Note: English is not my native language, so please excuse me if I made a mistake.
Extermination Day has officially started.
Well hidden from indiscreet eyes, Viol spied the Exorcist Team and her mom giving orders. They all wore the same uniform: horned masks that resembled those of the Demons below with an "x" crossing one of their eyes and light armor to protect themselves, but still be able to fly.
Viol spotted her mom standing in front of the team and she felt so proud of her. She had such a cool mom who commanded a fierce army and everyone listened to her. Moreover, her actions were noble° she did everything to prevent a future Revolution.
"Extermination Day has arrived, sisters" Lute spoke. Her voice was loud and clear and quickly caught the attention of even the most inattentive Exorcists. She sounded like any leader ought to. "Prepare for another fierce bloodbath! Attack any Sinner that dares to oppose us! Cut off their limps! Spill their throat! Stab them to death! I don't care how you do it, just make it as painful as you can for them!" Her tone lowered. "Sure we lost many casualties as the years passed..." her gaze fell to the vacant spots occupied by Exorcists a few years prior. "... but that only inspires us to continue the annual attacks. We must not let our guards down! We must not allow these sinful shits to believe they have the higher ground or else! We will keep on fighting until every Sinner down there is dead! To avenge our sisters! To avenge our former Leader!"
An uprising roar echoed as the female army lifted their weapons, expressing their agreement.
Lute threw her fist to the sky. "Sisters, let's destroy their ass! ATTAAAACK!"
A magical portal appeared from thin air and the Exorcists flew through it. Viol waited before she followed them. She caught a glimpse of Hell: an unwelcoming red sky with patches of black smoke and felt her stomach turn upside down. She hesitated, but reminded herself to stay fixated on her goal and, once she made sure that her mother wasn't looking at her direction, followed the rest of the Exorcists.
Lute never talked about Hell. Or to be more precise, she did, but her descriptions were always vague: "Full of sinful and ugly filths that deserved their final fate! Their King and his spiteful spawn are the WORST!" She would say.
So, Viol had imagined Hell looking similar to Heaven, but its inhabitants looked slightly different (perhaps a little deformed) than their own.
As you could probably expect, what she witnessed was even more terrifying!
Buildings spawned from earth in acute angles, dyed in unappealing dark colors. Most of them looked so badly restored, they gave you the feeling they would fall upon you in any moment. But the most disgusting sight was the inhabitants. Dear good Lord, how should one describe them?!
They resembled... the resembled monsters from fairy tales! They lacked the rounded features mostly found in Angels. Their limbs and facial characteristics in general looked sharp enough to pierce your skin and their overall appearance resembled the nasty environment. Horns and sometimes wings adorned some of them.
She could spot some Exorcists chasing them down. A good chunk of them managed to defend themselves using weapons made from the same angelic steel her people used, killing or heaving injuring the intruders.
And then..
"Viol, you're so grounded!" A familiar voice screeched and she felt her body being dragged. They landed on the rooftop of a building, safely guarded from the sight of Sinners. "What are you doing here?" Lute's tone changed from an angry to a worried one.
"I came here to help you" Viol answered and revealed a small knife made of angelic steel hidden in her robe. "I will help you avenge the demons who killed dad"
Lute considered her options. Could she open a portal to escort her only daughter back in Heaven? She could, but that would require a lot of energy of concentration, things she needed to fight off Sinners and besides, the portal could give the wrong assumption to her fellow Exorcists that Extermination Day was over. She decided for another option instead.
She took the knife from her daughter's hand - she didn't want her to injure herself, even accidentally - and told her: "Viol, sweetheart, I think it's better if you wait until you're a bit older. Right now, can you please promise me to stay hidden here? I will come to take you when I am finished. But you shouldn't move from here while I'm gone. Understood?"
Viol nodded.
Lute smiled and played with her hair. "That's my girl! And then, we can call your cousin Emily and go for some ice cream. How about that?"
"Yeah!" Viol exclaimed and did a little jump.
Lute put a finger on her lips. "And be quiet! Ok?"
Viol nodded again and zipped her mouth.
Lute turned away and spread her wings to return to the battlefield, when all of sudden something hit her on the side and sent her flying in the corner. Or rather, it was someone. Then she felt a sharp object piercing her uncovered hip and she let small cry.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't one of these psychotic angelic bitches. Ain't we that tough now, huh?" A raspy voice mocked.
A tall Sinner with green scales, yellow spiked hair and red snaked-like eyes had immobilized Lute and was twisting his knife further in her body, making the angel wince in pain.
The lizard-themed Sinner kept on going: "For years, I watched your nasty ass flying down there and killing us all. It ends now. I recognize you. You're the leader of these bitches, ain't I right? Picture this: me emerging from atop holding your head. I'll be hailed as a hero!"
Viol held her breath, her heartbeat quickened in each passing second. It's alright. Mama has everything under control. She kept repeating to herself.
Lute recalled that her daughter was witnessing this awful scene unfolding right into her young innocent eyes. She felt she was such a terrible mother. She knew exactly how it felt to watch your loved one dying in front of you while being unable to do anything to prevent it. And she didn't want her little girl to be familiar with that...
"Mom?" Viol let a silent cry.
"Mom?" The Sinner questioned lifting his head. Did he hear correctly? A relative of that Exorcist was with them?
That was the opportunity Lute needed. With a fierce cry, she flapped her wings, escaped from his grasp and swigged her sword to cut the Sinner in half. The tip missed him by only a few inches, but it was enough time for him to grab poor little Viol and place the tip of his knife on her neck.
"She's yours, ain't it bitch?" She hissed, holding the kid angel more tightly. "One move and she's a goner"
Lute clenched her jaw. How this disgusting mothefucker dared toying her like this? Her gaze met that of her daughter and anxiety hit her like a wall.
"Mommy, help me!" Viol cried, tears forming in her eyes.
She flapped her wings, making huge efforts to ignore the pain on her side and rushed into the surprised Sinners. She grabbed his armored hand, preventing him from hurting either her or her daughter and lifted him up in the air. She expected to either plead for his life and let go of Viol or - in the case that he refused - to throw him off. Viol would be alright. She had wings, she could fly before she hit the ground. Even if things took a twisting turn, she could still save her daughter from a nasty fall.
She had no time to react. A gunshot was heard and the next time she knew, she felt a small sharp object piercing through her right wing and the sharp pain that came after. Lute lost her balance, hit her head as she fell and everything went to black.
Sorry for taking so long to update. I was busy in real life and I had no time to sit down and continue with the story. The plot has finally kicked in. I promise that the next chapters are going to be more interesting, although it's you who will decide that. We will also meet our friends from the Hotel, but that's to be expected. But first, we must face a completely nasty and utterly despicable individual. See you soon (I hope)! Bye!