You would think that if you were in a fortress, that hovered above the planet earth, and looked like it came from some hybrid scifi fantasy novel, that the atmosphere would be magical and stupendous. Yet as the Slayer's heavy footsteps echoed throughout the entire structure, with only light hums and whirs happening all around him, the atmosphere was more akin to a slasher movie. But the truth was the Slayer liked it this way, silent, his life for so long had been nothing but gunfire and unprecedented mutilation, so this absence from almost any sound at all was soothing. Though even he in his stoic unexpressive ways had to admit that it felt a bit more empty now, he was spending so much time around beings who actually spoke and had personality, and weren't just hissing and growling while trying to murder him.
And to be honest he was slowly, VERY slowly, beginning to enjoy his time in this new setting, having to not be so on edge all the time with a finger ready to pull a trigger, it had been far too long since he knew what that was like. Sadly he still needed to keep his guard up, while Lucifer, his family, and most of the other demons he has met have been very approachable, there was still the rest of his Hell's populace who needed to be sorted through. Which was exactly what he planned to do whilst Vega worked on the documentary, to go and see the latest prisoner they had in the soul harvester of the Ripatorium. Admittedly however he actually wasn't on guard with this particular demon, where as Katie before appeared to be just as horrible as any other demon in Lucifer's Hell, it was clear she had the savvy and wit to back it up for the most part.
But this Sir Pentious was a different story, he was obviously intelligent enough to invent things, but was far too ambitious and egomaniacal to utilize that to its full benefit. This is why as he approached the cell he would summon the demon into, he fully expected to be met with a bombardment of insults and potential slurs, as that just seemed to be what he was all about for the most part. Yet as the snake demon's soul slowly manifested in the center of the space, he was surprised to find him remarkably composed.
"Oh, there you are." Sir Pentious greeted while straightening the bow on his suit, "Took you long enough, after you cut me in half with a chainsaw, least you could do is introduce yourself." He told him before taking a slight bow "I am Sir Pentious, inventor extraordinaire and inevitable true ruler of Hell in it's entirety." He introduced before straightening himself.
Though it was normal for the Slayer to be silent and unresponsive, Sir Pentious of course had no way of knowing this. So as the seconds turned into minutes with no more words being spoken, yet the Slayer stared at him with an impossible to read expression, he had to make assumptions of what was happening.
"...Ah, I understand, you need me to speak more slowly so you can process the strange noises coming from my mouth." He concluded before clearing his throat "Alright, here I go, ahem, BIG. STUPID. MONKEY. WHERE. AM. I. HOW. DID. I. GET. HERE. DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND.
ME. NOW." He said slowly and loudly in the most condescending way possible.
Well, it worked, the Slayer this time would respond to him, though it would be in the form of actions, VERY aggressive actions instead of words. Within the total span of five seconds the door to the cell would retract, the Slayer would suddenly be upon Sir Pentious, and with an immensely tight grip he slammed him into the ground. Now if Sir Pentious were still "alive" the Slayer would have to restrain himself, otherwise he'd break his neck near instantly. But given that what he held onto was nothing but his soul, this meant that if the Slayer wanted to be as "responsive" as the other wanted, then he could with barely any drawbacks.
Thankfully even with his ego, which was nearly the same size as Hell itself, Sir Pentious could finally realize that he might have in the slightest of ways, fucked up. And so as the Slayer stared down at him, a now perfectly readable expression of anger seen on his face, the dapper reptile would take the next few moments to gather himself before daring to speak again.
"So...I might've been a bit too rude, even for my standards, I apologize." He said immediately, "But even so I still would like some kind of explanation, I've never seen anything like this even in my own inventing, the walls seem made of stone yet there's all this high grade technology strewn together with it, it's all so fascinating." He complimented, hoping to get on his good side.
Just as before several minutes would pass before anything happened, as the Slayer seemed to be assessing what was the best course of action. Inevitably he found this demon wasn't ready to be given the option of a second chance. For even as he looked into his eyes and his shit eating smile, he could tell that the gears of his mind were turning trying to think of what he could do. So in the most dismissive way he could the Slayer released him from his grasp, turned on his heels, and walked out of the cell with the door closing immediately once he was across the threshold.
And at first he thought he'd hear Sir Pentious beg him to stay, to give him another chance to be civil and far less of a horrid person. But as he gave one quick glance over his shoulder to see what the other was doing, he found him simply sitting on the floor not even bothering to stand back up. To most this might seem weird, given how inflated his estimation of his self worth was, but after how badly Katie's experience was the Slayer saw it as him coming to terms with reality. Yet once he walked away and Sir Pentious would be sent back to the harvester, once returned full to that dark place he would begin convulsing and screaming in intense pain.
"You failed." That same deep voice from before spoke to him, the Lost Soul currently attached to his own like a parasite, carrying out the will of it's master by torturing him.
"I...I'm sorry..." He began to fake an apology, only to gurgle and gasp as the pain worsened.
"You fail us, then feign sincerity, do you take us for fools?" It questioned.
"P-Please...have...have..." He tried his best to beg, only to yell out more as his suffering increased.
"Mercy is not given, nor is it earned, you will receive your mercy when your usefulness is fulfilled, however it seems that you are in need of a greater incentive to not fail us again." It determined.
Unsure as to what the voice meant by this statement, Sir Pentious would not need to wait to understand. As if one Lost Soul acting on it's master's command was not bad enough, another appeared in the darkness its eyes already locked to his. And if there was anything more horrid that having one of these creatures inside of your soul, intertwining both together so it's hold could be absolute, it would be another. Sadly as before he could do nothing but watch in dismay as it flew towards him while shrieking, exploding upon impact in which it's soul would seamlessly infest his own.
"Come on just tell us a LITTLE bit!" Cherri begged as she and Angel Dust hounded Lucifer.
With the Slayer gone though this time for almost an entire day, everyone decided the best thing to do would be to act like he didn't exist and focus on what needed to be done. For Charlie and Vagatha this meant making sure the hotel was as good as it could be, thankfully the construction workers finished their jobs with no issues at all, so all that was left to do was make sure they were well stocked for guests. Lilith and Katie, though still having a great deal of bad blood between
them, agreed that even if they weren't going to suddenly be besties, they still needed to work together as the hotel's official PR team, for they were clearly the best ones present for such a job. Then there was Lucifer, and while he did have just as important of a job as everyone else did, unfortunately someone HAD to keep an eye on Angel and Cherri, to make sure they wouldn't do something absurdly detrimental to the hotel in any capacity.
And out of all the jobs that needed to be done at this time Lucifer's was the most flexible, for while his daughter and her girlfriend went about the hotel, his wife and Katie got back to work on the PR, he had to go run damage control. This entailed specifically checking in with the imps at the hospital to see if they were ready to move in, and if they could perhaps speak with their employer and have him come to the hotel willingly. Then he would need to speak with Tom Trench about everything and besides clearing up matters involving Katie and the Slayer, see if it would be possible if he could provide coverage of the hotel, without trying to look into certain things too deeply. But then there was the last one, and of the three things he had to check in on it was the third that gave him a headache, for he had to speak with that cherry colored psychopath to try and see what game he was REALLY playing at.
Of course with so many places to be and people to speak to, he would be taking his family's limousine to travel in style and comfort, as well as have the space needed if the imps wanted to come back with him. This also was admittedly one of the more condemning reasons of why the crime crazed duo were best with him, for they could just laze about in a limo and take advantage of it's luxuries. Yet to his surprise he found they didn't care too much about said luxuries, sure they helped themselves to the well stocked liquor selection, but they were mostly focused on trying to get answers out of him regarding the Slayer.
"For the last time, you're going to have to wait to learn about him, if I share so much as one detail with you then you won't shut up and leave it be, and I have enough things I need to be concerned about, I don't need to add you two lunatics to the list." Lucifer told them.
"But that's not fair! you clearly know more than you're letting on and yet you have the audacity to hold out on us." Angel protested.
"...Fine, you know what? I'll tell you everything you want to know, but before that you have to look at me straight faced and each tell me without stuttering or messing up, that you want to know more about the Slayer purely to have context on the situation, and not because you wish to pin him to a bed and break his pelvis." Lucifer replied.
Going wide eyed for a moment at such a condition, Cherri and Angel would look at each other as if telepathically conversing on the matter, before then returning their focus to him. Clearing their throats, straightening their backs, and even going so far as to set down the bottles and drinks they had in their hands, the two demons stared into his eyes and prepared to speak. Only to succumb immediately to laughter, which would cause them to fall onto their backs on the seats, and give Lucifer a rather unamused expression on his face.
"Oh...oh man...we couldn't even get one word out..." Angel said between chuckles as Cherri sat up.
"Yeah...still that's a pretty shitty condition, since you KNOW we want to fuck him." She told Lucifer.
"Which I still do not understand at all, like I get it I can see his base level appeal, big strong arms and a strong looking face, but you two have seen what he's like in a fight correct? how he fights not like a man or even a warrior at all, but like a beast with an insatiable hunger tearing apart all manner of flesh and steel that stands before him." Lucifer described.
"Oh yeah, just imagine how that would be in the bedroom." Angel suggested as he lightly poked Cherri with his elbow, before both then bursted into laughter again.
Pinching the bridge of his nose and squinting his eyes as tightly as he could, Lucifer at the very back of his mind wondered if maybe, just maybe, things might've been easier if the Slayer had just come to kill them all.
"Sir, we're here." The limo driver called back to his employer, managing to bring a smile to his face.
"Oh thank god, I might actually talk to civilized people." He breathed in a sigh while opening his door, "Both of you stay here and get plastered or something, do NOT leave the limo." He told them.
"Okay daddy~" Both demons replied in a childish way, earning a response in the form of the door being slammed shut as he stepped out.
Continuing to laugh at how easy it was to mess with the king of Hell, Lucifer on the other hand made sure to compose himself before going into the hospital. And even though he expected everyone inside to treat him with respect, as he was royalty and could crush them in an instance if he so desired, he was still surprised by just how nice everyone was acting. Nobody was screaming or cursing at someone else, people weren't trying to kill or maim each other even when inside of a hospital, and the environment itself was remarkably spotless. Now of course all of those things, especially the last one, shouldn't be surprises but expectations from any hospital, but this was still Hell and yet if everyone didn't look like demons, he might've assumed he accidentally went to the mortal realm.
"What is going on? why is everyone being so professional and mindful of each other? this is like Beelzebub's Hell..." He thought to himself, briefly thinking about the other circles and whether or not they were aware yet of what was happening.
"Excuse me? your majesty?" The voice of one of the hospital receptionists spoke, as he had just been standing there looking around for a few minutes.
"Hm? oh yes, apologies, I didn't mean to keep you waiting, I just couldn't help but notice how...nice, everything seemed to be..." He commented as he stepped a bit closer.
"Oh yes well, to tell you the truth it's because of that guy from the news, he came in here earlier followed by the queen actually, they wanted to see a couple of imps and well, ever since then things have kinda cleaned themselves up on their own." She explained.
"Ah, right, him." He replied simply, as he had genuinely forgotten that the Slayer had been here earlier, "Speaking of those imps, I'm actually here to see them myself, though perhaps you could keep me from doing so, by telling me if whether or not the one staying here is ready to leave yet?" He asked.
"Actually your highness as a matter of fact they already left." She revealed.
"Wait what, why? or rather how? wasn't the one in a near full body cast?" He questioned.
"Mhm, but before your wife left she had his treatment placed atop the list of priorities, spared no expense on his recovery and medicine as well, it was honestly very nice of her." She explained.
"...Yes, that is awfully nice of her..." He agreed, though a fair bit suspicious now of why she'd be so generous to people who nearly killed their daughter.
"Is there anything else I could help you with?" She asked.
"Hm? oh, well, the only way you could help me now is if you know where they might've gone? or if on record they provided you with an address or something, it's very important I speak with them." He answered, hoping to convey it's urgency without needing to share too much.
"It's funny you mention that sir, at first we offered to call them a cab or something to take them home, for like you said we have their address on file, but they insisted that while a cab be called that they tell the driver where they wanted to go, though I think I might know where they're going." She replied.
"Oh? how so?" He asked.
However, instead of immediately responding the receptionist took a quick look around to make sure no one else could hear her, before she then leaned in close to whisper it to him.
"So...please don't be angry with me your majesty." She began as quietly as she could, giving one more quick glance around themselves before continuing, "Before that man, the one in the green suit came in earlier, well, I kinda sorta always listened in on patients talking, but like everyone else after he showed up I haven't been doing it, and I promise I won't anymore either." She swore.
"Don't worry, I understand, sometimes you just like to know what people are up to, believe me there are FAR worse things you could be doing in a hospital." He whispered back with a genuine smile, which helped her to relax and not feel as bad.
"Thank you sir, that honestly means a lot coming from you, but still even though I wasn't trying to as I was getting their paperwork all sorted out, I couldn't help but overhear how they were going to the fancy part of town, where all the noble and really powerful demon lords live? and I'm pretty sure I heard the name Stolas be used, but I don't really know who that is, sorry." She apologized.
"Don't worry, I know practically every noble demon in Hell, I'll be able to find him and them with no issue at all, thank you for your help nurse." He assured her before walking away.
"You're welcome, and have a good day your highness!" She exclaimed as he left, before turning her attention back to her work.
"Hmph, the Slayer actually having a positive effect on demons, truly I've seen everything in my life now." He thought to himself with a small surprised smile, as he reached his limo and opened the door.
Stepping inside and sitting down in his seat, as he pulled the door closed and was about to tell his driver where to go, he was stopped at the immediate sight that met his vision. Though thankfully nothing absurdly crass or disgusting was waiting for him, it still was shocking to find Angel Dust and Cherri Bomb playing spin the bottle with each other, especially since one of them was a raging homosexual.
"What are you two doing?" He asked with a raised brow, more confused than curious or even appalled.
"Playing spin the bottle, what you never seen it before?" Angel asked.
"Of course I've seen it, but why are you two playing, there's only two players and one of you is clearly gay." He pointed out.
"Pfft, we're not playing to try and make out with each other, we're playing to see who get's top and
who get's bottom on the Slayer first." Cherri clarified.
Upon hearing that two things happened, first Lucifer's eyes would widen and his hand would instinctively roll down his door's window, and then his other hand would immediately grab onto the bottle before it stopped and threw it onto the sidewalk.
"Hey! it hadn't stopped spinning yet!" Angel exclaimed as Lucifer brought the window back up.
"My limo, my booze, my bottle, so deal with it and shut the fuck up." He told them bluntly before then speaking to his chauffer, "Take us to the nobles' district, Stolas specifically." He instructed.
"You know, for the king of a place filled to the brim with people who are horrible but also horny, you're pretty vanilla." Cherri commented as the limo began moving.
"You two could tackle fifty people and fuck for days on end for all I care, but while I am in your company you WILL refrain from any more mentions of your disgusting perverse fantasies, that involve either of you or perhaps both at the same time trying to sexualize the single most terrifying man in existence." He told them.
"Man, the Slayer sure is under your skin pretty bad huh?" Angel asked.
"Trust me, when you see that documentary you'll be right there beside me." Lucifer promised.
If any other mortal race in all of creation were to be blessed by the presence of an Archangel, they would all fall to their knees and bow at its holy radiance. But the mortals who lined the halls that the great angel Gabriel currently traversed were not normal, they were the Sentinel people and out of all mortal races even those in direct contact with the Heavens, they were certainly the most familiar. And it was for a number of reasons of why the Maykrs had come to trust this particular species so much, their training was borderline inhumane but for them it made them disciplined and focused. Their code of conduct regarding honor through combat and worth through might was impressive to say the least, for they were not just barbarians screaming and shouting like apes, but were all knights and gladiators willing to endure any pain to prove themselves.
But perhaps the most impressive thing about the Sentinels, more than their training, more than their beliefs and philosophies, was how even in the face of beings such as Heavenborn or the former denizens of Doom, they did not buckle nor did they falter, they stood firm as if they were certain they had the right. Though it mattered not to Gabriel if they bowed or stood, to be honest it was refreshing to see mortals not so quick to grovel and praise him. The reason why he instead of a Maykr was currently in their world was to receive all archived information they had, as it was necessary for his investigation, but in order to obtain it he would need to speak to the current king of the Sentinels.
Or rather the king that was bound to it's throne, as in truth the still living king of the Sentinels was actually the Slayer, though he was not there obviously and thus all matters regarding politics and their civilization, fell onto the immortal soul of King Novik. Continuing to hover through halls where each sentinel stood at attention in respect to him, he would come to a rather spacious throne room in which the seat appeared empty, but he knew for certain it was not.
"Thank you for seeing me King Novik." Gabriel spoke to begin their conversation, "I much like all other Heavenborn have only heard of your kind, seeing them in person as well as your feats of architecture and invention, are quite impressive by mortal standards." He complimented.
"Hearing such things from a figure of your status is humbling." The King's voice first spoke, before his soul then manifested within the throne, "But it is not needed I assure you, we know why you are here and what it is you seek, and we have prepared it for you before your arrival." He said.
In response to his words a Sentinel that stood guard within the room came forward and knelt before Gabriel, presenting him a fairly large tome with pages that were slightly yellow, telling him how old it must be.
"This is one of many copies of our history, one of the first in fact, though be certain it has all information that would serve you well, every detail of our people, our first meeting with the Maykrs, our first battles against Hell's legions, and our first encounter with the Slayer, are all chronicled in it's pages." King Novik promised.
Taking a moment to carefully open it and look through its contents, true to the king's word the amount of detail present was genuinely shocking. But it was not only words that filled these pages, incredibly detailed pictures of significant events were also present, and in combination with the writing it painted a clear and easily understood picture of their history.
"I must say, this is certainly a well kept record, once again your kind exceeds my expected standards of mortal life." Gabriel admitted as he slowly closed the tome "Even so, I still have a few questions that I believe only you can answer directly, if I might ask them now I could then depart." He said.
"Of course." King Novik responded.
"I would like to hear from you your own view of the Slayer, I know he is revered by both your people and the Maykrs alike, and that he even has sovereignty among you, yet there is no denying that he is a rather perplexing soul, at first glance a simplistic mind driven by one desire, but as one looks further into him they see there is far more to be discovered." Gabriel explained.
For a moment the king would fall silent, with crossed arms and closed eyes he thought of how he should respond, for this truly was the first time anyone had ever asked him of his personal opinion of their greatest champion.
"...He is...uncontrollable." He began as he looked back to the archangel, "Not in the sense that he cannot be reasoned with nor be approached without violence, but when he has decided something must be done, and certain course of action must be taken, then no matter how many dare to stand against him, how great their power may be, even if he be reduced to his fists and nothing more he will continue to push against them, forever steadfast and unmoving." He stated.
"Would he be willing to stand against even Heaven itself then? for if he is determined in his crusade against Hell, and all other forms of corruption throughout creation, his actions will continue to impact all around him and eventually we will not be able to abide by it any longer, if in this outcome will he finally cease in his mission or will he have no qualm to strike against a Heavenborn?" Gabriel questioned.
"I'm afraid I cannot say great angel, the Slayer has never once sought to turn his attention towards Heaven or any of its domains, his anger and might are directed solely to those who have fallen to sin and corruption, so far no one of Heavenly origin has stood in his way, if you wish to know the answer to that question you will need to speak with him yourself." King Novik replied.
"Very well." Gabriel said before turning his back to the king, "Thank you once more for this
information and for your cooperation, I will be sure that if the Slayer does hold his position against Heaven's will, the Sentinel people will be exempt from all punishment." He told him.
"It appears you have misunderstood me then great angel." King Novik replied as he leaned forward, "I stated that I am uncertain of what the Slayer himself might choose, should you stand in his way I cannot say definitively that he will fight against you or sheath his weapons, but if he should decide that he must stand against you regardless of what that entails, then he WILL have the support of the Sentinels at his backside, that you can be certain of." He explained.
Silence took hold of the air as those words reached the archangel's ears, as they and the other Sentinels present waited to see what his reaction might be. Yet he would not respond in any way, once he was sure the king would say nothing else he departed from the throne room. Waiting until he was certain the archangel could not hear him or that he would return for anything, the king would rise from his throne and look to one of his guards.
"It would appear that the time has come for a meeting of our own to be held, assemble the commanders and reach out to the Khan Maykr, after the archangel has left their domain." He instructed.
"Yes sir, should I also inform the Wraiths?" The Guard asked.
"No, I am going to speak with them now to inform them of how the archangel's visit went, I will mention the meeting to them as I do." He assured.
Nodding in response the guard along with his comrades would salute their king, as he left the throne room to hold an audience with their gods.