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The sun is slowly setting on the sea, disappearing in the water. The beach is empty, closed because of the pandemy. When the last sunshine hits this place of the earth, the air bends and compresses itself. During half a second the beach shines as if the sun himself descended on earth.
“I don’t like coming down here.” On the empty beach stands now a blond man standing.
“At least I got to work alone this time, thanks father of everything.” He stretches himself and yawns. “Let’s do that quickly.”
He closes his eyes and two magnificent wings appear on his back, alongside an aureole above his head.
“I’ll find this demon and send him back where he belongs, in the burning flames of hell.” In one powerful wing flapping he propels himself in the skies in the direction of the city, the night is now dark, only lightened up by the human public and private lightning.
Flying swiftly between the building and skyscrapers Hawks looks out for the dark energy oozing out of any demons feeding on earth. Usually it appears in little blue clouds. Not toxic to anyone and invisible for the weak humans of the earth.
“Come on little demon, you can’t be this far!” The angel is flying over downtown when he sees a burst of flame coming from a secluded alley. It’s not much but the flames are blue and the smoke coming from there also is.
Without hesitation Hawks accelerates, preparing one of his feathers as a sword. He stops himself outside of the demonic senses zone, avoiding being detected and looks at his target.
The demon is tall and thin, sitting on the ground and looking at a burnt rat. From where he is, Hawks can see two different colors of skin. After a little sigh he dashes to the demon at a godly speed, hoping to kill him in one attack and be able to return to heaven.
Just before he hits, the flame demon looks up at him, bites down on the rat and starts running out of the alley, clearly wanting to escape the angel. The demon set the ground on fire, creating a wall stopping Hawks from getting to him.
The angel has to fly up in the skies again, losing trace of the fire demon.
…
A few days pass and Hawks has no clue where the demon is hiding. He even starts to think he went back to hell, even if it’s impossible for demon feeding from rats. What is he even doing eating rats when whole human beings are living in big buildings?
Hawks is flying over the city, all his angelic senses working on finding the demon’s essence throughout the city. He spent days and nights flying and even angels have their limits. He has to take a break from searching and decides to land on a big building, he thinks humans call it “The empire state building”, a weird name for a supposedly democratic country.
“So, where are you hiding human eater?” He’s comfortably sitting on the fence on a private balcony. The sun is already under the horizon but the city that never sleeps doesn’t seem to bother. The cars are honking, the street lights are making it seem there is another sun on the ground and almost every window is glowing. Hawks hear some gunshots on his right, gangs are out tonight.
Since he has to take a break from flying, Hawks decides to walk in the streets, perhaps he’ll be lucky.
“How are there so many people in the streets at almost midnight?” Asks Hawks to himself, trying to walk through the people. He won’t be able to find and fight anyone with so many people in the street.
At the exact moment Hawks thinks that someone yanks him in a dark alley. He falls on the ground and hits his head against a trash can.
“Aouch!”
“Shut up.” The stranger lites his hand on fire, revealing himself as the demon. His voice is calm but Hawks can hear the resentment in his voice. “I was certain the scam your boss is would send more people against me, but he just sent one weakling.” Now that Hawks is closer he can see that the purple thing is actually burnt skin held up with staples.
“What?” He stands up and lets his wings appear and takes a feather.
“You’re not scared, wingman?” The demon smirks showing his sharpened teeth.
Hawks shrugs and takes a combat position.
“If you wanted to kill me on the spot you would have done it.” This time it’s Hawks who smirks behind his glasses. “The baddy wants to make a baddy speech before I send him back home?” Hawks’s voice is sharpened with sarcasm.
“Nah, I’m gonna ask you a question, supposed goodie.” The purple demon starts walking towards Hawks and the latter takes a few steps back. “What did I do, that is bad enough to deserve to be killed? Except for being Dabi the demon, of course.”
Hawks freezes, no demon ever told him something like that. There’s those who don’t even fight, or those who just love acting like villains.
“What do you mean? Demon’s eat people and take pleasure in destroying our father’s creation.” Hawks shivers and his eyes show sadness and the closest thing to hatred an angel can feel. He has seen enough demons eating angels and humans alive, burning them to ashes or torturing them.
“Yes, but we’ve been created by him. Think about it a second. He created all and everything. If I exist today it’s because he created me. You’ve seen me eat rats instead of humans, most of us hate eating humans, they’re full of disgusting things they call medicine.” Dabi’s calm voice is the total opposite of his behaviour. It seems like his hatred is about to set him in fire. “Why would he create us with the purpose of killing and eating and after being mad at us for doing it?”
“SHUT UP!” Hawks throws his feathers at Dabi who gets a cut on the face.
“NO!” Replies Dabi and bursts in blue flames, filling the alley with them and forcing Hawks to fly away again, almost getting burnt alive.
It’s with a few burning feathers that Hawks escapes ending his life as a burnt chicken nugget.
…
This time Hawks took time to think about this situation. What Dabi said hit the right spot. Hawks believes in God and his plan, he only has this mission in his life: Kill demons.
He has to admit that everything ever created must have been done by God. That means demons too… That’s why he took a decision. That’s why he is now in a human church, facing a statue of crucified Jesus.
“I hate doing that.” He says, kneeling down.
“Father of all things, I have doubts.” As soon as the angel ended his sentence time stopped around him.
“Keigo Takami, you are the last person I ever imagined having doubts.” Archange Gabriel is standing next to him.
Hawks stands up and looks right in the eyes of the archange.
“There’s a first to everything, Gabriel.”
“What is bothering you? The mission is the same as the thousand you already did.” Gabriel is wearing a long toga looking like the Roman togas. His six wings are folded in his back and the Halo on his head is shining proudly on his head.
“There’s something different today.” Hawks’s voice is assured but he is not at all. He knows that doubting the father of all things is the last thing an angel wants to do, he just can’t stop his thoughts from popping up.
Did God also put these thoughts in my head? Did he see that coming when he created me?
“And what is that?” Hawks has to be fair, Gabriel is not the worse of the archangel when it comes to doubts about missions. Gabriel could punish him on the spot but he still asks what’s going on.
“The demon, he didn’t do anything, at least since I am here.”
“It’s a demon, it’s evil!”
“He didn’t eat any human, only a dead rat.”
“This means nothing! It is a demon and thus it has to go back to hell. It’s the law, it’s how the world works!” Gabriel is suddenly angry. He extends his six wings, taking all the place on the podium, hiding what’s behind.
Hawks can feel the pressure of age and power crush him.
“You will obey the orders you were given and destroy this demon. You shall not bother our father again during this mission!” In a flash of light Grabriel disappears and time starts again. Hawks can hear the sounds of whispers around him, people are praying a God he starts to doubt.
…
Hawks feels like he flies more than anything on this mission. The demon definitely knows how to hide himself in the crowd.
“Stop hiding, demon!”
Luckily for him Dabi seems to be hungry again as some blue smoke shows up near an unfamous hotel. He must have found a really good kitchen for rats. This time Hawks approaches slowly and announces his presence with his powers. He lands on the roof of the hotel and waits with his little shopping bag. It doesn’t take long for Dabi to jump and land next to the angel.
“Need more dumb discussion goodie?” His tone is unsympathetic and untrustful. Every muscle of his body seems ready to run away.
“Perhaps, take this though,” answers Hawks, throwing the shopping bag to his enemy, “at least it’ll taste better than rotting rats.”
Dabi catches the bag and looks inside, not letting Hawks out of sight.
“Why would you get chicken and other meat for me?” His voice is half impressed, half suspicious, his mind must be fuzing with possible answers to that question.
“You look bad eating from rats. Why rats? I mean, humans will give you enough powers for weeks.”
“I already told you, humans are disgusting and I don’t want to eat anyone who didn’t deserve it.” Dabi takes the raw steak out of the bag and sniffs it. “The more villainous they are the more pleasant it is to make them suffer.”
“Yeah, you stay a demon after all.”
“I gotta take on the role goddo gave me.” Dabi answers, taking a little and careful bite, making sure no holy water is on it.
Hawks, on his side, sits down, his legs hanging down the facade.
“Why would He create the very people he wants to destroy?”
“To keep his power.”
“But he is God, he has all the powers.” Hawks answers, insisting on the “all”. “I mean, he is literally all powerful!”
“Yes, but why would humans believe in him or even just obey him if there’s nothing to be scared about?” Argues Dabi just before devouring the flesh filling his mouth with it. “Okay, I have to admit that this meat is better. It still has medication though.”
Hawks thinks for a silent minute during which Dabi took the whole chicken out of the bag.
“Are you trying to buy peace with all of that?” Dabi asks with a laugh in his voice.
“I am. Anyway, I guess you’re making a point. Humans tend to be reluctant to believe if they’re not scared or forced.”
Dabi doesn't answer, instead he devours the chicken he just burnt, bones included. Hawks must admit that Dabi looked cute attacking his meal like that. He must be really hungry.
“You know, I’ve seen the list of people going to hell, if you want to eat a human.” The angel is looking at the demon with compassion in the eyes. “I have a photographic memory.”
“Mmmh?” Dabi looks up at him with hopeful eyes. “Why would you do that to me? You have to send me back to hell.”
“Not if it means empowering a false God.” Answers Hawks with determination in his eyes. He offers his hand to Dabi as the sun rises at the horizont with it’s burning shines. Their shadows extend behind them and Hawks looks right to heaven, where Gabriel must be seething in rage.
Dabi shows a wide grin and takes the angel’s hand. “Show me.”
Hawks smiles too and sharp teeth show instead of his perfect ones. He too, abandoned God.