A Hell All Too Like Earth

Though the salty breeze wafted through my hair and made my silver hair gently cascade over my shoulders, I was too lost in thought to notice that my families crest on my neck had been exposed. It was only until I heard the crunching of leaves under heavy footsteps that I realized and quickly covered the crest with my hair.

"There you are, Aru'ukon, I thought you had went home but it seems I was wrong." A man in his late teens with short, spiked blonde hair, ruby red eyes, tanned skin, and black scales that covered his neck, elbows, and knees, walked over and sat down next to me, his open leather vest fluttering about in the wind.

This was none other than my closest friend, the playboy aficionado Azaruth. He was a Demon better known as a "Lower Gargoyle" but he has proven himself more than once on many different occasions. Azaruth put his hands behind his head and stretched out on the grass with a relaxed sigh before turning his head toward me and asking "So, what brings you out here to your favorite hiding spot?"

I sighed and looked toward the sky as I muttered "Not what. Who."

Azaruth's characteristic smirk disappeared in an instant as he stared at me with a deadpan expression before responding. "Don't think about the war too much. It's but a rumor right now, and your father will be just fine. I may not know all that much about Highborn politics, but I'm sure he'll pull through."

Just as Azaruth said, my father is a Highborn, a sort of nobility within Hell, but my mother was a Lowborn. A commoner. I was naught but the bastard son of an influential Hero, but my father took me into his home when my mother died after giving birth to me. Though his wife hates me, my half-siblings are at least bearable.

"You're so simple-minded. Heh, you really know how to put me at ease my friend. Maybe being simple is better than being overly calculative..." I mused as I inevitably thought back to when I first received my families, rather my father's, crest. It was the source of my power, but it was risky letting others know what it looked like, as they could easily draw a ward with black magic to negate its effects.

I was happy when I awoke on that fateful day and realized that I had finally sprouted the horns and tail of a Greater Demon of Rending, and I was even happier when my father applied his personal crest to my neck in order to hide those features from those who would wish me harm. Even though I was a mixed-blood, I was the only one of my father's children to inherit his Greater Demon blood, let alone have his crest engraved into my very skin.

I studied and trained hard but, no matter how much I tried, I was thwarted at every step by jealous Highborn Nobles and my father's wife, rendering me rather unpopular in the general public. Though my name has been slandered and my honor dragged though the mud, I never once thought about giving up my goals, and I have Azaruth to thank for that as well.

He was the only person I would call my brother. No one else.

I stood, dusted my pants off, and extended a hand out to Azaruth with a slight smile on my face. "Shall we figure out what we're eating tonight?" I asked as Azaruth accepted my help and leapt to his feet with ease.

"Should I grab Arin? She's been home all day and I feel a bit bad for her." I shrugged my shoulders before saying, "Sure, why not. I'm sure your sister would love to eat dinner with my family again." in a sarcastic tone.

Azaruth pounded his fist into his open palm with a smirk on his face and said "If any of your bastard brothers try that shit again, I'll show 'em whose boss!" I sighed once more and shook my head in exasperation before reminding Azaruth of my father; a man who was rather fond of all his kids.

We started our journey toward the Strife, a sort of slums where the lowborn lived, and jokingly teased each other, causing many people to look at us and wonder what was happening, however, when they noticed that it was me and Azaruth, they shrugged their shoulders and chuckled softly at our antics.

Though the Highborn society hated my guts, the Lowborn loved me. I was friends with many Lowborn business owners, and I even gave food to the kids on the streets whenever I had the chance. Soon, Azaruth and I neared a small wooden shack with a little girl that had long pink hair, vibrant green eyes, and a small horn that protruded out from just above her right eyebrow, standing in-front of the door.

Arin, Azaruth's sister, bounded toward us and leapt into Azaruth's arms with a cheerful giggle. "Brother! How did you classes go? Oh, and Aru is here too!?" Arin's face began to slowly brighten up before she began to wave her arms excitedly and ask "Does that mean we get to go and eat dinner with Aru again!?"

Azaruth put the exited girl down as he chuckled and nodded his head. "Yes, we're going to Aru'ukon's place to get some food, that is if you want to." Arin nodded her head too quickly and almost fell from the resulting dizziness, but it did little to diminish her childish smile.

With the matter settled, Azaruth accompanied Arin inside their modest accommodation to get ready while I casually jumped to the top of a tree and let the breeze wash over my face once more. Though I knew there wouldn't be too many things that would happen at home since Arin was going to be there, it did little to ease the weird feeling I had in my stomach.

No sooner than I was about to lose myself in my thoughts once again, a voice called down to me from below. "Is that you, Aru'ukon!? Hey, hey! It's me, Etu!" Hearing the voice now, I began to realize who it was without even having to look down; a small frown making its way to my face as I released a heavy sigh.

I jumped down from the tree, landing softly on the ground below, and dusted my pants off as Etu, a woman in her early twenties with bright yellow eyes, each with two icy blue vertical slits, as well as shoulder-length crimson colored hair and a bright, cheerful disposition, clapped her hands happily.

"You have noooo idea how long I've been looking for you! It was only until I decided to come to the Strife that I was able to catch a whiff of your scent!" I avoided all of Etu's attempts at hugging me as she spoke, making her cheerful expression gradually change into a pout. "Stop avoiding me and just give me a hug!!"

Azaruth and Arin were casually watching me struggle as Etu began to speed up her movements, making it hard for me to dodge with the majority of my strength sealed away into my crest. Eventually, I fell prey to Etu's repeated attempts to try and hug me, causing me to get suffocated by the woman's monstrous strength.

"Ahaha! I never knew you were such a ladies man! Gooo Aru! Gooo Aru!" Azaruth and Arin began to chant my name as Etu smiled widely and rocked back in forth with a stupid looking smile on her face. "Why were you looking for me?" I asked as I tried to free myself from her embrace.

"Oh, you know, I just got a little lonely and wanted some company! Is that so weird?" Azaruth and Arin began to snicker with mischievous smiles on their faces as they waved to me while walking in the direction of my families house.

'Assholes...' I thought as Etu cocked her head to the side before asking "Are they going to your house?" I was hesitant to answer truthfully because I knew she would want to join, but I found it hard to say no even if I was thoroughly annoyed.

"Y-Yes...they are..." Etu smiled radiantly and clapped her hands excitedly before grabbing hold of my arm and saying "Then what are we waiting for!? Let's hurry up!" As I was being dragged away by Etu, the many chuckled and laughs from the Lowborn behind us echoed out, filling me with a certain degree of happiness.

I was relieved to see those who had endured so many trials to finally laugh for real. Even if it was a fleeting feeling, at least they had a moments respite. We caught up with Azaruth and Arin rather quickly, earning me another sly grin from the siblings as Etu hummed happily all the way up until we were at the front door of my families house.

"Damn. No matter how many times I see it, this place will always look amazing..." Azaruth, along with Arin and even Etu, who was also a Highborn but of lower stature than my family, all gazed at the admittedly wonderfully crafted mansion with eager eyes.

The walls were made out of a special type of obsidian that reflected blue light, making the house look like one large, shiny rock, with a large garden in the front and numerous fountains dotting the land to help with irrigation.

My families standard was a blue triangular flag with the image of a Gargoyle-like face grinning inside of a red ball of fire. The standard was hung up above the double doors leading inside of the house and was also present on the staff's clothes; on the left shoulder to be exact.

As we walked inside, we were greeted by the head butler, an old Demon with gray hair, dark brown eyes, and a kind expression that was almost always present; the only exception being when there was talk of war. I always felt bad for Soros because he lost his only son in the last war with Humans and, even thought that was centuries ago, he still felt the loss like it was only yesterday.

"Good afternoon, Soros." I bowed slightly when greeting the butler out of courtesy, and everyone else did the same. Soros chuckled and bowed as he said "Welcome home, young Master. Lord Karnen is expecting you and your company to meet him in the dining hall." I smiled slightly and thanked Soros before gesturing for everyone to follow me into the dining room.

It was like the atmosphere had changed completely. The inside of the mansion was lavish with red carpet furnishing every hall and room with dark stone walls filled with paintings and depictions of the past leaders of the Nephilim family. It was like a pressure settled over, not just myself, but everyone inside of the mansion as sounds from the dining room became more clear the closer I got to the doors.

I paused before doors and glanced back at Azaruth, whos face had paled slightly, before shaking my head and pushing the doors open. The chatting inside the room ceased instantly and everyone turned their heads to me, Azaruth, Arin, and Etu. My stepmother, Ura, scowled from beside my father before returning her attention to her plate.

I looked at the long table and saw that all of my half-siblings were present. I had a total of four half-brothers and two half-sisters, which were the youngest of us. My half-brothers were quadruplets and, thought they looked almost identical, they were far from being one-in-the-same.

They were all a few months older than me, making them a little over eighteen this year, and I was only on decent terms with one of them. The oldest, Ronnis, was the one that despised me almost as much as my stepmother while Talroz, Tukon, and Ezoxos had progressively better views of me, with Ezoxos being the youngest of the four with the best opinion of me.

My half-sisters, however, were most definitely the best amongst them all. They didn't really care for me, but they would always try to deflect my stepmother's attention from me, which I would always thank them profusely for. Mai and May were twins with differing hair color, eye color, and style, but they looked the same if you ignored all of that.

Mai was the 'oldest' of the two with dark red hair and light blue eyes and a mole under her right eye. She usually wore her hair up in a neat bun while May had hers in a rather messy ponytail. Speaking of May, she had dark blue hair and light red eyes with a mole under her left eye and a pair of black glasses adorning her face.

My father, Karnen Nephilim, was a tall man with short black hair, deep red eyes, and a stern expression on his face, but that only applied to when there were guests around. Father eyed Etu for a moment before glancing at Arin and Azaruth, both of which stiffened slightly under his penetrating gaze.

"Come now, there's no need to be so afraid. I somehow figured that Aru would bring you three here, so I prepared extra food. Sit and feel free to tell me some of your stories from the Academy." I guided my friends to their seats and ignored Ronnis's scornful glare before sitting down in my own chair as a plate of food appeared in front of me.

"Well, where do I start?"