Devil's Workday (Devil Aster Days Book 1) (3 page)

Aster raced to the Western Section of the city. Flying in the air, it was easy to spot the cave in. Large quantities of people were gathered around trying to dig at the rubble. Several injured people lay at the sidelines recovering. Not too far from where they were, several more bodies covered in sheets lay motionless on the ground. Aster ignored that for now and located Captain Archen, dropping to the ground nearby.

“Dig carefully! There’s still a lot of missing people!” Archen shouted to the men digging. Some were using pick-axes; others were moving the rubble with their bare hands.

“What happened?” Aster asked.

“Commander, two of the housing units collapsed on top of the public units below. There are still people unaccounted for.”

The Western part of the city was by far the smallest section. They had expanded the kingdom until they couldn’t anymore; an enormous rock formation blocked their advancement. But the devils, being a cunning race, began building their settlements right into the side of the rock cliff and across the canyons and valleys. Eventually, their dwellings spread all the way up the formation, creating an entire city section suspended above the city. It was a marvelous sight, when it wasn’t falling apart.

Aster was never content to stand idly by while his men did all the work. He approached the pile of rubble and started picking up debris. He went for the largest rocks, the ones other men couldn’t lift. One by one, the Commander gently lifted the stones and set them aside. Archen helped as much as he could, but he wasn’t as strong as Aster. After a few minutes of excavating, they heard a tired and weak cry for help coming from beneath them. The men worked as quickly as they possibly could, but they had to be careful not to cause the debris to collapse any further.

Meticulously, the crew toiled until Aster finally removed a stone concealing a man underneath. They pulled him from the wreckage, discovering that he was acting as a shield for a woman carrying a baby. The man was clinging to life. “How’s my boy,” he kept asking, “How’s Gio?” Luckily, the woman (his wife) and baby Gio were just fine, besides the few cuts and bruises on the woman.

“They’re going to be just fine,” Aster reassured the man. The man never replied, but he did manage a weak smile as the light in his eyes extinguished and he passed away.

It wasn’t made completely apparent that the man had died until his soul was released from his body. Everyone watched as a translucent orb floated out of his body, rose upward through the sky and eventually faded from sight. The man’s wife broke down crying, which caused baby Gio to awake and start crying as well. It was moments like these that reminded Aster that life in Hell was difficult enough
without
the demons intervening.

“
Commander
…” Archen began, noticeably distraught.

“The man did a great deed, sacrificing himself for his family,” Aster proclaimed. He couldn’t let it get him down. He had a job to do. “Continue digging for survivors,” he ordered his men. To change the subject, he brought up another topic. “Where is Captain Fayth?”

              “There was a house fire in the Eastern Section. She took a group of men to handle it,” Archen informed him.

“It shouldn’t be too big a problem, if it’s in the East.” Indeed, if a fire were to occur anywhere in the city, the Eastern Section would be the place for it. That is because the Eastern Section bordered the Great Ocean, the largest known body of water in all of Hell. The devil’s only method of putting out fires was to carry water from the ocean in large buckets, dousing the flames from above. The Eastern Section had the obvious advantage, being right on the ocean. “Even so, I’ll go see how she’s handling it.”

It was early evening now, and as Aster flew across the city the artificial sun was beginning to diminish. As he drew closer to the East, he saw what was left of the smoke and flame shooting out of a home. He set down on the ground further back then he normally would, so as not to interrupt the bucket team. On the ground, Captain Fayth was pointing and directing her men to the spots that needed water the most. Very few actual flames were still burning, as the fire was nearly extinguished.

“Looks like you have everything under control here,” Aster unintentionally complimented her. She blushed, taking it as flattery.

“I learned from the best,” she smirked.

“Were there any casualties?”

“None, Commander.”

“Well done, Captain.” He actually smiled. He was tired of losing innocent lives for the day. As the bucket team dowsed the house for one last round, it appeared the job was done. Aster did a quick walk-through of what remained of the house, to make sure all fire was put out. Everything checked out, and Aster went over the usual information with the house owner. He had the option of rebuilding within thirty days. If he failed to do so, the property would be forfeited and sold. It wasn’t an easy speech to give to someone who’d just lost everything.

After that was done, the sun was nearly gone. The day was coming to a close, and Aster was grateful. With everything that had happened that day, he was ready for a warm meal followed by punching out for a few hours of sleep. Then he’d have to get up and do it all over again. A devil’s workday was never easy.

“So, Commander,” Venus began, “Archen is doing the overnight shift tonight, which means I’m free for dinner.” Ah, the dinner request. She had been asking him for dinner for years now, and every time Aster would make an excuse as to why he couldn’t. This time, however, dinner sounded wonderful. He even began to think that sharing it with Venus wouldn’t be half-bad, either.

“I think that’d be alright,” he said. Venus, who’d been used to his excuses and rejections, fully intended to be shot down. Upon hearing his unexpected approval however, her heart leapt up into her throat with excitement. She tried her hardest not to show it though.

“Let’s head back to the castle, then.” She smiled at the thought of finally sitting down with her beloved Commander and sharing a meal together. Unfortunately, it was not to be. At that moment, a Royal Guard member fell from the sky, a bloody and tired mess. “Commander!” He weakly shouted, as Aster and Venus rushed over to him.

“
Commander…Demons invading…
” He managed to choke out. At that moment, another soldier must have received word of the invasion, because the loud siren that signaled a demon attack began to scream.

“Where?!”

“Southern…Section.”

“I’m going!” Aster announced, leaving the injured man in Venus’s care. She could see the fire in his eyes and knew he would go no matter what. Their dinner would have to wait. Without another word, Aster brought out his wings and launched himself into the sky.

“I need someone to assist this injured man,” Venus ordered. “The rest of you are coming with me! We’re going to back up the Commander!”

Part Six: Demons Invade

A soldier was cornered by a wolf demon. What does a wolf demon look like? Very much the same as an Earthan wolf. Only bigger and much uglier. Its snout was already covered in blood, as it’d been snacking prior to its arrival in the city. The soldier was unarmed and the wolf had him pinned down. He couldn’t even raise an arm to shoot a flame at it. This seemed like his last moment of life.

Eyes closed, the man screamed, waiting for his life to end. He cursed his bad luck for being on patrol in that area at the time. Several seconds had passed, but he was still alive. He felt something splash on his face and opened his eyes to see Commander Aster, sword piercing through the beast’s torso. Aster put his foot on the wolf and pulled his sword out, causing even more blood to gush out of the beast’s wound and mouth.

“Arm yourself, and assist any civilians!” Aster commanded him. The soldier pulled himself up, grabbed a nearby sword off the ground, and gave a weak “yes, sir” before running off. Aster took a brief moment to examine the hole in the Southern Gate that the demons were spilling in from. Wolf types, Lizard types, and even a few Gorilla types. All low level demons. Unfortunately with their numbers they could be considered a pain in the ass and a danger for the less combative citizens.

Several lizards were heading towards Aster. He readied his blade and leapt forward slashing straight downward at one of the creatures, splitting it’s head wide open. Another lizard charged him from the side. He launched a small fireball at it, momentarily stunning the demon, and then slashing at it with his blade. A pack of wolves ran by him, chasing a couple civilians. They wouldn’t reach them, not if Aster could help it.

He dashed after them, readying a large blast of flame in his left hand. Once it was an incredibly large size, the Commander blasted the flames forward. Needless to say, it got the demons attention. The entire pack of four turned around, taking notice of the Commander as his flame had just burned their backs. Two of the wolves lunged forward at him. Aster tossed his blade high into the air and continued forward, heading straight for them. Mere feet away from the wolf, he threw his strongest punch aimed straight at the demon’s face. The wolf flew back, defeated.

The next wolf was already upon him, mouth wide open for a bite of Aster. The Commander caught it by the jaws and proceeded to rip it apart. With a little bit of effort, the bottom jaw tore right off. The demon dropped to the ground, weak from blood loss. While all this was going on, another wolf spotted and was moving in on a small child. With perfect timing, Aster’s blade came falling from the sky. He leapt up, grabbing it in midair, and fell to the ground slashing at the wolf’s hind legs.

Suddenly finding himself without hind legs, the wolf tried to turn around to confront Aster. It was already too late for the monster, as Aster planted the tip of his blade in its gut. The child was frightened, and rightfully so.

“Are you alright?” Aster asked the boy. The boy didn’t reply, but instead looked even more scared and pointed at something behind Aster. He didn’t get the chance to turn around and look before a large Gorilla demon gave him a devastating punch to the back of his head. Aster flew back several yards and collided with the wall of a house. Now the child was defenseless as the Gorilla moved in on him. Aster scrambled to his feet, but it was no use. He wouldn’t make it in time.

Luckily, he wouldn’t need to, as a gigantic fireball smacked into the Gorilla demon sending it flying backwards and burning it to a crisp. Captain Archen stood on the nearest building top, looking down on the scene. He leapt down to join his Commander on the ground. Aster rushed over to make sure the child was okay.

“Get this kid to safety, Archen,” he commanded him.

“What about you, Commander?”

“I’m going to push them back,” Aster said, picking up his sword. His men were trained and ready to contain the invasion should demons ever enter the city. Already, they were surrounding the area and closing the demons in. Eventually, the demons would try to exit the same way they came in.

“Alright men, let’s close in on them!” Aster ordered, and everyone obeyed. Slowly, the men with their swords and spears and fireballs began pushing the demons back towards the opening they’d made in the gate. The lizards, being the weakest, were easily pushed back. The wolves resisted, but eventually caved when the men began prodding them with their spears and small fireballs. The gorillas flat-out refused to budge, and required much more persuasion.

After much struggle, the men had closed in enough that the demons only had one place to go: outside. It was the devil’s victory, as the demons fled the city. The soldiers began to cry out in shouts of success, happy at their victory. But Aster did not share their joy. He was relieved they had forced them out, no doubt about that. But he was not happy those demons got away. In his mind, if they had invaded once and gotten away with it there was no reason why they wouldn’t return to try again another day. He hated them. He wanted them dead. He was going to track them down and kill every last one of them. In his mind, that was the only way to ensure everyone’s safety.

Aster clipped his blade to its holder on his back and brought out his wings. “Make sure all civilians are alright,” he called to Archen.

“Where are you going?” Archen asked.

“Out there,” Aster pointed out the hole in the wall, “don’t follow me.” Before Archen could raise a rebuttal, Aster was gone through the opening. Venus arrived just in time to see him go.

“What’s he doing?” she asked, concerned.

“Being foolish,” Archen replied.

Aster followed the demons far out into the desert, dropping massive fireballs on them like bombs from an aircraft carrier. The fireballs weren’t intended to kill them; they were intended to only cripple them. After he’d hit enough of them, stunning and crippling them, he dropped to the ground and drew his blade. They were now sitting targets for him. He rushed from demon to demon, slashing at them with no compassion. Their dying cries summoned even more demons, which Aster continued to slash through without hesitation.

Something took over. His usual calm, polite demeanor was temporarily gone, replaced by seething hatred. He had become even more ruthless than the demons he hated. If they attacked, he slashed even harder. If they ran, he hated them more. He lost track of time. He was covered in blood. He was out of breath from swinging his blade, but couldn’t stop. The sun was completely gone now, and he was left in the darkness with only the demons and his own murderous intent.

And there, in the distance lit by his own flame he saw the sword in the sand again. He hadn’t even realized that he had cut his way out there. He was alone now. Not a demon in one piece remained, the sand dyed red with their blood. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like killing anymore. His arm dropped limp at his side, his blade now dragging in the sand behind him as he approached the sword in the sand. He’d finally made it.

He plunged his own blade into the sand next to the other sword. It had been a long time since he’d last seen his Commander’s sword, and truthfully he never thought he’d get it back. But there it was. Gripping the cold hilt, he removed it from its resting place. Sand drained from all the little nooks and vents, as if the sword itself were finally breathing again. The sight of Commander Clarus’s sword instilled a long-forgotten sense of peace within Aster.

He could no longer hold it in, as tears began to flow from his eyes. He never did properly mourn the loss of Commander Clarus Honore as he should have, and being there in the place where he died, holding his sword brought him the closure he needed. But Aster was no fool, and knew he had to get a move on. It wasn’t safe this far out of the city, and it’d only be a matter of time until a new batch of demons found their way to where he was. He left behind his blade in the sand as a grave marker and carried the sword known as Infernos back with him.

He made haste back to the city, bringing with him not only a sword but also a renewed sense of duty. He was resolved to lay down his life for his Lord and the city. He was determined to protect the lives of the people. He was motivated by the memory of Commander Clarus, a great man and a loving father.
His
father.