Erica and the pack of little demons made their way to the Phlegethon river. By the time they arrived, not a single soul remained by the shore - everyone had gone home for lunch. The children still had no clue what they were supposed to do here, other than that this river, according to Lars, was the key to their revenge.
Lars lay cradled in Erica's arms, giggling to himself ever since they'd left the house. Erica had assumed he'd only scare the misbehaving brats or maybe pull some harmless trick. But no - he'd obviously decided to go much bigger than that.
Hopefully… no one gets too badly hurt, right?
She halted when they reached the riverbank, the kids stopping behind her. Lars slipped from her arms, landing lightly on the scorched earth before shifting into his true form. The children gasped in awe at the sight of him. Some of them tried to rush in for a hug but Lars snarled, baring his fangs to drive them back.
Lars dipped his head to the molten stream, sucking up the lava and swallowing it whole. His face turned solemn, eyes shut tight, chest thrust forward as if bracing for pain. Moments later, he lurched forward and vomited up dozens of blood-red orbs, each pulsing with infernal light like the eyes of buried demons. Mucus and a viscous green fluid clung to them, hissing where they dripped onto the ground.
"Gross! That's disgusting!" one boy gagged, pulling a face like he was about to throw up himself.
The others burst out laughing at his reaction. Lars just rolled his eyes.
"So… what are we doing with these things?" Jarla asked, pointing at the orbs.
"Blow up some houses, right Lars?" Erica said, pulling a pale yellow cloth from her pocket.
"Blow them up?!" the kids squealed in unison.
For a moment Erica thought they were scared - only to see their faces light up with wild excitement. They shrieked and bounced in place like they might take flight, tugging at each other's sleeves in a frenzy. These little monsters really thought this was all just a game.
"You really are just like them," Lars muttered in Erica's ear.
She didn't mind at all. Carefully, she began wrapping the orbs in the cloth. As she worked, she said sweetly, "You're right! I'm lucky to have a friend like you. You're very good at putting up with me."
Lars' eyes widened. She glanced up at him with an innocent smile, then went back to her task. He grumbled and turned away.
"I'm glad you finally noticed."
A few kids crept closer, eager to touch the orbs, but Erica waved them back.
"Don't touch them bare-handed! The slime's stomach acid, and these orbs carry the heat of this boiling river. You'll burn your skin off."
That got them to freeze in place. The river's heat was no joke,- Erica's sweat was already soaking through her clothes. If they stayed here much longer, she'd be drenched.
She pulled out a few more cloths and handed them to the children.
"Wrap them up, nice and tight. And remember - don't touch."
They did exactly as told. Soon they had all the orbs bundled up, the kids tying the cloths tight as if terrified one might slip out.
"All done!" one of them shouted, raising the heavy bundle like a trophy.
Erica nodded approvingly, wiping sweat from her brow. She shot Lars a look - he was now sitting cross-legged, feigning exhaustion.
"Can you carry all this lot?" she asked, pointing at the giggling kids.
"Is that even a question?"
Lars stood, lifting his head high, eyes narrowing at the children like they were beneath him.
"Hey, big guy! You know you look terrifying right now?" Erica nudged his arm.
"Do you think they care?" He tilted his chin toward them. The kids were staring at his broad back with glittering eyes. He raised his voice.
"Climb on, you little monsters!"
They cheered, scrambling over each other for the best spot. Only Jarla hung back, clutching her cloth bundle, eyeing Erica with a flicker of doubt.
"Are we really just going to storm in? What if we get caught?" Her voice trembled slightly.
The other children fell silent, waiting for Erica's answer.
"That won't happen!" Erica reassured them. "I can make us invisible."
"Really? That's awesome!"
Jarla's smile returned. She climbed onto Lars' back. Erica swung up front and began weaving the invisibility spell around them all.
"Hold on tight, everyone!"
Lars bolted toward the sinners' dwellings. The kids clung to each other, squealing with delight. One almost tried to stand up mid-ride and nearly fell off, earning peals of laughter from the others.
Before long, they reached their destination. The kids reluctantly slid off Lars, whining that they wanted to ride longer. They clung to him like sticky shadows, much to his annoyance.
"Enough! We have bigger things to do!" Jarla reminded them sternly, though she too looked reluctant to dismount. "So what now, Erica?"
Erica peeked into her cloth bundle, unwrapping it to reveal one of the red-hot orbs. Lars' saliva had cooled the outer shell just enough to hold, but it was thin and unstable inside - one solid impact would unleash a blast strong enough to level a house.
She'd played this game with her cousins countless times back home. This was the first time she'd do it to actual people. But so what? The violent deserved at least one taste of their own cruelty.
She could pity those who still had a shred of humanity. The others - killers by nature - needed to be struck first.
"Here's how we do it!" she yelled, and hurled the orb straight through a house window.
Glass shattered. A second later - BOOM! A crimson explosion ripped the wall apart, spraying molten sparks like a hellish firework. Erica felt the heat lick her skin, mixed with the stench of char and burnt flesh. Furniture flew into the street, along with a few people tossed like rag dolls. They lay there, staring at the wreckage, eyes wide and trembling.
The kids stared too - eyes round, mouths open. Then grins split their faces from ear to ear.
Without a second thought, the children dove into the game.
They scrambled over each other, grabbing the glowing spheres wrapped in cloth and flinging them at the houses. Each kid wore a wide grin, soot smudged across their cheeks, eyes sparkling like flickering flames. The sound of hurried footsteps pounded the ground, glass shattered repeatedly, and explosions echoed in quick succession like a twisted symphony.
Erica and Lars joined in the fun as well. Each of them grabbed a sphere and threw it with reckless abandon. Some kids even hurled two at once. House after house was blown apart, screams mixing with the gleeful laughter of the children.
When the last orb was spent, not a single house stood intact. The surviving sinners wailed and fainted in the rubble, while the demon children cackled in their faces.
Their revenge was complete.
And yet - they wanted more. They tugged at Erica's sleeves, begging for just one more round.
"Why don't you show me if there's any house left standing first," Lars growled at them, acting the part of the scolding elder. "Enough games for today."
Grumbling, the kids finally gave in and trudged off, disappointed but gleeful at their work. Erica knew this night would become one of their favorite memories.
She decided to slip away from the group and return to the Phlegethon river. She'd felt something there before - something she'd brushed aside for the sake of the game.
Lars tilted his head, puzzled, as she explained on the way.
"Earlier, I sensed a trace of energy at the bottom of the river. So faint - like someone half-dead. Maybe two."
"What if it's just someone doing penance down there?" Lars asked.
"It's too faint. Doesn't add up. We need to check."
"What are you checking for?"
Jarla's voice startled them both. They turned - and there she was, perched on Lars' back again. She tilted her head, grinning at their stunned faces.
"Hey! How long have you been up there?!" Lars barked.
"Oh, I used a teleport charm. The others can manage fine on their own, so I followed you. You two just left without a word!"
"Sorry about that," Erica said sheepishly. But she flinched when Jarla wrapped her arms around her, her voice unexpectedly soft.
"Thank you, Erica. Really… thank you for everything."
Erica smiled back. How strange - to have found a new friend here. Jarla's warmth didn't match her first impression at all.
Maybe someone had raised these demon kids well. Maybe… Louise.
Erica noticed Jarla stiffen slightly at the name, the way her eyes turned guarded for a split second.
Does she like Louise?
Erica bit her lip, trying not to giggle at the thought.
If she was right, she'd be the first to play Cupid for them. Lovers made her giddy - always had.
Soon they returned to the riverbank, at the exact spot where the strange energy had pulsed. It was the domain of sinners under the harshest punishment. Erica was about to dive in herself when Lars stopped her.
"Let me go first."
She relented. Pulling a green orb from her pocket, she tossed it at Lars - it burst, coating him in a shimmering protective film.
Lars dove in and vanished beneath the molten surface. She and Jarla waited. Every so often they'd glance at each other, then quickly look away again. The air grew awkward, heavy with words neither knew how to start.
Jarla was the first to break it.
"I didn't think you'd really join in the revenge, you know. You looked so… innocent."
"I'm thirteen. Still a kid myself. But I can be wicked, too." Erica winked.
"That you can."
They laughed, tension melting. Erica felt closer to Jarla now - close enough that the next question slipped out before she could stop it.
"Hey… do you like Louise?"
Jarla froze, staring at Erica in stunned silence. Erica clapped a hand over her own mouth, eyes still locked on the girl. She'd blurted it out with no warning, fully expecting Jarla to deny it outright.
Instead, Jarla's face flushed crimson. She fumbled with her hands, unable to sit still.
"I-!" She stammered, unable to meet her eyes.
"Really?!" Erica pressed closer, eyes glittering.
"You're too close!" Jarla squeaked, pushing her back.
Erica couldn't stop smiling. She loved hearing love stories - no matter how small or hopeless.
But Jarla's next words wiped the smile from her face.
"It doesn't matter. He'll probably get to Heaven someday - he's repented, after all. But me and the others… we're stuck here forever."
Erica had forgotten. Hellborn demons could never ascend. She pitied the girl - but had no idea how to talk a child out of her first crush.
"Forget it. I'll grow up, he won't. I'm not marrying a nine-year-old. That'd be insane." Jarla forced a laugh.
She wants to marry him, huh?
Erica bit her lip again. She couldn't stop herself from biting her lip whenever she got excited.
At that moment, the Phlegethon's surface rippled - bloody waves parting as Lars emerged, steam swirling off his scales. But he wasn't alone. He laid two battered bodies gently on the shore.
They were demons - skin a charred gray, spines broken, shackled in black iron chains. What made Erica freeze was their stomachs - gutted and stuffed back in haphazardly, half-rotten innards barely clinging inside. The smell of scorched blood choked the air.
"These two… I found them down there," Lars panted, beast-eyes flicking to Erica then back to the corpses that somehow still breathed. "I don't know how they're alive."
"Worth finding out," Erica said, kneeling down.
She pressed her ear to the man's chest. A faint heartbeat - wet gasps, flecks of blood bubbling at his lips. Jarla gagged and stumbled back.
Erica brushed the man's burnt hair aside. Her eyes widened.
"Algernon…?" she whispered.
"Al-what? Who's that?" Lars demanded.
"Algernon - a tyrant landowner. Famous for his brutal rule. Louise killed him. And this one-" Erica lifted the woman's hair too, voice tightening. "His wife. Mallorie."
"That makes no sense! Who did this to them?" Jarla asked, panic rising.
Erica had no answer. She only knew they had to free them and patch them up fast. But then-
Two demon kids came sprinting down the path, faces white.
"Thank the Abyss you're here! Come back quick - something's happened! Jarrak's gone missing!"
All three froze. Jarla's wide eyes snapped to Erica, terror flickering beneath her brave mask. Lars just sighed - there'd be no peaceful dinner tonight.
Could things possibly get any worse, Erica wondered.