As some of you will probably know by now, this fic is inspired by the 2020 movie 'Wolfwalkers'. However, this take is a bit more darker and with more drama, not to mention it doesn't exactly follow the same events as the original. Still, i do hope you enjoy it.
Of all the creatures in Hell, none is as secretive or little known about as a breed of imps with the power to heal. Recognizable by the snake-like patterns in their eyes and rattling tails, these imps stayed apart from the others. They would not bow to Overlords or Demon Royalty.
When Lucifer himself came down to Wrath, the imps screeched and roared from the forest like Hellbeasts as a show of defiance to Hell's hierarchy. Lucifer cursed them for the disrespectful gesture– forevermore, they would walk as demons by day and roam as hellbeasts by night.
Leaving their impish form behind, any harm or good that befell them as hellbeasts, they felt in waking form, too. They were a proud breed of warriors living with the wild hellbeasts, keeping the peace between demons and Hell's wilderness.
But industry, farming, and annual cleanses took their toll on the seven rings. With the increasingly hostile environment, the Hellwalkers dwindled until only three of their kind remained– a couple and their son...
CHOP
CHOP
CHOP
The sound of axes cutting through trees echoed throughout the dark woods. The overworked imps had been told to clear this part of the forest today, but the sun was already setting and they weren't even halfway done. The most superstitious ones had dropped their axes and returned to town. Not because of the darkness. Imps can see at night, after all. But their skins weren't tooth or claw-proof, they claimed.
"Heck, what's the hurry with clearin' out this forest, anyhow? It's not like it's goin' anywhere! I was supposed to be home fuckin' my wife right now!"
"Ye know how those ditzy-bluebloods are. Our lives mean shit to them."
Wally Wackford was in the middle of chopping down a thick tree when he heard a faint sound coming from the forest. At first, he thought it was just a little critter running around until it became louder and clearer.
Growling
"H-Hey, did ya hear that?"
"What's that?"
GRRRR
Gulping, the three remaining imps huddled together with their backs facing each other. Their legs trembled as a pair of piercing golden eyes peered from the darkness, slit pupils fixed on them. Wackford swallowed hard, holding up his ax as the growling and hissing increased. More and more pairs of eyes opened in the darkness.
The creatures stalked out of their hiding spots. They were as big as a hellhorse, maybe even bigger. Their thick, dark manes bristled menacingly as they snarled at the intruders, exposing their sharp teeth. The reaction was instantaneous
"HELLBEAST!"
In a panic, the imps tried running back to town, leaving their tools behind. Wackford was about to follow when the pack of hellbeasts surrounded him, blocking every way out. He frantically swung his ax at whichever creature came too close.
Wrath Imps know by experience that a hellbeast's scaly hide is so thick that it cannot be pierced by regular blades. Special weapons crafted from angelic technology are the only things capable of doing such a feat. If you don't have one, the best thing you can do is aim at the throats, the only vulnerable part of their bodies.
But Wackword wasn't thinking right now.
"S-Stay back! I got an ax and I'm not afraid to use it, I say, I say!"
SNARL!
HISS!
Wackford jumped. One of the hellbeasts had nearly torn his tail off his body. He swung his ax again, but the monster caught the handle with crocodilian jaws and snapped the tool in half. With his only defensive tool gone, Wackford tried to run, but he barely got to flee a few meters before another hellbeast intercepted him with a nasty scratch to his abdomen. Wackford fell to the ground with a painful cry, hand clutching his injured body.
Lesson number one: you cannot outrun a hellbeast, so don't even try or you'll trigger their prey drive.
The black blood trickling down his torso seemed to further entice the hellbeasts' predatory urges. The bastards were even licking their chops in anticipation. Just as they were about to leap at Wackford...
RAAAAAW!
The hellbeasts lifted their heads, ears raised. All hostility seemed to have vanished as their eyes glowed a pale gold color, almost as if they had entered a trance of sorts. Wackford watched as the hellbeasts turned their heads to the forest.
From the tree line emerged a tall, impish shape: A tall, pale imp with snake-like features strode calmly into the open, long spiky tail rattling behind him. In his arms was a young impling with an uncanny resemblance to his father, sans the orange skin and whiter hair. Both stared down at Wackford with pale yellow, hypnotic serpent-like eyes.
The hellbeasts had all but forgotten about Wackford as they moved towards the imps, eyes still glowing.
"Satan help us..."
He'd heard the legends. His grandpa would tell him stories of the snake-like imps inhabiting the virgin forests of Wrath, running wild alongside the hellbeasts they looked after. Though rare to find nowadays, Wrath demons could hear these imps screeching and roaring at night, calling their packs of hellbeasts from deep within the woods.
Hellwalkers.
Wackford tried backing away as the imps wordlessly approached him. "P-Please don't hurt me! I ain't tasty, I say...!" his words seemingly went on deaf ears as the Hellwalkers stopped right in front of him. Wackford closed his eyes shut, waiting for the end.
Instead, he got a tingling sensation on his abdomen accompanied by...
GROOOO
The Hellwalkers had kneeled in front of him, hands hovering over his wounds while emanating a gentle glow. The hellbeasts joined the imps' purr-like growling with their own, manes vibrating. Wackford watched in awe as the gold energy flowing from their hands snaked its way into his cut flesh, searing it back together with no visible scars. The dried blood was the only proof that the injuries had been there seconds ago.
Their work completed, the Hellwalker picked up his child and stood to his full height, looking down at Wackford with a deep frown.
It took Wackford every bit of courage he could muster to speak. "H-Hellwalker... than you."
The Hellwalker pointed in the opposite direction with his free arm. "Get the fuck out of my sight before I change my mind."
With newfound adrenaline, Wackford managed to get back on his feet and darted back towards town as fast as his feet could carry him.
The Hellwalkers stood at the edge of the forest for a while with their hellbeasts waiting for any commands. Once the imp was back behind the walls, they retreated back the way they'd come when dozens of torches emerged from beyond the walls.
The Hellwalkers, and their pack of hellbeasts, vanished into the evening fog.
