บท 1223: Zaid - Hell
Catching my breath as the heat of hell bubbled my flesh in a symphony of pain, I staggered to my feet, holding on with everything I had as the faded hue of my eyes landed on Belius. The only mark of my victory was a small gash that barely broke the skin over his chest.
"You won, Young Master," He said, lifting his lips into a half smile. " I'm impressed. Even after I tore off your arm, you still kept coming. Quite tenacious. Are all Snows like this?"
"I'm not a snow," I said, gathering my Qi to regenerate my missing arm. "And I have no interest in—"
"A bit ungrateful, I see," He said with a chuckle, "Wasn't it your Father, my new Master, that granted you this position?"
"What of it?" I spat.
Was I supposed to feel grateful, To fall on a knee before that bastard? He doesn't think of me as a son. Why should I think of him as a Father? He tossed me into hell, slowly transitioning towards a higher Heaven.
It was all a fucking nightmare.
Everything spiraled out of control, all the hellish domain of torment flared to life expanding, catching those aside from the souls of the damned into its web. Not even I was able to escape. Then there was his accursed deal with the Fallen.
For cycles, I lived a tormented life! Cycles, I felt my skin burn, my eyes bubble and pop within this fucking hellscape.
That irresponsible idiot hadn't even visited…, so who did the responsibility to rule go to? Me! Instead of going after Arsene, Lucifer, and Abbadon came after me and dragged me out of my tormented existence into another within the Origin Realm.
I swear I'm going to kill them all. One day… I swear it. Toying with my life as if it held no value.
Mother had always spoken of Arsene as if he was the greatest thing to exist, but… he's just a fucking bastard. A beast without regard for anything except what's in his eyes at the current moment.
He's a failure of a king.
"You are growing at a frightening rate.' Belius rang out. " I won't be surprised if you can rival a BLood Reaver Immortal. Your body is damn near stronger than Iron Blood. That's quite a feat, even for Demons." He chuckled. "Soloman won't even be able to understand what happened once I tear apart his family again."
Sneering inwardly towards this fool, I said nothing. Honestly, Belius was an idiot. One that was well worth manipulating. Solomon is out of our league, and not by a little. He had already lost once to him, having been sealed for multiple Hell Cycles, if not longer. In that time, techniques and spells have evolved by such a level it would take multiple Dao cycles to catch up.
Approaching Belius when he returned after the battle for the Chaos Dew was a simple task. Quite simple, indeed. And with my identity as Arsene's First Born. It went easier than I'd expected. It was clear to me that Belius could perceive my intent, but… this man lacked experience regarding devil contracts.
The terms of the deal were to 'assist' with the defeat of Soloman. It was a bit of a gamble, but I suspected wordplay back then wasn't that great, or perhaps he was too blinded by Wrath that he missed it.
The meaning of Assist was to help, but my contract doesn't speculate on how much. Or the level of degree. I placed a few terms that were disadvantageous to me, like following his every command when we went in for the kill.
And since Belius acknowledged my talent, I didn't place a clause that he was to train me, but rather, I approached him in a way that fell along the lines of 'Assisting' with the mission to kill Soloman. Belius would train me. In return, I'd grant him access to some of our libraries, thus fulfilling my obligations. Even if that doesn't work, the moment we attack Soloman, I'm going to leave. The contract never speculated that I needed to see the battle through. Why would I have my life for this man? Soloman is the God of the Arcanes, the Master of all Magic.
A/N: Arsene would be so proud. His plan worked.
I had this idiot tied around my finger. And he doesn't even realize it. But we'll see. In the end, no matter what Belius does, I win.
"Shall we go again? Or do you need more time to regenerate your arm?" he asked, and I merely smiled.
"Let's call it a day. I've matters of the court to deal with. It seems like a few riots broke out. A mere count is trying to wage a rebellion." I told him, ignoring that I was the major contributor to said rebellion.
There was no way anyone would be fine with a new ruler, one that's not even a Fallen. And especially me. So I threw out the bait. I sparked the fire needed for those foolish devils and demons to rebel using government money to fund their rebellion.
And once the rebellion grows, gathering more and more people. I'd have the perfect number of slaves to help this bleeding kingdom once I crush them. I've no idea who ruled last, but they bled this kingdom dry. It's barely functional with a level of corruption that made no sense for there to be Order.
At least Ezra can function in this landscape. If it weren't for her, I'd be lost maneuvering how devils think and act. Such a shame I may have to kill her to prevent her from growing more influential.
And with her dead… Arsene would lose quite a powerful ally, thus crippling his already weak control over the hells. Aside from the Royal Army, Arsene has zero control over Irkalla. Unlike their former Sovereign Lord, they feared so deeply his name was akin to taboo. Arsene was a nobody.
Belius gave me a nod and dissipated into a river of embers, heading to our libraries to catch up since he'd been sealed.
I spun from out of my courtyard as a new arm sprouted from my shoulder. And entered my court, within my castle, sat on my throne, and stared at the seven Dukes of Irkalla: Each of them trying to plot against me... thinking I was the favored son of their precious Sovereign Lord, they'd never met.
"I hear there is a rebellion." I began, unable to mask the bloodthirsty smile I'd gained from my time in hell. "So? Which of you will be responsible for quashing this meaningless rebellion?"
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