Three weeks before the present
A royal messenger crow fitted into a black spikey crown made from Gehennan steel (that seemed to pierce its head) spoke in a loud, high-pitched squawking voice, "Squaaaaaawk! I have a message for Solrac from the palace of Gehenna! The council of the seven kings of hell has approved your reworks to the plan. Best of luck to you." Solrac gave the crow a handsome tip of five pieces of Gehennan Black Gold, placing the tip into its mouth. "Squaaaaaawk!!!" The crow flew out the window in Solrac's office and seemingly dematerialized. He looked genuinely delighted when he read the letter that the bird had left.
The letter read: "Dear Solrac of the Devil's Seven Prodigies,
David Aizrael of the Twelve Disciples has made me aware of the plan you have put together to ensure that traitor half-angel-half-demon Oshose Amoretvires is suitably punished for the crimes that he committed seven years ago. However, you mustn't kill him. He will soon be of great use to me. Your faction will be forcibly disbanded immediately if I get word that he is dead.
-The Supreme Demon Lord"
Solrac opened a lower drawer on his desk and pulled out the written plan he had comprised. His hair got messy as he shifted in his seat and shook with excitement. Solrac's chuckle turned into a hysterical laugh. "Perfect. PERFECT! David, you genius. How did you get it through to them?" exclaimed Solrac, his eyes gradually widening.
As if from nowhere, David appeared right behind Solrac, responding, "I didn't intend for your plan to be approved."
Solrac jumped in his seat and asked, "How do you mean?"
David walked closer and stated, "I was simply reporting that you were about to go rogue and explaining what you intended to do. The supreme demon king seemed to like it, and the rest agreed with him."
What Actually Happened (A few days ago)
The seven demon kings sat on each of their thrones. The supreme demon king sitting on the tallest throne. Each of the thrones is made of reddish maroon Gehenstone. The stones' rough texture was sanded down, but with dark marks of where the bumps once were. Each of the seven sat on the seats, the thrones' armrests padded with plum-colored velvet. Most of the demons in this council sat leaned to one side. Though their faces and bodies were not visible at their dimmer end of the room, each glowing eye shone through the dark. Starting from the left and going right, the eye color of each king is as follows:
-Red left eye and yellow right eye
-Olive green on both
-White eyes with purple hues on both
-Iridescently multi-colored on both eyes
-Coral on both eyes
-Light blue on both eyes
-Black irises with red rings around the pupils.
David knelt in front of the seven kings of hell with a solemn look; he spoke to the center king dutifully, "Lord Manesstella Orinnox, I bring news."
Orinnox raised a finger to gesture David's rise, saying slowly and commandingly, "Speak it."
David rose to his feet, standing humbly with emotionless eyes and an overall blank expression. His posture was firm but with a hint of loyalty. He continues, "Solrac of the Devil's Seven Prodigies is acting on his own…again."
Orinnox frowns, asking, "What is his plan?"
David responds, "He intends to lure our prisoner, Oshose, into a false sense of security and take him down when he least expects it. This is to amplify his suffering in death."
Orinnox sighs, thinking, "That insufferable buffoon, Solrac. He's going against my orders again. I told him that was not the plan. However, he does lack the strength to land the killing blow on Oshose. He will come right to me in no time. This is perfect. I can see it already."
David bows and lowers his head again, eyes closed, face patient, insisting, "I humbly await your response."
"On the other hand, this may be my chance to permanently disband the Devil's Seven Prodigies once and for all. My plan will finally come to fruition after over twenty years. However, that disgrace may be a late bloomer. I'd better be safe than sorry." Orinnox smiles sinisterly, "It sounds like a terrific plan of action. It is accepted."
David responded, "That is great, my lord. I will let Solrac know."
Orinnox stuck out his hand, looking over at David. "There is no need. I will deliver the message to his residence. You have a great day now, David. Let him know in three days, my seventh messenger crow. Go!"
David winced at the sound of a compliment, hesitantly yet awkwardly saying, "Will do."
The crow from earlier landed on Orinnox's arm, taking a letter. Still bowing, David thought, "I didn't tell him. Something is up. And did the king just praise me? What the hell?" David smirked, "Whatever; Solrac won't be able to tell the difference when I tell him."
Solrac raised his arm, trying to high-five David, exclaiming, "That's great, man."
David awkwardly smiled, responding, "Oh, please. You're too kind. No. Seriously. Did Oshose's weakness rub off on you? Anyways, you should get on with your plan." David walked away a bit, then looked back and waved, saying with a blank face, "See you another time."
David walked out of the room through a door, closing the door behind him, heading into the hallway, thinking with a smirk, "Orinnox, you mad genius. Well, that's why he's our king, after all." As he's walking, he sees some paintings on the walls. One is of Solrac, standing in the frame, wearing his black leather suit jacket, white dress shirt, and yellow tie. He glares at the painting and moves his hands toward it, about to tear it down. Recoiling, he thinks out loud, "No. No. Not yet. Not yet. Not until the convergence." David continues walking down the hall.
Solac gathers his thoughts and inhales. He calls out, "Hey, Ecniv!" The sound of fast footsteps echoes through the halls. David notices Ecniv pass by and turns to him.
Ecniv runs through the double doors into Solrac's office, now bent over, sweating and hyperventilating, asking, "Yes, boss? What are your orders?
Give me a second." He gets back to a straight posture. Solrac looks at Ecniv and orders, "Gather the other members of our faction. I'm calling for an emergency meeting." He hands Ecniv an interactive map showing all the members' locations and highlighting the division captains. "Here you go. This should help you with that." He pushes the map to his chest, continuing, "Now, get to it." Ecniv runs out of the double doors with the map in hand. He runs down the hallway, eying the map and deciding the order in which to retrieve them. His footsteps again echo through the halls—the red carpet with yellow tassels stained with shoe marks of various sizes. While running, Ecniv passes by David, who notices and looks over at him.
Ecniv, who is exhausted and aggressive, turns to David, who asks gloomily, "Boss abusively ordering you around again, Ecniv?"
He stops in his tracks, responding with a hint of yawning in his voice, "Yeah. As per usual, I'm Solrac's errand boy." Ecniv is standing with a weak posture, his head lowered.
David lowers his head to Ecniv's, inquiring, "How would you like to work for me? You could make it big in the Twelve Disciples as one of my soldiers in the special division. We're right above the first division in terms of skill set." David smiles and puts his arm around Ecniv's shoulder. He walks with him and continues like a salesman, "If that does happen, I could recommend your promotion to greater-demon rank to the seven kings of hell."
Ecniv puts his hand to his chin and looks on with a pondering expression, saying, "Hmm. That does sound enticing. Let me think about it."
David takes his arm off Ecniv's shoulder, shrugging with a grin and closed eyes. He remarked with a slightly forceful tone, "Okay–but the longer you sit and ponder, the longer you are a slave to Solrac."
Nicosal stands down the hall, around the corner from this conversation, donning his black cloak, stiff red cotton jacket with a high collar, and golden clip pins up and down the front. He also wears brown khakis, as they are Devil's Seven Prodigies office casual. He observes them covertly from around the corner.
Ecniv looks disappointed, agreeing, "Yeah, you're right. In that case, let me go with you."
David chuckles and parts his hair, saying, "Whoa, there. You should relax there, bud. I didn't mean right away. These arrangements take time." Ecniv glares at David with a look of resentment, almost punching him in the face, but David pushes back his fist. "For now, I just want to show you the headquarters. Give you a bit of a tour, as for your promotion—which we'll get to in a bit. You should train your body for when that power is granted to you. Not that it's going to matter since being promoted increases your power. However, if your body is too weak for the power increase, it will all be for nothing. But be excited about it." David suddenly side-eyes Nicosal, noticing that he is around the corner.
Nicosal darts away before Ecniv can see. Ecniv asks, "What is your name? You seem to know mine." David frowns, speaking, "You don't remember me? I'm David Aizrael. We've met a few times when you hung out with William at the bar west of here. You were very drunk when you did—and all the other times you've met me. You don't have a last name, do you?"
Ecniv shook his head, brooding, "No. Lesser-ranked demons aren't allowed to pass a last name to their children." David responds, "We'll take care of that once you're promoted. By the way, I'm the Vice Commander of the Twelve Disciples. I'll introduce you to the Commander."
Ecniv looked impatient, holding his forearms up at his sides, insisting, "Then let's go."
David shooed Ecniv away with his hand, interrupting, "Hold on, we need to get to a place where no one can see us." David looks around and then opens a door on his left. He points at it, saying to Ecniv, "In here." Both enter the door. They enter a dimly lit closet. David then waves his hand toward the back wall, opening a portal that instantly materializes but gradually expands. David looks at Ecniv sideways without turning his head.
"Are you ready, Ecniv?"
"Yeah," with some hesitation in his voice.
"Good."
Both step forward and enter the portal—emerging on the other side, inside the halls of the Twelve Disciples headquarters.
Nicosal returns to report to Solrac, shakily breathing. It truly is a long walk down the hall. "Sir…Ecni–"
Solrac raised his hand and interrupted, "– 'Betrayed us'? Yes, I know. I was worried he would betray us at some point. The meeting is canceled– well–delayed." Solrac hid his blatant lie with a relaxed and collected expression. Inside he thinks, "The hell I was! I just watched Nicosal's point of view while scrolling through the rest of them."
Nicosal looks concerned. "What should we do?" Nicosal asked, desperate for an answer. He raised his hand to his nose.
Solrac leaned forward in his chair with a jarred expression, cautiously admitting, "All right. I'm going to level with you. I didn't expect David to go stealing my members."
Nicosal looks back at him with a surprised and humorous expression, suggesting, "I thought you expected this. You're contradicting yourself, boss–"
Solrac once again raises his hand as if to silence an audience. His face twitched with annoyance. He forcefully wears a crooked smirk. He interrupted again, "Just talk to Ecniv when he gets back. Okay? But not immediately; wait until night." With the conversation suddenly adjourned, Solrac rearranged his papers. Nicosal walks out of Solrac's office through the double doors and closes them.
As Nicosal picks up the slack, he thinks, "Just a little longer."
David and Ecniv arrived at the Twelve Disciples' headquarters in the Supreme Greater demon realm. The halls are more elegantly decorated than the Devil's Seven Prodigies' base. Golden serpentine frames encase dozens and dozens of portraits of the senior members of the Twelve Disciples. The wallpaper is of a blue floral design with spikey purple briars covering the stems. The background is a vivid off-white. White marble columns line the corridors. Each with an angelic engraving. However, the angels were faceless, with horns growing from their heads. Black and white checkerboard tiled floors for many steps. The design was like a fancy pizza place of the gods. David and Ecniv walk down the halls. Ecniv adored each portrait, looking back and forth at each one with stars in his eyes. David inquired curiously, "So, what do ya think?" Ecniv's attire paled compared to the class of the Twelve Disciples' base. He stands out like a peasant in the royal palace. But this was not even the house of the seven kings of hell. This is the residence of one of hell's highest factions.
Ecniv said with excitement, "Whoa, I did not expect this. It's amazing. Oh, my word."
David chuckled at Ecniv. He hadn't seen anything just yet. David said, "Let's go see Commander Petersburg. He's right this way in the throne room." David stops walking and knocks on the large double doors. Much to Ecniv's surprise, they took a bit to open. When they did, it was without the actions of any one demon. It was an act of great magic.
Ecniv thought, "So, this is the magic power of the Commander of the Twelve Disciples?" Ecniv could barely charge his hell essence to open a door. His powers were merely janitorial in terms of utility. For the longest time, he awaited to receive a title from Solrac, then Oshose, then Solrac again, and finally, he received the title of "Prodigy of Wrath." Much to Solrac's distaste, of course. This new captain was treated as more of a slave demon than an honorary captain. A beta among seven alphas. With Ecniv lost in thought, the doors finish opening. Ecniv lags David as the latter enters the throne room.
David comments, "Are you coming? We don't have all day now." As he looked around the great hall of the Twelve Disciples, Ecniv noticed a small-statured and effeminate man sitting on a silver throne accompanied by eleven others. The man's clothes were flamboyant and colorful. He wore a circular silver crown with three spiked pieces evenly spaced apart on top by thirds. Each of the pieces curved inward toward one another. Almost but barely meeting in the middle of the radius of the crown. His shoulder pads were golden in color, with gold and silver tassels hanging from the front, back, and sides. Each of the tassels had an opposite-colored bead on the end. A large gold circular pendant was sporting a pentagram in its circumference, visibly covering the V-neck opening on his white top. Each point of the larger star is decorated with a tiny golden star. However, the V-neck is just barely exposed under the pendant. The short man's white V-neck jacket has long clips the rest of the way down the torso. Black leather straps tightly fastened, crossed from the bottom two stars of the pendant, meeting at his waist. A belt is attached on each side of the middle stars. A hidden strap under each shoulder pad. A strap down the long sleeves on each arm—crossing with one on the underside of his elbow.
The flashy Commander glanced down at Ecniv with blank eyes—confused. Now at David, who almost signals it, the Commander was inquiring, "Yes, David?", then cooing with excitement when he got the memo, "Oh! I see you brought a new recruit. What is his name?" His golden-colored thigh-high low-heeled lace-up boots tapped on the red carpet with childish anticipation.
David steps away from Ecniv, then points to him with his open hand, looking at the Commander confidently, saying, "This is Ecniv, Commander. He is not a greater demon, but if he is to be promoted from lesser demon to greater demon, he can join our army."
Ecniv looked down nervously, tapping his fingers together. "I trust you know what you are doing," said the Commander to David as he hopped out of his throne like a contortionist, the thighs of his white pants and belt on his waist riding up a bit. Petersburg gazed at Ecniv with mother-like eyes. Putting his hand gently on Ecniv's shoulder, stating, "Boy, being promoted alone will not increase your powers. You will need to be granted further power by the demon kings. To do this, you must prove your worth to them."
Ecniv looks down at the hand of the Commander nervously, then back at his eyes with the same fear, asking, "Is it okay if I call you Petersburg?"
Commander Petersburg smiled carefreely, responding, "It's fine by me. Now, what were you going to say?"
Ecniv gathered his courage; he clenched his fists and inched in toward Petersburg until he backed away uncomfortably. The lesser demon's eyes were sure, determined, and, most importantly, dead serious. He asked with that same seriousness, "How do I prove my worth to the demon kings?"
Petersburg smiled. "There are several ways," he put his index finger to his chin. "But since you are leaving Solrac's lower faction, I assume that will be enough." His look toward Ecniv changed to a cold and judgmental one. "You know your faction is the most hated in all hell, right?" Petersburg smiled and put his finger to his chin once more. He looked at Ecniv with a delightful expression. Ecniv gulped nervously. "But I think Lord Nox would be proud of someone betraying Solrac, especially since that 'someone' is one of his captains." Ecniv was relieved as David stood still next to him. The lesser demon looks Petersburg up and down suspiciously before reaching his hand toward him. Ecniv prevailed and gathered the courage to speak.
"When do I start?"
"Huh?"
Petersburg's face goes blank, and he starts to laugh with his eyes closed. Ecniv looks disappointed and ashamed. The Supreme greater demon stands up straight and catches his breath. "Rushing it, are we?"
Ecniv's face turned to a grimace. He insisted sarcastically, "Let me rephrase that." Now with a slightly annoyed faux-happy tone, "When can I go and prove my worth to the demon kings?"
Petersburg looked at Ecniv with a calm and shocked face. "Ah–well–as soon as possible, I hope. You should go back to your faction's headquarters."
Ecniv expressed an inevitable confusion at that notion. "Why?" he inquired.
Petersburg walked back over and sat on his throne once more. He eyed the lesser demon cautiously, trying not to say the wrong thing that would make him lose hope for the prospect of this new position. The Commander casually crossed his legs as he settled into his chair. "I understand your questions and concerns. I do. Don't worry, child. We will be keeping a close watch on you. If anything happens, we will notify reinforcements." Ecniv opened his mouth as if to say something in response. Commander Petersburg shushes any concern endearingly. "Now head back; I have to file a request to the seven kings." The double doors opened once more behind David and Ecniv. The magic powers of the Commander of the Twelve Disciples still amazed the lesser demon as both walked out of the room. Petersburg kept his eyes fixed on Ecniv until the doors shut once more. He looked over at a strange-looking, hooded demon holding a spear standing in a dark shadowy corner of the room, saying with conviction, "That boy is a keeper. Don't let a soul touch him." The Commander waved a hand at each hooded demon. A strange dark magenta aura came out of his hand. "You are dismissed." As if in an instant, the hooded demons jumped into the air and disappeared into the shadows. Petersburg waved his hand once more and opened a portal. He whispered while holding an insignia to his chest, "I shall join you soon, my sweet."
The doors closed behind David and Ecniv and continued down the long hallway. David looked at Ecniv confident and reassuringly, "Our Commander seems to like you." David looks down and rubs his neck. "Well, he seems to like all our members in some way or another." He gave Ecniv a gentle punch on the shoulder before smiling, "That just means you're Twelve Disciples material."
Ecniv looks down at his shoes, arguing, "I don't want to go back."
David waves his hand (not in a magical way), assuring, "I understand your hesitation." He frowns and narrows his eyes. He talked quietly and aggressively, "It seems Nicosal overheard our conversation at your headquarters."
Ecniv's eyes dilated, frightened. "What!? That's even more reason not to go!"
Two Weeks Ago (from the present)
Solrac sits in his office chair, looking at Nicosal.
"It's been one week," complained Nicosal. Solrac repeatedly taps his foot on the ground. "Why won't you let me interrogate him?"
He leans forward in his chair, pointing a pen at Nicosal, mentioning, "He knows you're coming. It won't work."
Nicosal slams both hands on the desk with a look of worry and resentment, adding, "Please. He could disappear at any time now."
Solrac shuffles in his chair and sighs with both his eyes closed. He resigns, "Fine, but I'm watching your every move." His eyes open narrowly, and he continues, "We're going to kill Oshose soon, remember? Don't screw it up. Don't ruin my plans."
A few hours later
The time is dusk, near night. There lay some odd fifty-story tower coated in a brisk polish, most certainly weathered from the violent storms of hell. Many silhouettes emerge and disperse out of sight behind the curtains covering each window (pressed from the finest West Gehennan Orangesand). Nicosal watches from a distance, searching for the shadow of Ecniv that was said to be at this locale. Was his intel false? Deliberately a lie? In any case, the hooded demon continued to dart his eyes about the surface of the building. Finally, those two downward-curved horns emerged from behind the curtains, along with the seductive silhouettes of two female demons taller than the lesser they accompanied. Nicosal smirked intently. Just as he was getting a closer look at Ecniv's naked body from the curtain, he heard the door of that unit open. Scrambling to put away his binoculars (that he conveniently had for some reason), he hid inside a thorny bush in a panic. Out came a demoness whom he remembered only from the deepest depths of the back of his mind.
"Hello?" the tall and attractive demoness called out. She turned back toward Ecniv and the other half-naked demoness. "No, I don't see anyone. They must've fled."
Nicosal peeked out of the bushes with his binoculars as the tall demoness went back inside the hotel room through the outer door. "Heh. That was close," whispered Nicosal as he blushed perversely behind his binoculars. After a bit more time and the occasional thumping and moaning sound, Ecniv, sweating and hyperventilating with a devious smirk on his face, walked out of the hotel room to get some air. He had been deep in a couple of flowers. Nicosal's heavy breathing from far away carried over to Ecniv, who was astray by the noise.
"I know you're there, Nicosal!" called out Ecniv with a less amused look. The bushes rustled, and Nicosal stepped out, confidently admitting, "Ah! You caught me! What's good?"
The lesser demon cringed his face while holding his nose between two fingers, saying with great care, "Hey, man. Nicosal. Buddy. I'm kind of in the middle of something right now. I just came out to catch my breath. What are–you–doing here at this hour?" Nicosal shuffled his feet and put his hands in his pockets.
One of the demonesses opened the door and peered out, asking playfully, "You wanna play some more–?"
Ecniv looked back, responding, "Yeah. I'll be back in a minute." The demoness went back inside. Ecniv continued, "Anyways, what're you doing here at this hour, Nicosal?" Nicosal pretended to check his (non-existent) watch.
"Nothing much. I'm just wondering, do you want to talk with me?"
"About what?"
"Don't play dumb with me. I know you're joining the Twelve Disciples."
Solrac watched the feed of Nicosal's field of view on his computer monitor. He slapped his face with his palm. Aggressively mumbling, "What is he doing?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Nicosal put his hand to his chest, saying, "It's okay; I hate Solrac too." He telepathically responded to Solrac's grievance, "This is part of my plan. Don't worry."
Solrac let out a sigh of relief and sat back in his office chair comfortably.
"Take Solrac off your vision."
Suddenly, Solrac's monitor could no longer see or hear what Nicosal was doing. "Damn it! They cut Ecniv's too!"
Nicosal took his finger off his eyebrow, responding with assurance, "Okay–done."
"Good. Now tell me," Ecniv cautiously approached Nicosal, asking, "Why are you talking with me about this?"
"Well, it's because Solrac wanted me to interrogate you."
Ecniv scrunched up his face in anger, confirming with spite, "I knew it–"
Nicosal punched Ecniv in the gut, retorting, "Hold on–let me finish. I'm forming a rebellion against Solrac."
Ecniv coughed up blood for a moment, then remarked, "Why? He's w-weak."
"It's not really about Solrac. I'm trying to get on the good side of the seven kings."
"I'm also doing that, but–"
Nicosal interrupted while he turned around and walked away, "Let's meet some other time again."
As Nicosal walked out of the scene, Ecniv glared at him, yelling, "You may hate Solrac, but I hate you! You were always such an asshole to me in the past. And now you want to team up? How do I know you're not just lying!? You're not as clever as you think you are, Nicosal!"
"I was afraid you'd say that," retorted Nicosal calmly as he turned his head toward Ecniv. The lesser demon was left stunned by those words.
One week later (One week before the present)
Outside of Black Rose City, away from the civilian cries, the grunts of a particular lesser demon can be heard from a nearby mountain cave. Little did that demon expect, another one approached from the shadows just outside the caverns at the base of the mountain range. Jagged as a row of sharpened teeth, the mountains stood tall over the fire and flame emanating from the burning demon city. Boots sloshed up and down on the mushy terrain. Mud prints in the shapes of boots trailed behind this demon. He had two long horns on either side of his head that barely curved down.
There he was. Ecniv. Vigorously doing pushups against the floor of the cave. "5,000,167,016! 5,000,167,017! 5,000,167,018," yelled Ecniv weakly with a grunt in between each count. He struggles to do this next one. "Five billion, one hundred thou–!" he stammered, losing his breath halfway through counting. The demon standing behind him is none other than Nicosal. He gets up and turns around to face the hooded demon, only for his stomach to jump slightly. The demon approached, unbeknownst to Ecniv at first. "Oh…you startled me, Nicosal. It's just you. What? Are you still trying to question me?" remarked Ecniv, still catching his breath. His boots continued to trail mud into the cave. Each footstep trailed less mud onto the cave floor. Ecniv raised his hands as if to guard his face, continuing, "Why did you bring your edge of execution–? Oh," as he backed away nervously. Nicosal walks closer with the sword outstretched in his hand. Ecniv yells, terrified whether or not his deal with David and Petersburg would be upheld, "NOOOO–!!" Nicosal runs the sword through Ecniv's chest, piercing his heart. The hooded demon huffs and puffs. He swiftly pulls the sword out of Ecniv's chest, pulling out his heart. Blood pours out of his mouth, the light fading from his eyes. The lesser demon falls to the ground, surrounded by a pool of deep purple blood. Ecniv falls into a black void, thinking back on his life. But suddenly, his conversation with David starts to replay in his head as the cold, murky darkness tries to swallow him.
"Don't worry. If Nicosal kills you, you can be revived."
Nicosal walks away, smiling sadistically. A finger of Ecniv's corpse starts to twitch and just barely moves a centimeter.
"But he has an Edge of Execution. You can't be revived from that, right?"
"You're right. An edge of execution is an assassination weapon designed to kill any target. Even a demon."
"See?"
"But you're missing one key detail."
Ecniv's corpse starts to move, even more, opening its eyes and reaching its feet. Its eyes glow a fiery red.
"And what's that?"
"If you get promoted, the demon kings will surely revive you and give you more power. Believe it or not, we have a demon shortage. So, the demon kings have been pulling beings who died from other worlds and reincarnating them into the bodies of demons. God is doing the same thing in heaven, but with angels."
"Okay, send me back."
Ecniv's soul returns to his body, but his appearance is now altered. He appears stronger and taller, and his facial features are more defined. His hair was no longer the mohawk it once was but a short and shaggy mess.
David feels Ecniv's energy once more. He sits at the meeting room table with Commander Petersburg and other high-ranked demons. "You are reborn, Ecniv Petersburg."
A much more muscular and handsome Ecniv stands at the mouth of the cave and roars menacingly. The sound of his scream carries over the citizens of Black Rose City as they are led away.