Of all the jobs Vox would've picked, baker wasn't one of them. It wasn't in his top ten picks and if he was being honest,it wasn't even in the top thirty.

However, Vox found this area short on good jobs and Vox decided to take what he could get since the alternative was working at the god-forsaken circus that he had heard about from the townspeople. He heard it was owned by Mammon and he wasn't interested in putting himself at the mercy of ANOTHER Deadly Sin again so he decided that being a baker wasn't so bad.

He needed the money and the person who hired him was letting him stay as long as he worked. Her name was Millie and she apparently started her own bakery. He recalled her mentioning that she had moved far out in order to start her own business and make a living and prove her family wrong about not being able to support herself.

Given the way she spoke about it, being a baker wasn't her first choice either but it seemed to be working for her now so he decided not to question it. Not like he was in the position to question her motives given he needed a living too.

Today, he had gone out and personally delivered some of the baked pastries on foot, having to walk on foot and go door to door to deliver the food to the customer in a nicely wrapped up box. Millie didn't have a lot of money on her so he had to literally deliver it with a wagon.

It was a tad bit embarrassing given Vox was a thirty year old man carrying around a wagon and personally delivering baked goods to a bunch of townspeople whose names he couldn't bother to remember.

Didn't help that he'd be out for hours having to read addresses and names to ensure got it right. He had a fair few mix-ups early on due to being totally inexperienced with the job, especially when it was his first day.

He was on his last delivery, and from what he could tell the last customer was an old man who made macaron cookies.

Since Millie was busy, Vox decided to make the cookies himself and move on with the delivery. He wasn't the greatest cook and while the cookies weren't perfect, he was certain they were edible and semi-decent to eat.

When he knocked on the door he was met with an elderly male.

'This man looks old enough to be my great grandfather…' He thought to himself before clearing his throat,"Erm…excuse me sir, here's your food…"

The man stared at him for a moment before asking,"Where's Millie?"

"Uh…she's back at the bakery…I'm her new helper…"

"Explains why it took so long," He grumbled bitterly before snatching the box out of his hands and examining the cookies. Vox stood there in disbelief as the old man was examining the cookie down to the tiniest detail.

'What the fuck is he doing!?' He screamed internally, taken aback by his odd nature. Next thing he knew the old man threw the box at him before snapping,

"I know low quality cookies when I see them! Give me my true order young lady!"

Vox's jaw dropped, it was one thing to be insulted on his cooking(honestly he knew he wasn't a good cook) but for the old goon to call him a YOUNG LADY was enough to ignite anger into him, not helping that he just really threw the box at him with no regard for his safety.

"Excuse you!? Just who do you think you're calling a young lady you old coot!? You realize I'm a man right!?" He hissed.

"Quit trying to start a fight with me, you rowdy whippersnapper!" He said as he grabbed Vox's long hair,"Haven't your parents ever taught you to respect your elders!? I bet they'd be rather ashamed to have you as their daughter! Now get off my lawn and don't come back until you have my order right ya here!" He shouted as he waved his cane around, Vox cursing when the fucker whacked him in the end.

He quickly ran away and made distance until the old man's house was in the distance. He then grit his teeth, still holding the box and began to kick and stomp his feet around in a fit of rage,"Grah! Ungrateful old bastard! How dare he assault me like that! I swear if I were allowed I'd…I'd…" He then groaned before taking a deep breath,"Don't lose control, Vincent. It's just an unruly customer, you've dealt with worse…much worse…"

He calmed himself before sighing,"Whatever…It was the last order anyway. If Millie asks about the money I'll just say I got mugged…"

Saying you got mugged was a lot less embarrassing and easier to believe than having some old geezer hit you with his cane over and over again in his cane.

Vox then stared at the box of cookies before taking them back with him. He pulled the cart up to the side of the bakery before heading inside, delivering the news,"Hey Millie, I got assaulted in an alley after finishing the last customer. They took some of the money I earned…."

"Aw, don't worry Vincent, I'll be sure to go with you next time. If those people come back for you again, I'll be sure to rough me up for ya! I could go out now and find those people who got you, do ya know what they look like?"

He mumbled,"Uhhh…no. Sorry. Didn't get a good look. All of them ganged up on me…"

"Aw you poor thing! Tell ya what, I can kiss that bruise all better if you want! I'm sure that'll make it go away!"

Vox stammered, gaze averting,"U-Um, actually that won't be necessary. I'll be fine. Thanks though…"

"You sure? I've always heard from my husband that it makes the wound feel better!"

"I'm sure…very sure…Now if you excuse me, I'll be going out to spend some time by myself. I'll be back later on," He said, nervously scampering out of the bakery as fast as his legs could carry him.

When he stopped, he found himself near the beach that the siren had brought him to not too long ago. The sun was setting on the horizon and the sun was peeking out ever so slightly. As he witnessed the view, he couldn't help but hear…singing in the distance.

There weren't any words but it did sound harmonious and alluring and he couldn't help but feel drawn to it, as if a spell had been cast on him. Something was compelling him to come closer to the source, the logical part of his mind being drowned out in the process.

'W-What is that?' His curiosity got the better of him and he saw a familiar sight in the water. The siren he saw earlier was sitting on the rocks, her backs towards him and singing.'It's her…she came back…Has she just been waiting for me the whole time?'

Curious, he suddenly called out to her and shouted in an effort to catch her attention,"HEY!"

She abruptly stopped singing and turned around. She stared at him incredulously, her icy eyes piercing through him before she ended up diving into the water.

Vox blanked,"H-Huh? Where'd she go?" He peeked through the water, looking over the edge of the peer. He attempted to see through the ocean's water's to no avail, his eyes not suited to peering through the blue sea.

His heart nearly jumped out of his skin when Helsa suddenly rose from the water with a loud splash and being mere inches from his face.

Vox gasped in surprise, falling backwards for a moment,"Gah!"

She giggled playfully, amused by his reaction. Vox immediately recovered and growled,"Hey! Not funny! You scared me!"

She gave him an 'obviously I did' type of look and Vox scoffed in response,"You must really think you're a comedian don't you?"

She nodded her head, clearly entertained by his reactions. The way she eyed him like a predator toying around with it's prey. A dangerous apex-predator that was beautiful as she was deadly and she was toying with him for whatever reason. He still didn't know why she saved him but he had the feeling that she was going to take her time messing with him for as long as possible.

She then leaned up on the wooden pier, icy eyes piercing through his soul with an ever-present grin on her face. Despite not being able to talk, he could tell she was curious as it seemed she had been waiting for him for a while.

"So I take it that you are just waiting for me to arrive here?" He asked, it had been a few days since he had seen her so it sounded like a fair question to ask.

She made a notion that he translated to 'an hour' and he sighed. He couldn't say he was surprised by that. Explained the anticipation in her eyes all too well.

"Figured as much…Kind of impressed you came back," She gave him a look in response and he quickly adjusted his sentence,"N-Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing or anything, don't take it the wrong way, I just didn't expected you to be that interested in me…"

She cocked an eyebrow and Vox didn't need to hear her voice in order to tell that she was asking,'What did you expect me to do?'

"I don't know, maybe try and lure sailors in and crash their ships…Or was that what you were doing when I got here?" He had heard such myths before though he wasn't quite certain if they applied in this world.

Helsa smirked, a wide predatory grin on her face. Vox did his best to ignore the unsettling feeling in his chest as the realization Helsa wasn't just calling out for him to sink in, she was literally trying to lure sailors to their demise by crashing their ship into the rocks and letting it sink into the ocean below.

"Holy shit…I thought that was only a thing in myths. Have you always done that sort of thing or was this recent?"

She shook her head, at least in regard to the ship-sinking. That was recent but luring men in for her own entertainment was something she had been doing for centuries.

She had countless 'boyfriends(and by boyfriends, I mean guys she tolerated for a few weeks before dumping them once the sex was over). The relationship was fun for a week or so but after that it got boring so when the time came for her to break up, she had sex with them before ending the relationship the very next day.

It was cruel and deceiving but that was to be expected of her. She had done this to many guys before and given the chance, she'd do it again.

Vox, on the other hand, was just glad Helsa hadn't successfully managed to lure any ships at the moment. The ships must've come earlier in the week before Helsa got there so she wouldn't have had the chance to use her voice to sink them.

Given the cargo on it, it was probably for the best that Helsa missed her chance at luring the sailor's to their doom, more so for the town's sake if anything given it no doubt had supplies and trade from other areas of the world inside.

He then noticed Helsa looking at his face and tried to touch him. He backed away before asking,"Hey, what are you doing?"

She then motioned to the sore on his head and he sighed,"Oh that? That's from that old bastard who hit me with his stupid cane. Bastard got mad that his cookies weren't the way he wanted and told me to get off his lawn after hitting me. Worst part was that he thought I was a woman and I don't know why. I don't look that feminine do I?"

Helsa looked at Vox for a second. She couldn't say she was surprised, Vox had long hair and his outfit did make him look rather androgynous. From behind you'd likely mistake him for a tall woman.

She opted to shake her head and Vox seemed to appreciate it.

"Thanks…I appreciate that…'' He mumbled,"Say…do you want some of these?" He offered some of the cookies he made,"I'm not the greatest cook but considering the old man didn't want them, I figured that perhaps you'd at least want to try them…You don't have to if you don't want to though…"

Helsa stared at the cookies before reaching out to eat one. Vox handed one to her and she ate it. It tasted…a bit dry and not the sweetest but it wasn't awful.

"Do you like it?"

Helsa nodded her head, she didn't really enjoy it but it was the first dry food she had eaten since she got here. Could've been worse and he did seem like put some effort into it so why not have some?

As she was eating the cookies, Vox couldn't help but wonder where she had come from. Obviously she was from the Ocean but something about her made him think she wasn't from this world.

"Say…do you hail from this world?"

Helsa shook her head.

"Are you from Hell too?" When she nodded, Vox decided to press on,"Sinner or Hellorn?"

She put her fingers up to say '2', a way for her to say the second option.

"Hellborn huh? What species are you?" He asked, examining Helsa cosplay,"You don't look like an imp…are you a succubus? It'd fit your overall personality…"

Helsa looked offended and Vox attempted to guess again,"Goetic?"

She gave him a 'Do I look like a bird to you?' glare and Vox sweat-dropped,"H-Hey, don't look at me like that! It's not my fault Hell's hierarchy is so complicated! It's not like I can tell what you are just based off your looks in this world…"

He then made a last guess,"Uh…Deadly Sin descendant?"

Helsa nodded her head and Vox let out a sigh of relief at finally getting the answer right.

"Holy shit…I got it right…" He then paused before examining her face,"Wait…are you…Helsa Von Eldritch?"

'Holy Satan, he finally got it right…' She thought in bemusement.'Though how does he know me?'

As if he could read her thoughts he said,"I..I remember seeing your account on Voxstagram a few times. You were trending and I think I saw you a few times with the rest of your family at Lucifer's meetings. We never spoke face-to-face but I do recall seeing you there with your family there though it didn't seem like you guys talked to each other…And now I understand why."

Helsa paused, she did have an Instagram account back in Hell. She mainly used it to show off her body and dress in skimpy fashion to make others envious of her. It worked like a charm and she always took the opportunity to flaunt herself to the highest degree whenever given the chance.

"Wow…What are the chances of us meeting in this world? I can't imagine us meeting like this in normal circumstances…"

'Neither can I…'

For a moment, the two remained silent, eyes glued to each other. Their lives were entirely separate from each other up until this world brought them together and it felt almost unreal. Back in Hell, the chance they'd even make eye contact with each other was low and the chance they'd act like this was even slimmer.

The circumstances that brought them together were strange…and neither understood how they got here or why they were even there. All they knew was that their lives weren't what they wanted and they had tried to get away from it…only to end up here.

While Helsa couldn't speak to him, he knew that she was curious about his past. Wouldn't hurt to open up, it wasn't like they had anything better to do after all.

"You know Valentino?" She made a noise to say 'yes' and he continued,"He..he is..was my boyfriend. We have a dysfunctional relationship and while he's a great businessman…he's a shitty romantic partner. Val and I got into a fight again and words were exchanged. Val was gonna hit me again when Velvet got in the way and took the hit for me…"

"Normally I don't get upset when Val hits me but when he hit her…I just lost it. I left him and I didn't plan on coming back. Not long after, Vel and I planned on going on vacation to take our mind off the situation but things started getting freaky. No one was at the airport and I couldn't help but feel something wasn't right. One of the airplanes was starting so we decided to check if someone was there only for the damn thing to take off while we were searching. With no other choice, Vel and I eventually fell asleep and when we woke up, we were falling from the sky and ended up here. Something similar happened to you?"

Helsa nodded, she and Seviathan had been on the run for a few weeks and it was below freezing. Realistically they should've got a hotel but Seviathan refused to stop, they had no other choice but to keep moving until they saw the bus. They were skeptical of it but figured it could get them somewhere warm in an hour…

They had closed their eyes and the next thing they knew…they were in this world.

"Honestly I should be happy…I should be happy I'm not living in Hell anymore..and while I'm glad to not be in that pit, I feel…alone. Val..is gone. Velvet and I got separated and the poor girl no doubt thinks I'm dead and Vark," Vox suddenly shivered, eyes wide in realization,"…Vark…Oh god, who knows what happened to him while I'm gone.."

'Vark? Who is that?' Helsa raised an eyebrow at him, that name certainly didn't sound like a person's name and she couldn't recall hearing anyone named that in her entire life.

"He..he's my pet shark," He said, already knowing what she was thinking,"I left him back at my Tower, pets aren't typically allowed during travel and I promised him I'd come back. It's been over a month and he probably don't even understand what's happened. As far as he's concerned I just walked out on him without even saying goodbye. He probably thinks I abandoned him or that I died. And that's not even the worst part because Val hates pets, he could've went over there and shot him right in the head with holy bullets…"

Vox was no fool, he may have loved Val and been willing to ignore (most) of his…flaws but he wasn't foolish enough to think Val should be around pets.

Val had a short temper for people and an even shorter one for non-humanoid beings. The moth would openly admit in Vox's presence that he would've shot Vark the day he bought him home had he not loved him so much and Vox knew better than to doubt Val on his word.

And that feeling of helplessness hit him like a truck, Val could be doing who knows what with Vark or his things for that matter. There was nothing stopping him and while Vox had never shared the password for his tech with Val(He wasn't that fucking stupid) his employees would no doubt hand it over if pressed by someone much stronger than them.

Honestly…Vox was scared…Vark couldn't defend himself from Val and even if Val didn't shoot him, he'd be left out on the streets.

Not like he couldn't survive but it'd certainly be a lot harder without all the conveniences that Vox provided. He and Velvet couldn't protect him from the outside world and Vox knew just how awful Hell could be to those who were vulnerable.

They'd eat them alive…literally in some cases.

Helsa then made a face, she had never seen someone so shaken up before and she wasn't certain how to handle emotional reactions. She then remembered those cheesy romance movies where people 'comforted' each other by holding hands or 'hugging' so to speak…

Yeah no, Helsa wasn't into mushy emotions…she preferred more passionate things, not hugging or lovey-dovey things..It just wasn't her.

Since hugging wasn't her forte, Helsa opted to hold his hand instead. Vox flinched at the contact before saying,"Thanks for that..Sorry you have to see me like this…Emotions got the better of me…"

'It's fine…' She thought and clutched his hand to make him relax. She knew he couldn't' hear her but she still wanted to try and ease him just a little.

Vox then looked at her in the eyes and something about those icy blue eyes threatened to consume his soul. Something about that sparked a familiarity within him, because those eyes reminded him of the gaze his wife had given him every day of her life as short as it was. Those caring and soft eyes that could defrost even the coldest hearts like his own…

"Vincent…It's been so long…I've missed you.." She could still hear her voice calling out for him and for a moment, he could've seen his wife staring back at him…He wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch her, to feel happy again…

But when he did, his vision shifted and he suddenly saw Val with a wide grin, his magenta red eyes fueled with lust and malice."Voxy…you cannot run from me forever. Your love for me is eternal and like it or not…you'll come back to me. We both know that your heart truly belongs to me and me alone…"

"GAH!" Vox gasped and suddenly hit 'Val'...only to realize he ended up hitting Helsa instead He tensed,"Oh god..I'm so sorry, Helsa. I swore, I don't know what happened, one moment you were there, then I saw…my wife and then Val just appeared. I thought you were him…."

He anticipated Helsa to be angry though she seemed more confused and tried to touch him but he jerked away,"It's fine, Helsa. I swear, I'm alright. I just…think my mind is fucking with me. Look, it's nothing against you but I think it'd be best for you to leave me alone. I don't want to accidentally hurt you…"

Helsa didn't move and Vox gritted his teeth,"Helsa, I said go…."

She reluctantly moved from the pier and swam off, but not before staring back at him for a long while. Vox watched as she eventually swam back into the ocean deep, her figure disappearing into the night…

He groaned,"Nice job, Vincent. No doubt she thinks you're fucking crazy. She probably won't even come back now…Probably a good thing that she doesn't, given how badly I blew it. So much for us being friends or maybe…something more?"

Vox then pulled out the picture of his deceased wife from his pocket and stared at it.

Despite their marriage being a thing of the past, he couldn't help but miss her. She was his first love and it had taken him decades to even think of getting into the dating game again. And Val? His second 'love'?

Fucker left him tired, exhausted and dependent on him and even now…a tiny…tiny part of his cold heart still gave a damn about him and was wracked with guilt over killing his counterpart.

Because no matter how awful Val treated him, he was the only fucker in Hell who ever put up with him.

Perhaps that was why he kept going back with him, to ensure he still had someone to be with him in this that relationship was gone and he was alone…and Helsa…

She was beautiful but he didn't fully trust her. Not to mention he doubted he could love again, not after all his other relationships ended in failure and grief of losing another partner. He'd keep her at a distance, not only for his sake but for her sake…

That is she comes back and a part of him was just hoping that she wouldn't. Just so he wouldn't have to feel guilty seeing her face after what he did….

'It's getting late…' He then sighed and went back to the bakery before going to the top floor where his bed was, hitting the sheets and hoping that the next day would pass as swiftly as possible.

When Helsa got back to the Kingdom, she had been late. She hadn't anticipated being out that long but time sure did pass when you were with another person.

The conversation with Vox had gone…a different direction than anticipated. Not only had she not expected him to hit her but she hadn't planned on him breaking down like that in front of her.

Normally she'd tear anyone who laid their hands on her to shreds but she couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for him. Pity of how easily manipulable and emotionally fractured he was…A weakness that so easy to exploit..so easy to mold for her own desires.

Her thoughts about Vox were interrupted when she swam right into Seviathan, who just so happened to be waiting for her by the looks of things. She immediately tensed and signed,"Oh hey…Seviathan…What's up?"

"You know 'what's up', Helsa," He remarked,"Where have you been? You've been out for several hours and you didn't even bother to tell me. I spent several hours searching for you!"

She rolled her eyes,"Oh relax, I'm not a child. I can be out by myself you know…"

"You could've at least told me!"

"I can't talk, idiot…"

"You know exactly what I mean!" He growled,"This is not a joke. We can't lose each other down here, it's just the two of us and things will only get worse if we lose sight of each other. Now tell me where have you been?"

She was going to answer when she noticed Seviathan was looking at her a tad too close. She didn't understand why until he saw her cheek and said,"Hey! What is that? Did..did someone hit you? Helsa! What happened?"

'Oh sweet Satan, why is so protective all of a sudden!?' She quickly began to sign,"Calm down, I just went to the surface again-"

"Again?"

Shit. That part wasn't supposed to come out…

"Helsa, why are you going up to the surface? You know it's dangerous out there, there could be fishers out there! Did one of them get you?"

"Of course they didn't. Didn't even see any sailors when I got up there. There was only…Vox…"

"Vox? You mean that…TV Demon from Hell? How'd he get down here!?"

"From what he told me, he fell down here just like we did. Only difference was that it was by plane. Apparently he and his friend were going on vacation and just like us, they had strange things happen to them. Next thing he knew, he was down here just like the two of us."

"So that means that there are others down here?"

"Probably. He said his friend Velvet fell down with him though he lost track of her."

"How did you two meet?"

"Saved him from drowning. I found him sinking to the bottom of the ocean and he would've died had I not intervened to save him. I got him back on land and revived him. Think he was…hallucinating when he first saw me but he recovered and told me his name. After we got acquainted I decided to mess with him a bit, gave him a small kiss before swimming off with the intent to come back…"

"Helsa, don't tell me you're trying to get a new boy-toy are you? Especially after he hit you?"

"It wasn't intentional. I think he just..saw things. His old boyfriend wasn't kind to him from what he told me earlier and that must've popped up in his head…"

"Even if that's the case, what's the point in getting close to him? You're just going to dump him anyway. You always do that with the guys you 'date'. I don't get why you bother to pretend to have a relationship if you can't even commit for more than a few weeks. May as well just go for a one-night stand."

"Because toying with their hearts makes it more entertaining. Every hunter messes around with it's prey before devouring them, I'm no exception," She smirked, eyes glowing with malice.

"I don't know, just doesn't sound like a good idea…"

"And why not?"

"I'm just saying, playing these sort of mind-games can backfire. You might actually end up getting attached. And what if he finds out that you're trying to use him? What are you going to say then?"

"As if. I have no interest in sustaining a relationship with any man. And he won't find out…not until it's too late anyway..."

"So…what's the plan? You're just going to keep visiting him and leading him on until he falls for you and then once you get what you want out of him, you're gonna dump him?"

"Pretty much."

"That's cruel, Helsa…"

"I'm an apex predator, brother. To expect otherwise would be foolish. My heart holds no room for such sentimental nonsense, love is for the weak and I'll be sure to shatter his heart this time. Perhaps it'll teach him to be wiser around women."

"Damn…you are pure evil, sis…"

"Well no duh! We're demons, Seviathan. We're supposed to be pure evil," She remarked, taking his comment as a compliment."Course I won't immediately break his heart. I still have to play with him first and I need to earn his trust before I shatter that heart of his…"

"And when are you planning on visiting him?"

"Fairly soon, maybe another day or two…" She admitted,"Why?"

"Because I'm coming with you."

"Uh…that's nice and all but I don't need a chaperone…"

"I just want to see how he looks and how he behaves. It's only fair I get to know him too…"

"Why? Are you interested in men now, Seviathan? I thought you were straight…"

He scoffed,"I am straight, Helsa! Quit twisting the narrative, I'm not into guys, I just want to see what he looks like…Especially since he's so unique that you missed your lessons with me..."

"If I let you come with me when I go out will you leave me alone and not bother me about lessons?"

"Fine…as long as you don't sneak off without me, we're good."

"Good…now if you excuse me, I need to get my beauty sleep.."

"See you later sis…"

Helsa then went to her room before heading to her room. As she got inside, she created a construct of ice that resembled a heart. It was so beautiful yet so delicate and fragile…just like Vox…

She then put pressure on it, using her fingers to cause chips and cracks in the heart before stopping and placing it on her desk.

After all, it'd be no fun to destroy the toy before you were done using it. To her, men were just toys, toys that she could use and dispose of at her whim. Once they stopped serving her purpose, she'd break their hearts and move onto the next without a second thought…

Since Vox was being a bit distant towards her, she had to play the long game. And for that, she'd have to examine him like a huntress would examine their prey.

Examine him and exploit his weaknesses, know his interests and what he liked in a woman before twisting the knife by revealing it was all a lie and watching the destruction in his eyes as his heart shattered into tiny little pieces before telling him how much of a fool he was to think that a she-beast like herself would ever love a pitiful man like him.

Call it cruel, evil if you may…but Helsa was just that and she wasn't ashamed of who she was…She an apex predator and Vox would that out the hard way...

Thanks for 3,486 views, tell me what you think below! Feel free to ask questions and give your opinions on the story so far!

Enigmus-288: Give it time, we'll get there sooner or later...