CHAPTER 08-BAPHOMET

Elias finally woke up after such a turbulent night. He stood up from his bed, walking towards his wardrobe, getting a new pair of clothes. His caprine skull was finally gone, leaving even a certain amount of uncanniness, since he had already grown used to it. After he already changed clothes, he peacefully made his way towards the bathroom. He brushed his teeth, splashed his face with water and used the sink to wet his hair. He frowned at his own reflection.

"Damn, I look like shit."

He sighed, going to the kitchen and opening the fridge. He saw a half-bitten burger laying there, and just shrugged.

"Well, Mr. Hudson…Sorry for taking your house."

He got the burger and took it to the microwave, heating it up just enough. It seemed like the original owner of that house left it there in a hurry to finish it later, but clearly wasn't lucky enough to make it back home. As he ate, he grabbed his phone, calling Glitter's number. As the call rang, Glitter picked up.

"Hello?"

She answered, questioning. Huffed moans could be heard.

"Uh…Hi, Glitter. It's Elias."

As the moans seemed to intensify, Glitter let out a little chuckle. She seemed embarrassed.

"O-Oh, hi, Elias! I…I didn't expect you to call me back so soon."

Elias seemed confused by the sound in the background, but tried to ignore it.

"Oh, sorry if now is not a good time. Listen uh…I'm going to see a Vitch that might help me with that whole Burden thing, you know? Maybe, after I sort things out, we could, uh…I don't know, hang out somewhere? Somewhere not too public since I'm, you know, a wanted criminal…"

Elias tried to make up for his unfortunate self-deprecating comment with a laugh. The moans coming from Glitter's end of the call were louder and louder, as the other person seemed to be saying something to Glitter, to which she replied by shushing.

"T-That's…That's really sweet, Elias…"

Glitter said with difficulty, as she seemed to get more and more airheaded.

"Are you alright? You sound dizzy."

Glitter moaned, covering her mouth, before putting the phone back to her ear.

"I'll…I'll call you later, okay…?"

Glitter hung up. As Elias just laid on his couch, silently chomping away at his burger, Glitter was back at her house. She was entirely naked, bent over on the couch, arching her back and posterior with grace. Behind her was a tall, muscular man, gripping her glutes with force as he pounded himself against the woman, consummating a lustful and somewhat degrading act with the woman naked in front of him. His hair, curly, red and short and trimmed at the sides, complemented his rough and scarred face, along with his two eyes with distinct colors, green and blue respectively. He was clearly a white man, but his skin appeared to be severely sunburnt and stained with sulfur from long hellspawn exposure. As the man threw himself more and more on Glitter, she finally stopped trying to cover up her moans. She moaned louder and louder, pressing her nails against the couch, piercing the leather. He held Glitter's hair, winding it together in a tight spiral at his hand. He pulled Glitter's hair with force, bringing her face towards the height of his chest, talking near her face.

"You're not bad."

He provoked, as Glitter tried to divert her look from his.

"A-Are you close?"

She asked, letting out a soft moan. The man replied by pulling her hair with even more force, as well as hitting her glutes with a forceful slap that made Glitter scream out in sharp pain.

"I'll be close whenever I want. Customer's rights, you know?"

Glitter looked back at the man, with pain visible in her face.

"T-That's…That's not what we agreed on…"

The man smiled, pulling her hair with force, making Glitter scream once again, pulling her to him, forcing the woman to stand up. As both of them stood up, he kept consummating the lustful act with Glitter, and he was also grunting loudly.

"As far as I know, whores like you get paid to do exactly what you're doing. So, if you want to get your money, you can shut the fuck up."

He held Glitter's face close to him, pressing with force, leaving the mark of his fingers on her skin. Glitter tried to force her way out of his grip, but to no success. As the man moaned louder and louder, pressing her face with even more strength, he whispered in her ear.

"Say it out loud just how much of a whore you are."

Glitter resented, looking at the man with shame. She felt disgusted for the fact she had to resort herself to such a situation just to be able to get by. She looked at the man, humiliated.

"I am…I am a whore. I am nothing. I'm just your fucktoy."

These words made the man immediately scream out loudly, reaching his climax inside of the woman's womb. As he grunted, still shook from all the pleasure, Glitter just fell to her couch, still leaking the man's fluids. As he gasped for air and covered herself with a blanket, the man cackled.

"Shit. You're good at this. How come you don't have a pimp?"

Glitter looked annoyed, covering herself.

"My pimp is dead, and I'm done with being a whore."

The man looked at her, confused.

"Doesn't seem like it."

Glitter showed clear anger on her face.

"You got what you wanted, Reeve. Let me see my money."

The man complied, agreeing with a head nod. He reached for his clothes on the floor, quickly getting himself dressed with his stylish urban skater conceptual clothing. He then reached for his wallet in his pants, giving two hundred dollar bills to Glitter. She looked at the bills, angry.

"What the fuck, dude? Two hundred? Two hundred is just the standard fee!"

The man laughed, questioning.

"What, do whores have premium services now? Do I gotta pay extra for a Bitch Plus Packet or something?"

Glitter stood up to him, covering her naked body with the same blanket.

"Two hundred is the standard fee. Plus the extra two hundred for no condoms, the extra fifty for the slapping and another extra fifty for dirty talk."

The man grabbed Glitter by the neck and pressed her against the wall, hitting the back of her head on the wall.

"How about I just don't pay you nothing and go home? What are you going to do, sue me? It's not like you can unfuck yourself, right?"

Glitter struggled with the sharp pain, but then stared right back at the man.

"I was one of Rudy's girls. Think I don't know how to deal with a little bit of customer's remorse?"

The man raised an eyebrow, confused.

"What the fuck are you saying, whore?"

Glitter smiled in sheer audacity.

"Reeve Brooks. We go to the same university, just at different periods. You study physical education on the fourth campus. You live at the southern part of town, near where your father lives. Or…Lived, before he died under mysterious circumstances."

The man raised Glitter in the air, starting to choke her.

"DON'T YOU DARE MENTION MY FATHER, WHORE!"

Even while being choked, Glitter still smiled back. She was finally feeling better after her opportunity for blackmail.

"Oh…And if that's not enough…Maybe, if I die, the message I uploaded to your wife beforehand won't delete itself."

The man's eyes widened, as he dropped Glitter to the ground.

"What…What have you done?!"

Glitter coughed, taking her hand to the spot of the choking.

"While you were distracted with me, I took your phone and got her phone number as well. When I got that call, I was also taking a sweet little picture of you deep inside of me. Turns out men get pretty dumb when their dick is out."

The man punched the wall, leaving a huge hole in the drywall.

"YOU FUCKING WHORE! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Glitter stood up, confidently.

"I wonder what would happen if she found out you were sneaking out of your daughter's band performance just to come here and have a little taste of Glitter. She's beautiful, too. Not to mention that, if it wasn't for her, your cute little carwashing business wouldn't even exist, would it?"

The man clenched his fist, still unable to say anything. Glitter went up to his face, whispering.

"Five hundred dollars every month and the service I just gave to you. Do that and my mouth will be shut."

The man nodded his head, still fearful.

"…Take the fucking money."

He said, reaching for his wallet once again, giving a total of a thousand dollars. Glitter grabbed the bills, looking at him with anger.

"Get out."

The man left, ranting angrily. Glitter went to her phone, deleting the photo she had sent to the man's wife. She held the dollar bills with a huge smile on her face, but then, a small stream of tears fell from her eyes, wetting the money.

"Do whatever it takes, huh?"

She sobbed quietly, eventually storing the money underneath her mattress and heading for the bathroom to take a shower. On the outside of her house, the so-called Reeve was angrily stomping through the street, smoking a cigarette.

"Fucking whore. What the fuck was I thinking? I should've known. FUCK!"

He rambled to himself, making his way to a telephone booth. He fiddled around with his pockets in a sloppy and lazy manner, eventually finding a quarter and putting it in the coin slot of the telephone. He carefully typed in a phone number and waited as the phone rang. After he finished his cigarette, throwing the cigarette butt on the floor, the other side picked up the call.

"Who is this?"

Reeve blew the last puff of smoke inside his lungs, answering the destination of the call.

"Tell your commander that this is Reeve."

The person on the other side remained silent. Eventually, someone else picked up.

"Not right now."

Reeve pressed his forehead in frustration. The earlier interaction with the prostitute had him very stressed out.

"Hirakurei, today is not the day to fuck around with your professionalism bullshit."

The person on the other line seemed to ramble something in Japanese, which Reeve clearly didn't understand.

"You westerners don't have the slightest sense of urgency."

Reeve pressed his eyes with frustration.

"You won't believe this. I, uh…I think I heard about a Burden."

Hirakurei remained silent for a second.

"Elaborate."

Reeve looked around to ensure he wasn't being eavesdropped.

"So, uh…I was…I was going out with a girl, right? Then, all of a sudden, she picks up her phone. Like, midsex."

Hirakurei seemed angry.

"Spare me the details, mongrel."

Reeve laughed.

"Okay, okay! So, she picks up her phone, but she doesn't know I could hear the call, right? I hear a guy on the other side of the call saying that he was a wanted criminal and he was going after a Vitch. Coincidence?"

Hirakurei promptly questioned.

"How does that ensure us that he is a Burden?"

Reeve scratched his face, thinking.

"Have you seen the news recently? That new unlisted Burden. You know, the goat-headed one?"

Hirakurei smiled. Even though Reeve couldn't see him, the happiness was palpable.

"Baphomet…The Throneless King."

Reeve struggled to comprehend the excitement. But, regardless, that probably meant a big payday for him.

"Hey, Hirakurei. I already turned in three Burdens for you. How much are you willing to pay me for this Baphomet guy?"

Hirakurei thought for a second.

"Five million dollars."

Reeve audibly screamed in excitement, hitting the phone booth's interior with hyped slaps.

"FIVE MILLION FUCKING BUCKS? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Hirakurei assured yet again.

"You heard me. Stop wasting time and bring him to us."

Reeve hung up the phone, before picking it back up again and dialing in another number. He once again held the phone to his ears, as the person on the other side picked up.

"Hello?"

Said a womanly voice on the other side. Reeve smiled, replying.

"Hey, cutie."

The woman on the other side let out a small, soft chuckle.

"Hey, handsome. Where are you? I've been calling you for an hour."

Reeve scratched his face, trying to think of a quick response.

"Well, I was out here looking for a nice gift for a beautiful girl named Jessica. Do you happen to know any?"

Jessica giggled, slightly ashamed, clearly flustered by the comment.

"Well…I think I do. When are you coming home?"

Reeve searched his pockets, trying to find his cigarettes.

"Right now. I'll be right there, okay?"

Jessica agreed with a sweet voice.

"Okay, darling. Love you."

Reeve reciprocated, before ending the call.

"Love you too."

As he finished the sentence, he looked around, confused. He now had a clear goal in his mind; Find the new Burden. As he thought about it, a distorted voice came from inside his mind.

"WHY DO YOU EVEN BOTHER CONTACTING THAT WOMAN WHEN YOU ARE FUCKING WHORES EVERY SINGLE NIGHT?"

The voice said in a high tone. Reeve slapped his own forehead.

"Shut up, Asmodeus. That's none of your business."

The deep voice cackled, mocking Reeve.

"YOU'RE MY BURDEN, REMEMBER? WITHOUT MY POWERS, YOU CAN'T PAY YOUR DEBT, SO SHOW SOME RESPECT, MAGGOT."

Reeve grunted in frustration as he left the booth and started walking through the streets.

"BAPHOMET, HUH? I'VE BEEN DYING TO GET MY HANDS ON THAT MOTHERFUCKER. I HAVEN'T SEEN HIM IN TWO HUNDRED YEARS."

Reeve placed yet another cigarette in his mouth, promptly lighting it, smoking as he walked through the streets with quick steps.

"You two have beef or what?"

Asmodeus replied, clearly angry.

"THE SAME REASON YOU DECIDED TO SETTLE WITH THAT PATHETIC REDNECK NAMED PATRICIA. WOMEN. WOMEN ARE THE WORST DEMON THERE IS."

Reeve laughed.

"Finally something we both agree on."

Asmodeus seemed thrilled with the idea to fight Baphomet. But, he couldn't miss the chance to taunt Reeve.

"DID YOU REALLY LET A PROSTITUTE BLACKMAIL YOU?"

Reeve proceeded to smoke, a habit as normal as breathing for him.

"I can't lose my marriage. You know I love Patricia. And, if she divorces me, OUR business goes to shit."

Asmodeus laughs, revolted at Reeve's punctuation.

"THE FUCK YOU MEAN OUR? IT WAS YOUR IDEA."

Reeve puffed the cigarette angrily, proceeding his speech.

"YOU told me we needed a business that attracted rich folk because they have a lot of sin. And that's why I did. Every time a rich jagoff goes there to wash his Lamborghini or whatever, we cash in at least a hundred sins each. Rich people do the nastiest shit when they are off the spotlight. Remember that time we killed a guy that used to pay crack addicts to fight to death and sell it on the internet?"

Asmodeus let out a deafening laugh.

"YOU GOTTA ADMIT THAT'S PRETTY FUNNY."

Reeve reluctantly laughed too.

"Yeah, but Patricia got that business from her dead father, so I just took the opportunity. We both win. You get your sins, I get Patricia, we both get a nice end of the stick here. No need for disagreements."

Asmodeus thought for a few seconds.

"I JUST DON'T SEE WHY YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT HER WHEN YOU CHEAT ON HER EVERY NIGHT."

Reeve shamefully looked down.

"Look. She's…She's new to that stuff. She's younger than me, she comes from a rural family and all that. I'm the complete opposite. I'm used to hanging out every night, drinking until I vomit all that I ate last week, using some weed, snorting some coke and then fucking a woman I'll never see again. But Patricia…Patricia is different, you know? She sees something in me. I don't have the slightest idea of what that might be, but…She reassures me that I can be more. That, one day, that dream of becoming a singer might come true."

Asmodeus seemed to grin, although Reeve couldn't see him.

"THAT MIGHT BE THE DUMBEST SHIT I'VE EVER HEARD."

Reeve threw his cigarette away as he entered his car.

"Then forget about it. Focus on Baphomet."

Asmodeus manifested himself partially. The left half of Reeve's face transformed into a bull-like creature with black skin and bloodshot red eyes with round orange pupils. The most noticeable trait was a sharp and pointy bull-like horn, coming from his left eyebrow.

"WHAT THE FUCK, ASMODEUS? WE TALKED ABOUT THIS! NO COMING OUT IN PUBLIC!"

The voice of Asmodeus laughed inside of Reeve's skull.

"SHUT UP. I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING."

Reeve, controlled by Asmodeus, instinctively started sniffing the air, feeling a metallic and bothersome stench. A trail of a plasma-like Penance filled the air, forming a complete path.

"What…?"

Reeve asked, looking at the energy.

"I CAN FEEL THE PENANCE OF OTHERS FROM UP TO FIVE KILOMETERS. HE IS NEAR."

Asmodeus said, huffing from his bull-like nose, exhaling a huge trail of sulfur.

"I know that path. That's…That's where my father lived…!"

Reeve said, holding the steering wheel with one hand and wrongfully trying to insert the keys with the remaining hand, trembling with adrenaline.

"THEN EVERYTHING ADDS UP. BAPHOMET WAS PROBABLY THE ONE THAT KILLED YOUR OLD MAN."

Reeve gritted his teeth, finally inserting the key in the car, accelerating the most he could. As the car's tires left a huge tire burn on the pavement, he remained speeding up non-stop.

"Asmodeus…I want you to go full throttle on that motherfucker."

Reeve's bull half smiled.

"YOU GOT IT. I CAN ALREADY TASTE THAT FIVE MIL."

Back at the Vulva Venaris, Elias was sitting down on the floor with Harper. Harper held a big, old demon encyclopedia in her hands, shining light on it with a black candle. Elias was curiously looking at the pages of the book, trying to decipher whatever was written on it.

"Sorry to ask, but, uh…When does my demon appear, exactly?"

Harper flipped the pages repeatedly, ignoring Elias before finally finding a scrapped, barely visible portrait of a slender figure with a skull face, with the lower half of his body entirely invisible.

"That's the most we'll find about Baphomet."

Elias looked at Baphomet's depiction, curious.

"So, uh…Why is Baphomet as powerful as you say?"

Harper placed the candle down.

"Baphomet is one of the oldest demons ever known. He is a force of nature that represents the sun and the moon. After Lucifer fell from the sky and got Satan's powers, Baphomet refused to follow him and traveled the world looking for powerful warriors that might beat him. Baphomet was a vivid, melancholic nihilist, and also bipolar. Some say that he was a man during the day and a woman during the night. He roamed every single continent, every single country, every single town and every single village. One of these villages, in Romania, was the home of Lilith, one of God's rejects that was kicked out of Heaven for not being submissive to Adam. Baphomet always arrived in a town or village and asked to fight their strongest warrior. If said warrior was able to entertain him, he would only kill the warrior and spare the rest. If he failed, he would slaughter the entire town mercilessly. When he arrived in the village and asked to see their most fierce warrior, Baphomet was surprised to see that the so-called warrior was but a mere slim, delicate and beautiful woman, with not a single weapon in sight. As Baphomet felt ridiculed, he asked her if she would rather die for her town or die along with the rest. Lilith said that she didn't care for the town, nor did she care about dying. These simple words made Baphomet totally obsessed with Lilith, as she shared the same distorted and sick vision as him. He offered her a chance to be his companion on his travels. She accepted, and watched as he slaughtered the entire village and placed the heads of every single townsfolk at her feet, as a sick demonstration of his love for her. Lilith and Baphomet roamed the continents once again. But, God's concubine was desired by every single demon in Hell. Baphomet, refusing to follow the hierarchy of the noble demons, rebelled against Satan and his seventy-two nobles. Burden after Burden, incarnation after incarnation, Baphomet killed the demons' warriors one by one and offered their heads to Lilith. Lilith, using a mixture of the virtue she acquired from the Garden of Eden and the sin she acquired by being exposed to Baphomet, had the idea to mash both sin and virtue together on the same body, thus creating Heriata and taming its power to the fullest. One day, however…Baphomet had to face Satan himself. Although Baphomet was at the peak of his power, he couldn't win. It was a brutal fight that lasted sixteen days. The Penance generated from this fight was enough to generate an eclipse that lasted for the entire fight. After Baphomet lost, he was sealed and erased from history just like the other Throneless. We still don't know for sure what happened to Lilith, but she is the entity that every Heriata user follows. Some Vitches say that Baphomet's love for Lilith is so strong that, every time there is an eclipse, Lilith will wander around calling his name, and you can hear it if you try to contact her."

Elias listened carefully to the dense explanation, trying to figure out how Baphomet's story tied to his own, ironically.

"So, Harper…Ok. I get it. But, what can Baphomet do?"

Harper started chewing some mysterious black herbs.

"Well, depends. The noble demons are ranked from one to seventy-two based on how much Penance they have in an ascending order. But, since Baphomet doesn't make part of the ranks, we can just speculate based on the few historical evidence I was able to study. Baphomet has a very high amount of Penance, but he also has a lot of virtue inside of him. As the demon responsible for the sun and moon, his main ability is the capacity to balance both sin and virtue. But…That's also not his main ability itself."

Elias scratched his head, confused.

"I really didn't understand a thing about what you just said."

Harper sighed.

"Well, you see…Apparently…When Baphomet defeated the champions of the cities he challenged, he took their most powerful items as some sort of memento. But, these items strangely fused into his body, becoming part of him. I was able to get my hands on a biblically accurate depiction of Baphomet."

Harper flipped the page, continuing her speech. The page contained the illustration of Baphomet, with the head of a black goat.

"Look. He didn't have that skull that he's wearing now. He had just a regular black goat head."

Elias observed the figure with attention.

"So, the skull is an item?"

Harper nodded, affirming.

"Indeed. It is an item."

Harper stood up and reached for her bookshelf, getting another grimoire, before sitting down on the floor again.

"This is a compendium about supernatural items. The skull that Baphomet is wearing is called the Idol of Humiliation. It allows the wearer to have a bone density a hundred times bigger than that of a regular human. The enhanced bone density allows for enhanced resistance, strength and also allows the user to control their bones through altered flow of medulla. Also, I've noticed a certain pattern. All of the items that Baphomet had were Penance-based and belonged to the Burdens of other Throneless. That means that these items enhance Baphomet's penance and give him new abilities. I wonder how many did he have in his prime…"

Elias seemed to disassociate from the topic. The interaction he had with Glitter earlier was still bothering his thoughts.

"I, uh…I…I wonder…Too. So, is there any way you can help me wipe away my debt?"

Harper laughed to herself.

"That's all you. You act like you didn't kill, like, ten people yesterday."

Elias's eyes seemed to widen, and his entire posture shrunk as Harper mentioned the bloody confrontation.

"I'm…I'm not a murderer. I wasn't myself that night. He was hungry for sins, and just…I just let it all go. It was like we were disputing who was in charge. And he won, of course…"

Elias looked down, having short memory bursts of the cruelty he had committed. The sounds of snapping bones, ripping flesh, screams of sharp pain, the squirting of blood and the metallic smell of gore almost made him throw up what he had just eaten.

"I figured. Every Burden is under some sort of mental control, anyway. And that also explains why a skinny virgin that never landed a punch in his life was suddenly manhandling hellspawns and dodging blows left and right."

Harper mocked Elias, chewing the herbs once again. Elias looked at her, ashamed.

"For a second, I felt like I always knew those things. For me, it was like those bodyguards were sloppy and I knew dozens of ways to subdue them with a single hit. But, if that battle expertise isn't mine, I…I think I'll be useless if I try to use Baphomet's powers."

Harper agreed.

"Yeah, you bet you will."

Elias placed his hands on his hair, shuffling it around, trying to get his mind off of Glitter and think about how he was going to collect more sins.

"Please, Harper. You're a Vitch. You're supposed to know everything. There must be someone that gives you trouble and no one would care that died."

Harper gave Elias a sassy look.

"You just described yourself."

Elias seemed hurt by the comment, but decided to ignore it.

"Someone else, I mean…"

Harper rested her hand on her chin, thinking.

"Yeah. I can think of a couple names."

Elias let out a small smile; Finally something was going his way for a change.

"Thank you…Thank you so much."

Harper's tone seemed to get more serious.

"Listen…I still need to contact Baphomet. I've been studying my ass off trying to figure out how he can offer me a pact."

Elias questioned.

"Why can't you ask the same pact from another demon?"

Harper looked at Elias's eyes, fiercely.

"My mother…Died of natural causes. Only someone who is able to manipulate virtue would be able to undo a natural death. Baphomet is the only demon who can use virtue. If a Heriata user tried to use virtue to revive another person, that would only result in a half-assed puppet revival. It's a forbidden Vitch technique called Pupa."

Elias stood up.

"I…I probably should go home now. I don't wanna risk OPACT busting in here because of me."

Harper also stood up.

"I'll study everything I can about Baphomet, and I'll call you back once I figure out how to establish contact. Until then, ALL you have to do is stay put and don't attract attention. Got it?"

Elias agreed, nodding his head.

"I get it."

Harper went to his face, pointing at him, questioning with authority.

"Don't you dare fuck me over, Lascaux. This pact better be worth it, or you just threw shit at my door for nothing."

Elias thought about his entire situation for a few seconds, before turning and leaving the Shack, walking home. As Elias walked home and paid attention to Vegas's most characteristic elements…The whores, the drunkards, the gamblers, the thieves…All he could do was think about what was going to become of him. He was now a murderer, that had to rely on sins to survive. His body was possessed by a demon so cruel that he managed to get kicked out of Hell. Baphomet, for now, seemed satisfied. But Elias knew that, when the next craving came, he would be totally helpless again. If it wasn't for his intervention, he would've killed a totally innocent woman for a pathetic amount of sin. Baphomet was inside Elias, and he could feel it every second. The malevolent thirst for sin and destruction for no reason other than convenience…That was the type of being that Baphomet was.

When Elias finally made his way home, he opened the door, strangely noticing that the lights were already turned on. He looked around, confused, seeing Reeve sitting on the couch, smoking a cigarette.

"Hey."

Said Reeve, looking at Elias. His glance had a mixture of disdain and hatred. Elias stared back at Reeve, responding with hesitation.

"W-Who are you…?"

Reeve stood up, scoffing.

"I should be the one asking. Since you're, you know…In my dead father's house."

Elias swallowed, nervous.

"I, uh…I'm…Sorry. I just rented the place."

Reeve let out a sarcastic smile, trying to mask his frustration.

"Really? Lucky you. Thing is, my father had been dead for less than a week. His place hasn't even been properly passed to my name yet. So, who rented it to you?"

Elias started shaking.

"Are you the son of…Hudson Brooks?"

Reeve stood very near Elias, oppressing him with his larger frame and broad muscles.

"Reeve Brooks, yeah. And you are?"

Elias tried to maintain eye contact.

"Elias Lascaux."

Reeve placed his hand on Elias's shoulder, sending a shiver down his spine.

"Nice to meet you, buddy. How do you know my father?"

Elias took Reeve's hand off of his shoulder.

"I saw his…Grave…Once."

Reeve raised an eyebrow, confused.

"How come?"

Elias didn't have the slightest idea how to explain anything.

"L-Look. It's better if you…Leave me. I'll be gone tomorrow, okay?"

Reeve punched Elias, sending him to the ground with a bloody nose. As Elias grunted in pain, Reeve laughed to himself.

"How sweet of you! Don't worry, my father was a pretty chill old man. I'm sure he'll forgive you when you apologize to him in person."

Elias tried to stand up once again, launching a sloppy and inaccurate punch at Reeve. Reeve blocked it with his elbow, clinching Elias and kneeing his abdomen, breaking his ribs. Reeve threw Elias against the fridge, breaking it, and leaving Elias thrown in a bloody pulp on the floor.

"C'mon, man? Where are you?"

Reeve said, mocking Elias.

"Why are…You…Doing…This?"

Elias questioned, deeply in pain, coughing blood and bone fragments.

"I'm here for Baphomet."