Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

The third layer of hell a living, breathing creature. An incubator of flesh with walls as alive as the imps nesting in its skin. Like the colony of an ant, the devils lived in the burning flesh of a monster that acted as an isolator between the other layers of the hells. It's blood, the magma in which the sinners were torched, and its bones, the pikes on which their bodies were racked, to later be lashed.

Even more terrifyingly so, colossal creatures sat by its fleshy walls, each a horrendous creature of the most vile imagination. Some bore teeth sticking out of every inch of their skin, some a collection of hands with maggots crawling out of the fingertips. Then there were the humanoids, the giants and the colossals, their bodies varied, and some had numerous deformities while the others were simply far too elusive of a concept for the mortal mind to grasp.

A lone sight was enough to upturn the minds of any mortal. Thus, keeping their heads lowered and their bodies transformed into flying imps, the hero's party tried not to look around too much. Yet the smell of rot, blood, and gore kept making them dizzier by the second, not to mention the screams of distant damned being tortured by the other imps.

Flying along a slanted slope of flesh, the party kept moving in the direction of the castle where Tariyaan was supposed to be. Set at the highest peak of living ground, even the castle was a horrific sight to look at. But with the seat of the primordial being inside, they had no choice but to look at the monstrous creature.

Bursting ever so often with puss, the walls of the castle were no different than the rest of the environment. Living as can be, the monstrosity had many eyes roaming along its walls. Even more unsettling were the open windows with limbs growing out like a withering corpse.

'Helga, Linkle, and Mel, come with me.' Using his mind link, Raven began giving orders before they'd even gotten all the way up the hill. 'Liliyana and Amedith, you two change your size and accompany Regalia, Aria, and Erika to secure us an exit.'

Turning around at the head of the group, Raven looked into Maria's eyes and then at Hayley, the spirit girl turned machina.

'You two will have to look for the treasury. Maria, you need to use your magic to stay hidden from everyone. And Hayley, use kaleidoscope to copy Maria's powers and do the same, alright?' Glancing across everyone's shifted faces, Raven closed his eyes for a moment and heaved a sigh. Opening his eyes back up, he spoke one last time before the party separated. 'Lastly, if the plan fails–don't go look for anyone else, regroup at the shed and get the devil reinforcement the Mistress promised us, okay?'

With everyone up to speed, it was time to split inside the castle. Surprisingly enough, the living monstrosity kept looking at them with its many eyes and yet its door remained open. A bit concerning, however, watching a group of imps rushing in and out the same, Raven assumed that the creature couldn't close its mouth on its own and needed assistance to close the doors. Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

Getting inside just as they'd discussed, the party slipped under the radar thanks to the imp masks–that changed not just their appearance but their mana flow as well. Separating as soon as they ventured in, Raven led Helga, Linkle, and Mel deeper into the castle with him. Thankfully, the smell of rot wasn't as prominent inside, and although there was gore everywhere, the floor, at the least, was made up of regular tiles.

'Remember, we have one chance to slit his throat. Miss it, and it's war, one we can't hope to win in his territory.' Linkle shared through the link between their minds. Mel and Raven felt the same, While Helga knew that if it came down to a war, she had the spear that could end even a god.

'I don't know about you three, but I'm gonna make it out of her alive.' Thinking of her daughters, Helga slipped right behind Raven as he hid in a dark corner while a tall demonic minotaur with burning skin was walking in their direction. Turning to a corpse, half devoured by the imps, the group pretended to be imps interested in a rotting feast.

'Let him pass, we don't need any attention.' Raven advised, and the rest of the group kept up the pretence. Having seen the other imps feasting corpses, they mimicked their gnarly act without actually eating anything. Listening closely to the minotaur's stomping footsteps, they continued the act until the monster was much further up ahead. 'That gate should lead to the corridor–after that, we only need to find Tariyaan somehow.'

Having been detailed on the layout of the main floor of the castle by the incubus, the party knew exactly where they needed to be. Thus, with effective movement, they'd managed to make their way easily thus far. However, as soon as Raven turned around into the corridor from where the minotaur had walked out, he was met with a flood of greater monsters scattered on both sides.

'Shit…' Slipping into a corner again, he watched them closely for a moment. Weapon in hands, the monsters were more than ready to handle anyone who barged in here. Judging the situation for a minute or two, Raven placed his hand on the ground and drew out his corrupted powers. 'Fairy torrent! Go distract them!'

Just as he'd overwhelmed Arche's hive long ago, the mage summoned astral fairies to disturb the peace in the corridors. Chuckling to themselves, the giddy creatures wandered over to the monsters and buzzed close to their ears as loud as a mosquito.

"AGUHH!"

"WHERE DID THESE PESKY FLIES COME FROM!!"

"GET OUTTA HERE YOU DAMNED FAIRIES!"

As numb-skulled as any other monster, the giant creatures waved their weapons through the halls in an attempt to swat out the fairies. But phasing right through the faes, their blades and blunt edges did nothing to the astral creatures.

"Ehehe~ Such a dummy!" Mocked a group of fairies to a cyclops trying to hit them with a club.

Making funny faces at a centaur, another group had the monster chasing after them with a spear. Spanking their butts in their faces, spitting at the monsters, and even laughing into their ears or pulling on their long hair, the fairies managed to upturn the place in a matter of a few minutes, giving Raven and his companions just enough time to slip away undetected.

However, coming on the other end, their eyes met in an instant with the sharp gaze of someone familiar. Her radiant scales were unmistakable for anyone else, and that look of narcissistic pride they had seen a long time ago.

'Libyan…' Raven relayed to the others, but a single glance alone was enough to freeze the party in their place. The immense aura of a monster amongst monsters, even Helga felt weighted for the lamia approaching them was the named queen of a primordial.

'What are we doing? Are we gonna fight her or not?!' Helga screamed inside of everyone's heads, but by that time, the slithering menace was standing right before them.

"And what are you imps doing here? Was your bloody playground not enough that you thought you could spoil my day with your presence?" As prideful as ever, Libyan demanded an answer.

Having not expected to run into her, however, none of them had a clue what to say, much less know what was the best course of action. Fight and blow their cover? Or convince her to let them pass somehow? The question lingered in Raven's mind, and he had to make a choice as soon as possible.