The Wielder of Death Magic

The prince of gambling and lust ambled through, the sidewalk, filled with families of various races, glanced at the Fairy River, a flow of water in which lights were placed. The holographic technology provided by the Elon’s dynasty greatly influenced the name. Bemused by the sight, he stopped atop a slightly crowded arched bridge, “-beautiful isn’t it?”

“Very much so,” replied Kul, “-come on, we ought to move.”

“Wait up,” puffed another figure, “-you guys walk too fast, what’s the deal?”

“Starix, the choice was yours,” firmed Kul, “-we gave options, walk or drive, you chose and now suffer.”

“Come on,” she pled, “-I didn’t think the place would be so far out.”

“Well, no use complaining,” shrugged the prince, “-let’s go.”

.....

Soon, the landmark before the den lit in the distance. The building seemed to be lively; for once, very seductively dressed ladies prowled the streets. They hunted no matter the gender.

“Look at you,” said a bigger looking man, “-are you free?” he obnoxiously wrapped his hand around her neck, the lass, glanced up invitingly. “-How deep is your pocket,” her fingers strolled along his legs and to the stomach.

“Very deep,” he replied in a fluster.

“Follow me inside,” the duo soon disappeared.

“Was that?”

“Correct,” said Asmodeus, “-welcome to Raven’s property.”

“The seductresses sure are hard at work,” she replied, “-are they using telepathy or what?”

“Aphrodisiac, my dear, tis their scent,” replied Kul, “-they are the best at playing on a person’s vices. A few minutes later, the scattered crowd took notice of the trio and swarmed Asmodeus, “-welcome back, master,” they purred.

“Not in public,” the gates shut and the outside lights dimmed. Potentially aroused customers were distraught at the sudden closure. A horde of lust-driven silhouettes scattered for the brothels.

“The house wins,” echoed, “-come on,” followed the sigh of disbelief. He turned to the play area, the ladies made for the corridor.

“Asmo,” hailed a private table.

“Head of the Jonia family, how goes it?” an infectious smile conquered the table.

“Very well,” he replied and double-tapped the table.

“Long time no see,” returned another.

“I see the top of the family is present today, will the lady not get angry?”

“My wife’s always angry,” returned a distant voice, “-we’re in the middle of a divorce case. No matter the pressure, she’s adamant on leaving,” the other shook heads to say, ‘-don’t probe further.’

“Well, what can I say,” he gestured a butler.

“-Yes?”

“Get a bottle of the best ale we have; I’ll sponsor this table for the night.”

“Really?” the faces lit, “-you’re the best, Asmo!”

“No worries,” he shuffled to Palla, stepson to Markus Jonia, the head of the family. The cards weren’t flipped yet, “-word of advice, fold this around and go all in the next.” Baffled at the comment, he chose to obey. The interaction outlasted its welcome, and thus, he locked eyes with the bar and slid onto the stool, “-the usual.” The room felt bigger, an illusion from the many members, high-stakes players faced one another in life-changing hands. ‘-Current heads of Jonia,’ the glass of alcohol slid over, ‘Markus and his sons, Franklin, Squando and Palla,’ the butler from before arrived with a lusciously dressed bottle – the whole room enviously watched, ‘-addicts to the God’s ale,’ he sipped, ‘-they sell and don’t consume. The taste of the finest ale is enough to keep ’em bound to us.’ The stairway stumbled, an intoxicated man clambered down, the high was much, no sense of self-respect was spotted. No pants, a half-heartedly buttoned shirt, and a punchable face. The visitors next room over, a place of lesser challenge and stakes, took notice and hid, ‘-there goes another one,’ they thought.

‘I told them to keep the pleasure at a minimum,’ he stared at the ceiling, ‘-my girls can’t help it.’

“YES, I WON!” cheered Palla, “-I WON THE POT.”

“Congratulations,” applauses went around the room, “-Palla of the Jonia family has won 530,403 Exa, the biggest pot tonight,” said the dealer, “-by the rules, you may take the challenge to double the money or continue.”

“I’ll take the challenge,” the words brought fellows together in the hall. The challenge was simple, three dart-throws under the pressure from a lady of the house and the purest ale available. In comparison, the one brought earlier, fetches in the ten of thousands a bottle. A single shot of the purest can fetch five-times said price.

‘Come on Palla, you can do this,’ he stood at the end of the hall. A crowd amassed to see a rare challenger. Soon enough, a very fine lady walked down the stairs with ale in hand, her beauty was on another level, “-Goddess Raven,” came waves of cheers, “-goddess Raven, goddess Raven.”

“Asmo, can you not do your friend this favor, I want to know her...” begged Markus.

“No, no,” the fingers shook childishly, “-the goddess of Raven is for display only. After all, the lass my closest confident, her beauty is divine, and I won’t allow any to sully her fair skin. Besides, I don’t want anyone else to die.”

“Die?”

“A deadly poison my friend. She’s very hungry, once her sight is set on a man, there’s no salvation. Death will come after pleasurable torture, don’t get me wrong, she may look like a jewel, an ornamental dagger, sharp and relentless.”

“It makes her more attractive.”

“Whatever you say.”

‘Why am I getting flustered?’ the lady approached and held a seductive smirk, ‘-she’ll eat me,’ he gulped, ‘-don’t look in her eyes, I’m scared she might turn me to stone...’

“Here little sheep,” a gentle circle, “-take a sip and shoot,” her lips drew to his face, “-don’t miss, if you hit, I’ll reward personally.”

Eyes shut, he downed the first shot, ‘-No... my vision, what’s this sense of pleasure, I feel elated...’

“Take the shot,” said a whisper. The first dart fired and fell, it didn’t reach the board. Another shot meant another sip, the more he drank, the deeper the consciousness faded, ‘-I got this,’ he threw, “-yeah!” returned the crowd, “-he managed to hit the wall.”

‘The last try,’ the head barely kept straight, *crash,* the knees buckled, the surrounding grew distant, ‘-I feel nothing.’

“Good try kid,” exhaled the crowd.

“I’ll take him upstairs,” said Asmo, “-return to the games.”

“Alright,” said Markus, “-come on everyone, in celebration of my step-son lasting two drinks, the nights on me boys, have at it!”

“YEAHHHHH,” the corridor cleared.

“By all means, take your time,” returned the lady.

“Oh please,” he knelt and helped the man up, “-what did you add this time, Medusa?”

“Nothing much,” she winked, “-a little splash of my charm. About our promise, when can I meet the master?”

“Later,” they climbed, “-I’ll introduce you later, for now, take care of this man.”

“Asmodeus,” stormed Kul, “-we have trouble,” she dashed down the stairs, “-enemies from an unknown source. Report to éclair, I’ll take out the trash.”

“Be careful.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be defeated ever again,” the door barged opened to a clear night. The supple scent of intent, she took to the skies, ‘-I was right, someone’s spying on us. Nothing’s changed, we’re still weak, how many gangs will it take?’

“You guys ready?” a narrow alley held fighters. A scouter hid in the shadow of the night, “-we’re ready to storm the den. Team A and B, ready weapons. Team C, start the distraction.”

“MURDER!” raged deeper inside the district, “-ACTIVE SHOOTER,” panic ensued.

A transmission linked Kul and the rest, “-listen up Kul, there’s a scouter on one of the buildings. éclair’s intercepted the logs; at least fifteen men.”

“I’ll go handle the shooter situation,” said Asmodeus, “-follow me, ladies,” they leaped out the windows, each flap of the wings sprinkled a numbing powder, the high discarded any threat to their lives.

‘I’ve found them,’ she landed noiselessly.

“Good job, now attack,” said the man.

“Attack who?”

“Who stands there?” a terrified expression flashed atop his face, “-it’s you...”

“Obviously,” *snap,* “-who else can it be?” she nonchalantly stepped off the building. The remainder of a disintegrated body laid in miasma. The would-be attackers were massacred. Far as the public was concerned, only the prank of murder, crossed their mind. Asmodeus’s word sufficed.

“Another night, another attack,” sighed Kul, “-They never learn, do they?” she stood atop the den.

“Are you tired?” whispered a strange voice, “-don’t you feel restrained to work for another man?”

“Ha-ha-ha,” she turned, “-are you here to sway my mind?”

“Very perceptive,” said a hooded figure, “-tell me, demon, are you loyal to a worthless leader, or will you join a greater family?”

“Listen, geezer, I don’t care who you are. I’ve made my peace to stay here.”

*The foolish who dare stand in obstacle, there but one word I wish to impart, die. The dice falls, the number is 10,* two cubes rolled, *-probability is my whim, and my whim decrees for thee be shackled to the weight of fate,* the dices stopped, both showed five, *-Ancient-Arts: Asmodeus’s luck.*

“What is this?” it reached under the robe.

“Listen up, geezer,” smirked Kul, “-whatever being you might be,” the visage didn’t care for kindness, “-because of our arrogance,”

“-our master was hurt,” interjected Asmo.

“We swore on said day,” they stood inches from the being, “-to never disgrace his reputation again.”

The cubes exploded into chains, “-FREE ME!”

“Not going to happen,” *Ancient-Arts: Eternal Despair,* an orb of unknown origin snuck into the entity’s head.

“NOOOO.”

“So long, foolish pest.”

Clearness of the night soon greyed by the clouds, the moon helplessly watched, “-we made good on our promise.”

.....

“For the incident to never happen,” smiled Asmo, “-we shall become the strongest gathering of like-minded individuals. The Watcher of the Shadow Realm will be known worlds apart; the Demonlord.”

“Really, Demonlord... isn’t the title being held by Lucifer?”

“Tis a matter of speech. I’m a prince of hell, similar to Lucifer,” the incoming breeze didn’t help, loose hair tickled his nose, the stern expression divulged into one midway between sneeze and disgust.

“Not impressive for a Demonlord,” she shrugged.

“Come on,” he pouted, “-didn’t you see my amazing spell?”

“What was that even?”

“I say what I want and I throw a dice. If the predicted number is spot on, the spell will act no matter the restrains.”

“If it misses?”

“Simple, closer the sum is to what I predicted, the more effective it becomes. In the low chance of scoring a total of five, it might backfire badly...”

“YOU GAMBLED,” her head glued into her palm, “-IDIOT!”

“HEY, SHUT UP.”

‘Seems like I’ll have fun here,’ thought Starix, ‘-the world is big, there’s much to do and much to conquer, what’s the master doing I wonder?’

The manor lit very modestly, the tranquility hampered. Sound of rotors immediately responded to the AFR’s activation. éclair pinged the craft for identification, “-Chief of Odgawoan, Jula Valentino Rozemal, and Odgar Codd.”

‘Couldn’t have been at a better time,’ he waited in the study. Midne remained beside the door.

“Sorry to intrude so late,” said Odgar, “-is the master home?”

“Odgar,” returned éclair, “-I’m sure you’ve read the report I sent,” he glared.

“Yes,” he gulped, “-tis the reason I brought lady Jula.”

“How do you figure?” they stop short of the lobby, “-how can a mere detective have so much reached to reach the chief of police?”

“Oh,” he shuffled closer, “-Jula Valentino and I are a thing.”

“A thing?” she pulled her head and stared, “-don’t mind him, the man is too softspoken. We’re in a long-time relationship ever since the police academy.”

“Interesting,” he gave a once-over, “-the master is in the study, follow me this way.”