8 Problems

Everette.

"All right, try it one more time." I point out, mustering all the patience I can reach.

"I can't do it, just give up." she shrugs.

"Try, damn it!" I yell in frustration.

Well, there goes my patience...

"Don't talk to me like that!" she shrieks indignantly.

"Damn it, calm down." Asmodeus rolls his eyes in exasperation. "As much as I hate to admit it, Everette is right, beautiful, you need to learn to shape-shift."

"I don't see why that's necessary." she mutters like a spoiled brat.

"Listen, every demon must be able to alter its physical form, it's the most basic thing for us. I ask you to try, if you don't make an effort to advance, your existence in hell will be much more tormenting than you can imagine." I threaten with a sweet smile.

She looks down and sighs.

I admit that when I am too hard on her, I feel a slight pang of remorse. But then I remember that she's a total worthless and it passes.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to return to my original form..." she admits quietly.

I chuckle under my breath and raise my eyebrow with a haughty expression.

"I promise that if that happens, I will laugh non-stop, but then I will help you." I assure her.

She breathes out in surrender but I see her closing her eyes and concentrating.

Asmodeus and I step back expectantly. In their first attempt at transformation, demons can become huge, almost uncontrollable beasts, they feel the power of darkness sweep over their entire being, it is such an exorbitant sensation that they hardly want to return to their original form.

Together with Asmodeus, we have dedicated ourselves to control them. That is why we are prepared for anything, a three-headed snake, a wolf with a tail of fire, the worst of the worst.

Aisha opens her eyes and their blue is replaced by an intense red. Her smile turns dark, so I smile in pleasure. Darkness can consume you too, I love that.

A large cloud of mist begins to surround her until she disappears from my field of vision, a breeze ruffles my hair and I see

Asmodeus beside me, watching everything in fascination. The huge silhouette of a beast with fangs appears in the mist, I walk towards it and immediately disappears with the wind, my friend walks behind me nervously, making me roll my eyes.

We're demons you idiot, don't act like that.

When the picture is completely clear, I look for Aisha with my eyes.

"It can't be..." Asmodeu's voice makes me hope for the best.

What is it? I hope it has huge fangs, I love huge fangs. Once my eyes hit her, I let my breath out suddenly.

"Are you serious?" I ask.

"You must admit it's quite imposing..." Asmodeo defends.

"It's not!" I blurt out indignantly.

"It could bite someone." he assures me.

"It's a rabbit." I put my fingers in my forehead. I snort and bend down to her height. "Of all the animals, of all the beasts, you chose to be a rabbit."

She lowers her white ears and hops up to my foot.

"Brother, she's adorable." Asmodeus grimaces. "Ask her to change before I want to torture her until she bleeds to death. She will not die but I assure you it will be very painful."

I myself transform her back to her original self and she watches me nervously.

"I told you I wouldn't make it." her pitying grimace makes me roll my eyes.

"You will make it, eventually." I promise her.

"You'll get mad every time I fail." she looks down, self-conscious.

I move closer to her and take her chin so that her gaze connects with mine.

"No matter how upset I am with you, I will never leave you alone." I say without thinking.

I blink in a daze and let go of her suddenly as I take a step backwards. Asmodeus looks at me in fright.

"Are you all right?" he asks uncertainly.

I sigh and nod.

"I told you I can't help it, especially when she has that helpless puppy dog look." I glare at her. "You have to stop being such a wimp."

"Do you think I don't try?" she reproaches me. "For some stupid reason that I don't understand, every time you get mad at me, my chest burns."

I swallow dryly.

Damn, I never thought that mark would be so strong, she doesn't help me at all. She acts like everything about me is repulsive, but deep down, my mark is too connected to her.

The appearance of two specters startles her and my friend laughs softly due her reaction.

"Master Everette, the great Lucifer has returned and requests your presence and the presence of the Great Asmodeus." they warn me and then fade away.

"Is Devil back?" my friend asks.

"Apparently." I shrug my shoulders. "I'll drop you off at home and then I'll go see my father." I indicate, looking at Aisha.

"Will you be back soon?" she asks anxiously.

I nod wordlessly, it's not like I can spend much time away from her.

That damn mark, I loathe it.

(...)

I am surprised that my father is in the great temple of darkness, a huge palace used only for the meetings of the greatest demons of hell. Asmodeus walks beside me, equally confused. I am more than sure that under my supervision, everything in hell was as theatrical as expected, so I cannot conclude on their purpose for having us here.

We enter the large meeting room, just as my suspicions that something really bad is going on are confirmed.

The first one that catches my attention is Ammon, who is the demon of the outside and violence, next to him is Lilith, the one already known as the specter of the night.

Azael, standard bearer of the armies of darkness, also known as the messenger demon and great master of sorcery, observes me and bows his head slightly as a sign of respect. There is also Belfegor, demon of laziness who represents witchcraft in the human world.

Asmodeus stands in his place, as superintendent of the great gambling house of hell, also responsible for incest and pacts with humans in exchange for their souls, is also known as a destructive demon.

A little further in the background I see Astarot, general treasurer of hell and the master of possession, his bad smell floods my nostrils and I concentrate on keeping my composure. Finally, my vision comes upon the last one present, Balcebu, lord of the flies, master of slander and gluttony.

And finally and above them all Lucifer, my father. His melancholic features remain, always tempting towards pride and lust.

All the great sinister entities gathered together.

I walk in his direction and take my place beside him.

"Now that we are all here..." he begins to speak. "I want mainly to show my appreciation for everyone's presence, I am well aware that you despise being interrupted in your unholy and unseemly activities, but on this occasion, I really needed all of us to gather together."

"Tell us brother." Lilith speaks. "What is the reason for your urgency?"

My father purses his lips and gives me a quick glance, then concentrates on the others.

"As you know, I was not in hell." he explains. "On my return, I decided to do my homework quickly, so I did a tour of the place. "

"Everette has seen to it that everything is kept as it should be." Balcebu assures him.

"It is always like that." confirms my father. "But I am afraid that what I have to inform you did not take place under Everette's supervision."

"You say something is wrong?" Azael asks.

"One of the beasts of darkness has escaped." says my father.

Those present exclaim in surprise, even I can't hide my surprise. How is it possible that one of the beasts has escaped?

The beasts of darkness are a product of the evil of humans throughout history, concentrated in physical form. Each one of them is guarded by powerful entities to prevent them from escaping.

"How did that happen!?" Lilith shrieks indignantly.

"I must say that even I don't know the reason, but my suspicions go to the Celestials." my father responds.

"What are you saying, father?" I question in exultation.

"On my last visit, the Celestials suspected that one of them had been corrupted. It is likely that they planned this and managed to execute him just upon my return to arouse suspicion against me."

"Always thinking we act like animals." Ammon mutters irritably. "We would never question your leadership."

"I am pleased that my ability to lead hell is not in doubt, millennia ago we were in charge of keeping the dark forces restrained down here, and all this was a test to show how strong our unity is." speaks my father.

"It is a relief to us that you are responsible for hell." smiles Astarot mischievously. "It is thanks to your leadership that the dark forces are incredibly powerful."

Belfegor, who has the usual tired look on his face, settles down next to Asmodeus.

"We know you will take care of catching the beast." he says slowly, turning to Lucifer.

"Don't worry, I will organize the demonic armies and we will find it." Azael promises.

"That's the problem." my father frowns. "It escaped into the human realm."

Silence fills the room. Asmodeo gives me a worried look while I remain expressionless.

A corrupted celestial?

One of the beasts of darkness among humans?

What the hell happened?

"Brother, that is something that could cast doubt on our power in the eyes of the celestials." my aunt grimaces.

"They already know about it. Whoever it is, the celestial responsible for this will be found and punished, but the celestials don't trust one of their own to go in search of the beast." my father explains. " Or perhaps they do, but have no intention of informing it."

"Of course they will not go, the beast is ours." says Ammon.

"But it is in the realm of the humans." replies Asmodeus.

"We will simply send the demonic armies there." says Balcebu simply.

"Not all demons can contain their powers or their desire to devour human souls." explains Azael. "I think it would not be the wisest thing to do."

"Chaos in the human realm sounds... wonderful." smiles Belfegor.

Everyone laughs.

"We must not let our desire for destruction override our task, which is to retrieve our beast." my father reminds us.

"Then Everette must take charge of this situation." suggests Astarot to which everyone nods.

I don't like where this is going...

Going to the realm of humans, it seems that the word "cursed" is starting to become evident in my existence.

"As you already know, a new human soul is under my dominions that will become a dark being like us, I am currently busy with her training" I excuse myself.

"For you it has never been a problem to leave the souls abandoned." laughs Balcebu.

"She has my mark." I reply seriously.

Everyone, including my father, looks at me in shock.

"But son, you didn't tell me that she will be your companion in existence. Many congratulations." my father smiles.

"Let's save all the congratulations, I assure you that I put my mark on her under serious circumstances that could not be avoided. Anyway, I cannot leave her here and go away, I am not able to stay too long away from her presence, no matter how much I despise it." I grimace.

"But you can take her with you." Lilith hints.

Oh come on auntie, you're supposed to know how much I hate humans.

"If she has the strength to bear your mark, she can go to the human realm." Azael concludes.

"I think everyone here believes that you will be the most suitable to perform this task, Everette." Asmodeus assures me with a malice that only I can perceive.

Miserable demon son of a...

"Of course I will need you to come with me"" I blurt out. "You know, you have much more tolerance for humans than I do."

I smile wryly.

His expression turns from amused to petrified.

"That's true..." mutters my father, as he analyzes the situation. "In fact, Asmodeus is the one who has the highest tolerance towards humans of all those present, and it is no secret that both Everette and Lilith have a deep hatred for them. I insist that you accompany Everette to the human realm, to ensure that he does not murder any humans, unless necessary."

I try very hard not to laugh as I watch his reluctantly nod.

"As you wish, Diablo." he says simply.

"Very well, we trust that you will be able to return the beast successfully to our domain." Balcebu warns us.

"So be it, again I thank you very much for your cooperation in the search for a solution to our problem." says my father finally. "May the darkness be on your path."

"And guide our destiny." we respond in unison.

Everyone bows slightly, including me, and we materialize outside the place.

It seems that Aisha will soon see her dear friends, the humans.