Dark Souls Academy: The Sacrifice (Hell Dimension #4)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

I t took every ounce of my willpower not to storm back into that room. I slammed the door on Lust instead. How the hell did he know I was searching for my parents? The demons I’d released were questioned only about Lucifer, not my family. Did Lucifer know?

Shit, if he did, they would be used as a bargaining chip. It would fucking work, too. I’d give myself up for them in a heartbeat. Those glorious people deserved freedom. They gave up everything to protect me and Zar, so I’d do the same.

Too rattled to go back in there, I forced my limbs to move away. The clever demon reminded me how much trouble I would be in if the Devil found out my biggest weakness, my heart. Lucifer loved his mind games, and he took pride in winning them. Using those precious to me would quickly turn the tables, making it his game. One that I couldn’t play. When I went back, it had to be with a winning hand or at least a really good bluff.

“What are you going to do?” Ark asked, startling me slightly. I almost forgot he was there; the guy was unnervingly quiet.

Instead of telling him I had no idea, a thought popped into my scrambled brain. “Do you know the things I need answered, or do I have to go over that?” I needed to see how intelligent he was. If he doodled on his communicator the whole time, not paying attention, I didn’t need his help because he didn’t take this seriously.

He nodded, holding up a finger as he spoke. “First, you need a truth potion or something to verify if he can be trusted.” He lifted a second finger, his eyes shifting as he thought. “Next, find out if he really needs souls to survive, and how to get one in here for him. I’m not sure if it’s true or just a rumor.” A third finger emerged slowly. “Also, more information about the Sins. If we kill a lot of these demons, will it doom us all? And—” He raised a fourth finger with a wicked grin “since he’s the original source of lust, does he perform better than any Sex Demon? Because I’m more then ready to volunteer for that test.”

I snorted and couldn’t help but grin. “Good. Get all the Sex Demons eager to help. Take them to the Headmaster to do the silencing oath.” He shuddered at the last part. “Then, get them to look into those answers for me. We have two days, so they need to move fast. Do not let anything leak to my mates, understood?”

The gleam in his eye made me roll mine. “If he consents to the testing, you can fuck the prisoner. I don’t care. He must stay bound, though. Other than that, all it could do is help butter him up.”

I moved to leave but turned back around. “Oh, and don’t die. You’re more useful than I thought. Keep me updated. I’m going to the other prisoners to interrogate them for answers.”

He chuckled as he lifted his communicator to start everything. “I’m glad you’re finally using us, Queen Ivy. You may never be my Queen mate, but you’re a good ruler.”

I didn’t respond to him. My cheeks were too red to even glance his way. For all my power and tough skin, it felt great to hear that I wasn’t completely screwing this up.

The next room was the same as the last, but this one held a highly ranked Nati Demon, guard of Lucifer’s army, so he didn’t pose a threat of magically escaping. Nati Demons were pure blooded demons, but they were also the weakest. The closer to human a demon looked, the higher their power.

Except if you were my attention hungry demon who demanded to always have our horns out. She could put them away, but she wanted everyone to see her. Being hidden for so long had given my demon a complex. I wore them with pride, though.

This demon was purple skinned with a circular body, a long snout looking thing, and beefy extremities. Four red eyes that were bunched together narrowed at me as I approached the large metal table he was strapped to. He thrashed around weakly, but his strength had gone yesterday. The Nati Demon had led a small horde of demons in the academy yesterday to kidnap me. It was an understatement to say they were unsuccessful. A slave heard their plan and warned me.

“Hello, Nomad, how are you doing today?” I purred out. My finger caressed his cheek to throw him off guard.

When he flinched at my touch, a wave of guilt hit me. It didn’t last long. The flashes of how I found him, forcing himself onto one of the smaller slave guys, made my spine harden. He didn’t deserve my sympathy.

“Fuck your Nomad shit.” I ignored that comment.

Demons didn’t use names because they had power. The people that knew a demon-name could summon that demon whenever. There were some exceptions like nicknames—even those could be used against them if enough people knew it. Or angel names like Lucifer.

We only got our true demon-name after age a hundred, so no one at the school except for staff followed that rule. That was why we called them by what they fed on.

But I recently found out that Nati Demons never get true demon-names, which was why I called them all Nomad. It pissed them off, and it gave me power over them. Not literally, but they tended to talk more.

I smirked down at him.

“Fuck you, half-demon brat.” His snout made talking difficult, but he managed.

I chuckled, picked up the small blade next to him on the tray, and slammed the pointy end into his leg. “Now, now. Don’t be rude. I haven’t used your Nati status against you, have I? And we both know who the weaker of the two of us is. I could taunt you forever. I mean, the jokes practically write themselves.”

“I won’t answer your questions.” He lifted his head stubbornly. His lip slightly quivered.

Sighing, as if he was a child, I patted his chest lightly. “Silly goose, you’re so wrong.” I knew the cheerfully calm aura that held me while I played with him wasn’t right, but I still reveled in it.

I grabbed the only other thing on the table, a bottle filled with red liquid. “You see, this is a little concoction that’s going to eat away your flesh very slowly. You might heal, if I let you, but it’ll be a mess.”

“I’m a Nati, I embrace the ugly. We are the faces of demons. The ugly helps fear grow.” His words were so prideful.

I guess that was how the Nati Demons felt better about being so powerless. He wasn’t wrong though. When humans from Earth summoned demons, they called a Nati Demon. The demons lacked the power to stop the summoning magic from pulling them away. I didn’t know how it worked because I never tried summoning a demon, but without a Dimidium or Potens Demon’s true name, they couldn’t be called. So, Hell had to create a balance.

“You’ve been around Lucifer and the sins for years.” His eyes widened at hearing about the sins. Not everyone knew they existed. I barely found out myself. “Do they often feed on the damned souls?”

His surprised expression didn’t lessen. These weren’t the typical questions that I asked, but he still didn’t speak. “Okay.”

I opened the bottle and covered my nose at the rancid smell. Not wanting to risk getting splashed, I used my wind abilities. I called for a malevolent air and asked it to take some of the liquid over to the prisoner. The energy was almost excited. It took the lead and lifted a handful of liquid.

The energy slithered like a snake, rubbing on the prisoner’s lower belly. The scream that came from that gentle touch had my eyes widening. It was my first time using this potion. Trigger made it for me when we started questioning prisoners.

“Ready to talk?” I asked cheerily.

He just growled, so I nodded at my magic as if it was a person. My magic had grown so much, I wouldn’t be surprised if it could take human form. My air element eagerly obliged. Letting the liquid rain on him. Now, those screams almost blew out my ear drums.

“The question isn’t even about where Lucifer is or his plans. What harm could come from me knowing this? The pain isn’t worth it.” My tone softened, attempting to convey sympathy, but it was futile.

He clenched his mouth shut, cursing me in the process. Images of all the people who had been hurt or killed flashed in my mind. Blood-smeared faces, pain, and devastation spurred me on. The frustration of not being able to save everyone was a heavy burden, but the weight lessened each time I tortured an enemy.

I asked the energy to get more. Over and over, the Nati Demon refused to speak. His legs and arms were practically dissolved. The hideous design all over his circular body steamed. There was no relief for him.

His small cries made me smile. When did I start loving this part of my day? Ark had come and gone to let me know that I was missing classes but since most of them were with my mates, I didn’t care. I was close to making the Headmaster let me take classes online or record them. I had too much to do.

I covered my nose again. The smell was so bad my eyes watered. He needed to talk already. That was why I smiled at his cries. He was going to cave.

“It’s a simple question.” My voice echoed around the room. My magic went back inside of me, snuggling into my skin, letting me know how much it appreciated being used.

I waited. I even responded to a message from Kain that had me smiling. Anything that took more off my plate was welcomed, but I didn’t focus on any of that. The sizzling demon on the table commanded all my attention.

My eyes made sure to watch for his tells. When he gave in, I needed to make sure he wasn’t playing me. His emotions wouldn’t lie.

Steam rose and his burning flesh hissed. The potion was downright vial, preventing him from passing out from the pain. “Okay! They order the guards to round up the souls a few times a week with artifacts that can capture them.” He was panting and wincing as he spoke.

“How many a week would you say?” His eyes narrowed at me as black blood dripped onto the floor with a loud splat.

“I usually count about 20 or so a week.” I nodded at his words, doing the math, but I didn’t really need to. That was extreme for only seven people. They definitely fed on souls, but was it necessary?

“Where do they eat? This isn’t common knowledge, so they wouldn’t do it in front of everyone.”

He shook his head, crying, whimpering. The numbness inside of me, and the actions that got him here made me harden against his sounds.

I hit his stomach with the bottle, making him scream. “They eat in the sex room because he makes the Succubi suck them off while eating.”

“Do they all participate?” I needed to know what kind of guy Lust was.

The fucker rolled his eyes. “Of course. You don’t tell Lucifer no.” He paused before continuing. “But a couple of the sins always argue about it. They treat the women good. The idiots.”

“Who?” He didn’t say anything. I repeated myself, and he let out a mix between a chuckle and sob noise. His chin lifted, though. It might be all I got out of him today, but I’d still push him, just in case. “I’m done talking. Make the burning stop, or I’m done.” The fact he thought he had a choice pissed me off. But he was finally talking, so I could be lenient. I didn’t want him dead, yet.

So, with a sigh, I called on my water element, asked it to chill itself and drench the prisoner. The moment the water touched him, he cried again. The burning might have stopped, but his body was still mutilated. A piece of his flesh landed onto me from the splash.

Before I could do anything, Lilah’s name popped up on my communicator, but I ignored her. “You did well. Let’s?—”

I froze as magic filled the air that wasn’t mine. My stomach tightened, making me double over in excruciating pain. A pull demanded my presence. A scream tore from my lips as my name was shouted in my head. This had never happened, but I instinctively knew what was happening… Every demon did.

“The fucker,” I grunted out while my body disappeared from the room. Anger thrashed around inside of me.

What the fuck!