?


    "What are you putting me against in the next arena?" I asked to switch the subject.


    "A Demon Storm Hydra. That should be more than enough of a step up from thest two," Bezibub said, and I nodded.


    "Sure, but can you send out someone strong for a warm-up?" I asked, and she frowned at me.


    "You just fought in two arenas. Why would you need to warm up?" She asked, and I shrugged.


    "I have been meaning to try something out, but I could very wellnd on my face when I try it," I exined and then gave her a serious look. "If you are serious about me doing this, then I am going to need you to y ball, so I can get stronger. I am sure that there is an army of Demons on the nextyer, but there has to be a reason why they haven''t attacked yet. Now I know the reason. No matter how many demons you get, it wouldn''t be enough, right?" I asked, and Bezibub nodded slowly, so I continued. "This means that no army I gather is going to make a difference, meaning that the only way for me toe out on top is to get stronger than I am."


    Bezibub considered my words and then stood up. "Very well, I can help you out with that if you wish, but after this is all done, you will owe me a favor. I will send a few interesting Demons to the arena for you to warm up against. But this is it; after this, you are on your own." She said sternly, and I narrowed my eyes at the sexy bee Demon.


    "Oh, and what might that be? I am hardly going to agree to this if you aren''t going to tell me what you are going to ask me, then I am not sure if I should take your offer. I can just as easily fight everything you throw at me, and then you get nothing," I said, and Lexi nodded along with me.


    "I want you to take me back with you," Bezibub said inly, and I frowned.


    "You know it doesn''t work like that, right?" I asked because Demon couldn''t pass through a portal that I created, but Upworlders could use Demon portals. Things wereplicated.


    "I know that, and I will bond with you so you can take me with you," She said, and Lexi frowned.


    "Bond? What does that mean?" she asked, but I was still stuck on the words.


    "Really?" I asked, and she nodded, so I turned to Lexi. "For her to bond with me, she has to be loyal to me and basically my servant. Not that I would treat her that way, but she would be like Xieus and would inhabit my body like she did before I sent her here."


    "You are bonded to Xieus? The Subus? But she was sealed away?" She said, and I furrowed my brow.


    "How do you know her or that she was sealed?" I asked curiously, but her reply shocked me.


    "I put her in the gem. She asked me to do it because she was waiting for someone... a cat...? How did you find her?" Lexi asked, clearly just as confused as me.


    "When I was first reborn on the world, I killed an Undead, and it dropped the gem she was inside..." I said and tried to think if I could ce Xieus, but I couldn''t. It was the same missing space as Eliza.


    "What are you talking about? Who is Xieus?" Bezibub asked, and I turned to her with a lifted eyebrow.


    "Xieus, she is a subus," I said, but she shook her head.


    "There is no Xieus. If you are talking about the one captured trying to break out Rem, that creature is not a Demon," Bezibub said, and that made my eyebrows crawl up my scalp.


    "How do you know that she isn''t a Demon? I mean, we bonded the same way as I will with you, and she has taken my essence. That all seems pretty Demon-like to me," I said, but Bezibub shook her head.


    "400 Years ago, I made a point to sleep with every subus that was in the Underworld. I even had Phallus give me the list of them. If you talk to Diablo, he can let you into the Grave of Knowledge to check yourself," She said as she leaned back with a satisfied look.


    "Hold on, I need to think about this," I said, and leaned back in my chair like she did as Lexi looked between us in confusion.


    What in the fuck was going on? Truth, are you there?


    I closed my eyes and then felt my body being pulled, and my eyes opened.


    The being stared at me, its face unchanging. The truth revealed itself to me in an instant, and I felt the weight of my mortality. Eliza and Xieus were named from a past life that had been long forgotten until now.


    "You visited others and met these people. You lived lives with them until they died and then moved on. Then you met Eliza, and she was killed, and your rage destroyed the atmosphere of the, killing everyone there," the being said, breaking the silence.


    I tried to speak, but no words came out. How could this be real? How could I have done something so horrible? But more importantly, why did it wake me up?


    The being answered before I could even ask. "This is the most interesting path that you could take. Not like you have any choice in the matter, but I did allow you to remove the memories. You should know that everything you do is under my grace. While I am not mad about my eye, I have no reason to let my only form of entertainment go."


    It continued, "A few others exist as well, but you were different before going to Prime. Not as much of a... Procreator? That isn''t right... you have never been able to have children until now. You were never a king of an entire world before Prime, and it introduced you to that lifestyle. This is why this reality is like this for you now, and all the women are okay with it. This reality overrode what I did to you, so I am not sure what kind of godly powerful children you are going to have, but it will be interesting. You are outside of my universe, so I don''t really care what happens in this one. I am just along for the entertainment, and this is why I woke you up near Prime."


    The being''s words lingered in the air, and fear crept into my mind. What kind of power did I truly possess? Was I capable of such destruction again, or was this a lesson from the gods? Either way, I held no control over my fate or the fate of those around me.


    All I could do was ept this new reality and move forward into the future, no matter how uncertain it may be. Even though I feared the consequences of my actions, I knew that taking responsibility for them was key to moving forward. No longer would I try to forget my past; instead, I would learn from it and use it to create a better tomorrow.


    "Galio?" Lexi asked, and I opened my eyes. "Are you okay? You have been sitting like that for a while," she said, so I nodded.


    "Yeah, just thinking about the whole Xieus thing. It seems like she''s not a Demon after all," I said and then turned to Bezibub. "I guess that we should start with the fighting, right?"


    "So you know who they are?" Lexi asked, but I shook my head.


    "Not really, but they were from a distant past of mine many lifetimes ago. They are from a part of my history that I forgot because of something I did, but I don''t really want to talk about it," I said, and Lexi nodded.


    "I understand," she said, and I turned back to Bezibub. "So? Are we going to get this show on the road? We still have to walk to the next arena, right?" I asked, but Bezibub just smiled.


    "This is my house; it is just a room that you have never been in before," She said, and Lexi coughed.


    "You even slept with her?" Lexi asked, and Iughed.


    "Are you saying that you wouldn''t? Yeah, we have made a mess of a few rooms multiple times," I said and stood up, looking at Bezibub. "Where is the door for the Gore Arena then?" I asked, and she nodded.


    "Right through here," she said and guided us out of the room, and down a long hallway, before guiding us into an open space with a giant glowing red door in the center. "This is it; when you step through, you will be in the Gore Arena." She said, and then reached for my hands, kissing them both softly. "Just remember to stay alive, okay? I will be asking for that favorter," She said, and then we stepped through the doorway and into the arena.