A giggle escaped the redheaded girl as she wrote in her notebook.
"Soon my plans will be complete and my prize will be mine!"
"Petta, dear, who are you speaking to?"
The lavender-eyed half-demon looked up to see a blonde woman standing in the doorway of her room and looking at her with a confused look.
"Hi, Mommy! I'm just adding some finishing touches to some plans of mine."
Salome raised an eyebrow in question. "What sort of plans?"
"These plans!" exclaimed Petta as she handed her notebook over to her mother.
Taking the notebook, Salome read it over. As she read it, a grin spread across her face. Once she was done, she brought her daughter into a big hug.
"Aw, my sweet little girl found herself a boyfriend! I'm so proud of you, sweetie!"
"Thanks, Mommy! Now I need to start the first step!"
The two females exited the room. Once they were gone, a tall red-haired man (who had been eavesdropping) stepped into the room and looked at the notebook Petta left behind. His eye started to twitch from what he read.
"…Ah shit. She's just like her mother when it comes to wanting the boy she likes."
-:-
Meanwhile, Laharl's Netherworld, he was currently sleeping in his coffin after a hard day's work, which was more or less him yelling at Etna and the Prinnies. When a sudden sound went off in his room, his eyes snapped open. He was about to open his coffin and take a look to see what the sound was, but the coffin lid opened on its own. When he saw what had opened his coffin, his eyes widened in fear and he was about to yell in terror, but his screams were muffled when his face was stuffed into the valley of two mountains. Unable to escape, Laharl soon passed out.
-:-
When Laharl came to, he could hear voices.
"You did great, Mimi! Thank you so much for bringing him here for me!" said a voice that Laharl felt he had heard before.
"It was no problem! I was happy to help!" exclaimed a different voice, ending her sentence with some giggles.
When Laharl's vision cleared up, he was surprised to see a smiling Petta standing in front of him.
"You! What do you want now?!" demanded Laharl as he glared at the redhead.
"You know what I want, my husband-to be," said Petta as she stepped closer to the blue-haired overlord.
"I thought I told you to never step foot into my netherworld ever again," said Laharl with growl.
"I listened to what you said, but you never forbade anyone else from stepping into your netherworld. Which is why I had Mimi here kidnap you in your sleep and bring you to my netherworld!" exclaimed Petta with a smile.
Laharl glanced over at Mimi, who turned out to be a succubus. When she gave him a wink, he felt sick to his stomach and had to turn away. Aside from feeling ill, Laharl also felt angry. He was angry at the succubus, angry with Petta, and angry with himself for not seeing something like this coming. Turning to glare at Petta, who had sent the succubus away, he wanted answers.
"What do you want from me?" repeated Laharl with a growl.
Petta only rolled her lavender eyes. "I already told you, Laharl-kun! I want you to be my king and I your queen!"
"Not going to happen!" shouted Laharl as he turned and left. At least that was the plan until he was pulled back with a sharp yank. "What the hell?!"
A grinning Petta held up a chain, which Laharl then noticed had one end cuffed to his wrist while the other was cuffed to her wrist. "Sorry, Laharl-kun, but you won't be going anywhere for a while."
"You think a measly chain is going to stop me, King Laharl?!" questioned Laharl with a smug smirk. He pulled out his sword and slashed at the chain…only to find that the chain was still intact. Laharl tried to cut a few more times until he let out an irritated yell. "Why the hell won't this damn chain cut?!"
Petta let out a few giggles. "This is a special binding chain, Laharl-kun. It is used to bind two people together and can never be broken. The only way to get rid of it is to use the key."
Laharl felt dread well up inside him. "And where is the key?"
"With my mom of course! So it looks like we're bound together, my husband-to-be," stated Petta as she pulled Laharl over with the chain and gave him a big hug.
Laharl went stiff. He wanted to get the hell out of there now! Unfortunately he couldn't do anything until he got that key.
'Damn it!'
"Come on, Laharl-kun! I want you to meet my mom and dad!"
Laharl felt dread well up inside him once more as he was dragged out of the room. He's already met Zetta once and considering how he was, Laharl could only imagine what the mother of the redheaded she-devil before him was like. If the large-breasted, smiling blonde that Laharl saw as they entered the living quarters was who he thought it was, then his fears came true.
"Welcome to Lord Zetta's castle, son-in-law," stated the woman; making Laharl's eye twitch at the "title" he was given.
"Laharl-kun, meet my mom and wife of Lord Zetta, Lady Salome," said Petta with a beaming smile.
The blue-haired half-demon crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Salome. "Let's get one thing straight here, I am the Overlord and kidnapping me like you did is declaration for war! So unless you wan to feel my wrath, hand over the key to these chains and I will let you live!"
To Laharl's surprise, Salome just let out a few giggles. "You've picked a good strong one, Petta."
"Thanks, Mommy!"
"What the hell is going on in here?"
The three turned to see the newcomer, who turned out to be Overlord Zetta.
"Hi, Daddy! Look who I brought home!" exclaimed Petta as she hugged the struggling Laharl closer.
Zetta grimaced as he looked over Laharl. He then turned a glare towards Salome. "What the hell were you thinking allowing this?!"
The busty woman just rolled her eyes at her husband's foolishness. "Would you have told Petta no?"
"Of course I would!" declared Zetta. He faltered a bit when Salome gave him a deadpan look with a raised eyebrow, as if she didn't believe him. "Don't give me that look, woman."
"Then answer my question. Would you have told Petta no?"
"Yes…maybe…no."
Salome and Petta smiled as Zetta caved in, while Laharl gave the man a blank look. The all-powerful Zetta…was powerless to a little girl?
"Thanks, Daddy!" said Petta. She then turned to Laharl. "Come on, Laharl-kun. We need to get ready for our date."
The young overlord jumped at the word "date". "Wh-What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Seeing as we're going to be husband and wife soon, we should get to know each other and the best way to do that is to go on a date!" explained the lavender-eyed girl.
"We're not going to be husband and wife!" yelled Laharl, only for Petta to let out a few giggles.
"You keep saying that, husband-to-be, but you know that we're meant for each other," said Petta, placing a quick kiss on Laharl's cheek. This of course made Laharl want to kill himself as it burned his skin.
'When will this nightmare end?!' thought Laharl.
"Let's get going, Laharl-kun!" exclaimed Petta as she once again started dragging Laharl behind her.
"Bring my daughter home before nine o'clock or say goodbye to your netherworld!" shouted Zetta as the two children neared the door.
"Daddy!"
"Fine, ten o'clock," said the redheaded overlord, only to get a pout from his daughter. "…Alright! Be back before midnight!"
"Thanks, Daddy!"
With that, Petta left with Laharl be dragged all the while. Once gone, Salome walked up to her husband and wrapped her arms around his. Zetta's eye was twitching in annoyance all the while.
"You're such a big softie when it comes to her, you know that?"
"Don't start with me, woman."
Salome could only giggle at her husband's sour mood.
-:-
All Laharl's life he knew that Hell was one of two things. The currency used in the netherworlds and a place that bad people go, according to humans and angels. As far as he knew, demons didn't go to Hell since they were naturally bad and ran the place. Never had Laharl been so wrong as he was currently in Hell right now and the leader was the redheaded girl holding his hand in a death grip.
"Loosen up a little, Laharl-kun! We're going to have fun!"
Laharl grimaced at the aspect of fun with Petta. His eye started to twitch when he saw where she was leading him.
"Why are you taking me here of all places?!" demanded Laharl as he pointed at the nearby carnival.
"Because it will be fun! We'll get to ride the roller coaster, the Ferris wheel, the Tunnel of Love," explained Petta, her voice becoming a little sultry at the last part.
Laharl's eyes widened in fear at the mention of the last ride. "Oh hell no!"
He tried to make a break for it, but forgot one minor detail, which he was reminded of when Petta gave a yank and pulled Laharl back to her. The fiery glare the young overlord gave the chain could have melt it if such was possible.
"Tell you what, Laharl-kun, I'll make you a deal," stated Petta. When she had his attention, she continued. "I'll let you choose which ride we go on. We can either go on the Ferris wheel or we can on the Tunnel of Love.
"Can't I just go home?" questioned Laharl.
Petta just gave him a beaming smile. "Nope!"
Letting out a growl, Laharl made the obvious choice. "There's no way I, King Laharl, would ride the Tunnel of Love!"
"So you choose the Ferris wheel? Okay then, my husband-to-be!" exclaimed Petta as she resumed dragging Laharl into the carnival.
For some reason, Laharl felt like he had been tricked, but couldn't figure out why.
The two young demons walked through the crowds, going from one attraction to the next. They went on a few rides and even played a few games.
"Care to win a prize for your girlfriend, kid?" asked one of the game vendors, who happened to be a Gargoyle.
Laharl gritted his teeth when the vendor called Petta his girlfriend. Turning to the stone creature, he tried to tell him off, but Petta spoke instead.
"Oh please, Laharl-kun! Win me that Dragon plushy!" exclaimed the girl as she pointed at the green winged lizard.
While he wanted to argue, even Laharl was smart enough to know it was futile, so he gave in and walked over to the vendor.
"What do I have to do?" questioned the boy. The Gargoyle smirk and opened his mouth, but didn't say anything when Laharl suddenly pointed his sword at the demon's throat. "And don't even think about cheating me!"
The nervous Gargoyle gulped before he spoke. "W-Well, all you have to do is knock down the bottles with this ball."
The stone demon handed Laharl a baseball, which was then throw with much strength, knocking the bottle down. If Laharl didn't make the threat, the Gargoyle would have pressed a hidden button that would have magnetized the bottle down. Luckily for the Gargoyle, he decided his life was more important than money.
"Oh thank you, Laharl-kun!" beamed Petta as she hugged her newly acquired Dragon plushy closer.
"Whatever. Can we go now?"
"We still have one more ride to go on. The Ferris wheel!" exclaimed the young girl as she dragged Laharl over to the giant mechanical wheel.
The two soon got in one of the gondolas, sitting across from each other, and the ride took off. While Petta took in the scenery, Laharl was thinking about how this nightmare would be ending soon. As soon as the ride ended, he'd be able to end this date and get the hell back home and hopefully never see Petta again. His thoughts were interrupted when the ride suddenly stopped. Thinking it was over; Laharl was about to get out of the gondola when he noticed that it was stopped at the very top of the wheel.
"What the hell?"
"Oh Laharl-kun…"
Laharl froze at the sound of the sultry sounding voice. Mechanically he turned to the source to find Petta giving him a seductive look. Thing soon got worse for him when Petta came over and straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Wh-What are you doing?!" demanded Laharl, the fear clear in his voice.
"This is so much better than some dumb old Tunnel of Love, don't you think?"
She did trick him! She must have told the ride operator to stop the ride when they reached the top! Laharl now felt like an idiot for walking into this. He didn't dwell on that though. Right now he had to escape and fast!
"G-Get off me!"
"I don't know why you are so reluctant to have me as your queen, Laharl-kun. I've already told you before why I am the perfect choice," stated Petta. She then gained a pout. "It's that angel girl, isn't it?"
"You leave Flonne out of this!"
"What does she have that I don't?!" demanded the redhead. "She's not even a demon, unlike me, so it doesn't make sense to choose her!"
Laharl was going to argue back, but stopped when he noticed something. A tear fell from Petta's eye, followed by another. She was crying. Laharl didn't know what to do now. Along with sexy women, crying women were also something he couldn't handle.
"H-Hey! Stop crying!"
…Yeah, that's how you handle it, Laharl.
"I don't get it, Laharl-kun. Am I not pretty enough for you? I thought you preferred girl who were flat-chested," said Petta, tears still trailing down her face.
Laharl suddenly became tongue-tied. He knew he had to make Petta feel better to get her to stop crying, but that required being nice, something he was not used to doing. Even being nice to Flonne was hard at times, but she was used to such and was patient with him. He just had to bite the bullet here.
"Th-That's not true. You…you are pretty…Petta," replied Laharl with a gulp.
Petta gave a sniff and wiped away the tears. "You really think so, Laharl-kun?"
Laharl gulped again before nodding. "Y-Yes."
A delighted squeal sounded from Petta as she gave Laharl a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you, Laharl-kun! I knew you loved me!"
"H-Hey! Just because I said you looked pretty doesn't mean I l-love you!"
"What was that, my husband-to-be? I didn't catch those last few words."
"I said I love you!" yelled Laharl before he realized his mistake. How the hell did she keep tricking him?!
Another delighted squeal sounded off and another bone-crushing hug was delivered. "I love you too, Laharl-kun!"
Laharl yelled in agony as he felt himself grow weaker. Just before he passed out, he could have sworn he heard an explosion.
-:-
When Laharl finally came to, he almost didn't recognize his surroundings. It wasn't until a certain Beauty Queen leaned over him did he figure it out.
"Hey, Prince! You're awake!"
"…Etna? Was it all a dream then?"
"You mean you on a date with Petta-chan? Nope! That really happened!" said Etna with a grin.
Laharl froze before turning to Etna. "Then how did I get back here?"
Etna's grin grew bigger. "Ask Flonne-chan."
As the saying goes, speak of the devil and he shall appear. In this case though, speak of an angel and she shall appear. It was at that moment that Flonne walked into Laharl's room.
"Laharl-san!" cried the Archangel as she rushed over and glomped the Overlord. "I was so worried about you!"
"L-Let go!" yelled Laharl, but made no attempts of pushing her away. "How did I get back here? More importantly, how did you know where I was?"
Flonne let go of him and started explaining. "Well, when we had found out that you were missing we asked around to see if anyone knew anything. We learned that someone saw a succubus carry you off."
Laharl grimaced at the memory of that succubus. "Then what?"
"We tracked down the succubus and made her tell us where you were!" exclaimed Flonne. Her face then became impassive, something Laharl felt it shouldn't be. "She told us that you were with Petta."
Laharl shuddered at that memory.
"Something wrong, Prince?" questioned Etna, a knowing look in her eye.
"Shut up, Etna! It's none of your damn business!" yelled Laharl, glaring at the girl. He then turned back to Flonne. "So how did I get back here?"
"We were able to find you and Petta at that carnival with a little help from Pram."
Pram. Why did that name sound familiar? Ah, that's right. She's the Oracle who likes to play games with people. Laharl could only imagine what she wanted in exchange for her help.
Etna then continued. "We then found you and Petta on the Ferris wheel, fought her off, and then brought you home, Prince."
"Good! It's about time you vassals did something right for your Overlord!"
Etna sent him a glare while Flonne only giggled. The Archangel knew this was as close as a thank you they were going to get.
"So what are you going to do now, Laharl-san?" asked Flonne.
"…First I'm going to make sure the castle is secure and then I'm going to sleep."
"Well aren't you lazy," said Etna.
Laharl just glared at her. It was then he realized something. "Hey wait, how did you get that chain off me?"
"Oh! Etna just picked the lock with a bobby pin!" exclaimed Flonne.
Laharl gave her a blank look. "…What?"
"Yeah. The chain might be indestructible, but the locks are really poor craftsmanship," explained Etna.
Laharl felt like killing something in his anger while the two girls could only laugh at him.
-:-
Back in Zetta's netherworld…
"I can't believe that stupid angel ruined my date like that!" exclaimed Petta.
"Don't worry, Petta. Next time you meet that angel, you will be the victorious one and Laharl will be all yours," said Salome as she healed Petta's wounds.
"Didn't I tell you this was a pointless venture?" stated Zetta as he looked at his daughter. "Hell, you're too young to even be thinking about finding a mate now!"
"You're not being helpful, Daddy!" yelled Petta as she pouted at her father. She then stood up and walked towards the window that overlooked the land. "I am the Badass Daughter of the Most Badass Freakin' Overlord In The Entire Cosmos and I won't rest until Laharl-kun is mine as my husband and future king!"
Salome could only smile, happy that her daughter wasn't going to give. Zetta on the other hand was starting to get a headache. On one hand he was proud of Petta for not wanting to give up…and calling herself the Badass Daughter, but he really wished that she did give up on Laharl. Only one question popped into his head at the moment.
Why was raising a daughter so damn hard?
FIN
-:-
Despite the ending, Petta won't be seen for a while. This is the end of this trilogy and the next trilogy will focus on a new "antagonist" for Laharl to deal with. She will return much later though.
Call me a sadist, but I really enjoy torturing Laharl. It's just so much fun!