Dancing In The Void

Nikolai paced to and fro across her apartment, her hands trembling and her face aghast with fear and worry.

After the three of them were separated by the monstrous creature that attacked them, Nikolai took Uriel away from the park and to the safety of her apartment. She didn’t want to, and would have kicked and screamed her way to Constantine to make sure he was safe, but Evan insisted. In a rare turn, his words actually managed to convince her. Perhaps it was the fear that brought some new clarity to her mind, but she agreed with what he was saying. Lingering around with Uriel was too dangerous.

Evan had assured her that he’d spend all night making sure her lover was alright. She rushed home, taking a terrified, almost catatonic angel with her. They both silently watched and stared, unsure of what to do. Uriel was now curled up on the couch, her face buried in her knees and her wings wrapped around her. Nikolai held out hope, tried keeping her heart open, but as the hours stretched past midnight and into the deep dark of night, hope was beginning to grow dim.

“Where is he damn it?” She cried out.

As if her prayers were answered, at that moment there came a clacking from the hallway, and a figure walked inside her home. Alone.

“No…” She whimpered seeing just Evan walk inside.

“Okay… Okay, I searched the whole park for hours, but I swear cops and shit webbed up the place almost immediately. People were getting kicked out left and right.” He began, panting for breath as if he had been running for a while. Sweat and grime poured from his brow. “I didn’t find him. But I have good news, just as I almost got caught sneaking past some guards for the third time, I saw… it.” He said in a hurried panic. Nikolai was unsure if he was amazed or horrified.

“It?” She echoed.

“The whatever the fuck chased us, it was dead. I… think. It was lying on the ground with no head. There was blood everywhere.” He said.

“Oh my god!” Nikolai said, tears welling up in her eyes as she covered her nose and mouth.

“No! No! ITS blood. It was headless! Decapitated, gone, spouting like a geyser.”

“But how…?” Nikolai dared to ask. “Did Constantine fight it somehow?”

“I highly, highly doubt that. No, something or someone managed to kill that thing.” Evan said, his energy starting to drain.

“But… who?”

He was quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh. With it all his adrenaline and vigor vanished and he collapsed exhausted in the armchair. “I… don’t know.”

Still questing for answers Nikolai spun on her heels. Fear and distress let a strand of aggression seep through as she began questioning her guest. “Do you know? Uriel?”

The angel was quiet.

“Uriel?” Nikolai asked again, louder.

She jumped, startled and began with a soft and trembling voice. “W-what?”

“Do you know who could have killed that thing?”

“I-I have no idea.”

“Just like you didn’t have any idea this thing was after you?” Nikolai snapped back.

“I… I didn’t…” Uriel cried, hiding herself in her knees.

“Nikolai.” Evan called to her, but she ignored him.

“You said something attacked you before you found us, but you never said what, was it this? Are you lying to us?”

“NO!” Uriel shouted. “It wasn’t this! I… I didn’t know this was after me. I don’t know! I’m sorry!” She continued crying.

“What was it then?”

“NIKOLAI, that’s enough!” Evan shouted, springing from his chair. “She doesn’t know.”

Nikolai turned to him and stared for a moment. Her lip trembled and she stormed off to the kitchen. Silence filled her home except for the faucet as she grabbed herself some calming water. She stared at her sink, watching her fingers tremble as the anger and dread washed out of her. “God damn it.” She cursed. Once she felt ready, she returned to the living room where a devastated Evan tried not to look at the quietly sobbing angel. She quietly sat next to Uriel taking a deep breath, and placing a trembling hand on her wing-bone.

“I shouldn’t have burst like that. I-I’m sorry.” Nikolai said, her voice barely a whisper.

“Its… not your fault.” Uriel said, wiping away her tears.

“But its not yours either.” Nikolai said quickly. “I… I tend to be quite explosive. There’s no reason to put the blame on you just because you’re an easy target. It wasn’t right of me, I’m sorry. I just… I’m terrified.”

Uriel nodded, and she looked up with a more imposing expression. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t fear, but… when I first looked upon Constantine, I saw a great strength within him. A great willpower that pushes him forward. So wherever he might be now, I’m certain he is still alive and unharmed. And… I see that same power in you, Nikolai. A fiery zeal of unwavering faith that will give you the strength to cleave mountains asunder. The scars you bear have pushed you onward and will make you bloom into an unwilting rose…”

Nikolai instinctively looked down at her left arm, and Uriel quickly continued.

“...Not just those.” Her ethereal voice echoed with calming stability.

“Hm.” Nikolai smiled, but without heart. “Thank you for the reassurance, Uriel. I can only hope you’re right.”

About Constantine, that may be so. Nikolai thought. But once something breaks, even if it’s put back together, it can be broken once more with even greater ease.

“What about me?” Evan said, lightening the mood with a sly grin. “I’m… strong and cool too right?”

“You’re a big old dork, that's what you are.” Nikolai chuckled.

Uriel giggled. “Yeah, she’s got you all figured out.”

“You girls are gonna eat those words when I become the hero of the land.” Evan scoffed.

“In your dreams Evan. Speaking of… what do you guys say we get some sleep?” Nikolai yawned. “Running around left me exhausted. We can search more for Constantine tomorrow. Maybe he’ll pick up his damn phone?”

Now it was Uriel that placed the reassuring hand on her shoulder. She went even further, wrapping her wing around her and resting her head against her. “I’m sure we will find him tomorrow. Sleeping sounds like a great idea. We all could use the replenishing of our bodies and minds.”

At the same time, Evan had slid over from his armchair and sat next to Nikolai, giving her an equally encouraging smile. Nikolai looked back at him with understanding, and nodded.

“Thank you, both. I don’t know what I’d do if I was alone right now.” She said, struggling to hold back her tears once more.

Alilianna shoved Constantine in the backseat of her giant Cadillac the moment he put his jacket on and took his first step out of her home. It was a beast of a vehicle, black as coal and shining like a diamond. She quickly arranged her brown leather jacket and jumped behind the wheel. Moments later, Katherine finished setting some items in the trunk and sat next to her.

Unlike her, Kath was dressed ready for war. Her mother’s armor suited her well. It was a lithe and very sleek suit of armor, made out of weaving plates of dark-steel. Her legs had knee-high boots colored gray that matched the color of the scarf around her neck. A battle-skirt hugged her waist around the back and sides, leading into the central piece she wore on her body. A forward protruding ornate piece decorated with rose like vines and thorns. Lines of gold and yellow added splashes of vibrancy and light around the edges. Such designs were all the more apparent on her gauntlets, which Katherine was still strapping and adjusting to her hands. Her shoulders were adorned by asymmetric pauldrons, the left being smaller and more camouflaged in the rest of the suit, while the right was larger, bulkier, jutting forward with an oval-shaped bulwark. With her finally in the car, Alila slammed the pedal and the engine roared to life, speeding them down the road.

“Did you get your case?” She asked.

“Of course.” Kath answered immediately. “And some supplies.”

Alila looked back at her with a concerned look. “You sure?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“Good, which way, Constantine?”

“Uh, uh…” He jumped in a panic. “Down on seventeenth pass, near Starfall.”

Alila nodded, and shifted gears, swerving past traffic and other cars. Loud blaring horns could be heard in the wake of her reckless driving.

“So uh, what’s with all that armor? You look like you just got out of a movie convention.” Constantine blurted, trying to break some of the palpable silence inside the car.

Katherine’s head spun around rapidly, causing the dangling, silver ear-rings she wore to cling softly against her pauldron. Constantine looked closer at them, noticing their strange shape. It was a dangling crucifix with a sharp tip, with two spiraling serpentine helixes around it. “You’re very fond of asking stupid questions aren’t you?” She said bluntly.

“I-I mean…” He stammered. “I guess it’s what you wear, I’m just not used to seeing people in armor like that.”

“What I wear…? You remember the thing that almost killed you to shreds last night?” Katherine gave her armor a finger-flick, causing a dull metallic sting. “This thing is what keeps me from becoming shredded meat. Its impenetrable, aerodynamic, and blessed with holy seals and runes. Not even heavy gunfire can pierce this metal.”

“Well, your head is still quite vulnerable, no?” Constantine asked.

“It wouldn’t be if she wore her helmet like she should. But Katherine is a stubborn little lady.” Alila responded instead, her remark being met with an annoyed look from Katherine.

Katherine shrugged. “I don’t need it. Obscures my vision too much. And besides, they’d have to be able to hit me in the first place for that to matter.”

Alila looked in the rearview mirror, watching the realization of Katherine’s words washing over Constantine’s face. She changed the subject back to an earlier topic. “If Azazel is coming for this angel of yours Constantine, he will bring more than just one wendigo with him. We need to be prepared for anything.”

“Okay… okay, what’s the plan?” Constantine asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, short term, we get Uriel and everyone, then what?”

“Then…” Alila sighed. “We bring you all back to our home, keep you there until… further notice I suppose.”

“Your home? Why?”

“My mansion is consecrated land.” Katherine explained. “The ground it was built upon is holy and blessed. No demon or unholy creature can step foot within a mile of that house lest its soul be scoured from this world. After we get you all there… we’ll see what happens.”

“That's useful.”

Not quite as useful as it might sound… Alilianna thought to herself. The rest of the drive was driven in quiet worry. An uneasiness hung in the air, and none dared address it.

“Here! On the right.” Constantine jumped all of a sudden after a short and silent journey that still felt all too long. “Down the road, apartments on the left.”

“You see anything?”Katherine asked Alila.

“Nothing here yet. Maybe traffic saved us, its still early morning on a monday after all.” Her mother said, parking the car in front of the building while scanning the environment. “Or maybe we’re luckier and he’s not on the right trail?”

“I doubt it. Let’s go. Nikolai lives on the second floor, right Constantine?” Katherine quickly said. She jumped out of the car without waiting for an answer and immediately opened the trunk. She quickly unstrapped her right gauntlet, making it easier for her to unfold a few things with a free hand. From there, she pulled out a giant briefcase which she tossed to her mother and a cello case for herself.

“Y-yeah? How do you know where she lives…?” Constantine mumbled quietly as he also rushed out of the car.

Katherine stared blankly. She turned and walked towards the apartments. “Hurry, let’s get everyone out of here fast and not waste what little luck we have.”

A few moments later the three found themselves on top of the staircase in front of Nikolai’s apartment door.

Ding-Dong

Constantine rang on the doorbell while the two ladies stood behind him muttering to themselves. No immediate answer however.

Ding-Dong, Ding-Dong

Constantine rang the doorbell harder, starting to get a little bit worried, yet the worry quickly dissipated when he heard the rumbling of footsteps on the other side.

“Hey.” Constantine said with a dumb grin. Nikolai immediately slapped him, then jumped into his arms. She kissed and embraced him while pulling him inside. Alila exchanged a concerned glance with Katherine, but she seemed unphased.

“Where the FUCK were you?” Nikolai shouted. “I thought I was going to die without you!”

“Constantine!” Evan said, running into view. He leapt forward with joy, embracing his friend as well. “Are you alright man? We were so fucking worried!”

“Hey guys… I… I ran last night. Ran as fast as I could, just barely fucking made it out. But I’m fine!” He reassured them. “Where’s Uriel, you guys okay?”

“I am here.” She said, floating into the room. “It is good to see that you’re alright! I was so dreadfully worried.” Her voice echoed, as she wiped her eyes of any errant tears of joy.

It was at that moment that Katherine stepped forward, making her presence known at last. “I… I can’t believe it. You really are an angel. I mean, I knew about you for a long time but seeing you here and now…” Her voice was quiet, but it brimmed with wonder and awe. “Your wings are so much bigger than I imagined. We’ll have to put down the car roof.” She said, giving Alila a quick nod.

“Oh, hello. I didn’t know you brought guests.” Uriel said, smiling warmly. “Your eyes are… so wonderful.”

“What the hell?” Evan said, finally noticing who was standing in the living room. “Katherine? What the actual fuck are you doing here? And, still in your Halloween costume?”

“I really wish you’d all stop making fun of my armor…” She sighed.

“Guys… you know Katherine. Uriel, this is Katherine, a friend from school and… apparently a fucking demon hunter on the side.” Constantine introduced her. “This is her mother, Alilianna.”

“A fucking what?” Evan and Nikolai yelled at the same time.

“Yeah… she saved my ass from that thing last night.” He continued.

“Hello Katherine, Miss Alilianna, pleasure to meet you both. I am Uriel Fladium.” She cheerfully introduced herself, reaching for a handshake.

“Katherine Devilsbane.” She said, putting down her cello case and accepting Uriel’s handshake. When their hands touched however, Katherine immediately shrieked and pulled it back, to the shock of everyone in the room. The skin on her hand was seared red, fortunately it was only the fingers and the lower part of her palm. “Ah… I probably should have… figured something like that would happen.” She cursed under her breath.

“I-I’m so sorry.“ Uriel said softly, backing off and massaging her right hand.

“Are you alright?” Alila said, quickly inspecting her daughter’s wound.

“Yeah, yeah I'm fine.” She responded, pushing her aside.

“Please, come with me!” Nikolai said, rushing over and trying to drag Katherine over to the other room.

“N-Nikolai? What are you doing?” Katherine asked.

“I have experience with burns, as you might be able to tell. Please, let me bandage you up, just some quick ointments and a few gauze wraps. Please, it’s the least I can do since you apparently saved the love of my life.” She said, smiling warmly at her new-found friend.

Katherine seemed at a loss for words. But eventually she managed to let out a soft nod. “Alright, I suppose its best if it doesn’t get infected.” She said, walking over into the other room with Nikolai.

“W-why did I hurt her?” Uriel asked, looking down at her hand with worry.

“Good question, d-don’t worry about it though.” Evan reassured her. “Katherine a fucking demon hunter…? Did she kill that thing?” He asked afterwards.

Alilianna stepped forward. “There will be plenty of time to explain everything, but for now, please get dressed immediately. We have to go as soon as possible.”

“She’s right.” Constantine nodded. “Evan, listen to me, we need to get out of here like right now. There’s some bad people after Uriel, and they might be coming after us. They’re the ones that sent that damn monster last night.”

Evan nodded, but Uriel stood still with a blank, terrified expression on her face. Seeing Evan immediately spring to action without a second thought however, she followed. They rushed to the bedroom where they’d left their day clothes. Evan grabbed his and then went to the bathroom to change.

“With that out of the way… we should prepare you guys.” Alila said, slamming her briefcase on the dining table. By now, Katherine had returned, but Nikolai lingered most likely finding some clothes for herself as well.

“How’s your hand?” Constantine asked.

“Better, that ointment does wonders.” She said, putting on her gauntlet. “I guess its good to know I can't really touch her. I guess I expected as much…” She said, trying not to let the disappointment in her heart show.

She then joined Alila, opening her cello case. Katherine pulled out the jawbone showing it in its constricted form to Constantine. The handle was collapsed into itself so it could fit in the cello case, but with a flick of her wrist, the pole extended about two meters out with a loud metallic click. In that same motion, the red blade of the weapon and the pronged spike of its tip extended out as well, leaving a heart-shaped gap in the middle where the head of the weapon connected to the pole. It was a beautiful craft, and Constantine seemed mesmerized as he stared at it. Uriel and Nikolai returned at that moment, also catching a glimpse of the halberd.

“That… is a truly mighty weapon.” Uriel said, amazed. “I can tell it is wielded by an even mightier person.”

“My question is why are you swinging a giant axe in my house?” Nikolai sighed, exasperated. “You know what, I don’t care anymore. You can thrash the place.”

“Relax, this is the weapon I killed the wendigo with and saved Constantine’s life. I know how to take care of it.” Katherine said with a smirk.

“These are loaded.” Alila said. During Katherine’s display, she’d prepared a few handguns and a small submachine gun, loading them up and placing them on the coffee table. Katherine nodded and grabbed one, handing it to Nikolai.

“Uh, that’s a lot of guns ma’am.” Nikolai said, still wondering how she could still be surprised at this point. “W-what am I supposed to do with this?”

“Here, you’re both going to need one.” Alila said, handing Constantine another gun and a holster. “When the blonde comes out I'll give him one too. Have either of you used a gun before? If not it’s real simple, just point, aim and shoot. That's all there is to it, and make sure the safety’s off.”

“That… doesn’t sound all too simple.” Constantine said, looking at Nikolai with a terrified gaze.

“It might be better if you… keep these.” Nikolai said, trying to refuse her gift.

“Please. Just keep it, you never know.” Alila insisted.

“Guns! Sweet. I’ve always wanted to own a gun.” Evan said, emerging from the bathroom fresh and stylish.

“Should we give him one?” Katherine asked Constantine, concerned.

“Yes.” Alilianna answered. “The safer we are the better. Have you shot a gun before?”

“I have, actually.” Evan said, walking over to the window to inspect his new toy in better lighting. “Unlike these two.”

“Even better. Now we should-” Alila nodded, but before she could continue her thought, she was interrupted.

“Uh, guys. Sorry to interrupt but, a giant truck just parked in front of the building.” Evan said, looking down through the window.

“Shit, they’re here already.” Alila said suddenly, alive with terror. “Is everyone ready?” She asked, glancing over the room. Four heads nodded back at her. The fifth, Katherine, looked out the window with a glare of ice and steel. “Ok listen up Constantine. You, Nikolai, and Evan are going to take Uriel to our car and drive straight back to our home. The four of you, please stick together as close as you can. Keeping Uriel safe is your utmost priority. The demon that hunts you… cannot get Uriel, do you understand?” She said, her voice loud and commanding.

“I… understand.” Constantine said, speaking for everyone.

Alilianna sighed, rubbing her forehead with a hand. “You’re just some kids… you don’t deserve to be dragged into something like this. I am sorry that this is the most I can do. You must all understand that your lives are now all in grave, grave, danger. Time is precious, and now you can only trust each other.”

“Its him.” Katherine said quietly, stepping back from the window. “It’s really him. I’m going to kill him.”

“No.” Alilianna forbade. “No, they need you.”

“What?” Katherine spun around, glaring at her caretaker. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me. I know your desire for revenge goes deep, but you cannot risk the angel’s life for your vengeance.” She said, standing her ground.

“I’ve chased him for years!” Katherine shouted. “Years of my life wasted on this hunt. You cannot take this away from me!”

“This is greater than you!” Alila shouted back. “This is my final command. As your caretaker, as your… mother all these years, do me this final kindness.”

Katherine grit her teeth painfully, and her halberd trembled in her arm. A wild rage seemed to flow through her veins, and it took all her strength to subdue it. She prevailed, exhaling a hot breath of air.

“What about you, Miss Alilianna?” Uriel said, with a tinge of worry in her tone.

Alila did not answer, she merely stared at Katherine and said: “I trust you to keep your friends safe, my sweet child. Time is precious. I will buy you what little of it I can.” And with that, she opened the door of the apartment and ran down the stairs. Before anyone could say anything, she was gone. Katherine just stood in the middle of the room, with a blank expression on her face. Constantine looked around at everyone and seeing their worried, fearful expressions, sensed the need to step up.

“You heard her. We have to go now!” He said, waking everyone from their entranced states. He rushed to the door, and held it open for everyone. One by one they all poured out, until only Katherine remained. “Katherine, you coming?” Constantine asked and his voice seemed to finally get to her. She nodded, and rushed out after everyone. Constantine lingered for one final moment, his eyes glancing over Nikolai’s apartment. A strange sentiment of somber separation filled him as he closed the door and locked it for the final time.

Alilianna stepped out into the empty street. The air was cold with the chill of winter, and the clouds loomed gray above. Wisps of sunlight managed to peek through, but it was as if a malevolent force was keeping them from reaching the ground. She gripped the guns in each of her hands tightly and swallowed away the knot in her throat. Across the street she could see him.

Azazel was casually resting against the hood of a small blue ford, calmly holding a cigarette in his mouth. He didn’t yet get the chance to light it. Flanking him on either side were two giant wendigos. The beasts were all the more terrifying in the daylight, as their rotted flesh pulsed and glistened with blood, but they seemed placid. They just stood there, as if asleep. Azazel’s eyes shot up, and once they locked with hers, he smiled. His smile widened until he was full blown laughing like a maniac.

“Alright, I will admit.” He said loudly, putting his cigarette back in his box. He slowly took a few steps across the barren street. “I would have never expected to find you here Laverna… or dare I say, Huntress?”

“Glad to see you too, Demon.” Alila spat back at him.

“Demon? Is that how you greet your boss?” He shook his head. “Damn, and here I thought you actually liked me. I honestly would have expected Baal to turn on me long before you did. But I suppose that was my mistake wasn’t it? I expected and prepared for betrayal, but you can’t betray someone you were never really loyal to in the first place, huh?”

“Poor little Azazel, realizing he’s been fooled so easily.” Alilianna smirked.

Before Azazel could reply once more, something behind her seemed to distract him. She looked over her shoulder and saw everyone rushing out of the stairway, and stopping as they saw Azazel. Katherine seemed just about ready to dash with her blade ready, but Constantine’s hand stopped her. Alila shot her a pleading look, motioning towards their escape.

“Ah, just… some kids?” Azazel said with disappointment and confusion in his voice as he looked at them from afar. “The angel I’ve been looking for for a year was living with some teen brats? You fucking kidding me?”

“Go! Now!” Alila shouted. At her behest, they all obeyed, even Katherine. Soon, their car roared to life, and they sped away across the empty street.

Azazel turned back to his hounds, whispering a strange and macabre phrase. Demonic speech that seemed to awake the beasts back to life. They grunted and growled, pawing towards Azazel.

“Ashraka kuomraka. Duuur-baduur.” When Azazel finished uttering the black words, the wendigos charged. But their direction was not Alilianna herself, but the car that had just fled the scene. Their claws ripped across the asphalt, tearing chunks out of the street itself.

“Now we’re all alone. As I remember you always liked, slut.”

“You piece of shit.” Alila shouted back, and pointed her right gun at him. “Call them back!”

“Or… what?”

“Call them back you fiend, or I swear, on my name as Alilianna Devilsbane, I will gut you like a fish!” She screamed, pulling the trigger. The bullet whizzed across the air, and yet it did not hit its mark. Alila blinked.

I missed? But… he didn’t move? Her thoughts raced. Azazel was standing in the exact same place, and yet without a single step or a twitch of his body, the bullet simply passed by his temples. All it did was take a few strands of hair. The demon seemed unamused. His emerald eyes stared back at her coldly.

“Do you mind? I really hate doing this, you know.” He said, eerily calm. He lifted his arm, and drew a vertical line of blood between them.

“Damn you!” She yelled as she fired a few more times, sending a spray of bullets towards her foe, but not a single one landed. As the first bullet fired from her gun, the line spilled out into a circle with foul symbols and dark etchings on it. The bullets shot straight through the air and stopped against this dark mirror, embedding themselves in its phantom glass. She jumped back, gaining more distance to reload, but Azazel stepped forward and slammed his palm against the blood symbol from the back, causing the bullets to explode back towards their origins.

Alila barely ducked away from the gunfire, hiding behind a few random parked cars. The once peaceful Sunday morning was alight with the sound of gunfire. She retaliated with a few more waves after waves of hot lead, but no matter what angle or direction she tried, each one was met with the same fate: her own bullets being fired back against her. “Is that all you got?” She yelled out defiantly, wiping some blood from a graze in her shoulder.

“Why are you doing this Laverna?” Azazel asked.

“Are you being thick on purpose?” She called back. “I’m buying my daughter time.”

“No, not this right now, but that, what you just said. The lie… why are you still pretending like we both don’t know you’re not Alilianna Devilsbane?” The demon told her. “Come on out, put the guns away. I’m curious and just want to talk.”

Alilianna stepped out, panting as she clutched her weapons, lowering them only slightly. The demon was closer, but still on the other half of the street. “I guess that confirms it then…” She said.

“What exactly?”

“You killed her. The real Alila.”

“Aww, did her dear daughter never tell you? I could have sworn at the time I’d killed her too but, seeing that old armor really brought back memories…” Azazel chuckled to himself. “So tell me Laverna, why the charade? Protecting her from me? From the police? Trying to keep some semblance of a family life for freaks like her?”

“Quiet you.” She spat.

“You know, your adopted daughter is probably dead by now, and the angel you tried to protect is no doubt being torn to shreds by hounds as we speak.” Azazel shouted at her, walking closer to her side of the street.

“I said QUIET!” She yelled, raising her guns once more.

“Again with those stupid things. You don’t learn do you?” He said, and casually flicked his wrist. At that moment, spikes of blood erupted through Alilianna’s palms. The spikes became like horns and antlers, completely shattering the weapons and making her throw them to the ground.

“G-ghaah…” Alila winced through the pain, watching as her blood flooded back inside her palms and the wound was roughly stitched shut. “W-what the hell…” She looked at herself further, trying to find how the demon was able to use her. Her eyes noticed the small cut on her shoulder, and a shrug from Azazel confirmed as much.

“Just a small trick.” He said, showing her his crossed finger. “Last one, promise.”

“You’re… toying with me…”

“No, no… wouldn’t be the first time, but no. I’m just disappointed really. I thought the Huntress was alive somehow, hunting me all these years. To find out it was just her bratty kid and someone pretending to be my old rival Alila, it stings you know?” He smirked.

At that moment, Alilianna rushed forward, with a dagger primed in her hand. She thrust towards the demon, and missed. Undeterred, she swung again. Azazel dodged, but her attack continued. A lunge, followed by an elbow jab. Her movements were honed to perfection, practiced over countless years of grueling battles. Yet the demon was untouchable. Her aim was dead on, but his body always seemed to be just slightly out of the trajectory of her knife. His movements were unnatural, sometimes fluid and elegant, other times snappy and twitch, yet always lightning fast.

“This is more like it!” He said as he dodged again and again. “Come on, Laverna! Show me some drive, show me some FIRE within that soul of yours! You actually managed to trick me into thinking you worked for me, show me that wasn't a fluke or just me being careless.”

“SHUT! UP!” Alilianna screamed as she struck with her dagger, aiming directly for the demon’s right eye.

But the dagger was stopped. Its tip firmly pinched between the demon’s fingers like a cigarette. Sparks of black flame flickered around his fingertips, their dark power holding her back. His eyes drifted to it, then back at her. She pushed as hard as she could, her muscles trembling and straining as she put her other hand around the handle. She grit her teeth, blood pouring from her gums from sheer wild force.

The demon just stared at her, his eyes wide with bloodlust. The faded remnants of a smile lingered on his lips. “Show me Laverna. Show me the black fire of your soul.” He begged her.

She screamed, and the final spark of life flared within her eyes. One final push to overpower the demon’s strength. Her dagger slipped through his fingers and plunged directly within his right eye. Shock washed over her, the adrenaline in her body making her tremble. They both stumbled back, dazed by the successful strike.

Blood squirted outwards from Azazel’s eye, flowing down his face and staining his suit. He backed up a couple more steps, and with a trembling hand, reached up at the handle of the dagger. He clutched it, and began laughing. It was a haunting noise, a maddened chuckle that evolved into a hideous screech. At its apotheosis, Azazel yanked the knife, and with it his eyeball. Sinew and nerves still stuck to it, but Azazel ripped it all off, throwing the dagger away with it. With his stained hand, he reached inside the hole in his face and scooped out whatever entrails and chunks of fleshy tendons still remained. A river of blood poured down his face as he cackled maniacally.

“Consider me… impressed.” He wheezed.

Alila felt sick in her gut, but at that moment she realized that was as far as she could go. She wanted to turn away and run, but the demon was on her too fast. His hand clasped around her neck like a vice. He overpowered her, pushing against her body as blood dripped on her face and glasses.The two were now so close they could feel each other’s heartbeats. Alila stared at the demon in front of her, gasping for air as her hands clawed at the fingers around her throat. Azazel looked almost unscathed, except for the gaping hole in his face. Before she could say or do anything, Azazel pulled her close and kissed her square on the mouth. Then he let go. Alila stumbled back, confused and bewildered as the demons walked back away from her.

“W-what… is this?” She mumbled.

“Not only did you really fool me bitch, you managed to show me your true self, and wound me. Be proud of that.” Azazel smiled. “A soul like yours, so delicious and sweet, I can find many uses for it. When you meet Alila in hell, greet her for me, will you?” Azazel said quietly, walking away and leaving her dumbfounded. "Goodbye Laverna, I really did like you."

Alila stepped forward, but then the itch began. A slight tingling sensation in her lips. Slowly feeling more and more of her mouth and jaw growing numb. Her bruised, red lips seemed to fade into a gray shade, cracking and bursting like an ancient tombstone. Alila clawed at her mouth, trying to cease the process, but her wild twitching motions only seemed to quicken it. Blood seemed to dry from her mouth, and her gums turned to dust and ashes in her mouth. One by one her teeth began to fall away on the ground, her jaw unable to keep her mouth closed anymore as her face rotted from the inside. Her horrified wailing caused her only more and more pain and she fell to her knees in agony. The corruption spread slowly, her bones decayed, her muscles and skin atrophied, and her eyes melted from their sockets. The last remnants of life seeped out of her and she collapsed over onto the streets. All that remained was a pair of broken glasses as her soul was dragged to the depths of hell itself.