Chapter 34: Chapter 33 Getting Familia

“Yes, it’s your Nightmare lounge. I couldn’t salvage much after your former students raided it. But I did find these,” Dimmane answered his unspoken question, gesturing to the crude furniture.

 

“That'll do. Many thanks, Dimmane. Tuktuk never expected to see this place again,” Tuktuk genuinely said, dragging himself toward the ledge.

 

“I’d love to stay and reminisce but I have duties to attend to and can’t be seen out in public. That’s the unspoken agreement between myself and King Beebo for her to leave me alone. Farewell!” Dimmane said, launching herself into the air. 

 

She gestured as she entered the wormhole. In response, it began to close behind her, the loose strands of reality knitting themselves back together. Her figure shrank in the distance only to be shut off from sight by the intact ceiling. There was no second array marring the ceiling.

 

Helios briefly considered his new master before placing their bundle of supplies atop the empty workbench. Tuktuk crawled over to one of the crude chairs and pulled himself into it with a contented sigh.

 

“So, I guess we shouldn’t waste any time. There’s not much else for us to do here except admire the view,” Helios said, waving a hand toward outside.

 

“Let Tuktuk rest, there are a lot of memories here. Once upon a time, a constant stream of the most powerful Familia in Hell would travel here to see me. Outside, you can see other Nightmare lounges nearby. It’s rare for them to get a single influential visitor but they still imitate Tuktuk with welcoming balconies for them. Ha, pathetic!” Tuktuk reminisced. He gestured at the other chair for Helios to sit down. “It’s good to take a moment from time to time to slow down and reflect. Tell me, how did you get here? Tell me your story.”

 

 “I awoke in…”

 

“No, not there. Start at the beginning. Tuktuk wants to hear about your life. You have yet to do anything truly noteworthy in Hell. You’ve certainly made waves but not anything to earn yourself a name,” Tuktuk interrupted.

 

“Well, I was born into a wealthy family. My father earned it the hard way and always said that I didn’t appreciate the value of a dollar. He tried to teach me a lesson by making me work for everything myself when I grew up. I guess it didn’t work as he intended because one of his friend’s companies hired me straight out of college into a middle management position. There, I met Margaret…” Helios began.

 

“Is she the one that summoned you with the named Task, the Saint Ethos?” Tuktuk asked.

 

“Yes. I never had the courage to talk to her, you know? Yet somehow she was more enamoured with me than I could have ever imagined,” Helios laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. His dreadlocks slapped against the chair with the movement. “I wasn’t a good person, I schemed my way to the top. Selling company secrets to the competition, you name it. Eventually, money just becomes a number on a screen and everything is effectively free. My father was wrong, a dollar is worthless. It was all too easy to get more of. Despite all that, I knew I had to keep my head down so no one would start asking questions.”

 

“It’s good that you can demonstrate a little self-restraint. Your calculating ruthlessness may be what drew Tuktuk’s attention at the entrance earlier, my apprentice must be bold. But, he must also not repeat Tuktuk’s mistakes. Sometimes it’s better to be unnoticeable and keep your head down. Sigh, Tuktuk must still learn this too,” Tuktuk lectured, waving a cautionary finger toward Helios.

You are reading story Hellion [A Demon Progression Story] at novel35.com

 

“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” Helios dryly replied.

 

“Continue, what happened next? Tell me more,” Tuktuk insisted, leaning forward in his seat. He rested his chin on two pairs of knuckles while gesturing for Helios to keep speaking with another hand.

 

“I had my fair share of conquests, enjoying the single life. Women throw themselves at you when you’re wealthy and influential. It was great until everything wasn’t. A Hellgate opened up in my city and completely destroyed it like a war zone. There was no way to resist the demon invasion. The military wounded or killed a few but they became hotspots. If you went searching for refuge and got too close to the crossfire, it was hard to say which side would be the one to kill you. When Margaret summoned me, it became apparent the world returned to relatively normal after that,” Helios concluded.

 

“Hoh, Hoh, you’re one of the last batch from the Hellgate. That makes sense with the last Mass Hatching happening not too long ago. Although, I suspect that you might have been an early bloomer. It’s only been a few weeks since it happened and you’re already in Fastidium. That’s very unusual,” Tuktuk observed, slumping back into his chair with a smug expression.

 

“Well, that’s my story. Did you discover what you needed to know?” Helios asked, questioningly throwing his hands out.

 

“More than enough. Tuktuk feels like he has an understanding of the type of character you are now. We can get started. First, Tuktuk will show you how to make some clothes. That thing dangling between your legs is distracting,” Tuktuk replied, dropping down from his chair and giving Helios a look with a pointed raised eyebrow.

 

“You’re one to talk. I don’t see you wearing any pants, either,” Helios self-consciously replied.

 

“Ha, don’t be so modest. Tuktuk was only having you on, it’s liberating to be so naked. You’d never get away with this in high demon society, though. So, we’d better remedy the situation and it gives me an opportunity to walk you through what it means to be a Nightmare,” Tuktuk teased.

 

“Doesn’t it just mean that you’re an artificer?” Helios asked.

 

“There’s more to be a Nightmare than that. Anyone with any semblance of skill can craft a staff that looks like that one. But it takes more than that to imbue it with spirit. A Nightmare item is alive. We rob its form from the night terrors of Mortals. Hence where we get our titles. You are a long way from being able to shape mundane materials like the rest of the Nightmares in Hell. We’ll start you off small. Tuktuk will guide you with this first one,” Tuktuk said, gesturing at the staff resting against the workbench.

 

---

---

 

You can find story with these keywords: Hellion [A Demon Progression Story], Read Hellion [A Demon Progression Story], Hellion [A Demon Progression Story] novel, Hellion [A Demon Progression Story] book, Hellion [A Demon Progression Story] story, Hellion [A Demon Progression Story] full, Hellion [A Demon Progression Story] Latest Chapter