A new soul...and a fine meal. That was her day, and as she stalked back into her home, she felt it was a good one. Although...her home had not always been hers. This wrecked house in the middle of the desert had belonged to a Caliphite family. There were knickknacks and pictures of the original owners, and most of them were covered in the dried blood of those same unfortunates.

That was no bother to her though, she was no mortal creature. The elements had no power over her, or any other of the mighty Bellos demons. Though to be honest, she felt more like a dragon at the moment. Slinking off to her lair after hunting, celebrating the tally of her kills...It was quite the power trip.

"Fresh souls in the countryside, and a place to rest if I need to. Much better than playing politics at home."

Even as far as Bellos went, she was a simple creature. She fought, she killed, and moved on. There wasn't much else in life...but even with such limited interests, she knew that existence on this mortal earth was preferable to being a pawn of the Hellfire Council, and the Empress of the Beyond.

"Bitch."

Life was harsh here, but in "The Beyond": it was quite literally hell. As she looked about at the home she had taken as her own, her eye lingered on the family portrait above the fireplace. They looked very happy. So much so that she was thankful. Thank that she had not been the one to kill them. Though come in just in time to feast on the bandits who did.

"Why do I care about that?"

There was no reason for her to distinguish, and she didn't. She had just found extra corpses she hadn't made, and ate them as well. But there were diaries, and the pictures...the people who lived here were not bad people. Why did she care though? She had killed innocents before. She had never bothered to know them maybe...what was different this time?

Was she being affected by this place? Because at home, all she cared about was serving her lord...and avoiding the sight of-

"Valentina of the Bloody Nail: You mortal time is ended."

Before the voice had even finished speaking, Valentina the Bellos had crashed through the walls and run for open desert as fast as she could. She didn't dare use any magic, for her trivial skills were no match for the monster hunting her now.

Yet despite her speed, Valentina was not fast enough. A great wind blew from on high, scattering sand into her eyes. As she blinked it away and stared forward, a man stood before her. No, it stood like a man perhaps...but it do so on the hind legs of a great wolf, while it's great open bat wings made its imposing frame even larger.

Within its massive claws was a great axe, etched with runes and iconography that glowed with inner hellfire, illuminating the fangs within it's jackal like maw. It stepped forward with a strange ease and grace that contrasted it's massive build, and brandished the weapon in it's hand.

"You have run from our chains for so long, but they have only tightened."

Valentina gritted her massive teeth, looking down at Fasces as it approached. She was still larger then he was. She was bigger, more muscular...but she knew what was about to happen.

"Do you ever think of doing anything else? Do you ever think of anything besides slaving away for THINGS that even Paradise rejected?"

"Our masters did the rejecting dear child. While we Fasces, being some of their first children, are proud to serve a growing order in this untamed universe."

"They only freed themselves to abuse everything else. Then they made new creatures to abuse when they got bored of the rest. How can you take pride in that? In being created for no other purpose then another's amusement?"

The Fasces darted forward with a beat of it's wings, faster than Valentina could see. She brought her bone armed limbs and tail to defend herself, but they were cut straight through by her executioner's axe.

She howled in pain, and the fell to the ground as her legs were taken next. She lay there, immobile, bleeding, and screaming. As she writhed, her eyes looked about for some chance of escape...or rather a swift mercy.

Instead, the Fasces loomed over her, and raised his axe.

"It would have been better for you: If you had just given up."

The axe came down, splitting the Valentina head in half. From the broken skull poured forth not blood, but wisps of hellfire that scattered to the skies and beyond. With his job done, the Fasces made a cursory glimpse of his surroundings. And then reflected on some of the words Valentina said.

He thought of his own wishes. Dreams of seeing the ocean, and sailing across its surface. To have a father or mother. To know a child of his own? He had often had such thoughts during his younger years. But he knew the futility of that all too well. Looking at the thin bladed scar on his palm, he seemed overtaken with memories of strict instruction and long forgotten comrades.

He was much older now though, and covered in the blood and chains of his many deeds. None would accept him now. And even if he did run away...

"None can escape the hounds of hell."

All it took was another beat of his wings, and he went off to his next hunt...another chain among the all the others.