The Lost Lord Ch. 23

Like he said, ten demons crept from the darkness of the night with their bows drawn and arrows nocked.

Lauren whispered something into Rainer's ears, "It would be a simple matter if you escaped yourself. I doubt they will harm me."

"You don't know that..."

"No, I don't. But as of now, it is either both of us are captured, and your identity will be found out and we will have no hope of winning. Or you escape and I am recaptured. I'll provide a distraction while you do so." Assured Lauren as she stood up without Rainer's support. Without Rainer's acknowledgement, Lauren immediately called upon one of her pacts.

Pact of the Nemean:

"I humbly call upon the pact with thy honored beast

The ferocious and mighty Nemean Lion that bows to none

Give me your roar, and may it brush away my foes."

The Pact of the Nemean not only granted Lauren a tough hide practically impenetrable by most physical objects; it also could give her the Nemean's fearsome roar.

Pushing Rainer aside forcefully, Lauren roared. "GET THE FUCK AWAY!" It was just four simple words, but to everyone else, it seemed like an entire paragraph considering how loud and long the roar lasted.

Just before Lauren roared, the demons released their arrows in order to stop Lauren's incantation, they failed. Both the arrows and demons were easily tossed backwards, getting launched at least more than thirty meters away. Yet one of the demons remained, the purple demon in a cultist's robe.

He smirked as if the roar was a calm spring wind, and fired a single spell.

"Force Bullet" The purple demon chanted the words for this spell. While not a complex spell to memorize and wield, it required more power than normal spells, as force spells are undaunted by any physical interaction except by what it hits.

Completely ignoring the massive wind pressure generated from the Nemean roar, the bullet found its way straight into Lauren's left shoulder.

"Kwah!" An incomprehensible shriek fell from Lauren's lips.

Her roar ceased and she fell to the ground, barely landing in Rainer's arms.

"You fucker!" Rainer glared venomously at the purple demon that was smiling evilly.

"Lord Arazra didn't say whether to keep the wench alive or not. Hence I see no reason in keeping her alive, you too, will follow her in death." Said the purple demon with heartless words as his smiled became even more twisted.

Rainer kept Lauren in his arms, holding her up as if she was only sleeping. He didn't know, or had time to confirm, but Rainer was incensed. "Not again... I am NOT LETTING THIS HAPPEN AGAIN!" He roared while staring at Lauren's face.

"Oh? And what are you going to do about- GAH!" The purple demon tried to taunt Rainer again, but he was silenced without hesitation by a fist grasping his throat.

Traversing the distance between him and the purple demon almost instantaneously, Rainer malevolently began to choke the purple demon. He even lifted him in the air as if the demon's weight meant nothing to Rainer's strength, this strength belonged only to black demons, and it was increased exponentially by his power as a Ruler of Sin.

Rainer's words transformed into a true demon, "Damn you... You have no right to cause harm to Lauren or I. As the Lord of Lust, I sentence you to death." Rainer wasn't currently in his right mind, it was as if he personified what demons were perceived as in the human world.

This would be the first absolute order Rainer gave as The Lord of Lust, an order of execution.

"What?! That's the Lord of Lust? No... The pretender is in the camp?!" These cries came from several of the soldiers from earlier and those who wandered here, drawn by the loud sounds.

Rainer confirmed these suspicions by completely unveiling his true guise, that of a rare black demon. His wings violently burst forth from his back, bending and distorting his armor. His tail pierced the metal plates, ripping through as if the armor was made of paper. Rainer's horns grew from his head, though they passed through spots uncovered by the Tarnhelm that was still on his head.

Several of the enemy soldiers cowered in fear, which many did when in the presence of a black or white demon. Even if their main enemy, the supposed pretender was before them, none of the common soldiers or officers that appeared in the scene could find the courage to stand and face Rainer, much less than even hold a weapon before him. Rainer was releasing a malevolent aura that terrified everyone.

"Y-You bastard! Don't even think you can win this war! You'll surely be dead before you can even leav- Aghk!..." The purple demon tried to threaten Rainer, but the grip around his neck was tightened.

Rainer, in his unstable state, chuckled and replied, "Do I care?" With those cold words, Rainer crushed the demon's neck and tossed him off to the side straight into several more demons that felt the full impact of the body. Dust and dirt flew up in the air as the bodies collided.

Several magical projectiles sped towards Rainer, some dark, some elemental, and some natural. However, their strength compared to Rainer's current power resembled an ant challenging an elephant, or even a single human challenging god himself. Rainer simply held his hand aloft and caught each of the projectiles in his hands, keeping them together and morphing them into one giant ball of dangerous energy. Without regard as to what happened, Rainer tossed the ball at the group who fired at him initially, who all fled as soon as they saw the difference in their power. Yet none of them could escape, any who challenged this insane being was immediately squashed; the fleeing mages were no different. The energetic ball made of several different types of magic didn't explode, instead it homed in on each mage and ripped through their body with momentum superior than that of a cannonball, limbs were severed and clumps of flesh disappeared.

Mainly out of fear and intense pressure, several soldiers tried to stand up against Rainer, hoping quantity trumped quality, it did not. Each of them were obliterated in some way or another. The chaos could be considered a gruesome piece of art.

Lauren, who had been unconscious the entire time, managed to open her eyes for a small sliver of seconds. She could see Rainer laughing maniacally as he slaughtered numerous demons. This was not Rainer, it couldn't be.

Though she had not much strength left, she tried to reach for Rainer's face with her trembling hands, shivering from weakness and fear. Her hand touched Rainer's face, which immediately halted its laughter and replaced it with a horrified frown. However, the contact didn't last long, as an explosion from one of Rainer's earlier attacks began, interrupting the contact.

Rainer, after hearing the explosion, managed to regain some of his senses. 'Shit, Lauren's hurt. I guess I know some healing spells, but I can't do it here.' Rainer looked for Lauren's pulse, he couldn't feel any blood flowing at first, but he was soon given some relief. 'Oh thank you, thank you, thank you. She's not dead yet... Yet.'

Rainer could hear cries and shouts as more soldiers flooded the scene. It was only a matter of time before more powerful foes like the powerful enemy commanders enter the area. "I'll annihilate all of you that get in my way-" Rainer shook his head several times in order to clear his mind, he still wasn't fully stable and it felt as if his mind was going to be overwhelmed by Sin at a moments notice.

Rainer completely ignored every soldier that attacked him as he sped off in a mad dash in order to find a safe haven where he might heal Lauren and prevent her incoming death. Thankfully she was unconscious, else she would be feeling great pain. The force bullet had hit her exactly where it would hurt the most in that region of the body, if she woke up while escaping, she would not go without pain.

"Just wait Lauren... I'll surely heal you, I'm not going to let you die, not the only other person with a semblance of humanity here along with me." It wasn't much, but some tears formed in Rainer's eyes. "If you die, I'll definitely be lonely here. If you die, you'll make a lot of people sad!"

-

The night passed without major incident. There were hardly any deaths, at none of significance. No terraces were taken. Even so, Arazra's forces sieged the seventh terrace without break. It wasn't until dawn that they finally broke through and took that terrace.

No major battles took place, neither were there any large confrontations between powerful foes or weaker cadres of soldiers.

The seventh terrace, modeled after Sasilith's seventh district, marked the halfway point of the war, at least chronologically.

"Have we closed up the secret passage successfully?"

"Yes, Caetorum. We noticed a large force originating from the eighth district engaged in a battle as well. I came here immediately upon being notified, I believe the group who is fighting the eighth district soldiers belong to Nergal, the leader of the fourth district."

Caetorum instantly stood up and slammed his hands down on the table he was at. If he had eyes, they would be wide open in surprise and glee. "That's tremendous news! Finally, reinforcements relatively close by! It's a pity we can't bring them in via the secret passage. Even in this situation, we must keep its exact whereabouts and procedure to open it an absolute secret for the young lord. We'll have to trust Nergal to make the right decision here. Out of all the demons living in the Land of Lust, excluding the humanoid harpies, his troops are the fastest flyers."

The contents of the room were included each of the Pillar of Lust (excluding Little Rouge who was too busy enjoying herself on the battlefield), the second in command of the city guard, Luce, Aureal, and Nerissa. Sitri was unaccounted for and was assumed lost on the battlefield, though not dead. Reginald was also fighting alongside Little Rouge, making an earnest effort and trying to gain all the trust he could. Emiel was currently coordinating the troops, once his identity was known, everyone acknowledged his skill as an officer and allowed him current control. They only trusted him because it would be impossible to switch allegiances twice.

Also, they wanted to discuss a different matter, one that was recently brought to them. Due to the sudden news of reinforcements, Caetorum had yet to address the issue. Caetorum, thanks to training his senses, he had gained the ability to sense individual demonic Sin to a certain extent. And he had sensed a massive Sin a good distance away. It was the largest he had felt in eighteen years, especially at that distance. It only meant one thing, a Ruler of Sin, and a Lord of Lust at that. Yet why was that out there? Why was Rainer all the way out past the city?

"Now to discuss the reason why the young lord has completely bypassed the invaders and entered their camp. Is it because of the disappearances of Sitri and Miss Lauren?" Asked Caetorum out loud.

A rather flustered Nerissa spoke first, "I knew it! I shouldn't have left my fiancée behind. I should've stayed and nursed him..."

Next to her, Aureal simply nodded in agreement and patted her back. "I would not presume for a second that Master is even in a bad position. As you should all know, a Ruler of Sin, backed into a corner, is like a wild beast. They can cause unbelievable damage. Considering the similar strength level between them and the Archangels I am familiar with, I will hope for the best."

"Quite right."

"They are that unreasonable..."

"What's the point of even considering a straight up fight with them?"

As everyone in the room each put in a comment denoting the various quirks of Rulers of Sin, the conversation turned back into a more serious tone.

"You said Zazie was located inside the city for a time? Before the first terrace was overrun?" Questioned Asmodea.

"Yes. She managed to baffle my senses with one of her strange abilities." Confirmed Caetorum.

"That's not easily done. We know so little about her. If I had to harbor a guess as to her intentions at that time, it was most likely to capture Lauren. Though I would have no idea why." Hypothesized Asmodea.

Then an unexpected voice joined in, "If what you say turns out to be truth, then it should be fairly obvious. Humans in the seven circles are quite rare, and those that are here usually become slaves. It would be prudent, and considering the caution of Arazra, to regard an unknown as a possible threat to be immediately eliminated. If he has killed her... I shan't let that slide."

"With your wounds, Luce, I doubt that will happen, at least not by your hands. Xizaen did a number on you..." A slightly sympathetic voice could be heard from Asmodea.

Luce ground his teeth at the biting truth.

"Even so, we can't do anything about that at the moment. We've lost more than half the city. All of us are needed in defense. The Lord, with his strength, will be more than enough to keep himself safe. He's probably even rescuing the witch girl as we speak. How... Manly."

No one in the room could tell if Teras was being sarcastic or not.

-

"Fuck... Alright, we should be safe here." Breathed Rainer with extreme relief. He had successfully escaped the camp holding the forces of the district soldiers of Arazra's army.

He refused to even look back or think back on that experience... It was greatly unpleasant. 'I truly was not myself back there. I could tell what I was doing and it really felt like I was acting on my own accord. Just what in the, I should ask him about that.'

Rainer laid Lauren, who he was currently carrying like a newly wedded husband and wife, on a flat rock with a bed of soft moss. He had entered a small cavern, which didn't reach too far, located on the opposite side of the mountain range the city was between. Though Rainer had no idea where he was, as he ran blind when escaping the camp. He was most worried about Lauren's safety.

Right after giving Lauren a place to rest, Rainer searched his mind for various healing spells. Thanks to his demonic memory, he had a vast library of spells, which he memorized from the Grimoire. However, what he had memorized barely amounted to a fourth of what was inside that book. And there was that strange presence that lived in the book.

Healing a puncture wound like Lauren's was quite easy, at least closing up the wound was. The hard part was that the force bullet was still circulating energy around its epicenter, and such a phenomena was much harder to erase.

He needed some help.

'Ask, and I shall deliver. That sounded more serious than usual, right?' That same frivolous voice that belonged to the presence known as Asmodeus spoke to Rainer right as he summoned the Grimoire.

"You're bloody annoying, you know that?" Lamented Rainer instantly.

'Don't be like that. Oh, it seems you've awakened to a certain power and process all young little Rulers of Sin go through.'

"What? Just what are you talking about?" Since Lauren's current condition has stabilized, Rainer talked leisurely though with slight displeasure at the trivial sounding voice.

'You are assimilating my power at a faster rate than I expected. I never thought you would awaken to my persona, [Asmodeus]. Good goin' there, guy!'

"[Asmodeus]]?" Rainer wondered, completely bewildered.

'Eh, well I guess I should explain this to you. Since only the Ruler of Sins have any knowledge about this ability. And because of that, I'll relish the number of ways I can annoy you if you ever relinquish this valued knowledge to anyone but the next Lord of Lust of your choosing or not of your choosing.' Since it was only a voice that came from the Grimoire and entered his head, Rainer could almost feel Asmodeus take a deep breath. 'The original Rulers of Sin: Lucifer of Pride, Mammon of Greed, Leviathan of Envy, Beelzebub of Gluttony, Satan of Wrath, Belphegor of Sloth, and of course the star of them all... Aaaaaasmooooodeeeeeuuuuuusssss of LUUUUUUST!'

"Die."

'I already have! Well, getting on with things... It is physically impossible for any demon other than ourselves, or fallen angel in Lucifer's case, to hold our level of power. And without that power, how could the demon races fight against the level of power resting in Heaven? Thus we devised a powerful spell and recited it, which killed all of us except for Belphegor and I. This spell allowed us to move our power to suitable vessels, ones we chose and those they chose after them. After all, it is only right that the Ruler of Sin of each circle holds the most power, whether for dastardly or benevolent means.'

"That almost sounded sincere."

'Hehihiha. You really crack me up, I'm glad I chose you. Well, time passed and Belphegor eventually died thanks to a certain Archangel, leaving me the sole survivor of the original Sins. Many millennia passed and everyone soon forgot my name and that I even was the original Sin of Lust, Asmodeus. It brings such tears to my eyes! Sniff sniff.'

"You should've died long ago you old fart."

'Well aren't you a bundle of joy! Basically, when you were a different person, you were bringing my full power into your body. It's not always a pleasant process, as your personality often changes with your body. Back before, many millennia ago, I was not the heartwarming and gracious man I am now. You can see that, right?'

"Get blasted by angels, bastard."

'I recommend that you do not rely on the persona, [Asmodeus] too often. However, considering this war, you may need to use it again. As for how to activate [Asmodeus]... I have no idea, honestly. It's not like I've ever needed to do it before considering I really am Asmodeus. Oh well, you need a way to dissipate that force bullet right? The spell's on page four hundred thirty-five. There, I was serious enough, right? Mind shooting a bit of praise for me?'

"You've done everyone a favor by finally dying."

'Ah... Hah. Ciao!'

As quickly as his voice appeared, his voice vanished, Rainer was overjoyed.

Despite how much Rainer despised Asmodeus, his words and advice was sound. Rainer immediately turned to the aforementioned page, since this was part of the Grimoire Rainer had yet to venture into, he immediately set work to memorizing all of the spells on the page, including the one that erased force energy.

Force energy was a quite a malicious type of magic. Simple spells involved pushing and pulling objects around, which includes telekinesis in its mix. However, a mage experienced in force magic could memorize and wield spells that allow the energy to perpetuate instead of immediately dissipating after the desired action was done. Basically, normal force magic involves pushing and enemy back and the force wave would disappear afterwards, abnormal force magic involves releasing a wave or form of force energy and its existence would be sustained for as long as the caster's magical energy could be drained. It was quite a feat that the force bullet had yet to disappear.

However, thanks to magic's adaptive flow, spells were designed to counter perpetual force spells, mainly manually dissipating the spell. This was what Rainer desired to do.

Before, Rainer had no idea how to do it, because he had yet to memorize the spell, but now he read the page containing the spell and the rest is child's play.

"Just why is it like this?" Rainer wondered to himself. The only magic he could control without the assistance of the [Emperor] was any magic outside of combat. Deciding not to dwell on the matter, Rainer set to work on healing Lauren.

"Force Disruption

Thy pure, basic energy

Shall no longer remain in this world."

This spell was quite simple to cast, and not nearly as draining as some of the other spells. However, it required Rainer to spend all of his concentration on the force bullet embedded in Lauren's shoulder. It was writhing and spinning uncontrollably, ripping apart any blood and flesh that got in its way. While Rainer could close the wound to stop bleeding, the bullet was causing large damage on the inside, and now it no longer exists.