"We can make a concesssion on that. You ssserve him until time of your natural death, at which time your sssoul goes to him, hmm?" She replies, "You will be well compensssated for that, with gold, powerful magicss, and... command. It iss of courssse, quite negotiable. Ssstate your demandss."

The Marilith casually reaches backwards with her lowest-right arm, taking a quill and parchment off the table, and passing it up to her upper arms, preparing to make a contract.

"My soul, what will it become? Mortal power won't mean much if I end up as your pet dretch in the Abyss after my demise...I want to keep my mind, and be a powerful demon. Other than those few terms, I agree with your offer entirely...though there is one more thing."

He grinned wickedly, "I want to be your superior, this 'inferior' thing gets abrasive after a while..."

"Of course you'll have that. My massster doess not sssend oness like myssself to take petss. He wantss your ssskillss for his conquessst of the Multiversse." Za'rel grins slightly.

"What?!" The Marilith looks shocked at Aeryn's last request. "I cannot allow that! You would be my asssociate at besst, and Ssslave at worsst!" She icily hisses, obviously very angry at Aeryn's arrogance.

"Viska. Don't fail me through your pride." her master chided, telepathically.
"No! I refusse to be trodden on by mortalss! I will kill him and take hiss sssoul if need be!" She angrily replied.

He glared back, "I don't suppose your master is tolerant of failure, and he sent you to recruit my services, correct? I wasn't giving you a choice, Za'rel." he resisted an urge to smirk, knowing that further aggravation would be pointless.

Viska's mouth moved, but no sound came out. Finally, she manages, "Why! Why mussst you have that? You are intressted in nothing but having me as your ssslave? You underesstimate me!" she angrily hisses back, right eye twitching with rage.

"Poor Viska, I don't want you to die too." the Marilith's master continues.
"You... You've tried thiss before?!"
"Well... Glarebrezu really aren't matches for intelligent, good magi like himself." The superior deamon almost laughs at his servant's predicament.

"I have my reasons, and your talk about your own superiority was grating on my nerves." he smirked slightly, despite his efforts to keep a straight face, still leaning casually against the wall.

"Let uss have a little wager then, ssshall we? If you win, I'll yeild. If I win, you'll do the same." Viska nodded with a cunning grin, "Yess. This will do." she thinks to herself. "There will be... No esscape." she grins, conjuring a barrier of sharp, stabbing blades to fill the nearest, and only, exit of the atrium.

Meanwhile, the dretches retreat back into the alcove, hurriedly knocking the table over, spilling it's contents all over the cave floor.

"Your servants are very clumsy..." he answered as he considered, looking over the items that had fallen to the floor.

One hand slipped into his pocket, feeling the spell component there...and he silently wondered how his new spell would perform.

"Yess. They are." Viska replies dryly.

"Now, time for you to die. I'd perfer you alive, but as you kindly pointed out, you can be revived afterwards, I cannot." She grins, her eyes flashing red as she projects her unholy aura around herself. Drawing all of her blades with a very long ka-shiinnggg, she takes a fighting position, quickly slithering toward Aeryn, her upper-right hand, exquisitely ornate katana seemingly giving off a maleviolent glow.

"You'll just go back to the Abyss...it won't be permanent." he smiled, unleashing a wave of golden-green light from his fingertips at her. It emitted a faint chiming noise, tearing through the fabric of the planes as it rushed toward her like a crashing wave.

Aeryn smiled, and began chanting another spell.