That morning, Maxence rose up early to prepare for the day. It was like any other usual mornings for him – the only difference was that he was preparing to spend his day as a real, proper infernal demon rather than just a simple college student.

As he got changed into the scarlet uniform worn by every infernal on duty, Maxence felt a bit bitter. Staring at himself in the mirror, he realized how appropriate he actually looked in it. He used to think the nice, luxurious-looking uniform would never look decent on him, but things really have changed.

"Can't be helped," Maxence mumbled as he fitted on the pearpiece, making sure it was on before heading out with his skateboard.

It's already six in the morning when he left his room. The Citadel was buzzing with demons, may it be in grey or in red. He received greetings and polite smiles, with congratulatory comments from older demons who heard it was his first day. Maxence still a bit awkward, so he made sure not to linger too long and made it look like he was in a hurry so he wouldn’t have to hear the adults talk about how he has finally done something right and advice on how to be a proper demon.

He didn’t really need to hear any of those. It will just ruin his day.

“Good morning, Aunt Xi-” Maxence abruptly stopped upon entering a room in the Commons Wing of the Citadel where Xifeng had told him to proceed today before he left. Instead of her, there was Alice and Lily, who were talking to each other in hushed, tender voices. Lily was tenderly braiding Alice’s long black hair over her shoulder before they both looked over the newcomer, a contrasting pair of ice cold and warm, welcoming gazes hitting him like arrows.

“Sh-Should I leave?” Maxence awkwardly asked, backing out of the door nervously. He had disrespected these women who frontlined his capture and didn’t know how to face him after everything, although he knew that there was nothing wrong with what he had done. He was guilty for no apparent reason at all, but he just wanted to escape this stuffy situation.

“Brother Maxence! Come in, come in!” Lily chimed cheerfully as she pointed to the chair right across them. “Have you eaten breakfast? Do you want me to ask someone to bring in a meal for you?”

Maxence laughed anxiously as he shook his head, feeling like a complete idiot acting this way. Lily was being kind to him but he can’t even enjoy the easy feeling she gives him because her partner was unbearably glaring at him with dark, obsidian eyes as intense as a thousand white stars.

“You don’t look too bad, I thought you would have lost an arm after the hounds and the triplet’s hazing,” Alice mumbled with her calm, sombre voice which always sounded better rather than hearing her curse him out. She even sounded a bit impressed, even nodding her head as if in approval.

But Maxence did not want to be complacent to her positive demeanor towards him, afraid that if he said anything else, she might take offense. And so, he simply nodded and said, “I’m starting my duty today. Minister Xifeng called me here but it seems like she isn’t around yet.”

“She actually had an emergency meeting,” Lily said with a soft smile. “Did she tell you what she needed to give you right now? She didn’t leave us anything when we came, she just wanted us to make sure you got breakfast before you left.”

What did Xifeng want to tell Maxence? She didn’t have anything to give him anymore, since Prince Neo already gave him the handbook. Knowing her, she probably intended to give him a pep talk and some advice to follow while he ate.

“N-Nothing, she didn’t say anything,” Maxence shook his head. “I’m not sure what she wanted to say, maybe I’ll just go to her later when I’m done with my duty. I have to go, thank you sisters-”

“Breakfast, Brother Maxence,” Alice sternly said, eyes slightly widened to emphasize her words. “Minister Xifeng explicitly highlighted the need for you to eat breakfast before letting your ass go anywhere outside of the Citadel.”

Maxence stiffened, utterly frightened of her. He wanted to tell her he will just grab breakfast at some fast food chain, but how?

“I will call for someone, alright? We can eat breakfast together!” Lily happily said as she reached for her earpiece and talked to someone at the other end, politely telling them to bring in some food. Maxence was terrified, but he can’t just leave like this without suffering under Alice again.

So instead of speaking out like a normal person should, Maxence kept his silence and finally sat down. He was stiff and avoided Alice’s gaze, who stared him down before turning her attention to Lily.

"What do you want for breakfast, Maxence?" Lily asked him.

"I don't know… some pancakes or toast?"

Lily relayed the information, and it took a bit longer before she finally finished. Maxence wondered how much did she even order to make a call last for so long.

“Breakfast is coming in a little bit," she smiled brightly. "So Maxence-"

He mentally groaned, preparing himself for The Adult Talk (even though he was an adult himself).

"-how have you been these past few days? I just really wanted to check on you because Alice and I…" she looked at the other woman, exchanging glances before she sighed heavily. "We feel sorry for what we have done, and we just wanted to make it up to you by being there and helping you however we could."

well that wasn't The Adult Talk that he originally expected.

"Today is your first day, you must take it easy," Alice surprisingly chimed in. "Being a child of Pandemonium is a lifestyle that you are familiar with. Do not stress yourself out too much. Be a leaf in the wind, let yourself go and ride the breeze naturally."

Maxence was so stupid. Why was he so… so vulnerable? First Xifeng, then his dad and now Alice and Lily. All of them have imposed on him and yet, his stupid heart felt all mushy and warm after giving him these kind of caring words. He's already an adult, he shouldn't be softened up by words! How embarrassing. This is why children need adult attention, or they will grow up pathetic like him.

"Thank you," Maxence said. "I will remember your words carefully."

"If something happens that gets out of control you have to quickly tell us," Lily chimed in. "The earpieces are our lifeline. Always put it to good use. It's perfectly fine to ask for your help since it takes experience to be good at this kind of job. Alright?"

Maxence really liked being doted on like this.

When breakfast came in, Maxence was surprised to see that there was a lot of food.

"I hope this is enough," Lily laughed. "Alice eats so much, I don't know if this is enough for you, Brother Maxence."

The youngest in the room nodded enthusiastically, receiving his food. He secretly glanced at Alice, her face serious and calm as Lily placed so much food in front of her. With a temper like hers during encounters, it's no wonder she needed so much to fulfill her appetite.

"You want more?" Lily offered when Maxence was halfway through eating his food. "I don't eat much, I only have more on my plate for Alice."

"Sister Alice can have it," Maxence said, smiling politely.

After breakfast, Maxence was finally allowed to go. Bidding the two senior infernals goodbye, he set out to proceed to his designated area.

The sickest part of this situation was that Maxence actually felt free. He had no idea why, when days ago he'd let sticks and stones break his bones as long as he could get away from turning fully demonic. Not only did he feel free from the pressure of the House of Pandemonium, he also felt free emotionally. As he skated down the pavement with a lollipop in his mouth as his earpiece played his favorite playlist, he felt so liberated for the first time in his life.

Maybe, just maybe, Maxence shouldn't feel so negative about turning into a demon at all. Maybe this really was for the better, something fate knew was more appropriate for someone like him and fate was proving itself right by showing all these.

Upon reaching Delphine Road, Maxence was greeted by the sight of a typical, calm suburban area. He spent the next half-hour disguised with the Inbetween as he roamed the area. He even has his scythe out in its full form, twirling it around in exhibition. Too bad no one was there to see it, he always had decent scythe exhibitionist skills.

In one particular street, Maxence spotted a convenience store. Craving for some chocolate drink even if it was only in a packet, he ran towards it and entered. There were only a few people inside, three sitting at a bench with their laptops and notes out, while other people were just scattered, going about their business.

"So typical," Maxence mumbled as he showed himself, lifting the Inbetween as he then proceeded to enter the store, quickly heading towards the fridge to look for his chocolate drink. He only drank from one brand, his unadventurous tongue unwilling to look for others in fear of spending money only to hate the taste.

Something suddenly caught his attention. It was the lightest whiff of an incredibly strange scent, but it had that subtle mix familiar to Maxence, one that he usually smelled on evil entities.

After paying for his drink, Maxence stood by the store and took his time drinking. His eyes were alert though, cautious of the impending danger that will take place.

And he actually expected his first day to be uneventful. Oh well.

When he finished, Maxence threw the packet into a nearby trash can. Slowly, he turned around, facing the side of the street towards the denser part of the area.

Upon hiding himself back into the Inbetween, an arrow came whizzing towards his direction.

Quickly grabbing the arrow before it could hit his forehead, Maxence gasped when his hand started to burn painfully. He broke it apart and threw it to the side, glancing in wonder at his palm that was already healing before summoning his scythe. He twirled around to block a couple more arrows that came towards him.

What kind of material were those arrows made of? They looked as normal as they can get and yet they were able to wound him like that. Even angels did not have that kind of material, since both kind never saw the need to fight each other.

Meters ahead, a man clad in black with a black cap hooding his face came up to him with a crossbow in hand, aimed at him.

Narrowing his eyes, Maxence yelled, "Who are you?"

The man tilted his head up, offering him an eerie smile before he shot an arrow with the crossbow again.

Gritting his teeth, Maxence stroke his scythe down, cutting the arrow in half before he surged forward. He had no choice – this man seemed hostile and he was worried that if he did not deal with this one right now, other demons may be in danger.

With the incredible speed and agility of a demon, Maxence knocked the crossbow out of the man's grasp and slashed. He had strength triple the capability of a human and yet… yet this man was able to parry by grabbing onto his scythe's blade with his bare hands.

"Just what are you?" Maxence growled as he transformed into his demon form, baring his fangs as he pushed him back with his scythe. The man fell back but he was stiff, and in a strangely quick manner, he got back up to his feet. The demon shot forward, meeting with the man who fiercely got into combat with him.

This strange man was very strong despite looking like a human. Although that was the case, there was no mistaking that the scent Maxence sensed earlier came from him, signifying that he wasn't as normal as he thought he was at first.

But what exactly was he? Maxence was sure this person wasn’t a hound, as hounds do not have cognitive ability, reduced into primal beings that only function with their instincts. He was strong, putting up a struggle with Maxence when his scythe fell to the side. If it wasn't for Maxence hastily swooping in to stab him with his tail followed by beheading him with his scythe, the fight would have lasted longer than he would have wanted.

"What the fuck are you?" Maxence whispered in horror as he watched the corpse rapidly decay right in front of him, like a horribly explicit timelapse of decay from his skin, his flesh, muscle then bones before it turned into dust, the fine particles disappearing into the wind.

“Look out!”

Maxence whirled around and was suddenly tackled down by a rushing Emerald, sending both of them tumbling down the pavement before the girl quickly jumped up to her feet, pulling Maxence with her as they ran down the street, arrows whizzing past them.

“Fancy meeting you here, Brother Maxence,” Emerald sarcastically greeted him as they ran down the pavement. She was also in her demonic form, seemingly very exhausted already which meant a lot, since demons didn't easily tire out. She must have been engaging in combat right before this.

“What are the odds! You’re being chased down by those weird people too!” Maxence mocked gleefully as he threw his scythe behind him, slicing through a volley of those arrows before returning into his hand.

“Yeah, and they got my brothers,” she said as she turned on her heels and threw her scythe, successfully hitting two of the men at the same time and decapitating them before her scythe came back.

“We responded because an infernal had contacted us but when we got there, we saw her body pierced through with those cursed arrows. There was also an angel with her, dead. These fuckers assaulted us all of a sudden when we came, and I am the only one who got away.”

“What did they do to Blair and Zeke?!” Maxence exclaimed.

“I have no idea,” Emerald snapped, but it was obvious that she was worried sick. Maxence felt really bad for her, especially when they did not even know who the enemy were. He wasn’t just being senselessly sympathetic especially when those people had been harsh to him all his life, don’t get him wrong. He just couldn’t bear the idea of any of his kind suffering while on the job.

“We’ll get them back,” Maxence reassured her, and that wasn’t a blind promise. He would actually do it, no matter what happened. The Frost City Citadel cannot afford to lose any more demons.

“Whatever,” Emerald said, attempting to seem like her usual strong, haughty self, unwilling to show any vulnerability. “First, we have to teleport out of here and think of a battle strategy.”

Maxence gave his hand to her. She grabbed it and when they rushed forward, they suddenly appeared inside a warehouse that Maxence recognized as a place that was still in Delphine Road.

"They will find us soon," Emerald whispered as she pulled him behind a rusty machine. "Now we have to think of something."

"We have to lure them into a room or an enclosed area somewhere," Maxence said. "That way, we can quickly kill them all in one go."

"That's logical," she nodded in agreement to his idea. "Let's find an area that can do the trick."

They got up and raced to the second floor. They momentarily split up, searching on their own until Emerald called for Maxence not even a few minutes later.

"Will this place work?" she wondered, gesturing towards a wide room that had an entrance door and an exit behind a wall, so it wasn't easily seen.

"It will suffice," Maxence said.

And just as he said that, sounds of heavy boots could be heard climbing up the stairs. The two demons quickly made their way out of the room, clutching tightly onto their scythes.

"I see seven," Emerald whispered. "We'll be able to handle them."

"There seemed more before," Maxence said, his gut feeling telling him that if this was going to be easy, then the situation wasn't properly dealt with yet.

"Doesn't matter for now," she said. "Let's just handle this ones first."

From down the hallway came the strange men, their crossbows aimed at them. Numerous arrows came flying, which Maxence hastily deflected as Emerald threw her scythe to disarm or harm as much of them as possible.

After getting rid of two while another three were disarmed (literally, Emerald chopped off their hands or arms), Maxence and Emerald retreated into the room. As expected, these strange men followed them into their trap.

And all hell broke loose.

Maxence succumbed to his demonic nature, snarling as he alternated between fighting with his scythe or savagely attacking with his bare, taloned hands and poisonous tail. It was a risky brawl, all limbs struggling not to get torn and arrows flying, hoping to hit the places they were intended to hit.

The two were doing a good job, until Maxence was suddenly hit by two arrows to the side along with the sudden appearance of five more strange men in pursuit of them.

"Stay there," Emerald snapped at him as Maxence groaned at the burning pain while pulling the arrows out of his limbs in one corner of the room.

"No, I can still fi–"

Emerald suddenly aimed her scythe at him in spite. "Shut up and be quiet!"