"This feels familiar." Stygian whispered from underneath his breath before he began looking around.
Everything seemed to be normal — nothing seemed out of place, and what's more, everyone was going about their business as usual... well, apart from the occasional stares from people.
"Uhhh... sir?" The voice of the woman called out to Stygian.
Looking back at her, Stygian found her blushing, her face crimson red and anxiousness taking over her as she continued to stare at the beautiful face of the Prince of Hell.
"Uhh... could you... uhh..." the woman tried to speak but found it difficult, almost as if something was choking her throat.
"My apologies. Isn't there something I needed to sign?" Stygian spoke, his voice carrying the authority of a ruler and thus making the woman feel even more embarrassed.
"I... ah... I need to get my boss!" The woman ran as quickly as she could.
Giving her a small wave of goodbye, Stygian began to look around the room to find the demon he had seen earlier.
He didn't know what that demon had done, but deep within him he felt as though... this moment had already happened.
And not a moment later, a sudden chill enveloped the room. As Stygian turned to check, the demon he had seen earlier manifested alongside an angelic sword and pierced his skull with it.
"Haha! You're dead this time!" The demon cackled as he embedded the sword deeper into his head.
"My Lord will be so happy with me! I'll become a greater demon!" The demon cackled as he held on to the sword.
But as he moved to pull the sword out, he felt a strong force holding on to his weapon, and with horror in his eyes the demon slowly turned towards the Prince. With abject horror, he saw his hand grabbing on to the sword.
His eyes were glued to the demon, and even though a blade was currently piercing his skull... it didn't matter.
He held the sword tight, not allowing the demon to pull it out. He looked at the features of the demon and saw it was a humanoid snake that resembled a king cobra, though it was quite green in color.
The demon, obviously shocked and now even terrified of what he was seeing, tried to quickly jump away, but as he did, the Prince grabbed the demon's leg and with a quick motion slammed the demon into the floor, embedding him within it.
"Uhhh..." the demon felt his breath leave him as the force of the impact was far too great for even a demon like him.
As the demon lay on the floor, the Prince — still impaled by the sword — began to slowly transform back to his original form, his disguise failing.
Slowly, bright white flames began to envelop him, flickers of fire showing quick glimpses of his true form and heritage, and slowly... his true form revealed itself.
The demon watched as the man with a beautiful face disappeared, and replacing him was the terrifying form of the Prince.
He stood almost ten feet tall. His eyes were nothing more than holes that held nothing but darkness within, and worst of all... the Prince began to open his mouth.
The cracks that formed his mouth had long disappeared ever since his arrival to the mortal plane, and this wasn't even the worst part.
As the Prince continued to open his mouth, the cracks that had disappeared began to form around his pierced head, and slowly, rows of needle-like teeth began to appear from the dark void that served as the mouth of the Prince.
Trapped, the demon began to panic and squirm. He had no clue that the person — no, the monster — he was facing was far more terrifying... than Lucifer himself.
"Who sent you." The Prince spoke... his voice low... and furious.
It had been a long time since someone had attacked him with such a cowardly method. Had the demon struck him simply from the back, he would have been more merciful... but no.
Walking closer to the trapped demon, his carapace began to slowly crack with dark and bright energy, until eventually... his form shattered, and in its place stood something... far worse.
The Prince... had become... The End.
The demon looked on in horror as the figure slowly began to creep closer, its mouth opening wide and revealing a maw of dark, bladed tentacles swirling within.
And as The End drew closer and closer, the demon, fearing for his life... tried once more —
---
"Number 665! Please come to the front desk!" The lady called out.
Getting a bit annoyed, Stygian walked towards the front desk and placed down his number. Even though the demon might have gotten away, he still needed to pay these taxes.
"Name please." The woman spoke without looking up from her paperwork.
But as Stygian opened his mouth to speak, he paused...
"This feels familiar."
The Prince said to no one but himself, and as he began to look around to see what was happening, a man ran out screaming.
The Prince, confused by this for a second, quickly found out that it was the demon he had seen earlier.
"Excuse me, miss." Stygian said to the woman at the front desk before leaving and following the demon outside.
As Stygian followed the demon outside, the pouring rain only continued to get worse, causing the people outside to look for shelter and leaving the two alone.
The demon, still terrified from the experience, was visibly shaking.
Stygian moved closer to ask it questions about Cain, but the demon quickly crawled away.
"Stay away from me! I don't want to do this anymore!" The demon yelled, crawling away on the floor as he felt his legs shake from fear.
"What do you mean?" Stygian asked, confused, before trying to walk closer.
"No!!!" The demon yelled out before summoning his angelic sword and taking his own life.
This stunned the Prince, and in his mind, thoughts raced to answer what could have happened to make a demon so terrified... and of him, no less.