Hazbin Devils
Chapter 2
"A human? Angel, are you high again?" Vaggie asked while crossing her arms.
"I wish I were, but I swear that I saw a human save me," Angel Dust insisted. He winced when Charlie dabbed some medicine on his head wound. "Had a red coat and white hair."
Vaggie looked at Charlie. "What're the odds of a living human ending up in hell?"
"It happens, but rarely," Charlie replied while bandaging up Angel's wound. "The last time I saw one was many years ago. I had to keep him hidden until we could find a way to send him back."
"How's that even possible, a human being here I mean?" Angel asked in return.
"There are forbidden rituals that link hell and earth, but it's dangerous. Demons normally don't take too kindly to humans being in hell. As for why he's there, I don't know. He was too scared to answer anything we ask him."
Vaggie rubbed her chin thoughtfully while Angel remained still as Charlie finished bandaging him. Once everything was done, she and her girlfriend helped the spider demon lie down on the couch. He was given an ice pack to numb the pain but it did little to ease it. All this while, Charlie's mind raced and pondered about what Angel had said. A human in hell, saving a demon? It sounded almost like sort of fantasy given the fact that most humans had trouble hurting demons. If what her first and only patient said was true, then maybe it's worth seeking this individual out and at least offering him shelter for saving Angel. Question is though, where did he go?
Turning around to look at Angel Dust, she smiled. "How 'bout an activity for today?" she asked cheerfully.
"Ugh, no offense, toots, but do I look like I'm in any condition to do yoga or whatever it is you make me do every day?" he responded as he pointed at the ice pack on his head.
"I just need you to tell me where you last saw him," Charlie clarified.
Angel blinked a couple of times, unsure of how that defined as 'activity'. "Sure, whatever. It was near Sheol Street, in the alleyways. I saw him running the other way."
"Where's that lead to?" Vaggie asked in Charlie's stead.
"How the fuck should I know? I'm not too familiar with the place."
"Oh yeah, then what the hell were you doing there anyway?" Vaggie asked with a frown.
"Personal business, the usual," Angel chuckled but groaned when his head started throbbing again.
Charlie was on her phone at that point with the map app opened. She searched up Sheol Street and showed Angel her phone. "Is this the alleyway you were in?" she asked while tapping on an unnamed street that was between a row of buildings.
"Yeah," he said and paused for a bit. "That's about right. I remember this corner here". He pointed at the corner mentioned and swiped the map slightly west a bit. "He went the opposite way."
She turned the phone back towards her and examined it. She followed the route until it reached at an exit by a side road adjacent to Sheol Street. There were not many places of interest nearby except for an abandoned building and a junk car scrapyard. Both were viable hiding spots, that is if he could get past any possible demon squatters and druggies living in the abandoned building and hellhounds guarding the scrapyard. Then again, this person saved Angel from a vicious mugger, and that meant something.
It was worth a shot. Deep down, she hoped the human would be alright. "Babe, could you help me check these two places out? If you see him, bring him back to the hotel. Let's give him a place to stay for the time being."
Her girlfriend took a look at the map and nodded resolutely. "I'll get started right away," she said.
"You're sending her alone?" Angel asked.
"I'll send Razzle and Dazzle to help her. You, on the other hand, need to stay," Charlie said firmly.
"Aw c'mon, I don't wanna miss out on the fun!"
"Angel, you're my patient, doubly so now that you're hurt. Please, just stay and relax a bit," Charlie pleaded.
Angel grumbled and turned on his side. The hell princess took his silence as compliance and called for her bodyguards. Razzle and Dazzle immediately appeared by her side, and after a bit of explanation from their mistress, joined Vaggie's side. Charlie would not mind joining her, but someone had to look after the hotel, and she sure was not going to ask Alastor to look after it for her. Not yet anyway. With the car ready, her girlfriend and her bodyguards went on their way.
In the meantime, she needed to continue tending Angel Dust and making sure he does not sneak out again.
A dark and dingy side road. How original, Vaggie thought when she opened the car door. Deep down, she resented the idea of trying to babysit a human, and a male at tha. Attempting to help run the hotel was already hectic as it is, but she did this only for Charlie; not because she liked helping this stranger to safety. Even if they rescued him, Vaggie doubted he'd be any help in the hotel and only be a freeloader. Much like Angel. Besides, how were they going to send a human back to the human world? It was a knowledge that only a select few demons knew about, and Charlie was not one of them. She knew about the existence of rituals that did so but that was about the extent of her knowledge.
Equipping herself with her spear, she walked forwards with Razzle and Dazzle trailing behind her silently. The desolate side road made her footsteps sound like thunder, making her rather conscious about it. She slowed her pace and lightened her steps. The scrapyard was the first to come into view located to the right side of the road. It was walled off by steel mesh fence that looked too flimsy to support its own weight. Above the entrance was a sign that read 'Lovejoy's Scrapyards and Spare Parts' with paint dripping from the crudely written words. There was a hellhound standing guard nearby, leaning against the guardhouse with a cigarette in his mouth. He stared at Vaggie as she passed by and she stared back at him for a moment before breaking eye contact.
"I'll check there later," she said softly to herself.
The abandoned building was just at the end of the road, a half-built apartment block that had hell vines climbing up the scaffolding and choking the tower crane. The concrete walls that were supposed to surround the place had been wrecked in several places with bullet holes pockmarking the rest of the wall. Abandoned guns and bullet casings were strewn on the road and pavement with many of them looking like they had been left there for a long time. A rusty Bazooka was left leaning by the wide-opened entrance.
Vaggie creased her mouth. It did not look like anyone had been here for a while. Or that would have been the case if she did not notice a body being tossed from the topmost floor of the building. It landed on the ground with a sickening splat. There were sounds of gunfire coming from the top as well. Vaggie was still unsure. Fights were very common wherever one went in Pentagram City, so this was not indicative of the stranger being here. Still, it was worth checking it out and see just to be sure.
The ground floor was unguarded but bodies were everywhere. Most were dead, some were still alive but badly injured to the point that they did not seem to care that Vaggie had trespassed their territory. These 'dead' demons would eventually regenerate if they were not taken out by Exterminator weapons. More bodies were found as she went higher up, each dying in different fashions ranging from getting shot and peppered with buckshots to getting slashed and mauled by probably a chainsaw-type weapon. Surely this can't be the work of a human, Vaggie thought as sweat ran down her forehead. Razzle and Dazzle made a noise behind her, but she did not turn to see what they were up to.
The sounds of fighting got louder the closer she got to the top floor. Cries of pain were intermixed with combat sounds. The cacophony of battle masked her quickened steps up the concrete stairs which led her to an unroofed arena where the battle took place. There were two demons left with one currently being cut down by a man with white hair and a faded red coat. The other was shuddering heavily, hesitant to even bring up his gun to point at the stranger. Unable to resist the urge to run, the remaining demon screamed in fear and dropped his weapon while making a mad dash past Vaggie and down the stairs.
The man's back was turned towards her, but he had noticed her staring at him. Turning around slowly, Vaggie could see his face under the remaining daylight. He had a grizzled look with a bearded face and slightly long white hair. His black shirt was torn in several places with blood staining it. Vaggie's heart raced. This man had single-handedly taken out an entire building full of demons with only a few cuts and scratches to his name. Surely this could not be an ordinary human; otherwise he would already have been killed just by entering hell itself. The grip on her spear tightened as she anticipated for him to attack. However, the man gave his sword a spin and placed it on his shoulder.
"I'm guessing you're not here to fight me?" he asked in a cocksure tone.
"What makes you think that?" Vaggie asked in return, her tone steely in an attempt to hide her nervousness.
"You would've attacked me by now."
"Would you rather I do that?"
He shrugged. "You could try if you want to."
She sighed. "Look, my girlfriend heard that you saved one of our…patients, and she wanted to provide you with shelter."
"Patients? You from a hospital?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as she did not look like a nurse one bit. "I did pass by some spider lady a few hours back if that's who you meant."
"Holy shit, he is real," Vaggie muttered to herself. Clearing her throat, she said, "Yes, that's Angel Dust. So, are you coming or what?"
The man rubbed his chin. "A shelter would certainly be nice, but I don't fancy staying in hospitals."
"It's a hotel," she corrected.
Hearing that, he let out a low whistle. "Wow, I didn't think there're hotels in hell. Do I get the VIP suite?"
"J-just come with me, alright," Vaggie said in an annoyed tone while rubbing her temple.
The man shrugged and walked towards her, his sword disappearing from his hand as if disintegrating into dust. Razzle and Dazzle looked at him with expressions of awe and confusion as he passed by them. Noticing them, he smiled and petted their heads. Vaggie was surprised that they reacted positively to him. She was certain they would have torn him apart if a human touched them. The fact that he was able to make them smile was indicative of something more to him.
As Chief Steerofsky walked down the street, he chewed lightly on his cigar as his thought train chugged on. Humans in hell. That was something he had not heard for a very long time. How the humans got hold of such forbidden knowledge was beyond him, but it did not matter. It only means more sods to boss around. Any human entering hell would quickly have their scent picked up by other demons. The last human got lucky because the boss's daughter was there to save him. Otherwise, they would have ripped his soul from his body, essentially damning him to hell straight away.
This one, however, was all too different. Not only were their scent not picked up, they actually went into hiding. The thought of it annoyed and intrigued him, but more towards the former. Steerofsky had better things to do like extorting money from the various small-time kingpins to beating up anyone who threatened Lucifer's territory. Although he has hell under his command, Lucifer only really cared about several places that were sentimental to him. Makes his job a lot easier. What was not making things easier were these two humans who continued to evade him.
While passing by a marketplace, he noticed a robed figure coming from the opposite direction. The chief raised an eyebrow. This person was trying too hard to keep himself as low profile as possible. Something to hide, he thought. The bull demon let the robed figure go past him initially, then he turned around and followed them from some distance away. He did not have to follow too far because the robed figure had stopped in front of a stall selling an assortment of ghoulish-looking fruits. The seller did not seem too concerned about the stranger; there was a double-barrelled shotgun by his side. He lazily picked at his teeth while the robed stranger browsed through the fruits.
"Anytime you're ready to buy, bucko," the seller said impatiently.
"Are these supposed to be fruits?" the figure asked.
"No, they're shit. Of course they're fruits!"
The stranger was silent for a bit before he spoke up. "How unappetizing," he said casually.
Now that ticked off the seller. "Oh, you got anything better then, bucko? Wouldn't be a wiseass no more if ya got ya head blasted eh?" he said while raising his shotgun.
The robed figure did not even react, but Chief Steerofsky noticed movement underneath his cloak. He must have a weapon. Thinking quickly, he jogged up to the stall to pretend to buy something to eat. Before the seller and the figure could react, the bull demon placed some money on the tray and took a fruit. The stunned stall keeper took a second to notice the money and reached out to collect it while the robed figure's stance showed signs of relaxation.
"Keep the change, kid," the chief said flatly.
"Uh y-yes," he stuttered.
Turning to the figure, he said, "Come with me."
He did not wait for a response, but one was not needed as the robed figure followed him out from the market wordlessly anyway. The way he walked was not one who was lost and sacred. His body was upright but his head remained lowered to shield his face. Since he was walking to the figure's right, Chief Steerofsky noticed what looked like the hilt of a sword poking out from beneath the tattered robes. It looked like a deliberate attempt to show that he was armed. Surely this could not be the human he was looking for? If anything, this person acted like he has been in hell for a very long time.
They reached the chief's police SUV, and the bull demon gestured him to enter the vehicle. Again, the robed figure did so without asking any question. Once Steerofsky was inside and the doors locked, he looked at the robed figure and said, "Alright, you can drop the ninja bullshit here. Who're you?"
"Someone who isn't of your concern," the stranger replied.
"Oh, but it is my concern. See, I uphold law in this here city, and you're acting suspicious. I have every reason to be concerned," said the bull demon.
"Law? This is nothing but a wasteland of sinners and demons. There is no law here." Again with the confidence.
Steerofsky crossed his arms. "Alright wise guy, you totally got me. Now, enough with the nonsense. Remove that piece of trash you're wearing and show me your identity. Take it nice and easy or I'll give you a proper thrashing," he said in a firm but grim tone.
The robed figure laughed. "Alright, I'll play along, but I'd suggest you not do anything rash."
With the hood removed, the first thing he saw was a head of swept back white hair. The human had a plain expression, staring back as if challenging the chief to blink. While the chief tried to look neutral, deep down, he was glad that he found his objective this quickly and easily. Too easily in fact that it felt like it was almost a set-up. He sniffed the air, but there was no distinct scent of a human coming from him. Another part of him felt a sense of inquisitiveness, but he was not about to ask him directly about his story. After a while, the chief just nodded his head slowly and started the engine.
"Am I in trouble?" the human asked in an almost sarcastic tone.
"Cut the wise guy attitude, boy. No, you're not in trouble, but the boss wants to see you personally," the chief replied while driving back onto the main road.
"Then I suppose there's no need for that hotel room anymore," said the man.
"Depends on whether or not the boss wants you around his place after that."
With that said, he took out his phone and made a call to Lucifer.
"Is it?" Lucifer asked with a twinkle in his eye. "Well, tell the driver to drop him at my mansion first. You and Dazzle can go back to the hotel." There was another call coming through his phone, this time it was from the chief. Since his conversation with Razzle was done, he switched lines with a push of a button. "Yello?"
"Your majesty, I got one of the humans here with me. I'm going by your place now," said the chief.
"Oh, marvellous!" he exclaimed happily. "This is way too convenient."
"Uh, what? Has the other been found?"
"By my daughter's girlfriend no less. Perhaps she's not so bad after all. Drop 'em by here and you can be on your way, Steerofsky."
"Yes, your majesty."
After slipped his phone back into his pocket, Lucifer called out for his servants to prepare the guest room and bring out the apple cider and caramel apples. There was much to discuss about and he hoped to learn more about them, assuming that they really are Sparda's sons. He paused and waved his hand dismissively. Of course they have to be Sparda's sons. They have eluded demons this long after all, and Razzle even said that the human in the red coat had single-handedly handed every demon he fought their asses. When he went to the guest room, the fireplace was just lit while a servant had laid down a polished silver platter of 4 wine glasses and two decanters full of apple cider on the table: two for his guests, one for him, and the other for his wife. Another servant brought in a platter of freshly dipped caramel apples. He took one and took a bite out of it.
"Here's the hoping they don't see rainbows in demons too," Lucifer said casually in between bites.
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