Shortly after I saw all the carnage going on outside, I pulled my trusty bodyguards into my car to go examine just what exactly the scale of this “problem” is.

  Every road, every house, even every tree we passed was being overrun by a torrential force of demons. Most were tiny, skittering, flying, spreading ashes.It was almost like they were frolicking, like this was a fantastic occasion. The Mardi Gras for the underworld. There were also bigger demons, with much more demanding presence. The little demons would stay away from them, like magnets repelling each other. It seemed like the bigger they were, the less they moved. Or maybe the less they could be moved, standing firm in a place that can’t be taken by another. Until a bigger fish comes along.

  Apparently, right now, I was the biggest fish.

  Not out of all the demons in the world. There were definitely higher-ranking demons than Choronzon, Rose reassured me. But apparently, demons of this level rarely interact with the “real” world. So all the demons here were quite lowly, in comparison to my new standing.

  When I passed through that neck-breaking whiplash of an intersection by Rose’s apartments, I realized that I hadn’t seen a single other person on the road.

  Or person at all.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised by that—most people wouldn’t want to be out in these… conditions. But shouldn’t there have been at least someone, doing at least something? Even running away, cowering in fear, getting devoured by a sea of imps? But there was no one.

  I didn’t want to think about where they could have gone.

  But… there were a lot of ashes being spread around.

  That was never more apparent than when I made it to 17th street.

  One single road, no intersections, zig-zagged to hell and back. The buildings were usually packed with noisy people, sports on TVs, and cigarette smoke coming from every direction. Now—

  Silence.

  And every bit of road, pavement, and surface was all covered with a layer ashy gray dusting. When I stopped the car, I saw that it had been leaving trails the entire way. I’m sure they stretched all the way back to my house.

  If someone, or something, wanted to find me—it would be easy.

  But what did I have to worry about, really?

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  At this point, who could do anything to me? Any human who tried to lay a hand on me would have thousands, or maybe millions of demons to answer to.

  Even then, there’s no one here but us three.

  Now, I wasn’t even seeing any demons.

  They were pooling and moving like legions on the way here, but at some point, the numbers began to decrease. If I were to use my intuition, I’d say they were “done” with this area.

  I’m not sure what it means for it to be “done”, but at the very least, they had no interest in being here any longer.

  Their previous presence was very clear, of course. The layers of dust were the obvious giveaways, but also the lack of… anything else. It was silent, and still. Whatever kind of “life energy” this place might have had before was completely snuffed.

  Like a burnt-out candle, suffocated by its own ashes.

  It was really beginning to feel like this was the end.

  Of what, I wasn’t sure.

  I was inspecting the surroundings, poking my head inside buildings, scanning for any sign of life. There weren’t any, no matter where I looked. Even the bathrooms of these buildings looked as if they had been deserted for months. Realistically, it could have only been a few days since they were as crowded as ever. Everything had changed. Even the face in the mirror looked different than I remembered.

  Suddenly, another face. Behind mine.

  “Oh holy shit, Bunny, give me a warning when you do that…”

  She moved as silently as ever. The three of us had split up a few minutes ago, so I was surprised to see her right behind me.

  “This,” she said quietly, outstretching her palm. In it was a tiny, shivering imp. I had to bend down closer to even make out its features.

  “M-M’LORD, UM, IF I MAY, AH, HAVE YOUR ATTENTION…”

  “What is it?”

  “I HAVE BEEN TOLD THE C-CORONATION CEREMONY WILL BE BEGINNING SOON.”

  “Soon? How soon?”

  “UM, IT APPEARS TO BE N… NOW?”

  Back in the strange dream-like afterlife world, where I was an adventurer climbing a tower for some reason, I described the splitting in half of said tower as “the loudest sound I had ever heard in my life.” That was a bit inaccurate, because I wasn’t actually alive then. But even if I had been, this sound was infinitely louder.

  The blaring of horns, coming from every direction. It was a sound both shrill and booming, like it was going to explode out both the upper and lower limits of my hearing. Bunny and I both hit the ground, not as a decision, but because it was too loud to keep standing. And it grew louder, and louder; but slowly. I had to gasp for breath, forcing air into my lungs, trying to keep my mind from shutting down. There was nothing I could do to defend myself. I’ll admit, the thought of stabbing my own ears crossed my mind. Ultimately, I’m glad I didn’t, because it wouldn’t have worked. This sound was coming from within me.

  The walls and ground were shaking violently, resonating with the horrible noise. Swelling and surging towards a crescendo, then suddenly—

  Harmony.

  And just as quickly as it started, it ended.

  A total, deafening silence.

  And then I stopped thinking.

  That was the last time I’d see my friends for a long time.