"This is supposed to be hell, why are there humans acting so casually then?" Vera asked inadvertently, that's a question all of them had in their minds, but it wasn't worth it to waste it here!
"Hmn? I can answer this one for free as you're about to see by yourselves... everything in this world as you have noticed... costs and a lot, and it costs souls~"
The Demoness played with her hair as she uttered her answer.
"..." They shivered when noticing where she was coming from.
"So, there is one rule that I didn't say, it is shared through all of Hell... humans aren't allowed to be employed or in charge of anything, everything in this world is managed by demons, this isn't even a rule haha... would you humans have allowed a headless chicken to run a business in your earth?~"
*GULP!*
She said those words so casually... chicken, headless chicken as if it is the most normal thing in the world... and it is.
"You're all just our currency, food and entertainment, once you leave this city, you will truly be surprised~"
!!!
'Shit...' The reality of the situation dawned on him like a fully loaded truck going brakeless through a downhill tangent.
'Everything costs souls, and humans can't be employed... that means... that humans always have to go out of the city to get more coins, out there where violence is allowed and they're just hunted... sometimes for mere fun' Valentine thought deeply and his mind mirrored Fayette and Vera's.
'But some are not willing to take that risk.'
"You can always become someone's dog. you will be tortured and raped multiple times every day but at least you might get food once a week, a good deal in exchange for not becoming a subject of worse tortures out there, you see, some of us demons can be really... deranged." Lucretia shrugged and gave Vera a wicked glance.
It was more than clear to her, that the auburn-haired 'beauty' is the trio's weakest link.
As for how she's aware of that, only she knows.
"I have another question, how strong are demons?" Valentine asked another question, only one left...
"Demons... all of them that you see around, they're twice as strong as the average human, for your standards... they're simply 'demons'... they usually never fight or thrive for survival as there are plenty of weak humans that surrender themselves to them... they get souls some other ways, with contracts and 'services' just like that slutty demoness from just now." She pointed at the demoness that attended some other customers.
"..."
"Then there are those like me, the 'demon soldiers', we're five times stronger than the strongest humans, and yes, it's not just a bureaucratic rank, WE are stronger."
!!!
Valentine's gaze suddenly became sharp, five times... she'd surely be the strongest opponent he had faced, even more than those beasts, let alone his strength is not what you would consider 'strongest', he's just extremely proficient and a terrific strategist, still, in front of formidable strength, strategies might be meaningless.
"We're usually the guards and the 'authority' in towns and cities. Then there are Demon Magistrates, their strength is twice or thrice of ours. They're in charge of several key spots in a city, attractions for demons, councils, the transport department for demons and so on... You will never need to interact with one as they're members of the demon society, humans don't touch this layer of bureaucracy most of the time, but there are exceptions..." She kept on explaining hell's bureaucracy.
'...' Someone as 'strong' as that... he couldn't even imagine, can they dent iron with a fist or something? what about their speed, how fast are they? are they smarter?
"Then there are Demon Counts and Countesses, they're the first step of royal demons, their strength is unfathomable and they're usually in charge of regions of the cities or towns, working under the Demon Marquise of said city or metropolis."
Now she's going a bit too fast, but they didn't dare tell her to repeat herself.
"The Demon Marquise and Marquissess, they're in charge of cities through the circles, organisations, guilds, armies... I can't really tell you much about them and believe me, you don't need to know... through millions of years, humans never touch this layer."
"The last is the Demon Earl or Duchess, they're renowned existences whose names you should now, most humans know them even before they come here... Like Lord Beelzebub for example~"
At this point Valentine didn't know what to think, there is such a high bureaucracy in hell unexpectedly... this place is no different than the Earth, just that it's a place for demons... and it has its own 'laws'.
Fayette's thoughts were even more troubled, as a Catholic back in life, she knows who those Demon Earls are... Or at least can think of some names.
As for Vera, this was simply too much for her mind to bear, one day she lived 'peacefully' back on the Earth, now she's suddenly hearing an unknown hierarchy in hell.
"As for the Demon King, I'm sure you're totally aware who this is" Lucretia spoke matter of factly, playing with her silver hair as her light chocolate legs crossed alluringly as she finished her explanation.
'...' They know.
"Last Question..." Lucretia uttered afterwards and looked at her clearly polished nails with boredom, she felt like leaving already, but the souls in front of her interested her, it's not everything such souls arrive in hell after all.
"How do demons increase in rank?" Valentine asked his last question and silence permeated the whole place...
"... I can't answer you that question, ask something else~" Lucretia crossed her legs the other way.
*SNORT!* Fayette's rolled her eyes.
"Can I ask you this question somewhere else?" Valentine said with a troubled gaze that surprised both Vera and Fayette.
"... Sure." Lucretia smiled and stood up, a little certain of what his question is, she's lived here too long to know.
Vera took the precious bottles of water with her and followed.
The trio tailed Lucretia until they reached a quiet corner with no one present.
...
"Is here okay for you?" The demoness lay against the wall of a hallway.
"Yes... I want to ask, what does having a 'gold', means?" He recalled from the assessment that demon said before.
'Valentine Wagner, Gold, Anger, 1 year...'
He assumed the Gold was the classification due to the amount of time it took him, but in that case, shouldn't Fayette have been gold too instead of silver? Also, Vera is bronze despite having been just one year later.
As for 'Anger' that's clearly his sin, he doesn't need anyone to tell him that, the three of them should coincide on this even without telling each other.
Could it be the number of beasts they killed? No doubt he killed more than the two of them, but Fayette's number wasn't too far away from his, she should have been a 'gold' too.
Lucretia heard his words and laughed lightly, "As expected... You're quite perspective. Now, should I answer you that or not? You won't like the answer~"
"..." They only remained silent, obviously they wanted to know, this seems to be something extremely important.
The demoness took almost a whole minute to think before flashing a smile with her shining red eyes.
"You know what? I like you... I'm sure you will give me a surprise in a few millenniums, no... centuries, Valentine Wagner... I will answer you this question that even humans that have lived here for millenniums don't know yet~" Her lips curled up alluringly and her slitted eyes shone in the darkness as if trying to measure their reactions.
"You see, knowledge is power, so it is always better to keep human's ignorant in order to better control them, don't you think?~" She hunched against a wall in the alleyway.
!!!
The trio could only growl in silence, indeed who in their respective ages hadn't thought of this and applied it?
"This question is tied with the last one you asked... To summarize, those 'souls', you noticed they're black?"
"..."
"Those are carbon souls, they're the most common type of souls here in the netherworld... of a trillion souls, 95% of them are carbon, they're basically pieces of trash that never achieved anything in their entire life, in terms of their soul that is, if I recall correctly, one of the richest persons in the earth was a carbon too, he was such a piece of trash~" The cute way she said that diminished the ill intent of the phrase greatly as she recalled that person.
Of a trillion souls? How many inhabitants exactly does the Netherworld have? He tried to do the math but the number is inconclusive if he doesn't know how long the netherworld has existed and the number of arrivals each day.
The time laws in this world are impossible to predict if someone like him can meet Fayette and Vera here, one is from the past, another from the future... they all arrived the same day.
A simple beggar has lived here two million years, or could he have been lying?
That's a high possibility...
...
"One soul is equivalent to 50 amethyst coins in this city as I said before... These are used by both demons and humans... But they have another use, in particular for demons... those souls are the way not only we maintain our immortality but also... It's what makes us stronger, it's what increases our rank."
!!!
'So that's how it is...' Humans are indeed, just currency... demons have no need for money, they just desire to become stronger, is that it?
"Now, as I said carbon is the lowest stage... But there are more."
"Onyx is above Carbon, and an Onyx Soul is worth a hundred thousand Carbons." She said so as her gaze moved to regard Vera.
"A Bronze stage soul is worth a million Onyx."
!!!!
'So much!?' Vera gaped, is her soul worth that much?!
It can't be, if the richest person on the earth is just carbon, then what exactly is used to measure this?!
"A Silver Soul is worth a million Bronzes."
Fayette's lips quivered slightly, not liking where this is going at all!
"And a Golden Soul like yours~" She moved from her place and approached Valentine, her figure towering above his slightly, her covered breasts crushing against his naked chest.
Her wicked smile and shining slitted eyes stared at him with a gaze he didn't recognise, but... It felt threatening.
Their eyes stared at one another and her hand moved, grasping his abdomen!
"A Golden Soul like yours is worth a hundred million Silvers..." Her gaze was no longer playful and her tone turned colder and colder, possessive, deranged!
Fayette wanted to rush but her body froze! She couldn't move!
Neither could Vera!
'RELEASE ME, BITCH!'
Her hand snuck down like a viper and Valentine groaned, realising he could move he grasped her hand but with great difficulty!
Lucretia's hand moved his cloth aside and grasped his crotch directly with a wicked smile, her red eyes now shining way more than before.
He grasped her wrist as tight as he could, stopping her from going further as a white flame shone in his eyes!
"S-Stop!"
"Hahaha~ As expected of a golden soul, do you want to know something?~" She didn't listen and her hand started to tighten up.
'Dammit!'
"A golden soul is only beneath an ether soul... that's the soul 'his' son had, a trillion times more than a golden soul, aside from the upper echelons of heaven and hell, it has only existed once... so you can get an idea of how precious your soul is... usually, golden and silver souls go straight to Heaven, I wonder what kind of anger sin you committed to be sent down here like a sinner~" Her hand tightened even more as she whispered in his ear, as if she wanted nothing more than to devour him right now.
Valentine wasn't focusing on her words at all, his gaze remained focused on Fayette and Vera!
Those two resembled wicked creatures more than humans now, they glared at the demoness as if THEY were the demonesses.
"Even covered with all this dirt, I'd still fuck you all day if it means we can make a contract... It surely would take me to the 'Demon Countess' or even higher... however, I know you can do better~" Her hand stopped suddenly and she released him.
"I'll wait until you give me a surprise and then... I'll appear in front of you, demanding a contract." She uttered while playing with his hair slightly.
"You are not a normal 'Demon Soldier'..." He sighed in relief wondering if she would have exploded his nuts if she applied a little more force.
"Ho...?" She actually allowed him to continue his 'idea'.
"I refuse to believe that a 'Demon Soldier' could possibly contact someone high enough to tell you what my soul stage is... also, this power... 'he' had this power. who are you, Lucretia?" His gaze turned cold, not liking the way this woman forced herself on him, as sexy as she is...
"Hahaha... HAHAHAHA!! You're too clever for your own good, Valentine... But your bowl for questions is as empty as my available time~" The demoness red eyes shone as she approached his face at that moment, refusing to answer his enquiry.
"It's my time to leave, I will see you around, if you work hard enough, who knows? maybe I will look for you myself." Her comment finished when she pulled his face and sealed his lips in a kiss!
!!!
Fayette and Vera's eyes turned red at that moment! But they couldn't move at all!
The Demoness tongue wreaked havoc inside for a whole minute, sucking his tongue in her mouth afterwards, impulsing him to correspond, and for the last ten seconds... He did, only to push her away the next second.
"I'm not your toy..."
"Not yet..."
Lucretia smirked while licking her lips, her gaze never leaving him and staring at Fayette's bloodshot eyes occasionally.
Her hand waved and a black smoke appeared in her hand, four 'stones' belonging to the wolves he hunted before, flew inside her hand and disappeared in there.
Then a bag of coins appeared in her hand with the same black smoke, full to the brim and she placed it in his rag.
"Our exchange is thus finished... good luck, Valentine Wagner... Fayette Blanchet and Vera Sidorov~ You will need it, this is my last advice to you until we meet again, you better not let anyone in this world know that you're gold and silver, even she as bronze, could get herself in quite the nasty situation if her soul is discovered..."
Two massive wings sprung from her back, and without further ado, she flapped them in a gust of wind and flew away from the alleyway!
"..." The three of them could only sigh, they had learned a lot today, but the situation didn't seem to be any reassuring, is this city really peaceful?
...
"Hmph, at least you still have your balls..." Fayette harrumphed and started to talk outside of the hallway.
"..." (Valentine)
"That's wonderful, right? Take care of them or someone else might burst them up~"
"..." (Valentine)
An accursed city that wants him dead and two jealous girls, perfect, right?