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Archdemon Empress Luna

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Three days in Hell had come.

Today was the day that the Grand Torturer would take her.

Luna spent most of her remaining days in isolation, caring for the whelp Sloth had given her like it was her own child.

Honestly, Luna was grateful for the animal, and Sloth couldn't have given it at the perfect time.

Through this whelp, Luna could prepare herself for motherhood, nurturing it and taking care of its needs.

She had learned to prioritize the whelp rather than herself.

It also kept her destructive thoughts at bay before they close in on her, trapping her in her own mind and caging her in the ebb and flow of her anxiety.

It was nice to have something else to distract herself from this sense of foreboding.

Luna's thoughts about the future were vague, but a small and bleak prison cell was one of them.

Every time the whelp cried, Luna rushed to its crib Ravin had gifted her and cradled it back to sleep.

She was getting too attached to the whelp, and sometimes, it always crossed her mind if it was possible to bring it to the Vampire Realm with her.

She wondered if Apollyon would cringe or laugh at her 'fake baby noises' when she cooed at the whelp, hopefully raising her future children there with her husband.

Not knowing the time zone between Hell and the Vampire Realm, Luna pondered about how much time she had left in the ultimatum Apollyon had given her before he moved on from her disappearance.

Time flew quickly in the Vampire Realm compared to Hell, and Luna could feel her chest tighten in desperation.

Mayhap, Apollyon had waited for several years already, and if she prolonged this, she wouldn't be surprised that her husband had a new Empress.

+++

Luna talked to the whelp in response when it growled and purred at her every time she fed it with souls, diligently riding in the canoe at the first sunrise and the sunset.

Still, Ravin squinted at them every time he saw them together at the back of the garden, playing with their heart's content.

Ravin jealous as hell when she gave the whelp her attention, and he would sit in silence with them to avoid feeling left out, whether under a tree, by the patio, or at the chamber.

Ravin goes wherever Luna went, following her around like a lost puppy.

Luna knew that Ravin didn't like the whelp based on how he gritted his teeth, clenched jaw, and downturned mouth, but she applauded him for making an effort not to show it despite his obvious frustrations.

Taking pity on him, Luna pacified the Archdemon by wearing all the skin-tight gowns he wanted her to wear around the Castle without any complaints.

Luna knew Ravin was ecstatic when she emerged out of her own private chamber, in which Ravin had agreed, showing a lot of mile-long legs, white arms, and half-bare chests for his delectation.

She shook her head every time she caught Ravin's eyes straying to her décolletage while they talked, and when she turned her back and looked at him over her shoulder, he was staring at her bum.

Luna rolled her eyes. 'Men and their love of female bodies.'

In his eyes, it seemed like Luna had replaced him with a mere animal, but the fact that Ravin didn't kill the whelp and slit its throat, the moment Luna wasn't in her private chamber, was progress.

Ravin must have known it might hurt Luna, making her hate him all the more, and the only thing he had wanted from her was love.

+++

Luna didn't tell Ravin that she can nourish herself with the souls she had fished for the whelp.

Now, Luna had two mouths to feed, fishing at the Obsidian Lake for the both of them.

Sloth had proven himself right when he fed her a soul the night where they made a pact.

Luna felt fuller and stronger as an Archdemon when she ate souls than drinking Archdemon's blood.

The blood tasted sweeter, and it settled in her stomach better than the soul.

The first time Sloth had caught one for her, he gripped the soul's head with his hand, urging her to open her mouth so that he could feed her with it.

Eating wicked souls would taste scrumptious when its essence touched its tongue as the decadent and rich flavor exploding in her mouth made her shudder, but when her lips had swallowed the shadow's tail, it left a bad taste in her mouth that made her want to rinse her mouth with water.

Sloth had chuckled at how her face crumpled at the taste.

The whelp, seeing her adopted mother's expression, had snorted.

+++

When she woke up on her last day at the Ravin's Castle, she walked towards the window and stretched her arms upward, looking at the picturesque scene that was oblivious of her impending doom.

The early morning skies vivid shade of crimson.

It wasn't the brilliant rays of the sun that almost blinded her eyes, but it was rather the mini-sandstorms that managed to pass a part of Ravin's Castle.

In the Dream Realm, Luna remembered that Ravin's castle was on top of a cone-shaped cliff scorched with Hellfire.

They had laid on an outdoor chaise in the middle of the desert while oases surrounded them.

Since Ravin had indicated that they met in the Dream Realm the second time, Luna thought that most of it was an illusion except for the children's chopped-off limbs.

Nevertheless, she didn't want to ask because she knew she would be disappointed.

She already knew that Ravin had consented to Lilith killing those children as a sacrifice, so asking him and expecting a different answer would be plain stupid.

+++

Ravin didn't specify if the First Born Archdemon would come for her along with Satan's Legion.

He didn't even know how many Presidents and Knights would come for her capture tonight.

The Archdemon had told her that Satan was as unpredictable as the weather in Hell despite having obsessive-compulsive attributes.

"There was no point in predicting what his next moves are," Ravin said. "Everything will be fine as long as you fully surrendered to my Uncle's will."

'Resistance to the powerful Archdemons was futile.' Luna needed to plant that idea deep in her subconscious and curb her stubbornness, or else her bargain with the Archdemon of Sloth would fail.

To make the long story short, Sloth had struck a bargain with her, and she agreed.

Sloth's request was simple.

He was an Archdemon with no memories in Hell, but he had recurring dreams of being a shaman in the Human Realm.

Sloth can't validate the claim himself if he had no proof.

It became more rampant recently that he had nightmares all the time, disturbing his balance as the Archdemon of Sloth.

Sleep was important to him, so he had to find something to put his blank slate of a mind to rest.

Sloth wanted Luna to teach him 'Portal Creation' because he claimed he had that skill in the past in the Human Realm, which was also why he was sent to Hell, and he just had to remember.

After learning the skill as quickly as Luna could, he would come to her rescue from Satan, and they would hide in the Human Realm from their pursuers for a while before he delivered her back to the Vampire Realm.

Sloth's bargain was detailed and specific-- mentioning the Vampire Realm and keeping her safe from harm all the time--and she trusted it, for he had pledged his loyalty without hesitation.

Sloth would do anything to remember because he wanted to know what purpose would feel like.

That was how badly Sloth wanted to go to the Human Realm to recover his memories.

Luna wondered if they will be successful.

+++

It was time for Luna to go.

Ravin had told the truth when he told her that his uncle was unpredictable.

She had expected Satan's Legion to surround every corner of Ravin's castle to bring her to the Grand Torturer, but instead, she only found a single guest in Ravin's Throne Room when Ravin had called for her to meet her abductors.

Luna entered, and she knew it was him the moment she stepped her foot on the threshold.

Frowning, his sharp, hawk-like gaze had zeroed in on her as if she was the only creature in the room.

Tensing, Luna froze in place as she watched him in trepidation.

The first thing that stood out to Luna about the Grand Torturer was his enormous height, muscular build, and smooth, tanned skin.

He wore a simple shirt that stretched over his tight, thick biceps and wide shoulders and dark trousers.

Swallowing hard, Luna openly stared at his muscled arms and legs as if the only thing that alleviated his boredom from torturing Archdemons was lifting heavy weights.

With his long dark hair swaying at his waist, he walked briskly towards her in quick, elegant yet purposeful strides and conquered her with his strong, powerful yet menacing aura.

Fear chilled her spine as her heart hammered into overdrive.

As she openly stared at his face, Luna could see thick, dark raven-winged eyebrows, high cheekbones, and a sharp jawline that could cut diamonds when he stalked towards her.

He caught her and gripped her wrists, pulling them at her back before he carried her in his shoulders.

A soft whimper escaped her lips.

Luna fought down a scream of terror.

Before Ravin could stand up from his throne and ease her for the punishment, they disappeared into the night without any farewell to her Archdemon husband.