“Is it wise to let that Augur go?” asked Mary as the two uninvited guests trod into the dungeons underneath the estate of the High Lord, William Marsh.

“I only let her go because I know where to find her later,” answered Davos. He adjusted his belt lightly and rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Besides, her friend is severely wounded. I doubt she’ll be cooperative or of any use if she comes along. We are heading into deep waters. We can’t afford any liability or distractions.”

Mary looked in front. The walls were lined with torches at short intervals and yet, the hallway seemed darker than a moonless night. With every step she took, something was wrapping tighter around her neck. It was getting harder to breathe. She groped her neck and her shoulders, but nothing was on her. It was just in her mind, but it felt real, too real.

“Difficult to breathe?” asked Davos as he noticed Mary’s uncomfortable gestures and expression. Truth to be told, his neck was also feeling tight, but his ampler experience allowed him to hide his discomfort better.

“Getting there. I can’t believe I’m getting nervous. I am a knight. I have seen worse.”

“You had not, but now you have. This is different.”

“Different how?”

“Are you aware of the rumours surrounding Marsh?”

“How can I not be aware? But… which one are you referring to?”

“The ones with demons.”

Mary arched an eyebrow. “Well… that’s the one I deemed the lowest in terms of possibility. Given what happened recently in Sephrodia Valley, one would be an absolute fool to deal with demons. Not to mention, the Ruvans are on high alert, and the Scarlet Blade is in the city. From what I personally know of Marsh, he’s smarter than most nobles in the city. I find it hard to believe that he would be so foolish. Is this hubris?”

“Or it could be desperation.”

“Desperation?”

“I have seen great men and women, making the most foolish decisions in times of desperation. Perhaps he has something he wishes to achieve, and time is against him. Perhaps only the power of the demons allows him to achieve his objectives within the timeframe he has. But whatever reason he has, it doesn’t excuse his crimes. If we can catch him in the act, not even the crown prince can help him.”

“In the act… I think we’re too late. Hell has taken this place. I doubt the mastermind would remain.”

“Even if he’s not here, we need to know the depths of this ruination.”

“It’s a dead end,” Mary said. There was no more path ahead of them. The hallway came to a dead end unceremoniously.

“It is not.”

“Sir?”

Davos approached the dead end and reached out his hand. He hesitated but he summoned the courage to lay a finger on the wall. It rippled like the surface of the water.

“An illusion?”

“No, not exactly.” Davos plunged his arm further into the wall. It reached up to his shoulder and there was still space left for him to go deeper. “It’s a portal,” he said upon pulling his arm out.

“A portal to where?”

“...to hell.”

“Hell? As in a figure of speech?”

“No, the actual hell. The home of the demons. A large chunk of the dungeon had been turned into hell. So, quite literally, this place has truly gone to hell.”

Mary frowned. “How are you so sure this is what happened?”

“Have you not read my file, Mary?”

“...I haven’t. I don’t read the files of those I worked with. I want to be the judge of their character with my own untainted view.”

“Admirable, but your loss. I have been on subjugation of demon worshippers expeditions. I was even offered a place among the paladins by the Ruvans. I turned them down, and here I am.”

“Compared to your past experience with demons, how much of a threat will we likely be facing?”

Davos gave a wry smile. “This is by far worse than all I have encountered.”

Mary widened her eyes. “Are you sure we should still be advancing? Are we enough for what we’re about to face?”

“We can’t wait, Mary. We certainly can’t just leave and come back another time. What if all the evidence were destroyed while we’re gone? We can’t let Marsh get away with this. You know what he had done. Do you really want to let him get away?”

“...You’re right, Davos,” Mary answered after a short moment of contemplation. “We can’t let him get away with this. I’m with you, Davos.” She drew her sword and enveloped the blade with her magic.”

“Very well, Mary. I will never forget this. Let’s go,” Davos said and stepped into the portal. She came out to a hallway similar to the one he was just in, with one significant and glaring difference: the walls, floor, and ceiling were covered in dark reddish gooey substances.

“What is this place!?” Mary exclaimed in surprise and dread once she came out of the portal.

“Hell, or at least a place that was fused with hell. I have seen something like this before, but never to this degree. Give it a few more hours, and this place will become hell in its truest essence. We must move now, and destroy the source of this… corruption.” 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

“Can you track the source down?”

“It’s easy. Just follow the trail.”

“What trail?”

Davos pointed. “See that trail?”

Mary looked towards the place where Davos was pointing. Although it was faint, it became quite clear when Mary squinted and strained her eyes a little. There was a vague red smoke-like trail, flowing in a certain direction.

The two exchanged glances. Without another word, they chased down the trail.

****

“What in the fuck’s name is happening!?” Erin shouted. No sooner had they come out of the room where they fought the demon, and the entirety of the hallways, and most likely the whole underground, became covered with strange red substances that resembled goo. They had plunged into the dark flames and came out unscathed, thanks to the use of the spell scrolls that contained Rurir’s abilities. Erin thought she finally had a moment to rest, but she was wrong. She was immediately met with another conundrum.

“I have noticed your use of profanity has increased as of late.”

“Well, have you noticed that this place is going to shit?”

Aedan shrugged and looked around. “Hmm… this is not good, but I saw this coming.”

“You saw it coming and you didn’t say a word?”

“I didn’t want to discourage you.”

“You failed. I’m discouraged now.”

“Well, to be precise, I didn’t want to discourage you during your fight.”

Erin scowled. “So, can you tell me now? What’s happening?”

“Something else was summoned along with that demon.”

“There’s another demon at play?”

“Not a demon, necessarily. It could be something from the Isles.”

“The Isles?”

“Hell, to put it simply.”

“What’s this something? Is it some kind of a physical object?”

“It doesn’t need to be physical. It could just be energy. There are places in hell where energy gathered and converged, forming a cradle of power for the demons. It’s basically a Grove, but instead for the Faerie-kin, it’s for demons. A cradle could have been summoned.”

“A place can be summoned?”

“Oh yes, it can, but not exactly. It’s not the place that is summoned. It’s the cradle.”

“You lost me there.”

“The Isles, or Hell, is a place that isn’t exactly… tangible for the most part. One can summon the cradle part without summoning the lands. I believe this is what Marsh had done. He may have summoned a cradle.”

“But why would he do that? Won’t this simply make it harder for him to cover up?”

Aedan shrugged once more. “Maybe he doesn’t care anymore, or maybe he has some idea in mind by doing this. Whatever it is, we can think about it after we get the hell out of here. No pun intended.”

Erin rolled her eyes. “How do we leave?”

“Through the same way we came, if there are no more surprises or obstacles.”

“And will there be any more surprises or obstacles?”

“Surprises? Not likely. Obstacles? Oh, plenty.”

“Obstacles like what?”

Aedan pointed behind Erin.

She turned around and looked. “Urgh,” she sneered at the grotesque creature coming towards her. It seemed to be a human-beast hybrid, but came together in all the wrong ways. “A demon… This won’t be the only one, will it?”

“I’m afraid not. There will be many of them. On the bright side, it will only be the lesser ones.”

“Are you sure?”

“...Hopefully.”

Erin sighed. “Literally hell… fuck.” She brandished her sword and cut down the demon who started rushing towards her. “Damn it…” she muttered. Her hand was shaking. The sword felt heavy in her grip. She was exhausted. She had rested a bit, but the brief showdown with the demon had nullified her respite.

“We can rest for a while.”

“Is that wise?”

“Wiser than proceeding with exhausted bodies.”

For once, Erin did not argue. She dispelled her sword and slumped to the ground. “Will we be fine staying in this place for a prolonged time?”

“The cradle may be a source of power, but it itself requires a source, and it has been separated from its own source when it was summoned. It won’t be enough to corrupt individuals above a certain level. As for you and me, I am the heir to the Dragon God throne, and you are the Apostle of Nyx. We are both part divines. We will be fine. The cradle will expire before it can even start corrupting us.”

“The cradle will expire?”

“It will, but not for days. The problem here is the lesser demons. They can leave the cradle and do what demons do best. Or worse, there might be demon worshippers hiding nearby. They could see this as an opportunity for their rituals and whatnot. Still, we can’t stay for long. The demons will catch on to our scent eventually.”

“Just a simple respite won’t do. I can’t even use Mystic Blade now.”

“You want a lap pillow?”

Erin glared at him.

“It’s a joke. Just trying to light up the m-moood?” Aedan flinched, but hands were holding him in place by his waist. “E-Erin? W-what are you doing?”

“Just be quiet. You don’t want to attract the demons now, do you?”

“I don’t, but I have to know, what are you trying to do?”

“What does it look like?” Erin threw the question back as she held Aedan against a wall while fumbling around with his belt. She had piled up too much of her debt for using her Divine Gift. Even if she couldn't go all the way, she had to release some of her desires, just so it wouldn't impede her performance later.

“Are you trying to blow me?”

“I don’t know what that means, but I’m going to say yes.” Once she undid the buckle, she pulled his trousers down and let his phallus sprang free. She snorted. “Looks like someone is already eager.”

“How could I not be?”

“Then, stay silent.” Without hearing his argument, Erin took the throbbing meaty rod into her mouth. Her whole body shuddered when she felt the warm and hard meat touching and brushing against the insides of her mouth.

Aedan groaned loudly, but he covered his mouth just in time. He wasn’t as starved for affection as Erin was, but something about their ill-suited act in an ill-suited environment was making him harder than usual. Erin’s mouth was heavenly. She knew where he liked it and she knew where his spots were. His rod was huge, but Erin had no problem taking the whole length into her mouth. It was more than what her mouth could accommodate but she swallowed it all regardless, letting the excess into her throat. Anyone else would have suffocated, but not Erin. She took it well. She took it even better than the one giving it. It had only been a minute or two, but Aedan could already feel his climax approaching.

Erin also felt Aedan’s climax nearing by the way his rod throbbed faster. She smirked and increased the strength in her suction while also bobbing her head faster. In no time at all, she felt the rod bulging in her mouth and Aedan shivering like a newborn. A flood of thick substance burst into her mouth and straight down her throat. The seed flowed into her mouth from her throat, with trickles overflowing out from the corners of her mouth. She didn’t let a drop go to waste. She swallowed all that was given, even wiping the ones on her cheeks and chin with her finger, before sucking her stained fingers clean.

Once it was over, Aedan fell on his posterior with an ascended expression while Erin, on her knees, was staring at him with a glazed look.

“You’re still hard, Aedan,” she observed. Despite letting out that much, her lover’s phallus was still standing at full mast.

“I suppose a quickie won’t hurt,” he said.

Erin’s smirk widened and she hopped onto his cock without another word.