Hazbin Devils
Chapter 7
Charlie stared at the ceiling of her room; her train of thoughts concentrated on making sense of the nightmare she just woke up from. It felt less like a nightmare and more of an ominous prophecy. She remembered seeing a golden statue with an hourglass, the same exact statue that sat by the entrance of the hotel. It was whispering something but she could not make out what it was. In the dream, she tried reaching out to it but the there seemed to be some sort of invisible barrier around it. Charlie thought she found a spot where she was able to reach for the statue but before that could happen, her alarm went off.
Taking a deep sigh, she turned to her right to see that her lover was still asleep despite the loud alarm. Smiling, Charlie gave her a kiss on the check and earned a low and comfortable moan from Vaggie as she shifted her sleeping position. They had a long night yesterday, so the demon princess decided to let her sleep in for a bit longer. After washing up and getting changed, she went to the kitchen to get something to eat. Much to her surprise, she found the brothers up early yet again and seated opposite each other at the dining table.
"Hey guys, you're up early again," she said smilingly while walking to the food counter.
"Yes, we need to discuss something with you," Vergil remarked. He took a bite out of his bread and continued. "It's important and we need your opinion about it."
Charlie raised her eyebrow and nodded wordlessly. After taking her food, she sat at the end of the table nearest to the brothers. She looked at Dante and saw that he was looking at her while chewing on a pineapple pizza slice. Vergil on the other hand had just finished his bread and was looking at her. The princess quickly took a sip of water and cleared her throat, causing Dante to quickly finish his food and sat up straight.
"So, what's the issue you wanted to talk about?"
"You saw the news, right? About some odd creature they found wandering about?" Dante asked.
Charlie nodded her head. "Yes, what about it? You know something about them?"
"Unfortunately, we do. That thing you saw in the news was a demon," Vergil said. Charlie cocked her head and her eyebrows creased. "It's a demon from our side," he explained.
"Wait, how'd it get here?" Charlie asked with widened eyes.
"Before we arrived in your hell, we were fighting this demon named Azazel. He wasn't much of a fight but he was cunning. I have to say, I still feel stupid for letting him slip past my guard," Dante said in a relaxed manner.
"And that led him to managing to reach for Yamato and steal its dimension-cutting abilities," his brother continued. "The fool couldn't even control its power and opened a portal here instead. He was lucky we were in no condition to fight at that time."
"So…both of you escaped through the portal and ended up here?"
Dante laughed and crossed his arms. "Nah, we were…how should I put it…'accidentally' tossed here. We were surrounded and only had the portals to our backs. Had been fighting for days so you can imagine our concentration was a bit lacking. Azazel had a couple of lackeys impale us and toss us into the portal thinking we're dead, until I gave him a parting gift." He pulled out Ebony and spun it once before holstering it.
"With the demons showing up here, I suspect that Azazel is out to finish us off for good," Vergil concluded.
Charlie took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she digested the information. "Alright, I'm understanding it so far, but what's that have to do with the issue you want to ask me about?"
"Vergil and I don't want to interfere with whatever's going on in your hell, that's why we want to leave sooner rather than later. But now that they're surfacing here, well, that's basically become our problem now."
"If I have to be honest, that thing doesn't look too hard to deal with," Charlie said while drumming the table.
"I'm not so much concerned about the empusas, but I am concerned about some of the larger demons that come through, eventually."
"What'd you mean by that?"
"Our concern is that larger demons would eventually come through the portals he is opening. I can assure you some of them pose a challenge. We deal with them easily enough, but I'm not sure about the rest of you folks here," Vergil said. He stopped to look at Dante before looking back at Charlie. "Which brings us to our main issue. Dante has opted to stay back and fight them off while I wanted to retrieve the grimoire and open a way back so we can stop Azazel from our side."
Charlie's finger drummed the table rhythmically while she thought about the matter. Grabbing a fork, she stabbed a piece of meat and ate it. The brother waited in silence in the meantime. After she had swallowed her food, she looked at Dante and Vergil with an inquisitive look.
"Do any of you know where Azazel is?" she asked.
"Uh…about that…" Dante said with a drooped finger. "We don't." To which Vergil nodded in agreement, albeit reluctantly.
"Now that you mention it," Vergil muttered. "It would seem like a waste of time if we don't know where he is. Can't believe I didn't consider that earlier."
"Hmm, how about you two split up?" Charlie suggested.
"No way," Dante answered immediately.
"But why?" asked an exasperated demon princess. "Surely you'd be able to do more that way?"
Dante sighed and leaned on the table. "I promised his son I wouldn't let him out of my sight. I lost Vergil once before and I'm not about to lose him again."
"You have a son?!" Charlie exclaimed at Vergil with a twinkle in her eyes.
"That's not important," Vergil said quickly in an attempt to avoid the topic. "What's important is that I'm willing to go alone to Imp City if I have to. Dante refuses to leave me alone and that is what's holding us back."
Charlie gave the younger brother a sympathetic look, to which he responded with a slight shrug as his brother was not wrong. She placed a hand on his and said, "Look, what happened back then?"
Dante stared at the table as if looking for a way out. "It's a…long story that happened many years ago. I'd give you a full story, but let's just say I left Vergil in hell back then. Didn't see him again until…well, not too long ago."
"Dante, that was my choice," Vergil interjected. "You would've been trapped in the demon world if you tried to rescue me."
"And you tried to fight Mundus even though you weren't in the condition to. Your pride gets you, and that's exactly why I can't have you do things alone."
"If I had to die there, I wouldn't want to die sitting down."
So that was the reason, Charlie thought sadly. This revelation made things even more difficult however. Dante had a good reason to not let his brother – his only family member – out of his sight for fear of losing him. Vergil on the other hand did not seem all too concerned, although she felt like he was hesitating a bit as well. Their question seemed trivial to an outsider, a pain only family would know about. Charlie had seen families destroyed due to the purge, it was one of the reasons why it motivated her to use a different method to solve hell's overpopulation issue.
Still, one must learn to let go, and in such circumstances, maybe there is a chance for them to learn.
She let go of Dante's hand and said, "Dante, I know this is hard but…would you consider letting Vergil go?"
"And let him get himself into trouble? I don't think so, princess. Neither am I about to leave you guys to face our foes," Dante said resolutely.
"I'm still willing to take the chance with the grimoire. If Azazel is still working behind the scenes, we can still cut him down and end the threat once and for all," Vergil added.
The brothers glared at each other, causing Charlie to sigh in exasperation. She stood up and said, "Guys, please, if you can't come to a conclusion, my only suggestion would be to split you up." She held up a finger at Dante to silence him and she looked at the elder brother. "Only on one condition: please don't do anything stupid. I gave you two phones; you can always keep in touch with each other that way."
Vergil looked at Dante. "Well, I've already expected such an answer. Your call, Dante. I don't plan on dying this time around."
With eyes on Dante, he hesitated to answer for a bit. He took out the phone that Charlie gave to him the day before and stared at it before toying with it. "Always in touch huh. You know what, I don't like the idea…but I suppose this could help," he said.
Charlie beamed at them and sat down. "See, that wasn't so hard was it?" The brothers muttered something in agreement but there was still some reluctance in their voices. "Dante, I won't pretend to understand what you and Vergil have been through, but I can empathise with losing family. I've seen the purge destroy families, even devils can cry over something they cherish. However, I think you eventually must learn to let go."
Dante just shrugged and kept his phone before getting up from his chair, prompting his brother to do the same. "Yeah, I suppose you're right," he said. Turning to Vergil, he said, "Don't do anything stupid, you hear me?"
"Right back at you," came the response.
"How're you gonna go to Imp City?" Charlie asked.
At that, Vergil glowered at Dante. "I would've borrowed the Cavaliere if he hadn't gambled it away."
"There's always a way, brother. Or you can always stay here if you don't wanna take the bus," Dante joked.
"I could ask my dad for one of his cars," Charlie offered. "He's got a fleet of them."
"And here I was thinking I had to take public transport," Vergil said with a small smile. "I haven't driven in years, but it's not a skill one easily could lose."
Dante went over to his brother's side to pat him in the shoulder. "I knew you still had an adventurous spirit deep down in there," he said while poking his chest.
"Be quiet."
The first thing Valentino wanted to do was to get himself a quick bite before heading to the studio. It was a normal daily routine, something that was almost always uninterrupted save for the days of purging. Even then, he prided his private quarters to be an impregnable fortress covered with every security equipment imaginable courtesy of his boyfriend Vox. Anyone or anything that tried to get in would alert their presence to him before they knew that they were being watched.
Yet, despite all the measures in place and hiring dozens of hellhound guards to roam the premise, the stranger he saw yesterday was standing right in the middle of his kitchen. The windows were closed and the patio door to the backyard was still locked. There was even a guard standing just outside the door with his back facing the inside and not noticing that an interloper was standing within the dining hall.
Azazel had his sword drawn but he was just fiddling with the tip of the blade instead and was leaning against the refrigerator. His sword disappeared into particles of wisp when he noticed that a livid Valentino was standing at the entrance of the hall with a deep frown on his face. However, Azazel maintained an air of composure of arrogance, walking towards the moth demon like he owned the place.
"I see you're awake. I wish to speak to you," he said.
"What the fuck are you doing in my house?!" Valentino yelled, prompting the guard outside to quickly turn around and rush in with his handgun drawn and pointed at the intruder.
"As I said, friend, I want to speak to you. I have something to offer you in exchange for telling me the whereabouts of Sparda's sons," Azazel replied calmly.
Valentino growled and stepped forward to grab Azazel by the collarbones. He lifted him up so that he was at his eye level. "You don't get it do you? I don't know who the fuck Sparda or his sons are. Best you leave or I'll have my guards tear you to pieces."
"Human, white hair, you certain you haven't seen them?" Azazel asked monotonously.
"Oh, that punk? Yeah, I seen 'em at the Happy Hotel. Now, can you kindly scram?" Valentino's pulled him so close that the glow in his eyes shone on Azazel's face.
"See, that wasn't so hard was it," Azazel said with a smile.
Without as much as a single word he teleported from Valentino's grasp and reappeared behind him. The moth demon looked around frantically until he saw the intruder leaning against the wall with the sword in his hand. He flung it towards Valentino's direction but the weapon sailed past him and nailed the hellhound guard in the chest. The force pinned him to the kitchen counter with a dull thud. As the hellhound bled out, Azazel gave his wrist a flick and the sword returned to him like a boomerang.
Valentino looked at the corpse frowned. "Dunno what're you trying to prove here," he grumbled. "There, you got your info. I dunno how you knew I saw 'em, but I told you what you wanted to know. Can you get the fuck outta here before I lose my patience?"
"I shall, there are plans to initiate for me," Azazel replied while standing up straight. He reached for a bell-like object in his pocket and tossed it towards Valentino. "As promised, I'll give you the needs to rule hell."
Valentino caught the object and looked at it. "Is this a joke? You're rewarding me with a toy bell?"
"It's something I made derived from the power of the Yamato. Ring it once and you'll have yourself an instant mob. If you ring it twice, you can call for my attention. Be wary though, the effects of the Qliphoth's fall are still strong. Use it too often and you'll find yourself…somewhere you don't intend to be."
"What're you talking about?" Valentino asked in an annoyed tone.
"You'll find out eventually. If you wish, we can discuss this further at a preferably sooner date. I may also have a favour to ask of you then," Azazel said in a faux polite manner.
With that said, he raised his sword and cut open a portal in thin air. Valentino thought about probing the matter further, but he was busy and enough confused as it is. He had learnt to trust his gut feeling ever since he came to hell and now, something about this Azazel character did not sit right with him. Once he stepped into the portal, it closed up, leaving the moth demon alone in the dining hall with the corpse of the guard. He shook his head and went to the guard and pulled a cigarette out of the carton that was in his breast pocket.
"Weird motherfucker," Valentino said while lighting the cigarette.
It was close to noon when Vergil was standing at the entrance. Even though he had requested for the affair to be as inconspicuous as possible, the rest of the hotel staff ended up being there instead to see him off. Standing closest to him was Dante, his expression was one of reluctance but he attempted to smile like he was about to tease him. Vergil raised an eyebrow when he saw his brother stuck his hand out.
"You know I'll be back, right?" Vergil asked.
"Yeah, but sometimes, saying goodbye is the hardest," Dante replied.
His brother snorted. "Don't be ridiculous."
"I suppose it is ridiculous, isn't it," Dante chuckled. "But seriously, don't go doing anything stupid, alright. We'll keep in touch."
Vergil took out his phone and looked at it. He pushed a button to open the main screen before pressing it again to lock it. "Yeah, we should," he said softly. "I'll let you know when I have the book. I expect you to keep me updated on the situation in Pentagram City."
"Don't you worry your pretty head, I'll call ya. You know, come to think of it, have we actually set out to look into this matter like we said?"
"Things developed too fast. I guess it's up to you to investigate matters on this side."
The sound of a car horn made them turn their heads to see a coupe driving up the driveway before stopping at the entrance. There was another car behind it and it was the Magne family limo. The driver of the coupe opened the door and stepped out, revealing to be Lucifer himself. He looked at the group before nodding at the brothers in acknowledgment. Charlie ran to hug and greet him, causing the king of hell to ruffle her hair in a friendly manner.
He approached the brothers and patted them on their shoulders. "Well, just a few days and you're already planning to leave?" he asked jokingly.
"Still can't leave yet," Dante said. "There's some…issue we need to solve."
Lucifer leaned close and spoke softly. "I know what's going on, so whatever you're planning to do, do it quick or there'll be consequences for all of us."
"What sort of consequences?" Vergil asked with narrowed eyes.
Lucifer said nothing but he averted his gaze towards the white celestial orb. While the brothers were not sure about it, they assumed that heaven would do something if they let the situation get out of hand. Silently, they nodded their heads. Lucifer smiled and patted their shoulders again before handing the keys to Vergil. For a moment, he noticed Alastor's presence and stared at him for a bit before turning his attention back to Dante.
"Dante, since you'll be here, can I ask a favour of you?"
"What's up?"
"Please look after Charlie for me, but please don't give her any wrong ideas about redeeming demons. There's no saving sinners and it's always been that way since, well, forever."
"O…kay." Dante rubbed his stubbled chin. "But shouldn't she be allowed to pursue what she wants?"
"She can pursue what she wants, but I want her to learn the truth by herself. Eventually, she'll understand the status quo. You got it?" Lucifer asked while tapping the head of his cane on Dante's chest.
"Yeah, of course," Dante said, slightly confused as to what it was about.
While the king of hell went to pull his daughter aside for a few private words, Vergil went to the car and got into the driver's seat. The passenger seat had a stockpile of canned and packaged food of various brands along with other amenities such as toiletries. Vergil could not help but chuckle in a dismissive sort of manner, but having extra supplies is always a good thing. He doubted that he would use all of it however, given that had gone on perfectly fine for a month without food.
"Remember, Dante," Vergil said while turning the ignition key. "Let me know if you see Azazel here. Take his weapon if you can, I can take back Yamato's power."
"Yeah, I can do that," Dante remarked. "So…you know how to get to Imp City?"
His brother took out a crudely drawn map from his pocket and opened it up. "It'll do."
"Use your phone, catch up with the times," Dante said with a grin.
"Maybe another time," said Vergil while frowning at him. "I better get going, we shouldn't dawdle any longer than we have to."
As much as Dante hated to admit it, he felt like his heart sank a bit after seeing his brother drive off, but whatever feeling he had just now was replaced by a chuckle as he saw Vergil almost skidding into a rubbish bin of a nearby property. With the car out of sight, Dante turned around to see Lucifer get into the limo and it left the premise as well. Now that he was alone, perhaps he could use the time to explore the city while also investigating where the intruding demons were coming from. In the meantime, Charlie had asked for his help in some rehabilitation session again for Angel Dust.
When it was close to evening, Dante had just finished reading a travel guide for hell. Never in his life did he thought that hell actually had or needed a travel guide in the first place, but the document was useful in giving him insight into some of the points of interest. Vaggie had told him that the other circles of hell inaccessible who were not hellborn, but he wondered if he could try and force the matter. Perhaps it would not end well, but his curiosity had more often than not led him to some interesting situations.
As he put down the travel guide, he noticed Angel Dust staring and grinning at him. "Man, this is like my shop all over again," he said.
"You sell something back at your place, sweetheart?" Angel asked while taking a seat beside him on the couch.
"Well, I hunt demons for a living, so yeah…" Dante said slowly after realising what he just said.
Angel rubbed the back of his head. "Oh…so…does that mean you'll kill us?"
"Not if you give me a reason to. The demons I hunt are – how should I put it – monsters that hurt people," he explained. He elbowed Angel in his arm. "Hey, don't worry, we're cool," he added.
Angel let out a sigh of relief and laughed. "Alright, ace, guess being nice to you worked out well after all." He leaned back and placed an arm around Dante. "Say, since you're free tonight, wanna join me for a drink? I got a friend coming over to say hi too."
"Gee, I dunno. I mean, shouldn't you be –"
Angel rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, rehabilitating and all that shtick. Look, Dante, there's nothing wrong with unwinding. Besides, why're you so adamant in telling me not to sin so much?"
"Cos Charlie said I should be looking after you."
Angel stared at him and his expression turned into one of disbelief. "Fucking really? Since when she said that you?"
"Just after your session. I didn't want it either but I owe her hospitality, so it's the least I could do for her."
Angel grumbled and sighed. "Ngh, fine, I'll 'try' not to sin. Way to cramp my style, dude, can't believe she just assigned me to a babysitter."
Dante slugged Angel lightly and said, "That's the spirit. So, where're we headed?"
"Eh, there's a high-end bar at the centre of town. Pretty good drinks there too. I'd recommend you to one of the girls there but I don't think you'd be interested," Angel said.
"Give me some good food and drinks and that'll be enough to make me happy," Dante said with a smile. "Oh, Charlie said no getting drunk, no drugs, no sex, no starting fights, and no going around killing people." He counted each condition on his fingers. "And that's it."
"Oh, for fuck's sake, is she even from here?"
"Beats me, but I suppose it's a good way to test out that theory of hers about healing damaged souls and all that stuff, right?"
"I seriously don't look forward to this," Angel muttered.
Hey folks, sorry for the later chapter, been rather busy with some work since the start of the year. Anyway, here's chapter 7 along with a new cover art I got from Yaddoriart on Twitter. Go check 'em out! In regards to Azazel, he's an original character who won't play the role as a major villain but will be the one to set things in motion. So don't worry about him taking centre stage cos he won't. From here until Vergil's return to Pentagram City, I plan on alternating chapters between Dante and Vergil's side of the story.