Egyn's hands were neatly tucked beneath his head, fingers laced together. The sky looming above was dark as always, a cloudy mix of purple and red, and a light breeze carried the scent of blood and misery.
No place like home, huh.
Eyes slipping shut, he dozed there for a while, consciousness fading in and out until in a muddled voice he asked, "How much longer do we have to wait?"
Now if there had been crickets in Gehenna — oversized demon ones don't count — this would have been their shining moment.
Frowning at the lack of response, Egyn cracked open an eye.
"Hey," he called, sitting up. "Gehenna to Iblis. Anyone there?"
His sister kept her back turned. The hell was her problem now? Whatever it was, Egyn wasn't about to be ignored.
"Helloooooooooo? Iiiiiiiiibliiiiiiiiis? Iblis Iblis Iblis Iblis-"
"Will you STOP that?!"
Victory.
"Oh so you can hear me?"
"...Unfortunately..."
The words were muttered under her breath, as if he wasn't meant to hear. Which, given how good demonic hearing was, was impossible, which Iblis knew, so really, she was just being a bitch.
"Samael said to be here at noon," she added, switching to a normal volume while he glared daggers at her back.
"Exactly, noon," Egyn scoffed. "Which was ages ago." Probably. With neither a sun nor any kind of timepiece guesswork really was the only options available. Was Iblis wearing a watch? He couldn't see. "He's supposed to be Master of Time and Space but the bastard can't even keep a damn appointment."
"If it bothers you so much, you could always leave," she pointed out coldly.
"Oh, don't be like that," he said. Stretching his arms, he began lazily working the kinks out of his back. Rocks made for a very poor bed, after all. "You said I could come, too, remember? No backsies."
"And must you make me regret that decision so soon?" she asked flatly, at last casting a glance over her shoulder. "And 'backsies'? Are you a child?"
Egyn shrugged.
In an effort to amuse himself — and hopefully irritate his sister further with his antics — he began gathering the moisture in the air and compressing it into little balls of water. Once a dozen or so were floating around, he flicked two fingers down. The spheres shot away like bullets and seconds later the loud, anguished roars of demons tore through the air.
Egyn snickered at their howls, and ignoring Iblis' disapproving sigh, began forming the next set.
No sooner had he finished, that a surge of power rippled behind them, ripping a tear in the fabric of space.
"Finally," Egyn groaned, dropping the spheres. They hit the ground, splashing like rain drops before soaking into stone.
The pair watched in silence as the tear grew. Once it was large enough, Iblis stepped through and was quickly swallowed up by the shadows. Casting one final glance at Gehenna's ominous landscape, Egyn followed her into the darkness.
xXx
It wasn't Samael who was waiting for them on the other side.
"So he's late and rude?" Egyn mused, quirking an eyebrow at the demon butler. "What do you think, Belial, was it his time amongst humanity that ruined his already shitty personality or does family simply mean jack shit nowadays?"
To his credit, Belial didn't so much as bat an eye, but then it could hardly be the first time he'd have had to deal with the backlash of Samael's crap. Instead, the butler dipped into a low bow.
"Allow me to convey my Master's most profound remorse at this discourteous reception. Please know that there are extenuating circumstances which I am not at liberty to discuss. However, if Your Highnesses would be so kind as to follow me, I shall guide you to him."
Iblis inclined her head, shooting Egyn a sharp glance before he could fire off another barb. Fine, he could play nice for a bit.
Not like there was much of a choice, he thought as Belial proceeded to lead them through a veritable maze of tunnels and chambers. Going by architecture and feel, it was obvious they weren't physically located anywhere near each other, connected through magic instead, and going in blind could only end in disaster.
After walking a long while, passing who knows how many rooms along the way, the atmosphere shifted.
Sunlight poured in through large, unfrosted windows, offering a unencumbered view of the sprawling city beyond while also making the hallway they were in uncomfortably bright. A far cry from the shadows demons were naturally drawn to. Egyn resisted the urge to rub at his eyes but couldn't keep a scowl from forming.
They followed Belial further into the mansion, passing by tasteful and not so tasteful décor. Egyn was honestly surprised he didn't see an obscenely large painting of his brother come by. Samael certainly had the ego for it.
At a pair of large, double doors made of wood that shimmered like gold the butler halted.
Inside lay an office. There were cushy armchairs, potted plants and even a fireplace to the side, but what truly dominated the space was an enormous desk all the way at the back. And seated atop it, legs crossed and unchanged as ever, was Samael.
At their arrival, he slid off, approaching them with arms swept wide in welcome.
"Iblis," he said with far too much enthusiasm for it to be genuine. His eyes moved from one to the other. "And Egyn, too. My dear siblings. Oh, it's been far too long~!"
"Has it?" Iblis mused. Egyn glanced at her. Her tone just now had been sarcasm personified. Ah, so she was pissed about being kept waiting.
Samael's smile widened, turning sharp.
"Oh yes," he said. "Nearly a century if I'm not mistaken."
"…You are not," Iblis said slowly, eyes narrowing as Samael looked her up and down. When he finished his appraisal, he smirked.
"This body suits you~!" he gushed, uncaring of the way their sister's face contorted. "Tell me, how long have you had it?"
And there was Egyn's cue.
"Fun as it'd be to watch Ibby tear you a new one," Egyn said, affecting a bored tone as if there wasn't an inferno building beside him. "I for one would like to get on with the reason we're here. So, 'Nii-san', where would this little brother of ours happen to be at?"
Iblis' glare was nothing short of murderous and Egyn shot her a gleeful grin in return. Partly because, well, she looked funny like this, and partly to distract her from the bastard they were unfortunate enough to call an older brother.
Samael merely chuckled at the two of them.
"In class," he said, voice full of mirth. "Where he'll remain for the next 2 hours. Education is so important, don't you agree. I'll make the introduction afterwards. Until then, the two of you are free to explore the grounds. Discreetly, of course." His eyes moved between the two before settling on the King of Fire. "I trust that won't be a problem?"
From his position by her side, Egyn had a crystal clear view of the twitching muscles of Iblis' clenched jaw. His sister managed to relax it a fraction, enough to gnash out a curt 'no' before the entire thing locked up again.
"Marvelous~!" Samael cheerfully clapped his hands together. "Then if you'll excuse me. A headmaster's work is never finished~!"
With that blatant dismissal, Iblis turned and stalked out of the office. Egyn trailed a few steps behind, silently counting down the seconds. He made it all the way to seventeen before Iblis finally spoke.
"I neither required," she hissed, "nor wished for your assistance."
Egyn folded his arms behind his head and looked at the ceiling rather. "Assistance? From me? Sister, the day that happens marks the eschaton. No, you two were putting me to sleep, is all. And besides, that's not what you're mad about, is it, Ibby?"
Oh. He might have overdone that one just a bit because Iblis turned slowly, looking quite…
…Well fuck.
"H-hey now," he tried, backng away as she stalked closer. "Don't forget where we are…"
She couldn't actually be thinking of fighting him here, could she? Samael would kill them for sure, especially after that whole 'being discrete' crap. Egyn didn't want to die. He still had a good few decades to go with this body. He hadn't even begun looking for a replacement yet! "I'm sorry. I won't say it again, okay? So just-"
Iblis snarled silently, exposing the elongated canines of their kind, and a hint of true fear ran through his mind.
And then, just like that, the fight sizzled out of her, the mask of indifference slipping back on seamlessly.
Without a word, she spun and continued striding down the hall. Egyn watched her go, sparing relieved sigh before trudging after her.
xXx
"Samael must reaaaally hate this kid."
After wandering around the 'school' — if it could even be called such. Just how big was this place? — memorizing its layout and where the densest concentrations of exorcists were located, the two Kings now found themselves on the outskirts of the campus.
The building standing before them, emblazoned with the words 'Boy's Dormitory', was nothing like the rest. The walls bore numerous deep cracks, half the grimy windows were damaged and the other half was covered by large cobwebs with fat spiders at their centers.
It was, to put it simply, a complete and utter dump.
"We're not actually going in there, are we?" Egyn asked unhappily when he saw Iblis reach for the handle. "I mean, look at it! This place is a breeze away from turning into a pile of rubble! There's got to be at least half a dozen goblin nests in there. Not to mention tons of coltar, fungus demons, and-"
"Then. Stay. Outside!"
Egyn blinked, then broke into a wide grin.
Those were the first words she'd spoken to him since their little spat, and okay, maybe she was telling him to get lost but hey, at least they were on speaking terms again!
When she saw his smile, Iblis sent him a foul look.
"Well?" she demanded.
"Nah, I'm good," Egyn enthused cheerfully. His bright response earned him another disgusted look. "Oh, don't be like that! I was only trying to be considerate-" Iblis snorted, "-given your sensibilities and all but if you're sure, then… Lead on, Captain!" He finished up with a snappy salute.
Rather than respond, Iblis just rolled her eyes and opened the door. The hinges moaned in loud protest, something neither King actually noticed as they scrambled back for dear life in a futile attempt to escape the putrid stench of rot that came floating out to greet them.
Iblis flinched back, horror overtaking her face. It would have been the perfect I-told-you-so moment, and under different circumstance Egyn would definitely have cashed in on it…but for now he was far busier fighting the urge to retch.
Father in Gehenna, Samael sure took cruel and unusual punishment to hitherto unimaginable heights!
Once the Water King was sure his last meal would stay put — he seriously doubted it would taste as good a second time around — he turned to his sister and-
"…Speak and you die…!"
-wisely held his tongue.
Still, even the threat of death wasn't enough to abate his amusement. In a bid to smother snorts and giggles, Egyn put his hands up to cover his face. Which worked for all of five whole seconds. That's when the irritated flush and the near invisible tears misting her eyes — that smell really was something else — pushed him over the edge, quite literally, and he collapsed into a howling, hysterical mess.
"If you're quite finished," Iblis muttered angrily. "Oh for the- enough already!"
"S-sorry," he gasped, fighting to regain some semblance of control. wiping the tears from his eyes, he shakily got to his feet.
Damn, he hadn't laughed like that since he'd stolen Amaimon's candy stash and hidden it in Astaroth's place. Oh, it had taken ages to clean up after the Earth King's temper tantrum. And sure, by the time they'd managed to dig up old Rothy the poor bastard had been in less than an ideal state, but it had been worth it, damn it!
Even now, the memory of Amaimon's crazed expression brought a wicked smile to his face.
He wondered if Iblis recalled the event. He meant to ask but paused as he caught sight of her expression.
Iblis was starting to look a tad upset now, her face having gone from merely flushed to full scarlet, and if there was anything worse than an angry Iblis, it was a flustered one.
Egyn held his hands up in a placating gesture. "Okay, okay. I'll stop, yeah? Just give me a sec." Deep breath in. And out again. Egyn nodded. "There. Happy now?"
Iblis folded her arms and turned away, refusing to answer and sulking up a storm. Really, between the two of them he wasn't sure who the real child was. A thought he would definitely be taking to the grave.
They looked at the building in not-quite companionable silence.
"That never happened," Iblis said suddenly, her tone brooking no argument.
"Why, Sister. I don't even know what you're talking about."
