Reborn to Devour: A Demonic LitRPG

Not long after my grand proclamation, the show wound down and the train reached the station. The timing was suspiciously perfect, as though we were at our destination the entire time and all it took was for the entertainment to end. Just as we had joined, we were turned to light and deposited upon a new platform outside of the train.

A city greeted me. Not a city like Brunswick, but a city you’d see in black and white photos of the 1950’s. Short skyscrapers created a skyline like metal mountains. Neon lights illuminated the darkness to spell out words I understood without knowing the language. Gambling halls, brothels, bars, pawn shops, and any other form of sleazy business advertised themselves with suggestive images and depictions of money.

Like stepping out of an airplane terminal, several demons waited at the far end of the platform. Glowing placards containing different names hovered in front of them. A few of the departing demons immediately headed in the direction of their names and left with those that were waiting for them.

I ignored the displays. Anyone with my name would be here to kill me after all that I said during the broadcast.

Notice

Welcome to the "Third Rung" (Level 20-50)

Map has been updated.

Shop listings have been updated.

You are currently in the City of Styx.

A no killing contract has been enforced upon all inside the city. Any who break the contract will be inflicted with proportionate punishment.

I frowned at the no killing commandment at the bottom of the message. Logically, I knew that a city of killers was too fragile to exist without such a restriction. It was no different than how we had to live our regular lives. But, I had to wonder what the point of a society even was if you weren’t allowed to live in the way that you wanted. I quickly concluded that nobody strong would linger here for long.

“Ishmael-san!”

I turned my head to see Yoshitsune in the company of Capitaine and Vendetta. I raised my hand in quick greeting towards the trio. Oddly, I did not feel my blood pressure rise at the sight of the hyena.

“There you are,” I said in greeting. “Where were you? I couldn’t find you before we boarded.”

“I was…preoccupied,” she replied, her face tilted down suspiciously. I chose to let it go.

“How was your trip?”

“It was challenging. First, I was placed in the back of the train and forced to fight elimination duels with many other strong foes. Then, I joined the cars with Vendetta and Capitaine and we fought to the death over and over again. Sometimes, against each other. Sometimes, against powerful beasts. I couldn’t tell you how many times I died in there.”

“One of them was at my hand,” Vendetta said with a teasing voice.

“Don’t forget about the time we teamed up,” Capitaine added. “None of us survived that encounter.”

I stood silently as the trio recounted their deadly exploits amongst themselves. My mouth opened and closed, the right words not creating themselves. I silently cursed my abilities that allowed me to get here deathless in the first place.

“You spent this entire time fighting to death and killing each other until the main event ended?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t so bad,” Yoshitsune answered with a shrug. “We didn’t lost much XP for dying. I imagine it couldn’t be nearly as bad as what happened in the front.”

“It was pretty awful,” I replied with a tinge of sadness carrying in my voice like the first breeze before a rainstorm. “I feel as though I missed a truly wonderful opportunity to grow.”

“I am unsatisfied!”

We all turned our heads to see the gurgling horror that was Kifo spreading his wings wide and screaming into the sky. Saliva that looked like sludge splashed from their mouth and corroded the platform. Black powder floated off of their body and scattered with the wind. Some of the nearby demons shrunk their shoulders and kept their head low to avoid meeting the creature’s eyes. I had half a mind to join him with my own frustrations.

“I wish to formally challenge the other members of the Zero Car to a match of supremacy!” Kifo screeched into the sky.

But, his cries were mostly ignored. Basil had already left with a presumed representative of the Demon in Red. Gizmo and Vespara were nowhere to be seen. The Mistress made a disgusted face while being swarmed by a squad of purple-eyed demons.

“Why should I risk my life uselessly when I can earn millions by doing nothing?” Kugsig-Nita questioned.

“What does making a few XP matter when you can show yourself to be the best of the best?” Kifo scoffed at the shimmering demon. “Money can earn itself. I can earn it simply by being strong. Reputation is not so easy to grow. It is my aspiration to be the strongest and the most special of the Zero Car occupants.”

“And what of the no killing contract?”

“We simply leave the city,” Kifo replied. “What use is a place like this to me? Full of demons that obey a clause to not kill.”

“Find enjoyment in a fight against yourself,” Kugsig-Nita replied with a shrug.

Kifo spat into the ground. I could see the emotion that spewed from his disfigured face. It was hatred. Hatred for the cowards that ignored his challenge and the dissatisfaction that lied deep inside. If the red light corresponded with the Folly I believed, then he was also the type that fell easily into the mindless throes of passion.

“I’ll challenge you!” I called out.

“Didn’t you fight enough already?” Capitaine inquired.

“No,” I snapped.

Kifo didn’t have a face capable of making an expression, but I could feel the satisfaction radiating off of him. I knew, instinctually, that we were similar people in many ways. The rush of a fight to the death trumped all else.

“Excellent! At least one of you has some sense of honor. Let us depart for a place that will allow us to be unshackled from these useless cowards.”

“I must respectfully interfere,” a formless voice interrupted the conversation.

A black form slipped from the ground, separating Kifo and myself. They wore a thick coat with a hood that obscured much of their appearance. Wisps of black, odorless smoke wafted from underneath the hood. I could feel a chill exude off of the form and seep deep into my skin. It froze my bones.

“Where are you from, beast of shadows?” Kifo asked in interest. “Are you here to join our little match? Or are you an assassin sent to do away with us first?”

“Assassin?” Yoshitsune asked in confusion.

“Ottoman, inventors of assassination,” the shadow demon responded with a little too much pride over his people’s claim to fame. “And, no, I am here to stop your foolish match.”

“Brother Gölge!” Vespara exclaimed. “I knew that you’d be waiting for me.”

The crow demon hopped out of the shadow of a surprised demon. She hopped between shadows and appeared directly beside our fight’s interrupter. Her feathers shook with joy and her head tilted sharply to look up at her brother’s hidden face.

Kifo appeared to have lost his appetite for violence at the gathering crowd that ignored him. He unfurled his wings and took to the skies. His silhouette quickly shrank as it moved at a blistering pace towards the horizon.

“Hello, little Vespara,” Gölge said softly, a gloved hand passing through the crow’s feathers. “Unfortunately, our reunion will need to be delayed. I am here on the orders of my boss.”

“Who are you and what do you want?” I asked curtly.

“I am here to escort the demon Ishmael to a meeting with my employer,” the shadow replied. “They said they wished to speak with you, the details were not made clear to me. Please, follow me.”

“And if I want to fight you instead?”

“I will not give you the satisfaction of fighting me. I was also told that if you were insistent on dying, to let you go ahead and do so. If you think you can even survive for a minute with so many high level demons starving for your head, please go ahead. I will be returning with or without you.”

“And what is to tell me that this isn’t an ambush?” I asked with suspicion.

“Use your instincts, that’s supposed to be what you’re good at” Gölge said dismissively. “If it will make you feel better, I can enter a no harm contract with you on behalf of my organization. Anything that my employer may inflict upon you will be returned to the attacking party with tenfold the intensity.”

I looked at the contract request closely. I was not unfamiliar with arrangements such as these. There were many times during my hired killer days where a client’s representative would meet with me and ask to accompany them to an undisclosed location. Usually motel rooms or abandoned construction sites. My only protection was a pistol that they allowed me to carry. In a way, this was a safer arrangement.

“Alright, I could do with a connection,” I said, accepting the contract.

“Very well, follow me,” Gölge informed before his face turned towards the remaining trio. “Alone.”

“Do as you please,” Vendetta said. “I have my own meetings to attend to.”

“There is a prize I need to collect within the city, myself,” Yoshitsune replied, to my surprise. “But, if there are any issues, please send a message.”

“Alright. Make sure that we are in a Party, you will be able to locate me,” I reassured before I turned to my guide. “Lead the way.”

We moved through the platform’s exit and into the night of the city. The welcoming crowd had largely dissipated by the time we made our way through. I could feel some eyes on me as we crossed into the streets, but I did not fear them. There was nothing that they could do to me here, anyways. And, my guide, assuredly, had some methods to escape if necessary.

“What sort of place denies sinners one of their few pleasures?” I asked in disappointment.

“You would think that it saves you, but you learn quite quickly just how terrible we can be to each other and maintain life,” Gölge explained. “Do a little work with me and I would be happy to show you some of them.”

“I can beat someone within an inch of their life then?”

“Though that is perfectly allowed, I would still recommend doing it out of sight,” Gölge advised. “You were in the Zero Car, you should appreciate just how many eyes can follow you at a given time. There are eyes at every corner, which is why we need to escape to a corner that our eyes are watching.”

Gölge pulled me off the street and to a small alcove along an alleyway. A silken balaclava drifted down from the shadow’s inventory and into his hand. He shoved the item into my hands as his eyes scanned the area.

“Put this on,” Gölge ordered. “It will change your outward appearance.”

I sniffed the mask curiously before placing it over my head. I heard the whir of mana dance over my face, but I did not feel any different. My eyes drifted to a murky puddle to see that my reflection had changed.

Gone were my reptilian features. In its place was the nose-less face of some zombie. Metal chains were woven into my hair and covered my face like iron dreadlocks. I tossed my head from side to side. It showed that the chains tapped my cheeks, but I did not feel them. I grinned to see maggot-eaten gums and browned teeth.

“Where do you get these faces?” I asked in passing interest.

My guide did not acknowledge the question. Gölge slid his own mask over his head, quickly turning his face into that of a wolf’s. Beyond that, his stature had also changed. It was the way he stood; taller, with his shoulders further back and his chest puffed out further.

He led me out of our hiding spot and back onto the main street. We quickly merged in with the bustle of the city; indistinguishable from anyone else.

The air reeked of hostility below the surface; civility between killers built upon necessity over desire. Each bump and jostle with the rest of the crowds was like constantly striking an old match near a powder keg. Only the no-killing commandment kept the flame from igniting everything into a beautiful inferno.

Gölge diverted from the main streets and slipped into a grungy backroad. Tightly clustered apartments and worn down demons greeted us. As soon as Gölge removed his mask, they tightened up and gave low nods to the passing spirit of shadow.

Big red neon letters that spelled out “Desire” greeted us at the end of the street. It didn’t seem like the smartest place to put a business; nestled between a “loan” company and a butcher with humanoid limbs encased in ice. However, to my surprise, there was an impressive line that extended out the door. It weaved through the alleyways and reached the connecting street and beyond.

“Look at the ground,” Gölge ordered; a command that was pointless if this mask worked the way that he claimed.

But, the demons dutifully obeyed. Faces dipped down in unison, lest they be removed from the long line for disobedience.

Gölge pushed the door open and led me inside to a space larger than it appeared on the outside. Poker tables and roulette wheels occupied the far corner of the space. Lounge music played from invisible speakers. Dulcet words danced over the melodies of a piano. It reeked of tobacco and bleach, with a faint scent of blood.

But, contrary to my expectations, the room was devoid of customers. All that existed were a few threatening bouncers, a handful of dealers smoking some cigarettes at their empty stations, and a glassy-eyed bartender who nodded cordially in the direction of the entrance.

“Why’s it empty?” I asked apprehensively. My fingers flexed with anticipation.

“The boss didn’t want your meeting to be interrupted,” Gölge answered, ignoring my outward aggression. “The contract is real and quite binding.”

Gölge placed a hand on my shoulder and infused a small amount of mana into it. Not much, enough that it created a pinching sensation. Instantly, a blast of infernal mana shot into Gölge’s hand with a loud cracking sound. The odor of burning flesh showed the severity of going against an infernal contract.

“And, allow me to remind you, you were the one who decided to go alone.”

“Fine, fine,” I said dismissively. “Let’s go meet this boss of yours and find out what it is he wants from me.”

“Very good.”

Gölge led me down a hallway and down a set of stairs that led into the basement. At the bottom sat two guards flanking a rune-covered metal door. The entire thing buzzed loudly as though it were powered by an old generator.

“This is the guest,” Gölge informed and the guards dutifully opened the door.

I stepped through the doorway for the doors to be immediately closed behind me. Odors of expensive cigars and aged wood hit me like a candle made of bad memories. I shook off the wisps of nostalgia that arrested my mind and moved further in.

Sitting in a leather chair was the proprietor of the business and the demon who wanted to speak to me specifically. He was a goat-headed demon. His fur was black except for a white crescent moon pattern on his forehead. A pinstripe maroon suit that matched his eyes adorned his body. He swirled a glass of light brown liquid. The shaved ice cube inside clattered against the surface until he took a sip.

“Hello, Ishmael. It’s good to see you again.”

I flinched in surprise and my eyes widened. The scents and the style could be coincidence, but the deep timbre of the voice was unmistakable. He was the evilest man that I knew in life. Of course a man such as he would be sent down to a place like this.

“Charles.”