hsh

by Rabbitfaster

test text please dont read or commen tor vote or whatever it is. using this format is the only way ic an make my text to speech ap wor for me.

3. Chapter 3

The Judgement of Fraud

"Welcome to the circle of Fraud, where panderers, seducers, flatterers, liars, and thieves suffer the consequences of their actions by being thrown in ditches and, well, it's better to show than tell." Lucifer radioed in as the elevator came down, its doors opening to reveal the circle.

Lucifer had been right. Ten ditches held the souls of those who had committed fraud in their lives, ranging from thievery to those who flattered to exploit another person. Izuku watched with wide eyes at the souls, their heads buried into the sides of the ditches and screaming as fire licked at the soles of their feet, and that was the least torturous thing in the circle.

In another circle, Izuku watched in disgust as those he could only assume to be flatters and liars in life bickered in their ditch, yelling and cursing at each other in such nasty terms that Justice clapped her hands over his ears. That was bad enough, but what really disgusted him was the fact that they were stuck in their own shit, waddling and bathing in it with no direction.

"It's disgusting, isn't it?"

"I think I'm going to vomit." Izuku replied, looking away and emptying his stomach into one of the ditches, causing the unfortunate soul who got the business end of it to screech in disgust.

"To be honest, I expected that. The demons that work here all vomit when they see this place for the first time. It's disgusting and vile. Luckily, you won't have to stay here long."

"We won't?" Cerberus asked, cocking their heads to the side.

"Yes, we won't," Pandemonica replied, pushing up her glasses and wrinkling her nose at the smell. "The elevator to Treachery is over there."

She pointed to the other side of the ditches, where the elevator waited for them. Izuku looked left and right, noting that there were no obstacles between them and the elevator. It seemed too easy, and he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"This looks like the kind of area before a big boss fight," Malina remarked. Zdrada glanced over and nodded, agreeing with her sister's assessment. "Yeah, it does. I guess video games do teach you something besides kicking your younger sibling's ass."

She cackled as Malina scowled at her, the scowl only getting worse when Azazel started muttering, her pencil flying over her notepad as she illustrated the ditches and souls. Modeus and Justice glanced over at her, with the latter nudging the former and asking, "Is she always like this?"

"Pretty much."

"She's taking learning very seriously. Good for her."

"Sure, learning's great, but have you tried sex?"

"I've tried lesbian sex."

Before Modeus could respond, Izuku dry heaved, Cerberus rushing to his side and making sure he felt okay. They rubbed his back and handed him a paper bag conjured by Pandemonica, which he breathed in and out of, getting his breathing under control.

Once his nausea and sickness was gone, Izuku stood up, getting a few worried glances through his way and Malina offering him some ginger ale to help his stomach. He took it graciously, gulping the refreshing elixir down in the blink of an eye. Now healthy, he cautiously took a step forward onto the plain that spanned from him to the elevator, fully expecting a trap.

"YOU REALLY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THAT EASY?" a voice bellowed, still startling Izuku enough though he completely expected it. A figure jumped from the cavern ceiling, landing before the party in a traditional superhero landing. She stood and pointed her finger at Izuku, flashing her teeth. "AS IF I WOULD LET THE GUILTY GO UNPUNISHED!"

Her attire differed drastically compared to the other demons, lacking the typical gloves, red button-up shirt, and pants. Rather, she wore a ripped suit jacket to expose her stomach and a bra that didn't connect at the front, exposing her breasts to a degree. She wore a thick belt with a pentagram medallion on a chain attached to it, with only underwear underneath rather than pants. On her shoulder was an armband with two "X"s on it, signifying the Roman numeral for twenty. She completed her look with thigh-high socks covered by metal armor on her calves and belts around her thighs and high-heels. Her arms were covered with two metal gauntlets with tonfa attached, which added to her intimidation factor.

Her skin, rather than matching the same pale, almost milk-like tone as the other demons, was more of an ash grey with a slight tinge of cocoa. Her hair was long and white, pulled back into a long, flowing ponytail that flowed behind her, seemingly ignoring gravity. Two fringes hung in front of her face, the left one ending in a bolt pattern. Two slate grey segmented horns with two spikes facing outward from her head curled up from above her ears, ending in a sharp point. Her eyes were white and glowed with intense power, and when she smirked, she exposed her pronounced canines.

Izuku looked left and right to who the demon was pointing to, pointing to himself curiously. "Me?"

"YES, MORTAL! IN THE NAME OF THE INFERNAL PLAIN, I, HIGH PROSECUTOR JUDGEMENT, WILL PUNISH YOU FOR YOUR SINS!"

Justice raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms, clearly not impressed.

"Judgement, have you been watching Sailor Moon again?"

Judgement blushed, stammering for a few seconds before recomposing herself. "T-THAT IS IRRELEVANT! I DID NOT COME HERE TO DISCUSS HOW SAILOR MOON IS A REALLY GOOD ANIME OR HOW I'M MODELING MY ENTRANCE AFTER HER OPENING, I CAME HERE TO PUNISH THIS MORTAL! HAVE AT THEE, SINNER!"

She suddenly sprouted bat-like wings from her lower back and flew backward into the air, summoning a magic circle, yelling, "IGNITE THE SIN MACHINE! A SINNER IS TO BE JUDGED!"

Now, any other mortal would've probably filled their pants and emptied their bladder at this point. Not Izuku, who was more amazed by the fact that she had wings. "She can fly?!"

"Most demons can fly, Midoriya," Pandemonica responded as if this was something that was common knowledge among mortals. "We don't do it very often because it's far easier to walk and taxing on our lower backs."

"Oh."

"JUDGE, LEST YE BE JUDGED!" Judgement screamed, a metal monstrosity appearing from the ground, startling the girls and Izuku as they were separated. He found himself standing on a conveyor belt with spikes in front and behind him, the middle untouched. Large chains on either side of him fed into metal demonic skulls, which kept the conveyor belt going. In front of him, there was a metal platform in which Judgement took her place, cackling maniacally.

"PREPARE TO REPENT, MORTAL—"

"Judgement, stand down. This mortal is not guil—"

"MISS MORNINGSTAR, NO DEMONIC OR DIVINE INTERVENTION CAN SAVE HIM NOW!"

"Judgement—"

"ABANDON ALL HOPE, MORTAL!" Judgement roared, completely ignoring Lucifer's words. The CEO of Hell fumed at her radio, knowing that once the current High Prosecutor got going, there wasn't a lot that could stop her. It was time to take matters into her own hands.

"Fine. I'll do it myself."

She turned off the radio and rose from her desk, ignoring the skeletons that waited in line and briskly walking out of the throne room, making her way across the frozen wasteland of Treachery to the elevator that led to Fraud, her anger rising.

Judgement pulled out a remote and slammed her fist onto the activation button of the Sin Machine. White fires ignited behind Izuku, and it groaned to life, seemingly scanning him for all the sins he had committed in his lifetime. He wanted to say that he was innocent, but he doubted the cackling demon operating the Sin Machine would listen to him.

She pushed another button to start the conveyor belt, cackling loudly and making Izuku very, very afraid. He waited for the belt to start moving and hurt him, but it never did.

"What?" she said, pressing the button again. "Why is it not working?"

"Is something wrong?" Izuku asked. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"N-NO, JUST STAY WHERE YOU ARE! TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES!"

She lowered her voice and turned around, beckoning to Justice. The Awesome Demon climbed up next to her taking a look at the remote. Luckily for Justice, the Sin Machine was visible to her soul sight, as it was bound to the High Prosecutor's soul.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked, rubbing her chin with a finger.

"I don't know. I turned on the machine, but when I went to activate the conveyor belt, it wouldn't start. It still won't start."

"Did you try turning it off and on again?" Justice asked, expertly hiding the smugness she felt. Judgement looked over at her and a look of realization passed over her. She snapped her fingers, and the machine stopped rumblings, the white fires snuffled out in an instant. Then she pressed the activation button again and the machine roared to life once more, but the conveyor belt still would not move.

"Justice, it still isn't working! It's never done this before!" Judgement said urgently, horribly embarrassed and mortified. She'd never been in a situation where her performance wouldn't work. This was embarrassing! She was the goddamn High Prosecutor of Hell, damnit! "What do I do?!"

"Maybe it's not a problem with the machine," Justice suggested, faking an epiphany and snapping her fingers in an "a-ha!" fashion. "Maybe it's a problem with the soul you're punishing."

"A problem with the soul?" Judgement asked, tilting her head in confusion. "What kind of problem would there be with the soul?"

"Remember when we first began your training?"

"How you drilled me for hours on the quality of souls and how the more sins they had committed, the more I would punish them?"

"Yes. But think about it. What would cause the Sin Machine to not engage?"

"Uh… when a soul is so sinful that it overloads from the shock of tallying the souls up?"

"Close. Tell me, what did this soul do? Do you even know his name, for that matter?"

The realization hit Judgement like a truck. She had gone all guns blazing into punishing this soul that she didn't even know the name of, much less the sins. All she knew was that he was alive and in Hell. She jumped off the platform and landed on the conveyor belt before Izuku, her confident smirk replaced by embarrassed anger.

"Hold still."

"Wha—"

She planted her hand on Izuku's head, staring into his soul to get his name and sins. Almost immediately, she looked away, yowling in pain. He rushed over to help her, offering his handkerchief, which she took graciously, wiping her eyes free of tears as Justice laughed.

"Justice!" Judgement growled, clenching her hand into a fist. "You— You knew, didn't you!"

"Sorry, it's just—" she laughed again, jumping and landing down next to them. "It was just too good to pass up!"

"Justice! I could've got in some really bad trouble for punishing an innocent!" she protested, and now that she wasn't screaming at the top of her lungs, Izuku noticed that her voice sounded quite nice. "You know how Miss Morningstar gets when something causes more paperwork for her!"

"Oh, yeah. But take this as a lesson, Judgement. Don't be so trigger-happy. I know you like punishing souls as much as I did, but sometimes you have to slow down. You don't want anyone to get caught in the crossfire." Justice lectured her successor, crossing her arms. "That causes all sorts of consequences-"

"-And consequences lead to paperwork, and we all know much I just love paperwork, don't we?"

The party gasped, finding their voices after watching the Sin Machine with silent awe. They turned to the source of the voice, and the sound of high heels on stone filled the air as a new challenger approached. From the shadows, a demon appeared, with an air of authority surrounding her.

She had pale skin, red irises, a black arrow-tipped tail, and silvery-white hair. Her hair was long, and worn tied at the end, with bangs kept in place by a black, spiked hairband that resembled a crown. Her horns were white and jagged, the latter showing her incredibly old age. She had narrow eyes and underneath her left eye was a mole. Her high status was shown in her clothing. She wore a black suit with a red collared shirt underneath, complete with white gloves, a black tie, and her Sigil on her lapel.

Izuku stared at her with wide eyes, unable to do much more than drink in the sight before him. Lucifer smirked, her pride swelling as she observed the effect she had on him. She gave him a once over, noting just how adorable he looked. From his timid nature to his fluffy green hair and freckles, and his viridescent eyes that sparkled in awe of her glory.

"Speechless in the face of my glory? Or intimidated beyond words? Either way, the outfit I perfected over the last three centuries is really paying off. Tell me, Izuku Midoriya, what do you think?"

"You're beautiful." He replied honestly, his conviction clear in his words.

Lucifer did not expect him to compliment her so bluntly. Her confident smirk shifted to a look of confusion before she just said what was on her mind. "Thank you. You're looking quite handsome yourself."

"Thank you." Izuku replied, genuinely smiling at her and making her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

It took her a few seconds to realize what she had just said. Her face turned bright red, and as the others opened their mouths to comment on it, she glared at them. They shut up, not wanting to piss off the Devil herself. Lucifer recomposed herself, clearing her throat.

"I-In any case, now that we're here, Midoriya, you've passed all the trials, and I'm here. Shall we begin the long trek back to Limbo so you can go home?" She asked him, getting a small nod from Izuku. The thought of going home after making all of these friends and just leaving them behind didn't sit well with him, but maybe they could work something out.

"Lucifer-san?"

"Yes?" she asked, turning towards him as the rest of the party headed back to the elevator.

"Um, would it be p-possible for you or a-any of the other girls to come to visit me in the human world once we're done here?" he asked, eyes hopeful. When Lucifer didn't respond with an immediate answer, Izuku decided to throw in a little extra. "I can m-make p-pancakes! C-chocolate ones!"

Lucifer stared at him incredulously for a second, and Izuku wondered if maybe he'd pushed his luck a little too far.

"You came all this way just to ask me if I would visit you in the mortal realm and tried to seduce me with chocolate pancakes?"

"Yes…?" Izuku replied, really hoping that she wouldn't obliterate him. He whimpered when she leaned in, her face an unreadable mask of confusion. Behind them, the girls gave Izuku looks of pity, sure that he was done for. But Justice, who knew better, had a smile on her face and chuckled to herself.

"You're lucky I have a thing for pancakes."

Justice couldn't contain her laughter as Lucifer gestured for Izuku to follow her to the rest of the party. They moved back to the elevator to Violence, piling in together. Lucifer stood behind him, and found herself distracted by his almost absurdly fluffy hair. Idly, she wondered how it would feel under her hand.

She waited until he was looking away from her. Once he was writing in his notebooks, she slowly raised her arm. She edged close to his head, hair just in reach. Izuku was oblivious, writing away in his notebook without a care in the world. Her fingers grew closer, closer…

Icchan sneezed, startling Izuku and causing him to look in her direction. Lucifer quickly withdrew in her hand, looking away as he looked up at her curiously. Unfortunately for her, she happened to turn in the direction of Justice, who was giving her a knowing look while she wore the biggest shit-eating grin on her face.

Lucifer glared at Justice, and although she said nothing, Justice still shrugged and mimed a zipping motion over her lips.

---

A little girl lay alone on her bed, unable to sleep. She appeared to be around the age of six, wearing a simple beige dress that resembled a hospital gown, with bandages covering her arms and legs. Her hair was white, uncut, and unruly, stretching down her back to her feet. A single horn was on the left side of her head, and her red eyes bore into the side of the room, frozen with a fear no child her age should have.

The room she was in was brightly colored with things that a girl her age would love, such as rainbows, trees, a blue sky and a tree on a hill, making quite the nice diorama. She would've loved it, had it not been years since she had been outside.

Her room was filled with toys, given to her with the intention of pacifying and relaxing her, but she did not touch them. How could she, when she laid on her bed, not knowing if the next time he came to her, she'd still be alive to feel this bed?

She couldn't sleep, and could barely eat knowing that at any moment, the door to her room would open, and she would be led to the scary room with buckets, to die and resurrected over and over again, only kept alive for the properties of her cursed blood.

The girl honestly thought it would be better if she was dead. It would certainly be better than this cycle of suffering she was put through time and time again. To die, to sleep… it would be so good to rest after the agony she had been through.

The door to her room opened, and she sat up, whimpering slightly when she saw him at the door, beak mask and impassive eyes staring coldly at her. Eyes that did not view her as a person, but as a commodity to used and coveted.

"It's time." The man said, his manner cold and detached, not unlike a doctor during a medical procedure. The girl slowly slid out of the bed, wanting to go anywhere but where she was going right now. But she had no choice but to follow the man to the scary room, where other men with beak masks discreetly gave her looks of pity or impassiveness.

She climbed onto the gurney in the middle of the room, facing the man who had taken her from her room. She held out her hand, flinching slightly as he took it in his. For a moment, she remained as she was, and yet she did not relax, knowing what would happen next.

She exploded into a mass of blood, which was collected in a bucket before she was reformed again. She cried out in pain for a split second before exploding again, her blood collected in another bucket as she was reformed yet again. She exploded one last time, her blood collected, and she reformed before suddenly blinking out of existence.

The man stared at the space the girl had been in for a few seconds before he turned to his subordinates, who flinched under his angry stare.

"Find her. Now."

The men could not scramble out of their seats fast enough, leaving the angry man staring at the space where the girl had been, wondering where the hell she had gone.

---

"So you took notes on all the girls you met here in Hell?" Lucifer asked, getting an affirmative nod from Izuku. She hummed in thought, "I'm curious to see if you have an entry for me."

"If you have notes on me, I'm not going to be able to read them, so read them to me, would ya?" Justice requested. Izuku was honestly surprised that the girls had taken the notes so well. He had expected them to react like most of his peers did, laughing and calling him a creepy nerd. But the girls wanted to see the notes, and they were eager, excited even, to see what he had said about them. That was a refreshing change of pace.

"I haven't a-actually written an entry on you t-two yet," Izuku replied, stepping out of the suicide forest with the rest of the party in tow. He flipped the page, a fresh page ready to be filled with information. "Um, w-which one of y-you w-wants the notes first?"

Lucifer and Justice looked at each other, silently debating for a few seconds before coming to a conclusion together.

"You said you wrote the entries in chronological order of meeting everyone, correct? Then logically, Justice would be the next entry," Lucifer reasoned, getting a nod out of Justice. "I'm fine with waiting. I'm sure the results will be spectacular regardless."

Izuku blushed, feeling unworthy of her praise. Justice perked up. "You know, I've never actually seen what I look like. Maybe if you drew me with a lot of Will, I'd be able to see the drawing, and finally, see myself!"

"Would that actually work?" Izuku inquired, wondering just how infusing objects with Will would work. Perhaps it was simple, or really hard. Maybe it was one of those things that you did accidentally, and when you tried to do it again, it just didn't work.

"I have no idea, really. I mean, I've heard of Will infusing, which is kinda how my powers work, except it's more like using your imagination to think up super powers. It's pretty awesome, actually. Remind me to show you at some point."

"O-Okay." Izuku said, raising his pencil and preparing to write while walking, which was something he had mastered the art of after years of observing heroes on the move. While he had learned never to draw while moving, writing while walking gave him the time to get his thoughts down without stopping and potentially increasing his travel time.

He put his pencil to the paper, writing the first character of Justice's name when a scream pulled his attention away from the entry. His head snapped in the direction that it had come from, and before he or any of the others could process it, he had closed the notebook and put it away along with his pencil and was running full speed towards the source of the scream.

"Midoriya, wait! For Heaven's- get back here!" Lucifer shouted, running after him with Justice and the rest of the party in tow. They could hardly keep up with him, watching him run straight for the Phlegethon River. "Wait, damn you!"

Lucifer's orders fell on deaf ears as Izuku pulled off his school jacket and shoes, throwing them off with his backpack. They reached him just as he dived into the river, Justice's jaw dropping along with the others. Cerberus stared with wide eyes, Modeus covered her mouth with her hands, Pandemonium sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, Malina blinked and rubbed her eyes, Zdrada's cigarette fell out of her mouth again, Judgement pinched herself, and Azazel covered her eyes with her hands, peeking out from between her fingers.

As Izuku entered the Phlegethon, some part of him knew that he was supposed to be dead the second he touched the water. It boiled with enough heat to kill a person with seconds, and yet, he didn't feel any burning. It was like he was swimming in an uncomfortably hot pool, but it wasn't unbearable. Could this be-?

His train of thought was derailed by a sobbing cry for help from what sounded like a little girl. He swam in the direction he had heard the noise, the demons and angel on the riverbank looking at each other in confusion.

"Justice, what the Heaven is he swimming to? He was running like he heard someone calling for help, and yet, I heard nothing."

"Same here, Lucy. I can't hear a damn thing over this godforsaken screaming."

They watched as Izuku kept swimming, unharmed, towards something in the water that didn't quite seem to be in focus. It faded in and out of existence, forming a fuzzy image that they could barely make out. Even Justice, with her soul sight, could barely make out what he was swimming towards.

"What the..."

"What, Justice? What's the matter?" Lucifer demanded, turning towards her and growing more and more concerned by the second. Justice took off her glasses, and she blinked, rubbing her eyes to make sure she was seeing this right. Was that a soul he was swimming towards? Scratch that, a living soul?

Izuku swam as quickly as he possibly could, reaching the source of the cries; a small girl with long unruly white hair, dressed in a tattered beige hospital gown, bandages wrapped around her arms and legs, a small horn on the right side of her temple. She was fading in and out of existence like she was caught in between life and death. She was in so much pain, and she looked out and saw Izuku, her red eyes begging him for help.

He reached out his hand, Will surging as he grabbed the girl's hand and pulled. She gasped out in surprise as she moved forward, solidifying and dropping into his protective embrace, shielded from the boiling blood of the river by his Will. She clung to him, sobbing as his kind hands held her close, comforting her.

Izuku swam back to the riverbank, holding the girl close as he pulled himself to his feet, facing the dumbstruck party before him. Nobody said a word, the only sounds coming from the screams of the damned and the sobbing of the girl he was holding. Strangely enough, neither he nor the girl were wet. They were both completely dry.

Lucifer was completely shocked about what had just happened. In all her eons of existence, she had never seen anything like this happen before. The closest she had witnessed was the resurrection of Lazarus at the hands of her younger brother Jesus Christ. This? Pulling a living soul from the land of the living to Hell, and managing to keep them alive was a miracle that she had no idea was possible.

"Midoriya, what the Heaven did you just do?" she asked, looking at the girl clinging to him like a koala. Izuku looked just as confused about it as she was, but it was clear that he didn't regret it at all. "I-I'm not sure. I just heard her call for help, a-and next thing I knew, I was in the river swimming to save her!"

The girl shivered, and Izuku ran his fingers through her hair, soothing her as much as he could. "Hey, it's okay now. You're safe. Whoever hurt you isn't here now. You're okay."

The girl looked up at him, still afraid and doubting his words. He needed to make her feel safe, and that meant being friendly.

"I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Izuku, and this is Lucifer-san," he said, the Devil waving politely at her. He turned towards the others, who tried to look as harmless as possible. "That's Judgement-san, Justice-san, Azazel-san, Zdrada-san, Malina-san, Icchan, Nicchan, Sacchan, Modeus-san, and Pandemonica-san. What's your name?"

The girl stared up at him, still scared before answering quietly. "E-Eri."

"Eri. That's a very nice name. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"N-No."

"Oh. Well, I think it's a very nice name." he said, hoping to make her feel safe. She said nothing, just looking at him and clinging to him. Suddenly, Judgement leaned forward and placed her gauntlet on Eri's head, staring into her soul and looking for sin, startling herself and everyone else. Izuku pulled her away, anger on his face as he rounded on the high prosecutor, and uncharacteristic anger filling him.

"Judgement-san, what do you think you're doing?!"

She looked guiltily at him, glancing over at Eri, who tried to hide in Izuku's chest. It took him a few moments to determine what the look was for, and he shook his head.

"No."

"Midoriya, I have to. It's my duty as the High Prosecutor to punish souls—"

"I said no, Judgement-san! Look at her! She's clearly traumatized enough! I am not letting you hurt her more!"

"As much as it pains me to say this, you are not her father, Midoriya, nor do you have any authority over me. Hand over the girl or I will have no choice but to take her by force."

"You're willing to hurt an innocent child?" he spat angrily, glaring at Judgement and baring his teeth. "You would hurt a child who has been hurt by the world already? What did she do to deserve such a fate, huh?"

"She killed her father."

Izuku stared at Judgement in disbelief. Unshaken, she continued. "It was an accident involving her quirk, but it was still enough to qualify as a sin in the eyes of the Lord. And there is nothing I can do to not punish her, Midoriya. To deny my duty would be the same as denying my existence. I would burst into hell flame and burn to ash, and the next High Prosecutor would tell you the same thing. Hand over the girl."

"No."

"This is not a fight you will win, Midoriya. I could destroy you before you could blink. Do us both a favor and hand over the girl."

Izuku held Eri tighter, refusing to let any further harm come to her.

It wasn't fair. Eri had already suffered enough. He wouldn't, he couldn't let her suffer more for an accident.

But... He couldn't deny Judgement without potentially hurting Eri more.

Seconds fell into minutes.

Judgement started to step forward, reaching out her hand.

Minutes fell into hours.

Eri flinched and buried her face into Izuku's shirt.

In that moment, the sheer speed of the thoughts that raced through Izuku Midoriya's mind had surpassed all known human limits.

From this miracle, a single thought was born.

"I'll do it."

Judgement stopped in her tracks.

"What?"

Izuku locked eyes with Judgement, his emerald eyes staring into her luminescent ivory.

"I'll do it. You need someone to punish? I'll take her punishment."

Dead silence.

Each and every member of the ragtag group of demons had been paralyzed by Izuku's declaration.

Be it the words themselves, the uncharacteristic manner in which they were said, or for Justice, the enormous amounts of Will pouring from every fiber of his being after he had spoken.

Judgement looked back at Lucifer and Justice, mouthing "Can he do that?" to them and getting nods of confirmation.

She turned back to Izuku and shook her head. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." He replied, eyes blazing with determination.

"Then I'm sorry for this."

Before Izuku could ask what she was sorry for, glowing white chains erupted from the ground and air, ensnaring him in their cold metal grasp. They wrapped around his limbs and torso, immobilizing him. Then demonic fire burned him alive, not even having the chance to scream before the flames consumed him, bringing with them darkness that no light could penetrate.

He woke up suddenly, sucking in greedy gulps of air. He felt like he had died a thousand deaths, but yet as the fire subsided, he was alive.

"You're finally awake."

Izuku opened his eyes, staring up at the cavern ceiling of Fraud. He tried to sit up, but he found that he was immobilized. He craned his neck, finding himself chained to the conveyor belt of the Sin Machine, wearing nothing but his pants.

"I didn't want to shred your clothes, if you're wondering why you're only wearing your pants." Judgement said on her platform above him, her normally cheerful expression somber and serious. "Just so you know, this isn't personal, but it's going to hurt. A lot. You decided to take the punishment for an act of violence, and I have to make sure you pay in full. On the bright side, since you decided to take the punishment, I won't have to throw you into the Phlegethon and Eri is currently safe in the arms of the angel Azazel."

She stood, holding the activation remote in her hands.

"I'm sorry."

She pressed the button, and immediately, indescribable, soul-wrenching pain wracked his body, causing him to scream in agony as the spiked conveyor belt moved, the chains keeping him in place. The spikes tore into his body, shredding his back as he howled in pain, screaming and screaming as tears ran down his face.

The girls wanted nothing more but to tear their eyes away from Izuku's torture, but they could not be blind to his suffering. They wept as he screamed, knowing that there was nothing they could do to soothe his pain. Eri watched as a man she had known for less than an hour took a punishment that no living human could ever bear for her, and she wept, her heart bleeding for him as she sat in Azazel's lap, both of them sobbing heavily.

Lucifer watched as another human she loved suffered for taking the sins of another. She internally scoffed at the irony of the situation, hating every minute of it. She was the Devil, the all-powerful ruler of Hell, and yet she was powerless to help him. How poetically ironic.

Izuku's throat eventually gave out, his vocal cords exhausted from screaming. He sobbed silently, the pain unbearable. He wanted it to end. Wanted so desperately to give in to the sweet release that death promised him, and how alluring and attractive that option seemed. It seemed so simple, so easy. He just had to give up. To stop fighting, and allow himself to die. Yes, that seemed like a good idea.

He looked over to the girls, sorry to disappoint them. It was nice while it had lasted, having friends. Maybe he would see them again if Izanami would let him visit from Yomi. He would apologize to them, as well as his mother, who was most likely waiting for him to come home. She would be on the couch, ready to ask how his day was, even if he gave the same, unconvincing answer every single day. He would apologize for letting her go.

"Mister!"

Eri? What was she doing? Didn't she know that he was ready to die?

"Don't give up, Mister!"

Oh, that was cute. She was trying to convince him to live.

"You saved me, Mister!" Eri screamed, her tears running down her face as she blabbled. "But wha— what if I-I need to be s-saved again?"

What was she on about?

"Please d-don't die, Mister! Y-You're kind, an-and your hands w-were so k-kind… so p-please d-don't l-leave!"

Deep within Izuku, a small flame flickered, in danger of being snuffed out. As Eri begged for him to not die, to live, it stabilized, growing stronger and brighter.

"You're my hero, Mister!" Eri sobbed, her eyes red from crying. "P-Please, c-come back!"

Hero.

Pandemonica abruptly stood from her seat. Her eyes hidden behind the glare of her glasses, she called out, "Midoriya, this girl needs you! And more importantly, I need someone to make my coffee!" The glare from her glasses lessened, allowing the tears pricking the corners of her eyes to be seen.

A hero.

Modeus stood next to Pandemonica, shouting, "I need a hero! And I'm holding out for you until the end of the night!"

Eri considered him a hero.

Cerberus nearly jumped out of their seats. "Master is our hero! Master is good and kind! Master is what all heroes should strive for!"

They all considered him a hero.

Malina stood next, her knuckles white on her fists. "Midoriya, you're a better hero than most protags I've played. That's a win in my book."

Zdrada stood after Malina, her nonchalant demeanor betrayed by the death grip she had on her cigarette. "Hey, someone's got to make sure I don't make bitch people to death."

The word echoed through his head, shaking him to the core.

Azazel actually did jump to her feet, shouting, "The heroic potential is strong with you, Midoriya! I believe in you!"

Heroes saved people, they defeated villains, but most importantly, they never, ever gave up.

Finally, Justice stood, her back straight and her head held high as she called out, "Midoriya, being a hero is about making sacrifices and doing what's right. But most importantly, it's about getting back up. Get up, hero!"

He was a hero.

The flame within Izuku exploded into a roaring bonfire, growing stronger with each passing second. The girls paused in their shouting, feeling a massive wave of Will emanate from him. Judgement froze, looking over at him from her platform, her jaw dropping in shock.

Izuku's back was healing, his wounds closing faster than the Sin Machine could give them to him. Eventually, they closed completely, and the spikes on the conveyor belt began to break, snapping off as they came into contact with his back, leaving a wide line of missing spikes.

Shaken from their shock, the girls resumed cheering for Izuku, even Judgement, who yelled a war cry as he moved his arms, straining against the glowing chains that imprisoned him. They groaned in protest, threatening to break as he stood, his Will blazing like a wildfire as something awoke in him.

Something that was very familiar to Lucifer, and not in a good way.

"You may have heard these words before," Izuku panted, gripping the chains in his hands, his muscles bulging. "But you have never heard them used here."

"Go beyond."

"PLUS-"

Cracks ran up and down the Sin Machine at the speed of lightning.

Hours fell to minutes.

Minutes fell to seconds.

Once again, time itself seemed to bow to the Will of Man.

"-ULTRA!"

In that single moment,

As the Sin Machine was torn asunder,

As demon and angel stood as one for the sake of Man,

As Man was born again,

All of Hell was lit.

Lucifer's eyes widened in recognition, and she murmured to herself, "Lo, Man returns to Earth…"

As Izuku approached the group with his trademark smile, practically glowing as Eri rushed to hug him, she turned on her heel and marched away towards the elevator to Treachery.

The way he had emerged from the Sin Machine and had been greeted by the girls reminded her exactly of how everyone had reacted to the creation of him.

Izuku watched her go, a confused look on his face as she stepped into the elevator, a cold stare greeting him before a flash of betrayed hurt flashed over her face as the elevator doors closed, creating a wall between them.

A wall that left Izuku confused as to how it had formed.

;)

The Devil's World of Treachery

"That's a lot of damage," Justice assessed, looking at the sparking remains of the Sin Machine. The punisher of sinners had seen better days and better punishments. "Good thing we have good insurance. How are you holding up, Midoriya?"

"Good?" Izuku replied hesitantly, not sure what exactly had happened. He checked his body, searching for any kind of physical change, but there were no immediately obvious signs. He had no idea how he had managed to break out the machine but if he could figure out how he had done it, then he could use this newfound ability. "I don't feel any different. All I remember is laying on my back as it got shredded and you all cheering me on."

"It appears that you manifested an unprecedented amount of Will all at once," Pandemonica observed, sipping the near-empty thermos of coffee. "As to how you managed to break the Sin Machine, that is beyond my understanding."

"I liked that platform," Judgement pouted, holding Izuku's clothes out for him. Her cheeks burned with a scarlet hue as she avoided making eye contact with him. Truth be told, she had secretly hoped that he would find a way to get out of the punishment but she hadn't expected him to destroy her work equipment. "Here's your clothes back, Midoriya."

Izuku gratefully took them. "Thank you." He pulled on his shirt, much to Modeus' dismay, and began working on his shoes when Cerberus bounded over, all the triplets barking excitedly.

"Master was so cool! Master was getting hurt, but then you healed and stopped hurting! Then you broke the chains and fought Judgement in an epic battle that ended in a kiss, and then you got married and had lots of kids, and we were there too!"

"Uh, Sacchan, I don't think that's what happened," he said, sweatdropping at the triplets' inaccurate retelling of the Sin Machine. "Although, the thought of kids… I always wanted a bigger family."

He looked over at Eri and smiled at her. She cautiously approached him, allowing herself to be picked up and cradled in his arms, clinging to him for safety. She was careful not to accidentally touch him, scared that he too, would vanish like her father. She didn't want the nice man to go.

"Heh. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were her dad, kid," Zdrada remarked, extinguishing her cigarette and gathering the smoke away from the small girl. "You sure as Hell acted like a father to her. I don't think I've ever seen someone ready to break their body for another person. Then again, that might just be because I'm a demon…"

"Considering our dad literally tried to kill us multiple times and mom wasn't much better, I don't think we have a good frame of reference, Zdrada." Malina scowled. "Still, the deus ex machina was cool. What can you do with that shiny new power of yours?"

"I don't know, actually," Izuku responded. He turned to contemplate on the new possibilities, but Modeus crossed his vision, breathing a bit too huskily for his liking.

"Um, Modeus-san, are you okay?" he asked, concerned for her wellbeing. Modeus blushed heavily, making a sound that was far too adult for Eri's innocent ears. The Lustful Demon's face was completely flushed, her mind racing through the kinky implications of sacrificing yourself for another person. Izuku wisely decided to step away from her and looked over to Azazel, who was muttering up a storm.

"So that's what the soul meant by 'Lo! Man returns to Earth!'" she mumbling, scribbling away in her notebook like an angel possessed. "His aura is similar to that of the Garden… there has to be more applications… he easily shattered the chains of a High Prosecutor—"

"Azazel-san?"

"What is the extent of the power? Is it exactly like Adam's? No, this aura is not as strong as Adam's was, according to my brother. Azreal has been around long enough to know—"

"Azazel-san!" Izuku called, causing the angel to let out a yelp of surprise, nearly dropping her notebook and pen. She turned bright red, taking a few seconds to calm herself after realizing that she had just the person she wanted to see in front of her.

"Ah, Midoriya! Perfect timing! I was just about to ask you a few questions."

"Okay…?"

"Excellent! First question, do you know what you are doing right this very second?"

Izuku stared at her in confusion. "No…?"

Azazel nodded and turned back to her notes, jotting something down, "Subject shows no recognition of potential. Reactions to questioning suggest response is genuine. More data required."

"What?"

"Don't worry about it. What you're unaware of is that at this moment you're releasing a passive aura that allows for, among other things, demons to think without sin. I noticed it earlier when you bumped into me in Heresy. Interestingly, it's the same type of effect that the Almighty Himself has using the Holy Spirit, and Adam used back in the Garden, according to my older brother, Azreal." Azazel informed him.

She noticed Izuku's look of confusion and decided she needed to elaborate.

"Basically, you have an extremely high Will for a mortal. Probably the highest in the last millennia. With that extremely high will, you are able to go beyond the normal limits of what a mortal is capable of, if only for a short moment. Before you ask, yes, this includes quirked individuals, and no, this is not a quirk."

Izuku's mind was reeling at the news. He had a power that was similar to the Holy Spirit? Scratch that, he had a power?! After thirteen years of bullying and harassment for being unlucky in the genetic lottery, he had gained a power?

"Azazel-san, why and how did I get this power?"

The angel shrugged, just as clueless as he was.

"I'm not sure as to why. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and we are not privy to His plan. As for the how, it has to do with Will. One of the fundamentals of Will is that it often grows stronger through adversity, just as we do. In your case, the adversity you faced required a miracle to overcome it, and it just so happened that the circumstances allowed a miracle to occur."

"So, I got lucky? I'm not the incarnation of God or Adam, or anything like that?"

"Good Heavens, no! Lord Jesus already fills the first role, and between you and me, I honestly think you should strive to not be like Adam. Sure, he repented for his sins later in his life, but he didn't treat his first wife, Lilith very well. Then again, she wasn't exactly a peach either."

"Ah."

"My point is, you have a very powerful ability at your fingertips. Use it wisely."

"I will," Izuku replied, readjusting Eri in his arms. "I do want to be a hero, after all."

"Wait, where's Lucy?" Justice interrupted, looking around for the Queen of Hell. Finding nothing, she turned to Izuku with a curious expression on her face. "She was right here before the Sin Machine exploded. We need to get that replaced. Has anyone seen Lucy?"

"I did," Izuku replied. "She went down the elevator, looking angry and hurt."

Justice looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "Angry? What the Heaven did you do, kid?"

"I-I'm not sure. I came out of the sin machine and you all were congratulating and cheering me on, but she looked hurt. I don't know what would cause her to act that way, unless it was something to do with my new power awakening-"

He stopped mid-sentence, remembering back to the circle of Heresy and how she had reminisced on her glory days.

When I was still the Morningstar, God's favorite daughter… until Adam came and ruined all of that.

Adam. Lucifer had some grievances with the first man that she clearly had not worked out yet.

Izuku's mind went into overdrive, thinking of how hurt and cold she had seemed going down the elevator. He deduced that he had reminded her of Adam somehow, and she felt betrayed because of it.

But something was off.

If she hated Adam with all of her being, then why didn't she just obliterate the boy who resembled his second coming?

It didn't make sense.

But the one thing that Izuku did understand was that Lucifer was hurting, and she was doing the worst thing possible to deal with her pain. Self-isolation was not a good coping skill for the long run.

He knew this from experience.

"Midoriya, you good?"

Izuku blinked, bringing him out of his thoughts to find the girls surrounding him with concerned looks on their faces. Even Zdrada, who he was convinced that she wouldn't lift a finger if his life depended on it before he broke the Sin Machine, was giving him a look of genuine concern.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I just got lost in thought. Um, I need to go speak to Lucifer-san. Where does she usually go to be by herself?"

"Miss Morningstar usually retreats to her office overlooking Lake Cocytus in the circle of Treachery," Pandemonium responded, fixing him in a stern and concerned stare. "I must warn you when she broods, she tends to do it alone. The last time I interrupted her, she nearly threw something at me."

"That honestly doesn't sound that bad. I mean, as long as she only throws a stapler at me, I think I'll be fine."

"I would agree with you, but I must remind you of your mortality. Miss Morningstar is a fallen angel, the Queen of Hell, with a physical strength several times stronger than the strongest mortal on earth, quirk included. I fear that she may forget to restrain from flinging her stapler at you with the same force she used to drag stars through the abyss in her youth."

Izuku paled at the thought, then resolved himself. He was going to help Lucifer-san, even if it did mean potentially getting hit by office supplies traveling towards him at the speed of light. "I-I see. I still need to talk to her. How do we get to her office?"

"That's pretty easy. Have you ever gone ice-skating, Midoriya?" Justice asked, smiling at him. When he shook his head no, she nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. "Good, because I haven't either! Maybe that's something we can do when we visit you in the winter. Of course, Lucy's going to be busy around the holidays, especially around Christmas. Jesus pops in towards the evening to say hi and she gives him a gift and they talk."

Izuku balked. "Jesus comes to visit Lucifer-san for Christmas?"

"Yeah, it's great! She really adores her brother. Finds him to be the best of both their Father and his pet project. Anyway, we should get going." She said, gesturing in the direction of the elevator. The girls all moved into the impossible space elevator that was bigger on the inside, Eri still holding on tightly to Izuku. Justice nudged him, getting his attention as the elevator began descending.

"Hey, just a heads up. Treachery is really cold. You know that old saying, 'When Hell freezes over?' This circle is the literal frozen over Hell. Your Will should be strong enough for it, so I suggest you make a nice warm Will cloak over yourself and Eri, otherwise both of you will freeze to death in seconds."

Izuku nodded thoughtfully, concentration creasing his brow as he experimentally flared his Will, letting it settle over himself and Eri, who seemed to relax underneath it. Izuku released the aura of Will and nodded his thanks to Justice before sighing, "Hell just gets worse the further down we go, doesn't it?"

"Yep! I mean, we were just in a circle where souls are neck-deep in their own bullcrap. Bet you really miss Limbo right about now."

"I guess? At least Limbo was just grey and foggy. Not a lot of things that could kill you besides the Soul-Eater in Purgatory Forest."

"Yeah. Be glad you didn't run into it. I've seen what happens to the souls that get caught by it and it's not pretty."

The elevator came to a stop and announced its arrival at the desired floor with a pleasant ding before opening its doors. Immediately, Izuku felt the coldest air he'd ever felt in his life wash over him and Eri, and had it not been for his split-second summoning of Will both of them would've turned into human popsicles.

He, along with the others, stepped out into the cold windy plains of Treachery, and his jaw dropped. The entire circle sat upon a frozen lake, with those who betrayed others trapped in the ice. Justice gripped his shoulder and made everyone gather close, as they could barely hear each other over the high icy winds.

"Midoriya, you see that fortress in the middle of the lake? That's Lucy's office. If what you're saying is correct, then she's not in the best mood, so don't expect any hospitality."

Izuku nodded. He turned to Azazel, and looked down at Eri, who clung tightly to him. "Azazel-san, can you watch Eri when we get to Lucifer-san's?"

"I suppose," she asked, pointing at herself. "Why do you ask?"

"When I go into Lucifer-san's office, I don't think she's going to be too terribly excited to see me, and I'd like to keep Eri out of the crossfire. I also think that you're the best suited for watching her."

"I am? Surely there are better candidates-"

"There are not, Azazel." Pandemonica interrupted. "I do not have the patience, skill, or empathy necessary to make sure the child stays safe, and the next suitable candidate will be too busy assisting me in keeping this group from falling apart while Midoriya speaks with Miss Morningstar."

Azazel tried to come up with a counterpoint, but her efforts fell flat. Reluctantly, she nodded her head. "I'll do it."

"Thank you," he replied, smiling genuinely at Azazel and making her blush. "If there's anything that I can do to repay you, let me know."

The angel's eyes drifted over to Judgement, admiring her body from afar and how the snow whipped up by the icy winds collided with her muscles, the demon's high internal heat causing it to melt very quickly, forming water that ran down her abs before evaporating into steam.

Azazel felt the urge to lap up the water from Judgement's abs like a thirsty man in the desert rise up in her. Immediately she turned bright red and turned away, clasping her hands together in prayer as she tried to banish her lustful thoughts.

"Hey, Azazel," Judgement called, placing her hand on the angel's shoulder. She stiffened, her heart fluttering like a hummingbird before settling down to a more manageable rate suited for a calm panic. "We're moving, and it's a good idea to stay together on this circle. The eternal blizzard makes everything look the same so you don't know where you're going."

"A-Ah. Lead the way. I-I'll be right behind you."

Judgement nodded and turned around, and Azazel immediately regretted her decision about following her while another part of her mind was cheering in delight, practically drooling over the sight of the High Prosecutor's toned backside.

Oh Father in Heaven, please guide me from this temptation.

---

Somewhere, thunder rumbled. If anyone could speak thunderstorm, they would be very confused as to why a random cloud had just said: "What temptation?"

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

---

The party made their way to the lakeshore, where the frozen lake began. Izuku looked out onto the ice, and it appeared that the further in he looked on the lake, the deeper the souls were in the ice. The ones closest were frozen up to their shoulders, while the ones in the center were completely encased. Izuku put it out of mind and stepped onto the lake, his Will allowing him to walk upon the ice as if it was not slippery.

The souls watched with awe as the demons and angel led by a mortal carrying a small child crossed the lake with no issue, approaching the office of Satan herself. It did not take them that long to cross, as most of them walked on the ice as they would normal terrain. Izuku stepped on dry land, the snow crunching and melting under his shoes as he approached the office, staring up at its massive walls.

It looked like something a fairy tale villain might use as their lair, with its large, castle-like walls and gothic architecture, the whole theme complete with the foreboding aura the building seemed to emanate. Izuku looked up at it, a bit intimidated, but still determined knowing what he had to do. Pandemonica stepped in front of him and opened the front gate, ushering them all inside.

The group eagerly stepped inside, wanting to get out of the cold. Cerberus stepped away from the others, shaking themselves free of snow and moisture. The inside of the gothic fortress was actually pretty nice, with a waiting area and a desk that Izuku assumed was Pandemonica's at one point.

Beyond the desk was a giant door that screamed final boss, as Malina put it before sitting down in one of the seats, Zdrada nudging her with a deck of cards. Pandemonica took a seat at the desk, settling in her old nest as Modeus sat down next to Cerberus, watching the three of them curiously.

"Eri, can you go with Azazel-san?" Izuku asked sweetly, trying to make the transition as smooth as possible. She looked up at him and wordlessly tightened her grip on him, not wanting him to leave. "I just need to talk to Lucifer-san, and it might get loud when I do. Azazel-san will watch you and make sure you're safe. I'll be back in a little bit."

"Promise?" Eri asked in a small, almost tearful voice.

"Promise." Izuku agreed, hugging the girl tightly before handing her to Azazel. Eri's eyes locked onto him, not drifting from him for an instant. Azazel whispered soothing words to her, and she appeared to calm down just a little bit. Judgement watched the two from afar, wearing a sad and guilty smile.

Justice gave Izuku a thumbs up.

"Good luck, Midoriya. Satan knows you'll need it."

"Thank you, Justice."

She nodded, and Izuku pushed open the door to the office, finding Lucifer looking over her shoulder curiously from the window before furrowing her brow in anger as the door closed behind him. She looked at him with a mix of emotions, anger being the most obvious one, along with hurt and sadness.

"Get out."

The blunt and immediate delivery of her message threw Izuku for a loop. He had expected her to be angry and hostile, but nothing like this. She must be really hurting if she was acting this way.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong."

Lucifer scoffed. "I'm the goddamn Queen of Hell, mortal. Why should I tell you anything?"

"The fact that I'm a mortal didn't stop you before." Izuku replied truthfully.

"How do you know I wasn't just humoring you?" She spat back, her anger bubbling beneath the surface. "How do you know I wasn't just leading you on, letting you have something because I pitied you for being a powerless mortal?"

"Because you don't pity people, Lucifer-san. Nor do you give handouts. People have to earn respect and compliments from you, which is why you wouldn't say that you thought I could be a hero."

Lucifer turned to him, her face growing red with anger. Her tail lashed about furiously, her mind scrounging for ways to deny his point.

"How do you know I wasn't lying?"

Izuku's eyes blazed with his determination as he stared down the barrel of Lucifer's proverbial shotgun. Recklessness be damned, he was going to save her whether she wanted to be saved or not.

"You told me in the suicide forest that the Lord of Lies was Belial, not you. You asked what reason you would have to lie to me. You didn't have a reason to lie to me then, so why have a reason to lie to me at all?"

Lucifer sputtered, stumbling for a counterpoint and finding none. Her Will faltered, and in that moment of weakness, her rationality had given way to her Pride.

"Get out."

"We both know you don't want me to leave."

"If you don't leave, I'll get Judgement to remove you by force!" She screamed, her cheeks burning red. The wobble in her words betrayed her true intentions.

She was trying to cut him out of her life, ultimately hurting herself and others around her. She needed help.

"Lucifer-san, if you wanted me out of the room, you would have tossed me out yourself."

She said nothing and just stared at him for a few seconds. Wordlessly, she rose from her spot by the window and walked over to her desk, pulling out a wine glass with an accompanying bottle. She poured the blood-red wine, chugging the entire glass in one fell swoop. She poured another glass, swirling it in her hand as she brooded.

"Do you know why I was cast from Heaven?"

Izuku paused, thinking before he answered.

"Because you whispered into Eve's ear as the serpent in the garden of Eden and told her to eat the forbidden fruit?"

"That's the simplified version," Lucifer said bitterly, sipping her wine and turning around. "What the Church tells you is that I thought myself as equal to Father, as his favorite and most powerful daughter, and told him that Heaven would be better with two rulers. And that once Father had scorned me, I fought my sister Michael and was driven, along with several of my supporters, out of Heaven. Then, to spite him, I whispered into the ear of Eve and told her to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. I did not do this. I sent the Serpent into the Garden to show Father that humanity was not good and sinless as he had envisioned and made them to be."

She scoffed, shaking her head and taking another swig of wine.

"Father decreed it far more important to focus on his next big thing in creation, the first man and woman, Adam and Lilith. They were absolutely horrible to each other, wanting the other to be subservient to them, while the other refused. And when Father intervened and tried to force Lilith to obey Adam, she refused and fled the Garden."

"What does this have anything to do with-"

"I'm getting to the point, mortal," Lucifer snapped, the gleam in her eyes daring Izuku to interrupt her once more. When he did not, she nodded and continued. "Father, realizing His supposed mistake, took one of Adam's ribs and created his second wife, Eve from it. And when she submitted to Adam, Father clad them both in light and took them to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and told them that they may eat any of the fruit of the garden, but they should never eat the fruit of that tree. They agreed and went on their merry way."

She took another swig of wine, bitter anger coming back to her face.

"Then Father came back to Heaven, and showed us all what He had made, and as we admired the humans, he told us that we were to kneel before Humanity and serve them. The thought was just outrageous. I, the Morning Star, bringer of light, my Father's favorite daughter, was being asked to bow before His latest project and wait on it hand and foot?!" she snarled.

"Of course, I refused. Michael was astonished that I would disobey our Father, and that is why we fought. I am the Morning Star, damn it! I would not, and still will not bow before Father's flawed creation!"

She slammed her hand into the desk, startling Izuku.

"It was I who, on the seventh day, took up my resting Father's duty and brought order to the chaos. It was I who bested the forces of Darkness. It was I who imprisoned each and every one of the Sons of the Unnamed in the stars that I flung into the night sky. It was I who, when my duty was done, shone my light upon all of creation so that my Father would wake upon the eighth day, whereupon I was given the title of Morning Star. It was I who did all these things... So why," she sobbed, tears pouring down her face. "Why was I tossed aside like I was nothing?"

"Lucifer-san, I'm sure that your father had his reasons-" Izuku would have approached her to offer her comfort, but one look at her expression froze him in place.

"I hate Adam. And to see you come out of the Sin Machine, glowing with the aura Father blessed him with when he was created, to see the others react to you like the Heavenly Host did when Adam was made, it felt like I was being punished all over again."

She laughed bitterly.

"Tell me, mortal, were you aware of your ability to ensure rationality in demons and angels before you awakened your World? For Adam it was a Garden, to seduce demons for companionship when he was cast from Eden. Were you planning on creating a harem for your own pleasure?"

"N-No, never! Why would I do that?! I'm just trying to go home!"

Silence filled the air. In her haste to get away from Izuku, Lucifer had forgotten why he was down here in the first place. The realization cleared her mind and she leaned back, digging through her desk drawer and pulling out an elevator key. She tossed it to Izuku, who nearly dropped it.

"Take this and use it in the elevator. It will take you to the surface. Now go. Leave me in this prison, where I rightfully belong."

Izuku looked at her in disbelief, watching as she drank heavily from the glass. Abandon her here? Alone? With no one to confide in, on a cold, frozen lake with wine as her only companion? That simply wouldn't do.

"I'm not leaving without you, Lucifer-san."

Lucifer scoffed. "Why would you want to leave with me? I'm the Devil. Satan, the Arch-Traitor, the Beast. Believe me, you are much better off forgetting about me and the others. Just take the girl and the key and go."

"Not without the person who believed in me when no one else would."

She stopped mid-sip, looking at him. Izuku smiled warmly at her, stepping closer as he reminded her of her good actions.

"In the Purgatory Forest, it may have been Pandemonica-san who held my hand but it was your voice that guided me through. It was you who listened to what I had to say without a word of complaint, it was you who challenged me to prove to you that I could be a hero.

"In the Hall of Pheromones too! It was not Pandemonica-san or Modeus-san who talked to me as I walked among the gas, it was you.

"It was you that entrusted me with finding Cerberus, and it was because of you that I found them.

"It was you who entrusted me with finding Malina-san, and Zdrada-san.

"In the Catacombs of Heresy, it was you who brought me out of my panic, who reassured me and calmed me.

Izuku's smile grew brighter, and his eyes were filled with wonder and affection, "And in the Suicide Forest of Violence, it was you who saved me."

Tears welled up in Lucifer's eyes as he drew closer. "Midoriya…"

"You're hurting, Lucifer-san, and I'm sorry that I was the cause of that, but I'm not going to let you suffer in silence like I did. You helped me when I was at my lowest, and believed in me when even I didn't believe in myself. So Lucifer, I'm asking you to take your own advice and believe in those who believe in you!"

He clenched his fist, his eyes blazing with determination.

"I believe in you, Lucifer-san! A-And I'm not leaving Hell until you're by my side! I have so much I want to show you back home, and I'm sure my mother will love you as much as I do!"

It took a second for Izuku to realize that he had accidentally confessed. He turned bright red as Lucifer stood up with an unreadable expression, stalking toward him like a puma approaching a cornered deer.

"Uh, I-I c-can explain-"

He was silenced by Lucifer cupping his chin and kissing him deeply, her care and affection flooding through him. They broke apart, and she smirked at his dumbstruck expression.

"To love the Devil is the greatest sin, you know. You'll have to take responsibility. Now come. We don't want to keep the others waiting, do we?"

She led him along by his hand, and he followed dumbly, his brain still processing that he had kissed the Devil.

And had fallen in love with her.

The Holy Mother's Surprise

Izuku awoke on cold, hard asphalt, blinking a few times before he moved his arms. He groaned as his stiff muscles ached, protesting his movements as he tried to rise from the ground. He climbed to his feet, shaking himself awake as he looked around, finding himself on the other side of the dark alley, looking none the worse for wear.

A quick search in his backpack confirmed that he had everything in his bag. His notebooks, drawing supplies, books for school, and the coffee thermos that he had given to Pandemonica. He took it out, and it felt the same as it had before, not a single drop missing from it.

"Was it all a dream?" He asked aloud, checking his phone and realizing that it had been an hour since he had supposedly entered Hell. That confused him, as it certainly felt like he had been in Hell for far longer. He turned on his heel, determined to get home quickly as to not worry his mother when he nearly bumped into someone.

"O-Oh, sorry," he mumbled, reverting back to his old shell and habits, trying to stay invisible. He heard the person scoff and cross their arms, still looking at the ground in order to show his submissive nature. The person spoke, her voice familiar.

"A dream, Izuku? Let me assure you, your journey through the nine circles of Hell and reawakening of the World of Man were not a dream."

Izuku perked up like an excited puppy greeting its owner. "Lucifer-san?!"

"Hello, Izuku," she smirked, holding out her arms in a welcoming manner as Izuku hugged her tightly, chuckling lightly. She kissed his forehead and played with his hair, filled with joy at his sudden show of affection. "Someone's happy to see me. Did you honestly miss me that much?"

"Lucifer-san, I love you. Of course I missed you for the brief time we had apart."

Lucifer laughed and played with her boyfriend's hair, causing him to purr deeply in his throat. She chuckled and hugged him back, causing a chorus of "awws" to resound behind him. He turned around and gasped as he saw the others, Eri and Cerberus rushing in to get their hugs before everyone else. He hugged the girls closely, petting the triplets and hoisting Eri up into his arms.

She clung to him, taking comfort in his kind hands as they cradled her gently, very unlike the man who had declared himself to be her father. The man who had made her die one thousand deaths. But she was safe now, safe in the arms of the man who had saved her.

Izuku let Eri settle comfortably into his embrace, turning towards the girls with an uneasy feeling in his stomach. How was he going to explain to his mother that he had gone for an hour in Hell, and he had gotten a girlfriend that happened to be the Christian Devil and a new group of friends? Not to mention that he was holding a girl who could be mistaken as his younger sister.

He supposed that if he were a character in an anime, it would make for one hell of an origin story.

"Alright, who wants to go meet my mom?" he asked, getting excited grins from most of the girls. He nodded, turned on his heel and began walking back home, trying to swallow the lump in his throat and hoping his mother would take it well and that she wasn't too worried by his absence.

When ten minutes had rolled by and Izuku still hadn't come home, Inko Midoriya had the beginnings of anxiety creep up on her. When fifteen minutes came and went, she tried to tell herself that he was just running late, there was some construction or other obstacle. He was fine.

When a half-hour rolled by and her son still hadn't called, Inko's anxiety turned to worry. Izuku had never been this late getting home. He was always punctual on getting home, and honestly, she didn't blame him. It alleviated some of her stress to know that her son was safe at home with her, rather than facing the bullies out in the world. Forty-five minutes passed, and Inko felt a sudden surge of pride.

It was as if a thousand voices suddenly hallelujahed before they were silenced by the glare of a tsundere.

Inko wasn't quite sure how to process that fact. Luckily, she didn't have to, as her brain prioritized whether or not she could call the police report Izuku as missing after an hour had passed. She knew they wouldn't do anything unless he was missing for two days. But that wouldn't stop her from at least trying.

She reached for the phone and began to dial the emergency number when the front door opened and Izuku's greeting of "I'm home!" echoed through the halls, her stress boiling away like water on hot asphalt. Inko darted around the corner and slid on her house slippers into the main hall, blurting out her son's name as he set someone down and braced himself for the hug barreling towards him like a runaway train.

"Izuku! Where have you been?! You didn't come home at the usual time and you didn't call or answer my calls and I was so worried!" she mothered anxiously, tears running down her face in excessive amounts. She hugged him close and smothered him in her arms, pulling back and examining him for any injuries. "You're not hurt, are you? What happened?"

"Mom, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Did you hit your head-"

Inko froze mid-sentence, noticing the group behind Izuku. She looked down and noticed Eri peeking out from behind his leg, curiosity winning her over.

"Izuku, you have some explaining to do."

---

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

Izuku winced from his mother's outburst. His ears rang as he held up his hands in a futile attempt to calm her.

"IZUKU AKATANI MIDORIYA! YOU WENT TO HELL WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A PHONE CALL?!"

"To be fair Mom, I wasn't planning on going to Hell. It just kinda… happened."

"Your son speaks the truth, Ma'am," Lucifer added, shifting ever so slightly in her spot right next to Izuku on the couch. She had remained silent but proud, projecting a regal aura out into the room. She wanted Inko to know that she was important, but that wasn't the issue at hand. "What you might call quirks are a basic part of our anatomy. We are not humans, we are demons and an angel."

Inko raised an eyebrow at Lucifer. "Who are you?"

The Queen of Hell puffed up her chest with pride, getting ready to present herself in a grandiose fashion befitting of her position. She fluffed her hair, squared her shoulders, and cleared her throat, pulling all the attention in the room to her.

"I am-"

"Mom, this is my girlfriend, Lucifer Morningstar." Izuku interrupted, wanting to water down the truth to something his mother could safely process. Lucifer visibly deflated, all of her pride rushing out of her, leaving her resembling a very sad balloon.

However, her hurt pride was nothing compared to the shock Inko felt. She stared at Izuku, looking shell-shocked, greatly increasing his anxiety when she didn't move for several minutes. He was about to wave his hands in front of her face when she started leaning to one side, and the group watched as she fell in slow motion, Izuku leaping to his feet to catch her.

"MOM!"

---

Inko came to a few minutes later, her eyes fluttering open. She saw Izuku's concerned face switch to relief when he saw her wake up, smiling at her.

"Mom, can you hear me?"

"My baby has a girlfriend," she stated, causing both him and Lucifer to blush as she sat up. Happy tears formed in Inko's eyes, and she took Lucifer's hands in her own, smiling brightly at her. "Thank you."

"No, thank you for bringing Izuku into the world, ma'am," Lucifer responded, causing Inko to laugh and turn to her son, impressed. "I like her already, Izuku. How did you two meet?"

"It's a long story. I was getting to it before you fainted. Do you need water or anything?"

"I'm fine, sweetie. Just tell me the story."

Izuku looked over to Lucifer, who was still a little hurt over him stealing her thunder, but that was something they could talk about later. Start laying the groundwork, maybe throwing some safewords around if he was into that kind of intimacy. She blushed at the thought of being intimate with Izuku but brushed it off.

That would be something she brought up with Justice and Pandemonica later.

And so Izuku recounted his tale of accidentally wandering into Hell, meeting Pandemonica, and the quest to get back home. The girls provided any details he may have left out, and painted the picture that Izuku was sure his mother would faint again. Surprisingly, she stayed conscious throughout the retelling, asking a question here and there for clarification.

She glared at several of the girls when they mentioned that they almost killed him, especially Malina and Zdrada, who eventually got the motherly look of disappointment which prompted her to listen to the request of no smoking in the house. Eventually, they arrived at where the group had first encountered Judgement at Fraud, and the subsequent events afterward, in which the room went quiet, with Eri sitting in Izuku's lap, unsure as to what would happen next.

Naturally, Inko had several questions about the reawakening of Man and Izuku's World, but unfortunately for her, no one had any definite answers, only conjecture. When she asked if it was a quirk, she got a resounding no, but other than that, Azazel and Lucifer could only give her theories.

When Inko finally comprehended that the girls did not have quirks that made them look like supernatural Biblical figures and that they were actually demons (and an angel), she stopped for about two seconds before moving on like it didn't matter.

As they were coming to the end of the questions and explanations, Inko opened her mouth to ask another question when suddenly the sound of a rumbling stomach cut through the room, interrupting her train of thought. Everyone turned to look at Eri, who was terrified of the consequences of drawing attention to herself, expecting the worse.

She didn't expect for them to smile at her.

Inko's maternal instincts kicked in and she looked over to the clock, noticing that it was around the time that she usually prepared dinner. But she wanted to get to know her son's girlfriend a bit more. So she hatched a plan to ensure some one-on-one time with her potential daughter-in-law and possibly send Izuku on a guilt trip.

"Izuku, I know you just got back home after journeying through the Nine Circles and you're probably tired, but I have the ingredients for Katsudon and I want to have a conversation with your girlfriend here, so why don't you show the others to the kitchen and get their help with setting the table and preparing dinner?"

"O-Okay, Mom. Let's give Lucifer-san and my mother some privacy, shall we? Eri, follow me."

Izuku stood from the couch, the rest of the girls following him as he led them into the kitchen, a smile on his face. Inko sighed with happiness at seeing her son happy and took Lucifer's hands into her own.

"Mrs. Midoriya-"

Inko smiled brightly at Lucifer. "Call me Inko, dear."

"Fair enough… Inko. I just wanted to say what a joy it has been to have gotten to know Izuku and I wanted to say thank you for all that you've done for him."

Inko tearfully shook her head: "No...Thank you. I haven't seen Izuku this happy since he was in elementary school. I'm so glad that he found you and the others."

Lucifer puffed up at that, her pride thriving under the grooming Inko was giving it. She was grateful for finally having the respect and attention that her status required, practically glowing from the praise. If she had been a peacock, she would've been spreading her tail feathers behind her in a glorious fan.

"You are quite welcome. Rest assured, as long as I live, I will make sure that nothing harms him, even when his mortal body is nothing but dust," she promised, a slight aura of demonic power forming around her. Inko blinked in surprise, but did not feel intimidated. She knew that Lucifer posed no threat to her, and that was all the comfort she needed.

"Thank you. It's nice to know that there are people to look after him when I am unable," she confessed, tears stinging at her eyes before a different thought pushed all of her concern to the wayside in favor of a more pressing, urgent, personal question. She turned to Lucifer with a raised eyebrow, wondering what she would do to fix the mess.

"Um, forgive me if this is an impossible question, but where are you and the others going to sleep? Is it easy to go to and from Hell and Heaven? I don't think that Izuku's room can fit all of you into it, let alone the bed. I don't suppose you have any sort of magic that can fix this predicament?"

"I do, actually," Lucifer responded, rising to her feet. "Where is Izuku's room?"

"Right this way."

Inko led her out of the living room to the bedrooms in the back, revealing just how small the apartment really was. She stopped in front of Izuku's room, hand resting on the doorknob. She turned back to Lucifer, a warning clear on her face.

"Izuku is what you would call a hero worshipper, but I'm sure you already knew that," Inko explained, opening the door and revealing the treasure trove of hero merchandise that was Izuku's room. Hero figurines, posters, autographs, notebooks showing their quirks and how they used them, and finally, the giant plushie of All-Might with his trademark grin in the corner.

Lucifer was taken aback by the quantity of hero merchandise, any comments she would've had drowned out by the sheer awe she felt. There was just so much of it. This was like a shrine to her, except with heroes and no blood sacrifices or annoying cultists asking for boons just because they managed to contact her.

She really didn't like cults.

But it was endearing to see just how much heroes meant to her boyfriend. Just by looking at his room, she could tell just how much his dream meant to him, and she was honestly touched. If Izuku could put this much effort into something he knew subconsciously was impossible, then how would he react to having power and using it as a hero?

Lucifer was very eager to find out, but first, something needed to be done about the sleeping arrangements.

"You may want to step outside the room," she said, ushering Inko out and pulling out a stick of black chalk. "What I'm about to do would be very damaging to your sanity if you looked upon it. Luckily, it's happening on the other side of this door, so any insanity-inducing effects will be minor in the worst-case scenario."

"What are you doing?"

"Making a bigger room," Lucifer replied, finishing her chalk pentagram on the door. "I need you to stand back. This could get dicey."

"Dicey? What do you mean, dicey?!"

"I mean that if I don't do this right, the entire planet and everyone on it gets sucked into a black hole and we all die an agonizing but thankfully quick death."

"Oh."

"Heh. You took that better than you did the last time."

"Excuse me?!"

"Don't worry about it. Just stand back," Lucifer said, placing her hands on the pentagram, the black chalk lines glowing red with demonic energy as she chanted in a language no human had spoken in over six thousand years. The outline of the door and the accompanying frame glowed with demonic red, power surging through them as Inko stared with her eyes wide with anxiety.

The demonic glow grew stronger and stronger, threatening to blind the two women. Red lines formed another door identical to the one Lucifer had her hands on, the door shaking and rattling as something behind it tried to get out. The noise stopped suddenly, both doors returning to normal and the pentagram fading away into the wind. Lucifer stepped back, dusting her hands off and turned to Inko, who, for her credit, was not immediately scrambling for the nearest priest.

"All done. Let's take a look, shall we?"

She offered a hand to the shaky Inko, who took it hesitantly. Lucifer opened the door to Izuku's room, and her jaw dropped when she saw the improvements that her son's girlfriend had made. All of his hero merchandise was still there, but his bed had been replaced by a queen size bed that looked like the most comfortable bed in existence.

Lucifer had taken the liberty of adding her own chest of drawers and vanity mirror, and she had attached a bathroom to the bedroom, allowing Izuku and herself to have a suite all to themselves. Inko blinked several times before exiting the room and realizing that the extra bathroom should have made some kind of violation in the building code by jutting into the neighboring apartment, but there was nothing.

The room was smaller on the outside.

"Did- wha- how?!" Inko stammered, her mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

"Demon magic." Lucifer responded, her smug aura radiating off of her.

"Ah. Well, what did you do with this door?" Inko asked, gesturing towards the other door that she had created.

"That's where the others are staying."

"The others? You mean the girls that came with you and Izuku?"

"Yep! Come take a look at this," Lucifer beckoned, opening the door and revealing the goodies that awaited inside of door number two. "It won't bite."

Inko cautiously stuck her head inside the doorframe, seeing a hallway with several doors, each with a name etched onto the front. The closest was marked "Cerberus" and featured a nice bed and several dog toys, as well as a coat rack, but Inko got the feeling that it wasn't for coats.

She darted across the hall to Modeus' room, finding it looking like something out of a sappy romance novel infused with the lewdest energy that she had ever felt. Inko wasn't sure that was even possible, but she supposed that stranger things had happened today and wisely decided to let it go, heading over to Pandemonica's room.

The room of Hell's Secretary was surprisingly tame and plain. There was a single bed with a grey comforter and sheets, a single desk with a printer and an office computer. Thankfully, the Heaven deal had gone through and demons now had internet access. In the middle of the room, there was a grey circular carpet, and on the desk, a single blood-red poppy bloomed in a black pot, being the only colorful objects in the room.

"This is oddly ordinary," Inko remarked, stepping into the room and looking around. It was devoid of color and nothing was out of place. The sheets on the were folded neatly, the chair was pushed in, and the pens on the desk were neatly arranged. "I hope that Pandemonica-san enjoys it."

Inko walked out of the room, Lucifer letting out a breath she had been holding in. Inko had almost opened the secret compartment filled with the goodies that Pandemonica had more than earned for her almost three-thousand years of service. She almost relaxed, but a small yelp from her potential mother-in-law grabbed her attention.

She raced over to Inko, who had her hand over her chest, breathing heavily. It appeared that she had opened Zdrada's room and had immediately been startled by an artist's interpretation of an angel's true form in the Old Testament.

To Lucifer, it was like seeing one of her old pals naked, and she blushed, averting her gaze as she hurriedly escorted Inko to the next room.

"What was that about?" Inko asked curiously. Lucifer blushed, not wanting to meet Inko's eyes. She tried to think of an excuse, but unfortunately, she could not. Might as well bite the bullet, just get it out and over with. She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, building her confidence. "Um, that picture was basically like me seeing a friend naked."

"What?!"

"That was an angel. I'm a fallen angel."

"Oh."

"It's quite embarrassing, actually."

"Let's just move on then, shall we?"

"Absolutely. This is Justice's room. It's bare because she's blind and has no comprehension of decoration. She prefers something that gets the job done."

"Ah. That explains all the mismatched colors."

"Indeed."

They moved onto Azazel's room, which was so bright that they had to close the door to avoid being blinded. Both agreed that for their own sakes, it would be best if they moved on to Judgement's room. Lucifer honestly did not know what to expect, but it had to be better than Malina's room, which was a complete and utter gamer pigsty.

Lucifer opened the door, and both her jaw and Inko's dropped.

Judgement's room was on ridiculous levels of cute and adorable. The bed was covered in stuffed animals and fluffy pillows, completely with frilly pink covers. Inko squeed in delight at how cute the room was, and in the kitchen, Judgement doubled over, grasping her head and groaning in pain.

"Judgement-san?! What's wrong?!" Izuku asked, hurriedly serving the last of the Katsudon and swatting away Icchan's hand as he knelt down to help her. Justice shook her head, staring at the wall as she chuckled to herself. "Looks like someone's found out her deepest, darkest secret."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just call your mom and Lucy for dinner."

---

Dinner was delicious and full of chaos, much to Izuku's disappointment. He had tried to keep the peace, but it seemed that everything he said was twisted into some kind of perverted statement that caused Modeus to turn into a tomato until she looked ready to jump him, which prompted Pandemonica to spritz her with water.

Eri had remained silent and had quietly eaten her meal before sitting and waiting for the meal to end. When it did, she stayed close to Izuku and followed him around as he washed the dishes and made sure all the girls were situated for the night, thanking his mother for being so flexible with the prospect of ten new roommates.

They had all turned in for the night, and it took Lucifer a good ten minutes to convince Izuku to sleep in the same bed as her, ending the debate with an angry cry of "I HAVE SLEPT IN THE FROZEN CIRCLE FOR EONS! I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY WARM SNUGGLES!"

And that is how Izuku ended up with his girlfriend cuddling him like a teddy bear as they both drifted off to sleep, finally comfortable in each other's embrace and feeling love radiating from the other. They had kissed before bed, but neither was comfortable enough to take it any further. But that time would come.

The Sandman was about to visit the two of them when suddenly, a knock on the door stirred Izuku from his near slumber. He groggily sat up, disturbing Lucifer, who groaned and told him to go back to bed.

The knock happened again, and Izuku stumbled out of bed, opening the door sleepily to find Eri staring up at him, scared.

"Mister, um… I had a bad dream… it was really scary, and I don't want to sleep alone… can I sleep with you and Miss Lucy tonight?"

Izuku looked down at the scared little girl, and he knew what he had to do.

"Of course. C'mon, let's get you comfortable."

He led her over to the bed and closed the door, hoisting Eri onto the bed and placing her in between himself and Lucifer, who mumbled a sleepy "Wha?"

"Eri had a bad dream, and she wants to sleep with us. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure…" Lucifer said, falling back asleep. Izuku chuckled and climbed into bed, making sure Eri was comfortable and that she felt safe, staying up until she fell asleep, curled up against Lucifer, who held her in a protective embrace.

He felt like a father then and found that the thought didn't terrify him as much as he would've initially thought. His last thoughts as his eyes closed were wondering about what clothes Eri might like, and if Lucifer was willing to go shopping with the two of them.

They fell asleep, looking and acting like a family, snoozing peacefully as the moon shined overhead, blessing them with pleasant dreams.

---

It is spoken in whisper.

It is spoken from the mouths of myths.

It is spoken from the words of legends.

It is the night terrors of hero and villain alike.

It is the place where dreams come to die.

It is in the cuss of a sailor, and the warnings of a mother.

It is these spoken-yet-unspoken words that all refer to a place that lives in the darkest corners of the mind.

It lives in everything.

And once you enter, it is said, you cannot leave.

This place, which exists outside of creation's light, is known to demons and angels alike as the Abyss.

It is in this place where a magnificent palace lies.

This palace, whose bricks and mortar were formed from the shadows of their surroundings, is empty.

Yet at the same time, if one were to stand in its massive halls, one would be surrounded by a sickly-sweet scent. And an eternal buzzing that resonated throughout the palace, a mockery of the hum of life.

For the palace is empty, save for one.

A clacking of heels could be heard resonating throughout the palace, drowning out the eternal soft buzzing.

A figure clad in red was walking calmly through the palace, the sureness of her steps born from centuries of practice.

She came upon a set of enormous doors, so large and so heavy that they were surely made only for giants.

Casually, she pushed the doors open, strolling into the room where a throne was awaiting her.

Setting herself down into her chair, she waved a hand to conjure a glass filled with an unknown liquid.

She drank, and sighed.

"As usual, you seem to revel in making my life even harder, don't you Lucy?" The white-horned woman's eyes were drawn to the image on a stained glass window above the doors, showing three women.

Two women were holding each other's hands, one who wore a blindfold, the other who wore a black crown.

The third woman was in the middle, her arms around the other two's shoulders.

The white horned woman's gaze saddened, "Can't say I don't deserve it. But I can't stop now. Not when I'm so close. I hope you'll forgive me someday."

The woman toasted to the image, and drank until sleep overtook her.