The NU Demon

I try my best to do something, anything! But James's bullshit pervert net keeps me wrapped up tight as I flop on the ground. Getting dropped wasn't pleasant, but is arguably less worse than being choked to death.

"Who the hell is making all that racket?" One of the succubi growls.

"Obviously one of the Bayloroth cultists you twat for brain." Another one jeers back.

"What did you call me!" The first one spits back enraged.

"Enough!" James screams. "Disperse all of you! Sbrugreth may be in charge of security, but we are still responsible for the sigils and ritual! Go back to watching and protecting them. We are not taking any chances on the off chance that his 'security' fails again."

Most of the Succubi snap insults or curse at James, but fly off nonetheless.

"Not you, come with me, and bring that with us." He says to the one who held me down and stole my missile launcher.

The demoness grumbles, but ultimately falls in next to James. James starts walking. And when the line connecting to the net runs out, the asshole starts just dragging me across the ground.

I try to shout at him as loose rocks and assorted debris grind against my skin and lodge in my clothes and hair. But the duct tape over my mouth makes it impossible. Its somehow even blocking me from casting my screach spell.

"You will get the privilege of walking back when you can behave yourself, Lucy." He talks down on me with a tone befitting a parent talking down to a misbehaving toddler.

Fucking dickhead, I'm so murdering him once I get out of this net. I don't care if he has a shield or not, I'll rip it off then rip his balls off next! No matter which way I toss and turn the drag is painful. Being dragged on my chest hurts for obvious reasons, while my wings are very displeased with the experience as well. In the end I discover being dragged on my side is the least painful of the positions. So I throw my weight around to keep on my side.

We pass through the camp fairly quietly, with the succubus letting out a grumble or groan every once in a while. I see many more little details we couldn't see from afar, even with the binoculars. The camp is a mess, looted piles of assorted things strewn about. Ranging from expensive electronics to jewelry, even packaged food and clothing. It looks like the cultists grabbed damn near everything not bolted down. A few groups were sorting through the various piles, taking items and moving them into boxes while noting down something on notepads.

Several of the large cargo containers are open. And seem to have makeshift facilities built into them ranging from barracks, demon dens, and what I think is a vehicle workshop. The longer I'm dragged the deeper we go into the camp, the density of cultists and demons visibly increasing as we go.

After what feels like an eternity of dragging we finally stop. I surprisingly only have a few small scratches, perks of demonic bullshit I guess. My jeans on the other hand got ripped up even worse than they were before. Ah well, I'd be pissed but they weren't salvageable anyways.

"Sbrugreth! I have some issues we need to discuss!" James screams.

I squirm enough to roll myself over, and find myself facing the main entrance of the central bunker. It's abuzz with activity. All the main and side doors are open, lines of cultists constantly streaming in and out like ants to a nest. With the occasional demon flying in above them or knocking them out of the way while coming and going. Suddenly a large shadow shoots out of the central door, flashing across the distance between us and it in an instant. A demon the size of a small box truck slams down in front of us with enough force to smash the pavement, kicking up dust and covering me in debris.

"WHAT! Why do you interrupt me!? Lord Bayloroth is here to witness this event personally and I must attend to him!" It hisses out in an ear grating, deep, gravelly, and distorted voice that is barely understandable.

I recognize its type from the silhouette alone. Big and bulky, with slightly shorter legs, a hunched over posture, and comparatively stubby wings. Malformed feet that look like a cursed mix of a bird and human foot, a face more resembling an orc than anything else, and skin akin to ashen colored stone instead of flesh. What stood before me was a gargoyle. And when it raised off its haunches to stand double James's height I noticed the true projection of its presence, its power level. The succubi have nothing on this thing. I don't know if anyone could. If the succubi were lifeboats, the gargoyle would be the whole cruise ship. And I'm the equivalent of a passenger that fell overboard and is trying not to drown in the wake.

"I wanted to inform you of a slight security situation I had to handle." James says with confidence, not even a hint of fear at the presence of the creature in front of him.

"What do you mean handle!? My guards would have handled it! Do not think you can belittle and malign me with some hock up scheme of yours! If you went out and found trouble on your own, that is your doing, not mine!" The demon raged, stomping forward and leaning down to get directly into James's face. James didn't even flinch.

"More so the trouble was coming to us. I only had to go out two blocks. Because that's how close she got to the camp unmolested by your guards. Moreover, she had this." James says as he makes a gesture to the missile launcher the succubus is carrying. "It came from one of your lost convoys. She almost had a firing line on the crystals. Had I not personally intervened she may have been able to capitalize on it."

"That one is from that group of human pets that you wished to keep alive, is it not? It would not have gotten that far in the first place if they had been butchered like I ordered! You intervened in that matter, so that attack is YOUR responsibility!" The gargoyle screams.

"That does not change the fact she got as close as she did uncontested by your people, and that she was as dangerous to the operation as she was with this. All due to your people's incompetence. If I had wanted to disparage you in front of your lord, I would have brought this up in front of him instead of calling you outside. See to it that this does not happen again." James said, a hint of finality in his voice.

Sbrugreth stomped again, this time hard enough to spray me once again with dust and debris. "My security has held so far and will continue to do so! I must attend Lord Bayloroth. I will deal with your arrogance later, human! And do not interrupt me with such trivial matters again!"

With that the gargoyle turned in an instant and vanished back into the bunker with a gust of wind that ruffled everyone's hair.

"As insufferably pompous and unpleasant as he always is." The succubus sneers.

"Careful." James chides her. "He might still be able to hear you."

"He will be too busy being his lord's personal toy." she snickers in reply.

"Best not test him anyways. He is more easily angered than normal with Lord Bayloroth himself here. Either way, deal with that weapon and return to your duties." James says, turning towards the closest giant crystal.

The succubus angrily mumbles under her breath in demonic while turning away and floating off towards one of the containers that looked like it contained a makeshift armory. Well shit, I was still hoping to somehow get free and steal that back. But at this point it's pretty clear that's not going to happen. Well, I kinda did it to myself, which somehow pisses me off more than if it just happened.

I was so busy figuring that I'd die a horrible death ripped limb from limb and butchered that I didn't consider the actual worst case scenario of going out to fight. Getting captured instead. Because if the stories are true, death is a mercy compared to what the demons might do. And I'd be lying if I said that didn't scare me.

James lifts off the ground again, but this time only about a foot. Apparently he's gone back to being too good for walking. He starts floating away, moments later the magic line connecting the net to the staff goes taught. The dragging resumes, along the unpleasant feeling of rocks and other debris grating against my wings, arms, legs, even face. I desperately squirm around trying to get a 'good' position that hurts the least.

Along we went through the camp the sounds of cultists doing cultisty things and demons being the infernal horrors they are. I hear a loud, deep snap on my left, followed by a series of smaller crunches. I peer over to find a corjo demon laying under one of those fold out plastic tables. It's chewing on something, something fleshy, red, with a white core. Another crunch as it bites down and I realize it's chewing on an arm, a severed one to be exact. It lifts its paw, revealing a feminine hand, a glint on the finger catches my attention. A wedding ring goes down the corjo's gullet with a sickening crunch.

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An imp lands on the table above the corjo. The ugly little thing is only a foot tall, short stubby legs with wings making up most of its body mass. It's also got a face not even a mother could love. With a snicker it reaches a clawed red hand down and snatches the unsuspecting dog demon's prize away. It takes to the sky as the corjo violently bolts up after it, sending the table and its contents flying over backwards. It snaps its jaws shut just short of the imps tail, the little demon flying away cackling. The corjo bolts after it, leading to several screams and a few curses as it darts between two containers.

Suddenly, another imp lands in front of me. This one's green, and a little smaller than the first one. It's also a lot weaker than the other demons. Which makes sense, it's because an imp. I don't need to be a demonologist to know these guys are at the bottom of the demon totem pole. Its maybe a third of my power level.

It hops along next to me, seemingly taking joy in my struggling and pain while observing me. Suddenly it reaches out and sticks a claw through the netting, grabbing a hand full of my hair and yanking. I scream out in pain as the little shit digs its heels in and cackles with glee. I thrash around trying to knock its grip off but to no avail. For an agonizing minute it yanks my hair every which way as I'm dragged across the ground, James seemingly uncaring of its antics.

It finally seems to get bored and lets go, but continues hoping along beside me. Suddenly it jumps into the air, flaps its wings, and lands on top of me. I thrash to throw the little shit stain off, but it keeps its balance. It jumps around, stabbing at me with its claws and giggling every time I flinch with pain. It gives a particularly hard jab, and I scream as a sharp pain shoots through my left wing. Then I feel something warm and wet running down it. It fucking punctured my wing. It's not a big hole, but I can feel it throbbing with pain and heat every second. I start to cry from all the combined pain, a few tears running down my face as my eyes get blurry.

The imp lets out a sadistic cackle, then starts jumping up and down on my back like a little gremlin jumping on a bed. Except it's so small that it doesn't hurt me at all unless it lands on the punctured wing, which results in me letting out another howl of pain, much to the demon's amusement. It tries to jump up and down on the bad wing repeatedly, but I shift myself sideways so it can't. If it were to try, it'd simply side off.

So it switches targets, and reaches through the netting again to start poking at my ass. I feel a few sharp stings, but nothing like the punctured wing. It shoves a claw through the fabric and rips a chunk away, laughing in glee at the destruction it's causing. Suddenly it stops cackling, and seems to become interested in something else. That something is unfortunately my tail, which is pinned down between my legs by the netting.

I feel it reach through and grab hold hold the base, then yank with all its might. The attempt is so pitiful I almost let out a laugh despite the pain I'm in. I barely felt it pull. Apparently my tail is tough enough to be resistant to this little shit, much to its outrage. It keeps tugging, its demented laughter turning into angry grunts as it keeps trying yank but to no avail. Then it reaches a bit further down and pulls again, pulling some of my tail up a bit. Realizing it's doing something, the little shit proceeds to start pulling more and more.

I couldn't get my own tail free of the netting due to how tightly it was bound. But the little shit has leverage and an angle being outside the net, and is slowly able to pull my tail through the hole just above the base. It's by no means a pleasant experience, especially at the start when my tail is basically folded over itself. At first I thrash my tail a bit trying to get it to let go, but then I realize I should let it pull it free. When it seems to start getting bored, I wiggle my tail some and let out another pained grunt, trying to make it think I dislike its treatment. It takes the bait and starts yanking with renewed vigor.

Come on you little shit, just a little bit more. Got it!

My tail pops free, the imp cackles and does a little hopping side to side dance on top of me. It lunges at my tail and grabs hold. At the same time I curl it down towards the imp. My tail is long and flexible enough that I actually can bend it back around and touch its own base with the tip. I'll even have a little room to spare depending on the angle. The imp discovers this the hard way.

I manage to wrap the end around one of its arms, and squeeze tightly. The imp lets out a startled shriek, and swipes at the end of my tail. I feel a burning pain flare up as it gets good hit in, but I keep my grip. It's not strong enough to stop me as I yank the little fuck stain into the air, then slam it down into the ground in front of me as hard as I can. It shrieks even harder as it slams into the ground with a satisfying crack, and I think I even feel something break in the devil. I lift it up, the imp still screeching and trying to claw its way free. Then I viciously slam it into the ground again. It lets out another screech of pain, but all that does is tell me I need to keep going.

Over and over I flail it around and slam it down, twisting and whipping it around to cause as much damage as I can. After a particularly good slam its yelling turns into gurgling. Another slam shuts it up all together. But I'm not done, I thrash it around some more. Most of the impacts end up in front of me so I can see the mangled corpse of the little shit getting what it deserves. I hold the mangled corpse over in front of my face, drinking in the damage I've inflicted. It twitches, so not a corpse…… yet. Another slam headfirst into the ground takes care of that problem.

Around me a few cultists and demons seem to have taken notice of the show. Some of the cultists simply watch with blank faces, others seem more disturbed by the scene. The demons however have reactions ranging from bored to laughing at the imp's miss fortune. That or they are laughing at me being tied up. Probably both.

"See Lucy, you don't want to be at the bottom of the pile. They can sense weakness, and won't hesitate to Oof!" James starts yabbering, but is interrupted when I hurl the mangled imp at the sound of his voice and apparently manage to hit him. Much to the amusement of all the demons around us.

"You are testing my patience Lucy." James says.

Suddenly power flashes through the net, and an electric shock runs through my body. For a full second the world is spasms and pain. When it ends my body goes limp as James continues to drag me along the ground. Now I feel slow, sluggish, my limbs don't want to move, everything hurts with a lingering dull pain. I can faintly make out the stench of burning something, probably me.

"That's a warning to behave yourself. The next one will be twice as long and even more powerful. Now pay attention, we're here." James spits out from ahead of me with an amused tone.

I don't know where here is. But judging from the magical buzz in the air and the faint glowing lines on the ground ahead of me, we're at one of the crystals. A powerful entity enters my sensory range, moving up to James.

"Lord James, final preparations are complete. The base station has finally prepared the portal on their end and is ready to receive. We are ready to begin the connection process at your command." It says to him in a twisted feminine voice.

"Excellent Shema, I've already done a double check on the calculations. All that is left is to inform Sbrugreth. No doubt he will wish to put on a show for his lord." James replies.

"Of course, and given his shall we say, poor response to surprise situations, it would be best to ensure he has prepared." The demoness replies.

"Poor response is an understatement." James says while shifting to drag me into view of the figure he is talking with.

This Shema is another succubus. All purple hair blends with all purple skin, black horns jut out of her forehead and curve back over the top of her head. Red menacing eyes bore into me as she seems to evaluate me.

"This is the new variant? Her magical talents seem acceptable, but the rest is lacking." She states while continuing to stare at me.

"Nothing breaking her in can't fix. Her attitude is good when she applies it properly. Even smashed an imp to a pulp on the way here. But none of that is our concern, that will be left up to the review committee. But I have to keep her with me due to her propensity to get herself into trouble and the younger girl's blood lust." James replies.

"Yes, leaving her with the new bloods would have resulted in…. Damaged goods." Shema replies while handing James some sort of demonic handheld device.

James holds it up to his mouth and starts speaking. "Sbrugreth! Come in! We are ready to start opening the gate. I suggest rapidity before the base station fucks something up on their end again."

A small crackle a moment later and Sbrugreths wretched voice comes through the communicator. "Very good! Start the process immediately! Lord Bayloroth grows tired of the interruptions!"

James simply nods to Shema, who in turn spins around and darts off while barking orders.

"Now Lucy, you'll get to see what true power looks like. It's not being one of those creatures that can travel faster than sound, or smash an entire building with the flick of your wrist. No, it's being able to get those to bend to your will and follow your wishes. Something that the demons are surprisingly good at for all their narcissistic, power hunger antics." James says as he walks to and leans over me. Seemingly unconcerned that he is now well within tail range.

"You know Lucy, I'm kinda envious of you, not going to lie. It takes a lot of preparation or…. grit, to not be completely overwritten by the dark urges during demonization. I'd have gone through it myself already otherwise. And yet, the moment you walked into school that first day back I knew you had changed. Done on a whim what so many crave and prepare for their entire lives in an attempt to throw off their mortal shackles." He continues. The crystal behind him starts to hum in an ominously strange tone.

"Hid under your bed my ass. And yet you just go back to playing human. Wasting all that power and potential, then again you probably don't even realize what you have. How much others have to work for what you just stumbled upon. But that's how it is, the universe isn't fair. So let me show you what you're missing, and why siding with humanity is a losing prospect in the end."

The crystal starts to vibrate and glow even brighter, emitting a sound like constantly crunching ice. Streaks of blue lighting start shooting out of the bottom and traveling up the side to the top. The tone seems to reach its peak as all the lightning rapidly solidifies into a case around the crystal. The beam starts to shift…… and then the whole thing cuts out like someone pulled the power cord.

And judging by the shift from haughty to ultra annoyed on Jame's face, that wasn't supposed to happen. I burst out laughing through my gag. Sick fucking doom crystal they got there.