Enemy of the Inferno (Disgardium Book #8): LitRPG Series

by Dan Sugralinov

  “Ignore Toby, he’s come from a hellhole. Poor guy missed good food,” he said. “Come sit with us, let’s talk.”

  Why did he say to ignore Tobias-san? Suspicious… Apparently, Tobias-san was to do something that Tomoshi was not to see. Violating Edward-san’s order, Tomoshi took to looking even harder at Tobias-san until he noticed that the music had quietened a little, and the DJ was gone… Where was he? Where was Malik-san?

  The boy suddenly appeared behind him:

  “Yo, Tommy!” he exclaimed, smiling widely. “How’s it going?”

  Not knowing whether it was worth talking to a person who had failed to meet Alex-san’s expectations, Tomoshi said nothing. He looked at Edward-san’s feet, nodded:

  “Maybe it is best to wait for Alex-san, Edward-san? If you plan to discuss clan business…”

  “The whole world doesn’t revolve around Alex, Tommy,” Edward-san said seriously. “Anyway, the clan’s ours while he’s stuck in the Inferno.”

  He said ‘the clan’s ours’! If Tomoshi understood his English right, Edward-san was saying straight out that the Awoken was in his hands! They were definitely plotting something against Alex-san! Why had they decided to discuss corporation matters during the party, without the leader? There was something wrong here.

  A couple of seconds later, his suspicions were confirmed – Hung-san waved to the girls:

  “Ennie, Tissa, Rita, over here! Toby, join us!”

  “I’m not done eating” the bald newcomer shouted with his mouth full.

  “Finish it over here!”

  Now it was clear to Tomoshi: this was a conspiracy! Which meant that he had to blend in with them. They had to think he shared their vision. He waved his own hand, shouting:

  “Finish over here, Tobias-san! Join us!”

  By saying ‘us,’ it was as if he had become one of them. Tobias-san looked strangely at Tomoshi and gave a sinister chuckle, then rose, took his salad and headed toward us, still chewing.

  The girls joined us too. Beautiful Eniko stood out next to the other two girls. Tissa-chan, in Tomoshi’s view, was too pale, and Rita-chan – too tall and athletic for a girl. He would have felt like a dwarf next to her. The small and shapely Eniko, her eyes slightly slanted and framed with such long eyelashes that they were almost like eyebrows, reminded Tomoshi of his first love, Shika.

  “Looks like Alex is late,” Hung-san said significantly. “Shame we can’t go knock on the door to the Inferno… Did you tell him when the party starts?”

  “Of course!” Rita-chan said, making a cunning face.

  Tomoshi reeled in horror. Alex-san’s girlfriend was in on the plot? She could have deliberately told him a later start time for the party, to give the conspirators time to prepare. But what was their plan?

  “Alright, folks, here’s the plan then,” Edward-san announced, leaning against the wall. “Soon the clown musician will get here, along with… someone else, and then we’ll start the party. In the meantime… This is the first time we’ve all met in real life, so first, as is traditional in the Awoken, we wanted to hold something like a clan council meeting. You know…”

  “To discuss what’s happening in Dis, share our plans,” Hung-san interjected, standing opposite him. “We planned for Alex to be here too, but he’s stuck with the demons.”

  “Also, if anyone has any requests, wishes and so on regarding their characters, speak up,” Rita-chan added, sitting down on a couch. “That’ll help us coordinate our actions and all that stuff. I’ll tell Alex the gist later.”

  “I have only one request,” Eniko-chan whispered, hesitating to sit down. “A loan for a good capsule and help leveling up, if that’s possible. I don’t want to be a waitress in Aunt Stephanie’s tavern my whole life!”

  “I will help!” Tomoshi volunteered immediately. “Not with the capsule, but with the leveling up…”

  If Eniko played some role in the conspiracy, working alongside her would get him closer to the girl… Hiros laughed in the young man’s consciousness: Hah, sure! You just like the girl!

  “No problem,” Rita-chan nodded. “I’ll set you up a loan from the clan, and Tommy will give you a boost. Anyone else?”

  “I have news,” Malik-san said. “You guys know a tribe of sewer troggs lives in the castle, right?”

  “Eww…” Eniko-chan shuddered. “They smell terrible!”

  “They’re not so bad,” Malik-san said, waving a hand. “When the boys and I were just starting to explore the Lakharian Desert, I excavated a raid instance there – the Lost Sanctuary of Lavack.”

  “You found the key?” Edward-san asked, leaning forward in interest. Then he explained for the others: “It’s a dungeon for level five hundred and over, and you need Lavack’s Heart to get in! He was an old god of wind.”

  “No,” Malik shook his head. “I haven’t found the key, but it turns out our troggs used to pray to Lavack, and they know where his heart might be found. It’s really a job for an archeologist, so tomorrow I’ll head out to the desert to dig. Movarak, the trogg chieftain, said the ruins of Lavack’s main temple are on the southern coast.”

  “And what happens if you find it, Malik-san?” Tomoshi asked, trying to sound as indifferent as he could.

  “What do you think? We all gather up and head over there for a First Kill!”

  He lies so deftly! Tomoshi thought in amazement, but said:

  “A worthy answer, Malik-san!” and bowed.

  “Bomber has no special news,” Hung-san shared. “Not counting the fact that jumping to Kharinza or anywhere else now costs me a ton of time. Orthokon and I swam out to the open sea, and there’s no dry land for miles around. So… Let’s pray to the Sleepers that nobody attacks Kharinza. Heard anything about our undead friends?”

  “I have,” Tissa-chan frowned. “They threw up a gross temple to the Nucleus on the site of Tiamat’s destroyed temple. It’s all over the news. Looks awful, like a dead whale turned inside out. The first followers have already started traveling there. The legates protect the temple in shifts, but nobody knows where they spend the rest of their time. They haven’t been seen in the inhabited lands.”

  “I told our patrollers, the dark dwarves from the Black Whirlwind clan, to expand their range,” Edward-san said. “Rita and I went through the options for when the undead might attack our base, and they will, because Behemoth’s temple is a thorn in their side. They won’t be able to relax until it’s gone.”

  “Their main option is still the same – using a portal,” Rita-chan added. “We don’t know how, but Mogwai knows Kharinza’s coordinates, he’s been there, and that means he could have left a portal beacon.”

  Malik-san squirmed and started pacing back and forth across the room.

  “How are we going to stand up to them? They’re so high-level now. We’re all done for. Just thinking about it makes me shiver. We’re screwed!”

  “Behemoth’s Veil of Distortion…” began Tissa-san, the guilty party in Mogwai’s infiltration of the island. Tomoshi looked at her judgmentally, but she didn’t finish, Rita-chan interrupted her:

  “Might not work. In their last meeting with Scyth, Eileen and Mogwai showed us a few new tricks. For example, legates can’t be dragged away with Depths Teleportation. Who knows what else they’ve gotten from the Nucleus and their other new allies, the dark New Gods? The legates could have learned how to break through portal blocks.”

  “Well, what are their other options? Flying to us? There’s no mount that can survive the Exhaustion.”

  “No living mount,” Tobias-san corrected him. “What if the Nucleus gave them some undead flying mounts?”

  “They could come by air or sea,” Edward-san said, sipping his beer. “And I’m betting on the latter. And that means you’re going to have to come back, Hung, along with that kraken of yours.”

  “I’ll ask again,” Malik-san said, treading nervously. “What do we do when they attack? I can’t even imagine! Kharinza won’t hold out…” />
  Edward-san slapped his buddy on the back.

  “Stop being such a downer, Malik. We all get it. But since talking won’t can’t change anything, we’ll wait for Alex and the Coals of Hellflame, then destroy the Nucleus from within.”

  “If he doesn’t make it in time…”

  “Malik!” Tissa-chan exclaimed. “Let’s think about our problems tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay,” Malik-san sighed, making as if he’d calmed down and changing the subject: “What are your plans, Ed?”

  “Me..?” Edward-san bit his lip, shrugged. “No plans in particular apart from the Magic Tower. The third floor should be finished tomorrow. My tutor, Vert the mage, says that level three unlocks a spell that speeds up the construction and creation of magical items, so we’ll build the fourth floor fast. After that… The fourth is the maximum as of today, but the top players are already building their fifth. I hope we can overtake them and get the achievement.”

  “What about a new Armageddon?” Hung-san asked.

  Tomoshi pricked up his ears. Now he understood: the conspirators wanted to create a superior spell that could overpower Scyth-san! And then nothing would stop them from handing him over to the preventers and splitting the reward! He had to warn Alex-san at once!

  Tomoshi made a break for the exit.

  “Where are you going?” Hung-san said, grabbing him by the shoulder. “Tommy?”

  “I need… the toilet!” Tomoshi said, blushing. Could the big man have guessed his intentions?

  “The bathroom’s that way!” Hung-san pointed in the opposite direction of the door.

  Pulling his head down into his shoulders, Tomoshi shuffled to the bathroom. He stood there for fifteen seconds, washed his hands and came out, not wanting to miss anything. He upbraided himself furiously the whole time.

  Back with the conspirators, he pricked up his ears once again. Tobias-san was talking:

  “Looks like it’s down to you, Ed! There’s nobody else – Scyth is with the demons, Bomb’s on his kraken in the ocean and can’t come back, and Tissa hasn’t been there.”

  Where hadn’t she been? Tomoshi, hands in his pockets, painfully pinched himself in the side as punishment for his failure. He definitely missed something!

  “I don’t know…” Edward-san said doubtfully. “Without Scyth’s protection, Venus will dissolve me before Depths Teleportation cools down. I’ll lose a bunch of XP!”

  “Come on, Ed!” Tobias-san cajoled him, looking into Edward-san’s eyes. “This is an order from Scyth! And if there really is an instance there, the entire clan will benefit!”

  “Alright, alright…” Edward-san looked at Hung-san. “Are you sure you can’t come back? We could shoot over there together…”

  “No way,” Hung-san said. “You go. Or take Tissa.”

  The girl beamed:

  “Yeah, Ed!”

  “No,” Edward-san shook his head, and Scyth darkened. “You know that Alex won’t approve…”

  He started to explain why he couldn’t take her with him, and Tomoshi tried to memorize it all word for word so he could later repeat it to Alex-san. The treachery of the cunning bald newcomer was clear – he was using the task from the already overworked leader as a cover to achieve some end of his own. Bearded bastard!

  “Alright,” Edward-san nodded. “Anything else?”

  “Oh, I do have one thing,” Tobias-san said. “If anyone hears anything about the Ravagers, tell me right away, will ya? I have a divine quest for them, but I haven’t seen any in a while.”

  Tomoshi felt rising terror. What divine quest was Tobias-san talking about? It had to be from Nergal! And he was known to be the greatest enemy of the Sleepers and Scyth-san!”

  “It’s like you’re new, Toby!” Tissa-chan said, smiling cunningly. “Subscribe to the Commonwealth Herald and check the box for Ravager notifications. When one of them appears, you’ll get an alert right away – either in Dis or in real life on your comm, you choose.”

  “You’re the noob, Tissa,” Tobias-san chuckled. “I’m undead, remember? No way in hell they’ll let me subscribe to the Commonwealth Herald!”

  “Oh, true, sorry, I forgot. Then I’ll subscribe and let you know…”

  The door swung open. Alex-san walked in, accompanied by the bodyguard Roj-sempai. Tomoshi had seen him before, but only now realized that Alex-san needed more serious security – his life was priceless, after all, and bodyguards were worth the money.

  Alex rubbed his temples and cast a vague glance across the room, then headed toward his clanmates’ cries of greeting:

  “Finally!”

  “About time!”

  Rita-chan threw herself around the clan leader’s neck. The others livened up too.

  “I could eat a horse,” Alex-san complained, looking hungrily at the snack bar.

  “Eat,” Hung-san said, and Tomoshi thought that the big guy wanted to distract the leader so the conspirators could finish their discussion.

  But his suspicions were wrong. Everyone moved over to Alex-san and started asking him all kinds of questions about the demons. After chewing on a bite of burger, he said:

  “I won’t tell you the long version. Not much to tell, anyway. The Inferno is another plane of existence. Time flows faster there, like in the Nether. Roughly ten times faster. So I’ve already been there six days. I imitated a tiefling’s body. In the Inferno, they aren’t even considered demons.”

  “What about the Coals?” Hung-san asked excitedly.

  “Nothing yet,” Alex-san shook his head. “There are only three of them. Each prince of the Inferno has one, and they keep them at the top of their towers. Like a replacement for the sun – it shines and warms them. The trouble is that the closest capital, Ruby City, is thirty years away on foot. A lot faster with Flight, but it’d still take at least a year. So I decided to get there another way; by signing up to fight in Belial’s legion. Glory to the Dominion!”

  “What?” Malik-san asked, confused.

  “It’s something the demons say all the time. You kill someone – glory to the Dominion! Eat someone – glory to the Dominion! One of the fighters in my squad farted, and it was glory to the Dominion!”

  Tomoshi blushed – Alex-san was clearly referring to his unworthy behavior of half a minute ago. It was the food in this place! It was fully possible that they were deliberately feeding that stuff to Tomoshi… The idea demanded a separate investigation, but this wasn’t the time for it.

  “Anyway, I passed muster in a little town, and the recruiter took me into the Thirteenth Legion. They gave me equipment, a spear…”

  “Hold on,” Malik-san interrupted. “I heard that your spirit got to the Inferno, but not your body. How did you keep your skills and the ability to use gear?”

  Alex-san didn’t answer right away. First he cast a measuring glance at Malik, then looked off to one side and grumbled:

  “Hades knows… Damn, I’m starting to talk like them. Where we say ‘God knows,’ they say ‘Hades knows,’ and so on. There really are devils and imps in the Inferno, you know. With horns and snouts. Anyway, however it happened, the game mechanics messed up on the transfer. The point is, I have a full-fledged body there.”

  “Alex-san, I think it is because of Astral Fury,” Tomoshi said, bowing. “Your soul took on all the abilities of the body, and you jumped through the portal under the effect of my ability.”

  The leader thought for a moment. “Maybe. If that’s so, then you really helped me out, Tommy! I can’t imagine how I might have gotten the Coals in an incorporeal form. But there’s more. I didn’t join the legion for fun. Its soldiers get leave time and can go through a portal to the Ruby City! Only there’s a condition – the legion has to win a battle in the Great Game, but I got into the worst legion of the bunch!”

  “You had a battle already, right?” Tobias-san asked. “You said you were late for one.”

  “Yeah,” Alex-san darkened. “We only just won it. Before that, I underwent
a trial and got promoted to Decanus. That’s something like a sergeant. Anyway, today my whole squad went down. All twelve soldiers… Nether, they were cool guys!”

  “Condolences,” Rita-chan said, putting her hands on his shoulders and starting to massage them.

  “Although there’s good news too…” His face brightened, his wrinkled forehead smoothed. “The demons have a disadvantage – along with ordinary loot, they drop chao. Some crap they have instead of a soul. Chao strengthens them, maintains their lives and… Basically, if you absorb the chao of a killed demon, you can reincarnate him by spending ten times that amount.

  “Did you reincarnate your squad?” Hung-san asked, rubbing his hands. “All of them?”