The Lost World Ch. 01

Rainer, when he was alone with his black appendages out, often attracted duel requests from those who wished to prove they were stronger than a black demon. He rarely accepted them, but when Rainer did, he dominated the duel. He also was recognized by many to be the Lord of Lust when he had his appendages out and was treated with utmost respect.

In order to avoid all of that, Rainer often kept his appendages in when he traveled in the city or beyond. Today, Rainer wished to have a fun day in the Capital of Lust. Even though he had lived here for a good half year (the days and years are longer in the Land of Lust), he still loved to explore this interesting land. There was always something around the corner that grabbed his interest. There was always something that blew his mind. And there was always something new to try or experience.

Rainer looked back at the two succubae that were lost in pleasure and lust, and smirked. He quietly opened the grand door to his room and exited himself.

"Ah, Rainer, shall we adjourn to the bath?" Asmodea finally removed herself from her long kiss with the cute Zazie and looked down at where Rainer should have been.

"...He disappeared, pity." Zazie sighed as her gaze followed the red succubus.

"He is just so shy, but that is what makes him so cute!"

"...I do not think what constitutes Rainer is the adjective of shy. Though I do admit that he tends to flee from situations like this quite often."

Asmodea nodded with closed eyes and a face filled with sarcastic seriousness. "Yes yes, maybe we will rectify that behavior of his someday. We should tie him up and..."

...

In one of the palace hallways, Rainer shuddered. "Someone is plotting something unpleasant." He shook off the unpleasant feeling as he walked through the dimly lit corridor.

In this world, there wasn't a thing known as electricity or light bulbs, thus convenient lighting wasn't as prevalent. Combatting this lack of light, the demons owned a magic lighting system in lieu of candles. The lights were automatically activated before a person entered the area where they were located, so it didn't resemble a haunted hallway littered with scary ghosts.

Not that he had any reason to be scared of such things anyways with him being an all-powerful demon lord. As he traversed the halls of the palace he lived in, he met various characters. Several servants, upon seeing Rainer, swerved to the side and bowed as his passed. Because he was naturally not used to such behavior, Rainer often dipped his head in a mutual hello. He was originally from a common human birth, so of course he wasn't used to ordering servants around and having them work to his every whim while bowing in respect.

Still, being in such a noble position had its perks. Free food and drink, the ability to whatever he wanted, and a life of near permanent relaxation.

"Ah, my lord, have you had a pleasant rest?" Another member of the Pillar of Lust, the Maturity of Lust, spoke to Rainer.

"As pleasant as it'll ever be, Caetorum. I'm not complaining or anything, but it gets pretty stuffy in there." Rainer liked talking with Caetorum, he was a type of person who would always listen to you and do what he could to help.

"I see, well, I will see what I can do about that. If you wish, I can have the roof taken off so you can enjoy fresh air while you sleep, of course I will make sure that the air is the perfect temperature for comfort." If he had a fault, it would be that he was too dedicated to Rainer, to dedicated in his job as a pillar member.

Caetorum was the sole male member of the Pillar of Lust, ever since the other male had died back in the rebellion. His most notable feature was his blindness, he was currently covering his eyes like usual with a white strip of cloth. He also, while being an incubus, had no wings. So he could not fly, though he replaced his ability to fly with his aptitude at climbing structures to their highest point despite his blindness. And while he was attributed in being the weakest member of the pillar (Caetorum himself admitted it), his skill and ferocity in battle when performing his duties were something to be feared.

"Uh, you don't have to go that far. I meant that the girls are practically smothering me when we sleep, though I'm exaggerating when I say that." Rainer pulled his hands up, as if trying to push away an enraged beast.

"I see, though I shall still reprimand Asmodea and Zazie and tell them to give you some room to breathe." While he said that, Caetorum revealed a rare smile and bowed his head in respect. "May I ask where you are headed to?"

"Just into the city again. I'd ask you not to follow me, but you'll still do so, won't you?" Yes, Caetorum was a little too responsible at times he rarely ever let Rainer had a chance to be alone.

"That is my job as a member of the Pillar of Lust, so of course. My four compatriots, with Miss Aureal excluded seem to be rather busy. Teras and Little Rouge have gone off to somewhere, so I cannot rely on them. It seems I have to take upon the job as your guard today."

Thankfully, Rainer had learned how to deal with Caetorum over time, by giving him an "important mission" with his authority as a Lord of Lust. "I understand that, but I have something I need you to do: Find strawberries. I haven't had them in a long time, so please find some strawberries or at least a decent equivalent." Rainer always made sure that his missions for Caetorum were completely useless in the grand scheme of things, and Caetorum ALWAYS pulled through.

"I see. I may need to infiltrate the human world for this. Do not worry, my lord, I shall succeed or my life is forfeit." With eyes filled with determination, Caetorum bolted into a full sprint down the corridor.

"Ah, you don't need to go to the human world, it's too dangerous... He's gone already, what the heck?" There was not a single demon in this land that had a distorted sense of values and ideals; it was strangely entertaining to see it too.

-

"Can I have a strawberry tart?" Rainer took a seat on a stool next to a classic bar. This was a restaurant called 'Humanesque' and it belonged to another strange friend of his.

"You always come to my place when you have a craving of human world edibles and potables. Can't you come over once just to talk?" The owner of the restaurant walked up to the head of the bar and slid a mug of strange concoction to the other side to a lazed demon. It missed the demon's hand and crashed on the ground. "Hey, Jahli, clean it up for me please."

The succubus named Jahli, a rather pretty chocolate skinned lady dressed in a skimpy dancer's outfit, rolled her eyes and began cleaning up the mess. Her tail lifted up the hem of her outfit showing off what she had to offer, resulting in the demon whose drink had fallen over to grope her behind much to Jahli's delight.

Completely ignoring that bit of commotion, the owner of the bar started mixing up a drink while he talked to Rainer. This incubus was named Emiel, a rather frivolous guy whom Rainer had befriended early on since he came to the Land of Lust. While he didn't know it at the time, Rainer soon learned that Emiel was the leader of a very secretive mercenary group called Huracan which had fought against Rainer during the rebellion. It switched sides and fought for Rainer within days of the siege and Emiel made his identity known to Rainer. He was a green skinned incubus skilled in elemental earth magic. Like he suggested earlier, Rainer often came to his restaurant in order to eat the familiar food Emiel offered, since his place specialized in human delicacies. It was a welcome boost to his sanity points whenever he ate a hamburger here.

"I've always been curious, but are you the one who cooks all this food? Or does somebody else make the meals."

"I can make them, but I've hired some able chefs in order to do the cooking for me." Emiel flipped a glass around his head and performed a small juggling act while he spoke. "Nearly everything related to humans have high market value, especially human slaves and souls. So of course it stands to be that human recipes have a unique taste that attracts many demons. Though I have to say that humans have an unusual sense of food in that nearly half of what they make is healthy and the other half is unhealthy. Gluttony demons especially love human food considering their Sin's nature, so I often find their kind in here quite a bit as tourists or whatnot."

"Well, it depends on the nation, really. Some nations prefer healthy cuisine rife with spices in order to enhance flavor while others, like the one I used to live in, loved unhealthy fast food. Basically, if it tastes good and you can eat it without having to wait too long to prepare it, then all the better. I lived by myself, so I indulged in that stuff quite often. It was cheap too."

"Hrm, I do hope that you have developed a taste for demon food though. Griar meat is by far the most popular and easily acquired, so we know a lot of ways to prepare it and enhance its flavor. Then there is Tanta meat, though while it isn't as popular, it has a unique sweet taste to it. We also have a lovely variety of edible plants... Though most of them were poisonous at one time before preparation."

Rainer made a mock disgusted face. "Well, this is a land of corrupting Sin, so I'm not surprised there. Still, I was genuinely surprised to find out that the Circles of Sin are more or less similar to Earth's countries in regards to diplomacy, economy, and way of life. Though demons are still driven by Sin, so we are largely different in a sense."

Their conversation of sociological philosophy continued for a while longer as Rainer partook of the drink Emiel had just made: a fizzy alcoholic beverage made with scotch. Rainer, while still technically underage back on Earth, regularly drank alcohol in the Land of Lust, though he still didn't care for the bitter taste and preferred some flavoring. Emiel always poked fun at him for that, but served it to Rainer anyways.

"Anyways, what are you planning to do today?" Emiel asked his lordly friend.

"You always point me to interesting places. I want to watch something interesting, got any ideas?"

Emiel often acted as Rainer's tour guide, despite Caetorum offering numerous times. "I do have one, as a matter of fact. Are you interested in a little blood and gore?"

"I've seen a lot worse, what do have for me?"

"There's an underground arena that is fairly popular in the city, it is located in the Tension district. It is actually illegally operated, going by the laws here, but it is still widely known. I'm sure if you said something, it would be immediately abolished, so why don't you go have a look see? Maybe you will have some fun seeing demons batter each other to pieces."

If Emiel mentioned this to Rainer while he was still human with human ideals, he would probably puke at the idea. However, being a demon has warped his sense of values. Rainer had realized this early one, but there was nothing he could do except for accepting the demonic world for what it is.

"I might as well, it sounds interesting... Like what the Roman coliseum used to be."

"That old thing? Man I loved that place. Heck, I even took out a few gladiators myself back in the day. Though a pretty strong angel showed up and stopped my fun unfortunately."

Curious, Rainer inquired after Emiel's time as a gladiator.

"There was a Roman senator who was an avid buyer of slaves and prisoners. He had a bad run of luck and lost quite a bit of his fortune after several bad gambles where his slaves died in the arena. I made him a deal: win back his fortune for his family as his personal gladiator for his soul. Luckily I had already gotten the soul before I was chased out."

Rainer nodded his head as he listened to the short story. "I see..." The two talked for a short while longer until Rainer said his goodbyes and left for the underground arena Emiel had mentioned.

The Capital of Lust was as grand and busy as always. If he had to mix two Earth cities together, he had to say the Capital of Lust resembled New York City and Abu Dhabi. Even saying that, the Capital of Lust was greatly varied in its architecture, using demonic styles and human world styles both at once in various districts.

Rainer made his way through the crowd until he reached what was known as the Tension district. "Though he said to go to the arena, he didn't say how to find it." Then he saw an unusually garbed demon.

Rainer could sense the Sin of Lust within the demon, so with the wings that made him an incubus. He wore a loose fitting set of chainmail with leather padding underneath for his joints. The demon had two swords belted at his waist, with several knives for throwing weapons on his belt. He held his horned helmet in his arms as he walked into a strange building.

The building resembled a public restroom on the outside, but it had a slim staircase heading down below. Two demons stood on both sides of the entrance to the building, standing guard for those who may wish the insides harmed.

(Perhaps that's the entrance to the underground arena... It's pretty open for an illegally run arena. I think'll check it out.) Rainer shrugged his arms into place and absentmindedly strode over to the building. Striding as if he owned the place, Rainer attempted to enter the building.

"Hold it. You seem young, but it does not matter if you wish to enter." One of the guards stopped Rainer by the shoulder and spoke authoritatively.

"Then how do I enter? This is the arena I've heard about right?" Rainer acted like a fresh soldier who wished to test his skills in an arena for money and honor.

"To all new faces, we just need you to pass a little test. Punch my friend here, and if you can make him budge a couple inches, we'll let you pass.

Rainer could instinctively tell that these two guards were no weaklings. They both have a decent level of power to them, though nowhere near the level of the pillar members. The second guard took a step forward and readied himself to be attacked.

"Just a punch? That'll be easy." Rainer had gained a large amount of confidence in his power; one had to be in order to win a battle.

"It won't be that easy, mind you. While of course there are many strong demons out there, Soan is valued member of the group we belong to, the Shirran."

The Shirran... Rainer had learned about them since he took on the position of a Lord of Lust. They were a group similar to the Mafia, but with demons and magic. Though their actions did have a hint of honor to them, so they weren't all that bad or hated among the demonic citizens of the capital.

The demon Soan cricked his neck and held his arms up. "Anytime."

"If he's strong, then I shouldn't hold back." Rainer pulled up the sleeves of his shirt and dramatically began winding his arm for a punch.

Soan and the other demon observed. They were interested in just how far this young demon's confidence could take him.

"Alright, here I... GO!" Rainer punched forward, displacing the wind around him in a miniature cyclone. His hand connected with Soan's guard and made it snap in two. The demon's arms were completely blown away as the punch continued onwards into his armored chest.

A loud crash could be heard, making all the nearby heads turn to see the scene. A young looking person had punched an armored demon through the small building's walls and past another set of walls where he rest in a crater of debris. Some demons whooped and hollered, cheering on Rainer while others shrugged and went on with their business, used to this occurrence already.

Rainer grasped his arm and stretched it around before returning his gaze to the first demon guard. "That do?"

Whether he was surprised or expecting the outcome, the demon showed no signs of emotion, although he did raise an eyebrow in curiosity. "Yes, head on though. Please enjoy the Shirran's capital arena." The guard stepped to the side and ushered Rainer down the stairs.

Interestingly enough, the stairs were decorated with numerous etchings of various names of demons. (Perhaps they are people who've fought or died in this arena?" Whatever the names meant, Rainer continued down the stairs.

...

There was a battle between two creatures. One was a demon of Lust, though not an incubus or succubus, thus he was wingless. The other was a feathered being with a beak and talons similar to a flying raptor, he was a member of the race of Tengu. The Tengu, Rainer had learned was a humanoid race that lived in the Empire of Envy.

They fought in bloody duel where neither side was without gruesome wounds. Though in the end, the Tengu nicked the wrist of the demon and sliced him across the neck with his weapon in one fell swoop.

"Eh, rather barbaric." Rainer commented innocuously.

"Then maybe ya shouldn't have come down here boy!" Rainer tried to identify the owner of this voice, a drunken incubus with two spears on his back.

Rainer ignored the retort and went back to watching the arena. The arena itself was an enclosed circular area at least fifty meters in diameter with a wall at least eight meters high. There was a metal barbed fencing so fighters couldn't flee prematurely; the fencing went up to the ceiling of the area. There were holes just large enough so demons could throw money awarding the winner for a spectacular fight. Apparently there were rules where you were not allowed to disturb the fighters with anything but vocal jeers and insults. There were fancy table and chair arrangements around one half of the spectator's part of the arena, so one could enjoy a nice meal or drink and converse with other spectators. The other half was filled with cheering and shouting demons, there were even a few gambling stalls one could bet at.

As for the entire room, the entire area was one giant room completely carved out of rock from under the Capital of Lust. Bright magical lighting hung from the ceiling in the form of stable chandeliers that didn't shake no matter the size of magical explosions from the arena. It wasn't a very attractive room, but who wanted an arena to be decorated with sweet smelling flowers and pretty paintings?

Rainer took a spot in the between the gambling and dining area where there a collection of rowdy and calm spectators. There seemed to be nearly every type of demon here, as far as Lust went. Some found a suitable partner and began flirting or groping one another while others shouted and watched in order to satiate their lust for blood. He even saw a succubus donned in an attractive set of Amazonian armor being coerced by several demons for a fine time in bed. She smiled and rubbed two of the demons on the crotch before following the rest through a doorway in the back of the room.

One sight he couldn't believe was actually quite a familiar one. Two beautiful succubae, which could blind any lusting eyes with their looks, sat together in an enclosed booth next to the arena in the middle of the dining section. They could easily watch the battles in the arena in their position, so they enjoyed blood and booze at the same time.

These two succubae went by the names of Teras and Little Rouge, members of the Pillar of Lust. Rainer could see a large group of demons wanting to converse with the two, but whenever one tried they were either rebuked by the two women's words or by a strange fan club which forced back any demon who tried to get too close.

(Let's join them...) Rainer subtly pushed his way through the crow until he reach the edge and came into the view of Little Rouge's eyes. She batted her eyelids at Rainer, as if inviting him to come hither. Rainer did exactly that and walked over to the booth, intending to sit next to Little Rouge who was sitting very close to Teras, close enough so that they begin molesting one another if they so choose.