Ireland,
Present time

"Isn't this a sight to behold. My daughter laying naked with a human in the middle of nowhere."

The guttural voice snapped Tara out of her light sleep and the comfiness of Marcus' chest- it wasn't so much the tone what had woken her but the newcomer's stifling dark aura. Her bright red orbs wandered into the foggy forest until they landed upon a figure enveloped by mist.

Three pairs of horns, a thin harpoon-tip tail like hers, and two big bat wings greeted her as its owner watched her from afar.

"I thought I had taught you better, r'graití. You know laying with humans affects your magic."

A low guttural sound started in Tara's throat as her eyes narrowed and she slipped away from Marcus. The man stirred in time to watch her manifest a black sleeveless dress with matching leather corset to cover her nakedness.

"You don't have the right to come and tell me what to do, not after what you did to mom!" Tara's blood began to heat once again, causing the nearby mist to dissipate. This time, though, she didn't bother to control it. "How did you find me anyway?"

Her father's eerie white irises fell upon Marcus and a smirk curved his lips, the forest around them darkening in response. "How else, yeara remir? Your dear mortal helped me."

The Italian stiffened as the weight of the stares crashed over him and he scrambled to his feet, using his shirt to cover his manly bits. "I... I thought... Do you hate each other?"

Tara's face imitated a detach ice sculpture, so it was Marcus' disembodied-voice-now-corporeal friend the one who answered. "She is the one holding a grudge for something I never did." He sighed deeply. "Despite the popular opinion about my heart, I do want to reconnect with my daughter."

Marcus, who had managed to tie his shirt around his waist like a loincloth, froze at that bit of information and his dark gaze landed over his witch. The ice appeared to melt from her features giving way for dancing hell flames in the depths of her eyes as she faced her father.

"Hell will freeze over before I reconnect with you!" Tara spat venomously at the demon and, taking a deep breath, turned to her lover. "And you, how could you?" she said in a low, calm tone, but her rigid muscles and flaming eyes betrayed her true feelings.

"Tara, please, try to understand me. You told me not to search for you anymore and dumped me at Vergil's place. I was desperate and he seemed to know you from birth," Marcus pointed at the dark creature, who watched the whole exchange with a bemuse smile on his lips as if he was greatly enjoying their show. "I only wanted to see you again."

"So, you made a pact with a demon?"

Cold dread ran down his back as she confirmed his earlier suspicions. His head went back and forth from the alleged demon and its daughter. "But... I thought you were a witch. What are you exactly, Tara?"

She watched him with a pained expression before the feeling wash away from her perfect face and she lifted her chin in defiance. "A hybrid. I'm the daughter of a witch and her patron demon." Gesturing at the hellspawn that now stood closer with a flick of her wrist, she continued, "My father is none other than Lucifer's firstborn."

If the mobster could get any paler, he would be a corpse. "Lucifer as in..."

"The Devil," she answered with a flat tone.

"Great, fucking great, Marcus! You just banged the devil's granddaughter." He berated himself, making some nearby birds take flight, before turning to his hellish pal. "Now what? Am I going to be tortured in hell for having sex with a demon princess?"

"Grand duchess." Tara corrected. "Father is the one with the title of crown high prince."

Marcus laughed halfheartedly but she ignored him to face her father.

"Just spit out what you want and go, dad," the witch said in a tired voice, pulling Marcus away from the crown prince of Hell.

"It's time you stop fooling around in the mortal world and come back home, r'graití." The demonic royal spoke in a soft tone, which clashed with his fearsome physical appearance. "Humanity is on the brink of destruction now that the first seal is broken. You'll be safer in Hell."

The previous anger melted from Tara's face as it was replaced by surprise. If her father's words were true that meant...

She turned back to Marcus and her bright red eyes welled up with crystalline tears as her clawed, white hand reached up to cup his cheek.

"What did he mean, Tary? Why are you crying?" Marcus whispered, putting a hand over hers on his cheek. "Does this have to do with me summoning him?"

She shook her head and the tears spilled down her cheeks. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm crying because if dad is right, the biblical apocalypse has begun."

His chocolate eyes went wide and the hand holding hers fell limp to his side. He stepped back, widening the distance between them until her clawed fingers no longer touched his skin. Tara's face twisted in pain as if he had plunged a knife in her heart, but he needed the space, he needed to breathe. The news were just too much.

Judgement Day was coming.

The phrase was no longer the ramblings of beggars or lunatics on the street, it was real, as real as the demons in front of him.

Marcus' knees shook and before his brain could process what was happening, his legs buckled under his weight, sending him ass first to the ground. Somehow, the shirt around his waist loosened, giving a front row view of his soft dick to his girlfriend and her father.

Turning lobster red, Marcus rushed to cover himself with the shirt once again. Why were things like this always happening to him? Was making a fool of himself his only purpose in life?

From behind Tara, the demon crown prince sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose with his clawed fingers. "I'm tired of seeing your body, mortal. You're not my type," he sneered at the same time that he snapped his fingers and clothes instantly covered his daughter's human boy toy. "Now you're decent enough to be in my presence."

The arrogance in that statement made Marcus' blood boil. The fucking bastard was looking down on him again.

Marcus glanced down at his body to find himself dressed in black slacks with a matching long-sleeved shirt and a brown silk vest with thin golden lines. Complimenting the devil's taste in his mind, he stood up before arching a dark eyebrow at the demon. "You didn't mention I had to have a dress code when we made our deal."

The dark creature chuckled, and his lips curved in an evil smile. "Are you angry, little man?" he asked with a gleam in his golden streaked white irises as he unleashed half of his dark aura.

The prince had to give the half-foot shorter male credit, though. Even under the effects of a high demon lord's aura, the human's pupils dilated, sweat started to gather on his brow and he fell over one knee, but his gaze never wavered away from the darkspawn's.

"I like you, mortal. You're fierce when you need to be, now I see why my bastard half brother keeps you around." The demon crown prince laughed out loud, chilling the forest, and bringing utter silence to the nature around them. But at the look of utter bewilderment on Marcus' face he continued with wicked glee, "You didn't know? Vergil Larsa is..."

"Father, please!" Tara interrupted him. "Let his mind rest before dropping another bomb on him!"

Faced with the fact that people were hiding stuff from him once again, Marcus clenched his fists and was about to give the demons in front of him a piece of his mind when his cellphone stated ringing. Fear from Creed filled the silence in the Irish cold forest.

Perfect! The asshole is going to hear me.

Putting the phone against his ear, Marcus answered, "Why the hell am I the last one to know you're a fucking demon?"

Silence came from the other end until the gruff voice of a beast replied, "Then you know exactly what you are pissing off right now! Talk to me that way again and there's not going to be left a piece of you for wild beasts to feed on."

"Vergil..."

"Stop your whining and fucking listen to me, Marcus!" his boss yelled, making the human pull the phone away from his ear. "Mina and Arian were kidnapped by the Yakuzas! So now things are personal."

Things were personal since you killed Yamaguchi Isao. But he wisely kept his thoughts to himself and said, "You owe me an explanation when this war ends but for now... What is my mission, boss?"

"Akito wants us in exchange for Mina but I'm no fool. He will kill you and her the moment we arrive so you're not part of this mission, Marcus. Did you hear me?"

Once again he was been left out. Once again he was treated as a weakling just for being human. Underestimated for not having power.

Marcus' jaw tightened as he smashed his teeth together. "You can't leave me out of this. Mina has become like a sister to me! I want to help you!"

An annoyed sigh sounded at the other end of the line. "Don't you see I'm trying to protect you?"

"I don't need you protecting me, Vergil! I'm a fucking grown man that is fully capable of protecting himself!"

"Yeah, the same man that was almost killed by Akito's new friends twice already. Face it, Marcus, you'll just put your life and others in danger if you keep trying to help," Vergil said in his characteristic cold tone. "I'm guessing Ashtarae is with you?"

"Yes, along with her dad. You didn't tell me I was banging your niece," Marcus replied through gritted teeth.

"Baphomet is here on the human plane?" The demon mob boss' surprise rang throughout the surrounding still forest. "Marcus, you mustn't..."

Before Vergil could finish whatever warning he meant to deliver, the cellphone flew out of the mobster's hands and crashed against the trunk of a huge pine tree, breaking into pieces almost instantly. Confused by what had just happened, the human looked at Tara, who in turn glared at her father.

"My half brother was going to fill your head with lies about me." Baphomet, Crown High Prince of Hell and Patron of Witchcraft said with an unapologetic look on his face. "I helped you and revealed to you the hidden truths while he has lied to you for so many years. You shouldn't listen to him anymore."

Biting her lips in an effort to contain herself, Tara glared at the ground as her whole body went rigid. Even after four centuries her father was the same manipulative and self-centered motherfucker that she always knew he was. "It's obvious nothing has changed with you," the witch whispered, making the air around her sizzle as the temperature rose. The wind picked up speed, lifting her strawberry blond waves in the air, and her red eyes gave off a fiery afterglow. "Leave now."

Marcus took some steps away from the woman as the heat continue to grow. If she didn't calm down, he bet she was very capable of burning down the forest and everything in it.

Seeing how some words had shattered the small trust he had regained with his daughter, Baphomet sighed and conceded the fight. At least for the moment. "I'll go for now but since the contract isn't fulfilled, I get to stay around." He looked at Marcus and a smirk curved his lips. "The time will come when you'll need me, daughter, and you know what I'll ask in exchange."

Perched on the rooftop of what humans called a skyscraper, he looked over the bustling city with narrowed eyes. The place cried out to him like a wounded animal, his heart yearning to share his healing knowledge with those in need. But that wasn't the only reason he was in New York, surrounded by enemies from both sides of the chessboard. No, it wasn't because of something altruistic like healing humans, he was there for himself. He was in that sin-infested city because it was the only way for the pull in his soul to subside.

Once, he had been a holy warrior devoted to His service and those under His care, but that being was no more. In his stead, stood a creature neither light nor dark that was shunned by both sides.

Walking away from the edge of the building, the tips of his black feathers caressing the floor with each step, the fallen gazed up towards the dark purple sky. No stars or clouds adorned it as his eyes narrowed once again. "Why did you brought me here?" he asked to the dark void above him. "What are you planning to take from me now?"

The pull in his soul intensified in response and the fallen looked over his shoulder at the human metropolis. The tugging sensation came from a specific point, one that was impregnated with the heavy stench of demons.

It wasn't a wise idea to go there but he had no choice. Otherwise he would lose his mind to the needy pull.

*******************
A/N: The pic is a representation of the pact between Marcus and Baphomet.

Here are the translation for the demonic words used in the chapter.

1- yeara remir= sweet sin
2- r'graití= my girl or my little girl

Song: Fear by Creed