Prologue

The Ragged Hydra was a soulless abomination found exclusively in the deepest, darkest reaches of Tartarus, where caustic rivers boiled, the sky was forever thunderous, ash rained, and the air itself was scorching and poisonous—a hell in Hell where even the strongest devils feared to tread. It had the appearance of a giant fleshy grub with insectoid limbs and five hideous heads, each jagged open by a gruesome maw, like a painful tear in its flesh, overflowing with sharp and serrated teeth.

The beast’s gigantic size was equalled only by its bottomless appetite and fiery disposition. Any warrior brave or foolish enough to dare face it would instantly be turned mad by the mind-flaying gleam of its five ruby eyes—these eyes that now rolled erratically as the titanic, pentacephalous worm fled, wailing in terror, from the giggling toddler running after it.

It was a curious sight indeed, even in this forsaken land.

The little girl’s skin was black as sin. Short, stubby horns protruded from her mess of ginger curls. Vertical pupils split the red irises of her sparkly eyes, and her happy giggles revealed slightly pointed, pearly white teeth. Wickedly sharp claws ended her small pudgy fingers, extended towards the fleeing monster as if to hug it. A thick black tail trailed behind her, almost as long as she was tall and fluffy. She ran completely naked, heedless of the hazardous terrain. Each leap that propelled her forwards left deep gouges from her clawed foot in the hard rocky ground.

On a hill several miles away, two figures observed this quaint spectacle of an apex demonic predator chased by a minuscule devil child.

The first one was a Devil, in the truest sense of the word. His broad body was corded with muscles. The blackness of his hide was such that the surrounding light seemed lesser from it. Eight majestic spiralling horns wrapped around his head like a crown. His four solid black eyes each imprisoned a dim red ember in their depth. Serrated obsidian fangs filled his large mouth. His mane of wild red hair turned into a coat of thick fur on his back before rushing in a thin line down the long spiked tail that swayed lazily behind him. Hooved feet ended his sturdy legs.

Eight awe-inspiring and scaly black wings grew from his back, which were currently folded over his shoulders like a regal cape.

Despite many additional attributes, the devil’s resemblance to the happy toddler down in the valley was unmistakable, and as he watched her, a doting grin softened his otherwise nightmarish features.

His companion, who stood by his side with a serene smile on her face, could have been purposefully created as his exact opposite—and maybe she had been. Still, nobody could remember the distant times before Time when these two came into existence.

The Angel’s fair skin glowed with an inner light that seemed to reject almost contemptuously the darkness of this damned realm. Golden blond curls cascaded to her shoulders, and her eyes shone pure white except for the occasional pale blue sparkle dashing across. Her demure beauty without a single blemish contrasted strongly with the devil’s harsh and scarred appearance. Where he did not bother with clothes, a chaste toga covered her lean body, exposing her back only to make room for eight immaculate dove-like wings.

Both beings radiated auras of dizzying power that were in part responsible for the hydra’s lack of countenance—although the main culprit remained the giggling little girl rapidly catching up to it.

Suddenly, the panicked creature missed a step and stumbled. With a gleeful laugh, the child leapt and landed on its back. The beast screeched in absolute, all-consuming terror—five discordant shrieks rising together. It shook and bucked, desperate to throw off its assailant, but the little devil held on with her claws, laughing ecstatically as she was swung around like a ragdoll.

“She has her laugh,” the angelic woman commented.

“Yes,” the devil smiled fondly, with only a hint of sad longing in his voice.

“And your sense of decorum,” she added flatly when the girl happily ripped off one of the hydra’s screeching heads, splattering blood and innards everywhere.

“Hey!” The devil shot her a glare that would have stopped an army in its track—then made those who had not fainted turn tail in their soiled undergarment—but she shrugged it off without as much as an acknowledgement.

Her warm features turned stern when she looked away from the child. “Why is she still here?”

“Gabby…” he sighed.

“Don’t ‘Gabby’ me, Lucifer. She cannot stay. She’s too human. The energies of Tartarus will rip her apart.”

“A few years won’t kill her,” he grumbled.

Gabriel’s expression softened. “I know you miss her, Brother.” His face closed up. She laid a comforting hand on his spiked shoulder, uncaring for the prickly lightning their conflicting energies created. “I miss her too. But the longer you wait, the harder the separation will be.”

After a moment, the proud devil deflated. “Give me a few more years. I’m worried.”

“It is for the best. And you don’t have to worry. Little Samael is strong. She can handle the Midworld.”

“I know. It’s not what I’m worried about.” He was interrupted by four ear-splitting wails of agony. Both of them turned around to see the little girl tear open the stomach of the ragged hydra. With wide, curious eyes, she started taking experimental bites out of its spilt organs.

When one of the remaining heads tried to take advantage of her distraction to attack, a back-handed slap from the child reduced it to meat-paste—which splattered all over Samael and was promptly licked.

Lucifer scratched one of his horns awkwardly and met Gabriel’s troubled gaze.

“I’m more worried about the Midworld.”

“…Right,” the angel drawled. There was more to the issue, she knew, but she decided to let the matter drop for now. She sighed. “I’ll help you teach her some restraint.”

“I would be most grateful.”

They both fell into a ponderous silence, each preoccupied with their own thoughts.

The tortured and confused wails of the ragged hydra resounded for a long time over the desolate landscape. Its prodigious vitality now became its greatest tormentor as it needlessly prolonged the monster’s agony.

Intermixed with its death throes were the happy giggles of an innocent child.

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