...….
Daimon Hellstrom
The brother of Satana, Daimon, stands in front of his childhood home with a complicated expression. It is the end of the afternoon, almost evening, and the cloudy sky gives the already dark house an even more somber look.
It is not the only empty house in the street, but anyone would feel something bad looking at it, like this place is the source of the darkness that spreads through the neighborhood.
That is the type of house a bunch of kids would dare each other to invade on a Halloween night…
"And that is my home…" Daimon sighs before hesitantly stepping forward and trying the front door. "Obviously, it is locked." He sighs. For an instant, he wants to take this as a sign to give up. Maybe God is telling him to turn around and forget about it.
But he gritted his teeth and walked around the house. More important than a possible message of God, and a locked door is a common thing, he decides to follow his needs.
He needs to do it! After that talk with that mysterious person in the confessionary, his mind is in a constant state of unrest. He needs closure. He needs to see with his own eyes. To remember everything…
Looking around once, he jumps the fence and steps into the backyard, an unkept jungle of tall grass, the only thing above the sea of green is the small cottage where he remembered his father kept his tools…
"...and no one was allowed to go there… because it was dangerous…" His eyes are unnaturally drawn to the small cottage, but then he shakes his head and starts walking to the back door of the house.
To his surprise, it's not locked like the front door, so he is finally able to enter his old home.
The first thing he noticed was the dust and cobwebs… The moment he laid his eyes on the layout, familiarity hit him like a brick. It is like he was here yesterday… But at the same time, it feels so foreign. This incongruence squeezes his chest, but he pushes forward.
Daimon slowly walks through all the places of the house… The kitchen, living room, stairs, hall, bathroom… Every step and every look brings forth memories. He takes one step, and the house changes; it is alive again, colorful, filled with sound. Then, in the next one is dead once more.
"Where are you taking Daimon?"
"You don't need to know."
He remembers talks he heard, long forgotten but now so clear that it's like they are haunting this house. Ghosts from a distant past.
"I want to stay with mom…" A child's voice that he knows is his, from the time he doesn't want to go to the father-son bonding activities.
His head throbs when he remembers those occurrences. He almost feels tired again, exhausted physically and emotionally, the same sensation from when he returned with his father after every outing.
"This daughter is an unexpected, but joyful, surprise…" A male voice that is very well recognized by him echoes through the hall.
Happy moments started appearing in his mind when his father's exigencies and expectations were put on his sister; he was finally able to live normally… Normally… why? What was not normal? He can't remember… Or maybe he doesn't dare to remember…
Gulp He trembles when he reaches the end of the hallway on the second floor… Just below the attic. He feels like a kid again, his legs too short, or maybe this corridor is too long.
He knows what is at the end of this path; he doesn't want to go there… But he needs to face it.
One step at a time… breathing harder and harder with every step, almost hyperventilating.
Right there… For the coincidence of destiny, the time of the day is very similar… Beginning of the night, the moon was shining through that particular window, and the rest of the house was dark.
Moonlight hits the ground, and Daimon stares at it intensely. He can see the white-blue rays hitting the dirty carpet, but lacking the stains he remembered. Stains from the blood of… the blood of…
His vision overlaps with the one from the past. The same moonlight illuminates a different scene. His mother on the ground, bleeding, motionless…
…and his little sister standing over her.
Daimon doesn't even know how he could forget that scene. His little sister's back is facing the moonlight, obscuring her expression, but her eyes are shining with fiery red, her hands and mouth smeared with blood.
He kneels on the same spot his past self knelt, just by his mother's side, and like the child he once was, he is not able to emit a sound. In a state of shock, he ignores the voices and movements around him.
At some point, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed his father appearing, not even kneeling to check on his mother before retrieving his sister to somewhere else behind him.
He felt a tug, but he didn't move.
Then everything was a blur, his life passing at incredible speeds around him while he was only an observer. At some point, he found himself in the orphanage, and that is where his new life began, being rebuilt above the memories he buried deep.
Memories that he fully remembers now.
He stands up, fingers reaching to his face and coming back wet with his tears. Daimon turns around and walks with purpose. He goes through the same path he used to reach here, returning to the backyard.
After a short pause, he starts walking to the small cottage.
His chest starts burning, and with every step closer, it gets hotter… The heat comes from his heart.
He pushes through the grass, which he now remembers was filled with butterflies, but now is a dead place. He finally reaches the cottage.
"..." But a chain is closing the double door.
Bam So he kicks it. The chain doesn't break, but the wood becomes weak through the years of wind, rain, termites, and lack of care, which allows it to break that easily.
Inside, it looks normal, with some gardening tools and equipment, but his chest continues to get hotter. he grabs the golden ankh his mother gave him and steps forward.
He is remembering…
A little hidden behind the rakes, hoes, shovels, and other tools… On that wall covered by a big piece of cloth…
Flap
He pulls the cloth to reveal… a normal wall.
"..."
He relaxes but is still confused, frowning a little, he puts his hand on the wall, and instantly the whole place lights up red and orange. The light comes from his pentagram birthmark in his chest, and the wall where a similar pentagram appeared.
"!!!" Daimon immediately jumped back in fear…
…but his hand is stuck.
No… his hand is skinning.
Whoosh
He doesn't even have time to process his surprise before he is sucked inside the pentagram and disappears.
In the small cottage, darkness and calmness return like nothing had happened. The door and everything else go back to their place like no one was even here.
...…..
Satana Hellstrom
Satana is still in a small state of shock after all she has witnessed, but she is still putting on a casual and tough front to the reason for her shock.
The guy that she was casually talking to, annoying, teasing, and bantering turned out to be a crazy motherfucker not scared of throwing hands with a Realm Lord in Hell. That really flipped upside down her perception of him.
From the little she knows him, he presented himself as a super careful and paranoid guy. He uses disposable bodies, for Hell's sake. Wrote an entire book of rules before signing his deal with him.
Then BAM, a switch was flipped, and the guy is suddenly brave and crazy enough to engage in a fight that almost destroyed this pocket dimension. It makes no sense… That is too unpredictable, and he is too mysterious, for Satana even to start to figure him out.
So she simply tried to stop thinking about it, but kept a note in the back of her mind that this guy was a "breaking point", a line that she should not cross for nothing in this world.
'I don't think I will even hurt an innocent human soul while he is around…' As she is swearing to herself, she feels his armored hand touch her lower back. "What are you doing?" She asks, a little flustered
"It will be fast this way…"
She was about to ask him to elaborate when her world changed; it became blurry for an instant, she felt a tug and some pressure, and suddenly she was in another place.
'Teleportation? No, is that just his fucking speed??' She is looking around with wide eyes, but then the sight of Minos still sprawled on the ground caught her attention.
"He didn't heal that much." The Helltaker - she still rolls her eyes while calling him by this obvious fake name - says while looking down on the defeated form of the Judge of the Underworld.
A small white creature is still sitting on Minos' forehead with its small legs crossed and speaking something.
"-and everything ended theatrically at dawn, the orange sky changing the tone of the world… Or it was dusk? No, I think it was-" The creature was interrupted by Helltaker, who grabbed him by his cane and pulled him away from Minos.
"Thank you for your hard work, Excalibur. You can go now." He says, his voice sounding a little tired
"Oh, but I did not even have the chance of talking about-"
"Next time."
Satana didn't see how Helltaker made the little creature disappear, but she is glad it is gone.
"What was that?" She asks "Excalibur?"
"Just one of my weapons, pretty strong but also annoying… Minos being forced to hear him yapping is one of the worst tortures I can impose on him." Helltaker appears to chuckle "So, it is in your hands now… What do you want to do with him?'
"Me?" Satana points at herself
"Duh, he tried to kidnap you, and only he knows what else he planned… Want revenge?" He says "The tale I heard about Minos sounded tragic, like the gods punishing him for not sacrificing a bull to them by messing with his wife's mind and all that Minotaur shit… I pitied him, but after meeting him… Do whatever you want. Not all myths and tales are true after all. He is a dick."
Satana looks at him and then looks at Minos.
The Judge of the Underworld recovered a little from his "pancake state" but he still looks like a stretched bag of flesh and blood without bones to sustain himself.
"Well, I guess I can't let him go scot free." Satana looks down on Minos.
"You look surprisingly unbothered by the fate you almost suffered." Helltaker turns to her curiously
"It didn't happen, and nothing out of the ordinary around here." She was gonna kill herself, probably return to her father as a soul… maybe…because she never tested that. She is just happy that she doesn't need to go through that uncertain future. "But indeed, his failed attempt should not be free of charge." Her flat expression changed to an angry one, and she walked to Minos.
The Greek demigod struggles on the ground, and Satan steps on a part of his body and looks down on him.
"Funny how things can change quickly, huh? Some time ago, you were the one looking down on me~" Satana smirks devilishly at him.
"Ah… Uh…" Minos can't form words because of his dislocated jaw and crushed tongue.
"Tch. Can't you even beg for mercy to amuse me? Boring~" Satan rolls her eyes before attacking.
Her nails grow longer, and she sinks them into his flesh, as she puts her face close to Minos, her mouth grows a little unnaturally, and she starts sucking the air. It didn't take long for a semi-transparent steam-like substance to start leaving Minos' body.
She is sucking his soul. She only takes three deep breaths before letting go, but the soul continues to leave his body, coalescing in the air in a shiny butterfly. Minos' body is left behind as an empty husk. It even dimmed, looking more grey.
"What is up with the butterfly theme?" Helltaker asks while watching Satana extend her hand to grab the flying soul in the shape of a butterfly
"Who knows? It was always like this…" She shrugs "I got better and didn't need to kiss my victims anymore, but is always this shape."
"This is not the natural shape of a soul… Maybe is because you like butterflies." He suggests
"..." She looks at him like he is an idiot. "No, I don't like cutesy things." With two fingers, she pinches the butterfly's wing and directs it to her mouth.
Chomp
And eats it unceremoniously.
"So… what does it do to you? Makes you stronger?" Helltaker asks
"Duh." She cocks her hip ."Minos' soul is strong, it will take some time for me to digest… Burp..."
"..."
"..."
"Did you just…" Helltaker asks slowly
"No." She answers while looking away "Anyway, we should leave. You are not exactly subtle, and there's a chance some Greek fuckers will try to take Minos' soul back."
"Can they do that?" He asks curiously
"Yep, the truth is that his annoying demi-god soul of the Greek Pantheon is protected by blah-blah-blah sisters of fate, bla-blah undying…" She rolls her wrists while showing an annoyed expression. "Anyway, it's more like I will be siphoning his power, but he will not truly die that easily."
"So in the end he accomplished what he wanted…" Helltaker nods slowly "He got inside you."
"..." Satana pauses and then bursts out laughing "Pfft Hahahahaha! Right? Maybe I should puke the bastard! Haha!"
"Nah, let him pay with magical power for the trouble." He suggests "If the Greeks create too much trouble to give him back, drain the most you can, put some curses on him, etc."
"You are nasty. I like it." Satana smiles "I can even slave him, you know? I'm not any Succubus, bitch." She says proudly, even pointing her nose upwards.
"...very nice set of skills you got there." He comments with a strange tone
"I'm awesome!" She brags before getting a little more serious "But we really should go. In truth, I'm surprised that no one came to check on the commotion."
"Yeah, don't want to waste more time beating demons to pulp." Helltaker comments casually.
"..." Satana gives him a look, now not doubting that he can do that.
"It would be for the better if I stayed away for some time. Are you good with the consequences that can fall on your shoulders?" He asks
"What? Are you worried?" She raises a smug eyebrow. "Hmpf, I will just go hang around my father's realm for some time. Let's see who dares go there to cause trouble."
"In any case, just say that we are unrelated. I'm just a crazy human who stumbled on this confusion and thought that the chaos was a good opportunity to kill demons… I will come back again in another inconspicuous body."
"When?" She asks too fast, even for her own mind
"A month, maybe…" Then it's his turn to be smug. "Why? Will you miss me? I warned you more than once not to fall for me, Satana." He shakes his head in an exaggerated, disappointed fashion. Even going as far as to pat her head like she is a little kid with a crush on an older and unreachable man. "It's cute, but impossible."
"Only in your dreams, you dickless brute!" She slaps his hand away
"Ah~Ah~ For your information, I'm fully equipped at this moment." He shakes his finger.
Satana can't help but let her eyes wander below his waist.
"You looked! Haha!" He points out "Are you thirsty, girl? What you wanted is still soft~"
"You can fuck yourself with your little worm!" She shouts back "You can't handle this anyway~" She passes her hands through her curves
"..." Helltaker has more control than her, and his head doesn't move a millimeter.
"I know that you fucking looked!" She accuses "You can't hide your lascivious intentions from a succubus!"
"You can't prove that… And what sort of succubus credibility do you have? You don't even kiss your victims." He scoffs with a mocking chuckle "A maiden succubus? What is the problem? Too shy? Do you seduce men by showing your ankles?"
"Are you projecting, bitch? Maybe you don't look at my tits because you would burst a nut immediately. I bet you are a virgin." She looks like she realized something. "Is that why you possess bodies without a dick? To not lose control?"
"Please, you probably don't even know what to do with your own tits."
...…..
After bantering with him for a while, Satana finally watches him teleport and decides to go back. But not to her own pocket dimension, she starts going deeper, using portals and space tunnels to jump through the Circles of Hell.
The travel takes some time, but she walked most unobstructed while holding a piece of bone in her hands.
Eventually, she reaches the Ninth Circle, or Cocytus, the place where the treacherous souls are punished.
"Brrt I hate the cold…" She flies fast through the humongous area. It's just one part of the Ninth Circle but is beggar than a planet. She needs to do some more teleports to finally reach her destination.
A big portal that leads to her father's main realm. Crossing the portal, the weather immediately changed again, becoming hot in an instant. Familiar with this place, she easily found the giant castle of her father.
Not hard to miss, it is as big as a mountain, dark and spiky, with a waterfall of lava all around the place and hordes of demons reuniting around it.
"Hm? If it's made of lava, it should be called Lavafall?" She thinks out loud before approaching a balcony.
Some flying demons appear to block her path, but a glare from Satana makes them all recoil in fear, not because she is much stronger than they are, but because they instantly recognize who she was.
She is strong, but if she were not the daughter of the "Boss" around here, she would not be able to invade this place.
"And he already knows that I'm here…" The moment her foot touched the balcony, fire sprouted from the ground, and the flames immediately enveloped her.
She is surprised but didn't panic, a second later she is already in another place…
"Hello, Father." She greets him with a flat expression.
Marduk Kurios, the one who really disputes the title of "Satan" and "The True Devil" with Mephisto. It's debatable, but her father is called Satan because he was the first who get the title, but Mephisto can also be recognized by others because he is the strongest nowadays.
Not that anyone would dare to say that in front of her father.
Satana still remembers that time she asked if her father was Lucifer. That is another question for which few know the answer. Some say that there are two different people, other says that it is the same.
She was obviously curious about that… She can be the literal daughter of the Original Devil, the one that led the rebellion against Heaven… and granddaughter of the Biblical God. How crazy is that?
But she regretted her question the instant the words "Are you Lucifer?" left her mouth. His face changed, and without a word, he threw her into a very harsh part of Hell to fend for herself for months.
It made her more curious, really… Or her father has a grudge with the real Lucifer, or he has a grudge with his former identity as Lucifer. Maybe ashamed, maybe he wants to erase his past, and that is why he calls himself Marduk.
That is her theory after studying this subject secretly for years… She obviously only became more curious after getting such a reaction from her dad.
Another theory that she likes was that gossip she eavesdropped from Lilith talking about how "He was never the same when IT beat the Lucifer out of him."
If the first "He" is her father, that means that he is indeed Lucifer, or he was, before this "It" gave him such a huge ass-whooping that he changed names. She finds it really funny.
Researching, she can only find a few legends about possible figures that are able to do that with her father. The first is obviously the Biblical God, but excluding that, there is the figure she talked with Helltaker earlier, the one that maybe shattered the big dimension that previously was Hell.
That is why she is a fan.
"Satana…" Marduk addresses her, sitting sprawled on his huge throne.
Her father is the stereotypical image of the Devil, no… Maybe the stereotypical image came from him.
Red skin, big dark hors protruding from his forehead, pointing teeth, big and muscular. The whole package.
"Why the rare visit?" He asks calmly, resting his cheek on one fist, staring at her with his red eyes that look like pits of fire. His throne is the one thing in this immense room beyond the pillars. There is no place for anyone to stay comfortably beyond him. She knows that there is a door behind his throne, but it is hidden by the unnecessarily big chair.
'As if you don't know or will not discover eventually…' She decides to be a little honest "Just here to use you as protection." She shrugs
"Oh… What have you done?" If he is surprised, he doesn't show it.
"Minos tried to kidnap me with the help of Molgotha and Asmodeus. Some lunatic human who thinks it is the second coming of Dante appeared and defeated them and put Molgotha to run. In the chaos, I killed Minos and absorbed his soul." Small truths to omit more problematic truths.
"Molgotha had to run?" Her father finally showed some emotion. not by the fact that she was almost kidnapped, or that she probably created a diplomatic issue with the Greek pantheon. He is more interested in the human who can apparently defeat Molgotha.
"...yes. 'Not worth the effort' he said." She decides to underplay Helltaker's feat to try to move her father's interest from him "He was not on his Realm and all that." She doesn't even know why she is trying to defend the guy who is 80% an annoyance to her.
She comforts herself by remembering that he is her ticket to escape Hell.
"..." Her father gives her a long look. "So, you are lucky and needed to be saved…"
"Hmpf, it was a whole army. I think I did a good job. Your subordinate, Asmodeus, not only didn't help me, but he was on the other side." She crosses her arms and complains
"Asmodeus' loyalties aren't worth his weight in mud. I always knew that he was a double agent. The fact that he ripped off the mask because of you is surprising…" Marduk's eyes narrow
'Not me… But because Helltaker…' Asmodeus for some reason hated the guy irrationally. "What can I say? I'm important." She shrugs her shoulders exaggeratedly
"..." Her father continues to look down on her for a long time, almost like he is unveiling what she is omitting. "Your loss was mebarssing, but it at least made you realize your weakness, right? Now you understand that only power is absolute… I hope that your hesitation about absorbing souls died today."
"...I will do things at my own pace." She turns her head and says in a low voice
"And if your pace was faster, you would be much stronger than you are, and already on Earth."
"I will not accept the contract to be your 'Soul Collector'. If I'm gonna leave this place, I'm gonna be free!" She protests
"Hmpf! So be it. You can continue trying." He says dismissively
"..." She almost growled. He is the reason it is harder for her than for others to leave Hell.
"You can leave." Marduk dismisses her with a shooing motion from his hand. "I can assure you that no one will dare to come for you because someone as small as Minos."
"Hmpf! Thank you…" '...fucker.' She is quick to turn on her heels and walk away from the throne room.
She can feel her father's gaze on her back; that feeling of being seen through remains the same as when she was just a kid. That is why she doesn't like meeting her father.
That and all the childhood trauma…
Despite not being here for so long, she can still easily find her way to her old room. It is much more Spartan than her actual room; she took her things with her when she left, but it is still pretty spacious, and there is a big bed, a closet, and a huge bath.
She immediately peels off her tight clothes from her body and lets if fall on the ground before stepping out of them. Without hesitation, she walks into the bathroom and descends the stairs to the natural hot spring inside her room.
The steam is thick and would restrict the visibility of a normal human, and the water would peel off a layer of skin, but she doesn't care. To her, it is just perfect.
"Aaanh~ I needed that…" She moans while soaking in the water, submerging completely before emerging again. She passes her hands on her face and head to comb her wet hair backward, and behind her ears and horns.
Resting her neck on the edge of the spring, she closes her eyes to relax… But images of what happened before still flash in her mind. It was simply too much excitement; there are still remnants of adrenaline in her body.
The trap, the duel with Minos, the battle between the army of the dead and hordes of demons, the destruction of that guy's body, her almost death… His arrival… His overwhelming strength…crushing Minos… Playing with Asmodeus… Combat with Molgotha… All that power… cool…
"Ahn~" The sound made her eyes shoot open when she noticed that it came from her own mouth.
The water splashes around when she sits straight and notices that her hands are between her legs.
"No.. fucking.. way… in Hell…" She says, so shocked that her eyes are wide as saucers
'I warned you' She can almost hear his smug voice in her ear.
"Hmpf, don't get cocky, you are just kinda hot." She scoffs before sitting back again. Her hands do not stop though, one goes between her legs, and another holds a breast. "I'm gonna use you as material once to get this out of my system." She has no shame in sullying his image with some depraved acts in her mind.
"Yeah… Cry like a baby while I dominate you… Hmmm~" She murmurs with her eyes closed and mouth semi-open "Good boy~ Ahn."
....
Third Person P.O.V.
Some time earlier
Sitting on a golden magic circle, invisible to the world, Solomon watches from a distance as Eidolon delivers the final blow to Asmodeus.
"Master is really incredible… But I can't say that I approve of this out-of-character stunt he pulled out." She comments while holding her chin with one hand, some fingers above her lips "He shouldn't risk his real body for someone like Satana."
Her golden eyes move to the half-demon woman. "Her chance of dying by Master's hands before was 50%, but now is 25%... It happened fast, but she is not out of the danger zone yet."
Solomon completely ignores the way the world shakes; the turbulence is stopped by the magic shields around her. She continues to watch Satana absorb Minos' soul, Hector "seemingly" leave, but she can still see him hanging around to check what Satana will do after she is alone.
"Typical… Some things never change." She almost chuckles while watching his antics.
He only leaves after Satana reached the Ninth Circle of Hell, obviously taking notes of the routes she took.
Eidolon could have left when Satana entered Marduk's Realm, but Solomon doesn't have his worries.
"It has been some time since I was here…" She comments while moving just behind Satana, hidden in the void. "Oh, he didn't fix that gash, Master did."
She watched the whole conversation between father and daughter without a worry about someone as strong as Marduk discovering her. It's unknown if she is confident in her hiding abilities or her own overall strength.
"..." She is a little surprised Satana is covering for Eidolon. This moment would be a very good opportunity to create a trap for him using her father. "I think she is not that smart."
Solomon only stopped following Satana when…
"Hm~ Yes! Munch that pussy~" Splashing sounds echo in this hot bath.
"..." Solomon's face is even more inexpressive than normal "Typical… Some things never change."
She saw enough. Time to go back to the Abyss now.
....
Edge of the Solar System
"We already checked that there is nothing weird with your body…" Nemesis' voice echoes on the side, a little exasperated
"Maybe you don't need to do all that, Master." Cortana suggests softly.
"Just to be sure…" In the middle of the room, floating in a fetal position, is Hector.
Cracks are spreading through his whole body while he is hugging himself. It is also able to see his flesh squirming and twitching beneath his skin.
"A little extreme, no?" Nemesis asks
He just answers calmly, even though the destruction of his body. "The cells of the human body renew themselves constantly; it takes at most ten years for the majority of them to be completely replaced, and you have a 'new body'. More or less… I'm just accelerating the process." He explains "With my powers it is even more perfect… Like molting… I think… This way, if someone put anything on me, to trace my location or whatever, I will remove it… I will even remove any remnant of Hell from my body."
"Couldn't you simply take a clone and stick with it permanently?" Nemesis asks
"Doing it this way allows me to keep my assimilations…" He replies, while some powder falls from his body
"And the soul, Master?" Cortana asks
"I protect it very well while down there… And it is easy to hide." He says "I just want to get rid of the smell of Hell that any demonologist would sniff."
"Did anyone ever tell you that you are crazy?" Nemesis huffs at his paranoia
"I'm okay with being crazy every day, but the one time my caution pays off." He shrugs while he uses a meta-power to substitute his whole blood.
...….
Eidolon P.O.V.
After making sure I got rid of all the stench from Hell, I go back to Earth, more precisely to the Kamar-Taj, to have a talk with the Ancient One.
I arrive there pretty easily, no one or anything blocks my path as I land in the place, and search for the guy in his usual spots. The Ancient One is a creature of habit. When he is in Kamar-Taj, if not, no one would be able to find him.
Luckily for me, the bald guy was chilling on the patio.
He gives me one look as I was approaching and says "So… where have you been?" He immediately noticed that I had gone somewhere, but I'm not surprised.
"I guess being too clean is equally suspicious, huh?" I say
"Yes, but works if the traces you are hiding are more problematic than hiding that you did something suspicious." He says back.
"I was in Hell. Just getting rid of a probable tracking spell or curse… I don't know. I was wearing armor, but you can never be sure." I shrug, not caring about revealing the truth to him. I need him to know what I'm about to ask and show him.
"Oh, I see… Hell, hm? You asked me about that in the past…" he gives me a strange look.
"Saw anything interesting down there? Or someone?"
"If it's safe to talk here, I don't mind talking about it."
"...let's talk inside." He stands up, and I follow him.
...…
Now, inside his personal quarters, I don't waste time taking the Soul Crystal(It's what I'm calling this) from my inventory and showing him.
He gives one look at this before diverting his gaze to continue to pour some tea. "You really must have met some interesting people." he sounds almost amused.
"You can say that… Unfortunately, I was not able to kill all of them." I say flatly
"So much hatred for demons…" he chuckles.
"Apparently, I'm kinda racist to demons… And Skrulls. Not ashamed of that." I shrug
He genuinely laughs "I see… Can't blame you. Despite all of us having the gift of talking, most of them are not willing to hold a conversation and embark on the path of understanding."
"They feel that we are beneath them, so they don't even try, so why should I take the high road when I'm above them?" I cross my arms. I see so many expectations in humans having to be the understanding and generous party because of some exceptions on the other side.
Fuck off. Frieren and Doomguy are my ideals in this case… Especially because I know how the demons here in Marvel are. They are not misunderstood, misdirected, or manipulated/corrupted. They are evil. In the best-case scenario, they are Neutral Evil.
It's not my duty to try to change their ways of living; they never tried before, and I already have my plate full in trying to make the humans stop killing themselves. I will not extend my kindness to people who see us as prey and toys.
"You have a point. Demons have been a problem since the beginning of time… At best, Demonic Beings, the ones with demonic heritage and separated from Hell, can still be reasoned with." The Ancient One comments.
"Demonic Beings, huh? I saw them on Limbo while searching for Illyana. I lumped them together with demons, but they are pretty friendly. I thought it was because of the circumstances, Limbo was a hub of activity with aliens, eldritch beings, and all that… I will start differentiating them from the ones from Hell for now on." I say "But what is up with Hell then? Is the place the reason demons from there are this way?" Illyana and Kurt are, in some way, demonic beings, but they are not like the demons from Hell.
"You can say that… Just something to keep in mind." The Ancient One says "You wouldn't like being lumped together with other alien races that simply look like humans but have a completely different culture and common sense, right?"
I shake my head in amusement. "Can't believe I am having a lesson about racism at this age… Already learned that, practiced that, and taught that." It is just that demons from Hell are evil; there is no prejudice here, only facts.
"We live by relearning things on a different scale all the time…" The Ancient One says sagely, "We use our previous experiences to face the strange and new situations… Keeping our essence while changing for good. That is called growth."
"Wow, did you read that from which self-help book?" I say sarcastically "I'm gonna use it in my pep talks from now on."
"Hehe, I heard from a friend a long time ago." He takes a sip of his tea with a distant look.
Any friend from "a long time ago" is probably dead, so I will not touch the sensitive subject.
"So… What should I do with this crystal?" I make the thing holding almost a third of the equivalent of the world population float above my palm.
"What do you want to do with this?" He asks back. Nothing is easy with this guy.
"If possible, separate the innocent from the sinners. Make the innocents go to Heaven(or equivalent), maybe reincarnate, and about the sinners… Eh, keep them till I have a better idea. Releasing them in Hell just sounds like releasing a freshwater fish into the ocean." I share my thoughts
"Hmm, possible. If you really separate the innocents from the sinners, you can let me have the innocent ones, and I will put them on the path to Heaven. That place is not for anyone, so I can't take you with me. Reincarnation is a much more complicated matter, and I would not recommend it with such a great quantity of souls. In truth, I will not even allow it, even if you want. It will create an imbalance."
"So, bad idea. Got it. Gonna keep the sinners till I have a better one." I push the crystal to him. "Can you separate the wheat from the chaff then?"
"Yes, I can. Why don't you help? It can be a learning experience." he smiles at me.
"Ah man, I just wanted to push to you the job of checking 2 billion souls!" I groan exaggeratedly
"I know that I'm old, but I'm not idle. Use this fast brain of yours for something." He chuckles
"Tsk. Anyway, changing the subject…" I put the crystal away till I have time to do this. "I stumble into a meeting of some high-profile guys… Belial, Lilith, Molgotha, Asmodeus, Minos… Some randoms. They seem to be planning something big, so just a heads up."
"Oh, it can be something involving Hell or Earth equally." The Ancient One doesn't look that worried
"That was my thought. Only warning you. I kinda messed up with their secondary plans, so I don't know if this 'alliance' will last."
"So this is from where those 2 billion souls came from, hm?" He gives me an amused smirk
"Yep. Albeit it is annoying that I can only do this much… Do demons always come back eventually? Even when they are killed? And damn is it hard to kill them down there! Hell is not impartial; healing them is cheating." I complain.
"There are ways to stop their regeneration. I personally like cutting their connection with Hell." he sounds amused
"That sounds advanced."
"It is, but I'm good." He replies smugly
"..."
"And yes, demons come back eventually. Those strong ones even keep their memories and their powers, unless you kill them repeatedly, then they can be… demoted." He explains
"So, Asmodeus will come back?"
"Yes. Weaker and maybe confused for some time, but yes." He nods "It can take years, you know? If I remember well, Asmodeus doesn't have any territory or authority, so it should take a very long time… Unless…" He passes a hand through his goatee
"Unless…?"
"Unless someone helps him. He is the subordinate of Marduk, so Marduk can help him be reborn much faster."
"Well, Asmodeus attacked Satana, so I don't know if the two really have a good relationship."
"So he revealed that he is working with Mephisto? That is fast…" The Ancient One sounds a little surprised now for some reason. And for some reason it is giving me a strange look "Did you help her, Mr. I Hate All Demons?" That is a very punchable smirk for some reason.
"I am a hero, despite everything, it is my duty to help her human half. She never hurt humans, either." I shrug. I don't like what he is implying, so I change the subject. "And how do you know Asmodeus is a double agent of Mephisto? If that meeting of big shots was to take down Mephisto, and Asmodeus was a mole, it was doomed from the start."
"Hehe, you intentionally helped one of the sides. And it is my job to know a lot." Once again, he is smug.
"Hmpf, if you know so much, then explain to me why there is a division in understanding if Marduk is Lucifer or not. Did he really feel from Heaven? The same lost Realm from the Asgardian Pantheon?"
"Don't confuse Heave(Paradise) with Heaven(Tenth Realm). And I'm surprised you know about the Tenth Realm? I don't think it's in any book…"
It's because in my other life, I saw Angela(Aldrif Odinsdottir) in the Marvel wiki and thought that she was cool(hot) and read her page.
He continues "And yes, Marduk is Lucifer… or he was Lucifer."
"Crazy…" I comment wisely. Satana is the daughter of the Original Devil. "How did he lose his status? The guy had a pretty big start and now is even behind Mephisto in the race for the title of True Devil."
"..." For some reason, the Ancient One gives me a long side glance. "Did you even think why the Seven Deadly Sins don't have the influence they should have in Hell?"
"Don't they? Seven of the Ninth Circles are based on them… Specific demons converge to them and all that…"
"Nothing compared to with should be… The Bible, Dante Alighieri, and Peter Binsfeld got their sources from outdated material. You should know that the Hell System is not governed by the Seven Princes, each with an authority over a Deadly Sin."
"Yeah, Asmodeus, that should be a Prince of Hell, by that logic, is very weak…" I put a hand beneath my chin. "Instead, it is the Hell Lord system…"
"Yes, in the past, there were the Seven Princes, but they lost this… 'ground to put their thrones' after someone ripped from them their authority over the Seven Deadly Sins. It changed the game in Hell." The Ancient One gives me a look. "Lucifer, now Marduk, is the one who kept his power over the years, but he left his former identity behind. Maybe in a way to fully become a demon instead of a Fallen Angel."
"Cutting his roots to become something else fully… Really ruthless when you notice that this is basically burning the bridge from Heaven forever. He basically gave up on his former ambition." Sick… Satan is not just anyone; the guy is ruthless even with himself. "And someone took their authorities… Don't tell me…" I turn to the Ancient One.
"..." He gives me a somewhat surprised look, waiting for me to finish
"Is that fucker without a name again?" I ask, and he looks relieved that I got it right.
"Hehe, yeah. It is that fucker." He chuckles
"What the Hell… He fucks with the 72 from Ars Goetia, with the 7 Princes… He is doing too much. Stay on your lane, dude."
"Right? Nosy and power-hungry bastard." The Ancient One laughs again.
"He can't even target Mephisto properly… Lucky son of the bitch, Mephisto was never part of the 72 or the 7." In most media, Mephistopheles is just a sly fucker that causes some trouble, not a super-strong demon.
But in Marvel, the guy is basically Satan. That is the reason… Beyond being a very active bastard, he stayed under the radar during two great purges of Hell. Cunning son of a bitch.
"Is this Nameless One an agent of the one Below?" I ask a little more seriously
"...pfft, hahaha!" But apparently, my question is dumb because a moment of surprise, he burst into laughter. "Heh. No, he is not… But he is an anomaly amongst the demons."
"Like a Beyonder?" Seriously, maybe this is the reason he is eccentric. There is a Beyonder playing as a demon somewhere. With luck, he left long ago.
"Hehe, almost… But let's stop talking about that problematic individual. Come, let me teach you an easy way to sort souls." The Ancient One stands up. "It is a magic circle structure that does it automatically… Very handy."
"Why isn't it in the library then?" I ask while standing up.
"It is a personal thing created long ago by a demonologist who wanted to extract sins to be an extra source of power."
"Very creative. Let's do it fast because I need to visit an alien planet. The Ul'lula'ns made a deal with Spirit Flayers. It is to them that the souls are going."
"Really? Are they trying to release Nebulon? He is a very despised criminal in their society. Strange…"
"For real? Or is it a separate group of them, or has their society changed? Maybe a civil war happened…"
"Then be ready to face one of the worst enemies when you get there… politics." He laughs
"Nothing that a big fist can solve." Not my planet, not my problem, but if it's gonna bring trouble to Earth…
Yeah, time for some space travel. Very quick. In and out, twenty-minute space adventure… I'm sure nothing unexpected is gonna happen.
By the way, I'm using reverse psychology, not jinxing it. Okay, Universe?
...…
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