The Demon’s Bride

Elise didn't know that the mirror could move. They could sense movements of the living but not the dead. She wasn't aware of the Hellie Mirror's movements until she was pulled inside by the mirror. The different or the air told her that she had shifted into a different place. Realizing it, Elise couldn't help but find herself looking at the velvet sky which was colored deep in the pitch black color. There was no star on the sky neither was the stars.

The sky was empty and void, only having tinge of red all around them as if below the sky was a heavy sea of burning red flames.

Elise then felt the force of wind blowing her hair upwards, realizing she had fallen from the sky and was free falling down to the ground. The wind caused her to close her eyes.

She was falling! Did Orias think she has wings?!

Elise opened her eyes again meeting Ian's red ones that stared at her, "Hold on," he said, giving her his hand which Elise quickly took. Ian pulled her by her arm, picking her body closer to his arms and held her against his chest. They were falling until his large wings appeared from behind him, pushing the wind downwards to maintain his stance on the sky. "That damned servant I will cut him to halves when we meet him again. You grandfather is one grumpy and controlling grandfather. It seems like we don't have much good luck when it comes to choosing family."

Elise can't help but say, "We aren't able to choose our family either."

"Fair point, which why I am torn whether on being thankful as he had lead to your birth or should I curse him for his grumpy ass," Ian clicked his tongue before he soared over the sky, searching for a place where it was less crowded.

Elise looked around as they flew around the sky, noticing the other demons who were flying all around him. But they didn't have the appearance of a human. Instead, all of them appeared like a small gremlins. Their skin were deep purple and reddish in color. A smile that was eerie widely spread across their mouth lifting their cheeks and turning their blood-like red eyes which even color all the white part of their eyeballs into red. When one of them noticed Elise, the lesser demon tittered. Yet their smiles falter to fear when they caught sight of the feathery black wings as if knowing who it was.

"What is that?" Elise asked, a little taken aback by how menacing the creatures appeared to look like.

"Those are the lowest ranking of the demons, the one that doesn't have any brain in their mind to help them think or the ability to take a human appearance," said Ian as they flew. His voice remain calm as he had seen Hell long before Elise.

Elise had been scared during their first flight but now, she looked below the sky much calmer than before. She looked at the houses which was right below them. The first Elise wanted to take a note and marvel at was how all around the land instead of river with the clear blue water, instead, what was flowing was living lava. The river of lava spread in a disorderly manner. Instead of being on the side of the houses, the river stemmed all over the busy street of the houses. The houses itself look minuscule from above but the structure reminded her of an old house where it was built by cemented walls which was windowless. 

As they both left the village, she spotted a market and Elise felt chill when she saw limbs being sold there.

"Do demons eat humans?" Elise's question somewhere heard to Ian as a naive question which was adorable.

"The lower rank demons ate them. There are enough vultures in Hell but the demons adopted the belief that eating limbs of punished humans would strengthen them," an underlaying scoff could be heard under Ian's words.

"And does it raise their rank?" Elise question, pushing her hair that scattered and had been bothering her eyes.

"No it doesn't," Ian replied plainly in a deadpanned note. "I doesn't even help the amount of magic they are born with."

"Then why they still eat humans?" Elise couldn't understand the line of thought. There were vultures in Hell, eating humans brought the no nourishment to climb a higher rank or to strengthen their magic.

"That summarized Hell in one word, darling," Ian offered her a grin.

Still not getting to the point, Elise asked, "What word?"

"Foolish and dumb, ah, that was two words actually. You have seen your grandfather. Now it is clear to me that being born in Hell will make the person dumb as a cow. No offense to the cow who might actually be smarter than this lots." Ian's eyes then swept around the place, "There it is our place," and saying that Elise look down as they flew down toward the ground. Ian helped her down to the ground before placing his legs and stood beside her. 

Ian's wings went to its place before disappearing without her trace. He then went toward one of the demon who was passing by. With some talk, or rather Elise would justify it as threatening, he came back after with two black cloaks on his hands. "One for you, and come here," whispered Ian.

Elise draped the black cloak over her and come toward him where Ian had leaned forward. Elise questioned what he did when her eyes turn wide as he felt his sharp teeth nipping on her neck. The bite was not light enough to be called a nibble but it wasn't harsh enough to draw blood.

Her entire cheeks felt on fire. After all it had just been last night here she could still smell his scent that rouses her memories of last night that continues until sunrise.

"What was that?" Elise questioned, watching Ian putting the cloak over him. "Do you need to go on a low profile?" Unlike her who was still a human with a little blood of Satan, Ian was known as Diablo in this place. At times, Elise could smell the odd scent from Hell and the atmosphere around her which was gloomy, where no one look or meet the eyes of each other and barely a discussion was made, had her somewhat nervous.

"For once, I am a very odd creature here, not many likes me. I am a man who is most likely to be love or hate, no in betweens," Ian raised his hand to cover her head with the hood, "As for what I did earlier it is to mask your scent. You have the scent of a demon, of Satan's. As if that is not bad enough, you also has the scent of a human."

Elise hold his hand as they walked away from the spot they stood at. People here used wings for transport which why their arrival didn't attract many attention though there was some who noticed Ian's wings to be special and narrowed their gazes. The gazes put Elise on wariness, "Don't worry they won't dare to do anything."

"But they don't know you," they might attack Ian because they don't know who it was and his wings might reminded the other demons of their nemesis the angels.

"They don't but they know how to differentiate who to fight with," Ian answered calmly, walking as if he knew he had a place to go to in mind.

"Even though they are foolish and dumb?" Came Elise's question that had Ian to warmly smile.

"Yes. They have a mind of animal who knew their limits better than some who live in the mortal world, I suppose," he answered. "Let's go before we are too late. I have a place in mind whenever we come to Hell. It is the safest place here."

Elise once again looked at her surrounding, noticing the frightening tall caves that appeared like a large statue of a lion's mouth opened wide. With the darkness that prevail in Hell unendingly, Elise could also notice how the lesser demons who dangled on the sharp ends of the cave's mouth had almost turned themselves invisible by going one with the darkness with them. If not for their burning red eyes, Elise wouldn't know they were there.

She had to stumble upon the scene of a demon eating a human with brown eyes to realize that she was really in Hell— the last place for those who sinned.

Thinking of what would be coming to her now unease Elise and she sucked her breaths to pull some courage in herself.