The Lost World Ch. 02

Snap!

The same thing from before snapped a twig as it lumbered into Lauren's eyesight. (Just a krey...) A krey was an omnivorous beast that resembled a puma and a lobster put together, if you could imagine that sight. Its carapace crackled with each vigorous step and it lifted its maw in order to sniff the air. From its nose came six feelers than wiggled about, testing the air. It had smelt and heard something here and came in order to find its next source of food.

(It's a good thing I took advantage of the wraith... Thankfully the wraith also disguises my presence from all senses as long as if I'm standing still.)

The krey's feelers were the core of its ability to live in the Land of Lust. It acted for all five of its senses, and its sensitivity was very acute. To be honest, Lauren wasn't sure if her camouflage was enough to hide from the krey's acute senses. She could easily kill the creature, but she would rather live and let live.

The krey sniffed the air before hunching its body and releasing a loud GHEEEEEEYEEEE!

Lauren shielded her ears. The krey's scream was very powerful. She even read that the oldest of the kreys had screams that could reach supersonic levels. Lauren focused her mind, if the krey had found out her hiding place, it would extend its feelers even further in order to sting her like a long set of jellyfish tentacles.

Flash!

A bright light entered the scene and stunned Lauren's body. She couldn't move to escape even if she wanted to. A sharp ringing pounded her ears. Her eyes were temporarily blinded with white light. The warmth from the radiance that purveyed the scene touched every cell on Lauren's skin.

Keeping very still in order for the wraith's abilities to continue working, Lauren waited until her eyes could finally work before opening them. She saw something which she thought was an illusion or hallucination. Though Lauren knew that her mind was not under the effect of any narcotic or magical effects, what she saw was very real. She saw four angels.

Then one spoke up with a clean, crisp voice. "Are you sure about this spell's effect?" This angel was a male who had hair like pure sunlight. He wore a bland set of white hide armor tinted a forest green for camouflage.

The one who replied spoke with a reassuring voice. "Yes. There should not be a single demon that can see us now unless they entered the field's range. Even then, the range of the field is only several meters beyond each of us. I doubt even the Lord of Lust would be able to penetrate the field with his gaze." This angel was female that owned a small head of blonde hair. She wore the same set of hide armor similar to her three compatriots. "Not only is this garb capable of generating a camouflage field, it also resembles the colors of whatever environment you are in.

(Convenient.) Lauren thought sarcastically.

"I do admit that this is an impressive effect for such simple cloth. Though what about the humanoids of the Land of Lust? The harpies and Yuki-Onna are not demons. So would they not be able to see us through the field?"

"No, neither should any of the humanoids. A question similar to this was raised by Zadkiel. It was hypothesized and confirmed that the humanoid races that live among the demons in the Circles of Sin have had demonic taint rubbed off on them. Though that excludes the Rakshasa since they are already demonic beings. Therefore while they are not demon in origin, they are demon in spirit and will not be able to see us. Unfortunately that side effect does not prove the same when see if light magic will prove to be an effective deterrent or poison the same way it is to real demons."

(That makes sense. Light would affect demons entire being like dark affects angels. Since humanoids do not have a demon's body, they would not be affected by light magic. It still hurts them like any normal non-demon entity, but it doesn't do extra damage.) Lauren had gained some useful information. Still, what she really wanted to know was how and why there were angels in the Land of Lust.

A third angel began to speak with a slightly dramatic voice. "When will she arrive? We should confirm the time so that she does not arrive too early or too late when we set up." Lauren couldn't tell if this angel was a guy or girl, but the angel certainly had a beautiful set of long hair draping down his/her back.

"She will arrive three hours from now. This is the largest operation our kind will be doing in the Circles of Sin ever since the previous war. She will not fail as long as if we do not fail."

"Then let's proceed."

The four angels walked off in the direction of Tleros, where Rainer was headed to attend a meeting with the newest district leader.

-

Rainer took confident steps through a courtyard decorated with numerous stone sculptures. Many of these sculptures depicted various nude figures of both the male and female gender. Each figurine was immensely beautiful and would undoubtedly be considered so by everyone else if the figurine was a live person. This was the courtyard of Zamarak's manor.

"Who made all these?" There had to be some sort of master sculptor even Michelangelo would be jealous of. Rainer posed this question to the owner of the manor.

"Ah... They are but poor replicas compared to the great sculpting masters of the circles." Zamarak, the new tenth district leader, was quite an interesting fellow.

Rainer got a sort of humble impression from the way Zamarak spoke and acted. He was a demon, so obviously his sense of values was much different to the human way Rainer was used to. Even though he was a demon and had lived among them for six months, there were still things Rainer found hard to adapt to.

Zamarak was a crimson colored demon who was rather tall, taller than Zazie. He wore a strange top that consisted of thick leather straps moving diagonally along his body. One of the straps wrapped around his waist, holding up a black robe that covered his feet. The most distinguishing feature about Zamarak was a green tattoo of crisscrossing olive branches that covered his neck like a choker.

"You're saying you made them?" Rainer was duly impressed.

"As I said, they are poor replicas. I'm sure you have seen plenty of sculptures crafted to a much finer degree in the capital?"

Rainer thought about for second and decided Zamarak was right. He had actually seen many more well crafted statues around the palace and in the uppermost terraces of the capital city.

"Either way, this is my first time in Tleros. So everything is a good sight to see." Rainer shrugged and rubbed his head, paying attention to the itchiness around his horns.

"I would be very happy to have someone to show you around later if you wish, my lord." Zamarak offered politely.

(He's going to call me lord like Caetorum? Well, a lot of people do that now.) "You don't need to be so formal, just call me by name."

"Very well then, Asmodeus." Zamarak dipped his head in respect towards his lord.

(That should be the first time anyone has called me by that name in the Land of Lust, not including that angel that one time. Apparently each of the Rulers of Sin are given a secondary name after the original Rulers of Sin with me being called Asmodeus...) Rainer sighed at the prospect of having the same name as that old bastard in his Grimoire.

"Is something the matter, Asmodeus?"

"No, nothing... It's just an irksome thought."

"Very well then, please follow me so we can attend the meeting. All of the district leaders and humanoid leaders have arrived except for Sitri and Reginald." Zamarak turned around and led the way into his manor.

Rainer followed Zamarak while Nerissa, Asmodea, Aureal, and Zazie followed suit. They found their way to a quaint dining area that wasn't anywhere near as grand as the one in the palace, and Rainer was thankful for that. There was a long oval table carved from wood with a red hue. Fourteen chairs were situated around the table in a concentric pattern with tableware on the table for each chair. Several lit candlesticks were placed on four points of the table, giving off an unusual amount of light for simple candles, probably a type of magic. Already in eight of the chairs were nine people, seven district leaders and two humanoid species leaders.

"AH! It's the Lord of the Land! How are you this fine day?" A lively and energetic voice boomed through the entire room, greeting Rainer. This voice belonged to Zagan, the first district leader. He was without his usual set of plate armor, instead opting for a thick set of chainmail with a decorated surcoat above. Rainer found Zagan a fun person to be around. He was that type of uncle who would always drink plenty of alcohol at a reunion or family get together and still be sober enough to have a good time.

"I'm fine like always, how are you, Zagan?" Rainer answered and returned the question as he and Nerissa took seats next to each other on one end of the table. Zamarak took a seat on the opposite end of the table. Nerissa took a seat even though she wasn't a district leader because she was Rainer's wife, otherwise the 'Lady of Lust.'

"Just dandy! Why I'm sure everyone here is just as fine as I am!"

Next to Zagan was each of the district leaders sitting down in order of the districts.

After Zagan was Azail, the second district leader. "Eh, I don't feel especially different today." Rainer felt that Azail was the type of person who just sat back and observed the scene, but would always pull through when needed. He wore an open faced sarong made of purple cloth, it draped over his waist down to his lower legs. Azail was also a black demon who was a son of the previous lord. "I would feel better if my sister here would stop trying to push my buttons."

Right next to Azail was his sister, Alizae, the third district leader. "But... But buttons are just so much fun to push! Especially if they belong to someone that is easily annoyed." Alizae took great delight in annoying others with her childish antics. Being Azail's sister, Alizae was also a black demon who was the daughter of the previous Lord of Lust that resided in Rainer's Grimoire.

The fourth district leader relaxed in his chair, amused at the bickering between the two siblings. This was Nergal, a demon whom Rainer considered to be one of the strangest he has met so far. Particularly strange when Rainer considered his physical appearance, which consisted of a thin lining of brown fur. Instead of the usual webby demonic wings, Nergal's wings also had that same lining of fur with visible blue veins. His face was mottled and owned a resemblance to a bat. Yea, that was exactly what Nergal looked like, a bat. Since his fur kept him as warm as any cloth, Nergal wore no clothing, though his genitalia were not visible either for some reason.

Next to Nergal were two empty seats. These chairs belonged to Reginald and Sitri, the fifth and sixth district leaders respectively.

Reginald played a valuable part in the rebellion six months back. He struck a deal with the Pillar of Lust while Rainer was unconscious which required him to assist in the war as much as possible for a seat as a district leader. That was a high price, but Rainer ended up honoring the deal he never made. However, Reginald wasn't a demon of Lust, he was a demon of Pride. This was the first time ever that a demon of another sin became a district leader, which confused many citizens of the Land of Lust. However, Reginald's leadership in the fifth district amazed many who thought he would fail.

Sitri was the sixth district leader. She was a black demon and a daughter of the previous Lord of Lust. Rainer never saw her in action, but he was told that she had exceptionally bad luck which led her to be taken out early in both the rebellion and the short battle royale that took place beforehand.

"I don't mean to be rude... But I'm not too fond of seafood." This was the seventh district leader talking to Zamarak. After the rebellion, there were four district leaders left open. Rainer, being the only one who had official power to make people district leaders, eventually had to find new people to be those leaders. For the seventh and eighth districts, he chose a harpy and a Yuki-Onna to be the district leaders.

"There are plenty of alternatives, like various meats. So please eat what you wish and as much as you want." Zamarak replied curtly to his fellow district leader.

"Oh! Shellfish! I love shellfish!" Making that contradictory statement was Risoi, a harpy and the seventh district leader. Rainer made sure to choose an influential harpy, so he chose a member of the harpies' strongest three (excluding their queen), the Three Furies. Risoi was a member of the Three Furies and was a famous name in the Land of Lust, well known for being a beautiful and good leader. Risoi wore a tight dress shirt that covered and hugged her curves while emphasizing them. Being a harpy, Risoi's grand wings replaced arms and hands. In their habitat and old society, harpies never needed hands, using their legs to grasp objects when needed. However, as they found a need to adapt to a more modern and urban setting in the Land of Lust, they and the demons collaborated in order to invent a unique spell which replaced their wings temporarily with arms and hands. Risoi just activated that spell in order to eat at the table without using her lower set of grasping talons.

Next to Risoi was a silent beauty that ate her food with precise gracefulness. The eighth district leader, named Nieve, was a Yuki-Onna that was personally recommended by the Yuki-Onna high priestess Katiyana. Although Rainer made her district leader, he had rarely seen her talk. She even seemed to speak less than the late Tozomat (a dead Pillar of Lust member). Nieve had long hair colored a pristine snow white. Her skin was also fairly pale, though it was slightly darker than her hair. She wore long robes that loosely fit over her body. Nearly everything she ate was something cold or frozen. If there was something she wanted to eat, she covered it with a lining of frost. If there was something she wanted to drink, she made ice cubes.

That left the ninth district leader, Estair who sat next to Zamarak and Nieve. Of all the people present, Estair was the third youngest (with the youngest being Rainer and Nerissa). He had yet to reach thirty years of age, which made him very young by the immortal demons' standards. Despite that, Estair had proven himself to be a capable leader ever since he was chosen by the previous lord. He wore a simple buttoned shirt with pants, by far the most plain of everyone's clothing here so far. Estair, being quite young, often talked older than he actually was. Because of his personality, he was often teased by Alizae and Sitri who always treated him like a cute kid. Rainer also had trouble seeing him as something other than a kid purely because of his physical appearance, which looked younger than Rainer for that matter even despite the age difference. Still, being a male of similar age (as far as demons go), both Rainer and Estair often talked to each other and became fast friends.

"Rainer, I heard you went through the Zio Divide." Estair began a conversation between himself and his friend.

The Zio Divide was the name of the chasm that the town was located in that Rainer's procession passed through. Incidentally, the Zio Divide was also the main border line between the ninth and tenth districts.

While conversations went back and forth across the table, there were two who sat uncomfortably in their seats. It wasn't because the food or hospitality was bad. It was purely because they were sitting next to each other. These two was the harpy queen Iris and the Yuki-Onna high priestess Katiyana.

The entire room's temperature could be lowered by ten degrees on one side and increased by ten degrees on the other. Rainer learned that the source of the animosity between the two was actually quite a petty squabble. They both fell in love with the same man, that damn bastard who lived in Rainer's Grimoire. Of course by now they couldn't be with a dead man, so they moved on, but their dislike for each other remained.

Iris was munching on some sort of fruit while looking at random points in the ceiling. She had her legs crossed while tipping her chair back. Every now and then her eyes flickered towards Katiyana as if she was looking to attack. She currently wore a slightly tattered brassiere, leaving her midriff open. She also wore short pants in order to leave her legs free for movement.

Katiyana sat straight up and ate with poise similar to her kin, Nieve. Surprisingly, the high priestess was eating a bowl of ice cream, vanilla berry flavor. The frozen food never melted in her presence as she lifted the spoon down to the bowl and back up to her mouth with the most graceful movements Rainer had seen to date. Similar to Nieve, Katiyana wore white robes that draped over her entire body, though her robes were slightly more embellished in order to show off her status.

That was all of the people present. Asmodea, Zazie, and Aureal each took a position around the room, acting as bodyguards. Outside and around the manor, Caetorum, Teras, and Little Rouge did their own job of protecting Rainer by searching for outside influence.

The rowdy groups continued to eat for a while until the main purpose for the meeting came. "I made the unreasonable request to call all of you here in order to discuss an opportunity." Zamarak stood up and began his speech. "The angels of Heaven have blocked us off from the human world because we lost the previous war, yes. But that does not mean we should bow down to their whims."

Rainer was never sure what sort of expression to make during speeches like these, so his face contorted into blankness.

"The human world doesn't have much of a use in terms of strategic value. Though when you take into account of a certain valuable resource, the whole definition of the human world changes into something much more meaningful. Souls, or more specifically, human souls. They are not a necessity for the demon race to live, but they are an extremely valuable commodity that can cater to many of our needs. We need them to forge soul weapons or artifacts. We need them to create potent potions for survival and poisons for battle. We need them to power our more powerful magics for peace or war."

Upon becoming a Lord of Lust, Rainer soon learned just how valuable human souls were as a resource to the demons. He didn't like thinking about it, but Rainer had realized that he would cause irreparable harm to human lives. It was hard. Rainer was once a human, so of course he was partial to them. But Rainer was now a demon, and a Ruler of Sin, so he had to think about demons as the more important group.

"While we have made an agreement to not meddle in the human world for an indefinite amount of time, some brave demons have decided that such an agreement is hogwash. They risk their lives in suicidal attempts to acquire souls from humans. They have risked their lives in the pursuit of selfish interest of selling those souls to demon peddlers and merchants. Selfish interest, yes, but they are the only ones pushing into the human world for those souls we demons desire."

Would Rainer, as the Lord of Lust, attempt to make his world better at the cost of human life? Whenever he tried to find an answer, his mind clouded up into a dense fog.

"In order to acquire these souls the demons so greatly covet, we need to find a backdoor into the human world. The normal portals which are guarded by angels and the lost humans who perform the rituals to summon are not the doors we seek. I have a way to enter the human world through one of their oldest institutes: Christianity."

Rainer raised an eyebrow. There were no sane members of one of the most populous religions on Earth that would willingly assist demons to take human life and souls. The key word was sane. There may, however, be many insane humans who believe that their only path to get ahead in life is to assist demons.