The first layer of
Across a desolate wasteland strewn with rubble, a nightmare horse galloped past, its hooves of flame leaving deep scorched marks on the ground.
BOOM!
A fireball soaring through the air descended toward them, but the nightmare horse deftly dodged it, leaving a massive crater in its wake.
Atop the nightmare horse sat a human.
One who could survive in Hell and even tame a nightmare horse as a mount was obviously no ordinary character!
This simple piece of logic had spared Leilin a great deal of trouble along the way.
Now, the petitioners and soul shells lining both sides of the road were growing more numerous, telling Leilin that his destination was drawing ever closer.
If mortals from the Prime Material Plane had worshipped evil and served devils in life, their souls would very likely fall into Hell after death, becoming ordinary petitioners or even lemures!
And some devils liked to twist these souls into grotesque, horrifying shapes as a form of decoration, expressing their own peculiar, evil aesthetic.
Leilin had been somewhat surprised at first, but after seeing enough of them, he naturally paid them no mind.
But now he reined in his nightmare horse for once and stopped before a soul petitioner.
The creature had pale skin, a twisted nose and eyes, its face contorted in agony — devils typically liked to shape these petitioners to resemble their living forms, then distort them further.
A sudden glimmer of awareness appeared in the petitioner's eyes — the reverence one showed upon beholding a high-ranking devil.
"What is your name? Do you still remember any memories from your life?"
Leilin noticed that the creature was quite portly, and from its once-elaborate robes, it was clear that it had perhaps lived well in the Prime Material Plane.
"Rox... or whatever else! Who knows... Poor Rox must reach the Bronze Citadel before three blood suns pass, or my master won't spare me..."
The petitioner — or soul shell — known as Rox lamented, "In the memories of my past life, I was merely a small merchant from the North, and I once devoutly worshipped the Goddess of Wealth..."
Leilin silently rolled his eyes.
Waukeen's worship among merchant communities was, of course, widespread, but as long as one was an ordinary believer who hadn't committed unspeakable crimes during life, they would generally receive Waukeen's redemption after death. Their soul would be guided to her divine realm. Unless it was lying, or had merely been a false believer in life — only then would its soul suffer the fate of falling into Hell after death.
Just from this alone, one could tell that even the petitioner had learned the traits of devils — cunning and hypocritical.
"The Bronze Citadel? As it happens, I'm headed there too!"
In
"Then, most esteemed lord, would you perhaps like a map or directions? A great being such as yourself surely wouldn't refuse the opportunity to bestow a boon upon a humble servant, would you?"
The soul petitioner Rox's eyes darted about, and even through its warped features there radiated a sense of shrewdness and greed: "Or perhaps… a small trade!"
Its right thumb and index finger rubbed together unconsciously, the gesture dripping with sleaze.
"As I thought… your nature is perfectly suited to Hell. A soul brimming with greed — why didn't you fall directly into
A layer of evil radiance surged upward from Leilin's body. The surrounding blood-red sky instantly fell into deathly silence, and even the fireballs floating in midair froze in place.
This was the Devil's Aura! An ability gained from devouring Beelzebub, it had lain dormant deep within Leilin's soul, only to be reactivated here in Hell.
The Chip now provided specific quantified data: [Devil's Aura: Passive domain ability! Exclusive to high-ranking devils! Grants the user innate authority and fear bonuses — all lower-ranking devils within the domain will be subjected to domination, charm, and fear states! Warning: This aura may provoke hostility from other powerful devils! If a dominated devil has a contract master, a negotiation situation will arise!]
"Such pure and evil radiance… you… could you be a Pit Fiend?"
Rox's body uncontrollably dropped to its knees on the ground, with only its eyes still showing fear and twisted anguish: "Master… Rox's Master!!!"
"As expected — compared to a demonic aura that can directly command fiends, the situation in Hell is far more troublesome…"
Leilin shook his head.
As Rox cried out for help, the power of a contract manifested from its body. In the end, it took the form of a gaunt hag wearing a black pointed hat.
"Heh heh… a powerful and ancient devil — did this servant of mine offend your dignity?"
The hag's voice was like a hoarse night owl, sending chills down one's spine.
They often appeared in the trading markets of Hell and the Abyss, serving as merchants. And collecting souls was their favorite pastime.
What appeared now was merely a faint shadow of the other party, yet the power it displayed already surpassed that of many fifteenth-level high-rank mages.
However, the other party was completely unable to see through Lei Lin. Although Lei Lin now looked like nothing more than a wicked human, the devilish aura and essence about him could not be faked, so the hag took him for some high-ranking devil that had assumed human form — the power of a deity had done an excellent job of concealing Lei Lin's identity, and on top of that, he possessed his original devil essence. Even a Lord of Hell would have been unable to discern his true identity.
"Mm! Its mind seems to be a bit off — its heart has been thoroughly corroded by greed… and it actually wants to trade with me…"
Lei Lin shook his head. "It doesn't even understand the very essence of a transaction. No wonder it's stuck as a petitioner — it couldn't even be promoted to a lemure…"
"Heh heh… I was rather hoping to become your trading partner… As compensation for the offense, I can sell it to you, contract and all, for the price of a single mortal soul…"
The hag looked at Lei Lin expectantly, only to be disappointed by his refusal: "How gullible do you think I am, that I'd spend a soul to ransom this wretch…"
He casually pointed at Rox, who was trembling on the ground. "This is obviously someone you picked up off the roadside and forced into a master-servant contract through deception or concealment…"
"What a pity…"
The hag didn't seem to regret it much. Just as Lei Lin had said earlier, this petitioner was nothing more than something she'd picked up on a whim — it hardly mattered at all.
"You may do whatever you wish with Rox, but do remember to accept my compensation demand afterward!"
The hag's illusory figure flickered, as though it were about to vanish.
"Wait!" Just at that moment, Lei Lin spoke up to stop her.
"While I have no interest in that petitioner, there are still some things about you that I find rather satisfactory…"
Lei Lin spoke: "I'm a traveler from the second layer — the plane of
"Heh heh… I love generous customers!"
The hag let out a laugh like a night owl. "Recently there have been many devils from the second-layer plane. Ever since the Lord of Hell,
Then, as though by accident, the hag brought up several secret details about the plane of Dis. Any devil who hadn't lived there for a long time and possessed considerable power would have been unable to answer at all.
Unfortunately, Lei Lin possessed Beelzebub's memories and knew his own domain inside and out. The hag's cunning was entirely useless.
"Heh heh… Very well! A powerful one from the plane of Dis — for the latest intelligence and maps, I'll need three mortal souls or items of equivalent value!"
A roll of greenish parchment materialized from the hag's body, surrounded by flickering wisps of phosphorescent flame that shimmered with a mysterious glow.
"Such spatial teleportation technology? It seems the abyss really does contain quite a few good things!"
Lei Lin's eyes flashed, and three slumbering souls materialized in his hands.
"Hmm..." The hag's eyes blazed with a covetous light, and she rushed forward like a drunk spotting fine wine, rattling off her appraisal without pause.
"Quite impressive souls, unfortunately they carry divine imprints — that's a big problem. You'll need at least five to match the original price!"
"Are you joking?"
Lei Lin said flatly, but the demonic aura emanating from his body solidified like a physical force and slammed the hag backward.
"The souls of devout followers possess far purer and more powerful spiritual energy. Moreover, the god they worshipped has already perished — there are no consequences whatsoever for taking them. A soul like this is worth at least two to three times that of an ordinary one! I'm willing to offer three as currency, and you still dare to complain about greed? Avarice suits Mammon far better than me!"
Even after being exposed, the hag showed scarcely a trace of embarrassment. After all, haggling was practically instinct for devils.
In the end, she agreed to the trade, though Lei Lin flatly rejected her request to sign a contract.
Devils were always adept at embedding tricks within contracts, and Lei Lin had no intention of playing word games with a hag.
"Heh heh... What a generous customer! We shall meet again..."
Having obtained what she wanted, the hag vanished into thin air. The soul-bound servitor that had facilitated the exchange had already perished entirely.
After bearing the energy cost of the item transfer and the coordinate lock, every last drop of its power had been drained, and its body was ground to dust by the aftershocks of the spatial fluctuation.