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Chapter 45: Welcome to Hell. And by Hell, I Mean the Overworld.

An arrow flew at him from the top of the wall, perfectly aimed to strike right between his eyes, but he tilted his head to the side, allowing the arrow to fly right by. Another arrow came, and he did the same. He continued walking calmly forward.

While the Devil was technically an office worker – and had been one all his life – that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to fight. Like many other Demons, when he was young and naive, he’d gotten interested in combat and tried to learn how to fight on the front lines like the rest of the soldiers. He’d been disillusioned of that stupid fantasy by now, but he still had the training he’d received, so even when he wasn’t in his much more powerful true body, his instincts remained.

Even so, the arrows were annoying, and his plan involved diplomacy, so he raised his hands in a gesture of peace. The arrows stopped coming after that, but the gates didn’t open.

In fact, after a moment, a voice came from the top of the walls. “Demon! Do not approach any further!”

It was a… Human male? It was difficult for the Devil to tell smaller details things like a Human’s sex, especially just from their voice.

The Devil cleared his throat and called back “I am–” he coughed. His new voice gargled and was uncomfortable to speak with, like his throat was full of phlegm. With a grunt, he cleared it and got a bit used to the false vessel’s way of speaking. He’d never actually been projected before, so he hadn’t ever experienced how uncomfortable it was. “–I am a diplomat. I come to discuss the state of our relations with your king.”

“Your kind is not welcome! Get out or we will shoot!”

The Devil resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Idiots. “I wish to establish a mutually beneficial relationship between Humans and Demons. If you do not like what I have to say, you may kick me out or kill me. But please hear me out first. At least inform your king that I wish to speak with him.”

There was a pause. “Fine. Stay there. And his name is King Koinkar. Do not disrespect the lord’s title!”

The Devil sighed and plopped down, sitting in the grassy field surrounding the city walls. In his time with the assault on the Overworld, he’d become incredibly familiar with the strange land where there was no ceiling, but it was still strange to be there physically. There was something that thousands of magical depictions and illusions couldn’t depict.

It was… the smell. Yes. It smelled like absolute shit here. Disgusting. It was also loud. Was that the wind? Making the trees’ leaves rustle? What an irritating noise. And the grass was too soft. Why couldn’t they have stone floors like normal people? This place was terrible.

After waiting for much too long, the gates finally opened. A dozen Human soldiers walked through, on guard with weapons bared. They wielded swords and spears, and one of them even had a magical shield surrounding themself. What an overreaction. The Devil would barely be able to hurt even one of them in his current state.

“If you try to pull any tricks, you’re dead,” one of them said. Did they even know that dying in the Overworld wasn’t true death for a Demon? That wasn’t much of a threat.

The Devil nodded. “Of course.”

The Humans led him through a city. Citizens were crowded in, bustling around the roads in what was obviously overpopulation. Some were napping on the sides of the streets, too, apparently homeless. Many of them were probably refugees from nearby destroyed towns and settlements. Since the city housed the king of this place, it made sense that it would also be the best-protected, and thus, the most in-demand for housing. The Humans strayed away from the Devil as he was escorted through the city, parting before him as though he were surrounded by a magical forcefield. They looked at the Devil with disgust and fear.

Good, the Devil thought. They should be afraid.

Eventually they got to the main castle which held the king. It was impressive, compared to the rest of the city, with huge marble walls and pillars, intricate statues and fountains. Of course, it would barely be worth mentioning if it were next to the Underworld palaces and castles. Where was the brimstone? Or the rivers of lava?

Oh well, the Devil thought. It was no surprise that the Humans had no taste.

They entered the castle, and yet more guards surrounded the Devil. At this point, it was like he was the eye of a maelstrom of blades and armor, all aimed at him. He didn’t pay them any mind, though. After many halls and rooms full of meaningless decoration, they got to the audience chamber. A gigantic set of double doors gated entry.

The guards opened the doors slowly, revealing a massive room within which a throne sat. The golden-white chair shone with brilliance, and the Devil realized the shining wasn’t by accident. The entire place was Enchanted, full of lights that were perfectly aimed at the brilliant seat. The whole place seemed tailor-made to intimidate anyone who entered.

And then, of course, there was the king himself. The man was old – incredibly so – and draped in multiple layers of furs, cloaks, and jewelry. It was all Enchanted, most likely with magic to help the frail man stay alive.

The Devil had researched general Human anatomy, and knew that an Unclassed person normally wouldn’t ever survive past eighty or ninety years of age, but with the help of the Endurance Stat, that number could be expanded out incredibly far. Of course, the body would still become frail and clumsy with age, which was normally mitigated by equally high Strength and Dexterity Stats, but it seemed like this king wanted to live longer above all else, and had put every Stat Point he had into Endurance, simply relying on magical items to allow him to move around.

Standing beside the king was a group of four highly-decorated soldiers, each with well-crafted, Enchanted gear that would likely rival the cost of the entire room. The royal guard, the Devil guessed.

One of them, a Human in silver plate armor with blue accents and a spear on her back, stepped forward. “You are in the presence of King Koinkar. Bow.”

Reluctantly, the Devil obeyed. He normally would never bow before someone with such a pathetic, short name, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Say your name, Demon.” The armored Human – a female, perhaps – commanded.

“Formal expression of greeting, King Koinkar. My name is Xhag’duulinithar’obaba’iidook’naisantipoduun’torobaroxhixhonxhaxintep.”

The Humans looked at the Devil strangely as the time it took for him to speak his name dragged on and on. One of them even took a step back, guarding themselves like he was reciting some sort of ancient magic.

Idiots.

“Er, we will call you Demon,” the woman said.

The Devil fought back a scowl. Completely disrespectful.

“That is fine,” he said with gritted teeth, and looked at the frail king. “I am here on a diplomatic mission on behalf of Demonkind. We wish to negotiate with the Humans. You are the king of the Human species, correct?”

“No, no,” the king finally spoke. His voice was strained and hoarse. “I rule the Koinkar kingdom, not Humanity as a whole. Have you perhaps attacked the wrong place? Are you here to announce your departure from our lands?”

The Devil, of course, knew that this Koinkar was not the king of the entirety of Humanity. The intentional misunderstanding was strategic. By forcing the king to clarify himself as lower in authority than the Devil had said, he put the man on the backfoot. His job was paperwork, but the origins of the race of Devils was in deception and cunning above all else. These were his roots.

“No, we attacked here intentionally,” he said. “As I am sure you are aware, we hunt for Arlan Nota. And, for as long as he is located within your borders, so will we be.”

“Foul beast,” the woman spat. The red feather coming from the top of her helmet swayed back and forth as she shook her head in rage. “Murderer!”

“What I propose,” the Devil continued, unfazed, “is that we work together to achieve our common goal.”

“We have no common goal with Demons,” the woman said, but the king held up a hand to silence her, nodding the Devil along.

“Neither you nor I want the Demons in the Overworld. We would like to leave as soon as possible, and we will leave you be the moment Arlan Nota has been killed,” he explained. “So, if we work together to kill this fugitive, it will make both sides happy. No more valuable resources spent on a war that has nothing to do with you.”

“...What would you propose we do?” the king asked. The Devil smiled; he had the man hooked.

“Simply lend your soldiers to our cause for the time it takes to rid ourselves of our problem. If you help us, we will have no reason to fight.”

“Perhaps it would be possible for us to simply step aside and allow you to do what you must? After the fighting our soldiers have already gone through, we do not have the numbers to be able to assist with such a task.”

“Sire,” the woman looked at the king incredulously. “You are not truly considering siding with the Demons?! This is an innocent man. He has committed no crime. Need I remind you the Demons attacked us without warning? They had the opportunity to ask for passage before a single Human life was lost, but they did no such thing. They have no regard for Human life, and working with them will only allow more tragedy in the future.”

“Now is not the time for ideals, Camilla,” the king said tiredly. “Wars require sacrifices.”

“We would not be at war if not for them,” the woman – Camilla – replied. “It would be a complete betrayal to our people to work with the same beings that killed their families.”

“It would be a betrayal to allow more to die.”

“Then fight! Where is the guarantee that these fiends will not attack us the moment our backs are turned?”

“That’s enough, Camilla. Do your job and stand guard.”

Camilla hesitantly got back into position.

The king looked back to the Devil. “So, would it be possible for our forces to let you pass, but not directly contribute to the hunting of this person you are hunting?”

“Regrettably, that is not so,” the Devil said. He wished it would have been possible to just take that deal and leave, but he really did need the Humans to help. Not because his forces were lacking, of course, but because he needed to ensure the Humans with the power to hinder their operation were busy. Any Human with access to teleportation and a way to track the Demons might interrupt their hunt at any moment, and he couldn’t let that happen. “It is only one person we are looking for, however, so we would not require many soldiers. Perhaps we could use any individuals with teleportation Spells or any Enchanted items that allow for teleportation, that way we can more effectively mobilize our forces in an efficient fashion, and dispatch the fugitive as quickly as possible.”

The king hesitated. “...Allow me to privately speak with my advisors, so that we may reach a decision.”

“Of course, take all the time you need.”

The group of four royal guards stepped forward and escorted the Devil out of the audience room, standing there with him while they waited for the king to finish his discussion. The woman, Camilla, turned to face him. Her silver-and-blue armor shimmered in the torchlight. “I have half a mind to strike you down right here.”

“Doing so would hurt you more than it would hurt me. Killing an innocent diplomat is cause for us Demons to destroy your kingdom, if not the entire Overworld,” the Devil lied. “I was not the one that decided to attack your kingdom, anyway,” he lied once again. “I am simply a messenger, carrying out the wishes of my leaders.”

“What did this ‘fugitive’ of yours do so wrong, anyway?”

“He attacked and killed a very valuable Demon, unprovoked. We are simply taking back what he stole.”

“And why would I believe you?”

“You don’t have to.”

Camilla looked over her shoulder at one of the other guards. “What do you say, Ragavan? Think the Demons’ll get mad if I just maim him?”

Once the time waiting was over, thankfully with nobody getting stabbed by Camilla’s spear, the doors opened once again and the Devil was escorted back in. From the way the king looked at him, he could tell he’d receive good news.

“I have discussed it with my advisors, and we have agreed that it would be beneficial for the kingdom to work alongside you in this endeavor.”

“What?!” Camilla interjected. “You’re siding with them? You’d rather slaughter an innocent man than fight back against the enemy that razed our cities to the ground?”

A soldier put a hand on her shoulder, and the king reprimanded her, “Now is not the time. We can discuss this later.” He looked back to the Devil. “Would you like to discuss the specifics of our agreement?”

“Yes,” the Devil smiled. “I look forward to building a mutually beneficial relationship between our sides.”