Sin of Reveal, Chapter 1.

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Gale-Dragon: Just a No Class Salt story that spawned from my Sin Kids A/U idea on Tumblr. Enjoy this somewhat sinful story~.

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The Lord of Wrath, Satan, was just sitting in a nice comfy chair in the lounge of his main residence in the Ring of Wrath. Just reading an old book on medieval torture when the Lord of Lust sauntered in, their high heels clicking against the brimstone floor with each step, and places a small pile of papers on a nearby desk. The entity of Lust folded their arms as Satan looked up from the book when he asked, "Huh? What's this about?" He got up from his chair and then looks at the first sheet of a small stack of documents.

The Lord of Lust, Asmodeus, responded with an uncaring shrug, "Some little human with a pair of sausages attached to their head was trying to summon you but got me by accident." They walked over to a rather comfortable looking couch when they added, "What's on that paper is what she wants to be done, and before you ask, she already made a blood sacrifice so you can't refuse. Check the top of the document." The Lord of Lust then proceeds to lounge on the couch without much of a care for the whole situation.

Satan raised a brow before he looks over the Payment section of the Blood Contract. He then clicked his tongue in annoyance at what he read when he got out in that same tone, "Cht! That's hardy enough blood to cause any kind of meaningful Wrath. What did this human Sacrifice that had such a small amount of blood?" He looked over the document again to make sure he was reading it right.

Asmodeus only glanced at the other Lord when they said, "A pidgin. A pretty small one." The entity of Lust gave a small shrug when they added, "Guess the little human didn't want a big mess to clean up. Shame that their need for cleanliness outweighed the necessities of invoking a Sin." Asmodeus couldn't bring themself to care about this situation. It was a Blood Wrath Contract, so it wasn't the Lord of Lust's department. Therefore, the lounging entity had no interest in it. Though it did raise the question of how that sausage-haired human summoned the Lord of Lust for a Wrath Contract…

Satan let out a small growl when he said, "Urg! Don't these humans understand that not much can be done with such a small amount of blood?"

Asmodeus let out a bored sigh when they said, "Well, they ARE human. They're fun to play with and are amusing, but they're not the brightest." Which all the other Lords of Hell can agree to in regards to their respective Sin.

Satan then looked over the Request section of the document. He raised a brow at what he was reading when he asked, "This is what that little human wants to be done to their target? What the heaven did this…" He quickly scans the name written on the document before he says, "Mary-net human do to warrant such animosity?" The Lord of Wrath then looks at the picture that the sausage-haired Summoner gave to identify the target she wanted. The picture of the bluette was crumbled and ripped at the edge. Satan tried to smooth the image out a bit to get a better look at it, only to see that the subject wasn't even looking at whoever took the picture as they sat on a bench like they didn't even know it was happening. In the photo, it seems like the bluette was clapping at what she was seeing as her focus was on something that was not on camera. 'Feh, this Summoner couldn't even give us a decent image of this target's face,' Satan thought with a frown. But at least the Summoner gave him a strand of hair, that was more useful in finding the target than the picture was.

Asmodeus stretches a bit before saying, "Since when do you care why humans hate each other? You hardly need any excuse to promote your Sin." The Lord of Lust can understand revenge sex and pitty sex as a small branch between wrath and lust, but Wrath was Satan's domain, not theirs.

Satan let himself scoff when he said, "I normally don't, but this human didn't exactly pay for much to be done and they're asking for a heaven of a lot of wrathful things to be afflicted on one person." The Lord of Wrath didn't care much for reasons behind why humans invoke wrath, but per the Laws of Heaven and Hell, there has to be some compensation for the work. For Hell, the compensation was blood. Therefore, there must be enough blood to cause whatever amount of Sin is being invoked.

Asmodeus hummed a bit when they said, "Hmmm, I guess that's a valid question in this circumstance…" They then pull out a pocket watch and look at what's inside before saying, "Oh? That rude little fashion human's payment is due." The Lord of Lust sits up when they said, "She'd better have my payment ready for me to pick up." They then touch the watch's crystal to get the information they need. Asmodeus then says as they read the location of the Summoner, "Ah~ she's in Paris~. *Coos* I can check out the wonderful things in the city for fun after work~."

Satan glanced up at the other Lord of Hell when he asked, "Mind if I tag along?"

Asmodeus let out a curious hum when they asked, "Since when do you care about my Lustful interests?"

Satan cringed when he snapped out, "I am most certainly not! This Mary-net lives in Paris! I figure I just investigate what's happening between this human and that stingy client! Honestly, must you think about sex all the time?"

Asmodeus snickered before saying in a sly matter-of-fact tone as they got up from the couch and walked towards the other Lord of Hell, "I was talking about checking out the fashion, news, and technology in Paris. Lust is more than sex you know~." The Lord of Lust leans closer to Satan when they added more seductively, "I didn't think you'd be such a Pervert~."

Satan blushes before snapping in annoyance as he shoved the other Lord of Hell away, "Shut up! Just do your thing and I do mine when we're in Paris!"

Asmodeus chuckles before saying, "Fine by me~."

Satan let out a huff when he said, "And in case you've forgotten, Asmodeus, I have to thoroughly scrutinize this contract because you oversaw it! You know very well how it is when other Sins conduct contracts that don't correspond to them! And yet you still accepted that contract!"

Asmodeus let out a low hum when they got out, "Hm, you have a point in the interest but trust me when I tell you that I wanted to refuse the contract. The little sausage-haired Summoner must have thought I was you when making that contract."

Satan raised a brow when he asked, "No offence Asmodeus, but how the heaven can a human mistake you for me? We hardly look anything alike, and that's when you're not trying to "Spice-up" the meetings with the other Lords of Hell."

Asmodeus shrugged when they said as they folded their arms, "Must be one of those humans who don't do any proper research. I mean, they poured the blood into the demonic circle BEFORE summoning me! Every text in the human realm states that you pour the blood AFTER you summon the Sin and reach an agreement for the amount of blood!"

"Oh!" Satan stated, realizing why the Lord of Lust accepted the contract knowing that the whole thing would have to be investigated. The Lord of Wrath then said, "So that's why you didn't refuse the contract, you couldn't because of this Summoner's incompetence."

Asmodeus pulled a platinum-coloured key with a skull-shaped design from a pocket from the inner breast pocket of their outfit when they said, "Correct. And be thankful that those kinds of Summoners don't appear often." They waved a hand when they added, "Just do your investigation, then make the contract as much or little as you can, and just forget about the inconvenience when you get back. Shouldn't take you too long."

Satan gave an uncaring shrug before saying, "Quite true. I'll start with the target. I simply must know why the Summoner believes this Mary-net deserves such wrathful things. Who knows, she might make a good underling for me."

Asmodeus slid the key into a lock, turned the key, and then pulled it out. As soon as they did, the door glowed before opening a portal to Earth, more specifically, Paris. The Lord of Lust then told the other Lord of Hell, "Fine by me. I just need to pick up the Soul of Audrey the Style Queen and then I'll spend a few days exploring Paris to see what's new and fun~."

"You do your thing and I do my thing," Satan stated as he and Asmodeus walked through the portal.

~}i{ The Next Morning. Paris, France }i{~

A new Chat Group has been created.

Teenage Witch has renamed Chat Group to EMERGENCY!

Teenage Witch has added Ladyblogger, Turntables, Sunshine, Rollersnake, Teddy Bear, Tiny Actress, Anything's Possible, Maximum Overdrive, AI Am I, LB Artist, Poison Ivy, Gothic Girlfriend, Fashion Baker, CN Writer, Kagami, and Pulling at the Heartstrings.

Teenage Witch: GUYS! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!

Teenage Witch: NO JOKE! THIS IS SUPER, SUPER, SUPER BAD!

Teenage Witch: ALL OF YOU NEED TO COME TO THE HOTEL! AS SOON AS YOU CAN! PLEASE! I'M NOT KIDDING!

Sunshine: Sabrina, what's wrong?

Fashion Baker: What happened?

Teenage Witch: YOU NEED TO GET TO THE HOTEL! PLEASE! THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Ladyblogger: Did you find out who Hawkmoth is?!

Teddy Bear: Is someone at the hotel in any danger?!

LB Artist: Is Chloe throwing a tantrum?

Anything's Possible: You're finally ready to come out of the closet?

Teenage Witch: No. No! No! And what?

Anything's Possible: Uh, never mind!

Maximum Overdrive: Sabrina, how about you take a few deep breaths and then tell us what happened.

AI Am I: Having the proper data allows individuals to make educated decisions.

Teenage Witch: Damn it! I want to tell you guys! But!...

Teenage Witch: I don't think you all would believe me if I just tell you!

Teenage Witch: It's better to show you while telling you!

Teenage Witch: Come to the hotel, all of you. You'll see what I mean when you get here…

Teenage Witch: Please… This isn't just for me and Chloe…

Fashion Baker: … Let me finish up with helping my parents with this order and I'll head there.

Sunshine: Let me talk to Father about there being some kind of emergency with Chloe, okay.

Turntables: Adrien, I'm breaking you out when your old man says no.

Sunshine: But I haven't asked him yet? How do you know he'll say no?

Turntables: Call it a hunch.

Kagami: I shall join Nino in this endeavour.

Turntables: You are?

Kagami: Indeed. My mother said that she can provide the distraction so we can aid in helping Adrien escape.

Anything's Possible: Kagami, no offence, but isn't your mother just as strict as Mr Agreste and is against rebellion?

Kagami: She is, but unlike Agreste-san, my mother knows that I will become an independent adult one day and will have to make my own decisions in life. Thus, she is more willing to give me more freedom, provided I do well in learning how her company is run.

Kagami: So she has been teaching me how the business works and how it's run. I have already done a few things for Mother's company. I'm currently helping with the financial department and I'm learning a lot of interesting aspects in regards to money management. I plan on implementing some of those practices into my lifestyle next allowance period.

Fashion Baker: Oh cool! I learned the same thing when helping out at the bakery. I learned about the budgeting aspects of running a bakery after my parents trusted me more when helping out. Those budgeting techniques came in handy when my parents funded my first major design project. I'll spare you all the details, but you get the idea.

Turntables: Totally dudettes! My mum taught me how to budget my allowance and those healthy skills helped me when djing and movie making. You wouldn't believe how much goes into both hobbies, not just money.

Teenage Witch: Umm, as interesting as this topic is… Are you coming to the hotel?

Kagami: After Nino and I pick up Adrien.

Turntable: After Kagami and I get Adrien out of that stuffy mansion.

Sunshine: Can you two let me ask Father first!

Turntables: Dude, given his recent actions… I'm pretty sure your old man is going to say "No" and then say something along the lines of "There is no need to concern yourself with Chloe's immature antics". I mean, yeah, Chloe's had some not so nice moments but that's not a real excuse to brush her off. Especially when Sabrina created a chat group that's called "Emergency!" and then started the conversation in all caps. You know Sabrina doesn't get that wound up unless something is wrong.

Sunshine: … Good point… I'll try to tell my Father that…

CN Writer: I noticed you used the word "Try" rather than "Will" in your text. Adrien, you don't believe that your dad will listen to your concerns, do you?

Sunshine: I'm sure if I explain, he'll let me go to the hotel. W/o the breakout.

AI Am I: This particular piece of data seems to fit the categories of "Doubtful" and "Concerning". It's admittedly a little unsettling tbh…

Ladyblogger: My parents have the twins today, but I promised my older sister that I would spend the day with her.

LB Artist: Alya, can't you bring her to the hotel as part of spending time with her?

Ladyblogger: Oh… Uh, I guess, but what motivation would Nora have to go to Chloe's hotel?

Teenage Witch: The hotel staff that was here last night made a lot of Audrey replicas to beat up if it means anything.

Gothic Girlfriend: So, whatever happened involved the "Worst Mother Ever" huh.

Teenage Witch: … That would be an understatement… But yeah, the so-called Style Queen is the reason behind what's currently happening at the hotel.

Pulling at the Heartstring: Okay, I'm officially in. I'll bring some tunes for us to use while beating those dummies up. You coming, Jules?

Gothic Girlfriend: Let me get the spiked boots on and I am.

Kagami: Okay, Mother is bringing her katana. Do you mind if she comes too?

Teenage Witch: Umm… Actually, I think that might be a good thing, uh, as long as the katana is only used on the Style Queen replicas.

Kagami: Is that horrible excuse for a human being going to be there?

Kagami: Mother's words, but I agree with her opinion of that person.

Teenage Witch: Uh, no. Don't know where she is, and in all honesty, I don't care! As long as she's away from Chloe and her family.

Kagami: Then yes, the katana is only going to be used on the replicas. As will mine.

Maximum Overdrive: Sabrina, judging by your words in your latest comment… Is whatever happened just as bad as the whole "The only thing exceptional about you is your mother" incident or worse?

Teenage Witch: … … … Um… I guess that depends on how you look at it in the full context? I mean… This new event kinda put a new spin on the "Exceptional Incident", and could make that whole thing worse depending on your opinion… I, uh, personally think that what happened yesterday is much worse than the "Exceptional Incident" because of how out of nowhere it was for Chloe, her dad, and the hotel staff…

Anything's Possible: Max, I'm picking you and Markov up on the way to the hotel. I want to beat up Chloe's so-called mum! Even if it's just a replica…

Maximum Overdrive: Well, this wasn't what I expected to test Markov's new defence system on. But not complaining.

AI Am I: I second the notion! I did my research on this Style Queen and cannot comprehend how someone as unpleasant as her became so well-known in the fashion industry. Also, I know that I do not understand the idea of "fashionable", but her designs and critics didn't seem to make sense to me.

Fashion Baker: Oh yeah, I remember Markov asking how things were "fashionable" 3 weeks ago. Admittedly he asked about the Style Queen specifically. His questions were reasonable, and I tried to explain the best I could about how there are people who are bad with their personal lives but excel in their professional lives. I admit that I liked the Style Queen only because of her designs and fashion critics, the rest of her not so much, especially after that "Exceptional Incident", but when Markov asked his questions and pointed some things out…

Fashion Baker: Well, it made me realize that the Style Queen might not be that good of a fashion designer and the majority of the critics she made didn't make any sense in regards to the design… I got rid of everything I had that had to do with her tbh…

Anything's Possible: Oh, yeah… You asked me to help with that. I was wondering why you were getting rid of those, but I figured it had to do with the fact that she couldn't even be considered a mother.

Fashion Baker: That too… Oh, and my parents are coming along with some treats! I told them that what Sabrina was texting about involved the Style Queen being worse than the "Exceptional Incident" and they're in on beating up replicas of her with the tenderizer!

Rollersnake; Heading to the hotel right now!

Poison Ivy: On my way! With some honeysuckle flowers! To help relax us afterwards!

Tiny Actress: Ivan and I are heading to the hotel as we text!

Teddy Bear: And we're bringing a new friend that has kind of become attached to us. Oh, Adrien, you might want to avoid Mylene and me for the day.

Sunshine: Um, why?

Teddy Bear: Because our new friend is a Ravan and you're allergic to feathers.

Sunshine: Oh! Right! That's what I was forgetting to tell you guys! I asked my doctor if I could do an allergy test last time I saw them and it turns out I'm not allergic to all feathers! Just feathers from pigeons, ducks, and geese! So ravens are fine for me to be around!

Tiny Actress: Oh, that's good to know.

Sunshine: Also, Kagami, your mother doesn't need to cause a distraction. Just make sure you and Nino are by the west wall of the mansion, I'll meet you there.

Kagami: Did your Father approve of you going to the hotel?

Sunshine: … Just meet me at the west wall…

Turntable: I knew he'd say no. The Jerk!

Sunshine: … … … Yeah…

CN Writer: Nath and I are one block away from the hotel. We'll be there in a bit.

LB Artist: Kinda wish we could beat up the real so-called Style Queen, but we'll take the replicas.

Ladyblogger: Okay, Nora and I are heading to the hotel rn. The whole we get to beat up replicas of Chloe's bitch-ass mother totally convinced her. Umm, her words, not mine!

Ladyblogger: I didn't think Nora hated the Style Queen or even knew about her tbh.

Teenage Witch: Wow, I knew you guys had a list of bad people whose asses you want to kick if given a chance, but I didn't know the Style Queen was that high on the list.

Turntables: Shitty parents are close to the top of the list. Hawkdick is obviously at the top of the list with Chloe's so-called mother being #2. Mr Agreste is sitting at #3. I know some of the class debated on this but Chat Noir's dad has the #4 spot on the list.

Fashion Baker: Bob Ross is #5 on the list b4 you ask Kitty Section. Though, tbh, #4 and #5 tend to switch depending on whether or not Chat Noir makes a sour reference to his dad during an Akuma battle or if Ross does something that gets into the news again.

Pulling at the Heartstrings: Ah, good to know. And also nice!

LB Artist: We're here! Do we need to tell the doorman that we're here for Chloe or do we need a password?

Teenage Witch: Just tell him I asked you to come, he'll know why you're here. I'll be down to get you when you all are here. Then I'll show you what's going on.

CN Writer: K. Got that everyone?

}{

All who were in the chat nodded before telling whoever was with them that wasn't in the chat group what they needed to do before they headed towards the hotel.

~}i{ Roughly 20 Minutes Later }i{~

Soon everyone from the Miracuclass, Kagami and her mother, Marc, Marinette's parents, Nora/Anansi, Luka, Markov, and a new Raven Friend were waiting in the lobby of the hotel for Sabrina. All were wondering what the orangette wanted to show them that made Audrey even worse.

Sabrina walked into the lobby, still relatively surprised by the sheer number of people who showed up, only gestured for the group to follow her into one of the larger meeting halls. The group followed with an odd mixture of curiosity, worry, and a bit of excitement for the beating of the replicas. Things were oddly quiet during this, mostly because no one was sure what to ask or say.

Soon, they all walked into the massive meeting hall. To their surprise, there were more people inside, alongside Chloe and Andre.

One of the strangers was a slender teenage girl who has wheat-golden hair with significantly shorter bangs and hot pink dyed strands to the left side, the ends reaching her shoulders and upper back. Her eyes are a vivid shade of azure and her eyebrows are honey-coloured. She has a peach skin tone, coral lips, and a dusting of light freckles over the bridge of her nose and cheeks. She wears a black faux leather jacket, a white top with pink, cyan and yellow honeycomb flower on the front, on her left wrist, she also wears two blue beaded brown bracelets and a red and yellow pattern wide white bracelet with a black lining on each and a luminous vivid opal-coloured beanie on her head, and yellow slacks. She was wearing a pair of custom-designed shoes. There was a man of average height with the same coloured hair as the teenage girl standing next to her, he was wearing a simple grey 3-piece suit, a silver-coloured watch, azure-coloured eyes, and shiny black shoes. He gave the group some kind of official vibe.

The second teen was a male with styled hair that spiked in the back with honey yellow highlights, dark grey eyes, had a slightly darker skin complexion than Chloe, he had pierced ears with two golden studs on each ear, wearing a bright blue, studded blazer over a sapphire blue shirt that was embroidered with red gems on the helms, wearing a pair of well-loved jeans that were stylishly torn at the knees and ankles, and blue sneakers that were covered with multi-coloured bejewelled studs. Next to this teen stood a man with a striking similarity that wore a less formal two-piece tux that looked more like a uniform with what looked like a pair of reading glasses hanging around his neck on a metal beaded eyewear retainers.

The third teen was also male with short cacao brown hair that was swept to the side with green eyes, wearing a casual forest green blazer with small animal silhouettes scattered over the fabric on top of an eggshell-coloured shirt that had a foliage design, had on a pair of what appeared to be homemade slacks that had images of flowers painted, and had a pair of open-toed shoes. The man standing next to this teen also had a similar appearance to him but was wearing more formal clothing.

The last of the strangers was a blonde man with green eyes in grey semi-formal looking clothing standing between a pair of blonde ten-year-olds also with green eyes. One of the twins was wearing a black shirt with white helms and a caller, paired with light grey slacks with dark grey helms, and bright blue shoes with red highlights. The other twin was wearing the same type of clothing as the other but the colours were inverted.

The Miracuclass, the parents, Nora, Kagami, Markov, Luka, and Marc were confused by the presence of these strangers. The men most certainly didn't look familiar to them, but the teens alongside them did seem somewhat familiar to them for some odd reason. Rose was the one to ask, "Um, Sabrina… Who are these people?"

As soon as they heard the question, the strangers looked awkwardly at each other while Andre looked visibly uncomfortable and Chloe's whole body seemed to be shaking as she tried her hardest not to burst out in some kind of emotion. The Dupont group glanced at each other at this…

What's going on here?

Tomoe Tsurugi tapped her katana on the ground when she demanded, "Someone better say something to explain the situation with that worthless excuse of a parent. I will not hesitate to use my blade if any of you don't start talking." That got the group of strangers motivated to talk, somewhat. They gave the basic introductions. The wheat-coloured haired teenage girl was named Zoe Lee and her father was Zachary Lee. The black-haired teen with the yellow highlights was named Joey Bell and his father was Victor Bell. The teen with the brown hair was Donnie Rockkale and his father Hector Rockkale. And lastly, the twins were named Edward and Elysia Fog, though they preferred to be called Eddie and Ellie, with their father Robert Fog.

Okay, now that they knew who these people were, hopefully now they can find out why they're here.

The Mayor of Paris took a deep breath before he finally said, "Uh, I guess to get the ball rolling on that topic…" He glances at the unknown men before saying in a tone that was a mixture of uneasiness, unwillingness, sadness, grief, and a dash of dismay, "These people are… Audrey's other families… And the children she's had with them…"

The Dupont group were able to put the pieces together before Adrien almost leapt to his childhood friend when he said excitedly, "Chloe you have siblings! Why didn't you tell me about them? We could've had a lot more fun growing up!"

With that, Chloe let out the torrent of tears she has been holding back. Adrien was confused by the outburst. He just wanted to know why the mayor's daughter never told him about her siblings, so why is she crying? Marinette noticed how the five individuals, who she now knows are Chloe's siblings, started to go through the motions of going to comfort their sister before noticing each other doing the same thing and pausing, no longer knowing what to do. Andre was the one to comfort his daughter, he didn't say the usual things he would say when Chloe got upset, he just stayed quiet as he rubbed her back as she continued to cry.

'Wait a minute… Wait a minute… Wait a Minute! Oh! Hell!' Marinette thought as she pieced those facts together before asking in a rather obvious expression of shock, "Did… Either of the Bourgeois know of Audrey's other families? And did these families know about each other?"

The man in the 3-piece suit, Zachary Lee, was the one to say in an unwilling tone, "What we got from Andre's and Chloe's reactions yesterday. No, neither of them knew about any of us." He then looked at the other families when he added, "And from what we've learned, we "other families" only knew about Audrey's family in Paris but she never told them about any of us. We certainly didn't know about each other."

The teen with the black hair and yellow highlights, Joey Bell, was the one to say in a snippy tone, "The bitch was supposed to tell her Paris Family about all her Other Families, per the legal agreement with our dads." The man in the 2-piece suit, Victor Bell, only scolded his son for using foul language around children, but he didn't disagree with the comment.

The teen with the environmental-themed clothing, Donnie Rockkale, then explained, "Yesterday we were supposed to finally meet and supposedly move in with Mr Andre and Chloe, so we can be a nice blended family…" He looked at his dad, his siblings, and his siblings' fathers before adding, "Apparently we were all under the impression that… "She" was giving her Paris family all the letters from us… But it is clear now that "she" was just tossing them…"

The teenage girl of the group, Zoe Lee, then put in her thoughts about this whole thing when she said, "Dad and I were so excited to meet the Bourgeois in person finally." She got all bubbly when she added as she looked at her father, who in turn smiled back, "The time dad and I spent on the plane ride here that wasn't dedicated to sleep was pretty much us talking about what we planned to do with Andre and Chloe after we get settled in Paris!" Her face then fell when she said, "I think only…" Zoe glances at the Other Families when she said solemnly, "My new younger siblings and their dads know how it felt when we found out the truth of Mom's deeds… And intentions…"

That was when Max finally inquired, "Hold on, the Style Queen suddenly invited ALL her other families to Paris under the guise of becoming a blended family with the Bourgeois? At the same time and without telling them about this?" When he got confirmation from the four other families, he then asked in a tone that was a strange combination of confused and suspicious, "Why invite all of you to Paris and expose her, um, quintuple-lives? Which could open up a lot of possible legal issues and unfavourable consequences to her professional career…"

"She tried to pass off her children as the payment she owed me," said an androgynous voice that just flowed into the area, along with a sudden feeling of something with an unfathomable sinister aura. Everyone could only think that they were in danger! Tomoe and Kagami immediately wielded their blades the moment they felt the unearthly presence, ready to fight whatever this threat was. While Marinette and Adrien were practically preparing to transform into their hero personas on the spot, not even thinking about keeping their identities a secret. That was when the voice said, "Oh, sorry, let me tone that down. Can't have any of you mortals pass out before the climax~."

With that, the aura dissipated a great deal. Not enough to make everyone feel safe but enough so no one felt like they were going to die in the next minute.

That was when they noticed something that made them question, "How the hell did I miss that?!" Standing at a towering 260 cm was this androgynous-looking person with a wild, fiery mane of cyan hair that no one could figure out how long it was, neon green eyes that almost glowed, wearing a nice shade of ocean blue lipstick and eyeshadow, had on a navy-blue semi-formal-looking two-piece suit with a feathery looking tail coat attached that did little to hide that broad chest with an image of a white ram's head with the negative space for the eyes and on the left shoulder and a white bull's head with the negative space for the eyes and mouth on the right shoulder, and had on a pair of stunning neon blue knee-high heels. Something about this person just screamed danger, yet was oddly attractive. The entity in blue gave a casual wave of a hand, revealing that their nails were painted baby-blue, when they said, "Oh~, where are my manners~." They did a rather exaggerated bow when they said, "I am Asmodeus, the Lord of Lust and Ruler of the Ring of Lust in Hell." The entity then stood back up at their full human height when they added, "It is such~ a pleasure to meet everyone~." They then stated in a serious tone, "Though I do wish it was in more satisfying circumstances."

Tomoe was the one to ask, as her blade pointed where she heard the voice of the Lord of Lust, "Why is someone like you here? And why would you even care about the situation happening?"

Asmodeus placed an index finger to the side of their lips as they smirked when they said in an almost seductive manner, "Normally, having such a fun toy pointed at me like that would be such~ an enticing invitation~." Tomoe visibly stiffened at this, both not used to hearing that sort of thing and the fact that someone dared to flirt with her while she was pointing a dangerous weapon at them. The others in the meeting hall were also uncomfortable with the sudden flirting. Asmodeus snapped their fingers and the next thing everyone knew, the katana in the fencing champion's hands vanished in a veil of cyan mist. Much to her and the other's horror. The bull's and ram's heads on the Lord of Lust's outfit seemed to smirk at the reactions from the mortals.

Just as Marinette and Adrien were about to shout to transform into their hero personas so they could defend everyone, Asmodeus stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "I'm not here to fight, nor am I in the mood for the usual sensational activities." Marinette felt Tikki subtly tugging on her purse strap, signalling her to hold off on the transformation while Adrien felt Plagg tapping out a morse code on his chest, telling him not to transform. The heroes didn't like it, but if the Kwami were telling them not to…

The Lord of Lust then said in that same tone, "I originally came to collect the payment for the contract that Audrey made with me." The bull's and ram's heads now looked like they had serious-looking expressions. It made the mortals wonder if those images were somehow linked to the Lord of Lust's emotions. When asked what that line meant by Alya, Asmodeus explained while peppering in a few drops of a seductive tone, "To put it simply, Audrey made a Blood Lust Contract with me to become the most desired fashion designer and critic that can do no wrong in that career in the world. Not too hard to do on my end, but it was the payment that needed some thorough discussion." The Lord of Lust then began walking around the group of mortals when they continued explaining, "The amount of blood she had was only enough to ensure 10 years of that, so she offered up her soul for an extra decade and a half. I agreed to it." They then conjured up a sheet of paper that looked like a legal contract with Audrey's signature clearly at the bottom of it. Asmodeus then continued, "Per the conditions of the contract, we are to meet 25 years and a day in the same location and time where the contract was established and then Audrey forfeits her soul to me." The Lord of Lust then turned their attention to the mortals when they said seriously, "When I arrive at the location, I find 7 children. Six of them were the spawns of Audrey. The five younger ones argued about who was the "real" younger siblings of the oldest of her spawns. The younger ones didn't even realise that they were related until I asked where Audrey was. I believe all their responses were along the lines of "What do you want with mom?" That certainly made things rather clear on my end." They looked at all of Audrey's children when they added in a serious tone, "She planned to use her children as a substitute for her soul. How utterly revolting."

Oh… Oh… Oh shit! Audrey was willing to sacrifice all of her children to the Demon she made a deal with to save her skin and keep her career intact… … … That was such a betrayal on so many levels…

The mortals looked at Sabrina when she got out timidly, "I… I went with Chloe… We were supposed to meet the Style Queen for a Special Spa Day…"

That was when Zoe said, "Mom told me the same… Said it would be a great way to bond with Chloe as sisters…"

Joey scoffed when he got out, "Bitch told me that she planned for me and Chloe to go to a jewellery making event so we can have a Brother-Sister Day." "Joey! Language!" Victor scolded his son.

Donnie then stated, "She told me that she got me and Chloe seats at a Clothing Up-Cycling Seminar as a way to bond as siblings…" It was clear that he was upset about the whole thing…

That was when Robert Fog stated in a deadpin tone, "Seems like the Style Queen made sure that all her kids would be at the location while not having to be there herself." The twins glanced at each other at this, neither saying anything but were very aware of the situation.

Asmodeus folded their arms in front of their chest as they tilted their head to the side when they said, still in that serious tone, "As a being of hell, I have to admire the underhanded deviousness of her scheme. However, since it directly relates to a Blood Contract, more specifically the "Payment" for it. She basically "Violated" it by both not appearing as scheduled and not relinquishing her soul." They snapped their fingers again, but this time the Contract vanished in a flash of blue. Asmodeus then said, "Therefore, I have every right to take back what I gave her by any means until I get her soul. As stated in the Blood Lust Contract." Asmodeus then stated as the bull and ram heads gave an annoyed look, "It is quite clear she doesn't care about any of her families, therefore it wouldn't hurt her if they are harmed. So I have no interest in taking any of her spawns or her partners."

That was when Tom asked, "Why are you telling us this?" While the baker was glad he was learning all this and that Chloe and her families are safe from harm from the Hell Lord, the one thing that was bothering him (and the other adults to be honest) was the fact that Asmodeus was being so open about this…

Asmodeus's answer was simple, "Since the only thing Audrey seems to care about is her career in the fashion world. Therefore, to "Hurt" Audrey in the most efficient way, I have to target her publicly to destroy her career. Very publicly, possibly on a large scale." They folded their arms when they said, "Listen, I know that I'm not going to harm any of the families Audrey conned, but I'm sure all of you know that there are some humans who will target them just because they had no idea that Audrey was leading them on, or to "get their side of the story", or even try to shift blame onto them." Asmodeus turned their attention to the Dupont group when they said, "The adults already have a support system in place for such things, however…"

Max, who was hiding behind Kim at the moment, put the facts together when he stated timidly, "R-r-right, the kids are new to P-Paris and don't h-have anyone but the Bourgeois and Chloe just has her dad and the hotel staff… S-s-so they n-need an actual support s-s-system… C-c-correct?"

Asmodeus smiled, as did the bull and ram heads on their suit, when they said, "Precisely!" They then looked over the group with critical eyes when they said, "Oh yes~, you all will do nicely for a support group~."

Why did that statement come out that seductive? … …. … Oh right, it was the Lord of Lust saying it.

That was when Asmodeus finally noticed Marinette. 'Hm? That's the target that that stingy sausage-haired Summoner wanted to destroy… That must mean…' The Lord of Lust thought as they glanced to the doorway of the humans started moving over to the new families and did some introductions and saw Satan in his human form lingering in the doorway.

Satan's human form stood around 183 cm, had blazing red hair with orange and yellow highlights and lowlights that spiked like flames, and had on a pair of red-tinted shades that sat on top of a wide yet pointy nose. Wore a red suit paired with black trousers, both with red buttons but the suit had a pair of silver cufflinks in the shape of the letter "W". And wore a pair of formal, polished, red shoes that gleamed under the lights of the hotel. To Asmodeus's eyes, the Lord of Wrath was transparent, which means that he was currently invisible to mortal eyes.

The Lord of Lust narrowed their eyes at the Lord of Wrath, who only tilted his head in response.

[So, what are the odds of my target being a part of this little "support group" for the kiddies of your target?] Satan communicated through his demonic link to the other Lord of Hell.

Asmodeus tilted their head to the side slightly when they replied, [Depends on the context, in all honesty. But it makes you wonder a few things…]

Satan shrugged his shoulders when he stated, [I'll let you know what I find out about this Mary-net. But from the aura I'm getting from her, she seems more likely to receive praises than spite. Mind you there are some negative qualities I can vaguely pull from her aura, but that's only because I was able to get close enough to sense them without her or her parents noticing me.]

Asmodeus raised an amused brow when they said, [Okay~ then~. Have fun stalking the little human~]

Satan frowned before snapping back in annoyance, [I AM NOT STALKING! I'm just following her to find out if she is worthy of all those wrathful things the Summoner wants!] He folded his arms when he added, [Though even if she does deserve some wrath, I can't do much to her because the payment was hardly the minimum.]

Asmodeus gave a small shrug when they said, [Do what you can is the best advice I can give you.]

Satan gave a small wave when they replied, [Oh please, I was just going to cause her to get a nasty-looking scrape no matter what I find out about her.]

[Fair enough, I suppose,] Asmodeus replied before turning their attention back on the mortals. Satan only folded his arms at this as he watched his target.

The Lord of Wrath just watched as Marinette talked to the others in the groups before they all went to beat up the Style Queen replicas.

~}i{~

Lila smirked as she tossed a black rubbish bag into her building's dumpster. All traces of her little demonic ritual were gone.

The basement of the building she and her mother occupied was typically off-limits to tenets, so it was the perfect place for Lila to perform the ritual that she found on the internet without being disturbed. She already returned the key to the basement to its place so no one will ever know that she has been in there.

While Lila was sceptical about the whole thing at first, it proved itself to be the real deal very quickly. It just filled her with utter joy that she now had a way to eliminate any threats to her kingdom of lies without having to do it herself! Though Lila was a little annoyed that "Satan" said it would take a while before he could do anything, he assured her that he would do what she wanted to that goody-goody best he could. Lila didn't care as long as she got what she wanted and she wanted that annoying goody-goody out of the way and to suffer!

Lila returned to her building unit, feeling good about herself knowing that her biggest annoyance would no longer be a problem. 'I should order some of my favourite take-out to celebrate,' Lila thought as she pulled out her phone with a smug smile. As she made her order, she thought with another smirk, 'I think I'll wait five days before I go back to school. Just so no one can blame me for whatever Satan does to that goody-goody.'

~}i{ Later that Night, With Both Heroes }i{~

The two heroes were sitting on their respective beds in their respective homes as they asked their respective Kwamis about the literal embodiment of lust keeping their word to only target Audrey and not touch any of the families she has conned.

The Kwami of Creation and Destruction answered with, "Despite being a Sin and Lord of Hell, Asmodeus always keeps their word. Which falls back on the habit they have of keeping to contracts and agreements."

Both Marinette and Adrien responded with, "Really?"

The Kwamis nodded when they said, "Ironic, I know, but out of all the Seven Lords of Hell, Asmodeus is the best one to be here and handling this whole thing."

Plagg told Adrien that if the Lord of Lust does anything he doesn't like to just tell them "No". The blonde model was confused by this when the black Kwami explained that Asmodeus might be the Lord of Lust but they're big on having all parties happy so hearing the words "No" or "Stop" will cause them to drop their intentions. This made Adrien think about that.

Marinette noticed that Tikki kept glancing out the window and asked what was wrong. The red Kwami kept her big blue eyes at the window when she said, "I don't know. Maybe I'm still feeling the remnants of the overwhelming aura from Asmodeus, but…" Her antenna twitched before she finished, "I still feel a small amount of hellish aura lingering in the background…"

Marinette glanced out the window when she said, "If we're talking about a Lord of Hell… Then maybe we're just feeling the aura from the hotel, probably by accident." She looked at the Kwami before adding, "Don't forget the Miraculous makes us Holders more aware of magic, so I guess we can feel auras a little easier too." Tikki had to agree with that logic.

Soon, Marinette turned the lights off and went to sleep. Satan took a step out of the alleyway to get a better look at the window.

~}i{ Three Days Later }i{~

Satan took a bite out of the razzberry croissant he got from the bakery the parents of his target run. He had to admit, the humans made some tasty baked goods. 'They could give Beelzebub a run for his Blood Crystals,' the Lord of Wrath thought as he wrote in the notebook at a table in the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Writing in glyphs that were unrecognizable to mortals, though it would be easy for them to pass it off as a different language from some other part of the world.

Satan placed the croissant on the plate before he placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his palm as he re-read what he wrote. 'I get that it's only been a few days since I started following this Mary-net, but I figured I'd find something about her that would earn her some ire… There's nothing about her that would… Aside from that crush on that blonde male but she seems fine with the other suitors for him… Damn, I'm going to have to watch her for a while.' He narrowed his eyes before he glanced up just in time to see Marinette come into view. The Lord of Wrath picked up the croissant to finish eating it, so he can finish it before he has to follow the bluette. Though he had to wait a little bit before he could, so as not to raise the concerns of her parents. Satan could faintly feel the remainder of emotions from the whole event three days ago. Not his department of negative emotions but he can understand why those emotions lingered despite the smiles they had on their faces.

As Marinette left for school, Satan casually brought the plate and cup to the Return Section with his notebook tucked under his arm. He pleasantly thanked the Dupain-Cheng couple for the goodies as he left a nice tip (with the Earth currency of France), and then left the bakery. Satan then started walking towards Dupont to catch up to his target. Didn't take too long, the bluette was waiting at a crosswalk for the light to change.

That's pretty much been the routine the past few days for the Lord of Wrath. Have a nice little breakfast at the bakery while he waited for his target to head to school, he casually follows her to school, turns completely invisible before entering the school, goes through the school day with that red-headed woman's class, either returns to the bakery for lunch or the cafeteria, hangs in the background as Marinette hangs with her friends, sometimes watch as Marinette helps her parents in the bakery, and lastly watch Marinette through her window as she winds down for bed. Mind you Satan couldn't just enter the "living quarters" of mortals anytime he likes, that would be "invading their lives" which is not allowed due to the Laws of Heaven and Hell. But he was fine with the window.

As he followed Marinette onto Dupont grounds, invisible to mortal eyes, of course, he rolled his eyes when the "school routine" started.

'Hi, Alya,' Satan mocked in his mind when he saw the hombre-haired girl came into view.

Marinette smiled when she saw Alya. She then waved at her friend when she said, "Hi, Alya!"

Satan rolled his eyes when he mocked, 'Hi, gurl, glad to see you're on time again.'

Alya smiled and waved back when she said to her friend, "Hi, Gurl! Glad to see you're on time again."

Satan spotted Nino coming along before he mocked, 'Yo, dudettes…'

Nino waved at the two girls when he got out, "Yo, dudettes!"

Satan followed the group into the school's ground when he thought in annoyance, 'The red-capped teen will stay behind and wait for the blonde boy Mary-net is pursuing… And the girls will be fine with that…'

That was when Nino said, "You two go ahead, I'm going to wait for Adrien, kay."

Alya smiled when she said, "Sure thing, we'll say hi to him when he walks into class," she nudges the bluette when she added, "Righ, Marinette~."

Marinette got all flustered and nervous when she said, "Um, yes! Of course!"

Satan rolled his eyes as he followed the girls into the school, not liking that he had the whole banter memorised. He did notice that Nino's smile faded the moment the girls turned away from him. Satan knew something was bothering the chilled teen, but he didn't feel any wrath from him so not his problem.

It didn't take long before Nino saw the silver car pull up. He was about to say hi when he saw the blonde model come out of the car, but he heard through the closed door, "How the hell can you say something like that?!" Nino paused in his action, not sure who was practically shouting. Though it sounded a bit like Adrien… "Screw that! Do either you or father even understand what the hell happened to Chloe and Andre?! What they're going through and are still going through?!" Nino looked at the driver's seat to see The Gorilla having a worried look on his face. The bodyguard glanced in the red-capped teen's direction and saw Nino with a relatively shocked expression on his face. The Gorilla gave the teen an "It's bad" look on his face. The red-capped teen then heard Adrien shout through the car, "FAKE?! HOW THE HELL CAN YOU AND FATHER THINK THAT!?"

'Uh-oh!' Nino thought as he quickly put the facts together.

"YOU KNOW WHAT! FATHER CAN JUST SCREW HIMSELF!" Adrien snapped before he shoved open the door and exited the car with a scowl.

"Adrien!" Nathalie exclaimed in an odd combination of shock, dismay, worry, and confusion.

Nino's jaw dropped when he saw Adrien slam the door to the car shut, practically in the secretary's face. The normally laid-back teen has never seen his buddy this mad before, and it made him worry. Mostly about his best bud attracting an Akuma.

Adrien turned to see Nino standing there with that look on his face. The blonde model now felt a bit self-conscious when he said, "Hi, Nino… Um, how much did you hear?" A few seconds later the silver car drove off.

Nino blinked a few times before shaking his head to snap himself out of this trance and then said, "Enough to know that I don't need to ask what it's about." Adrien lowered his gaze at this. Nino nudged the blonde to follow him into the school when he asked, "How's Chloe and her new siblings doing? Are they settling in alright?"

Adrien glanced at the ground when he said, "Well, the other families are settling in but there's still some uneasiness… And as it turned out, they already planned on the schooling… Zoe is a year younger than Chloe and has been enrolled to attend Dupont. I, uh, asked about that, Mr Lee explained that he and Audrey planned to have their daughters attend the same school. I mean, he technically did the work for that and submitted it two weeks ago… Zoe's going to be in Ms Mendeleiev's class though… Joey is 13 and Donnie is 12 so they're going to be enrolled in the Jr High close to the hotel… The twins are 10 so Mr Fog and Andre are looking for a different Elementary school close by since their original plans for school fell through…"

Nino's lips pressed in a line when he said, "Wow, sounds like they had everything planned for when they moved here…" He then glanced down as they climbed the stairs when he added, "Which also means that Audrey had also been planning on…" Adrien grumbled out "Yeah…" Nino then stated as they entered the school, "You… Didn't mention how Chloe's handling it."

Adrien didn't say anything as he just pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, scrolled a bit, and then handed it to Nino. The red-capped teen raised a brow at this but took the phone and looked at what was opened. It looked like a chat group between Adrien, Chloe, and Sabrina. The blonde appeared to have scrolled up to the start of the recent conversation.

}{ Chat Group On Phone }{

A: Chlo, do you feel alright enough to come back to school? Or should Sabrina and I tell Ms Bustier that you're still…

C: … Daddy already called the school…

C: I'm not…

C: Exactly ready to… Get back into the swing of school just yet…

S: Still processing?

C: … Yeah… In more ways than one…

A: Can you explain? So we can understand a little better.

C: I can try…

C: Well, you all know that my, uh, "Younger Siblings" knew about me and not each other, right?

S: Yeah, it's because Audrey was legally married to Andre, who is a very public figure.

A: Was?

S: Yeah… Andre submitted the Legal Divorce Papers yesterday. I doubt anyone who has been following the news would deny those papers… Wasn't too hard, but now there's going to be a Custody Court Hearing in regards to the Parental Custody of Chloe, and her younger sibling by extension…

C: I don't know why they're even bothering with that, she isn't going to show. And it's not just because that demon is going to be there to take her soul if she shows up…

S: It's a legal procedure that they have to ensure the care and wellbeing of the minors… Even if they already know the outcome…

A: That sounds… Complicated… And kinda sad…

C: Kinda… But back to the story…

C: Basically, my Younger Siblings only knew about me because Daddy and I are public figures and was married to Daddy, so there was no way that person could hide us from them… So she kinda…

C: Well, she told the dads that she and Daddy had an open marriage. Which Daddy so totally did NOT know. But with my Younger Siblings…

C: *Sighs*, She basically "tailored" me to fit the interests of each of my Younger Siblings… Told them that I was like this super big protege, or something along that line, in their field of interest that's stationed in Paris!

C: She… She made it so I would appear to be the perfect big sister to them!

A: And… And they… Told you this?

C: No… They would start saying something but not finish like they weren't sure if they should continue to say or ask it, so I asked their dads…The dads managed to answer a few questions Daddy and I had… I can't believe that bitch led them on like that! And more importantly, how she… She never told us about any of them! Like this whole time! Daddy and I just thought she was off travelling because of her career!

S: I get it… If Audrey lied to the families about you and Andre knowing about them… It made them wonder what other lies she told them… And your new siblings are not sure how to ask you without hurting your feelings, right?

C: … Yeah… I… I can't blame them tbh… Their whole lives they've looked up to me, which I don't mind tbh, but then learning that I didn't know that they existed on top of Audrey set them up to be sacrificed with me w/o a second thought…

C: Guess they're going through the same thing I am… And all of us are still… Processing the whole thing… Forget about Audrey and what she tried to do to us! We're still wrapping our heads around the fact that our family practically quadrupled overnight! We now have five dads and six kids! I have no idea how all of us are going to work this whole thing out! I also have no idea how to be a big sister! And Daddy has only ever had me! He doesn't know how to handle/raise multiple kids at once!

A: Yikes! I think I'm getting the big picture!

S: Agreed… On the upside, Asmodeus is keeping, um, his/her word about keeping you and your families out of harm's way… Idk what pronouns to use with Asmodeus…

A: Um, let's go with They/Them until Asmodeus confirms something.

}{ Back with Nino }{

"Dude…" Nino got out as he handed the phone back to its owner. He then added, "I knew that it takes some time to process the whole thing… I guess it's just going to take longer because it is with five families learning to live with each other… On top of finding out about families that you didn't know existed…" Nino couldn't even imagine having to go through that himself.

Adrien sighed when he said in a downcast tone, "Yeah… And as you heard… Father doesn't exactly believe that the so-called "Style Queen" could ever do such a thing…" He then scoffed when he added in a rather angry tone, "But the "Style Queen" telling Chloe that the only thing "exceptional" about her was her mother is perfectly fine to him!"

Nino was a bit apprehensive about the way Adrien was behaving. He's never seen the blonde model so openly angry and upset… Disappointed and a little bit upset, yes. Completely angry and very upset, no… It made Nino worried about his buddy possibly getting Akumatized, but that was when he noticed a red caterpillar-like creature as long as an adult's hand sitting on Adrien's other shoulder. The red-capped teen quickly rubbed his eyes, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked his best friend when he saw this.

Nino looked at the weird creature on the blonde's shoulder when he asked, "Uh, I, uh, think you have something…" He pointed at the caterpillar-like creature that tilted its head up in response.

Adrien glanced at the caterpillar thing on his shoulder when he explained, "Oh, that… Um, it's kinda Asmodeus's way of countering Hawkmoth's emotional sensor thing he uses to hone in on negative emotions to Akumatize people… Uh, from what Asmodeus explained, it feeds on anger, despair, guilt, jealousy… It basically "eats" the emotions before Hawkmoth can catch them. Every member of Chloe's family at the hotel has a few… Wait! You can see it?"

Nino was confused by the question when he replied, "Um, dude, it's a little hard to miss once you notice it…" After a few seconds of awkward silence, the red-capped teen realised the answer about the caterpillar-like creature. "So, basically, we don't have to worry about Hawkdick targeting any of them because of these little dudes?" Nino asked in an unsure tone. Adrien nodded in response. That was when the red-capped teen asked as they walked into class, "And you have one because?"

Suddenly they heard a sharp gasp. The two teens turned to see Ms Bustier in a state of panic, shock, and distress. All while staring at the red caterpillar-like creature on Adrien's shoulder. Then the rest of the class noticed the creature…

Adrien quickly realised that his whole class could see the creature when he said, "But… Asmodeus said that the "Wrathflies'' can't be seen by average mortals. So how come everyone here can see it?" His father, Nathalie, and his bodyguard couldn't see the Wrathfly so he knew that the Lord of Lust was telling the truth.

Ivan couldn't help but say, "Well… Um, I don't think any of us are technically "average mortals''. Unless Asmodeus's definition of "average" is different from our definition of the word…" The whole class did agree on that since there was some logic.

Mylene was the one to ask, "Is it… Safe for it to be around us?" Adrien quickly repeated what Asmodeus told him, the Wrathfly was pretty harmless in the mortal realm and that their threat level was on par with a regular caterpillar and then butterfly. Mylene got up from her seat to get a closer look at the little creature of hell. The multi-coloured-haired girl placed a hand to her chin before she said, "It kind of looks similar to a Swallow-Tail Caterpillar but with a red colouring."

Alya pulled her phone out to take a picture but quickly realised that the Wrathfly didn't appear on her phone's camera. The blogger quickly commented, "It seems like "average mortals" aren't the only ones who can't see this little thing. Cameras don't see them either." She indicated her phone as Markov flew over to investigate.

The AI tilted his head to the side when he stated, "Strange? I can see this Wrathfly quite clearly… Does that mean that I am also not categorised as an "Average mortal"?"

Max gave a small smile when he said, "Markov, I don't think a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence can be considered "Average" in any way." That AI seemed to accept that logic.

That was when Nino asked his question again, and Adrien explained that he got one because Asmodeus decided to try their hand at running some mortal fashion shoots and chose to work with his father's company, to further taunt the former Style Queen. Adrien then admitted that the Lord of Lust felt his conflicting emotions and gave him a Wrathfly to help. "So they gave you one because you're totally upset about the whole "family" thing with Chloe?" Nino asked, now making sense of what he learned. Adrien nodded in response.

Miss Bustier let out a nervous chuckle when she said, "Oh, uh, that's great that this Asmodeus is, uh, helping you, Chloe, and her new family through this… Um, tough time." It was clear that the teacher wasn't sure what to do in this kind of situation, both the hell insect and what Chloe was going through. Miss Bustier then stated that they needed to get back to class.

Satan, standing by the door unseen, as he looked at the insect from his Ring. 'Oh, that's why Ozzie wanted those. Ah, right that emotional terrorist is stationed here in Paris, so the Wrathflies would be a great counter for him… I sometimes forget that Ozzie does research…' The Lord of Wrath thought before he focused his attention on his target. He raised a brow when he realised, 'Huh? Why am I sensing… No, it couldn't be!'

Satan tried to focus on his target, but suddenly an Akuma alert rang out. This caused the students to check the alert. As the Lord of Wrath clicked his tongue in annoyance when the teacher immediately went into super teacher mode and started the School's Akuma Attack Protocol.

When this was happening, Satan noticed that Marinette managed to slip away from the group unnoticed before quietly rushing away. 'Oh?' The Lord of Wrath thought as he continued to follow, finally finding something of interest happening with the target. He also noticed the blonde boy sneaking away, but he wasn't the Lord of Hell's concern.

Satan followed the bluette into the girls' restroom when he finally saw the source of the magic he sensed earlier.

Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse when she said, "We need to act fast this time!" When the bluette asked why and if it was a strong Akuma, Tikki replied, "No, I just don't want the Akuma to accidentally get on Asmodeus's bad side. They're still a Lord of Hell by the end of the day." Marinette agreed on that, quickly transformed to Ladybug, and then rushed off to handle the Akuma.

Satan folded his arms when he thought, 'Well, now. This changes everything.'

~}i{ Meanwhile }i{~

Something didn't feel right to Asmodeus… During the two days that they have been "working" with the Gabriel Brand, more so to mess with Audrey, they've noticed some troubling signs with Agreste's son…

For starters, Adrien Agreste was a CHILD! Asmodeus, and nearly all their underlings, originally thought that the young blonde model was a legal adult with a rather youthful appearance, but the moment they found that Adrien Agreste was 16-years-old, the Lord of Lust immediately called the acting overseer of the Ring of Lust to have the appearance of the model removed from the "Approved Appearances of Famous Human to Use for Roleplaying" list.

Asmodeus might've been the Lord of Lust, but they had standards! Children are NEVER to be touched sexually! Ever! Not by anyone under their domain at least! So working with a Child in the modelling world where millions tend to desire others… Yeah, not something that the Lord of Lust liked doing… Made it a bit worse because Adrien was the feature model.

But the part that Asmodeus COULD NOT STAND was the fact that Adrien himself had NO TRUE DESIRE to model! It utterly irked the Lord of Lust that the biological father of that child was forcing him to do something that he had absolutely no desire to do. Asmodeus could easily tell that the child was only modelling to make his father happy, but that only drew the "desire" out by only so much and it wasn't the best-tasting lust. Not the worst but it was barely palatable.

During the 2nd day of "Working" with Gabriel, Asmodeus laid down the law so to speak. The Lord of Lust refused to allow Adrien to model in any of the photoshoots they were working on until Adrien could answer with complete honesty, "Is modelling what You desire to do? If not, then what do You truely desire to do?"

Adrien kept answering that he did want to model, but Asmodeus could small any lie, which was a perk of being the Lord of Lust. And they knew that the child wasn't being truthful, even if he wasn't aware of it. Yes, there was a rather big fuss from the Gabriel employees, mostly because they were worried about their boss. However Asmodeus silenced those employees when they stated in a no-nonsense tone, "Adrien has no true desire nor does he truely wants to be here and the one thing that I will never do is force someone to do something that they do not wish to do!"

That made the employees think about a few things…

Adrien tried to explain to Asmodeus that he was fine with modelling. However, the Lord of Lust stated to the blonde in a rather serious tone, "It's only "fine" if you actually want to do it."

"I do!" Adrien retorted, not understanding why the Demon Lord seemed so insistent on not letting him do the job his father wants.

Asmodeus folded their arms in front of their chest and asked seriously, "Is that what you truely want or is that what your father wants you to do?"

Now THAT put Adrien in a bind. Asmodeus appeared to know the truth and seemed to know when someone was lying. That meant that If Adrien said that he "wanted" to model or that his father wasn't forcing him to model, Asmodeus would know that he was lying. But if he admitted that his father made him a model, even if Adrien didn't care much for it, then it would cast his father in a bad light and make him unhappy! Gabriel might pull him out of school again!

Asmodeus felt the emotions coming from the child, not liking how much of it was negative. So the Lord of Lust gave the child a Wrathfly to help protect him from being taken advantage of by this Hawkmoth character.

But the Lord of Lust still felt like something was wrong…

}{ About 30 Minutes after the Akuma Alert and a Minute After the Akuma was Defeated }{

Asmodeus was sitting in an empty photo studio that the Gabriel Brand used for indoor shoots, using their powers to playback their interaction with Adrien. More specifically going over the emotions the child was giving off.

Fear.

Worry.

Dread.

Hopelessness.

And a dash of Despair.

Asmodeus narrowed their eyes at this, the bull and ram image on their suit mirrored the Lord's mood. A child feeling these emotions over displeasing their parent can only mean one thing, and the Lord of Lust didn't like it at all.

Yeah, Asmodeus had a soft spot for children. NOT IN THE PAEDOPHILE KIND OF WAY (1)! It was more of an "Aw, you're a baby! Let me be your parent while I help you look for suitable guardians to take care of you" way or in an "OMG, I must protect the innocent children!" way. The other Lords of Hell teased the Lord of Lust about that but knew that it was best to just leave it at teasing.

Now, Asmodeus was compiling a letter to their investigation squad to do some research on Mr Agreste and the well-being of Adrien. They made sure to write that they needed them to look into what the child might need emotionally to find a suitable guardian for him.

Asmodeus tapped their sky blue pen to their chin when they thought, 'I might also need to bring in some of my workers for a few photoshoots, and I know I need to call my informants I have at that tv station. Just to make sure they're holding up their end of the bargen~.'

The next thing the Lord of Asmodeus knew, Chat Noir suddenly swooped in. He landed easily on his feet before sighing in relief. The black cat hero didn't see the Lord of Lust sitting nearby when he said, "Plagg, Claws In." Asmodeus covered their mouth in shock as they watched the de-transformation and saw Adrien Agreste standing where Chat Noir was just moments ago.

Adrien sighed again when he told the black Kwami, "Plagg… Do you think that Akuma was right?"

Plagg's tail twitched in annoyance when he snapped, "Kid! That Akuma was trying to get to you! And Ladybug told you that you and she were partners! Not to mention, she told you that you can choose the next temporary hero."

This made Adrien smile a bit.

"My, my, my that was an interesting sight~," Asmodeus said with a smirk, letting the hero know that they were there. The bull and ram heads mirrored the smirk. Adrien and Plagg jumped halfway out of their skin before they snapped their heads towards where the Lord of Lust was sitting. Asmodeus gave the two a playful smirk as they waved and said, "Hi~ Plaggy~. I see you've found a suitable~ holder for you~."

Plagg gave an awkward wave back when he said in an unsure tone, "Uh, hi Asmodeus… Um, thanks for looking out for my kid." Adrien almost looked scared to death that one of the Lords of Hell found out that he was Chat Noir.

Asmodeus folded their arms when they said in a playfully serious tone, "Well, I can tell you that this certainly changes things~."

}i{ At the Same Time }i{

Marinette was worried as she made her way back to the bakery. The text from her mother was the main reason for that. When she came to a pause in traffic, she took her phone out of her pocket and read the text again.

"Marinette, you need to come home immediately! Something important came up and you need to be here so we can discuss this as a family."

Marinette's mind immediately went through worst-case scenarios! Hawkmoth found out that she was Ladybug and was trying to get to her through her parents! Bakery burning down! One of her parents was seriously hurt!

Tikki quickly and calmly assured her holder that everything would be fine. Assured that her parents probably just wanted to talk to her about her grades or the excuses she had to use to slip away to become Ladybug again. Marinette managed to calm herself down by the time she got to the bakery. The building was standing, which was already easing the bluette's worries, but there was a closed sign on the door. Marinette blinked at this in confusion. It was odd that the close sign would be on the bakery at this time of day.

Marinette use her keys to open the door to let herself in, then closed the door behind her and locked it again, just in case it was a family meeting. She walked into the housing area of the residence when she called out, "Maman, Papa, you guys here?"

"In the living room, sweetie," Sabine called from that area. She sounded uneasy for some reason.

Marinette cautiously walked into the Living Room where her mother and father were waiting for her, as well as a man in red sitting in one of the cushioned chairs. The bluette looked at the man when she thought, 'Huh? That's the customer who's been coming to the bakery recently… Why is he here?'

That man in red smiled and gave a small wave at Marinette when he said, "Hello, little Ladybug Holder. And hello Tikki, it's been such a long time."

Before Marinette could go through the 'Oh shit! How'd he know?!' thoughts, Tikki phased out of her purse when the red Kwami snapped angrily, "Satan! What are you doing here?!" The bluette has never seen the red Kwami so enraged before.

The Dupain-Cheng family immediately questioned, "Satan?"

The man in red was quite casual when he said, "Yes, I am Satan, the Lord of Wrath and Ruler of the Ring of Wrath in Hell." He then created a small plump of flames from his hands as a quick way to prove he was who he claimed to be. Not enough to set off the fire alarms, but enough to show it was real.

Tikki was still angry when she snapped, "You haven't answered my question! Why! Are! You! Here!" It was more than obvious that she wasn't the least bit thrilled to have the Lord of Wrath around.

Satan held up a hand as a silent way to tell the Kwami, "Hold on just a second" and that's when Marinette's parents registered Tikki. Causing them to also realise that the Lord of Wrath called their daughter "the Ladybug Holder" and everything just clicked into place.

"Marinette! You're Ladybug!?" Both Tom and Sabine exclaimed in utter shock the moment they realised that their daughter was one of the heroes protecting Paris.

Marinette froze in shock at the fact that a Lord of Hell practically exposed her identity to her parents. Though, better that her parents found out rather than Hawkmoth.

The next thing Marinette knew, her parents had enveloped her in a family hug as Tom said, "Oh, honey, why didn't you tell us that you were Ladybug? We would have been easier on you for missing activities here and school if we had known."

Sabine then said, "We also could have helped you with alibies with your friends and helped you with your schooling."

Tikki flew over to Tom and Sabine when she explained, "It was the Rule of the Guardians that prevented her from telling you about her superhero life… Something that I told her she had to adhere to." The Kwami quickly assured, "It was only to keep you safe from anyone who wanted to get the Ladybug Miraculous!" Now that her holder's parents knew that truth, there was no longer a point in hiding it but it would be best to explain this best she could.

Marinette hunched when she said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you… I wanted to, but I didn't want Hawkmoth to target you…"

Tom placed a hand on one of his daughter's shoulders while Sabine placed a hand on the other shoulder when the taller baker said, "Marinette, we understand. Being a hero is hard, but you don't have to do it alone. You have the other heroes, Chat Noir, and now you have us to support you in your endeavours."

Marinette smiled before she pulled her parents in for a group hug. Tikki flew into the three and hugged her holder's cheek, causing Tom and Sabine to giggle/chuckle at this adorable image.

Satan let out an audible cough to get the Dupain-Cheng family's attention. When he had it, he politely said, "Now that that annoying piece of information is out of the way, I would like to get down to some amicable business."

Tikki quickly glared at the Lord of Wrath when she said in a tone of annoyance and anger, "We don't want any business with you!" Marinette was still taken aback by this sudden rage from the normally cheerful and happy Kwami. It made the bluette wonder what happened in the past to make Tikki to hostile towards the Lord of Wrath…

Satan let out a sigh when he said, "I'm aware, Tikki. However, I have business with your holder." Tom and Sabine immediately went into protective parent mode at this. Satan quickly said, "That I am willing to negotiate with her and her family." The Lord of Wrath knew that parents can be a force to be reckoned with in their own right, and he would like to avoid that kind of thing at the moment.

Tikki folded her arms as she flew up to the Lord of Wrath when she asked sternly, "And what kind of business are you inquiring about?"

Satan was quiet as he casually tossed a semi-transparent blood-red, crystal stone that was a little bigger than a clove of garlic onto the small table between the couch and chairs. The Dupain-Cheng family and the Kwami stared at the shiny thing for a few seconds before Satan finally said, "A Summoner wanted me to do so many unpleasant things to Mary-net, that I will spare telling you." He then pointed at the crystal when he added, "But that was all the Summoner paid with, so I can't do all the things they wanted me to do."

Tikki looked between the crystal and Satan when she asked in confusion, "That little was allowed to be accepted as a payment for a Sin?"

Satan sighed when he said, "Unfortunately, the Summoner botched the ritual for a Blood Wrath Contract. It happened just before Asmodeus had to come to Paris for that Fashion Human's soul if you want to know a when this Contract was established."

Sabine picked up the blood coloured crystal and looked it over when she asked wearily, "And what is this that is considered "Payment" for you… Sins?"

Satan explained in a matter-of-fact tone, "It's a Blood Crystal. They're created via mortal blood, either human or animal, for Contracted Ritual Summons. It's the currency for us Beings of Hell." Sabine immediately dropped the crystal the moment she heard that it was made of blood.

Tikki raised a brow in confusion when she asked, "How badly did this Summoner "Botch" the Blood Wrath Contract if a single Blood Crystal was accepted as payment?"

Marinette and Tom asked what the Kwami and Lord of Hell were talking about. Tikki quickly explained the Laws of Heaven and Hell, mostly about how things work as payment for invoking either a Sin or an Angel. For Hell, the blood that is bartered for the Sins becomes Blood Crystals, which are used as currency in Hell.

Sabine clapped her hands together when she said, "Oh, so when you beings of Hell are called to Earth to do your respective Sin, you are given blood which gets turned into the Blood Crystals and then circulated in Hell as money."

Satan nodded when he said, "Basically. But mind you we are only allowed to do as much as what it agreed upon or as much as we're paid." He motioned towards the Blood Crystal on the table when he added, "The Summoner who wanted Mary-net to "suffer a great deal" didn't pay for much, therefore, I can not do much aside from possibly inflicting a nasty-looking scrape."

That was when Tikki asked, "I'll ask again, how badly was the contract botched if a single Blood Crystal was accepted as payment?"

Satan scoffed when he said, "The Summoner batched the Blood Wrath Contract by both pouring the blood into the Ritual Circle before the summoning and somehow summoned Asmodeus instead of me." The Lord of Wrath folded his arms in annoyance when he added, "I had to scrutinize the whole thing because another Sin oversaw the Wrath Contract, unwillingly. And since the blood was poured before the summoning, Asmodeus had no choice but to accept the Contract, despite how little the pay was."

Tikki explained to the Dupain-Chengs that the summoning for a Contract with a being of Hell is supposed to be summoned first, finding an agreement for the amount of blood for what the Summoner wants to be done, and then the blood is poured into the Ritual Circle once the agreement is reached to seal the deal.

Sabine couldn't help but say in an uneasy tone, "I suppose we got lucky that this Summoner failed to do the Contract correctly…"

Satan shrugged when he said, "In a way, you did. But since Mary-net is the current holder of the Ladybug Miraculous, I would have gotten in trouble with a certain Angel whose name will not be mentioned if I had started on inflicting the damage before confirming that fact." Tikki couldn't help but giggle at the word "certain Angel". Satan placed a hand to his chin when he said thoughtfully, "I don't believe that the Summoner knew about the Holder status, since the focus of their wrath seemed to be on just Mary-net. But other than your Miraculous Holder status and that interest in that blonde boy in your class, I honestly don't see any reason why this Summoner believes you are deserving of all the harm she wants to be inflicted on you."

"Uh," the ladybug holder got out before saying, "It's Marinette, and, uh, is that good?"

Satan shrugged when he said, "Normally, I wouldn't care since you mortals can be rather petty for any number of reasons. However since this summoner asked for so much to be done but paid barely the minimum, I had to at least find out why so much hate this time around." The Lord of Wrath scoffed when he added, "Also, due to the request for so much wrath to be done, I was under the impression that Marinette would've made a good underling. Clearly, that is not the case."

The Dupain-Chengs somewhat glanced at each other in an unsure manner when they heard this admission. Tikki wasn't so surprised. The Kwami then asked, "So what are you going to do? You still have to follow through on the Contract, despite the bare minimum payment, but if you hurt Marinette, you'll get in trouble with you-know-who."

That was when Satan said, "This is where that "amicable business" needs to be negotiated." He glanced at Marinette's parents when he added, "And since Marinette is a child, I did need her parents to be aware of the whole situation. Sorry, Tikki."

Tikki folded her stubby arms when she huffed, "Okay, now that you explained it, I'm not that angry at you. Still mad about you dropping Marinette Holder's status out of the blue though, but at least it was just with her parents."

Satan shrugged when he said, "Fair enough."

Soon, the Lord of Wrath started the negotiation with the Dupain-Chengs and the Kwami.

~}i{ Later that Night }i{~

Chloe stared at the Wrathfly that was currently sleeping at the foot of her bed. While she wasn't exactly thrilled that she had to let that disgusting thing crawl on her person, she was too aware that it was the only thing preventing Hawkmoth from Akumatizing her, her dad, and her siblings and their dads…

Chloe pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them when she thought, 'Siblings…'

She still couldn't believe that she's a big sister now after all this time… Well, technically she's been an older sister the whole time and just wasn't aware of it until recently… Chloe knew she wasn't the nicest person and was the school bully, but that doesn't mean that she can't be a good sister, right? Or that she would be just as bad of a sister? Her younger siblings had had a high opinion of her before meeting her but now that they knew that it was a lie, would they still like her regardless? Or would she be a disappointment to them too?

Suddenly, Chloe's phone dinged an alert and snapped her out of her spiral of negative thoughts.

The blonde looked at her phone to see who it was.

}{ Text on Chloe's Phone }{

Unknown Number: Hey, Chloe, it's Nino.

Unknown Number: I asked Adrien for your number…

Unknown Number: I figured that I… Ask you if you wanted any advice about being an older sibling.

Unknown Number: I talked to Alya and her older sister, Anansi, and they're willing to help you adjust to being a big sis too.

}{ With Chloe }{

Chloe stared at the text for a while before she texted back, asking whoever was on the other end of that text to prove that they were Nino by answering the question she sent.

}{ Text on Chloe's Phone }{

Unknown Number: Sailor Moon.

Unknown Number: I understand why you're sceptical, especially after what's been happening, but was that question the best way to prove that I was Nino?

}{ With Chloe }{

The mayor's daughter sighed with relief before she saved the number and texted her reply.

}{ Text On Chloe's Phone }{

Chloe: Well, other than me and Sabrina, you would be the only other person to know about THAT particular fact. Even Felix doesn't know about it.

Nino: Um, okay… Uh, I'll be willing to agree to that, only if you don't bring up Adrien's dick of a cousin if you can help it.

Chloe: Wow, he's made that bad of an impression on you after only meeting him once?

Nino: Adrien didn't tell you about what happened when that dick visited?

Chloe: Well, I know what I'm going to ask Adrikins next time I see him...

Chloe: Also… Were you serious about giving me advice about being an older sibling?

Nino: Yeah, I was.

Nino: Alya and Anansi are willing to give you advice too. Though I'm not too sure if their advice will work for you as an individual, it might work with you and your siblings as a whole.

Chloe: Oh, yeah… Alya has a pair of younger twin sisters and Anansi is her older sister, right?

Nino: Yup, you got it right!

Nino: Oh, letting you know that Anansi is one of those Protective Older Siblings, so I'm going to guess that most of her advice will lean more towards that mentality.

Nino: Not sure if it'll be your thing or not, but it wouldn't hurt to keep some of what she says in mind for the future. Just in case or you might be able to use that advice differently.

Chloe: I guess it wouldn't hurt to know…

Chloe: And… Thanks… For, uh, reaching out to me…

Nino: No problem, and try to remember that you don't have to be "the perfect sibling" or "the perfect daughter", you just need to show that you care about them.

Nino: Also, you might have some disagreements or arguments with your siblings, but don't stress about it too much, it's normal for siblings to disagree/fight. It's how you figure out what works and what doesn't, but just make sure you talk to them after an argument/disagreement. Though wait a while for all the parties to cool down a bit before you talk to them about the fight, so you don't start a fight again.

Chloe: Thanks for this. I… I mean it…

Nino: Your welcome, and if you need help, you're allowed to ask. Not just me, Alya, and Anansi, you have our class.

}{ With Chloe }{

Chloe looked at the screen with a small smile.

~}i{~

On the roof of the hotel, Asmodeus was lounging under the moonlight as they knitted a section of a quilt while humming a chipper tune. The bull and ram heads on the suit were smiling cheerfully.

"You seem to be in a good mood, Ozzie," Satan stated as he landed on the roof without a sound before walking over to the other Lord of Hell.

Asmodeus glanced up from their knitting when they said with a smile, "Ran into Plaggy and his new holder. Nice child, but he's showing signs of emotional neglect."

Satan scowled when he huffed out, "Seriously? Don't you have a soul to collect?"

Asmodeus raised an amused brow, and the bull and ram heads followed suit when they smirked and said, "Ooo, sounds like someone~ learned something unpleasant~."

Satan growled as he sat next to the Lord of Lust when he scoffed, "Well, since you found Plagg and his new holder, then you should know that I found Tikki and her new holder." Asmodeus made a 'go on' motion when they saw that 'I have more to say but don't want to talk about it' look on the other's face. The Lord of Wrath growls before saying, "Turns out my target IS Tikki's new holder!"

"Oh!" Asmodeus got out in a relatively surprised tone. The bull and ram heads on their suit now had on a shocked expression. They then had an 'oh boy' expression on their face, with the bull and ram heads following suit, when they said, "That had to be an unpleasant reunion… Is Tikki still mad at you for Joan?"

Satan looked like he swallowed an entire lemon when he said, "She didn't say, but it was clear that she is." He ran an aggravated hand through his hair when he growled out, "It was over 300 years ago and her holder wasn't even my target! Those stupid humans interfered and burned the wrong soldier! And Tikki is still angry about it!"

Asmodeus sighed as they placed their knitting in their lap when they said, "Well, you do remember that Joan was also a favourite of-"

"Do not say that name!" Satan snapped angrily, almost dropping his human form.

Asmodeus rolled their eyes as they went back to knitting when they said with a sigh, "You get what I getting at though."

Satan scoffed before saying, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Joan is the reason why it's mandatory to research the target and sometimes the Summoner so that shit doesn't happen again." The Lord of Wrath folded his arms when he growled out, "Even if it wasn't my fault…"

Asmodeus sided-eyed the other when they stated, "Unfortunately since the whole incident was because of the Blood Wrath Contract you had at the time, it is technically considered your fault."

Satan let out a sigh as he rubbed his temples when he finally said, "Maybe I should've kept a closer eye on the humans I was using back then… But here and now, I'm making sure that this Contract goes through without a hitch and Tikki will keep this holder."

Asmodeus raised a brow, with the bull and ram heads mimicking the emotion, when they asked, "Are you talking about the Blood Wrath Contract that was barely paid and that I was summoned to?"

Satan nodded when they said, "Yes, managed to reach an agreement with Marinette and her parents on the "Wrath" I'm going to inflict. I mean, as much as I'm allowed to do for a single Blood Crystal anyway."

Asmodeus kept on knitting when they said, "Ah, so you're going to stay to make sure your deeds are done to the letter and then you're heading back to Hell." They then inspected their quilt section before saying, "Good to know you're planning things through."

"Hey!" Satan got out in annoyance. He huffed before he got out, "I might not be as thorough as you when it comes to making plans, but I don't start any Contract without a basic plan!" That was when the Lord of Wrath finally noticed what the other was doing and asked, "What are you making?" Asmodeus happily showed off the quilt section to the Lord of Wrath, with the bull and ram head grinning chipperly. The moment Satan saw the image on the quilt section, he immediately flushed red, and quickly looked away from the rather graphic display when he stuttered out, "Oh for Father's sake! How can you make shit like that so casually!?"

Asmodeus raised an amused brow when they asked smugly, "Oh~? How can you take about torture so~ easily?"

Satan was about to retort but realised that the other was right and got out begrudgingly, "Alright, touche." Asmodeus gave a proud smirk, with the bull and ram heads on the suit mimicking that same smirk, before finishing off their knitting as the Lord of Wrath sighed in annoyance. Satan then said in a bit more of a serious tone, "From what I've learned from watching Tikki's Holder… There's honestly nothing about her that would earn ire from others, even that romantic interest in that blonde boy in her class is fine for the others. Heck, she's on friendly terms with her romantic rivals."

Asmodeus thought about that for a bit before asking, "Hm, I know that Wrath is your thing and I know the bare minimum but isn't that rather odd to hate someone that has literally done nothing wrong?"

Satan nodded when he said, "From what you got from the Summoner, she was certain that she hated Marinette. Correct?"

Asmodeus placed their knitting back on their lap to focus on their memory. After a minute or so, they finally said, "Most definitely. She wanted "that goody-goody" to suffer a great deal. Never gave a reason as to why. And she got rather angry when I told her that "I" couldn't do anything right away but I pacified her by saying that "I" would do what I can."

Satan huffed when he said, "You mean Me, right."

Asmodeus glanced at the other Lord of Hell when they said, "Yes, but I told you. The Summoner thought I was you, even though I didn't look like you when she summoned me."

Satan grumbled out, "But how the Heaven did she batch the summon so badly? Not just the pouring the blood into the circle before summoning…" He waved a hand, causing a bit of mist to appear, 7 different summon circles suddenly appeared on the mist, and then Satan tapped on two of the circles when he said, "Wrath and Lust Summoning Circles have completely different designs, so how can any human alter one enough to summon Lust for a Blood Wrath Contract?"

Asmodeus leaned over a bit before asking, "You want me to give you an image of this Summoner so you can send someone to properly investigate her? Just an image of her face, nothing "else" if you're going to be worried about that."

Satan folded his arms as the mist with the images vanished before he said, "I'll send someone to get that image once you're done." He looked at his fellow Lord of Hell when he added, "Something's off about this whole thing. And I'm not just talking about the Miraculous being involved."

"Hm?" Both Asmodeus and Satan vocalized as they both noticed a bright red, swallow-tail butterfly-like creature fluttering towards them.

"Huh? How did one of the Wrathflies mature so quickly? I just gave them out," Asmodeus stated as the full-grown Wrathfly happily landed on Satan's extended hand. The moment the Wrathfly touched the Lord of Wrath, the negative emotions it was feeding on were felt by its master.

"How can Father ignore all those facts?" "Does Father even care about what's happening? Or does he choose not to care?" "Father broke his promise to me again…Why do I even bother by this point?" "Urg, I have to do a shoot with Lila in three days. I don't want to work with her, she's too clingy! Always touching me! Doesn't Father read those complaints my co-workers send him? Or listens to me when I tell him that?" "Father went back on his word again… I wanted to hang with my friends today…" "Why do I even bother with asking Father to let me do things? He hardly keeps his word to me nowadays…" "Does Father know that he makes me feel like I'm not important to him? Like I'm not even his son…" "Why can't Father act like one! I miss Mother too, but it's getting harder to make Father happy… And he doesn't even bother to spend any real father/son time with me…"

"My, my, my, you've fed on quite a few daddy issues," Satan commented before the Wrathfly moved to sit on one of its master's shoulders.

Asmodeus frowned with the bull and ram heads followed suit when they stated in annoyance, "So, that Wrathfly is the one I gave to Adrien, Plagg's Holder. Seems like I made the right call to launch an investigation on that so-called father… I should also give him another Wrathfly larva."

"Hm," was all Satan got out as he folded his arms, thinking that there was more to this.

~}i{ The Next Morning }i{~

"Hey Nino, what's wrong?" Kim asked Nino as they walked to school with Marinette as they agreed to do today. The tall teen noticed an irritated look on the normally laid-back teen's face and was worried about something.

Nino let out a huff when he said, "Adrien texted me a few minutes ago, his dad is having him do an early morning photoshoot… He's going to miss the first two class periods…"

Marinette raised a brow when she asked, "Hang on, didn't Mr Agreste make Adrien do a last-minute photoshoot yesterday?"

Kim scratched his head when he asked, "Uh, didn't Mr Agreste promise Adrien that he would have the day off to hang with us? Ignoring the Akuma attack."

Nino scowled when he said, "And the time before that, and the time before that, and going back on his word to let Adrien attend the Art Expo with us… Mr Agreste's word isn't worth jack shit! He went back on all the promises he was making to Adrien for almost a month!"

Kim had a worried look on his face before looking over at Marinette when he said, "Mari, I know you like the guy's designs, but this is a rather concerning behaviour for a parent."

Marinette's poster hunched slightly as an unwilling look crept on her face when she said, "After the whole thing with the Style Queen… I'm… Kinda less inclined to just put people I like on pedestals…" She sighed before saying, "So I'm a lot more willing to think that Mr Agreste is a bad parent than you think… Not as bad as the Style Queen obviously, but up there on the list…" The guys sympathized with her a bit. Marinette sighed again when she said, "Maybe Kagami can talk to her mother about doing something to get Adrien into a healthier household, or Anarka can find a way to legally kidnap him."

When the three got to the school's ground, they saw the Tsurugi's car pull up. Kagami exited the car, and told her mother something before closing the door, the car then drove away, and Kagami walked up to the trio with a wave. "Greetings, how is everyone so far?" the Japanese student asked the three when she got close enough to ask.

Kim and Nino gave their answer with smiles while Marinette couldn't even crack a pretend smile, which did not go unnoticed by the others and they asked what was wrong. To which the bakers' daughter reluctantly explains the "unexpected visitor" to the bakery, while omitting the parts about Tikki and her being Ladybug.

Nino waved a hand in shock when he got out in dismay, "Hold on! You're telling me that Satan just dropped by your place to tell you that someone wanted you to suffer?!"

Kim then added in the same tone, "And just negotiates some kind of medium because whoever "hired" him didn't pay enough for what they wanted?!"

Kagami had a relatively surprised look on her face before she finally said, "Who do I need to stab?"

Marinette waved a 'hold on there' motion when she said, "I don't know who, uh, "hired" Satan or why they did, but from what he told me and my parents… He found nothing about me that would "earn any ire" and was just willing to just talk about what he should do for the, uh, "payment" that he got from whoever hired him…"

Kim placed his hands on his hips when he said, "You know if it weren't for the fact that this kind of shit happened recently and all the other magical stuff, I would think that you're making the whole thing up. I mean, Mari, no one hates you enough to summon a demon to make you suffer." Marinette, Nino, and Kagami gave the tall teen a look at this.

Nino turned his attention to Marinette when he asked, "So what did the dude want to do for that "Payment" thing?" They then entered the school building.

Marinette shrugged as they made their way to the classrooms when she said, "Well, from what he explained… He wasn't paid the amount needed to do "any meaningful wrath". I guess he was barely paid the minimum." She thought back to the negotiation before saying, "To put it simply, the "payment" that was given to him would equal either half of a batch of macaroons getting burnt or me getting an ugly looking scrape." Marinette looked at Nino, Kim, and Kagami when she stated, "It was pretty easy which one to choose."

}i{ At the Bakery }i{

Six severely burnt macaroons were tossed into a food compost bin with a plop.

Satan clapped his hands when he said, "Perfect." Then he pulled a contract out of the inside suit pocket and touched the surface of the paper. The letters glowed slightly before the paper vanished. Satan smirked when he said, "The Blood Wrath Contract has been completed as much as the payment was allowed, so my job is officially done here."

Tom narrowed his eyes at the Lord of Wrath when he said sternly, "Good."

Satan shrugged off the human's tone when he said as he held up a finger, "Just one thing before I leave."

Sabine was the one to ask in a suspicious tone, "And that would be?"

"I would like to purchase one box of razzberry macaroons, one box of razzberry croissants, and one box of razzberry cakelettes please," Satan said cheerfully with a smile. As if he wasn't doing anything that would be deemed evil among humans. Satan then said, "Those are for me to munch on when I return to hell. Your goods are quite delectable."

Tom and Sabine blinked a few times before they glanced at each other, neither was sure how to process that comment.

~}i{ Dupont }i{~

Marinette then added, "From what he explained, whoever "hired" him messed up on the summon and the payment. Guess that was a lucky thing on my end, and that he seems to like the baked goods my parents make."

Kim scratched his head when he said, "Maybe it was also a mistaken identity thing too? I don't know anyone who would hate you enough to do that. You're way too sweet to make enemies."

Kagami raised a brow at the tall teen's response before saying, "I shall have my blade ready in case there truely is someone who dislikes Marinette enough to do such a thing."

Marinette gave a weary smile when she patted Kagami on the shoulder when she said, "I do appreciate the notion, but let's wait for proof of intent before we get the blades out. Okay?" Kagami gave a nod of understanding before she separated from the group to head to her classroom.

Nino placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder when he asked, "You sure you're okay? I mean, first the thing with Chloe and now your odd encounter with…"

Marinette shrugged when she stated, "I don't know what to think, to be honest… Maybe I just need some time to let the information sink in…" As they walked into Miss Bustier's class the bluette added, "On the upside, we don't have to deal with him anymore."

"Deal with who?" Alya asked from her seat when she saw and heard them walk in.

Kim quickly said with a nonchalant shrug, "Oh, she was talking about a super picky customer with a huge cake order. Lots of "No This" and "No That", which made it a little difficult to find a good cake for them." He then looked at Marinette when he added with a smile, "Good thing they were a one-time customer." The bluette gave a short nod as they made their way to their assigned desks.

It would have been a pleasant morning if Lila hadn't burst in with an overly cheery, "Good~ Morning~ Everyone~." Quite literally. The class greeted Lila back, mostly in an unsure tone. The liar happily soaked in the greeting with a smile, until she opened her eyes and spotted Marinette staring back at her with a "What the heck is wrong with you" look on her face. Lila then thought in shock, 'What the hell?! Why is she still here?! And not in excruciating pain?!'

Alya raised a concerned brow at the Italian girl's sudden shift in emotions when she asked, "Lila, you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Lila thought quickly before saying with a squeak, "Oh! I just thought I saw a giant bug on the back wall!" Everyone in the room immediately turned to the back wall to see what the Italian student was talking about, some with fear on their faces. Lila took this opportunity to allow herself to show a potent scowl on her face. She was officially annoyed that Satan did do anything to that goody-goody as she wanted! 'Grr! I'm going to have to summon that demon to remind him that he has to do what I want!' Lila thought in anger before she quickly plastered a worried look on her face when she saw that Miss Bustier's class started turning back as they said that there was nothing there. The liar quickly spun, "Oh, the side effects from my cataract treatment must be acting up. Don't worry it's only temporary."

The class somewhat accepted this, some more easily than others, as Lila quickly moved to her assigned seat without any more fuss.

Marinette knew Lila was lying, again, but she couldn't understand what the liar actually saw that would cause that reaction. At least not right away. That was when she felt her phone vibrate, notifying her that she got a text. Marinette pulled her phone out of her pocket to see the message.

}{ Three Bs Chat Group }{

Brawn: Hey Mari, call me crazy but I think Lila was looking at you when she looked like she saw a ghost.

Brain: Oh, good, I wasn't the only one thinking that…

Beauty: You two… Think so?

Brawn: I know she was looking at you when her mood shifted… Which is kinda weird tbh…

Brain: Yeah, I'm agreeing with Kim on this.

Beauty: Her mood shifting suddenly doesn't seem out of the norm tbh.

Brain: You're talking about the whole "Manipulation by Emotion" thing, right, Mari?

Beauty: Of course I am! Nino, Kim, please tell me you've made SOME progress with the others on that.

Brawn: Well, I got Max, Markov, and Alix on board with the whole "Lila is a Liar" thing. Alix is currently talking to Nath about it, Max is easing Juleka and Rose into the fray, and Markov is going over facts with Mylene and Ivan.

Brain: Well… Managed to convince Alya to cut back on the "interviews with Lila" and take down the whole "Ladybug's BFF" vid, but I had to do the whole "It's for Lila's safety"...

Beauty: … Damn, that means she STILL thinks that Lila isn't a full-on liar.

Brawn: Sorry you have to deal with that Nino.

Brain: Yeah, Alya can be a little bull-headed but I'm getting her to think things through on a few things. It's slow, but there's progress.

Beauty: At least you are making progress AND getting her to think before she posts.

Brawn: I still think it was weird that Lila was looking at Mari when her mood shifted so quickly… It… Kinda seemed like Lila assumed Mari wouldn't be in school for some reason…

Beauty: Kim, I think you might be overthinking this…

Brain: Yeah, dude, Lila might not be on good terms with Mari because of the lies but I doubt she'd have that extreme of a reaction.

Beauty: I much as I don't like Lila, I'm going to have to agree with Nino on that. She might be having her period and just got hit with a sudden cramp. Probably lied because she didn't want us to think she was in pain.

Brawn: Oh, I didn't think of that!

Brain: Well, if that's the case, then her sudden shift in mood might make a little sense. And why she made that lie to make us look away from her.

Beauty: Yeah, it's the only thing I can think of that would make Lila have our attention off her that makes sense.

Beauty: I've had some cramps sneak up on me and trust me it's not fun or is it something you want to want to share with a lot of people. I'll mention to Alya about maybe taking Lila to the nurse if she continues to "act weird".

Brain: Yeah, might be a good idea if Alya does that rather than you or us tbh… I'm surprised you even care if Lila is having her period?

Beauty: Hey! I may not like her but I'm not going to be one of those people who would purposefully make someone feel worse during the one time of the month when the body is a mess of hormones and practically turning against you! That's already enough to deal with during that time, tyvm.

Brawn: Good point.

Brain: Very true.

}{ Miss Bustier's Class }{

Marinette pocketed her phone before she leaned over to Alya and whispered her current theory about Lila but made sure to say that she was telling her as a fellow girl and not wanting to get along with her. The ombre-haired girl was a little confused but when she thought about it, it made some sense. Alya nodded when she whispered back that she will.

Lila was stewing a bit as she thought, 'Good thing I kept a printout of that demon summoning circle, but that means I need to catch another pigeon to sacrifice. Thank god they're stupid.'

~}i{ Back in Hell. In The Ring of Wrath, With Satan in His Office }i{~

Back in his demonic form, Satan popped one of the macaroons into his mouth before he placed his goodies into a subspace to keep them safe and ready to eat whenever he wanted. As he chewed he sat in his chair made of bones and scooted closer to his desk that appeared to have a vicious dragon motif and placed the Blood Crystal on the desk. Time to catch up on the paperwork needed to run a section of Hell.

"My Lord, how was your trip to the mortal world?" One of Satan's minions asked as they walked into the office.

Satan swallowed the food in his mouth before he said as he looked over the paperwork on his desk, "The whole Blood Wrath Contract was an utter joke and annoyance, but the job was done to the extent that the pay would allow and I found a tasty little eatery that I plan to go back to if I'm ever summoned to the area again."

"Oh, that sounds like it went well," the minion stated.

Satan sighed when he said, "Well, the bad outweighs the good in this su-. Why are wearing such a ridiculous form?" The Lord of Wrath looked up to see the minion was taking the form that looked like a stereotypical devil from old human horror movies.

The minion looked over their form before saying, "I… Lost a bet with some acquaintances… This "appearance" was a part of the losing conditions…"

Satan raised a brow at this but wasn't too surprised. He just sighed before he tossed the Blood Crystal to the minion when he said, "Place this in the "Payout" while I go over these to make sure things ran smoothly while I was gone."

The minion caught the Blood Crystal easily enough before looking it over. They raised a brow and asked, "Uh, My Lord, where's the rest of the payment from that "weird" Blood Wrath Contract?" By now there wasn't a being in Hell who hasn't heard about the Blood Wrath Contract that had Lord Asmodeus summoned for, so the Lord of Wrath wasn't that surprised by the question.

Satan folded his arms when he scoffed out, "That IS the entire payment "weird" Blood Wrath Contract. Idiot Summoner not only didn't pay the bare minimum but also poured the blood into the circle BEFORE the summon. Which is the reason why Asmodeus couldn't refuse the damn useless contract."

The minion raise a brow with a "What the Actual Hell?" look on their face when they got out, "Oh, one of THOSE Summoners… Hope you don't have to deal with them again."

Satan scoffed when he said, "Same, not just because of the lack of payment…" He then placed an elbow on the desk and rested his chin on the palm of his hand. Thinking back to what he learned before finding out that his Target was Tikki's Holder.

"My Lord? What else was there that is bothering you?" the minion asked, somewhat confused at the behaviour of the Lord of Wrath.

Satan gave a one-shoulder shrug when he said, "There wasn't anything the Target I had for that stupid Blood Wrath Contract has that would have caused anyone to hate her as much as this idiot Summoner. I sensed no wrath from the others around the Target, not even the ones who were pursuing the same romantic interest held no wrath for her… So it's been bothering me that the idiot Summoner wanted so many wrathful things to happen to someone like that…"

The minion was a bit surprised by that admission when they got out, "How… Strange for that to happen… Maybe something that has happened in the past?"

Satan leaned back in his chair when he said, "Maybe… I honestly shouldn't care about such a thing, but… *Sigh* Maybe I should drop by later in the week, just to see if anything has changed or something." He then waved the minion off to continue their duties. The minion bowed respectively before leaving. Satan leaned back in his chair far back enough to allow him to look at the ceiling of his office when he thought as he narrowed his eyes, 'Are you involved in this? … No, I doubt you of all beings would allow something like that to happen to another one of Tikki's Holders… But involving both me and Ozzie with Plagg and Tikki's current Holders? You have something planned, I know it.' He then sat back up straight in the chair as he started looking through the paperwork.

Maybe Satan can send one of his underlings that were on relatively "good" terms with Tikki to keep an eye on Marinette… Just in case.

~}i{~

To be Continued.

~}i{~

Think what you want with your interpretation of Asmodeus. Mine is that they're willing to all kind of lusty things but is majorly big on consent and doing those things with Legal Adults! I do not believe that the Lord of Lust would ever touch someone too young to know what "sex" is or would force themselves on an unwilling partner! Plus Asmodeus's domain is Lust and not all lust is sexual, so they would be interested in things that are "Desired"; technology, fashion, cooking, and art, are Desirable things! Therefore, Asmodeus would be interested in these!

~}i{~