Dead Moon Chapel | ✔️

ten

ABEL WAS ON HIS FEET in an instant, holding the Bible out like a shield. His eyes were as wide as saucers, wet with tears, and the red mass in front of him was starting to take shape. His forehead burned as his vision refined, gradually offering him a clearer image of the beast. Abel didn't bother to pay any mind to what was happening to him, though, when a blessed demon was in his bedroom.

This was the second one to get into the Chapel in a month.

"How did you get in here?" he demanded, but it was hard to sound threatening when his voice was this uneven. "I'm an exorcist, if you don't leave, I'll-"

"You seem like you're a lot more than an exorcist," said the demon. His voice was deep and brash, and every word resonated in Abel's chest.

Abel gave him a face, and the demon made a vague gesture at his head.

His hand shot up instinctively, ramming right into his own eye. The one above his eyebrow. Where eyes normally were not.

"Ow." He blinked furiously to soothe the pain, then thrust the Bible closer. "Now. Answer my question. What are you doing here and how did you get in?"

The demon shrugged, deeply unimpressed as he eyed the book. "I got curious about if I could, and then I tried, and uh... here I am."

Many things about this monster looked hellish without a doubt. His skin was scarlet red and covered in black tattoos, symbols Abel could only assume to be demonic in nature. Thick horns curled around his long, pointed ears like a ram, and the tips of his fingers were adorned by jagged claws. He could see sharp, yellowed teeth whenever the monster spoke, and his eyes were black like endless voids. This was a beast, a creature of evil, there was no doubt about it.

But there was something so oddly human about the way he carried himself.

"Did my beauty render you speechless, angel?"

"Don't call me that," Abel snapped.

"Have you been crying? Your eyes are as red as I am."

Abel bit his cheek. "That's not your business."

The demon brandished something from his pocket. Abel flinched before he realized it was only a small white cloth. "Tissue?"

He softened, but didn't let down his guard so easily. "I'd be a fool to trust an offering from a demon, lest I be tricked into a deal."

A snort. "You learn that from your little priest classes? C'mon, angel, I gotta wipe my nose, too. That's all this is."

Abel looked from the white cloth, then up to his face and back again. Perhaps it would work in his favor not to have a face full of dry tears and snot when attempting to threaten a demon. He swiped it from him in a flash like a stray cat might swipe a piece of meat from a stranger attempting to befriend it. Was that what this demon was trying to do? Be his friend?

Unlikely.

"You're a fool to deliberately enter the grounds of the Chapel," Abel said after wiping up his face. "One prayer and you're back to Hell where you came from."

"Hey, relax, I'm not here to hurt anybody," the demon replied, holding up his large hands in defense. Every part of him was large. "I couldn't help but pick up on your little, uh, predicament, though. If I may-"

"No you may not."

"I think I can help you."

Abel paused. His jaw tightened. "Why would I ever agree to that?"

"You want to be rid of this, don't you? Of whatever... holiness... you've been bestowed with?"

"If God wills this power to be removed from me, He will release me Himself."