(8th July, 13:20, New Moon)
Beast and the Beast
Chapter Twenty Five – Three Weeks Later
(Please note this story has vast similarities to Beauty and the Beast, yet I claim no ownership over Beauty and the Beast, only my inspiration is stolen from the movie/book.)
x.X.x
Three weeks had passed and Sakai was still alive and relatively happy to be so; she had only transformed once more since her last one and she had spent the day in the town called Kurast close to the portal; they had actually welcomed her into the town, telling her it was dangerous to travel so close to demonic activity.
When it came to having to eat she had resorted to raw meat, there was no way she could muster up the courage to consume a human or demon; she would probably puke just by looking at the remains or coming so close to the idea of it.
She had been relatively relieved that the demons decided to remain outside of the castle; she had the entire place to herself and had even gone so far as to peek into Baal's room; though she was disappointed to find it devoid of anything fancy; it actually looked less impressive than that of her companions.
At the moment she was sitting in his room, luckily dust free now as she had cleaned the place of it; it was starting to annoy her and she hated it when anything annoyed her; especially dirt; though it was quite a mission to retrieve the brooms from the debris of the cleaning cabinet she had shoved Diablo into. Though she had managed and the place looked livable.
She gave a sigh as she lay back down on the bed; maybe she would take a nap, it was still early enough that she would be able to sleep into the night.
x.X.x
Baal stepped through the portal, followed by Diablo. Both of them bore a smirk that only spoke of accomplishment and it was true; after three weeks of searching each active gateway to Hell they found one that was unguarded as the guardian had been slain by the angels.
After that it was as simple as closing off the gateway and increasing the security at the others; if anything else were to go wrong at any of the remaining gateways they would be informed immediately by a sort of spiritual bond they established with the guardians.
Baal stared at his castle and he felt relieved that he could finally take things easy again, or as easy as the King of Hell was allowed to in any case. There was one thing that piqued his interest though; it was whether Sakai was still in Hell or whether she had run away from the place she believed was enslaving her.
x.X.x
Sakai felt a hand on her shoulder and tried to shrug it off, only to feel it place itself back on her shoulder, she grunted and pushed it off with her hand. "Go away." She muttered and then suddenly it occurred to her: Someone was touching her while she was supposed to be alone in the castle.
With a jolt she sat upright and found herself staring at a human man other than Diablo; her first instinct was to run but before she knew what she was doing she had given him a solid punch in the face that made him topple off the bed and hit the ground with a loud thud.
Sakai jumped up immediately and towered over the fallen man in aggression. "Who are you! What are you doing here!" She demanded and she only now started to back away as the man started to rise up from the ground; a dark laugh escaping his lips as he looked at her.
His features were strong and he was completely bald; like Diablo. He wore a cape and was built almost like Diablo as well; was he another Demon, perhaps a sibling of Diablo; or was he just a human with a death wish? How had he managed to slip passed all the demons outside if he was a human?
"Answer me! Who are you?" She yelled again as her entire posture screamed aggression; she was ready to attack him if he tried anything and this seemed to make him laugh even harder.
"Don't you recognize me?" He asked and she kept her eyes trained on him as she huffed.
"I don't particularly enjoy associating myself with humans; I doubt I'll remember a lunatic like you in any case; drop the mind games and tell me your name or I will escort you out of this castle in a less than gentle way." She threatened as she kept her aggressive stance towards him.
"My name does not concern you." He said and Sakai growled at him and then her eyes suddenly went wide and she dropped her arms, her entire aggressive posture vanishing in a second as she stared at him, examining him for about a minute.
"Is that really you?" She questioned as she squinted her eyes and widened them again, trying anything and everything to find a resemblance and even if she couldn't place it she could detect it. If it wasn't his attitude it must be his posture and humor.
Baal smirked as he straightened himself out. "Yes, glad to see you decided to stay." He looked around the room. "Thanks for cleaning the mess in the room." He said as he walked towards his throne and sat down in it.
Sakai was speechless and entranced at the same time as she examined him, last time she saw him he was a hideous demonic entity; now he was a semi attractive man that looked like a human; almost like Diablo did except for the yellow eyes; Diablo had blood red eyes.
"How?" She finally managed to utter and Baal gave her a look that indicated she was a complete idiot to ask such a question.
"You didn't think that was flowers growing on my face did you?" He asked and she immediately recalled the flesh growing on his face that had taken on a human tint when she last saw him; so that was what it was? Human flesh growing over his skeleton face; she peeked behind him to see his back and saw the bulge was completely gone.
To think she had been revolted by his appearance when she first met him, looking at him now she could barely believe they were the same demons.
"Cute little aggression act just now by the way; I can't remember the last time I laughed like that." He said with a snicker and she crossed her arms at his insult.
"It wasn't an act, I was actually quite serious." She muttered, but regardless of how strong she tried to make her voice sound she was still intrigued by his change; she hadn't even been this interested when she saw Diablo transform. "Where's Diablo and Baal?" She asked as she looked around now; she knew they left together with Baal, though she hadn't seen him or Baal yet; or heard either of them.
Baal laughed; if only she knew. "They're around here somewhere; waiting to pounce you." He said with a laugh and another laugh escaped his mouth as he saw her shocked expression. "I am just pulling your leg Sakai; Diablo has better things to do than amuse himself by stalking you." He said and she gave a sigh of relief. "Why are you so worried that he will come after you?" He enquired and she shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know, maybe the whole 'I'm a human' thing makes me a prime target." She said and Baal snickered as he stood up, walking towards the bed now.
"He won't touch you while you're under my care." He said and Sakai huffed as she scoffed her feet; what bloody rubbish was that?
"Why? You're just a demon; he's the bloody brother of Baal." She said and Baal laughed again; he knew he didn't want her to discover who he was but it would be hilarious when she did.
"Your favor points, remember?" He reminded her with a lie and she seemed to consider that for a moment before nodding. "You're pretty much immune until you piss off the big boss." He said with a laugh.
"Alright, I like that. So… may I ask how your whole mission thing went?" She asked and Baal went to lie down on the bed.
"No." Was his short answer as he closed his eyes and continued to smirk, leaving Sakai surprised and slightly frustrated; yes, this was definitely her companion.
She huffed and went to stand by the window, examining the landscape below as she had done many times prior.
x.X.x
Diablo was up in his room and he was annoyed as Hell once more despite their victory over the Angels; the bloody mortal was still stuck on his mind; he could've sworn to God he smelled her when they had passed Kurast. Baal of course had insisted he is obsessed and dragged him by away from Kurast by his tail as he had transformed the instant he had caught her scent. Though he knew it was her, she had brushed against him, she had touched him! Of course he knew what she smelled like!
He hissed as he felt himself transform again. He would find her if she was still alive, if she had cut off all her hair and tossed her clothing aside to make them think she was dead it would've been futile. He would find her bald ass and drag her back to Hell to make her suffer.
Yes, maybe he was obsessed but he had never before been treated like that by a human, let alone a female, they usually cowered in his presence and begged for mercy. "Bloody wrench! Deceiving witch!" He yelled as he increased in size, his red scales appearing under his skin like blisters.
"I'll find you!" He roared as he continued to transform.
x.X.x
Sakai was in the room when she heard the devastating roar from above that she could only make out as '"I'll find you!' and recognized it as Diablo almost immediately; was he and Baal having an argument again? She hadn't heard any yelling from above.
She looked at her companion and watched as he cracked open one eye and gave a frustrated huff as he sat up. "What is wrong with him?" Sakai asked and Baal looked towards her as he got up, pulling his cape correct.
"He's obsessed with the human that got away, he swears she is still alive and he is just having another temper tantrum." Baal said as he walked towards the room. "Stay here." He instructed as he left the room, leaving Sakai confused.
Was he going to go and try to sort it out or go and get Baal since she hadn't heard him from upstairs? As she was still pondering this she saw dust fall from the ceiling again as he was starting to stomp it again. Immediately she ran to the window to try and escape the ray of dust and get fresh air into her lungs.
She took in a deep gulp and felt it stick in her throat as she watched the red bulk of Diablo shooting passed her towards the ground again; roaring frantically and cussing like mad. She looked up to try and see Baal but was only greeted by the trial of his cape; nothing she could identify him by.
She grunted; when would she see what he looked like? She was curious and frustrated, he was the most powerful demon in the entire world and he kept to himself? Running the place like background noise and never seen by anyone but her companion and Diablo as far as she knew.
Soon the door opened again and her companion stepped inside, he saw the look on her face as she was standing by the window. "Looks like I wasn't needed after all, Baal sorted it out." He lied as he returned to the bed and lay down.
Sakai popped her head out of the window again and watched as a very angry Diablo stood up and ran towards the castle entrance. "Oh my God, I think he's coming back up for more." She muttered and Baal cracked open his eyelid again.
"I doubt he'll be that stupid." Baal said to her, but he got up non-the-less, he didn't need Diablo running into his room trying to attack him and revealing who he was to Sakai. "I'll go…call Baal." He said as he left the room once more.
Sakai walked towards the bed and decided she would remain calm, it seemed like this Baal demon had no problem keeping Diablo in check so she could rest, even if it seemed her companion wanted the bed she was tired as well.
He would just have to learn to share.