Ren and his companions resumed their investigation of Sin City, the air weighed heavier with the unsettling mix of enchantment and decadence.
The facade of jubilation in the streets thinly veiled the true exhaustion etched into the faces of demons and devils.
The group treaded carefully through the labyrinthine city, each cobblestone echoing with the paradoxical symphony of pleasure and pain.
In the midst of this surreal atmosphere, a child's desperate scream shattered the uneasy silence. The cry echoed through the narrow streets, cutting through the thick air like a blade.
"Father, don't go! Don't go! Mother is sick!"
Ren and the others turned, their attention drawn to a gripping drama unfolding just a few paces away.
A young boy, tears streaming down his face, desperately clung to his father, who seemed entranced, his movements guided by some unseen force.
The father's vacant gaze betrayed the presence of a malevolent enchantment, pulling him towards a dimly lit bar despite his son's heart-wrenching pleas.
Undeterred by the city's strange aura, Ren and the group hastened toward the distressed child.
The scene was heart-wrenching, the boy's cries and pleas echoing through the desolate streets as his father disappeared into the ominous establishment.
The child, left kneeling on the cold cobblestone, continued to scream, his pleas now echoing not just for his father but for someone, anyone, to help.
As they approached, Ren couldn't help but feel a pang of empathy. "What's your name, kid?" he asked, crouching down to the boy's eye level.
The tear-streaked face looked up, revealing eyes filled with a mixture of fear and desperation. "It's Liam, sir. Please, you have to help my father. He's not himself."
Ren exchanged glances with the others, a shared understanding passing between them.
"What's wrong, kid?" Elena asked gently.
Liam wiped his tears and explained with a choked filled voice, "He's been spending a lot of souls at that bar and with other women, plunging our family into bankruptcy. My mother died not long ago, and he's accumulating more debt to forget about her through his vices."
Lorelai declared with a stern face, "Fathers like that don't deserve to be called fathers. Where is he? Let me take care of him for you."
Liam sniffled. "W-what are you going to do?"
Lorelai's eyes sparkled with killing intent. "If he won't listen and change, then putting him out of his misery and yours is the only way."
"Hoi!" Elena reprimanded her.
Liam's face was drained of color. "P-please! D-don't kill my father! He's not always like this! It's just . . . he got depressed after my mother's death, and he turned to these vices to forget about her, and . . ."
"And ended up going after other women?" Elena finished.
Liam bit his lips and nodded.
"Alright, I'll just have a good talk with that man you call your father," Lorelai said, attempting to storm inside the bar, but Ren pulled her hair back.
"Stop," Ren said.
Lorelai skidded to a halt and glared at Ren. "Hoi. What's the big idea?"
"Hold your horses first, and let's think this through. Storming in there and making that demon pay won't solve anything. You'll just cause unnecessary trouble in there."
"That's right," Elena nodded. "He would just keep going in there like a puppet if we don't solve the root cause of this."
"The best course of action is to find Desira as soon as possible," said Evie.
Azazel nodded. "Agreed." He then patted Liam's head and said, "Where's your house? You should go home first. And don't worry about your father; we will take care of it. Your father might not be home now, but when he does, he will be a different demon, I promise you."
Liam wasn't sure if Ren and the others could really help him. "I . . . are you sure that you will help? No one wanted to help me before. Everyone just ignored me here. I don't have anything here but . . ."
He slip his hand on his pocket and pulled out a tiny skull of a lizard or an animal. "You can have this," he said shyly.
"Who would want that?!" Lorelai and Elena shrieked.
Vivi giggled and threw the kid a toothy grin. "It's because it's this guy's fault that all of this happened, so we will fix it."
Liam was confused. "How is it your fault?"
Azazel wryly smiled. "It's complicated."
Liam's expression then shifted to a determined face. "I don't want to go home without my father. Please . . . I want him back with me. He's . . . He's the only family I have left."
Ren's heart flinched when he thought about his own parents. He couldn't believe that it had been almost three months since they were gone.
In that span of time, everything seemed to have gone so fast, and not a day had gone by that he didn't miss them.
He was also alone now with no more parents to come back home to. What he have left were his friends, and Evie.
Elena and the others exchanged a glance. It looked like Liam wouldn't leave here until he got his father back.
"What are we going to do?" Evie asked Ren.
"Let's go and get him then," Ren said seriously.
Liam's face brightened. "Really?"
Ren nodded with a small smile on his lips.
"Are you sure?" Evie asked him.
"Desira isn't going anywhere, so we might as well take care of this little problem," Ren said.
Azazel raised his hand enthusiastically. "That's the spirit, Ren! Let's go inside that bar!"
"Why are you so enthusiastic all of a sudden?" Lorelai deadpanned. Then she suddenly realized when Azazel's nose went big, his features melting and flush, and she immediately gave him a loud whack on his head.
"Perverted demon! Just die already!"
"Don't mind them," Ren said while Lorelai wrestled Azazel. "Lead the way."
Following the trembling boy the group reached the entrance of the foreboding bar. Its exterior seemed to pulse with a sinister energy that sent shivers down their spines.
Despite the eerie allure, Ren and the others steeled themselves and pushed open the heavy door.
