Chapter 43: Deal (1)

It was two days later when in the morning there was a sulfur smelling letter left before the office of Everlong. It was written in a language Hiyori could not read but Everlong just smiled, before throwing it into the fire in his office, letting it burn in a sickly, greenish color. 

 

“We are making the exchange tonight. It’s happening near Lake Shikotsu, on the Eniwa-dake trail. So dress accordingly because we are going hiking!”

 

“Yes, Boss!” grinned Hiyori, saluting playfully. 

 

By the time the sun had set below the horizon and they parked down at the start of the mountain trail, they got out into the welcoming embrace of the cold, cold winter night. Luckily for them it was a clear sky above them and the silver light of the moon lit up the path before them. Everlong was dressed the same as usual, only changing his shoes into that of a boot for the rugged terrain. Hiyori on the other hand was dressed up like a teenager going on a school trip. Kneehigh boots were strapped onto her legs, holding her white ski pants tight, preventing snow from getting under them. On top she wore a puffy, similarly white jacket, with who knows how many other layers of clothes under it. She was pulling her black scarf even tighter around her neck as soon as she got out of the car.

 

“You look like a marshmallow that has grown a pair of legs and arms!” chuckled Everlong, watching her walk over to his side.

 

“It's very cold out here, okay?” said, fixing her gloves carefully, tapping at her palms, once at each. Watching her breath lingering between them in the air, she felt great excitement, mixed in with a bit of fear, but as soon as her eyes landed on Everlong, the latter quickly evaporated.

 

“Just don’t melt when we are getting close…” murmured and before she could ask what it was he just said, he spoke again “Isn’t it great?” nodded Everlong towards the trail, starting to go forward, turning on a small lamp, attached to the chest of his brown coat. “It is way better than the heat of the desert! Or the humid air in a jungle! I hate those but I love this!” said, taking a deep breath “There is no fresher air than what a cold, mountain breeze brings into your nostrils!” 

 

“I’m fine with the cold, because I can put on as many clothes as I can bear, to feel warm again! We can only get naked to a certain point in the heat.” agreed Hiyori before continuing her thoughts “But damn it, we are not cavemen anymore, I’d be much happier to watch the snowy images of this mountain side from the warmth of my home!” 

 

Walking up the trail, the snow was crunching below their feet with a noise that was loud yet relaxing, echoing in the darkness, only alerting the animals that could be nearby as no humans would be here at this hour. It seemed like they were the only living beings on the Earth itself at that moment. To Hiyori’s surprise she could see pretty well, even though she expected something much worse, coming out into nature, far away from civilization and its lights of the constantly illuminated streets. It was all thanks to the full moon and how the thick, white snow reflected its silver light. Looking up at the starry sky and watching the millions upon millions of twinkling stars, she couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by their pure wonder just as people of the past were once.

 

“You won’t see something like this in the city.” commented Everlong, following her gaze. 

 

“No… I won’t…” agreed, not even remembering when was the last time she ever saw the stars twinkling so brightly above them. Not just because most of the people forget to look up nowadays, but because even if they did, the lights of a city were drowning out the wonders of the night. “Are they up there?” asked Hiyori after a bit of a silent march, following Everlong’s steps.

 

“Not literally.” shook his head, stopping, letting her catch her breath a little as she was still not used to outings like this. “It is a different world that is on the other side. Same with Hell. They are not below or above us, they are just… there.” 

 

“Will I go to hell?” asked after they started hiking once again. Her voice was calm, collected and her tone was more curious sounding than lamenting.

 

“Probably.” nodded Everlong “The more you get in touch with it the more tainted you are getting with every occasion. I won’t blame you if you think it is my fault. Especially because working with me is going to make you a few enemies on both sides!”

 

“Hell no! I won’t blame you!” answered quickly “Now, I’m not planning to die, but I just want to know what to expect if… that happens!”

 

“You were chosen as a candidate for me.” said with a simple voice as they walked past dark trees, bended over by the weight of the snow parched on them, looking like old, hunchback villagers gathering firewood in the forest. 

 

“And not by an angel.” finished Hiyori his unspoken words.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Their conversation fell into silence after it and the only sound between them was the layer of snow crunched below their boots. As they got higher and higher, something weird was happening, right before Hiyori’s eyes. The air was getting warmer and warmer, the snow was no longer there and the ground revealed its natural, brownish, bare surface. It was now wet and muddy, softened up by the melted snow, turning it into almost a swamp. There was no grass growing around them and the rocks, rising upwards from the muddy soil were discolored. Hiyori could see smoke rising towards the air from the cracks of the earth and just as she took a breath she could smell sulfur, even more strongly than when she met with Troduc. 

 

“It smells like we just walked into a farting competition held in a sauna!” grumbled Hiyori, trying to hold her nose together, not that it helped keep out the eyes' watering smell. 

 

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“Mount Eniwa is an active volcano.” turned towards her, not bothering with the odor of rotten eggs “There are pockets here and there where the built up gasses come to the surface.”

 

“Wait, we hiked up onto an active volcano?” trembled Hiyori, already sweating under her clothes and not just because of the fact where they were.

 

“Well, kinda. Not fully. Anyway, this is Troduc’s doing, he is from a part of Hell where this kind of thing is the norm. I know the old fucker’s mind, he is going to do a vanishing trick, using the volcano as a jumper!” 

 

“I understood none of that right now!” replied with a flat tone, waiting for further explanation.

 

“Are you familiar with wormholes?” asked her instead.

 

“From the series ‘Trekker of Stars’. Yes. Why does it matter?”

 

“It is the same principle. He is going to jump from here to another part of the word, flashing through Hell itself. He knows the other side very well so he can make such a shortcut easily but, and that is my assumption, it is locked between two volcanos.” 

 

“You always had a frightening head on your shoulders.” came Troduc’s voice as he appeared from between the bare, leafless trees, completely naked but also different.

 

Now he was a muscular, 3 meter tall demon, the exact image of what people think when hearing the word; Devil. He had a goat’s legs, hairy with thick, brown fur but his torso was completely human-like and also extremely muscular. His jawline would easily cut through any metal and his horns, growing out from his bald head, could be used to stab through even a tank’s hull. 

 

“You look like an enlarged Arnold… in red.” blinked Hiyori, speaking her mind without realizing it.

 

“She is becoming like you.” smirked Troduc, flashing his yellow, sharp teeth.

 

“Thank you.” answered the duo at the same time. 

 

“So, are we doing the exchange here?” looked around Everlong, holding his right hand behind his back and Hiyori saw as his revolver quickly slid out from his sleeve. He seamlessly thread his index finger through the trigger guard, pressing down on the trigger itself, while with his thumb he was knocking the hammer back in a smooth, soundless fashion.

 

“Yes.” nodded Troduc while Hiyori was doing what she was told previously, stepping a few meters back.

 

She was holding two, tiny coins inside her gloves, pressing against her palms. What Everlong told him was that they were one-time artifacts, the one in her left hand should create a protective bubble around her if shit hits the fan while the one on her right should be able to dish out the flames of hell, incinerating anything. “Just don’t aim it at me!” joked Everlong when he gave them to her.

 

“I wouldn’t let you go further.” continued Troduc, looking down at Everlong, completely focusing on just him. “You may fuck something up for me. I trust you as much as I would trust Lucifer.” smirked, stretching out his hand, summoning a vase-like object that was around 30 cm tall and half of that in diameter. It was blue in color and somewhat see through as they could see something floating inside of it. Like if it was in water, gently bobbing up and down and around, in the shape of a guitar pick.

 

“You really had it!” whistled Everlong, making not just Hiyori but even Troduc flinch, the latter’s eyes shrinking to that of a pinhead!

 

“You-!” stepped back Troduc, as soon as Everlong’s body moved, making the detective laugh while he pulled out an extremely old, rolled up pergamen, with a white, gently glowing feather wrapped around it, holding it together. 

 

“Relax there big guy…” whispered Everlong, looking up at him with a grin that was almost inhuman. “I wasn’t lying when I told you I am willing to trade…”

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