Edmond grew tired of all of the lesser beings he found unworthy to consume at this point.
His experience consuming the city leader's demonic essence prompted a swift change in his mentality.
He figured that if there was a city housing a more powerful demon in the vast expanse of this hell, then there must be other, more powerful demons he could find.
Thusly, Edmond raided the city, searching for anything of value before basically finding nothing of worth— at least in his opinion.
He noted the direction in which some of the demons ran in and decided that they must have had even a slight reason as to why they chose their direction.
And so, he followed them since he had no other leads to go off of.
It had been some time since they left so he had to also follow his instincts and travel where he felt he could find a large enough space to hold a city.
Needless to say, he was back to wandering the hellscape once more all on his lonesome; not a single imp or demon was interested in hanging out with him and all ended up in his abnormally large stomach.
'At least you have me,' the voice in his head spoke much to his dismay.
"I'll be on my own until I can reach you, my light."
He shook his head and looked to the rocky ceiling afar; at a vast distance from him, the unending sight was a reminder that he had much to yearn for.
He knew deep down that beyond the conceivable confines of his new living space lied a direct antithesis— a heaven to this hell.
Yes, his gaze grew clearer as he relished the thought of his angelic Evangeline up in heaven, yet his will remained steeled as he analyzed his circumstance.
He knew it was not as simple as reaching the ceiling; if he had wings like the hellbats it was not as if he could pierce through the hardened stone.
This was an innate feeling he was certain of.
'If not through the ceiling than there must be another way in God's abode.'
And if there was even a God that existed, was the same true for the Devil?
Such thinking both intrigued and scared Edmond; that fear helped to ground himself though.
He was not nearly powerful enough to steal that which belonged to a higher being.
Not yet at least.
Continuing on his journey through the hellish environment, Edmond had not met with any other creatures, most likely due to the city's influence.
A horde of imps would be bothersome to deal with, but not impossible.
So far he had encountered imps, lava creatures, hellbats, and demons; not too many different types, but there was much more to explore no doubt.
On his way, he obviously had to pass the time somehow, so he would often murmur to himself about his past life and such.
He recalled vague events during his early development in the Zolial family, a notorious gang affiliated family.
The trials and tribulations he went through just for sharing that name made for a gruesome childhood.
He was taught early on to protect himself from greedy toads that sought to eat the meat of a swan because he could not be protected at all times.
This was very true when it came to school.
Belonging to a family of gang members was not the best way to garner the friendship of those who did not have ill-intentions, and it showed through the amount of bullying he went through.
Anytime he brought the matter up to his family, they mocked him for being weak.
They were of the mentality that 'if you could not fix it yourself, then nobody would.'
And so, the problem only grew worse; kids beat him up thinking he was a worthy target to face given his background.
After a while, the rumor around school was that the Zolial family was actually a bunch of pathetic weaklings.
Even the adults began to wonder the validity of the claims as they clearly noticed the actions of the children.
Out of all the teachers, only one stood up to comfort the lonely boy in his grief.
She was a kind younger lady who all of the students knew was willing to help even at the cost of her own faculties.
With her help, school was rough but manageable throughout the years.
By the time he reached the age of graduation, Edmond had gotten more in shape and fought back more times than he could count knowing that he had someone that looked after him.
It would then be time for him to move on to another school where he could start anew.
Or so he thought.
The bullying grew more violent in nature; blood would spill and weapons would be used.
Edmond grew worried for his life at times, but he tried to act like a member of his family should.
Some of his older siblings actually paid attention to him after he grew older and recounted times of their own where they had to fight back and take control of their lives.
Edmond thought he was not alone in all of the turmoil he faced and asked them for help.
Since they pitied him for being the loser of the family, they agreed to help him out as long as he followed orders.
And so, he managed to gather his bullies in a predetermined spot where his family would be there to help him out.
He was confident in the face of danger.
Unfortunately, he was beaten black and blue for wasting their time bringing them all the way out to a secluded spot.
He wondered the entire time where his family was and why they were not stepping in to help him, but the reason why came soon after.
The family members that promised to help him stepped out from the corners of the meeting place with a goal in mind: get revenge.
This was the first time he heard the terrified screams of another human.
It was at this time that Edmond realized the Zolial family was not to be messed with.
They used one of their own as a way to send the message.
The same weapons that were used against him were turned against the bullies, yet this time the bats produced crunching sounds and the knifes cut deep into the flesh.
All that was left of the group of bullies was one who pissed himself in fright which managed to deter those of the family.
And Edmond was left alone with the bodies of the broken and wheezing meat bags.
"Do as you will with this trash."
Needless to say, Edmond took out all of his pent-up rage on the beaten bullies until they were unrecognizable.
And the one cowering in his own urine was shaken in a corner.
Edmond took his bloodied self and pointed a splintered bat at him.
He was left to be the messenger.
Thinking that it had all been worth it up till now, Edmond readied his hurting body to head home, only something— someone— rather troublesome appeared in his way.
The same teacher that helped him throughout his darkest days, the person that taught him to stand with pride no matter how beaten, battered, or bruised stood still in front of his current state.
After hearing from the students about the group of bullies heading out with Edmond alongside them, she grew worried and came rushing to his aid.
Only she found him standing among the corpses of the group of bullies with a smile on his blood covered face.
Not knowing what to do, Edmond just smiled and said, "Family business. No need to worry about me anymore."
The shock took over the woman's body as she sought to smother Edmond in her hold, but she could not for the life of her move.
All she could do was shed tears as the bloody child limped away from the gruesome scene all alone.
---
"Tch."
Edmond sucked his tongue in distaste of the past.
He had long grown out of his early life and took it upon himself to become a teacher much like the woman of his childhood.
He had felt that there was no need for more violence in the world as violence only beget itself further.
Well, violence towards those which deserved it was another matter in itself.
"If you cannot please them all, you must overthrow them all."
With a new conviction, Edmond sought the cities and in turn the stronger demons to consume and grow strong enough to make a standing of his own.