The game went on through much of the night, as monopoly often does, and much was learned by all parties. They learned he wasn’t the monster they expected to be fed to and he learned more about the girls and the world around them. Agor continued with his odd brand of crazy ranging from bizarre comments to conjuring items such as snacks, toys, and clothing unlike anything the girls had seen before. This often threw the girls off balance which resulted in the dual effects of relaxing them and letting new information slip.

Tip:

Just like any business, it's important to get the lay of the land. Remember two things when getting info. One: Don't rely on one source. Followers, loyal or not, have the tendency to tell you what they think you want to hear and any outside source can be mixed based on if they know you and what reputation, likely well deserved, you have. Best to go for a combination of sources and compare for the big picture. Two: Vary your approach. There is a reason Demons are often associated with shape shifters. Being the 'Big Bad Demon Lord' all the time will get you nowhere fast. Look at your target and ask 'what image will they respond to?' One day you may be a terrifying harbinger of the infernal. The next, you may be a friendly talking animal offering advice and a sympathetic ear. Particularly creative and cunning minds have been known to combine both approaches to astonishing effect. For an example, consider one of our bestseller documentaries: The Red wolf of Sesame St.

The braided girl, named Cassandra, quickly threw herself into the game for the new challenge it presented. She revealed the cult leader was, as Agor suspected earlier, her father by blood. She didn’t know his name though. Nobody knew him as anything than ‘Leader’ as not just anyone was allowed the privilege of knowing his name. Certainly, not some random girl who happened to be birthed by one of the many women he bedded none too gently when celebrating a successful pillaging. She didn’t remember much of him during her early years until he took a sudden personal interest in her on her twelfth birthday. While he remained cold to her, he began teaching her everything from math and arithmetic to art and language using books scavenged and stolen by his followers. When she overheard his plans to shape her as a suitable offering for the being from the ritual book he found she attempted to escape. She was foiled and…corrected. Each attempt thereafter was ‘corrected’ with increasing brutality until she eventually resigned herself to obedience until her final fate.

The Asian girl, Mai, took several turns of play before she finally accepted that she wasn’t falling for a ruse or cruel joke. By then, she learned to relish the chance at actually playing a game where she could compete with and rag others a bit without fear of violent reprisals. She even tried trash talking. Childish and basic trash talk, but it was a decent start. Her story didn’t include the cult until fairly recently. She grew up in her village and enjoyed as normal a childhood as any could hope for in a dying world. That is, until the Black Heart clan paid a visit. They planned on burning the place down until they noticed Mai and decided she fit whatever criteria Leader had listed for potential offerings. In desperation, the village allowed her to be taken as ‘tribute’ in exchange for being spared. Not that it did them that much good later.

And finally, there was Shay. She took the longest to open up, in the beginning she stuck with fidgeting with her bunny token in between turns and rarely responding to anyone, but when she did open up it was all out. The change really became noticeable when she was introduced to hot chocolate and cupcakes. Now every move of her bunny token was accompanied quirky little voices and bounces. Her time in between turns was spent fliting from new toys to snacks and somehow coming back to the board wearing a different set of clothes from the pile Agor brought in. It actually got kind of awkward and confusing when she plopped down beside the game board wearing a size-too-small schoolgirl outfit. He didn’t even remember conjuring one of those. Shay was never able to completely open up about her past, but a few reactions from her and some subtle hints from the other girls painted a basic and painful picture. She was brought in as a child along with the loot left over from burning down one of the villages in the countryside. It didn’t take a shrink or a detective to realize she saw way more that day than any child should have.

Agor glanced up at the three girls as they played and joked as they likely never had before. After consideration, he gave them an ultimatum. “I’m going to wipe out the clans, Black Heart included, and I would like your help.”

Mai and Cassandra quickly looked up from the board to regard Agor with shocked expressions before turning to each other and then to Shay. Shay seemed too preoccupied with a mock battle between the bunny and battleship tokens, though closer inspection showed the playing had become considerably less animated and her face sported a thoughtful frown.

Cassandra spoke first. “I…bear no love the clan or fa-Leader,” she said with a bitter twist to her mouth. She looked into Agor’s eyes curiously. “Even so, why would you wish to see your own followers laid low? For that matter, why would you need us to do it? And how?”

Agor closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then let it all out before he answered. “I wasn’t born a demon, nor did I claim this power by choice. While I won’t pretend our situations began the same way, I will say that we are the same in that we were forced into a dark path not of our choosing. I want your help because I hope to help you and others have a chance at justice or something close. Maybe then, I’ll find my own peace.” He opened his eyes and looked back to the three girls who now offered their full attention, eyes burning with hope for the first time in a long time. “As for how? You tell me everything you can about the world above which will be followed by planning. Lots and lots of planning.”

“But it would take days before we could come up with something feasible!” Cassandra protested. “We’ve spent most of the night playing your game and we only have until the next night to have something ready!”

“That’s why I intend to do our planning in my abyssal plane. In it I control everything, time included. We could have days, weeks, even months to prepare.”

“I-I’m not sure about this,” Mai spoke this time. She wrung her hands nervously as she switched her gaze between Agor and the other girls. “I mean, you’ve been kind. Far kinder than I could’ve hoped,” she said with an apologetic nod to Agor, “but the abyss? Would that even be safe for us?” She continued in a whisper, “Wouldn’t it hurt us?”

“Pffft.” Everyone’s attention drew to Shay’s scoffing answer as she continued to play battle between her tokens. “Don’t be silly. We’ve been here since the middle of the game and you haven’t noticed anything yet.” She punctuated her observation with a pshew noise as the battleship fell to the, apparently super powered, bunny.

Mai and Cassandra eyes shot open in surprise and they quickly gazed around to see that Shay had indeed been right. Instead of the subterranean chamber their night began in, they were surrounded by a sandy, wide open space dotted with assorted furniture. Both girls looked back to Agor with renewed wariness.

Agor took in the looks and sighed, “I won’t make you do this. If you like, I can let you stay here in safety while I finish this, or you could even request to name a place you think you could wait things out safely and I’ll send you there with magic. I could probably explain your absence with some crock story like ‘I thought they looked tasty, so I ate them,’ and the clan would probably believe it.” He looked each girl in the eye, “Yes, technically, I could use our present arrangement to make you obey, but there wouldn’t be any real point. I don’t need your help and forcing you would kind of defeat the point of my offer. The bottom line is this: you have to make the decision on what you want here.”

The girls turned to one another with unsure glance until something they saw in each other seemed to harden their resolve. After some silent consideration, they nodded and looked back to Asgor. They were all in.

And so, they planned.

The following ‘night,’ Leader and his clansman entered the cavern to a sight that left them staring in confusion. Instead of the expected broken-spirited toys, or even just a pile of gore, the three young women stood before the demon dressed in fine robes with heads held high and steel in their eyes. Asgor explained that he decided to put them to use by reshaping them into useful tools to root out and bring the villages to heel while he focused on helping Leader and the Black Heart members stamp out the other clans. Leader would obviously hold a favored place in the coming order but, capable as he was, there were many tasks that needed doing and he could only be in so many places at once. The followers accepted the explanation without question, but Leader seemed a bit uneasy at the possibility that he would be sharing any power. The results from the following months, however, proved more than enough to put his doubts to rest.

The girls, soon known as ‘the Speakers of Agor,’ quickly brought reports of numerous villages under their sway. Tribute in the form of new followers, material goods, and food was flowing from dozens of villages. Even Leader hadn’t realized just how many villages had escaped the clan’s notice. As the girls continued to cultivate this new source of riches, Agor made good on his promise as he led Black Heart against the other clans and treated them to sights of blood and death even their twisted minds couldn’t have imagined. Even the most skilled and vicious of warriors from the other clans fell as wheat to the harvester before the demon lord’s might and power.

At the year’s end, the chamber was once again filled to capacity. Instead of solemn chanting, however, the air was filled with raucous cheers of drunken revelry as they celebrated the slaughter of the last rival clan. The Speakers of Agor and their handpicked attendants were the only ones not joining the ‘fun,’ choosing, instead, to watch the celebration from the back of the chamber. From the center platform, Agor raised his claws for a command of silence which was quickly obeyed by the revelers. “Faithful followers. Have I not kept my promise?” His question was answered by a loud affirmative. “Have I not soaked the land in blood? Have I not brought riches beyond your dreams? Have I not secured Black Heart’s place as the mightiest?” Each question was answered with enthused cheers from the crowd.

By the last question, Leader had drunkenly stumbled his way to take a place beside Agor at the platform. “I’m p-pretty shure we’re the-hic-only clan, Gr-hic-eat lord.” The observation was met with drunken laughter. “But, yesh, Great –hic- Lord. Shurely, your greatness has promished that none can –hic-doubt the greatness of our, uh, GREATNESS! –hic- G-great Lord.”

The demon lord nodded slightly and turned to the rest of the room. “Then let us end this with a toast.” While he had no drink, he raised his imposing, clawed hand in a motion to toast which was quickly answered by those around him. “To life! May it always grant you what you deserve.”

Tip:

The time may come when you need to...dissolve a partnership. In such times always, always, confirm in one way or another that you have fulfilled your end of an agreement. Even if you manage to find immunities or loopholes to certain rules, contracts are one of the main bindings that can't be broken without serious repercussions for those that fail to uphold their obligations. It's the fastest way for mortals to lose their souls and infernals to lose their freedom (essentially becoming what is traditionally known as genies).

Leader laughed drunkenly, clearly missing the ominous undertones of the soft declaration he would have noticed while a bit more sober, before nodding and raising his own glass. “Yesh, Great Lord! To what we deserve!” He brought his mug to his face…and barely touched it to his lips before everything from the waist up disappeared in a red mist and a sickening crunch. It happened so suddenly that his lower half actually stood a few seconds before falling over with a wet splat.

Agor, his left claw soaked in blood being the only indication as to what happened, slowly turned to regard the crowd. Silence dominated the chamber as the once elated now stared at the scene in a mixture of confusion, shock, and more than a little fear. He stared at the crowd, his grin seemingly widening, and spoke in a soft rumble, “Indeed. To what you all deserve.”

Pandemonium followed. Screams of pain, fear, and begging permeated the air. Some vainly tried to make for the exits only to find they had been locked by the Speakers and their attendants when no one was looking. Not that it would have mattered if they did escape. At the start of the celebration, secret messages had been sent to every enclave, outpost, and dwelling Black Heart controlled to be received by followers personally recruited by the Speakers. Even as Leader finished agreeing to the doomed toast, similar massacres were being carried out across Black Heart territory through poison, misdirection, blade, or a mixture of the three. Black Heart had become the prevailing clan within a year. It was reduced to a bad memory within a day.

All too quickly, the ‘brave and mighty conquerors’ were now reduced to piles of ground chuck and red smears along the wall. Agor looked up to the girls and their attendants and nodded. They nodded back with a grim satisfaction. It didn’t restore what was lost. It didn’t heal their wounded spirits. But it gave them justice, or the closest this world had. And that would be enough.

The girls gasped in surprise as Agor’s form seemed to flicker in and out of existence. They started to run forward before he signaled them to halt with a wave of his hand. He stared at them with his signature fearsome smile and spoke softly, “It’s alright, girls. This was always coming. The cult’s will is what anchored me to this world. This just means that we succeeded.” He looked to attendants who watched the scene with uncertainty. “Go home. Go spread word to the other villages. Black Heart is dead. The clans are dead. Use this to join and work together as family. Share each other’s burdens and make sure no one else can take your time of peace away. That is my last command to you.” The attendants stared with admiration before bowing low in gratitude. Agor turned back to the girls and was both touched and saddened to see them crying their eyes out. “Now, don’t be like that. We shared good times, comforted one another, and made some good memories. But before I go, let me leave you with something to help make the most of this new life of yours. Make a wish. Make any wish at all and, if it’s in my power, it’s yours.” He grimaced as he flickered again and had to increase concentration just to stabilize his presence. “Try to make it quick, though. I don’t have much time left.”

The girls stared at the demon lord with tears streaming down their cheeks. They looked to each other, steeled their gazes, and nodded in agreement before turning back to Agor. Without a word or indication of their plans, they tore across the chamber and grabbed on to any part of Agor they could, causing him to grunt in surprise. Before he could even ask what they were thinking or toss them aside, they looked up with tearful smiles and softly spoke together, “We wish to be yours.”

Before the four disappeared and slipped back to the void, the attendants were treated to one last sight to share with their fellow villagers. They learned a demon lord could cry.
Between all of the disasters and threats, dangers born from the apocalypse and short-sighted warmongers afterward, the human race only had enough members left to continue as a species for a dozen or so generations. The survivors did not mourn though. Instead, they lived their time to the fullest and fondly remembered the fierce creature that brought them the hope needed to do so. A demon lord who was summoned to this world by Black Heart under the name Agor and left with a new name remembered in stories passed down till the passing of the last human. The demon lord Vindicta.

Author's Note

Fairly earlier than I planned, I intend on doing updates at roughly a week at a time, but this had some material for that last ch that mainly helps add a little development and setup for the main characters intro. Next update might come a tad bit later, but only a few days at most.

As always, feel free with the constructive crit. and I hope you enjoy!