by Eric Vall
“She’s soooo bold,” Eligor sighed, “you can see why I chose to serve her.”
“But, first things first … ” Lilith pondered aloud as she began to strut around the group and inspect all of my friends closely. “Who is going to take Baphomet’s place?”
“Take his place?” I asked. “Doesn’t this whole Circle just become mine now?”
“Not necessarily,” the redhead explained. “Although you have liberated the Fifth Circle from its previous master, you are only allowed to rule over one Circle at a time. You will have to promote one of your loyal subjects to act as the new King of the Fifth Circle.”
I shook my head in shock as I mulled over Lilith’s words. I had to pick one of my friends to rule over an entire Circle of Hell?
As much as I loved Todd, there was no way he could handle an entire territory all to himself. Besides, it would get boring as fuck if he wasn’t around all the time.
Any of my succubi would have made fine Demon Queens, but then they would have to leave me and go off to find their own Demon Lords and deal with all the threats and stresses of being a ruler.
After much deliberation, the choice was obvious.
“Mephisto,” I said as I looked over at the orange-skinned demon.
Yes, my King? he asked with a hint of confusion.
“No, no,” I chuckled. “I choose you, Mephisto, to become the new King of the Fifth Circle.”
The Master of Whispers didn’t have a mouth to gasp, but his expression said it all.
You--You want me to be a King? he retorted with disbelief. I’m just a lowly Demon Lord, cast out by every Demon King I’ve ever served. In fact, if it weren’t for you, I’d probably still be locked in that tomb of Hellfire.
“You’re much more than just a lowly Demon Lord,” I reminded him. “You have been loyal to me through the thick and the thin. You stood by my side when another Demon Lord betrayed me, and you have been a great contributor to my successful conquests of this horrific place.”
Mephisto’s brow turned upward, and it looked like he was touched.
“Easy there, Great Pumpkin,” Todd snickered as he patted Mephisto on the leg. “Don’t go getting all mushy on us. I don’t wanna turn you into a pie, even though that sounds reallllly fucking good right now.”
I don’t even know what to say, King Ralston … the Demon Lord trailed off.
“You don’t have to say anything,” Lilith reminded him. “You just have to get down on your knees.”
“Whoooooooaaaaa, timeout!” Todd demanded as he made a “T” with his hands. “If it’s gonna be that sorta ceremony, at least let me gouge my eyes out first.”
“You always did have a filthy mind.” Lilith rolled her eyes at the imp.
“And it’s only gotten filthier, Sideshow Babe,” he retorted with finger guns.
“Indeed,” Lilith sighed and turned toward me. “It is a simple knighting ritual, Jacob. Draw your sword, tap it on each of your friend’s shoulders, and then repeat after me.”
Mephisto floated over so he was in front of me, and then he rested his shins against the ground. The demon was massive, so even in a stoop his shoulders came up to my head.
I drew the Unhallowed Sword from it sheath and then rested it gently on the demon’s left shoulder.
“I, Jacob Ralston, King of the Fourth Circle and Son of Lucifer, task you, Mephisto, with guarding my domain as a sacred Demon King,” Lilith explained, and I repeated the words slowly.
Then I switched shoulders and continued with the ceremony.
“I bestow upon you the Fifth Circle of Hell, and all the powers and glory that go along with the title,” Lilith continued, and I reiterated her words. “Do you swear to remain loyal to my majesty? Shall you help me wipe out our enemies wherever they may hide? Do you pledge your allegiance to Jacob Ralston, and Jacob Ralston alone?”
I repeated the words, and Mephisto responded with a somber, “I swear.”
“Good,” Lilith mused. “Now, Jacob, you order him to rise as a king.”
“Right.” I nodded and then held my sword in front of my chest as regally as possible. “Gone is Mephisto, the Great Whisperer. Now, you shall rise as Mephisto, King of the Fifth Circle!”
As I said the words, the newly-crowned Demon King floated back up to his feet. His eyes were full of happiness, and he looked like he was on cloud nine.
I-I will never be able to repay you, King Ralston, he admitted.
“You don’t have to repay me,” I reminded him, “you just have to help me. And I know for a fact that you will.”
“Long live King Mephisto!” Libidine shouted out and raised her fist into the air.
The rest of the team reiterated Liby’s action not once, but three more times to show their enthusiasm. Finally, the novelty seemed to wear off, and Mephisto’s entire demeanor changed.
Well, if I am to be a proper Demon King, I need to make some changes around here, he said happily as he floated up into the sky. Maybe some brighter colors … a different aesthetic … perhaps a way to cover up those pesky tortured souls in the water …
The Master of Whispers floated away until he passed through the door and vanished out of sight.
“So, what happens now?” Cupiditas asked curiously. “Do we just go back to the Fourth Circle and regroup until something else changes?”
“We’re a lot closer to Beelzebub and Gressil now,” Sia interjected.
“Yeah,” I agreed seriously, “but that also means they’re a lot closer to us, too. We can’t put off this final confrontation forever. Eventually, this whole thing with the Lord of the Flies has to come to a head.”
“I hope it doesn’t end up with giving head,” Todd gagged. “Especially to Brundlefly, bro.”
“It’s an expression,” I sighed and facepalmed. “It means, like, shit’s gonna hit the fan.”
“Bro,” the imp shook his head and motioned with his hands for me to stop, “I don’t need to know about your fetishes. That’s between you, the internet, and the Exalted One. Now, if you’ll excuse me … I wanna go see what’s going on with all the little islands around here. There might be some fucking buried treasure, bro!”
With that, the imp summoned black Hellfire around his body and then zipped off into the air humming the Superman theme song.
“Is it just me,” Lilith mused as she watched him fly away, “or has he gotten stranger since his transformation?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, “but I do know that, after this whole debacle, I need some fucking sleep. I feel like I’m going to be out for a week.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think you’ll be doing much sleeping,” Lilith giggled and then pointed out to the new team of succubi. “They all have to go through the ceremony, no?”
Inpulsa, Eclipse, Mirage, and Deja all looked back at me with wide grins on their faces. The Demon Queen was right. I was going to have to go back to my castle in the Fourth Circle and then make sweet, sweet love to all of them, maybe even all at the same time.
I turned around and looked out at the horizon of the Fifth Circle. The water may have been dark and sludgy, but it may as well have been crystal clear, and I felt a surge of hope as I watched the waves crash against the rocky shore.
The Unholy Trio was now the Unholy Duo. I had the Demon Queen on my side, and one of my most trusted Demon Lords was now a powerful Demon King. Most importantly, I got to go home and make love to a bunch of beautiful women.
Things were looking up for Jacob Ralston, even though I realized our final battle with Beelzebub was fast approaching.
But that was a problem for tomorrow.
So, I turned around, put my arm around a few of my succubi, and let a smile stretch across my face.
End of Book 11
End Notes
Thank you for reading Succubus Lord 11! I’ll start writing the next book as soon as this one has one-hundred reviews. So please leave a nice review here!
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Eric Vall