A few days had passed since the trip to Lu Lu World and the arrival of Leo at the Hotel, and things had quickly settled back into their usual routine, plus a new member of the family joining the dynamic.

Leo had been a ball of energy for everyone at the Hotel, and there wasn't a single person he didn't try to interact with in some way.

As John had predicted, Husk had taken to entertaining the boy with parlor tricks to pass the mind numbing time that was his job as the doorman. If anyone else was busy, mainly John, Leo could be found seated at the bar with a wondrous grin on his face as Husk performed one trick or another.

Vanessa and Angel may as well have become Leo's big siblings, as the boy was dragging them into different games of tag and hide-and-seek among other games, and he could be caught watching a movie or playing a game with both John and Vanessa.

Charlie seemed to be the aunt whom spoiled the boy, considering John had once discovered the two of them in the middle of stuffing their faces with what had seemed to be three seperate cakes that had been baked.

Opposing that, Vaggie acted as the more stern aunt. She wasn't afraid to admonish or scold Leo when he got caught doing something he wasn't supposed to, like the time she'd caught him trying to sneak a curious sip of whiskey. Conversely, she was also the one Leo would go to whenever the boy had questions about… well, pretty much anything.

Pentious was… a stranger, still. Considering just who his father was, Pentious made a point to stay well away from Leo for fear of a possible beat down. Whether it be from the child or the man himself, neither were entirely sure.

The only one who didn't really interact with the child in any meaningful way was Alastor, though they still somehow manage to find common ground in the hilarious world known as Tom and Jerry.

That one had been a shocker.

It was clear to everyone that despite his fears, John was a better father than most would believe. He had his faults for sure, as his way of admonishment usually meant his frustration got the better of him, but he made sure Leo understood what he'd done wrong and to not do it again.

And unlike most parents in existence, John had never so much as raised a hand to his child.

Leo clearly looked up to John. That had been apparent for everyone considering the boy's choice of clothing, but it clearly went a lot deeper than just a passing resemblance.

Wherever John was, chances were that Leonwas right there with him. If John was busy, they all were willing to keep an eye on the boy, but the moment John was free, Leo would be right there by him as soon as possible.

He was a light like John too. He was as excitable as any child, but Leo was always offering to help people much like John himself would, though his offers weren't often accepted compared to John's own.

For his young age, both physically and mentally, Leo had a lot more care for most around him than any demon, or even any human child. He was always asking if he needed to move, or if he was in anyone's way, and it was actually quite touching to know the boy considered everyone else's feelings so much.

However, there was also another guest whom had established his own dynamic amongst the Hotel.

Pentious seemed to be a bit… reclusive. He participated in Charlie's sessions, and he would occasionally join the others hanging out in the lobby, but more often than not, he was hidden away in his room and making no real attempt to interact with anyone else.

Nonetheless, he'd lasted a week at the Hotel, and Charlie had felt that it was cause for celebration. Considering she currently stood on a ladder while Razzle and Dazzle were hammering in a makeshift and surprisingly well done celebration banner.

HAPPY FIRST WEEK, SIR PENTIOUS!

Below the ladder, Vaggie stood with her hands on the ladder to keep it in place, and she ws currently looking up at Charlie in… admittedly slight confusion.

"That looks perfect!" Charlie was absolutely beaming at the site of the banner, a massive smile on her face as she bounced on the ladder. Razzle and Dazzle took that as their cue to stop hammering and take their leave while Charlie turned her gaze down to Vaggie, letting out a squeal of excitement. "I'm so excited that Pentious is stay at Hotel!" She held herself off of the ladder in an almost theatrical pose, slowly turning the sentence into lyrics as she sung towards the end.

Vaggie, however, merely looked up at her in shock.

"Uh, Pentious was just trying to take over the city with his weird steampunk bullshit a few days ago." The moth pointed out, removing her hands from the ladder as Charlie climbed down.

"Well, I haven't seen him try to pull any of that here." Charlie replied in a chipper tone as she climbed off the ladder.

As if fate had simply decided to spite her, however, both Charlie and Vaggie perked up at the sound of audibly rolling ears coming from down the hall. And it sounded like it was carrying something rather heavy.

A few seconds later, Kiki came scampering out of the hall, followed shortly by Sir Pentious. Who was pushing what… honestly looked like some kind of steam powered gatling gun.

How Sir Pentious could be smart enough to do something that sounded genuinely impossible, but so utterly incompetent that he couldn't even take over a few blocks of the city, was lost upon the two women. However, that wasn't what either of them were currently focusing on.

No, they were focusing on the fact that he had a weapon at all, and his Egg Boiz were currently sitting atop it and using it as a ride.

Vaggie was fed up with the Egg Boiz at this point. While the stunt with John trying to use the bathroom had been admittedly hilarious, that didn't make up for how destructive they are. And with the gatling gun, Vaggie was admittedly close to losing what little patience she already had with the snake.

"What the hell is that?!" Vaggie asked in frustration, still unsure if what she was looking at was actually just a simple gatling gun. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if the steampunk invention was some kind of ridiculously high-powered laser.

"Oh, hello, purple female." Sir Pentious greeted the moth as if he'd only just noticed her, infuriating Vaggie to no end as the snake began to actually introduce his latest contraption. "It's my new invention: The Skin Flayer 11,000!" He declared with a proud smile on his face as he gestured to the weapon, before actually slithering closer and giving it a hug of some sort. "I'm really looking forward to shooting the other residents!"

"Come again?!" The familiar voice of John rang out through the hotel, both anger in alarm in his voice as the outburst drew everyone's attention towards him.

He'd looked to be occupied in some video game with Leo and Vanessa, both of whom were now looking up at the behemoth in confusion and slight fright. John's piercing blues were honed in on Pentious from where he sat on the couch, and it was clear that he was less than pleased with that declaration.

Considering Pentious looked close to actually pissing himself with the way he was staring at John, and the fact that the behemoth himself looked ready to make a smear of the snake, Vaggie opted only to step in because she really didn't want there to be a mess for Niffty to clean up.

She struggles enough with bugs.

"I got this, John!" Vaggie called to the behemoth, who twisted himself slightly so he could face the moth with a questioning and somewhat apprehensive gaze.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure, go back to the game." Vaggie replied, waving her hand at him. That seemed to pacify John at the very least, as the behemoth let out a sigh, but nodded his head as he turned his gaze back to the game. With that, Vaggie turned her gaze back to Pentious. "Why are you stupid sometimes?" It was voiced almost like a legitimate question, because Vaggie was genuinely curious about why the snake was utterly incompetent. "Why did you even want to attack the others anyway?"

"They're all being too nice." Pentious replied, turning to look at Vaggie with an angry look on his face. "Obviously it must be a lie." He spoke with so much confidence that now even Charlie was looking at him in complete confusion. "I can sense they are planning to kill me, but when? How? I must be prepared!" He sounded so proud of his line of thinking that Vaggie couldn't help but to facepalm.

This was the snake that Angel had blown half the city away fighting against?

"Oh, the new parts of my machine are here!" Now Pentious sounded thrilled as he turned towards the entrance. Vaggie and Charlie both followed his gaze, where they found a pair of familiar looking demons hauling in a bunch of weapons caches.

Pentious seemed so caught up in his joy that he was the only one who missed the low growl emanating from a certain behemoth.

But Vaggie didn't, and she quietly cursed to herself at the utter stupidity that was Sir Pentious.

One of the demons, white-skinned female in a lab coat with a pair of horns, stepped towards Pentious with a clipboard while the other continued hauling the weapons in.

"Sign, please.." She instructed as she handed the clipboard to Pentious along with a pen. The snake wasted no time in signing, and that seemed to be how simple the transaction was, as both girls turned away and began leaving while Pentious moved to haul the weapons further into the Hotel. "Thank you for your business, we hope you enjoy your Carmine purchase."

Well, if that didn't confirm that Odette and Clara Carmine had indeed just enter the Hotel, Vaggie didn't know what did.

"Carmine? As in Carmilla Carmine? You are buying parts from an Overlord?!" Vaggie's patience was quickly fading, and she seriously believed that today would be the day that she'd finally lose it.

"Of course." Pentious answered as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "She's the top weapons dealer in Hell."

Yep, Vaggie was done.

"Well, that stops here." Vaggie said as she marched right past Pentious and grabbed the cart of weapons he'd just rolled in, immediately rolling it away from the snake, to his ire.

"Hey!" Pentious shouted in indignation, both a hiss and a rattling reminiscent of a rattlesnake escaping him, but Vaggie cared for none of it as she turned and glared at the snake.

"You absolutely cannot build weapons in this Hotel!" Vaggie was finally putting her foot down, because to be quite frank, she was done with the snake's antics. She was done with Pentious in general. "No one is trying to hurt you! People are being nice because they want you to feel welcome." Vaggie's expression shifted to that of a thoroughly annoyed scowl, crossing her arms in her anger.

Pentious merely raised an eyebrow, before turning and actually peeking up over the steampunk contraption with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

John, Leo, and Vanessa seemed occupied and otherwise unbothered by the snake, while both Husk and Angel merely flipped him off when he glanced at each of them. Husk refused to take his bottle from his mouth and Angel actually paused to give him a smirk.

And Niffty…

"I have my doubts." Pentious admitted as he slowly turned back to face Vaggie while keeping his eyes pointed towards the bar's current occupants with a wary gaze.

"Well it's true." Though Vaggie sounded sure of that, admittedly Husk and Angel could care less about the snake's comfort. Still, Pentious needed reassurance just as much as reprimanding, or these antics would only get worse.

Well, as worse as it could be before John once more put the fear of God himself into the snake.

"You have to trust us."

"But I don't." Pentious replied bluntly, shrugging as he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. Vaggie would give the snake this, he was wise in that regard and he had no problem being completely honest when he wanted.

"Well, why don't we focus on that for today's activities?" Charlie suggested with a smile, finally coming into the conversation once more as she approached the two.

Pentious looked more than unsure, and Vaggie herself was admittedly on the fence about it.

"Hmm, not before we lay some ground rules first." Vaggie replied as she gave Pentious another stern gaze. "No more building weapons, no more plotting against the other guests, and you have got to get rid of these things!" Vaggie jerked an irritated finger towards Pentious Egg Boiz at that, whom were now sitting atop the soon-to-be discarded weapons cart. And it would seem that they'd already dug into a few of the weapons, currently playing with them as if they were toys.

As if to only reinforce Vaggie's point, a small thin laser one of the eggs were playing with abruptly discharged, creating a hole in the ceiling. Though it proved her point, it also frustrated her further.

"Ugh, what did I just say? What did I just say?!"

"What?!" Sir Pentious actually sounded shocked and more than unhappy with that declaration as he promptly gathered up the Egg Boiz in a hug. "Not my little Egg Boiz! They do my evil bidding for me!" He actually looked up at Vaggie with a genuinely pleading gaze.

But Vaggie had none of it.

"Do you want to stay here and redeem yourself?"

It was at that point that John seemed to have decided to intervene once more, though this time with a more reluctant sigh as he paused his game. "Give me a minute, you two." He spoke to both Vanessa and Leo before standing to his feet.

The usual audible thumps caught the attention of Vaggie, Charlie, and Pentious as the behemoth approached, shooting a stern gaze at Pentious.

"I regret this, they're dead." Was all he said, before turning to look at Vaggie. "Look, I'm sick of them too, but for whatever reason or another, he's really attached to them." He pointed out as he gestured to the snake, still hugging the eggs to himself. "I'm frustrated too, but at least take that into consideration."

Vaggie actually had, and she understood that John was simply trying to look at it from all angles. Unfortunately…

"Maybe, but I'm not interested in seeing what other ways they can try to destroy the Hotel." Vaggie reminded the behemoth with a raised eyebrow. Both she and John glanced up at the hole in the ceiling, before meeting each other's gazes.

Seeing that this wasn't one he could win, he shrugged his shoulders and glanced down at Pentious with a barely sympathetic expression.

"I tried." And he did, which was actually saying something. Ever since Leo had been staying at the Hotel for his limited duration, John had clearly grown more… antsy, one could say. Anything that he felt would bring any kind of harm to his son was shut down quite quickly, and nobody had forgotten that he'd essentially forced Alastor into making a deal to leave Leo alone.

So considering that Pentious had just admitted that he'd been building weapons within the building, it was a miracle enough that the behemoth had even tried to convince Vaggie in the first place.

If John was anything, it was consistent.

However, it was clear he wasn't exactly happy with Pentious even still, as he paused in the middle of turning back towards the couch, and gave Pentious a… Vaggie would call it a rather intimidating stare.

"You build more weapons in this Hotel, especially with my son here, you're dead." The way it was said was so blunt and almost casual that it would've been easy to think it was a joke. Considering he was speaking out of concern for Leo's safety, they all knew it was anything but.

With that final warning, the behemoth turned and made his way back to the couch, while Vaggie turned back towards the snake.

"They've got to go." She repeated once more, staying firm in her decision as she gave Pentious an unflinching gaze.

It would seem Pentious realized he wasn't winning this argument. With a sigh, he gave in as his eyes actually began to tear up, and he looked at the Egg Boiz with a saddened expression.

"Alright, Egg Boiz. You've got to go." His voice actually quivered at that, and Vaggie found herself rolling her eye. She was honestly unsure if he was really this overdramatic or if he really was just that attached to the little gremlins. "I… I can't keep you anymore!" He averted his gaze as an actual sob escaped him.

The Egg Boiz, however, either didn't understand what was happening or were just that happy to listen to their (former) master.

"Okay boss." One of them replied cheerily, before turning and immediately following Vaggie as she began to roll the weapon cart away. Vaggie herself simply eyed Pentious in disbelief as he actually began outright sobbing, to the point that Charlie awkwardly tried to console him with a pat on the back.

Vaggie just rolled her eye once more. "Unbelievable."

Once the weapons were disposed of, Vaggie found herself already at her limit with eggs. It was a wonder that they were being quiet now, considering how quickly they'd manage to frustrate her with constant questions.

Apparently, since Pentious couldn't keep them, she was the boss now.

Considering how angry the little monsters had already made her, Vaggie found herself deciding the perfect person to dispose of them.

So when she reached Alastor's door, she wasted no time in throwing it open and shouting his name.

"Alastor!"

Whatever music that had been playing abruptly stopped with the sound of a screeching record player, and Alastor himself looked a lot like an actual deer in headlights as she caught him as he was about to dig into… an actual deer corpse.

Alastor's eyes flicked towards the moth, before he raised an eyebrow. "Do you mind? I am in the middle of breakfast!" He barely spared her a glance as he tried to go back to eating his food.

Behind her, she could actually hear two of the Egg Boiz in the middle of a slap fight, so her courtesy was gone for the time being.

"Pentious' eggs are all over the place, and I need you to get rid of them." She told him bluntly, frustration in her entire demeanor as she eyed the Radio Demon.

At the what at first sounded like an idea of pure slaughter, Alastor's breakfast was gleefully forgotten as he threw his silverware aside like trash and jumped to his feet, manifesting his cane. "Well in that case I'd be delighted too!" He answered as he approached the moth, a little too eager for her liking.

"Humanely." Vaggie's eye narrowed and her voice carried no amusement as she added that extra condition. The Hotel didn't need an even worse reputation thanks to Alastor.

"Hm, well, that's a lot less fun." Alastor admitted, sounding genuinely if barely disappointed as his radio filter disappeared for that sentence, only to immediately return for the next one. "But I suppose I can take care of it on mine and John's outing today." He agreed as he walked past the moth and out the door, the Egg Boiz immediately turning to follow her.

"Great." Vaggie said, seemingly happy with that answer. However, once she processed what Alastor had actually said, her eyes widened in surprise and alarm. "Wait, what?!" She wasted no time in turning on her heel, walking out the door and quickly following after Alastor.

After the incident that had happened only days ago, Vaggie was positive that any actual chance of John and Alastor hanging out were little to zero. So the fact that Alastor either believed or already had established some kind of outing with the behemoth was more than concerning.

Even with the thought in the back of her mind that John would be fine either way, she still couldn't help but to worry.

"What do you mean you and John?" Vaggie asked as Alastor turned back to her with a raised eyebrow.

Alastor being Alastor, of course he didn't care about her concern in the slightest.

"It's just a simple outing!" Alastor waved off her words, sounding as if he was genuinely surprised that Vaggie was interrogating him. "Overlords have a meeting today, and I feel that John should attend."

"But John isn't an Overlord." At least, not in the typical sense. The revelation that John was also a deal-maker had definitely been more than a shock to the moth, but it didn't take her long to learn that he didn't own a single soul. He didn't even own Alastor's, at least not yet.

So would John really need to attend?

"Of course he is!" Alastor replied with his usual smile, looking at Vaggie as if she'd said something completely silly. "He can make deals after all, and that's all it really takes to start his path as an Overlord."

Oh. It was some kind of attempt at corruption.

Well, considering the kind of person John is… well, Vaggie took even greater joy in the genuine surprise accompanying Alastor's smile when she found herself genuinely laughing in amusement.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck with that." Vaggie now found herself reassured, admittedly. Because even if John agreed to go with Alastor, chances are he wouldn't be affected in the slightest. John was just that fucking resilient, it seemed.

Alastor simply watched with a raised eyebrow, looking genuinely confused at the moth's words.

But Vaggie didn't care. Now that she knew his plan was a failure in the making, she was interested in seeing how he reacted when things didn't go his way.

It would probably be pretty funny.

"John!" The familiar radio static that accompanied the voice rang through the behemoth's ears, causing him to pause the game he was playing once more as he turned towards the Radio Demon. He found Alastor making his way down the steps, and the demon was looking at him with his usual confident smile. "Would be so kind as to accompany me to the Overlord meeting being held today?"

At that, John raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why the hell would I want to do that? I'm not an Overlord."

"Of course you are!" Alastor sounded confident in his words as he approached the couch where John was sitting, with both Vanessa and Leo looking up at both of them in confusion.

Well, slight confusion, in Vanessa's case.

"Why, cause I can make deals?" John guessed, before shaking his head with a huff of amusement. "I'll pass, thanks."

The sound of Vaggie's laughter definitely confused the two of them, as well as everyone who heard it as they all gave her weird looks. Nonetheless, Alastor didn't seem to be moved. Which was surprising, considering their last real interaction had been Alastor taking a drop through three separate floors.

It was a wonder he was inviting John at all.

"Perhaps I can offer more incentive? Vox will most likely be there."

The Radio Demon's smile widened in sinister satisfaction at the way John went stiff, perking up at that revelation. It also didn't escape his attention how both Angel and Vanessa went wide-eyed at his words.

"Really?" Now John sounded interested, halting his action of unpausing the game as he instead sat the controller down on the couch and once again twisted to face Alastor. "What kind of meeting is it, then?"

"We discuss important matters that affect our livelihoods." Alastor explained, raising an eyebrow at the behemoth as gave a small shrug. "They aren't held often, but when they are, I find it best to always be in attendance. Better to know than to be kept in the dark, after all."

John's brow furrowed in thought, as he turned away from Alastor for a moment, thinking it over.

On the one hand, it would be a good way to really nail the point in for the TV demon. Make sure he knew that the Hotel was completely and utterly off-limits. No exceptions.

On the other… was there really a point? If Vox were going to actually attempt something again, John seriously thought that he would've already. Considering how quickly he tried to put Pentious in as a mole, so soon after his little song-battle with Alastor, if Vox really cared that much then John honestly thought that there'd have been another type of attack on the Hotel. Whether direct or more discreet.

Granted, it would be best to make sure the TV demon understood just how weak he was compared to John. If there's one thing the behemoth knew… sinners didn't tend to simply give up unless they had a good reason too.

And the unfortunate truth was that fear almost always worked in Hell.

Still… as his eyes fell down towards Leo, he found himself torn. As much as he was genuinely thinking about going despite his reservations, he was honestly enjoying his time with his son that much more. In fact, it was actually nice to see Leo and Vanessa interacting so much with each other.

Vanessa acted almost as a big sister to Leo, and the behemoth both appreciated it and was thankful for the succubus' sake. He wasn't stupid, he'd seen plenty of the signs before. Even during his living life.

What was the name of Angel and Vanessa's boss again? Val?

He wasn't one to interfere in another's affairs… but he wanted to know just what it was that had Angel and Vanessa so scared to death.

Wait… wasn't Val one of the Vees? Just like Vox?

"Will uh… Val, I think his name is." The moment the name left his lips, he didn't miss the fearful look that took over both Angel and Vanessa's expression. "Will he be there?"

"He should be, but I can't be sure with that degenerate." Alastor admitted with a shrug, before raising an eyebrow. "So? What shall it be?"

John held Alastor's gaze for a moment, before letting his gaze once again drift back down the the confused face of his son.

"What are the rules when I'm gone?"

"Always listen to Charlie and Vaggie, and never leave the Hotel." Leo recounted the rules that had been established with perfect memory, holding his father's gaze with an expression that looked a little too serious on a child. "Are you going?"

"Yeah." John nodded his head as he once again picked up his controller, exiting the game before glancing over at Vanessa. "Keep an eye on him for me?"

Vanessa took a moment to answer, her still nervous gaze bouncing between both John and Alastor, before she managed to offer a smile as she nodded. "Of course." While she didn't consider herself very brave or courageous, John knew that he could count on the succubus where it mattered.

He offered Vanessa a reassuring smile, bringing a hand up and ruffling her hair as he stood to his feet. The succubus let out a moan of disappointment, and John didn't miss the playful glare she gave him as she tried to fix her now disorganized lockes.

He really did care for the girl. Despite being only a year younger than he himself was when he died, John found himself reminded much of his own little sister when he was with Vanessa. She wasn't the same kind of prankster, and she was nowhere near as sassy, but she was a package of energy once someone had her happy.

And he found himself appreciating these little moments, especially knowing that Vanessa had been hurt, and likely worse, in some way.

He didn't know what had happened, he didn't know the actual cause, and he knew it was none of his business. So despite his curiosity, he'd never asked. If she wanted to talk about it, she would.

But for now, John was at least going to try and get a little more info. He cared for both Angel and Vanessa, but it was Vanessa's seemingly constant switch from shy and joyful to withdrawn and nervous that really concerned the behemoth.

So if he could get a little more information, maybe he'd have a way to put an end to it.

Besides, it also helped that he had enough motivation as it was. He wasn't the kind of person to go out and try to save all of Hell, he knew that was a lost cause. The Hell Hole had been one thing, but Pentagram City was clearly much different from the Hell Hole, and not many people here really deserved that help in the first place.

That didn't mean he wouldn't help someone if they needed it and he just happened by, but when it came to the souls owned by Overlords… well, John didn't know and didn't care enough to try and save what could be countless psychopaths.

Vanessa and Angel, however, weren't just random demons. And now that he'd gotten to know them, the tether on their souls had begun to irk him.

However, out of respect for the two, he kept his trap shut. They would speak or ask for his help whenever they either needed it or felt comfortable asking.

So while he may not always take initiative… well, John would be stupid not to help where he found an opening.

"Let's go." John said, waving the Radio Demon along as he made his way past him and towards the door. Alastor made a noise of satisfaction and followed after him, and with a quick wave to everyone from John, they left without much fuss.

A Few Hours Later

Carmilla Carmine was a cynic. There were no two ways about it. She was in Hell, and the only things that truly mattered to her were her children, and Zestial.

Zestial was much older than not just herself, but a majority of the sinner population as a whole. It definitely showed as well, since he still spoke in the dialect of the middle ages. Not to mention there wasn't a single Overlord who knew any better.

And her children… they were the only things that were important. Not even Zestial would ever take priority over her daughters, no matter the cost.

They say that when you become a mother, instincts you thought you'd never have would awaken.

She'd taught her children how to survive. Clara and Odette could take care of themselves with little issue, and with the holy weaponry they are always carrying, any sinner who so much as tried to attack would find themselves lacking their existence.

But that didn't change the fact that those were her children. Her world. Her precious babies.

No matter how well they could defend themselves, Carmilla would often find herself jumping into protect them more often than not. And why wouldn't she? No matter what, a mother's first instinct would always be her children's safety.

Still, though, this was Hell. And the best way to survive in Hell was to build an empire. Rise to power, and make sure that no one would ever be able to take that away.

And with Zestial's help, she'd done that.

He'd provided her a foundation. He helped her pick the right targets, taught her how to properly utilize her deal-making abilities. And he acted as a mentor of sorts, helping her rise up to the status of an Overlord.

With close to millions of souls under her grip, she became one of the most powerful Overlords in Hell. Her established business of selling an abundance of weaponry had also made her just as rich.

Her relationship with Zestial had evolved past that of teacher and student, and to this day, he remained the only other demon outside of her children that the deadly ballerina trusted.

She'd eventually become the second most respected Overlord of Hell, behind Zestial himself. The two held a partnership of sorts. Carmilla would actively lead and guide the rest of the Overlords, taking on a leadership role and establishing an actual organization out of them. And when anyone would question her, it became Zestial's word as the deciding factor.

Though inherently selfish, each and every Overlord had their reasons for being a part of the alliance. Though everyone knew that Zestial's experience meant it was best to listen to what he had to say. And it was best to listen well.

So whenever they had a need for these meetings, Zestial was always the first one to actually respond. The rest barely responded at all, and it was more a matter of whether they showed up or not.

Make no mistake, each and every Overlord had their reasons to consider each other both enemy and ally. And when it came to something like this… well, all the smart ones would be present.

With the new Extermination schedule, not just their power was threatened. Their very existence was in danger.

So when it came time for the meeting to commence, Carmilla entered the meeting room with her daughters right behind her, and wasted no time in the usual greeting. She could survey who all was present afterwards.

The tips of her shoes clicked against the marble floor with each footstep, and as usual, her movements were graceful and purposeful, and she came to a stop in front of a large screen as she turned to face everyone who was present.

"Welcome Hell's sovereign Overlords." Carmilla greeted with the rehearsed introduction as she let her eyes wander over everyone who was present. "I've invited you here because you represent the controlling powers of our city. Together you own millions of souls. Souls at risk with the new Extermination schedule." He fist came down upon the table harshly in frustration, both at herself and at the situation in general, as she continued recounting the topic they'd discuss today. "We need to discuss what can be done to minimize the impact of our interests."

The familiar rattle of Zestial's movement entered Carmilla's ears, and she turned her head to the side in order to see the demon himself as he took a seat on the chair that was always reserved for him.

"Zestial, so good to see you, my friend." Despite how casual and almost dismissive the introduction may have sounded, there was a reason Zestial was usually the only one who ever got a true greeting.

"Enchanted as always, Carmilla." Zestial's otherworldly voice replied with a polite nod, smiling at his friend.

That was when Carmilla noticed them. One, a new arrival, and the other, a familiar face that had been… somewhere.

Next to Zestial sat the Radio Demon himself, Alastor. Carmilla admittedly found herself curious to his presence, and she couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Alastor?"

"Yes, I know I've been absent some time. I'm sure you've all been wondering!" Of course Alastor's ego would show itself. That was all Carmilla needed to hear to know that Alastor hadn't changed in the slightest.

And though curious, she didn't actually care, contrary to his words.

"No, not really." She answered bluntly with a shrug, taking a small smidgen of pleasure at the look of genuine annoyance on Alastor's face when she said it. "But welcome back in any case." With that, she turned to the new arrival. One who'd admittedly been getting a few different looks from the other Overlords.

Sitting right next to Alastor was a large behemoth of a sinner. And though appearances could be deceiving, the entire frame of the demon was that of unchecked aggression. Though not as tall as Zestial, his broad physique certainly confirmed that he was bigger than even Missi Zilla, whom looked surprised herself by just how massive the sinner was.

Unlike most of Hell's demons, whom had either lanky or overweight builds, the man she was looking at looked to be made of pure muscle. If only to add to the intimidation factor, his greyish-green skin was marred with countless gashes, each of which looked as if they were fresh. In spite of that, the blood that had leaked from them had clearly dried long ago.

A pair of straight, bone-like spikes seemed to just from his neck, running along his shoulder stopping at the very edge of his arm. His teeth were sharp, much like most of Hell, but his own were visibly jagged and serrated every time he opened his mouth, and his piercing blue eyes looked surprisingly normal compared to what Carmilla was used to.

Poking between long lockes of pitch black messy hair were a pair of horns, sitting level with his face. And unlike everyone else who wore more stylish and flamboyant outfits, the behemoth she was looking at wore nothing more than a slightly torn black shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

"And just who might you be?"

"John Gallagher." The behemoth answered, looking rather impatient and annoyed as he raised an eyebrow. His voice was deep, almost rumbling with his words, and it was definitely something to catch attention.

That definitely caught Carmilla off-guard. Going by one's human name wasn't exactly new, but it was definitely rare. In fact, the only Overlords who went by their given name was Alastor and Rosie. And even then, their last names were still an enigma.

"You still use your human name?" Carmilla couldn't help but to question the new arrival with a raised eyebrow.

The behemoth, John, simply shrugged his shoulders. "It's my name. Don't matter if I'm alive or dead." Was his simple response.

It was… to the point, at least. But Carmilla found herself questioning if that was the true reason he still went by his living name. Nonetheless, she accepted the answer.

"And might I ask what kind of Overlord you are?"

"The kind here by invitation." John responded with a smart remark, lifting his head from his hand and allowing his arm to lay on the table as he sat up. "Alastor invited me, said I'd probably want to see this."

"Really?" Carmilla gave the Radio Demon a glare at that, but Alastor's usual antics meant he simply shrugged it off with that infuriating smile. "Well, what exactly do you do with your power?"

"Knock some sense into people that piss me off." He answered with a shrug. "I don't have some kind of big business to get by. I'm happy enough with my life."

With every word he said, the behemoth sitting in front of her seemed less like an Overlord and more like a regular sinner. Though… there was an air power to him that would be way to stupid to ignore. Especially with how genuinely relaxed he seemed to be.

Though…

"You possess souls, and that makes you happy?"

"I can make deals." John corrected with a shake of his head. "Never said a thing about owning souls."

Carmilla couldn't help the genuine surprise that broke through her composure, and clearly neither could anyone else but Alastor as all of the other Overlords in the room stared at the behemoth in shock.

He was a sinner… with the power to make deals… and he owned none?

At least, that was the way it sounded.

"You have a powerful ability, and you make no use of it?"

"Owning souls sounds a bit too much like trafficking to me." John replied with another shrug, his expression still one of annoyance and frustration. Despite that, he remained calm and answered the question bluntly. "Besides, I'm powerful enough as it is."

Well… that was either arrogance or confidence, but it was weird how it almost sounded… humble.

Coming from a sinner, that was more than a little shocking.

"Thou possess an ability that would allow you to become one of the most influential in Hell… and you make no use of it because you don't like it?" Even Zestial sounded absolutely baffled at the concept. And it wasn't easy to actually stump the lovecraftian spider. "That's… intriguing. Might I ask why?"

"What, I'm supposed to try and be some big, bag demon because I'm in Hell?" John replied, actually offering an amused smile at that one and letting a small chuckle escape him. "Neither Heaven or Hell decide who I am. That's my choice alone."

That… only raised more questions, admittedly.

"Let me ask you something." The southern accent of Missi Zilla's was prominent as always, as the oversized lizard fixed John a raised eyebrow. "Someone's desperate, but they have something you want. Wouldn't you try to make a deal for their soul?"

"I might try to make a deal for what I want." John answered, raising his own eyebrow once more at the lizard. "But there's a lot more factors that would decide my decision. Chances are if I own your soul, you're not gonna exist for much longer."

"Doth thou truly believe thy possesses the ability to kill sinners?" Zestial questioned with a raised eyebrow.

The response was many things. Alarming, frightening, enlightening…

"I've done it before. Besides, what's a sinner to the hundreds of Exorcists I've killed?"

A/N: And that's the chapter. Honestly, I'm still torn on how to handle Carmilla. I want her to actually have a role in the story rather than just that of a plot device, and with so little screen time or details actively revealed, getting into her thoughts and writing her perspective was honestly harder than I'd hoped. I'm still not sure if she even sounds like she's in character, so I would appreciate some feedback on that aspect.

And don't even get me started on Zestial, he's the real enigma.

Nonetheless, now the rest of the Overlords are aware of the Angel-Slayer, and I honestly can't wait to write out the rest of the meeting in the next chapter. With that, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one.