I Was a Twenty-Something Demon Girl

Chapter 2

 When we stepped out of the elevator, we saw not the fiery wasteland we expected, but instead a sprawling city, similar to Las Vegas with the lights and bustling streets. Skyscrapers towered higher than the clouds, the sky colored orange like a permanent sunset. Rather than cars filling the streets, people simply walked everywhere. A select few, even, had wings and were flying about. It was beautiful, really. It felt like the lollipop after a doctor's visit. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. After everything that we had gone through, it was a relief to see a familiar sight in a foreign world. We took some time to take it all in and appreciate the second chance we were given, and after a minute or so we heard the distinct sound of wings flapping and a slight breeze picked up around us. We looked up to see a skinny blonde man about our age with huge bat-like wings levitating above us. "You're Ruby and Emerald Laurel, right?" His voice was surprisingly deep and loud for how little he looked.

Ruby spoke up in response: "Yeah...How do you know that?"

"I'm here to give you two the tour of the place and then I'll take you to see the bossman," he said. "I'm Paul, by the way. If you could leave me a review on Yelp when we're done, that'd be super cool."

"They have Yelp down here?" Ruby asked, seemingly dumbfounded at the idea that the advanced industrial city had access to modern technology. She...was never the brightest. Yet, she still managed to get better grades than me. I suppose being smart and being wise are two different things, after all.

Anyway, that question sparked a hearty laugh from Paul which sounded remarkably like Santa Claus in the most cliché way possible. "Of course we do, silly!" Holy shit, he's gay! "We have everything the mortal world has, it's not like we forgot! We've even got a bit of magic, too. You'll get time to explore that stuff later, though."

As we followed him around town, he gave us the low-down on what the Second World is like. The politics, the world, the big names. He explained to us that "divine beings" like Devil and Zeus and Thor are all titles. In actuality, they've been different people throughout history, occasionally being replaced here and there depending on whether somebody wants to take the name for themselves. Of course, some of the titles come with benefits, but for the most part these "gods" were just some people who were strong enough to take charge.

This was all quite fascinating in retrospect, however at the time I was much more interested in the city we were being guided through. Not a car in sight, just people walking or flying to their destinations. Everyone seemed moderately friendly at least. In fact, it was the first time, I think, that I'd walked through a city without feeling like someone was looking at me. Everyone either kept to themselves or was otherwise polite and friendly to passersby. It was surprisingly refreshing, for being Hell. After what must have been at least an hour, maybe even two, we finally arrived at a building that looked remarkably similar to Buckingham Palace, which clashed rather violently with the otherwise very American-looking city around it. Outside the gates were several people with red skin, horns, wings, tails, the whole nine yards. They wore tuxedos and wielded spears that looked like they were made of solid gold. Clearly, this was our destination.

"Here we are!" Paul exclaimed, "This is the home of the one and only, Satan himself! Let's head inside and we can get you two set up with your horns and your wings."

I finally spoke up when I heard 'wings'. "You mean we'll actually be able to fly?" I was trying to contain my excitement, but I don't think I was doing a good job.

"Yup! All recruits to the Demon Corps are outfitted with horns to identify yourselves, and wings for ease of travel."

"Will we get cool spears like those guards?"

"No, not yet. You'll get to choose a weapon for yourself if you prove you're capable later."

Damn. It was worth a try. I was willing to settle for wings, anyway.