A Love In Dark Times

1 suspect this fight will last a thousand years. -exclaims the grandmaster.

-1 wish you could last a few weeks without sleep or food, that will decide my victory. -1 wish you could last a few weeks without sleep or food, that will decide my victory,” says Mephistopheles, lashing out with grim whips.

-Luisa, please do to him what you did to Lucifer. -Guio tells her without measuring his words, causing everyone to learn o these events or to doubt his loyalty.

-Good idea, I'll try, I may not have another way out. -I'll try, I may not have any other way out," replies the girl, running lik sap to embrace Mephistopheles, to bathe him in a white light.

“What a stupid thing to do. -The king of shadows grows at her, at the same time that he gives her a strong headbutt, knocking poor Luisa out and adding: “You fool, that doesn’t work with me, this has always been my way, thanks to my eff and training I became the strongest being of my dimension.

“You bastard! -Luis exclaims, connecting with a spinning kick, which helped him to rescue his beloved, helped by the grea master who rushes at the monster, preventing him from retaliating, and comments:

“We are not going to last long, we need the emerald of fura, it is one of the few things that can put an end to this thing, I need Angie to track it, and Luisa, Luis and Guio will accompany her to look for it, while we will stay and wait, please don't take too long, I will send you to the last place where it was known.

The great master opened a portal through which the young warriors disappeared.

“You are a fool, great master, you could have used that power to send me into a volcano or have me crushed by a meteorite. -Mephistopheles roared, resuming his human form, a man in a dinner jacket with a glass of wine in his hand. “You know it doesn't work that way. -The great master shouts at him, leaping up to attack him with a fist.

The portal sent the youngsters into a murky place, with the air thick in the air.

-Do we find ourselves in hell again? -asked Guio, holding his nose.

No, Guio, it smells different here, like ignorance, stupidity, but also death. -Luisa answered, feeling terrified and trying tc stretch out her blouse to use it as a handkerchief.

smell marijuana and other drugs, also dung, look everywhere at the rubbish, look carefully among them there are humans, who are prisoners of vices, they are already being consumed by their bad decisions,” whispered Luis, trying to watch his step, dodging legs and African snails.

“itis stupid for a person to give their life to a substance, to focus their existence on the sensations it produces or the status it gives them in front of others, maybe one day they will be cured. This time Angie thought.

“What can 1 do for you? -They were told by some guys in threadbare outfits, which looked like armour because of the dirt on dirt, and it was obvious that they were well armed.

We are looking for the emerald of fura. The beautiful Luisa answered innocently, “We are looking for the fura emerald. The children are policemen, we are going to chop them up to throw them on acid or into the lizard. They threatened the pointing their guns at them.

-First you should take us to your boss. -Angie interjected, analysing that in that environment they couldn't walk calmly, they would surely get lost in that diabolical street.

The boss doesn't kill them, but sells them to prostitution or to the black market of organs. -One of them articulates, revealing his thuggish face, with a bushy moustache and a scar running across his head.

They lead them through corridors where they can see through the doors different people turned into zombies, glued to cigarettes and other implements that seem to be part of them or even their owners, who instead of being consumed, consume their users. There is even a person in a smart suit lying in a puddle of urine shaking like a palm tree and a youn girl in a school bag with her head fixed in one spot, dribbling slime that washes off her uniform, her overalls rolled up because of the bloody injection inserted in the crook of her arm. The heroes are pushed with the handles of their guns s that they don't stop to observe these horrors, they are taken to an old house where a shop operates, they enter through there by pulling a curtain to continue contemplating this murky landscape, the addicts lying on the floor, with stupid smiles and empty stares, deprived of their capacities, unable to feel hunger, warmth or shame. We reach a part of the house that was hidden by thugs and false walls, which creates a strong contrast, the walls seeming to be gold-plated, wit oil paintings, sculptures and hanging lamps. We are led to a room where several naked women dance on vertical pipes, t place is a mansion in the middle of that mire, we are greeted by a young guy with a white complexion who smiles at us wi teeth that are lined by golden braces, which seem to have diamonds, saying to us:

-1 can't believe that some policemen would come into my domain armed only with swords, this is ridiculous, achachay, te me better, what is it that you are up to?

We already told you that we only want the fura emerald, if you don't give it to us we promise to leave. -Again Luisa speal unceremoniously.

-1 don't know what emerald you're talking about, the truth is I have a lot of them, but they consider themselves good if tf think I'm going to give them something, and a little more if they think they're going to leave here like it's nothing, achach The boss threatens them, drawing two golden pistols, crossing his arms.

That's right, we can't leave here without freeing these prisoners, we have to destroy this place. -proposes Angie, wielding her flaming sword.

“What's wrong with you people, what do you think you are, does it blow you away more than the wind, no sirs, first of all, none of those who are here consuming were brought here by force, each one of those poor devils are here of their own fi will, they walked in and each one of them can leave when they want or when they run out of money and secondly, you ar: my property when you come in here with the objective of stealing something from me, or I don’t know what. I'm going to peel them off to avoid complications and the inquiry, achachay.

“Wait, before we start the killing, please tell us where do you keep your treasure? -Luis asks as if it were a game.

Look at these guys, they think they're going to be able to take us who are the toughest of the tough, I only recruit the toughest, they have no chance of escaping, nobody leaves here if I don't want them to, just because they make me laugh tell them behind the painting of the great painter Alarcon, with a screen that only opens with my fingerprints, that secur room over there, achachay. ~The thug points to a steel wall.

Excellent, one more thing, if suddenly any of them want to surrender, we will respect their lives. -Guio informs them, looking around where other men armed with rifles are arriving.

-Listen to this madwoman, we are all macho men here, we don't know how to crack, the chimba we are going to give then we will fill them so full of lead that they won't have any meat left to bury, attack my lions, achachay,” he orders, firing his golden pistols, laughing and throwing coloured lights from his dental diamonds.

The sound of clashing metal intermingled with the cries of pain and astonishment of those who considered themselves invincible, who had spent years tormenting the defenceless, shielded by powerful weapons, taking advantage of the nee of addicts, and showering the authorities with money to turn a blind eye, They fired without understanding why their bullets were useless against these young men who, with just a few shiny swords, cut off their arms and heads in a matter seconds, leaving only the boss standing alone, now with his countenance transformed with fear, about to ask for what he never gave his victims, a little compassion.

“Wait, don't kill me, please. -he cried, dropping to his knees, throwing his golden pistols away.

“We've already given you a chance to do things the easy way. -Angie smiles, showing him the gleam of her sword.

Please help me, my dear master. -He speaks to a glass box where you can see just one of those African snails eating a piece of lettuce.

This idiots brain is melted too. -Angie jokes as she cuts off his right hand, raising it, I remove the box, activating the vau with those footprints.

That wasn't necessary, teacher, we could have taken it up without having to mutilate it. The beautiful Luisa claims to hir The door opens, revealing shelves full of money, jewels and gold bars, a treasure greater than that of any king of antiquit with which they could have abandoned this filthy business and lived in Luxury for the next five generations.

-Let's look for the Fura emerald, I'm told it's a deeper green than the others. proposes Angie.

Here you have the emeralds, they are all beautiful, although I see them all in the same green. -He examines one of the drawers, full of these gems.

-Let's take them all, although I don't think it's any of them. -Angie sentences, emptying them into her backpack.

-Let's destroy this place, let's get the addicts out. -Luis suggests, looking around the place in disgust.

“We don't have time, we must go help the great master. -Luis reminds them.

“You're right, Angie uses the magic pendulum to look for the emerald. -Luis gives this idea this and turns around because he feels a look, he approaches the glass box of the snail where it seems that the slug with the house on his shoulder is watching him.

“That can't be, that's the Colino demon, I've read about him. -I've read about him,” exclaimed Angie, jumping up and dowr excitedly, as the snail began to swell, spurting a slime that filled the glass box and overflowed into the room and then, lik a jelly, clumped together into a humanoid shape with a shell for a head, emitting a sound:

1am honoured that you know of me, I hill, he who controls these places.

That means that this critter is the real boss here. -Luis mentioned, at the same time as he cut her belly, sputtering drool on the walls.

-Don't destroy this place, I promise to help you find that emerald, if you destroy this place, we'll have to find another one Most of these people can no longer leave these evils, you can say that they are mine and every time they consume their doses they give me their lives, making me more powerful, if they want to take all the valuable things, I don't care about that, it's another vice that individuals like this have, they only want to feel more important than others and amass riches that they will never enjoy. -The big snail seals his severed belly and caresses the boss who is crying on his knees, taking t arm that Angie cut off, applying her slime that regenerates it completely.

Obviously not, our duty is to destroy demons, we can't allow you to stay alive. -Angie condemns him, igniting her sword. “Wait, I guess you could see all the snails that are scattered all over the place, they are my henchmen, I can make them ki all the addicts, even make them blow up this whole neighbourhood, that will happen if you kill me.

-Luisa do your magic to him. -Guio proposes the same thing again.

“What a surprise is the transformer girl, I don't trust her powers to work for her, I was created by addictions millions of years ago and I've never been otherwise, if you want to try it, you might give me more power.