Hey everyone ! I decide to put the next story right after the frist one ! Because I don't think that this sotry can be read without reading "First meeting" ... Hope you enjoyed !


Alastor stood before the immense crystal tower of Hell, the palace of the King himself. When he had received the message from Zestial, he had been astonished to have been invited here, in any other place. The message had appeared as usual, next to him in a black envelope. The old Overlord had not specified the reason for the appointment. He had just noted, in a distinguished manner, that an exceptional meeting would take place in the main tower of Hell and that only certain Overlords were invited. It was to take place in the utmost discretion.

The Radio Demon was flattered to have been contacted, but he was cautious: he didn't know what the meeting was about, although he had a slight idea. It had been a few days since Omnes, also known as God, had paid a little visit to the Hazbin Hotel, and his presence, or at least his departure, had caused quite a stir among the Pentagram's population.

When Charlie had returned from her appointment, she asked if the hotel residents felt this powerful energy surging through the city. Lucifer laughed and simply said it was him, following an argument with Adam. The wave was angelic magic, his daughter hadn't questioned her father's words, and no one dared go against the talk of the King of Hell. He asked that the angelic being's arrival be kept a secret, and no one had gone against his request, which was more of an order than anything else. Even Alastor had not opposed his decision. He was, however, the only one who knew the true nature of the deity who had trodden the underworld. He knew because Lucifer told him in a moment of weakness, while he was healing him following an unfortunate situation.

The feeling of helplessness flooded back into his soul and he grinned. It was one of the worst things he'd ever felt. Far more bitter than the one he'd experienced after his defeat by Adam.

He strode towards the entrance with a determined step, literally leaving the bitterness of his soul behind him and regaining his consistency. He arrived at the huge golden double doors that reeked of wealth and opulence. It was enormous, much bigger than the hotel. Alastor couldn't help thinking that the giant being who had appeared a few days ago in the lobby of his business wouldn't even have had to stoop. He also thought that it was far too big for the palace's only current resident. He wanted to knock to announce himself, but he didn't have to. Before his hand could touch the wood, the door opened and a little imp greeted him with a serious, distinguished air. He was dressed like any self-respecting butler. Alastor frowned and almost let a growl of frustration escape from his mouth: the bellboy had the same clothes as him, except for a few details. He tried to convince himself that the master of the house hadn't provoked him on purpose.

He entered behind the imp who, without saying a word, guided him into the tower. It was richly decorated, sumptuous and elegant. It had the charm of the past, as if it were a Renaissance building. The exquisite gilding and light colors contrasted with the overall atmosphere of Hell The people who lived here didn't want to remember where they were. It disgusted the Demon Radio. It looked like running away for him.

He finally arrived at a new door, large but not as large as the one at the entrance. The imp led the way and bowed, inviting him in. When he took the few steps into the room, he was slightly surprised.

Zestial, Carmilla and Rosie were present, as he'd expected, but he didn't know the other two demons present with them.

One of them was very tall and looked like a blue hairy flame mixed with an exotic bird. He was dressed in a chic and distinguished, if rather provocative, way. His flaming head had three faces and he wore an inviting smile. The second demon, standing opposite the other, was female from the looks. She resembled a medium-sized, multicolored fox/fly whose coat shifted with the elements, changing color. Compared to the immense cold flame, she had shimmering colors that matched her casual style, pink shorts and pink top. The two demons turned their gaze towards him and he sensed that they weren't like the others. They weren't sinners, but they clearly weren't common natives. They exuded a power he'd never known before. At least not with other natives. But, for whatever they emanated, it had nothing to do with the last occupant of the room.

Lucifer stood off to one side, seated on a chest of drawers with a plastic duck in his hand, one leg bent over the surface of the piece of furniture on which his arm rested, the other dangling in the air. He was dressed as usual, in a white and pink suit, his trusty top hat on. His face was closed, his gaze lost in contemplation of his duck.

Rosie, as soon as she saw him, moved towards him, her presence lighting up the slightly darkened room. She smiled broadly and cupped his arm. He returned her expression kindly and sincerely: Rosie was truly a woman he had a strong affection.

"Alastor, dearest!" she exclaimed as she pulled him into the room. "Here you are at last! You should break that bad habit of arriving late!" She pinched his cheek before her hand pointed to the two occupants of the room he didn't know.

"Let me introduce you!" she said, perky. She pointed to the blue flame. "Let me introduce you to Asmodeus! He's a big man, but he doesn't bite!"

"Unless you ask." laughed the demon in a deep, sensual voice, though Alastor sensed he wasn't flirting with him. It was just his voice.

"And the beautiful young lady here is called Belzebub!" continued Rosie, pointing to the fox demoness.

"Call me Bee!" she said, jovially. She held out her hand.

Alastor felt his instincts screaming at him to provoke them. If their names were what he thought they were, then they were indeed no ordinary natives. He was looking at two of the deadly sins. Their presence and power irritated him as much as the reminder of his powerlessness was important. He wanted to humiliate them for only have the aplomb to claim to be stronger than he was. However, he didn't give in to this impulse. Because the third deadly sin was there, and the desire to provoke him was stronger than his disgust for the other two.

He smiled welcomingly and held the demoness' hand firmly.

"A pleasure to meet you!" he said, playfully. "It's an honor to see you in the flesh!"

Bee raised an eyebrow in surprise, although her smile was genuine. Alastor noticed that Flame dedaly sin was casting a knowing glance at Lucifer, who didn't seem to be listening to the conversation.

"I present myself!" said the Radio Demon, bowing. "Alastor, at your service."

"We've heard about you," replied the Sin of Lust. He turned his attention back to the Overlord.

"Oh?" asked this one, hands on his microphone. "At good, I hope."

Bee laughs.

"I used to listen to your radio show, personally!" she says, resting her hands on her hips. "I'm more into pop and electro music, but a little jazz definitely doesn't hurt, once in a while."

Alastor blinked in surprise.

"Do you have access to my radio waves?" he asked. "I thought they were only broadcast in Pride's circle."

"Yep, that's right!" replied Sin of Gluttony. "But Luci gave us radios he created so we could listen to all the music in Hell !" she sneered as she continued. "Sorry, bastard, but only the deadly sins hear your channel, on the other circles!"

"It's an honor." he says, raising an eyebrow. "You must have spent a lot of time on that machine to find my radio wave. There must be countless frequencies."

She blinked in surprise.

"Well, no." she declared, a little dubiously. "It was Luci who told us to listen to your channel."

Oh the little bastard. Alastor glanced at the angel in the room who was working on his duck. So, the King of Hell already knew who he was when he'd arrived in the hotel and had just pretended not to just to... To what, exactly? To provoke him?

"I see." said Alastor in a deeper tone than he would have liked, his voice almost threatening as his annoyance at the ridiculous little pearly being increased. Asmodeus looked again at Lucifer before returning his attention to Alastor, his features clearly amused.

"Nice conversation," he says finally. "However, we have a meeting to conduct. Now that everyone's here, we might as well get started, right?"

Zestial nodded positively.

"I agree." said his slow, low voice cutting the air with subtlety. "We owe it to ourselves to talk about this delicate subject."

The Radio Demon watched the faces of the two deadly sins close as Camilla and Rosie glanced at each other knowingly. He was apparently the only one who didn't know why he was here. It was almost vexing.

"Can I be made aware of the problem?" asked Alastor as he controlled his voice so as not to show his annoyance.

Zestial looked at him, frowning.

"My friend." he said, in a gentle tone. "I think you know perfectly well what we want to talk about."

"I do have an idea, of course," he replied. "I want to make it clear, though."

Asmodeus and Bee exchanged a glance before finally, the fox demoness said:

"The angel who came to Hell was extremely powerful. When he left, the angelic wave descended to the last of the circles. Everyone felt it and is afraid."

Alastor looked at Sin of Gluttony intently. He didn't know what information the people in this room had. How aware were they of the gravity of the situation? As far as he knew, only he and Lucifer knew. It was therefore necessary to play the fool in order to glean data.

"According to the official version," he began, "Our Majesty is the source of this wave."

He received unamused glances in return. He simply smiled and shrugged. At least he knew nobody believed in this nonsense.

"The problem, Alastor," says Rosie, "is that the new souls believe it without flinching. But the older ones know it's a lie. This isn't the first time an angelic wave has reverberated through the various circles, and the energy that surged through is not that of our King."

"But I think you already know all that, don't you?" asked Carmilla, raising an eyebrow. "You were present in the hotel when that angel showed up."

Alastor glanced threateningly at Carmilla, who did not flinch.

"Is that why I'm here?" he asked, finally.

"No." said Zestial simply. "You are one of the most powerful Overlords with many souls under your control. We need you to develop a defense strategy."

Alastor prevented a proud smile from appearing on his face. The compliment wasn't sincere, it was factual. That made it all the more rewarding. He looked at the other occupants of the room.

"So." he said "You want to set up a strategy to prepare for an angel invasion?"

Bee bit her lip.

"Yeah." she sighed. "You know, bitch, we can't let such powerful beings come into our territory without protest. We need to be ready, just in case. The extermination has ended, but it's clear that the conflict with the Heavens has only just begun. And this presence is either a warning or a declaration of war."

The Radio Demon recorded information as it came in. He drew conclusions: that Zestial, Carmilla or even Rosie didn't realize the gravity of the situation, he understood. Ancient as they were, they must never have felt the presence of Omnes himself. It was therefore impossible for them to deduce all the ins and outs of the situation. However, Asmodeus and Belzebub also seemed to be in the dark. They seemed to know that a powerful angel had descended, enough to have the same impact on Hell as Lucifer himself. However, it didn't seem to have occurred to them that this one was even more powerful than the King. The question then arose of this knowledge through the deadly sins. He had to try and glean this information.

"A warning." repeated Alastor. "This has never happened before? The descent of an angel?"

"Not as powerful." said Asmodeus, clasping his hands, still sitting in a relaxed manner.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Alastor, feigning ignorance.

"To give you an idea." sighed the Sin of Lust "The most powerful being to have descended from paradise is Adam."

"And in the power scale of Heaven, where is he located?" asked Rosie. God, he loved that woman.

"He's powerful, yeah." replied Asmodeus simply. "But a far cry from the Seraphim, and an even farther cry from the Wise."

"So." continued the cannibal. "What level of being do you think came down?" Alastor would have kissed him.

Asmodeus glanced at Lucifer, who was still playing with his plastic duck.

"The same level as Lulu," he said. "So a Seraphim."

The Demon Radio recorded the data: Lucifer was therefore a Seraphim, the third powerful being of Heaven. He looked at the King of Hell, who had conjured up a screwdriver and was tackling a task Alastor didn't understand. There was something unclear about the information he had accumulated. He searched his memory, looking for a precise recollection. He recalled a scene a few months ago, when a drunken Lucifer had told him: "I was different. I was the intruder. The eldest, yes, but the renegade. The first, but the failure." The first of the Seraphim, then? According to legend, God had first created the Wise, then the others had developed and appeared through angelic magic. But then, why say the first, say the eldest? It made no sense to Alastor.

He continued to stare at Lucifer as he declared:

"If a Seraphim came, then there must have been a good reason."

"Absolutely." agreed Zestial. "But apparently he didn't say anything in particular, except that he was coming to see the hotel."

There was silence as Alastor continued to stare at the King of Hell. He could feel knowing glances on his person, inviting him to speak. But he didn't care, for the only presence he felt at the moment was Lucifer. Lucifer went about his business with an indifferent expression. The Radio Demon could feel in his gut the affront he was causing him by his attitude. Either he trusted Alastor blindly not to repeat the information he had in his possession, or he knew him so well that he knew he'd play along. Whichever, he hated every second of the feeling that spread through him: that of not being in control.

"Indeed." he sighed. "He arrived, complimented the decoration and our Majesty sent him on his way."

The best lies were half-truths. Everyone in the room swallowed his explanation without batting an eyelid. Even Carmilla didn't seem to suspect a thing.

"Look like an warning." Bee continued, crossing her arms and looking at Alastor. "Are you sure he didn't say anything specific? An underhanded threat, something like that?"

The Radio Demon shook his head negatively.

"Nothing like that," he replied, "and I know all about it."

"So." concluded Zestial "It was probably just a reminder that they could send anyone to Hell."

"Yes." sighed Asmodeus "So we're back to setting up a defense in case it happens again, to show we're ready to go on the offensive."

"We can train our troops to take action against the angels," Rosie suggested. "Mine have already fought this battle for the protection of the hotel. It shouldn't be difficult to do the same with the others."

"We'll need more angelic weapons, though," informed Carmilla. "We don't have many, at Pride's circle level."

"I can ask around to see if the others have anything," Bee sighed, scratching her head. "Mammon will be a jerk, but maybe I can negotiate with him to get some."

"Because we're assuming they can only come from the Pride circle?" asked Zestial, puzzled. "How can we be sure they can't teleport to other circles?"

"I have another question," continued Alastor, who hadn't moved from his previous position, his gaze fixed on Lucifer. "How can we be sure that angelic weapons work on Seraphim?"

A silence followed these two interrogations and eyes turned to the room's quietest occupant. Lucifer was still concentrating on his plastic duck, now preening it with some kind of brush. He seemed satisfied and set the duck down in front of him. He leaned forward and lay back on the furniture, tongue slightly out of mouth and one eye closed, as if measuring something. Alastor's ball of annoyance only grew as he watched Lucifer's nonchalant handling of the situation. He was simply ignoring them. Worse still, he wasn't even looking at him. He wanted to kill the smug little bastard with his own hands.

After a while, the King of Hell noticed that the room was silent. He turned his attention away from the duck and straightened up, looking at them.

"What?" he finally asked, innocently.

"Luci." sighed Bee as she approached him. "Did you even listen to us?"

"Uh." he began, confused, then regained consistency and exclaimed. "Yes, of course! What do you think? I was paying attention!"

"Well?" asked Zestial, patient.

Lucifer had a tight smile on his lips and glanced at his plastic duck.

"It needs more white," he said, pointing to the object. "I think it's too yellow."

"Lulu." sighed Asmodeus too, rubbing his middle face. Lucifer's face took on a more serious look, as if he were about to start scolding children. He placed his clasped hands in front of his mouth.

"Look." he began "I've already told you this meeting is ridiculous. There are no warnings. There are no declarations of war. There's nothing. Just an angel who came down to visit us, that's all."

"It was a Seraphin," declared Carmilla, who received a patient look from the King.

"He was just a Seraphin," the latter pointed out. "And he left when I asked him to. With great fanfare, all right, but angels are show creatures! They love to show off!"

He stood up on the furniture and put a hand on his chest, with a little teasing smile.

"Look, you've got one in front of you!" he says. "There's nothing to fear."

"Don't you think we should prepare for an attack?" asked Bee as she reached his side, trying to take his hand in one of her own. Lucifer took a step back to move away from the contact. When he saw the demoness's pained expression, he retraced his steps and took her hand tenderly in his, placing a light kiss on it.

"Bee, dearie." he said, reassuringly. "I assure you we're making a mountain out of a molehill. We're going to waste energy for nothing and bring panic where it doesn't belong."

"So." concluded Zestial's voice again. "What you're telling us is that we shouldn't react to this situation and that this one is harmless?"

"Perfectly, old friend!" exclaimed Lucifer. He let go of Bee's hand and snapped his fingers at him, as if to support his statement.

"How do you know?" asked Rosie. Alastor cast an affectionate glance at the woman who was watching the King of Hell a little doubtfully. "How do you know Heaven isn't preparing a new offensive?"

Lucifer didn't reply, looking at the cannibal with a mixture of confusion, annoyance and pity. The other occupants of the room stared at the angel, waiting for him to intervene.

"I just know," he says finally.

"I'm sorry, My Lord, but that's not enough to reassure me," Rosie protested. Alastor unconsciously put a hand on her shoulder in support. "It's been thousands of years since Heaven threatened us and hundreds since the extermination began. What guarantee do we have that they'll let Charlie's act of rebellion go unpunished?"

At the mention of his daughter's name, Lucifer's face broke into an expression of pure fright. Then he regained his composure and closed his eyes.

"They won't attack us," he assured them.

"Lulu." said Asmodeus. "Can you at least tell us why?"

Lucifer ran his tongue over his lips before sighing.

"Anyway," he finally said. "If Heaven ever decides to attack us, then we'll lose. No matter how much we prepare, no matter how many angelic weapons we have, nothing will do. If it declares war on us, we're all dead."

He paused for a moment before making a clarification.

"Without exception."

This cast an icy chill over the hellish warmth of the place. Asmodeus had risen from his chair and was looking at Lucifer with confusion and distress. Bee, standing next to the angel, wore a frightened expression comparable to the King's a few moments earlier. Carmilla had moved closer to Zestial and the latter had placed a hand on her shoulder, as if to reassure each other. Rosie had one hand over her mouth to hide her shocked expression. Her other one was on Alastor's. The latter was not afraid. He wasn't frightened. He wasn't surprised. He wasn't panicked. He was angry. His fury had been eating away at him for some time, but now it had reached its peak.

Lucifer's eyes were lost in nothingness, his expression defeated. Suddenly, he let out a cry of surprise as he toppled forward and fell off the piece of furniture. No sooner had he touched the ground than Alastor was there, lifting him with one of his tentacles.

"Oh, what's the matter, Your Honor?" the demon asked sharply. "Did you slip?"

Lucifer began to try to speak and free himself, but he couldn't do so before the Overlord lifted him by the armpits.

"Oh, did you get stung?" he continued, looking at the top of her head. " Oh dear, indeed, you've got a nice bite! It looks like a spider from the underworld! Very poisonous! We need to go and treat it right away! You're already starting to get uglier than usual!"

The King of Hell's jaw tightened in frustration, but before anyone could react, the Overlord addressed the other occupants of the room.

"I'm going to accompany our poor Lord to the bathroom to take care of this! Make yourself at home!" continued Alastor. Still carrying Lucifer as one would a dissident kitten, he sank into the shadows with the King, disappearing from the room.


As soon as they arrived in the new room, the Radio Demon ruthlessly threw the angel into it. He landed on a mattress with a thud. Alastor glanced around to get his bearings. They were in a bedroom. What mattered was that they were far from the two deadly sins. He could feel their presence, but they were out of reach.

"What the hell are you doing?!" exclaimed Lucifer as he propped himself up on his elbows on the bed. "I didn't slip, I was pushed! Besides, underworld spiders have no effect on ..."

"What the hell are you doing, indeed." cut in the demon's voice in a threatening tone. The King looked at him in surprise.

"What?" he asked without any eloquence, causing the ball of rage in Alastor's chest to swell. He pointed with his microphone to the supposed direction of the meeting room.

"What the hell did you do to us back there?" asked Alastor, far from controlling himself. "Can you explain to me what was going through your head?!"

"I don't understand..." began Lucifer, but he was cut off again.

"You're not listening to the meeting," Alastor continued in his most dangerous voice. "You take care of your fucking plastic duck and when, in the end, we ask you questions, you dodge them and tell us we're morons?!"

The King was shocked and Alastor could understand why. It was very, very rare to see the Radio Demon lose his temper. His demonic transformation was underway, the antlers on his head growing, those eyes turning into frames as green magic floated around him. Lucifer, for his part, looked at him defiantly.

"You're really misinterpreting what I said," growled the King aggressively.

"Oh, really?" continued the demon in the same tone." I'm getting to know you, you little bastard, and I can see right through your game!"

"You don't know anything about me," replied the angel fervently.

The demon took great strides towards the King and threw himself on top of him. He quickly placed his hands around his pearly neck and squeezed with all his might. Lucifer's eyes widened as his breath caught. By reflex, he tried to free Alastor's hands.

"You're just a depressive, suicidal little guy who's never had any will," the demon sliced as he continued to put all his strength into those hands. "You're a fucking coward, a sheep's bitch who's never been anything but that and yet possesses the strength of a bear. You're a fucking waste of potential, the biggest mistake ever made. If we don't direct you, if we don't tell you what to do, then you stay curled up in your corner playing with fucking ducks!"

If Lucifer had been a man, his neck would have been totally crushed. Alastor could feel his windpipe being completely crushed and the creature's cervical vertebrae breaking beneath him. But he was still breathing. Lucifer stared at him with a dangerous gaze, the King's demonic and angelic features beginning to show.

"It's fucking unfair." continued Alastor as he began to shake his hands around the being's neck in an attempt to do a few more things. "With power like yours, I'd have annihilated all competition! I'd have destroyed this fucking Heaven that's all a lie and I'd have dethroned this fucking God to become the most powerful creature in the universe!"

He laughed like a maniac at a sudden realization.

"Sin of pride?! You bet!"

Suddenly, the demon felt his body rise through a small precision on his chest. When he looked in that direction, he saw the unthinkable. Lucifer was literally lifting him with one finger. With his other hand, without any difficulty, he broke the restraints around his neck, causing Alastor to howl in pain. Those fingers snapped like matchsticks, with disconcerting ease. Without him really understanding what was happening, he was lifted up and thrown violently onto the bed, which shattered under the impact. His breath was taken away by the violence of the blow. He had no time to react when he was turned over. Lucifer was now on top of him, in transformed mode. His eyes were a demonic blood-red. Those horns protruded from his skull and had grown to an edifying size. Flames burned all over his body, coming out of his lips and the pores of his skin. Eyes had appeared in the corners of his clothes. He raised his fist and brought it down on Alastor's jaw. Alastor felt his jaw break into a thousand pieces. He was on the verge of fainting. He couldn't even figure out how he was still conscious.

"You don't know me!" yelled Lucifer. "If you're here today, asshole, it's thanks to me! I'm the one who started it all! I'm the one who gave you free will! I'm the one who shaped humanity! Everything you know, every choice you've made, every fucking curse word you use, it all comes from me! So shut the fuck up, you stupid motherfucker!"

Alastor saw the Devil preparing a second punch and knew he wouldn't survive it. But there was no way he was not going to fight to the end. He put all his strength into conjuring the tentacle to free himself from Lucifer. However, his mind was too clouded by the pain and the punch that he conjured up only a thin branch of black magic which crashed pathetically into the King's chest. The King stopped in his tracks and looked Alastor in the eye. He must have seen something in the demon's pupils that calmed him, for his own reappeared and his expression changed from furious to neutral. His demonic form began to disappear as he continued to observe him. Finally, Lucifer sighed and brought his hand to the Overlord's jaw. The Overlord felt his jaw quickly set again. Then he saw the King do the same with his fingers, and finally the angel sat down on the edge of the bed, his eyes once again lost in nothingness.

Alastor straightened up and stroked his jaw, coming to his senses. He saw that Lucifer's neck had returned to normal, with no trace of his hands. The demon's heart filled again with a feeling of helplessness that disgusted him to no end. Nevertheless, he sat down beside the angel. Silence fell between them for a moment.

"Heaven won't attack us," says the King of Hell.

"Why?" asked Alastor.

"They have no interest in doing so," Lucifer continued. "Just as we have none to invade them. If a war were declared between our two entities, then we'd all end up losing, them as well as ourselves."

The Radio Demon looked at him, frowning.

"Are you saying that fighting Heaven is impossible?" questioned Alastor.

"As I'm telling you, it's impossible for them to invade us" sighed the angel. "We've been trying to kill each other for millennia. We came to this conclusion a long time ago."

The demon looked at Lucifer, who was trifling with his fingers.

"You won't tell me why," concluded Alastor. The King chuckled.

"Even the deadly sins don't know it." breathed Lucifer "Why should I tell you?"

The Radio Demon remained silent before shrugging his shoulders.

"Touché." he said "Anyway, we both know you're too proud to let others help you."

He had expected a reply from the King, a dig at him for trying to get out of this uncomfortable situation. But there was no answer. He turned his head towards Lucifer, who was looking at him with a strange expression. He seemed to be shocked, lost and at the same time sad and nostalgic. The angel finally shook his head.

"Why the fuck did you say that?" he whispered to himself.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Alastor as the little being rose to his feet.

"Apology not accepted." replied Lucifer, which made the demon flinch. He saw a defiant smile on the angel's face and knew he was challenging him. "Let's get back to the others."

He held out his hand to the Overlord, who looked down at it and stood up without taking it. The King raised an eyebrow, shrugged and left the room. The demon followed. After all, he didn't know where he was.


When they reached the room, they found the other 5 occupants drinking hot beverages, seated in armchairs that had been brought in for the occasion. They turned towards them and Bee stood up.

"Are you all right?" she asked as she approached Lucifer. He gave her a reassuring smile and stroked her cheek.

"Yes, dearie, it's okay." he told her gently. A figurative weight seemed to lift from the vixen's shoulders as the King continued to advance towards the group of people.

"Your Majesty." asked Rosie. "Regarding this story..."

He sighed and moved to one of the vacant seats, next to a frowning Asmodeus.

"Why do you have sexu..." he began to say but stopped short.

Alastor's heart froze in horror as he sensed the power of Lucifer's threat. Time seemed to slow down as the King sat down, casting a heavy glance at Asmodeus. The Radio Demon could feel the flow of diabolic and angelic energy mixing together, giving the impression that a thick layer of air was entering his lungs. He could see that the other Overlords were in the same state. Asmodeus and Bee seemed astonished but no more affected.

"All right, all right!" sneered the Sin of Lust. "I don't insist!"

Lucifer sat regally on the armchair and clasped his hands in front of him.

"Here's what we're going to do." declared the angel. "We'll wait for Heaven's next move. If they advance their piece in the chessboard in a way that doesn't suit me, then I'll intervene directly. They fear me."

He sighed.

"For our part, we're going to try to calm the population down," he continued. "Do everything you can - propaganda, entertainment – I don't care. We can't let things get out of hand."

He then looked at the Overlords.

"You also need to do as few contracts as possible." he ordered. Alastor felt a shiver of disgust run through him.

"Why?" asked Carmilla, calmly though curiously.

"It's all the more important that Charlie's project works," Lucifer explained. "The people must have access to redemption. As many souls as possible."

Alastor winced.

"You want us to send them troops?" he said, in a voice clearly of disapproval.

The King looked at Alastor. The Radio Demon saw a sparkle in his eyes, as if he were concealing a vital piece of information. But there was something else in those pupils. Something that awakened a pleasant sensation in the demon's mind. Mischief.

"We need to show Heaven that we're not a threat," replied the angel. "They're interested in my daughter's project, so let's make it work. And I think that as long as a contract is made between souls, then they can't ascend. So we have to limit the number of deals."

"Does that mean we have to lose power?" asked Zestial. Lucifer nodded negatively.

"I said limit, not stop," clarified the King. "We must not diminish our troop strength. You're Overlords, we mustn't lose you as an advantage. On the other hand, we must leave enough souls free to attempt redemption and succeed."

"You seem to be assuming that it works," Rosie observed. Lucifer gave her a mysterious smile.

"A Seraphim descended to see the hotel in person," he said, as if it were obvious. Alastor didn't get the hint before thinking for two seconds. He widened his eyes and clutched his cane.

"Yes," Lucifer said simply. The Radio Demon turned his head towards the King, who was giving him a knowing look. "Yes, bellboy. I'm sure of it. He wouldn't have come in person otherwise."

"The Seraphim?" asked Bee.

No, God, rectified the Radio Demon in his mind. Omnes wouldn't have moved if...

"Did we miss a train?" asked Asmodeus, turning to Lucifer. The Devil smiled at him.

"It worked," said the King at last. "Redemption. Charlie managed to send a sinner to Heaven."