Author's note: Not much to tell, hope you all enjoy it, yada yada. I was too tired on Saturday to write it like I said and I owed the Celestial Ascendancy chapter for the people who still read it. But here it is, New Chap!
A Marvelous Devil.
Chapter 16: A Hero's Blood.
Dante Andromalius.
Hell's Kitchen.
Times like these reminded me why I rarely visit this planet. Inside Kamar-Taj, I nearly forgot how mundane the energy felt here.
Yet, there was something interesting in this place, New York, America, according to the Ancient One.
I think this was one of the country's most heavily invested in during the brief spat among some nations around the time of my death, but I wasn't paying much attention outside the Ashen Court around that time.
A world war? They called it something like that.
I think I read about it when I studied a bit about the organization that had an unstable cosmic cube in their possession. Hydra, or something?
Meh, it wasn't important.
I killed more beings by myself during my wild era. Killing billions was the norm in spats between demons like us.
"So, what's the plan?" I asked Wong, who was acting as my handler.
It was funny, magically, perhaps he had the edge against me, considering he could call the energies of the Vishanti to smite me, but I had him beat in everything else.
But I liked him; there was something about him that made a good impression on me.
And that artefact he was carrying made me hide a wince of discomfort. A holy cross that stank of Yahweh.
I felt a prickle in my back, where his complete form branded me all those years ago. I didn't have a scar in this body, but somehow, it itched exactly where it used to be.
The One Above All was bullshit and he knew it.
Wong looked at me curiously, perhaps sensing my discomfort, but replied in that deadpan way of his, "First, we need to contain the groups keeping an eye on this," he murmured softly.
I lifted my eyebrows.
"Kamar-taj must stay sovereign. The world powers would love to see us shackled if they knew of our existence," Wong chuckled amusedly, "not that they could force the Ancient One."
Oh, that was hilarious. Mortal politics.
"It's not just us, then?" I asked curiously.
"Didn't you read history, Dante?" a sorcerer jeered at me. "Why The Ancient One chose you is beyond me."
"I'm just better than you. Who are you, anyway?" I rolled my eyes at the sorcerer.
He just opened his mouth before closing it shut with a snap.
He gritted his teeth, much to my amusement, as some of his friends kept him still. He looked like he was about to jump me.
Wong gave me a disapproving look and gently smacked my head with the hand clutching the cross.
I couldn't hide my wince this time.
"Enough, both of you," Wong grunted harshly, his eyes locking with the unnamed sorcerer.
Looking closer, his face looked familiar.
Wasn't he the guy I wiped the floor with during spars?
Whatever.
"Usually, vampires keep to Monster Metropolis quietly, but these fools think they deserve more, using fake businesses to feed on humans," an older sorcerer sneered. "By doing that, they broke the Ancient One's treaty. Normally, we'd overlook them, but now the group agrees they need to be stopped."
Wong nodded seriously, looking at me. "We aren't the only ones looking at their actions. Shield, for one, is keeping an eye here. I believe I explained about them a couple of days ago."
I recalled them after a moment. Ah, those idiots. The good ones, supposedly.
I nodded at him.
"Apart from them, I believe the succubus sent some hunters to bring them to heel, so we must keep that in mind. The plan is simple: Master Hamir will take half of our group to set a perimeter and deal with the agents around."
"Meanwhile, the rest of us," Wong said, indicating four sorcerers and me, "focus directly on the vampire threat. According to our intel, there are at most twenty, all low-level. Nothing our team can't handle."
"Will we be supported after the other group finishes, Master Wong?" the unnamed sorcerer from before asked somewhat nervously.
"We will, Adept Smith," Wong nodded. "We just need to hold them in place before finishing them. After that, we will sanctify the building to avoid any risk. I've heard of some… heroes keeping an eye on this place."
I tried to avoid my lips from twitching. Superheroes.
A dry chuckle escaped me.
"Ah," Smith nodded, his eyes almost sparkling for some reason. "The devil is from here, right? Do you think we might meet him today? If these vampires have been killing people here, he should be looking for them, right?"
Hamir sighed, "Even if you do meet him, young man, he won't remember about it."
"As long as I do," the younger one shrugged.
"Enough," Wong sighed. "Master Hamir, if you would."
The older sorcerer nodded, and he and his group teleported away.
"Dante, you're with me. Smith, Mikaelson, behind us. Greave, Halvar, cover the exits. Minimal damage, people. Move them to the mirror dimension first," Wong instructed.
"Think you can manage, young'un?" Master Halvar asked, looking me directly in the eye. "I've seen you in the training yard, and I can tell no one here is better than you."
Smith's eyes flashed with bitterness at the compliment. His bitterness fed me.
"Leave it to me," I smiled. "The whole place? Might as well make it easier for Hamir and the others."
He stared, open-mouthed, while Wong narrowed his eyes.
I didn't pay them any more attention. As we approached the building, I shifted focus, first sending a wave of my demonic power inside, using my magic as a sonar.
Thirty-eight inside, but of those, only three were human.
What I sensed darkened my mood completely.
Their essence was disgusting. Even those demonic beasts inside the underworld didn't make me feel this way.
I had hoped to consume them, but they stank of rot.
The smile vanished from my face.
Closing my eyes, I focused on my demonic power to facilitate the conversion, using its moldable properties to shroud this building and the two next to it in my power.
Then I pulled everything inside to the mirror dimension.
"Let's go, I want to return to Kamar-Taj soon," I said irritably to the others.
They followed me in silence, but I could feel their incredulous glances at my back.
I didn't know what I expected.
But it wasn't this.
The music blared. A bar, of all places, greeted us.
The people inside looked like they were already in a fight, one that wasn't against us.
At least before I broke through the door.
A human parading as a demon was besieged before we entered. A red costume with… were those fucking horns?
Now I was missing mine. Devils didn't have any demonic features, at least most of them.
Everyone in the room locked on my group and me as I entered.
I ignored the… squeal from Smith at the back.
"Daredevil," Smith whispered.
I didn't pay attention to him, focusing on the disgusting beings inside.
"Careful, Dante," Wong said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "They don't fight as humans."
One of the vampires began drooling, looking directly at me.
And the vampire vanished.
It was fast; I had to admit that. Faster than any human I'd trained with in Kamar-Taj, almost rivalling Mordo with his bullshit magical boots.
A claw appeared in front of my face, dripping with the blood of the human dressed as a demon.
I almost licked my lips at its purity…
That was such a delectable soul.
I shrugged, pushed Wong's arm away, and let the claws nick my cheek.
Without anyone noticing, I consumed the blood as it passed my mouth.
Delicious.
When the vampire's elbow neared my head, I turned and brought my hand low.
The arm fell to the ground.
The widened eyes of my partners were the last thing I saw before I turned my head, my hand grabbing the hair of the vampire and pulling with all my might.
There was little resistance as his head was torn off, the body dropping to the ground with a loud thud.
A magical circle appeared on its body, before a dark flame consumed it whole.
And I kept walking.
The horrified attention of the only human conscious made me pause for a moment before I resumed my steps.
No one moved for a moment… Then chaos erupted.
Glass shattered as several figures lunged away from the bar, the chairs scraping violently across the floor as the vampire moved. The smell of burned flesh filled the room as Mikaelson retched at the back.
"Move," Wong ordered calmly, his attention not moving from me. His eyes never left my form.
Greave and Smith moved in tandem, praying to the Vishanti as golden sigils flared into existence, sealing the exits with translucent barriers. The walls rippled as the mirror dimension adjusted to my desires.
The bar stretched into the distance, the corners folding into themselves to block the paths.
Three vampires rushed Mikaelson at once.
But they never made it there.
Wong, masterfully, opened three portals in less than a second, each one closing just as a body part entered. They were cut to pieces without the master sorcerer moving from his place.
That absolutely counted as a spatial attack.
Mikaelson recovered quickly, cleaning his mouth from his own vomit as mandalas formed in his hands.
I kept walking toward the biggest group, over twenty vampires looking between the three humans and me.
Halvar's staff struck the ground once, and the space beneath their feet fractured. The ground softened and ate a smaller group whole. Wong threw the cross in their direction before it stopped by itself in the air and shone brightly enough to prick my skin.
The creatures burst into ash.
I reached the centre of the room and stopped, a smile growing on my face.
Especially the despair coming from the supposed hero.
And the fear coming out of the vampires.
They were used to being predators. Now they knew better. Just as nature intended.
One of them backed away slowly, his eyes darting between Daredevil and me.
"Wait, we'll leave! We will return to the Metropolis. We will not come back to the surface, I swear!"
The smile finished forming on my face.
"Run," I whispered, "Make it fun."
It took three steps back before the ground beneath him deformed and punctured more than ten times, then dropped to the ground.
Fist-sized holes then opened in his body.
The mortal tried to move.
I just looked at him with a grin. But much to my surprise, he frowned and spoke up.
"No," he said hoarsely, coughing up blood. His red costume was even more crimson thanks to the gash at his side. "You can't kill them."
"Creature!" Daredevil snarled at me. He moved, trying to stop me since I was the closest.
Interesting.
He was fast, faster than the sorcerers when they didn't use magic to enhance their bodies. His weapon impacted gracefully against my chest.
I felt a simple tap. Nothing else.
My hand came up almost lazily, my fingers closing around his wrist almost gently.
I patted his shoulder.
Then I broke the Baton.
"Dante," Wong warned me quietly.
The mortal dropped the weapon, twisting and trying to use the momentum to his advantage.
All for nothing. I stepped toward him and punched his stomach, keeping in mind my strength.
He folded inward.
Sighing, I called for the eldritch magic the sorcerers used and bound him tight, dragging him midair and slamming him against the wall for good measure. Then, gently, I moved the other two humans next to his unmoving form.
He groaned painfully, his breath hitching.
"Stop," he rasped, "They're beaten, you don't…"
One Vampire tried to take advantage of me looking the other way.
He was without limbs a second later.
And soon it burned.
"Don't kill them!" he shouted, almost in agony, as if me getting rid of this filth was a great sin.
I ignored him.
I reached the last cluster of vampires, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room.
They screamed in rage. It didn't help them last longer.
When it was over, the bar was quiet again. For good measure, I sent a fireball toward the music. That was probably even more disgusting than the damn vampires.
Mortals had weird likes. This music didn't compare to the soul I used to have on The Ashen Court. Paganini was something else.
It was finally over.
Then, I turned toward the only conscious mortal.
He hung against the wall, breathing hard, blood trickling from beneath his mask.
His eyes were filled with rage. And fear. And grief.
But what surprised me the most was the sheer conviction coming out of him. So thick I could taste it.
Oh… he was perfect.
"Prepare to cleanse this place," Wong sighed, cleaning his robes from ash. "Dante, leave him alone."
He saw me walking towards him, and I laughed sheepishly.
"I'll take them outside," I said almost immediately, not wanting to be here when they purified this place.
I quickly grabbed the three mortals and pulled them outside.
It wasn't even three minutes later that Master Hamir joined me outside with his group. They were looking at the mortals and me curiously, but didn't say anything. Minutes later, the building shone white, and the doors opened again.
"The hunters slowed us down," Hamir sighed, "It's dealt with, they returned below."
Wong and the rest walked outside. Mikaelson, Greave, and Smith were looking at me in fear and respect, while Wong and Halvar looked approvingly.
"It's done," Wong nodded at the second group, "Dante took care of most of them. And remind me to punish the scouts. Their intel was wrong."
"Over thirty of those beasts," Halvar snorted, "But the Ancient One chose right. You did well, kid."
"Thank you," I nodded humbly, turning my attention to the three humans slumped against the wall. "Now, what about this sorry lot?"
"We'll erase their memories of this night," Hamir said, already pulling energy from some place I didn't recognize. "Then we'll take them to the hospital."
"No," Daredevil's voice was raw, almost delirious, as he fought against his bindings. "Who are you people? I can't… I can't go to the hospital."
His head turned toward me despite the blindfold, tracking me somehow.
He had no sight… I didn't notice before.
He was getting even better. Did he know I was different thanks to that? He was such a mystery.
"I'll heal them," I said, crouching in front of him.
Not out of kindness, I just wanted a closer look.
And to keep my fun going.
His jaw clenched. "Don't. Touch. Me."
"You're bleeding out," I snorted.
The scent of his blood was making my mouth water. So blindingly pure.
"I don't care what you are," he rasped. "Stay away."
Wong stepped forward, his face was a full, confused frown. "Dante…"
I waved him off, fascinated. Even now, even though he was broken, he was trying to order me. Trying to maintain control of his fate.
"Just the claws in my torso," Matt hissed out finally, each word slurred. "Nothing else. Don't you dare…"
"Wasn't planning on it," I said honestly. Why would I fix what wasn't broken? That was what made him special.
This stubborn, bleeding mortal who somehow knew I wasn't human.
I placed my hand over the gash in his side, letting just a trickle of cosmic power flow through. His body went rigid, and he let out a sharp intake of breath. And he screamed. Trying to block his eyes with his hand as if he were blocking a too-bright light.
"What is that?" he hissed. "What are you doing to me?"
The wound knit itself closed, and the internal bleeding stopped. His heartbeat steadied significantly.
But those sightless eyes behind the mask stayed the same.
As they should.
And I made sure to leave him a little gift.
A lazy wave of my hand healed the other two mortals.
"You can go ahead and erase their memories," I said airily.
I won't forget this night anytime soon.
And neither would the daredevil. My gift would ensure that.
Dante Andromalius.
Kamar-Taj.
I barely stepped through the portal when Wong's hand clamped around my arm.
"We will let the Ancient One know how the mission went," he said flatly. It was his usual tone, but there was something sharp that he couldn't hide from me.
I glanced at the others passing through the portal before it closed. They didn't act as if something was wrong.
He didn't release my arm, and I didn't pull away.
Despite his other hand clenching around the cross, I could feel a smile growing on my face.
The walk to Yao's chambers was silent. Wong didn't say anything, just marched me there.
When we entered, the Ancient One had a small smile on her face. Her posture was relaxed, her hands folded neatly in her lap. She barely looked up from her tea.
"Master Wong," she said softly, "I'm gladdened all of you returned in full health."
"Over thirty vampires eliminated, Ancient One," Wong reported, still keeping my arm held tight. "The building has been sanctified, and the witnesses were handled. But the mission isn't over."
"It isn't?" she asked curiously, and I bit down a laugh.
"No!" he moved at once, his hand impacting my chest, enveloping my body in the crimson bands of Cyttorak.
Talk about overkill. I couldn't move a single inch, my face impacting the floor as I groaned.
"I found a Demon, Ancient One!" Wong said almost immediately, "We need to kill him before he can manipulate you further."
I couldn't help it… I burst out laughing despite the pain in my nose.
And here I thought they saw Yao as an all-knowing, perfect Goddess.
The Ancient One didn't laugh, but her lips twitched. I took that as a victory.
She waved her hand, and the bands were removed, and I stood up.
"I know," she explained to Wong, "I always knew what Dante was, Master Wong. He was forthcoming with his nature."
"You knew?!" Wong gaped at Yao.
"Kamar-Taj is a place of learning, Wong. You'd better remember that. Dante vowed to follow our rules while he stayed here, and I accepted him."
"But he is a Demon!" he almost shouted, "the scourge of the universe! They can't be trusted, Ancient One."
"Has he done anything particularly evil during his stay?" Yao asked curiously.
I stayed silent. This was hilarious.
I even used a sliver of cosmic power to conjure a Slurpee. I blamed the ancient one for this new addiction I had.
"No," Wong said, unconvincingly, I might add. "Not exactly. But his wrath showed today against the vampires and the human hero!"
"Weren't you all tasked to kill them? Why does the method matter? They broke the treaty, after all." She retorted amusedly.
I slurped on my drink. Berries, this time.
"And I won the bet," I added after Wong didn't answer. "I knew Wong would be the first."
"And he won the bet," Yao nodded unconcernedly.
"And hero?" She raised her eyebrow in my direction before sighing. "What did you do, Dante?"
"Daredevil," Wong said absentmindedly.
"His blood was delicious," I grinned sharply, making Wong shiver in his spot.
Yao sighed tiredly. "I could guess why. He's… something special."
"It tasted heavenly," I locked eyes with Wong and licked my lips.
And he fainted.
I chuckled, earning a quiet huff from Yao, then she groaned.
I looked at her, smirking victoriously.
"Sooo… about that bet? I think I know what I want, my dear Yao."
How I loved the way her eyes tightened, and her eyebrow twitched.
The human world was so fun.
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