How I became the Empress of Hell Arc 02 Ch. 08-13

I ordered my demons to join my team while I flew up and scanned the trees below. I watched for a few minutes until I spotted what I had been searching for. I folded my wings and flew swiftly at the area just behind my target. I landed with a heavy impact, and the small archer turned around in her perch to face me.

"Hey Allexus. That was a pretty epic fight you had with Aeryn. You guys were moving so fast I couldn't have hit you if I had wanted to."

I nodded slowly and drew my sword.

"You know, I knew being the team's VIP would end up in disaster. Aeryn and Scythe's plan was sound... but we really are no match for the Demon Lord Allexus. At least I get to say I was important enough for you to single out and kill on your own."

"Don't sell yourself short, Areandra. I singled you out not because you're the VIP, but because that deadly accurate aim you have could easily cost my team the win."

She hopped down from her perch and walked up to me as she slung her bow on her back. She offered her hand in a gentle motion, and I shook it eagerly.

"Well fought, Lady Areandra. I promise I'll make it quick."

She nodded and I moved at top speed with my blade, slicing cleanly through her neck. I could feel my body's exhaustion growing as I flew forward, focusing on the last two enemies we had to fight.

When I arrived I readied my sword in preparation for an attack, but I stopped when I saw everyone gathered in a small circle. I ordered my demons aside and moved between Ikelos and Bray. In the middle were Tifa and Lucifer in the middle of what appeared to be the cutest, deadliest match that looked something out of a fucked up kid's movie.

Each time Tifa would hurl a spell at Lucifer, a small bubble of flame would appear around her and absorb the attack. I could tell both Dark Pixies were almost completely out of MP, as their attacks kept getting smaller and weaker. Lucifer staggered over to Tifa who was struggling to remain standing and drew back her tiny fist to punch the shapeshifter. Instead of striking her, both pixies collapsed into a heap.

"Ugh... Lucifer... getoffame. You're crushing my boob..."

"Can't move... too tired..."

"Am I the only one that thinks that fight was the absolute greatest thing ever? I wanted to interfere and end the round... but I also wanted to see who was gonna win."

"Ikelos! I've discovered Allie's weakness! If we ever want to end her reign of tyranny we just need to overload her with small cute things!"

I resisted laughing and faced the enormous warrior.

"My love for all things small and cute will never be used against me! I am the Demon Lord Allexus, ruler of all that is totally cute and utterly adorable!"

I felt a sting on my cheek as Tifa and Lucifer simultaneously attacked me with a spell and I reacted instantly without even thinking. I slammed my hand down onto the ground in retaliation with a great deal of force before I realized what I had done.

"OH SHI-"

ROUND COMPLETE! WINNERS, THE LOST AND THE DAMNED CLAN (TEAM 1)! CONGRATULATIONS!

FINAL SCORES:

THE LOST AND THE DAMNED (TEAM 1): 100

THE LOST AND THE DAMNED (TEAM 2): -35

"I swear it was an accident Lucifer... my body reacted to you two attacking me, nothing more."

The tiny girl turned her body away from me as she sat on Ikelos's shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest. I heard everything she mumbled under her breath, but chose to ignore her and let her cool off. I honestly hadn't intended to smash both of the pixies... but it was a rather effective way to end the match. I nearly reacted violently again as a pair of arms snaked around me and hugged me from behind, but I recognized the ghostly white skin and immediately relaxed.

"'Sup babe? How'd your match go? Did you unleash the fury of the Demon Lord Allexus?"

I turned in place to face my fiancée and kissed her on the forehead.

"I don't know... ask your brother... out of all the teams we could've fought, the game opted to pit our teams against each other."

"Ugh! Seriously? That sucks...Now, I feel bad for Aeryn. Well... at least they had a perfect score in the first round."

I laughed softly and shook my head.

"Wow... you just automatically assumed my team won. Aeryn by himself is ridiculously overpowered; but with Tifa, Areandra, and Scythe they're a nigh unstoppable force."

"Allie... quit sugar-coating it. It's OK to tell her you royally kicked my ass and that I never really stood a chance."

We both turned to face Aeryn and I pursed my lips and sighed.

"Against anyone else you would have slaughtered them... It didn't help that I knew your abilities beforehand and I used two that you'd never seen before."

"Allie, even if you didn't snare me with those chains, I couldn't have maintained that speed for much longer. I'm fast... but you still make me look like I'm standing still. It took everything I had to keep up with you like I did, and I can't even begin to come close to that strength of yours. I just wish I had done more than knock a bit off your HP with that shoulder attack."

"Uhhh... Do you not remember punching through my bicep? You hit me so hard it ripped through my armor and tore my arm off."

The look of confusion on his face that was disguised as a Demonspawn told me he had no clue what I was talking about. I told him about the last few seconds of the fight and he shook his head in disbelief. We discussed (and laughed about) the rest of the fight before the huge display changed for the end of the round.

Round 2 Rankings:

The Lost and the Damned (Team 1): 200 points

The Lost and the Damned (Team 2): 200 points

Moonlit Black Cats: 200 points

The Cleansing Fire (Team 1): 145 points

The Cleansing Fire (Team 2): 110 points

The Lost and the Damned (Team 3): 65 points

Four OG Gamer Dads: 65 points

KISS (Team 6): 65 points

I only paid attention to the top 8, as the rest of the scores beyond that were pretty low, so I wasn't terribly worried about them proceeding to the final team round. I had time for a quick peck on Em's cheek before the screen turned black in preparation for the next match.

2.13: Clan Battles Round 3

Round 3

Moonlit Black Cats

Raize- Master Necromancer - Command Path

Gwendolyn- Heavy Lancer- Might Path

Sin- Death Mark- Might Path/Arcane Path

Tarrah- Queen of Unpredictably- Might Path/Arcane Path/Command Path

Your Team's Score: 200 points

Enemy Team's Score: 200 points

The other team we were fighting was also undefeated, and after seeing just their class names and Paths I wasn't surprised. Death Mark made me think of some sort of archer or other long ranged character, but that was only if "mark" had something to do with marksman. Queen of Unpredictably really had me wondering though. She had opted to go with all three paths as I had, but that just made it that much harder to anticipate what to expect from her. Unpredictably indeed...

The environment appeared around us and I pursed my lips. At first I thought we were in some sort of darkened cave system, until I saw the rusted remains of train tracks at our feet. With my night vision I was able to make out what appeared to be a wrecked subway car in the distance. After turning to my party members I saw that Ikelos was our team's VIP for this round.

The narrow tunnels will limit my mobility, but they also mean the enemy's attack options are limited. The Necromancer had chosen only command path skills, so there was a high likelihood of masses of undead. If Heavy Lancer was anything like it sounded I expected a heavily armored character focusing more on defense than offense. The other two were complete unknowns... So the best we could do would stay on the defensive.

"Allie, did you hear me?"

"... Uhhhh sorry, Bray, I was thinking. What's up?"

"If we caused a cave-in in one of these tunnels, It would mean we would only have to defend from one side."

"Hmmm... I like the idea... I'm just worried we'll be swamped with undead with nowhere to escape to if we do. It might be-"

A puff of dust from the ground just behind Ikelos caught my eye and I reacted instantly. I sped behind him and extended my arms around him like a bear hug from behind. I gasped as I felt two blades pierce my armor and stab into my back. My armor had absorbed most of the blow, but each attack had managed to slice into me a few inches. I swung as hard as I could with my fist as I turned but only ended up hitting empty air.

I caught a glimpse of a thin pale Demonspawn in light armor before he faded from my sight.

"Ikelos, summon everything you have and stay in the middle of your summons. Use them as a buffer so that the enemy can't sneak up like that as easily. Bray and Ghost, stay right next to him at all times. Lucifer, your sole job this round is to keep Ikelos completely unharmed."

I summoned all my demons and had them form a tight circle around us. I ordered my assassin to stay hidden until the cloaked intruder tried attacking again and she silently nodded and disappeared. As much as I hated the idea of being cornered by a horde of undead, Bray's idea of causing a cave-in seemed like our best option. I had my mage use earth and water magic to topple the walls and a huge cloud of dust rose up as the tunnel collapsed. The dust particles allowed me to briefly notice the outline of someone before they retreated.

Moans and growls filled the air, and after watching so many movies about them I knew immediately what the sound was. Several hundred feet ahead I spotted dozens of shambling corpses that were slowly making their way towards us.

"Zombies straight ahead. Mages, use area-of-effect fire spells. Ikelos, have your imps do the same. Just like in the movies, aim for the head."

An arrow flew at me and I snatched it out of midair. The bolt dissipated in my hand as I scanned the area behind the growing herd of undead. My mages cast spell after spell, but it seemed like there was an infinite number of shuffling corpses as more and more filled the narrow corridor. My warriors hacked and slashed at any that drew close, but it seemed like there truly was no end in sight.

As I drew my swords to move into the fray, I felt like something was off. I had only used my speed once, but I felt like I had been fighting with all my abilities for hours. Each blade felt heavy in my hands and I sheathed them and moved back to my team. I opened my character menu and pulled up my active effects screen.

Four different hexes were displayed and I started to question how or when they had been cast on me until I realized that the surprise attack had been more than just a simple ambush. When I read the one called [Marked for Death], I now knew what the class Death Mark meant.

"Guys, I'm not going to be much help in this fight... That attack meant for Ikelos left four hexes on me. Right now I'm probably weaker than you guys. And I take more physical and arcane damage."

I pointed to my back and they all gasped.

"I'm guessing this skull mark thing is probably a bad thing then?"

"Yep. Whoever cast it on me can track my movements and they deal significantly higher damage to me."

"Shit..."

"Yep."

"How 'bout spells? Can you still use those?"

I ignited my fist in [Demonfire] and nodded.

"Alright, in that case... Here's what I'm thinking..."

Ikelos whispered in my ear and I smiled at him and nodded. A truly good tactician listens to others' ideas and then chooses the best course of action from there. His plan was risky, but it presented us with the best option. We all moved into position as my warriors and mages continued to plow through ranks of undead.

I remained stationary in the middle of my team, holding my arms out to the sides and my eyes closed in focus. Ghost, Ikelos, Lucifer, and my priestesses were channeling their MP into me, and I could literally feel the power flowing through me as I envisioned exactly what Ikelos had suggested. As my body absorbed more and more magical power, an immense pressure inside my core started to build. The feeling wasn't unlike the rising peak just before an intense orgasm. As the pressure grew, so did an intense heat emanating from my entire body.

"Ugh... Allie... it's getting a bit too hot... I'm starting to take damage even though my armor."

I nodded and opened my eyes. All around me the environment was swirling with color. I looked back at my team and studied them and the bright auras around them. Ikelos was surrounded by a neon green aura, Ghost with a rich purple one, and finally at Bray with his lack of an aura.

As I was turning back towards the shambling army of the dead, an overwhelming pink and black aura caught my eye. Her aura jumped and danced like flames, and it was so intense I couldn't look directly at her. The small Dark Pixie hovered in front of me and she smirked at my surprised look as if she knew that I was truly seeing her for the first time. She held a single miniscule finger to her lips and then pointed towards the enemy. I moved slowly and motioned for my demons to get clear.

I held up one of my hands and my entire arm ignited in bright blue fire. Motion behind the wall of zombies caught my eye and I focused on the jet black aura. What happened next felt like I had opened the flood gates to the immense power stored within me and it flowed like a rushing river. The entire corridor in front of me was engulfed in a column of fire that instantly incinerated everything in its path. The heat was so intense the armor on my arm up to my shoulder melted off my skin like hot wax, but the massive inferno coming from my hand still filled the subway tunnel.

After a few more seconds the flames weakened like someone had turned off my ignition source and I felt the last of my magical power drain from my body and my vision returned to normal. Instead of the overwhelming exhaustion I had been expecting, however, I felt like my body was suddenly filled with strength and vigor. I opened my character screen and saw that the hexes had been removed.

"Allie, you OK?"

"I'm more than OK. I'm pretty sure I nailed that hex mage with that attack. My strength and speed have completely returned. Although... I won't be able to maintain it for long. I think the only reason I'm still able to move is purely because of my demonic abilities. Once I run out of stamina, I will be more worthless than I was before."

"We'll just have to kick their asses before that then. Just say the word and we'll charge 'em."

Before drawing my swords I removed my disguise. It was time to show them the true strength of Demon Lord Allexus. I nodded to the others and my demons and we rushed ahead.

My huge attack had wiped out a large portion of the undead, but we still had to fight through a sea of them before we made it out of the tunnel. As we walked through the ruins of the subway station, a huge pile of bodies caught my eye. They were stacked in a way that looked like they were stuck together, and I had a really bad feeling about it. I held up my hand for the others to stop and we all remained motionless.

"Raize, now!"

Everything happened at once. The pile of corpses took shape into a hulking monster that had to be at least 20 feet tall. As the beast swung both of its arms down at us, a pair of crossbow bolts whistled through the air towards Ikelos.

I grabbed Bray and shoved him into our team's summoner while pushing Ghost to the ground beneath me and bracing my arms over my head in preparation for the tremendous attack. The projectiles struck Bray's armor and bounced off harmlessly before he and Ikelos crashed to the ground, and a huge shadow loomed over me as the monster's fists impacted against me.

I focused on everyone that had gotten me this far; Emily, Jade, Bray, Judas, Aaron, Spencer, and all my new friends, and I pushed with all of my might. I had started off as a solo player never needing anyone, but I had ended up meeting people I would always have as family and falling in love with someone I planned to spend the rest of my life with. My strength and dedication to fighting didn't come from my demonic body or my years and years of gaming; it came from the drive to protect these new people that had become so precious to me.

The force from my counter-attack against the hulking corpse creature's attack created a shockwave that ripped through the area. I watched as the beast's arm exploded in a shower of blood and gore, and I drew my swords and flew straight at it.

I tapped into that same fury that I had unleashed on Mellic, and slashed and sliced the monster relentlessly. Blood, bone, and viscera flew through the air as I shredded the creature, and it collapsed into small pieces around me. Still, my demonic body craved more. I spotted a heavily armored figure standing in front of a very pale figure, and she raised her lance and shield as she saw me coming.

"Too slow, Demonspawn filth!"

I zipped around her and slashed horizontally with both of my swords at the pale figure in long black robes. Instead of metal cutting through cloth and flesh, my blades cut into the armor and shield of the Heavy Lancer. I wasn't sure how I had somehow managed to attack the wrong target, but I sped towards the necromancer and attacked again; with the exact same result. I realized that the lancer must have some ability that allowed them to swap with someone when they get attacked, and this time I focused on the armored foe.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bray squaring off against a lightly armored character wielding a sword and shield and as he hammered against her shield with his huge axe I felt bad for her.

I turned my focus back to my own combat and moved to attack the lancer. Electricity arced through the air and struck the heavily armored figure in front of me. She twitched a few times as several more bolts struck her again and again. Ikelos, his summons, and my mages had used my vicious assault on the lancer as an opportunity to blast her with magic. She dropped to the floor and her weapons clattered on the broken tiles.

The pale figure tried lifting his hands to cast a spell, but he screamed in pain as both of his arms were cut off at the elbow. As my assassin moved behind her quarry to finish him off, I held up my hand. I moved very close to the kneeling Demonspawn and spoke softly.

"Your team is amazing. Well fought. I would love a chance for our clans to hang out outside of the arena. You guys are badass!"

"You... wiped... the floor... with... us... and we're... badass?! You guys... are... fucking... incredible. We never... stood a... chance."

"I thought you had us when you hexed me... But I think we got lucky with that fire spell and the tight spaces. If we had been in the open I think the battle would have gone very differently. Truly though... Good game."

He nodded slowly and gave me a weak smile.

"You... too."

I nodded to my assassin, and she slit his throat and let his body fall to the ground.

ROUND COMPLETE! WINNERS, THE LOST AND THE DAMNED CLAN (TEAM 1)! CONGRATULATIONS!

FINAL SCORES:

THE LOST AND THE DAMNED (TEAM 1): 100

MOONLIT BLACK CATS: -35

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With all of the clans assembled in the waiting area, we all watched as the enormous screen displayed the final scores. I was incredibly disappointed to see that my win over Aeryn's team had knocked them out of the top four, but he still seemed in good spirits when he saw that our clan's other teams were still on the top of the scoreboard.

Round 3 Rankings:

The Lost and the Damned (Team 1): 300 points