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Namphiel nodded at Azriel, and put his massive hand on his head.

"So it is, little demon, so it is. Take all the pleasure you wish out of this, I would not deprive you of the rewards involved with this task. So long as you supply our armies with souls and corpses, so will I see to it that you are repaid for your deeds." Namphiel spoke not only to Azriel, but to all the demons, looking at Damarus momentarily before moving on.

Damarus took this as recognition for his actions, and for his newfound position of power. He was no stranger to authority, he had been made to lead forces countless times in the past, something that very few knew about him, as he often used different names to avoid falling out of favor with other lords. Truly, he knew how to manipulate the lords of Hell, and truly, it paid off for him in this hour.


Namphiel then turned to Aurael.

"Tell me, why I should entrust leadership to one who resembles those who we are fighting?" Namphiel took a moment to cast a gaze at the wings sprouting from Aurael's back.

"I know of your past, Heavenspawn, and I know how you were brought into being. Should your loyalties prove to be fabrications, then you will be hunted for all eternity the forces of Hell." Namphiel let the enormity of this statement sink in, he felt that this beings loyalties did in fact lie with Hell, but he knew that if anyone was to betray him, Aurael would be a prime candidate.

"You were brought into this group for a purpose, just as was Damarus. His purpose, is to lead, and lead he shall. We do not need a fierce leader, we need a cunning tactician, and a skilled combatant. While I will not deny that your abilities in combat rival those of my best fighters, you do not have the other traits of a leader. Damarus will assign you whatever position he wishes, this expidition is within his hands now."

"Now, I suggest you make your way to the runes in the next room, Basoriel will be waiting for you."

Damarus nodded at his new Lord, and made his way back into the summoning chamber.

"Damarus is more than worthy of being chosen as leader, you do not know him as I do. He himself is a fortress on the battlefield and you would do well to fight on his side, he is a vanquisher of foes and leader of a large number of loyal followers. He has my full support if he lets me handle my own brethren as I wish. Greetings Damarus, and I believe congratulations are in order are they not?"

"Thank you, Screwtape, I will allow you full control of your own followers, though you will only be able to bring your most loyal, we cannot jeopardize this mission by bringing a sizeable force, we do not want to draw attention to our group." He nodded at Screwtape as he said this, gaining a new respect for the unfamiliar demon.

"Though, I do not recall dealing with you in the past. I'll take it you have certain... spies that inform you of the events in Hell?"

A conquest into Sanctuary tantalized Xanthor's mind. As he heard Namphiel's speech about invading the homeland of his powers his mind started to wander. He thought of the ancient glyphs that were hidden in the jungles of Kehjistan. He thought of the burial sites in Aranochs deserts. He thought of the wandering magi, ever searching in their quest for power.

He was brought back to reality as the spiderlike servant Basoriel grasped a demon who had obviously angered him. The arrogant one started to choke, as Basoriel altered the airflow around him. The servant was holding himself back, for Xanthor felt a magical force coursing through the obsidian hall. This demon was powerful and when their eyes met Xanthor nodded in reverence.

"Now... have we any real questions, or shall we tempt me once more?"

Another demon tried to defy the demon lord's decision. Apparently the demon called Damarus would be the leader of the group, but the one called Aureal seemed to disagree. He had already been talked to by fellow drafted ones, which seemed more than enough for him to get the message. He walked towards Damarus and said, "since I seem to owe my loyalty to you know, I will tell you how I can help. My powers come from the disbanded Horadrim. The dissension within the group fuelled my birth, and their powers now flow through me. With that, I think you know enough."

He then walked to Basoriel in the next room and asked, "has the Archangel Tyrael been spotted on Sanctuary lately?"

"The allowance is appreciated Damarus, for I do have certain advantages when my brethren can be relied upon and it aids me when they are relatively close at hand. And yes, some of them are spies and some... have other talents but I do not wish to reveal all to this group at such an early stage in our journey. You have my word that my followers will not be discovered by any."

"As for my knowledge of you Damarus, it pays to be informed of all events in hell and on Sanctuary. Altough this certain understanding was purely by accident, if you believe in such a thing. One of my brethren was allied to you in days of old, he was a scout sent away in search of a particular rival of yours. Alas, he returned after you died in your last life, and finding the cult cavern leveled, he vanished for quite some time. He still marks you well as a demon knowledgable in battle especially between different cultist groups. You won several victories over would be stronger opponents did you not? Out numbered and ambushed on quite a few occasions I believe. Still enough with idle talk, let us be about the business. I for one have one question bearing heavily on my mind. Where is Tyreal as of this moment?"

One of the nearby Demons, Xanthor, approached Damarus and offered his greetings.
"since I seem to owe my loyalty to you know, I will tell you how I can help. My powers come from the disbanded Horadrim. The dissension within the group fuelled my birth, and their powers now flow through me. With that, I think you know enough."

Damarus grinned, He sure will be useful... I can't wait to see what hellish powers he can unleash upon the humans. He took a step towards the demon.

"Yes... I think that is enough, I know of the tremendous powers the Horadrim once possessed. I look forwards to standing beside you in battle." Damarus nodded at the demon before moving on, eager to get to the world of Sanctuary.

He stopped to listen to the words of Screwtape once more, he was beginning to feel a strange connection to this demon. Though, he knew that misplaced trust could put your life in danger in the Hellish realms, yet he still felt a pang of trust.

"Tell your man that I send my regards, and wish that the incident in the caverns could have gone more... fortunately." Damarus took a second to reflect upon his misguided past, resolving to not let this expedition meet a similar fate.

"Yes, there were several battles upon the plains in which we fought armies several times our size, and well above the skill of the imps I was given. Tactics, as it seems, make all the difference. You would be surprised how effectively imps can be used to flank troop regiments."

"But, we mustn't keep Basoriel waiting, I do not wish to be on the receiving end of his wrath."

"A wise choice, Damarus." Basoriel said, grinning from the altar. He still dragged the dagger along the side of the stone altar, sending sparks flying across the tiled floor.

"As for Tyreal... we do not know of his whereabouts, you could count yourself lucky if you do not encounter any divine resistance." Basoriel said, chest swelling as thoughts of angels filled his head.

"But... we cannot rule out the chance of running into Angels, should you come face to face with them, just remember, they bleed like the rest of us." A peculiar grin stretched across Basoriel's face, a grin that suggested both pleasure and hatred.

"If at all possible, capture any angels you find, as they can be used in some... particularly nasty summoning rituals, and as you see from your comrade, can turn on their masters within several decades of demonic taint."

Adulphozael stood quietly, listening to the ramblings of his new found 'comrades,' and got a kick out of the demon Basoriel disciplining the one called Zethrael. He, himself, wondered why this Damarus had been given leadership over them. He decided not to think about it anymore, he had always been a lone wolf sort, even in his pre-hellspawn days. Being a part of a team would be a nice change of pace.

"I pledge my loyalty to you, great Damarus. Our enemies will not see us coming, I won't let them."

"If at all possible, capture any angels you find, as they can be used in some... particularly nasty summoning rituals, and as you see from your comrade, can turn on their masters within several decades of demonic taint."

"Aye, I, myself, witnessed the twisted power of the Three being unleashed on an Archangel by the name of ... Izual, he was named. Unimaginable things were done to him. I believe he now roams the plains of hell in the form of a great beast spawned from the abyss... at least he did."

De'Kamoth silently listened to the other demons talk and bicker. He noticed one of them inquiring about the current leader of the rag-tag group of demon warriors, asking if the Lord Namphiel really thought that Damarus was fit to undertake said task. De'Kamoth made his way behind the demon and spoke.

"One they call Aurael... Are you questioning the Great Namphiel's Word? Yes, yes I believe you are... I thought we were all clear that Namphiel's Word was law. Who is to say you wish to be leader simply because you are an agent of the Angels?!" De'Kamoth asked the demon coldly. We should keep a close eye on this one De'Kamoth thought to himself as he made his way back to the group of demons.

"If at all possible, capture any angels you find, as they can be used in some... particularly nasty summoning rituals, and as you see from your comrade, can turn on their masters within several decades of demonic taint."

De'Kamoth took a mental note of this Only use lethal force is necessary, the last thing I want to do is anger "Great Lord Namphiel"... the bastard.

Angriel sat by, watching the male demons bicker with each other as children do. They taunted each other as well as Namphiel and his servents. Decision making seems to not be such a strong attribute among some of tmy new companions, she thought to herself. Namphiel had ordered them into another room, where his servent, Basoriel stood waiting for the rest of the demons to converge. Angriel walked over to the summoning alter with the others.

Damarus seemed to be a set and reliable leader, Angriel had no qualms with Namphiel's decision. Angriel would rather follow than lead, if it ever came down to it, so she had no qualms over Namphiel's decision. However, reasons that she knew not of obviously bent his decision of choosing Damarus; reasons that Angriel wished to uncover. As she had grown to learn, knowledge is power.

Zethrael's ruse had succeeded. He felt the power of the spider demon suck the air from around him, and he gasped for a moment from the sudden attack. Zethrael restrained himself from exploding a pillar of fire from the ground upon which Basoriel stood. Surely engulfing Basoriel in fire wouldn't have been enough, for this was a mage demon. And as Lord Diablo instructed, the best way to deal with mages is through physical means.

What this minion of Namphiel didn't realize is that when you are a being of fire, you require significantly less air to sustain yourself. And while most any other demons would have collapsed from the show of skill, Zethrael feigned a choke until the minion released him.

"Now... have we any real questions, or shall we tempt me once more?"

Zethrael bowed his head slightly and held back a smirk.

"If at all possible, capture any angels you find, as they can be used in some... particularly nasty summoning rituals, and as you see from your comrade, can turn on their masters within several decades of demonic taint."

Angels? Zethrael thought. An Archangel would prove an interesting opponent. He remembered hearing stories of Archangels bringing lesser demons to their knees with only their thoughts.

"I apologize oh mighty mage Basoriel. Send us on our way so that we may do Namphiel's bidding and wreak havoc in Sanctuary." Zethrael showed respect, but emphasized "Namphiel's" to remind Basoriel that the Lord had picked Zethrael for a reason. Should he and Basoriel have another confrontation, he would show that he isn't as weak as Basoriel's sources assumed.

Namphiel raised an eyebrow at the angel, thinking to himself that perhaps he would turn to be a liability in the future. He sighed a great sigh, and beckoned Basoriel to oversee the petty squabbles of the group.

"Aurael, truly you do not know what it is to be a demon. You think we exist to spread chaos? No, these are the misconceptions of the humans, and angels. In truth, we are just as organized as any faction that exists in the other realms, and only the most ignorant of demons would fail to realize this!" Basoriels voice grew in intensity, and he rend his hand through the air, causing a gash to open on the arm of Aurael.

"Why exactly would we even have demon lords, or a system of heriarchy, if we were simple agents of chaos? No, we exist to further our goals, and to serve the will of the three."

"I apologize oh mighty mage Basoriel. Send us on our way so that we may do Namphiel's bidding and wreak havoc in Sanctuary."

"Finally, one of you is seeing reason above your own goals. I will see to it that you are given an extra reward once this is over."

"Truly, It will be an honor... To "serve"."

"At least you've figured out that this isn't voluntary, you're more or less a slave to a greater cause. Do you think we would really leave it up to your own will to choose to serve? No, this is conscription, and you are our soldiers."

Basoriel pointed once more to the runed circles, and beckoned that the ritual commence without delay.

Tyreus scattered across the floor into the next room. The room was filled with violence and deception, Tyreus felt comfortable if not somewhat responsible for the confusion and torment. His gifts of bringing mischief and mayhem were incomparable.

Tyreus looked at the human, ready for torture from him. Just as he was about to port over to the man, a succubus across the room caught his eye. The vuloptious curves of a women enticed Tyreus. It was his former master, Andariel, who had the loveliest curves of all.

Within a blink of an eye, which Tyreus had none, he was at the foot of the succubus. He crawled up her leg and onto her shoulder where he was used to perching on previous maters.

"Isn't this great. The mayhem, the confusion, deception. All we need is a little screaming of agony and I would be in Heaven, pardon the expression."

Tyreus hopped down and continued scurrying about the floor interweaving between the giant demons around him. Occasionally slapping them on their shins only to disappear out of sight before anyone could see the cause of the slap.

"I am gonna have so much fun with these fools" Tyreus said to himself.

"No knowledge on Tyreal?" Xanthor mused, "too bad. The fool could have proven quite useful."

The bickering of the two power-hungry demons had continued. Their discontempt with Naphiel and Basoriel was more than clear, which didn't help Basoriel temper. Anxious to leave, or anxious to sacrifice, the spider-demon stirred the air with his arcane powers.

He suddenly felt an annoying sting coming from his shins. As he looked around, he saw a green puff of smoke darting across the room. It seemed as if it was the cause of the slap, since others seemed to feel it as well. He discarded the little rascal and summoned some rocks with a brief stomp to cover his legs. At least he would be safe.

Looking at the sacrificial altar, Xanthor saw the man lying there was in obvious distress. His breathing seemed to become more and more irregular and his face started to grow pale. "It seems our... portal will not last long. We should make haste."

Errtu, having listened to the other Demons stepped out from the shadows.

"I find it amusing that the rest of you are willing to take commands from a Demon lesser than the Evil one. It amuses me to also see some of you bickering amongst yourselves. Never the less, we should utilize this opportunity to unite under this one common goal. I will join you, Damarus, but know this, my own lust for domination will only be put aside for so long."

Damarus eyed Errtu briefly, and went on with what he was doing.

Errtu called to his lieutenants, "The two of you know what it is that I require of you. Do not fail me, or you will find yourselves on the other end of torture. Now go, I will summon you when you are needed."

And with that the Demons drifted away in the shadows and Errtu went through the portal.

"Lesser, you think me lesser? Because I have no legion of shadow demons at my back? I assure you, Errtu, I need no army, I only need myself. You would be wise to heed my words, your lust for domination will quickly be the death of you." Damarus said, a tinge of anger in his voice. He spoke true, he himself was a force to be reckoned with, possessing a body resistant to magical and physical manipulation, and various weapons at his disposal, he was an army in his own right.

"Silence. We chose Damarus not because of his stature in Hell, but because he is most fit to lead. Should you question our decision once more, we will see to it that you are sent back to the abyss." Basoriel said from behind the altar.

"Now... it seems that we're all here, we may begin the ritual. Take your places on the runes, and I will commence..."

Each of the demons did as they were instructed, taking places on the runes, forming a pentagram on the floor.

Basoriel chanted an incantation, and the dagger began to glow orange, waves of power rolles off the altar, and the flesh of the human sacrifice began to bubble and sizzle. His screams filled the chamber, heartening all of the nearby demons. It would be a sound they would come to familiarize themselves with.

The screams reached higher and higher in pitch, Basoriel had to place his hand over the mouth of the sacrifice to keep his concentration, his talons dug into the mans flesh, causing him to scream even louder through his now muffled mouth.

A red burst of light exploded from the dagger as Basoriel arced it downwards into the head of the sacrifice, instantly silencing it. He withdrew the dagger, and make cuts on both forearms, shins, and finally, the chest. Blood flowed down the altar, filling a large tub.

The runed circles began glowing brighter and brighter, and an imp overturned the basin into a small crack in the floor. Blood flowed along the cracks, filling up the lines in each of the runed circles. The blood rose up around each demon, glowed a brief red, and then, collapsed, catapulting each demon into Sanctuary.





"MORE ARRIVE, PRESS FORWARDS MEN!!" was the first thing Damarus heard, his vision and hearing returned to him, and he beheld a grim spectacle within the caverns.

Cultists struggled to hold a massive oaken door closed as the ceremony was underway, the screams of the sacrifices needed to anchor the demons in Sanctuary had attracted the attention of a patrol of soldiers. The ceremony had gone as planned on both the sending, and receiving end. Basoriel had managed to send them from Hell, and the cultists had managed to Anchor them within their realm. It had begun.

A massive crack appeared in the doors, throwing one off its hinges. A stray arrow whistled past Damarus and struck one of the nearby cultists in the chest, who exploded into a shower of gore as an imp clawed it's way out of his chest. Good... Namphiel is using them to house demons, a smart move. Thought Damarus, impressed with the forethought.

"Demons! THEY HAVE DEMONS!!" One of the soldiers screamed, Damarus could nearly taste the fear in his voice, it gave the air a sweet taste. It strengthened him.

"Do not lose faith men, the light shall see us through this test!" shouted a second, darker skinned man clad in shining armor, and carrying a large gilded shield and an ornate scepter. The air about him seemed to glow with a holy light. Damarus felt the air around him drop to a sickeningly low temperature, he felt sluggish, and weak.


"SOMEBODY BRING THAT ONE DOWN!" Damarus shouted, pointing a finger at the knight.

Errtu began chanting "Anaa han anas alla han."

And with that his two lieutenants came forth, charging toward the knight, only to be driven back from the light which emanated from him.

"Damarus, it seems they may have more powers than we thought. What is your plan?"


Errtu found himself following another, even though he swore never to do so again. But the light that surrounded that knight had him changing his own tactics and his plan.

De'Kamoth's vision slowly came back to him, the screams of mortal men filled his ears. Ahhhh... fear. he thought to himself.

"Obiter..." De'Kamoth uttered as he slowly materialized into the shadows and made his way toward the giant door where the knight stood. He observed Errtu's lieutenants charge the knight, only to be repelled by the knights holyness. De'Kamoth made a desperate attempt to communicate to Errtu through his mind. De'Kamoth focused all of his energy into sending the message to Errtu. "Send three more lieutenants to keep the man busy... I will flank and rip the man's mortal flesh but leave the soul so you or one of the others may harvest him."

Tyreus stood in the circle with the rest of the demons as the ritual commenced. Blood flowed forth and began to cover Tyreus. Before he knew it, they were in the mortal world, the world of Sanctuary.

"Ahh... Fresh bodies for me to torture." He cried out as the doors to their new location began to give way. The door gave way as soldiers began to run inside with their false hopes of vanquishing Tyreus and his new brethren.

A cloud of green mist enveloped Tyreus' body. The pale putrid smoke emanated from his bones and through his skull. Tyreus teleported himself onto the back of one of the humans. His back claws dug in deep into the man's spine. He twisted his hind legs severing the man's back bone. The soldier fell limp with no control over his muscles. Not one to let things go, Tyreus opened his mouth as some of the green fog left his mouth and entered the man's. His skin began to boil and soon rupture. Acid burst from the man's chest pouring onto Tyreus and the other soldiers around him.

The acid began to corrode the men's armor instantly. The metal began to burn into the soldier's flesh. Tyreus flashed from the man's dead body to the feet of another soldier. Tyreus watched as the man desperately tried to free himself from his own armor that was hurting him.

"Hahah...Looks like you could use some help" Tyreus did nothing but crawl up and down the man's body as he screamed in agony. Between the melting armor and Tyreus' claws lacerating the man's skin, the man eventually succumbed to the pain and dropped to the floor lifeless.

"MORE ARRIVE, PRESS FORWARDS MEN!!"

"Demons! THEY HAVE DEMONS!!"

Adulphozael rose upwards to a standing position, taking a liking to the terrified screams of mortals all around him, his senses have come back to him. He noticed his leader, Damarus, had lost his energy and was shouting. "SOMEBODY BRING THAT ONE DOWN!"

Adulphozael glanced towards the cavern doors to witness a holy knight, clad in shining armor, making his way toward his comrades. A Paladin.. he thought. Adulphozael's gauntlet was suddenly clenched with the grip of his great Zweihander. He knew he could not get any closer to the knight, lest his demonic essence slowly be drained. He motioned for a forward step and raised the sword above his head, and let it fly directly at the Paladin as he stepped down. The sword made it within 10 feet of the holy knight and dematerialized, as if it was nothing, and rematerialized in his hand.

"Curses!" He said aloud. "That knight needs to be destroyed!"

Several other mortal men are now attempting to charge Adulphozael. Hahaha.. a useless effort, he thought. Adulphozael began charging right at them in retaliation, and impaled three of the men with his swords, one on his left and two on his right. "Who wants more!?" He yelled while waving his swords, the rag-doll bodies of the men sliding off the swords like meat off of a shish-kabob.

Zethrael's thoughts wavered for moment, as he forgot how disorienting it was to be summoned into Sanctuary.

"Demons! THEY HAVE DEMONS!!" A human voice cried out.

The fear pouring from these mortals fed Zethrael's hunger, which hadn't been sated by human fear in ages. Something felt different from the last time he was on Sanctuary. He no longer felt drained as he once did 300 years ago. He felt... himself. As if he was still in Hell. The Worldstone! It's power has been weakened!

"Do not lose faith men, the light shall see us through this test!" shouted a dark skinned man clad in shining armor, and carrying a large gilded shield and an ornate scepter.

"Knight of Zakarum, you shall tremble before us!" Zethrael bellowed out, his voice pulsing with dreadful shrieks of a thousand slain souls.

Zethrael marched through the ranks of soldiers towards the knight of Zakarum, the soldiers in the way posed little threat. Flames erupted from the shadow demon's back, and thick black sulfuric smoke billowed from his body, damping the light slightly. A nearby cultist is struck with an arrow, and from the wound explodes a demon imp screeching with evil glee.

A soldier more courageous than the rest ran at Zethrael, sword primed to strike at the demon. The man's courage quickly faltered as Zethrael palmed the soldier's head, the human's flesh bubbling as the searing heat from the demon's hand melted the skin. The man's screams were quickly silenced as his face erupted in flames. Zethrael hurled the rag doll human at the Paladin, who ducked under his shield, shrugging off the blow.

"You shall not survive this!" Bellowed Zethrael, taunting the man again.

The shadow demon reached his smoldering hands in the direction of the Knight of Zakarum and flames erupted all around the human. But the flames were quickly diminished as the air around the paladin seemed unnaturally cold. And just as Zethrael concentrated his fury at the human to amplify the blazing fire, a cultist fleeing for his life collided with the shadow demon, disrupting his spell. Zethrael roared out in disgust, and slammed his now flaming fist into the cultist, the man's body crashed to the floor, blood splashing out from his skull.

One of the other demons had already begun to push a black mist towards the Paladin. I'll show him real darkness. He thought.

"You can quell my fire, but how can you fight if you can't see." Thick soot and smoke spilled from the shadow demon, quickly engulfing the whole of his being. Even the gleaming flames in the demon's eyes were drowned in the dark cloud. Barely a moment passed and the entirety of the room was filled with the ash and smoke, obscuring all sight. The Knight of Zakarum's white light faded and the grip on his scepter loosened. The few humans who remained to fight coughed in the thick charcoal air.

"I can smell you, Zakarum." Zethrael boasted, as he began to make his way through the charcoal air directly towards the knight.

Smoke filled the room blinding most of its occupants. Tyreus, however, had no need for sight not having any eyes. He was able to sense people and his surroundings and so he continued to see as clear as always.

He looked across the room to see two humans charging after Lucrecius. Within a moment, Tyreus had moved his body to the feet of one of the soldiers. The man stumbled over Tyreus' body and feel to the floor. The force of the trip caused the soldiers nose to break as he hit the ground. Tyreus quickly made his to the man's ankles. With his front legs, he tore into the man's tendons slashing them with his talons.

"Not so quickly" Tyreus hissed into the man's ear. His tail dug deep into the man's abdomen from the back. The man screamed in pain as his tail dug through the muscle into his stomach. Unknown to the soldier, Tyreus had secreted a poison into the man's gut.

Tyreus stood on the man's back as the man's body began to writhe on the floor. Spasms overtook the man's body as foam began leaking from his mouth.

"Now the fun begins" Tyreus squealed out as he jumped up and down excited for what was to come next. The man's skin began to turn a dark olive color. The man screamed as his muscles began to melt from the inside. The disease spread throughout his whole body as first his fingers feel off. Soon followed by his arms and legs.

"Uhhh... Now it's over" Tyreus head hung low as the soldier closed his eyes and slipped into his death.

"Send three more lieutenants to keep the man busy... I will flank and rip the man's mortal flesh but leave the soul so you or one of the others may harvest him."

Errtu looked at De'Kamoth and nodded. "An'as a halana." And with this a life tapping curse was cast upon the knight and Errtu's two lieutenants quickly advaced toward him once more. It had seemed to be working, and the knights' attention was directly on them.

Errtu looked over to De'Kamoth and spoke to him with his mind, "Now is the time. If the curse wears off I'll cast another upon him that is equally effective."

Errtu hoped that De'Kamoth's plan would work.