City of Sinners

Chapter 8

“Sitri, hold on tight to me!” The buzzing of the surrounding has made me hear Valour’s voice into a thin, hard-to-hear words. Good thing I have a good sense of hearing, that is why I was able to understand what he said. 

I quickly looked at him, and then I saw him offering his hands for me to hold. The seemingly eternal panic in my chest was unbearable alone, to the point that I feel I am going to collapse any sooner now. 

Who would f*****g not?! There’s a black void sucking everything at my back, while four black angels being chased by giant bees and hornets on my front. Where will we go?! What shall we do. 

It is probably an instinct of mine that I held his hand. I can feel the sudden flush of the draining of my strength, that is why I need someone to hold on to. Good thing Valour had offered his hand to me. 

“What are we going to do now?” I asked, shouting. The thumping of the black angel’s footsteps that is coming towards us were terrifying. It was in a booming sound. Like a howl of a demonic heart. The buzzing sound of the bees has added more horror to it. 

“I don’t know,” Valour said. It was almost a whisper that I could not hear, but good thing I was able to read through the movement of his lips. 

“I am pretty sure those ‘sinful’ angels as Gaston told, and … those bees won’t let us live longer than how we’re expecting.” 

“Well, I’ve expected I am dead now,” said Valour. 

There were people that was in front of us. Looking by the way how they stand and hold their weapons, I can say that they are those people who are overly-confident of their skills. Thy are those people who have swallowed a lot of courage pills that they don’t feel any lump of rat on their chests. They don’t feel fear. 

I recognize some of them coming from the gang of the Eagles, the Mocking Birds, and the Crows. Some of them were familiar because whenever we met any of those gangs, their confidences would not fail to always annoy me. Sometimes, they would even try to hit me up, and would try their best to look attractive. As if they were not pale and rotten-looking.

“Oi!” one of the man said. “The one who can kill the Angels will have a good buffalo wings as dinner!” he joked. The other men who belongs to the front line had laughed. 

“Yes, Buffalo wings for dinner!” said the other man while smirking in full confidence. Without any second thought, he started to dash. While holding his broad sword, he ran going towards one of the angels. The others had followed. However, the Angels hasn’t seemed to feel any bother from their attacks. Those angels continued running, as if through those running their life depends on.

Now the man who joked about having Buffalo Wings as dinner, has thrown five daggers to the angels with multiple arms. But it doesn’t made any impact. Or has it made any kind of strong damage. The black angel (if this peculiar creature can be called as that,) has roared at him—not because of pain, but because of irritation. It can be seen smeared all over its face. Then, one of its multiple arms scooped the confident man who dared attacking him. 

While still running, the sinful angel threw the man in the air. And then … he snapped him with the use of two of his sinewy arms. Blood splattered in the air, in the middle of the meeting palm of the black angel. Like a mosquito being snapped into death. s**t.

The other ‘confident’ men had witnessed the horrible death of the clasped mosquito-liked man. They should be running back now. However, with those fast-moving, demonic creatures, I know that they won’t have any chance to escape now. One of the men were pounced by one of the angel’s feet, making his blood and flesh be flattened into the ground. One was sliced by the one of the angel’s sharp claws, dividing his body into a splatter of two—in just a blink of eye. The bees has started to attack too. Their needle-like stings were shooting from the sky, and stabbing through the body of anyone they will see as target. One man, as I recognize, coming from the gang of the Owls, were directly hit in the head. In just a snap, the pieces of his head were already scattered in the ground. 

Shit. What are we going to do now? 

“Valour,” I looked at him. ‘A—Are we going to die here?” Why, in this very situation, in this very scene were my courage was badly needed, it was when the time it had escaped away from me? At this moment, I know to myself that I am afraid, and weak, and panicking.  

But despite my fear and panic, I saw the determination and courage at the circle of Valour’s shadow-colored eyes. 

“No we’re not dying here,” he said. He held my hands tighter. Then, he looked at Gaston who was as scared and flustered as we are. 

“Gaston! Vultures!” Valour called. “We’re entering the first circle of hell!” 

Simultaneously, every Vultures looked at the dark void, at the arc of the first circle of hell. Now I get it—it was the portal towards the first circle of hell. At the very first part were the real hell would be felt. The pressure from the black portal were still sucking us. But instead fighting through it, with a full decision, we let the pressure drag us. We have even ran towards it. 

“Quick! To the portal!” Gaston shouted. “We have no choice but enter it! Enter the first circle of hell!” 

The men who have heard it, aside from Vultures, had started running too. However, the bees and hornets had also started to throw their needle-like stings towards us. The heck, what’s the problem with these bees? We haven’t even have them touched, then why are they attacking us? 

Beside me, I saw a man being hit by the gigantic needle stings of the bees. The stings were flying like a missile shot. It was deadly. As I look back, the surprise in me had made me move according to my instinct. A piece of sting were shot towards our direction, and is fast-approaching towards Valour’s back. I unclasped my hands away from Valour and quickly wielded one of the jade knife at my back. Without any second thought, I threw it forcefully. It made the needle be deflected from its shooting direction. The jade knife was deflected near my feet, while the needle went towards who knows where. 

I then grabbed back my knife. Valour held my hand once again. 

With another fast running steps; another worries that the needle stings would hit us, or the black angels would be able to chase us; with another second of being in near-death experience … we were able to cross the arc … 

towards the first circle of hell.