Providence

"Aka?" Aida said in a small voice.

Even with her enhanced senses, she was reluctant to believe what her eyes and nose told her. "Is that really you?" She asked the figure in front of her.

"Oh, come on, Koshiko. You can't tell by just smelling me?" Akachi said. "What, do you need me to summon my Garb?"

If it was an illusion, it was incredibly well put together. His scent was undoubtable. The energy of his Healer's Garb was definite, and he was flaring it subtly for her to pick up. Then, Akachi gave her more confirmation as he flashed that distinct smug smirk of his, complementing his handsome features. His dreadlock bun had been exchanged for a ponytail, and he was wearing a black bomber jacket, zipped open, with no shirt underneath, showing off his chiseled body for no other reason than vanity.

"What are you doing here?" Aida said as her fox ears dropped. She held back from making any movement, unsure if she would slap or hug him if she let herself take another step.

"I could ask you the same…" he said. "I have a feeling it's for the same reason. The girl that fatass inseminated with a Rebirth Seed. I'm here to save her."

"On the same day we came here…?" Aida frowned. "Why didn't you ever answer my calls—?"

"My mobile plan doesn't cover Hell."

Aida's fox ears sprung up as her nose scrunched. "This isn't funny. I've been trying to reach you for months. You disappeared after Zurich."

Akachi slipped his hands into his pockets, using his arms to keep the sides of his jacket even further apart as an excuse to show off more of his masterpiece. "You're so dramatic, Koshiko. You don't get a response for a while, and you act like we've thrown you away or something..." Right after the words barreled out of his mouth, he fell silent, and his demeanor shifted. He looked sincerely into Aida's red eyes. "Sorry, that was uncalled for…"

Perhaps the relief of seeing him again held back her anger, sparring his ears from a yelling session. Aida's lowered tail stiffened as she averted her eyes to the masonry wall marked with demonic sigils. "It's fine… you could've said something. Anything."

"Look, I caught wind of what Gill was doing very early on, okay?" Akachi said, removing his hands from his pockets. "I've been down here… undercover."

"What?"

"Gill thinks I'm on his side. I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to get her out of here."

Aida stared, narrowing her eyes. "Let me get this straight," she said. "You've known about this for a long time and decided to act only when she's hours away from giving birth to Bergulsaab?"

"Like I said, I was waiting for the perfect opportunity—"

"If you told me in the beginning. We would've teamed up with Zeke and the others and could've stopped this a long time ago! This doesn't make any sense, Aka. Your muscle brain is not that stupid. What's really going on here?"

"I never said it was the best plan, but it was my plan, Koshiko," he said. "Come on, if there's anything you can trust, then it's how dumb I am, right?"

It was the most sensible thing Akachi had said so far, but something still felt off. "When exactly did this plan of yours start?" Aida asked, wanting so badly for the lughead to convince her completely.

"We can go back and forth on this all day, but there's no time—"

"I agree, so start making sense. Now."

Akachi pulled his head back and groaned. "Where's Kimberly? Did you take her to your farm?"

Aida didn't respond right away. "She's safe."

"Okay, take me to her—"

"Help me find Zeke. He's fighting Gill."

A pause followed, as if his brain was recalibrating. "The main priority right now is killing the Rebirth Seed inside her," Akachi said. "We have to do it before it's too late."

"It is already too late. She's in the last stage of gestation. There's no way to remove the demon without killing her." Then another thought popped into her mind as she stared up at Akachi. "It's been hard to reach Wade. Do you know anything about that?"

After casting the question, she paid attention to her friend. She really paid attention.

"Nah, I haven't seen that guy since Zurich," Akachi said, touching the back of his neck.

Then came a feeling she hadn't experienced in what seemed like forever, becoming another one of the few moments in Aida's life where she regretted her kitsune side and all the supernatural perks attached with it.

There was an inflection in Akachi's voice as she heard his heartbeat speed up. Maybe the signs were always present from the moment he started speaking. It hurt so much to trust her senses, but she had to.

After Zurich, she was sure that she was done with all the rounds of heartbreak the universe had prepared for her, but it turned out the opposite was true…

The pain in her chest was hot and sharp, as if she had swallowed a steaming meal before it could cool down. As her face twisted with sadness and confusion, she asked Akachi, "Why are you lying to me?"

Akachi's lips narrowed, and the light in his dark eyes faded. He opened his mouth—

"What the hell are you doing, you moron!" a voice with a Russian accent yelled.

Akachi turned to Ashlin as she ran towards them with her Healer's Garb equipped.

"Contain her already!" Ashlin said.

Confusion was still having its way with her mind, but Aida knew there was no time to deal with it. She had to act on instinct, and it told her to get the heck out of there. Aida got down on all fours and dashed past the two.

At the end of the corridor where Aida reached, there were two options—she chose left and ran with the troubled thoughts that polluted her mind.

She held back the tears, causing the lump in her throat to swell. Usually, running made her feel invigorated, and for it to never end. But at that moment, inside the corridors of Demonstone Hospital, the running felt like a chore. Aida was moving faster than any human on earth could ever hope to—every adrenaline junkie's dream. Yet, it was like she was running in mud. Her body felt sluggish, each thrust forward made her limbs ache, and she wanted nothing more than for it to end. To find a quiet place to collapse and let it all out.

Akachi's energy stole her attention. She looked back, slowing down a bit. Akachi was riding a skeletal steed with a rebuking Ashlin behind him, holding on by clutching onto his dreads.

Why would he work with such vile people?

Aida pulled her eyes away and leaped forward—summoning Tsukikaze while airborne and then caught it in her mouth.

She focused on the cursed sword's energy, harnessing it, intertwining it with her own, and zapped forward—becoming an orange blur streaking through the corridor, leaving her pursuers behind.

With no destination in mind, Aida veered to whatever turn appeared before her and allowed her speed to increase with every passing second. For the first time, Aida's breathing grew heavy while she moved supersonically. The never-before-reached levels of speed were fueled by a desire to escape from Akachi and Ashlin and somehow dash through and out of the cruel reality where she was about to lose a life once again.

Another failure to protect to add to her long list.

Eventually, her surroundings were just a blur, and she was moving way faster than what her mind could keep up with.

The inevitable happened. If it happened with people in cars, then it sure as hell was going to happen to someone moving on nothing but their hands and feet. She hit a wall, crashing through it, rocketing into a room in a cloud of yellow debris. She tumbled for a few feet before hitting a wall.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Aida lay on her side with her limbs splayed, filling the quiet room she crashed into with her loud panting, and then it was cut off… by her sobbing.

Zeke shouted Yuri's name as Sweetie swallowed its meal, containing a mix of the Blind Weirdo's bones and organs, and returned into Gill's Garb.

After Yuri fell face-first into the flagstone, Gill said, "Clown." and walked back to Zeke. He flattened him down by stepping onto his chest and stomping on his ankle.

Zeke's scream was just as loud as the shattering of his ankle.

Gill bared his teeth, pressing the tip of his pointy shoe on the crushed ankle. "I am not going to let you leave with my property!"

"She's nobody's property, you psycho!"

Gill took his foot off Zeke's ankle and crouched to him. "The offer I made to you months ago is still available, Azaekias."

Zeke was convinced that the mispronunciation of his name was on purpose, just to irk him. "Why would I accept your offer?" he said and hissed to the immense pain. "Why would I help with something that's probably aiming for the extinction of the human race? That's what all of this is about, right? You just want to kill everybody because you're angry about something."

"I don't want to kill all humans. I want them down here and demons up there," Gill said, adjusting his glasses. "How come humans are the ones who get to be part of the Realm that's the center of our universe? Demons should have that place, not them."

"You really think the angels are going to let that happen?"

"They didn't do shite when Kian tried to spread that disease of his," Gill said. "Besides, I'm ready to go to war with the angels. All I need is for Kimberly to deliver the Seed."

"So, from the bottom of your twisted, Tainted heart," Zeke propped himself up on his elbows, "you think demons are more deserving to be on top than humans?"

"In the light, nobody was there for me, but in the darkness, they were the ones who held me," Gill said and looked off to the side. "With the life I had. I have no reason to feel any compassion for humans."

I can say the same for the Tainted Generation, Zeke thought.

Gill arose, and then a shadow stretched from the bottom of his Garb. It climbed up the wall and stopped at a spot on the ceiling above Zeke.

Sal descended and bit onto the back of Zeke's collar, pulling him up to Gill's eye level.

"I bet when you discovered your powers, it was a pretty dandy moment for ya," Gill started. "At least, that's how it was for most of the others. It got them out of poverty, depression, and a life of complacency and gave them confidence, happiness, ambition… I wasn't as lucky.

"My life became complete shite when my Mana Pores opened up. Demonic symbols kept flashing in my mind, and I couldn't stop myself from drawing them on any surface I could find. I would sometimes blurt out demonic chants in public. My family, a devoted religious lot, did not take a liking to this, I tell ya. They tried to beat 'devil' outta me, and when they had enough, they sent me over to a boys' school filled with twats where—"

"Gill," Zeke said firmly, interrupting him. "I don't care."

The Demonologist paused, holding Zeke's flinty stare, allowing the blaring alarms to go off without any voices in the mix.

"You're a Tainted trying to drag humans down to Hell. You helped break the Seals. You inseminated an innocent girl with a Rebirth Seed. I do not need to hear about your reasons," Zeke said, hatred in his eyes. "The actions speak for themselves, and they tell me that you deserve death."

Go on… don't hold back…

"Unless the next words that come out of your mouth explain where Kimberly is or how you broke the Seals, then I do not care."

"Oh," Gill said, raising his chin with a smile. "What a menace."

A voice erupted. "Hey, Gill!"

Zeke's eyes snapped wide just as Gill turned back.

Yuri was on his feet with a massive hole in his torso, missing almost all essential and functional organs. However, that wasn't even the most bizarre part.

A pair of wings were spread out from his back.

They radiated a blue-green color but were deformed and melty like an ice sculpture left outside as a victim to the sun's merciless rays. Blue-green gloop dripped onto the flagstone.

Zeke couldn't make sense of the energy he was sensing from Yuri. It was angelic and human at the same time.

"Uzziel…" Gill pointed at Yuri. "You're one of them, aren't you? Irin's Archangels…"

Zeke gaped at Yuri after Gill asked the question, but there was no response, which might as well have been a guilty confession.

But Gill was distracted, and there was no time like the present. Zeke endured the pain as he had veins wrapped around his fist and punched Sal in its side. The monster screeched and let go of him.

Zeke hugged Gill from behind, and the veins got to work. They snaked around their legs and arms, fixing them together, and then continued to wrap around the two until a giant ball of veins formed. Zeke's body disappeared within the spool of red and blue while the front of Gill's body was left exposed, like a figurehead of a pirate ship—his hands and feet were deeply entangled in the bundle of veins.

Gill cursed and struggled to escape, but it was futile. He was going to enjoy a painful ride whether he liked it or not.

Ugo couldn't take his eyes off what was above him.

Dr. Rathru's office went through one hell of an artistic interior design makeover. All the office equipment was glued to the ceiling, and the demon himself was defying gravity somehow and lying flat on it.

Dr. Rathru's stomach, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and intestines were in front of his belly. The heart and lungs were on his chest, and the brain sat on top of his head.

They didn't look like they were forcefully removed, but like they were always there as if the demon was born with all of his organs formed on the outside.

"What… what happened here?" Naomi asked.

Ugo directed his gaze to TV Head.

The camera on the TV focused on the man who put his hands on his hips and said, "This is what happens when you let demons do whatever they want." The audience on the TV laughed.

Then the camera panned over to the woman. "Try to find Rathru's ship key."

"What for?" Ugo asked.

"It's the means of travel for many citizens of the Netherworld," the woman on the TV said.

Ugo approached TV Head. "We want to find Kimberly and get her out here before she gives birth to Bergulsaab—"

"You also need an effective way to escape the hospital and reach a region called Clattigana. It's in the Third Circle," the woman on the TV said. "There, most of the Archdemons reside."

"We need to let the Archdemons know we're on their side…" Naomi said.

Ugo turned back to her and stared with his brows pushing together. "Isn't finding and saving Kimberly here more important—?"

"That's what your friends are for," the woman on the TV said as the TV Head gesticulated. "You secure the escape route, and they'll find Kimberly, or you can help right after you find the key."

"Okay, who even are you?" Ugo shouted.

"Someone who the girl trusts," The woman on the TV said, and then TV Head nodded at Naomi. "Listen, it's possible that Gill might have a backup plan, and then there's the question about the Rebirth Seed itself. Do you guys even know how to remove it without killing Kimberly? Have you thought about that? Rebirth Seeds are tricky."

Ugo stayed silent, thinking for a bit. "My brother can figure it out."

"Well, there's also the highly likely situation where Gill retaliates after being kicked to the curb for failing to bring back Bergulsaab. The Archdemons won't come out to fight if they don't know you are on their side."

"They'll really let their world be destroyed by Gill? They'll fight back."

The woman on the TV snickered. "They won't fight. They'll probably go into hiding unless they know the Tainted are allies. If you let them know you'll fight with them, they'll get off their unmotivated asses and fight alongside you. Why is that concept so hard to grasp?"

It sounded like the TV Head was just saying whatever it needed to remain on their good side. First, it told Naomi that they needed the Archdemons' help to make Gill fail, and now, they needed to ensure that they were their allies just in case Gill decided to take over the Netherworld by force. Zeke would've never worked with such a clear indicator of a wolf in sheep's clothing. But when Ugo looked back at Naomi, something about her face told him she had unwavering trust in this complete stranger.

Perhaps, even willing to hurt Ugo over her convictions, but was that what was holding him back from arguing with her about it? Maybe, it was, and also the fact his opinion was… worthless.

"Any idea where we can find the key?" Naomi asked TV Head.

"Try searching through the desk drawers, darling," the woman on the TV said.

Naomi nodded and let her wings grow out, but not all the way. Thanks to only using her inner demon energy, they were completely black. She flapped her blackened wings lightly, ascended, and pulled open the desk's drawers—random office supplies and otherworldly items such as amulets, rings, and daggers fell out.

Ugo jumped out of the way as potions and crystal balls began falling from above and shattered. It was strange. Whatever demon was the culprit behind it had changed the physics of only select items in the room. Gravity worked normally for some and differently for others.

Naomi had emptied out all the drawers, but no sign of the key. "I'm going for Dr. Rathru." She glided to Dr. Rathru and his interesting anatomy. While grimacing, Naomi cautiously searched his pockets, not wanting to touch any of the dead organs out of his body.

She pulled out a key and cheered. "Found it!"

Naomi withdrew her wings, dropped, and approached Ugo and TV Head while waving the key. It was gold and had a tiny helm attached to the end.

"If you remove the helm at the end of the key, it will eject a substance that'll shape itself into a Transportation Sigil that leads into the ship."

The convenience may have made a number of beings suspicious hearing it upon the first time, but Naomi had no capacity for it. Her eyes widened, nearly sparkling. "Amaziiiing."

"Now, can we get to Kimberly?" Ugo asked.

A swell of Mana hit Ugo like a basketball to the chest. He looked at Naomi, and concern was all over her face.

"That was…" Naomi said and then was cut off by blaring emergency alarms.

"Oh, looks like your friends messed up," The woman on the TV said.