An Evil Justice

SS #1 – Krampus’ Christmas Sin

Mature Warning- None

--* Soul Citadel, Underworld *--

A mysterious blue fog hung above the massive citadel. The sounds of merriment and joy were rampant within it, completely oblivious to a watching figure in the now frosty sky. On its head were two wicked horns that occasionally glowed red. In his withered hands was a long piece of paper with letters sloppily written all over it.

“Let’s see… Chronos huh?” the figure suddenly sighed, as if all of his energy was sapped away. Though he had finished his duty in the mortal world, Krampus was also assigned the job to give presents to the unusually festive demons of the Underworld. The only names remaining in his list consisted of the realm’s most troublesome individuals. The Seven Emissaries of Sin.

Though most of them were capable of controlling themselves from completely extinguishing his existence, some… just don’t.

Circles of black suddenly appeared underneath his hooves as he sped towards one of the tall towers that dotted the citadel. Staring at it, he could feel the lazy aura emanating from the building as if it was cursed with lethargy. Of course, it wasn’t the building with that aura, but his target, the Emissary of Sloth.

Cautiously, his sharp eyes scanned the tall tower as he steadily flew towards it. Created out of cracked, grayish bricks, it seemed almost brittle, yet he was not fooled by that façade. He knew of the Emissary of Sloth’s personality. A trickster. A completely vile trickster. Due to his mischievous actions, many of the other Emissaries constantly seek to punish him, yet the tower he had lived in stood gallantly, albeit quite worn.

“So, he just wants a clock?” Krampus muttered as he read the long list in his hand. With a wave of his furry arm, a golden clock materialized in front of him. Though apprehensive, he had to complete his job or the Saint would be disappointed. Flying slowly, the hesitant demon approached the tower, keeping a watchful eye out for any projectiles or rogue Emissaries of Sloth.

Soon, he reached one of the open windows that lead into the tower. Leaning inside, he looked around.

Quickly, his face scrounged up into disgust and pinched his nose with his left hand. Inside of the room were mountains of dirty clothes and dishes. Trash and uneaten food haphazardly dotted the dirty floor. In short, it was a disgusting mess.

“Ugh, why do I have to do this!? I’m only supposed to punish naughty children, not give demons gifts…” the poor man cried. Though, no matter how much he despised the situation, he had no choice.

Carefully stepping into the room, Krampus walked towards a distant shelf. Gently, he placed the golden clock on it and began to walk back towards the closed window.

‘Wait, closed?’ his mind blanked out.

“So, you’re finally here!” a youthful voice filled the room. Krampus suddenly felt a headache setting as he watched the teenager approach him confidently. He knew that the damn trickster would somehow screw him.

“If you want to get out alive, leave all the presents you have left,” a wild smile was plastered on the teenager’s face, chilling the Christmas demon’s spine.

“Sir Chronos, please be reasonable. These presents are for the other emissaries!” the man pled, kneeling down on his furry legs.

“I said… leave… the gifts!” Chronos’ hair suddenly turned white. The screeches of pain and torment quieted down as if they never happened. The sound of joy and merriment joined them in the abyss of silence. It was as if the world stood still.

‘Damn it!’ unwilling to lose his job, Krampus quickly ran towards the closed window and crashed directly into it. Tears welled up in his eyes as one of his horns shattered.

To his joy, the damned teenager never followed him, yet the chill in his spine never disappeared. Soon, the voices of merriment and pain erupted once again, as if nothing happened.

“Ugh, this is why I hate Christmas…” the demon sighed. Though he was met with misfortune, Krampus was dedicated to completing the job. Traveling in the air once more, the demon approached a desolate house near the edge of the citadel. Various broken dummies littered the quaint courtyard, along with worn weapons, massive boulders and other paraphernalia.

“Up next is the Emissary of Wrath, Grim Reaper…” after experiencing Chronos’ tricks, Krampus felt nervous meeting another emissary. This wouldn’t stop him, however.

“So, he wants a… 10 feet long sword?” he was stunned. The specifications of the weapon were simply terrifying and perhaps even crazy. With the metals used to forge it, the whole thing would weigh over ten tons. It was a miracle to even carry the object. Only now did the Christmas Demon truly appreciate his spatial storage.

Using his mind, he looked deep into the storage to find the stupidly large sword. Before he could do so, a muscular man exited the house and stared up at him.

“So, are you Krampus?” the man called out with his incredibly deep and gruff voice. The two crimson eyes chilled the demon to the bone, which only added to the terrible feeling Krampus felt from before.

“Ah, yes sir!” not wanting to face the man much longer, Krampus’ mind rapidly scoured the storage hidden in his body. Though his stunning black fur hid most of his body, the muscular man was able to see it turn an intense color of red. Feeling something amiss, the man asked “The sword?”.

“Sorry, sir, I’m trying to find it...” sweat began to drip down the furry demon’s back. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find anything. The sword somehow disappeared, along with the remaining presents.

“Erm… Sir, I’m afraid that…” he was too nervous. Many demons commented that the Emissary of Wrath was completely different compared to the Prince of Wrath, due to the fact that he never acted out in anger.

Instead of a pale muscular man standing beneath him, a dark figure stood in his place. The wisps of smoke that would flare up from the abyssal cloak and the chilling flames on its neck and right arm completely terrified him. “Sir Grim! I-I apologize, I’m sure that- Ah!” the circle underneath the demon quickly grew larger and generated more outer layers as he flew away quickly.

“Shit, shit, shit! Where did the gifts go?!” the demon screamed out in fury and nervousness. As he was flying, dark flames would occasionally speed pass him, chilling him to the bones. Without looking back at the terrifying ghost chasing him, Krampus wracked his mind.

“Where… where could they be...? Wait… It’s that damn Emissary of Sloth!” regret was the only thing in his head. If it weren’t for that damn trickster, he could have finished the job already and gone home.

No matter how much he tried to explain it to the reaper behind him, the shade refused to listen.

Around the citadel, multiple emissaries sat in their beds, patiently waiting for their gifts, excited to see the Christmas Krampus.

…

“Gaah! I hate Christmas!” a distant voice screeched.

Inside of the worn tower, a teenager sat on random miscellaneous objects. To his side was a massive sword that threatened to break the floor with its weight.

“Hahaha! I love Christmas,” the teenager laughed. In his hand was a cracked horn, which he twirled expertly.

'Merry Christmas'.