The rightful ruler of my hairy ass. Rey cocked his head. Wait, that doesn't work.

  Zalathar wasn't wrong about it, but whenever he heard the demon talk, he wanted to rip out his tongue and use it as toilet paper. But he kept his feelings in check, and his mouth sealed. As he was now, he couldn't give Zalathar a love bite, much less rip his heart out.

  Zalathar smiled, making his teeth shimmer like polished silver. "Oh, not even one scream. That's disappointing, or maybe we've got a good, strong crew this time."

  There weren't any screams last time, either. Just like last time, everyone sat bewildered with wide eyes, wondering what such an important demon wanted with them besides to eat them. So, Rey did what he didn't do last time. It was like he was playing a game and would pick all the options he hadn't picked the last time.

  "Did you bring us here to eat us or to, you know, sacrifice us to gain immeasurable power," Rey said. Or do you want our help in gaining the throne of Hell because you're too chicken shit to openly rebel against your brother? But he bit his tongue. It was better to play the dumb, scared human until he regained his power. Then, he would show his true colors.

  Rey's question had the intended effect—people got downright terrified. Some trembled in their seats, while others whimpered, on the edge of breaking down or begging for their lives.

  "Nothing of the sort, friend," Zalathar said. "If I had wanted to eat people, why would I go through the trouble of saving you from near death, heal you, and then bring you here in this nice, safe room?"

  "Technically, I did that," Tibras said, then after a pause added. "Sir."

  Zalathar waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, yes, but I asked you to do that. Didn't I, Minion?"

  Tibras sighed lightly. "Yes, sir."

  "Good. Now, let's talk about what you're doing here." Zalathar paused and looked everyone in the eye. His eye seemed to linger on Rey for a moment longer than the others. "You're here to help restore me to my rightful place i.e. the throne of Hell. Why, you may be asking yourself. Well, because you owe me, for saving you from certain death."

  Tibras coughed.

  Zalathar rolled his eyes and continued. "If you refuse to do as I say, well, I'll just eat you. I wouldn't want my Minion's hard work to go to waste. It is an open buffet on Earth, and you're all on the menu."

  He paused to let that sink in. Rey didn't really care about all this, as he knew this, and there was no disagreement in the matter. He couldn't wait to get out of here, regain the system, and start accumulating power again.

  A timid-looking woman, who was clutching her cross, raised her hand. She had been picked last time as well. He searched his memory for her name, and it took longer than he expected to remember, as she was one of the first to die.

  "Yes, my dear," Zalathar asked.

  "Is this an invasion from Hell or truly the rapture?" Maria asked. "If so, then where are the angels?"

  Zalathar snorted. "There is one who always asks this. As far as I know, the angels are sitting cozy in Heaven, or maybe they've gained a new world and are busy training them. Trust me, their training regime is much worse than ours. Lots of encouraging videos, group hugs, pep talks, and puppy murdering. Trust me, it's the worst."

  "We do the puppy murdering, sir," Tibras reminded him.

  "And isn't that the fucking best!" Zalathar cried to a horrified crowd. "Oh, don't worry, you'll love it when you become demons."

  That was another shocker to everyone but Rey. After all, he had become a demon and gone through the transformation, and things had indeed changed. It wasn't a complete transformation, but most of his inhibitions and moral code basically flew out the window.

  And yes, he had enjoyed stomping cute, cuddly things to death, but in his defense, those cute, cuddly things were worth a shit ton of experience.

  Still, he kept many things that made him, him, but maybe with time, he would've lost them as well. He wasn't sure. After all, he had only been a demon for a few years. Maybe after a thousand years, he, too, would've enjoyed slurping bone marrow straight from the bone while his victims watched.

  "So, how does this work? Were the scriptures wrong then?" asked Jerry. Contrary to his name, he wasn't a clever mouse who loved to outthink his nemesis. He was a fat biker dude who always wore his chapter's leather jacket.

  "I guess we're doing this," Zalathar deflated. "Your scriptures aren't entirely right, but they're not entirely wrong either. All the religions got some things right. Is there a Heaven and Hell? Yes, there is. Is there reincarnation until you've achieved salvation? Yes, there is. Is Karma counting all your deeds? Yes, it is. You all look like I skull fucked you. It's not all that difficult. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

  It wasn’t difficult but Zalathar never explained it to them. Rey had to figure it out on his travels by himself. Come to think of it, this S-Tier demon never really explained anything to them. He threw them in Hell blind and without much knowledge of anything.

  "So, there is no god?" Jerry asked, hands clenched into fists as if he was ready to throw hands with the demon lord.

  "Oh, there is a God, all right. The Maker, the man upstairs, pick any name that comes to mind, and they all point to the same entity. Anyways, we're not here to talk about theology, we're here to talk about how you are going to help me axe my brother and put me on the throne of Hell."

  "But isn't Satan the ruler of Hell?" Maria again, who just couldn't let this go.

  "One more question about theology, and I'm going to give you over to my Minion, who loves making smoothies out of you religious types."

  Tibras lifted both eyes off his invisible laptop for the first time and cracked a smile. That sent a shiver up Rey's spine. Maria stiffened, and Rey had to resist the urge to get up and say boo in Maria's ear.

  "My father, Zathain, was the original ruler of Hell," Zalathar replied. "I don't know, maybe you humans heard Satan when someone said Zathain. Now, enough with what's what? It's time to talk about poor old me, who got cheated out of his birthright by my younger twin brother, Zarius killed our father and instated the infernal system, which has become the bane of my—actually everyone’s existence."

  "System?" asked the new blonde girl, who had come in after Rey.

  "See, that is the correct question to ask," Zalathar said, glaring at the soon-to-be-dead Maria, who cowered under his gaze. "My brother is the Sovereign of Order." He barked a laugh. "A demon of fucking order; whoever heard of a demon that loved order and balance? He was always the black sheep of the family. No one liked him until he took over Hell. Now, everyone licks his ass clean every time he takes a shit."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  His form started to slip. His eyes began swimming in his face. His mouth stretched from ear to ear as his teeth sharpened to fangs.

  Rey looked away, not in fear, but looking at him was giving him a migraine.

  Zalathar went on, fury reflected in each word. "There was no system in Hell or Heaven. But somehow, he got hold of the Eternal Heart and changed things on a fundamental level. Now, everyone has the fucking System. It's like one of your games where you get certain classes and skills. It's all so rigid. Even us S-Tier demons are bound by its rules. Oh, the Tiers, don't get me started on the Tiers, or I'm going to kill some babies. Minion, you explain this shit."

  "Yes, sir," Tibras said. "Everyone in Hell, whether they be demons, humans or any other race, have Tiers. They are like classifiers that tell everyone where you stand. It's all straightforward once you see it in action. For example, I'm a B-Tier demon. B-Tier demons are also called Blightlords. My lord here is a S-Tier demon or, in other words, a Sovereign. Tiers start from D all the way to S. Each Tier gives you a significant boost in power and unlocks more skill slots. As you Tier up, your classes evolve as well—"

  "Stop!" Zalathar commanded. "Why talk about something they're never going to see?"

  Rey smiled. Now comes the fun part.

  "Are you certain you wish to do that, sir?" Tibras asked.

  "Yes."

  "It will require a lot of Forever Shards."

  Zalathar raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm short on shards." He tossed him a dirty leather pouch, which sounded like it had a lot of glass pieces inside.

  Rey's hands twitched. It took everything he had not to jump out of his seat and swipe those shards. Forever Shards were the fragments of the strongest power in Hell—the Eternal Heart. The one Rey had accidentally stabbed. Each shard contained such power that it could be used for many different things.

  The shards on the table would be enough to see Rey straight to A-Tier, at the very least. But since he wasn't in Hell yet, he had no System, so they would be useless to him. Still, it was so much power, but the Sovereign was putting it to good use—no more restriction of Classes.

  Hurry up and get to it, traitor. My vengeance awaits.

  "Now comes the fun part," Zalathar grinned. "No more Classes.”

  Tibras upended the contents of the leather pouch on the table, and Rey literally salivated. The Forever shards glowed with a faint blue light. They were worth more than Hellfire Ingots, and those were worth more than a virgin's soul.

  He couldn't wait for Zalathar's Minion to finish his calibration and bestow upon them the improved system. Tibras took the Forever Shards one by one and dropped them into his invisible laptop.

  Tibras's story was pretty hilarious. Some might find it tragic, but then he was a demon, so he deserved everything he had to endure under Zalathar.

  As Tibras worked, Zalathar explained. "You see, I've done this many times before. I won't hide this fact from you. Each time, Hell wins a world. I pick a few Chosen Ones and send them to my personal Kingdom or, as I call it, Purgatory—not the one you're thinking of, woman, so don't even ask," he snapped at Maria. "Anyways, think of it as a tutorial. People on Earth are undergoing their own tutorial, and you will undergo one in Hell, which I created just for you. Well, it's not really created for you, but you'll see. In any case, it's the best training you can undergo."

  Sure, it is, and I'm secretly a unicorn that shoots cocaine out of my ass. Rey almost blurted out.

  "Now, since I want the best, I am going to give you a bit of a handicap," Zalathar said. "My brother's system starts at the D-Tier; mine will start at the E-Tier. So, you're all going to be Exiled. This means that you will all be much weaker than the lowest-tier demons of Hell."

  "But how will we compete with the other demons?" the blonde girl asked, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

  "No need to get feisty, my dear," Zalathar said. "That is the whole point of Purgatory. This is for you to get a head start on Hell and, more importantly, how the system works. Of course, you'll also get four more skills, and that's nothing to scoff at. After all, I'm paying a hefty price for it. Isn't that right, Minion?"

  "Most definitely, sir," Tibras replied emotionlessly.

  Zalathar carried on. "But not to worry, it's not like every demon you come across will stomp you into paste. A majority of the demons of Purgatory will also be powered down to E-Tier. This should give you enough time to practice your skills and understand how to level up your Tier, Tier ranks and skills and how a whole bunch of shit works because Zarius just had to make everything so convoluted."

  He wasn't kidding about that. At first, Rey was so annoyed by the whole System that he wanted to slap some sense into Zarius, but when it came time to actually slap him, he couldn't even get his hands on him. He didn't know Zarius's whole class was built around teleporting, or at least, a significant portion of it was.

  "How so?" Jerry asked.

  Zalathar waved a dismissive hand. "You'll figure it out. It's pretty self-explanatory. What you need to be wary of are my brother's spies. They are everywhere, so trust no one. That applies to everyone you meet. They are demons, after all." He laughed maniacally.

  If I had listened to this earlier, I wouldn't be redoing everything again. Rey got a faraway look in his eyes. I wouldn't have to watch Grandma die again.

  But he would never have a chance to get revenge for Zalathar's betrayal if he hadn't returned. He would never have learned who was behind his grandmother's death. It made him wonder just what other treachery the demon had done. This time, Rey would find it all out. After all, keep your enemies close, and there was no friend here.

  Again, his eyes wandered over to the Greek girl with auburn hair and green, doe-shaped eyes. She had a mole above her upper lip, which tugged on Rey's heartstrings even now. She wasn't smiling, but he knew where her cheeks dipped to form those dimples. She must've noticed him staring because her eyes turned towards him, and he snapped his eyes to the front of the room. He pretended to have seen something very interesting on Zalathar's face.

  "What's in it for us?" The blonde girl asked, not the least bit fazed that she was making a demand off someone who could put her mind in a blender and drink the smoothie without batting an eye.

  "Didn't I say you owe me?" Zalathar replied. "For saving your miserable lives from the lowly demons. Could you imagine dying to one of those things? That's worse than dying to a small dog who yips at every passerby. Anyway, if my undying gratitude is not enough, and if you can stay alive in Purgatory for a year and reach the D-Tier, then if you so choose, I will send you back to Earth to look for any friends or remaining family members. Though you've seen your closest ones die already, so what's the point of going back? However, if you stay and continue to work with me, we will shake the very pillars of creation itself."

  "Bullshit," Rey blurted out.

  Zalathar raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" His voice was dangerously low.

  Rey had two options—to grovel and beg for mercy or double down and hope he wasn't eviscerated on the spot. He chose the latter.

  "I don't believe you. You are, after all, a demon, and you said not to trust anyone. So, I think you're lying. Besides, why go through all this trouble just to send us back?"

  Zalathar's gaze hardened, and it became increasingly hard to maintain eye contact. Even Tibras looked up from his laptop.

  This is fine. Everything is fine. The scary demon of Chaos is just stunned to silence by my dashing good looks.

  "The cock on you." Then, finally, Zalathar laughed. "Oh, you're good. I like you. Start him at Rank 2, Minion."

  "Yes, sir."

  "What? Really?" Rey couldn't believe his luck. The demon was indeed charmed by his good looks.

  "Of course," Zalathar exclaimed. "None of them would've had the stones to dare utter those words even if they were thinking it. This is the kind of courage that I need in all my minions."

  He could still be lying about the rank, but Rey figured he'd find out soon enough. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the blonde girl glaring at him. It was funny; he hadn't had the stones to say this last time, but there was a blonde guy named Tobias who hated him from the outset and even tried to kill him. Thankfully, Rey didn't see him around this time. But the look this girl gave him was not so different from how Tobias used to look at him.

  I would hate to have to kill you, too, because you are kind of cute.

  The blonde girl had mesmerizing blue eyes—the kind one could get lost in. She was about Rey's age, maybe a bit younger. She had a sense of royalty around her and seemed to look down on everyone. Oh, she must've broken many hearts.

  "We're ready to begin the transport, sir," Tibras said.

  "Great," Zalathar exclaimed. "Minion, begin the transport.”

  Back to Hell I go. Rey thought.

  The others looked a little disturbed, but Rey wasn't the least bit concerned. It was like he was about to do a rerun of a game. It wasn't far from the truth. He was tired of his depowered form and couldn't wait to get out of here. He didn't have anything left on Earth that he cared for. Besides, Earth would be broken into pieces a year from now and assimilated into the seven Kingdoms of Hell.

  "Uh, before we go, what is this Purgatory like?" Maria asked.

  "It's my home." Zalathar smiled. "It's the two Kingdoms of Hell that sided with me when Zarius took control of Hell, and for that sin, they were ejected from Hell when I lost. But I saved them from obliteration, and now they circle outside of Hell. Not quite a part of it, but also not quite different from it. You'll love it."

  Maria didn't look too sure of it. She was not going to like Hell, but the good thing was that she would not be alive for long to experience much of it anyway.

  "Say goodbye to Earth, ladies and Gents,” Zalathar grinned. “You're leaving this world behind forever."