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I don't lock the door; I have nothing worth stealing. I head down the hall, down the stairs, and out the front door.

It's a cool day and the air is crisp. I smile a bit, for the demon hates the cold, but the sadistic thought brings me little joy. The cold also means its mood will be fouler than usual.

"Fuck this stupid weather. Find me something to kill."

I know the routine and I know better than to argue. I head off across the street and into an alleyway, wandering familiar paths, for I spend more and more time traveling along these back roads. When the demon lets me pick its victims I search for those I think might be deserving of its wrath: drug dealers, muggers, scum like that. This is hypocrisy, I know, for I am worse than any of them, but I need to protect my soul, because I am afraid.

I walk for many minutes, finding no one suitable. I only want this over with. A sound behind me alerts me to the approach of two men. They are ideal and I settle upon them.

"Hey sweetheart, little far from Kansas aren't you?" one of the thugs sneers.

"Heh, yeah, yeah, where's your little dog?" the other throws in.

I assume they're robbers, and so I feel little guilt.

"This guy looks a little sick, Hal. Maybe we shouldn't take his money?"

"Nah, he's probably high. Look how skinny he is, man. He's a base head."

I reach my hand into my coat and under my shirt. The demon is ready, it verily throbs with excitement. I grab its skinny frame, ignoring the revulsion that creeps up my arm, and pull it forth.

"We'd be doing him a favor by taking his mone...what the fuck is that thing?"

I don't respond, except to hurl it at his face. The throw is clumsy, for my arms have wasted away, but the creature's small wings spread and provide it enough momentum to reach its target. It bursts into flame just as it impacts then lays into the man's flesh with tooth and nail. He falls screaming to the ground, lacking an eye.

The other man stares slack-jawed for a moment before he turns tail and runs back up the alley. The demon leaps after him, catching on his back and digging its fingers up through the base of his skull and into brain. The man jerks, takes two fumbling steps, and crashes down into a pile of refuse.

The feast begins and I turn my back only to behold a creature so beautiful my eyes ache just looking at her. She stands serene amidst the carnage and I know she is no ordinary woman. Her gaze lingers on me for a moment and I see pity in her eyes, then she turns to regard the demon.

It senses her immediately and leaps. What little humanity remains within me refuses to allow her to fall victim to it and I cry out, though my warning is unnecessary. The demon is halted in mid-leap and it screams in impotent fury as it twists and turns, struggling to free itself.

"Firynoistinefantezzimar. You do not belong on this, the Lord's Earth. Go now to your home of misery and anguish, where you will no doubt suffer your failure at the hands of your cruel master."

Its flailing increases as the woman advances.

"Your God is a false one! A weakling! One who cannot protect his wretched flock from the ravenous wolves that nip at its flanks! Your Earth will topple! The seeds of corruption have been sown! Look! Look at what we have created!"

I stand transfixed as the vile, filthy, abhorrent little creature points at me.