"You need my help?" You ask, incredulous, at the She-Devil´s words.
You couldn't believe her. After all the shit she's put you through and now she was asking for your help. If it weren't that she would kill you in a horrible way, you'd be tempted to deny her your help.-. But the succubus sounds sincere with her request. At least as sincere as a succubus could be.
"Consider it a test. I want to see how you really unfold on the Underworld. It is not enough for me just look those delicious memories that are inside your little head. ”Asroth moved a curl of your hair out of your field of vision. You really didn't like the touch of that being. In fact, you found it repulsive.
"I have reliable information that an unknown individual has been sighted in the Lower Ring of Pandemonium. No one knows how he got there." Her purple eyes looked into yours with intensity." I want you to find him."
What he was proposing was a ridiculous plan. You had never set foot on this site and you had no idea what kind of dangers lurked down there. In your cell you only saw a small part of the horror that they were capable of unleashing on your world and now that woman wanted to send you to the cradle of those beasts. You try to make your point clear but the succubus dismisses your concerns with a wave of her hand.
"That you are ignorant of this place is part of the plan." She turned around and left through one of the side tunnels without making any apparent gesture for you or the little man to follow her. Trying not to stay behind, you follow her down the hall. As you went, you could see more of those sarcophagi going up and down for those tubes located on both sides of the corridor. You couldn't help but notice that those who descended were always occupied by people who seemed terrified by the situation they were experiencing. You direct your uneasy gaze to Asroth who continued to speak, impassive to the suffering of those people and you prevented him from noticing any kind of empathy towards them. Remembering how he had acted in the basement of the police station. "As you may have noticed, the sarcophagus in which you have descended is one of hundreds arranged throughout the City and that serve exclusively to distribute slaves among the different rings that make up our magnificent city. The place where we are is the lowest ring of the city. A place popularly known as "The Depths" ." The little man that was in front of you, opened a heavy metal door with his thin hands letting in a stream of hot air that hit you squarely. The she-devil, unfazed, kept advancing in front of you until she stopped in front of a stone walkway. As you approached you could not help but stay with your mouth open at the landscape that opened before you.
You must be on the ceiling of an immense underground cavern that must have been thousands of meters high and stretched for miles. But what was truly surprising was not this natural wonder but what its occupants had created down there. Along the steep stone walls huge reptile-like beasts crawled up the rock wall of the cave, carrying heavy loads on their muscular backs. Along the sheer rock walls were hundreds of Demon-made buildings linked by bridges and cables to the main building where you were standing. A monolithic structure that descended from the ceiling of the cavern to the very depths of it.
That magnificent sight almost made you forget the presence of the devil who spoke to you again with a voice that had lost its singing tone and had become harsh and abrasive. It seemed that she did not like going down to that place very much. As if it were too vulgar for someone of her "distinguished" status, whatever it was, in the hierarchy of the demons.
"This place is dedicated exclusively to mining and mineral processing. Thousands of captives descend every day to this Ring to work in the mines and factories. Like you, these captives are completely unfamiliar with this place." Asroth looks back at you with a confident gaze. "The presence of thousands of members of your race should help you better to camouflage yourself to find your target.
"Who do I have to look for?" You don't lose anything by asking. Asroth had you by the ovaries whatever you did. You could at least try to pretend to go with the plan, earn her trust and get some more information out of her in the process.
"The person you are looking for is posing as a member of your old race." She seemed to emphasize “old”.
That was just great, so you were going blindly through a place you barely knew looking for an individual you couldn't identify and with the help of a person who was clearly on Asroth's payroll. You knew that the mission that the succubus would assign you was going to be complicated but that was excessive. Basically, he was asking you to locate an individual who could surely change his form at will among a tidal wave of prisoners sent to die down here. And if you weren't extremely careful, you could be one of them.
"If I could find it, what should I do next?" You try not to transmit the worry that your mind feels to your body. Asroth seemed impressed by your self-control even though he had basically sentenced you to death. I take an object out of her clothes and she throws it at you.
"Take it." you grab the object with both hands, it was a cylindrical and metallic necklace with a symbol similar to a 6 with a point inside, "use this to communicate with me once you find it. Until then you must keep it hidden. Under no circumstances should you use it for anything else. " She orders you. "You could reveal my presence and the whole plan would fall apart."
And that would be a disgrace. Especially for you. But you still had to talk about the elephant in the room that you tried to keep out of the way.
"How will I know that you won't betray me once you have what you want?"
Asroth didn't seem insulted by your insinuation. In fact, she seemed to have a certain pride.
"You can't know. Betrayal is part of the game."
"It doesn't seem like a game to me."
"But it can be very beneficial if you know how to take advantage of your cards." She tempts you. "If you are victorious you will have proven your worth to The Flame by helping me find a… “Unpleasant guest” by earning you a status in our society. If you fail ... "Her voice took on a perverse tone. "the average life of a slave in "The Depths" is between 6 months and a year. Women tend to hold out a little longer if they are willing to perform ... certain services."
She lets that the threat hang over your head, while you digested it. Her tone of voice had lost any trace of falsehood and now she sounded completely sincere since you know each other. "If you fail, you will stay in this shithole for the rest of your life. Do you think these are enough motivations to assist me?" She scratched one of her long ears unconsciously as she glanced at you.
You sigh.
You let the devil's words slip off you. From your few interactions with demons, you had learned that these people valued strength and the ability to dominate others. You couldn't let her think you were weak and manipulable and you certainly weren't going to get into that mess without fully knowing what you were up against.
This was not the first time you were threatened. During your time as a criminal, you had received enough threats to know how they worked: everyone wanted to get something from you: police officers, colleagues, "friends" ... At the moment of truth they were capable of using whatever means necessary to achieve what they wanted in exchange for what they see as crumbs so that you feel in some way indebted to them and that would cause you to always return to their side. But from a certain point of view, the crumbs could be more valuable than they meant to imply. If you knew how to use them in your favor. As long as you took into account what were your options, rewards and advantages that you could obtain from them. In this case your primary objective was to survive and for this you needed to help the succubus with her goals and eat the crumbs that she threw at you as a reward.
"I need something that identifies the person I'm looking for. "You look back at him, defiantly without showing your nervousness. "I cannot follow your orders without at least knowing what I will face.
"As I told you, it is not a human being." She continued as if nothing, letting her words makes a dent in you. "Sooner or later he will reveal his true nature. I need you to be there and make sure you catch him red-handed. Then we can capture him."
This was fine but there was still one pressing point to talk about.
"And what about The Corruption? Is there a chance that he will know that i made a deal with you?
Asroth seemed to consider your words. But she ended up shaking her head while keeping her eyes on the horizon.
"Not. Your "Essence" has not matured yet." Her hands held the catwalk more tightly. Cracks began to appear in the surface. "He will see you as another "poor" human, alone and helpless." Fangs peeked out of those thin red lips and her eyes looked like little coals burning n her face. "But it is not like that. Remember: You are now a predator. Go after your prey and don't come back to my presence until you end this task.."
She seemed to have finished with you, and like someone taking shit out of his shoe, he turned around Without noticing your presence anymore.
"Homunculus," She did not bother to direct his gaze towards the little man as if he were dealing with someone in a lower stratum than hers. The homunculus handed you a small sheet of paper. "In that direction you will find someone to help you in your mission."
"Mh? thanks?"
"Don't bother thanking him." The little man did not seem angry at that apparent disdain on the part of his mistress. "His kind was created for the sole purpose of serving his superiors."
Asroth seemed to have finished with you, and with her apparent disdain she withdrew from the catwalk and returned to the entrance of the building without a single glance at you.
"Homunculus, It's time to go home. The stench of the cattle displeases me."
Asroth and the homunculus walked through the door back inside the building. Leaving you alone in that new and disturbing world that had been opened to your eyes.