When Turgash landed near the palace, David immediately jumped down, followed by Banasphate. The others descended through one of Mendicore's portals. Turgash would wait outside. They then walked and were greeted by guards who looked very different from most demons.
"Uncle, those demons look very vulgar! The inside of the palace must be even worse!" Glynpatra felt disgusted as she looked at the two kinds of guards.
The first resembled fully naked adult human women with feathered wings for arms and bird-like legs. The second appeared as ordinary women, also completely naked, except that the lower halves of their bodies were serpentine, and they carried bows. All of them had bluish-pink skin.
"HAH! Of course! This is Queen Myslyn's palace, the symbol of lust. They are her children, born from her relations with humans who fell into this place. But if I remember correctly, Myslyn herself should already be dead, since Lord David killed her back then..." Banasphate said.
David continued walking into the palace and the others followed him. The guards stepped aside and bowed to David. As they walked deeper inside and reached the main throne room, they were greeted by a demon resembling that serpentine women, only vastly larger with bluish feathered wings. Banasphate's jaw dropped.
"Q-Queen Myslyn?!?! How are you alive again?!?!" Banasphate exclaimed in disbelief.
Glynpatra and Sherubiel looked around with disgust, feeling sick to their stomachs. Countless monsters were engaged in intercourse with humans, only for those humans to be tortured afterward by Myslyn's daughters.
"I want to get out of here right now!" Glynpatra grimaced as she squeezed her eyes shut and clung closely to Sherubiel. She simply nodded. Gruzhnil clenched both fists and kept his gaze fixed on David's back.
The Demon Queen slithered toward David, who stared at her coldly. But as soon as she reached him, she immediately threw herself face-down before him.
"Oohhh, my Looord...!!! Forgive me! Please don't kill me again! I'll gladly obey whatever you waanntt...!!!"
David merely watched Myslyn prostrate herself repeatedly before him. He then took out the compass once again. This time, its needle pointed southwest.
"Who brought you back to life, Queen Myslyn?" Banasphate asked again.
"I-I don't know what happened. I simply woke up, and my entire body had been restored as if nothing had happened. My children were revived as well. At first, I thought Lord Ruciphar had done it. But I heard that he's also on the verge of death somewhere here..."
Banasphate was completely bewildered by Myslyn's explanation, which made no logical sense. David remembered how he had beaten Ruciphar and thrown him into the abyss before entering the Primordial Plane. He turned around and walked away from the Demon Queen.
"We continue."
Everyone nodded and followed David out of the throne room. Myslyn repeatedly thanked him as they left. Turgash was still waiting in the palace courtyard, and David climbed back onto the dragon's head, followed by the others. He ordered Turgash to fly southwest.
Throughout the journey, every flying monster immediately moved aside upon seeing Turgash. David and the others observed the landscape of Hell changing into an enormous abyss, above which countless narrow stone pathways branched and intertwined as though floating in midair.
"Besides dwelling above those clouds, I also sometimes reside at the bottom of that abyss." Turgash said. They nodded.
The scenery gradually changed from the abyss into forests of leafless trees. At the far end, David spotted another palace. He instructed Turgash to fly there.
"Ahhh... that's the palace of Zigurath the Glutton. Johann once told me that you had already defeated him as well, Lord David. Could it be that he has also been brought back to life?" Banasphate speculated. David remained silent.
Turgash landed in an open plain and waited as they walked toward Zigurath's palace. Every hell knight and servant they encountered immediately knelt before David. They eventually reached the throne room of the demon Zigurath.
Once again, they were greeted by a scene every bit as horrifying as the previous one. Humans were lined up along both sides of the chamber in pitiful condition. Parts of their bodies were missing or rotting away, while some had their internal organs exposed. At the center floated a demon riding what resembled a massive flying disc. The demon, Zigurath, looked like a heap of flesh covered only by red skin. He was in the middle of swallowing a human whom he had picked up using a staff ending in a giant pincer. Glynpatra eventually vomited at the horrific sight.
"Once again, I can't believe Zigurath is alive after Lord David killed him!" Banasphate exclaimed in astonishment.
When Zigurath noticed their presence—especially David—he floated down before him and bowed over and over again.
"Oohhh, Lord Hellraider! Forgive me! Please don't destroy me again! I'll do whatever you desire!" Zigurath begged.
David remained silent before glancing toward one side of the throne, where a chair floated slightly above the floor. A lone figure sat upon it. Looking more closely, they realized it was an adult man whose condition was just as horrifying as the other humans. Half of his head and the lower half of his body were missing, with portions of his brain and intestines exposed. Unlike the others, however, he was dressed in a black robe.
"Why is that human different from the others?" Sherubiel asked curiously.
"Ahhh... let me introduce him. He is my right-man. His duty is to choose which humans were consumed by greed during their lives for me to devour. Of course, they'll be revived again from the core of Hell so that their suffering will last for all eternity."
The man looked at David and the others, then smiled.
"I-I'm happy to s-see l-living humans c-coming here... I r-really want to ask y-you to t-tell m-my son, if he's s-still a-alive over t-there... I d-deeply want to a-apologize to him f-for m-making his l-life so m-miserable... And in t-the e-end... I e-even k-killed my own w-wife... I-I have already a-accepted my e-eternal p-punishment here... P-Please... t-tell my s-son t-that I-I'm sorry..."
Everyone fell silent, deeply moved by the man's story. Glynpatra even began to shed tears. David closed his eyes briefly, let out a slow breath, and once again found himself thinking of Johann. He took out the compass, and this time its needle pointed northeast.
"We continue."
David and the others left the palace. Zigurath simply thanked them for their visit. They climbed back onto Turgash's head, and the dragon flew in the direction indicated by David's compass.
While flying, they eventually passed over branching rivers of lava. In the distance, they could clearly see a magnificent structure gleaming like gold. What made it unique was that it stood in the middle of the largest lava river. David once again instructed Turgash to head there.
"Ahhh... No! I'm about to meet my archenemy again, Mareketh! Could we just pass by that golden palace instead, Lord? Honestly, I'm sick of seeing him again..." Banasphate pleaded.
David gave him a sharp stare. The demon apologized again.
Turgash landed directly on the lava flow, lowering his head near the entrance to Mareketh's palace. They climbed down and walked inside, where the hell knights once again welcomed them by kneeling. Upon seeing the interior of the golden palace, Glynpatra, Gruzhnil, and Sherubiel were left speechless by the countless mountains of dazzling gold and priceless jewels.
"A single pile of treasure like this could be used to rebuild our empire, Uncle!" Glynpatra astonished.
"But what we truly need isn't this, Princess. We need the trust of the people from the other planets, and the energy to rebuild everything from the beginning." Gruzhnil corrected her.
"HAH! So you want all this treasure, don't you?! Fine by me, as long as your soul stays here forever, HAHAHAAA...!!!" Banasphate said sarcastically. Glynpatra merely responded with an irritated expression.
Banasphate led David and the others to the main throne room. There, they saw a massive purple-skinned demon with an extravagant appearance. Every piece of armor and equipment he wore was made entirely of gold. The demon, Mareketh, immediately stood up and approached them upon seeing David. Just like the other two demon rulers, Mareketh knelt before David.
"Oohhh, Lord Hellraider! Please forgive me as well! I once helped Brother Johann during his journey here. He's my witness too!" Mareketh said, glancing toward Banasphate.
"HAH! You shameless bastard, Mareketh! I'm free now and standing beside Lord David! He can do whatever he wants to you, and I could finally take revenge for everything you did to me ri—"
Banasphate's words caught in his throat as David glared at him with overwhelming fury.
"SHUT UP!!! I already gave you the chance for just following me! Get out of my sight, or I'll destroy you right now!!!"
Banasphate immediately dropped to the floor and prostrated himself, begging David to forgive his outrageous behavior. He merely let out a loud snort before looking around the throne room once more. Mareketh himself became frightened as well, unable to understand why David still allowed Banasphate to accompany them.
David glanced toward one of the chairs beside Mareketh's throne. As he approached it, he found, just as in Zigurath's palace, another adult human man seated there. This one was dressed in clothing woven entirely from gold, wore numerous golden ornaments on his hands, and had a magnificent headdress made of gold and diamonds. Unlike the previous man, his body was completely intact, though his skin was deathly pale.
"Ah, Lord David, he's here simply as Banasphate's replacement. He helps me determine which humans are worthy of making contracts of wealth with me." Mareketh explained.
The man smiled at David and the others.
"I'm happy that living humans have come to visit this place. Actually, I have one favor to ask. If my nephew ever manages to return to Earth, please give him my regards. I want you to tell him not to keep blaming himself for what I did in order to make my beloved nephew happy. I've already accepted my fate here for all eternity..."
While the others were moved by the man's words, David and Banasphate once again thought of Johann. Each of them silently wondered whether this also had something to do with Johann, but in the end neither of them asked the man directly.
David took out the compass once more, and this time its needle pointed northwest. He then left the throne room, with the others following behind him again. Mareketh thanked them for their visit, while the man waved goodbye to them. They climbed back onto Turgash, who took flight once more toward the direction indicated by David's compass.