Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Born from the fiery gaze of the one called the creator, Tamiyaan was amongst the holy few whose existence had grown akin to a god. Many followed, many praised, and none dared to incur his wrath, he was in many ways, a primordial devil–held back only by those who outranked him. Sitting on their thrones with an iron grip, the primordials refused to move and yet the hells moved to their whims.

He wished to taste that power, much like his wish to hoard every treasure of the world in his treasury. From the crystalline body of a cosmic sorceress to world-shattering artifacts capable of sinking islands at ease and continents with leisure. Only held back by his mistrust towards any and all who could guard his artifacts, he mostly rested in his mansion, ever ready to take on an assault even against the gods.

But today was different, for once he'd left his treasury in the hands of his armies. An army of skinned giants chained to each other, an army of minotaurs kept too long from breeding, and an army of all kinds of monsters turned devils and many races over. However, despite their differences, they held one thing in common, the monsters, these humans, elves and faes, had struck an eternal deal with this man, a man whom they considered their only god in hell.

A man of many talents, a man of many faces, a man whose name was as revered as it was hated–Tariyaan, the devil in the details. He walked and thus the hellscape fell silent. The imps forced their lips shut and the agony of tortured souls halted but for a moment. The cave through which the blood of monsters flooded, he was headed inside with the sole purpose of meeting Libyan.

As he passed the many servants that she'd gathered, he reflected differently in every single pair of their eyes. To some he was a hulking giant with a gaping mouth and needle-like teeth, the others saw him as a gentleman-kind, wearing a suit with a mask and a flamboyant top hat. However, none saw him the same for he was a man of infinite secrets.

"Libyan, my lovely girls, ahaha!" Walking into the throne room decorated with mountains of monster bones each one of whom Libyan had picked her teeth with, Tariyaan stood before the Lamia queen wearing a white mask with a crooked smile. Tapping his curved cane in front, he urged her to shrink from her colossal size and talk to him on equal footing. "Come on girl, remember I can still devour your fucking soul and you'd be gone, ahahaha!"

Like a clown gone insane, he laughed at her, and although staring down at him with nothing but disgust, Libyan knew better than to defy the man who possessed her very soul.

"As you say…" Spitting blood to her side, she emphasized further. "Master."

Shrinking from a titanic size to that of a regular human, Libyan slithered closer to her master and stood tall before him. Hell had little command over the lamia, she was just far too stubborn. Death meant little, and torture even less, but the one thing that terrified her was now held by the man standing in front of her.

"Oblivion, you know what it is, right?" Smiling behind the mask, the smile on the mask widened as well. Titling his head, he began to march with tall strides around Libyan, his eyes glued to her enchanting face. The clench of her teeth, the raging fire in her eyes, and the most radiant of scales, as well as the unfettered will to survive. "By gods, you're a beauty…but not with brains, not in the least."

Turning his head to the front and marching forward towards her throne, Tariyaan dropped his smile and spoke in the most casual of manners.

"You know, Libyan? I would've loved to lock you up amongst my many treasures, maybe take you out from time to time and satiate mine and of course," leaning his body halfway back, Tariyaan smirked at the Lamia with an overstretched smile on the mask. "I'm no brute so I would've made sure you're sated too, however, as things stand I need more generals, more leaders for my army. I hope one day you will be worthy, so try not to disappoint me too much, alright?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Bobbing straight forward with half his torso, Tariyaan's body wiggled like a spring toy for a moment. Looking to the front throughout the back and forth of his spine, he admired the massive throne made of the beastliest beasts all of whom she'd slain herself.

"Quite the decor, but if you have some obsession with gore, darling," leaning on his side while resting his head on the back of one hand and cycling the wrist of the other, Tariyaan was impressed, but to some degree repulsed by the simplistic nature of Libyan's interior decor. "Just tell me and I'll send my finest gals, they'll turn this place into the nightmare of mortals."

Looking around at the raging face of the queen yet again, Tariyaan moved closer to her again and grabbed her by the hands. Squeezing them, he took a deep breath and continued with his blabber.

"Give this place a bit of pizazz sweetheart, tickle a sprinkle of horror, maybe a massive mirror for a door that reflects the insecurities of every visitor." Enthusiastic about anything grandeur, the man couldn't stop talking. "But if you love the gore so much, how about a pulsing portal to the mortal world inside your room through a dead god's trachea? I have an extra, it's collecting dust anyways, you can have it if you want, ahaha~"

Letting the man get his laughs in, Libyan stared at him unbothered. She was afraid of him for sure, but nobody could make her beg. If oblivion was her punishment for defiance, she was ready to face it, although for now and until the death of Athenia's chosen, she had decided to speak only few words to her master and avoid getting her soul crushed.

"You don't need to threaten me, I let go of my daughter's body the moment you walked in," she said, moving his hands off of her sides.

Gasping at her words, Tariyaan covered his mouth.

"Threaten you?! Who dares spread such a rumor!" Grabbing her hand again, Tariyaan pulled them closer to his chest. Shaking his head, he grunted in defeat. "Devils these days? Ahaha~ Always spreading these rumors and all, but don't worry little girl, I won't hurt you much less crush that soul if you misbehave a little, I need you to lead an army of a million imps, after all!"

The man standing before Libyan was far from the most intimidating she'd met. And yet somehow, the flamboyance, the honey-laced threats, and the overall demeanor of pretend likeness left her at a loss as to how to handle him. She wasn't afraid, just uncomfortable, and knowing that full well, Tariyaan showed her kindness through a menacing lens.

"Now then, why don't you have your underlings bring me those barrels of scrolls? They won't mean much but every bit counts when dethroning a primordial, isn't that right?" Laughing behind the mask of many secrets, Libyan for the first time realized that there was strength in speech, it simply depended on how you delivered it.

In Tariyaan's case, it was just…

'Fucking weirding me out.'

She thought and that was exactly his plan.