•••

Caius and the others just stared at the creature.

First, it was naked. Well, half naked. And not on the part where a male would want to show off. Unless they were degenerate.

It wore a tailcoat on its upper body. The tailcoat actually looked quite smart and was complete with a pocket piece. A red pocket piece (Go figure).

The tailcoat was a deep black. A nightmarish black that looking at it caused one to have visions of hellish shores of the blackest of sands where each grain was a doomed mortal soul. Underneath the tailcoat, the creature wore a red shirt that was only a shade darker than its light crimson skin so it was a bit hard to tell the two apart.

It wore a black bow-tie—that was of the same hellish hue as its tailcoat—around its neck to complete what Caius had to assume was an attempt at a gentlemanly look.

It had one hand behind its back and the other held up like some kind of aristocrat. All in all, looking at its upper body, ignoring the hellish color of its skin, the black claws that tipped its fingers, and the hue of its tailcoat and bow-tie, the creature looked almost respectable.

That barely stable image is broken completely though when you look lower. It had a cummerbund around its waist and past that were red, furry, legs that looked like the hind-quarters of a goat. Complete with deep black hooves.

Some might consider the fur to be coverage but Caius, Delia, and Aurelius did not. As far as they were concerned, the creature was letting it all hang out. And speaking about things hanging out, considering what they all knew/suspected the creature to be, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a certain appendage dangle into view.

It would be deeply unsettling and disgusting. But surprising? No, not really.

Something red flicked about behind its back and it took a while—much longer than it should have in all honesty—for Delia to see it was a tail. A tail with an Arrow-like tip that looked very interested in piercing.

Delia scrunched up her nose and decided she had seen enough of the creature's lower half so she looked up at its face.

It was almost human-like. Even taking away the light crimson shade, there was just something unnatural about the creature's face. It was good-looking but at the same time ugly. It teetered the line between those two adjectives in a way that should not have been possible.

Its hair, mid-length and well-groomed, was like tongues of hellish flames that seemed like a clash of hue with its complexion but that was hardly the main concern here.

It had a van-dyke style beard and both the mustache and the goatee that made up the beard were black unlike its fiery red hair.

Its eyes were a deep black like its beard and tail coat. But they swirled like whirlpools looking to suck one in and swallow them whole. Soul and all.

Poking out of its head, right in front of its hairline, were two horns. Both were black but with fiery red tips to complete the creature's demonic image.

And after taking in all of the creature's features, Delia asked the natural question.

"What the hell are you?"

She sounded so bold. Like the earlier torrent of Drmonic Energy hadn't just shaken her to her very core.

The creature didn't take offense at her tone.

It kept the smirk it had had since the column of Demonic energy dispersed and it became clear to see. Its hands retained their positions of poise and decency that almost let you forget that it was naked from the waist down and had furry red goat legs.

Almost.

"My name, my dear, is Belron," the creature said in a slavering voice as though it were savoring the delight of even saying its own name out loud.

"Fucking narcissist," Delia said with a scoff, "I didn't ask for your name Bel-moron, I asked what the hell you are!"

"Oh? In that case, darling," Belron said in the same voice, "I… am a Fiend. Sent to ascend to this… paltry plane of yours for a grand purpose. Or so I've been told."

'Wait, Belron?' Caius thought with his brows furrowed, 'That can't be right.'

That feeling he had earlier that something was wrong was getting even stronger now. He remembered the name of the creature that appeared here in the original story and it sure as hell wasn't 'Belron'. And sure, there were a lot of these things to be chucked out, but, added to the unease he felt, this change definitely meant something.

And it wasn't something good.

"Paltry?" Delia said, looking taken aback and then she snorted, "Ha, like where you come from is so great."

"I come from Hell," Belron said, "And yes, it is exquisite. Would you like to visit?"

The invitation was genuine. Belron even reached out a hand.

Delia recoiled from it.

"No, thanks," she said.

Maybe it was because of a sudden hike in her agitation but she circulated Divine energy in her body a bit more than she had been doing already to stave off the oppressive aura of the column of Divine energy even though the column was already gone.

Belron paused and then sniffed the air.

There was a look of distaste in his eyes at whatever scent he perceived but also a look of satisfaction. Like something had puzzled him for a while but he now finally understood it.

"A godling," he said in a slow voice of distaste mixed with desire. A desire to kill.

Belron stepped forward.

Delia stayed in place but Caius pulled her back until she was behind him and he was in front of her. Between her and the Fiend.

Something isn't right.

Belron paused and then grinned, taking another step forward. It took a long whiff of the air and despite there being about ten feet between it and Caius, it seemed to have been able to smell what it wanted to smell.

"Another one," Belron said and its pearly white fangs of teeth flashed.

It looked at Aurelius next but didn't sniff. It didn't have to. The aura of Divinity was practically pouring out of Aurelius at the sight of the Fiend. At least, compared to the sliver of the stuff that Caius and Delia possessed, it was.

"Oh my, oh my," Belron said, "No wonder they sent me. Tyron would have had his hands full with you lot."

Tyron. That name was familiar.

And Caius remembered why.

Tyron was the Demon that ascended here and beat Aurelius to an inch of his life in the original Canon.

"You weren't supposed to come," Caius said. It wasn't a question. He was so agitated that he spoke with an authority on the matter before he realized it.

Belron didn't seem to notice. Or maybe it didn't care.

It just nodded.

"Yes, yes. Tyron had to be dragged back. He wasn't pleased one bit. Had been preparing for this for quite a while. But it's so fortunate he didn't come.

By Hell's planes, there isn't just one godling, there are three! He would have been overwhelmed.

No no. Only I, the great Belron can face this challenge. And face it, I shall."

Caius took a few steps back, forcing Delia, who was still behind him, to take those steps back as well.

He understood it now.

He understood just how bleak the situation was.

The Demon Aurelius had just barely defeated despite calling on Divine Intervention, had been deemed too weak compared and Belron who was sent in his stead.

By all that was holy, Caius's calculations were off.

And ironically, they were off because of his actions.

Unlike usual where his actions made things easier for him, they had instead just hiked the difficulty to a level he couldn't even really fathom just yet.

Belron was in the original story. He faced Aurelius when Aurelius was at the Sixth Circle. A circle he definitely hadn't reached yet. This was a problem.

And it was all Caius's fault.

'Fuck me!'

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