Chapter 412 Love is a Battlefield! (Sometimes)
Chapter 412 Love is a Battlefield! (Sometimes)
Stheno of the Rabisu liked to hunt.
It was one of the few things she’d learned to truly enjoy when she first came up from the underworld.
The green, blues, and reds of this world made the experience so much more cathartic than it had been in the permanently black and dreary underworld that was her old home.
They created a beautiful picture that she felt could be most captivating and addictive; turning her into possibly the only demon from hell who enjoyed nature.
But then again, all of her kin seemed to be branching out these days.
Ever since her lady Igrat had transferred all of the rabisu into the service of the dragon Abaddon; there were certain things that she and her kin had difficulty adjusting to.
The people here, as well as the emperor himself, they were all so…. mushy.
They fought with each other sometimes and engaged in carnal debauchery like the best of lust demons.
But they were all so feeling oriented.
Everywhere she went, someone always asked her how she was feeling, if she was upset about something, or why she had a pretty- yet permanent resting bitch face.
This was just her face!
What was so bitchy about it?!
As a result, the rabisu tended to ostracize themselves from society when they first got here.
But things were changing.
More and more of their kin and brethren were adapting to this new life.
They were learning what emotion was as well as how to properly express it, developing interests not based on sex and slaughter, forming friendships, romantic attachments, and integrating into the world around them.
And though she was glad that her kin seemed to have found this ‘happiness’ that her god was always pushing them to find, she couldn’t help but feel a bit left out.
What did it mean to live like that?
Would she ever understand it, or be able to replicate it?
Or at least… imitate it?
But then again, what was the merit in doing so?
She was fine right now, wasn’t she?
Did she need anything more?
Need may have been a stretch, but.. perhaps it would be nice to have more, if she so desired.
‘Hmph. The blood of the Red God lives in us all indeed. When have I ever thought so deeply about things like this?’
Stheno shook heavy thoughts from her mind as she notched an arrow onto her bow silently.
There were two kinds of wildlife in Sheol.
One were normal animals, created from the flesh of the nature goddess Eris to imbue these lands with ever bountiful life, harmony, and sustenance.
The second, were monsters. Created by the source of all horrors himself to remind only those who live in Sheol that they need not fear those things that others do, as they alone share the same origins as one another.
Stheno was currently gazing at a manticore that was eating the carcass of a bear alongside a simple mountain lion.
Exhaling ever so slightly so as not to draw the attention of the beasts, Stheno pulled back her bowstring with remarkable steadiness as she aimed at a particular spot.
*Whistles*
“”Awro?””
When both of the beasts looked up, there was a short moment where their heads overlapped.
Such a moment was precisely what Stheno had been waiting for.
Letting her arrow fly at just the right second; it sailed right into the forehead of the manticore and passed through unimpeded to the the lioness behind it.
Both creatures fell over dead mere seconds after being pierced; not even realizing that they had been killed.
Such was the way of the hunt.
It is not done to cause anguish, but to pay respect to the cycle of their lives and their own place in it.
Stheno dropped down from the treetops and walked over to the resting bodies of her pray.
Once she was done, she dropped onto both her knees and held out her hands with her palms facing the sky.
Closing her eyes, she offered a short but meaningful prayer to Abaddon, as well as his beloved wife Eris.
This was a simple way to thank them for the feeding and nourishment of her own body that would be achieved via their discarded flesh.
*In Dovahzul* “Hear me, one who scatters and calls the darkness, and the one who is light too bright for denizens of the under. Your vassal sincerely thanks you for you sacrifice.”
At her prayers end, Stheno made a series of intricate clicking noises with her tongue and lips.
At the end of her prayer, she prepared to stand up and take her prizes when a light suddenly shone on them both.
Out of nowhere, the corpses suddenly grew larger.
Their flesh became more tender and developed a bit of excellent marbling, and their coats became unbelievably more luxurious.
Though she did not smile, Stheno was very happy as she bowed in front of them respectfully.
“I am unworthy of such a gift. Praise be.”
–
Stheno flew back to her home with the carcasses of both beasts on her respective shoulders.
She landed outside of the gates to her own home and immediately raised a brow in surprise.
A young man who she didn’t recognize was standing outside of her front door with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
“Who are you? I am sure you know that trespassing on the grounds of a military official is grounds for severe punishment.”
“I believe I might have heard something like that, yes…”
The young man started walking towards her and Stheno was able to get a good look at him for the first time.
Unfairly handsome, with a familiar aura of overbearing sexuality that was currently buried underneath a somewhat lazy and introverted demeanor.
He also seemed to be somewhat nervous, and had difficulty looking her in the eye.
– *In Belloc’s shadow*
Asmodeus: “Stop being nervous! A woman like her will smell that on you and she will either find it cute or unfavorable, and there is no in between!”
Apophis: “It is in our blood, brother. Just be confident in your endeavors and do not let yourself panic.”
Asmodeus : “If you start stuttering I will tell your big sister and she will call you a pussy for the rest of the month!” (Mira)
Apophis: “Grandfather, stop! You’ll make him panic!”
Hajun: “Ignore both of these imbeciles, my boy! You have my luck with women flowing through yer’ veins! That means you will never fail so long as you let me guide you!”
Asmodeus / Apophis : “”YOU ARE DIVORCED!””
Hajun : “Piss off, both of you!”
–
Stheno watched the young man seem like he was growing a bit of a headache and she stared at him a bit more carefully than before.
Finally she realized that this young man bore a striking resemblance to the man she worshipped, and the newest member of the royal family.
“Forgive me… Are you Prince Belloc?”
“…I am.”
Stheno immediately dropped the carcasses on the ground and dropped down onto one knee.
Asmodeus: ‘Attaboy, Belloc! You’re just like me, skipping steps already!’
‘Grandfather, please let me be…’ The youngest of the Tathamet children was starting to think that this was all one big mistake.
“I apologize for not greeting one of the red god’s own blood properly. Do you have need of me for something?” Stheno asked robotically.
“Somewhat… but first..” Belloc hesitantly took Stheno by the hand, and pulled her up from the ground slowly.
She looked confused and mortifyingly, dangerously, pretty and the death dragon could feel his heart starting to thump wildly in his chest.
Deciding to go for broke, he took a deep sigh as he held out the bouquet of flowers in front of you.
“I am aware that you do not know me very well at all, but… I have been infatuated with you ever since I saw you at the festival a few weeks ago. I have come here today to challenge you for your hand in marriage.”
“Is.. this an order from your father?” Stheno asked in confusion.
“He gives no such orders. If you wish to refuse, that right is fully yours.”
Though in the back of his mind, he prayed that she would not.
Stheno still seemed to be caught off guard by this sudden confession, and her eyes flickered continuously as if she were undergoing a range of emotions.
“So then… Am I to assume you hold an attraction to me that is all your own?”
“I do… You are.. more exquisite than I am capable of describing. In Helheim, I saw only the darkness day in and day out as I tried to escape my confinement.
Since being freed by my family I have come to see a lot of bright things but you… are undoubtedly the brightest of all of them. You have no compare.”
Stheno didn’t understand why, but she was beginning to feel slightly jittery inside.
“I-Is that so..? Then can you tell me… What is it about me that has attracted your attention?”
Finally, Belloc seemed to loosen up just a bit as his lips curled into a smile.
“You were standing by a bonfire, watching a street performance and you looked so incomparably captivating. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen someone so happy.”
Immediately, Stheno flinched as if the weight of his words hit harder than any she’d ever heard.
From the moment she’d gotten here, she had always been told that she was difficult to read.
And usually, people just made inferences about her inability to smile and the somewhat off-putting nature of her black and red eyes.
She remembered that street performance.
The singing and dancing of those performing in front of her was inexplicably moving, and she couldn’t help but feel truly elated to watch them give all of themselves to their routine.
She remembered that moment specifically because afterward one of the dancers walked up to her and asked if she was displeased with their performance.
Even the ones undergoing the performance couldn’t read her expressions accurately, but somehow this young prince had done it without fail.
“You could you tell that I was happy?”
“Was it not obvious?”
“I’m told not.” Stheno shrugged.
Absentmindedly, she stared at the bundle of flowers in the young man’s hand.
“Are you… going to refuse my confession?” Belloc asked worriedly.
Stheno fell silent as she thought for a few moments and she eventually reached out to take the flowers from her would-be suitor.
“Yes… and no.”
“…Might I ask you to be clearer?”
“…I.. do not know yet, but I would like to enter into a courtship with you. Though exactly why I want that… I am not certain. Hopefully when I can answer that, I will also be able to answer your question for my hand.”
A smile formed on Belloc’s face that he immediately stuffed back down because he found it too childish.
“Then…I will do my best to treat you-“
“Do we have sex now?”
“…What?”
“I am unaware of how this process is supposed to go. Is this not the moment where we are supposed to merge our bodies together after a few drinks?”
“…No, I don’t think-“
Apophis : ‘If you fuck this up, I will disown you!’
Asmodeus : ‘She’s putting it in your hands, boy! Let her make you a man!’
Hajun : ‘Don’t drink first either, it will ruin your ability to focus and obliterate your technique!’
Belloc once again felt like he should have just done this by himself and left his extended family at home.
But he lost the ability to think about his mistake when he saw Steno beginning to pull of her shirt.
“What.. are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, I thought you were going to take me right here. Should I bathe first? Or change the setting?”
“I-“
Apophis : ‘Don’t ask her to bathe, it adds flavor!’
Asmodeus: ‘If you do things right then you’re both going to get sweaty anyway! Just think of her like pre-salted peanuts!’
Hajun : ‘You two are disgusting…’
Apophis / Asmodeus : ‘We’re lust demons!’
Belloc finally detached his own shadow and stuck his family onto a nearby blade of grass; letting them annoy that instead.
As he prepared to help Stheno pull her shirt back down, the metal gates to her home suddenly swung open.
Visiting their sister were two hulking gray skinned demons with similar horns, eyes, and hair.
As soon as Hakon and Absalom saw a young man whom they didn’t recognize with hands just about to touch their sisters exposed chest, they had a completely understandable reaction.
“”BASTARD!””
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