Ex. 1

Dante landed next to a car parked outside the burning warehouse. He straightened his red cloak and stared at the burning building, dark black smoke covering the area.

I hate when the boss leaves me in charge. Now, how the fuck am I going to explain Luis’s fuck up.

Luis’s job was to watch over the warehouse whenever they weren’t busy. Of course someone like him would eventually mess up and cause something bad to happen. When it comes to Luis, he’s a terrible creature.

With how bad the flames were, they had maybe fifteen minutes at most before the fire department and police showed up.

Dante sighed and made his way toward the warehouse. He glanced around the area, noticing only a brown car. Rose should’ve been here instead, but she’s been missing for the past month.

I hope she has a good reason for being a slacker lately. He shook his head and continued forward.

The smell of smoke and burnt remains filled the air as he stepped through the remains of the entrance. He walked through the burning warehouse unbothered — stepping over burnt boxes and scattered debris.

The crackling of the flames was almost comforting.

Dante remembered trying to break into Hell long ago to save his love after she was captured because of his sin. After saving her from Lucifer, her soul went to Heaven. Due to his interference, Dante was forced to become a demon.

But that was centuries ago.

Focusing on the present, Dante continued deeper until he felt something out of place. His body twitched the more he pushed through. Slowing down, he scanned the air until he found traces of a white light.

Holy energy!

That didn’t make sense to him. The church didn’t know they’d been in the city. Plus, he hadn’t heard anything about exorcists being dispatched to the city.

Dante frowned and rounded a corner. Unease grew with every step, in time with the strength of the holy energy. He passed the place where a message was written in blood.

Finally, after a couple more feet, he stopped.

In the middle of the room, Luis was pinned in the air with a spear driven through his throat. Dark smoke drifted slowly off him. His body was badly burned, so small flakes fell to the ground beneath him.

Dante’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the two others nearby. Maybe they were the cause? He took a step forward before a white barrier surrounded them. He stopped immediately.

“That much holy energy…” he trailed off.

Dante studied the barrier carefully. Enough energy like this would be able to kill a demon permanently; not just the body, but the soul would be destroyed too. A piece of the building dropped on the barrier, but it turned it to ash.

Seeing that, Dante turned away. There was nothing left for him to do here. Luis was dead, and the warehouse was lost. He needed to report back to the boss and figure out what the next plan would be.

Before leaving the area, he broke into the brown car, stealing all the files and stuff inside. Police sirens blared in the distance as he spread his wings and shot off into the air.