Chapter Twenty-One: Capitulation
Trigon's laugh ricocheted throughout the arena sending the demons in a rampage of howling and screeching. Cleaver and Dante trembled in fear and the rest of the team was stunned from fright. Garfield was slightly quivering due to the immense size of the demon that stood before him. He couldn't believe in front of him was the most supreme powerful demon in the entire world. By the size of him and his army, Garfield knew Trigon was very strong. However, he could not see any resemblance between him and his only daughter. Raven must take from her late mother. Thinking about Raven's mother being murdered by this monster that stood in front of him sickened the man.
"You are correct frail human." Trigon announced with his bellowed voice. "For I am the infamous Trigon the Terrible" He raised his arms up parallel to the floor sending the demons in a roar of praise for their leader. The entire Messor team whimpered from the demon in front of him. They knew one day they would come across the notorious Trigon the Terrible, but never in their own dimension. Not to mention, they were not prepared to handle this dangerous demon; not even well prepared for a surprise assault on their headquarters.
Feeling anger rise within him, Garfield wanted to attack the demon in front of him. The only defense he had was his voice. However, it seemed that the voice that spoke it weren't his words.
"Do not call me weak you pathetic demon. My species would have demolished you centuries ago."A deep voice escaped Garfield's lips. The demons surrounding him roared and snarled to defend against the slander of their leader. The demon holding him captive pressed even harder on the man. Trigon, however, was intrigued. He took several steps towards the man and bent forward to have a closer look.
"What did you say human?" the massive demon inquired.
The voice fled Garfield's lips and now the host the able to speak for himself. "What I said was don't call me weak."
Trigon gave the man a questionable expression and returned to where he was standing. "There's something different about you human. I just can't put my claw on it. Your scent is interesting as well. Examine the human."
The other two demons inspected the human who had fire flaring in his eyes. To Trigon's disappointment, the demons could not find any anomalies about his human. They signaled to Trigon that there was nothing different about this human.
Trigon placed his right hand under his chin scratching the stubbles on it. "So it seems you are as pathetic as other humans, but there was something earlier that sparked interest in me. You may make interesting addition to my collection."
"No he will not." A feminine voice said from the entrance of the arena. Demon and human alike turned their attention towards the voice revealing a half-demon. She glared ahead and bit her lower lip in anger. The woman began to walk towards the gargantuan demon that was entitled her father. On her pursuit, lower class demons growled, hissed, and snapped at her making a path for her to walk. It was obvious, the one thing they found more disgusting than humans were half-demons. One demon in particular got too close to the woman and consequently was punched in the face by the woman. Other demons started to attack, but were cut off by Trigon's immense voice.
"Do not touch the half-demon. One who does will be severely punished by my hands." The demons complied but still sneered at her sight. She continued to walk towards the demons but stopped where her teams had fallen. Raven delivered a sad expression to her team members and whispered her apologizes. The half-demon walked closer to Garfield and gave him an apologetic countenance. She passed the man standing between him and her father.
"Now, how did you get your archaic body here to my dimension?" she asked to the demon.
Trigon laughed softly. "I have my resources my dear daughter; I have ways." He replied.
"From what I remember you still act the same way. Your ego matches your size, and yet you are so weak as to bring your entire army retain a messily half-demon? At least your army is loyal. Ignorant, stupid, and yet loyal army you have to match your character."
Angered, one of the forerunner demons ran towards the halfling and stood in front of her to defend his leader. "Insolence! How dare you speak such defamation and insult against our leader? You should at least have the decency to hold your tongue when talking to demon you filthy half-breed." He spat. "Even your stench is repulsive. It's even more revolting than a human's scent. You should be grateful that you have the mighty blood of Trigon's flowing through your body. If it wasn't for your whore of a mother-." Before he could complete his verbal assault, the woman took a blade from her trench coat and pierced the demon in the throat. The demon emitted a blood-curdling cry and crumpled to the ground with the blade remaining in his neck. Every demon in the arena wanted to rebel against the woman, but all were struck in fear by the half-breed. Raven spun towards the army revealing blood-red eyes and sharper canines. Her anger filled the air around her and her blood began rush in urgency. A thunderous snarl escaped her thin lips. The demons backed away rapidly, while Trigon smirked.
"You want to resent your demon half, but you know it will always be there. Lingering and eager to liberate itself from your body like it is right now. What you should learn is embrace your stronger half and dispose of your human qualities. After all, your demon blood is stronger than your human lifeblood. You can't deny the evil within you. Just take a glimpse at what you have done to one of my minions, my dear daughter." Trigon applauded the woman below him.
She resumed to her normal state and removed her knife from the demon corpse. "That was a fluke. I only bring out this vile side when I am provoked. When someone speaks ill of my late mother, it's inevitable that they are signing their own death sentence. Anyway, you must be really bold to come all the way up here to capture me. Why come up when you can have your dimwitted army get me?"
"Obtaining you myself is beneath me. I wanted to be certain I was there with no flaws in our mission, and I assumed you wanted to see your dear old father after so many years." He replied. "Now I have a deal to make with you daughter. Come with me quietly and I will not harm your friends, or your dimension. You should presume what the outcome will be if you do not take my offer."
Garfield shook his head and brawled for the demon release. "Raven! Don't do it! You can't!" He pleaded to the woman he loved dearly.
"Silence Garfield!" she barked at the man. Raven returned her attention to the demon in front of her. "I will go with you, if you promise to never return to this dimension and harm anyone. Especially my demon hunters."
"You have my word." Trigon grinned. "So I take it you will return to the demon realm?"
The half-demon lowered her head in defeat, "Yes, I will come with you willingly."
Trigon laughed in success and victory defeating the woman. "Good. Then we must get going." He spoke returning his interest to the demon army. "All of my minions! Return to the demon realm immediately!"
The demons complied exiting the arena leaving the Messors, two leaders, and Trigon. She turned around and walked passed Garfield to her defeated team. "I am sorry team that I have failed you. I was not there to aid you and now you all are injured and some unconscious. I have been a terrible leader, but now I must leave. I will put Dante in charge of the Messor team and Cleaver second-in-command." Tears escaped her swelling eyes and turned away from the people who felt like family to her. The people who made her feel normal. The people who accepted her. "I'm sorry."
Garfield erected up and Raven walked towards the man. She stood a foot away from the man she loved so dearly and more tears spilled from her eyes. Without notice, she embraced Garfield with immense force digging her head into his chest. He responded by holding her close and soft tears trickling down his cheek. They stood there from moments in each other's embrace before Trigon commanded Raven to his side. Raven released the man and stared into his eyes one final time. She hastily took his lips with her own and released after seconds.
"I love you Garfield" She whispered as more tears stained the floor. Raven gave one concluding look at her lover and turned towards her future living as a demon. Stepping next to Trigon, she refused to glance at her team for the final time. The woman was too ashamed to look at her fallen team. Within a few seconds, a dark portal emerged and the two demons entered the realm of the demons. Raven stepped into the portal and waved goodbye before being engulfed in the portal. Trigon followed afterwards leaving the team with an empty arena, confusion, misery, and defeat within the air. Garfield collapsed to the ground in the fetal position and sobbed. The rest of the team stared at the emptiness of the arena too stunned to lift a finger.