The Beginning Of An End

Chapter 19

The momentary triumph was soon interrupted by the sharp pain in my gut as I realized the wound was still open after being pierced through twice in less than ten minutes. I placed my hand over it and stumbled back down the stairs, grunting in pain. The fire was spreading too fast now, but my legs felt weak.

Belial stopped in his tracks and looked down at me, while Loki paused mid-flight. Belial quickly rushed over, attempting to pull me up. Suddenly, I felt a strong grip on my ankles. I lost my balance and was yanked down. It was the Devil himself.

In the chaos, I noticed the raven hurtling towards us, but out of nowhere, Paimon sprinted up the stairs and caught it mid-flight, slamming it against the wall. Belial then charged at Paimon, kicking him down. In a swift motion, he grabbed Loki and sprinted out of the place, leaving me with the Devil.

I ended up falling flat on my back as the Devil struck me in the face. I tried to push him off but the blood loss was getting to me and the pain was spreading through the rest of the body. He grabbed me by the hair and smashed the back of my head against the edge of the stair. Then again... then again... until my mind went black and I saw nothing nor heard anything anymore.

***

I began opening my eyes and slowly began to notice the surroundings. I was in what seemed like a basement of a basement. There were no sounds, just darkness and stone. For a second, I thought I was stuck in the void had it not been for the obvious stone floor underneath me. I began sitting up and trying to adjust my vision to the darkness and I began seeing that I was stuck in a prison. Again. However, from what I could gather from energies, I was still in Hell although in very deep parts of it. Why didn't the Devil kill me when he had the opportunity?

Nothing was hurting anymore, meaning I was laying here for several days. I began standing up and then I noticed I had something clasped around my neck. It was a chain, quite similar to the one Lucifer had in the cage. It was a deafening silence and, needless to say, it made me quite uncomfortable.

Oh, look who woke up! I heard a very familiar voice, that one being of the Devil. His voice resonated through the chamber despite the fact I only heard it in my head. Almost immediately upon hearing him, the rage within me just sprung out of nothing.

"What do you want?!" I yelled out at him. I almost believed he just didn't kill me so he could torture me for all eternity.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence after my outburst. Then, I heard footsteps approaching the prison. The sound grew louder until a figure stood before the bars, staring directly at me. It was the Devil himself, of course. His presence was imposing, and the air seemed to grow colder as he stood there, his eyes locked onto mine.

"Do you always have to have such a dramatic entrance?" I asked as I looked straight at him. He simply looked at me and smirked,

"Of course I do." He replied as he approached the bars. "I think it's incredibly hilarious how you think you have one up on me at all times." He began cackling and I furrowed my brows as I was looking at him.

"What are you talking about?" I asked because his tone didn't imply that he was joking. And considering the last memory I had was Loki's raven body smashed into the wall, I didn't feel too good about his implications.

"You think turning everyone against me will somehow work out flawlessly?" he asked, tilting his head slightly as he frowned. "You think you can play tricks with me?" He began to laugh, a sound that sent a chill down my spine. I genuinely didn't like where this was going. His laughter grew more unhinged, and I could see the madness creeping into his eyes. From behind the bars, I felt utterly powerless.