A very quick A/N: this chapter is sort of a montage. So… enjoy?
It took Mika quite a while to get used to being a Servant of Barbatos.
And by quite a while, I mean it took him two entire weeks just to just get used to his new arm and legs, and much, much longer to get used to being Barbatos' assistant.
Barbatos himself did take some getting used to. The Duke was rather eccentric, to say the least, and always enjoyed poking fun at Mika. By demon standards, however, he was rather… nice? That was a nice way to put it, or at least that was what the Duke liked to say. On occasion, Barbatos did note that Mika should've been happy that he had taken his soul and not Andras or, Satan forbid, Stolas.
Of course, he did eventually get used to being a Sinner and working under the guy. He didn't exactly care for any of his colleagues, with him preferring to work alone, though they didn't exactly care for him either anyways, so it evened out.
And hey, at least things weren't boring for the five or so months of him being here…
Two hours after arrival
"So… you're telling me that you'd rather wear your jacket instead of the standard Servant uniform?"
Barbatos' answer from Mika was predicted by him long before he nodded, and the Duke rolled his eyes as he stroked his beard.
"This is a bit of a weird request… but what the Hell, go on!" proclaimed Barbatos as he waved his hand absentmindedly, in turn conjuring up the aforementioned jacket in Augus' hands all the while. The jacket itself had been altered quite a bit, with the entire right sleeve having been torn off and with the sleeve-hole itself enlarge in order to make way for his new, bulky arm.
Mika didn't really mind these changes, as evident by the satisfied snort he gave when he got it around his shoulders, and he almost smiled as he got comfortable in it, though Barbatos quickly continued speaking, interrupting his rare happy thoughts. "But… you'll need to wash your attire first, dammit! This may be Hell, but even we have standards!"
"Alright."
Six days after arrival
Barbatos was quick to catch up on the fact that Mikazuki was an illiterate young man.
After the young boy failed to read something the Duke had told him to sign in his steed, Barbatos took it upon himself to try and teach him just a bit of English and perhaps some native demonic tongue. Their lessons typically took place in Barbatos' personal study, and… well… it was a bit of a work in progress…
By default, Mikazuki's native tongue was Japanese, and Barbatos had been able to use some magic to make demon language sound as such to his ears. Demon language aside, Augus' grasp on basic Japanese, and at times English, words was decent, if a little mediocre, though when it came to writing in either language, however…
"No, Mikazuki, that is not how you write your name!" protested Barbatos as he watched his newest servant write down an abhorrent mess that was meant to be his name, with him ignoring the looks he was getting in his palace library all the while. In response to this, Mikazuki simply rewrote his name, barely improving as Barbatos pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Even his future sight couldn't help with this…
"No, that's not how you spell it either…"
One week after arrival
Mikazuki rolled the shoulder of his Lupus Rex arm as he watched Barbatos issue an order to him.
"You want me to go walk through a park with a demon you don't want to walk with?" inquired Mika for clarification. In response, Barbatos sighed into his hand and nodded.
"Embarrassingly, yes," admitted Barbatos with a quick nod. "As of now, you're my personal assistant… so I can't exactly expect to send you out willy nilly… but…"
"Sure," was all Mika could mutter out as he gave a quick shrug. Barbatos appeared rather shocked at that, though he gave a quick nod as he smirked.
"As reliable as ever. Though I must warn you…
"Her sexual advances are very worrying."
That part of Barbatos' warning rang out loud in his head as the demon he offered to be with in his place rubbed her body up against Mikazuki's Lupus Rex arm, attempting to seduce him with her above average sized bust. She would see no victory to her advances.
Augus couldn't be bothered to remember her name. All he knew was that she was annoying. Her point of emphasising her bust size was commendable in a pathetic sort of way, but despite her impressive size, she couldn't compare to Kudelia's in the slightest.
Did he really just think that…? Dear Tekkadan, his mind was much lewder than he realized!
"Why is your face all red, little Sinner?~" inquired the female devil beside him as she shook her booty a little, hoping to catch his eye and making the pilot realize that he was blushing a fair bit from that memory. Rather unfortunately for her, however, Augus was less than interested in bedding her. And, as a result, and as per usual, he didn't respond to her advances outside of shoving her face away from his before she could give him a hickey.
This woman was extremely lucky that his patience was quite literally endless…
By the time he returned to Barbatos' palace, Mikazuki was exhausted beyond belief, and as soon as he got to personally file the report in to Barbatos, the Duke found himself staring at him with wide eyes.
"You look worn out! What did she do to you, Mika?" inquired Barbatos in exasperation, eliciting a snort from Augus as he threw his report down onto the table and waltzed off.
"She annoyed me," was all Mika said before walking off.
Three weeks after arrival
The arrival of Asmoday at Barbatos' palace was something that caught Mika off guard. However, Barbatos was swift to explain that the 32nd Demon of Ars Goetia, and one of the many Kings of Hell within the Goetial Demon ranks, was one of his friends.
Well, the term 'friend' was probably putting it a little heavily, as Asmoday was anything but friendly to Barbatos. The guy was a lot more prideful than any one of the servants serving under the Duke, and because of this, none of them had volunteered to escort him around Barbatos' palace during his visit, leading to Mika being selected by default.
Was he annoyed? Of course he was… but even so, the extra 2% pay he'd get did help mitigate that sensation quite a bit.
Asmoday himself was truly a sight to behold. His head was able to transform between a bull, a ram and a somewhat normal looking human that wore a crown at seemingly random intervals, or whenever Asmoday felt like it anyways, and his serpent tail tended to knock over random objects or, on occasion, random Servants of Barbatos that just so happened to be within range, though thankfully Mika has yet to be knocked down just yet. The garbs he dressed himself in did look like what a king would wear… or at least Mika thought so, if those picture books Barbatos gave him from time to time have taught him anything.
Overall, the 32nd King of Hell, pride aside, was rather… perceptive, to say the least. With a single look at Mika, he was already able to tell who he was and why he had those new Lupus Rex limbs of his. When he shared his predictions with Mika, the Pilot was rightfully shocked, though it quickly faded into a mildly impressed expression. Asmoday would have revealed more, though Barbatos was quick to shut him up before he spoke of that one incident in the cockpit.
"Sinner, I hear that the Mortal Realm holds machines that take the names of the 72 Demons," was something Asmoday had mentioned when he and Mika were alone at one point. Mika quirked a brow up at that as the Demon King continued, turning his head into that of a ram's as he spoke. "Tell me, how did the feeble machine named after myself fair?"
"... I don't know. I never saw it," muttered Mika as he rubbed the thumb and index finger claws of his Lupus Rex hand together rather absentmindedly, creating a rather unpleasant sound in the process. "Maybe it was destroyed?"
Asmoday seemed rather shocked that something bearing his name could be destroyed, but he kept his mouth shut as he turned his head into a bull's, with him snorting so hard that steam emerged from his nostrils all the while.
"I see."
One month after arrival
Barbatos did say that he could've had someone drive him here, though Mika was fine with declining. After all, it was always nice to go out for a walk, and by all means, he wanted to keep his cardio up, even if he was technically dead.
That, and he didn't know if driving a Limousine into Imp City was such a good idea.
In his Lupus Rex arm was a rather sizable box. What was inside it was not known to the pilot, as he was only told to deliver it to an acquaintance of Barbatos, nothing more, so he didn't question it too much. The box was rather hefty for its size, though, and Mika offhandedly wondered if it could be used as a weapon due to its heft.
It took him a while to traverse the streets of Imp City and to his destination, but he did eventually find where he was meant to head to after quite a bit of tomfoolery. Said destination was a massive building that had horns coming out of either side. Intimidating? Probably, but to Augus, it looked more comedic than actually threatening. Without much hesitation, he entered and was… not even acknowledged by the receptionist, a wolf looking lady, who busied herself with staring at the computer on her desk.
She only really acknowledged Augus when he was right in front of her desk, prompting her to sigh in frustration and stare the pilot in the eye.
"Immediate Murder Professionals, what the fuck can I get you, dickwad?" groaned the wolf as Mika placed the package on her table.
"Delivery from Barbatos," was all Mika cared to say as the wolf rolled her eyes and picked up the rather antique looking phone she had on her receptionist desk.
"Hey, Blitzo? Yeah, that tech you ordered from the bearded bastard is here. What? Some kid? Yeah, some kid delivered it," began the wolf as she wiped out a cigarette bud from seemingly nowhere and bit onto its end. After a brief exchange of words, the wolf lady sighed and forcefully slammed the phone back down onto its shell and removed the cigarette to speak. "Hey, Barbabitch. Wait here. Blitzo's gonna-"
And right as those words left the wolf girl's mouth, an Imp dressed in a torn black coat dropped in from the ceiling, creating a massive hole up there in the process. The wolf girl seemed less than amused while Augus instinctively tensed up and readied his Lupus Rex arm for a potential tussle, though he eventually realized… this was probably the man whom the wolf lady had rung up just now.
"Ah, sorry about that!" apologised the Imp as he got up and dusted himself off, ignoring the scream of anguish from upstairs or the possible injuries he may have sustained as he rushed over towards Mika to shake his hand. Augus allowed him to shake his regular hand out of bemusement as he introduced himself. "Name's Blitz(o)! The O is silent! Now tell me face to face, you're with Barbatos, hm?"
"Ah," confirmed Mika as Blitzo released his hand and rushed to check on the box, ignoring the wolf girl as she lit her cigarette. Opening it up, Blitzo slapped both sides of his face before squealing like a schoolgirl at its contents. The wolf girl sighed once more and pulled the cigarette out of her mouth to exhale the smoke while Blitzo shut the box and turned towards Augus.
"Why, I can't thank you enough for delivering this to me, Mr Servant of Barbatos!" thanked Blitzo as a nearby door burst open, revealing two more Imps, one looking overly mad while the other appeared passive. "Oh! Moxxie, Millie! You didn't need to-"
"FIRST OF ALL," began one of the two Imps, a devil in a fancy black suit and a dashing bow tie. He was definitely a guy, and he looked pissed, though his high pitched voice did ruin his overall angry self. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! WE HAVE THINGS LIKE ELEVATORS AND STAIRS BUILT INTO THE BUILDING!"
"I needed to be dramatic, Moxxie! Gotta give Barbatos' new pal a good impression of myself!" defended Blitzo, though before long, the other Imp, Moxxie, began yelling at him loudly for his, quite frankly, idiotic train of thought. While all this happened, the other Imp, no doubt a woman, approached Mika with a medium sized box in her hands. Augus eyed the Imp dressed in black as she passed him the box.
"Please don't mind them. Barbatos rang us up quite recently to get some things for you. They're all in the box," assured the Imp who was most probably Millie. Augus shrugged as he took the box with his Lupus Rex hand, finding it surprisingly hefty for a box as small as it was. "Now go on, git! Before I'm forced to kick you out! Or, Lucifer forbid, you get caught in their little boy-fight!"
And to that, Mika simply raised a brow before he nodded and left the I.M.P HQ, not bothering with watching the aftermath of Moxxie's yelling contest with Blitzo. As he left, however, he did take note of the explosion that was audible in the background as a mushroom cloud rose from the top of the I.M.P HQ, though he thought nothing of it as he continued onwards.
As he walked down the streets of Imp City, Augus eyed the box in his hand suspiciously, with him subsequently opening it up, having reasoned that, since it was for him and not Barbatos, he had every right to open it up without permission. Even though it was taped up with tons of duct tape, the claws of his Lupus Rex hand tore through it easily enough. After he got that out of the way, Mika opened the box… and right as he did so, he stopped right at the entrance of Imp City as he stared at its contents.
Reaching into the box, Augus wrapped his hand around the grip of the pistol he had used while he was still alive. Kneeling down onto one knee, the pilot placed the box onto the ground and examined the firearm, pulling the hammer down and cocking the barrel back in one swift motion. How I.M.P gotten a hold of it was beyond his comprehension… though that wasn't to say that he minded it as he examined the weapon thoroughly. Pistol aside, the box itself was filled to the brim with several clips for the pistol, and if he were honest, there were probably enough clips in there to fuel a small army.
If he looked harder, however… he saw something else.
Reaching down and working his regular hand through the ammo clips, Mika found himself widening his eyes when he wrapped his fingers around something rather soft. Curiously, he pulled whatever it was out of the box, and the pilot allowed his stone cold facade to drop for a brief moment when he saw what it was.
The bracelet Atra had made for him so long ago.
It still smelled like strawberries even after so long… and just the sight of it made the pilot feel… strange.
So much so that he didn't even wonder how I.M.P even managed to get his pistol and bracelet into the afterlife.
One month and fourteen days after arrival
"Good afternoon, denizens of Hell! I'm Katie Killjoy!"
"And I'm Tom Trench! News in today, the group known as S.T.D, the Superior Terror Dominators, located in Damnation Peek, have been completely wiped out!"
"That's right, Tom! The S.T.D have been rather infamous for being extremely vocal regarding the Goetial Demon, Sitri, and her eventual takeover of their turf! S.T.D leader, Segma, was known to be extremely proficient in all forms of gunplay, and if we're not wrong, there definitely was a shootout in her hideout! Her body was found alongside several of her accomplices with one particularly large hold in her chest! We're not exactly sure who did it, but they really went all out!"
"Heh, a shame that she was shot through the heart like that, Katie! Personally, I'd like to shoot her up, if you catch my drift!"
"Well, that depends on if you can even shoot anything out in the first place, Tom!"
At that, Barbatos watched in amusement as Katie Killjoy dealt a massive blow to Tom Trench's ego. Meanwhile, pictures of the crime scene began flashing on screen like a slideshow, prompting Barbatos to smirk at how brutal his little assistant was with his job. Said smirked widened when he saw a deceased demon with several slash marks and a massive hole in their stomach, being most likely caused by Mikazuki's Lupus Rex claws and heel bunkers, respectively.
Not bad, Barbatos thought, especially when he remembered that this was the pilot's very first hunt down here in Hell. Sure, some of his executions could be improved upon, but as things were now, he was willing to give him a solid 9/10 for execution and form.
And at that very moment, Mikazuki entered his personal office, seeming somewhat irritated as he wiped some dried blood off his cheek, further staining his Lupus Rex claws in blood in the process. Barbatos eyed his little assistant rather intently, noticing all the red that covered him, before he smiled.
"Marvelously done, Mikazuki!" congratulated Barbatos as Mika rolled his eyes as he tugged on his jacket's collar.
"I.M.P helped a bit," admitted Augus, and Barbatos rolled his eyes at that. The Immediate Murder Professionals had ended up becoming quite a bit of help to him following their deliverance of his handgun and bracelet, though prior to all this, they had only helped him get more ammo clips from the mortal realm and not much else. This was their first time fighting alongside one another.
And by god, Mikazuki, despite never wishing to admit it out loud, would love to fight alongside them sometime soon. Their methods were brutally efficient, if a little over the top to the point of being comical.
"Whatever. The important thing is that S.T.D is gone for good!" proclaimed Barbatos as he leaned back on his office chair and sighed happily. As for Mika, he rolled his shoulder as he continued on, with him wanting to get a question he had for quite some time out of the way for now as he scratched the back of his head with his normal hand.
"Why did you ask me to kill them out of the blue, Barbatos?" inquired the pilot.
And at that, Barbatos chuckled lightly. He did see this coming… though he didn't exactly know how to respond.
"Well… you see…" began Barbatos…
"Your next line shall be, it's complicated," predicted Mika out of nowhere.
"It's complicated-" began Barbatos, only to stop when he realized that he had been played. "WAIT WHAT?!"
And Mika swiftly hightailed it out of there before he could explain how lucky he got with that prediction.
Two months after arrival
With his back against the wall, Mika couldn't help but sigh as he stared at the bracelet on his regular wrist.
How did I.M.P even manage to get a hold of it? It was on Earth, wasn't it…? This was Hell, and to his knowledge, they had no possible way of getting to Earth.
Whatever the reason was, however… Mika figured that he could think of it another time. For now, he busied himself with taking in the fragrance of the bracelet he had.
Atra really did know him well… and that strawberry scented bracelet was his last reminder of his former life as a pilot. It reminded him of all he had treasured while he was still alive… the faces of those he died protecting. He did hope for their survival, to say the least.
It also reminded him of the two young women whom he loved more than nearly anything else in his life.
As such, he made a big deal on not losing it.
Two months and twenty days after arrival
The sound of bombs going off in a rather sizable casino in Pentagram City caused every demon within to evacuate, including a rather fluffy demon that just so happened to be on Barbatos' shitlist.
Said demon was once a business partner to the 8th Demon of Ars Goetia who sold out on him to join another Goetial Demon, Amon, who was considerably more powerful than Barbatos. And all that led it here in Pentagram City. As soon as the planted bombs, a parting gift from I.M.P after Mika had worked with them some time ago, had gone off, the fluffy demon had exited through a backdoor alongside two other demons.
Though as soon as he stepped through the aforementioned door, it realized that someone had been expecting it.
Before it could even blink, Mikazuki opened fire and blasted his two associates with his pistol, bringing them down almost instantly, as the fluffy demon turned its attention towards him. This turned out to be a big mistake, however, as it ended up having a bullet lodged straight into the center of its skull. The demon fell back, and the pilot sighed as he brought his pistol-wielding left hand close to his face to sniff the bracelet around his wrist.
Mika was quick to notice that his target was still alive in spite of the bullet lodged in its skull, however. At first, Augus was a little surprised, though he shrugged his surprise off as soon as he acknowledged that he was in Hell, and a shot in the head was probably not too fatal here.
Rather slowly, he stalked over to the fatally injured devil and stared down at it. His fluffy target grimaced up at him as he pointed the barrel of his pistol at it.
And then… click.
His firearm was out of ammo, and the realization made Augus raise a brow as he removed the clip in his pistol and saw that it was indeed empty. In response to that, his target gave out a rather weak cackle, with Mika grumbling silently to himself as he slammed his foot down onto his target's chest.
And after taking in a deep breath, Mika activated his heel bunker, with said bunker slamming straight into the devil's chest, shattering its ribcage and tearing up its insides, killing it almost instantly. As soon as he confirmed that his target was dead, Mika ripped the heel bunker out of its chest and retracted it.
With all of that over and done with, Mika began walking off, holstering his pistol in a pocket in his jacket as he did. He would've disposed of that dead body, though to his knowledge, scavengers that took the corpses of deceased demons were rather widespread, so it probably didn't matter anyways. And though it probably wasn't necessary, Mika slid his pistol into his jacket to make sure no one knew he was the murderer. Sure, this was Hell, but old habits die hard, he supposed.
As he walked down the streets of Pentagram City, Mika did stop briefly to eye an advertisement for this upcoming Happy Hotel. His literacy wasn't much better than usual, though he was able to make out at least some of what it said, and it made him chuckle just a little.
'Rehabilitate sinners… hm? Isn't that a nice dream to have.'
Three months and fifteen days after arrival
"Your next line shall be; "you're getting annoying, Barbatos."
"Stop that."
Wincing at the fact that he was unable to predict Mikazuki's next line, Barbatos sulked as he wandered off, leaving Mika to his own devices. The pilot watched as the bearded demon headed off to do whatever, rolling his eyes ever so slightly in the process.
Ever since he realized that Mika's responses to his predictions were extremely inconsistent, Barbatos seemed to have made a game out of this. He kept trying to predict his next words, much to his irritation, though frankly speaking… it was rather entertaining to watch Barbatos sulk off everytime he predicted the future incorrectly.
Three months and thirty days after arrival
"So… you're Mikazuki Augus?"
Raising his brow at the snake demon before him, Mika nodded as he passed him a notepad filled with random parts he wished to order from the Duke. The snake demon nodded before he swiftly signed the notepad. With that done, Augus got ready to leave, though before he could, the snake stopped him.
"Hoooooold it, young one!" protested the snake as Augus turned to eye him with a raised brow. The snake adjusted his bow tie and the collar of his spiffy suit before continuing. "While it is true that you have come for a mere business endeavour between Sir Barbatos and I, there is no reason for me to not treat you with a small amount of hospitality!"
"Don't bother, I'm leaving now," was all Mika bothered to say as he got ready to leave, only for the snake to point the end of his tail towards Mika. At that point, Mika noticed how sharp the devil's tail was, though he didn't put much more thought into it as he brought his Lupus Rex arm up to mirror the demon's hostility.
"I insist! Evil though I may be, I am not above providing hospitality to those who provide me with ways to advance my inventions. So, Mikazuki Augus, please, allow me to treat you to some refreshments before you leave, or you won't be leaving at all!"
"...fine," was all Mika could mumble out as he lowered his Lupus Rex arm and stored the notepad in his jacket. Better to just entertain this guy's requests than to get dragged into an unnecessary fight, he supposed.
Within the evil lair (read: random abandoned warehouse he found one day) of Sir Pentious were several Egg Bois, lads that apparently helped with the snake demon with his evil plans and inventions. Mika could see some sort of massive blimp-like contraption hanging up rather precariously, covered up by a massive tarp, as he was ushered into the 'evil lair' of Sir Pentious, who seemed rather happy to have a visitor.
"How do you like toast, Mikazuki Augus?" inquired Sir Pentious as he led him to a small kitchen looking area. Augus shrugged at that, prompting Sir Pentious to whip up a massive mountain of toasted bread in no time before he got back to Mika. "I apologise if this is too much, Mikazuki Augus! I rarely have people over, so I am oh so excited to have you here! But regardless, please do help yourself!"
Mika didn't comment on how the bread was all stacked up rather precariously, so much so that a gentle breeze could probably knock it all down, as he reached forward with his Lupus Rex arm and very gingerly took a slice. It felt like playing Jenga with bread… not that Mika knew what Jenga was anyways.
"So, tell me, Mikazuki Augus," began Sir Pentious as he and his Egg Bois began picking up some toast as well, with one of them pausing briefly to check out Mika's Lupus Rex arm before doing so. "How is it working with Barbatos? To have such a privileged position despite being a Sinner, it must be a true honor!"
"It's fine," was all Mika replied with as Sir Pentious snorted, prompting the Pilot to raise a brow in mild confusion.
"My word, you humans who come to Hell before you reach the age of thirty are all like that!" proclaimed Sir Pentious as he waved his chunk of toast around the air, nearly knocking over the massive tower of bread in the process. His Egg Bois went rather tense as the tower of bread swayed rather precariously before calming down when it steadied itself, though Sir Pentious himself remained calm as he ranted. "Do you not know the position that you hold, little one?! Weak as he may be, Barbatos commands immense power as a Goetial Demon! So much so that I would gladly kill you to be in his place!"
"Hm," was all Augus could say as he continued eating the toast, almost as though he didn't even care about that proclamation of him wanting to kill him, as Sir Pentious remained adamant on gesturing rather dramatically as he continued.
"Let me tell you, there's this whore known as Cherri Bomb who thinks she's the boss of this side of Pentagram City! Youngsters these days, I tell you!" protested Sir Pentious. "They have no class in blowing things up! Cherri Bomb insists on controlling with brute force! Where's the style in that?! As for me, well, I for one would rule with style! With an army of mecha behind me!"
"...alright?" muttered Mika, unsure on how to answer as he slowed down on eating his toast, feeling amused at Sir Pentious' venting. He was certainly boisterous, if not a little stupid, though at times, a bit of stupid was quite a good thing.
"Now, you may be wondering how this links to you and Barbatos and all that! Well, if I were in your place, I, SIR PENTIOUS, KINGPIN OF MECHA. would use my ultra mega super powers, bestowed upon me thanks to my connection to a demon of Ares Goetia, to construct an army of mecha to kick Cherri Bomb's behind!" proclaimed Sir Pentious as he stood up, causing his chair to fall back in the process, and raised his toast holding hand into the air. "THAT, MY FRIEND, IS STYLE!"
At that, Mika had to turn to cover a small snicker. This guy… he was pretty entertaining, he had to admit.
And by the time he left Sir Pentious' evil lair, Mika was feeling pretty good. The same could be said for the evil genius himself, who was happy that Augus listened to his ranting, and his Egg Bois were also happy to see their boss this way.
Mika himself was just happy that Sir Pentious was able to provide as much entertainment as he did.
Four months and twenty one days after arrival
"GUSION!"
As he said that, Barbatos pointed towards the door to his palace, where a baboon dressed in a fancy suit stood with his arms outstretched beside him.
"BARBATOS!" responded the demon, apparently Gusion as Barbatos approached him. "YOU APPROACH ME?! INSTEAD OF RUNNING AND TRIPPING ON YOUR RIDICULOUS BEARD IN THE PROCESS, YOU APPROACH ME?!"
"I CAN'T GREET YOU UNLESS I COME CLOSER!" replied Barbatos, his tone just as dramatic as Gusion's, prompting the baboon to smirk wider.
"HOHO, THEN COME AS CLOSE AS YOU WANT, BARBATOS!"
And with that said, Barbatos and Gusion approached one another with a swagger Mika had not seen before. Meanwhile, over by the doorway, a pair of demons facepalmed. One was a jaguar looking demon dressed in a dapper pink suit while the other was a leopard with wings. Their somewhat pronounced chests told Augus that they were women.
"Gusion never stops with these antics," groaned the leopard with wings. "Flauros, why the absolute fuck do you not stop him?!"
"Because it's amusing~" was Flauros' response as everyone watched Gusion give Barbatos a noogie. "That and you enjoy it as well, Sitri! Admit it!"
In response to that, Sitri said nothing.
As for Mika, he opted to just head off to find something else to do.
5 months after arrival, present day
After he checked if his target was actually dead, and upon triple confirming that he wasn't getting back up any time soon, Mikazuki nodded and stood himself upright before wiping the blood off his cheek. After a quick sigh, he began walking away from the dead demon's corpse. In his regular hand was his pistol, though he held it by the barrel, having used it as a blunt weapon to beat the demon to death after running out of bullets.
The claws of his Lupus Rex arm and feet were drenched in blood at this point, and his attire was similarly stained to absolute Hell and back. The pilot found himself grimacing a little at this, with him acknowledging how difficult it would be to clean this filth off himself, though he didn't dwell too much on the issue as he walked off back to Barbatos' palace. He could have called for a ride, though walking was better in his opinion.
Besides, no one cared about a bloodied person in Hell. If anything, it was normal, as no one even turned to stared at him in spite of his bloodstained self.
It was essentially a weekly routine by now. Barbatos, despite being one of the less noteworthy demons, Goetial or not, was still on the shitlist for many demons. Mika's job was to clear them out while occasionally doing other things. He was fine with it, for the most part.
Though of course… it was getting a little mundane. He didn't care enough to socialise with the other Servants of Barbatos, and as such his life boiled down to either the occasional murder or just waiting around to do a random chore for Barbatos. Sure, the Duke could provide entertainment from time to time, but it would never be as interesting as Sir Pentious' little rant back then.
A little change in pace would be nice… and if he were honest… a little bit of Atra and perhaps Kudelia would be nice as well.
Oh, how he missed them… how he missed Tekkadan. While it was very likely that other members of Tekkadan were down here as well, thus far, he has yet to find any of them… and… well, just the thought of him being all alone down here stung a little…
The young man was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice a certain someone walking his way until he walked right into him, causing him to wince and take a step back as he shook his head.
Blinking as he regained his bearings, Mikazuki instinctively looked waaaaay up and found himself staring a rather peculiar demon in the eye. Said demon didn't seem to even be phased by Mika walking into him. If anything… that already wide smirk on his face grew wider as he watched the pilot raise his brow at him.
"You may want to watch your step, little Hatchet Man," advised the overly tall demon in red with a rather… interesting voice as he smiled toothily at the Pilot, who visibly winced at the size of that smile as he walked past the demon. Though he wasn't one to judge others, he had to admit that the demon's smile was most certainly off putting. No good person ever smiles that widely.
Then again… this was Hell. Did good people even exist down here in the first place?
As soon as he was sure that he was far enough away, Mika stopped and turned back to see the demon in red walk off, humming a rather catchy tune as he spun his microphone cane around. Something about that demon… it put him on edge…
Though he supposed that it was just a one-time thing.
After all, what were the odds of them meeting again, anyways?
Oh boy.
