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/-\
The war room quieted after the initial shock of Raven's arrival.
"The moment I set foot here," Raven said calmly, eyes scanning the walls, "I knew exactly what was happening."
Arthur watched her carefully.
Raven's expression shifted.
"There is no one truly in control of this realm."
Her voice carried softly through the chamber.
"I felt it immediately. Corpses of demons everywhere. Even the air was saturated with death energy." She closed her eyes briefly, as if tasting it again. "Hell is meant to be a place of torment and cyclical suffering. Structured in its cruelty."
Her eyes opened.
"But all I sensed was slaughter."
A faint pause.
"Demon lords are at each other's throats."
Her gaze slid sideways toward Arthur.
"And surprisingly… my boyfriend is the one putting them to the sword."
John gave a crooked grin.
"Well, it's a bit more complicated than that, love."
He leaned against the war table, flicking ash from his cigarette.
"The stakes are higher this time. They're not content squabbling over sulfur pits anymore. They want influence. Power over the living world."
He gestured loosely toward Arthur.
"And it was my idea to bring him here. He's the only one with enough raw power and occult knowledge to pull this off."
John snorted lightly.
"Did you think I'd drag Batsy down here? Or the Boy Scout?"
Kara rolled her eyes faintly at the nicknames.
Raven didn't smile but her eyes softened slightly.
"Oh, I know."
She walked slowly around the table, fingers brushing lightly over one of the maps.
"I'm part demon after all. I know how they think. Or at least… how they try to."
She looked up.
"The strongest among them are never satisfied with Hell alone. Dominion over torment grows dull to them, they desire more."
Her gaze darkened.
"And I'm certain they also sensed my father's absence. Especially the likes of Belial and Neron."
The room shifted.
Etrigan's eyes flared faintly.
Raven's voice remained steady.
"They felt his demise."
A beat.
"Every one of them must have thought it was their time to become Lord Supreme of Hell."
"Especially since Lucifer abandoned this place long ago as well."
John froze mid-drag.
"…Hold on."
He slowly lowered the cigarette.
"Trigon?" His eyes widened. "Daddy Trigon is what exactly?"
He turned slowly toward Arthur.
"I thought you only sealed him."
Arthur's expression did not change.
"We did."
Silence.
Then
"I finished him while he was sealed some time ago."
The words were simple.
John stared at him for a full three seconds.
"…Bloody hell."
Zatanna inhaled sharply.
Kara then cleared her throat.
"So… are we leaving through the gateway we came from?" she asked cautiously. "The one Lucifer promised to keep open for us?"
She paused mid-sentence.
Then slowly looked between Arthur and Raven.
Both of them were staring at her.
Arms crossed.
In unison.
Kara's eyes widened.
"Oh."
A moment later.
"Oh right, never mind."
She pointed vaguely at Raven.
"You just got here without it. Okay. Okay. I get it."
She waved her hands in surrender.
"You two can apparently enter and leave Hell whenever you feel like it. That's… normal."
John chuckled.
"Relationship goals, that."
Arthur exhaled faintly.
With a subtle gesture of his hand, the shadows before him parted like curtains. Space bent inward, folding into a swirling vortex of violet and black light.
A stable controlled portal.
"This will take you directly to my estate," Arthur said calmly.
The image within the portal glowed, green fields beneath twilight skies, the faint silhouette of his manor in the distance.
"Kara. Zatanna. Give George my regards."
He glanced briefly toward Raven, then back to them.
"We will join you soon."
Kara crossed her arms, trying very hard not to look reluctant.
"I'm only leaving," she said firmly, pointing at Raven, "because she's here to keep you company. Remember that."
Raven smiled faintly.
"See you, Kara."
There was warmth there.
Zatanna stepped closer to John.
She reached up and straightened his collar absentmindedly.
"Be careful," she murmured. "And try not to mess up any more cosmic balances."
John smirked.
"Me? I'm the picture of responsibility."
She gave him a look.
He sighed.
"Alright, alright. I'll behave."
A softer beat.
"Mostly."
Zatanna shook her head, but there was fondness in her eyes.
Without further hesitation, Kara stepped into the portal first, sunlight briefly reflecting against her cape before she vanished through.
Zatanna followed, giving one last lingering glance at John.
Then she too disappeared.
The portal glowed once then it closed.
Only Arthur, Raven, John, Etrigan, and the shadow marshals remained.
John exhaled slowly.
"Well," he muttered, rubbing his face, "Now we wait for Dream's signal."
He looked at Arthur.
"No pressure."
****
THE PALACE OF DIS -
Within the throne chamber of the Palace of Dis.
Neron was furious.
The sound tore through the vaulted ceilings, rattling chains that hung like trophies from past demonic rebellions, those crushed by Lucifer. Demonic courtiers scattered to the edges of the hall, pressing themselves against pillars to avoid being the nearest target.
A shattered infernal brazier lay smoking at his feet.
Another followed.
With a violent sweep of his clawed hand, a column of black marble exploded into fragments.
"How.."
His voice reverberated.
"..did he anticipate it?!"
The plan had been perfect in his eyes. Elegant in its cruelty. Capture the Shadow's kin. Draw the Lord of Shadows into reckless fury. Force him into a trap and make him submit to a blood-oath.
Instead
Retaliation, either by the targets themselves or Raven herself.
As if Arthur had known.
As if the board had been read three moves ahead.
Neron's massive form paced before the throne dais, wings twitching with agitation.
"He prepared for it… he must have!" he growled to himself.
"He expected it, how can a mere huma..."
A surge of hellfire erupted from his palm, incinerating a lesser demon who had dared to look up.
The creature didn't even have time to scream.
"I could go myself," Neron muttered, claws flexing. "I could capture them myself or tear them apart."
His burning gaze shifted toward the vaulted ceiling beyond it, beyond Hell itself.
Then it hardened.
"No."
His jaw clenched.
"I cannot leave this realm."
Something bound him.
His eyes drifted slowly toward the throne.
The Throne of Dis.
And seated upon it
The Crown of Horns.
It rested there.
An artifact of rulership older than most demon lords. Black metal twisted into jagged antlers, a power that was not his.
He had tried to claim it.
It had rejected him.
The memory alone made his flames flare violently.
With a roar of frustration, Neron hurled a blade across the chamber. It embedded deep into the far wall, molten cracks spidering outward.
"I am Lord of Hell!" he bellowed.
The Crown did not respond.
Neron's breathing grew heavier. Rage curdled into something uglier.
Doubt.
From the shadows lining the upper balcony, Lilith observed him quietly.
She leaned lightly against a pillar carved from the spine of some primordial beast, long fingers folded before her.
Her crimson eyes glimmered with amusement, she was having fun watching Neron in that state.
'How pathetic..'
The once-proud demon lord reduced to tantrums.
She watched him pace.
Watched the insecurity flicker behind the fury.
He had overplayed his hand.
And now the Shadow Lord could march toward Dis, he already defeated so much of his armies.
Lilith turned gracefully, her dark robes whispering against the stone as she stepped away from the balcony's edge.
Her mind reached outward.
Not with words.
'Blaze.'
The connection sparked instantly.
'Satanus.'
A colder presence answered.
'Belial.'
Her lips curved faintly as she walked through the corridor beyond the throne room.
Regroup within the city, her voice flowed through their minds.
'The time beckons.'
She paused beside a massive stained-glass window depicting Lucifer's long-abandoned reign.
Below her, the City of Dis.
'Neron is unraveling,' she continued smoothly. 'He believed himself clever. He believed himself untouchable.'
A soft, almost musical laugh echoed in the privacy of her thoughts.
'He is neither.'
Her tone darkened.
'The Lord of Shadows advances. Neron cannot withstand him. he is walking a path towards destruction.'
She could feel Blaze's curiosity flare.
'Then let the Shadow Lord tear him apart?'
Lilith's eyes narrowed.
'No.'
She moved again, descending a spiral staircase carved into the palace wall.
'We allow them to clash.'
Her voice became colder.
'We let Neron exhaust himself trying to prove his dominance, I'll even aid him from the shadows. We let the Shadow Lord expose his weaknesses while he crushes Neron.'
A faint pulse of anticipation passed through the psychic link.
'And when the fools bleed…'
Her lips curved again, sharper now.
'We remove them.'
She stopped at the base of the staircase, hand resting lightly against a carved demonic sigil.
'No ruler will stand between us and what we intend to build here.'
Satanus's voice slithered through the connection.
'Mother, the Shadow Lord.. does he truly want the throne? His intentions are still a mystery to me.'
Lilith's expression did not falter.
'He seeks order and Balance.'
Her eyes glinted.
'He does not seek the throne.'
A pause.
'That is his greatest strength.
And potentially
His greatest blind spot.'
'Wait for my command' she finished softly.
The psychic connection dissolved.
Above her, in the throne room, another explosion echoed as Neron's fury continued.
Lilith did not look back.
The true game was not played with fire and shouting. It was played with timing.
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want