Chapter 2331: The Second Stage

Sitting inside the tavern in the ninth layer of hell, Agnar looked at the massive table filled with weird pieces of grilled meat and horrifying plants. Everything was either black, shit-brown, or rotten purple in color and smelled as foul as the oldest and nastiest cheese. It didn’t look edible, not one bit, and Agnar couldn’t help but frown and gag.

"The hell is this?" He asked, and Abel laughed. "Don’t worry, I made sure it had no sinner meat in it. Those are all high-grade imported demon meat, the stuff only higher-ranking Barons and Lords of hell eat."

Agnar looked around, and Ignis was already stuffing herself up. For a dragon, she could eat almost anything. Yuwaku, on the other hand, was sitting by his side with her entire body covered up with a cloak, so no one would see how she looked. A Nymph as beautiful as her is a clear target and the last thing Kageru wanted was someone to lay their hands on her and have Arad flip the entire layer upside down.

Theresa sat silently and didn’t eat anything. When asked by Kita, she shook her head and said that she only drinks blood, and that she won’t need food for the next month.

As Ignis kept stuffing herself up, Abel looked at Kageru and Kita. "For now, I need to get rid of the rest of the Wolf Rakshasa and the Blood Blades. You’re messing with the Lord of the Seventh Layer’s trade routes, and I need that damned spider to make her way to the Mortal World."

Kageru lifted an eyebrow. "You’re trying to have a Devil Lord be summoned into the Mortal World? Are you crazy? Even if she were willing to go out, such a thing isn’t as simple as summoning her."

Abel smiled. "Getting her out isn’t a problem, or at least it isn’t worse than what will happen if we don’t get her out. For now, she asked that I take care of everyone first." Abel leaned back in his chair and waved his hand for the waitress to bring them some drinks. "Also, negotiations won’t work, as they won’t fit in our time frame. We can’t work based on words alone since Devils are deceitful by nature, and writing a detailed contract would take time to iron out all loopholes."

Hearing that, Kageru got even more worried. "Would a contract bind him? The Emperor of Nothing."

Abel laughed. "I doubt it. He’ll just burn the contract and shatter every barrier you put. Do you really think that someone who can break the chains of hell at will will be bound by those same chains? He is either at the same authority level as Asmodeus, if not higher."

Kageru gulped. "I’ll handle the Wolf Rakshasa, and I’ll leave the Blood Blades to you." He then went on and explained in great detail where all of the bases are, the expected number of devils there, and their average range of power. As Abel expected, the three bandit factions were in bed with each other, always working together from the shadows to ensure their business never failed while keeping the facade of animosity.

And then there was the detail that pulled Abel’s attention. The three factions all worked under the orders of someone called the Dark Lord, a mysterious figure who controls them from the shadows without ever showing up. From what Kageru and Kita knew, the possibility of the Dark Lord being a Baron of Hell was great, as only a being of such class or higher could achieve so much.

But there was a big problem.

Hell isn’t lawless; it’s a plane of Lawful Evil. Hell has its rules and laws, and those must be obeyed. They can’t just attack a Baron of Hell and expect to walk out unscathed. It was the same as trying to assassinate a high-ranking noble in the mortal world; no matter how evil they were, killing them outright was a call for trouble.

If Arad himself were to come here, he could probably just kill that Dark Lord and solve the problem, as no one would dare go against the Emperor of Nothing. But... Abel and the rest weren’t the same. The moment they tried to attack a Baron of Hell, everyone here would turn against them. The Balors and Pitfiends would swarm down, and soon, they’d be dragged into the Nine Layer’s gutters in chains.

Arad is hibernating, but Abel was certain he’d do something if the devils laid their hands on Yuwaku, and even if Arad couldn’t do anything, Zephyr or Eris would interfere, maybe even Kali herself would jump down.

But their trouble won’t end there, as even if Kali comes in and trashes the entire layer now for touching Yuwaku, when Arad wakes up, he’ll violate all of hell and erase it whole. He had already trashed an entire layer in the past for messing with Roberta, and Abel didn’t want that to happen again.

"I’ll go talk with the Temple of Treachery to see if we can secure Asmodeus’s support. For now, you all sit tight and don’t go out of this tavern." Abel stood and threw a glance at the waitress. "Make sure they are served well, and don’t get too close to them or you’ll lose more than your life."

The waitress looked at him with a smile, shrugged, and then looked back at her mother. The two had wanted to get in contact with the Emperor of Nothing, and they were already feeling like they were working for him.

As Abel left, many devils started stealing glances toward the group. Most of them focused on Kageru and Kita as they felt to be the strongest, but some were already getting interested in Agnar’s group.

A Kid Rakshasa, a cloaked woman who hid her face, almost in the same way the Emperor of Nothing did, a Red Wyrmling marked by Tiamat, and a child vampire. That group was nothing short of weird.

Many tried to approach them, but were immediately pushed back by a sharp glare from Kageru. "You won’t eat?" Kageru asked, and Agnar shook his head. "No thank you. Even the drink is acid."

Kageru laughed. "Well, what else do you want? Blood?" He then threw a glance at Theresa. "I bet you’d like some blood."

Agnar leaned on his arm and sighed. "I would’ve taken a simple glass of water instead of all of this."

Kageru froze for a second. "Watch your words. Water is a rare commodity here. Even I would have to work for years before being able to afford a single glass." He pointed at Kita, and she shrugged. "I never even saw it before."

Agnar smiled as he leaned forward and whispered to them. "I can get us some later. You can count on that." He then looked around, got an idea, and asked Kageru. "Say, can’t we sell it for whatever hell’s money is?"

Kageru smiled. "Water? I’ll gladly take it." He then looked around to make sure no one was listening to them. "We can, but the moment we sell even one drop, all of hell will be tracking us to get more. I think you should refrain from even showing that you have it."

Yuwaku leaned in with them. "What about using it as a bargaining chip? If it’s that expensive and rare here, we could use it against the Baron Abel is worried about."

Kita shook her head. "I bet you a Baron already has access to water from their many contracts in the Living worlds. We’ll need another chip." She then looked around at a few sinners who were getting dragged outside in chains. "Sinners are a better option. There aren’t that many evil people who are foul enough to be sent to this lower level, so they are quite rare. If you can kill someone evil outside and bring them here, we can use that instead."

****

Approaching the Temple of Treachery, Abel disappeared into the crowd like a shadow as he shifted into a woman and melded into the countless devils walking around. The two guards standing at the temple’s massive gate spotted him disappearing, and then both moved a bit, trying to locate him without stepping away from the gate.

Soon, they quickly spotted the blond woman moving past the left corner of the temple, sneaking past the patrol units and even trying to evade their gazes. They quickly informed the temple’s inner guards about a shapeshifting devil that masqueraded as a woman, and the security inside tightened.

An hour later, the Priestesses returned from their shift at Asmodeus’s personal temple, and the two guards bowed to them as the ten women walked in unhindered. They moved deeper and deeper within the temple, and when they were inside, they separated. Everyone headed to her quarter, and the day was about to end.

One of them, a devil woman of ashy grey skin and a tall build, closed the door to her quarter, looked around to make sure no one was spying on her, and then approached her desk. She stood still for a few seconds, and then spat a small naked creature out of her mouth.

As Abel landed on the table, he shook the saliva off himself and grew to his full size. "Thanks for getting me in." She leaned toward him. "I’ll only do it for you." Abel kissed her, and magically sucked her into his mouth as he changed shape to take her form. He took her clothes and wore them, getting ready to infiltrate the temple and find the Head Priestess.