The Talk 1
In the Planes of Endel, the Demon Army Marched. Armed with swords and magic, and numbering in the hundreds of thousands, we set our eyes on the human capital. Our bloodthirst heightened, we set out to put their kings on their knees and travel to <
The war waged for a thousand years, nay, two thousand or more. Yet the man neither rested nor slept. With great vigor, he sent legions to their grave. With a flick of his wrists, entire armies were no more. And those who survived his onslaught, came home in terror and bestowed upon him the name: The Dreadlord of the Planes.
"Wait, wait, wait," I interrupt Mammon with a mouthful of fried chicken. "So you're meaning to tell me that this shit's being circulated in your kingdom?"
"Well, what did you expect?" he replies. "I wish the stories were exaggerated but after experiencing it for myself, they were all fucking true!"
After what happened in the construction site, Mammon invited me to his home. I say invited but I really just let myself in. His servants gave me a change of clothes: a turtleneck and a coat to match. Now, I'm eating bucket of fried chicken at the dining table along with Mammon and his kids. Before I go out there again, I need information. That's why I'm having Mammon tell me everything he knows.
"I mean, I get that but I wasn't THAT bad," I reply. "Also, could you tell your kid to get off of me?" I gesture at the pink-haired girl who's clinging onto me like a saran wrap.
"Mary, can you let go of him? Just you being anywhere near him makes me so nervous," Mammon pleads.
"Awww why? I've never met a man with such confidence and power. I must have him, Father!" she replies.
"I guess greed runs in the family huh?" I chime in.
Mammon chuckles nervously.
Well whatever. This kid will get disillusioned soon enough. Like how a kid would tell you that they'll marry you when they grow up but then get a boyfriend the moment they hit middle school.
"Getting back on topic, those stories were exaggerated! Dreadlord of the Planes? Come on!" I protest.
"YOU FUCKING DECAPITATED ME WITH A BUTTER KNIFE!" Mammon yells in reply.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room goes chilly and his kids awkwardly avoid my gaze.
"A mana-infused butter knife," I correct. "Big difference there."
Mammon just looks at me in disbelief and groans.
"Why did you have to come here? I was actually beginning to forget about what happened in the Garden," he weeps.
"Oh come on, don't be like that Mammon," I say. "You were like, probably at the bottom of my demon hate list so I'm not gonna gut you unless you're up to something bad."
He looks up. "I-I promise. I'm an honest businessman who just deals with black market stuff and pays his workers."
"Good, good," I reply.
Honestly, after his behavior in the construction site, I'm more curious about their lives after getting here than I am about killing them. I can't imagine it was easy but somehow, he pulled it off to the point that he has kids and people who respect him.
"Enough about that nonsense story," I say as I put my feet up. "Tell me how you and other demons got here."
He raises an eyebrow at my request.
"I thought you would know?" he says.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I got here after you killed me. All of us did," he replies.
My heart beats faster.
"All of you?!" I exclaim in shock.
"W-well, only the upper echelon did. Those with higher consciousness," he quickly corrects.
"Phew, I thought I'd have to deal with your armies again. I probably killed millions ya know!" I sigh in relief.
"Well don't celebrate yet 'cause the ones who made it here were not all happy," he comments.
"Go on..."
"This city is called, New York I believe," he explains. "You still remember what I told you about how the cities were rebuilt after <
"Yeah, yeah, like the world became wild with magic and mutated creatures blah blah blah and cities were rebuilt with walls that protect it," I reply.
"That's right," he agrees. "The world is literally now divided between <
"Come on, Mammon, I don't have all day. Can you just answer my question?" I demand impatiently.
"Haaaah, fine. After you killed me, I woke up in the wilderness. I had no strength, no energy. I really thought I would die. Fortunately, I found this city before that happened. The humans of the city then gave me a choice: be under the protection of the city and its god or tough it out in the wilderness until civilization reclaims it. Of course I chose the more logical option while some demons like Satan chose to conquer the wilderness for themselves," he explains.
"Let me guess, demons hate gods," I interject.
Mammon shakes his head. "On the contrary, we demons adore gods. We want to become them. We want to replace them."
I cock my head in confusion. "So why did some of you refuse?"
To answer my question, he points a finger at me.
"They hate you, Rorschach! They hate your race too! So they plan to hide their fangs in the wilderness until they're ready to invade. Some even discovered that you were from here and hold the hope that you'd come back," he says passionately.
I listen to his speech while picking my teeth with a toothpick.
"And I'm assuming you got nothing to do with them?" I comment.
He shrugs and chuckles. "Who's to say."
I ask that but I'm confident that he has nothing to do with them. Mammon's whole shtick is profit. I can't think of anything he could possibly gain from allying himself with the demons outside these walls. Society's already built up and the races are already living in harmony from what I saw briefly outside. If an outside force invades, they either get trashed or reset progress which are both overly unprofitable.
I scoff at his cheeky reply. "Well, whatever. Thanks for the info," I say as I exit the hall.
"Where are you going?" he asks.
"I need to familiarize myself with this city," I reply. "Also, I need to see the head honcho in this place. Did you say that a god oversees this city?"
"Yeah but even you can't meet with a god," he says. "The best you can do is speak to the high priest which happens to be also the mayor."
I crack my knuckles and reply with the widest smile, "Who said anything about meeting and speaking?"