Welcome to Hell!
With a population of over 100 billion, give or take, there's not a lonely moment in Hell at all and that's just the human population! With the amount of demons helping out around all over the place there's never a dull moment.
Why not take a trip to the River Styx? With beautiful red waters and a scenic view of Tartarus, it's a wonderful place for a weekend vacation with the family.
And to top it off why don't you visit the Demon Capital of Dis? Take in the wonderful burning rivers of magma that cover the city streets. Visit one of the various restaurants and try some of the specialty demon dishes. And top off your visit by taking a grand tour of the Grand Demon Palace of Pandemonium. Who knows, maybe you'll bump into royalty? Like our wonderful Princes!
Visit Hell, we know you'll love it here!
The skies were covered in a shade of crimson, the same color they had been for the past 400,000 years. It was a sight that Prince Alain would never grow tired of. It was the same beautiful sky that he lived for every day of his life. He stared up at the sky from his bedroom window, greeting the day as he did every day. He looked down to see the early morning streets. Normally Dis was packed with demons and spirits going about their days, but at this time of day the streets were mostly empty, save a few drunks stumbling their way back home after a long night of drinking.
Alain took a sigh of relief as he walked away to begin his day. Today was a very important day for him and the rest of Hell. It was his birthday.
Alain had to wake up early this morning to attend to all the preparations, it was to be a grand occasion where only the strongest and highest class of demons would attend. He had to make sure that the grand orchestra would arrive on time, and that only the finest chefs in the underworld had the ingredients they needed and had to make sure that the main event would be ready to go once the clock hit midnight.
Later that day Alain walked through the halls of Pandemonium, walking towards his quarters to freshen up before the party.
"Master Alain!" An older man with facial hair and wore what to be a black military uniform with yellow trimming.
"Jabel." Alain replied, a serious look on his face. "How goes the preparations for tonight's festivities?"
Jabel nodded. "Everything is going swimmingly; your shining moment will go off without a hitch."
A smirk grew on Alain's face, patting his subordinate on the shoulder before walking past him. "And make sure it stays that way. I cannot afford for this to mess up." Tonight, was going to be crazy, that was one thing Alain knew for sure.
The grand ballroom was roaring with the sound of music, laughter, and conversation filled the ballroom as hundreds of demons and spirits danced and made merry. Alain walked around and watched his various guests dancing and eating.
"Prince Alain!" A demon shouted as he snapped a few photos of the young prince. Alain gave a charming smile as he made sure the photographer got his good side.
"Thank you, thank you. Please, enjoy yourself." Alain told the photographer as he patted his back and shooed him away. Once they had left Alain continued towards the main dining table.
A man sat at the end of the table, sipping on a glass of wine as he noticed the Prince. "Alain!" He greeted, motioning towards an empty seat at the dining table. The man looked to be about in his 50's, streaks of gray in his hair.
"Father." Alain smiled as he sat the table. Along with his father sat the rest of his family. Alain looked at the man sat directly across from him, a blonde-haired man dressed in all white. "Brother." Alain called out to the man.
"Alain, how are you enjoying your party?" The man asked, cutting into the steak that sat in front of him.
Alain looked around, seeing the amount of people that had showed up and at the black-haired man, and the young women that sat at the table with them. "It's going wonderfully so far." He smiled.
His father chuckled heartily. "I saw you having some fun with those succubi earlier." He teased, taking a hearty sip of his wine.
Alain could only roll his eyes. "Please, they were simply trying to get on my good side."
"Well you are a prince." The young woman told him, smiling as she drank from her glass.
"Trust me little brother, you'll always have people like that hang on your shoulder." The black-haired man told him.
"Yes, they could get a bit annoying, I imagine that brother Argos would have to deal with this more than any of us." He looked towards his brother that sat across from him, a polite smile on his face.
Argos chuckled. "Of course, that's all I get every day."
"Being friends with the soon to be King would pay off handsomely in the future I suppose." The black-haired man joked.
"How right you are Adel." He sighed, looking behind him to see the crowd of admirers trying to get a moment with the royal family.
Their father laughed. "Ah yes I remember going through all of that before I was crowned."
A small smirk grew across Argo's face. Seeing Alain frowned, he looked up at the grand clock that hung on the wall of the ballroom, reading 25 minutes to midnight. Alain closed his eyes as he thought to himself. He quickly got up from his chair and walked away from the table.
The young woman saw the look on Alain's face as he got up, quickly following behind him. Alain walked out into the night air, watching the blood red sky as he thought to himself.
"Alain?" He heard someone call to him.
Turning around he saw the young woman who sat at the table with the rest of his family, standing there with a worried look on her face. "Alia."
"You're planning something aren't you?" She asked him.
Alain looked around, a look of surprise on his face. He made a nervous chuckle, playing with his hair a bit. "What are you talking about? Of course not." He told her, averting his eyes.
Alia sighed, walking toward her brother and putting her hand on his shoulder. "You really need to stop doing that"
Alain looked at her confused but, ignored it and turned away from the woman. "What do you want?" He huffed.
"I know you have something planned for tonight." She told him, moving next to him as he gazed out into the city skyline.
Alain looked over at Alia then looked back at the city. "Don't worry about it." He simply told her, leaning over the railing as he watched the lights of the city dance across the landscape.
"You know I'm gonna worry about you, you brat." She told him, slapping him on the back of the head. "Now come on, it's about to hit midnight. You don't want to miss the birthday declaration from Father." She smiled and began to walk away and back to the festivities.
"I'll be there." Alain told her as he watched her walk away. He turned back to the city, thinking about the events that were about to unfold. "Things are going to be a lot different." He told himself before turning back around towards the party.
"And here's the guest of honor!" Alain's father announced as Alain walked back into the ball room, causing the party to roar in thunderous applause. "Come son, come!" The elder man waved for his son to come before everyone.
Alain took his father's place as the center of attention, looking over the crowd of guests. He cleared his throat and began. "Thank you, thank you all so much for coming to tonight's festivities…" Alain paused as he looked up at the grand clock once again, seeing that it would hit midnight in a few minutes.
"First things first, I would like to thank my wonderful family." He motioned towards the others sitting at the table he stood at. "My lovely sister Alia, my genius brother Adel, my wonderous father, our King, Lord Adonis!" He introduced as the crowd erupted in applause once again as Alain mentioned the King of Hell.
Alain smiled as he watched everyone celebrate their king. "And lastly…" He began, motioning towards Argos. "Our future king…Prince Argos." The smile on Alain's face quickly disappeared as his brother's name passed through his lips.
The crowd suddenly fell silent, a cold chill running through the air. "In only a few months you shall be succeed our father and be crowned as the rightful king of Hell." Alain began to walk towards the grand clock. "Most think that my brother will become a wonderous King. Even as a Prince he has done wonderous work to improve the life of everyone in Hell." Alain chuckled, staring up at the clock. "I believe that he hasn't done enough." He said, turning dramatically. "I believe that I, Prince Alain am the only one fit to become the next King of Hell!" Alain announced as the clock hit midnight and the sound of its massive chime rang out through the ball room.
The silence was palpable as everyone starred in disbelief at the young Prince's boisterous declaration of kingship.
"Alain what is the meaning of this!?" Adonis shouted in confusion, standing up from his chair and marching towards his son.
"It's just as I said father. I believe that I should be the one to inherit your position as king." Alain stated once again, a look of determination on his face.
Alia got up herself. "This is insane, you know that's not how our traditions are Alain!"
Argos stayed at his seat, not looking worried in the slightest. In fact, he was smiling. "She's right Alain." He looked over at Alain from where he sat. "Only the first-born son of the king has the right to the throne."
Alain closed his eyes and smirked. "You're right brother."
Adonis sighed. "Good, then let us end this and hopefully we can still enjoy the rest of our evening." With a look of relief, he began to walk back towards the dining table.
"Yes, you would be right…" Alain began. "However, there is one exception to this rule." With a look of conviction Alain pointed his index finger right at his eldest brother. "Argos!" He shouted. "I hereby challenge you to Lucifer's Trial!"
And with that Argos's smile faded form his face.
"A-A what!?" Adonis looked at Alain with a look of confusion.
"Lucifer's Trial." Alain repeated. "It's an ancient rite. One that hasn't been called upon for thousands of years Father. I would think as the King you would know this." With this Alain snapped his fingers and from the crowd Jabel ran forward carrying a large, musty tome and kneeled in front of Alain. He opened the tome and began to read from it.
"The challenger will challenge the opponent to a one on one match. The loser shall be forced to be banished from Hell forever. It does not matter what the reason is for this fight. It does not matter who is righteous or evil. Might is the only true deciding factor." Alain finished, slamming the book closed and handing it back to Jabel.
Argos stood up. "So, you wish to challenge me, is that right little brother?"
A hush fell over the crowd once again. "But won't that just mean that Adel will become king?" A random demon from the crowd asked, answering the question of some members of the audience.
Adel sighed and stood up. "I gave up my right to the throne a long time ago." He looked between his two brothers.
"I'm aware of this." Alain responded, a confident smirk on his face. "There is no one that loves Hell more than I, and I am the only one who has the right to become it's King!" He declared.
Argos shook his head. "Very well brother, what challenge do you wish to partake in?" He asked.
Alain chuckled as he turned towards the courtyard that looked over the city. Jabel appeared once again and presented a small box, he opened it and revealed two fencing sabers. Alain quickly snatched one of them and stood at the ready. "A simple duel of strengths. The first one to submit is the loser, simple as that Argos."
Argos walked forward and took one of the sabers. He examined it carefully and walked toward the balcony. He stood there for a few moments, his coat flowing in the hellish wind before he raised the blade and threw it over the edge.
Alain raised an eyebrow. "Do you concede before even fighting brother? I didn't think you were so much of a coward."
Argos continued to stare out over the sea of lights that dotted the city of Dis. His laughter began low, so low you had to wonder if he was laughing at all. But soon he broke into a cacophonous laugh, one that shook everyone present to their core. He turned around, his laughter stopped as he spread his arms wide. "Come Alain!" He shouted. "Show me the power of the true King!"
Alain stood there in disbelief, his body beginning to shake. He looked at his brother, not sure what exactly he was planning. He wasn't sure how to attack, he was leaving himself wide open. His throat became tight as he sidestepped slowly around his brother. His breathing became ragged before he finally swallowed the spit in his mouth and shouted. "Argos!" He lunged forward with quick stab towards his brother's abdomen, but his brother simply stepped out of the way, dodging the attack completely and causing Alain to lose his balance.
"Come now, you didn't even try to hit me with that one." He teased, hands behind his back.
The crowd was silent as all the guests had moved to watch the brothers feud. The rest of Alain's family looked on in confusion as they watched the fight.
That is except for Adel. He shook his head and turned away from the fight, leaving the courtyard.
Alia noticed this from the corner of her eye. "Hey, where are you going!?"
He stopped and turned towards her. "It does not matter to me who becomes King." He said in a monotone voice before leaving.
Alia starred completely flabbergasted by his response. She did not have long to dwell on it though, as it seemed that the fight was becoming more and more intense.
No matter how many strikes Alain made none of them seemed to connect. "This makes no sense." Alain thought to himself. "I've fought Argos a million times. We should be even…" It was then that Alain looked at his hands. He was shaking, he didn't understand why but he knew that's why he was losing.
Alain readjusted his grip and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he found his center. He listened to the rustle of the trees in the courtyard, the chirping of insects that filled Hell. This was his home. He was going to be the one to make it perfect.
His eyes shot open as he charged towards Argos once again, giving a horizontal slice. Argos quickly ducked under it. Alain quickly spun around on his heel, kicking at his brother's legs. It was simple for Argos to jump high above his brother, dodging the sweep. "You're mine!" Alain shouted, stabbing his sword behind him, hitting Argos out of the air. It was over, Alain had won.
"That's what you were thinking weren't you brother?" Argos laughed, causing Alain to turn his attention at his brother.
Argos stood there, having landed from his jump. Alain looked at the tip of his sword, instead of piercing his brothers flesh, it was broken. Argos looked at his brother with a large grin, he raised his arm and showed his brother his arm had changed. Instead of his white cloak his arm had changed to a black gauntlet with white stripes on it.
"Argos!" Adonis shouted.
However, Argos ignored his father and simply kicked his brother, sending his flying. "You know, it's honestly perfect that you decided to challenge me Alain." He began, a black aura surrounding his waist. "I've been meaning to give this a good test run." He told him, a black eye like device appearing in his hand. "And I think you'd be a perfect way to test it." He said as a strange metal face appeared on his wait. He smiled and dropped the trinket into the belt and closed it.
"Henshin…" He whispered, pullin the large orange handle on the belt. He was suddenly engulfed in a black flame, his body transforming into a black outfit with white outlines covering it and a red eye on his chest. His face was replaced with a silver plate.
"W-What…" Alain muttured in awe as what looked to be a black and white hood flew out of nowhere and began to fly around Argos before he pushed the handle back into the belt, causing the hood to fly onto him and a the face plate to change into a mask with white markings on it that gave it the appearance of a face.
"Kaigan: Dark Rider! Yami no Chikara, Warui Yatsura!"
The belt seemed to sing as the vision of a dark being appeared before the inhabitants of hell.
"Well Alain, what do you think of Kings power?" Argos asked, showing off his new form.
"Argos, how on earth did you obtain that!?" Adonis shouted.
"Don't worry Father, it is my right as the future king to have this. Is it not?" He chuckled. "Now, if you excuse me…I need to punish my little brother." He announced as he approached Alain and grabbed him by the scruff of his outfit and pulled him up to his feet. "Is this all the power you can muster Alain?" He asked before kneeing Alain in the stomach and throwing him against the ground, stepping on his chest.
"Argos stop!" Alia shouted, not sure what to do.
He simply ignored her and picked Alain up again, punching his brother in the stomach over and over again until Alain coughed up blood. "Pitiful. This isn't even a fraction of my power!" He shouted as he threw Alain high into the air above him, raising his fist and allowing Alain's defeated body to fall right on top of his fist, breaking his younger brothers back.
"Argos!" Adonis shouted. "Stop this madness, you've already won!"
Once again, he ignored the pleas to stop and simply grabbed Alain from the back of his outfit and threw him over the balcony. Argos then pulled and pushed on the handle on his belt, causing a circle of runes to form behind him and his leg to grow. Argos then jumped off the balcony after Alain and stuck his leg out.
"EYES WIDE OPEN! DARK RIDER! OMEGA DRIVE!"
The light that formed around his leg began to burn black as he began to get closer to Alain's falling body.
With a loud crash, a large cloud of debris formed at the entrance of Pandemonium.
The many guests looked down from the balcony to see the results of the fight. Once the dust cleared Alain lay unconscious in the arms of his father, Adonis. "That is enough Argos!" He shouted, blocking the kick from Argos with his arm, which had also changed to black armor.
Argos sighed and jumped away, opening the belt and pulling out the eye device causing his armor to disappear. "I wasn't honestly going to kill him father." He told his father as he began to walk back towards the castle. "As if I could hurt my adorable little brother." He laughed.
Alain began to blink his eyes open. "F-Father?" He asked.
Argos stopped on the stairs leading towards the entrance to the castle. "You do know he must be banished now, don't you father?" He asked.
Adonis has a look of defeat on his face, his arm having changed back to normal. "You're right." He looked down at Alain and put a hand on his son's cheek. "I'm sorry Alain…but these are the rules of Lucifer's Trial…this is…" and with a flash of light Alain was gone. "The rule…of Hell."