(Cassius Asmodeus)

For all of the mystery and complexity of his current situation, the actual mechanics of his character seemed rather simple and straightforward.

His list of 'skills' were a simple metric showing how gifted he was in a particular area. Some skills were limited in how far they could be progressed but most ranged from novice to master, with most magics going into grandmaster and some rare skills ranging into the legendary and mystic skill-cap.

His Black Hellfire skill, for example was at 'adept' and he had made it 82% of the way towards expert.

His skills didn't necessarily prescribe him with any sort of ability, more than they simply provided a description for where he was at - along with the very convenient benefit of completely staving off the degradation of aptitude which would normally occur with time.

His perks meanwhile were permanent buffs which could provide any number of additional benefits to him. They could be enormously powerful, but the information only indicated that 'special circumstances' could give him more, so for the time being he was stuck with the ones he had.

His traits described and created his current form, and was not something he could directly influence, as far as he was aware. Apart from simply growing stronger, of course.

Which left the complexity of his circumstances.

The issue of the other 'Gamers' which existed and shared his current condition was worrying, but the far more concerning revelation was that of the 'Soul-link' he shared with one of them. The way the soul-link operated seemed fairly straight-forward, if one of them died then the other would die as well. Making it an absolutely imperative objective to ally with this Revan Lucifer. Although given the name he should hopefully be well-protected for the time being. It was important that Revan remained safe, but equally important that he didn't die also. It would not make sense to try and keep the soul-link partner alive, only to end up killing himself in the process. The quests were also probably pretty far beyond anything he could accomplish at present.

Since he could not directly improve upon his perks, and he would need to be stronger to have any material impact on the other gamers (he presumed) it made sense to focus on his skills first. Slave magic sounded incredibly useful in building an army, but it wouldn't particularly help him in a pitched battle of any kind - there was also the open question of who exactly he would go about enslaving…

He was already an adept at Black Hellfire Pyromancy, which his memories told him was his primary fighting skill. The fact that it was his main fighting ability made it an obvious choice for what to focus on in the beginning. Although with it being so well-developed, improvements may be slower.

Necromancy was also interesting but he knew very little about it. In fact, his memories didn't even mention any affinity with the magic, meaning that his aptitude for it was probably undiscovered. Intuitively he found this rather strange, because with necrotic flames one might imagine that necromancy would be the obvious leap… but it was a very rare skill to be a master of. Practitioners of the subject were a dime a dozen, but the amount of devils who could do more than trivial spellwork (or cared to, at least) could probably be counted on two hands. No devil that he knew of had ever had an affinity for the magic, and tomes on the spellwork - especially on anything even approaching an advanced application - were very very rare. The closest were the Gaaps who had an affinity with spirit magic, and the Wife of Lucifer, the Great Queen Lilith, who was perhaps the most gifted fleshcrafter to ever live.

He had some vague memory of a Demon-Lord who was said to have raised entire legions of undead to oppose the Devils during their conquest of the Nine Great caverns, but his memory made it seem more like a campfire-spread legend than truth. He made a mental note to have Vaire employ her connections to see if he could source any more information on the subject for later.

Idly, he stretched his arms above his head before running them through his hair. He had just finished dressing - black pants and a white dress-shirt was the outfit of the day - and was currently busy staring out the balcony doors, which he had closed the night before. The enormous cavern and roofed red-glowing sky cast an ominous feeling upon the landscape, but he knew that the feeling was not something he had experienced before.

Whatever method had been used to fuse him to this new form was clearly imperfect in some way. He was unsettled. Gazing out into the landscape had helped at first, stilling some of the scratchiness where his mind seemed to chafe at the new state of things, but he needed more.

Glancing at the door to his bedroom, he began slowly making his way out. When remodeling the castle for him, his father had ensured that an entire wing of it would be dedicated to his pleasure. It sat as a long rectangular section of the castle, high up, and off to the side, with a wide vaulted corridor running down the middle connecting the Rooms.

Exiting his room into this corridor, he glanced to the right, and saw a great statue on a hip-tall plinth, with a smaller one next to it. The larger one appeared to be a devil, draped and hooded in flowing robes, with great wings spanning the width of the hallway, holding in its hands two chains. One holding a brazier - in which a magical flame rested - while the other connected to the collar of the other statue, which was of a kneeling succubus, hunched over.

Appearing to spread from the back of the plinth and along the walls like a web of coiled dark-red iron, was an imitation of thin spiky vines, which flowed along the dark-gray walls like spilled blood. He could feel his mind soothing, as something additional seemed to click into place.

Bit by bit, the chafing was subsiding - bit by bit, his mind was improving in function.

Now sauntering slightly, he made his way down left towards the grand door on the opposite side of the hallway which he knew was the entrance to his dining room.

Casually entering, he found that someone had already placed a sizable meal on the table, with eggs, salad, bread, and a variety of meats for him to choose from splayed across it.

Gluttony was a common enough sin among his kind, but his cravings had always laid elsewhere.

"Good morning master", his Maid greeted him from next to the table, clearly doing her best to maintain decorum. He could hear the timidness in her words however - his late arrival had clearly unsettled her somewhat. She was dressed in a long black spaghetti-strap dress, and her ginger-brown hair was done up in loose french braids, which left it cascading down her shoulders. Her fingers fidgeted slightly with an unopened letter she was holding.

While not someone who followed routines particularly strictly, it was rare for him to stay in his room for long in the mornings.

"Good morning Esta", he returned with false pleasantry, as he began dipping up. Food was not something that particularly interested him, but until he got the 'gamers body' perk, he knew he would suffer drawbacks from not eating.

"We have received word from your Aunt in castle Asmoday", his maid said, seemingly slightly encouraged by his pleasant response, presenting the letter for him. "Erman said that it just came in this morning!"

Idly taking the letter he made short work of unsealing it.

It was not particularly long. His family would be staying with him until his grandfather returned with news from the Ninth layer, 'it would be unseemly for us to leave you by yourself', his aunt had written.

She had also alluded to the possibility of being able to convince Lady Nethema Asmodeus to lend him some of her husband's books for him to study, though the Original Asmodeus's wife would need to stay in the castle to rule while her husband was away.

Placing the letter back in its envelope, he gave it back to his maid, who gave a hesitant bow and left the room.

After slowly finishing the rest of his food, he idly began examining the room he was in. While he possessed detailed memories and a deep familiarity with the structure, there was some disconnect between the world and himself. As rising and moving around, however, his mind was calming itself. It was as though experiencing the scenery for himself helped ground him to reality.

Deciding that the library was as good a place as any to continue his explorations, he set off. With his past self as a guide, he had little trouble picking his way through the castle, in search of information. Down the Vaulted Hall, down a staircase to the lower level of his personal wing, through a passage, down a set of stairs, and left into a large hall.

The library, much like the rest of the castle, was made of large dark-gray stone slabs, made absolutely smooth so as to give the walls a seemingly perfect finish (precision-quarried by slaves, his memories supplied).

The entryway itself was a large stone archway with the Asmodeus sigil carved into the face of the arch's keystone. On either side of the entrance hung dark-red banners depicting the supremacy of his household. On the left was a great battle, the center of which showed his grandfather slaughtering thousands at the conquest of the sixth layer, and dueling the great Demon lord Balthasar - his famous Ruby Rod being the centerpiece of the scene. The right banner, by contrast, depicted the building of Asmoday city, with hunched-over collared slaves moving uncountable tons of rock out of quarries, all while the Original Asmodeus cruelly watched from above on his glowing throne.

Both could be lying, of course, as history often did. But he felt a deep measure of satisfaction in knowing that his house could display such open impressive supremacy, regardless.

Walking through the archway, he was greeted with the far more intriguing sight of bookshelves. Rows upon rows of bookshelves. Each one seemed stacked three or four stories tall, and they were overflowing with texts - some had scrolls loosely stacked in them, others had shelves upon shelves of more conventional leather-bound books, while others simply had tied together bundles of loose paper which someone had not taken the time to unify into any collection or work. But each one was overflowing with knowledge, and he felt his hunger grow.

Walking down onto the carpeted floor he began perusing the closest shelf, with his memory idly pointing out the books he had already read; 'Advanced Spell Matrices for Pyromancy', by an unknown author; 'A Theory of Fire Casting', by Arryan Grathor; and 'Focused Arrays for Piercing Shields: An Examination of Complex Fire Spears', by Castamire Raim.

The final of the shelved books had been a gift from the Raim family in unacknowledged apology for opposing his fathers marriage to his mother.

Other books that stood out as previously consumed were 'The Lord of Oppression and Lust', 'From Ashes to Embers' and 'Hellfire: A Historian's View'. And he found himself temporarily lost in the memories of himself sitting up late, reading magical tomes, as he resumed a leisurely stroll in search of more knowledge. The chafing in his mind subsiding even further.

Because of the complexity of information they contained, Books were difficult to copy or conjure with the use of magic - methods existed, of course, but most of the time it was simply cheaper to have someone write the book out by hand then to hire an ultimate class devil to perform a copying ritual, consuming materials and magic, which could be better spent on other things. Not to mention the fact that many tomes were enchanted or cursed to begin with. Vaire, he knew, spent two or three hours a day just copying books from his library - reading them in the process, of course - so that he could have them to give away, or for her to barter in exchange for different rare volumes from other librarians who had done the same.

He spied, from the corner of his eye, a book laying open on one of the cluttered desks which his Librarian liked to work from. On the displayed page were three magical artifacts, which seemed to have caught Vaire's attention.

A thick historical text lay open at another, meant as a reference text to the history of the world. Next to it, he could see a summary which he must have written at some point. Leaning over, he began to read.

Not much is known about the times before God's Order. What is known is that when he arrived, he did so with seven Archangels. They were, in order of birth, Amenadiel, Lucifer and Micheal (who were twins), Samael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. The God established the lands above, which he called heaven; the lands below, which he called hell; and the lands between for his many worshipers.

Where before there was only chaos, there was now a Golden Order.

All was not well though, for the order which God had created was devoid of death. Samael, who ruled the dead river, could not stand for this, and so, taking the shape of a serpent, the Archangel descended to earth hoping to uncover some way of undoing his pain. Upon watching the world for some time he came upon a woman of peculiar nature. With some clever plot, unknown to all but the First of the Fallen, Samael convinced a woman to pluck the Rune of Death from the order, and give it to him as a gift, and in exchange he would bring to her a forbidden Apple of sin, which she might use to understand the world.

The woman agreed, but was surprised when Samael gave her the apple immediately, explaining that she would need it to steal the rune for him.

The woman did as she was told, setting off on her journey and biting into the apple. Arriving at the gates to the God's Ring of Order, she was stopped by an angel, but upon telling the angel that she only wished to gaze upon it she was let through, for she should not have been able to lie.

She was successful in her mission, but before returning the rune of death to the snake, she forged - in secret - a black blade, which she hid from the world.

Samael, unaware or perhaps uncaring of this, took the Rune from the woman, and sealed the it within himself, so that his Lord Father may never again make the Lands Between into an undying land, before willingly submitting himself for judgment. He was imprisoned for his crimes, first in chains, then in a great prison, and was hurtled into the deep caverns of the world.

The woman's black-knifed massacre of the angels would become known as the Godskin apostasy.

Perhaps it was this that stirred the Lords of the Deep, or perhaps it was Samaels punishment. Whatever the reason, the Demon Lords - in order of strength, Diablo, Obox-ob, Demogorgon, Orcus, Dagon, Baphomet, and Malcontheth - rose from the deep places, to wage war on the new Order.

Weary of leaving his Order untended again, God called upon his second eldest child Lucifer, the lightbringer, to deal with the threat. Over the next millennia God was able to greatly improve upon his Rune of Order, and lock it away in heaven, so as to make it impossible for men to interfere with again. All while his most radiant child and his warriors pushed the demons back, deeper and deeper.

As news of Lucifer's great successes in the war against chaos returned, and the defeat of Diablo, the Lord of Terror, was affirmed, heaven and humanity rejoiced.

This good mood soon soured, however, as upon the return of the Morningstar and his generals, it became clear that they had been profoundly affected by the centuries of combat. They had grown massively in strength, and it soon became evident that something was terribly wrong.

God's emissaries learned that the demon's rot had seeped into the very souls of God's great champions, and had filled them with sin and malice.

What followed was known as the Great Biblical War. But as God looked down on the world in turmoil he could not endure to see his children fight and the world set to ruin, and so he used his Golden Order to erect a barrier around the Lands Between, allowing no devil, no demon, and no angel to pass through the world of men. While there are ways around such things, the war was halted. Leaving both sides scrambling to rebuild their forces, fighting a cold proxy war where the battlefield was belief and the ammunition was conversion.

Three great demon lords still live somewhere unknown, in the great unexplored caverns surrounding and connecting the nine hells. The names of the three are Obox-ob, Dagon, and Malcontheth.

Amenadiel has not been seen since the fall of Samael, and his fate remains unknown.

As he let his mind wander, he felt himself smirk slightly as another piece clicked into place in his mind. Another unrest settled, and another disquiet silenced.

A moment later he felt himself twitching, as he heard a noise from behind him.

Gliding out from behind the corner was Vaire. Dressed in flowing red robes and a pleasant warm smile.

"Congratulations, Prince Cassius", she spoke softly and sweetly, "Is there any way I can be of service? "

It was a strange thing, to speak to someone he knew so well, yet had never spoken to before.

"There is, Vaire", he could feel his lips quirk upwards slightly, "In fact, I was just looking for you."

"Oh?"

He may as well get as many balls rolling as possible, "I would like you to redirect your searches, and dedicate your future efforts to locating books on necromancy."

Vaire blinked in visible surprise, "master… I am surprised that you would focus on this when you have just discovered such powerful abilities. I would have thought-"

"I assure you that this desire will remain most unchanged", he could feel his eyebrow twitching in annoyance, "I do appreciate your concern, though."

A demure expression had taken shape on Vaire's angular face the moment he had spoken, "Please forgive me master. I am your loyal servant, and will always do what pleases you", by her expression he had unsettled her, which had not been his intention, "I have some friends who are both well-connected and discrete enough to inquire about such things…"

Not hesitating for a moment, he gave her his most charming smile, "Your service is much appreciated".

He watched her smile back, although it seemed hesitant, and trailed his eyes after her as she quickly turned back towards her study.

She clearly thought this turn of events was surprising. It would be nice if it was less about his new personality and more about his slowly integrating instincts, emotional responses, and memories.

He could only hope that she did not find him to different.

(Vaire, Mage of Cassius)

There was something different about their master. It wasn't anything she could really put her finger on, as it had nothing to do with his body language or speech patterns, which both seemed identical to when they had last spoken.

It was something elusive. Some strange look in his eyes, and the way in which he delegated his focus.

The young Prince had always been confident and dominating, but now those things seemed backed up by a forward drive she had not observed previously. The fact that he had seemingly become annoyed with her had unbalanced her at the time, but with a few minutes to work through the interaction again she realized that it was an annoyance with her, but instead a general displeasure at her keeping something from him which he desired.

She couldn't help herself from shivering slightly at how his magic had spiked when she had questioned him about his desire to learn necromancy. The way his gorgeous eyes seemed to glow slightly with their newly changed color.

Perhaps the Asmodeus magic had awakened something in him. It was not unheard of for magic to have an effect on a devil's personality, after all. If that was the case then it was almost certainly a good thing.

She had been busy reading in her servant quarters when the actual awakening had taken place, and so she had not even learned of the events until the Master had summoned her to leave. Perhaps she could ask one of the others if they had noticed anything strange while the Original Asmodeus had tested their Master's new powers.

Just as she was exiting the castle with the final draft of the letter she was going to send to a library she frequented while in Asmoday, she spotted their chef, Tolkas, strolling up from the large gate with what looked like a barrel of ingredients hefted up onto his large right shoulder.

Perhaps now was a good time to see if she could get her questions answered.

(Tolkas, Chef of Cassius)

"Good afternoon Tolkas", Vaire greeted him with a smile.

The Master would be eating soon, and he had a lot of food to prepare. Still, there was only so much he could do when the more powerful devil clearly wished to speak with him.

"Lady Vaire! You are looking quite fine this evening! How might you' day be going?"

"Well", Vaire replied with a slight tilt of her head, smile still in place, "I was just in the library with the young Master, when the most peculiar thing happened. I could not quite put my finger on what it was exactly, but the young Master seemed different from the last time I spoke with him."

He could not help the rumbling laugh he let out at her words.

"He has just become one of the most envied devils in the Sixth! I think it would be more strange if he was entirely unchanged!" His chuckle continues, "It is not as though he just learned a new spell! He inherited the magic of the Original Asmodeus himself! And the eyes as well!"

Vaire seemed to acknowledge this with a nod, but something told him that she had not quite got the answer she was looking for.

"Indeed, indeed…" she agreed, "and was this change apparent when he was speaking to his family after the awakening of his abilities?"

He chuckled again, and while he was unsure of where the questions were coming from, he was only too happy to answer!

"Of course! Even the Lord Casper Palkia commented on how he had never seen him so dominant before"

This was a slight exaggeration on his part, since the comment was mostly aimed towards the court, and probably was mostly for show, rather than any genuine observation on the Master's state at the time.

"I have delayed long enough", Vaire said, her expression sweetening. "I hope that you enjoy the rest of your day. I myself have just been given a task by the young Master, which I must attend to promptly!"

"You have a good day as well… I have my own tasks, you know," he said, only slightly grumbling - although he made sure that it was good-natured enough not to seem disrespectful.

Watching her walk by he shook his head in bemusement, and continued his trek to the kitchens. How very peculiar…

(Erman, Butler of Cassius)

As Tolkas finished telling him of the odd conversation he had just shared with Vaire, he could not help but frown on the inside. Tolkas was never the most perceptive devil, but if Vaire was asking questions then something had clearly happened that made her suspect that something might be wrong. He was not greatly learned in magic, but he knew and had heard enough to know that devils with sufficiently powerful magical affinities sometimes took on properties of their magic in their personality.

By how the conversation between Tolkas and Vaire had ended, it sounded like this was the conclusion the four winged mage had reached.

And if that was the case then he should probably trust her. He didn't know enough about magic to say either way.

He would still need to be cautious, of course. Whatever change Vaire had noticed in his behavior had not been so unsettling that he had noticed it the day before. And there were always other explanations. Hypnosis, Curses, or Enchantments. Psionics were rare, but not unheard of, and there was always the unknown to worry about, of course.

Naturally, it would require a significantly powerful entity to actually be able to overpower their Master's incredibly potent magic, but the uncertainty was vexing. It was moments like these that he wished his Master had acquired some more conventional fighting power amongst his servants. Two or three powerful knights, or perhaps even one of the lesser Lords or Ladies of the surrounding nobility, just to help him protect the Master or give the young Prince the chance to flee, should they ever be attacked.

But if Vaire thought that it was fine, then it probably was. Perhaps he could suggest the idea of acquiring some Knights to his Master next time he was permitted to speak freely.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts he returned his attention to the Chef in front of him, they had guests coming soon, and he needed to coordinate with the Maids and Tolkas to make sure that everything would go smoothly. There was no point in trying to help others if he couldn't even do his own job, after all.

(Cassius Asmodeus)

After some time spent in the library, mostly refamiliarizing himself with the theory behind his many spells and making sure that he remembered and understood how to cast them (and in the process cultivating an incredible desire to try them out), he had made his way back to his room and requested lunch be brought to him with one of the several enchanted bells which hung from the ceiling next to his door.

He was spread out on a luxurious sofa reviewing some of his past notes he had made on his fighting style when Tolkas and Esta knocked and entered, carrying one tray of food each.

Esta, who was balancing the tray neatly on her outstretched left hand, bowed low at the waist as she set the tray down on the lower section's center table.

As Tolkas set the larger tray next to the one Esta had just set down he spoke with his normal boisterous enthusiasm.

"Today is a two course meal! Start'in with a selection of double-smoked salmons with a lemon sauce, followed by a choice cut beef wellington!"

"And for dessert", Esta followed sweetly, "strawberries and blueberries with cream".

He smiled in amusement at his chef and maid. As they both prepared to excuse themselves.

"Thank you for the meal Tolkas" he said lightly, as he watched them both give respectful bows and leave his room.

They had not interrupted much, in truth. The notes on his fighting style were not particularly complex, nor was his strategy in combat.

Where some devils preferred complex tactics or subtle maneuvering, his fighting style was rather straightforward by comparison. Dodge incoming spells, shield what you cannot dodge, regenerate from any attacks that get through, all while blasting them with enough Black Hellfire to crater a small city.

Simple and effective. And probably an area where he could improve greatly, even if it was not something the interface seemed to track.

But that was putting the torture before the capture, and he needed to see how effective his spells were first.

Later

His castle had quite an impressive training yard, all things considered. It was a large square nestled in a fissure of the pillar the castle was built into, and was separated from the courtyard by a wall and raised platform meant for seating guests.

The outer section of the training square was made of stone, with intricate runes carved into the rock, creating a great network of protective spellwork for onlookers and the basis of the safety spells for dueling.

The center was a wide field of thin gravel, and was perfect for what he was trying to do at the moment.

Another shockwave passed through the training area as the runes on the stony floor flared an icy red momentarily as the spellwork absorbed and dissipated his latest wave of Black Hellfire.

The intoxicating swirl of power was thrilling, and as the magic danced under his skin he could feel a vivacious pleasure seep into him as he prepared another spell.

The training experiment had been a complete success. He had begun with simple things. Devil cantrips and shield spells. But he had soon found himself drawn to the more powerful and destructive abilities he remembered casting. Which is how he found himself here, sending blast after blast of magic into the defensive spells of the training yard.

Clamping down on his will in order to keep the spell matrices stable, he raised his left hand and formed a great spear of Black Hellfire, letting the magic hang in the air, just for a moment, before allowing the spell to slam with incredible speed into the protective barriers, watching it detonate again, as his hair was blown back from the force of the impact. He could not stop himself from drinking in the pleasure of the dancing energy.

With an almost physical snap, he could feel the final pieces of his mind click into place. And he knew, instinctively, that his mind had assimilated with his body and magic, oh there would be unreached pockets and untouched corners, but the process, whatever it had been, had worked.

A light growl escaped him, and he could feel the beginnings of a deep primal hunger for sin and power begin to stir in him.

He would need to start having some of his servants trained in combat. Perhaps he could make Vaire give Vana and Esta some books on magic. He had been meaning to pick up some scrolls on the history of this world anyways, which suddenly seemed much more important then it had before his rebirth.

With a satisfied smile, he turned and began making his way towards the Library once more.

(Vana)

She and Esta already had very basic magical training and they were proficient in all the household spells that a maid of such a high-standing house would be expected to know

With that being said, Cassius had requested that Vaire test their aptitude for various combat magics.

The other maid was struggling, much to the Esta's frustration. She, on the other hand, much to her immense joy, had found herself very talented with telekinesis, and even Vaire had seemed impressed at the speed she had mastered the particular levitation cantrip being demonstrated.

Perhaps she had found her angle. This was definitely an area in which she could dominate her rival, and if the master's request was any indication, she might be able to use this to secure her place as the Master's favorite.

(Cassius Asmodeus)

It was late evening. Standing outside the castle, he took a moment to gaze across the small settlement at its foot. In contrast to the towering walls of the fortress it looked almost tiny. With perhaps only a hundred houses scattered around the base of the castle walls, to the right of the great chasm, where the fortress doors exited.

The only real thing of note in the mostly wooden settlement - besides the guard contingent, the two blacksmiths, four bakeries, and many farms at the edges - was the teleportation circle, placed at the very center of the town, where the two main cobbled streets crossed.

While teleportation was an incredibly complex feat of magic, only fit for Ultimate Class devils usually, the process could be assisted greatly with the use of pre-made circles. Both for coming and for going. Teleporting between two already established circles was easy enough that most mages could manage it, and it was by far the safest way for the weak to travel.

The other benefit of keeping a permanent teleportation circle was how much simpler it made the process of warding. The circle could simply be used as a gate in the wards, and closing the gate by shutting off the circle.

Currently he was standing off to the side of the teleportation circle with Vaire, Erman, and Vana, awaiting the arrival of his family, in the form of his mother Rhaelyn, his uncle Damaidosu, and his aunt Ariana.

His father Daimon had accompanied the Original Asmodeus to the Ninth, and Cressery (his cousin) had stayed with the Lady Asmodeus in Asmoday.

With a great red flash of activated magic, the Asmodeus Seal blazed itself to life in the center of the lowered teleportation circle, carrying with it three figures. Right on time.

"Prince Cassius", his uncle spoke, in a smooth baritone calm, "I am most pleased to see you safe and well."

"Uncle", he responded charmingly "It is good to see you as well! Your consideration for my safety warms my nonexistent heart."

He took a moment to observe the figures standing before him. His uncle seemed to appreciate the dry humor. His aunt seemed less appreciative, but ultimately still happy to see him - he imagined that she was practically salivating at the thought of the political gravity he might give her, and his family in general, if he continued to grow and progress as he had been. Another Ace for a family who already had a lot of Aces.

His mother on the other hand, seemed to be forcing herself to remain calm, although it wasn't exactly clear to him what she was suppressing. Excitement, perhaps? Or was it fear?

"We have brought gifts", his uncle continued in the same deep, strict, yet somehow still relaxed tone of voice, "for you to enjoy at your leisure. We have been asked to escort you to Asmoday whenever your father and grandfather return."

Books for the prodigy. There was certainly logic to that, he thought with a smirk.

"Let me show you inside then. There is no sense waiting out here when we could be eating while we speak!" With a gesture inwards, he began a slow pace towards the fortress, his uncle taking the lead next to him, and the rest of his family just behind.

"I spoke with Asmodeus just before he left. I am sad to say that he has declined teaching you the family magic until you are older, or significantly stronger. He will not wish to waste his time with basic ability." His uncle was showing a frown on his face, indicating a sense of displeasure with the decision. "Although understandable given your age, I would have thought that the rarity of your situation may have warranted some special attention… Still it is of no matter. I have no such scruples, so if there is any instruction you desire while I am here, you are free to ask it of me."

He kept his face blank, but internally he was rather at the fact that he would get such an excellent opportunity to advance his abilities so soon. Responding with a polite, "Most gracious. I may take you up on your offer quite often, especially in the realm of combat magics."

His Uncle for his part, just nodded, seemingly vaguely pleased, as they approached the bridge connecting the town to his castle, over the unfathomable chasm.

He could feel his Aunt Ariana's tracking him as they began crossing the bridge, as if her very eyes were questioning how he had come to inherit the powers that he did, and what he had done to be made worthy.

Inheritance was one of the least understood parts of magic. The only theory he could dredge up from his memories was from the tenth century, which supposed that the inheritance of an individual was tied to how much power the 'being' or 'spirit' of the entity could support. Meaning that children born with very powerful spirits would inherit the abilities strongly, while children born with weak spirits could be left lacking. This theory explained the Satan lines inheritance rather well, as the more powerful the ability was, the greater the 'being' in question needs to be in order to develop it. Which was how some people explained the rarity of the Satanic abilities.

That being said however, there were a number of things the theory didn't account for, leaving the true nature quite mysterious. There are also anomalies that are born with extreme potency (Sirzechs) or random abilities associated with neither parent (Serafell) who didn't display an affinity for ice magic until she was almost 17, which was when she first tried it. This all left the general understanding rather lackluster, and the lack of explanation for trace remains was also rather vexing to many.

The main reason for the general absence of literature was not a lack of interest, of course, but a lack of data. There were so few True-Blooded devils born, and the Lordly families tended to be so secretive about them, that there was never really enough information for scholars to work with.

Now wasn't the time to reminisce about past readings of magic though. Now was the time to understand the new powers he had been gifted with.

…after he had had dinner with his family, of course.

(Ariana Asmodeus nee Barbatos)

Dinner was nice, and she was happy that Cassius had developed so well. She had been somewhat worried that this new revelation would fill the youth's head with arrogance and delusions.

They had spent about three hours in (almost insultingly) light conversation, before Cassius had taken the books they had brought and excused himself to his room. She knew the boy was very studious (and apparently very skilled at chess, according to his father, which indicated a high level of logical intelligence) and her husband Damaidosu was very happy to encourage their nephew to grow his powers. The books were a mix of family magic (some by Asmodeus, but most were notes from Daimons experiments) and general magical knowledge, which made up a far larger portion of the educational material.

Magic generally came in two forms; intuitive abilities, which activated based on the will, intent, and imagination of the user, and learned magic, which generally required academic study and theoretical mastery in order to use effectively. Only time would tell how skilled Cassius would be in the use of the Asmodeus family magic, but given his alleged skill at pyromancy and general devil spellworks, she was quite hopeful.

She was initially rather opposed to Rhaelyn (a mid-class devil) marrying into the family, regardless of her family magics and connections; but Rhaelyn had more than proven herself where it counted, and Cassius was a treasure to their house and an opportunity to gain an advantage in the future strife that she knew was coming. She had seen parts of it, after all. Although things had remained frustratingly vague, and as always, nothing was certain. Now the only remaining challenge was to teach the boy properly so that he understood the necessity of holding true to the correct ideals…

(Cassius Asmodeus)

He had just finished reading through the first three chapters in a book discussing the use of his Asmodeus eyes, when he heard a knock on the door.

After some further thought he had decided that the first skill he would seriously practice was his Eyes of Asmodeus, capable of producing Lust and Desire in those he gazed upon - which was the reason for his visitor. It was time to begin breaking in his toy.

As the door opened, Lila, his pet succubus, entered, wearing a tight sleeveless red-black robe over her pink skin and a golden circlet around her neck.

And here was his first test. He summoned up the command of the ability he had, and focused his attention on the demoness's mind.

It was subtle, at first, but he could recognize that her lusts were beginning to awaken. He could almost feel it, like a mounting presence in the back of her head. Although the details were indecipherable to him.

He felt a spike of sadistic pleasure, as he commanded her to "kneel".

Smiling seductively, she fell to her knees with a slightly gasped, "yes Master", and began crawling towards him. Taking a moment to undo his pants, she cuddles her head against his leg for a moment, before pulling his pants down his leg and letting his long dick flop across her face and black hair.

Taking a moment to reassert his magic in her mind, he struggles to maintain the lust she is feeling, although he can sense her eagerness - she was a teenage succubus after all - his grip on her mind was not absolute.

Grabbing his already hard shaft in her left hand she barely connects her fingers around it. Biting her lip, she was clearly stopping herself from going further. With a push of lust into her mind he brings his hand up into her hair, making her eyes, wide with wonder, flicker up to meet his.

She licks it, a shock of pleasure going through him. Starting at the base this time, she licks up and up until she reaches the top before starting over again.

Waiting for her to reach the top of his shaft he guides her head forward instead, pushing her mouth down his shaft, making sure to send a wave of lust from his Eyes through her as he does.

Roughly guiding her, he could almost feel the magical potential. The addictions he could begin to form. The abilities to shape her fetishes and desires.

He imagined that one day he would be able to make it leak into her normal thoughts as well, paths and habits which would be very very difficult for her to break, inspiring an unimaginable devotion.

But for now he would need to learn the basics. So he gathered his will, guiding her head up and down, he focused on trying to permanently tie her memories and experiences of the sexual encounter to an addictive pleasure.

It was difficult at first, like performing an exercise he had never done before. He did not have any strength, and he did not know how it should feel like. The addictive ability was beyond him, at this point, although he was able to increase her feelings of adoration and dependency on him.

Given her incredible skill at the task, it was not long before he could feel his concentration waver as he approached his climax.

Utterly unbothered, Lila continued to bob, and moments later he unleashed rope after rope of cum into her waiting mouth. Watching her gulp it down with thick swallows.

With a pop she extracted herself from his head, and proceeded to smoothly raise herself up and straddle his lap. Her eyes were dancing in lust, and her hips rocking back and forth as she pressed her breasts against him, momentarily nuzzled into his neck.

"I am your slave, master. Every hour of every day, you may use me as you see fit. I will only ever beg you for more."

A ravenous hunger pooled into his mind. As desire gleamed through his eyes. Checking his stats, his satisfaction only deepend.

[ Eyes of Asmodeus : Talent novice (5%) ]

You are a beginner at invoking lust in others. You are able to summon your ability forth, although it is easily resisted. You can raise people's lust and heighten their pleasure.

(Lila)

Later

Wow! What an experience.

Her closeness with the master was insanely beneficial for her. And him, she thought, with an internal lewd smirk and giggle, remembering the feeling of his cum in her mouth, and grinding herself into his sinfully beautiful body. This was definitely something she could get used to…

AN: Next chapter will be from the perspective of another Gamer.