Hell. The place of suffering and the home of countless amounts of sinners and demons, both royal and lesser. Every one of them had their normal lives if we could call it that. For most of the lesser demons and sinners, this consisted of gambling, drug dealing and trafficking, cannibalism, and sexual business, the usual stuff that on Earth would be totally illegal, while for the nobles and royals, it was mainly made out of controlling and ruling over the masses of Hell. In short, everyone had their own job to do. A certain green-haired, half-demon half-human teenager was not different, although his act was more self-improving than self-destructive.
On that Sunday morning, Izuku Midoriya, who was now wearing a simple shirt with the title 'Shirt' on it written with Japanese kanjis, blue shorts, and his signature red shoes, was at the beautiful, green-grassed, red apple tree-decorated backyard of the Happy Hotel and was sparing with his uncle, just like he did on almost every day for nearly three months since his training had started. The fighting styles Husk was teaching him were not other than Krav Maga and Jiu Jitsu, two types of martial arts that were most suitable for him due to how fast it was to learn them. However, if it means it's fast to learn, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's to learn, especially when you have a really strict uncle who fought in Vietnam and is an ex-military soldier.
As several droplets of sweat rolled down on his forehead, Izuku stepped forward, getting nearer to his uncle and raising his right arm in the process.
"PALM STRIKE!" Izuku exclaimed as he struck with his right hand forward in an attempt to hit his uncle's head. Unfortunately for him, this attack of was unsuccessful, with Husk simply tilting his head to the left, thus avoiding Izuku's strike.
"ARE YOU FUCKIN' SERIOUS, KID?!" Husk questioned with a frustrated and angry tone as he observed his nephew, then crouched down, raised his left leg as the turned around in his crouch, fully straightened his left leg, and swept Izuku's legs away, causing him to lose his balance and fall on the green-grassed ground, hitting his butt and back as a result.
"Ow!" our young Overlord said in distress as he closed his eyes in agony and bore the pain in his body while Shadow, who witnessed the whole training, flew to him in worry.
"WHO IN GODDAMN HELL SHOUTS HIS ATTACKS?!" Husk ranted in anger in his now standing posture as his nephew and Shadow observed him, with the former doing it with a worried expression, "I KNOW YOU'RE..." the anthropomorphic cat sinner continued, but stopped midway and took a deep breath in order to calm himself down, "I know you're a fanboy, but you can't fuckin' shout out the name of your attacks. During a fight, you have to spare as much air as possible. If you shout out your moves like that, you will waste air and you'll get exhausted more quickly."
"Pardon." our dear heroine answered in a saddened tone while he looked at the ground and Shadow observed his master with a concerned look.
"Don't say sorry." Husk replied, then leaned downwards a little bit and extended his right hand in the direction of his nephew, offering him his help to stand up, "Now get up, and let's continue."
Izuku stretched out his own right hand and grabbed his uncle's hand, allowing him to pull him up into a standing position while Shadow levitated away to a nearby bench. Then, after he stood up completely, Izuku lifted both of his hands and held them up in front of his freckled face, getting himself into the Krav Maga stance that his uncle taught him on their first training. In response, Husk raised his hands as well, copying the posture of his nephew. But as they were about to continue their sparing, Izuku's shadowy friend came back and stopped next to our protagonist, causing Izuku to witness him holding a small red towel in his left hand and a bottle of water in his right hand, thus offering his master a fresh up and interrupting their training.
"No! There's no fuckin' rest until I say so!" Husk declared in a little bit of frustration as he observed Izuku's shadowy companion and pointed at him, making him acquire a saddened expression and look at the ground sadly while Izuku smiled a little bit at Shadow's kindness and put his right hand on Shadow's left shoulder in a supporting manner, "Now, let's continue!" Husk commanded, making Izuku focus his attention back to him and get back into his fighting stance once again, readying himself for the upcoming fight.
"Izuku, my dear boy!" Alastor exclaimed from the distance, approaching the trio.
"Great. All I fuckin' missed was you." Husk remarked sarcastically with a noticeable annoyance in his voice.
"Good morning, dad!" Izuku greeted happily as he looked at his father reach their location, "How was your morning walk?"
"Oh, it was delightful! I even had the marvelous sight of a fellow citizen being devoured by the kind inhabitants of Cannibal Colony! Oh, his wonderful screams!" the Radio Demon announced in joy, making his son roll his eyes at this statement, not sharing and not liking the type of 'entertainment' his father enjoyed, "Now, I must apologise for interrupting the improving of your physical strength, but may your father ask a little favor from you?" Alastor wondered.
"Sure!" our young Overlord replied almost instantly, although it was slightly weird why would his father ask a favor from him.
"Would you be so kind as to find Princess Charlotte for me and tell her that I'm waiting for her in my tower? She and I must attend to discuss the promotion of this wonderful establishment of hers!" Alastor explained, surprising his son with his request a little bit. During these three months, Izuku and Charlie didn't talk much, just occasionally saying 'hi' to each other when they met from time to time, with, of course, Izuku doing it by performing a ninety-degree bow every time he saw her for the first time on a day, which already happened this day as well. That's why it was strange for him that his father asked him to tell his message to the Princess of Hell. But he couldn't say 'no' to his father. So, the nice young Cambion he was, he made his decision and opened his mouth in order to let his opinion known. But before he could do that, he had to ask permission from a certain cat sinner by looking at him and waiting for his opinion.
"Fine. Do whatever ya want, I don't care." Husk said with a bored tone, "But come back as fuckin' fast as possible!" he added with a serious tone while our protagonist nodded in understanding, then turned his head in the direction of his father's location.
"Okay." Izuku answered, accepting his father's request, "I'll look for the Princess.
"Splendid! Thank you kindly, my boy!" Al told as delightfully as ever.
"But I have to back to go my room and change my clothes fi-" our dear heroine added, but he was suddenly stopped by his father snapping with his red-clawed fingers, causing Izuku's attire to change to the clothes that were similar to the ones his father wore, with the only difference being the colors of Izuku's clothes obtaining a green color instead of red, in an instant and making his son's training attire appear in Shadow's hands in a well folded up form. After Izuku witnessed this with surprise, he looked back at his father with a grateful smile on his face "Thanks, dad!" he remercied as Shadow flew back to the bench and put down his master's clothes next to the red towel
"You're very welcome, my boy! Now, have fun the Princess! the Radio Demon told happily while Shadow levitated back to their location. With this, Izuku and Shadow began to set off and started their search for the Princess of Hell by heading towards the door that separated the insides of the hotel and its backyard. Once they were out of hearing range, Husk turned his head towards his boss/friend.
"You know where's the princess, don't you?" he questioned with an annoyed tone.
"Oh, my dear Husker, you know me so well!" Alastor declared joyfully, then continued, "I do know the location of Princess Charlotte, but I decided it would benefit my boy if he exchanged a conversation with her! Meeting another kind fellow never hurts anyone, especially if it's a royal!" the Radio Demon added, "So, how's my sweet boy's training going? Is he practicing properly?"
"He's doing it fine. Although he still isn't over his giant fanboyism, the kid's got a lot of potential and determination." Husk admitted, acknowledging the will and the strength of his nephew.
"What delightful news! Just what I expected from my boy!" the Radio Demon announced with fatherly pride, "At this rate, he will turn into a true Overlord in no time! I cannot wait for his first deal!" Alastor declared in absolute happiness as he imagined his dear boy as a powerful and feared Overlord.
"Hold your goddamn asses, Smiles! It's too fuckin' dangerous for the kid to get into shitty deals!" Husk clarified with anger in his voice.
"I know, my dear Husker, but it is crucial for his future. After all, he's an Overlord in blood. We earn and strengthen our power from the deals we establish. And I want him to be as strong as possible." Alastor explained as he watched his son get nearer and nearer to the door, then continued, "Hell is not a walk in a beautiful park for anyone, let alone young demons. For now, I believe it will do enough for him to improve his physical and demonic abilities. But when he gets older, for his own future, he must start making deals in order to be more powerful. I want my boy to be capable of protecting himself from the demons and the evils of Hell. I don't desire for the event that occurred nearly ten years ago to be repeated." Alastor confessed with actual concern in his voice, with Husk, maybe for the first time in his entire afterlife, sharing his opinion. Then, he moved his head as well and observed Izuku as he opened the door and, with Shadow by his side, entered the building, closing the door behind them and completely vanishing from sight.
Meanwhile, after accessing the building, our protagonist and his shadowy friend walked through a red-walled hallway decorated with numerous, golden-lined, circus-related silhouettes, like elephants standing on large balls, lions on rings, or beautiful parade horses, while the spaces between these symbols were occupied by dark red wooden doors that separated each room in the hotel, with the doors having numbers carved into them, showing the number of the room.
After a few minutes, Izuku and Shadow got out of the hallway and reached the lobby of the hotel, the room where they first met the residents of this place. As they looked around, they noticed that, although not everyone was foundable in the lobby, it was still occupied by some of the main cast. The most famous sinner pornstar of Hell, Angel Dust, was sitting at the bar counter of the Caviar Bar and leaned on it with the elbow of his upper right arm, resting his head in his upper right hand and scrolling down on the social media of Hell with a bored to death expression on his face while keeping his lower arms on his legs.
At the other side of the lobby, the tiny female cockroach sinner and Izuku's aunt, Niffty, was standing on one of the three sofas and was cleaning it with a white-feathered vintage duster, while the one-eyed demon cat, whom Izuku known as Keekee as his father told him, was laying on the table between the three furniture and was sleeping peacefully on its surface. The last demon who was in the area was not other than Vaggie, the moth-based demon, who was sitting on one of the three sofas and was watching something on the vintage television, with her holy spear being positioned next to the sofa.
As his father put it, Vaggie was kind of a romantic partner for the Princess of Hell, so it would be the perfect choice to ask her where the princess went. But still, for Izuku, her appearance was still intimidating and still made Izuku to be afraid of her. Her look was too similar to those... things haunted his dreams for a long time. But there was no way he was going to let his father down. So, after a quick gulp of saliva, he moved his legs and walked towards Vaggie, while Shadow followed him with a concerned face due to the fear he saw on his master's face.
"U-Um, M-Miss Vaggie?" our young Overlord stuttered nervously, proceeding to hide his afraidness, which was unsuccessful thanks to his slightly lowered ears and tail.
"Hm?" Vaggie started she turned her head with her normal expression on her face, which immediately changed into a face of alarm and hatred when she saw the person who had just said her name, "Oh, it's you."
"Y-Yes, i-it's me, I-Izuku." he introduced himself anxiously.
"I know." the moth-based female sinner replied coldly with her voice obtaining a hateful tone.
"R-Right." Izuku said, correcting his mistake, then continued, "S-Sorry to b-bother you, M-Miss V-Vaggie, b-but m-may I a-ask w-where the P-Princess of H-Hell is?" he wondered in nervosity, being anxious for the reaction of Vaggie, which came shortly after.
"Why the hell would I tell you where Charlie is? You have nothing to do with her." Vaggie answered harshly, getting more and more aggressive and standing up from her seat, causing Shadow to move closer to his master, ready to unleash his protective form, "You want to hurt her?!"
"I-I..." Izuku started, but was quickly stopped by Vaggie grabbing and pointing her holy spear at him, causing him to lift his arms into the air in a surrendering manner.
"Because if you do..." Vaggie started bringing the sharp end of her spear a little bit closer to Izuku's face, "I won't hesitate to protect her." she warned furiously, completely frightening Izuku. This was the moment when Shadow had enough. He flew straight in the direction of Vaggie and grabbed her left arm with his right hand tightly, making Vaggie look at him and widen her right eye in surprise when she saw Izuku's shadowy friend in his red-eyed, sharp-teethed, long-taloned form. Although the aura of the holy weapon prevented him from showing this form, he did not care about it. All he wanted was only one thing: To ensure to safety of his one true master. But even this look didn't scare Vaggie, who observed Shadow with determination and bravery, not showing any kind of fear towards him.
"I-It's alright, Shadow, y-you d-don't have t-to w-worry about m-me. I-I can h-handle t-this." Izuku assured his shadowy companion, causing both Vaggie and Shadow to set their eyes upon our protagonist while he attempted to calm Shadow down. Then, Izuku turned his head and focused his attention back on the female sinner in front of his eyes, "I-I n-need to k-know t-the P-Princess's location b-because my d-dad wants t-to s-speak with h-her about t-the a-advertisement of t-the h-hotel." Izuku explained nervously, trying to convince Vaggie that he meant no harm.
Vaggie raised one of her eyebrows upon hearing this. Although she openly disliked the idea of the Radio Demon joining the hotel and him wanting hers and Charlie's plan to fail miserably, she couldn't deny that even with his presence, it finally became possible for the hotel to get some, although just a little bit, attention from the citizens of Hell, thus giving her and her girlfriend a chance to finally prove the existence of redemption. And if they wanted that to happen, they had to cooperate with Alastor, if they liked it or not. So, with a short sigh, she lowered her weapon, got it away from the face of our protagonist, and calmed herself down a bit.
"Fine." Vaggie said, getting her arm out of Shadow's grip, placing her weapon next to her body, and putting her left hand on her hip, "She's on the ninth floor. Since she's having a call right now and wants to be alone, I assume she's on the balcony of room eighty-fifth. Just use the elevator to get up there, go inside the room and just tell her that your 'dad' wants to speak with her." Vaggie noted, calming down Izuku a bit and making Shadow revert back to his original form.
"E-Elevator?" Izuku questioned confusedly, not knowing what Vaggie was talking about. Fortunately for him, his confusion completely vanished when the girlfriend of the Princess of Hell raised her right pointed at something, making Izuku look in the direction she pointed at. And when he did, he widened his eyes in surprise by seeing the closed, golden-colored doors of an elevator between the Caviar Bar and the resting part of the lobby.
"O-Oh, I-I see! T-Thank you, M-Miss Vaggie!" our young Cambion remercied, focusing his attention back to the moth-based female sinner and lowering his arms and straightening his ears and tail.
"But if I see any injury or scar on her..." Vaggie started, raising her holy weapon to Izuku's face once again, "I won't hesitate to eliminate the one who hurt her." she warned with a serious tone, "Understood?"
"O-Oui, madame." Izuku replied frightenedly.
"Hey, Toots!" Angel Dust exclaimed, getting the attention of the trio, "Tell your good-lookin' uncle to bring that big sexy ass o' his here! This body needs the goods stuff, ya know!" Angel requested, fixing his fluff with his lower set of arms and holding his phone in one of his upper hands, pissing off Vaggie with his order.
"No! I won't allow you to drink any alcohol after what happened yesterday!" the girlfriend of the Princess of Hell ordered frustratedly.
"Oh come on, bitch! I just had a rough day 'n I wanted to let off some steam." Angel Dust clarified, pissing Vaggie off even more while Izuku and Shadow observed the whole thing with confusion.
"You literally tried to climb on the walls and shoot web like a goddamn superhero!" Vaggie declared, revealing the result of Angel's most previous drunk activity and surprising our protagonist and his shadowy friend with her remark.
"And? What if I got messed up?" the famous gay pornstar questioned, causing Vaggie to become infuriated even more, "It's not like it matters or somethin'." he remarked, pulling the last straw of Vaggie's calmness and making her unleash her anger towards the spider sinner.
"Now, listen here, Angel..." Vaggie started really angrily, thus beginning another long argument between herself and Angel Dust while Izuku and Shadow just watched the whole thing occur, not noticing the approach of a certain tiny female cockroach demon.
"Good morning, Izuku!" Niffty greeted, now empty-handed, leaving her duster on the sofa and gaining the attention of her nephew and his shadowy friend.
"Good morning, aunty!" Izuku said, greeting his aunt with a smile on his face.
"Did you sleep well? Did you have any nightmares?" Niffty inquired worriedly.
"N-No, I-I didn't have any." Izuku replied, trying not to make his aunt worry about his well-being, but unfortunately, this attempt of his failed miserably due to his ears and tail becoming lowered, proving the cockroach demon's worried thoughts and making her look at our dear heroine with a sad and worried expression.
"Izuku..." Niffty started, "I'm your aunt. I know when you're lying." Niffty pointed out worriedly, making Izuku regret his attempt.
"I know." Izuku said sadly, "I just don't want to make you worry about me." he confessed.
"Oh, Izuku." Niffty answered sorrowfully, then continued, " You don't have to lie to me to make me happy. I'm your aunt. You know you can always tell me if you have a problem. And you know I'll always listen to your problem and I'll always help you to solve it." Niffty reminded her nephew, knowing well that he didn't lie just to save his skin.
"I know." Izuku repeated regretfully, feeling that he failed his aunt.
"Now, come here!" the cleaner of the hotel requested, spreading her arms wide and offering her nephew a hug. Seeing this, Izuku kneeled down to his aunt's level and accepted her hug without hesitation, thus embracing each other a big hug, "Just don't lie to me and tell me if you have a problem, okay?
"D'accord, ma tante." our young Cambion responded, making a small smile on his face and breaking from their hug not long after he said that, all the while Shadow just observed his wholesome scene "I have to go, now. I don't want to make dad wait." he remarked as he looked at his aunt and vice versa.
"All right. Tell Miss Charlie I said 'hi'!" he asked, now forming a tiny smile on her white face.
"I will." Izuku replied, then stood up from his kneeling, turned around, and with Shadow by his side, he walked to the door of the elevator, and pushed the 'down' button down, causing the doors of the elevator to open with a tinkling sound. After the doors opened fully, Izuku and Shadow entered the red-colored elevator, with the former moving his head to the left and inspecting the red-colored control panel of the elevator, searching for the exact golden-colored button that could bring them to the ninth floor, and the latter changing back into his shadow form. Once our protagonist found the button he needed, he pushed it down, and with another tinkling sound, the doors of the elevator began to close. Before they closed completely, Izuku looked at his aunt and waved at her with his right hand and a small smile on his face, which she returned with her own wave and her own small smile. And thus, the doors closed fully, separating them and leaving Niffty in the lobby to continue her cleaning while she listened to Vaggie's and Angel's argument.
After the doors closed, the elevator slowly began to move upwards, taking our young Overlord to the exact floor he had to go. A few minutes passed, and with a tinkling sound, the elevator arrived on the ninth floor, opening its doors once stopping in its moving, and allowing our hero to step out of it. Once the doors opened completely, Shadow came out of his hideout instantly and exited the elevator, looking around left and right on the current floor they were on. He was quickly followed by his master, who, after getting out of the elevator, looked around the place he was in. Izuku found himself in the middle of a hallway and in front of a door that had the number '71' on it. The hallway didn't have anything special in its look. It obtained the same red walls, the same lamps, the same golden-colored circus silhouettes on the walls, and the same dark red-colored wooden doors with numbers on them that the rest of the hotel acquired.
As he and Shadow observed the hallway, both of them noticed that the doors on the left side had smaller numbers, while the numbers on the doors on the right side were higher. Recognising this pattern, Shadow flew in the direction that was at the right as fast as he could, thinking that if he followed the rising numbers on the doors, it could lead him and his master to the room of the Princess of Hell.
"Shadow, wait!" Izuku exclaimed as his shadowy friend levitated away, running after him in order to not lose sight of him. Fortunately for Izuku, this chase was shortly cut short when Shadow suddenly stopped in his tracks, positioning his pitch-black body in front of a dark red wooden door. Once reaching the location of his shadowy friend, Izuku finished his fast-movement and after he drew his breath, he moved his head to the left and observed the door Shadow was looking at. And when he did, he understood why his shadowy companion moved away from his side that suddenly. He wanted to help his master find their destination. Why, would you ask? Because, my dear reader, on the surface of the door, Izuku saw the number '84' carved into it, indicating that they were in front of the entrance of the room that separated him from the Princess of Hell.
When our young Cambion came to this realisation, he lifted his right arm and attempted to open the door. But before he did that, he politely knocked on the door a couple of times with his right hand, just to let his coming known for the Princess. After a little of waiting, he repeated the same act, hoping that he could maybe the attention of the Princess. But unfortunately for him, no answer was received from the other side of the room. With nothing else left to do, he decided to face the inevitable and grabbed the handle of the door, pushing it down and unlocking the door, thus offering himself and his shadowy friend access to it and taking a look at it.
The room didn't have anything out of the ordinary. It was just a normal hotel room, with red walls, and an ordinary double bed on the left side, which was standing horizontally to the wall that had the entrance door and was obtaining a small, dark red wooden cabinet at each side, with the cabinets having fancy lamps on them. At the right side of the room, a TV stand cabinet was placed, with a flat-screen television being set at the top of it. The last piece of furniture in the room was a closed, large, wooden wardrobe at the right side of the entrance, offering a place for the clothes of future clients. Finally, the wall furthest away from our protagonist had a large, goldish-glassed window with a red curtain, and a goldish-glassed door, which was slightly open, allowing the wind to come inside and blow the curtain.
Thinking that the Princess might be at the other side, Izuku stepped forward and approached the door, while Shadow looked around the room with curiousness. As our hero got nearer and nearer to the door, his auditory organs got the attention of a strange sound. It sounded like...sobbing? And it was coming from the other side of the door. So, once he reached the door, he decided to peek outside in order to know the person who the source of the sound was.
And when Izuku peeked outside, he found both the source of the sobbing and the demon woman he was looking for: the Princess of Hell. As usual, her attire didn't change much, consisting of the same set of clothes she wore on the day Izuku met her for the first time. She was standing at the edge of the balcony, leaning on the gold-colored handrail with both of her forearms and having small tears of sadness stream down her red cheeks, although Izuku didn't see that due to her not facing him and observing the ground from the balcony.
Witnessing the Princess of Hell in front of his eyes, the request of his father came into his mind. And in order to accomplish that, he had to open his sharp-teethed mouth to make his presence known and thus, gain the Princess's attention.
"U-Um, Your Highness?" Izuku said, causing Charlie to turn around in surprise and look at the person who was speaking to her.
"O-Oh, it's you! I-Izuku, right?" Charlie questioned as she wiped the remaining tears away from her eyes with her left hand.
"Y-Yes, i-it's me." our young Overlord confirmed as he opened the door and got out to the balcony, while Shadow finally got up to his master, "S-Sorry for i-interrupting y-you, Your M-Majesty, b-but I must i-inform you t-that my d-dad w-wants to s-speak with y-you a-about the h-hotel a-advertisement." he explained as he tried to be as formal as he could despite his nervousness and stutterer voice.
When Izuku told her the reason for him being in front of her, Charlotte widened her eyes a little bit in surprise as she was reminded of the meeting she and Alastor talked about the previous day. How could she forget? To be honest, she didn't know how that happened at all, but it didn't matter. What really mattered was that it was finally the time to adjust something about the hotel that was crucial to accomplishing her dream. So, with a small, yet forced, he looked into Izuku's eyes and opened her mouth for an answer.
"O-Oh, right! I-I almost forgot about it! T-Tell him that I'll be there in a minute! T-Thanks for reminding, Izuku!" the Princess of Hell remercied as he observed Izuku with her forced smile.
"Y-You're welcome, Y-Your Highness!" Izuku replied with his own awkward smile as he witnessed Charlie and her fake smile. With this, Charlie thought that Izuku was going to go back to the lobby to do whatever he wanted, ending this conversation between them and making Izuku think that she was completely okay, thus not showing that she was not in the best mood. But she couldn't be further from the truth. Because at the moment she formed her smile, Izuku instantly saw through. He immediately realised that she was smiling not because of her current mood, but in order to hide her true emotions. And Izuku knew all of this for one single reason: It was the same type of smile he performed to his loved ones when he tried to lie about his nightmares or about being bullied in school. And, although it was not his business, he had to know why the Princess of Hell was sad in the first place. After all, if he couldn't help a single person, more importantly, the third most high-ranked demon in Hell and his future ruler, how could he be and call himself a hero? So, after he gathered as much courage as he was capable of, he asked the inevitable question.
"I-Is there a p-problem, Y-Your Highness?" he inquired with noticeable anxiety in his voice.
"W-What!? N-No, of course not!" Charlie assured as she waved with her right hand in an attempt to show that he was worried for no reason, trying to keep the truth out of sight, "W-Why would you think that?!"
"B-Because y-your skin u-under your e-eyes i-is a l-little bit d-darker a-and you were c-crying when I-I s-saw y-you." Izuku pointed out while Shadow nodded with his head several, sharing his master's opinion. At that moment, Charlie knew that her disguise was no more, making her smile disappear in an instant and letting out a small sigh after that.
"You're a great observer just like your father, aren't you?" she questioned with a now more saddened tone.
"I-I d-d-din't m-mean to b-be r-rude! I-I j-just s-saw t-that y-you w-were s-s-sad a-and I-I w-wanted to h-help!" our protagonist stuttered as he waved with his hands incoherently, totally freaking out in the process, "I-I'm s-sorry i-if i-i-it's m-my f-f-fault t-that y-you're u-u-upset, Y-Your H-Highness!" he apologised as he proceeded to perform a ninety-degree bow.
"N-No, It's not your fault." Princess Charlotte clarified, reassuring the son of the Radio Demon, "I-It's just that, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this." she stated woefully as turned back to her original posture and continued to observe the ground below her feet sadly.
"W-What do you m-mean, Princess?" Izuku wondered as he and Shadow approached Charlie, with the former forming the same position she acquired by leaning on the handrail with his forearms when he got next to her.
"I-I mean, I don't know what I'm going to do with all of this. My dream, the hotel, everything." Charlie explained, then continued, "I-I've faced criticism after criticism for my plans, but I didn't let them affect me. A-And now, w-with your father's help, t-there might be finally a chance to accomplish it. B-But, e-even with that..." she said as her eyes began to become watery once again, "It doesn't matter how hard I try, I can't make progress! And I can't handle it! I just want to save them, but none of them sees that! They just laugh into my face and don't care about it! It's completely hopeless!" the Princess of Hell confessed desperately as dozens of tears left her eyes and fell on the far-away ground below her and Izuku's feet.
"B-But w-why don't you ask your father to help? I-I'm sure that h-he could help you out." Izuku advised as he tried to hold back his own tears of sadness while he witnessed how upset Charlie was.
"W-Well, t-to be h-honest, h-he's not very supportive of my plan." she explained, then placed her forearms back on the handrail, "H-He thinks that it's pointless and wants me to fail." she stated woefully as she remembered back to the words her father told to her when she showed her plan to him.
Izuku couldn't help but feel sorry for Charlie. He knew how it felt to be looked at as a weakling nobody by the ones who thought this, like a certain explosive teenager, but he could have never imagined how hard for her to endure that level of harassment and being treated as a joke and a failure by everyone, even by her loved ones. And despite all of this, she stayed determined and never gave up her dream. And for that, this made our young Cambion respect her even more. But now, it appeared like the ice had finally broke and she gave in all those filthy remarks and mocking, causing her to be in the state she was in at the moment. And due to this, Izuku felt that it was his task, no, his duty, to cheer up the Princess of Hell and show her that not all hope is lost. And he exactly knew how he was going to do it. He's going to do it by telling her something he told to no one, not even his own father. He had to do it. For the Princess's sake. So, with a plan in his mind and after preparing himself mentally, he was ready to begin his mission.
"U-Um, Your Majesty?" Izuku started nervously, making Charlie focus her attention on him, "P-Permission to speak freely?"
"S-Sure, but why would you ask for such a thing?" Charlie wondered in confusion.
"I-It's just t-that, s-since Your H-Highness is r-royalty, I-I t-thought that i-it w-would be n-necessary to a-ask for y-your p-permission before I-I could g-give m-my true t-thoughts." our dear heroine explained anxiously as he moved his hands in front of his body inconsistently.
"Permission accepted." Charlie giggled, not being able to resist a tiny smile form on her face by Izuku's reaction and reasoning.
"T-Thank you, Y-Your Highness!" Izuku remercied, calming down a bit, moving back into his previous position and looking at the view of Pentagram City, "W-Well, you should know that my dad told me everything about your plan." he started while Charlie's small smile disappeared almost instantly and she made herself mentally prepared for the next bad comment, "And, to be honest, I was surprised at first. I mean, redeeming sinners in Hell? No one did it before. I can't imagine how much backlash you got." Izuku noted, while Charlie felt like she was down in the dumpster more and more, already knowing what he was going to say, which was the same thing all of the sinners told to her.
"But then, I realised something. With this, I can save my loved ones." Izuku explained, catching Charlie off guard and making her look at him in surprise, "Because, in my opinion, even inside the most evil and filthy demon, there's even just one, tiny glimpse of good, such as my dad. I know he did really awful things to people in both his life and afterlife, and I'll never agree with his actions." He said as Charlie slowly began to straighten her posture, "But, he took care of me, helped me, protected me, taught me how to play on the saxophone, taught me how to sing with the help of Miss Mimzy, and taught me how to play on the piano with the help of Miss Rosie." our protagonist listed as he remembered back to all those great and wonderful moments.
"And now, he, aunty Niffty, and uncle Husk are teaching me new things to help me accomplish my dream of becoming a hero. They did and do so many things for me and I don't know how to repay them. So the only thing I can do for them is that I protect them with all of my strength from anything, especially from being killed on the Extermination Day. I saw what those things are capable of only once, and I don't wish that for anyone." he told to the Princess of Hell as he sadly lowered his ears and tail, and Charlie straightened her body fully, "And that's why..." Izuku said, raising his ears and tail, standing up from his forward-leaning posture, turning his body in the direction of Princess Charlotte, and clenching his hands into fists, "I want to help you achieve your plan. To save the ones I love and ensure their safety forever." he finished with determination in his voice as he looked into Charlie's eyes.
Charlie couldn't believe what she had just heard. First, she thought this would only be a bluff to fill her mind with fake hope and be treated as a joke at the end by Izuku as well. But, as shocking as it was, this was not the case. All of these words he said were full of honesty and were the truth. He truly believed in her cause and genuinely wanted her to succeed. She didn't notice it, but all of these things resulted in her forming new tears in her eyes. But these were not the tears of sadness. In fact, these were the tears of true happiness. But, as usual, this didn't stop our young Overlord from immediately becoming panicked once he saw those tears.
"W-What w-wrong, Y-Your M-Majesty?! W-Why are y-y-you c-crying?!" Izuku queried panicly, "I-Is it b-because of m-m-me?! D-Did I s-say s-something bad o-or...?!" he continued, but he was interrupted by something no one ever could have expected. At that moment, Charlie moved forward and embraced Izuku with her hug, causing our dear heroine's face to light up and turn as red as a tomato in an instant, "Y-Your H-Highness!?"
"Thank you!" the Princess of Hell remercied happily as she hugged Izuku tightly with a big smile on her face and tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. Once he heard this, Izuku knew that his mission was a success. With this, although he thought it over a million times if he should do it or not, he slowly lifted his arms and shared his own hug with Charlie.
Once witnessing this adorable moment, Shadow, who observed the whole conversation between the two, couldn't resist leaving himself out of their hug. So, in an instant, he extended his pitch-black body and wrapped it around his master and his master's future ruler, bringing them closer, breaking their hug, and catching them off guard. When both of them looked at the culprit, the Princess of Hell morphed her previous smile of gladness on her face, raised her hands, and gently touched Shadow's pitch-black cheeks and began to squeeze them, all the while Shadow enjoyed this pleasure and Izuku observed all of this with relief, being sure that the Princess was back to her true, everyday, sweet personality.
After the wholesome interaction between the Princess of Hell and Izuku's shadowy friend ended, Charlie turned her head and focused her attention back on our young Cambion, now happier than ever.
"Now, let's go, Izuku! Let's not make Al wait!" Charlie pointed out as she headed towards the door that separated the balcony and the room.
"Oh, I almost forgot! Thank you for reminding me, Your Highness!" Izuku thanked, following Charlie in her tracks with Shadow.
"I've already told you. Just call me Charlie." she reminded him kindly as they entered the room and walked towards its exit.
"Oh, right! Sorry!" Izuku apologised as scratched the back of his head and they got to the door, "Thank you for reminding me, Charlie!"
"You're welcome, Izuku!" she replied, opening the door in the process, allowing themselves to step out of it. Once all three of them were out of the room, Charlie closed the door and with a swift turn to the right, she locked it with the key she had in her pocket. Then, after finishing this, the trio made their way in the direction of the elevator. They were at the midway of their journey, when something that Izuku had mentioned previously came into Charlie's mind, and due to her curiosity, it caused her to ask our hero about it.
"By the way, you said you know that your dad did a lot of bad things to humans and demons alike. How did you find out?" she wondered as they walked towards the elevator.
"Well..." Izuku started as he remembered back to that day.
"Why did you do that, dad?!" a twelve-year-old Izuku exclaimed as he and Shadow grabbed their heads in complete panic due to what they saw. And this freak out of his was quite reasonable. Because, at that moment, Izuku was standing in the middle of Hell's one of many meat shops and was accompanied by a sheep-like female demon, who was sitting and crying next to the counter, and by his father, who was standing over the gutted out, teared-apart corpse of a boar-like male sinner who he killed not long ago with his well-known smile which covered his disdain towards the demon he had just put out of his afterlife, "You killed him!"
"Oh, come now, my boy! There's no need for panic! I just ended his miserable life to save this charming lady from the disgusting ac he wished to perform with her!" Alastor explained as he observed his son, referring to the sheep-like sinner and to the fact that the butcher tried to rape her, "Besides, he's not the only man I've put back to their place! You could say I'm a hero at this point! Ahahhahha!" the Radio Demon laughed as he remembered all the kills he committed.
"...What?" Izuku questioned with absolute shock as he heard what his father said.
"It's complicated." our protagonist stated as they got to the door of the elevator and he pushed a button down on the console, causing the doors to open and allowing all three of them to access the elevator.
"I see." Charlie answered as they went inside the elevator, with her stepping inside first due to Izuku letting her go inside first, and she pushed the button that would bring them to the lobby, and thus, to the lobby. Shortly after the button was pushed, the well-known tinkling was let out, the doors closed, and the elevator began to descend, making its way towards its destination. At the middle of their journey, Charlie moved her head and looked at our dear heroine and his shadowy friend, and opened her mouth to speak.
"Um, Izuku?" Charlie said, gaining our young Overlord's and his shadow companion's attention, "I know I already said it, but thank you for everything you said. It means a lot."
"You don't have to say 'thank you', Charlie. I just wanted to cheer you up!" Izuku remarked, then continued, "You know what my dad says:'You're never fully dressed without a smile!'" he said, quoting his father's favourite line and forming a big smile while putting his index fingers under his mouth and his thumps on his cheeks, mimicking a bigger smile.
"Right." Charlie laughed slightly, giggling at Izuku's mimicking, "I guess he's right in that." she admitted right at the moment when the doors of the elevator opened with the same tinkling sound, making all three of them look in the direction of the opened doors and allowing Princess Charlotte, Izuku, and Shadow to exit it.
As they left the elevator behind and looked around the lobby, Izuku noticed that not much had changed since he left. His aunt was still cleaning the furniture, Keekee was still sleeping at the table, and Vaggie was still arguing with Angel. But there was a key difference. There was an extra demon in the lobby. His father, the Radio Demon, was present in the room, keeping his hands behind his back and observing the argument between the moth and the spider demon with his iconic smile and absolute delight. But when he heard his son's and the Princess's footsteps, his smile immediately widened.
"My dear boy!" Alastor exclaimed as he approached the trio, "It appears to me that you've found Princess Charlotte successfully! So tell me, how was your time with her?"
"It was... good. Right, Charlie?" our young Cambion wondered as he observed and Shadow observed the Princess.
"Yes, it was good." Charlie responded, sharing Izuku's opinion. Seeing this, Alastor's smile widened even more for a short amount of time, knowing that his plan to bring his son and the Princess of Hell closer was successful.
"That's good to hear." he noted, then reminded himself of something important, "Oh, by the way, my boy, I advise that you should go back to your dear uncle as quick as you can before he, in his words, 'kicks your ass'." Al added, making Izuku gulp a little bit of saliva down on his throat in worry and nervosity.
"Looks like the both of us have things to do." Charlie remarked kindly.
"R-Right. Wish me luck, Charlie!" he requested, then ran off in the direction of the entrance of the backyard of the hotel with Shadow by his side.
"I will!" Charlie exclaimed as she waved at him with her right hand, saying a temporary goodbye to him. With this, both of them went on doing their own things, with our protagonist continuing his training and Charlie stopping the argument between her girlfriend and her first client and having that meeting where she discussed the advertisement of the hotel, thus not having a chance to see each other again. However, this farewell was short-lived.
In the middle of Izuku's training, everyone, besides Keekee and Sir Pentious, who was probably in his airship all this time, came outside to the backyard and watched Izuku spar with Husk for their own reasons, while Charlie cheered for Izuku constantly.
"Come on, Izuku! You can do it!" Charlie cheered as she watched Izuku spare with his uncle.
"C'mon, Husky Poo~! Kick his ass!" Angel cheered as well, causing Husk to roll his eyes and make a tiny, tiny blush appear on his face. This little distraction allowed Izuku to have a chance against his uncle. He raised his right arm and struck with his right hand, performing a palm strike. This was unsuccessful, however, with Husk tilting his head to the left. Then, Izuku crouched down, lifted his left leg, turned in his crouch as he straightened his left leg, and swept Husk's legs away, just like his uncle did to him this morning, catching him by surprise and causing him to lose his balance, thus making fall on the green-grassed ground and surprising everyone.
"HUSkY POO!" Angel shouted in a saddened manner as he watched the love of his life fall on the hard ground, hitting himself in the process.
"Oh my god, Uncle! A-Are you alright?!" Izuku inquired in panic as he observed his uncle, "I-I didn't want to hurt you! I thought you could notice it and..." he continued, but was stopped in the middle of his sentence by his uncle.
"Heh, not bad, kid. Looks like this training does worth it." Husk noted as he stood up from the ground and an actual smile of satisfaction appeared on his face, "You're now ready for level two. Prepare yourself, kid, because, at the end of this, you will fuckin' sweat blood!" he advised with a smug on his face as Izuku gulped a bit of saliva on his throat scaredly, fearing what his uncle planned for him.
"O-Oui, Monsieur!" Izuku replied, then continued to spar with Husk more intensively, while Charlie and Angel went on with their cheering, and Alastor and Niffty observed Izuku with a smile on their faces, with the former performing it with pride, being proud of his son for him practicing well and learning fast.
The only one who was not smiling was not other than Vaggie. She didn't have a reason to cheer for Izuku. Moreover, her suspicion towards him only rose due to her girlfriend's sudden behavior change towards him. She didn't know what he did to her for her acting like this, but if he did something to her, she will find it out and if it was something bad to Charlie, she will make Izuku pay for it, one way, or another.
There it is. The fifth chapter. It's finally done. Sorry for the long wait, I will try to publish chapters as regularly as I can. This was the first of three chapters that will introduce Izuku's different types of training and will show Izuku getting a few demons of the Happy Hotel to know better. I hope this isn't a problem. And I hope you're excited because, in the chapter, Izuku will meet a certain demon who might surprise you.
That's all for now. I hope this chapter wasn't worse than the previous ones, and I also hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you didn't enjoy it, feel free to write down what you didn't like about it. I'll be eager to read them. Stay healthy and have a nice day (or night)!
