Chapter 245: Stairs to Purgatorio

Zazel would be met with no sound and no sight, nothing but the sobbing and the whimpering of the members up above. He can feel himself getting lowered by an unknown force, unable to see his friends handle what problem they had to deal with. A voice spoke out through the intercoms, a voice he was familiar with. "For your actions on killing my men, falling out of line, and betraying His very words, your punishment shall come next. I know what you are, Demon. I know what you want too. It is a very, very easy way to dissect you." The voice began.

Zazel was not having it. "Oh yeah? What do you know about me? I bet you can't even-"

"That you're of royal blood." Zazel shut his mouth almost instantly, his eyes widening in shock. He was left dumbfounded as he'd hear the Boss continue to speak. "Your wicked ancestors left you with a gift untold, a message to not become like them. You are a demon of the most vile order, wanting to reside in the human world. God should've wiped you from existence when he should've, and yet, he lets you live. Allow me to deliver His verdict. Judgement awaits you..."

Ding! Dong!

The front of his boxed container opened, revealing to him a large spiral mountain. Such mountains have a colored space on it, each one having a different message embedded in its floor: Pride, Envy, Sloth, Avarice, Wrath. The boy recognized such words and left his containment, looking up at the tower-like building he must climb. Up above would be a small light, with a few people being hidden in it. He recognized that they must be the staff personnel, assuming that he must climb up the terrace if he wishes to reach them. A set of hands were made within the Box, dropping what looked to be like a set of dice. He could see a mass of shade nearby, most likely just as illuminated due to the multitude of lights nearby. The dies were casted and a number was raised, forcing Zazel to move forward.

9

9 Paces he must take, walking up to a tile dubbed as Envy. He'd prepare himself for what is to come, noticing quickly that his vision was starting to fade. He backed up slightly to try and grasp what was happening, before the end result was made.

SHIKK!!

Torn asunder. His eyes were damaged, slit vertically, being sewn completely shut once the damages were made. Screams and wails were made from the Demon as he'd fall on all fours and rolls across the stone-like floor, forced to remain in the shade for a brief moment. The dies were casted again, a new die being added for every time he reached a new step.

10

10 Paces. The Demon would be forced to make his way, crawling on all fours, desperately trying to get up despite being blind, stepping onto the tile of Avarice. Immediately he gets slammed into the floor, taking further damage and having the sewing quickly dig deeper into his eye sockets, prompting more screams as he tries his best to get through the pain. Dies began to cast more and more as Zazel continued to scale up towards the Mountain.

12.

18.

18.

28.

20.

For each step he took, he felt like it was absolute anarchy. Envy, causing his arms to be slashed and sewn back together, reaching all around the appendage as if they were cuffs on his wrists. Pride, being slammed in the back by a stone and forced to climb up with such weight, making it harder and harder to scale upwards. Avarice, causing him to be slammed down once more, the weight of the rock nearly breaking his bones as he's forced to get up and continue his ascent. Lust, being scorched alive head and toe from the ground up, which usually wouldn't hurt, but because of the scars and stitching he attained, it seeps into his body and burns within his inner structure, causing him to be cooked alive underneath such devastation. Wrath, forced to intake toxic clouds that makes it harder and harder to breathe, only being able to scale up in order to escape from its noxious air.

The ascent felt like it took forever. It felt like hours, nay, days, nay, months passed by as he continued traveling to the top of the very mountain. His legs were weak and wary, shaking, desperately begging to have rest, being forced by the dies in order to keep walking and to keep enduring such hellish torture. His body became more and more frail as time went on, nearly falling onto his knees as he'd take a breath, faintly hearing the clattering of dies clash with one another as they role for one more number.

32.

He'd keep his pace up, struggling to keep going, his blood leaking from his body, his face feeling like it was melting, the fire in his soul nearly put out, until he finally heard it. Birds. Small chirping and rushing water. The brisk, cool wind blowing on his face, as Zazel would try to cut off the stitches and let him try to see, despite the pain and suffering. He reached it, the top of the mountain. Nearly drove into tears, the Demon would try to reach out to the sky, trying to see if he can touch, nay, hold what was up above. Unbeknownst, however, was that his final punishment was nigh..

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!

A Large, bright light, coming down upon the demon with no hesitation, cremating him alive, erasing his skin, muscles, bones, even the ash that was left was disintegrated beyond belief. He was like a mirage to the Staff Members, a figment of their imagination, a mental image that was finally discarded. "Foolish to think the demon would be saved. We're monsters. Scum like us do not deserve redemption, no matter how much we plead. You should've known better now than to think The Devil would be excused of His judgement." The voice echoed, turning off the lights in Zazel's quadrant, the contract being purged in flame, and the staff members were moving on to the last child, much to the cries, pleas, and swears of the siblings.

Harvard was the last one remaining.