How I became the Empress of Hell

After I quickly reattached the {Main Character} badge that Gehenna had returned to me, we all sat in stunned silence as we thought about everything that she had told us. After a moment of no one speaking, I let out a long sigh and stood up suddenly.

“I need some fucking air.”

Instead of waiting for anyone to reply, I simply turned on my heel and walked out of the clan hall. I walked quickly through the halls of the castle until I reached the exit, and I pushed open the doors and walked out without a second thought. I walked for a moment until I felt like I was far enough from the castle to be able to clear my head.

Despite hearing her coming up behind me, I didn’t turn as Gehenna moved close to me and pushed herself into my back. Her arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace, and I clutched her hands tightly and just allowed myself to feel the weight of everything that had happened.

“I’m sorry for not telling you, Allie. I’m… sorry for-”

I cut Gehenna off by spinning around suddenly and pressed my lips against hers. We kissed for a moment until we both pulled away slightly, panting for air. As I stared into Gehenna’s golden eyes I couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down my face.

“I almost lost you, Gehenna. And then you tell me how much you’ve had to endure, and it made my heart hurt for you even more. I’m so so so sorry… for everything, Gehenna.”

Gehenna’s eyes shone with tears as she took my face in her hands and kissed me sweetly on the lips before shaking her head.

“For as beautiful and smart as you are, Allie, sometimes you are quite dense.”

I looked at the beautiful blonde demon woman with utter confusion, and couldn’t help but laugh as she saw the puzzled expression on my face and started to chuckle.

“What happened to me so long ago was terrible… but I don’t regret it for a second. I don’t regret helping Elira and her daughter, I don’t regret absorbing the corruption, and I don’t regret becoming a demon. If I hadn’t done all of those things, Allie, I wouldn’t have met you.”

Tears began to pour down my face again, but this time they were tears of happiness at hearing how much Gehenna loved me. I kissed her again and again until I felt the tears finally stop.

“I watched you, you know. Against Adelaine. Even though our connection had mostly been severed, I was still able to see you in my mind as you fought against her. And while your attacks were clumsy and reckless, there’s no doubt in my mind that you are far more powerful than she is.”

I tried to think back on the fight against Gehenna’s daughter, and the entire event seemed foggy in my mind, like trying to remember a dream. 

“I… don’t really remember fighting her. Just like I don’t remember fighting against the archangel that ‘purified’ Tesrif and Areandra, and then fighting against Scythe after he killed Nialla. It always seems like I am strongest when I’m not the one in control.”

Gehenna looked thoughtful for a moment and her mouth twitched like she was going to say something, but instead she merely smiled as we both heard someone speak from behind us.

“Getting your head chopped off by an undead scythe-wielding former teammate sucks ass. I definitely don't plan on doing that again, even if it brings out your ‘rage-mode.’ Although… If it ends in a similar way as the last time, it might be worth it for the hilarious story.”

I snorted as I recalled the circumstances of what snapped me out of my blind-rage after Nialla died. Gehenna's eyebrow arched as she looked from me to Nialla, who had wrapped her arms around both of us into a tight three-way hug. I shot the playful catgirl a warning glance, and she merely laughed and winked at Gehenna.

“I'll tell you all about it later, Henny. For now… Do you mind if I steal Miss ‘tells-you-she-loves-you-and-then-you-don't-see-her-for-a-day?’”

Gehenna smiled at Nialla and then nodded.

“Of course. Allie, we'll talk more about things after we've all had a chance to… Rest.”

I could tell from the giant smirk on her face and the wink she gave Nialla I knew exactly what Gehenna meant when she said ‘rest.’ Nialla grinned back at the blonde demoness and stuck out her tongue.

“Maybe we can all rest together later. That sounds like something we all would enjoy.”

“You two are almost as insatiable as me.”

“Can you blame us, though? Your magic demon cock just checks all the right boxes… Plus the way you get all Dommy Mommy? Mmmmm.”

She shivered as if picturing the exact thing she had mentioned, and I rolled my eyes and kissed her on the cheek.

“I will catch up with you later, Gehenna. I love you.”

“And I love you, Allie. Just promise me that you will come find me before a full day has passed, yes?”

I glared at her while Nialla laughed loudly. When I heard the sounds of Gehenna's retreating footsteps, I wrapped my arms around the still chuckling catgirl and pulled her into a soul-searing kiss. Her laughter quickly morphed into moans of pleasure as I held her against me tightly and pushed my tongue into her mouth. I returned the moan as I felt her rough tongue dance with mine, and let out a small squeal when I felt Nialla's claws running down the length of my back. When we finally broke apart, we did so with an audible gasp, and stared into each other's eyes.

“I love you, Noelle. I'm sorry it took me so long to come to terms with it. And I'm even more sorry that I didn't come find you after I told you the first time.”

Nialla's ears were now flat against her head and her tail lashed back and forth widely. She was blushing from the tops of her breasts all the way up to her hairline. Her lip quivered slightly as her glowing cat's eyes stared into mine. I smiled at her while she remained silent, and was about to kiss her again when she spoke.

“I didn't expect you to call me by my real name when you told me you love me.”

“Is that a problem?” 

She shook her head adamantly and blushed again.

“N-no! I liked it. No, wait… I loved it! It made me feel giddy all over. It made it feel… Real.”

“I meant it to be real, Noelle. I don't have an explanation for why I feel the way I do about you, but I know without any doubt that I love you.”

“Say it again.”

“What?”

“That you love me.”

“I love you, Noelle.”

She was purring loudly as she pulled me in for a deep, passionate kiss. The sensation of the slight vibrations from her purring felt strangely pleasant as we continued to kiss. When I pulled away, I smiled widely and moved my lips next to her ear.

“Would you like to go take that ‘rest’ now?” 

In the breathiest voice I had ever heard, Nialla let out a low growl in my ear.

“Yes. Please.”

---

After walking back while doing my best to prevent Nialla from ripping off my clothes in the middle of the castle courtyard, we both saw Emelia standing with her back against the stone wall near the entrance. She grinned as she saw what Nialla was doing and started walking towards us.

“Emmy! I need help removing our sexy demon overlord’s clothing! Care to give a girl a hand?”

Both Em and I looked at her with puzzled expressions at the sudden use of a new nickname and she gave both of us a playful shrug.

“Emelia is such a mouthful, and Allie always calls you Em or Emily… so… I figured I should have a pet name for you.”

“Is that so? And why would you need a pet name for me, Nialla? Surely you don’t have any sort of feelings for me… do you?”

Nialla started to blush again as her ears went flat against her head and she averted her gaze. When Em shifted so that she was standing directly in the catgirl’s line-of-sight, I watched as Nialla’s blush deepened even more. When she murmured something like “stupid mind reading enchantments,” Em and I both laughed before the tiny ice mage reached up and pulled Nialla into a tight hug. Seeing the two women embrace I suddenly felt awkward, as if I were intruding on something that didn’t concern me, so I started to walk towards the entrance to the castle. When both of them grabbed my arm to prevent me from leaving, I shot them each a confused glance. Em smiled at me warmly and pulled me closer to her as she spoke.

“Allie, stay. I want you here for this… since it involves both of you.”

When she pulled Nialla closely against her left side and me close to her right, she placed her head on the taller girl’s shoulder and spoke softly.

“When I first met you, I thought you were an immature, selfish jerk who used awesome magic but was super full of themselves. Since getting to know you… you are anything but selfish or a jerk. You are one of the most caring and sweet natured women I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know. If we weren’t more than 100 chapters in, I would think I’ve just met you only a few days ago… but in that short amount of time, I’ve grown to see you as someone I care deeply about. It was only when you told Allie how you feel about both of us did I realize how I truly felt about you. Up until recently… I never thought it possible to love more than one person. Loving Allison has opened my eyes to a whole world of possibility that I’m only just starting to feel bold enough to explore. While I am certain that I love you, I don’t yet fully know what loving more than one person entails... I don’t want to start something without you knowing that up front. If you even want to start something, that is. I guess what I’m trying to say, Nialla. No… not Nialla. Noelle. What I’m trying to say, Noelle, is that I want to explore the love we feel for one another and for you to be my girlfriend.”

Nialla glanced at Em before turning to me.

“So wait… are we basically like… a throuple now?”

I snorted loudly and laughed.

“I guess we technically are… but… can we not call it that? I despise that term. Let’s stick with… triad.”

“Works for me… although… I do have so many questions now… if that’s OK.”

“Whatcha got, kitten?”

Nialla purred slightly at my use of her nickname and leaned into me, as Emily released her hold on my shoulder so we could move towards the castle entrance. Once we were inside, the three of us stayed arm in arm as we walked towards our “Lesbian Orgy Room.”

“Is this an exclusively in-game thing… or… if we were to meet in person would you still feel the same way?”

That question stopped me dead in my tracks and I pursed my lips as I considered it. As Em spoke, she did so with a quiet seriousness that caused Nialla and I to turn towards her.

“Do you want it to be an in-game thing only?”

As Nialla blushed slightly and swished her tail, I could already tell the answer. Instead of interrupting her, however, I waited patiently for the younger woman to tell us how she felt.

“No. I don’t want it to be only in-game. I don’t know how it will ever work… but I would love to be with both of you for real. Although… I don’t know… it’s complicated.”

Em raised an eyebrow and Nialla continued.

“You’re both getting married… and then I come along and force myself into your guys’ relationship. Even if you’re both willing to date me… I’m not gonna be some unicorn.”

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrow and give Nialla a questioning look. I was surprised she knew the terminology for one of the dynamics of a polyamorous relationship. As if sensing what I was thinking, she smiled at me and gave me a satisfied grin.

“In the day I had to consider you telling me you love me, I looked up a lot of stuff about polyamory.”

Emily started to ask what we were talking about, when Nialla cut in with a detailed explanation.

“A unicorn is a person who enters into an already established relationship. It’s generally just about sex… but there can be romance involved too. The main issue is that the power dynamic is incredibly unequal. Basically… I would be an extra in your relationship, and not considered a true partner to either of you. And… I don’t want that. I don’t necessarily want to marry either of you… but I would want to feel like an equal in our relationship. So… at least for now… it might be best if we kept this strictly in-game.”

Emily smiled warmly at Nialla as she wrapped her arm back around the taller woman’s shoulder.

“That was an incredibly mature decision, Noelle. And… I respect you even more for that. I understand what you mean though… and I would never ever want you to feel like you weren’t equal. And I’m sure Allie feels the same way.”

I nodded and gave Nialla a tight side-hug.

“I told Gehenna this already, Noelle, but I’ll tell you the same thing. The love I feel for Emily is not any more or less important to me than the love I feel for you. It is unique to her, just as what I feel for you is unique to you. And the same goes for Gehenna. While the idea of marrying both of you in and out of the game does appeal to me, and I would totally do it if it was legal… sadly it isn’t legal. But if it was…”

Nialla stopped suddenly and turned a brighter shade of red than I had ever seen on her before. She stared down at her feet and her tail was lashing violently back and forth. The most startling thing, however, was how loudly she was purring. It was coming out of her like a low growl.

“Nialla… you OK, hon?”

“Y-you j-just… you just s-said…”

When Em considered what I had said for a moment, she put her hand to her mouth and her eyebrows rose high on her face.

“What the fuck did I say? I just said that… Oh.”

My mouth suddenly went completely dry as I realized that I had just inadvertently stated that I wanted to marry Nialla in real life. When I considered whether or not I had simply said it to make a point or if it was something that I truly felt, I inwardly laughed at myself as I knew the answer without even having to think about it. I didn’t care that Noelle was 10 years younger than I was. I knew that she made me happy, that she made Em happy, and that both of us made her happy. That was enough for me. Maybe it’s naive, and maybe it’s foolish, but I couldn’t give a single fuck about being a naive fool if it meant I would be surrounded by even more people who loved me and cared for me. I saw Nialla staring into my eyes with such intensity that I might explode under the weight of her gaze. The slits of her cat’s eyes were completely contracted and I could see her watching my every move like a predator eyeing her prey.

“You really mean that, don’t you?”

I could tell that despite stating it like a question, she was making a declaration more than anything. I nodded my head and smiled at her.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t. While I hadn’t meant to let it slip, my subconscious mind gave voice to how I really feel about you.”

Her gaze fell on Emelia who immediately let out a long sigh.

“As I said, Noelle… This whole polyamory thing is new to me. Even my relationship with Allison is still a new thing for me. Now… that’s not to say I don’t want a relationship with you outside the game… that’s just me saying I have no clue what any of this stuff means and how my heart feels about it. My love for you is in its infancy… and I want nothing more than to nurture it and watch it grow and flourish. But I’m still learning what that all means. Is… Is that OK?”

Nialla nodded and let out a contented sigh as she gave me a smirk.

“Can we go have sex now? As much as I’m enjoying this heart-to-heart… I really need both of you to fuck me.”