"Wakey, wakey," a voice growled.
Soon, I felt something tickle the bottom of my right foot. The sensation took a few moments to register in my mind before I suddenly remembered! I opened my eyes and tried to get up. But I couldn't. I found my limbs tied down and spread out wide. I lifted my head and saw Bane in his demonic form holding a giant feather. I looked at my body and realized that I was naked but for a small piece of loincloth. My wrists and ankles were bound by leather straps. I looked at my surroundings and saw that I was inside a cavern. However, hot air flowed around me and I was not cold despite my nakedness. Also, something was glowing on the ground and this was the source of the illumination inside the cavern.
"Where am I? Why am I tied up?" I asked while tapering down my rising panic. I was such an idiot for confronting Lord Bane in front of his lackey, the bishop. But the milk had been spilled and I needed to figure out how to convince the Demigod to release me and return me home.
"Kekeke. You should feel honored that I decided to invite you to my home," Lord Bane replied.
"Home? Where would that be?" I asked calmly.
"We're on the Plane of Fire, you silly boy," the demon waved the giant feather at me and grinned.
"Why did you bring me here?" I continued to press him.
"So that we can talk without interruption," Bane replied. "You are an amusing little human. In all my centuries of existence, I have never met any human like you. You have the guts to confront me in front of the bishop. But you also have the wisdom not to reveal my identity to anyone else within the Church. I could use another helper besides that stuffy old bishop," he remarked casually.
My heart sank. I had my suspicion that the demon wanted something from me. Otherwise, he would have killed me already.
Lord Bane took note of my disheartened expression and shook his head with exaggerated sadness. "Is this how you treat someone who saved you?" he asked coyly.
I blinked my eyes for a moment; I quickly realized that he was referring to my fight with Ebenthal. "Yes, I guess I do owe you my life for your assistance during my fight with Ebenthal," I admitted grudgingly. It hurt my pride knowing that my first kill in this world had required divine assistance. "Why would you interfere, though? I thought the were-pack were your servants."
"Kekeke," the demon smirked at my limited understanding of his intentions. "I am a God of Chaos and I used Ebenthal's pack to sow chaos within Tregome. However, when the presence of the were-pack was revealed to the town, their usefulness had come to an end. You, on the other hand, can help me sow chaos—not just in a small frontier town but over the entire continent of Britannia. You have far greater potential to disrupt the existing Law and Order than the were-pack and thus, it was important that you survived your encounter with Ebenthal," the demon explained.
"How can one mere nobleman be more important than a were-pack?" I was still not convinced.
Lord Bane's eyes glowed for a moment and then he shook his head. "As a Player Character, your life is worth more than even the entire town of Tregome. You are an agent of change with the ability to achieve greatness and influence on Britannia."
My jaws dropped. I hadn't expected the Demigod to know that we were inside a gaming world. At the same time, I worried that my captor was suffering from some grand delusion of grandeur.
The demon smirked at my reaction. "As a Demigod, I have access to information regarding the inherent nature of my world. We exist solely for the entertainment of the Gamemaster and nothing more."
"The Gamemaster? Who's that?" I asked.
"ENOUGH!" Lord Bane growled. "You PCs are so greedy with your incessant questions. I brought you here for another reason, not to answer all your questions. I need to get started so that I can bring you back to Watch HQ in time for your quarantine."
"Oh! I didn't realize that you're back, daddy!" a feminine voice interrupted.
I lifted my head and turned toward the voice. My eyes trained on the source: A bombshell of a woman with curves that would put Kim Kardashian to shame! The gorgeous newcomer had perfect, alabaster skin, black hair with matching color eyes, full lips, and two little horns sticking out the sides of her head. She wore a black choker, tight leather Haute top and matching leather skirt that framed her hourglass figure, and boots with stiletto heels. A long, black tail flickered back and forth from under her skirt; the end of her tail had a sharp tip. Behind her back were a pair of leathery black wings.
"Oh! You're torturing someone on the rack!" the newcomer squealed in delight. She quickly flew across the cavern and landed in front of me. She gasped aloud when she examined me more closely. "You're human!" she said in awe. Peering down at me, she saw a chubby-looking man with a hairy chest, and thick hairy arms and legs. The face wasn't handsome but his blue eyes looked calm and inquisitive. His cheeks were equally chubby but his demeanor was non-threatening. When the demoness looked at him, she had a warm and fuzzy feeling in her black heart; the human was as adorable as a hamster! "I want him! Can I keep him, daddy? Pleeeaaaaaaaaseeeeeee?" she pleaded while batting her long eyelashes at him.
"No," Bane growled. "I need to brand him and then return him home."
"But why?" the demoness pouted.
"The Gamemaster has shown interest in him," the demon revealed.
The daughter's eyes widened in shock. "How could this little hamster draw His interest?" she asked in bewilderment.
"This human is a Player Character," Bane answered.
"Ah," the demoness nodded in understanding.
"We're being rude to our guest. Please introduce yourself and keep him occupied while I brand him," the father ordered.
"Aye-aye, Master!" the daughter saluted.
She walked away from my view momentarily and then I felt warm hands on my chest. I saw a pair of jet-black eyes look straight into mine.
"Hi, there! I'm Jasla, daughter of Bane. What's your name?" she introduced herself and smiled, revealing her fangs. Her voice was high-pitched like a little girl.
"Um, I'm Lawrence Eugene Mulligan," I replied calmly. I smelled an alluring scent from the demoness. "I don't suppose you can untie me?" I asked.
"I'm sorry. Daddy needs to brand you first," Jasla pouted. "But I will help you deal with the pain," she added and smiled brightly. She folded her arms and rested her forearms on my chest. The movement caused her torso to lean on top of me. She continued to stare at me like a cat playing with a mouse.
I felt something stir under my loincloth and struggled with embarrassment.
"Don't be embarrassed," Jasla cooed. Her face was very close to mine. Suddenly she leaned down and kissed me.
At the same time, I felt a searing pain on my left forearm as hot metal pressed against my flesh. I struggled against my bonds but the straps held. Pop-ups started appearing. Despite the pain in my arm, I was able to tolerate the pain because my mind was wrapped inside the ecstasy of the demoness' kiss.
Finally, Lord Bane removed the brand-maker and then he applied a soothing gel over the wound.
Jasla released my lips and looked deep into my eyes. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" she winked mischievously. She pressed against me and started releasing my wrist straps.
I felt my ankle straps being released, too; it was probably Lord Bane who untied my legs. When I sat up, I asked, "What did you do to me?" I pulled my left arm to my chest and looked at the brand. It was a triangle with a circle inside and then a cross inside the circle.
"I'll tell you another time," the Demigod said. Without warning, he ripped the necklace off my neck and then dipped the truth stone into the flowing lava on the ground! When Lord Bane pulled it back up, the stone had changed character; while the stone was still obsidian, it now had red swirls deep within the stone. Heat emanated from the stone for a few minutes while he blew on it. When it had cooled enough, the demon created a red string from thin air and re-tied the stone cross around my neck.
During this time while we waited for the stone to cool down, Jasla hugged me tightly from behind and wrapped her wings around my chest.
"Jasla, please bring Larry back to the human world," Lord Bane ordered. "I have something else to do before I return."
The demoness squeezed me tightly and sighed. "Yes, daddy!"
I felt an intrusion in my mind. Then, I heard Jasla said, "Plane walk!"
I smelled rotten eggs and lost consciousness again.