How I became the Empress of Hell

I looked over the large group of people assembled in front of me. I caught each of their eyes as they stared up at me with rapt attention. While I was very familiar with most of the faces I saw, some far more intimately than others, there was a small number of them I hadn't had the opportunity to truly get to know. I shared a warm smile with each of these new members of my clan before I looked over the group as a whole and focused on projecting my voice loud and clear.

“As I look at all of you standing before me, I find myself reminiscing about everything that's happened up to this point. If you had told me when I first started playing this game that I would not only find people who I could easily count as my closest friends, but also become part of a close-knit albeit fully dysfunctional family, I would have called you crazy. I am a solo player by nature, and I started this game fully intending to stay that way. Now, as I think back to all the crazy things I've been through with so many of you, I can't imagine ever going back to such an isolated existence. 

“As we prepare to kick off this huge event we have all worked our asses off to get set up, I'm finding myself in awe of everyone here. Many of you have proven yourselves time and time again your value to this clan, and I know that all of you will continue to impress me. As I look at just how far we've all come in such a short amount of time, I realize that without all of you, I myself wouldn't be even a fraction as powerful as I am right now. Without all the crazy shit we all went through together, I wouldn't be worthy of the title of clan leader.

“I have no doubt you all know what I'm about to say. You've all been quietly preparing yourself for it since we came up with the idea for this event, but I want to make something incredibly clear to all of you. I owe it to each and every one of you to prove to you that I am worthy of the title you bestowed upon me. So with that in mind, I offer you all a challenge.”

I paused for a moment letting the anticipation build. I could see the looks of steely determination on their faces as they readied themselves for whatever I had planned.

“You will have three chances to beat me. You can use any team or strategy you wish. Just know that no matter what you throw against me, I have absolutely no intention of holding back. Against any of you.”

I locked eyes with Emelia as I said this last part, and a wide excited grin spread across her face. I gave her a quick wink before glancing up at the others.

“To really give you all some incentive, whoever ultimately beats me will get one full day of me as their own personal bitch. I will let you decide what that means for you… if you win, of course.”

A voice spoke up before I could continue any further, and everyone turned towards Ikelos as he shouted.

“If a whole group of us beat you, do we each get you for a day?” 

I smirked at him as I rolled my eyes.

“As much fun as being a personal slave for the lot of you sounds, if a team of you beat me, you will have to decide amongst yourselves which one of you is most deserving of the reward.”

I heard various murmurs and quiet conversations start up as I let them all fully absorb everything I had said. After a moment I held up my hand, and the noise died out immediately.

“Unless anyone has any pressing concerns, I am going to wait in my throne room with Gehenna and give you all a chance to talk and strategize without me listening in.”

I paused for a moment and waited for them to speak up. When none did, I gave them a single nod, spun on my heel, and marched down the castle corridor with Gehenna at my side. As we drew closer to the massive double doors that led to my throne room, I stopped and turned towards her.

“I personally think you are overestimating my abilities, Gehenna. Letting them use any team combination to beat me and giving them three chances to do it seems like I'm setting myself up for failure. When you suggested I offer them this challenge, did you really think I stood a chance of winning?”

Gehenna narrowed her eyes at me slightly and arched an eyebrow.

“While your clan… rather… our clan is powerful, you are my successor for a reason, Allie. Letting them have three opportunities with team compositions of their choosing is the only way to even give them a chance of winning.”

I opened my mouth to speak but she held up a hand to cut me off.

“That being said, many of your clan members have hidden their strongest abilities from you with this very challenge in mind. While I have absolutely no doubt you can win, Allie, you will still need to be on the top of your game to do so.”

I nodded resolutely as we both turned and walked the remaining distance to the large doors. Once inside, I calmly walked down the long narrow walkway up towards the elevated platform, watching as all the lamps magically burst into flames. After ascending the stairs slowly I stopped in front of the large ornate seat in the center of the platform. I turned towards Gehenna, who was standing off to my right, giving her a warm smile before turning around slowly and sitting atop my throne.

After about ten minutes passed in silent contemplation, I looked up as I heard the doors being pushed open. I watched as a small group of my clan mates pushed into the room, and I studied each of them carefully. When the last of them had finished filing in, I appraised each of them quietly before speaking.

“Are you all ready?” 

A massive red demon strode forward, hefting his ridiculously oversized axe onto his shoulder. He looked back at the others behind him before glancing back up at me with a huge smirk.

“Bring it on, bitch.”

===

If you’ve reached this point in my story, I know how familiar you are with my brash over-the-top method of fighting. You’ve seen me carpet bomb an entire area just to wipe out a single opponent or group of low leveled players. You saw me charge up a super death laser and obliterate a squad of Angelspawn. You were there during all the times I succumbed to my demonic instincts and went completely berserk. While I will admit that I may have a bit of a penchant for dramatic overkills, that doesn’t mean I always default to showy displays of power. Sometimes, systematically murdering several people with brutal efficiency is just as fun as blowing up an entire room and watching the shower of blood and gore rain down like crimson confetti.

The moment the loud noise signaling the start of the fight filled the air, I used my so far unnamed teleport skill to blink all the way down the narrow walkway and landed behind Areandra. Before she had a chance to react, I grabbed her shoulder roughly with one hand and thrust my clawed hand into her back with the other. I used a swift motion to sever her spinal cord and then a rough jerk backwards was all it took to finish her off. Before her body could collapse, I pushed off with the balls of my feet and raced at top speed towards my next target. Kyra had only seconds to respond as I charged at her from behind. She was just turning to face me when I planted my heel and pivoted my entire body to face the woman who was moving to protect her girlfriend. Ash’s eyes went wide as I summoned a ridiculously large spear and threw it as hard as I was able to manage. The razor sharp spear tip impaled her chest and blasted out of her back, coating the floor behind her in a spray of blood and pinning her to the ground. Despite the mortal wound she had suffered, the Demonspawn woman was still alive. As she lifted her hand to launch some sort of desperate attack on me, I used Spoken Word to instantly cast my [Coldfire] spell. A sound akin to shattering glass followed by a wet explosion of flash frozen body parts was the only warning the remaining eight challengers had that I was thinning their numbers quickly.

I felt a mental tug in my mind and a sudden feeling of euphoric happiness began to fill me completely. As my body began to relax all at once, I growled angrily and bit down hard on my tongue. The sharp pain cleared my head instantly, and I turned my head slowly to glare at Tessa. Lifting my hand quickly in her direction, I ignored the small barrage of spells Xerez was hurling at me and cast [Blastburn]. Knowing that Tessa would use the short build up of my spell to dodge out of the way, as soon as the spell left my hand I used Spoken Word again to cast [Demonic Chains]. Dark metal chains shot out of my hand and wrapped around Tessa’s arms and torso as she stood up from the roll she had done, and with a single strong tug I yanked her towards me. In one rapid motion, I drew the sword that was sheathed on my hip and thrust it point first into Tessa’s skull. I withdrew it quickly and released my grasp on it, letting it crash to the floor at my feet. With both hands I grabbed the chain and using a whiplike motion I swung her lifeless body at full force towards Xerez. After successfully avoiding my first swing, I put a bit more strength into the attack and caused the chain to tear through the air at an impossible speed. A near deafening blast of sound caused by the crack of the metal whip was the last thing Xerez heard before the remains of Tessa’s body slammed into him with a sickening crunch.

As I turned on my heel to find my next target, pain ripped through my abdomen as I was suddenly impaled from behind. I stared slightly dumbfounded at the point of the scythe poking out of my stomach for a few seconds, before forcing my mind to refocus. When I felt the blade start to move, I grabbed it tightly with one hand and held it in place with as much strength as I could muster. At the same time, I channeled massive amounts of MP into my regeneration and healing spell. I knew that I had literally seconds to spare before Scythe's health drain effect started sapping my HP faster than I could recover it, so instead of formulating some plan of attack, I acted on pure instinct. 

With one hand still firmly grasping the blade sticking out of my abdomen, I quickly reached back with the other hand and took hold of the edge of the weapon. Switching the flow of magic within my body I began channeling my [Corrupting Fire], focusing on covering the entire thing in scorching red fire. As the weapon made of ethereal blue energy erupted into bright flames I heard Scythe cry out in sudden pain.

“Guys… can’t hold her… for much longer!”

It was at that moment I realized the true intent behind Scythe’s attack. He wasn’t playing the damage dealer… he’s playing the fucking tank. The world slowed around me as I focused every part of my body and mind on ramping up my speed. I turned to the side and saw the massive form of Bray running at me with his axe raised over his head in preparation for a brutal overhand swing. On the opposite side of me, I saw a trio of spiders the size of sports cars were running at me full speed, each of them glowing with some sort of pale orange light. I briefly winced as I felt three sudden jolts of pain in my side, and I knew without even looking that I had been struck by Judas’s daggers.

My eyes fluttered closed for a fraction of a second, and I mentally focused on letting all thoughts of anything besides the battle at hand drift away from my mind, I inhaled deeply and allowed the incepted emotions stemming from my demonic form to overtake me. As my eyes snapped open, I was no longer the nerdy lesbian Allie playing a video game. I was Allexus, Overlord of Corruption, and the mother fucking Empress of Hell. I allowed my perception to return to normal and I spoke in a quiet hushed voice.

“Playtime’s over.”