The Demon Slayers Club (IC)

The Boundless

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Enraku rolled their eyes and gave a great heaving sigh as Astaroth left.

"Goddamnit, you cheshire crook, i'm a bartender, not a rehabilitator..." the Sin muttered under their breath, eyes eventually looking over to Waelin who stared back with much curiosity. "Spill, I know you have questions."

Waelin swallowed a pancake slice before speaking. "What is a Sin and should I be worried?"

"Gonna' need to do a little bit of a demonic history lesson if you want that answer." Enraku warned. Waelin paused to think for a moment before giving an affirmative nod.

"Long ago, demonkind used to be scattered, fragmented. They lived in tribes and clans, small and numerous, with a thousand different cultures and beliefs. Until my father arrived, that is. Both of our kinds knew them as the Demon Lord. He united the tribes one by one through force. Other tribes rose up and banded together to stop him, but they all failed. And eventually, somewhere among all this, my father had a child. Me." Enraku explained. "I was... different to other demons, it was clear from the start. My very presence calms others and myself. Allows for rationality where none may exist. Our people were and are still violent. My natural aura acted as a trump card. It opened up diplomacy. And as I became more well known as true civilization began to develop, I eventually received the title as being the Sin of Sloth."

"I'm guessing sins are good to demonkind, considering our image of them being so associated with the more unsavory parts of religion." Waelin speculated.

"We treat them differently than humankind does, yes. Your kind looked to things like greed and wrath and pride and called them blasphemous, a negative. We consider them in a positive light. Sin itself is a demonic word, to us and in the context of my title, it effectively means "Anointed By God." To Sin is to be at one's highest point, to indulge themselves to their fullest. Eventually, my father had more children, and each was given an appropriate title. First was Sloth, then came Wrath, then Pride, and so on." The sin elaborated.

"So what does the title mean here? That you're some kind of 'chosen one' or something similar?"

"In a sense. Before my father died, we served as leaders under them. Sometimes for war, sometimes for peace. We are among the most powerful of our kind, after all, being derived from my father, who swatted aside Greater Demons left and right. We acted as extensions of our father's will when they couldn't be there himself."

"So there are seven of you, I imagine."

Enraku paused for a moment, seeming to mull it over. "Six. One of us is dead."

"Condolences." Waelin lowered their head slightly.

Enraku couldn't help but snort. "No such things are needed, he was the worst of us and extreme even by demonic standards. Be glad he's dead. I am. Most of the Sins should be."

"So if you're this extremely powerful being, then why... why are you here? I can't imagine bartending is the most glamorous profession for someone of your stature."

"Because I want to. I told you, I was never like other demons. They want conquest, war, slaughter, our people thrive in conflict of all kinds. I just don't care for it, don't have the ambition. This is the best job i've ever had. I don't really want conquest, nor to be heavily involved in the scuffle my kind have with humanity. They don't bother me, I don't bother them. Simple as that." Enraku explained. "I left them long ago, and I don't wish to go back."

"And you're not helping humanity because you don't want to fight your own kind?"

"I help, here and there. Little things, information, little dealings, maybe some boarding or throwing a word out here and there. The stuff that really matters I leave to Slayers and governments. Because I have some businesses to run and bars that won't tend themselves."

"I see why they call you the Sin of Sloth."

Enraku gave a smug smile. "I aim to please."

"So, that other thing, will news about me really spread so fast?"

"He forgets that I can control the gas pedal when it comes to information." Enraku waved off, though Waelin looked confused.

"Right, you don't know. I control speed." The sin replied.

Waelin rose an eyebrow, Enraku gave a sigh in response. "Not superspeed. No, I control speed. The concept. Speed of self obviously, but there's speed of thought, speed of death, speed of delivery, anything that progresses or moves in a sense, I can alter it's speed of progression, even conceptually."

"That's... kind of absurd, honestly. Do all of you have powers like this?" Waelin inquired, a small level of disbelief on their face.

"We all have great power in our respective domain. Wrath for instance could probably bench-lift a small building's worth of weight. Pride was horribly insufferable because of their tendency to bring men to their knees figuratively and literally before them." Sloth clarified.

"And the Slayers have to go up against these kinds of things. How are we not dead already, exactly?"

"Not every demon is that powerful. And powerful demons can't be everywhere at once. Not to mention, once they invest in a real strike that gets into the public eye, they're on a time limit before the world reacts. See, sure, we can do these things. They help a lot less against the likes of nuclear warfare and Figment users. And most demons can't even wrap their head around the concept of nuclear warfare, let alone know how to prepare against it." Enraku explained. "I'm not too worried. My siblings are confident in their views, but so am I."

5 against 1 wasn't the best odds, but Waelin didn't feel the need to acknowledge that as they finished off their pancakes.

"I shouldn't have to worry about catching their attention, right?"

"Depends on the Sin, but I will work to protect you from such things even if it becomes an issue." Enraku assured. "Anything else?"

Waelin paused a moment, then shook their head.

"Alright then. If you're full you'd best be going. I would imagine your parents are worried sick."

Waelin's eyes turned to saucers before they put a hand to their head, tugging on their hair. "Oh god, my parents... what am I even supposed to say to them? How do I even begin to explain this without me ending up in a mental ward?"

"I wouldn't. At least the full truth." Enraku suggested. "Tell them you were kidnapped and managed to get away. Details of that sort of thing can be very blurry, you know. Trauma, stress, etc. I think they would not care too much about hard details."

"I... I guess. I hate lying to them, though." Waelin's voice was unsure, eyes somewhat downcast.

"Perhaps you can reveal it to them in time. But for now, I think they more care about you being safe and sound." Sloth replied. "Do you need a map?"

"Directions to the nearest bus stop is all I need."

"Ah, the wonders of public transportation. Head out, take a left out of the alley and a second at the corner and you should be right there."

"Convenient, and thanks... for everything, really."

"It's no problem, Ms. Brooke. I've been in a fair share of desperate and horrible situations myself. Your first shift starts next week, and if you ever need me, simply call my name and I can leverage our connection to speak." Enraku explained. Waelin stood up and nodded.

"Alright. I'll be there for the shift. See you later." Waelin responded. She walked to the door, looking to the sun shining outside and pulled in a deep breath, hoping nothing went wrong. She passed out of the doorway and the alley beyond, sunlight finally touching their face. Her eyes shut for a moment, unused to the brightness after being in the dark for so long, memories of the darkness of the cells passing over, only lit by myriad candles beyond the reach of the bars. The paleness of her skin came fully to fruition now, their complexion looking halfway to a ghost.

It took them a few moments to start moving again, passing by a few people. None seemed to be alarmed by their presence, and relief sunk in, body relaxing slightly as they moved along. Left, then another left. And before they knew it, there it was. She sat down on the bench at the stop for a time, relaxing themselves, simply getting used to actually being outside again. They missed the wind and sunlight, the fresh air and murmur of activity. She soaked it in, allowing themselves to close their eyes for a bit before the bus came, only glancing over to get an idea of where they were. Southeastern part of the city it seemed. If they could get back up to the northeast, they could navigate from there easily enough, but until then, she just basked in the natural light and air and let their mind cease it's frantic pacing.

Ortus Woods | City Outskirts

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'Miranda" She answered. Her tone significantly more solemn as she kept driving. Miranda wasn't always the greatest with people. Or at least not great at helping to calm them down or comfort them. As such she found it hard to say anything else really.

"So uh... what's yours...?"

Ortus Woods | City Outskirt

Nick could tell that perhaps all this was just as uncommon to Miranda as it was to him, as evidenced by how she had forgotten his name already. Either that, or maybe she was just trying to continue the conversation. After all, how often was it that she was likely to happen across such a situation as his? He wasn't going to press her for those questions, so instead he decided to introduce himself again.

"Nicholas, but you can call me Nick.", he calmly said to Miranda.

Ortus Woods | City Outskirts

---

"Well Nick... welcome to the world of Supernatural Shit." Miranda spoke as she continued to drive.


The drive didn't take too much longer after that. About a solid 15-20 minutes before they showed up at the motel she was talking about.



The motel in question was a... not so pleasant looking one. It looked like one of those stereotypical run-down, shabby motels located in the middle of buttfuck nowhere. The type of motel you'd expect to see having a big neon sign... with most of the letters not lighting up due to them being old and malfunctioning. Which if all the letters lit up, it would have read 'North Side Cafe and Inn', but the letters that are not lit up make it read "No t S afe Inn". AKA "Not Safe Inn." Which is not the most pleasant name for a such a place... and considering that it's fairly far on the outskirts of Ortus, where there is nothing but a big highway, and lots of trees surrounding it... really made the alternate name "Not Safe' feel a little more fitting.

Ortus Outskirts | 'Not Safe Inn'

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This was clearly not a good Motel. It had very obviously seen better days, but whatever the case, Miranda arrived at the destination. She went and parked in front of her room on the first floor of this 2 story Motel. It was located on the far end of the building. One thing to note in the dark night was that due to the trees surrounding the place, lack of any other cars except one in the parking lot, and the flickering lamppost right outside her room, would make anyone familiar with this kind of setting in a horror movie to go on full alert. Despite this, Miranda let out a big sigh of relief as she turned to Nick. "Welp. We're here. Better get you inside and take care of those wounds." She said as she popped the driver side door and hopped out.

Ortus Outskirts | 'Not Safe Inn'

Nicholas was about to ask for the phone when they came up to the motel. Needless to say, it was no better a situation than when he was driving along the forest road at night in the rain; a perfect setup to some sort of horror movie. He figured he would ask about the phone when they got to their room. Instead, he got out of the car and looked over the hood to Miranda as he pointed at the road sign.

"That's just a coincidence, right?", Nick asked the veteran hunter as he motioned over to the large roadway sign that spelled out 'Not Safe' with its remaining illuminated lettering.