Oddity Specialist: Purgatory
Page 6
“Do you want me to treat you like a specialist?”
Her brow furrows. Quinn raises his hand up.
“No. All I want, is for you to leave my matter up to the natural order of things, or perhaps another specialist.”
“Why should I do that?”
“Because, the only changes I’ve had are that I can see oddities, and my body is a bit stronger.”
“Ah, so your saying that a specialist that has a little more nuance, in their problem-solving method, would be better?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck you.”
“I, uh.”
“There ain’t a single problem I can’t solve, by killing it harder.”
“That’s uh-”
“Your energy, pisses me off.”
“Wait, we can-”
“It’s clear you made a packet with a demon, so call them out, so we can get started for real.”
She points at Quinn.
“Again, there are circumstances to-”
“I don’t care.”
“But-”
“I’ll give you to the count of three.”
“Please we can-”
“One.”
“Talk this through-”
“Two.”
Before Quinn can continue, Lucifer steps out from behind him.
“Give it up boy, can’t talk sense into a wild animal.”
Lilith, seeing the man, starts to overflow with harsh, scratchy energy.
“Mephistopheles…”
“Yes, hello Lilith, been a while. How have you been?”
“Die.”
“That is not an answer.”
Lilith leaps towards the two, once she crosses an invisible line, she feels a shift in the environment. Quinn holds up his phone, and taps something, disappearing. Lilith stops in her tracks, looking around the area.
“Demonic energy.”
“Listen, I have something important to say.”
Quinn’s voice is playing and echoing around the room. Lilith instantly appears across the room, and punches through a wall. She pulls her hand back, holding a crushed speaker.
“Part of my contract with Lucifer, dictates once Lucifer decides to do something, or make a change to himself, he must follow through with it.”
Lilith is appearing at different spots in the room, smashing the speakers, while Quinn talks. She then looks up, and smashes through the ceilings, landing on the roof. The sky is red, and the city is floating above the void. Lilith looks up, seeing Quinn standing next to Lucifer. “She’s already up here. Do you know how long it took, to set all this up? We had to re-roll the games on this app dozens of times.”
“My goal, is to have Lucifer decide to become good.”
She launches forward.
“Wait!”
Quinn holds out his phone. Lilith stops.
“Tsk, that annoying little red man.”
“If you kill me, you will have broken the rules of the game, resulting in a penalty.”
“And that would be?”
“You’d lose a hundred years of your life span. Meaning, you’d die.”
“Phephephe.”
Quinn is taken aback by her laughter, and the unsettling look of glee on her face.
“Um, you should check her life span.”
Lucifer says. Quinn does so. “Oh… That’s a long time…”
“Anyways, you heard about the contract, right? Isn’t that worth something incredible, a once in a lifetime, no, a once in a millennia opportunity.”
“Why should I care about that?”
“Huh?”
“All I want, is for him to die. Doesn’t matter to me, if he dies good or bad.”
She closes her eyes.
“Wait, never mind that last part.”
She tilts her neck, and gives a deathly face, resembling a cursed spirit.
“I want his death to be as bad for him as possible.”
“…ah…”
Quinn is dumbfounded. His phone sparks.
“Gah!”
He pulls it back, and looks at the screen, as it distorts.
“Of course, I would figure out a way to avoid any demon’s little tricks.”
Quinn looks at the app, as it slowly gets torn apart. “Dang, we don’t have much time left with this then.”
“I thought as much.”
Lucifer taps Quinn’s shoulder.
“This seemed inevitable, don’t feel too bad about it.”
“But…”
Lucifer looks at the boy.
“It’s fine, I’ll take it from here.”
He adjusts his collar as he walks forward. Lucifer brings his right arm up, clenched like a claw.
“Then, shall we start?”
“…Pathetic, acting tough in your condition, old man.”
“We have very differing opinions, on how one is supposed to act, when the chips are down.”
Lilith appears behind Lucifer; she grabs his arm and throws the man into the air. She tosses her arm out, extending from it is a vine, that wraps around Lucifer’s leg. She pulls her arm back, causing Lucifer to be pulled back in. She hits the man in the gut, sending him flying back out. She then goes onto paddle ball him, over, and over, and over, again. She then spins through the air, pulling down, sending him crashing down through the building, tearing it in twain. As the building is falling down, Quinn grabs the side of the roof, holding on for dear life. “Khe, please still work.”
Quinn presses down on the app, and begins floating above the collapsing building. Lilith lands outside of the rubble. Lucifer stands up, pushing over a rock that was pinning him. His suit is torn up, he is bleeding from his head and left arm. Lucifer straightens up, brushing his hair back into place.
“That was a fine warm up; but now I will show you what I can do.”
Lilith forms the vines around her arm into a lance, and stabs through Lucifer’s chest. Blood pours from his mouth.
“If bleeding is what you can do, then you’re right, you are good at it.”
The vines undo themselves, violently bashing around, tearing through the man, ripping up through his right shoulder. Lucifer torso is bending in two different directions now.
“…bh…”
“What’s that now?”
“Is that all you can do?”
Lucifer looks down at the woman, with a condescending stare. She gives a cold, angry stare back.
“Not at all.”
The vines rap all around Lucifer. She then twists around, and tosses him, sending him crashing through the buildings in his path. Lilith rockets off after him. Quinn looks down at this happening.
“Wow, he’s really getting his ass kicked… Like really bad… Too bad he’s my only hope.”
Quinn flies after them. Lucifer opens a door, and staggers out of the last building he flew into. He is tightly holding his right half in place, trying to keep it from falling off. Lilith lands in the road near him, making a crater. She slowly walks out of the hole.
“Is it me, or have you lost your edge?”
Lucifer asks.
“I’m just trying to drag this out.”
“Ho? I see. So, that will be your undoing.”
Lilith whips her hand out, causing a vine to slice through the air, at Lucifer’s eyes. The man leans back, getting his nose cut open. With his good arm, he tosses a rock at Lilith. She easily smashes it with her hand.
“A rock, real-”
A fist connects with her nose. When her head jerks back, she sees something spinning above her.
“An arm?”
She looks down, seeing the one-armed man rushing at her, with another punch ready. He strikes her.
“...Almost.”
Lucifer’s arm made contact with her arm; but formed around it, is a larger arm made of tree bark. She lowers her head more; blood begins dripping from her nose.
“Normally, that would have punched through my arm, and my body.”
“I think I did
that to you before, right?”
“Yes...”
She grabs his arm, with her regular arm, and begins to squeeze.
BrIcckKA
His arms bone is shattered.
“I take it, this means it’s not a found memory for you?”
“No.”
“Ah, different strokes for different-”
She pulls his arm up and over her wood hand, she then brings that hand up and bashes into his arm, pulling the joints out of place.
“Ah, that stings.”
Lucifer kicks straight up, hitting her in the chin. She does not let go. Quinn arrives in time to see this. “What now?”
“Alrighty then.”
She grabs his leg, with her wood arm. Lilith then places her left leg onto Lucifer’s chest. She begins pushing into his chest, while pulling his arm and leg back.
“Let’s see what breaks first.”
His hand comes off.
“Interesting, what’s next?”
Her foot begins sinking into his chest.
“Oh, we might have a winner.”
Lucifer’s leg is ripped off, and his body is sent crashing back, flying towards the forest and hills.
“Ding, ding, indeed we did.”
She dashes forward.
“...Ghosh, they sure do move around a lot.”
Quinn looks at the deteriorating app on his phone, while flying after them.
“Not much time left.”
Lilith stops short of Lucifer.
“You know, Mephistopheles, I had been dreaming about this day, for a while.”
“c... Can’t say... I feel the same.”
Blood is flowing out all around him.
“It’s a shame.”
“What?”
“So many ways to hurt you; but I can only choose so many, before you break.”
“Yes, well, if you let me heal, then perhaps.”
“No.”
“Oh, then, sorry.”
“For?”
“This trap.”
“Huh?”
A hand clenches onto Lilith’s throat.
“BAH!”
It immediately crushes it. The arm begins lifting her up into the air, her limbs flailing around, trying to free herself. Lucifer’s body begins to raise from the ground, as if being propelled by raw energy. Lilith’s large eyes look down at the man. A smile cracks across his face; but it doesn’t stop, his face keeps morphing. His sharp teeth open up, with a two headed spiked tongue coming out. A tail whips out across the ground, black, with an arrow tip. His smile has jagged edges, going in different directions, and is wide enough, that his mouth nearly unlatches from his face. His black eyes spread out, his pupils sharpen, and turn red. While looking down at his face, and overwhelming presence, the woman has a tear drop down her cheek.
“Are you, crying? What type of oddity hunter cries out, from just that?!”
Energy blows off what’s left of Lucifer’s sleeve, black, red, and white demonic power forms together. It takes on many shapes, from a multiheaded beast, hands grasping out, the cries of the damned; but the last shape it takes, is the skull of death himself. Lucifer punches into the woman. As the force connects with her body, the hands grip on her neck does not loosen. These two things together, cause her neck to be ripped in half, with her body being blown away.
“Ahhh...”
Quinn watches, unable to move from the sky. When the energy disperses, Lucifer is left standing there; but only for a moment, before he falls onto his back. Falling with him, is Lilith’s head, and his severed arm. He breaths heavily, on the ground.
“I guess, I did it.”
A vine tears his still beating heart out.
Step, step, step.
Walking back over, is the body of Lilith.
“You did it, indeed.”
Vines are coming out of her hands, they have attached themselves to her head, and are lifting it up off the ground. The upside-down, severed head continues.
“You managed to piss me off, even more.”
The vines place the head back onto her shoulders. Her flesh starts melding itself back together, with the bloody hole in her stomach, being covered by roots. She walks over to Lucifer. Bringing up her heal, she stabs it down into him, over, and over, and over, again.
Quinn flies down.
“Wait, stop, please.”
As he is about to land, the red sky disappears, and he falls. He rolls across the ground. Reaching towards the two, he asks again.
“Please stop.”
Lilith stares at the boy.
“No.”
She picks up Lucifer and throws him into the air. Lilith pulls her fist back, forming around her whole arm, are what look to be see through, crystal leaves. She launches this attack forward. It blows through Lucifer’s stomach. It continues heading on, parting the massive clouds it strikes. Lucifer’s limp body falls to the ground.
“GHE!”
Quinn grabs his heart, and falls over. “What is this pain?!”
Lilith has her vine drag the body back over, to her.
“No more funny comments?”
“...”
“As I thought. You’re already a broken man.”
“...I was broke, long before now.”
“...You just have to try and take everything away from me, don’t you?”
“Taking things from others is my specialty.”
“I’ll be taking your life now.”
“Wait!”
Lilith looks over to Quinn.
“Don’t worry, you’re next.”
“Before that, just shut up and listen to me.”
“...Continue.”
“If you really want to make him pay, then killing him isn’t the right answer. I don’t think he even cares if he lives or dies. What you have to do, is take something else important away from him.”
Lucifer barley manages to look over to Quinn.
“Like what?”
“Right now, the only thing he seems to care about, is getting revenge.”
“I see.”
She looks down at Lucifer.
“You want to kill that man?”
“...Yes.”
“Who wouldn’t? I’d take a swing at him, if it wouldn’t be suicidal.”
“Then, if you want to make him suffer, take that away instead.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
She glares at Quinn.
“You just listened to me, a minute ago.”
“Well, you said it with such gusto, I felt I should.”
“At least be consistent!”
“Then I’ll continue killing him.”
“I’m sorry, let’s keep talking about this other option.”
“You said you have an already existent contract, one where he must do what he says he will?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, then.”
She stares at the beaten down man.
“Promise me, that you will stop killing.”
Lucifer lays on the ground, unmoving.
“I would prefer to be destroyed.”
“Hmm.”
“What!?”
“Listen boy, you seem to have been confused somewhere. I don’t care about survival, or treating you differently than a useful tool. The only thing that matters to me now, is revenge.”
“If you die, you can’t get it!”
“If I can’t kill him, it doesn’t matter if I’m alive.”
“Well, you heard the man.”
“Wait!”
“What did I just say.”
Her death glare focuses in on Quinn.
“I have one more idea, on how you can torture him.”
“Yes?”
“Have it so, after he gets his revenge, he must become good and dedicate himself to helping others.”
“...”
“I know that doesn’t necessarily sound perfect; but it’s a way everyone can get what they want.”
“
Hm, watching him sacrifice himself piece by piece, fighting for something he doesn’t believe in. Alright.”
“Yes!”
“But once he gets his revenge, you must die as well.”
“w-What?”
“You heard me. Wasn’t that the obvious answer? You made a deal with the devil, of course that moment meant the end for you.”
“...Fine.”
“Well, Mephistopheles?”
He closes his eyes.
“...If that’s the case, I agree.”
He looks at Lilith.
“I’ll need to use some of your energy, to form a new contract.”
“Fine, whatever.”
Lilith has vines wrap around Lucifer’s arms, reattaching them to his body. The three stand in a circle, extending their hands across their chests, locking them with each other. Shaking them, a new contract is formed.
“That was fun. I’ll probably be back when I’m bored. Later.”
Lilith waves, and walks off. The vines loosen around Lucifer’s arms, and they fall off. Quinn and Lucifer both fall to the ground.
“...That last attack she used on me. I’m afraid that because of it, your soul is gone.”
Quinn looks over to Lucifer.
“What do you mean?”
“I think my body might have absorbed it, to keep itself together.”
“I see.”
“I don’t know what will happen, once you die.”
“...That’s okay.”
“I’m also afraid, you might never be truly human, again.”
“I know, I kind of thought that was always a possibility.”
“...We lived.”
“Yeah, we did.”
“I didn’t feel like I needed to.”
“...”
“I’m ready to stop existing.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not.”
Quinn gets back up.
“It took some sacrifices; but we did it.”
“How much life span did you lose?”
“I don’t care at this point.”
“Okay, I get it.”
“...”
“I need to heal inside your body, for quite a while.”
“Okay.”
“I also won’t be able to restore my lost energy, without a soul.”
“Okay.”
“...We won.”
“We won.”
Lucifer disappears. Quinn walks home.
“Huh?”
Quinn stops, there’s someone waiting for him on the path. Neri looks at him, expectantly, then rushes forward, hugging him.
“I survived.”
“I can see that.”