The devil grinned at the foolish mortal, enveloping him in its powerful energy.
Devilish demonic mana didn't seem that scary at first glance, but it was near impossible to get rid of. It would feed on people's desires and grow exponentially stronger!
Devils themselves were similarly hard to exorcise.
They latched to the living like parasites! Their grasp was like a baby: gentle-looking but terrifying! Once marked by them, there was no escape, only endless torture…
Jack felt it engulf him, both in body and spirit. He closed his eyes as he awaited what would inevitably come.
The devil faintly cackled in the background.
"Foolish mortal, it's already over." It rejoiced as it "knew" its prey would be helpless.
That's when Jack's body turned lifeless as his vision went dark.
The nightmare was about to begin….
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The vision began, one that was impossible to distinguish from reality.
This was the creature's world, one it had complete control over.
In there, the mortal would be subjected to the devil's whims.
Was there any fate worse than this?!
As Jack endured it all, he couldn't help but cry out:
"God, I love this place!" He sounded eager.
His tone was one a tourist would have the first time visiting a titty bar.
Well, it did fit the occasion. As far as his eyes could see, there were beautiful, slender dancers. They would have put goddesses of fertility to shame with their assets.
They shook their naked bodies to the gentle tune of a bass boosted stereo. They even waltzed all over the place, jiggling in all the right places, as they made sure to satisfy their leader.
The powerful and handsome Jack sat on a majestic golden throne engraved with dragons. He was enjoying the show as countless attendants delicately fed him ◽reos.
They were as gentle as possible, eager to please, and even gave him inviting glances at times. They would obey all his orders, all of them!
But, he wasn't the only one enjoying the show.
Near the walls, there were plenty of battle-hardened veterans. They were men that had dedicated their lives to serving him and had helped him create his empire.
They had been nothing more than a small hunting tribe long ago, but now they were THE Hunting Empire!
All the land knew of them, feared them, and trembled as they dreaded their arrival. They were spreading in all directions, conquering all.
Their enemies would inevitably be turned into mere food or shown mercy and kept as slaves.
Led by Jack, their legion knew not the meaning of the word defeat.
Power, women, wealth, fame, they had it all! Yet, they hungered for even more! No, HE had it, and HE craved, for Jack was the soul of the empire.
He was their god. He was their "raison-d'être". He was their all. Without him, there wouldn't be any Hunting Empire, only a bunch of naked savages.
Jack truly had everything! Heck, at this rate, he would have the world itself!— Or that was how it should have been.
In the background, the invisible and silent devil was pulling the strings. So many years had gone by, and the man had long forgotten the life he had once lived.
He had long forgotten that his body was still in Infinite.
He had long forgotten the man he used to be.
He truly was Jack the Hunting Lord.
There was no other truth than this.
But, it was all about to change. The devil had spent so much effort weaving this beautiful tale, and now it was time to make it serve its purpose.
It would steal everything the mortal was accustomed to. The delicious food, the subordinates, the power, his health, and every-fucking-thing! Oh, this would be so glorious!
He got to work.
Disaster struck, then another, and yet another.
Enemy armies showed up, natural catastrophes happened right at the capital, the man's loyal subordinate all betrayed him, his concubines turned on him, and even his ability to get it up was stolen from him!
It was a time of reckoning!
The man despaired more and more with every passing day. He tried to endure, remembering the god he used to be, only to find himself nothing more than a cockroach fighting for survival.
He was the lowest of the low.
He had lost it all.
No one could shoulder such a blow.
Absolutely no one.
That's when the devil came.
He appeared as a friend from olden times.
He appeared to him and offered him a chance at redemption.
All the man had to do was accept his terms, and he would have it all back.
He would be king again, no emperor, and the world would be his, for sure this time!
In the foolish mortal's eyes was endless gratitude as he mistook him for a savior. He gave him a gentle smile as he looked at his surroundings.
They were in the sewers, and he was hiding like a rat. There was no doubt that he couldn't wait to leave it as soon as possible. He was going to accept the devil's proposal for sure.
He opened his mouth:
"God, I love this place."
His tone was one a tourist would have the first time he visited a titty bar.
It did NOT fit the occasion at all!
The devil stilled for a second. Had it misheard, or had the mortal misspoken? But then it finally noticed.
Those words were the same one the man had uttered when the devil had begun the fall from grace plan.
Then it noticed the man's sardonic smile. He knew, somehow he knew!
He knew about the illusion. He knew that this was all a game. He knew that the devil was expending its energy to generate it.
He could have stopped the illusion at any time. He could have avoided all the suffering, hardships, and tribulations. He could have escaped it all…and yet he hadn't?!
Why? Why?! Why!!!!
What was wrong with this man?!
It didn't make any sense! Didn't he have any desires?!
No, he had plenty. He had feasted, he had lusted, he had ruled over them all, he had freaking indulged in every vice! How could he let go of it all so easily?!
"Now, now. You're no fun if you just remain silent, mister devil."
The man's words brought it to its senses.
"That was pretty fun. Shall we go again?"
The devil froze. F-fun?! It had been fun?! It couldn't understand. It simply couldn't understand any of it!
But then the man waved his hand, and as he did, the world went dark…
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Devils were near impossible to get rid of.
They latched unto the living and just wouldn't, nor could let go. This one was already linked with the foolish mortal.
There would be no escape, only endless torture…
This was the creature's world, one it had complete control over. In there, Jack would be subjected to the devil's whims.
It was supposed to be horrifying…
"Go on, do your worst. Ah, but try to be a little bit more creative this time." Jack spoke alone and aloud, as if cursing life itself.
Devilish mana grew along with human desires. It had infinite potential, as did human greed. It fed on the inability of humans to control their impulses.
The man seemingly prayed:
"How about goddesses with a few pairs of titties this time?"
"For the army, can I rule over a legion of cyborg minotaurs?"
"Can I get some godly nectar? Maybe some mead or hydromel?"
"Oh yeah, the palace is nice, but we need Internet in this bitch! Make it fast too!"
He kept endlessly requesting.
This time the devil threw the calamities at him right away.
It launched everything it could think off at the man.
He had him devoured by crickets, torn limb by limb, assassinated, drowned, buried alive, the devil freaking tried everything!
Every time, after an endless torture session, the man would weakly utter:
"God, I love this place!"
It would always shake the devil's consciousness to its core. After every death, the nightmare would start anew, never-ending.
But with every repetition, the devil felt its devilish essence dwindle.
It was barely noticeable, but it was slowly being deplenished.
When it ran out, the devil would disappear.
It would be true death.
To survive, the devil would have to innovate.
It had to make the mortal lose himself in the illusion!
Soon, the human indulged in every pleasure possible. He'd even look toward the devil while embracing his six-tittied goth girlfriend!
Yet, it wasn't ever generating any mana. It meant that he was always ready to walk away! No illusion was ever sufficient to overcome his will. How?!
He'd play to his heart content, then walk away. After that, he'd glance at the pitiful devil, uttering praise that felt like a curse: "God, I love this place!"
The devil was going crazy. It tried it all!
Killing.
Torturing.
Bargaining.
Straight up begging!
But it would always end up with, "That was pretty fun. Shall we go again?"
The devil couldn't take it. It just couldn't! Its invisible and immaterial spirit floated in a corner as it cried.
It couldn't bother weaving a new nightmare. What was the point? The man would just break it anyway!
"Now, now. You're no fun if you just keep sobbing, mister devil."
The devil was now bawling in addition to the sobbing.
Every time it heard the man's voice, its entire being shuddered, and it felt sick.
At that moment, the poor devil only had one wish: "Let me out! Let me ooouuuutttt!!!"
But the man would always give him a peaceful smile as the nightmare started again.
"Please, anyone! Please exorcise this poor devil from this man's body!"
Would it ever end? Please, mercy….
( ╥﹏╥ )
Mercy? What was that? Could it be eaten?
In any case, Jack didn't seem to know its meaning…
"Hey, at least generate me a drink or something." He heartlessly complained.
Hearing the reproachful tone of its "prisoner," the devil seriously began to consider suicide. What if it detonated its essence?
It would likely kill them both. Death sure sounded nice…
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[A/N] Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! 🔥
Day 2: Reckless Typing Mantra 🦅 (3.5/4)
Long chapter, enjoy ^_^v