Chapter 36: Ancients
Selene, as her name now was, felt entirely lost. She was still not sure that this was all some delusion, or dream. An otherworldly demon, come to spirit her away from her prison, all to get her to join his family? The only thing that made her discount the possibility of this being a hallucination was his blood.
Damocles, as he had called himself, had the most delicious blood she had ever tasted. She must admit to having lost her restraint, especially after being starved for so long. She had taken up his offer of gorging her self, and now felt sated. In fact, she may have glutted herself, as she felt rather drowsy after her indulgence.
There was no way she could relax though, held as she was in Damocles' arms. She found the hold strangely comfortable, but the actions he was taking even with both arms occupied beggared belief.
It began when they had exited her prison and he had carried her to a large circular cavern and started to explain, "I'm short on time, I can only exist in this world for a limited period."
He grinned down at her, "So we need to move quickly. You were fairly deep here you know? Going down will be a lot faster than going up."
She had felt reluctant to part with his unfairly tasty blood, the strength that she was gaining from the liquid quickly becoming addictive. Instead she raised her eyebrow questioningly, casing him to chuckle.
Her curiosity was sated when a blue magical circle flared to life around his feet. The edges of the circle flashed and dust shot up into the air. She was shocked as they started to fall, the floor under them a perfect circle of rock acting as a platform. The circle changed colour, the dark purple once more appearing as they accelerated and she reflexly bit down in shock as the slammed through the level below them. Then the next one. And the next. And the next.
Despite her basically chewing a chink out of him, he didn't tense or react in anyway, in fact, she was not jostled at all, even with their violent smashing through solid rock. His grip remained steady, reassuring and warm.
She pulled back, wincing as she beheld his mangled shoulder, feeling her mouth water at the red covering it even as guilt welled up in her.
"Sorry…" She whispered.
"It's fine, I should not have startled someone with fangs." He joked, winking at her, "Besides, It's already healed, see?"
He shrugged his shoulder, and looking closely, she could, see that he was telling the truth. The vicious wound that her fangs had caused was already healing, and was almost completely gone. Just what the hell had he done to his body to achieve such resilience?
Staring closely at the knitting flesh, her nose was assaulted by the aroma of the sanguine liquid that was exposed by the wound. Still running off the high that his blood sent her into, she stuck out her tongue and lapped at the skin, running it over the spilt ichor and up to the crook of his neck before freezing. Her brain caught up to what she just did and she felt her own blood rush to colour her cheeks in response.
Dreading his reaction, she stared up into his eyes, meeting his intense gaze as he chuckled, "Don't start anything you wont finish little bat."
She blushed in mortification at giving into her impulses and bit back into his shoulder to avoid meeting his eyes, causing him to chuckle warmly.
After that, he had rose the stone platform through several more floors, the magic he was using preventing it from breaking due to the forces. It eventually did break, of course, but by then they had already smashed through at least 20 levels. As the thing cracked in half, he hopped off and started to charge forwards, looking for the way down into the next floor.
He was not left in peace, of course, the monsters of the area roaring in anger at the immense racket his actions had caused. Rather than be perturbed, his gait was calm and steady, making her barely feel the movement as he ran. The few monsters that were unlucky to cross their path were dealt with contemptuously, falling quickly to his magic. Occasionally he made some f the corpses disappear, like he did to that scorpion, but he did not even slow to preform these actions.
She initially marvelled at her rescuers might. The Orcus Labyrinth was the terror of the world, the lower levels were said to be the area where nightmares manifested. Yet here he was acting as if this was merely a routine jog. His magic was fascinating, but his words to her before were right. She would need to rest and recover before she could be of use, especially to one a strong as him.
She closed her eyes, attempting to feel her own magic as the blood she had imbibed from him was circulating through her system. She could feel the warmth from the liquid flowing through her, being converted to her long lost strength. The sensation was not exhilarating, like she remembered, instead it was rather relaxing…
Before she knew it, her exhaustion overtook her and she fell asleep against her wishes.
Katrea was terrified. Her patron, the enigmatic being that Rizevim had contracted to aid in their cause had appeared before her at her manor, not even talking to her before grabbing her and teleporting them both into the air far above the underworld. Katrea had spread out her wings, flying on instinct, but was completely confused by the Infinite's actions.
Surely if the Dragon wanted her dead, it would not have moved her, merely killing her where she stood? Why would it abduct her like this?
Her question was answered by the thing masquerading as a little girl pointing to a structure far below them, "What is that?"
Katrea snapped her attention to the indicated building, straining her eyes to make out the details, "…It looks to be an ancient family Manor… If I may ask, why do you wish to know? I could help you if I know what you are looking for."
She hated this thing. How it made mockery of her race, how even the strongest amongst them were treated as no more than ants, scarcely worthy of it's attention. Still, Power was Power. She could admit that the Ouroboros was beyond her, something she could never hope to defeat. Her only way to survive it was to keep it happy with her until Rizevim's plans came to fruition.
Her heat pounded as she awaited the Dragon's answer, Ophis frowning and muttering under it's breath, "Noisy… A Manor, you said? Which family owns it?"
"I can't tell from here… I don't know where you teleported us." Katrea could have lied, but it seemed that the Dragon was after something, a very rare occurrence. Who knew how it would act if this went wrong?
Ophis merely stared at her, before extending her hand to grip the Devil by the head. Katrea panicked, starting to gather her magic for one last doomed attempt of preventing this beast from killing her, but stopped when foreign thoughts started to intrude into her mind.
A bird eye view of the underworld, starting at the Manor below them and zooming out, the lands and cities appearing in sight and then quickly shrinking, yet still paradoxically retaining perfect clarity.
The Dragon released her, causing her to jerk back with a pounding headache at the information that had been forced into her head. The whole thing was impossibly clear, she could see every single thing in the view in perfect detail.
Could the Dragon have always done this? What other powers had it never shown?
"The Manor." Came the emotionless voice, "Who lives there?"
"I…" Still reeling, the Devil shook her head and focused on surviving the conversation, "That's Lilith in the distance… judging on the spacing of the pits to the east… I think that is the Sagan Manor."
"Organise a meeting with them." Came the order, the Dragon acting more proactive than she had ever seen it, causing her curiosity to rise even higher.
"The Sagan are recluses, Ophis. They refuse to meet with any who do not come to their manor directly and make an appointment in advance. All our previous requests for Lord Sagan to meet us were rejected."
"Then make an appointment to meet with them at the manor." The tone made it clear it was order, but the way it was said made it seem like the Dragon was questioning her intelligence.
She grit her teeth, "The Sagan are only an Earl ranked house. To have a Leviathan accept a meeting at a place they demanded would make my own house seem weak. It would impact my ability to help you in the future."
"I don't care. Organise the meeting. Or I will find someone else who will." What happened to Katrea in that situation was left unsaid.
She clenched her fists in anger at the brazen disregard for her reputation, but her fear stayed her from reacting further.
"Very well, what would you like me to say in this meeting?" She just wanted to get this over with.
"Nothing. Only get them to agree to meet, then bring me with you." The Dragon answered.
Katrea stared at the being in front of her, absolutely flabbergasted.
"You want to meet the Sagan personally?!"
The incredulous question was answered by a simple nod, "Yes."
A thought occurred to Katrea. It was outlandish, ridiculous, flew in the face of every single interaction the Ouroboros was known for. The very idea seemed laughable, the ravings of a mad fool.
Still, the question sounded in the privacy of her own mind.
'Was Ophis the Infinite, the Ouroboros Dragon, attempting to be polite?!'
Just what in the name of all that was Unholy had the Sagan got involved with?
She stretched, feeling refreshed. She would be, of course, even after slumbering for a few centuries. No expense had been spared for her bed, after all she had planned to spend a long time asleep to avoid all the idiocy that frequently happened amongst her people. Still, she enjoyed these moments when her descendants awoke her, she liked seeing all the new cuties in her family and checking in to make sure her camels were still taken care of.
Getting out of bed, she saw herself in the full body mirror that was kept magically pristine in her bedroom. Posing, seeing the perfect curves and luscious, long red hair. Grinning at the sexy beast she saw reflected back at her, she nodded in satisfaction.
Oh yeah, she still had it.
Uncaring for her nudity, she strolled out of the room that was her sanctuary and in to the room that her family used to awaken her. She wondered what the occasion was, she did ask to be awakened whenever a new Head was declared… did little Zeo retire? She looked forward to all the juicy news she had missed!
As she walked into the circular room, she deflated as she saw a dour looking Zeoticus awaiting her with a grim expression.
So this was an emergency then.
Upon seeing her, his face heated and he quickly averted his eyes, "Ancestor, please. Why are you naked?"
"Oh, grow up Zeo." She tittered, lifting one of her perfect breasts and letting it drop and jiggle pleasantly, "It's just skin. Surely you've seen a woman unclothed before?"
"Please, I woke you up for an important meeting. You need to be decent." She sighed, shrugging before leaving the room and returning in a satin, crimson robe.
Apparently recognizing that this was the best he would get, Zeoticus merely shook his head and started to lead her towards the drawing room.
"It's good to see you too, Little Zeo." She pouted, "I'm feeling fine, thank you for asking."
"Sorry, Ancestor…" He started only to be interrupted by her petulant whine.
"Runey." He starred at her intensely as she met his gaze, before he sighed.
"Runey. The last while has been… Stressful. We woke you up because we needed you help."
She hummed, "I see. What ado you need me for, though? If it was a question of power, Sirzechs should be more than enough. So is it due to someone I knew?"
"Got it in one." He confirmed, "We've been having issues with a young Devil and you were good friends with his mother."
"Oh my." She tittered, "That's interesting. But why the long face? Surely Sirzachs and Serafall can handle a young Devil?"
She really, really didn't like the way he winced at her question.
"That's… We'll explain when we get there. We had a file prepared for you, any insight you could give would be very helpful." He seemed reluctant to share further, so she decided to let him keep hiss secrets for now.
Instead, she asked about any new members of her family and was gratified to see him light up when talking about his newest daughter. She seemed like quite the firebrand, someone Runeas would like to meet one day.
Arriving at the Drawing room, she saw an ashen faced Serafall explaining something to Sirzechs, "More powerful than even the great red, I think…"
Well that sounded important. However, knowing better than to interject into a half finished conversation, she swept forwards and opened the file on the table, perusing it's contents.
Lets see here, contract, registration, picture…
The world fell out from under her, her mind whirled. Sagan? SAGAN? Pandora's child?! He had lived through the War? How had he survived? Sweeping through the papers she saw that he had been hidden behind a powerful stasis spell. Aha, that would make sense, Pandora always was good at the more esoteric aspects of her Power.
But why had they awakened her for this?
Reading more, the reports, the news articles, going back to the contract and reading it thoughorly as well… she felt weak at the knees. She couldn't blame them, of course, they had no way of knowing just what they had wrought. But still. But still. The hints were right there! Surely Zekram had seen them?!
Did they just dismiss the idea as outrageous? Was Pandora really that good at hiding it?
Just look at the kid! The hair, the eyes!
She felt rage and despair fill he, in equal parts. This needed fixing, yesterday. These children had no idea what they were doing, what they have almost unleashed.
She slammed the folder closed, causing Zeoticus, Sirzechs and Serafall to jump, having been intrigued by her voracious interest in the items contained within.
"You idiots. You absolute, drooling morons." Was her first words about the situation, blind-siding them with her complete lack of joking tone, "This situation is almost as bad as it could be. Do you realise how close you were to potentially reigniting the Civil War?"
"What do you mean?" Sirzechs asked, his tone sullen but respectful, "The Sagan were a High Ranked house, but after so much time all their allies had fallen away. So long as we controlled th reaction of the other Pillars…"
"'Prince' is not just a title that was bestowed for no reason! It has power! The type that many would rally to and use for their own ends! That's not even including the fact that…" She breathed, calming herself, "You couldn't have known I suppose. I didn't even know for sure until I saw his picture. The only one that could have confirmed the story was Rizevim. I don't know why he hasn't, but I doubt it's anything good."
"...Why did you bring up Rizevim Lucifer?" Zeo whispered, his eyes widening as the name made him draw connection where he had previously dismissed them.
"Pandora was the Daughter of Remora Sagan. She was a good friend of mine, as you know, but that was mostly due to me also being friends with Remora herself." Runeas took a breath, "Trust me when I say this, as I am not exaggerating, Remora was the most terrifying devil I have ever met."
Sirzechs made to speak, but she held up a finger to stop him, "There was a ball to celebrate one of our battles against the angels, and a son of Valefor swore to impress her to win her hand in marriage. He declared his undying love to her, in front of all the Lords of Hell and wished to know what he could do to impress her and get her to agree to his proposal."
"What did she do?" Serafall asked, following the story intently.
"She declared that he had to defeat her in a trial of combat for insulting her. Being a Prince of Hell, there was no way he could win against her. Still, all present were shocked when she eviscerated him, killing him brutally in front of all the guests." She smiled, "The Irony is not lost on my, considering what happened at the new Lord Sagan's Reveal."
She continued, "After that, only the most brave or foolish pursued her. Anyone who expressed an interest in her romantically either died soon after or in the very next battle they participated in that she was present for. No one could prove she deliberately killed them in those, of course, but.. we all knew."
"Wait." Serafall asked, "If she was so against marriage, where did Pandora come from?"
"Where indeed." Runeas mused, "There was only one person that Remora loved, or was interested in carnally. Only one she ever allowed to touch her intimately."
Her next words sent ice down the spine of the three other Devils present, "Lucifer himself."
"So we see why I say this needs to be dealt with immediately." She smiled hollowly, "I have no proof of course, but…"
She placed down a picture of the young Sagan Lord, taken from an interview in front of the Senate. He was glaring at the camera, obviously annoyed with whatever had transpired previously, but that wasn't what had confirmed her suspicions.
Zeoticus, with trembling hands, picked up the picture, whispering what he had realised at the start of her story, "White hair… Blue eyes."
"Not blue." Runeas corrected, "Teal. The colour of light."
"Oh no…" Sirzechs groaned, realizing that his already complex mess had just got even messier.