’s mercy ever again. Well, it didn’t take long for that train of thought to die out. It did not take me long to discover that there are worse tyrants than the human king.”

Razor leaned his back against the wall of the alley and tilted his head up to the sky. He sighed.

“There has to be something better than this. Guys, do you think there is something better for us?”

Crank and Block looked at each other and did not answer, they did not have any answers to give. Suddenly, there was a flash of light which startled all three demons. They blinked back spots of light and found a marilith in their midst. Before either of them could even think to react, they found sword blades at their necks, the marilith was that fast.

“Sssay nothing, you will lisssten or I’ll take your headsss. My ssswordsss are magical, crafted by the sssmithsss of the Nether Realm. I have the ability to kill any demon permanently if I ssso choossse.”

Razor, Clank, and Block kept their mouths shut. The marilith nodded in satisfaction, her serpentine body curled around all three of them with herself at the center. Even if the demons wanted to escape, the marilith had them trapped.

“Sssix daysss ago, you captured a greater ssshe-devil and her companionsss. I know you delivered them to Eldessst, you are going to help me get into the Palaccce of Lussst.”

Razor raised a hand requesting permission to speak, the marilith looked at him for a moment and then nodded.

“Don’t cut off my head for saying this, but you are insane if you think you can get into the Palace of Lust. It’s a fortress, guards are everywhere and on patrol all the time. All the entrances are guarded and monitored, the guards are in four-hour rotations at all times. You cannot sneak your way in, the only way in is through the front door.”

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Razor was surprised when the marilith said.

“Exaccctly.”

Block and Crank were equally confused, but Razor finally put two and two together.

“That could work…Eldest is a lecherous and greedy son-of-a-bitch. Any pretty female who comes within his reach he’ll grab and collar.”

Razor looked the marilith up and down, he studied her gorgeous face and blood red hair, and stunning serpent yellow eyes. Her body was toned with dark brown scales and wore nothing but necklaces around her throat which also nestled between her breasts. Her impressive bosoms were wrapped in brown leather similar to the color of her scales. She was indeed a beauty, and Eldest would not be able to resist her.

“What makes you so sure I won’t sell you out? The reward for you would be quite high.”

Razor asked the question knowing that he was taking a risk. The marilith could decide that working with them was too much of a risk and take them out. Instead, the marilith moved her swords away from their throats and sheathed them.

“Did Eldessst honor hisss agreement with you? Did you reccceive your reward for bringing the sssuccubusss, the two ssshe-demonsss, and the greater ssshe-devil? From what I heard, Eldessst did not reward you at all.”

Razor remained silent, and so did Crank and Block. But that was answer enough for the marilith, she smiled that serpent’s smile of hers.

“If I were you, I would want to get back at Eldessst. I would make him regret ever dealing falsssely with me. You would get the sssatisssfaction of ssseeing the Demon Lord of Lussst having hisss play thingsss taken away from him.”

Razor smirked and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, that sounds like a perfect idea to me. What about you guys?”

He asked his friends, it was Crank who spoke first.

“Oh yeah, I wouldn’t mind helping the lady if only to know that Eldest had his things taken from him.”

“Hey, I’m game if you are.”

Block said with a grin, and so it was decided. Before they left the alleyway to another location in the Courts, Razor asked.

“If you don’t mind, what’s your name?”

When it looked as if the marilith would not reply, she said.

“Kasca, call me Kasca.”

………………………………..

Zula slammed her fist on the ornate iron door, cursing in the infernal language of the Nether Realm. The golden collar around her neck had runes carved in it, linking her to her father. She slammed the door again, a meaty thud resounded in the bedchamber.

“Relax.”

The voice came from Balca who was sprawled on the king size bed with crimson sheets and covers along with plush red pillows.

“You shouldn’t get so worked up. We can’t get out so, take a load off.”

While Zula slowly turned to Balca, she said.

“We need to get out of here, you have no idea what Eldest is capable of. He is perverse and loves to cause pain. Trust me, I’ve spent a hundred years as a prisoner here. We need to get out now.”

“Balca has a point, this entire room is sealed tight with both magic and physical methods.”

Talin was sitting in a velvet Victorian style chair, she shrugged when Zula looked at her.

“I want to get out of here too, but we do not have the power to escape. But I think Tabitha does. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that she had already found a way to escape that golden cage. I have no doubt that Tabitha will come for us. Until then, let’s relax and be ready to leave when the time comes.”

Zula sighed, she knew they were right. Tabitha would come for them, but her father is powerful. He may be a fool, but he knows how to play the game. Yet, Tabitha is a devil. A new arrival is a devil, something that has never happened in the Nether Realm. As far as Zula knows, all devils are born in the Nether Realm.

“What does it mean that the Nether Realm chose to make Tabitha a new arrival a devil instead of a demon?”

Zula asked the question in a whisper, Talin thought about it before answering.

“I can only think of one reason since all devils are born in the Nether Realm. There has never been a new devil arrival from the mortal realms. It boggles the mind, I mean look at all the devils you have known, seen, or heard about. They are all powerful, intelligent, dangerous, and territorial. They value order and control but answer me this. Would any of those devils have tried to save a succubus or two she-demons they did not know, and with no guarantee of reward?”

Both Zula and Balca said at the same time.

“No.”

“Exactly, most of the devils are selfish egotistical power hungry megalomaniacs. And the decent ones are in the minority and not that powerful. I think the Nether Realm wanted someone with a more moral perspective, a devil with compassion for others. But at the same time, not a wallflower. I saw what Tabitha did to those greater demons in the Frost Back Mountains, she can be as vicious as any devil. I believe if Tabitha gains more time and experience, she will be a force to be reckoned with in the Nether Realm. Perhaps throughout the multiverse.”

Zula was thinking hard now, Tabitha was unlike any devil she had ever heard off. What might she become if given time? I would like to be there to see who she might become. Zula smiled, she knew down to her very being that Tabitha would come for them. They would be ready, and they would follow Tabitha throughout the multiverse and beyond.

………………………………..

Neelan, the servant to the Demon Lord of Lust Eldest went through the partially open doors of the Palace of Lust. Outside, several of the greater demon guards surround four demons. Three of them he recognized, Razor and his miscreants. The fourth demon was female, Neelan paused for a moment in his strides. Not just any female, a marilith. Well, this is quite rare. The marilith was beautiful, she was at least 20 feet in length. Portion wise she was not as big as the greater she-devil Tabitha, just longer. Neelan resumed his stride, as he got closer. He noticed that the marilith was in chains and Razor was holding the chain links.

“And what do we have here!”

Neelan demanded in a tone of superiority, one of the greater demons turned and said.

“Sir, the three demons say that the marilith is for sale to Lord Eldest.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Neelan turned his attention to the rogue demons and their captive.

“And just how did you manage to capture a marilith? I understand that they are deadly, and not easily taken by surprise.”

“It was easier than you think. She was regenerating after a fight with one of those Drago Demons, we saw the opportunity and took it. I mean just look at her, she’s hot.”

Neelan looked at the marilith again, she was indeed something the look at. The marilith, in turn, glared at him with hate, it was unnerving that glare. Neelan tried very hard not to show fear, but there was a sliver of cold going down his spine. He turned back to Razor to disguise his fear and demanded in a cool tone.

“How much?”

“Well, her value is below that of the greater she-devil. But she is still a prize…fifty percent.”

Neelan narrowed his gaze at Razor, fifty percent was a very high price.

“I think twenty percent is fare, after all, this female could be of lesser quality.”

Neelan countered, Eldest did not want to spend much. If he could gain something without cost, then that is fine by the Demon Lord. Razor scoffed.

“Are you insane, this is a marilith. Devil Kings and demon princes use them as generals in their armies. Twenty percent, I would practically be giving her away. Forty-five percent.”

Razor sounded for all the world as an offended merchant who was selling quality goods. Neelan countered again.

“Twenty-five percent.”

They went back and forth, negotiating an appropriate price for the marilith. Finally, they settled on thirty-five percent. A decent sum of magical power, Razor received a card from Neelan. It looked like a credit card, but far different. It was a container and inside it has magical powers that demons can absorb adding to their own magical cores.

“Good doing business with you.”

Razor said as he handed the chain link to their prisoner to one of the guards.

“I hope Eldest will be pleased, maybe we can do some more business in the future.”

“That might be possible in the future. Only my Lord can decide that if your prize proves to be well received.”

Neelan replied and Razor shrugged. Without any farewells, the rogue demons left the vicinity of the palace doors by flight. Neelan put them out of his mind and looked at Eldest’s newest slave.

“Now my dear, let me introduce you to your new master.”

Without a word, Neelan entered the palace. The marilith right behind him surrounded by greater demon guards. Neelan walked like a demon with all the time in the world on his side. He could not wait to see his master, he would be rewarded greatly for purchasing the marilith with little cost. Those rogue demons are fools, they could have gotten ten times as much for the marilith. Eldest got back his daughter, the captured greater she-devil, and the two she-demons for free. The idiots.

“Isss it true that you have a greater ssshe-devil? Thossse demonsss were talking about her, how they were cheated after bringing her and three othersss to Eldessst.”

Neelan looked over his shoulder towards the marilith. She was in chains; her six arms and torso were restrained. The four greater demons surrounded her. She had not spoken outside when he and the rogue demon were negotiating.

“Yes, we have a greater she-devil. She is down in the dungeons and soon she too will bend to the will of my master.”

As Neelan looked forward once again, he heard the marilith say.

“Good, that isss all I needed to know.”

Neelan was pondering her words when he heard the unmistakable sounds of steel leaving scabbards. He heard the swishing of air and the parting of flesh, and when he turned around. Neelan found two swords crisscrossed over his neck and the greater demon guards in pieces. Neelan gulped; the scent of his fear was in the air.

“H-how?”

The marilith smiled, a serpent with prey.

“My ssswordsss were forged by the sssmithsss of my Lady Zagrebren, the Demon Princess of Sorrow. They are magical and bound to me, I can sssend them into a pocket dimensssion and sssummon them in an inssstant.”

Her hissing voice was predatory, Neelan’s blood red eyes widen at the mention of Zagrebren. She was a powerful demon princess but was defeated a year ago by the combined coalition of four demon princes.

“But if you served Zagrebren, then that means you are Kasca her most feared general.”

That serpent smile grew even wider revealing fangs and a forked tongue. Neelan was truly afraid now.

“The magic in my ssswordsss grantsss me the ability to kill any demon permanently by my own will. Your greater demonsss will not be getting up…ever. And neither will you.”

Before Neelan could beg for mercy, Kasca sliced and he found his head falling to the stone floor. Black blood sprayed from his headless torso, as his head thudded to the floor. His eyes were on his body, he watched it fall on its side. Then, everything went black for the last time.