Chapter 7: Bloody Angels
Summary:
The Crew attempts to calm down Junia. While The Leper gets acquainted with hell and its populace.
"What on earth was going on?" Thought Barristan.
The nearby Demons were fleeing for their lives, as swords of light and divine magic struck the nearby cars and stores. Stones and concrete scorched by the impacts of heavenly fists of pure energy. The bright flashes of light were being sent throughout the area, many demons abandoned their cars to run on foot or fly away. It looked like whatever happened to Junia, it turned her into some sort of demon. By the looks on her face, she looked terrified but also furious. Barristan could understand her reaction, if this was hell, she must've met some unsavory characters down here.
"AAAAAAAHHHH!" *CRASH*
Barristan looked around and spotted two imps near a broken car that had rammed into a wall. The driver had already fled, but one of the imps legs was pinned under some debris. The other imp appeared to try and free his trapped comrade. Barristan was surprised to see that the little demons were helping each other. But Junia also took notice of the two imps and proceeded to their direction. She began to raise her mace to the sky, Barristan knew what she was about to do next. Small orbs of light began to gather around her mace and sparks of electricity began to surge through her arm, a dark grey cloud formed above her as the energy grew bigger. The two imps looked at each other, fear in their eyes, but instead of the free imp fleeing for his life, he instead covered the other imp with his own body hoping to shield his friend. Barristan had seen enough, in a quick moment, he rushed in between Junia and the two imps, placing his shield upwards, blocking the two imps and absorbing the lightning strike. The surge of power coursed through Barristan's body, the electricity tingled and numb the bear demons muscles, his bones felt like it was about to shatter, he could feel the rush of blood throughout his body, it felt like his head was going to explode. But after the strike had dissipated it didn't appear to have harmed him all that much. Turning around, he spotted the two imps unharmed, and by the looks of it, the trapped imp appeared to be a female, and both imps were hugging each other. Crying. Barristan then saw that the two demons had rings around the fingers and immediately found out why the imps stayed together. They were married. Realizing that they hadn't died yet, they both stared at the large bear demon, confused about what just happened to the two of them just now. Junia, however, was still approaching, her mace was gathering energy again and she looked as if she wasn't intending to miss the next shot.
"Wait, Junia, please!? It's me Barristan. Remember?" Barristan tried to calm down Junia, get her to a much more stable mentality, or at the very least, buy the imp couple enough time to escape.
Junia froze for a moment "Barristan?!"
"Yes! Yes! It's me Junia, Barri-"
"No...Do you think you can trick me demon? I see what you truly are! DIE!"
Junia wasn't listening, Barristan took one look in her eyes and he saw a bright fire, fueled by hatred and fear. Barristan knew then, that there was no point in trying to talk her down, she wasn't going to leave anyone alive. But he could at least try to reason with her, if not incapacitate her. Barristan turned to see that the imp couple was now free from the rubble.
"Go. GO NOW! I'll try and buy you some time."
Barristan Charged into Junia, using his shield to bash her as far away as she could, and with that, the two imps had fled, all the demons nearby were gone, leaving only Barristan and Junia in the empty city square.
The white Hazbin Limo screeches through the streets of west pentagram city. Swerving through the empty road and plowing through any unfortunate bystander. The Hazbin crew left in a hurry and had traveled light. Cherri only had a bat and her cherry bombs, Angel only had his two Tommy guns, Vaggie had here spear and two throwing knives, Charlie brought a first aid box, and Sir Pentous had only brought his cane with him. Reynauld still had his Sword, while Dismas had left both of his guns at the hotel, only bring his short sword and the new pistol he got from those thugs.
"Thossse pillarsss of light appear to be around my territory, I've already gathered up mossst of my eggboisss to sssurround the area and sssearch for any abnormal behavior."
"Abnormal behavior...in hell?" Cherri remarked with a small grin
"How much longer do you think it's going to take before we get there?" Asked Reynauld
"Probably a few more minutes, we just need to get past traffic, and try not to hit any pedestrians on accident." Answered Charlie
Razzle pop up from a window "No promise's Ms. Charlie-Whoa!"
The Limo had screeched to a halt.
"Huh? Hey why did we stop?" asked Dismas
Charlie poked her head out to see what was wrong. To her surprise, demons of all shapes and sizes were running away in droves. They clogged up the roads with destroyed or abandoned cars and dead demons that failed at running for their lives. The Crew quickly began to file out of the limo.
"Heh, sounds like your friends really know how to make an entrance." Cherri complemented
"Great! Just Great! Malditas idiotas! How are we going to get there now?"
"We could run there! We do have feet." Cherri suggested
"The Crowd is too big, we'll get lost in the chaos." Charlie pointed out
Reynauld thinking quickly then began to take off his surcoat and belt.
"Ummm not really the time for a striptease Ray." Angel joked
Ignoring Angel, Reynauld quickly grabbed a nearby broken pipe.
"Ms. Vaggie your spear please."
Vaggie quickly gave Reynalud her spear, and Reynauld quickly began to work. The Spear and pipe were quickly tied together with the belt, and the surcoat was placed in the intersecting pipe and spear. The finished product was large dark grey and red standard.
"Follow this standard! If you get lost in the crowd look up and you will spot where I am! Razzle! Dazzle! Find a different route and meet up with us later"
Wasting no time at all, Reynauld quickly rushed past the hoard of fleeing demons, with the Hazbin crew following close behind. The Standard proved effective not only for navigating through the hoard, but it managed to get the nearby demon's attention, they stopped panicking and began to recollect themselves. Reynauld quickly took advantage of this and got on top of an abandoned car.
"All those that don't want to die, get out of the way! Keep to the sidepaths! The main roads are all congested! Walk towards the nearest safe havens and hold up there until we handle the situation"
With that, the crowd quickly began to disperse more efficiently, and the hoard was much more manageable to weave through. As the group got closer to the site of the battle, the hoard of fleeing demons was now a few stragglers. There were sounds of fighting a few blocks over, bright flashes of light could be seen over the top. The Hazbin crew quickly drew their weapons and prepared for whatever might be on the other side. As they got closer, they could hear talking...well yelling from far away.
"Junia! Junia! It's really me Barristan!"
"LIER! I SEE THROUGH YOUR DISGUISE YOU FILTHY DEMON! BURN!"
What the crew saw was interesting, to say the least, an armored succubus nun demon with a mace was in the air, raining flaming swords of light against an armored bear demon with a shield and mace.
"Junia! Listen to me! I'm Barristan! Please! Just- ARGH!" A Sword deflected off of Barriestan's chest plate but it had caught him off guard and he stumbles on to his back.
"Foul demon of degeneracy, burn to nothing!" Junia reels back her mace and starts to collect more holy energy. A large glowing fist starts to appear around the cylindrical mace and begins to glow brighter.
"DIE!"
The glowing fist then flew from Juinas mace and towards Barristan, but before the strike could make contact, Dismas quickly rushes towards Barristan and pushes the armored bear out of the way. The fist collides with the sidewalk, leaving a singed mark in its place. Barrestan quickly stands up and helps the Raven demon up.
"Argh! What the devils are you doing fool!? Trying to get yourself killed!?"
"Guh! Nah! Already did that you old bastard! Is that how you thank an old friend that just saved your hide?"
"Old Friend? What in God's name are you talking about-... DISMAS!?"
"In the flesh, well somewhat in the flesh-DUCK!"
Two swords fly over the two demons heads and imbed themselves in a nearby wall.
"Let's get to some cover. We'll get reacquainted later. Reynauld!"
"ON IT!" Reynauld quickly rushes in front of Junia.
"Junia! STOP! It's me Rey-WOAH!" A Sword collides with Reynaulds chest plate, it protects him but doesn't stop the impact from knocking him off his feet. "Okay. Look Junia I know that you're scared but please calm do-" Another sword collides with Reynaulds helmet.
"JUNIA! LISTEN TO ME! IT'S ME REYNAULD!"
"SHUT UP YOU WRETCH! I SEE WHAT YOU ARE! DON'T THINK YOU CAN TRICK ME YOU PEST!"
A large fist appears above the Reynaulds head, but before Junia could finish casting her spell.
"HEY! VIRGIN MARY! BATTA SWING!"
bink BOOM!
Cherri bomb quickly bats one of her cherry bombs into Junias wings. It explodes on impact, putting Junias wings out of commission, knocking her to the ground, and disorienting her. Charlie, Angel, Vaggie, and Pentous quickly file out the nearby alleyway.
"HEY!" Charlie exclaimed "Don't Hurt Her! She is just confused!"
"Sorry Charlie. I don't think you noticed but this girls kinda, I don't know, trying to kill us here!"
"I know!? But be more careful. Don't kill her, don't break her bones, just don't hurt her, please!"
"Heh don't worry! I think she...uhh."
To Cherri's surprise, Junia stumbles onto her feet, her wings are torn and full of holes, her hand looks bent out of place, and she is bleeding from her forehead. She gazes at the new mass of demons that surround her. The Hazbin crew stare at Junia for the longest time, they knew she was dangerous, they could feel it. But at the same time, they saw the fear that as in Junias eyes, desperation, and paranoia. They couldn't help but pity her, a new sinner in an unfamiliar and strange world was something that the crew could relate to. Charlie, however, recognized that there was something wrong, the same black crescent shape symbol from before, only this time, it glowed with a sinister red, it did not dissipate like Reynaulds or Dismas. Charlie noticed that the sharp thorns appeared to be going through her head, It seemed whatever was causing Junia to go crazy was affiliated with the black symbol.
"No...NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Junia stuttered "DISGUSTING PERVERTS! RAPISTS! I KNOW YOUR GOAL! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
A bright flash of light starts to swirl and gather around her book, but just before she could even summon anything at all, Vaggie had thrown her knives and knocked Junia's book right out of her hand. The power quickly started to dissipate and before Junia could fire another sword or fist of light, Charlie had summoned her pitchfork and struck Junia's mace out of her hand. Sir Pentious taking advantage of the moment quickly pointed his cane towards Junia and pressed a strange golden button at the end, releasing a bola chain and quickly restaining Junias wings and legs. Junia was on the ground, although her arms were free, her hands were anywhere but fine. She tried desperately to crawl away, but Angel had already caught up to her and pinned her down before she could getaway.
"NO! NO! NO! STOP! LET ME GO! NO!" Junia was on the verge of crying. She was again surrounded by demons, a few that claimed to be her friends, what were they going to do to her?
Reynauld was the first to speak. "Please Junia calm down. Listen to us! It's us. Reynauld, Dismas, Barristan, all of us. We're all here!"
"GET AWAY FROM ME! I KNOW WHAT YOU TRULY ARE! I SEE WHAT YOUR TRUE FORMS ARE!"
"I know you're scared, I know you're terrified, but please we need you to stop panicking and listen."
Junia didn't want to hear it, she began to struggle even more in Angel's four arms. He was beginning to have a hard time keeping her still, that had to bring out his 3rd pair of arms to control her.
"Hey Hey Hey! Woah! Easy! Calm down! OW! Jeez! For a nun, I expected ya to be a bit less violent."
While Reynauld tried to calm down Junia, Charlie was busy with the first aid kit, she wanted to treat Junia's hand and wings quickly. As she opened the first aid kit, she had taken a small syringe and vial filled with a mixture of healing potion and morphine. She then nodded to Vaggie, who knew what to do next. Vaggie quickly began to help Angel dust, grabbing Junia's injured hand, trying her best not to worsen the injury.
"NO STOP KEEP AWAY STAY AWAY! Please!"
Junia didn't know what was in the syringe Charlie was holding, she began to struggle even more kicking and shouting, biting and scratching, trying anything to get herself free, but as Charlie got closer with the needle, Junia began to cry. She was surrounded by demons, injured, and unable to escape. She could no longer conjure up any other spells. Her body was tired and she no longer struggled or even attempted to escape. She couldn't fight anymore, she just slumped into Angel's arms and began to sob.
"P-pl-lease don't *sniff*, don't *sniff* Ju-just, just make it quick. If you're going to *sniff* do this to me, please be gentle. Don't...don't make suffer...please...*Sniff*" She pleads
The Hazbin crew froze, realizing what it looked like they were doing. Junia wasn't resisting anymore, but the situation made it feel as if they were going to do something horrible to her, and Charlie holding a syringe filled with a mystery liquid wasn't making it any better.
"...okay, I've been on the same side of these situations before in the studio, but I'm not really sure I'm comfortable with being the one that holds her down, while someone else does the deed."
"Are you fucking serious right now?" Vaggie gave Angel a murderous glare, already disturbed at the fact that she looked like she was about to kidnap someone.
Charlie wishing to not make it any more awkward as it already was decided to just make it quick and began to inject Junias arm with the serum. Junia closed her eyes and bit her lips, waiting for whatever was in the strange needle to take effect quickly. But In just moments, Junia's hands began to twist back into place, muscles, tendons, and bones started to reconnect, skin that was once missing now slowly grew back into place and before long the hand and her wings were as good as new. Junia was surprised, she felt no pain, no drowsiness, and she didn't feel dizzy at all, did the demon just heal her?
"Woah. What was in that needle?" Dismas asked
"Medicine, it should help her natural healing abilities," Charlie answered.
Junia couldn't believe it, what was happening? These demons were attacking her and now they were healing her? "Wah...what...i...i...I'm...what did you-"
Before Junia could say anything, Charlie had already placed her hands on Junia's. She gave a small smile to Junia, but to her surprise, the stress symbol above Junia's head began to flare up and grew bigger. It was clear that Junia wasn't comfortable with any of this, waking up in a stage new world, and in Hell out of all places. Getting chased around by demons, getting attacked, and now this. She couldn't even imagine the types of things she had been through, she almost looked like Vaggie when they had both meet, scared and alone, confused about what was going on. Charlie just wanted to hug Junia, comfort her, make her feel safe, without even thinking she began to wrap her arms around her. Junia was hesitant and flinched but as soon as Charlie embraced her, a sort of warmth came over them, almost a soothing energy. Junia couldn't explain it but it felt very comforting, was this some sort of charm spell? A sedation technique? What was this demon trying to do? Charlie still hugging Junia began to console her, pated shoulders, and began speaking in a quiet calming voice.
"I know you're scared...I know you're confused and don't know where you are...I know that you don't trust us and you might never truly do...just know that your safe now...it's okay to rest now...we are not going to hurt you anymore...you don't have to trust anybody right now...but for now just trust me and relax."
As Charlie looked up she spotted Junia's stress symbol beginning to shrink, it grew dimmer and dimmer, and slowly but surely it started to fade away. In its place, a small white crescent appeared above her head. It wasn't there for long, it was a weak glow and the crescent had looked faded and worn. But it felt like Junia had regained control of herself.
"...what...what are you going to do to me?" Junia muttered
"Well...nothing really. We just wanted to stop you and then talk to you." Charlie answered honestly
"Why?"
"Um...You were attacking everybody in the nearby area and we came to stop you and we did just that."
"...why? Why did you heal me?"
"Well, your Reynald and Dismas's friend. I couldn't just leave you injured." Charlie gave a small smile.
Junia sat there dazed, Reynauld and Dismas's friend? What was she talking about? Where they here in hell as well? Why are these demons claiming to be them? She couldn't tell if the demon was trying to be kind, or if she had other motives. Her mind kept telling her to run, but something in her gut told her to stay.
"Why are you demons helping me? Why are you so focused on me?"
Dismas sat next to Charlie "Because were your friends Junia. Look this may be a little strange but this is really us. Me, Reynauld, Barristan. Whatever happened to us transformed us into demons. But we're still us! We have our thoughts, our personalities, and our memories it's all still here."
Junia wasn't completely convinced "If you transformed into demons, how come I'm not a demon?"
Dismas and Charlie both looked at each other for a while, a bit startled "Um...Ms. Junia...you...are a demon."
"What?"
"Yeah. You didn't notice you changed or that you even flew for a few minutes?"
Angel Dust pulls out a mirror from his pocket dimension puff and gives it Junia. As Junia stares at the mirror, her eyes shrunk to peas as she stares at her reflection. She had sky blue skin and purple eyes. She had black and grey wings on her back and a long thin tail on her bottom. Her hair was bright white and she had little horns at the side of her head. For what seemed like hours, Junia stared at her reflection.
"I'm...a demon?"
"Um...yeah. You didn't notice?" Cherri Bomb piped in
"No...no I didn't...okay... I'm just gonna-" *SLUMP* Junia had fainted into Vaggies lap. The entire Hazbin crew just stood there, unsure of what to really do any more. Junia was unconscious but no longer a danger, so it was a successful mission at the very least. It didn't appear that she had really killed anyone except for that one guy that no longer had a head, there was a lot of property damage, some injured, but all in all, in comparison to some other crazy things that happen in hell, it was a tame Sunday afternoon for hell.
"Well...That could've gone better." Reynauld noted.
Farther away, to the outskirts of pentagram city
The outskirts were surprisingly the more peaceful parts of the city. Less crime and violence, but there was little housing and most of the residents there didn't have a sustainable income. In the middle of it, all was cesspool Park, a place where druggies meet up, deals are made, gangsters brawl, animals are walked, perverts practice exhibitionism, creepy stalkers mill about and just about every single serial killer went to get a good breather. But on Sundays, it's mostly druggies, homeless, and alcoholics. And on a bench by the black tar lake was a tall, giant, bandaged figure sitting alone and with his thoughts. He doesn't move from his spot, it's as if he was a statue of some sort. He wears a worn and old golden bronze mask, and his chest is covered in the same sort of material. There appears to be some sort of attachment near his heart, a sort of furnace door the size of a mason jar lid. A small orange glow could be seen from within the chest opening, the masks eye slits, and around the man's arms. The bandaged behemoth looks at his new form with curiosity, he was no longer human, but something else. He checked underneath his bandages to discover they are still covered in open wounds and sores. Although the feeling of pain from them had long abated, he could feel, heat. For the first time ever in his life, he could feel something. How long had it been since he could feel anything? Hot, cold, soft, hard, pain? The sense of actual feeling had come back to him.
As he looked closer he could see the flames through the wounds as if they were openings for a vent. Having seen enough the Leper had placed his bandages back on and stared at the environment he was in. A large pentagram in the sky, thorny trees with little to no leaves, eyeballs, bones, and hunks of flesh littering the ground. Was this the heart Darkness doing. No, he was somewhere else. Although Eldritch's power was present, it was calm. It wasn't a malignant growth like the heart of darkness. There was balance. It was...strange but welcomed. Was this...hell? If so, then the priest and bishops were way off on what hell was supposed to look like. As the giant stood from the bench, he began to inhale. The air was dirty, dusty, smoky, rusty, humid, and smelt like rotten meat. Although the wind was a welcome thing when he was alive, the air around him burned him. The air suddenly then turned cold and brisk, the leper soon decided It was best that he kept walking.
The Leper walk through the park was very surprising, everything was all so familiar yet so different. As he passed through the park, he spotted various homeless and drug-addicted demons around the trees and brushes. Makeshift tents and lean-to's littered the park grounds, a dying campfire in the center of the small camp, the smell of fecal matter was enough to make a normal person vomit. The sight was saddening to Baldwin. Although these people looked like demons, he pitted them, they were those that weren't as fortunate as he was. Wide-eyed and terrified, jittery, and constantly paranoid. Probably avoiding debt or just down on their luck. But time as a vagabond had taught him many things about how to survive harsh conditions and teaching those lessons were just as important. Walking towards the camp, the various demons stared at the golden behemoth. Was he a serial killer? A Mercenary? Or was he thug? As the half-drunken demons took a closer look, it looked as if the man was a mummy. Was he an ancient demon from Egypt? The face mask and chest plate didn't look very Egyptian, they looked very medieval fantasy, was this man a larper or a weeb? The man was large, muscular, the thought of him being some otaku demon was very unlikely, but then what was this man doing here? The demons began to give the hulking giant his space as he approached a nearby dead tree. Baldwin drew his broken blade, it was an old and rusty piece of metal, but it was effective at doing what it did best. Chopping. The nearby demons jumped as the sword swung through the tree and slammed to the ground. A bird's nest fell on top of the giant's head, empty, but still useful. Using the broken sword he began to chop the trees into small logs and kindling and started to bundle them together. The homeless demons started to surround the leper at arm's length, unsure of what he was doing. Once there curiosity was satisfied many of the homeless demons went back to what they were doing, however, five decided to stay around Baldwin.
"You." Baldwin points at a small imp with one horn and a torn-up messy shirt and jeans. Baldwin's voice was deep and intimidating, the nearby demon flinched as the voice reached their ears.
"Uh...uh...um yes?!" The imp replies shaking.
"I'm cold, help me start a fire." Baldwin heaved the chopped up logs onto his back and tosses a bundle of kindling to the imp.
"Drop it in a puddle and we won't be able to start one, so make sure you don't drop it."
"Yes sir!"
Baldwin wanted to be a bit nicer, but he could already tell by just looking at the environment around him that the only thing people around here respected was strength. He didn't like it, but it was probably an unspoken rule. It was something that he had to learn the hard way many times in homeless camps and leper colonies. If he showed kindness or generosity here, it would look suspicious and draw unwanted attention. Looking and acting tough was a way of defending yourself and others.
"You. Lady in grey." Baldwin tosses a bundle of birds nest and dried leaves to another demon. She has a simple grey dress, stained with blood. She had hollow eyes and a large worn down hat. Her mouth is full of fangs and her claws were as sharp as knives.
"Keep these dry as well."
"Uh...uh...yes sir." She stuttered the demon was quite shy despite her appearance.
Baldwin noticed that there was a small ditch at the side of the road, at the end of the ditch was a sewage grate, but it was all bricked up at the other end.
"Good. You five follow me. We need a better spot than here. If you need to grab your things, get them. This place is too crowded." Baldwin pointed towards the nearby sewer grate and slid down the slope.
With that, the five demons set off to their different spots, to his surprise none of them went into the tents or lean-tos. They picked up a few small sacks and bags filled with essentials and came back. A fly demon in a bowler cap only came back with a large plastic sheet and bag, while a mummified lizard demon had a rucksack and wooden pallet, the grey lady only had a small bag, while the imp came back with a small child-sized bag, lastly, the lamp vase demoness came with a small grocery bag with a small bottle of alcohol.
"This will do. Let's get started." Baldwin tore up a piece of his bandaged arm and gathered the bird's nest and feathers into a small spot. He placed his large blade towards the little bundle of kindling and retrieved a whetstone. With few sparks of the blade, the nest soon began to glow into a warm orange.
"You, lizard, Blow into the embers slowly. Long slow breaths. No short repetitive sputters that will just kill it. Understood."
"Uh. Yes sir!"
"You, Flyman, as the flames get bigger, start piling the kindling together. Don't place the logs first or your smother the fire, got it.
"Yeah. I got it."
The mummy lizard began to slowly blow more air into the fire as the fly demon began to layer pieces of kindling. Baldwin then started to pull up the wooden pallet the Lizard Demon brought onto the edge of the ditch, using branches to make a makeshift shelter. Moving the Fly demons plastic sheet on top to make cover the gaps. As the fire began to grow, the demons all sat in a semi-circle around the fire, for Baldwin it was a little bit nostalgic to be surrounded by strangers. The sense of tenseness and paranoia was mellowed out and felt easier to see these demons as people instead of monsters. The demons felt calmed by the fire as well, it was nice. The ditch had shielded them from the winds and the fire felt welcoming to their tired bodies. They were even surprised the man didn't kill them or kick them away from the fire. The demons sat in complete silence around the crackling fire, nothing else could be heard but burning flame. That was until Baldwin broke said silence.
"I'm going to change my bandages, I do not feel well."
The mummy lizard looks at him for a small second. "What? Your skin itch? Or is it because- Satan Almighty! WHAT THE FUCK!"
The Leper begins to remove his mask, it drips with strands of blood, pus, and mucus coating the inside. The disfigured face of the lepers is a missing nose and scar ridden, boil filled mess. Sores, bumps, and semi-open wounds are visible to see. The liquids shimmer in the firelight. The lamp demon gags for a bit, while the grey demon vomits. The fly demon cringes as the sanguine fluids drip into the fire, the imp scoots back trying his best to distance himself from the diseased man.
"Keep away and don't touch my blood. Although this disease isn't air born, if you touch my blood you could possibly catch it."
"Are...are we in danger if were near you?" questioned the imp.
"My disease isn't that contagious, you can touch me and you'll be fine. It can only spread by my fluids, if you ingest or inhale my bodily fluids you'll still have a low chance of contracting it. But to be safe, keep a good distance as I change my bandages."
The demons quickly decided to give the bronze statue a good bit of space to work with. The giant began to unravel his bandages and to the group's relief, the golden brass chest plate had bandages underneath them and was not covered in slimy, coagulated blood and mucus. The bandages were coated in a mixture of red blood and yellow pus, the smell of rusty copper and burning flesh filled the air as the bandages were slowly dropped into the burning fire. They averted their eyes as the man began to unravel his legs, fearing what was between them. As Baldwin finished re-applying his bandages and placed his mask back on, the large group of demons began to ask questions, The lamp demon was the first one to speak.
"So...how long did you have this...uh...affliction sir?"
"Baldwin. You."
"Samatha" the lamp demon answered
"Lily" the grey demon followed up
"Carlos" fly demon
"Philip" Lizard mummy demon
"Kain" imp demon.
"Hmmm. Nice to meet you then. If you're wondering about my disease, then my answer would be several years. Maybe 20 years."
"Jesus! That long! Does it hurt?!" Kain asked fiddling his nails
"Not really no. There was pain, but after several more months, it became numb to me."
"Numb!? You look and smell as if you're rotting away, alive! How are you not in agony!?" Asked Carlos
"My nerves were the first things to rot away. The feeling of pain, heat, cold was gone after the first years. Eventually, injuries that I sustained began to fester, and I wouldn't even notice."
"Man. That sounds like Hell! And this is when you were alive!?" Philp question
"I wouldn't call it being alive...more of barely existing." The cynical tone was easy to pick up on.
"That's horrible. What did you do to deserve that?!" Asked Lily, slowly edging towards Baldwin
Baldwin took a few moments to find the answer "Murder."
The demons looked at each other for a moment confused. Murder? Did God punish this man for Murder? Was he a serial killer? A mercenary? The man was suffering this type of disease both when he was alive and now! How was this man still sane enough to produce sentences!? What did he deserve to get this type of punishment?
Samatha was the first to ask "Murder...How many? And why?"
Baldwin simply stared at the lamp lady and replied "Thousands...I had to do it."
"Were you forced to do it?" Asked Kain terrified but curious at this mysterious man past.
"I was a leader...I made the decisions...I sent men to their deaths. Guilty. Innocent. It was a war. It couldn't be avoided."
Carlos scowled for a bit "So. Your superiors told you to do it!? Or was it just to win?" his bitterness flowing from every letter.
Baldwin simply gazed at Carlos, his eyes weren't filled with cowardice or pity, instead, they were filled with regret and acceptance. The gaze gave Carlos shiver, most demons would yell back or attack when accused, but the man before him betrayed no emotion.
"To win...we had to win...we had to...we were starving...we needed that land for food and money, for trade, for EVERYTHING! OUR COUNTRY WAS DYING...my county was dying."
Philip stuttered for a moment before asking "...wait. What?"
"I...I was the leader of a small country...but not anymore."
"Wait! You were a leader of a country?!"
"Used to. Not anymore. Not after my Leprosy."
Carlos stood up anger in his eyes "You...sent people to die...FOR WHAT!? Just so you can get richer?! A NEW BOAT! A NEW FANCY MANSION IN THE BAHAMAS!?"
Baldwin merely stares into his sword this time, anger and sadness visible even behind his mask. As he turned to face Carlos, his body erupted to flames. A pantheon of colors burst out of Baldwin's body as he slowly approached the fly demon. The remaining homeless demons quickly bolted a good distance, keeping far enough to avoid the flame, but close enough to hear a rough raspy painfilled voice come out of the flaming giant "Boy. We were a failing country...my people were starving...our economy was non-exsitent...what would you have done in my place? Answer me that boy? Negotiate!? Ask for Help!? Beg!? REFORM LAWS!? We received no help. We got no charity. Our neighbors abandoned us. Left us to die or claimed debts we never made to them! Siphoning our money and resources! WE WENT THROUGH FAMINE AND A PLAGUE! AND STILL, NO ONE HELPED US! WHAT WOULD'VE REFORMS DONE IF WE HAD NO MONEY OR RESOURCES TO DO ANY OF THEM!"
Baldwin's flame soon turned red with anger, the fire fumed from the man's mouth and eyes. The Leper looked truly monstrous. "WE STARVED! WE SUFFERED! I DID WHAT WAS NECESSARY! I KILLED FOR MY COUNTRY! I KILLED FOR MY PEOPLE SO THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO FIGHT AND STEAL FOR A SIMPLE BITE OF BREAD!" Carlos was on the ground, shivering at the energy that radiated from the burning leper.
The flames soon turned blue, calmer, but it still flickered with wrath and regret. "I killed...I butchered...I massacred thousands...so my thousand can live...I conquered my neighbors to keep them alive. I know what I did wasn't right and accept my fate here. I have no intention of justifying my actions, I did evil...I committed evil to keep thousands of people feed, to keep them safe...give them a better future. What you interpret is what you interpret, and I cannot change that. So believe in what you want to believe in."
Soon the fiery giant became silent, his flame gone, and his eyes filled with sorrow, and the only thing that could be heard again was the crackling fire. The demons soon began to sit back down in a semi-circle, silent. Baldwin sat back down, smoke rising from his eyelids.
"So if you wish to rant. Do it now."
Carlos didn't want to rant. Not after what Baldwin had told him. He even felt sympathy for the giant. What would've he done in his position? He didn't know politics or any of that crap. He didn't know the economy or how to manage a fucking country. He probably should have just shut up earlier, so he decided to stay quiet. They all decided to stay quiet. Baldwin soon began to regret his outburst, now the group's presence around him was awkward. Hours past and the silence that was now around them was suffocating. Baldwin decided that he should leave, he was done here. He started a fire and built a small shelter. He should probably help someone else.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! NO! STOP!"
A Scream. Baldwin quickly turned towards the screams and peered over the ditch to see the cause of the commotion. It appeared to be a group ten of demons harassing two other homeless demons. The five homeless demons all stared as the events unfolded. Baldwin noticed fear and anger in their eyes, their bodies trembling with repressed emotions. As Baldwin looked closer he saw that six demons were betting up one of the homeless demons with metal clubs, while the other demon was being stripped naked. The sight of it all disturbed Baldwin.
"Aw shit not these assholes again," Kain exclaimed, reaching for a makeshift knife.
"What?"
"Ugh. Falon and his cronies. They always come here to start shit. They usually target us homeless demons and do whatever they want here?"
"What!?" Baldwin's flames appeared again but this time, a pure white. The nearby homeless demons flinched and started to slowly back off. But at that moment Kain didn't even notice he was too busy venting.
"Yeah...these guys are terrible bastards, they always steal our shit, even though we don't have that much and even after we give them shit, they just beat us up and leave us naked! These guys are the worse! Cocksucking pieces of garbage! I even heard they gang-raped a lady over by 5th st- "
BOOM! CRACK! AAAAAAAHHHHH!
An audible boom rang through the air, the sound could be overheard throughout the park grounds. All the homeless demons ran towards the noise wondering what caused such a loud explosion to happen, as they got closer, all they saw was Falon's cronies, a large hooded figure with a broken sword, a screaming demon without his dick...and a good portion of his lower body gone. His legs were still attached but a good portion of his lower body was missing. Baldwin stood from the ditch, sword raised high and shining in the light. In front of him, a perfect line of dug up dirt leading to the suffering castrated demon. Kain and the others stared at Baldwin, wide-eyed, and mouths open wide, baffled, trying to understand what just happened. From a single swipe in the air, Baldwin had just castrated a man from a distance, with just air. Falon's crew looked up in horror as the behemoth slowly moved towards them. The menacing goliath dragging the rusty executioner blade closer and closer to the 9 remaining demons. A white flame flickering from within him.
"YOU!"
"YOU!"
"ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!"