The purgers, following the ruthless storm, finally traverse the Bloom forest. They wasted too much time dealing with secondary matters. The fights they had with the traders and the constable's forces slowed them down. The storm is brewing stronger than ever, the coming beast will descend upon the land and wreak havoc before they could reach it. They must hurry. The sky darkened, same as the night they visited Little Lady. Rain was flooding the land and their vision was altered. The pair could easily see through pitch black darkness, such was their training. But in the face of the darkness this storm caused, they barely saw a thing. Not for its blackness or dark color, but for something else. It was unnatural and ungodly.
After countless running and tracking northward, they reached Forgehorn, a city on the Mooston Bloomheaven border. From Little Lady, heading north toward the province of Mooston, two paths diverge: the official roads, well-worn but exposed, which poor Landon took in desperation, and the old forest trail, shrouded in thick fog and twisted terrain, which the purgers braved for its concealment and peril.
The two men heard the ringing of bells amidst the storm, the church of Forgehorn alerting its people. They finally arrive at the city's gate, prideful and tall like a tower. The name Forgehorn is carved into a stone tablet above one of the pillars. Stone houses and sturdy buildings decorate its streets, now empty and flooded with rain. This is nothing like Little Lady. The storm seems to have chosen this place to crash within it. The purgers anxious and tense, observe the clouds spiralling with lightning strings surrounding them. The moment of truth has finally come. Father Sorloth, priest of Forgehorn, noticed the two intruders and called for them from his church's door.
"You there! What are you two doing outside in such foul weather? Head inside at once", screamed the priest opening the church's door.
"Shut your trap old man, we're here for this bloody thing", shouted Rex.
"Stay inside, Father", replied Dorian, "Don't come out at any cost, this is no ordinary storm".
"You two are drunk and worn out. No matter, the church welcomes you still!".
The priest insists on sheltering the two strangers on the city's gates, unaware of the horrors this storm is bringing to his city. Rex unsheathes the Cannibal and aims it at the man cursing him, who closes his door in fear of the scene. Dorian stares at Rex in disapproval.
"T'was the only way this benevolent turd would shut up. I didn't kill the man for fuck's sake"
"Doesn't matter now, we better brace ourselves"
With the storm reaching its apex, the beast could be anywhere. They wander inside the empty city, searching every street and alley, the wind almost pushing them back. A hard task really, with their senses altered with.
Suddenly, a chilling scream, echoing through the empty streets, is heard. Whatever descended from the sky is finally here. The purgers follow the scream's source. It leads them to the outskirts of the city. There they find it, or them.
Two figures standing there under the heavy rain. A short and a taller one. The figures stood still in the rain. Silent. Watching. As they emerge from the shadows the full spectacle is revealed. The shorter figure steps forward first and, weirdly enough, it resembles a child, or a mockery of one. It was naked with a pale bluish skin and a flame, searing under the rain, coating its crotch area, and two dark red horns coming from its head. This childlike creature was holding an infernal chain. It wiggles it, and it's then when the second figure walks forward and presents itself. That chain was tied to a hellhound, with four red eyes, watering with tears of liquid fire. Its teeth were uncountable, rows stacked one atop the other. Its fur was black, and its claws bigger than what they had faced in the incubus.
"What the fuck is that?", screamed Rex, unsheathing the Cannibal.
"A warden of hell, must be", replied Dorian, taking out his sword from his sheathe as well.
"Your assumption is correct, mortal", said the childlike figure.
The purgers feel a strong uneasiness settle in upon hearing its voice. A voice of a child, in the body of a horned demon. The hellhound starts barking uncontrollably, liquid fire drooling from its fangs. It is not here to converse with the two men. It wants their blood, flesh and soul. Dorian takes out two small red vials from his coat's pocket. He drinks one and tosses the other to Rex who drinks it as well. A fire resistance potion, a clever measure from the purgers.
"It is you two who slain Demisdonna, I sense it within you", said the child.
"Demis-what? That the name of that wench?" laughed Rex nervously.
"Why was she sent here? Why are you here yourself", asked Dorian
"Demisdonna was frail and weak, I have warned you of her failure", said the child to his chained hound ignoring the questions and the hound growled in response. "What are your names, mortals? Slaying a resident of hell is no easy task.. I wish to know your names".
The purgers noticed something, this demon is oddly polite and calm, unlike the higher incubus. It's capable of conversing with the two men while keeping its bloodlust repressed. A sign of high intelligence, this demon is much more dangerous than a dozen incubi.
"Rex"
"Dorian…And what is your name?"
The child looked at them intensely. He was analyzing their posture and their clothing. Long black coats covering their heads and backs and worn out armor beneath. Leather pants with a multitude of pockets and long black boots. They were ready to attack, swords in hand, although one felt more tense than the other, his sword was bigger too, noticeably.
"I am Cineros", he wiggles his hound's chain, who barks with rage, "And he is my brother, Infernos".
"How the fuck are they brothers?" chuckled Rex, though unease crept into his tone.
"Brothers of ash and fire" said Dorian. He knew who they were, they both did. They read about them in an old forbidden book, hidden deep within the crypts of the Mother Serpent. Only, he did not expect them to look as they are. They were described to be identical twins, one turning anything he touches to fire and flames, the other to ashes and cinders. They both guarded one of the gates to hell.
"You are correct once again, Dorian, you know a deal about us. Have you been whispered to as well?
"Whispered to? By whom? What are you implying?". Dorian is beginning to lose his cool temper. This could very well be the answer to all what is happening. This revelation implies they are people who very well know of the existence of these creatures, and expect their coming. Unfortunately for him, the child is deliberately ignoring his questions.
"My brother has been starving for eons. I myself saw to it. You have not received the whispers. I perhaps have put too much value in you".
The hellhound started knocking on the ground with its claws, trembling the big walls of Forgehorn. Its hunger and bloodlust are no longer controllable. With a nimble move of his fingers, the child unchains his brother, who lets out a dreadful howl that echoed through all of Bloomheaven. It marched forward, eyes fixated on the two purgers.
"Onward, dear brother. Feast as you wish"
The hound lunges on the two purgers, and the feast has begun.