Humans were extinct.

That was the truth written into the bones of the world. A fact repeated by the Council, sung by the angels, carved into every remnant of divine order. And Gabriel had never doubted it. Why would he?

His blade cut through another demon with practiced grace, the holy steel slicing cleanly as the creature split apart into viscera and dissolving flesh. The chamber echoed with the sound of dying screams, quickly swallowed by the endless architecture of Hell.

Another monster fallen. Another room cleansed. Another task carried out in the name of Heaven. Just another errand. That was what this had become. Layer after layer. Hall after hall. Endless vermin to exterminate.

Gabriel moved forward without hesitation, sword resting loosely in his hand as golden light flickered along its edge. The corpses behind him had already begun to rot into the floor.

And behind him—

Footsteps. Soft. Uneven. Mortal.

Gabriel had noticed them long ago.

At first, he assumed it was some pathetic trick. Hell was filled with creatures eager to deceive, desperate to survive the wrath of Heaven's will.

But illusions did not breathe. Illusions did not bleed. Illusions did not stumble so clumsily through the corpses of demons.

A human. Absurd.

Humans were extinct. They had been wiped from creation long before this age of ruin had begun.

And yet… The creature persisted.

Following him through chambers of slaughter as though it were nothing more than a stray animal trailing after a storm.

Gabriel did not acknowledge it. Why would he? The human posed no threat. No challenge. No significance.

It simply existed in the same way dust existed—present, but hardly worthy of attention.

Another demon lunged.

Gabriel's blade flashed.

The creature died before its claws could even reach him.

Silence returned once more as the last enemy collapsed, its body dissolving into the gore-stained stone beneath their feet.

The room was cleared.

Gabriel rolled his shoulder slightly, flicking demon blood from his sword in a single practiced motion.

Behind him, he could still hear the faint sounds of movement.

The human again, no doubt.

Perhaps inspecting the corpses.

Pointless.

Human bodies were fragile things. Their stomachs would never survive demon flesh.

Gabriel stepped forward toward the next doorway, voice calm and distant as he spoke — not really to the human, but into the empty air of the chamber itself.

"Pathetic creatures."

A quiet pause followed. Then he continued walking. And if the human followed again?

Gabriel made no effort to stop them.