Castle of Brimstone - Labours of Arsène

"This was definitely not Selma's doing, "I said aloud, "Yura, would the king really send you here?"

"No, that fool knows better, especially with my guardian watching. This realm...I believe we are in the demon world. Some of the demons we saw in the castle...they would not be allowed to live on Tensen Lumireis. " Explained Yura.

"Damn it, what the hell are you two speaking about," Yelled Winfor, "How the fuck do we get out of here."

Swallowing a tier-one healing pill, I closed my eyes, allowing my body to visibly heal "Good question, but all we can do is explore this hellish place." I slowly said.

"You may have to do that on your own," Nora hesitantly explained, "You have the darkness element, meaning you can hide. If we join, we will only slow you down."

Opening my weary eyes, I looked at the massive library before exploring. We could discuss this later, not to mention we were all exhausted.

With the musty scent of paper filling the void, I marched through the decrepit library. Reading some of the various books that caught my eye. Many of the books were written in another language, yet for some reason, everything made sense.

"Year of The Eternal Flame, Newly Crown prince, Bael lead his soldiers alongside his majesty Drar'ethiul against the northern mythology. Within five billion cycles Zeus alongside Oden fell to their knees forced to sign a treaty with One of the New Gods, Ashna."

"Yet, only misfortune befell Ashna as Asmodeus personally materialized calling forth damnation. In one fell swoop, the two Elder Gods fell alongside a New God. Blood painted the very heavens as Asmodeus called forth another Gate of Brimstone, allowing our realm to achieve another victory."

Pausing, a sinister feeling gripped my heart...Ashna was a new god...and lost to Asmodeus. But how is she still alive. If Bael and Ashna are considered new gods, how could an elder god-like Asmodeus not kill her?

"The history of the Eternal Flame era is quite interesting, don't you agree, young master?" A fiendish voice asked, sending a cold shiver down my spine.

Turning around, I froze as a frail elderly man with magnificently long bread fell to his knees—two crimson-black horns protruding from his skull as he stared at me with crimson eyes. A light smile graced his wrinkled expressions while he turned to the book in my hand.

"Asmodeus is quite the enigma among the Elder Gods. Striking down Elder Gods like grass, yet letting their mythology live on." He continued, " When confronted by Lord Bael as to why he allowed Ashna to live, he merely smiled, never answering the question. Outraged, Bael foolishly battled with Asmodeus, sadly losing with a mere slap to the face."

Chuckling the elderly man stocked his grey beard, a hint of mockery in his eyes, "It was not known why Lord Bael so foolishly attacked His Majesty, Asmodeus, yet the result was that Bael was punished having to murder all his children and clans along with two of his most powerful general. A harsh punishment, but it showed just how powerful Lord Asmodeus is."

Gulping, I could feel a terrifying stare coming from deep within the void as I looked at the man before me, "...Why tell me this..." I asked with fear. Trying to seem as unafraid as possible.

"Because Young Master Arsène, Lord Asmodeus has decreed Lord Bael failed to carry out his punishment. Why do you think that you are here? You, a child of Bael, a devil that should not exist."

Smirking, a long ordinary cane appeared in the elderly man's hand, "As penance Lord Asmodeus has decreed that you young master. Will carry out the will of the Demons and Devils by following the Twelve Labours..."

"Like Hercules, "I interrupted with annoyance, "So the reason that Bael came to me, a mortal, so many times is because of this?"

A profound look flashed across his face as he slammed his cane down, "So you know of Hercules...How odd, no matter. Yes, his sins are yours, Young Arsene."

With a meticulous smile, the elderly demon slowly began to fade as his words sounded, "Obtain the Flame of Hellfire. That is your first Trial created by Lord Drar'ethiul."

Feeling the sweat drip from my palms, I clenched my fist shut as a deep breath expelled from my lungs. Dropping to the ground, I felt a sense of powerlessness as my vision slowly began to fog.

"Fuck me!" I weakly shouted, trying to get a grip.

Appearing next to me stood Yura with a mournful smile, "You have to, Arsene...Lord Asmodeus is not someone anyone can fight. Even my ancestors know better than to ever to fight that monster. There are some things within existence that you can never fight against..., and he is one of them. "

Placing her hand on my head, a cool sensation filled my soul as I stared into her amethyst eyes. "...Yeah..." I weakly told, pushing her hands away. My mind was in a mess.

Rising back up, I looked up at the massive library before taking a deep breath, "I will go out later after we recover."

Walking away, I leaped to another story of the library before starting my cultivation. Demonic Qi flooded my body at a monstrous rate, unlike before. However, nothing seemed to bring joy as I drew Dragonsbane from my bracelet.

I had avoided learning the artes Bael gave me nine years ago, but now is the best time as ever to start. 'Crimson Winds' was a spear technique that affected not only the spear but the body. It combines the concept of wind and blood into a whirlwind of destruction and Chaos.

Crimson qi began to pulse from my body as my skin grew crimson. Cracks within my skin slowly began to appear, yet no blood ran. Jet black qi rushed through all twelve of my Mederians as it slowly turned crimson, causing my thoughts to turn cold. A deep hunger awakened within me before I released the arte.

"I need to add the concept of Wind and Blood to it; Unfortunately, I don't know how to correctly absorb the elements of Wind and..."

Realizing I was within a library of a devil. I laughed before rushing through the library, collecting everything. Everyone had stared at me, but I ignored it, collecting everything that was within the library within a few hours.

None of them could read any of the demonic scripts, so I was allowed to freely do as I pleased before returning to my spot with a content smile. There had been hundreds of artes, all that would make Grey shit himself in surprise.

Grinning, I summoned multiple books that that was oddly enough like the Will of Fire. They were also called Will of Wind, Will of Earth, Will of Thunder, etc. Studying the hundreds of various manuals, I summoned The Will of Darkness, Wind, Blood, and lastly, Will of Lightning.

Scanning them over, my lips fell into a pout at how they all related in some way. Closing my eyes, I felt the darkness element around deep inside of me and around me, spiraling like the moon in its orbit. In contrast, the Blood element hovered around my blood.

Taking it one at a time, I started working on the blood element. Controlling the already existing element around my blood, I began cycling it through my meridians using the demonic Sacerlage Mantra as a catalyst. With each cycle, the blood element would grow even stronger. Splitting my mind, I had one half absorbed Blood element while the other half train with The Crimson Winds Arte.