Dawn in the First Circle of Hell brought no sun.
Instead, the purple darkness of the night simply faded into a thick, hazy gray, as if the very air were saturated with coal soot and freezing fog. The greenish gas lamps along the main streets dimmed, giving way to the clatter of steam engines, iron streetcars groaning along the tracks, and the incessant murmur of thousands of inhabitants waking up to the routine of the Dust District.
Diana walked down the main avenue, keeping her posture upright and her right hand strategically rested near the dagger's hilt beneath her coat.
She had cleaned the blood from her face on the way using some cold water from a public fountain, but her school uniform remained torn and covered in dust. Even so, the way she moved, with her head held high, shoulders aligned, and a cold gaze that challenged anyone who dared stare at her for more than two seconds, made the district's pedestrians clear a path for her.
Nobody there seemed eager to pick a fight with a human girl exuding the unmistakable stench of freshly spilled blood.
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South Gate - Access to Dust District Central Market
Two immense figures clad in black iron armor and bearing heavy halberds blocked the archway. They were Sector guards, elite demons with straight horns and expressions of pure boredom.
Beside them, a line of merchants and locals waited to present their documents or pay the five bronze coin entrance fee.
Diana walked right past the line of paupers, heading toward the special pass holders' booth.
"Halt, human." One of the armored guards lowered the shaft of his halberd, blocking Diana's path. His voice echoed muffled from behind his metallic helm. "Exclusive access for accredited merchants or Level 1 Pass holders. Get back in the general line before I throw you into the sewer canal."
Without saying a word, Diana reached into her pocket and pulled out the dark metal card she had taken from Vex. She held it between her fingers and displayed it before the guard's helmet visor.
The guard tilted his head. He took the pass, ran it across a small magical device attached to his belt that emitted a sharp whistle and a green light, and then stared Diana up and down, surprised to see that the pass registered to a member of the local scavenger guild was now in the hands of a slight, level-four human girl.
He didn't ask what had happened to Vex. In Hell, if you had the pass, how you got it mattered to no one.
"Entry cleared." The guard handed back the card and raised his halberd. "Welcome to the Central Market. Keep your arms to yourself and don't pick fights with the noble merchants."
Diana took the pass back, stashing it in her pocket with an arrogant scowl.
"Keep your advice for someone who gives a shit." She replied before stepping through the stone archway.
—Wow, you really can't go two minutes without being rude to authority, can you?
The System's voice sounded as soon as she crossed the gate, the floating screen appearing at the corner of her vision.
—Careful, brat. Those guards are Level 15 and up. If one of them decides to pat you on the back, you literally turn to dust.
I know exactly how far I can push each person. Diana replied mentally. Armed people who are paid to work only care about bureaucratic rules. They're not going to bother fighting for free over a stupid insult.
The Central Market was a completely different world from the filthy periphery where Diana had awakened.
The streets here were paved with clean, well-fitted cobblestones. The surrounding buildings stood three or four stories tall, built of dark brick with wrought-iron accents, housing shops with thick glass display windows. The stalls in the center of the plaza boasted colorful fabrics, and the smell in the air was no longer just soot and trash, but a rich blend of roasted spices, seasoned meat, expensive tobacco, and polished metal.
Dozens of different races moved about: noble demons wearing fine robes, dark elves negotiating jewels of inferior ore, adapted humans carrying crates of merchandise, and even beastly creatures in light armor.
Diana took a deep breath. The atmosphere radiated one thing: Money.
It's here. She thought, her gaze gleaming. This is where true power flows.
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Her first stop was a general supply store called Steel & Hide, recommended by the plaza directional signs.
The owner was a four-armed, blue-skinned demon named Malakor, who was arranging daggers and potions behind a polished counter. Unlike Grak, Malakor was a professional merchant. He didn't insult Diana upon seeing her enter covered in blood and dirt, he simply assessed her condition with a clinical business eye.
"Welcome." Malakor said in a smooth, resonant voice, using two of his arms to organize a shelf while the other two remained crossed over his chest. "Buying, selling, or trading supplies?"
"Both." Diana said, walking up to the counter.
With a smooth movement, she dumped the entire contents of her loot pouch onto the wooden counter: rat teeth, claws, three Ash Cores, the rusted daggers she had taken from the scavengers, and Vex's light axe.
Malakor used a small magical lens to inspect the haul. He shifted the items with nimble fingers, taking his time to assess their quality.
"Clean material from Ash Rats… Three intact cores… One dark steel military dagger in mediocre condition, and some scavenger scraps." Malakor tallied the numbers in his head. "I can give you 1 Silver Coin and 40 Bronze Coins for all of this."
Diana leaned her elbows on the counter.
"1 Silver and 80 Bronze." She shot back without blinking. "The ash cores are intact, and the sector's fuel market is booming due to the approaching winter. If I take these cores to the Alchemists' Guild two streets over, they'll pay me 20 bronze for each just for the raw material."
Malakor paused. He looked at the human girl with a gleam of genuine interest in his eyes.
—Look at the seventeen-year-old teaching basic economics to a four-armed merchant demon. Thank me for providing you with that information, girl, normally no system would do that.
The System mocked in the corner of her mind.
—You really never miss an opportunity to wring every last penny out of everyone, do you?
Shut up. Diana thought back. If I leave 40 coins on the table, it's the same as letting someone spit in my face.
Malakor let out a low, polite laugh. "1 Silver and 65 Bronze. That's my final offer, young hunter. And I'll throw in a reinforced leather pouch with a steel clasp on the house."
Diana evaluated the reinforced leather pouch on the shelf. It was easily worth about 15 bronze coins.
"Deal." She said, extending her hand.
The trade was completed quickly. Malakor handed over the reinforced pouch with the precisely counted coins.
Now, combining what she had already taken from Vex, Diana possessed 4 Silver Coins and 50 Bronze Coins. For a level-four newcomer, that amount was a small fortune in the Dust District.
She immediately used part of the money to re-equip herself right in Malakor's shop:
1. Light Hunter Armor Set (Basic Reinforced Leather): Tough dark leather gear with metal pauldrons and armguards, along with knee-high boots reinforced with iron soles. (Defense +8, Vitality +2).
2. Two Minor Healing Potions: Vials filled with glowing red liquid that instantly restored 30 HP.
3. A Double Belt Sheath: To carry her dark steel dagger and a new throwing knife she bought for 10 bronze coins.
She went to the changing room in the back of the shop to change.
Stripping off her dirty, torn school uniform and donning the dark leather set, Diana looked at herself in the room's polished metal mirror.
The fragile, scared, dust-covered girl from the alley was gone. In her place stood a young woman with neatly arranged black hair, clad in practical hunter attire, two blades at her waist, bearing a sharp, dangerous gaze.
Now we're talking. Diana thought, adjusting the leather buckles on her forearms. Now I look like someone who came to take this place.
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Diana's next stop was a tavern and inn called The Abyss Anchorage, located on a well-frequented side street of the market.
She paid 50 bronze coins for a three-night stay in a private room on the second floor, a simple but clean room with a reinforced straw bed, a wooden table, a heavy iron latch on the door, and access to a hot water tub.
She also ordered the most expensive meal on the ground floor menu: a deep bowl of infernal beast meat stew served with dark barley bread and a mug of local salted fruit juice.
The first bite of hot meat made Diana's growling stomach beg for more. She ate with a fierce appetite while maintaining impeccable table manners, a fascinating contradiction between her internal voracity and external composure.
—Tasty, isn't it?
The System commented as she finished the bread.
—Nothing like demon stew to remind you that you're alive… I mean, dead, but with a full stomach.
"The food is decent." Diana wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin. "At least it doesn't taste like ash."
Satisfied, dressed in new clothes, her HP bar and stomach completely full, Diana decided to explore the rest of the Central Market to gather information on securing high-level tasks or accessing the local Hunters' Guild.
It was during this walk, on the eastern edge of the market, that she encountered the secondary plaza. And the pleasant atmosphere of the market gave way to something that made Diana's jaw lock instantly.
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Lower Sector Asset and Labor Fair
The smell there was foul. Stench of sweat, cheap disinfectant, and desperation.
In the center of the plaza, enclosed by high iron fences, stood a series of heavy wooden cages. Inside them, dozens of figures were crammed: weak, level-one humans who had fallen into debt in Hell, beast hybrids with drooping ears and tails, and small lesser demons wearing thick iron collars around their necks.
Aboard a wooden platform, a squat man wearing a checkered suit of questionable taste and carrying a braided leather whip shouted to the crowd of buyers.
It was the Slave Market.
"Batch of workers from sector three!" The auctioneer, named Gart, hollered with enthusiasm. "Perfect for coal mining, sewer cleaning, or heavy domestic labor! Level 2 submission collars pre-installed! Only 2 silver coins each!"
Diana paused near the crowd.
Her dark eyes locked onto the cages, and a sudden surge of icy, bitter disgust rose in her throat.
She wasn't a saint. She never had been. Diana didn't care about tricking, robbing, blackmailing, or killing anyone who crossed her path. She wanted the top, she wanted power, and she wanted to be the best at everything.
But slavery… slavery disgusted her in a deep, visceral way.
Not out of some 'pure goodness' or childish compassion. But because, to Diana's mind, slavery was the absolute pinnacle of laziness and cowardice.
Look at that disgusting piece of shit… Diana thought, her hand gripping the dagger's hilt so tightly that her knuckles turned white. He has no strength. No talent. He can't do anything on his own. So he puts a magic collar around the necks of weaker people and pretends he's a king.
For Diana, true power came from being so superior, so strong, and so indispensable that people chose to follow you or had no choice but to bow before your actual strength. Using iron chains and submission spells to force someone to work was the most pathetic, mediocre, lazy way to try to dominate the world.
A real leader commands strong allies.
A coward needs chained slaves because he's afraid of the very air he breathes.
—Well, well…
The System whispered in her mind, the golden screen blinking with an almost unbelievable edge of teasing.
—What is this I'm detecting in your soul record? Moral principles? A spark of empathy? Don't tell me the great and terrible Diana feels her heart aching for the poor souls in the cages? Want me to play a sad violin for you?
"Shut up, you trash can." Diana growled mentally, gritting her teeth. "This has nothing to do with empathy. I just hate lazy, cowardly people thinking they own something just because they paid for an iron chain. It's disgusting. It's pathetic."
—Aha. Right. Keep fooling yourself, girl. But by the way… that one over in the corner of cage three isn't going to last until the end of the afternoon.
Diana followed the System's indication.
In the third cage, curled up against the wooden bars in the back, was a hybrid girl. She appeared to be Diana's age, with extremely dirty silver hair and long wolf ears drooping over her head. Her body was thin, covered in bruises and fresh whip scars. Around her neck, an iron collar fitted with a glowing red gem pinched her skin to the point of bleeding.
The girl didn't cry. She didn't scream. Her large, amber eyes were completely hollow, devoid of any will to live.
Diana used [Analysis Vision]:
[Wolf-Beast Hybrid - Rhea]
Level: 2
HP: 12 / 45 (Critical Condition: Bleeding / Malnutrition)
Strength: 8 | Agility: 12 | Vitality: 6 | Intelligence: 5
Mental State: Broken / Zero Will.
Agility 12 at Level 2…? Diana blinked, surprised by the stat. This girl has an absurdly high base agility stat for her level. If she were trained and equipped, she'd be faster than most level-ten hunters.
A calculating mind like Diana's made the connections instantly.
She's a wasted talent.
An incredible tool thrown into the trash by a fat imbecile who can only see a body to mine coal.
At that moment, one of the auctioneer's guards, a tall demon carrying a leather whip, approached cage three. He struck the wooden bars with the whip handle, startling the prisoners.
"Hey! Get up, you useless bitch!" The guard shouted at the silver-haired girl, Rhea. "The buyer for batch four wants to see if you can still walk!"
Rhea tried to stand, but her weak, malnourished legs gave out. She collapsed to her knees in the cage's dust, letting out a muffled groan of pain.
The guard unlocked the cage door, irritated. "You worthless trash! I taught you to obey!" He raised the leather whip, preparing to deal a violent blow to the girl's exposed back.
Move.
Diana didn't think. She simply moved.
With the speed of her 9 points of Agility, propelled by her new reinforced leather boots, Diana crossed the distance to the cage like a dark blur.
Before the guard's whip could strike Rhea's back, Diana stepped forward inside the cage, raised her left forearm protected by the metal guard, and blocked the blow in midair.
SNAP!
The whip cracked against Diana's metal bracer, sending sparks flying, but dealing zero damage.
Silence descended over the auction plaza.
The guard froze, startled. The fat auctioneer stopped yelling on his platform. And the surrounding buyers stared in shock at the black-haired human girl who had just invaded the slave cage to stop a guard's whip.
Rhea, huddled on the ground, raised her amber eyes faintly, staring in horror at the back of the unknown girl standing between her and the whip.
"What the fuck…?" The guard growled, trying to yank the whip back, but Diana held the leather strap fast with her right hand, gripping it with Strength 9. "Who the hell are you, human?! Have you lost your mind?! Get out of the cage before I put a collar on you too!"
Diana didn't let go of the whip. She locked eyes with the guard in a look so absurdly icy and homicidal that the demon involuntarily hesitated for a second.
"How much for this girl?" Diana asked, her voice calm, crisp, and dangerously clear.
The auctioneer, Gart, stepped off the platform, treading heavily in the dust as he wiped sweat from his neck with a filthy handkerchief. He looked at Diana, sizing up her new leather gear and the two blades on her belt.
"1 Silver Coin and 50 Bronze." Gart said, narrowing his eyes with greed. "And that's only because she's injured. The normal price for a Wolf-Beast is two silver."
"She's worth 80 bronze coins at most in the condition she's in." Diana said, not stepping back an inch. "She has critical HP and active bleeding. If you don't sell now, she dies in the cage in two hours and you lose your entire investment, you incompetent fat fuck."
Gart scowled, irritated at having his math exposed in front of several buyers.
"1 Silver Coin!" Gart stomped his foot. "Take it or leave it, girl! If you don't want to pay, get the hell out of my fair!"
Diana didn't hesitate. She whipped a gleaming Silver Coin from her new leather pouch and hurled it hard against the fat auctioneer's chest. The coin struck the fabric of his suit and landed perfectly in his palm.
"Collar key. Now." Diana ordered.
Gart took a small bronze key from his pocket and tossed it to Diana, grumbling about 'clueless, spoiled human brats with no sense of business.'
Diana caught the key in midair. She turned to the guard, who was still staring at the situation in confusion, and gestured toward the exit of the cage with a nod. "Get out."
The guard growled, but backed away upon seeing the auctioneer pocket the silver coin.
Diana walked over to Rhea, who remained huddled on the cage floor, trembling from head to toe, looking at Diana in absolute terror. In Rhea's mind, she had just been bought by a new mistress who would likely be every bit as cruel as the guards.
Diana knelt before the hybrid girl.
Without speaking a single sweet word, because Diana simply didn't know how to be affectionate, she inserted the bronze key into the lock of the iron collar around Rhea's neck.
CLICK.
The heavy collar popped open and fell into the cage's dust with a metallic thud.
Rhea's eyes went wide. Her trembling hands flew to her neck, touching her skin freed from the submission gem for the first time in months. She stared at the collar on the ground, then at Diana, completely stunned.
"What… what are you doing…?" Rhea whispered, her voice faint, raspy, and unaccustomed to speaking. "Aren't… aren't you going to bind the control key to your spell…?"
"Collars are for animals and for weaklings who need chains to pretend they have power." Diana said, her voice stern as she rose from the ground. She pulled one of the Minor Healing Potions from her belt and tossed it into Rhea's lap. "Drink that. It restores your HP and stops the bleeding."
Rhea looked at the red vial in her hands as if it were an unbelievable miracle. She hesitated for a second, but thirst and pain won out. She popped the cap and downed it all at once.
The potion's red light enveloped the hybrid girl's body. The open wounds on her back began closing, the bleeding stopped, and color gradually returned to her face.
[Wolf-Beast Hybrid - Rhea]
HP Restored: 42 / 45
Altered State: Recovering.
But Diana didn't stop there.
While Rhea drank the potion, Diana walked over to the corner of the cage where the guard had left the master keyring for the slave locks hanging from a nail in the wood.
With a swift, discreet movement, propelled by her stealth and speed, Diana snatched the heavy keyring, slid it under her coat, and as she walked past the other cages on her way out, slipped the ring of keys into cage two, where a group of burly humans and demons was confined.
She said nothing. She merely gave a meaningful glance to one of the older human prisoners and kept walking.
The man caught on instantly, covering the keyring with his body before the guards noticed. Within minutes, as soon as Diana and Rhea stepped clear, Gart's Slave Fair would turn into absolute chaos of rebellion and escape, costing the fat auctioneer thousands of coins.
—OH MY GOD.
The System went wild in Diana's head, the golden screen flashing frantically with lines of ironic text.
—You bought a slave, took off her collar, and then handed the keyring to the others to incite a riot and trash the guy's business?!
—Where did that self-centered villain who only thought about herself go?! I am shocked! Disappointed! Do you want me to buy you a superhero cape, Diana?!
I'm not a fucking superhero. Diana replied mentally, her eyes sparking with proud anger. That disgusting piece of shit pissed me off. He thought he was clever charging 1 Silver for a dying girl. Now he's going to learn what happens when he tries to get cute with me. He's going to lose his entire investment by the end of the afternoon.
—Ahhhh, I get it!
The System mocked.
—Your greed is so sick that you'd rather wreck the guy's livelihood than let him walk away feeling like he pulled one over on you! That is terrifyingly twisted… I loved it.
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Diana walked out of the auction plaza without looking back.
Behind her, taking short, trembling, hesitant steps, Rhea followed. The hybrid girl held the fabric of her torn clothes together, her wolf ears perked up, attentive to every movement of the black-haired girl ahead of her.
They walked until reaching a quiet alley near The Abyss Anchorage inn.
Diana stopped and turned to face Rhea.
The hybrid girl halted instantly, shrinking her shoulders, bracing for the orders or punishment she believed was coming any moment.
"Listen here." Diana began, her voice firm as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I didn't buy you to be my slave. I hate slaves. Slaves are useless, slow, and only work because they're afraid of a whip. I don't need a scared bitch following me around."
Rhea blinked, her amber eyes locked onto Diana in confusion. "Then… why did you spend a silver coin on me…? Why give me the potion and remove the collar…?"
"Because you have Agility 12 at Level 2." Diana said plainly. "You have potential. And I need competent subordinates. People who are fast, strong, and capable of doing the job right."
Diana stepped closer, staring Rhea straight in the eyes.
"The rule with me is very simple." Diana said, her voice cold and heavy with unquestionable authority. "I am the leader. I am the best, and I will always be at the top. But the people who walk WITH ME cannot be garbage. If you want to follow me, you will train, you will get strong, and you will be better than any other hunter in this shitty district. In exchange, you will have real food, real equipment, and no one will ever put a fucking chain around your neck again."
Rhea stared at Diana.
For the first time in years, someone wasn't looking at her as property, a disposable tool, or a beast of burden. The black-haired girl in front of her was arrogant, harsh, terrifying, and radiated an almost insane pride… but she was real. There were no chains. There were no sweet lies.
The broken will inside Rhea's chest, which had been dead for so long under the weight of lashings, felt a small spark rekindle.
Rhea took a step forward. Her wolf ears perked up slightly, and she bowed her head not out of forced submission, but out of a genuine respect that was beginning to take root.
"I… I don't know how to do much besides run and hide…" Rhea said, her voice trembling slightly, yet far firmer than before. "But if you teach me… I'll do anything. I will be your blade in the shadows, Master."
"Don't call me Master." Diana wrinkled her nose in distaste. "My name is Diana. And you are my first ally. Make sure you don't embarrass me."
—Awww, how beautiful!
The System applauded with pure sarcasm in Diana's mind.
—The greedy villain just adopted her first pet! What a touching moment! Want me to record this in the annals of Hell's history? 'The day the future Lord of Greed bought a wolf with her spare change.'
Shut your mouth, you piece of shit System. Diana responded mentally, turning her back and walking toward the inn's entrance. Tomorrow we start real training. The Dust District is going to be too small for the two of us.
Rhea followed close behind, her steps light and swift, leaving the shadows of the slave market behind, ready to follow that ravenous-eyed girl to the ends of Hell.
Final Notes:
AND HERE SHE IS! I present to you Rhea, my favorite wolf! (And hopefully, your favorite wolf in the future too, I think she's such a cutie)
What did you think of Rhea's arrival? Personally, I really love the dynamic I'm building for these two, there's gonna be a looot of interaction, so I hope you enjoy it!
Every bit of support helps :D. Thank you so much, everyone!