Capítulo 91: Belial, the Lord of Wrath

At last, General Brooks retrieved the bulky communication unit from the table. TechNora suggested that she could send her robots as emissaries to establish contact with the archdevil and hopefully avoid bloodshed. Humbled, the general agreed, while dialing numbers into the equipment.

After an agent leaned into his ear, Mason revealed that Howard Burns, the Director of HAVEN, had ordered The Radiant Assembly to join their efforts, Novaman apparently airborne. Immediately after divulging the assuring news, another agent leaned into Mason's ear.

"Wait!" Mason raised his hand, stopping the general from speaking into his radio to relay the mass evacuation order. "I've just learned that Jalen Nkanga is bound toward the demons."

"What?" Ella gasped.

Mason glanced at her. "You don't know, huh? Figures. No one ever knows what your brother is up to."

"How does a fugitive's suicidal mission concern us?" General Brooks asked, some of the strength returning to his voice. "Millions of lives are at stake here."

"Suicidal? Ha! You have no fucking idea." Mason chuckled, peeking at the armored woman's tense demeanor at the mention of her brother's name. "Just bear with me, okay? My intuition says we stand by and wait for whatever instruction comes from his meeting with the demons."

"The famous intuition that led you to keep the tsuchigumo's existence a secret as it rampaged through the city, caused 300,000 deaths, and displaced millions? Is that what we should hinge millions of American lives on?"

Mason winced. "Okay. Make the evacuation call for New Jersey residents only. But do nothing to interfere with Mr. Nkanga."

Thus, the room lit up as the general and his officers made important calls that would change the lives of millions. Ella watched the television, hoping to see her brother's approach from the drone's feed. Instead, the swarm of demons blocking out the ground was the only thing she could see.

❊ ❊ ❊

The sky rippled with cracking shockwaves as the second round of missiles struck the flying demons after the first one did no more than hurt a fly.

Morons, Jalen thought. Now his task was made infinitely harder by the mortals and their itchy trigger fingers.

Was it the most damning fate that chose his home city out of the thousands spread across the globe as the staging point for an archdevil and his colossal forces from hell? No. The same fate that picked him as Tanarion's candidate, be it from Anakulos' influence or not, set Hermosville on this path of destruction. As the catalyst, it was only right he took the reins and righted the ship.

Getting closer, he could see into the swirling mass of airborne demons and catch a fleeting glimpse of colossal serpentine demons concealed within, red flames dancing across their crimson skin. He couldn't even begin to guess what these demons were.

The sounds were deafening to his heightened perception, the shrieking cries of hundreds of thousands of demons grating to his nerves. The stench of brimstone and smoke trailed into the sky from the encampments he sighted below. He descended toward a group of demons, armed with spears and shields, standing guard behind an assortment of vehicles arranged as a barricade. The demons followed his descent path and surrounded him with their spears raised.

"Lead me to your master," he said, clutching the severed head in his hand tighter.

"Master? Master?" One demon, short and round, cackled, pointing a mocking finger at him. "A mortal seeks court with the Lord of Wrath. Sure. Right after we chop you down and send your soul to hell."

Another one added. "Then you'll be fit to grace his presence."

"I see," he said, amused. "And is it you that will chop me down? With those short stumps you call legs? If you can reach my waist, I'll stand still and let you take your best shot."

The first demon growled, gripping his spear with two hands and charging as fast as his little legs could carry him.

That was until a much taller newcomer picked the demon up by the head, his eyes focused on the other demons. "Stand down. All of you."

As they retreated to their posts, grunting and cursing, the newcomer tossed the short demon away and faced Jalen. The demon was massive in stature, a head taller than him in god form, and clad in black armor with sprouting bone spikes. His limbs were smoldering with molten fire, his teeth exposed and serrated. Most alarming to Jalen was how fast the large demon moved. In the blink of an eye, he had appeared and diffused the situation.

"Skin as black as coal," the demon noted with a deep voice that rivaled the largest frost giants. "Eyes burning with bottomless energy. We know who you are."

"Good, then you know that my patience runs thin," he said. "Lead me to your master."

The demon smiled the deadliest smile, fraught with a predator's hunger. "Any other day known to the devil and I assure you, I wouldn't be wasting my time with a conversation. But what am I to do when the Lord of Wrath has spoken?"

"Do not antagonize our guest, Therkoth," a softer voice said. "My father expressly forbade it."

A female demon emerged from an alleyway. She looked strikingly human, but her skin was inhumanly snow-white. It was upon closer inspection that her demonic features were revealed. Her eyes lacked irises, her teeth were long pikes, her hands spotted talons, and her feet ended in dark split hooves.

Therkoth grumbled and slowly lumbered away.

"Follow me," she ordered, spun on her hooves, and disappeared between the two buildings she emerged from, her long tail swinging behind her. As he delved deeper into the encampment of Belial's forces, the demons watching him grew in number. They flooded the streets, bowing before the female demon as they walked by. They observed from the windows of the surrounding structures. Many more even stood on the roofs. It seemed like Belial had mustered his entire army just to eliminate Jigoku Kumo.

Soon they entered the street with the monument of the many people who were killed by these demons years ago. Surprisingly, he sensed no demons except for one.

She stopped and pointed at a typical five-story building with red brick walls. "He awaits you." Then her lips curled into a smirk. "Best of luck, god. You will need it all."

Before heading to where she pointed, something caught his attention. There were recent additions to the grounds near the giant polished stone monument carrying the name of every person who died in the infernal massacre. Tall spears stood upright with many demons skewered on them. If he had to guess, those demons were Jigoku Kumo's kill squad. Another thing he noticed was that the street wasn't as deserted as he initially thought. A handful of tsuchigumos watched his every move as he headed to the bar on the ground floor of the building the archdevil resided in.

A hole large enough for his ten-feet frame to pass through existed on the front wall of the bar. A demon, clad in chest plate armor, sat with his back to Jalen by the counter.

"Is it bravery or stupidity that brought you here by your lonesome, god?" The demon was pouring some alcohol and crushed fruit into a large mixing glass, his thick and long tail slithering across the floor. "Tell me, which one is it?"

His eyes narrowed. Rather than play into the demon's hand, he inquired. "Are you Belial, Lord of Ira?"

"Indeed. That is who I am." Belial downed the cocktail straight from the mixing glass, then tossed the still-full glass at the back wall lined with bottles of alcohol. The room rang with the clatter of glass shattering and liquids splashing. "Crude. Predictable. A pathetic attempt to dull the senses. I expected more, considering how addicted the mortals are to these things. Pales in comparison to Hell's."

The Lord of Wrath rose to his hooved feet and turned. Belial stood just as tall as him, with massive black horns that sprouted from either side of his head, curving outward and inward. His skin was molten red, gradually fading into black at the end of his limbs, his muscles lean and defined. His eyes, twin red dots surrounded by shadows, observed Jalen closely. After a few tense seconds, Belial motioned to a table prepared for them. "Take a seat. Let us discuss our affairs."

The table Belial pointed to had two chairs. One was a throne made of bone, loud and tall. That was where the archdevil sat, waiting for him. While the other was plain and lower, but still big and sturdy enough to carry his weight. He could see the game Belial was playing, and he didn't like it one bit. However, what was he to do? Turn around and leave so that the demons could claim this city? Take the chance of dealing a fatal blow to the archdevil before the stalking tsuchigumos rush to their master's aid? Even if he succeeded at killing Belial, how would he stop a million demons from scouring through the country and killing any mortal they come across?

Burning on strategically placed burners around the room were black fires that held some magic to them. What exactly the black flames did, he couldn't exactly tell. But he knew they served a purpose. Everything had a purpose. Every step of his journey here had been meticulously planned by Belial.

He placed Jigoku Kumo's head on the table and assumed his assigned seat. "That is the head of the demon you came for."

"Mhm. You have my gratitude for taking care of the rogue tsuchigumo," Belial said, his tone soft-spoken with a guttural voice. "As I understand, she was a grave thorn in both our sides, undoing all my carefully crafted work preparing this city. Tell me, do you have her body?"

"No."

"Shame."

"Preparing this city for what?" He inquired, attempting to read the body language of the eerily calm archdevil which betrayed his title of Lord of Wrath. "The person whose portal facilitated yours? Give up that chase, Belial. It will not end well for you."

"And why is that?"

He gathered no tells from the archdevil's demeanor. Not even a glimpse of what Belial wanted. "Because you are looking at that person."

"Is that so?" For the first time, Belial's neutral, almost bored expression changed into a smile. An amused one. "Is that why you surrendered yourself to me? Led yourself, so ill-equipped, into the heart of my legions?"

"I came in good faith so that we air our grievances and come to a solution without bloodshed."

"Hm. Bloodshed." The archdevil savored the word like a connoisseur sampling fine wine. "Then in the spirit of that good faith." Belial held his hand out, and a giant battle axe with a serrated obsidian blade flew into it. "I will let you know that I am considering whether it is beneficial for you to be alive or dead. Which is it, god?"

He reclined in his chair. "I can't answer that question for you. But know this: if you fail, I'll be adding your head to my collection."

They locked eyes, daring the other person to make the first move.

In the end, Belial grunted, stabbing the butt of the axe into the floor with a resounding thud. "Then what do you want? What did you come here to air out? Be specific."

"I want you and your army out of my city and back where you came from."

The archdevil reclined on his throne as well, resting his arms on the armrests. "Ah, see, there's the rub. I want the city. So tell me, how do you propose we come to an agreement without bloodshed?"

He now realized the purpose of the impressive number of demons Belial had called upon. Silence came as he studied the archdevil, trying to come up with an angle. Anything that could aid him. Threats of violence would not work. As powerful as he was, Jalen could not take on Belial, his daughter, Therkoth, and his entire army all at the same time. It would be asinine to suggest such, and Belial would rightly challenge him on that front. Even adding all of HAVEN's superheroes, including The Radiant Assembly, risked threading up the escalatory stairs. Belial could unleash so much death on the country that it would dwarf whatever Jigoku Kumo's spawn managed.

"The city is too small for the both of us," he finally said.

"A perceptive observation," Belial said. "To that, I agree. However, I harbor no intentions of staying on this plane any longer." As Jalen's eyes narrowed with confusion, the archdevil continued. "Gremory, my daughter, will lead the expeditionary force."

An idea sparked in his mind. "Then what do you think of moving elsewhere? Some patch of land uninhabited by humans. Because no matter what deal we strike, you'd be hard-pressed to find any mortals to even consider living amongst your kind. Remember the infernal massacre?"

"Ah, a valid point." Belial nodded slowly, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "I am open to… relocation, as you put it. But first, certain debts must be paid. I'm a creature of principle, you see. No attack against me shall ever go unchecked. I trust you, as a fellow leader, understand such necessities." The archdevil's eyes closed into slits. "Do you oppose me in this?"

Jalen thought hard about his next few words. Based on Belial's sudden change, if he answered wrong, then everything he worked hard to accomplish would fall through. The archdevil was willing to throw everything away at the cost of getting back at the Navy for unleashing their ordinance on him.

"Fine," he agreed. "But some stipulations will be put in place."

"Elaborate."

"You can do whatever you want against the equipment the mortals used against you."

"But not the mortals themselves? That is hardly a suitable price for the mortals to pay!" Belial growled, slamming a fist on the table, smashing it into pieces. Then, just as quickly, the archdevil was composed again, a sigh escaping his lips.

Jalen pressed on, determined to stave off a monumental war that could see the humans hunted down with impunity like overpopulated pests. "From my observation, their attacks failed to harm your forces. It is only fair that you do the same. As a warning. Besides, the equipment I am referring to is fucking expensive. They will feel its loss."

Belial nodded in acceptance. War averted, he and the archdevil, now somewhat receptive, discussed the details of their deal with the notion that the government, HAVEN, and the president would have their own disagreements rearing at the back of Jalen's mind.