The three made it into the foyer of the grand, stone-walled castle unharmed.
Luke stood there, pleased, as he gasped at the gaudy decor lining the entrance of the castle. Most everything was dusted in gold, as if Lucifer had all the riches at his disposal.
Several statues of Lucifer stood on top of the black and white checkered floors. Each stone statue was intricately carved and featured the man in various poses.
His vanity was definitely unchecked.
"Masta," a low, squeaky voice could be heard approaching the trio.
Except, Azazel didn't see anyone approach. He looked around in all directions, but still didn't see anyone. He scratched his head. He figured a ghost had approached him, and he did not have the ability to see invisibility.
"I am here," the voice hissed out from below.
Azazel glanced down to Lucifer's feet, where he saw a small, black imp dressed in a gray suit with a red tie around his neck. It was furiously pawing at the fabric of his master's pants.
"Damn," Azazel mumbled in disbelief.
He felt like he had finally seen everything there was to offer in his new life.
Lucifer swiftly picked up the tiny imp, holding it in his arms. The imp thrashed around, attempting to break free of his master's clutches, but it was of no use.
"I'll kill you," the imp screeched. "Prick."
It began to claw at Lucifer's hands.
When he realized it was of no use, it leaned forward and bit the demon's middle finger with its thin teeth, nearly biting through the leather glove that covered its master's hand.
There's no way he's killing Lucifer.
Azazel snickered as he watched the imp fight against Lucifer's clutches. He had no idea what was happening, but the scene was amusing.
"Who will kill who?" Lucifer asked with a raised brow."Settle down, Egor. You make this too fun."
Lucifer gently ran his fingers across Egor's face, his touch lingering over the imp's puffed-out checks.
Azazel shook his head at the display.
"Bastard," the imp scoffed.
"Little Egor," Lucifer began. "You have always been a sucker for my pets."
"Shitface,' Egor scowled, immediately reminding Lucifer of his angelic twin brother.
"Don't be like that," Lucifer purred as he scratched Egor's small cheek.
Azazel watched as Lucifer petted Egor. There was something oddly endearing about the affection the demon lord was displaying. He couldn't put his finger on it, nor did he want to, because he was certain he would end up vomiting from the cavity-inducing sight.
His ears perked up when he heard thousands of tiny steps coming from the nearby room.
He nervously rubbed his palm against his right horn as numerous small imps ran into the room, all with hideous little looks smothered upon their twisted little features.
Unlike Egor, they did not have suits. Instead, they were naked. The demon assumed Egor must have had special privileges to get a tiny, custom suit tailored to fit his miniature frame.
The imps ran forward. Before making it to Azazel, they began to jump and bite Lucifer's ankles.
The Lord of Hell responded with a hearty laugh, kicking at the little imps. "Go away."
"B-Bitch," Egor stammered. "Don't kick my brothers."
The imps immediately began to surround both Azazel and Luke, shouting obscenities like their well-dressed friend.
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
Tiny voices kept chanting the same insult, one after another, as they assaulted the ankles of the three men.
Both Azazel and Lucifer kicked and swatted at them, while Luke looked at them with a dumbfounded gaze. It wasn't as if the attack was particularly painful, so he didn't see the point in swatting them away.
It was much more interesting for the Hell Scholar to observe their actions. He would ensure that everything about them was documented.
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
"Bitch."
As if obeying its brother's cries for help, Egor began to thrash about in an even more aggressive manner. Lucifer had to place his hand over his mouth, trying not to chuckle, as the small critter clawed at the back of the demon lord's gloved hand.
"Patience, Egor."
Egor, losing his composure, opened his tiny mouth, unleashing his fiery breath in hopes of melting the leather. Azazel winced at the heat as the flame stopped directly under the imp.
"Stupid piece of shit," Egor growled at the much larger demon.
After a moment, Lucifer relaxed his fist. A smile was plastered over his lips. His cold gaze was on the tiny imp. "Why so feisty? Did you miss me so badly?"
Azazel stared intently, sensing that Lucifer was prepared to do something to the foul-mouthed creature.
Lucifer attempted to toss Egor toward the swarm of imps.
"Pissface!"
Egor helplessly latched onto Lucifer's wrist as the demon lord quickly spun it around at breakneck speed.
Azazel simply smirked, expecting Egor to be sick after being flung around, but as Lucifer released Egor, instead of falling over, it flapped its ears against its sides and took to the air, giggling.
It soon darted off toward his army of brothers.
"F*cker."
"Keep it PG-13, Egor," Lucifer scowled. "We haven't even hit the paywall."
"Piss off."
"Cumlord."
"Assface."
Bloody hell. These things are rather vulgar.
"Why an army of... imps, of all things?" Azazel asked with curiosity laced in his tone.
"They are entertaining, no?" Lucifer shrugged. "I've never needed a real army, and if push came to shove, the demonfolk would defend Hell."
"Fair," Azazel acknowledged.
Their banter and name-calling would have no effect other than being annoying and, when fighting, most likely useless, but the imp's loyalty toward their master was strange to the reincarnated demon, even if the loyalty part was rather questionable at best.
Their vulgar language, Azazel chuckled, seemed more childlike. He suspected Lucifer probably paid close attention to the shows on the surface in order to curse like they did, as it was different from how he would typically describe the way he spoke.
Azazel stared in disbelief, glancing towards the Hell Scholar.
Luke was entertained as a smile smeared across his face as he watched the display. The look of curiosity within his green gaze revealed the fact that he enjoyed their antics as well, watching the imps fight amongst each other.
Bloody hell. I hope Luke hasn't developed a kink for imps. His leer is grossing me out.
After they played out for a few minutes longer, the swarm of imps quickly raced into a doorway.
"Follow me," Lucifer commanded the two as he followed his jolly army of imps.
Without glancing back at Azazel and Luke, Lucifer made his way toward the room. The two silently trailed behind him.
The stone floor beneath their feet disappeared, changing into an elegant wooden design. It was similar in feel to the castle where he had spent his life before he found himself in the body of a demon.
A chandelier dangled above them. Many golden tables had been lined in a straight row, and elegant golden chairs were placed next to those tables. An elevated podium was behind a single chair in the far corner of the room, which Azazel assumed was the main dining table. It was lined with crimson silk.
"Take a seat," Lucifer again commanded.
The demon lord sat himself at the head of the table, in a chair made out of black, carved stone, similar to the look and feel of an onyx stone. He yawned dramatically and gestured at the open room.
"Do you like my palace?"
Azazel began to pull a chair away from the table when a small imp positioned itself on the seat. He furrowed his brow and picked up the small critter, placing it on the floor before sitting down.
"It would be better if you didn't have so many pets," Azazel stated as he leaned back in the not-so-comfortable chair.
Luke took a seat in the chair next to Azazel, with several imps immediately crawling up his pant leg. It seemed the Hell Scholar welcomed the company.
"Pets?" Lucifer questioned. "These are demons. They eat souls, drink blood, and bathe in the entrails of their victims, of course."
Azazel scratched his temple as he watched a few of the imps run around.
One stopped and looked him in the eye, glaring.
"Shitface," it said before running off.
"These things bathe in blood?" Azazel laughed in disbelief.
"Not blood," Lucifer corrected. "Entrails, boy. They drink the blood."
"Oh, my bad," Azazel apologized sarcastically.
"They are more impressive than they appear."
"I'm sure," Azazel responded, rolling his eyes.
"Would you like to hear a story?" Lucifer asked with a smirk.
"Hell no," Azazel immediately responded.
Each story told to him ended up being longer than the previous. There was no way he was going to agree to Lucifer's story hour down in the depths of hell.
Lucifer frowned. "I was ready to spill my heart out to you."
Luke looked from Lucifer to Azazel with pleading eyes. "Come on. For my research."
Azazel groaned and covered his face with his palm. There was no escape from Lucifer's story.