Reborn to Devour: A Demonic LitRPG

Fortunately for the orangutan, we had finished our acts against God before they had returned to collect us. The only thing that they had to deal with was the equivalent of the cigarette break that came after these sorts of things. Or, in my usual case, vaping on the porch. But, Hell had not invented vapes and I had no fresh air that the porch provided, so I had returned to mindlessly exercising with their inventory while Yoshitsune’s mind was elsewhere.

“It is time,” the orangutan announced. They sniffed the air a few times and made a face, but they appeared to have enough professionalism not to address it.

I placed the box of sin-gots on the ground and stretched my back, satisfied with the amount of strength that I had managed to gain out of this short time. I stepped out of the chamber to join the orangutan.

“What about your companion?” The orangutan politely inquired about the woman who had failed to move.

“Yoshitsune, it’s time to leave.”

I had to tug on Yoshitsune’s sleeves to have her return to reality. She smiled at me and I felt peculiar. I hoped that whatever honeymoon phase both of us were experiencing wouldn’t last long. I didn’t need to be in a funk.

We did not return to the meeting chamber. Instead, we were led to the area that we first appeared in. Vendetta and the rhino were talking to each other near a carved pattern on the ground.

“Leader, I have brought them,” the orangutan interrupted with a bow.

“Good,” Vendetta said. A flame hopped from her finger to turn the runes in the floor an angry orange. “You two will be in charge while I take our new friends to the Slavers.

“You’re leaving without us?” The rhino sputtered in surprise. “Aren’t you worried that they will attack if they see you are alone?”

“That is a possibility. But, if they do turn on me, it will be much easier for me to escape on my own,” Vendetta replied, a statement that neither of them could argue against. “Our new friends have shown that they are more than capable of saving themselves.”

“Stay safe, Leader,” they said in unison.

Vendetta stepped in the circle and beckoned for us to join her. As soon as we got within the circle. I had to drag my tail in quickly before it was torched and left behind. The world turned orange and the sounds of screaming could be heard within the flames. Then, the world changed again.

We stood in a scorch mark in the middle of a field under the light of the fake sun. Being back on the surface made me realize how little I liked being underground. Though, this place was far from picturesque. This grassy field spread out smoothly in all directions. There were no hills, no trees, nothing.

The only feature was a sprawling tent city like a homeless community on the news stretched over the horizon, housing untold thousands of demons. We had landed on the outskirts of the town and a few nearby demons scuttled away from the burning location. The silhouettes of flying demons patrolling the skies could be barely seen through the glare of the sun.

“What sort of shit hole is this?” I asked.

“This is the Desolate Plains,” Vendetta answered. “If you were to travel the entire realm, you would find that most of it is like this. Have you not walked over this at all?”

“We teleported to Brunswick directly from the Corpse Copse,” I replied.

“Corpse Copse?” Vendetta said as she tapped against her chin with her fingers. “Someone recently slayed the Corpse-Watcher for the first time, no? I remember the notification. You don’t see those much anymore.”

“We participated in that,” Yoshitsune mentioned proudly.

Vendetta smirked in response and started walking towards our destination. We passed by numerous tents on the way to the center of the city. Most of the demons, the poorest and weakest looking of all of them, wore heavy sin-got collars and manacles. They were seen tending to small gardens that grew little in the awful soil or smelting sin-gots in open-air smithies. Some were seen filing in and out of portals. Many of those returned as corpses that were to be collected by others on standby.

Fewer wore lighter bindings and shouted orders at the ones below them. They carried whips and used them liberally at those that were seen slowing even slightly. Most were smiling as they dispensed their cruelties.

Fewer still had the freedom of wearing nothing. Teams of the lowest carried palanquins seating the highest on a tour around the city to oversee the actions of the citizenry. The lightly bound demons would always stop the violence to bow low and show deference to their betters.

“Six? How did six of you die in such a simple location?”

A voice cut into my brain like a hot knife to send my mind ablaze. I whipped my head towards the origin of the sound. Could it be? Could it really be?

“Ishmael-san?” Yoshitsune asked, but I was no longer paying attention to my original purpose. I changed course towards the sound. I needed to be certain.

“Sorry, servant leader,” the lone survivor whimpered, the remains of their comrades in a wicker basket attached to their back. “Another group of demons showed up at the same time…and they were stronger than us and their weapons were vicious. I’m lucky to have made it back with just some of the remains.”

“Vicious weapons? Are you saying that our Emperor does not provide for you properly?”

The weak build, hunched posture, and pinched face; it was all the exact same. His tyranny towards the weak and his stupid nasally was nostalgic. How long ago was it we were scuttling through tunnels like insects?

“No, no, I would never say that,” the survivor stammered, their eyes widening upon seeing me loom over their supervisor.

I gripped tightly onto his shoulder, unable to contain my unbridled satisfaction any longer. I wondered what face he’d make when he turned around. What sorts of horror would be plastered across his face? Would I be able to smell the fear? Taste it in his flesh after I tear it apart? Too many ideas rolled around in my mind.

“Who do you think you are to grab onto…fuck!”

“I found you, Squealer. I told you to pray that I wouldn’t.”

His eyes changed instantly from predator to prey. All that the bravado that he had in front of his emaciated underlings disappeared in a puff of smoke. Pupils dashed from left to right to avoid looking directly at me and to seek out help. His body began to shake violently under my grip, too scared to try to do anything.

Delicious.

I opened my mouth to dig my teeth into his flesh. Perhaps that was the lizard part of my mind salivating over a delicious rodent but I was more than willing to oblige it this time. I wanted to do more than that, much more, but I couldn't help it. He had to die at least once to get my mind back under control.

“You cannot,” Vendetta ordered me. Intense fire blazed from her hand and cooked my back, bringing me back under control. “Yóulóng doesn’t like his property to be damaged needlessly. Save your violence for another time.”

Squealer dropped to his knees and shuddered out a sigh of relief as I let go of his shoulder. He sprinted on his hands and knees to get further away from me.

“Ishmael-san, what’s going on?”

“Yoshitsune, allow me to introduce you to Squealer. He’s my Uragoe,” I said with a smile. “Sorry for ignoring you like that, but I was very happy to be able to see him again.”

Her expression instantly darkened after I invoked the name of her rival buried under a tar lake. I could see her blade poke out of her sleeve to do the deed herself if necessary.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and shook my head at her. Just as I stayed out of her way, she needed to stay out of mine. Understanding, she recalled her sword, but her outward animosity towards Squealer did not subside.

“It’s alright. I’ll come back for you after this, Squealer,” I said with a smile and a wave. “Don’t go anywhere.”

Leaving Squealer hyperventilating on the ground, I followed Vendetta through the tents once again. It did not take long before we reached the center of the city. A structure that stood larger than a circus tent waited in the middle. A ring of armored demons stood at equal distance apart around the perimeter with exception to the heightened security around the entrances to the gigantic tent.

“I am Vendetta, here for an audience with Yóulóng,” Vendetta introduced briefly. “I sent word earlier that my request was accepted.”

“Hold on,” The guard said as their eyes flashed red. They nodded in confirmation and allowed us into the tent.

We entered a maze of temporary walls made of paper decorated with different depictions of serpentine dragons painting on them. Demons, unburdened by the weights of chains, lounged about in puffs of tobacco smoke and played various games. Lightly bound servants poured their betters drinks and attended to their every need, no matter what the cost was to their own mind and body.

Vendetta expertly navigated these decadent chambers and by the sadistic scenes inherent to a system like this. Her flaming hair appeared more voluminous and aggressive as we walked by some of the more heinous acts.

The path was designed to force everyone who wished to meet with the Yóulóng to pass through these rooms and observe the power that he wielded over his followers. I’m sure that he loved to know whether his guests were disgusted by him or envious of him.

Hell was the paradise of the slave master. There was no need to be considerate with your slave. If you broke them, they would be back in around ten minutes for you to continue to enforce your horrible will upon. I found it exceptionally boring. There was nothing exciting about always getting what you want without any struggle.

If this was God’s Hell, they’d be in the worst pain.

“This place has terrible energy,” Yoshitsune commented to herself. “I want to be out of this place as soon as possible.”

Fortunately, they did not have to endure it for long. The tour of the rooms terminated into a large chamber with an equally large bed set in the center. A mass of shapes and silhouettes writhed atop the mattress, their forms obscured with tobacco smoke.

From the smoke, the face of a dragon poked out. Their aquamarine scales, polished endlessly by servants, shone in the light of Vendetta’s flames.

“I greet the Yóulóng, Emperor of the Endless Wastes,” Vendetta said with a tiny bow, the smallest of angles to her body in deference to the other ruler. Yoshitsune and I matched the gesture.

“Vendetta,” Yóulóng said tersely, their drooping whiskers twitching. “You said in your message that you wished to forge an alliance with me. I cannot help but say that I am hurt by your words. I thought that we were already friends. What else could we offer each other to show the sincerity of that bond?”

“I come to you because I wish to have your assistance in the destruction of Brunswick,” Vendetta replied.

“Brunswick? Again?” Yóulóng asked with a disappointed sigh. “For how long are you going to be transfixed in that place? Is it not better to let go?”

The angry flames that rose off of Vendetta’s body answered the dragon’s question. With a deep breath, she recalled the fire before it could reach the flammable paper and canvas palace. I frowned, disappointed that I would not be able to watch this entire place burn down in such a spectacular fashion. I would just need to save the visions for my imagination.

“You have heard about the destruction of their Dungeon, no?” Vendetta asked. “Surely you heard of the damage that was done to the city as Armaros failed to catch the perpetrators who crippled him.”

“Can you verify that they escaped?”

“Of course I can, these are the ones that did it,” Vendetta said, motioning her burning hands just a little too close to me.

Yóulóng’s face loomed closer to Yoshitsune and myself. Their golden eyes narrowed as they inspected every inch of me like I was some sort of exotic import. He lingered for a long time on Yoshitsune. The lecherous beast couldn’t have been less discrete about his intentions. But, he eventually retracted.

“Hmm,” Yóulóng hummed to themselves. “They seem capable enough. So you want to rip out Armaros’ throat before he can recover from this blow. What is it that you want from me to accomplish your goals?”

“I need your numbers. You are the only one who possesses the numbers necessary to match the Church’s forces and destroy Brunswick.”

“Your words are true and I have plenty of numbers to loan you for your campaign,” Yóulóng agreed with a self-satisfied laugh. “Now, what is that you could offer me that will be as valuable as an army?”

“I will leave you the city and citizens of Brunswick to do with as you please. Their possessions, their lives are all yours. Just not Armaros. With a fortress like Brunswick down and your numbers bolstered by Grigori slaves, who would be left to stop you from taking over the entirety of the Desolate Plains?”

“You speak of hegemony,” Yóulóng said with surprise. “What of your followers? Surely they are not strong enough to follow you on your ascendance to the next realm. Who will look after them?”

“That will also be at your discretion,” Vendetta answered coldly. “They will be of no further use to me.”

Yóulóng’s cackling filled the entire tent. Their head swayed with pleasure as their eyes spun with the further riches that would fall into his hands.

“I accept!” Roaring Dragon shouted, almost twisting his neck into a knot out of excitement before coming back down from his high. “However, I will need several days to recall all of my servants and prepare the resources necessary to guarantee my success. You are welcome to stay here if you’d like to kill time with me. I’d always make room for someone like you, Vendetta.”

“I will have to decline,” Vendetta said with the apologetic bow of a liar. “However, I will be leaving these two here. Is there anything that you need to have done before our battle starts?”

“Now that you mention it,” I said with a grin, the map Vendetta gave me took up all my vision. “I’d love to put your gift to good use. I saw that there are many Portals in this city. Maybe I will try to clear a few dungeons.”

“I’m not sure even finish one in such a short time, but I’m interested to see what you will accomplish,” Vendetta said with a grin. “You better be stronger when I see you again.”

With a flash of light, Vendetta excused herself. We were left alone in the presence of the Emperor of the Plains. As soon as Vendetta left, the interest in Yóulóng’s face waned. He regarded us like the nasty side dishes at a cookout.

“If you are in a Party with one of my people, then you can use the Portals at will,” Yóulóng stated in a rushed voice as he wanted to get back to his previous business. “Since you are the guest of my greatest ally, I will permit you to take one of my own with you. Just approach one and invoke my will upon them, they cannot refuse.”

I bowed low before Yóulóng to hide my giddy smile. This was better than anything that I could have hoped for.

“I thank you, Emperor. I have just the person in mind.”