At the Brink of Insanity

Chapter 18: Red sapphire

"Wake up. It was just a bad dream." said Beelzebub while shaking Dante.

The boy fell asleep in an empty bathtub. He didn't like crowds, especially sleeping in the same roomwith a lot of people. That's why the boy decided to let others sleep there, while he would sleep in the bathtub. "I'll sleep and think better there.", the boy said to his friends, but in reality he alone knew he wouldn't get much sleep. Not that he slept much anyway. 

"What are you doing here?" asked the sleepy boy drenched in sweat.

"Just visiting you guys... Honestly, are you really trying to become the next Raskolnikov? First killing with an axe and now nightmares? You're a strange kid..." whispered Beelzebub.

"You're trying to tell me all of it was just a dream?" asked the white haired kid, while thinking how Beelzebub's just trying to toy with him. If that was just a dream, then it felt too real. He had many ghoulish dreams before, but none of them were like this one. The fact that he had such dream could mean something. 

But, Dante for sure knew it wasn't because of the current situation. If it were so, he would have had these kinds of dreams before, when Kim died, which only pointed to one possibility. He might have dreamed of future. His nightmare might come true and that guy, whoever he was, could kill Dane, Elsa and Sam. Which also meant Dante had to do something in order to stop it from happening.  

Looking around the bathroom for a whole minute, he moved his eyes to the edge of the bathtub where Beelzebub sat. He had changed his clothes. He wore blue ripped jeans, a white T-shirt and a light green and yellow hoodie. It looked good on him, made him look less intimidating and friendlier. Dante lifted his gaze up and looked at Beelzebub's eyes. To anyone else, everything would seem alright, but for Dante, it was a different story. There was something sad in the eyes of the prince of Hell. It almost looked as if he himself was suffering.

"You almost fooled me..." said the red eyed kid, "But you're a bad liar." 

And thus, silence settled in. It was that kind of silence where words aren't needed. Seconds passed, minutes... No one from the two men moved. Dante didn't know where he would go even if he got up and Beelzebub didn't feel like going anywhere either. A thought of asking some questions passed through Dante's brain, but it was gone just as it came. A thought of giving some answers passed through Beelzebub's brain, but it was gone just as it came. 

Reaching into his pocket, Beelzebub pulled a metallic pendant. It was an ornate amulet with a red sapphire in the middle. The pendant had words of an ancient language written into it, words no human could read. 

Dante's eyes widened at the sight of the familiar necklace, instantly reaching into his pocket to check if this one belonged to Beelzebub.

"You dropped it in that ruckus." replied Beelzebub while returning the pendant back to its owner, "It was your mother's, right?"

Nodding, Dante took his belonging back, deciding to keep the necklace around his neck. He wouldn't lose it that way. It was too precious for him.

"Have you known my mother?" asked the red eyed kid. 

"I don't have the slightest idea who your mother is to be honest. Maybe I knew her, maybe I didn't. Either way, I can't guarantee. I'm terrible with names." replied the demon. 

Thinking how now's the time to ask questions, and thinking now's the time to give answers, Dante started asking his question at the same time Beelzebub decided to give him some answers, making them interrupt one another. They both shut their mouth, letting silence befall them once more.

"How did I do it?" Dante lifted his eyes to stare at Beelzebub's. The question of how he stopped a prince from Hell lingered in his mind from yesterday. Someone as weak as him should have never been able to pull such a stunt and still be alive, and yet, here he is, alive and well while three of his friends died. 

"It's that pendant of yours." replied Beelzebub lightly, still whispering, "In Hell, such pendant is usually passed from parents to children when they come of age. Depending on the element of parents, the color will vary, but the purpose of these pendants is to give slight push to young demons in order for them to fully mature."

"I'm no demon." said Dante. "And I know none of my parents were either."

"If you weren't, it wouldn't have any effect on you. Yet, you were able to stop Mammon." replied Beelzebub, eyeing the shocked kid. "Your father was no demon or I'd notice, so it must be your mother. And by the looks of it, she was a fire demon."

"No!" growled the white haired boy, "I won't let you play your games with me. This conversation is over." He got up in order to go as far he could from Beelzebub. Beelzebub had told him to sit down. An order Dante never intended to listen. A strong pressure, an attractive force, made Dante forcefully sit back in the bathtub. A pressure he never knew before existed. And such a pressure, such a force, was under command of one man's voice. 

"I told you to sit, didn't I?" asked Beelzebub calmly. "We aren't done with this yet."

Making himself comfortable in the bathtub once more, Dante waited for the prince to get the conversation going again. He didn't want to interrupt him because he didn't know how he'd react. As far as he knew, princes of Hell could have constant mood swings, and getting Beelzebub angry wasn't something he wanted to do.

"To be honest with you, I myself am so confused with this class of yours. You have many unique personalities and many unique individuals. We haven't crossed a class like yours in years."

"You're talking about Iris, right?" asked the young boy, raising his eyebrow. 

"I'm talking about her, Dane, William and you. For now, you guys have been the most interesting out of the group." replied Beelzebub, a small smile appearing on his lips, his gaze never leaving Dante's.

"Do you smoke?" asked the prince of Hell while taking a cigarette and lighting it. Dante shook his head no so Beelzebub returned the cigars in his pocket. They sat in silence for some time, Dante looking around the bathroom again and Beelzebub letting out blows of smoke.

"I thought only one person dies per day, yet four of my classmates died in the same night, all within an hour of time... Is that a new rule?" asked the red eyed kid, "There's no limit to how many of us die in a single day?"

Blowing another smoke, Beelzebub answered, "You guys passed the first level, didn't you? You can't expect the same rules." 

Dante's voice, instead as a confident shout, came out as a mumbled whisper, "I think you guys forgot the rules you once made yourself." Seeing how Beelzebub's watching his every move, he continued, "We're the first class in 50 years that has passed the first level. Even if you made the rules when the game started, you forgot it with time since there was no need for them."

Beelzebub's lips shot upwards, "See what I meant? You might think differently, but you are indeed interesting." Rising himself, he blew another smoke and looked at the kid, "I'll give you a piece of advice. If you want to solve this game, or at least reach the final boss, accept the fact who you truly are. Same goes for Iris too."

Catching the sleeve of Beelzebub's hoodie before he could disappear, Dante shot him the most hateful and heated look he ever gave to a person. "I'm not like you. I'm not a demon. I'll solve this riddle and avenge my friends. I'll kill each and every one of you!"

Placing his hand on the kid's white hair, Beelzebub gave him a warm, sincere broad smile. A smile reserved for someone you respect and cherish but also find entertaining. "Best of luck with that!", said Beelzebub before disappearing, leaving a young boy stunned by his actions. 

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Hello! It's me :D

This was one of the best chapters to write tbh. I really enjoyed writing it and I hope I made it seem realistic. Thank you for reading  this chapter and leave a comment of what you think! :)

Have a nice day/night,

Hugh