Strings

Chapter XI: Duckling

WARNING: THERE IS LANGUAGE AND SOME GORE IN THIS.

Diaval was brought into the hallways of the devilish castle. Surprisingly, the puppet gazed around the castle in Hell curiously.

Raug rose an eyebrow. He has never seen anyone this excited before because who even gets excited to see Hell?

He led Diaval to a pair of large doors. It opened on its own to reveal what appeared to be a throne room with blood red walls and night black carpet. A long, gray rug that connected the foot of the throne to the door was very rough and unappealing to the eye since it was splattered with blood.

A large inhuman sat on the throne. It stood up and immediately set its eyes on Diaval.

Diaval stared back with curious eyes. “Are you the Black man?”

The being blinked before it gave a low, unsettling laugh. “Yes. I am the Black man. I am the Demon King or the Devil most humans call me.” said the being named "demon king" before turning to Raug.  “Who is this man, brother?”

“His name’s Diaval. He’s a new day recruit.” Raug answers with a blank expression.

The demon king stared at Diaval for a bit. “He does not seem to be dead. A soul still beats inside of him...” the king said and stepped closer to the puppet. “What are you?”

Diaval felt a bit uncertain so he shook his head. “I don’t think I can answer that…” said Diaval.

“And why not?” the demon king replied. He stared at the puppet intently.

The puppet did not shiver or change his curious expression. He answered, “Because I don’t think I’m allowed to…”

“I see.” The demon king gave an irritated sigh.

Seeing the king upset made Diaval also upset. He pondered for a bit. He’s sad, thought the puppet, I should cheer him up! Diaval glanced at Raug, who was pinching his nose in frustration, before turning his attention back to the upset king with his hands clasped together against his back.

“But… If you keep it a secret, then I can tell you!” Diaval said with a wide smile. “That way no one else can know!”

The demon king rolled his eyes as he shook his head. However, to Raug’s surprise, the king was also… Smiling?

“He is a small, little duckling...” said the Demon King. “Very well. I shall keep this a secret.”

Diaval began to jump joy. This made the demon king’s smile widen. Diaval then answered the king's previous question. “Okay. I’m a puppet! My master says I’m a wandering spirit though!”

“A wandering spirit?” the demon king was a little surprised. He did not expect this answer. “Those kinds of spirits are rare, are they not?”

“Yes they are!” Said Diaval.

“Who is your “master”?”

“A reaper.”

“And what is his name?”

Diaval thought about the question with a conflicted expression. He mumbled to himself for a while before shrugging his shoulders. “I actually don’t know.” he said.

“Ah no matter.” The demon king got down on one knee to gather the puppet into his large hands. “Come. Let me show you the realm of Hell.” said the king.

Diaval nodded and he was brought to a large window. Diaval placed his hands on the glass as he gazed down at the “kingdom” that stood before him. There were all sorts of souls that were being tortured in all sorts of ways along with demons that watched each and every soul that was in the premise.