"A man who has lost everything fears nothing, for he has nothing to lose."
.
(Barbatos, The Southern Towns…)
The air in the room was heavy with the smell of sweat. Innumerable groans, moans, screams, and slaps echoed throughout the place, overshadowing the sounds of metal clashing outside.
This was the 'breeding room' of Barbatos, a place where humans were bred like pigs, and the babies either groomed for more breeding, or sold off as delicacies or slaves.
This was the lowest part of this 'hell' known as Barbatos, where the true meaning of 'demonic' can be witnessed.
This is just how humans breed chickens and pigs for food. To demons, humans are worthless… they are nothing more than pigs for them to exploit.
In this 'pigsty,' however, a human was raging in revolt, his naked body glistening with sweat which only served to emphasize the fire of anger burning in his eyes.
Angelo.
He was a broken man. His pride crushed by the guards who showed no mercy to him. His back already had multiple cuts from being whipped. He was forced to thrust into a woman he knew nothing of.
She begged for mercy, she begged for him to stop. He didn't have a choice. He ignored the cries of protest and the pleas of desperation, his gaze fixed at the corner of his room where his wife, Dina, slept… or rather, lay unconscious.
The pain the woman under him felt was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He was weak, he couldn't even save his wife from these… monsters.
That's right… there was no other way to describe these fiends. They were nothing but… monsters.
His legs trembled in shame, but his arms… in rage. He wouldn't forgive them, he would fight them, he would show these demons…
He saw Dina's finger twitch, the teardrop hanging at her eyelash falling down onto the floor.
That was enough to drive him to his breaking point, his cracking heart finally shattering into a million pieces.
With movements guided by only the uncontrollable fury consuming his heart, he pushed the woman under him away, his untrained muscles bulging as he shot towards the guards at surprising speed.
This speed was something he had only seen on the TV, or in the tournaments that aired once a month.
But, his mind was focused on only one thing… kill.
He landed on the unsuspecting guard with a thud, making the latter's eyes widen in shock. This might have been the first time a human had dared to attack.
And precisely because of this, he was not prepared. His weapon lay on the ground beside him. In desperation, the guard covered all his body with mana.
Mana hardening was the most basic of fighting techniques that almost everyone in the demon realm knew.
Angelo, however, didn't know anything about battling with mana. Why would he? He was but a weak commoner who lived off of working in fields. Why would he ever have to fight?
Completely relying on his instincts, Angelo pushed two of his fingers into the guard's mouth—one of the only places which he hadn't hardened with mana.
The guard's eyes widened further, glinting with rage and frustration almost as deep as Angelo's.
He was being suppressed by a mere weak human. It was just so extremely… shameful.
His head turned back up, his eyes meeting with Angelo's in mid-air. But, what he saw in those eyes made a feeling of dread engulf his mind. At this moment, he was the prey and Angelo the predator.
With movements more animalistic than what seemed possible for any human, Angelo pulled the guard's cheek to the side, ripping it clean off of his skull.
That wasn't it, though. The guard tried to push Angelo away, but that only led to an increase in his momentum, further leading to the skin continuing to rip off until it reached his neck.
The guard wanted to scream, but the pain was so much that it had numbed his whole body.
White bones of his skull were clearly visible, some of his nerve endings sticking out like little threads. The skin on one side of his neck was completely ripped off, revealing the arteries buried under a thin layer of tissue, throbbing loudly.
Blood oozed out from his flesh, pooling under his head. Angelo had skinned animals all his life. But seeing such a human-like person suffering made him feel… guilt.
No, it wasn't guilt… it was something that all feel once in their lives. The feeling of killing someone for the first time.
Before the other guards could intervene, a loud bang echoed throughout the place, making everyone, even the guards, freeze in place.
A bright light entered the room, as if the gates of hell were finally opened and the sufferers were being saved.
Angelo was momentarily blinded, his eyes closing on instinct as he stepped back, his back hitting the cold, metallic walls, making his body shiver.
The door, along with a part of the wall, was broken. Or rather, busted into. It was the invasion of the Fall of Satan.
The guards' eyes widened as their attention was shifted from their suffering friend to the famous faces of the leaders of the Fall, ones which they had seen posted everywhere.
Johan, standing a few lines behind the leaders, looked around in horror. The scene of people being forced to…
He didn't even want to think about it. Such a vile act… even though he tried to keep away from being taken over by emotions, what he was seeing made him lose control.
The others were no different. As soon as they broke out of the stupor of shock, they shot forward, murdering the guards with speed and precision, leaving out no space for mercy.
Johan followed their steps, his heart hurting every time he saw a woman dead on the ground, who no one bothered to even pick up.
Before he knew, he was standing in front of a guard writhing on the floor, his skin ripped off from his face by what seemed like a skillful man.
He felt a twisted enjoyment watching this guard suffer. After all, this was a man who had made these others suffer for no reason… ruining their lives for what?
His eyes slowly turned to a naked man standing next to the wall, his body trembling in both rage and fear. His eyes flickered with confusion, yet he stood tall.
Two of his fingers on his right hand were covered in blood, a few red drops and splatters on his cheek.
It was clear… he was the one who had done this.
Without a second though, Johan stepped forward, his foot landing on top of the guard's bloody face.
Mana coursed through his body and concentrated at his foot, applying pressure on the guard's head. Before he even had the time to scream, his head burst open into a splatter of blood, coloring the area around him, along with Johan's shoes, a deep red.
He stared into Angelo's eyes, and what he was the same expression he had when his mother was killed… unadulterated rage and uncontrollable grief.
Slowly, he walked towards the man, placing his hand on his shoulder. "It's fine."
His tone was much softer than usual. He knew… Angelo was a man in need of help and support.
"I'm human like you." Johan's words seemed to calm Angelo down a little, but suddenly, he pushed his hand away, his eyes growing wider.
"You're human but still… still working for these… these… these monsters?" His voice grew louder and louder, hoarse with emotion.
A gasp escaped his lips, his eyes darting to the corner of the room, where his wife was supposed to be. He could save her… he could finally…
His heart dropped at what he saw. The corner of the room was… empty. No… not empty, but charred. The only thing that lay on the floor there was ashes.
He shot towards it at a speed surprising even Johan. How could a normal person move so fast?
Angelo stood at the edge of the charred area, the result of a fire spell being used.
Tears rolled down his cheek non-stop, his breathing getting more ragged as his eyes darted around in desperation.
He was… devastated. His life was over. Dina was... dead.
He fell to his knees, sobbing like a kitten. What else could he do?
Johan understood the man's pain, walking towards him with slow steps, ignoring the sounds of battle emanating around him.
He crouched down to Angelo's level, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
He had lost a lot. Anny was killed brutally, chunks of her body missing, eaten by the ruthless demons like daily food.
Alexia was eaten by him in the same way the demons had eaten Anny. The mere thought of his actions made his stomach churn in disgust and revulsion.
And so, he knew pain… he knew loss. He knew what it meant to he helpless.
But when he was at his lowest, Sukuna came to him like a savior. He told him words he needed to hear most. He pushed him forward, and his words are the only thing that kept him going.
He had decided… he would change this cruel world, one way or the other.
Angelo was at his lowest, just like Johan once was. He was in need of support… of care, or else he could take steps that affected him extremely badly.
"Listen, you—"
Just as Johan looked into Angelo's eyes, his whole body froze. Was it in shock, or in something deeper like… fear?
His eyes felt like they were huge beasts, coming at him to devour his body whole… to chew him down inch by inch until all that is left of him is the blood they spill.
Angelo turned to him, his teeth grit so hard that his gums bulged, as if they were about to burst with the pressure.
"I'll kill all the demons." Angelo's voice grew darker, reaching Johan's ears like words of a… broken angel. "Every last one of them."
Johan's jaw moved, his mouth hanging agape in shock. Angelo was… a splitting copy of him.
These words were exactly like the words he had said to Sukuna on that day…
Memories resurfaced in his mind… the memories of the time just after when Anny tragically died. Memories of the point which turned the direction he went in life.
'Sukuna... I don't know what to do.'
'What is your goal in life, Johan?'
'I'll kill them all… I'll kill all the demons… Every last one of them!'
That day, Sukuna had spoken words that still echo in his mind like a demonic chorus, but were also the words that kept him moving forward.
And now, it was time to pass on these words to the man in front of him, who was as devastated as, if not more than, himself.
"Then keep moving forward…" He leaned in close to his ear, whispering to him like the devil on his shoulder.
His grip on his shoulder tightened, his nails digging into his soft flesh, causing a little blood to ooze out. However, he didn't feel the pain… his mind was focused on something else.
"Even if you die… even after you die…"
Johan could feel him shaking under his grasp, the words hitting him in deep in the heart.
"Until all your enemies are destroyed."
Johan pushed away, rising to his feet just like Sukuna had on that day, leaving Angelo to contemplate.
He had given him the fuel to the fire, and the path he chooses depends on him.
.
.
.
Barbatos was attacked by the Fall of Satan.
Hundreds of guards killed within minutes.
Thousands of slaves freed from their confines.
Close to 3000 humans are currently missing, and possibly taken in by the Fall of Satan as members.
A few dozen guards are also missing, who are suspected to be murdered to a point of no evidence, or to have joined the Fall of Satan as members.
Angelo went missing after Johan passed on Sukuna's words to him. He didn't join the Fall of Satan, nor did he get caught.
He was currently wandering in the forest in the outskirts of the Southern Towns.
He would never join an organization with demons…
Unlike Johan, Angelo's hate for demons was absolute. His goal was now set… the eradication of every single demon from the face of this world.
He would either succeed, or die in the process. But no matter what happens, he will avenge his wife.
His first target was the creator of Barbatos… who was a member of the well-renowned Heavenly Sword Sect.
It was ambitious, or perhaps even foolish, for him to go after such an… important person. But he had already forsaken logic. He was a man driven purely by emotions, showing the true capabilities of the human race.
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The updates might be weird or completely stopped from now because of upcoming exams.
I will not drop this fic. I will, no matter what, complete it. So don't let your anticipation die!
gimme POWER STONES :3