Stronger Together chapter 225 (Patreon)

The aftermath of the tournament was surprisingly private. For all the  watching crowds we were invited into the depths under the arena to  speak to the big cheese himself. Malachi didn't come with us this time,  though to my surprise he didn't seem upset. I assumed he was just so  terrified of Lucifer that he didn't dare to question his decisions,  which, since we were standing in a skull the size of a middling mountain  range presumably belonging to an elder demon he'd killed, was pretty  fair.

A pasty  fallen man with scruffy blonde hair and a goatee was leading us down  the corridors. He'd introduced himself as Velkan, and seemed much less  stuck up than Malachi, though much more shifty. Despite that he was  infinitely preferable to our insufferable guide from, before. And full  of helpful tips. "Now, the Sovereign doesn't care much for formality  until he does, and when that happens you'll know it and you'd better bow  and scrape with the best of them if you want to live. Other than that  just answer questions when asked and you'll be fine."

The  fallen had a thick accent I'd have called cockney on earth, though here  I'd been informed it was called a low warrens accent, and belonged to  the districts under that flat plane of glass I'd seen the city sitting  on. Apparently Balam was even bigger than it looked at first glance. I  appreciated the advice. "Anything else? subjects to avoid? Is he  sensitive about his feet or anything? I really don't want to get swatted  like a fly because I accidentally brought up a touchy subject." On my  list of people not to offend if I didn't have to, the actual Devil was  pretty high up.

The  small fallen snickered. "You know, that's a first. Most of the time I  deal with stuck up nobles. I mention something and they ignore me or  play it off like it was obvious. I haven't come across many smart enough  to know to ask for help, or polite enough to do it without ego.  Alright, I'll give you a tip as someone who has been around the  Sovereign enough to know. Don't ignore courtesy. He isn't polite and  amiable because he's weak, he does it because he sees social interaction  as a weapon. He expects others to ignore it, but if you don't, and pay  attention, you might get his interest."

I  had wondered about his upbeat attitude. I wasn't stupid enough to think  it was genuine of course, but I would have assumed the perceived  weakness would have caused people to challenge him. Velkan's advice made  me realize that that was exactly what he wanted. He left fake  vulnerabilities and waited for people to try to exploit them to bait  them into making mistakes. I imagine after some time people had mostly  stopped, but clearly not all of them were smart enough to get the game  because he kept doing it. That kind of manipulation was exactly what I'd  expect from the prince of lies.

Finally  we stepped out of the tunnels and into a massive sprawling chamber.  Almost like a cavern but man made. There were dozens of tunnels leading  off to the sides and in the middle of the room was a small wooden table  with a man seated at it. The table was square and made of dark luxurious  wood with gold filigree, and there were three chairs at it. Two of the  chairs were on the same side of the table, and Lucifer sat opposite them  in an emerald green velvet suit that matched his eyes.

He  should have looked ridiculous, dressed like a cartoon pimp with a  napkin shoved in his collar and eating animatedly, but something about  him kept it from being silly. Even the most absurd actions had dignity  when done by someone like him. Oddly the dissonance from the effects  made him seem more likable, as if he was a doting uncle acting silly to  put his niece and nephew at ease before they had to get a shot. Which  was probably the point, but rather than focus on the doting I was  wondering where the hell the needle was coming from.

His  eyes lit up as he saw us. "Oh splendid! You're here. Please have a  seat, and bring your lady friend with you. I'm excited to get to know my  new commander. You were very impressive out there. Rakiel is a spirited  little bugger, I'd almost given up on anyone else managing to win when I  saw he'd entered. Technically he wasn't supposed to be eligible.  Azreal, his mother, is one of my duchesses, and a resident of Balam  herself. Apparently she had him fostered out of the city to exploit a  loophole. I should have seen that coming." We took the seats across from  him, in front of empty plates.

His  expression was rueful, but somehow I doubted he'd left a loophole that  obvious without expecting someone to take it. I wasn't sure if he was  actually happy I'd won or if he left the position for Rakiel in the  first place. Either way it was too late to worry about it now. I nodded,  bowing my head deeply. "Thank you my lord. I suspect you've seen much  better though. If I might ask, did you see anything I could improve on?"  His eyes flashed with interest and his smile became slightly more  genuine.

That  had been the hidden meaning in Velkans hint. There was no way that  every noble in here didn't kiss Lucifer's ass. But Velkan only commented  on my politeness after I lowered my status to ask for help. His hint  had been about that same quality. Asking for help, showing weakness,  knowing when to bend to make myself harder to break later. Lucifer was  obviously pleased by the question, and I made a mental note to buy the  fallen some liquor or whatever was the proper gift down here.

The  prince of lies flashed his shining white teeth at me as he answered.  "Well, I did notice a few things." He gave me an appraising look.  "You're too committed to your range. You use your body as a weapon well  enough, but your power is magic, it doesn't have to conform to your size  to keep the basic shape and usefulness of your combat style. You're  also too aggressive, you have a gift for defense, but you waste it using  yourself as a boulder to crush your foes. Patience is key in battle.  Let your enemies break themselves upon the stone of your form, and tear  them apart from the cracks." His voice had become cold and analytical as  he spoke.

Then  he shrugged. "At least that's my advice. Take it or leave it as you  will." His voice had slipped back into the same cheerful tone as before.  "Now, let's discuss your responsibilities. As the champions you'll be  acting as battlefield commander while your city lord will be the  general. Personally I think this is a better position for you to be in  anyway. The combat will give you a chance to build up plenty of military  merit and reputation. General's may get overarching credit, but in a  campaign of this scale, it's the terrors of the battlefield that make  the biggest impressions."

That  seemed to be aimed at the assumption we actually cared about this place  or what people here thought, but despite not being demons or fallen it  seemed even Lucifer didn't assume we were from earth. Or maybe he did  but assumed we couldn't get back? Talking to a millennia old master  manipulator was annoying, it really fucked with my brain. I had to  question every bit of information I had and then question what was  making me question it in the first place. Well whatever, we didn't care  about the battlefield honors, but he didn't need to know it.

From  my place across from him at the table I glanced down at the still empty  plates and then looked around. Velkan appeared with a serving platter,  offering it to me. I picked up a few pretty delicious looking foods that  I recognized, and then I just grabbed anything that smelled good. Most  of it was odd looking but this was hell and we had long since gotten  used to strange food. I knew from experience some of it would be  amazing.

I  grabbed a few pastries to start, and what looked like a steak though the  meat was blue. The pasties we'd tried before and I knew they were  fantastic. Yang took basically the same things and once we had some food  we turned back to Lucifer. i made sure to chew and swallow before  asking. "So as commander do I get the chance to inspect my forces? Not  that I'm not sure your army is amazing but I'd love the chance to see  how things are done. Also I know our destination is pretty distant. Do  we have an easy way to move people through dimensions?"

He  raised an eyebrow, actually stopping his meal for the first time to  look at me inscrutably. The faint smile never actually left his lips,  but I could tell that he wasn't fooled by my casual tone. Not knowing if  he was aware i was from earth or not was driving me nuts. He took a  bite and chewed slowly, finally swallowing with a satisfied sigh. I  realized he'd finished eating and he set his fork on his plate, pulling  the napkin from his collar and throwing it over the dish before  gesturing for Velkan to take it.

After  a few seconds he finally answered, seemingly choosing his words  carefully. "It is a terrible thing, Cameron, to be small. To be a minor  force caught between two major factions is to be vulnerable, to be an  afterthought or something to be stepped on. When it comes down to it  even I, who am of the mighty, cannot hold back the tides of reality or  unreality alone, nor are my forces enough. But the thing about power is  that how you apply it is as important as how much you have. With the  proper leverage, even the world can be shifted."

I  felt my blood run cold. This was dangerous. I felt exposed. He was  talking like he knew why I was here. In the end however he didn't seem  to mean me any harm. "My sin is pride. As it has always been. To bend my  knee to the outsiders, or to my father, or to humanity, all of these  are equally unpalatable to me. Let us dispense with the theatrics. I  know where you come from, I felt you enter my realm. I know you wish to  return, and I can aid you in this. The question Cameron, is why should  I?"

His green  eyes were cold and flat now. "Don't mistake me. I do not see you as an  enemy. You see only a small fraction of my designs, and even if you saw  them all and wanted to stop them, you wouldn't have the power to do so.  Despite that you intrigue me, so I will offer you this chance. Convince  me there's a reason I should help you, convince me to send you home.  I've tested you and found you worthy of some small respect, now you must  convince me how far that respect should take you."

I  was in shock. I'd expected to be attacked, for him to be angry or  offended, but he didn't care. We weren't a threat to him, physically or  intellectually, and it showed. I'd been making plans to take his army  down but I fully considered I might die in the attempt, a sentiment he  clearly shared. I didn't know what to say though. I just wanted to go  home, I wanted to see my girls again and get out of this terrible place.  I had blanked, so I just let my shoulder slump and smiled at the Devil.  "Because it's the right thing to do." I didn't think I'd ever heard  anyone laugh so hard. I hoped that was a good sign.