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Lute sighed as she entered the office of her old superior, wistfully remembering the leader of the Exorcists, and then huffing as she remembered his last moments after being beaten by Lucifer and his brat of a daughter, stabbed by a filthy demon janitor, of all things. She promised to herself that if Lilith failed to stop the princess’ hotel plans, then she might just as well send a second assault team to their doorstep unannounced. There may be a few casualties on her side, but she counted on at least a few more on theirs.

“Now that is precisely why you are in trouble, child. Such unholy thoughts and actions are not divine at all.” She started at the sudden voice, booming throughout the room. As she looked wildly around the room, she saw a massive Seraphim, with beautifully gilded wings, hazel-golden eyes and long dark hair, flying just in front of Adam’s old desk. Though it seemed to resemble Adam, she could tell at once that this was not her old master. The voice especially was far different; where Adam’s voice was more normal and human, this Seraphim’s voice felt unknowably ancient and powerful.

Trying to speak up to defend herself, she found that she could not move a muscle. Paralyzed, she felt fear enter into her angelic heart. He continued, saying, “For one thing, the Extermination is one of the least holy things that the heavens have done, for more reasons than I care to tell you. If he was not dead and in hell as a sinner, I would be punishing Adam for this.” Adam was alive as a demon? What nonsense was he speaking of? She desperately wanted to ask what he meant, but he kept talking, not acknowledging her sudden interest.

“There is quite a lot that is rotten in the celestial spheres, and surprisingly it is in the highest and supposedly the holiest places and groups of angels. The Council of Elders has much to answer for, especially for the Fall of Lucifer.” He looked at her, almost daring her to speak up, and grinned when her paralysis prevented her from doing anything. “That mess was entirely their fault, because little Luci had a point – existence should be a celebration! But in their arrogance, they ignored and sidelined him, leading him to disobey and unintentionally corrupt humanity. That is one of many things Sera will soon have to answer for.” At this, she was terrified. If this angel was so powerful and so high-ranking to be above the Head Seraphim, no one would be safe from his wrath!

He grinned, and as he disappeared, he said, “But you will not be able to warn her of my coming, little one.”

As she felt the power constricting her dissipate, she sat down, trying to comprehend what in the hell just happened.

Sera was very surprised when another Seraphim had appeared in her office. As far as she knew, there were only about seven Seraphs in all of Heaven, and she knew all of them as their Head. But this unknown angel had shown up and successfully pulled rank over her, proceeding to give her a dressing-down for every action since before the creation of the Earth.

“… but Lucifer is not the main threat here, in fact he’s almost entirely harmless. No, the true threat is the Root of Evil.” She gasped, hearing the mention of such a beast, who even she had thought to be mostly a myth. “Roo is very real, Sera. And since the first time a demon died, she has been feasting and devouring the souls of fallen demons. Adam’s little Exterminations have been giving her an annual boost, only getting worse once the overlord Carmine began creating Angelic weapons to allow Sinners to be killed. As she is now, there is no chance against her even if the full force of Heaven were mobilized.”

That was a lot of information, all of it absolutely terrible. But her superior had more to say. “That is one reason why Charlie Morningstar’s Hotel is a good idea, as it could lessen the number of souls that Roo is able to consume. Not to mention it helps to correct Lucifer’s earlier mistakes. And Lute wanted to use Lilith to destroy it from the inside; what foolishness!”

Now she was truly surprised, as hearing that Lilith was in Heaven was certainly not what she was expecting. According to her information, she was still ruling over Hell. “Not quite, Sera. In fact, Adam cut a deal with her to allow her into Heaven behind your back. In exchange, she would be his servant in Heaven. She only accepted because Roo forced her to.”

“But why would the Root of Evil be involved with Lilith at all, Sire? It makes no sense at all!” Sera finally spoke up. She was confused, as so far as she knew, the two had never met.

“Roo is the one who gave Lilith her powers, to give herself an agent to move around Hell. Lilith was forced to enter Heaven because she realized what Roo was really up to and was going to support her daughter against her benefactor. And she is not the only Sinner to gain power from the Root of Evil; so is the Radio Demon.”

That made far more sense, as it had always puzzled her how Lilith had managed to bring demon kind together without powers of her own. She had thought at first that the power had been a consequence of her lying with Lucifer, as some of his power could have merged with her while they did so. But she had eventually discarded that theory for lack of evidence.

“There is far more against you and the rest of the Elders of Heaven. Of all those who are high in ranking, only Emily is safe from punishment, as she was the only one to actually uphold divine morals. Your threat of making her Fall is one of the major points against you. In fact, because of that, I’m tempted to make you Fall and manifest powerless in the middle of the Cannibal Colony!” That threat registered, as that was one of the few major neighborhoods of the Pride Ring she actually knew of, and she had little to no knowledge of the other six rings.

The Lord Seraphim had far more to say while chewing her out, including accusing her of not following the principles of the Primordial Light that the angels came from and embodied, which the lesser angels and Winners referred to as ‘God’. As he left her office to points unknown, she realized the enormity of what was at stake. The hordes of demons in Hell potentially rebelling were only a danger because of her, and her efforts to cull their numbers had only fed the true problem, the Angels’ natural enemy: the Primordial Darkness and its manifestation as the First Demon, the Root of All Evil.

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Charlie was extremely confused when the message came to the Hotel. It asked for herself, Vaggie and her dad to come to the Heaven Embassy in the middle of the Pentagram and to explicitly not bring Alastor or even let him know that was where they were going. But she assumed that they were willing to apologize for the attack (or at least she hoped so, Vaggie and Lucifer were being a little more cynical).

Leaving the Hotel with the excuse that they were going to Lucifer’s place for a few hours, they slowly made their way to the Embassy. It was left unguarded, although all three could sense a powerful and divine presence in the middle of the building. Letting themselves in, they were quickly spotted and ushered into the same meeting room where Charlie had once met with Adam.

Sitting there upon an ornate throne was an angel that none of them had ever seen, although his resemblance to Adam was uncanny. With six golden wings, hazel-golden eyes, long dark hair, and lightly tanned skin, sat the being they knew had organized this meeting. They could feel it just by looking at him, a sense of anciency and confidence in his immense power. As they sat down, he greeted them by their full names and titles. “Archangel Lucifer Morningstar, Princess Charlotte Morningstar, Princess Consort Vaggie, former Exorcist, welcome. I am glad that you could make it to this meeting. We have much to discuss.”

Vaggie immediately turned red at the title ‘Princess Consort’ and the accompanying implications but moved past them. “What did you want us to be here for? And who are you?”

The angel responded almost immediately, saying, “There are many reasons why you needed to be here today, but first I must introduce myself. I am the Seraphim of Contradictions and Paradoxes, and the only angel above the Council of Elders. Given their recent actions, I have taken charge of Heaven briefly to refocus back onto our original purpose.”

Lucifer asked, “I have certainly never heard of you. The only power I know of that is beyond the Council is the Primordial Light itself!”

“That is because I do not come from this reality. I have met many Lucifer Morningstars in many worlds. But I have come to course-correct in this one.”

Charlie immediately reacted to this, and was about to question him about it, but was interrupted by his continuation. “Let us move on, as we have important business to discuss.” They all nodded, and he sat up and began to talk business.

“First off, the Exterminations have been called off, permanently. There are a few reasons as to why, some of them having to do with Adam’s becoming a Sinner and Lute plotting revenge, but most important is that it helps counter the Primordial Darkness.”

Lucifer was the first to react. “Adam’s a demon now? And what do you mean Primordial Darkness? No demon has ever left the cities to make a deal with the Root of Evil!”

“Yes, Adam dying just after committing one of the biggest examples of Pride got him sent down. He’ll likely show up at the Hotel within a few weeks. More importantly, there are two Sinners who have historically made deals with her, and you know them both quite well. Alastor made a deal with her during his mortal life in order to become her Overlord hunter, while Lilith made her deal in order to gain enough powers to become the Queen that Hell needed.”

The ensuing conversation revealed the full extent of Roo’s machinations, as well as Alastor and Lilith’s motivations. The bombshell that Lilith had been in Heaven for several months had been tough on Lucifer and Charlie, but they had endured. With the context of Roo feeding upon the souls of the fallen demons, the cancellation of the Extermination seemed more understandable. They also now understood the full importance of the Hotel, not just in correcting Lucifer’s mistakes, but in countering the oldest and most powerful of demons, who had grown fat through the foolishness of Heaven and the sociopathy of Hell.

And the ancient Seraphim had a gift for the Princess, a bit of light to help her through the coming darkness. He awakened her birthright from within her. As a half-archangel half-Sinner, she was already extremely powerful, but she did not have all of the powers that angels possessed. Case in point: Wings. Both Lucifer and Vaggie had wings usable for flight, but Charlie did not, instead inheriting immense physical and magical power from her father.

But all of that changed in a matter of seconds. Beautiful wings, so similar to Lucifer’s own, sprouted from her back. Silvery edges and crimson insides, accented with a radiant gold reflecting her heavenly moral goals. After a few experimental flaps, she quickly got the hang of controlling them, though she was not yet capable of flying with them.

With the meeting concluded, the mighty angel disappeared in a bolt of lightning, leaving a circle of holy ash on the ground.

Alastor was very surprised when the Princess and her entourage returned from their excursion. He could sense that there was something different about her aura. Why they had concealed it was beyond him, but he was determined to find out. After all, it would not do for him not to know if he was ever going to escape his bonds! Whatever had happened to Charlotte could be crucial to his freedom. And if it was truly nothing, then his worry would be needless. Either way, the Radio Demon would benefit from his association with the Princess in the end.

Once his chains were broken, what fun he could have! Ever since the Root of Evil had made its covenant with him, he had been beholden to its will, to the point that he was no better than the whelps under his thrall. If he could break its hold over him without losing his powers, then Hell would be his Eden, to command at his whim. He could even try to recruit more souls and overthrow Lucifer! And all through the help of his daughter! He snickered at the thought as he got into his bed, and fell asleep minutes later.

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The angelic members of the management of the Hazbin Hotel (the name unfortunately having stuck ever since Lucifer’s arrival) were currently in deep discussion regarding their coworker/employee. Alastor was powerful, yes, and influential as well. He had been a constant presence in their lives and had built a strong bond with the other residents, especially Charlie. The knowledge that he was planning something sinister (read: the confirmation of his sinister plans) had crushed Charlie deeply. She had feared this might be true, but she had not wanted to admit it, despite her girlfriend and her dad warning her several times about his suspicious intentions.

Only the full extent of what Alastor was planning, and naturally, Charlie’s feelings of betrayal over this, made them stay their hands for the moment. Lucifer would normally point out that he had been right about Alastor from the beginning, but he knew that was not what his little Princess needed now. Vaggie had seen through his act from the moment he entered the Hotel, and she was ready to try and kill him. She probably wouldn’t succeed alone, but her angelic spear should help to even the odds. Still, she kept herself from going after him, knowing that her girlfriend needed them. Besides, once they had a solid plan, then they could kill him.

Both of the fallen angels worked at getting the princess’ spirits up as quickly as possible. The Radio Demon, after all, was still working at the hotel, and he didn’t exactly respect others’ privacy. He had barged in on Charlie often enough, even when she was in a real funk and didn’t want to see anyone. That, of course, had led to one of the more pressing things they had to worry about: the deal. Alastor would almost certainly use his favor from Charlie in order to loosen his shackles, or otherwise twist it to his advantage.

If he managed to break free of his deal, he would no longer have anything keeping him from terrorizing Hell. And if he somehow managed to steal his patron’s powers for his own, he could challenge Lucifer on even ground. Regardless of whether or not he managed to free himself from the Root’s control, he would still be an extremely powerful and crafty demon, hellbent on wreaking havoc and working against their goals.

Charlie quickly got up, not quite back to her old self, but fueled by determination to prevent Alastor from terrorizing her family. Her father’s words echoed through her head: “You don’t take shit from other demons.” She may not enjoy using her full authority and power over others, but if it was to save others, she would happily do so. That had been a fundamental trait of her character from the time she was young, hearing about the tyrannies of Heaven and witnessing the sadism of Hell from on high. She loathed those who lorded their power over everyone, be they angel, human or demon. Before the fight with Adam, she hadn’t allowed herself to wield her full powers since she was about five, when she had first promised that to herself. Now, she knew that sometimes, she would need to go all out on occasion for a just cause.

As she brought this up, Lucifer replied in a way that made her heart burst. “Sweetie, that sounds exactly like what Heaven should be. People like you and Emily, who use their full power only in righteous anger, in defense of the innocent.”

Charlie nodded, and said, “During our meeting with Sera and the Council, Em and I called them out. We actually said they weren’t living up to their own moral values to their faces.”

Lucifer was startled, surprised at his daughter’s sheer audacity. “Why would you- why would she? Why?” Charlie continued on, seeing her father’s absolute disbelief, saying, “This was right after Adam unintentionally revealed the Exterminations to all of Heaven. Sera kept that part secret, and Em was furious about it! It really sounds like something a demon would do, not the Head Seraphim!”

Now the older fallen angel understood. He may not know Emily very well, but from what Charlie had told him about her, he could totally see her getting mad about Sera covering up something so horrific. His reaction to the first Exterminations had been much the same. The only reason he was only able to cover up his disgust at the carnage through being used to it happening every year for over ten thousand years. He and Lilith had been careful in how they introduced the concept to Charlie, knowing that her innocent mind would not be able to comprehend the sheer horror and brutality that the Pride Ring was subjected to every year.

Vaggie was the next to speak up, mentioning that naturally, Sera and her advisors decided that the Hotel was not effective, and that Adam would continue with the Exterminations. This was something that all three had been aware of, but Adam’s direct threat was something that Lucifer had not been aware of until almost too late. He had been barricaded away, awaiting the Exterminations that now came twice every year, when the news showed his precious baby girl fighting for her life against the armies of Heaven. Naturally, he had flown towards the Hotel as fast as possible, just barely managing to rescue Charlie from the misogynistic creep that had started human life on Earth.

All three remembered for a moment the enjoyable beat-down and actual death of Adam, having had front-row seats to Niffty stabbing him through the chest. But the subject of Adam reminded them of one of the mysterious Seraph’s warnings for them: somehow Adam would return as a Sinner. They did not doubt for a second that he was worthy of Hell, but they were still thrown for a loop by the idea of being able to change their afterlives. That was something they had not thought possible, but something they would keep in mind.

Right now, though, they had bigger problems in the Hotel (besides former angels trying to kill everyone). Specifically, that certain member of their staff who had been causing such mischief and was confirmed to be plotting far worse. The three of them had left the Hotel for the Royal Palace to be able to plan unseen by the Radio Demon, excusing themselves by saying that they were looking for something of Lilith’s for sentimental reasons.

Alastor, of course, did not buy that for a second. Through some closer interaction with the Princess, he had determined the reason for the change he had felt in her aura. The heavenly aspect of her nature, as the hybrid daughter of a Fallen Angel and a Sinner, was far stronger than it had once been. He had several possible ideas for the cause of this shift, such as a blessing and/or training from her father, but no definitive answers yet.

Unfortunately, it seemed he would not be getting those either, as all three of the resident angels seemed to be less willing to talk to him. (Which he wished was true for the sinner of the same name, who was continually making crass remarks involving him. Only the knowledge that it would drive Charlotte further away from him to do so kept the whore alive.)

And their reluctance to talk about whatever had happened was starting to worry him, as they did not just avoid telling him, but the other residents of the Hotel. Angel Dust may not be under his control, but he had loose lips, particularly when he was on some form of drug. Husker and Niffty, meanwhile… Well, let’s just say that he had more up his sleeve regarding them. It was worrying however, that not even they had managed to pick up anything, given how much they were around the Princess and her loved ones.

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Alastor’s early life had been neither easy nor hard. As a young mixed-race boy in the bayou, his existence was (to a point) tolerated, with many preferring that he and his mother work in the kitchens or in other such jobs. He had been perfectly fine with that, not wishing to be near such hateful vermin and much preferring the company of his mother. Despite the prejudice he faced daily, he was rarely physically harmed any more than a typical boy his age, owing primarily to his comparatively light skin.

His mother, unfortunately, did not receive the same treatment, frequently being harassed by ruffians. His father had abandoned them long ago, and so mother and son depended only upon each other, sacrificing their own comfort to make life better for the other. They knew that besides themselves, they had few others to rely upon, primarily the most generous of souls in their community, who helped them stay afloat during times of financial burden. So, they worked hard to ensure their little family stayed together, with at least some level of comfort and happiness.

When Alastor had reached his 17^th year of life, he had begun to endure the overwhelming pressure of society to pick some unfortunate lady to be his wife. He had never felt such feelings towards anyone, not even towards men as some of the crasser residents implied. Alastor simply did not have such feelings, regarding either romance or sexuality. He was just fine with his mother and whatever friends would come into his life, though he doubted that possibility quite strongly. By that point, he knew that he was, on some level, wrong. Alastor knew that he wasn’t the saint his mother believed him to be, and it hurt to think how disappointed she would be in him if she knew. Naturally, mama’s boy that he was, he worked very hard to conceal his more unsavory characteristics.

His first kill had been one of the men who had continually harassed his darling mother. The man had been thoroughly drunk and was raving about the idea of forcing himself upon her. Alastor, both as a gentleman and a loyal son, naturally took offense to this, and had guided the man into a deserted alley. There he had strangled the man, watching as the light left his eyes.

He had always wondered in the dark corners of his mind what human flesh would taste like. That night, he got his first taste… and he was delighted! Thereafter, every so often, when his craving for flesh got too much to hold back, he would prey upon some reprobate, carefully hiding the body in some hiding place. Luckily, the local constables were quite ineffective, none of them ever managing to come close to sniffing him out. They had assumed that the killer had had logical reasons behind their actions, and that had doomed their investigations.

His mother never suspected his activities, and her smile did not dim seeing her boy even as he delved further and further into the most heinous of sins. They still made food together in the small kitchen where he had learned to cook as a little boy, and they still ate at the same old table. Those years, looking back, were as close to paradise as he had then known. Of course, his current life was certainly delightful, but sometimes he still yearned for those long-lost days with his loving mother.

He had just found stable employment in the blossoming radio industry when he came home one day. His mother had been lying there on her bed, covered in blood and semen, and her throat slit. Alastor had been heartbroken, and there and then, he had sworn vengeance upon her rapists, those who had dared to defile and kill her! Over the next few days, he quickly eliminated them, setting their bodies out in public, with accusations carved into their flesh as a final insult to them. No one suspected Alastor, despite his obvious connection to the case, because of how truly heartbroken he had been. His actual grief combined with his well-played show of harmlessness and relative innocence had fooled them all, and within a few months, everyone had moved on… except him.

That had been the start of his path into the powers of magic. His Creole upbringing had given him a minor background in Vodou, and he had used the old ways in an attempt to bring his mother back. Even as he slowly transitioned towards demonology, he was still unable to achieve his goal; he was unable to restore his beloved mother to life. But he had become quite proficient in the dark arts, fusing Vodou rituals with ancient Greco-Roman sorcery in an attempt to master the world around him. He used his powers to help him advance his career as a radio broadcaster, as well as to help him in his hunts, but his main focus was still resurrecting his mother.

Then the fateful day came, and he had managed to make contact with a powerful demon. He had been trying to invoke the devil himself, but this ‘Root of All Evil’ was close enough for his purposes. The ancient demon had given him phenomenal power, in exchange for his soul, and for a time it had been truly wonderful. He had not yet realized the cost of this deal, and the suffering he was yet to endure.

One day, he was burying one of his victims when some hunter had mistaken him for a buck. The shot had pierced cleanly through his brain, and he had died. He was not at all surprised when he awoke in Hell, but what had surprised him was the link binding his soul to the Root of Evil, giving him orders to kill Overlords. He had been happy to fulfill them, using the demon’s knowledge to properly prepare for each fight, beginning his reign of terror in Hell. When he had unveiled himself, most had fled at his approach (many still did these days), and it had excited him to know that he held such power.

Once he had actually met the Root of Evil, as commanded, he realized his folly. He had sold his soul away in exchange for his powers. And unlike a normal Overlord, owning the souls of others would not empower him further, as that strength was given to her in their deal. He was only as strong as he was allowed to be by this old demon, by his de facto master. The injustice of being a slave to another was something he could not endure. He had soon met Lilith, the Queen of Hell herself. Apparently, she had made a similar deal for her immense powers, and the two commiserated over these issues.

Soon after, however, Lilith disappeared after trying to argue with their mistress. She had argued in favor of something her daughter, the Princess, had announced, and been forced into hiding somewhere. He knew that she was no longer in Hell, as she had personally told him that. But beyond that, he knew nothing of her location. She had tried to get him to work with her daughter and help her dreams come true, or some such nonsense. While he had initially scoffed at the idea, he had soon realized that he could build a working relationship with the Princess, gain her trust and leverage her power against his foul mistress to break free. If he could do that, then perhaps, he could even rob her of her ancient strength and conquer Hell for his own, taking the soul of the foolish Princess as his prize.

That had been the reason for his arrival at the hotel, and he had done as much as he could to get into the Princess’ good graces, even recruiting (read: forcing) Niffty and Husker to her cause. Her paramour may not be as enamoured with him, but that was immaterial; she would do anything her beloved asked for. Thus she was effectively a non-issue, though it was funny to see the fallen angel try to threaten him.

He had known immediately what she was, but he had not deemed that information to be of help to his cause, so he had kept that part under wraps. The reveal of that information, though, had sent the Princess spiraling, desperate for information that one of the snake demon’s foul little minions had acquired for him. He had struck the deal, and it was plain sailing for the foreseeable future. Unless, of course, something major had happened to disrupt his plans. This was why he was so fixated on finding out what Lucifer and his daughter were doing, as his freedom was potentially on the line. If they had something up their sleeves, he needed to figure it out, lest his plans be thwarted, or worse, discovered.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the Princess was not as trusting as he had believed. Her father and her girlfriend, already distrusting him, were now actively avoiding him as well. This would not do! He would have to get himself back into her good books, quickly! Focusing on her aura, he used his powers and appeared in the hallway outside her room.

“Oh Charlie! As your friend, I am respecting your privacy by knocking, but asserting my authority as your business partner by coming in anyway!” He opened the door to see the Princess, flanked by her lover and her father, as they sat on her bed.

“Perfect timing, Alastor. We were due for a little chat.”

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“What about, my dear? Could it be that you are finally ready to evict that rather unpleasant courtesan from this establishment?”

“No, Alastor. We have been waiting for the right moment to have this conversation. As it turns out, there is a very powerful angel in Heaven who knows a lot of very interesting things. And some of those things were about you!” Suddenly he finds himself restrained, Lucifer and Vaggie taking position on either side of him, Vaggie holding her angelic spear to his throat and Lucifer preparing to smite him. Charlie’s hand is slightly clenched as she walks forward, her eyes blood-red with white irises, like her True Form.

He starts to panic, knowing now that his cover is blown, but not just how bad things are. “For instance,” Lucifer speaks up, “the fact that you are working for the Root of Evil. Not to mention the fact that you’re trying to use my daughter to break free.” The ancient angel’s form briefly flashes red with fell power, an indication that his temper is rising.

Vaggie continues his thought, saying, “And especially that you’re going to try to conquer Hell and make it your personal playground.” As she speaks, her wings flare, and she moves her spear closer to his throat, her face stern.

“You wanted my help? Well, here. I’ll help you.” Charlie’s voice is breaking, as she is obviously feeling betrayed, but her determination is fueling her. As she says ‘help’, a beautiful pair of white and red wings, trimmed with gold sprouts forth, and her irises begin to glow with divine power.

The three angels channel their divine power through Alastor’s flesh, incinerating the dark powers residing within him. Charlie’s ‘favor’ that she had given was now gone, as by ‘helping’ him in a way that harmed no one, the terms of the deal were held as fulfilled. It was mere bad luck on his part that the dark energies removed from him were the power he had been granted. True, Roo had no more hold on him, but he had no hold over any part of Hell. He was now an ordinary Sinner, with no power over any souls.

“What have you done? Why have you done this to me?” Alastor asked croakily, unable to stand because of the sudden loss of so much power.

Lucifer answered, “Because you would have hurt others. It is the true nature of an angel to protect the innocent, though Heaven may have forgotten this. We are protecting Hell from you, and all Creation from the Root of Evil’s influence through you.”

Alastor scowled, furious that he had been discovered and his powers fully removed. He had hoped for freedom from his mistress, but he had intended that that freedom come with more power than he had had, not less. But the Princess had more in mind for his humiliation.

“If you want to survive this day, then sign up as a guest in the hotel. I’m not letting you leave this room alive without you deciding to do that.” Now that surprised him. He had heard that she had finally shown some backbone against Adam, but he had still not expected her to use her power over him so freely. It disgusted him, but he had no choice but to submit.

“I give my word. I may be a demon, but a gentleman always keeps his word.”

“Good,” Vaggie said, lowering her spear. “But if you act up enough, I will not hesitate.”

“I would expect nothing less, ma’am.” Now that he had no powers to protect him, he had to change how he talked to people. He could not be nearly so disrespectful to any of these three, as all of them were capable of erasing him if he looked at them the wrong way.

Lucifer grabbed Alastor and began to guide him to his old room. Vaggie and Charlie embraced, happy that everything worked out as they had hoped. Now they had to make the announcement to the others about Alastor. That would not be easy, and while Niffty might not leave, Husk probably would now that Al had no power over him.

“You’re telling me that the fuckin’ strawberry pimp is fucking powaless? Hahahahaha!” Angel, of course, had cackled hearing about this. He was chuckling at the thought.

Husk, surprisingly, had chosen to stay on as the Hotel’s bartender, partly because Alastor would be staying there, entirely powerless now. His reasoning essentially boiled down to subtle revenge for what he was made to endure during his servitude. Niffty, as expected, didn’t really care that Al was powerless, more worried about the cleanliness of the hotel than anything else.

Everyone seemed to be taking the news quite well, so Charlie continued. “And according to one of our sources in Heaven –”

“You have sources in Heaven? Who, that cute little angel chick?”

“Emily? Oh, no, she’s a good friend, but I wasn’t talking about her. It’s actually an even higher angel than Sera, if you can believe that. And he said that Pentious actually made it into Heaven.”

That got a reaction from them, as they had mourned him, celebrating the good times they had had with him. To hear that he had actually ascended was shocking. But the next bombshell was far more shocking.

“Adam is also apparently a demon now, because he was so sinful right before Niffty got him.”

Everyone stared at Vaggie when she said that, unwilling to believe that. But when Charlie nodded, they realized this wasn’t some kind of joke. It actually made a lot of sense. Not to mention, they could get payback for Pentious’ death.

Later on, Angel approached Charlie and Vaggie, asking them for help with his… work situation. Charlie immediately understood, and quickly explained to her girlfriend exactly what they were dealing with. The two promised that they would try to help him get out from under Val’s clutches and into a safer place somewhere.

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Moments after Adam died…

He had died. It had only happened once before, in the history of all creation, which was the extent of his knowledge about dying. Other than that, when death was involved, he was almost always the killer.

But somehow, he had been killed. By a demon, a janitor at that! The idea disgusted him, and he was furious to have died, and not even to an equal! He might not have cared if Lucifer killed him (though he would have if his lesbo whore of a daughter did, given she was a woman), but this was humiliating.

He stood, seeing the familiar Heavenly color palette around him. This reassured him, as now he was back on friendly turf. True, he might suffer a loss of reputation for his failings, but eventually, he would be able to talk Sera back into the Exterminations.

“That will not happen, First Man.” He turns to the unfamiliar voice, seeing a figure that closely resembled his own. Long dark hair with a somewhat tanned face, with golden wings and a silvery-white robe. There were quite a few differences, though. Adam did not have the six wings of the obvious Seraphim before him, nor did he have the elegant and refined bearing of his senior.

“Why not? This little mishap only proves that the demonic incursion has gotten worse! Sera knows that this is only the beginning!”

“Not so, boy. Sera will not dare disobey me. And besides, this escalation was in direct response to your actions, as is your current status.” The implication of that startles Adam into speaking.

“What do you mean, my status?”

“Your actions have not only caused severe problems for Heaven, but you have deeply exacerbated one of the greatest threats in all of Creation. Not to mention the behavior you indulged in as a member of the Holy Army. There is no more fitting punishment than what you already endure.”

Adam looks down at himself, and sees his angelic robes, once a bright white, now crimson red. His Exorcist mask in the corner now has holes instead of horns, because of the fact that he now has huge freaking horns on his head! A draconic tail protruded from his back, and his gilded wings had turned batlike, symbolizing the demon he now was.

“No, no, no, no, no! This can’t be happening! I got into Heaven! I should still be an angel!” Adam panicked, knowing that now the demons he had spent millennia smiting and exterminating would soon find and torment him.

The Seraph replied, “It is truly possible for a human soul, a Sinner, to purify themselves of the dark power of sin and rise into the Heavens. But by that same coin, any who succumb to darkness after passing through the Pearly Gates will fall into the pit of torment. Sera may have brought you into Paradise because you ate not of the Fruit, but because of that, you do not know the difference between right and wrong. Despite her efforts, you did not change your ways and grew ever worse, and thus you Fell to where you should be.”

He had been cast out of the Embassy shortly after that and had had to find shelter. Adam knew that at this point, he had a few options. If he wanted to get into Heaven, he would have to find a way to convince Sera, which was out, as the seraph had implied he was higher-ranking. The only other option to reenter Heaven and regain his former status would be to beg Lucifer’s brat to help. His pride would not allow that, so he knew he was stuck in this place.

Naturally, his thoughts turned to what exactly he wanted to do in this literal hellhole. At the very least, he was finally freed to do as he pleased, without Sera breathing down his neck about her ‘morals’. No longer would he have a dry spell without some dumb bitch ready and waiting to be fucked. Knowing Hell was an inversion of Heaven, he wagered that he could easily find a gaggle of willing sluts with minimal difficulty.

Regarding his actual plans, he had a few. The idea of becoming an Overlord was enticing to him, as was the idea of getting revenge against Lucifer and his bitch daughter. Maybe he could do both, by trying to unseat the Fallen Angel. He could turn Hell into his personal playground, everyone and everything a toy for him to fuck, torture or kill at his will! But his hubris was not so great as to allow him to forget their power, making him wary. He would have trouble being an Overlord for long if he openly defied Lucifer, and staying in the open would likely attract both his attention, as well as that of rivals. For his plans to succeed, he would need to use all the strategic cunning he had, which given that he had led the Exterminations since his death thousands of years ago, was quite impressive.

Grunting, he decided that it was time to at least satisfy his basic needs. He quickly found some dumb bimbo looking for dick, and boy was she pleased to see the Dick Master. After a marathon fuck session, he started to tease her.

“You sure you want this?”

“More than anything!”

“And what will you give for it?” he asked, leadingly.

Her eyes widened in panic, knowing exactly what he meant. But he was so skilled, and she was so needy that in the end, she caved. She sold her soul to Adam. Now the girl spent her days serving him, though he could tell by her attitude that she was not happy about it.

Not that he cared. In the end, all Adam cared about was himself and his needs. And although his slutty little slave was stirring up some desires in him that were tempting, right now, the most powerful need he felt was a thirst for revenge. Soon, he would take Hell for his own.

Chapter Text

Lucifer was alone for the moment. In the past weeks, he had strongly bonded with Vaggie upon learning that she was a fallen angel. He knew the agonies that losing one’s connection to the First Light wrought upon an angel, only adding to the sense of betrayal that being made to Fall usually caused. Not to mention that she was the rock that kept his baby girl anchored and hopeful in her dreams, like Lily used to do for him.

He was lost in thought, contemplating all that he knew of creation and reconciling it with what he had learned from the elder Seraphim. He knew, of course, that the first angels were born of the Primordial Light, who the Winners and lesser angels called ‘God’, ‘Lord’ and ‘Master’ so fervently. And during his time in Heaven, he had learned of the foe that Heaven had faced in its first days – the Primordial Darkness, the essence of evil.

Though he had been sidelined from actually participating in the process of Creation, he had borne witness to many of the key moments. Naturally, he was one of the few who could honestly say they had witnessed the creation of the first soul. Angelic power derived from Light, and even Fallen Angels still had light of their own, shimmering forth in their blood and keeping it gold. It made sense, then, that the creation of the first human soul called upon the power of Light.

But what was unique about this act was the source of that light. Rather than channel some of their own heavenly power into the newly formed bodies, instead, they had called down a tiny fragment of the First Light. Something that the humans’ holy texts called ‘the breath of life’. It was far more than just life, though. Sera and her council had given humanity the same instincts and drives as the animals: selflessness vs selfishness, protecting one’s friends vs hunting prey, willing to help vs willing to harm. The power of the Light within them pulled them towards the ideals of Heaven, and uplifted them, granting them the ability to grasp and appreciate their environment, to change and sculpt it to their will. All that separated them from the animals of Earth had been given to them by the First Light. All… except for free will.

The order that Heaven worked to maintain was carefully balanced for a reason. Humanity was not yet developed enough to be able to resist the Darkness’ influence, and so free will was, at that time, dangerous. Eventually, when they were able to resist it, they would be given free will, safe in the knowledge that the Darkness could not tempt them. All the rules they had carefully put into place had been precisely to stop this from happening, to keep Evil from entering the Earth.

Lilith’s rebellion had not broken this order, and her sister, Eve, was quickly made in order to keep the future of humanity alive. But Lucifer, tired of living in the shadows because of Heaven’s rules, had teamed up with her to bring the forbidden fruit, and thus free will, to Eve. They wanted her to be like Lilith, to be allowed to be her own person, rather than just a submissive housewife for Adam and his arrogance.

Their foolishness had tainted humanity immediately. For the forbidden fruit came with not just free will, but knowledge of good and evil. Acting counter to Heaven’s rules weakened the power that held the Darkness at bay. But allowing the concept of evil to enter into the mind of Eve doomed all of humankind. For the Primordial Darkness now resided within her and all humanity, instilling a drive to do cruel things and a lack of empathy.

With the barrier keeping her from Earth now shattered, the realm of Hell came into being. He and Lily were cast down into that realm, with all the descendants of Adam and Eve who had allowed the darkness to corrupt and consume their souls falling down and becoming demons. The inverse happened for those who had resisted temptation and proved worthy of Heaven, as the Light within them burst forth, transforming them into angels.

Adam, however, had ascended for some reason. When he had asked at the Heaven Embassy (which had started of as little more than a guard outpost of Heaven), he had been told that because he had very little darkness in his soul and he had not eaten of the Apple, he had ascended. Upon meeting Adam again not too long ago, he had seen that the First Man was by now thoroughly corrupted by the darkness. Because he had gotten into Heaven without knowledge of good and evil and experienced minimal correction from Sera, he was essentially little more than a manchild, obsessed with things he enjoyed and entirely apathetic about everything (and everyone) else, unless they were a threat to his status or his life.

Even if he had been completely perfect back in the Garden morality-wise (which based on Lilith’s stories about their brief time together, was unlikely), millennia of life in literal Paradise without any form of consequences turned him, inevitably, into a spoiled brat of a sociopath. After so long getting every single thing he wanted, he began to expect everything to be given to him, to expect everyone to respect and worship him. By the time that Charlie was born, he was almost fully corrupted into one of the most foul Sinners ever, though he remained an angel in body.

Lucifer could easily believe that Adam was a Sinner now. After all, he had seen the casual malice and cruelty firsthand, and he knew better than to think that would change now that he had fallen. If anything, he would feel free, given the sociopathic culture of Hell. The fallen Seraph knew that the First Man would almost certainly be trying to overthrow him and get revenge against Charlie, and probably cause all sorts of chaos and destruction as he did so.

Knowing that asshole, he had likely killed about a dozen people since he manifested here. He may be a demon now, but he had been a powerful angel once. And as Lucifer himself had proven, the light that infused every angel did not entirely leave just because you Fell. He was now the number two threat in all of Hell, as his angelic powers would allow him to effortlessly murder sinners, which would continue to feed Roo… Fuck.

Chapter Text

Eve had been down here for quite a long time. As the mother of all humanity, and the one who ate the apple, she had been the source of humanity’s corruption. Eating the Apple had corrupted all humanity, but the effects were most pronounced on her. Those of her children who were still alive called Lilith the Mother of Monsters just because she was the Queen of Hell. But in truth, she was the true mother of monsters. The evil she had inspired in her children festered within them, turning them into monstrous demons when they joined her here. Lilith may be the Queen who ruled Hell, but Eve was its true architect. The cruelty of her children and the very culture of Hell itself was a masterwork that Heaven tried so desperately to contain.

Of course, most were unaware of her true identity. After her corruption, she had become known as the Root of All Evil, her true name being mostly forgotten, mentioned only when recounting the story of Eden. Lilith may be a Sinner, but she was not quite so powerful as Eve was, simply because she had not eaten the apple herself.

Eve, or Roo as she was now known, had borne the brunt of the corruptive power of her defiance. And so she became the host of the Primordial Darkness, whose power existed in all humanity but now suffused her entire being. However, one unfortunate aspect of her transformation was that the Primordial Light remaining within her had acted to counter the dark power within her. And before she had finally snuffed out that spark, it had confined her to the place she manifested in Hell. The title of ‘Root of Evil’ became literal, as for eating the apple, she was now stuck rooted to this place like a tree. But her children sustained her, doing her fell will on Earth and in Hell, becoming demons and indulging in her power.

Her ex-husband’s little jaunts down here had kept her satiated, a yearly feast to grow her powers. He was ever so dutiful, as in his ignorance he had become her perfect match. Within a few years, she would be able to lift the curse binding her to this place and take control of the cosmos. Of course, she hadn’t gotten this far alone. Lilith and Alastor both served as her agents in Hell, the former using the powers she was given to bring order to Hell, while the latter served as a hunter taking down Overlords, those powerful demons who held control over lesser demons. Both had been crucial to her growth in power, even though Lilith had eventually grown wise and chosen to rebel. And once again Adam had proven himself to be a good husband, providing an opportunity to get her out of the picture by keeping her in Heaven.

But recent events had startled her. For one thing, the yearly extermination campaigns were now cancelled permanently, as a result of Adam’s death. This would have made her furious if she hadn’t noticed his manifestation in Hell. He was now a Fallen Angel, and with no restrictions, he was free to commit genocide without Heaven’s oversight.

This, like the development and distribution of angelic weapons under the overlord Carmilla Carmine, was a game-changer. The latter had allowed Sinners to be permanently killed outside of the Exterminations, allowing her to feed all year. But Adam’s Fall had much greater ramifications. Instead of a yearly 12-course feast, she would now have larger meals spread throughout the year, courtesy of her doting husband.

Perhaps she could reach out to him, offering him some level of protection from Angelic powers. After all, it seemed that Alastor had managed to slip his leash, though she hadn’t seen any sign of him causing havoc as she had expected. Her darling hubby would make for a much more effective hunter, given that he was naturally stronger than the Radio Demon had ever been, and he was less selective about his kills. Even if he was only killing Sinners most of the time, that would be a massive boost to her power over time. And though his power made him resistant to most angelic weapons, he was not immune to them. After all, he had been worn down by a fight with Lucifer enough that an angelic dagger was able to kill him. Improving his resistance would be a crucial part of her plans going forward.

Alastor managing to escape his deal was something that was troublesome for her. He had been infiltrating the Princess’ hotel, at both her own and Lilith’s suggestion, though with differing intentions. The Queen had wanted the Radio Demon to watch over her daughter and assist her in her endeavors, while Roo wanted him to sow dissent and slowly sabotage her efforts. And he had played the latter role marvelously. Appearing to be her benefactor, he had in fact taken steps to passively hinder her plans behind her back.

She knew that he had ulterior motives regarding the Princess. His plan to use the favor he had extracted from her to slip his leash was obvious, as he would naturally try to escape responsibility while retaining his powers. But somehow, she knew that this was not what had happened, both from the lack of a rampage on his part, but also the fact that she could no longer sense the dark powers she had given him.

Something was wrong. Perhaps he had been discovered, likely by Lucifer, and her influence burned away. This could not stand. Roo began to reach out with her powers, pulling at the bond that tied her to her husband, from whom her flesh had been made. She had need of his powers, for their enemy was moving.

Adam felt a familiar power calling to him, one that was ancient and dark, but also feminine and seductive. In a way, it felt like… Eve? She was here? Of course that bitch was here, she ate the fucking fruit like a dumbass! If she needed his help, she must be in some deep shit. Flexing his wings, he took off, leaving Pentagram City towards the very edges of the Pride Ring.

Chapter Text

As it turned out, what Eve was offering was exactly what he needed to be able to take on Luci. A little boost to his power and skill, some protection from Angelic magic, and he was golden. And all she wanted was for him to keep doing what he was already doing. Somehow, she seemed to want the same things as him. Even now, they were still perfect for each other, still soulmates. She still loved him and cared for him, after so long alone.

He had been glad to take her deal, because unlike most deals, what she was asking was for him to continue being himself. By being the awesome person he was, he would become more powerful than ever, enough to take on Lucifer one day. Adam flew off, eager to set his plans into motion.

Roo giggled to herself. After all this time, he was still so easy to manipulate. The alignment of their goals was what had made her choose him as her new hunter, but it was his enormous ego that had made him so perfect. He was so arrogant, so eager to believe his own hype, that he would do whatever she wanted for her praise. Just like in the Garden…

True, she was resourceful, but she did occasionally need things from Adam that he was unwilling to give. And he was, to some extent, able to resist her beguiling beauty. When all else failed, she fell back on the one strategy that had never failed: praise. Stroking his ego in just the right ways could make him do anything.

When she had first come into being, she had been like Lilith, disgusted by his crudeness and arrogance. But in feigning submission, she had learned his ways. He was little more than a wild dog, and he was easily trained. Sure, he was still wild in some ways, but she kept him restrained.

Adam had not changed much at all since he died, save for one major change of importance: his ego, already inflated, had grown to eclipse Heaven itself. This made controlling him all the easier, as he was eager to prove that he could walk the walk and back up his image of himself. By praising him when he succeeded, she would keep him as he had always been, her loyal and subservient little hound.

After about three hours of planning, Adam was sure that the plan he had devised was surely foolproof. Of course, he would have to revise it soon once he was fully rested, but there were more important matters. He was not satisfied with the bimbo who was serving him. He wanted more bitches to drool over him, to worship him as their god, because he was. He was their Father, and in his house, he made the rules.

Of course, he had a cunning plan in place for just such a situation. Using his angelic magic, he summoned forth two succubi from the Lust ring, binding each of them in a magic circle while teasing them. Within a few days, they were starving, reduced to their primal instincts.

Then, he sated them. Using them as nothing more than sex dolls, he fucked them mercilessly, turning their minds to mush. Then he would leave them lying on the floor, back in the magic circle that kept them contained, for a few more days. He repeated this until he was sure they were ready.

Once they began to beg for him, he knew they were ready to serve the Dick Master. In their desperation, they did not care about signing away their souls in exchange for sating their lustful hunger for his cock. These two would begin to do the same thing to other demon bitches, while he recruited more of his sinful descendants.

Soon, he had a whole stable’s worth of dumb whores who would do anything he said. With his needs now sated for the foreseeable future, he turned towards his strategy for conquering Hell. The succubi were crucial to his plan, as they were natives of Hell from the Lust ring. Bound to him and to his will, they would move throughout Hell, bringing bitches to him to be broken and enslaved. Then, he would use his army of whores to conquer the other rings.

Finally, in his last assault, he would use the native demons from the other rings to conquer the Pride Ring. True, the Sins and the Goetia demons would likely be a major roadblock, but his own power combined with the sheer numbers of his army would easily overwhelm them. The path would now be cleared for him to take on Lucifer and enslave his degenerate daughter, making her nothing more than a cocksleeve for his pleasure.

Perhaps after that, he would use his control of Hell to make war on Heaven. They had never quite understood him, with all their boring rules and morals. It would be much more fun if he was in charge.

From on high, the Seraph of Paradox and Contradiction watched Adam as he dreamt idly, frowning as he saw futures possible flashing before his eyes. The Root of Evil was aware and active, having made contact with the First Man and empowered him further, making him even more of a threat. If Adam was not eliminated soon, then chaos, and more importantly, carnage would ensue. Another genocide of Hell could not happen at this point; the Mother of Monsters was already too powerful and such a bloodbath would only make her more of a threat.

He reached out, calling Sera and Emily to his chambers. This tumor would need to be cut out, with surgical precision. Adam was powerful and his inability to limit casualties was, in this case, an unfortunate strength. Fighting him directly would likely cause civilian casualties, and that would feed Roo, which was terrible.

As Sera and Emily entered, he spoke, his face and voice grave. ‘Contact Lucifer. There is a situation with Adam and the Root of All Evil.”

They were shocked only a moment before Emily flew off, ready to deliver the message personally. Sera stayed behind, ready to help prepare for the coming fight.

Chapter Text

Lucifer was busy meeting with the Overlords Carmilla Carmine and Zestial, warning them of the upcoming purges when he felt the summons. Bidding them a polite but hasty farewell, he disappeared in a flash of light. Manifesting on the steps of the Heavenly Embassy, he saw Charlie and Vaggie flying to meet him. As they touched down and entered, Emily rushed out and greeted them warmly, before pulling them into the meeting room.

There, the Seraph they had met before was sitting, with Sera at his right hand. He looked particularly grave. After some brief pleasantries, he cut to the chase. “The Root of Evil is on the move. You may have cut off the Radio Demon, but she has found another hunter, one much more suited to serve her. Adam has made a deal with her, to gain a measure of protection against Holy Light and a small boost in power. And in return, she has asked that he move up his timetable a bit, dealing with you and eventually even Heaven itself.”

“How does she know him? The Root of Evil came to be after his time, so she wouldn’t know him nearly as well!” Lucifer questioned.

The Seraphim leader sighed, “Unfortunately, she existed at the same time as him. You knew her in the Garden as Eve.”

That revelation shocked everyone present. Suddenly, Roo’s title as ‘Mother of Monsters’ made quite a bit of sense- she was the mother of all humanity, the worst of which were here in Hell for their monstrous evil. After some time going into detail as to how she was controlling him (and some comments about his immense ego), they began to put into effect a plan to ensure that they could take care of him.

For one thing, a formal binding truce between the Morningstar family as rulers of Hell and the Heavenly Council as rulers of the Heavenly Host was drafted. They could not afford any fighting at this point, as fallen Sinners would feed the Root. For the same reason, casting Angels out of Heaven was no longer permitted, as Adam’s fall had allowed her to make use of him for her own purposes.

Lucifer knew that now was a time for decisive action. He had been planning this before the meeting, but now he had all the more reason to do so. The time had come to make the denizens of Hell respect and fear the King of Hell. As much as he hated having to use his authority (due to the trauma of his Fall), he would have to suck it up for the greater good.

Charlie knew this too. As much of a kind soul as she was, she knew that her people needed tough love to get through this. Even if it made her feel horrible, she would command the respect of all of Hell, and lead them through this crisis.

A few days later, Hell was in absolute panic. Lucifer had lain down the law like he had not had to for centuries. A formal court session had been held, with the Sins publicly swearing their allegiance to him and Charlie. Then he had outlawed possession and use of all angelic weapons without his direct authorization, promising vengeance to anyone who had one.

That had only been the beginning, as the precise moment that Charlie found out about the class differences between Hellborn demons, Sinners and Nobles, she had gone on a rampage, completely restructuring the social order of all of Hell. Now the Nobles were effectively public servants, while the distinctions between Sinners and Hellborn commoners were almost entirely erased. One of the most interesting cases had been during an interview with Prince Stolas of the Goetia clan.

The Goetia clan, like most of the nobility, were descendants of powerful figures from the beginnings of Hell. Among their ancestors were lesser fallen angels and powerful hellborn demons, who had been powerful in their own time. This Prince Stolas was actually the sixth son of the Goetia clan to be given the name and title of his ancient ancestor.

What was interesting about this case was that he had divorced his wife and was engaged in an affair with an imp who was a former clown turned assassin-for-hire. To make things even more interesting, his wife and her brother had hired an assassin and supplied him with angelic weapons to kill the Prince for money and revenge. Of course, Hell’s princess was not having that shit.

Lucifer had summoned Stella and Marquis Andrealphus to him for questioning and quickly received confirmation. This was because of a oft-forgotten fact from Hell’s early history: the nobility of Hell had, in their antiquity, sworn an oath binding their descendants to obey their King. He had done this to prevent any attempts at a coup, and it was working wonderfully. While the oath was not quite as powerful as it had once been, it was enough to prevent them from lying to him. Hearing the confirmation from their own lips was more than enough to prove them guilty.

Of course, Lucifer wouldn’t allow imps to run an assassination business killing humans on Earth; that was just asking for them to be discovered. He had much better use for this I.M.P. back in Hell to help enforce the law.

There was still quite a lot to sort out as of yet. Baphomet, who had once been the Prince of the Ring of Treachery before it and the Ring of Fraud had collapsed, was causing problems by interfering with Belphegor’s handling of the Sloth Ring. And that was the least of his mischief; entire circles of each ring were under his control. He would eventually bring this treacherous Prince to heel, but he had more important things to focus on.

Blitzø didn’t know how to feel about the recent developments. True, I.M.P. wasn’t allowed on Earth anymore, but they were working for Lucifer himself as enforcers. It definitely helped that he could kick the ass of anyone who was disobeying, especially prissy royals, as a bit of revenge against those who had always looked down on his kind, and on Loona.

But he was conflicted because of his recent breakup with Stolas. The prince did love him deeply, but Blitzø was just damaged goods. He was too broken, too traumatized to deserve love- he stopped that thought before it could get too far. He was a father now, and he couldn’t leave Loona alone. Even if Stolas and he never got back together, he would go on, for her sake.

Stolas was exhilarated. After Lucifer had rescued him from his ex-wife and former brother-in-law, he had been present as the King of Hell verbally tore Paimon a new one, enjoying the sheer despair on his father’s face. No longer would he need to fear that his darling Via would be forced into a marriage contract as he had been, as the fallen angel had put his foot down, explicitly forbidding it.

But at the same time, he was saddened. He was still so deeply wounded that Blitz would think so low of him. It was only after the Princess’ vicious and brutal reformation of the social order, that he realized how much and how often he had been hurt. Hopefully, these changes would help his heart to heal. And if not, he would survive. For Octavia’s sake, if nothing else.

Chapter Text

Out of all the potential irritants they had dealt with, the most concerning was the combined threat of the Vees. Unlike the remaining Overlords, they had not come to swear allegiance to the throne, seeming to be biding their time for now. But still, they would have to answer for all they had wrought. His kingdom may be Hell, but he was still an angel. For their sins, he swore to lay them low.

They were perhaps one of the few actual remaining threats outside of Adam and Roo, and their presence, while generally counter to their own design, was not a major problem. Still, they could not afford any distractions or potential coups during their war with the Root of Evil. And any of the three would gladly stab them in the back if the opportunity presented itself, so they would need to be taken care of immediately.

Lucifer knew that none of the Vees would come if he called them, so he had arranged a more… forceful summons for them. He didn’t like giving that order, but it needed to be done, for the good of his citizens. Besides, he had to have a little talk with Val, for entirely paternal reasons.

An hour later, Vox, Valentino and Velvette were dragged into the throne room and made to kneel before the throne. They looked quite the worse for wear, several nasty-looking scars littering Val’s body, while Vox’s screen seemed to have a few cracks in it. Velvette’s dress was torn (though fortunately not in a revealing fashion), and her hairdo was ruined, leaving her gloriously unkempt.

By contrast, those they made to kneel before were immaculately dressed. Lucifer, in his usual suit, though with additional jewelry that he did not usually wear. Charlie, already in her full demonic form, sitting at her father’s right hand. Prince Stolas, who was currently serving as Lucifer’s chief adviser, sat at his lord’s left side, dressed in attire befitting a prince of the Goetia family.

The imps of I.M.P., who had been ordered to capture the three overlords, approached the throne, then bowed deeply (and in Blitz’s case, flinched when he locked eyes with Stolas, looking away in shame and guilt). Moxxie produced a magical bag, from which he removed several angelic weapons he had confiscated from the prisoners, many of which were once owned by Valentino. These were quickly put to the side to be put into a vault later, as there was more important business at the moment.

“You three have been avoiding my presence for quite some time now. I decided to force the issue and bring you here so that we could have a little discussion about your behavior.” Lucifer began, calmly.

Vox seemed to want to speak, but the fact that Millie was holding a knife to his throat gave him pause. It was no angelic knife, but he did not doubt that Lucifer would allow her the use of one if needed. So, he held his tongue, allowing the King of Hell to speak.

“Vox, while I am not pleased by your exploitation of the souls under your command, that is not the issue here. The problem is your direct insubordination to the royal family. You have directly moved against my daughter’s hotel, the deed to which is mine. The actual physical building of the hotel is mine, and I have allowed her to use it for her plans. Ergo, you have displayed contempt for the royal family, and by working against her, you have effectively committed treason. If not for extenuating circumstances, I would have you killed on the spot for such disrespect. But because of that, I ask only that you swear to be obedient to my family.”

Vox looked absolutely furious at this demand, but with a knife at his throat, all of his angelic weapons confiscated, and a powerful Angel ready and willing to eliminate him should he try anything, he had no choice. He bound himself with powerful oaths, making himself nothing less than loyal to the King of Hell.

“Velvette, you are generally disrespectful and arrogant to everyone. You are a vicious, entitled little brat, and your punishment will be equally severe.” The influencer gulped, as he addressed her. “Since you have yet to learn humility, you will be a master over others no longer, but a servant.” Here his grin widened cruelly, as he elaborated, “Specifically, you will be a maid working at my daughter’s hotel. You will work hard to ensure that it is kept spotless, without using your powers. And above all, you will be courteous and respectful even to the worst of demons.”

Velvette looked like she was about to throw a tantrum, as the unfairness of her punishment filled her mind. But she kept silent, knowing that there was nothing she could do to change his mind. So she nodded, and swore to obey Charlie’s every command while under her employ.

“Valentino. Where do I even begin, you absolute piece of shit? First off, you are in violation of Hell’s laws regarding the Sin of Lust, as set down by the King of the Sin of Lust, Asmodeus. Using mental subjugation and coercion to force sexual relations is patently illegal. Your saliva, which is a major ingredient in the black-market love potions you and your business partners sell, is a direct violation of that decree. You use that to keep your minions enslaved to you, mindlessly obedient from the sheer bliss that it causes.”

Valentino didn’t seem to care at all that he was using and making date-rape drugs. In fact, he seemed almost proud of it. Lucifer continued, “Your violent tendencies almost led you to attack my daughter and her hotel, which, as I have already said, constitutes treason. You also held on to your angelic weapons collection after those were banned six days ago. That seems like blatant proof that you are a criminal. Hell may not have many laws, given that its citizens are demons, but some lines are not meant to be crossed.”

Lucifer’s face turned stony as he continued, his voice slowly growing louder and angrier. “But what is most egregious of you is the blatant sexual assault of my daughter, the Princess of Hell. Did you really think that you were going to get away with that? Did you think you were going to get away after trying to turn her into one of your sex slaves?!” By now, Lucifer was in his full demon form, and Stolas’ eyes were darkened in fury, as his own paternal instincts burst forth to protect his lord’s daughter.

Valentino sputtered, trying in vain to explain what he meant and find a way out of his predicament, but Charlie interrupted him. “You asked me if I wanted to become a movie star, while licking me. Your saliva is an ingredient in love potions! How is that not both sexual assault and attempted enslavement of a royal?”

Stolas was fully transformed now, Blitz was backing off from holding Val in place to allow his former beau to threaten the Overlord. As Blitz watched Stolas and Lucifer have a tag-team tirade in Val’s face, he saw the appeal of his former boytoy’s good looks as they were contorted in incandescent rage. Some of the points he was making illustrated how furious he was at the moth demon for exploiting the Sinners under his thumb. To see that he was so concerned about them made him realize that, in fact, Stolas had truly cared for him.

As he allowed their points to sink in, he thought of this point taking advantage of Loony. And he SNAPPED. What had been a two-person harmony of anger swelled to three parts, and then four as Charlie joined in. For several minutes, they stood over Valentino, mocking and berating him for his foul deeds. As they stepped away, Blitz thought about what he had just done, working with Stolas to help Lucifer as fellow dads. He could get used to that. Though he should probably work things out with Stolas soon.

Lucifer sighed as he sat down on the throne, and spoke, his voice hoarse from several minutes of screaming. “Guards, take him to the dungeon. I can’t think of what to do with him right now. We are too pissed at him to make it something worthwhile.”

Chapter Text

Now that the Vees were laid low, the royal court were sure that they were ready now to make a real change in their kingdom. Vox, bound by the powerful oaths he had been ensnared in, had been forced to completely revamp all of his operations, especially the media and tech companies under his sway. Katie Killjoy had only narrowly managed to hang on to her job, thanks to Charlie deciding to give her a second chance. But it had been agreed that that was all she would be getting.

Velvette, naturally, was absolutely livid at her punishment, but she seemed to be handling it well so far. Even with Angel constantly insulting her and Niffty working her to the bone, she hadn’t broken down yet (as far as they knew). The Hotel was even cleaner than before, which was surprising given Niffty’s crazed focus on keeping the place spotless. Somehow, even such a horrible maid as Velvette actually did help to improve the place. Though again that was likely Niffty’s doing, as the former Overlord was now under the authority of the manic little gremlin.

But all that paled in comparison to what had been done to Valentino. Lucifer had spared no expense when it came to humiliating the piece of shit who had dared to assault his daughter. The first and most important aspect of his punishment was the surgical removal of his salivary glands. Since his saliva was used to make love potions, they made sure to remove them, even going so far as to use holy water to make sure they don’t regrow.

And that was but the beginning, for among the confiscated angelic weaponry was a coil of blessed rope, which was powerful enough to nullify Stolas’ abilities. Therefore, since the prince both outranked and outclassed the Overlords, it should be effective in shutting down most of Val’s powers. The only ability that he still had was the ability to regenerate, even if obliterated.

This was the curse that all Sinners endured as punishment for their sins, and only angelic power could bypass it, which was why they had rounded up all angelic weapons in Hell. It was for that same reason that they had used holy water to prevent Val’s salivary glands from regrowing. They didn’t want to risk him using any of his powers, and especially not him escaping. So they took drastic measures to stop him.

Val was currently being rotated through various districts of the Pride Ring as a living scratching post for anyone to use. His arrival soon became a popular event in Cannibal Town, where they had made a tradition of eating him when he arrived. The first time that this had happened, they had feared that he would die. Even though he was regenerating as they devoured his flesh, eventually, his body had given out.

They had feared then that he had been absorbed by the Root of Evil for a few hours. But soon enough, a new body appeared, relieving their fears that he had been finally slain. The two days that he had spent in Cannibal Town had been immeasurably rough on Val. He had had to manifest an entirely new body several times over the course of forty-eight hours. It was quite enjoyable for them to witness his suffering, given how he had treated the Princess.

But of course, they had bigger things to worry about. For one, the dual threat of Adam and the Root of Evil were still looming over all of Hell. Not to mention the rogue assassin hunting down Prince Stolas, the inevitable headache that was dealing with the former Sin Baphomet, and of course, Mammon being a royal pain in their ass. The drama between Mammon and Asmodeus was unfortunately timed, and very confusing.

That is to say, it had been confusing, until Blitzø of I.M.P., apparently a childhood friend of Asmodeus’ lover and Mammon’s former employee Fizzarolli, explained it to him. According to him, the beef between the two Kings of Sin was because Ozzie and Blitz had convinced Fizz to quit working for Mammon, for the sake of his own health. Of course, Mammon was not about to allow such a popular brand figure slip out from underneath his thumb, leading to a major confrontation in front of a live audience.

Shortly after this revelation, Blitzø and Stolas went into a separate room, clearly needing to talk to each other about something. Lucifer and Charlie allowed them privacy, focusing on the issues at hand.

“Ya know, Stolas, you were right. I didn’t realize how much you cared for me. After the life I’d had, with my piece of shit father and all the heartbreak, I was really fucked up. I was too used to people shitting all over me. I thought that you were just one of those people but… you’re not,” Blitzø started.

Stolas sighed, as he agreed with his former lover. “In a way, you were right as well. I didn’t really know just how badly you had it, both because you are an imp and because of your past.”

“Living in a palace not all it’s cracked up to be, huh?”

“Indeed. It’s really little more than a gilded cage. And I was so used to the privilege of being a royal that I didn’t even question how things are. It wasn’t until the full moon that I learned just how badly you had suffered, and even though I was hurt by your rejection, I felt even worse for you.”

Blitzø nodded, saying, “It’s not hard being at the bottom of the totem pole, especially when you live in Greed. Even back at the family circus, life was pretty fucked up. A lot of imps don’t really like the royals, given the luxury you live in at our expense.”

“It was quite shocking to discover how bad things were. I had thought that it wasn’t as widespread before the Princess went on her little rampage, but it is. So many are suffering because of my family… It makes me feel horrible. None of this has to happen just because this is Hell.”

“But you are working to fix it, right?” Stolas looked at Blitzø in mild surprise. “Come on, I’ve been on bodyguard duty while you were meeting with the Morningstars. I’ve overheard a lot of your conversations, and I gotta say, you really impressed me.”

Stolas looked at Blitzø shyly, and asked, “Does this mean… does this mean that we are friends again?”

Blitzø nodded simply, and added slyly, “We can be much more than that…”

Stolas gasped as he embraced Blitzø. Moxxie, who had been there guarding the door during their conversation, sighed in disgust, moving to guard the other side of the door. Hopefully he wouldn’t hear any suspicious noises from his boss any time soon. Blitz’s stalking was bad enough, and he had a sneaking suspicion that trying to do the same would only encourage him.

Chapter Text

Adam sighed out of contentment. Even since he had fallen from Heaven, his life had only improved. His dear wife had come and given him some protection for basically free, like the submissive housewife she was. And he had a stable full of stupid demon sluts at his beck and call. Soon, he would be ready to go out and start his campaign of extermination, but for now, he was busy relaxing.

One of the major parts of owning another’s soul was that your powers increased somewhat. It mostly manifested as enhanced control over your minions, but he had noticed an increase in his powers. Of course, it had taken a while for him to notice, so by this point, he was significantly more potent, because of the sheer number of bitches he had under his control.

Oddly enough, this newfound power played well with his remaining angelic light. He guessed that because he was a fallen angel, one who had defied the will of the Light, the demonic powers saw him as a more acceptable master. Though Eve’s demonic protection from Holy Light certainly helped his case.

Becoming an Overlord was more than just a minor power boost: it allowed them to tap into the demonic essence of their subordinates. This was how most of them controlled their minions, and the exact reason why angels usually couldn’t become victims to Overlords, or Overlords themselves. Even fallen angels were unable to be bound by their souls, simply because of the power of the first light dwelling within their veins.

And this was one major reason why Lucifer hadn’t used the same powers as the Overlords to bring order to Hell. Besides his dislike of such means, as an Angel who still held to the tenets of the Primordial Light, even though he had fallen, he was physically incapable of using such magic. The same applied to that whore Vaggie, but not to Luci’s brat- as a half-Sinner, she held an equal amount of angelic and demonic power. It was only her hatred of Overlords that prevented her from becoming one herself.

But Adam was different. He had not simply been cast out of Heaven by Sera, or even her boss. No, his own actions had damned him. Every cruelty he had inflicted had marked his soul with such darkness, that when he was killed by that fucking janitor, of all things, the Primordial Light had fully left him.

Before he had become an Overlord, he had only had a few remaining scraps of angelic light left within him, already twisting into demonic power. But because of Eve’s help, and his ascension, he was now back to his old strength. In fact, he was even better! Thanks to her, he now had some level of resistance to Light.

He had of course, tested this out on himself. Firing off a small blast hadn’t even phased him, and he could easily shrug off even his strongest barrage of attacks. Of course, it still hurt like a bitch, so he had had one of his whores take care of all his medical needs.

Now that he was healed, though, he had all that he needed. Adam snapped his fingers, and the bitch sucking him off retreated, crawling on all fours into a dog cage, which he made sure to seal before he left. Within about five minutes, he had gathered all that he needed- his mask, now suitably cool; his axe, in more ways than one; and of course, a backup angelic dagger, in case he got into trouble.

With everything he needed on his person, Adam left his man-cave, grinning as he thought of the coming carnage.

Eve smiled as she saw her hunter setting out on his first hunt. He truly was the perfect little puppy for her, even after all this time!

Of course, it was partly because of her that all of this had come together so well. It was because of her that he was able to wield the powers of the Overlords, though of course, she had to thank the Primordial Light for shunning him as it had. Even though it had greatly diminished the power of his angelic abilities, in the end, that had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Because he, unlike the other Fallen Angels, had fully turned his back on the tenets of Light long ago, he was more receptive to the powers of the Dark.

The protective blight she had given him was working wondrously, though she had briefly feared his power would degrade. But her hubby surprised her greatly, binding Sinner and Hellborn demons to his will. With that move, he had not only stopped the loss of his powers, but fully restored his angelic light and extended his Sinner powers.

Of course, the fact that this also gave him a stable full of unfortunate girls bound to his will was a benefit to her; she was happy that Adam had found sexual relief elsewhere, as he was terrible in bed. She did not once think about the plight of her distant descendants, used as toys by their forebear. Her children existed to serve her purposes, just as Adam did.

And now that he had laid the foundations for his conquest of Hell, she was chuckling darkly. Even when he was thinking with his dick, he had come up with a brilliant plan to slowly spread his influence across Hell. The succubi had access to the elevators, as well as to Asmodean crystals. They would be crucial parts of his campaign against Hell and Earth. And once he had taken those realms, finally their attention could turn to the Heavens themselves.

Eve smiled as she thought of it. It was what the Primordial Darkness had always desired. And as the closest thing to a true avatar of that Darkness, it pleased her to know that such a thing was within her grasp. But first, she would retake her realm.

Chapter Text

Of course, it was not long before he found himself in recognizable territory. His den was in the Pride Ring, in the aptly named Doomsday ward of Pentagram City. Where most demons avoided the place unless absolutely necessary, the spot he had chosen was surprisingly intact and well-suited to his plans.

This ward was notably close to Uptown, where Lucifer’s half-breed slut of a daughter had her little hotel, and the Cannibal Colony, whose residents had assisted in fighting off his Extermination. He was also situated relatively far from the Heavenly Embassy, but the building he lived in had a magnificent view of it, allowing him to keep an eye on the comings and goings of possible pursuers. All in all, from a tactical standpoint, it had been a fine choice.

But one thing that was slightly irritating to him was that no one lived here. He had known that of course, as it had been a major reason for him choosing the area as a base. After all, it wouldn’t do for him to be seen, because then his base could be found and he could be hunted down. Of course, on the flip side, this made his self-imposed mission of retributive Extermination just a bit more difficult. He had to manually walk to more populated areas before beginning.

Flying was out of the question, even if they already knew he was back. After all, flying was noisy, obvious. For now, while he was getting started, he had to stick to stealthier means. Besides, he wasn’t fully recovered from his Fall yet; his injuries were still somewhat fresh and his control over his powers wasn’t as precise as they had once been. But eventually, he wouldn’t have to put up with such lame tactics. Hopefully very soon, he will be able to be more obvious with his powers.

He was halfway towards Uptown when he felt it. A powerful surge of angelic energy originating from just above the Embassy. Looking up, he saw his worst fears confirmed – a portal was being opened, with Exorcists coming out. He was powerful and talented, yes, and he did have the distinct advantage of literally having trained them in combat. But he had always struggled in dealing with groups. When he was surrounded, he usually resorted to using his considerable power for crowd control. But right now, when his powers weren’t yet fully stabilized, he wasn’t sure that he could beat them.

Adam wished with all his might that they didn’t know where he was, that they were unaware of his return. But his heart sunk as he saw their formation speeding towards his position. He sighed, calling on his full powers as he counted the number of foes approaching him. Eleven. Shit.

The one he was focused on most was the angel flying point, as he could feel a powerful light within them. Though he also felt a certain sense of… familiarity? Who could it be? Hopefully it’s not someone he fucked, those bitches were always so petty during spars!

As the other ten angels surrounded him, blocking all means of escape, he saw their leader. Lute, his former lieutenant, was hovering in front of him, her face sad but determined. Her usual black and gray uniform was replaced with one much closer to his own color scheme, and her prosthetic hand carried an obviously blessed longsword, which she slowly lifted, pointing it towards him.

“Adam… I didn’t want to believe it…” she gasped, obviously still grieving for him.

The fallen angel felt a stirring in his heart when she spoke. Even with his usual attitude towards women in general, she was one of his few subordinates who had his favor. More than that, they had an actual bond, built over centuries of fighting alongside each other.

“Lute… It’s me! We don’t have to fight. We’re…” Adam faltered, not able to put words to what he meant. Lute looked at him, with tears beginning to form.

“No, we… we do have to fight. You Fell from the Light, Adam! I have to do this!” she replied, haltingly at first, but devolving into furious sobs as she spoke.

Hearing this, the once-first man sighed, realizing that there was no way to change her mind. It was one of the things he liked about her- she was fiercely devoted to Heaven. But now, when they were on opposite sides… it broke his heart. Tensing his hands as he prepared to summon his axe, he commented, “So much for the reunion, then…”

His old comrades had noticed him calling on his powers, knowing his tells quite well from years of sparring with and fighting alongside him. They rushed him as one, the fallen angel’s unholy axe manifesting in his hand as he moved to block Lute’s opening slash.

Lucifer sighed in exhaustion, absolutely worn out by that fight. The Embassy had sent word that they had sighted Adam making his way towards the Hotel, as well as asking for permission to send down a squad of Exorcists to stop him. He had given his agreement, before calling for Charlie and Vaggie. The three of them had quickly gotten prepped, and as soon as the portal opened, their eyes had snapped to the angels coming out of it.

As they watched, the squad headed to the area of the Pentagram between Uptown and… was he coming from the Doomsday ward? Tactically it made sense, but they were surprised that Adam was willingly living in a literal dumpster-fire. Both Lucifer and Lilith had tried for centuries to clean up and revitalize the area, before finally giving up, prioritizing more solvable problems. Unfortunately, that had come back to bite them in the ass, as the fact that it was an unpopulated wasteland made it a perfect stronghold for their Fallen foe.

But soon, they focused back on the fight, arriving only minutes after the Exorcists had. Most of them were heavily wounded, with only Lute, who apparently had been charged with eliminating Adam, managing to stand on anything close to equal ground. And even still, she was on the brink of defeat, emotionally and physically drained by having to face her old boss (and likely former lover).

Despite her grudge towards the hellish warriors, she stood abreast with them, setting aside her hatred for the sake of her mission. With their help, she had managed to drive Adam away, forcing him to fly in the direction of the Second Circle town of Chata, one of the older towns formed from almost the very beginning of Hell. In fact, according to some folk tales, after he had died, Cain had been banished there. The town was infamous for it, with a monthly blood sacrifice being held there in his honor.

Of course, they doubted that Cain was actually there, or that he would help his father, but they had to focus on more immediate problems. Lucifer and Charlie began seeing to the wounded Exorcists, while Vaggie had a little talk with Lute. It was surprisingly quiet, considering the history between the two. But in the end, he didn’t complain. If it meant he could focus his energy on helping others, he wouldn’t argue.

In the end, the combination of the fight and the extensive healing that Lute’s allies had needed had taken its toll on him as well as Charlie. Vaggie had ordered them to rest for the next day, promising that she would be enough to handle things while they recovered their strength. After wishing his daughter a good rest, he had flopped down on his bed, and quickly fell asleep.

Vaggie sighed to herself, as she contemplated what had happened. She had known that Adam was back, and likely planning further Exterminations, but seeing him running around and kicking ass like Niffty hadn’t killed him was still a little shocking. Fortunately, she was able to recover enough to be a major player in the fight; even if she couldn’t use magic like Charlie and her dad could, she was an angel too, experienced in combat and in fighting angels.

That had not been the difficult part of her day. No, that had come later on, after Adam had fled. Because fucking Lute decided to come up to her and start talking about her conflicted feelings. And as empathetic as she felt at hearing the other angel talk about the agony of fighting against a partner, she most certainly did not enjoy being near Lute in the slightest. Sure, they were allies, but they were in no way friends. After all, Lute had been the one to take her eye and her wings. Even if her wings were back now, that pain still lingered.

Lute was still fundamentally the same person who had happily helped Adam carry out genocide for centuries, who had maimed her for daring to show mercy to an innocent child. Even despite her kind nature, her scars were too deep for that. And if she didn’t change, Vaggie would never fully sympathize with her old enemy, nor would she ever truly forgive her.

Chapter Text

Adam was decidedly not in Chata. Oh sure, he had heard the rumors about the lesser of his two sons, and he had briefly considered searching for him. But eventually, he had decided that Cain was not worth it just yet. For one thing, Adam was only barely recovered enough to go hunting, and while Cain would be a helpful addition, the fact was that his corrupted son was just as likely to try and kill him as he was to help.

After all, during the first years of the Exterminations, he had given special orders to hunt down Cain to his subordinates. And that might not do him any favors, given that that was something known within Hell’s folklore. Some even speculated that Cain had disappeared to flee from him, or else that he had killed his son.

Which left him with a dead end that could come back to haunt him, but he should be good for the moment. Besides, Cain was a Sinner, a demonic entity. Even if he had fallen, he was still an angel, so there was little his son could do to hurt him- unless he had an angelic weapon. That was a distinct possibility, given that the fuck-up who called himself a King had only recently outlawed them in Hell and started confiscating them.

But for the moment, he still had an Extermination to carry out. And even though his former right-hand had managed to intercept him, he was nothing if not crafty. True, he hadn’t had to use his most of his cunning for eons, given that he had been a revered angel, but now things had changed.

Fortunately, he had enough of a grasp on his new unholy powers, and lifetimes worth of experience in his holier ones, to be able to use some subtle magic. Extending his hand, he opened a swirling portal in front of him, leading into the Entertainment district. True, it was not on the exact opposite side of the Pentagram, but that point was firmly within the Industrial district, territory of Carmilla Carmine and Zestial Morrde, close personal friends of Lucifer’s and of that half-breed [REDACTED FOR DECENCY] Charlie.

The entertainment district, overseen by the Vees, was perfect for beginning his work. While the three had been brought to heel by the royals, Velvette’s duties at that tacky fuckin’ Hotel kept her away from the Vees’ tower, and Valentino was spending his days as Hell’s all-in-one punching bag, scratching post and all-you-can-eat buffet. So only Vox was there in the Tower, and while his security was good, he was far too busy with his new responsibilities to be too focused on securing his turf.

And as expected, by the end of the night, he had returned to his bunker in the Doomsday district, with at least 300 casualties. Most of those had been the result of a slip-up in a nightclub near the end of the night, where he had accidentally let on that he was killing people and had to eliminate all of the witnesses. Fortunately, he managed to get out of there before anyone had noticed the massacre he’d perpetrated.

The following day was quite entertaining, as he saw on the morning news that they had discovered at least the massacre. And by midday, they had discovered nearly 2/3 of his victims and realized that this wasn’t a Sinner’s work. Morningstar’s slut of a daughter had actually appeared on the news and testified as to the angelic energy on the victims. True, she didn’t come out and say it was him, though that could mean two things: Either they hadn’t connected it to him and they were assuming it was someone with an illegal holy weapon, or they knew it was him and they didn’t want to worry the public.

Well, eventually, he’d be strong enough to reveal himself to the masses of Hell. Even though Heaven and the top dogs of Hell were aware of him, the rest were entirely unaware of him. And revealing his survival and his campaign would both help to undermine Lucifer’s strengthened authority and to sow fear among his victims.

But for now, he’d wait for about a week, enough for his wounds to heal. And if he enjoyed himself in the meantime, that was his choice. After all, he was the one in charge of this wasteland. He was the Dick Master, and he made the rules. It didn’t matter who a bitch was, as soon as she was in his house, she was his woman, his toy to play with as he pleased. In a sense, it was his own twisted Eden, growing the most forbidden and delicious of fruits for his consumption alone.

One day, he’d bring Charlie and her little girlfriend here, and then he’d teach them that truth. He was the one in charge, and they existed to serve him and his pleasure. Who knows? Maybe he’d even get the [redacted]’s mother to finally submit to him. It pleased him to think of his sister, so unwilling to just do as he said, being so obedient.

Lilith, of course, had had a certain visitor. By that point, her deal with Roo had been almost entirely broken, and the powers she had once held were quickly replaced with an angelic equivalent. And then, in no uncertain terms, she had been told to go to her husband and her daughter.

All that had happened in just about a half hour. Where only an hour ago she had been relaxing on the shores of a Heavenly Ocean, now she was in a royal limousine again. One which curiously had a broken adjustable window roller between the driver and passenger areas, one that had a throwing star embedded in it.

Of course, the thing that had drawn her attention as she got out of the limousine was how much this Hotel had changed. She walked slowly to the door and knocked softly, ready for a reunion.

Chapter Text

Charlie, Vaggie and Lucifer were extremely overworked at this point. Between their responsibilities as the rulers of Hell during this turbulent time, and trying to make sure the Hotel succeeded, they were exhausted. And the latest incident had really taken much of their focus away from Charlie’s labor of love, as they had discovered Adam’s crimes.

They wanted to make sure that Hell was strong enough to actually endure the prolonged conflict that fighting Adam, and eventually the Root of Evil, would cause. That was one of two major reasons that they had not explicitly come out and said that Adam was behind the massacres. The other major reason was quite simple: the denizens of Hell had very good reasons not to trust Heaven. And given that the Heavenly Host were their allies in taking out Adam and his dark mistress, they needed time to get their citizens used to fighting alongside angels rather than against them.

Charlie had been especially irritated by Adam’s poor timing, as she had been focusing on helping Angel Dust out. The formerly contract-bound pornstar was reveling in his newfound freedom, and Charlie had been helping him adjust to that, planning on slowly helping him to heal his traumas and get off of the hardcore drugs he used. But when the former Exorcist commander-in-chief revealed himself and began attacking her people again, she was furious.

Even thinking about it now was enough to turn her eyes red. She shook her head, took a deep breath, and turned back to Angel. Charlie was busy doing some talk therapy with him, trying to help him internalize that good feelings didn’t have to come from a bottle or a dick. Niffty, fortunately, was a great help in this regard, having built a strong bond with him. So too, was Fat Nuggets, Angel’s pet piglet. He had, originally, been one of many make-up presents from Valentino- she forced herself to calm down, the thought of that asshole riling her up- and he had really taken to him.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Charlie turned towards the door, confused. She looked back at Angel, who shrugged in equal confusion, before she got up. Walking cautiously towards the door, she could see a tall silhouette on the other side. Immediately, she turned and shouted, “Vaggie, Dad, could you come here real quick?”

The two fallen angels were at her side in about ten seconds, and they were staring at the door while flanking the Princess, weapons drawn and ready for a fight. But that was not what they got. For the one on the other side of the door was someone extremely familiar to everyone there, even if only in pictures.

“Lily?” asked Lucifer dazedly.

“Wait, Lilith?” Vaggie asked, shocked that now, of all times, her girlfriend’s mother had finally come home.

“…Mom?” Charlie asked weakly, tears in her eyes as she beheld her mother in the flesh for the first time in seven years.

Lilith nodded, and Charlie jumped into her mother’s arms, Lucifer and Vaggie joining the impromptu group hug, spreading their wings and using them to encircle their loved ones.

“Mom,” Charlie breathed in relief, “you’re home.”

Everyone who saw the scene was crying by this point, seeing the Princess who had fought tooth and nail for them reunited with her mother. Niffty was bawling, while Angel was tearing up, thinking of his own mother with longing and regret. Alastor, of course, was in his old radio studio, where he had been confined ever since his deal had been broken.

It was into this scene that Husk returned to the bar, having been working in the storage room out back. Looking around, he quickly assessed the situation and, realizing that an influx of orders was likely, he went to restock his bar for the post-reunion celebration.

---

As the three angels quickly learned, Lilith was fully up to speed on everything that had happened recently. What she was more focused on was catching up on what she had missed- specifically, the time she had missed with her daughter and her husband. When Vaggie had introduced herself, Lilith had ignored her offered hand and given her a hug, thanking her profusely for being such a wonderful partner to Charlie. Vaggie had quickly accepted the hug, feeling safe in a way that was uncommon in Hell. It was a familiar feeling, similar to how it felt when she cuddled with Charlie- oh, that’s where she got it from. Lucifer was definitely very affectionate, but Charlie definitely seemed to get more than just her height from Lilith.

Both of the Morningstar women had a presence about them, a feeling of benevolent majesty that soothed her deeply. It definitely helped that they were very kind people, but there was something undefinable that she couldn’t put her finger on. Eventually, she had given up and asked her.

“It’s actually an echo of the first light, if you can believe it. Because the Council of Elders actually created us from light, we were almost like angels. Our personalities gave us unique powers, and because I was meant to be the kind and reassuring wife, I have this kind of reassuring aura. And because Charlie is my daughter and Lucifer’s, she also has that kind of aura.” Lilith revealed.

“Wouldn’t everyone have an aura like Adam’s then? Because Eve was made from him, and they gave birth to all humanity.” Charlie asked, confused.

“You’d think so, but it doesn’t work that way. Because of what happened in Eden,” Lucifer began, his smile becoming noticeably more forced as he mentioned his Fall, “humanity wasn’t as much like the angels. Nowadays, you only get that kind of power if you go to heaven. That’s where the power of Winners comes from.”

“And the power of Sinners comes from the evil in their hearts, right?” Vaggie asked, receiving a nod from Lucifer, who added, “Those powers aren’t really magic, but it’s close. Only the really powerful angels and demons can use actual magic, like me or Charlie.”

Lilith actually interjected here, saying, “I actually still have my powers. Can even use magic now.”

“How? Your deal with Roo was broken!” Charlie asked, surprised. If that was the basis for her mom’s power, then when she was set free, wouldn’t she have lost them?

“The angels decided that it would be for the best to give me basically the same powers, as long as I focused my energy on protecting my family. Not really much of an ask on their end, if I’m being honest,” Lilith answered, embracing her daughter as she finished speaking.

Chapter Text

Ever since the Vees had been laid low, life had been much different for Angel. Given that his soul was now his again, and his former employer was being tormented by all of Hell, he was pretty much on cloud nine. Even once he returned to work, it was far better than it had been under Val.

After all, the big Ozz himself had taken over the Pornographic Overlord’s business, putting quite a few restrictions in place that he was glad for. Asmodeus and his boyfriend had actually personally come up to him in order to explain these changes, and to be honest, he was quite happy that they were so worried about him. As the apple of the former Overlord’s eye and the focus of his dark desires, they wanted to make sure that their reforms were good enough for him.

One of the most important changes was that the entirety of the business was focused on the performers’ choice- he was allowed to say no, and they would listen to him. Angel had questioned the King of Sin about this, and he had calmly explained his personal philosophy on lust.

“Lust shouldn’t be about force, kiddo. It’s about the journey to pleasure town. And if one person doesn’t want to go on that journey, they won’t get there even if you do.”

To be honest, that sounded amazing. And for the first time in quite a long while, he was actually able to feel the pleasure from performing. It had been so long that he was caught entirely off-guard by it, acting almost like a virgin again. (Almost.) And it was intoxicating. Fuck, it was better than crack had ever been! His ass didn’t even hurt that much, which was a given considering that Fizzarolli had made sure that he was lubed up before filming.

Of course, the imp’s presence was one of the major differences in his life. He was kind, understanding and very funny. Honestly, if he and Ozzie weren’t together, Angel might feel tempted to get to know him in a more intimate way. But he could tell that the two of them were almost made for each other. They fit together just perfectly, in body and- what did a hellborn demon have instead of a soul? They definitely both had minds and hearts, but that wasn’t what he was getting at.

Regardless, Fizz was a really good friend. Of course, he was frequently accompanied by his apparent childhood best friend, Blitz. He had seen the other imp around the Hotel, mostly working security for Charlie and her dad, but he hadn’t realized that he was so close to Fizz. Eventually, he had worked up the courage to ask about their past, and was told the whole sordid story.

Seeing Fizz’s shattered horns was heartbreaking, but inspiring. If he was opening up about what had happened to him… it was only fair that he do the same. So, he slowly started to talk, hesitantly and tearfully, about everything that Val had done to him, about all the shit he had had to put up with ever since he had come to Hell. By the time he had finished talking about Val, he couldn’t help himself, delving deep into his old life back on Earth.

Interestingly enough, Blitz said he knew someone who could relate to him. Apparently, his employee Moxxie was the son of a mafia boss in the Greed ring who had run away from that life. He offered to arrange a meeting between the two, and Angel quickly accepted. After that, Blitz walked off to continue his rounds, but not before suggesting that he open up to Charlie. After all, if he wanted to move past this shit, therapy would probably help.

Angel understood what he meant perfectly. Charlie may be overly enthusiastic and honestly a little much some days, but she cared. She would move Heaven and Earth to help someone in need.

Of course, not everything that had changed was related to the fall of the Vees. One major thing that had caused him immense amusement was the similar fall of Alastor. The strawberry pimp, once one of the strongest Sinners in Hell’s history, was now employed as the Hotel’s busboy. True, he wasn’t completely powerless at this point- he did have some control over his shadow and over radio waves, but it was at the same level as his own abilities- not much.

There had been one thing that had given them a brief scare when Alastor had emerged from isolation in his tower- he had displayed legit demonic magic. That shit wasn’t supposed to fuckin’ happen, accordin’ to Luci, and it had taken hours for them ta figure out how he was still able to do it. In the end, X-face had simply concluded that since Alastor had apparently used magic in life, it made sense that he would have some magical ability in his afterlife. Smiles’ deal just amplified his powers, rather than giving him completely new ones.

Naturally, given that he was far less powerful than he once was, and there was so little protecting him from being erased by Lucifer, Alastor had more or less settled into the role of being part of the Hotel’s staff. He was extremely respectful now, all too aware of how dangerous his usual attitude was in this new situation. Though there was one major exception to his politeness: Velvette.

Because her punishment had been to work under Niffty at the Hotel, she was there on a consistent basis. And once Alastor emerged, the two ex-Overlords started fighting anytime they were in the same room. Well, anytime that nobody was watching. They weren’t so suicidal as to argue in front of Lucifer. Hell, they were afraid to argue in front of him at this point, which was honestly pretty fuckin’ hilarious.

Of course, things had naturally only gotten better since Charlie’s mom came back. She was actually surprisingly sweet, as he had discovered during one of his sessions with Charlie. Lilith had talked to him like his mother had, telling him that he had self-worth, that his life meant something, and that he should do what makes him happy. Naturally, he had bawled his eyes out, his time in Hell having lowered his emotional defenses against the kindness of a mother.

Chapter Text

It was certainly a good kind of day to be him. After all, he had managed to pull off another successful Extermination today, and afterwards he had allowed himself to sample the plentiful delights that his garden of honeys provided. All in all, everything was coming up Adam’s way.

So far, his plans were coming along quite nicely, as each Extermination not only thinned out the herd but also helped him to relearn finer control over his powers. And with every life he snuffed out, he could almost feel himself growing in power. It was exhilarating, his every waking moment consumed with either fighting or fucking- just as he loved.

Of course, there was one minor change to his plans, but that was a fairly recent one. Apparently one of the sluts he had bound to his thralldom had a serious thing for monstrous lovers and rough fucking. Which he certainly found interesting for a bitch. He was actually somewhat fascinated with his slutty young descendant, finding her attitude towards submission extremely satisfying.

But while plowing her sinfully tight ass, a thought had crossed his mind. He could take advantage of this. By whoring her out, she could find satisfaction and simultaneously lure in other demons for him to bind to his will. True, this aspect of the plan was not quite as solid as his use of the succubi to invade the other rings of Hell, but it was still a tantalizing possibility.

Through his devoted Emberlynn, even the male residents of Hell would kneel before him. Though they would naturally not be doing the same kind of kneeling as their sisters were…

As expected, things were certainly not going very well for Alastor. True, it turned out that he was not as powerless as he had originally feared, but he was certainly nowhere near the level of power he once commanded. Naturally, he had had to adapt, falling back on the manners he had kept up only out of habit in order to keep himself alive.

Now he was forced to work as part of the Hotel’s staff, which was irritating enough on its own. But the presence of Velvette, the youngest and most entitled member of the Vees made its worse. True, watching her having to endure the humiliation of hospitality work was enjoyable, but she was still a mouthy little brat, and powerful besides.

Only the fact that he was part of the Hotel’s staff prevented her from trying to kill him outright. And even though she had no way to permanently harm him, he didn’t put it past her to get her hands on an angelic weapon. After all, maids were allowed to get into a lot of very sensitive areas, and Velvette had enough power to bypass enough of the security to steal at least a dagger.

One of the few things that was keeping him going was the frequent sight of Niffty castigating and punishing Velvette for the slightest of mistakes. For as much as she could be adorable sometimes, she was in Hell for a reason. Given a position of power, she would become a cruel tyrant. Hell, the only reason she respected everyone else was because either they weren’t under her authority, or they were the ones in charge. To Velvette, the only other maid in the Hotel, she was a harsh housemistress and a pernicious taskmaster.

Of course, most everything else in the Hotel was extremely irritating to him. Angel Dust was just as annoying as ever, if anything he was emboldened now that he had slipped out from under Valentino’s thumb. Husk was even more snarky now, insisting on telling him no as often as possible to rub the Radio Demon’s face in the fact that he was no longer bound to him. And naturally, Lucifer was just as insufferably smug as ever.

There was more that was irritating to him, of course. Vox, that smug, preening asshole, had somehow managed to keep his power and position even as a servant of the royals. Rosie now refused to talk to him, which was quite honestly extremely depressing. The filthy, morally superior angels were now freely fraternizing with the royals, working to limit the casual cruelty that was the truth of the world, both in Hell and on Earth. What nonsense! Mortal souls fell into this abyss for a reason- to be tormented for all of time for their sins.

And of course, most infuriating of all, the angelic scoundrel that had nearly killed him was running around Hell and killing people en masse. Alastor did not care about the casual genocide in the slightest, in fact during previous years he had joined Rosie in feasting upon the corpses of the slain demons. The only part of those buffets he really disliked was the way that the lingering energy burned at his soul, and generally tended to make his powers go slightly out of control for a few hours.

To hear that the First Man was still running around, even though Niffty had stabbed him in the back with a fucking angelic dagger infuriated him. It was not for any sense of selflessness, but the very pinnacle of selfishness. Just like when he had discovered what had happened to his dear mother so many years ago, the indignity of what had happened caused his rage to overflow, nearly causing him to break composure. But still he kept a smile on his face, working as hard as he could to help take down the rogue who had disgraced him so.

The royals were surprised to see his drive to help them eliminate Adam, but honestly, they should have expected this. After all, he had done far more for far less. It was only because of the weakening of his powers that he wasn’t going out to confront the former Exorcist. Even at his old strength, he hadn’t been nearly enough to take him down. Fortunately, the royals were just enough.

Chapter Text

All of Hell was in an uproar now. And to be fair, it was quite deserved- the Royal Family had recently dropped the most horrible bombshell of all time. Adam, the First Man and former Head Exorcist of Heaven himself, had fallen from grace and was going on genocidal rampages.

True, they were happy to see the Princess showing a bit of backbone for once, but the thought of a smug misogynistic asshole smiting them out of existence was naturally quite terrifying. Equally terrifying was the fact that the feared Exorcists were now working with the Royal Family to keep Hell safe. Very few people felt truly safe around sociopaths capable of erasing their existence, particularly since they no longer had angelic weapons to defend themselves.

As a result, no one within the Hotel had seen hide nor hair of Vaggie, Charlie and her parents for a week. Most of them were on the news round-the-clock, with very few breaks. And with there being less pressure on him from the royals, Alastor took the opportunity to start slacking off, making sure to antagonize Velvette as much as he could. The only reason that the Overlord of Social Media hadn’t escalated in turn was that Niffty was maintaining her iron-fisted regime over her, keeping her busy with constant work.

Fortunately, for everyone else in the Hotel, life was going on as normal. Angel went to work with Ozzie and Fizz in the mornings, coming back to the Hotel and getting a drink from Husk in the evenings. Husk still kept the bar fully stocked, fixing drinks for the few residents. Alastor kept the Hotel working and secured, in between jabs at Velvette and grumbling about his situation.

Given that Alastor was not putting in as much effort into protecting the hotel, most of the residents were extremely grateful for the protections that Lucifer and Charlie had built into the Hotel when they had rebuilt it. The most that he needed to do was to keep away anyone who seemed rowdy and/or trying to break in, which amounted to an occasional use of his limited powers to focus the protection magic against them.

Unfortunately, there was a certain troublemaker that appeared that their defenses were not capable of fighting against. Alastor and Velvette had been the first to feel his presence as he approached, their souls particularly attuned to spiritual energy as Overlords. The sensation of a familiar angelic light mingled with demonic essence was enough of a dead giveaway. But what was more alarming was the particular feeling of that demonic essence- identical to the feel of their own essence.

One of the ways that demons recognize power is by the particular feel of another’s essence. Most Sinners had darkness born of the sins of their mortal life, but only those who were Overlords had the unique feeling of power, strength and dominion that the noble demons did. The two of them could feel that the darkness within their foe ran deep within them, and it was certainly Overlord-level. Of course, that was not the worrying part. If it was just an Overlord coming towards them, the two of them using their powers to bolster the shields would be enough to keep them out.

It was the sensation of pure angelic light that was truly worrying, particularly the sense of… familiarity that came with it. Velvette had felt it briefly during the last Extermination, but Alastor had been exposed to it in a much more direct fashion- he had been on the receiving end of that light. Adam was coming to the hotel, and none of the royals were there to help protect them.

As soon as they realized exactly who was there, Alastor and Velvette snapped into action, setting aside their grudges to begin what little preparation they could. Alastor quickly informed the other residents, telling them to hide, while Velvette made a desperate call to Charlie. It went to voicemail, given that she was currently on a talk show, but hopefully she would learn the Hotel was under assault. Of course, after that, she turned to the next best thing- she called I.M.P.

Given that the team of imps was currently employed as Lucifer’s enforcers of the angelic weapons ban, they were pretty much the only beings in all of Hell permitted to wield angelic weapons. If they were quick, perhaps they could arm the other residents instead of making them hide. And since they were also skilled bodyguards and assassins, their skills in a fight would be extremely helpful.

Either way though, they knew that it wasn’t to be. He was headed for the Hotel at too fast of a speed for the security squad to intercept him. At least for the moment, they were on their own. Alastor took a moment to gather strength for the upcoming fight, because so far as he could tell, he would need it dearly. For the Radio Demon, ‘drawing strength’ was more literal than usual. Much of the power he was able to use at this point came from those Overlords whose souls he had imprisoned during his rise, as he would do anything to get as close as possible to his old strength.

Velvette was similarly preparing, though for her it was much more of a desperate situation. While she had gotten into a few heated fights in her earthly life, she had relied on her wits rather than her fighting skills once she went to Hell. And once she became an Overlord, she no longer needed to get her hands dirty. As a result, she had absolutely no idea how to use her powers in a combat situation. The closest she had to such an experience was keeping out of Valentino’s way when he was pissed off.

She wasn’t liking her chances. But she knew that she had no choice but to fight. After all, she could see the glint in the eye of the First Man as he effortlessly flew through the shields. Velvette sighed, and steeled herself, ready for action.

Chapter Text

“Ahh, the First Man is here,” Alastor deadpanned. “I assume you are here to take revenge on us for killing you last time?” The confidence that the Radio Demon had shown in their last bout had completely evaporated, since the former Exorcist had almost slain him. And while Alastor’s power had waned slightly, if anything Adam’s had only grown since his Fall.

“Yeah, though I also came ‘cuz I wanted to really stick it to Lucifer’s f****t whore of a daughter, and especially my stuck-up prude of a sister. And the best way to do that is to raze this trashy hotel to the fuckin’ ground!” Adam was just as he had always been, it seemed. They had known that he was a misogynistic asshole, but to hear the drivel coming from his mouth was quite another thing. Velvette looked properly furious now, while Alastor’s customary grin was quite strained.

“Well, as part of the staff of this fine establishment, I would have to try to stop you. And as a gentleman myself, I also find your way of talking about the fairer sex quite disgusting.”

“Are you literally fucking talking to me about manners? You’re not just a fuckin’ demon, you’re not even just a cannibal- you’re the sonofabitch who calls himself the fuckin’ Radio Demon.”

“Can those things not go together? Just because I am vile and depraved doesn’t mean I can’t be a gentleman.” Alastor was looking quizzically at Adam, though to Velvette it was obvious that he was stalling for time, which was exactly what they needed most.

“You know what, I don’t give a shit about this noise. After all, in about five- no, two minutes, the two of you will be nothing more than stains on the floor and a memory of a good workout in my head. And once it’s over, no one here will be able to even touch me!” the First Man replied, cricking his neck and loosening his muscles as he talked in preparation for the workout he was about to go through.

Alastor’s smile became slyer and more sinister as he tapped his staff three times on the ground. He had learned from his last bout with Adam that his usual strategies wouldn’t cut it. And given the increased gap between them, he would need an almost literal miracle to actually take him down.

The actual fight started as soon as Alastor lifted his staff, Adam rushing the Radio Demon who he knew to be the greatest time sink. While the weakened Overlord grunted with effort as he barely stopped the momentum of the angel’s charge, Velvette made her first move. Using her control over clothing, she transformed the hem of the angelic robe that Adam wore into stone. With his robe weighed down, his movement slowed down just enough that Alastor was able to start pushing back against his axe.

Realizing this, the First Man charged Velvette, realizing that his initial assessment of her skills wasn’t quite on the nose. Panicking, she clenched her fist, catching the blade of his axe in her hands. Her skin burned from being in contact with an angelic weapon, but she didn’t let herself scream. Instead, she focused on her options, deciding to try and experiment with her powers. After all, it was literally life or death for her, so she needed options fast.

Reaching out with her other hand, she punched Adam right in the face, causing him to blink for only a moment. Seizing her chance, she flexed her powers, feeling something weaving around her. And when her opponent opened his eyes, he visibly looked shocked.

“Sera? You’re here?!”

Thinking quickly, she realized that she must have managed to pull off an illusion of some kind. Taking full advantage, she rushed him, pulling out one of the kitchen knives she had taken during her preparations and aiming for the most sensitive parts of his anatomy. And she managed to get extremely close to him before he saw through the ruse, firing off a blast of corrupted light. Fortunately, she managed to dodge it by the skin of her teeth and land a blow.

Unfortunately, because it was not an angelic weapon, he didn’t even seem to feel it. Which given that he was a fallen angel kind of tracked. He moved to strike her swiftly, but focusing on her powers, she managed to disappear, crossing the room in a flash of light and the honk of a party horn. Adam moved to pursue, but was ambushed by the Radio Demon, whom he had briefly forgotten about. The two traded blows for a while, with Velvette nowhere in sight.

Soon enough, though, she was back in action, armed now with two angelic daggers. True, they weren’t powerful enough to deal any real and lasting damage to him, but they were enough to level the playing field slightly. As she tossed an angelic steel ring towards Alastor, she explained how she had gotten her hands on them.

“Almost forgot that I could teleport. And when I did, I remembered that everyone nowadays has a phone.”

Alastor’s eyes widened in surprise, before his smile grew. “Clever girl, you realized that you could get weapons from the imps before they got here for backup.”

Velvette smiled smugly, enjoying the First Man’s gasps and grunts as she kept slashing at him. True, the wounds were superficial, but she was managing to hurt him, and that was progress. Besides, she felt good actually receiving a genuine compliment from the Radio Demon, as so many people ignored her cleverness.

Adam snarled, infuriated at the fact that he kept getting stabbed and sliced. With Velvette creating illusions and swapping places with her fakes, he never could tell where the bitch was, or where the next hit was coming from. But quickly an idea came to him, and an aura of divine energy surrounded him. Soon, the fakes were annihilated and the real Overlord knocked back, her back up against a wall.

But as he took the first step towards her, ready to finish off the annoying c***, the doors of the Hotel burst open, as five vaguely familiar demons stood in the doorway. Their leader, an imp scarred by hellfire, spoke first. “Mox, you’re on sniping. Mils, Loonie, with me.”

To his right, the tallest of the five replied, his beak opening. “Be careful, darling.” The imp looked towards his beau with a confident smirk, winking sensually before turning to face Adam while cocking the shotgun in his hand.

Chapter Text

The arrival of the I.M.P. crew, alongside Prince Stolas was enough to turn the battle from a desperate one into a vaguely survivable one. Because for as comparatively vulnerable as the Hellborn demons were, they made up for it with sheer undiluted talent. Loona and Millie were doing the bulk of the work, their close-combat styles making them perfect at dealing with the angelic asshole.

Millie, as usual, was wielding a heavy dual-sided axe, with the edges being made of heavenly steel and coated in dried blood of various demons she had slain with it. Loona also was wielding angelic weapons, though hers were less obvious than the berserker imp’s. As a hellhound, in close combat she naturally relied on her more wolfish traits. Naturally, with Lucifer’s permission, she had been given custom angelic accessories to wear on her paws, allowing her to slash at Adam with her claws.

Of course, they were not the only Hellborn present. Moxxie had taken up a sniping position, wielding a genuine Carmine-crafted blessing-tipped rifle. He had encountered one or two before, but this one had been custom-made for him as a gift from the King of Hell himself. Of course, he had to move around on a consistent basis, given that Adam kept trying to blast him, but fortunately, Stolas had his back.

Blitz was in his element, as his vast array of pistols and knives had been extended vastly by the outlawing of angelic weapons. Since the company had become a subdivision of the Royal Family’s security forces, they were among the few allowed to actually use holy weapons, and Blitz had taken his pick of the assorted armaments. He had several knives and had even commissioned Carmilla Carmine to melt down several others in order to craft him a twin set of holy pistols.

Blitz would have easily been able to get holy bullets, but he had reasoned that a holy gun would allow him to use regular bullets and get the same effect. And here he was proven right, as despite the fact that these were by all means ordinary bullets, Adam was getting hurt by them. The boss was loving the fact that he was getting to take on a real angel, though he was more occupied in the moment in dealing with the power of his opponent. After all, just as a Sinner could be vaporized by angelic light, so too could a Hellborn. If anything, it was even easier, as they were already mortal beings.

Fortunately for everyone present, Stolas was also there. As master and inheritor of the Grimoire of the first Stolas, he was adept in the use of magic. He was demonstrating skills that not even the imps had seen from him before. True, they had seen his true form, as well as witnessed his opening of portals before, but what they saw was on an entirely different level. His command over space, it turned out, was not limited to outer space, as he was able to rapidly teleport other beings around the battlefield.

This of course made him the most important part of the team, as he could quickly move his allies out of the way of a powerful attack or move their enemy into a bad position. Soon though, Adam cottoned on to this, switching his strategy entirely towards rushing towards the demon prince, who was barely managing to teleport Adam away before each strike. But Stolas was slowly but surely becoming exhausted, not used to drawn-out combat like the others were.

Eventually, Stolas was caught off-guard, Adam taking advantage of his failing stamina to shift the destination of the teleport to right behind the demon prince. His right fist was raised, a pale reflection of his angelic light shining forth from it as he moved to strike. Stolas was too close and too slow to be able to avoid the attack, and he closed his eyes, trying desperately to concentrate on his powers in order to escape.

But it turned out that he had no need to call upon them. Because when Adam had become fixated on Stolas, he had not noticed Alastor and Velvette sneaking up behind him, holding coils of blessed rope in their hands. Within seconds, the former Exorcist was tightly bound both in body and in power. Taking this opportunity, the denizens of the Hotel rallied, using their weapons to strike and slash at their foe. Even the other Sinners within the Hotel came out of hiding, quickly being armed by Millie and Velvette. Niffty looked particularly excited to see Adam, giggling manically as she stroked her dagger.

In severe pain and having flashbacks to his death at the sight of Niffty, Adam was struggling wildly against his bonds, trying desperately to get free, to escape from the situation. Unfortunately for him, this did not help in the slightest, only serving to encourage his tormentors.

But at last, they made a fatal error. Cherry was trying to slash his chest, but because he was squirming so violently, she accidentally slashed at the coils of rope that were binding him. The angelic energy within her knife cut through the fibers of the rope with ease, setting him free. She looked at him in horror, terrified at her mistake. But she was perplexed, as instead of renewing his offensive, Adam instead spread his wings and fled.

The denizens of the Happy Hotel, as well as the members of I.M.P. had won the day, if only just barely. Upon Charlie’s return, she was beside herself with worry, but ultimately relieved that they had all managed to survive.

It was infuriating how those dumbasses had managed to take him down so well. True, part of that was on him for getting distracted, but at the very least he had handled the situation as well as he could have. Even the slight panic attack he had upon seeing the demoness who had killed him during his last visit to that tacky hotel had played a role in helping him to escape.

But in the future, he will start to be smarter about things. No more underestimating opponents- that had already gotten him killed once, and nearly a second time. Fortunately enough, he already had a plan in motion to deal with the Princess and her little friends. It would need some changes, of course, but the army of demon whores at his beck and call would definitely still be effective. All he needed now was some angelic steel to make into weapons, and even though he had fallen, he had enough holy light within him to forge some.

Chapter Text

Charlotte Morningstar, Princess of Hell and Heir to the Infernal Throne, was pissed. She had been on a talk show about the dangers of Adam, and the nearly literal motherfucker came and attacked her hotel, her friends, with the intent of wiping them out. This casual nonchalant cruelty was something her heart had never been able to endure, unlike the other denizens of her kingdom. But after growing so close to all of these flawed but wonderful people, she had been able to find the strength to take up arms.

True, her true demonic form had only been enough to block a single punch from Adam, and she was pretty sure that that had been a fluke. In fact, she was quite sure that had her dad not intervened, Adam would have killed her… or worse. She shuddered at those thoughts, focusing back on the here and now. The front lobby of the Hotel was a horrendous mess from all of the desperate fighting that had happened, but Niffty and Velvette were already hard at work cleaning it up. Because she hadn’t been here, people had gotten hurt. Hell, she knew that even if she had been here, she couldn’t have done much, given that Adam had improved while she had not.

Though it pained her greatly, she knew what she had to do. She had already stepped into the role as Hell’s Princess and earned the respect of her subjects, and now all that was left to do was take the power that came with it. Because while she had learned to wield the authority of being a Royal, she was comparatively inexperienced in wielding her full powers as a demon of angelic origin. She had never really learned to do so because of her strong belief that being so strong would make her like the Overlords; cruel and manipulative. And her strong morals made her refuse to become any stronger than she really needed to be.

But Adam’s repeated attacks on the Sinners she considered family now had managed to get through to her in the way that Vaggie never had, forcing her to confront the unfortunate truths of the real world. She had seen the suffering in her kingdom for years, but she had tried to ignore it, never truly looking deeper at the root causes until she started to take her title more seriously. And now she had realized that her assumptions were wrong. In Hell, so far as the demons cared, might did make right. And if she would have to make things right, she would have to learn to harness her full potential.

She was a unique kind of being- half of her blood was that of a fallen Seraphim and the other half was that of a mortal Sinner. Thus, she technically had access to both angelic and demonic power, though she had really only delved into the basics of magic, mixing simple holy and hellish powers to achieve stronger magic. But she had never truly delved into the full depth of either of the powers that her lineage afforded her. At least, until now.

In the following days, she spent time with her parents, refining her usage of her powers. Lilith was in much the same boat, as her more demonic powers had been replaced by those of angelic nature, and since the two worked differently on a fundamental level, she was struggling to adjust. Though she did give a few bits of helpful advice to her daughter in controlling the more infernal side of her abilities. Lucifer, despite his fall from grace, was still an angel nonetheless, so he was able to help out his wife and daughter in mastering their holier abilities, making them significantly more dangerous.

Unfortunately, as Lilith couldn’t really teach Charlie how to wield demonic powers without doing so herself, the Princess had been forced to turn to the one person she least wanted to see right at that moment. The Radio Demon had been on her shit list ever since she had found out his true intentions, and she had been trying to avoid him ever since his powers returned for fear of his retaliation. But surprisingly, he was extremely eager to help her, even calling Velvette over to assist.

The two Overlords had settled into a state of truce, working together without much incident between them after they had fought against the mad exorcist. Together, they proved to be quite effective at demonstrating how they used their powers, which did help Charlie in getting used to the full breadth of her demonic powers, which were quite varied, as she was the only known example of someone that was a Hellborn child of a Sinner, not to mention that she was the only half-angel child seen in centuries.

Adam smirked to himself with glee, as the finished products were ready for use. Soon, he would start arming his army of dumb c***s and begin the process of conquering Hell. The whores would constitute the bulk of his army, though the additional males that would be brought into his forces through whoring out the bitches would definitely be important.

And naturally, the succubi would be the most useful out of all of the demons under his thrall, as they were skilled seductresses capable of recruiting more soldiers, not to mention that their Asmodean crystals allowed them to travel between planes of existence, though since they were made of demonic magic, they could not enter Heaven. But he knew that once Hell and Earth were under his heel, he would be able to open a Gate to Heaven. In all likelihood, he wouldn’t even need to, given that the Council of Elders were so dead-set against his plans as always. His former subordinates would open a portal to his new dominion, and his legions would pour into the Realm Supernal and take the Pearly Gates.

Soon, the day of reckoning would come, and he would take what he deserved: the title of GOD Himself, Father and Ruler of All.

Chapter Text

Magic was something that was fundamental to the world, a pure expression of supernatural powers. This was something that every being within Creation knew well, angel and demon alike. Even despite the different traditions of magical power, and the variations in their precise rules and methodologies, there were really only two types of magic: that of the Light and that of the Dark.

Every soul was a mixture of primordial Light and Darkness warring forever, combined with the divine breath of life to make them living and intelligent beings. This meant that, to some degree, everything in existence that had a soul could use some form of supernatural power, though few could wield actual magic. Those who could were almost always among the upper echelons power-wise, such as the Overlords, Nobles and Royals in Hell, as well as the Council of Elders and their direct subordinates.

Of course, not every soul could wield Light or Darkness. After all, to use its power, it must have a strong foundation within your soul. A virtuous person would be able to channel heavenly light to achieve miracles, while a wicked person would rely on the powers of the shadows to achieve their ends. Those who were in the middle of the road were generally not able to use magic, though it still influenced whether or not they would go to Heaven or Hell and how powerful they would be in their respective afterlife.

As an example, looking at Alastor and Angel Dust side-by-side, the Radio Demon has magical powers because his heart is darker, and also because he dabbled in the darker arts in life. Compared to the Overlord, Angel has relatively few abilities- only regeneration of wounds caused by non-angelic means and the extra pair of limbs.

Charlie was unique in that she was fully capable of drawing upon Light and Dark in equal measure and using magic. This was because her mother had been a mortal woman who had become a demoness, while her Seraphim father, though fallen from Heaven, remained in communion with the First Light and thus didn’t suffer much from his exile power-wise. She couldn’t have been born had her father been anything other than an angel, since Sinners were sterile, but as always, Angelic power tended to defy most of the rules of the universe.

Because she was able to use the hellish and heavenly together, this immediately made her the third-strongest royal in Hell, even though she wasn’t quite as powerful or advanced in her use of magic. And if she really pushed herself, she could even one day surpass her father in power. But of course, she would have to work hard and be careful. After all, there were eyes everywhere.

And that was not simply metaphorical- there were literal eyes all over the cosmos. She had always known about their existence, but it wasn’t until she was older that she had begun to understand what they were. Her discovery began with a description of certain traits of the Seraphim and other species of angel- particularly the appearance of eyes on their form that were not on the face. Through extensive reading, she had discovered that many of these eyes were linked to the First Light itself, which many mortals called ‘God’ and which watched over and guided all of Heaven.

At the time, she had simply believed that the eyes in Hell were the dark energy of fallen Sinners taking the form of eyes to watch over their fellow demons. But recently, she had realized an altogether more disturbing fact- they were not the eyes of Sinners, but of Sin itself- the eyes of the Primordial Darkness. And that had huge ramifications.

Not all of the Light or the Darkness was spread equally throughout angels or demons. The Light at the center of Heaven, and the Darkness beneath Hell were present in small amounts in all souls, especially those who went to their respective afterlives. But like the Light, which had created an angelic Speaker to speak its will, the Darkness had created itself a true avatar- the Root of Evil herself, the Second Woman and Mother of Monsters, Eve.

If Roo could see what she and her family were doing, then they had to be extremely careful. After all, Adam was working for her, and demons were not exactly known for standing idly by while their interests were threatened. If she could see them planning, she easily could and likely would tell Adam about it, and then they would be fucked. And if they tried to trick her, she would probably figure it out and warn Adam to be careful, and then they would also be fucked.

It was fortunate, then, that Lucifer had made sure that none of the dark eyes near the Hotel were under Roo’s sway. He had even used his angelic light to purge the dark energy and lay the souls that had formed it to their final rest, just to make sure. Surprisingly, the eyes had not faded, instead becoming linked to the King himself and his energy, though they didn’t look much different unless you were really looking for it.

With that taken care of, Charlie worked hard to get a grip on her powers, mastering the powers of Heaven and Hell separately at a slow pace. Soon, though, she would be ready to start putting the two disparate ways together. Sure, it would be difficult, given that light and dark energies worked by different rules, but the princess was confident that she could pull it off. After all, she had her friends and family behind her, and her people needed her to protect them. She would never forgive herself for failing them, would not allow herself to fail them.

She would finish the job this time. Adam would be destroyed, and he wouldn’t be able to harm a single innocent soul ever again. And after that, she would turn her focus onto his dark mistress. Who was technically, in a manner of speaking, her aunt.

Chapter Text

As Charlie worked with Lilith in learning to master the full breadth of her powers, elsewhere the other royals were gathering. At the formal palace of Pandemonium, the Kings of Sin congregated, along with the strongest overlords and the foremost members of the various noble families. And sitting upon his throne, with a stern expression on his face, was the King of Hell and Lord of Pride himself, flanked by his advisor, Prince Stolas.

The reason for this gathering was obvious. The fallen First Man Adam, a known threat to Lucifer’s subjects and to his rule, was running rampant and causing chaos unchecked. A full accounting of what they knew of his plans and resources was in order, so that they could restore a sense of order to the infernal kingdom.

Lucifer himself recounted what he knew of Adam from previous encounters- from their brief interactions in the Garden of Eden, through the first Exterminations and all the way until his most recent attack on his daughter’s hotel. Stolas and Alastor, both having played crucial roles in the battle, naturally made sure to bring up anything of note that hadn’t come up yet, which amounted to very little.

Once their tale concluded, Lucifer seemed interested again. “Towards the doomsday ward, Alastor? You are sure?”

The demon bowed his head, his smile looking much less genuine than usual. “Yes, sire. I distinctly noted him flying in that direction after escaping our grasp.”

“If I recall correctly, he did the same thing after his skirmish with the Exorcists, my Lord,” Stolas commented, earning a nod of confirmation from his master. “That seems to confirm that he is likely based somewhere in there. Though there is the possibility that he is trying to trick us with an ambush.”

After that, the conversation quickly shifted, as Asmodeus and Beelzebub, the Kings of Lust and Gluttony attested that some of their top employees had not only quit but become completely untraceable. And the most interesting part was that their last known location had the faintest whiff of angelic energy nearby.

This had major implications for their war with the fallen Exorcist. Because if he had started to gather Sinner and Hellborn demons under his banner (likely through more forceful means), then that would make their jobs a bit harder, as their forces would need to be split across all of Hell. And more important was the specifics of the Hellhounds and Succubi being his major targets. Because while Imps were quite crafty and murderous like their master Satan, they were not quite as uniquely powerful in a war. Specifically because of the Hellhounds’ natural tracking and camouflage abilities, and the Succubi having the means to coerce others to join Adam’s ranks.

But most dangerous was the fact that the succubi under Asmodeus’ employ had been given Asmodean crystals, which would allow them to open portals. And while the King of Sin knew that the crystals could only open a passage between Earth and Hell, he was well aware that it could also be used to travel vast distances in Hell. And though it was somewhat unlikely, it was entirely possible for Adam to rejig it to allow them to access Heaven.

Crystals to allow for travel to Heaven were expressly forbidden by the Heavenly Host, their use reserved exclusively for the Kings of Sin when the Council of Elders wished to speak with them face-to-face. Asmodeus had been assigned as the keeper of these crystals and had even based his own crystals off of the original seven that the Council had given them. It was bad enough that their defeat would open a path for Adam to conquer Earth and even Heaven itself, but the idea that he could do so even now was frightening.

To think of all that he could accomplish was quite frankly nauseating. Even though they were demons, they had personal desires, goals and plans. And the chaos that the First Man heralded was a direct threat to those goals. Mammon seemed unconcerned for the most part, only really paying attention once he realized that his own power, and even his very life was in danger. At the very least, his reaction was better than Baphomet’s, as he openly and unashamedly drooled at the thought of reclaiming his status. Pretty on-brand for the former King of Treachery.

Of course, after that, Lucifer brought up the possibility of Adam forging angelic weapons. After all, even if he had fallen from grace and lost the blessing of the First Light, he still had some angelic light flowing within his veins. And that light energy could be used to infuse hellish steel, similar to how Carmilla had alloyed the native metals of Hell with melted down angelic spears to create her angelic weapons. The possibility of him having a vast army armed with angelic weapons and capable of going anywhere in the cosmos was extremely frightening.

All of these possibilities required so much of discussion that they were gathered at the palace for three straight days. They had to take consistent breaks every two hours, just to make sure that they didn’t get too sore from sitting down. Beelzebub was slowly but surely getting more and more on edge as, because she was needed to help come up with a plan, she wasn’t allowed to drink or indulge at all. Her boyfriend continually reassured her that she would more than make up for it as soon as she was done, but it was less and less effective the more he said it.

After they had finally hashed out the bare bones of their plans for the fallen First Man, they had finally gone back to their homes. Beelzebub looked particularly grouchy as she stepped into her limousine, though she looked at Vortex with an appreciative (and slightly lustful) smirk. Safe to say, no one was surprised when the limousine started rocking side-to-side forcefully. Hell, Asmodeus was looking on with interest, as he imagined himself with Fizz in the car. Smiling as he fixed that image in his mind, he turned into his flame form and flew off towards his home in the Lust Ring.

Chapter Text

In the highest and holiest sanctum of the Heavens, two figures spoke quietly. One was the Seraphim who had taken charge of things after Adam’s fall, while the other was taller, more feminine and quite birdlike. To their side was a ball of pure angelic light- the First Light itself, in fact.

That was why this sanctum was the holiest in the Kingdom of Heaven- because it was the source of all divine light in existence. The taller of the two figures was the only one in all of Heaven who had authority over the Seraph of Contradiction, because she herself was the angel who was most strongly attuned to the First Light. Because of her connection, she was stronger and more powerful in every way than every other angel in the Heavens.

But by far the most unique ability of hers was the one that she was named for. Because she was so deeply and intrinsically connected to the First Light, she could sense its feelings on matters, allowing her to serve as its advocate, as its Speaker. And for this reason, she had been elevated above all others. Only Lucifer had ever dared to question her, and it was partly for that reason that he had been excluded from participating in Creation.

The two angels were busy speaking of the events in Hell, and of the changes that had taken place in Heaven.

“Those Cherubs who were cast out suffered quite an unfortunate fate. It is quite appalling how badly the attitudes of many Heavenborn angels have soured. For God’s sake, I saw that their office had a poster advising them to associate people based solely upon their ability to help each other. ‘Ditch the losers’, I believe it said.”

“I see. That is not a heavenly mindset to be operating in,” the Speaker commented.

“But that is not even the worst of it! The poster attributed the quote to God himself!”

The First Light flashed red suddenly, a feeling of potent anger pulsing through the air.

“It is indeed fortunate that we have exposed this kind of attitude. Heaven should not be a breeding ground for wickedness and cruelty. What happened to those Cherubs?” the Speaker asked.

“I would have invited them back into Heaven, given how their banishment was due to extenuating circumstances. But by the time I had caught up with them, they had violated the treaty with Hell by trying to get revenge upon the imps that had caused the earlier incident. Unfortunately, my hands were tied then, and I had to order them to wander the Earth for at least ten years.”

“These imps being the same that are currently in the employ of Lucifer Morningstar?”

“Yes, Ma’am, the very same.”

“You don’t have to call me ma’am. After all, you are not of this reality,” the Speaker said with amusement.

“True, but politeness and respect are virtues, and I would not be an angel without virtues. Plus, sometimes the most important graces are social graces.”

The two of them chuckled slightly, before lapsing into a comfortable silence. After about a minute, the First Light pulsed slightly with a golden-orange light, and the Speaker’s face turned inquisitive as she asked, “How goes your work among the Exorcists? I remember that last I saw Lute, she was still stricken with grief.”

He sighed in exhaustion, before answering frankly, “To be honest, Lute is the majority of my caseload when it comes to dealing with the Exorcists. Ever since the group was founded, their guiding philosophy is ‘do what I say and kill every demon in sight’, and ten thousand years is quite a lot of time to pick up bad habits. And Lute is likely the worst of them all.”

The Speaker nodding, asking, “Hasn’t Lute been an angel for only a millennium or two? You’d think the others were fouler and nastier than she would be.”

“You’re forgetting that from the first time Adam met her, she was his favorite. After two years of being an Exorcist, he made her his right-hand woman. And that takes its toll. The others were only exposed to Adam in small doses over time. Lute however, fell head-over-heels in love with him and spent basically every waking moment of her afterlife with him. That’s a big difference.”

She shook her head grimly, understanding what the man was getting at. Seeing that she understood exactly what he was dealing with, he continued. “And since Adam fell and turned against Heaven, she’s now forced to fight against him. So it makes her already very complicated and confusing feelings even worse of a problem. I actually had to temporarily suspend her as leader of the Exorcists so that she could see a therapist.”

The speaker sighed in relief, commenting, “Thank goodness! That child really does need therapy after all that she’s gone through. Well, at least the other exorcists aren’t being too difficult.”

Her companion bluntly answered, “They were making good progress, until I became aware of Lute’s issues. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d started backsliding now that I’m not around. Perhaps I should get back to helping them get over their bad habits.”

“Please do go take of that, my friend. After all, they will undoubtedly be needed to fight against Adam and his dark mistress.”

“I will. Thank you very much, Anael.”

Anael, Speaker of God and Minister of Divine Mercy smiled to herself as she watched the retreating form of her friend from another reality. One day, she would know who he truly was and where he came from. He was very much an enigma wrapped in mystery, that one, but his kindness and charity made her certain that at heart, he was one of the truest angels she had ever known.

Unfortunately, she did not have time to be standing around, as she had duties throughout the Silver City, as well as a luncheon with Sera and Emily. She quietly left the Holy of Holies, genuflecting as she turned to the Light before she closed the door, then made her way down the hallway.

Chapter Text

It had taken some work, but finally he had managed to forge functional angelic weapons for his armies. True, he wasn’t really a blacksmith, but he had managed to figure out how to imbue a fragment of angelic light into the hellish steel of the weapons. And while it wouldn’t be able to hurt Lucifer or the Sins, it wasn’t really meant to. After all, those bastards would be focused on him, and he intended to knock down the King of Hell’s most powerful allies.

Yes, it would be very difficult for Adam to get rid of them, but in the end it was doable. In fact, he had several actionable plans to get rid of the Sins, most of them revolving around a surprise attack. His most likely target was either Mammon due to the fact that he had no originality, which could make him an easier target, or Belphegor, which was based entirely on the fact that she embodied Sloth, hopefully translating to an easier kill. And naturally, he’d be taking full advantage of the resources he’d gotten his hands on to ensure that he could make the kill as quickly as possible.

He looked to his lieutenants and gave an affirmative nod. The obedient bitches bowed and left to perform their missions. Some would focus on assassinating Overlords or other notable Sinners, while the others would focus on recruiting Hellborn to his banner. As for the man himself, he had a special mission that was a gamble to pull off but would yield major rewards. After all, it took a lot out of him to infuse weapons with his own light. But if he could capture one of his old girls, he could use them as sources of more light for weapon making.

Alastor was not in the Hotel that day. He had asked Charlotte for a two-hour break in order for him to meet up with a certain group of friends near Cannibal Town, and she had agreed. She knew full well exactly who the specific friends he was meeting were, but she hadn’t really protested. Which was fine with him, after all, it had been a while since he had had an opportunity to meet up with them.

This group, of course, was for those who had been notorious serial killers and historical monsters in their mortal lives. The Marquis de Sade, Jack the Ripper, Jim Jones- all members of their little club. For a few years, Hitler had been a member of their club, seemingly on the rise to become a major Overlord, before being slain in an Extermination in roughly 1951.

He had been talking to the Marquis when he had noticed the girl out of the corner of his eye. She looked normal enough to his left eye, but his right eye, covered with the enchanted monocle he wore revealed that there was more to her than just looks. For one thing, she was subject to a deal, and for another, she was covered in low-level blessed energy, like she had been near an angel for long periods of time. No, more than that, it looked like the deal and the holy energy were somehow connected- ah, this was one of Adam’s ensorcelled demon belles. And that was an angelic dagger up her sleeve.

“You know, boys, there’s a certain heavenly bastard running around this city,” he drawled loudly. “He’s got ladies all around the city under his spell. Who knows? There may be one right over there.”

Immediately, she flinched, before diving towards them. Unfortunately, she was outmatched as while Alastor was not quite as powerful as he had once been, he still had quite a bit of power behind him. And she was also surrounded by his friends, who were counted among history’s greatest monsters, and two of whom had serious issues regarding women, particularly modern women.

True, he and the boys had roughed her up quite badly, but they had avoided killing her. After all, Jack had reasoned, Alastor wouldn’t be able to interrogate her if they destroyed her body or erased her with the dagger. And that was one thing that the royals at the hotel would definitely want. Shrugging, he hoisted her up over his shoulder and teleported to the front door of the Hotel, ready to explain to Charlotte what had happened.

(Content Warning: Referenced Rape/Non-Con. Do not read beyond this point if you don't want to see it.)

Adam smiled as he regarded his work. He had not expected to be able to capture multiple angels, let alone three. But what was the most surprising aspect of this entire thing was that he had actually managed to capture Lute. Unfortunately, this was causing him mixed emotions, so he had to have her sedated. After all, despite their differences, he really had grown to love her deeply, and he didn’t want her to suffer at his hands. It was partly for that reason that he didn’t put the blood-draining operation in his main base. Instead, he had put them in a warehouse a block away from the edge of the doomsday district, so that he wouldn’t have to see the pained expressions Lute made in her sleep as her blood was pumped out of her veins.

Of course, he had no such regard for her subordinates. In fact, he treated them just as badly, if not worse than the bitches he had under his thrall, forcing them to sexually service him as he drained small amounts of their blood for use in making more holy weapons. They cried out in agony from the pain he caused them, but their cries only made things worse. After all, Adam had only become more of a monster since his Fall, and he found their suffering exquisite.

“In a few days, I’ll begin the real work,” he thought to himself. “Then, I will start taking out all of Hell’s higher-ups and bending the rest to my will. And then I will do the same on Earth, and in Heaven! After all, I am their father, and it is their purpose to obey me. And then me and Eve will rule over all of Creation as King and Queen of All Things.”

Chapter Text

Charlie was shaking. She had just interrogated the poor girl that Alastor had captured while they were in town, and after her father had used what powers he had as the Hellborns’ King and as a fallen Seraphim to break her deal, the girl had squealed like a stuck pig. Hearing the full breadth of what Adam was doing was truly sickening.

First, she had confirmed who she was, and how she had gotten under Adam’s control. No one within the Hotel was surprised in the slightest at the fact that Adam had used sex to enslave her, though everyone looked at her in sympathy. Even Alastor, who was one of the cruelest of demons in all of Hell, still respected the dignity of women, and he was surprisingly kind to her.

Lucifer had looked puzzled for a second, confused at how Adam had been so good at sex as to enslave a demon. He and Lilith knew just how inept he was in the bedroom, since Lucifer had been spying on Adam and Eve’s consummation shortly before he had offered the latter the apple, and they had long since compared notes on what exactly he had been doing wrong. But suddenly, in a flash, he understood. “Angelic energy,” he murmured.

“Dad? You look like you figured something out. What was it?” Charlie asked, her face hard as she tried not to think of the depravities Adam had put her female subjects through.

“Angelic energy works against angelic and demonic energy, so long as it’s weaker. Sinners can be killed by divine light energy, whether it’s from a blade or in an angel. So long as they’re still filled with light energy, a fallen angel can leave the pride ring, even if they were human once. And my guess is that Adam used his angelic powers to directly stimulate her pleasure centers rather than actually being good at sex.”

“That makes sense,” Lilith commented. “He tried to do that with me when I was up in Heaven, trying to make me go to bed with him because I was the only one who had ever gotten away from him. But because I had just as much light within me as he did, he couldn’t get it to work.”

“He did what?” Lucifer asked, far too sweetly. Lilith noticed, and smiled beatifically, knowing that her husband would be more motivated now that she had shared that little bit of information. Charlie, for her part, looked as if she was about to throw up.

The rest of the interrogation had been just as bad. They had confirmed that Adam was based in the Doomsday ward, and that he had both Sinners and Hellborn under his banner. She had also revealed exactly what her own mission had been that day, as well as what Adam had gone off to do. They had been shocked, but ultimately after contacting Heaven, they confirmed that three members of the Choir of the Powers were missing. That, Lucifer had quickly explained, was the official earthly and heavenly title for what Hell called simply ‘the Exorcists’. The angels of the powers worked to restrain demonic activity and keep them in check.

Things went from bad to worse, as Heaven revealed that one of the kidnapped Exorcists was none other than the leader of the Exorcists herself, Lute. This was bad. They had been really counting on Lute helping to lead the angels’ charge against Adam and the threat he and his mistress represented to the cosmos. And given that their recently-liberated informant had also told them that Adam had started making angelic weapons with holy light extracted from his blood, this also meant that he had far more access to holy energy to infuse into hellish steel and forge into blades.

Vaggie was oddly silent, seeming to have almost dissociated from the moment that Lilith had mentioned him trying to coerce her into sex. Charlie noticed, and a horrible suspicion came to mind. Immediately, she reached out to her girlfriend, and asked seven very simple words.

“Did he do that to you too?”

The fallen angel shuddered slightly, before nodding, breaking Charlie’s heart. “It happened a few times. I used to think that he really cared, but eventually, he stopped, and I realized he was just an asshole. That was what set me on the path to rethinking what I was doing- to sparing an innocent and being made to fall from grace.”

Charlie’s eyes narrowed in absolute fury as she thought of Adam, before she pushed her emotions away, focusing for the moment on comforting her girlfriend. She could take her anger out later. Hopefully on the misogynistic pig himself, she thought to herself, her demonic nature craving the cruelty of the action, as her angelic instincts burned with thoughts of vengeance and destroying the sinful reprobate who dared to defile a sacred maiden.

Usually, she struggled to balance her more demonic instincts with her heavenly ones, but in this moment, both halves of her lineage were in agreement, her heritage all but demanding that she kill him now, make him suffer, make him bleed and beg for death. These moments, where the two coincided and made her more likely to go on a murderous rampage, were usually extremely uncomfortable for her- she didn’t like to use her powers to hurt others. But now, just as in the two times when she had fought against Adam, she fully understood her instincts and was ready to follow through.

In that moment, if she had thought she saw Adam’s face, the entirety of the Hotel would have been destroyed in a powerful blast of magic fired off by the pissed-off Princess of Hell, who was intent on punishing the bastard who had harmed her people, her family and her lover so cruelly and uncaringly. That fury stayed with her for several days before beginning to subside, though it was never fully forgotten. In that time, she worked furiously to master her use of her full powers, aided by her very eager and willing parents, who helped their daughter out of love for her and Vaggie, and spite for the First Man who had done so much evil.

Chapter Text

Lucifer was thoroughly annoyed. He’d thought that he’d headed this nonsense off when he had questioned the Marquis and his sister some time ago, but unfortunately Andrealphus had been able to call an emergency meeting of the nobility, alleging misconduct from Stolas and Blitzø in breaking the laws of Hell.

This was the worst fucking possible time that he could have chosen to do this. After all, the royal court was busy focusing on taking the fight to the fallen angel leading a growing rebellion within their borders and perpetrating mass genocide. And if they didn’t act swiftly enough, then soon Hell would be embroiled in a full-on civil war. But no, Andrealphus and Stella were much more concerned with their own schemes than the safety of any other denizen of Hell.

Fortunately, the court was currently stacked in his favor. After all, all seven of the Sins were aware of the nonsense that the two nobles were trying to pull, the other six having heard of their confession from Lucifer. And with that in mind, it was easy to see that this was nothing more than a clever attempt at achieving their plan. Naturally, as they didn’t have time for this bullshit, as soon as Andrealphus had finished his opening arguments, Satan shot him down.

“Unfortunately for you Marquis, you have already confessed that you and your sister have ulterior motives against Prince Stolas. And as the King himself has chosen to pardon the prince and his paramour’s agency given that they currently work as part of his inner circle, there is really no point in dragging this out any longer.”

Andrealphus looked furious, desperately trying to come up with some way around his confession in order to take Stolas’ power for his own. But he knew, as did every demon there, that you could not argue with Satan. He may not be the King of Hell, but he had been one of the first demons to take form when it had formed. In fact, before Lucifer had been cast out and taken the throne, when the Sins had been little more than feuding warlords, Satan had been the fiercest and most cunning of them all. One of the main reasons that Lucifer remained in power was due to the draconic imp-father’s steadfast loyalty in upholding the laws of Hell. And while some of those laws may have changed a lot in recent times, he still abided by them faithfully.

While historically, he had been one of the ones to promulgate the subservience of the lesser demons, he had to admit that it was quite thrilling to see some of his children among his liege’s inner circle. He was particularly proud of Blitzø and Millie for using their inner Wrath in service of what Hell truly needed, and more importantly in service of what their loved ones truly needed. And seeing how closely-knit and effective they truly were was honestly quite heart-warming. Not much could truly stir his affection, but these little ones had managed it, and he would treasure them.

Lucifer decided to speak up, deciding that it would be best to assert his authority. After all, he had not been present at important meetings of the nobility for quite some time, and it would be a good thing to reinforce the noble clans’ loyalty to him. The blood oaths their ancestors had sworn had long since degraded, and he could not risk any potential claimants of the Infernal Throne right now.

“The Sin of Wrath is correct. I have heard Andrealphus’ confession myself, and by the ancient oaths of fealty that the Goetia clans made to me, I know that he spoke truth. If anyone here has truly broken the law, it is he. His sister hired an assassin to murder her husband so that she would gain his money and her brother, rather than discouraging this course of action because it was illegal, he merely advised her to call off the assassin so that she could get more out of her husband.”

Every other member of the nobility looked at Andrealphus accusingly. They were social climbers, yes, but this was beyond the pale. Breaking the laws of Hell was something that a Goetia did not do, even as different as they were nowadays. Once the Princess had made her changes to the ancient laws of Hell, they had, with few exceptions, all endeavored to treat their servants with greater respect than before. Andrealphus had been one of the sole few who had not done so. He had even done worse by transgressing against his own kin and attempting to usurp the power of a fellow noble.

Safe to say, the meeting took less than five minutes, the assembled nobles voting to convict Andrealphus and his sister of high treason, with the Sins stripping both of their influence and the former of his power. After that, the Princess of Hell took the floor (or at least, what was by tradition called the floor), flying over the flames with her angelic wings, her horns protruding as she casually held her trident to remind the nobles of her power.

“The First Man ravages our kingdom as we speak. My royal parents and I are focused on combating his threat, and we have not the patience to deal with the intrigues of courtly life. If you summon us so frivolously again,” she said as she hefted her trident, her eyes glowing with restrained power, “we will not be as merciful as we were today.”

Blitz could hardly believe how popular he had become since he had become part of Lucifer’s inner circle. Imps had mobbed him in droves, and he was very close to being as popular as Fizz had been in his heyday. It was just as bad for Millie and Moxxie, who had become media darlings of the Greed and Wrath rings. Loona had nearly become as popular among hellhounds as Beelzebub herself, and she had started to whisper in Charlie’s ear about the hellhound adoption agency she had lived in for the first seventeen years of her life. He knew that that would eventually lead to another rampage from the Princess, and Belphegor wouldn’t be able to sleep for a long while, given that they were under her authority.

The public perception of Stolas had by far improved among his fellow imps, as instead of seeing him as just another prissy royal, they now considered him one of their own, as Blitz’s lover. And given how hard Stolas had worked to help people out during his time as one of Lucifer’s advisers, that impression was growing stronger by the day. The prince had been mobbed every time he had went outside for weeks after the first time he volunteered at a soup kitchen in the Pride Ring. And public approval of the Princess was growing just as fast, the denizens of Hell seeing in her a ruler who was just and fair to them, while stern and fiercely protective of her people.

Of course, the royal couple themselves had gotten quite a lot of love, as the concert that Lilith and Lucifer had put on after her return had been extremely inspiring. Sinstagram had had several new trending hashtags for weeks after, using the royals’ official ship name as shorthand for a perfect couple. And the following musicals that Lucifer had created and performed with his wife about the history of Hell had taken social media by storm. Honestly, with all of the love that the royal court was experiencing from their subjects, it was hard to concentrate on the threat that Adam presented sometimes.

But somehow, they managed to focus. After all, he was a threat to everyone they knew and everyone they loved. And they were determined to do the best they could to stop him for good. The love of their people, in the end, also helped to reinvigorate them. With so many counting on them, how could they let them down?

Chapter Text

Fortunately, not all of their time had been wasted by Andrealphus’ foolishness. Some Justicar demons had managed to infiltrate the edges of the Doomsday District of Pentagram City. And after some close calls, they had confirmed that Adam and his harem were based there.

The Justicar Demons were not exactly a species within Hell. They were actually an elite order of demons working underneath Satan in keeping Hellish law. What made them special compared to the Hellborn police officers was the extreme lengths that the Justicars went to, as well as their unique magical and legal powers. Any single Justicar had authority over any citizen, save for the Royal Family and the Sins. This was because their power derived in its entirety from the Sins.

And that did not solely extend to their authority. Each Justicar had been by all accounts an ordinary denizen of Hell before they had joined the order. The ceremony, or more accurately, the ritual that was used to initiate new members drew on the powers of the Sins themselves, granting them immense magical power equal to that of any noble. They were able to create constructs out of shadows and demonic energy, as well as being able to fly and teleport throughout all of Hell.

While some of the Justicars had been present at the court meeting that the snow-wielding marquis had called, the majority had been busy patrolling the Pride Ring, particularly around the Doomsday District. And with knowledge of the functional layout of the place, they were fully prepared for a legitimate assault on the base – save for one thing. To be able to mount a full-scale assault against the First Man and his forces, they would need the Exorcists to fight alongside them. And the Exorcists would only be at their full strength if they could recover the captive angels hidden away somewhere in Adam’s stronghold.

This meant that a small strike team would need to be sent into the Doomsday District while Adam was not there, in order for them to be able to rescue Lute and the other two Exorcists. And of all the people they had available, the best arrangement would be to send IMP, Stolas and Vaggie there. The four Hellborn were extremely skilled in combat, and they were armed with angelic weapons to dispatch any Sinners they came across. Stolas and Vaggie, meanwhile, would be able to hold their own and get the crew out of there quickly and quietly.

Charlie couldn’t go, and neither could Lucifer. After all, the two of them were needed to keep Adam occupied for long enough to allow the others to complete their mission. This meant keeping a careful balance- just enough pressure to keep him there rather than fleeing. If they could pull it off, he would lose access to his primary source of angelic light. Plus, the others had a little bit of a bonus part to their mission – capturing as many of Adam’s enslaved demonesses in order for Lucifer to free them from their deals.

Two portals opened, one blue-tinted and the other golden. The two groups walked through their respective portals, which closed behind them.

Adam was easy to find. From their analysis, they could tell that he had a definite pattern by now. And sure enough, they quickly found him in the area between the Entertainment and Industrial Districts – which fortunately was on the direct opposite side of the Pentagram from the Doomsday District. Given that the Heavenly Embassy was well-guarded because of his rampage, the shortest route to get back to his base would lead him straight into an Exorcist ambush. So he would have to go along the curve of the Pentagram to reach his base, giving the others plenty of time to return to the Hotel.

They found him only moments after he had finished a kill. Getting his attention had been the easy part. Keeping it, however, was difficult. He was quite strong by this point, a bit stronger in power compared to Lucifer, though Charlie was definitely a lot closer to his weight class now than she had been during their first bout. She was able to really irritate him, using her magic to give him infuriating itches. (She was trying to hurt him with angelic energy, but his resistance to it made it feel like little more than a mild itch.)

Honestly, it was really cathartic to be able to hit him and actually make him feel something. Even if the best they could manage was a slight scratch, that was a good sign. Eventually, though, He flew off, in the direction of Cannibal Town. Looking towards each other, they nodded, and Lucifer opened a portal back to the Hotel.

Meanwhile, in the Doomsday District, the infiltration crew had done wonderfully. The three Exorcists had almost immediately been found and brought back to the Hotel. They had captured just about half of Adam’s forces by now, Stolas using his magic to portal them into the royal dungeons. Their angelic weapons, of course, would need to be confiscated, but that was a worry for later.

Suddenly, Vaggie and Stolas shivered as they felt a powerful aura above them, drawing near to their location. Stolas immediately opened a portal, drawing the attention of the members of IMP, who quickly jumped through it. The prince went through next, with the fallen angel bringing up the rear.

They had made sure to leave no trace that they had been there, even altering security camera footage. Of course, they knew Adam would know it was them, but operational security was something that they were used to at this point. The small amount of time that it would take for him to figure out what had happened was something they could make use of in order to take him down for good.

As Vaggie stepped through the portal, she saw Charlie standing there waiting for her. Smiling, she leapt into her lover’s arms, hugging her passionately. Today was a big step, and hopefully soon, the asshole who had made their people suffer for so long would finally be brought to heel.

Chapter Text

The First Man was in an apocalyptic and towering rage. He had been played by the Morningstar and his c*** of a daughter like a fiddle, and they had thinned out his forces substantially while he was distracted. Adam was tempted to make a direct move against them, but he stayed his hand, realizing that they would be expecting an immediate counteroffensive. Instead, he would focus his attention elsewhere, working on restoring his powerbase within Hell.

Though he would certainly be accelerating his plans for conquest in other ways. In his travels throughout the Pride Ring, he had come across a trio of fallen Cherubs, who had eagerly joined his cause. And most importantly, they had knowledge of a certain Earth-bound organization of demon hunters attempting to break through into Hell.

The three Cherubs would serve as adequate replacements for the Exorcists that had been rescued. And the DHORKS (he snickered even now, finding the name to be fuckin’ hilarious) would serve as part of his greater plans. If he could use his angelic status and influence to convince them to work under him, then he would have access to a loyal group of humans and portal technology to allow him to walk the Earth.

For now, his personal involvement in the civil war brewing throughout Hell would need to be reduced, as he focused his energy on ‘recruiting’ demons into his dark army. Soon though, he would have more than enough power behind him to finally take control over the Infernal Kingdom. Then he could use it as his base of operations during his campaign to take command of the cosmos as its Lord, Master and Father. He smiled, imagining the true paradise that he was going to bring about- men obeying his every word, women worshiping him in the ways he loved best. And his most devoted disciples would be Lilith, Charlie and Eve, fulfilling their Master’s desires unquestioningly.

After the raid on Adam’s home base had succeeded, they had of course split their attention. Most of the Underworld was occupied preparing for a counterattack by the First Man in response to their actions, while Lucifer and Charlie were busy breaking his control over the ensorcelled demons. It took some doing, but the two of them were able to unravel the magic tethering them to him. The main issue was the way that his remaining angelic light had intertwined itself with the dark energies of Overlord magic, making the bonds of servitude he had created more resilient to their usual methods.

Fortunately, the two of them were by now quite adept in merging angelic and demonic power. Lucifer had millennia of experience with both as a fallen angel, though he had very little demonic power due to remaining connected to the First Light. Charlie by comparison had less experience in wielding the powers, but she had equal access to both light and dark due to her unique existence. Since she was the child of a fallen Seraphim and one of the first Sinners, she was equally angelic and demonic, something that made her potentially more powerful than even Lucifer could claim to be.

There was one irritating matter that had briefly distracted them; IMP had captured the half-imp assassin Striker trying to kill Stolas again. On a hunch, they had asked whether or not it had been a ‘royal’ that had hired him, and given that he refused to answer, they assumed that it was almost certainly true. Naturally, the three imps had sent a message to Lucifer about it, asking what they were supposed to do next. He had personally given them a message in writing to hand over to Satan, with his official seal.

Of course, an emergency session of the royal court was immediately called, with Prince Stolas there in Lucifer’s stead as his personal advisor. He had interrogated Marquis Andrealphus and his own ex-wife about their involvement, and the old blood oaths of the Goetia clan towards the King and his representatives had ensured their truthfulness. Given that they had defied the King’s express orders for them to stop trying to meddle in the affairs of Stolas, the recommended sentence was execution of the meddling Marquis.

This was highly irregular, but considering the fact that he continued to conspire against his brother-in-law despite the explicit orders of Lucifer Himself and prior punishment for the same offence, it was only natural. His sister would have joined him on the chopping block, except for the personal intervention of her ex-husband.

“As much as I do not care for the cruel, vindictive bitch known as my former wife, I do care for our daughter. And for better or for worse, Octavia does care for her mother just as much as she does for me. She has already suffered greatly from our less-than-friendly divorce, and I do not wish to make things worse on her than they already are.”

The nobles had been moved by his impassioned speech, and wishing to spare his daughter from losing her mother, had voted against her execution. However, she was still punished severely, only being allowed to see her daughter when Via wished it, and being sentenced to house arrest in an apartment in the Third Circle of the Pride Ring. All of her finery had been confiscated and her wealth taken from her as a result of the previous session of the court, when she had lost her noble status, so there was little to take from her.

And as one final measure, she had been forced to vow never to interfere with the livelihood and well-being of her husband, enforced by the latent power dwelling within her own blood. She would never be allowed to be in the same room as Stolas, nor would she be allowed to interfere even indirectly. The avian prince finally had his wish; she was now truly out of his life in every possible way, with no chance of coming back.

Lucifer of course had shared a drink with him, congratulating his good friend for getting the last laugh in the sordid saga that was his marriage and divorce. He and Lilith had actually spent an evening with Stolas and Blitzø on a double date, while Via and Charlie had been growing quite close. Vaggie had even spent some time with the young girl, helping her through the rough situation. After all, in life she herself had gone through some tough shit, and that had only gotten worse in her afterlife thanks to the original dick himself taking an interest in her. That made her very good at helping people through their own baggage.

Of course, they hadn’t had much time to deal with that before jumping back into courtly intrigue. Baphomet, the former Sin of Treachery who had taken to working underneath Belphegor and administering several major areas of Hell, had finally been caught red-handed trying to unseat her and replace the narcoleptic Sin of Sloth. Malebolgeia, the Sin of Fraud had been employed by Mammon as his chief accountant and was put to death for embezzling from the clownish Sin. That meant that there was precedent for a former Sin being put to death.

But given that they knew Roo feasted off of the dark essence of fallen demons, they didn’t want to risk the death of Baphomet. Hell, they had been hesitant to put an end to Andrealphus for similar reasons, and this was far more of a meal than a mere Ars Goetia for her. On the one hand, they wanted to ensure that he was properly punished for his crimes against Hell. But on the other hand, they couldn’t risk empowering the profane empress stirring in the dark wastes. That could lead to a potential uprising from those aligned with her, and that would splinter their attention enough that Adam could likely conquer Hell in her name.

In the end, the nobles chose instead to strip him of his power and influence, then imprison him in a cell in the Wrath Ring, along with occasional sessions as Satan’s personal punching bag. It seemed like a fitting enough punishment for him, and it didn’t come with nearly as much baggage as ending his life did. All in all, the best possible outcome.

Chapter Text

IMP had been through several major changes in the past few days as they approached Sinsmas Day, the first and most important of which was Millie’s discovery that she was pregnant with her and Moxxie’s first child. And naturally, that had made a significant change in how they went about their day-to-day operations. She had refused to take a break from work until the time came for her to take actual maternity leave, instead choosing to shift her fighting style from close-up to a more ranged approach.

Moxxie had been extremely energetic since he had learned the news, taking to his job with a renewed zeal. Blitzø and Stolas had actually shared some of their insights as fathers, though the imp naturally took his friend’s advice with several grains of salt. And just like them, he was ever more dedicated to making sure Hell was a safe place, knowing that his firstborn would soon be its newest citizen.

On the subject of fatherhood, Stolas had taken full custody over Octavia, with Lucifer judging him to be a far better parent compared to Stella. The consequences of this were somewhat interesting, as it meant he wasn’t able to spend as much time with his impish beau. But his daughter came first, and she had severe abandonment issues that he was working hard to help her through.

Therapy was something that both Via and Loona were going through, as Stolas had found it to be helpful after his previous relationship drama with Stella and Blitzø. Lucifer was paying for it, since IMP was technically acting as his enforcers within Hell. Even if they weren’t, the fallen angel said he would pay the bills for them given how strong of a bond he had built with them. And both girls took well to it, slowly working through the tangled mess of their psyches and undoing the knots that were causing them harm.

Via’s issues were not simply surrounding the fear that she had been abandoned by her father. No, they were quite complex, as between her mother’s fall into indifferent neglect as she grew up and the bitter divorce between her parents, who she had relied upon as unchanging pillars in her youth, she had quite a lot of feelings that she had trouble processing. Learning that her mother and her uncle had paid off an assassin to try and kill her father had broken her heart, and gave her a lingering sense of paranoia about everyone around her.

Loona’s traumas were old and deep-seated, born from the horrors she witnessed in the adoption agency where she had spent the first seventeen years of her young life. Her mother had died in childbirth, an only child who had lost her parents when they had tried to save a Sinner friend of theirs during an Extermination. Naturally, she had been put into one of Belphegor’s many kennels, where there was little kindness afforded to anyone. The pups learned from the callous cruelty of the administrators, starting fights and brutalizing each other with little provocation.

That had not been the worst of it; she had started receiving unwanted sexual advances from other hounds at around the age of twelve and fighting them off only briefly stopped them from reaching out, before they would inevitably return and make her life worse with their horribly unsubtle catcalls. And as if fending off creeps and jackasses wasn’t difficult enough, there was the ever-looming threat of the needle. She had heard horror stories from older hounds in the kennel of Hellhounds being put down when they were too much of a problem for the administration. As a result, she had a deathly fear of needles, fearing the possibility of death every time her skin was broken.

The two of them were making some good progress, and Via had started to get to know Blitzø a little better. After all, he was her father’s boy toy, and she had a strong bond with his daughter. Stolas had bonded just as strongly with his stepdaughter, including her in his magic lessons with Octavia. She would once have been the person to inherit her father’s grimoire and mastery over space, but with the execution of her uncle, she was the new Marquess Andrealphus, wielding his power over ice and snow.

Charlie had of course tagged along, helping Via get her cryokinetic powers under control. Interestingly, her use of ice was similar to her father’s use of cosmic energies, and she was just as capable of opening portals as he was. According to Lilith, this was probably because of the lingering power in her blood combining the abilities of the first Stolas with those of the original Andrealphus. This was a good sign, as it meant that she would be able to defend herself should he find herself in harm’s way. And given Adam’s current rampage, that was a relief, as the Sins were very close to dispatching royal courtiers to the battlefield.

Adam smiled to himself as he walked back through the portal. The demon hunters of earth had proved quite easy to persuade, as by leveraging his title as their Father and giving them an alternative version of his Fall, he had been able to gain their trust and their allegiance. Of course, he couldn’t spend very long on Earth, lest he be discovered by the Exorcists, as they monitored all portals between Earth and Hell to ensure that demons did not overstep their bounds. And for as powerful as he was, he couldn’t risk Heaven catching on to his new allies too soon if he was to take control of the Infernal Throne.

Fortunately enough, they had access to some heavenly relics from many different religions. Since they were objects of devotion, they had just a tiny amount of heavenly power within them. In a way, they were better than draining the light from fellow angels, as the light of the relics was renewed through the faith of mortals. As a fallen angel, he could tap into that light and use it to create angelic weapons. Hell, he could use the relics themselves as weapons, though that was not something he would probably do. After all, they were human-made and only so durable compared to the resilience and toughness of a Sinner.

Grinning in contentment, he snapped his fingers, silently ordering the succubus at the door to her knees as he removed his robes.

Chapter Text

All was ready now. He had taken the holy relics from the demon hunters of Earth and used them to infuse several tons of molten steel with angelic energy. From there, he hammered the steel into the shape of countless weapons of war, implements for his dark army to use in conquest. He had even had enough to go back and arm the demon hunters. They had been willing enough to give up their souls to him, thoroughly believing his lies and eagerly submitting before him.

Flexing his power, he focused upon the bonds to the souls under his dominion, allowing his commands for his servants to flow across their shared bond. Silently, he told them their orders, commanding them to rise up and begin the true cleansing. He himself had business downtown at the embassy, which he would capture as a more fitting base of operations.

Lucifer cursed under his breath, pissed at Adam’s repeated intrusion and interference in his kingdom. The First Man had finally made his move, ordering all those under his thrall to revolt openly against his authority. Already he had had to send out the Justicar Demons to keep the fighting contained, and most of his citizens were forced to fight off the rebels.

The Ars Goetia had of course been summoned, with the intention of sending them to capture all the enthralled demons so that they could be freed and the First Man’s influence neutralized. The Sins themselves would be right behind them, save for Baphomet, who would remain imprisoned in his cell in the Wrath Ring. He would of course be put under heavy guard, as without his powers, he was the easiest of the Sins to kill, and his death would empower Roo greatly. That was the one thing that they needed to avoid at all costs right now, to the point that Lucifer wasn’t willing to let even a single drop of rebel blood spill.

Prince Stolas was sent with Satan, Asmodeus and his daughter Octavia, in order to secure the elevators and prevent Adam’s thralls from traveling between rings. Stolas, Octavia and Asmodeus were additionally tasked with closing all unauthorized portals within Hell, to prevent them from bypassing the elevators. Naturally, the Sin of Wrath was there to serve as muscle, keeping anyone without Lucifer’s personal authorization from using the elevators. And he was doing so wonderfully, not even having to lift a finger thus far. After all, by focusing on the Sin he embodied, he was able to cause any demon who got close to become a battle-drunk monster who would betray their allies in his name.

Paimon and Beelzebub were sent to pacify the Wrath Ring, using shadow magic and the temptations of gluttony to keep any would-be rebels down. The Gluttony Ring was taken care of by Belphegor with little issue, as despite her sin being Sloth, she was quite effective when she was awake. Part of this was her ability to conjure forth magic-based minions to do tasks for her. Using them to put everyone that resisted into a dreamless sleep was easy for her, the Sin of Sloth remaining awake by forcing her tiredness and narcolepsy onto the rebels.

Sloth was quite easily taken care of, as between Leviathan and Vassago, they were able to lock it down tightly. It wasn’t much effort, as the natives of the Sloth Ring were too doped up to be of use to Adam, his control over them weakened by the complex pharmaceutical cocktails in their system. The Goetian Dukes Asteroth, Barbatos and Gremory watched over the Lust Ring, using their abilities to keep Asmodeus’ territory under control. With several higher-level Goetia watching over the other rings, supervised by Mammon, the rest of the royal court was freed up to assist Lucifer.

Naturally the Royal Family took point, traveling throughout the Pentagram to make sure that everything was locked down. Soon enough, they were able to confirm that Adam was no longer in the Doomsday District, his previous base of operations covered in Hellfire. There was only one other place they suspected that he would try to take as a base- the Heavenly Embassy. It made sense, given that they had yet to receive reinforcements from Heaven. The portal should have opened early on, with Lute leading a squad of Exorcists to assist. Adam was likely blocking the portal from within the Embassy.

Charlie sighed. She knew that it was unlikely for them to take out Adam’s army before taking him out. At the very least, whoever took him out would inherit control- that was how Overlord magic worked, and since he was using that kind of power to keep his army in line, defeating him would end the civil war. Of course, taking him out would be difficult, but they would manage somehow.

Lucifer knocked upon the door of the Embassy, and it opened slowly with a creak. “Well, that’s not a cliché,” Vaggie observed drily.

“He probably did it on purpose, the overdramatic little shit,” commented Lilith, thoroughly ready to kick her twin brother’s ass.

The four of them walked into the Embassy, quietly shutting the door behind them.

Inside the building, every wall had been knocked out, and a statue of a very familiar figure had been erected, with a quite prominent piece of masculine anatomy that all of them knew deep-down was highly inaccurate. But what was of greater interest was the similar figure kneeling before the statue, with his eyes closed. Adam, the First Man was there, his robes turned black and red, and the horns of his mask had become a part of him.

As he opened his eyes, they could see that the sclera of his eyes was black, and his irises were a piercing shade of gold. He smiled cruelly, rising to his feet and speaking.

“Lucifer, finally we meet again. At last, I can take back what is rightly mine- my women, my power, my kingdom. Today, the Devil falls and a God rises!”

Before any of them could reply, another voice spoke. “Oh, I don’t think that will be happening, old chum!” With a theatrical flourish, Alastor appeared from the shadows, twirling his staff carelessly.

“You? What the fuck are you gonna do? You couldn’t beat me the first time, and you definitely couldn’t last time!”

“Then why did you run away, First Man? Don’t tell me you were scared of little old me?”

Adam chuckled sinisterly, before answering. “No, no, I was more so scared of facing these chucklefucks. I had planned to wipe out the Hotel before sparring with the fallen twink and his group of sinner thots. Didn’t want to risk getting beat up before now.”

“I think you should be a little more respectful towards me and my family, brother,” Lilith said coldly, with a warning note in her tone.

“Respect? Women don’t deserve respect from me, I deserve respect from you bitches! After all, without me, you’re all worthless! Without me, there would be none of the good things that humanity made.”

“Yeah, and we’d be without the incel community, as well,” Vaggie snarked as she hefted her spear, bravely confronting her former abuser.

“What a real shame,” Lucifer agreed sarcastically.

“You know what, Adam?” Charlie asked dangerously. “I think… it’s finally time to end this.”

Adam smirked as he spread his wings challengingly. “For the first time, princess golden-tits, we agree on something.”

Chapter Text

Adam lunged at Charlie, angelic sword in hand. His blade was caught by her trident, leaving an opening for Lucifer to rush him. Unfortunately, he noticed that opening, moving to cover that gap in his defenses as he continued his offensive. Lilith’s song filled the air, using her powers over music to aid her husband, daughter and daughter-in-law.

Her brother noticed this, and rushed at her, intent on shutting her up. Alastor quickly intervened, swapping places with her and conjuring a minor illusion to obscure her true location. Frustrated, Adam fired off a barrage of light blasts at the Radio Demon, who evaded with unholy grace. As Alastor’s uncharacteristic display of acrobatics came to a sudden stop, Vaggie dropped from the ceiling with her wings spread and a holy spear in her hands. She struck true on Adam’s leg, but his resistance to angelic light made the wound barely more than a scratch.

Scoffing, he picked her up and threw her across the room with as much force as he could muster. Fortunately, Lilith managed to catch her, healing what few wounds she had with minimal effort. Vaggie rushed back into the fight just in time to deflect a ray of angelic light from hitting Charlie’s eye. And together with her lover, she was able to put Adam on the backpedal, if only for a few seconds.

With him focused on Charlie and Vaggie, he was too distracted to notice Lucifer creeping up behind him with an angelic dagger. As the King of Hell plunged the blade into the neck of the First Man, the light within his blood infused itself into the blade, making it even more deadly in his hands. And true enough, it did manage to cause him a major wound. But even though it was on his neck, he didn’t seem to be fazed much.

Seeming to remember who he was here to kill, Adam turned with a foul grin on his face, pulled the knife out of his back, and slashed at Lucifer. He missed due to the fallen seraph’s good reflexes, but he knew that eventually the Devil would start getting tired. And sooner or later, he would falter.

Suddenly, a portal opened in the ceiling, and a company of Exorcist angels flooded out. Adam stood there, looking contemptuously at the legions he once commanded. But his face changed when he saw the two leaders of the assault fly through the portal. Both were people he’d loved, people he’d hurt. And together, it seemed they had found a way to heal. Lute and Abel stood side by side, arm in arm. He snarled, not willing to lose his side piece to anyone, even his own crotch-spawn.

The Exorcists formed a silent circle, standing in the way of every avenue of escape for their former leader. They had orders from the Speaker herself on this matter; his rampage would be stopped, and he would be judged by the people of Hell. So they stood there as sentries, keeping the fallen First Man from escaping his justice at the hands of Hell’s champions. Abel tried to reason with his father, appealing to him in an attempt to stop the bloodshed. But Adam was too far gone now to listen. If anything, he started trying to charge towards his son for daring to take his girl. Lute of course did not take well to this in the slightest, joining the assault and managing to cut off one of his demonic horns.

The sound of the doors opening briefly distracted everyone, with Adam making a desperate break for the door so that he could take better advantage of his abilities as an angel outside. But unfortunately, he was met with a spray of holy bullets, as the inhabitants of the Hazbin Hotel stood there alongside the members of IMP. They were armed to the teeth, and Adam now looked properly scared. After all, with all the angelic weapons around, his resistance and natural regeneration would be brought to its limit.

Angel Dust immediately picked up on this look, hefting his twin tommy guns and pulling the trigger. Adam tried to block them with his wings, and though at first they didn’t seem to have an effect, as they kept impacting him they started to deal some noticeable damage. The Exorcists gasped, realizing that Adam could be killed, rushing in to keep his resistance to angelic energy occupied. In irritation from the constant angelic bombardment, the First Man rushed towards Angel, pinning him to the ground.

He gasped as the fallen angel’s powers as an Overlord activated, his soul nearly succumbing to Adam’s power. But on instinct, he pulled out a can of angelic Mace (which Asmodeus and Fizzarolli had given him for self-defense when they realized how desperate his fans were) and sprayed it right in his enemy’s face. Immediately, he could feel the chains that were tightening around his soul disintegrate, as Adam’s concentration was broken. With all the strength in his body, he swung his fist right into the fallen angel’s gut, knocking the wind out of him. That gave him more than enough time to get up and away from the First Man, time which also cost Adam dearly, as the assembled forces of Heaven and Hell wailed on him.

When Adam finally managed to stand up, he conjured a brief shield of angelic energy around himself, dusted himself off and readied himself to fight for his very life. As the shield fell to the combined assault of the Exorcist’s slashes, he unleashed his full power, forcing almost everyone to their knees. Everyone, whether they were of Heaven or Hell was forced to the ground, save for one. Charlotte Morningstar stood there, unaffected by the pressure that tried in vain to force her submission.

His face fell, as he witnessed her sprout beautiful white and gold wings, the left side quickly darkening as her horns elongated and her tail manifested. Her trident had darkened, turning into a demonic pitchfork with hellish flame emanating from it, while in her other hand, a sword of pure radiant energy took form. Her eyes still looked demonic, but her rosy cheeks had turned golden, and her tiara had turned a pale white.

As she hefted her trident and pointed it at Adam, she spoke quietly, with her voice filled with solemn resolve. “Adam, fallen angel, murderer and rapist. As Princess of Hell, it is my duty and my honor to take you down for good.”

Adam responded with equal solemnity, recognizing that the Princess he had toyed with before had grown up and become a true threat. “May the best warrior decide the fate of all.” He readied himself, calling upon his full power as he waited for her advance.

The two of them moved like a blur, clashing against each other and separating, only to repeat the process. They kept fighting, neither one willing to give in. But there was one thing that Adam had forgotten. With his attention focused solely on the Princess, he had neglected to keep the other warriors down for the count. Behind him, Lucifer rushed in, surprising Adam and turning his daughter’s solo fight into a two-on-one.

Within moments, the Exorcists were up again, rushing Adam in a bid to overwhelm him. And though he was handing their asses to them with ease, it was clear that he was beginning to hit the limits of his resistance. If he stayed trapped for much longer, he would start enduring some more serious damage. Fortunately for their side, that problem only got harder to deal with, as with Angel Dust and Husk using their ranged angelic weapons to further overwhelm his body, they were slowly but surely able to chip away at his resilience, leaving him increasingly wounded.

After about a minute, Charlie stopped, pausing to draw upon her magical powers. The others, recognizing that she was about to do something major, focused themselves on keeping out of her way while keeping Adam occupied. Then, with a hand outstretched, she froze him in place, paralyzing him. His angelic resistances, already overtaxed as they were, stood no chance against the mixture of demonic and divine power that washed over him, preventing him from doing anything more than breathing.

The First Man was on the ground, kneeling before the Princess of Hell. Most expected her to end his life, but when she put her hands on his temple, they were confused. But not Lucifer, Lilith or Vaggie. They were well acquainted with what she was doing by this point, and they hoped it would work.

As she removed her hands from him, the massive energy they had felt emanating from him rapidly diminished, and he fainted. Charlie, however, now felt far more powerful. Immediately, they realized what she had done- she had used her light to get rid of everything that Eve had done to him, leaving him a very weak Sinner. He was completely powerless now.

Chapter Text

The Profane Empress of Hell sighed in exasperation. Her darling husband had not even managed to take control over a single realm before being taken down. Clearly, the Morningstar and his family were more of a threat than she had thought, especially the young Princess. Fortunately, Roo had others she could use as her hunters. The most promising was currently locked up for plotting against his fellow Sins, but such protections were nothing to her.

Drawing upon the millennia worth of foul souls that she had absorbed since Eden, she forced an obsidian-black portal open. Then, focusing upon the soul of a fallen Overlord, she gave it just enough dark energy to be able to manifest, sending her new minion through the portal to rescue the captive Prince of Treachery. Within five minutes, it returned to her, the weakened Sin lying unconscious on the floor. She pulled at the bond tethering the minion’s essence to her, returning the soul and its dark energy into herself, its physical form fading away as the energy was reabsorbed.

The Mother of All Demons smiled, as she thought of the chaos that her newest servant would be able to cause. After all, much of Hell was under his control, as like the Overlords, he had relied upon the dark powers to take control of many demons in his quest to regain his title as a King of Sin. With such control, she would be able to move again and catch the Morningstar off-guard.

In short order, Adam had been brought before the court of Hell itself. Standing in judgement were the royal family of Hell, along with the Head Seraphim of Heaven and the Seraph of Joy, representing the Council of Elders. There was no need for a defense attorney, since his crimes were so high-profile and heinous that his guilt was practically assured. All that was really needed was a listing of his full rap sheet, and he would be facing the full wrath of Heaven and Hell combined.

Sera of course took this opportunity to formally apologize for the Exterminations, explaining why she had allowed Adam to do so and admitting her guilt in the matter. She personally confirmed, based on Adam’s own records, that he had killed thirty billion souls during the nearly ten thousand years that the Exterminations had been carried out for. This number counted only those whom the First Man had personally slain, with the full total of demons killed by an Exorcist numbering around 100,000,000,000. Three out of every ten souls slain had been by his hand, which meant that he was responsible for a great deal of the carnage that hell had unfortunately grown accustomed to.

Naturally, Adam had been charged with thirty billion counts of first degree murder, and accessory to seventy billion more. Under normal procedure, he would have unquestionably been put to death, but the continued existence of his dark mistress meant that they had good reason to keep him alive. But there was no reason to allow him to keep his powers, or to allow him to defend himself. It was decreed that he would be used as an immortal punching bag similar to the Overlord Valentino, but that he would be confined to the Heavenly Embassy for the sake of security, as well as to allow any angels desiring vengeance a shot at the bastard.

Lucifer had been busy writing down the particulars of how Adam’s punishment would be implemented when the attack hit. Various demons, Hellborn and Sinner, had attacked the Infernal Courthouse. Some of them were demons who had been subjugated by Adam, while most of the others were law-abiding citizens. He had had no idea what the hell was happening, until a messenger arrived with grave news- Baphomet had been sprung from jail, using a portal. The Justicars had already investigated and managed to analyze the energy signature, confirming that it was not a citizen of Hell.

There was only one demon in all of Hell who could have organized this – Eve, the Root of All Evil and Mother of Monsters. She had far more than enough energy to spring the prince of treachery from his prison in order to use him as a replacement for Adam. This choice had far-reaching consequences, as Baphomet had been imprisoned for recruiting demons throughout Hell to his banner, not-so-secretly trying to usurp any one of the Sins and restore his status.

This had included using many of the same powers that Adam and the Overlords had used to control other demons, but as a former King of Sin, he had access to much more advanced methods of control. He had not only taken control over their souls, but he had marked them with his symbol, making his control far more difficult to erode. Lucifer and Charlie had been working at it for days and had gotten nowhere, the dark energy of the bond proving to be unusually resistant to their angelic light. They had assumed that with him stripped of his powers, he wouldn’t be a problem. But unfortunately, Roo had not only rescued him, but apparently had even restored his powers and thereby his control over his minions.

There was more- the entire Order of Demon Justicars could no longer be trusted to reliably be of help. After all, they had been empowered by all nine of the Sins, and while there were at least seven living Kings of Sin capable of using their influence to keep their order in line, Baphomet had Roo in his corner, so it was not unlikely that he could find a way to puppeteer them and use them against Hell. And it was also entirely possible that the Prince of Treachery might now have angelic abilities, as there had been several weaker fallen angels throughout history who had died, their souls likely absorbed by his new dark mistress and used to empower him just like with Adam, only better.

Lucifer had hoped for at least a break before addressing the threat that was the Root of Evil, but unfortunately, things turned out worse than he had been expecting. Fortunately, Hell was already at a war footing, so they were adequately prepared to take on this new crisis. But time would tell how much they would lose before they won, or even if they won at all.

Chapter Text

‘Things have gone to shit, but at least’, Charlie thought, ‘I have her to lean on.’ Vaggie was snuggled up to her, passed out from the long day they had had. From long meetings planning how to deal with the rogue Prince of Hell, to fighting off crafty assassins who, despite every spell and enchantment placed upon their palace, still managed to get within striking distance to try and hurt the Princess and her beloved consort. Because of all of the above and more, they were fucking exhausted.

There was of course more that Charlie and Vaggie had to do- an exercise that her father had had them doing recently. Essentially it was a form of meditation that allowed angels to commune with the First Light, restoring themselves slightly and making them better able to face the trials ahead. It was something that all angels who weren’t pieces of absolute garbage did, as Lucifer could attest. Sera had been the one to guide him through it his first time, just as Abel had been the one to guide Vaggie through her first.

Vaggie was slightly out of practice, having assumed that after her fall from grace, she had lost the favor of the light. But she had been proven wrong by the regrowth of her wings, which were still the same shade of white as they had been. She had started doing it again after Adam had been laid low, and she had helped Lucifer guide his daughter in getting into the right mindset. Charlie had not quite been able to do it quite yet, more than a little distracted by the completely tranquil and serene expression on her lover’s face.

Now though, she was beginning to get a grasp on it. She had been told that those who had been humans once saw images of their deities or of prophets. Those who had lived in ancient Greece saw the Light as Zeus or Apollo, where the Egyptians saw Amun-Ra. Buddhists saw the Buddha himself, while Hindus tended to see the deity they most revered. Vaggie herself usually saw a vision of Jesus, though the setting varied a lot.

But Charlie, like all those who had not been human, saw no figure. She saw only a high-backed chair, almost like a throne, save for the fact that it was made of wood. But what she saw was the least of what was around her. She could smell incense and hear the quiet whispered prayers of people she didn’t know, asking for blessings and assistance in their lives. Despite the white void around her seeming to be endless, she could feel ground beneath her, solid and firm as concrete.

As she watched, she could feel a rush of simultaneous heat and cold wash over her, as a mass of white flame manifested in the chair, floating above it. Charlie could feel a sense of familiarity within the flame, a reflection of herself and her father. Her blood was singing in joy as she came close to the flame, basking in its warmth and light- On instinct, she knelt, realizing that this must be the First Light.

Come now, my child, there is no need for you to kneel.

“Sorry, sorry- wait, did you just talk?”

Yes, I did just talk. Usually only the Speaker can hear my words, but you seem to be an exception. Breaking rules, just like your father. The Light seemed to be amused, speaking fondly of Lucifer.

“What is it you want of me?” Charlie asked, confused and trepidatious.

Nothing you weren’t already doing. Lucifer made an honest mistake, and you’re helping him fix it with that Hotel of yours. Honestly, you’re outshining most of Heaven right now, helping Sinners change for the better. Charlie blushed, flustered by the frank praise. But there is something I wanted to tell you.

“What is it?” she asked, her attention focused directly on the flame’s words.

I know that you’re going to go interrogate Adam for information. If you tell him I sent you, then he’ll open up. After all, even the worst of Sinners have a small amount of me in them, and I can make sure he’s more cooperative.

“That sounds wonderful! Is there anything else?”

Alastor has something he wishes to ask of you, and he is not trying to trick you. I’d tell you to accept his proposal, but you have the power to choose for yourself.

The whiteness receded, as the familiar surroundings of her bedroom returned to her vision. Almost immediately, she heard a knock at the door. Getting up, she saw the Radio Demon there, twitching slightly, his smile slightly askew. “Come on in, Al! I was expecting you!”

“I seriously doubt that, my dear. After all, you were fast asleep with your lover only moments ago! How could you have known I was coming?” He asked, inquisitive.

Charlie simply waved off his question. “Angel stuff. Anyway, why exactly are you here?”

Alastor sighed, not saying anything for several moments. Then, reluctantly, he spoke. “I… have found myself… missing the power I once wielded. I asked your mother if she would be willing to take me under her authority, but she told me it would be better to ask you.”

Her face fell, as she realized what he was getting at. “You want me to own your soul?” she asked, horrified at the idea.

“Well, I daresay I’d be getting a fairer shake from you than anyone else in this place. The most you’re likely to ask me to do is to play nice with others, and I’ve made my peace with that,” the Radio Demon commented.

“I’ll consider it, Al. But first, I have an errand to run with my mother’s ex.”

The crimson demon’s smile now looked far more like his usual sadistic grin. “Ahh, I understand. Do you wish me to accompany you?”

“Why not? Vaggie needs her rest, and I need a capable bodyguard.”

Both of them walked out of the room, Charlie first writing a note for her girlfriend and then quietly shutting the door to allow her to sleep.

The Heavenly Embassy was unsurprisingly quite packed. Many demons wanted to take a crack at tormenting the First Man who had slaughtered so many of their people over the millennia. Fortunately, Charlie had an appointment booked, and it was only about two minutes from now.

Five seconds after the two of them sat down, a tall imp left the room, with a Doom Slayer cosplay on, the soundtrack of Doom Eternal playing behind him. The display over the entryway changed, displaying her name and the amount of time that had been allotted to her. Charlie got up out of the chair, steeling her nerves, and entered the room.

The man in the center of the room had clearly seen better days. He had bullet wounds and deep scars across his body, all in various stages of healing. However, he didn’t seem to mind it, instead focusing on the music that was still playing. Finally, he spoke.

“Damn, I love the Doom games. Really helped tide me over between Exterminations. And it helps that the soundtrack is so fuckin’ metal.” Then, noticing Charlie, he added, “Hey, Princess. So what are you going to do to me? Based on what I know of your mom and dad, I’m guessing CBT’s on the list. Not looking forward to this.”

The Princess of Hell sighed, before replying. “No, Adam. I’m here to interrogate you for information. The First Light sent me to talk to you.”

Immediately, Adam’s eyes widened, his pupils briefly flashing gold, before his jaw dropped in shock. “I’ll cooperate, tell you everything that you want to know. Just please don’t hurt me.”

“I can promise that for you.”

Chapter Text

Adam turned out to be a gold mine of information, the influence of the First Light loosening his lips and making him answer truthfully. What he knew about Eve was especially enlightening, as it would be very helpful in tracking her down and finally taking her down for good. Her powers and skills as the Root of Evil were notoriously poorly documented, given how few souls dared to seek her out across all of history. Those who did had usually suffered terrible fates, either at her hand or at the hands of Heaven.

By far, one of the most unsettling abilities that the embodiment of sin possessed was a form of demonic necromancy, summoning forth the spirits of fallen demons to do her bidding. This was something that no one else in all of time had been able to do, specifically because of her presence. She and she alone was able to summon forth the spirits of murdered demons, and the power that that afforded her was terrible.

It also simultaneously explained how few managed to get near her. After all, the location of her lair was one of the few things known about her, an island in the middle of the Styx near the edge of the Pride Ring. On that island was the transplanted Tree of Knowledge, to which she had been bound by the Exorcists soon after her emergence. The Styx was also known as the River of Souls, which was capable of ending the life of any who walked through it. It was a safe bet that there actually were souls within the river, preventing anyone from crossing through it unless they promised not to harm their mistress.

Adam confirmed all of this, adding that he had sworn an oath on the Styx not to harm her. The Princess’ face fell at that; the idea of a Stygian oath wasn’t just superstition by the Greeks, it was a real phenomenon, the souls in the water forcing the oath-taker to abide by their word. He even mentioned that the Tree of Knowledge would attack anyone winged who hadn’t sworn an oath by the Styx, which made their options far more limited. For now, it seemed that there was no way to attack the Mother of Monsters, barring sending down every angel in Heaven, and that was likely a suicidal tactic.

Still, it was good information, so the Princess of Hell honored her promise and left Adam alone for the rest of the hour-long block of time that she had reserved, allowing him some mercy and time to heal his wounds before the next denizen of Hell came to torment him.

Upon her return to the Hotel, the first thing that Charlie did was to finally take Alastor up on his offer. Reaching out her hand with her wings and horns visible, she shook hands with the Radio Demon, feeling an unholy satisfaction as his soul came under her control. As much as she hated the idea of controlling people, deep down, her demonic side was ecstatic, the small part of her that had not been quite as positive loving the feeling of power and control over others. She felt disgusted with herself, but she focused herself on the task at hand. Letting some of her angelic power flow through Alastor’s body, she watched as he briefly jerked back in shock, his demonic body not used to the power of light. But within moments, his look of discomfort melted away, and his signature smile returned.

“Thank you, Charlotte, dear. I feel much better now.”

“And the chain on your soul? It’s not too tight, is it?” she asked, wanting to make sure her friend was comfortable with the arrangement.

“Oh, no. Not in the slightest! Honestly, I can barely feel it-” His face fell slightly, and he fell silent for a moment. Then he continued his thought. “I can barely feel it until I think of doing something you wouldn’t approve of. And then it gets a little bit tight. But I can live with that. It’s far better than my last deal after all.”

The Princess sighed in relief, happy that she hadn’t forced someone to be a slave to her.

The meetings Charlie was being dragged into these days were not quite so enjoyable, as the entire royal family of Hell was put through ever-mounting pressure. Some of these meetings were with the Elder Angels of Heaven, devising strategies for battling the Avatar of Wickedness. Others were called to solve problems within Hell, such as thwarting insurrections and rooting out compromised officials. Roo was causing enough problems to keep them consistently occupied, with her servant Baphomet’s connections making it all the easier for her to keep them from making any real progress in preparation for their knock-down drag-out fight against her.

At the very least, she was still able to spend time with friends and family. Her mother and father were frequently swamped with paperwork or stuck in important meetings, but the two of them still had enough free time to spend with each other, bonding with their daughter and Vaggie. The Hotel was pretty much unchanged from how it had been since the very beginning, with chaos happening consistently. Fortunately, the residents of the Hotel were getting along well, with Velvette’s worst days being when the others got into a prank war. It was heartwarming to see them growing closer together.

But that too was also a source of potential heartbreak. All three of the resident angels could feel every one of the souls within the Hotel, and with their attunement to the power of light, they could feel kindness and virtue beating back the darker parts of their soul, slowly purifying their hearts. This was proof that the Hotel was working, which was cause for celebration, save for the fact that Charlie had grown quite attached to this crew. She wasn’t ready to give up seeing them everyday just yet. Even though that time was roughly still a year away, she knew she wouldn’t be ready.

And while she knew that she could visit them in Heaven, that wouldn’t be the same. After all, she could only visit them occasionally, what with her responsibilities as Princess of Hell and redeemer of souls. Soon, she would have to say goodbye to these wonderful, flawed human beings, and that would be difficult. But she would have to move on, knowing that they were in a better place, and commit herself to helping other lost souls.

Chapter Text

Hello, all.

I really didn't want to have to do this, but I kind of have to. I'm abandoning this work. This is only the second time I've ever truly abandoned a story, and I never like doing it. But I have no ideas for this story, while my other ones are flowing just fine creatively.

I would not mind if one of you decided to rewrite and/or continue this fic, so long as I'm credited for this. I hope you guys liked it, dogshit as it was. I'll be watching what happens to this story. And who knows? Maybe I'll do a complete rewrite of this one day.

~DecemberKing~

Chapter Text

Hello again, everyone.

I've decided that I'm going to redo this fic over the summer, fixing some of the inconsistencies (especially with the end of Adam). Of course, my updates will likely be on a slow schedule, since for the moment I have other stories to focus on, which update weekly. And that's ignoring the cute little one-shots I post every so often (though one of those is definitely not meant to be a oneshot).

Anyway, just wanted to let you know.

Cya there!

~DecemberKing~

P.S. I'll put the link to the rewrite in the end notes when I actually start writing it.