An opportunity like this has never presented itself before and fortune favors the bold. I reminded myself, as I stared at my advisors and began to think of a way to pitch my idea to them. We found ourselves deep inside of one of the forts that served as an unofficial border marking where my half or so of the layer began and Paimon's half or so ended.

At the moment Paimon was still trapped underground, and the city of Bastille was still temporarily free of his presence. And so this presented a hitherto unseen opportunity: for us to move to liberate devils who sought to live in a truly devilish society and not under the bigoted whims of a creature who fed on fear more than evil or law. I looked at my advisors and took a deep breath. And then I began to speak.

"I have a crazy idea. And I want your help with it." I told the devils I had gathered. They looked at me, some with respect, some with intrigue, and all with a bit of amused curiosity and I found myself chuckling at how diverse the gathered group was. It wasn't even all devils! Raverangos, Angelica, Gallow, and Tristan were all here as well.

We were seated at a gigantic, round lump of metal that served as an unsophisticated table. I was seated at one end of it, and Agowraith was seated at the other end. She was one of the people whose gaze at me was filled with amused curiosity, but she leaned forward conspiratorially once I alluded to the wild plot I felt the need to enact.

"Paimon is out of Bastille, forcibly so. This is a moment where we must be bold. I would like to go to the city and offer its inhabitants a chance to flee and be welcomed into our territory." I told the assorted characters who had joined me over the last few months. As I finished speaking a sort of shocked silence flee over the rest of the room.

"You're right, it is a crazy idea." Agowraith said, her soft voice carrying a lot of weight among the rest of her peers. She was a historic figure among the members of the Order of the Dark Saint after all. But she wasn't done speaking.

"But as a god and as a... proto arch-devil, your kind, or kinds in your case, are prone to crazy ideas." She said, and before my very eyes I could see the gears of her mind turning. It was an amusing sight, in its own way. There was a part of her that was contemplating my idea. And then she began to grin.

"If Paimon can't defeat you... I doubt anything in Bastille, especially while he's gone, can do you any real harm. But before I back this scheme of yours, please tell me you've thought of any actual plan. Possibly using my memories or something." She asked, her tone practically beginning me for some confirmation that I had an actual plan. I chuckled.

"Yes, actually." I told her, a response which caused the chamber we were in to be filled with the sounds of heads turning my way. How cute. I thought, feeling comforted by the shock of their reactions to me.

"Salifinos is a native of the city. As is Malefactor. As ancient as both of them are, exploring their memories, along with Angelica's more recent ones," I said, nodding to my diplomatic angel, whose brother was very possibly trapped somewhere in the city. "Have given me... insights into the city's traps and defenses. I know what to expect." I informed my audience, my advisors, truthfully. And then I felt my knowledge of Bastille fill my mind.

The city of Bastille is an ancient place. One that is older than any of the mortal worlds. Tens of billions of years old. It is a place of sacred and profane tunnels, avenues, and boulevards that spell out ancient and unutterable words.

Even its most modern-looking buildings are unimaginably ancient. Filled with secrets that could topple entire galactic empires, and unmake worlds. The details of schemes that have instantly wiped out the lives of the peoples of entire countries stored in computers and in paper scrolls alike.

Bastille's defenses are myriad, modern and magical, diabolic and technological. But they are not effective against true-devils, creatures of immense magical and physical powers who possess the power to damn entire villages in an hour. And they'd be less effective once the city knows that Paimon is gone. Just revealing that truth will cause a panic and embolden dissidents.

The room had fallen silent while I was lost in thought. When I refocused I looked around for a second and noticed that everyone was starring at me. I cleared my throat and immediately dove into my heart so that I could make use of my faith domain powers to make my allies more susceptible to my influence. Thin blue vapor sprung into being beneath us, and immediately seeped into everyone present, bypassing and disregarding any and all of their resistances and immunities to mind-affecting abilities.

And then I closed my eyes and began to speak.

"My minions... Is it not my sacred duty to restore order to Infernius?" I told them, my voice filled with dramatic and regal energy and authority. And then I began to lean into the beliefs of my minions.

"It is my duty, my destiny even, to liberate not only Bastille but all of Infernius from the clutches of chaos, neutrality, and if we aren't careful, possibly even goodness. I am not only the rightful ruler of this entire dimension, I am also its guardian. The guardian of all law-abiding devils. Of all who seek power and who are smart enough to detest disorder or neutrality." I said, channeling the potent pride of godhood, of creatures who inspire worship and awe.

"Bastille languishes under the illusion that it's ruled by a true tyrant as it ought to be. In truth, the entity who rules over our siblings lacks the intelligence and the political acumen to be a tyrant. He's a brat, playing at tyranny." I said, insulting the monster who even now was likely roaring in humiliation and dreaming of baring his fangs at me while buried in a tunnel kilometers away from sun or moonlight. My minions reacted favorably to that, grinning at me in wicked delight.

"My advisors," I began, feeling compelled to say one final thing. "We are not just seeking to defeat Paimon. Don't limit yourselves and think in such a limited way. We are seeking to build an empire, one that spans dimensions. We are seeking the reunification of our people and the restoration of order and purpose, dimensionally." I told them, my voice booming across the chamber. My voice's power washed over them, inspiring them.

Salifinos looked at me, his eyes starring into mine, and spoke simply. "We don't know how long you have. Are you ready to go, right now?" The imp asked, his eyes alight with a sort of quasi-divine purpose and enthusiasm. I looked at him and nodded, my eyebrows rising confidently. He chuckled at me.

"I can't say that I disapprove of this sort of bold action, but this is very much something you could have done without our approval. After all... tyrants don't ask for approval, they merely act." Malefactor, the Krieg-Devil, told me, curious as to my rationale about asking for their insights and even approaching them with my plan at all. I nodded in understanding of his curiosity.

"Being a tyrant, or at least a successful one, is not something someone does on one's own." I told the devil while preparing a mental message to another me. One that would spur him into action.

"I want to rule over more than singular, isolated cities friends. I want the wisdom that can only come from dominating a dimensional empire and doing it well. Doing things well, especially something this... ambitious is not something anyone can do alone." I informed my inner circle, a grin on my face.

"Not even gods could be so successfully ambitious alone. I am a devil, filled with pride and arrogance, but I lack the foolishness that has doomed and even corrupted our foe." I told them, my eyes gleaming with the power of promises unfulfilled, of dreams unattained, and of heights yet unreached.

The message that spurred me into action was a funny one. One composed by the secondary will. It was a simple thing, but also one that revealed a lot.

[Paimon was brought low by your hand. You shattered his pride and took him out of commission for a bit. It's time we seize on that. Our advisors are in agreement with your plan. If you're gonna execute it, do it now.] The message told me.

And so I sprung into action, my eyes widening even as I took off to the skies above the desert-wastes and looked in the direction of the distant, gleaming infernal metropolis.