Pandora’s POV

I was blinded by the rage, I could hardly distinguish which soldiers I was slaying. All I could see was red. Blood was splattered all around the battlefield and I could very vaguely tell that one third of the blood I was seeing was my own. Honestly? I had the strong belief that we were doomed. But how couldn’t we be? I just killed my own child…I mean… Fuck me! Drogo may have been a being from a fully different species, but I had raised that bastard, I had taken care of him… Fucking Hell!

As I forced my sword through a faceless soldier, I heard a hysteric scream erupt through the sky. I furrowed my eyebrows as my head shot up to see that one single view I had been dreaded since the moment Gates told me we’re going to war.

Every soldier froze in it’s place – some with swords just inches from the enemy, some screaming in agony – everyone watched as our favorite Devil crashed straight in the ground with a force so grand that it cracked the soil we were walking on.

I looked back over my shoulder and locked my eyes on Shads and Vengeance. With wide eyes I watched his face drop as he realized what had just happened. I swallowed thickly, before I pointed with my head towards the place where Syn had landed, after cutting through a warrior who had oh-so pleasantly approached me.

“Fuck...” I whispered, before I shoved the blade in the troop to my right out of pure anger. Within a second he turned into a pile of ashes. This can’t be happening. I holstered my sword, before I rubbed my hands over my face.

“The devil is dead!” I heard Amon proclaim their victory. Their side of legions started cheering. “The devil is fucking dead!”

I pushed through the sea of warriors towards Gates. Where the fuck was his dragon who was supposed to protect him? As I got closer I realized a few things – there was an arrow which was undeniably sticking out from his chest; he had ripped out a hole in the ground when he came plummeting towards the ground; he probably had broken every single bone in his body, but… he was breathing. Very slowly, but… he was.

He had to be the luckiest bastard ever known to exist!

Shads had bent down beside him. He turned his head to look back at me over his shoulder. There was a question mirroring in his eyes.

I took a deep breath, before I drew my sword.

Shit.

I knelt down. I bent the knee and so did every single one of the warriors that were directly under my command. I had admitted our defeat and had handed what was left of our infernal legions to the opposite party.

After a short moment Amon along with the rest of the generals appeared in front of me. I could tell there was a shit eating grin on his face not even having to look at him.

“I did offer you to fight for the winners, didn’t I… Dora?” Amon laughed. My jaw tightened just hearing the nickname.

I took a sharp breath, “I hand over our legions. I admit our defeat.”

“That’s all just fine and dandy, but that’s not your choice to make.”

I raised my head to look at him with a deep frown, before I slowly rose to my feet, “What the fuck do you mean? Syn’s dead. I am the commander, I decide what happens to his army.” Well, technically Syn was alive and well. Fine… Maybe not well, but he’ll get there… eventually.

“As I said it’s not your call.” Amon rested his sword against the ground. “Our beloved devil had chosen a deversis for himself.”

I swear to God at that exact moment I wanted to run over to Syn and shove my sword in his chest to make sure he’ll never, ever, throughout his pathetic existence, make another stupid decision.

“Yeah, the Queen!” Wormwood piped in. My eyes squinted on the goon. If only a look could kill – this specimen right here would cease to exist in less than a second. He was an insult to all the fallen. A mere junkey who out of a pure miracle ended up playing in the big boy league.

“There hasn’t been a coronation,” I spat through my teeth. “She is nothing but an angel walking the grounds of Hell.”

I noticed Shads head snapping back at me. Johnny and Vengeance along with a few of the soldiers had picked Gates up in an attempt to get him away from the battlefield.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Wormwood exclaimed addressing both Zacky and Christ. Suddenly all of the general’s attention were fixed on the barely breathing devil.

“He was the ruler of Hell. He deserves a proper burial.” Matt argued, stopping to stand by my side.

“No, he was a piece of—“

“That’s enough,” Amon raised his hand, silencing the blood craving fallen, “Shadows is right. We all once had followed him. Despite the fact that he decided to go against us, I do still have a drop of respect for the guy. Carry on.” Amon nodded towards Vengeance and Christ.

“So…” Asmodeus started, fixing his dark eyes on me, “The queen is not in fact a queen.”

“No…” I sighed, hoping and praying that my little white lie wouldn’t be caught up on and I won’t get killed today, “She has no power over Hell.”

“You’re a demon. Your kind always lies. Why should we trust you?” Belial stepped forward with a victorious grin mirroring on his face.

“Maybe because Gates isn’t here and wouldn’t save your ass if I decided to wipe you off these wonderful grounds we exist upon?” I shot him a glare. I was very well aware that legions were guarding his back, but believe, you, me, not a single warrior would stop me if I decided to kill the leach standing next to Asmodeus. He knew that. That’s why he went fifty shades paler.

“Nobody threats a general,” Lilith drew her sword, starting to walk towards me. All of the generals turned to look at Belial, who just gazed at his commander.

Suddenly Shadows appeared in front of me. He let a low growl out towards Lilith, “Lower your weapon.”

“Get out of my way!” She hissed in Shads’ face. “I swear to fucking Mother Theresa, I will cut you open like a fucking swine if you don’t move!”

“Try me.” Shads didn’t even flinch.

A chuckle came from Asmodeus’ mouth. “Hell, this could actually get interesting. Let’s make a deal,--“ Asmodeus took a deep breath as his stare trailed to his pixie like commander. Something told me I actually didn’t want to hear what the cruel freak had to offer. “Lilith against Pandora. Whoever wins means– their side will be the winner of this little political debate,” He gestured towards all the remaining warriors and the battlefield itself.

My breath was caught somewhere at the back of my throat. I nearly chocked on thin air. He wanted what? My eyes trailed over my injured body, before it scanned Lilith and her commander’s armor. Not a single scratch, which led me to think the bitch hadn’t even participated in this battle, meaning? She wasn’t in severe pain and she was very well fucking rested. But I still had hope.

I sighed, before I stepped around Shads. “What are the rules?”

Asmodeus had already opened his mouth to say something, but Amon raised his hand in the air with a devious smirk playing on his lips. There was this feeling… the feeling of Death slowly, but surely creeping up on me. “There is one rule. Just one.” Amon proclaimed, his eyes lowering to my sword, “You swap your weapons.”

And just like that? My hope went right out the window and odds were – I was going to join her very soon.

“That’s not fair, Amon.” Shads argued.

“Fair?” Amon’s dark eyebrows raised, “Your commander is wielding a celestial weapon and you talk about… what’s fair and what’s not?”

“Pandora is injured for fuck sake!” Matt pointed out to my wounds, before continuing, “Lilith doesn’t have a scratch on her! How is this fucking fair?”

I rested my hand on his shoulder, feeling him ease in to my touch. “Relax,” I whispered, dragging him away from the generals. “I mean what choice do we have? We’ll lose Hell!”

“You know that’s not true,” He replied, checking the generals, before returning his gaze to me. Can you proclaim it even louder? Like… so the generals would hear it? The fun thing about these ‘political debates’ if you will – nobody actually knew how things went down, this was Hell after all. Pure anarchy. The only set of rules that were known were created by Gates, so nobody bothered themselves by memorizing anything that wasn’t needed on daily basis, so – the coronation part and Teek not actually being Syn’s deversis? Absolute bullshit. She was the Queen regent. She couldn’t in fact rule without a king, but she still acted like the monarch she was, hence being named – Queen regent. Why did I know it? ‘Cause me and Gates used to get drunk Mondays through Saturdays and come up with dumb shit like this.

“Good luck proving your point after one of them claims the throne,” I shot him a pointed look.

He sighed heavily as he ran his hands over his face, “One cut and you’re dead.”

“Come on,” I waved him off. One cut wouldn’t kill me. I could assure him that I wasn’t that weak.

“I’m serious. You’re severely injured, one cut from that sword,” He touched the weapon hanging from my left, “and you’re finished. I won’t be able to save you.”

Oh, right. I won’t be fighting with this particular sword. Well, maybe this was my lucky day and I’ll finally meet Death herself? She’s been sending me waaaay too much Valentines, most of which were written in blood.

“You don’t seem to remember the outcome of the previous war, but I do. I can’t fucking lose you again…” He cupped the side of my face and forced me to look at his hazels.

“Ay, love birds!” Wormwood exclaimed, “If you don’t mind, we have a score to settle!”

“Okay… Okay.” I shook myself as a small smile appeared on my lips. I looked up at Shadows. “How do I look?”

An amused frown slowly took over his features, “You’re seriously worried about how you look?”

“Hey, I refuse to go into battle looking less than my best.” I chuckled, taking him by arm and walking back to stand in front of the generals.

“You look beautiful,” He whispered in my ear right before we stopped. That alone gave me confidence. I couldn’t die… not just yet. There was someone who genuinely cared about me and I’ll be damned if he wound up with Lilith after he had slayed me. After all, Shads was famous for his horrendous choice in women.

“So… if you both are done expressing your undying love for one another, I do believe you, Pandora, owe us this fight.” Belial grinned at me. At that same moment I started wondering… Maybe I should surprise him with a Glasgow’s smile? I bet that would complement his personality.

“Exchange your weapons.” Amon ordered with a stern look to his face.

I stepped forward, drawing my sword out – Lilith mimicking my action. My eyes inspected every inch of her body, searching for a weak spot. She had a mane of bright red hair reaching to her mid back. Her hair fell in waves over her shiny armor, which seemed to be fairly heavy and for a second I started questioning if she ever had fought a single battle. I mean she had to… right? Otherwise an arrangement of this wouldn’t have taken place.

She jerked the sword out of my hand, holding out her useless piece of metal. I shook my head. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Huh?” She arched her eyebrow at me, an amused frown mirroring on her face, “Are you mad?”

“Pandora, take the weapon,” Matt hissed behind me.

“No… I don’t think I will.” I crossed my arms over my chest, raising my eyes from her sword to her face. Lilith’s sword seemed just as dull as a training sword. It was thick, there was no chance of me actually harming her with the sword. So Amon knew… That fucking bastard. “Wielding that sword I’m as good as dead, whereas fighting bare handed—“

“Take the fucking sword, Pandora.” Lilith ordered. There was an odd spark in her eyes. I’ve known the demon for as long as I could remember myself, but never once I had seen her with an expression like this on her face. It was almost as if she was warning me… As if she desperately wanted for me to take her sword.

Something smelled really fishy here. Nevertheless I gave in and took the sword from her and what surprised me even more than it changing it’s form underneath my touch was the fact that Lilith beheaded her general. Right then and there she took that sword she was holding and cut off Belial’s head.

And just like that – the political debate continued. Legions shifted, but didn’t involve in the massacre. They were unsure whether the war is ongoing or this was just another political argument, which would die off soon enough. Quite frankly? I was just confused as the legions. In my arm stood a sword I had lost at the Battle of Heavens and Lilith was fighting the pixie commander, while Wormwood ran off along his commander, leaving only Amon and Asmodeus raising their weapons.

Amon’s seven feet tall commander was coming straight towards me, before Matt pushed me out of his way. “Go! Find the angel!”

Who? Teek? And how the fuck was I going to do that? Hell was bloody endless!

Before I could even apprehend what was going on, a very familiar shriek forced me to tilt my head back and look up at the dragon flying towards us. Speaking of the devil…

“Pandora, get out of here!” Lilith shouted over her shoulder. Since when was she on our side? And since when did I look like the type to run?! That angered me beyond limits. I was no coward! Maybe I did have difficulties walking, led alone fighting, but I was not going to run!

“I’m not leaving the field!” I yelled back, raising the sword and going straight for Amon. Shads pushed me out of the way in the very last moment.

“I told you to leave!” His eyes were burning. Something told me that if I don’t get out of here in the next couple of seconds, he would drive that axe in my chest instead of that big brutes’.
With the corner of my eye, I spotted something moving at the very back of the legions. It seemed like a black mist was taking over the warriors, swallowing them up one by one. The whole battlefield went by a couple degrees colder. The clinging swords died down as both Shads and Lilith and the opposite party turned their heads towards the incoming darkness.

Amon shared a look with Asmodeus, before they looked at us. “This isn’t over,” Amon said and hopped on the horse.

“Duly noted,” I saluted him, before Asmodeus mirrored the general and they rushed off with their commanders following trail.

“What the fuck is that?!” Lilith shouted back at us, seeing the dark slowly, but surely taking over everything in it’s trail. The wind got stronger and everything around even colder.

“Death.” Matt whispered in awe.

“Death? As in the DEATH?” Lilith exclaimed.

“Yeah,” He replied, before he knocked off a warrior from a horse and got on it himself, “And I suggest, dearly suggest, you move your bony behind if you don’t want to die today!” Shads tilted his head back and look up at the dragon who was carrying our Queen. He mouthed a single word in Calligorian and the dragon turned around with a loud scream and flew away in full speed. “You’re coming?!” He turned his head to look me over his shoulder.

“Oh, yeah, sure… I’m already there!” I mumbled as I hoped on the horse and wrapped my arms around Shads’ waist.

“I’ll meet you guys back at the manor!” Lilith shouted, before she sped off into the wasteland.

The horse shifted underneath us, before it started running at full speed.

I had never, during all these years, seen Death. Joking about it is one thing, but seeing it up close? Saying it was a bad sign was a bit of an understatement.

Nobody actually knew what happened to the souls Death reaped. What happened to those who were even worse than the damned trapped in those torture chambers… Death didn’t discriminate, if you got in it’s way – the end line for you, my friend. With Gates you could gamble and maybe even plea for ones life, but when dealing with Death? I don’t even believe Death was a soul, which scared me even more. I don’t think Death was an angel, it was just this eerie entity floating through the realms.

“We’re almost back at the manor,” Shads yelled as the horse ran towards the rusted gates.

Almost safe. Keyword- almost.

The gates were closed. Matt readied the horse for the jump, but before it could even get off the ground, I felt like I had been taken to the middle of Antarctica. I was freezing.

Long, cold fingers landed on my temple. A sound… a very low timbre, breathy, croaky, unpleasant voice whispered something in my ear, paralyzing me and robbing me off my vision. I felt like falling, like someone was dragging me through all the layers of Earth.

I couldn’t move, I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear nor could I speak.

I was floating through this liquid oblivion feeling only numbness and seeing only dark.

Somewhere between the first second of this badness and the last breath, I realized something. Death too must be earned.

Notes