Chapter 10

Finding Beauty In Darkness

She had beautiful blue eyes. Yes, he had to admit that. It was a pure color, it reminded him of the skies in Heaven.

'What's wrong with me...?'

Ever since that conversation in the dungeons, the image of Nody's face plagued Scott's mind. He had no idea what for. Sure, she had amazing fighting skills, but that was about it. But why couldn't he stop thinking about her? She was just God's little bitch, that was all she was. She was only good for torture and rape. But still...

Sitting on his throne, Scott couldn't get his mind off the Archangel. This had all started after the conversation. It was pleasant, very pleasant. After he had left the dungeons, he was in a very good mood, something he barely was. He had smiled, but not in a sadistic way. And it was all because of this little bitch. He had noticed something new about her, besides the impressive fighting skills. He wanted to have more conversations with her, even if they wouldn't make any sense or were short.

But he tried to erase the image of the Archangel's face out of his mind as hard as he could, but he had miserably failed. As a result, the image had been burned into his mind. The blue eyes refused to leave him. He felt strange too. Every time Nody's face clouded his mind, his stomach startled to tickle, but not in an annoying way. It rather felt gentle. Alongside the tickle, a warm feeling traveled north on his spine, right towards the back of his brain. There, the warm feeling took over his entire brain, causing the Archdemon to smile. That's what freaked him out the most.

He had never felt this way before. Nobody has ever made him feel like this. This was wrong, in all kinds of ways. The worst part of this was that the Archangel did this to him. He shouldn't be feeling this; he was Hell's most ruthless creature, for fuck's sake!

Scott knew she was suffering pain. He had heard her screams when her legs were broken; they were so loud, he could hear them in the throne room, even though they kinda sounded muffled. Normally he would've enjoyed the pained screams of the Archangel, but at that moment he couldn't find any joy in them. He felt... sorry. She was locked away in the darkness, all alone, suffering huge amounts of pain. The thought of it already made him feel a bit guilty. After the incident with the Cerberus, she shouldn't be tortured anymore like that. After all, she was a great help in that fight.

Even at night, Nody's face didn't leave Scott alone. When he closed his eyes, the image became more clear. It looked like she was right in front of him, and that's where her giggle came in. Her goddamn giggle. She had suffered so much pain but despite all that, she had found a moment to giggle. And it was all because of their conversation... He had to do something to make this stop. Maybe if he would pay her another visit, the image would disappear.

But Scott had no idea how wrong he was.

Noah walked through the dark hallways, on his way to his bedroom. There he would sketch a back-up plan for the invasion of Heaven, just in case. The Angels weren't stupid; a back-up plan would never harm.

'Noah!'

Behind him, a familiar voice had called his name. Looking behind him, Noah had to suppress the urge to sigh in annoyance. 'What do you want, Courtney?'

The Demon Witch rolled her eyes. She had expected a reaction like that from the male Demon. 'I want to talk to you for a second.'

'It'd better be important.'

'Have you also noticed something about Scott?'

Noah raised his eyebrow. 'What should I have noticed?'

'It has all started after he had visited that Archangel...' Courtney looked around her, making sure no one else but Noah was listening to her. If Scott would listen to this conversation, the consequences would be horrible.

'I've seen a look in eyes I've never seen before. Like he's... daydreaming or something.' 'What's so weird about daydreaming?' 'He has never done that before!' 'You know Courtney... When you told me you wanted to talk to me, I thought you wanted to talk about something important. That apparently isn't the case. Now let me go to my room, before you waste any more of my time.' Just when Noah turned around to walk to his room, Courtney grabbed his shoulders, turned him around to her direction and pinned him against the wall with a furious grunt.

'This is important, Noah!' she hissed angrily. 'I've been here in Hell longer than you and I know Scott better than you. There is something going on with him. Now shut the fuck up and listen to me!'

'Alright, fine! Now put me down, damn it!' Courtney let go of Noah's shoulders. Perhaps this was the only way to make him listen to her. 'Okay,' Noah sighed, rubbing his painful shoulder with his hand. 'What's the big deal?'

'Ever since Scott had visited that Archangel bitch, he has changed.' Courtney said, making sure Noah was listening. 'I've seen it myself. I saw him visiting and leaving the dungeons. There were no screams, but I heard them talk. When he left the dungeons, he was smiling, but not the way like he always does... it wasn't sadistic.'

This caught Noah's attention. Scott would only smile if he had inflicted pain on his victims. Why would he smile if he didn't hurt Nodelle? This didn't make sense...

'I've observed him for the past days. He has this weird dreamy look in his eyes and he barely finishes his dinners at night... I've seen this before when I was a mortal, Noah. I've seen this with people... who were in love.'

There was a moment of silent between the two Demons. 'Love...?' Noah asked. He softly snickered. The snickering turned into a howling laughter. 'Are you serious?!' Noah roared with laughter. 'Do you even know who you're talking about, Courtney? You're talking about Scott! The Archdemon! The meanest motherfucker of Hell! He can't feel love, that's impossible!' 'I'm not stupid, Noah!' Courtney yelled. 'I know what I have seen! I've seen enough cases like this, I know he's in love!' But this only made Noah laugh even harder. Finally, Courtney ran out of patience for the Demon.

'Fine!' she yelled. 'If you don't believe it, check it out for yourself! You'll see that I was right!' Noah stopped laughing. This wasn't actually a bad idea... He could keep an eye on Scott for a little while. If he would find out the accusations were wrong, he could make Courtney cringe in shame. That would be his goal.

'Alright then.' Noah said. 'But you'll see, Courtney... You will see you were all wrong.' The Demon Witch snorted with irritation. 'Just go already... If you're wondering where he is, I saw him heading towards the dungeons. I bet he's going to see that angelic bitch again. You need an invisibility spell?' 'Nah, I'm good.' Suddenly, Noah started to fade away, until Courtney couldn't see him anymore. 'I already have invisibility powers for my own.' Then he walked away from her.

'Scott... in love?' Noah thought while heading towards the dungeons. 'Impossible. I'll prove that dumb cow how wrong she is. I can't wait for the look on her face when I prove it to her. ' He shook his head.

'Love... how stupid.'

This was possibly the worst pain she had ever experienced.

Nody could feel her broken bones prick against her flesh. The stench in her prison nearly made her gag. Zoey's severed head had started to decompose, producing a sickening smell. It had attracted rats; they had entered the Archangel's prison and started gnawing on Zoey's head, feasting until the bone of her skull was exposed. It was a horrible sight. Some rats attempted to gnaw on her feet. Nody had to use all the remaining strength in her legs to stomp them to death. She knew the pain would increase after every stomp, but she had no choice.

Today, Duncan came up with a new method of torture. He had grabbed her jaw and forced her mouth open. Then he stuck two fingers deep into her throat and with his other hand he squeezed Nody's throat shut. She had gagged and gasped and she could feel her heart pound in her head. Her stomach had violently clenched together. Just when Nody wanted to pass out, Duncan had let go of her throat. Immediately, the content of her stomach traveled upward her throat and Nody spilled it all over the floor. Just when she thought the torture was over, Duncan forced her mouth open once more and the torture started all over again. This time she puked bile. After three more times, Duncan left her prison, leaving her surrounded by her own puke and bile.

She was hungry and miserable.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps approach. Justin? Immediately, anger clouded her mind. If that bastard thinks he could convince her to give her virginity blood to him, he was terribly wrong! Nody prepared herself to shout at him. The footsteps got closer and closer and her rage was building. 'Justin!' she shouted. 'Don't even say anything! You will never get my virginity blood, you hear me? You will never...'

Her rant was interrupted when she saw her visitor. Her rage immediately faded away.

It was Scott.

The Archdemon entered her prison and looked at her. He wrinkled his nose in disgust when he saw the puke and bile. Nody looked away in shame, staring to the ground. 'What do you want?' she whispered bitterly. 'I just wanted to pay you a little visit.' Scott replied. Damn. He knew she was suffering a lot, but he didn't expect this. She was sitting in her stomach's contents with two broken legs. A disgusting fate.

'Look...' the Archdemon said. 'I know you're suffering and I think it's... unnecessary. After what you've done for me, despite everything we've done to you... you... you deserve better.' Nody looked up, her eyes big of surprise. What did he just say? Did he really just say that? The meanest bastard in Hell thinks she deserves better? What is this?! But the surprise immediately turned back into bitterness. 'Yeah, sure...' she mumbled. Scott had expected an answer like this. Being in a situation like this would turn everyone miserable. For a moment, he felt stupid for not commanding the Demons to reduce the tortures. He secretly hoped she would at least trust him for this surprise...

'I have to show you something.'

The fallen Archangel cocked an eyebrow. 'Show me what?' she asked suspiciously. 'You'll see if you come with me.' Scott said. 'Trust me on this one.'

Nody's brains started to think with rapid speed. This would be a really nice opportunity to leave her prison, to get away from the horrible stench and the painful cuffs; everything was better than those. But then again... what if this was a cruel joke? Would he hurt her legs even more or even worse...?

But the desperation to get out overcame the doubt.

'Alright...' the Archangel mumbled. 'But under one condition.' 'And that is?' 'You heal my legs. They're killing me.'

Scott nodded. He slightly knelt down, trying not to touch the vomit with his knees. He lifted one of the broken legs, causing Nody to hiss in pain. Once again, it felt like electricity traveled through the veins of her leg. Nody clenched her teeth together and let out a groan of pain. It hurt, but she could feel her broken bones shift back into place and heal. When Scott let go of her leg, it had completely healed and she could move it without any pain. After he was done with that, he lifted her other leg and gave it the same treatment. The pain was all worth the healing. The hunger was gone too.

'Thank you.' Nody said, happy the pain was gone. 'Will you come with me now?' Scott answered, getting slightly impatient.

Nody had asked Scott to heal her legs, but not only to take the pain away; she had a back-up plan. If this all turned out to be a mean trick, she could at least run away as fast as she could. She could go hide in the castle and look for Courtney's book to find the spell to return her powers.

She had to be fully alert.

'I'll come with you.' the Archangel said. As soon as Scott unlocked the cuffs, she gently rubbed her painful wrists. She got up; her legs were doing fine, much to her relief. She looked down on her dress. Unbelievable... when she put it on Heaven, it was pure white and smelled like roses, like the roses in the garden of the Holy Castle. But now it was ragged, stained with blood and it smelled terrible. As a fancier of fashion, she couldn't help herself but ask it.

'One more thing... Can I have a new dress, please?'

Scott rolled his eyes and sighed at the request. A dress? Really? Well, if this would make her come with him... He knew he had the power to summon clothing, most of them had a powerful curse, like it would burn onto your skin and would never let you remove until the day you'd die. He tried his best not to lay a curse on it. From each claw, a thick red smoke emerged, melting together to form a small red mist. It grew bigger and bigger. When the red smoke faded away, Scott was holding a dress. 'Here.' Nody grabbed the dress and held it in front of her, in order to take a better look. It was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen! It was a black dress, it had a black corset with red lace. On each side of the corset, a black long sleeve was attached. Nody never knew a dress from Hell could be so elegant. She smiled from ear to ear; she wanted to put this on so badly.

'Mind if I change?' she asked, her face now glowing with happiness. 'Uhm... sure.' Scott turned around, allowing the Archangel to have some privacy. 'No peeking!' Nody playfully giggled. Scott heard some soft rustling, she was probably taking off her old filthy dress. Smiling with mild perversion, he couldn't but take a quick careful look over his shoulder. The sight slightly shocked him; he could see her ribcage and her pale skin was covered with dark blue bruises, some of them were colored black. The burns from the whips had burned deep into her skin, leaving crimson stripes on her body. Two bloody stubs on her back were once her wings. He turned away quickly, making sure no one would catch them together. He didn't hear any sounds from Alejandro, so he was probably asleep... or dead.

They were all alone, at least that's what he thought.

Again, he heard some rustling noises. 'Alright, you can look now!' Scott turned around. His eyes widened and his mouth nearly fell open with awe.

She looked beautiful. The dress was her right size, it fitted her perfectly. She looked like a princess, ready to go to the ball room and dance the night away with her prince. Except for the few bruises near her neck, you'd almost forget she was in fact a fallen Archangel, who was now prisoner in the dark dungeons of Hell. The purest creature from Heaven, clad in darkness... an amazing combination.

'Scott, it's... beautiful!' Nody said wonderingly. She couldn't be any happier. She knew this was a dress from Hell, but it was so beautiful, it was enchanting! It was so much different than the clothes she had in Hell, and she loved it. This was the greatest gift she had ever received... and it was from the Archdemon himself. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. For a moment she wanted to hug him with thankfulness, but she managed to control herself. 'Thank you.' she whispered happily.

The Archdemon nodded. 'Well then...' He grinned and gently reached out his claw, as if he awaited her to give him a handshake. 'Will you come with me now?'

It had been a long time since she had left the dungeons. It felt great to be able to stretch her legs again. Nody followed Scott as they exited the dungeons. Although her legs had been healed and she had been gifted a new dress, she still had to be alert. There was still a chance this was still a set-up, who knew what would happen? But surprisingly... nothing happened. 'If I were you, I wouldn't make a sound.' Scott said, surprisingly sounding not that threatening. 'Everyone's asleep. You could wake them up.' Nody let out a soft sigh in relief.

They exited the Dark Castle. The sight made Nody's skin crawl. The Castle was surrounded by a lake of blood; it was the blood from the slain Cerberus. But what astonished the Archangel the most was the fact that she and Scott did this. They had created this lake of blood. Scott noticed her astonishment. 'Hey, it's alright.' he grinned. 'I like it. It looks badass.' Nody smiled. 'Glad you like it.' she replied. Scott chuckled at the answer. 'Come on, let's go.' the Archdemon said. 'It'll be a long drop.' Nody frowned in confusion. 'What do you mean?' Scott pointed his finger down to the ground. 'Your surprise is all the way down there.' 'Wait, you mean...' Nody looked at Scott in surprise. 'It's all the way into the ninth circle?!' Scott nodded. 'Yup. But don't worry; I'll make sure you won't be seen.'

Suddenly, he grabbed the Archangel and lifted her into his arms, like he would carry her to the ninth circle. Nody gasped at the sudden movements and for a moment, she wanted to struggle to get out. But that's when she got a close look to the Archdemon's chest.

She was amazed by the structure of the chest. His upper body was completely muscled, not one ounce of fat. She had always been impressed by well-trained bodies; it was a sign of manliness and the will to strive for the perfect body. This must've taken a very long time to get into this shape. So the Archdemon wasn't lazy; he made sure he looked good and strong. His muscled arms made sure she wouldn't slip away. This caused Nody's ear to be slightly pressed against the left side of Scott's chest. She could faintly hear a heartbeat. Soft, but rhythmic. It slightly calmed her, like a strange lullaby.

'Are you comfy?' Scott asked. The question made Nody snap out of her fascination. She quickly nodded. Scott smiled at her; he had noticed it all. He had seen a faint blush on her cheeks when she stared at his chest. So she was into muscled bodies...

'Good.'

Suddenly, his flaming bat wings powerfully fluttered and they charged forward, as they slowly took off into the air. Nody gasped in surprise and in a reflex, she clung onto Scott's neck. She wasn't the only one being surprised. Scott didn't expect this movement from the Archangel. It was unexpected, yet... cute. The expression on her face made him chuckle; her eyes were wide with surprise as she looked down to the lake of blood, rushing by underneath them. If he showed her the surprise, maybe then she would get out of his mind...

Nody clung onto Scott's neck for dear life, as if she was afraid he would drop her. With her ear pressed against his chest, she could hear his heartbeat again. But now, something was different... it was faster. But why? Was he excited?

Suddenly, a strange smell penetrated her nostrils; it was coming from his skin. It was the smell of sulfur, mixed with the smell of sweat. But surprisingly, it didn't disgust her; it was attracting her, in some kind of way. The smell represented manliness, with a small tint of Hell.

Nody never knew how interesting the Archdemon could be.

She had heard a lot of stories about Hell, but she never saw it from up close. Each ring was more interesting than the other.

She saw the circle of Lust, where an everlasting violent storm blew those who were overcome by uncontrollable passion back and forth. Most of those damned souls were lovers, who would now be forever separated by the winds, reaching out for each other but never being able to be reunited. The souls were restless; they would never reach satisfaction. Watching the lovers cry out in agony as they were blown around into the raging winds made Nody sad. She never thought she would feel pity for the damned.

The circle of Gluttony made Nody's stomach clench in disgust. The gluttonous souls were forced to lie down in the vile mud, broken by the mud and rain. But it wasn't normal rain or mud; it was urine and fecal matter. A Cerberus, way bigger than the one they had killed, marched through the circle, snapping at the damned souls. The circle of Gluttony was Nody's least favorite circle.

All the gold in the circle of Greed made her jaw drop in amazement. She had never seen so much gold in her entire life before, not even in Heaven! But soon she realized this gold was one of the main things that caused the damned in this circle so much suffering. Those who had a negative attitude towards possession and material goods were punished here, by pushing giant weights with their chest for all eternity.

The sight of the circle of Anger was dark, yet astonishing. In the dark swamps of the circle, the wrathful souls fought each other at surface, while the sullen gurgled underwater, into the deep depths. When Nody breathed, there was the heavy smell of sulfur. The sky was clouded with the swamp's dark greenish fog, mixed with a strange red glow. It was fascinating to look at, it looked like a landscape from a surreal painting. Anger was the most interesting circle in Hell.

As they descended deeper into Hell, the temperature raised higher and higher. Sweat emerged from the Archangel's skin. Much to her surprise, the unbearable temperature barely did anything to Scott; there was not a single drop of sweat on his skin. Perhaps he was used to this kind of heat... Soon, Nody would understand where the heat came from; it came from the circle of Heresy. The damned souls were trapped in flaming tombs, burning them for all eternity. The loud screams nearly deafened Nody, there were just too many.

The heat got less worse when they descended into Violence. The first part of this circle was populated by those who had committed fatal violence on others. These souls where punished by being boiled into the river of boiling blood; the Phlegethon. Watching the boiling blood made Nody's skin crawl. So this is where Duncan got the blood from when they gave her that 'shower'...The second part of Violence was populated by those who had taken their own lives. This part of the circle was basically a huge dark forest, where the souls had become the trees and thorny bushes. Looking at them, Nody sadly shook her head. How many of those souls had committed suicide in vain? Instead of escaping the pain that broke them in their lives, they would suffer more here in the dark forest. If she had her powers back, she would've absolved them for sure. They arrived in the third part of Violence. There were the damned souls who had committed violence against her Lord. As their punishment, they had to run through a desert of burning sand, while it rained fire.

The circle of Fraud is where the fraudulent where. It was divided in ten pockets, the 'Malebolge'. This circle was pitch-black, the Archangel couldn't see a thing. Much to her relief, Scott knew exactly the way around here and moved swiftly around every obstacle on their way. Now and then, ear-piercing screams of the punished souls filled the silence, as they suffered from their punishments.

Soon, the temperatures dropped to a nearly unbearable cold. They had descended into the lowest circle of Hell.

The circle of Treachery.

The cold wind of Treachery made Nody shiver. She had never been so cold before in her entire life. The material of her dress didn't help much; it was rather thin. Moments later, the cold got far more worse and she started chattering her teeth. For a moment, she wished for the heat of Heresy. Then she heard a soft chuckle.

'Can't you take a little cold, bitch?' Scott asked in a teasing way. Suddenly, Nody felt a comfortable heat on her skin. She looked up. The flames of Scott's wings had increased slightly, causing a nice warmth. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. Where did this sudden random act of kindness came from? 'Can't have you freezing to death before you have seen your surprise!' Scott said, winking. 'Is it still far away?' 'No. We're close now.'

Scott looked around the icy landscape. It had to be somewhere... did it freeze shut? He had discovered it a long time ago, before they had captured the Archangel. He had been surprised, but had forgotten about it later on. A while ago, he remembered it for some reason and decided it to show Nody. It wasn't much, but maybe it would ease her pain...

Ah! There it was!

'Here it is!' he said. 'Where?' Nody asked, looking around. 'Right there, in front of you.' Nody looked forward, looking at one of the icy walls of Treachery. Then she saw it. Right there, in the wall of frozen souls, she saw a hole. An entrance? To what? A cave, maybe? With a swift speed, Scott headed towards the hole. Upon a closer look, Nody's theory was confirmed; it was a cave.

Inside the icy cave, Scott put her down on the ground. 'So... what did you want to show me?' Nody asked, while stretching her legs from the long flight. Scott smiled and pointed right in front of him. Nody turned around. It was like her heart skipped a beat. She gasped. She had never expected this, during her entire captivity in Hell.

Right there, in the back of the icy cave, a bright light illuminated the walls. But something else surprised her even more; there were flowers growing out of the ice. And she recognized those flowers like no other. She carefully walked towards them, making sure she wouldn't slip because of the ice. Once she had reached the flowers, she gently touched the petals from one of them. The petals were white and had golden patterns. From the center of the flowers, long golden strings nearly touched the ground. Nody looked at the flowers with a dreamy smile. 'These are Heaven's Flowers...' she whispered. Heaven's Flowers could only grow with the light from Heaven. Then this bright light was... Scott was standing at the entrance of the cave, making sure nobody would see them. He was getting inpatient; she had been looking at the flowers for quite a while now. He had decided to take her there to ease her pain. Maybe if she would see something familiar from Heaven, her suffering here in Hell would be less worse. But he only did this for her; he also did it for his own sake. Maybe like this, she would get out of his head and he would feel less bad about her.

'Alright, you done?' he asked impatiently as he turned around. 'We've gotta go back, it's getting...'

He immediately stopped talking.

It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. So pure, so beautiful... it took his breath. Nody was standing there, into the light from Heaven. She was enjoying the warmth of the light, as she had tilted her head to the back of her neck. She was smiling and had closed her eyes. Tears flowed down her cheeks.

She opened her eyes and looked at the Archdemon. More tears flowed down her cheeks, but it weren't tears of sadness. It were tears of happiness. 'Scott...' she whispered.

She couldn't believe it. She didn't expect this in a thousand years. He really did this for her. Him. Scott. The Archdemon. The most ferocious creature from Hell. He showed her this small secret 'garden' of Heaven's Flowers, her favorite flowers of all time. There was a small piece of Heaven in Hell. So wonderful... But how did this light get here? Maybe it was a sign... a sign of hope. Hope for damned to be freed of their punishments one day. The light felt so good on her skin. It was like she was back in Heaven again...

When she looked at Scott, she didn't see a blood-thirsty monster anymore. She saw a person. A creature of flesh and blood. With a heart. A heart she never knew he could have one. She had forgotten about his dark side and the terrible things he had done to her and her Angels; he was the person who showed her this small piece of Heaven. He was the one who made her happy now.

Nody walked towards him, smiling from ear to ear. He had an astonished look on his face, perhaps he hadn't expect this reaction for one bit.

That's when she did it. Something she had never thought she would ever do.

She hugged him. She held him close to her, like this would be their first and last hug they would ever share. Scott opened his mouth to protest against this sudden sign of endearment, but quickly shut it. Never in his entire life, somebody had hugged him. He had never received any form of kindness in his life, only orders from his Lord and the desperate begs for release from the damned souls. This was his first ever hug.

That strange feeling came back, but now far more worse than before. He could feel his heart beat going faster and faster by every second. The tickling feeling in his stomach was back, more violent than ever. His brains felt like they were melting. That's when she looked him straight in his eyes. Their eyes had made contact once more. Her teary eyes were so blue, so beautiful... his heart nearly clenched together, it beat so fast. His body and mind tried so hard to fight against this strange new feeling...

Scott's red eyes weren't that terrifying anymore; they didn't express any hate, but a certain kind of warmth. Nody thought they were wonderful to look at. She saw something entirely new in him, something beautiful and... attracting.

'Thank you so much.' she whispered.

That did it.

The appreciation, the happiness, the look in her eyes... it was just too much. It was too much for Scott to handle. With shaking claws, he reached towards Nody's hips and hugged back. It was a bit awkward; he had never given a hug before. He just grabbed her hips and held her against him. A soft giggle escaped Nody's mouth. 'I guess you have never given a hug before, do you?' the Archangel giggled. For a moment, Scott could facepalm himself. He had the feeling he looked like an idiot. 'Here, I'll show you.' Nody let go of him and gently grabbed him arms, putting them around her waist. The touch of her waist made Scott's heart nearly explode. Suddenly, Nody giggled again. 'What's so funny?' Scott asked, his voice slightly shaking. 'I didn't knew you could be so shy.' Nody replied. 'It doesn't fit you.' 'I'm not shy, okay?' Scott said defensively. 'This is... this is just the first time I have ever hugged someone.'

'Really?' Nody asked in a surprised way, raising an eyebrow. Then she shrugged. 'Well, I guess that makes sense. Because after all... you're the evilest son of a bitch from Hell, right?' As an answer, Scott chuckled. 'You're damn right.' he grinned. 'And believe me if I say that I'm proud of it.' 'Well, evilest son of a bitch or not...' Nody held him close to her again. Scott could suppress a gasp of surprise just in time. 'You have a heart.'

A heart.

Did she just really say that?

That was impossible. He couldn't have a heart. Not a heart to do good deeds, at least. For the first time in his life, Scott had no idea what to say. Should he protest or should he admit it? This whole situation... it confused him. During his entire life, people have described him as a heartless monster, the most ferocious creature in the Afterlife and the most sadistic Demon from Hell. And right now, he was hugging the Archangel. The goddamn Archangel. That bitch he was ordered to capture for the unholy ceremony. That little bitch he had sexually assaulted for his own entertainment. But now... it was different. Holding her close against him felt so good, in such a strange way.

This was so wrong... but so good.

Scott let out a long sigh. He gave up. He had never felt so good in his life and decided to treasure this moment, just for once. She was one who made him feel this way. She was special. But he wasn't the only one feeling like that.

Somewhere deep inside, Nody knew this was wrong. She shouldn't be hugging him, he was the enemy! But still... this moment was amazing.

They stood like that for minutes, which felt like centuries for them. 'Scott?' 'Hmmm?' 'Don't you think we should go back?' 'You're right. Let's go.'

'Keep the dress.'

Scott raised an eyebrow in surprise. 'What? Why?'

They had arrived back in the dungeons after a long trip back to the Dark Castle. During the entire flight, they hadn't said a word to each other. But not because they were mad at each other or anything; the new emotions had overwhelmed each other. They didn't know what to think or what to say. That hug had done so much more to them than they thought it would. Scott had offered Nody to sleep in one of the beds inside the Castle, but she refused. Now she had refused the dress too.

'It will raise suspicion if they will see me wearing this. And after all you've done for me... I don't want you to get into trouble.'

Scott smiled. After all the terrible things he had done to her... she didn't want him to get into trouble. So sweet...

'Alright then.' After she dressed back into her old filthy dress, she requested him to cuff her, again for the same reason. 'You sure you want to stay here? The offer's still there.' Nody shook her head. 'It's okay. I'll be alright.' Then gave him that look. That sweet, nearly loving look... Scott's heart felt like exploding again. 'Thank you for everything you have done for me today.' the Archangel said. 'I really appreciate it. I... I really liked it.' Scott smiled and nodded, glad she appreciated this all. 'Good night, Nody.'

'Good night, Scott.'

As soon as Scott left the dungeons, Nody sighed in happiness. She had never felt so happy before. With a smile on her face, she fell asleep, with the image of Scott's red eyes burned into her mind.

But little did the two know that someone had been watching them the whole time in awe and disbelief.