Keeping character and personally enjoying the act, Joshua said locking his hands behind his back like a commanding general, "Is it?"
The lady looked at the others with a scared look then back at Joshua with a forced smile, "Yes master! Of course. It has taken us a long time to get them ready."
An evil smile slid across Joshua's face, "We'll see." His eyes jeering at the woman and the other two men. She motioned him to the back. "This way dear."
Strutting like he owned the factory, Joshua walked past the three. He then stopped abruptly and the lady was going to accompany him but she stopped with him. He looked back with a menacing stare point at one of the men. The big man with the girly T, "And the next time I see you wearing that shirt, I will grind every one of you bones into powdered milk!"
Never had Joshua seen a beefy guy shrivel up in fear and squeaked out, "Yes master."
Turning back, Joshua was afraid of himself at that point. Not because he didn't mean it or because he felt he pulled it off. He was afraid maybe it wasn't as much of an act as he first thought. He did that a little too well. Shaking that feeling he marched on as the girl from the desk followed behind him. The two men stayed guarding the front door.
Going through a well-cooled office space he entered into the actual working part of the factory. It was as cool as the offices. It smelled of oil and looked like it should be housing huge machines. Yet it didn't. What it did contain was something that Joshua couldn't get over.
Rows of humanoid demons with chain leashes. Attached to the leashes were two and three, large hellhounds. They were a blaze with fire and looked just like Joshua thought they would. Burning, skeletal Dobermans with black tongues lolling out. Looking to the left and right on vigilance. The humanoids were black bodied, muscular beings with pearl orbed heads. They stood at attention in rows like an army. There must have been close to a hundred or more.
Joshua looked back at the woman dropping his bass voice reverting back to his normal voice. "Are there more?"
She looked at him with a nice smile. "Many. We are housing nearly three-hundred of them. That's nearly a full company!"
Clearing his throat with confusion, "All for me huh?"
"Of course."
Shaking his head, Joshua made up his mind. These things had to go. "I want all these things gone."
Shocked, the lady asked, "But lord, are you sure?!"
Blinking with uncertainty, Joshua walked down the ranks of the orb-headed, hellhound handlers. He knew he shouldn't be reveling in them but he couldn't help it. Something felt so right about it. Like he belonged here. Heading to the front ranks, Joshua bent down in front of one looking at the hellhounds it restrained by the chain leashes. The two infernal canines looked at Joshua and sat down with their cropped tails waggling. Reaching out, Joshua cocked his head petting one of them. It licked his hand lovingly. Joshua smiled. He had never seen anything like it and the fire on it did not burn him. It warmed his hand as he petted the creature. Feeling the slickness of it head and rubbing its inner ear hole, not being able to pet its ears since it was just a skull.
Standing up, Joshua saw the woman come around, telling him, "See, they are very loyal, sir. Why would you want to get rid of them?!"
Smiling with a repressed sadness, Joshua asked, "What have they been eating?"
"Well master - I mean - they have to kill. At first we had an abundant amount of farm animals but then we had to resort to local pets. They don't have an appetite except to kill, not actually eat. So naturally, dead flesh wouldn't work. But don't worry sir, once you can take them out, they'll have all the living flesh they could ever want."
"What do you mean?" Joshua asked looking at her inquisitively.
Confused, the woman answered, "When you attack the major cities master. I hear they enjoy the flesh of young babes." A wide smile coming over the woman.
Sneering with an anger at even the suggestion of letting the hellhounds feast on a baby. Josh's bass, dark tone was back, "You sick, demented chick! How dare you even suggest I would feed these things children!"
Worried, perplexed, and scared, the woman questioned, "But master I thought that…"
Before she could finish another voice came from above both of them. "He's not ready!"
Both of them looked up as a unseen man in a brown trench coat and a fedora walked ominously above them. His gloved hands gripping the railing on the catwalk. Staring down at them, stopping right above them, his voice was twisted and demonic yet calm and eloquent, "As it stands right now, Balscoth has not shown him the true ways to reformation. He needs to be taught how to lead. How to command and enforce. He is not our master. Not yet."
The covered man jumped from the catwalk down to the floor stripping himself of the clothes as he did. What landed in front of Joshua and the woman was some kind of black tentacle nightmare. Its humanoid form writhed with at least ten tentacles, five on each side. Its hips extended to a jumble of octopus legs sliding along the ground like an octopus. Its arms branching out into several writhing limbs on each. Six red eyes inside its skull-shaped head. They all were focused right on Joshua. Several horns protruded from its head all of them covered with small spikes. Large flaps where his mouth should be opening and shutting. He stood over Joshua letting his arm tentacles wave about. That same voice telling the green-haired boy, "The lord sees something in you. I see only failure." It wrapped one of it arms around the woman and lifted her with ease.
Kicking out against it, she squealed, "Am I not worthy?!"
Watching her struggle, Josh fixed his gaze on the tentacle monster. "Put her down!" His voice losing its domineering overtone even though he tried in vain to keep it.
Cocking his head, the monster said with a sliding smirk, "You think she is worthy of keeping around?"
Looking around, Josh said, "Yes. Just put her down."
"Then prove it."
"How?"
Looking back at the woman, "If you have to ask -" He snapped his arm snapping the young woman's neck. Dropping her and looking at Joshua with an evil glair, "Then you are not ready." Taking a few slides towards Joshua backing the boy up, "And - you are seriously getting on my nerves. I think it would be better if Balscoth found someone else. Someone a bit more worthy of leading me. I come from a different lord and I thought that Balscoth would be a winner but if he is putting his faith in you, then I was mistaken. I'm just going to do him a favor and kill you right now."
Surprised and afraid, Joshua looked around at the hellhound handlers. On a whim he pointed at the tentacle monster, commanding, "Take him away from here!"
The ranks of demons stood still as stone. Some of the dogs barked but that's all that happened. The demon glanced at the rows of other demons saying happily, "They won't listen to you."
Gulping frightfully, the terrified boy just backed up against a wall saying, "What do you think Balscoth will do when he finds out you killed his - possession person!"
Stopping, the monster laughed, "A vessel? Is that what you think Balscoth wants you for?!" Shaking his head, "Wrong!" Approaching the boy.
Glass shattered from above as both looked up seeing Zarra jumping through a window and landing perfectly, cracking both chain whips at the black octopus demon. The chains whipped past the beast with Zarra yelling out, "Go ahead. I've been wanting to kill something all day."
Hissing out with hate, the monster said, "Zarra. Nice work keeping him on his way to the lord." Sarcasm dripping from his malformed mouth.
"What can I say, people need to eat. Be thankful I stopped in this crummy village and not one of the others. Could have been dangerous if it was garrisoned by another lord."
"And did he get anything to eat?" He asked slyly knowing very well he didn't.
Zarra shamefully pointed at the boy, "No. It was his fault!"
"Nobody knows what Balscoth is up to."
"The Sparda boys do. They'll be coming for him too."
"The Sparda boys?" The tentacle demon asked with a spurt of indifference. "You honestly think they can stand up to the likes of Balscoth?"
"Just one took down Mundus single-handedly, what do you think all three of them could do?"
"Three?" He asked confused.
"Oh" Zarra dragged out with arrogance now having the verbal upper-hand. "Didn't know about Nero, did you? Been out of the loop awhile?"
Whipping one of his tentacles for Joshua, Zarra snapped it back with her chains angrily, "You mind telling me what killing him will accomplish?!" Standing right in front of Joshua. Pushing the boy back to protect him.
"When I joined Balscoth…"
"Ah damn it!" Zarra hung her head.
"What?!"
"You're going to monologue! Look, I don't have the patience so you mind if we fight while you lay out your history?"
"Why are you being rude?"
"Because I don't like you. Or, you could go with the obvious answer that I'm a demon. Take your pick."
The tentacle beast charged Zarra but she wrapped him in her chains and tossed him to the side. He was back up quickly charging again only this time from the air. Latching onto Zarra's throat, tossing her to the way side as she crashed through a few of the demon guards. The hellhounds not attacking anything but certainly growling at Zarra for landing on top of them. Shaking it off, Zarra got back up and was immediately pummeled right through a cement wall. She tumbled into another part of the factory with a trail of debris rolling off of her.
Staying on the ground she heard the other demon's voice. A little agitated but still sounding completely calm. "When I joined Balscoth it was to get away from my abusive master. I thought that time under Balscoth would be wonderful. You know what I found out?"
Acting fast, Zarra whipped out one of her chains but a tentacle grabbed it and threw Zarra into the air and then slammed her back down on the floor. He repeated this two more times before wrapping her up in those black limbs of his and choking the life out of her. He went on wanting to see her head pop as he choked her. "Boredom! Everlasting boredom! For the past two decades all I have been doing is preparing for this little bastard's time." Referring to Joshua, his voice now raising and becoming more monstrous by the second. "Now that he is here I am unimpressed. Where is the greatness I was promised!"
Sliding one of her chains around the demon's throat, pulling him off, throwing him into some unused machinery. He bashed into it making the thousand pound contraption waver and bend in on him. Folding up entrapping him in metal. Zarra coughed out, "Two decades?!" Saying it surprised. She stood up with a long sigh, telling the downed demon, "You want to complain about boredom, you try doing it for two centuries and then nobody shows up! You come back and you talk to me when you do that!"
Pulling himself from the large machine, gliding out like a snake, the tentacle demon stood saying, "I never had that problem with my previous lord. We just had to wait and when the time was right - annihilation!"
Snapping both chain whips, Zarra marched at him with a malicious look in her eyes. The demon got the drop on her though, grabbing her leg, tripping her, and then knocking her away into a conveyor belt. She smashed into it making it bend and break on itself. Sending several rollers rolling away and the black belt lay in ruin. She tried, struggling to get up.
Gliding towards her came the monster. Hissing at her, "If I get rid of Joshua, then we can get back to basics. Murder! Chaos! Degradation!"
Slipping with a grunt of pain, Zarra said, "What makes you think I won't tell Balscoth that you killed him?"
Picking her up above his head, the demon held Zarra, looking at her, "What makes you think you'll be alive to tell him?" He then whipped her around slamming her into a clear, plastic enclosure around a large machine. Bouncing her off of it making her fall to the ground face first. Gliding around her, he picked her up by her legs and neck. He began to pull her apart. The spikes on his tentacles cut into her as she grinded her teeth in misery trying to attack.
Joshua came running over, yelling at the beast, "Stop it! Put her down!"
Looking at him with jeering eyes, the monster asked back, "Or what? Huh? What's the repercussions if I don't follow you?"
Zarra struggled with a helpless look in her eyes. Demon blood emptying from her body.
"I'll - I will - I'll do something terrible to you!"
Smashing Zarra on the concrete floor he knocked her out of the way and stood right above Joshua with a whispering coming from him. An evil whispering echoing from his body as he writhed above the green-haired boy.
Folding his arms, the demon said, "Well, I'm ready."
Joshua looked at him confused, "Ready for what?"
"This terrible thing you're supposedly going to do to me."
"That was only if you didn't let her go. You did so there's…"
"You disgust me! I was suppose to take orders from you?! Not in a thousand eternities!" Raising one of his tentacles he was going to drive the spikes deep into the boy's head. Joshua just stood there as Zarra threw out one of her chains and it was knocked away by the tentacle monster. "You just don't learn! It's over!" With a roar he raised another planning on smashing Joshua's face into nothing. Closing his eyes, Joshua prepared. He wouldn't back down. He would except his gruesome fate.
Suddenly, a bright blinding light blasted into the factory. The roof was torn up and a rumbling came from the ground throwing everyone off their feet. The hellhounds and their handlers were immediately vaporized by the bright, white light cascading through the torn off roof. It blinded everybody. Zarra and the tentacle demon screamed in agony as time slowed down. Their skin lifting from their bodies in white hot ash. Joshua was unaffected. Time continually slowed down as the kid crawled over to his friend Zarra worried about her. A quarter of her flesh gone. The white light burning into her anatomy now. He grabbed her and tried to shield her from its effects noticing none of them happening to him. She looked up at him shocked he was actually trying to help her and that was when she froze.
Confused and blinking with perplexity, Joshua turned and saw the same for the tentacle monster. He had frozen too in a pose of two of his tentacles reaching for Joshua and Zarra. Seeing aclock it ticked no more. All time had stopped. The bright light dimmed a bit and the effects of it stopped on the two frozen demons. Standing up, Joshua asked himself, "What the hell is going on?!"
A powerful man's voice came from above him out of the white, blinding light. Joshua thought he recognized it. It sound like Dante's voice only older and much wiser. "Guess again."
Joshua looked up and saw a shadow come out of the light walking down invisible steps from up in the sky. He had to put up his hand but the image of the man became clearer as it stepped into the plant and out of the white light which seemed to blanket the sky. The man walking down from the sky had buckled boots. He flexed his hands with white, soft gloves. A purple coat with golden highlights. A white vest underneath with purple dress pants on. Tucked underneath the white vest was a bright purple, silk handkerchief. A huge sword on his back made of steel and gold. The blade itself was as wide and big as the man's back but the tip branched into two skewers. Notched teeth ran up the one side of the blade as the other was cover nearly to the tip in gold. The hilt was also gold with a clear diamond orb on top. Around his neck was a golden gross with a red ruby in the middle.
He continued walking until his boots touched the floor and he stood in front of Joshua with a slight smile on his face. His head held high with combed aired-back hair. Joshua pointed to his hair. "Your hair is white!"
With a smile and a calm tone to his older, strong voice, the sky-walker said, "And yours is green."
Wild, wide eyes came over Joshua, "You -you're -" He couldn't finish.
"I am Sparda."
