Crossing the Phlegethon was completely different this time. As soon as the four of them got close to the valley, all centaurs ran and hid from them. The news that Nessus and his warband perished fighting them was already widespread.

They didn’t bother with any of them. They just flew across and kept their journey upstream to the gate to Haeresis.

Up in a hill, overseeing the Phlegethon, a walled city guarded by cambions came into view after a long walk.

"The red city." Matthew pointed out. "One of the few civilized places in Violentia. "It’s ruled by Marax, the virile." He added.

"Marax?" Avariel questioned him. "That general, Sambur, served under him, didn’t he? Won’t that cause trouble?"

Matthew and Ffyr stopped on their feet. They haven’t thought of that. They looked at each other, pretended they were never there and turned on their feet just shy of the city gates.

"There’s a gate in the Rock of Arden." Ffyr pointed at the distance.

Before they could get very far, they felt the earth treble beneath them.

They slowly turned around to see a giant man covered in black fur with the head of a bull staring at them. His eyes were red and shiny, he had two very long steel horns and steel hooves instead of feet. His hands had claws and his mouth had 4 fangs. He was dressed in a yellow skirt held by a large gold belt. A bull’s tail whipped around behind him.

"Where are you going without paying respects to me, boy." The minotaur said in a booming voice.

It was Marax, a demon president and ruler of 30 legions. One of which just had its commander killed by Matthew.

"It’s good to see you." Matthew tried to be diplomatic.

"Good my ass. You just destroyed one of my legions and think you can just come here with your merry band of women?" The demon gestured towards Ffyr, Avariel and Nanael. "You’re lucky Malpha’s legion also was destroyed there. Else you’d be dead right now."

Matthew approached the big minotaur slowly.

"I’m sorry about your legion, but they gave me no choice." He said looking up at the demon towering over him.

"Why did you kill my commander, boy?" Marax asked crossing his arms.

"I needed to free her from the forest and Celaeno gave me no choice." Matthew pointed at Nanael.

Marax then slapped Matthew’s back with force with a loud laughter in his mouth.

"I knew it was about a woman." He said, still laughing. "Thought you were adding that Lenore girl to your harem, but I see you got yourself a cute angel and..." Marax looked at Nanael for a couple of seconds. "An ex-angel? Boy this is interesting. Come inside and tell me about your women!" The demon said, pulling Matthew inside his city.

The streets of the red city were clean and the houses well maintained. The Damnata there were not tortured like they were outside those walls. They weren’t well treated either. Marax was a huge nymphomaniac and all souls inside his walls served as pleasure slaves. He disliked causing pain, but would use other ways to make the Damnata and other demons submit to his carnal desires.

While he and Matthew walked ahead, Avariel, Nanael and Ffyr walked a couple steps back. The demon laughed and held Matthew’s shoulder tight with his arm around his body. Matthew in turn allowed the demon a certain intimacy and talked about the events that led him to kill Sambur.

"They seem friendly." Avariel commented.

"Marax sees Matthew as kin. He came to respect him after they fought and couldn’t kill each other." Ffyr explained. "He has the idea that Matthew is a degenerate like himself and I’m a part of his harem. And, now, so are you two."

"But we aren’t." Nanael protested.

"Let him think that it is so. As long as he thinks Matthew owns us, he won’t try touching us." Ffyr explained.

"I understand." Avariel said.

Marax brought them inside his palace and sat Matthew on a gold chair lined with red velvet by an equally gold table. The demon sat across Matthew completely ignoring the women behind him. Ffyr stayed standing up behind Matthew and soon Avariel and Nanael copied the fairy.

"I was wondering why your harem was so small." Marax said serving wine to Matthew. "But you just have peculiar tastes!" He laughed. "To think you were fishing for an angel."

Matthew drank the wine with an uncomfortable laugh. He couldn’t correct the demon without causing an incident, so he just smiled at the big minotaur.

"You like that? An offering from the Prime." Marax said about the wine.

"It’s quite good." Matthew said, taking another sip.

"So. What made you come here after just killing one of my men? Came to apologize?" Marax asked, pulling a red haired woman who was cleaning the room to his lap and holding her tight against his body.

"Not really." Matthew said, making Marax laugh again.

"Doubt you came to find company. You’ve never done it before." He rubbed his chin.

"I’m going to Haeresis." Matthew explained.

"Why? There are no women there. Well, only the ones burning in their graves. Is that what you’re into? I can make an exception and allow you to burn one of mine." Marax offered while massaging the thighs of the women on his lap.

"No. I’m on my way to Dis." Matthew explained.

"I see... You like women with wings." Marax looked at Ffyr and Avariel with a creepy smile that made them cringe. "There are several fallen angels there. Yeah. It’s a good trip. Might make one like it myself. Not going to lie, You’ve made me curious about angel taste." He added.

"Yeah." Matthew pretended to agree.

"Be mindful of Belial." The minotaur warned him refilling his and Matthew’s cups with wine. "He might just be as powerful as Lucifer himself." Marax’s voice was now somber. "They’re the reason most of the demons in Violentia don’t go up the hells. They might allow you through, though."

"Why?" Matthew asked, drinking the wine.

"They’re an odd one. Not like the rest of us. They’re not after power or lust. They’re just there in the dark, doing who knows what. They’re very similar to you in that." Marax laughed at that last comment.

The minotaur kept Matthew and the others, telling stories of his biggest orgies in the most intricate details.

After a long time, he got very drunk. He took the red haired girl with him to his chambers after telling Matthew that he could stay and rest for the day before using the gate to the fifth hell.

The four of them decided to accept and rest. They wouldn’t find a better place in hell for that. The beds and sheets all came from the Prime realm, Earth and other planets. The palace was very clean and didn’t smell like sulfur like the rest of Violentia.

They locked the door and barricaded it in case someone tried to get in. Matthew trusted Marax to not harm them, but none of the other demons inside the city would be so trustworthy.

Matthew also replenished his water flask with clean water. Marax’s palace was one of the few places he could do it, since the demon received many offerings from the Prime realm, including water.

When they woke up and left their room, they could hear the moans of several women coming from Marax’s personal room. They decided to not say anything to the demon and just left the palace going to the red gate that led to Haeresis.

The gate to Haeresis was guarded by a score of cambions and one Baalor. However, seeing how Matthew just came out of the president’s palace, none of them tried to stop them.

Matthew and the others crossed the gate entering the dark hell of the heretics.

The ground was rocky, with many loose stones. The rocks were pitch black and seemed to draw the light itself since not even Avariel’s halo could shine any color on it.

The darkness stretched out for as far as one could see. The only things breaking the blackness were the gate’s light, Avariel’s halo and the hundreds of fires that burned the Damnata laying in their own graves.

The acrid smell of decomposing meat hit them all like a slap. Added to the smell of the burning, it was hard to keep their food in their stomachs.

They started to walk away from the gate. Other than the burning Damnata, the whole hell seemed to be empty of life. There were no guards on the gate, there were no imps running about, no critters, nothing.

There was just an empty dark expanse with open graves searing their owners in hot yellow flames.

"How do we find our way to Ira?" Nanael asked her sister.

"I don’t know." Avariel said.

"Guess we just keep walking until we find it?" Matthew pondered.

"Or you can ask us?" Two voices said at the same time, a male and a female.