Baator Hell Promotion

"Very well, your proud princess," the filthy girl grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow and black rotten teeth that belied her beautiful face. She waved, "Please come closer and accept my blessing."

"I accept your blessing." The teeth seemed to frighten the princess's courage a little. She patted her chest and said, "But I don't accept your kiss. I can't allow someone like you to touch my skin."

The uninvited guest laughed out loud, but she did not insist. Instead, she took a step back and said solemnly: "I wish you, Prince Piper's little princess, that the man you spend the rest of your life with will be the man who loves you the most. No third person can interfere with your relationship, and not even death can stop your love."

"Um...thank you, thank you." The princess had prepared herself for the curse, but she hadn't expected the girl to finally say a sincere blessing. She thanked her bewilderedly, then turned back to look at her father and godmother, unsure how to handle the situation.

"Your blessings have been delivered. Please leave now." The one who spoke was Ms. Mary in apricot clothes. Her expression did not change from beginning to end.

The uninvited guest did not stay long. He just smiled mockingly and strode out of the castle, leaving a trail of muddy footprints behind him.

"Is there something wrong with this blessing?" Dan whispered to Hopper. "You're experienced in dealing with all kinds of verbal games. Could you explain it to us?"

This blessing is deeply problematic, Hopper thought. It sounds like a simple blessing for Natalie to spend the rest of her life with her lover, a love that lasts until death. But the flip side of that is that Natalie will be eternally bound to this man whose existence she doesn't know, and even death won't be able to free her from him. After all, the blessing refers to "the man who loves you most," not "the man you love most," much less "the man you are in love with."

However, it seems that no one has noticed this loophole.

The performance of the distinguished guest made the atmosphere of the entire banquet strange. Although many guests did not say it, they felt a sense of guilt in their hearts, which was not something a noble should have.

Even the prince couldn't stand the bitter thought of "Did we wrongly accuse a good man?" Just as he was waving his arms and preparing to announce the continuation of the banquet, a faint bell rang throughout the venue.

The deep, heavy knocking sound came from Princess Natalie's unclosed bedroom door. All the guests listened to the bell in stunned silence. Hopper even felt it roaring beside her. When the bell rang, she lost all ability to think, and was swept away by the torrent of sound.

The bell rang seven times. Waking from their dream, the crowd looked around after the bell died down and saw that everyone else was just as stunned as they were. They couldn't help but laugh, feeling ashamed and amused at their own fuss and the fear that had dissipated from their hearts.

The prince was also affected, but he was obviously not surprised at all. He simply ordered his servants to close the door of the room that revealed the blood-red light.

At his behest, the band received orders and began to play a soft tune. Servants came in like clouds, moved all the tables and chairs to the wall, and opened all the doors.

Only then could the prince's refined aesthetics be seen. Standing in the Purple Hall, anyone gazing back could take in the views of all six halls. The diverse colors of the furnishings transformed the castle into a celestial rainbow, with the nobles dancing within it like beautifully feathered birds.

The prince, “Dear guests,” climbed up to the top of the two tables and raised his glass, saying, “Let us laugh and have fun until dawn.”

Chapter 228: Sudden Death

It was as if everyone had fallen under a spell; once they started dancing, they couldn't stop, and no one wanted to. Not only were there beautiful ladies and handsome knights, but there were also stacks of honey-covered muffins and berry cakes stacked on tables along the wall. There were small round cakes made so the ladies could eat them in one bite without worrying about the crumbs and ruining their image. There were also sandwiches filled with cold salmon and ham slices for a quick way to replenish energy. All of them were singing, inviting people to eat them.

Such occasions made the prince's unruly and rebellious nature even more apparent. As soon as the ball began, he took the initiative to pull a waitress, who was serving food, around the crowd, finally giving her a long kiss amidst the screams of the ladies. After letting the dizzy maid go, he immediately pursued the next lady, causing laughter and anger in the crowd.

Following their master's example, the nobles all began to lower their status and join in the revelry. Even Lightning was forcibly dragged away by a pair of twins.

"Is this really okay, ma'am?" Ziz asked worriedly, looking at Hellcat, who was clumsily moving in the distance and making the twin sisters giggle. "Shouldn't we focus on discussing the strange thing that just happened?"

"Relax, Ziz. You should learn to slack off during breaks," Hopper shrugged, rubbing her ankle through her boot. Dancing wasn't for her, at least not without its gory elements. "Besides, it's so noisy around here. If I don't want everyone discussing unusual situations with me, I should just keep my mouth shut."

At this moment, Hopper missed his ability to communicate with his mind. Almost all Baatezu have the ability to communicate with their minds, but Hopper didn't use it much in his daily life. He only realized its value after he could no longer use it.

She looked up with emotion, ready to invite the nervous Zisi to dance as well, but a red light flashed in the corner of her eyes.

Hopper's heart trembled, as if she had been stared at by a tiger. She turned her head to look for the light source and quickly found it among the bustling crowd.

As previously mentioned, the entire castle was immersed in the prince's generous and unrestrained hospitality, and the six halls were almost completely packed. However, everyone, whether guests, musicians, or servants, spontaneously avoided the seventh door leading to the pure black hall. As if some invisible force enveloped that room, the closer to the door, the fewer people there were, forming a tacit and eerie vacuum.

However, this door that no one wants to touch, this door that has been closed in front of everyone, has now opened a crack.

The red color Hopper saw was the firelight peeking through the crack in the door.

Before she could react, the bell in the black room began to ring again. Or perhaps it had been ringing all night, but the door was closed and the sound was gone.

In short, the dull sound of the bell spread throughout the castle, just as it had when it first rang.

Everyone froze silently, as if under a spell that had frozen time. No matter what they were doing, they all listened intently to the unusually long chime.

The clock struck the hour; it had struck only seven times in the evening, but now, nearing midnight, it had struck twelve times.

When the bells stopped ringing, Hopper took a few deep breaths and realized that she had been holding her breath. She was not the only one who did this. Several other ladies were holding their breath until their faces turned red and they were breathing heavily without regard for their dignity. There were even one or two fat ladies who fainted, which caused another round of screams.

The others avoided each other's gazes and smiled awkwardly. Hopper noticed that only the three godmothers showed no signs of abnormality. They did not leave the stage to dance tonight, but just sat aside and discussed matters with their heads down.

"Who are you? Tell me your name!"

Prince Piper's voice came from the Blue Hall, and it was so high-pitched that it was even a little broken.

The guests were all drawn to the scene, and just as everyone was startled by the bell, a gaunt figure walked in from the open door.

When Hopper saw the figure clearly, he couldn't help but groan in his heart. No wonder the prince's voice was so excited.

The man was terrifyingly tall, even exceeding the height of a normal human. Compared to his height, his steps were heavy and slow, making him look more like a twisted tree trunk.

Even more terrifying than his disproportionate figure was his attire: he was wrapped in a shroud that should have been white, tightly wrapped around his body, with only a smooth, blank mask visible.

Large patches of dried blood were scattered all over its shroud and mask like black and red flowers, making one wonder what kind of torture the body under the shroud had endured to cause so much blood to spurt out.

And all of this looks like the corpses of people who died from the Red Death.

The visitor disguised as a patient with the Red Death seemed to have heard the prince's roar. The blood-stained mask under the shroud slowly turned. All the guests who looked at him trembled and dared not look him in the eye.

It slowly advanced amidst the crowd's fear. Every time it passed through a room, the people inside, regardless of gender or social status, convulsed and collapsed, blood spurting from their features. In just a few minutes, the once joyous venue had become a hotbed of disease, and the high-pitched music was reduced to the groans of the dying.

Hopper's eyes widened, and her earrings lit up with a soft white light, giving her legs, numb with fear, a sense of feeling. She pulled Ziz hard and rushed to the seventh room. The person who came must be related to the strange bell sound.

A shrill scream came from behind Hopper, and she couldn't help but look back.

Princess Natalie was seen suspended in mid-air, less than half a foot away from the terrifying visitor. The visitor seemed to want to play a trick on her, not kill her outright.

"Don't touch my daughter!" The prince's features were spurting blood, but he still rushed forward recklessly. "No one can take her away from me!"

"No! Father, don't!" Princess Natalie watched with tears in her eyes as the prince stumbled towards the terrifying existence.

The strange mask slowly turned towards the prince, just in time to meet his father, who leaped with all his might, knife raised high. The gleaming silver knife, imbued with the prince's love and the princess's anticipation, fiercely shattered the mask.

It was empty inside. The moment the mask was broken, the shroud collapsed completely, revealing nothing underneath.

Natalie didn't care about the injuries caused by falling from mid-air, and rolled over and hugged the prince's head.

His face was covered in blood, he looked at Natalie lovingly, and then died.

Hopper felt a warmth in her throat and vomited blood with internal organs. The massive blood loss made her feel cold all over, and then endless darkness swallowed her.

Chapter 229: Confused

Hopper woke up with a start, and what came into his sight was a gray and gloomy sky and twisted and dense branches.

The succubus jumped up and found Zis and Lightnin lying unconscious beside him. The place they were in was also very familiar - the place where they entered the Demiplane of Fear.

She touched her throat, and the smell of blood seemed to still linger in her throat. But now she was in good health, without any signs of illness.

"Ah!" Lightning screamed, startling Hopper. The naked Lightning jumped up, stroking his body with both hands and turning around to check for injuries.

Wait? Naked?

Hopper looked down and saw that he was no longer wearing the warm fur-edged cloak, but the Niobe's Weep armor he wore when he entered the spirit world.

What's going on? Is this a dream? A fabrication of memory? Or is it time traveling backwards?

"Ms. Hopper? Are you okay?" Zis had woken up now, and when he saw his two companions, he also looked confused.

"I'm fine," Hopper said, still trembling. This was the closest she'd ever been to death, and it was also the time she had absolutely no way out. In the past, no matter what the situation, she always had room to maneuver, and then in the back-and-forth, she would deliver a fatal strike.

But who was that outsider? Hopper didn't sense any external power from him, but that didn't mean he wasn't strong. On the contrary, Hopper believed his power was so strong that he couldn't even feel it.

The demon racked his brains to recall the knowledge he had learned, the legends he had heard, and the books he had read, but he could not think of any powerful existence related to the Red Death.

Could it be a chosen one or a saint of the plague god? Hopper bit his lip, then shook his head, denying his thoughts.

If the god of plague or disease wants to show off his power, he usually uses plague, cholera or smallpox. In the records of Hell, there are some examples of large-scale plagues being sent down for offending the gods, but these examples usually do not include the Red Death.

The reason was simple: the Red Death failed to deter others. Compared to other plagues that killed tens of thousands, the Red Death had several drawbacks: it was incurable, had a short incubation period, a high mortality rate, and spread rapidly.

Yes, there were drawbacks. The Red Death's course was so rapid that it didn't even give people time to panic. Whether it was a Goliath or a Halfling, the transition from infection to death often took just a dozen minutes. Before anyone could panic, the patient had already passed away. Meanwhile, the survivors could simply burn their bodies to contain the spread.

Disease is also a common method used by demons. Mortals' bodies are too fragile, and when eroded by disease, their spirit and will are weakened. But Hopper really couldn't connect the big devil he knew with this evil demon of the Red Death.

"What should we do now?" After Lightning made sure that no vital parts of his body were missing after a detailed examination, he squatted on the ground in frustration. "I have no idea what's going on. I should have found a spellcaster to join this journey."

His words reminded Hopper that although there were no spellcasters in his team and he couldn't explain the current strange situation, this plane was not without spellcasters.

"Let's go straight to Dan Brown!" The succubus patted the grass leaves on his body and stood up. "See what they think of the current situation."

"But we can't get into the monastery. Are you sure they will see us this time?"

"If the circumstances of our visit this time are the same as last time, then at least we can be sure that they haven't returned from the Prince's banquet. This information is still useful."

"But," Hopper looked at Lightning, "let's find you some clothes first."

Finding clothes was a simple matter, after all, it was something I had experienced once before.

However, accidents always happen when people are confident. Last time, they had not walked far along the road when they saw a truck dumped on the side of the road, empty of people.

This time, they saw from afar a brown, long-haired beast lying on the overturned truck with its back to them, growling softly at the bottom of the vehicle.

The beast's ears twitched, and it turned around alertly. When it saw the armored traveler, its fur stood up. He jumped off the wagon, stood on his hind legs, and unconsciously bent forward. The wolf's mouth was covered with fresh blood.

"Get away, Lone Wolf, this is all mine." The werewolf let out a low roar, and he was talking to Lightning, who was also a werewolf.

The demon wrinkled his nose, lacking the sympathy to save passersby. He said patiently, "I'm not interested in fresh meat. I just want to find some clothes for your compatriot."

Unexpectedly, the werewolf flew into a rage upon hearing this and roared at Lightning, "You actually let the Unblessed One answer me?!"

Before he finished speaking, he jumped high and pounced on the woman who looked the most fragile with a fishy smell.

Such behavior finally provoked Hopper to explode. Being killed by an unknown evil demon was already a great blow to the lust demon's self-esteem. Now even a stray dog ​​on the roadside dared to attack him?

She slapped the quiver, grasped the hilt of the sword that popped out, and using the momentum of drawing the sword, swung the sword into a crescent shape, and slashed down coldly and silently.

Blood splattered, covering the woman's body. Hopper felt a long-lost warmth. She closed her eyes, savoring the familiar feel of liquid running down her cheeks. Above her, the werewolf, severed in two by a blow at the waist, continued to fly forward, its ugly face frozen in fear, before finally plummeting to the dust.

Hopper opened his eyes and found his two companions staring at him. Lightning's face was filled with undisguised admiration and animalism. Hellcats were the ultimate hunters, thoroughly enjoying the thrill of the kill. A clean, efficient kill was the ultimate spectacle.

Zis's expression was more complicated. The young soldier's face showed admiration and surprise, but also implicit frustration.

The succubus lost her magic power, but she did not lose the ability to read people's expressions. She quickly understood what Zis was thinking.

"Don't worry, kid. You are still valuable to me, even if not in terms of combat power." The succubus, whose bloodlust was satisfied, was in the mood to appease her property. She stretched out her bloody fingers and pinched the soldier's lower lip as a comfort.

I don’t know what Zisi was thinking, but his whole body began to change from milky white to a burnt red shrimp.

"Okay, stop showing off your charm," Lightning said unhappily. "Come and see what I found."

After all, he was a werewolf, and Lightning was much stronger than Hopper was now. He lifted the truck bed with one hand, revealing two trembling little heads.

"Oh, there's an unexpected bonus~"

Chapter 230 Correspondence

Both were boys, their identical hair color and similar features confirming their kinship. The older boy, estimated to be ten, was trying to stand up straight and defend his younger brother. However, his shaky legs and watery eyes betrayed him completely.

Hopper looked down at his blood-covered body, then looked at the savage Lightning, clicked his tongue and took a step back, kicking Zis to signal him to come forward and communicate with the child.

Perhaps finally seeing a somewhat normal adult, their guard down, the two boys, amid Zisi's lame attempts at consolation, sobbed and unpacked everything they had experienced.

Hopper quickly pieced together this simple story from their fragmented information. After his wife's death, a single father, seeking to make ends meet, took his two children to a larger town. On the way, they encountered three werewolves. Perhaps to protect his children, he proactively led the werewolves away, but one was cunning enough to return.

"Come and see." Lightning squatted on the ground and pointed at the footprints to Hopper. "Last time I thought they were wargs, but now they are werewolves. It does make sense. And they are two relatively large werewolves. Their father will probably never come back."

After hearing this, the two boys could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

"What should we do?" Lightning asked cryptically. If it were him, he would definitely break the heads of these two brats to prevent them from leaking any information. However, since Hopper was the captain, he would still respect her authority.

"Take it with you. You're wearing their father's clothes, so consider it their life-saving money." Hellcat's main job is to hunt and kill, and Hopper understands his habit of eradicating the problem completely. However, she prefers to leave some room for maneuvering.

Lightning shrugged and said indifferently: "You are the captain, I will listen to you."

Since Lightning had already mastered the basics, even though they brought two frightened children with them this time, they moved faster than last time.

On his second visit to Blonde Town, Hopper discovered some things he hadn't noticed the previous time. For example, a wisp of black smoke and a burning stench emanating from the distant farmland, and a makeshift gallows standing in the shadow of the wall, where a long-haired corpse with its right arm missing hung motionless.

As he got closer, Hopper noticed that the corpse's right arm was covered with flies, and the smaller child had buried his head in Ziz's back in fear.

"What's wrong?" Lightning walked over and took a look, then casually said, "The wound on the right arm wasn't fatal. It must have been cut off after death. Any questions?"

"He's a thief," Hopper replied. "Chopping off the right hand is a way many societies trigger thieves. Dan Brown mentioned that a thief died a few days before we arrived. I guess that's what happened."

"Who are you! Put your hands where I can see them!"

A slightly immature scolding came from above his head. Hopper looked up and saw that it was the same gatekeeper Lancelot from last time, but this time he looked very nervous, holding a cocked crossbow in his hand.

Hopper couldn't help but laugh. He felt like he couldn't blame him for being so nervous. All three of them were armed, and he was covered in blood. He didn't look like an honest, good guy at all.

"We mean no harm! We're just travelers passing through. We happened to come across these two children who were attacked! Perhaps you know their families."

Ziz lowered the child from his back, pushed forward, and then stepped back to Hopper, indicating that he meant no harm.