Chapter 11: Sinner's Fire

The two flew through the air at lightning speed, Vox had launched the them both after he left an exposed wire with considerable speed, sending them into the air. Hereticus was facing Vee tower, the fire descended downwards, consuming everything it touched. The tower got further and further away, Hereticus looked around, he was a few hundred metres in the air, zooming past skyscrapers, he could see cars and people below him walking down the streets.

Vox took his left hand off Hereticus' jacket and used it to swipe at his opponent's neck. Hereticus caught Vox's hand with his own, Vox's claws dug into the back of his hands causing blood to drip off it onto the streets below.

Hereticus turned his head to look beneath him, he could see they were approaching a park where a large lake sat in the middle, an ideal place for him to land. He pulled both of his legs closer to his body and the kicked upwards, Vox was pushed off him and was sent falling into the streets below, although he didn't seem very fearful of it, he was only enraged further than before.

Hereticus turned his body downwards so that he wouldn't overshoot the lake, he descended faster and faster, the lake seemed to get larger and larger, once he was just above the lake, he held his breath and turned his body around so that his feet would hit the water first.

SPLASH! Hereticus felt the cold water around him, he saw fish swim away from him in fear of the sudden splash, he descended deeper and deeper into the water due to the force from falling, slowing down with each second. Eventually, he came to a complete stop and began swimming upwards, he let out a deep sigh once his face parted with the water. He swam towards the edge of the lake where he could see a manmade forest; fish curiously followed him yet kept a safe distance. He pulled himself out of the pool and got to his feet, his clothes were soaking wet, his body shivered and his teeth chattered, he couldn't fight like this. He thought about the fire he had started on top of Vee tower.

He searched his mind for the source of that power. Lilith had once used fire herself, she said that it came from her passion, although her fire was orange instead of red. What had caused it? The fire had appeared at the apex of his hatred for Valentino, perhaps that had something to do with it.

He thought of Vox, who at that moment was probably gunning straight for Hereticus to kill him. He focused on his detestment of that screen-faced maniac, he was someone filled with greed and pride, Hereticus couldn't think of a worse sinner that was left alive. His body began to heat up and a cloud of steam formed around him as the water soaked in his clothes evaporated, he stopped shivering and the fabric of his clothes became much lighter than before.

A buzzing sound came from the other side of the lake, Hereticus turned over to see where it was coming from. He could see a park bench illuminated by a street light, electrical arcs came from the light, hitting the ground below. There was a sudden flash and Vox was there, stood where the arc had hit, he looked around himself, searching for Hereticus, who backed into the treeline of the forest behind him to avoid Vox's gaze.

Vox looked in Hereticus' direction, had he been spotted? Vox then set his right foot back as he got into a running stance. Vox suddenly jolted forwards, he sprinted over in the direction of the forest. His feet touched the water but he didn't sink, sparks left his legs and hit the water as he sprinted across the lake like he was running on hard concrete.

Hereticus ducked down and hid behind one of the trees. His heart began to race, he could hear every heartbeat, the pace getting faster and faster with every step Vox took.

Vox reached the edge of the lake, he ran into the forest, his blue light illuminated Hereticus as he ran past and got further away.

Vox grinded to a halt in the middle of the forest, his feet dug into the dirt as he pulled his weight backwards and he skidded to a halt.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" He screamed with frustration.

Vox threw his right claw into one of the trees, cutting it in half.

"I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!" He shouted, his voice echoed through the forest, causing birds to flee into the air. He moved forwards slowly as he destroyed more trees, his head jolted all around him to see if he could spot any movement.

Vox was much faster than Hereticus was, a direct confrontation would be suicide for him, especially considering Hereticus was still recuperating energy lost during his fight with Valentino. His best choice was a surprise attack, if he snuck up on Vox, he could kill him without him ever realizing what happened. He'd made the right choice to hide in the forest, there was nothing electrical for Vox to use to escape or to move unpredictably.

He slowly made his way over to Vox, quietly moving between trees as he edged closer and closer to Vox, who had his back turned away from Hereticus.

"Who's the coward now?" Vox said loudly as he continued to swipe trees down, making it more and more difficult for Hereticus to hide. "You should've taken my offer! Now you're gonna die!"

Vox suddenly turned his head behind, the bright blue light from his screen illuminated everything he could see, like a flashlight. Hereticus quickly dashed behind a tree, narrowly avoiding Vox's gaze. He could hear Vox step closer and closer to the tree he was hiding behind.

"We made a pretty good team back at Techfest…!" Vox shouted into the forest, he let out a frustrated yell as he swiped down another tree. "I started thinkin' of names for you if you were one of us, Valor would've been good I think…" he shouted, "but then you had to just go ahead and burn down my home and kill Val!"

Hereticus could hear how close Vox was, he was just beyond the tree he was hiding behind, any second now he'd swipe it down. Hereticus took a step away from the tree and faced it, he held his silver hand to his side and prepared to jump, if there was any time to attack it'd be now.

Wood chips hit Hereticus' cheeks after three horizontal claw marks appeared in the tree, it fell to its side and Vox's facial expression changed to one of shock as he saw Hereticus run straight at him. He put his foot on the tree stump and leapt off it, flying towards Vox.

Hereticus' claws were headed straight for Vox's neck. Hereticus felt his face suddenly be hit by the back of Vox's hand, he flew to his left and hit his head on a tree, he tumbled down it until he was at the base.

Vox felt pain in his right arm, Hereticus had swiped at it as he was thrown to the side, leaving a nasty bleeding gash that extended from the shoulder to the forearm.

Hereticus sat by the tree, Vox was far too fast for running to be an option, instead he decided to pretend to play dead, he knew that Vox would either believe he was dead or more likely get closer to kill him, a perfect chance for Hereticus to strike. He dipped his head and closed his eyes, once Vox got close, he'd hit him with as big of a surprise as he could give. This was the last chance he would get; he wouldn't get another chance; he'd need to hit him with all his strength.

He heard leaves crack as Vox got closer. He lay there, not moving until Vox was inches away. He heard the movements stop right in front of him, he felt the air move as Vox swiped his claw into the air.

Hereticus opened his fiery eyes, his body becoming fire. He thrust his right arm to grab Vox, his whole body grew as it moved and red fire flickered around his body, hitting the trees around them. When Hereticus' hand met Vox he grabbed him by the collar, he shot to his feet and lifted him up into the air, carrying him beyond the tips of the trees, Vox screamed as he was lifted, he gazed at the flaming demon before him.

He saw before him a demon in its truest form, Hereticus now stood at four times his usual size, twice that of Vox, his jacket and shirt had been torn off and Vox could see a vine-like scar which now glowed blue running across the left side of its body. Finally, Vox stared into its eyes, they were completely black and devoid of colour, the creature stared back at him with an indescribable hatred, a hatred that had made itself manifest in the flames that covered its body.

Vox tried to struggle out of the monster's grip, but it only tightened. He let out a gasp as the air was forced out of his lungs. He was thrown into the ground by the creature, it lifted its left hand and struck Vox in the face, shattering his screen. Vox fell limp as he lost consciousness, his hands let go of the creature's own and he lay there in the dirt.

The beast lifted its arm once more, preparing a killing blow, but as it did it saw something on Vox's now exposed shoulder, a sigil Hereticus recognised, and words for him to read.

"PROPERTY OF MAMMON"

Somewhere deep within the demon, Hereticus screamed for it to stop, but someone else was in the driver's seat. There was a heavy thud as the fist reached Vox's screen again, the glass cracked more, although, with less impact than Hereticus had expected, he'd managed to make the creature pull its punch. The fist was reeled back again and Hereticus tried harder and harder to gain control.

"STOP!" he shouted, his words leaving his body's mouth, the colour in his eyes returned and the fist was sent in the ground next to Vox, leaving a mark in the dirt below.

He stared at the sigil for a few moments. Vox had been Mammon's puppet this whole time, perhaps Vox's actions weren't his own, maybe he only did what he did because Mammon had forced him to.

Hereticus heard a cackle ahead of him, he shot his face upwards to see the source.

"Well, well…" Alastor said as he stepped from behind a tree, "look at you, you match the description of the demon that killed those exorcists, very well done, my friend!"

Hereticus crossed his eyebrows at Alastor, was he going to tell everyone?

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Alastor said, "like I said before, your secrets are safe with me!" Alastor put a finger to his lips, he then pointed at Vox's unconscious body with his cane. "Aren't you going to kill him? It's in your nature, after all."

Hereticus looked down at Vox, for a moment he considered slashing his neck open, it would be a surefire way of ensuring he'd never be an issue again, but then he wondered what would happen if Vox was free.

"I decide what my nature is," Hereticus said.

Alastor cackled once more.

"Do you really believe that? I used to as well, I thought that evil was a choice and that anyone could rise above themselves…" Alastor said, his voice then changed to a grim and bitter tone, "but now I know different… nobody can really change, not ever… this world is locked in an endless cycle of violence and cruelty, it's rotten to the core, there's no saving it…" Alastor then looked directly into Hereticus' eyes, "I was a student of Lilith too… I was all set to become the Lord of Eden just as you are now… but then I came to a realisation… Lilith had her chance, the Dark Realm she brought forth is one of endless stagnation, things are exactly the same as they were ten thousand years ago, nobody is freer today than they were all those millennia ago, they're enslaved to themselves and those around them. The only difference is who sits on the throne."

"Why are you telling me this?" Hereticus asked.

"Because I want you to help me end it. You could kill Adam, claim the Ring of Eden, drive back heaven… and then what? What happens next? You'll be a king and a prisoner. you'll be trapped on your own throne until another ambitious fool comes along and cuts off your head.

However, there is another way… together, we can destroy the thrones and bring forth a new realm, one that will be truly free."

Alastor extended his hand, holding it out to Hereticus. For a moment, he considered shaking the hand, the idea of all of Hell's souls being freed from their contracts appealed to him, perhaps it was worth a shot. Then he remembered who he was talking to, and he realised he was only hearing what he wanted to hear.

He swiped his right hand forward at Alastor, who took a few steps back to avoid the attack, he chuckled after witnessing Hereticus' futile attack.

"Well, it was worth a try," Alastor said as he walked back around the tree, he moved around it in a half-circle, once he reappeared on the other side he held in his hand a scabbard with a sword in it, he threw it at Hereticus' feet, "I thought you might want this."

Hereticus picked up the scabbard and slowly took the sword out, he realised that it was the very same sword that Lilith had given him, the one he kept under his bed. It was usually too large for him to wield, however, because he was in his true form he was big enough for it to be the perfect size.

He looked up at Alastor, but saw him changing form. His limbs grew spindly and his smile widened. The antlers on his head grew like trees and his eyes became pure black with only a red pupil in the middle of each.

Alastor flipped his cane around as he and it grew in size, the wood on the cane rotted away, revealing a thin blade underneath than extended down until it reached his hand. The microphone at the end of the cane shrunk in size and became a pommel and roots suddenly extended from it, wrapping around Alastor's hand like a hand-guard as the cane finished its transformation, becoming a rapier.

A fog began to set around them and the trees grew with Alastor, they extended high into the sky, further extending beyond where the mist allowed them to see.

"Now then…" Alastor said as a green flame suddenly enshrouded the blade of the rapier, the light illuminating both their faces as he lifted upwards and pointed it at Hereticus, "shall we begin?"

Alastor suddenly thrusted the rapier forwards, Hereticus instinctively responded by bringing his own sword upwards, he saw the green flame move to the side as he deflected Alastor's first attack. Another came, this time Alastor ducked downwards, going for a stab to Hereticus' abdomen, to which Hereticus placed his metal hand in front, blocking the attack, he grabbed the blade and kept it in place, giving him a chance to attack.

He lifted his sword over his head and swung it downwards, Alastor simply pulled his rapier out of Hereticus' grip and stepped to the side.

"We can both do more than swing swords, can't we?" Alastor asked, "let's make things a bit more… interesting…"

Alastor stepped backwards and swung his rapier in the air, the eye of the microphone pommel glowed a bright red and the ground beneath them shook. The root of the trees around them suddenly grew upwards until they reached the ground, once they did, small shadowy figures with wide grins grew from them, they pulled their feet out of the ground and made their way over to Hereticus, chuckling like hyenas.

The shadows picked up whatever was around them, twigs, pebbles, anything that they could use, and threw it at Hereticus. He brought his hand up to avoid being hit, but one tiny rock managed to get his eye. The eye began to water and blink on its own as Hereticus was temporarily blinded in one eye.

Alastor took the opportunity to suddenly thrust his sword forwards, the air itself was torn apart by the ferocity of the attack. Hereticus felt a sharp and burning pain in the side of his neck. Alastor pulled his sword out of Hereticus' neck, he had narrowly missed Hereticus' windpipe but the wound was still incredibly nasty. Hereticus felt the hole in his neck bleed and the green fire burnt his neck, making the attack more severe.

The shadows continued to pester Hereticus with pebbles, some had even run up to his legs and began to gnaw at them with sharp teeth, causing bloody holes to appear. Alastor watched on, laughing sadistically at the pain he'd brought Hereticus.

Hereticus let out a blood curdling scream of frustration. He lifted his metal hand over his head and punched the air. Suddenly, there were multiple yellow flashes around, all the shadows suddenly disappeared into nothingness once each were hit with a yellow strike of lightning. Seconds later, the sky growled when the thunder came.

Hereticus looked into Alastor's eyes, there was a playful look in them, like Alastor wasn't taking this fight as seriously as Hereticus was. Alastor flicked his cane, the roots of the trees around them suddenly shot up from the ground and flew towards Hereticus. He managed to chop the first one that came from his left, then the second one that he felt try to grab him from behind, however, there were too many all at once and one managed to grab his right hand, it forced the sword out of his grip and it fell to the floor, the light of Alastor's green fire shone from the blade.

The roots then wrapped themselves around Hereticus until his body was fully restrained and he could no longer move. He tried to push the roots off him to no avail, he only tired himself out.

Alastor stepped towards him slowly, his grin growing wider and wider. He placed the rapier to Hereticus' neck. The green fire burned his skin, Hereticus swallowed a scream in order to save face in front of Alastor.

"I should probably kill you…" Alastor said as he looked at Hereticus with relaxed eyes, he stood in silence for a moment as he contemplated the worth of Hereticus' life, "but, you're too much fun!" Alastor said with energy in his voice. The roots loosened their grip and Hereticus was dropped onto the dirt; he could barely lift a finger; he'd used all his energy trying to escape the roots' grip.

Both of them returned to their usual form and the trees around them returned to their normal size, the fog around them also lightened, Hereticus could see the city lights just beyond the trees behind Alastor.

"I want to see how far you'll get!" Alastor explained, "do forgive my curiosity, but I could never live with myself if I cut your performance short, nobody's made as big a move as you since… well, since I left my mark on the Pentagram!"

Hereticus looked up at Alastor as he tried to get to his feet, he tried to throw a fist into that smug grin, but all that came out was a weak and slow throw of the fist that Alastor easily moved away from.

"Still got some fight in you?" Alastor asked with a chuckle, "you never give up, do you?"

Alastor walked backwards, with every step he moved deeper and deeper into the shadows of the trees.

"Keep up that energy!" his voice echoed throughout the forest, "I'll be watching with great anticipation!"

The journey back to what remained of Vee tower was somewhat arduous for Hereticus with Vox and the sword over his shoulder. By the time he got there, the entire building had burnt down and a pile of ash stood in its place. The other overlords stood at the base of the heap, once Hereticus got to them, he threw Vox to the ground below, he was still unconscious and wasn't getting up any time soon.

"So, the battle is won?" Zestial asked.

"Yeah…" Hereticus said with exhaustion, he was tired from the three consecutive fights he'd just gone through.

Missi, Rosie and Zestial all looked between each other before Zestial spoke once more.

"So, it was thee who slew the exorcists at the colosseum?" Zestial asked.

"What?" Hereticus asked while his head jolted upwards out of surprise.

"Someone got a look at your true form," Missi said, "posted it on Sinstagram, people are sayin' it matches the angel slayer."

Hereticus was silent as he stood in contemplation for a moment, he wondered what their reaction would be should he admit the truth.

"Yes, it was me," he said.

Suddenly, Zestial laughed heartily, much to the confusion of Hereticus.

"Oh, don't mind me, it's just that we've all known for quite a while," Zestial explained.

"You have?" Hereticus asked.

"Yes!" Zestial said jovially, "people find dead exorcists missing their silver armour and the next day you reappear with a silver arm!" Zestial continued to laugh at the obviousness of the situation, "I must admit, I had not considered you as a candidate, however, after our match in the colosseum I began to consider the possibility."

"We all had our suspicions," Rosie said, "but we only said something to each other a few minutes ago, shortly after the battle ended."

Hereticus was somewhat glad they had known and that they took it so well. However, another matter gave him distress.

"Why have thee brought Vox? Why is he not dead?" Zestial asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hereticus put Vox to the floor and pointed to Mammon's mark, the other overlords stared at it and looked between each other.

"Are thou suggesting that Vox is an agent of the Prince of Greed? He intends to take the Pentagram as well?" Zestial asked with a rare display of panic.

"This a'int good…" Missi said.

"Dealing with the Ars Goetia will be hard enough," said Hereticus, "but a Prince on our backs will be even harder. However, if Mammon wanted to send an army our way, he would've."

"Why wouldn't he send an army?" Rosie asked, "his is one of the largest in Hell, he could easily take the city if he wanted to."

"Maybe the Prince wants to control the city without others knowing," Zestial explained, "a sound strategy, it would make him appear weaker than he is."

"If he had Vox under his control then anyone could be working for Mammon" Rosie said with worry, "what do we do?"

The overlords tried thinking of what to do, they stood there for a while trying to come up with ideas. A direct attack on Mammon's army would be suicide, it wasn't even worthy of mention, he had in his pocket one of the largest armies in Hell, millions strong, it was only beaten out by Lucifer and Satan's armies.

After a while of bickering, the overlords concluded that right now they saw no options. It was now time to savour their victory over the Vees, but in the morning, they would need to prepare for the coming battles. The fact they had uncovered Mammon's attempt to invade the pentagram was a victory in and of itself, it could have gone unknown for a long time, maybe the knowledge they had could be used against Mammon in some way.

The overlords parted ways. Missi returned to Club Kaiju, Zestial returned to his realm and Missi returned to Cannibal Town. Hereticus turned Vox over to members of his army so that they could keep him imprisoned for now, he made his way back to the hotel, his mind still racing with worry, how could he ever hope to defeat Mammon?

He opened the Hotel's front door and took only one step into the lobby when a white blur rushed towards him, he suddenly felt two sets of fluffy arms wrap around him like tightly knotted ropes.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Angel said with a teary voice.

"What?" Hereticus asked with confusion, he had no idea what Angel was thanking him for.

Angel stepped back and wiped the tears off his cheeks, a wide grateful smile ran across his face from ear to ear.

"You killed Valentino…" Angel said. Of course! Valentino owned Angel's soul, now that he was dead Angel was free, free from all the abuse Valentino had brought upon him. A smile crept its way up Hereticus' face, the battle had only felt like a small win, but Angel's freedom had come from it, making it an undeniable victory.

"If there's anything I can do to repay you, just say the word!" Angel said.

Hereticus took a step inside, he looked around the room, it was late at night but Angel and Husk were still up for one of Angel's late night drinking sessions, although this one was to celebrate rather than to forget. Husk gave Hereticus an approving smirk and a nod, he poured Hereticus' usual tea into a mug.

"This one's on the house," he said as he slid it across the counter for Hereticus to catch.

"Thank you," Hereticus said as he began to take a sip from the mug, however, he was interrupted when there came the sound of rapid footsteps, Charlie turned the corner of the stairs and came into view, rushing down.

"What happened?" she asked, unease in her voice, Vee tower burning had reminded her of the vision she had, the one with the burning tower and the flying creature on fire.

"What do you mean what happened?" Hereticus asked.

"I saw a tower on fire, Vee tower, did you have something to do with it?" Charlie asked Hereticus in a partial accusation.

"The alliance needed to defeat the Vees," Hereticus said.

"Why?"

"The Ars Goetia are coming, if the Pentagram isn't united, we'll stand no chance against them," Hereticus explained.

"Couldn't you have talked them into joining you?" Charlie asked.

Hereticus sighed, Charlie was showing her naivety and felt the need to explain his actions to her.

"Not everyone is willing to listen to reason, the Vees especially, they could've attempted to ally themselves with the Goetia. They are completely unwilling to cooperate."

"What do you mean 'they are?'" Husk asked from across the room, "aren't they dead?"

"I took Vox alive; he's being kept prisoner for now, Velvette hasn't been seen yet but she might be alive, only Valentino died."

"How?" Charlie asked, sensing that Val's death was connected to her dream.

"He was caught in the fire," Hereticus said, leaving out the details he was ashamed of.

Charlie wasn't sure to be relieved or concerned, in her vision she had seen a creature with wings burning and she knew for a fact Valentino had wings, she was glad that the one who had been set on fire wasn't anyone close to her, but it wasn't a way she thought anyone deserved to die, not even Valentino. Her vision had come true, yet the proof of her power only served to discomfort her.

"You two need to relax," Husk said, "Valentino was a real bastard, he had it coming." Husk then drew a deck of cards from under the table, "I'll show you three some magic tricks if it'll give you guys some sleep."

Hereticus stared the cards Husks' hands and an epiphany came to him. He'd freed one soul today but if he played his cards right, he could deal with Mammon and free millions of souls. He turned to Angel.

"Angel, you sure you want to repay me?" he asked.

"Yes, anything," Angel replied.

"Then get some rest, because tomorrow we're going to the Ring of Greed."