Hell, Pride Ring...

The crimson sky that Hell's inhabitants were used to was obscured by blackened clouds that slowly drifted over Pentagram City, followed by unusual gusts of chilly wind. Most of the streets were empty, harboring a few wayfarers here and there but Pentagram City seemed so barren. While it seemed as though an extermination was about to take place, it was the signs of an oncoming storm that would leave the city drenched with rain.

If a demon were to look up towards the sky, there was nothing to see other than the black clouds that glared down at them. However, there was a secret that was staring them right in the face, one hidden behind the opaque billows. Suspended hundreds of feet above Pentagram City, flowing along with the clouds was an enormous palace that sat atop massive rock formations. The palace appeared to be or at least have taken influence from Japanese castles dating back to the Sengoku period.

The palace's size dwarfed that of islands and eclipsed even the largest sections of Pentagram City in a tremendous shadow that spanned for miles on end. The floating structure's stay wouldn't last that long, much like that clouds, its visit would soon pass by and be of little worry to the demons below. Whoever the caretaker of this monumental structure must have been a demon of great power and status and you'd be right on that part.

On the far eastern region of the palace was a lush garden that was home to a utopia of floral life and greenery to a point where it could've been considered its own ecosystem. The soft run of water was the closest thing to noise in this serene showcase, said noise belonged to a stream that ran along the rocks and stones while Koi fish swam along with the smooth current. Overlapping the brook was a curved wooden bridge that led to a green hilltop, one that sported a lone cherry blossom tree, pedals were slowly picked off from their branches by gentle wisps of air.

Despite its isolation, the cherry blossom tree only had one demonic companion by its side. The demon in question sported features similar to that of a crow, the ebony feathers on his head tied into that of a chonmage. His clothing consisted of a black yukata with orange patterns imprinted on the fabric and tied to sash was a katana, tucked away in its sheath and clung to his side. His physical build was muscular in appearance and his height far exceeded that of the average man.

The crow-like demon was seated along the grass, his back rested against the tree's trunk while his legs were crossed together. His eyes were closed and his mind had fallen into a trance-like state, unbothered by the cool air breezing through his feathers or the few cracks of sunlight that managed to pierce through the clouds. Amidst the chaos that was Hell, this demon managed to find his own serenity even in such a fickle hellscape.

Unfortunately, the stillness was interrupted by the heavy clang of footsteps that made their way up the hilltop. The culprit for disrupting the serenity was a large demon with dark ebony skin who bore armor that was much akin to a samurai and gripped in his clutches was a scroll case with a particular sigil embedded on the exterior, one that was recognizable amongst Hell's higher class. The messenger stopped in his tracks upon reaching the crow-like demon, separated by him by just a few yards. The armored demon was about to speak only for the crow to cut him off at the last second.

"Yasuke, you come to me in the middle of my meditation," The corvid spoke in a deep, firm voice that would send chills down even the strongest demon's spine. His eyelids shot open, revealing a pair of gleaming, orange eyes.

"What is the reason for this disruption?" He inquired with a twinge of annoyance in his voice.

"My sincerest apologies, Lord Raum, but I come bearing urgent news." The oni said, bowing his head before extending his hand out to reveal the scroll in his hand. Raum's eyes widened slightly from the sight of the scroll, mainly due to the sigil embedded on the cover. If the corvid wasn't paying attention, he certainly was now.

"...King Lucifer is in need of my presence? What for?..." Raum said, his tone shifting from vexed to worried as he stood up, taking the scroll from Yasuke's hands.

"No details were disclosed, my lord. It would be best for you to read it yourself." The oni replied while Raum gazed at the scroll cover hesitantly, the sigil leaving Raum dreading what Lucifer needed his attention for. The still winds grew violent, what was once a mellow breeze turned into a terrifying squall.

"...Very well then." Raum breathed out before removing the lid and unfurling the message. Raum's eyes carefully analyzed every word imprinted on the paper, his focus was unbreakable even against the harsh air. Upon reading the message, Raum felt his blood turn ice cold and his grip on the scroll began to falter, struggling to keep the scroll in his grasps as though he was holding a several-ton weight. Raum had to do a double-take, hoping that he had misinterpreted this message. Fear and doubt began to set in, he refused to believe that this was reality, unfortunately, the painful realization had taken hold of Raum's mindscape.

"...Yasuke," Raum said curtly, fighting against the surrounding gale. "Call my brother. Now."

"Yes my lord." The armored demon nodded before turning the other direction and running off to fulfill his master's request. Now alone once more, Raum stood motionless as though every muscle in his body had ceased function altogether. It was all so sudden, the corvid knew it was a matter of time before something like this could happen but he had never anticipated how dire this ordeal would turn out to be. Summoning the energy to walk, Raum carefully made his way down the hilltop and across the bridge, the tempest following the crow every step of the way.

The surrounding floral was nearly torn from their roots while leaves and specks of dirty were kicked about every which way and ripples erupted from the stream's surface. Raum approached one of the many entranceways to his temple, one that was connected to a limestone stairwell. The wind seemed to simmer down when Raum set foot near the threshold as he inhaled deeply before quickly exhaling. He quietly sauntered down a vast corridor that was adorned with large bronze statues that resembled ravens, owls, and other avian creatures.

While Raum managed to keep his emotions under control, he knew that despite his best efforts, he was incapable of undoing the damage that had been brought out. Just as the corvid could continue his walk, he paused for a moment and looked to his side to see a large portrait that was bedecked on the garnet-red walls. The portrait depicted the Palace-keeper standing alongside two other raven-like demons, one female and the other male, the latter of whom appeared to be younger with a bright smile on his face. The painting caught Raum's attention, namely the child who stood in the center with a wooden airplane held in his hands.

A great fury began to boil within Raum's core as he grabbed hold of the katana's hilt, his hand visibly shaking while his brows furrowed into a look of disdain. His breathing grew heavy while a great wind current blew through the hall, almost knocking the painting from its position. From behind him stood a large bronze statue of a raven with its wings spread out and its beak opened wide, as though it were taunting the palace-keeper. Raum, unable to curb his rage, pivoted his body into the other direction and unsheathed his sword in a swift motion faster than the trained eye could detect.

CHI-KA!

A perfect line formed along the bronze raven statue, its upper half sliding off before shaking the corridor momentarily with a dull 'THUNK'. Calming himself down with another slow breath, Raum drew back his blade before hearing Yasuke cry out to him.

"Lord Raum!" The oni roared out, appearing at the end of the hallway with two guards following by him, all three alerted to the sudden noise. "We heard something fall, what happened!?"

"...Nothing, Yasuke," Raum said, shifting his attention back to the painting that was barely dangling on the wall. "...Just the wind."

The Royal Morningstar Courthouse, A few hours later...

Standing proudly even in the face of a horrid rainstorm, the Royal Morningstar Courthouse toppled the elements as it stood unmoved amongst the surrounding buildings. The front entrance of the courthouse was flooded with the demonic masses, ranging from reporters, interviewers, members of the general public, and a few individuals who are probably waving his hands like a lunatic in front of a live news report. Guards stayed put at the front entrance to keep the crowd from flooding the gates.

These past few days here in Pentagram City had been hectic for the demonic inhabitants, starting with the aerial bombings from flying vulture-like robots, to the mammoth stampede that left a portion of the city in shambles, and most recently the exposure of Malphas. The member of the Ars Goetia was apprehended in his own fortress after it was revealed he had been running a brainwashing operation with live test subjects that he had abducted from their homes. He had also been exposed for spying on Hell's own princess through drones and had even made various deals with overlords to keep his activity under wraps.

This uncovering drove the tabloids wild with every news station and conspiracy podcast in Hell wild. The press asked an unending slue of questions to any official source they could find such as family members of the Ars Goetia to even the likes of King Lucifer himself. It was announced that Malphas would be prosecuted for his actions at the royal courthouse and the moment word had gotten out, the press came flocking over to unearth the big scoop on the potential verdict of the trial. The courtroom lobby was empty for the most part aside from only one

Viewing the throng from the safety of the courthouse's lobby from a window, cautiously analyzing the restless crowd as a cacophony of shouting and questioning was barely dulled out by the walls was a tall, slender owl-like demon with a clear expression of trepidation written on his face.

His clothing suggested that he was a man of royalty, consisting of a red tunic with golden linked buttons, beige breeches that reached down to his kneecaps, a tattered burgundy cape draped along his back, and a feathery top hat situated upon his head with a golden crown encircling it and a secondary pair of red eyes gleaming from the brim. The owl let out a quiet, melancholic hoot as he rested his hands on his temple to better clear his mind of all the growing attention that this whole ordeal had garnered over the past few hours.

Suddenly, the owl's head perked up to the sound of a 'VOOMPH' from behind as he spun around to see a glowing orange vortex opening up in the air and stepping from it was Raum, who bore a solemn frown as the portal closed behind him.

"...Stolas" The crow quietly muttered out, bowing his head slightly as a form of greetings. "I am pleased to be acquainted with you, brother."

"Oh, Raum, dear brother!" Stolas cried out, running up to his brother and giving him a warm hug, one that Raum did not expect but appreciated nonetheless.

"I... am aware of the severity of his actions, brother." Raum softly lamented while Stolas took a step back while unhinging his arms from his brother's shoulders. The crow looked down to his hands and tightly clenched them. "...All I wish is that I stopped this before it all began."

"Tell me something, are you going to defend him?..." Stolas questioned, to which, Raum sighed in response.

"...I'm here to listen, brother. Once I hear everything, it is then that I come forth with my final decision." The crow explained while Stolas tried to think of the proper words to say to him.

"My word... Raum, I-I..." Stolas was silenced with he felt the hand of his brother being placed onto his shoulder.

"There's is nothing for you to say, brother... Although I cannot thank you enough for coming here in my time of need." Raum said, although he tried to keep his tone neutral there was still gratitude to be found in his voice.

"Of course, my dear brother," Stolas said with a nod, responding to Raum's gesture by resting his hand onto the crow's shoulder. "Anything for you..."

The main doors leading to the courthouse suddenly clicked open, prompting Raum and Stolas to turn their heads. The sound of the screaming public and flashing cameras filled the lobby before the door closed once again. Setting foot into the courthouse was none other than Princess Charlie and her girlfriend, Vaggie, both of whom arrived on the scene with the same purpose. Given Charlie's status, she had grown used to the paparazzi although Vaggie wasn't the kind of person who enjoyed being in the spotlight, especially under these circumstances which prompted her to throw on a hat, shades, and a trench coat to better conceal her face from the camera's invasive lights.

"Lord Stolas?" Charlie said, surprised by the Goetia's visit while Vaggie removed her sunglasses. "I didn't know you were coming here."

"Well, Family Business I suppose." Stolas replied with a slight chuckle before approaching the two, greeting Charlie with a formal handshake.

"Let me be the first to say that I am terribly sorry for what had happened to the both of you. I knew his behavior was troublesome but not to this degree..." Stolas sorrowfully apologized, kneeling down to the princess and her lover.

"There's no need to apologize, Lord Stolas. You had no part in this..." Charlie said while Stolas rose back to his feet. Raum, meanwhile was unsure of speaking to Charlie, knowing full what his son had done to her. While it made sense to not even utter a single word to her, he figured it would be better not to shy away from reality. Taking a step forward, Raum cleared his throat loud enough to win the attention of both Charlie and Vaggie.

"...Princes Charlie." He muttered with a hint of anxiousness. "It's... nice to see you."

"...And to you as well, Lord Raum." Charlie curtly replied, awkward silence filling the lobby with the sounds of reporters shouting coming from the outside.

"I-I... Look, I want you to know is that-" Raum tried to make his statement only to be interrupted by Vaggie, who stepped forth with a heated glare in her eye.

"Neither of us want to hear what petty excuse you have!" Vaggie snarled, pointing a finger at the Goetia. "As far as I'm aware, you let this kind of shit happen!"

"Vaggie!" Charlie cried, holding her girlfriend by the arm as a way to gesture her to stand down.

"Hey! I'll have you know that it Malphas did all of this on his own accord!" Stolas retorted only for Raum to put an arm in front of him.

"It's okay, Stolas. She's right after all..." Raum admitted with a sigh.

"Of course not, Raum. It was not your fault for his hubris!" Stolas defended, wrapping an arm around the crow's shoulder.

"Don't give me that crap! Of course it is, he should've known something like this was going to-" Right before Vaggie could finish her rebuttal, a tall skeletal-like demon dressed in a blue suit and a powdered wig rested atop his head came walking in with spider-like strides.

"Princess Charlie, Lord Raum, Lord Stolas, and Vuh..Va... Err... one second." The skeleton paused for a moment and pulled out a piece of paper from his ribcage. Vaggie folded her arms and sighed with exasperation.

"If you're going to say..." Vaggie stopped and pondered her words carefully. "...What I think you're going to say, it's Vagatha."

"...Ah, so it's not Veronica?" The skeleton said, craning his neck up slightly. Vaggie blinked twice, taken aback that her name wasn't misheard, at least in the way she had always expected it to be.

"...Uh... Yeah." She said with a shrug.

"My apologies. Now then, you are called to the courtroom. Right this way, please." The skeleton beckoned, prompting everyone to follow the demon off into the alabaster corridor where marble statues of demons with looks of terror etched onto their faces whilst being tormented by pitchforks jabbing into their flesh was carved into the very walls. A sight of which made Raum wince with discomfort but he pressed onward in spite of this. The skeleton-like demon reached a large set of double doors, pushing them open for the demons who had followed them.

The doors lead to the courtroom, the walls took a deep shade of maroon, and the furniture from the public benches to the judge's bench. Situated along the walls were a series of torch sconces across from another, their flames serving as the courtroom's illumination. Several other demons were currently present on the public benches while arriving attendees were led into the darkened room, helping themselves to a seat.

Raum clasped his hands together and took a deep breath, anxiety starting to set in while Stolas gazed over to his brother with a look of concern, knowing full well that his brother was dreading this upcoming trial.

"It'll be okay, brother..." Stolas said with a calm voice, his hand pressed against the crow's back. "It'll all be okay..."

"I... doubt it. But thank you." Raum replied with shakiness and apprehension. The skeletal demon made his way to the courtroom floor, stepping over the swinging door that lead to it due to his immense height. He turned to face the room, clearing his throat... Despite the fact that he was absent of one.

"HEAR YE! HEAR YE!" He announced, silencing the murmur of all the attendees present in the courtroom. "I ANNOUNCE THE ARRIVAL OF THE HONORABLE KING LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR!"

The skeleton-like demon stepped aside to make way for a plume of flames to erupt from the courtroom floor's center where the silhouette of Lucifer was seen in the dancing hellfire. Suddenly, the flames dispersed, and standing before the audience beneath a smoldering pentagram etched in the floor was King Lucifer, baring a regal scowl on his face. Knowing just who they were faced with, most of the crowd couldn't help but grow nervous at the sight of their king standing right before their eyes.

"Denizens of Hell, you are called here for a reason of utmost importance. You're all aware that Malphas of the Ars Goetia Family Bloodline is being prosecuted for an assortment of heinous crimes behind my very back..." Lucifer, calmly pacing back and forth with his arms tucked behind him.

"Now, before we begin with this trial, 'm aware that some of you are horribly affected by Malphas's actions which is why I've decided that during this trial, you are all free to throw anything at him during this trial." Lucifer continued, garnering a few 'Oooh's and 'Aaah's from the crowd.

"And if you don't have anything to throw at him but you really want to, don't worry, we have that covered." The Fallen Angel assured before the courtroom doors swung open and in stepped Wally Wackford, wheeling in a street vendor cart that carried an assortment of items that would satisfy the audience's anger-driven projectile hurling needs.

"I say, I say, angry mob projectiles! Get your angry mob projectiles! I say, I say we got 'em all! Rocks, sandals, tomatoes, eggs, beer bottles, and 100 Gecs albums! All sorts of trash to throw at the rotten I say!" The carnie announced, prompting a few audience members to arm themselves.

"Charlie, think you can get me a rock?" Vaggie said, leaning over to her girlfriend.

"Don't you have some throwing knives on you?" Charlie questioned.

"Oh, I know that. The rock is there in case I miss..." Vaggie said, narrowing her eye slightly.

"...One rock please!" Charlie called out just as the cart came up to her. "No, wait... Two rocks actually! It's for my girlfriend."

"Aw, you got it, Princess!" The carnie said before handing Charlie the two rocks in exchange for a crisp dollar bill.

"Awww, honey, you spoil me~" Vaggie lovingly remarked with a slight blush.

"Want anything, Raum?" Stolas asked whilst purchasing a tomato when the cart came his way while Raum had a look of uncertainty on his face.

"I'd... rather not, brother. Not yet at least..." The crow said, before letting a kunai slide from out into his palm from his sleeve. Once everyone was equipped with a missile of their liking, Wally quickly exited the courtroom to let Lucifer begin the trial.

"Now that everyone has something to throw, I shall now allow Benedict to begin this trial," Lucifer said, gesturing the skeleton to take the spotlight once more. "Benedict?"

"Thank you, my lord," Benedict said with a respectful bow to the fallen angel before turning the courtroom members. "May all rise for the honorable judge of the damned, Minos!"

Charlie, Vaggie, Stolas, Raum, and practically everyone all unanimously rose to their feet for the entrance of their judge. A culmination of dark shadows began to manifest behind the judge's bench while the torch's flames began to grow dim and listless to a sudden drop in temperature. Rising from the pooling darkness and atop his highrise was an imposing demon dressed in a judge's gown and wig. His skin was sickly pale with a blue tint and his eyes were yellowy with dark blue circles laid beneath them. His facial features bore a long white beard and wrapped around his shoulders was a live snake that had a similar color scheme of black and teal.

The demon brought an unsettling aura to him, second to the Lucifer as he brought his hand up to the snake's head, the serpentine opening its mouth momentarily. A saliva-covered gavel began to slide from the ophidian's maw before falling into Minos's hand before he promptly struck the sound block on his bench. The loud strike of hardwood reverberated off the courtroom walls.

"This court is now in session. You all may be seated." Minos announced with a raspy breath while the audience followed and obeyed his commands. "I call upon the defendant of this trial, Malphas. Please, throw as much as you want with him."

With another strike to the block, a short burst of flames suddenly exploded out near the defense table. The fire vanished as quick as it appeared, in its place was Malphas, who wore nothing except for a straight jacket that he was desperately biting and pecking at in an attempt to get it off, fumbling about in a frenetic manner.

"C'mon…Get this.. fuckin' thing off of me!…" Malphas said in between grunts before stopping midway and taking a brief examination of his surroundings, his head snapping left to right before cognizance kicked in.

"Oh. Bollocks." That was all the raven needed to say before he was pelted with all sorts of objects from the crowd as they booed and screamed their heads off at the goetic demon while the corvid narrowly dodged projectiles hurled at him before one lucky tomato splattered against his head and knocked him to the floor. Squirming about in an attempt to pick himself back up, a task rendered difficult due to the straightjacket.

"Malphas of The Ars Goetia Bloodline, you are here for acts of treachery, kidnapping, the attempt of brainwashing a member of the royal Morningstar family, amongst all sorts of activities that a demon of your status had no reason of sifting through." Mino declared, gazing down at the struggling raven who managed to seat himself back onto his chair, shaking off the tomato juices and fragments from his hair... Only to promptly be stuck in the back of the head with an egg.

"Your honor, if you could let me explain, you could know that I am being wrongly accused of-"

"SILENCE!" Judge Minos roared out, his thunderous voice striking fear into Malphas, who felt as though he had shrunk out of fearfulness alone.

"You will be given your moment to talk after witness testimony and all the evidence has been presented. Until then you are to remain silent until otherwise." The judge firmly stated.

"Oh, and one more thing!" Lucifer chimed in, raising his hand. "Before we truly begin this trial, allow me to bring in the jury. Since I believe that jury duty is a load of horse shit, that jury will be comprised of none other than yours truly!"

With a snap of his fingers and a puff of smoke, twelve identical Lucifer clones were seated in the jury booth. All of whom were conversing with one another in a cheery demeanor, exchanging hello's and shaking hands with another.

"I admire your suit!" One clone said to the other.

"Thank you, I'd say the same thing about your hat!" The other clone gleefully chuckled.

"Hey, they're both so good we're all wearing it!" A third clone chimed in, however, this congregation of imitations was all silenced when their creator struck the floor with his cane. Gesturing all of them to be quiet.

"W-what?! This isn't fair! I don't even have a damn lawyer!" Malphas decried to which Lucifer responded with an apathetic shrug.

"Yeah, well... I'm king, you're not. Isn't that right Minos?" The Fallen Angel said to the judge, who ran his hands through his scraggly beard.

"Eh. He's the king, I'll allow it." Judge Minos said before striking the sound block.

"WHAT!? NO!" The corvid screeched at the top of his lungs, angered that such a move was allowed by the judge.

"Live with it!~" Hell's King taunted, flipping Malphas the bird with both hands.

"I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GET AWAY WITH-" Malphas's comment was cut short when Lucifer appeared right before him, leering down at him with his eyes now glowing a murderous red. Malphas lost the ability to speak when locking eyes with his king.

"I ş̶͘a̕̕íd͠͡͞l̀͜͟i̛̛͡͠v̕e̢̛͘ ̶̡͠͠͞w̧͠i̴͝͡͠t̶̶́͜͠h̵͝ ̸͡i̸̧͘t̢̀͘.̧̧̛͢͝" Lucifer spoke in a distorted voice that would haunt the corvid's worst nightmares. Knowing that Malphas had been silenced, Lucifer slipped back into his regular form.

"Now that this court is session, for our first witness, I call to the stand... Vaggie!" Minos announced while Vaggie rose from her seat and made her way to the courtroom floor, pushing the swinging door open and walking over to the witness stand. As she passed by Lucifer, the fallen angel leaned over to the moth-like demon before handing her an apple. From his table, Malphas's face turned red hot at the sight of Vaggie, his feathers starting to ruffle up.

"Here, in case the knives AND the rock miss..." The King of Hell whispered to which Vaggie took the fruit from Lucifer's grasps.

"Thank you, Luci. I'll be sure to get him in between the eyes with this, just for you." Vaggie said with a nod and smile before reaching the witness stand and seating herself.

"Now, Vaggie, can you explain to us what exactly happened on the day of the attack?" Lucifer inquired.

"Of course, your majesty. It all started when I was running errands with my son and coworkers... And also Angel, when we decided to make a resting stop at the Fermented Apple." Vaggie recapped for the court to hear. "My son and I had to go to the bathroom but while we were gone, Malphas and his men showed up and-"

"MY SILK GARMENTS WERE SOILED BY THOSE SINNER BABOONS, HAVE YOU THE SLIGHTEST CLUE HOW HARD IT IS TO GET STAINS OFF?! I HAD EVERY REASON TO ATTACK THEM!" Malphas screeched, interrupting Vaggie, who gave the raven demon a heated glare. It didn't take long for a knife to be thrown into his direction, one that made Malphas flinch with fear while the knife's tip stabbed itself into the table.

"HA! Missed m-" Malphas was one to never keep his ego in check for an apple smashed right into his face, exploding into a mess of juice and pulp. The corvid screeched before falling over, writhing with pain.

"Ooh. Good aim." Lucifer said, raising his brow with intrigued.

"...As I was saying, Malphas attacked my group for petty reasons and even sent out his drones to kill us. However, when he retreated, we discovered that one of his drones had a camera built inside of it and we discovered that he was secretly spying on Charlie. We even have the evidence right here." Vaggie continued before presenting one of the drones that she had acquired.

She pulled back the left-wing of the raven drone to reveal a button on the small robot's flank. Upon pressing the button, a screen on its torso flickered on for the whole court to see. At first, the footage came off as grainy but as the camera zoomed in, it revealed Charlie in her bedroom singing along to a song while using a hairbrush for a stand-in microphone, being secretly viewed from a window.

"I hear your-KSSSK-heart beat to the-KRSSK-beat of the drums!-KSSSK"

Charlie felt herself physically cringe with disgust while the rest of the audience looked on, horrifed to what was displayed before their sights. Raum was at a loss for words, to think that the child that he held in his arms would grow up to commit something so mortifying was the equivalent of a several-ton weight crashing down on him. The video proceeded to cut to static before the robot was briefly switched off by Vaggie. Lucifer, meanwhile, attempted to maintain himself from running over and stomping Malphas's head. Of course, he already had that planned once the trial reached its end.

"OBJECTION! I was making sure of Charlie's safety, making absolutely sure that she was safe from you gaslighting sinners!" Malphas retorted, nudging himself to the side to simulate pointing a finger.

"You had your drones hidden in every nook and cranny so that Charlie wouldn't have noticed," Vaggie said, ignoring Malphas's pathetic attempt to defend himself. "When you found out about this, you tried to kill us with an army of flying robots. In fact, If I remember correctly, you were so desperate that you tried to bomb an entire street as long as it meant that we didn't make it out."

"Heh..heh... W-well, I..." Malphas meekly gulped, sweating profusely at the evidence used against him. Desperately trying to think of a good excuse to save his feathery pelt. "Yeah well, YOU sent out a giant elephant monster that rampaged through the city! Try playing innocent now, you won't fool anyone!"

"Oogar turned into a mammoth because you and your men backed him into a corner, leaving him no other choice than to transform! Besides, you didn't do anything to stop him aside from flying away to let your men deal with him..." Vaggie defended, rising up from her seat. "Oh, and since we're on the subject of releasing giant city-destroying monsters. I think I remember you sent out a building-sized robot for the sole purpose of killing not just Oogar but us as well."

"Wait, wait… Who the bloody hell is Oogar?!" Malphas asked with a blend of frustration and confusion.

"…My son, the demon that you forced into a panic attack. The one that you called a filthy Neanderthal." Vaggie growled, seething with indignation. The raven stared at the Hispanic demoness with a baffled look almost as though his brain was struggling to wrap around this statement.

"That creature had a name and wasn't a pet!?…" Malphas said, perplexed with this new knowledge that he had unraveled. Vaggie's facial features went stiff upon hearing this before they twisted into a heated glare, her fists visibly shaking from this insult directed towards her son.

"…Get him." Charlie whispered amongst the crowd, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, it is fitting that a lowly skank such as you would consider that animal your so-"

THWACK!

"AUUUUUUGH!"

A rock embedded itself right square into Malphas's cranium, denting his skull in the process while the raven keeled over onto the floor face first. The rock further planted itself into the Goetia's frontal bone, hadn't it been for his demonic physiology then he would be dead as a doornail. Realizing his tush was sticking outward, Vaggie took it upon herself to chuck a dagger right into Malphas's buttocks.

SHINK!

Direct hit.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGH!"

"Talk shit about my son again and being caught in the middle of an extermination will be the second-worst thing to happen to you..." Vaggie growled with hatred.

"I can't even look at this..." Raum groaned with exasperation, covering his face in shame.

"Order! Order!" Minos bellowed, striking the sound block repeatedly with his gavel. He glared down at Malphas with a heated glower, his hand tightening around his gavel.

"Malphas, I will not ask you to be quiet again if you continue to provoke the witness!" The demonic judge threatened before turning his attention back to Vaggie. "Miss. Vagatha, I believe you've made your case. You may return to your seat, I shall call upon the next witness. Princess Charlie Morningstar."

Exiting the witness stand, Vaggie gave Malphas's twitching body a glance before angrily kicking against his side before returning to the benches. Forcing a pained squawk from the raven while Charlie took Vaggie's place on the testimony box. Before giving her statement, Charlie cleared her throat and spoke into the microphone.

"Hello, everyone. As you already know, Malphas was spying on me through his drones without my knowledge or consent. But there was much more to that as well, my whole crew took it upon ourselves to storm his castle because he was planning to destroy any and all evidence tracing back to him." Charlie explained while the corvid shakily brought himself back onto his chair with the knife still lodged in his rear.

"Ufff...ufff...Objection...!" Malphas yelled between breaths, struggling to keep himself seated on behalf of the blade in his ass. "Ufff...You were... uh... committing home invasion!"

Charlie hit Malphas with a blank stare, blinking a few times to properly digest his excuse. She looked over at Minos, who clearly knew better than to give into the corvid's blatant lies. Not a second past before Malphas was caught in a sudden pillar of hellfire, his screams bouncing off the walls momentarily. The flames died down and Malphas now stood there, his body coated in black char while a groan was barely produced from his weakened vocal cords.

"…You may continue, Princess Morningstar." Minos allowed, ignoring the scent of smoldering feathers.

"Thank your, honor. Back to what I was talking about, Malphas trying to destroy evidence wasn't the only thing we found out. When entering his dungeon, we found out that he was running a brain operation experiment for the sole intention of wiping my mind and turning me into a mindless slave with this..."

Charlie brought forth a film reel, one that was labeled with a piece of masking tape with the words 'HOUSEWIFE/SOUL MATE' written on it. The crowd shared a gasp while Malphas was starting to shutter with fear, his eyes darting back and forth from the sound of the audience's reaction.

"This film reel was one of many of his mind-wiping films that were designed for me. However, this wasn't the only thing we found. To make sure that his plan worked, Malphas had kidnapped various demons of the lower class for the sole purpose of experimentation..." Charlie said with a solemn tone, the dreadful memories of when she first discovered that theatre all flooding back like a tidal wave.

"...He kept them in some sort of movie theater where they were strapped to the chairs and their eyes were forcibly pulled open by hooks..." Charlie continued, a horrified expression taking place on her visage. All eyes were pointed at Malphas, scorn and disdain emanated from their gaze while a few whispered with one another.

Raum fell silent to this reveal, he tried to formulate the words or at the very least a thought from this divulgence but nothing came. The crow demon analyzed his surroundings, looking side to side from the court's response to such heinous actions. Raum only looked down and closed his eyes, his hands clutching tightly. Stolas made an effort to comfort his brother, reaching out to him with a hand on the shoulder.

"Don't." Raum said curtly, distancing himself slightly from his brother by nudging himself to the side. Stolas pulled back his hand back in a hesitant manner, thinking of something to say but decided it was best to remain silent for the time being.

"I only did it to make sure that you acted accordingly!" Malphas sprung in to defend himself, leaping onto the table. "A person of your class should know better than to mingle with sinner filth! Just look at my uncle Stolas and his Imp sucking lifestyle. I was doing it to protect you and your family from these mongrels, if anything, you should be thanking me!"

All four of Stolas's eyes widened slightly from that insult Malphas had spewed out as he calmly lifted a hand and with a single motion, caused the table that Malphas was standing to suddenly shift forward underneath his feet. The raven-like demon let out a shrill yelp as he fell back first onto the floor only to be suspended in the air slightly by the knife in his behind. Drawing out another pained screech, one that was cut short with a second eruption of fire courtesy of Charlie. This time around, Malphas was reduced to a perfectly charred outline with two white, blinking eyes. Sulfuric-like smoke wafting from his scorched body.

"...As far as I'm concerned, I owe you shit." The demonic princess unapologetically spat before standing up and leaving the witness behind, Lucifer and Minos watching her return to the public benches.

"Jeez, man. She really is your daughter..." Judge Minos commented with astonishment.

"Hehe, suppose the apple doesn't fall far from the tree eh?" Lucifer said with a chuckle.

"I guess so, well we only got one guy left before we throw his miserable ass into the slammer. So, let's just uh... keep going." Minos said with a shrug, striking the sound block.

"Ahem! Now then, for our third and final witness, I call Hayden to the stand." The demonic judge announced, awaiting a response from the witness. He looked around for Hayden, scratching his head in confusion for the demon he called upon was nowhere in sight.

"Err... I call Hayden to the stand." Minos repeated himself while the snake mounted on the judge's shoulders looked down, its eyes widening slightly before tapping his wearer on the head with its tail. Minos glared at the snake with minor annoyance before lightly swatting at his tail. "No, I'm not feeding you during a trial. We'll eat after-"

"D-Down here, sir... I-I mean! Your honor, sir..." The sheepish voice of a young man called out from him, prompting Minos to look over his bench. Standing right below him was an imp with short white hair with small horns that curved outwards, his attire consisting of a yellow t-shirt and blue shorts.

"Ah, apologies young lad. Make your way to the witness stand, please." The judge said, gesturing to the bench beside him. Hayden nodded and rushed over to the witness stand, nearly tripping over in the process. Upon seating himself, Lucifer approached the young imp with his hands tucked behind his back.

"Now, Hayden, you were one of the many demons that Malphas had abducted for the sake of his experiments. Is that true?" Lucifer solicited, the imp nervously looked down and gulped in response.

"W-well... um... Yes." Hayden stammered out, nervously wringing his hands.

"And are you able to recount the night of your abduction?" The King of Hell beseeched, although Hayden seemed tentative, responding to Lucifer's inquiry with silence.

"Young man, you are under oath." The Fallen Angel spoke in an oddly warm and assuring tone. "I'm aware that recalling such events is taxing on your mind but we all must confront it one way or another."

"...I..It all started late one night. I was walking back to my apartment from a friend's house and I had a few too many drinks. All my other friends were too drunk to drive so I had no other choice but to walk home myself." Hayden confessed, his hands quivering slightly.

"As I was walking down the street, however, I noticed a limousine was slowly following me... A-At first, I didn't know what to think of it since I was feeling delirious. Suddenly, the limo stopped and two men in some sort of armor stepped out from it and ran straight at me." The young imp continued with his story, his voice beginning to waver.

"Despite being intoxicated, I still tried to run away but they easily caught up to me and restrained me. By then, I blacked out and... A-and..." The imp paused, his body now visibly trembling while tears started to work their way from his eyes.

"Now tell us, Hayden. What exactly happened when you regained consciousness?..." Lucifer firmly asked, the younger demon wiping the tears from his eyes.

"W-When I... woke up... My arms and legs were strapped to a chair and I... I just couldn't close my eyes, I couldn't move, I-I... I couldn't do anything..." Hayden remarked every word spoken was heavy for the imp.

"Had no choice but to look at the screen that was playing before me. With every passing minute, m-my mind was beginning to rot away... I... I... I couldn't fight... It was... There..." Hayden was on the verge of bawling his eyes out, the whole crowd could only imagine the horror that this imp was forced to sit through from something outside of his control. Malphas, however, reacted to this with annoyance as opposed to guilt.

"OH QUIT YOUR BELLOWING, IMP! It wasn't that horrible! The seats were comfortable and I actually went through the effort feeding you so you wouldn't die on me!" The corvid interjected. Hayden's sadness and fear turned to anger and hostility from that comment, perplexed that his captor had the gull to sidestep the trauma that he had dumped onto him.

"Y-You fed me and the others gruel through a fucking tube!" Hayden retorted, slamming his fist against the hardwood desk of the stand.

"It's food nonetheless! Besides, it's not like I had my way with any of you animals. I have the standards not to waste that kind of energy on savages like you, hell, you were basically asking to be kidnapped! So consider this an act of karma!" Malphas responded, his statement warranting a gasp from the crowd along with a quiet muttering of Hispanic profanities from Vaggie. Hayden's hands began to clench into fists before he stood up on his chair.

"Oh yeah...? Y-You wanna know what an act of karma is for kidnapping and torturing someone for satan knows how long!?" The imp said, his eyes still welling with tears.

"Bah, I could care le-OH FUCK!" The Goetia screamed with terror when the imp suddenly lunged from the witness stand and tackled him to the ground. It didn't take long for Hayden to viciously wail on the defenseless madman, repeatedly striking Malphas in the face with all the pent-up rage and trauma that fueled every single blow of the imp. Malphas tried to wriggle himself away only for Hayden to squeeze him by the neck and strangle him, banging the back of his head against the floor to a point where cracks started to show along the alabaster floor.

"...Oh no... My gavel just got heavy all of a sudden... Oooh..." Judge Minos said, watching this assault unfold before his eyes as he slowly raised his gavel in a long, drawn-out manner. Hayden lifted Malphas by the neck and chucked him right into the jury box, his back hitting against the wooden front. Any guards present in the courtroom were about to step in and apprehend the imp only for Minos to shake his head, prompting them to stand back and watch the beatdown commence.

Two of the Lucifer clones leaned over to see and reached down, lifting the raven demon up for the imp to lay into. From the corner of Hayden's eye, he spotted a chair and quickly grabbed it before making a mad dash towards the goetic aristocrat.

"NONONONO! STAY BACK! STAY BACK YOU SAVAGE BEAST!" Malphas screeched with horror, squirming around in the clone's clutches while Hayden swung the chair down. Wooden splinters and chunks were sent flying upon contact while Malphas's body struck the ground. Hayden didn't stop there, using one of the chair legs as a makeshift bludgeon that was viciously slammed into the raven's back. Minos still had the gavel suspended in the air before his arm made a sluggish descent towards the sound block.

"I must... call... the court... to order..." Minos said between fabricated grunts, his gavel inching towards the sound block while Malphas was kicked into the center of the courtroom floor. It didn't take long for Hayden to rush in with an elbow drop to the gut, slamming his elbow with the same strength as a sledgehammer while any air inside of Malphas's lungs exited through his beak with a wheeze. The Imp proceeded to wildly swing at the raven, pummeling him until his face was rendered unrecognizable while his knuckles ran red with the raven's blood. But just as the assault could continue, the gavel's bang rang out.

"Alright, you may be seated. You'll have more of that later, don't worry." Judge Minos said with a polite nod while Hayden stood up at his full height and rubbed the tears from his eyes, accidentally smearing blood on his face.

"T-Thank you, your honor..." Hayden murmured before shambling away from Malphas's bloodied body. On the way to the public benches, the imp felt someone tap his back. He turned around and much to his surprise, Lucifer himself stood before him with an apple in his hand.

"Here you go, young man. From me to you." The Fallen Angel offered, prompting the young imp to take the red fruit from his hand.

"Y-You want me to throw this at Malphas?..." The smaller demon asked only to be responded with a hearty chuckle from the demonic king.

"Ahaha! Well, you could though you could also use some proper sustenance. Especially after a walloping after that!" Lucifer said, sporting a smile that didn't seem superficial nor tact-on out of obligation. Hayden looked down at the apple that was given to him before taking a big bite out of the fruit, happily chewing it as its sweet juices dribbled from his chin.

"Mmm… Th-Thanks…" The imp expressed his gratitudes between chews before walking back to the benches. Lucifer kept his smile up until Hayden was seated, to which he had turned to Malphas, who was now sprawled on the floor bloodied and bruised, with his sharp-toothed grin twisting into a beastly scowl.

"Now then, onto our definitive conclusion…" Lucifer said, glaring down at the spring of his contempt.

"Right, I believe I have heard enough. Has the jury reached a verdict?" Judge Minos inquired, turning his attention to the twelve Lucifer clones, one of whom stood up and pulled out a piece of paper.

"We find the defendant nnnn…" The clone squinted his eyes to get a better read on the verdict, drawing out a pair of reading glasses from his coat pocket while the crowd anxiously awaited the results.

"W-Wait? They're actually letting me go!?... Yes... YES!" Malphas internally said to himself, breaking into a fit of heinous laughter. "OH THANK SATAN, ONCE I FREE MYSELF, ALL OF THOSE UNGRATEFUL WHORES WILL BE TORN DOWN BY MY OWN TWO HANDS! I WILL DANCE ON THEIR CORPSES AND DESECRATE THEIR HOMES, NEVER AGAIN WILL THEY-"

"-Never to see the light of day again. Guilty." The imitation bluntly spoke, the corvid's inner monologue coming to a screeching halt while his eyes shrunk to that word that struck him harder than anything that was thrown at him in the duration of the trial. This verdict was met with a resounding cheer with a "GET FUCKED!" here and a "RESULTS ARE IN!" there, all we're in high spirits except for Raum.

"N-No! NO! THIS CAN NOT BE! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" Malphas screeched with indignation, stomping his foot on the ground as if he were a toddler.

"Unfortunately…" One Lucifer clone interjected.

"We just did!" Another clone spouted out, finishing the other's sentence.

"By the power invested in me, I hereby condemn Malphas of The Ars Goetia to an eternity of torture and imprisonment in the Penitentiary of the Wicked!" Judge Minos announced, raising his gavel once more to hammer in the final nail in Malphas's coffin. "May Lucifer have mercy on your damned soul..."

"Spoiler alert, I don't!" Lucifer spoke up, raising a hand. Right as Minos was about to bring the gavel down, a loud voice called out to the demonic judge.

"WAIT!"

The mallet was just half a centimeter away from the block while Minos and his snake both simultaneously looked up to see Raum, standing tall with an arm outstretched and an open palm. The court went silent while a faint push of wind brushed past through all of the attendants and nearly extinguished the surrounding sconces.

"Your honor... May I have a chance to speak?" Raum asked, both Lucifer and Minos glanced at one another with a look of intrigue and minor annoyance. After pondering the Goetic's request, the judge gave his response.

"Very well then, Lord Raum. Take the floor..." Minos spoke while Raum left his bench and made his way to the courtroom floor, all eyes nervously aimed at him. Vaggie and Charlie both felt a twinge in their stomach as Raum pushed open the swinging door to let himself in.

"Fuck, this is bad..." Vaggie muttered to herself while Charlie turned to her lover.

"L-lets just hear what he has to say, just... uh... don't try to worry too much..." Charlie replied in an effort to calm her girlfriend down.

"We have every reason to worry!" Vaggie exclaimed, trying to keep her voice silent enough for no one to overhear her conversation. "He's probably going to come up with some bullshit lie to persuade the judge for all we know!"

"F-Father! I was hoping you would come to save me in this predicament! I knew you'd come and rescue your own son!" Malphas belted out with elation, shuffling up to Raum's ankles, bowing down, and kissing his talons in a pathetic attempt to appease his father.

"Oh dearest father, these classless barbarians had abused, degraded, and humiliated me! They've done nothing but bury in a mountain of preposterous slander and blatant lies, dragging me through this field of filthy, unsavory muck but here you stand to vindicate your one and only child!" Malphas continued, tugging at his father's knees while gazing up at him with a radiant smile, one to disguise the ugliness hidden behind that mask. Raum, however, knew better than to fall for this false warmth. Leering down at his son, narrowing his eyes with his beak contorted into a cold frown.

"…R-Right?..." Malphas gulped, unhanding Raum's legs before crawling back a few feet away, beginning to quiver with fear.

"Malphas." Raum spoke with an iron voice that struck his son with fright. "When was I informed of your trial I didn't know what to think…"

"Why of course! You know that I am innocent and that what was said were little more than meager accusati-"

"I. AM. NOT.FINISHED." Raum shouted, interrupting his son's babbling while a powerful squall blasted through the courtroom. The crow's voice deepened, his body grew several feet taller, and his eyes emitted a piercing orange illuminance that burned into the now-terrified Malphas's subconscious. His head sank into the neck hole of his straight jacket as though he were a turtle hiding in its shell from a predator. Raum shut his eyes for a moment, softly exhaling to properly collect himself as the wind currents died down.

"...I didn't know what to think at first but now that I've heard everything I need to know, I believe that you have rightfully earned this punishment." Raum decried, his statement sending Malphas through a state of aghast. Charlie and Vaggie were equally as shocked, at first believing Raum would defend his son through shallow statements only for the polar opposite to switch on them.

"You averted EVERYTHING that I taught you and instead, let your own arrogance and hubris dictate your path. You have brought little more than dishonor and disgrace to our family name and no other damned beast is more deserving of this punishment than you!" Raum chastised while Malphas's mind attempted to process this heavy blow to his ego and consciousness. His fearfulness began to wash away and anger took hold of his rational yet again.

"I-I brought dishonor!?" Malphas said, almost baffled by his father's testament. "Father, clearly you don't comprehend my words, I only sought to purify our bloodline. If anyone has brought shame to the family, it's undoubtedly Stolas and that plaything he brought into his mansion!"

"Don't you DARE rope my brother into your petty excuses! I respect him and his choices not out of obligation but because it genuinely made him happy. You, on the other hand, only yearned to fulfill your debauched fantasies!" The crow retorted, leering down at his son with a feather pointed at his torso. Malphas furrowed his brow, his rage beginning to expand to a terrifying degree. Unable to curb his fury, Malphas expectorating right in between Raum's eyes, whose eyes winced from the gob of saliva hitting his face. A gasp rang out from the crow, Stolas stood up with all four of his eyes widening at the disrespect that was hurled into his brother's way.

"STOLAS BENDS OVER FOR AN IMP, FATHER! HOW IS HE NOT THE MOST DEBAUCHED OUT OF US TWO?! THE DISGUSTING FA-"

Before Malphas could react, he was suddenly knocked flat onto the floor with Raum's foot pressing down on his neck. The raven struggled to breathe under the crushing pressure that his father's talons carried, his face started to turn visibly blue.

"Every word from your filthy mouth is agony for me. Stolas is one hundred times the man you will ever be, boy." The demonic lord spat, wiping the saliva from his face before flicking it off with his feathers. The crow proceeded to lift his foot from his son's neck and pushed him several yards back with a shove of his talons. Gasping for air, Malphas attempted to stand back on his feet only to falter and slip onto the ground.

"Y-You would rather let him tarnish our pure blood with his filthy ways than let me save our family name?!… HOW... HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO YOUR OWN SON!" Malphas spoke out, seething hauteur.

"…I find it hysterical that you still think you're my son, Malphas." Raum replied with a snarl, folding his arms.

"W-What?…" Malphas quietly muttered.

"Malphas, I strip you from the Ars Goetia in both title and blood. You have brought nothing but misery and shame through your deplorable, perverted actions. You are no longer my son nor part of this family, I DISOWN YOU!" Raum shouted for the whole courtroom to hear while the last slither of hope for Malphas was reduced to nothingness.

"...I believe I have said everything, your honor." The corvid spoke before turning his back on his son and leaving him behind, desolate and defeated.

"Very well then. Anyone else got something to say?..." Minos asked, being met with a bitter silence. "No? Good. Case dismissed!"

Minos brought the trial to an end with a firm strike from his gavel while Malphas watched as his only ticket out of here pushed open the swinging door and approached the exit while the court audience cheered to the verdict. The raven-like demon felt a cold presence looming from behind, a stinging dream overtaking his body as Malphas turned around to be met face to face with Lucifer.

"Now that it's been properly settled, allow me to show where you'll be staying." The Fallen Angel said before pulling out his cane and tapping it against the floor. A spatial rift opened up out of thin air, on the other side of the vortex was a prison hallway with cells aligned against the rust-caked walls, along with the screams and growls of prisoners reverberating throughout the hall. Before the two large, hodded ape-like demons wielding swords, axes, and sorts of medieval torture weapons. A terrified grimace made itself present on Malphas's visage, namely towards the weapons that were waiting to disembowel him.

"Oh, hey your majesty!" One of the apes greeted with a friendly wave. "You got our meat?"

"You had better believe it! You boys be good to your new guest!~" Lucifer replied with a boisterous laugh, shoving Malphas further towards the portal. Malphas kicked and screamed, flailing about in a fit of terror-fueled energy.

"NO! NO! NOT LIKE THIS! ANYTHING BUT THIS!" The raven cried out only to be seized by the grisly hands of his soon-to-be torturers, the ape-like beasts carrying him into the prison.

"Come along, little man! We got much to show ya!" Another torturer exclaimed, enraptured by their new prisoner.

"Yeah! We're gonna have rats dig inside of your stomach! Won't that be a hoot!" A third ape-like demon said with an unsettling smile. Malphas was on the verge of breaking down into the tears, squirming endlessly as he made one pathetic scream before his eternal fate was sealed.

"No... NO!... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUU-"

VMMMMMPH...

pop!

The rift closed up, cutting off Malphas's screams right before the torment could truly start for him. With the Goetia's sentence now carried out, Lucifer dusted his hands before removing his hat and slicking back his hair to give it a quick fix.

"Goodness gracious, the nerve on that guy…" Minos commented on the ordeal that had unfolded in this courtroom.

"Trust me, you should see him at holiday parties…" Lucifer said before shuttering with discomfort. "Somehow he made me loathe the Christmas season much more than I already do…"

The audience who had witnessed this session from beginning to end started to make their way to the exit with Raum being the first one to leave and Stolas following suit. Amidst the chattering from the crowd, Vaggie and Charlie turned to one another while nearing the exit.

"Hey, Charlie?" Vaggie said, opening the door for her girlfriend to leave first before shortly following thereafter. "Did any of that feel strange to you?"

"I know, I wasn't expecting him to say that but at the same time..." Charlie's eyes glanced over to Raum, who stood at the corridor's end with his back turned on the duo while Stolas stood by his side.

"...Could you really blame him?" Charlie asked while Vaggie pondered on her response for a brief moment, reflecting on the whole trial as the two demonesses were starting to approach the crow demon.

"Yeah but, he really did say all of that stuff to his own so-" Right when Vaggie could finish her statement, her eye flicked over to Raum to get a clear look at his facial features. A downcast lour was present on Raum's visage, shadows hung over his eyes giving him the appearance of a lifeless statue.

"...Sweetie, what's wrong?" Charlie asked with concern. Despite her hostility from earlier, a new perspective began to present itself for the Hispanic demoness.

"His eyes..." Vaggie whispered, quiet enough to be unheard from the crow. "Satan, he's heartbroken."

"...Let's just... leave him to his own devices, yes? He's been through enough as it is. Let's just go home." Charlie insisted, slightly tugging at Vaggie as the two demonesses quickly hurried away from the Goetics. Vaggie threw on her hat and sunglasses right before they left the courthouse in preparation for dealing with the nosey tabloids the second they stepped out onto the threshold.

Stolas, meanwhile, tried desperately to formulate a sentence that could potentially comfort his sibling. All of his attempts were coming up with nothing more than blanks, it became clear that he had no say in this misery.

"R-Raum... I-"

"Brother, I appreciate the concern but I'd rather be alone for the time being." Raum interrupted his brother, who took one step away from him. With a wave of his hand and a bright orange flicker, the demonic lord created a portal back to his palace in the sky.

"Raum, I insist that I come along. You look horribly distraught and it would make all the difference if I were to be there in your time of need." The owl-like demon stated, his brother pausing for a brief second.

"...Stolas. I am fine." The crow said, glancing over at his brother before turning away. "...I just a need moment to... recuperate. That's all."

"I... O... Okay. But, I will come visit you later. And if you change your mind and want to talk, promise me that you'll say so, brother! I will be there in the shake of an imp's tail!" Stolas declared with compassion resonating in his voice. Right before Raum stepped foot into the portal, the crow began to manage a small smile along with a reverent chuckle.

"...I promise, brother. Thank you." He said with a nod before stepping into the portal as it closed up behind him. Stolas waved his brother goodbye until he was out of sight for good while his smile gradually melted back into a worried frown. Utilizing his own magic, Stolas created a portal back to his own empty abode.

"You may not know this brother but you are not alone... I care for you deeply and I only wish the best for you, even in this moment of darkness."

Raum's Palace, Hours Later...

The day had turned to night not too long ago and the palace in the sky had drifted out of view from Pentagram City. The moon laid down its rays onto the vast structure where its keeper sat alone with his troublesome thoughts. Raum sat before a vast koi pond with several channels connecting to the great body of water. The moonlight from above gave the water a lively glint that sparkled in the darkness while also providing a shadowy reflection of the crow that laid upon the water's surface. The wind carried a distinct chill of uneasiness that crept through the garden, invading the serenity with a gelid sting.

The koi fish inhabiting their environment swam happily with one another, perfectly in harmony. Raum spent hours in his position, the sun setting and the moon rising during his sit. The crow had never muttered a word ever since his return much to the concern of his guards but they knew better than to tread on their master's own personal struggles. As the hours continued to pass, Raum took in a deep breath and exhaled before reaching into yukata. He slowly pulled out a photograph before bringing his full attention to it.

In the photo was Raum, calmly resting against a cherry blossom tree. The raven chick's wing reached out to the camera while his father gave a hearty smile that was filled with exuberance, a far cry from the sorrow that would haunt him in the future.

Raum, unable to hold back for much longer, shed a tear that slid from his cheek and fell into the koi pond below, a ripple ringing out along the water. The crow held the photo close to his chest and fell to the floor, the tears continuing to fall.

The wind all around grew stiff and motionless.

Then, silent.