TRANSHUMANIST IN HELL

Chapter 4 – And yet it moves

Royal Towers. It is one of the most famous chains of hotels in the world, and the most expensive one out of them. To maintain the well above average standards they build only one hotel in every country they are present. Only the USA are the exception to this rule, with two hotels (New York and Los Angels). For this reason, the kind of people that use these hotels are the wealthiest and most influential people in the world, industrials, politician, world renowned actors and so on. The reason for this is that Royal Towers offer to all of which pay for their service the outmost security and privacy, this has put them in trouble in the past, but nothing to serious. Nevertheless, they became quite infamous to the public a few months after the Twin Towers because they tried to buy the field on which the two towers were. Th backlash from the public was unanimous and only a delicate work of the Bush administration was capable to avoid disaster (even if Bush and co would have liked to give the green light).

John, Maria, Selina, Helly, Lucifer and Leviathan are now in front of the reception to confirm the room, given that John has taken the presidential room. As to why the receptionist is not making any comment on Lucifer and Leviathan, it is because they are hiding their horns and other non-human features that could alarm everyone present. Not that the two in question were so much in agreement with it, they practically didn't care, but John was adamant and after an unbeatable logical argument Lucifer, and Leviathan by succession, were obliged to hide their Demon Lord status.

[Meanwhile in Pandemonium]

Belial is going right and left searching for something, she had to search for some hours as of now and she is quite pissed off about it.

"Okay quite funny. Now, who has taken my Byrnadale family's heirloom sword Dràinfel?".

"Oh, sorry Belial-san if I didn't say to you before, but considering how much your lovely sword was damaged I have taken the liberty to send it to Earth to be repaired in one of my real estates. Hope you don't mind".

Belial was quite pissed off about not being informed of this before, even more so considering that the Seven Mortal Sins don't have a lot of respect for her as a leader and this has come to the point that they could think about taking something out of her without telling her before. But alas this is her situation, she can only bear it for the time being.

'But before you imagine I will have my revenge'.

With her mind a little clearer she looks at the rest of the Great Hall inside Pandemonium. Mammon is as always counting all the money she has acquired on Earth and then deciding how and where to reinvest said money to obtain even more, in an almost eternal cycle of wealth. Beelzebub is, as always, eating like if she has a black hole inside her belly, how she can eat so much and do not put even a single centimetre of fat will always be a mystery for Belial. Asmodeus is doing a live make-up session on YouTube all for the joy of horny boys and envy girls all around the world. Belphegor is looking on her phone looking at a recent live made on her personal videogame, while also trying to find inspiration for the next event. Satan instead is not at her seat because just mere minutes after the blasted Lucifer, her lackey Leviathan and the human John went out of Hell Satan out of nowhere started to burn by herself without explanation. She explained that an incredible rush of Wrath that somehow has been hidden to her senses has suddenly been released and she went out trying to understand its origin.

Then the doors of Pandemonium open again and Satan enters. Belial is quite curious as to why she is back so soon and so, more so in trying to distract herself from having her sword taken away from her, she asks Satan why she is back.

"Satan, welcome back. You are back so soon. Were you able to understand the origin of that sudden rush of Wrath?".

"Well, yes and no".

"Oh? And why if I may ask".

"I was able to track the origin of such an intense Wrath, but it hided itself before I could have a better understanding of it. One of the advantages of being the Demon Lord of Wrath is that I can understand every type of Wrath that humans can feel and know from such a rage has originated itself. While I was unable to find the reason for such an overwhelming Wrath, I was able to find from who it came".

"Eh, maybe that sly fallen angel Lucifer. Maybe she is so lived from losing to me that sha has lost her mind for a split second *giggles*".

"No Belial-dono. Lucifer is not the origin of it".

"Eh? And then who?".

"The human John".

This caught all the Mortal Sins inside the hall by surprise, especially Mammon because she has known John for the longest time. Nevertheless, knowing of this information her business mindset takes a hold of her and trying to find more on this.

"Eh? So, John-kun is quite the angry man deep inside him. Truly he is capable of hide it very well. Say Satan-san do you were able to find more on it?".

"Not much I fear Mammon-dono, but something interesting caught my attention. To what is Wrath was directed".

Now it was the time for Belial to ask.

"What do you mean?".

"When I started to concentrate on him, I found the presence of both Lucifer and Leviathan nearby him, plus other three presence, two of which were exceptionally powerful individual. Nevertheless, I concentrated on John and then something that I have never experienced before happened before my eyes".

"Do not leave us hanging Satan talk, as the leader of he Seven Mortal Sins knowing of every kind of threat that may represent a danger to Hell".

"*sigh* I could feel his Wrath, it is deep, very deep. Something has been broken inside of him for quite some time, and yet he has tried to rebuild it one piece at the time, with more or less good results. The Wrath that comes from him it is not simply pointed to a direct threat, but to everything, and I mean everything, friends or foe alike. But it is not loud or uncontrollable like most human that I have seen in a similar state are. What it is truly unheard off is that such an uncontrollable Wrath is completely, or at least for the most part, under control of his on mental will. His mind is again something to behold, it is a fortress with open doors seemingly trying to welcome you inside of it without opposing resistance and when you enter inside his mind it is already too late. I didn't enter, both because I didn't have the time and because every fibre of my being was telling me it was a trap. But even without entering I could feel his gaze, a cold uncaring gaze that look directly in your soul every mental barrier you could prepare, or any lie you can tell yourself is worthless against him. His mind is always in scrutiny always questioning always trying to understand what his happening, always in search of some form of truth, even if such truth will bring only despair to him. And yet I could feel his loneliness. His desire to be understood, to be loved. I could fell the burden on his shoulders of a duty way beyond what an average human could ever hope to bear. I honestly don't understand what kind of life one had to have to become like this. But one thing I know for sure. The next time we will meet I will fight him with all my hearths and soul in it. Now, if you don't have other questions, I need to go. I want to be prepared for when we will meet again, and you can be sure we will meet. I could only ear some parts, but it seems John and Lucifer have made a deal. They will both come for each one of us, and I want to be prepared for when that time will come.

With that said Satan once again goes out of Pandemonium towards Earth with already a hard training program for the next fight between her and John. Meanwhile all the other Mortal Sins have a reaction of renewed interest for the human, with Asmodeus already thinking of all the incidents things that the both of them could do to each other. Out of all of them Mammon was quite curious of this, because John is one of the most important trade partners for her; while Belial becomes even more interested in the human and how she could use him against Lucifer, moreover she finds some kind of kinship between the two because of the intense hatred that they both have for their situation.

'Well John, aren't you an interesting human?'.

After that most of the Seven Mortal Sins started to return to Earth in search of new followers of their Sin.

[Back to Earth]

After the reception the group takes the elevator and arrives at the last floor of the hotel, basically the Attic. The room itself is very spacious, with the finest furniture that the Hotel can provide, all in a brown wooden background, with matching furniture. The are two floors, with the first connected to an open roof outer pool, while the other contains 4 rooms that can be used both by couples and singles. After entering the apartment John throws the key to the door to Maria, the one catches them in the air, and when she looks at the key to the door she asks to John the meaning of this action.

"Why are you giving me the key to the entrance door?".

"Simply, from now on this apartment is yours. Don't threat, all the papers are already on their way to my computer and my lawyers to formalize the passage of properties?".

Maria is rightfully shocked that John has given to her such a luxurious apartment. Considering that she is an 18-year-old girl on her way to university and without even a part-time job. She could not and has not any meaning to pay the rent or to maintain all of this.

"W-w-what are you saying?! I am a simple student that is not even at her first year of university and I have no way to pay the rent of this room". (For contest this event are happening in the summer between Maria's last year of high school and her first year of university).

"That is not a problem. I will use my personal money to pay your new rent. Besides, it is because of me that you are now in the middle of all of these things. So, in a way this is my "I am sorry". And before you say it I do not accept a No as an answer".

Even if Maria wanted to say no, she understood her friend worries, so she only gives him a pout and then a happy smile and accept his gift.

"If the both of you have done with your chit chat, could you tell me what we are doing here?" Lucifer asked, with a small hint of blush on her cheeks while she was looking at John and Maria.

At that John simply rolled his eyes and speaks.

"As of now we are here for two things: first for relaxing and washing ourselves after all these two days of adventure; or at least I need a shower right now. Second, I am going to meet an important person in the next hour. It is important for what I am planning to do next. Especially considering the excellent news that God is planning to genocide humanity. To make things even worse after this person I have to encounter another person always here. Someone that I would rather not, but I don't have the luxury now to lament it. So, my advice for now is to make yourself at home, while I prepare myself for the meeting".

And with that said John walked on his room on the second floor to have a shower, not before ordering both Selina and Helly to change go out and contact all the other members of the Council so that they can be updated with what they have found out until recently. While for Lucifer and Leviathan they followed John's advice and go for the pool, it was funny especially for Leviathan, because she is a Demon Lord with water control.

Lucifer would have liked for Maria to participate with her in the pool, but she decides to not to do anything rushing so as to not incur in the wrath of John, the mere thought of what has happened at the church still gives her a deep chill on her back. And then she thinks of his eyes. That eyes of someone broken beyond repair on the inside and yet unwilling to accept this fact and still looking at some sort of unreachable goal on the horizon.

'He is not a normal human. What has happened to him to give him such eyes?'

But her train of thoughts is interrupted by Maria out of all people.

"Oh? I didn't expect you out of all the people to come here. What do you want? Do you want your hearth back? Well, sorry but that is a hard no".

She takes out Maria's hearth showing it inside a glass ampoule like thing. The hearth still beating even if it is outside of Maria's body.

But Maria doesn't show any interest in it. Instead, she eyes Lucifer with a neutral look. The scene is very creepy and even Lucifer becomes a little nervous as to why Maria is not showing any reaction.

Maria takes a deep breath and asks.

"You are the angel Lucifer, isn't it. The one who I have prayed for all these years".

The silence following Maria's declaration is deafening. Lucifer herself completely unable to react to what Maria has said, and her answer shows this.

"I-I-I-I don't know what you are talking about. Y-y-y-y-you are surely confusing me with someone else. I have already said to you, I am no more an angel. I am a Demon Lord. The Demon Lord burned with the Sin of Pride".

But this declaration and the lacklustre response brings only a warm smile that would melt even the coldest of ice on Maria's face.

"*giggles*it seems I was right. Joh could have never known because he never showed interest in it. But I have prayed inside that church from when I was 5 years old. My mother told me the statue inside the church was the one representing you Lucifer. After both my parents died in a car accident, I was put forever inside the school grounds until I reached maturity. During that harsh period praying to you was my only way to be happy. So, I want you to know this. I forgive you for taking my hearth, and I would do everything in my power to better your relations between John and you. You know, when you said that God is planning to eliminate all of Humanity and reflecting on the limousine on the way here, I have understood, and for that I am forever grateful to you, and I will follow you both in the good and in the bad fate. Now, if you excuse me, I have to make the first step in rebuilding the bridge between you and John.

And with that said Maria started to walk all happily towards John's room with the intent to show to him that she is not a bad person.

Lucifer on her part is a complete emotional mess. Her face has become redder than a tomato and she is now deep diving in the pool trying to hide her embarrassment. She is completely ashamed that Maria has seen through her pompous mask so easily, and more so that she remembered her after all these years. In retrospective she should have seen this coming considering that Maria was always praying at the church. Moreover, because of her transformation in a Demon Lord she has now the unrelenting desire to acquire followers and both hearing and feeling Maria's wholeheartedly pledge of worship to her is to much for the new-born Demon Lord.

(Now, Demon Lord have a very strong desire to acquire followers and/or spreading the Sins that they represent throughout Humanity. The reason is that because when the original Devils fallen to Hell and, they fused themselves with the Primordial Chaos they now had to find a way to increase their power. After decades of research, they find out that by spreading sins on humanity they could increase their power and, if enough humans were to swear their allegiance to them, then they could muster enough power to rival God. But there was a problem to all of this. Because Hell is a creation of God, while the Devils are the equivalent of homeless squatters, the latter could do nothing to modify Hell. For this reason, the Devils found out that trying to make human follow you when all you can offer is an eternity of pain and suffering. Yeah, recruitment was not a swift affair let's just say this, they were obliged to lie and trick humans whose souls were already corrupted in order to increase their power. Because of this, their already bad reputation became even worse in the centuries after, and so, when the great battle between Heaven and Hell started, even if they were capable to beat the Seven Heavenly Virtues, they could do nothing to God and were badly beaten. After that Mammon, as one of the first members of the second generation of Demon Lords, started to find a way to bypass this problem. After centuries of trials and expanding the number of followers she was finally able to create an entire city of gold inside Hell that is outside of the control of God. Here all the humans that in their lives have helped Mammon acquiring money and have not tricked her can live a life of luxury and wealth beyond their wildest imaginations. But only Mammon has ever been capable of doing something like this. Other trials like the city of gold were put forward after that, but all of them failed in one way or the other.

But, in the modern age, with a Humanity at its biggest since his creation and with the number of humans falling to sins increasing at alarming levels it seems that Mammon is trying to restart the project, together with Asmodeus and Belphegor as the two have the largest number of followers in the world, even more than Mammon. But no one knowns what the success of such a project would mean for Humanity's soul.)

After the debacle with Maria, Lucifer decides to remain in her rooms for the time beings. Leviathan is instead becoming more and more envy as the time goes on. She can't understand, or better she refuses to understand, the relationship between Lucifer and Maria. For Leviathan, Maria is simply an intruder in her and Lucifer relationship. She can't and she will not allow anyone to put itself between her and her Lucifer.

Without thinking too much about it she decides to confront Maria and make her understand her position. At long passes she uses her powers to feel Maria's presence and she immediately founds her. Without losing her momentum she opens the door, enters, and close the door behind her, and with her typical rushed attitude she says to Maria.

"Now listen well little human I don't know, and I don't care what your past relationship with Oneesama is. Simply saying that you are now her follower will not change anything. Do you understand!?".

"I am sorry if you feel this way. But I cannot change what I feel in my "hearth". So, even if you oppose it, even if you hate me, you will not stop me from following Lucifer-san!".

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! You don't know anything about her do you understand!".

Leviathan is now overly emotional instable and crying while also creating needles of water ready to throw it at Maria, but for the latter part she can see a great sorrow in her eyes, almost like there is loneliness in her hearth. But before she can throw her needles both her hands are blockaded by John, who for all this time was behind Leviathan being completely ignored by the latter.

"Hoi, hoi. Do you think I would allow you to harm Maria a second time?!".

"Silence! Silence! Silence! I don't care anymore. Do you think it is fun eh? To take out what Levi loves from her hand simply because I am dumb EH?! I know that I am dumb, I know that my desire for becoming a Demon Lord is only a pipe dream, but. But. *More crying and sobbing* I could finally be with Oneesama, after all this time I could finally meet her, touch her, talk to her. Do you even have the smallest idea of how I feel, I was always lonely, always forgotten, I was the one on which none has ever had the slightest hope that something great could be achieved by me, in those times only Oneesama was by side, only her continue to say to me that I could do something great, that I was not useless. So, do you understand?! Do you even understand?!"

To understand why leviathan is so overreacting to the relationship between Maria and Lucifer, one must understand what Leviathan life before meeting with Lucifer in Cocytus has been. Leviathan is a member of the Sitri Devil Family, thanks to this not only she has water-based powers, but also the right to order every water-based demon, like the demonic snails and whales. But these powers didn't come with what humans would call "parental affection", not only that Leviathan was born as the weakest out of her sisters and for this reason she was always marginalized in her family; to the point that even when she started to dress in her punk like attire as a form of rebellion, none even graced her with the minimum of consideration. It was in this environment that one night she was wondering the family's mansion and stumbled upon the library. There she entered hoping to find some books that could help her go to sleep. What she did not except was to find a book of the Seven Heavenly Virtues, in which Lucifer was depicted as the head of the angels (this is happening some centuries later the war between Hell and Heaven, so the precedent generation of both Seven Mortal Sins and Seven Heavenly Virtues has been changed). Leviathan was simply struck by Lucifer's beauty and from that moment on she started to idolize her, to the point that Lucifer became some sort of almost imaginary friend. For the Sitri family all of this was inconsequential. The war has reduced the power of the family so much that they could not waste time and resource in trying to make a Demon Lord out of her, and this hits harder if you consider how rare is for Devils to have children. Everything then changed when a successful pinch attack from the Catholic Church and Heavens completely annihilated almost the entirety of the Sitri family. Leviathan was the only one to survive because they didn't bother to take her with them. After that Leviathan lived a very lonely life with only Behemoth, her demonic pet/puppet, and her imaginary friend Lucifer to give her company. She was nonetheless capable of practicing and reaching a good mastery on water. But in the end for every other Devil, she was and is simply the last surviving member of the Sitri family, nothing more and nothing else. Because of all of these she was overjoyed when Lucifer, the true Lucifer arrived in front of her in Hell, and now she thought that she could spend all the time she wanted with her and doing funny things. This is one of the reasons she was adamant for Lucifer to go and take the seat as the leader of the Seven Mortal Sins, because so none would have opposed their fun time together.

But now, Leviathan is completely taken over by envy for Maria, because without even trying and always maintaining at arm length from Lucifer she is nevertheless capable of making the latter show more emotions than when she is with Leviathan, and she cannot permit this.

But now she is nothing more than a mess of tears, sobbing and repressed emotions coming out from her body with the power of a cannonball. She doesn't even care what it will happen to her anymore, she only wants things to return from how they were before, to return in her safe shell.

"Ah, it is so beautiful".

"Eh?" Leviathan is completely flabbergasted by the reaction of Maria, so much so that in her already not calm emotional state she cannot even formulate a coherent question.

"Your emotions for Lucifer silly girl, they are so beautiful, so much so that my envy for you cannot be contained".

"Eh? Are you dumb. Envy is a capital sin; you will go to Hell for it. Moreover, what do you have to be envy of me? You have all the attention from Oneesama…"

"Wrong Leviathan". Then Maria stands up from the bed and go towards Leviathan, whose arms are still blockaded by John, and grabs Leviathan's head with both her hands and while giving off her typical warm smile.

"I may have her attention, but this doesn't mean that I feel honoured or happy about it. This is why I envy you so, so much. You see, when I was 6 years old, I lost my parent to a car accident and from that moment on I became incapable of being emotionally attached to anyone or to express emotions like a normal girl. So yes Leviathan, I envy you, I hate you, I envy the natural way in which you express your emotions, I hate that you feel something from someone being stolen from you. So, let's make a deal Leviathan. For the good of Lucifer, let's envy each other with all our hearts shall we".

Then without a second thought Maria gives a deep kiss on the lips to Leviathan; the rapidity if the actions completely take over Leviathan that is overwhelmed by confused and unknown emotions, so much so that she ends up unconscious falling on her knees on the floor.

"Well, this was unexpected". Two voices come out at the same time. One is John, while the other is Lucifer, coming out of her camouflage where both Maria and John can see she sits on John's bed. (Remember that this is John's room).

The first to restart is John. "So? Do you were here from the start?"

"More or less. I thought that Leviathan would have tried something harsh; and considering we are not exactly in the best of terms I prepared to stop Leviathan if she tried something over the limit. But it seems that my intervention was not necessary at the end. Maria has resolved the problem by herself as it is expected from my first follower".

Lucifer then looks at Leviathan, that while listening to Lucifer's voice started to regain consciousness, and when Leviathan's eyes meet Lucifer's ones, the former avert the look feeling ashamed for having lost to Maria.

"Leviathan, you lost. You were beaten to your own Mortal Sin by Maria, your road to become a Demon Lord is still long".

Lucifer then looks directly at John. "John, could you give us some time to have a private chat between girls, I think there are a lot of things we need to discuss".

"Very well, just make sure to no do anymore rush decisions". John for his part is more than happy to go out of his own room considering what has become, nevertheless his previous talk with Maria, the confession of Leviathan and the way Lucifer brought herself in his room made him reconsider his treatment of her at the Church. He will surely have time tonight to discuss with her. Now, he has a guest to meet. So, he put himself in order, he is lucky that he had already dressed on when Leviathan entered the room and went down to meet the incoming guest.

After that John goes to the first floor and greets both Selina and Helly for they are coming back from their mission just in time to help him prepare the room for the meeting. Not a fancy dinner, but more than enough for now. And speaking of the Devil the mysterious guest arrives just in time for dinner.

"Selina, please go and open the door for the guest. I and Helly will sit down and greet him".

"Yes, John-sama".

Selina then has ordered arrives to the entrance door and open it. She then confirms that the man in front of him is indeed the guest hat they are wating and greets him.

"Welcome Ichinosuke-dono. It is an honour to have you here. Now, come inside. John-sama has prepared dinner knowing of your arrival".

Ichinosuke is a man of 1.99 m of height, with a round belly that gives the impression he is very fat. In reality under the belly there are strong and powerful muscles, a legacy of his times as a sumo wrestler. He is a Hippo-Human Hybrid and the personal samurai of Son Seira the present leader and CEO of the Ishida Zaibatsu after a particular series of event. He has black short flat hairs and brown eyes, and he is dressed in a formal dark grey attire. He has come to John for the renewal of the alliance between the Ishida Zaibatsu and John's personal company Atlas. This alliance is important for both parts because it has permitted to the former of compensating the economic losses in the previous Destroyales but also to rise and start to expand their investments all over Japan and Asia. For the latter this deal has made them possible to acquire the last important information of Hybridization process invented by Dr. Shidou Reiichi, which they have then rented to the Ishida Zaibatsu, and to put root inside Japan conglomerate and political system.

"I thank you Selina-dono, for both the dinner and give me your precious time for this occasion".

"Please Ichinosuke-dono. The Ishida Zaibatsu is a very important partner for us in both Japan and Asia, it is only logical for us to listen to what you have to say especially considering that the both of us have new updates that has made this meeting even more important".

This last phrase caught the surprise of Ichinosuke. His mission right now is to deliver to John the updates regarding the results of both the "Ishida Affair" and what has been decided for the Destroyale that his going to happen in the next three month (for context we are now in June and the Destroyale is going to happen between August and September), but if even they have updates then the result of this meeting would be even heavier. So, Ichinosuke mentally prepares himself for what his going to happen.

"Ichinosuke-san, it is always a pleasure to meet you. How is Son Seira- dono doing in these last days?".

"Thank you John-dono for your kind words. As for my lady she has doing very well after what your plan as revealed and obliged us to do in response. While she is still recovering, she has already restarted to appear in public and directing the Ishida Zaibatsu following the deal that our two companies have made".

"Eh? I knew I made the right choice back then. She is a kind woman with a strong hearth, you are really lucky to serve her".

At these words Ichinosuke could not resist himself from bring out a smile of pride in agreement with John statement.

"Yes John-dono you are right. She a better master than I could ever deserve I am ready at any time to give my life to save her. *giggles* even if she constantly says that she would rather have alive than dead and that I have to work on this perk of mine".

"*giggles* I agree with her. You are more important to her then you give yourself credit, so follow your master orders and survive so that you can return back to her. Now, I think that while we ate you can fill us and what has transpired from the "Ishida Affair", shall we?".

"Yes, John-dono. There is much to talk".

And so, both parties sit on the floor and started eating. John with Selina and Helly respectively on his right and left and Ichinosuke on the other end of the small table at the centre of the floor, eating sushi and rice, a typical Japanese dish made by the best in the sector. Ichinosuke surely appreciating the food with gusto.

"Then if it is okay for you, I would like to start".

"Yes, please Ichinosuke-san".

"I thank you. Then first I will say that as your leaks have confirmed the husband of my lady was secretly in contact with the other members of the Destroyale committee and in particular Shidou Reiichi-dono. We were able to confirm that Son Seigi-dono had made a lot of strange investments in various shell companies throughout these years, especially when there was a Destroyale on the horizon. To make things even worse it seems that he planned to completely liquidate the Ishida Zaibatsu and let the other ones eat on our remains while he would have used the remaining moneys to become an investor of the new Shidou Reiichi company Eden's Garden and live the rest of his days in some tropical paradise. We have even found out that the reason for the non-signing of our deal the first time was because of pressions made by the other Zaibatsu and Shidou Reiichi. The official reason for the other Zaibatsu was that "we cannot allow a gaijin to enter in our sacred ground". Nevertheless, this finding made the move of my lady quite obligated, even if forceful. I still want to thank you on behalf of my lady to help us cover our traces for the murder of her husband by making it seems that he had an affair behind my lady's back and was murdered by his jealous woman, thus the "Ishida Affair". After that the relations with the other Zaibatsu have been nothing short than out right hostile. Many ancient trade deals we had with all of them were broken from night to dawn, but thanks to your Atlas company we were able to not only survive but thrive in these dark times. As of now, our collective capital, both in money and assets, has reached the 275 billion dollars, and we are still a member of the Destroyale even if the others clearly wanted us out".

Then Ichinosuke take out of his left pocket a USB.

"Here there are other information that we were able to find about this project. One thing personally caught my eyes while I was scrolling all the documents inside of it".

John rises an eyebrow to this. If it something that has caught even Ichinose's attention, then it is something very important.

"Oh? And what if I may ask".

"Well. At first, I thought they were only some sort of passcode for important goods to deliver to the other zaibatsu, but the more I searched the more these terms came out in their conversation. Words like angels, God, Apocalypse and so on. At some point the reference to these terms becomes so much full inside the text that the only things that I had left to do was to think that he those words are not passcodes, but the true terms that they imply. I have absolutely no idea as to why my lady's husband was so obsessed with them. For me they are only rantings of someone on the brink of madness. Do you have some information that may explain all of this".

Not a second after Ichinosuke has concluded his speech John become super serious and put himself in the renewed Gendo Ikari pose, and his voice was a strange mix between disgust, angry and slightly curious.

"Well now, isn't this interesting? Unfortunately, Ichinosuke I know what he is talking about and what I am going to tell you will not be to your liking".

As to read his mind Lucifer, Leviathan and Maria go out of their respective rooms and, to John's relief, dressed in their normal attire, better than to be naked in front of his guest, all of them happy/more relaxed, especially Leviathan and Maria after the respective confessions of their feelings. So, John decides to take the bull by the horns and present all of them.

"Ichinosuke. May I present you my two new "trade partners" and my childhood friend. They are respectively Lucifer Demon Lord of Pride, Leviathan Demon Lord of Envy and Maria Totsuka my friend from my student's days here in Japan. Because of series of circumstances that are related to your problem all of them have knowledge in some way or the other about why Son Seigi was so obsessed with Heavens. Nevertheless, Lucifer. I didn't expect you to come here.

"Mph, normally you would be right. But when I heard about angels and God then it becomes my problem too. Especially considering that contrary to Demon Lords, angels and in particular the Seven Heavenly Virtues prefer to use middlemen and proxies to do their bidding".

John is impressed at her decision to participate and to reveal such crucial information, more because it shows that Lucifer takes this whole ordeal seriously and that she will not run away from their deal.

Ichinosuke for his end was a mix between confusion and scepticism, but when both Lucifer and Leviathan showed up their Devil wings every doubt that he could have had in his mind was gone.

"Then be my guests. I think this is a good moment for looking on how to proceed in the near future…ding-dong".

Someone has pressed the doorbell. But who? Ichinosuke is sure that none has followed him, same for Lucifer and Leviathan that are sure that none of the Seven Mortal Sins or the Seven Heavenly Virtue has followed them. Then all the looks fall on John, who simply respond.

"Tch. He is early. Helly, please, go and open the door. Ichinosuke, please, could you sit at my right, so that I can look at our new guests directly in the eyes?".

Looking at the way with which John is talking and looking at his surrounding Ichinosuke doesn't think twice and immediately sit himself to John's right. Helly then opens the door and let the guest come in.

Joh is the first to talk and present the new guest to all the presents.

"May I present to all of you that don't know him Shidou Reiichi. A doctor with great knowledge and capabilities in the field of genetic engineering and biotechnology. He is the creator of the Therianthrope, the human-animal hybrids, member and leader of the committee of the Destroyale and the one who is responsible to make the Zaibatsu invest in the Destroyale in the first place".

The venom in every single word uttered by John is practically visible, not that to the one directly interested this is of some significance.

"Mph, as always, your presentation are a mess at the best of times. Before you ask a pointless question, I have already known of your arrival here from my eyes all over the city. What I didn't expect was for you to come to the hotel with two Devils out of all the people. But I suppose I should not be surprised considering that you are well used to crawl to the ground".

"Well life as very interesting ways to teach you important lessons. One of these is that when you hit your absolute low you can only go up. Now, I would ask you to sit down. I think this is going to e a long conversation.

END

AN:

Hello, Ghostfire here. With this chapter the world of Seven Mortal Sins and Killing Bites have officially meet each other and damn if it is a beefy chapter. I hope you are ready for Chapter 5 because it is going to be absolute fire, especially for the showdown between John and Shidouh. Speaking of something else, I will, from now on, use the AN zone to answer some of the comments that you send to me. I want that all of you knows that I am very happy to receive comments for my work, it really brings you the will to continue the story. Now, let me answer:

Sword Maste92: I have read the manga you recommended, even if I have given a look to it some time ago. It very interesting, and I have a special appreciation for body modifications. Dark Empress Rexos it would surely be interesting has a possible dominant waifu and as waifu material in general. Maybe I will use her in some of my future work, but I will have to see. Besides, in your comment about John learning demonic magic, while it would be interesting. I plan to make him only use human tech, because he is a transhumanist, and he doesn't need nothing beside the pure awesomeness of Humanity. So, I want to make clear to everyone reading this work of mine. This a HFY (Humanity Fuck Yeah) fanfiction, John is going to make both Heaven and Hell bent over by showing them that you don't mess up with Mankind.

I hope to answer to more of your comments next time. For the moment I will see all of you to the next chapter.