The Slayer had seen many things in his life, at this point most of them horrible and disturbed, and while that was unfortunate for any soul it did make it so he was immune to practically anything. At least in the emotional sense, he really didn't feel anything anymore, apart from the anger of course, he was never nervous or unsettled even if quite literally shit hit the fan, and that was incredibly useful. But now as he sat on a couch, in a hotel lobby, with a crying Hell princess on his right side hugging him, while an assortment of other Hell based people looked at him, for the first time in his life he truly had no idea what to do. As for why Charlie was hugging him while sobbing uncontrollably, it's because she was just that nice of a person, who hated to see anyone no matter who suffer in any way.
"Miss Charlie, while the Slayer understands why you are upset, he is rather confused as to why you're also hugging him." Vega informed her, trying to help him get out of this awkward situation.
"BECAUSE HE NEEDS ONE!" She shouted as she tightened her hold, "HE'S BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH AND HE NEEDS THIS!" She insisted.
"Again, I understand you are upset, but-"
"There's no point in trying to argue against it, she's not coming off." Vagatha interjected from his left side where she sat, "Seriously though, you've been through a LOT of shit, like, holy fuck." She said sympathetically while placing a hand on the Slayer's shoulder.
"Yeah, speaking of, why did YOU say you were sorry?" Katie asked as she looked to Lucifer, who stood off to the side with his wife beside him.
"Because, Doom was not a Hell that occurred naturally, as in it was founded by a fallen angel or a purposefully created entity to govern a new plane of reality, it was a product of the circles of Hell in its entirety during the great war, I and the other devils who existed at that time created it." He explained.
"Wait...YOU fucking made those things?" Angel Dust asked with widened eyes.
"Not directly, during the war Heaven and its forces had quite the upper hand, not only because of their divine powers and forms, but because they also enlisted the aid of mortals, as such we needed something to even the playing field, so we created a new circle that was meant to be a factory of sorts, a place filled with uncontrolled power and corruption, and for a long time it served its intended purpose, producing mindless ravenous beasts that just slaughtered anything in front of them, but eventually a new entity one that possessed sentience came to be, and as Vega stated he was soon known as the Dark One, due to the fact he had no set form, he was Doom itself given intelligence, and he soon sent into motion his own schemes." He answered.
"And at NO POINT did you or any of these other devils think you should, oh I dunno, STOP HIM?!" Cherri questioned.
"Oh right, because it was just so simple, let's all band together and try to attack an entity that was LITERALLY AN ENTIRE REALM OF REALITY, his power was truly limitless and would only grow as time passed by, in order for us to have done anything we would have needed to turn our armies and resources against him, but seeing as how we were already involved in a still active war, that was clearly the dumbest thing we could have done." He responded.
"So how did he kill it then? how did the Slayer who used to be a normal human being, do the one thing that none of you, nor even Heaven it seems like could do?" Katie asked.
"If I may." Vega spoke to gain their attention, "As Lucifer stated the Dark One was the circle itself, demons and Hell energy would continue to exist as long as he did, the only way to defeat him was to force his hand and make him take physical form, by doing so his soul which was spread across the realm would be isolated to one location, and with it in one place once the Slayer succeeded in destroying his body, a device known as the soul harvester would be able to capture it, keeping it safely housed in a permanent prison along with the rest of Doom's demons." He explained.
"So does Doom not exist anymore?" Moxxie asked.
"It does, but it's nothing more than a graveyard now, any blood or water has dried, all Hell energy that flowed through every creature and structure has dissipated, and the only remnants of its former self are the still lingering corpses of the demons, as well as the architecture." He answered.
"Well that's good, still it doesn't really make up for the fact that because of Lucifer he lost EVERYTHING, but ya know, that's nice at least." Loona said.
"Why am I being painted as the villain here? You're acting as if I or any of the other rulers of Hell could have predicted this would happen! Doom was nothing but a space filled with power and corruption, there was no reason at all that a sentience of any kind should have formed! It's not like we wanted this to happen nor that we personally sought out the Slayer and his world, it just happened!" He argued.
"That's right, your world." Millie realized as she looked to the Slayer, "What happened after they invaded? Did you manage to save it? And what about your family and Daisy? Did these er, Maykrs I think, help you see them again?" She asked.
Upon being asked that question the Slayer's fists immediately tightened, and everyone even the still teary Charlie took notice of that.
"That is...unfortunately rather complicated." Vega replied. "What do you mean? How so?" Lilith inquired.
"The Slayer's soul, though pure and absent of any corruption, is incapable of ever ascending to Heaven, even stepping into the Maykrs' home of Urdak is forbidden." He revealed.
"That...that doesn't make any sense though, how can that be possible?" Lucifer questioned in disbelief.
"To put it simply, the Slayer's soul is tainted, unless given special permission by a high ranking member of Heaven's order, he cannot be allowed to enter any divine domain, for the parameters one must meet extend beyond the level of corruption or purity their soul has, their mind, emotions, personality, and several other factors are evaluated and considered, and as it stands he is viewed as the highest risk possible." He explained.
"So you mean to fucking tell me, that even after ALL of that, after everything he's done and been through, he doesn't even get to see his fucking parents? OR SEE THE FUCKING RABBIT?!" Angel Dust asked.
"Correct, it seems as though in saving all of creation from Doom's menace, he has in turn damned himself to never enter paradise, nor to ever see those he lost." He confirmed.
Silence would come over them all yet again as this information sank in, to think that the Slayer of all people, especially now that they knew his full story, couldn't enter Heaven just seemed absurd. Then there was Alastor, who during this whole mess was just sitting quietly listening to them talk, and yet somehow he still had that full face smile of his.
"You know." He spoke finally, catching them all by surprise, "I say if Heaven doesn't want you, why not shake things up a bit?" He suggested.
"Alastor." Lucifer said in a slightly annoyed tone, as this was not the time for his madness.
"Just hear me out Luci, I promise it's nothing that will incite another war, wouldn't want a reprisal of Doom now would we?" He replied as he stood from his seat, "The whole reason all of us are gathered here today in this hotel, is because of what Doom did to our tragic hero, but it is because of him that most of you are trying to actually redeem yourselves, but what if you DIDN'T do that?" He suggested.
"So...just continue to be horrible people, THAT'S your idea?" Vagatha asked.
"No no no, you see, the whole reason why our dear princess wanted this hotel to begin with is to keep the exterminations from ever happening again, overpopulation and what not, but obviously not every soul in Hell wants, or deserves, a chance to see those beautiful shining pearly gates, most of the people in Hell like being here, being able to do whatever they want because well, they've hit rock bottom! But what if we made it so only those willing to try and better themselves were left?
And anyone who chooses to remain as horrible and as awful as they are get mercilessly mutilated?" He answered.
"Alastor, are you actually suggesting?..." Lilith began to question, but was cutoff by a snap of the radio demon's fingers.
"PRECISELY! If the Slayer can't go to Heaven, then we make our own Heaven right here! Sure we'll still be sinners, dancing, drinking, and for the more flirtatious pleased by carnal lusts and desires, but things like raping, murdering, abuse, and so forth will be met with swift punishment! All of the truly abominable crimes and sins that exist will be punished, while lesser ones will still be indulged and perhaps even encouraged!" He explained.
Amazed that he of all people would be saying such a thing, as his seemingly ludicrous and outlandish idea slowly but surely simmered in their minds, they had to admit it actually wasn't a bad idea.
"That's...actually a good idea, like a surprisingly good idea." Vagatha complimented.
"Yeah, It'd be a LOT easier to be a better person if I could still have sex and do drugs." Angel Dust agreed.
"I'll admit, you actually managed to put forth an idea that wasn't alarming or drenched in suspicion Alastor." Lucifer praised before holding up a finger "However, there is one major issue with such a plan, and it's the very issue for why me and the other devils all rebelled against Heaven, it's because we are meant to be the definitive bad place, every single soul rejected from Heaven comes to us, we do not get to pick and choose who lives in any of the circles, or tortured for the more extreme, what you are proposing is we create a system that while still housing the sinful, only truly punishes the most wicked who arrive, doing something like that would not be well received." He warned.
"Forgive me Lucifer, but are you suddenly blind?" Alastor asked as he gestured to the Slayer,
"Here we have in our company a man who did exactly that! He went against the grain, resisted the tide, pushed back against powers higher than his own! And while yes, it wasn't without sacrifice, he still is sitting here today while all of those wretched demons from Doom have their souls locked away, if you needed any sort of proof that this could work he is it!" He insisted.
"His argument is sound." Vega stated which surprised all of them, "Though it is the Slayer's personal mission to seek out the worst of creation and punish them for their actions, he would not be opposed to sinful souls remaining so long as their actions affect only them, and are in no way damaging to anyone else." He explained.
"I say we put it to a vote! After all this kind of decision affects all of us right?" Cherri suggested.
"Very well, all in favor of Alastor's idea of turning our Hell into a...Heaven for the sinful, raise your hand." Lucifer requested.
Near instantly everyone's hands raised into the air, some more enthusiastically like Charlie or Angel, while others were more reserved like Loona or Katie. But to his surprise he found that even his wife had raised her hand, leaving the only person who hadn't done so being him, as Vega had already made the Slayer's position clear.
"It's one thing to try and get people to stay at a hotel to better themselves, but are all of you actually prepared for how difficult this will be?" Lucifer asked them while crossing his arms.
"Of course it won't be easy, but if we all work together I'm sure we can do it!" Charlie asserted. "Besides, what've we got to lose? We're already here." Angel joked while pointing to the floor.
"The very effeminate fellow makes a solid argument! This is already as bad as it gets! We have nothing to gain but progress!" Alastor exclaimed.
Receiving an assortment of similar responses from everyone else, Lucifer with a sigh yet also a smile conceded.
"Whelp, looks like we're going to try and change how Hell works, this should be fun." He said receiving a resounding cheer from everyone.
It's surprising how different a situation can feel, when the people who are present are different. The Khan Maykr currently stood in the center of a large chamber, the very same that the Wraiths resided within the heart of their world. And unlike before in the domain of Heaven, where she was surrounded by her fellow angelic beings and was being looked down upon by the judging stare of Gabriel, causing her to be on guard, among those she trusted beyond all measure she could relax. Yet even with no tension being between she, the Wraiths, or the Sentinels who were also in attendance, the reason of why they were meeting was of the upmost importance.
"We are gathered here to discuss the current status of our shared mission, which is not only to better creation, but aid our champion in whatever way is needed." King Novik spoke to his commanders, before then turning to face the Khan, "I expect that you have much to say, would you care to speak first your grace?" He asked.
"Yes, thank you." She answered with a polite bow of her head to show respect, "As you all know, our actions have earned the attention of Heaven's eldest, with Gabriel specifically leading the investigation, we have done well to keep our intentions hidden and they busy with false answers, but soon the Slayer will be brought before him, and I believe that will be the moment where we can no longer deceive them." She stated.
"Then what shall we do? We cannot chance any conflict between the Heavens just yet, though preparations are underway we would still struggle against their power and numbers." A commander informed her.
"This is true, and my kin cannot begin their preparations yet, doing so would show our hand fully and we can't afford that." She replied.
"Is there any chance that our champion could somehow lend aid from his current position? I understand that he is still dealing with the devil Lucifer and his kind, but if he were to assist us in even the smallest way, it would grant us all the time we would need." Another commander suggested.
"No." The shared voice of the Wraiths spoke earning all attention, "If our champion becomes involved too soon, then war shall follow and our goal will be betrayed, none will see the good we wish to achieve and only see us as bringers of chaos, we must convince more Heavenborn to join our cause." They stated.
"But how can we accomplish this? Even though there are some in Heaven who are supportive of the Slayer himself, I am doubtful that they would be so willing to follow us in our task." King Novik replied.
Taking a moment to think of any way this could be done, a realization came to the Khan as she thought back to the last Heavenly meeting.
"That's it, the exterminators." She said with a smile, "They are the angels who govern Lucifer's circle, if they are convinced of our mission and join our side then it will prove to even the most skeptical, that there is merit to our mission." She told them.
"That could work, given that our champion is already in that circle, and is currently working with its devil to reform it, we have the perfect opportunity to persuade them." King Novik reasoned.
"Is it agreed by all present that this is our course, to bring the exterminators into our fold in the hope it shall buy us the time that we need?" The Wraiths asked, receiving a unanimous shout in agreement from the commanders.
With the most pressing issue resolved for the time being, the rest of the meeting would be spent going into the details of their preparations, and what will be needed when conflict is truly unavoidable.