Rise Of Hades' Hellborn: Trumpets Of The Damned

The Paragon Initiative

“ Run! Myles run!” His mother said as she let out a thirteen year old Myles through the window, the growl in the background grew louder. 

Then the sound of something crashing reached his ears…

Myles jolted awake.

No slow easing into consciousness—he never had that luxury.

For him, waking was instant. The second his eyes opened, sleep was obliterated.

A knock echoed through the apartment.

He swung out of bed and headed downstairs. A quick glance through the peephole showed Louise—his broker, dressed in his usual beige coat and unbothered expression.

Myles opened the door and headed straight to the living room. “ Hey kid” Louise grinned. 

“Hey Louise, How’re the kids?” Myles asked, his tone unreadable.. “They’re great! Hadley got into college. Little Alex just turned five—birthday party last week. Princess-themed. You’d have hated it.” He chuckled.

“ Great to hear” Myles drawled. Louise’s smile thinned as he placed a silver briefcase on the center table. “I’ve got a new mission. If you’re up for it.”

“ Shoot”

“ It entails a sweet demon killing and trust me it's gonna be worth your time” Louise said and flipped open the locks on it. 

Myles grey eyes narrowed while he carefully opened it. The interior of the case was filled with cash, he picked up a bundle and ran a finger over its edge. 

He cocked an eyebrow at Louise. “That’s the first half,” Louise said. “My cut’s already out—clean payout. All that’s left is the kill.”

“ The last mission you sent me on got me killed -nearly. This one’s paying triple. So… what aren’t you saying?”

Louise raised both hands. “Hey, I’d never intentionally throw you into a suicide mission. You know that.”

Myles smirked. “Yeah. Just accidentally.”

Louise gave him a dry look.

Myles slapped the case shut. “Alright then. Let’s go hunting.”

[Paragon HQ: Undisclosed Location]

A high-level meeting was already underway.

Around the table sat the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and Major General of Paragon. Two major investors watched silently, expressions tight.

Adam Sandler—Director of Paragon Operations—stepped forward and clicked a button. A projector whirred to life.

“ Greetings gentlemen, First I'd like to clarify that hell is real, first actual encounter with it was recorded in 1995” Adam Sandler announced and clicked on a slide on the film projector in the room. 

“This was a demon successfully eliminated by James Townsend and Steve Sandler—our founding agents. They formed what would become Earth’s first line of defense: Paragon.”

“ You can't be serious, demon?” The vice president said in disbelief. “ Vice, the paragon officers have intercepted over a hundred demons over the years that I know of, so take it from me that he's very serious.” The president said. 

“ So what has this got to do with us” one of the investors asked. 

“Yesterday, a classified artifact was stolen from one of our covert branches,” Sandler said grimly. “The kill pattern matches an attack a few months ago at Area 51. DNA traces confirm our fear—it was a demon.”

“ You have DNA samples?” The secretary of defense sputtered “ Yes, unless trained an average brute always leaves a trail at the scene of the crime” Sandler explained. “ So with a demon, that fights with brute force but no strategy one could expect to find a lot of trails—skin flakes, blood, sometimes sulfuric excretions. They’re messy. Brutal. We’ve catalogued dozens of identifiers.”

“ Lord have mercy” The vice president stuttered obviously shaken. “ What was stolen exactly?” An investor asked. 

Sandler hit play.

The screen showed grainy, low-light security footage. It wasn’t clear, but it didn’t need to be. What the footage lacked in resolution, it made up for in horror.

Any spot of the floor that wasn't littered with bodies was painted crimson from the blood splashed around them. 

A bull-like demon charged through what was left of the guards, impaling one, crushing another underfoot, and ripping through a third with horrifying precision.

Some of the men shifted uncomfortably in their seat and others covered their mouth at the death their soldiers experienced. One of the investors actually exited the room with an urge to retch when a spotted the bull slashing at a soldier.

He'd followed the line of symmetry and cut the soldier into exactly two similar parts. 

The next scene showed a cloaked figure with a sword. “ The fury of the demon sage arcturus!”  A little fast-forward showed them the quick slaughter he meted out to the guards who tried to stop him. 

“ In the book of revelations, there was a story of the seven trumpets now I find that story most adept. But what if they aren't exactly trumpets. An Armageddon is coming but If you want to stop a demon, find the hunter or remain frozen in your reality” the cloaked figure said in a foreboding monotone.

The projected video hit end leaving many of them shaken, except the president whose face was an expressionless mask. 

The video had to end before the vice and many others realized they've been holding their breath.

“ Holy grail! Excuse me general Sandlers but who do you work for exactly?” The vice president asked. 

“ I work for Pre Apocalyptic Response Guild Operations Nest. Paragon for short” Sandler said with a grin. 

“ Wait, let me get this straight.” the secretary of defense muttered with a blink. “ The demon had said “ if you want to stop the demon, find the hunter or remain frozen in your reality” what does that mean?”

“ Theoretical scientists at Paragon believe it’s a clue. Either a taunt—or a warning.

Which means we need to find a demon hunter, and fast. My agents are already scanning known databases.”

“ Any answers on why?” The vice president asked. “ Nothing yet mr vice president but we're working on it” 

“Then tell your people to scour every inch of ground,” the President ordered.

“And apprehend any potential hunters. We need names, trails, and targets.

The world’s about to go biblical, gentlemen.”

He stood, voice low but thunderous with purpose.“ The word of God has been proven with only undisputable evidence, hell is real, the Armageddon is coming and we're the only ones given the power to stop it” He declared.