Hellbound - Chapter 2
“Back at the bottom,” I muttered as I stared at the menu.
“Oi.”
Name: Lucifer Morningstar
Race: Demon
Level: 1
Soul Power: 1
Skills: None
Items:
The Demonic Royal Seal
Demon Sword Lightbringer (Locked)
I wasn’t a demon, but the demonic system wasn’t all that different from the holy system. One replaced merits with soul power, and it was pretty much the same thing. I had been level 60 when I died. That was considered the max level for a human. Demon levels were the same, but now I was back to level 1. I still had that mysterious Demonic Royal Seal, and I had one other thing that surprised me.
Demon Sword Lightbringer.
“Are you seriously ignoring me?”
Before I had perished, I vaguely recalled absorbing the Holy Sword Gladius. Was this the nature of the demonic seal? It absorbed holy artifacts and turned them into hellbound artifacts? If that was the case, then the strongest weapon of heaven had just been turned into hell’s strongest weapon. Such a thought might have horrified me at one point, but now it left me only feeling numb. Whatever it took to get my vengeance, I didn’t care.
Unfortunately, if Lightbringer was anything like Gladius, then it wasn’t something I could use until I was a higher level. Even once reaching that level, the Gladius’s abilities were level-specific. Until I was back to level sixty, its abilities would be capped. Thus, although I was glad I had it, the sword wouldn’t do me any favors at the moment.
“Hey!” I felt someone grab my shirt, and I instinctively grabbed theirs too.
Except, where I reached, there was no shirt, and instead, my hands ended up grabbing something soft and squishy. As my eyes finally focused, I saw a demon woman standing in front of me, and my hands were squeezing her chest. She was breathing hard, her expression a mixture of shock and fury. Her hand came up, but I caught it before she struck my face. Yet, to my surprise, her hand kept going anyway, and I felt a slap that sent me flying. I hit the rack behind me with a groan.
“You dare defile me?” She shouted.
The next thing I saw was a long-stilettoed heel coming at my head. I narrowly managed to dodge. There was a metallic clang as her shoe struck the metal with enough force that it rang. Had she struck me, that shoe would have pierced my brain!
“Hey!” I shouted back. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“You think anyone will care about the life of a low-level demon scrub like you?” She hissed hatefully as a long, demonic blade appeared in her hand with a flash of red light.
“We started on the wrong foot. My name is Lucifer…” I held up my hands.
“Lucifer Morningstar! I’ve seen your file. A meaningless and sinful human filled with sins. You even abandoned your humanity so easily. Although we’re always looking for more demons, some humans are too vile to even be permitted!” She lunged at me again.
“You’re mistaken!” I dodged the swipe of her blade.
“That’s what every sinner claims!” She snapped.
I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. That wasn’t my file. Those weren’t my sins. Due to my karmic entanglement, I was paying for the life that my brother lived, and it turned out he had lived a rotten life. Not only that, but all of the merit I had gained in life was given to him. After living my life righteously, he could essentially do whatever he wanted with everything that I earned!
I couldn’t help but feel a rising surge of anger. The injustice of it all. It wasn’t fair. I let out a scream and charged her. The woman hadn’t expected the sudden again, and the next thing I knew, I was carrying her through the door. I landed on top of her, my face in her chest, as her sword went flying. With a roar, I pulled my face out of her breasts. She tried to hit me, but I grabbed her wrists and then pinned them above her head.
She was breathing hard, her chest coming up and down with every breath as she stared daggers at me. I glared back. Just as I was about to say something, I felt something dig into my back. A moment later, my muscles began to spasm as electricity shot through my body. I stiffened for several moments, letting go of her as my body was forced into a contorted state. She kicked me and I went flying off.
In the past, such a mild electric shock was something I could have ignored, but now it left me barely able to move. There was a demon standing above me. He walked over to the woman and offered a hand. She snorted as she sat up.
“I could have handled it.” She brushed herself off, an unhappy expression on her face.
“Sure, sure… I’m surprised you created a new demon. Typically, you have good retention. To turn one so soon, it isn’t like you.”
She winced. “He’s some kind of freak. He ended up turning on his own.”
“Is that even possible?” He blinked, glancing at me.
He had some kind of taser in his hands, and he watched me casually as it continued to pump me full of electricity. I could only stare back. It was impossible to respond to him.
She walked over to where her blade fell and then picked it up. “I don’t know, but I’m going to take care of it now.”
She turned to me, holding her red blade to my neck. I wanted to fight back. I wanted to tear her throat out, but the current seemed never-ending.
“Are you sure about that?” The other man asked.
“Are you questioning my judgement?” She demanded.
“No, I’m just wondering if he might be useful. You don’t have any minions yet, right?”
“I’ve never wanted minions! Minions are for people fighting for some kind of leadership role. I don’t want the responsibility.”
“Still, a new level one demon was able to overpower a level 12, even though you’re a wo-“ He stopped for a moment.
“Even though I’m what?” Her eyes narrowed. “A woman?”
He coughed. “I didn’t say that. Oh, look at the time. The days are over. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He turned off the electrical current pulsing through my body and pulled out the leads he had shot into me with a sudden twist. My body was still twitching, the muscles completely numb, so even if I wanted to attack him, I couldn’t.
“You have some place to be?” She asked darkly, taking a step in his direction.
“Ah, yeah… I mean, bye!” He quickly took a step back before fleeing down the hallway.
She waited until he left before finally turning to me. I was still reeling from the electric shock, lying on the cold floor, my body twitching involuntarily. The female demon loomed over me; her blade pressed against my neck. Her piercing red eyes bore down on me, a seeming assessment whose conditions I would never know.
“Listen, you pathetic excuse for a demon,” She began. “You’d be dead right now if I wanted it. The way I see it, your life is in my hands. I’ll spare you if you become my minion.”
“Your minion?” I asked, trying to regain my breath. “I don’t know what that means.”
That wasn’t entirely true. As a hero, I naturally had come into contact with the subordinates of greater generals. More often than not, I had to fight up the ranks, defeating all of the minions before I could finally defeat the primary target. Of course, later on, these battles lasted only a few strikes as lower demons couldn’t stand against my divine might.
However, I’d be lying if I said I understood the complete hierarchy of hell. No one in the mortal world knew much about hell, and it wasn’t like demons were forthcoming with information. Even when we captured them and used torture, they rarely gave up any information before dying. Realizing that I was in a unique opportunity where I could finally learn what I wanted to know, I decided it was best to play dumb and listen.
The numbing sensations had decreased enough that I could move. I sat up and put my back against the wall, giving the demon a look of obedient attention. She stared at me for a moment before mumbling something under her breath.
She put her blade away and then spoke in a clear voice. “In the mortal realm, you have things called merit and credit. Merit is what deeds you accomplish for heaven so that they might reward you. Credit is the currency from which you illicit all trade.”
“That’s true,” I admitted, a bit surprised that she had answered all of that so smoothly.
It appeared that the demons knew human culture better than humans knew their culture. This also made sense, as the demons had infiltrated humanity in many ways. Countless hidden cult members among the human population spied for demons. When I tried to suggest the opposite, the idea of sending a good man to hell was considered blasphemy and was completely refused.
“In hell, we combine it all together in a product known as soul power.” She continued in a cold, matter-of-fact tone. “Soul power is both our currency and our means of survival. Since we do not have souls, our very existences consume soul power. It is also used to elevate us to the next level and is often bartered.
“I see…” I responded thoughtfully.
“As a level 1, you will consume one soul power a day just to maintain your existence.”
I blinked. “One a day? I only have one right now!”
She gave a devilish smirk, which was attractive as it was vicious. “That’s right. By tomorrow, your demonic form will dissipate without further interaction.
“How do I get soul power?” I asked.
“If you had soul power to bet, you could bet it, but you don’t have even that. Your only choice would be to get a job, but very few jobs pay well in hell. You’d only make a little more than one soul power a day. It’d be just enough to keep yourself from being destroyed. Don’t even think about a place to live or food.”
“How is that fair?”
“This is hell. Who said living in hell was fair? Hell is a place where only the strong can persevere. If you’re weak, you’ll quickly meet your demise.”
I frowned, not sure how to respond to that. On a fundamental level, I knew hell wasn’t a pleasant place to be, but for some reason, I believed that was only for humans. Surely, demons lived a better life than humans, right?
“How can weaker demons become strong in a world like this?” I asked.
She smiled darkly. “I’m glad you asked. It’s actually very simple. You can make a contract with a more established demon. A master agrees to pay you daily soul power. They will protect you from other demons and even shelter you. In exchange, you become their servant, following their orders. Also, they will collect a portion of your earned soul power.”
“How long does the contract last?”
“Typically, a minion contract lasts a hundred years.”
“A hundred years?” I nearly stood up.
“What, are you going somewhere? You’re thinking in terms of a mortal. To a demon, a hundred years is nothing. Although time in hell does move differently from the mortal realm… so, are you ready to become my minion?”
“I refuse.”
“Eh?” She looked genuinely shocked. “Look, I’ll have you know that I’ve never taken on a minion before. I’m willing to make an exception for you. Countless humans would give their souls to serve me, and you’re going to refuse the opportunity?”
“I will,” I responded.
“What part of become my minion or die did you not understand?”
I finally got to my feet, causing her to take a step back warily. “Are you going to kill me now that I’ve refused?”
She stared at me in disbelief for a moment. “You don’t get it, do you? Without my help, you won’t make it a day in hell. I’m giving you a chance.”
“And why would you do that?” I asked.
She frowned, looking away. “I’ve never seen someone become a demon on their own. Also, despite being level one, you were able to overpower me. Admittedly, you caught me off guard, but I still find myself a bit curious about your situation. That’s why I’m giving you this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Are you really going to refuse?”
Her eyes were surprisingly large. I always wondered how women did that. Perhaps her innocent, cute appearance might have worked on me before. However, that was before Eve had torn out my heart. There was no way I’d trust another woman, especially not some demon.
“I’m sorry. I don’t work well with others.” I told her and then turned and began to walk away.
“You’re walking the wrong way.” She declared.
I stopped, looking down one long corridor that seemed to stretch on forever.
“Not that one.”
I looked down the other direction.
“Nope.”
I looked over at her, “I don’t suppose-”
She was already shaking her head while chuckling. “I don’t give directions to random demons. Do you understand your situation now? You won’t even be able to escape the racks without me. How do you expect to be able to navigate hell? Your only choice is to become my minion.”
I stared at her for a few more moments, considering all the possibilities. I finally concluded, my shoulders dropping.
“Fine, I will accept your offer.”
“I knew you would.” She responded, although there was a flicker of relief in her eyes. “Alright, in that case, we must make the deal. I suppose we can just do it here.”
“Is there a contract I need to sign?” I asked.
“No, nothing like that.” She waved a hand. “Rather, this contract is sealed… ah… that way.”
“Huh?” I blinked as she suddenly looked nervous.
“That is… I mean…” She spoke increasingly quietly. “A k-k-k-“
“A what?”
“A kiss!” She declared. “I seal the contract with a kiss!”
I stared at her and then made a disgusted face. “Are you telling me that all of these minions, they all became minions by…”
“Huh?” She stared at me, and then her eyes widened. “Ah! No! That’s not how it works! I mean, every demon signs a contract differently. I just happen to need a kiss. You should feel honored. Some demons require a blood sacrifice or even the removal of a limb.”
“I-I see…”
“In that case, it is time for you to become my servant.”
“One hundred years, and then I’m free?” I checked.
“Of course. This is a very routine contract. Even if I have never done it before, I know how.”
She leaned up to me, and I found the whole situation kind of ridiculous. Before I had my heart ripped out, such a pretty girl, even a demon girl, offering to kiss me, would have caused me to blush and act modestly. Yet, I couldn’t see anything sexual about this woman. I couldn’t find anything sexual about any woman, really.
She leaned in, her eyes closed. I moved, pressing my lips against hers. I could feel a flow of magic building and then rushing out. I pulled away, but the magic continued to wrap itself around each other. That’s when text appeared in front of my vision.
[Bonding magic in effect.]
[Attempting to set status to servant.]
[The Demonic Royal Seal has activated.]
[The Demonic Royal Seal will be subservient.]
[The bonding magic has been reflected.]
[Lilith bat Asmodeus has become your minion.]
[You have absorbed all of Lilith’s soul energy.]
Updated Status:
Name: Lucifer Morningstar
Race: Demon
Level: 1
Soul Power: 23,121
Skills: None
Minions: Lilith bat Asmodeus (Level 12)
Items:
The Demonic Royal Seal
Demon Sword Lightbringer (Locked)
It all happened so suddenly that it took me a few moments to realize what had just happened. I looked up at the demonic woman, a look of surprise on her face matching my own. Her face slowly twisted into one of raw fury.
“What did you just do?” She demanded.
I honestly wished I knew.