Shane parked in front of Hailie's house and got out of the car at once. He was full of restlessness, unable to control his nervousness due to the fact that since Hailie wrote to him, she hasn't given a sign of life. Her text must've meant that something terrible happened, because it was not like her at all to write and keep quiet.

He didn't knock on the door, he just walked inside, pulling out a gun. It was nearly impossible that it'd be needed in the Bloody Mansion, but one could never be sure. He didn't lose time to look around the house, because he knew that the first place he should check was her room. Shane never got there, because as soon as he got upstairs, he heard voices coming from Lust's room. They've talked enough times to know that Lust was one of the demons talking inside. Shane had no idea who was the second man. He quietly moved to the door, sticking close to the wall, so they wouldn't see him.

"How do you want to pull this off, so nobody finds out?" asked Lust.

Shane took out his phone and dialed Hailie once again. The ringtone started playing inside the room, giving Shane a clearer vision of what was going on.

"He's calling her again," said the other man, whom Shane didn't know.

"Are you surprised?"

Hailie wasn't home at all. Shane was now sure of it, understanding that it was the reason why her car was missing as well. He had no idea how Lust came into possession of her phone, that didn't matter. Hailie was certain that demons wouldn't hurt her and Shane became more or less sure that it indeed wouldn't happen in the near future. After excluding the possibility that Hailie was hurt by the demons, it left only one possible scenario.

He was tricked into coming to this house. Tricked like a child. Lust must've taken Hailie's phone and wrote to him, knowing that he'll be in the Bloody Mansion right away. But why? And how many demons were on it? All of them? Shane wasn't planning to stay and find out. The better option was to wait for Hailie outside. Here nobody could be trusted.

Shane slowly moved along the wall, but the moment he turned around, he understood that there was no way out. Not anymore. He raised his hand and pointed the gun at Lust, even though it couldn't kill nor stop him. He realized that he was in a trap, sure that the other demon was standing behind him.

"What is this all about?" he asked, trying to stay indifferent to that situation.

He knew the house history, but he wasn't thinking that Lust could kill him. Hailie would hate him forever and it seemed like he didn't want that to happen.

"You, being all the time annoying. You're keep getting into my way and I don't like that."

"Seems like you're having a big problem out of nowhere." Shane stopped pointing the gun at Lust and he hid it back in the holster. He couldn't shoot him anyway, besides, for him it'd be the best to stave off a conflict, rather than stir it up harder. "What do you want to do about it? And where's Hailie?"

"She's doing shopping and won't be back too soon."

Shane gazed back at the second demon. He was a massive pal with wide bars and an unfriendly look. It must've been Wrath then.

"I'd give you a choice," said Lust, making Shane stare at him again.

"But you won't do it, because you know I won't leave Hailie. That puts us in a quite unfortunate situation. What are you going to do, Lust? Kill me? Try your tricks with playing with my mind? Is this what's it all about? You want to check if you can make me go mad?"

Maybe Shane was too confident, but he believed that Lust wouldn't succeed with this plan. He couldn't be blinded by dark desires and feelings hidden in the depths of his soul. He wasn't saying that there were none. He was just sure that they weren't more important than the good things he was doing every day.

"No, I don't have to check it."

Shane got lost here, trying to figure out why they tricked him into coming to the house. What Lust wanted from him? This little game of his was getting boring.

"May I go then?" He pointed at the stairs behind Lust's back.

There was still time to back out, but then everything would be lost anyway. Shane already knew that they planned to pull something dangerous, so he will tell Hailie as soon as he sees her. From the very beginning he had a desire to make Shane disappear. He's gone, end of the problem. That's how he felt, but something has changed. And yet he couldn't just leave it alone. Not only because of his own dark thoughts, but also because of the pressure coming from Wrath.

"I'm afraid you won't leave this house." Lust made a decision and pulled out the Boundary Breaker.

The first thing Shane noticed were hauntingly shining inscriptions on the blade, which meant that this was not an object created by a human. As far as he knew, demons couldn't kill humans, but maybe something has changed. Lust's appearance surely pointed towards the fact that he could and was ready to kill Shane.

"Two demons against one unarmed man? That's low, even for you."

Shane wasn't suggesting that he was able to stop one demon, but it definitely would increase his chances, if it was only Lust and him.

"Don't worry, officer. I'm just an occasional witness. I won't be coming into your way, if you plan to, uh, fight the demon?" Wrath mocked, sure that one pitiful human didn't have any chances. "But I'll take that." He took Shane's gun and moved away, leaving the corridor for them.

"That's your way of dealing with problems? You're going to kill me, because you don't know what else you could do? Your existence is pathetic, and I've expected something more from a demon that was supposed to be so powerful." Shane straightened up, not trying to back out. If Lust wants to fight, then he gets a fight. Shane wasn't planning to go down without resistance. At least he'll try his chances, even if he already knew that those demons don't let him leave the house alive.

"That's how demons are. They kill. They don't even need a reason," replied Lust, even though lately it seemed to change a bit.

"Go on then." Shane spread his hands, waiting for Lust to attack. He might've looked calm, as if he was arrogant about it, but in fact all his muscles were tense and ready to fight. All his senses were working at peak speed. Shane knew that Lust was the worst person with which he would ever have to fight.

Lust attacked him with the blade, but Shane dodged. The demon tried again without success. It seemed as if he wasn't even trying, which was surprising also for Wrath. What was he doing? Playing in the kindergarten? With a few more tries he finally made a cut on Shane's arm, but the police officer managed to hit him in the face.

"That's pathetic, Lust!" called Wrath, who just couldn't watch how his friend wasn't getting into the fight. Why was he so resistant? One stab and Shane would be already down.

"You don't have to do this." Shane noticed an opportunity to try and change Lust's mind. He clearly wasn't all the way down with the idea of killing him. 

But his words just made Lust angrier. He threw himself at Shane, but since he wasn't standing against a random man, but a police officer, they've both ended up on the ground, fighting over advantage. Shane managed to force Lust to let go of the demonic blade he was holding and then he hit him once again in the face, leaving a bloody cut on the lips, which demonically healed itself one moment after. He parted his mouth, unprepared for seeing with his own eyes demonic abilities. This short moment of hesitation cost Shane a lot. Lust pushed him away and rolled over to get back the blade.

"You pretend to be so perfect, but what have you done for Hailie?!" he yelled and attacked Shane again, pressing him onto the wall. He tried to stab him in the heart, but Shane stopped the blade. "Nothing! You're nothing. Just a human."

Shane kicked him in the belly with his knee and hit him from the head, pushing Lust away. It took him less than a second to regain balance.

"And I'm still better than you." Shane smiled, but his satisfaction didn't last long.

That was like adding fuel to the fire. Lust eyes started burning red as he pounced on Shane. They struggled and beat each other, fighting for the upper hand until Lust kicked Shane's with a hit strong enough to send him on the ground. Shane wanted to stand up and fight more, but Lust turned and kicked Shane in the face, making him fall on the floor with a loud groan.

"Not good enough," Lust said and caught him by the police uniform. He put the tip of the blade to Shane's chest, looking at all the blood on his face. He was a good fighter but couldn't win against one of the seven deadly sins demons.

Is this how it ends?

Shane thought that he had way more time, that his life was just beginning, but then again, he never came up with an idea that he will have to fight against a demon.

"Hailie will never forgive you," he said to Lust, making him freeze for a moment.

"She will never know."

Shane weakly smiled. Both of them knew the truth. 

She will find out, that one I'm sure of.

Lust wanted to thrust in the blade, but there was a voice in the back of his head, saying not to do this. He was struggling with what to do. The Boundary Breaker seemed like it was calling him to do it, to kill Shane. Same as Wrath, who was waiting for the blood to spill. But he just wasn't sure. It was the worst feeling of all. He, Lust, the powerful demon from Hell, was having trouble with killing a human who meant nothing for him. Moreover, who was making him irritated and furious. Just like Wrath said, it was pathetic.

He squeezed the handle tighter, trying to force himself into killing Shane, but then he heard in his mind that one voice that could change it all.

"Shane told me he loves me."

Those were Hailie's words, spoken to Pride. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop their conversation, he just stumbled upon them and decided to listen.

"My, my! That's amazing!"

"I haven't said it back."

"What, why?" Pride was so cheerful about it. She was team Shane all the way, mostly because she just sincerely hated Lust. She would do anything to make his life more miserable.

"I don't know. I feel so safe with him, so happy and calm. It's like I could breathe again, not stressing about anything. I like that feeling. I was missing it a lot."

His hand started trembling. After everything that happened Hailie deserved more than being left alone, ripped off the happiness and serenity. He wanted to be the one that could make her feel like that, but if she was feeling good in Shane's presence, then was it fine to take it all away? He already killed someone that Pride loved. He could see how deeply unhappy she was, how horrible it was, dealing with the loss. He knew that feeling as well. Hailie didn't have many people, who would look out for her. And right now, Shane was the only one who could watch her outside the house. She needed that, especially with Jayson in the town.

"You don't believe that I would do anything to protect you?"

"I would."

Those were his own words. He promised Hailie that he would protect her. That's what he wanted to do all along. Killing Shane wasn't a way to deal with the problem. It was making it worse, it was hurting Hailie and proving that Pride was right. 

But she wasn't. 

He really cared for Hailie. He wanted to make her smile, to talk in the garden on the chilly evenings. 

She deserved to be happy with whoever she wanted to be happy with.

He sighed and stood up, letting Shane's go even if it was against his demonic nature. His breathing was heavy and his mind blurred, like it was having its own fight. It was hard to overcome the desire to kill. It was so strong, much bigger than he ever felt.

Lust looked at the blade he was holding in a trembling hand. He threw it, hammering the blade to the floor in the hallway. The desire has decreased, allowing him to think rationally again. There was something seriously wrong with this blade. It was affecting him, even if it shouldn't. And he almost gave in.

"You're not worth killing," Lust said, leaning on the wall.

Shane breathed out with an unspeakable relief. Playing tough was hard in a situation, where he was about to die. He knew that being a cop was a risky job, but he had no idea that being a boyfriend was even more dangerous.

"What the fuck, Lust? He stole your girl!" Wrath couldn't understand his friend's decision.

But this was the moment when Lust understood something. He remembered the conversation he had with Wrath. The one, when he asked him to kill Gregory.

"You can't understand it now, but maybe you will one day. I want what's best for Pride. And for me,"  Wrath said then.

Now Lust understood it, but made a different decision, because killing Shane wouldn't be anything good neither to him nor Hailie.

"I want her to be happy and safe," he replied, trying to come up with a solution of how to explain this all to Hailie so that she wouldn't hate him forever. At the end he made a good decision, so he hoped that won't go for nothing.

"No, it's like it was with me," stated Wrath. "You just can't do it yourself."

He caught the blade sticking out of the floor and stabbed Shane right into the chest, before any of them had a chance to react. He took it out, making the blood spill instantly, flooding the police uniform that Shane was wearing.

"No!" Lust pushed Wrath away and got down on his knees next to Shane, who was in a total shock, not sure what was happening to him. Wrath stabbed him so fast that his body started to feel the pain only after a while. "Hang on, Shane." Lust took off the sweater he was wearing and started pressing the wound on the police officer's body in order to stop bleeding. "I beg you, don't die on me now." This was the first time that Lust felt panic. He had no idea how to save Shane. His demonic abilities were making it possible to heal himself, not the others. And this wound, it was made by a demonic blade. He didn't know what's going to happen to Shane now. It was a weapon that shouldn't have been used. "Fuck, stay with me." He slapped him in the face, trying to keep him conscious, but for Shane it was hard to keep going. It was like the darkness was hanging above him, trying to take him to the place where he didn't want to go. Tiredness took over his body and with every moment all he wanted was just to drift away. "Wrath, do something! Call the ambulance!" he screamed at Wrath, but he was only standing and staring at them.

Lust kept pressing the wound with his sweater that became covered all in blood. Seeing how indifferent Wrath was, he started looking for Shane's phone in his pockets. Finally, he got it, staining it with blood as well. He didn't know the password, but when he looked at Shane, he knew that the police officer wouldn't give it to him. There was just no point. Both of them knew that the ambulance won't be able to come here on time.

Shane placed his hand on Lust's bloody hands, like he was trying to tell him that it's okay. His mouth was full of blood that seemed to be everywhere. It was hard to remain alive, but he tried his best, even if there was no way to win with the death. There were so many things he still wanted to do in life. He didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to his loved ones. What will happen to his body? Will it disappear, leaving everybody thinking that he just left? He wanted to tell his parents how much he was grateful to them for how they've raised him. He wanted to tell Hailie one last time how much he loves her. And much more, take her in all the places she has never been, work as a police agent in a town different than this one. So many things he will never do or achieve. He sucked in the air and managed to say his last words to Lust, "Keep Hailie safe." And then he closed his eyes, while his hand fell to the floor. He gave in to the death.

Lust stopped pressing the wound and slowly moved back to the wall, not knowing what to do now. He tried to help Shane, but there was nothing more he could do. The police officer was already gone. Lust raised his head with an anger that flooded his whole body. He stood up, looking at Wrath with clenched fists.

"Why did you do it?" he hissed, furious that Wrath interfered in his business. That was a dispute between him and Shane. Wrath shouldn't make choices that weren't his to be made. "Why?! I decided to let him live and you took his life. You had no right to do that!"

"I did what you couldn't." Wrath had the opinion that it was a good decision. He didn't see anything wrong in what he has done. "I returned the favor. You couldn't kill Shane, but I could. I don't care what Hailie thinks of me." He remained too calm, considering that he just broke one of the most important rules and killed a human. Using the Boundary Breaker didn't excuse that.

It was hard not to come up to Wrath and hit him, but another conflict was the last thing Lust needed right now, especially with a dead body of a police officer in the hallway.

"I didn't want you to return the favor!" he yelled, feeling how anger was taking over.

"He didn't deserve Hailie. You wanted to look at them being together for the upcoming years? Watching them and thinking how another guy is kissing and loving the girl that should be with you?" Wrath came closer and stopped in front of him, not caring about dead Shane lying behind him.

"I've chosen Hailie's happiness over mine own. That's something you can't understand, apparently."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wrath narrowed his eyes.

"What I've done for you is one of the things I regret the most. Pride hadn't deserved it. She loved Gregory and if you really loved Pride, you would let her be with him, be happy. Now I do understand it. You're just selfish. I don't claim it's bad, because we're demons. We're all selfish, but we can also be something more."

Wrath pushed Lust onto the wall, upset about his words. Nobody had the authority to tell him how he feels or feels not about the only girl he has ever loved.

"I love Pride more than you could imagine. Gregory didn't deserve her. With me she's happier than she ever was! You can feel wrong about Shane, but I don't regret asking you to kill Gregory. I'd do it again and I'd even kill him myself."

Something made a loud thump on the floor. Both of them looked towards the stairs, noticing Pride, who dropped the souvenir box that she wanted to show Hailie. It was clear that she heard them talking, moreover, she noticed a bloody blade that Wrath was holding. It wasn't hard to connect it with dead Shane lying on the floor.

"Pride." Wrath took a step in her direction, but she moved away further.

There were no words she could say, because it all caught her off guard. It was too much to process. Shane was dead and Lust killed Gregory only because Wrath asked him to do it. For all these years she was blaming the wrong demon. She fell in love with the guy that made her miserable for so many years. And now he also killed Shane, who was the last person that deserved to die.

Downstairs the door slammed, and Lust already knew that they were all doomed. Hailie came back home too fast, but Pride didn't seem to notice the upcoming tragedy. She was lost in her own nightmare, still trying to deal with the fact that Wrath, the one she loved so much, hurt her so bad in the past. She was a demon and cried only once before now. When Gregory died. But  the most surprising thing was that his first love's death hurt less than being betrayed like that by Wrath. It was the worst feeling in the world.

"We're done," she cried with the tears running down her face, leaving Wrath's heart shattered into pieces as well.

Lust didn't care so much about their drama, although it was sorrowful to see how everything fell apart. The only thing that was filling his mind was Hailie and how to ease her pain, when she'll come upstairs and see Shane's body. He could already hear her footsteps as she was closing in.

And one moment later her painful scream echoed in the whole house, tearing his heart apart. 

***

Whoa, that one was so intense, and so sad :c