CODEX Part 3: Between Heaven and Hell

“Damn,” Mehrdir moaned, getting thrown into a painting that was far heavier than he imagined.

Abaddon was a feared demon in every domain and even if Mehrdir was the highest level in Hell, Abaddon was completely above everyone else with the title of Lucifer’s favorite. Of course, back in the day, Mehrdir was Mammon’s favorite and had been gifted with power that he never used because shortly after, he fell into a sick obsession with Zoe, but the powers were still there.

Mehrdir used the wall as a defense against Abaddon’s sudden wave of energy but it was still not enough against the powerful demon. The greed demon couldn’t help but glance behind the vanity demon in hope he could catch a glimpse of Zoe; he couldn’t. Abaddon chuckled and grabbed Mehrdir by the neck before pushing him into what looked like a dresser.

“Worried for your commander’s safety, huh?” Abaddon teased, pushing Mehrdir aside before placing his foot over his face. “Not so powerful now, Mehrdir. That’s what love does to a demon. You should have taken a lesson from Beelzebub; after all, he was the first demon to see his love get killed and tortured in Hell, right in his domain,”

Mehrdir chuckled and tried to lean on his hands so that he could get up even if Abaddon was pushing him down.

“You haven’t seen Beelzebub’s domain,” Mehrdir got the chance to spat.

Abaddon raised an eyebrow and pointed at the greed demon before clenching his hand. For Mehrdir, everything in his body started to follow the movement of Abaddon’s hand, feeling like his insides were going to implode.

The thing that saved Mehrdir was actually the dresser he had been pushed against. The doors opened suddenly but nothing came out, instead a sound echoed throughout the whole mansion; the whole domain actually.

Lucifer and Beelzebub looked to the fiery and toxic sky of Hell and noticed sixty legions of demons approaching from practically everywhere, on winged horses that seemed scientifically modified, making a certain sound that only made Lucifer frown.

“Abigor,” Lucifer mumbled, his eyebrows furrowing in anger. Beelzebub chuckled, remembering why exactly he let Abigor –one of the best demons in the subject of war- leave and live as he wished.

“Some demons have to be let free so they will come back to their master on their own,” He told Lucifer, his eyes sparkling in that yellow bee-like glow.

Lucifer scowled and made himself unseen in the smoke and blood that was filling the domain quickly.

“Long time no see, Abaddon,” The vanity demon froze when he heard the whisper in his ear, too close for safety.

“Well, well, the long lost Duke of Hades returns,” The demon retorted with hatred yet still in a formal tone, for some reason.

With one quick glance from Abigor, Mehrdir nodded and ran back into the great hall in search for Zoe.

As they both knew, Abaddon attacked first. He swayed his sword to the side and tried to intimidate Abigor. It didn’t work. He blocked his sword and kicked him. The force he was using wasn’t impressive. It was normal. Abaddon chuckled and leaned closer to him and stared deeply into his eyes.

“Is that all you can do?” Abaddon taunted the rebel.

Abigor glared at him and pushed him away.

His eyes hardened and his grip on the sword tightened. Abaddon launched two attacks at the same time forcing Abigor to sway his sword to his side while he ducked. The vanity demon wanted to kick him in the ribs but he saw that coming and kicked Abigor in the chin.

Abigor rubbed his chin and winced. It really hurt. He closed her eyes and concentrated; he didn’t want to use the energy. Abaddon was offended because he knew why Abigor was Hades’ favorite and wanted to defeat the rebel with power; the one within.

Abigor opened his eyes and waited. Abaddon smirked cockily and moved his free hand to the side. He was more of a crazy guy in fighting so Abigor had to be careful.

Abaddon formed balls of emptiness –which were actually balls of dark energy that looked a lot like fire but they weren’t burning, only disintegrating part of your body without coming back- into his hand and threw them at the rebel, enough to make him busy. He sneaked behind Abigor and tried to slash his side. It wasn’t that easy, as it has been proved. Abigor saw that coming and blocked it. Their fighting styles weren’t that different; they were both trying to sneak on each other or try to kick while using diversions.

As Abaddon was blocking one of Abigor’s attacks, the rebel heard something behind him. However, he ignored it and threw Abaddon into the wall. The vanity demon recuperated his balance quickly and threw another ball at him. While Abigor was busy avoiding them, Abaddon had time to hit.

The light coming from the balls was very bright and reminded Abigor of human fireworks. He swayed back and caught his blade before jumping on one leg and kicking the demon in the chin. Even though he got hit, Abaddon had time to grab Abigor’s leg and throw him to the side. The rebel landed on his feet, against the wall. He jumped as if he was on a trampoline, and hit Abaddon hard.

The adrenaline was rushing through their veins, making their body act even more intensely than before. Abaddon saw Abigor’s body relax and took it as an opportunity; he was going to have the last blow.

Abaddon ran to his enemy, his sword ready to slash his side, as he wanted from the beginning. Only that, when he got close enough, something about him was wrong. There was a faint yellow glow coming from his chest.

As if he was on auto pilot, Abigor blocked the attack with his bare hands. As he took a closer look at his eyes, Abaddon noticed how much Abigor’s eyes looked like fire. That never happened before and he didn’t know how to react, truthfully. It was only for a few seconds, but it was enough for Abigor to grab his face and throw him hard into the wall. His hand was tingling and Abaddon realized why; Abigor was a rebel but the master who let him run away was Beelzebub. The power used by abigor amplified because Beelzebub sealed it before the demon ran into the Upworld. The endless knot on Zoe was - just like Abigor’s in the beginning- a seal to block their power from engulfing their entities and become worse than demons.

Abaddon’s head was being squished by the rebel and with a swift move of his hand, Abaddon’s eyes widened while his body started to turn off. He looked to the side and noticed something in Abigor’s hand; a syringe.

“Goodbye demon Abaddon~” Abigor started bemusedly.

Abaddon wasn’t dead; even worse, he was alive.

When Mehrdir entered the great hall, he noticed the front doors open and Lucifer hurry inside. Both of them stopped when they heard loud clapping and dark chuckles. Their heads turned, with different expressions, towards the head girl of the moment: Zoe Lestrade.

“Get down, Zoe. That’s not your place,” Lucifer started, calmer than Mehrdir imagined.

“Aren’t I your inheritor now, Lucifer? This throne will be mine sooner or later,” Her voice sounded so much like a whore. Mehrdir didn’t want to judge but she sounded like she was selling her body, not to say that she was sitting in that certain matter as well.

Lucifer sighed and grabbed a hand through his black hair. He was losing his patience and he was letting his energy swarm around him. Mehrdir noticed Eneizar sit still with fear. Once Lucifer’s eyes fell on his former demon, he narrowed his eyes, Eneizar’s body falling back and twitching crazily.

“Even vanity demons fall in love, don’t they Eneizar?” Lucifer started, walking towards the former demon, “Should I kill you now or should I keep you for later, like a snack?” The Loved One hissed, his eyes elongating, taking half of his face with the nose disappearing and his mouth rearranging in a sneer.

Mehrdir’s eyes widened when he realized Zoe wasn’t moving a finger to help her demon; she changed Eneizar’s sign and she welcomed him to their family, which only meant she cared for him more or less.

Eneizar’s eyes widened even more and he screamed loudly, the pain being too much for him to bear, even as a demon. Lucifer was ready to finish his former demon when he suddenly got thrown a few feet from the demon. Zoe’s eyes were coldly watching everything in front of her until a brief memory made her change her mind.

“Eneizar is mine. I don’t like smug bastards playing with my toys right in front of me,” She commented, her voice taking a sudden turn to a lower and darker tone.

Mehrdir bent and quickly pulled Eneizar to him with the power he had left. The vanity demon was bloody and looked really bad, he had an open wound on his stomach, probably from the time he wrapped himself around the leftover and didn’t budge even when he got attacked by the white skin of that monster.

Looking around, corpses were filling every corridor and Mehrdir wasn’t sure he wanted to know how it looked outside; the sight must have been horrible.

Zoe and Lucifer were staring at each other in silence when Gakhas and Mepalham found themselves in the same corridor with the rebel Abigor and the now-human Abaddon. The lower demons felt the sudden emptiness in Abaddon and Gakhas laughed out loud; probably one of the few times he ever laughed.

“I don’t find anything funny, sloth,” The now-human Abaddon snarled, making Gakhas take a step closer and punch him in the face. The short demon didn’t stop there; no, he started to beat the crap out of the demon who was supposedly Lucifer’s favorite.

“Should we stop him?” Mepalham asked Abigor who seemed to be grossed out by the dust and blood on his clothes.

“No. He seems to enjoy himself too much to be stopped,”

Mepalham nodded and leaned against the wall. He was very curious what was happening between Zoe and Lucifer at the moment.