So, I finally achieved my goal. The Darkness within me became insanely strong. If before it was highly concentrated but existed in my body in very small quantities, now there was a fuckton of it. But what's surprising is that the amount of Light in me has also doubled. It turns out that this little apple didn't just boost my Darkness, but my Light as well, which was a very pleasant and unexpected bonus.
Right now, I was in Hell. Lucifer wanted to give me something, but for now, I decided to visit my acquaintances. Or rather, one acquaintance. Carmilla Carmine had done many truly worthy deeds in this short time, and I was already noticing some changes in her. No metaphysical stuff like "I feel the weakened Darkness within you" or anything like that, she just seemed… calmer? More peaceful and, from what I heard, she started spending much more time with her daughters and Zestial, who had become a father figure to her. Well, "heard"? It's not like I wasn't keeping an eye on my "test subject"… Ahem, I mean, my friend, who is so desperately trying to come to the Light… Damn, I need to joke with myself less often, or I'll get some new bugs in my head, and my xenomorphs living there really don't like them.
"Well, I assume this isn't the only topic for which you invited me here," after a brief chat about nothing, the businesswoman decided to get straight to the point. Oh, this youth, always in a hurry…
"Yes, I have a small request for you," I started from afar. Oh, how I anticipate all the changes that will occur in the Pride Ring after the next extermination…
"Of course. If it is within my power, I will do anything you ask," the overlord said seriously, then gave a short nod as if to confirm her own words…
"You shouldn't throw around promises like that, especially in the company of men… And especially if you're an attractive woman…" I look at the sinner with a slight hint, and for a moment, she shyly averts her gaze.
"You're an angel, so…"
"Yes, you got lucky there. But let's get back to our topic… I need to use your influence and your connections. The next extermination is coming very soon, and this time it will be very different from all the others. This time, only those sinners who have not even the slightest chance of redemption will be killed. After that, I plan to work on another, no less important project, but I'll tell you about that another time." Telling her about the Abyss before it was created wouldn't be very smart. I didn't even know what it would look like or what its function would be.
"Interesting… And what exactly do you need from me? To gather all the necessary information on these sinners?" Carmilla suggested.
"No, don't worry. We've already managed to collect enough necessary data," I smiled broadly. Yeah, my girls worked really hard managing all those drones. And Sarakael and I also worked our asses off to get to where we are now. "This is a little outside your area of expertise, but I need all sinners to know, clearly and distinctly, that this extermination is directed specifically against the worst of the worst. Everyone in Pentagram City needs to know that the 'good guys' weren't touched this time. Understand?"
"This… what exactly are you trying to achieve? First, you forgave me, even took me to Heaven, tried so hard to turn me into an angel, and now this… I'm not very well-versed in all these matters, of course, but, Adam, were such actions even possible before?" Damn, an acquaintance I see maybe once a month can read me like a book… And how have the Seraphim still not noticed all these changes in me? No, wait, they've definitely noticed. The main thing is that they attribute it to… I don't know, growing up? Or something else positive, and not the possession by a psycho-god-slayer from another world…
"It's all because of the Princess of Hell," I decide to explain a little. Carmilla, after all, was a good person… that is, a sinner. But sinners are, essentially, the same human souls, so they could also be called people, albeit with some stretch… I think… "Previously, I didn't believe that redemption was even real, but now I'm willing to try. And I don't see any unforgivable sinfulness in you, only care for your family. And family is the most important thing," I cosplay a certain famous bald muscleman for a second, taking a sip of my tea with an important air. It was very bitter and, frankly, quite disgusting tea, which was nevertheless highly valued because it was HELL tea. That is, tea that grew only in Hell, and was processed right on the spot. The taste, of course, was shit, but they say there was nothing like it, so it was worth trying at least once in a lifetime. Well… it was mediocre, to be honest. Though I'll probably take a bag with me as a souvenir… a kilogram bag…
"Oh… yes. I… I understand," it seems that for this woman, family was also the most important thing in her life. It's strange that she didn't have a husband. She had children with someone, she didn't get pregnant from thin air, after all. And given her strong attachment to family ties, it was strange that she never found her husband after death… Or maybe she never had a husband… Or he died here, in Hell… In any case, I didn't think our relationship was at a level where I could casually ask her about such personal matters. "I think I can do it. It's not really my area of expertise, true. But it seems that after that incident with Velvette, your relationship with the other Vees didn't turn out so well, did it?"
"Heh, that's putting it mildly," I smiled, feeling a little awkward. It wasn't very nice of me to mock that self-absorbed bitch like that, and then put an unbreakable and irremovable collar on her, but I didn't feel particularly guilty about it either. Shouldn't have been such a self-absorbed bitch! "I heard she walked around with that collar for several months."
"Yes. She told everyone it was a new fashion trend. Some idiots even wore her new clothing line with the same collars," Carmilla smiled. Yeah, it's amazing that people like that end up in Hell and not Heaven…
Hell, Pride Ring. Palace of Marquis Andrealphus, commander of thirty legions of infernal spirits.
In a spacious hall made almost entirely of ice, sat two figures: Andrealphus himself, one of the seventy-two most powerful demons of the Goetia, in his peacock form, with a turquoise, short beak and matching turquoise eyes, without pupils or irises, with long, feathery eyelids. His feathers were mostly white, with a noticeable grayish tint. His short, light-turquoise hair was combed back, with several dark blue spots. And his younger sister, Stella, mother of Octavia and wife of Prince Stolas himself.
Outside, a heavy snow was falling. It was always like this here when the master of the estate was inside. An obsequious little imp poured hot tea into their cups from an elegant porcelain teapot and then silently stepped aside so as not to disturb his masters.
"Hmm…" Andrealphus took a sip of tea, savoring it with pleasure. "I see you're surprisingly cheerful today?" he addressed his younger sister.
"You have no idea!" Stella replied with a wide smile, receiving her own cup of tea. "Stolas had his heart shattered by that little imp he was dating." The woman's voice was filled with genuine, malicious glee. She despised her worthless, weak husband for his weakness and all his foolish, depraved affairs. The only way to preserve some semblance of their family's honor was to publicly show her true feelings towards him. Even though Stolas was a prince, his weak character didn't even allow him to rank among the top ten strongest Goetia demons, so if not for this open, cold hatred from his own wife, both she and her daughter would be ridiculed much more often. One should not forget what a real shitshow was actually going on in all aristocratic societies.
"Oh…" a cunning, pleased smile also appeared on Andrealphus's face. He envied Stolas, because, being only a marquis, he was greatly inferior in power and influence to the prince himself, however, knowing the true character of this owl, it was simply impossible not to despise him. So, at least, Andrealphus himself thought.
"Yes, I think he finally realized that disgusting gremlin was only dating him for access to the grimoire!" Stella blurted out her true feelings about the situation with a laugh. She understood perfectly well that love in the upper echelons of aristocracy was an extremely rare thing. And even though she didn't love Stolas, in the early years of their marriage, she desperately tried to be a good wife to him, but time went on, and not even the slightest affection for him ever developed. Stolas was too weak-willed; Stella simply could not respect someone like that. Even she, a woman, was more of a man than the prince and head of the family himself. Stella didn't seek lovers, because another aristocrat as a lover would have been political suicide, and a lover from a lower demon caste was the same, but with the added condemnation of her entire family to eternal ridicule and mockery… And then that bastard, horned owl went and slept with some imp… "Fucking finished idiot…" Stella's voice held not only anger and contempt but also a deep, hidden resentment with a barely noticeable drop of pain.
"Pfft!" Upon hearing this, the marquis literally couldn't keep the tea in his mouth. He choked and spilled a huge amount of boiling water directly onto his faithful servant. However, he wouldn't be himself if he allowed such an unpleasant mistake to affect his property. Instead of scalding hot water capable of severely burning the weak demon, the tea, right in mid-air, turned cold, almost icy, and, freezing solid in the next moment, encased the poor butler in a block of ice. Unpleasant, but harmless. "For… for access TO WHAT?!" Andrealphus couldn't believe his ears.
"Well, to that little book of his," Stella waved her hand vaguely in the air, calmly enjoying her tea.
"Wait, wait, wait, hold on!" Andrealphus began excitedly. "Stolas was letting an IMP use HIS Goetia grimoire and you didn't tell me?" The peacock's eyes held genuine disbelief, and he looked at his sister as if she were a traitor to the nation.
"What difference does it make to you?"
"Have you forgotten?!" the marquis asked, holding his head. "We were trying to figure out how to take power from your fucked-up little husband!" With each word, more and more anger slipped into the peacock's voice, and reality itself began to tremble around him. But not from his power, but from the cold emanating from him. "And all this time you knew he was doing some insanely illegal things and didn't even think it would be a good idea to tell me about it!" The ice palace, which was already made of the purest, magical ice, was instantly covered with a new, thick layer of something even colder, even more dangerous. The marquis himself, in his rage, assumed his true, combat form. A huge peacock tail fanned out behind him, he himself grew significantly in size, and the very space seemed to vibrate from the power of his ice.
"Don't you yell at me!" Stella abruptly stood up from her seat, shouting at the rampaging marquis. She was not at all frightened by his power, nor did his true form intimidate her with its might. Especially not after her loser-husband, who, despite being a weak-willed idiot, was still a prince and possessed a much more terrifying, primal power. "Well, now you fucking know," she sat back down in her seat and, completely calm, as if nothing had happened, continued to drink her tea.
"You're… so lucky you're so sexy, Stella," the marquis stated, calming down a bit and walking away to contemplate his next, decisive actions, earning a snort from Stella.
Hell, Pride Ring, Imp City, "I.M.P." Headquarters
"So, remind me, what's your deal, you quartet?" Four demons stood before Blitzo: three imps and one succubus. They had been explaining something to him for a couple of minutes, of course, but the big boss of all imps was too engrossed in a soft, plush Moxxie toy. It was really fun to squeeze him. And he made a funny sound when you did, just like an inflatable rubber ducky.
"We're interns, sir," replied the leader of their group, handing Blitzo a small, folded piece of paper with the words: "Dear 'I.M.P.', please, please, PLEASE, hire us. With love, us." "We are looking for cool, promising companies to work for."
"Yeah, yeah, I know what 'interns' are, I'm not that stupid!" the imp crumpled the piece of paper and immediately threw it on the floor. "But I can't afford new employees right now." Having said that, Blitzo was already reaching for a large, red button hidden under his desk. This button was supposed to summon a very angry hellhound who could easily deal with any, even the most insolent imp… Or Moxxie. There were a fuckton of buttons under the table, and Blitzo, to be honest, had no fucking clue which one did what. But, in principle, he didn't give a shit.
"Oh, interns work for experience, sir…" replied that same imp, making Blitzo stop in his tracks.
"Repeat that," Blitzo asked, blinking in confusion.
"We work for experience," the imp replied with a wide smile.
"Ah-ha, like, for free," now a cunning, pleased smirk appeared on the head of 'I.M.P.'s' face. It was clear that he was already up to something. Also, he just loved freebies. Seriously, who the fuck doesn't love free shit?
"Well… for experience?" the imp spread his hands.
"Well, I won't turn down freebie worker drones!" Blitzo said happily, vigorously shaking the imp's hand.
"Sir, we have a problem!" Moxxie chose this exact moment to burst into his office, screaming.
"Come out! We have you surrounded!" a muffled voice, amplified by a megaphone, immediately came from the street.
Looking out the window, Blitzo saw a huge, round portal open in the sky, from which a giant, yellow eye peeked out from absolute darkness. The next moment, dozens of strange creatures in dark robes poured out of the portal. They could fly and looked like fucking dementors from Harry Potter.
"Employees of the illegal business 'I.M.P.'," one of these robed figures began to read, and the image in the portal immediately changed from a huge, glowing eye in the dark to photos of Blitzo, Loona, Moxxie, and Millie themselves. "You are under arrest for violating demonic law. Surrender!"
"YOU'RE ALL FUCKED, ASSHOLES!" another robed figure shouted viciously.
"Blitzo, what do we do?!" Moxxie asked his silent boss in shock, who for a second seemed to have lost the ability to speak.
"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" the voice from the street sounded again.
"Quick! Hide EVERYTHING!..." And then began the classic destruction of evidence by burning the office and eating all the documentation… by Moxxie's mouth and by force…