Sorry it took so long. The chapter was supposed to come out yesterday but Fanfiction was down for a while. I hope you'll forgive me for that.
Now to another thing. I deleted a story that I wrote together with someone. If you look at my profile you will know which story it is. I will not give the reason that it is personal. However, it would be nice if you gave this story a chance. The other person named StoryVibe posted the story on her profile and could use more attention.
Unfortunately, this chapter is a bit longer than the last one because I had to change a lot of things. For one thing, there are the four horsemen. I'm sure you can read the rest for yourselves.
Also I add some easter eggs from the Cuphead Game ;)
Now we are only seven chapters away before we start with the third season and final arc of this story.
Until then
Alicia realized that something was wrong with Lucifer. He was behaving very strangely. It was almost unnatural. Unnatural for him. Sure, he was the devil, but the fact that he was looking around like he and Alicia were being followed seemed strange to her. Not because she wasn't used to it. No, quite the opposite. Ever since she had been here on the Inkwell Isles and the devil had taken an interest in her, Alicia had felt a sense of insecurity.
However, she did not feel his proximity. Whenever the devil was in her immediate vicinity, she twitched, or when she was in her demon form, her wolf ears twitched. But she no longer had this feeling since Lucifer was with her. She felt safe and comfortable around him. The complete opposite of the devil. The feeling she was experiencing now, however, was completely different. It was fear. Fear of the unknown and the feeling that she was being sought by someone, by several people. But why? Was she wanted? Had she done something wrong? All questions that neither Alicia nor Lucifer could answer.
The latter himself was busy staying as far away as possible from the entrance area of the festival. The reason for this was clear. A group of giant demons appeared and tore half the festival apart, terrifying all the visitors. Lucifer didn't know why they were here. However, he already suspected the reason and looked from the demons who were far behind him and Alicia to Alicia herself.
They were looking for Alicia. That's what Lucifer suspected and feared as he looked at her gloomily while Alicia leaned her head against his stomach and clung to his left arm like a small, frightened but curious child. Lucifer kind of liked this. But he knew Alicia herself was confused and wanted to know what was going on. She had been asking herself this question for several minutes while she finished the pumpkin pie she had received from the Baroness. She knew Lucifer was hiding something. But what? Curious but also anxious, Alicia decided to break the ice and asked Lucifer the following: "Lucifer, are we being followed for some reason or why aren't we looking around the festival?".
In response, Alicia received a soft sigh from him before they both stopped. "Alicia my love, there is something that-" Lucifer suddenly stopped talking. Alicia tilted her head and stared at her husband in confusion while he paid no attention to her but looked in front of him. Or rather what was standing in the distance in front of him and Alicia that the latter had not yet noticed.
Luckily, otherwise Alicia would have seen the demons looking for her. "Lucifer is..." Without any warning, Lucifer took Alicia in his arms and took her to a nearby blue tent with a sign above the entrance that read "Madame Shelly's Arcade".
Who is Madame Shelly? Alicia asked herself before she and Lucifer were shrouded in darkness. But that didn't bother either of them because their eyes were able to see in the dark. There were several slot machines in the tent. Not the kind you see in a casino, but rather carnival-like machines such as claw machines, whack-a-mole and much more. Most of the machines, however, had a sticky tape on them saying "Out of order". There was also a machine where you could exchange bills for coins and a wall with various prizes.
From plush-toys to hats and small gadgets such as a slingshot that looked very similar to the one from The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, everything was hanging on the wall, some of which was already gone. However, Alicia wondered why the tent looked so deserted. Sure, a few vending machines were still active before Lucifer deactivated them with a snap of his fingers. The moles that had been looking up and down from the holes disappeared into them while the crane in the crane machine stopped moving and the lights slowly went out.
Alicia was only more confused as Lucifer darkened the tent further so that nothing could be seen from outside. Nothing but darkness and if you looked closely you could see two pairs of yellow eyes staring menacingly at you. Or at least that's how it looked if you didn't know who the eyes belonged to. "Lucifer is something wrong? Shall we go and have some fun in the city?" asked Alicia.
"No..." Lucifer replied with a depressed look on his face as he slowly sat Alicia down on the floor. She sensed that he wanted to say more "I have something to tell you. Something I should have told you before." What do you mean? Alicia tilted her head like a confused looking dog. At least that's what Duke always did when he listened to Alicia or John. The St. Bernard didn't seem particularly smart to others as Duke took everything rather slowly. So he walked rather quietly and slowly while Alicia or John or both siblings took him for a walk. He may not be interested in the mailman or the fire engine siren. But as soon as he saw a ball, no matter how big or small it was, Duke reacted like any dog would do. He was playful and quickly ignored the fact that he ran over other dogs or children to get to the ball.
He was just clumsy and that made him special. At least for Alicia and John. Not so much for Dolly and James. Both parents usually shook their heads when Duke misbehaved or destroyed another garden chair. Wouldn't be the first and last time. Yes, Alicia finds it funny when Duke sticks his head through a garden chair and smiles proudly at her as if to say "Look what I've done". She missed him too and could hardly wait to be licked by him again.
But there were more important things at the moment. Alicia still wanted to know what Lucifer had kept from her. She suspected it was something bad that the devil had unleashed on her and Lucifer. But what was it? "I wanted to keep it a secret from you, but it would be wrong to keep it from you." Now Alicia was even more confused than before. "The feeling you told me earlier is not without reason my dearest" slowly and tenderly he stroked her cheek while Alicia's pupils retracted. "Unfortunately, we are being followed..." he sighed even more than before "Followed? But by whom?" Alicia asked, trying to work out what was going on. She hoped he was joking. But Lucifer wasn't joking.
"Demons," Lucifer replied in a depressed voice that turned into a low growl. The reason was that there were a few tentacles in front of the tent that belonged to a large body that neither Lucifer nor Alicia could recognize. Neither of them even knew what the creature looked like. It wasn't an octopus because both of them had counted more than eight tentacles.
It was clear to see and hear that they belonged to one of the demons searching for Alicia. Not because of the grumbling or growling, but because of the deep voice that Alicia and Lucifer heard outside the tent and apparently above them. "Where could this young woman be?", "I don't know, just keep looking so we can grab her and take her to the boss while we look for the impostor and finish him off!".
Lucifer and Alicia were clearly aware that they were in great danger. He didn't want to, but Lucifer growled softly. Not because he wanted to show that no one should take Alicia away from him. No. It was because the demons were calling him an impostor. As if I'm a copy of someone. "Maybe they're in the hay maze?" another demon mentioned to the other two while Alicia covered her mouth with her hands and tried not to make a sound. Lucifer himself tried not to growl. Her heart was pounding with fear and was not in its normal rhythm. It was beating faster than usual. It was more than clear that Alicia was about to have a panic attack. Lucifer sensed this and knew he had to act quickly to prevent Alicia from accidentally fainting.
So he slowly and tenderly began to stroke her cheek with his finger and whispered gently in her ear "Shh, everything is fine my love" to reassure her. It worked and Alicia was breathing normally again and not gasping.
Neither of them wanted the demons to know they were in the immediate vicinity. He thought about what would be the best solution so that the demons would firstly not grab Alicia and secondly not finish him off. His eyes wandered from the exit to Alicia and back to the exit again. Yes, it was a bad situation, but what could he do? Well, he had one option. Lucifer had to leave Alicia here in the tent while he lured all the demons to him.
But Alicia would say no to that. She was very affectionate when she was scared. So Lucifer thought about how he would explain it to her so that she would understand. "Hmm maybe we should go back to the entrance area to the east maybe they are there" the shaking of the earth that Alicia and Lucifer now felt was not from an earthquake but from the demons. She laid her head on his stomach while Lucifer stroked her cheek to soothe her even more before he explained what he was going to do. He sighed. Alicia heard it and looked up at him in confusion. Oh no, don't tell me... she feared what he was about to tell her. "Alicia... I would prefer not to, but I don't see any other solution to our situation". Tears formed in her eyes as he explained.
She knew that he only meant well and wanted to keep her safe. But she didn't want to be alone. Alicia feared that the devil might take advantage of this to kidnap her. She didn't want that "Lucifer please I..." but Lucifer was stubborn and stuck to his guns. His tail was no longer wrapped around her waist. Alicia knew he was serious. "Alicia I know what you're thinking but listen to me" she didn't want to but she did it anyway for his sake "I won't be gone long and I'll come to you soon when these demons are out of the festival" she just listened to him while more tears ran down her cheek like a waterfall.
"Then I promise I will be with you and not leave you alone for the rest of the day and try to make it better than any other day we spend here on these Inkwell Isle's" he promised her before he gave her a kiss and walked out of the tent and Alicia was now alone. She sighed and sat down on one of the nearby stools that were not far away and waited for her husband to return.
Meanwhile, in the entrance area of the festival, the visitors who had been hiding from the demons seemed to be slowly coming out of hiding again. An elephant lifted the protective grille that was currently closed and looked outside with the other visitors to make sure that there were no more demons outside. A few other visitors did the same, hiding in empty barrels, behind crates and hay bales.
The air was clear and no demons could be seen from afar. "Thank God," the elephant exhaled in relief and let the others and himself out except for the vendor an anthropomorphic cupcake from the Sales trailer that ironically sold cupcakes and muffins. The vendor was at least happy to be alone in his van again. He knocked the dust and dirt off his work clothes and adjusted his hat, which was far too small, but a second later it was back in its old crooked position.
The other vendors also stood in front of their counters again and waited for the customers who were slowly daring to come out again. Everything seemed to be back to normal. The visitors went to the various stalls, played games to win prizes or simply ate their food in peace. However, this peace of mind was quickly disturbed by the demons that the devil had dispatched to get the souls of Cuphead and Cuppy. The visitors heard the rustling from the forest and again suspected something bad when they saw another group of demons approaching the festival.
These demons were not as intimidating as the others or just as big. But the visitors and vendors were still frightened and hid from the demons again. The muffin and cupcake vendor, who was unaware of the whole thing, was naturally less than thrilled when the elephant and the other visitors who had been hiding in his Sales trailer hid there again. The reason was clear as he was just about to put a fresh batch of muffins on a tray on the counter before the elephant pushed him aside and the tray of muffins was now lying on the ground in front of his trailer.
The demons, however, seemed less than thrilled by the visitors' reactions and, apart from Silk and the others who had just arrived, went into the hay maze to look for the two cups the devil had asked for. "So what's the plan?" asked Caterina, who had tipped her bow with three arrows dipped in poison she had received from Vespae and Scorpina. With these arrows she wanted to hit Alicia or, in her words, destroy her. "Calm down kitty cat we have to get this little demon first before we can continue with the plan" the others knew which demon Silk meant.
It was this little round demon that looked cute but had a lot of power inside of him. Even if these powers only consisted of torching others with a greenish flame while burping. "Oh you mean Burpy" Silk, Caterina and the other rivals looked at Scorpina with a confused look on their faces. "Uh who?" Silk asked curiously while Caterina just raised her left eyebrow and said nothing as Scorpina explained to the group who she meant.
"Well, you know that cute and cuddly little demon from earlier?" the twinkle in her eyes was hard to ignore. The other four knew who she meant but the name Scorpina had given him was strange. Not strange in the sense that it didn't fit, but strange because it was as stupid and simple as Scorpina and Caterina's name itself. After all, the name already says exactly what they are. A scorpion and a cat.
But the rivals knew that they still had competition. Competition in the form of none other than King Dice. He came running out of the forest, huffing and puffing, and stopped briefly to catch his breath "Okay". Silk and the others noticed him and decided to go ahead with the plan. Silk, Caterina running ahead of her, taunted Silk by sticking out her tongue and pulling her lower left eyelid down slightly.
This naturally annoyed the Malmute demon. She growled menacingly and scrambled past Daiyu and Scorpina to follow Catrina. Not because she knew where to go. Silk's sense of smell was enough. No, it was just envy and vanity. Silk saw herself as the lead dog and always wanted to be first. That's why it really annoyed her that the cat was now leading the group.
Vespae saw this from an elevated perspective and just smirked as Silk and Caterina went at their gurgles once more before Daiyu and Scorpina separated them both before things got any worse. Silk, Silk, Silk I very much doubt you would be fit to be queen if you are so quick to snap. Vespae knew what she was talking about. Silk may be crowned the best demon ever, but Vespae saw it differently. Just like Silk, she was also keen on the crown and would use every opportunity to topple Silk from the throne. Because just like wasps, Vespae was unpredictable. Of course she hated Alicia too and would love to ram her sting into her heart. But she hated Silk even more.
But she didn't feel like a confrontation with Silk, so she flew over the hay maze and looked around for the little round demon Silk was talking about.
Meanwhile, the three cups continued to run through the hay maze, passing more frighteners that were uninspiring and rather yawningly boring. For example, a pumpkin hanging from a visible string with six green pipe cleaners to imitate spider legs. On the pumpkin itself was a face that looked rather derpy with squinting eyes. "Oh, so scary" Cuphead sarcastically pushed the pumpkin aside and continued through the hay maze. Mugman had already finished his drink and Cuppy had completely eaten his apple.
Bored and almost falling asleep, the three of them walked on and were "frightened" by a scarecrow with a pumpkin face and a cardboard stand-up with a corncob that looked just as spooky as the pumpkin. Of course, Cuphead wasn't scared by this and was even more bored. His groans were loud to hear.
While all this was going on, there was a lot going on outside the hay maze. The first-best demons were still looking everywhere for Alicia and Lucifer, often lifting tents, stalls or even tearing the roofs off trailers only to find that Alicia was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, one of the demons pounded his fist on the ground, leaving a small crater. "Where could she be?" asked one demon as he had just peered into a stall selling carved goods.
"She can't be far. I sense she's nearby," another demon explained, looking in the direction of the tent where Alicia was. Without hesitation, the two demons walked in that direction, getting closer to the tent with each step. Alicia was still sitting on the stool in her demon form and sighed. Well, you couldn't call it sitting as she was sitting with her feet on the stool while her tail was wrapped around it. Her wolf ears were not standing upright but leaning backwards. She wasn't happy that she was alone now and that Lucifer was probably in danger. She knew he was the devil and could take a lot. But she was still worried.
She quietly wiped away her tears and hoped very much that everything would turn out well. Or would turn out that way, let's put it that way. As soon as she lifted her head she heard the voices of a few of the demons nearby "There he is!", "Get him!" could be heard from outside and told Alicia that the demons had found Lucifer. The quakes could be felt again and almost pushed Alicia off the stool if her claws hadn't dug into the wood. Oh please Lucifer be careful. Alicia sighed a little louder than before. She really hoped that all the demons were gone now and no longer in her vicinity. Well she no longer felt the quakes or the general feeling of being watched. No matter how often she looked around the tent, she saw nothing.
Hmm maybe I could look around and pass the time that way. Yes, Alicia was curious to know what was in the tent. In addition to the usual whack-a-mole machine, there was also a wall with targets on which a few darts were already stuck that either didn't hit the center or were aimed past it. There was also a throwing game. The targets were pumpkins, apples, corn on the cob and spiders and witches' heads, even though it was appropriate for fall.
There were also wheels of fortune that only had prizes worth a maximum of 10 dollars for such festivals. Alicia once got a set of bubbles at one of these games that didn't really last very long and you couldn't really blow bubbles out of them very well. A bean bag toss was also available and seemed to have just recently been put into use. In general, everything seemed to have been in use. Even the cash register behind the sales counter was open. The money was still inside. Alicia didn't really know what to make of it. First everything was so busy and now it was dead quiet.
The visitors have certainly hidden there is no doubt about it. After all, the demons themselves seemed to look scary and threatening. No wonder everyone had dropped everything and fled. But Alicia didn't want to leave the cash register open. It was an old register, or not so old in the current time period Alicia was in, that made a loud "cha-ching" sound when the bottom shelf was opened and was known for it.
"Cha-ching!"
But what Alicia didn't know was that apparently this cash register also made the noise when the bottom compartment was closed. The noise was very loud and was heard not only by Alicia but also by some demons who now decided not to follow Lucifer but to investigate the source of the noise.
I hope nobody heard that. Alicia thought to herself with flushed cheeks as she slowly walked backwards away from the till. She hoped that the demons were far away and not directly-. Something fell to the floor in front of her eyes. What the... Confused and also afraid, Alicia stared down at the object she could only see with her eye for a second before it hit the ground. At first she couldn't identify the object.
On closer inspection, she realized that the object was a scrap of fabric from the tent that was stuck in a lump of lava and was slowly being swallowed up by it. Alicia was confused as to where the lump of lava had come from. Volcanoes didn't really exist on the Inkwell Isle's as far as she knew. At least not in the book world and even there, only Inkwell Hell has volcanoes and lava lakes. She hasn't found any volcanoes on these Inkwell Isle's here yet.
Elder Kettle had mentioned that there was a store named after a famous mountain that was also a volcano. "Mount Eruptus Cleaners. Nowhere else can you get laundry as fresh and warm as at Mount Eruptus Cleaners," he mentioned several times while sniffing the fresh laundry like a curious dog. According to the two brothers, it was quite normal for him. Both of them were already familiar with his behavior. But the others didn't and were therefore confused and slightly disturbed every time Elder Kettle came home with a load of fresh laundry. Especially Cuppy.
But why was there a lump of lava here? Alicia was about to reach for it when more lava lumps fell, one of which hit Alicia's neck but didn't hurt her because she was half demon and therefore didn't feel any pain. But she decided to remove the lump anyway. Now there were several lumps of lava on the floor around her.
And it grew more and more every second as Alicia slowly stood up. "Where..." Alicia was barely able to finish her sentence when a bright ray of light shone on her. She noticed it and got a bad feeling as she slowly looked up. The sunlight shone in her face until she held her arm protectively in front of her eyes until it suddenly disappeared. Alicia knew something was wrong and got a bad feeling. She slowly lowered her arm and looked up and now knew why she had such a bad feeling.
Oh no, they found me. Three demons were scattered around the tent and looked in it with a grin, almost gleefully, and saw Alicia shaking in fear. Not because the demons' "smile" looked so beautiful. She was rather afraid of it. Especially when she saw the inner teeth of the snake demon, which reminded her of the Whispering Death from How to Train your Dragon, which also had teeth in the back of its mouth. But unlike the Whispering Death, the teeth did not rotate in a circle and were more pointed and sharper than those of the dragon.
No, that was not the reason why Alicia was afraid of the demons. The reason was that she only now realized how big the demons were. They were gigantic from her perspective. So it was clear why she was afraid and she also knew who the culprit was who had set the tent on fire. In addition to the snake demon, the panther demon and the slimy one also looked into the tent. The latter's hand was still covered with remnants of the tent before they disappeared into the slimy folds of his body and burned away. "Isss thisss the woman we were looking for?" hissed the snake demon as he looked at the panther demon.
He opened his hand to the poster with Alicia's face on it and stared at it while the snake demon and the slime demon looked behind his shoulder to look at the poster as well, only to stare back at Alicia. "Yes this is the woman the boss was looking for" Alicia's gulp could be heard as the panther demon answered the question, his eyes focused on Alicia just like the others. She knew it wouldn't be good to stay here now and instinctively fled the tent or what was left of it. The demons saw this and didn't hesitate to run after Alicia.
"We found her! Get that woman!" the panther demon roared in the other direction to inform the other demons that they had found the woman. Meanwhile, the snake demon and the slime demon followed Alicia, who turned the corner in panic and stopped abruptly. She didn't do it for any reason, but because she had to, since the other demons standing right in front of her looked even more threatening than the three demons she had found. One demon was a giant head with a huge eye and sharp and pointy teeth, another demon consisted only of tentacles from which several large eyes looked out. Another demon had a transparent body so that you could see its bones and internal organs.
Alicia was disgusted at the sight of this demon and took a few steps back when suddenly a large hand grabbed her. "Hey, let go of me!" Alicia screamed as she tried to free herself. But the panther demon ignored her and held her tightly in his hand while he slowly walked with the others towards the exit of the festival. "We're not going to let you go that easily", "Yesss, the bossss isss looking for you".
Panicked and frightened, Alicia screamed again and tried to free herself even more while her scream was heard by Lucifer. He realized that something was wrong. The ground stopped vibrating when he stopped. The shadows of the demons that had once eclipsed him were also gone. Something inside him told him to turn around. On the one hand, he was glad that he did it. On the other hand, anger was building up in his body. His anger was not without reason. He saw how the demons slowly left the festival with Alicia in their hands and were about to enter the forest.
"TAKE YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY WIFE!"
The demons stopped when they heard the loud roar behind them. Alicia also stopped trying to free herself and smiled a little. Behind the demons, or rather in front of them, stood a furious Lucifer. His fur was red instead of black, his horns glowed yellow and were ridged, his claws were the same color as his horns. The eye color had changed to a menacing orange while the pupils were red instead of black.
"Lucifer! Please save-" Alicia couldn't finish her sentence because the panther demon silenced her by squeezing her tighter with his hand. This only made Lucifer angrier than before. He was now completely engulfed in flames and held his trident in his hand. The tip of the trident was also on fire, burning menacingly in a dark red color. None of the demons showed any sign of fear as Lucifer aimed his trident at the group, ready to strike. But he didn't because he demanded that the demons release Alicia. "Yes, certainly. We won't release the woman and hand her over to an impostor like you if the boss wants to marry her and have her with him," the demons laughed at him as the panther demon walked on until something hit him in the back.
He fell to the ground and dropped Alicia. She rolled onto the floor and lay on her stomach on the ground before someone picked her up. Curious but confused with a slight fear, she opened her eyes and was in Lucifer's arms. "Are you alright my love?" he asked her with a worried look. He was no longer angry as his fur was black again and not red. On the one hand, Alicia was glad that she was safe again and reunited with her husband. But that quickly changed when Alicia heard the voices of the demons who had apparently survived Lucifer's attack. Normally, the dark red flame was an explosive attack that could cause great damage and wipe out any demon. But apparently this didn't seem to apply to these demons here.
They showed no scratches or any signs of injury. That was not a good sign for Alicia and Lucifer. They both knew that they couldn't defeat the demons. They were invincible and still seemed to be looking for Alicia. Lucifer already suspected it and didn't hesitate for long, running into the hay maze while the demons were still in a cloud of smoke created by the explosion. The cloud of smoke slowly cleared and the demons saw neither Alicia nor Lucifer.
But they knew one thing. "They must be in the hay maze." The demons approached the hay maze and searched for Alicia and Lucifer.
The other demons were in the hay maze and were also looking for someone. Not for Alicia and Lucifer, but for the three cups. Well, all the demons except Silk and the others. They were looking for the demon called Burpy, as Scorpina had named him. Nobody knew what they were planning to do with him except Silk herself, who looked behind every haystack but found nothing. "Where could this demon be?" she growled impatiently while Caterina climbed a wall to get a better view from above.
"Oi! Kitten do you see anything from up there or are you afraid to come down by yourself?" Silk called out in a mocking voice while Caterina jumped down annoyed and jumped close to Silk's face to give her a piece of her mind. "Oh no, not this again," Daiyu rolled his eyes in annoyance while Scorpina shook her head.
While both demons were fighting, King Dice entered or was already in the maze and followed two red scorpion demons who in turn followed the spider demon until King Dice approached them. "Oh ho! Ladies" he chuckled with joy as both scorpions stopped and looked at Dice. Both of his hands were on the backs of the scorpions who were confused. Dice himself bent down so as not to appear threatening. Although he himself didn't seem threatening to the two, but rather annoying.
Both just wanted to do their job and are looking for the two cups without being wiped out by the devil like the Second finest Demons had been. Or former second finest, one should say, since these demons were now the second finest. But what did Dice want from them? "I've been looking for you two" both demons stared at each other in confusion before staring at Dice even more confused than before.
"You know, I was just thinking. Get rid of bright boy over there, and both Cuphead and Cuppy's all ours" his finger pointed to the spider demon. He stood in front of a fork in the path and muttered to himself as he looked at the left fork, then the right fork and then the left fork again as if he couldn't decide which path to take because they looked identical. Both Scorpions giggled and walked towards him, extending their stingers and waiting for the right moment.
The spider demon realized that someone was standing behind him and slowly turned around. "Huh?" was all he could say before both scorpions stung him in the face with their stingers and burst him like a balloon. Dice was very pleased about this because it meant one less competitor standing in his way. After all, he wanted to show the devil that he was his number one.
But the two Scorpions were also an obstacle for him and also had to disappear. And he already knew how "Ouch. You two are monsters" he complimented both demons who felt flattered "Oh, I sure hope you never turn on me!" he pointed out with a desperate tone. Both Scorpions heard this and giggled. They extended their spikes again and were ready to stab King Dice. But Dice was clever and dodged the stings of both scorpions at the last second. Now they had stung each other and, like the spider demon, burst like a balloon. This pleased Dice, but not Scorpina. She was twitching strangely and her whole body was trembling with fear. "Scorpina are you alright?" Daiyu asked while Scorpina looked at her and just nodded her head.
"Oh, brother," Silk and the others heard not far from their position. Curious, they climbed up the wall of hay bales and saw the three cups walking towards the turtle demon they were holding as an attraction of the hay maze. "This is the worst one yet" without hesitation Cuphead pushed it over and climbed on top of it to continue walking while Mugman and Cuppy followed him.
Silk was less than pleased about this. "This is going to be a bit more difficult than I thought," the three cups are probably not so easily intimidated. But her joy quickly returned when the little round demon she and the others had been looking for came around the corner. He saw the turtle demon and how it tried to get up again. It was weakened and could easily be extinguished. The little demon didn't hesitate for long and burped at it with its flames, extinguishing the turtle demon before it could even get up.
Daiyu and Caterina looked over to Scropina with a smug expression on their face. The scorpion demon felt it and smiled nervously "Hey don't look at me like that just because I called him cute and cuddly" but the two demons knew that Scorpina was clearly mistaken. The little demon looked cute but he was anything but that when he opened his mouth and green flames came out strong enough to turn any demon to ashes. That's why Scorpina was afraid of the little demon. But not Silk.
The devilish grin on Silk's face was hard to ignore. She was ready to grab the demon and then go after Alicia to destroy her once and for all in the same way the little demon had done to the turtle. Dice, who was nearer to the little demon, thwarted her plans and grabbed the little demon first "Burpy, buddy" he said and took him in his hand. "Have I got plans for you" Silk was not pleased to hear this "Hey he's mine Diceface!" Dice heard her as he looked at Silk who jumped down from the wall of hay bales and ran towards him. She wasn't going to let Dice get away that easily. Especially not with the little demon in her hands that she had been looking for.
"Oops! Sorry ladies but I need this little guy more than you do" but Dice dodged Silk's attack with a skillful bow. The malamute demon missed him and landed in the middle of a wall of hay bales in which she got her head stuck and tried to free herself. Dice chuckled mischievously at this before stroking Burpy on the head and disappearing into the hay maze, whistling and singing.
The other rivals themselves didn't know what to do as everything happened very quickly. Only when they heard Silk ordering them to free her from the wall did they return to reality. "Come on you idiots, don't just stand there like that, free me from this damn wall of hay bales!" Caterina smirked while Daiyu and Scorpina couldn't hold back their giggling "Hey! Stop laughing!" now all three of them really had to start laughing as Silk continued to try and free herself.
Meanwhile, the three cups continued to walk through the hay maze and only seemed more bored than before. All the creepy action in the hay maze didn't really seem to scare Cuphead. Rather, it made him yawn. "Yawn," he said, bored, while his brother ran alongside him. Only Cuppy followed the two with a rather tired look. However, the three did not know that they were being followed by a large eyeball with one large and one very small wing. If Alicia saw it, she would compare it to Nemo from the movie Finding Nemo. After all, both the anemone-fish and this demon had a smaller fin or, in the case of the demon, a small wing.
With these little wings, the demon had trouble following the cups, which were walking past another wooden doll that had been painted with a creepy face that didn't look so creepy. Dice, who had been watching the demon, took the opportunity to use Burpy. Or he wanted to, but Silk surprised King Dice and tackled him to the ground while Burpy hovered in the air for a moment and couldn't resist flaming the flying eyeball.
"Bullseye!" Caterina shouted as she grabbed Burpy and followed the three cups. "Too bad, isn't it Dice?" Silk grinned before following the others into the hay maze while Dice was still lying on the ground, slowly getting up and running after them but having lost sight of them. "Oh! Where did they go?" Dice looked in panic in all directions and didn't know where Silk and the others had run off to and that didn't make him happy. After all, he was supposed to prevent Silk and the others from hurting Alicia. That was exactly why he had grabbed Burpy to keep him away from the rivals. But that hadn't worked either and now he had to search the whole hay maze in panic, hoping that Silk and the others wouldn't find Alicia.
Alicia and Lucifer, however, were far away from Silk and the others. In fact, the rivals were going in the wrong direction while King Dice was going in the right direction and approaching Alicia and Lucifer's position. "Lucifer, why didn't it work?" Alicia asked in a panicked voice. Her hands clutched at his fur like a limpet. She didn't want to let go and certainly didn't want to be left alone again.
Lucifer knew that Alicia was panicking and decided to calm her down before he thought about how to explain to her why the demons hadn't turned to dust and were still looking for them. Slowly, he walked backwards with Alicia into a small shadowy area so that neither of them would be recognized or seen immediately. "Well..." Alicia heard his voice and looked up at him as she felt his finger slowly stroking her cheek while his other hand wrapped around her entire body. Well, rather a part of her body.
"I suppose it's because I'm not from this world and these demons don't obey me that I'm not authorized to destroy them" Oh god that doesn't sound good "But I do wonder one thing..." Here it comes. Alicia realized that Lucifer wanted to ask her something. Something she already feared. "Why are these demons calling me a copy or an impostor?". Alicia already suspected that Lucifer would ask this at some point. She also suspected that he would soon ask who she should marry when she was already married. It was difficult to explain, but Alicia had no other choice. Unfortunately, Lucifer was very insistent and didn't let up, asking again and again. Alicia couldn't do anything at the moment because he was holding her anyway.
So she had no other choice and explained to him why he was called a copy. "Because there is already a devil in this world and he..." she sniffled and was on the verge of tears but Lucifer calmed her down before she could cry. "Shhh is okay my love" his voice soothed her. She needed that because what she was going to say next "He wants to marry me and sees you as a copy" she couldn't stop her tears and cried into his fur.
She felt guilty and Lucifer sensed that. But he knew deep in Alicia's heart that she still loved him and would never, ever want to swap him for anyone else. She was happy with him and that was enough for him. But anger slowly built up inside him. Not because of Alicia, but because of the devil from this world. He wanted to give him his opinion as best he could. Alicia belonged to him and was married to him. No one could change that. Neither the devil from this world nor his demons could change that.
"Don't worry my love, I'll make sure the devil won't hurt you as long as I'm with you," he promised her. Alicia sniffled, wiped her tears away with her hand and looked into his eyes. "Really?" His nod confirmed her question, as did the kiss. "Of course I would always protect you, my love" he kissed her again, only this time much more intensely than before.
The mood couldn't have been better. "Aww how sweet" but unfortunately someone had to spoil the mood. Alicia recognized the voice immediately while Lucifer was still puzzling over who it might belong to. Both looked forward in the same direction and saw the culprit who had ruined their mood. "If it isn't a pair of lovers. Too bad the partner isn't the right one, though, isn't it Alicia Powell?". It was King Dice. He stood in front of the two and took a closer look at Lucifer, whom he almost mistook for his boss, the devil, if it weren't for the small but subtle differences. Lucifer's nose wasn't red like the devil's, his claws and horns were white and the same color as Alicia's horns, his hands and feet were light gray and his pupils were black instead of red.
Yes, Dice had to take a closer look at who he was dealing with. However, Lucifer also had to take a closer look because he had almost mistaken Dice for his King Dice. Well, they both looked almost the same, only the buttons on his waistcoat were black and his bow tie was fuchsia purple, the collar of his tailcoat is in a darker shade of purple and his eyelids are silver. The shoes he wears have a different design too.
But what did Dice want from Alicia? She hadn't done anything to him while she was here on the Inkwell Isle's and yet he seemed to want something from her. "Dice, what do you want from me?" Alicia asked, annoyed. Dice could tell by the tone of her voice that she was annoyed with him, even though he didn't even know her. "In short, the boss is asking for you and wants you to go home without saying a word." Yeah, sure Psycho Dice.
"Never! I don't want to go to the devil and you can't make me!" Alicia decided not to come with Dice and stayed with Lucifer who was of the same opinion "Dice I'm afraid you have to tell your boss that Alicia will never come to him no matter how many demons he sends to us I will not give up my darling Alicia!" but Dice only grinned even more mischievously than before. Alicia and Lucifer saw it and were confused at first, thinking Dice didn't understand Lucifer's statement. But there was another reason why Dice was grinning mischievously. The shadows Alicia and Lucifer were hiding in did not belong to the hay maze but to the first finest demon.
Oh no...
Meanwhile, one of the demons was watching the entire hay maze. His rather squinty eyes scanned every area for the three cups. It found them, stretched its wings and flew. It warbled as it approached the three cups, which continued to walk through the hay maze, unaware of the danger that was slowly approaching them. The vulture demon hovered in the air and choked up a fireball which it fired at the three cups. However, the fireball missed the three and hit the hay bale right next to the three cups, burning a hole in the wall. This created a new path, or rather a shortcut, which the three cups could use.
"Wow, that was kinda cool" mentioned Cuppy surprised "Yeah, they're adding new stuff" Mugman agreed and crawled through the hole with Cuppy and Cuphead following him "Nice for the people who come back every year". The vulture demon didn't like this at all and made himself heard loud and clear as he followed the cups. When they reached the other side of the hole, Mugman and Cuppy were the first to crawl out while Cuphead was about to do the same. A drop of acid fell on his shoulder and burned slightly into Cuphead's coat as he felt the pain "Ow!" Mugman and Cuppy heard him and turned to him with puzzled expressions on their faces.
"Hey, that's real acid" It was quiet for a moment as Cuphead stares at this hand until "Neat!" and jumps out of the hole. The vulture demon didn't really like that. He had missed the two cups he was supposed to catch and now they went on as if it was nothing. But he didn't want to give up and continued to pursue them until... "Woohoo! Caught another one!" Like the turtle demon, the vulture demon was also turned to ash by Burpy when Caterina aimed at the vulture demon. She squeezed it lightly, causing Burpy to fire greenish flames from its mouth while a belch was heard afterwards.
Caterina laughed with glee and seemed to be struggling to control herself. That's why she laughed like she was crazy. "Okay, that's enough kitten!" but her laughter disappeared when someone took Burpy out of her hands. "Hey!" Caterina said, annoyed. She looked next to her and saw Silk, who had taken Burpy from her hands and tucked it under her left arm while she flicked Caterina's nose with her free hand.
The cat demon felt the brief pain on her nose and hissed at Silk accordingly, but she thought little of it and completely ignored Caterina. "I very much approve of your enthusiasm Caterina" her words were positive but her voice was not. Silk was furious. Angry because Caterina didn't stick to the plan and ran through the hay maze with Burpy, causing chaos by torching everything in her path. Be it demons or the frightening objects that were scattered all over the hay maze and came out to scare the visitors.
"But we're not just here to send the two cups packing, we're also here to kill this hybrid so that we have a better chance of taking the throne!" she bonked her on the head, hoping Caterina finally understood it. Caterina hissed softly as she rubbed her head "Hey, are you two done fighting?" Silk and Caterina heard and looked up. Daiyu and Scorpina, who were following Silk and were silent while the malamute and the cat were arguing, looked up as well.
The voice belonged to Vespae, she had been flying in the air the whole time to get a better view of the hay maze. "The two cups are not far from the exit and our hybrid is currently in distress from King Dice and the first finest demons" her voice was loosened. But Silk did not like this at all. She wanted to wipe Alicia out once and for all so that she could finally become queen.
"And you had no intention of telling us about this?" Silk roared in anger as she grabbed Vespae and shook her back and forth in rage. Vespae shrieked as Silk released her and breathed in and out frantically as she looked from the wasp demon to the others. Daiyu and Scorpina noticed that Silk was not only getting angrier by the second, but was also becoming more and more insane. "Where is this hybrid?" Vespae had barely calmed down when Silk shook her again, causing stars to circle slowly above her head.
She couldn't say anything because she was still too dazed from all the shaking she was getting from Silk that she could only point in the direction of where Alicia was before Vespae fell to the ground and fainted while instead of stars, Silk's heads were now spinning above her head. "Come on, we have to wipe out the hybrid!" Silk was about to run off in the direction Vespae had pointed until someone pulled Burpy from under her arm. "Not so fast you drool head" Silk growled and stared at Caterina with a furious look and retracted pupils. "Don't call me drool-head!" and grabbed Burpy and pulled on him while Caterina pulled on him as well. Both demons fought over the little demon and both wanted him for themselves.
Both turned in circles as they continued to pull at the demon until it suddenly began to sneeze and reduced itself to ashes, leaving both demonesses speechless and holding only the remains in their hands. "Finally this fight is over!" Silk and Caterina looked at Daiyu who pulled back one of her many tails with which she had apparently made Burpy sneeze.
"Oh you... I could...!", "Really great job Daiyu, how are we supposed to vanquish Alicia if we don't even have the chance anymore?" the two complained to the kitsune demon. But she seemed even more annoyed than before and completely ignored them as she continued to walk in the direction where Alicia was supposed to be while Scorpina followed her in silence. Silk and Caterina stomped after her, annoyed, while Vespae was the only one lying on the ground, knocked out and unaware of anything.
Not even when a group of children walked past her and called the Vespae lame.
But Henchman and Amnon were the ones who noticed. Both were standing in front of the mirror in which the devil loved to watch the inhabitants of Inkwell Isle's, but preferably Alicia, of course. Only this one showed her rivals. Henchman and Amnon looked fearfully into the mirror and flinched when the devil announced himself. "So, how are they doing?" Both demons turned around to see the devil with two pink towels, one wrapped around his horns while the other was wrapped around his upper and lower body, covering everything but his arms, legs and tail.
He had just got out of the shower and smelled of cinnamon. Very unnatural for him but Amnon, who spent most of his time helping the devil in the bathroom, knew that this was not just any shampoo but the same one Alicia used. "Did you use the same shower shampoo that Alicia always uses?" Surprisingly, the devil was not angry at his question but answered it in a friendly tone "Yes, well guessed Amnon, it's the same one my dearest Alicia uses,".
This was nothing new for either demon. Ever since the devil had set his eyes on Alicia, he had tried everything possible to change himself for her. Starting with his body odor, of course. But it didn't stop at shampoo. The devil had a framed photo of Alicia on his bedside table, the same hairbrush he had stolen from her and a hair of hers that he had kept in a small transparent box. He also wore Alicia's style of dress from time to time.
However, the devil quickly realized that Amnon was only interrupting him so that he didn't see Henchman covering the mirror with his body as if he wanted to hide something from the devil. "Uh, not so good. The Rivals are the only ones left" The joy on the devil's face disappeared when he looked in the mirror and saw only his rivals. Daiyu and Scorpina walked ahead while Silk and Caterina got into each other's hair again. There was no sign of Vespae.
"And the first-finest demons and Dice? How are they doing?" his left foot bobbed up and down impatiently while Henchman changed his reflection to show Alicia and Lucifer. Both were surrounded by the first demons and King Dice. Alicia clawed at Lucifer as he held her with his extra pair of arms that grew out of his body while he held his trident in his first pair of arms. "Well, well, well it seems my copy is in trouble" the devil replied with a diabolical laugh. He knew that Alicia would soon be his.
But of course someone had to spoil the mood. In this case, it was Amnon who reminded the devil that he was still missing the souls from the two cups. His laughter disappeared as did his joy when the husky demon mentioned this. The devil's growl was hard to ignore as he tried to pull himself together.
"Then I have but one final recourse. To unleash the Four Horsemen" Henchman and Amnon gasped in horror when they heard the challenge the devil had just given them. "B-but boss, they're untamed primordial beings. They fear nothing!" The former tried to stop him from doing so. "To even lay eyes on them is enough to make anyone freeze in terror!" However, the devil didn't care and commanded with a roaring voice.
"Release them!"
Amnon fainted while Henchman just sighed and gave in "Ah, jeez".
The gates opened again and from a jet of flame the four horsemen ran out with their horses. The four horsemen are a quartet of four undead, primordial, flaming demonic skeleton warriors. All of them have glowing red eyes and each of them rides a flaming demonic stallion with visible tendons and bones sticking out.
However, there was another way to keep them apart. Each of the four horsemen carried something that revealed their names. One carried a bow and arrow and was called Conquest. The Horseman next to him held a sword and was called War. The third horseman had a pair of balances hanging from his saddle which determined pestilence/famine, hence his name, Famine. The last horseman had a small trident with him, which was attached behind his back. His name is Death.
The flames went out and Conquest was the first to appear on the surface with his horse, leading the group and wielding a double-bladed axe. War followed him at every turn, holding a morning star in his hand. He twirled the spiked orb as if he were going to war, as his name suggested. Famine kept his distance from the two and welds a sabre. But his balance is bobbing up and down as his horse galloped. Last but not least, Death followed the other three, holding his sword ready in his hand while his trident was still on his back. He held out his sword and a roar was heard that sounded very similar to death. The other Horsemen also roared as they slowly approached their target with a cloud of dust behind them.
What the heck are we going to do? Alicia asked herself as she lay in Lucifer's arms, terrified. Not because of him because he was the devil, but because he and she were in a tight spot right now, surrounded not only by King Dice but also by the first demons that came along. Both factions wanted only one thing: to take Alicia to the boss and destroy Lucifer. But Lucifer didn't see the point. He didn't want to give Alicia away and he didn't want to be flattened by any demons that didn't obey him.
"Lucifer is your name, isn't it?" Lucifer said nothing but gave Dice a warning with his now glowing yellow and red eyes that he shouldn't take it too far. "I know you care about the young lady here but I assure you once she is married to the boss and crowned she will stay in the underworld forever and ever" Dice's interference did not please Lucifer at all.
"And then feel like a caged animal," Lucifer added in a growling voice as Dice swallowed nervously and reconsidered his statement. He knew he had said the wrong thing and couldn't take it back. "Well... She could..." he couldn't think of anything else to say to override his previous statement. But Lucifer had had enough "King Dice or rather Dice or as my beautiful Alicia always likes to say Psychodice you look a lot like my King Dice from my world" Alicia was confused as to what he was talking about. She knew that they were not so similar in character. Even though Alicia had heard very little about King Dice from this world, she sensed that he wouldn't mean anything good.
Dice himself didn't know what to say. Was this a compliment? "And that's exactly what I despise" no definitely not a compliment for the guy with a Dice for a head. "I'll tell you and the demons here one thing" nobody said anything because Lucifer was boiling with rage. Even Alicia kept quiet and didn't even try to calm him down. Why should she? He was protecting her and wouldn't hurt her. Lucifer took a deep breath before shouting out what was boiling inside him.
NOBODY TAKES MY ALICIA AWAY FROM ME!
His roar could be heard from all over the hay maze. Almost every visitor trembled with fear and screamed away in panic as cardboard cut-outs, scarecrows with painted faces or masks and pumpkins or balls covered in varnish resembling ghosts appeared in front of them, thinking that this roar was coming from them. The visitors ran out of the hay labyrinth in panic, leaving nothing but chaos behind, which the salesman who took the tickets didn't exactly like and expressed himself loudly. "Hey! No throwing and destroying the objects!" but nobody heard him.
All the visitors ran past him and fled the festival, which only descended further into chaos. Dice trembled with fear as his color slowly faded like a T-shirt washed with the wrong detergent. The reason was clear - Lucifer looked even more menacing than before. Even more menacing when the devil himself was angry. Dice was on the verge of fainting while the demons themselves showed slight signs of fear and were still determined to grab Alicia and bring her to the devil. "Let's make the job easier and give me the young adult," the panther demon demanded with an open hand with enough room for Alicia sit on.
But before anything could happen, Lucifer disappeared with Alicia in a cloud of smoke before the eyes of the demons and King Dice, who had regained his radiant colors and gasped. "No, no, no! This can't be true, the boss will kill me for this!" he sank to the ground and hit it with both fists while the first finest demons looked around and hoped that both targets were still nearby.
Silk and the others hoped so too, but instead of getting closer to Alicia, they moved further and further away from their position and approached the three cups standing in front of the exit. So far there had been nothing to scare Cuphead and he mentioned this with pride "We're almost through the maze, and I'm still not frozen in terror!" However, the cup did not seem to reckon with four demonesses standing on the wall with landing nets and nets in their hands, just waiting to capture the two cups that still owed the devil their souls. "We may not have found this hybrid, but we're not going to let these two cups get away with it," Silk mentioned, picturing herself proudly handing both cups to the devil.
"Oh Silk, thank you very much for bringing me these two cups" said the devil and took both cups from her, which he then threw behind him to grab Silk and ask her the following question "Will you be my wife and queen?". Silk didn't hesitate for long and nodded. The devil liked the answer very much and was ready to kiss her until Caterina burst her dream bubble and brought Silk back to reality.
"I don't know, Cuphead" Mugman mentioned while Cuppy giggled and tried to pull himself together but had trouble doing so because of the horse mask Mugman was holding behind his back "Anything can happen". But Cuphead just laughed about it and knew that he would win the bet and that his brother would look stupid if Cuphead didn't freeze in terror "Heh! Oh, I think I know exactly what's gonna happen". Angry and slightly annoyed, the ticket seller pulled a burnt scarecrow, of which nothing much was left, out of the entrance and grumbled quietly to himself. He didn't know who was responsible for the chaos. But one thing was clear. It wasn't the four Horsemen who appeared in front of him and turned the ticket seller into a stone statue out of sheer fear. He literally petrified.
"What's gonna happen is." Mugman and Cuppy grinned mischievously and held the horse mask at the ready while the latter tried not to burst out laughing again and therefore covered his mouth with both hands. "I'm gonna turn around, and you two are gonna be holding that stupid-" Brave and determined to prove to them how brave he was, Cuphead turned around, opened his mouth, gasped and stiffened. Cuppy couldn't help himself and started laughing just like Mugman, mocking Cuphead in a sing-song voice "You're frozen in terror, you're frozen in terror!".
However, the two cups didn't realize that it wasn't the horse mask that frightened Cuphead so much that he was petrified, but what was standing behind them, just waiting to strike. Silk and the others tilted their heads until they saw why the cup was petrified.
The four demonesses also gasped and petrified on the spot with landing nets and nets in their hands. Yes, the sight of the four horsemen was frightening. But Mugman and Cuppy didn't mind as they stood with their backs to them, still taunting Cuphead. "I told ya you were a little scaredy cup" But Cuppy quickly realized that something was wrong with Cuphead and went to him to find out what exactly was wrong with him. "Hello!" Cuppy said while waving his hand in front of Cuphead's eyes, hoping he would calm down.
"What? Is there something behind me and Cuppy?" Without hesitation, Mugman turned around with his horse mask and looked at the four Horsemen. They seemed rather unenthusiastic. Despite their appearance, their horses still seemed to be flight animals and neighed in fear. They stepped up on their hind legs and threw their riders down, who flew over the wall of hay bales while the horses ran through another one.
The three cups themselves seemed more than confused by the whole thing and didn't know whether what had just happened was part of the hay maze or not. "This...", "Is..." both brothers exhaled in relief as Cuphead returned to normal and was no longer petrified. "The greatest hay maze of all time!" said the three cups at the same time.
Meanwhile, the four Horsemen had landed in a large barrel full of water and apples. "That feels better" sighed the first Horseman to emerge from the water. His flames had gone out but he still looked menacing. The second one agreed with him but had his mouth full of an apple, so they couldn't understand what he was trying to say. "Famine is right" both looked at the third Horseman coming out of the water.
"Our horses ran away. That means we get the rest of the day off!" Now the fourth looked out of the barrel and saw something that he and probably the other three might really like. "Oh hey! They got pumpkin pie!" the three followed his finger to Baroness Von Bon Bon's stall, which was also deserted like the rest of the stalls. But that didn't bother the four Horsemen. "I love pumpkin pie," Death mentioned several times as they helped themselves to the stall as if it were nothing.
Two children were walking through the hay maze when they also reached the end and saw the petrified demonesses still standing on the wall. "Lame," said one of them, who had said the same thing to Vespae when she was knocked out by Silk.
"Are you all right, my love?" Alicia heard as she opened her eyes and stared into Lucifer's. She was still in his arms and felt that she was safe. But where exactly was she, she wondered? Not in the hay maze. Not even at the festival. So where then? "Where... Where are we?" she asked as she stood up and Lucifer placed her on the ground before answering her question.
"We are outside the festival and not far from the cottage" Alicia looked around and as Luziufer mentioned they were not far from the cottage. "Honestly, Mugsy, when we was kids, that horse mask did make me freeze in terror" the two of them heard behind them and looked at the three cups that had also just arrived from the festival. Of course, neither Alicia nor Lucifer knew about this. But this hardly bothered either of them. "Hey Al, how was your date?" Mugman called out as his eyes flashed on Alicia and Lucifer, who were just about to break through the gate the latter was holding open for Alicia.
Both adults stared at each other, not knowing whether to tell the truth or tell the three cups a lie. Alicia thought about it and decided to lie. "Oh, it was beautiful," she said and gave Lucifer a kiss on the cheek as she went into the cottage with him. Lucifer's face flushed and he purred softly. All three cups were pleased to hear that Alicia and Lucifer could spend time together.
"But nothing scares me anymore" Cuphead added to the convulsion from earlier as Cuppy walked past him, his brother, Alicia and Lucifer and opened the front door. "Not even the Devil?" Mugman asked skeptically, knowing that Cuphead was still afraid of them. Well, he was the devil after all. It was normal to be afraid of them as a mortal. "When was the last time we even saw that guy?" well, actually not that long ago. But just as Alicia didn't seem to care, Cuphead and Cuppy didn't seem to care where the devil was. "I guess you could say: I ain't too worried about it" the group stared at him in confusion. Especially Alicia, who shook her head in disbelief and went into the cottage while Lucifer followed her. "You two should give it a shot.".
Cuphead offered the other two while he himself went into the cottage "Feels pretty good". However, it seemed a bit strange for both of them to utter this sentence. "I'm not too worried about it?" said both cups simultaneously until they sensed what Cuphead meant by the words. The weight fell from their shoulders as if it were nothing. "Hey! That does feel pretty good!" Relieved, the two of them went into the little house and closed the door behind them.
But those who were less than enthusiastic. Was the devil who had been watching everything at the time. His growl grew louder and louder with every passing second until he couldn't help but roar. "If you want something done right, I guess you have to do it yourself" frustrated, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Meanwhile, Alicia and Lucifer lay on the sofa and cuddled together while Elder Kettle brought them something to drink "Homemade hot chocolate with marshmallow hearts just for you two" he said and put both mugs down on the table in front of the sofa. They both couldn't stand the smell again and took both mugs in their hands and enjoyed the hot chocolate.
They both enjoyed it and savored every moment. Not because of the hot drink, but because of their closeness. Alicia felt comfortable and that was enough for Lucifer. But what wasn't enough was the devil who appeared in front of the cottage and looked angrily in that direction. His face radiated pure hatred. Hatred for the three cups, the wolf, the fox and, above all, his copy. The devil slowly approached the front door and was only centimeters away from flipping the door handle and opening it.
"Excuse me!"
However, he was unable to do so. Frustrated, angry and shocked at the same time, the devil looked behind him and was surprised to see his accountant standing behind him. It was not difficult to find out where he had come from. The elevator was right behind him. "Stickler! What are you doing here?" the devil asked in an annoyed voice while the bookkeeper leafed through his thick book, initially ignoring the devil until he landed on the desired page and answered the devil's question "I have recounted the souls 36 times and have yet to locate-", "Yes, yes, yes" the devil interrupted him in mid-sentence "I didn't get the two cup's soul yet and I still haven't married my sweetheart Alicia but I am literally just about to-" but now Stickler interrupted him with an important message that did not sound positive for the devil.
"Furthermore, the bylaws of Subsection 7, Paragraph 7 through 37," The bookkeeper continued his story and lifted his book with the two pages on which it says what the devil didn't want to hear while his eyes slowly went through the text "specifically signifies if you have failed to collect a soul within a 30-day period, the soul reverts to its original owner" Stickler made this clear by enlarging the passage with a magnifying glass so that the devil could read it exactly. "And it has been precisely 31 days, therefore your pursuit of said souls is unauthorized".
His jaw dropped and he really hoped that this was the only bad news he had to hear today. "Oh, I almost forgot," the magnifying glass moved to the next page and said something about the marriage proposal. "If you do not manage to marry, wed or crown Mrs. Powell by the end of the year, the marriage proposal is null and void and Mrs. Powell will lose the title Queen of the Underworld".
Unfortunately, the devil was spared nothing. He may be the king of the underworld, but even he had to abide by the rules whether he liked it or not. "Stickler, Stickler, Stickler. I am going to get those souls and I will make Alicia my Queen one way or another" The devil was confident about that. Not because he always had a plan, but because he knew that Alicia was physically inferior to him. He could grab her arm and she wouldn't be able to escape him no matter how hard she tried. "Pity you won't be around to see it" He didn't care about anything now. The devil had almost reached his limit and wanted to wipe Stickler out once and for all. His trident pointed at the accountant. A jet of flame fired from the tip at the latter, creating a cloud of smoke.
Alicia heard the explosion and lowered her cup "Are you alright?" Lucifer asked Alicia as she looked out of the window but saw nothing but a cloud of smoke settling down Please tell me it was Cuphead who set off another one of his rockets and not the devil. She didn't want the rest of the day she was spending with Lucifer to be disturbed.
Well, she didn't see him, but Alicia sensed and knew that it couldn't be Cuphead. The latter went into the kitchen to get a drink. She doubted that Cuphead was able to clone himself or go back in time like Hermione in the Prisoner of Azkaban. But Alicia doubted that there was such a thing as a Time-Turner on the Inkwell Isle, considering how dangerous the item was.
No wonder the Ministry of Magic decided to ban this item. The thought was enough for Alicia to wonder what would happen if the devil had such an object in his hands. He could prevent her from ever being married to Lucifer and being with him instead. Also, the souls of Cuppy and Cuphead would be in his possession and he would know every course they would take if they met wonder the Ministry of Magic decided to ban this item. The thought was enough for Alicia to wonder what would happen if the devil had such an object in his hands. He could prevent her from ever being married to Lucifer and being with him instead. Also, the souls of Cuppy and Cuphead would be in his possession and he would know every course they would take if they met him.
She shook her head and decided not to think about it. Instead, she continued cuddling with her husband and answered his question, "I'm fine Lucifer," and rubbed her head against his furry belly. Lucifer purred even more and enjoyed it. His eyes closed as his arms wrapped around Alicia until there was nothing to see but her head.
The cloud of dust outside slowly subsided while the devil laughed mischievously. But his laughter died away when he heard an electric hum and looked at Stickler, who was still standing in front of him with his goat fingers raised as if nothing had happened. "What?! You're wearing the-", "Impenetrable, invisible sweater" Stickler finished the devil's sentence while mentioning one more thing that the devil didn't like at all.
"I, myself, am the undisclosed location" The devil hoped that this was a joke as Henchman and Amnon kept trying to stop him from telling him where the Sweater was. Now he knew and ordered Stickler to take it off "Take it off this instant so I can obliterate you!" but Stickler denied this requirement "I do not believe that would be in my best interest" But the devil couldn't care less. His rage had overflowed at that moment and could no longer be contained.
"I will eat your soul!"
He announced, breathing heavily, while the accountant only added more fat to the burning pan with his next statement "Not possible because of this impenetrable-" "Sweater!" the devil roared as the ground began to shake. But surprisingly, no one inside the cottage noticed it. Neither Alicia, nor the three cups, nor Blood or Varian felt the anger that was clearly evident. "Oh, forget it" The devil had had enough for today and walked into the elevator in defeat while Stickler followed him in silence. The elevator door closed and the elevator burst into flames and disappeared.
Seconds passed as she opened the front door and Alicia, Cuppy and Cuphead looked out. "Hello?" said Cuphead as he held the door open. "I've told you a million times Cuppy the devil isn't here and even if he is, Lucifer will take care of him" but Cuppy was convinced that he was just outside the front door pretending to be gone.
Cuphead even looked around especially for him but saw nothing of the devil "Eh" was his only reply when Cuppy decided to go back inside. "I may have heard wrong but I'm still worried about you Alicia" he mentioned before going into the guest room. Alicia and the others looked after him and wondered why he said that. Don't tell me he gets the same nightmares I do, which could also be visions. Alicia hoped he didn't mean what he said.
In the elevator, the devil and Stickler stood motionless and didn't even look at each other, let alone say anything. The mood was gone at the moment anyway, so why spoil it any more than it already was? Well, let's put it this way Stickler couldn't keep his mouth shut, of course "On the bright side, at least this day can't get any worse" as if on command, the elevator stopped abruptly as if Stickler had conjured it up. The devil opened his eyes in shock and looked at the keypad, pressing the button down several times.
"No! No, no, no, no, no!" but the elevator didn't budge. Not even a little bit. "It's stuck" The devil was very frustrated because now he was trapped with the person no one from the underworld liked. "Looks like we'll be here for some time" he mentioned without showing any emotion, which annoyed the devil to no end. No wonder he looked annoyed in his direction. "999 million souls in the vault" the accountant suddenly sang in a rather annoying voice. At least it was annoying for the devil.
"Take one out, do a recount. 998,999,999 souls in the vault" the accountant suddenly sang in a rather annoying voice. At least it was annoying for the devil. That's why he decided to teleport out of the elevator so that he no longer had to be with the accountant, who was still singing and didn't notice that the devil was no longer standing next to him but had long since sat on his throne, grumbling with rage.
He still couldn't believe that Alicia was no longer in his arms, even though his demons were about to bring her to him, if it weren't for one thing: "That damn copy! I'd like to give him a piece of my mind and tell him to stay away from my dearest Alicia" with every sentence he got angrier and angrier until his body was on fire and he was about to explode with rage.
"Are we a little angry?" the flames died down as the devil calmed down again and followed the voice with his eyes. The voice came from none other than King Dice himself, slowly emerging from behind a pillar with what looked like a strand of hair in his hand. "Dice, what are you doing here, can't you see I'm not in the mood for any conversation right now and want my peace and quiet?" he noticed the strand of hair in Dice's hand "And what's that in your hand?".
Dice also looked at the strand of hair and answered the question with a mischievous grin "Oh that? That's just a strand of hair I was able to take from Alicia before she unfortunately got away from me" his eyes widened when Dice mentioned this. "Her...hair? Are you really sure about that?" the devil hoped so, otherwise he would kick Dice out once and for all. "Boss I assure you this hair belongs to none other than your future queen and wife".
Nevertheless, the devil took it from his hand and examined it more closely until he came up with a plan to bring Alicia to him without the three cups, the wolf, the fox and his copy stopping him. It was a diabolical plan that he had devised. "Dice I have a task for you" he listened to the devil as he whispered his plan to him. The plan seemed simple for King Dice but unfortunately he would have to reckon with consequences if he failed. "If you fail, I won't hesitate for long and I'll throw you out" Dice swallowed nervously "Do you understand?" Dice nodded nervously again before the devil handed him something in his hand. Something he will need to take Alicia to the underworld.