Confusing Hell

Aries woke up from a long dream that eventually ended in a nightmare. He squinted as strong light from an open window overwhelmed his eyes.

It took a minute or two for his sight to adjust against the daylight. He took a quick scan of his surroundings and realized that he was in a room that appeared somewhat old-fashioned like it was part of an ancient structure.

Red draperies were tied neatly at the wooden vertical columns on each corner of the bed. Another set of curtains, white in color, was hanging on each side of the open window. The armor he had worn before he fainted had been polished and placed over the table next to the bed. Though he had no interest in the crimson sword he had wielded, he found himself wondering where it had been placed. He could not find it anywhere in the room.

He shook his head and stopped looking for the crimson blade. He should be looking for a better set of clothes. He could not wander outside wearing only red silk pants and his torso was covered with bandages. He also felt a patch of bandages as he touched the back of his head that was slightly throbbing.

Horns!

He looked up and touched the side of his forehead. He was grateful that there were no more horns sticking out of there. As he put his hand down, it brushed on a silky smooth hair. Aries realized only then that his black and clean-cut hair had become brownish red and was long enough to fall neatly past his shoulders and onto his waist. He had never let his hair grow past the back of his neck or put any color on it. Long and colored hair would stand out and an assassin like him should always blend with the crowd and the shadows. But now that his hair was long enough to touch his waist and nearly glowing with the crimson color, it was strange that he was not the least bothered.

He also noticed that the scars in his body seemed to change position and multiply.

Though he felt like himself and his appearance was not giving him any inconvenience, his body was still a little strange to his senses as if someone else had owned it. He quietly moved out of the bed and looked for a mirror. He found one inside the bathroom just within that chamber.

He gazed at his reflection with more confusion. His face looked the same, but his pupils became crimson in color. He was not wearing contact lenses. He would notice it immediately because he hated wearing those things.

He glanced at the bathtub that looked similar to the one he was using at his house. There were faucets around it but no shower. A large bucket filled with water was standing between the tub and the toilet.

He opened the faucet that releases warm water and filled the tub. He was removing his bandages when he heard Pieffer calling his name.

"Aries?"

He suddenly stopped removing his bandages, closed the faucet, and rushed out of the bathroom.

"Pieffer?"

The woman pacing restlessly around the room was the Pieffer he had seen before he fainted. She was wearing the same dress, but it had been cleaned of blood and dirt.

"Aries…" she whispered his name with profound longing in her eyes.

Aries felt a throbbing pain in his chest for he had the same yearning. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her.

But what if she is only an illusion? What if Hell is only playing with my memories? What if…

Aries shook his head and shove his worries away. 

If Hell was being generous enough to give him the deepest desire of his heart, he should stop asking and just embrace what was in front of him.

He took Pieffer in his arms and kissed her but the latter quickly leaned away and missed the lips of the former.

"Aries, I am truly joyful that you are finally here with us. Please, don't misunderstand," Princess Pieffer lightly pulled away from his grip but she did not let go of his hands. "I want to tell you a lot of things but we have an emergency."

"Emergency?"

Pieffer winced in pain and her knees buckled. She would have collapsed on the floor if Aries did not catch him.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Aries checked her up from head to feet but he did not see any wound.

"We cannot waste any more time," Pieffer weakly muttered.

With a trembling hand, she pulled a bracelet from the pocket of her overcoat. It had a pendant that was shaped like the head of a lion.

"Let's go," but before Pieffer could make another move, Aries pulled away from her grasp.

"Where are you going in that condition? You look like you are about to faint. Let's go there after you get some rest."

Pieffer grabbed his hand and begged, "Aries, please. Time is running out. We need to hurry. Sunrei is in danger. We need to save him."

"Why will I save him? He killed us," Aries tried to pull away from her grip but could not. She was using it at him again. For someone who looked like she was about to faint at any moment, her strange ability to weaken him by her touch was still surprisingly effective.

"We will talk later," Pieffer promised. "Right now, saving my brother is our top priority. I hate to admit it but… I cannot do it alone. I need your help, Aries. And whether you like it or not, you will help me," she tossed the bracelet on the carpeted floor and smashed the pendant with her silver boots.

As soon as the ornament shattered, it emitted a blinding light that swallowed everything around him. The moment it vanished, Aries found himself inside a dimly lit room without any furniture aside from a single-sized bed and a bedside table with a glowing lamp over it.

Dread and confusion filled his chest when he glanced at the wall. Pieffer and Sunrei were pinned in there by knives on each of their shoulders. Their feet were a few inches above the wooden floor. Blood oozed from their wounds and drenched their overcoats. Both were unconscious but not dead.

"Don't worry. You will die before they do," another armored demon attacked Aries.

It certainly was a different enemy, but Aries could still sense a huge similarity with that person and their previous foe. The armor had changed. The build was smaller, but the axe was the same and even the movements were alike.

Because of that, Aries had easily predicted the next move of his opponent. He dodged the axe effortlessly then at the moment he closed his right hand into a fist, a crimson claymore had materialized on it. 

Though mesmerized by the magical sword in his hand, Aries still managed to slash it swiftly at the right arm of his enemy. The crimson blade pierced into the armor and made the opponent bleed.

The armored foe was already bleeding before Aries attacked. Pieffer and Sunrei must have fought hard before the enemy managed to pin them against the wall.

Aries stared at Pieffer with bewilderment. She definitely brought him in that place. But how could a person pinned firmly on a wall be at a different place?

Can Pieffer multiply herself?

Aries terribly wanted to know the answer but he had to push that thought aside and focus on the armored enemy that was relentlessly attacking him. He had to finish that fight first. But he had to be careful.

When the axe grazed his left arm, Aries realized that he had been pulled into that place with only bandages on his torso and sleeping pants over his legs. He would instantly die for the second time if that huge axe hit his chest.

While worrying about his nearly naked body, Aries sensed something warm rising from within him. His crimson blade had glowed and horns protruded from both sides of his forehead.

It must be because of the horns that his senses had greatly sharpened. He could see the enemy moving at a slower speed. Deflecting attacks had been easier and he was able to slash his sword repeatedly against the opponent until he shattered the armor and stabbed the foe right through the heart.

"If you are that happy to die in my hands, I will gladly stab you to death every time you come back," Aries flashed a deadly smile as the enemy dropped dead on the cemented floor. And like the last time, a black smoke seeped out of its mouth and floated out of the house.

Aries slashed it with his sword, but the smoke was not vanquished. It only continued to soar out of the open window.

"I will kill you next time!" he promised to the drifting smoke before rushing towards Pieffer.

He carefully pulled the knives from her shoulders and caught her in his arms. Her shoulders were bleeding profusely and Aries had to put her down first. He ripped a part of his pants and tightly wrapped it over the wounds of Pieffer.

"Aries…"

Sunrei opened his eyes and weakly pointed a weapon in his direction.

"Look at yourself," Aries laughed. "Do you think you can kill me?"

Sunrei, though in great pain and struggling to keep his aim steady, had finally hurled his silver sword. 

Aries only looked at the blade. There was no need for him to dodge. He already noticed that the trajectory of the sword was already off. It flew past his left horn and hit something metallic not far from behind him. He quickly turned around and saw that the door had been opened. 

Another armored man was standing at the entrance. His forehead had been struck by the sword that Sunrei had thrown. The same silver blade had shattered the cutting edge of a dagger that was tossed towards Aries. 

As the armored man and the broken pieces of the dagger dropped on the floor, Aries was enraged.

"Stop pretending that you care!" he turned away from the drifting black smoke and glared angrily at Sunrei. "What you did to us… I will never forget it!!! I will never forgive you!!!"

Aries raised his weapon but before he could pierce the heart of Sunrei, his blade had been seized by the bare hands of Pieffer. She was still pale and weak yet she was holding the blade as firmly as she could.

"Aries… please… hear us… out…" her pleading was almost in a whisper.

Aries terribly wanted to kill Sunrei that his grip on the hilt of his crimson claymore trembled with fury. 

Right at that moment, he was remembering how Sunrei destroyed their lives.

Hell! If you really want to be generous, Sunrei should not be in here!

That ruthless assassin should have his own Hell to live in!

The worst thing in remembering the night of his demise was not Sunrei stabbing him to death. 

It was recalling his own cowardice that was making him awfully mad.

Maybe Hell never wanted to be generous right from the start.

Seeing Pieffer and Sunrei in that Hell was all part of his punishment.

Aries laughed to himself.

What was I thinking? A happy ever after in Hell?

He shook his head, closed his eyes, let out a disappointed sigh, and then finally lowered his sword.

"Thank you…" Pieffer weakly smiled before fainting.

Aries caught her and placed her carefully over his left shoulder. 

He glanced at Sunrei and before freeing his enemy from the wall, he firmly stated, "I am doing this for your sister." 

"I know…" Sunrei feebly nodded.

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