Chapter 13

He had expected the place to be large and intimidating, but he never thought it would be so magical.

Kitty stared up at the majestic building in awe. The sleek white modern exterior made it appear as though the sun was shining from it. The roof swooped in an upside-down arch shape and blended into the rest. Huge, shiny windows and a tall revolving door sat in the centre. He was too nervous to touch it in case he smudged the glass.

When he had asked to come along to the Imperial Hall, he expected Damien and Satan to say no. This was their monthly gathering between the holy and unholy sides of the family, Damien and Satan meeting up with God and his children. It was dangerous, waltzing into the lair of the enemy. But, to his surprise, they allowed him to come. Damien said he needed the support, but also cautioned him to be on his guard and not say anything to upset God. It was exciting being here, but also a little scary. He reminded himself to keep his mouth shut.

"I don't even wanna fucking be here." Damien grumbled.

"No choice." Satan replied. "Unless you want to be killed. That's what'll happen if we don't come here." He shuddered, muttering "He'll obliterate us!"

"They can't kill me until I agree to fight..." Damien trailed off with an anxious look on his face.

Satan seemed to have noticed this change in attitude. "I know, but you've been avoiding her for four years. Eventually, God's going to get fed up. That's what these meetings are for, to beg and plead with him not to kill us."

"I'll come as long as she's not here."

An exasperated sigh escaped Satan's lips. "You can't hide from her forever."

"Shut up." Damien kept his glare to the floor. "I know." He mumbled to himself.

Eyes darting between the two every time one of them spoke, Kitty listened in on their conversation with interest. Damien was scared, he could tell. But what made Kitty admire him was his bravery in this situation. He was wearing a red long sleeved shirt with an upside-down cross on it, as well as one of his black ankle-length skirts. Satan told him he couldn't wear the shirt since the unholy symbol would upset God. Damien said that was exactly what he was trying to do. He wouldn't bow down to the man who was targeting him and his family. He refused to go without it. After a while, Satan yielded. He was trying to appear confident and defiant in the face of fear and peril, to fight back against an unfair authority. A proud smile came to Kitty's face. Damien was the strongest person he knew, not physically but mentally, and he adored him for that.

Crap, he'd been trailing behind. Jolting himself from his thoughts, he skipped to walk beside Damien.

"So, the 'unholy and holy family' thing, is it metaphorical?"

"No, we're an actual family." Damien said, shuffling along with his hands in his skirt pockets. "God's my granddad."

Kitty's jaw dropped. "For real?" He exclaimed. He turned to Satan. "So, you're God's son?"

"Yep! God created all the archangels from his own DNA, so technically we're his children."

"Then that means Dana's your sister?"

"And mine." Damien said. "Same mother."

"Huh?" Kitty blinked in confusion.

"It's best not to think about it." Damien shrugged, like it wasn't a big deal. But Kitty thought otherwise.

"This is so strange." Kitty whispered to himself. He decided it would be best not to think about it.

☽☾

The meeting room was fancy, like the building itself. A pure white room with a long gold table and gold and silver chairs situated next to it.

Kitty stood next to Damien on their side, behind the silver chairs, hands gripping his jacket. He hoped his nerves wouldn't show, but it was pretty obvious. He swallowed the lump in his throat and told himself to stay quiet.

Luckily for them, Dana wasn't here. Instead, God and his other three children sat before them on the large gold chairs. Damien had told him all their names and a brief but clear physical description. Jesus, real name Manfred Switzer, who had long blue hair tied in a ponytail and a nose piercing – he was the arrogant one, the Child of Pride. Next to him was Adamina, real name Myrtle Jackson, who had pink pigtails and freckles all over – she was the mad one, the Child of Insanity. Next to her was Abel, real name Somsak Bunnag, who had unkempt white hair and was covered in bruises and scars – he was the shy one, the Child of Mercy. They didn't talk much, so most of his attention was on God, who had the most surprising appearance.

At first, Kitty didn't even know who he was. All he saw was what he thought was an androgynous young girl. They had long white hair and a long white nightdress, but no shoes. It wasn't until he saw the eyes that he realised it was God. Damien had told him God's defining feature, his kaleidoscope eyes. He could take on many forms, this being the one he preferred while on Earth, but his eyes never changed. Kitty remembered the effigies on the Golden Temple. That confirmed it was God he saw now.

After what felt like an eternity of standing, God told them to sit down. He had a gentle, youthful voice. How could this unintimidating child - in appearance at least - be the terrifying deity that was so feared? Damien described him as the biggest tyrant in the universe, and when he heard more about him, Kitty agreed. But he appeared to be so small and harmless. He couldn't wrap his head around it.

The three of them did as they were told and sat on the silver chairs. They were far less fancy and comfortable-looking than the gold chairs, but Kitty knew not to complain. The meeting began almost immediately.

"To start with," Satan cleared his throat. "I have a few problems."

Thin white eyebrows narrowed a touch. "Problems? What do you mean?"

This frightened Satan. He once again cleared his throat before speaking. "T-There are just a few. For starters, I have a few concerns over Damien's living conditions."

"Do you?" God's voice was calm and rather monotonous, but he had a powerful aura. "Please explain further."

"Yes. Thank you." Satan gave a nervous smile and bowed his head slightly. "Um, the house isn't very suitable. It's falling apart at the seems, it's way too small, given that there are two more people living there, including this young gentleman here," Satan gestured to Kitty, who shrank back in his seat as best as he could. "and, since it's a traditional house, there's no actual heating system built into it, so in the winter it's excruciatingly cold-"

"You're rambling." God interrupted with a cold face. "Get to the point."

"Yes, um, sorry." Satan nodded his head. "I would- well, we would like to ask for a better house for them all to live in. A newer, warmer one would be ni-"

"I refuse."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room. After the second interruption, Satan's mouth snapped closed and he stared at God like a startled fish. Damien's eyes squinted and he gripped the arm of his chair. Kitty could tell he was getting irritated, which made him feel concerned for him. It must be hell having your father humiliated and your needs denied so bluntly, and not being able to do anything about it. He reached over and touched his hand. Damien glanced at it out the corner of his eye and turned his hand around to hold Kitty's, giving it a gentle squeeze. His anger started to dissipate.

"Um," Satan gulped. He straightened himself up. "I-I see. May I ask why?"

"He doesn't deserve it." God replied. "He hasn't done anything to earn the one he has now. He hasn't paid for it. He doesn't work. Granted, he prostitutes himself for money," after he said this, a look of absolute rage appeared on Damien's face. But still, God carried on, "but that's not good enough. There's no talent in that, no effort. On top of that, he's been refusing his duty of fighting my daughter for four years, and has been hiding from her like a coward." He gave Damien a callous smirk. "He deserves to suffer for his lack of courage."

This was the last straw for Damien. He rose from his seat and stormed out of the room, slamming the doors behind him. The glass rattled so strongly that Kitty feared it would break.

God watched the door with a smile. "The Child of Rage indeed."

Before the meeting, Kitty vowed not to rock the boat with God, but he could go to Hell now. Kitty got up, glaring at God, and went after Damien. He made sure to mutter "asshole" loud enough for him to hear.

When he got out into the hallway, he couldn't find Damien. There were too many doors and hallways. How could he figure out which one he had gone down? It was impossible. He pursed his lips and decided to go down the hallway to his left first. He hoped he could find his way there and back.

☽☾

Damien stomped down the hallway, seething in his rage. He stopped after a while and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out, counting from one to ten in his head. He opened them again and sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"Are you all right?"

The soft voice made him jump. He turned his head to see a young girl, about 14, with long blonde hair and brown eyes walking towards him. She had a friendly smile, but he knew better than to trust anyone here. This was a place that belonged to God, so those who were here most likely worked for him. He gave her a single nod.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

He expected her to go away, but she stayed, staring at him in an almost creepy way. He could tell he was frowning at her. He tried to stop it, but he couldn't. He didn't want to be rude, but she unnerved him. Her smile widened.

"I'm Takako, personal assistant to Her Holy Highness." She bowed and stood up straight again soon after. "I already know who you are, Nyuujaku."

Damien's eyes widened in horror. Takako noticed this and giggled.

"It's OK, I won't hurt you. I'm off duty right now." She tilted her head, grin never leaving her face. "Plus, we aren't actually allowed to. God's orders."

Deeming she wasn't a threat, Damien relaxed. "Sorry. It's just-" He paused, then shrugged. "I don't like this place."

"I understand." Takako said. "I also understand that you're afraid of Dana. Is that true?"

Damien definitely couldn't suppress his frown then. "Why are you asking?"

"Just curious. You've been refusing to fight her all this time, so I figured it was because you were scared. Are you?"

Glare softening, Damien lowered his head and sighed. "She makes me uneasy."

Takako giggled again. "I get it. She frightens me sometimes, too."

With a reassured smile, Damien nodded. So he wasn't the only one. This made him feel a little better.

"Tell me, Damien, do you enjoy what you do? Killing people?"

This question seemed to come from nowhere. It shocked Damien. He thought about how much he should tell her before answering. "No. No, I don't. I hate it. I know that those I kill are sick, depraved bastards, but that doesn't console me." He inhaled. "I see them when I sleep. All covered in blood and screaming at me, asking me why I did it." He glanced down at his shaking hands. "I even see blood on my hands sometimes, when I take off the gloves."

"I see." Takako nodded, almost bored. "But that could also be because of the burns."

A cold feeling ran through Damien. His head snapped up to look at her, a horrified glare on his face. "How do you know about the burns?"

She couldn't know. There was no way she could know. He had kept his hands covered since it happened, even when he slept. No one alive could know, except her.

Takako gave him a calm smile. "Because I was there when mother did it." Her smile became a terrible grin. "It was so funny! You screamed like a baby with a twisted stomach!"

The manic laugh she let out chilled Damien to the core. "Who are you?"

"Really, Aoi?" She chuckled. "I thought you'd see through me straight away. How disappointing."

Her gloved hand grabbed her hair and pulled it, and the finger of her other hand pressed her iris. She removed her blonde locks, revealing shoulder-length black hair. The brown contact lenses came out, exposing icy blue eyes. Finally, she removed her gloves. She had two red dots on her palms. Stigmata.

Of course Damien knew who she was. It had been a few years, and she had changed somewhat, but he still recognised her. His vision blurred and he felt sick.

Before him stood the star of his nightmares – the Holy Tyrant herself, Dana.