Garden Of Poison-Chapter 285: Souls of Sin

In the depths of the darkest side of Hell, where souls were condemned to burn in eternal agony, three pairs of shoes walked along a passageway, which was illuminated by the fiery glow emanating from the braziers nestled within the pillars lining the walls.

"You okay?" Raylen asked Emily, who walked alongside him. He noticed her staring at the cells holding the tortured souls, and though it wasn’t a sight he wanted her to witness, she had insisted on accompanying him and Dante, who led the way in front of them.

Emily gave him a nod and mustered a nervous smile as the relentless echoes of agonising screams were becoming too much for her to endure. However, it took the prisoners only a single glance at Dante and Raylen before they swiftly hushed their cries, leaving only faint whimpers in their wake.

"You placed him in a secluded place," Dante stated as they continued to walk.

"I thought it would be rude to keep him away from my dear mother, especially after all these years," Raylen responded, running his tongue over his canine as he spoke. "I am sure he will appreciate it."

When they finally came to where Logan’s soul was imprisoned, Emily stepped to the side before her eyes fell on Logan, who sat huddled in a corner of the cell with his arms hugging his knees. His once-blond hair was now smeared with blood, and so was his face, with one of his eyes missing. There was a time when she had been the one sitting in such a manner in his presence, and now it was his turn.

"Looks like you have settled well in this cell, Brother," Raylen remarked with a smug smile. "It seems you haven’t been attended to yet, but fret not, for I brought someone with me to ensure you receive all the attention you deserve."

Logan’s face displayed a fearful expression, and when his eye shifted to look at the individual standing beside Raylen and Emily, it widened.

"You may already be acquainted with Dante Blackthorn from when he tried to chase you down," Raylen reminded him in a placid tone.

Dante took a step forward, coming to stand directly in front of the cell, and he said, "I would have called it naive of you to hunt a princess, but deliberately going after her, knowing she was my sister and someone who has now become someone of great importance in Hell, you must have lost many screws to not understand what you were up against."

Logan pursed his lips, appearing as if he wanted to say something but forbidding himself from voicing it. He knew there was no way out of here, and he cowered against the wall.

"How does it feel? To have the Barter Soul right in front of you but be utterly powerless to use it?" Raylen taunted Logan, noticing his younger brother’s scowl. "Or are you perhaps beginning to regret it?"

"It’s not over, Raylen. One day, I will get out. Someone will pull me out of here just like I set some of them free," Logan warned, his eye a mixture of anger and fear. "And when I do," he continued, locking his gaze on Raylen, "I will kill you." His eye then shifted to Emily.

"You should go to sleep, Brother, for achieving it may only be possible within the realm of your dreams," Raylen said with a smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "But there’s no guarantee, as subconsciously, you know I have always been better than you."

Logan’s breathing grew heavy, his frustration at not being able to see his mother come back to life gnawing at him more than anything. He retorted,

"Taunt me as much as you want, but you cannot hurt me."

Raylen clicked his tongue and remarked, "You seem to have memory loss. But that’s fine. It happens sometimes. Perhaps you would prefer a visual demonstration, maybe?"

Logan didn’t understand what Raylen meant, and he watched as his elder brother turned his back to him before approaching the solid wall that was in front of the cell. Upon placing his hand on the bricks, they wavered like water, only to vanish completely, revealing Raylen’s mother seated on a chair with her hands bound behind her back and her legs tied.

"Mother..." Logan whispered, a spark of happiness briefly lighting up his remaining eye. However, that joy quickly dissipated when Raylen placed a hand on his mother’s shoulder, causing her to shiver.

"Mother dear, unfortunately, Logan’s actions have brought about consequences for which you will now have to suffer," Raylen smiled, walking around and positioning himself behind her.

"Please spare him, Raylen..." Raylen’s mother pleaded, her voice quivering. "He didn’t know better."

"You killed me because I am the Devil’s son, your own son. But Logan killed many innocent men and women, including children. Do you have anything to say to him?" Raylen tutted, placing his hands on either side of her shoulders.

"I did it to bring her back! Unlike you, who took her life!" Logan gritted his teeth, his anger palpable.

"You want to wash away your sins, don’t you, Mother?" Raylen asked his mother in a falsely sweet tone, but it appeared the woman could sense the underlying menace, leaving her terrified. "What if you had the opportunity to go to Heaven? You should side with the truth and justice you once stood for, hm? But because of Logan, that opportunity may slip away."

Emily watched Raylen’s mother in her complete form, unlike the skeletal version Logan had introduced her to. The woman appeared frightened to her very soul, as if she hadn’t had a moment of rest throughout her eternity in Hell. Her quivering lips parted, and she spoke to Logan, her voice shaky as she uttered,

"You shouldn’t have done that."

Logan’s eyebrows furrowed at his mother’s words. "Mother, I did it for you..."

"You shouldn’t have killed anyone! How dare you take lives to bring one person back and portray it as noble?" Their mother’s voice was laced with horror and disgust, leaving Logan shattered. "You are evil..."

"Don’t say that, Mother," Logan’s smile faltered. All this time, he had yearned for his mother’s acceptance and her undivided attention just on him, to be acknowledged. "I only wanted you back!!" His voice grew even louder than his mother’s, who turned her face away from him, as if she couldn’t bear to look at him.

Logan abruptly stood up and began to run towards the iron bars at the front of his cell, but they vanished into thin air. In an instant, Dante landed a forceful punch squarely in his face, eliciting a loud yelp. The next moment, Dante seized Logan by the neck, towering over him.

"You are going to pay for your sins, every single one of them," Dante declared sternly. "And when you come to your senses, you will be put through even greater torment for all eternity. Just like now." He positioned him so that they both faced the cell opposite them.

Logan watched his mother in fear, desperately wishing to help her, but he found himself rendered powerless by the Archdemon. He shouted, "Don’t hurt her!" At the same time, Raylen placed his hands on either side of their mother’s face.

But Raylen remained unmoved. The only person he cared about was Emily, and his cold blue eyes met hers, as if offering her a moment to turn or look away from the gore that was about to take place. However, Emily merely stared back at him, resolute.

The next moment, Raylen exerted a strength that only an archdemon could possess, squeezing his mother’s head with an unbearable force. Soon, the sound of her skull being crushed echoed through the air like crackling fire, and the woman screamed at the top of her lungs.

"AHHHHH!!"

"STOP!" Logan shouted, his voice filled with anguish at the gruesome sight.

But Logan remained immobilised, unable to break free from Dante’s ironclad grip. Dante’s voice took on an eerie tone as he asked, "You know what I learned during my years as an earthling? You should take care of yourself before you try to look out for someone else."

As Logan watched in horror, his mother’s body melted like wax before his lone eye, her screams echoing in his ears. In desperation, Logan attempted to break free from Dante’s grip, but it was pointless. Then, out of nowhere, he caught sight of the Archdemon’s other hand, which clutched a burning iron rod.

"Word has it that you had the habit of removing the organs of earthlings. Let us see how you feel about it when the same is done to you," Dante remarked, bringing the scorching iron rod close to Logan’s mouth. Logan screamed in protest as Dante forcefully shoved the rod into his mouth, which Logan swallowed whole.

Dante let go of Logan’s neck, stepping away from him and walking back to where his sister stood. Logan pounded his chest with both hands, desperate to remove the iron rod. His mouth opened in agony, wanting to rid himself of the burning metal, but the searing rod continued to melt his organs while his senses remained painfully alive. Though he wished to die at that moment, it was impossible to escape, as he had already crossed the threshold of death.

"Even if someone manages to let you out of here," Dante warned Logan, his red eyes turning fierce, "I want you to remember the excruciating agony that will consume your every moment from now on, before you even entertain the thought of harming a member of the Blackthorn or Storm family ever again."

The agonised screams of Raylen’s mother and brother joined the anguished cries that echoed throughout the place as they endured their suffering before each other.

Not too far from them, Aiden and Niyasa were led to another cell by Celeste, one with less intensity and suffering. freēnovelkiss.com

Celeste unlocked the cell before pushing open the iron door, which emitted a haunting creak. Inside the cell sat a weary-looking young man, his face etched with melancholy.

"Brother Maxwell!" Niyasa exclaimed, being the first one to enter the cell. Her footsteps were hurried, and she immediately put her arms around her brother, whom she had missed more than anyone. "I am finally able to see you! You are here!" She began to cry once more, this time with tears of relief and joy.

Maxwell appeared to be in a daze, struggling to comprehend what was happening or how to react. His gaze remained fixed on the wall, and he appeared thoroughly worn out.

Niyasa pulled away from her brother and turned to Celeste, asking, "Why isn’t he responding?"

Celeste replied in a calm and even voice, "The frequencies of punishment and pain still resonate in his soul from what he has endured."

"How long will it take for him to get better?" Aiden inquired.

"That’s right. We should take him back home. Mother will be ecstatic to see him," Niyasa exclaimed with excitement and hope in her voice.

"You cannot take him back right now," Celeste clarified, and before Niyasa could demand why not, the Archdemoness continued, "He cannot go back to the living realm in his current state. But there are ways to transform him into a full-fledged demon before he returns. I don’t know how much time it might take, as it varies for every individual."

Niyasa held Maxwell’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She said, "We will wait for you to come back home, Brother Maxwell."

And while everyone was occupied, Emily quietly left the cells where her soulmate and her brother were torturing the two sinful souls. She made her way to a specific cell, one she had intended to visit in Hell, one that was personal.

When she reached a cell with a number that had been mentioned to her by Viktor before they left the courtroom, she came to a stop. The cell belonged to none other than her former maid, Julia.

"You are here." The look in Julia’s eyes hardened. This only meant that her master, Logan, had been captured.

"Hello, Julia," Emily greeted her calmly. "I thought I would come see you in person."

Julia’s lips twitched, and she scoffed, "Here to see if I am being punished well? For killing and helping my master? You should know that there’s nothing that can hurt me anymore; I have left everything behind in the past."

Emily smiled at Julia. "I know that you are someone who doesn’t care about anything right now." She pulled out a glass vial from her pocket and tossed it into the cell, where it landed near Julia’s feet and shattered, releasing vapour. Emily continued, "Which is precisely why you should be taken back to the past, to the things you have forgotten."

"What is this?!" Julia demanded, her face warping in anger and confusion. When she turned her attention back to Emily, she saw the Princess staring right back at her.

"This is for all the souls you’ve taken and for Janelle," Emily declared, taking a step back before turning and walking away. As she neared the end of the passage, the sound of Julia’s anguished screams echoed behind her, the result of the hallucinations that had taken hold of her mind.

"No! NO! I didn’t—do anything!!" Julia’s desperate cries faded into the distance.

Emily didn’t look back, having no more words for the woman who had repeatedly betrayed her, as she had no intention of wasting her time. As she continued to walk, she eventually found Raylen waiting for her at the entrance of the building.

As she approached him, Raylen’s hand naturally found hers, and he asked warmly, "Ready to go home, my Princess?"

As Emily’s hand interlocked with Raylen’s, she replied, "Let us go home, Ray Ray."