...Meanwhile, On Earth

Curse them! The injured demon thought as he slowly made his way through the dark forest. His long red hair was stained black from the blood pooling out of his head and chest, and his three-piece custom Brioni was in shreds. How could I have let them get the jump on me? I had everything planned out perfectly. Xerses was supposed to provide a distraction while I extracted the souls, then, we were going to split the haul fifty-fifty. Clearly, he must’ve realized I was never going to cut him in and decided to take matters into his own hands, resulting in me almost getting killed tonight. Though, If they were smart, they would’ve made sure I was dead before clearing out, now I’m hellbent on revenge. And I will enact it slowly and very painfully.

Taking a moment, he came to rest against the bark of a malnourished pine tree. I don’t have much time left before this poison kills me. I must get home and administer a second antidote. He thought, looking at the ethereal gate up ahead. Orange and purple hues stretched down from the heavens, creating a doorway to the firmament and hell.

Overhead, a barn owl cried out as it flew by, the stars above lighting it’s way home. Humph, God really put a lot of effort into this place, all for humanity to treat it and him like nothing, how sad. He chuckled, coughing up blood. He gave them too much, what a fool.

“The itsy bitsy spider went up the waterspout...” a group of raspy voices could be heard singing in the distance. “Kumo! Come out, come out, wherever you are!” One called out, causing the others to laugh and cheer.

“Damn, they’ve come to finish the job after all.” Rakumon said to himself as he took off running.

Ignoring the pain in his limbs, he sprinted toward the doorway, hoping they wouldn’t catch up. He willed his legs to carry him faster, but despite his best efforts, they gave and he came crashing down. He rolled to the base of the platform and decided to accept his fate.

I shouldn’t have stopped, the paralysis is setting in. *Sigh*I suppose death by a demon hoarde isn’t the worst way to go. Maybe, I’ll bleed out before they come. He reasoned as his blood began to saturate the ground beneath him.

“There you are kumo!” The first of them shouted, breaking through the trees. It had the body of a scorpion and the face of a noh mask.

“Get on with it.” Rakumon mumbled weakly as it scurried over.

“Don’t worry, you’ll become apart of my body once I devour you!” It proclaimed as it raised its stinger. Out of nowhere, a blinding white light shot out from the doorway and engulfed the scorpion demon. It screeched as it quickly disintegrated and once the creature had turned to dust, the light took to the sky and hovered high above the trees, waiting.

What is that? Rakumon wondered as the rest of the demons approached. Hundreds of noh masks attached to black scorpion bodies came creeping out of the brush, shielding their eyes as they did.

“It’s bright! Is it the sun?” One questioned.

“I’ve seen it before, I think we should leave.” Another insisted.

“No.” One with authority—most-likely the leader—said. “We came for the spider demon and we won’t leave until we have him. Someone grab him and let’s go.”

Before they could move, the sound of a single clap could be heard and the blink of an eye, the white light descended and submerged them all. They howled and wailed as it destroyed them, turning them to ashes just like the first.

Then, after fulfilling its purpose, the light returned to its source, disappearing beyond the gateway.

As Rakumon watched it leave, he suddenly noticed that he wasn’t alone. Near the doorway, stood a woman clad in gold. Her skin was dark like a vanilla bean and her hair was untamed and as white as snow.

She approached Rakumon and knelt beside him, her brown eyes bore into his silver ones, as if searching for something.

Death by an angel, I’ve heard that’s the worst way to go, I guess God didn’t like being called a fool. This brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “kill them with kindness,” though. She’s pulchritudinous, and I bet she has the softest skin. To die by her hand is a fate I welcome, I’m ready.

She reached out and touched him gently, sending what felt like a thousand volts of electricity through him. He convulsed for a moment, certain that this was the end, before the feeling subsided, taking with it all his pain.

Did she just heal me? He wondered as she stood to leave.

“Wait.” He said, moving to block her path. “Why did you heal me?”

She ignored him and continued to depart—stepping around him.

Again, he blocked her, but this time she forcibly removed him, sending him flying into a tree with a wave of her hand.

He picked himself up and readjusted his approach. “Stop!” He shouted, causing the ground to quake.

To his surprise, she stopped and turned to face him—as if saying “what?”

“Did you kill those demons on my behalf?”

She didn’t respond.

“You ruined my chances of revenge, you know.” He continued. “So, I won’t thank you...but if you’re up for it, I could repay the favor.” He offered suggestively.

She smiled and rolled her eyes, scoffing and shaking her head as she vanished through the portal.

I’ll probably never see her again...but I should at least try. He thought as he approached the gate. Fraternizing with an angel, what’s the worst that could happen?