Chapter 40

"The lord will see you now, sir." A well dressed butler said bowing towards the black robed man who was sitting in the extravagant foyer. The robed man didn't acknowledge the butler as he moved past and into the lord's study. It was a small and densely packed room filled with books and ledgers with a ceiling to floor window that overlooked the front of the lord's estate.

Upon seeing the robed man the lord stood and bowed. "Greetings High Priest Velkis, to what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

The robed man pulled his hood back revealing a young black haired man with deep violet eyes. "I'm here to collect our payment, it has been a decade and your fief has flourished far beyond what you could have hoped for. Now if you would be so kind as to hand over the goods, I'll be out of your hair."

The lord tensed up. "Have the ten years already passed, goodness I didn't even notice. If you could give me a few months I'm sure I can-" The lord was suddenly cut off as Velkis rushed up to him and grabbed his collar.

"The deal was for one-thousand people. You knew and had all the time to prepare them. If you are saying that they are not ready we will take the payment straight from your people."

The lord flinched at the viciousness in Velkis's voice. "O-of course, it was a jest, one thousand people are ready we are holding them in the dungeon for you. Do you need a method to transport them?"

Velkis shook his head as he let go of the lord and took a step back as the lord released a heavy breath before drawing the blade at his side and slashing towards Velkis. Before the blade have even reached him Velkis had suddenly rushed forward and placed a hand on the lord's chest. "A fool to the end, you people shall pay the price then."

As Velkis spoke the lord exploded into pieces coating the room in blood and gore, the window shattering behind where he once stood. The noise alerted the butler who rushed in only to meet the same fate as his lord. Velkis casually strolled through the lords manor covered in blood and killed all who entered his path, be they guards, maids, or the lord's children.

Velkis eventually made his way out of the manor and up to the clock tower at the center of the town. He looked over the idyllic townscape for a moment before kneeling down and clasping his hands.

"Oh great Mynoghra, She-Demon of Shadow, First Daughter of Lilith, this unworthy one offers tribute, come bless this soul with your Divinity."

As he prayed the sky darkened soon becoming pitch black and a massive violet magic circle appeared underneath the entire city. Soon the screams of terror and pain could be heard as people were reduced to nothing but paste by the magic circle. The cacophony of screams caused Velkis to smile as he stood and observed his hard work begin to pay off. Regardless of whether the lord had come through on his bargain or not he'd always planned to sacrifice the city, the tribute of nearly a million souls was no small number.

He cackled madly as he stood with his arms wide as he watched the specks of light that were the souls of the innocent raise and be claimed by the dark abyss that was the sky before a sudden pain stabbed through his back and he stumbled forward. Just before he fell from the tower he heard the voice of a man who he thought was his closest supporter. "Mynoghra will claim none of these souls, they will all be given to the Celestial Host, Lady Gabriella will make better use of them."

Velkis could only curse silently as he fell to his doom.

I awoke in a panic and looked around. I was alone in a mostly empty black expanse, the sole thing around me was dark purple fog that was only a foot or so high. I was sure I wasn't dead as I would surely have been sitting before the Queen of Hell if that was the case.

"The Queen of Hell, eh? How is old Kalindora? Its been so long since I've seen her." A manly voice suddenly rung out from seemingly nowhere. I glanced around, looking for the source before suddenly the fog was blown away and I was surrounded by people.

There maybe twenty in total and I recognized two of them. The man named Velkis whose last moments I had just experienced and the man next to him, my past self, Velen Arcturus. They were however not moving and seemed to be statues. The other eighteen were in the same state, or so I thought as suddenly a blue skinned horned man with black hair suddenly moved and approached me.

"So how is she?"

I must've stared for too long as the man waved his hand in front of my face. "Oi, Vel, are you listening?"

I snapped out of it as he called my name. "How do you know my name, and who are you?"

The man tilted his head to the side somewhat confused. "I'm you of course, your predecessor should have told ya that though." He shrugged as he looked at the surrounding figures. "We are all Vel, or at least a part. I am Veldarix, The Lord of Oni's and Lover of Hell's Queen." He flexed and struck a pose. "So how is Kalindora? Ah, how I miss that deep red skin and strength only rivaled by myself."

I blinked my eyes a few times and shook my head slightly. "I don't think we met the same person. The Queen of Hell I know looked pretty much like a human."

Veldarix looked shocked for a moment. "To think she kicked the bucket and got replaced. Shame but I suppose it was bound to happen. How goes the fight against the so called Celestials?"

I shrugged at his question. "I don't know, I wasn't in Hell for very long, I died and was sent on my way after accepting a request."

"No mandatory service in the Legion? Your predecessor must have been a somewhat decent person." He suddenly paused before trembling. "Time's up, I don't what trouble you're in but if your getting my advice the solution should be pretty simple, you probably missed the answer cause something was clouding your judgement."

Just as he finished speaking he froze in place and was shunted back into his position amongst the twenty others. Just as I wondered what I was to do next I was assaulted by strange sensations from all over my body as I seemed to begin to decompose and fall backwards.