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Mazikeen folded her arms, wings twitching once before settling."Hell is divided into nine territories," she said calmly. "That was Lucifer's design. Fair, deliberate. Each territory ruled by a demon lord. Right now… we only control three. And even those are under pressure." She exhaled through her nose. "So yes. We are cornered."
Jason raised an eyebrow. "So what? We take them back one by one?"
Mazikeen shook her head. "This isn't Earth, Jason. There's no occupation, no politics. Demons submit to power. That's their nature. We don't conquer Hell by effort. We conquer it by proving we're stronger than Neron, Blaze, and Satanus."
"And how do we do that?" Jason asked.
"We hit them directly." Her eyes hardened. "Blaze is already attacking First of the Fallen's territory. He refuses to bow to Neron, but he also refused to join us. First of the Fallen is despised after his defeat by Lucifer, so if we move there, we fight both sides."
"That's not a problem," Jason said. "We go."
Belyllioth scoffed, leaning back in her chair. "Five seconds in Hell and he's already issuing commands. Please."
Mazikeen opened her mouth, but Jason lifted a hand. The room went quiet.
"You," he said, turning to Belyllioth. "Belyllioth. That's your name."
"Yes," she replied sharply. "And what of it?"
Jason's gaze slid to the others. Etrigan. Nergal. Then back to her.
"All three of you listen carefully," he said, voice low and even. "I am here to save your world. That alone should earn respect. I will overlook your hostility this once." His eyes hardened. "Any further insults, defiance, or challenges to my authority will be answered."
Belyllioth shot to her feet, her chair crashing backward. She slammed her hands on the table."What did you say, human? You dare—"
Jason moved.
His foot struck her face mid-sentence, launching her into the wall. She barely had time to gasp before another kick crushed into her jaw. As she staggered, Jason stepped in and planted his foot against her face, pinning her head to the stone. Slowly, deliberately, he increased the pressure.
"Beg," he said.
"Never!" she screamed.
He pressed harder.
"You mere human!" she roared, her hands clawing uselessly at his leg as pain cracked her voice.
Jason said nothing. The pressure continued, relentless, crushing. Her defiance dissolved into sobs as agony forced tears from her eyes.
Etrigan and Nergal rose from their seats.
"Hey, you can't—" Etrigan began.
"Silence," Jason said without looking at them.
A slash of cursed energy carved a glowing line across the floor between them.
"Anyone who crosses this," he said, "shares her fate."
The stone behind Belyllioth began to fracture.
"Jason, that's enough!" Mazikeen shouted. "You'll kill her!"
She stepped forward.
Jason turned his head slightly, eyes locking onto hers.
"Mazikeen," he said coldly. "You cross that line, and there are no exceptions. If you want Hell to survive, then it needs to understand power. Until she begs, she dies."
He pressed harder. Her skull groaned against the wall.
Her eyes bulged. Her pride shattered.
"I'm sorry," she choked. "Forgive me… Lord Jason."
Jason lifted his foot.
Then he grabbed her by the throat and slammed her upright against the wall, staring into her eyes. Belyllioth could not hold his gaze. Her eyes dropped. Her body sagged.
Submission.
Jason released her. She collapsed to the floor in a heap.
"Good," he said. "You learn quickly."
He turned to the others.
"You allowed two half-human pretenders to dominate your world," he said with quiet contempt. "And you dare question whether I am fit to save it. That shame alone should damn you."
Then he looked to Mazikeen.
"Come with me."
Without another word, Jason turned and walked out of the chamber, leaving silence, fear, and cracked stone behind him.
...
Jason stormed into an empty chamber, his footsteps heavy against the stone. Mazikeen followed, fury trailing her like smoke. The moment she stepped inside, she slammed the door shut.
"Hey," she snapped. "You don't get to undermine my authority and threaten me in my own domain. Who do you think you are? Yes, I need your help, but I—"
She never finished.
Jason's hand closed around her throat and drove her into the wall with a dull, brutal thud. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs, stone cold against her back.
"I am here to return a favor," he said quietly. "You saved me from Hell when I was rising. Now I am here to save your world. And first and foremost, you need to understand what that means."
"And how," Mazikeen growled, struggling against his grip, fingers digging into his wrist, "by hurting me like this?"
Jason grinned, slow and dangerous.
"Yes," he said. "You're the Queen, former or current, it doesn't matter to me. What matters is that I prove I stand above you. You said it yourself. Demons submit to power. To domination." His grip tightened slightly. "That's exactly what I showed them. Your generals now understand their place when it comes to me."
Her eyes narrowed, defiant even as her breath hitched. "And what about me?"
Jason leaned closer still, his lips almost brushing her ear. His grip on her throat tightened a fraction more, a silent, dominant punctuation. "Well... why not?" he whispered, the sound a rough caress. "You're a demon, aren't you? So... just as you stated. It is within your nature to submit to power."
He released her throat suddenly, only to press his splayed hand flat against her chest, pinning her to the wall by her sternum. "So? What will it be?"
Mazikeen gasped, the sudden rush of air a shock. She stared up at him, her chest heaving against his palm. A war raged behind her eyes—pride, fury, strategy, and that ancient, deep-seated demonic instinct that recognized and, on a primal level, craved undeniable dominance. She tried to turn her head away, to break the searing eye contact that felt more invasive than his touch.
Jason would not allow it. He caught her chin with his other hand, his fingers firm, and guided her gaze back to his. His eyes were pits of blue steel, offering no quarter.
She swallowed, the motion visible against her pale skin. "Tsk," she spat, the sound lacking its earlier force. "I hate this..."
To her surprise, Jason's response was a sharp, playful slap across her cheek. It wasn't meant to injure, but to command, to shatter the last pretense. "No, you don't," he corrected, his voice a velvet-wrapped command. "Say it."
The silence stretched, thick with tension and the unsaid. Her defiance crumbled, not into defeat, but into a form of profound, volatile acknowledgment. "I...," she breathed out, the words dragged from the core of her being. "...submit."
"Good," Jason said, the word a seal of approval. He released her completely, stepping back as if she were of no more consequence than the wall. He turned his broad back to her, walking slowly toward the towering window that framed the roaring, fiery landscapes of Hell. "Looks like I'll fit in perfectly here. A realm of creatures who submit to power."
For a moment, Mazikeen just leaned against the wall, gathering herself, her breaths still uneven. Then, slowly, she pushed off. Her steps were silent as she closed the distance between them. She didn't stop until she was pressing the front of her body against the solid wall of his back. She rested her forehead between his shoulder blades, a gesture startling in its vulnerability.
"I see what Lucifer saw in you," she murmured, her voice now a husky whisper against the fabric of his shirt. Then, she tilted her head and placed a slow, deliberate kiss on the side of his neck, her lips lingering on the warm skin. "It's like you're another him."
"Is that what you think?" Jason asked, his gaze fixed on the inferno outside, his voice calm. "Or what you want me to be, Mazikeen? Cause I honestly don't like the guy."
She wrapped her arms around him from behind, hugging him tightly, her hands splaying possessively over the hard planes of his chest. A soft, bitter laugh escaped her. "Funny. He didn't like himself either. So you two are in agreement."
Jason's shoulders shook with a quiet, dark laugh.
"Say," he began, his tone shifting into one of casual, world-altering offer. "Do you want to be Queen again?"
Mazikeen was quiet for a long moment, her hold on him tightening slightly. "...I don't know," she admitted, her voice softer now, stripped of its earlier rage. "Sometimes I felt like I hated that position. It it was forced on me by Lucifer...To be his consort.... He... never loved me. I didn't either. It was just us... well, demons doing demonic things."
She nuzzled against his back, a creature of hell seeking warmth. "But... it did feel good to help demons become better than what we are. Or were. Until he left." She paused, and her next words were a confession, a choice. "So you... I do."
Jason gave a single, definitive nod, his profile outlined against the hellfire. "Then I'll make you the new Queen."
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If you Like this story! Check out my other story ! Shadow Monarch in Danmachi!
AND
If you wish to read more or simply support me just because ? than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/Riadooo"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want !