Conviction - Part 4

A fortress was hidden behind a cloud of smoke, Houska Castle to be exact, Arnokan explained to Alphaeus. Even though Alphaeus thought he had already figured out Hell's layout, he had never seen or been to this place.

He made a mental note to thank Arnokan and Sorkan for showing him this place later, although he was not sure if that was still their plan.

"So, we just walk straight in?" Alphaeus asked, genuinely unsure if it was that easy. While he knew that death was not a concern for them anymore, he still was not sure what they were walking into.

"Fucking walk? *Huff* What are these babies for?" Sorkan unhinged his wings and began to hover. Arnokan followed suit and they both soared into the vermillion sky.

Alphaeus flapped his wings, disgusted by their current state. As he had mentioned before, his new appearance made him jealous of his previous self, who was much more beautiful and elegant. But, they were still usable at least.

One step closer to getting his answers, Alphaeus was nervous beyond measure. Why? Because the truth is often a twisted, made-up lie.

Sometimes it benefits you, but most of the time it harms you. Whenever a person is about to tell you the truth, it is likely to disappoint you. Some people willingly run from it instead of facing it. Perhaps that was the current Alphaeus.

"The moment we go in, trust your gut!" Arnokan shouted over the rumbling of the sable storm.

"Why?" Alphaeus asked, unsure of what was going to happen next.

[Zoom! x2]

They both shot into the smoke, leaving Alphaeus and his question behind. Not wanting to be left behind, Alphaeus quickly joined them. Covering his face with his right arm, he pushed through and pitch-black darkness soon enclosed him.

[Zoom!]

The intensity of the shadow around him forcefully drowned him in fear. Anxiety filled his thoughts with no path to follow and not knowing what lay ahead.

To be able to feel emotions, he surely had gotten weak. But after what seemed like an entire eternity in the gloom, a light shone bright, welcoming him on the other side of the curtain of fumes.

As always, bright red with shining lava, the terrain remained the same, but a new peculiar citadel stuck in the middle of the pool caught his attention.

"There. They are in there," Arnokan pointed. He and Sorkan just emerged from the smog behind them, which means that Alphaeus came out first. "The faster we get there, the better it'll be."

"Okay," Alphaeus agreed.

"Wait, are you just gonna ignore that this dude fucking came before us?" Sorkan tried to discuss it but got ignored by both of them.

Well, Alphaeus wanted to have a debate about the idea but could not even be logical with the situation. He ran as fast as he could inside the castle the moment they landed near the entrance. His notion, his theory, almost burst out of his mouth to seek with The Demons of Sins.

[Slam!]

"Archdemon Beelzebub, Archdemon Asmodeus! Is it true that General Lucifer perished in the War!?" Alphaeus quickly yelled the moment he banged open the last door he believed to be in the stronghold's interior.

Surprisingly, there was no response nor any kind of presence to be found here. The throne room was somewhat empty. Signs of usage were still visible throughout the place, so they must have gone out.

"They're not here," Sorkan shrugged and turned around, only to find six of the seven Demons of Sins returning from their short trip.

"Well, well, look who we have here," Belphegor was the first to address them.

His voice and his face... Not all of them were here, they were alive!

"I thought we said that no other Demons should come here and bother us! Haven't we fucking told you everything already!?" Sathanas lashed out, and Asmodeus lightly tapped on her shoulder.

"Relax, Sathanas. They brought someone familiar here actually," Asmodeus did not need to even lift a finger for everyone to suddenly mark at Alphaeus. The movement of her pupil managed to show the team their target.

"You can tell that I'm not one of them?" Alphaeus asked.

"Alphaeus, correct? A trainee under Karred and Bizrazeth. A gauntlet as a weapon," Beelzebub answered.

"How did you know?" Alphaeus abruptly squealed.

"Saw you a couple of times when training." Beelzebub glanced at Mammon, and he nodded slowly.

"Even your voice is easily recognized," Mammon added.

No wonder they were The Demons of Sins, no single tiny detail was left unnoticed by them. The difference in professionalism between them, the lesser Demon and the Archdemon, Alphaeus bet the Angel did a lot better than they did.

"So, did you also survive God's ill-treatment?" Abaddon suddenly implored, taking Alphaeus aback.

"The torture... Please, oh great Archdemons. Tell the true story to me what in the world truly happened here," Alphaeus begged and kneeled in front of them.

"It's just like what you heard," Beelzebub cut it short as he and the other Archdemons walked past Alphaeus. "Now, if you excuse us, we have something more important to discuss ourselves."

"So, General Lucifer died in the war?" Alphaeus briskly lifted himself and faced them with rage as they ignored him.

"Yes."

They were not even looking at him while answering. Rather, they continued the walk they needed.

Just a one yes wouldn't solve anything!

Alphaeus even went to the length of his prostate and pleaded that everyone had changed.

"So you're telling me that the dumb General Lucifer selfishly challenged almighty God and lost horribly!" Alphaeus's statement made them halt.

"Alphaeus, you should stop..."

"So you're announcing that one egocentric act of our dumbass leader causes for all of his kind to be unlawfully punished!? HAHA, I PRAISE GOD THEN FOR MAKING ALL OF US SUFFER. ALL HAIL THE..." Alphaeus ignored the warning and continued his rant.

[Shing!]

Suddenly, Sathanas, Belphegor, and Abaddon had their blades ready and pointed at his vital points. Mammon aimed his bow at Alphaeus's skull. Arnokan and Sorkan were too shocked to react.

Beelzebub and Asmodeus, unchanged from their position, glared at Alphaeus with sharp intensity. Alphaeus had taken his frustration too far.

"Speak that unqualified creator name again," Beelzebub spoke, with Asmodeus following suit.

"Or any ill word of our supreme leader," Asmodeus added.

"You'll never experience life again," they all said in unison. The thought of never experiencing life while being immortal was a terrifying prospect.

As the Archdemons dismissed themselves from Alphaeus, he fell paralyzed to the floor, traumatized by the experience. Even his eyelids could not conduct blink.

"C'mon, let's get him away from here," Arnokan whispered to Sorkan.

"Good call, but we should've done that a lot sooner. You think so?" Sorkan replied, trying to lighten the mood with an unnecessary joke that only worsened the guilt.

Arnokan and Sorkan each lend their shoulder to Alphaeus as they carried him outside, out of the Smoke that covers the reality of Houska Castle. As soon as they got out, they let him down and let out a big breath, probably releasing the pressure that had built up in their minds.

"You shouldn't have done that, you know," Arnokan lectured. "I know that I have nothing to say in this matter, but sometimes, letting it out on something more abstract is far more trouble-free."

"Not everyone can do it as you do, Arnokan," Sorkan interrupted. The whole world knows that holding your anger in will eventually result in it exploding and destroying whatever you're trying to protect the most.

"Oi, fuck off," Arnokan brusquely pushed Sorkan away.

"Ay, no offence, but I'm just trying to cheer this dude up," Sorkan protested dejectedly. "After all, he is one of us."

Alphaeus understood what that meant. During one of those moments of acceptance, his whole appearance had been altered.

His white skin burnt into char, making it dusky, and his feathers smouldered, leaving the cuticle visible. As a lesser Demon, born into this world, they had adapted to his aspect.

"Take me with you guys. Show me where I belong," Alphaeus suggested, and they accepted. So the journey began again, but not for long, as the Demons' settlement was not far away from the bewitching chateau.

They were almost civilized, created alongside a single path. A road that led nowhere or to the Gate of Hell. The sudden addition was because a chamber-like structure mysteriously appeared at the end of the line, forming a pylon that was quite broken, as an egress was supposed to be inside and outside of Hell.

Alphaeus had reached the edge of Hell before only to find an invisible barrier that held them inside, so the newly constructed gateway was surely the key. The barrier did not zap or hurt them; rather, it made whoever touched it feel like they were caged.

"Aah! What is that creature?" A Demon shrieked from a commotion downhill. Curious, they flew closer to see what was going on, and Alphaeus knew all too well what this entity was.

"A human?"