Chapter 441 440- Chances and Challenges
The hell had given three chances to Zach. The first was to leave hell with Asmodeus and never return. The second was to sacrifice Asmodeus and defeat Nirn. And third was to have sexual intercourse with Asmodeus and enter the inner hell.
[What do you say? It's the best and the easiest offer yet. You just have to make love with her, and that's it.]
Indeed, it was a simple offer, but it was something Zach would never do against Asmodeus' will. Even if she was constantly trying to mate with Zach, that was because of the aphrodisiac effect.
Out of all three options, the first one seemed the easiest to Zach, which was to leave hell with Asmodeus, never to return. However, he couldn't do that after coming so far. The second option was out of his choices, so he had to make do with the first and the third option.
[You don't have the liberty to think, son of Deus. We both are short on time. Will you do it or not?]
"How can you ask me to mate with my sister?"
[What's so wrong with that? The skeletons you see are no different than you two. Some of them were brother and sister, mother and son, father and daughter, strangers, friends, and family. They had all types of relationships, and they all died under the aphrodisiac effect.
If you think you can win against it, you are wrong. It's useless. Don't waste your time even thinking about it. Do you want to know how they all died? While mating!
Even when they were injured and bleeding, thirsty and hungry— starving, when they couldn't move their bodies, they continued to mate till they took their last breath. Some had pets with them, and they mated with their pets.
And those who survived used the dead bodies of their friends and family. As for the fools who came alone, they had no choice but to use the rocks, trees, and ground. They had lost their sanity to think about what was right and what was wrong.
You two were supposed to be the same way, but I have no words against your strong tolerance against this. You have my respect for that, but you can't stay sane for long. So agree to choose any of the three chances I gave you before it's too late.
It would be unwise to not make a decision. I have no emotions or feelings, which include favoritism, hatred, and mercy. It's nothing personal, as I have already stated. However, you have been favored and given mercy.
Yet, you still don't—]
"I don't need your favor nor your mercy!"
[Then you would be the most foolish person to ever exist.]
"Here me out, you fuckwit of hell. I don't need your chances, I need challenges!"
Zach has always been irritational in his decisions, especially at the time when it mattered. However, that's what made him Zach. He had a solution to everything, no matter how dire a situation he was in. He always knew a way out, and his current situation was no exception.
[Interesting. What kind of challenge would you prefer? You can't physically fight me, nor are you in a condition to fight. So I hope it's not a challenge about the battle.]
'Got 'em! He fell for my trap!' Zach rejoiced inwardly.
"You are supposed to give me a challenge."
[I will let you suggest one. If I like it, we will agree on it.]
"How about something like… If I stay sane for the next ten minutes, I win, and you let us enter inner hell?"
[Bold of you to assume you can last ten minutes. You are already on the verge of losing your sanity.]
"Then why don't you agree to the challenge?" he asked straight-faced.
[Fine. If you last for ten minutes without doing anything to the girl, I will let you proceed to your quest. The cherry on top, you won't have to find the next candidate for the demon lord either.
However! If you fail to complete the challenge, then you will end up like the rest of the challengers. All the options I gave you earlier will no longer be valid, and you both will die mating.]
"Start the timer already."
[Very well. Your ten minutes have started. Let's see how long you can hold.]
'My plan worked. I can last for ten minutes if I try. I could have made the challenge of five minutes, but I wanted to sound convincing and challenging enough. I just have to clear my mind and wait for the ten minutes to pass.
If I fail at that, I can knock myself unconscious, and ten minutes will pass in no time. However, what about Asmo? I tied her again, but she was clearly in pain right now. I can't see her suffering like that.
I can't knock myself out. If I did, she could try to do something to me, and I would fail the challenge. We never set rules for this challenge, and the only condition is that I don't have to do anything to Asmo.
If I feel like I am losing my sanity, I will knock us both out. That won't be against the rules, but I don't want 'hell' to whine later, so I will have to make sure it doesn't come to that part.'
[Heh! You think you are too smart, huh?] Hell asked.
"What do you mean?" Zach asked with an innocent look on her face.
[I saw right through your plan. And I still agreed, do you know why? Because there are no rules in this challenge, and everything is in my favor.]
"..."
[Do you know the one who holds the rope has the power to decide the fates of the ones clinging to it? Similarly, I can control the concentration of the aphrodisiac effect.]
"...!" .
[And I just made it one hundred times more effective. I can make it a thousand, a million times more effective if I want. If you thought you could win these challenges, you couldn't be more wrong. What you did is dig your own grave, but sadly, there would be no one to bury you two in it.]