Chapter 3B-4: The Undead Demon Meets His Companions: The Seven Sins Of The Demon King

Sin of Lust, Asmodeus [The Lovers]

One of the things which intrigued the pair was the unconditional need for their desires to be fulfilled, it didn’t matter what type of desire it was or how strange it was, the desire needed to be quenched. They knew it was rather weird for them to be like this however no one was there to question their actions. Since childhood they had been together, they were never separated even when their parents died in the war of the demons and humans they remained together. It was their only way to survive given their circumstances, both in human and demon culture twins were vile and hated holding a type of mysticism that not even those profound in knowledge about the mystics could understand. 

The world hated them and they hated the world back, this is what made their bond even stronger even more than siblings. Both of them were very much in need of each other. It was hard to tell the difference between the two in terms of appearance but one could using their personality traits, in comparison to the second the first twin could be considered very reserved yet at the same time very ambitious, the first twin could have been considered very masculine despite its girlish face going down to the type of clothing it wore was of men and it could be said it behaved in the manner that men conducted themselves spoke like a man, ate like a man and enjoyed the things that men enjoyed. A firm deep gaze filled with a large sense of self worth that one could not ignore. The other twin celebrated the feminine, it enjoyed beauty and elegance if the other was like the sun it was like the moon in a starless sky, dressed in a way that would make any man or woman fall in love with it. One could not ignore the gaze of passion that was hidden in its golden eyes. They both had black hair that reached their shoulders, with golden eyes which were their trademark, their faces were identical to each other however the aura was different due to their personality traits. This was why their gender was muddied up and it was difficult to ascertain which one belonged to the other, hence when one was to refer to them they had to base it on their appearance. It didn’t matter if what they said was the complete opposite of what they expected that was the way it was. 

“You claim that you weren’t trying to cheat me, but then the funds I gave you vanished and you told the people who were in charge of the firm that I squandered all of the money that was supposed to be used to pay out that deal. I briefly told them of your crime, and that is why you are here”

“NO THAT IS NOT HOW IT WENT!!”

“But it is how it went down. If you expect me to sympathize with a liar and a fraud you have another thing coming to you. I built this business up from the bottom. Alright, the fine detail is your family will not suffer for your foolishness that would be too harsh on the poor people who were cursed with an idiot such as yourself.”

“Bu-“

“Well then as of late merchants have been getting the say of what the criminals should be subjected to, both you and I are in the same business. I know very well that you are pretty much used to working overtime and using your body for labor but this next statement is well increasingly humiliating.”

“ I WILL PAY YOU BACK! I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING A FRAUD!!I JUST NEEDED THE MONEY!!FOR MY FAMILY!!”

“Oliver do you know this company covers the expenses of its employees and their families so they could live happily and later on join us in respect and dignity. Why do you think we have a wide range of specialists across the industry?I agree there is a man who does what I am doing far better and on a larger scale with large amounts of money being pumped in and out of his little project but what he is doing and what I am doing is two different things. Nobles owe us, the knights owe us, the Adventurer, Mage, Commence and Mercenaries’ Guilds owe us. It is not about money, it is about power. Power is a necessary force that drives this world”

The androgynous man began to trail off into his own little world as he stood up and walked up to him. He was so beautiful one could fall in love with him despite being the same sex, he had a fair beauty that would entice women as well. And his voice was very clear yet held no deepness to it, if one were to tell Oliver his boss was a woman pretending to be a man for the sake of hiding from the discrimination that women face in the underworld he would believe that person but that wasn’t the case.

“Power is beautiful and elaborate, it is something that gains more and more until one cannot help but want it all. As for your fate I hear you liked to take pleasure by sometimes using the goods before they were sent to the customers, you’ll become a valuable object”

“B-But I am a man!I am a 40 year old man!”

“Does that matter?I do not think so, you see as of late my twin- well telling you is no use I believe experiencing it is the best”

The bodyguards who were beside Oliver picked him up as his boss wore his coat and began to walk out of his office. Greetings from both the employers and employees could be heard, it could be said he earned the deep respect of his company. This was one of the many branches he had which each had an office reserved only for him, this was the slave trading and valuables department. It was the place where Oliver belonged, he didn’t know that the company could pay for his family and just thought they could starve and he’ll chalk it up to low funds to pay for his family but this man had thought of that already. More greetings were given to him until they all stopped as they reached the basement of this facility. The candles flickered back and forth as a draft was located near the door, the men who were holding his arms in place were stoic and like golems that had no emotion. He wanted to plead to them but their response was either a harsh slap or a quiet gaze that prompted him to shut up. 

The door opened after the boss said the password and they entered another world entirely. Unlike the business atmosphere above where everything was being displayed and marketed to cater to the specific tastes of the customer this room was not like that at all, if being honest it seemed like a research facility of an evil mage who was using the slave business as a front to conduct ungodly experiments. As Oliver was thinking about this he shuddered as he saw a machine that had several needle like protrusions supported by metal frames merely waiting. But that wasn’t the thing they were taking him to, they took him to a table with belts and straps and began adjust him into the seat.

“Hmm?I did not expect you here Twin”

“Neither did I “

The esteemed sibling of the boss was here tonight, she wore a black dress that had slits on the sides emphasizing her delicate legs and a fur coat made out of the rare fox spirit, she simply smiled as she saw Oliver strapped in.

“Well it seems there is another idiot who decided to follow through with their greed despite having everything”

“Yes, he was caught embezzling thus he is here. It is an appropriate punishment befitting someone who used both our money and some of the goods”

“Yes. He’ll soon know the pleasures of being a sexual object”

Oliver gave muffled screams as he heard what they were talking about, it was rather terrifying. 

“You see I am a pervert who cherishes knowledge, unlike my twin I prefer the simpler aspects of life. Beauty, rest and most importantly knowledge, as my twin knows nothing can be achieved without knowledge. Ah I bet this monologue is boring and only delaying the inevitable. No. 1 and No. 2 go bring out the vials”

“As you wish”

The bodyguards spoke with a stiff tone and immediately vanished from the spot, they soon returned with different colored potion vials. They gave her the red, mixing blue-green and orange vials and returned with the rest. The sister smiled sinisterly as she brought the machine with many needles up. 

“In my quest for beauty I ended up discovering a way to reverse age, something that could be used to make many a noble want to owe us. I tested this on myself and even found a way to advance age as well, with my special potion formula. That said it isn’t perfect one has to drink about two drops to reverse their age by ten years, too much of it will turn one back into a fetus. As many experiments showed me. This one is the extra bit, its just for you”

She poured the vials into the machine which began to activate and moved into his direction. The body guards ripped his sleeves off and walked away rather promptly away from the path of the machine. They too did not want to be involved in the process that was to come, Oliver looked over to the boss who merely waved at him with a gentle smile that was insincere as to what was about to take place. The needles were injected into his skin and then his flesh but then the worst part had come, the fluid that had entered his blood stream made him scream in agony and pain. His muscles began to contract in size, his bones were breaking and healing up within minutes causing an inexplicable amount of pain, even his mind was being flooded with all sorts of emotions: happiness, sadness, confusion, anger, indifference, jealousy, and even pleasure. He screamed through the mouth bit that he was given and blacked out. He could see the sinister smiles of the pair before he fell into the blackness.

He woke up with a throbbing headache that was going away as time passed, he slowly got up from where he was sleeping and sat upright. He looked at the bed that was his resting place for a while and it looked the same as the ones that the slaves used. 

“Ah you’re awake. Good. I wanted you to look at how amazing you look right now. You were such a cutie when you were young I wonder if it was the environment that changed you into a fat bastard. Nonetheless it was an success, you are back to being a 1█ old, a rather pure age if you ask me”

The sister spoke with a delighted smile, as she prompted Oliver who had just woken up to look in her direction. He did so and what he found was surprising. It was himself when he was young, a youthful face that didn’t know the world better had greeted him accompanied with the body that was associated with it. It was beautiful but then he remembered his situation and immediately froze. 

“Ah, you realized it huh?Apparently amongst our customer base there are those who love young boys, they love to dress them up as girls and do all sorts of things to them. We’ve sold you off to that sort of customer, I told him that you were once a 40 year old man and he jumped up in glee clapping his hands like a small child and said it made it even hotter. Unfortunately for you though, I couldn’t convince him to wait longer so you could be delivered to his mansion. He came here himself and was waiting for you to awaken. Ah, that must be him now”

The large footsteps of a man were heard loudly as he approached his lone cell. The man who bought Oliver was impressive in another sense, it could be said that he was much similar to a human pig. He was rather middle aged and wore a violet robe that the customers for the brothel that was kept inside of here, he was increasingly fat but not the next he couldn’t move his own body or have problems with day to day life. His fat was more like a genetic effect passed down by his family and was rather built well, his face was rather unpleasant to look at however and he shuddered as he saw him stand over the cell. He opened the door and walked past the boss’ twin.

“I thank you for providing me such a fine specimen. He looks rather adorable for a previously 40 year old man”

“You’re welcome, I hope you enjoy your first night.”

“I appreciate the sentiment.”

His manner of speaking like a gentleman something that beguiled his nature and coupled with his appearance it made a dissonance that almost made Oliver puke. The boss’ twin simply closed the door and left with a stare of pity and sadistic pleasure for what was going to occur here. Maybe it was the fact his body’s age was reversed tears began to run down his cheeks, he knew what this was. It was the fear only a young person could feel. 

“Now then, you look rather delicious. Is this what wine in human form looks like if so I was right not to wait.”

He dropped his cane and immediately took a brisk walk in his direction. He leaned over him on his bed, and then licked his tears in a vile disgusting way. He had done this to many a woman who he tasted before they were sent to their masters and now the same was happening to him.

“Please stop……I am a man….I…I do not deserve this…”

“Tsk tsk tsk a man you say?You look like a girl to me. A beautiful young lass that is yet to be plucked by anyone. Ah yes such pristine youthfulness, stand up. Stand up I say!”

Oliver was forced to stand up by the pig and he found he was already naked a fact he didn’t notice from the moment he was awake. Then the pig began to touch his body like a parent who wanted to see the growth of his child, then he reached for his buttocks and his tension filled fear spiked up.

“Ah yes it is still fresh, this will be enjoyable. On your knees”

“W..ha..t?”

“Did I stutter?On your knees”

Oliver went on his as the pig removed the robe and what he saw was something that he who was regular to eccentric orgies had seen. It was rather huge , and like that even more tears began to pour out from his eyes as the horror was only just beginning now.

☆

As the sounds of pain filled moans and loud sex filled insults were beginning to resonate from the cell Lilith was making her way back up to the top. Only a special kind of slave was kept below the store, either a sex slave or a slave of a different race. This made more money because there were some degenerates who loved such. Being honest she would rather not watch it happen live but recorded as such she was going to be happy to see the footage that was going to be played. In the store itself were people who were previously adventurers, and capable people who could do calculations and housework amongst other things. For the slaves who lived in a separate living quarters this sort of thing could be said to be common hence why there was a brothel like system that was put in place here, it was for those who were impatient and ended up paying an extra fee for a “taste”. As she was thinking about the thought of how he was being punished she could hear his voice cutely screaming as he was being pounded, it kind of made her horny but she quickly subsided the feeling upon opening the door to the slave level that was located above which had the regular and more normal customers patrolling around. Her brother had been waiting for her within the waiting area where he was taking a cup of tea whilst conversing with a customer.

“Ah, twin you have arrived”

“I have”

“Come, take a seat. We have business to talk about”

“Business is not my forte”

“It concerns us both”

“Alright then”

Lilith sat down and stared at the man who had come by, he had short white hair and crimson eyes wearing a black suit with a red tie. He exuded an aura that she could compare with her brother maybe even greater.

“What is the business that you have with us both?”

“Lilith and Adam, I am both honored to be within your presence. I merely came here with an offer”

“Oh?I wish to hear this offer of yours. And if it satisfies us both then we will accept it”

“Indeed”

“I offer the power of being a leader in the bright sun Adam, and for Lilith I offer forbidden knowledge”

“What type of knowledge are you talking about here?”

“Ancient Demon knowledge”

“?!”

“A leader in the bright sun you say?What makes you bold enough to make that claim?”

“The answer is located near your necks”

The man’s crimson eyes shined within the serene darkness with tattoos of half a heart located on the side of their necks glowing faintly. The twins smiled.

“I see. I will be in your care then”

“So you are the one mentioned in the rumors as the New Demon King and to think he would find us in the human region”

“Indeed”

“Well then, twin, let us partake in this great offer and gain what we need”

“Our desires will be fulfilled as we do such”

Asmodeus, the twin demons who together formed a being that was terrifying smiled with a gaze that was filled with passion and desire.

☆ Sin of Gluttony, Beelzebub [The Moon]

As long as he could remember he always enjoyed eating. It didn’t matter what kind of flesh it was, he enjoyed hunting, killing and eating the flesh of the prey he wanted to catch. Those within his pack would often get angry that he would finish a large animal all on his own within a couple of minutes. That began to change with time, he started becoming more and more powerful the more he hunted even greater prey. And soon he challenged the Alpha of his pack and won, after winning however he ate the defeated and gained even more strength. But his hunger did not end, rather he couldn’t stop himself it was woven in the fibre of his being. 

Thus he chose to hunt more and as such he evolved beyond the capabilities of a ordinary wolf, he gained a humanoid body and his strength escalated as he became the first wolf of his kind to become a Beast. That change began to spread across those in his pack which had begun to grow in size as time passed, soon capable wolves formed their own packs but they were not vying for leadership rather they did so to organize the growing number of wolves who joined their ranks. The gluttonous wolf that ate any and all food had unknowingly caused a snowball effect that ended up enveloping the region where he lived his days into maelstrom of civil war and unrest. He cared not about what happened on the outside but the food that would procured from such an event causing even more strife between the two regions that he stole food from.

“Lord Gula”

“Yes?”

“We have received news there is a supplies unit that is headed towards the lord of the region.”

“Oh?How long will it take before we can see it?”

“Just a couple of days”

“Great, we raid it as soon as night falls on the last day. Make sure to bring up the flags of the other lord that they are in war with. As well as some of the armor that we stole from their last battle.”

“As you wish Lord Gula”

Gula smiled as he sat on his throne with his hand on his fur covered cheek, his wolf servant left the confines of his throne room. This was once the castle of a former noble within it were undead that had littered the place, Gula fought hard and well to procure this residence and now that it was his it became his headquarters for the hordes of wolves he had gained. This region was in between the two territories and acted like a connecting point, they already had a rivalry on agriculture but the tension soon exploded when Gula decided to steal both their livestock and crops, a selfish decision considering the people would starve but he would be fed and that was all that mattered. Gula stood up from the throne and made his way to dining room, the full moon was blessing the castle making it serene. He remembered the days when he used to howl at the moon, the way that his howl alone could strike fear in the hearts of men. He thought to himself as he walked in the hallways of the castle, what would change if this world was enveloped with monsters?How much more would that benefit him? Roughly speaking more stronger people would be born in such an age, the weak would die and be fed to the monsters whilst the strong got stronger then those who deluded themselves to be stronger than a monster would battle someone like himself and get defeated with his flesh torn from his body and bones crushed under his teeth. The mere thought made his body shudder with his mouth watering at the fact of such unseen future.

He wanted to rule the night, make humans fear the setting sun, hiding and locking themselves in their homes as the night drew near. He soon arrived at the large table located inside of the dining room, on it was a large array of food.

“This is tonight’s feast Lord Gula”

“Thank you Myrtle you always work hard why don’t you call the others to join me?”

“Such honor is too much for a lowly human maid such as myself please enjoy yourself. We can only eat from the scraps that are left”

“I understand. But the offer still stands”

Gula smiled as Myrtle said this, she had been a part of the slaves that he stole from several slave traders who were unfortunate enough to have been killed by one of the wolf packs. She amongst the other slaves he had accepted into the ranks of taking care of the castle with him, she had long blond hair that was tied into a high ponytail, her blue eyes had a large amount of respect for Gula and she was dressed in a maid uniform that suited her mature body. She had lived all her life as a slave as did the other slaves who were grateful to a monster like Gula who merely captured them as prize for a successful ambush. They ate more than they did when they were still slaves, Myrtle was skinny when she first arrived in Gula’s castle but now her body could effectively woo any man off their feet. She had a sexual appeal that made it rather hard to ignore her, and such a woman was dancing on the graces of Gula. He quickly began to eat the large amounts of food that had been placed on the table. 

☆

“There is a castle around here that is said to house a horde of monsters.”

“Monsters?Be specific dammit”

“A group of Beast Wolves”

“A troublesome bunch huh?”

“I theorize they are the ones who sparked this civil war.”

“How so?Wasn’t that caused by the Cremal Duchy stealing from us?”

“No these wolves stole from the both of us and we thought we stole from each other. As my theory states, all along with the trading routes being affected as well as our supply units.”

“Hmm then it would be very good if we wiped them out”

“That would prove to be difficult, there is the leader who is likely stronger than the rest.”

“What do you mean?Isn’t this group of Beast Wolves just a pack that has one head”

“Supposedly, it has formed a packs of wolves that each have their own Alpha that report to it and give off how the hell do you know this?Aren’t you just a fucking rookie Alex?”

“Well I have friends who are talented in what they do, I bet they are aiming for the top right now. I basically asked them to give me some information about this region”

Alex smiled as he scratched his rusty red scruffy hair and closed his dull green eyes wearing the leather armor he had on. The rest of the party were a ragtag team of adventurers, mercenaries and former knights. Fame and Glory were on the stake, they would be heroes that would be celebrated for saving the region from a group of monsters and ending the war. All twenty of them will have their names written in history as saviors, as they began their preparations Alex smirked with only one ranger seeing this and shuddering before quietly running away.

☆

The castle that was being used as the Beast Wolves’ Headquarters was large and it gave off an intimidating aura, they opened the gates to the decrepit castle. Weapons in their hands and putting hair on their hearts so they could gain the fame and glory they so craved.

“Do you know where John went?”

“He went chicken shit after seeing the castle and decided its not worth it”

“That damned bastard has always been a coward huh?”

“Basically I was actually wondering how the hell would he become a champion for this region hahahahaha”

One of the mercenaries laughed as to lighten up the mood but it was rather sombre. The light of the sun was falling as the night time was beginning to arise. They all entered the castle’s doors, what they had expected was a dirty place with nothing of value inside but they were surprised to find the castle oddly clean with various paintings decorating the walls. The window panels were clean from the inside but not on the outside, the floor was spotless, one of the thieves went ahead and touched the curtains that were being wildly blown by the quiet wind.

“Oi this is some high quality fabric, how long would it take for us to rip it off”

“Not enough time for that Barry, we’ve got a monster to kill”

“Ah right , my greed did the better of me”

“We’ll take everything after we killed the monster and made it confess.”

One of the older adventurers said with a cold tone as he walked with a spear in his hand. The adventurers agreed with him and began to walk ahead of the not so serious mercenaries and former knights who basically laughed it off. They walked even more finding several luxurious items along the way to which they were forced to ignore. Soon the path way breaks into three routes.

“Well then I guess we are going to be split up huh?”

“Yup”

“Can I have a say in this?”

“Sure thing Alex.”

“How about we divide ourselves in groups of five with the fourth group going back to check if there are any secrets behind us?”

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea alright then we’ll do as Alex says. Any objections?”

“No”

“None”

“I am okay with that”

“If our group finds the leader I will be known as the hero of this little adventure of ours”

“Well then split up”

Alex smiled as he moved forward to the eastern side of the castle route. 

☆

The sounds of boots dashing away from something could be heard as loud screams could be heard within the hallways, the former knights who had taken the western route had entered a different zone of the castle that was filled to the brim with zombies, skeletons, wights, wraiths and all sorts of undead.

“WHY THE FUCK ARE THERE UNDEAD HERE?!”

“I DO NOT FUCKING KNOW!!WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING WOLVES NOT UNDEAD!”

“FUCK! I DIDN’T EVEN BRING THE HOLY ALIGNED WEAPONS OR ITEMS WITH ME!!”

“OI GAVIN ARE THEY STILL CHASING US?!”

“YES!!THEY STILL ARE!!”

Upon taking several turns within the hallways and entering a hall, one of the former knights that is to say Gavin touched the wall beside them and ended up unleashing this horde of undead on them. At first they fought harshly without rest but then they began to see that the undead horde were not stopping rushing at them, it was at that moment when they decided to sprint away from the flooding hordes. Even now they were still running away from the undead. What had happened to this castle?Was this the doing of the Beast Wolf leader? There were many questions that needed to be answered but now was not the time to be asking such they had a horde to escape. 

“Oi look there is a door to your left!”

“OPEN IT DAMMIT!”

“I AM”

The former knights opened the door and silently locked it, the undead had passed by in their large numbers. 

“Fuck, what the hell is up with this castle its as if the person who built it had planned for it to become a maze that was filled with traps.”

“Does anyone have a flask of water”

“Certainly”

“Thank y-?!”

Larkson had his head severed roughly from the neck with the sound of a claw filled swing. The former knights froze as they watched his head roll towards their feet and hastily brought up their weapons once more. They looked at the being who tore Larkson’s head off and began to laugh.

“Intruders in our Lord’s castle how disgusting”

“Are you a Beast Wolf ?”

“I am.”

The locked room was something akin to a dungeon room, one of the former knights opened the door and found a pure black abyss awaiting him. He was forced to head back into the room.

“You see this castle was once a noble’s living quarters but as time passed and the mana of the surrounding area began to contaminate it. It turned into a dungeon, those who belong to the dungeon are not affected by it at all. But intruders such as yourselves are easily dealt with, either you survive or you die. Fortunately you’ve met me I will be graceful enough to allow you to live”

“Really?”

“Yes. If you manage to lay a scratch on me in one on one combat then I will let you go. But if you don’t well you know what will happen”

They had hope, the former knights had a chance to escape. They were foolish to have listened to the crazy dreams of Alex who enticed them to enter this death castle. Gavin was the first to attack the Beast Wolf  he swung his sword but soon it broke with his expression turning from one of joy to sorrow. The Beast Wolf simply punched his stomach and he fell backwards in a groan of pain.

“Next”

“I WILL NOT FAIL US!!”

Another former knight screamed as he thrust his spear forward, one by one they fell with their weapons being broken as a result. They were not injured too badly and were still alive as the Beast Wolf had said. 

“Well then. None of you were strong enough to beat me”

It puffed up its fur covered chest with arms akimbo on its trousers grinning whilst staring at them all. 

“Your fate is the one that you tried to escape, my master would rather keep his undead hordes fed that eat the flesh of some intruders”

“Such-?!”

The door which had been unlocked by one of them had burst open with the rotting stench of the undead entering their nostrils, it was then they realized why the beast wolf fought them one on one. It was to break their weapons so they could be helpless in front of the hordes of undead they were running from. They all screamed as the undead hordes came over them and began to rip into their flesh, their shrieks lasted for a long time as the room had a peculiar effect to it, it would heal their wounds no matter how deep or dangerous it was. Some were graced with the respect of death as the skeletons tore their bones from their flesh and ripped them into living pieces of meat, others not so much as the zombies gnawed on their flesh. Their muffled screams could be heard slowly decreasing in volume.

☆

The situation that the mercenaries had found themselves was rather strange, they were certain that they were walking down the corridor of the castle but soon that changed and they had entered a garden. There was no door to the garden, it felt like they were suddenly teleported to the garden. The full moon was out tonight and they could hear faint screams coming from somewhere and were disturbed about their own fates as well.

“I am beginning to think we are in a dungeon”

“Same here, which other place could displace us from inside to outside?”

“This looks like a maze, we already passed through that broken statue for the sixth time now.”

The thief mentioned with a keen eye as he observed his surroundings a bit more. They all stopped walking and rested for a moment.

“Okay does anyone have some thread or anything we can use to go back on ourselves?”

“I have some magic rope that can stretch itself as long as we have mana”

“Great I think we’ll start moving now.”

The leader of the mercenaries, Jake said with a rather concerned tone as he started to holding one end of the rope with Tomas holding the last end on the broken statue moving forward. For some reason they had remained silent for a long duration of time, not speaking not even once with Jake feeling something strange occur with them. He didn’t regard the thought of looking backwards and just kept on looking forward. 

With time they soon reached the end of the garden where a beast wolf stood with its arms crossed smiling as he did so.

“What’s that smirk for, filthy beast?”

“You’re the only one who survived”

“What?”

“Ah it seems like you didn’t notice it. But you are the last one alive from your group”

Jake didn’t understand what this humanoid wolf was saying, he was obviously with his companions. He turned around to reassure himself that they were still with him but he was betrayed by his own expectations: they were not behind him.

“What did you do to them?”

“Showing is better than telling”

The beast wolf stood beside a mirror which began to show some gruesome images, the first was one of the mercenaries falling through the ground and getting impaled, the second was snatched up by countless plant like vines which stabbed themselves into his flesh and began to drain him dry, the third had his arm pulled when a stone was thrown at him and he was beaten to a pulp by the fists of some of the beast wolves who took pleasure in him screaming in pain, the fourth stepped on a stone tile and was cushioned in between spikes. They all died miserably without him so much noticing.

“The garden of Gula dulls the minds and voices of the ones who enter it, hence why it has so many traps. Were you so focused that you forgot you were in a dungeon?Well my condolences then”

“DIE YOU DAMNED MONSTER!!”

Jack swung his sword in quick speed however the wolf beast simply dodged the attack and gave him an uppercut that sent him flying into a bed of flowers.

“ugh”

“You landed perfectly in that trap, I’ll give you a pleasant memory to carry on into the next life. That is filled with carnivorous worms that would devour you to the bone. I certainly feel sorry for you, you’ll watch your body get eaten alive and won’t be able to do anything”

“…..n….o….o.oo”

Jake whimpered as he tried to get up immediately but his body felt incredibly heavy as the worms began to move forward to devour him alive. The wolf beast simply watched as the worms began to eat him alive without so much an effort it was obvious that he was going to die. The worms were earth colored and began to spread across his body was if burying him he was unable to do anything. This was his burial inside of an unknown castle, he felt an incredible sense of despair. He did not want to die, he still had many things to do but was going to meet his end here. As the worms began to eat his flesh he began to scream which prompted even more worms to become brave and enter his mouth and eat him from the inside as well.

☆

It remained as fact that the adventurers group hadn’t met any form of resistance whilst making their way in the castle. They did find some rudimentary traps but the thief in their party Barry had spotted them and they promptly avoided them. It was obvious something was wrong here and Brock could feel it even without saying it, everyone else was just as tense even the naive Alex who suggested the idea to them. 

“Stay sharp, this in itself could be a trap to lure us into lowering our guard. If we are truly to become heroes then we are to never lose our focus”

Brock said with a stern voice and eyes that were filled to the brim with determination. As they walked further, the silence was now starting to get to them, at first it was something that bothered even a green novice like Alex but then that feeling started to creep up to a hardened veteran like Brock. It was as if that silence was the beginning of something sinister, and the quiet peacefulness suddenly shattered into fragmented pieces. It began from the moment that Barry the thief went to check a trap ahead of them, he tried to spring the trap open but was instead greeted by the swipe of a clawed hand. The claws almost shined within the light as they fell on Barry’s face, he arched backwards screaming in a loud voice. His eyes had been perfectly gouged out, his face had deep claw markings on it, and then within the same instant of his deep screaming he began to make gurgled noises as he fell on his back drowning in his own blood. It was at this moment they had wished for the silence to return as a horde of beast wolves had sprang forth from the hallways which revealed secret doors from behind and ahead of them, Barry’s body was trampled and disappeared into a red mush. The dawn of a nightmare had begun as Joseph had taken the role of a tank and immediately started to guard against the infinite flurry of claw attacks, he had to hold his stance firm as it wasn’t just the beast wolves attacking him with just their claws it was also the regular Savage Wolves attacking him with their fangs. The cleric Daniel who had no battle ability whatsoever was in the middle to ensure the survival against a horde such as this, it made sense that would do that but they never expected for one of the beast wolves to run up the wall and up to the ceiling where it leaped off of and into the centre where Daniel merely saw the shadow of the beast wolf descend upon him, he tried to scream but he wasn’t given enough time to do such, the lengthened claws of the wolf had buried themselves deep into his face making his corpse slump downwards as the beast wolf had broken their solid formation.

What followed after their formation had broken into pieces was total chaos, Joseph had his legs broken by the beast wolf which killed Daniel moments ago and left him to fend on his own to fight against the wolves that soon pounced on his body. Maybe because he was under pressure but Alex was making some rather fine movements, he was not stopping the movement of his sword from descending on the wolves that had come after him. He picked the fallen morning star that Daniel had on his person and swung it once causing the heads of several wolves and beast wolves to implode upon contact, he dodged the claws of his assailants. Brock seemed to watch in awe as he was fighting his own battle against the wolves with his spear making thrusts and claw deflects that ensured his safety, the mage who was with them was overwhelmed by the wolves who had decided to devour him on the spot without caring about the ongoing battle that was occurring. Brock was starting to become impressed by Alex’s resourcefulness as he threw a potion at him which he shattered into a million pieces with the liquid spreading across his body and healing up the wounds he had accumulated over time, he couldn’t stop fighting the enemy no matter what otherwise he would die just like the others. There was no telling whether the others who went back had made out alive but he doubted, he gazed over to Alex who picked Joseph’s shield and began to defend himself against the increased hordes as he chewed a stamina enhancing pill, healing pill, and a strengthening pill before pushing the shield forwards forcibly making a way for both him and Brock. Seeing this as a sign Brock began to sprint right behind him, it was a good idea considering they would be stuck forever in one spot and not move at all. Alex was a genius that made Brock swallow his pride as a veteran, in all his life of being an adventurer he had never encountered a horde of this size but Alex a novice had made ideas on the spot that would help him stay alive. The wolves were pushed back considerably and were rather surprised that a human had such strength.

“Let them enter”

They had reached the door and a proud almost human like voice had said something causing the wolves to stop their assault allowing Brock and Alex inside of the room, after dropping the heavy shield Alex looked back at Brock who was rather proud of this novice. They both stared at a rather large beast wolf which had an incredible aura about it, it had black fur and red eyes wearing the elegant suit of a noble, its hand was on its fur covered cheek analyzing them as they staring at it. 

“So this is the wolf, the Omega.”

It befitted the title it had, this was the wolf that all the other alphas took orders from. Beside the Omega was a human maid who stood with a respectable gaze towards the wolf, she had a mature beauty about her and gave off the feeling of being the type of woman who could make any man or woman fall in love with her. 

“Well done, amongst all the intruders it is only you two that survived”

“What….?”

Brock was shocked by the news he was given by the Omega so was Alex to the extent that he fell on his knees and began to sob. 

“LIES!!YOU LIE!!”

“Do I? Myrtle show them”

“Yes my Master”

She brought up a magic mirror that showed the images of the members who had entered the castle, the mercenaries were brutally entrapped, the former knights were being eaten alive and having their bones torn from their bodies, the reminder of both had been ambushed by wolves and cut into pieces. They were the only ones who were left amongst the original twenty group excluding the coward John who might have been very wise to have not joined them. 

“….”

“Well you did entertain my servants I give you that, and now I will give you a prompt death”

“NOT BY MY WATCH!!”

The Omega descended down from its throne and immediately began to attack Brock who was still lively from the horde attack, their sword and claws lashed out to each other as they began a death dance. Brock was certain that if he couldn’t defeat the Omega the least he could do was take something away from it, his eyes scurried around to see who would be that person. Its conclusion was the human maid who was visibly worried and coming closer to see if her master was winning or not, he smirked as he dove backwards and threw a dagger towards her. The Omega saw this and began to sprint towards her, he wasn’t going to make it and he was going to die knowing that he took something away from it. 

But that didn’t happen, instead another dagger was thrown in the path of his dagger and clashed with it causing it to fall down before it could reach its target. Shock ran across both Brock and the Omega’s faces who turned to see who did such a deed. It wasn’t the beast wolves were a considerable distance away from the battle scene, the one who did such was the novice Alex who sighed in relief.

“That was a close one, I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to make it”

“…….huh?”

Alex threw another dagger that lodged itself deep into Brock’s chest, with another wave of shock as the novice had been underestimating and was now starting to respect had done this to him of all people. He knew that he couldn’t defeat the Omega alone and they needed to do so together. Brock dropped to his knees and stared at Alex.

“W..hy?”

“Well I knew from the beginning that this was a graveyard for everyone, I managed to satisfy the blood-thirst of the Omega’s wolves. I even managed to save his loved one before real damage was done. A job well done this little trip was.”

What was Alex going on about?Was this the plan all along?To sacrifice them to the Omega?If so why?

“Humans certainly amaze me”

“Human?I am not human, I am a demon.”

“Eh?”

“Well my disguise is perfect when I perfectly blanket my aura like this”

Alex began to change within that instance, his hair became white and his eyes more crimson with his greenhorn like innocent face fading into an experienced one. He turned into a being that was capable of even killing the Omega.

“What is your goal then?”

“I know that you raid everyone for food and this civil war was caused by your gluttony so I thought how about you do such but on the scale of nations.”

“Nations you say?”

“You can gain even more exotic foods, treasures and entire nations. What do you say?”

“Alex what….are you…saying?”

“Ah this up with that huh? Look at this face and you’ll recognize who I am”

Brock stared at Alex’s face and a revelation occurred to him, this was the hero who had died two years ago. He had even helped him once in a quest or two but greatly extorted him which was another lesson for him to learn.

“I believe that you said it once right?Never trust anyone, even if it is your own party members always focus on surviving alone no matter what. And to think you would forget that, well I guess you’re lucky that you won’t see humanity fall or not hehehe”

“You sound twisted demon, I like you. If what you say is true then who am I to oppose. When can I join such a event?”

“Heh right now. Several days from now I will be appointed as the Demon King, I would appreciate it if you made your appearance there”

“I shall”

“Here’s the invitation card, and by the way that man still has plenty of time to live do as you wish with him”

“Oh? Now that is something I thought I would never get, I am piling debt upon debt with you Demon King I shall greatly enjoy this”

The hero who was now going to become a demon king threw a golden card at the Omega who smirked as he looked at Brock whose face began to warp from confusion into despair as the Omega laughed at him approaching him with great ideas of torture and torment.

☆ Sin of Envy, Belial [The Hierophant]

Six profiles had been placed on the table with Alastor looking rather satisfied with himself. He smiled as he stared at the accomplishment that he had done. It had taken over a month to gather the sins and only one was left. Shemhaza came inside of his office along with Marchosias who breathed a sigh of relief.

“The last one”

“Name?”

“Belial”

“I know her, she is a person of a somewhat mysterious nature.”

“Oh?”

“Belial has the innate ability to accurately describe the greatest talents and attributes of people. But she is a recluse that would rather be in the presence of none.”

“What have you heard about her?”

“I have heard that those who stay with her for more than three days are never seen again.”

“Where is she right now?”

“Rather close to the Demon King’s Palace.”

“Well that solves my problems, but I have to ask why does she locate herself so close to a place that has so many people?”

“She often acts as a talent seeker for us demons, she aided the previous Demon King in gaining the Four Heavenly Kings and it was his will for such.”

“Marchosias what do you make of this?”

Marchosias closed her eyes and began to think as she heard this. 

“If she is like that, it means that those who do not return are most likely victims of her own envy”

“What do you mean Lady Marchosias”

“She sees the incredible good in people, she sees their talents and even peerless genius and when she looks at himself. She sees an overwhelming lack of said talent, this is what complies her to murder them”

Shemhaza nodded to Marchosias’ conclusion as it seemed plausible for the disappearances for the young demons who thought that she would aid them to grow even more. 

“Hmm something is strange I feel like I know her now more than I supposed to.”

“It could be a question of sealed up memories”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It often happens when something traumatic happens to people. Perhaps you nearly died at some point?”

“Ah”

Shemhaza seemed to remember and then looked at Marchosias. 

“Yes I was once under the guidance of Lady Belial”

“That explains it, you’re the survivor to one of her episodes”

This sparked an interest in Alastor who took his coat and began to pace around the room before stopping entirely.

“I know what to do”

“You do?”

“Yes.”

☆

The reflection of a woman with a mature appearance slowly walking back and forth was seen in the water she had long grey hair which she tied into two long twin tails, her flame orange eyes were interested in what she was going to catch with her fishing rod, Belial brought back up the fishing line and she had caught herself a fair share of Goldberry Brim, she smiles as she walks from the small stream and began to make her way home. Belial was once a human long ago, a strong one at that. She was an experienced veteran that was requested by various organizations: The Adventurer’s and Mage’s Guilds, The Magic Academy. She was the instructor for a lot of people and had a lot of insight, but then this was used against her and she died as a result for training a certain noble. Her body got dumped in the forest and the result was she became a dullahan, she was unable to have her revenge against the people who killed her and instead hid in the Demon Continent for a large amount of time. It was then she became very well known amongst the demons but soon he noticed something odd about herself. She kept on guiding more demons but was unable to continue any further because it started to become even more apparent. She didn’t have talent. 

Talent that could have saved her from the fate of becoming a dullahan, talent that could gotten her ahead in life, talent that could have made her commit her revenge. This was all within one person, a person far greater than her in a way. She was disappointed in himself that she didn’t have such talent and thus would murder the said new student. Because of this she came to live in solitude, there were fewer cases of killing her students and she was fine with a life of a recluse. Even when the Demon King asked for help she did so whilst distancing herself and was glad she did such. Belial could hear the birds chirping as he walked in the forest, his residence was near the Demon Palace. Why? Because that was the decision of the Demon King, it was the least she could do. If the palace had a castle town it would have meant that she would be within the inns or slums to lay low and make her presence unknown.

Just as she was finally arriving at her home she found an unfamiliar man standing near his door, her heart had an uncertain emotion that was presiding over it.

“And who are you if I may ask”

“The former hero”

“Oh?I have no obligations to any former heroes”

“I am simply here because my subordinates said that you are a man who is extremely good at spotting talents”

“Yes, I am what of it?If you want me to pick out your new Heavenly Kings. Just send a picture and I’ll give you my feedback”

“You fail to understand I am not here for anyone except you”

“Been told that already. I decline”

“Yes because you’re afraid that you might become envious of the people surrounding you”

“I respect the sentiment but- Wait what?”

“You bury the ones who stay behind because of your lack of talent. You want to be more but you can’t, that is why you seclude yourself from the public and avoid being known to many people. Because it will become obvious that you are a useless hack without any talent himself”

“……I believe it is time for you to leave”

“I refuse. I cannot make you any better than what you are right now. But the goddess has blessed you, you can even steal the talent of those you see fit. You and I both know this”

“If I must make you leave then I shall”

“Fine then. If you manage to kill me then your cowardice will be justified but if you do not. You are to be publicly known to everyone and appointed the Sin of Envy”

“Young lads these days are so rash. I will take up your offer but do not regret everything after I kill you”

“Recently I have become able to use even more weapons outside of my own capability I want to see how this will play out against an experienced veteran such as yourself”

“……Make yourself silent for all eternity”

Belial dropped her basket and thrust her fishing rod forward as it turned into a spear, she was certainly sure she was going to stab this arrogant former hero but she was surprised as the tip of spear was parried in quick succession. Her eyes opened wide as the former hero returned his blade into its scabbard. She then narrowed down her eyes as he swept it in a downward swing but that too was parried. This boy who had met just a short while ago was making movements that seemed to read her own within the moments that he was with her, the same boy leapt forward ignoring the weapon range as his sword started to shift into a different weapon altogether. Before she noticed it the boy had attacked her with a pair of axes that invaded her weapon range was now giving him problems, she leapt backwards warping her weapon into a sword. She swung several slashes but the boy had dodged those, as if in anticipation for his next move the body threw himself to the side. This was done because Belial’s weapon had morphed into a bow with the result of arrows being released in the form of an arching sword swing, small explosions occurred near the area that the boy was supposed to be. The air seemed to shift as Belial danced backwards as the air tightened and shredded everything in its path, invisible fine wires could be felt as she kept on jumping backwards before using the trees as a platform to leap up into the air and descend upon the boy who merely smiled. 

“Heh”

The boy’s weapon had changed as well preparing his body in a form that could said to be one that Belial knew very well. He threw a spear at her with the amount of electrical energy surrounding said spear, she was unable to dodge in time and had to sacrifice her shoulder in exchange for an assault the boy could not avoid as well. Her weapon of choice was the battle axe which tore through the wires and made short work of the boy.

Was what was supposed to happen but that wasn’t the case as the boy had only a hair’s length to dodge such and actually managed to deflect the axe’s blade with the sole of his shoe striking deep into the ground with the body immediately changing his weapon into the rapid scythe that tore through Belial’s chest causing her to be sent flying from such an attack. He quickly got back up and stared at this boy who she began to feel an overwhelming amount of talent, she was being humiliated, insulted by the very actions of this boy. She was serious from the start but the boy was doing it in a leisurely form and manner. The mark on her left cheek, a tower began to shine ominously as she did so. She started to calm down a bit and realized what the boy was talking about, she really could steal the talent of those he killed. All of the techniques she had used just now were the talents of those fell to her blade, she stood back up with a gaze that seemed to praise the boy.

“You have indeed impressed me I have to give you that”

Belial went on to pick up her arm reattaching it to her shoulder with the wound on her chest rapidly healing.

“Well then I was defeated by you, and in my hot headedness I took up your offer. This is unbefitting someone of my age.”

“Indeed, not all of the students who stayed behind died under your hand”

“What do you mean?”

“Shemhaza is still alive”

“No that should be…..wait”

Belial searched amongst the talents she stole and made his own, but Shemhaza’s own talent which was her analytical and organization skills wasn’t there. She opened her eyes wide as she learnt this.

“….But I swear”

“You were able to hold back. You went so far as to making her forget, you are not a useless hack Belial. You are a great teacher and demon fit to be by the side of the Demon King who would bring war and bloodshed in this world. If you had any request you will fulfill it as our conquest reaches the ends of the world, you are strong and a talent eater none can surely surpass you”

The words of the lad made sense, if this was the power she had then he could take revenge against the descendants of the people who wronged her. It made her smile, as she took the lad’s hand and shook it.