In a place between the between, on a highway drives a truck. In that truck two people are sitting, one is a man driving while the other is doing a double-take reading a clipboard.

“A demon lord?” She read the clipboard again, before turning to the man, “You can't be serious!”

The man shrugged holding back laughter at her reaction, “Sometimes we do these kinds of runs too.”

The woman thought she knew what this job was all about now, but seeing this order through a wrench in everything, “But I thought we were trying to save worlds from the chaos not help it?”

The man let out the chuckle he’d been holding back, “This is different.”

The woman was getting angry at the man’s callousness, “How? It's killing off a bunch of people.”

The man stopped his little chuckle getting more serious, “Actually, and I think I've told you this before, demons are just another natural species. Albeit a bit more...” The man was searching for a word.

“Evil.” The woman supplied.

“I would say angry, or hormonal. Kinda like a teenager, but all the time.”

A shiver went up the woman’s spine imagining an entire species of teenagers, all the pettiness, all the sudden emotional changes, the overall horniness, and suddenly demons made too much sense. But she still gave the man a confused look willing him to continue.

“As to why we are delivering one.” The man picked up on her silence, “This is because the demons in their world are starting to get pushed onto an inevitable decline and eventual extinction, and their demon’s God doesn't want that.”

“So we are essentially outing a hero, just not on the traditional side.”

“Correct!” The man tapped his nose.

The woman thought this was an interesting solution until a glaring problem stood out, “But won't that make it go the other way with humans?”

“It might. I think the pantheon wants the species to strike a balance, the demons aren't evil just hot-headed.”

“I could see how conflict could happen.” Imagine how easy it was for a teenager to hold a grudge, or just dislike someone for no reason.

“Sometimes there's actual peace between the species, but it's the same for many different species, not just demons. There is almost always a conflict between the two when it is easy to point out their difference.” The man explained.

The woman began to ponder, starting to look at demons in a different light, “So what kind of person do you make a demon?”

——

In a place of cold, on a small blue marble, where the first people to enter the void, a man stands on the corner of a street in the cold morning. It is a Tuesday, and like every Tuesday the man stands on the corner waiting.

The corner the man stands is in a place no police ever come, and one where one must be cautious, always looking over their shoulder. Except for this man as he waits for his contact never looking anywhere, but down at his phone. Those in the area knew the man and knew to never bother him. The man was playing a game, as he waited to guide a kingdom to victory, or at least trying to as his opponent suddenly releases a premium item destroying almost all of his troops. “Dammit.”

The man was frustrated but played on eventually causing a stalemate between the two when someone walks up shoving a piece of paper in his hand, as they walk by never stopping. The man finished his game before heading out.

The man dreads what is on the paper, but he had made a deal. He would do what he was told and when this mission was done the deal would be finally completed. On the paper, the man found an address, no name just an address, and the man readied his tools to take out the target.

The targets were usually gangsters or druggies unable to pay. But other times they were men who fell on bad times and double-cross his boss.

The man didn't have time to care about there lives he was taking. He knew that if he didn't end them, someone else in the organization would. That's at least what the man told himself as he made his way to the address.

The procedure was the target would be there at a certain time. He was to take out the second person to enter the building. The employer didn’t care how the target died just that it happened.

The man found a spot on a roof with a visual of the building and waited, never knowing exactly when they would show. It wasn't until late at night when the world went below freezing when he saw the door open. A man in a suit, followed by a woman in a suit, and a few other people enter. He readied his weapon waiting a few minutes, letting them all get comfortable before firing.

He knew why they did it like this. To strike fear into the heart of all its members to keep them in line. They all knew that this woman did something to betray the organization, it was a statement, that someone was always watching.

The man lined up his shot and fired. The woman fell to the ground dead, as the woman fell the man moved to grab his spent casing and quickly made his way off the roof and out of the area calmly. He moved to make his way home taking a couple of securities routes and ready to grab his already packed luggage.

The man opens the door only to be greeted by the sounds of a gun and a bullet to the gut. The man looks up, not surprised but oddly calm seeing the man he had made a deal with all those years ago. The man looks at the boss, and curiously asks, “Why?” Much to calmly.

The boss sneered and laughed, “Did you think you could really be free.” He says holding up a ticket.

The man laughed seeing what he was hoping was going to be his retirement, “Ha, was gonna try.”

“You see, you were my property the moment the deal was made, and as soon as the deal ends I get to decide what to do with you.” The boss leaned forward and angrily adds, “Not you.

“Fuck you.” The man flips the boss off.

The boss lets out a sigh, “You see I'm disappointed, I actually was going to let you go.”

“No, you weren't.” The man knew the boss would have never let him go, he was too good at his job.

“True but we could have altered the deal. You'd didn't have to die like a dog.”

“You’re the one who’s a bitch.”

Another gunshot hit the man in the head, and he fell over dead.

The boos looked down annoyed at the man’s dead body. “Why did you have to do that. I wanted to have more fun.” He kicked the dead man in the gut.

——

Somewhere far off in a distant world, a man begins to wake up.

‘Darkness.. darkness, warmth and comfort’ are the man’s first thoughts feeling his surrounding.

‘Where am I? Am I dead? I should be dead. He shot me in the gut and head?’ The man’s mind flew through man's thoughts.

‘Am I in the hospital?’ No, I don't feel an IV.’ Then realized, ‘I don't feel much except warmth.’ The man’s mind faded again for a time. Before he woke again..this time seeing a small light in the darkness.

‘What's this?’ The man began to move towards the light, trying to reach it. He thought it just felt right. He reached the light finding the exit to small darkness.

He pushed and fell to the waiting arms of someone. Someone giant. The man tried to struggle away but found he couldn't control his limbs, and quickly found them stubby and short. “The fuck is going on” He tried to say but nothing came out except a cry.

The man looked around only seeing green blurs. ‘I think I'm a baby, shit I've reincarnated.’ The newly born babe tried to look around but his eyes wouldn't focus. All around the child he could hear people talking without understanding a single word. He found the voices short and quick to shift in tone. Despite the changes, the child felt happiness and joy when his mother snatched him away, to her chest. That's when the child got a good look at his mother. Green skin, big ears, and sharp teeth, but still pretty, ‘I'm a fucking goblin.’