What is Death?

Anywhere but Here

Chapter 19

He felt as if he was being torn in two and as if his flesh was being seared away from his bones. His whole body was burning, being engulfed by flames – at least that’s what it felt like.

He opened his eyes blinking through the blood that had been running from them. Stein lifted his hands to his face smearing the blood away from his equally red eyes so that he could see the damage that had been done.

“Damn it!” he cursed. His skin actually seemed to be sizzling. Especially around the area he had been hit. There, where the light had blasted through him, the skin was a sickly sight.

Pieces of his shirt had been burned away, and although his skin was still perfectly pale, his veins showed through his skin. Charred black as if they had been burnt to a crisp by the angel’s light.

Stein tried to pick himself up, but failed. Shortly after returning to his body he had collapsed an lay there for what felt like hours. All his strength was gone. Burned out of him lie a candle down to the last drop of wax. He closed his eyes again. It was better to feel the pain in darkness then to be forced to see the mundane room of a human. Not much better though. He thought to himself. No Stein would much rather be back in the Otherworld. Healing properly and whole.

It was too much of a risk though. He’d already been there once before, and the demon lords didn’t take lightly to disobedience. He was proof of that. Stein wondered what would happen to him if he did go home and was found out. It couldn’t be any worse than being forced to be a human. For a moment he really did consider going home, but then he thought of Anstice and her guardian angel.

It brought forth a burst of anger. Never before had he been beaten by such weaklings. I should have killed her sooner. The thought haunted him. He wanted to make her suffer, wanted to see the look of total despair on her face as he cut notch after notch into her flesh. She still might die. He thought. And then what? Gabriel will just come to take her soul away since she no longer has the ability to resurrect herself. If that happened he would never get a chance at her again. Gabriel would probably lock her up in a heavenly storage room or something of the sort. Stein frowned. This was not at all how he had planned it.

The task had been simple. Get the soul of resurrection then bring it back. if he did that his charges were dropped and he’d be allowed to return home and keep his demonic powers. So what had gone so wrong? That guardian angel got in the way! He should have focused on killing her first, then once she was gone Anstice would have had no one to protect her and she would have been easy prey. It was all because he underestimated her powers that he was in this state in the first place. It wasn’t even the first time this had happened, and at least the first attack was weak compared to this. He should have known better.

Stein wanted to cry out in frustration, but couldn’t seeing as all his strength seemed to be draining from his body, like a faucet not completely shut off and left at a slow continuous drip. Stein wasn’t sure how much longer his strength would actually hold out, and in the meantime the soul he was should have collected was moving further and further from his grasp. What a terrible way for me to end my existence. He thought he felt a cold shadow pass over him, so opening his eyes he was astonished. Leaning over his body and completely obscuring his view from anything else was the last thing he would expect to see.

A sudden indescribable terror washed over his body. This was not possible, none the least plausible. Addonexus was just there standing over Stein as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do.

“Why hello Mephistopheles.” He greeted Stein with a smile, although it looked more like a sneer.

“It’s Stein.” He managed to croak out. Though it was barely above a whisper, Addonexus still managed to hear him quite clearly.