The Devil Within

The Choices of a Superfan Might Just Mean My Death

"So let me get this straight," Chuck said, grabbing his head. "You're supposed to be the leader of a human task force who was all blessed by angels? All because you...?

"All because I was blessed by the highest-ranked among the angels who have blessed a human," you finished, taking a sip of water. "I was surprised too."

"So, Raphael doesn't just want you to hunt. He also wants you to lead?" Chuck took a bite of his food and shook his head. "You'll be facing actual demons and demon generals?"

"Technically there aren't any demon generals," you said, waving your fork. "There are Princes of Hell and there used to be Knights of Hell but those were wiped out years ago."

It's been over a month since Rapahel first started training you. The training was gruelling and left you breathless every time Raphael finished pushing your body past your limits. He wanted you to be able to hold your own against a Seraph. The training would have you longing for the luxurious bed in your room after a long, warm bath filled with Epson salts. With the blessing on your hand, your aching muscles felt fine in the morning. That was the bit of Heaven you got before Raphael would drag you out of bed and start your morning workout. He kept you on a strict schedule and diet. Raphael was always conscious of your dietary restrictions and found ways around them so you could get the appropriate amount of calories, vitamins, and protein you needed for the physical and mental changes in life. In the morning, you would work out, eat a breakfast approved by Raphael and train with a bladed weapon. Sometimes that would include sparring with either Raphael or one of the other people who lived in the House of the Blessed. Usually, Sergeant Jones was Raphael's favourite person to help you with hand-to-hand combat. Yeah, you got your ass handed to you too with the Sergeant. It didn't come as a surprise. He was a US Marine, after all. After a Raphael-approved lunch, you would be taken to the library and learn as much as you could about different monsters. That was easily the only thing you were remotely good at in Raphael's eyes. It helped that Supernatural was your favourite show and you had a hyper-fixation on the inconsistent lore of it. Hell, you and your friend Harley would try and make sense of the lore. You had a theory wall and everything to try and make sense of everything.

It was that one episode in Chicago that really messed shit up for you and Harley's wall.

"Have you ever been on a hunt yet?" Chuck asked, keeping his voice low.

"One per week," you said, keeping your voice equally as quiet. "Raphael is slowly integrating me into the lifestyle. He finds small hunts for me to take and supervises my research and interviews with people. I think he's going to get me to kill off an entire Vampire Nest next week."

"You've gotten that far already?"

"Raphael hasn't been the only one pushing me," you said, shrugging. "The pressure of an Archangel breathing down your neck can be a real motivator to train when he isn't anywhere near you." Earlier, Raphael told you that, since he blessed you, he is required to spend most of his time teaching and integrating you into your new lifestyle. He's been dividing his attention between you and Chuck, something that was considered trivial to Raphael. There were a few times when Raphael needed to step away from you when Chuck was in danger. He'd be gone for a little while and you would continue to train. Your strength, speed, stamina, and fighting have all increased because you refused to stop even when Raphael was away. "I gotta say, I'm pretty happy with how far I've come."

"What sort of hunts have you been on so far?"

"Mainly vengeful spirits," you answered, wiping your mouth. "But I did stumble upon a shifter case and met this one guy on a werewolf case. He was an asshole but a damn good hunter. He even gave me some tips after berating me about being careful," you laughed.