So I can defeat Paimon... at least in one on one combat. I realized, in the wake of our encounter. I again found myself in the Infernian desert. I wasn't flying this time. Instead I was walking on the sandy surface that covered the vast majority of the layer.

Only a few moments had passed since I had temporarily trapped Paimon in a tunnel beneath the surface of the mortal world of my birth. I was trudging through the desert so as to better think my thoughts before I hurtled towards the village of the Girtablilus, where I hoped to secure the last ambitious soul and secure the final community I needed to secure to gain even more devilish powers.

They are so loud... I thought, grimacing as several voices immediately shared their thoughts with me. All sorts of devils evidently felt the need to inform me of their thoughts about the fact that I had temporarily defeated Paimon.

Even though I was annoyed, I couldn't be that annoyed with them. It is kind of extraordinary... I thought, chuckling. My dreaded enemy... one of the greatest terrors left alive in Infernius in the wake of the end of the Mythic Age, too surprised to be able to counterattack once I took away his magic. I told myself, chuckling.

And then I winced as more voices sprung into my mind. More idle chatterboxes, pleasant voices but ones whose statements were generic and congratulatory. My advisors, the ones who mattered anyway, hadn't yet spoken. They had tactically kept their mouths shut. Waiting. But that doesn't mean I couldn't say something. That I couldn't ask something.

[Salifinos, Tristan, Nefarious, Agowraith, Malefactor, Casis. I need your opinion on something.] I told them. Opinion? I thought, chiding myself I knew their opinions already. Weird word choice. I admitted. I heard a funny sort of mental silence from them, the devils I most trusted, as they wanted for me to expand on my thoughts and share what precisely I needed their thoughts on.

[I think it's time for us to think about government building. Right now the vast majority of us are combat-oriented. That's an important part of leading a successful rebellion, but it's not the only part. I need you all to think about what ways we could expand our forces and begin to plan a... transition government for when Paimon is overthrown.] I told them.

When Paimon is overthrown... For the first time, that thought felt realistic. It felt attainable. The feeling that realization provoked elated me. I had to work to control the smile on my face. As I strolled through the desert, closer and closer to the spot where Tristan had once seen the girtablilu village I was heading towards Tristan's own voice snuck into my mind.

[Agreed Althos. Do you know what sorts of figures you already want in this transition government? Even if you don't have names ready offhand, can you think of specific government positions you want to be filled?] Tristan asked, her voice diplomatically entering my mind. I tilted my head as I contemplated that question.

What sort of figures would I need in a transition government? I wondered as I began to climb a sand dune that rose slowly into the air. I began to slowly construct a sort of draft of the message I'd send Tristan.

[Well I suppose we need to think about what goals a transition government would have. One of those goals would be to be recognized by the leadership of at least some of the other layers. We'd need to ensure that the surface of the planet is actually as lifeless as we think. And it'd be good for us to be recognized and accepted by our oceanic neighbors.] I told one of Tristan, one of my older companions and more trusted friends while alluding to the layer closest to us and to the world's surface.

And for a second, I thought about my understanding of the geography of this dimension. Something I had gradually gained more of over time, thanks to my memory-absorption powers.

The layers of Infernius. The first of which was the surface of the world. An eerie, supposedly lifeless place. A place I only knew of through Infernian folklore. A place most people only knew of through Infernian folklore. Supposedly this place was filled with constructs, machines, and technology, meant to guard the world against demonic invasion.

The second layer of Infernius was this layer. An infernal, seemingly infinite desert, occasionally interrupted by eerie cities of magic and high-rise buildings inhabited by great and powerful beings, and tiny villages and communities made up of the rare few humanoids ignored by devils or by giants. A place I explored regularly and controlled about a quarter of.

The third layer was an oceanic place. The bulk of the layer was situated beneath the surface of the water, and the only non-devilish inhabitants within the layer were creatures who could breathe water. This layer was only known to me second-hand, by the memories of other creatures and even then I had very few memories of the place itself. The main thing I had that alerted me to this place were memories of basic knowledge of this place. It was, by and large, a mystery to me.

This place is vast, mysterious, and dangerous. I thought as I reached the top of the sand dune I had been climbing. Spread out before me was a huge and sandy flatland. I guess I should speed up my travel. I realized, right before I leaped into the air and began to fly through the warm desert sky. I'm gonna go ahead and arrive at the next village soon. I told myself, wanting to go ahead and get on with the next quest I'd need to complete as the final part of the trial of Dark Usurpation.

In the air, I felt warm desert air collide gently with my skin. Grains of sand idly blown by relaxing breezes blew upward and into my face, annoying me slightly. While flying through the air I continued to contemplate what sort of figures I'd need in a capable transition government. And I continued to chat, not just with Tristan but with all of my inner council.

[We're gonna need a number of high ranking officials in order to remove all of Paimon's influence from Bastille and throughout the rest of the layer. We're gonna need a chief of state to establish a relationship with the inhabitants of the surface if any exist, and the inhabitants of the third later. That's a big one because we're gonna need those allies while we free the layer from lingering remnants of Paimon's corruption.] I explained, sharing my perspectives with my followers.

[We're also gonna need to establish open and public relationships with the communities throughout the desert. So we'll need traveling diplomats to go around the layer, invested with the power to make deals on behalf of Bastille.] I shared with my servants.

[And of course, we're gonna need military forces, a real hierarchy at that. For three specific areas, I can think of at least. For the border between the first layer and this layer just in case, we're wrong about its supposed lifelessness, for Bastille, and for the string of fortresses we've built. Not to mention law enforcement, but it seems that under Paimon law-enforcement and the military are separate.] I informed my informal council, relying on memories I had harvested from the raiding parties Paimon sent after me at the beginning of the war.

Over our mental connection, I heard them mutter their quiet, inner thoughts. It was amusing really, but not helpful. So, I chose to focus on the flight that separated me from another community filled with souls to gather and corrupt.

Less than a minute after I took off into the air and began the low-altitude flight that would see me the rest of the way to my destination I could peer into the distance and see a quaint village. I was flying quite rapidly and rather than land and attempt to engage with the brutal warriors known as the girtablilu, I quickly checked my knowledge notification about them.

What flashed before my eyes when I did the mental sequence to pull up the textbox made me grit my teeth in concern. The new information I had gained since my knowledge level increase only reinforced what I suspected about the low odds of them being welcoming and receptive to outsiders.

[New Species Knowledge Gained: Girtablilu

Girtablilu's are one of the higher-tier evolutions of creatures like scorpions and dire-scorpions. They are a fusion of humanoid and scorpion, with a powerful upper body of a human or human-like creature, unless they've been mutated whereupon they may have a different sort of humanoid upper-half and the lower body of a gigantic and powerful scorpion.

About a quarter of girtablilus are feral creatures whose humanoid upper-bodies are unintelligent and not in control of the rest of the body. These sorts of girtablilus are powerful monsters who tend to be creatures who were born as weaker life-forms who spent a good portion of their lives defeating innumerable powerful enemies to get where they are now, painfully evolving from lower forms to a much stronger, far more bestial form.

The other three-quarters of girtablilus, usually ones whose parents are girtablilus, tend to live in isolation from other kinds of creatures and are known to violently attack the rare strangers who approach them openly. They form isolated, yet sophisticated civilizations in jungles, deserts, and towering mountains. These creatures have complex social structures and are easily capable of forming the most powerful civilizations in the isolated and dangerous territories they seem to prefer if left undisturbed for long enough.

The civilizations of these creatures are strength-based and rather peculiarly revolve around settling around and protecting ancient ruins. The precise reason for this odd instinct of girtablilus is unknown though it's suspected by the rare scholars who study these beings that this is either a pragmatic choice to deter potential enemies or the result of some ancient instinct that the girtablilus appear to obey unconsciously.

Girtablilus sometimes possess an odd vestigial ability: the ability to read seemingly extinct, ancient languages, which may be a part of why they so fiercely guard ancient ruins.

Both distinct types of girtablilus are cunning, dangerous foes just in different ways. Stealthy or disciplined girtablilus tend to come from the more civilized stock of the species, and powerful but wild martial warriors tend to come from the more animalistic type of girtablilu.

Both types of girtablilu are skilled poison users and display awe-inspiring mastery of their bodies. And both types are capable of producing the rare example of their kinds capable of using magic, with the bestial type producing girtablilus who are naturally adept at manipulating nature and conjuring illusions. On the other hand divine and arcane magic are typically used by girtablilus with civilized minds and hearts.

Only the strongest of girtablilus are capable of monstrous evolution. The rare few who evolve become quasi-mythical monsters who are the scorpion-equivalent to therianthropes, humanoids capable of shapeshifting into powerful beasts. Girtablilus who evolve lose their monstrous forms and instead become capable of fooling men, or scorpions at will.]

Their whole thing is that they are xenophobic warriors. They are not like the inhabitants of Namira who accept at least some non-desert-giants. I thought while thinking of the rare few humans I had met in the city that was becoming more mine with each passing hour.

With but a wish I made myself go invisible and rendered myself incorporeal once again. This way I could fly into or through the village undetected, while I try and detect the "him" Tristan told me about, a girtablilu who stood out in Tristan's mind.

"He's a bitter girtablilu because his ancestor was the last leader of the community and he isn't the leader now." She told me.

A quick scan of her memories makes him stand out too. He's almost four meters tall, and he has a purple carapace. I recalled as I investigated the memories Tristan had of the village I was now just outside of.

I took a deep breath as I entered the village and began to check both my radar and my immediate surroundings to find the Girtablilu I had been offered as a potential target for the quest.

"I'm gonna find this fellow, snag his soul, and help him clear this dungeon real quick." I told myself, determined to see this adventure through from start to finish in a matter of hours like I had the last adventure. It was at precisely that moment, nearly a quarter of a day after the adventures in the harpy village, that I received a trio of new notifications.

[Quest Progress Alert:

1/3 communities usurped.]

[New Feat Gained: Stealthy usurper

Benefit: You are more stealthy and less noticeable even in conversation unless you want to be observed. Your followers are now more skilled at executing critical military operations that cripple enemy infrastructure and leave enemies weaker overall.

Method of Acquisition: Gain control of a community through underhanded means such as by with deals with enemies that cause them to become allies.]

[New menu type unlocked: Community management system

This new type of menu allows you to more efficiently coordinate how your servants lead communities devoted to you or secretly in your thrall. This menu is perfect for cities and communities that have been deceived into becoming yours through careful deals with those at the top of the cities or communities.

You can give basic commands to the people who make up communities under your control, and they will be tempted to obey them. The commands come in the form of instincts and urge the people are tempted to give into it. As you gain control over the proper domains and subdomains this menu's capabilities will increase. This is a good menu for the gods of empires and law. This menu only allows control to be exerted over towns completely in your service, for now anyway.]

Now that is is an exciting development. I thought, grinning hugely as I willed the notification out of sight for now and focused on my search for the girtablilu. I simply must play with this further, later on. I thought, hoping to have that chance very soon.