Chapter 3: Confusing Hell

Aries woke up from a long dream that eventually ended in a nightmare. He squinted as strong light from an open window overwhelmed his eyes. He was not expecting that hell would let him sleep and allow his wounds to recover.

When his eyes had adjusted against the daylight passing through the window, he scanned his surroundings and realized that he was in a room that appeared somewhat old-fashioned, like it was part of an ancient structure.

Red draperies were tied neatly at the wooden vertical columns on each corner of the bed. Another set of curtains, white in color, was hanging on each side of the open window. The armor and sheathed sword he had used before he fainted had been polished and placed over the table next to the bed.

He noticed only then that he was wearing red silk pants. His torso was covered with bandages. He also felt a patch of bandages at the back of his head.

He looked up and touched the side of his forehead.. No horns were sticking out of there and he only realized at that time that his black and clean-cut hair had become brownish red and was long enough to fall neatly past his shoulders.

The scars in his body seemed to change position and multiply.

He felt like himself, yet his body was a little strange to his senses as if it were not his own. He quietly moved out of the bed and looked for a mirror. He found one inside the bathroom just within that room.

He gazed at his reflection with more confusion. His face looked the same, but his pupils became crimson in color. He was not wearing contacts. He would notice it immediately because he hated wearing those.

He glanced at the bathtub that looked similar to the one he was using at his house. There were faucets around it but no shower. A large bucket filled with water was standing between the tub and the toilet.

He opened the faucet that releases warm water and filled the tub. He was removing his bandages when he heard Pieffer calling his name.

"Aries?"

He suddenly stopped removing his bandages, closed the faucet, and rushed out of the bathroom.

"Pieffer?"

The woman pacing around the room was the Pieffer he had seen before he fainted. She was wearing the same dress, but it had been cleaned of blood and dirt.

"Why are you looking at me as if you don't know me?" the concern in her eyes seemed sincere but it had given Aries more confusion than satisfaction.

Aries had to remind himself that he was dead and that was hell. The devil was certainly playing with his mind.

"Stop using her face," he grimly advised the woman in front of him. "Pieffer is dead, but her soul will never go to hell!" he grabbed the sword from the bedside table, unsheathed it, then pointed the blade at the neck of the demon pretending to be Pieffer. "Come on, you devil! I expected a lot of agonizing torture from you! But what is this?! I can't believe that you prepared such a lame role-playing game to punish me!" he thought about grabbing piercing her neck but refrained from it with more confusion.

The demon was staring back at her without fear or judgement. Just like how Pieffer looked at him the first time they met. Instead of stepping away from the blade, she surrounded her body with a faint translucent light that was similar to the shield she had recently used to protect Aries.

She is not Pieffer! Aries reminded himself. All I am seeing is the devil's work!

And yet… why can't I kill her?

"You're right," Pieffer was staring seriously at him. "We died. But we are not in hell," she carefully touched the blade pointed at her neck and gently pushed it away. "This is a trial for redemption. Both heaven and hell agreed on this. If we successfully save this world, we will be given permission to enter heaven. Let's not waste more time, Aries," she gently touched his weapon hand then pulled a bracelet from the pocket of her overcoat.

It had a pendant that was shaped like a lion's head.

"Let's go," but before Pieffer could make another move, Aries grabbed her hand back and asked her an important question.

"If you are truly Pieffer, tell me about the first time we met."

"I can't remember my life before I died," Pieffer honestly answered. "I had been given new memories. About this world. It is to help us in this trial. Forgive me, Aries. I want to tell you more things about this world we are in. But we need to hurry. We need to save Sunrei."

"Why will I save him?" Aries tried to pull away from her grip but could not. It was like the Pieffer he had known. She had this strange ability to weaken him by her touch. "He killed us."

"This is trial for redemption," Pieffer reminded him. "All of us in this world had been given a chance to be redeemed. He is my brother. I should save him. But I cannot do it alone. I need your help, Aries. And whether you like it or not, we will save him," she tossed the bracelet on the carpeted floor and smashed the pendant with her silver boots.

As soon as the ornament shattered, it emitted a blinding light that swallowed everything around him. When it vanished, he found himself inside a dimly lit room without any furniture aside from a single-sized bed and a bedside table with a glowing lamp over it.

Pieffer and Sunrei were pinned on the wall by knives on each of their shoulders. Their feet were a few inches above the wooden floor. Their overcoats were drenched in blood. Their eyes were half-closed but they were still alive.

"Don't worry. You will die before they do," another armored demon attacked Aries.

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It certainly was a different enemy, but Aries can still sense a huge similarity. The armor had changed. The build was smaller, but the axe was the same and even the movements of the enemy.

Aries had easily predicted the next move of his foe that he smoothly dodged and countered it. He swiftly slashed his sword at the right arm of the enemy, piercing the armor and making the opponent bleed.

The armored foe was already bleeding before Aries attacked. The doppelganger siblings must have fought hard before the enemy managed to pin them against the wall.

But what confused Aries was the Pieffer that brought her to that place.

How many Pieffer does this world have?

He had to push that thought aside and focus on the armored enemy that was relentlessly attacking him. He had to finish that fight first.

He had been pulled to that place with only bandages on his torso, sleeping pants, and a broad sword in his right hand. He would instantly die for the second time if that huge axe hit him.

While focusing his attention on the weapon of his enemy, he sensed something warm rising from within him. His sword glowed red, and horns protruded from both sides of his forehead.

His senses had sharpened, and he could see the enemy moving at a slower speed. Deflecting attacks had been easier and he was able to slash his sword repeatedly against the opponent until he shattered the armor and stabbed the foe right through the heart.

"If you are that happy to die in my hands, I will gladly stab you to death every time you come back," Aries flashed a deadly smile as the enemy dropped dead on the cemented floor. And like the last time, a black smoke seeped out of its mouth and floated out of the house.

Aries slashed it with his sword, but the smoke was not vanquished and only kept on drifting away.

"I will wait for your return!" he promised to the drifting smoke before turning towards the doppelganger siblings. "Trial of redemption…" those words felt like a huge lie to him. "Are we worth saving?" he raised his blood-covered sword and aimed it at Sunrei who also pointed a weapon in his direction. "Right. We don't. Let's just kill each other again."

Sunrei, though in great pain and struggling to keep his aim steady, had thrown his weapon first. Aries was about to dodge but he noticed that the trajectory of the sword was already off. It flew past his left horn and hit something metallic not far from behind him. He quickly turned around and saw that the door had been opened. Another armored man was standing at the entrance. His forehead had been struck by the sword that Sunrei had thrown. But before it hit the armored man, it shattered the blade that was aimed towards Aries. The broken pieces of the dagger dropped on the floor and left Aries more furious.

"Stop pretending!" he turned away from the drifting black smoke and glared angrily at Sunrei. "You and I will never be forgiven! I will never forgive you!!!"

Aries raised his weapon but before he could pierce the heart of Sunrei, his blade had been seized by the bare hands of Pieffer. She had freed herself from the wall and removing the knife from her shoulders caused her wounds to bleed profusely. Yet she was holding the blade as firmly as she could. She was not concerned about bleeding to death.

"Aries… please… hear us… out…" she collapsed on her knees, but her grip remained on the blade. "Please… Aries…"

His grip on the hilt of the sword trembled with fury.

It would have been easier to ignore everything if he never had that conversation with Pieffer.

She was dead. If heaven truly exists, her soul should be in there.

Sunrei, a sinful soul as he was, should be facing his own eternal torment.

The doppelganger siblings had only been created by hell to make him suffer.

It was all part of his punishment.

It should be like that.

After all the bad things he did, how can he be given a chance to be redeemed?

He should rot in hell.

Aries closed his eyes and lowered his sword as he cursed both heaven and hell.

"Thank you… Aries…" Pieffer weakly smiled before fainting.

Aries caught her and placed her carefully over his left shoulder. He also caught Sunrei on his right shoulder after the latter had freed himself from the wall.

"Where is the hospital?" Aries asked Sunrei that was barely holding on to his consciousness.

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