“Wake up, Charles, you motherfucker.”

  My hand slapped the newly reformed head of my old boss. The goat demon snapped upwards like they had woken up from a nightmare. His furred hand clutched over his heart before his eyes narrowed with consciousness.

  “What is this farce?” He asked with a deadpan tone, quickly recomposing himself.

  We sat in his ruined office. He was placed in his chair, still in good condition, outside of a rip on the left armrest. I stood over him and, towards the door, Herzblatt stood with his arms crossed.

  “We’re making a deal.”

  “You should have died too, why are you back before me?”

  “You did pop a hole in me, I’ll give you that,” I replied, patting my stomach. “Almost ripped my spine in two. It was a harder time walking to the portal than I hoped. But, my generous friend here gave me everything I needed to pull through. Look, the scales are still fusing back into place.”

  “No restraints? No anti-magic field? Are you sure that’s wise?”

  Charles lifted both of his arms to make a point. He moved his hands and summoned his black tentacles. Herzblatt took a step forward but I just raised my hand.

  “I told you already,” I recalled with a smile. “We’re doing business. If you aren’t interested in that, you can just hop into a portal and run away as far as you’d like. Of course, that means you’re leaving your facility to me to do as I wish.”

  Charles' eyes darted around the room. Calculations whirred behind his eyes; equations to maximize his own profits.

  “Let’s hear it then, what’s your proposal?”

  “I knew that your pragmatism would shine through,” I complimented. “I hope that our recent battle has allowed you to see the true nature of our relationship in a better light. If you still only see me as a subordinate to order around as you see fit, then there is no purpose in continuing this conversation.”

  “Ah, are you likening to yourself as the master then? Is that what you gathered this gang-“

  “Opportunists,” Herzblatt corrected with a sharp tone.

  “Sure," Charles replied with derision. "Opportunists. Is that why you have shown up with a group? To show me that you are capable of leadership? That you have other skills than to just break something and then throw it away? Should I be impressed?”

  “You have it all wrong, Charles. I didn’t bring them to show you anything nor did I come back here to assert myself as the king in our dynamic. I brought them here so that I could kill you. You owed me just one of your infinite lives.”

  “For the past?” Charles questioned snidely. “I thought you said you didn’t care.”

  “You’re right, I don’t,” I replied with a nod. “You owed me for the present. I told you as much already. I wanted to be seen as an equal and you denied me that. I threw together this group to show you how frail your empire is when I have my sights set on destroying it. How much did you waste in failing to get rid of me?”

  I could see rage fomenting on the surface of Charles’ face. Pride was not something so easily surrendered, especially when you have been encouraged to use it without restriction for so long. I watched closely, wondering if he could overcome it.

  “Get to the point,” Charles spat.

  “Good, good, let’s not waste any more time than we have to. I want to propose to you the partnership that you were so opposed to last time.”

  “I thought you were the type to speak plainly.”

  “Oh, Charles, but I am speaking plainly,” I answered, shaking my head with fake disappointment. “What is the point in enslaving someone like you? What is the point of keeping you around at all? I could just eat you over and over again until there is nothing left of you. I didn’t eat your corpse this time. How gentlemanly of me right?”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  A look of confusion. I spoke a foreign language to Charles. If the winds had blown in the opposite direction, such considerations would not have been given so freely to me. I could see it, the incredulity. His mind was worming around to try to come up with an answer congruent with his worldview. He was trying so desperately to find the specter that wasn’t there; the hidden catch that would allow him to shout in recognition of my heinous plan to entrap him.

  “What does this partnership entail?”

  “It’s simple. I kill everyone that stands between me and the top, and you provide the funds. Of course, you can pursue whatever independent projects that you find yourself interested in and recruit whoever you feel like as long as me and my followers are properly funded.”

  Still, it didn’t make sense to him. His pursuit for more information only provided more questions. The shadows he could shine a light on grew to be fewer and fewer.

  “Why?” Charles asked, bereft of anything else to ask.

  “Unlike what some may think, I do have thoughts and ideas of my own,” I answered. “And I realized that every powerful demon of the higher realms has some form of following. I want to only fight those at the top and be done with it, but they will rather send their full force of followers after me first and then finish me off once I'm weakened. I need my own forces to deal with those inconveniences so I can run straight to the top.”

  “And you expect loyalty out of them?”

  “Of course not,” I laughed. “As soon as I show the slightest amount of weakness, I expect them to try to stab me in the back to take over.”

  “I pray for any glorious opportunity that is given to me,” Herzblatt agreed with starry eyes. “I see you, lost pilgrim. I see the frustration cast on your face. Did you misread the opportunity? Did you let it fall out of your hands? There is no shame in going for an opportunity and falling short. But, ignoring this proposal will be the same as turning away from an opportunity.”

  “You have proven a good template of what I will face in the future, Charles. I think you have the mentality of a high demon. I think you have the level of ruthlessness and calculation that those at the top realms possess. And, if they think like you, they will fight like you. This is what I came up with.”

  “If we are partners and reach the top? Who gets to rule?” Charles asked.

  “We’ll settle that when we get there,” I laughed. “I hope you have a stronger plan to kill me by then. Otherwise, you should step out of the way.”

  Charles went into contemplative silence. A partnership where betrayal was not only expected, but encouraged. It was a deal with the quiet part spoken aloud and made in part by lowering his head. But, I had faith that his brains did reform after I turned his skull to paste.

  “I’ll accept your proposal,” Charles conceded. “It seems you embraced this place better than I did.”

  “I knew you would come around. Now we can finally get to the good part. What we’re going to do to win.”

  “You already have a plan?”

  “I have the beginnings of one,” I said, scratching behind my ear hole with a broken claw. “It’s not a secret that the other demons aiming for the top are far ahead of us. They have had many years to plan and amass troops and stats and equipment. So, we need to bridge that gap as fast as possible and prevent them from gaining any further advantage.”

  “I plan on spreading my message here and providing the chance that these new demons all pray for,” Herzblatt said with a nod.

  “And if they reject you or have another patron already?” Charles asked.

  Herzblatt’s face remained tranquil as his morphing weapon dropped into his hands. The sword rapidly changed into that of an executioner’s axe.

  “Who would dare spit in the face of my God?’ Herzblatt said cheerfully. “Anyone who is blind to His grace will need to have better persuasion. They can either join freely or join in chains.”

  “I don’t think the other factions would let you do as you please,” Charles politely countered.

  “Of course they won’t,” I agreed. “That’s why I’m going to make sure there are no factions left here.”

  “What?”

  “Think about it, Charles. The high demons are pulling all of their best up the realms already. Who would be left behind after the strong leave? It’s easy food. I will destroy every single school, fortress, and base that exists. I will kill every single demon there and give them a choice: join me or suffer. That’s where I’d like to make my first request for you as a partner.”

  “Go on,” Charles said, gesturing for me to hurry up.

  I grinned. The slimy fucker was hooked now.

  “You seem to own quite a few pocket dimensions,” I said.

  “They aren’t hard to have when you have enough resources,” Charles replied. “However, their maintenance fees are exorbitant.”

  “I’d like you to make me death loop dimensions,” I requested. “I want to be able to toss any that refuse into a realm of eternal death until they decide they are ready to join us. I want to make death feel permanent again. We are only going to win this war if our soldiers get back up but theirs can’t.”

  Charles began to cackle. He stood up from his chair and walked over, placing his hand firmly on my shoulder and looking at me with his red eyes.

  “You didn’t think I didn’t already have one, did you? You can squeeze quite a bit of money out of death like that.”

  I laughed in response and Herzblatt also joined in our laughter, if, for nothing else, than to not miss out on the jubilation.

  “When do we get started?” Charles asked.

  “Right now, of course.”