After Banasphate scolded that Judgementor, he returned to me.
"There is noo needdd to thank meee, you snot-nosed babyyyy…!!! I am nooott doing this to protect yooouuu…!!!" Banasphate now scolded me.
"Huhh??… but I didn't ask you to, my Lord. You just reflexively chased it away," I said.
"Haahhhh… you humans are always looking for excuses!!!! Listen againnn… I am not your allyyy... I will wait for the right time to take revenge for all of thisss...!!!" said Banasphate irritably.
"Alright, my Lord, I will continue my journey," I said while letting out a sigh.
Even though Banasphate's personality still seemed like that, he continued to follow wherever I went. Perhaps because I carried the mirror ball containing his true body, he had to always stay with me. If not, his astral projection would immediately be vanished away.
"Ummm… excuse me, Lord Banasphate, if I may know, how long have you been here? Did you know what your life was like before?" I asked curiously, trying to speak as politely as possible while walking.
"HAAHHHH... you are very talkative too, you snot-nosed human...!!! Were you deaf when that bastard was telling the story to you...?!?! I have existed since creation, and never ever compare me to having once lived like a lowly creature such as you, understaaand...!!!!" replied Banasphate arrogantly.
"Ohhh... alright, my Lord, I understand," I said flatly.
As we continued walking along the path again, I saw several monsters far ahead wanting to walk toward us. But when the distance between me and the monsters was only a few meters, they immediately turned around and ran away. I thought perhaps those monsters also saw Lord Banasphate and felt fear. He could be said to be a character whose power was on par with the rulers of hell's territories. His presence beside me even surpassed the role of my former green crystal ball.
I saw a stone seat ahead. I took the initiative to rest for a moment while checking my equipment.
"You weak human…!!! you haven't even faced danger yet and you're already sitting down…!!! I alone can still float from one end of hell to the other without needing rest like your fragile self!!!!" Banasphate mocked me harshly.
"I only want to check my equipment, my Lord," I said.
"Hhhaaaahhhhh… always boasting… just like many humans who fell and were punished in this hell…" retorted Banasphate.
I then opened my interface slot. My pistol had 40 ammunition left, grenades left 8, pain-relief spray left 3, binoculars were still there, the mirror ball, and my kitchen knife that I always carried.
"Heeeyyy… what kind of strange magic is that?!?!?! Don't tell me you put me in there, you damned human?!?!?! No wonder when my astral projection came out, the first thing I saw was all white but with many black flames floating around!!!" said Banasphate.
"This already existed before I entered here, my Lord. I obtained it suddenly when monsters from hell came to attack my world. As for the scenery you mentioned when you first came out, honestly I have no idea at all, my Lord," I said convincingly. I also wondered what form this interface slot actually was. Why was there something strange inside it that I could not see?
Suddenly I no longer heard Banasphate's cynical reply. When I looked, he was floating all around the area surrounding me, seemingly sensing that something was watching the two of us from afar.
"Ummm… excuse me, my Lord, why are you moving back and forth and looking restless?" I asked.
"SILENCE....!!!! don't be noisyyy...!!! if nottt... we will be noticed by hiiimmm!!!" said Banasphate in slight panic.
"Ehhh... are you seeing Hellraider from afar, my Lord?" I asked to be sure.
Banasphate immediately flew quickly in front of my face.
"FOOOOLLL….!!! Never ever mention that name again, you damn bastard…!!! I am already extremely sick and traumatized remembering that againnnn...!!!!" shouted Banasphate in a slightly lowered volume.
"Thiiis… this is not from The Terror. I cannot be sure who this is. I have circled the entire surrounding area and used my magical sight but I cannot find its true form. It feels like many eyes in the air are watching but only focusing on you alone, you lowly human...!!!" said Banasphate.
Before I could even process my interface slot, he had already said something that made me even more confused. I kept guessing who was watching the two of us, especially me. Why could I not feel its presence while Banasphate could? Could it be that the one observing me truly came directly from hell?
I even thought that perhaps the main ruler of hell, Ruciphar, was the one observing me. But for what reason would he be watching me? Was I the only ordinary living human who could survive this far? Instead of feeling honored, I felt deeply afraid. What if it was true, and suddenly he appeared right in front of me and I had to face him?
I closed my interface slot and continued my journey.
"Heeeyyy…!!! What are you trying to do??? Running away is useless!!! It will continuously watch you as long as you are here. When he appears, you will definitely be killed instantly by it, understaaand?!?!" said Banasphate in a threatening tone.
"If that is so, my Lord, then all I can do is keep moving. In fact, I think if I just stay still, the one watching me will immediately appear," I said.
Banasphate only growled; it seemed he was starting to get tired of replying to me with insults.
We walked again for some time. Suddenly from the distance, I saw another fairly massive explosion at one spot.
"What the hell is thaaat...!!!! Why is there an explosion over there?!?! Only I can make an explosion that big…!!!!" exclaimed Banasphate, seeming jealous that someone rivaled his offensive magic ability.
I, who remembered the explosion incident before reaching Mareketh's Palace, had the same premonition that the source was the same. I immediately ran toward the direction of the explosion.
"HEEYYY YOU FOOLLL…!!!!! Why are you going theeeere…?!?! Are you trying to diiieee ?!?!?!" Banasphate shouted at me.
"I am not… going straight there… my Looord… I will… hide… behind that cliff rock…" I said while running.
After arriving, I immediately peeked from the top of the rock using my binoculars and zoomed my view toward the explosion.
"Heeeyyy… how did you bring that thing out just nooowwww…?!?! You have magic too, do you…?!?! No wonder you defeated me so slyly back then, you damned bastard…!!!!" Banasphate cursed again.
I did not immediately respond to his curses. I looked at who was doing it, and my premonition was exactly right.
"My Lord, you will find something interesting there. Please take a look first," I said.
"HAAHHHHH… you always divert my conversation, you damned brat…!!!" said Banasphate irritably and then looked there with his magical sight. But suddenly Banasphate reacted quite seriously.
"AAAHHHHHH… nooo… noooo…!!!! I do not want to see it againnn…!!!! That great nightmare truly happened before my own eyes…!!!!" said Banasphate in fear and immediately retreated behind my back.
What I saw there was similar to what I had seen before entering Mareketh's Palace. Hellraider was truly carrying out his brutal actions again against those monsters. But this time there were elite monsters again that I once again remembered from the game *The Mayhem*.
First there was the Desecrator, this monster had a humanoid posture with a much larger muscle mass. But imagine almost its entire body without any skin covering the muscles, with many large spikes attached that appeared to be flaming. It's face had no eyes, ears, or nose, only a wide mouth with sharp teeth.
In its gameplay, the Desecrator fired heated spikes at Hellraider, giving damage-over-time effects in the form of bleeding and burning. But here, I saw Hellraider could dodge the spike shots quickly and defeat it with several shotgun blasts.
Second there was the Lamentor, this monster had a large rounded body supported by two thick short legs, possessing only a large circular mouth filled with long sharp teeth, emitting hot fluid from its mouth, and above it there were parts like several tentacles extending upward and curving downward.
Its power was to shoot Hellraider with its "children," like hell bats that came out of the Lamentor's mouth. But what made it unique in the game was that the Lamentor could fire from long range and control it's children to fly toward Hellraider.
But here they were also not a significant obstacle for Hellraider. He easily destroyed Lamentor's children with his Obliviator weapon. After that, Hellraider immediately switched weapons to a rocket launcher and fired it directly into the Lamentor's mouth, causing the monster to explode into pieces.
"Looook at thaaat, lowly humaaannn…!!!! Do you think you can face him with your weak bodyyy haaaahhhh…?!?!" said Banasphate, beginning to question my plan to lure Hellraider.
"I am thinking about the plan, my Lord. I see certain conditions that can help me lure Hellraider into Azkerath's territory," I said, trying to reassure him.
"Yooouuuuu… making excuses again, you damned human…!!! Remember this… I will not help you much, and if you fail, your soul will be mine!!!!" threatened Banasphate.
"Alright, my Lord. Let's leave this place before I am noticed by him again," I said while walking away from the large rock.
I began walking through canyons where there were several trees along the rocky sides. But suddenly, I heard a sound like a woman humming echoing through the canyon. I looked up to my right and left, and I was extremely shocked at what was there.
At the top of the canyon, there were several monsters resembling women but with bird legs and arms that were only blue wings. Their chests were exposed and their skin color appeared as a mixture of purple and blue. When they saw me, the monsters immediately flew toward me. Reflexively I ran, but I realized this was useless, just like what I did at the great chasm where those hell pterosaurs chased me.
My body was immediately lifted as my back was grabbed, causing me to be carried into the air. I then felt both my legs also being tightly gripped by the monsters so that I flew like the depiction of a superhero.
"My Lord… my Lord… whaaat is thiiis…???? Why am I being carried by themmmm…???" I said in panic. But I did not see Banasphate's astral projection on my right or left.
"HA… HA… HAAAAA… just enjoy it, filthy human…!!!! You will soon receive eternal pleasure of lust from the Queen..." said a voice resembling Banasphate's.
Damn… it seemed he had already returned into the mirror ball again, letting me be captured by these monsters.
Wait… pleasure of lust from the Queen??? Ohhh nooo… I remember now… I was going to be taken to the palace of the territorial ruler named Myslyn, and the ones carrying me now were Myslyn's children. They indeed resembled Harpies like in mythological stories. Damn that Banasphate!
I continued to be carried through the air until Myslyn's Palace came into view. There I saw many monsters like these Harpies, and on the land around the palace there were guarding monsters. But the difference was that Myslyn did not use hell knights, but instead used her children as well, women whose lower halves were snake bodies and who used archery weapons similar to Medusa, though their hair was normal.
I was immediately taken into the palace through an upper window and it seemed to lead directly to Myslyn's throne room. From a height about one meter, I was dropped onto the floor. After getting up I looked at the surroundings and once again I was made extremely shocked and stunned.
In the past when I was at the peak age of puberty, I had several times secretly watched adult videos on my phone in my room to seek new experiences besides playing The Mayhem. I was able to buy second-hand phone from the leftover money given by Uncle Jenkin every month.
But what I saw around me was far more brutal than the scenes in adult videos. Myslyn's children were engaging in sexual acts with the humans here, but they often used far more sadistic methods. This was more horrifying than the adult entertainment sub-genre commonly called BDSM.
I looked ahead and saw Myslyn already there with her throne in the form of a large bed, and once again she was having intercourse with one of the humans there. I had once read *The Mayhem* lore that made me shudder, that Myslyn's children were born from Myslyn's relations with humans, especially men who were thrown into hell.
I also remembered when player can choose scene where Hellraider accepted Myslyn's seduction to sleep with her because she saw Hellraider as the most masculine man who had ever existed. But all of that was merely a trap so that Hellraider could immediately kill Myslyn without any meaningful resistance.
Myslyn, upon seeing my presence, immediately stopped her activity and suddenly grew larger, her lower half becoming a giant snake body and her back sprouting two large wings. She immediately coiled the human she had been using until he was crushed and then hurled him violently to the side of the room until he appeared no longer moving.
Myslyn then crawled rapidly toward me and without saying a word she immediately coiled around me and lifted me close to her face. I could no longer move at all. I saw that Myslyn wore very minimal armor, covering only part of her breasts.
"Aaahhhhhh… a human who still possesses a soul stranded here. What do you desire, dear? Do you need gentle caresses?" said Myslyn in a seductive tone while rubbing my chin and cheek with her forefinger.
Damn it, my plan to lure Hellraider ended up like this.