Hunt of the Seven Sins

Part 1: Chapter 1

The trampling of humanity was not unlike stepping over a pile of ants. Terrified masses could only watch and listen as they were told to stay calm as the skies darkened. It was deathly silence after the beasts roamed the streets, as fog swept through desolate cities and craters left from frantic resistance– a nuclear response. The legions of Hell were orchestrated by Horsemen, revered generals in the ranks of hell, and now it seemed they were resting in a bar like the lowly humans they smeared across the globe.

"I'm starting to get worried that the poison might actually take effect," said Kairus, the strategic general of Hell. He was cleaning a glass while dressed in a traditional bartender uniform that matched his long black hair and his tall, dark horns that twisted as they rose. His face was cold, sinister and eerily still, giving him a frightening presence... or that would be the case if it weren't for the other demon in the room.

"You know it can't do anything!" said Persies, the demolitionist Horseman known for his mighty displays of firepower when the demons first invaded. He was leaning back dangerously far on a seat in the dark, moody bar that they had chosen as their meeting spot, holding a nearly empty bottle of a mysterious sanguine liquid in his hand. His mouth was stretched into an unsettling but genuine smile, and his face had a hint of madness behind it. "Besides, even if I was a human, I'd already have a tolerance to it by now!" He was wearing a thin toga that seemed more befitting of a Horseman than the strange outfit Kairus had donned, and he was decorated in various jewelry across his body, including a large ancient-Egyptian necklace akin to something a Pharaoh would wear.

Kairus eyed the drinks lined at the shelves behind him and frowned as bubbles began to form inside them like they were suddenly carbonated.

"Could you stop that? I won't be a happy demon if this place is a mess when Thanatos returns."

"I need to practice before he comes back, regulate my flow before we start, y'know?" Persies laughed as he somehow leaned back further in his chair, his messy blonde hair and small red horns threatening to touch the floor.

Suddenly, the light near Persies began to distort, shimmering and twisting as if a fan blade was twirling to the left of him. Then, suddenly, a great figure appeared, wearing a black cloak and a face made of bone. The sudden pressure in the room could've almost certainly killed any normal organisms, but this dreadful presence was no bother for the Horsemen.

Kairus raised an eyebrow, "Speak of the devil."

"And he doth appear," said Thanatos, the Horseman of Death. The glasses behind Kairus shattered simultaneously and splashed liquid onto the hardwood floor as Persies shot up from his seat. Kairus grimaced at the mess behind him and sighed as Persies whined.

"Damn it all! I'm not a fan of how comfortable you've gotten with using me as a teleportation waypoint," said Persies, downing the rest of his bottle and shattering it in his hands. "Your power should be used on people you want to kill... Unless you've finally gotten sick of me?"

Thanatos chuckled and waved, "I don't plan on killing you, but I sometimes desire to cut up that tongue of yours." He glided around for a moment before he found a stool to sit on, turning so both Horsemen were in his field of vision.

"Kairus! That's an... odd outfit for a traditionalist like you to wear. Have you had a change of heart and decided to catch up with the latest fashion trends?" His skull distorted and shimmered for a moment and stopped when it resembled a grinning 50's American man, like a flawless model on a propaganda poster.

"Persies forced me," groaned Kairus. "You know I wouldn't wear something as ridiculous as this on a whim."

Persies giggled, "But I like it!"

"I think it looks decent on you," said Thanatos, looking at the floor as he tried to suppress a laugh. He regained his composure and sighed as his face returned to its skeleton form, "Alright, enough nonsense! We have important business to attend to!"

"You brought Benefactor, I hope?" asked Kairus.

"Of course," said Thanatos, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a featureless silver ring around the size of a head, which he set on the table with a thud. Kairus followed the action by taking out and placing a compass at the center of Benefactor.

"Oh, I want to see!" said Persies, waddling over to the bar and peering over Thanatos. The needle spun at random for a moment, but suddenly stopped as the compass began to vibrate.

"Northwest," said Kairus. "That will take us roughly to either Myanmar, Bhutan, Bangladesh, or Nepal. If I had to place money on it, I'd bet on Nepal. Artemis was already searching that area if I'm not mistaken."

"So we're headed to Artemis in the Himalayas?" said Thanatos.

"Sounds like it!" replied Persies. "I can't wait to see Mount Everest!"

"No objections from Kairus, it seems. Hold on, everyone." Thanatos grabbed Kairus's shoulder as Persies clung to his black cloak, then suddenly they had disappeared, replaced by a shimmering afterimage that remained for a moment as the light in the room was extinguished.