"The world is a stage! And the stage is a world of entertainment!"

(-)

The anguished cries of the weak, the tortured screams of the suffering, and the pained weeping of victims as they plead for mercy that will never come. This world is filled to the brim with a cacophony of the most vile emotions that could possibly exist. The Seven Sins have saturated the land itself, and the Darkness of human nature continues to spread with the passage of time.

And looking out over the land stood an entity whose very presence could distort his surroundings from the overwhelming amount of malefic power that he holds. Though he is of similar shape to a human, he is far from being one. Dressed in a high-end suit colored red, the way he held himself spoke of sophistication and gentlemanly appeal. His hair is a similar shade of red to his clothing, save for the black at the ends of two cowlicks that stood up to resemble the ears of a deer, which was further accented by the stag horns that sprouted from his head. His expression is set in a perpetual smile, showing off a mouth filled with sharpened teeth that are dark-yellow in color, almost as if they were rotten. This made his unnaturally pale face stand out even more, along with his crimson eyes, one of which bearing a monocle. Twirling his 'staff' in an arc, he was almost unable to contain himself.

He couldn't recall the last time he felt this excited. Hell is nice and all, but there is a special enjoyment to be had in simply observing humanity as it tears itself apart without a care in the world. No demons have reached this land yet, which means that all the horrible atrocities committed here were willingly done so by man itself. In fact, when he first stumbled upon this world, the scent of death in the air was so strong that he assumed another demon had beaten him to it. But upon realizing that that wasn't the case, and humanity was solely responsible for their actions, he was positively ecstatic at the prospect of being the first to influence such a horrid place.

"Why I haven't felt this giddy since humanity started bombing each other with deadly gas during the Great War! Those were the days!"

The demon began walking across the air on a platform of made of shadows as he made his way towards the enormous city in the distance. Flickering lights amidst the blackness of night were beckoning him closer, filled with promises of violence and depravity. A veritable Hell on Earth, and it was all for him to enjoy~.

(-)

The streets of the capital were wreathed in darkness, only to be illuminated by the occasional street light. With how late it is, most residents had turned in for the night, as no one wanted to be stuck out in the empty dark of the city, making them prime targets for any of the cities more 'unsavory' folk to prey upon. It was an unspoken law in the capital that when you go out alone at night, you have only your own strength to rely on in order to keep you safe. For the most part, the city guards were little more than props who would turn a blind eye to almost anything so long as they get some coin tossed their way.

However tonight was especially dangerous. Not because the notorious gang of assassins known as Night Raid were out and about -even though they are- but because a literal Demon had taken to stalking the streets, yearning for his own personal form of entertainment. And it wasn't long before he found it.

The stench of disease and decay was wafting through the air, and it led him not towards a torture dungeon, but rather in the direction of an elegant-looking mansion. As he drew closer, he could practically feel the despair suffused in his surroundings. Eventually he reached an innocuous-looking shed behind the building, hidden down a barely noticeable path. Walking through the heavily locked door as if it wasn't even there, the Demon's grin widened at what his eyes beheld.

A perfect example of the potential for mans cruelty. Dozens of dead and dying humans who had suffered cruel and unjust punishment at the hands of those who resided in the mansion. Some had been poisoned or infected with lethal ailments that killed them in the slowest and most agonizingly way possible. There was a corpse leaning against the wall that had been stripped naked, nearly every inch of exposed skin was branded to the point that the body was charred black. Another person was still strapped to a chair with his arms forced out. Both of their limbs had been stripped of flesh, exposing the bones underneath. The man had expired before his captors could return and continue torturing him. There was the corpse of a woman who had been strapped to a table with her chest sliced open, allowing her torturer to dissect her while she was still alive. Glancing to the side, he spotted the hanging corpse of a girl who appeared to be in her teens. One of her legs was missing, and her groin and genitals were covered in lacerations and burns. Walking over, he pulled out some of her hair and gave it a quick sniff.

"Ahh... Odeur de Mort. One of my favorites."

He absently picked up one of the tools that had been placed on the table, an instrument of torture that was covered in dry blood. Running his thumb along the length of the blade, he found that the edge still maintained its sharpness, despite the constant use. Twirling the tool in his hand, the Demon stabbed it into one of the corpses that were hanging from the ceiling.

Hearing the faint sound of pained breathing, the Demon walked over to one of the cages, where he saw a boy in his teens who was barely clinging to life. Grasping him by the hair, he lifted the boys head up to look him in the eyes. His skin was covered in sickly lesions and sores, and blood streamed down his chin from constantly vomiting. The boy somehow managed to recover his focus, and his clouded eyes cleared up, if only a little.

"W... Wha...?"

"Oh my, dear boy! You look as if you've been put through the wringer! I'm actually surprised that you're still conscious!"

Blinking away the murkiness in his vision, the boy managed to muster up some sense of awareness.

"Who... What are you... doing here?"

"Now, now sonny. Just because you're feeling a little under the weather, that doesn't excuse your lack of manners. Don't you know that you're supposed to introduce yourself first? Come on, this is just proper etiquette."

After hacking up a glob of blood onto the floor, the boy leveled a look of confusion at the Demon.

"It's Ieyasu... Wait, are you here to save us?" he asked, his voice filled with hope. Trying to figure out how and why the person standing in front of him had found him was not on his list of concerns at the moment. For now, he just wanted out of this nightmare.

"Well Ieyasu, it is good to meet you! My name is Alastor! And I must say, you sure have found yourself in one hell of a pickle here! Why, this shack is giving me a nice trip down memory lane, from back when I'd slice up my victims and feed them to the gators in the bayou. Ah, those were the days. There was even that when time I cut off that one girls legs while she was still alive and tossed her in. Boy could she scream!"

Ieyasu's hope of salvation made an abrupt turn straight towards despair. He hadn't even considered the possibility that the person in front of him was an acquaintance of the family.

"Come now Ieyasu, you shouldn't be making a face like that! You should be celebrating the fact that you were strong enough to survive this long! They say that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger! Then again, what does kill you gives me better ratings~!"

"What the fuck do you want?!" Ieyasu shouted with what little strength he had. He immediately regretted doing so, as he coughed up even more blood.

Taking a step back and doing a quick spin on his heels, Alastor swung his arms out with a flourish.

"Entertainment of course! Having a front-row view to all this tragic loss of life is more than enough to get my blood pumping! A perfect opening scene to welcome me to this city! In fact, I almost feel as if I should be paying your captors for creating such a glorious stage!"

"Fuck you!" Ieyasu cursed as he spat at the Demon. "If you aren't here to help, then either kill me or get the hell out of here!"

"Now where would the fun be in that? Besides, the main event is only moments away~!"

"What are you talking about?"

Alastor's grin widened even further as he stepped into the shadows and out of sight, save for the red glow of his eyes.

"I want to see how you react to freedom being just out of reach for you. To suffer and survive for so long, only to just barely fall short of escape."

Moments later the door to the shed was busted open, and moonlight poured in to light up the darkness.

"This is the dark side of the capital." spoke the blonde woman who had kicked open the door.

(-)

Alastor was practically beaming with amusement as he watched things quickly unfold. The arrival of the 'assassins of justice', the boy called Tatsumi who could only gape in horror as he discovered what remained of his friends who he had been searching for, the girl who was responsible for the acts of cruelty as she snapped and revealed her true nature, and even as Tatsumi exacted his vengeance against the girl. Yet it was a hollow victory for the boy, as his friend died moments later. So close to escape, only for it to be ripped away from him at the last moment. Such a glorious tragedy was exactly what Alastor was looking for.

And if this was just a taste of what was to come, then he was certain his time spent in the city would not be wasted. But first, he had to take the stage and play the part he was born for. Tatsumi was overwhelmed with feelings of despair and rage, meaning he wasn't in the best mindset to be making proper judgement calls. And Alastor would be saddened if he allowed such an opportunity to pass by.

For a moment, absolute darkness seemed to swallow the surroundings whole, and timed came to a sudden halt.

"What the hell is this?!"

"Is it a teigu?!"

The two other women were caught up in Alastor's trap as well, but he wasn't the least bit worried. It might even work to his advantage in some way.

"Although I don't know what a teigu is, I can assure you that what you are seeing right now is of my own design~."

Stepping into view, Alastor looked every bit the Demon that he is.

"Who are you?!" the blonde shouted defensively.

However Alastor was currently aiming his focus squarely at Tatsumi.

"Tell me, Tatsumi," he spoke as he held out his right hand, a faint green glow now emanating from it. "would you be interested in making a deal~?"