Ball of Nothing

It was surprisingly easy to understand the territories in the abyss. Firstly, Hell didn't have many civilisations. Even if they did, it was still a lawless zone. Those with power create the rules. Qin Yun had to give Amaraline and Coux a rundown about the basic do's and don'ts when visiting a demon town.

"They call it a town but think of it as a huge gathering of demons meeting up to do business. Laws do not exist. Demons don't work for livelihood, they don't play fair and they certainly won't go easy on you. If you show them any weakness, you can trust them to stab you where it hurts and drain every drop of your blood they can get. I don't mean it in just the literal sense… they will do it figuratively as well."

Amaraline shuddered and Coux's expression closed off. "In other words, it's a huge black market with many syndicates running the show?"

The fox demoness nodded. "My influence only reaches so far. We are currently in the Sloth Domain that happens to be Baal's territory. Of course, many other territories exist but there are six major territories in the abyss everyone has to be careful about - Sloth, Lust, Envy, Wrath, Pride and Greed."

"I read about it," Amaraline agreed. "Sloth is Lord Baal's territory. I think Lust belongs to Lilith, Envy belongs to Shittomi, Pride belongs to Lucifer, Wrath belongs to Amon and Greed belongs to Mammon."

Coux hummed thoughtfully. "Well, it doesn't really matter. We're here to buy a few things and understand the situation a little more. There are only so many things we can read about from that library. As a trader, it is important to understand the ground situation. Books cannot tell me what I need to know."

"In that case, I suggest we walk around the black market. Oh, we should also head to the bank to withdraw some money. I'm sure we can use Baal's name to withdraw some. Just show them the seal for verification purposes."

Amaraline was impressed. "They have such an efficient system?"

The fox demoness grinned. "Considering how there is only one bank controlling the finances in the entire abyss, they should be. I visited it a few hundred years ago so I'm not too sure if things have changed."

"What else is there in town?" Amaraline couldn't help but ask. Even back on Earth, she'd never been to town. It certainly was quite an experience.

Qin Yun grinned and told the girl about how demon towns worked.

"The town is called Listless Town for lack of better naming sense. I haven't been to this part of the abyss before but I'm sure they would have the standard things in it. For starters, there should be an inn for travellers. If I remember correctly, Indolent Inn is one of the bigger businesses ran by Lord Baal. Souls & Sins United Bank is founded by the six Demon Kings of Hell. To be more precise, Mammon actively manages it as the director and the others are merely investors. Then we have the Grimoire Gallery which should be the equivalent of a library back on Earth. In major towns, there will be an Academy. Most the time, you'll be able to find Morning Star Academy founded by Lucifer. However, the place we really want to go to is Mammon's Auction House. It's a VIP only thing so I've never been there. However, I know that they deal with many interesting items from across the dimension."

"Dimension?" Coux raised a brow.

"Yes. They co-own the Inter-dimensional Travel Agency as well as part of their trade route. One thing is for sure, Mammon is a very powerful financial figure in Hell. Everybody has heard of his name at least once and has used their products or services somewhere in their lifetime."

That got the succubus' attention. "Do you think we can negotiate business terms with Mammon on Lord Baal's behalf? I know that we have the covenant symbol but would that be enough to arrange a meeting with another Demon King?"

Qin Yun frowned. "I have no idea. However, I think that it might be better to find Lilith's contact and arrange a meeting with her fist. After all, you have her blood in you."

At the mention of the Demon Queen, Coux froze. Amaraline noticed it and gave the succubus a questioning look.

"I prefer to keep it professional. As a Van Doux, I will approach the party that will give me a more lucrative deal."

"I've been meaning to ask this for a long time now," Amaraline started. "Nobody else in the village has a last name. May I know what the Van Doux name came from?"

Qin Yun was also curious. Her fox ears twitched in anticipation as Coux contemplated if she should tell them her story. Other than Roovan, nobody else in the village knew about her origin. The succubus didn't know if she should give details or a simple summary.

"If you're uncomfortable, we won't pry," Amaraline apologised after Coux's long silence.

Qin Yun didn't say anything but Coux noted their disappointment. Maybe, just maybe... she could tell them a little more about herself. After all, it wasn't really a secret outside of the village. The Van Doux family was fairly well-known after all.

"I was born to the Van Doux family about eighty years ago. They are a fairly wealthy merchant family who had ties with almost every royal family and country. However, the Van Doux family had a strange tradition. They always married inside of the family to keep the blood pure. I was an exception when my mother had an affair with her bodyguard, a descendant of a Lynx beastman. My father found out and the affair was brought to light. My mother was locked up in the dungeon as punishment and I was brought up differently compared to my cousins under the watchful eye of my grandfather and the patriarch of the Van Doux family. I was given a better education than my cousins and was taken on business trips that my grandfather made. I was expected to do well but not allowed to inherit the family business."

Qin Yun was fascinated. The Van Douxs she knew in the abyss were brilliant succubi and incubi with very pure blood. They were direct descendants of Demon Queen Lilith after all. Some hatchlings decided to leave the nest and pay Earth a visit. That was around the time tales about blood-sucking monsters with good looks and dream demons started to circulate.

"Do you need to return to your family?" Amaraline asked.

Coux smiled. "If they were still alive, I would be required to go back and assist the next head of the family. There was a plague that infected everyone in the family. I don't know who decided to sleep with a descendant of the dying stars. The curse from that one-night stand took every Van Doux's life except mine. The impure blood in my veins saved me but it wasn't over. As the last Van Doux, I wasn't short of suitors trying to marry me for my money."

Qin Yun sighed. She knew how humans were. Truth be told, they weren't very different from humans.

"I decided to run away from the pressure of becoming the last heiress to the Van Doux family. I gave away all my family's wealth to the poor and needy before leading a wanderer's life. The skills I learnt from my grandfather proved handy on my travels and I became a merchant of my own making. I met Roovan during my travels and we eventually settled down in Half Moon village."

Amaraline pouted. "Not fair! You can't just skip on the heart-pounding love story!"

Coux stuck out her tongue. "You asked about my last name and not my love story. Too bad! Besides, we're here already."

Qin Yun chuckled while they bickered. The carriage had indeed stopped and they could now here the bustling outside. Listless Town wasn't as listless as its name suggested and Qin Yun found the irony amusing.

The rat familiar disappeared after they alighted and the girls decided to pay the bank a visit. It wasn't too difficult to locate the bank. It was the only building in the area that looked remotely secure. Coux had to drag Amaraline away from the street stores just so they could reach the bank. Qin Yun wasn't too hurried. While Coux withdrew the money, she had some things to settle of her own. It had been far too long since she last visited the abyss. The fox demoness wondered if it was possible to send a message back to her village.

Before she could do anything, she heard Coux's furious yell at the counter.

"What do you mean you can't? Like I said, I have Lord Baal's covenant mark here. You can authenticate that I'm making an errand on his behalf."

The poor counter assistant couldn't help but cringe at Coux's outburst. "I'm sorry. According to the bank's policy, Lord Baal would have to make the trip personally. His account has been closed due to lack of funds for more than two decades. It's a new procedure meant to reduce identity fraud. We have his registered magic traces to verify his identity. As Lord Baal hasn't appointed you as his authorised proxy, we cannot allow you to access his account."

Coux was positively fuming and Amaraline had to pull the succubus away before she started making a bigger scene. Qin Yun walked over calmly.

"Is it possible for us to take a loan under Lord Baal's name?"

The assistant shook her head. "Lord Baal's account has to be open before we can process any transactions under his name."

Coux fumed. Qin Yun was calm. "Could you check if the account under Qian Qiu?"

Amaraline watched as the counter girl used magic to activate a thick book.

"There is a matching name but the account is outdated. I would need to verify your identity before proceeding. Please place your hand on this stone and pour your magic through it."

Coux watched as Qin Yun activated her magic. The stone glowed bright blue and the bank assistant smiled.

"Thank you, would you like to update the information of your account?"

Qin Yun took a look at it and made a few changes. Coux watched as the fox demoness withdrew some money and tensed when she noticed how some demons were lurking outside the bank with their eyes on them. Qin Yun didn't lie when she said that the town was still a lawless zone.

"Is there a way for me to send a long distance message out of the six major domains?"

The assistant pulled out a very long parchment and unfurled it. "These are the regions we currently have contact with. The charges are listed beside the region. If the region you wish to send a message to isn't listed here, we can arrange for a special courier service but it would be costly."

Qin Yun smiled. Her fox village was way up in a snowy mountain and many demons do not go near it due to the climate. Very few demons were immune to cold. Most were gifted in dark magic or fire magic. It was rare for a pure-blooded demon to be anything other than these two affinities. She wasn't too surprised to see that it wasn't on the long list.

Amaraline stiffened when more people began to eye them. Coux flexed her fingers and flashed the covenant symbol nonchalantly as if to give them a warning. Some of the less confident demons backed off when they recognised the mark. However, the few tougher ones ignored the silent threat. Qin Yun continued to chat leisurely with the counter girl. There was no doubt that getting out of the bank would prove challenging.

"Also, can I buy a travel insurance policy for while we are in the Sloth domain?"

The counter girl nodded happily and brought out a chart explaining the different packages. "I'll take the basic package under my name for six people."

"That will be five intermediate-grade magic stones or twenty low-grade magic stones."

"Amaraline," the fox demoness called out. "I need your help."

Surprised, the fortune-teller walked over. "Yes?"

Qin Yun didn't explain much and shoved a small stone in her hand. "Infuse that stone with your magic."

The fortune-teller was puzzled but didn't question much. Once the stone was infused with magic, she handed it back to Qin Yun who inspected it before holding it up for the counter girl to see. Coux wasn't expecting for the assistant to stutter at the sight of that stone.

"I would like to meet with the manager of this bank's branch if possible. We are here on official business on behalf of Lord Baal."

The counter girl looked at Qin Yun back to Amaraline and finally at Coux before dread reflected in her eyes. "I'm terribly sorry for my mistake earlier. Please forgive me!"

Qin Yun waved her off. "Just get the manager here. We're not here to idle."

Apologising profusely once more, the counter girl left. Coux crept up to Qin Yun and asked her in a whispered voice demanded to know what was going on in a whispered voice.

Qin Yun grinned. "Amaraline's magic is really rare in the abyss. She created a magic stone that can earn us many free passes. As a trader, I'm leaving negotiation terms to you. We need to get into that auction house to check out what's going on. Also, I'm going to get us some a favourable loan."

"I thought they mentioned that Lord Baal's account was closed?"

Qin Yun nodded. "It is. I'm going to use my account as a guarantor that you are an official representative by using Amaraline's stones as a down payment for the favour. We don't want too many of these going around yet, scarcity creates value."

Coux grinned. "I got your back. We will earn back the money you loaned with interest and have some balance even after buying all the grocery we need for the feast."

The fox demoness smirked in approval. If there was anything she learnt about the succubus, it was what the glint in her eyes meant. So far, Coux was unmatched when it came to negotiations. Nobody could win against her when it came to business. Behind them, Amaraline looked worried. It was just an ordinary stone infused with mana. Was it really alright to scam others even if it was in Hell?