Slapped by her own hair.

  A rude awakening brought on by the sudden blast of Lucifer's departure. Abigail had glimpsed him disappearing over the horizon as Leonard gently laid her back down. Beelzebub's emissary lingered no longer and, without a glance in their direction, crossed back through her portal.

  When she turned to her companion to ask what would happen next, Abigail found Leonard deep in thought. Preferring to give her a few moments, she walked towards the green, grassy plain that stretched out before them. This definitely didn't resemble the vision she had of Hell, she thought, as a breeze stirred a few strands of her hair.

  She lingered, enjoying the pleasant atmosphere for a moment, which ended abruptly when a hair made her sneeze. Taming her hair with a hair tie, she whirled around and rejoined with the witch. Leonard didn't answer her first call, nor her second, and it wasn't until the third that she finally snapped out of her thoughts. When she asked her question for the fourth time, Abigail finally received an answer to what would come next: they would follow Lucifer's order and join his steward, the Infernal General Adramelech.

  “By flying?” she asked suspiciously. All she received in response was an amused smile from Leonard as she passed her. Without slowing down, with one hand outstretched, the witch uttered a magic spell, and before Abigail’s astonished eyes, an orange circle appeared a few meters ahead. With each word, the circle’s interior grew more complex until it finally opened into an intense black, beside which Leonard stopped proudly.

  "Couldn't we have taken this instead of crossing the tundra?" asked Abigail, almost outraged.

  “I preferred not to reveal too much magic to you,” replied Leonard. “Understand my mistrust: we’ve only known each other for a few days. Besides, a barrier around Hell prevents anyone from opening a portal there from the outside.”

  "Okay, but still..." she admitted, joining her. "We could at least have gotten closer."

  In response, Leonard stepped through the portal, but Abigail, far more cautious, slowly approached the spell. If Lucifer trusted the sorceress, following her posed no risk, did it? Abigail tried to reassure herself. Taking a deep breath, she leaped through the gate.

  Suddenly, a heavy blanket of heat descended upon her shoulders, her sense of smell assaulted by the odor of sulfur and burning, and the density of the air made breathing difficult. Leonard had to reassure her with a laugh that she could open her eyes before Abigail finally dared to do so. Now, these attacks on her body made perfect sense: she was inside a volcano, a few steps from a rocky walkway suspended above a lava lake; above, the crater formed a more or less regular disc in place of a sky. Reassured, Leonard crossed the bridge without slowing down, and although she had reservations about the structure's sturdiness, Abigail preferred to follow the sorceress rather than remain alone there.

  The long stone corridor gave way to a tunnel in the wall, which opened onto a place very similar to the one they had just left, then another, and another. They thus passed through half a dozen similar chambers, like a string of pearls descending into the depths of the volcano, until finally they arrived in a corridor more elaborate than all the previous ones. This then opened onto an equally detailed room, where colonnades and frescoes decorated three alcoves, each housing its own portal. Behind translucent tubes, streams of lava bathed the room in a soft orange glow.

  "Hey, Leonard," Abigail objected. "Couldn't we have teleported directly here too? I don't know how your magic works, but I imagine there were shortcuts we could have found, right?"

  “Of course, but you would have missed the magnificence of this place. You have to venture off the beaten path to truly discover a place,” the sorceress admonished her. “And even if a portal spell could have brought us directly here, we wouldn’t have been able to go any further. There’s an atmosphere here that disrupts magic, and I’ll let you imagine the danger of imprecision when you’re inside a volcano.”

  "Okay, that makes sense. But now what? Where do we go from here?" the young woman asked.

  "By this one," her companion pointed to the alcove decorated with monstrous figures. "Well, I imagine so."

  "What do you mean, 'you imagine?' Do you really know where we're going?" Abigail suddenly doubted.

  "Of course. The place has simply changed since my last visit," Leonard assured her. "And knowing Adramelech's love for his dragons, it can only be that."

  "Wait. His dragons?" she interrupted. "Dragons don't exist. Do they?"

  “You were wounded by a primordial angel, witnessed an archangel fight against his fallen counterpart, encountered a Daemon Princess, and right now, you stand beside the Infernal General, the leader of the mages in Hell,” Leonard listed, giving her a clearer perspective on the situation. “Perhaps it’s time to reconsider your definition of what’s impossible?”

  Without further ado, the witch stepped through the right-hand gate, which Abigail then discovered was surmounted by a Sumerian symbol. Completely unable to read it, but having no other choice but to follow, the young woman resigned herself and followed her guide.

  Barely visible on the other side of the passage, a colossal cavern now opened before them, so vast that Abigail struggled to discern its depths. Suspended above a lake, a wide, ornate bridge led to an immense central pillar, a stone trunk of such gargantuan proportions that it sheltered a veritable island, several dozen meters above the water's surface. The walls of this subterranean world were riddled with countless cavities from which winged creatures came and went, and although she was underground, Abigail could see as if it were broad daylight, likely thanks to the shafts of light that studded the rocky vault. The rays plunged beneath the lake's surface, creating a mesmerizing symphony of reflections on the cavern walls, a spectacle equally reflected in the stone wall encircling the island.

  In the air and under the water, countless winged creatures flitted about, sometimes passing close by. While Leonard seemed unimpressed and watched them pass with a disinterested air, this was definitely not the case for Abigail, who craned her neck to follow them, going from one railing to another.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Suddenly, the bridge began to tremble, and before the pair, a dark dragon blocked their path of stones. Easily exceeding three meters in height, the creature reared up and grew even larger, while drops of water trickled down its body, pearls of light contrasting with the darkness of its black scales. A guttural growl echoed from the animal's mouth, which glowed with fiery reflections. Already unsteady above the void, Abigail now feared being engulfed by a raging torrent. There was only a slim chance that her power would activate, but without the slightest idea of how to use it, hope seemed unlikely. And yet, she tried regardless of the odds, concentrating with all her might.

  A yelp startled her, making her open her eyes. Her attempt had been successful: the dragon, so terrifying just moments before, was now flattened against the ground, yelping fearfully as it retreated step by step. Its fear far exceeded her expectations, and Abigail doubted that it was her doing. Turning to her companion, she instantly understood what had terrified the dragon. Leonard was surrounded by an intense scarlet aura, the same brilliance as her irises; the tips of her jet-black hair, longer than Abigail remembered, stood erect under the spell's power, and her now-open cloak revealed a black bodice and leather trousers, from which hung several cases, each containing countless scrolls.

  Leonard was utterly bewitchingly beautiful, so much so that Abigail was left speechless. The dragon's instinct, blocking their path, finally overcame its fear, and with a final roar, it fled beneath the surface of the water. Gently, the pressure emanating from Leonard subsided until nothing remained, and then, innocently, she passed Abigail and asked if they could continue. Still a little flustered, the human could only nod in response before following.

  It wasn't long before they reached the edge of the island, whose rocky walls concealed its idyllic appearance. The stone bridge gave way to a summery wooden boardwalk, also spanning a stretch of water whose turquoise and crystalline color clearly distinguished it from the depths of the cavern. The planks led them to a fine sandy beach at the edge of a tropical forest, while beyond the treetops, a peak emerged, its shape and plumes of smoke identifying it as a volcano rather than a mere mountain. The wooden path was replaced by stones, set in the sand to form a trail that guided Abigail and Leonard to the very edge of the volcano. Not only did the path not end there, but it continued into a high cavern carved into the rock. At times, the tunnel opened to the outside, allowing Abigail to observe the beauty of the island as well as the immensity of the cavern in which this entire ecosystem resided. Had she never come to Hell, she would have missed what she readily described as the most beautiful place on Earth.

  Suddenly, a violent roar echoed off the walls, and while Abigail would gladly have turned tail, Leonard quickened her pace and confirmed they were nearing their destination. Willingly, the human followed the Infernal General as their ascent was punctuated by increasingly frequent screams. Soon, Abigail heard other sounds above the roars, like metal clashing against metal, or stone cracking. When light finally appeared at the end of the tunnel, Abigail discerned the voices of two women and a man and wondered who could be conversing in such an environment.

  The answer she found fascinated her as much as it perplexed her: in a rocky clearing, a teenage girl riding a dragon was fighting another girl armed only with a sword, all under the watchful eye of a man with crossed arms, who occasionally shouted advice. Suddenly, a torrent of fire erupted from the dragon's mouth and melted a rock face a few meters from the swordswoman, sending up a plume of dark smoke. Abigail's cry of surprise caught the coach's attention, who smiled to see Leonard at her side; a simple gesture from him was enough to stop the fight as he joined the newcomers.

  "Leo!" he greeted cheerfully. "Welcome to the Nest! What are you doing here?"

  "Adramelech!" replied the sorceress, introducing him at the same time. "How are you?"

  "Oh, well, you can see: I'm bursting with energy!" exclaimed Adramelech, gesturing around the area before turning to the teenage girls. "Kora, you're going to take care of this dragon. Esha, considering what you did to it, it's best if you let your sister handle it alone. But that doesn't mean you can just sit around. Tidy up a bit, okay?"

  "Yes, Dad!" the teenage girls assured them.

  "And who is the young lady with you?" the man asked in his deep voice. "Hello! I am Adramelech."

  "Abigail," the human introduced herself. "Pleased to meet you."

  "Adramelech, I need your help," Leonard asked him. "If you're available, of course."

  "Don't worry, I don't have anything I can't reschedule for a friend," he admitted, smiling. "Girls, can I leave you now? You'll know what to do next?"

  "Yes!" they confirmed in unison.

  "Okay, we can go," the fallen man assured them. "So Leo, what do you need?"

  Guiding them toward a portal hidden until now in a crevice of the wall, Adramelech took the lead and crossed first, letting the orange reflections ripple across his dark skin. When Abigail followed, she discovered a magma chamber, where intense heat reigned. The architecture being a recurring motif in this realm, an ornate bridge spanned a lake to a wall; however, this wall displayed far more detail than its predecessors, to the point that Abigail finally realized it was, in fact, the facade of the Infernal General's abode. The primary source of the ambient temperature, the lava lake beneath radiated light and cast shadows on the ceiling in an ominous downward angle.

  As they walked back up the bridge, Leonard and Adramelech chatted, excluding Abigail and giving her time to observe her surroundings. However, Leonard eventually turned and studied her, then, without further explanation, smiled and assured her that he would be able to help. Nevertheless, Adramelech requested more details regarding the very first manifestation of her powers.

  Following his instructions, Abigail recounted how, on their return to Hell, they had fought the archangel Gabriel and that, to protect the Devil from a fatal blow, a strange substance had enveloped her fists and shins when she blocked their enemy's sword. Endowed with this protection, she had suddenly been able to repel her opponent; at least, until her power abruptly deserted her. Their predicament resolved by Lucifer's return, they had then been able to escape and resume their journey, during which they had come to speculate that these powers originated from the angelic heart within her chest.

  When Abigail turned to Leonard to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, she found her face in her hands. Turning to Adramelech, she saw him frozen, before suddenly shivering despite the heat. In the same deep, guttural, otherworldly voice that Lucifer sometimes used, Adramelech asked her where he was. Abigail's hesitation made him repeat himself, and he slowly turned in her direction.

  Almost instantly, Leonard shoved her aside and threw a scroll at her friend. She then grabbed her arm and pulled her along, rushing towards the portal. A roar suddenly detached the witch from Abigail, but she ordered her to keep running as she turned around. Though the human took a few steps on her own, her thoughts eventually stopped her. Could she leave her new companion alone? Despite her power, would it be enough to defeat another Infernal General?

  A thunderous roar shook the bridge and shattered her hesitation. Abigail then joined Leonard, who gave her a horrified look; she softened her stance, however, explaining that she understood part of the Devil's interest in her. Before the pair, Adramelech was chained to the ground, thick chains barely imprisoning him as he struggled, much larger and more imposing than just moments before. Leonard then pulled a red leather notebook from inside her coat and, opening the first pages, reached out to her imprisoned friend. Suddenly, the chains burst into flames and detonated in an explosion that swept away the section of the bridge holding the fallen man. Debris and the roar vanished in a burst of fire as they struck the lava.

  “It was the only solution…” Leonard sighed, gazing contritely at the orange surface below. Alas, their respite was short-lived: a mass slowly emerged from the lava. Two gigantic wings curled over a scaly back, a humanoid body covered in protective plates, a horned head from which molten liquid flowed, and a monstrous snout pointed toward them. Before the two stunned women, a gargantuan dragon stood. With a masterful punch, it cut off their retreat, knocking down part of the bridge, then, clinging to the surrounding ledges, leaned toward Abigail and asked his question once more.

  "Where is Lucifer?"