Chapter Text
His head hurt like hell.
Stolas tried to open his eyes, but the light was enough to make him give up almost instantly. No, he didn’t want to wake up, he wanted to stay in this state. He didn’t remember what he was fleeing, but he knew he was fleeing something. Someone. Whatever. Better stay here, in the nothingness. He had enough of trying and failing, enough of seeing his hopes being crushed relentlessly.
Pathetic.
Stella’s voice rang in his mind, making him flinch. He didn’t want her to be right, but he didn’t fully care.
After what felt like a long moment, his mind cleared enough to muster the energy to try and pry his eyes open again. It took some time, but he succeeded.
Then, he remembered yesterday, and wished he could go back to the blissful unconsciousness.
But he couldn’t. He still had duties, outside of his grimoire, things to do, plants to take care of. They didn’t deserve to suffer because of him.
So, slowly, he got up. His headache was still pounding in his brain, and some injuries from yesterday’s torture still felt sore, but several had disappeared, at last.
But then he tried to get up, and the world started spinning until his body met the floor.
Ouch.
He stayed there for a couple of minutes, then he tried to sit up. That alone was enough to see the world spinning again, but this time his back fell on the side of the bed rather than on the floor.
Ok, he could do this. Step by step. He didn’t need to think about yesterday. Blitz was long gone and he probably deserved it, but Via would come back eventually and he couldn’t let himself spiral down too much. His plants still needed him, and even if he was afraid to see Stella again soon, he definitely didn’t want her to find him in such a state. She would probably be glad tho, but he wouldn’t.
He didn’t know how long it took him to put himself on tracks, but one thing was for certain: it took way longer than usual. He didn’t bother to check his injuries, bath or change his clothes, simply doing what he had to do. He didn’t have anyone to meet anytime soon, so he couldn’t bring himself to care.
No new text on his phone, not even from Via. He decided to wait a bit before he sent anything, in order not to let his current state of mind show in his message. If Blitz had noticed more than what he intended to, he was worried his daughter may have too, especially since she had way more occasions than the imp to notice anything unusual. Since she did show more concern than usual toward him, he feared he had already failed that. Which meant he would need to put extra care and energy into appearing normal when she was here.
By the time he was done taking care of his plants, he wasn’t… Fine, exactly, but he was well enough to shot a picture of one of his plants who beautifully blossomed, managing to grow back a small amount of positive feelings in his chest as he sent the picture to his daughter with a small message.
That was pretty much all the socialization he would be able to do today. He was half tempted to just get more absinthe but he couldn’t simply spend his days doing nothing and getting wasted. Plus, focusing on tasks could distract him from his darker thoughts.
That is, until he met with a familiar group of four on his way to his study to resume his training on healing magic.
“Ah, Stolas, how nice of you to come to us again! Did you miss me already?” Stella couldn’t help but giggle at his sight.
Suddenly he wished he had started drinking, and maybe taken some more pills too, to be able to simply go through what was coming yet again, especially since he still wasn’t fully healed. But then his mind reminded him being drunk would probably endanger Blitz, and as hurt as his heart was, he didn’t want anything to happen to the imp, maybe now even more than before with how guilty he felt.
So he complied, listening to what his ex wife demanded of him but without answering or reacting if he didn’t need to. He was too exhausted to care, even as she commented how awful he looked.
Quickly, they were back in his bedroom with the usual set up, and he was almost surprised Stella wasn’t changing it. Maybe when she’d grew bored of it, but perhaps it wasn’t a bad thing she didn’t yet.
“Now, on your knees. You don’t have any outing nor meeting in the next few days, right? It’s time to let them take care of that ugly fa-”
*SLAM!*
Things were suddenly interrupted when the door came crashing down, and who came in would shock everyone. It was none other than Dante from the game series Devil May Cry. And he looked intimidating.
"Well, well, well... look what we have here..." Dante began as he walked closer to the group, "So you must be the great dark owl prince Stolas. It looks as though that you are in a bit of a predicament. Care to explain why you are cuffed and surrounded by these guys?"
Stolas was speechless from Dante's sudden presence, and wasn't sure how to answer him. Dante then turned to Stella.
"You. What is Stolas doing handcuffed?"
"None of your business, now get out!" Stella yelled. However, Dante refused, and turned to the shaking chihuahua.
"What is Stolas doing handcuffed?" Dante repeated.
"Um... we were, um... uh..."
"Spit it out."
"...we were going to punch him repeatedly in the face until he was finally knocked out unconscious..."
"DUDE! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT?!" the Shar Pei screamed.
"Bro, he's got a fucking gun! I'm not about to get killed by this anime edgelord!" the chihuahua defended. Dante didn't say anything, but simply sighed.
"Well, Stolas, if I have to guess, it looks as though you seem to be caught in her trap. Forced to endure torture for her own gain... does she have a sadism fetish of some sort?"
"Uh... I guess so..." Stolas reluctantly said.
"Well then, madam, I suggest you release Stolas and exit the premise with your goons," Dante calmly said.
"After you barged in and interrupted us with your pathetic intimidation? I don't think so!" Stella exclaimed as she went to escort Dante out. That's when Dante pulled out his gun and held the swan princess at gunpoint.
"Madam... do you know who I am...?" Dante coldly said, "I am a demon slayer... it means I slay demon kind like you... I will not hesitate to kill you right here on the spot if my demands are not met... do you want to die...?"
"OKAY, THAT'S IT!!! WE'RE FUCKING DONE HERE, BIG MAN!!!" the watchdog screamed as he charged as Dante, only for him to shoot him in the head, killing him instantly.
"DESS NO!!!" the chihuahua screamed before glaring at Dante, "BRO, JUST GET THE FUCK OUT AND LEAVE US ALONE!!!"
But Dante refused, and shot the remaining hellhounds in the head, killing them aswell. Stella let out a scream and tackled Dante as she got on top of him.
"HOW DARE YOU KILL MY HELLHOUNDS!!! YOU HAD NO BUSINESS DOING ALL OF THAT!!! SINCE YOU WANTED TO BARGE IN AND ACT LIKE A HERO, NOT ONLY WILL I SLIT YOUR THROAT, BUT I WILL KILL HIS I-"
Stella was suddenly interrupted when Dante stabbed her behind her back, leading for the swan to scream. Dante kicked her away before slashing her eyes and throat. He then stood and menacingly watched as she slowly died from blood loss and choking on said blood. Once Stella was dead, Dante turned to look at the now terrified Stolas. He was forced to watch Dante kill off everyone, and was now scared that he was next. But Dante just put away his weapons before walking up to Stolas and releasing him from the blessed cuffs.
"It's okay, prince... they can't hurt you anymore..."
Stolas finally let out the water dam. He cried as Dante held him. This went on for nearly a minute before Stolas began to calm down. Dante gently took him out of the room and into the bathroom where he would use his Accelerated Healing abilities to heal the lingering wounds Stolas had from previous torture sessions. During this time, Stolas finally spoke.
"Why did you come here?"
"Stolas, I am part demon, and I occasionally go to Hell for work and equipment gathering," Dante explained, "I was told from an anonymous source to come to the palace at this time to see you. However, I did not expect that swan to use her hellhounds to try and hurt you. Who is she, and is this the first time she has done so?"
"Her name is Stella, my former wife," Stolas began, "And unfortunately, this was not the first time she has done this. I have to endure three previous sessions under the threat of my lover Blitzo being killed should I not comply, with each getting worse. The previous one really pushed me to my limit, and I felt like I was about to die. And who knows what they would've done to my face had you not showed up..."
Dante couldn't believe that Stolas's own wife would subject him to torture for weeks. It made him more sympathetic to the owl's torment. At this point, Stolas was fully healed.
"Well, Stolas, I will say that you are incredibly brave and courageous to endure this to protect your love one. While some may believe that you did it under cowardice, I believe that it shows just how much you love Blitzo that you are willing to put up with this. I hope that this incident will empower you, and help you finally move on from your trauma."
With that, Dante left the palace, leaving the owl prince to his own thoughts. Stolas was still stunned with how cold, yet caring Dante was towards him, despite being a demon slayer. He was glad that he showed up in time before he saw stars. Stolas went back to the room to look back at the corpse of Stella. He knelt down and kiss her on the forehead.
"I hope you find some peace in the afterlife..." Stolas whispered before he left to bring in some cleaners to dispose their bodies.