Chapter Twenty-Seven.

"Ulfar!" A deep, terror-instilling voice whispered into the ancient Demon King's ear.

The powerful being froze as he heard his master's voice, then slowly looked around the cave he called his home, taking note of the various skulls, hides, and other trophies scattered throughout it. Eventually, his gaze settled on one of the skulls, from which the head of a red and black snake stared at him through the right eye socket, the creature's own eyes yellow in color.

"Lord Satan," Ulfar clapped his right fist to his chest, dipping his head. "How may I serve you?"

"The time for true freedom is near," Satan whispered again, and Ulfar walked over, crouching down before his master. "Your face is known to few, Ulfar. Enter the mortal world, Earth. There is a boy there, just barely thirteen in a city called Tejina. His name is Ambrosius, though he goes by Cameron at the moment. The heavens are fighting over him, though they've yet to identify him."

"You wish him dead?"

"No!" Satan responded with a hiss. "No! The boy must be brought here, to the hells. He is a son of Ulrima, with a mortal. Right now, his divinity is bound. Ulrima wanted him to have a more mortal childhood, for the experience. However, he has much hunting him… the promise of freeing his divinity, and what that really means, might help sway him to our cause."

Ulfar saw his master's plan immediately. If they could turn a demigod child of a High God to their side, then they might be able to sever the binds that bound most demons into hell without a summons.

That would allow Satan to finally be freed and for the Demon Lords and Demon Kings to be at full power when leaving their prison.

"Do what you must," Satan told him. "But do not harm his friends. We want him on our side, and if he ever finds out we were cause of his strife, it would permanently turn him against us. And take the mind ring. The boy's a powerful mind mage, and he's still a fledgling. From the reports I received, he even killed a Fae Lord."

"Which one?" Ulfar asked.

"Silviar," Satan answered. "Make haste, Ulfar. Halloween has nearly ended there, and when it does, you will not be able to enter that realm for another year."

Ulfar nodded, and Satan retreated, disappearing into the shadows. Ulfar knew his master had dissipated the construct used to communicate with him.

Stretching, Ulfar changed forms, his swirling black and red skin changing to a more human color, of a man with a light tan. His black eyes become more human, the irises blue. His sleek black hair changed to a soft, dark brown, and his horns faded away as his great, black-feathered wings retreated into his body.

He was one of the only demons capable of taking on human form, a result of his father being the son of a demon and an Archangel and his mother a High Goddess. He possessed no divinity, however. The demon grandfather of his and his divine mother overrode it.

For his mother was the High Goddess of darkness and evil, and that only fueled the demonic nature he inherited. Unlike other demons, however, he could conceal his demonic nature and pass as human, and he wasn't inherently evil.

Walking over to one of the human hides, he pulled it aside, revealing a pitch-black chest and lifted the lid, pulling out a pair of black trousers, a black shirt that might pass as normal on Earth, then a pair of boots, pulling the outfit on. Closing the trunk and hiding it, Ulfar looked around until he located one of the skulls.

He lifted the skull, then the one it was resting on, revealing a dark purple box decorated with flowers. Opening it, he revealed the ancient ring. Set into polished gold, the pale pink morganite sparkled, even in the dim lighting of the cave. It would shield Ulfar from any and all mind magics without interfering in his own.

Obtaining it had not been easy, as it was difficult to block an entire school of magic. The ring itself was millions of years old, and he had laid claim for it himself as soon as he heard about it. Five thousand lives went into its creation, and he knew of nothing else created that could do such a thing.

Slipping the ring onto a finger, Ulfar grabbed a few other items, took a deep breath, then phased between worlds, arriving on Earth. He could return to hell without an issue, but could only leave Hell into a world on the world's own version of Halloween. Checking the time, he'd made it with a few minutes to spare.

That's cutting it close.

Using his own powers of the mind, he gleaned the location of Tejina and teleported to it.

His first order of business was to find a place to sell the gems he had brought with him, to grant himself some wealth. It wasn't hard to find a buyer, but finding one who could pay him for the entire supply of large rare stones he held took some time.

At last, pay up-front. It wasn't hard to convince the man to not head back to bed just by showing a few of the jewels. By the time he finished selling the gems, Ulfar had twelve grand in cash. His next order of business was to find a temporary place to stay while seeking out an auction of some sort, preferably a mage's auction.

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In addition to the jewels, he'd brought with him several items that would fetch an even higher price. He knew, because they had value in one of the two societies, several of which were famous pieces he'd stolen at one point or another throughout history. He kept his chosen pieces for this visit to ones that he had taken from Earth itself, as they would likely be easier to identify and sell.

After an hour of searching, he found a hotel that he felt was worthy of him and made his way inside, renting a room for at least a week.

Taking the keycard, Ulfar went up to the room and stripped down, moving to the bathroom for a shower. It had been a long time since he'd had one where it was hot water and not either cold water or hot magma.

Not that there was anything wrong with a good magma shower or bath, but the mortal side of Ulfar enjoyed some of the things that other mortals did.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, still drying himself off, he found an angel standing in the room. The golden hair, eyes, and wings gave it away, and based on the muscular torso, golden pants, and the golden sword, they served his mother's irritating male counterpart, the High God of light and goodness.

The angel's aura denoted him as an Angel King as well. They were the highest order of angels, and each god only had a single one.

Ulfar let out a sigh.

"What do you want, Jestin?"

"Why are you here?" Jestin asked.

"How did you even detect me so early?" Ulfar asked.

"I am in town," Jestin stated. "There's a war going on, which I'm sure you're aware of. I sensed you the moment you were within a hundred yards of me."

"You're staying here, aren't you?" Ulfar asked.

"Why did you leave hell?"

"I can't take a vacation every now and then?" Ulfar asked.

"After what you did in the War of the Line?" Jestin asked. "Return to hell, Ulfar. Now."

"Over the ages of mortals on Earth," Ulfar gestured to the box he'd set on his bed before his shower. "I have obtained a few pieces of jewelry of theirs, from various demons I've encountered. I've decided to return them to the mortals. I intend on finding an auction, letting them be sold there, and when the earnings from that run out, I will return to hell."

"Do not make me-"

Jestin glanced down at the wooden box. It was enchanted to hide the magic of whatever was inside of it, so it was a plausible situation. Were it not for one little issue.

"You chose the side of darkness," Jestin said. "I doubt very much that you would ever do something like this just for goodwill."

"I do have some good in me," Ulfar smiled. "After all, I haven't attacked you yet. That's why you haven't moved on me, after all. Trust me, cousin, I am here to enjoy myself a bit outside of hell. I intend no chaos during my visit, and I swear that on my magic."

Jestin relaxed, though only a little. Ulfar knew the oath meant something, as any mage – or magical being – who swore on their magic was bound by it. Had Ulfar lost his magic, it would have been a sign that he intended chaos while there.

"If I really wanted to cause problems," Ulfar added. "I'd have already gone after Ulrima's son and dragged him into hell, to begin breaking him so that I could turn him to our side without an issue."

"I know you, Ulfar," Jestin began.

"And I know his age, his name, and the name he goes by," Ulfar said, and Jestin's eyes widened. "As you well know, the first two are all I need to track him down, since I know who his father is as well. I even know his divinity's been bound, to hide him from all of you. Again, if I were interested in chaos, I'd have already gone after him. After all, a prize like a son of Ulrima is all we'd need to free ourselves from the prison my aunts and uncles – your father included – cast me and the rest of mine into after the Line of the War.

"No," Ulfar continued. "I plan on partaking of other pleasures. Proper food, the body of mortals, hot showers, fresh air, and swimming in water and not molten rock or pure fire. And, when my money runs out, I will return to hell."

"You possess the power to acquire more money," Jestin narrowed his gaze at Ulfar. "You possess mind magics, Ulfar. It would be no-"

"I swear on my magic that I intend not to steal money," Ulfar stated. "That covers using magic to assist in acquiring it through darker means, does it not?"

"Yes," Jestin said through gritted teeth.

"As I said," Ulfar told him. "Pleasures, cousin. You should try it sometime. Though if I do find an impressionable young mind who might be tempted to learn from me, don't think I won't be willing."

"I'm keeping an eye on you," Jestin said. "Try anything-"

"And you wonder why I choose not to serve the light," Ulfar snorted. "Would you mind leaving, cousin? I do wish to find out how much comfortable mortal beds are here. It'll be quite the contrast to the rocks and hides I've been using for… well, ever since I was forced into hell."

"Don't try anything," Jestin warned Ulfar, then walked past him and out of the room.

As the door closed, Ulfar rolled his eyes. They wouldn't be able to stop him if he did. It would take at least three Angel Kings to interfere with his plans. Minimum.

They were the reasons he'd sided with Satan in the War of the Line, and the reason he stuck to his side. He found, over time, that he quite enjoyed chaos and hurting others. Though he also knew that good still rested within him.

After all, he never could bring himself to hurt a puppy. The ancient Demon King even enjoyed playing with the young hellhounds from time to time. No one ever commented about it, out of fear that he'd rip their guts out, but he knew they didn't like him for it.

He didn't care. If they did comment on it, well, certain rivers meant he could rip guts out many, many times. One of them flowed right outside his cave, and it had turned to a river of blood solely because of him and his annoyance.

Letting out a breath, Ulfar dropped the towel onto the floor and climbed onto the bed, enjoying the soft comfort it brought him. In the morning, he would buy some proper clothes, then begin seeking out an auction.

It might take him time to convince his cousin to come to hell with him, but he knew he'd have plenty of it. He also knew he likely wasn't the only demon Satan had sent out with this task, but he was likely the only one with a chance at success.

The others would go the kidnapping route, attempting to forcibly take him with them. Ulfar, on the other hand, would bide his time as he befriended his cousin, becoming friends before bringing up his offer.

He'd maybe even dine on a few demons, if they got in his way. Smiling, Ulfar closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall asleep.