Delightful Demons 1 Chapter 2 - Rough draft (Patreon)

It looked like there were three options for the first summon. There was a small primer that demons came in a variety of shapes and species. I would be able to level up and upgrade each of these.

Phew, I was worried it was just going to be a gaggle of succubus, but it seems to be more than that.

On the next page, there was a dark skinned woman with bat ears and a beer bottle next to her for scale. She wasn’t much bigger than it. She seemed to be a scout and had minor magic.

Okay, there were uses for that, but before I delved into that, I wanted to move on. Something to get in between me and the monsters would be lovely.

I was torn. Life had just become a game, but the realization that I’d actually be fighting came as well. As much as I wanted to be a bad ass, I wanted to keep something between me and the monsters.

Getting my arm torn up by the first monster I met was the most likely situation. I had to be realistic, I wasn’t a trained special operative or anything.

Focusing back on my options.

The next was a gray slender sleeping woman covered in soft fuzz. Looking at her stats she didn’t really seem to be specialized in anything except putting herself and other creatures to sleep.

Hard pass. Though she seemed like a total cuddler.

I needed something to help me fight. This was the apocalypse and putting things to sleep wasn’t my top priority. That’s when the third caught my attention. The fighting demon.

She was far bigger than the other two, maybe even larger than me. Two large horns came out the side of her head. The dark purple skin was a little odd, but otherwise she just looked like an incredibly fit woman about to go boxing with her hands all wrapped up.

Her clothes looked sort of like ceremonial armor, but I knew they were cloth.

All three were attractive and female, as expected of my new class. Though, I wasn’t sure how they all fit as demons of lust, I didn’t care.

My choice was made up when I saw her stats.

The fighting demon was the perfect choice. I could put something between me and the monsters.

Survival came first.

At least that’s what I told myself as I stared at her chest and used my summoning ability. I swear, they just sucked my attention to them.

It had just been a horny teenager period, but it seemed there was still something to it.

Glowing runes spread in a circle before me as my apartment glowed a dark purple that seemed to swallow all light.

[Demon Summoned: Helzazt the Fighting Demon]

When it faded I found myself blinking as the purple skinned demoness stood before me. She rose slightly as if she had been mid movement when I summoned her.

“Who are you?” She growled with a rough voice as she brush crumbs off of her mouth, only to see them land on her breasts and watch them jiggle as she brushed them off too. “I was resting after a match.”

“Match?”

“We fight for the amusement of the demon lords.” The demoness looked me up and down before turning in a slow circle. “I’ve been summoned to a world.” Her eyes were wide with a sort of confused wonder. “No one summons ordinary demons like me.”

I focused on her and her own character menu popped up.

[Helzazt

Fighting demon…]

Letting out a low whistle she had me beat badly on the physical front.

“Do you need a weapon to fight… Hel?”

She only grinned and raised her two wrapped fists, loosening the wrap and showing off hands covered in dark hard look scales. “I am my own weapon.”

Hel was suddenly all business as the bewilderment in her expression vanished, being replaced by determination that promised violence.

I tried to pretend the look in her red eyes didn’t make me a least a little uncomfortable.

She was a killer, but that’s what I had wanted.

Up until a few minutes ago I was just a programmer. Now I needed to kill to survive. At least that was the assumption. Prior areas that had been swallowed by a dungeon were full of monsters.

“Okay. Well, we go through that door I think and then… then I need you to fight monsters for me. There’s supposed to be a dungeon of sorts.” I wasn’t sure exactly how this worked.

Hel nodded. “If you summoned me to fight, then you’ve done it correctly.” She snorted and jabbed the air a few times.

It wasn’t overly impressive, but I bet she could knock out any ordinary person, we’d have to see what she did to monsters.

“Come on. Better get this over with.” I pushed open the door to my apartment and ushered Hel through first.

“Are you not excited about combat?” Hel frowned as she went past me.

This most certainly wasn’t the hallway outside my door as we stepped into a dimly lit cave. A few torches along the wall were all I had to see by.

“I’ve never gotten into a fight before.” I was honest. “Well, there was this time in middle school that ended poorly for me. But otherwise… No, I haven’t fought.”

Hel stood there blinking at me in the wavering torch light. “Never? Then you must adapt, because it seems you are preparing for much combat in your future.”

Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “You’re right, Hel. I will need to adapt. So do me a favor and keep me alive until then.”

The demon only chuckled and started walking down the passage without a care in the world.

Somehow I felt like she was in charge for a moment. I gripped my fist tight and was determined to make something of this. Even if I wasn’t some combat expert, I could become an expert in magic and my summoning.

It didn’t take long for us to walk to be greeted by a little green goblin milling about in the passage.

Hel’s bare feet smacked against the stone and alerted it.

“Be careful Hel.”

The goblin came into view better as it charged, it looked more like a green monkey than the goofy little creatures in games. It alternated between running on all fours and on two hind legs.

I fumbled with my character sheet for a second before raising a hand and shouting “Hex Blast.”

A dark pentagram came to life on the goblin’s shoulder before it popped in a dark splash of magic.

The goblin stumbled to the side and I raised my hand again firing off another two blasts before it could get to Hel.

I could see a half full health bar floating over the goblin until Hel got there.

She jabbed twice in two soft blows that did little else than stop the goblin’s charge then a right hook swung from the side and cleaned the goblin’s clock.

It’s health bar zeroed out and it collapsed into blue particles as it landed.

The blue dust seeped into both of us and I saw experience rise on both of our charts. “Looks like you get experience too.” I said casually only to see Hel staring at her hands in wonder.

“What is experience?”

“Experience points. A numerical value that when you hit a threshold you level up… uh become more powerful. I think you could change into a higher grade of demon eventually.” I started to rambled as Hel looked up from her hands to stare at me with growing intensity.

She grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me roughly against the wall. “I could become a new type of demon?”

“That’s what it says.” I struggled to breath with the force she was exerting on me.

She was crazy strong, I wondered if that had to do with my classes extreme specialization.

“Then I wish to remain in this world with you.” She pushed her face right up to mine staring fervently into my eyes.

“Let me down. As long as I live you will stay here.” I got out in one big rush of breath.

Hel let go and I landed on my feet. “Then you chose wisely. You are soft, untested in combat. I will harden you up.”

“Thanks Hel, but I’m more of a back line fighter.” I brushed myself off. “Those hex blasts—“

“Were pathetically weak.” She finished for me. “Continue to practice. I will keep you alive and you will… level me up. One day I will become a demon lord.” The fervor in her gaze sent chills down my spine.

I swallowed. “Okay Hel.” Realizing that I knew absolutely nothing about her or where she came from I decided to get to know my companion.

What would happen if I leveled up some psychotic demon? Fuck, this was becoming a little too real.

“So what’s hell like?” I started us moving down the cave again.

“Constant violence.” She said.

“Aren’t you from the plane of lust or something like that?” I asked, having thought I was going to get a summoning book of succubi.

Hel nodded. “I am. That doesn’t mean the Lords of Lust don’t enjoy watching combat and picking out their favorite fighters for… fun.”

“I’m sorry Hel, that doesn’t sound great.”

She shrugged. “I was paid well. Though my money means nothing here. But if I can return stronger or as a stronger demon, then I could really change my life.” Hel sighed as she stared at her fist clenching it tightly.

“It means that much to you?”

She nodded, those horns of her getting dangerously close to brushing my face. “Fighting Demons are of the lowest order, we are born that way and it is unchangeable. It is our life to either fight on the front lines for a demon lord or fight for their amusement.”

It seemed the name for her type of demon was an accurate one. “With all that fighting, what happens if you die?” I wanted to know if I could resummon her or if I’d lose her forever.

“Demons respawn from the pits of hell. Now that I am summoned you will be able to restore me here, but at a cost.” She glared at me as if ready to threaten me but thought better of it.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring you back. This system and everything happening is new to me, your strength will be a big help in me surviving this while I adapt. After you help me, I’m not going to just toss you aside if you die.”

Hel grinned at me. “Good. Now what can you do for your pathetically weak magic?”

I snorted at her but opened up my character sheet as we walked and dove into it a little better. “It says level 1/10. Not quite sure… oh here’s an experience bar for the spell. It has a little bit filled in. That must be from my attacks at the goblin.”

“Then continue to use it.” Hel nodded. “Practice is everything. How can I see myself like this?”

Pausing, I wasn’t sure. “I just think about the character screen and it pops up.”

Hel frowned in concentration, pushing her brow down as she started to vibrate with intensity. “It isn’t working.” She let up with a sigh.

Pulling up her sheet I tried to move it in the air so she could see it.

“Ah.” The surprise expression on her face was more than enough confirmation that she could. “These are my stats?”

“Yeah, and here are mine for comparison.” I showed her my character screen.

“I’m stronger than you.” Hel observed immediately before realizing her error. “But, my strength is also yours since you summoned me.”

I shrugged it off. “My specialty seems to be summoning more than my individual strength.”

That brought the idea of my third spell back to mind and I opened up my sheet but metamorphosis was still grayed out.

“Come on, let’s keep kicking butt. The more monsters we kill the more experience we get.” I cast hex blast at the wall to see if it made any difference in my spell’s experience bar. It seemed it did, so I just kept grinding the spell by spamming it.

“Practice your magic, I will handle all of these little green monsters.”

“Goblins, Hel. They are called goblins and please by all means kill a whole army of them if you can.”

We spotted another goblin up ahead and Hel roared as she charged ahead of me. She seemed even more eager to grind out levels than I did.