The demon wore a human's face. It didn't possess them like they normally would — instead, it had a human disguise.
As Stygian continued to observe the demon, his number was suddenly called, making him look away for a split second.
"Number 665!" The lady called.
Stygian glanced ahead at the desk, then quickly looked back — only to find the demon had already disappeared.
He quickly got up to try and look for the missing demon, but before he could, the lady at the counter called once more.
"Number 665! Please come to the front desk!"
Getting a bit annoyed, Stygian walked towards the front desk and placed down his number. Even though the demon might have gotten away, he still needed to pay these taxes.
"Name please." The woman spoke without even looking up from her paperwork.
"Stygian...I mean Luis Ashcroft." Stygian corrected himself.
He needed a more human name, seeing as he couldn't use his original name in the human world. By bribing a few people, he had fully integrated into society without much trouble.
"Mr. Luis..." The woman said, moving to the side and checking her computer for Stygian's name.
"Aha...there you are...hmm, it says here you haven't paid your property tax for almost ten years." The woman spoke.
"Yes...I was informed by the old owner of the house that everything was paid for up until this point." Stygian replied.
"Well...we normally repossess homes if they aren't paid for, but it seems somebody has been paying us small amounts to make sure that doesn't happen. Mind telling me why?" The woman said as she looked at the monitor and began typing away.
"I'm not really sure. I'm just here to pay the debt — all twenty years of it, to be exact." Stygian said.
"Well, alright...let's see here...okay, after about twenty years, plus interest, the total amount you'll have to pay comes out to...two million dollars." The lady smiled before finally looking up at Stygian, her eyes widening.
"Umm...ahh...could — how would you like to pay?" Her face flushed as she tried to grab the necessary paperwork, all the while staring at Stygian.
She failed to do so.
"Would cash work?" Stygian asked.
"Oh...of course! Just ahhh...sign here please." The lady said, her hand shaking as she handed Stygian the pen.
"Of course. Quick question — what am I signing here?" Stygian asked.
"Oh...uh...it's just a written agreement that you'll pay us within a month's time..." The woman blushed, looking away and fixing her hair.
"Alright then." With the pen in hand, Stygian began signing his name and handed the piece of paper back to the woman.
"Thank you..." The woman said, taking the document and giving it one final look before making a copy for herself and the branch.
"Alright, handsome — I mean handsome!...I mean handsome...I mean..." Her face turned crimson before she simply got up and ran away, leaving Stygian with the document.
"That was weird." Grabbing the document, Stygian began walking towards the exit. As he reached the door and turned the knob, it wouldn't open.
He tried again — it didn't move. Stygian turned back towards the office workers, and that's when he noticed something rather strange.
Everything seemed to be...frozen.
The people who had been staring at him were still looking his way, but upon closer examination, none of them were blinking.
As he moved away from the door and everyone remained perfectly still, Stygian began to worry.
"This isn't good." He looked around — and then felt something pierce his back and drive straight through his stomach.
Looking down, an angelic sword was currently impaling him.
"Hehehe! I did it! You're dead!" The demon laughed, continuing to twist the blade into the prince.
...
...
"So...what exactly was your plan here?" Stygian asked, barely glancing at the blade.
"Impossible!" The demon jumped back, leaving the weapon behind.
"You should be dead!" The demon screamed, backing away.
Turning to face the demon, Stygian simply looked...bored.
"Tell me who sent you, and maybe I'll make sure you return to Hell without too much pain." Stygian spoke, his voice carrying an authority worthy of a ruler.
"No...no! I'll never go back! I love it here! These stupid humans are my toys!" The demon yelled before summoning a demonic blade from thin air.
"Die!" The demon screamed, leaping at Stygian — but as it drew closer, it suddenly stopped.
The demon began coughing up blood. Looking down, it found itself suspended in midair, pierced by multiple white, nail-like pillars, each one carefully avoiding every vital organ.
"Cough!" The demon hacked out more blood as Stygian began to walk closer.
As he did, he reached back and pulled the angelic sword free before speaking.
"Last chance...tell me where Cain is, and maybe I'll make this quick for you." Stygian threatened.
"Ha...ha...last chance? That's funny...how about we try this again."
"What?"
---
"Number 665! Please come to the front desk!" The lady called out.
Getting a bit annoyed, Stygian walked towards the front desk and placed down his number. Even though the demon might have gotten away, he still needed to pay these taxes.
"Name please." The woman spoke without looking up from her paperwork.
But as Stygian opened his mouth to speak, he paused...
"This feels familiar."