In the middle of nowhere, in the forest of Finland. The Butterfly Legion known as the Hell Blasters set up a perimeter around where they expected a portal from Hell to conjure into existence. Every soldier was cold, sluggish, and barely recovered from their New Year’s party. Except for one of them.

Irene, the leader of the unit, groaned after he rubbed his eyes. He pulled out a cigar, cut the end off, and smoked it to wake himself up. No one wanted to be in the middle of the woods and covered in snow while they waited for the demon to emerge from the portal that would appear in an hour or two.

‘Irene!’ Operator Crystal called out through the intercom. ‘When will the demon get here?’

Irene rolled his eyes, ‘shit man, I don’t know.’ He lied, annoyed that she didn’t pay attention when they were all briefed. ‘Does anyone remember when they are meant to be here?’ Irene joked.

Operator Alaksiej snickered over the intercom. ‘Yesterday, from what I heard.’

‘Piss off, Alak!’ Crystal responded. ‘You were asleep during the entire thing; you didn’t hear shit.’

‘And you didn’t pay attention. Did Jene turn you stupid or something last night?’

Jene gawked, ‘excuse me! What is that supposed to mean?’

Irene took a puff of his cigar with a smile to enjoy every second as the chatter over the radio devolved into petty insults. But it was controlled, he needed them to be entertained while they waited. He didn’t want them to sleep when the demon or demons did arrive. Nor could he keep them awake by individually checking on them, as for the case of dealing with demons entering Earth, he would need to be the first to greet them and to determine if they were friendly. A risky job, but necessary as he was the first line of diplomacy and defence.

‘… I swear to God you are just born to be paddled to death.’ Alaksiej mocked Crystal.

‘That unibrow of yours is more united than Germany.’

‘Fotze!’

Jene chuckled, ‘were you from Bonn or Berlin? I keep forgetting?’

‘Hey, hey! Leave the German alone.’ Operator Dil chimed in; his intent however was not pure. ‘They don’t have a sense of humour. Remember, he was the guy that insisted that we get here on time.’

‘Oh yeah, I remember that.’ Jene grumbled.

Operator Howard smiled and spoke into the intercom for the first time. ‘Chicken burger!’

Everyone chuckled and cheered in unison. ‘Fuck yeah, chicken burger!’

Irene smirked as his team collectively settled down after their verbal jousting. He looked at his watch to see that he still had time left before the portal opened. Bored, he flipped through his notebook till he found his roll call page. There was always a problem with being a part of the Butterfly Legion or the Disposal Unit, and that was everyone’s short life expectancy. Other than Irene and Howard, everyone else was only in the unit for no longer than 3 years each. Irene was only part of the unit for almost 7 years, while Howard was part of the unit for 15 years. Hell Blasters were never regarded as the most dangerous unit to be a part of, but the threats they had to negotiate and combat against are a species and people who would be forever constant. Demons would never go extinct, not when they were part of the magical ecosystem. A unit that on paper is blessed to never be classed extinct for its importance, but some would consider cursed to forever fight no matter what.

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Hiding behind the shield of his 50cal machinegun, Alaksiej was the unit’s heavy weapons specialist. A former East German soldier, he joined the unit after an altercation with a demon from Broken Ark. The demon butchered his entire unit when it escaped Hell Blaster custody near where he was training. It was there he was recruited after he successfully killed the demon. Alaksiej is the strongest compared to others, except compared to Irene.

Out west was Jene, the youngest of the unit. She joined the Hell Blasters through the Hunter’s Recruitment Program in 2013, she wasn’t particularly special, but she had good enough marks to be considered recruitable. Yet she excelled in one thing, and that is creativity. Capable of coming up with solutions to difficult problems or formulating plans on how best to take down difficult opponents, her creativity made up for her lack of experience. But her lack of experience doesn’t make her strength outshine Irene’s innovative thinking.

On top of the mountain looking down the scope of his Barrett, Dil was the designated marksman. A Pakistani farmer who joined the unit after he survived a demon attack. It was not clear why the demon attacked his village, nor was it known how Dil survived the altercation. Dil wasn’t his real name, except it was his call sign that he later adopted. The only reason he signed up for the Hell Blasters unit was the prospect of killing more demons. But even when he is the best shot, he isn’t as good as Irene.

Behind a tree up north is Crystal, the unit’s designated mage. She wrote a paper on the theoretical application of Angelic and Demonic magic in combat and civilian situations. Her intelligence made her the perfect candidate for mandatory service in the Butterfly Legion. While her speciality is magic identification and not so much on combat spells. She was important to the team for she was the one capable of countering any Demonic spell and magical fortifications. However, she isn’t as intelligent as Irene.

Standing next to Irene, stood Howard. Not much is known about him besides having Down Syndrome. His records were kept under lock and key, even Irene was forbidden to learn more about Howard and his past, only given information about his diagnosis and disability. A selective mute, he served the unit for the longest time and survived missions that would have any regular man killed. The only reason he was not in charge was because he couldn’t communicate, which was also the only advantage Irene had over Howard. Howard was the unit’s champion, a soldier who excelled in every field, and an example for others to follow. If the Order would name an honorary award after someone, it would no doubt be Howard himself.

They all waited their weapons at the ready to give the demon an Earthly welcoming party. Irene took a puff of his cigar one last time as red sparks formed around the snow. Finally, I was suspecting that they were going to be later than usual. He thought to himself while he plotted a way to make the demon’s arrival the most annoying and inconvenient experience possible.