Chapter 11: The Dinner
Octavia had her shares of dinners.
There were the horrible dinners where her parents used to argue and she had to put her earphones on at full volume to tune it out. There were awkward dinners between her and her father trying to catch. There were ghastly dinners where her mother wouldn't stop talking about properly keeping Octavia in her place in the Ars Goetia ranks, which just resulted in screaming from the modern teen. There were the occasional dinner outings at discreet cafés with her Hellhound friend Loona, chatting over gothic things, bands, and how sweet but embarrassing their dads could be. (We know. Who would have thought they'd be friends over their dads', well, disturbing relationship?)
But being held hostage by a sinner porn star, forced to set the table with the awesome girl you recently met, and having dinner with Hell's primary laughingstock? That had yet to be described.
Angel Dust's anger had driven nearly everyone into silence. Octavia and Indigo didn't even dare to say a word as they set the dishware on the table. Honestly, Octavia was just glad to be near her friend. At least she was near someone she tolerated.
Finally, the spider demon brought out the dinner. Seeing all the dishes slightly made Octavia feel bad. The imp servants at her mansion were treated like crap by her mother despite their best efforts, and Alastor, an all-powerful Overlord, got his ass served with the multiple course dinner the arachnid sinner had concocted. Everything smelled good as everyone sat down. Octavia and Indigo were shocked by the appearance of Kyle Ketamine after taking a shower. His hair had been trimmed and combed into a waves hairstyle, the thyme leaves sticking out in a bandana formation. His sickly green skin had less grime but the tired bags under his eyes and his dried-up lips remained the same, complete with minor puffs of green smoke slipping out. He still wore his usual homeless boy attire. The smell of thyme coming out of his body was stronger.
"Jeez, Kyle. You remind me of the seniors back at my high school," Indigo commented.
"What? I haven't trimmed it in a while. I thought I'd do waves like what I had back when I was alive." He sat on Indigo's left. "Don't get used to it. A few days back in the dumpsters and it'll grow back."
When everyone sat down, Angel Dust slammed his hand against the table. "OK!" He got their attention. "I spent HOURS cooking all this and AN EXTRA HOUR fixing my panna cotta and beating Alastor to it!"
The Overlord grumbled through his smile. Scratches were on his cheeks. Octavia noticed Indigo covering her mouth to hold in the giggles.
"Ya leave without finishing ALL of your feed, I kill ya," Angel Dust said. "Ya talk politics, redemption, or uncivilized garbage, I kill ya. And Vaggie, if you don't shut yer trap and say something mean, I kill ya." Angel Dust gripped one of his hands on Alastor's right antler. "Oh, and Al? Ya say something or do something stupid OR you cause Indigo to burst a pipe again… I'm going to flay you alive and turn your deerskin into Fat Nuggets' newest pee pad!"
That caused Husk to choke on his drink.
"OK! Let's eat!" Angel Dust pushed away Alastor and sat down.
"Is he always like this?" Octavia whispered to Indigo.
"I don't know, I've only been here for a week," Indigo chuckled. "But they're arguing is so funny!"
They started eating the antipasto. The minutes that followed were quiet, no one daring to make a sound. Angel Dust's serious dinner over the dinner must have taken its toll, they didn't want to anger him. Octavia wasn't sure if this was the regular for them, eating like they were waiting for a showdown. She definitely noticed the moth demon Vaggie scowling at her, so she scowled back. No need to hide the disdain.
It was really sadistic. Charlotte had no problem waltzing around with her sinner of a girlfriend centuries after breaking up with that obnoxious male offspring of the Von Eldritch clan, yet when Octavia's father did his gross shit with that imp, everyone needed to stop the presses?
The gnocchi was brought out after the charcuterie was eaten. Kyle Ketamine, for not having touched a single piece of the charcuterie available, managed to finish his gnocchi in five seconds. The other demons stared in shock at his quick eating while Angel Dust gladly gave him a second serving.
"Uh, Kyle, was it?" Charlotte asked. "When was the last time you ate?"
"Eh. Some guy died in a car crash last night and his pockets were full of granola bars." Kyle shrugged.
"I meant like a meal."
"Miss Charlie…" Indigo shook her head.
"What's wrong with her question, Indigo?" Kyle scratched his fork against the plate. "Apparently, I have all the five food groups for every meal at the dumpsters. And I have a penthouse under the silos and I can take bubble baths in the sewage system. Oh, and I play possum on extermination days! You know, when my bad breath can make me look dead so the exterminators don't kill me on the streets!" The thyme demon smiled sarcastically. He shrugged. "The life, ya know? But seriously, the last time I had a decent meal was probably three weeks ago. Really nice lady named Mrs. Mayberry who makes really good vegetarian sandwiches. Fun fact, she died because she committed suicide after killing her husband and botching the murder of the missus she caught cheating with her husband on the guy's birthday, she sent some imp murderers to kill the missus!" Kyle chuckled. "You heard of the imps who created that business? Their victims have, like, THE BEST social group in the southwest of Pentagram City, I know where to go to get some scraps from their potlucks!"
Octavia crossed her arms and glared at him. "The imp… who created that biz… caused my dad to ruin everything… by fucking with him," she enunciated. "50 souls if you can shut up and think of the press that stalked me when I first met Indigo at Rosie's. Say another word on it… and I don't think you'll be playing possum at the next extermination. YOU will be a POSSUM. Literally!"
Kyle shrunk himself in his chair.
"I don't know if you mean an actual possum or dead like a possum, but please calm down, Octavia. OK?" Indigo placed a hand on Octavia's shoulder. The Ars Goetia calmed down.
"Sorry about that…"
"Eh. I've seen worse."
"How? You've only been in Hell for less than a week!" Vaggie grumbled. Angel Dust whacked behind her head as he cleared the empty gnocchi platters for plates filled with buridda. The smell of seafood really tempted Octavia.
"Well, there was the moment when I found Nifty looking through my stuff yesterday." Indigo looked at the small cyclops.
"I was cleaning under your bed!" Nifty protested. "I said I was sorry!"
"Yeah, right. Tight Eyepatch obviously wanted her to find a hidden stash in the kid's room!" Husk poked his tail at Vaggie while he ate. She hissed at him.
"Vaggie, you aren't being fair," Charlotte said. "You already went through Angel's room and you didn't find his stash. Why would you think that he'd hide a stash in Indigo's room?"
Vaggie titled her head as if it were obvious.
"Vaggie!" Charlotte exclaimed. "You think Indigo is a drug addict? She's only 16!"
Kyle Ketamine just laughed his head off. "Oh… My God! This mad house is priceless! Indigo, they think you're an addict?"
"I don't know why Vaggie would think that!" Indigo protested. Red admirals flew out of her hair.
"That's fucking hilarious! Fun fact, Your Highness," Kyle leaned over to talk to Octavia, "when I first met Indigo, she had NO clue what ketamine was! And she said I really needed a doctor, almost asked me if there was a homeless shelter in Hell, AND she cried a lot!" He then stopped laughing and glared at Vaggie. "Yeah, because apparently, she's an obvious crack-baby! She never touched a single drug in her life! I bet she's not even aware that Angel Dust is actually a drug name!"
Angel Dust frowned at Vaggie. The moth demoness just huffed in frustration and ate her buridda. When she was done, Angel Dust just slammed her salad plate harshly in front of her. Alastor was about to open his mouth, but Angel Dust pinched the Overlord's lips shut with his fingers. Octavia covered her ears to block the latter's emitted static.
"If you so much as say another damn word, I will force feed you panna cotta until you choke. Capisci, idiota furbo?" Angel Dust hissed. (Understand, you smartass jackass?)
Charlotte tried to change the subject. "So, Octavia! How'd you meet Indigo?" She asked the Ars Goetia princess.
"She scared Katie Killjoy and Tom Trench," Octavia said.
Indigo accidentally spit out the water she was drinking. Butterflies of water flew around from her spit. Nifty freaked out and started wiping on the table with a cloth.
"It wasn't intentional!" Indigo freaked out, numerous butterflies flying a storm over her head. "We ran into Rosie's gardening department, there was the whole making gaudy commodores out of terracotta, and then those weird TV people started bothering her about her family life! I mean, it was horrible! I just hated it! They had her cornered, and then the next thing I knew, I blacked out, and when I stopped blacking out, the department was a mess, Carman kept talking, and I ended up shopping…"
Angel Dust was the one to place his hands on Indigo's shoulders. "Kid, take a breath…" He said patiently.
"I'M BREATHING!" Red admirals started joining the insect hurricane that was spiraling over her head. Kyle Ketamine thought quickly. He plucked off a branch from his head and held it in front of Indigo's nostril. The young demoness' breathing slowed down as the thyme fragrance hit her nose and her thundering swarm flew away like a gentle breeze. "I'm OK… I'm fine… Thanks…"
"That was so good of you, Kyle!" Charlotte applauded. "You helped Indigo calm down!"
"Because minus the angry spider here, none of you exactly rushed up. Thyme's a mood uplifter… and an effective rat repellant." He started chewing on the branch and eating the leaves.
"Self-cannibalism, seriously?" Octavia chuckled.
"What? I said it's a mood uplifter. Consider me mood uplifted." Kyle chewed on his thyme leaves.
It didn't take very long for everyone to finish the formaggi e frutta before Angel Dust finally brought out his infamous panna cotta. Octavia looked eagerly at the cylindrical pastry on her plate topped with red berries. Angel Dust poured some red-colored sauce on the panna cotta from a small pink pitcher, making it look like a mini volcano. He poured the sauce from a black pitcher onto Alastor's panna cotta.
"Really delicious!" Nifty beamed.
"I've never eaten anything like this." Octavia had to admit, the panna cotta was really flavorful. "Is that strawberry and cranberry in the sauce?"
"Just the best red berries I can find." Angel Dust took a large spoonful of his. "Except for Smiles. I gave him blood and… Kid, you ate it all already?"
Octavia giggled. No one had noticed until Angel Dust had exclaimed, but Indigo's plate was void of any panna cotta. A small smudge of the pudding stuck on the left corner of her lips as she scooped the red sauce with her spoon. She eagerly licked her lips once she swallowed it all. "So good…"
"You're a bigger sugar tooth than me!" Angel Dust cracked a grin.
Octavia chuckled. "And you didn't see it coming? She's a butterfly. They feast on sweet nectars. You had vanilla extract in that panna cotta and red berries for seasoning, and you didn't see it coming?"
Angel Dust snorted. "All bug demons love sugar, Rich Goth."
"Can the Rich Goth ask for the recipe after dinner then? Because that was good." Octavia's smug response nearly blanked him out. She then noticed an odd smell coming from Alastor's sauce as he struggled to force himself to eat the dessert. "Can you just make sure to not give me that blood sauce you gave the Radio Demon?"
"You have no preferences for blood sauce to coat that repugnant taste of sugar, Your Highness?" Alastor asked. "That sauce is the most decent thing I've eaten in this platter."
Angel Dust crossed his arms and looked indifferent.
"So, you're aware that the blood sauce is made of menstrual blood?"
Octavia's question froze everyone. Husk fell off his chair and Kyle spat out his panna cotta in shock. Alastor's spoon stopped in his mouth. His stunned red eyes stared at Angel Dust. The spider demon's indifferent expression turned into a smug grin. Indigo couldn't retain herself and burst into laughter. Alastor's face twisted in disgust as he teleported himself away to go vomit. Mangrove skippers flew out of Indigo as she laughed loudly, hugging herself.
"I can't! Ha, ha, ha!" She wheezed. "Oh my God…"
Vaggie snorted in amusement.
"Vaggie! Don't encourage it!" Charlie said. "Angel Dust probably went through your pads!"
"I know! I'll kill him later…" Vaggie chuckled.
More mangrove skippers filled the room as Indigo laughed. Octavia smiled. This was the first time she was seeing Indigo laughing her way out of her shy shell.
"I don't! I don't know what's so funny… THE HELP and CARRIE crossover… or because Vaggie's actually laughing… BECAUSE MISTER ALASTOR HAD IT COMING!" She raised her hands in the air, accidentally punching Kyle in the face. She stopped laughing when Kyle fell on the floor. "Kyle! I'm so…"
A green cloud fume flew out of his mouth and shrouded his face. When it dissolved, Kyle was snoring on the floor. "Oh no…" Indigo freaked out. "I KILLED KYLE!"
Angel Dust bent down and tapped Kyle on the forehead. "Nope. Just knocked himself out with his own breath. Probably won't wake until the morning." He got up and put his hands on his hips. "Anyone want cappuccino and grappa?"
Much later
No one had cappuccino and grappa. And Angel Dust's Saturday cooking privileges had been suspended.
On the plus side, Miss Charlie was open to allow Octavia to stay for the night. Indigo was rather ecstatic about having another teen demon around for a sleepover. And with Mister Alastor sulking somewhere in the hotel and his shadows lurking around, she had no problem with Octavia crashing in her room.
She took multiple round trips to get blankets, pillows, and a tea set. Swallowtails and mangrove skippers dragged a mattress from a nearby room while the gaudy commodores threw Indigo's mattress, blankets, and pillows onto the floor. It wouldn't have been fair if only one of the girls slept on the floor.
While Indigo set things up, Octavia was anxiously exchanging a phone call with her father at the bay window.
"… Dad, I know… Yes, I know it's her turn on weekends, but I couldn't deal with Mom… What bonding time, Dad?" Indigo saw Octavia struggling to keep herself strong. Good thing the door was closed. She stayed silent and said nothing as the Ars Goetia's voice broke. "All she cares is the elite stuff, Dad! She didn't ask me how I was feeling! I don't…" Octavia sighed on the phone. "I know how you feel… Dad, no, you know I don't blame you… even if it is your fault… Look, she wouldn't stop talking about the stupid elites she's inviting for my party! I know, Dad, but it's my birthday! My EIGHTEENTH birthday! They're her guests, not mine! It's because of you two that I never had friends!" Octavia angrily shook her head. "Look… I can't deal with this right now. I'm staying for the night with my friend at the Hazbin Hotel… Yes, I'll see you tomorrow morning… Are you crazy, Dad? Charlotte's not my friend. My friend isn't another elite bitch that drives me crazy! Good night!" Octavia hung up her phone and threw it on the floor.
A terrible feeling struck Indigo's chest. It was an unpleasant sight. For one, she couldn't believe the tone Octavia had used to her father on the phone. In her living days, Ines would NEVER permit herself to speak poorly to or about her father. It ran in the family. Ines heard a story once that the ONE time her father disrespected her grandparents in his teenage years, they had him spend two nights sleeping in the garden with her grand-père's old military sleeping bag and shower with the hose behind the rose bushes until he apologized and performed 40 pushups in the living room while giving various apologies in English, Spanish, and French… while her abuela sat on his back. How her father was still so flexible in yoga would always be a mystery.
But on the other hand, seeing Octavia cry was worse than recalling those childhood stories. Indigo brought over the teacups while her butterflies dragged along the kettle and box of herbal flavors. She sat across from Octavia on the bay window. The insects didn't hesitate and flew towards Octavia, showing her the open box. When a Dryas iulia tried to seize the opportunity to land on Octavia's tear-stained cheek while she selected chamomile, Indigo glared at the orange-colored butterfly.
"You'll be the first to get snacked on by Kookie Burra tomorrow if you even think about it," Indigo warned. The Dryas iulia flew off to hide somewhere in the furniture. Indigo sighed. "Sorry about that, Octavia. These mud-puddling bugs are literally the first butterflies I summoned by accident when I first got to Hell."
"It's OK." Octavia wiped her tears. "I'm fine…"
"I'm not going to press about what happened on your call," Indigo reassured her while her butterflies put a peppermint teabag in her cup and poured boiling water in it. "It's your business, and if you want to talk about it, I'm open. But I don't want you to force it out if it's just going to make you uncomfortable."
"Thanks…" Indigo missed the brief blush on the Ars Goetia teen's face. They both took sips of their cups. "Why can't everyone be more like you?"
"Excuse me?"
"Why can't everyone be more like you?" Octavia looked down at her cup. She sighed. "It's like everyone doesn't give a damn about my space… or the shit I feel. My dad ruined things… and my mom might as well pretend we're not related. All she cares about is social standing and our titles… And the press doesn't care that I feel like shit as long as they have headlines… You didn't bother me with all that crap."
"Well, yes, because it's not my business to go around and ask people how bad their parents' relationships are." Indigo shrugged. "And I told you, I'm not qualified to judge. My dad raised me, so why should I judge your parents' problems?" Indigo drank some tea. "That's just how I am… I can't speak for other people."
Octavia sighed. "My dad's been seeing an imp for a while… Sleeping together… My mom got angry when she found out he did that with an imp…"
"I… don't think I properly understand," Indigo hesitated. "I'm still learning, but if I understand well, the Ars Goetia are far above imps… Isn't it common for the nobility to have extramarital affairs? I mean, I'm guessing… I'm in Hell."
"You are guessing." Octavia finished her tea. "I don't really care about it, but anyone over Overlords fusses about 'staying among their ranks'. They think it's a problem if you're interacting beneath your status, especially if you go behind your arranged marriage to swoon over what they consider peasants to clean their pots." She shook her head. "My mom's always fussing about my 'exposures' because she thinks I'll turn out like my dad. Too casual around commoners. I don't give a damn about what she thinks of social standings… It's not like I'm taking over my father's duties permanently tomorrow."
"Octavia… I had no idea…" Indigo apologized. "No wonder you ran off from her today… Wait. Didn't you mention something about your birthday?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I turn eighteen on the 17th."
"Hey, another Sagittarius!" Indigo smiled before dropping it. "Your mom's planning on ruining it, isn't she?"
"Totally." Octavia groaned. "Before they split, she always organized the parties at our mansion, but with the separation, it's on a Friday. My dad called dibs on hosting and organizing the party, but SHE called on organizing the guest list! Which is also completely dumb, because SHE makes the list of who to invite and HE has to be the one to fucking write the invites and stamp the envelopes! I left earlier today because we got into a fight of her non-stop talk about ALL the rich Ars Goetia she was thinking of inviting and their rich sons…" She gagged and refilled her mug with hot water. "She doesn't even care that I'm not into that matching junk either. Only my dad bothered to understand my asexuality and… why are you smiling like you like that?"
Indigo's eyes beamed as she gushed, more mangrove skippers erupted out of her hair. "We got the same zodiac AND orientation!" She clasped her hands together as she got jumpy on her seat.
"Seriously?" Octavia gasped. "It's so hard to find other demons like me in Hell! I blame the porn industry shaming us!"
"I know, right? Weird story, but the first time I got in Hell, I accidentally got the Porn Studios destroyed by my bugs when I found out he was an acephobe." The butterflies got rid of the empty tea set. Indigo got up and jumped on the floor's mattresses. "I can't believe Angel Dust works for a jerk like that! I am THIS close…" Indigo pinched her thumb and index fingers together. "… to sending my bugs out there again!"
"Oh, so you're the one who caused Porn Studios to hold off any activity?" Octavia joined her on the mattresses. "They should give you a medal."
"Let's hope not." Indigo sat up. "I don't know why I cause these accidents. I promised Alastor and Angel Dust I wouldn't get in trouble with the Three Vs."
"What's the deal with the spider and the Radio Demon, anyway?" Octavia lied down on her stomach. "They act like my parents did before they split up… except your new dads are more fun."
Indigo hiccupped a blue morpho butterfly out of surprise. "My new dads?"
"I thought that's what they were doing," Octavia frowned. "I might be wrong. But aren't they giving more shit about you than the others? You even seem to get along better with them."
"Well…" Indigo hesitated. "I mean, yeah, I get along with them, but it's because they've been extremely patient with me. I've been crying about being in Hell like a baby for a week… Miss Charlie's nice, but… a bit too much. Vaggie just hates me, Husk's fun to share stories with, and Nifty probably doesn't like me with all my bugs flying everywhere." She sighed and shook her head. "I don't even know why I'm in Hell. They probably think I'm a burden…"
"I think they would have kicked you out if you were."
"Maybe…" Indigo shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm contributing as I can."
"Uh, huh. Oh, that reminds me!" Octavia waved her hand. A small portal of pinkish purple light appeared and a wrapped package landed in her hands. "I meant to give this to you when I got here. A sort of house-warming gift, if you will…"
Indigo accepted the package. "Octavia, you shouldn't have! Now I feel really guilty…" She patiently ripped off the package. Revealed to her was a purple hardcover book with silvery ghost butterflies forming a skull and the title. "'Beelzebub's Lepidoptery Guide for Average Amateurs'. That's the second most condescending title I've read in my life."
"Yeah, sorry about that. But that was the best book I could find that had info on all of Hell's butterfly species. And as the Lord of the Flies, Beezelbub knows all about bugs. This is the most recent edition they released." Octavia sat up and chuckled nervously.
"Aw, Octavia! I love it! I can't wait to…" Indigo paused when she opened the cover and the first page before the title page looked like it had been chewed on to stitch in a new page. The new page was bearing a tacky portrait of some two-headed demon in a bright yellow-and-black hive patterned 19th century empire dress. The demon's two heads were that of bugs: the left one being a bee head coated in feminine makeup and the right one being a fly head with a beard of foam. Their four arms were fuzzy insect legs. The bee's upper arm wielded a staff with a soaking honeycomb at the tip, and the fly's upper arm held up a dish of blood-soaked skulls… topped by parsley. There was a printed autograph on it.
Relish in my gluttony, you suckers of bugs! XOXO, Beezelbub.
"Yeah, they always print out their picture and 'autographs for their fans' every time they publish some shit." Octavia grimaced awkwardly. "I'm sorry…"
Indigo shrugged. "I can just cut it off tomorrow if Alastor wants it. But your gift was so sweet, Octavia!" The owl demoness stiffened when the butterfly demoness hugged her. Indigo got up to put her new book on top of her nightstand, unaware of how red Octavia's face had gone. It was gone by the time Indigo pointed at her DVD collection. "I can't believe the hotel included all the movies and TV shows I had back home."
"I can literally have a flatscreen drop from the sky," Octavia offered. "You got any dark flicks?"
Indigo looked through her collection and pulled out her CORALINE DVD. "How do you feel about alternate dimensions where humanoid spiders eat children's souls buy sewing buttons over their eyes?"
"Sounds horrid…" Octavia waved her hand and a massive flatscreen fell down from a portal. "Let's watch it!"
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Hell
Trophies were more than symbols of accomplishments. They were harvesters of the losers' envy. Another presence of envy that permitted The Great Underdweller to spy on Ines Coeurdor in his private heptagon room.
And he was bored.
Besides the pathetic sitcom-like love drama shit happening between one of Lucifer's lousy Overlords and of said lousy Overlords' property (he had to agree with Coeurdor, it was pretty hilarious), nothing major had happened. The hotel's garden project? He could sense the envy working its way to fully bloom and potentially drive neighbors envious… as soon as these peasants would put a damn weed in place. Coeurdor slowly gathering more followers than Lucifer's brat just by using her genuine sense of connection was a start for planting seeds of envy, but it was TAKING FOREVER! And that wine stain covered Alastor tutoring Coeurdor into creating accidental cartoon explosions? The Great Underdweller was so pissed off, he purposely ate the imp wielding his silver dish of envy-stuffed organs.
Vapor clouds followed his growls, he didn't hear the door open. The son-in-law emerged and walked in.
"Everything going well, Sir?"
"Let me get back to you on it…" The Great Underdweller fumed beneath his white heart-shaped mask. Compared to the other rulers beneath his league, The Great Underdweller wore a mask to hide his face. It was enchanted to alter between two theatrical mask expressions, a smiling one when he was in his sadistic humor, and a furious one whenever he was angry. It also functioned the way his face did, so it could stretch his mouth whenever it was wide open. Right now, it was spitting out his vapor. "Ines Coeurdor is in massive delays. And from what I'm seeing, the polls on the envy stock market have decreased in the other rings. I'm not even getting any envy boosters with that concert Verosika Mayday is hosting in the Sloth Ring! The locals are too lazy to even be envious of the famous succubus waving her tits at them!"
"It's… the Sloth Ring. I'm sure they're just as lazy at being lustful…" The son-in-law tried his best at saying something positive to The Great Underdweller.
"Aw, thanks! Your lame attempt at cheering me up… actually reminded me that I need to send bad ratings to all the businesses in Sloth on NV!" The Great Underdweller searched through his jacket and pulled out a Hellphone with an ouroboros design on the case. "Belphegor WILL be envious for being THE ringleader with THE WORST ratings! Beezelbub will owe me for boosting their ratings!"
The-son-in-law rolled his eyes. He looked at the amethyst-colored glass wall showing the Pride Ring. It showed Ines Coeurdor in the Hazbin Hotel, preparing to watch a DVD with Prince Stolas' offspring.
The son-in-law sighed silently. He couldn't believe how much she grew up. To think that sixteen years ago, he had held his hybrid stepdaughter in his arms after his wife presented her second born to The Great Underdweller… and the son-in-law quickly had grabbed the baby to calm her down when the Great Underdweller had scared her. To think that sixteen years ago, he was the one who had brought the infant to the human his wife had cruelly toyed around.
And now the teenager was in Hell. Murdered by a hit placed by her envious mother. Unaware of the heritage that made her powerful. Unaware that due to her premature fate, her powers weren't ready for The Great Underdweller's ultimate plan to rule Hell.
The glass wall showed his stepdaughter putting down a copy of Beelzebub's Lepidoptery Guide for Average Amateurs on a nightstand. "Oh, that's just great!" Leviathan exclaimed in anger. "I'm about to boost Beezelbulb's envy ratings and their publicity trash is in my granddaughter's shelves?" The Great Underdweller slammed his tail against the ground. Whale bone fragments fell from the ceiling. "House arrest wasn't enough of a punishment for Invidia! Can you believe her pathetic envy is jeopardizing my schemes? Even with a shitty Overlord playing Ms. Frizzle in the game, Ines Coeurdor's powers aren't developed enough! Not to mention the timing! And the envy polls of Hell are depleting! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENS WHEN I GO HUNGRY?"
"Your powers decrease, and Lucifer rubs it on your nose." The son-in-law crossed his arms. For a mighty demon, The Great Underdweller was a titanic manchild. He tapped his chin, thinking of how to both satisfy… and delay The Great Underdweller. Then the Pride Ring's glass wall quickly showed something: a swarm of Lapis Locustia, under Ines Coeurdor's unplanned command, terrorizing Vox's underlings and destroying yet another of Valentino's properties… to the point of turning into humanoid Aztec warriors if they ate demon hearts. All because their mistress was worried for Stolas' offspring and Valentino's prized whore.
Just like their mistress, the butterflies needed to feed on envy.
"You know, eventually, Ines is going to get hungrier when she runs out of her small envy supplies," the son-in-law pointed out. The Great Underdweller looked down at him. "And if the Radio Demon can't provide it, she might have to look for it on her own. The more she eats envy, the more she affects other demons into being envious."
"And the more envious demons get, the more it fills Hell, I know!" The Great Underdweller snapped. "You think I don't know her purpose?"
"We all know her purpose, but the people at the Hazbin Hotel don't." The Great Underdweller listened with curiosity as the son-in-law said that sentence. As the latter anticipated, the Great Underdweller started to have gears of bones spinning behind his mask.
"Lucifer's brat's project… if Ines Coeurdor can attract more demons into the hotel… Oh, I am brilliant! More demons, ONE possible redemption… Sinners will drown with envy at the idea that others got the chance to be redeemed and not them!" He giggled like a psychotic child. "And if Princess Charlotte gets envious that my granddaughter is far more successful, adored, and respected than her… Envy is always more powerful if it comes from Hell's upper crust!" The Great Underdweller got up and let out a sharp whistle. "CETUS!"
The glass wall showing him the Envy Ring shook violently. The glass rippled and a sea monster's head stuck out. Half the height of the glass tank wall, Cetus' head resembled that of an Irish wolfhound. Each of its hairs strands was made of black eel scales glowing with electricity, its eyes were bloodier than an injured clownfish, and its teeth were sharp, elephant tusks. The son-in-law hid his displeased expression as the Great Underdweller used his tail to whip Cetus. Its master still wouldn't let go of the fact that Cetus failed to kill Andromeda back in the days of Antiquity.
"I don't care if you were creating a hurricane in the ring's upper side, you pathetic symbol of envy botcher! Spit out my grimoire!" The Great Underdweller could care less about Cetus whining before it spit a pellet onto the floor. The son-in-law grimaced at the smell of sailor bones, barnacles, and rotten fish floating out of the pellet. The Great Underdweller gagged when he found his grimoire coated in dead jellyfish guts. "GET OUT!" He used his tail to throw the filthy pellet onto Cetus' left eye. It whimpered and swam back to its original location. The son-in-law sighed at yet another example of his wife's father's cruelty.
"Once she gets curious enough, Ines will get a little… family push into the right direction." The Great Underdweller laughed. "My family's self-torturing is so fun!"
