[Spirit of Lust] Chapter 160: Powerless. (Patreon)

Edit: I accidentally uploaded an older version of this chapter that lacked one part at the very end. Had to fix it. That's pretty much it.

***

Ishtar’s memory was still a mess of jumbled images. Some of those had come together to form a cohesive picture of her past, but in other areas she was even more lost. How long had it really been since she came to the human world? She remembered some people she possessed before Will, but… had there been others? She had a vague feeling that before she’d been acting only on instinct, her memory loss guiding her to seek nothing but sustenance at any cost.

“You okay there, lass?” Jack… No, Belphegor asked.

Now she remembered. Belphegor was one of the seven kings, an equal to her mother. Details of his country still escaped her, but she now had a frame of reference.

They could not make an enemy of this man.

‘Will, we need to be careful around this guy. Jack’s powers were a joke compared to what he could do.’

‘...If you’re sure. But if that’s true, what can we even do to avoid trouble?’

‘Let me handle this. I… might be able to do something. I… think I remember some stuff.’

‘The stage is yours, partner.’

‘Thanks.’

“Sorry for spacing out,” Ishtar said. She once again stood with a confident posture and a hand on her hip. A bit too feminine in Will’s body, but whatever. “Thank you, old man. I remember some things thanks to you.”

“So your memory really is a mess, huh? A consequence of moving to the human world, no doubt.” Belphegor nodded to himself.

“That’s the reason?”

“Moving to a world so devoid of aether is exerting for most beings here. The weak ones don’t last a day unless they find a host, and even then they usually lose themselves to their baser instincts. For a weakling like you, lass, you got lucky you got off with nothing but memory loss.”

Ishtar’s eye twitched. “Me? Weak?”

“Oh, you don’t compare to these lesser incubi and succubi,” Belphegor scoffed, looking around at Azazel, Ariana and the others. “But you’re a far cry from what Inanna used to be. That she was able to kill Lucifer is proof that she was among our strongest.”

Confusion ran wild over everyone’s head, but those words gave Ishtar a mixture of pride and fear. She swallowed. “...What happened to my mother?”

“She passed away, of course. That is known. She did not survive her encounter with Lucifer. A loss, truly,” The old man sighed. “Her strength was what kept this land flourishing. Without it, it is nothing but a wasteland.”

“What happened to the other kings?” Aoi asked from behind Ishtar. The woman approached slowly, her tone… deferential. She understood they weren’t dealing with the average spirit.

“After Lucifer and Inanna burned each other to a crisp, their passing created a power vacuum. The King of Greed tried to claim ownership over both territories, a claim contested by the King of Gluttony. The King of Wrath’s leash broke at Lucifer’s death, forcing the King of Envy to put up his kingdom’s defenses against him. Even I was forced to move when the fighting reached my borders…” Belphegor sighed as if the memory itself exhausted him. “Everything burned, kingdoms fell and most Kings lost their lives. Our world was broken by a single man’s refusal to accept Inanna as an equal. Such a damn shame.”

Ishtar clenched her fists and grit her teeth. In a way, she understood it. The Kings of Sin were named such because they were beings able to draw power from indulging in their deepest desires. That the King of Pride was unable to accept an equal was par for the course, one would believe. But her mother…

Queen Inanna had her creed. Live for love, demonstrate it through sex, protect it through war. Her desires were a way to protect and show her love for her people. Indulgence did not have to equal an inability to coexist!

The fires… The screams…

“All over a pointless squabble…” Ishtar mumbled. She shook her head and took a deep breath. There were other things to worry about at the moment.

Belphegor was loose. If he wanted to, he could do whatever he pleased. There was no one who could stop him except maybe other kings, if any were left.

“So? What are your plans now, Old Man?” she asked him. “What will you do with your freedom?”

Belphegor smiled. “Scared? Relax, lass. If there’s one thing I’m thankful to Jack, is that he showed me how neat the human world is.”

“Hah?”

Belphegor stretched his arms upwards. “Massage chairs, any meal delivered to your door, fast cars, computers, a plethora of entertainment to choose from…” He grinned. “The human world is a place where sloth has won, lass. It’s a paradise for the lazy. I ruled not because I wanted power, but because I had a vision for the world. The human world is just that, my vision made a reality. All I have to do there is enjoy the fruits of other people’s labor. And unlike Mr. Jack ‘The Fool’ Evans, I understand how things work. I will not draw attention to myself, cause troublesome problems and upset the nice balance. I will behave, lass, do not worry.”

There were two angles one could see this from. One was that Belphegor was lying through his teeth. He could do whatever he wanted at any point, and his words were simply an attempt to make them all look the other way. But the other way to look at it was that he WAS the King of Sloth, and if he was as true to his desires as Ishtar was, he would not lie about them.

His dream world a reality. Would Ishtar be able to keep herself from gushing if her dreams came true? Well, they were on their way to be just that, if William kept working hard.

Ishtar turned to look at Aoi. The woman’s right hand rested on the hilt of her sword, more for comfort than out of any belief it would be useful. “If you ask me, I think you can believe him. Think of him as a benign tumor. Trying to get rid of him will be more dangerous than letting him be.”

“That’s rude, lass,” the old man pouted.

Ishtar ignored him. “Will and I won’t get involved with him unless he gets in our way. We can’t do much now, anyway, and the same goes for you, I think. Unless you have contacts somewhere else you would like to throw at this one-man army.”

“...” Aoi pursed her lip and her hand trembled. “This is so frustrating…”

“Isn’t it?” Ishtar agreed. “I need to reach my mother’s level soon. I don’t like this feeling of impotence.”

“Hohoho. It’s the worst, isn’t it?” Belphegor let out an elderly laugh. His smirk, however, was that of a man with influence. “Power is freedom, and freedom is joy. The strong are ones who can enjoy life the most.”

“Power is a burden,” Ishtar said. “My mother thought so, at least. I want to agree with you, but I won’t dismiss my mother’s wisdom so easily.”

Belphegor smiled and turned his back on them all, facing the apartment complex in the middle of the wasteland. “If you ever feel like owing me a favor, seek me out. I won’t be hiding anywhere.”

“Wait,” Ishtar said. “One more thing before you go, old man.”

“Yes?”

“The people under Jack’s control. What happens to them?”

“Oh. Them. Right.” Belphegor chuckled. “I could keep them under my control or free them. Which one would you prefer?”

“Does this count as owing you a favor?”

“Let’s say it does. What’s your answer?”

“Free them all, especially the woman named Cynthia. What’s your price?”

Belphegor sighed and shook his head. “You need to learn more about negotiation, lass. You never show your real interests. That’s how you get taken advantage of.”

Ishtar winced.

“Let’s see… I can free them all. I can also wipe their memories so that they don’t remember anything related to Jack Evans. I can bring back the girl in a coma, too. You know, the sister of your host’s friend. Aren’t I magnanimous? That said… I can free Cynthia of the spell she’s under, but if I play with her memories, you’re looking at a memory hole going years deep. That would no doubt be harmful for her.”

‘!!!’

“Shit…” Ishtar grimaced. “Then only free her from the spell.”

“Very well.”

“So? What’s your price?”

Belphegor chuckled again. “This one is free, lass. Consider it a kind gesture to the daughter of an old friend, as well as a show of good will to entice you to do business with me in the future.”

The old man walked away without another word. Even as his figure became smaller in the distance, his back seemed gigantic still.

It was really frustrating.