First Blood

[ 01 ]

Warnings: weapons, depiction of blood

Length: 3.9k words

The Devil and the Three Rules of Temptation
An Introduction

The devil comes in the form of everything that you have ever wanted.

The chaos. The pleasure. The forbidden fruit. Everything you have ever thought was immoral, wicked, or just plain old bad. This is the devil—but beautiful and wrapped up in the hues of your wildest dreams.

Whoever your devil may be, remember this. The devil will make you want things you thought you should never want.

This is the first rule of temptation. You will want to be tempted. You will think to yourself that it can’t possibly be that bad. You will convince yourself into your own temptation, and you will blame the devil, but it will only ever be you.

This is the second rule of temptation. You will betray yourself. You will kill your own god for a taste of what you think heaven is. Then you will ask yourself why? And the devil shall be at your side, caressing your cheek and whispering why not?

This is the third and final rule of temptation. You will blur lines, and you will erase them. You will forget there were even lines in the first place. Like a second skin, the devil will become you, and you will become the devil. You will wake up one day and ask yourself where did God go? And it shall be the devil who answers right here.

You will keep your eyes, but you will be blind.

This is how temptation works.

The devil will kiss you, slice your throat, choke you on your own blood, and convince you that this is how you breathe. You will believe it. In fact, you will want it. You will want to bleed.

- - - - -

“Karina was officially reported missing two months ago.”

Irene’s words reverberate through the white chambers of her garrison’s hold. Her lieutenants are all seated around the round table, but none of them make a sound. The tall ceilings are laden with frescoes depicting scenes of their heroic acts as angels, but no one seems remotely heroic now.

“Well?” Irene questions, looking into the eyes of her brethren. “Not a single new update on her whereabouts?”

“My scouts found traces of her essence in Los Angeles,” Seohyun speaks up when no one else does.

“So did I,” adds Solar. “But it’s the City of Angels,” she murmurs. Her eyes are cast down, almost obscured by her blonde fringe. “I couldn’t find a recent sign of where she was.”

“And I already shared with everyone where I last saw her.” Giselle isn’t one of Irene’s lieutenants, but she’s Karina’s partner—and the only one who was with Karina at the time of the girl’s disappearance. “We were at the outpost,” Giselle reiterates. “The one in the hills. We spent the night there, and the next morning, she was gone. It was—”

“It was October 31st,” Irene finishes for Giselle. All her lieutenants are looking at her as she speaks. “It’s January now. Almost February.”

Again, the silence permeates through the hall. No one has an answer or a clue on how to progress forward.

“What if she’s gone?”

Irene shoots a glare at the speaker, but it’s Giselle—Karina’s close friend. She’s only a junior protector, a trainee in fact. Her eyes are cast down onto her twiddling thumbs, undoubtedly stricken with grief over her friend’s disappearance. Like the rest of the angels, she must think that it’s futile to search for someone after they’ve been missing for so long, but Irene disagrees.

“She’s not gone,” Irene asserts. “We’re talking about Karina, here. She’s an archangel.” Irene looks over her lieutenants as if to challenge their doubts. “She’s smart. Powerful. She’s literally divine. Angels like her don’t just disappear.”

“But what about Luna?”

Everyone’s eyes turn to Wendy who has just spoken. She’s Irene’s second-in-command, one of the most powerful dominions in her class of angels. And she’s the last person who should be casting doubts.

“What about Jaehyun?” Wendy continues. “First, they disappeared. Now, it’s Karina. What if—”

“Silence.” Irene halts Wendy from speaking further with an authoritative voice. She simply refuses to believe that Karina isn’t okay. “I don’t want to hear any more cynicism.” Her eyes gaze over the rest of her present lieutenants and finds herself sickened by their fading morale. “I shall be the light, the hand, that seeks and finds our missing sister. I shall travel down to Earth itself and bring her back to us.”

Irene’s lieutenants grow animated at the implications of her statement. They exchange looks. Then whispers. Solar is the one that speaks up.

“But Irene,” Solar interjects in a worried tone, “the demon infestation. It-It’s only getting worse. The demons are stronger than ever, and we’re missing more angels than ever.”

“A better reason to go,” Irene rebuffs. “This meeting is adjourned.” Before anyone can protest her, Irene reminds them of their unfinished tasks for the day. “I want you all to resume your objectives at the Fourth Sphere.”

Irene can feel the uneasiness in the air, but her lieutenants follow her wishes. They file out of the chamber one by one, and Irene exits through the door that leads to the cloud platform. Wendy is following her closely, no doubt wanting to change her mind about visiting Earth.

“You shouldn’t go down there,” Wendy tries to plead with the garrison leader. “You heard Solar. And everyone knows it. The demon infestation is bad. Terrible, in fact. They’re practically crawling all over that city.”

“You can’t convince me. I’ve already made up my mind, Wendy,” Irene rebuffs. She is already arming herself with her seraph’s blade in preparation of what’s to come. It’s a silver rapier, perfect for duels and slaying demons. She utters an incantation that turns the blade into light. “Don’t worry, I’ll find Karina,” she assures Wendy, “and send a few demons back to Hell.”

“That isn’t a good idea,” Wendy continues. Irene can only press her lips into a thin line and try to listen to her lieutenant out of respect. “The demons are hurting angels now. You saw what they did to one of Seohyun’s scouts,” Wendy babbles. “What if they hurt you too? Kidnap you? What if—”

“The demons aren’t going to touch me,” Irene interrupts Wendy’s worrying.

Although Wendy is Irene’s longtime lieutenant, Irene has been a captain of the 89th Demon Defense Squadron for nearly a century; she has seen things most angels have never even dreamed about seeing.

“I’ve slayed tens of thousands of their kind,” Irene states. “I was there when the devil himself tried to tempt an audience of angels.”

“Really?”

Both Irene and Wendy turn their heads toward the source of the voice. Standing on the cloud platform is one of the younger angels of Irene’s Demon Defense Squadron: Yeri. The young angel is only four years into her junior duties. Innocence and ignorance paint her gentle face.

“What are you doing here?” Irene inquires. “Aren’t you supposed to be fixing the lights at the Fourth Sphere?”

“W-Well, I was,” Yeri stammers, “but my officer was at a meeting here. I-I-I heard—”

“Yeri, you shouldn’t be gossiping,” Wendy hushes the younger angel. “Go back. You have a lot of work to do.”

“But is it true?” Yeri holds her ground. Irene lifts her gaze to find the young angel staring intently at her. “You were there when the devil tried to tempt us?”

“Yes,” Irene calmly says to Yeri. “That’s why it is me who is going down to Earth and no one else.” Irene looks at Wendy and gives the girl an assertive nod. “Wendy will watch over the squadron while I’m gone.” Irene does her best to smile and assure Yeri, but the angel’s eyes are wide with concern. “And I have my prayers and God’s blessing with me,” Irene says. “I’m going to be—”

“I heard that the devil could tempt anyone,” Yeri interjects in her soft voice. “Even if you were standing in God’s presence.”

Irene casts a look at Wendy. They’ve heard about angels becoming jaded throughout their endless years of service, but that’s what the Reformatory Period is for—a time for angels to restrengthen and regrow their belief and faith in God. However, Yeri is young. How can someone like her have such doubts?

“That’s simply not possible,” Irene tells Yeri. “I don’t know where you heard that lie from, but you need to unlearn it. Wendy.” Irene places a hand on her lieutenant’s shoulder. “Keep me updated on what happens in the squadron.”

“I will.” Wendy sounds meek, but Irene has no time to stay for a morale-boosting speech. “Are you really coming back by tonight?”

“Yes, and no later.”

Irene smiles at Wendy and Yeri in assurance that she’ll be safe on her journey. She then turns and walks to the very edge of the cloud platform. They’re standing at the edge of the First Sphere, the one guarded by marble statues of the First Protectors. Earth isn’t visible from Heaven at this vantage point; clouds and clouds stretch into the horizon for as far as the eye can see. Only