Chapter 29
ASMODEUS
“Are you sure you want to see this?” I study Simone's face, searching for any hint of hesitation. After our confrontation yesterday, she demanded complete transparency. To see the world I've hidden from her.
She meets my gaze without flinching. “I need to know who you truly are.”
I suppress a sigh. This is not how I imagined introducing her to my realm. I'd hoped to ease her into it gradually, over decades perhaps. But she's right—I've stolen her choices for too long.
“Very well. We'll start with the ziggurat.”
Her brow furrows. “The what?”
“My fortress in the desert.” I cringe. “It's... a lot less refined than our home here.”
I hold out my hand, and for a moment, I think she'll refuse to take it. But then her warm fingers slip into mine, and relief floods me like a wave.
“This will feel uncomfortable,” I warn before transporting us with the ether.
The world dissolves and reforms around us. Gone are the gentle sounds of the Lethe and the scent of white roses. In their place is the acrid tang of sulfur, the distant howls of hellhounds, and the oppressive heat of the desert.
We materialize at the base of my ziggurat, the massive black structure looming above us. Its obsidian steps gleam dully in the reddish light, leading up to the temple complex at its peak.
Simone gasps, her fingers squeezing mine. “It's enormous.”
“It's designed to intimidate,” I explain. “To remind lesser demons of their place.”
Her eyes widen as hellhounds prowl into view, molten saliva dripping from jagged teeth as they snap at each other.
“They won't harm you,” I assure her. “Nothing here would dare.”
Imps scurry between larger creatures, their nimble forms darting through the shadows. A group of succubi lounge on a nearby terrace, their leathery wings and spade-tipped tails on display.
“They look... different,” Simone whispers, her eyes tracking a particularly beautiful demoness whose skin is covered in multicolored scales.
“Most demons have a human form and a demonic form,” I explain. “What you're seeing is somewhere in between—comfortable enough for Hell but still recognizable to mortal eyes.”
She turns to me suddenly, realization dawning in her eyes. “Do you have a demonic form too?”
Ah. The question I've been dreading. My throat tightens. “I do.”
“Will you show me?”
I hesitate, dread like a stone in my stomach. What if she recoils? What if the sight of my true form destroys whatever fragile connection remains between us?
“Not yet,” I hedge, unable to meet her gaze. “Let's continue.”
Her disappointment is palpable, but she doesn't push. Small mercies.
As we climb the ziggurat steps, demons fall silent at my approach. They bow or prostrate themselves, their curious eyes darting to Simone—to her rounded belly—before quickly averting their gaze when they catch me watching.
“They fear you,” she observes.
“As they should.”
We reach a vast open courtyard where a crowd of lesser demons parts before us. Ancient black columns line the space, each carved with scenes of such depravity that I find myself hoping Simone doesn't look too closely.
Alas, something makes her pose the hard questions, voice her true fears about my nature.
“Is it true what they say about archdemons? That you cause plagues that wipe out entire peoples? That you bathe in human blood? That you demand babies and virgins be sacrificed to you?” Her voice drops almost to a whisper, her hand moving to her belly where our child is growing. “That you eat them?”
I consider lying—and it would be so fucking easy to do so—but that's what brought us here in the first place.
“Some archdemons have done all those things and worse,” I admit.
“Great power makes for great egos, and powerful creatures with no boundaries or moral checkpoints will do obscene things simply because they can.”
I pause, choosing my next words carefully. This is why she hates my kind so much. She believes we're all equally heinous. She thinks I’m capable of these things.
“I won't pretend to be innocent. I've committed my share of sins over the millennia. But my domain has always been pleasure. I never demanded child sacrifices or deliberately caused mass suffering. My... indulgences have been limited to debauchery with sexually mature mortals.”
She studies me, weighing my words. I can't tell if she believes me, and that worries me.
We continue through the ziggurat, passing through halls where ritual orgies once lasted for centuries. The black stone walls are carved with explicit scenes celebrating every conceivable form of pleasure.
“How old is this place?” she asks, trailing her fingers along a column.
“Older than human civilization,” I answer. “It was built by some of the first demons to enter Hell.”
Her eyes widen. “And you've ruled here all this time?”
“Since I came into my power. Ashtaroth ruled here before me. He also feeds on pleasure, alongside pride.”
We reach the throne room. It's a cavernous space, dominated by a massive seat carved from a single piece of black stone, decorated with more depictions of writhing bodies.
Simone narrows her eyes at the images. “You sit here and... what? Organize orgies?”
“I govern,” I correct. “I settle disputes, allocate territories, receive tributes, plan campaigns.” I pause. “At least, I did. I've been... distracted recently.”
Her cheeks flush slightly. She knows she's the distraction.
“I've seen enough of this place,” she says finally, her shoulders a bit slumped.
Relief courses through me. “There's one more location I should show you.”
I take her hand again, and we shift through the ether to my residence by the Lethe—not our manor, but my largest estate there. It’s a sprawling palace of black marble surrounded by gardens of night-blooming flowers.
The moment we arrive, the scent hits us—desire, thick and heady in the air. It's so potent that even Simone wrinkles her nose.
We enter the atrium through archways and past flowing fountains of deep red liquid. It's a vast space where dozens of demons lounge on silken cushions and divans.
Beautiful succubi feed each other exotic fruits, juice spilling over naked flesh before being licked away by eager tongues.
Incubi with perfect bodies caress one another, their movements practiced and sensual.
In the center of the room, a pile of intertwined bodies moves in a harmonious rhythm.
Some are fully humanoid, but others display wings, tails, or horns.
“This is...” Simone trails off, her eyes wide.
“Feeding,” I finish for her. “Sex demons need regular sustenance.”
A female succubus has another pinned beneath her, face buried between spread thighs, the receiving demoness's back arched in ecstasy.
Nearby, three incubi service one another in a triangle of pleasure, groans spilling from their perfect lips.
Against one wall, a demoness is suspended in intricate rope bindings, trembling as her partner teases her with a riding crop.
Everything is beautiful here. Everything is designed to evoke desire. The smell of sex and arousal permeates every corner, the sounds of pleasure creating a symphony of carnal delight.
I watch Simone absorb it all, fascinated by her reaction. Her pupils dilate, dark eclipsing the gray. Her pink lips part slightly, breath coming faster. I hear her heart racing, the blood rushing through her veins. The scent of vanilla grows stronger as her arousal builds.
“This is what I am,” I tell her softly. “This is what I rule. This is what sustains me.”
She turns to me, cheeks flushed, eyes luminous, her skin, already glowing with pregnancy, now dewy with perspiration. “They're all so... beautiful.”
“They're designed to be.”
“Did you... create them all?”
I nod. “Most of them, yes. Over the millennia.”
Her gaze drifts back to the erotic tableau, lingering on a particularly passionate coupling. The male is taking the female anally as she screams in ecstasy.
“And you... feed on this?”
“On the desire it generates. On the pleasure they experience.” I step closer, drawn by her scent. “On the arousal you're feeling right now.”
Her eyes snap back to me, and her blush deepens. She doesn't deny it.
My body responds to her nearness, to her obvious arousal. Blood rushes to my cock, hardening it instantly. Her gaze drops, noticing the effect she has on me. When she meets my eyes again, there's a hunger there that gives me hope.
“Do you understand now?” I ask. “What I am? What I do?”
Her eyes never leave mine as she nods slowly, licking her lips. “I'm beginning to. But I still need to see what you really look like.”