***The Earth, Dimension 45-43-48, Mortal Plane***

***Amon***

Kitia oversold me the value of this world when she informed me of its existence. She definitely omitted some things, like the fact that they have magic here, despite me telling her to search for a dimension without it. I should replace her for that slip-up, but finding subordinates who do not want to kill me or take my leadership position is so very hard.

I sighed and added another item to my online-shopping list.

At least she got it mostly right. The background mana in the environment is so little that the majority of mortals in this world think of magic as some kind of myth, which means that they developed a high level of technology. So, I guess that the main point of my request was fulfilled.

Only highly talented individuals could wield any kind of magical powers in a place like this.

The thing that I didn't take into account in my plan is that it would be so difficult to get my hands on weapons even with some mental magic to grease the wheels of bureaucracy. I had to jump through several hoops in order to upgrade my contractor's credentials to the point that ordering weapons on the internet is even possible.

At that moment, the door to the apartment's living room swung open with a loud 'crack', startling me, and in came the owner of the place who also happened to be my contractor.

Betsy, a middle-aged human female without family or real friends, took a single look at me and screeched, “What are you doing now!? Get away from my computer! I didn't give you the password!”

“It's your own fault if you pin a sticky with your account information to the screen,” I sneered back and hid her credit card which I had snatched in the morning while she was still sleeping.

“You little monster! I thought you were cute when we summoned you, but you are nothing more than a menace!” Her eyes wandered to the open package that had been delivered earlier this morning and she ran over, reading the box. “A green high-energy industrial laser? Don't point at humans... What the heck would you need that for!?”

I blinked at her, wondering whether she only pretended to be as stupid as she apparently was. Then again, summoning a demon and selling him your soul upon death in exchange for certain services which weren't clearly defined... that was pretty stupid.

“I ordered it to prevent your stalker from watching your apartment,” I explained, deliberately speaking slowly. After all, getting rid of her stalker was the main reason why she summoned me.

“Yes, but not with a laser that can give someone cancer!” she screamed.

I rolled my eyes mockingly. “Don't kill anyone. Don't hurt anyone. Don't destroy another's belongings. How am I supposed to prevent him from stalking you if I am not allowed to do anything in order to stop him?”

“I don't know!” She waved her hands and ran them through her blonde hair. “I thought you could give him a fright and scare him away when Loretta offered to help me. I thought of some big, menacing brute to do my bidding when I went into this. How should I have known that I get to summon the only cute demon in hell!?”

I scoffed. “Too late.” And I definitely wasn't cute. Unfortunately, being small was enough for Betsy to label me as such.

She caught onto my words and gaped at me, then at the laser in her hands. “What did you do?”

Shrugging, I returned my attention to the screen. “He was down on the street and watching the house with binoculars, so I lasered him.”

“You did what!?” She covered her mouth with both hands. “He will sue me. Why isn't the police already here? What exactly happened?”

“I already told you that he was down on the street and watching the apartment. I lasered him and he stumbled around for a bit and then he went away. He was fine.” Up to a certain point. The less the stupid human knows, the better for her conscience.

Unfortunately, Betsy had one of her rare insights at just that moment. “Was? Why are you speaking in past-tense?”

I thought quickly and opted for a white lie. “Still learning your language.”

“No, I don’t believe you. You wouldn't have said that if he was still okay. Loretta said that you demons are very particular about grammar. You even corrected me a few times since you came here!” she squealed.

I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He stumbled around and went onto the street.”

And then I didn't continue.

She tapped her foot and crossed her arms when nothing more was forthcoming. “Aaand?”

Turning back to the screen, I tried to sound conversational, “Stepped in front of a truck. Then I thought for a moment that the humans of this world could fly – until he hit another car which rolled over him. Didn’t you notice the red stain on the street when you came home? Anyway, he didn't survive. You humans are squishy and can't revive like us demons do.”

I looked at her and noticed the slight tremble in her knees. At that moment, I was glad that I had already had a lengthy period of time during which I got accustomed to the sensitivities of mortals. It wouldn't be long now until she inevitably freaked out completely.

“You killed someone!” she screamed. “How can you kill someone and still be here!? The contract!”

“I didn’t kill or injure anyone,” I pointed out. “I just blinded him temporarily. The rest was…” I thought about it, then gave my conclusion. “A happy accident!” I did my best to sound cheerful, hoping that it would change her bad mood. It had obviously been an accident. The fact that I was still here confirmed my innocence through my contract with Betsy.

And I had gotten a soul from it; a weak one, but a soul was a soul. I could use it for payment or gift it to an Anima Stone in exchange for a revival.

“Oh, my god my god my god my god my god my god…” She started pulling on her hair and running in a circle. “What do I do? What if anyone saw you, or what happened?”

Yep. Now she was definitely losing it. “Listen, everything is okay. Nothing will happen to you, even if he had hypothetically survived – which he hasn't. Do you think anyone would believe the story if anyone told the authorities that a little, red toddler with horns shot a green beam of light at a man who was trying to spy through your window? No, so just relax. Breathe slowly. Stop hyperventilating.”

“What do I do? I have to call Loretta.” She started fumbling through her bag to call her friend.

Loretta was the witch who helped this buffoon to summon me, but I wasn’t particularly concerned. The witch wasn’t powerful, considering the weak magical energy on this world, and I had mostly already accomplished what I was here to do. The most she could do was to banish me, but even that would only be a temporary solution since I had taken care that the wording of my contract with Betsy ensured that our bond was permanent. As long as she was alive I could return to this dimension at any time I wanted to ‘serve’ her.

I grinned and confirmed the order on Betsy’s pc when a shadow fell over me.

“What’s a c- claymore?”

“A sword,” I replied quickly and closed the open page from a military-arms supplier who sold his wares to private militias.

“No. that green crate looked like it was military. That definitely wasn't a sword.” She reached over me for the mouse and forced me to re-open the page which showed my entire shopping list. “What the hell, Amon! Grenades, plastic explosives, detonators, chemicals, and a tactical nuke!? You will never get that one! Who is paying for this!?”

Maybe she was right with the nuke. That one would require a personal visit to bend the minds of some weak-willed mortals. Luckily, the basics of mind magic weren't too hard to master for me. Oh, I had a long way to go before I could influence other magical beings, but warping the minds of someone who never even had the chance to train his magic, that was easy.

“You...” I seemingly answered her second question and turned around, figuring that she would react even worse if she learned about my awesome skills, so I waved a hand at her. “... haven't seen anything. The cute imp is just up to some random shenanigans again. Nothing to be concerned with.”

She blinked and then her expression turned really angry. “Do you think you are Yoda or some kind of vampire with mind magic!?”

I looked down at my hand and then up to her, then back at my hand, after which I let out a curse in demonic. “It must be because you are my contractor and therefore protected from my magic!”

Then she started screaming again and tried to take the mouse away from me. I saw no other choice but to hiss at her, showing her my pointy teeth.

She took a step back, slightly intimidated but not totally cowed. “Once Loretta is here you are so going back to hell!”

“And you are a very undesirable female. If you had given me the chance to explain, you would have learned that I might have used your bank account, but saw to it that it is still positively balanced. You even have more money than a puny mortal like you could ever get on her own. I can’t have my contractor kicked out of her apartment and die of hunger while I still need you. And it’s not like I have an identity which I could use in this world,” I let loose my own problems. “And do you think it's fun sitting in this apartment like some pet because I can't go out in public without drawing attention?”

“That’s not going to make it any better! The government is looking out for stuff like nukes and how did you even get the money!?” She pointed at the pc.

“You may have a point with the nuke,” I admitted and petted the spacial bag at my hip, glad I had trained my sticky claws on my earlier visit to a mortal plane. “It’s surprising how much you mundane mortals are willing to pay for some shiny trinkets.”

Her lips trembled slightly. “And I am not undesirable!”

I squeezed my eyes together, knowing that I had hit a sore spot but I had to rub it in. There was only so much I was willing to take from her. “Middle-aged female. Living alone. No male friends. Your only friend is that witch, though whether she is really a friend is debatable since she helped you to summon me. Admittedly, your looks are decent for a human, but I swear, the moment you open your mouth the problem becomes apparent. Do I have to say more?”

She hiccuped.

Maybe I was a little too mean. “Well, at least you are better than the females from my own race. That’s one point in your favour. The first time I met an adult succubus she attempted to use me as a living dildo since I was still a little demonling at the time.”

“How can you say that?” She wiped at her tears while looking very angry. “I doubt that any demon-woman would even look twice at an imp like you, much less a succubus. Or are there little impettes?”

I shuddered. “There are, but what you are suggesting is like two toddlers having a go at each other. I hope not!”

Her expression scrunched up. “Wait, does that mean that you are still a child?”

“In demon-terms.” I nodded. “But rest assured that the analogy among your people is far from accurate. My race's childhood isn't even close to what you would perceive as a child. Each of our evolutions is deadlier than the next and even adult demons run from demonlings if there are enough of them. Imps are just as adult as any grown-up mortal.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I wouldn't call you an adult... you are more like a murderous little gremlin which is made even more disturbing because you can talk and are intelligent.”

“Thank you for the compliment.” I smiled at her and she took another step back. “Say, what are you doing for a living when you leave the house each day?”

Betsy raised her chin. “I am a psychologist!”

I searched the memories of my souls. “A doctor for the mind?” How would someone who dealt with other people's problems end up as a shut-in like her?

She nodded.

“What would you suggest if I told you that I am hearing voices in my head?” I asked, wondering whether she could be useful after all. “They are telling me to do things.”

Her expression only became more alarmed and she whispered, “I knew that you are an insane, little bugger.”

Somehow, I had a feeling that this would be a long and boring day. At least until Betsy's witch-friend arrived. Maybe she would prove to be entertaining.

***The Infernal Planes of Gluttony***

***Kitia***

I wondered how Amon did it. The entire camp was a haphazard conglomeration of imps who were out for personal gain. There was nothing that held them together aside from greed and Amon's promises. For all intents and purposes, they should have torn each other apart and yet they were working together. Raising the stick was enough to make them flinch and hurry to accomplish their tasks.

Wondering whether I should test the artefact by hitting myself, I studied the implement of power in my hands.

As far as I was concerned, the stick was nothing more than a stick. Amon had made some adjustments to the wood by carving additional runes into it, but they did nothing that was obvious to me. In the hands of a mortal mage, it might have been a powerful magical weapon, but I never saw Amon use it as such. He only beat people with it.

I turned to Shax who had returned from his latest forage onto the battlefield. According to him, the recruitment of demonlings was going as well as he had expected, whatever that meant.

He was chewing on an old bone and sitting next to me on Amon's throne-stone which our leader had made his permanent place in our camp.

“Can I test something?” I asked.

“No,” Shax replied instantly, apparently knowing what I intended to do.

“It's just one hit. I want to know why all the others are so afraid of the stick,” I explained.

Shax gestured at the camp. “Isn't it obvious? It hurts, and it makes people follow orders.”

“That can't be the only reason.” I swung the stick, and several onlookers flinched and hurried to accomplish their work much quicker. I took note that all of the ones who reacted in this manner had already experienced the stick. “Demons are used to pain. You can't make them afraid of a stick. I would understand it if they were afraid of Amon as a person, but by merely giving me the stick, they suddenly respect me. It's not normal.”

“Stick hurts.” My friend broke off a piece of his bone with his sharp teeth. “Is weak soul magic. Flays not just flesh, but what lies beneath, so don't use it on anyone from our group.”

My eyes widened at this revelation and I whispered so that the others couldn't hear. “Why would Amon know soul magic?”

That was an incredibly rare and important skill for a demon to have. Most demons had an instinctive ability to manipulate souls in accordance with the laws of the Infernum. Certain evolutions like succubi could even suck souls directly out of their victims. But for a demon to enchant an item with soul magic was very rare to see.

If Lord Ostreios knew about this, he would likely give out a bounty on Amon's head in order to get whatever soul provided such valuable knowledge to a mere imp. Stronger demons didn't fear death nor injury. If they feared something, it was an opponent who could do things to them that were more permanent than a final death.

“Do you think he is proficient in it? Does he know what he is doing?”

Shax shook his head. “That stick is just dabbling, trying out what's possible.”

I narrowed my eyes at the camp. “Do they know?”

He shrugged. “Likely not, but they are probably assuming it, hence the obedience.”

I blinked and nodded, suddenly glad that Amon had made everyone swear a verbal oath not to betray the operation until everything was over. I cursed and put the stick on my lap. “Once this is over, we have to run as far away as possible.”

Shax only nodded in reply.

That was when a summoning circle appeared in front of us and Amon materialized with a flash of red energy.

“Welcome back!” I was quick to greet him.

He looked gloomy as he surveyed the camp with an expressionless mien before he turned to face me. “The camp is still standing, so I won't punish you for not quite fulfilling your task correctly.”

“Wh- what do you mean?” It couldn't be that the dimension I had found wasn't quite devoid of magic. He wasn't that stingy, or was he?

He held out his hand.

I looked at it.

Amon didn't move and kept glaring at me.

Shax elbowed me in the side and gestured at the stick.

“Oh, yes!” I quickly handed the stick back to Amon, just a little sad that I would no longer be able to cow the camp that easily.

He kept standing there, stick in hand and waiting... for something.

It took another second for Shax and me to vacate Amon's stone. I had to admit that it was one of the best sitting places in our camp.

Once Amon was back on his stone, he took a deep breath and screamed. “Attention! You little maggots! Form up in front of me right this instant or I swear by the Infernum that all of you will get an up and close with my stick!”

I was honestly surprised at how quickly the whole camp moved, with the few reluctant ones among Amon's followers being bodily picked up by others and dragged in line.

Our leader nodded after his order had been followed to his satisfaction. He reached for the pouch at his hip and retrieved a large book from it, handing it to me. “This contains instructions on how to make poisonous gas. I marked the important parts. You are in charge of the production.”

He turned back his lesser minions. “You, sort this stuff out. Explosives, chemicals, and such.”

Amon tilted his bag and pulled the opening comically wide, spilling crates, barrels, and other things to the ground. Several imps flinched when one of the boxes broke open, spilling grenades everywhere. That we didn't appreciate mundane weapons as a whole didn't mean that at least some demons wouldn't recognize them.

I had no idea how Amon had gotten his hands on all the stuff as the mountain piled up more quickly than his followers could sort it out.

Slowly, I started to worry not only that Amon's insane plan could go horribly wrong, but worse, that we might actually succeed and make ourselves an enemy who was powerful enough to end us all.