Panic and confusion filled the streets of Hell as more and more demons became aware of the sudden change of the clock tower. The demons figured they had around 300 days to prepare for the next extermination only to find out that time is now cut in half. One demon, in particular, was running through the streets of Hell to figure out what was going on and why there was so much panic. The princess rushed through the panic-filled streets to get to the clock tower. It felt like she had not stopped running since the hotel and that was starting to catch up to her as she came to a halt and had to take a short break. She leaned down and placed her hands on her knees and took some breaths. This break of hers allowed Vaggie to finally catch up to her.
"Charlie...Charlie! Woah, Charlie? Are you okay?" Vaggie questioned as she put her hands on Charlie's shoulders.
"No...just...a lot...of...running," Charlie huffed and puffed. "But no! Vaggie, something is wrong. I mean...clearly, something has to be wrong as look at the streets. Everyone is freaking out about something and due to the sirens coming from the clock tower, something is...well...something is wrong."
"Well that much is obvious," Vaggie decided to take a look around at the panic through the streets and also the panic in her girlfriend's face as well.
"The tower...and...the embassy, is not too much farther," Charlie still spoke while trying to catch her breath.
"You don't have to go on a dead sprint to the tower. Look how about we just walk the rest of the way?" Vaggie suggested that it would be an alternative to running.
"Okay..sure...that sounds fine at this moment," Charlie replied as she finally took her hands off her knees.
"Are you okay or do you need another minute?" Vaggie asked as she tilted her head to look Charlie in the eyes.
"Nope," Charlie said as she shook her head. "I'm good. We can go." The two of them began to walk through the streets. It seemed like some of the panic was dying down the longer the demons of Hell got to simmer on it. "So. Do you have any idea what is going on?" She asked wondering if Vaggie had any conclusions.
"I was figuring you did. I mean you are the Princess after all and have certainly been in Hell longer than me," Vaggie answered.
"That's fair," Charlie couldn't help but agree. "But whatever has been going on in the last five minutes is not something that normally happens. I mean clearly something is going on at the Embassy. And honestly, I'm preparing for the worst."
"Well, I feel like there could definitely be something worse than whatever we are about to discover," Vaggie replied, and she certainly was right about that. It could definitely be worse than what they were about to uncover.
"Yeah, yeah sure. But I just find it a little odd that whatever is happening is sparking so much panic through Hell. That's weird, isn't it? I think it's weird. Do you think it's weird?" Charlie began to speak faster and faster as her sentences went on as she became more and more nervous by the second.
"Hon, you're clearly starting to freak out a little bit," Vaggie spoke as she could tell the slight panic.
"Right, right. Okay well, we are about here so...I will just prepare for...whatever is going on...right?" Charlie spoke. She started off confident in her words but trailed off towards being nervous again.
"Are you telling that to me or yourself here?" Vaggie asked for clarification as it could go both ways.
"Let's just say both for now and call it good," Charlie answered. The two of them were now in front of the embassy and began to examine it for anything unusual. "Okay...what is the issue here?" She added as she began to walk around.
Vaggie began to search too before something caught her eye. "Oh shit," was all she could say as she saw it first.
"What? What is it?" Charlie questioned to see what got that kind of reaction out of her girlfriend.
"The clock tower Charlie. The days...they...were pretty much cut in half," Vaggie answered as she pointed up toward the giant hourglass and the numbers.
"What?!" Charlie exclaimed as she was aware of it now. "You're right, the days are cut in half! They're moving up the cleanse? What the hell? Why would they do that? I mean we just had one a few months ago and the hotel isn't quite where it needs to be right now and now we have even less time before the next one?"
"I...I don't know why they would do that. I don't think they've ever done that...have they?" Vaggie asked, but she secretly knew the answer to that herself but wanted to play it off.
"No. Never. And I've seen a lot of cleanses. WAY too many of them than I ever wanted to see," Charlie gave her best reply to the question. "Great. I don't know what to do now. I would have never planned for this to happen today. Well not just for this to happen today but for this to happen EVER!"
"I did not expect it to happen either," Vaggie spoke. She then let out a sigh. "Look we can't do anything out here...and out here looks a bit chaotic right now. So how about we just go back to the hotel for now."
"Yes. Okay. We'll do that. I will not think about Heaven wanting to move up the cleanse for no real reason besides...well, I DON'T know!" Charlie exclaimed as she was trying her best not to think about it. But she was really failing.
"Let's do that. And we don't have to run back either. We can just walk for now," Vaggie reassured while putting her hands back on Charlie's shoulders.
"You know...walking does sound better at this time," Charlie replied giving no protest to that decision.
Back at the hotel
"Ugh. This is taking longer than I thought," Blitzo muttered as he was starting to become impatient.
"Didn't you tell me to be patient? And how this would be a free day of just not working?" Moxxie questioned as this seemed very hypocritical.
"Sure. But I'm not gonna lie, I didn't expect it to be this long when I said that," Blitzo replied while folding his arms.
"It literally hasn't even been an hour since we've been here," Loona spoke with a straight face as she couldn't believe he was so determined to come here and how quickly he was becoming impatient.
Blitzo then decided to pull out his phone and check the time and he found out that Loona was right. It had only been a total of 41 minutes since they first stepped foot in the hotel. "Hm. Well, it feels a lot longer than that." He spoke. He then saw a one-eyed cat in the room that was lying down...while hovering about the ground. "Uh. Is that cat...floating in mid-air?"
"That would be right," Pentious answered.
"Well, that is...something different. Blitzo then let out a small sound of disgust as he was a little creeped out at the small creatures flying near them. "What in the hell are those things?"
"I'm pretty ssssure they are like...Charlie's bodyguards. Although I am forgetting their names," Pentious answered as he tried to think hard of what the names were.
"Razzle and Dazzle," Angel quickly spoke to help him remember.
"Ah yesss. Razzle and Dazzle. That was it," Pentious exclaimed as those names did seem familiar.
"Bodyguards?" Blitzo questioned as he examined their small and rather cute appearance. "They don't look like bodyguards to me. More like pets."
"Awwww. I think they look cute!" Millie said as she gave Dazzle a pat on the head which he gave her a smile back.
"Yea. I guess they are kinda cute," Moxxie had to agree with his wife, even though he did think Razzle and Dazzle were cute. At least in this form.
Blitzo wanted to stand by his original claim but couldn't help but see the appeal of Razzle and Dazzle. "Well...I guess...they kinda are. But not as cute as Loonie."
"Oh my satan, stop talking," Loona said as she didn't want to hear anything more like that.
"Well shit Charlie, yer finally back," Angel spoke being the first one to acknowledge her arrival. He also noticed the expression she had plastered on her face. "Is...everything okay? Did ya figure out what was going on out there?"
Charlie looked at Vaggie first with a concerned expression as she didn't want to break the news. She took a breath before trying to get out the words. "Yes...I...did. So...everyone. It has now come to my attention that something has happened in Hell. A certain...event...is happening sooner than before." She spoke while not giving it completely away.
"Are you talking about the Extermination being pushed up?" Loona replied with a rather blank expression on her face.
Charlie was a bit speechless at first as she didn't think someone would get it so spot on. "Yes...I am. How did you know that?" She was curious to figure out the answer to that question.
"Called social media," Loona said as she waved her phone around in the air. "You think nobody would be talking about some random ass sirens going off?"
Charlie did not think about that until now. That was a fair point as that did seem to be the way to spread information fast these days.
"So like. Is there a fucking reason those assholes in Heaven are doing this?" Angel questioned as this had never happened in the many years he'd been down here.
"Eh perhaps they didn't get enough killing from the last one. Or they just really fucking hate Hell. I'd put money on either," Blitzo announced with his eyes closed. He didn't seem to be bothered by this whole ordeal anyway as the sinner demons were usually the prime targets for the cleanse. Not saying they couldn't kill the Hellborn either, but they were usually second choices.
"But this is just so drastic! Heaven doesn't just do this. They've never done it. I mean so many of my people die in the cleanse as it is. Now they want to make it even sooner than before?" Charlie exclaimed as she was becoming quite disheartened from all this.
"I...I don't know why'd they do it either," Vaggie answered trying to think of a possible solution. "Maybe they think that the overpopulation is too much right now?"
"Could be," Husk interjected now. "Or, they weren't able to kill as many demons as they normally do. Mainly due to the fact they were probably focusing manpower on killing the very man that is sheltered in this hotel."
"Imagine being that bad that all of Heaven wants to kill you!" Niffty cackled after she spoke.
Blitzo had a small look of disgust on his face. He leaned over to Millie, who was the closest to him, and whispered. "I'm not gonna lie, that small one is a little fucking creepy."
Moxxie on the other hand did not hear him whisper that and asked about the main conversation going on. "We did hear about that. Was it really true that he was able to kill the Angels? I thought that was impossible?" He questioned as he was not a complete believer yet that someone could pull it off.
"Well, he went out during the cleanse and then came back hours later covered in the blood of the Exorcists. So, yeah. I'd say it's a pretty fucking sure thing that he did that," Angel answered for the group to leave no more doubt in Moxxie's mind.
"Must be a pretty good killer," Millie added as it would take a good killer to kill off that many Exorcists on your own.
"Look. Whatever reason that is making Heaven move up the Extermination does not matter. Okay well I guess it does in a sense, but clearly they need to be shown a better alternative to this issue. I really think we need to present this idea to them," Charlie spoke up again bringing back the focus.
"How much of a business proposal do you really have here?" Blitzo asked as he finally sat up from where he had been lying down. Being a type of entrepreneur himself, he figured he could have a say here. "From what we've seen, this hotel doesn't have a lot of business or have a lot of demons staying here. I'd think you'd need more support first."
"That may be the first thing sensible that came out of his mouth," Husk replied giving Blitzo a little bit of credit.
"Well thank you," Blitzo responded. Until he realized that it was a back-handed compliment. "HEY!" He shouted in offense.
"O-Okay I will not deny the truth there about the hotel not exactly being where the ideal place is. But, if they are shown what he is doing, perhaps they'll back it," Charlie suggested.
"Charlie. Babe. How do you just expect to go talk to Heaven? Ya gonna take a magical staircase to Heaven to go talk to them in person?" Angel joked with her as he didn't see the possibility of that occurring.
Through the hotel doors, this time came Alastor, who had returned from his meeting. He noticed that the others were all gathered in the lobby. "Ah, well hello everyone," he greeted as he strolled on through the lobby. "I can sense by these sour expressions that you all have been informed about the newest development in Hell?"
"If yer referring to the sudden change in the Extermination schedule, then yes. We are aware," Angel responded to the rest of the group.
"Yes, I suppose it is quite the sudden change. Truly out of the ordinary. I would think-," Alastor paused as he finally walked far enough where he could see the newer demons in the hotel lobby. "Imps and a Hellhound. Well that is certainly not the type of demon that I would have expected to grace the presence of the hotel."
"Yeah well, we weren't expecting to be here either. But other shit decided to happen," Blitzo replied. He was unaware of who Alastor was and definitely had no idea that he was the Radio Demon.
"Y-Yes." Charlie began to say to Alastor. "They are not new residents of the hotel. They are just visiting for a while. Although they are still free to join if they please." She ended that with a reminder to them that the offer was still on the table.
"Pass. We are in no need of a hotel. Although I am still digging the shit outta this couch," Blitzo said as he did think it was quite comfortable.
"Another group of visitors! How wonderful," Alastor was clearly full of fake joy in that moment. "So, what has even brought them to the hotel in the first place if not for the path of redemption?"
"Well take a wild guess. Usually, demons that have been coming here that are not here for redemption are usually here for one other thing," Vaggie replied while trying to make Alastor put his thinking cap on to solve his own question.
It didn't take the Radio Demon long to figure out the clue he had been given by Vaggie. "Ah. Well, he certainly draws a crowd doesn't he," he replied as he also thought that it was a little annoying.
"We really should start charging people to see him. With how often it could happen, there could be some big money to be made there," Angel said putting his entrepreneur cap on now.
"You know I like how some of you think," Blitzo said as he was not against coming up with ideas to make money.
"We are not going to try and exploit him for any kind of money. He's not some roadside attraction," Charlie quickly shooting down any idea of that nature.
"Not yet at least," Angel once again tried to hit his original idea home.
"We are not doing that. But yes, they are here to speak to him. But since we do not know his current location, they have decided to wait here," Charlie shot down Angel once again before responding back to Alastor.
"I am sure he cannot be too far behind," Alastor answered as he knew at least one place Doomguy had been.
"So is this guy in the suit another one of the...residents of this place?' Blitzo questioned as he figured he might as well while he waited.
"More of the host of the hotel than just a resident. I am Alastor, I bless the realm of Hell with countless radio broadcasts to fill their entertainment needs," Alastor spoke tooting his own horn.
"Radio? Who the fuck listens to the radio anymore? In fact, does anyone listen to them anymore?" Blitzo asked as he certainly didn't spend his time listening to the radio.
Alastor simply chuckled darkly at that while adjusting his monocle. "Of course, those who still have taste do," he started to show his demon form a bit to add to his point.
"Fucking hell why is this place so creepy?" Blitzo asked. He wasn't really scared by Alastor's tactics, more just curious as to why there were so many creepy elements. Or I guess, creepy to him.
"I don't know if I'd consider the hotel creepy. I'd think of it as a very inviting place," Charlie replied. Although as she thought about it for a minute, there was Vaggie who was a bit too overprotective, Alastor who was heavily feared, Niffty...we'll just leave it at that, and then the Doom Slayer. ALSO heavily feared. "At least...somewhat inviting," she responded with a nervous chuckle.
"Oh yeah quite the place," Loona spoke while not caring enough to look away from her phone.
"I mean, I think the lobby looks nice," Millie said really giving the first compliment to the hotel.
"That is nice to hear! Alastor was a big help in fixing it up!" Charlie always enjoyed hearing good things about her hotel.
The doors opened once more and here came the man of the hour. It almost felt like everyone paid full attention to him every time he entered the room. It always felt like Doomguy's overall presence was just something even the demons of the hotel could not ignore.
"Well look who's back. Tall, big, and handsome," Angel spoke being the first to acknowledge his return.
Doomguy found it a little odd why everyone was looking at him in this way. He had come back to the hotel many times, but they were all looking at him like they were waiting for something. He started to walk through the middle of everyone with the loud sounds of his footsteps filling the room. Eventually, he came into view of I.M.P. and this was the first time they ever saw him in person.
"Wow. That's a human?" Moxxie questioned as his stature looked very rare.
"Quite the big one that's for sure," Millie added to her husband's original comment.
As Doomguy was moving through the lobby he noticed that there were new demons he had never met before. He didn't know what business they had here but he didn't really care. He wasn't going to pay them much attention until one of them just walked in his path.
"WOAH, WOAH big man. Slow your roll. We got some things to discuss with you," Blitzo said as he practically slid in front of the man's path. He wasn't going to lie, the man definitely looked bigger in person. Blitzo saw that the man was staring down at him which meant he was paying attention to him. "Look, big man, I don't know what kind of shit is going down in this hotel, which I still am lead to believe is just a front to something bigger, but you are starting to affect my business."
Doomguy found that to be a bit of an odd thing to say to him. He had no idea who this demon was, nor had he ever met this demon before in his time in Hell. It would be a wonder how he was causing this demon trouble.
"Um," Charlie raised a finger as she felt like interjecting here. Due to the fact that Doomguy was not going to answer any questions, she figured she could help to move this problem along. "Would you mind stating how exactly he's affecting your business? And what was the business again?"
"Like I said before, we are I.M.P. I am the first imp to even start one, but that is beside the point. I've had more and more clients cancel on me because they want to place a...bounty or a hit on someone and they want HIM to do it for them instead of us. So as I said, he is stealing my business," Blitzo explained.
"Buddy, you do realize this is Hell. You cannot believe that your assassination business is the only one in all of Hell," Husk pointed out as there definitely were more assassination businesses or hitmen out there if you wanted someone dead.
"Of course I know that. But none of those other whores offer services like us. You see, we allow the demons of Hell to put a hit on someone in the living world. We do it as a way to help them get rid of...unfinished business. Or as a way to get back at someone who just flat out fucked them in the A while they were alive," Blitzo replied giving a full disclosure of his business.
"Wait...WHAT?!" Charlie exclaimed as she was putting together what the imp meant by that. "You are saying you go up to Earth? Like the Earth? And kill humans?" She had to question it to make sure they were both on the same page.
"Yes. That's what makes my company so unique. I mean, you don't see any other demons offering services like that," Blitzo replied.
While Blitzo thought nothing more about what he said, Doomguy couldn't help but pay attention to that. Hearing those words about demons going to Earth and slaughtering humans, especially hearing imps killing humans did not sit well with him. It did not sit well at all. He started to become a little angry after thinking about all the imps he has killed back in his dimension, and the imps he's witnessed kill allies of his. His fists balled up as he started to march slowly over to Blitzo. He stopped right in front of him and proceeded to stare through his soul.
"Ummmm. Why are you standing so damn close to me? Are you against my business too? Which wouldn't make sense as it is believed that you do something like that too," Blitzo questioned. He did not word that very well as his statement caused the man to grab hold of his neck and lift him six feet off the ground. This sudden action by the Slayer brought everyone's attention to the center of the room. The Slayer turned his head slightly at the demon he held in his hand. Blitzo had both his hands on the Slayer's arm to try and release the hold on his neck. And while it wasn't a ton of pressure, it was not the most comfortable feeling either. "GAH. FUCK! WHAT...IN...THE...FUCK!" Blitzo shouted as he didn't understand what brought this attack on.
"Well you seem to have pissed off the human. Guess you should have chosen your words more carefully," Alastor spoke as he was currently enjoying the scene that was unfolding in front of him.
Blitzo tried squirming free but to no avail. He thought about reaching for his blade or his gun but he didn't even know if that would have an effect on this man. For one, he couldn't reach very far with a knife. Due to his short size, all he could stab was the man's forearms which were covered in armor. If he went for a gun, he would most likely be disarmed. He tried to call on for others for help. "Can you all like...STOP STANDING THERE and do something?!"
"What can we even do sir? This guy is said to be very powerful. How could we stop him from choking you?" Moxxie replied.
"I think he may not like what you said," Millie suggested. "Maybe try apologizing?"
Blitzo then looked back at his attacker. "What? Are you not happy about us killing humans? Well you can calm your tits! We don't just go up there and murder all humans we see. We just kill the ones our clients want us to kill," he replied clearly forgetting some previous encounters.
"Well...most of the time," Millie added as that was more of a true statement than Blitzo's.
"Millie that is not helping!" Blitzo exclaimed. He now had to think of something new to say. "Okay look, the other humans we killed that weren't clients were assholes that tried to kill us first. I mean most of these assholes that we kill just end up down here anyways so the humans up there can't be that good of people, he added trying to make it more appealing for the man.
"Hm. You know I think that is a great business you are running," Alastor said as going up to the surface to kill humans was an interesting event.
"See. The strawberry pimp over here gets it," Blitzo said as he felt like his situation was better with someone on his side. Unfortunately the man on his side had to be Alastor, who Doomguy did not care for too much.
"Ha!" Angel quickly blurted out. "That's exactly what the fuck I called him before!" He exclaimed while seeing the annoying look on Alastor's face.
Doomguy was still not letting him go. Bad memories were filling his mind right now that did not help Blitzo's fate. His left hand, which was the one that was not holding a helpless Blitzo was becoming a tight fist. He felt like squeezing his right hand hard enough where Blitzo's head would be completely severed from his body. Doomguy then felt something touch his left hand. He looked to his left to see that Charlie had both of her hands around his.
"I know you feel mad about what he has done. I am not happy to hear that they slay humans. But...I do not believe he needs to die for it. Perhaps he can change his mind. I know I have asked this upon you before, but let him live. Please," Charlie pleaded to not cause the death of this imp in the hotel.
Doomguy took his eyes away from Charlie and on to Blitzo for one last time. The anger he was starting to feel in that moment was slightly fading. In Blitzo's case, it was a good thing that Charlie was about the only demon in this realm Doomguy somewhat liked. He tossed Blitzo back on the floor where he finally released his grip on his neck. Blitzo hit the floor with a bit of a loud thud. Doomguy turned around and walked a few steps in the other direction before remaining with his back turned away from the others.
"Fucking hell. That was a fucking dick move!" Blitzo exclaimed as he rubbed his neck. "Thank all of you for stepping in during that," he said sarcastically. This was pointed more towards his employees.
"I think you are expecting to fucking much. Look pal, we've known this guy for a while now. Your little group over there would not be able to stop his strong ass and neither would we. You were on your own there," Angel grinned as he pointed that out.
"Are you alright B?" Millie asked still showing some concern.
"Besides my neck practically being crushed...I fucking guess," Blitzo replied as he was now sitting back up instead of laying on the floor.
"Hold the fuck on. There's still something that I don't understand here. How in the hell are you even able to access the living world?" Vaggie questioned bringing the conversation back to before.
"I am not gonna tell you. Next thing you know you are going to try and steal my business too. Then you may tell someone else and then they will tell someone else and it will be a whole fucking headache," Blitzo somewhat answered.
"This still doesn't explain why you think muscles over here is somehow stealing your business," Angel added as he pointed a thumb at Doomguy.
"Because I keep hearing from clients that apparently he can fully kill sinners and due to the fact he's a human he's got to be able to go back up to Earth. So he can access both realms and if he did kill someone up on Earth he can just fully finish them off when they get down here. That's like fucking one-upping what we do!" Blitzo repeated the constant things he'd been hearing. But what Blitzo said made the other demons in the room stop focusing on that part and look at the Slayer.
"Hold on. He can fully kill a sinner?" Husk ended up asking the first question as he was curious.
"I don't know. That's what others said to me," Blitzo shrugged as it's not like he would know for sure.
Vaggie then gave her best answer to this question. "But. That isn't possible. Unless he simply used angelic weapons."
"I don't know toots, I feel like he typically uses guns and just guns. And I ain't talking about the ones on his arms~" Angel said as he couldn't help himself every time he got a glance at his arms.
"That's for certain," Niffty agreed with a small chuckle.
"Did you not think of that as a possible solution?" Vaggie then said to the members of I.M.P.
"I mean I think that could be possible. But it's very hard to acquire those kinds of weapons," Moxxie spoke as he found that to be a logical solution.
"Well, he did just slaughter a shit ton of angels during the cleanse. Maybe he took some from there," Husk answered.
"Oh right. I did forget you told us about that," Moxxie replied.
"ALRIGHT whether he can actually do it with angel weapons or not does not make the difference to me. Well, I guess it kinda does, BUT he's still trying to take my idea and take my business away," Blitzo accused. He then started to back off his tone a bit as to not get choked again.
"Are you really sure he's actually stealing your business? We have never seen him run any business out of this hotel or conduct any deals either. I really don't think he's actually doing what you think he's doing," Vaggie explained.
"Oh yeah? Well...where was he just at? Perhaps he was conducting business with someone outside of this place," Blitzo was now feeling confident in his new claim.
"Why he was out with me attending the meeting of the Overlords of Hell. And what a meeting it was indeed. Although it was cut a bit short due to the sudden revelation of a quicker cleanse," Alastor answered for Doomguy.
"Overlord meeting?" Husk questioned after hearing that. "He actually went to that? He seemed pretty uninterested in that after receiving that note."
"Oh Husker, he was against it. But all it took was a little bit of convincing," Alastor spoke although not being very serious with his words. But his words did give a hard glare from the Slayer.
Husk noticed the hard glare he was getting and could only respond back with a "rightttttt."
"Okay. Well. What about the other times he goes out?" Blitzo accused again but his fellow employees decided to interject.
"Sir I really think that you were wrong about this one. Like completely wrong. Like not even close to being right," Moxxie said while saying the same thing three times.
"Yeah B. I don't think he is trying to steal your business," Millie added.
"I doubt he is either. Like we said, we've never seen him ever go out and just take bounties or whatever you want to call it. It's also not like he talks to anyone so how could he really conduct any type of business? I really feel like this whole thing is an overreaction," Vaggie stated which was pretty accurate.
"Wouldn't be the first time," this was spoken practically in unison by Loona, Millie, and Moxxie.
"Who's side are you all on?" Blitzo said feeling a little offended by them all not backing him up.
"Blitz I think you just have to face it that this was just a misunderstanding. Our clients probably just blindly followed some rumor and believed it to be true. In time, I'm sure they will realize it's false and come back to us," Moxxie gave Blitzo a full conclusion to get him to face the facts of this situation.
Blitzo put a hand to his face before sighing. "Well, I guess that wouldn't surprise me. Our clients are a bit fucking stupid. Alright...fine...if this abnormally large human is not trying to steal my business as well as the rest of you...it looks like...we're done here. So...back to the van!" Blitzo announced with a raised finger. He then proceeded towards the doors.
"Finally. This really was a big waste of time," Loona muttered as she slowly followed with the bottle she was giving from Husk still in hand.
"Well guess it's time to go. Goodbye, I guess," Moxxie said to everyone in the hotel as it felt like a bit of an awkward leave. But nevertheless, he as well as his wife followed behind through the doors.
"You know, for a hotel set for redemption, this place seems to attract odd demons," Husk said once I.M.P was fully out the doors.
"Ain't that the truth," Vaggie said with a sigh as she wished that wasn't the case.
"Well, now that's dealt with...I think I need to go and do some thinking. Now that there is a change in the cleanse schedule, I need to think about what the best step is from here," Charlie spoke as she was practically excusing herself from the lobby and began to head up to her room. Vaggie decided to follow her as she could try her best to help her in this situation. Razzle and Dazzle also slowly flew behind them as well.
Angel stretched out his arms above his head before letting out a sigh. "Yeah, I think I've had enough for one day. I'll see you bitches later," he said as he felt like getting some rest and proceeded to his room as well. "Later musclesssss," he also felt like adding as he had to walk past the Slayer to get towards his room.
"Yes. I will...head back to my room as well to do...things," Pentious said wanting to follow in on the apparent trend.
"Ooh, what kind of things?" Niffty questioned as Sir Pentious didn't make that sound like something that wasn't sexual.
"You really felt the need to announce that? And why did you even feel the need to say it like that?" Husk questioned as well.
"I did not mean it like that! I have no idea what I shall commence in. In my room that isss," Pentious was trying his best to try and recover from this.
"I think you just need to shut the fuck up and head back to your room before you make it sound even worse for yourself," Husk suggested, which was a rather good suggestion in this case.
"Yesssss. I will do that," Pentious responded. He began to slither to his room and tried to afford direct eye contact with the Slayer as the man's hard stare was still really intimidating.
After the members of I.M.P. were officially gone, and members of the hotel disbanded to their rooms, the Slayer decided to not stay in the lobby any longer. He proceeded up the stairs where he would go back to his room in the hotel. Once again after some short walking, he got to his door and opened it. He closed the door behind him and he was alone once again. What an odd day this seemed to be. But most days here were like that. He was now familiar with more of the Overlords of Hell. They seemed to be of better company than the Vee's. Or even Alastor in this case. It really started to seem that his actions against the Exorcists were truly a big thing as the demons truly believed they couldn't be killed. According to Carmilla, demons of Hell only believe that he was the one responsible for it. But he didn't think too much more of what he did on Extermination Day. What's done is done. Those that he killed didn't tend to linger too much in his mind.
He was now alone in his room and finally had another moment without everyone in this realm trying to talk to him or meet him. At times like this, he enjoyed the Fortress of Doom where he could be alone. Doomguy removed his helmet from his head and placed it on a table in the room. He then decided to remove both of his gauntlets from his left and right forearm. He then placed those on the same table where he placed his helmet. From there, he decided to remove every piece of armor above his waist due to the fact that he had time to himself that wouldn't involve any type of battle. This consisted of removing the shoulder cannon attachment from the actual shoulder piece of his armor, and then the piece that covered his chest and abdomen. He placed all of those pieces on the table before proceeding to sit down on the edge of the bed in the room. He began to massage his exposed wrists now that he had a bit more comfort with the armor pieces being off. As he was doing that, he started to think about the times he had collapsed. It seemed as if his strength was fully back now and the lingering effects of killing the Dark Lord were wearing off. It seemed like he wouldn't have to worry about something like that happening again.
He then took his mind to a different place. A place where he could try to calm his mind. He closed his eyes while rotating his head to crack his neck. He took a deep breath before opening his eyes back up. But, his sight couldn't help but catch distinctive parts of his body. All the scarring and previous wounds he had suffered. At that moment, it was like he was back in Hell. And by Hell, I mean HIS Hell. He started to remember the scars he had and the moment the demons struck him. He started to remember the pain he felt from it. It pain started to feel almost...real. The area around him transforms into a horrific landscape filled with nothing but chaos. The roars of demons, the carnage, the screams. All of it. He could see himself firing weapons at the onslaught of demons that came his way. He could feel the imp claw his back, the gargoyle slash his shoulder...all of it. Clearly, this wasn't allowing Doomguy to relax as he began to squeeze his fists tightly together. So much so, that he almost drew blood from his own palms due to the pressure his fingers were putting into his palms. He broke the pressure and let his arms fall onto the bed. Perhaps it was better if he didn't think about his scars. It would be better if he didn't think about anything right now. Perhaps, it would be good in this moment to just try to calm his mind. In doing so, he began to rethink the conversation he had earlier today.
Thirty Minutes Ago
The meeting of the Overlords had come to a close for now. They began to pile out of the room in an orderly fashion. Except for the one person who wasn't an Overlord. He stayed in his seat as he carefully watched each one walk past him to leave the room. They all did throw a glance or two his way as they passed him so he felt the need to do the same. Once they all had left and it was just himself, Carmilla, and her daughters, he got out of his seat, turned around, and walked out the doorway. He walked down the short hallway and went to the closest elevator to take him back down. He pushed the button which called for the elevator to come back up to this floor.
"E-Excuse me," a demon spoke to him. The Doom Slayer slowly turned his head to the left to see one of the female demons from the meeting was the one who got his attention. "I am Clara, daughter of Carmilla. My mother would wish to speak with you in private...if that would be agreeable with you?"
Doomguy stared at the elevator that just reached this floor. As the door slid open in front of him. He just stared at it but didn't walk in. The demon who most likely sent him the letter now wanted to speak to him in private. He figured since he was here, perhaps he should listen to what this is about. He let the door close in front of him and walked past Clara and back into the room. When he got back into the room, he saw Carmilla and another demon standing next to her. If the other female demon was Carmilla's daughter, perhaps this other one was too. He stopped at the edge of the table and would simply stand this time instead of sitting back down. He heard that Clara closed the door behind him to make this meeting completely private. He stared at Carmilla with his right fist balled up and his Super Shotgun in his left hand.
"I...was hoping to get to speak with you in private. Away from the ears of the others. I did not want to talk about this...about the cleanse. But...I'm sure I can have this conversation with you. I do not know who you really are or where exactly you come from. You continue to commit one phenomenon after the other. The most recent one was what you did during the last extermination. I have to guess that this was the very first cleanse you experienced as you are rather new to Hell. As someone who's experienced many...I have to say, what you did was said to be impossible. I suppose what I did was said to be impossible too." Carmilla began as she took a few steps towards one of the windows in the room. "This was said many times during the meeting but it is true. There have been thousands of exterminations and never once has someone spilled the blood of an angel. The reason for that was not completely due to the fact no one tried, it was the fact that the Exorcists seemed unkillable. I also managed to kill several during the cleanse in an act of defense. Not nearly as many as you but...It seems rather simple now that I did it. The angels are vulnerable to their own weapons. I am sure you are aware of their weapons as they would have had to try and use them against you."
That was true as Doomguy did recall them using just spears to try and kill him. What Carmilla was saying about those Exorcists having a weakness in their own weapons did make sense as when he used their weapons to kill them, they were more efficient than some of his other weapons.
"I did not want to tell anyone about this. I had feared for the consequences they would bring. If Heaven saw that the demons of Hell were beginning to fight back, beginning to revolt in some way. There's no telling of the destruction it would bring to this realm. It could lead to an all-out war with many deaths," Carmilla spoke as she took a glance at her two daughters. She then wanted to move the conversation to the man present in the room. "As for you...I have reason to believe that you killed them without the use of angel weapons. I see the weapon in your hands which looks like nothing more than a gun. And seeing some of the remains from the Exorcists you killed, shows clear evidence at times of a gun being used. I don't know how you managed to do it without the use of angelic weaponry as no one in this entire realm, no matter how powerful has done that before. You must possess more power than I would have thought. Nevertheless of what happened during the cleanse, I have to believe that Heaven will not be happy with what happened. The cleanse being moved up is an indicator of that. Perhaps my worst fear may come true. Maybe not in the upcoming cleanse, but in the future. If war did occur...I guess I am curious as to who's side you'd be on. You are a human, which could be a type of blessing in this situation. Heaven may not believe that any demons killed the angels during the cleanse and prevented the thoughts of revolution. They may think that just a human committed the act. But it was clear in the meeting some of the Overlords were thinking of the idea of war which others could think as well with you being present in this realm." She finally took a moment to pause before getting to the final part of this conversation. "I am not going to demand you do anything with Heaven that you do not wish to do yourself. But if war breaks out...I only can request that you help those who cannot help themselves. Not all demons in this realm are terrible beyond belief. Some...such as myself... have families to protect. I will protect my daughters until I draw my last breath in this realm." Carmilla then sighed again as she really didn't want this to sound like Velvet and Vox where she wanted the man to fight a war against an entire realm. "As much chance that war could break out, there could be as much of a chance that it does not. I do not want it to seem like you are forced to fight a war between two realms you have no ties to. That is all I wished to discuss with you."
Doomguy kept on staring at her as he kept on absorbing the words she spoke to him. His eyes began to dart around the room as he questioned what he would truly do if the war she predicted to happen did in fact happen. For now, he raised his shotgun behind his back and came back empty-handed as he finally sent the weapon away. This was a type of signal to her that he did not feel the need to have the shotgun out with her. He did not see her as a threat.
He then turned around and pushed the doors open and once again walked through the short hallway back to the elevator. He walked into the elevator this time without anyone else wanting to talk to him. When the door closed, the elevator proceeded down to the ground floor. Once again the idea of war was brought up. Carmilla, while being much more polite and thorough than others, she still wanted his help to fight a possible war that did not involve him. While she may be right that not all the demons down here are terrible people, he has encountered worse that do not deserve his saving. Perhaps Carmilla was right, due to his actions and hers, war could break out. If war did break out due to the beings he killed would he feel obligated to fight? He couldn't say for sure at this moment.