2 Chapter 1

New York – Hell's Kitchen

It was 11:35 p.m. and it had started snowing a couple of days ago, so the cold was already being felt throughout New York. The streets were almost completely covered, making these winter days feel even longer.

On 51st Street, the heart of the city, although time passes and everything changes, 51st Street would never change because it remained the same disorderly and dirty place as always. Even after so much time, this place was still the same since the 80s. The streets were full of garbage, drunks lying on the sidewalks, and homeless people in a corner trying to protect themselves from the cold with the few blankets they had, but they couldn't even cover their feet.

On a corner of the block, unnoticed amidst the street atmosphere, was the Flaming Hole, a pub that looked so bad that just thinking about going in would make you look crazy. Its appearance was old and rustic. It seemed to have been stuck in the 1950s, and its interior wasn't any better. Let's say that the smell of vomit and stale beer that seemed to flood your nose at first glance didn't help the place much.

Behind the bar, the bartender was about 50 years old, with a thick mustache and such a somber and desperate expression on his face that he seemed to be about to jump from the Empire State. In a corner, a drunkard lay in his own vomit. Let's say that this place would make you wonder why it hadn't been demolished yet.

The walls were covered with old beer posters that seemed to have been there for around three decades. Mold and dampness had already begun to leave their mark on the walls, causing the old smell to give a characteristic atmosphere to this dump.

But let's go to a more specific place, the basement of the pub. Laughter and groans could be heard behind the door. Inside, two beings with twisted and terrifying appearances, whom you would only encounter in your worst nightmares, demons called Clamoros, the demon of pestilence, and Strygus, the demon of depravity, were playing poker with two men.

One seemed to be around 28 years old, with black hair and emerald green eyes that seemed to radiate charisma and confidence. He was dressed in a white shirt and a messy black tie, with a half-smoked cigarette in his mouth and a glass of whiskey on ice next to him, which he drank as if it were water. His name was William Black.

The other was a middle-aged man, between 40 and 45 years old, with tired brown eyes and an unkempt beard. His name was Jackson Bear, an inspector for the NYSP, and secretly the eighth protector of the eternal flame.

"Bam, time to pay," a slow and calm jazz melody from the 1950s played in the room, creating an atmosphere. William had already won almost three rounds, and everyone in the room was looking at him suspiciously. Let's say William isn't known for being the most honest player.

"One second," exclaimed one of the demons, Strygus, stopping William's hand from taking all the bets on the table.

"Friend, I won fairly," William said, looking directly into the demon's eyes without feeling intimidated at any moment.

"We're not done yet," exclaimed the demon Clamoros, looking directly into William's eyes with a look that hinted at the unpleasant consequences that would occur if he decided to continue with his refusal.

"As long as you have something equally valuable to bet, I wouldn't mind playing another game," William responded to the demon's request with a cynical and arrogant smile that would even bother the calmest person.

The two demons looked at each other knowingly, something that William noticed despite their twisted faces devoid of any human expression, keeping a smile to himself as he saw the two beings of the abyss nodding to each other and reaching a mutual agreement.

"I summon magnum thesaurum, qui omnes thesauros meos servat et me tutum facit," the two demons chanted at the same time, causing a wound in reality that released an energy so corrupt and evil that Jackson couldn't help but vomit on the floor, feeling an instinctive disgust from hearing that repugnant spell.

From the wound caused in space by the spell, an object emerged that made William involuntarily smile: a jar containing one of the most precious objects in the hidden world, for which any knowledgeable mage or sorcerer would start a war. It was the Blood of Christ.

William couldn't help but wonder how two low-level demons managed to obtain such a valuable object, but he avoided mentioning that detail aloud.

"We're sure you know what this is," commented Strygus with disgust in his words. "But this is worth more than everything on the table. Do you have something to bet that is worth its value?" he asked expectantly. He already knew that someone like William wouldn't let this opportunity pass, and he was right, as the next words that came out of William's mouth even surprised the two demons and made them tremble with excitement.

"Very well, I bet my soul," William didn't even hesitate in his words, and his face didn't drop that cynical and arrogant smile.

"William…" Jack tried to stop his reckless friend, but it was too late, as the deal had already been made the moment he spoke those words.

The demons didn't want to lose, as being the owners of the soul of the infamous "Terror of the Abyss" William Black would immediately elevate them in the Hierarchy of the Underworld to Barons of Hell.

And William Black didn't take his eyes off the blood, the longing in his eyes only surpassed by the incredible arrogance with which he looked at the demons, mocking them and trying to distract them into making a mistake.

"Deal the cards," ordered Strygus, and Jack looked at William, receiving a nod from him, and began shuffling and dealing the cards.

Strygus, the demon of depravity, took his cards and examined them, he had a bad hand: a two of diamonds, a four of clubs, a seven of diamonds, a nine of hearts, and an ace of spades. With a little magic, he swapped his cards with William's, obtaining a royal straight flush, and placed them face down on the table.

William took a drag from his cigarette as he examined his hand, his expression never changing, even when he saw his hand of cards being swapped. He still had that annoying look that made Strygus impatient.

The atmosphere in that poorly lit, dirty basement was tense, Jack was sweating despite the intense cold, and the staring contest between William with Strygus and Clamoros never ended.

It wasn't until William smiled and placed his cards on the table that the atmosphere exploded. William had a royal straight flush, and the cheating spell that Strygus had cast was reversed.

The atmosphere exploded when the two demons broke out in anger, destroying the table and causing all the objects to scatter on the floor and causing both Jackson and William to fall out of their chairs.

"Cheater!" shouted Strygus in fury, his voice was so disgusting that it could drive any normal mortal insane just by hearing it.

Hellfire guided by the rage of the two demons flooded the room, if it weren't for the quick action of William and Jackson, they would already be without a soul and being dragged into the abyss.

"Technically, you cheated first!" William replied sarcastically, as he dodged the intense attacks of the two demons.

A glow began to appear from William's hands as two of his rings transformed into two semi-automatic pistols. William didn't waste any time and began firing. His bullets were blessed by a priest and coated in holy water.

Although the bullets didn't do much damage, they managed to hurt them for a moment, giving William enough time to activate the magic circle of purification on the bullets embedded in their bodies.

"Sacrae flammae eicere daemonum," William recited, and as he spoke, the bullets embedded in the demons' physical bodies exploded into a golden fire that covered them completely, causing them great pain and suffering.

Chains began to emerge from the flames that covered the two demons, which then wrapped themselves around the walls of the basement. Although these walls would not normally be able to withstand such force and tension, the chains were so tightly bound to the demons' physical bodies that they prevented them from moving or even using any profane powers they might have.

"Well, look at this," William mocked as he watched the two demons howl in agony while looking at him with absolute hatred and contempt. "How ironic, you wanted to turn me into ashes and now the fire burns you."

"You dirty rat! You cheated. Your soul belongs to us!" Strygus shouted with force, his words filled with all his hatred, but he only received a small laugh from William.

"Haha, well, you'll have to wait in line," William said before reciting another spell, a simple exorcism to expel the demons. "Te remitto ad abysso unde vocatus es, ad ignes Tartari unde effugisti, et te condemno ad aeternam cruciatum Dei."

And with those words, a scar in reality opened up, the chains of fire were absorbed by the portal, and the demons were dragged away in screams of desperation.

"I curse you, William Black!" the two profane beings screamed, imagining the hundreds of tortures they would put William Black through once he arrived in Hell.

William looked at Jackson, who was hiding in a corner of the basement watching the whole situation without interfering. "Well, that was fun."

"Will, I'm never going to a poker night with you again," Jackson said, taking his coat and leaving through the basement door, leaving William alone in the room as he gathered his loot.

"Well, you're missing out," William said to no one as he began inspecting the jar of what was supposed to be the blood of Christ. He couldn't help but smile as he realized it was real; the divine power could be felt just by holding the jar. William put the jar in one of the pockets of his coat.

----

William opened his eyes and quickly got up, breathing heavily. Only a few seconds later, he expelled black liquid all over the floor. The liquid was as black as tar and just as thick.

His suffocating coughs echoed throughout the office. His hands trembled as he tried to lift a glass of whisky. With a wave of his hand, he brought a box of cheap cigarettes from across the room and took one, lighting it with a tiny magical flame.

"Damn it," he murmured in pain, holding his head. "Hey, Duck, write this down," William said loudly. From a dark corner of the room, cawing sounds could be heard and a crow emerged from nowhere, flying to perch on William's shoulder. "Don't try any potions while I'm drunk."

The crow cawed and tilted its head in confusion, as if asking William something. "It doesn't matter if I've said it before, write it down again," William said. He walked to his desk, which was small, very old, and made of mahogany wood. The entire surface was covered with Æsir runes.

He sat in his chair and took out the most valuable treasure from the previous day's work, "The Blood of Christ," the most difficult ingredient to obtain, thanks to a stroke of luck and some idiots. William was not used to being so lucky. He still needed one more ingredient to complete the potion he had been dreaming of for so long, and he was getting closer every day. But he would have to leave that for later because his phone rang, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Upon answering, he heard a voice that changed his expression and a cynical smile appeared on his face. "This must be my lucky day," William responded sarcastically to the person on the phone. "I have to admit that when you said 'I'll contact you soon,' I didn't expect it to be this soon," he muttered with amusement.

"Listen, Will, although I'd like to continue with this charade, I want you to do something for me," the voice behind the phone spoke. Her words had the same degree of sarcasm as William's and more elegance.

"Me? From you? I can't imagine it," William responded with amusement. "And what could the Queen of New York need from me?"

"Well..."

----

"Whiskey, no ice," William told the bartender as he sat at the bar.

"No," the bartender said, looking at William disapprovingly. "Mr. Smith banned you from entering. He says you cheated him at poker," he said, laughing.

"It was a fair bet," William said, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Tell him that," the bartender said, pointing his head at the person behind William.

"You dirty thieving rat, how dare you show your face to me after what you did?" said a short, obese man with a voice too high-pitched for someone with his appearance. He was dressed in an expensive-looking black suit and his face was completely wrinkled with anger upon seeing William.

"Oliver my friend, are you still upset about losing to me in poker?" William couldn't help but joke.

"You didn't beat me! You cheated!" Oliver angrily shouted, his voice reminiscent of a dwarf's. "Get him, boys! Don't let him escape. We're going to teach him a lesson!" He ordered the two burly guards by his side.

Before the two giants could grab him and drag him to the basement, he shouted, "Elizabeth Báthory." The two guards stopped, and Oliver Smith approached, his angry face now serious.

"How do you know that name?" Oliver asked.

"I know you know her. She sent me," replied William, observing the fear in Oliver's eyes.

"Come with me," Oliver said, nodding to the guards to leave them behind.

The office was nothing out of the ordinary, with a couple of shelves hanging on the wall along with some paintings. In the center was an antique-looking dark wooden desk covered in magical runes and two chairs.

"Sit down," Oliver pointed to a chair in front of the desk. "What does the countess want with me?" he asked as he pulled out a cigar from one of the drawers.

"Your boys have been causing problems in the north of Manhattan lately. They've been robbing the Noctis clan, and she's afraid of what the Brooklyn dwarfs might be planning," William spoke with a smile on his face.

"She's deciding whether to intervene or not," he took a small pause, taking a puff of his cigar. "I was sent to ask if we should expect trouble," he finished, putting his hand on Oliver's shoulder and taking a sip of his drink.

Oliver was tense for a few seconds, not saying anything. All the anger he felt towards the human disappeared as he listened to William's words. But he was the boss of the dwarfs in New York for a reason, and he quickly regained his composure.

"Tell the countess she doesn't need to worry about anything. I'll talk to the boys," Oliver said, looking directly into William's eyes, who replied with an expressionless face and cold eyes.

"I'll give her your message," William replied, putting out his cigar in the crystal ashtray and putting on his coat.

"William," Oliver spoke, stopping William's actions, who looked back at him calmly.

"If I see you near Brooklyn again, I'll kill you," Oliver said, openly showing his dislike towards William, but instead of being scared or annoyed, William simply let out a small laugh. "Whatever you say, Oliver," he said before leaving Oliver's office, leaving him alone.

In a fit of rage, Oliver threw his desk and began destroying everything in his office, which could be heard by everyone in the bar and William, who was leaving with a cigarette in his mouth. When he walked a few blocks and looked up at the full moon rising high, it was covered by dark clouds and started to rain. William just sighed and started walking towards Elizabeth Báthory's Verbagoly Bar.

----

London 10:30 a.m

London is a big city full of lights and color, people walk around ignorant of the world around them, ignorant of the danger that lurks in every dark corner.

Amelia Winston, a married woman with two children and a great job as chief editor of a newspaper on Victoria Street, turned 35 a few weeks ago and celebrated her anniversary with her husband two days ago. Her life is happy and peaceful, the life she always dreamed of having as a child, and she couldn't ask for more, but that wouldn't be her night.

In her eagerness to get home quickly, she took a faster route without noticing the abnormal darkness that covered the streets, the streetlights flickered and the cold air stung her skin, even covered by a comfortable coat. Amelia felt uncomfortable, and abnormally alert as if something or someone was watching her from the shadows.

She began to walk faster, not wanting to stay on that street any longer, and in her mind she cursed her broken-down car. The journey became slower even though she only had to walk two blocks, they were becoming abnormally long, every sound coming from the darkness startled her, and she didn't realize it at the time, but two bright red orbs were following her from the dark corners.

"Aaaah," she screamed unintentionally, only to let out a sigh when she saw that it was just her phone ringing. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, Amy, I think I'll be late tonight. We had a problem at work, and Mr. Brown has got me by the tie," she relaxed a little when she heard her husband's voice. Maybe she was being too paranoid, she thought.

"Okay, bring something to drink. I think John and Arthur went to spend the night at Harry's house so we have the night to ourselves," said Amelia, laughing slightly.

"That sounds like a plan to me," said Jack, her husband. "Maybe we can- sorry, Amy, I have to go. We'll talk later," he said, hanging up the phone before Amelia could say goodbye.

Amelia simply shook her head at her husband's actions with a smile, and she was almost out of the street when something stopped her. A sound like something being dragged along the walls.

Without understanding why, her head turned to look at where the sound was coming from instead of running. Only to see it there, a tall, dark figure dressed in black robes that covered its face, and the sound came from its claws cutting through the concrete walls with great ease.

Before Amelia could scream or escape, the creature had already closed in on her at inhuman speed, taking her arm and lifting her off the ground. Amelia couldn't scream, the words wouldn't come out of her mouth, she was scared and couldn't even fight or move.

"What are you?" she managed to ask with great effort, only to receive a sadistic smile from the monster in front of her. That day, that night, Amelia Winston ceased to exist.

"My lord, our forces are ready to depart at any time," one of the Dark Saints appeared in front of Cain, the Monster who still enjoyed Amelia.

"Not yet, I like this city. New York can wait a few more days," he said, leaving the empty body of poor Amelia lying on the ground and going to find another victim.

----

What did you think of this chapter? I hope you liked it. I'm still improving, so if you have any criticism to give me to help me improve, I'll accept it humbly. Let me know your thoughts.