My DA is EmeraldOverlord so feel free to check it out if you want!
The group set up camp in a deep side of the woods. They had walked far enough to where they were certain that Belphegor wasn't going to catch up with them and had since set up a small campfire before calling it a night.
Vox sighed as he watched the others hit the sheets so to speak. Angel climbed up on a tree and slept lazily on a branch, snoring loudly as he did so. Niffty created a web for her to lay on while Alastor created a small home made out of solid rock before using mud to cover himself in a make-shift blanket. Velvet slept against a tree with one of her constructs, clutching the teddy bear in her hands while Vaggie laid on the ground with a ring of fire surrounding her and Husk was sleeping on a cloud of all things.
'Show-offs…' He thought to himself before noticing something off. He didn't see Helsa sleeping and narrowed his eyes; he didn't see her sleeping like the others were.
Curious and somewhat concerned, Vox decided to look around for her. He knew she wouldn't have wandered that far from camp but he still wanted to be sure she hadn't stumbled into trouble while they weren't looking.
Thankfully for Vox's sake, his search didn't need to continue much further as he saw Helsa standing out near a cliff-side, eyes fixated on the moon.
"You know it's rather late to be out here, Helsa…" He said from behind. Despite the darkness, the moon's light granted him a view of her and the Princess of Envy's head titled in his direction, seemingly bemused by his sudden appearance.
As he approached her, he noticed that Helsa was rather distant, as if her mind was focused entirely on something else at that moment.
"Helsa, are you alright?" He asked.
She shook her head, not even bothering to try and lie. The silence spoke volumes and Vox already had a feeling what this was about before it even started.
"You miss your brother don't you?"
She nodded her head.
"I'm sorry, Helsa…" He said,"I know me saying this doesn't really mean much but I really am sorry, 's a shame there's nothing that can be done for him. He helped get us out of that asylum and it's sad he couldn't have been here to see this. I bet he'd be happy out here if he were with us right now…"
Vox wished he could do something to help. He truthfully wasn't all too accustomed to comforting anyone and the idea of comforting someone over the loss of their sibling, let alone their other half was something he was not experienced with.
Still, that didn't mean he wouldn't try and in an attempt to comfort her, he hugged the Princess.
She was momentarily taken aback by this, clearly not used to this display of affection. She had never been hugged in her entire life and Helsa wasn't too sure how to respond, let alone return the favor even if she wanted to.
The Princess didn't return the hug but she didn't move away either, instead settling to bury her head in his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair. Helsa had a few icy cold tears well up in her eyes and a wet path formed on Vox's clothing as he comforted her.
She didn't scab or let out a wretched scream, she silently wept and Vox found that even sadder if anything. She wasn't pitching a tantrum, she was just crying silently in solemn acceptance that she'd never see her sibling again and there wasn't anything either of them could do about it.
Any doubt that Helsa was deceiving him went out the window right there. He knew Helsa could use her charms to her advantage, but he had never seen this woman cry and he doubted she'd be able to feign sadness in this manner.
"It's OK, Helsa…It's gonna be OK," he tried to assure her despite his own doubts,"You just need to rest, I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning…"
Vox led Helsa back to camp and sat down on a rock as he allowed her to curl up against him for warmth. The ice siren hummed a song as her eyes fluttered close. The Princess slept on his chest so soundly, a peaceful expression resting on her face.
The former TV Demon glanced at her, fixated on her expression as a warm feeling bundled up within his once dead and cold chest as a light shade of blush was present on his face.
She looked so peaceful despite everything, if only he could share the same feeling…
He sighed as he recalled those 'times' he had with Mammon.
Despite how long it had been since they had last had intercourse, he could still remember the details exactly how it happened.
He could still feel the painful constrictions of those damn magical binds whenever Mammon decided to restrain his arms, forcing them above his head or behind his back depending on what he planned on doing as they squeezed on his wrists. The way Mammon spread his legs apart and forced his knees upwards to further restrict his movement as the jester sat in between his legs and tore off his clothes, feeling and clawing at his body. He cried big fat tears as Mammon ruthlessly pounded into him from behind, blubbering and whining as it hit that sensitive bundle of nerves buried inside of him. Agony, fear and pleasure wracked his body as Mammon ruthlessly fucked him to the point Vox wouldn't have been able to stand up the next day. He left marks all over him, from the bite marks on his neck to the scratch marks on his thighs and back.
And the worst part was not only his body but a small part of mind that enjoyed it all, the pain, the pleasure, all of it...
He felt great shame in admitting a part of him enjoyed hopping on that bastard's cock and screaming out his name to the heavens.
But it wasn't just the rough treatment he enjoyed…
He could still feel Mammon's hands playing with his then golden locks. He remembered how warm he felt against his chest. He could recall Mammon touched his lower back as he slept and how he whimpered at those soft touches.
God, the sound of his voice that night, it sounded so pathetic and wanting, wanting not only Mammon's presence but his affection.
And a small, fucked up part of his somewhat craved that affection.
Perhaps it was a coping mechanism to grow attached but he just couldn't fully hate the man despite everything and he despised himself greatly for it.
It was beyond humiliating and the only saving grace was that only Husk and Charlie knew about it and the two seemed respect him enough to not spill his sexual encounters with Mammon to the others thankfully.
But what really hurt…was that he let him do it. He let him have his soul. He let him have his body and his mind. He let him use him as a plaything and he never told him to stop it.
The former TV Demon reluctantly closed his eyes, he knew that they'd be on the move fairly early and that it was best to get sleep while he still could.
As he closed his eyes, he could feel a sense of restlessness overtake him as he struggled to get some good shut-eye.
The next morning they continued their journey on foot through the woods. It was the crack of the dawn and they were back on the move again after they found some food to eat in the forest, picking off whatever fruits and other plants they saw.
Of course, Alastor wanted more…fleshy meals so Niffty caught him whatever was unfortunate enough to run into the web she spun and allowed him to prepare the meal as he pleased and the former Radio Host was willing to share the cooked meat over the fire. They offered to share but nobody was all too keen on eating a fresh kill of the deer they had slain.
As they were walking, they couldn't help but notice the sound of ruffling in the forest from behind them. It was the sound of hooves colliding against the ground. It was too heavy to be a deer and it didn't sound like any of the critters they had seen around.
Sure they had seen a few foxes, maybe a wolf if they were lucky but outside of that, the only creatures they saw hailed from the woods and their steps were usually easy to distinguish from another.
The sounds caused everyone to become on guard. The idea that the guards have pursued them through the woods wasn't exactly an idea that far fetched and they were all antsy of the notion of being followed.
Vox felt a bead of sweat trickle down,"Scheiße…Have they already caught up with us this quickly?"
"I can't tell, but whatever it is,I don't like it one bit," Velvet whispered,"Hey Al, can you sense what it is?"
"Feels like…a person riding an animal…Probably a spy. Maybe Belphegor sent someone to keep an eye on us before having them ambush us and take us back to his palace…"
"Over my dead body!" Husk snarled,"I ain't being his lab rat no more! If he thinks he and his group of cronies are going to drag us back to that hellhole, he'll have to drag mine in a coffin!"
"I feel the same way, Husk," Vaggie admitted lowly,"Fucker thinks we're his property. If he thinks he can just send on his stupids spies after us he's got another thing coming. Everyone, get your weapons ready, because if this is truly a foe, we're gonna fight, got it?"
Everyone came to a mutual understanding and quickly got in a position to attack with weapons in hand.
Vaggie summoned a spear made of fire, Angel summoned a wipe that resembled a vine of sorts. Vox had a crossbow and Husk had his staff. Alastor summoned gauntlets over his fists and Niffty had a rope-spear, only instead of rope, it was made out of a web-like material. Velvet had a yo-yo weapon with spikes attached. Helsa had twin fans in her hands. All their weapons had their respective motifs on it, showing just what type of powers they had.
Everyone was fully prepared to gang up on who they believed was a spy. It didn't matter if it was just one person, they had no desire to take any risks and if attacking them all at once guaranteed their safety then so be it.
When the person finally came into view, the others were perplexed when they saw it wasn't a guard but rather…Charlie?
There was an awkward silence as Charlie rode on Bombproof,staring at the others with an equally confused expression upon catching sight of their weapons as she called the horse to a halt, hissing out a,"Hey, slow down!" In order to get him to stop.
Everyone abruptly paused, their hostile ceasing as Angel let out an exasperated gasp,"Charlie? I-Is that really you?"
"Yeah it's me…" She said as she dismounted from Bombproof,"Who else would it be?"
The second Charlie got off, she was suddenly bombarded by a hug. Angel had rushed up to hug Charlie and Vaggie was following behind him. Angel was squeezing Charlie like his life depended on it, ecstatic that she had finally returned.
"I knew you'd come back, Charlie! I knew you would!"
"We've missed you so much, Hon! Don't leave us ever again!"
The Princess jumped at this, startled by the sudden embrace,"Woah! Quite affection not we today, Angel? I really missed you, I really do but you're kind of crushing my ribs…"
"Oh sorry…" Angel then paused when he heard a familiar oink and gushed,"Wiggles! My baby! You've come to see Daddy! Oh, how I've missed you so much! It's been ages since I've seen you!"
"We weren't gone that long…" Charlie admitted.
"It felt like an eternity to us," Vaggie said,"Especially without you around to guide us. We were so lost…so terrified. It was horrible in there, the conditions were awful and the screams…my god the screams still rattle me even now…"
Charlie flinched when she noticed Vaggie's expression. She seemed petrified after what she saw in that asylum and she was somewhat shaking. It was astounding to see her friend in such conditions.
In all her years of having Vaggie as her best friend, she had never seen the woman tremble. She lost her temper, kicked and screamed and in her worst moments, showed great anger towards those who set her off but she was cautious towards her surroundings.
But this was different, she had seen Vaggie be weary, but never had she seen the former sinner become so fearful. It was simply not like her to be afraid, especially to this extent.
The Princess then noticed Vaggie's hair was a lot shorter than she remembered it being and raised an eyebrow,"Vaggie, what happened to your hair? Did you cut it?"
It wasn't meant as something offensive but those words struck a chord with Vaggie in more ways than one, her eyes watering as the flashbacks came flooding let out a sob, surprising Charlie as she started crying,"No..I didn't cut it! He did!"
"Who?"
"That lazy bastard cut my hair!" She cried,"He..he held me down and cut it all off. It took so long to grow and he just made all my hard work and dedication into growing my hair for nothing!"
"Vaggie…I'm so sorry…" She mumbled as she hugged the former Moth and pat her back. She could feel Vaggie's tears on her shoulder and yet she paid no mind to them as she allowed her friend to cry on her,"Let it all out…he can't hurt any longer…It's gonna be OK…"
As Vaggie sobbed on her friends shoulders, Charlie looked at Angel Dust who had a sympathetic expression,"Angel…what happened while I was away?"
"Belphegor was using us as his experiments, that's what," He spat,"Thought we were his toys and treated us like shit. Not only did he suppress our powers but he fucking put an electric collar on our necks and zapped us whenever we 'got out of line' so to speak. You know, typical jackass behavior and what not. Bitch was trying to tear us apart and break out spirits. If you really pissed him off he'd give ya special punishments like physically torturing you. It wasn't anything I wasn't used to but I will admit that the bastard has a good punch, I think he broke my nose when he hit me…"
"Oh Angel…I'm so sorry…."
"Don't be yourself up, I've been through way worse shit," He admitted,"Broken nose ain't nothing on me. Just a shame he decided that everyone had to get a 'special punishment' when we didn't obey him. Vaggie's hair being cut is just an example of this."
"He did this to punish you?" She asked, visibly disgusted,"What else has he done?"
"You should ask the others, they've got plenty of horror stories just like we do."
"He gave me a black eye after punching the hell out of me." Husk growled, bitter memories coming back when Belphegor punched him several times until his eye was swollen and his face was hurting.
"He put a muzzle like device on me when I bit him," Al said, rubbing his jaw as he remembered how the device was incredibly painful around his face and how Belphegor held him down when he forced it on him.
NIffty averted her gaze,"He threatened my pet spider and wanted to use him for dissection purposes…"
"He shoved my head in water and electrocuted me at the same time, only letting me come up for air to ensure I didn't drown," Vox hissed, recalling all too well of water being forced up his nostrils and struggling as he was forced up to the surface for a split second only to be shoved back down again.
"He branded me on my back with a hot iron…" Velvet admitted slowly, shivering as if she could still feel the molten pressing up against her.
"What about you, Helsa? Did he hurt you?" She asked her rival.
The mute siren shook her head.
"He didn't? Why? " The Princess pressed,"Why would he hurt the others but not you?"
Helsa held up her hands and Husk translated it as he told that Belphegor hadn't hurt Helsa because she was complacent and that instead, he was talking about 'unlocking her potential' and 'helping' herself.
"You don't believe it, do you?"
Helsa narrowed her eyes, it wasn't like she didn't consider it, but she didn't trust Belphegor any more than she could throw him. She knew he wasn't meant to be trusted and had little faith in his words.
"I'm glad you saw through him, Helsa. If there's ever one thing we can agree on, it's that the bastard isn't meant to be trusted…" She said, giving her rival a glance. The two never saw eye to eye so she at least wanted to give Helsa this one.
Just then, Charlie couldn't help but notice something was missing. She then narrowed her eyes before it suddenly came to her…
She hadn't seen Seviathan since she found the group. Where had he gone off to? Perhaps Helsa would know, she knew they weren't close but she was hoping after all this time perhaps their bond improved enough to where she'd be knowledgeable about his location.
"Hey, Helsa…where is your brother? I don't see him around. Is he hiding or something?"
The second she said that, there was a tense silence throughout the area.
She noticed with the exception of Angel, the other's expressions became tense at the mention of Seviathan's name and Helsa's expression became sorrowful. Everyone else sent each other almost nervous glances, as if they didn't want to tell her.
"Helsa…did you not hear me?" She asked,"You can tell me you know, we' may not be friends but we're all on the same team. Withholding information won't help anyone.."
Helsa grit her teeth, her gaze becoming ice cold as numerous emotions flooded through her. She then snapped at Charlie when she tried to come closer and sent her a wicked expression.
"Geez…I was just asking a question…."
Vox then stepped in and approached Charlie, giving her a weary glance,"Charlie,I know you mean well, but I think it's best you stop mentioning his name around her…"
"What do you mean Vox? I'm just asking a question.." She said,"What's the matter? Is something wrong? Why is everyone looking at me like that? It's weird. Is something on my face?"
The former TV Demon took a deep breath,"Charlie, Seviathan didn't make it."
She froze up,"W-What? What do you mean he didn't make it?"
"I mean what I said, he didn't make it," He repeated,"When we escaped the asylum, the guards were alerted of our escape and we had to make a run for it. It was total chaos. I fell and twisted my ankle while running and I probably would've gotten caught had Helsa not saved me. Seviathan got the guards off our backs by attracting their ire from him and that was the last I saw of him. I don't know what happened to him after that but all I know is that we didn't see him over the fence…"
Charlie was horrified,"Did anyone try helping him?"
"There was no time," Al said,"By the time anyone realized he was gone it was far too late for anything to be done."
"Too late!?" She exclaimed,"Too late!? Did anyone even consider trying to save him? Did all just give up on him without even considering his life? Why didn't you do something!? You guys had your powers back, couldn't you at least make an attempt to save him?"
"Saving Seviathan would've put all of us in danger," Husk said,"Besides, even if managed to get to him, chances are that Belphegor would stop us. And while that bastard is lazy, he's probably stronger than all of us combined. He'd stop any plan we'd have in its tracks."
Vaggie glanced at her friend with an expression of pity, Charlie was enraged and hurt but they both knew that deep down, the drunk was right."Hon, I'm sorry..I truly am. I wish there was more that could be done but life isn't a musical and it can call for painful decisions…"
"I know…" She mumbled,"I just…I just wanted to help him. I know he and I had our differences and our history wasn't pretty but, I really thought that he just needed help and now…he won't ever get that. I…I failed him…."
Angel Dust grabbed Charlie's shoulder and comforted her,"Aw, now don't think like that, Charlie. That ain't true. You didn't fail him, Princess. He failed himself. I know ya don't wanna hear this but it ain't your job to fix people and Seviathan didn't want your help. You can't do anything more for him and it's best to forget about him…"
"But Angel…I knew him for so long and despite everything…I still consider him a friend…"
"Forget about him, Charlie. He ain't worth your tears nor the sweat off your back," He said in an uncaring and apathetic tone,"Don't waste your time grieving over him. He's not worth mourning and we're better off without him."
"Angel, don't stay like that. I know you and Seviathan didn't get along but there's no need to speak of him that way…"
He scoffed, shrugging off Charlie's criticism of him,"And why not? It's not like he's here to bitch about it," He retorted in an almost envious tone,"I don't get why you're so defensive of him. I thought he was your ex-boyfriend after all this time yet you're now coming to his defense without a second thought."
"He is, I just don't like people speaking ill of those who cannot defend themselves. I understand Seviathan was…not exactly likable but he doesn't deserve to be left at Belphegor's mercy. No one does…"
"You don't have to take my word for it, Charlie. All I'm saying is that I don't get why you're so upset about him. You two aren't a thing anymore and Seviathan stopped considering you a friend long ago. I don't see why you care so much about him when he clearly views you in a less than stellar light. "
"He was still my friend, Angel…You may not understand how, but he was a friend nevertheless and I consider it a failure on my part that I couldn't help him when he needed it most…"
"I don't understand what you saw in him, the bastard had not one redeeming bone in his body."
"Angel, I understand you don't like Seviathan and you two had your differences but there's no need to be so callous about us losing him. He had people who cared about him and we shouldn't be so cold about the loss."
"Hmph,whatever," He scoffed,"I just don't understand ya sometimes, Charlie. You're too goddamn caring for your own good."
"You're not the first to tell me that…" She admitted,"I know a lot of people say it's foolish to care so much, but if not me, then who will?"
Neither could give each other an answer to the armor piercing question. Though deep down, both former demons already knew what the answer was though neither would dare admit it. It was hard for them to understand each other at times and despite how hard they tried, they couldn't fully comprehend their world views due to how different they were.
Angel couldn't fully comprehend Charlie's seemingly unending kindness for even the most depraved sinners. She still wanted the best for them, even the ones who truly saw her as nothing more than an dumb blonde with her heads in the clouds.
Maybe that's why he found himself making an exception to his sexuality. She was just so unique and special that he was able to look past her gender identity even after finding out the truth…
"Hate to break the silence between you two love-birds, but we still have a situation to deal with," Velvet intervened with a loud cough,"Especially now that Princess has caught up with us."
"What do you mean, Velvet?" Charlie asked.
"Don't play dumb, it's only a matter of time before they notice you're gone. With how big of a figure-head you are,they're going to send a ton of specialized personnel to track us down and capture us again. And we might not be so lucky to come out alive…"
"That's a fair point," Vaggie admitted,"At this point, it won't be safe for us to stay in ANY of the Circles of Sin. As long as we are in this Realm, we are in constant danger."
"Then where do we go?" Niffty inquired,"If we're not safe here, then where is?"
Charlie then said,"We need to get to the Holy Lands. If we manage to get on a boat and set sail, I doubt even Lucifer would be able to pursue us from there. If we get far enough, we'll be out of their hemisphere of control and ideally, we'll finally be free from their grasp and get to the Tower."
"You're still on about that Tower," Vox growled,"Are you certain that it's even real? Even if the Holy Lands is a real place, who's to say that the Tower isn't just a myth…"
"Do you have any better ideas?"Angel asked as he rose in Charlie's defense,"Cuz I don't see you coming up with a better plan. Charlie's doing the best she fucking can here with what little information we have so unless you have any better ideas I suggest ya can it."
Vox grit his teeth, seemingly ready to argue but Husk put a hand on his shoulder,"It's not worth starting an argument, Vox. Let it go…"
He scoffed but reluctantly took Husk's advice, still glaring at him with disdain.
"It's the only we have to go off of," Charlie said,"I understand a lot of you are skeptical and I can't blame you, but we really need to get out of here and if there's a chance that Tower can bring us home, then we need to take it while we still can…" She then pulled out a map,"I managed to secure this from my time in the palace, this is the map of the Circles of Sin. We're obviously in Sloth but if we continue traveling North, we'll run into Gluttony which just so happens to have a pier for ships…."
"So Gluttony is where you wish for us to head next?" Al asked.
"That's the plan. After all, we've made it this far, it's too late to go back. We just need to make it to the pier and escape before our enemies catch up with us. I say we get to it before those guys get any nasty ideas.."
"Hold on Hon," Vaggie stepped in,"You're not going like that are you? You'll be quite recognizable…"
"I didn't bring any extra clothes with me.." Charlie admitted,"Though given you guys seemed to have made yourselves clothes, I don't suppose you couldn't at least give me something to cover myself up a bit. At least my face since I think that's my most prominent feature…."
"Here, have this," Angel said as he tossed Charlie a white miniature cloak,"This should at least cover you up until we make our final escape…""
"Thanks Angel, you're a lifesaver…" She admitted,"By the way…why were you guys carrying weapons when I got here?"
"Oh that…" Niffty said,"We uh…kind of thought you were a spy or something so we were prepared to attack. Thankfully we didn't make any rash decisions, otherwise it could've ended up being very ugly…"
Charlie winced for a moment at this and Angel patted her on the shoulder,"Don't worry, Charlie, we would never actually hurt ya. We were just a bit paranoid, that's all…"
'I hope so…' She thought to herself before heading back on Bombproof,"Alright everyone, let's hit the road.."
Everyone followed Charlie's lead and continued their journey. As they were walking, Charlie couldn't help but feel an icy cold chill run up her spine and turned her head at the cause. She hadn't noticed it until now, but she saw that Helsa was glaring at her harshly.
Normally she'd just brush it off as she had before, it wasn't as if Helsa hadn't given her these hateful glares before but something about this one made her blood run cold. The way Helsa glared at her was different than before.
Despite not being able to speak vocally, she could see an intense hatred in Helsa's eyes that was directed not only at her, but at Angel too judging by the way she was glaring at them both, though Angel didn't seem to notice given how relaxed he was when he walked.
"Helsa…are you OK?" She asked, hoping to ease the tension.
This had the opposite effect as Helsa's glare only became deadlier. Despite not being able to speak, her eyes told the words that she wished she could say and Charlie felt a tinge of guilt when she saw those eyes.
'You know what you did…' Those eyes told her,'You're not as innocent as you claim to be and your new boyfriend seems all too eager to get rid of my brother…. Was a reason for that?'
That gaze was accusatory and hateful, as if it was meant to strike guilt into the one it was directed towards and Charlie hated that her rival's glare was having its desired effect on her.
Charlie couldn't respond, she didn't wanna think about the past as she swore to put it behind her. Helsa was probably trying to profit off her misery, it wasn't like she really cared for Seviathan…
Besides, she hadn't meant for it to end that way…
It was an accident and she hadn't intended for it to end that way but the damage remained and Angel…she didn't want to think about him hurting Seviathan. She knew they didn't like each other but she didn't think…or rather didn't want to believe that he would have anything to do with his capture….
"Hey Charlie…" Vox asked, snapping her out of her train of thought,"Is there a reason Helsa's glaring at you? I was wondering why she just kept staring. Is something wrong?"
"Oh you know…just girl things," She half-lied. It was technically true but she knew that the reason for Helsa's contempt towards her at that moment had little to do with their rivalry,"She's always been jealous of me. It's been that easy since we were young. I don't know what she's angry about but it's probably nothing serious…"
"Hmm..I hope that's the case…" He admitted,"Perhaps the loss of her brother is taking a toll on her. She didn't take it all too well and believe it or not, she actually wanted to go back for him. I had to stop and convince her otherwise…"
Charlie bit her lip,"O-Oh…That's strange. She and Seviathan were never that close before. They usually ignored each other's existence back at home, too busy concerning themselves in their own lives to care for each other."
"Things change," He said,"I guess being with each other for some time changed their views on each other. It's a shame nothing can be done about it. All I can do is just hold her hand sometimes, when she lets me anyways, and just tell her it'll be OK. I don't think she believes that and to be honest….I don't believe it either."
"You're doing your best, Vox…"
"I know…But I don't think it's enough for her…"
Both blondes were at an impasse, unable to truly say anything of substance after that. Charlie decided it was best to focus on riding her horse from then on and Vox eventually went back to Helsa, though she refused to hold his hand when he asked, the atmosphere seemingly becoming colder with each passing second.
Belphegor narrowed his eyes on his latest test subjects,"Another useless subject…No worthwhile results. It seems I am cursed to deal with incompetents…"
"Please Belphegor, I-I tried my best…I just couldn't do it," The inmate pleaded for his life, his voice trembling like a sapling bending through the breeze. The prisoner was covered in cuts and bruises.
Belphegor's expression remained unfazed by this pleading; he had many iterations of inmates begging for mercy over the years. It had grown old and even their screams of pain did become dull at some point.
"I know…I know…" He said in an almost comforting tone,"It's hardly your fault, it's mine if anything. I had too high expectations, I shouldn't expect anything out of you at this point. Regardless, I suppose that with this being an obvious failure that I need to rectify this somehow…"
"W-What are you going to do with me? Are you gonna throw me somewhere?"
"Oh no, that'd be impractical. I have far too many subjects down there and I've got plenty to spare. I don't need you for anything to be honest. You're simply another one of my subjects who have exhausted their use and need to be disposed of…" He admitted apathetically as the prisoner was giving him desperate eyes,"Thankfully, I do know someone who would be of use to you…"
"W-What?" He asked, confused by this statement before hearing something behind him. He turned and gasped when he saw a pool of blood forming through the ground. A figure rose through the blood.
There Seviathan stood, particles of blood surrounding his legs and feed, circling around his body. Seviathan's eyes opened, his golden eyes becoming fixated on him with great hunger lingering in his eyes, his terrifying mouth petrified the man.
"You've come right on schedule, nephew. And just in time for dinner, I prepared this one just for you…"
"How kind of you, Master…" He sneered, his raspy voice eerily deadly calm yet whispery at the same,"To think I was just starting to get a bit hungry for some fresh blood…"
"Get away from you freak!" The man cried out.
"Don't be so cruel, Seviathan only wants to taste you. He needs to eat after all to preserve his power and I'm certain you'll satisfy him for now…" Belphegor assured,"Bon appetite, nephew…"
The man desperately tried to run away. Seviathan cocked his head to the side, his Glasgow grin rising as he appeared amused by this attempt to flee. Chuckling, he approached before saying,"It's no use running…Why don't you accept your fate? I'll make it less painful if you do…"
"Never you monster! Stay away from me! Someone help me!"
Seviathan scoffed before lunging at him, throwing him to the ground. The man tried to fight back desperately, attempting to shove Seviathan off of him in Prince straddled him and summoned one of his daggers, grabbed the man by his neck with a vice grip and rose it in the air before slicing at him multiple times.
The man's scream became garbled as Seviathan stabbed his face and his neck, the gargling of blood echoing throughout the room. The Prince continued stabbing until the man died before draining feasting on the man's blood with his mouth, tearing through his flesh.
Once satisfied, Seviathan left his mangled corpse behind before standing up and licking the blood between his golden claws attached to his nails.
"I see you're pleased with yourself, Seviathan. How'd it taste?" Belphegor asked, having since taken the time to enter the room while Seviathan was feasting.
"Quite well makes the blood taste better,"He admitted,"It was quite delicious. I appreciate you offering me a free meal out of those you have no use for…"
This wasn't the first meal Seviathan had today.
In fact, Belphegor had let Seviathan out in order to satiate himself with the animals in the forest for breakfast. This was to widen Seviathan's palette for blood and to ensure he didn't not get hungry and decide to feast on any of Belphegor's experiments that he was currently working on.
When he returned, his mouth was covered in blood indicating he had succeeded with this venture.
And while Seviathan required blood to survive, he did make it a point to hunt for sport at times, bottling the blood of each specimen and having a collection of it in his room.
Speaking of which, he decided to take out a glass bottle and used his powers to transfer what little remained of the man's blood that he hadn't devoured into the bottle.
"You intrigue me,Seviathan.." Belpehgor asked,"Tell me, is there any purpose to collecting the blood of specimens you encounter?"
"Not really," He chuckled sadistically,"This is just for sport."
"You never cease to amaze, Seviathan. I knew Blood Magic was an art worth investing in. You're already using your abilities well. I can see a bright future for you…"
Just then, a nurse entered the room and said,"Lord Belphegor, The Von Eldritch's have arrived…"
"Oh goodie, I was waiting for this…" He then turned to Seviathan,"What about you? Are you not ecstatic to greet your parents, Seviathan?"
"Of course I am…I'm just worried about how they'll perceive me. What if they reject me because of my face?" He asked.
Belphegor cringed,"Well…we'll just have to get them to understand that's all. I'm certain we can get them to come around and acknowledge the other important features you have. Just try and brace yourself for any negative reactions they have. Be a dear and wait out in the throne room, I'll bring them up there once I have a talk with them…"
Seviathan nodded and Belphegor headed to the entrance of his palace and opened the door. He saw Frederick and Bethesda waiting for him with far from pleased expressions,"Hello you two…It's been a while…"
"Cut the filler, Belphegor," Frederick snapped,"What is this I've heard about you harboring my children here?"
"Was there a problem with this?"
"Yes, we didn't give permission for you to have them. Not only that, but you couldn't even keep my children in check judging by how you sent someone to tell us about them escaping the confines of your asylum. I thought you had security measures that could prevent things like this from happening…"
"It wasn't my idea to have them here. Lucifer just gave them up to me along with their other allies to add to my collection.I thought I had everything figured out though I suppose I had miscalculated…"
Bethesda scoffed,"You miscalculated alright, you couldn't even keep your inmates in check. Is your competence slipping or what?"
"It's not like that," He hissed,"It was only one time. I never had any successful escape until now."
"A failure is still a failure, Belphegor," Frederick chided, his glare deadly,"And it says something that our kids can escape out of your facility with guards and everything. Now who knows where they could've gone off to. You do realize you've just caused another controversy? We've already dealt with several at this point and now you're causing another one.."
"I understand your anger, however, I do have good news. Not everyone escaped. My men managed to snag your son and I…made adjustments to him."
"Adjustments? What kind of adjustments are you talking about?" Frederick asked.
"You should see for yourself. He's quite an improvement from how he started…"
The couple were skeptical at Belphegor's words but decided to reluctantly follow him, still far from pleased with his antics. When they got to the throne room, they couldn't see Seviathan in the room.
"Uh…I thought you said my son was here. I don't see him. Were you lying to cover up for your failure?"
"Of course not, he's just deciding to hide from me,"Belphegor groaned,"Seviathan, enough games. This is no time for hide and seek, your parents are here. Come out!"
There was no response and Frederick became annoyed and snapped,"Boy, get out of your hiding place this instant or else! Do not embarrass any further and make us look like fools standing out here waiting for you or I'll get you myself!"
The second he said that, Seviathan came out from behind the pillar and approached them.
The second his 'parents' laid eyes upon him, their expressions went from angry to horrified and disgusted. Frederick gasped,"By the gods, what the hell is that abomination!?"
Seviathan winced at being referred to as an 'abomination'.
"That's your son…" Belphegor said,"I know I should've mentioned this earlier but I…made a few adjustments to him while you were away."
"Adjustments!?" Bethesda hissed,"That's what you call an 'adjustment'!? He looks horrifying! What have you done to his face!?"
"I didn't do anything per-say, not physically anyway. This was a side-effect of the ritual we enacted. In order to get Seviathan to master Blood Magic at a quick rate, we used a ritual to get it apparently…whatever Seviathan wished to trade anyway ending up affecting his face…"
"Blood Magic!?" Frederick exclaimed as he grabbed Belphegor's shoulders and shook him violently,"Have you lost your goddamn mind!?Why would you teach him that!?"
"I needed to put him to use somehow..Besides, Blood Magic was always a dark art of sorts and one that wasn't ever studied often due to its…effects on the mind. Even minimal use often erodes the sanity of the user and taxes the body heavily."
"And you thought letting Seviathan have full control over said magic was a good idea why?"
"I believed he could handle it and I was proven right,despite his…less than desirable appearance, he has a good hold over his powers and is able to use it against opponents without much trouble. The only downside is…he apparently can't eat normal food and only blood seems to nourish him."
"You think that's a good thing?" Bethesda asked,"There's a reason Blood Magic is a forbidden practice, Belphegor. Most die using it and those who don't are driven mad by it. What made you think Seviathan having hold over that power was going to bode well for anyone?"
"For science, I needed to figure out the full extent of Blood Magic and Seviathan was more than willing to assist me. I couldn't pass up a chance to gain more knowledge, more power. I needed to do it."
"Belphegor…I always knew you had a twisted mind, but I never thought you'd cross this level of insanity, using a forbidden dark art and using my child as a test run to see if it would work. I'm impressed that someone as weak as him didn't die in the process…" Frederick said flatly.
"Seviathan is many things but he is not weak. I know you two don't see your son as anything other than a failure, but I've changed him. I've made him the perfect soldier and he's my best successful experiment to date."
"Oh really?/" Bethesda asked with a raised brow,"Then show us something worthwhile because all I see is a failure and an abomination…"
The Lord of Sloth narrowed his eyes, if there was one thing he despised it was when someone insulted his creations. Seviathan was one of his best subjects and the one with the most potential and he despised that his parents were too ignorant to see it.
"Seviathan, show them what you can do..Now."
Seviathan nodded his head and followed this command. He began manipulating blood and summoned several tendrils of them before slamming them into the ground. Belphegor seemed impressed but his parents weren't, seeming to find the whole thing irritating if anything.
He did other tricks, but none of them seemed to satisfy his parents' high expectations.
Growing desperate, Seviathan came up with one idea that he knew would hurt, but figured it was worth a try. He summoned his dagger, rolled up his sleeve and cut himself across the wrist.
He bit back the urge to hiss and allowed a large amount of blood to fall to the floor. Everyone, including Belphegor, seemed confused by this until Seviathan raised his hand and the puddle of blood eventually began to rise and its features morphed to become like that of a person.
A few seconds passed and everyone gasped when a clone of Seviathan stood there in the flesh, the clone seemingly glancing at them with awe.
Seviathan panted before asking in a ragged breath as he struggled to maintain his footing,"Father…Mother…are you impressed?"
They didn't respond at first but Frederick, albeit reluctantly, said something that could be construed as praise,"That…was quite unexpected. I don't know what to say, though perhaps Blood Magic does have its uses despite its obvious flaws. Perhaps you're not as huge a downgrade to your sister as we thought…"
He seemed…ecstatic as he asked in an all too eager voice,"You accept me as Helsa's equal?"
"Do not push your luck, Seviathan," Frederick said coldly,"You haven't proven yourself her better.."
Seviathan narrowed his eyes with great envy,"What does my sister possess that I do not?"
"She's always seemed to be your superior in intelligence and conceiving. You always seemed to allow your emotions to get in the way and could never scheme anything worthwhile…"
Belphegor stepped in,"Frederick, Bethesda, give your son a chance. I promise you, I've made him reborn, he is the perfect warrior. You just need to give him a chance. You will find the truth in my words if you just heed me…"
Frederick scoffed,"Fine, we'll give a chance to prove Helsa's superior. He does seem to show some promise after all and it would be a shame to waste it. Find your sister and return her to us. This is your one chance, son, prove yourself to us and be welcomed as an important member of our family."
Seviathan's grin widened,"It shall be done, Father. I will not let you down…"
"Oh, and one more thing…Put something on your face to cover that mouth of yours. It's unsightly and it's best that nobody other than our inner circle knows how terrifying your appearance is…"
"I can craft him a mask to hide his face if that makes you feel any better,"Belphegor admitted.
"Then get to it, I can hardly stand the sight of him in the first place.."
As the two left, Seviathan unsummoned his clone that had taken quite a lot of energy out of him.
Belphegor glanced at Seviathan when he said,"I will find her…"
"You talking about your sister…"
"Not just her…" He muttered.
"Then who are you talking about?"
The Prince didn't give a clear answer, instead saying,"It's of no concern to you, Master. Know that it will not interfere with your plans…"
"If you say so, Seviathan…"
As Seviathan was left behind in the throne room, his eyes shifted to the side with jealousy and fury.
'Helsa's always been favored over me. She's always had the lion's share of approval. They acknowledged her without calling her a disappointment. I had ONE chance to become King and Charlie not only squandered my name but ruined whatever positive views my parents once had on me! Everyone believed her because she's Luci's little girl. No one ever believed me when I told them it was a LIE! But..sister knew…and she didn't say anything. She saw how I treated Charlie firsthand and yet she never came to my defense…'
Now that he thought about it, that thought only made him more angry. It was one for the foolish populace to not believe him, but for his own twin to know the truth but never say a word about it or even stick up for him filled with rage…
Still, the prime target of his ire was Charlie. She took far too much away from him and this injustice had gone on long enough without retribution. She would know the pain he had endured for centuries, and anyone who stood in the way would suffer an agonizing death.
For now, he'd bide his time…Belphegor was telling him to wait until they had a plan to recapture everyone while ensuring they wouldn't escape their clutches again.
Thanks for 16,311 views, tell me what you think below and feel free to ask questions if you want!
Enigmus-288: It at least buys them some time considering they still have plenty of problems to deal with, like obsessive Demon Lords, bloodthirsty exes and abusive parents. You know, the works.