The Devil King

Chapter 2: The Body of the Shadow (Part 2)

The interior was lacking pleasantry, competent with conveying the formidable atmosphere despite remaining stationary. There was only a single room inside the vastness of this castle, the prayer room, and in there you would find the gates to Hell (Hell itself is located in an entirely different setting; positioned right at the bottom of God's creation). The prayer room carried the intimidating throne on top of the stairway that had hit close to 60 million steps. There was no carpet nor floorboard: the devils would have to sit on the rough concrete for several hours. The aroma was filled with the diffusion of sweat of apprehension and fear. As large and frightening as this place were, it was only a mere home for the assistant of the Devil King, Abaddon, who would live there for the purpose of to only stand, guarding the gates to Hell. Despite this, he was prohibited to even touch the throne, as only one being was allowed to lay his hand on it. That being was the 2cDevilKing (2nd crowning of the Devil King). 

 "Thy presence excites me once more, as expected of you devils under my command. Thou, devils responsible of leading the human beings astray, must worship yours truly till end. The catastrophe of reality is undoubtedly close, and you must worship me even in the final moments. For I am the pinnacle of authority, whom even God cannot kill. I raised all devils and clothed them. I raised all devils and sheltered them. I granted a vast majority of devils the honour of death by my own hands. And I granted all you devils the honour of being slaves of the king of the universe. Obey me and abide with me. Live for whom you love and continue to fight and die for me. And be honoured by being guaranteed the fate of being scorched for eternity by my flames in the afterlife." 

A silence no one dared to break fluttered in the castle's sole room. They continued to kneel until they were asked to do otherwise. 

"We shall chant our praise and hail our lord with our worship. Everyone! Ascend that pathetic jaw and stand! For your lord demands visual proof of your dedication to his lord's authority!" 

And so, everyone arose simultaneously. With stiff expressions, they moved their lips and tried their utmost to synchronize in order to satisfy their lord. 

 "That was scary..." spilled Asmodeus. 

"You think so? I honestly felt the true honour of standing in front of our lord and singing with all our might!" exclaimed Astaroth, whose mood lightened up significantly. "That being said, I was utterly disheartened to not see her face." 

"Face? Whose face?" questioned Asmodeus. 

 "Her  face. Morticia, our grandma. She had failed to make it today..." 

 Asmodeus jumped. "Eh? Why? Was it circumstantial issues? Or did she forget? Wait, don't tell me she'll get punished!" 

Astaroth melancholically laughed. "Ha... well, she has consent to skip today's meeting... mainly due to her health." 

Asmodeus skipped a breath, and many heart-wrenching thoughts filled his mind. 

"What... do you mean?" 

"Exactly what I meant. She's going to die very soon. Who knows? She may even be dead now... It's understandable if you consider the fact she lived through the time before the 1cDevlKing was birthed, and even through the genocide of all devils. The history she had been through was quite remarkable, and now she lives as the oldest devil in the underworld. That's, let's see, around 50 billion years ago." 

"50 billion..." 

"Yeah, I'm about...-" Realizing how old he truly was, he paused. "Ah, that's right! I'm only, um, 2908 years old! And you are 44 years old, not quite old. Actually, you are among the youngest in the underworld."