"Get up." A sadistic, raspy voice swirled in the cool night air, "Come on, you dirty rat, get up."
Andreas gritted his teeth as blood oozed from a gash on his forehead.
It was warm and thick, sticking to his bruised skin.
His breath was weak, and it came in slow gasps.
His body ached from the repeated stomping of a rugged leather boot.
He could see a silver pocket watch on the ground before him through his blurred vision.
His late mother's keepsake was the last memory he had of her.
Its shell was cracked and covered in scratches.
The hinge was bent at an unnatural angle, and its glass was shattered, covering the neon-lit alley in shimmering shards.
A wave of pain washed over Andreas as he struggled forward, his chest lying flush against the pavement.
A laugh filled the chilly air, sick and sadistic.
"W-why are you doing this?" Andreas croaked in a weak and hushed voice.
He hated how pathetic he sounded.
A pair of black leather boots soon entered his
blurred vision.
They were worn with time and stained with blood.
Following the boots was a woman's face with reddish-orange skin, short white horns, and eyes that burned with a bright, blue fire.
The woman grinned as Andreas slowly raised his head to meet her gaze, revealing a set of sharp black canines.
"Oh?" The demon woman teased, "Have you already forgotten your words?"
Her tone was mocking as her long tail swayed behind her curiously.
Each movement was slow and deliberate.
She was enjoying this.
Andreas' anger rose with each passing second, his fingers digging into his palms as he balled his hands into fists.
He wanted to strike her, to wipe that sickening grin off her face and put her onto the pavement.
Yet he knew his anger wouldn't find an outlet, not when it came to demons and devils.
They were untouchable both by strength and law.
He would have to beg and grovel for any sliver of mercy this demon had in her cold heart.
"I… I'm sorry." Andreas said softly, "I didn't mean to offend you."
The words tasted like poison as they left his tongue.
The demon chuckled as she tilted her head curiously.
"Then perhaps I should ask again, why were you in Tampora City?"
Andreas gritted his teeth.
He had told this demon dozens of times why he was in the city, yet each time, she ignored him and asked repeatedly.
This officer had no intention of believing him.
Because she wasn't looking for an answer, she wanted an excuse to pick on a human.
To exercise what little powers demons had compared to their devil overlords.
Devils like his master, Lord Dionysus, who had sent him to Tampora City to retrieve his daughter's coat.
"I serve Lord Dionysus," Andreas replied, his voice strained. "He sent me to–"
The demon officer gritted her teeth as she struck Alexander across the face. " Liar! " she spat.
Andreas' head snapped to the left, pain reverberating through his skull as his cheek throbbed.
Blood oozed from his cheeks and lips as he
gritted his blood-stained teeth.
He swallowed a lump of blood as he rested his head against the ground.
The blood in his nostrils made each breath a laborious task.
The demon officer laughed as she grabbed the back of Andreas' head.
Her fingers losing themselves in his long black hair.
"You're useless." She said, "But I'll do you a favor and end your suffering."
She raised his head off the pavement, her grip deathly as she smiled wickedly.
Andreas glared at her, feeling a wave of pain and hatred.
Yet it was hopeless.
She'd kill him regardless of how he felt.
Hate had been his entire existence, and even in death, he felt nothing but hate.
But with that death, he'd finally be free.
So Andreas closed his eyes.
Bracing himself for the end.
Or so he thought.
"Drop the human."
The officer stiffened as a smooth and confident voice echoed down the alley.
Andreas opened his eyes, and through his blurred vision, he saw a figure towering over him and the officer.
They were draped in a black cloak, with long white hair and horns reaching behind their heads.
Their eyes shone a deep red with pupils like a lizard's.
It was Atticus, a devil enforcer belonging to Lord Dionysus.
"I won't ask again." He continued, stepping forward with slow, deliberate movements.
The officer hurried to place Andreas' head gently on the ground.
She then rose, her body trembling as she stepped to the side.
"I-I was ensuring he had his papers, Sir." Her voice was shaken with a deep, primal fear. "I didn't mean any harm…"
Atticus ignored the rambling demon.
He stepped toward Andreas' side with an unreadable expression.
He examined him with narrowed eyes before reaching into his cloak to produce a black cartridge with a neon blue strip across it
"Eat one." He ordered, tossing a cartridge of pills near him.
The plastic box with a slide landed beside him.
Andreas stared at the cartridge beside him.
Although his vision was still blurred, he knew exactly what was in that cartridge.
Sozo seeds.
Andreas reached out a trembling hand to grab it.
His body was plagued with exhaustion and pain.
A Sozo seed could just about fully heal him in an hour, and while they weren't rare, to give one to a human was another matter.
It would be like wasting a steak on a mutt.
Atticus silently watched as Andreas clumsily fumbled with the cartridge.
Andreas could feel his gaze weighing down on him, but he didn't care.
Andreas pried the cartridge open with shaking hands, revealing two rows of four circular pills.
They were black with white veins running along its surface.
Andreas took one out and ate it.
The pill went down like a lump of flesh, bitter to the taste but almost instantly followed by a cooling sensation.
His pain quickly began to fade as his wounds began to close in real-time.
The pill wouldn't replenish the blood he already lost, but it was enough to get him moving.
"Get up," Atticus ordered.
Andreas gritted his teeth as he pressed his fists against the concrete, pushing up with his newfound strength.
Before staggering to his feet, Andreas grabbed his locket and the cartridge.
While standing to his feet, Atticus gave him a long appraisal.
Like a merchant examining a good.
He then turned his gaze towards the officer, who quietly stood against the wall with her head lowered.
Atticus frowned as he reached a hand towards her, "Skotos, blade of the lost."
He said these words with little emotion or hesitation.
A black blade formed in his hands with a soft hum, its black surface reflecting the neon lights of the alley.
The air around the blade was charged with dark energy, growing cold and oppressive.
Andreas watched with hidden excitement as the demon officer stiffened.
Her body trembled as her tail coiled around her waist.
Her fiery blue eyes were now wide with fear, yet she didn't utter a word.
"I grow tired of your kind every passing day," Atticus said coldly.
"Rats scattering about the city playing king, finding pleasure in suppressing the insects."
He stepped closer, his blade mere inches away from the demon's neck.
She tightened her hands, her fingers digging into her palms and drawing blue blood.
"Please, Sir…" she whispered, "I…"
Atticus narrowed his eyes.
"I loathe demons like you," he said in a low, threatening tone, "choosing a fight with a human."
His blade then pressed against her neck, pressing just deep enough to draw blue blood.
As the blood trickled down her neck, she whimpered while closing her eyes tightly.
"I should kill you." He said coldly, letting his words sit in the air.
Andreas watched with a stoic expression, though he couldn't help but inwardly laugh.
Even though he knew devils saw him as nothing but a tool, even if Atticus wasn't doing it because he cared.
It still felt good to see a demon beg.
Something he wished he could do himself.
"But unlike you, I don't enjoy fighting lesser creatures."
Atticus pulled his blade from her neck before making it dissipate into hundreds of black embers.
"So take this warning and get out of my sight."