Purgatory. It is here, within this border between the dimensions, that human souls, encased in bodies incapable of dying, are punished, tortured, maimed, and humiliated in the cruelest of ways, all of this pain for the purpose of the cleansing of their filthy sinful existences. Screams of pain and terror resounded off of the skies themselves, sending mountains down to the plains and valleys below them. Within the city of Hellgorth, the capitol of Purgatory, Countless souls writhed in the streets, as snakes made of pure fire strangled them, tearing away their faces as they spat mercury poison. Other's were sold in stores, where demons would purchase them as food and as playthings for young demon children. Incubus entered the fiery brothels, paying small fees to pleasure themselves with the frails human forms, only stopping when they had become too weak to even protest. Human slaves who had upset their demon masters, were thrown into pits of pure molten lava, which melted their skin until it fell from their bodies; eventually their screams became so powerful that the walls of their prison collapsed upon their bodies, crushing their bones.

        Within the town square, where the torture of humans in the cruelest, most inhuman ways possible was common sport, sat the grand court of Heaven, Hell and Gorth*. It was here that souls were brought after they had served their sentences to explain why they had committed their sins, and beg the judge to understand and free them from the fire that destroyed yet never killed. It was here that the demonic soldiers, who's faces were made of solid fire, blood and flesh pouring forth from their mouths when they spoke, were carrying their prisoner, Maraku. He had finished his sentence twenty-nine years earlier, but the Judge refused to release him until he explained his actions. According to Maraku, he had explained countless times, but the Judges refused to believe such a fantastic story. This was the one hundredth day of the twenty-ninth year of his trial. The Judges were beginning to lose patience, and in the first case of its kind, they had agreed to allow witnesses to appear in his trial. As the guards and Maraku entered the courtroom, he casually threw their over-sized hands off of his arms, and approached the judges, with a smile on his face that seemed almost psychotic. Actually, if it weren't for the fact he had been dealing with this trial for over twenty-nine years, he would probably be considered psychotic. The clothes he wore were common prisoner garb, but he had been given a ratty sports coat to wear over it, since clothing wasn't exactly easy to come by in these hellish worlds.

     "Case number five-hundred, sixty-seven thousand -"
     "Please, grand Judge, it has been nearly thirty years, feel free to just call me Maraku."
     "Eight hundred and ninety-nine, I ask you, once again, to explain your case. You are allowed to bring witnesses to defend your case after the initial defense."
     "Always, the formalities. Well, once again, it is the same reason as it has always been. I was trying to save the world from this war."
     "Was that all? You killed the vampire who was created by God to create balance among the dimensions, and attempted to deactivate the Gate of Death. You created a chaos that has nearly destroyed not only this universe, but also the three parallel universes connected to it. Are you really trying to convince me that this was all well-intentioned?"

        Maraku laughed his psychotic laugh, running his hands through his hair and spitting on the ground. He punched the desk he stood at and stared firmly at the Judge.

      "Of course it was well intentioned! The battle that has gone on between Death and the Vampires has raged on, taking in hundreds of victims! It was their war that caused the deaths of hundreds of innocent children, destroying every chance they had for happiness! It had to be done to restore peace!"

        The fury of the judge was reaching it's normal boiling point, but he kept his composure to the point where he could relax enough to continue with the trial. This would be the largest trial in ages, and he'd have to do his best to make sure it wasn't also the only trial where the judge ended up devouring the defendant. He raised his hand, waving it limply to single Maraku to continue. Maraku stood up, standing erect as he straightened out his jacket before turning to the enormous doors  at then entrance of the courtroom.

     "I call the witnesses to my defense!"

        At these words, the doors were swung open as a innumerable mass of humans entered the courtroom. Their bodies were rotting and disintegrating, but they still used ever ounce of strength remaining within their shells to enter the courtroom. The noise of the thousands that all seemed to speak at once was deafening, echoing off of the walls and revolving in a endless cycle of repetition. As they all began to take their seats, only one stayed standing. The human has one breast still attached which fell to its waist. It had both sexual organs, or at least, that is what it looked like. The Judge sat there, savoring the silence, while also trying to figure out exactly what gender this human was.

   "Your honor, I'd ask you not to ruin your pretty face with wrinkles trying to figure this out. The whole truth will make itself clear in due time. I call to the stand, Rika."

        The strange human being approached the witness stand slowly, and sat down as softly and elegantly as it could with one leg almost completely rotted off. Maraku walked up to Rika slowly, and with confidence practically oozing from his every pore.

   "Do you, Rika, believe that my actions were justified?"
   "Rika does."
   "And will you explain the reason for this belief?"
   "Rika will."

        Maraku held his hand up to keep Rika silent long enough for him to go back to his seat. As he sat down he put down his hand and smiled, as if he had already said, "Please continue." Rika spoke, almost in a monotone, explaining the life that had brought him to this belief.