The Ace #79

'For fuck's sake... now what?' I mused, bitterly smiling under my helmet as Etrigan stood in front of me, intently gazing into my eyes with his red, glowing orbs as if trying to peek into my very soul.

"Before the mighty demon prince stands a human soul, mortal through and through..." Etrigan remarked, narrowing his eyes as he intently and curiously sniffed the air.

"Yet, he caries a familiar scent of home. His fate is tied. Etrigan wonders to who?" The rhyming demon added, and I could do nothing but frown at the cryptic words he uttered.

"What do you want, demon prince?" I blankly asked, holding back a sigh and a twitch in my eyes at the rhyming gibberish as I got straight to the point.

If there was one thing fiction taught me, it's that mincing words with demons never ends well. Avoid talking with them altogether if possible; if not, get it over with quickly without giving them ammunition to use against you.

"Addressing the demon with respect is wise, but be not alarmed, mortal man..." Etrigan replied with a grin that showed his sharp, white teeth as he shook his head.

"Had the demon prince wished you harm, then it would be done already, for he is Etrigan," the towering demon added, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone as he spread his arms apart.

"Your soul is touched. A residue of hell's depths in the man's spirit, the mighty demon can sense," Etrigan explained, and his words did nothing to lessen my confusion, doubling it instead.

"'Tis a mystery the demon now cannot solve, so words he will no longer mince..." the demon remarked after a second's pause as he gestured with his hand, causing an orange flame to ignite in his palm.

"Take your artifact and slay your foe. The demon price will be watching. Give him a show," Etrigan said as the fire turned into a repeater rifle, decorated in arcane symbols from its iron sight to the stock.

Though still confused, with no idea what was happening, I took the rifle from the Etrigan's hand and gave it an inspecting look. The rifle's wooden parts had strange white symbols all over them, while the metallic parts had beautiful carvings that were also unknown to me.

"Till we meet again, mortal, and meet we will," the demon concluded as its entire body ignited in flame and disappeared, replaced by Jason Blood, who immediately fell to the ground.

'Yeah, that's not ominous or anything...' I sighed as I held the Ace of Winchesters in my hands and turned to the Mawzir, who was about finished healing now.

'Still... now that Etrigan destroyed the Arkannone, I wonder how their minion would react...?' I mused as I hid the rifle behind my back and approached the Mawzir's almost recovered body.

I had no intention of playing around, but seeing how the demon would react to the demise of his masters might help me understand more about its kind.

"I... we can feel it..." The Mawzir said as soon as its mouth reformed without waiting for the rest of its head to recover. "The masters are dead... freedom, at last!" the demon added, its tone particularly giddy as its face fully reformed.

"We no longer have an interest in you, mortal..." The Mawzir remarked with a cackle as its eyes met mine, grinning hideously as if its words were enough to make me move aside.

"We?" I asked, holding my ground as I gave the Mawzir a confused look, to which it did not reply. The answer came from Jason Blood as he finally managed to gather his bearing.

"The demon before you was once five different nazi butchers. I can see it now that Etrigan is back..." The demonologist remarked as he shakily got to his feet, dusting himself clean.

"The Arkannone combined their tortured souls with dark magic to create the fine specimen standing here now," he added with a chuckle as he adjusted his jacket.

"Indeed, and now that the Arkannone are no more, we are free to complete our mission. The Reich shall—" That was all the Mawzir could say before collapsing on the ground as I drew the ace of Winchesters from behind me and put a bullet in its head.

I stepped forward and put several more bullets in its body, watching as its body started turning into liquid. However, instead of wiggling as it merged together, it simply evaporated this time.

"Imagine being a racist demon..." I remarked with a chuckle, shaking my head as I stored the rifle in my inventory while keeping an eye on the evaporating liquid, just in case.

"Worst yet, imagine being a dead racist demon," the demonologist said, his tone clearly amused as he stood beside me and scoffed in derision at the Mawzir's remains.

"Speaking of demons... about what Etrigan said...?" I said, my tone hesitant and concerned as I turned to Jason Blood with a grimace, reminded of the demon prince's words. "Do you have any idea what he was talking about?" I asked after a second's pause.

"Afraid not, but Etrigan is not one to speak without rhyme or reason, pun very intended," the demonologist said with a chuckle, shaking his head, and I could do nothing but scoff at the lame joke.

"In any case, my interest is piqued, and I will try to get answers from Etrigan," Jason Blood remarked as he cleared his throat. "But don't get your hopes up. Etrigan can be surprisingly tight-lipped at times," he concluded, waving a hand to the side.

"That's all I can ask. Here..." I replied as I took out a slip of paper with my contact information. "Contact me if you manage to uncover anything," I added as I offered the sheet to the demonologist.

"Will do..." Jason Blood said as he took the paper from my hand with a nod and turned to leave. "I've got a hot bath and a warm bed waiting for me back home. It's about time I was on my way..." he concluded, waving me goodbye as he walked away.

'It's always one thing after the other...' I sighed, bitterly smiling as I looked around and only found Monaghan and his two friends still present in the cemetery.

'Looks Selina already dipped, probably as soon as Etrigan showed up...' I couldn't help but smile in amusement at how fast the brunette left as soon she realized there might be a danger to her life.

'I could learn a thing or two from her...' I shook my head, turning my attention to the trio as they celebrated the victory by embracing the living shit out of each other.

'Oh... so it's as I thought...' I mused as I watched Natt excuse himself and walk away, leaving Monaghan and Deborah alone, meaningfully staring into each other's eyes.

Based on what I gathered from public and private databases, my own conclusions, and what I was currently seeing, Deborah Tiegel was likely Monaghan's designated love interest in the comics.

It's basically a done deal with her former interactions with the hitman and how she showed up just before the fight with the Mawzir, leaving no room for doubt in my mind.

The only possible obstacle to them being together was Deborah's job as a detective, which evaporated when her corrupt superior kicked her out of the force.

And according to the blatantly obvious narrative, the two would probably share a kiss after the intense fight, their passion blooming into a full-blown romance, or something along those corny lines. That's comic books for you.

'Time for a little science experiment...' I mused, lightly chuckling as I watched Monaghan take hold of the detective's hand, and the two began muttering.

'Yup, I'm definitely doing this for science and not my petty grudge...' I grinned as I approached duo and activated empathy.

I was almost blinded by the bright pink auras the two were emitting, but I ignored it and kept walking.

I cleared my throat as soon as I was within hearing distance, and the two lovebirds immediately flinched upon noticing my presence and let go of each other's hands.

"Detective Tiegel," I remarked as I looked into the former policewomen's eyes, holding back a chuckle as the pink aura quickly turned red, which could mean anger, embarrassment, or a mixture of the two.

"Not a detective anymore. The force let me go," Deborah replied, quickly regaining control over her emotions as her aura turned neutral, unlike Monaghan.

The hitman was emitting a red aura of anger so intense, that a red power ring might suddenly fly into his finger at having his romantic moment being interrupted and getting cock-blocked.

"A terrible shame. The city needs all the honest cops it can get..." I said, trailing off at the end of my sentence. "Which brings me to why I approached you now, even though you looked busy..." I added, and the duo's aura flared in even more anger and embarrassment.

"If you are interested in resuming your duties as a detective, meet in this place in three days..." I said as I took out a pen and a paper from my inventory, quickly writing down the timing and the place.

...

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