Bella stepped forwards towards me as I turned pale from astonishment. She must have sensed my fear because she snickered,"Oh, dear, dear! It seems like someone is a coward."

I twitched. Coward? Okay, I'll admit it. I was weak and powerless compared to Bella, but that didn't give Bella the right to call me a coward.

I glared at Bella and spoke in the most confident voice I could muster,"No! I absolutely won't give this scythe to an air head like you!"

I was half expecting Bella to back off, but I guess the odds weren't in my favour this time because Bella didn't even wince. She just stood there, grinding her teeth as she motioned some demons to back her up.

"Girl, must I repeat myself? Give me the scythe,"Bella sneered as she conjured a whip out of thin air. "I'm getting really impatient you know? I hate it when girls like you try to act all high and mighty!"

Okay! That did it. I was at the peak of my tolerance range for pesky girls like her. I wasn't acting high and mighty. I was just trying to save my childhood friend and I from dying on the surface of hell. I rolled my eyes, then remembered that Bella wasn't some human and that she could kill me for all she cared.

I gulped. "Back off. I'm just trying to save you so called 'master'."

"Ha! You think I care? I just want Julius to notice me," Bella rasped. However, Bella seemed to have forgotten that the demons behind her who were loyal to Death because she quickly added,"But that doesn't mean that I'm not loyal to Death."

Good. I thought. I can stall her for a bit longer.

"Okay," I muttered. Then, remembering what Julius said about help, I took a deep breath and yelled,"Julius! If you're out there, help me! "

I wasn't expecting any help or response from Julius, but suddenly, a pitch black spiral portal appeared out of nowhere. White smoke poured out of the portal as a black figure came into view.

Julius! He actually came! I guess Fate just loves to prove me wrong.

"Saffire dear,"Julius looked at me with a cold and distant expression which didn't complement his voice, to be frank. "I didn't expect you to call me....Hm? Who do we have here?"

"J-Julius. I wasn't expecting you to come, " Bella stuttered as she stepped back in astonishment.

"No, indeed," Julius agreed cooly. Then, as Julius conjured a black ball of pure energy, he looked at me and mouthed something. Odd, was that a secret code? I hoped not, because I was no detective.

Julius growled in annoyance,"The gate!"

I tilted my head. The gate? What gate? After a few seconds of malfunctioning, my brain finally began to work its magic. Oh! The gate of hell!

Immediately, I stepped back and ran towards the gate of hell. My hands shook as I did my best to get a grip on the death scythe. Seriously, trying to hold a sharp weapon, much less the death scythe is harder than you think!

As I concentrated on the scythe, I felt a rough, scaly hand grabbed me. As I looked back to see who or what had grabbed me, cold sweat dropped down my face. The demon who attacked me was lean and tall, and he had a heavy looking armor over his ripped navy t-shirt and jeans. He also had red eyes with a yellow pupil which gave him a wild look.

"Let go," I muttered as I struggled to break free from his rough arms. However, the more I struggled, the more he tightened his grip. Although I've never been suffocated by a rattle snake, I knew that this was far worse. Sure, I was only being suffocated and not hit by some atomic bomb or magical attack, but it hurt alright!

"Let go?"Mr. Rattle Snake Man scowled. "I'm about to enjoy a meal I haven't had since I came down here! Let go? Ha! As if! Plus, Lady Bella promised my a grand reward if I stopped you!"

I was losing air by the second and my vision was no better. Everything around me seemed to have blurred leaving me with nothing but outlines of demons, a scythe, a door and a mythical land which was not supposed to be real.

Don't panick! A voice in my head urged. Ha! I am only suffocating on the surface of hell! No worries! Yup!

No, Saffire! Listen to me! Just concentrate! The voice urged again. Unlock that power that's sealed deep within you! Come on!

What power! The last time I check I was just a normal human, with no magical powers! I thought back to myself. I know, you're probably thinking that I'm weird, but trust me, the was a voice - a different voice in my head.

As my senses stopped working due to the lack of air, I heard Mr. Rattle Snake Man hiss, "Yes, that's right! Go to sleep. Yes, good! Have a nice horrid dream! I won't promise you'll wake up alive....but that doesn't matter!"