Demonic Devourer's Development

"You can…" I thought some more, but this was the best I could come up with. Magical contract sounded like such a delightful idea—except, as always when the other side wasn't completely dominated, and the stakes were this serious, I wouldn't think God of Rogues would sign it. Hell, neither would I. "Give me the other knife as a proof of your good intentions."

The best I came up with. God of Rogues raised his brows. "Eating one wasn't enough for you? Do you like the taste of steel so much?"

"They didn't taste like steel. I know how steel tastes." I licked my lips. "So?"

Instead of a reply, God of Rogues threw the dagger at me. If he wanted to kill me, his aim was way off—the dagger would've only cut some hairs from my head if I didn't move. But I jumped and caught it with my teeth, shattering the blade into pieces with a single bite.

I caught those to swallow them, too. The pained on the face of God of Rogues was more delicious than the EXP from the divine weapon.

"Is this enough for you, Devourer?" he asked glumly.

"It will do." I grinned. "Now, even if you call your pals, at least I got some wool from you."

"Then, if this is all, I want to finally leave this wretched place. But, I almost forgot. I believe we would need some way to communicate if we are to conspire. I have just the thing for that."

I watched with curiosity as God of Rogues reached into the depths of his cloak, where he, as it turned out, had a magic pocket that was bigger on the inside than on the outside. Something with dimensions… And full of useful magic items.

The one the scoundrel fished out of it was a pair of mirrors, one of which he gave to me. "If you rub the surface of the mirror, the magic in them will allow us to see and hear each other. If I rub my mirror, your will warm up, so you know I call for you. Even if we are in different realms."

I looked at the small mirror the size of my palm. It was made of polished silver, with an elaborate ornament of emerald leaves and ruby flowers at its sides. One thing God of Rogues wasn't telling me, is that with a simple spell (that he knew) he would be able to see and hear me, and to know where I was, without bringing my mirror to life. Too bad I couldn't steal this spell from him to do the same.

Being spied upon was unpleasant, but I would just have to think about what to do about it. For now, I put the mirror in the safest place—my stomach. "Neat thing. It will be useful, yes." And I wished I had one such mirror to give to Bishop. I couldn't even peek out of Hell right now, not without monumental risk, and asking God of Rogues to check on my followers would just put them into more danger.

Damn it.

"Then… I guess we will be seeing each other again, Devourer. It's time for me to check on what my co-rulers did in my absence…"

God of Rogues closed his eyes and, moving his lips in a silent chant for concentration, began to weave the teleportation spell. In his performance, it looked like such a tortuously long process that I suddenly felt a new appreciation for Pest. It took ten whole minutes for God of Rogues to finish and disappear from my webbed dome.

Without him, I had no reasons to stay inside. I walked out and came up to look at the face of the dreaming demon sage.

It was still the same unremarkable face, dried with lack of food or water, but not entirely mummified. There was just enough presence in it for me to be able to tell that the being was still alive, even without sensing his thoughts.

It was hard to believe that under these unassuming looks hid a powerful being. He didn't even resist when I kicked him out from his own house!

Just to make sure the dialogue I wanted to have would be in private, I spent a minute putting the magic mirror a good distance away before approaching the demon sage again.

"Did you really see the First God, dry guy?" I asked.

"The Radiant One… yes," the dreaming demon responded in a hoarse voice. His lips curved up, almost imperceptibly. "I can't ever forget it."

"What about me? Devourer?"

"This is a surprise. You are him. Him are you. What a wonder." Despite the words, the tone of the demon was so even, I wasn't sure if he was sincere or joking. His thoughts were just calm, as always, unless he dreamed. "What a wonder that you were there, and don't remember. That anyone could've been there and forget the terror and the radiance."

I took that as a yes. I sighed. To think, the appearance of the First God was so memorable that some guy remembered it even after his reincarnation, and another guy became a dried mummy to not forget about it, and me—

I just forgot. And no matter how hard I tried, this memory was beyond my reach.

"A wonder indeed," I muttered, stepping aside from the demon.

I had better things to do than to think more about this mystery. I picked the magic mirror again and thought about what I could do to ensure my future victory. The answer sounded pretty obvious—I needed an army. Some meat to throw on the Twelve's blades to slow them down, at least if they won't be able to deal any damage.

I spread my wings. It was time for me to visit the cities of the Abyss. I shall forge the army to stand against the bastards who dared to call themselves gods—the strongest, the fiercest, the most stubborn demons of Hell.. And I will promise them a reward they won't be able to turn away.