The break at the stairway up had been short but sweet. One, I managed to ingest something that was not raw monster meat: water. It wasn't a cheese burger, but I really appreciated it. In fact, I was pretty surprised I hadn't been more dehydrated before arriving. Probably a demon thing.

  Either way, I drank till I was fit to burst as well as spent a goodly amount of time rinsing out my mouth. Between not being able to brush my teeth and scarfing down bug bits I felt like my teeth would never be clean again. Did this world even have tooth paste? Some how I doubted it...

  And two, neither Pride nor I wanted to spend any more time in this dungeon than we had too. After the long drink, a forty five minute nap for me, and a quick wipe down to at least look like I wasn't a damn zombie, we ascended the staircase.

  The next floors were brutal in numbers but the strength of the monsters we came across grew progressively weaker. Or maybe I was just getting stronger? It was probably a combination of the two. But it became increasingly frequent that I was starting to handle my half of the monsters on my own. All I had to work with were my fancy new demon claws and grit but it got the job done well enough.

  It did mean that I would continue to need the hellhounds help, however. As sharp as these suckers were, and as beefed up as my speed and agility stats were getting, it wasn't really an adequate substitute for a sword.

  "I need a weapon." I panted, as I stood over the corps of a shaggy yeti looking thing. It was the shape of what I would call a yeti, but it was shorter than I was. And it had used water magic on me, which was a new and neat trick. My 'appraisal' called it a Durum Shaman. Whatever.

  Pride's head appeared above the corpse of an even larger Durum, this one being revealed to be a Durum Warrior. His eyes darted to the rather massive club the creature had been wielding before settling back to me. Was it weird that I was getting used to having a red, glowing eyes hellhound with blood in his fur and meat chunks between his teeth talk to me? Yeah... it probably was.

  "You could take that club, but it would be ill suited for you." He said, head dipping down, followed by the sick sound of ripping raw meat from a bone. "You would have better results just from your claws, I would think. What you need is a proper demon weapon."

  "And what," I asked, flexing my claw tipped fingers before setting them to the haunch of the Durum. The initial puncture to the relatively thick hide was a bit of an effort, but they sliced through quite well after wards. ",Is a proper demon weapon?"

  "They are known as the Zer'Keth." Stated the dog, still hidden by the grew fur of his meal. "To be precise, they are another race of demons that look like weapons. Living weapons."

  "Wait, seriously?" That sounded hard to imagine.

  "Indeed. The Zer'Keth are one of the seven demon races that Tristan created. When not in any proper form, they usually look like rusty swords, or axes, you get the point. But when wielded by a partner demon, they draw power from them and transform into their ideal weapon."

  "That does sound pretty amazing." I said, eyeing the red meat I had exposed. It almost didn't even make me wanna hurl anymore, knowing I was about to stuff my face with it. Actually, what mostly went through my head, as I reached in a ripped off a hunk (way easier than it would have been to do before I had changed into a demon) was weather or not I would be able to use water magic like the Durum did. So far I had not gotten any nifty skills, and I was feeling a little bummed over it.

  "They are, by and far, the best tool for a demon queen such as yourself."

  Holding the dripping meat as I crouched before my prey I grew thoughtful. "If Tristan made them, then is their a progenitor for them, as you are for the Hellhounds?"

  "His name is Wrath. As the name might suggest, he can have quite a temper at times. He and I were the closest to Tristan, as we were always by his side."

  Wrath, Pride... Seven demon races... I was beginning to see a pattern here. I guess this Tristan fellow really had come from Earth like me.

  "Why wasn't he in the chamber with you then?" I asked, before sighing and stuffing the raw mess into my mouth. Almonds. Gross. I think the meat tasting of things it shouldn't was nearly as gross as me just eating raw meat. Mind you, it still tasted like raw meat, just raw meat with a strange added note to it.

  "Wrath had gone missing before Tristan had gathered us all in here. Taken in the last great battle above ground, as it were. It was a grave loss for my former master... I can only hope that he is still out there some where. That they are all still out there."

  "Wait, do demons never die of old age?" I asked, swallowing. I waited, but nothing. Not even a stat increased this time. That was getting more and more frequent too. I guess that the monsters on the upper levels were not powerful enough, and I would have to eat multiple to see any results.

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  "Regular demons do. Though the rate of aging varies on the species. My hellhounds live for about forty years, while the Zer'Keth can go on for nearly a thousand. Though, they are far more likely to die in battle, as it it is in their nature, and much of their strength is dependent on who they choose to wield them. Hence why they are so picky. Though, I am very sure that any of the race would be delighted to be handled by you, Nyx."

  "I guess we should make it one of our top priorities to find one of these Zer'Keth, once we get out of here." I said, getting to my feet and abandoning the meal. I wasn't hungry and if it wasn't going to do anything for me there was no need to force myself. I tried to get the blood off my hands using its steely grey fur to minimal success.

  I had no clue how long it took, but soon Pride was announcing that we had reached the upper levels. I could believe him too, given we were now running into creatures that I recognized from when I was spelunking with my former human buddies. We took out goblins and the like by the dozens. Pride said there was no point eating them unless I was actually hungry, which I was not. Now if he had a nice hamburger, or a carrot, I may have had a bite. Anything other than raw monster meat, really.

  We did not come across the other summoned or their escorts. I wasn't surprised, however. Before the huge centipede blasted its way into our lives, they had been just about out of here. They were long since back into the Stella Empire.

  Come to think of it, we never did come across that centipede again... I was pretty glad for that though. Pride may have been able to take it on, but even supped up on demon juice, I was pretty sure I would have a hard time of it. That thing had been massive, and I could only imagine that its carapace was a thick as my thigh.

  I wonder what it would have tasted like?

  Oh god... I was getting used to it! Oh man, this was so wrong. Don't look forward to eating bugs, Nyx!

  "This is it." Pride said up ahead as I kicked aside a goblin. It had been on his own and Pride had taken it out with a single swipe of his paw. Now the hellhound was around the corner.

  Curious, I hurried forward. He stood in a room about as big as a standard school gymnasium, the ceiling not quite as high. About twenty feet from the large rottweiler was a short stairway, at the top of which stood a large stone door. Other than being three times the size of a normal double door and made of stone, it looked pretty basic.

  "That's the way out?" I asked, standing next to my pony sized companion.

  "Yes." He said. "This should be the one that takes us out somewhere a good distance from the Stella Empire. So long as the borders have not changed too much. There were other doors, to farther away places, but it would have taken us much longer to reach them... And I am hoping that we can find Lust. This door takes us rather close to the elven forest and He was ever fond of the race."

  A dude named Lust. Alright. Not the oddest thing I had seen since coming here, to say the least.

  "And what kind of demon is he?" I asked.

  "An Incubus. They feed on the affections and attentions of others, syphoning off their targets mana and life force." Stated Pride, thoughtfully. "One of the few, non-violent, races of demons."

  "And how, exactly, dose that help in getting rid of monsters?" I asked, confused. I thought Pride told me that Tristan had made the races of demons to curb the rising numbers of dangerous monsters. Were monsters really susceptible to the flirtations of succubus and incubi?

  "It does work on some." He said, eyeing the door. "But no, Lust's race was not made to deal with monsters. He was one of the ones created to feed on the other races. Much like Envy, who is a Vampire. They are among the youngest races created by Tristan, to combat the other races when they began to turn on us. But I think my master was a little too kind to his former people..."

  I could see that. Any of the other races, like the hellhounds, would be just as capable of taking out humans and the like, as they were monsters. Instead Tristan had created races that weakened humans without ever having to kill them. I guess he was a nice guy. I don't think I would have been as generous...

  Still, how mean to name people after the seven deadly sins! I guess that they were demons. And it wasn't like the people here on Zearsa new anything about that anyway. But it did feel a little weird. Who wanted to be named 'Lust' after all? At least Pride and Wrath sounded pretty cool. Dang, I wonder who got stuck with 'Gluttony'? Ouch.

  Still, it was interesting to think about who and what these demons were. Knowing that there were freaking vampires in this world hadn't even made me bat an eye. I was even becoming jaded here, it seemed.

  "Well, it won't open itself." Sighed the hellhound, and began trotting toward the door.

  I sighed and followed. Given I was the only one between us with opposable thumbs, I assumed it would be me having to open the damn thing.

  And I assumed correctly. But, luckily, either the door was magic, or I was just super human now, because it opened with surprisingly little effort! It wasn't easy to drag it open, but given it probably weighed nearly five tons, I think it went pretty good.

  And, just like that, I got my very first look at the outside world of Zearsa.

  And it looked like... the outside.

  We stepped out into a forested section of land, a small hill at our backs where the door stood ajar, and trees as far as we could see spreading out in every direction.

  I squinted out into them, worried there may be a monster laying in wait, but, nothing. Just trees, bushes, and the sounds of birds. Still, it was great to be out of the cramped confines of the dungeon. I think I would be good and happy to never find myself in one again. I would take sunshine, fresh air, and a nice breeze any day of the week over that bug and goblin infested hell hole.

  My eyes landed on Pride. He looked rather wistful as he surveyed our surroundings, red eyes peeled for danger. He had spent a hell of a lot longer down in that dungeon than I had. But rather than looking relived and excited as I felt, he looked a little sad and lost.

  The world had changed a lot since he last walked it, and everything he knew and loved was gone. Either killed ages ago, or left rotting in the depths of the tunnels behind us.

  Well, not everything. His old friends, the progenitors or what ever he called them, were likely still hanging about. And that would be my first goal: find the other six Deadly Sins! I cringed on how anime that sounded.

  Still, it was Pride who gave me this new lease on life, and it wasn't like I had any other solid plans to work with at the moment. So demon hunting it was!

  Now, how exactly would we do that?