The Rap Devil Went Up to Ohio

Final Judgment

The tall, tatted tower wavered but didn't fall, still leaning on the shovel. The light from below had almost completely surrounded the old man before the round was over. The Rap Devil didn't need any outside judgment to know that he clearly lost this battle.

The luminescence clustered behind the veteran before igniting the stump. A long shadow was cast over and beyond the thin man. The brightness of the green flame made the Rap Devil squint as he tried to escape the shade for five seconds. He thought he saw six or seven other bright figures clustered around the hooded man. His entourage?

The Rap Devil shambled over as the lights spread and slowly faded. His slow pace turned a few steps into a long trip. "Looks like you won this one."

"What? You think there's gonna be another battle?" the older man chuckled.

"Not my call. Whatever pops off in the future pops off."

"I'm not planning any more run-ins with the Devil."

"No, that's not me," the thin man protested. "I never really introduced myself–my true self. My name is Colson."

The hooded man extended a hand. "You probably should call me Marshall. It has a better bling to it than Bitch."

Colson shook his hand. "I can't lie. What you did tonight was pure fire, Marshall."

Marshall's smirk appeared and then disappeared just as quickly. "There might be hope for you after all."

The elder rapper reached behind the stump to retrieve the object wrapped in that dirty cloth. He extended it with both hands as if it weighed more than what one could surmise from its size. " A deal is a deal."

"What if I don't want it?" Colson asked.

"Well, this is also not your call," Marshall replied. "It'll find its way to you whether you want it or not."

Colson stared at the blue wrapping, burning to know what was inside but still pretended to be disinterested. "So if I had won, I would have earned all of your money, fame, and accolades. I would have basically turned into you?"

"Earned? Don't get it twisted. You can never be me, but yeah, you would have had all that and then some." Marshall's demeanor shifted to visible agitation. "Man, are you gonna take this or not?"