Chapter 4

General Balthazer Belial sat on his throne, and gazed at his guards with a self satisfied smile on his face.

It was truly his throne now. As the castle, known to some as the ShadowSpire and to others simply as The Demon King's Castle, was truly Belial's castle now. As it had always truly meant to be. After all, who had commanded the armies of the Demon Kingdom for well over three decades? Belial. Who was a descendant of one of the noble thirteen houses? Belial. Who was a demon who had achieved such power that he had challenged Nergal the Diseased for the throne not once, but twice?

Best of all, Belial was a true demon. Not some pathetic human boy from another world, with barely a scrap of power. Belial had done everyone a favor by taking that weakling off the throne.

Belial ran his fingers across the supple gold inlays of the Devil Throne. He sighed deeply and contentedly. To sit in a throne said to have been forged by the great Jaldabaoth himself… Truly there was no greater honor in this world.

Belial sat there for a while, running his fingers through the nooks and crannies made by the gold as it fused with obsidian, jade, and rubies. It had a feeling of age and wealth that sent shivers through Belial's spine. In all his years of conquest, warring against human, elf, and dwarf, he had never found a treasure that even came half as close to the Devil's Throne in terms of value.

Belial was taken from his revelry by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Belial opened his yellow cat-like eyes, and gazed at the soldier leaning before him. The soldier was a young demon, a recent recruit most likely. Blood matted the soldier's long black hair, and a pair of small goat horns protruded from his forehead. "My lord," The soldier said "I have come with a report from the men sent to apprehend the 13th Demon King."

The soldier waited for Belial to give him leave to give the report.

Belial slowly rose from the Devil's throne. He crossed his arms behind his back, and said nothing. Belial bore into the soldier's eyes with a long and unblinking gaze. Belial stood there, silent and unmoving for several minutes. He waited until he could see that the soldier was starting to sweat.

"I believe," Belial said softly, "That you have made a total of three mistakes,"

The young soldier paled.

"Would you care to guess what they are?" Belial asked in a calm even tone.

"No sir," the soldier said quickly, "I would not dare to-"

"First," Belial said, cutting him off. "You called me 'my lord'. I am 'your majesty' now do you understand?"

Belial walked from his throne and neared the soldier. The soldier swallowed. "I am now king, and I will be treated as such," Belial hissed.

Belial suddenly grabbed the soldier by the throat. The demon made a quick gasping noise that was cut off as Belial tightened his grip. Belial lifted the choking demon into the air. Feebly the soldier gasped for air and kicked his feet. "Second!" roared Belial, "A peasant like you is NEVER to come this close to the throne." Belial tightened his grip slightly, and the soldier's face turned purple.

Slowly, Belial walked away from the throne. He held the soldier in one hand desperately gasping for breath like a fish out of water. Belial's guards watched the scene with bated breath. A few looked towards the ground and tried to imagine that they were somewhere else. None tried to help the soldier.

After several long slow steps, Belial stopped. He threw the soldier to the ground. The soldier rolled like a ball and took in desperate long-awaited gasps of air. "This is the proper distance a mongrel of low birth must keep from the Devil's throne," Belial whispered. "Do you understand?"

The soldier came to a kneeling position and nodded his head vigorously. "Yes my-your majesty," he hastily corrected. "I am-"

"Now," Belial hissed, "Do you want to guess what your third mistake was?"

The soldier, now white as a sheet, mutely nodded.

Belial lay a hand on the soldier's trembling head. He stroked the soldier's hair gently.

"You called him the 13th Demon King." Belial said gently. Belial's hand tightened around the soldier's head like a vice. "You called that LOWLY PATHETIC HUMAN A DEMON KING!" Belial roared.

The soldier trembled.

Belial sneered at him. "Such stupidity is unfitting for one of my men."

Belial leaned down and whispered in the soldier's ear. "I hereby relieve you of duty,"

Belial pulled his head back from the soldier's. Then Belial released the demon from his grip. The soldier stared up at Belial in wide-eyed panic. Belial turned his back from the demon and walked back to his throne.

Belial listened as the demon breathed quickly and nervously. He was almost back to the throne when he finally heard the soldier get up and start walking away.

Belial spun on his heels and threw out a hand. "Crystal Spear," He called. A long spear crafted from clear quartz seemed to materialize from Belial's outstretched hand. It flew like a falcon swooping down for the kill. The soldier barely had time to let out a scream as the spear tore through his stomach and pinned him against a nearby wall.

Thick mollassy blood pooled from the hole torn through the demon. It dripped to the ground in a plip-plop noise. The soldier's eyes were glassy and stared unseeing at Belial. Belial sighed in disappointment. "Not waiting for me to give you leave, that makes four mistakes." Belial sat back down on the Devil's Throne. "I'd call it a waste, but..well there are always more mongrels from where you came from."

Belial waved a hand at the guard nearest to him. "Have that cleaned up," The guard bowed quickly and hurried off.

Belial sighed deeply and returned to running his fingers through the many curves of the Devil's Throne. "Such a wonder," Belial breathed rapturously. "I think I could stay like this forever," Belial closed his eyes and drifted into revelry once more.

Only later, did Belial wonder what that unfortunate soldier's report had been?