Pride aimlessly walked the streets lost in thought. Pride met Wrath over two hundred years ago. Wrath was a unique demon, one that was especially rare. She was born a human then died. Most humans when they get to hell get sorted to their appropriate circle and begin their eternity of torture. She, however, was very different. She was sorted into the fifth circle for wrathful or sullen souls. For what reason Pride did not know. There was another Wrath before her. The Wrath of the past was a large annoying oaf who delighted in watching humans battle on the surface of the Styx. According to a report told to Pride by a frantic demon of the fifth circle, the old Wrath had been torn to pieces by a recently arrived human. What she found when they arrived on the bed of the river was carnage in every sense of the word. Demons couldn’t be killed by anything that was not holy. That wasn’t the point though. The bodies of both humans and demons didn’t look like the attacker meant to kill, just to make them suffer. Eyes were clawed out, tongues ripped off, and scalped bodies lined the shores. On top of a pile was a small human no older than sixteen. She was ripping the ribs cleanout of Wrath’s chest. Pride went back to the ninth circle to report she was given one order in response. She was to recruit this child into Lucifer’s demon army and have her replace Wrath.
The new Wrath took a different approach with the battles on the river Styx. While the old Wrath had given the eternally fighting humans larger weapons, like swords, axes, or the simple guns humans had back then. The new Wrath took a different approach. She gave the humans a wide variety of tools with the sole purpose of causing pain just small enough to not cause unconsciousness. Instead of people lying around without legs or with their torsos cut open. The new Wrath created a battlefield were instead of grand large battles. People were traded pain. There was nothing that could be considered glorious like the old 5th circle. Just pain, pain that would never end. Humans couldn’t die in hell. Any injuries would slowly patch themselves up.
Pride knew Wrath took pleasure in watching individual humans' pain. Nearly all demons delighted in the suffering of humans. However, with Wrath, it wasn’t a mere sense of Sadism it was pure hatred of a species. This would make finding Wrath especially hard. She wouldn’t leave Hell at least from Pride’s knowledge. Unlike some of the other sins, she wasn’t interested in anything from human civilization. Therefore, Pride would most likely have to track down one of her underlings and reach Wrath through them.
After returning to her temporary living space Pride began to mull over possible locations of Wrath’s demons. Pride did not know much about humanity, much less how they live or decide to spend their time. What she knew she read in reports. She was indifferent unless she needed to be. If Lucifer liked a human she adored it. If he disliked one. She was prepared to murder it. Aside from that she couldn’t give a shit. Most of the demons under the specific sins knew where to look for easy targets. Lust’s demons frequently hunted around bars, strip clubs, or anywhere else a human would look to have sex. Greed’s enjoyed casinos and organised crime. Gluttony himself could be found gorging himself along with his underlings. Wrath’s were different. Angry humans from Pride’s rudimentary knowledge didn’t have a gathering point. Pride sighed and sat up reaching for the television remote. She aimlessly flipped through the channels until she saw it. A simple game of some sport Pride never cared to learn about. As she stared at the screen a conversation she had with Lust almost a decade ago resurfaced.
Pride was standing in the dark hallway of one of the few buildings that was in Hell. It was where all business was conducted in 9th circle, Lucifer’s place. Unlike all the other princes, Pride never got one. Or rather she didn’t want one. All orders from the Demonic higher ups originated within the blackened halls. Pride stood leaning against one of the old cracked pillars looking over reports from the different circles mindlessly. She was broken from this state when she heard the soft tapping of heels behind her. “Pride, darling how are you doing?” Pride groaned and looked up meeting Lust’s eyes. Her answer didn’t matter. Lust just wanted Pride to ask her how her day was. “Fine… How was your-”
“You would not believe the day I had!” She sighed, twisting a strand of the long black hair of her favorite vessel. “I heard about this thing humans have called a sports bar. I thought ‘oh since it has the word bar in it it must be like other human bars’.” She moved her hand away from her hair and brought it to pinch the bridge of her nose. “It was not!” Her grey eyes rolled in annoyance. “There was like, no women and at first I thought you know ‘more for me’. None of the men paid me any attention no matter what I did. They all just argued with eachother about one of their stupid human sports!”
Pride hummed and noded returning to her reports.
“And then one of them had the gall to fight another one. That would have been fine if they were fighting over me but they weren’t. You don’t know how much I wanted to flay them alive for doing such acts in my presence.” Out of the corner of Pride’s eyes she saw Lust’s face darken. Like most demons Lust had a carefully crafted facade. Trying to remain bubbly at all times. She was less likely to break when a human angered her that way. When she did break, however, it was a sight to behold.
“Uh huh.” Pride flipped a page.
“Then I realised something, I looked to the left and I recognised a demon there. It was one of Wrath’s so you know I got right out of there. I will never be caught dead around somewhere that brute sends her underlings.”
“That’s awful, Lust.” Pride turned another page.
“I know! Wait…” Lust was distracted by something down the hallway. “Greed, there you are you won’t believe what just happened to me.” Pride turned her head in that direction as Lust effortlessly ran in Greed’s directions in her heels. Pride heard the beginnings of their conversation as she walked in the opposite direction.
Pride sat for hours on a bench facing the first sports bar she found. People working in the stores around began looking at her strangely after the first hour. Pride simply brushed them off and resumed staring at the bar. She knew it would probably be easier to go in and check if they had one of Wrath’s demons. However, as soon as she began to get up she could only think about how such an establishment was below her. So she sat there as the sun moved across the sky and was replaced with the moon.
At a time she would guess to be around 10PM she heard yelling from inside the bar. A human stumbled with a bloody nose falling out onto the sidewalk as the door slammed shut. After a number of expletives were hurled at the closed door the man stood up and stomped down the street. While he walked Pride stared deep into his being and recognised something following him, a demon that was tied to Wrath. She stood up and began to follow him. The man was so consumed with rage that he didn’t notice Pride trailing behind him or the demon poised to possess him. The demon lingered closer to him as the man turned down an alleyway. He was halfway through the narrow walkway when he began to violently convolce. Pride watched as the demon of wrath began to possess him. The man violently threw up the contents of his stomach which seemed to be entirely liquor. He stopped his convulsing after thirty seconds. Pride counted. The demon seemed either unskilled in possession or enjoyed the human suffering. Either way Pride didn’t care.
The body stood up and turned it’s new head towards Pride. “What do you want?” It hissed. She didn’t exactly have a winning reputation among other circles. Especially ones as brutish as Wrath’s.
Pride began to slowly walk towards the demon giving it a lifeless stare. “It would be such a shame if an exorcist came and… destroyed you, you know.” She stopped mere feet before it. “Then if such an exorcist disappeared and we weren’t able to avenge you. Almost as if the exorcist never existed. Wouldn’t an event like that be such a shame?” She stared at it straight into it’s vessel’s eyes. With a snap of her fingers it’s knees buckled and it fell onto the ground. Missing the vomit from its host by inches. Pride kicked his head into the puddle. “You do understand what I’m saying don’t you.” She stared down at the demon with apathetic eyes.
“I- I do.” The demon said frantically. “Pride moved her foot onto the demon’s head and coughed. “ I do understand you, I understand you completely great prince.” Pride removed her foot from his head and moved the tip of her shoe to raise his head..
“Excellent, I need you to relay a message for me. ” He raised an eyebrow. “To Wrath.”
“Why do you need to give a message why don’t you just contact her yourself?” The demon looked Pride in her eye.
“Oh, are you questioning me!” She brought her boot down onto his head. Smashing his vessel’s head back into the vomit.
“I’m sorry my prince, please don’t damage this vessel. I don’t want to have to get another.” Pride grabbed a letter from her pocket and placed it on his head.
“Have a demon give this to Wrath. Tell her I expect to see her by the end of this week.” Pride turned on her vessel’s heels and walked down the alleyway. She heard the demon loudly curse and she began the walk towards her temporary lodgings.
Immediately after it’s encounter with Pride the demon opened a portal into the 5th circle taking him and his vessel into the depths of Hell. He would return to the mortal realm when he washed his hands clean of this task. Being given only a week to give a message to Wrath was extremely risky. All of the demons and possibly some of the tormented souls knew one single fact about the demon placed at the helm of the 5th circle. That fact was that the “schedule” of the circle revolved solely on Wrath's temperament. He would pray for Wrath to be in a good mood but he was fairly certain that it would kill her to be in one. He chuckled as he twirled the letter in his hand as he entered the only building in the 5th circle. It was like most of the few buildings that were littered throughout hell. It resembled what the humans would call “castles”.
His hand brushed the black brimstone as he entered. Most of the building oversaw the River Styx from above looking down at the fighting souls below. However, those who were close to Wrath or as close as you could be to her knew of another entire area to the building. Going down a hidden flight of stairs would lead you to a room that was under the river the front made of clear glass. It was one of the few modern things in Hell. Wrath had it made a long time ago so she could see the fights while remaining what she labeled as a suitable distance from mankind.
She was usually down there. He hoped she would be now. He began to push the door open when a cough sounded behind him. Another demon of the 5th was standing behind him. “If you are looking for Wrath she has been gone for some time 84.”
“Excuse me?” He said. He turned to face the demon. Most demons did not know each other by name, instead of using letters or numbers. Most demons didn’t even think their name in fear of someone learning it. To know a demon's true name was to control it. If they even had a name in the first place. “Do you know when she will return?”
“No.”
“Do you at least know where she has gone it is urgent-”
“No.”
He ran a hand over his face trying to think of an idea. He needed Wrath to get this message or something would definitely happen to him, pissing Pride off might as well be pissing off the big guy below. She was one of the few with a direct line to Lucifer. Waiting for Wrath though would cause another set of problems. Whatever was taking her away from her circle was most likely pissing her off as well. Being the first demon she saw when returning would not be a good idea. He could just leave the letter on her favorite chair. If it took a week for her to return then he would get in trouble. He resigned himself to waiting for her as he slid down the dark wall into a sitting position.
He had lost count of how long he had been sitting there waiting for Wrath’s arrival after two days. On what he guessed had been the third, maybe fourth day. Fast steps could be heard from the hallway. No one walked the hallways unless they had business with Wrath. With her gone, no one dared to explore the depths of her structure in fear of being found. The steps turned in the hallway and entered the room. After the figure was fully into view he realized it was just the person he had been waiting for.
Many didn’t know the exact reasons or the story of how Wrath came to be a demon. All the general demonic public knew was that she used to be a human. So unlike many of the other demons she couldn’t take vessels or change how she looked. She couldn’t be killed like a human but she was still trapped looking like one. That left her as a five-foot-tall demon with the appearance of a teenager. She did change over the three hundred years she had been in hell. Cutting her black hair short at her shoulders length and doing away with the long ankle-length dresses that were popular during her short lifetime. Her hate-filled amber eyes never changed throughout the years. Never letting up on their judgmental gaze.
She stretched her arms above her head, the bones audibly snapping. She stopped halfway through turning around and meeting his gaze. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?” Her eyes lazily scanned his figure.
“I was sent here by Pride to deliver this.” He held up the letter
“Why didn’t she just bring it to me herself?” Wrath stepped closer to him snatching the letter from his hands. “Why is that bitch using human shit?” She mumbled to herself. Beginning to open the letter she turned her gaze back to the demon. “Fuck off.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He swiftly left the room running away after he left her sight.
Wrath sighed running a hand through her hair before slumping down on the only chair in the room situated in the center. She broke open the letter and began to read. “What the hell?”
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