Kissing the Demon (Seoksoo)

Joshua

"I love you."

The words had barely left my lips when my phone beeped in my ear, telling me we'd been disconnected. I scowled at it in annoyance before shoving it into a pocket and stepping out of the portal. It was a good thing I didn't come down here very often. The phone service was shocking.

"I can't decide if I'm impressed that Blaise was able to outmanoeuvre us or just pissed off," Soonyoung mused as he unsheathed one of his swords.

"Pissed off," Seungcheol grunted, his mood as dark as the armour he'd thrown on when we raided the arsenal of weaponry hidden beneath his club. We were all prepared for battle. We kept a small selection of clothes at the club for situations like this, black and easy to move in.

In other words, boring as fuck.

"You're just annoyed that they evaded your tracking skills," Soonyoung teased. "First Kerine, then Blaise. You're definitely losing your touch."

"Now is not the time," Vernon barked before the two could go at it.

"Vernon's right," I added, as much as it irritated me to do so. "We need to find where they've opened this portal and close it—fast."

The only thing working in our favour was the fact that the mages couldn't cross over into Hell themselves. The plan was to find the portal and for myself and Soonyoung to slip through and take care of the mages once and for all. Vernon and Seungcheol would close the portal before returning topside to aid us.

Not that we would need any, but hey, they were the older siblings. We had to at least pretend they were necessary to our success.

The nothingness of the first circle washed over me, and I suppressed a shudder. You'd think that this being my birthplace and all, it wouldn't affect me so much, but nope. Being back here was a reminder of the suffocating misery we'd endured for so long, not knowing there was anything better for us. I mean, sure, I'd enjoyed torturing the bad guys and whatnot...but not even that could compare to the happiness I'd found with Seokmin.

Which was a sentence I literally never thought I'd say.

The desolate wasteland that was limbo stretched out for miles on either side of us, but there was no sign of another portal. No screaming hordes of demons rushing through either, clamouring for fresh souls to harvest.

"It'd make sense for them to open it nearer the river Styx," Vernon said as he scrutinised the horizon. "It'd be easier for the lower demons to get through from there."

"Agreed," Seungcheol said as his wings snapped from his back.

I sighed, letting mine do the same. "Fabulous. Looks like we get to go and visit my favourite person."

"I don't know what you did to piss him off so much," Soonyoung commented as we shot into the air as one. "He's never been anything other than cordial with me."

I didn't respond as I turned my wings toward the leaping and hissing flames of the river surrounding the main circles of Hell. I was too busy burrowing into my power, readying myself for what was to come. I'd gone for minimal weaponry, planning to rely on the other skills at my disposal. I'd made the exception for my daggers. Blaise deserved a personal and up-close ending.

It wasn't long before the lone figure of Ferryman appeared on the riverbanks. His raft was secured to a pole beside him. It always confused me how it appeared so still. You'd think the fiery waves would be tossing it around, but it was held steady, no doubt by Ferry's power.

He straightened at our approach, lifting his scythe from its resting place beside him and casually leaning on it. His face was covered by his hood as usual, but nothing about his stance suggested he was concerned about an imminent apocalypse.