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Vox is a demon, living in hell. Although it doesn’t feel like he belongs there.
Well, of course, he doesn’t belong in heaven either. But hell is a place for ruthless, coldblooded demons, violent creatures who kill for fun. Vox, even though he’s killed hundreds (or more) humans, he’s never considered himself a coldblooded killer.
But of course, being in hell doesn’t mean that he’s no longer alive. Whenever he wants to, he can easily descend onto Earth. Although is it really worth it? There’s no place for people like him there. He wouldn’t fit in anywhere, he wouldn’t belong.
He did descend once, in the 1600s. His life was at its peak, he never was happier. Although all happy things always end up tragically for demons. A happy life that he created for himself, leading a clan of 522 people. One day, it completely turned to ashes. He killed everyone he loved.
“I’m not like the others” - he always told himself. Because he really isn’t.
He didn’t kill them for fun, he didn’t kill them because he was bored, he didn’t kill them without hesitation. Even though he was the killer, the feeling was so painful, it felt like he was the one being killed.
He did it just for food. He was hungry. Couldn’t resist.
He tried moving on. He found a nice family, living in a simple house. A child named Jiro and his parents.
Maybe he can start from the beginning, he thought.
No. Days passed, and the child was killed. It was, once again, his fault.
After that, he simply returned to hell, although somehow he was greeted with praises. Those creatures celebrated what he’s done. Killing more than 500 people was a reason to celebrate.
That’s exactly what the difference between him and the other demons is. He doesn’t see murdering people as something to celebrate.
After hundreds of years, he decided to try again. He was younger back then, not knowing much about life and how to deal with his hunger. Maybe this time, if he descended back onto Earth, something would be different.
He tried once again.
As he woke up on Earth, he was laying in a pile of snow that quickly melted under his steaming hot body. He rubbed his eyes to see better, as his horns quickly grew back on his head - he never understood why they momentarily disappear when he goes away from hell.
But suddenly, he heard a voice.
“Hello? Are you okay?”
Great. He’s been around for less than a few minutes, and someone already found him.
He sat up, still rubbing his eyes. He was quite weak, so it’s not like he had the energy to immediately kill that person.
As he opened his eyes, he saw something he didn’t expect to see.
A man so gorgeous, his beauty was almost blinding him.
He was definitely an angel, literally or not. Either he came from heaven, or he’s just a beautiful human.
Short, fluffy brown-ish hair with blue ends. Green eyes, looking like a meadow, hidden behind round glasses with gold edges. A book by his side, and earrings looking like pen nibs - he must have either been a novelist or a fan of reading. Or both.
“Um… Are you okay, once again?”
His voice was silky smooth, although quite high pitched. It was adorable.
“A- Ah, yes, I’m okay, uh, thank you.” Vox scratched his head, undecided of what to do. He rarely shows his horns in public, so he looks like an ordinary human, but this guy just saw him with the horns out.
Wow, this was awkward.
“It’s a rare sight to see a demon like you around here.” The man sat down next to him, although he must have been freezing cold, unlike Vox.
“No… Um, a demon? Ha, haha, uhm, this is just cosplay.” You’re not fooling anyone, Vox.
“I’m an angel, I can tell who you really are.”
So, according to the books that he read before, angels can easily kill demons. One slash from their special weapons, and the demon is dead. Great. Is this the end for Vox?
“So… Are you going to kill me now?” Vox laughed awkwardly, although he was met with a strange look from the man.
“Why would I kill you?”
“... Well, because I’m a ruthless, coldblooded demon that just came from hell?”
He’s not. He really isn’t like that, but no one would believe him if he said so. Because all demons are the same.
“I know that you’re not.”
… Wait, what?
“Excuse me?”
“You’re not a ruthless, coldblooded killer. I can see it in your eyes. You’re not like the others. If you were, you would have thrown yourself at me, trying to kill me, thinking that if you don’t kill me first, I’ll kill you. I don’t tend to judge people by their looks, but I just simply don’t believe you’re like that.”
“... You might be right.”
“I know I am. Why are you here though? On Earth, I mean.”
Vox told the angel everything about what happened, who he is. It’s not like it was a big secret - if he told anybody else, they probably wouldn’t believe him in the first place.
The angel seemed very moved by Vox’s story, as he looked at Vox with a sad look.
“I see… Oh, I’m sorry, by the way, my name is Ike. Ike Eveland.”
“Vox. Vox Akuma.” Vox smiled gently towards the angel. He still felt like he couldn’t fully trust him, although he wasn’t in his defensive stance. Angels apparently tend to do that, kill creatures out of nowhere. When a demon kills someone it’s a sin, but if an angel does so it’s considered a good thing. Quite unfair, but not difficult to understand.
“Do you have any friends, family? Anyone you can stay with?” The angel asked caringly.
“No. But that’s just how it is and how it always was. I’ll manage.” Vox got up. “Are you not cold, sitting on this snow? You’re not like me, you can’t heat yourself up.”
“I’m okay, thank you. Also, I can take you with me, if you want?”
“Huh?”
He felt as if he was mishearing something. He, a demon, just got invited by an angel to come with him. Wasn’t that ridiculous? What was the catch?
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you, and I believe you won’t hurt me either. I can introduce you to some of my friends, like Luca… or Shu. I can also introduce you to my workplace, maybe you can get a job there? As a streamer, if you know what that means.”
That was so much information for Vox to take in, that he felt dizzy.
“Y- Yeah, uh, I think I know. I’m not the best with technology though.”
“Then Shu can teach you, he’s good at that stuff. You know, if you become a streamer, you don’t need to worry about killing people that you care about, because you won’t be seeing them in person.”
That was the point that caught Vox’s attention the most. But all of it sounded too good to be true.
“Wait, wait wait wait, why are you even helping me out? Aren’t we supposed to like… fight to death right now? One person dies, and it’s supposed to be me? You go back to your, I don’t know, family or higher ups, and you celebrate?” Vox was waving his hands around, trying to portray how crazy this was.
Ike just chuckled as an answer.
“Listen, I like books, I am a novelist. You can be a great inspiration for me.” Ike showed the book that he had by his side closer to Vox. “I like this one. It’s easy to read, and I always carry it around with myself, it gives me inspiration often.” Ike smiled. “Do you like books?”
It was just more and more confusing to Vox.
“Slow down, so you’re… you’re just talking to me so you can get inspiration to write a book? Well, if you killed me right now, it’d be a good inspiration too, no?”
Ike groaned at the mention of killing Vox.
“I’m not planning on killing you, I’m not planning on using you to my plans. I just want to be your first friend. An angel and a demon… sounds cool, doesn’t it?”
The smile on Ike’s face gave Vox butterflies in his stomach. A… friend?
“I’ll understand if you won’t trust me from the very beginning, we are supposed to be enemies after all. But enemies to friends is quite a cool trope, isn’t it?”
“I… suppose, yeah.”
Days were passing, as both of them were growing more fond of each other. Vox got to meet Ike’s friend, applied for the “streamer job” that Ike mentioned. He was staying at Ike’s place until he got everything sorted out to get his own place. Everything was going well, too well even.
One day, both of them were sitting at the couch in Ike’s living room. Vox seemed troubled, anxious.
“Is something wrong, Vox?” Ike leaned in closer. Too close.
“My ancestors would be really mad about this.” Vox chuckled nervously.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
“About me, living with an angel.”
“Rules are there to break them, Vox. I hope you’re enjoying this, at least.”
“But… Did you get to write anything? You said I could be your inspiration.”
“You’re more than just an inspiration to my book, Vox.”
He knew that. He knew, but he didn’t believe in it. He had problems with trusting people.
“Please, just… If you could just believe that I don’t mean any harm to you.” Ike looked at Vox with pleading eyes. How could he resist? “You look so sad it breaks my heart, you know.” Ike leaned in closer, staring at Vox, as if he was waiting for some sort of approval or consent.
“What are you-”
Ike threw himself at Vox, giving him a tight, loving hug.
Ike really is an angel, and Vox really did feel like a demon by not trusting him.
It’s been so long, too long, since he was given a hug. Not a “I’ll choke you to death with this” hug. But an “it’s okay, everything is okay” type of hug.
Vox hugged Ike back, gently tearing up from the warm embrace. Ike’s hand on his back felt so soft, as if he was wrapped in a blanket.
“I love you.”
Vox was taken aback.
“So please, stay around, okay?”
“Okay.”
…
“I love you too.”
An angel and a demon are never meant to be. One of them is designed for murder, one of them is made for protecting people from evil, even if that means killing the sinful. They were never supposed to coexist.
No, that’s not true.
This time, the angel came to stop the evil from committing more sins. But sometimes, the purest way to save someone isn't through battle or condemnation. It's through love.