Ann Arbor, Michigan - 5:17 PM

  <<<>>>

  [[Guild Chat]]

  Bethany: The Abomination is complete.

  <<<>>>

  While we were all distracted with the Heavenly Host and the Ann Arbor natives, whether trading tips, getting to know each other, or allowing the kids to play hide-and-seek with an actual ninja, we all came to a stop as soon as Bethany sent the message. Each of us politely excused ourselves from our various tasks in order to rush back to the Angel Express.

  The Tea Witch was sitting at one of the picnic tables in the Subspace Depot when we arrived. She was staring at the concoction inhabiting the slim beaker in front of her. Its contents were green with floating pink chunks and pulsed with a conflicting mess of energies. Every so often a small cloud of smoke emerged from the liquid, which turned into a skull and crossbones before disappearing.

  “Is it supposed to do that?” Mercury asked and signed as he got closer, looking at the beaker with concern.

  “There’s a reason I call it the Abomination,” Bethany signed before turning to me. “You asked me to make something really, really weird.”

  “Yeah, that’s my bad,” I said with an apologetic smile, letting the ninja translate this time.

  Jeff bristled at the sight of the liquid and its shaped smoke as he squatted at the end of the table to look at it. “You’re sure this is safe?” he asked, putting an arm around Corwin, who would be subjected to the Abomination soon enough.

  “Safe enough. Pleasant? No. But it will make him stronger, breaking through his limits to the point where we can evolve him again.”

  When the knight gave me an unsure look, Kayla put a hand on his shoulder. “Run us through it again?” she requested before gesturing at the Abomination. I knew her request was more for her husband’s benefit than her own. “What is this?”

  I looked at Bethany, who shook her head to indicate she had no idea. “I just brewed it. The system description doesn’t even say it’ll do what you say it will.”

  As if she needed to make sure we knew she wasn’t lying, the Tea Witch brought it up and sent it to everyone around. The description popped up in front of me.

  <<<>>>

  [[Item]]

  The Abomination

  This tea will twist whatever imbibes it into something dark.

  <<<>>>

  “It worries me,” she finished ominously.

  “That worries me,” Jeff replied as Mercury translated. He had been picking up on ASL, but he didn’t have a good grasp on it yet.

  “Right, so, run us through it again,” Kayla repeated, looking up at me.

  I nodded. It was a very reasonable request, especially given the description. “This had actually been something I had learned about through a very experimental phase where I was trying to figure out what stuck with what,” I started as I sat down at the table. “It’s made from the Langgan, which is a gemstone from Chinese mythology and a tree of immortality, though obviously it’s been twisted a lot by the administration. Mercury so generously donated it to me when I told him that I needed it.”

  “All I knew was that Bethany could do something with it, but you’re welcome,” he replied with a shrug.

  Jamie, who was standing a few feet away from the table, held up a hand before I could continue. “What do you mean by a tree of immortality? What could this have been if Bethany didn’t turn it into the Abomination?”

  “Oh, lots of things,” I answered. “Mixed with something Angelic, given freely, and it would replicate a fruit from the Tree of Life. Mixing it with some form of Elemental dust can make you nearly immune to whichever element it belonged to. You could use it to make an oil that would one-shot almost any undead boss until, like, the ninth scenario.”

  “But not actual immortality,” she stated.

  “If you brew two of them together, then you can get an effect that resurrects you once, but there are only four on the planet total and they’re all very well hidden away. It’s astronomically improbable that anyone finds more than one on the first go around.”

  “What would happen if you brewed all four together?” Jeff asked curiously, standing up so he wasn’t squatting anymore.

  “I don’t recommend it,” I said slowly, wincing as I remembered that particular experiment. “The body can only handle so much life at one time. Basically overdosing on immortality led to a monster that actually forced me to flee into Hell to end things early. On account of it not dying no matter what I did. I’d rather not talk about it. It was kind of a low point for me.”

  The others looked at each other before almost collectively deciding to drop it. I could tell by her aura that Jamie was putting that knowledge in her back pocket for later, which was of course fine so long as it was funny when she pulled it back out.

  “Alright, anyway,” I continued, shaking my head as if to clear the bad memories. “Langgan is truly powerful. When mixed with something Demonic, it becomes truly nasty.”

  “The Abomination,” Bethany signed.

  “The Abomination,” I confirmed, giving the concoction a look. “She steeped it alongside Crokillik’s Core, which was all that remained of the Demon Lord of Potential after I killed him. He was a Slime, which, you know, ew, but his core came with a lot of untapped power. I mean a truly massive amount, and it was forged into something better when he survived the Hellbreaker.”

  “Which sounds like bullshit to me,” Jamie said, wrinkling her nose. “No Demon should survive a literal holy nuke.”

  “Of Potential,” I replied with a shrug. “Demon Lords are the best at what they’re of, and it basically shocked him into a more powerful form. It should be no surprise that the Demonic Emperor could, too. Would drop him down to half health, maybe sixty percent, though. I’ve tried it. The administrators are never fair, even if you throw the wildest of screw balls at them.”

  “Yeah, seems that way,” Jeff said absently as he crossed his arms, looking pointedly at the Abomination. “So what this all boils down to is that this is the mix between something created from the fruit of an immortality tree and the core of an absurdly powerful Demon whose core tenet is potential, and now you want to feed it to my bestest boy?”

  “That’s a pretty fair boil, yes,” I confirmed. When he turned to me, I put up my hands before he could keep going. “However, for him, it’s perfectly safe.”

  “It is?” the knight asked, confused.

  “Specifically because of what he is,” I said, snapping my fingers as I put my hands under the table. Corwin came for pets immediately, and I obliged him. “Think about it, he’s Demonic. Score one for him there. We don’t have to worry about him being twisted by the energies. Plus, he’s an Evolution Hound; he oozes potential. His whole thing is that there’s a potentially stronger version of him waiting at the next milestone. So, what this will do for him is blow through all of the gates holding him back. We can get him ready to become an upgrade, and then we can get the final skill book when we descend into Hell.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to do it now?” Jamie asked. “Starting the assault with Corwin already being a Cerberus has to be better than waiting.”

  “Yeah, but I promised Sara that I wouldn’t go and assault Hell until after the Patron’s Ball,” I replied with a shrug, like it was out of my hands. “Plus, I’d need at least two other people to come with me to get the Two Face, Three skill book, and that’s obviously not going to happen.”

  “What? Why not?” Kayla asked, leaning against her husband as she played with his hair. “Any one of us, except Bethany, would go with you if you just asked.”

  I arched an eyebrow at her. “Okay, I fully expect Jeff to forget things, but not you. We already discussed why normal people can’t go to Hell.”

  The Double Agent’s eyes widened before narrowing at me. “I’m not generally in the business of forgetting things, psychic boy. If you said something about Hell, then I’d remember it. Because it’s about Hell.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  With a frown, I turned to Jeff. He shook his head. “I don’t remember anything about not being able to go, so don’t look at me.”

  “No, I brought it up when we were talking about why I willingly lost my arm to Zalzarog when I was fighting with Manny, which ultimately resulted in nothing thanks to Pustibule,” I said, raising the limb up as if that would help. “Back in Pittsburgh, when we were going through that cemetery to meet with the asshole.”

  Kayla thought about that for a moment before sighing and putting her hand over her face. “Ant, you mentioned Demonic loot that made going to Hell easier, but you didn’t actually tell us what that meant.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, thinking back.

  “You might be misremembering,” Mercury offered. “Like how you thought you told us about the Orb of Amarii, but you never did.”

  “And the jet pack,” Jamie added.

  “Right, and the jet pack,” he agreed, gesturing towards the Weapon Master.

  That had me biting the inside of my cheek as I thought it through. The Ouroboros Tattoos hidden on my skin allowed me to remember practically everything that happened in previous runs, but that didn’t help memories made during this one. Mercury and Jamie even had an example of something I had forgotten on hand.

  “Sara?” I asked, looking at the ceiling to make sure this really was on me.

  <<<>>>

  [[Patron Message]]

  Sorry, Anthony. I’m afraid they’re right this time.

  <<<>>>

  “You’re afraid they’re right this time?” I read aloud, giving the text box a look.

  <<<>>>

  [[Patron Message]]

  Yes. I remember that discussion with perfect clarity. You were talking about how Zalzarog put a hit on you, and that was a part of your plans.

  You said, and I quote:

  “Powerful player, multiple MVPs, the whole nine yards; I’m irresistible.”

  Which I am only repeating because it’s true and you look like you need a win. It was immediately followed with:

  “Most of the time, it’s so points come to me and I get enough Demonic loot that my trip into Hell is easier. Not to become one, of course, but to convert it. That’s off topic, so I’m going to leave it there.”

  At no point do you tell them what you actually need the loot for. Therefore, they are right.

  <<<>>>

  “Huh, damn,” I said, reading through the message again. “I’ve been under the assumption for a while now that at least you two knew what it meant to go to Hell, but apparently I’ve never actually hit you with the reality of the situation.”

  “You could do it now,” Kayla replied smugly, clearly happy to have been right.

  “Yeah. We should give Corwin the Abomination, too. It’ll take a couple of hours to work,” I said, rolling my eyes at the Double Agent’s tone. I decided to let it go.

  “And you’re sure it’s safe?” Jeff asked again.

  “Yes, it is,” I answered again. This time it seemed to stick because he reached out for the beaker.

  Bethany quickly jumped onto her seat and smacked his hand before he could take it. “No!” she signed urgently before removing a pair of thick gloves from her pocket and tossing them next to the Abomination. “Not without protective gear.”

  Jeff looked at me seriously as he heard the translation. “Like safe, safe?”

  “Do you want me to do it?” I asked, crossing my arms.

  “No, I’ll do it, it’s just that everything about this is throwing up huge red flags and I don’t like it.”

  “Worst it’ll do is give him a stomach ache, then he’ll be fine. Perfectly safe.”

  Sighing, Jeff put on the gloves and grabbed the beaker. He immediately grimaced. “Ugh, I can feel its warmth through the gloves. It’s not a nice kind, either.”

  “It’s Demonic, so it really wouldn’t be,” I told him before giving Corwin a little push. “Go get the treat, buddy.”

  The Evolution Hound immediately moved out from underneath the picnic table and sat in front of Jeff. He sniffed at it, shimmied a little closer, and licked his lips.

  “At least it seems like he wants it,” Jamie observed.

  “He also wants chocolates and magical books, and if he were a regular dog then those would be bad for him, too,” Kayla snorted.

  Setting his jaw, Jeff put the beaker in front of Corwin. The dog started licking it immediately, and opened his mouth wide for the Abomination once it started pouring. A quiet scream echoed throughout the Subspace Depot as the concoction disappeared down his throat, causing everyone except me and Bethany to shiver.

  Corwin licked his lips and the beaker when it became clear that there was no more. He transformed, becoming larger with black, bristle-like fur. Ash fell from his mouth as he continued to try and taste more of the Abomination. This was his Black Dog form, the one that put him on this Demonic path.

  He transformed a second time, growing again until his head would have been level with my chest if I were standing. Red markings similar to a rottweiler’s appeared all over his body, and a chain link collar grew around his neck. Two links, which had been hanging, extended and tried to grab the beaker. Jeff pulled it away before it went into Corwin’s mouth.

  The Evolution Hound huffed at it before deciding not to cause trouble, which showed exactly how good his training was despite being a Demonic entity, and laid down. He set his head upon Jeff’s shoe and sprawled out to get comfortable before starting to pant.

  “It doesn’t seem like he’s getting all twisted,” Mercury observed, leaning back to look at the dog.

  “Man, that’s the kind of thing you say when you want to jinx something,” Jeff complained.

  “No, it’s working as intended,” I said. “I can see it through my aura sense. He’s fine.”

  Corwin’s body was alight with the almost violent energies of Demons and Life. They shifted through him, breaking down the walls preventing him from getting stronger one by one. Normally, Jeff would have to interact with the system and have his dog achieve feats like defeating a boss without help to unlock these, but this way was much faster.

  All it took was the priceless core of a Demon Lord and a literal four-of-a-kind ancient treasure. Clearly, I wasn’t asking for much.

  “Now, Hell,” I said, steepling my fingers over the table. Everyone except for Jeff turned to look at me, and I let him continue to observe his oversized puppy. “Hell is, as you can guess, incredibly harmful to regular folks. Even I would have to prepare to go there if it weren’t for Sara. It takes a lot for anyone not Angelic or Demonic from being safe, and those of the Heavenly persuasion still get hit with issues all their own.”

  “What’s it do? Poison you?” Kayla asked, curious.

  “A little bit. It saps the life out of you,” I answered, leaning back on the bench. “The only way to counteract it is by killing Demons and taking body parts for ingredients.”

  “Saying ingredients doesn’t really narrow it down considering all the shit we gather for Ash to use,” Jamie stated as she crossed her arms on the table. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific than that.”

  “Point taken,” I said with a chuckle. “Ash will be making them into accessories, small pieces of armor, things like that. Little by little, you inoculate yourself so you can survive Hell’s energy. It takes a lot, too. Probably about 100 Demons a person, though that’s assuming you don’t get the good stuff. 50 per could be done, I suppose, but you have to get some really choice cuts.”

  “Choice cuts?” she asked hesitantly. “That sounds like you also want us to eat them.”

  “Sweet bountiful Eden, no,” I replied with a barked laugh. “No, you just get it processed and wear the gear until you get the passive. Doesn’t turn you into a Demon like some of their skill books, and you can walk around in Hell with only a mild greasy feeling. That never really goes away, but it does stop penalizing you.”

  “How come we can't just go stand in Hell for a bit and leave when it gets bad?” Jeff asked curiously.

  “Because it's a nightmare realm that actively wants you dead, and the administrators are assholes,” I answered with a frown. “I tried it many times before. After a while, you start losing stats and ability levels and you can't buy them back. Nasty stuff.”

  Jamie nodded as if everything made sense now. “Alright, wearing Demon chic definitely sounds better. But you, as an Angel, will be fine?”

  “Kind of to mostly,” I answered, waving my hand. “If I didn’t have Sara’s protection, then I’d be forced to expend extra effort to do anything Angelic. It’s not the same as what would happen to you, but it would definitely be a hassle. See, the Dominions really pull their weight in Hell and basically boost everyone back up to their regular power level. Almost, at least. That’s also what I’ll be doing to you all personally to bypass the need for Demonic doodads.”

  Kayla raised an eyebrow. “You have an Angelic buffing power? And you haven’t used it yet?”

  “I have not. To be honest, y’all haven’t needed it so I’ve kept it to myself so word wouldn’t get out,” I explained. “It’ll work, though. I’m basically going to be giving it out specifically to you four while you go get the final piece to turn Corwin into a Cerberus. It’ll be held by another of the Demon Lords.”

  “While you’ll be going after the emperor, I assume,” Kayla said, to which I nodded.

  “And you think we can take one down ourselves?” Mercury asked, suddenly excited by the prospect.

  “With my buff, your teamwork, and my information? Yes,” I answered honestly. “It will be tough, but the one you’ll be killing isn’t a combatant. Two Face, Three is more of a… social skill book based on lies and deceit. I’ll do a whole presentation later on him. So long as you follow my rules and advice, y’all will come out clean.”

  “Okay. Then I guess we’ll be killing a Demon Lord,” Kayla said after letting out a big breath. “On our own.”

  “Nah, as a team,” Mercury said with a grin. “Which we’ve always been. If we can put a dent into the Warmonger here, I’m sure we can do worse to a big lying liar Demon.”

  Jamie gave him a sharp look. “We haven’t actually dented him in a long time. Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

  “It’s about time, don’t you think?” Mercury asked in return.

  “We’re really going to do this again, aren’t we?” Kayla sighed.

  “I’m up for it if you are,” I said, grinning. “Want me to ask the Dominions if they can get another arena going?”

  The other three looked at Jeff, who was still concerned for Corwin. It took him a moment before he shook that off and turned to me. The thought of a fight must have dashed some of his worries, because a smile appeared on his face.

  “Anthony, we’re gonna bring you down,” he said, jabbing his finger on the table.

  “Well, it’s about damn time.”