Chapter Text
~ End of 1994 ~
Doom stood awkwardly in front of the wooden desk of the Assignment Room, where creatures from Hell were sent on confidential missions.
Doom’s mission was one of a kind, he was going to go on the mortal plane, on Earth!
He didn’t want to, he would rather have stayed home to practice his instruments, but it was his first mission ever, so he couldn’t say no.
A male demon, who didn’t have human skin, walked in and made his way behind the desk. He cleared his throat, a zombie-like noise coming from it. His claws taped on the wood as he looked up at the young demon. His red eyes stared at Doom for a few seconds before going down onto the paper that was lying in front of him.
“Doom, demon of music, am I right?” He asked with a rough voice. The younger demon nodded, “Good,” the man paused and turned the paper around, “A mission has been given to you by the Mortal Affairs Department, I would not refuse it if I were you,” he glared at Doom, who stayed stoic and unmoving, “A band called Rammstein, based in Germany, is currently living in an old flat that previously belonged to one of the most influential demons in Hell, which was used as a base for our spies,” he paused, “The army wants us to get rid of them,” Doom nodded in acknowledgments.
So this is a murder mission…
“As you must already know, the situation between Hell and Heaven is as we could say quite tense. If they find out up there that we sent demons to kill mortals, a war could happen, and we don’t want that. This is why we can’t send anybody. Do you get it?” Doom frowned.
“I don’t know why I was chosen. Killing is not my specialty,” he answered, trying to not sound impolite. The demon smirked evilly.
“Your lack of competence in violence will be useful here. All other demons can’t kill discreetly. This is why they asked for someone who would be able to lure the mortals first before killing them. As a musician, they are sure that you can get close and end their life quickly. Furthermore, you already have a human body; you will not need to possess a mortal. This is all you need to know. Any questions?” Doom shook his head and was given a paper with the address of the flat on it. He sighed quietly, he didn’t want to do it, it wasn’t his job, but he wouldn’t refuse, the orders were coming from really high, and he didn’t need to get in the way of the high ranks. On paper, the mission seemed quick to do, therefore it would be fine, even if it wouldn’t be fun.
“Alright,” he quietly said, looking up at the other demon who grinned at him.
“Perfect. Now,” he sat up and took a serious look before walking toward Doom, “I have to tell you the ultimate rule about going to the mortal plane,” Doom nearly gulped but stayed silent as the man pointed to a blackboard where something was written in capital letters.
Doom turned toward it and read.
‘NEVER TELL YOUR NAME’
The young demon looked back at the other and gave him a confused look.
“This is the most important rule that you have to follow while you are up there. Do you know why?” Doom shook his head and the man frowned, “Have you ever been taught about exorcism?” He nodded but didn’t remember much about it. It’s been a long time since he learned about this, “Well, a mortal can perform an exorcism only if they know the demon’s name. If they don’t, the ritual is useless. They can recite every prayer they want, it will change nothing. This is why, in their world, we are invincible,” the demon grinned, “As long as our name remains unknown. Do you understand?” Doom nodded, “Great. Now let us talk about your identity. You will need to be convincing or else the mission will be shortened,” he walked toward a cupboard and opened a drawer to retrieve a file from it. He gave Doom a small card, “This is your German ID,” Doom took it and read what it said.
“So now I am C-Christoph Sch-Schneider, and I was born on the 11th of May 1966 in East Ber…lin?”
“You got it,” the man smiled, “You are good to go now, good luck Doom, or should I say, Christoph,” he smirked, showing his pointy teeth before leaving the room. Doom stood still for a few seconds, staring at his ID. He hoped he would be convincing.
He finally left the office and found his way out of the maze of a building. His hellhound was patiently waiting, sitting on its hip. It grunted when Doom approached it, “There there,” he patted its head gently, “We have to go all the way up,” he pointed to the red sky.
Doom was living in the inner ring of the seventh circle of Hell, which held blasphemers and people who were violent against nature. But why was Doom here if he didn’t do anything wrong? It was because of his father, Murmur the demon of sound. He was a great duke and commanded thirty legions of demons, therefore Doom inherited his status as a commander, even though he’s never been in the army.
The hellhound growled but allowed Doom to get on its back. Hellhounds were a standard means of transportation in Hell when they weren’t sent on the mortal plane to announce an upcoming death or deliver messages.
After a long half an hour, Doom finally arrived at the portal where newcomers appeared to endure their fate.
“You can go back home, I don’t know when I will be back,” Doom briefly hugged his hellhound that whined softly before licking his face, “I will be fine,” the demon smiled and petted its forehead before waking past dead humans who were walking in a long line, waiting for their allocation. Doom saw a Grim Reaper, whose job was to guide those dead people. He was quite recognizable with his huge scythe. Maybe he could help him. Doom never interacted with one before so it would be a new experience for him.
“What do you want, human?!” The reaper snarled at him as soon as Doom approached him, his skeleton face appearing from under his hood. Doom took a step back, forgetting that he had his human envelope.
“I am a demon!” He exclaimed, raising his hand to protect himself from being slaughtered by the scythe. The reaper took his weapon back and scanned him with his black holes of eyes.
“My bad, demon,” he apologized, “It is foolish of you to show yourself to a human persecutor with human skin,” he chuckled with his deep voice, “What do you need?” Doom felt a bit awkward.
“I need to go to Earth. I have been sent on a mission,” he explained.
“By whom?”
“It is confidential,” Doom was sure he could have seen the reaper roll his nonexistent eyes.
“Of course,” he turned toward the portal and glanced at the other reapers, “Well, I don’t feel like annoying demons today. Come with me,” he said and Doom followed him without saying a word. He couldn’t help but look discreetly at the humans. They seemed sad and tired, their heads were bowed and they stared at the floor, slowly walking one behind the other. He didn’t feel bad for them, if they were here, they deserved it. The “Creator” made no mistakes after all.
Doom soon faced another reaper, way taller than the other, about 2.5 meters tall. The demon kept a distance from him, not wanting to break his neck when he would look up at him.
“I was waiting for you,” the reaper said. Doom then deduced he was the chief of the section, “Let’s not lose any more time, the high ranks are impatient,” he walked toward the stone frame and recited some incantations. The light of the portal turned purple, “You can go now, good luck demon,” Doom nodded as a thank you and walked toward it.
“Well, no turning back Christoph,” he took a deep breath, “Let’s do this.”