Chapter Twenty-Six: Broken
"Why do we have to wear these old musky clothes? They reek." Garfield complained as he sniffed the collar of his attire. He was wearing a loose fitting white dress shirt that had ruffles in the front. To accompany the outfit, he wore a pair of black slacks, a mahogany belt, and to finish it off a pair of dress shoes. The man found it odd that since they were on a rescue mission, they wouldn't have to dress so professional. His initial thoughts were they would wear casual clothes or even a nice suit. But instead, they both wore this attire.
Cleaver continued to adjust his pant leg and sighed out of frustration. "We have to wear these to blend into the demon world. Not to mention they mask our human scent so we won't be detected so easily. It smells foul to you because you smell the demon scent it's smothered in."
Garfield shrugged his shoulders and continued to adjust his outfit. He made sure he packed several knives and two guns. At first it was uncomfortable, but he adapted to a handgun tucked in his socks. Cleaver was finishing the last touches on the portal while Garfield waited patiently.
It was nearly midnight and the full moon lit up the dark sky. It had been several days and he was growing anxious. The man barely slept thinking about the demon world, Raven, and what will come about this journey. Surely he knew that it would be dangerous, but he did not know what to expect. At least Cleaver was there to guide him around the demon realm. Garfield's thoughts consumed primarily on Raven. He was concerned about her well being and for her safe return back to the human world. His thoughts were interrupted when Cleaver nudged him.
"The portal is almost ready. We will be departing soon." He addressed. "But first, we must go over a few rules before we leave."
Garfield nodded almost feeling he was being lectured. "Follow my rules when we are here, let me speak, only speak when you are spoken to, keep your cool, and for the most part, if we do encounter Miss Raven, do not go into a situation blindly."
"I understand." Garfield nodded his head in agreement.
"Good." Cleaver replied walking towards the portal. They were in the gymnasium in the headquarters where no one would expect them to be. Earlier, Cleaver poured a white powdery substance in an oval shape in the center. Eventually, Cleaver lit a match and ignited the white substance in a green flame. Suddenly, an elliptical sphere appeared above the flame making a three-dimensional sphere appear. A blue vortex appeared before them and Garfield stared in awe.
"Okay, I will head in first and follow me in." Cleaver instructed taking a step into the portal.
Garfield trailed behind him and hesitantly walked into the portal. Once, his body was in the portal, the opening closed behind him. The portal transformed in a tunnel exposing bright lights of color. They both walked casually through the tunnel and an ending appeared only a few feet away from them. When they reached the ending, they fell downward and found themselves smack dab on molted rock ground. Well, at least Cleaver kept his balance; whereas Garfield landed face first.
"Sorry I forgot about that." Cleaver apologized extending a hand. Garfield accepted it and stood on his two feet.
Now, the two men stood before immense scenery. It surely had all the characteristics of what the demon realm was expected to be; except, Garfield did not expect to see a gargantuan castle in the center of the city. Luckily, there were no demons around when they arrived. But it seemed as if there were no demons around.
"You see that over there?" Cleaver pointed to the castle. "That is Trigon's castle. Miss Raven will most likely be there."
Garfield nodded and they proceeded towards the center of the city. Eventually they reached a couple of demons near a shop. The two men were nervous and scared they would be exposed. To their fortune, they paid no mind to them. However, something was concerning Cleaver.
"This is very strange. The streets are always filled with demons but it is nearly empty. It doesn't feel right." Cleaver whispered to Garfield.
"Really?" the man asked and watched as Cleaver led them so two demons talking outside a building.
"Hello Gentlemen," Cleaver greeted the two demon males and they turned their attention to them. "May I ask you two a question?"
"Sure.' They both replied in a monotonous tone. It was obvious they found the two men in front of them odd, but did not look much into it.
"My friend and I have been gone for a while in the human world and I find it odd that the streets are nearly empty. Is there an event?"
"Why yes there is an event." One demon male replied in a deep voice. "It actually was announced this morning and everyone has rushed to the imperial coliseum."
"What event would cause almost the entire demon population to clammier to the coliseum?" Cleaver curiously asked.
"There's a half-demoness that is going to be broken and may end in her being put out of her misery" The other demon snickered. "It's rumored that she is related to the great Trigon and he must keep her in line. Breakings are always great entertainment. We will be leaving for the coliseum soon to see it happen."
Garfield and Cleaver looked at each other with eyes wide as saucers. It was obvious they were thinking the same thing. Garfield's heart began to race and he could feel his body temperature rise. He did not know what they meant by 'breaking' but he knew it did not sound good. Cleaver continued to keep his composer and turned his attention to the demons.
"Sounds entertaining!" he said enthusiastically "May we accompany you two?"
The demons smiled and nodded their heads. "Of course. Let us go."
The two men followed the demons fearing what was about to happen and what they were about to see.
"Time to leave you filthy half-breed." Commanded the guard opening the door to the cell. He stomped into the cell yanking the arm of the prisoner. She growled under her breath but did not react to the forceful pull. She nearly stumbled to the ground from fatigue and hunger. Raven felt dazed from the interaction as the guard led her out of solitary confinement. The guard did not even bother to chain her hands or legs, but sensing her weakness, the demon thought she wouldn't be much of a threat.
Eventually, a light appeared at the end of hallway. With each step, her stomach began to drop further and further. This may have also been due to the fact she hadn't eaten since her arrival in the demon world and had little water.
Once they reached the threshold between pure darkness and into light, Raven cringed at the harsh luminosity. She had been in the darkness for so long, the light burned and stung her amethyst eyes. It took her a while for eyes to adjust, but could only see blobs, shapes, and shadows. But she knew where she was. She was in the imperial coliseum. The place where her mother was killed and now, where she would fall as well.
Soon, blobs turned to actual vivid images, but that did not make her feel better. All around her demons eagerly waited for her arrival. They were acting barbaric screaming, howling, clawing, and other primal reactions. She could smell their foul scent everywhere making her want to vomit. Again, she had nothing to regurgitate. Then she looked to her right.
Memories flashed in her mind quickly in her mind. There were still bloodstains on the ground. The same ground where her mother's body lay dead in a pool blood, while her father hovered over body grinning at what he had accomplished. Raven was haunted by her memories of the past and soon the present would focus her attention.
The guard pushed the woman to the ground on her knees, and she quietly shrieked. In reaction to this, the guard laughed and retreated, leaving Raven alone in the center of the arena. She continued to survey around the area. The demons continued their taunting towards her. The ground below her was a hard rock stained with remnants of old blood. From what she remembered when she was in the demon world, this was a place for public display of torture of demons that went against Trigon or other high demons.
While scanning her surroundings, her attention focused on two figures sitting in the balcony. Upon further examination, the half demon recognized the two figures making her blood boil with anger. One the left sat Archon with a smug look on his face. He no longer looked angry, but quite content staring down at the half-demon. She made direct eye contact with him even though he was at a large distance. Raven scowled at him and he merely smiled at the woman.
Then she directed her attention to the figure sitting next to him. Of course this figure would choose Archon as his right hand man. Even though when it came to bloodlines, she should have been sitting to the right of this figure. However, she detested the idea of sitting to Trigon's right side proudly. The woman continued her scowl but intensified her expression. Much to the same reaction as Archon, Trigon grinned showing his pearl white teeth.
Slowly, the demon king stood up, making the crowd fall silent and direct their attention towards him. Raven clenched her fists trying to retrain herself and keep her composer. Trigon smirked at the woman below and directed his view to his surrounding subordinates.
"My minions," His bellowed voice echoed through the large coliseum. "I welcome you all to the imperial coliseum in order to witness the breaking of this inferior being."
With that statement lingering in the air, the demons howled and cackled encouraging their leader to continue speaking. Raven raised her eyebrows and scuffed at the ignorance of these demons. She knew that the demons in the demonic realm were very naïve and ignorant. Raven merely thought of them as animals taking human form.
"This half-breed you see before you must be broken of her spirit." Trigon continued, "She has gone against my superior power and must be punished. Now, we will witness this wench's spirit torn to shreds. In the end, she will never go against my whim. Instead, she will be only used as the way only half-demons are used for demons. A servant to our needs!" Again, the barbarians applauded their leader. Trigon returned his attention to his daughter.
"Are you ready to be broken filthy half-breed?" Trigon asked leaning over the balcony.
She scuffed once again, "Fuck you. You cannot break me. The only way you could break me is to kill me. So why not go through all this effort and just kill me now?" she shouted showing her white teeth.
"Now that wouldn't be fun wouldn't it?" The demon smiled and returned to his position next to Archon. "You are wasting precious time half-breed. I look forward to what is about to occur."
Trigon slowly sat down and raised his right hand above his head. "Let us get started. Commander! Release them!"
Immediately, Raven heard two harsh sounds behind her. It was similar to the sound of unlocking metal. Hesitantly, Raven turned around. The woman never noticed two underground doors ten feet behind her. The doors slowly opened and Raven could sense something beyond those doors. Even though she felt weak, Raven mustered all her strength to stand up. She knew she would be faced with something stronger than her and she needed to fight back in order to stay alive. The doors halted and she heard a distinct growl form the darkness. Whatever it was, it wasn't friendly.
Two large creatures manifested from the depths of the darkness revealing their forms into the light. The creatures were about the size of a lioness but had the stature of a komodo dragon. They were ebony with neither scales nor fur. Their eyes were blood red staring down at the half-demon before them. And Raven knew what their fowl creatures were. Underlings.
From what she recalled, these creatures were the foot soldiers of demons. They were not intelligent, but skillful when it came to mindless, predatory killing. Even though they lacked intelligence compared to the average demon, they had a knack to inflict more damage than a demon. Another thing that concerned Raven was how venomous they were. A couple of bites to a human would kill them in minutes, but do no harm to full-fledged demons. Trigon truly made a wise choice choosing these demons to attack her. Although she was part demon, her human side would be her falter if she were to be bitten by these creatures. She wouldn't die instantly compared to a human, but she would be in pure agony from their poison. Raven wouldn't die, but would have to suffer through the pain. The woman knew she had to muster all her strength to stay alive and fend off these creatures.
The two underlings hissed similar to the sound of an alligator. They slowly walked forward keeping their red eyes on their prey. Eventually they separated and encircled the woman. Raven turned into a defensive stance watching the underlings circling her like prey. They continued to close the gap between them and the woman. The demon to her left bolted towards the woman.
Raven attempted to dodge the attack but the demon's claw gashed her left forearm. The woman grunted and demon licked the blood from its claw. The other demon followed pursuit and attempted to attack from behind. However, her elbows crashed into the creature's throat making it back off in pain. She could feel her strength coming back but did not know where it was manifesting.
Caught off guard, Raven felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. Turning slightly, she found the other underling sinking its canines in it. She jerked her shoulder to get the demon off and to her luck, it did. The demon licked his teeth savoring her taste. The wound hurt and Raven yelped in pain. The demons surrounding her laughed and applauded the speckle before them. Trigon and Archon continued to smirk and watch from above.
She collapsed in pain holding her shoulder to relieve from the burning and stinging sensations. The half-demon tried to keep her guard up while watching the demons. But before she could dodge it, an underling pounced on her weak body and bit into her hip. She shrieked in pain and was paralyzed from the attack. The demon would not latch off no matter how she squirmed. The woman felt herself getting weaker and weaker. But Raven felt a sensation in the depths of her psyche, yearning to break free. She was too weak to resist the sensation, and gave it full-adulterated control.
Within a blink of an eye, the demon was thrown off the woman and pinned to the wall. It surprised the entire crowd and intrigued Trigon. He peered over the balcony and smiled at the sight he was seeing. Below him, Raven pinned the underling baring Trigon's traits. Her canines grew and her eyes transformed to crimson red. She smiled demonically at the creature and sent it crashing to the ground feet away. The underling cried and Raven smiled at what she had done. She pounced on the underling like it had done to her earlier. With wicked eyes, she took her long sharp claws and dug it through the demon's torso. The underling's cry was sharp and piercing to the human ear. To the demoness, it was the sound was beautiful music.
To stop the demon's cries, the half-demon ripped what was to be assumed the jugular vein of the demon; using only her sharp teeth. The demon let out one final cry and its body fell stiff and limp.
Raven stood up and licked her lips from the demon's blood. Her lower face was covered entirely with demon blood and flesh. Above, Trigon smiled proudly to what his daughter had done. For the first time, he referred to her as his daughter. The woman closed her eyes and held her head up to the sky letting out a venomous laugh.
Unbeknownst to her, the other underling was planning to attack. Swiftly and without fear, the underling charged towards the woman. Sensing another presence approaching her, she opened her eyes, but it was too late. The underling head butted her into one of the walls making a large impression into the concrete wall. The half-demon groaned, but before she could react, it bit into her neck trying to rip out her throat. Before its teeth sunk deeper, Raven grabbed the underling by its neck and threw it to the center of the coliseum. It growled once it got back up to its feet. She could feel herself become weaker, but continued her raging assault on the creature.
The woman charged toward the demon and it did the same. When they were feet apart, the demon jumped and Raven kept stopped her charge. Before it could make contact, she used her hands to give some leverage between her and the underling. Her muscles became weaker as the demon struggled between her grasp. She was becoming more fatigue and the demon's weight eventually dislocated her left shoulder sending her in pain to the ground.'
The underling gladly took the opportunity and sunk his teeth into her abdomen. She screamed and in defense, impaled her sharp claws through the demon's neck to its upper head. The demon was silent and collapsed on the woman. The half-demon used the rest of her strength to move the demon off her body, but it was futile. In order to free herself from its weight, she dragged her body from the demon and eventually slipped from beneath the demon.
Feeling herself weaken with each labored breath, she returned to her normal state. Raven no longer portrayed traits from her father, but lay before the demons in her inferior state. She lifted up her head to look towards Trigon. She could see content and satisfaction within his expression as his only living offspring was beaten and broken. The pain was awful and she could no longer hold onto her pride. Without delay, she vomited traces of blood and other bodily liquids. She let herself cry and waited for her fate. Raven let her head crash onto the floor from exhaustion. The poison in her body was coursing quickly through her, making her entire body burn. The half-demon no longer wanted to fight anymore. He had done it. Trigon had actually done it. Raven Roth had been broken.