『 I Won't Run Anymore』

Part 37 - Final

My screech echoed around the empty space, a sound so inhuman reaching my ears as it reverberated from my lungs and pierced the blackness... it literally pierced it. I breathed heavily from the mass amount of oxygen I had just used up, my vision turning slightly white... no... it was a white light cracking through the dark, splintering out along the walls and floors until it looked like a marble effect all around. One short breath was all it took for the dark room to shatter like glass in silence, the world around me distorting into the one I had left moments ago... or what would have seemed to be moments until I noticed the lack of energy and people. The porcelain ground had been painted red, body parts decorating the landscape in a gory victory as I swallowed hard, forcing down the bile that had threatened to lurch from my stomach... things like this are only ever seen in video games or TV shows... but the strong stench of iron promised me otherwise, the drips of ruby falling from higher scales of the building proving their realistic nature... What happened? I couldn't have been gone any longer than 5 minutes...

"Alice."

I pivoted my body around the face the blonde demon whom stood with a soldier air about him, my body relaxing upon his familiar appearance and lack of bloodstains.

"Lucifer, what happened here?"

"We won."

I swallowed down the frog in my throat, trying to remove the images of the blood caked ground behind me as I focused on his light eyes instead, trying to muster up courage to speak as if I wasn't revolted by what I had just witnessed. I clenched my shaking fists, standing tall as a trail of sweat running down my spine reminded me of how afraid I actually was.

"I can see that, but what happened?"

A gentle smile crossed his face as he lifted a metal box into my line of sight. I didn't get chance to take in much of its details, other than noticing it was the one he was holding earlier before it disintegrated into rust and dust before my eyes, falling between his fingers and away with the wind whilst heavier clumps fell gently to the floor.

"That was an amplifier. I had it made to increase out demonic abilities to what it would be in Gehenna. The people we faced were powerful and close to the level of Paladin, clearly higher class."

"But I don't understand... why send higher class after me? I'm weak and-"

"The Vatican knew that you were under Samael's protection, as well as my own and Amaimon's. So to face 3 demon kings the old woman knew she'd need a powerful martyr to confront not only you but us as well. She thought ahead knowing we weren't as powerful here and got us at a time we were separated; I must give her credit for that."

It was as if he read my mind. I bit my lip and turned my gaze to Mephisto who was walking over toward us, appearing as if nothing had happened at all.

"Ah~ A good exercise if I do say so myself!~ Fear not Belle, the Vatican will be getting a strongly worded complaint about Mrs. Takanaka's behaviour and I assure you that this will get you off the hook. It all worked out in the end. Hahaha!~"

The man laughed flamboyantly with a thrown back head as I smiled sadly. I guess they really didn't need me after all... not that I'd be able to do much...

"But Belle, how did you get out?"

I tilted my head at the male as his own shifted to look at me from a sideways glance, a dark smirk dancing across his face.

"It appears your true self has awakened. No mere mortal could have broken through my dimension as easily as you did."

Easily? That wasn't easy... I nearly tore my own mind apart! The man laughed once more before taking a step forward with a finger rose in accusation.