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A hundred years into his sentence, and Zerrex was more miserable than he had ever been, as he walked slowly along the outside of the Wrath Circle. The place was Hell inside Hell, filled with mutated demons, evil spirits, and all sorts of nasty creatures who would hurt you just so they could drink in your pain... and both the new Inqusitors and his job were driving him slowly insane in this environment where he couldn't find any release.

Faulk he had heard about in the Lust Circle, a vicious Slaver who had become an Inquisitor likely just because of his cruelty... and since he used an enchanted, cursed whip filled with the souls of angry demons, often the wounds he left wouldn't heal properly or leave long scars that would take forever to vanish or a special spell from Sin... but even then, he bore a few new permanent ones from the crocodilian Inquisitor. Faulk, at least, was stupid and easy to manipulate... and he was only capable of doing pure physical torture, no matter how often he raved or tried to convince Zerrex he was worthless.

The other slaver, Ose Tur'il Parlius, was a master of mind control and manipulation, and he had often humiliated the reptile by putting him on a leash and making him crawl naked through the streets of Kuros, one of the nearest cities in the Southern Section of the Wrath Circle. The humiliation was always almost too much to bear, but he hadn't snapped yet... although he knew that the moment he did, Ose would be ready with some other terrible punishment, or perhaps just cruel laughter... unless, of course, Zerrex snuck on the golden bracelet he was still hiding safely away in the bag he kept under his cot.

Then there was the job... and Azazel and Astaroth did indeed know every single thing he did at work, and marked him for it. In a hundred years, Zerrex had accumulated more than three million points... but he had also lost just over two million, leaving him roughly several thousand shy of reaching his first ‘level up.' The game sickened him at times, since soldiers would sometimes come to him with horrible requests he would normally refuse, such as filling the neighbor's bed with centipedes... but he knew that to refuse any task meant he'd be marked down by one of the Naganatine twins, and he'd never get out of the miniature torture that his job had become.

Worse, they made all sorts of advances on him, too, but always just to see how he'd react... and if he reacted badly in their eyes, they'd mark him down for that, too, even off the clock. Zerrex had a sneaking suspicion that he was never going to be permitted to get to the next level, as he firmly kicked a rock behind some bushes... and something on the other side yelped before screeching in a high-pitched voice: "You sons of bitches, at least have the guts to come in here and hit me with rocks! All you Wrath assholes are cowards!"

"Who's there?" Zerrex called, and the voice went silent, as if surprised... and the Drakkaren frowned a bit before hesitantly pushing his way through the deathgrass, the vegetation that grew in Wrath apart from ironwood and apple trees. On the other side, however, he found himself in a secluded field... except he could see a circle of worn protective runes around a figure that was hunched down on its knees, and the reptile blinked, tilting his head curiously.

"What?" it snapped, and Zerrex continued to look curiously at the Drakkaren that was imprisoned by means of a pair of massive manacles secured with four chains each, feeding down into heavy blocks of black metal that likely were anchored deep in the cracked, stony earth. He was leaning forwards on his fists, forced into a permanent kneel on his knees by the heavy strips of black steel that went around his lower legs and secured into another black plate of metal... and there was a strange mechanism on a worn metal post in front of the Drakkaren with what looked like a keyhole of some kind in it the latter surrounded by runes the reptile didn't recognize.

"What are you doing here?" Zerrex asked quietly, stepping closer to the Drakkaren and sizing him up. He had bright evergreen scales that lightened over his chest, and he was likely half-Dragokkaren by the size of his body, which was comparable with the Drakkaren's own. His clothes consisted of a shoulder armor that connected to a plain rawhide strap that crossed over his chest and connected into a set of three thick belts, several pouches hanging from these â€" including one that was long and cylindrical, but empty, as if it had once contained some sort of scroll. His pants were tarnished brown, rotten from the passage of many years but still poofing out a bit near the bottom, where what remained fed into a pair of leather moccasins... and his eyes were a bright blue that were currently looking at him with irritation.

He struggled a bit against his restraints, and then he said in a sarcastic voice: "Oh, you know, I just decided to stop here for a picnic, since it's such a pretty, scenic location... what the fuck do you think I'm doing here?" A pause as Zerrex continued to look at him mildly, and then he slouched and rolled his eyes, moving his head with the motion and grumbling: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it... I've just been stuck here so fucking long I want to stab someone in the eye, even if I have to use my penis to do it. I really should have chosen a different spot to vacation in, I guess, and done some research on the local citizenry before I joined that hula party..."

The Drakkaren decided to go with a different tactic this time, asking gently: "What's your name, then? I'm Zerrex Narrius, originally from Ire."

"Good ol' Ire! I bet it's still fucked-to-shit, too." The creature grunted, and then he coughed and cleared his throat, before tilting his head back and saying regally: "I am Ashcroft Ixin the Third, ex-head of the Mage Clans and currently confined to Hell for crimes I did not commit." A pause, and then he shrugged a bit, adding mildly: "Well, okay, maybe I did commit some of them, but they never proved it and I never had a fair trial. I have a right to fair trial, dammit!"

He all-but-screamed the last bit, then huffed and settled back down, looking over at Zerrex and asking mildly: "So are you a demon? You don't really look like a demon, other than the horns. And just because you're horny, that doesn't a demon make you: just look at me, I'm horny all the time and yet I'm still just plain ol' Ixin." A pause, and then he added in a mutter: "Fuck, I'm going to be stuck here for all eternity, and now I've got a retarded kid staring at me thinking I'm nutty as a bun."

"That makes no sense." Zerrex said flatly, unable to stop himself, and Ixin immediately glared at him before sniffling and pasting a hurt look on his face. "So what, you were sent to Hell and you then pissed off the Scholars?"

"No, I was here long before the Scholars were put in power." Ixin said absently, shaking his head and becoming lucid instead of insane once more... at least for the moment. Dude is a complete whackjob, and I get the feeling he was eccentric long before he went to Hell... "I was doing magical research in my labs with the Crescent Clan, and I uh... accidently sped up my cancer. Well, it wasn't really cancer, but it was close enough. In short, it ate through my liver and my pancreas before you could say ‘hey-oh!' and next thing I knew, I woke up here."

He paused for a few long moments, frowning and looking down, before smiling cheerfully and glancing up at Zerrex, except the reptile could see that the smile didn't reach his eyes: what he saw instead was distrust, darkness, and anger. "They wanted me to do research for something called a Lucifer's Eye, but I never even got that project finished... it was taken over by some bitch named Feldspar, who I recognized as a priestess from one of the Clans who went psycho-rogue-crazy a while back, and after I uh... did some things I am not proud of... they cursed me with permanent mortality and locked me up here to suffer for a billion eternities, or roughly ten trillion years or some crazy shit like that. Never thought I'd be using an eternity as a unit of measurement but hey, there you are."

He sighed dramatically, rolling his head back, then he looked at Zerrex and added flatly: "And the motherfuckers took my flute. I heard it's in some museum somewhere as a magical artifact... hey, you know, if you went and got it for me, I'd give you a shiny new dime, kiddo."

"Don't call me that." Zerrex said irritably, and then he approached Ixin, leaning down to grasp the chains... but he was immediately repelled by some sort of spell, and Ixin cackled as the Zerrex sat up with his hair fuzzed out and his body smoldering.

"Yeah, it's to prevent people from walking along and chopping my fool head off. Sorry I forgot to warn you about that." The immortal mortal said cheerfully, and then he winced as Zerrex growled at him and stood quickly up, brushing himself off and squawking as Zerrex left: "Hey, hey, wait! Wait, come back here! I can teach you fancy spell shit!"

"I hate magic." Zerrex said sourly, and then he pushed his way through the bushes before frowning as Ixin yelled after him everything from obscenities to pleas, and finally he turned around and walked back into the clearing, and Ixin let out a long sigh of relief. "Look. I only have a few minutes to spare today, so you better have some good information for me, at least... if you've been in Hell this long, I'm sure you've managed to pick up some information from somewhere."

Ixin rolled his eyes, and then he said dourly: "Yeah, excuse me while I reach into my pocket for my scrying mirror or my cellphone. Look, the most I can do from here is some basic long-range-hearing magic, I ain't got shit-all else going for me with the ridiculous number of charms, curses, blessings, and barriers over me... and the only way to free me is to get my flute back and stick it in that locking mechanism there. You know, penetrate the orifice with the long hard rod with a pointed end. It sounds so fuckin' eww but it's seriously the only way to get my ass out of here."

The reptile felt like pointing out that he wasn't stupid enough to chase down a magic flute for a prisoner in the Wrath Circle without some solid information... but he decided to let that go for now, instead crossing his arms and saying mildly: "I have no clue where the flute is, for one thing, and your lead isn't exactly helpful, since I can't leave the Circle of Wrath for about ten thousand more years... meaning you're going to have to wait at least that long until I can run around and do that little task for you. On the other hand, I can at least spend some time here with you when I'm not getting my ass handed to me."

"Wonderful. Someone to talk to and cry on the shoulder of... just what I've always wanted and needed and cherished more than my freedom." Ixin said sarcastically, and then he yelped when Zerrex stood up to leave, looking irritated. "Okay, okay, fuck you're a touchy son-of-a-gun. Just calm the balls down and sit on your ass here, and listen to some of granddad's stories before he dies of cardiac arrest."

Ixin was a strange addition to the Drakkaren's life: but, so long as he remembered to sort the sanity out of the madness, Ixin provided him with a lot of interesting facts and information, while the reptile remained careful to not mention the fact he had been turned into some sort of super-demon by the Lucifer's Eye. He was beginning to get the idea that Ixin was a very prideful creature, after all, and knowing that Feldspar had succeeded with the device where he had failed might cause Ixin to fall into one of his moods where all he did was make lame jokes while he very-obviously stewed about something.

But it did admittedly help to actually have someone to hang around with, and Ixin taught him a few neat spells in exchange for information about what was going on in Hell and the mortal world right now. And despite his eccentricities, he proved extremely helpful with the last few chapters of Basic Magic Principles, and after five hundred years in the Circle of Wrath, Zerrex had finally mastered the entire book and all the spells in it as Ixin faked tears of joy and shook his head back and forth until the reptile had created a Marble and thrown it at him.

He'd learned more about Ixin from Selena and Sin than from the odd entity himself, though: both of them told Zerrex about how the mage had used his flute as a magical tool to boost his already-terrifying abilities, ripping through Hell like a whirlwind on his way to take revenge on Feldspar for some trespass she'd made against the Mage Clans before Alastor had dueled him and defeated the mortal, and he'd been sealed away much like the Terrors had by the Princess herself, but left aboveground and in the Circle of Wrath as a living testament of what would happen to all that opposed her. Both Sin and Selena made it very clear that freeing Ixin would be incredibly dangerous... but that on the other hand, he was a wellspring of knowledge, despite the fact he seemed to be the mortal incarnation of chaos.

For now, however, Zerrex was more than happy to only visit Ixin occasionally and leave him where he was: he often only had time once or twice a week, anyway, with how hard Azazel and Astaroth pushed him at work, and how hard Selena was pushing him on control and learning about his demonic form, and two more chains had snapped off his body... and the reptile only hoped it was because he'd become so much better at controlling his abilities than it was because he'd grown too strong for the binds to hold him any longer.

Now, less than a month after he'd finished the Basic Magic Principles book, Selena showed up in his room with a book labeled: ‘Advanced Magical Principles,' and Zerrex felt like he was going to cry at the size of it and the fact it was written in demonic runes, something he still had trouble reading despite all the effort he'd put in to learning it. He made a face at Selena, who glowered at him in return, and then she said mildly: "If you have a tutor like Ixin working with you as well as me, we should be able to plow through this book pretty quickly. But today we're going to work on your demonic abilities instead of magic, so come on."

Selena put the book aside, and Zerrex let out a sigh of relief as she created a portal, following her quickly through and out into the Badlands in the Western Section of Wrath, where only a few Craven roamed and there were no ‘civilized' demons to attempt to raid or murder them for the hell of it. They did a lot of their training out here, both because of the harsh environment of the desert and the fact that they were only rarely interrupted... and Selena looked at him softly before asking gently: "How's your body?"

What she really meant though, was if he could transform any further... and Zerrex simply shook his head a bit, smiling slightly in return. Ever since the second chain had broken loose, the reptile had found himself capable of shifting his body in minor ways, which included making his horns vanish and reappear at will... and not just his bull horns, but the second set of ram's horns he now had as well. And along with that, he could also create long tentacles that usually pushed out of his shoulders or back, and although they were weak and useful only for picking up a book or scaring the crap out of someone, Selena had told him mildly he'd be able to create stronger, thicker tentacles the more often he used the ability, and his control over them would improve as well... and when he'd still grunted in disinterest, she'd leaned over and muttered to him: "And you could even make them naughty, if you get my drift."

Zerrex had tried to keep the hentai-style thoughts out of his mind, and had failed miserably. And once more, he was trying to tell himself how stupid that was, how ridiculous it was, and how nerdy it would be... and all of those thoughts were failing as well as he rubbed the back of his head slowly and looked over at Selena, the cheap boots he'd bought grinding against the dirt as he adjusted his plain cloth pants before saying mildly: "Should I try that attack again?"

"Yeah, except aim for my wrist this time instead of my neck." Selena said dryly, holding her arm up in front of herself and closing her hand into a fist, and Zerrex winced before taking a deep breath. He set himself, closed his eyes and concentrated, and then held his arm out to the side.

Slowly, his shoulder seemed to ripple, and then a long, flesh-colored tendril pushed out of it and wrapped slowly around his arm, going down to his wrist... and the demon that still thought of himself only as a Drakkaren narrowed his eyes and lashed his arm forwards, and the tentacle shot out, stretching the good ten feet between them before wrapping rapidly around Selena's arm, and Zerrex grinned as he grabbed his own tentacle and jerked her hard towards him.

Selena grunted and set her feet into the ground, then jerked back... and Zerrex immediately staggered forwards, wincing and mumbling: "Ow, ow, ow." under his breath before slowly walking towards her and blushing deeply, looking embarrassed as the tentacle quickly slithered up his arm and back into his body. Selena gave him a look of mixed exasperation and empathy as he approached, and then he coughed as it finished sliding into his body, muttering: "Well, at least it's working a bit better..."

"Still really sensitive though, huh?" Selena asked gently, and Zerrex nodded, rubbing at his shoulder absently before she poked his chest firmly as the seal-chains glowed purple over it for a moment before fading from sight slowly. "It might be because of this, since it pops out every time you use your tentacles... can you feel with them, though?"

Zerrex paused, then he crossed his arms and made a face, wrinkling up his muzzle as a tendril slowly slid out of his other shoulder, and she watched as it moved through the air steadily before swaying back and forth, then up and down... and then Zerrex looked innocently up into the air as it slowly moved down, the tip pushing against her nipple gently before it slid slowly around her breast, and Zerrex mumbled: "Let's see, that's a 34G?"

"Remove it or I'll chop it off." Selena grunted, but Zerrex grinned widely at the slight flush on her face as the tendril slithered free and retreated back into his shoulder, and he rolled it slowly before she glared at him. "Stop thinking those thoughts, you pervert. But seriously, can you feel with them and everything?"

"Sort of..." Zerrex shrugged a bit, rubbing the back of his head slowly as he looked back at her with a slight frown, and then he recrossed his arms as he said musingly: "It's like... it's almost like I'm feeling something with a really long finger... but through cloth, if that makes any sense? At the same time the sensation's different though, it's kind of... nubbly?"

"Nubbly." Selena said mildly, and Zerrex coughed before she repeated the word, then shook her head slowly and rolled her eyes. "You speak Angelic, Demonic, and several mortal languages... and yet still you apparently feel the urge to make up brand new words to describe things. You never fail to amaze, Lord Zerrex, not even after ten thousand years of knowing you."

The Drakkaren grumbled something, and then Selena smiled slightly at him before patting him on the shoulder, adding softly: "They'll get stronger as you improve yourself, and as the seals break. Tentacles aren't just for Lust demons and bad sex movies on the mortal realm, you know... if you can learn to control them fully, nothing will be out of your reach, assuming that you can't just break something to get to it. How much do you lift now at that stupid gym you hang out at?"

Zerrex pointedly ignored the question, glancing away and rubbing the back of his head as he mumbled: "I uh... I don't hang out there anymore. I got in a fight with a guy selling that Pan's Serum stuff, and they kicked me out after I beat him up and broke a few things... so yeah." He paused at her look, and then sighed, muttering under his breath: "Fifty metric tons, ten reps, only strained a bit."

"Wrath demons are the strongest physically, and you were ridiculously-strong to begin with... and hey, have you been working on that other trick I taught you? Now that one you should be thanking me for, because I'm already regretting teaching it to you." Selena said dryly, and Zerrex looked confused for a moment before grinning stupidly and nodding quickly, and the Inquisitor made a face at his expression.

"What? I didn't do too much bad with it." Zerrex said flatly, and then he rose a finger and added: "And I'd like to point out that you only showed me how to do it because you saw me do it when I... wasn't myself that one time."

The Drakkaren looked away for a moment, feeling fleeting mixture of self-loathing and shame, and then he shook his head and glanced back at her, immediately narrowing his eyes and concentrating. They flashed pure emerald for a moment, and then Selena went limp and looked up at him slavishly, putting her hands together as he stepped close and almost drooling over him... before she blinked a few times, then glared at him and flailed her arms as she shouted furiously: "What did I say about using Domination on me? I swear to crap I'll kick you right in your testicles, and then I'll rip one off and make you eat it!"

Zerrex leaned away, raising his hands with a wince and mumbling an apology under his breath, then Selena sighed and added grudgingly: "But I guess you do deserve some congratulations then. It's both Wrath and Lust, so I thought you'd excel at it... and if you can even make me go all fuzzy over you with a single look, I guess you've really picked up on that trick. It'll work even better on mortals, too, if you ever get sent to the mortal realm... I mean..." She paused and smiled faintly, saying softly: "When you return home to the mortal realm."

Zerrex laughed a bit and rubbed the back of his head slowly, and then he hesitated for a moment before asking a question that had been on his mind for a long time now: "Selena... with... what I am, is it... is it even safe for me to return home one day? Or should I... should I just give up on that dream and stay here, to make sure I don't hurt anyone..." He paused and looked away quietly, saying softly: "I don't want to become Narrius, my father... and I don't want to become Az'Iriel, either."

Selena gazed at him softly, then she shoved him backwards and tripped him, knocking the Drakkaren back on his ass as she glared down at him. "Lord Zerrex Narrius. I've seen you do things that should be impossible, and watched you overcome your own vices, and even your own virtues, not to mention every kind of pain imaginable. Together, you and Lily fought and killed a High Prince, the same High Prince that happened to be her father... and not only did you have the strength to fight him until the last breath, you showed so much courage and resolve that Lily was able to stand up and help you stop her father from killing you, her, and who knows how many others in the madness that had overtaken him.

"After I saw what you had become..." She paused, then looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes, saying quietly: "I was terrified. I was horrified. And your power was so great you were even capable of scaring the Princess and crushing Feldspar like a bug. But when I looked at you only minutes later, I saw you... and as you always say, you are just another Drakkaren, one who's been unlucky since the day he was born in many ways. You are a demon, sure, and one like I've never seen before, one with enough strength to destroy anything he wanted in Hell should those bonds be torn free... but at the same time I only see you as you've always been. I believe you'll control yourself... I believe in you. Now stop being a pussy and get the hell up."

Zerrex smiled a bit despite himself, and then he nodded and slowly climbed to his feet, flexing his muscles as he looked across at Selena and said softly: "Then what else do you want to train me in today?"

Selena smiled... and for hours on end she forced the Drakkaren through grueling exercises, making him go through a quick stretch and workout before experimenting more with his demonic abilities and seeing how many of his demonic characteristics she could force out... but apart from the ram's horns, no others appeared over the reptile's entire body, even when she forced him to drop his pants, which made him mumble about molestation. After that, she ran him through magic exercises, making sure he had down all the spells he claimed to be able to cast and correcting him here and there, and for the last two hours she trained him in silent casting.

It worked on the same concept as the Self-Illusion, which Zerrex had learned and used occasionally when he felt his mood was right: if he wasn't calm enough, on the other hand, he tended to accidently cast the spell on whatever was in front of him, which had landed him in a lot of trouble one night while he'd been cooking in the kitchens and had accidently blown up the pot of stew on the strange, demon-enchanted stove. The difference, of course, was that he didn't say the incantation, but concentrated firmly on it and on what he wanted it to affect... which was a lot easier said then done.

Most of the easy spells Zerrex could do... but once things got into even moderate skill levels, or the incantations became lengthier than five words, he started getting into trouble with casting it properly or even making it work at all. He'd also discovered that you never felt more stupid then when silently casting a spell and pointing at someone... and having nothing happen. It made him feel like he was a child again, only a retarded one who'd been held back a few years in school and thus was the playground giant.

Afterwards, Selena permitted him to go home and rest, and Zerrex felt sore and tired, wanting to rest but knowing she'd show up again in a few hours to force him through some more training. His ‘free' days always went like that, especially if he wasn't scheduled to work because of some issue at the military base... and Azazel and Astaroth only wanted him to show up to work for an hour or two today, for some special treat that was starting to worry him. The two Naganatine demons weren't exactly anything like any mortal lore had said about them, and they often spoke about Mephistopheles to him, which made him nervous, since apparently they'd learned he was a Hybrid Incarnation...

The Drakkaren stretched a bit, then made a face as he created a portal, sighing and deciding to go in and get things over with. He forced himself up to his feet, then slouched through the portal and stepped into the outskirts of the base, approaching the gate and making a face at the Minotaur on duty, who pushed it open for him with a grunt and a wince. The reptile had noticed that a lot of the soldiers at this base seemed to be ones who had been part of the giant army that had killed him and Requiem, and it infuriated him... but he kept himself calm whenever he worked, and he thought he'd earned bonus points because of it... but it's so goddamn hard to tell with the twins...

The reptile made his way to the Commander's office, and he gave a perfunctory knock before walking in and immediately staring in shock as confetti rained down from the ceiling and Astaroth threw her arms wide, dressed in a light blue bikini that barely covered her body with a few small strips of cloth over her nipples and groin, saying cheerfully: "Congratulations Zerrex, you've leveled up!"

The reptile stared around the room as he stepped inside and closed the door, noting Azazel jotting things down in his notebook and dressed as usual in his lightweight body armor and black uniform, and then he smiled a bit at the large banner hanging across the ceiling before saying easily: "Well, if this is the reception I get every time I ‘level up' in the game, I'll just have to play even harder."

"Good, that's the kind of response I was hoping for." Azazel said absently, then he stood up and smiled, striding around the desk and walking over to pat Zerrex on the shoulder firmly. "Tomorrow, your duties change. From this moment onwards, you're officially a student of the base, and you'll be tending more to the knights and the higher-ranking soldiers. I'll be looking forwards to seeing what you do..."

A pause, and then Azazel slid behind him, and the Drakkaren paused as he heard the snick of a lock before he felt the Naganatine turn around and press forwards against the Drakkaren's back, the reptile's eyes going wide before Astaroth was suddenly pressing against his front... and the two larger demons laughed a bit as Astaroth asked softly: "We're going to play another little game now... because we're curious about the great Lord Zerrex..."

The Drakkaren swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the demons grinding against him before he felt Astaroth grasp one of his hands and place it firmly on her breast, and then Azazel grasped his hips and ground against him firmly as he asked playfully: "You're a Lust and Wrath combination, isn't that right? No, no, that one's rhetorical, don't worry. Here's a real question, though... you like to hurt people during sex, don't you?"

"Yes..." Zerrex admitted quietly, and he bowed his head as the twins grinned at each other over his head, the reptile adding softly: "Of course, I'm assuming you already know all this... or that you'll know if I lie."

"Exactly... one or the other, anyway." Azazel said mildly, and then he leaned down and asked softly: "But sometimes you can be gentle, isn't that right?"

Zerrex nodded and frowned, but before he could open his mouth, Astaroth laughed softly and said quietly: "Go ahead, touch me... I don't mind. In fact, I'm inviting you to be brave... touch me, Lord Zerrex..."

The Drakkaren trembled a bit... and then he slowly slid his hand down and under her tiny bikini top, and Astaroth let out a murr before bucking her hips as his other hand slid down her stomach... and she let out a pleased sigh as he slipped his fingers down under her bikini bottom to feel out the shape of her labia, whispering softly: "Yes, that's good, that's really good... now tell me, have you ever been fucked up the ass?"

Zerrex blinked, then he winced and said slowly: "Yes..." A pause, and he grunted quietly as Azazel ground against him from behind, his hands gripping into him with a bit more firmness before he said softly: "I don't usually swing that way, though..."

"That's true, too, I suppose... but you'd do it for someone big enough, strong enough, handsome enough, isn't that right?" Azazel asked softly, and Astaroth tilted the Drakkaren's muzzle up with surprising force, the reptile grunting as her eyes forcefully locked with his. "Go ahead, don't be shy..."

"Yes... I would." Zerrex muttered, and he twitched, fidgeting as they both ground forwards and sliding his hands free from Astaroth, but immediately she grabbed one and Azazel grabbed the other, the Naganatine pulling it firmly against the Drakkaren's own waist.

"Slide my hand down into your pants." Azazel instructed calmly, and Zerrex clenched his eyes shut, hesitating... and then he slowly slid his hand free, pulling Azazel's against his chiseled abdominals before pushing it carefully down beneath his waistband as Astaroth squeezed his other hand firmly, grinning widely as the Naganatine's hand slowly slid down over the reptile's groin... and then Zerrex grunted quietly as the First Breed's fingers brushed against his shaft, and the twins laughed.

They held him there in silence for almost a full minute as Astaroth forced the reptile's hand against her other breast, holding it tightly there, Zerrex's other hand trapped between the fabric of his own pants and the male Naganatine's hand... and just as he gathered the courage to tell them both to back off, he stumbled forwards as they both simply vanished, and he was standing alone in the office, looking stupidly back and forth before looking at a report card on the wall, which was graded with an ‘A-' in bright red. The reptile stared at this, then he walked quickly over to it and muttered under his breath: "‘You passed the minor leagues, so have a bonus one hundred thousand points... remember, we're still watching you, so please neaten up before you go.'"

Zerrex gritted his teeth, but he then took a slow breath, remembering that the two probably were somehow keeping an eye on him from somewhere... and so instead he left for the storage closet, and came back a few minutes later with a broom and a bucket, quickly cleaning up the confetti, taking down the decorations, and taking it all out to the enormous garbage bin near the back of the military base to dump out the bucket before returning that and the broom to the closet, and going back to the office to figure out what to do with the banner... but the door was locked now, and no one responded to his knocking... so instead he simply headed to the gates... before staring as a huge, muscular Daius and a pretty, short succubus approached him hand-in-hand, both of them wearing large gift-bows: blue one the Daius and pink on the succubus. "Lord Zerrex?"

The reptile nodded wordlessly as they both smiled and bowed to him, and the Drakkaren realized they were also wearing collars and leashes... and he took one in either hand before leading them out the gates and out of the base. On the one hand, he suddenly felt insane with lust, like he should engage in a threesome right here and now and invite everyone else who wanted to join in to do so... but on the other hand, he couldn't help but wonder what exactly the orders of these two demons were.

He didn't trust Azazel or Astaroth: the twins bothered him in a way he couldn't describe, couldn't quite put a finger on in ways other than because they might work for Az'Iriel... and so, despite how much he wanted to do otherwise, he created a portal and lied: "Go on through, this leads to my apartment."

They both nodded and did so... and Zerrex closed the portal with a grimace before creating another one and hopping through it. Well, at least the Lust Circle is where they belong, so hopefully they don't get too confused or anything... and dear Gods I need to do something...

The reptile made a face as he stepped into his room and fidgeted, and then he absently wondered if he should masturbate just to take the edge off... but the issues with that were twofold: one was that he always had a problem cleaning up the mess â€" he needed to cast the cleansing spell on every surface he managed to splatter, as well as himself and his cot, so it uselessly ate up a lot of energy after a day he already spent feeling tired and sore â€" and the other was that Selena could show up any time, and the last time she'd laughed her ass off and said he should just drop his pride and that she'd only make him beg a little bit if he wanted a quick, friendly screw.

He felt awkward sleeping with her now, however, since he was always nervous she'd want to do something weird and kinky even for him... or, more seriously, that since he was now a full demon, he'd accidently lose control of himself and seriously injure her, especially with the darkness now coursing through his blood. The other awkward thing was that she'd finally pointed out he'd grown... and he had certainly grown in every way, and even before she'd had trouble taking his full length when she wasn't busy raping him in her ‘duties as an Inquisitor.' And yet I'm the perverted one...

Zerrex snorted a bit at this, smiling to himself... and then he groaned and tried to push the sexual thoughts aside, deciding to head down to the common room for now and see what chores needed to be done around the place. Usually Rauls, the Cyclops wolf, didn't make him do anything simply because he was terrified of the lizard... but the Drakkaren liked to earn his keep, and he didn't really mind the other members of the halfway house. Only one or two of them really pissed him off, although he did his best to be polite... but demonstrating that he had no problem hefting them over his head with one hand usually made them shut up, when words alone failed to make his point.

He glanced back and forth as he slipped into the rickety common room, with its ugly, breaking-down chairs and ragged couch, and Rauls quickly hopped to his feet and ran into the kitchen as the Drakkaren asked mildly to the Swamp Spine lizard-demon sitting nearest to him: "Anything else that needs to be done today?"

It shook its head, then paused and glanced over at a miserable-looking Initiate dog who was still wearing the tattered remains of an Irenic Military jacket. "Wait, uh... Sieve, did you get wood?"

"Steve!" the dog barked, and then it winced as the lizard-demon immediately snarled. "Sorry... and God, not yet, give me a fuckin' break."

"I'll go do that." Zerrex said mildly, then he turned and headed down the hallway, past a few of the lower apartments and the door leading into the kitchen. He paused at the last, thought about bursting in on Rauls and doing something stupid or crazy, then decided against it and instead headed for the back door of the small halfway house.

The reptile shouldered his way out out the screen door, then he paused on the back deck, noting a strange figure standing in a ragged black cloak next to the woodpile, a long cowl hiding its face... and the Drakkaren frowned a bit before he let out a squeak as his foot tore through a rotten plank, half-falling through the deck and cursing loudly in embarrassment. He winced, then looked up and blinked stupidly a few times as he saw only a strange dark portal swirling slowly in the spot the figure had been standing a moment before, and then it dissipated into motes of darkness as the reptile jerked himself free and stood up, rubbing slowly at his chest as he looked back and forth and asked quietly: "So who or what the hell was that?"

An evil wizard, Ravenlight said sourly, and Zerrex rolled his eyes as he turned around and cast a quick repair spell on board he'd torn through, and it set itself back in place... although it was still obviously weak with rot, something he couldn't do anything about. Five bucks says a dumbass like you will step in it again on the way up.

"Shut up." Zerrex mumbled to himself, and then he strode down the steps and walked over to the woodpile, hefting an armload of wood from the pile of lumbers behind the house before letting out a grunt as a large, six-legged bug with two enormous claws skittered out onto the top timber, and the reptile threw the armload down before hopping backwards on one foot with his arms curled up in front of himself, looking horrified as several more large bugs ran out of the wood and made their way off in various directions.

The reptile brushed himself off as he regained his composure, giving a shiving of disgust and looking at the wood distrustfully before mumbling under his breath: "They're just bugs, no matter what else they look like... they can't hurt you, you're a ten foot demon for crap's sake, now come on... just... just go over and pick up the goddamn wood and bring it inside."

Stop talking to yourself, idiot. Ravenlight muttered in his head, and Zerrex grunted to himself before casting a quick cleansing spell on the timbers just to be sure... and one of the wooden timbers shivered violently before several long legs snapped out of it and it ran away, the Drakkaren staring stupidly at this for a moment before Ravenlight added flatly: This is the entire reason why I don't do anything nice for anyone, you fucking moron. Go ahead, pick up the rest of the wood. I hope one of them turns out to be a Lichworm and bites you in the face.

"I hate you." Zerrex said miserably, and then he picked up the fallen timbers â€" stomping unnecessarily hard on a small spider that ran curiously over to see what he was doing â€" and then he made his way quickly back up the rickety stairs and immediately stepped on the rotten wooden board, falling through and slamming his fists into either floorboard with a loud curse. A pause, and then he began to flail, letting out a yelp as something tangled around his leg and began to twist its way slowly upwards, before throwing himself quickly out of the hole and landing with a grunt on his feet, staring in horror at the massive centipede that had twisted almost completely around his leg, huge black eyes glaring up at him as he rose a fist...

And then he paused and relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief as he realized it was only an enormous red caterpillar, and instead he reached down and carefully pried it off his leg, the giant bug gurgling at him before grabbing his forearm and insistently latching onto his body. The reptile made a face at it, then tried to tug it off again, and this time it nipped him with its blunt jaws, the lizard cursing and muttering under his breath as the five-foot-long bug crawled leisurely along his limb. "Why does this happen to me?"

"I hate you." The caterpillar mimicked in his voice, and then it gurgled again as it reached his shoulder and began to gnaw at his hair. The Drakkaren rolled his eyes at this, then winced as he pulled it firmly off his arm, its many triangular legs kicking and wiggling, and then its jaws snagged a large clump of his hair and it jerked hard.

The reptile let out another yelp, this one of pain and embarrassment, and then he snarled and turned around, throwing it hard... and right into Rauls, who screamed like a girl and fell over, wrestling with the caterpillar as it began to immediately gnaw at the wolf-demon's head, the Drakkaren groaning as he repaired the hole in the the flooring with a spell before quickly beginning to gather up the wood he'd dropped, glowering a bit as he wandered back inside.

Selena met him in the common room, the lizard-demon now quietly knitting and pointedly looking away from the Inquisitor, and she tilted her head curiously as the Drakkaren dropped the armload of wood off in the metal box next to the fireplace, asking mildly: "So what, were you so thrilled by my arrival you punched that Cyclops in the face?"

"No, I threw a caterpillar and accidently hit him with it." Zerrex said mildly, and Selena rolled her eyes as the reptile brushed himself off, absently checking his body for creepy-crawlies. "I really hate it here, by the way. I hate bullies, I hate bugs, I hate small things. I'm okay with most big things, but not when they're giant centpides or those... weird... half-spider bugs that want to eat the face of whatever they come across."

"You'll get used to it." Selena said mildly, waving a hand before she created a portal, giving him a look and adding quietly: "Anyway, let's get going. We're going to get back to physical training for a little while, just to touch up on the basics."

Zerrex grunted as he followed her through the portal... and then he paused as they stepped into a dead swamp, the reptile looking back and forth curiously at the dry ground and the ancient trees that leaned slowly towards them as he asked slowly: "Why are we here instead of in our usual spot?"

"The Warlord's apparently on the move, looking for you... since he's been spending so much time on the physical plane, he just recently found out about you becoming a demon." Selena said quietly, turning towards him and looking almost solemn, and the Drakkaren made a bit of a face. "Apparently he's already sent scouts into the kingdom, and like I said... I don't trust the Naganatine twins in the slightest, so they've probably been spying on you for reasons other than their stupid game. Just to be safe, I wanted to move here for now, and we'll rotate our trainings through several different areas to make sure we're safe."

Zerrex nodded a bit, then he blinked as Selena smiled slightly and held out her hands, a pair of straight, narrow swords similar to his old katanas appearing in them with a flicker of dark energy. "Now why don't you show me what you can do with these two blades, huh? I've been reviewing your past life and you didn't look too bad... I even saw a few times where you deflected a bullet or two, fired from those gun-things."

"Yeah, out of luck. And furthermore, the vibrations hurt like hell." Zerrex said sourly, but as he took the twin blades, some of his old memories flowed back, and the Drakkaren smiled a bit as he spun them both at his sides, examining the plain, meter-long steel blades and then looking over the fitted, four-foot handles. No catch, though, so another sword could slide right down that... "What are you planning to do now, though, get me back to my roots?"

"I noticed that you enjoy using an extra-thick greatsword, for weight and heft... but you have enough grace you'd probably be much faster and more-efficient with these twin blades." Selena said mildly, crossing her arms and leaning back a bit. "I couldn't really figure out why, but I thought what the hell. You did well enough during the other physical trainings we did... but then I noticed how well you excelled with a pole-style weapon."

The Drakkaren nodded, rubbing the back of his head and admitting in an embarrassed voice: "I've always been better with a pole than with a sword... it was the first thing Requiem taught me, and it's always stuck with me. And since Requiem was a master of the Chieftain's Spear of Hez'Ranna, I picked up a lot from him on all the different aspects of the weapon. But I've always preferred a sword at the end of the day for the cutting power..."

"And a heavy sword for the added weight bonus." Selena finished softly, and the Drakkaren looked almost surprised before she smiled slightly. "What, you think I wouldn't eventually read out that logbook I was given? I know all your statistics now, Zerrex... or should I just be more relaxed and call you Zer these days?" She paused, then added dryly: "If you shorten my name, I'll kick you in the groin."

"You and crotch-shots." Zerrex muttered, spinning the swords absently at his side, and then he stepped backwards a few times, looking around the area at the leaning trees and sinkholes as his boots knocked up small clouds of dust with every step. "So let me guess... sand golems?"

Selena nodded, stepping backwards and pushing her hands together... and she murmured a quick incantation as she bowed her head forwards, closing her eyes and concentrating as the ground began to twist around her. As Zerrex watched, the sand humped up in several places before shoulders formed, and long, rapidly-thinning arms shot out of the ground, bulbous, spherical hands pushing in to the dirt as the four creatures pushed themselves free of the earth around Selena.

Sand and other debris pattered quietly to the ground as runes etched themselves over the bodies of the creatures, and then a small crescent formed near the top of the hump that was their body, turning black before a single red eye opened in the very center of the marking. They slouched forwards a bit, and Zerrex ground the blades of his swords together before raising them both gamely as Selena crossed her arms, looking across at him with amusement. "You seem eager. Usually you're all bitchy when I bring these things out."

"Just keep things reasonable and I'm happy." Zerrex said mildly, sizing up the creatures. The sand golems were almost completely impervious to physical attacks, even though it usually only took one attack for the reptile to turn them back into dust: the problem was, they always reformed and got back up. Only magic could destroy them... but it's not like they can hurt me much, either. I just have to remember to bust them apart with energy once I'm tired or tell Selena to stop. "Alright, I'm ready. Are you going to time me?"

"As always." Selena nodded, then she held up two fingers before dropping them towards the reptile in a cutting motion, and the golems immediately lumbered forwards, their long arms swaying as Zerrex leapt backwards and brought up both blades, feeling a tingle run through his body.

It had been a long time since he'd used two swords at once... and the reptile grinned slightly before he ran forwards to meet the first two creatures, quickly slashing out towards one with a firm horizontal slash and cutting the other in half with an easy vertical slice, getting back into the rhythm of using two weapons at once as he revolved his wrists while stepping forwards, knocking the other two flat with matching rising slashes. As they staggered backwards, he spun the swords around to a reverse position, holding them both out to the sides with the points facing behind himself before he spun gracefully forwards.

As he moved, he tilted his swords, holding one in front of himself and one behind so they formed a Z with his body in the center, and the stumbling golems were reduced to clouds of dust as he tore through them like a whirlwind before coming to a halt with his body bowed forwards and one leg stretched out like a dancer, grinning widely as the two he had previously chopped into halves strode forwards through the clouds of the two he had just destroyed, before they too quickly reformed. The Drakkaren waited a moment for the front two golems to draw forwards, gauging the distance between the enemies, then he spun one sword back around to hold it normally, pulling the other back behind himself as he continued to hold it in reverse.

He waited until one of them was close enough to begin raising an arm... and then he leapt forwards, swinging out with the sword held in reverse and cutting it in half at the waist as his other sword snapped out through the ‘face' of the other golem, sending it falling before the reptile gracefully twisted his body in a double-hook kick into the third golem. The moment his feet touched down in the remains of the golem he'd just kicked into dust, he twisted backwards and stabbed viciously in a hook into the stomach of the last golem with the reverse sword behind his own back, before drawing it free as the golem of sand collapsed into dust.

The reptile grinned widely as he backstepped quickly, and as he golems began to reform, he cockily began to spin the blades back and forth around himself at the same time, before spinning the swords at his sides and catching the handles in the reverse position, windmilling them once more in front of his body... and then he slashed a large gash into his own wrist and he dropped both swords, spinning quickly away and dropping both swords to the ground with a loud clatter and grabbing his wrist as it spouted blood with a deep flush. Oh crap!

"Zerrex?" Selena asked with a frown, and she dispelled the sand golems, narrowing her eyes as she started towards him... but the reptile only gave a hysterical laugh and shook his head quickly, and she made a face as she saw the telltale glow of blue energy. "Zerrex, did you cut yourself?"

"What would make you say that?" The reptile asked in a strangled voice, trying to ignore the puddle of blood at his feet as he healed himself quickly with his energy abilities, and Selena let out a loud groan. She opened her mouth to chastise him more, and then suddenly went blurry... and the reptile wondered for a moment stupidly if he'd cut himself that badly before he heard her give a muffled scream and jump at him... and suddenly everything went not blurry, but instead dead-black.

The Drakkaren blinked as he looked back and forth, leaving only a thin cut on his wrist as he snarled and kicked both swords up to his hands... but there was only darkness around him for a few more moments. But faintly at first, he heard terrible sounds and laughter... and then, bit-by-bit, he saw white outlines, like scrawls of chalk, fading in all around him. The reptile looked back and forth as he felt his eyes focusing and something clicking in his mind... and the seal chains on his body pulsed purple before fading from sight as the sounds turned into cruel laughter and excited shouting, and he realized with a chill he was inside the Marquee Sur Noir.

Worse, he was standing in the center of an arena, and the walls surrounding him were distorted, as if he was viewing them through a fisheye lens: the ones closer to him looked far-bigger and taller than the ones distant, but when he took even only a step away, they quickly shrank back down to proper proportion. He now understood what Sin had meant by the walls of the arena being inescapable, as he looked slowly down at the white ground before glancing up towards the twisted gates on either side of the arena, and he felt a chill roll down his spine. A battleground for demons too dangerous to fight in Hell... sealed demons, angels, and even godlings and gods are here...

And all around him, the stands were filled with demons: some that now looked normal to him, and others bizarre even after the many years he'd spent in Hell, so weird and strange they were almost painful to look at... and then the Drakkaren's eyes settled on a balcony high above, and he snarled furiously as he saw none other than Az'Iriel, sitting calmly in his armor with his eyes glowing a terrible red, seeming to be listening to some other demon nearby... and the reptile shouted furiously: "Come down here yourself, Warlord! We have a score to settle, you and I!"

The crowd laughed, and Zerrex snarled furiously, his ram's horns pushing slowly out of his skull as he felt his heart racing, his muscles flexing... and then he clenched his eyes shut and forced himself to calm down, and the horns slowly receded, a shiver rolling through his body. When he looked again, Az'Iriel was gone... and the reptile wondered if he'd ever been there in the first place before his emerald eyes snapped to the side as one of the gates slowly rolled open with a loud clanking.

The crowd went silent as two skeletal hands grasped the edge of the wall, a terrible, mottled white with much of the flesh rotten away to reveal bone beneath... and then a huge, thirty-foot jackal stepped out and rose its arms in the air, and the crowd screamed its approval as the terrible creature looked back and forth. It was emaciated and dying, with one thin bicep and the flesh of the other missing, leaving the cracked bone beneath naked as it connected into both elbow and shoulder... and a rotten but still faintly blue-and-gold ceremonial cloth of some kind hung around its shoulders. Its body was covered in thin black fur, with patches of pink here and there, as were its grizzled features, but on its limbs this fur had mostly fallen away, leaving the white, rotting flesh bare.

Upon its skull sat a rotten blue and gold headdress adorned with strange symbols the Drakkaren didn't understand, and golden markings were slowly peeling away from below eyes that were cataract white... and around its waist was what looked almost like a rotted white skirt to the reptile and a tattered loincloth and belt with the same pattern of blue and gold as over the rest of it. It had only skeletal, clawed feet instead of paws, and as it roared up to the crowd, Zerrex could see that most of its teeth were missing, with the rest terrible yellows and blacks... but it was filled with a terrible vitality, whatever else it was... yet it doesn't feel like a demon or an undead beast...

"Who challenges Anubis, God of the Dead?" it asked, its white eyes locking onto the lizard, and then a dark smile curled along its muzzle as it leaned down towards the reptile, asking in a teasing voice: "Is it you, little one? Are you the fool that's come to challenge me today?"

"My name is Zerrex Narrius..." The Drakkaren responded clearly, and then he shook his head, holding his arms wide... but keeping his grip on his swords tight. A God. Wonderful. "I don't want to fight. Someone threw me into this area, and I'd just like to get out of the Marquee Sur Noir before-"

"If you're here, you have to fight." Anubis said softly, and then he straightened and grinned, leaning backwards as he shouted up to the crowd: "Isn't that right? He must fight in a battlefield where no mercy will be given, and no one, god or devil, is spared!"

The crowd roared... and Zerrex winced before snarling as the god turned back towards him, a long sliver of drool leaking out of its muzzle. It must have been imprisoned here by Sin or one of the other Naganatine, maybe even God or Lucifer... but whatever happened, it's gone completely nuts now... "Don't do this, Anubis... in this place, it doesn't matter what you are, everyone plays for keeps..."

"That's the idea." Anubis's insane grin went wider, and then it roared and leapt forwards, diving towards the Drakkaren, who immediately leapt out of the way. It crashed to the dirt, skidding along the surface of the arena before lashing a hand out at Zerrex... but then it howled as the reptile swung both his blades up, blocking the god's attack with the edges of his swords before jerking firmly upwards as hard as he could to rip twin, small wounds in the giant's hand.

Anubis drew back with a snarl, clutching at the wound as it oozed black gunk, then he quickly got up to his feet and held one skeletal hand out, and white light shone outwards for a moment before bursting apart into enormous black feathers that floated slowly down through the air, leaving the god holding a massive golden scimitar. Zerrex's eyes widened at this, and then he leapt backwards when the jackal slammed viciously downwards with the blade, chasing after him with a cruel cackle as strike after strike sent up large sprays of white sand and grit to the cheers of the crowd.

It lashed downwards with a too-hard strike, half-falling to the ground as the reptile sidestepped, and then Zerrex leapt forwards and ran up the creature's arm, before stabbing both swords forwards as the god snarled and brushed irritably at itself. The blades plunged deep into the back of its hand, and it leapt to its feet as it shook its arm firmly, trying to dislodge the blades buried deep in its rotten flesh before the Drakkaren tore free and gracefully arched his back as he began a flip... and Anubis slashed him viciously with the huge scimitar, sending the Drakkaren crashing to the ground in a heap.

The reptile stood up, snarling and bleeding heavily from a huge slash torn across his body, and Anubis laughed heartily as he rested his hands on his hips, grinning cruelly at the lizard. "Incredible! That would cut a normal demon in half... what a hearty little fellow you are! I'll have fun cutting you apart piece-by-piece!"

Zerrex, however, was muttering an incantation under his breath even as the god spoke... and as Anubis stepped forwards, the Drakkaren pointed at the creature's other skeletal paw with his sword, and a huge rock of earth tore through its bones, and the monster arched its back with a screech before toppling forwards with a grunt, sprawling awkwardly on the ground and then staring at the reptile standing right in front of its nose with both swords already cocked back.

It blinked... and then Zerrex stomped forwards and slammed both swords viciously into its nose, and Anubis threw itself backwards with a howl of agony, dropping its enormous sword to grab at its own face. It snarled after a moment, shoving a hand down into the ground and sending out a rippling shockwave... but Zerrex simply leapt into the air and created a solid, floating platform of energy, standing up on the blue square as Anubis stared before hissing: "It doesn't matter... you can't kill me with such toys..."

"It's the carpenter, not his tools." Zerrex replied softly, holding up his black-smeared swords as Anubis grasped his own enormous scimitar... and then he leapt backwards, the platform of energy vanishing as the giant leaned into a hard, vertical cut. The sword smashed into the ground, then swept viciously to the side, and Zerrex attempted to throw himself overtop the massive blade, but the back edge caught his legs in midair and he was knocked to the ground.

He grunted, dropping one of his swords before throwing himself to the side on instinct, and the jackal god's sword smashed into the ground a moment later, crushing the blade he'd dropped away to nothing. The reptile cursed under his breath, then winced when the huge sword swept towards him again, and he simply threw himself against the flat of the enormous blade, shoving back against it with his full strength.

At first, Anubis continued to push him, the reptile's feet digging trenches in the earth... and then the giant jackal grunted in surprise as the blade began moving in the opposite direction. The god snarled, then simply twisted the sword upwards, and Zerrex spilled over the other side of the weapon with a blink before letting out a cry of pain as the giant jackal seized him tight in his other hand with a snarl, holding him up in front of his face. "You're testing my patience..."

"Test this." Zerrex growled in return, and his body pulsed with blue energy before Anubis hissed in pain, his fingers opening as the smell of burning flesh filled the air. As the Drakkaren fell free, he immediately threw his sword hard at the underside of Anubis's jaw, and it tore through the rotted flesh and anchored into his gums, and the jackal god arched his back, letting out a surprised ‘hurk!' of pain as he dropped his sword to grasp at his muzzle.

The Drakkaren landed in a flexed crouch, and immediately he ran for the massive scimitar as Anubis tilted his head back and reached into his mouth, gagging as he felt around for the small sword... and a moment later he screamed as Zerrex rammed the massive scimitar through his stomach, the reptile holding the huge blade by the hilt like a lance as he twisted it viciously, snarling as black ooze and other sick stubstances burbled out of the creature's stomach. Black blood splattered out of his muzzle, dislodging the sword at the same time and sending it spilling outwards, and then Anubis reached down and batted him away, before grasping the sword and jerking it free from his body, and his eyes bulged as several rotting organs spilled out at the same time.

Anubis twitched as the sword vanished, and then he leaned forwards and vomited, before he glared furiously across at Zerrex, his eyes burning white as he shakily stood up, hissing: "Fine! No more games, low-breed!"

The god held his arm out at his side, and white light shone out beneath his hands before black raven feathers burst out of the aura, revealing a massive set of golden scales... and the feathers spun violently around Anubis before flying towards the Drakkaren, wrapping tightly around him and restraining him as the reptile snarled, his eyes burning with horror as he saw into the tear he'd made in the god's stomach and saw squirming, helpless demons and mortals inside, all of them screaming in agony... and a moment later Anubis held out his other hand, and a white feather appeared in it before the Drakkaren felt a terrible pain in his chest.

The feathers exploded around him, then formed into a red marble that floated over to the scales the god was still holding at his side, and it landed in the left dish, causing it to drop as Anubis whispered: "This is your spirit. This is your heart. This is your ka. All who do not pass the weighing of the Scales of Justice will be consumed for a million eons in eternal torment..."

Slowly, the jackal-headed god lowered the feather to the scales... and he grinned viciously as he let it go, holding the scales high in the air with his right arm... and then slowly, ever so slowly, the scales tilted and balanced out, and Anubis stared in horror before shrieking: "What? Not possible!"

The Drakkaren immediately barreled forwards, at the same time concentrating and knowing he had no time for proper preparation as the giant looked at him in dumb shock... and an armor of blue energy coursed over the Drakkaren's body before he simply smashed through one of the god's vulnerable ankles, the bones of his paw and shin exploding into pieces as Zerrex staggered and flailed his arms before falling on his face... and behind him, Anubis gave another howl of anguish before toppling to the ground and landing in a sprawl, the scales vanishing in a burst of light before the giant rolled over and kicked Zerrex hard in the back with his remaining skeletal paw as the Drakkaren stood up.

Zerrex flew across the arena, arms pinwheeling before he crashed on his front, and he rolled over with a snarl as Anubis stood up, leaning heavily to the side as he snarled before holding a hand and creating a long, thin golden spear with a narrow, fountain-pen-like head in another burst of light and feathers... but before either could make a move, darkness swirled into being between them and Sin stepped out of the vortex, roaring in a voice Zerrex didn't think she possessed: "Enough!"

Silence rang out through the arena... and slowly, Anubis dropped to a kneel, lowering his head and murmuring: "Mistress Sin..."

"You never learn, do you? If you refuse to change from the old ways, then I'll leave you here to rot for another ten billion years, Anubis." Sin snarled over at the god, and then she turned to Zerrex, her features calm and cold as she held out a hand to him, saying curtly: "It's time to go."

The Drakkaren nodded, feeling suddenly meek as he approached Sin slowly... before his eyes widened and he rose a hand, shouting too late: "Behind you!"

Anubis's spear tore through her stomach, and Sin's eyes bulged as she fell forwards, dangling with the massive spearhead shoved into the ground out her other side, dress hanging in tatters and her illusionary form fading slowly back into her Naganatine one... and Anubis grinned cruelly as Zerrex snarled in fury, before Sin twitched.

Once, twice... and then the Seethe Hounds tore out of her back with several of her intestines, the latter wrapping quickly around the pole and locking it in place as Sin snarled furiously over her shoulder, her eyes glowing with terrible purple light as Anubis tried uselessly to yank back on the spear before the Seethe Hounds tackled him and immediately ate through his rotten chest, ripping into his body as he howled and screamed in agony, and a moment later his spear vanished in a burst of light, the god spasming and clawing at himself uselessly as Sin turned slowly around, her innards retracting into her body even as she grew and bulged, her horns lengthing and curling, a single large spike shooting out of one side of her back as she rasped: "Why... why does it always come to this..."

She held up her hand, and reality seemed to distort, rippling and twisting around the god's arm before the very Marquee Sur Noir itself seemed to attack him, darkness crackling over the limb before it imploded into nothingness, leaving only a few specks of blood and bone to crumble down. Anubis howled, falling backwards and catching himself on one hand, looking over at Zerrex with horror, as if expecting him to help... and then a moment later he screamed as the same distortion formed around his head, before that too simply seemed to vanish from existence, and the god collapsed to the ground as his chest exploded outwards a moment later, the Seethe Hounds charging back towards Sin and leaping into the gaping wound on her chest as she hissed and twitched.

She trembled, then fell forwards, breathing quietly as her form returned to normal... and then she looked over her shoulder with shame and humiliation at Zerrex, tears falling from her eyes. The Drakkaren trembled, staring, not knowing what to do... but before he could even walk over to her, Anubis's whole paw lashed out and kicked Sin across the arena.

She screamed in agony as she crashed onto her back, skidding backwards and leaning up in shock as the headless god slowly sat up... and a whirlwind of feathers appeared, swirling around his broken, damaged body and then quickly pasting themselves over it, forming a massive network... before they burst apart and a black-furred jackal in a matching obsidian tuxedo stepped out of the maelstrom of black feathers, the dessicated, destroyed body gone as he smiled coldly around at them all.

He was at least seven feet tall, with his enormous, gold-lined ears adding another two feet at least, standing tall off his skull... and his features were incredibly handsome, even if his eyes were black and distant. There were gold rings around his eyes leading into small swirls along his cheeks, matching perfectly the silk shirt beneath his suit and the cufflinks... and he absently adjusted his black bowtie with one hand before holding up the golden scales he still carried in his other, and he said pleasantly: "Sin, Zerrex. A pleasure, I'm sure. You can call me Anpu... a different name for the same thing, yes, but I think you understand the symbolism, at least. Anyhow, Sin, so sorry, but..."

The god held out a hand, and Sin let out a cry of agony before her heart was torn out of his chest, and it flew into his palm before he quickly placed it on the scales, before flicking his wrist to create a white feather as he said mildly: "Nothing personal, but I don't want you to interfere with this interesting little quarrel I'm having..."

He lowered the feather towards the scales... and then blinked before Zerrex punched him hard in the face, and blood exploded from his nose as he staggered backwards, before the Drakkaren swept Sin's heart off the scales with one hand as he punched his other firmly down into the jackal's chest, then landed a hard open palm to shatter the jackal's ribs as he met his eyes, saying coldly: "Nothing personal, Anpu."

He slammed his hand forwards again, this time in a claw, and a moment later jerked back with a snarl, ripping out the god's heart. It let out a cry of shock, dropping the scales... and Zerrex seized them, slamming the heart down into one before kneeing the jackal hard in the stomach. It groaned and staggered backwards, hugging itself and looking horrified, before Zerrex immediately snatched the white feather out of its hand and dropped it on the other side of the scales... and Anubis-Anpu stared in horror as the scales swayed... and then his heart clunked loudly to the bottom of the scale, the feather lifted high in the air.

The god's breath quickened... and then he screamed and arched his back as black flames burst up over his body, staggering backwards and flailing helplessly as he strode around in a circle, his clothes and flesh quickly burning away to reveal the bones beneath, and then these too burned down into ash as the heart on the scales throbbed and thudded violently... and a moment later it twisted up and burst into dark fire as well, and the Drakkaren cursed, throwing away the scales as they rapidly heated up. A moment later, they melted slowly down into nothingness... and then the scattered feathers, ashes, and other remains of the jackal god slowly swirled into the air, twisting around and gathering into a small, golden sphere, and Zerrex stared at this before it shot through the air and into Sin's hand, the female panting raggedly as she stepped up behind him, bleeding heavily from her multitude of wounds as she whispered: "It's a Heartstone... but... we... we have to get out of here before they send in another ‘fighter.'"

Zerrex nodded, and Sin grasped his shoulder, leaning against him as he immediately wrapped an arm protectively around her, glancing around at the crowd... and once more he saw Az'Iriel, standing near the front of the stands this time with two Gigataur guards, and from his clenched fist the lizard thought the Warlord was displeased... and he grinned darkly as they faded out of reality... then slowly back into existence in the Hell of Wrath, beside an anxious-looking Selena.

She let out a sigh of relief, then stared at them both and cursed, clenching her hands into fists and saying quickly: "Stay here, I'll get a Priestess from Lust..."

"No, no..." Sin shook her head quietly, and then she turned towards Zerrex and reached out, beginning to heal his wounds as her hand glowed white... but the Drakkaren shook his head and gently but firmly pushed her back, and she looked up at him with a tremble, whispering: "Lord Zerrex... I... please, I'm not..."

"It's not that... you need to heal yourself first. A healer has to be able to take care of themselves before healing others." Zerrex said quietly, and Sin flushed embarrassedly before nodding slowly, and Zerrex absently began to heal his minor wounds with his own abilities as he looked over at Selena, asking quietly: "What the hell happened to me? I mean, who has the power to send me to the Marquee Sur Noir other than Sin?"

Selena shook her head slowly, crossing her arms and murmuring quietly: "I don't know, Zer... I honestly don't know. It would have to be another Naganatine, or someone using either a forbidden artifact or some serious magical enchantments... but I couldn't even find anyone when I searched the fucking place, or even any magical residue..."

"It would have to be a Naganatine." Sin murmured quietly, and the two looked at her curiously as she shook her head slowly, lowering her head silently. "Only a powerful Naganatine can force someone into the arena from a distance... even a Prince or the Princess would need to touch someone to bring them along to the Marquee Sur Noir, and even then that person would end up in the stands. But only Argalox and the Naganatine Twins have those abilities..."

"And I killed Argalox." Zerrex said quietly, gritting his teeth and looking away as he clenched a hand into a fist. "So it has to be Azazel and Astaroth. Gee, what a surprise... it's like every job I get, I end up with my boss wanting to kill me in this world."

Selena snorted, then shook her head slowly as Zerrex turned away, grasping his shoulder and saying quietly: "Stop fuming and concentrate, you need to heal that big wound on your chest... fuck, it's a good thing you're solid." She made a face as the Drakkaren nodded, looking almost embarrassed as he sat down and slowly began to heal his major wound, and then the Inquisitor looked over at Sin, who was now patching up her dress quietly with her abilities. "Sin, how strong are the twins if they're seperated?"

"Still powerful... Azazel controls the High Elements, and Astaroth controls the Low Elements... and when they're together, they can combine their abilities." Sin said softly, shaking her head slowly, and then she flushed and held out the golden thing she'd called a Heartstone, and Selena stared in shock, which attracted Zerrex's attention far more than all the talk about magic that he still didn't understand. "Lord Zerrex killed Anubis... but I don't know whether or not to give this to him."

Selena frowned, and Zerrex leaned in curiously, looking at the golden stone and reaching out to poke it curiously... but Sin immediately drew it away with a wince before he could touch it, and he grumbled: "What's so special about it anyway? It's just the leftovers of Anubis... and besides, I think Sin should have it, she's the one who did all the work. I got the easy form."

Sin blushed deeply and smiled, although she looked almost-hurt at the same time, murmuring: "It... I couldn't take this. It would be wrong of me..."

The Drakkaren tilted his head, and Selena sat beside him, gently rubbing his back as she said softly: "I guess you don't know better. So here's the quick version... Hearstones are left behind when powerful and old divine creatures are killed in certain ways, including demons. Prince Raithe would have left one behind, but Lilith... Lily, sorry... sucked out his essence, so she absorbed his abilities. Heartstones can be forged into weapons, or simply absorbed by certain demons that already have a high-energy content... and they can be fused together, and all sorts of other complicated stuff we won't talk about right now.

"Listen. If you touch this, the Hearstone will bind with your body, and Anubis's essence will flow into you... and likely break at least one of those chains still on you." Selena said quietly, and the Drakkaren frowned a bit, not liking the implications. "On the other hand, it'll hurt like fuck... and for a little while, you'll feel very uncomfortable, maybe even a few years. But it'll strengthen you, and it might influence your control over your abilities as well."

"Who was Anubis, anyway?" Zerrex asked quietly, tilting his head as he looked over at Sin, and she looked down but sidled closer to him, and he looked at her with quiet curioisity. "He called himself Anpu, too, said it was just a different name for him, though..."

"He was a Judge of Death for a long time here in Hell... he sentenced particularly-wicked souls to various harsh torments or states of undeath, but he was also known for being generous to the good... at least, for a little while." Sin said quietly, leaning against him for comfort and closing her eyes. "Anubis was always more concerned with good over evil, though, and his own views became distorted when cultures began worshipping him as a Lord of the Dead, which he wasn't. He grew... different, distant from us and he refused to show leniency for any action he thought was evil, no matter what the circumstances. Finally, he was removed forcibly from his position... but when he tried to head a coup against the High King Lucifer, he was banished forever to the Marquee Sur Noir. He was originally a god that our God had come across on one of his journies through the universe, and who had joined up with him willingly... but like many gods... he lost his mind."

She finished abruptly, and the three simply sat together before she shook her head, whispering softly: "I can't take the Heartstone. You got a glimpse of what I am... if I took its powers, I would become more distorted, and I'd probably go insane... but I think you could handle it, Lord Zerrex." She glanced up at him, then nudged him gently and closed her eyes as she held it out, saying quietly: "I want to see you released from your seals... because I trust in you, Zerrex... I feel that you're the only person who can stand up to the Warlord and end this conflict for once and for all..."

The Drakkaren looked down quietly, feeling a shiver run through his body as he looked at the beautiful golden pearl in her hand... and then he whispered: "But I'm weak... I don't know what would happen if I took on such power..."

"Just think of your family... and think of us. We'll help you through it, Zerrex... after all, I'm never going to just let you bend me over and make me your bitch." Selena said softly, offering a bit of a smile to him... and Zerrex looked back at her with a faint laugh before he finally, hesitatingly reached out... and Selena touched his shoulder gently, murmuring softly: "It'll all be okay."

The reptile nodded... and then he finally grasped the golden pearl, and he winced as he felt heat rush down his arm and spread through his entire body, before suddenly he was in darkness again... and he heard a cruel laugh as he blinked a few times, staring at a rusted metal wall infested with black and red vines, terrible, monstrous-looking plants growing in several broken stasis tubes... and the reptile slowly turned around as he said quietly: "I'm inside my head again, aren't I?"

"You're a fucking scholar. Congratulations on figuring that one out." The dark version of him said amusedly, spreading its arms. It was sitting once more in the throne, except it had turned a warped blue-silver and was now adorned with several skulls, the white eyes of the beast inside him burning as it added in a cheerful voice, holding up a wineglass filled with blood: "By the way, good work out there. Keep adding to my power and I won't completely destroy you when I take over your body."

"This is my mind." Zerrex said softly, and the dark version of him snarled before the reptile snapped his fingers, and a metal cage fell over the dark creature, the being inside looking horrified before the Drakkaren said quietly: "And you're just another part of me, aren't you?"

"I'm the strongest part of you!" The dark beast howled, and then it snarled and simply tore through the metal bars of the cage, the Drakkaren stumbling backwards in surprise as it loomed up over him, glaring down at him hungrily as it flexed its claws. "I'm the demon inside you... I'm what you're becoming, Lord Zerrex. And soon, we'll trade places, and you'll be the one locked in that throne... with every moment, I grow stronger, because you become more a demon... and unlike you, my only wish is to destroy!"

The creature clawed out at him, and Zerrex hissed in pain, staggering backwards and clutching at the bloody marks on his chest, looking up at the beast with a snarl before he blinked as he heard a cajoling voice behind him say: "Fuck, but aren't you just completely off-form today! I mean, I could've taken on that bitch Anubis in maybe... thirty seconds? And look at this asshole, you're letting yourself get intimidated, you piece of shit! Fucking hell, do I have to do all the work around here?"

"Ravenlight?" Zerrex stared as another, shorter version of himself strolled up beside him, dressed in form-fitting armor and with cold, cruel emerald eyes... and Ravenlight crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at Zerrex childishly before looking back towards the dark beast, the creature snarling but looking confused before the reptile muttered: "This is fucking nuts. I want out of here... I mean, I'm getting a headache, seriously."

"Do that thing where you shrink the guy in a cube." Ravenlight ordered, and then he rolled his eyes and laced his fingers together, adding in a saccharine voice: "Pretty-pretty please?"

Zerrex sighed... but before he could even raise a hand, everything went dark again... and a moment later he blinked as he looked stupidly at the sky from his position flat on his back, Selena and Sin looking down at him with concern as he asked stupidly: "Mommy? Is it time to get up for school?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Fucking hell, I was scared there for a moment you'd gone mental, with all that talking to yourself and shit." Selena grumbled, and then she and Sin both covered their faces in surprise as the seal chains appeared and glowed brightly before one of them snapped, links of energy flying in all directions as Zerrex's body twitched violently, and his eyes bulged.

He stood slowly up, his features slack as he felt his heart thudding, leaning forwards and clenchning and unclenching his hands... and then he grit his teeth as they grew slightly in his jaws, his ram's horns twisting out of his skull as agony tore through him. He staggered forwards, arching his back and roaring as his angel wings tore out of his back, glowing bright white with energy as they solidified, feathers floating down as his body thickened and bulged, and then he leaned forwards and a lower set of wings ripped free on either side of his spine, the four wings flapping once as his entire body grew... and then he howled in pain, his eyes glowing green as his legs snapped backwards and the claws on his feet lengthened into talons.

He panted hard, feeling his entire body throbbing, even his crotch feeling different... and then he blinked slowly, gauging the distance to the ground to be at least twenty feet and feeling a whole new set of strange things over his body as Selena slowly walked around to his front, the seal-marks glowing on his chest as she asked in a gentle, calm voice: "Zerrex, do you hear me?"

The Drakkaren looked down at her, and he licked his muzzle before staring as he slowly twisted his tongue around his maw... and he giggled stupidly before yelping as he accidently bit his new, lengthened and forked appendage, quickly withdrawing it into his mouth and then blushing in embarrassment as Selena gave him a flat look. "You bring a whole new meaning to the word ‘stupid.' Here you are, standing in a brand-new body, and what's the first thing you do? You twist your tongue around your own muzzle and bite it. Like, I should be paid for working with you."

"I'm bigger than you so shut up with the talking or I'll step on you!" Zerrex responded loudly, and then he covered his muzzle as Selena winced and grabbed her head, before asking in a whisper: "Am I really going to be that loud?"

"Until you learn to modulate your fucking voice!" Selena shouted the last part up at him and accented it with an angry flail, and Zerrex staggered backwards before flailing his huge arms and falling heavily on his four wings, his now-long tail flicking back and forth as his new legs kicking awkwardly in the air, and Selena sighed, rubbing at her forehead slowly before mumbling: "Wonderful. I forgot, you can morph back and forth between different stances with your legs in this body, too... but thank fuck you don't have the spikes you did before, or we'd be in some serious trouble, because I know you'd stab yourself in the balls with them."

"Shut up!" Zerrex whined, and then he blushed deeply as Sin walked over and touched his cheek, looking at her embarrassedly. "You are so not allowed to be upset about me seeing what happened to you when you get to watch me flailing around as what's supposed to be a ‘super-demon.' I feel like I'm learning to drive a car or something."

"That's an okay metaphor." Sin said softly, then she gently stroked his thick, long hair from his eyes, and Zerrex smiled a bit before sitting up, and she crossed her arms as he automatically flapped his wings once to shake the dust from them. "Can you furl them on your back or draw those wings into your body?"

Zerrex paused... then he closed his eyes and concentrated, and slowly, his wings withdrew into his form, the reptile arching his back and grunting as his gnarled claws tapped against the ground, but after a few moments they vanished, and he let out a sigh before grinning stupidly, and Selena snapped: "Don't do that, you look like a freak."

The Drakkaren immediately winced and rubbed the back of his head, looking lame, and she strolled around his naked body, deciding to let the lizard figure out on his own about the fact his penis had split into four tentacles... and then she said thoughtfully: "I want you to try and push your legs forwards and change back to the normal kind of stance for you."

Zerrex looked down at his legs, and he made a face at them before fidgeting a bit on the spot... and a moment later, both his knees cracked loudly as his legs snapped forwards out of unguligrade, and he leaned forwards with a mumble, rubbing at his knees slowly. "That sucked... hey... what the hell happened to my dick?"

He stared in horror at his crotch, then paused as he made the tentacles stretch out and rise up, grinning stupidly at Selena... then coughing and quickly letting them drop as she glared at him irritably. His tentacles automatically curled together... and the reptile stared down at his crotch again at the snug fit they made, forming into a single massive penis. He coughed a bit at this, and then shrank back when Selena glowered at him. "Figures the only thing you'd know how to do naturally has to do with your downstairs brain. Now make your demonic characteristics and your dick retract into your body."

"I don't have a genital slit or anything like... doing so." Zerrex swallowed a bit, and then he concentrated... and slowly, bit-by-bit, he shrank down as his body returned to its normal state... and a moment later, he stared down at himself, now with a smooth blue groin but two hanging, enormous testicles, once more ten feet tall and able to stare miserably over at Selena. "Should I get rid of those, too?"

"Yeah, you should." Selena said slowly, and the reptile mumbled and sighed before concentrating hard again... and his large, navy orbs vanished into his body, leaving him smooth and androgynous as he looked morbidly back and forth, hugging himself and looking at the Inquisitor awkwardly. "Wow."

"What?" Zerrex asked flatly... then he paused as Selena continued to stare at him, asking slowly: "What is it?"

She shook her head, then she smiled slightly and patted the Drakkaren gently on the shoulder, saying softly: "Congratulations, Zerrex... you're a selfshaper." A pause as the Drakkaren stared at her dumbly, and she said in a mildly-entertained voice: "It means your body is... it's hard to explain. You have one distinct form... and you can't change your colors or anything... but you can change any minor characteristic about your body. It explains a lot about you and your demonic body... and it makes sense with the Lust-Wrath combination. Personally, I'm also fucking amazed that you're able to get that far into the transformation now... and I'm really fucking glad you aren't going psycho-crazy." She halted, then cursed under her breath, and the Drakkaren heard self-anger in her voice as she asked: "How are you feeling? Sorry, I should've asked before... but just watching you was..."

"It was really interesting." Sin said quietly, and she flushed a bit, looking down and nodding to the Drakkaren as he glanced at her curiously. "And you have three chains left, still... it's incredible how much you're capable of so far with that many still left to break."

That made the reptile feel both good and bad: good, because it meant he'd probably be able to get up to all sorts of nonsense when they were all broken, and he felt he'd be more than a match for the Warlord... but bad, because he could still remember that dark beast inside of him... and I don't want to lose my grip on who I am... absolute power corrupts absolutely is the only absolute rule, after all... "I... yeah..."

He stopped... then shook his head and forced a smile, looking over at Selena and saying quietly: "My penis is not a minor characteristic... but I feel... tired and headachy, I guess, after all that." He rubbed slowly over his skull, then paused as he realized he'd managed to shrink his bull horns in as well. "I feel strained, I guess, from everything that's happened... and... sleepy, I guess."

Selena narrowed her eyes at this, then she asked softly: "Do you feel lethargic? Is your vision blurry at all?"

The Drakkaren frowned a bit at this, then he hesitated and nodded slowly, holding his hand up in front of his face and swaying a bit on his feet before he stretched and yawned, his bull horns slowly sliding out of his skull and his groin area shifting back to normal. "Yeah, I guess I do... it'll probably go away, though..."

"Let's put you down for a nap." Selena created a portal, and the Drakkaren made a face, but instead of questioning him or making one of her usual snappy remarks, she grabbed one of his arm and Sin grasped the other, and they pulled him through the portal as he blinked slowly. "Come on, move your stupid ass."

"Stupid... you." Zerrex said lamely, then he rubbed at his head as Selena guided him over to his cot, the Drakkaren laying down on it and yawning tiredly as his head rested back on the futon, curling up in the fetal position and then mumbling incoherently as Selena jerked the small blanket back and tossed it over him.

Sin, meanwhile, was quietly murmuring a complex incantation, and then she pressed a hand down into the floor and created a circle of runes with a large eight-pointed star in the center, binding the runes together. She glanced up from the runic circle, but Zerrex had already fallen into a deep slumber, and the Naganatine sighed quietly as a strange glow began to pulse throughout the room, murmuring softly: "There. I created a time rift... time should move twice as slow in the room for now, which'll buy back some of however much time he loses... I'll talk to the Princess and you can talk to King Alastor, if you like."

"That sounds good to me..." Selena murmured, quietly brushing a bit of the Drakkaren's hair back before sighing. "Well, Sin, it had to happen sooner or later... he's been pushed too hard in Hell. Now he's gone into a rest state and I just hope he comes out in one piece and fully sane..." She paused, then looked quietly over to Sin. "After all... our own demons are far worse than any here in Hell."