***The Infernal Planes of Gluttony***

***Demonling***

I ran until I got tired, admittedly without getting very far. Given my size, I found that quite excusable. Unfortunately, it didn’t take very much to figure out that this Infernal Plane of Gluttony wasn’t much more than rocks, and rocks, and more rocks with no signs of life.

What was a little and very hungry demonling supposed to eat in a place such as this?

Anyone with half a brain would have seen to bring some supplies!

Hahaha. As if I didn’t know that. How was I supposed to gather supplies in that hatchery? Even if I had managed to squirrel something away before I escaped, demonlings have good noses. My hatchmates would have besieged my hiding spot without letting me out until I would have been forced to eat the stored food myself.

Not to forget, the plan also wasn’t to just jump into the unknown. Originally, I only wanted to take an innocent look past the boulder and improvise from there. Ending up out here wasn’t intended.

I sighed and kicked a pebble, watching it tumble down the slope towards the valley’s lowest point. During my travel, I had kept close to the steeper parts at the valley’s side, hoping that any creatures who might be large enough to mistake me for a snack would stay away from hard terrain. On top of that came the fact that the valley’s bottom didn’t look very inviting. It was almost perfectly flat and made up of what looked like sand or clay from up here.

Living the dream of freedom wasn’t so grand as I had expected it to be.

There wasn’t much choice but to turn back and try my luck in the hatchery if there wasn’t anything to find out here. Maybe there was a chance to steal from the caretaker without going back into the cave with my hatchmates. Being a mouse in his house, so to speak.

I also could go back and wait for him to leave the hatchery. He wouldn't sit forever in his cave and guard the boulder, would he? He would have to leave the cave at some point to get food. That would be my chance.

With that thought in mind and a smile on my face, I turned around to head back to where I had started my excursion.

I barely got a glimpse of something green that was about my size with far too many legs before it opened its maw and a tongue shot out, latching directly onto my face!

“Mhmhmh!”

Reaching for my face, I pulled at the muscular thing without getting results. It pulled me forward, taking me off my feet, and the next moment my upper body was enclosed in something warm and slimy!

Not again! Do you have a fetish for this!?

Shut up you stupid voice!

I opened my mouth and bit down on whatever got inside it, causing the thing that had mistaken me for food to quiver. Whether the reaction signified pain or amusement, I wasn’t sure, but I kept sawing my teeth back and forth, gulping down whatever I managed to bite off. To bite the dust just like that was intolerable, so I flexed my claws and raked the thing’s soft flesh without much success!

The thing tried to slurp me in deeper, but I spread my legs which was apparently a little too much for its maw. At last, the thing regurgitated me a little bit, just to swallow me back in.

If my only spell wasn’t a useless Healing Ray, I would have at least had a weapon! What use was magical knowledge if it couldn't be used for destruction?

Ever thought about reversing the channelling rune of the spell-matrix, Dipshit?

I shuddered in awe at the realization before I tried it, gathering energy in my palms. There wasn’t much to lose at this point and the thing that had caught me clearly had no intention of coughing me up anyway. This was my only chance.

For the second time in my short life, I let the magic loose with everything I got!

Only that this time, it didn’t weaken me. Instead, I felt power rush into me, strengthening my body and my magic! The fight or flight reflex had suppressed the burning feeling in my lungs that came with me slowly suffocating. With my waning power restored, I intensified my struggles once more.

“Hurrgh!” The thing heaved with its whole body, spitting me out with enough force to land me on my backside.

While I was coughing up slime, the creature wreathed and tumbled away, trying to flee!

I instantly raised my hands and snarled at my opponent, forming the reversed spell-matrix once more. “Healing Ray!”

Nothing happened!

“D- Death Ray!”

The magic formed on my palms and spluttered out of existence, the spell-matrix falling apart in my hands. Cursing, I shook my hands, not knowing what was wrong.

Meanwhile, the eight-legged lizard-thing that had tried to slurp me up like a wet noodle waddled away drunkenly. It wasn’t much more than eight spindly legs and a very large mouth with a round body and a sinewy tail. Its bodily makeup was perfect for swallowing anything that was roughly its own size.

Despite its apparent ability to traverse the rocky terrain quickly, the creature was clearly weakened and unable to flee which spoke to some animalistic instinct inside of me.

“Oh, no you don’t!” I didn’t know why the reversed healing ray worked only once, but I wouldn't allow this creature to escape. It was in no state to fight and I was a mighty demonling, so I threw myself at the predator-turned-prey, latching onto its back and biting down onto the leathery neck without doing much damage.

The monster coughed and started bucking in an attempt to throw me off as it turned in circles, bumping into several rocks in the process.

Biting the creature’s soft tongue had worked, but its hide was a well enough armour to repel my attempts at killing the accursed thing.

“D- Death Ray!”

This time, the reversed spell worked for whatever reason and the spell-matrix latched onto my opponent’s life-force, transferring it to me while it thrashed.

Then it decided to roll onto its back in an attempt to squish me, but I held on with all my might.

All its weight on top of me drove the air out of my lungs, but that wasn’t enough to get rid of me. Demonlings were resilient enough to withstand some serious punishment from their own kin, so why would this thing be able to buck me off without gutting me?

The lizard-thing sprung back up, catapulting itself over a rock and whirling me around like some cowboy.

We landed and finally, the creature coughed its last breath and toppled sideways, falling like a dead puppet who had its strings cut.

I kept gnawing at the neck while my improved spell fizzled out.

Despite all my efforts in harming the thing, my teeth had barely gotten through the hide’s outer layer. Watching the battles in the hatchery had taught me that a battle was only truly over once the enemy lay in twitching pieces at one’s feet. Or had passed through the gullet into one’s belly.

A few seconds later, I had to admit that biting the tough hide was stupid when my enemy was quite clearly incapacitated. So I switched to searching for some other weak spot.

It turned out that the thing didn’t have any weak points which I could injure with my little claws, and that the only way I could get at the nourishing insides was to pry the maw open and to pull out the long tongue.

Slimy lizard-thing-tongue wasn’t as good as the caretaker’s food, but it was plenty and I didn’t have to compete with my hatchmates over it.

For the first time in my life, my situation didn’t feel as immediately life-threatening as I had gotten used to. Admittedly, the lizard-thing had almost eaten me, but that was life on the Infernal Planes.

If there were more of the lizard-things around, I likely could make a living out here. Add to that the fact that I hadn’t seen any large predators, and things were just peachy. I only had to figure out how this improvised spell worked which the other’s knowledge had gifted me.

With the Healing Ray, the magical scroll had gotten me at least some magical knowledge of how the spell was supposed to work. If I would have had any time to think about it after using the scroll, I would have never aimed the spell at the large hatchmate.

Chewing and gnawing my way inside my opponent, I thought about the spell. The channelling-rune was the central piece of the spell and supposed to collect life-force from the caster and shoot it out towards a target.

The problem with reversing the rune was that the ranged aspect of the rune was aimed at me. Which meant what exactly? That the spell wasn’t ranged any more but worked as intended otherwise?

How had the other known that this would work and that I wouldn't blow off my arms instead?

I tried exploring my only soul’s memories but remembered the caretaker's lessons. Delving too deeply into a mortal soul wouldn't do a demon any good. The faint flashes of knowledge which I got nonetheless were mostly about magical knowledge. A vast pool of knowledge.

Had my soul belonged to some sort of mage?

In any case, it was apparent that my impromptu attempt at naming the inverted Healing Ray was a misnomer. Thanks to the changes, it was less of a Death Ray and more of a Death Grasp!

It had been some time since my mind started drifting off and my belly was full. After the tongue was gone, I had eaten my way bit by bit inside the creature like some ravenous beast.

I had to belch and realized that if I ate any more, I would have serious trouble walking, so I pushed past the lizard-thing’s lips and returned to the outside world. I was already a wonder that I had managed to eat as much as I did, but the bellies of demonlings were apparently insatiably digestive machines that added nutrients almost directly to the body.

Once outside, I was welcomed by a whole group of the damned lizard-things! They were staring at their expired comrade with big, round eyes that quivered with slimy fluids.

My exploration of the lizard-thing’s insides had taught me that aside from swallowing its prey whole and suffocating it, the things didn’t have any way to harm a demonling. No teeth, no mentionable claws.

Smacking my lips, I made a step towards the closest lizard-thing before the whole group fled with incredible speed, spreading out in all directions while easily traversing the terrain by clinging to the side of rocks or through jumping over large crevices, taking routes that seemed impossible to follow.

All I could do was to make a long face, saddened that I hadn’t caught a second one. I looked down at my bulging belly. While I was far from done with the first lizard-thing, the innards were less tasty than the tongue, which had already gone down my gullet to be never seen again.

Hopefully, the lizard-things would soon forget that I had eaten one of their comrades. It was clear that having them gobble me up was a far easier hunting method than to hunt down the damned things.

Sighing, I turned back to the corpse, wondering whether I could use any of it. The very least I decided to do was to drag the body to some secluded place between two large rocks where I erected an impromptu campsite.

***The Infernal Planes of Lust***

***Isabella***

I sighed while looking out of the window, trying my best to ignore the educational tone my mother liked so much when she held a speech to one of her children. Lately, it was always the same discussion when I visited her halls.

“…shouldn’t agitate the Lord more than necessary. I already have all the papers for the contract ready. It is just a matter of signing and performing the deed.”

I turn around and curl my lips in disgust.

My mother, the Great Succubus Matriarch Ashley, also known as The Burning Death of Desire, and the First Lady of Castle P.o.P., only raised an eyebrow upon seeing my expression. “What? Don’t tell me that you are averse to pleasing the Lord. You have fucked plenty of men in your eighty years of life.”

“That isn’t the problem!” I complain. “Having a child with that man is the problem! As if I would ever sign a breeding contract with him!” Pointing a finger, I shot a small fireball at the paperwork which my mother deflected with a swipe of her hand.

“Child! You are overreacting. It’s just pushing out one egg and giving it one soul. Just make sure that it isn’t a daughter and all is well. We can hand the egg over to him and forget that it ever happened. You will have others.”

“But none of them as easily as that!” I growl. “You know very well that while other types of demons can lay them like breeding machines, my first one could also be my last. Who guarantees that I get to live up to one thousand!?”

I always wanted a child I could care for, but succubi have a condition. After laying our first egg, it takes centuries to engender another one in our wombs. That makes every single one as precious as a thousand high-quality souls. “Wasting my best chance on a daughter just to give birth to a male heir for that bastard who treats us like his personal… wives…” I roll the foreign concept over my tongue. “… that’s simply not going to happen.”

My mother’s jaws start working, showing that she is pissed. “I admit that the outcome of our negotiations is less than satisfactory and that you will have to pay a certain emotional price. The fact remains that he is one of the most powerful warlords on the plane right now and that he somehow got wind of the fact that you, as my youngest daughter, never had children. Open conflict with that man will eventually end in losing several of our numbers. Do you want us to fight a war against that man? Because I can promise you, some of my daughters, your sisters, will have to pay the price for your foolishness.”

I deflate, not wanting to lose any of my beloved sisters. Other demons may not show much affection for their kin, but we succubi are different. “There is no other way? What if I get myself knocked up with a little succubus-girl? No heir for him!”

My mother shakes her head. “Do you really think that he won’t know that you did it in order to spit in his face? Outright refusing him and declaring a war might be better. Other warlords might take you spiting him like that as an affront. It will be a reason to side with him instead of us.” She gestures at herself. “It’s just one egg. Look at me. I was blessed with so many daughters that I had to build a castle just to house all of us. This is a situation where it is better to play the long game. Haven’t I taught you that patience is key when dealing with a man? He will visit us and before he knows it, we will have him twirled around our tails. No male can withstand a succubus matriarch and her forty daughters!”

I groan inwardly. That’s the problem with my mother. Her age makes her think in totally different dimensions. “No offence, but you are ancient! You are several millennia old, Mom. Few have the tenacity to keep going for such a long time.”

“Well, I can promise you that we will keep him off your back once he has done his duty.” She gestures with her fingers. “Properly prepared, it’s just a matter of a few good thrusts until he pops. Then he will be too busy with the rest of us to harass you any longer. I promise you, if anyone else were fertile right now, we wouldn’t need you, but alas, he wants his heir within the decade.”

I shake my head. “Why would he even need an heir? We demons are immortal.”

Ashley waves her hand dismissively. “Forget it. It’s one of those warrior-things for which we succubi have no use. Once a warleader has enough followers for his warband to be called a legion, there are certain rituals and obligations which have to be followed. One of them is to have a legitimized heir who can act as a liaison to the Planar Lord who is in charge of the plane.”

That would make it certain that the child would be taken away from me. Even more of a reason not to have a one.

“Haaah… just… delay him. Or could we appeal to the Planar Lord?”

“Are you mad? The Planar Lords are like the gods and much less predictable. Drawing her attention wouldn’t end well for any of us.” My mother shakes her head. “The most I can give you is to delay him as much as possible. Maybe setting him up against one of his rivals would keep him busy warring for a few years. With any luck, he gets killed by one of his enemies. Though, I doubt it would be that easy.”

I turn towards the window and open it. “I need some time for myself to think.”

Before she can harass me any further, I throw myself out of the window. Spreading my wings and incanting a spell for eased flight, I allow the winds to catch me. Then I am soaring through the skies, away from my mother’s castle.

***The Infernal Planes of Gluttony***

***Demonling***

I emerged from my impromptu camping site three sleeping cycles later, armed with improvised bone-daggers which I had made out of the lizard-thing’s bones. Additionally, I crafted myself leather armour that was three sizes too large for me thanks to my inferior crafting skills, and only loosely held together by the creature’s sinew.

For the for first time I felt truly ready to challenge this hostile plane with my new weapons.

You mean toothpicks!

“Shut up!”

I quickly had to look around in order to make sure that nobody had witnessed me talking to myself. Even toothpicks were lethal to lizard-things… probably.

Anyway, now I was ready to become a great hunter. I would decimate the local lizard-thing population and fill my belly with their tongues! Then I would become an imp and… I actually had no clue how to become an imp.

Better not to set your goals too high.

“Uuh…” My whole body shook with suppressed fury, but I somehow managed to hold it in. The other just had no idea how important it was to take one step after the other on the road to power. First, a stable source of food so that my only remaining life wouldn't be snuffed out, then some souls if I could find any, and then everything else.

Nodding to myself, I ventured forth, deeper into the valley, seeking my prey like one of the great demonlords who the caretaker had told us about. There was no doubt in my mind that things would become better for me from here on out.