The Black Tattoo

The Black Tattoo is a science fiction novel by Sam Enthoven about a guy who gets possessed by a demon inside a tattoo, while his best friend has to fight for his life in an arena made by the Devil himself. It is also incredibly epic.

The story begins with Charlie, whose parents are recently divorced, meeting his father in a restaurant with his best friend Jack Farrell. They leave the restaurant, however, soon after entering. Soon afterward, Charlie is unknowingly possessed by a demon known as the Scourge. He also joins the society know as The Brotherhood Of Sleep, who imprisoned the Scourge in the roots of a tree until one of their own released him. With Charlie's help, the Scourge manages to first kill all the members of the Brotherhood, save for the girl Esme, who has trained all her life to kill the demon. Soon after the death of their members, a possessed Charlie gets into a gateway to Hell, which is essentially a Roman Empire of sorts composed of demonesque species and even gladiator pits. Soon after Charlie reaches Hell, The Scourge's true goal is revealed: He wishes to awaken "the dragon" who created the universe, and upon awakening he will destroy it again. Suddenly, it is up to Jack, Esme and a team of soldiers to stop Charlie and the Scourge from destroying the universe

Tropes associated with this book include:

 * Action Girl: Esme is most definitely one.
 * Almighty Janitor: Almost literal, in fact. Turns out that
 * Badass: Oh so many... let's see now: Charlie, Esme, Raymond, the Scourge, various members of the Brotherhood of Sleep and the Brotherhood of the Scorpion Flail, and even, surprisingly, Jack.
 * Butt Monkey: Initially, Jack. After all, he gets killed within five seconds of entering the arena. He gets better.
 * Catch Phrase: according to Jack, everything is just typical.
 * Demonic Possession: How the Scourge works.
 * Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Esme versus the Scourge.
 * Gentle Giant: Raymond can count as this.
 * Head Pet: The Chinj's are a kind of this.
 * Infinity+1 Sword: The Pigeon Sword.
 * Living Shadow: The Scourge is most definitely this to Charlie.
 * Mark of the Beast: The titular Black Tattoo.
 * Oddly Small Organization: The Brotherhood of Sleep.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: The Scourge, until it was released.
 * Took a Level In Badass: By the end of the book, Jack.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: The Scourge, until it was released.
 * Took a Level In Badass: By the end of the book, Jack.