Chapter 2: How Hell works ?

*

Once inside you quickly put your things on the table and you sat on a chair. You had studied the house and you had seen that this demon had very few material goods. He had an old sofa, a bookcase, a small kitchen, a table and old wooden chairs. The walls were moldy and the floor was dirty, giving a sordid atmosphere to the room.

*

"Do you live alone?" you asked.

"No, there's someone else living with me," he said dryly, letting you know he didn't want to talk to you.

"I see," you answered.

*

The demon shrugged and watched you disinfect your wounds.

*

"How did you get hurt?"

"There was an" extermination," you explain to him.

"An extermination?!" he shouted. The bird rushed at you and asked you, panicked, "Where was that?!"

"Near a park."

*

All calmness in your host's eyes slowly disappeared.

*

"Have you seen a very skinny, red-eyed woman with the features of a bat?"

"Um, not that I remember. I was too busy destroying the angels who attacked me," you say without emotion.

"Shit, shit, shit..." repeated the demon.

*

You looked at him, at first you were confused, then you realized.

*

"That's your wife?"

"No it's my sister."

"Oh I see," you answered while sewing up your wound.

*

Suddenly you heard the door open to see a demon who matched with the description that demon given to you.

*

"Oh my god, Samantha."

"Vincent! Oh, how are you?"

"Damn, do not ever make me afraid again!" he said, hugging her.

*

You ignored their reunion, that didn't concern you. Healing your leg was more important.

*

"Oh, it's you," Samantha shouted.

"Mmmh?" You watched her without much emotion whereas she gave you a huge smile.

"Thank you for everything. If you had not arrived they would have decimated us all."

"I did not do that for you, I killed them only to defend myself, nothing more."

"I don't care! You saved us and oh, you're hurt."

"It's nothing," you say with a little bad mood.

"No no, please let me see, I was a nurse when I was alive."

*

You frowned in confusion.

*

"What is a nurse doing here in hell?"

"... Um well I... I killed patients in the hospital every time I saw them suffer, it was an insatiable need, you see? As for my brother, he was a dealer in order to earn money and I never did anything to stop him."

*

You just nodded and let this woman heal your leg.

*

"Do you have a place to go?"

"No," you say. "It's hard to go somewhere when you don't have enough money."

The woman seemed to think and suggested, "I heard that a hotel was going to open in Pentagram City. It is towards the center of the city and, for the money..."

She got up and gave you some money. "Take that."

"Samantha!" growled her brother.

"If I'm alive, Vincent, it's thanks to her!" his sister shouted angrily.

*

You looked at them and you divided the money that Samantha gave you in half.

*

"It's for threatening your brother and for taking care of me," you said, looking away. You did not want to be indebted to them.

*

The bat thanked you by giving you a friendly smile and asked, "Do you want something to drink?"

"Water if possible."

*

She nodded and served you a drink. Vincent took a chair and began to speak.

*

"So... when did you arrive in Hell?"

"I would say I arrived almost 2 hours ago."

*

He nodded and dared to ask you.

"What did you do to end up here?"

*

You fixed him with suspicious eyes, and hesitated.

To get it off your chest would be good for you but on the other hand... these were strangers, hell wasn't heaven. These people didn't look mean however you knew they could become dangerous at the slightest false move on your part.

*

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's say that I did things for which I have no regrets and others that destroyed me in my life."

"Is it so horrible?" Samantha asked.

"You saw me cut those angels down, did you?"

"Yes."

"I did the same thing when I was alive for money, and protection. I'll stop there," you said while drinking your drink. "It's my turn to ask questions."

*

You scratched your head and you asked with seriousness.

*

"Explain to me, exactly why are there exterminations? Is there a war or something like that?"

"No," Vincent replied. "Hell is overpopulated, so paradise sends angels to exterminate part of the population to return to a more stable level."

"I see, it's a method."

"... So to remedy this problem the Princess of Hell decided to start a project, she will talk about it on television in a few days."

*

You put a hand under your chin and nodded. You started to become worried about what the princess could propose to remedy this problem.

Vincent seemed to notice your concern and reassured you.

*

"Do not worry. Princess Charlie is very attached to her people."

"Mmmh ... thanks for the information. Oh, and I wanted to ask you, does anyone control your neighborhood? The atmosphere he possesses reminds me of the one in which I lived when I was alive. "

*

The two demons looked rather uncomfortable.

*

"Well in hell, demons have territories. The more you have, the more powerful you are in a way. A long time ago, a demon appeared here, probably before the second world war. He overthrew several extremely powerful lords who had been there for decades. Then he broadcast his crimes so that everyone knows what he is capable of," Vincent explained to you. "That's why we call him The Radio Demon."

*

You clenched your fists as fear started to gnaw at you.

*

"So I guess that the tower outside..."

"It's his work," finished Samantha.

"Well, we can not say he has a huge degree of humility," you joked. Then suddenly you realized.

"Wait, did you say that we can possess 'territories'?"

"Hmm, yes?"

*

You jumped out of your chair and started walking to the door.

"Thank you for your hospitality but I have to go."

"What?"

"I'll get a territory."

"No, don't do that! Your leg is not fixed up yet," Samantha said.

"It's a simple pastime," you explain by shrugging your shoulders.

"It's better for you to stay here," Samantha continued. "It wouldn't be reasonable, believe me."

*

You studied her for a moment. her smile invited you to stay, her eyes were sincere, there was no trace of dishonesty. In a way... she was right and you knew it. You turned to Vincent and asked him:

"Can I?"

The man looked at you then looked at his sister.

"Okay, one night only."

"Thank you, Big Brother."

*

They prepared a little area near the couch for you. Samantha had given you a little bag with a couple of clothes that did not fit her anymore. You could wash yourself and wash your clothes. You also ate a little bit. Unfortunately, the food had a horrible taste.

*

"Excuse us, but the food of good quality is very expensive here."

"Don't worry, I understand, and to be honest this meal is of excellent quality if I compare it to what I could eat," you reassured them by finishing your plate.

"Thank you for the meal."

"You're welcome," Samantha replied.

*

You frowned. You didn't understand why they were so kind to you. So you asked.

*

"Be honest with me, why do you behave so benevolently? You are demons, you are in hell for a good reason, right? I don't understand."

"Well Vincent and I have a lot of regret for what we did... So when we can help, we do it with all our hearts."

*

With these words, Vincent cleared his throat, allowing him to emancipate himself from his sister's speech.

She corrected herself quickly.

*

"Well, Vincent is very mistrustful sometimes, so it's not easy for him."

*

You nodded, looking at your plate.

*

"And you? You have never felt regret?"

*

You gave an emotionless look to the bat who was standing in front of you. You answered honestly with a neutral tone.

*

"Indeed it happens to me. The first time I regretted what I did was when I started my job. I had been asked to deliver a parcel to a man in a building in my neighborhood. I thought it was just drugs. But it was a bomb. When I was about to join my boss, I heard a big explosion. I just had time to turn around to see that part of the building had fallen down. Children were dead," you explained, looking away.

*

"I'm terribly sor-"

"No," you interrupted her. "I do not want to hear anything. This bomb is nothing compared to what I did afterwards. I can not and I don't want to change. I am just the result of humanity's rot."

*

Samantha sadly nodded and chose to keep quiet. Nevertheless Vincent gave you a look of understanding.

*

Samantha took the plates and started cleaning them. Vincent took the opportunity to talk to you.

*

"I agree with you."

"Nice to hear it," you coldly answer.

" No really. My sister really believes that we can change but I have to be honest with you. If she ever had a second chance on earth, as a nurse, she would kill patients again... As for me, I would deal drugs again because that's the only way to earn money for me. Nobody wanted to give me a job..."

*

"Yeah... a leopard can't change its spots," you finished.

"Exactly."

*

You shrug and then sit on the couch. "Let's hope she doesn't hang too firmly to this illusion."

*

You relaxed and then thought back to what Samantha had said.

*

"Change", huh? This word sickened you. To hear it was enough to lift your heart. Why would it be up to you to change? Your life has been a real fiasco from the beginning to the end.

No, the one who had to change was God himself. It's because of him you were in this mess. He could have helped you but he did nothing. No, of course! He left you starving with your father, living in a rotten neighborhood controlled by a powerful and feared mafia.

And now it was up to you to change? What a joke!

You waited for Samantha and Vincent to go to bed to change your clothes.

You lay down and started sleeping.

*

You were running. You had your normal appearance. You heard several gunshots behind you, warning you not to stop.

You had to hurry to reach the nearest city, once inside you had to find a police center to guarantee you temporary security.

Unfortunately these wolves blew up your car. You only had your legs.

You jump over obstacles with great ease despite the darkness of the night.

Unfortunately a bullet pierced your right shoulder and you lost your balance. You screamed in pain and grabbed your shoulder as your blood stained your (F / C) clothes.

You tried, somehow, to continue your race but this ball had really slowed you down. You caught a grenade that was in your pocket, and threw it on the floor hoping that it would be enough to slow down your aggressors.

But it didn't do much. On the contrary, it allowed a man to have a clear shot at you.

He shoots you in the leg ,and you fall to the ground.

It was the end.

You tried desperately to get up but two men held you on the ground, ignoring your wounds.

*

"Let me go!" you screamed.

*

"You're not going anywhere, (Y / N)," shouted one of them.

"What do we do with her? The boss didn't give us any order about it."

"Let's teach her what it costs to betray the clan. After that we will call the boss," sneered a third.

*

You saw him coming towards you with a knife and a perverse smile. You knew very well how it was going to end. You struggled as best you could but all you won was mockery from your aggressors.

*

"Is something wrong (Y / N)? You seemed more self confident when the boss was on your side, huh?" said a man near your ear, putting his hands under your shirt.

You woke up with panic.

*

"No!" you shouted. You grabbed your head trembling. You didn't want to remember the last hours of your death. They were an unspeakable torture, you hadn't had the strength to shout or speak once those fuckers had finished torturing you.

You took deep breaths in the hope of calming yourself down. Your heartbeat slowly slowed down and you calmed down. You looked around and you recognized Vincent's house.

You put one hand on your heart, and the other on your face. You were crying. You got up instantly and ran to the sink to wet your face. You dried off and put a cold expression on your face.

*

"Do not look weak," you whispered.

*

You drank a glass of water and you started to prepare yourself. Apparently your scream didn't wake your hosts and it was nice for you. You took your bag and left a note to thank them before leaving.

You went to the old battlefield to see what was different. You could see some pickpockets taking money from corpses, even those who were dying. You couldn't blame them in a way. Many did that to survive.

You walked to a bar, stepping over a corpse without the slightest hint of compassion. Once inside you sat in front of the bartender and you asked him for your favorite drink.

Several monsters played billiards, others played cards. Some spoke with their friends, and others looked at you in a provocative way.

You looked at them with a dark look, and you continued to drink your glass in silence.

*

Suddenly a shark-like demon sat next to you.

*

"Hey darling, would you like to play pool with me?"

*

You watched him from the corner of your eye. He had scales of a dull green, bright yellow eyes and wore an elegant costume. You shrugged, and kept drinking without looking at him.

*

"What do I win?" you asked.

"A little money, is that okay?"

"100 dollars if I win," you said.

"I'm ready to bet 250 dollars," he said.

"Are you so sure of yourself? And what if I lose?"

"Well I would like you to sleep with me. It seems fair to me."

*

You laughed at his statement. You knew it would end like this. You gave him a smirk.

*

"Oh, that's all?" You laughed. "I do not give myself easily to others so I want 800 dollars," you said.

"Very well. So shall we start?"

"Fine," you answered with a dark tone.

*

This idiot really had to not win this game for his own well-being...

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