Lucifer is up to no good.

That thought weighs heavily on Laudon's mind as he travels all over the world, primarily visiting the places that have been generating high demonic activity.

Laudon has kept his theories to himself until he is able to confirm whether his suspicions are valid, but over the last several years, he has noticed that more and more demons have been getting released from their prisons in Hell and sent to Edreial. Not even Zul has offered answers as to why. All that anyone knows is that the order had come from Lucifer before he departed Hell.

The order being that, precisely twice a month, one thousand demons are to be cast out of Hell and sent to Edreial to do Lucifer's bidding, whatever that consists of. God has only ever loosely monitored his sister's fallen kingdom, so the small uptick in the corruption of the humans and their souls has gone undetected. This cycle has been repeating itself for years, and the only person to know what Lucifer's endgame is, is Lucifer.

Laudon, however, is persistent. 

He will not stop searching until he gets answers. Apart from having genuinely wanted a change in scenery, this is his other reason for wanting to visit Edreial—to find out exactly what his father is planning. Unfortunately, he has received nothing helpful from the demons that he has questioned. They are more afraid of Lucifer than they are of Laudon, so they have purposely given the prince little to go on.

At the end of the day, Laudon is no simpleton. He eventually put two and two together. There can only be one reason why Lucifer has taken such an interest in God's imperfect toys, the humans. Only one reason why he has demons out corrupting the innocent, tainting their souls and turning them into mindless puppets.

Lucifer is creating an army.

But why? And more importantly, what for?

The air here reeks of alcohol and sweat. How disgusting. Laudon is not the least bit impressed by the small town of Holloway. After using a locator spell to uncover where, if any, the demonic energy has been festering in the area, Laudon finds himself standing outside a big warehouse. It rests in the middle of a large field and, at the moment, is the only place in town that has any energy resonating from it, though not necessarily demonic.

No matter where I go, the humans all act the same. Laudon does not understand the appeal of what he's seeing right now, and after traveling the world, he has since concluded that all humans have three things in common, no matter their culture, and it is that they love to party, they love to fight, and they especially love to have sex.

All three things are happening in and outside of the battered warehouse.

Laudon rolls his black eyes in a judging manner. As confusing as the humans are, he does not hate them like his father. He has no business even judging them because he has never had the chance, before now, to be around them long enough to form a worthy opinion.

Enough staring. Time to get back to the matter at hand. Laudon moves closer to the building before sending out a call to any demons that may be lurking nearby. He waits a few seconds for a response, but none ever comes. Laudon steps closer and sends out a louder call. It is at that moment when he first feels it. A pull. Something intangible that beckons him to take a step inside the building.

Slightly thrown off guard by this powerful new energy, Laudon gives in to curiosity and seeks out the source for which it belongs to. His cloak offers protection in many ways, so the humans cannot see, hear, or feel him as he passes by. Even still, he moves around the party stealthily, desperate to find whatever it is that has suddenly set every atom in his body on fire.

Several minutes pass, and Laudon begins to feel nothing again.

An unfamiliar sensation creeps up his spine and gradually wraps itself around his neck, squeezing tightly. Panic. Laudon dashes back outside, feeling safest when engulfed in the darkness. He gasps softly as he is once again immersed in that sweet, new energy. It raises no alarm. The being for whom the energy is attached to is not wicked. In fact, the energy feels good. Too good. Too pure. And... feminine?

Laudon has never encountered an energy quite like this before, and he's tempted to use a different tactic to help pinpoint its exact location on the grounds, but that will undoubtedly be too risky of a move. Zul has more than likely been monitoring Laudon from the moment he stepped foot out of Hell, and he will surely make an appearance if Laudon begins using his true powers. Knowing Zul, he will jump to the wrong conclusion and assume something is wrong, and that Laudon is in need of help.

I'll return at a later time to properly explore the area. For now, I should go before I end up doing something foolish. Laudon gets a good distance away from the warehouse, closes his eyes, and then begins the spell of teleportation. He isn't sure where in the world he wants to go next, but anywhere away from Holloway will be for the best.

Halfway through the spell, Laudon stutters to a halt.

He opens his eyes at the feel of the new energy approaching him. Fast. He blinks a few times and, courtesy of his perfect vision, is unable to process the fact that a human girl is what has been causing such an uproar within his spirit. She is a tiny, pretty little thing. Has honey-colored skin and eyes, a head full of big curly brown hair, and a body that is ripe for all types of sinning.

As if that is not enough to stop Laudon's rapidly beating heart, the girl opens her mouth and speaks.

"Hey!" she starts, and her voice is as angelic as her features. "You seem to be the only one here that didn't get the memo for this not being a costume party."

How can she see me?! This is not good... Laudon takes a step backward, several steps actually, as the girl continues walking towards him. He is not sure what he might do if they were to meet face to face. For her own safety, he frantically whispers a spell to temporarily paralyze her legs. Finally, she stops walking. But questions continue to dance in her round brown eyes.

"H-How did you move that fast? You a magician or something?"

A magician? Me? Laudon sneers at the disrespect. He has no time to act on it because another girl is on her way towards them. Her energy is loud and sour.

"Maggie!" the new girl calls out, giving Laudon a name. "You still out here?"

"Krista? Over here!" Maggie turns around to hug the other girl, and Laudon can hear them whispering about him. "Do you see that man back there?"

The new girl glances in Laudon's direction, and her bemused expression does not shift. "What man?"

Interesting. They are both human, yet only Maggie can see me. Why? Laudon does not have time to try to figure that out because Zul sends him a message, a black crow currently perched on top of the warehouse—Zul's familiar— to return to Hell. Time passes differently between the three worlds, Edreial, Heaven, and Hell, so Laudon must've been gone longer than he had intended. Zul is probably worried sick.

Laudon retreats to Hell before Maggie can turn back around to get a final look at him.