It was a normal day for the Wrathian bar "The Scarred Viking." The bartender, Bam, was serving drinks to customers as a bar fight happened right in front of him. As stated before, this was a typical day in this bar. All kinds of demons were slamming the head of others into the wall or on the side of pool tables. Fist fights and improvised weapons were a common sight in a Wrathian Bar, even one demon managed to lift the jukebox and throw it at someone. It's a good thing Bam bought those in bulk.

Then he heard the sound of the door being kicked open, revealing his favorite customer, Sallie May. She was holding a bloody bag as she walked on over to the bar. "Here ya go, Bam!" She said as she plopped it onto the counter. "One dead boar thief."

"Ah, I knew you'd catch 'em, Sallie. Here's your payment!" Bam said before reaching under the counter and pulling out 30 souls, which he gave to Sallie. She took the money with a smile as she took in the atmosphere of the bar fight. If it were any other time, she would've joined in, but she needed to be in top shape for another bounty hunt. So she went on over to the bounty board next to Bam and looked over her options. It should've been exciting for her, bounty hunting was one of her favorite hobbies, right alongside herding demon horses and sandworm wrangling. However, she didn't get the same kick as she once did, not when she killed the boar thief, and definitely not as she was looking over the bounties.

All of these were the same: bring in this demon dead or alive, rough up that demon, kill these invasive slime monsters from Sloth (Ok, that was actually interesting). She wanted something different, something more exciting. Little did she know that Bam was reading her like a book.

"Let me guess," He said. "You're sick and tired of these boring jobs and want something different?"

Sallie sighed, "You read my mind."

Bam looked over his left and right shoulder and the bar fight before waving her to come closer, which she did. "Then I got a special job for someone like you." Bam said as he pulled out a small poster and handed it to Sallie. It was a poster of Verosika Mayday, one of the biggest pop singers in the space. Above her were the words "bodyguard wanted" in bold text. This certainly was different from the rest of jobs she got. For one, it was about protecting someone rather than killing them. Plus, the person was very famous. Sallie had listened to a few of her songs, but not enough for her to consider herself a fan. But what really caught her eye was the pay rate: 50 souls per hour.

"Holy shit!" Sallie whispered. "That's a lotta cash per hour!"

"It sure is."

"So is there a place where I sign up or somethin'?"

"There's gonna be a battle to the death to decide who'll be her bodyguard. All the bars in Wrath were given this and told to only show it to their strongest regular. And for here, that's you."

"I appreciate it, but a battle to the death? Is it that serious for us here?"

"Verosika is pretty popular down here. The recruiters think it'll be good pr to have one of us be her other bodyguard."

Sallie looked over the poster again. "It's definitely somethin' different. But if I get the job, does that mean-"

"That you'd have to leave Wrath? Yeah." Hearing that made Sallie conflicted. This would pay more than any job she's ever had before, but she would also be leaving the ring she grew up in. Bam noticed her troubled look. "Listen, Sallie, I know it's gonna be a big change, but if you ask me I think this could be good for you. Not many imps get this kind of opportunity, and not all of us are like your sister or your brother."

"I don't know."

"I get it, change is scary."

"I'm not scared."

"Of course you are, all of these imps here are scared of change. They just try to hide it by fighting and actin' all tough, but deep down they're scared little babies. I should know, I had the chance to go to Pride too when I was your age."

"Really? What happened?"

"What do you think happened? I felt like I had to stay and take over the family business. So now I'm stuck here. Don't get me wrong, I love serving drinks here, I get to meet people like you, but if I had the chance to go to another ring, even if it was just for a week, I'd take it."

"... I'll have to talk this over with my Ma and Pa."

"Go ahead, all I'm askin' you is to think about what I said. The address to the death battle is on the poster if you wanna do it." With a nod, Sallie left the bar, losing the smugness she had when she first came into it.

Later that day, Sallie sat at the dining room table next to her mom, who sat at the front end of it. Her dad was sitting across from her, and her brothers filled the rest of the seats. As they ate their dinner, Joe, Sallie's dad, noticed how gloomy she looked as she stared at her food.

"What's wrong, Sallie?" Joe asked. "You barely touched your spidersnake kidneys."

Sallie knew she was gonna have to tell them eventually, so it might as well be now. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I got a job offer to be Verosika Mayday's bodyguard."

"No fuckin' way!" Richard, the brother sitting to her left, said. "Verosika Mayday!? Think ya could pass that offer to me?"

"Nice try, Dick, but Bam offered it to me personally." Sallie replied.

"I'm assumin' this Verosika demon is someone popular?" Lin, Sallie's mom, said.

Richard was all too eager to answer. "Oh yeah, she's one of the hottest pop stars in Hell! She sold out the last time she was here!"

"A pop star, huh? Well, I don't much care for that type of music, but I'm proud of you, sweetie!"

"I'm not hired yet, I gotta take part in a death battle to earn the job but..."

"But what?"

"I-If I get it, then I'll have to move to Pride… away from the ranch."

Lin and Joe looked at each other and gave an affirmative nod. "Do you wanna do it?" Lin said.

"I mean, the pay's good, and going to Pride does sound excitin', but-"

"Then you do it!"

"What!?"

"You deserve to live your life the way you want to."

"B-But what about the ranch!?"

Joe spoke, "The boys are old enough, and we have plenty of extra hands here. Believe us, we can handle ourselves."

"B-but-"

"Sweetheart," Lin said as she put her hand on her shoulder. "I know it's scary for you to leave this place, but you remember what else was scary for you?"

"... that time I got trapped in the barn?"

"No, I'm talkin' about you transitioning. Remember how scared you were to come out as a girl to everyone who's seen you as a boy?"

Sallie giggled, "Yeah… yeah I do."

"You were so worried about how people would react, wondering if it would've been best to just hide who you were to avoid all that. But now look at you, you're out and proud and the happiest girl I've ever known."

"And you inspired me to do the same." Said Bosco, another brother who sat next to Joe. He smiled at his sister as Sallie did the same, looking at his thin black horns poking out of his white hair.

Lin smiled at Bosco before looking back at Sallie. "So think of this like another transition. Sure, all of it is scary, but who knows, maybe it'll end up being good for you. It's worth a shot."

Sallie grinned. "Yer right. Thanks you guys." She then gave her parents and Bosco a hug, as well as the other brothers, both for luck and to make sure they weren't left out.

The day of the death battle came, and Sallie was there. It took place in an enormous hole in the ground with walls around 169 meters tall, tall enough to have a ramp so the contestants could walk down into it after filling out some paperwork. All the other imps, including her, stood in the hole as they waited for the match to start. There must have been about 60 contestants in that hole with her. Some of them were even talking to one another, showing that just because you're about to kill each other doesn't mean you can't have friendly conversation.

Just then, the gong up on the edge of the hole rang, silencing everyone as they looked up. Standing next to the gong was an imp wearing an all white suit with a white cowboy hat. "Welcome, you brave warriors, to a battle for the good name of us Wrathians!"

The crowd cheered before he continued. "Verosika Mayday, the crown jewel of hell, wants to hire one of us as her other bodyguard. And we ain't gonna be upstaged by her current hellhound bodyguard, are we!?"

"No!" Everyone shouted.

"Exactly! So for this death battle, fight like Verosika's life is on the line, 'cause for all we know, it is! Now fight!"

The gong rang, and with it the fight started. Every imp in that hole attacked the nearest demon they could find. It was pure chaos, nothing but the sound of screaming and blood being sprayed on the ground. Sallie had seen a few death battles before, but this was the first time taking part in one herself.

But Sallie killed before, not only that, she had experience with the dangers of Wrath's wildlife. If she treated this like a bounty or even work for the ranch, she would be fine, at least that's what she hoped. Her strategy was simple, wait for someone to attack her and strike back when they least expected, which is exactly what happened. One imp tried to stab her with a knife, but she dodged it just in time to get behind him and slit his throat. The man didn't even stand a chance.

Sallie walked through the crowd of imps killing each other before another one tried to grab her. She jumped back and kicked him to the ground before grabbing his horns and bashing his head against the rocky soil. Minutes passed by as the amount of alive imps in the pit were decreasing and the amount of blood covering the walls and the ground was increasing. And thanks to Sallie's strategy, her chances of surviving were increasing.

Eventually, there were only two imps left, Sallie and a muscular, taller-than-average imp who was covered in blood. The moment he saw her, he cracked his knuckles, which were covered in brain matter, and approached her, casually stepping on the littered bodies of the other contestants.

Sallie attacked him with her knife, but the imp grabbed her arm and twisted it, making her drop her weapon. He then threw her to the ground before proceeding to choke her out. Sallie reached for anything she could grab, starting with his face - which didn't do much- to anything that was on the ground next to her. Satan must have been watching over her, cause she was able to grab a sharp rock and hit the imp against his head with it. The man released his grip on her as he fell to the ground, which Sallie took advantage of by getting on top of him and smashing his face in with that same rock.

When it looked like his face resembled more of a smashed pumpkin than a face, she stopped and slowly climbed back on her feet. Looking at all the surrounding bodies, she realized she won. Sallie's first death battle, and she was victorious.

"You!" The cowboy hat imp yelled from the edge. "What's yer name!?"

"Sallie May!" She shouted.

The imp smiled. "Congratulations, Sallie May, you just got the job."

After cleaning off all the blood and guts on her, Sallie was escorted to a trailer with Verosika's name on it. The moment she entered, she was greeted with the scent of perfume, cool air, and the color purple dominating the room. It's as if it was a completely separate world and vibe from the one outside.

When she turned right, she saw the woman herself, Verosika Mayday, sitting at a chair next to her dresser. The pictures and videos of her did not do her justice. Her long, luscious white hair absolutely captivated Sallie. Almost all of her legs were bare thanks to her short dress, showing off as much of her pink, smooth-looking skin as she could. And to top it all off, she had an amazing rack that Sallie had a hard time looking away from. It didn't help that Sallie was a boob woman. All of this combined made her understanding of why people would fight to the death for her.

"So, you're my new bodyguard?" Verosika said, to which Sallie nodded in reply. "Have a seat."

Verosika pointed to the empty chair in front of her, which Sallie sat in. "Before I begin, let me just say that this 'death battle' thing wasn't my idea. I just reached out to people here saying I needed a good bodyguard, but I didn't think they'd go this far."

"Ah, no worries." Sallie said. "It just shows that we take you seriously here."

"I guess so." Verosika picked up a clipboard and skimmed through the papers. "This was going to be an interview to see who was right for the job, but since all the other applicants are dead, I kinda have to hire you. To be fair, the fact that you survived all that shit is pretty impressive. I just need to go over some stuff with you." After looking over the paperwork Sallie filled out before the battle, she put the clipboard on the dresser.

"Ok, so I don't know if you know this, but I already have a bodyguard. He's pretty good, but ever since he got a girlfriend he actually wants to spend time with, he's been requesting more time off. Which is why I need a new guard for extra security and to cover the times he can't."

"Uh huh." Sallie said as she stared at her magnificent cleavage. Verosika noticed this and cleared her throat, causing Sallie to snap back to her eyes. "Oh, uh… sorry."

"Well, I can tell you're not asexual. That might be a problem, but we can work with that. Can you at least tell me what I just said."

"You have a bodyguard but he's askin' for too many days off. So you want me to pick up the slack."

Verosika smiled. "You can multitask. Maybe not being asexual won't be so bad after all. I just need you to listen to what I say, come in when I need you to, and beat the shit out of anyone who tries to fuck up my performances, is that clear."

Sallie grinned. "Clear as day."

"Then welcome to the crew, Sallie. I'll give you a week to pack your things before I send a driver to your place. Congratulations on getting this far." The two then gave a solid handshake, cementing Sallie's position as her other bodyguard.

A week had passed since then, and Sallie stood outside the ranch holding two suitcases as she said goodbye to her folks. "I'm so proud of you sweetie." Lin said. "We always knew you could do it."

"Thank you, Ma." Sallie replied. "I'm gonna miss you guys."

"We'll miss you too." Joe said. "But you earned this. Just make sure you call us when you get there."

"And make sure you tell Millie and Carl that we said hi when ya see them." Lin said.

"I will." Sallie said before giving them both a hug, possibly the last hug they'll get for a while now. When that was over, she approached Bosco, who she noticed had tear streaks coming down his eyes.

"I-I'm gonna miss ya, sis." Bosco said, trying his best to maintain his composure.

"I'll miss ya too, Bosco. But I'll make sure that we keep in touch when I get to Pride."

"T-that sounds good." Sallie gave her brother the same type of hug she gave to her parents, causing him to cry even harder as he returned it. "I-I knew this day was… was comin' but… I didn't think…"

"Shhhhh, it's ok. You'll be ok. Yer gonna be the man of the ranch now. All the other boys and the other hands will have to do what you say from now on."

Bosco laughed, "Yeah, I sure am."

Once they were done with their hug, a limo soon pulled up to the front of the ranch. Once it came to a complete stop, the leviathite driver came out of it. "Which one of you is Sallie May!?" He said.

"I am!" Sallie replied as she turned to him and picked up her suitcases.

The driver motioned towards the limo, inviting her inside. Sallie looked at her family one more time before approaching the limo. "We'll be praying to Satan for you!" Lin said as they all waved goodbye to her. Once she gave the driver her suitcases to put into the trunk, she entered the backseat of the limo. Pretty soon the limo started, and it drove off on its way to the Interring Transportation Station.

Sallie could see her family waving to her from the back window as they got smaller and smaller. Once they were out of sight, Sallie looked forward, soon about to leave the only home she knew and start a new life in the Pride ring as a popstar's bodyguard.

And the more she thought about it, the more excited she got.