How I became the Empress of Hell Arc 02 Ch. 14-20

After I somewhat recovered from the shock due to my new skills, Judas showed me several ideas for skills that would work in conjunction with my other 'Corrupted Skills.' He came up with a healing spell that would draw energy from enemies I struck, and a spell that would absorb a lot of the damage from offensive spells and turn it into MP.

"Judas, one thing I've been wondering since my fight with Gehenna was regarding her spell casting. Instead of casting them normally she just said the name and it cast automatically. What's that about and how does it work?"

"[Power of the Spoken Word]. Or instant casting. It uses a great deal more MP to cast each spell, but they cast instantly. It's extremely effective for fast paced fights and spells with long casting times, but it also broadcasts exactly what spell you're using. If one is as overwhelmingly powerful as Dark Empress Infernos, however, it doesn't matter if the enemy knows what she's casting or not, cause either way they're probably dead."

"Heh. No kidding. But... I want it. I like the idea of instant casting things, but I also appreciate the intimidation factor it presents."

I took a few steps back and assumed a threatening pose.

"[Corrupting Fire]. Fwoosh! And then a huge fireball appears in my hand as I glare at them menacingly. I mean... It certainly worked in my fight with her. The second time she called out [Black Flames of Damnation] I knew I had to react defensively or die instantly."

He grinned wickedly and his eyes glowed in the red light.

"That would be truly intimidating. I'll add it to the list now. Anything else?"

"Enchantments and Hexes would be nice. Let's see... Anything else? Hmm..."

With my eyes closed I ran through a list of roles that I could fill and any possible skills I might need to add.

I have heavy damage dealing covered more than anything else. With the added heavy armor and shield I can easily switch over to tanking, but additional damage mitigation would be a good idea. Maybe some sort of hex that takes effect when the enemy strikes me. Oh! I have the perfect idea!

"According to the Corrupted Weapons info, only myself and those who are Bonded or Bound by Corruption can use them. I need you to create a spell that causes any weapons that hit me to begin Corrupting. The more they hit me the more their weapon becomes useless. It would be extremely effective for tanking."

He nodded and drummed his fingers in thought.

"I think I can make an enchantment with those effects. I'll call it [Thorns of Corruption]."

I had to think about the name reference for a few seconds, but I smiled when I figured out why he named it like he did.

"You can't touch a rose without first dealing with the thorns. I'm so trying to avoid singing the song Every Rose Has It's Thorn."

The look of puzzlement on my retainer's face made me snicker and I waved my hand and shook my head.

"1980's song back in my world. Pretend I didn't say anything."

He shrugged and went back to typing. I closed my eyes and returned to my mental list.

Hexes... Hexes... Hmmm... What about something like what that Death Mark guy had? Hmmm... I don't want to outright copy that idea, but... Oooo... Corrupted Enfeeblement. Heh. Feeeeble. That's a funny word.

Ugh... focus Allie!

Corrupted... Oh fuck me... What should I call it?

OK... I want it to apply a hex on them every time I strike them with physical damage that causes their stats to keep lowering...

Corrupted Ruination.

Oh. My. God! That sounds fucking epic!

I told Judas my idea and he agreed that both the spell effect and the name seemed incredibly vicious. Once he put the spell in the list he showed me a new spell that was available to add. I nodded immediately when I read the name: [Corruption Specialization]. It would allow me to refine any skill up to three times despite having skills in all three paths. As I started to tell Judas that should be all, I nearly smacked myself on the forehead as I realized I had a significant lack of healing skills beyond the one that healed only me.

"If I'm going to fill all roles, I need to add some healing skills that can heal others. I'm totally open to suggestions, as I rarely play a healer."

"I believe it's going to be difficult finding healing skills that coincide with your [Corruption Specialization]. Difficult... but not impossible. Give me a moment or two."

I watched him drum his fingers for about half a minute before he looked up at me excitedly. He typed something quickly and showed it to me with a look of pride. My eyes widened and my head turned to the side in confusion.

"How does [Corruption's Caress] fit in with my whole badass motif I have going? Seems almost gentle in comparison to something like [Corrupted Ruination]."

"Let me ask a counter question in response, m'lady. How exactly did you gain your Corruption ability and how have you used it on others? Besides... Would any besides those who know you truly want to be teased sensually by anything claiming to be corrupted? It may sound overtly proactive in nature... but that's the point."

My mouth opened and shut a few times as I failed to find any fault in his logic. I was essentially a sex demon, as it was the entire source of my power. Maybe Lucifer's initial assessment of me hadn't been too far off. I was a sort of perverted futanari succubus made from strange enchantment magic. As I ran that through my mind another thought occurred to me. It should have been something I considered before when recreating my body, but it was only the memory of the tiny Dark Pixie's words that forced me to remember.

"Judas, I need one quick modification to my character's body. Totally forgot about my creator's little 'addition' between my character's legs. Can you make it so that the new body still has it, but only when I want to?"

He looked at me with a blank stare and I couldn't tell if he was about to laugh or make some sort of completely out-of-character comment. He gave me a single nod then went back to work. I knew he'd tell me what he was thinking if I asked him to, but truth be told I was more than a little embarrassed about asking my demonic equivalent of Alfred Pennyworth to give me a magical cock that I could summon or dismiss at will. I tried to put it out of my mind as I refocused on possible healing skills.

"Mmm... I'm getting an idea for a possible protection enchantment that I can cast on others. It will provide both physical and Arcane protection equal to my own."

"Given your considerably high level plus whatever bonus experience you gain from the Siphon Shard, that would be a powerful boon indeed. Am I correct in assuming you haven't thought of a name?"

I shook my head sighed.

"Hmm... a rather ironic and contronymic name would be [Blessings of Corruption]."

"Contra-what now?

"A contronym. Hmm... Also called an oxymoron, I believe?"

"Ohhhh! I get it now! Yes! I love it! Judas, you are amazing at this."

He smiled and I could have sworn I saw his cheeks deepen in color with something akin to a blush, but he simply nodded his head once in acknowledgement.

"Thank you, m'lady. It's easy to find inspiration with regards to one such as yourself."

Now it was my turn to actually blush, and I did so long as my demonic body would allow.

"You could always use a blood magic spell like Lady Jade. They are quite powerful and would provide a substantial healing boost."

I thought about it for a moment and played a scenario through my head. I use the spell to massively heal another party member, then switch to offense and let my [Corrupted Regeneration] heal me back to full. Sounds doable. Plus in lower level dungeons I will have a huge surplus of HP.

"I like it. And I even have a name for it. [Blood of the Corrupted One]. I took a page from your book like your last suggestion and decided to pervert the whole sacramental blood of Jesus thing."

He laughed a truly evil wicked sounding laugh and grinned with a smile that showed off his fangs.

"Given the name you gifted me with, I think it is truly fitting."

I hadn't made the connection before, but when he pointed it out I reacted much in the same manner. It was fun coming up with names for skills that were dark and demonic in nature. In games that allowed you to choose the morality for your character, like being Lawful/Good or Neutral/Evil; I normally had difficulty playing on the 'Evil' spectrum of things. I considered myself an optimistic and friendly person, so I couldn't truly put myself into the mind of a character who had no qualms about killing someone just because they felt like it. Playing this game had shifted my perceptions a bit, but if I had to place Allexus on the moral spectrum I still considered her to be Chaotic/Good. Despite being a demon she wasn't truly evil. She may do things for personal gain or for pleasure, but never at the cost of friends or hurting someone who didn't deserve it. She was selfless in combat with regards to her allies and led only out of necessity, never because she wanted to.

Before you ask, yes... I was certainly no stranger to Dungeons and Dragons. ^.^

As I read and reread the list of skills, I felt like the only thing I needed to truly complete the new version of Allexus was a fitting class name. I needed to look no further than the name of my new World Tier spell. I couldn't stop from grinning as Judas double checked everything once more and then handed the Siphon Shard to me. I shattered it as he instructed and a blinding light filled the room. When my vision cleared I found myself looking up at Judas. It was unusual to see everything from my new perspective, but I felt like I was truly brimming with a power strong enough to shatter planets. I stared at my reflection for a moment and gave myself a once over before equipping the dress Judas had made me.

"You look absolutely ravishing, Lady Allexus. I am honored you chose me to help you."

"The honor is mine, Judas, I truly couldn't have done it without you."

I stood on my tiptoes and gave him a small peck on the cheek before opening the door and walking out of my bedroom. Judas had apparently summoned all of the clan members and they looked at with wide eyes of shock and surprise. My retainer stepped forward and spoke in a loud authoritative voice.

"May I present Lady Allexus, Demon Overlord of Corruption."

They stood a moment and gaped at me before rushing towards me and inspecting me closely. After several minutes of compliments and questions, we made our way back to our banquet hall.

"You look amazing babe! I am loving the real you. I mean... I liked your body before, but... I fell in love with this sexy woman here."

"Allie, I have a question that all of us are probably dying to know..."

"What's up Spence?"

"What the hell is your level?! All of us just see five question marks."

"Wait... what?"

I pulled up my character menu and my eyes went incredibly wide and my pulse started to race.

Ho! Ly! Shit!

I was now level 184! With all of the Level up! items I obtained during the tournament and the absolutely massive bonus from the Siphon Shard, I had tripled my level just since yesterday. I would have felt faint if not for my demonic body's typical response to any emotion seeming even remotely weak.

I checked the time and saw it was rapidly approaching midnight. My real body would definitely be hungry and tired, and the game would force me to log out if I played too long at detriment to my health, but I felt like I had to take a quick 'test drive.' Nialla also wanted to try her new body out, so after showing my clanmates my level and stats, we all headed out to a barren wasteland area close to the castle.

Nialla's new body was frighteningly fast, which came as no surprise given her element attunement to Lightning. Her abilities had shifted to an unarmed fighting style mixed with powerful lightning spells. The most impressive thing, however, was the more lightning she used and absorbed from her own attacks, the more her body shifted into that of a monstrous blue and white tiger. When she had finally completed her transformation, her fur rippled with electric discharge as she bounded over to us. While even the biggest tigers came up to a six foot human's chest when on all four legs, Nialla had to be at least 12 or 13 feet tall. I felt absolutely tiny next to her, but she laid down next to me and I tentatively reached out one hand and started stroking a spot behind her ears. My skin tingled from the contact, and I nearly yanked my hand back when she started to emit a soft growling sound. Bray laughed as he started running his hand through her fur behind her other ear.

"Relax, Allie. She's purring."

"Oh. It just sounded... well. Not like a house cat."

"She is so much more beautiful than some boring house cat. Even more than a regular tiger. Most veterinary students would kill to be this close to a majestic creature like her."

She pushed her head into his hand and pawed at the ground. Despite the warrior's massive size, the giant tigress dwarfed him in comparison. Nialla pushed against him harder and forced him to his feet. He gave her a look of confusion as she moved her huge head down between his feet and then suddenly shot forward underneath him. Bray suddenly found himself on her back, riding like he was on a horse.

"W-whoa! What the hell?! Wait? Are you serious?"

The blue and white tiger then did a very human thing and nodded her head.

"What am I supposed to hold on to?"

An idea occurred to me and I cast my armor summoning spell. I envisioned a sturdy saddle made for the enormous tiger and a beautiful black leather saddle with lots of padding appeared in my hands. I walked over and spoke up to the pair.

"Nialla, can you open your character menu? I want to give you this. It's temporary and won't last long if I'm not using it, but if it works we'll have Judas fashion you one."

She nodded and accepted the gift. The saddle appeared beneath the warrior and featured a grip for him to hold onto.

"Now this is more like it! OK, Nialla, I'm ready as I'll ever be. Just... take it slow. K?

She looked over at me and I swore she smirked as she bolted forward suddenly. Lightning sparked behind her with every step she took as she raced across the open area with incredible speed. Even my keen eyes had trouble keeping up with the pair as she moved at literally lightning speed.

She came to a stop a short ways away and we heard Bray shouting excitedly. We all laughed and cheered as they walked back over and she bowed her head over dramatically. She laid back down so Bray could get off and the saddle disappeared. She let out a deafening roar that made the air around us shake and hum with energy, and bolt after bolt of lightning shot up towards the sky. We looked back at Nialla who had returned to her normal catgirl state and she slowly stood up. The sexy blue haired demon sauntered over with a contented look on her face and threw her arms around me for a second before pulling away.

"Uh... what was that for?"

"It's a thank you! For making me like this. What a rush!! I fucking love this body! That. Was. AWESOME!"

I smiled at her and she winked back in a playful manner. She ran over to Bray and Spence and chatted for a moment before everyone turned towards me. I sighed as I guessed it was my turn for a skill demonstration and took a step forward.

"OK. First off, I want to tell you about my new abilities we discovered when remaking my character. First off, my Touch of Corruption has changed into Aura of Corruption, which brings me to my new skills. Every person I've... um... corrupted with um-"

Bray thankfully interpreted what I was saying and interrupted me.

"You mean everyone you've fucked?"

I blinked at the comment, but sighed and nodded.

"Yes. That. Everyone of you granted me a new ability. And everyone else I... fuck... will only increase my power. With that in mind, I chose and created skills so that I could fill any role in combat. I-"

Emelia placed her hand on my arm suddenly.

"Babe. Just shush and blow some shit up already."

I leaned over to kiss her and then spread my wings. I launched off the ground until I was a hundred feet or so in the air and flew a ways away from the group.

"[Corrupting Fire]."

A brilliant ball of fire ignited in my hand and I looked down at the barren wasteland below me. I hurled the fireball and watched it blaze towards the empty space and impact with a startlingly massive explosion.

"[Coldfire]."

White flames spread from my fingertips and formed into a ball of strange fiery energy. I could feel the cold radiating from it, but it still flickered and blazed like a normal fire. I opted to not try and understand the chemically impossible creation in my hand and instead I tossed it towards the large crater I had made. Another ridiculously large explosion followed after the spell struck the ground, and a large ring of ice remained afterwards.

"[Blastburn]."

A purple beam of energy shot from my hand and lanced towards the area next to the frozen crater. With a brilliant purple explosion it hit, and it blazed into a beautiful violet colored fire. Sparks of energy danced around the flames for a moment before it faded and then winked out.

I figured the rest of my spells weren't as flashy, so I folded my wings and flew back towards the group. They all looked like they'd seen something horrific as I landed before they broke into applause. I curtsied a few times and walked closer to them. We chatted for awhile about my impressive display and about my other new skills before we headed back to the castle to call it a night. As I went to log out Emelia placed her hand on mine.

"You may strongly want to consider looking into a power limiter like Gehenna talked about. If that was just a simple low powered spell, I can't even imagine the level of destruction from you going all out."

I tapped my nose a few times and then nodded.

"Yeah... you're right. I'll look into it first thing tomorrow. K?"

"Message Gehenna for suggestions before you log out. See you in a few."

She kissed me deeply and then disappeared.

I sent a message to Gehenna asking where I could get a power limiter and informing her of my decision to follow her advice. I looked once more at my new character's body and then logged out.

2.20: Arc 2 Finale

Despite my claims of being a light sleeper, being wrapped in Emily's arms had a way of keeping me drifting in blissful slumber until well after noon. By the time I woke up it was nearing 1:30 in the afternoon. I blinked at the rays of sunshine peeking through the curtains on her window, and glanced back at the sleeping form of the amazing woman beside me. She looked so peaceful as she slept, and with the way her body pressed against mine I could tell she was truly content.

Her question from the night before echoed in my head, and I asked myself the same thing. How could someone I knew for such a short amount of time mean so much to me? If you had told me two weeks ago that playing Holy Damnation would lead to me finding the love of my life, I would have referred you to the nearest hospital for psychiatric evaluation. But laying here, in a cozy college dormitory with paper thin walls and hundreds of people I'd never met in my life, I had discovered true happiness. I would be perfectly happy to just lay here for the rest of my life. Especially when light kisses on my back signaled that my fiancée was awake.

I turned and faced the gorgeous woman with short black hair. Her deep brown doe eyes with a faint almond shape looked into mine and caused me to smile warmly.