Rocco's face twisted, grief and disbelief tangled together. "Boss… what are you doing here?"

Old Man Baro's brow furrowed, his tone clipped. "I could ask you the same. You… died?"

Rocco lowered his head, voice breaking. "Unfortunately, yes. After you passed… there was war. Us and the Gallucci's." His hands trembled as he spoke. "A bullet to my head... one moment I'm bleeding out on the street, the next I'm here. Ragged clothes. Orange sky. Dry throat. And a note in my hand telling me my 'destiny.'"

Baro shook his head slowly, the weight of old names pulling down his shoulders.

Rocco blinked hard, his breath hitching as he searched Baro's face with trembling wonder. "But you… boss, how are you here? Dio mio… you look just the same as back on Earth, before you passed." His eyes darted toward Renny, suspicion flashing. "That demon... he's the one who brought you here? To join us?"

Renny raised an eyebrow, lips curling into a grin. "Oh… Your boss is a demon too."

Rocco's jaw slackened. "Unbelievable…" His knees gave out, and he crumpled at Baro's feet, clutching at his leg like a drowning man. "Boss, per favore! Save me from this torment. This place, this hell, it's unbearable!"

Baro exhaled through his nose, rough and steady, then bent to haul Rocco upright by the arm. He cuffed him lightly on the back of the head. "Stand firm, ragazzo. Why you lettin' hell shake you so bad, eh?"

Rocco's voice cracked, eyes darting into the rolling fog. "They… they torture us. Every time it gets foggy like this. Those of us in the Seventh Gate... we're whipped, broken, never left in peace. That thing the demon caught earlier... that was one of them. One of the lashers."

"The Seventh Gate?" Renny frowned, confused. "Wait, I thought this was just Drosvale."

"It is," Rocco said, clutching his chest, "but Drosvale's divided, boss. Seven gates. Seven layers. And each one's got its own torment." His voice dropped, trembling. "We tried to escape, we tried a hundred times. But every time we reach the signpost… something comes. A flying beast. Swoops down, drags us back. Always back."

Renny narrowed his eyes. "So that creature was in charge of this place too?"

Rocco gave a stiff nod. "Si. The Sentinel. Very powerful. He alone rules the Seventh Gate... makes sure no soul escapes."

Renny tilted his head, thoughtful. "Sentinel, huh… Could it be this Maeril? You ever heard that name?"

At the mention, Rocco's eyes widened like a child hearing the voice of God. "Of course. Mother Maeril. She rules the Seventh Gate. When the fog rolls in, she tends to the Limbomites... feeds them…"

Baro's face hardened, lines deepening across his brow. "Feeds them? Even in Hell the tortured souls eat?"

Rocco nodded miserably. "Si, boss. But it's no blessing. The hunger never ends. No matter how much we eat, the emptiness stays. It's part of the torment."

Renny folded his arms, his tone flat. "So how do we find her?"

"When the fog clears," Rocco said, voice low, "the town becomes bare. You'll see everything then. I can take you straight to her. To Mother Maeril."

A heavy silence followed his words. Even the fog seemed to thicken, pressing closer as though it had overheard. Baro and Rocco began trading fragments of memory... half laughs and half curses at names from the old world.

Renny, meanwhile, stayed quiet. His arms folded, his stare fixed on the fog's shifting edge. The Sentinel's name hung in his mind like a hook he couldn't shake. If one being could cage an entire gate of souls… what other horrors lay chained deeper in Hell?

After a while, the fog began to thin, pulling back like a curtain. Shapes emerged, crooked huts, sagging shacks, and the broken bones of streets that had once been whole. The town revealed itself in patches, gray and sickly, its silence broken only by the shuffle of weary feet.

A line of people had formed, dozens of them, maybe more, all moving slowly toward a wide, splintered doorway at the base of a looming house. Their bodies bore fresh welts, their backs hunched and trembling.

Renny's brow furrowed. "Why are they all headed in there?"

Rocco followed his gaze and lowered his voice. "To see Mother Maeril. She serves food when the fog lifts. Keeps them alive."

"Then that's where we're going," Renny said. He motioned to Baro, and without hesitation the two of them slipped into the line close to the entrance. Rocco hesitated, nerves twitching in his jaw, but in the end he trailed after them.

The line stirred. A gaunt man ahead of them muttered under his breath, loud enough to carry. "Always the same, always waiting… beaten half to death, more waiting. And now... hah!... newcomers cutting in?" His voice rose, bitter and raw. "I've had enough of this! Who do they think they are?"

Another voice, from just behind him, rasped with suspicion. "Look at them. Suits. Clean faces. They don't even look like us. They look… human. Brought down fresh from Earth, maybe."

The first man couldn't contain himself. Curiosity and anger mixed in his face as he edged closer. He jabbed a finger at Baro's chest. "I haven't seen you before. New, are you? New Limbomites? How in Hell do you still look this good?"

Before Renny could reply, Rocco's voice cut through, sharp with warning. "William. Don't bother them. They're not like us."

William turned his head, glaring. "Then what are they, eh? That they can just cut in line like kings."

Baro lifted his gaze. The dark markings spread like ink around his eyes, his stare slicing into William. "Demons."

The word hit harder than a whip crack. William staggered back, hands raised, face draining of all defiance. "S-sorry. I didn't mean… I wasn't…" His voice collapsed into stammers. "Please, forgive me. Please don't punish me."

Renny gave a short shake of his head. "Relax. Nothing like that will happen."

But Baro's stare didn't waver. His voice was low, heavy with menace. "Don't be so sure."

William's knees buckled. He bowed himself backward, retreating to his place in line with his friend, who pulled him close like a man shielding another from fire.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.