How I became the Empress of Hell

Nialla clutched her belly from laughter and tears spilled from her eyes. She laughed and laughed until she was gasping for air. I was thankful for my demonic body’s ability to suppress my embarrassment, because otherwise I would be blushing from head to toe. It’s one thing to go on a rampage and almost take out two of my team members. It’s another thing to have said rampage end abruptly due to being threatened by a giant red dick. After we returned to the castle we were greeted by a level 1 Nialla, and we filled her in on everything that had happened. When she finally recovered from literally rolling on the floor laughing, she sat up and I glared at her with mock anger. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, Allie… why did you get so upset at me dying? It’s not like it’s real life.”

I sighed loudly through my nose and pursed my lips as considered what she had asked. While I was very close to all of my new friends, I’m not sure I would have gone ‘full demon mode’ if one of them had died. Only Emelia dying should have provoked that kind of response… which meant… something complicated. I forced the thoughts aside for now, I grinned as I reached my hand out to help her up. She accepted it eagerly and surprised me by pressing her lips against mine. Just as quickly as the kiss had started, she pulled away with a naughty grin on her face. I let out a low growl as I felt the familiar tingles of arousal flooding my system. 

I was pulled from my haze of lust by the arrival of three people entering the castle. I grinned widely at my fiancée who was escorting a very tall redheaded woman and a much shorter brunette who still towered over me by almost a foot. Tesrif and Judas were just behind them and I turned from Nialla and faced the newcomers. Emelia walked over to me and I pulled her into a tight embrace and gave her a soul-searing kiss. As I pushed my tongue into my mouth she moaned loudly before pressing her hands against my chest and pushing against me softly to get me to pull away from her. I growled in irritation but allowed her to remove herself from my grasp.

“Geez, babe. What’s gotten into you? And why aren’t you wearing your Limiter?”

Her statement yanked me out of my demonic frenzied lust and I stepped back and blushed slightly. I grinned sheepishly at the two people who were now studying me with looks that were equal parts confusion and shock.

“Sorry, ladies. It’s been an eventful day.”

The brunette stared at me with wide eyes and elbowed the redhead.

“Holy shit, Kyra… it’s her.”

Upon hearing her sexy British accent if I could have blushed harder, I would have. I knew that there would be adoring Allexus fans after all the public stunts I’d pulled lately, but it was still something I wasn’t used to.  My demonic ego swelled within me, and I grinned widely, showing my fangs.

The taller woman studied me with an equal look of amazement and bewilderment. Emelia laughed at their reactions and turned back towards them.

“Allie, I’m pleased to introduce the two newest members to the Lost and the Damned, Kyra and her girlfriend Ash.”

It was my turn to study each of the women standing in front of me. Kyra, the redhead, was tall, probably standing around 6’9 or 6’10. Her entire body was covered in a thin layer of tight muscles, like those of a swimmer or a gymnast and she had slightly broad shoulders that showed off her well defined biceps. Her skin was pale, but tanned in a way that showed that she spent a lot of time in front of a fire. Her hands were callused, and she wore a sort of red and black apron with a tool belt strapped around her waist. She had sharp striking facial features, and her hair was a fiery red that caused my knees to go slightly weak. (I love my wife and her gorgeous black hair, but I have always had a weakness for redheads) The sides and back of her head were shaved and the crimson locks of her hair had been pushed over to one side. She looked to be in her late twenties or maybe early 30’s, and the flinty stare she gave me as I looked her up and down showed a cunning mind behind those ice blue eyes. She was absolutely gorgeous, and the epitome of powerful feminine beauty and strength.

I looked at the no less stunning brunette, who had streaks of blonde in her short spiky hair. She was muscular like her girlfriend, but moved with the grace and dexterity of a dancer. She towered over me, and was probably around 6’0 tall. She had hazel eyes and tomboyish facial features. She had an olive skin tone, which was a gorgeous contrast to her girlfriend’s much paler complexion. Around each of her ankles and wrists were some sort of tightly wrapped slate gray chains, and she wore a simple suit of oiled black leather armor. Despite being somewhat awestruck from seeing me, she still wore a dopey grin that made the dimples on her face stand out. I grinned at each of them in turn and then adopted a much more serious expression. Normally I would have been super nervous about meeting new people, but my demonic body and ego lent me plenty of support.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kyra and Ash. You already know who I am, but I don’t know who you are or why you are here. While I trust my future wife’s judgment, I’m not easily impressed. So… impress me. Why did Emelia recruit you? Judas… I’m assuming you have the pieces these two made?”

Judas rushed forward with a dagger in hand and bowed his head slightly before speaking.

“My lady, this was made by the craftsmith Kyra. One of the stipulations of her joining was that we also recruit her girlfriend. I advised Lady Emelia to accept, when you see the stats and the exquisite craftsmanship you will understand.”

I cocked an eyebrow and accepted the dagger with a passive look of annoyance on my face. I looked at the stats and had to stop my eyes from bugging out of my skull and my jaw from dropping in shock. It was perfectly balanced and so wickedly sharp that it cut through my skin without any effort. The most astonishing thing was its damage rating. It was higher than any dagger I had ever seen by a very vast margin. The hilt even had an inlaid design of an intricate serpent winding around down to the pommel. Despite being made of a dark metal, the snake was so detailed it almost looked alive. I did my best to keep the surprise out of my voice as I spoke.

“You were right to suggest as such, Judas. This dagger is exquisite. But… If I’m going to allow someone who isn’t a crafter to join my clan, they need to prove themselves.”

I turned to Ash and gave her a half-grin.

“Would you be opposed to a friendly duel? I want to see for myself why Emelia saw fit to recruit you both.”

To my surprise, Ash gave me a wicked grin and nodded enthusiastically.

“That sounds awesome! I’ve been itching to see how I’d fare against you since I watched you fight in the clan battles!”

I nodded once and turned back towards Judas. I did my best to stop myself from melting at the sound of Ash’s sexy accent, and focused my attention on my demon retainer.

“Judas, escort them to the waiting area just outside our dueling rooms. I will be along shortly.”

“Yes, m’lady. Miss Kyra, Miss Ash, if you will follow me.”

They nodded and as they walked away I saw Kyra glance back at me before turning back around and following Judas down the hall. Once they were out of sight, I turned towards Emelia, who was standing next to Nialla. I walked over to them and wrapped one of my arms around the Snow Demon’s back and pulled her closer to me. I kissed her softly and nuzzled her neck. As Nialla and I filled her in on what had taken place in our latest dungeon, I told her about me losing control after Nialla was killed and then coming out of it. I didn’t explain exactly how I had regained control of myself, but after Nialla burst into laughter again, I reluctantly told her the entire story. After my future wife got over her brief laughing fit, she gave me a serious look.

“So, where’s the spell for casting the enchantment on the castle?”

“Oh. Fuck. Seriously?! How in the hell could I have forgotten about that? That was the entire point of us going on the stupid trip! After everything that had happened with Scythe and Nialla it had somehow slipped my mind.”

 ADHD at its finest, ladies and gentlemen. Em scoffed and laughed softly before Scythe spoke behind me.

“Don’t worry, Allie. While you were indisposed from your near lethal encounter with the giant ogre dick I managed to find a spell book hidden in the altar. It looks like my life-blood was the catalyst, cause that’s what it’s written in. When I checked it over, it’s definitely what we were looking for. Along with a lot of other spells that use death magic as a catalyst.”

I sighed loudly in relief and my shoulders sagged slightly. I turned back towards Scythe and ran over to him before pulling him into a tight hug.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I cannot believe I forgot… I’m glad one of us still had the wherewithal to find the thing we were there to get.”

“Hey, it was the least I can do after I… Well… after what I put you through. Nialla… I cannot even…”

I felt a pair of warm soft hands snake around me and Scythe and heard Nialla’s voice.

“Don’t stress about it. I know it wasn’t you. And I will admit it is badass how lethal you are. I was practically at full health when you hit me. Next time I’ll remember to stand away from the incarnation of death when he’s still in rage mode.”

We laughed and separated. I felt a sense of happiness at seeing Nialla smile at me, and it gave me a tingly sensation in my stomach that I did my best to ignore.

“Well, thank you again, Scythe. I owe you. Now then… if you’ll excuse me… I have to go see about dueling our newest clan member.”

“Oh, we are definitely going to watch this, Allie. We gotta see the badass boss lady beat down some poor defenseless Demonspawn.”

I grinned at Nialla and turned to walk down the hall in the direction of the Duel Rooms.