Phew, this is a long chapter. But it's basically summing up the final few circles of Gehenna. Also, it's the start of the downfall of our demonic angel here. But anyway, enjoy and I'll see you all in the next chapter. Until then, sayonara. Also, I am no longer accepting ocs for this fiction. I have more than enough for this fiction.
A high-pitched scream emerged from the book that Drake now carried at arm's length.
"You didn't read it?" Nao asked. Drake shook his head.
"I didn't think she would actually enchant each book. I thought she was bluffing." Drake said.
"Astarte is, as Cassie would put it, bat-shit crazy. And you didn't think she would do something like enchant the books?" Gen asked. Drake thought about it when the demoness of the conversation appeared at the other end of the corridor. They froze, thinking she had heard them when Ame spotted a small imp flying beside her.
My queen, the chimeras are acting up again. They have been raging in their lands. Several demons have already perished from their anger. The others are at a loss as of what to do. What are your orders?
Astarte sighed, balancing the box she held on her knee whilst she struggled to open the door and answer the imp. "Tell the high levelled Kitsune I have in the palace to place a barrier around the chimeras' land. As soon as I am able, I will enforce the barrier to prevent demons from entering the land." She said. She passed as she managed to get the door open. "Let the chimeras run out their anger. To enter the land is just plain suicide. The barrier will last until the anger has faded. Then it will dispel itself. Until then, inform all residents to stay away from the chimeras land. If they disobey this command, I will not hold the chimeras responsible for their actions." The imp bowed and disappeared as Astarte walked through the door.
They all gathered around the doorway as she placed the box on the table and stretched, letting out a huge sigh.
"Where did those scratches on her stomach come from?" Sachi asked, as the entire class peeked around the door. Footsteps made them all turn as Amaimon walked towards them. They all instantly backed away from the door but he didn't seem bothered by their presence. Instead, he headed into the room and snuck up on Astarte, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Surely even your appetite was sated by the events of last night...and this morning Amai-chan." Astarte said. The class glanced at each other. "Even if it wasn't, I can't do anything with you right now as the class should be arriving soon." They strained to hear what Amaimon said when a yelp startled them all. Although they could only see the back of Amaimon, they could guess from the way he was hunched that Astarte had either punched him, or had grabbed something rather precious.
"Why?" Amaimon's voice was strained.
"Your appetite must be held back for a moment. Otherwise I will have to come up with a suitable punishment for you." The grin on her face was feral and frightening. "Besides, even if we did have time, your appetite would no doubt grow more ferocious and I must teach the class." She leant to one side and raised an eyebrow. "Which of you has not done the homework?"
Everyone in the class glanced at one another. No one wanted to be the one who admitted they didn't do it. Yet none wanted to tell on those who did not do it. Astarte sighed.
"Fine. Then as punishment, you'll all have to go through several rigorous obstacle courses used by every military of Assiah." The class let out a collective breath. That didn't seem too bad. "With my kitsune demons and hellhounds chasing you." Astarte added. Protests immediately began.
"That's not fair!" Leon yelled.
"It's collective punishment. It'll build bonds. You fight as one, you're punished as one. Be glad I didn't decide to use the Bariyons on you." Astarte said before turning to the board. The high pitched scream stopped with a quick click of her claws as she began to write on the chalk board. "Today, we should be able to finish up on the circles of Gehenna providing there are no unnecessary interruptions. We'll continue from where we left off last time with the fourth circle. Does anyone know from our first lesson which sin this circle accounts for?"
Meiko raised her hand, hoping to impress Ryan. "It's the circle of Greed ruled by Azazel." She said, moving the piece of gum she had been chewing on to the side of her mouth and showing a smile.
"Don't congratulate yourself yet Meiko. Can you tell me what I mean when I say this is the circle of greed?" Meiko froze, she had switched off at that point during the lecture and had only skimmed over it in the homework. "Well, Meiko?"
"I...I don't know." Colour rushed to Meiko's face and she turned her face towards the desk.
"Still, well done for remembering who ruled the circle. Now, the circle of greed differs from gluttony because where gluttony was more focused upon addiction, Greed is focused on material goods and how that makes humans deviate from the appropriate mean." Astarte said before turning to the board. As she sketched an image on the board, Ryan sat making notes.
"Why's he making notes? Surely he knows about this being half angel and raised by nuns." Hotomi murmured to Amixtri. Eve, who was sitting just in front of Amixtri, leant back and whispered.
"Maybe it's to impress Astarte. I mean, after all, they are both half angel." As soon as the words left Eve's lips, and with some amazing precision, a bariyon landed on the desk of Amixtri and Hotomi, mere millimetres from Eve's head.
"Maybe I didn't make this clear when I said I would be teaching you this information but I don't like when people talk behind my back. It's so distracting." Astarte said, her attention never deterring from the board.
"Can I just interject with something, Princess?" Sachi asked, from her seat next to Takao.
"What is it?"
"That was some amazing precision." This caused Astarte to turn as she looked at where the Bariyon had landed before turning back to the board.
"What are you talking about? I missed my target." Everyone stiffened at these words before a nervous laugh emerged from Gen.
"You're uh joking right?" He asked. Astarte didn't respond, she simply continued drawing on the board.
"Getting back to the lesson at hand, in the circle of greed, the souls carry weights that represent the material object they so craved in their life. They push the object around with their chests and joust one another."
"Why do they joust?" Leon asked.
"A form of entertainment for us." Astarte said. She quickly wiped the board clean and moved on. "We now travel down to the fifth circle. Kaito, which sin does this circle represent?"
Kaito, who had been flicking through Paradise Lost at the back of the class, let out a small sigh as if bored. "The fifth circle is the circle of wrath ruled by Belial." He said.
"Correct, though most will refer to it as anger nowadays. Anyway, here in this circle, the sinners guilty of wrath and anger battle one another atop the murky black waters of the River Styx, whilst the sullen lie beneath its surface." Astarte said. "In order to pass over, you need to travel on a boat or skiff."
"Is that where the tradition of putting coins over someone's eyes when they die to pay the ferryman comes from?" Nao asked.
"No. But it is the same basic principle. Give the soul two coins and they will be able to pass over the Styx. The big difference is, the Greeks did this to pass into the underworld. In Gehenna, only demons pay to cross the Styx." Astarte explained. She opened the box on her desk and placed a glass jar upon the desk. Inside the jar was an apparent black sludge. "This is the water of the Styx. Pass the jar amongst yourselves but don't open it." She warned whilst handing it to Jenna at the back.
She turned back to the board. "Now, what can anyone tell me about the sixth circle?" Amixtri raised her hand. Astarte nodded at her.
"The sixth circle is ruled by Iblis and is the circle of violence." She answered. Astarte nodded.
"This is circle is split into three rings. Depending on the type of violence a sinner performed, they will be assigned to a particular ring. However, the entire circle is guarded by a Minotaur. Now, if you are violent against other people or their property you will be sentenced to eternity in the boiling river of blood and fire." Emiko let out an audible gulp. Astarte continued. "Violence against one's own self will get you sentenced to the middle ring. Here, in the woods of suicide you will be transformed into a thorny tree, fed upon by the harpies. And finally, in the inner ring are the blasphemers." Astarte glanced at her class.
They all glanced at one another. Was this the place they would be sentenced to should they perish? Was this what awaited them in the afterlife? She turned back to her chalkboard and drew the circle with the three rings within.
"Also within this ring lie the sodomites. I think you lot know what these sinners are here for. Anyway, here the sinners are forced to either walk in groups or lie upon the burning sand of a desert that has fiery flakes fall upon it. What they do depends upon their sins. Normally, the blasphemers lie upon the sand and the sodomites walk around. They are identified not by name, but by heraldic devices located upon a purse around their necks that their eyes seem to feast upon." She paused, tapping her claw against her chin. As she did, Kitsune walked into the room and hopped up onto the desk, placing the basket he carried in his jaws down. The jar that had been passed around was now at the front of the room, sitting on Ryan's desk. Kitsune quickly collected it before placing it in the basket.
"Since we only have three more circles, we'll finish the structure of Gehenna off today." Astarte said after thinking. She nodded to Kitsune who pulled to boxes out of the basket. "We'll pass those around in a moment but first, tell me about the seventh circle." She said. Nao raised his hand.
"The Seventh circle is ruled by Samael and is the circle of Heresy." He said, feeling pleased with himself.
"Actually, you are half-correct." Kitsune suddenly said. "The circle of Heresy is no longer commanded by Samael. Due to him leaving for Assiah, the circle dissolved into chaos." He explained. "As such, mistress has seized temporary control of the circle to maintain order in it." Everyone stared at Astarte.
"You said you didn't have a circle." Drake said.
"I technically don't." Astarte said. "I'm technically in control of all circles as queen. But I don't rule a circle. All I do is maintain order when the ruler of a circle goes walkabouts." She said. She turned back to the chalkboard. "Here in the circle of Heresy, sinners are locked in flaming tombs for all eternity." She said. She could hear angry whispers behind her. "And if you don't stop whispering, you will find yourselves suffering a similar fate." She growled.
They all stopped. Cassie continued to glare at Astarte's back. Yet another lie to add to the ever-growing list. The pendant around her neck burned as her other side was kept restrained. This wasn't what she needed to hear. She needed trained, not told of what awaited her if she ever got the blessed peace she wanted.
Astarte kept looking at the chalkboard. "Kitsune, bring out the jar containing the burning pitch." She said suddenly. Kitsune nodded and opened one box to show a jar. He placed it on Emiko's desk.
"Pass it around. But don't open it." He said before moving back to Astarte's side.
"Circle Eight is the circle of fraud. This circle is ruled by Egyn and divided into ten ditches of stone known as bolgie. Bolgia one houses the panderers and seducers. Here, they march in two lines whipped by demons for all eternity. Bolgia two is home to flatterers. They are steeped in human excrement to match the words that dripped from their lips in their lives to trick others. Bolgia three is the simony home. These sinners are placed head first into a hole resembling a baptismal font and the soles of their feet are burned." She paused and turned around to see the jar containing the pitch slip as it was passed from Leon to Jenna. Her flames reared up and caught it just before it struck the ground. The flames holding it flickered viciously.
"Sorry. It was hotter than I expected." Jenna said. Astarte glared at her, the flames still flickering. The jar was slowly brought towards Kitsune who took it and put it back in the box. "Look, no harm was done." Jenna said. Astarte said nothing, merely turned back to the board. But not before Cassie noticed shadows flickering amongst her flames.
"Bolgia four is home to the sorcerers, false prophets and astrologers. Their heads are twisted around so that they forever look backwards whilst walking forwards. Bolgia five has the corrupt politicians submerged in the boiling sticky pitch that Jenna just nearly spilt all over the classroom. This represents their dark secrets of their corrupt deals and sticky fingers. Bolgia six houses hypocrites who walk around listlessly whilst wearing cloaks of gilded lead. Bolgia seven is home to thieves who are forever pursued by lizards and serpents. Once bitten, they undergo transformations. They stole from others in life, so in death their very identity is stolen from them." She paused again. This time, she stood stock still. Not even her tail moved. She closed her eyes and shook her head before focusing back on the board. But the class had noticed. Something was wrong with Astarte.
"Bolgia eight has the evil counsellors and fraudulent advisors sealed in individual flames. Bolgia nine is devoted to the sowers of discord. They are hacked to pieces by sword wielding demons. Bolgia Ten, the final one, is the residence of various sorts of falsifiers, alchemists etc; have been afflicted with different types of diseases to symbolise how they were a disease on society." She paused again.
"Mistress?" Kitsune said. She glanced at him before standing up straight.
"One more circle." She murmured under her breath. She let out a low breath and quickly carried on. "The final circle is the circle of treachery, ruled by Satan." She said. "There are four rounds here that lead to the very centre where father sits imprisoned. The first round is Caïna where those who betray their kindred are imprisoned in ice up to their chins. Next is Antenora where those who betray political entities are also imprisoned in ice up to their chins. Third is Ptolomaea where traitors to their guests lie supine in the ice. Only their faces are free. The final round is Judecca, where the traitors to their lords and benefactors are completely imprisoned in ice and distorted into all conceivable positions. Finally, at the very centre in the eyes of humans, father is frozen up to his chest. He was imprisoned for the personal betrayal of God." She stopped as a darkness began to seep into the edges of her vision.
"Mistress?" Kitsune asked again. Astarte turned to him before wiping the board clean.
"That's enough for today. I want you to finish Paradise Lost and Dante's inferno for your next training session a week from today. You can leave now." She said. She moved over to the desk, almost leaning against it. As they left the classroom, her claws dug into the desk. Cassie was the last one to leave, watching Astarte carefully. What else was she lying about? As soon as Cassie left, Astarte's knees buckled and darkness crept into her vision, making the world turn black.