Succubus Lord 10

by Eric Vall

  “It’s not cowardly,” Cupi said with a push of air out of her lips, “what’s that phrase Todd always uses? ‘Work smarter, not harder?’”

  “Best two out of three?” Eligor pleaded as she grabbed her sword from the sand.

  “Nah,” Cupi scoffed. “It’s already been disputed. Jacob’s power flows through each and every succubus he’s connected with. That’s why he will be the King of every Circle in the end.”

  “He’s ‘connected’ with me too, you know,” Eligor reminded her. “What happened there was just a fluke. I would beat you nine out of ten times.”

  “But all it takes is that one time.” Cupi shrugged. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have armor to test out.”

  Eligor rolled her eyes and then followed the succubus over to where the Shades were sparring. Now that the main event was over, each one of them continued their training, all while the two blonde warriors watched.

  “That was pretty fucking intense,” I whistled as I turned back around. “Who did you have your money on, Vidia?”

  The succubus was sitting on the ground with earbuds in her ears as she doodled in a leather-bound book.

  I walked over to the dark-haired beauty, looked over her shoulder at her drawings, and admired her work.

  The entire journal was adorned with pictures of broken hearts, sketches of Frank the Bunny from Donny Darko, and the lyrics to sad songs.

  “You, uh, okay there, Vidia?” I asked curiously, but the only response I got was the muffled rock music of whatever screamo band she was listening to.

  I tapped her on the shoulder, and she sprung to attention.

  “What’s up?” she sighed as she pulled an earbud out of her ear. “Did you need something?”

  “We were gonna spar … ” I reminded the gothic succubus. “Remember? Dagger versus dagger?”

  “Well, yeah,” she agreed, “that was before you got distracted by Sister Cupi’s preppy-girl catfight. Now, I’m too deep in my darkness to focus on anything but these depressing lyrics.”

  “Aren’t you listening to screamo?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Duh,” Invidia snickered with a half-smile. “What could be deeper than that?”

  “You know what,” I chuckled and raised my hands in defeat, “I’m not even gonna touch that one. I think I’ll go see how the Shades are doing.”

  “Jacob, wait,” Vidia sighed as I turned to walk away. “Of course I want to spar with you. It’s just… There are a lot of people around right now. You know how I get when I’m around, well, people. It’s like, totally not my scene. I wish we could have more alone time.”

  I turned back to Invidia, placed my hands on both of her shoulders, and then looked her deep in the eyes as I rubbed them tenderly.

  “I know it’s not,” I reassured her. “If you’re really uncomfortable, I won’t make you spar. Go ahead, lose yourself into the smooth jams of Taking Back Sunday. We can hang out alone together later.”

  “You’re the best. Thanks for understanding. I’ll make it up to you later… when we are alone.” The gothic succubus gave me a shy smile, bit her lip as her eyes roamed my body, and then she placed her earbud back into her ear and returned her eyes to her journal.

  I sheathed my goat-headed dagger and then headed over to where my army was training. As I walked, I passed by the rest of my generals while they fought.

  Todd was singing Believe it or Not by Mike Post as he nimbly dodged attack after attack from Ira and Ariel. Every now and again, the angel and the succubus would turn away from the pesky imp and take a few swings at each other.

  Libidine and Gula seemed to be getting a little too into the training session. The succubi were giggling as they tumbled around on the ground with their chests pushing firmly against each other and their legs interlocked.

  “Easy there, guys,” I chuckled. “Don’t give these poor Shades a heart attack.”

  “You can join us, if you’d like,” Libidine purred.

  “As much as I’d love that,” I sighed, “duty calls.”

  As I continued on and walked past the final pairing, I saw Superbia was having a much harder time than the succubi she managed.

  “Come now, Tristitia,” she bemoaned. “You need to actually try to hit me.”

  “Naaaaaah,” Tris yawned as she nonchalantly aimed her crossbow at the madame. “I’ve proven I can handle my shit in battle a million times over. Cheech and Chong do all the work, anyways.”

  “Yes, you are quite good,” Sia groaned and rubbed her temples in frustration, “but if you practice, you can be even better.”

  Tris unloaded the crossbolt of Divine Light in the general direction of Superbia, but missed her by a mile.

  “There,” she announced with a shrug, “I practiced.”

  Sia was trying to keep her cool, but I’d been around her long enough to know when she was about to blow up. Her bottom lip was firmly tucked underneath her top row of teeth, and her arms were folded across her chest as tightly as a coiled rattlesnake.

  I guess I should probably help her out.

  “Hey Tris,” I announced as I got closer, “tell ya what. If you put forth some effort into this training session, I’ll give you the castle’s green room.”

  The brunette succubus’ eyes went wide as my words sunk in, and she turned her purple irises on me with excitement.

  “T-The green room?” she gasped.

  “Yup,” I confirmed, “the only room in the whole castle that can be used for growing plants. Now that we can move between worlds, I don’t really need it for growing food any more.”

  “So, you’re saying Todd and I can use it?” She grinned.

  “You two can use it for whatever your little hearts desire.” I nodded.

  Tris stood up straight and pumped her fist up in the air.

  “Fucking score!” she laughed happily, and then she turned the crossbow back on Sia. “Let’s dance, bitch.”

  “That’s quite a rude thing to say to--” Sia began, but a bolt of Divine Light blasted at her before she could get the words out.

  The madame rolled out of the way of the attack and came up with her own blast of black Hellfire.

  That was more like it.

  I finally made it over to Daniel, who was standing at the center of a large circle of Shades.

  “There he is!” he exclaimed when he saw me approaching. “I was just showing your loyal subjects how to attack as a large group.”

  “Isn’t it fairly obvious?” I questioned aloud.

  The blond man shook his head and clicked his tongue.

  “Oh no, King Ralston,” he explained. “For some reason, many soldiers seem to think one versus many is freaking turn-based combat. They attack the lone warrior one at a time, and he usually kicks their asses. That’s why we’re practicing this. Now, attack!”

  The second the words left his mouth, the entire circle of Shades charged forward at Daniel. My general was able to avoid two of three blows and take out one of the attackers, but then he was skewered by a mixture of swords, knives, maces, and spears. The Shades pulled away, and Daniel’s porous body collapsed to the ground.

  “See?” he laughed as he coughed up blood. “Works every damn time.”

  “Can I get a medic over here?” I called out, amused at the Shade’s actions.

  Daniel and the rest of my men were Shades, the Hell-bound souls of the dead. They couldn’t be killed, but they could still definitely be mangled.

  Sia dashed over to our position with her hand aglow in golden Hellfire. She placed her enchanted palm against Daniel’s shoulder, and the healing touch spread across his entire body.

  Within seconds, the Shade was back on his feet as if nothing had happened.

  “Thanks, Sia,” he said as he shook the madame’s hand. “You’re quite literally a lifesaver.”

  “Don’t mention it,” the petite redhead nodded, “just let me know when I am needed again.”

  Sia walked away, and then Daniel immedia
tely turned to me.

  “I did want to talk to you about something, my king,” he announced.

  “Daniel,” I reminded him with a wave of my hand, “you don’t have to do all that ‘my liege’ crap with me. That’s reserved for the Demon Lords and the Demon Lords alone.”

  “Right,” Daniel said with a slight bow. “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about our armor.”

  “It’s fucking awesome, isn’t it?” I asked with a grin. “Ariel did an excellent job.”

  “Well, that’s the thing … ” Daniel trailed off. “It is awesome. It protects us against piercing and slashing damage quite well, but we found one fatal flaw. Quite literally. Hans? You wanna come over here for a second?”

  A large Shade with sharp features and bulky muscles sauntered over and stood at the ready in front of us. His massive frame was covered with the enchanted armor, and he reminded me of a fucking golem.

  “Alright, I’ll bite,” I said. “What’s the problem? This dude looks like a walking tank.”

  “That’s precisely what he is,” my general agreed, “but watch this.”

  Daniel let out a whistle, and then another Shade came over with an oversized warhammer. He hauled it back, brought it forward with a heave, and smashed it straight into the tank’s chest.

  There was a loud crash of metal on metal mixed with the sound of snapping bones, and then the Shade doubled over in pain. He let out a roar of agony as he began to vomit blood onto the sand and clutched at his torso.

  “Uh, Sia?” I called out again, and the succubus madame dashed over once more.

  She quickly healed the Shade before she headed back to Tris.

  “Do you see?” Daniel sighed. “What good is armor if it can’t protect you from blunt force trauma?”

  “Well,” I chuckled, “three outta four isn’t bad. Even with its flaws, it’s still better than what we were using before.”

  “Of course,” the Shade nodded. “But I believe I have an idea on how to make it even more impenetrable.”

  “I’m all ears,” I shot back.

  “Well, I was just thinking about the armor that you use,” he continued, “you know, the one made of purple Hellfire?”

  “Okayyyyy?” I nodded as I tried to follow.

  “Do you think you could transfer that power to your soldiers?” Daniel asked. “With the mixture of the Divine Light and the purple Hellfire, we would be quite literally invincible.”

  “That’s … I don’t know,” I admitted. “My protective magic usually has to have my full concentration, or else it won’t hold. I don’t know if I have the power to focus on hundreds of Shades at once...”

  “What makes you think your purple fire has to be consciously directed?” the general pondered aloud. “Whenever you enchant your blade with red flames, it stays there for the duration of the battle. Why couldn’t you do the same with your purple flame?”

  I thought about it for a moment. The Shade had a point. If I could unconsciously control my red Hellfire on my weapons and the purple Hellfire on my body, why couldn’t I up the ante and create a whole army of Hellfire-clad warriors?

  “I-I don’t know, honestly,” I said after a moment. “I don’t think I’ve ever tried.”

  “Look, King Ralston,” Daniel continued, “I’m not exactly sure how Hellfire magic works, but I remember it’s based on your emotions. Why don’t you try and amplify whatever emotion goes along with purple flames and then go from there?”

  The Shade was right.

  Purple Hellfire was the very first spell I learned, and to call it second nature at this point was a massive understatement. It was such a non-thought that I could probably conjure up violet flames if I sneezed the wrong way.

  Maybe if I tried to hone in on my emotions, I could make it even stronger.

  “Let me give it a shot,” I agreed. “Purple fire is created by the need to protect what you hold most dear.”

  “That should be easy, then,” Daniel mused, “just think about what you’ve got to lose if we get our asses kicked by Beelzebub.”

  “That part sounds easy.” I closed my eyes and then pictured Beelzebub and his allies. I pictured them storming into my domain, defeating my Shades, and subjecting them to the most horrific forms of torture known to man.

  I could feel the violet fire burst forth from my body as it engulfed me in its warm embrace, but I needed it to be stronger.

  My heart sank into my stomach as I forced my mind to think about all of my friends, dead. I saw Todd and Ariel’s heads on a spike while the King of the Eighth Circle led my succubi in chains toward whatever twisted fate he had in mind for them. I saw my parents with their bowels torn out of their stomachs and their tongues ripped from their mouths.

  I pictured everybody I loved dead, and it shook me to my very core.

  “Holy shit … ” Danel gasped.

  I opened up my eyes and saw the purple flame surrounding my body had to be at least ten feet tall and equally as wide. I let out a scream of frustration as I threw out my hands in the direction of the Shades and blasted forth my spell as powerfully as I could.

  A literal wave of purple washed over my entire army like a storm surge. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared.

  What was left was an entire army whose armor shimmered with purple flames, outlined softly by Divine Light.

  It fucking worked.

  “Way to go, King Ralston!” Daniel exclaimed, and then he turned to the rest of the army. “All hail Jacob Ralston! Haroo!”

  My army held their fists up in the air and repeated their leader’s enthusiasm with a “haroo” of their own.

  “Damn, bro,” Todd whistled as he floated over under the power of his black fear magic. “Did you just spirit bomb your army into getting an upgrade?”

  “I must admit,” Ariel added as she stepped up beside me, “I’m impressed. I didn’t think anybody could improve on my design, but you somehow found a way.”

  “Just don’t make me wear it,” Ira pleaded. “It looks nearly impenetrable, but I want to be penetrated.”

  “You know,” Todd sighed, “I’d normally make a ‘that’s what she said’ joke there, but I think ‘ol Crazy Eyes has become immune at this point. It’s like she’s built up a tolerance, bro.”

  “It’s still worth a shot,” Ira suggested. “I’m always open for a good ribbing.”

  “That’s what she--you know what?” Todd sighed and hung his head. “Nope. Nooooope. The Toddster has evolved, too. My humor has become way more clever than that shit. There’s no need to go after the low hanging fruit.”

  “Wow,” Ariel chuckled, “that’s very mature of you.”

  “You know what else is mature?” Todd snickered. “Dudes who have a pair of low-hanging fruit, if ya know what I mean.”

  The redhead rolled her eyes, facepalmed, and then shook her head.

  “I want to see just how much damage this new armor can handle,” Daniel interjected.

  He held up his hand and whistled once more.

  The Shade with the hammer readied his weapon once more and then slugged Hans in the chest. This time, the hammer bounced off its target as if it were made of rubber and fell to the sand.

  “Incredible,” Ariel mused.

  “That’s what I’m talking about!” Daniel fist-pumped. “Now, Hans really is a fucking tank.”

  “How much more can he take?” Todd suggested. “You wanna do the honors, Crazy Eyes?”

  “Fuuuuck yes,” she moaned. “I’ll hit this big boy with everything I have in my toybox, and then some. Let’s start out with something simple and work our way up to the fun stuff, shall we?”

  The succubus walked up to the Shade, summoned red Hellfire into her hands, and then blasted him at point-blank range.

  Hans’ body flew backward and caused the sea of Shades to part in a hurry. His massive frame landed with a dull thud on the sandy ground, and then he stood back up.

  Both he and his armor were perfectly fine.
/>   “Alright, it withstands the Hellfire test,” Todd said. “But the real question is will it blend?”

  There was silence as every one of us turned and looked at the imp with confusion.

  “Huh?” Ariel finally prompted.

  Todd was giggling like crazy, but then he stopped when he realized nobody got his joke.

  “Are you serious?” he gasped. “That was, like, a huge thing back in the early days of Youtube. It’s where the dude put shit in the blender and then … fuck it, the joke is dead. Just let it die and move on!”

  “Seriously, though,” Ariel pondered aloud, “how else can we test this armor?”

  Ira rapped on her chin for a moment, and then the lightbulb seemed to pop on in her head.

  “We can beat the fuck out of him!” she nearly moaned. “Everybody grab a weapon and go to town.”

  Daniel nodded to the army, and they all bum-rushed Hans at once. Every one of the Shades began to wail on him with their weapons as hard as they could. At the same time, Ira thrashed him with her giant morning star, and Ariel slashed at the Shade with her claws of Divine Light.

  Still, nothing happened.

  Finally, everyone backed off.

  “There’s still one more thing I want to test,” Ira announced. “One of my personal favorite things to do as a Dominatrix. Crushing.”

  “I’m on it,” I said with a nod.

  I summoned green Hellfire into my hands, took aim at one of the nearby pillars of brimstone, and engulfed it with emerald fire. Next, I spread the fire to the two pillars closest to my original target and then pulled them all loose from their installation.

  “I hope those aren’t load bearing, bro,” Todd warned as I moved them over so they were above Hans.

  I commanded the jade-encrusted pillars to come together and form a makeshift wall. Then I heaved my arms downward and brought six-hundred pounds of brimstone down directly on the Shade’s head.

  Dirt and sand sprayed into the air in all directions as the pillars smashed into the ground and crushed Hans under their weight. When the dust finally settled, the Shade was nowhere to be found.